“Free plugins are never truly free.

  Data collection, usage analytics, and behavioral tracking.

  The average user discovers this after 3 months of installation.

  Average user continues using it anyway.”

  — Palistra’s plugins security audit (independent researcher, banned)

  I reached out and touched the globe.

  The surface was warm, warmer than it should have been, and the colors beneath my fingers seemed to pulse in response to the contact. For a moment, nothing happened.

  Then the System answered.

  [External Keystone Detected]

  [Source: The Guild]

  [Status: Unlinked]

  [Do you wish to establish a link with The Guild?]

  [YES] [NO]

  I glanced at Sera, who nodded encouragingly.

  [YES]

  The globe flared, golden light washing over my hand, and I felt something settle into place, a connection I couldn’t quite describe, like a door opening somewhere in the back of my mind.

  [Link Established]

  [Guild Access: Granted]

  [Note from Owner: Please proceed to any seating area to continue orientation.]

  I pulled my hand back, flexing my fingers experimentally. They felt normal. Everything felt normal, except for that new awareness, the sense that I could reach for something that hadn’t been there before.

  “That’s it?” I asked.

  Sera smiled. “That’s it. Ours work the same way as your academy’s Keystone. You can sit anywhere in the main hall and access the Guild system now. Take your time, browse, get familiar with how things work.” She paused. “I’m going to look into your contract, mark it completed. See if I can find out what actually happened at Cassette tonight.”

  “You can do that?”

  “I can try.” She was already turning away, moving toward a door. “No promises, but... you deserve to know what you helped with. Even if the answer isn’t pleasant.” She disappeared through the door, leaving me alone in the vast hall.

  I looked around at the scattered tables, at the adventurers engaged in their own conversations and business, and felt suddenly tiny.

  …very new.

  I found an empty table in a quieter corner, away from the main traffic, and sat down heavily. My glass of Jeup Premium Soda? clinked against the wooden surface as I set it down, the black liquid still absorbing light in that unsettling way.

  Ten seconds passed.

  Maybe fifteen.

  Then—

  [Continue]

  The window appeared in my vision, simple and patient, waiting for acknowledgment. I focused on it, mentally confirming, and the display expanded.

  [Welcome to The Guild, Dash Kallum.]

  [Personal Message from the Guildmaster]

  If you’re reading this, you’ve taken your first steps into a guild world. Congratulations, and my condolences.

  The Guild exists for one purpose: to give people a fair chance. No corporate quotas, no hidden fees designed to bleed you dry, no fine print that turns employment into indentured servitude. Just honest work for honest pay, with support from others who understand what it means to operate outside the system while still living within it.

  What follows is a brief explanation of how our internal economy functions. I wrote this myself because we got tired of new members asking the same questions, while Sera had to answer them.

  [Guild Points (GP)]

  The currency used within Guild systems is GP, or Guild Points. Be it the price of a plugin, a skill, or buying information. You earn GP automatically: 10% of every contract payment is converted to GP upon completion.

  Example: Complete a ￠500 contract, receive 50 GP.

  It exists solely within the system, which I admit sounds corporate, but the alternative was letting people sell access to our resources on the black market, and I’ve seen how that ends.

  [Skills]

  The Guild maintains a library of various skills. Members may purchase access to a skill using GP.

  Current limitation: Skills available through the Guild start at Gold rank.

  [Plugins]

  Similarly, the Guild offers a curated selection of System plugins. Each plugin has its own rank requirement; some are accessible at Bronze, others requiring advancement.

  Not everyone is a system designer, but for those who are, this is a way to help others and earn some passive GP.

  [Skins]

  You don’t need to concern yourself about it now.

  [Recommendation]

  Your first purchase should be The Guild Plugin (Bronze rank, 1 GP).

  I set the PP price as low as the System would allow. The plugin provides access to the Guild System. Nothing else, unlike Najjar’s or Rosenfeld’s Keystone. It will not spy on you, harvest your data, or report your activities to anyone. I wrote the code myself specifically to ensure this.

  Without it, you’ll need to physically visit the main hall to check the Guild System. With it, you can operate remotely while maintaining a connection to Guild resources. For example, it would be pointless to buy Wayfinder’s Notes (our most popular plugin) when you could access them only in The Main Hall. (DO NOT USE IT THERE -Sera)

  The choice is yours, but I strongly recommend it.

  [Final Note]

  You can access the Guild system from anywhere in the main hall at no cost. The keystone connection you just established is permanent unless severed.

  Welcome to The Guild. Try not to die.

  — The Guildmaster

  [Proceed to Guild Catalogue?]

  [YES] [NO]

  I stared at the message for a long moment, reading it twice to make sure I hadn’t missed anything.

  Try not to die.

  Solid advice, given how my evening had gone. I took a sip of my soda, letting the strange Jeup flavor ground me. Wait... the Guildmaster said, It will not spy on you.

  Does that mean my Palistra plugin spies on me?!

  [Correct.]

  Uh, System, did you help me?

  [Average installed time of Palistra Free Gray Catalogue?: 3 hours]

  Oh, you just confirmed to mock me.

  [Correct.]

  I navigated to plugins and clicked on Palistra Free Gray Catalogue?. There was an uninstall button, and I pressed it mentally.

  [We’re sad seeing you go. Are you sure? The Plugin is free to use.]

  [Yes] [No]

  “Yes,” I whispered.

  [Do you wish to abort the uninstall? The information provided is free and helps every diver.] [Yes] [No]

  “No,” I whispered and took a sip. Stupid Palistra.

  [You have free connection to Palistra “TAGO (Scavantis)” Keystone. If you do not abort, the connection will be lost. Keep plugin?]

  [Yes] [No]

  “No,” I whispered again, and the plugin vanished finally.

  “What about Scavantis Dive Tool?” I asked the system, but it was silent. Figures, no freebies anymore.

  [The Guild Direct Payment: ￠350]

  [GP: 35]

  Oh, Sera marked my job as finished? I looked toward the door, but she wasn’t coming, so I finally selected [YES] and glanced at the catalogue.

  [The Guild Connection v1.2.7]

  Current level: 1

  Max level: 1

  Function: Provides access to the Guild System network.

  Rank requirement: Bronze

  Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  The Guild cost: 1GP

  Upkeep: 0.1pp

  Author: The Guildmaster

  He wasn’t joking. How powerful was that man?

  Before I committed, I browsed all the plugins that the Guild offered. There were maybe fifty in total, far fewer than I imagined, but each one felt intentional. Curated. Like someone had actually thought about what adventurers needed instead of what would generate the most subscription revenue.

  A few standouts caught my attention:

  [Wayfinder’s Notes v1.1.13]

  Current level: 1

  Max level: 1

  Function: By focusing, the user may perceive residual notes left by adventurers who came before, offering warnings, guidance, or observations. Users can pick self-removal and the notes last between 1 and 180 days.

  Patch notes (v1.1.0): Diamond and above, up to 3 years.

  Rank requirement: Bronze

  The Guild cost: 10GP

  Upkeep: 0.1pp

  Author: Cilantro

  Generous author. This was cheap and a very good plugin… if others left any notes. Especially useful notes. Imagine being in Aurelia’s server room and finding a note with a password!

  One can dream…

  Then there was something that picked at my tinkerer brain:

  [Card Blueprint Catalogue v1.4.1]

  Current level: 1

  Max level: 1

  Function: If you wish to appraise either plebeian or System blueprints, this plugin will estimate the price and create a blueprint card.

  Patch notes (v1.3.0): Added auction function; you can now offer/buy SYSTEM blueprints.

  Rank requirement: Bronze

  The Guild cost: 1000GP

  Upkeep: 0.25pp

  Author: Dr. Hoffman

  Blueprints. The ability to package my designs and sell them through Guild channels instead of trying to navigate corporate licensing agreements.

  I immediately went to the hoodie and my pants.

  Could I actually sell those?

  Kallum Inc. would have opinions about a disowned family member distributing engineering knowledge, even if the designs were entirely my own work.

  Something to think about later.

  Then there was this very productive adventurer, Constantine, who had like seven plugins listed. Networking apps, access to Guild crafters, a reputation tracker, something called “Debt Ledger” that I decided not to examine too closely. I especially liked:

  [Field Appraisal v2.0.0 - beta]

  Current level: 1

  Max level: 5 (beta)

  Function: Provides real-time estimation of value, quality indicators, and market pricing when examining system drops (resources). Each level increases the maximum rank possible to examine.

  Patch note (v1.2.0): Can be linked to supported item databases (ie. Dr. Hoffman’s Card Item Catalogue)

  Patch notes (v1.4.0): level increased to 39

  Patch notes (v2.0.0): Fixed scan speed, added universal item api, increased up to level 49

  Rank requirement: Silver

  Cost: 2500 GP

  Upkeep: 0.5pp

  Author: Constantine

  Sadly, that was out of my price range… for now at least. Silver rank requirement too, which meant I’d need to climb before I could even think about it. But combined with my Hoqalo trait? Echo of Excellence told me the quality of the things I made. Field appraisal would tell me the value of things the system dropped.

  Focus, Dash. You have thirty-five GP from one contract. Don’t plan your entire career before you survive the week.

  I scrolled back to The Guild Connection.

  The Guildmaster recommended it, and everything he’d said so far had been straightforward, no hidden catches, no corporate doublespeak.

  I selected it.

  [Purchase The Guild Connection v1.2.7?]

  [Cost: 1 GP]

  [Current GP: 35]

  [Remaining after purchase: 34 GP]

  [Confirm?] [Cancel]

  [Confirm]

  The plugin installed, no download time, no progress bar, just a sudden awareness of something new settling into my system.

  [The Guild Connection v1.2.7 - INSTALLED]

  [GP Remaining: 34]

  [Paid pp: 0.1]

  Enough for Wayfinder’s Notes or saved toward something bigger.

  I looked at the remaining options.

  Wayfinder’s Notes would help with infiltration work. If other adventurers had scouted locations I’d be hitting, their observations could save my life. But it was only useful if people actually left notes, and I had no idea how active the Guild community was in that regard.

  The Card Blueprint Catalogue was tempting to save for, but selling designs meant having designs worth selling. My current portfolio had exactly two items: pants and a hoodie. Good items, sure, but hardly a catalogue.

  I could always buy blueprints, but I doubted I could afford them in the near future. I selected Wayfinder’s Notes.

  [Purchase Wayfinder’s Notes v1.1.13?]

  [Confirm?] [Cancel]

  [Confirm]

  The installation was different this time, not the instant settling of The Guild Connection, but something that unfurled slowly, like a new sense awakening. I blinked, and suddenly I felt I could… feel a note.

  I grinned, which surprised me after the evening I’d had.

  This was actually cool.

  My first instinct was to leave a note myself, to mark this moment, my first purchase, my first proper step into Guild infrastructure. “Dash was here” felt too juvenile, but the impulse was there.

  I focused on the plugin, reaching for the note-leaving function—

  And stopped.

  There was only one note here, which was… suspicious. The awareness hit me like a tap on the shoulder.

  I focused on it.

  [Critical: Nobody set a note in The Guild. Or I’ll smack you. -Sera]

  I gulped.

  The “Critical” tag meant she’d deliberately flagged it at the highest priority, ensuring every single person with Wayfinder’s Notes would see it.

  Fair enough.

  I navigated to the plugin settings instead; my enthusiasm slightly dampened, but my respect for Sera considerably increased.

  [Wayfinder’s Notes v1.1.13]

  Notice Threshold: [Medium] | Available: [Chatter] [Low] [Medium] [High] [Critical]

  Note Visibility: [Guild] | Available: [Guild] [Personal]

  I adjusted the threshold to [Critical].

  I wasn’t interested in random commentary or social chatter; if someone had taken the time to flag something as genuinely important, I wanted to know. Otherwise, the constant pings would probably drive me insane within a week.

  Hopefully, there weren’t jokers in the Guild who flagged everything as critical just to mess with people.

  Then again, Sera’s note suggested she’d already expected that brand chaos, but people like Alice wouldn’t stop.

  I finished the last of my Jeup Premium Soda?, the strange aftertaste lingering on my tongue, and rose from the table. The main hall continued its quiet bustle around me, adventurers coming and going, conversations rising and falling, the massive job board at the far end drawing a steady trickle of people scanning for opportunities.

  I walked back toward the tavern door, passing through the threshold and feeling the space shift around me, the vast hall giving way to the cozy warmth of wooden beams and a crackling fireplace.

  Sera was again behind the bar, polishing a glass. Was that like necessity, or was it just to keep hands busy? She looked up as I approached, setting down the glass on the cloth.

  I sat down on the same stool I’d occupied earlier. “Find everything you needed?” she asked, but her tone suggested she had other things to discuss.

  “Got The Guild Connection and Wayfinder’s Notes,” I said. “Also got your message.”

  Her lips twitched. “Good. You’d be surprised how many people think leaving a note in the main hall is appropriate. ‘First day!’ ‘I was here!’ ‘This table has a wobbly leg!’” She shook her head. “The cleanup was getting ridiculous.”

  “I can imagine.”

  She studied me for a moment, then nodded slowly. “I looked into your contract.”

  My stomach tightened. “And?”

  “Some upstart gang hit Cassette.” She reached for a different glass, filling it with water from a tap that definitely hadn’t been there a moment ago. “In and out, took something from the back office. The Rust Vipers are pissed because Cassette paid for their protection, and now they look like idiots who can’t hold their territory.”

  I processed this, trying to reconcile “upstart gang” with the PMC-quality gear I’d seen. “They didn’t look like gang members. They looked like... military.”

  Sera’s expression didn’t change. “Lots of ‘gangs’ these days are just PMCs with different branding. Plausible deniability. Corps can’t be seen hitting each other directly, so they fund proxy groups, give them equipment and training, and let them do the dirty work.” She slid the water across to me, though I hadn’t asked for it. “Welcome to Tago’s shadow economy.”

  I drank the water slowly, letting the cool liquid wash away the last traces of Jeup’s strange aftertaste, and watched Sera return to her work behind the bar. “How often can I take jobs?” I asked. “Is there a cooldown, or a limit, or...?”

  “Anytime.” She didn’t look up from the glass she was polishing. “The Guild is always open. Jobs post constantly, get claimed, get completed. Some people run three contracts a day. Some people take one a month. It’s your call.”

  I nodded, turning the empty glass in my hands.

  Part of me wanted to dive back in immediately, to find another contract and prove that tonight’s chaos had been a fluke, that I could handle this work without accidentally becoming an accessory to corporate warfare. The GP was good; the experience was valuable and sitting still felt like wasting time I didn’t have.

  But I also had a rune to learn, a weapon to build, and down the line incursions that wouldn’t fight themselves.

  The mining pay from school would not cover my expenses forever, and I needed to actually use the resources I’d spent a million credits acquiring instead of just letting them gather dust in my workshop.

  No. No more contracts tonight.

  “I should go,” I said, sliding off the stool. “Thanks for... everything. The information, the drink, the not-letting-me-wander-around-in-the-rain-for-an-hour thing.”

  Sera’s lips quirked. “That last one was the Guildmaster’s fault, not mine.” She set down the glass and looked at me. “You did well tonight, Dash. Most people’s first contract doesn’t involve PMC firefights and emergency window exits.”

  “Lucky me.”

  “Lucky you survived.” She nodded toward the door. “Come back when you’re ready for more.”

  I walked out of the tavern, through the heavy wooden door, and back into the rain-slicked streets of the New Clearwater District. My hoodie reformed around me as I crossed the threshold, the hide armor melting away like a dream.

  The train ride home was quiet; the late-night cars nearly empty, and I spent most of it staring out the window at the city lights blurring past.

  [Paid: ￠1]

  The workshop was exactly as I’d left it.

  Scraps of material from my hoodie and pants fabrication still littered around ACCIW, evidence of a project that felt like it had happened weeks ago instead of yesterday. And on my chair, propped open to the page I’d been studying before was the SSS-tier magic book.

  I sat down heavily; the chair creaking under my weight and stared at the book.

  [You can unlock more runes in: 0hours]

  “The time ticked down to zero,” I said, frowning at the display. “I should be able to learn it.”

  Nothing happened.

  The book sat there, patient and unhelpful, its pages still locked. With a sigh, I went over my options again.

  I already had the Rune of Durability, defensive, the foundation of my not dying. Now I needed something offensive.

  The Rune of Fire called to me instantly, its name promising heat and energy. But the more I thought about it, the less sense it made for my purposes. Heat up a bullet? How would that even work? Would it melt in the barrel? Would the temperature dissipate before impact? Would I accidentally set my own weapon on fire?

  Too many questions. Too much uncertainty for what should be my second rune.

  I thought through the remaining options, mentally sorting them into categories of “interesting but confusing” and “straightforward and useful.”

  Three stood out:

  Rune of Binding.

  Fascinating from a theoretical perspective, and I could already imagine applications for runes or gear that needed to stay together under stress. But... what did “binding” actually mean in practice? Magical adhesive? Soul-level connection? A curse binding someone to the floor? Something else entirely?

  The Rune of Binding was as questionable as fire. I just didn’t know what I’d get.

  Rune of Force.

  Kinetic energy, impact, and the amplification of physical power. Straightforward, and probably could turn normal bullets into armor-piercing rounds.

  Rune of Piercing.

  Penetration, bypass, the ability to pass through barriers that should have stopped you. Less about raw power and more about precision, about making things go through rather than into.

  Both Force and Piercing were amazing. Both had obvious uses for the equipment I wanted to build. Both would make me more dangerous.

  But I could picture piercing better.

  Especially if I made special bullets, individually crafted rounds with the rune inscribed on each one. They wouldn’t just hit hard; they’d go through. Armor, barriers, cover. Anything between me and the target would become a sieve rather than an obstacle.

  Okay. That’s settled.

  I glanced back at the timer.

  [You can unlock more runes in: 0hours]

  “Ugh, System...”

  The window sat there, mocking me with its technical accuracy and complete uselessness. Zero hours could mean anything from “right now” to “fifty-nine minutes from now,” and apparently the system had decided to interpret it in the least helpful way possible.

  I waited.

  One minute. Two.

  I got up, walked around the workshop, totally tired, but not willing to go to sleep.

  Five minutes.

  Six.

  The book’s pages rippled, responding to my touch instead of sitting there like a smug paperweight.

  With a grin spreading across my face, I selected the Rune of Piercing.

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