"We have a lot to cover tonight and we're all busy people, so I will not waste anybody's time further." Miote motioned to Muko who had been standing by something with a cloth over it. At the chesch's signal, he pushed it over, wheels at the bottom making the task easy. Upon reaching the chesch, he removed the covering cloth without much fanfare to reveal a whiteboard. Of course, the Summoned were far from impressed. A whiteboard? That was so prevalent in school, they had even grown to hate the sight of it.

Miote did not miss the disappointment in their faces. "Some of you are probably thinking, Why a whiteboard? What use does that have?" Miote smiled as he tapped on the board. "Look beyond the board. Its very existence is what we should focus on. This piece of aluminum here is proof that we can create anything we want as long as we know the right materials and method." Grinning, he expanded, "Today it is a whiteboard, tomorrow, a dry-erase marker, maybe next we attempt a car. Or a plane. Hell, go crazy and build a space shuttle while you're at it! Point is, if you can imagine it, you can build it." Miote's grin widened at the expected eyes which rounded with shock and excitement. "I apologize to the Residents in our midst. Most of those terms are from our world. But the point still stands even for you guys. If you have something great in your mind, chances are we can build it. So, do not limit your imagination! Dream Big and you will Live Big!"

Miote's infectious words blazed through the hearts of those gathered. Breaths raced, and blood boiled as the audience imagined their respective desires come to life.

The chesch allowed the people to indulge in their fantasies for a couple of moments before snapping them back to the task at hand. "With that said, it is time to lay out the plans and dreams of our guild going forward, beginning with the new guild structure." Whipping out a marker from his inventory, Miote began writing on the board. "We will have nine main branches in our guild going forward. The first named the Twilight Wolves branch will be lead our very own Guild Leader Kashi. They will be the advance force of our guild, acting both as scouts and potential conquerors as we search for ways to expand Rosendun's borders.

"The Commerce Industry will be headed by myself. I will be in charge of ensuring the guild always has gold for our guild master's crazy ideas. I'll make sure we get the most profitable deals with local and international merchants, pioneering new ideas and strategies so our guild always remains ahead of the market.

"Our crafting division will be headed by a Resident dwarf named Nurguk Dyshari. Most of you are not aware he exists since he has never left the guild headquarters since he arrived. He acts both as a trainer and our most productive craftsman, churning out high-quality armor and gear regularly. For those wondering, all crafting divisions will fall under his jurisdiction. These include smithing, leatherworking, tailoring, rune-mastery & jewel making.

"Next, we have our R&D division, who will no doubt end up the greatest money sinks after our guild leader. Their sole job is to test out the unknown, the untried, to push this world to the limits and see if it pushes back. They attempt to discover or invent what no one has before. Here's to hoping successes come more often than failure.

"To fund all these, we'll need lots of gold. Not only from our commercial deals but also from loot obtained in dungeons and Raids. Leading this division will be Stryke, who unfortunately is not here right now. He is currently working hard to secure another source of income for our guild. He will be tasked with training new recruits in dungeons to get them up to speed, and challenging for top speeds in dungeons to advertise our guild to the masses. After all, it cannot be denied there is strength in numbers. Finally, they will be tasked with dealing with dissenters within the guild. Sorta like an Internal Police force.

"With Stryke and his team dealing with domestic issues, we need an army to fight off larger threats from the outside. Absalon is the Supreme Commander of our forces. He will work in tandem with the Twilight Wolves to attack strongholds marked or help defend certain areas. Luckily, Rosendun has agreed to place some of its soldiers under his care as he has continually proved himself to be a capable commander, even against terrible odds. The victory at Aygorzi displayed his full capabilities as both an outstanding general and an intelligent one willing to listen to suggestions of others. Under his watchful gaze, I see a strong future for our guild.

"An army without intelligence is like a prized fighter bound and blindfolded. He can thrash about, but will eventually be beaten black and blue, even by those weaker than him. To prevent this from happening to us, our great and wondrous Vice-Leader will head an Intelligence agency whose primary purpose of existence is to gather any and all information regarding everything from beggars on the street, to what time the Lords of provinces go to bed.

"This intelligence will also come in handy for our next division called the Saboteurs, who will be a small elite division with members whom most will never know exist. They will be tasked with assassination, thievery, espionage, and sabotage. Basically, they are elite viruses we send to destroy something somewhere."

Miote paused, taking a deep breath to calm himself. Holy Crap, those were a lot of words. His mouth almost hurt from all the talking. Yeesh, no wonder those agency people always kept their briefings short. No one wants to talk for so long!

A smile returned to the chesch's face as he continued, "Last, but certainly not least, we have the Arts & Music Division, headed by Lufer and Lunette. This division will have its headquarters here at the home of Arts & Music, with an aim to producing as many bards and artisans for the guild as possible. We will even be hosting a competition later to find new recruits. Art is, after all, money, and after experiencing the boosting effects of bards, I don't think there is anyone here who would rather go without right?"

All the warriors nodded stiffly. Just thinking back to the battle of Aygorzi, if they did not have the Orchestra to accompany them, that battle would have been a disaster.

Miote nodded, pleased with their reactions. "There is one other group, but they are not yet large enough to have a division of their own. In the future, we will have a lot of infrastructure being built around Rosendun and beyond. We will need a division solely to monitor these activities. It is our intention to create an infrastructure division after our current project in the south is completed."

"So, to recap," Miote clapped. "We have Nine and a half divisions. They are as follows:" he said, pointing to the board.

GUILD RESTRUCTURE

Twilight Wolves (Kashi) 

Commerce (Miote) 

Crafting (Nurguk Dyshari) 

Research & Development (Leila (temp)) 

Raids & Dungeons (Stryke) 

Advance Army Supreme Commander (Absalon) 

Intelligence Agency (Information Gathering) (Leila) 

Saboteurs – Assassinations, Thievery etc. (Leila (temp)) 

Music Industry (Lunette & Lufer.) 

Infrastructure (Leila (temp))

"With that squared away, we can move on to our upcoming projects," Miote said as he wiped the board with a cloth. The marker he made wasn't perfect, leaving some smudges on the board after it was wiped, but what the hell? He still had to thank his arts and crafts teacher in middle school for forcing him to learn how to make one of these.

Placing the cloth on the side, Miote continued, "Our guild has identified infrastructure as a dependable source of both short-term and long-term income. For that reason, we've been pushing hard to find new ways to implement infrastructure from our world into this one. So far, we have found successes with light, roads, and plumbing. The existence of magelights are great for adventurers, but they are too expensive for the common folk. To remedy this, our R&D department has designed a device powered by mana."

With a flip of his hand, a standard, common light bulb appeared in the chesch's hands. The chesch released a little of his mana, facing brightening into a grin as the bulb lit up. "Now, I would like you all to understand, as a merchant, I have very little mana, but the little I have put in this bulb is enough to power it for three weeks before it needs another recharge."

The light bulb in the chesch's hand followed all the rules for regular light bulbs in his world, except for one. At its base, a set of runes were inscribed, each with different tasks. Some of them were used to switch the bulb on and off. Another, when activated, converted mana stored in the metallic layering to the electricity used to power the bulb. The final one was the [Absorb] rune, which as it name implied, was used to absorb mana from an external source and store it in the copper base. Although copper was not the best conductor of mana, for the meager amount needed to power the bulb, it was more than sufficient.

All the runes used were easy, low-level runes. Compound that with the cost to make a light bulb and you have an easily affordable tool for all households, rich or poor.

Miote explained all these with a bright smile then added, "This little tool is gonna make us a whole lot of Syros, as well as drastically improve the lives of all the inhabitants of Rosendun. Following this, we have the plumbing system which we first tested out in Ranad. Luckily, it has passed all our tests with flying colors which means we can start looking to apply it in many more regions." Turning to Muko, he grinned, "No more going to the well or a stream to fetch some water. You'll be able to access water easily from the comfort of your home."

Muko's brow jumped, but he held in his shock. This guild flung out surprises like candy. It would tire him out to be shocked by each and every one.

Miote's grin widened, eyes almost turning to Syros signs as he exclaimed, "Just imagine the gain if every household in Rosendun pays just 10 Syros for this service! Of course, we won't charge something as low as 10 Syros, but just using that as a benchmark, our profits will be in the millions even after taxes. Tell me, do you think the Infrastructure division is important or not?"

The guild members frantically nodded, eyes sparkling with promises of riches. Who gave a damn if all these so-called 'inventions' were just rehashes of things existing in real life? It did not change the fact their guild had been the first to consider bringing them over. And it especially did not change all the Syros they were going to earn from this! What's more, by the time the money exchange rolled around, they would be rolling around in both real cash and in-game Syros! They could not wait! Hell, if they could they would sign up for the Infrastructure Protection Squad! Touch their moneybags!? You must be tired of living!

Miote allowed the pressure in the room to boil before taking out two rolled-up portraits from his inventory. "Next, we will talk about transportation." The entire room fell silent, eager to hear the chesch's next big reveal. "To ensure commercial success in Rosendun, we need to limit not only the time spent by our merchants to deliver and receive goods but also the risks involved. To that end, we will be introducing two inventions to help us deal with this. First," Miote unwrapped the portraits and stuck them to the whiteboard. "The locomotive trains," he said, pointing to the portraits which depicted someone's concept art of two different looking types of trains.

"I will not bore you all with the details of how exactly we made this a reality. What is important to note is that these trains can run at up to 250 kilometers per hour (150mph)." Miote paused to let the reveal sink in. "Our greatest challenge, building tracks able to withstand trains running at such speeds was easily resolved by using high-level ores." Shaking his head, he muttered under his breath, "Indeed this world is vastly superior to ours in certain areas."

With a smile, Miote returned to the portraits. "You'll notice these two models are different from each other. The first is the traditional steam engine the Summoned will be familiar with which relies on coal for fuel." Miote paused, adding with a cheeky smirk, "Albeit with some additions to make it befitting of this world." He then pointed at the bottom portrait, a train with no chimney. "The other will run on mana provided by massive mana crystals. The second model is much faster than the first but is a hell of a lot more expensive. We are still searching for viable mana sources except for those absorbed from people. When we do, we'll be able to create more designs like these."

"Speaking of expensive inventions..." Without giving the audience a moment to collect themselves, Miote snatched the portraits from the board and placed a new one. A wide grin stretched across his face as he simply said. "Skyboat... enough said."

If the trains caused murmurs to gently rise among the Summoned, the Skyboat caused the room to turn upside down as the Maggots stared, mouth agape at the portrait. Even an idiot could tell the value of such a thing. Merchants pictured the sharply reduced risks, some imagined the blissful feeling of flying among the clouds, while the military men strategized all the possible advantages a flying contingent could bring to a battlefield.

"All I will say about the Skyboat is that it's already in its middle stages of development," Miote said. "In another month or two, the very first model should be complete." Riding on the momentum of the audience's shock and awe, he disclosed, "Construction of train tracks have already begun. To begin, we'll have an express line running from Aygorzi, through Meilfour, Suvron's Gate, then down to Kerta and Riven."

"So that's why he wanted the bridge to be that wide," Absalon muttered under his breath, casting a wary glance at the daeben seated at the podium. Just how far ahead did this guy plan really?

"Security for both the trains and tracks will be co-handled by the guild, Rosendun's soldiers and through contracts leased out to the Adventurers' Guild," Miote explained. "This will reduce train hijacking incidents as well as ensure a steady source of income for mercenaries looking for a job."

Turning to Absalon, the chesch said, "On that note, I think it's time we move on to the next section of our upcoming projects. The army has been more than successful in their recent efforts, going far beyond what many would have thought possible." Exposing a sheepish grin, Miote said,
"But their job is far from finished. The better you are at your job, the more responsibilities you are assigned."

With a light chuckle, Miote took down the Skyboat portrait to write down three points on the board. "In that vein, we would like the army to host two events. The first, a recruitment event which any Rosen citizen, Summoned or Resident can attend. The aim is to bolster our ranks against future endeavors. I am sure the Supreme Commander can think of some drills to weed out the potentials from the masses." At Absalon's short nod, Miote continued, "The second, will be a tournament hosted in Aygorzi. The purpose of this tournament will be to select the truly elite and the hidden gems whom would normally not make an appearance. As for the prize..."

Miote turned to Kashi, who nonchalantly nodded, "A few Legendary weapons a Divine artifact should do right? Maybe add a couple hundred thousand Syros."

A chill ran throughout the room at the daeben's nonchalance. A few Legendary weapons... a Divine artifact... Couple hundred thousand Syros. What the hell!? If you don't know what to do with wealth, why don't you give it to us!?

Miote coughed, managing to hide his embarrassment. Jesus, this daeben would be the death of him. Do you have to posture so hard? Jesus, we know you're awesome. You don't have to rub it in our faces. Finally catching his breath, Miote muttered, "Uh... Yes. Those should be enough to draw out the Crouching Tigers and Hidden Dragons. Our guild could always use some extra elites."

With a light cough, Miote pressed on, "Continuing on, when the recruitment events are complete, Absalon-san, you will be tasked with cooperating with Rosendun's army to consolidate the garrisons and forts within her borders to ensure there will be enough soldiers to protect every province in the country. You might also be tasked with helping with the clearing efforts in Merriheim to wipe out any pockets of resistance and set up garrisons and forts for the country's soldiers."

"Duty Accepted," Absalon briskly accepted.

"Finally, and I know it's been a long talk, but bear with me please, are the projects for the Commerce Industry," Miote said with a smile, evidently pleased to talk about his own division. "The Hopeful Maggots Enterprise has multiple investments in small businesses both in Merriheim and Riven, with some preparations being put in place for businesses in Aygorzi with an aim to boosting the local economies while securing a steady stream of long-term profit.

"We have also opened up a new auction house here in Merriheim where we sell rare works of high-quality art and music as well as rare items found by adventurers in their travels outside in the world. Although it is nowhere near as prestigious as the auction house of the Adventurer's Guild, it is a start, and we aim to have it profligate around Rosendun within a few months."

Miote paused to take a deep breath. Nearing the end of his speech, his expression suddenly turned grim. "I have spoken about many things today. New inventions, discoveries, and innovations in the industry. What sets us apart from the other guilds is the fact that we were the first to make all these. But what stops the other guilds from just copying us and stealing our businesses right from under us? After all, this world does not have the logic of patents and copyrights?"

The Summoned froze, expressions turning bitter as they realized the horrible truth. Indeed there were no patents or law agencies to prevent theft of ideas. They could rant and rave all they want, but in the end, this was a world without laws. Someone could easily steal all these ideas and make their own without any consequences.

"But you do not have to worry," Miote's calm voice drew the audience's attention. Hm? Did he already have a solution? "Some time ago, in this very room, I held a meeting with the top merchants in Rosendun. Merchants whose words are akin to the law among those in these lands. In conjunction with them, we have agreed to set up a Merchant's Guild. We will make it so if anyone wants to be a respected merchant in this country, he or she'll need to be signed up to the Merchant's Guild." Miote spread out his hands. "With that as a base, setting up laws to govern trade and enforce fair trade across the land regardless of status will be easy. Yes, even things like copyrights and patents will be put in place to protect the ideas of their creators. Such that if anyone wants to make these things, they will need to pay a price to the original owners."

Miote leaked a devilish grin. "I'm sure you can all guess the first couple of patents to be fast-tracked right?"

Miote laughed inwardly at the expressions of shock and disbelief spread out across the room. Many looked at him like he was some sort of crooked devil. Who would have guessed this golden frivolous looking chesch would be such a despicable person? Gazing at the daeben seated behind him, they could not help but shake their heads. Indeed, one can tell the character of a leader from that of his subordinates. A devil begets another devil indeed.

If Kashi knew what these people were thinking as a result of Miote's actions, it's a wonder how he would react.

Miote, enjoying the flabbergasted gaping jaws, chuckled as he said, "Hold on to your jaws. We're not yet done. The final item on the list today is one which even I did not think possible until a few moments ago. I will leave it to our esteemed guild leader to explain."

Miote gingerly stepped to the side as Kashi stood from his seat and stepped down from the podium. He scrolled through his inventory and tapped on a certain painting.

BOOM!
A huge pressure burst across the room, sending bottles and cups flying off tables, crashing to the ground. The source of this burst of mana floated conspicuously beside the daeben, not requiring a stand to sustain itself. If one paid close attention, they would notice streams of mana floating into the painting by the daeben's side.

That's right, this was Takahara, the very painting which had shaken Aygorzi to its core. The painting with a miniature habitable world within it. After explaining what the painting was, and its origin, Kashi began disclosing its purpose, "Takahara allows us to do something we initially thought impossible—Build a working Banking System in this world." Kashi first gave a rough overview of the purposes of a bank for the sake of the Residents, then continued, "When we first began considering building a banking system, we came across two major issues. Namely, Security and Accessibility."

"On the Security aspect, we knew it would be a disaster if petty thieves could easily access major banks and rob the vaults, especially when done by Summoned who can carry an unlimited amount of Syros. So, we needed to create a security system that discouraged robbery as much as possible. At least for the main banks.

"The second issue we encountered was accessibility. Say I deposit one thousand Syros in one major bank. What are the odds I can get that same account in another bank? In our world, such transactions are made possible because money can be easily transferred from one branch to another, either by hard cash or wire transfer, but that is not feasible in this world. There are too many variables to consider if we want to transfer huge amounts of Syros from one location to another for us to deem it feasible."

"Which brings us to Takahara here," Kashi leaked a grin as he thumbed at the painting. "Within this painting is a world that can hold up to 500 square kilometers of space. If we have a headquarters within this painting, no one can access it without being a member of, or accompanied by a Maggot. At present, there are only five keys in existence. I intend to place one at our headquarters in Ranad, then have three placed in major banks at Riven, Merriheim, and Aygorzi respectively. If at the end of every business day, all the money is placed in Takahara, and only little is taken out at the start of the next, thieves would soon realize there is little to no gain to attacking these banks, especially with the security detail which will be assigned to each one. An added bonus is the allowance for people who want to travel to place huge amounts of Syros in one branch, say our Riven branch, then pick it up at Aygorzi for one purchase or another."

Kashi paused, eyes darting across the room. "Tell me, is this a good plan or not?"

The room went totally silent, everyone staring at the daeben with faces which were tired of disbelieving everything every ten seconds. Still, they could not deny the wondrous truth revealed to them!

Clap! Clap!

Everyone turned to see the stoic-faced Syèl, whose palms jammed together every other second, gaze holding within them a hidden pride. Ahead, Absalon's thunderous applause shook the room as he too stood from his seat, dark eyes deeply staring at the daeben before him. Thoughts of I did not choose wrong rang through his head, ever grateful for losing that battle at Riven. If he had won, he would have gained a city and lost the world.

Lunette and Shadow were the next to rise up, dainty hands rapping together with such speed, some would think they were attempting to beat a record. Lunette's eyes held no small pride and undisguised admiration as she cheered shamelessly for her beloved. Shadow, although as reticent as always, leaked a small smile, evidence of his pride in the daeben and the guild in general.

Leila and Jade led the rest of the audience to their feet as they jammed their hands together, letting out sharp whistles and birdcalls. No one knew who started it, but soon a small shanty that the army made up during their time in the islands began echoing in the room as they cheered and drank cold beer and mead provided by Muko.

"Haha! We may be Maggots but yay we are Hopeful,

You kill one of us, Er' we'all be chopping you,

We may be Maggots but yay we are Hopeful,

Ouch! Those are Maggots in yer veins!"

The meeting had all but ended, marked by Kashi putting Takahara into his 'inner world' and joining the celebrations. He drank along with Absalon and the guild leaders who were each in their own way stunned beyond belief by the scope of the meeting they had just attended. Not one of them thought of betraying the Maggots to steal their ideas.

Are you kidding? It could clearly be seen just how much preparation had gone into this before the Maggots made the guild announcement. Who knew how long it would take them to come to the same level of preparations? Even if they managed to do so, the Maggots would have long since begun reaping a profit. There was no good reason to make an enemy of people with such great foresight. Much better to tag along for the ride and reap as many benefits as possible while they were at it.

Kashi, overjoyed by the positive responses from the guild leaders discussed further details with them, suggesting and counter-suggesting methods by which they could cooperate with the Maggots.

The discussions were good, the company, even greater. The music, provided by Lunette and Co. was outstanding, the beer cold and the wind chilly. A great night overall with festivities seemingly having enough momentum to spill into the morning. Life was great, which to the fates that governed the life of the daeben, just should not be.

BOOOOM!!!

The Maggots, once in a festive mood, sprawled into battle mode as a massive explosion tore the entire roof off of Rine's Bar. Weapons drawn, the Maggots warily stared at the intruders, whose auras alone pressed down on their chests like a ten-tonne hammer. The Summoned, familiar with these intruders paled with fright, but their pride as Maggots strengthened their grips atop shaking swords, bows, and staffs.

Kashi spared the intruders a glance from the corner of his eyes before he returned to the jug of mead before him. Raising the mug to his lips, he lightly sneered, "Get it over with and get out."    

******************

A/N: Part 2 Finished! We are now up to 10K words! I have not showered today. Stink badly. Gonna to take a break to refresh myself, then return for the last part of this three part chapter. With any luck I'll be done with it today. (Already roughly 500 words into Part 3)

Oh yeah, Hope you guys survived the massive info dump. Every novel has them once in a while. Though in my defense, most of these things, you guys already knew. This was a way for the characters in the book to all know about it in a way that is coherent and makes sense. Also, as they say, "It ain't canon till it's exposed in an info-dump."

What? Nobody says that? Just me? Well, now you do too! HA!

Video of the Day.

The video below is from a channel called Imrael Productions. Awesome channel for GMVs overall, but this one, in particular, I particularly love, just because whenever I listen to it and watch the video, I get an urge to return to my maiden novel, Shinigami Rex. The entire story for that novel is still very much alive in my head. Sometimes I wish I had a proxy writer whom I could trust enough to give entire plots to so he/she could pour out all the ideas spinning in my head to paper.

Oh, also word of advice. The track here is so much better with headphones. The bass is needed to get the full experience

https://youtu.be/J8RloGi271M

See y'all in the next chapter! :)