Chapter 420: The Grand Guild Hall

The notification remained before Sage for several seconds before fading, leaving the completed gates of the Adventurer Guild Grand Complex in front of him.

One month ago, he had stood in almost the same place looking through a crumbling military entrance at weeds, abandoned barracks and roads cracked by decades of neglect.

Now two enormous gates stood open between reinforced stone structures bearing the emblem of the Adventurer Guild, and beyond them stretched an avenue so broad that several heavy merchant carriages could travel beside one another without blocking either direction.

Mina was already several steps ahead before Sage had properly started moving, while Boren and Pax followed more slowly, both staring into the complex with expressions that were difficult to read.

There had been construction plans, projections and thirty days of watching buildings rise, but seeing pieces of the Headquarters separately had been nothing like standing before the finished whole.

They crossed the threshold together. The first thing Sage noticed was how deliberately everything had been arranged.

The main avenue didn’t simply run toward the largest building. Smaller roads separated from it at carefully placed intersections, each accompanied by signs directing visitors toward different sections of the complex.

Some roads were clearly designed for public traffic, lined with broad pedestrian paths and landscaped spaces, while others were wide enough for freight wagons and disappeared toward the production and warehouse sections.

Separate carriage routes prevented supply traffic from clogging areas intended for adventurers.

Open plazas appeared between major facilities, and there were designated spaces where carriages could stop without blocking the roads. Even the distance between buildings had purpose.

The System hadn’t filled every available patch of land simply because it could. Entire sections remained open for future development, while existing facilities were grouped according to function.

"This isn’t a headquarters," Boren finally said.

Sage glanced at him.

Boren slowly turned his head toward another avenue branching away from them. "This is a town."

"A very expensive town," Pax added.

Boren’s expression immediately soured. "Thank you for reminding me."

Mina ignored them. She had already reached one of the large direction boards positioned beside the intersection and was reading the facility names with increasing excitement.

"There’s an arena."

"Later," Sage said.

"And a hotel."

"Later."

"Restaurants."

Boren’s head snapped toward the sign.

Sage immediately regretted allowing Mina to read aloud. "We’re starting with the main building."

Sage continued walking before the conversation could become more dangerous. The central avenue opened into a vast plaza, and the Grand Guild Hall rose beyond it.

During construction, scaffolding and temporary equipment had made judging its final appearance difficult.

Now nothing obstructed the view. Greyvale’s Guild Hall had seemed enormous when the Adventurer District first grew around it, capable of handling thousands of members and serving as the center of the Guild’s operations across Evergreen.

The structure in front of Sage made it look provincial. The Grand Guild Hall stretched across the far side of the plaza with several connected wings extending from the central building.

Wide stairs led toward multiple entrances rather than forcing everyone through a single doorway, while covered carriage points stood along the sides for officials, injured adventurers and deliveries requiring direct access.

Mina ran ahead and stopped at the top of the stairs. "Petty Uncle Sage, hurry up."

"I own the building. It isn’t going anywhere."

"You haven’t seen inside."

"Neither have you."

"That’s why you need to hurry."

The main doors opened automatically when they approached, and Sage stepped into the Kingdom Headquarters of the Adventurer Guild for the first time.

He stopped.

The entrance hall was enormous.

Several floors opened around a central atrium, connected by broad staircases and elevated walkways.

Natural light poured through tall windows and illuminated polished floors marked with directional symbols.

Long rows of counters stretched across different sections of the ground floor, while suspended signs identified their intended purposes.

There were enough seats in the waiting areas to accommodate crowds that would have filled Greyvale’s original Guild Hall several times over, and even those occupied only part of the space.

The ceiling rose high above them, making the entrance feel closer to a public station than an ordinary administrative building.

Boren walked past Sage, looked left, then right. "Who exactly are we expecting?"

"Adventurers."

Boren stared at the empty counters. "You may have built enough counters for every adventurer who has ever existed."

Pax had already moved toward the nearest directory. "Ground floor appears designed around ordinary member services."

Sage joined him. The System had divided functions that Greyvale often handled at neighboring desks into entire sections.

One side of the entrance level belonged to Adventurer Registration, with counters for new applications, identity verification, license replacement and record updates.

Nearby stood Party Registration, including dedicated desks for temporary expedition groups, permanent parties and larger adventurer companies.

Another section handled Mission Registration, where clients could submit requests for review rather than fighting for space at the same counters used by adventurers accepting work.

They continued deeper into the hall.

The mission section alone occupied an area larger than some Guild branches. Instead of one enormous board carrying everything from herb collection to monster extermination, there were multiple display areas divided by mission type and difficulty.

Standard missions occupied the public floor, while stairs led toward restricted sections intended for higher-ranked adventurers.

Private consultation rooms lined one corridor for clients who couldn’t publicly disclose mission details.

Sage found separate chambers for confidential commissions, politically sensitive requests and high-rank missions requiring Guild approval before information could even be shown to potential participants.

"That would’ve been useful during the Vault situation," Pax observed.

Sage nodded. "We’ll probably find something worse to use them for."

"Comforting."

The next section handled Rank Advancement. There were examination registration counters, interview rooms and access corridors leading toward testing facilities elsewhere in the complex.

Adventurers seeking promotion could have their mission histories reviewed here before being directed toward whatever practical assessment their advancement required.

The System had even separated ordinary rank progression from disciplinary reinstatement and exceptional advancement recommendations.

Beyond that was Dungeon Administration.

Sage slowed.

This section interested him immediately. There were offices for dungeon discovery reports, ownership and access disputes, expedition registration, dungeon hazard classifications and emergency closure orders.

Large map walls stood ready to display known dungeon locations once the Kingdom network began receiving information.

Separate counters existed for parties returning with newly discovered monster information or unusual dungeon phenomena.

One secured room appeared intended for storing sensitive dungeon records unavailable to ordinary adventurers.

"Evergreen is going to have to send copies of everything," Sage said.

Pax understood immediately. "Dungeon records?"

"All of them. Known locations, classifications, monster reports, casualty records, resource information. If this becomes the Kingdom Headquarters, information can’t remain scattered between branches."

That thought followed Sage as they moved into the next area. The Headquarters wasn’t merely larger because the Capital contained more people.

It was designed to gather information from every future Regional Headquarters and redistribute it through a single organization. The National Mission Network suddenly made more sense.

A crisis in one Region could eventually become visible here. A mission too dangerous for local adventurers could be escalated.

Specialists might be requested from another Region instead of every branch functioning like an isolated organization.

The public services continued. Rewards and Payment occupied an entire secured section with cashier counters, accounting rooms and protected transfer offices.

Monster Material Claims handled verification of kills, bounty evidence and mission-specific materials before valuable items were redirected toward processing or returned to their owners.

There were complaint offices for civilians and adventurers, disciplinary hearing rooms, appeal chambers and mediation rooms for disputes between parties.

One corridor led toward an Emergency Mission Center, clearly designed to operate independently from ordinary mission administration whenever monster outbreaks, dungeon breaks, natural disasters or other large-scale incidents demanded immediate mobilization.

Mina looked through an open doorway into a waiting chamber filled with rows upon rows of seats. "This room is bigger than some inns."

"It’s supposed to hold hundreds of people," Sage replied.

The upper public floors were just as extensive. Meeting halls ranged from small party rooms to chambers capable of holding hundreds.

There were briefing rooms equipped with map displays, secure areas for high-ranking adventurers, consultation offices for merchants and organizations, and entire sections intended for visiting Branch Guildmasters.

The farther Sage went, the clearer the hierarchy became. Ordinary Guild business occupied the lower levels.

More specialized functions moved upward and outward into separate wings. Regional and Kingdom-level administration occupied areas inaccessible from the public entrances.

Eventually they reached one of those controlled sections.

The doors opened after recognizing Sage.

They entered the administrative wing.

If the public hall had been built for adventurers, this part had been built for the organization behind them. Offices stretched along several corridors.

Conference rooms occupied the intersections. Record rooms, secure archives and communication chambers appeared between larger departmental areas.

There were workspaces capable of holding dozens of clerks in a single office and others intended for senior administrators with their own staff.

Sage opened the System interface.

A function he’d deliberately ignored since the Second System Update immediately responded.

[Department Management]

The panel expanded.

[Mission Administration Department]

[Department Head: Vacant]

[Adventurer Registration Department]

[Department Head: Vacant]

[Finance Department]

[Department Head: Vacant]

[Dungeon Management Department]

[Department Head: Vacant]

[Merchant Relations Department]

[Department Head: Vacant]

[Personnel Department]

[Department Head: Vacant]

[Regional Coordination Department]

[Department Head: Vacant]

[Security Department]

[Department Head: Vacant]

[Guild Logistics Department]

[Department Head: Vacant]

There were more beneath them.

Sage stopped scrolling. That could wait.

The System wasn’t demanding that he fill every position immediately, and Sage had no intention of assigning people simply because offices existed.

Evergreen had taught him what happened when an organization expanded faster than its administration.

Kingdom-level departments needed people capable of actually running them, not names placed into chairs for the sake of making the interface look complete.

They eventually reached the highest secured portion of the administrative wing. The Kingdom Guildmaster’s section contained Sage’s office, private meeting rooms, strategic planning chambers, secure archives and a large council room overlooking part of the Grand Complex.

Sage entered his office and found Boren standing at the doorway rather than following.

"What are you doing?"

"Thinking."

"About what?"

"About leaving." Boren replied.

Sage stared at him.

Boren pointed down the corridor. "I’ve seen enough. There are hundreds of offices in this building, Sage. Hundreds. Do you know what offices contain?"

"Desks?"

"Work." Boren stepped backward. "Greyvale has work. This place has industrial quantities of work. I’m returning to the hotel before somebody decides I’m qualified for something."

Sage caught the back of his coat before he made it two steps. "You came to the Capital because you understand Guild operations."

"That was before you built an administrative kingdom."

"You’ll survive."

Mina laughed and wandered toward the enormous windows covering one side of the council chamber while Sage released Boren. Pax was already examining the strategic map table, seemingly far less disturbed by the prospect of work than everyone else.

Sage was about to join him when Mina suddenly stopped laughing.

"Uh... Uncle Sage?"

Sage turned and looked at her.

Mina stood against the glass, staring upward.

"What?"

She raised one hand and pointed.

Sage walked over.

The window overlooked the central portion of the Grand Complex, giving them their clearest view yet of several facilities they hadn’t visited.

But Mina wasn’t looking at any of the nearby buildings.

Her face was tilted so far upward that Sage followed her gaze automatically.

Beyond the Grand Guild Hall, an enormous tower rose into the sky.

Mina pressed closer to the window, tilting her head almost straight back as she tried to find the top.

Then she slowly grinned.