From Player To Npc

Shingi had decoded some locations and notes on Vardan's map and had found an interesting one nearby, but it was part of the collection of a troublesome individual.

There was a mansion just a few hours away from the town but was big enough to be self-autonomous.

The owner was a great collector of different things and was paranoid about people wanting to steal from him, which was true since he had some precious things, but the preparations he had done were on another level.

Many have tried to get in, Players and NPCs, but all of them had a bad ending.

Ameanum hadn't tried to get in there in the past because he wasn't ever interested in stealing, but he could really use that item.

"This sounds like a suicide. Wasn't expecting anything less from that guy. So did 'Master' give you a plan? If even half the tales are true, even he couldn't get in there without being detected. If they find us, we are good as dead."[Price]

"This is the case if we try to get into without having permission. But if we get in with permission, it is going to be much simpler."[Shingi]

Price thought for a second until he realized something.

"You want to trade with him?" [Price]

Shingi nodded, as he knew that the only way to get in there with permission was for the owner to call someone to make a deal for trade.

A few people have tried this plan in the past, but the first estimation was becoming outside the mansion, and the requirement to pass it was pretty high.

But Shingi had two things that any collector would dream of having; his Spirit Hammer and growth-type sword.

Of course, he wouldn't make the trade but just use them to enter the place and distract him while Price took what they needed.

The defenses to enter the place were the hardest to pass, but this didn't mean that it would be easy to get what they needed. The mansion was enormous, and they didn't know where the man was keeping his collection, as also what kind of protection it would be under. But this was the best they could do.

"So what do you want me to do, then? I am guessing you will be the distraction while I look around?" [Price]

"Yes. But you won't work alone. Most likely he will have magical defenses and your skills will be useless to them unless you have changed your style that much."[Shingi]

Price was still a beginner when was still training with Ameanum, but it was clear back then what Price's style was.

He could detect any traps, including some magical ones, but without being able to use mana himself, he wouldn't be able to disarm those tricky ones. Of course, there were tools that could help him, but they were crazy expensive to get.

"Do you want me to get with the boy? This person sounds like someone who just asks to lose things."[Ragnarock]

Both Shingi and Price looked towards him with a look of clear unbelief.

"I don't think you can help us with that plan. But I will let you know if we need your help. But Winestone could be of help. We need a special messenger to draw attention, and a talking bear should be more than enough."[Shingi]

"But how are we going to send a message? Nobody is allowed in and he rarely gets out, and when he does he is heavily guarded."[Price]

"He will get out if he heard that there was a Grandmaster CRAFTSMAN in town."[Shingi]

"Gran… grandmaster?!? Is Volig really one?" [Price]

Shingi shook his hand. Volig hadn't completely reached the Grandmaster Rank, but from when he asked about his progress Volig told him that he could pass that limit in less than a month.

Of course, just a rumor wouldn't draw the man they wanted out, so they had to prove it.

They also had to make sure that it wouldn't be public knowledge or the Dark Guild could learn about it, and Volig wouldn't be safe then.

Shingi told him some preparations he wanted him to do until Volig reached that point.

They had not only to prepare for the heist but also for making sure that the message reached the man's ears and only him.

Shingi didn't like to use Volig like that, but this was actually a suggestion of Volig when Shingi told him about the item and its current location.

They asked Ragnarock and Winestone to leave the room while discussing the plan, as it was better for them to know as little as possible. Shingi would explain to Winestone what he needed him for when it was the right time.

Since they had to wait for Volig to Rank Up his crafting Skills, their discussion wasn't too long, but Shingi gave him some instructions on what to prepare.

Then they both headed towards Marcy's Guild building.

Shingi needed to learn more about the current situation, and Price would join it, which would make things easier, especially for working with Shingi.

Creating a Guild wasn't easy because the founder of it needed to spend some costly resources to make the Guild officially accepted by the System. When a Guild got officially accepted by the System, its members could have a variety of benefits depending on the size and prosperity of the Guild.

But one function that was getting unlocked for every Guild and its members was NPC Recruitment.

Without this function, one couldn't have an NPC be part of his or her party, except if it is part of a Quest. But Guild members could ask NPCs to join their party, but still, each NPC decided by itself if wanted to join or not.

This way Shingi could be part of their Party and be able to get the benefits of sharing exp, and checking the current situation of everyone in the party as far as their HP, SP, MP, conditions, etc.

Shingi couldn't officially join the Guild as a member yet to enjoy some of the other benefits the members had, but it grew in power enough NPCs could join the Guild officially.

Even if they seemed to have drawn many people, making a strong Guild wasn't just to have quantity but also quality. They also needed to increase their reputation at their base town, which in this case was Carda, as well do some Quests which would allow them to be recognized worthy by the Gods and get their Guild to level up and unlock more functions and benefits.

Shingi was aware of a few basic things some could do to improve their Guild, but since he never was part of one or never was interested to create one, his knowledge on the subject was a little better than most. He knew some Quests that weren't publicly known that were meant as Guild Quests and they were the kind that different Guilds could repeat, but their difficulty wasn't that low and each Guild had only one chance.

They made it at the building and even if the queue was smaller than before, there were still a few people waiting to get auditioned to be part of the Guild.

They waited patiently for their turn as they didn't want to draw any unneeded attention and Shingi had his cloak's hood up so people who knew him as the owner of the shop wouldn't see him.

The line was moving quite fast, and soon Shingi understood why.

They already rejected a few of the Players who were in the line and they tried to bribe their way into membership but it just led to getting themselves kicked out of the building, for some literally.

Most Players seemed to belong in that category so Shingi and Price's turn to get in didn't take too long.

The one at the door was Soryn, and he was the one who kicked people out as he could easily remember the face of each Player that was already rejected. He was the apprentice of the one in charge of the Library of the Air Spire, so having a photographic memory was a must.

Soryn slightly bowed to Shingi, as he recognized him even if he was trying to hide his face, as he got in first leaving Price behind waiting as the auditions were one per person.

Get in the building he got into a hall with a long table that three people were sitting at the other side from the one closer to Shingi.

The one in the middle was Marcy, while the other two were people that Shingi didn't recognize.

They were probably friends of Marcy that she told them to come and help her.

They were both females, and from their equipment, one could tell that they were a Mage and a Rogue.

They weren't too high level as Marcy, as from their aura Shingi could tell that they should be close to level 20 while Marcy was a little over 40.

As he took off his hood, it surprised the three girls, but each for a different reason.

"You are finally back. Took you some time. We are progressing at a steady rate here if you ignore the ones who aren't taking no as an answer."[Marcy]

The two girls looked at Marcy with confused eyes. They couldn't understand why she was giving a report to this young man.

Marcy noticed the look of her friends soon enough.

"Oh, sorry, introductions need to be made first. This is the person I was talking about, the one who dealt with 'those' guys."[Marcy]

Marcy then turned towards Shingi after giving the brief explanation.

"These are my friends and our Guild Generals. She is Yawning Bird, and she is going to be an instructor of our Mage units, while this one is Nice Cookie and will help our Rogue unit. They aren't too long around this realm but they have a lot of experience from their past lives."[Marcy]

Marcy still thought of him as an NPC, so she couldn't say that they were just new to the Game.

But Shingi got surprised by the two females' identities. He had heard of them as they were part of the Beta State of the game but they had made enormous progress in it, but they never joined the game when officially released.

Some thought it was because they had to start from 0 again, but Shingi was certain that with their knowledge they could reach a high level easily enough, even if there were some major changes from the Beta State of the game.

In the Beta State, you could only get in the tower and explore it as you were starting from within it; when the game got officially released everyone started from one of the beginner town.

People were amazed at the world back then and the life-like NPCs and interactions with them even if many focused mostly on Quests and the Tower, including Ameanum.

"It is a pleasure meeting you. I came to give you some messages from my Master to help with the Guild progress, as well as I brought in a candidate to join. He was a student of Master and he can help Ms. Nice Cookie as his proficiency is in the way of Rogues."[Shingi]

Shingi brought out from his Spatial Ring some papers that he had written with what he knew about those Guild Quests.

"Your master seems to know his stuff. Marcy mentioned his name was Shingi, but also that your name is one? So what is his actual name?" [Nice Cookie]

It did not surprise Shingi that someone made this question as he expected it to happen a long time ago.

"My name is Shingi, as for my master his name is Ameanum."[Shingi]

All three girls had their eyes having a look of shock when heard this name.

Shingi could tell that they knew who Ameanum was.