“Fuhahaha! [GENESIS]! A name worthy of the first and strongest clan!”
King Crow, along with all of his guild members repeatedly stomps the ground like soldiers readying for a march.
“What a bold and reasonable claim. The start of all things and the story of creation, [GENESIS].”
Jaina, the Guild Leader of [Shadow Core], smirks after realizing (misinterpreting) Zephyr’s ambition about the Clan. She then claps her hands continuously, synchronizing it with the stomps of [Crow’s Nest]. Her members then looked at each other, and with a nod, they all followed suit.
With arms crossed, Meiren proudly smiled after Zephyr's announcement of the Clan’s official name.
“I still can't believe this is happening. We’re here, standing as equals and allies with all these wonderfully strong guilds. More importantly, to be a significant part of {Fate Threader}’s grand plan. I am truly honored!”
She also misinterprets Zephyr's intention.
“Chief! We'll follow you wherever you go!”
“Thank you everyone, we shall be the top Merchant's Guild all throughout the lands, not only in Navea, but also in outside regions. Today will mark the start of it, let's all cheer for our guild and our clan!”
“YEEEEEAH!”
As the three guilds celebrate the official establishment of the Clan and Zephyr's implanting of the Clan's insignia, the rest of the guilds who have attended can be seen with different kinds of expressions. There are those who are thinking that they're getting all too full with themselves, there are also those who are hoping for their failure and then there is a certain guild that wishes that they could be a part of such a gathering, despite being too far away in terms of ranking.
[Denzel Cluster] - Human Rank
The guild leader, Denzel, can be seen having a small smile forming in his face. However, anyone could tell that he is downcast, due to the fact that–
“I…I wish I was strong enough to proudly stand beside them…if only I could lead you guys better.”
Denzel turns towards his few guild members, composed of low ranked hunters, though despite that, all of them do not look discouraged.
“Don’t say that leader! We’re all gathered here, well and complete, because of you!”
“That’s right. All in time, leader…all in time. We will get there one day.”
The little group is a happy bunch. All of them came from a little village outside of Telmaris that dreamt of becoming a legendary hunter. Denzel, specifically, is a young man that pursues this kind of career after hearing the epic of the legendary {Fate Threader}, as he leads [Grim Fate] into clearing an Abyss ranked dungeon and without casualties.
“Yeah, all in time, my friend.”
Denzel taps his friend’s shoulder and smiles. The whole crew then looks at the middle stage where Zephyr is doing his closing speech. Then, as fate would have it–
“...!?”
Denzel and Zephyr's eyes have met. While Denzel was heavily taken aback and his system froze due to nervousness, Zephyr just plainly smiled and turned around to finally leave the center stage.
“L-leader…I'm not imagining this right…?”
“I think I saw what just happened too…”
“Denzel my brother!! Did the two of you just–!”
Denzel heavily breathes in as he pumps his chest.
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“Alright, I'm motivated! Everyone, we'll do our daily dungeon runs and this time, let's raise our run by one!”
“YEAH!”
The little guild then proceeds to cheer for the creation of [Genesis] in the sidelines while the other observing guilds have left the area.
While Denzel and the others are cheering, Gringar notices the group which made him smirk.
“Looks like {Fate Threader} has inspired a little cluster.”
The said inspirer, however, has nothing in his mind but to leave the area as his mind is already exhausted due to sheer nervousness which doesn't show.
‘Any more second I stand in that stage, I may hurl. Good thing I saw an ordinary human like me, kinda makes me comfortable to see someone my level haah.’
In just one glance he already concluded that they're on the same level.
The three leaders of each guild that composes the Clan then group up and meet with Zephyr.
“Lord {Fate Threader}, I am truly honored to finally meet you in person.”
With a formal bow, she announced–
“My name is Jaina, a blood ranked hunter, and the guild leader of [Shadow Core]. I apologize for being late as I had to deal with an emergency. Also, I'm grateful for giving us the chance to be a part of your future grand plan.”
‘Grand plan…?’
Zephyr chuckles, which is a way to shrug that last statement. He then offers his hand.
“No no, in fact, I'm the one grateful here that you all accepted to be allies with us.”
“Oh.” Jaina crossed her arms.
“Truly, you're as humble and down to earth as my members said. No wonder my people get attached to you easily.”
“Mhm.” Meiren nods while showing a smug expression.
“Lord {Fate Threader} is someone who can still show a side of humbleness despite being the only Abyssal ranked hunter.”
“Oh, I almost forgot about that. Well, due to the fact that he interacts like a normal person, anyone could overlook that he is indeed an Abyssal ranked hunter.”
Jaina chuckles in a friendly way.
Zephyr scratches the back of his head as he's dying of embarrassment from the inside.
‘I do not deserve that rank ok!? I know it already, stop rubbing it in my face!’
“Fuhahaha! Now that the ceremony is done, what do you say we have a grand feast in our temporary guild hall?”
King Crow then places his hand on top of Zephyr's shoulders.
‘I-is this what they call a forceful invitation?! How about Ana, is she–’
Zephyr turns towards Anastasia who is behind him. Surprisingly, she's still quiet about what's happening around Zephyr. Back then, when he was being disturbed, she would always step up and frighten the people who bothers him. This time however, Anastasia thinks that she has no right to deny her Master about who he wants to hang out with even if she doesn't get invited in the process, moreover, the people around him are considered friends of their guild.
‘Goodness, this is new. Ana’s being quiet about me getting pulled into something. I guess she wants to go too?’
“Hey Ana, do you want to go?”
Ana looks up to him after spacing out for a while. She nods once as a sign of her acceptance.
“I will go wherever you go, Master Zep.”
The three: King Crow, Jaina, and Meiren look at the two with their brows raised. As if they're trying to understand what the real relationship between the two are.
“Hm? You two look good together I'm sure.” Jaina commented teasingly.
Anastasia looks down with her cheeks flushed, curling her lips, after hearing Jaina’s comment. Zephyr, on the other hand, shrugs the statement and chuckles. He then asks–
“Let's go then. I'm already hungry myself.”
The Clan all gathered inside the [Crow’s Nest]’s temporary guild hall. Meiren and Jaina each brought gifts and different varieties of beverage and food for all of them to enjoy. The event that Zephyr thought that would be a pain, turns out to be a fun and hearty gathering.
“Ahh…if only all of them were here. Ah wait–they would just cause more trouble…”
The night passes by without any issues. The Clan, [Genesis], has already been encoded as the first established Clan in the books of the GEO. Though with all that said, the very root of the monster research case is not concluded yet.
–Gringar’s Tavern–
“Sir Gringar, you have a visitor.”
Gringar can be seen writing down reports for the GEO. His desk is all piled up with scrolls and papers for him to fill out.
“Who might that be? Do they know that this time of day is a busy hour for me?”
Footsteps then can be heard coming towards him.
“Yo, I'll be intruding for a while.”
“Y-you..!? When did you get back? Have you checked in with Zephyr yet?”
The person smiled with his eyes closed. Judging from the outside, he seems to be a man that is calm and full of positivity. Though as soon as someone engages in a conversation with him, it feels as if there's an ember, a fire, that is burning inside of him. No one knows if it's rage, passion, or accumulated emotions. But one thing is for sure: he's a person who should not be tested.
“Gringar, I respect you, truly. There's no person, with me as an exception, that boasts such a high tolerance for taking hits these days–”
The man then bows to show his respect for him, be it sarcasm or honesty, it doesn't matter for Gringar. He just wants to know what he wants for now. The man then continues:
“-so I want you to understand that if I say, you answer my questions first, it's not a threat, but a request. Okay?”
“.....” Gringar doesn't speak for a while. The other GEO staff then gulps and slowly makes his way out.
“What do you want then, Hywel?”
“An information. And as much as possible, don't bother Zep about this one.”
With the return of Hywel, a new journey and quest is about to unfold.
–End of Volume 1–