«Well, that shit wasn't scary at all. Definitely didn't almost shit myself. Why did she have to get all moody and forewarning on me? I mean, obviously, I have to be in a pretty bad spot to consider being a Diver in the first place, and, yeah, the benefits look great, but that's because you are literally gambling your life!»
I pulled my jacket closer to the sides of my face and sunk my head inwards, hoping to shield my head from the wind from smacking my face any more than it already was.
I had been walking home from the Sundown Guild headquarters for a while now, and I was currently about a two-minute walk from my apartment complex. The whole time, I had been thinking about the stuff outlined by Darren, the guild recruiter, and what Iris, the emo hardrock manager, said before I left the building.
«I felt like a sword being forged in steel. One moment, I'm being shaped and fired up about this whole Diver business, and the next, I'm being plunged into cold water, quenching me before I am ready to go. They both had good stuff to say, but Iris's speech really hit home the danger I'm walking into, like now I am not sure whether I really want to do this shit now.»
«Damnit, woman, let me irresponsibly gamble my life away if I want to!»
I looked around me, looking for any shops or places of work I could apply for around the place; unfortunately, my apartment complex is pretty far from any work within walking distance, so I found a few. Still, most of them are too far to walk every day and would require some transportation—not a dealbreaker. Still, I would rather look for something closer.
It made me feel even worse about this whole Diver thing; as it turns out, Fate Baths can be profitable for everyone in a guild, even outside of the person entering the portal themselves.
Most people in a guild rarely even actually enter a Fate Bath unless they really are strapped for cash. According to Darren, people can take plenty of roles to ensure they secure a portal and make pretty good money.
All the way from Scouts or Recon Divers who search for unregistered Fate Baths to Convoy Guards and Medics. He mentioned that much of what he said would be covered more in-depth when I go through the Diver classes. However, he was able to give me more information that I could understand.
Basically, every Guild buys the rights of a portal from the government. When they get that portal, they both own the profit from it and the liability if it were to hurt or produce casualties. However, the Guild can buy the portal for cheaper if they are the ones to find the Fate Bath and register it with the government. So, the Guild commonly has members around the clock searching and registering Fate Baths that appear on the radar. These people are generally under the Portal Acquisition Squad or the Scouting Squad. They are responsible for finding the portal, determining its "rank," and then registering it with the government's Diver agency.
Once they have registered and determined if they want to purchase the rights to the portal, the Guild determines a day for the rest of the squads to deal with the portal.
On the day of "Dive Day" - the day they decided to deal with the Fate Bath - a guild would ordinarily have about 5 squads to deal with different activities related to a guild securing a portal profit.
First and most important is the Combat or Diver team, which comprises the actual Diver going into the Fate Bath and a person to enhance his chances of completing the portal; however, that is done.
After the Combat team has completed their portal, the Extraction/Siphoning team takes over. Darren didn't go into much detail about this since he said guilds usually have their own guild practices and secret trades. Still, basically, this is the squad that secures any profitable items or things from a conquered Fate Bath.
Once the assets are taken, the other three squads take over. The Guild Management contacts the government and requires the parties involved to know that the portal has been successfully conquered, and the Legal Advisor helps. The medical team ensures that any of the Divers' injuries are taken care of or, at the very least, stabilized until a more specialized team of Divers' medical personnel takes over. Then, the second most important and most secure team, the Transport or Security squad, moves the Assets to the needed channels. Due to the high price of these assets, the most veteran and strongest people are usually on the Transport Squad.
That is basically it, so although many of the people in guilds are individuals who have gone through a Fate Bath and become a Diver, it is common for non-Diver employees to take part in securing a Fate Bath for a Guild either as medical personnel, legal advisors, or any other activities that don't rely on personal with superpowers basically.
Due to this system, a Diver in a guild can go months or even years without actually entering a Fate Bath and risking their lives. Although the person entering the Fate Bath will obviously take home the most profit from the Dive itself, it will allow others chances to make a good living without the opportunity of mysterious and total death.
From what I gathered, as long as I completed my first Fate Bath alive, I would be placed into a team based on the power I received from my first Fate Bath.
Employees or members of a guild are rarely ever forced or pressured to enter a Fate Bath, and it is usually a volunteer position. However, some divers are more prone to entering the baths than others. Generally, due to debt or luxurious lifestyles, they need to uphold the benefits of entering a Fate Bath.
«So basically, make it past the first hurdle of possible death, and you can enter the profitable world of being a Diver. Amazing. They make it so lovely and good at making people glance over the high chance of death the first Fate Bath provides.»
The talk with Darren made me optimistic about trying out this Diver thing and joining their Guild, as it sounded like a pretty good opportunity.
Actually, I should say, it did make me a bit optimistic until Iris splashed a bucket of water that slapped the stupid juice out of me and made me rethink this whole thing from the other side.
Hearing about this high chance of death thing over and over again made me numb to the meaning of what it actually meant for a while. Her speech made me realize what it meant all over again. Death is dying; people die on the job all the time. Friends I know will die in this job, and I could die doing this.
«This is so fucked; you put this nice high-paying job right in my face, and then you slapped my face and wiggled your finger in front of me, and all I'm worried about is the chance of dying! Like, what else do I get that's worth living for?»
«Why, life gotta do me like this!»
I walked into my apartment complex gate and started walking towards the stairs going up; however, before I could start going up, a guy in all black with a ski mask on ran down the stairs and aggressively bumped shoulders with me, knocking me back a few steps at the bottom of the stairwell.
"Watch where the fuck you going, buddy! Stop running down the goddamn stairs, you much!"
With my already brooding mind, this event sent me a bit over the edge, and I yelled at the guy for slamming into me. At the same time, I got a better look at him.
The dude wore a black ski mask, a black puffy jacket, and some black jeans, all a bit mismatched and made him look like the average anonymous thug on the street. He also had an Adidas black duffle bag around his right shoulder, which, after slamming into me, he held tightly to and was apparently filled with items.
He looked at me with annoyance in his eyes as if he wasn't the one who slammed into me and barked back.
"Get the fuck out my way, ya fag."
After saying that, instead of just running away, he put his shoulder into slamming into my stomach and ran away after that, launching me back into the guard rail behind me, taking the air out of my lungs and putting me out of condition to chase after him or even respond.
After a few seconds of catching my breath, I looked around and couldn't find him anywhere, leaving me no choice but to continue my day. As with his outfit, I had no real identifiable feature about him other than his eyes.
"These damn rats on the street got no restraint."
I muttered under my breath slowly, walking up to my floor with my now aching back.
When I got to my floor, something was immediately off.
Most of the doors on my floor were cracked open or left half open for anyone to walk into. I also saw some people walking down the hall, looking at the area with concerned faces.
With an anxious heart, I ran towards my room number, forgetting my back pain.
What I saw made my heart drop a little. My door was open, slightly cracked.
«Please motherfucking not today, not today!»
I cautiously opened the door and was met with a scene I almost couldn't stomach.
My old laptop, phone charger, and a few more items in my room were missing, and my room was ransacked. I looked around, and only the items that were too big to carry were still there, like my microwave, coffee machine, and mattress.
I felt my eyes water a bit, and my mind went empty. The only thing I could think of was that thug that slammed into me down the stairwell. That could have been the thug that had taken my stuff, and I had unknowingly let the suspect run off.
My stomach rumbled, my eyes heated up, and I felt rage. Horrible, intense rage for my situation.
I closed my door and locked it.
Walked over to my mattress.
I punched. Slammed. Screamed. I tried to destroy something—anything—that could take the hit.
However, although I was angry, I also had a bit of restraint. I kept to things that wouldn't destroy or ruin my mattress, like punching, kicking, or throwing around the mattress.
[==={}===]
After a while, I got a bit tired and out of breath and just fell down on my mattress and laminated what just happened, just wordlessly drowning myself in self-pity.
«I'm tired. I tried. I trained. I budgeted. I planned my future. And still, where did that put me. Here, at my lowest, falling past the end zone. Not even failing. Just left here... forgotten.»
I looked around at my room, inspecting what I saw and what I had to my name.
I was left disgusted at where my life had left me. A broken apartment, a half-caked mattress, and an air conditioning unit that worked every other week. All my attempts at following the familiar, safe, legal path left me alone, broken beyond repair, and without a hand to help me back up.
I brought my phone in my face, with Darren's phone number below my finger. Thinking of the choices I had.
My mind came up blank. Clouded and focused on the closest thing that could get me out of this situation.
"What do I have here that's worth holding onto?"
My life?
...
...
...
After some silence, I started to hear the phone ring: Darren.
The phone only chimed a few times before Darren took the phone.
「Hello, this is Darren. Recruiter for Sundown Guild. How can I help you?」
I heard him respond, and I was left thinking for a second.
«There is no return. Not anymore.»
「Hello?」
"Hey Darren, it's me, Max."
"I've made my decision. I'm in."
Hearing my somber voice, Darren didn't speak for a moment but responded:
"Are you sure, Max?"
"...Yes, I'm sure."
Darren responds quickly: "Good. Get some rest. DEP starts in two days for you. Come to my office tomorrow."
"...Great."
I hung up and stared at my phone for a while. Recognizing what I just did.
However, contrary to what I expected, I didn't feel anxious or overthink my decision. For the first time in a while, something lifted. Not hope—but maybe numbness would do for now.
This is it, I guess. I either survive, or I don't.
Life felt much easier for me now, like the hundreds and thousands of options I had turned into just two.
«I think I can handle these two options.»
{---[==={}===]---}