MischievousMuffin
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Incremental Torture - Chapter 67
🕑 Added 2024-06-27 12:50:57 +0000 UTCEvelyn was giddy with excitement. While the original street that Kayla had suggested turned out to be a failure, with not a single building they could use as the guild’s headquarters or the location of the bank’s first branch, she had discovered a hidden gem just around the corner.
A staircase of smooth white grey stone, not quite what you would consider grand or imposing, but impressive enough to make passersby take note, led up to a tiled veranda.
Eight pillars, carved from the same stone as the staircase with embellishments carved into the base and the top, which held up a triangular roof. In her original vision of the bank, it had twenty or more pillars sprawling everywhere, but this would do.
The doors were made of thick, dark wood, carved into panels. In the centre of each square panel was an iron stud, and each door had a heavy iron knocker set into the middle.
It took a lot of effort to shift them, but Evelyn put her all into it and they flew open with a bang, sending billowing clouds of dust into the air.
“What a stunning lobby. I have so many ideas running through my mind right now. This place will be the most fabulous guild headquarters in all of Haven, I’ll make sure of it,” said her mother, already framing things with her hands and muttering about colour schemes and decorations.
“What do you think?” she asked her father.
“Gaudy enough to impress, but sleek and functional within. A solid choice, little menace.”
“That settles it then. Welcome to your new home.”
Property must be claimed before it can be designated as the headquarters for the guild ‘Defiance’
Would you like to claim this property?
Claim [6,220,000 Essence]
Crap. I only have enough to cover the cost of founding the guild. Someone could snap this place up if we wait too long.
“Slight problem. I lost all my essence during the ascension. We’re going to need another six million or so to purchase this place.”
Her parents didn’t react. Her mother continued to plan out the interior and her father leaned against one of the interior pillars, deep in thought.
“Did you hear me? Someone could steal this building if we aren’t able to claim it soon.”
“I could buy it, if you need me to,” replied her mother.
The idea that one of the others might have more essence than her hadn’t even crossed her mind. That it would be her mother was all the more surprising, but an immense weight off her shoulders.
“That would actually be amazing. Do you know how to?”
“I just need to ask the tower, right? It shouldn’t be difficult. Give me a second.”
Just ask the tower. Sure. If only everything was that simple.
Hey, tower. Could you give me a few hundred attribute points and all my skills back. Thanks. I’ve been a good girl, I promise.
“All done, what do I need to do with it now?”
“I’m not sure, let me check the guild page.”
*Guilds*
Guild Establishment Process
Founding Members Confirmed: 4/4
Essence Required: 2,500,000/2,500,000
Oath of Loyalty Sworn: 0/5
Oath of Challenge Sworn: 0/5
Guild Headquarters Demarcated: 0/1
Guild Name: Defiance
Establish this building as the Guild Headquarters?
Y/N
You are not the owner of this claim. Request permission from the owner ‘Snow Flower’?
Y/N
Permission to use this claim as the Guild Headquarters requested.
Snow Flower has accepted the request. This building will be demarcated as the headquarters for the guild ‘Defiance’ once founded.
“Wonderful. Is that all, my love? I need to explore this whole property system. I think I can start some of the superficial changes right away.”
“Go for it. We need to wait for Kayla and Anthea to return before we can finalise anything. I’ll be back when they are, give me a shout if you need anything. I’m going for a walk.”
“Don’t go too far, little menace. Also, are we setting up the bank here too, or did it need a separate building?”
“You’ll see.”
“Alright. I trust your judgement. Somewhat.”
The reason she had chosen this building wasn’t just because it was the closest thing to perfect that they were going to find for the headquarters, but because it killed two birds with one stone.
It was possible that the tower would allow her to run the bank from within the guild building, but now that she had relied on her mother to claim it, she had doubts about the security of doing so. She trusted her mother, but it felt irresponsible to place something that was so fundamental to every aspect of her new life in the ultimate control of another person.
Essence was power after all, and if her mother decided to pull the plug because something went wrong, Evelyn didn’t want to get caught up in the aftermath.
Opposite the building which was now the HQ for Defiance, stood an equally impressive but sleeker and more laid back structure. Her father figured outward opulence was the way to go, but Evelyn wanted to strike a balance. She didn’t want people to think their essence was being spent on decorations, rather than securely tucked away in her vault.
It had no pillars, which was a shame. Though the steps leading up to the doorway were just as grand as those on the other side of the street. Unlike the rectangular doors of the headquarters, this building had arched doors of a lighter, beige wood and the doorframe was marked in black brick, offering a subtle but attractive contrast to the smooth grey stone and large glass windows that made up the rest of the structure.
Pushing open the doors, Evelyn smiled. It was as though this place had been built just for her. The decoration could do with some work, but the interior arrangement was perfect.
A small lobby led up to a marble desk, topped with the same wood as the door. There was a staircase leading up to the second floor and beyond, which she planned to turn into a second place to live. It would be difficult to travel between the townhouse and here each day, though Evelyn hoped she wouldn’t be spending too much time in Haven.
That’s a major roadblock, actually. If I’m going to try and spend most of my time challenging the tower, who is going to run the bank in my place? I’m not sure there’s anyone I’d trust to do that. Is it even possible to allow someone else access to my Storage Node, given that it’s connected to my soul?
She didn’t like the way more issues kept cropping up. Setting up the bank was beginning to seem like the kind of project that would continue to drag on, and prevent her from doing what she wanted.
At least we managed to sort out the guild. There should be a lot to explore once it’s up and running. New system options, new challenges too according to Kayla.
Would you like to claim this property?
Claim [4,845,000 Essence]
Regardless, Evelyn would need to wait another few days before she was able to secure the building. She hoped no one would steal it in the meantime. And unlike the guild headquarters, she was unwilling to allow another person to claim it in her stead.
Maybe she could head to the bazaar and try to grab some more stars to hasten things along. People would be far less willing to part with their stars once they understood just how important they were.
Evelyn felt a little cruel taking them from people who didn’t know better, but to be frank all the signs were laid out. If a person hadn’t figured out that essence was the key to progress then they deserved to fall behind.
~~~
“So, an unbreakable oath of loyalty. Rather ominous, don’t you think?” said Kayla.
“I like everyone here. It’s my first time meeting Eve’s parents, but they seem kind. Why is it ominous?” said Anthea.
Anthea was just as innocent as she remembered, but that was why she made the perfect addition to the group. A girl who asked the questions that none of them wanted to, and broke the awkward silences. And despite her rather simple framing of the matter, she was correct.
They all trusted each other. Evelyn may not know the people her parents had become over the past few years, but they were her family. Even if some disagreements cropped up down the line, she wouldn’t regret what they were about to do. Anthea would never betray any of them.
Unless she was the most sinister supervillain in history and had been playing the long game, drawing in a group of innocents to harvest all their essence and resources for her own growth.
As if. If that’s the case then she deserves to pull it off.
Oddly, Kayla was the person she had the most issue swearing the two oaths with. Even though they were already tied together, in body and ambition, there were still a plethora of unknowns that surrounded the woman.
However, Evelyn had chosen this path and it was too late to back down now. Whatever Kayla’s motivation, she had demonstrated how important Evelyn was to her. She figured that even if Kayla wanted something so far unsaid, it wouldn’t go beyond what was reasonable to ask of her.
“I think we all trust each other. We’ve all already been loyal to each other, insofar as such a thing can be measured. The oath of challenge is a little trickier, but I believe we’re all motivated to climb the tower, or at least push ourselves to grow stronger. Let’s just do it. I swear to be loyal to all of you, and to the guild. I swear I will continue to challenge the tower until I am no longer able or I reach the top and beat the crap out of the bastard who put us here,” declared Evelyn.
“I trust my daughter. If she swears loyalty, then so do I. I will do my best to help you all and to continue to challenge myself,” said her mother.
“Time will tell if this is a mistake. However, I swear to be as loyal as I can to the guild, and its members. I swear that I will push my limits and then push past what lies beyond,” said her father.
“What do I say? I don’t want to copy you guys, but I can’t find the words,” said Anthea.
“You can keep it simple, Anthea. We know you have good intentions,” said Evelyn, placing a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder.
Anthea nodded and steeled herself, her face taking on a serious cast as she placed a closed fist over her chest. “I swear an oath of loyalty to the guild Defiance, and an oath of challenge.”
Kayla started cackling and bent over double. Evelyn cracked a smile but stifled a giggle when Anthea looked up at her with worried puppy eyes.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Not at all, ignore the mean blondie. The system says one left. You did an amazing job.”
“Well now, it looks like we saved the best until last. I swear that I will challenge the members of my guild, and push them to be the best they can be, and do the same for myself. I will lay down my life for the people in this room, if necessary,” said Kayla.
Evelyn’s mouth was agape. Kayla had changed the definition of the oaths somewhat. Or maybe the others just hadn’t been creative enough? The tower accepted them all the same, and judging from their expressions, all the others received the same message that she did.
All requirements have been met for the formation of a guild. The oaths uttered now bind the founding members, and the consequences of breaking your word will be severe.
The Guild ‘Defiance’ has been founded.
Comments
MischievousMuffin
That’s because little menace is his nickname for Evelyn, of course he will use it a lot ^^ as for the chapter names, I will take that on board
Eyo
It’ll be cool to see how the bank idea turns out. Two things to quickly point out are that, for the past few chapters, most of the father’s lines have included the words “little menace” (he repeats this a ton); and the chapters being titled differently on Patreon and RoyalRoad can be confusing (e.g., 2.15 = 66; need to cross-reference the two sites to figure this out). Both of these are small though, and thanks for the chapter.
IdolTrust
Snow flower. What a name. So Snow has a lot of essence so I would assume eve is not a person who figured out a way to get tons of essence gains. Maybe her mother or father might have a summoner class or skill to either create a being or a clone. If not one of them could run the bank/guild or hire an NPC to do the job.
