Tales of the World: Radiant Mythology

The Underground guild, Ad Libitum

Mormo and I made our way through the streets of the town, looking for Ad Libitum. The guild that Chester had mentioned earlier. It was quite confusing, seeing as how we had never been here before. We finally arrived at the guild after hours of searching. We would be greeted by a woman as well.

"Well, hello."

"A lady...? I guess this isn't Kratos then, huh?" Mormo asked.

"My name is Raine Sage. You don't look familiar... a refugee, perhaps?" She said. Her smile was warm and gentle. Her white hair and blue eyes shone in the light. "Well, not quite." Mormo said. "Here to file a request, then?"

"Request? No, nothing like that! We came here because Chester told us to. He said to see a man named Kratos if we had nowhere to go. Said to mention "Ad Libitum." "

"So a prospective new recruit, then? Kratos, there's a pair of hopefuls here to see you." The woman called out. The man that came out of one of the back rooms was a lot like the man that had stopped me in the square. "Oh, it's you again. You know, you don't look like much of a fighter... I couldn't trust you with a job." The man said.

'Ouch... right off the bat.' I thought, flinching softly. "So this is Kratos?" Mormo asked. "His full name is Kratos Aurion. He's the leader of Ad Libitum in Ailily." Raine spoke up.

"Hey, what do you mean "a job?" What does Ad Libitum do, anyway?" Mormo asked. I only nodded in silence, still embarrassed Toby the fact that it was Kratos that kept me from attacking Ganser.

"I'm terms of form, Ad Libitum exists as a sort of guild. Our purpose as an organization is to protect our people from threat. Of course, we can't really do much out in the open." Raine said.

"Huh? Why not?" Mormo asked. "Ganser, the leader of this town, has outlawed guilds." Kratos spoke up. "Ganser... oh yeah, we just saw him!" Mormo spoke thoughtfully. "Ganser controls all of the town's workings. Even the markets aren't free. Vendors are disappearing, and people are left with only what scraps Ganser's thugs leave them. We provide the people with what they need to survive."

"...Meaning you all have a way of leaving the town?" Mormo asked. "How do you do it?!"

"We can't tell you. Ad Libitum only helps those who help the people." Kratos spoke up once again. "I'm sorru, but we can't risk alerting Ganser to our activities here." Raine said.

"Aww... Then hey! We'll enlist! We'll join Ad Libitum!" Mormo exclaimed.

"Out of the question. This isn't something you can just do on a whim." Kratos said sternly. "Really? You're going to question me? I'm prepared for the risks!" I exclaimed, irritated that Kratos wouldn't give me a chance. "Prepared, hmm? so you're certain, then?" Kratos muttered thoughtfully. "Then I'll test your competence. We'll see if you have what it takes. Talk of joining our organization comes after you've passed."

"A test? What are you testing?" Mormo asked. "Whether you can actually fulfill the requests of the townspeople." Kratos stated simply. "Oh..." Mormo said.

"Kanonno, are you around?" Kratos called out. "Yes, sir." The girl with the pink hair walked out from another room. "Oh! It's you..." she exclaimed. Mormo and I smiled softly. "Hello." I said softly. "Please explain our organization to our guests here." Kratos stated. "Certainly."

'Glad to see Kanonno willing to tell us. And at least I like her...' I thought to myself. Kratos left and Raine went back to checking and making sure that everything is alright and in order.

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There. Now that the gap is filled. I apologize for that little confusion. Again, thank you so much for taking your time to read this.