Paul smiled, realizing that Mako and Bill were unfamiliar with the concept of guilds; however, he couldn’t blame them since the military doesn’t allow news about gilds or gangs to be released to the general public.

Mako and Bill had only encountered gangs so far which was why they knew about them, but guilds didn’t operate in small or average cities like Emerald City which was they hadn’t encountered them yet and had no clue that they existed.

Paul leaned back in his chair, ready to provide an explanation.

“Guilds are different from gangs. Guilds are recognized organizations that operate legally and publicly,” Paul began, his tone filled with authority. “They take on missions that are assigned to them ranging from protecting important figures to resolving conflicts or investigating mysteries.”

“It is basically an independent party that licenses its members to be able to use their abilities in public and these members can take missions from the Guild Hall. The guild hall takes a cut from the money and rewards that those members earn from completing jobs and as they do more jobs the reputation and rank of the overall guild increases, making them a more prominent force that can be hired to take on higher-level missions.

He continued, “Guilds are always on the lookout for people with extraordinary abilities and skills that can become valuable assets, capable of handling various tasks that require special skills and abilities. As members of a guild have opportunities for growth, access to resources, and a support network of like-minded individuals.”

Mako and Bill listened intently, absorbing the information. The idea of guilds was awfully similar to the life they were expecting after graduating from military school, which made them confused as to why they had never heard of them before.

Filled with curiosity Mako asked Paul why they hadn’t heard about guilds before and whether the Dark Raven was a guild or gang.

“That is because the military has tried its best to keep all news related to guilds or gangs under wraps so that nobody knows about them. Of course, when these things exist near you, you will obviously know about them whether they are mentioned in the media or not. However, almost all guilds are situated in big major cities with the top tier ones not even situated on earth which is probably why you haven’t heard about them.” Paul explained.

“The military wants soldiers and if everyone knew about guilds and how they provide the same quality of living as them with the added bonus of picking their own jobs and having the option to leave at any time, nobody would want to join the military,” Paul added.

Bill and Mako nodded in understanding as they were starting to learn a bit more about how the world actually works.

“As for Dark Raven, It is both a gang and a guild. It is a gang in Emerald City that has taken a contract with several powerful people to maintain a certain level of balance and peace in the city against other gangs while the Dark Raven Guild is C Rank Guild in Dust Storm City,” Paul said.

The concepts of guilds were quite interesting for Mako and Bill as they now knew that there were several options other than just the military if a person wanted to grow stronger and progress.

There were training centers in every city that pretty much-trained ability users and Mako always wondered where all of those people went as there were only so many jobs you can do as a fighter, but now it made sense that they joined guilds after completing their training.

Cadets that finished military school also have the same choice about whether to join the military or join a guild and the military can’t do anything about them picking a guild, except for the cadets that are indebted to them as they didn’t have an ability and were provided one from the military which in turn required them to give some years of service before they had the option of switching over to a guild.

Since guilds were private organizations, they didn’t fall under the same circumstances as the military which acted like the main government of the world, managing all important things both at home and in other worlds; whereas, the guild was an independent party that could do anything without asking anyone as long as it didn’t break any laws.

Mako and Bill now understood everything about guilds and how they operated and it opened their eyes to the bigger picture of how the world worked.

“Mr. Czolgosz, if it is alright with you we would like to change our status from being gang members to being guild members,” Bill requested respectfully because now that he knew there was something similar to gangs that didn’t do anything illegal, he didn’t want his name to be tied with gang any longer.

Paul smiled as he said,” It is not that easy to become a guild member as you have to be a certified fighter with an identified rank before you can be inaugurated as a member. Gangs are a different story as pretty much anyone can join as it isn’t official, it all depends on whether the person running the show wants you or not.”

“Come back to me after you guys have completed your training and gained a rank, and then I will be glad to add you both into my guild, but I have a feeling that you will be far beyond my tiny guild by the time you are ready,” Paul said.

“Besides, you have already completed the job that I entrusted you with and so I will take back your titles as members of the Dark Raven. You are now free to go and do whatever you please but always remember that the Dark Raven will always be a safe place for you,” Paul added.

Mako and Bill were surprised by Paul’s action and couldn’t help but just nod their head in gratitude as they had not only the freedom to pursue any path that they wanted but had also gained a powerful ally that would be really helpful to them down the line.

“Now, let’s talk about these books,” Paul said, drawing their attention back to the table.

He pointed at the various books on the table, describing their contents.

Mako and Bill exchanged excited glances, their minds racing with the possibilities. They had already experienced the potential of their abilities firsthand, and now they were being offered the chance to further develop their skills. 𝚍ｎ𝚘ｖ𝚕.𝚝

“Remember, you each have the opportunity to choose three items from this pile,” Paul reiterated, his voice filled with encouragement. “Take your time, think about your strengths and weakness, and consider how these books can help you become even more formidable.”

With newfound excitement, Mako and Bill began to carefully examine the books laid out before them.

They discussed their findings, sharing insights and ideas on which abilities and skills would complement their existing powers.

Mako used his Analyze skill on all the abilities to get all the info and also consulted his system using the “Ask” feature to make the best picks.

Analyze

Ability Book: Fire Ability (LEVEL 3) ?

An ability book that contains the power to control the element of fire. This Ability Book already comes with three pre-learned skills

Skill: (E-Tier) Fire Elemental Control ? (LEVEL 1)

Skill: (E-Tier) Fire Spikes ? (LEVEL 1)

Skill: (F-Tier) Heat Up ? (LEVEL 1)

************

Ability Book: Water ability (LEVEL 3) ?

An ability book that grants the power to control the element of water. This Ability Book already comes with three pre-learned skills.

Skill: (E-Tier) Water Elemental Control ? (LEVEL 1)

Skill: (F-Tier) Water Blast ? (LEVEL 1)

Skill: (E-Tier) Bubble Shield ? (LEVEL 1)

************

Ability Book: Poison Ability (LEVEL 3) ?

An ability book that bestows the power to control the element of poison. This Ability Book already comes with three pre-learned skills.

Skill: (E-Tier) Poison Resistance ? (LEVEL 1)

Skill: (E-Tier) Toxic Cloud ? (LEVEL 1)

Skill: (E-Tier) Poison Dart ? (LEVEL 1)

Ability Book: Earth Ability (LEVEL 3) ?

************

An ability book that grants the power to control the element of earth. This Ability Book already comes with three pre-learned skills.

Skill: (E-Tier) Earth Elemental Control ? (LEVEL 1)

Skill: (E-Tier) Ground Rupture ? (LEVEL 1)

Skill: (F-Tier) Stone Sword ? (LEVEL 1)

************

Ability Book: Lightning Ability (LEVEL 3) ?

An ability book that bestows control over lightning and electricity. This Ability Book already comes with three pre-learned skills.

Skill: (E-Tier) Lightning Elemental Control ? (LEVEL 1)

Skill: (E-Tier) Static Field ? (LEVEL 1)

Skill: (F-Tier) Thunderclap ? (LEVEL 1)

There were a total of 5 ability books each at level 3 with 3 pre-learned skills which would be a huge boost, but Mako knew he had to be careful as his mentality couldn’t allow him to learn every ability so he had to pick carefully.

He had to earn so much EXP to get to level 15 and now Attributes were costing multiple attribute points so he didn’t know how fast he could improve his Mentality so taking three ability books and not being able to use them would be wasteful.

Before making his decision, Mako decided to also scan the pile of skill books that had a combination of both regular skill and ability skill books.

Analyze

Wind: (D-Tier) Cyclone Strike ? (LEVEL 1)

Earth: (E-Tier) Tremor Slam ? (LEVEL 1)

Ice: (E-Tier) Ice Lance ? (LEVEL 1)

Basic: (E-Tier) Crushing Blow ? (LEVEL 1)

Lightning: (D-Tier) Lightning Barrage ? (LEVEL 1)

Wind: (D-Tier) Feather Glide ? (LEVEL 1)

Fire: (E-Tier) Ember Shield ? (LEVEL 1)

Earth: (D-Tier) Stone Skin ? (LEVEL 1)

Water: (F-Tier) Water Whip ? (LEVEL 1)

Strength: (E-Tier) Massive Clap ? (LEVEL 1)

Basic: (E-Tier) Silent Movement ? (LEVEL 1)

Water: (E-Tier) Aqua Shield ? (LEVEL 1)

Fire: (D-Tier) Fireball Barrage ? (LEVEL 1)

Basic: (E-Tier) Bullseye Shot ? (LEVEL 1)

Sand: (E-Tier) Sand Wave Slam ? (LEVEL 1)

Basic: (E-Tier) Fortified Stance ? (LEVEL 1)

Speed: (F-Tier) Blink Step ? (LEVEL 1)

Poison: (E-Tier) Contagion Aura ? (LEVEL 1)

Fire: (E-Tier) Flame Resistance ? (LEVEL 1)

Ice: (D-Tier) Frost Resistance ? (LEVEL 1)

Lightning: (E-Tier) Shock Resistance ? (LEVEL 1)

Basic: (D-Tier) Quick Reflexes ? (LEVEL 1)

There were a lot more skill books than ability books and they were all very tempting. Several very strong and versatile skills left Mako and Bill in a tough spot as they had to make careful decisions on which books to pick.