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Chapter 290 - Perks of discovery
🕑 Added 2021-08-06 13:00:08 +0000 UTCThe guild building was already being constructed. However, unlike the other structures in Boothudurn, it couldn't be made by the dwarves. Not because they wouldn't be able to make an incredible guild branch, but because there were too many details that they weren't aware of, such as power outlets and air ducts for the AC unit. Someone could've come to explain at length how things had to be set up, but doing so would increase the timeline by a considerable amount, and no one wanted to do that.
Brian, the man who called Hera, wasn't part of the construction team. In fact, he wasn't there because of Boothudurn at all. The guild had finished its survey of the Kobold Tunnel, and the room was like a highway to deeper layers. There were, in total, 20 doorways in there, and the room itself was very straightforward. It was just a road that even followed a more or less linear progression of rooms. The first one was the Kobold field, on the 3rd layer. As you walked in the opposite direction, you would see several other rooms as well as 5 dungeons. The deepest point of the room had a doorway to another room on the 15th layer. To top it all off, among the 20 rooms, 5 were new. That was counting with Boothudurn, but still, it was an incredible find, and that warranted a reward to those who discovered it.
Hera asked around, and it didn't take long for her to find Brian. Rutigan had set up a few small houses for any humans who came to help during all the construction work, and Brian was in one of them.
"Excuse me?" Hera knocked on the door where the man who was searching for her was supposed to be.
"Yes?" Brian opened the door. He was a tall human man with black hair, pierced ears, and a pair of silver glasses resting on his nose. Despite that, he looked like a teacher at a university. The type who was way too strict and uptight.
"Sorry to bother you, but I heard you were looking for me," Hera smiled, trying to be friendly.
"Ah, yes. Hera Kingsley, correct? Please, come inside. I have a few things to discuss with you."
Despite being a temporary house that would be destroyed soon, Rutigan didn't spare any expense. There was a fireplace, a very big couch, and the entire structure was very well made. Brian had a kettle on the stove and a teacup on the table. He gestured for Hera to sit and walked towards the kitchen.
"Would you like some earl grey or chamomile?" Brian asked.
"I'll take the earl grey, thanks."
Brian nodded and prepared the tea for Hera before sitting on the opposite side of the table, "If you want more, just let me know. Now, for the reason I was looking for you. The guild finished its survey of the Kobold Tunnel, as I'm sure you are aware."
"Yeah, it was two days ago, right?"
"Correct. It took us only three days to complete the survey. To be honest, in most situations, it takes much longer, but this room is unusual. Not just by its size, but its layout as well," Briand nodded.
"You can say that again. It's almost like a modern tunnel."
"Exactly, and the connections in there will save days, if not weeks of travel. Not just that, but now, we have a more direct connection to Dzviery," Brian explained while mixing the sugar in his tea.
"Dzviery? Isn't that the room with over a hundred doorways?" Hera gasped.
"Correct, and the Kobold Tunnel is the latest addition to its many, many connections. Either way that is such an important find that the guild has decided that you and your friend," Brian pulled up his tablet to double-check the name, "Pamella Blunt. Should receive a special reward due to your contributions."
"Oh, really? That's great."
"Indeed. Both of you will receive a 5% share each on the profits of the Kobold Tunnel for the next two years. As well as being able to use any of its facilities free of charge during that period. Stores, ATRs, and other luxuries are not covered by this reward, of course."
Hearing that, Hera frowned. 5% seemed very low, especially when she considered that there was nothing useful in the room. The guild wasn't offering for her to get the first clear in the dungeons or anything like that. It was just the earnings they would get if people spent gold inside that barren room for some reason.
"By your expression, I assume you are not satisfied with the rewards," Brian looked at Hera through his glasses.
"Sorry, but it is… underwhelming. I would barely get anything with that deal. How will the guild get any money in there?"
Brian chuckled, "I see. I assumed you weren't that green. Yes, the room is barren, but the guild already started constructing a train station, and some hotels spread around the area. Both the hotels and the train won't be free. Not to mention the taxes that they will collect for trade and other services. If you think you won't receive any money, just consider what it would be like to have that same share in a busy train station back on earth."
Hera stopped for a moment to consider that. If she was talking about the train she used to get to work, which costs one gold per trip. The stations should earn around 54 to 60 gold per month just because of her, and there were hundreds of passengers every day. If the guild used the same price, even 5% would amount to a lot of money. Not to mention that she wasn't even counting the hotels and other possible services.
"I didn't think about that. You're right. This reward is pretty good," Hera took a sip of the tea. Earl gray wasn't her favorite, but she enjoyed the beverage quite a bit.
"Indeed. Now, I will send you the certificate that proves you are to receive this reward. Also, the guild asked me to deliver this to you," Brian got up and retrieve a light blue box, about the size of a notebook, from a cupboard.
"What's this?" Hera asked. There weren't any symbols or writing in the box.
"An upgrade. Since the branch here is not ready, they can't do the same with your bracelet for now. There is also a letter, but I'm unaware of its contents."
Hera looked at him and opened the box. The first thing she pulled out was the letter. It was a quick thank you from Romeo Ballester, the chairman of the guild. It seemed all pretty standard, but in the last paragraph, there was also a mention about her [Exponential Growth] and [All In] skills. Saying that they had confirmed that those skills were natural evolutions of the [Stat Realocation] skill. Now that the guild established the requirements to say evolution, and they matched with her information, she would also get a hundred thousand gold and would be able to get the compendium of any S tier skill in the guild database. Hera didn't understand exactly what that last part meant, but she shrugged off as being one of the new changes in the world. Under the letter, there was a brand new tablet. It was grey and bigger than her current one. She also noticed a small button on the corner, and when she pressed it, the solid tablet went limp, almost like it was made out of paper and not plastic.
"This is New Dawn's latest model. It can be folded as you wish, and by pressing the button, the tablet returns to its rigid state. Some people have been using it wrapped around their arms for quick access. However, let me give you a small piece of advice. These are somewhat more fragile than the one you currently have. If a monster ends up striking it directly, it will surely break. It also has some extra functions like holograms, and it can be used as a pocket projector. Some people are getting these instead of a television. Still, the sound quality is not that great," Brian went on a small rant about the bad quality of audio in most cellphones and tablets, but in the end, he thanked Hera once more and set everything up so she could receive her 5% share starting next month.
That wasn't a long meeting, but it still took a lot out of Hera. Just talking about the rewards wasn't an issue, but Brian gave her some harrowing news after Hera signed everything. Becca Swan would be doing a follow-up interview to talk about her new achievements and the newly discovered room. Doing another interview seemed scarier than fighting the Sky Ruler again. The only good part of that was that Becca had a busy schedule, so it would take some time before she would be free for that.
Hera left the house, and just before going to search for Silah, she saw Rutigan. The King was talking to the people in the guild, and waved Hera over.
"Hey, what's going on?" Hera asked.
"We have some exciting news. They are bringing the tower for the internet, and if everything works, we shall have it up and running by the end of the day," Rutigan had a large smile on his face.
"That's great! But… do you even understand what you are saying?"
"Not entirely, but it feels very exciting," the King chuckled.
"It is. I have a spare tablet now. I can give you later, after migrating everything to my new one," Hera offered.
"I appreciate the offer, but that won't be necessary," Rutigan pointed towards a large crate on the side, "The guild is also providing two thousand tablets for us. It seems like they are not the same as the one you use, but more simple models with fewer extra functions. They will also be providing a small class for everyone who wants to get one before distributing them. If we want more, we can always order them directly from the guild."
"I see. That's a good idea, but… do you know who is setting up the network?" after hearing Hera's question, Rutigan's and Ogryn's blank expressions told her that she wouldn't get that information with them.
"Right. Give me a minute," Hera walked away and talked with the people who were starting to set up the internet tower. A few moments later, she came back with a man in his early 20s, "So this is Al, he's the one who is going to set up the internet connection for everyone's tablet. However, there is one thing that I never told you about it. The internet has information about almost everything, including sex, and I don't mean just the biology of it. A big part of the internet is something we call pornography and… well."
Al nodded and opened his tablet. They already had a very limited internet connection set up just around the area where they were building the guild to talk with people in other rooms while preparing everything. He quickly went to a famous website with a black and orange logo and put on a random clip. There was a pause while they waited for the video to load, then Ogryn and Rutigan turned red in a fraction of a second and looked away. Hera expected a similar reaction, but even she was surprised by how quickly they felt embarrassed. She turned around to see what Al had actually shown them and sighed.
"For fuck's sake, man. I told you they are shy, and you put on an orgy right from the get-go?"
"Oh, my bad. I didn't even wait for the thumbnails to load. The connection sucks right now," Al turned his tablet and closed the video, "Should I show something else?"
"No, that's fine. They get the point," Hera turned to Rutigan, "So yeah. There is a lot of that, some more graphic, some less so, and a lot of weird things. People do crazy things with comics."
"Yeah, you'll never look at a squid the same way again," Al mumbled.
"Please don't make this more uncomfortable than it has to be," Hera pleaded.
"Sorry."
"Anyway. When you are on the internet, you can end up in videos like that by accident. Maybe they have a different name, or maybe they are not where they are supposed to be. There is kind of a way to fix that, though. We can ask them to put on a filter on the network so that type of content won't show up."
"Isn't something like that a lot of work? Or is it a spell that takes a lot of mana to fuel? Handpicking something like that in the middle of the ocean of information, as you called it, sounds like an ordeal," Ogryn cleared his throat before asking.
"Not at all. This isn't even a spell. It's just part of the settings we can put on the network. Think of it like a net. Fish are caught by it, but water can still go through. The fish are those types of videos, and water is all the rest. We can even set it up so that everyone can individually pick if they want to see those kinds of things or not. I'll leave the default option as not wanting to see not safe for work content." Al explained.
"Not safe for work?" Rutigan asked.
"That's how we call these types of videos and images. Since we use computers and tablets for our jobs, having those things pop up during work hours can be… complicated," Al said.
"I see. I supposed that would be an issue. Seeing that is something one should only do in private," Ogryn asked.
Hera snickered, "In private, you say? So I guess it's better to show you how to change that setting as soon as you get your tablet."
"What! Ho-Ho-How dare you, child?! I-I-I have no interest in such things," Ogryn turned red once again.
Rutigan and Hera laughed. They discussed some more ideas on how to prepare the dwarves to be flooded by information before Hera split off and went to Silah's place. Now that they would have internet here, she could go home and see her dad and grandmother. Even if she was trying her best to be a good friend and girlfriend, she missed them like crazy. Not to mention, she would soon have something to do for the Order, and who knows where that would take her to.
##### Author's Note ####
I mean... I can't blame Ogryn
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Comments
Aldous Russell
Thanks! "That was counting with Boothudurn" doesn't need "with". I think "Not just by its size" would be better as "for its size" or "just its size". "early grey"/"gray" should be "Early Grey". "back on earth" should be "Earth". I think "gold per trip. The stations" might be better as a comma. I'm not sure about "she was talking", maybe "they were"? "Realocation" should be "Reallocation". "requirements to say evolution" should be "said". "she shrugged off" should be "it off". "tablet now. I can give you later" should be a comma or "you it". "a large crate on the side" should be "to". "get that information with them" should be "from". "everyone's tablet" should be "tablets". I think "flooded by information" might be better as "with".
Perizou
Well, not unlimited. She still doesn't have enough to build a giant penis and try to reach space.
Knightfire
Hera showed her inexperience. She has no clue over the value of a S graded skill. And she basically has unlimited funds now too.
