Zayn figured that the members of White Clover needed space to talk. He left the stable/guildhall and roamed the small town while pondering.

“What are you doing, Leader?” One of the smaller guild members asked.

“What do you mean? Can’t you see what I’m thinking?”

“But why are you thinking about accepting Zayn’s proposal in the first place? Our target is something else. If we transfer to Zayn’s guild, we will have to listen to his orders. We might never be able to make it,” Tom pointed out, while Elveriun added,

“I can’t trust him. He might have saved us, but there is no reasoning behind his actions. It doesn’t make sense. Zayn is famous, and countless Players would queue up for a chance to join his guild. Why us?”

Erik pondered a bit but shrugged slightly. Zayn’s words resounded in his mind.

‘Change the future…’

“What does he want from us? Our Ranked Armaments and Cards? We don’t have many valuable Cards and Armaments left. They were taken from us. Zayn should be rich. At this point, each video should earn him millions. After all, everyone is trying to figure out how someone can become as strong as him.” One said, while another nodded, excitement in his voice.

“Zayn is amazing. I saw a new video from him this morning. He managed to kill 10 Regional Bosses in 24 hours…without anyone’s help…as a Classless Player!”

The other guild members glared at the excited fool, but they didn’t say anything to stop his praises. At the end of the day, it would be a great opportunity to learn from Zayn. His videos and guides were already extraordinarily well-organized bundles of information. They were worth their money and more.

At this point, hardly anyone hadn’t heard from Zayn’s guides and videos. Not everyone might know him as a Player who conquered the Tower of Nature’s Nightmare Difficulty first, but he was a celebrity on the internet.

“Change the future…” Erik mumbled.

Everyone turned to him, but Erik focused on Zayn’s words. They resonated with him far more than he’d expected. Since Forgotten Lands launched, Erik has felt pulled to the game. His subconscious urged him to get stronger in Forgotten Lands and gather as many allies as possible.

It was a weird feeling because he was never competitive. However, with Forgotten Lands launch everything changed. The urge to grow stronger was also why Erik created White Clover with his friends, in the first place. He had no idea how to lead a guild, or what it entailed, but he thought that he had to do it.

Something in the back of him mind nagged him. It was not the same urge he felt before. Instead, it was far more intense. He felt that he had to go with Zayn, otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to grow strong enough to prevent… prevent what? Erik had no idea. But he felt that Zayn was the solution he sought.

He was certain that Zayn was the ticket he needed to change what was wrong…even though he had no idea what was wrong in the first place.

“I will dissolve White Clover!”

**

Zayn didn’t want to stay too long in the small town. Now that he had created Golden Age, he had other things to take care of. The guild was registered at the Guild Association the moment he created it, but he had yet to choose the main residency. It was also necessary to create a guild hall and start collecting reputation all over the country to expand the range of Guild Missions.

There were also a few other things to take care of, but the main residency was one of the most important tasks – a pretty merciless one as well. If he didn’t want anyone to frown upon them, including Merchant Guilds, the Guild Association, and other Guilds, Zayn would have to establish a proper Guildhouse, the bigger the better. It would be even more advantageous if it was constructed in a nearby city.

Thinking about the nearest city near the Magma Prairie, Zayn recalled his promise with Igor Brecht.

‘Looks like I will have to go to Spyro soon.’

Zayn returned to the stable guildhall. He attracted everyone’s attention and smiled lightly.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

It would be better to leave a good impression even if they decided that it would be better for them to stay in White Clover. Zayn wouldn’t force them to join Golden Age. It was not their decision to make, not his.

“I won’t harm anyone if you reje–...” Zayn was about to say when he noticed that everyone was reluctant to speak up.

“There is no need to tell us that. We’re not going to reject your generous offer,” Erik said, “I don’t think that I’m a good leader, either way. I don’t even know why everyone told me to become White Clover’s Guildmaster, in the first place. I’m way too weak-willed to lead a guild. I’m just too weak.”

Zayn had to control his facial expression.

Weak-willed? Too weak?!? That’s bullshit! You are a motherfucking monster!!

Zayn felt like saying that to Erik, but he remained silent. The person standing before him was not the same Erik he knew. He was not a monster yet.

“I already dissolved White Clover. The guildhall is also for sale. If you want to buy it, I can give you a small discount.”

The corner of Zayn’s lips tucked upward.

“That’s nice of you, but we are not going to stay in Ulgnov.”

He invited the members of White Clover to Golden Age without saying anything else. It was a bit surprising that Erik and the others chose to join Golden Age instead of staying in White Clover. Now, he had lots of things to reconsider.

Golden Age was created a few weeks earlier than he had anticipated, but the progress of Forgotten Lands’ Players was much faster than it had been last time, so it was perfectly fine to change his schedule a little bit. There were various things he had to do now, though.

“Now that you guys joined me, I’ll have to find out whether the system-issued bounty was terminated or if it was issued on your heads rather than the members of White Clover.”

“After that, everyone will spar with me. I want to find out how strong everyone is and if you need a makeover. If your choice of weapon is stupid, I will call you out and help you find the most suitable weapon,” Zayn declared, “We won’t be using any Cards for the spar. I doubt that affects anyone here since most of you lost the majority of your Heart Deck, in the first place.”

Some Players winced when Zayn called them out for losing their Cards, but Zayn ignored them. He retrieved a bunch of armaments from his spatial ring and pointed at them.

“If you don’t want to fight, just tell me what profession you want to focus on. It’s okay to become Alchemists and Blacksmiths as well. A Guild requires all kinds of occupations,” Zayn recalled something and added, “But don’t be narrow-minded. I hope that everyone can test a few things before making a final decision. Picking your Class Path is one of the most important choices in Forgotten Lands. I do not want anyone to regret their decision!”

Some Players were reluctant, but Tom and Elveriun stepped forward to pick up a sword and a spear. The ranked Armaments had belonged to the bounty hunters whom they had killed not long ago.

“You just want to spar with us? This is not some sort of test to join Golden Age?” Storm Monarch asked, spinning a violet spear around his body.

His moves looked graceful, but Zayn wasn’t impressed.

“I already sent everyone an invitation. If you accept it, you will be part of Golden Age. There is no test for you guys.”

“So there will be a test for others?”

“Obviously.”

“Why not for us?” Tom asked, but Zayn didn’t answer. He retrieved the Verdant Saber and used Dagger Split, which transformed the Verdant Saber into a pair of daggers. Zayn kicked the ground and charged at Tom.

Tom was startled, but he responded fast enough to thrust at Zayn. Zayn twisted his upper body white, hitting the spear from the side. He shoved the spear to the side, changing its trajectory to miss him. Zayn inched closer with a fast stride. Tom tried to change his stance, but Zayn was already too close. He was too fast and appeared in front of Tom, who tried to kick him in the nuts.

The corner of Zayn’s lips curled upward as he disappeared from Tom’s sight. Tom could only look left and right before he felt a cold blade press against his neck.

“Dead.”

Zayn retrieved the Verdant Dagger and stepped back. He didn’t show whether he was satisfied; instead, he gestured Tom to step aside. He eyed Elveriun but charged at another Player who’d picked up a blade earlier.

The Player realized early enough that Zayn was playing with them. He went into a defensive stance and prepared to face Zayn head-on. However, Zayn didn’t even think about fighting the Player head-on. The Verdant Daggers transformed back into a saber right before the blade plunged down upon the Players. The Player expected a feint or something granted, but Zayn didn’t even bother. He saw a tiny gap in the Player’s defense and exploited it instantly. The Player lifted his blade to block the Verdant Saber, but Zayn had the advantage of momentum and force. The Player’s positioning was also not that great. He couldn’t use his full strength to block Zayn’s attack.

Zayn’s Verdant Saber was about to cleave through the Player’s shoulder as he pressed down. However, instead of harming the middle-aged man, Zayn pulled his leg. The Player lost balance and crashed to the ground, and the tip of the Verdant Saber pressed against his neck.

“Also dead.”

A devilish smile formed on his face as he turned to the others.

“Get ready, or I will beat you black and blue.”