❮ ◈ ❯

Gray Whisles, The Clown Warlock, has invited you to the guild; Throne of Glory.

---

Clauses Agreed Upon by the involved Hosts:

- Preservation of personal freedom.

- Duty to assist the guild and its members when in need.

- The signer has the right to refuse orders if not coming directly from the Guild Leader.

---

Do you accept?

Yes/No

❮ ◈ ❯

Rakna took his time to read the few clauses, lingering just a bit on Gray’s full name and title, then opened his mouth, “Yes.”

❮ ◈ ❯

You have joined the Throne of Glory Guild! You are the 14th Member.

Your Affiliation has been updated.

Guild Chat; Unlocked.

Guild Shop; Unlocked.

Guild Quests; Unlocked.

❮ ◈ ❯

“14? Really?”

Gray shrugged. “Well, I told you, didn’t I? We’re a small guild. But, at the same time, this just goes to show how powerful each one of us is. You as well, have the potential to become one of the biggest figures in the System. That is obviously why I chose you.”

“How powerful are we talking about exactly though?” Flavia curiously asked from the side.

Gray looked at her with a grin. “Three of our members are in the top ten Hosts in rank. Four others are in the top hundred. Four more in the top thousand. And the rest is in the top thousand, mainly because they’re our more recent additions, one from sixty years ago, and another from seventy-five years ago.”

“That does sound impressive, but… what is that ranking based on exactly?” Nyx inquired.

“Well, you might want to take a look at your status for that.

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Name: Rakna Xiorra

Age: 17 | Level: 10 (50/100)

Path/Race: Nine-Tailed Werewolf

Affiliation: Throne of Glory

Titles: Legendary Slayer, Wolf King, Divinity Slayer

Potential: S+ | Host Rank: I

❮ ◈ ❯

“The Host Rank thing?”

Gray nodded. “Yes. As you may have noticed, it’s written in Roman numbers. I don’t know why but honestly, no one ever complained about it. In any case, what I can tell you is that the Host currently at the top of the leaderboard is at Rank LXXVIII; 78. You can ask your AI later about what you need to increase it. You can also take the occasion to learn about everything you unlocked. Though, you might not want to do it right now. It’ll take a while after all.”

“Anyhow,” the cyber clown raised his voice with a concluding tone. “I’ll take my leave now. Unlike the other overseers, I don’t have to stay around since I don’t care about recruiting more people. I will see you tomorrow. At the Pavilion. Have a good evening, Rakna Xiorra.”

Gray bowed theatrically and disappeared from the party hall as if he was never there.

“Eh? The clown’s gone already?” Allan’s voice sounded as he came back right after.

“You just missed him,” Flavia commented. “You’re already done with your guild?”

“Yeah, that guy really didn’t waste time. He read the letter, asked me a few questions, then sent me an invite to his guild without any extra word. So, I just accepted, and he told me to go to the Pavilion tomorrow, whatever that is,” he shrugged and turned toward his old friend. “So, Rak, did you join that guy’s guild?”

Rakna seemingly didn’t hear what he said as he was visibly focused on something.

“Again? Seriously?” Allan muttered and half-heartedly tried to get his attention by waving his arm in front of his face.

Meanwhile, the man in question was attentively watching as a System window scrolled down as liens of text popped up one after the other. He had noticed a small blinking sign in his vision and when he concentrated on it, it expanded and showed this;

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Hey, guys, looks like Gray got ourselves a new guy this year.

So it seems.

Really!? Nice! That means a new sparring partner!

What do you mean ‘new sparring partner’? Don’t bully the new guy -_-

Meh, if Gray recruited him, that probably means he has enough potential, right? I’m sure he’ll get strong enough in no time. What do you say, Gray? You there?!

I am. Though on the move currently to meet someone. I just left the new member in the party hall. Rakna, if you’re reading this, there should be a button at the bottom of the window. Press it, enter your pseudonym manually then just speak mentally.

So his name is Rakna, is it?

So it seems.

…you really need to stop saying that all the time. The new guy will think you’re literary inapt or something.

So it seems.

…you did that on purpose. And it wasn’t even coherent to what I was saying!

So it seems :)

That’s it! Wait till I get to the 826th Plateau and I’ll murder you!

…

❮ ◈ ❯

‘Well… that’s new,’ Rakna thought with a small amount of amusement. This Guild Chat was very free-spirited. It probably reflected the guild’s inner workings pretty well. ‘Press the button and enter the name, huh?’

He followed Gray’s instruction and typed his pseudonym before trying out this ‘mental speaking’ with the perfect sentence.

❮ ◈ ❯

Obsidian joined the Guild Chat.

So it seems.

Obsidian left the Guild Chat.

…

…

…

I like the new kid.

I know, right?

❮ ◈ ❯

Rakna had closed the window right after sending his message. He wasn’t about to start a full-blown conversation right now. When he looked up, Allan’s waving hand almost hit him if it wasn’t for his reflexes.

“Oops!” Allan pulled back. “Sorry about that. So, finally back to Ear- wait, guess that doesn’t work anymore. Whatever. What the heck were you doing? You stood there without moving for at least two minutes.”

“Chatting, I guess.”

“Huh?”

“Oh, do you mean the Guild Chat?” Flavia spoke up. “I opened it and there were so many people talking there.”

“Guild Chat? What’s that?” Allan asked confusedly.

“Isn’t there a small icon on the top left of your vision?” Nyx said and he squinted with a confused expression until he suddenly opened his eyes wide.

“Ah, found it! It’s super discreet though. How did you guys see it?” He uttered as he also opened the chat only to see absolutely nothing. “Uuuuh, you said there were supposed to be a lot of people talking? There’s no one on mine.”

Flavia tilted her head. “Well, maybe your guild is the silent kind. What’s its name?”

“Madness Guild.”

“…I will be honest with you, young man,” Nyx raised an eyebrow. “That’s not a name that inspires trust.”

“I mean… kinda? But the clown said this was one of the best guilds, didn’t he? Maybe they just chose the guild’s name on a dare or something.”

“Be careful, all right?” Flavia said with a worried tone.

“C-come on, now you’re starting to freak me out…”

“Don’t worry, we’ll still be your friends even when you become mad,” Rakna provided and Allan nearly face-planted.

“Not you too…”

Rakna snorted and the two girls chuckled. After that, Leis’ group came back a few minutes later and they all exchanged some casual banter for the next half an hour. All while Pronos was resting on the table with his bloated belly being the only proof of his rampage over the food.

Then, about forty minutes since the overseers had started recruiting, only Quill remained in the hall as he took his place back on the stage.

“You are now free to go, Hosts. You can leave this building and explore the city as much as you want. If you want details, ask your AI. The only thing I will tell you is that you can book a room in a hotel with your Talys. Then, tomorrow morning, head to the Pavilion. Have a good night,” he said and in the blink of an eye, he had disappeared just like his fellow overseers.

“Time to leave,” Rakna muttered as he was one of the first to walk to the exit. He grabbed Pronos who was sleeping with a contented face and put him under his scarf.

“I guess,” Allan shrugged and followed him along with Nyx and Flavia. Leis’ gang similarly went after him. When they stepped out of the building, the night had completely fallen and the lights of the city made it a very pleasant sight.

“So, where are we going?” Allan asked as they walked on the side path; cars passing by with trails of red lights.

“Personally, I think I will take my group to a hotel,” Leis spoke up. “Gray gave us potions when we came out earlier for the most injured ones but a lot of us still are quite tired.”

“I see. Have a good night then. I want to explore this city for a little bit,” Rakna said.

Leis nodded and asked his AI for directions before going on another road.

“What about you?” Rakna turned toward Nyx who was silently staying with them.

She shrugged with a passive expression. “What can I say? I don’t know anyone else and I don’t feel like checking in for the night right away. What? Am I a bother?”

“No,” Rakna shook his head and turned right at an intersection, entering some sort of avenue with no vehicles and just a regular stream of people. “I was just curious. I know that Flavia and Allan would stick to me like glue, but I didn’t know about you.”

“Dude, don’t make it sound as if actually having friends is a bad thing,” Allan deadpanned.

Flavia giggled. “But we can’t deny it. I have no shame in saying that I would be scared if I was alone in this situation. I’m happy that it’s not the case and if being clingy to someone is all it takes then I don’t mind.”

Nyx smiled faintly. “You have a very clear view of yourself. That is a respectable trait. And, I have to agree, it feels safer to be in a group at the moment, even if I barely know you three.”

“True,” Allan acquiesced. “In any case, there sure is a lot of different kinds of people here, huh? Or should I say… species? Races?”

Everyone nodded in agreement. Though they weren’t really surprised about it at this point, there was something that they had noticed while walking on these streets. While most people here were human in appearance, they would occasionally cross paths with alien-like creatures, beast-men, elves, dwarves, and even cyborgs. The blend between what they considered science fiction and fantasy felt surprisingly natural.

| Welcome to Berber’s Parts Shop! Find all the electronics you need! |

The group passed by a big robot waving around a poster as he shouted that line. They looked behind him in curiosity and saw that he was standing in front of a shop filled with electronic parts and devices.

“Get yourself a pair of Holographic Lenses at the best price!” This time it was from a woman on the other side of the street. She was wearing a pretty revealing outfit while trying to attract customers.

“I guess no matter the world, people still use the good old ways to attract the eye,” Allan laughed.

“Hm,” Rakna replied minimally and actually started walking to the woman.

“Eh? Wait, are you actually-? Rak?” Allan uttered in disbelief. Flavia and Nyx also watched in mild shock as he went to the shop.

“What are Holographic Lenses?” When Rakna asked that question as he arrived in front of the woman, the three immediately understood why .

“Well, Sir, they are essentially a way of communication, entertainment, and life utility. They come as either a pair of glasses or bionic contact lenses. You can use it as a regular phone, take photos, record videos, project holographic images such as maps, and much more. What do you say? Are you interested?”

“How much?” Rakna shot back instantly.

“For a regular model, it will be around 200 Talys. The more expensive ones can go as high as 1000 Talys. At least, that’s for what we have here. I’ve heard that some cost more than 100 000 Talys in the upper Plateaus.”

“I see. I’ll buy one.”

“Of course,” the woman smiled broadly and guided Rakna inside the shop.

“Aaaah, there he goes again,” Allan sighed deeply and they followed him.

“Again?” Nyx tilted her head.

“Rakna is a bit special for things like this. He tends to… go on shopping sprees. He’d look over everything available for hours then buy the things that interest him. Once, Allan and I stayed with him for three hours straight,” Flavia shook her head as she reminisced.

“I honestly never expected that from him,” Nyx admitted.

“Well, you’ll soon see,” Allan chuckled as they watched their common friend pay at the counter of the shop with what seemed to be a System transaction. They wondered how bad this was going to get.