Apocalypse Redux

Chapter 96: The Guild

The Dungeon Guild’s administrative headquarters were located in what appeared to be an ordinary Highrise in downtown Seoul, but that only told a small part of the story.

Massive retrofits had been done to reinforce it to an absolutely insane degree. Judging by the sheer power behind them and the Level that would require, they’d been done at some point in the last month or so. Plenty of older upgrades were also visible, but they were drastically less powerful.

This building could withstand either an artillery barrage, complete with reinforcing [Skills], or an attack by a powerful [Mage] over Level 40. The sad thing was, it might have to.

Mind you, this place was only an administrative center, the training was being done in a completely new building in a nearby park. Having people train combat [Skills], some of which could be incredibly destructive, in a skyscraper was just asking, nay, begging for trouble, regardless of any reinforcements it might have.

But that wasn’t what stood out, oh no, something else took that honor. Namely, the nameplates everyone had floating over their heads, occasionally complete with a Title.

There were quite a few people who’d reached the Level of acclaim needed for the [System] to bestow one upon them, allowing them to both add ways people referred to them as or a custom title to their nameplate. Then, one could make said nameplate visible to everyone else, making for both a convenient way of introducing oneself and showing ‘what I’m all about’.

That being said, since coming to this timeline, Isaac hadn’t really run in circles that used Titles. Sure, most of the team had ones, Habicht almost certainly did as well, but they weren’t the kind of people who liked to have silly nicknames floating above their heads.

This place, on the other hand, was exactly the kind of place you’d use your Titles to introduce oneself.

Now, Isaac had chosen the title ‘the Completionist’ when he’d gotten the chance, then taken both ‘lunatic’ and ‘Rambo’ from the list of phrases people had used to describe him, just in case he could use them. That had been shortly after the whole ‘Swamp Knight at the frat party cellphone video’ incident, meaning that his nicknames hadn’t exactly been flattering.

But he’d also gained new ones for the few interviews he’d given when the press had showed up to talk to Bailey, as well his work on [Aura], though the strangest ones had come from the capture of the serial killer. The actual details on how the only reason there hadn’t been a massacre had been the presence of a civilian consultant weren’t something the police force had been eager to share with the world, and the body cam footage had still not become publicly available. But people still knew that something had happened, and that something had involved a civilian, which had been enough for the sparked rumors to earn him some truly fantastical nicknames.

Right now, though, he’d decided to go with something a little more appropriate for the occasion, the nickname he’d earned for his work with [Aura].

Isaac Thoma, ‘Auric Sage’

There’d been other options available, like ‘Auric Teacher’ and quite a few variations on ‘that asshole who’s flinging around [Aura] and scaring the living daylights out of anyone who walks past at the wrong time’, but he felt that the ‘Sage’ Title fit him the best. It had been granted to him on the basis of his teaching people about how [Aura] worked, a notoriously weird and ephemeral subject.

Hell, ‘Sage’ was probably a more appropriate title than ‘Doctor’, even though the latter was a better choice to use in academic circles.

Everyone else had also had Titles available to display, with both Kim and Hak having used theirs a moment before Isaac had.

Hak’s was ‘Omnimage’, while Kim had picked the boring route, just like Bailey, and used her Title to add her qualifications to her nameplate.

Amy, meanwhile, had gone ahead and called herself ‘Lady Myriad’. In Isaac’s opinion, it suited her.

All of their names were incredibly tame, though. Isaac was already starting to dread how that would go in the Singapore convention. Sure, they might go with simple lanyards to identify themselves, rather than [System] nameplates, but there was also a distinct chance of them going with the latter. And given that it wasn’t just leaders and thinkers that had been invited, but also people with a high Level, there was sadly going to be an abundance of weird and cringy names.

Then again, Isaac had been young and absurdly powerful once, too, and he knew what that could lead to.

As they entered the lobby of the office building, Amy just stopped and stared, being the only one who could see the magic that suffused everything in sight, was here for the first time and hadn’t been able to see it from the outside.

And what a place it was. Each and every part of the lobby was enchanted to the point where they’d likely have a [System] window if you looked at them hard enough.

In today’s world, most newly made things were reinforced by [Skills] to some degree, just like Isaac’s new spider silk outfits, but [System] windows were limited to truly powerful items like the Event loot.

The sheer level of security within this place would have been over the top anywhere else, except maybe the Pentagon of Bundestag, but here, it was barely enough. In this building, countless, incredibly valuable, pieces of Dungeon loot were stored, as well as records about people’s builds, which could inflict untold damage if they became public record.

“Professor Kim, Professor Bailey and assistants, here for Guildmaster Seon.” Hak said to the receptionist in Korean, who looked them all over in turn, multiple subtle [Skills] activating to make sure they were who they said they were, not carrying high explosives and the like.

“Yes, you’re expected, though you’re meeting is set for fifteen minutes from now. He should have time in two minutes, but I’m afraid you’ll have to wait that long.”

Isaac rolled his eyes internally. It was almost certainly another basic power play. The Guildmaster was a powerful force in his own right and jumping to greet them the moment they arrived, particularly earlier than scheduled, would make it look like he had nothing better to do than wait on them hand and foot. On the other hand, he also couldn’t afford to offend them by making them wait unnecessarily, so he’d cut short the waiting time. Besides, it'd take a decent chunk of those two minutes to actually get up there.

They headed onto the elevator, which was likewise interested, but in a very different way. Where the lobby had been reinforced to stop an army, the elevator had been designed to look impressive as hell. Rare metals, glass and crystal, covered every surface, though in a way that actually looked good, rather than someone tastelessly throwing expensive crap at the interior designer and telling them to make sure all of it was on display.

The machinery on the outside of the elevator was impressive as hell as well. For example, the elevator cable was made from a metal that was most certainly not the usual steel alloy, but something that likely hadn’t even existed before the [System], and the motor was insanely powerful, to the point where the inertial dampening enchantment was necessary as long as anyone under Level 10 used this elevator.

The cabin shot upwards at speeds that were practically unheard of, depositing them almost two-hundred meters above the lobby after mere seconds.

Well, Isaac had clearly underestimated how long that would take.

Isaac softly reached out with his [Aura] to get a good picture of his surroundings. To his surprise, they were noton the top floor, where one might have expected the big boss to have his office, but the one just below that.

And as to why that was, well, that was probably meant to be hidden, but the enchantments meant to keep out prying sensory [Auras] … didn’t, at least not when it was Isaac trying to take a peek.

Massive arrays of enchantments and runic inscriptions covered almost every available surface, providing not a powerful defense against both magical and conventional attacks, but also a myriad of offensive options.

Of course, the disciplines of enchanting and runecrafting were still in their infancy, limited to just the information that came with picking the appropriate [Class] and Amy or Hak could likely match around a third of its output on their own, but the defenses were nonetheless damn impressive for how short a period the [System] had been around.

The elevator doors opened with a soft ‘ding’, revealing a massive, open lobby. Unlike the one on the bottom floor, which had been designed to make sure anyone who wasn’t meant to come in didn’t, this one was actually inviting. Plush chairs and couches were scattered around invitingly, and greenery was winding around all over the place, forming intricate patterns around columns and the ceiling, clearly the construction of some kind of [Druid], [Gardener] or [Botanist].

That being said, most of Korea’s highest Level people were the ones who’d gone Dungeon diving, so Isaac was pretty sure this had been the work of a [Druid] or some other, plant-related combat-[Class] who’d gotten bored.

Another secretary sat behind a desk, which, in turn, was located right in front of the elevator doors, outfitted with anything one could possibly want in a desk. The tabletop was a slab of beautiful marble, with a touchscreen located right inside the rock, beautifully blending in with the surrounding material, a few other fancy gadgets, and a defensive array that could probably tank a single, fully empowered, strike from Isaac. Well, at least if he didn’t use [I Am The Sword].

“Guildmaster Seon will be ready in a minute.” The secretary informed them the moment he saw them. That seemed like too short a time to bother sitting down, so they stayed standing near the door that was clearly labeled ‘Guildmaster Seon Yoo-Jin’.

The door was even more heavily enchanted than the desk, but the focus was on defending against eavesdropping, rather than attacks, for obvious reasons. The Guildmaster was a damn powerhouse, with a [Class] along the lines of [Everfrost Guildmaster], a hybrid [Class] that combined commander, warrior and [Cryomancer] features into a single, powerful package, coupled with an incredibly powerful frost [Aura]. He didn’t need some random wards to defend himself, what he needed was privacy during the many sensitive meetings he had in there.

It didn’t take long for said doors to open, though, followed by a call of ‘come in’.

Bailey was the first to enter, followed by the rest of them.

Yoo-jin was standing behind his desk, which held several knickknacks made from monster materials and a fancy computer that looked like a smooth slab of obsidian from their side.

“Good afternoon, Professor Kim, Professor Bailey, Dr. Thoma, welcome to the Guild tower.”

“It’s good to meet you, Guildmaster Seon.” Bailey greeted the man.

The Guildmaster inclined his head “Likewise. Now, I haven’t been informed on what precisely you’re planning to investigate or experiment, but I’d like to assure you, just like Professor Kim, you’ll have the full support of the Dungeon Guild behind your efforts. It might take a couple of days to free up a specific Dungeon, but I believe we’re all looking forward to seeing what you can do with them.

“As far as the sharing of the results goes, our current arrangement with Professor Kim is that any newly gained information is shared with the Dungeon Guild and, should it have real-world applications, jointly published. Otherwise, it remains with her team to be released as part of a larger publication, with appropriate credit being given to the Guild. Would that be satisfactory?”

“Of course.” Bailey nodded.

“In that case, welcome to the team.” Yoo-jin grinned “You’ve already met Professor Kim and Mr. Hak, but the Guild does have some researchers of its own.”

He gestured towards the door behind them, which had opened once again “Mr. Park will give you a tour of our facilities. Professor Kim, we’ve added a few additional features you haven’t seen yet, I believe you’ll like what you see.”

It was a rather abrupt dismissal, but Isaac had a feeling that the Guildmaster wasn’t really into dealing with them. Bailey might be internationally famous, yes, but very little of his research helped the Dungeon Guild much. He’d met them as a matter of courtesy and offered all the necessary help, but not done much more.

“Oh, and Dr. Thoma, could stay behind for a few minutes, there’s something I’d like to discuss with you?” Yoo-jin called after them.

Aaaaaannnd there it was. Bailey might be a great researcher, but Isaac held the secrets to immediate power, and that was immediately interesting.

“Of course.” Isaac nodded, then turned to Bailey “I’ll meet you in the hotel at the latest.”

Once the door had closed behind him, Yoo-jin spoke again.

“So, Dr. Thoma, I hear that it’s possible to break down combat [Auras] with sensory [Auras], is that correct?”

“Yes, and I can demonstrate not only how to do that, but also how to defend against it. But please, call me Isaac, I have a feeling we’ll be working together very closely in the future.” Isaac suggested in fluent Korean.

Now, he wouldn’t have dared to suggest this with someone he’d only just met under normal circumstances, but he knew Yoo-jin from the other timeline. They’d met in person a handful of times, but that had been a quick ‘handshake and greeting’ kind of deal, rather a proper interaction.

But Yoo-jin was someone preferred to interact with people on a more personal level when it was appropriate, getting on a first name basis with many people he worked closely together with. He was a highly intelligent man, comfortable both on the battlefield and in the boardroom, but he was also just twenty-seven. Under normal circumstances, the only way someone would get into a position this high up was nepotism, but these weren’t normal circumstances by any definition of the word.

Yoo-jin had been there for several of the earliest Dungeon Breaks, organizing the defense of the city and smoothing over many of the ruffled feathers the situation had created and growing in strength all the while. Once the dust had settled, that left him as not only someone with a lot of power, but also a proven track record of being able to navigate the kinds of situations the Guildmaster would have to deal with on a nigh-daily basis and a significant amount of respect from all the right people. That had made him acceptable to most while lacking attachments to other groups that might make his appointment politically dicey.

Isaac’s suggestion was met with a bright smile, and a reply that was likewise in Korean “Gladly, please, call me Yoo-jin.”

The Guildmaster came around to stand at the front of the desk.

“So, could you explain how it’s possible to break something as solid as a combat [Aura] with something as ephemeral as a sensory [Aura]?”

“Simple, distraction.” Isaac shrugged “You project the sensory [Aura] past the defending [Aura], and poke the defender. It gets weakened by that, but it’ll still be distracting. Then you just keep poking, over and over again, until you find a weak spot and push through that until you’ve won.”

“That … makes sense, but it sounds remarkably difficult. Could you demonstrate?” Yoo-jin asked, eagerness in his voice.

“Sure, are you ready?” Isaac asked, getting a nod in return. Suddenly, the office began to cool down a little, going from the comfortable mid-twenties the air conditioning provided to somewhere in the low teens, though it got far, far colder the closer you got to the Guildmaster. Actually touching him would likely cost someone a limb, if they could even get that far.

But Isaac just took a few steps back and roused his own [Aura], slamming it into Yoo-jin’s. Most of its strength evaporated as it passed through the defensive field of frost, but enough got through to give Isaac a decent scan of the Guildmaster.

Yoo-jin flinched and Isaac withdrew his [Aura], only to project it at him from another angle, and then from a third one, each and every strike carrying with in a sensation of intense, intrusive, scrutiny.

Yoo-jin tried to focus his [Aura] to keep out Isaac’s, but wasn’t quite succeeding. After all, sensory [Auras] were notoriously difficult to keep away. Normally, that wasn’t much of an issue, but here, it was being used as a kind of mental attack.

The defending [Aura] began to waver, and spears of Isaac’s [Aura] hammered at each weak point, this time focusing on striking the defending [Aura] itself, until it could be pushed back in its entirety.

A moment later, it collapsed, and Isaac wrapped the other man in his [Aura] so tightly that any attempt to bring his own [Aura] back up was instantly squashed.

“Not bad.” Yoo-jin nodded, covering his shook fairly well, though not perfectly “You said there’s a way to block that?”

“Yep.” Isaac nodded “Your [Aura] is an ice [Aura], right?”

Visibly restraining himself from rolling his eyes, Yoo-jin nodded.

“You’re wielding it as an [Aura of Frozen Water], but that’s not its actual name, is it? It’s got a different name, and you need to focus on that. You need to focus on projecting an [Aura] that contains that meaning.

“My own [Aura], for example? It’s a basic sensory [Aura] and I use it like that, intentionally keeping out the aspects of urgency and demanding intensity to avoid getting on the nerves of everyone I run into. But during that little experiment, I put as much of that intensity into my [Aura], practically turning it into a mental attack.

“Your [Aura] is an [Aura] of frost, yes, but there’s more to it, and you need to use that.

“Is it an [Aura] meant for defense? Then turn it into an insurmountable bulwark.

“Is it an [Aura] that emulates the ideas of the eternal cold of winter, that saps the energy of those caught without cover until their death? Then create a defense based on that, which slowly destroys all those who push past.

“Or does it harbor the unrelenting and furious onslaught of a blizzard? If so, use that and counterattack!

“In summation, using [Auras] in their generic configuration works well enough, but it can be vastly improved from that point by using the idea behind it.”

“That …” Yoo-jin broke off, thinking about his reply for a disquieting amount of time “… that was a lot easier to understand than during your lecture.”

Isaac grimaced “Probably. I’m still working on my presentation skills.”

“No matter, I think I have it now.” Yoo-jin nodded, and suddenly, his hand turned snow-white and whisps of fog began to rise from it, the effect rapidly spreading until he dropped his [Aura].

“… would you mind relocating to the training center?” he asked, and Isaac nodded.

Sean Yoo-jin held the [Aura of the Winter’s Child], a legendary combat [Aura] that would suffuse both him and his surroundings with a deadly chill, using any of the various aspects of winter, including all of the examples Isaac had given.

In that sense, it was a lot like Raul’s [Aura of Arcane Nature], and equally difficult to control. Yoo-jin trying to wield the power of one of the four seasons, rather than merely using ice, for the first time in his office would have completely trashed the place. The knickknacks weren’t particularly expensive and the data on the computer was probably backed up somewhere, but it would still have been annoying.

“Of course.” Isaac nodded “Is there a flight path from here to the training center?”

“Yep.” Yoo-jin grinned “So, race you?”

The Guildmaster stepped up to the large, floor to ceiling window, pushed it open and stepped out on what had been empty air mere moments ago. Now, there was a large pane of frozen air there, almost fifty meters across, vapors streaming off the bottom while his powers added more air at the top.

The sheet was a fraction of a millimeter thick, only kept intact by a [Skill] that flowed through it, and the vapor streaming off the bottom was being pushed down with additional force, keeping it in the air in a way that weirdly reminded Isaac of a VTOL aircraft.

“Come on!” Yoojin waved and Isaac followd, hopping onto the disk, almost slipping and falling on his ass, though he used [Blade Control] to yank on Old Reliable, which was, in turn, attached to his belt and helped stabilize him.

The window slammed shut behind him without anyone having touched it, courtesy of a motor in the frame. Clearly, Yoo-jin left that way often enough for that to be needed.

And then, they were off, part of the disk melting to provide thrust and flinging them towards the training center, which had been built close to the administrative tower, for obvious reasons.

Ten meters above the street, the disk disintegrated, leaving the pair of them to drop the rest in freefall, though that was hardly a threat to them.

Yoo-jin lead the way inside, taking a moment to duck into an office to grab a key or something, while motioning for Isaac to wait. It would have likely only taken a few seconds without interruptions, but sadly, things didn’t go smoothly.

After all, someone shouting “YOU DARE!” had a way of thoroughly destroying peace and tranquility in a way few other exclamations could.