Six months had passed since the guild opened and seven since Kiaba told them the rules, and they had managed to get to floor thirty-six. But now they seemed to have slowed down. Though that was fine with most of them including Arthur. Things had seemed too rushed, too extreme and real for most of everyone and it was almost a huge relief to slow down and pretend at least some things were okay. Most lived in denial of their fate, just going on as if nothing had happen and this was all a game played for fun and not for your life. And that was just fine, if you wanted to live in the clouds. However, others lived in the harsh reality of the situation, waking up and going through day after day, fearing for their lives and hoping they'll somehow, by some unknown miracle manage to live. That they would push through and manage to battle their way to safety, that they weren't just anonymous players destined to die. Being around others, having a guild, a family of sorts, made things bearable for some players including Arthur. It gave you a sense of comradery, people to rely on, others to wipe your tears and pat you on the back. It gave him a sense of purpose, made him feel as if he was doing something good in this world. So when the opportunity arose to start his own guild, he all but jumped at the chance.
The tall and slim brunette stepped into his Guild's Hall and with a careful gaze looked around the slightly spacious area, occupied with more than a dozen patrons. The low hum of conversations filled his chest up to the brim and lightened his mood, just the fulfilling sound he wanted to hear. He had made the Guild building into a half bar to try to get players to join, and earn money which he succeeded in both. Though along the way, succeeded in making players feel a little bit better about their everyday situation, which was a huge plus in his mind.
Arthur strided across the wooden floorboards, signature cocky smile on his boyish face, brown boots thudding against the wooden floorboards as he passed the patrons to enter a dimly lit hall to his left. He had called a guild meeting with his core twelve including his second in command Momo Akagi and he was eager to make an entrance as soon as possible. A few doors passed his line of sight until he came upon an opened doorway and stepped into the conference room, where only a few of them showed concluding that he was early.
Bright blue eyes scanned around the room shortly before his gaze fell on a free stool separating another blue eyed, dark haired male with a lazy grin and a seemingly seething ebony haired female with a steely gaze. Oh great, just the distraction he needed until the other members arrive. Arthur chuckled to himself as he shook his head, chestnut locks falling across his forehead in the process. This would surely pass time considering Damien was at his usual tricks. Arthur made quick strides across the wooden floor and plopped down between the two, waiting for the usually cue from the other male. His arms crossed over his chest as a grin pulled across his cheeks from the horrified look Damien shot him and the relieved sigh that fell from Momoyu's lips.
"Oi, Arthur, man you're kind of killing my game here! Can't you see I'm with the ladies?" Damien shot the leader an easy grin with pearly whites bared as he gestured to the lady in question with a wave of his hand and a raised dark brow.
Arthur chuckled to himself, his own blue orbs meeting Momoyu's in a shared silent conversation, her own cerulean irises begging for the sweet release of death from their slightly overbearing friend, before Damien butted in per usual. The good-natured jokester seemed to rarely get the hint to shut his mouth when it came to flirting, but it was an endearing sight to Arthur, to say the least.
"Anyways, where were we, sweetheart?"
As the attention turned on her, Momoyu glared darkly, an obvious distaste and annoyance clear in her sharp features with a blunt look of disgust. As expected, she didn't take his flirting attempts very well; the rather cold and sharp-tongued female wasn't one to play along with this kind of things anyways, which some had learned the hard way. Crossing her arms over her chest she sharply tilted her head in the air, exposing her elegant pale neck and Arthur has to choke back a laugh at his friend's evident misfortune.
"As if this was going anywhere other than hell. For the last time Damien, back off before I end the game for you and your life."
'Here we go again…' Before the other could retort, Arthur jumped at the chance to save his friend's skin.
"Damien, stop." Arthur said closing his eyes, "You're going to get hurt."
"Yes, it would be optimal to listen to the words spoken by Master Grimmborn." A small black haired, dark eyed girl cut in from a corner, her voice seeming of interested, though her eyes never left the opened book clutched in her tiny hands, "Unless you want Momo to hurt you, of course, Damien." This was Kana Len, the creepy little ninja -well more mysterious than creepy, but the pocket-sized girl wasn't one to mess with if you valued your life. Though they had never outright seen her do anything remotely questionable, the brooding and moody raven haired female carried a vibe that swirled with a mix of pending danger and something hinging on dark.
"Oh, kana you little..." He trailed off as a knife sliced through the air to sprout from the wall, causing everyone to jump in alarm.
"Do not call me little. I may be low level, but I have never lost a fight." Kana's wide, dark orbs blazed straight through Damien's skull, staring almost through him, causing the other to let out a quiet yet very unmanly squeal as he raised his shaking hands in surrender.
"OK OK, don't kill me jeez. I was just messing around."
"Kana, have you seen the others?"
"I believe I saw Kyoka and Gawain outside..." she said, "Other than them..No, I haven't seen anyone."
"Darn. Well, I guess we wait for the rest of them. Who wants to get some snacks for the meeting?" Arthur asked with a smile, "And Kana, please don't throw knives, especially not at guild members."
Arthur said while the door opened "Momo? Oh, Welcome Honey!"
Momo, or Momoyu, as she's commonly referred to, knitted her brows in confusion, before she spotted the other Momo, second in command's head pop up from behind the looming wooden door, a tired frown edged onto her normally serious face.
The blonde gently pushed the door opened wider for her counterparts who came bumbling in after her, the obvious cause of her distress being yet another heated debate which wasn't anything new to the guild. The two half Japanese, half American twins with identical green eyes and white-blonde hair towered over half of the people already in the room, making the domineering second in command, who was of medium height, seem almost bite-sized compared to the two teens, though her glare still struck fear into the hearts of others.
She lifted her head at the call of her name, shooting the guild leader an incredulous expression with a small twitch of her upper lip as she drawled out, short and crisp, "And just who are you calling 'honey,' Arthur-kun?"
"Hikaru-kun, don't be so sure you'd beat me in just any match! You know I could kick your butt in two seconds flat and have you crying on the ground in the fetal position for mom-" Himari giggled, in the process cutting Momo short as she poked her twin in the side with her index finger, a good-natured grin on her face, however, a playful glint shined in her eyes.
"You're so full of it Mari! Stop living in your little dream world and face reality," Hikaru shot a fierce glared as he poked the other directly in the middle of her forehead, "I would beat you at anything."
"...Don't worry about it" Arthur said, "now that most of us are here...I want to call this meeting to order..."
"No 'cause i'd kick your rear end!" Himari huffed to her brother and moved closer to his face, both twins sharing a challenging glare, ready to throw down at any minute. The blonde male gruffly murmured under his breath as he slowly pushed back his cloak to reveal strong forearms.
"HIMARI HIKARU STOP IT NOW!" Arthur shouted causing the two of them to stand frozen, "Now that I got everyone's attention I'd like to call this meeting to order." he continued, lowering his volume while the others sat down. "first thing is the budget. And I'm gonna warn you the numbers are big." he said smirking "We've increased our budget by nearly ten thousand gold since opening the bar making up for the five hundred we used to buy the building and set up...but it's still not enough to advertise enough and our guild is mocked because we don't go on boss raids not since..." he trailed off.
"I say we should just focus on the bar for now. And leveling. We are kind of weak." Kana piped up, her gaze serious as she stared at each and every member. She did have a good point that left everyone musing. They were far from the strongest guild around and it would be a dangerous task to go on with a boss raid, everyone knew this. Kana was a smart girl, one of the brightest minds in the guild and she didn't make split second decisions based on greed, no, she made decisions based on the overall percentage rate of the guild. She saw things in numbers, calculations, stats that helped her make a call on things and now wasn't any different. Based on the current guild members and their levels, they wouldn't last more than five minutes in a huge fight, she thought.
A scoff came from the other side of the room, "You're one to talk your only level eight!" Damien shouted to the slightly younger girl with a point of his index finger. The blue eyed nineteen year old, was currently level twenty-four and he usually didn't voice this or assume he was better than anyone else because of his level but with Kana things were obviously different. 'Oh god, not again… Will he just be quiet before he digs himself a deeper grave?' Arthur shook his head. The moody, dark haired girl snapped her head in his direction, jaw line clenched in anger.
"Shut up your dumb face before I poison your ass Damien." She said standing up, eyes shooting daggers at the older boy.
"Are you standing up Kana, because I can't tell." Damien chuckled, his eyes raking down her short frame to try provoking her only to have her sit back down in pure rage.
"Damn it, Damien, do you ever know when to shut the hell up?" Momoyu hissed. Damien sheepishly smiled and awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding both looks from either girl.
"I'll get you later." The short girl murmured under her breath.
"Now that that's over..." Arthur picked back up, "I say we should discuss whether or not we should go on this upcoming boss raid."
Everyone dropped silent, most likely considering the course of action that should go about taking. This wasn't just a question you could decide the answer to in a second. No, this was a big deal. This could mean life or death for every member of the guild, and they were all responsible. If they went ahead and said yes, there could be dire consequences, that Arthur knew. But even as the leader, he wasn't about to make a call without everyone's input - not with so many lives at stake.
Momo cleared her throat, finally piping up from her own musing. And with a clear tone, she said, "I think we should take in consideration the pros and cons of this mission, so to speak. This is a boss raid, not some little petty fight that will level us up. We could all face death and is that something everyone is in complete agreement with?"
Her words seem to be of tangible weight that slumped the member's shoulders and clouded their minds.
"Personally," Hikaru started from his spot leaning on his open palm, breaking the deadly silence, "I think that it's a bit risky to take on, but I'm willing to if it's something we need to do. I don't want our guild being shamed because we aren't showing up to these things."
"The question truly is, are we willing to risk our lives? And if so for what? Honor? Glory?" Kana started, "We're behind on levels already the only one with a chance is, Ronin."
"I see that Kana, but if we just show we could help take out guards and gain some levels quickly," Arthur said.
"I say we do it, I mean if you guys need just stay back and let me handle things and I heard that the black swordsman would be there." Ronin said, "But I agree with Kana we need to level up a bit well, you guys at least."
"Yeah, there's two against one? Yeah, one...I think." Arthur said, but those with trained eyes could see he had perked up when 'the black swordsman' was mentioned.
"So the Black swordsman Kirito...the beater." Arthur paused, "I have to meet him and if you guys don't go I will," he finished with his normally bright eyes dark and steely. The tension in the room was real as all eyes fell on the brunnette leader.
"Arthur, no. I won't let you we need a leader." Kana started, her mouth dropping open in incredulous fashion. 'How can he be so reckless?'
"Then if I die Momo-Sama will take over, since she is second in command."
The blonde's head snapped in Arthur's direction so quickly, everyone was worried she had whiplash. Her monolid honey brown narrowed to almost tiny threatening slits and a deeply irritated frown pulled at her lips, "Have you lost your mind, Grimmborn? You're not throwing your life away to meet some guy that we don't even know! Don't be so reckless. I cannot believe you. What kind of leader are you setting yourself out to be?" Momo was livid, her whole slim stature seeping anger. The whole room could feel the tension between the first and second in command. Though, this was far from the first time something like this had happened, but everyone knew this was meant to be a private moment. When the two argued, it was best to leave them be and come check up on them later.
"Um, excuse me, Arthur-Kun and Momo-san... I think you guys should maybe calm down a bit?" Himari piped up, her normally cheerful nature put aside for the time being. The blonde girl's irises wavered in worry as her pink lips pulled into a tiny frown. Momo and Himari shared a look before Damien broke the challenging stare.
"And that's our cue to leave! Let us give the lovers their time to quarrel." Damien smirked and gave a little wink before he hopped up from his seat and strode across the floor. A few of the members shared looks before everyone slowly started filing out of the room. Of course, he didn't miss the glare that both Arthur and Momo shot him before he all but sprinted down the hall. However, Kana was the last to leave, wavering a bit in the doorway with a frown of her own. She gently touched the door handle, her eyes flitting before the two.
"We'll leave you guys to talk things over, then we can have another meeting about this?" Kana said and with one last fleeting look, she too exited the area, leaving the two alone.
As if a light was switched, the two heads rounded on each other. Arthur pushed up off of his stool and moved closer to the blonde girl who glared up at him, her arms crossed over her chest with a daring quirk of her eyebrow. He had to be careful, that was for sure, or she would proceed to demolish all of his ideas. He approached her cautiously, clearing his throat as her gaze never left his face, challenging him to speak, waiting for him to explain himself. He silently mused to himself, flipping thoughts and conversations over and over again in his head, until he found the right thing to say.
"Momo...I HAVE met him before." Arthur calmly started, approaching the situation with as much gusto as you would a ticking time bomb.
"Still why would you just pull something like this, Grimmborn? I get it you go with your gut but what if it gets you killed?" Momo snapped back, her tone harsh which gave away to the anger still harboring inside. She wasn't appeased in the slightest, so he'd have to be even more careful with his choice of wording. But damn, if his own anger wasn't getting the best of him…
"If that's what it takes to ensure the safety of my family I'd fall on my own sword." He responded unsheathing said blade with a glint of the hanging ceiling lights, "and I'm sorry but I have to speak with him. I need to thank him for what he did."
Momo seemed to pause, tasting his words in her mouth like a drink, swishing it around and trying to decide what to make of it. This seemed to have peaked her interest. The blonde straightened up in her chair, narrowing her eyes before responding.
"And what did he do?"
"Floor seven." Was Arthur's response, short and sweet, though anything but. She furrowed her brows in confusion before he continued. "He saved me from them. I owe the man my sword. I owe him my life." Arthur rarely had these moments but they had gotten a nickname started around him a while back 'King Arthur' "I'd follow him until death if so needed. He is my king I am his knight."
Momo'a gaze seemed to soften, though only a fraction, as if she was trying to hold back something. The shorter seventeen year old looked up with dark eyes, a solemn glint flitting through the irises. The brunette refused to make eye contact, instead staring at a spot over her head with a hand rubbing the back of his neck. 'Oh Arthur, you idiot. You stupid, reckless, loyal idiot...' Momo shook her head slightly, he was quite the mess, but almost in an endearing kind of way, that which she would never say aloud. This went against everything she stood for, she believed in doing the logical thing, taking the morally right approach, not risking your life or your teammates for someone who she couldn't deem. But if there was one thing she understood, it was indeed that loyalty that Arthur held for the other. The debt he felt he needed to repay was logical, but she wouldn't do this for some black knight that she didn't trust. This can't be the right decision, right? Momo looked up one last time to the determined stare and with a sigh she slowly nodded her head.
"Fine, Arthur, I'll follow you wherever you go. This is something you have to do and I understand but I will not put your life or anyone else's on the line for that lone swordsman. I'm only agreeing because I can tell this is important to you and I have to be the one to watch your sorry ass." Momo said in a huff, arms crossing over her breastplate and hardened eyes flickering away.
Arthur smiled to himself, despite her annoyed tone and cold disposition, he couldn't miss the obvious worry in her voice.
"Momo, you don't have to act like a mother. But thank you." He smiled ever so slightly. It was genuine though, she could tell that what she said really affected him and he appreciated it nonetheless, which warmed her heart.
"Now how's about we tackle some leveling quests before the raid? And let everyone make their own decisions." He started to get up, the paused, as if remembering something. "and don't worry I won't die...Mom." He shot her a cocky grin before running out of the room and diving behind a small chair as if Momo would get him and as if only to provoke a reaction he did the most childish thing possible and stuck his tongue out. Momo rose a brow, hands on her hips before narrowing her mono lid eyes.
"Why do I even put up with such a child?" She glared.
Ah, just another normal day with the silver sword guild.
So guys you like that chapter? Yeah? Cool Cool. Welp i should tell you that i had a Co-Author, couldn't have written it this good on my own! so BIG shout out to HighlightMySoul! and if you liked this check out her stories! And if you really want to Dunk on those Favorite and Follow buttons see you guys next time! *passes ball*