Soul Art Online
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter 25: Award Ceremony
- Arthas -
"Some of the T4 participants are really good. If I had known this was going to happen, we could have let you all participate in the competition before changing Class."
"Hmm… we could, but I don't think this platform is suitable for Shiroe, Star or me. We are not exactly suited for a one on one battle on a small stage. Suikazura and Rose would have been better but they haven't reached the level cap yet so they might not win it. After all, not everyone is as crazy as you." She rolled her eyes at me.
…
"Do you think we can recruit some of them?" Rose asked.
"Oh… yes. We can actually do something like that. After all, there are no rules which say that we can only have players help us out. Although inviting them to join the Guild through the System is not wise. That should be left for the players."
"Hmm. This was something I had been thinking too. There were several good NPCs like Tyrone who weren't associated with any faction. We could get their help for the World Quests too. After all, it was only with the help of the NPCs that we managed to win the last World Quest. Having a few strong T5 could drastically increase our chances of victory in the upcoming quests. Try to find any you can convince to join us." I asked, getting a nod from her.
She calmed down a lot after the competition ended and I returned back. After my match, there was another match for third place and Tyrone won it in a close fight.
Right now our Guild was mostly focused on Production Classes and had a lower number of fighters. This will obviously change as the Guild's member limit becomes higher and we get more members but till then getting NPCs will help alleviate many of our shortcomings. For example, we could send them with low level players and help them level up faster. Or we could send some NPCs with one player to complete a Quest and quickly increase Guild Levels. Lastly, they can be a great help, even if as a fodder during World Quests. They can be a great boost to our efficiency.
I wonder if someone has already thought of this method. Then again, I doubt they have had the chance to do so due to it requiring a position of high authority.
But as the players rise in level, they are going to find out this loophole and start recruiting NPCs too. We need to get the creme of the crop before that happens.
The competition was not as intense as the T5 ones and it was over in the next four hours. The T3 Competition was also over soon and by the time the was about to go down, it was time for the Award Ceremony.
I was also told to go with them so I left Veena and Rose in the room and followed the rest back to the arena. Everything was cleared and the former Marquis Daren Black and Uther Pendragon took the stage, the former addressing the audience first.
"Once more we have arrived at the ending of our yearly Talent Hunt Tournament. It heartens me to see that the future of Greenfrost rests in such able hands. The people you see here today, might become the leaders of the future generations, some will become generals while some will become famed paladins who guard our Kingdom and make the name of Greenfrost resound everywhere."
The man had a certain gravitas about him where the crowd was silenced and listened to his words without being distracted.
"Many people have fought today, showing their talents and each one of them is worthy of praise. Just because someone lost, doesn't mean their talent can be denied. Being here alone proves that they are a cut above the rest. So please give them all a round of applause." The entire crowd erupted into a round of cheers.
The man gave them some time to calm down and then continued.
"But in competitions, someone wins and someone loses so let's greet the winners. These people have given it their all and then some more, going beyond their limits and finally pushing themselves above their competition. Their position today is a product of countless hours of hard work and perseverance with which they have honed their skills and finally reached this place. So with a massive round of applause, welcome the winners of this year's Tournament."
I stepped on the stage with the rest of the winners.
Garell Cole however was not present. Looks like the man hadn't recovered yet. In his stead, another person from his guild was here to receive the reward.
Tyrone however looked pumped up as ever.
Rewards were given one by one.
Daren Black handed the rewards for the T3 group winners.
Uther then came forward and rewarded the T4 group winners.
And finally, it was our turn to get rewarded.
"In third place, we have the Mad Brawler, Tyrone!"
The crowd went crazy at the name.
Whatever his position may be, Tyrone was a fan favourite due to his fighting style. It was a bit embarrassing but I wasn't that well received in the previous matches due to taking it slow and grinding the skills. It was only in the last two matches that I got their cheers. But who cares about freaking NPCs. My Skills leveled up and that's what matters the most.
"And to give this reward, I would like to welcome a very special guest today." Daren Black looked towards Prince Arthas who was wearing his mask.
He stepped forward under the curious gazes of the crowd. After all, the former Marquis rewarded the T3 winners, the strongest Paladin of the Kingdom was rewarding the T4 winners so who was this masked guy who could be qualified to reward the T5 winners? In fact, not just the audience, even the other dignitaries like Sir Ralph and the heads of the Magic Tower and Church were unaware of his identity and looked equally curious.
Prince Arthas removed the mask and several gasps were heard in the stage area as most of the people there fell on one knee. Most of the audience however hadn't seen the prince directly and were still confused so Daren Black announced. "Please welcome with a huge round of applause, his Royal Highness, Prince Arthas Menethil!"
There was a moment of silence before the entire crowd went completely haywire.
It was louder than anything during the tournament.
Oh man… this guy was very popular among his people.
"My dear people…" He started to speak.
I noticed that he hadn't used any spells to make his voice get carried to the audience. It was some kind of equipment in his armour which allowed him to do so. I guess as royalty he often has to give speeches so these kinds of things might be necessary.
And the crowd cheered again.
He waited for them to calm down before speaking again. "I thank you for your love and support. But today… is not about me. It is about these brave warriors who have shed their blood, tears and sweat to achieve this position, so let's not take away their well deserved praise due to my arrival. It is my honour to be able to see such talents emerge in my kingdom. So cheer them on their victory today."
With that he stepped forward and presented the rewards for Tyrone.
A Skill Book and equipment for a Mad Brawler.
The next was Garell Cole's awards but that didn't warrant a lot of fanfare as the man himself wasn't present.
"And finally, the champion of the Tier 5 Competition, the representative of the Knight's Academy, the biggest dark horse of the entire competition, of the entire tournament, one who fought opponents over a dozen levels higher than him and still came out on top, creating a miracle never seen before… the youngest person to have ever won the Tier 5 of Greenfrost Tournament… welcome… with the biggest round of applause… Arthas!"
Oh the hype was real and so was the applause.
I could see why Arnold and Sir Ralph were so insistent on winning the competition.
Won't lie… even in a game… it felt great.
I got on the stage and Prince Arthas came in front of me. I gave him a formal salute as a Knight of the Knight's Academy.
The guy smiled and spoke. "Arthas… You have a very good name."
…
I smiled in return. . "I get that a lot."
"Hahahaha." The words made him laugh out hard.
Seeing him laugh, the other people around the stage joined in too.
"Congratulations on winning this tournament. It was honestly a joy watching you fight. I have never seen someone with as much talent as you in all my time. Dare I say, with this kind of talent, let alone a T7, you might have the chance to reach a T8, the same level as my Lord Father, the King."
…
His words caused several murmurs around the stage and in the audience but the guy was not at all bothered and continued unphased.
First came the notification.
To be the Strongest
Greenfrost is organising their yearly competition to see who is the best fighter for each tier in the whole territory.
Objective: Participate in the Competition.
Reward: Depends on the final ranking.
Next came presenting me with the rewards.
The first was a Skill Book, Aegis of Light.
Aegis of Light
Summons an ethereal Holy Shield on all allies in a five meter radius around the user to block damage and gives resistance to miasma.
Shield Durability: 5000 points
Duration: 5 minutes.
Each level increases the Durability of the Shield by 100 points and increases the duration of the shield by 10 seconds.
This is a great Skill.
Maybe I can give this to Rose. I had enough Skills to increase my defense but she doesn't have any. As a tank this Skill could suit her and Suikazura-san better.
Next was a sword.
Lightbearer
A sword forged with Blessed Gold Essence Core.
Physical Attack: 1 000
Magical Attack: 1 000
MP: 3 500
Increases Holy Damage by 30%.
Increases Light Damage by 30%.
Increases Darkness Resistance by 30%.
Requires Level 150 to equip.
Level 150… so a Level 50 T5.
I couldn't use it yet but it was a very good alternative for my current Blessed Sun Sword. The stats were the best I had seen yet, but the Blessed Sun Set had the set effect which helped the entire party. Compared to that, this sword, while very strong, was missing a lot.
Next was a plate of Gold. A plate which could be exchanged for five hundred thousand Gold Coins from the Auvudor Kingdom.
Finally, the last item which I wasn't expecting.
An egg.
Was this a familiar egg?
I took the egg and took a look at the item. The egg was in some kind of a box with runes, probably the local equivalent of an incubator.
Griffin Egg.
The egg of a griffin.
Raise properly to get a griffin to fight alongside the user.
This was all the information about the egg but that was already more than enough.
As if sensing my curiosity, Prince Arthas explained.
"It is an egg laid by our Griffin Rider Corp's strongest Griffin. They are mighty creatures and once they recognise you, they become the fiercest companion till the end of your life. Raise it well and it will serve you well."
"Ah… I thank you, Your Highness."
"Do not thank me. This is what you deserve. It is a fortune of our kingdom to have someone like you. We hope that you will keep this rate of progress and become a Pillar of support for the whole kingdom. To do so, we will lend you all the support we can. For this very reason, today, I Arthas Menethil, the Prince of the Kingdom of Auvudor, by the power vested in me by my father, King Terenas Menethil, the King of the Kingdom of Auvudor, assign Knight Arthas of Llyne as the City Lord of the City of Alverton. Do you accept it?" He asked.
I understood that he wanted to make a public announcement and that's why he had asked me not to tell anyone. As for asking me beforehand, that made sense.
Just imagine what it would look like if someone was directly offered and rejected it?
That would be such a huge insult to the Prince of all people nonetheless.
And conversely because of this very fact, it would also be an unnecessary pressure on the one being offered the position. This was to avoid that very situation in advance.
Obviously this would be something in the real world but this game hasn't been any different from the real world so far so why would it now?
"Very well. May you protect the Kingdom and lead the city to new heights." He announced as he offered me a Badge representing my position.
Another round of applause sounded around the whole arena, this time the audience standing up to clap together.
When I thought everything was over, another message appeared in front of me.
Title Gained
Champion of Greenfrost
Increases Exp Gain by 5% till the next year's champion is chosen when equipped.
Increases favorability of the people of Greenfrost when equipped.
Permits entry to the Inner City of Greenfrost.
5% discount when purchasing items in Greenfrost.
Holy Shit!
I wasn't expecting that.
- Veena -
"Drink… drink… today's party is on me hahahaha, you should have seen the faces of those two bastards." Sir Ralph laughed "David was so insufferable for the last two years. The look on his face when you caught that attack with your hand was a sight I will never forget. Totally worth waiting two years. Good job, boy. Great job."
The man looked positively enthralled by the whole situation. In fact, he was probably the one who was most happy among the members of the Knight's Academy who were currently partying in the Inn.
Arthas did tell her that he was the one who was the most gung ho about pushing him into the competition.
Still, not everyone was happy… at least not everyone in Greenfrost.
When Arthas had left with the group to collect his rewards, she and Rose were asked to remain in the VIP Rooms. There she had kept an eye on the man who had questioned Rose's kidnapping, Hector Black.
He was the one who had invited and even recommended the Order of the Black Hand to participate in the Tournament and was most likely the one who was behind the whole kidnapping incident. So, Arthas' beatdown of the representative sent by him must have been enraging for him. But to his credit, the man didn't show even the slightest hint of that. Not even when his representative didn't show up to receive the reward.
At least he has got the calm mind of a noble, far better than many of the High Class Devils in the Underworld.
But no matter what, every person's facade had a limit.
Hector Black's limit was when the Prince was revealed.
So even he wasn't expecting the Prince himself to be the one who was following Uther and not directly with his identity but as a normal bodyguard.
He had thrown a very fleeting gaze at Rose as it was the Prince himself who had saved her life. It wasn't something others would have noticed, perhaps even her, had she not been keeping an eye on him the entire time. The man regained his calm almost instantly… but all of that came crumbling down when Arthas was awarded the City Lord position by the Prince in the end. A clear look of shock, anger, and maybe even fear quickly flashed across his face.
The man lowered his head and covered his face with his hand, pretending to cough and not many people noticed this as everyone was busy looking at the Award Ceremony.
He left right after that without waiting for the end. That said, his subordinate did present them with a golden sign which could be exchanged for a million gold coins from the Greenfrost territory as he had promised earlier.
Was this his way of saying to let bygones be bygones?
She will have to wait and see if he makes any moves.
While the Prince and Uther had promised that there would be no retaliation against Arthas from the Order of the Black Hand, nothing was said about Hector Black.
Right now the Fairy Tail Guild was in its most important phase and they needed lots of missions. Nobles and ministers were the main mission providers and both were under Hector Black's control.
They couldn't have him as an enemy or it would cut the profits of the Guild. That meant they would have to handle whatever comes in a… more subtle way.
For that, she needed the support of other people, other high ranking people, like Sir Ralph, Patrick Gale and David Bright, the three Vice Presidents of the three major military organisations in Greenfrost.
That's why she was here, socialising with everyone to get their favourability high and secure their help.
"...and they had the gall to try to poach Arthas in front of me. Those shameless bastards. Remember Arthas, don't fall for their tricks. Grand Knights can kick the butts of Magic Knights and Holy Knights any day of the week."
"Yeah!" The rest of the group cheered, half drunk, half happy at the claim.
"As for the Skill I promised? You can come to me later and I will train you in it." Sir Ralph patted Arthas' shoulder.
Battle Aura is a very useful Skill from what she had heard from Arthas. It was the prize promised by Sir Ralph to him to participate in the tournament and win.
It was a Skill similar to Touki and Armament Haki which Arthas was already using.
She wondered how his attacks would look after he learned this Skill? Even now, with just Armament Haki and Touki, his normal attacks looked like Active Skills of other players.
If Battle Aura were to be added on top of it… that would make him truly an unstoppable force in this game world.
"I will." Arthas nodded
"By the way, you two need to go to the capital in two weeks, right? You should start learning from tomorrow or the day after so that you can understand the basics before you leave."
He nodded at Sir Ralph's suggestion. "I will start the day after tomorrow. I have a meeting with the girl who helped Rose tomorrow morning and then a dinner with Lord Uther and Prince Arthas later in the evening."
"Oh yes. For the formal appointment from the King. Arnold will be going to from what I hear. Good job. After so many years, Greenfrost has again produced someone like Arnold Straight and it was from the Knight's Academy again hahahaha."
….
They talked about different things for a bit.
"Sir Ralph." She took the opportunity to enquire about the place.
"Yes?"
"Could you please tell us something about Alverton, the city given to Arthas to rule?" She asked.
Arthas looked at her in realisation but nodded and turned towards the man too. "Yes Sir. Any information would be helpful. I don't even know where the City is let alone what kind of place it is and I have to rule the place. I don't think it has sunk in yet or else I would be freaking out about it right now."
"Hahahaha no need to freak out. Guarding a city is not that hard a job. Alverton is a city under Greenfrost but it is on the extreme border of the territory, on the north western side of the country. It is separated from the country of Baweth on the west by a city and Western Frontier Camp so that side is completely safe unless the barbarians manage to somehow mow down the dozens of the kingdom's strongest Knights and then kill an entire city to reach you. The Dark Forest in the north, separated by a small mountain range between them."
The man took a gulp of his beer and continued. "The city has a natural barrier of mountains around it. In fact, it was built as a fortress city, surrounded by mountains and was the previous borders before our King conquered the land on the west and expanded the Kingdom further, building another city and then the Western Frontier Camp there. You can easily guard the city against an army several times your size. I guess the Prince wants you to focus less on guarding and more on increasing your strength, so he gave you an easier place to defend."
"What kind of dangers should I expect there?"
"Dangers? Well, the mountains have several mountain bandit gangs while the Dark Forest is the den of undead and other kinds of dark monsters. Every decade or so there is a horde of undead who attack the kingdom. To prevent this, we lead a subjugation and clean up the outskirts of the Dark Forest every three years of any undead to prevent this situation. The last horde was just a few years ago so it won't be happening anytime soon though."
"How are the city's soldiers?" Arthas asked.
"Similar to Llyne in terms of power although they have more Templars and Magic Knights than Sword Knights or Shield Knights since they are better at dealing with the undead. If you want any changes to be made there, you will have to do it yourself. Since you are going there, I will have you appointed as the head of the Alverton Knight's Academy. All three forces will be under your direct command so you can decide what to do with them."
On talking further they discovered that Llyne and Alverton were quite a distance away from each other, almost on two opposite sides of the Kingdom and even continuously travelling would take them around a week to reach from one side to another.
That's going to make managing the Guild people in Llyne difficult. Will they agree to move to Alverton? Not to mention the players in the new town of Alverton. Did they have any Guilds there? What were their strengths and what kind of situation did that place have? They will have to go there faster than any other Guilds could be established by any other player so they could use the incentive of joining the Guild to recruit people there..Then there was their newly established business with Sabaody…
Just when they thought they were getting somewhere, new doors opened up, making them change all their plans.
Still, this place had much more advantages for them.
- Arthas -
I woke up early the next morning.
Last night, while we did party a lot, Rose made sure that she didn't drink much despite the insistence of the other Knights. Seems like the drunken scene from the last time had left her more embarrassed than we had thought.
All of us were exhausted due to the mentally, physically and emotionally exhausting day we had experienced so we decided to directly go to bed last night.
Seeing them sleeping deeply, I didn't disturb them either and left for the daily training.
When I returned, both of them had gotten up and were getting ready.
I quickly took a bath and then we sat down to discuss the rewards which I had received from the Tournament.
"Skill Books, a Sword, a recipe and a familiar egg."
"And five hundred thousand Gold Coins." I added.
"That's a very good haul."
"What is more important than all this is the connections you made due to this Tournament. The higher ups of the Kingdom including the Prince and finally the position of a City Lord. These things are far better than just a handful of Gold and some Skills and weapons."
"Hmm."
"We will need a Blacksmith to use this recipe. None of us have that class."
"That means we just have to find someone who does. Anyways, let's leave all that for later. You two are going to find the player who helped Rose, correct?"
"Yes."
"Great. Then you two can get ready for your date today too. Greenfrost is a very beautiful city after all." Veena asked with a smile. Her words however made the girl red.
I looked at the girl who nodded shyly and smiled. "I will wait for you outside."
Giving them space, I left the room, waiting for her to get ready, going down to the dining area to get something to drink in the meantime.
While I was eating, there was suddenly silence in the dining area as several people stopped eating and looked behind me.
Turning back, I found my heart skipping a beat.
Rose was standing behind me.
She was dressed in a purple coloured dress. There was a pink ribbon holding her long silver-white hair which was flowing behind her.
Overall, she looked breathtaking.
"Umm are you…" She spoke and I realised that I had been staring at her without saying anything for a while.
"Yes, I am done here too. Veena?"
"She had a meeting with the leader of the Magic Tower and Alchemist Guild so she is getting ready."
"I see." I got up. "Do you know where that girl lives?"
"Hmm, the outer city area. She said that she would meet us at a public park there."
"In that case, let's go." Thinking of something, I offered her my hand.
We were on a date after all.
She blushed a bit but accepted my hand and we left the Inn.
We didn't take the carriage available outside the inn and instead decided to walk around the place.
I had seen several places around the city during my morning runs and decided to bring her to those places too.
The Inner City of Greenfrost was an area for the higher class people, especially since there were residences of the nobles there so the whole place was clean and full of beautiful gardens.
We still hadn't eaten anything so I brought her to a cafe of sorts in one of these gardens that I had seen earlier today and ordered breakfast for ourselves.
I was really hungry so I started eating but soon realised that Rose was quiet, not eating.
"Umm, do you not like this dish? We can order something else if you want to." I offered.
"N..no, this is good. I… I am sorry for dragging you into this." She said after some hesitation, looking guilty.
"You were not the one who dragged me anywhere. I am here because I want to be. You shouldn't blame yourself."
"But, Veena did it because I got drunk and… threw a tantrum… I… I have just caused trouble for you all. First making you lose the Devil Fruit, then holding back your leveling speed, then getting drunk and making a scene and even yesterday, getting kidnapped during the tournament… I have only been trouble for you all and you… I… I am…"
"Alright hold it right there." I stopped her before she could go any further because it seriously looked like she was going to break out in tears. Even her eyes became moist as she kept on talking. "You didn't do anything. Let's clarify all the points one by one."
She looked up at me, but didn't say anything so I continued. "First, the Devil Fruit, that wasn't your fault. We didn't even know you back then. We were there to save Bina and helped you all alongside her. Even if you hadn't been there, we would probably have traded the Devil Fruit. Can we agree to this point?" I asked.
The girl, to her credit, was reasonable enough to give it a thought and nodded in agreement to my words.
"Next, you didn't hold back our leveling speed. Even Suikazura-san, Whistler and Star were slightly higher level than you. Bina and Elaine were of the same level. Either way, we were going to reduce our leveling speed to train a better team. Rather than a loss, it is an investment to get a better team for later, and it was decided by the whole team. You are not at fault there. Is this correct?"
She nodded with some hesitation.
"Getting drunk… well… it could happen to any one of us. You were not in the right state of mind then. As for the words you said, that was most likely the result of the stressful situations you had been under for so long. If anything, it was good that you let it all out rather than keeping it locked inside and letting it fester over that. That… would have been worse. And it's not like you said anything bad back then. So don't worry about it."
By now she was quiet.
"Lastly, the kidnapping. Now, that could very well be my fault. If anything you were the one who got caught up in my trouble. I should be the one to say sorry to you. Why are you getting all depressed over it?"
She looked like she was about to deny so I lifted my hand and stopped her.
"But… "
"No ifs and buts. Lastly, while I respect and like Veena a lot… I won't do something I am truly against. I am here, on a date with you, because I want to be."
She paused and looked at me with surprise and I continued.
"I wasn't lying, just saying meaningless words to calm you down back then. I totally meant every word I said back then. You are a very smart, talented and beautiful girl, Rose. Someone, any guy would be lucky to have as a partner. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. Got it?"
She nodded again, this time looking towards her food.
I didn't say anything else and let her take her own time.
We had our breakfast and walked around the garden for some time and then walked towards the outer city.
I hadn't explored the outer city of Greenfrost, mostly staying in the inner city.
The city was… clean although the scale of infrastructure was relatively lower which was to be expected.
We even saw several good shops.
The shops in the Inner City tended to the needs of the nobles and high class so while the items there were of higher quality… the prices were also quite a bit higher than normal. This problem however wasn't present in the shops of the outer city.
And it's not like these people were bad in their skill level.
From the fifteen or so shops we visited, fourteen were run by Level 50 T5 craftsmen. Each of them only needed a bit of push to get to T6 and become people who could be qualified to set up shops in the Inner City.
Rose was feeling much better after our little talk and slowly got back in her game as she stepped into the shops.
I even had doubts that the valkyrie had some kind of bargaining skills, something she couldn't use much in the inner city as the shops hardly negotiated for simple items.
The outer city however was open for all haggling.
She got some armour for herself on my insistence and a new spear too.
Her new armour reminded me of the armour from Magic Knight Rayearth, a white armour with red jewels and golden linings.
She tried the armour on my insistence and looked gorgeous.
Perhaps Veena's was onto something when setting up this date?
Finally, it was the time for the meeting and we asked for the location of the meeting and headed towards the public park.
On reaching there, we looked around and the place had several people there.
Rose looked around and then pulled at my sleeve. "There she is." She pointed towards the chair in the distance?
I looked towards the place she was pointing at and saw a girl sitting alone.
As we walked closer, I could see her clearly. She had long black hair and golden eyes. She was dressed in a black leather light armour and had several daggers. One dagger on her either side and another one behind her waist. There were four more daggers on both sides of her boots and four more tied in scabbards on her thigh.
So many daggers… was she a thief or something? I used my Scan Skill on her and found out that she wasn't a Thief but rather a Rogue Class. I guess that explained her equipment then.
Kurumi, Level 8 T4 Rogue.
She was of a lower level than I had expected.
Did she just skip the town and reach this place?
Rose did say that she had a brother so maybe he could be of a higher level.
As we were observing her, she was observing us too.
Rose took the lead and met her, shaking hands with her.
"Hello, Kurumi. Thank you again for saving me yesterday." She looked towards me and Rose introduced us. "This is Arthas, the Guild Master of my Fairy Tail Guild."
"Oh I know him." The girl, Kurumi, smiled. "It's hard to not know him after the tournament. Almost all of Greenfrost knows him." She bowed slightly. "Hello my Lord, my name is Kurumi, a Rogue."
My eyes twitched at her words and I waved my hands. "Just call me Arthas. I don't like that whole Lord thing…"
"Hahahaha don't boys have the fantasy of being called Sir, Master and Lord. You don't like it?" She asked with a smirk. Her words made Rose go red, something which didn't escape her eyes as she smirked even more.
She's one of those… hah…
In our team, Star was like this too and I had plenty of resistance to teasing after being with Veena these past few months so this much was nothing.
Not to mention, I have been called Master and Sir by plenty of our servants so it wasn't uncomfortable for me but to be called that by people I didn't even know was a bit odd.
"I prefer to keep my fantasies private, thank you very much." I replied with a smile, not giving her any more ammunition.
"Oh! So you do have fantasies of that kind?" She however didn't give up and pushed.
"Now that I think of it… that's…" I paused, taking a thinking posture and even the girl looked curious.
…even Rose was taking peeks at me.
"...a secret." I completed, making their faces blanched. She did recover and burst out in a laugh and I too smiled and ended the topic there.
I bowed deeply in front of her. "Thank you for saving Rose yesterday. We owe you."
"Don't worry about it. I saw an npc kidnapping someone and was curious too. I didn't know NPCs could do that. This game never ceases to surprise people."
"NPCs can do worse than just kidnap people." I said and Rose looked slightly sad so I held her hand reassuringly and then looked at the girl. "Think of this as a real world and it would serve you well."
She looked curiously at us.
"We have encountered NPCs selling players as slaves and even about to… assault them." I said, making the girl's mouth open in shock. She did help Rose. So this information was nothing.
Perhaps it could help her someday in future?
We sat down and the girl looked more in thought at the news, her previous joking persona was replaced by a serious one.
She asked us a few questions and I answered them. It wasn't a lot, mostly about where we were from and how we got to Greenfrost.
"Our team is from Llyne, more towards the east. We came here to attend the former Marquis Daren Black's birthday as I had attained the rank of a noble as the reward for the previous world quest. From there, I encountered a quest for the Tournament although I wasn't expecting to win it. I guess I was lucky there."
She rolled her eyes. "As if. Who doesn't know about the Fairy Tail Guild, the first player established Guild in the game? Everyone has been curious about what kind of person the Guild Master of the Fairy Tail Guild was and how he could achieve such a level, a T5 while everyone was struggling in T3. You know how much the gap between the higher Tiers increase and the experience requirements increase for level up too. And yet you managed to reach such a height. Many people had many theories about it."
"Oh, what theories?" I asked.
I had only heard bits and pieces of this as we had spread the information in Llyne and people there didn't question much.
"Some think you discovered some kind of glitch in the game. Some think you are cheating. Some even think you are with the team running the game."
…
"Really? With the team who are running the game instead of me getting some rare item, skill or class?"
She just shrugged. "What can I say? People will just say anything to hide their own weakness rather than accept someone else is better than them."
"Hmm, and what about you? What do you think?" I asked.
"I personally think they are just salty. Jealousy can be very ugly. It can turn closest friends against each other let alone strangers who don't know each other. So… what is it?" She asked.
"Oh, are you interested in the reality of the matter or my secrets?" I asked.
"The reality, but I wouldn't mind the secrets if you offer."
"I… didn't stop."
"Hmm?"
"I didn't stop for one moment to sit and cry when we were trapped in the game. While other players were locking themselves up and crying, I was out there hunting. When others were lining up for hours on the outskirts of the beginner village to get a rabbit, I was risking my life, hiding in the middle of the forests to hunt… for days on end without returning back to the village. While everyone was treating this place as a game, I was treating it as a real world and using everything to go forward."
She became quiet so I added something else.
"Apart from that, I got a Unique Class called the Goblin Slayer which gave me extra bonus and damage against Goblins… and guess what the enemy for our town during the First World Quest was?"
"Goblins?"
"Hmm… I leveled up from the early stages of T4 to almost the end stages of T5 due to the planning and tactics of my team combined with the bonus of my class."
The girl stared at me dumbly. "You… just gave away your secret like that?"
I shrugged. "What was there to hide? It's not like keeping it a secret could help me get stronger, can it? Our success is not something which can be replicated so easily so disclosing it is not a problem for me."
The girl was quiet for a second. "So… you guys were just better than the rest?"
"As much as it would sound like bragging, that's the truth. Our initial members, a genius strategist, an experienced businesswoman and me. The three of us complemented each other well and that's what led us to this point. Obviously a large amount of luck was also involved in this." Then I looked at her and smiled. "By the way, there was also the fact that joining a Guild allows a person to acquire Guild's Blessings and gain 10% Exp. gain extra too. So… would you like to join us?"
The girl was taken aback at the sudden invitation.
"What are the criteria for joining your guild?" She asked, not accepting directly, something which actually made me approve of her.
Others had almost instantly joined when they heard of the extra Exp gain.
I brought out the set of rules we had decided for the Guild and passed the list to her.
The girl took a look at the list carefully and then looked at me after finishing reading. "Do we have any obligation to hunt as per the Guild's orders? I mean in terms of forming teams or such things?"
"Apart from not interfering with the other guild members, there are no restrictions. You can form teams with whoever you like. It's just that teaming with other members of the team gives you an extra 10% Exp Boost. The only time we expect you to follow orders will be during World Quests."
"What if you or someone wants me to do a mission I don't want to?"
"You can deny. No actions will be taken as long as you don't break the rules of the Guild. If you have any problems with other Guild Members, you can bring it to the Guild Management and we can solve it."
"Hmm, reasonable. Then what if I have a problem with you directly?" She asked.
"We can talk, but if it doesn't work, you will have to leave. The Fairy Tail Guild is my Guild. If you have a problem with my ways of running the Guild then you can obviously leave the Guild and find another one. We will not stop you. You haven't played MMO's before this?" I couldn't help but ask.
"I have, but didn't you just say that I should consider this world as a real one?"
"Touche."
"Do I need to move to Llyne to join your Guild?"
"This… if you want to then I don't see why not. The Guild owns several boarding facilities there where you can live for some extra fees. The Guild also owns a shop which sells products made by the members of the Guild and the guild members get a five percent discount on those. If you go there, you will have some advantages. Although, as you have already heard, I have become the City Lord of Alverton, so our Guild Headquarters might move to that place. Do you perhaps have any problems with it?" I asked.
"Hmm, not me personally. Which also brings me to my last question."
I nodded.
"Can I bring my brother with me? He is a Blacksmith, trying to become a Master Blacksmith. He has all his Skills Maxed out."
"A Blacksmith? Sure, I don't see why not." We didn't have any blacksmiths yet. It was a time consuming class and people mostly preferred Herbalist to that. Finding one who had all his skills maxed out… it was only a boon.
"It's just that my brother was accepted as an apprentice by a Master Blacksmith recently and is training here. So it could be difficult for us to move."
"Hmm… that… could be difficult." I paused in thought.
"Actually…" Rose interrupted.
"Yes?"
"We are planning to establish a business in Greenfrost. Our initial goal for coming here was for Arthas to develop a piece of land he had received here as a reward. This however was side- tracked as we got dragged into the whole tournament. We are still going to develop the business here so we will need some members to stay here. I can talk to Veena and you can stay here to help out."
That actually works.
"Will that not be a problem?"
"Not really. This is the least we can do." I answered.
"Then I will thank you in advance." She agreed.
With that I invited her to the guild and she accepted.
After talking for a while, we decided to go and meet her brother and invite him to the Guild too.
- Akeno Himejima -
She passed over a bottle of water to Akatsuki-chan who was sitting on the couch.
"It was just as annoying as the last time." Naotsugu commented as he cleaned up the area.
"At least it wasn't the goblins."
"Well, seeing humans do such things… was worse in some ways."
…
No one denied his words.
They had just completed Arthur's quest to become a Knight. The quest had changed from when Naotsugu had taken the quest but it was still similar in some ways… she hoped that wasn't the case. At least when looking at Akatsuki-chan's face.
"At least it's over now." She patted her back, assuring her.
"Yes, fortunately now it's all over. With Arthur-kun becoming a Knight, we have a pretty decent team now."
"We will still need a dedicated Mage or a Healer. Akeno cannot keep on juggling both sides or she will fall behind." Naotsugu commented.
"Hmm, we will have to find a solution for that when we shift to a different town. Right now we don't have the time to recruit any new members." Marielle said after some thought of her own.
While she was normally very bubbly, even appearing air headed at times, Marielle was very capable when it came to managing the guild in her own way.
"Hmm… the plan is ready. Nao-kun has already talked with the Knight's Academy of the city and they have agreed to help us when we move, for a price. We have also managed to hire some help from the Black Market. All that's left is to plan a route and collect the provisions for travelling. We will need enough tents to stay at night and food to eat on the way for the kids. Will our funds be enough for everything?"
"We have enough funds. I have already talked with Nina and she can get the provisions arranged for us in just two days at best." Akeno interrupted.
"Oh. Have you decided on the location?" Mari asked.
She nodded and brought out a map from her inventory.
It was quite hard to get the map of the kingdom. While small maps were easy to get, large ones were quite hard to come by and were expensive too.
She placed the map on the table and pointed to their current location.
"This is where we are. Grantsburg is a city in the southern part of the kingdom. It comes under the territory of Redwood." Then she pointed to a location in the upper left corner of the map. "And this is our destination. This place is the hometown of Nina's mother. She has written us a note of recommendation for her maternal grandfather. We can get his help there to establish ourselves. I asked around and this place has good hunting areas nearby and is quite safe as the border's Military Camp is just two days away which is always manned by high level knights who run regular patrols every few months and use this town as a base to restock. Due to this there is no danger or corruption in the town according to Nina as the city is almost always under inspection from high level knights. The kids will be safe here."
"Hmm great. Then we will do just that. Have you decided which route of travel to take?" Mari asked.
Akeno nodded and pointed to the map.
"We need to move North from here through the Blackthorn territory and to our destination, the Greenfrost territory. There we will pass by the towns of Amberville, Coppershed, Alverton and we can finally reach our destination… Stratholme."
x_x_
Support Me on: pat reon * /crossedge
Subscribestar *.adult* /crossedge
Join me on my Discord server discord *.gg* /RNNZyyert4
Beta Note: The advance chapters are in order of what is updated, a first Tier will not get 2 advanced chapters for every story, only the next two to be released.
Beta Reader: LuluViBritania (FF.N, SB, WN and QQ)/-LuluViB99th Britannian Emperor(Discord)
Author's Note:
I am back with another chapter of 'Soul Art Online'.
So, many things happened.
Arthas got his rewards and celebrated.
Rose and Arthas had a date and met Kuroka who joined the Fairy Tail Guild.
Finally, Arthas will be going to the capital and then on to become a City Lord.
Oh and Akeno and others are deciding to move…
I will wrap things in the next chapter or two and do a short time skip later to reach the second World Quest.
Enjoy the next chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.