The Free Guild ｢自由組合, jiyū kumiai｣—often simply called The Guild ｢ギルド, girudo｣—is an international organization that can be considered a subordinate body to the Council of the West. Its purpose is twofold, ensuring the rights of its members while also keeping the people safe from Monsters.
It has over 60 Million members worldwide.[1]
Background[]
The Free Guild was created by Yuuki Kagurazaka not long after he moved to the west. With his position as Shizu's student, he was able to use her influence within the Mutual-Aid Guild to slowly reform the organization into his own and became the Grandmaster not long after.
The Mutual-Aid Guild was already an influential organization that existed outside of the control of any nation, but under Yuuki's careful guidance he was able to make the guild live up to its full potential. He negotiated with the council of the west, securing funding and the establishment of international laws that guaranteed the personal rights of each of its members in exchange for offering a portion of their adventurers as a defense force during times of crisis.
Within a matter of years the entirety of the west had become changed forever. The protection of the organized adventurers combined with the revolutionary rank system created by Grandmaster Yuuki and the guild's philosophy of protecting everyone equally ushered in a new era of relative peace.
This new era of peace created by Yuuki had ripple effects across all levels of society, leading to rapid expansion of cities and a population boom the likes of which the world had never seen.[2] Within a matter of years, human society became unrecognizable from its previous state. Even the development of new technologies advanced at a rapid pace thanks to the revolutionary new magic stone factory located at the guild's headquarters, a facility that converted magic crystals collected from Magic beasts into energy sources for magic tools.
Membership[]
Guild membership is a simple process, with anybody from any guild-affiliated nation being allowed to sign up. The registration requires a form to be filled out with information like their name, age, country, and specialty as best as they are able. After a waiting period of a day to a few days, they are then officially registered in the guild's database and issued an ID card.[3]
Benefits[]
Being a member of the guild comes with a plethora of benefits. Members have their rights guaranteed by international law, meaning any injustice against them or exploitation of their labor will be swiftly punished even if the other party is a noble. The ID cards they're granted also ensure their identity, something that makes traveling from country to country a much easier process. They're also granted access to guild resources such as trainers, vendors, and access to guild-owned libraries.
Above all these other benefits there exists one that stands above all the rest, freedom. Each and every member of the guild has their rights backed by international law and they are free to declare whatever guild affiliated country they wish as their home country upon signing up. This allows them to abandon their original country and become a citizen of another country without going through any government red tape.[3]
Those among the Free Guild that qualify as adventurers have the additional freedom to change their country of citizenship to any country that supports the guild at a moment's notice. Even if the country they want to become a citizen of is at war with their current country, they can just become a citizen of a third party country and then change it to their new country. This allows them free control over who they pay their taxes to, even if they actually live somewhere else.[3]
ID Cards[]
One of the many marvels created by the Free Guild is their identification system. After being registered with the guild, the information is registered in a magical database located in a top secret location and the member is granted an ID ｢身分証, mibun-shō｣ which is also known as an adventurer card ｢冒険者カード, bōken-sha kādo｣. It keeps track of their name, age, country, profession, and guild rank among others.
The ID serves as proof of their identity, able to be quickly verified at a database access point by the customs of any country or guild branch.[4] While crimes committed prior to admission aren't in the guild database, any crimes they commit after signing up are recorded.[5] This makes it impossible to abuse membership to flee to another country if they're wanted for a crime and is a way to see the trustworthiness of a hired adventurer.
The card also keeps track of the vital signs of its holder similar to the Life Search Aspectual magic, making it easy to confirm the deaths of members in the field without sending a search party.[6]
Divisions[]
Adventurer Guild[]
The Adventurer Guild ｢冒険者組合, bōken-sha kumiai｣ is a division of the Free Guild that entails taking high-risk jobs outside of the safety of cities, towns, and villages. Members of the Adventurer Guild are known as adventurers ｢冒険者, bōken-sha｣ and they're divided into three subdivisions based on their capabilities, though it is possible for an adventurer to be a member of two or even all three divisions if they meet the requirements.
The bare minimum to join and be considered an adventurer is to be capable of combat. This means the individual has to have a rank of at least D to qualify for membership.
Members of the Adventurer Guild are given additional benefits that normal Free Guild members aren't, with the main one among them being the freedom to change their citizenship to any country they wish.
Collection Division[]
The Collection Division ｢採取部門, saishu bumon｣ specializes in the collection of resources from the wilderness. This includes things such as herbs, fruits, and rare materials.
Exploration Division[]
The Exploration Division ｢探索部門, tansaku bumon｣ specializes in reconnaissance and exploration. This includes things such as tracking the movement of monsters, exploring ruins, and assessing threats.
Subjugation Division[]
The Subjugation Division ｢討伐部門, tōbatsu bumon｣ specializes in combat, particularly the subjugation of magic beasts and other assorted monsters. Due to the high risk involved, a rank of D-plus is required to join this division.
Magic Guild[]
The Magic Guild ｢魔法ギルド, mahō girudo｣ is a division of the Free Guild that exists independently of the Adventurer Guild. The condition for joining is being capable of casting some form of magic, and it seems to exist as an access point to guild-owned magical resources such as magic tomes.[3]
Adventurer Examinations[]
In order to register as an adventurer and rise to higher ranks, it is necessary for the member's capabilities to be assessed. This is carried out via specialized tests overseen by proctors trained from A-minus rank adventurers.
In order to take a rank up exam it is necessary to accumulate a certain amount of points based on the rank of the test they wish to take. Once they take a rank up test, they are free to challenge the next rank without gathering points, but if they fail they're required to wait a certain time period and to gather enough points to try again. Using this method, it is possible to climb the ranks extremely quickly if the examinee has the capability to match it.
For the A-rank exam, it is required to be overseen by an A-rank proctor within a specialized facility at the Free Guild Headquarters in Englassia.
Collection[]
The Collection Exam involves collecting a prepared or specified item from a nearby location within a certain time limit.
Exploration[]
The Exploration Exam is special in that it can only be undertaken in a singular facility. It requires the use of a specialized facility located in Englassia meant to mimic ruins in order to test its potential members.
Subjugation[]
The Subjugation Exam involves the use of a summoner as a proctor. The proctor and examinee will enter into an arena covered by a barrier, at which point the proctor will summon a monster equivalent in power to the rank of the test.
Known Tests[]
- E Rank - Hound Dog
- D Rank - Dark goblin
- C Rank - Lesser Bat
- B Rank - Lesser dragon[7]
Ranks[]
- F - The default rank given to all members of the free guild. It's less an indicator of strength and more of an intermediary rank until their true rank can be assigned.
- E - A rank given to those who have established themselves and have shown some basic degree of combat capability.
- D - The bare minimum needed to register as an adventurer and take field missions.
- D-Plus - A D-ranker who has gained enough points and experience to undertake the C-rank exam.
- C - The rank that most career adventurers possess.
- C-Plus - A C-ranker who has gained enough points and experience to undertake the B-rank exam.
- B-Minus - C-rankers that have failed the B-rank exam several times but are recognized as a cut above the rest in power.
- B - The highest rank most adventurers will ever achieve, representing the elite of the adventurers guild.
- B-Plus - A B-ranker who has gained enough points and experience to undertake the A-rank exam.
- A-Minus - An honorary rank for those that have failed the A-rank exam several times, but show great promise. Though their status is no different to a B-Plus, they're considered a cut above the rest in power.
- A - The highest rank an adventurer can achieve, representing the height of human strength. Only a very small number of A-rank adventurers exist and their names are known internationally. It isn't uncommon for an A-rank adventurer to be considered a Hero.
- Arlecio
- Aslan Coleus
- Cyrus Malukshure
- Gaiye
- Glaive
- Masayuki
- A-Plus - The best of the best among A-rankers. Anybody at this rank is without a doubt a Hero-class individual.
Quests[]
Quests ｢依頼, kuesuto｣ are jobs undertaken by adventurers, with their completion serving as a vital source of income. Quests are posted on a bulletin board at any given guild branch office and are in essence commissions from various employers.
The gathering of rare materials and monster parts, even without any particular request, are still regarded as fulfilling a quest. Though no money can be gained from this style of quest, it is still considered valuable as it rewards the adventurer with Points the same as any normal quest.[8]
Points[]
Points ｢点数, tensū｣ are a type of score or rating system, and are gained by completing quests. By gathering enough points it is possible to attempt a rank up examination, though if failed the adventurer in question will have to gather all the points needed for the rank up all over again.[3]
Parties[]
A Party ｢団体, pāti｣ is a group of adventurers who work together to complete quests. This can be done for a variety of reasons, such as for versatility or for taking quests ranked higher than any individual members, but the primary reason is safety. The average size for a party seems to be around 3 to 4, but some of the largest have over 50 members.
Council Obligations[]
In exchange for funding and the various agreements made between Yuuki Kagurazaka and the leaders of various nations, the Free Guild has several obligations to both the nations allied with the Free Guild and to the Council of the West that the Free Guild is considered a subordinate organization of.
The primary obligation is that of emergency aid. In times of great crisis, a nation allied with the Free Guild is allowed to summon up to 10% of the adventurers registered to their branch for use in combat. They are also required to send personnel to subjugate monsters if directly requested by the Council.[9] Most importantly, a great number of A-Rank adventurers are required to fight Guy Crimson's Daemons along the border of Englassia at all times.[10]
Though on paper the council and the Free Guild exist in a mutual relationship on equal footing, the cruel reality is that the Guild's activities are extremely reliant on the funding provided by the council. Thus the person who holds the most influence within the council (formerly Johann Rostia, currently Rimuru Tempest) has an astronomical influence over the guild's actions.
Branch Offices[]
Within each country allied with the Free Guild exists a branch headquarters, which acts as a central figure managing the guild offices stationed throughout the rest of the country. Additionally, there is a central headquarters located in Englassia.
Within each Guild Office there exist three departments; these being sales, general affairs, and adventurer. They're typically interacted with via a single long counter divided into three sections. Additionally, a branch headquarters is equipped with the necessary space to proctor a rank up exam.
Known Branches[]
Headquarters[]
The central headquarters of the Free Guild, which is located within Englassia's capital city Lura. It's equipped with automatic doors that scan for IDs and only open in the presence of an adventurer at B Rank or above. For those below the rank of B, they are forced to use a secondary branch office located closer to the entrance to the city. The Grandmaster's office resides within the building, located in a special space underground only accessible via a teleportation circle.
It's equipped with the only magic stone factory in the world, which uses elemental engineering to transform magic crystals gathered from monsters to produce magic stones in bulk.
Blumund[]
The branch headquarters of Blumund's Free Guild is located within its capital of Londo and its Guildmaster is Fuze.
Coleus[]
The branch headquarters of Coleus's Free Guild is located within its capital of Herbaria. It's an especially important branch that deals with the monsters that make it past the long wall from the desert of death and act as a bulwark that protects the rest of the western nations.
It is extremely loyal to their Hero, Aslan Coleus, to the point of being willing to secede from the Free Guild and declare their allegiance to him.
Falmuth[]
The branch headquarters of Falmuth's Free Guild is located within the Migam Earldom, located on the frontier between the rest of Falmuth and the Great Jura Forest. Its Guildmaster is Franz.
Malukshure[]
The branch headquarters of Malukshure's Free Guild is located outside of its capital of Sainte Malukshure and is instead among the frontier territories. It's a relatively small branch, but has been cultivated by Cyrus over the years.
Freedom Academy[]
The Freedom Academy ｢自由学園, jiyū gakuen｣ is an educational institution founded by Yuuki Kagurazaka and loosely affiliated with the Free Guild. In addition to serving as an ordinary school, it has adventurer classes taught by retired adventurers that prepare younger Free Guild members to become competent adventurers.
Yuuki serves as the school's chairman of the board, while the Principal is a retired adventurer once renowned as the "Lightning of Englassia".
Trivia[]
- The Lesser daemon Rimuru fought as part of their B-Rank test was unsanctioned and outside of the guild's guidelines. Hence its absence in the rank-up test section.
References[]
- ↑ That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime light novel — Volume 13.5 (pg. 5)
- ↑ That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime light novel — Volume 1, Chapter 4
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime light novel — Volume 4, Chapter 4
- ↑ That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime light novel — Volume 4, Chapter 5
- ↑ That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime light novel — Volume 3, Chapter 3
- ↑ That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime light novel — Volume 10, Chapter 1
- ↑ That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime manga (Spin-off): Trinity in Tempest — Chapter 57
- ↑ That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime light novel — Volume 4, Chapter 3
- ↑ That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime light novel — Volume 10, Chapter 3
- ↑ That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime light novel — Volume 10, Chapter 4