(Mike’s View)

Mike fiddled with the Light ring that he had received a while back from the Pirates raid. He kept it mostly because he wanted to sell it for money. There were times when Mike thought of giving it to Snow, but he stopped himself. He didn’t know why, he still kept it as long as possible, stuffed away in his storage being useless. 

He had coveted the Orb and regularly used it alongside his regular magic, but the ring was worthless to him because he couldn’t equip it. At first, he tried, wondering if his hero status would allow him, but it rejected him.  

Should he just give it to Snow when he sees her next time? Maybe even Angie, who was following behind Snow’s path as an apostle to the Saintess, was in the middle of a quest to become one. Her light magic ability was growing exponentially that it was nothing to scoff at, and the ring of Light was the best tool to have. 

He looked over towards Angie, who was kicking up a few straws and even thrashing around as they both fell and ran in the hopes of saving Snow. She grumbled and cursed, looking around the room as if she was a bit crazy. 

Getting up, Mike walked over, standing in front of her. 

Angie glanced up, wondering what he was doing. “Yes?”

Reaching out, Mike grabbed Angie’s hand. He placed the ring. 

“What are you giving me?” Angie glanced down, and when she saw him give her a ring. Her mouth dropped. “Are you asking me to marry you?” She said flabbergasted. 

“No, you idiot.” Mike knocked her on her forehead, “when you finish your job quest, you should be able to use it.” 

“You think so?” Her eyes twinkled, happy that she was given a rare item. She brought it up to see.

“Yes.” 

With a bit of gusto, she replied. “You can count on me.” Angie tapped her chest with the ring. She then slipped on the ring on her left finger, happily admiring it with a smile. “Oh wow, I got a certain percentage buff because of my pending quest. It says if I succeed, I can use the whole thing.” 

Mike was pleased. He was right. “Good. Now, let’s find our way out of this dungeon.” 

Walking over towards the edge, he tried to peer out. There was barely any light lighting up the dungeon floor, making it almost impossible to see who was who, but he could tell that the missing Players were crowded inside each cell. 

He would have guessed at least a good third of the Players from Red Velvet and Black River guild were present inside the dungeon. 

“Is that you, Mike?” A hoarse voice called out from the dark, not too far away from them. 

“Who is it?” Mike asked, wondering who spoke. 

“Audrey.” 

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“Audrey?! The guild master from the Black River Guild?” Mike grabbed the metal bar in alarm. He didn’t expect one of the two guild masters to be here. 

“Yes.” Audrey coughed. He stepped towards the Light instead of the usually thick and strong guild master that Mike remembered. Instead, he was a thin man, barely with any muscles. His face was sunken, almost as if they have been trapped inside the dungeon for years. 

“How did you become so weak?!” Mike was appalled at the sudden change of their appearance. 

“We've been here for over a year.” 

“Wait, what?!” Mike was shocked to hear such a statement. It hasn’t been three weeks to a month since they first entered the second dungeon dive. He wondered if there was a different time flow. 

“Are you sure?” He asked again just to make sure. 

“Yes. I have lost half of my team members, and I am losing more as days go by,” Audrey said in depression. “Honestly, Black River Guild and Red Velvet guild are no more. We are just a group of players now stuck in a dungeon.” 

Mike had never heard of this occurrence before, mostly because guilds couldn’t be easily broken. There must have been something going on that was breaking the two strongest guilds in Atlantis one after another. He couldn’t help but wonder if he would be next. 

“Don’t worry. Your guild won’t disappear unless you lose the requirements of your guild level. I’m guessing it's level two right now, correct?”

“Yes…” 

Audrey chuckled. “Even if you lose a chunk of your guild members, it won’t disband, I have lost the guild crystal since the bet with the lord of this castle.” 

“What do you mean you have lost the bet?” Mike liked this less and less. 

“It was the last thing I had to offer to live a bit longer.” Audrey sighed; the glare of anger was apparent, and his blood lust oozing out of his body thickly in the air around him. “After you lose your guild emblem, it becomes one person a day.” He hissed. 

“Wait, you said one person dies a day?”

“Yes, to satisfy his hunger,” said Audrey in pain, “we had no choice. That damn bastards take one random player a night, either it be man, woman, or child.”

Angie squeaked when she heard the word child. Her eyes became wide, horrified in what she was hearing. 

“When do they arrive?” Mike took a short breath of a gasp that was close to a hiss and furrowed in complete disbelief. 

“Soon.” Audrey’s gaze was dead, almost lifeless, without any hope. He didn’t ask for help nor beg. It was as if there were no point in asking for something that was not given freely. 

Angie pulled Mike’s shoulder plate, nudging him. 

Mike turned his head towards her, wondering what she had in mind. 

“We should invite them to our guild.” She whispered that the only two could hear. 

“That is a lot of responsibilities.” 

“Yes, but that is also one death saved. We don’t know how bad the fight is going to be.” She frowned. “We need every help we can get.” 

Mike thought over what she had said, he understood what Angie was getting at. 

“What?” Angie placed her hands on her hips, wondering why he was staring so thoughtfully at her. 

Shaking his head, he shrugged. “You sound like Snow.” 

Angie smirked. “I’m going to be her apostle, so her belief will be part of mine.” She harrumphed but pleased at what Mike had said.

“There are going to be consequences in letting them in.” 

“I know, but you’re the leader. It’s your decision.” 

Mike thought a bit longer, leaving behind a heavy silence that made Angie a bit uncomfortable, but she stared at Mike with confidence that he would choose the right path. 

“Forget it. Let’s wing it.” Mike threw up his hands, sometimes he didn’t have any plans, especially when it came to saving people. There were too many things that he had to consider, and he was the type to do everything by instinct. 

Angie gave two thumbs up, excited by what Mike had chosen. It was a known fact that Mike liked to choose the difficult route, and every single course had the best reward if they succeeded. 

Mike turned back towards Audrey, who was leaning crestfallen on the iron cage. “Audrey, come join my guild.” His voice was like thunder that made Audrey turn slowly towards him. He wasn’t the only one who had heard Mike’s voice, people started to rustle awake as if they were snapping out of a long-forgotten dream. 

“I want all of you to join me,” Mike said again, much louder than before. His words stung deeply into the sleeping Players, who hope was being rekindled in their heart. 

“Are you sure?” Audrey asked if a glimmer of life started to appear. “This would lead you down a dangerous path.” 

“I know,” Mike said quickly, knowing full well that he wasn’t going to go back on his words. He needed them, and they needed him. Plus, all his guildsmen were still out there, somewhere. Saving them and rounding up his people were essential to getting out of here.

Audrey took a deep breath, his body seemed to be a bit bigger than before. Giving him a bit more life. The old Audrey was coming back, and the fire in his gaze was blazing even stronger than before. 

“Captain.” One of the old guild members from the Black Rivers guild with shaggy hair that hasn't been washed spoke up. “We’ll follow you all the way.” 

The other Player’s huddled a bit closer around Audrey. They all knew what was going on and knew that this was a big decision. They didn’t want to leave their leader. 

“Thanks, guys.” Audrey’s voice was filled with pride in his teammates. He then turned towards Mike. He grabbed the metal bar. “I’m in, but only if you take the rest of my team as well.” 

A screen floated in front of Mike. 

Invite all Ex-members of the Black Rivers Guild? Yes or No.

“Of course.” Mike nodded, pleased by the decision. He clicked, Yes. “Welcome to Gold Phoenix Guild.”

“Glad to have you onboard.” 

Mike fiddled with the guild board. He changed Audrey’s tag to one of the captains, making him one of the ten captains inside the Gold Phoenix guild.