章 61: Orientation (2)

"As you likely noticed, the Headquarters is a masterfully constructed building, made from special materials and enchanted with wards and other spells. It is a fortress from which the Ordo Visus operates, and it is going to become your home going forwards.

This is the entrance of the Headquarters - obviously - and it serves as a lounge as well as your departing area whenever you head out on missions. The desk we were just at is reserved for new recruits and going over the potential missions that might make it onto the board, hence why I initially asked if you had a mission you wanted to tell me about.

The desk opposite is where you will go to take on those missions and have them recorded down in your file, which will be sent out once a month to the Corps so that they can take a look at any promising candidates for missions that they need. That desk is also where you can submit your application to 'fill in' for any party that requires an extra set of hands for missions that require a larger group to complete.

Finally, over there in the back of the room is the mission board. Each paper has the contents of the mission, employers, payments and other requirements, and each one is how you will be earning your pay. The reason I say we are a glorified Adventuring Guild is because there isn't one here, so we take on the simple things like clearing out the low level monsters that invade people's orchards or handling any small time bandits that spring up randomly. We also have missions like investigating locations and mapping out the Dungeons nearby, or escorting someone from Verdanburg to another city nearby."

We stood in the center of the room and looked around, taking in the various tables, couches, and people around us before focusing on the two desks and giant wooden board in the back of the room, which was laden with papers and surrounded by people.

On either side of the room and on either side of the wooden board there were hallways, which the older lady began to focus on instead as she pointed at the leftmost hallway, drawing my attention there and showing me the vast amount of geared people trudging their feet exhaustedly towards the other hallways.

"That leads down towards the various training facilities. Weight rooms, sparring arenas, spell chambers and more litter the West Wing of Headquarters, and that is also where most of our retired members spend a large amount of their time. All of the residential quarters over there belong to instructors and professors who come here to teach the next generation, so the only people living over there are the people you need to be respectful towards. At least if you want to be taught by someone experienced.

On the opposite side - the East Wing - we have the libraries and laboratories, which is where you can go to study anything that you have access to and perform experiments with certain professions, like alchemy, enchanting, and forging, just to name the popular ones.

Each of those laboratories can be rented out for a set price, and the rent sheets are posted outside the laboratories for you to peruse at your leisure. There are also non rentable, community laboratories that have basic equipment for your use, should you find a space available and want to practice the basics.

There is a lot to learn over on that side, and just like in the West Wing the only residential areas are instructors and professors, though I would like to warn you that they are far more eccentric and hard to learn under than the combat oriented teachers. Just as a warning..."

She gave me a small smile that held a small amount of 'pain' from that, something that I understood well as someone who had once been a really high level Forger; the materials needed to be of an exact purity, refined in an exact way, handled in a precise manner and exposed to as little outside interference as possible that I very quickly realized I needed to step away from forging high level equipment lest I pummel my close friends whenever they sent me a message in the midst of me forging.

They were all eccentric, and for good reason, since usually the more eccentric one was, the better the products you created for your respective fields... that didn't excuse them from being shitty people though.

"So, before we go and look at those two areas, let's head over to your room first, hm? I'll show you the more important areas; where your bed is, where the cafeterias are, and all the places you can go for peace and quiet to unwind after a long day or a tough mission, like the bathhouses or the recreational areas.

Oh! And the Supply Depot, Commissary, and other shops are located all the way in the back of Headquarters, alongside the open market, which is operated entirely by other members of the Ordo selling off whatever it is that they've found or made. All the things you can possibly need are located back there, but it is up to you to spot a deal or a scam from your fellow members... some people are just scumbags. My advice? If you get scammed by someone and they gloat about it, give 'em a reason to shut up. Those kinds of people are trash anyways..."

She clicked her tongue and looked away, making me raise a brow as I asked "Should you be advocating for violence between members like that?", which made her snort as she started walking forwards, leading me towards the hall that was on the left of the wooden board.

"One of our primary values here is that we're violent. All of us are soldiers, and sometimes the only way we can reason with one another is through violence. Don't go around beating on someone, but if someone ticks you off or does something scummy... well, listen, no one's going to hold your hand here and coddle you. This isn't the Academy. We want order, but we understand that you are all adults capable of making your own decisions. Don't kill one another, don't be a mindless brute, and you'll be fine. Got that?"

"Yes Ma'am."

She snorted again, but this time she smirked at me as she said "Been awhile since I got called Ma'am. Feels nice; most people ignore me over at that desk. Well, c'mon; your dorm and uniform are waiting for you, Kira."