The building Roth had entered turned out to be a tavern. There was a piano in the corner where, surprisingly, a player played happy music for the patrons. Roth had never seen anyone play music in the game before. Was that some sort of profession or class? He tried inspecting the player, but his insight wasn’t high enough to obtain any information.

The clinking of glasses and lively conversation accompanied the happy piano lounge music as several NPCs drank ale and enjoyed a warm meal by the hearth. Many wore blackened clothes and had dark nails and pale skin.

Other than the piano player, there were several other players around. They stood out like sore thumbs from the NPCs because they wore armor instead of dirty clothes and carried weapons instead of pickaxes. Three adventurers occupied the table closest to him, and Roth could make out some of their conversation.

“... on my first try.”

“It took me three tries before I got here. You must have incredible reflexes.”

“Yeah. I do. It’s too bad those snakes don’t leave any good drops.”

“I have a friend who got a cool skill card from them.”

Even though there was so much noise around him, he could still hear them perfectly. Was this due to his perception stat? He knew it helped him see better in the dark, but he hadn’t realized that it also allowed him to eavesdrop on conversations. He focused on another table a few steps away where NPC miners were chatting.

“... bring the dynamite. Otherwise, we won’t ever get through to the other side.”

“I don’t know. I don’t like dynamite. It disturbs the dark depths. I’d rather work it with the pickaxe, slowly.”

“Enough with your superstitions, Jerry! If there’s anything down there, you can just blast it with the dynamite, too.”

He could also easily follow their conversation, too. The perception stat had more applications than he originally thought.

He kept studying the scene around him, and his eyes were drawn toward the only white thing in the room: the barman’s apron. Whereas the floor and patrons were all covered in coal dust, the bartender wiped the counter with a cloth while sporting a clean apron. The man was waging a never-ending battle against soot, and the counter was the wall protecting his glass castle.

Their eyes met, and the barman smiled. Seeing how friendly the man seemed, Roth approached. “Hello, sir,”

“Good day, stranger. Can I get you anything?”

“No, thank you. I was hoping you could give me some information.”

A player drinking some ale nearby sneered, causing Roth’s eyebrows to shoot up. What was up with him? Had he said something wrong?

“Sure. Anything you need,” Roth heard glass fall to the ground and break.

“Hey, you're going to pay for that,” the bartender scolded the player who had dropped his ale. It was the same guy as before, but now, instead of sneering, he was looking at Roth with his mouth wide open.

Ignoring him, Roth continued, “I'm trying to reach Rock Canyon and cross the mountain. What's the quickest way to get there?”

“Oh well, you have three paths you could take.” The bartender explained as he picked up an empty glass and polished it with a cloth. “You can go through the mountain.”

“Through the mountain?”

“Yes, a series of tunnels get you to the other side of the mountain. It's the quickest way, but it's a dark place down there, and a man can easily get lost. Many dangers lurk in the depths.”

“Okay, what else?”

“There's the old cable car system,” he offered. “You just have to head two clicks west and buy a ticket there. It takes you right over the mountain. The cable car takes a lot of maintenance, though. If you're short on coin, you won’t be able to afford it.”

“Go on.”

“The final path is the most dangerous and the longest, too. It requires you to climb the mountain. It's a perilous journey. Many don't make it. The weather changes quickly up there, and rockslides and avalanches can bury a man under a ton of rubble and snow,” the barman explained, his eyes focused on the door of his establishment as if he could visualize the many men who had left to make the journey but never returned.

“Thank you, sir. How do I get to the mines?”

“Just follow one of the miners,” he said, gesturing toward his patrons. “The mines ain't far from town.”

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“Thanks.”

Out of the corner of his vision, he noticed that the same player was still staring at him. “Can I help you? Why are you staring at me?”

“The bartender just gave it all to you on a silver platter.”

“It's just some basic information.”

“You didn’t even order anything!” he exclaimed. “Your charisma must be off the charts.”

Roth finally understood why the player looked so interested in him. Perhaps this bartender wasn't friendly to everyone, and it was his first time seeing someone with such a high charisma approach the bartender and get all this information for free.

“Yeah, I have invested a little in my charisma. I’m a merchant.”

“Oh right, you're a merchant. That explains it,” the man seemed relieved at the revelation. “I would take the cable car if I were you,” he added. “It's 100 gold. It’s expensive, and it takes a while, but it gets you through to the other side without a hitch.”

“Thank you for the hint.”

It looked like he could have gotten this information from this player had he asked. Roth left the bar's darkness and the piano music behind him and looked up to the clouds, imagining the snowy peak beyond. Which path should he take? On the one hand, the cable car looked like a nice, carefree way of traveling. He just had to sit and enjoy the ride.

On the other hand, 100 gold sure was a lot of money just for a short trip. In the end, Roth decided to try his luck in the coal mines. Maybe this trip was difficult for players who didn't have the [Farsight] title or the perception stat, but he could see as clearly as if it was daylight in the darkness of Antioch. What would make the coal mines any different? Besides, the man said it himself; it was the fastest way through.

Roth waited for the next batch of miners to leave the tavern and followed them westward, through the buildings and onto a trail through the mountain. The path veered right and left, snaking down its way to the bottom of the valley. At some point in the journey, the group of miners began singing. It wasn’t the joyful tune of the piano but something far darker.

“In the belly of the earth, I make my stand,

With grit and sweat, and pick in hand.

Down below, where shadows dance,

I face the dark and take my chance.

Coal is the treasure we seek,

The black gold that was hidden from the weak.

With bold comrades, we forge ahead,

And bring back to the table our daily bread.

Through dust and rubble, our voices rise,

A miner's song under starless skies.

Beneath the weight of rock and clay,

We sing our song day by day.

In the heart of the mine, we find our worth,

A brotherhood forged in the depths of the earth.

So onward we march, through toil and strife,

Mining for love, mining for life.”

It was a touching song, and Roth tried to imagine how many men out in the real world spent time under tons of rock to provide for their families. It reminded him of his father and how much he had worked to care for him and his brothers. Thankfully, the song soon shifted into a happier tune, something about a miner with a knack for causing trouble for his colleagues.

The miners soon arrived at the entrance to the mine. He thought the tavern had been full of workers, but this place had enough miners to fill many taverns. They reminded Roth somewhat of the treeants entering and leaving Antioch, but instead of carrying food, they transported minerals. The gargantuan entrance was wide enough to accommodate the double train tracks. Carts loaded with rock or coal came out, only to reenter the mine and get some more.

Roth appreciated the spectacle and, after a while, followed the miners in.

*

Loki studied the guild elders from across a shimmering forcefield. Now that he was back to being a noob and didn’t have his alien form anymore, he would have to host more of these meetings in the flesh. A level 13 noob didn't strike much fear in the hearts of these people, but here he could remind them who was in charge.

Anak looked less imposing without her high-end gear and the serpent coiled around her neck, but she still retained her reptile demeanor. Her skin was paler than even Loki’s. Under the right light, it became almost transparent, showing her prominent veins.

Xerxes was the only one who bothered to work out and stay in shape. Loki took it as one more symptom of his desperate need for validation. He didn’t mind it; it was how Loki had managed to poach him from the Chimeras and bring him into his fold in the first place.

Yillian was here, too. He looked slow and tired without the armor to hide his weight and without stats to give him lightness and speed. He was the one who hated having to leave the capsule and come here the most. His appearance was deceiving. He was a seasoned player and had the longest career in gaming from the people present here.

His most famous accomplishment was being champion for three years in a row in one of the hardest PvP games in history. Loki counted himself lucky to have him in his guild.

“We are at a crossroads in the development of our guild. Zin has betrayed us, and we need to reinvent ourselves,” he began. “You are the spine of the guild, and I brought you here to discuss our strategy for the next few months. Anak, any progress in purchasing land in the capital?”

“No, sir. It’s a dead end. I think it’s safe to conclude alignment has nothing to do with it.”

“Nevertheless, you have the most extensive network of NPC contacts.” Once, that had been him, he thought to himself. His network of contacts used to be twice as large as Anak's. The memory of how his character had been reset and how someone had stolen all his stat-boosting consumables made him feel dizzy. He forced himself to continue, “You’ll take over the guild’s intelligence.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Your number one priority will be to investigate the Usurpers,” Loki said, his voice dripping with hatred. “I want to know who Zin has in his guild and whether they're coming for Pegasus. We must be prepared.

“Xerxes, I want you to coordinate the guild’s headquarters move from the Dark Abyss back to the capital. Now that we have so many players with darkness alignment, we can proceed with the next step of my plan. Avoid ruffling too many feathers. We need to build our strength before we can take our revenge on the top 10 guilds.

“Yillian, you’ll remain in the Dark Abyss and keep looking for a city. There has to be one. It makes no sense for a whole region not to have a teleportation gate. We must be missing something.”

“Very well, sir.”

“Additionally, I’ve been wondering what to do with the salary I’ve been paying Zin.” He glanced over at the trio and saw them look at him hungrily. “I’ve decided that whoever manages to kill the Slayer or Zin more times in the game will gain the money I used to pay him.”

The trio looked at each other, aggression in their eyes. “Dismissed.”

He watched the three of them leave through the door and opened the folder on his desk. “Now, let’s find out more about this union of yours, Slayer.”