Gardner laid out various pamphlets and documentation in front of Alexander. They all had titles pertaining to their contents, from 'Your first dungeon' to 'The guilds and you'.
Alexander sifted through them quickly.
"This is a lot of basic stuff I could already find online. Isn't there more information?" asked Alexander.
"After the tests to determine your starting tier, you'd usually go through basic training and have all your questions answered there."
Gardner looked tired, but the amount of whisky that filled his glass made his mood significantly better.
"Dungeons are simple. You go in, go through a few rooms with enemies, loot everything around, kill the boss, then come back out. That's the gist of it."
Alexander put the pamphlet he held back on the desk, it was indeed essentially what was written in it, and what could be found online.
There existed some private online forums where dungeon runners talked and shared information, but they all required an Adventurer's Guild ID card.
"So, once I'm registered with the Adventurer's Guild I'll be able to join another guild, or become part of the Adventurer's Guild itself?" asked Alexander.
Gardner exploded, his laughter echoing in the room as Alexander patiently waited for him to finish.
Tears could be seen forming in the corner of his eyes, he quickly rubbed them off while holding his chest with the other hand.
As his laughter died out, he grabbed the bottle of whisky that was half-empty and poured himself another glass.
In-between chuckles he was finally able to let words out.
"The guild wants nothing to do with you. You'll be given the minimum, such as a Dungeon Runner ID card. Some facilities and tools will be accessible from that alone. Otherwise, you're on your own."
At this point, it wasn't that much surprising.
"So how do I start running dungeons?"
"We have a system that distributes dungeon access."
"All I need is the card?" he asked.
"No, you'd need a guild. Guilds are offered dungeons from a pool, fairly distributed based on ranking. Newcomers like you usually go through their first dungeons as a member of the Adventurer's Guild, until another one eventually recruits them."
"So, the Adventurer's Guild as a company is giving me access to their systems, but is refusing my application to join the 'guild' part of the company. How does that work?"
His venomous tone washed away like drizzling rain on an umbrella, Gardner unable to let his mood sour.
"Since we don't allow you to join our guild, the only way for you to have access to dungeon is to join another one."
"Perfect, then—"
"The test results, including the final fight's recording, was enough to get you rejected from every single guild that's currently recruiting."
Gardner said those last words with a slight chuckle, clearly amused by the situation.
"So I successfully acquired a dungeon runner status, but can't participate in any dungeons because no guild wants me."
"Yup."
Gardner emptied his glass once more, and got ready to pour himself another.
"You'll regret it."
Gardner put down the bottle.
"What was that?"
"You'll regret it."
"And how do you figure that?" replied Gardner, suddenly serious.
"I'm not going to stop. I'll run dungeons, grow stronger, and you can't keep me from it. You'll grow one day to regret it."
Gardner's eyes became somber, his voice lower and filled with hate.
"The one thing we'll regret is not killing you the moment we could. You've been given an opportunity nobody else would ever get, based on the pure luck that Sunder has taken a liking to you. Don't get me wrong, we'll regret plenty."
Gardner's stare was dark.
It felt like the pressure had gone up in the room, as if an invisible weight had been pulling the air itself down.
"I'll create my own guild," said Alexander.
Gardner sighed, taking some documents from the corner of his desk, as if he had anticipated that outcome.
He grabbed a pen from a mug containing a wide variety of them, and started writing information down while looking at Alexander's file on the side.
"I'm the E-rank director," said Gardner without looking up.
"I know."
"I'm the only one who agreed to let you in."
Alexander remained silent.
"Do you know what this means?" said Gardner.
"What?" asked Alexander, impatient.
"It means you'll never rank up. You could become the number one E-rank runner, and clear S-tier dungeons, and the other directors would still not be able to rank up."
"Because I'm a cultist—"
"No."
Gardner loudly put his pen down, staring Alexander down.
"Sunder was clear. Do not use your powers against others. You couldn't keep yourself from doing it, could you? Until that point, most of the directors were still on the edge about you. You sealed your own fate, Veil."
He started writing again, his strokes resounding loudly as if he had something personal against the piece of paper.
Alexander could feel Fae's hand on his shoulder, as his thoughts ran amok through his head.
He looked back. A mask hid her face, but he could feel her gaze—sense her thoughts.
Whatever he did, anything he would choose, she would be there.
His fate had been sealed the moment he received his archetype and opened his inner path. The world had crossed his name, branding him a cultist.
I'll make sure they all regret it.
They would eat their words. Even if it means dying in one, he'd run dungeons until he'd barely be able to walk.
If it meant he could grow stronger—free from their chains—then so be it.
Gardner looked up, his gaze meeting Alexander's once more.
However, this time, Gardner felt a chill running through his body, cold sweat suddenly running down his back as he looked in Alexander's eyes.
The pressure he could feel through his gaze was palpable, the coldness in his eyes.
He felt threatened.
As if a sudden move would be his death.
He cleared his throat.
"So, what would the name of the guild be?" he asked.
"Solo."