Chapter 15

~ Joining a Guild ~

SW/SW/SW

Maria gestured towards the sofas in the middle of the place and the two were more than glad to sit. Ace and Elvaria sat close to each other, facing Maria while QueeN stood behind Maria, acting like she was some sort of bodyguard.

“Thank you,” he subconsciously changed the way he spoke, “but we still don’t know if we want to join or not.”

“But you were given the key, weren’t you?” Maria smiled, “the fact that you are here holding the key means that you have consented.”

“But we weren’t told anything,” Elvaria explained. “We were just given the key without knowing anything.”

“It was Lord_DPS who gave you the key?”

Elvaria nodded at Maria’s question. “He didn’t say anything and off into an ominous looking tower deep in the forest.”

“Tower?” QueeN repeated while arching her brow, “Must be Antle Pond. Ze average monsters level in zat place ist five. Vhat are you doing zere?”

“I was… kind of lost…” Elvaria meekly answered, blushing furiously.

“I was looking for two-horned wolves. A quest,” Ace laughed nervously, pretending to be innocent. “Thank god DPS saved us when those nasty players showed up.”

There was a deep line between Maria’s brows as she listened, “Come again? Nasty players?”

“Yes,” Ace nodded, “they attacked Elvaria and said something like ‘points’ and such. Honestly we didn’t know what they meant.”

“Gott…” QueeN spoke grimly, “zey were PKs.”

“P… PKs?” Ace’s eyes widened at the unfamiliar term.

Maria lifted a hand and explained, “PK stands for Player Killer. As the name suggested, they hunt players, mostly newbies, for points. I believe that it is fun they are after, rather than points.”

“By points…” Ace trailed off.

“In this game, there’s certain equipment such as armor or weapons that require you to have sufficient points to be used. These points can be obtained by defeating players. Logically speaking, the stronger the enemies are, the more points you will get. But it is also means harder fights, so most players resort to kill newbies instead.”

“What happen if they killed us?” Elvaria squeaked, horrified expression was plastered across her face.

Maria gave her a reassuring smile, “No need to worry. You will respawn in Dragonis, assuming that you haven’t changed your respawn point, but that is highly unlikely as you don’t have access to other continents.”

Wait, wait. What?

What on earth was respawn? Was it re+spawn? Laying eggs over and over? Or was it the same as ‘revive’?

Seeing their confused faces, Maria’s hand once again graced her soft cheek. “Oh, dear me… I forgot that you are new to this game. I’m sorry. In short, you’d best be careful out there. PKs are easy to spot by their red names. True that getting killed by them doesn’t lower your EXP, but it is terribly frustrating.”

“I know!” suddenly QueeN exclaimed, “why not hev zem join Travonka?”

Ace lifted his hands, “W-Wait, we aren’t here to join! Besides, we know nothing about guilds and what we should do once we’re in!”

“I won't force you to, but I agree with TongsisQueeN has said. It is certainly safer for you if you joined a Guild. If you were chased by PKs, our members will immediately help you. Good items will be given to any guild member who succesfully defeated PKs, after all."

"But your Guild..." Ace tried to make an escape route, but was cut short.

"Well, I suppose it is appropriate if I tell you about our goal,” Maria spoke softly. “We aim to be the number one guild in GeaOnline. Currently, we are not even in the big ten yet, so that’s why we need as much manpower as we can. It is as simple as that.”

“So, what is the connection between having many members with being the number one?” Elvaria asked with a blank look on her face.

“Guild War,” Maria answered simply. “Have you heard of it? In this game, a guild can advance in rank only after they defeat a team whose rank is above them.”

“Sounds simple enough.”

Maria didn’t seem to be amused by Ace’s casual remark. “It is easier said than done. Our opponent, Muhehehe—a funny name, I know, don’t laugh—is infamous of using Eye of Gorgon, a rare Summon Beast, to petrify the enemies. In the last battle, they summoned five of them and it was disastrous.”

The winged woman smiled ever so slightly, “That’s why additional members are always welcome. If you join us, you will level up faster than you’d imagine, as well as obtain good equipment appropriate for your job. Not only that, you two will also receive detailed guidance from us. In return, we want you to participate in the Guild War, no matter how small your contribution is in the battle.”

“Wait,” Ace interrupted. The offer was tempting, but there were some things that he needed to confirm, “We are just newbies. Are you okay by giving equipment to us? This must cost you a lot, not to mention this free level up. This doesn’t seem right.”

Ace gulped when Maria opened half of her eyes, still in her charming smile. The lack of iris frightened him. Her beautifully eerie orbs were white and the pupils were bright red, the shapes were sharp oval and thin, similar to a cat’s pupils. They sent a chill down his spine…

“I think you have misunderstood me, AceKivras. We don’t buy them. We take them from our storage and give them to you—free. One of our policies is to forc—no, to have each member donated their unused armors and weapons. How many members do you think we have? There are over sixty members in Travonka.”

Ace and Elvaria didn’t dare to look at each other. They heard it. They heard her said ‘force’, although she stopped herself midway…

“…and about this ‘free level up’, you got it all wrong. You don’t sit like a princess and then level up just like that. We will notify you of a boss battle and send you a party invitation. You don’t need to fight, just stay hidden the whole battle, but still within the same place as us. Once the boss is defeated, you will earn hefty amount of EXP, sufficient for you to level up four or five times. It is okay if you can’t arrive, everybody has their own schedule.”

“What about the PKs?” this time it was Elvaria who asked.

“Currently there is nothing we can do about it, but if our members are in the vicinity, they will immediately rush to your aid. However, we can’t depend on that possibility alone. That’s why you will be given several Scrolls of Return each time you login. Don’t worry, they are pretty cheap.”

With that last explanation, Maria closed her demonic eyes and smiled meaningfully, waiting for an answer.

Ace tapped his chin, pondering. It’d be nice to get free equipment plus the scrolls. Excessive scrolls could be sold for quick cash for greater survivability. What was more, they could get free tutors about GeaOnline, further maximized the enjoyment of playing the game. He didn’t know about this Guild War, but it sounded challenging and fun.

“Alright,” Ace nodded, “I’m in.”

“If Ace’s joining, then I’ll join, too!” Elvaria nodded vigorously.

QueeN beamed and hugged both of them, “Zat’s super! Velcome to the family, guys!”

“H-Hey, stop hugging me!” Ace stammered, cheek went red in embarrassment.

“Aw, you’re blushing! How cute!”

Maria didn’t cease smiling. Even though her eyes were closed, she could see them perfectly. She didn’t hug them, merely welcomed them with words. Slowly she centered her attention to the Summoner, AceKivras…

She gave his name one last check and returned to PMing with someone…

Maria didn’t know why DPS asked for such thing. The Summoner was nothing but a newbie and he didn’t look all that strong or experienced in MMORPG. She dismissed the thought and focused on her task.

For DPS, Maria would do anything…

Spoiler: Status

AceKivras

EXP Chart*

Atk: 5

HP (180/180)

Level 2

227/765

Def: 3

MP(245/245)

Human

538 to lv. 3

M.Atk: 19

Eiredrahl the Impure*

Summoner

5 Coins

M. Def: 13

Travonka

Minimum piety

ATTRIBUTES

POTENTIAL

Equipment

No perks or abilities*

STR

5

Worst

Head

Circlet

VIT

7

Bad

Neck

Amulet

DEX

7

Bad

Body

Robe

PER

8

Bad

Back

-

INT

18

Superb

Arm (main)

Staff

WIS

11

Best

Arm

-

WILL

11

Best

Waist

-

CHA

16

Superb

Legs

Pants

* (tap to see)

Feet

Shoes

(Help)

Skill

Description

Level

Healing

VIT

Lets you recover your HP over time

2.643

Staff

VIT

How proficient you are swinging your staff

2.098

Running

VIT

Affects your running speed

3.004

Light Armor

DEX

How effectively you act while wearing Light Armor

7.145

Evasion

DEX

Helps you to evade attacks easily

8.430

Casting

INT

This skill helps you power up your spells

5.610

Meditation

INT

Gradually recovers your MP

5.917

Herbology

INT

Lets you identify any herb to its fullest potential

6.078

Control Magic

WIS

Prevents your ally to get hit by your spells

2.819

Memorization

WIS

This skill slows down the decay of your unused skills

3.677

Literacy

WIS

Allows you to read more difficult spellbooks

6.175

Control Beast

CHA

Lets you control higher-level Summon Beasts

7.931