Harem Sync: Divine Edition-Chapter 70: The Steel Guild
"I always wanted to be part of a guild."
Haru looked out the carriage window with a smile he couldn’t hide, remembering everything: the anime he watched, the games he played until dawn, the manhwas he read secretly in class.
"A guild isn’t just a group of adventurers. It’s family. It’s where you belong."
He remembered the sacred rules every fan knew: choosing a guild is like choosing a barber. Nobody betrays anyone. It’s forever. You can change cities, weapons, even classes, but never guilds without a reason.
He told everyone this excitedly, gesturing, his voice coming out fast.
"...and then the guild gives you missions, you rank up, gain reputation, and eventually become legendary and..."
"Hey, breathe." Isabela laughed. "You’re acting like a child."
"But I also wanted to be part of one!" She admitted, smiling. "I always thought the idea was... romantic. Adventurers getting together, sharing stories, growing together..."
Kira didn’t care, but it wasn’t a problem either. "If the master wants it, I’ll go. Simple as that."
Yukihime listened to her father’s wise teachings with shining eyes. "Is Papa going to be a famous adventurer?"
"I’ll try, daughter."
The guards guiding the carriage stopped at a kind of workshop, not a common blacksmith shop, but a specialized store with a window displaying articulated metal parts: hands, arms, even legs.
One of the guards, whose hand Yukihime had blown off the day of the airship incident, got out and went inside.
"I’m just going to... take care of something quickly," he said, showing his bandaged stump.
He returned twenty minutes later with an iron prosthesis installed, an articulated mechanical hand connected to his wrist by a magical-mechanical fitting, fingers that moved when he concentrated mana.
He flexed the metal fingers, testing them. "It works."
The other guard whistled in amazement. "These new innovations are absurd. Back in the day, you had to buy a natural biological limb, a corpse’s arm, a magical transplant, expensive and risky stuff. Now they’ve brought these technologies; you can install metal as long as you have mana to control it."
Haru watched with growing attention.
"Prosthetics... I’ve never seen anyone using one in the game."
He looked at the shop, then at the guard testing the mechanical hand.
"Unless someone from a very distant time-space taught them how to do this..."
Gamers.
The conclusion hit him hard.
"Why would a Gamer teach the natives about prosthetics?" he thought, processing the implications. "Does that mean some don’t just want to ’platinum’ the game... or want to platinum it in the best way possible? Changing the world? Leaving a legacy?"
He entered question mode, glancing at the shop that was already receding as the carriage continued on its way.
"If I don’t want to get into trouble... if I want to avoid having to fight a powerful Gamer... maybe it’s worth paying attention. New technologies. Strange innovations. They could be signs."
"Haru... Haru... HARU!"
He blinked. Isabela was calling him, waving her hand in front of his face.
"We’ve arrived at the guild!"
They disembarked from the carriage in front of a three-story building with a dark stone and reinforced wood facade.
A huge sign hung above the main door: `NULL HORIZON` engraved in golden letters, the guild’s symbol beside it, a stylized horizon with a line dividing sky and earth.
Haru and the troupe had chosen this one. There were several guilds in the city, dozens scattered throughout the districts, but this name on the map had caught their attention.
And it was a new guild too. Founded only two years ago, still establishing its reputation.
They entered.
The interior was exactly as Haru had dreamed:
A large, noisy building, full of adventurers of all kinds, warriors in heavy armor, mages with ornate staves, archers with bows on their backs, beastkins, elves, even a dragonborn in the corner drinking alone.
A mission board covering the entire left wall, hundreds of scrolls pinned up and organized by rank and type, people discussing which ones to pick, some tearing off missions and taking them to the counter.
Registration counter in the back, uniformed attendants processing paperwork, stamping documents, handing out rewards.
Integrated bar/tavern area on the right, tables full, drinks being served, hot food coming out of the kitchen, laughter and heated discussions.
An atmosphere of danger and opportunity mixed together.
Haru took a deep breath, feeling it all. 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂
"This... this is real."
They went to the mission board first.
Scrolls organized by color:
White, Green, Yellow, Blue, Purple, Red, Black
Various types of writing:
- Extermination (monsters)
- Collection (rare materials)
- Escort (protection)
- Investigation (mysteries)
- Rescue (people)
On the opposite wall was a table of the best employees of the month, names engraved on a golden plaque, how many missions they completed, and their rank.
Yukihime pointed. "Papa, look! You’ll be there!"
"We’ll see..." Haru smiled.
They went to the counter where a young attendant, a woman of about twenty-five, with short blue hair and a guild uniform, greeted them with a professional smile.
"Good morning! New registration?"
"Yes." Haru replied.
"Perfect! I’ll need some basic information." She picked up a form. "Full name?"
"Haru Mizuki."
"Age?"
"Seventeen." "Current rank? If you don’t know or don’t have documentation to prove it, you’ll automatically start on Beginner missions."
Haru checked the system.
```
[Current Status]
◊ Rank: Initiate II
◊ Note: Suppressed by Devouring Covenant
◊ True power undetectable
```
He remembered the pact. The day the Custodians interrogated him, the spirits within him had begun to suppress his rank, a sort of way of devouring him but in exchange for survival.
They reduced his rank to avoid drawing attention, to be spared external pressure.
But that was just appearance. Haru knew he still had real power hidden within.
"Initiate Tier 2." Haru thought...
"Class or specialization?" the attendant continued, presuming Haru wouldn’t reveal his rank.
"...General combatant?"
The attendant checked. "Perfect. Next!"
Kira registered as well, same thing, Beginner, specialization in tracking.
Isabela hesitated before approaching, hiding the Valtherion ring in her pocket.
"We’ll have to pay to have our true ranks revealed..." she murmured softly to Haru. "Official tests cost a fortune. And I don’t want to waste money... at the Academy it’s free when classes start."
"In that case, it’ll have to be weak for now." Haru agreed.
Especially since they hadn’t come to do real missions, just to register. People with stable jobs have a better chance of officially adopting a child.
And because Haru wanted to see a guild up close.
The attendant stamped the three forms and explained:
"You are now provisional members of Null Horizon. To receive the official adventurer card and all the benefits, access to higher-rank missions, discounts at partner stores, the right to vote in assemblies and more... you need to complete three missions of any type."
"Only three?" Kira asked.
"Our guild policy." The attendant smiled. "We want you to prove your commitment, but without excessive bureaucracy. Other guilds demand ten, fifteen missions. We’re more... flexible."
Haru liked that. "What if we don’t have money for the rank test?"
"No problem! You can do White (beginner) missions until you accumulate proven experience. Eventually, your rank will rise naturally based on performance."
"But that takes time." Isabela commented.
"It does." The attendant confirmed. "But it’s free. It’s your choice: pay for the official test now, or rank up organically."
The three exchanged glances.
"Organically." They said together.
They went to the board, looking for white (Beginner) missions.
Haru picked up a scroll that looked simple:
```
[MISSION: Extermination]
Rank: Beginner II
Location: Sewers of the Commercial District
Objective: Exterminate giant rats (minimum 10)
Payment: 15 silver coins
Deadline: 3 days
```
He took it to the counter.
The attendant read and confirmed. "Classic beginner mission. Accepted?"
"...Seriously?" Haru looked at her with a disappointed expression. "Rats?"
"Everyone starts like that," she said without losing her smile. "Giant rats are still dangerous, the size of a large dog, their bite can infect, they travel in packs. Good training."
Kira read over Haru’s shoulder. "Fifteen silver coins for killing smelly rats in the sewer... how glamorous."
Isabela laughed. "Welcome to the life of an adventurer."
Haru sighed, but accepted. "Okay. We’ll do it."
The attendant stamped it. "Great! You need to bring proof, rat tails will do. Ten tails, fifteen silver coins. Simple as that."
She handed over a small map showing the sewer entrance.
"Good luck!"
They left the guild with the mission scroll in hand.
Haru looked at him, then at Kira and Isabela.
"So... sewers."
"Sewers." Kira confirmed without enthusiasm.
Isabela was already tying her hair back. "Let’s go. The faster it’s over, the better."
Yukihime had been waiting at the entrance with the guards. She ran to Haru. "Papa’s going to kill monsters?"
"I’m going to kill... rats."
"GIANT RATS!" Yukihime cheered as if she were a dragon.
Haru smiled wearily, patting her head.
"It starts with the rats... but one day it’ll be a real dragon."
He looked at the Null Horizon guild one last time before they left.
The horizon symbol shone faintly in the sun.
"My guild now..."
And for the first time since arriving in the capital, Haru felt part of something bigger.
"Or we can go home... rest because it’s fucking hot today!..."
"Yeah..." they all nodded in unison, changing course to go home...
"It’s fucking hot today!" Yukihime shouted...
"Look what you taught the child!!!"
```
[QUEST ACCEPTED]
◊ Exterminate Giant Rats (10+)
◊ Location: Commercial District Sewers
◊ Reward: 15 silver
◊ Progress: 0/10
```
