Already spotting us as we entered, Thaddeus gestured and waited by the back room door. Following him through the door again and returning to the same room on the right, we all sat down in the same spots while Thaddeus left for his office.

Coming back with 4 large sacks and 4 Gold bracelets, Thaddeus said to us “First of all, I would like to congratulate all of you on killing the Goblin King, clearing the Closed Dungeon, and even making it all back alive. I was pleasantly surprised by your quick and efficient results.” Giving us a little applause, “And second of all, here are the rewards you more than earned." handing the others their rewards, "An immediate promotion to a Gold Rank Adventurer, and 100 Gold for each of you.”

“I’m not complaining, but wasn’t I only supposed to get Silver Rank?” Lavie asked, trying on the bracelet before putting it away.

“You and your Party far exceeded mine, and the Guild’s expectations of your Copper Ranks. And it was decided to promote all of you by one more Rank.” Thaddeus explained.

“Makes sense, but why didn’t Eyes get a reward?” Dream pointed out, “He killed the Boss alone, you know?”

“Oh don’t worry, Eyes is getting a different reward.” Thaddeus assured them.

“What? Why?” Faust questioned.

“I can’t say, it’s confidential.” Thaddeus answered.

“It’s okay, I trust them.” Telling them, “I’m getting a different reward because I’m already a Platinum Rank Adventurer.” Showing them my Platinum bracelet, “I was only there to assure the death of the King, and to keep you guys safe.”

“Wait, how did you get to Platinum Rank already?” Faust questioned.

“You only just found out?” Lavie asked.

“It was plain as day when we removed our bracelets to talk.” Tobias added. “Maybe you children should pay more attention.” Faust huffed at their comments.

“Okay, I’m good then. I just thought he wasn’t getting a reward.” Dream stated.

Clapping his hands together, Thaddeus said “Now that we have that sorted, you may all leave and rest, or you could take on some lower-rank requests if you wish.” Then informing us, “But sadly if you're looking for a Gold Rank Request, you’ll need to travel elsewhere since there are none in town at the moment, and I don’t expect any in the coming weeks.”

“None? Where should we go to find work then?” Lavie inquired.

“All of the major cities have plenty of high-rank requests, so it’s really up to your preference, but if you only care about which one is the closest, then Leon or Sya is what you’re looking for.” Thaddeus suggested. “Two weeks eastward for Sya, or two weeks westward for the Capital Leon, but both longer without horseback.”

“Two weeks?! That’s so far away!” Faust exclaimed.

“Going to the capital sounds good, and we could probably cut the travel a bit if we used Faust and my wolf instead.” Dream offered.

“Hey, don’t just go assuming I'm another free ride without asking me first!” Faust shouted, refusing the idea of using him as transportation again.

“Don’t really want to travel on a wolf for weeks, got a faster way to get there?” Tobias asked Thaddeus.

“There is, and you’ll get there instantly, but it’ll cost you 100 Gold to use.” Thaddeus answered.

“100 Gold?! That’s all our reward!” Faust shouted again.

“Yes, but that’s the price to use the Guild’s Private Teleportation Circle. Plus it’s the only one in Asheton, and since you’re Gold Ranks now, you actually have access to use it.” Thaddeus explained.

“100 Gold...” Tobias mumbled, looking at the sack of coins.

“Guys, we can’t just skip the journey, who knows what we could encounter in 2 weeks. There could be new beautiful environments, strange dangerous monsters, and if we’re lucky we might even find another Dungeon to clear.” Dream enthusiastically conveyed.

“I guess you’re right, we should try to explore as much of this world as possible.” Lavie agreed.

“Yeah, and wasting 100 Gold is too much right now.” Faust added, “I still need to buy new armour and get out of these old ones.” Pulling at his dirtied robe.

“Seems like you’re all in agreement.” Thaddeus said, getting up. “I’ll take my leave first. Eyes, please join me after you're done talking.” Leaving us alone.

“What do you say, Eyes? We can leave right after you're done talking to that Thaddeus guy.” Dream asked, still enthusiastic.

“Actually, I won’t be going with all of you.” I told them.

“What? Why? I thought we were a Party?” Dream sounded almost heartbroken.

“We are.” I assured her, but explaining “It’s just that I already got invited to the Elven Capital to train in new types of Archery, and getting an opportunity to become a better archer is something I will never give up on, ever...”

Shaking their heads and respecting my decision, Tobias said “Children, they get so attached, it’s not like he’s dying or anything.”

“Tobias is right, Eyes isn’t dying, he’ll just be away for a while.” Lavie reiterated.

“I guess so…” Dream pouted, not happy about it.

“Besides, it hasn’t even been a week since we came here, and didn’t we all agree to explore the world by ourselves and meet up later anyway?” Lavie stated.

“Wait, are we not traveling to the capital together then?” Faust asked, making sure.

“No, I’ll go. I don’t want to spend more days traveling if I can just cut a few by traveling with you, Wolf Boy.” Tobias teased, standing up.

“I’ll go too, but what about you, Dream?” Lavie asked, smiling at her.

“Of course I’m going!” Dream cheering up.

“Great! We rest for the night and leave tomorrow morning, sound good?” Lavie suggested.

“Wait, I want to buy new armour first.” Faust interrupted.

“I think I could use some too.” Dream included herself.

“I know just the place.” I interjected, “There’s a shop called Drune’s Smith & Shop, and the owner’s the best blacksmith in town. Lavie can show you the way.” Excited by the fact of getting new armour, Faust and Dream made another bet on who could find the shop first, as they already ran out of the room.

Tobias just sighed, “Children.” Shaking his head and leaving the room too.

Lavie rolled her eyes to me, and said “I better go catch those two before they start racing with dire wolves again.” Waving me goodbye as she left the room. Opening and entering the room right across, I found Thaddeus waiting patiently at his desk for me.

Sitting myself in front of him, Thaddeus said to me “After witnessing your actions in the Dungeon, you’ve become an even more unique and mysterious elf, Eyes.” Rubbing his chin.

“Uhmm, is that bad?” I asked, unsure what he meant.

“Not necessarily, but when the Top Guild Factions hear about you, they’ll definitely each try their hardest to recruit you.” Writing something on a paper on his desk.

“Guild Factions? What are those?” Being clueless of it.

“Oh, you don’t know?” I shook my head, and Thaddeus explained. “Well to put it simply, inside the Guild as a whole, there are groups of individuals—large and small in size—that always work and Party amongst themselves to achieve their goals. Be it as simple as hunting down a monster terrorizing an area together, or as difficult as accumulating power and influence in the major cities. Each providing their own benefits for joining, they are usually organized and led by a single leader or a small handful of leaders, with the Top Factions having the privilege to accept any posted requests first.”

“Doesn’t that mean they can just monopolize all of the requests for themselves?” I questioned.

“They very much do, but the Top Factions have gained that privilege by proving their very reliable strength as the top adventurers in the kingdoms, and have always helped resolve the most difficult of requests.” Continuing, “There were even a few Factions created in Asheton the last few days, and between the 3 Factions, they’ve already recruited more than half of the adventurers in town to join them.”

“Do you remember their names?” Interested in them.

“I believe their Faction names were Elseworld, The Guided, and Deicide; but I would pay no mind to them, they’re only just Copper Ranks as of now.”

“I see…” Thinking to myself, “So the Players have already divided themselves into Factions, both literally and figuratively. Now I wonder how much trouble they’re gonna stir up with the already existing Factions when they get to higher levels.”

“But enough of that, here’s the coin you earned for the request.” Handing me the sack of coins, and then saying “No one has claimed the deed since the land has lost all its value over the years, and the constant monsters nesting inside does not help, but I thought someone with your strength could take it for yourself.” Passing me a rolled up and wax sealed piece of paper.

Quest Completed Goblin Regicide and the bonus Hidden Quest has been completed. Reward: 110(+10) Gold Hidden Quest Reward: Land Deed

Curious about the reward, I asked “Can I open it?” and Thaddeus just gestured. Breaking the seal and unrolling the paper, I was surprised to read that it was the deed for the ownership of both the Crescent Mountains and Castle Creedmor. And surprising me again, two notifications appeared out of nowhere.

You have gained the Title: [Homeowner]. Homeowner: Obtaining a place to call your own, you can now return to it at will. Gain the ability to use the ‘Return Home’ Skill. You have learned the Skill: [Return Home]. Return Home: Instantly teleport to your Home from anywhere except the inside of a Closed Dungeon. Cooldown: 24 hours.

“What the hell am I gonna do with a castle in the middle of nowhere? But at least I got a new Skill, and if it doesn’t have an in-combat restriction, I might be able to use it to get out of trouble.”

“Now that our business is fully concluded, you may go on your way, and I look forward to hearing about your progress in the Guild in the future.” Thaddeus said, holding his hand out for a handshake. Shaking his hand, I left the room and headed out of the building.

While I was walking and pondering what to do next, I could sense a group of people trying to follow me secretly. Deciding to check if they were really following, I made a sharp turn towards the town gate and I could feel the group follow. “They really are following me.” Thinking, “I better go outside of town just in case they wanna pick a fight, don't really wanna deal with the guards after they hear about a fight breaking out.” Also disbanding the Party so they wouldn't see I was fighting.

Continuing outside the western gate, I walked for about 5 minutes and could still feel the group following closely. Stopping at a clearing, I turned around and saw an aggressive looking Party—3 guys and 2 girls—not even trying to hide themselves anymore. Looking at their names, I asked “Can I help you with something?” Their names showing as: Lv.7 Lenny, Lv.7 Bobon, Lv.7 Casey Harris, Lv.6 Menace, and Lv.6 Ericson.

The Human Fighter named Lenny answered, “We know you’re a Player.” Looking at the others, I could guess that Bobon was an Elf Mage, Ericson a Human Ranger, Casey and Menace both female Rogues, but Casey a Human and Menace a Dwarf.

Noticing the Copper Guild bracelets on their wrists, I decided to play dumb. “What’s a Player?”

Drawing his greatsword, Lenny aggressively pointed it, saying “Don’t play dumb with us, we saw you with those other Players entering the back today and the other day.” The rest of his Party drawing their weapons, “We want to know why the Guild is treating you guys differently, and if you don’t tell us you’re dead.”

“Woah, woah, chill.” I said, pretending to be a little scared. “If that’s all you want I’ll tell you, no need to threaten death.” Thinking, “Killing heartless monsters is one thing, but killing a person, especially a Player, that’s another thing.”

They all relaxed a bit with weapons still drawn, and Lenny said “Go on then.”

“We didn’t do anything special, the Guild just called us in after we killed a lot of goblins on the night of the Goblin Attack, and they wanted promising adventurers for a dangerous request.” I explained.

“That’s it?” Casey questioned.

“He’s lying to us!” Menace shouted.

“That can’t be all, we killed a lot of the goblins too.” Ericson said.

“Maybe you just didn’t kill enough?” I jokingly commented.

Lenny raised his greatsword at me, “I don’t think that’s funny.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it, the words just came out.” Pretending to be scared again.

“Hey Lenny.” Bobon said, getting Lenny’s attention. “They were gone for a few days, so if they’re back now and talked to the Guild Manager, they must’ve completed the request and got the rewards too.”

Lenny let out a little chuckle, “You’re probably right, Bo.” Turning his attention back to me, “Well looks like it’s the end for you anyway, killing is the only way to guarantee you’re not hiding any loot from us.” All of them raised their weapons again.

“Are you seriously gonna kill me because of loot? Do you guys even understand that this isn’t a game?” And I realized what they were, “Ooohh, you guys are PKers aren’t you?”

Lenny smiled, “Bingo...” And they all attacked.

***

Down in a huge dimly lit sewer chamber, Tobias walked past a handful of hooded people not giving him any attention and just looked at the request board. Talking to one of the hooded Underground Guild Workers at the bar, Tobias was allowed to enter into a private chamber where the Branch Leader Thaddeus was waiting. “Congratulations again on completing the request for the Guild, and here’s the extra reward I promised you.” Handing him a set of black leather armour, and Tobias smirked as he saw his Quest complete.

Quest Completed Above The Underground and the bonus Hidden Quest has been completed. Reward: 110(+10) Gold Hidden Quest Reward: Underground Leather Armour Set. Underground Leather Armour Set

Rare

+15 Agility

+5 Sense

+15% Total Physical Damage Reduction

Set Bonus: The armour does not make any sound, making you naturally harder to notice, and even quieter when sneaking around.

Requirement: Lv.20, Agi 90

Storing the armour away, Tobias said “I assume there aren’t any Gold Rank requests here either?”

“You’re right to assume, there are none. Like I said before, you’ll need to go to a bigger city if you want to do a higher-rank request.” Thaddeus said.

“And there’s an Underground in every city?” Tobias made sure.

“Every Underground Guild member is an Adventurer’s Guild member, but not every adventurer is part of the Underground. All you need to do is find the Adventurer’s Guild in a city, and you’ll find the Underground.” Thaddeus informed him.

“Hhmm...I’ll be on my way then.” Tobias said, leaving the private chamber and heading back to the surface.

“Welcome to Drune’s Smith & Shop, how can I help you?” Mako greeted Dream and Faust.

“We’re looking for the best blacksmith in town, and I assume you're not Drune?” Faust waiting for her answer.

“No I’m not, but if you’re looking for Master Drune, he’s out with his wife and probably won’t be back till morning.” Mako replied.

“And you are?” Dream asked, already looking around.

“I’m Mako Nomura, Master Drune’s apprentice, and I’m watching over the shop.” Mako answered, then the shop door opened with Lavie walking in. “Welc—Oh, I remember you. Where’s Eyes?” Mako asked Lavie.

“Hello again.” Lavie waved, “He should be at the Adventurer’s Guild, but I think he might meet us here. Need to talk to him or something?”

“I do, I had a question about a notification I got, but I can message him later.” Mako said.

“Hey Lavie, where’s Tobias?” Dream asked.

“He said he had to do something at the Guild,” Giving both Faust and Dream a wink, “but that he’ll meet up with us in the morning.”

“Ahh…” Dream got it.

“So cool.” Faust said.

Unsure what they were talking about, Mako asked “So are you guys looking for weapons or armour?”

“We’re looking for armour, specifically better than what we have right now.” Faust showed his robe.

“Ideally something pretty.” Dream added.

“I’d like a new set too, one just like this one I have but at a higher level.” Lavie walked to the counter.

“Since you guys are all Players, if you browse around and touch the armour stands, you can see the info for them.” Gesturing for them to browse, “Just call me over when you got something you want.” Mako stayed back and watched carefully to make sure they didn’t steal anything.

Faust found his armour instantly. On the stand was a short beige coloured hooded robe—reaching down to only above the knees—with dark coloured pants, knee-high metal boots, metal gauntlets, and metal pauldrons.

Looking around, Dream decided on a long sleeve chainmail dress with hardened leather that covered the chest and shoulders. Along with leather bracers, leather pants, and leather boots, but opting out on the ugly leather helmet.

As for Lavie, she easily found a set of higher level but with a slightly different leather design to her own, and had a short sleeve white shirt opposed to her long sleeve one.

"Are you sure you guys wanna buy these? You didn't even try them out?" Mako asked the Party.

"We all decided to pick out Lv.20 armour, so we can't wear it yet but I'm sure they're fine." Lavie said, handing Mako the Gold for her armour, and Faust and Dream did the same.

Finished shopping, they left for the Inn for the night, but stopped when they all got two notifications.

The Party Leader has disbanded the Party. You no longer gain the bonus effect of ‘The Cursed Crown Of Royalty’. -25% of base Stats, and -10% to base regenerations.

“What happened?” Dream asked Lavie, seeing that Faust didn’t know either.

“I’m not sure, Eyes probably just wanted to disband since we’re separating, and maybe it’s for the best he did.” Lavie answered Dream.

“How so?” Dream unsure what she meant.

“Well, just being in Eyes’ Party we got those huge bonus stats and regens, and we didn’t realize it at the time, but I bet those extra stats really helped us out in the Dungeon.” Lavie pointed out.

“Sure, but what’s wrong with that?” Dream not getting it.

“Don’t you think you should get stronger without depending on, Eyes? Or others for that matter? If you’re not careful, Faust could really start to beat you.” Lavie whispered, Faust not hearing her words.

“You’re so right Lavie, if I depend too much on you guys, I'll get weaker than Faust.” Dream whispered loudly.

“Hey, I heard that! I was wondering what you were whispering about, now I know. You two were talking behind my back weren’t you?” The girls just laughed at Faust’s words, as they all headed to the Sleeping Forest Inn.