Soul Art Online: Chapter 8: Fairy Tail (Patreon)

Soul Art Online

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Chapter 8: Fairy Tail

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- Arthas -

Lights flashed all around us like fireworks without burning any one of us as a message appeared in the air in front of us.

“The First Player Guild in the world of Arcana has been established.”

“The Fairy Tail Guild has been established.”

We all looked at the scene in shock. The message appeared not only in front of me but even them even when they were not in the Guild.

This message….it was a game wide announcement.

Thankfully they didn’t announce my name or people would be hounding us even more than possible.

We looked at each other and I read further. 

Select Guild Perk

Perks Points Available: 1

Many options appeared in front of me.

Mage’s Delight Level 1: 2% Increase in Magic Damage

Cost: 1 Perk Point

Fighter’s Will Level 1: 2% Increase in Physical Damage

Cost: 1 Perk Point

Nimble Hands Level 1: 5% increase in Production Speed

Cost: 1 Perk Point

Hard Bargain Level 1: 3% Reduction in cost when buying anything from NPCs

Cost: 1 Perk Point

Adventurer’s Luck Level 1: 5% Increase in Gold Coins gains

Cost: 1 Perk Point

Power of Friendship Level 1: 5% Increase in Exp Gain when in party with at least one guild member

Cost: 1 Perk Point

Power of Friendship….seriously?

I resisted the twitching of my eyes. Then again, this guy made a whole game with anime related easter eggs. Something like this should be expected and not a surprise anymore.

“What does it say?” Shiroe asked, looking at me reading something in the air.

“It’s asking me to select perks.” I answered and explained everything which Shiroe noted down promptly.

We had the option of selecting the perks later so I skipped it for the time being and completed the creation of the Guild.

Congratulations!

You have unlocked a secret Achievement.

Leading the Way!

Title Gained: The First Guild Master

Reward: +2 Guild Perk Points

Keep seeking more of these secrets hidden in the world of Arcana.

Congratulations Traveller.

You have discovered another secret!

Traveller.

A Special Title given to those who complete the Hidden Quests, Man of Culture.

+7 to all stats.

+14% to Exp Gained.

Note: The Effect of the Title can be enhanced the more secrets the Traveller discovers in the world.

Reward: 5 Mage Class Cards

….I looked at the message in front of me with an open mouth.

Class Cards?

Suddenly an idea hit me and I summoned the Class Cards in front of me.

“What are these?” Veena asked, looking at the cards.

I passed one to each of them and looked at the Cards.

Mage Class Card

Unlocks Mage Class on use.

Requires Level 60 to use.

Was it because of the Fairy tail reference? I got Mage Cards because I am making a Guild called Fairy Tail?

This was my best guess.

I looked at Shiroe’s deadpan expression as he looked at the card. “Are all of them the same?” He asked.

I nodded, crushing his hope. “Sigh. Just my luck.”

“You still have experience with the class which they will never be able to get by using the Class Card.” I offered.

“I guess. So….what do we do with the extra three?” He asked.

“Keep them for others who can become core members of the Team. I think Mage might be a requirement for many higher level classes like Magic Knight or something.” I replied and looked at them.

“Sounds reasonable. It will give us some flexibility in the team too. Anything else.”

With that I looked at the other rewards.

Title: The First Guild Master

Effect: +20 CHA, +2% Experience Gain to your Guild Members as long as you are the Guild Master.

That’s actually a very good gift.

“I got a title and two more Perk Points.” I explained the effects of the Title and Shiroe wrote it down too.

“That’s very good for a title and the Guild Perk Points are always good to have. As for what to invest in, we need something which our Guild will need to attract people first. Since we are planning to focus on exploring, we should use the Power of Friendship, Hard Bargain and Adventurer's Luck.” He said, and then after some more thought added, “Just in case, get Power of Friendship first and see if we can get something else for Level 2 of that Skill. Before that add us to the guild first.”

“Alright.” I did as he said and light flashed around me.

Power of Friendship Level 1 was active.

Just below it a few more things appeared though.

Power of Friendship Level 2: +10% Increase in Experience Gain when in a party with your Guild Member

Cost: 2 Perk Points

Apart from that another perk appeared.

Friends with Benefits: +5% Gold Coin Drops when in Party with another Guild Member

Cost: 1 Perk Point.

“Another perk appeared along with level 2 of the Power of Friendship Perk.” I said while Shiroe and Veena were checking the rest of the Guild Options.

“So it’s in the form of a Perk Tree. I just looked at the Guild System and our Guild is at Level 1 and we need experience to Level up the Guild. We need to figure out how we get the experience for Guild Levels. If we get more perk points, we can discuss how to spend those. For now, Power of Friendship Level 2 sounds better. 10% Experience boost is massive at this stage, especially for the lower level players.”

“Alright then.” I added the last 2 Guild Perk Points to the Power of Friendship and got it to level 2.

My added experience gains were insane at this point.

“Wow, 10% more gains. That’s awesome. This is the first time I have seen something which gives Experience gains” Shiroe cheered as he checked the Guild Menu.

….

I suddenly felt guilty for hiding my other bonuses.

With the rate my titles and other effects were piling up, they would very soon see the difference. With my increased experience, I have been able to keep up the same pace as the rest of them even when I am one Tier higher than them.

It was not just that. There would come a time when someone from other Villages who also got this title meets us and if they disclose the information, I would lose the trust of my teammates for keeping such a secret from them.

In fact, Shooting Star might have one too since he was so fast and from another village. It was actually a surprise that someone got to Tier 2 before Shiroe in his village and hadn’t revealed the title.

I needed to come out with this.

“Is something the matter, Arthas?” Veena asked, looking at me in worry.

“I….This is not the first Experience Gain buff I have seen.” I said finally.

“Eh? Are there more?” Shiroe asked, quite curious.

“There is another title….or rather a series of titles which can give similar effects.” I started.

“Oh, which one?” He asked.

“I got it when I became the first Player to get Tier 2 Player from my village. It gave a +10% Increase in Experience Gain.”

“That’s….I didn’t know there was a title like that. I guess I wasn’t the first person to get Tier 2 in my village then. What’s the title called?”

“It….well it’s called ‘One in Hundred’.” I answered, hesitantly.

“Sigh, that’s a bummer. I missed that.” He sighed and then looked at me. “Anything else? Wait, you said a series of titles.” He completed with realisation hitting him.

I scratched my cheeks awkwardly. “Yeah. The title upgraded to ‘One in a thousand’, ‘One in ten thousand’ and ‘One in a million’ when I gained T3, T4 and just now the T5 Job first in my Town, Prefecture and Country. With each upgrade, the Experience Gain was increased by ten percent.”

“....40%. You have 40%, no wait, 52% more experience gain! That’s hax dude. No wonder, you could keep up with our levelling speed even at your level. I honestly thought you were some kind of special NPC for a while or that it might be due to the Class you were using.” And he went on and on.

….actually I had 66% extra Experience gain right now but The Traveller was where I drew the line.

There was no way I could explain that to them in a normal way.

“That’s awesome!” He exclaimed at the end of his words.

“....you guys are not angry?” I asked, surprised at their lack of mistrust.

“Angry? Why?” The man asked, confused while Veena just chuckled.

“I guess Arthas here was feeling guilty for keeping the fact from us all this time.” Veena explained as she looked at me. “You don’t need to worry about us. That title….we never had any chance of getting that. If it hadn't been for you, it would have taken me far longer to get to the level I am now. I would have been Tier 1 while you were Tier 3. Shiroe didn’t have any chance either as the title of the Prefecture Level was already obtained by you and we have been hunting together since then and his levelling speed has only increased.”

“She is right. I mean I would have been angry if you had hidden something which could have been shared from everyone to yourself alone. That would have been different. But this….well, we never had any chance at it so no reason to get angry. Although, do tell us such things from now on or I would be depressed about sucking at the game if I can’t keep up.” Shirone added too.

“....thanks.”

“Great, now that that’s done. What else do we need to check? Hmm, let’s see. There is a limit to Guild members and it increases with Guild Level. Currently we have a limit of one hundred members and with fifteen Guild Levels, we can get more later on. You two should use the Class Cards by the way and see if you can unlock any other Classes.”

I nodded and Veena picked up the Class Card too, using it herself.

T4 Class: Mage Unlocked.

T5 Class: Magic Knight Unlocked

As expected, there was another option for Knight.

Magic Knight was below Holy Knight I guess.

We discussed more things and explored the Guild option. I saw that the location we were currently in was set as our Guild Hall so I guess we could rent the place.

By the end of it, we were quite late and decided to part ways.

Unsurprisingly, I was dragged to the bedroom by Veena. This being the third day, I was more used to the situation and handled myself quite well.

As I lay there, in the bed with her, I recalled something and spoke up.

“Veena.”

“Hmm.”

“That thing you said about not trusting another person in the forest over a human. Does it apply to us as well?”

“Oh my! Has that been worrying you? Is that why you were feeling guilty and came out clean with your title and its effects?” She giggled.

“No….not really. I could just never….bring the subject up.” I finished.

“Because we were not that close back then. I can understand your reason perfectly well. I can see people trying to kill you to remove you from the way so that they could gain the titles for themselves. Revealing something like that takes a certain amount of trust between people. As for my words….I meant the general behaviour of people. I won’t lie and say that I trusted you from the first time I met you. I might be good at reading people but I don’t give out my trust so easily.”

“And has that changed now?” I asked.

She smiled at my question. “For our first month, I always kept enough poison with me to take down a dozen people for protection in case something….bad happened.”

I suddenly felt a severe chill run down my spine and looked at her with wide open eyes.

First month….and that was when she was teasing me with views of her in a towel….

She looked at my expression and put a hand on my head. “And now you are sleeping with me in the same bed. Does that give you your answer?”

I tried to say anything but couldn’t find words.

She spoke again, breaking the silence between us. “Since we are talking about secrets, let me tell you something else.”

I looked at her and by now she knew my ‘go on’ look enough to continue.

“What do you know about our world, Arthas?”

“Our world?”

“Yes. Our world. And I do not mean the one inside this….game. Our own world.” Seeing my confused look she continued. “Our world is….not as simple as you see.”

“Hmm?”

“There is a huge world outside of what people….normal people know of.” She continued and then turned on her back to look at the ceiling.

“You mean the Underworld, gangs and all that?” I asked.

“Underworld, yes. Gangs and….all that….no. The ones I mean is the Supernatural. Gods and Dragons, Angels and Devils, monsters from the myths….the stories you might have heard as a kid….are mostly true.”

….

….

….

….

I narrowed my eyes.

I mean I am a reincarnator and the Game Master was almost one hundred percent another reincarnator but apart from that I hadn’t noticed anything.

Sure, they can be hidden but the chances of that are too low.

Is this her new way to pull a prank on me? She always ups her game when I stop giving her reactions she expects.

I just rolled my eyes and smiled. “I see.”

“You don’t look like you believe me.” She smiled looking at me.

I shrugged. “I mean, would you if you were in my place?”

“Hmm, point. And I don’t have anything as evidence to show you either so it will be hard to make you believe. Anyways, just treat this as me opening up about my own secret. Then, where was I, ah yes. Supernatural is real and I am one of them. Can you guess what?”

I looked at her mischievous smile and decided to play her game. “Do I have any options?”

“Keep guessing then. When you guess what I am, I will tell you more about myself.”

I smiled and shook my head. “Sure.”

“Oh, are you not afraid that I could be something dangerous like a monster or a demon?”

I rolled my eyes. “You don’t need to be a monster to be dangerous. You are plenty dangerous by yourself.” I added with a laugh.

“Oh my, you have such a silver tongue.”

“But then again, why even disclose something like that?”

“The same reason as you. A show of trust.”

I got the rest of her unsaid words. ‘So that if one day I find out about her from an outside source, we don’t just break apart.’

“I see. Thank you.”

“You are welcome. Now come here, I want my favourite pillow “

With that she pulled me to her and hugged me.

I too was tired from all the stuff that happened today and decided to sleep.

As for the Supernatural world….it might be true or it might be a prank. Anyways, it was outside this game and none of my concern for now.

I had enough on my plate to worry about. I didn’t need more. I mean just imagine I tire myself out and 

- Venelana -

She watched as the boy slept peacefully.

Revealing information about herself was a risky move on her part, especially considering that inside this place, she didn’t have her power or identity to cover up for her. It was one of the reasons she was far more careful than she would normally be.

Over the past few months, she had come to trust Arthas and Shiroe quite a bit but she had been alive for over a thousand years and had seen trusted people turn on one another at the turn of a hat. Right now, she was not in a position where she could take any chances.

The reason she only left him with this much information was because she was banking on him not knowing about the Supernatural and giving him time to think about things will help him make his own assumptions, something that he is comfortable with and probably acclimate to the idea of her being a non human.

During this time, she can see his reaction to other races and his thoughts about them and decide how to proceed from there. Although, she hoped he would be more understanding.

She had come to like the boy quite a bit in these months and would hate to see their relationship suffer due to her identity. It was why she took the initiative to tell him about it on her own lest he finds out about it later on from someone else in which case saving their relationship would be extremely hard.

Devils didn’t have a good reputation….and for a good reason. Although it was far better now than it was when she was younger, it still wasn’t anything stellar.

Then again, when she saw him breathing peacefully like this, she could help but think that he would be more understanding than normal people.

Arthas has shown himself to be far more mature than regular people as well as very accommodating in his world views.

- Rias Gremory -

“And that’s all our collection from the raid. Our members have all taken spots within the top ten which is beyond any of our expectations when this whole thing began.” Henreitta said as she put her skill book on the table.

She looked around her, at the faces of her team members and recalled how far they had come since the starting of the game….or could they even call it a game anymore?….

She blamed herself everyday for dragging her peerage members into this mess and making them risk their lives.

The revelation of being trapped inside the game had devastated her, especially when she realised that their lives were in real danger.

Perhaps the only thing that drove her to action was the wish to find her Peerage members and try to make things right.

For this reason, she put her all into this game.

Working tirelessly, to gain just one more level and increase her strength to aid her in her search for her friends.

Maybe due to luck, she was able to reunite with Koneko in the nearby town but she didn’t know about the others.

Akeno and Gasper….how must they be doing?

Were they okay?

Were they hurt in the raid?

Over time, she had found some other people who had been in a similar situation as her.

Some new while some extremely surprising and together they grouped up, trying to cover each other’s back.

The blonde woman in front of her was Umeko Miyanozaka or as she is known in the game….Henrietta.

She was a twenty four years old accountant from Japan. She had entered the game with the rest of her friends from her guild in another game called the Elder Tales to build their guild here….and this happened.

In game, she is a bard. Apparently, she had experience playing this class in her previous game and she was actually really good at it.

Rias had to agree that their success in the raid was greatly due to her skills which boosted their stats and helped them get an edge in the battle.

The second member was another girl and an unexpected surprise at that.

Le Fay Pendragon or the Fairy Magician as she was called in game was an unexpected addition to their team.

Her name was something quite well known even among supernatural circles. The young princess of the Pendragon family as an up and coming Magician and a once in a century genius of Magic with talents rivalling her namesake.

She had heard that she and her brother had run away from their family due to some disagreement and there were more than a few houses who wanted to recruit them but no one was able to find any signs of them anywhere, not to mention the chance of starting a war with the Pendragon family and the Church if they did. For this reason, this news was only known to select few people at the heads of the houses.

The only reason she even knew about them was due to Mathers bringing up the news.

He was after all one of the founders of Golden Dawn and still kept in touch with the organisation so getting such news was easy for him. She had heard the news when he was reporting to her brother.

She had met the girl in the beginner's village and the two had been together since then and she wouldn’t lie but she had grown quite fond of the girl too.

She had obviously asked her about why they ran away and what they were doing while hiding and the things she found….was beyond shocking….not just for her but also for Koneko.

Kuroka was innocent.

She hadn’t gone mad.

The truth about what exactly happened back then had completely shaken her rook, and it had taken them lots of effort to bring her out of her shock. Koneko did eventually pull herself back together with the goal of finishing this game and go out to see her sister again to apologise to her.

Rias totally supported her in this decision of hers. In fact, she was going to ask her brother to have the case investigated once more and clear Kuroka’s name.

Le Fay was a mage in the game and quite good at it too. Koneko on the other hand became a Brawler and then a Martial Artist just like her real life self. She was the main tank of the team.

The last member of their team was someone who stood out the most in their team.

Chief or Nyanta was someone whom Henrietta brought to the team. She recognised him from her previous game, although he supposedly looked very different in this one.

Chief was an old man in his forties who had a very calm presence and was a great chef. He was always calm and collected and was hardly surprised by anything. The man was truly a gentleman even when he was fighting.

He was an Apprentice Swordsman who was going to become a T4 Swordsman any day now. Not to mention the fact that he was the most experienced player in their team.

And lastly was her, a Mage and the leader of the team.

Their team was quite balanced and all they needed was a good healer and now, with their performance in the World Quest, perhaps she could get someone good to fill up the healer’s position.

Yes.

One step at a time. They would become stronger and she would find her peerage members and bring them out of this game.

It’s just that it would have helped a lot if she could communicate with them even for a bit.

The Game didn’t even allow them to speak with each other if they weren’t in a party or guild apparently….but from what she had found out, that was a long way off.

She had just reached the T4 Mage Class even after risking her life in the raid. As far as she knew, making a guild required a minimum of T5 which was months if not a year away. She doubted anyone else was going to be making any guilds anytime soon.

Suddenly, a message appeared in front of her eyes, making her eyes widen in surprise.

“The First Player Guild in the world of Arcana has been established.”

“The Fairy Tail Guild has been established.”

….

- Shiroe -

“Five hundred thousand gold coins is just robbery!” Shiroe complained.

“Hey, you asked me for a price and I gave you one.” Gareth shrugged.

“Even something with these stats will not cost more than two hundred and fifty thousand gold coins.”

“For others maybe….but you lot have four other pieces of the set, don’t you. With these two you would have six, only one piece below the total seven pieces with that juicy set effect. That alone makes it worth double the gold coins.” Gareth smirked.

“It’s true that we have four pieces but the piece you have will only give us the five piece stat effects. Even then, it would not be worth the price. At this point, you people are just trying to blackmail.”

“I don’t think you realise how business works, kid. Supply and demand. A bottle of water might be free in one place and cost a thousand dollars in others. You need the items. We don’t need to sell them. We hold the advantage in the negotiation.”

“Yeah, if you don’t buy it at this price, you lose out the effects of that seven piece set effect but if we don’t sell it, we would still have the above average pieces of armour while also dragging down our biggest competition in the town.” The guy beside him, Messer, smiled arrogantly.

Shiroe narrowed his eyes.

As discussed yesterday, they had gone out to search for Gareth and Dwain, the first thing in the morning.

The seven piece effect was too much for them to give up.

Veena had decided to stay back at home and try out the new recipes. The Greater Healing Pill and the Miasma Pill were going to be a great help for everyone.

So it was just him and Arthas. On the way here, they met Star right outside the Inn and he joined them as well.

Finding them was not hard either. Shiroe already knew their usual resting place.

But as he had thought, the other party was being stubborn.

“Now now, I am not so heartless. We can always reduce the price if you offer any of those Skill Books you know.” Gareth continued with a smile. “How about four hundred thousand and two Skill Books.”

“I see. So you have no intention of trading honestly.”

“Hey hey, it’s not like we don’t have any intention of trading. You people just don’t want a fair price. We will not sell our hard earned loot for lower prices.”

He was about to say something more but felt a hand on his shoulder.

“Arthas.”

“Let it be, Shiroe.”

“Are you sure?” He asked. He already had another idea in mind to bring them in line.

“Yes.” Arthas nodded and then turned towards the other party. “Thank you for giving us your precious time. Too bad we can’t agree to your prices. Our final price is two hundred and fifty thousand gold coins. We do not have a budget above this. If you can’t agree to that, then we will depart.”

“That’s too low. I did offer them to you cheaper if you added some Skill Books. You lot have a bunch of them after all.”

“That is not possible. I apologise for wasting your time.” Arthas replied, politely and got up. “Let’s go, Shiroe. We have to prepare for the evening’s event.” He then turned back towards them. “Oh, please come to the meeting.” Arthas smiled.

Now Shiroe wasn’t into guys or anything but Arthas was damn handsome and had a smile which would have made girls in his college swoon. This was a fact.

But right now, Arthas’ smile was not giving Shiroe any such friendly feeling.

They got up and walked out.

“Well, that was something. But I agree with Arty here. Those guys were being a bit too high handed. Too bad we can’t get that seven set effect. +10% attack….sigh.” Star was shaking his head.

He did the same when he heard Artha’ voice. “Don’t worry. They will trade us those two items for two hundred and fifty thousand gold coins.” He said, while they walked towards the Knight Academy.

“They won’t. Two hundred and fifty thousand would be too little. I was expecting three hundred and fifty. Worst case, we would have to trade some accessories or information but….” Star shook his head.

“They will trade the two items for two hundred and fifty thousand….or less.” Shiroe confirmed. “You’re planning to use that aren’t you?”

Arthas nodded.

And a smile lit his face. “Yeah, I was planning to use it too. At least for the next six months, if nothing unexpected happens, we would be the only ones having a monopoly on it. They would have to if they don’t want to get left behind by others.”

“Hoh, now I am interested. Where are you both getting that confidence from?” Star asked and even he looked at him.

“Yes. That reminds me.” Arthas quickly opened his menu and Star paused, his eyes widening.

“Wait, seriously? It was you guys?” The guy replied as he accepted the option and Shiroe got the message of a new member joining the guild.

“Look at the perks.” Arthas added.

Star whistled and then laughed. “Yeah, that would do it. I would like to see them running back if they want this. So, where are we going now?”

“To our guild hall. When that is over, we will find Dwain’s team and see if they wish to sell us the boots for a fair price.”

They reached the Knight Academy and Arthas collected the keys of the Mansion and one of the people showed him the way to the mansion.

It was just a few minutes away from the Knight Academy.

“This area is quite good. However, we will need furniture and some remodelling to make this place into a suitable Guild Hall.” He said looking at the place.

The mansion was big but mostly empty. There were three floors and several rooms with a big hall on the lowest floor of the building. It was ideal for the Guild hall.

“It will take a lot of gold to get the place up to the mark.” He commented.

“We can always collect some fees from people who wish to join the Guild. I mean, they will get benefits too and we have limited slots.” Arthas offered.

“Hmm, normally I would be against such methods but in this case, it does make sense. We are all given equal chances in the Game. You three worked for this with your own hands and for them just walking in and enjoying the same advantages without paying anything would be unfair to you three. On that note,” Star brought out a pouch with coins. “Here’s my share.”

“You don’t have to….” Shiroe tried to deny.

“That wouldn’t be fair to others.” The guy insisted.

Arthas accepted the money with a nod.

“Any idea how much we are going to charge?” he asked.

“What is the average income for a T3 Player in a month?” Arthas asked in return.

Shiroe thought for a moment before coming to a number. “Around twelve thousand Gold Coins. It’s different for different players. Production Classes could have more but they have to pay for raw materials too so their income is reduced if they don’t collect the raw materials themselves.”

“Then one thousand gold coins.” Arthas replied before thinking of something and adding, “As a registration fee with five hundred gold coins every month.”

Shiroe thought of the numbers in his head and they did seem fine. “We are in a way cutting away a tenth of their work when levelling and with other perks, even the gold they spend will be recovered. Yes. This seems good for now. Did Veena-san agree with the price?”

“She was the one who suggested the idea but she didn’t know the average income of T3 Class people. I would hardly call our team….average.”

“Hahahaha yeah….I can see that.” Shiroe laughed. It was true that their team was anything but average. Especially Arthas and Veena who had been anomalies from the very start.

Over the next hour, they explored the mansion and Shiroe made a note of things they would need for the Guild after which they tried searching for Dwain but didn’t get anything and decided to return.

“How was your trip?” Veena asked as she prepared some lemonade for the three of them.

“No deal. They were asking for too much.” Shiroe explained the situation to her.

“You made the right decision. If you had agreed to their demands, they would have probably made some more outrageous demands. It’s not good to show weakness at the negotiation table. As Arthas said, they will come to us on their own.”

“We still have a few hours till the meeting time. In that time, how about we decide what rules we need to have for our Guild?” She asked suddenly, making them aware of something they all had overlooked.

“Rules….yes. We do need those.” He agreed. “Nothing too strict but still something to keep everyone in line.”

Over the next two hours, Veena-san drafted some basic rules.

They were the basics of basics like no fighting between guild members.

In case of any alterations, they would go to a third member who could mediate the matter.

Over time when they had more members, they could assign ranks like Officers, Veterans and Admins to the senior Guild Members who could look over these matters.

Another rule was about not using the Guild Name for personal matters or for illegal stuff and if found doing such a thing, they will be kicked out of the guild immediately.

Threatening people with the Guild’s name is not allowed either. They could use it for self defence but not for coercion.

Harassing anyone based on gender, religion, race, colour or sexuality was strictly prohibited. Anyone found doing such a thing will be permanently banned from the Guild.

Finally, they ate their lunch and it was time for the meeting.

- Arthas -

We sat back and looked at the people gathering in the park.

There was still an hour till the meeting and there were already around one hundred players gathered in the park with more arriving one by one.

“How many players are even in this town?” I couldn’t help but ask.

“Hmm, there were approximately four hundred or so players per village and this town has eight villages connected to it so it would have access to around three thousand players….assuming some of them have been….eliminated already. We needed to be around T2 to get here so I guess even at worst, we would have over one thousand players here after all this time.” Shiroe completed, after some thought.

“That’s quite a lot of players.” Star whistled.

“It’s quite a bit less when you consider that there are approximately twenty million players in the game….or at least there were when it started.” Shiroe said.

Yes.

We still didn’t know how many players were alive in the game.

As we were talking, Shiroe paused.

We followed his gaze to see the one we had been looking for all this time, Dwain and his party members.

Shiroe and I looked at each other and nodded as we got up at the same time. Veena saw us getting up and followed as well.

Those guys were also approaching us, probably intending to talk about something.

“Dwain.” Shiroe took the lead to greet the leader of the other group.

“Shiroe.” The guy nodded as he took a look at all of us, his gaze staying on Veena a few moments more than others.

Someone with lower stats would have missed it but my stats were just far higher than his.

I was pretty sure Veena noticed this too.

“We still have an hour or so before the meeting. Let’s go somewhere with a bit more privacy.” Shiroe offered.

“Eh, we are fine talking here. I already have an idea what this is about and I don’t see the need to go anywhere else in particular to discuss this.” The guy waved off the suggestion.

His voice was heard by several players and attracted the attention of many people.

Shiroe was actually taken aback by his words but collected himself almost instantly. “I see. Very well, we can discuss the matters here. We would like to trade the boots which Dolphin Puncher got in the World Quest.”

“Hahahaha, straight to the point. I like it. But sorry, I will have to refuse.”

Shiroe frowned lightly. “Is there really nothing we can trade for it?”

“It’s not that there is nothing you cannot trade for it but more like we want the set too. Our party lacks the attack and wishes to get the seven piece effect of the set too.” He smiled. “But we know you will not part with it and it doesn’t seem like Gareth is up for it either. So, how about I propose a bet?” He asked, his smile broadening.

“A bet?”

“Yes yes, a bet, The one who wins the bet gets the pieces of the other side.”

“That won’t work. We have the main pieces and four of them while you just have the boots.” Shiroe shook his head directly.

“Eh, just hear me out first.” The man interrupted.

Seeing that Shiroe was listening, he continued. “We both bet one piece of the equipment and fight. A duel if you will. The winner takes both. That said, you have to agree to play us till the end if we win the first match. Obviously, I agree that the gap in the stats of the individual pieces are different too so we will add one hundred thousand gold coins from our side if our piece is of lower value. How about it sounds fair, right?”

We looked at each other.

The deal was good.

In fact, it was too good.

There had to be some catch.

“How do we guarantee that the deal will be kept if we win?” Shiroe asked.

“Hmm, trust issues are understandable. Fortunately, we can ask someone from the Knight Academy for an official duel with the stakes. They can be an impartial judge. If you don’t believe me, you could always ask for yourself.” The man added.

Shiroe looked at me and I nodded.

If it was just a duel, I could think of something.

I looked at the guy and he was a Level 28 Novice Archer. By that measure, he was actually very high level….compared to other players. In fact, even Gareth was just a level 26 Martial Artist so this guy must be skilled as well.

By now, many were looking at the discussion and I noticed that the more people gathered, the more pleased he was.

What was his game?

“Very well, give us a moment to discuss the matter between ourselves.”

“Sure. Just make it fast. There are too many people waiting here. We wouldn’t want them to keep on waiting.” He smiled, pleased.

A distance away from their group, Shiroe spoke first. “Something is wrong.”

“Yeah, that guy doesn’t give me good vibes.” Star added.

I nodded. “The deal is too good for us. They must know that I am at least a T4 Knight and yet they want to fight me. They must have some sort of trump card to be so sure about their victory.”

“Maybe they have some sort of equipment or skill which can work on you.” Veena suggested. “Or maybe they just want to kite you from a distance. The site of the battle was not mentioned. Add a wall or tower as the place he starts from and things will be difficult….or rather would be difficult if you were a T4 Knight.” Shiroe added.

I agreed. “But….what do they get out of it? Do they think the same strategy will work every time?”

“Fame.” It was Veena who answered.

“Huh?”

“They get the fame of defeating the so-called ‘Strongest Player’ in town. If you remember this person, he was also the one who used his newly obtained magical weapon to make a show in front of the whole audience, probably to attract the crowd to join him. Unfortunately for him, we came in and broke the whole show and he got nothing.” She explained.

The memories of his making that show with his bow flashed before my eyes.

“I have just talked with some of my friends from the Alchemist’s Guild and they told me about the views of the players about our position in the Rankings. Any ideas what they might be?” She asked with a slight smile.

“They think we got lucky?” Shiroe came to the conclusion.

“Exactly. Most of them think we got lucky because we picked up the quest which alerted the City Lord of the Goblin raid and while that is not totally incorrect, they believe that as individual players our skill must not be that far apart from others. So for someone like Dwain, if he were to defeat Arthas, the so-called ‘Strongest’, he will not only prove that and stop our momentum, he will also steal our reputation to establish his own team. Quite a smart move.”

Seriously….they were putting that much thought into it?

Then again, what she was suggesting made sense.

She continued, “In fact, if I had to take a guess, I would say that you people couldn’t find him the entire day because he was probably spreading the rumours about our raid being a one time lucky shot and was waiting for this moment to challenge us.”

“Hey, it’s their loss. I think you should accept the challenge. I doubt there is much they could do against you. If anything they would surely pull back if they realised your true level.” Shiroe suggested after some thought.

“Yes. Turning their whole story on their heads would be a great way to remove the rumours and establish your name.” Veena suggested too.

“I see. Good. Shiroe, you go and accept the challenge on my behalf. Just wait till I return to sign any contracts. They might be trying to win this through some loopholes. I will go and find out about the duel and middleman thing from the Knights.” I told them and Star and I headed towards the Knight Academy while Veena went to her friends from the Alchemist’s Guild.

I directly went inside the Knight Academy and asked for Kenneth at the reception.

It seems that my reputation has increased due to the awards from the City Lord as the receptionist was very quick with her side of things and I got an audience with Kenneth in minutes while Star waited at the reception since unauthorised people and non members were not allowed inside.

“Arthas, what brings you here? Are there any problems with the mansion you got as a reward?” He asked as I entered the office of the man. There were several other senior knights with him there, some of them were people I had recognised from the raid.

“No, nothing of that sort. The mansion was beyond anything I was expecting. I was only doing something I should have done as a Knight in service of Llyne.” I replied.

As I had learned very well so far, the NPCs in this game were more or less like real players and these ones were the same too.

Talking to them like this appeals to their knightly spirit and the result was evident as I saw smiles on their faces.

“Take a seat. Tell me, what can I do for you?” He asked as I took a seat.

“I just wanted to enquire about something and if possible, ask for a favour.”

“Oh?”

“I wished to know what are the terms and conditions for official duels, the ones with stakes and how Knights of the City preside over them.”

“Official duels? Sure.”

What he explained over the next twenty minutes was basically that players cannot die inside the safe zones like the towns and villages. This rule was carried out even in duels. That’s why the duel was stopped when the player’s hp went to the red zone.

As for the stakes, if it’s items, the Knights keep the items in their possession until the duel is completed and then offer it to the winner. If it’s something which cannot be moved or more abstract things, they enforce the contract within the city. If any party refuses to comply, they would be treated as a criminal.

The Knights saw to the fairness of the battle. The duels took place within the Knight Academy grounds….a place I hadn’t been to yet, something I intended to rectify very soon though.

“So what’s the matter? Are you planning to challenge someone to a duel?” He asked after he finished his explanations.

“More like someone else is planning to challenge me.” I explained the situation to him.

“I didn’t think someone would be foolish to challenge you or your teammates. It might have been brief but I saw you fight during the goblin siege. I don’t think there are any players who could match your strength among other players….at least according to the ones I have met. So, the one who challenged you is Dwain, you say? The one who won the fifth place?” He asked.

“The very same.”

“Hmm, I didn’t think he would be foolish enough to not recognise the difference in your levels, especially after your performance.”

I chuckled. “Apparently, there is a rumour going around that I was only lucky to encounter the trails of the goblins and that I was also awarded points for the people who fought under me. If they fought in one on one, in a fair duel, I wouldn’t emerge victorious.”

“Are they doubting the judgement of the City Lord and Lord Marquis?” He asked, a tone of danger in his voice.

Despite his easy going attitude, this guy was a Shield Knight. A T5 Shield Knight. Apart from me, there are no players in this city who stand any chance against him.

“People always try to find faults in others so as to justify their own lack of effort and talent, sometimes even going so far as to delude themselves. To some extent, I can understand their point of views too. They didn’t see me in action so they might have their own doubts.” I shrugged. “This just gives me a chance to show them what I am truly capable of and shut their mouths once and for all.”

“Well said. Very well, I will preside over this duel myself. When are you planning to fight?”

“Hmm, right after I go out.”

“Good. The sooner such nonsense is snuffed out, the better.” He then turned towards the rest of the people. “Let’s go men. We have a duel to oversee.”

“Yes Sir!”

With things set up on this side, we headed out.

I need to kick some asses and spread the name of the Fairy Tail guild.

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Author’s Note:

Finally complete.

This chapter took a lot out of me.

So, things happened.

A Global Announcement.

Now people all over the game know the Fairy Tail guild.

Arthas flexing without even intending to.

We also saw some bonding and increase in trust between Venelana and Arthas as she reveals some parts about herself.

I wrote a pov from Rias to show how things were on their side. Obviously, she is quite lucky and was able to get some good party members.

Others might or….might not be so lucky.

I will write the other character povs more from the next chapter and see their sides of the game too.

Finally, Arthas got a chance to flex in front of everyone to establish some prestige.

We will see Arthas in his first duel in the next chapter.

Enjoy the new chapter.

Good Day, Peace Out.