The New Gate

“Well, that’s right. It’s not an exaggeration to say it’s a city. The Black Faction was originally started when a servant of his master who disappeared during the Dusk of Majesty gathered comrades to carry on his will. The current base was managed by that servant.”

In the case of Shin and his guild houses, that would be the “3rd Moving Base Miraltrea,” “5th Daze Garden Romenun,” and “6th Sky Castle Rashugum.”

The support character who was in the guild house when the Dusk of Majesty happened must have continued to manage it.

“Is that so? If a big base remains, it must have been a pretty large guild. By the way, what is the will that was inherited?”

In the game era, there were quite a few guilds with clear concepts.

The “Type Cat Language Research Association,” to which Hibineko, a player he met again in this world, belonged, was a prime example of this. Only beasts whose appearance were based on feline animals could join. Another condition was that they had to add “Nyaa~” to the end of their sentences.

Originally, guilds were places where players with similar goals gathered. There were also many other guilds with loose concepts, such as guilds that limit equipment to Japanese style, guilds like cooking-research guilds that use ingredients unique to the game, and even guilds that simply spend their time relaxing.

However, from the way Jayf spoke, it was clear that this was not a guild with such a vague concept.

“Kluck knows more about that. Can you explain?”

According to Kluck, the support character who took over the guild house was a short-lived species and was no longer around.

“The guild’s policy before the Dusk of Majesty was to make things that would be useful to someone. It is said that the founder of the Black Faction’s predecessor inherited that policy and made various tools out of despair over the chaotic world.”

Shin guessed that it was probably a guild that focused on making support items.

“It’s not a simple production guild, is it? By the way, what is the Black Faction’s predecessor organization?”

Shin had some information about the faction. He had heard that there were factions with colored names for the High Humans they worship and that each was researching their own field of expertise. However, this was the first time he had heard of the existence of these predecessor organizations.

“I think the current faction was formed when various organizations that were operating separately came together and shared materials and information. There are still people who were involved from the predecessor organizations who are still alive, so this must be correct.”

Speaking of production guilds, there was “Rokuten.” This was a common understanding not only among the players but also among the support characters, and it seemed that if they wanted to become the best production group, they should have a role model.

They had not forgotten their initial ambitions and the tools they developed or reproduced were useful to many people.

“Do other factions also have guilds or bases that they were based on?”

“Yes. They have bases that can be moved around. They have a lot of valuable items stored there, so they can’t stay in one place. It’s dangerous if they are misused, and there are also people who try to sneak in to get the valuable items. To those who are after those things, it must look like a mountain of gold coins.”

Instead of sneaking in, it seemed that they had been attacked on a large scale. Kluck said that in the past, a country even tried to take over the base.

For this reason, they were very careful about the tools they spread to the outside world, but when it came to defense, they didn’t hold back. It seemed that they had equipment with exceptional performance by this world’s standards installed everywhere.

“There’s no need to show mercy to thieves. Just wipe them out.”

Shin, who remembered being attacked in his game days and having the area around the guild house turned into a wasteland, was merciless in his words.

Even after coming to this world, he had been attacked by thieves, or criminals disguised as thieves. Shin had concluded that there was no mercy to be shown to those who try to gain profit by hurting others.

He also felt “good, do more” when it came to the defense facilities of the base.

“Well, let’s say that we’ll fight back against those who attack us… does the Black Faction have some sort of organizational chart? Even though you say blacksmithing, it’s not necessarily the case that you make weapons. Haven’t you done any research on that?”

Thinking that the conversation had gone off track, Shin asked Kluck the question he had intended to ask.

A blacksmith’s job was not just to make weapons and armor. Besides weapons, Shin also made farm equipment like hoes and shovels, carpentry tools like hammers and saws, and even cooking utensils like pots and pans. It was not just for show that he was in charge of equipment for the production guild Rokuten.

“Roughly speaking, you can think of it as being divided into six departments: weapons, production, agriculture, civil engineering, marine, and unexplored technology. Each field is further subdivided. However, since the research is mainly on tools, it’s not like the civil engineering department is well versed in civil engineering, for example. We also research skills and techniques for tool development, but most experts are in the Blue Faction. Ah, we often exchange opinions with other factions, as we’re not particularly at odds.”

It seemed that it was common for experiments to be done to increase strength, and the results are useful in other departments.

Shin recalled that even back when he was playing games, he didn’t know what would be useful where.

Shin’s guess that the main focus was on creating support items seemed not far off the mark.

Even though they were all called support items, what was required varies depending on the field. He thought that this was probably why there were so many fields of research.

“As you may know, I belong to the weapons department. Even though they are all called weapons, there are many different types. I conduct research aimed at improving the performance of equipment that is used by many people, such as swords and spears. We often cooperate with other departments.”

“Can you tell me more specifically?”

“Well. If I were to be more specific, it’s the strength of the equipment. In civil engineering, when you are gathering ore or digging bedrock, half-baked tools will break easily. In marine engineering, there is a proposition of how to increase the strength of ships when building them. Metallic materials are used in many fields, so when we get good results, we share them. Since what is required in each field differs slightly, it is not uncommon for research results to be useful in another field.”

Even when it comes to metal, the strength and resistance to abnormal conditions vary greatly depending on the material. While researching resistance to state changes in weapon research, they discovered a metal that was resistant to rust, which was useful in shipbuilding technology.

Kluck said that the results of an experiment to increase the strength of bedrock excavation were applied to increasing the durability of weapons, and there were countless specific examples.

“Knowledge and technology from different fields can be useful.”

Even within Rokuten, new methods were discovered while talking about how to create equipment and items. Shin felt a little closer to them when he found out that they were doing something similar here.

“Now that I think about it, you also scout for engineers, don’t you?”

“Yes. There aren’t many, but we call out to those who excel in production and those who have a certain amount of experience among the Chosen Ones. In the process, we also investigate their personalities…”

Kluck was stumped because he remembered FunkyFunky, the mastermind of the previous terrorist attack.

Perhaps the faction’s investigation was insufficient, or he lied and got in.

Considering his character, it was definitely the latter. Even if he was a member of the Black Faction, it was impossible to investigate all of the identities of a former player. If one didn’t know his true personality and his past as a PK player, they wouldn’t suspect him of being a dangerous person.

“There’s no way around that. It’s not like you can see into their hearts.”

If you use mental skills to manipulate them and make them speak their true feelings, you could find out who has the most inhuman thoughts, but that would be too inhuman.

“That’s all I wanted to ask for now. I’ll save the rest for when I get there. Just to be sure, I can stay in Kurikara until I hear from you, right? I’m thinking of changing the inn, but should I tell you where I’m moving to?”

Shin’s party was currently staying at a high-class inn where a lot of money would be wasted just by staying overnight.

Shin felt uneasy about staying there until someone came to pick him up.

Besides, he didn’t know if it’s Jayf or the Black Faction that was paying for their stay, but it’s an amount that made him feel uncomfortable asking the other party to pay.

Shin and the others didn’t have any particular preference for staying at a high-class inn. A normal one would be fine.

“No, you don’t need to change inn. I said we’d pay, but to be precise, Kurikara will cover the cost. You were very considerate with the amount of compensation for repairing the weapon. I know you’re doing it without expecting a return, but I’d like you to accept it. Besides, the staff are excited to be able to entertain the country’s benefactor. You all can relax without worrying.”

“Well, if that’s the case…”

Thinking that it would be no good to be too reserved, Shin decided to continue staying at the luxury inn “Dream & Reality.”

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