~~~(POV: Justin Xander)~~~

~~~(Location: Restaurant Café, Los Angeles, California)~~~

~~~(Day, Date, Time: Monday, April 15th, 10:17 AM PST)~~~

~~~(Current Age: 19 Years)~~~

Pulling an old trick out of the Xander family playbook is effective, but the problem lies with many aspects of the plan. The first is getting to the capital city of Plateo. Who knows how far it is or how expensive it'll be to reach it from where each of us is individually in AG?

I could be several thousand kilometers from the Taleso Kingdom. Traveling there could take an entire week or even longer. That's precious time being wasted moving from one destination to the next.

"I like where you're going with this, but Lil's and I won't know where the Taleso Kingdom is from where we're at in AG. The travel alone could take days to weeks and be expensive. Not to mention Lil's coming up with a reason for going to the Taleso Kingdom."

I hate pointing out the wrong and broken aspects of people's plans or ideas, but someone must. The points I brought up did indeed halt the discussion. Doing so has caused sadness in my sister.

After a few moments of silence, the waiter returns to the table with all our food and places it in front of us. It's a little early for lunch, but I'm not stopping after three days without solid food.

There is a heavy silence as we all begin eating our food. Take a moment away from the current problem. Sometimes, that's what you need to come up with a solution. I know I sometimes found answers after stepping away from an issue.

"The only way I can see this working is if we go back to AG and find out how far the Taleso Kingdom is away from each of us. Learn how expensive it'll be for us to get there and then report back on the subject three days from now."

The next time all of us will be off AG is the time Blake suggests. I can see that it's a step in the right direction, but it doesn't solve the issue of Lil's explaining why she's going to the Taleso Kingdom to her guild. Or how she'll get away from her group.

"It's a good idea, but all of this hinges on both of you convincing your guilds that going to the Taleso Kingdom isn't anything more than it is. Especially you, Blake. Your guild knows about the Epic grade item."

While we've devised a temporary solution for the first hurdle in this plan, I'd like to discuss the second monumental task of convincing their guilds that going to the Taleso Kingdom is fine. I don't think that'll be as easy.

Blake closes his eyes as he takes a long drink from his rootbeer float and opens his eyes again after a second. Looking at me with confidence.

"I have a few favors I can call in that'll allow me to break away from my group during the 10-day window. That means we only need to wait on you, Lil's."

His eyes turn away from me, and he looks back at Lil's. There is a struggle in her. It's not like she has any powerful allies in her guild. She's a relatively new member, after all.

Building those types of connections takes years. Something Blake has already done with his guild, but to be fair, he didn't have to deal with the bullshit Lil's has to deal with.

Seeing what these two have to do to do something themselves away from the guild makes me glad I'm not a part of one.

"It'll cost me a lot, but I can get the time away. If this doesn't work, I'm royally screwed."

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Well, it seems we have most of the details for the beginning of this worked out, which is more than I can say for most plans people make. The dreary subject of saving my sister from her guild is done for today.

I look at her as I eat my food, and I can see the weight of it all on her. I don't want to say it. Not in my head or out loud. But if it comes down to it, I'll sell (Monument of Sin) to get her out of this jam. I know I said I wouldn't spend millions on her problems.

But she's my sister. She's always been there for me, no matter what it was. In the long run, I can always make a new sword. It'll be different from (Monument of Sin.) It might even be better, but I won't commit to this idea unless our plan fails.

I could bring one more thing to the table—a simple idea that'll make this far more possible than just the three of us.

"We should involve our parents. They've got the most experience with the plan, hell they're the ones who perfected it. With them, our odds of success greatly improve."

When the idea of involving our parents is mentioned, I can see Lil's is greatly hesitant. She is almost ready to shout out that it isn't happening, but Blake raises his hand to silence her before she can do so.

"I know you don't like the idea of it, Lil's, but this will be much easier with their help. When I'm back home, I'll reach out to them. Knowing Mom, she'll jump at the chance for us all to do something like this again."

The minutes go by as we finish eating our food. I pay for my portion of the bill and leave with nothing else to talk about. Hoping in my car and preparing to leave, but before I can start pulling out. Lil's races out of the cafe.

Tapping on the passenger side window. A small sigh leaves my lips, and I roll it down. Waiting for her to speak about what she rushed out her for.

"I wanted to run another idea by you. Can I get a ride home, and we'll talk about it on our way."

I can't really say no to her, so I unlock the door, and she sits down. I pull out and start making my way back to the city. There are many things I still need to do today, but they're all at home. So, I'm not in a terrible rush.

The silence eventually comes to an end as Lil's finally starting talking about what she wanted to discuss with me, and I honestly didn't expect something like this to come up.

"I plan to start a guild when I get out of my contract. I know you don't want to be a part of the guild world, but I could use you. Having a family member I can trust will help me in the long run."

All I can do is widen my eyes a little. It's surprising, to say the least. After everything she's dealt with in regards to guilds, she wants to start her own and deal with a bunch of new bullshit.

"Look, I don't need an answer now. Just think it over, alright?"

There isn't anything I need to think about, but I won't crush her hope like this. So, I give her a simple nod in response to thinking about it.

Running or founding a guild is a sacrifice that is too great for me to pay. It requires time and effort on the guild I'd rather spend on myself. Call it greed. Selfishness. Anything of the sort, but I'm not giving up that freedom.

Not after I've been given such an opportunity in AG. As of now, I have the most powerful class in AG. My power and influence within AG will grow exponentially in the coming months and years. It's not slipping past me for building a guild.

After around an hour and a half, I drop Lil's back off at her place. Leaving me with a silent ride home. The bidding war for the Legendary grade shield in AG should've started by now. I can only imagine how much it's going for in the Auction Houses.

Whoever is selling the shield won't have to worry about money, not in the real world or AG. After another hour of driving, I make it back home. I park the car in the garage and make my way to the elevator, which takes me up to my apartment.

After walking through the door and taking off my shoes, I pick up the TV remote and turn it on. GNN is on, and they're doing a live broadcast of the bidding war for the Legendary grade shield. It's already reached 85,000 Platinum.

There is no way a player has that kind of cash. Meaning either wealthy nobles and merchants, or entire Kingdoms and Empires are bidding. I don't even bother doing the Gold, Silver, Bronze, and Copper conversions in my head.

It's just too big.

"My creation (Monument of Sin) would likely go for a similar price. I know that much."

Knowing that I can craft items up to Mythical grade gives me butterflies in my stomach. If I sold just one item in the future, I wouldn't have to worry about funds.

I need to focus on what's in front of me for now. Thinking about the future is fun, but I need to focus on my quests and learning more about AG right now. There is still a lot to figure out, and I have some questions.

I plan to look through the player forums for AG. I might find some answers there. Then, I need to spend some time in my home gym today, working my body out and preventing atrophy. That's the plan today.

Getting on later, around 6 or 7 PM, is a good time. I would've gotten on earlier, but the detour to the cafe and dropping off Lil's delayed that.