(Dyn)

  Dyn slid the tablet back across the ter toward Marlin. “Yes, I’ve got some questions, a lot of questions.”

  “Naturally,” Marlin replied, fshing a strained smile. “Which details would you like me to crify?”

  Dyn propped his on his knuckles, mulling it over. He still wasn’t sold on the refugee program, and the attendant’s half-hearted sales pitch didn’t help. His thirty-five years oh had taught him ohing: almost everyone had an ulterior motive, and no one did anything for free.

  He’d help people because it felt right, but learned fast that he was the exception, not the rule. What worried him most was that he couldn’t tell what the League gained from helping people—that usually meant it was shady.

  Doing the right thing just for the sake of it? Life oh taught him to dig deeper. He o figure out the League—who they were, what they wanted, and, most importantly, what they expected from him.

  “Let’s start with the League of Adventurers.” Dyn shot an expet look at Marlin.

  Marlin csped his hands together ahem on the ter. “Perhaps we could start with something a bit more... specific?”

  “Sure, so what does the League of Adventurers actually do?” This was his ce to ask someoher than Charles, who had beehan helpful so far. Last time, all Dyn got was—

  “tracts,” Marlin answered. Same as before.

  “tracts…?” Dyn blinked.

  Marlin Dyn, then leaoward Charles and whispered, “Are you sure he hear with those...?” He gestured to his own ears, leaving the rest unsaid.

  “Yes, I hear you just fine.” Dyn cut in, again answering for himself.

  “All well and good, sir.” Marlin straightened up. “The League of Adventurers exists to create, distribute, plete, and pensate for tracts.”

  “Should’ve called it the League of tracts.” Dyn chuckled, but her elf found the joke funny.

  Marlin rolled his eyes and sighed. “tracts are what we do, not who we are.”

  Dyn rubbed his thoughtfully. “Well, who, or what, is the League of Adventurers?”

  “An intergactic anization with hundreds of millions of active members spread across the known universe. We established, collected, anized, and maintaihe Adventurers System from the start. Teically, we are a sy, but we own no nd a only at the behest of se civilizations.

  “Our purpose is to use the Adventurers System to solve personal, social, eiviroal, and ological problems at local, global, gactid even universal levels when necessary. We avoid political problems but often deal with the fallout. Aside from g our own members, we have no official authority unless given temporary jurisdi through the tract System.”

  “Holy crap, you’ve created your own Starfleet.” Dyn leaned on the ter, a grin spreading across his face.

  ‘Wait, does that make me a redshirt?’ Dyn’s smile faded, he really hoped not. A disposable character they could kill off every episode wasn’t how he wao spend the rest of his life.

  Marlin raised an eyebrow slightly. “Am I right in assuming you wao expound on the tract System?”

  “Yes, assume away.” Dyn nodded eagerly, motioning for him to tinue. “Please, keep going.”

  “Right away, sir. The tract System ties into the Adventurers System. When we receive a request for aid, we create a tract. Several factors determihe rank of the tract, such as, but not limited to, the difficulty, urgency, and scope of the request. Then, the Open tracts Board publishes the tract, and an appropriately ranked member, team, or teams have the option to cim it. If no one cims it within a timely mahe Open tracts Board will assign an on-call resource to hahe matter.”

  Dyn crossed his arms over his chest. “Wait, this is all just some fancy magic ticketing system? You’re not Starfleet, you’re just an MSP—”

  “Don’t spell,” Marlin and Charles said again.

  Charles shot Dyn a sideways gnce, having already warned him previously. “Dyn, it’s sidered rude to spell.”

  “What? All I said was—” Dyn caught himself before finishing. “So, no as?”

  Charles just shook his head. The rugged elf pushed off the ter, crossed the room, and dropped into a seat, sloug fortably. The no-spelling rule seemed weird—he’d ask about it ter

  “Okay, fine. Please tinue,” Dyn said.

  Marlin cleared his throat. “After resolving the tract, its status will ge to ‘plete’. Handing it in will earn you its lootbox rewards.”

  “Lootbox?” Dyn’s eyebrows shot up. Lootboxes—his only weakness, aside from terror tubes and puns. Damn gacha games, the bane of his bank at.

  Marlin straightened his posture, his hands g together on the ter. “Shall I expin the Lootbox System as well?”

  “You’ve got a magic gacha system?” Dyn turo Charles, who was just ‘resting his eyes.’ “Those things are insidiously addictive.” He gnced back at Marlin. “I’m going to need more than an expnation. Got any free samples?”

  Marlin looked puzzled. “My apologies, sir. What do you mean by free samples?”

  “You know, a free lootbox.” ‘But why stop at one?’ he thought. “Or ten. Ten free lootboxes would be better.” He o himself. “Ba Earth, they gave out free samples all the time to hook people on games. Well, that and drugs—but I didn’t ds.” His smile faded. “Might’ve been cheaper to ds... I was a sucker for lootboxes.”

  Marlin sighed. “There are no free lootboxes, and they are for lised adventurers. The only way to get them is by pleting tracts. You are certainly insistent on learning about the League. Are you sidering joining?”

  “No,” Charles answered immediately from across the room. “We’re just here to get him into the system as a refugee.”

  ‘I thought he was asleep.’ Dyn realized Charles was much more attehan he looked, even though he seemed exhausted. “Not today, apparently. But that’s a good point. Does signing up as a refugee prevent me from being an adventurer?”

  “No. The two are not mutually exclusive. Although I would suggest resolving yee status before starting your journey as an adventurer.” Marlin leaned forward on his elbows.

  Dyn sighed. “A bit too te for that…”

  Marlin’s brow furrowed, his head tilting slightly. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Nothing, never mind.” Dyn noticed everyone else getting fortable, so he leaned on the ter too. “Just the expnation, I guess.” He frowned, still disappointed by the ck of free lootboxes.

  “Of course, the Lootbox System also ties into the tract System. Marking the lootbox rank and quantity is part of the process. We use a triple blind system to ensure fairness. The system is self-perpetuating: members with crafting abilities take a tract to create an item, gaining experien their ability while we gain items for the Lootbox System—aable trade.

  “The system bines crafted items until they reach a target value, thees an unmarked lootbox. It waits in the system until it is given out as a reward. No one, except the system itself, knows what is iil an adventurer opens it.”

  “Where’s the chart?” Dyn asked.

  Marlin narrowed his eyes slightly at Dyn, gng to either side, leaned in and asked, “What chart, sir?”

  “The drop rates for the lootboxes. Oh, they made everyone show the drop rates facha systems like this.” Dyn leaned over the ter, trying to sneak a peek at Marlin’s tablet, expeg him to pull it up.

  Marlin offered a thin smile, his voice calm and matter-of-fact. “We’re not on Dirt, sir, and there’s no such chart.”

  “So, no free samples, and no lists to see what I could get?” Dyn hung his head. “The only way to see what’s inside is by doing the dams?”

  Marlin folded his arms ly and shook his head. “No, sir. Quests are a guild system. Le from tracts.”

  Dyn squinted. “Wait, they’re not the same thing?” In video games, both words were used intergeably. The fact that they had separate meanings here was o him.

  “No, the League handles tracts, which reward lootboxes. Guilds offer quests to their members fuild standing.”

  “What does that get you?” Dyhe cept from video games. He wondered if it worked as a currency for items and services, a tally unlog new bes, or a mix of both. Either way, he wasn’t risking another reset on assumptions.

  “That depends on the guild, but even the smallest, most basies offer shops and crafting services from your fellow members.”

  Dyn tilted his head, his brow furrowing slightly. “And the League isn’t a guild?”

  “No.”

  Dyn leaned forward a bit. “What you tell me about guilds?”

  “Other than the fact that each is a collective of individuals? Not much. It is outside the purview of this discussion, I am afraid. But you will need a guild sponsorship if you want to join the League of Adventurers.”

  “But how I do that if you won’t tell me about them?” Dyn frowned, struggling with his own chi and egg sario.

  Marlin exhaled softly, spreading his hands in a gesture nation. “The League strives to stay ral. If I told you about one guild, I would have to tell you about every guild. And with each being so unique, I simply have her the time nor knowledge to do so.”

  Fair enough, but every answer seemed to lead to more questions. “So, back to lootboxes. Hypothetically, could an adventurer just make, like, hundreds of iron daggers and turn them in for a bunch of experiend lootboxes?”

  “If that were your pn, you might do better opening a treat shop catering to drai—they simply love muals. Keep the daggers blunt, and it would be a novel delight.”

  “So, I couldn’t hand them in for lootboxes?”

  Marlin shook his head with a ft smile. “Oh, no. Any bcksmith could make those. We desighe system to train and equip adventurers, so it needs at least on-raems. However, hundreds of on iron daggers would work—unless enhanced with fvor or nutrient entments, then I would circle back to the drai eatery cept.”

  Dyn wasn’t getting the answers he expected, and he felt more fused than when he’d started asking. He decided it was time for a more direct approach. “How do you stop people from gaming the system?”

  “By what do you mean?” This idea seemed fn to the attendant.

  Dyn pursed his lips, thinking about how to expin cheesing the system. “Like making a bunch of the same item to get easy experiend rewards?”

  Marliured with his hands as he spoke, growing more animated. “You are talking about practice. How does anyone improve without it?” He paused, tapping a finger lightly on the ter as if to emphasize the point. “With each craft, you would learn how to make the more effitly, eventually making a far superior product. The crafters get more skilled, and the recipients are better equipped. Why would we not want to reward that?”

  Marlin tilted his head, a faint smile f. “I think the better question would be: why stop at hundreds of daggers when thousands would reveal even more of your potential?”

  Dyn tapped a fio his lips. Those were all excellent points. Once again, the expnation was far more logical thah’s mi, fog on adding real value. “I think I’m out of questions.”

  “Excellent.” Marlin finished adjusting his hair and slid the tablet ba front of Dyn. “Would you kindly pce your hand on the deviay collect ynal?”

  Dyn pced his hand in the guidelines. “I think you mean signature—Ahh!” Three sharp needles stabbed deep into his palm. He grabbed his injured hand, staring down at the three tiny red holes in his quivering palm.

  “Huh,” Marlin muttered, staring at the drops of red blood unduting oablet. “I have never seen that before. Why is it red?” Marlin asked. Charles shrugged, and Dyn fainted.