As soon as Alan stepped into the room, someone thrust a knife to his throat.

"Excuse me, ma'am. I'll deal with this nuisance outside."

"Wait, Rupert. Let me see his face," a youthful, feminine voice commanded, prompting Alan to glance at a girl adorned in a ruffle dress and ribbons in her silky, brunette hair. "Level five?" She scrutinized Alan, then gasped, her delicate hands covering her mouth. "It's really you! Rupert, please treat this gentleman as our special guest!"

Rupert bowed and stepped back, revealing Marco seated next to the girl.

"What brings you here?" Marco asked, his voice steady but his golden eyes burning with intensity.

"Calm down, my sweet prince," the girl soothed, clutching his wrist. "He's here to talk, that's all." She smiled at Alan. "Please, take a seat."

I didn't expect him to be alone, but to see him with her...

Alan eyed the young lady, wondering, How old is she? She looks no older than fourteen, but that can't be right.

"Excuse me, miss," Alan said, maintaining a formal posture, "but may I have a moment alone with him?"

"You and I have nothing to discuss..." Marco began, clenching his fists.

"I SAID SIT DOWN. It's rude to refuse a lady's hospitality," the girl interjected sharply.

Alan and Marco turned to her as her voice took on a stern tone.

"Do as she says," Rupert murmured, handing Alan a cushion.

A zabuton? Alan noted the room's Japanese décor, complete with paintings of cherry blossoms and servants in kimonos. It feels like we're not in Londorus anymore.

Reluctantly, Alan sat down as a cat-eared NPC served him a drink.

"Drinking's better with company," the girl beamed.

Feels like I'm a hostage again, Alan thought, taking a cautious sip that seared his throat. "What's this?!"

"That's sake," the hostess chuckled. "Strong for a first-timer. Want some apple juice instead?"

"No, this is fine," Alan replied after another quick sip. "It's actually good."

"I own this place, so eat and drink all you want!" she said, gesturing to a table laden with treats.

Was this poisoned? Alan wondered, hesitating as his cup was refilled.

"Just enjoy," she urged gently.

"Why are you so kind to me? Do we know each other?"

"Not exactly, Alan Warden, but we have a mutual friend. Lady Monique. Does that name ring a bell?"

"Oh, right, from that restaurant! She's lovely," Alan recalled, then worried, Does that mean that Monique told her everything about me?

Oh, holy space crap...

"I'm Kathleen Maher, leader of The Death Bringers' Guild. Pleased to meet you, Alan Warden."

Alan stood, a bit flustered. "The pleasure's all mine!"

Marco just rolled his eyes.

(Oh, she's really here, huh?) Marissa said through Party Chat.

(Do you know her?)

(Yes, unfortunately. Don't be fooled by her princess act. She's as fierce as Astrid.)

(And she chose to look like this…)

(Hey, don't judge! Some decide to change their bust size, and others prefer to look young and cute. Got a problem with that?!)

(...What you’re saying is that… there is boob customization?)

(Shut up!)

"Here, try the chicken," Kathleen offered, smiling warmly. "It's better than anything at The Dragon’s Belly."

Guess I have to play along for now.

"If you insist!" Alan exclaimed, grabbing a wing. "Wow, this is fantastic! It's all in the seasoning!"

Kathleen beamed. "It's my family's recipe. Try the apple pie."

"Mmm, amazing! You'd make a wonderful wife!"

"Flattering, but my NPCs would do the cooking!"

"If I were the lucky one marrying you, I'd pretend you’re the one cooking. It's your recipe, after all!"

"Aww, that's sweet."

Marco gritted his teeth and leaned toward Kathleen, whispering, "Are you going to let this fool ruin our meal? This guy..."

"I know," she replied softly, before turning to Alan. "But I can't pass up the opportunity to express my gratitude to the man who helped me in destroying Shooting Stars."

(How interesting,) Alan blurted out telepathically. (Just a day ago, I firmly believed that all of the Novus Userbase had already gone through some sort of physical enhancement, but just by looking at Tamara and this brat, I can see that I was wrong.)

Marissa stammered, (W-What are you--?)

(Don't mind me. I was just foolishly assuming that every woman in this simulation would have enlarged their breasts by now, but it's good to see that there is still body diversity here, just like in the real world! Speaking of which, Astrid doesn’t need any enhance--)

(Why are you still thinking about that?! Pay attention to their conversation instead!)

The ‘one that helped her destroy…’

Alan stared at Kathleen. "You're not talking about me, are you?"

"Of course, silly! And for that, you have my eternal gratitude. Kasumi, show him the Guild Ranking list, please."

The NPC projected an image displaying the best guild in all the Novus. Death Bringers was in 5th place, but there was no sign of Shooting Stars.

"Watch where Shooting Stars is now," Kathleen chuckled. The list scrolled down to 110th place. She then burst into laughter, her childlike giggle filling the room. "Good luck climbing back up! It's just as hilarious every time I see it!"

Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

Alan lowered his gaze to the reflection in his cup. So this is the game we're playing.

He took another gulp. "Hey, you two seem very close. And you…" He pointed at Marco with a half-eaten chicken leg, "you found a new guild quickly. It's as if you planned this all along."

Kathleen's smile widened. "I've known Marco since the early days of Novus."

"Is that right?" Alan smirked.

"That's correct," she replied, her expression playful. "Sadly, when I was ready to form my own guild, he was snatched away by that gorilla woman. But nothing will keep us apart now, right, my prince?"

"I'm glad I could help reunite you," Alan said, raising his cup. "To eternal friendship!"

"To eternal friendship!" Kathleen echoed, giggling.

They drank in unison, with Marco giving a more reserved sip.

(Wow, Five. You’re... taking this extremely calmly.)

(That’s because I can’t give her the satisfaction of seeing me mad. But I could say the same about you, Laflamme. Don’t you want to kill this brat?)

(There’s nothing I’d enjoy more! But I trust Astrid even more. So even if we ended up with only ten guild members, she would never give up... just like she never gave up on you.)

(What do you mean?)

A moment later, Kathleen rose from her seat. "Excuse me for a minute, gentlemen. I'll be back shortly. Please, Alan, keep enjoying yourself."

As the master exited the room, accompanied by one of her NPC maids, Rupert, her bodyguard, silently closed the sliding door behind them.

(You know... now that I’ve finally met you, a lot of things are starting to make sense. Especially the lyrics of—well, never mind that! Listen, Alan, last night I didn’t want to face what your existence actually meant to Astrid. But then the scales fell from my eyes! When she found out I was the one who literally kidnapped you—I've never seen her so livid. It was terrifying! That side of her made me realize just how much you mean to her. So, um... what I’m trying to say is, I’m sorry. Sorry for burning your hands yesterday, Alan, and for sending you into that trap.)

So I’m not ‘Five’ anymore, huh?

(I... didn’t expect this, but sure. Apology accepted.)

(Y-Yeah. Whatever. Um... on a different note, I might be... ‘unavailable’ for the next half hour. So I won’t be able to keep babysitting you. Try not to miss me, okay?)

(Understood. I’m finally where I wanted to be, so thanks.)

(Oooh! The battle of wits against Marco is about to begin, huh? It’s a shame I won’t be present! Ah, and I almost forgot. I have some valuable info that might give you an edge against that asshole. It’s sure to tick—him—off~!)

(Go ahead then. Shoot.)

(Listen up! That guy in front of you tried to hit on Astrid for ages and failed every time! Miserably! Ha-ha-ha! It’s even funnier when you realize you and Astrid used to be an item. So he was always fighting a battle he could never win. What a clown! Am I right?)

Alan spat out his drink, causing Marco to wince.

Marissa Laflamme, you're chaos incarnate, just like your sister…

* * * *

* * *

* *

*

"Ah! This is the good stuff!" Tamara exclaimed, slamming another empty beer mug on the bar. Where's Alan? He's missing all the fun!

She rested her chin in one hand and absentmindedly munched on peanuts with the other.

I haven't seen Marissa around either. She's always so elusive... Does she even like me?

"Cheers, cutie," a man suddenly said next to her, raising his mug.

Tamara squinted at the bulky man. "William? You come here often?"

"Just here for business," he chuckled. "What about you?"

Karen Svensson approached them aggressively a moment later. "What is one of Astrid's bitches doing here?" she demanded, pointing at Tamara.

"I was about to ask her the same," William replied quietly. “And try to be nicer, okay?”

"I don't have to anymore!" Karen shouted.

Am I missing something here? Tamara thought, turning to survey the other patrons, some of whom sported a skull and snowflake emblem.

"Look upstairs," whispered a voice behind her.

Tamara turned to see a couple passing by; a tall strawberry blonde girl led a young man by the arm. Was that Marissa?

Repeating the whisper in her head, Tamara looked to the first floor and saw a young-looking girl exit a room, cross the corridor, and head downstairs. What is the Snow Diamond doing here?!

Her face paled, and the bar seemed to spin. Karen was with Marco just hours ago... Could Marco be here too? Her heart raced. W-Where is Alan?

"Tamara?" William whispered, leaning in. "I've convinced Karen to back off, but I can't ensure your safety if others recognize you. You should leave. I'll escort you out."

Tamara felt the pressure of William's large hand on her shoulder.

I need to call Astrid...

* * * *

* * *

* *

*

A Creeping Memory Emerges...

Back then, our guild was nearly fifty members strong, and the Developers had just released a new patch introducing World Bosses—powerful monsters that required an army to defeat. I definitely underestimated their strength...

We were utterly defeated by Duxweaver in our first encounter. By the time we regrouped for another attempt, someone had beaten us to the boss' lair.

It was Kathleen Maher and her crew, already engaged in battle with it. Reluctantly, I had to admit, her guild was as formidable as ours.

We watched as they lost a dozen members and struggled through the boss' Second Phase—just like we had. Driven by desperation, I approached her with a strategy. Initially hostile, she finally snapped, "Fine!"

Yet, even united, we couldn't defeat the colossal dark mage.

It seemed destined for failure, with both guilds poised to blame each other. That's when a man intervened, a stranger with no guild emblem, who chastised us, "Close to twenty people here, and every single one of you is as blind as a bat!"

Kathleen restrained herself from attacking him only because they were old acquaintances from their early days in Portduo.

"The boss applies a debuff called 'Paranoid Pact' to anyone who attacks it, draining HP dramatically, right? You've been too focused on cleansing it, ignoring that it also increases resistance to Dark Element—which covers all his attacks!"

I was furious at myself for not noticing sooner.

Re-energized, we focused solely on supporting our front line, which proved even harder than anticipated.

The HP drain from Paranoid Pact was severe, compounded by the boss's direct damage. Our White Mages quickly depleted their mana, and Duxweaver clung to life tenaciously. Then, unexpectedly, the Dark Mage stepped forward.

It was ludicrous—a Dark Mage taking on a boss that thrived on dark magic!

But he wasn't aiming to kill.

"Chains of Purgatory," he invoked, and chains sprang from summoning circles, shackling Duxweaver. The boss then vanished into his shadow.

Later, we learned he had turned the boss into his Familiar, a feat possible only when a monster is near death.

We all gained XP and celebrated our first victory over the fiend—Shooting Stars and Death Bringers parting ways, enemies once more. But...

"Can I have a word with you, Ms. Bradford?" the Dark Mage, causing Helen to chuckle. I turned to see him kneeling like a knight.

Listening to him seemed only fair after his crucial role in our victory. Sometimes I wonder why I agreed...

"I wish to join your guild," he declared boldly, which made me laugh.

"I thought you and Kathleen were close."

He gave a half-smile. "We are. But I've watched both guilds, and I believe I can achieve my dreams with yours."

"And what is this dream?"

"To reach the top of this world..."

His talent was undeniable, and the chance to one-up Kathleen was too good to pass.

"Do as you wish," I told him, meeting his ambitious gaze before turning away and continuing home.

* * * *

* * *

* *

*

Astrid snapped awake before the memory could continue and clicked her teeth in annoyance.

If I’d known he’d be nothing but trouble, I should’ve just shut him down on the spot.

(Someone looks ready to tear down a mountain,) her companion remarked, chuckling.

Astrid turned to Helen who rode her winged puma.

(Mind your business,) Astrid snapped through Party Chat.

(Come on, Bradford, show some enthusiasm. You’re about to dine with an old friend—just the two of you. Aren’t you excited to catch up?)

Astrid scoffed. (There's nothing to catch up on.)

Helen frowned. (Don't keep me in the dark! I know the coma story is a cover. Do you think I’m stupid?)

(If you hate feeling stupid, drop it,) Astrid snapped.

Helen sighed. (How many New Moontain have you downed today? They always make you cranky.)

Astrid was about to retort when a call from Tamara came through: (Guild Master! Are you coming back?)

(I am. Why?)

(Check your Guild Tab. It's easier if you see for yourself.)

Astrid did and was bombarded with notifications. So they really quit, huh? And nothing of value was lost… Wait a minute…

Her confusion turned to shock, then anger. (Helen, go to HQ immediately and check the vault,) Astrid instructed, her expression composed yet stern. (I need you to make sure that Jason Foreman... hasn't stolen all the guild's gold!)