The next day the party gathered before the entrance to Kelsnim’s Invasion early in the morning. They didn’t dare to delay, hurriedly talking to the soldiers to finish their quest before leaving with a transport cart.

They would’ve liked to talk to Onrabell a bit longer but the first players who recognized them already appeared.

“Ouuh…”

Radiant Shield moaned, his body shaking form the bumpy ride, causing Liam to chuckle.

“What? Long night?”

“Yes. We celebrated in the dorm. By the way…

Balm, Cyclone, I talked to Sun’s Knight. He would be interested in helping you manage the guild.”

“Thanks. I’ll send him a friend request right away!”, answered Balm.

Cyclone looked at her friend strangely:

“Are you in a hurry? What got you so fired up?”

“Let’s not talk about it now…”

“Ok… well, while we’re at it I also met someone who wants to join us. She said she is a level 18 bard.”

Immediately Liam’s eyes lit up:

“A bard? Hey, you’re lucky even outside the game. Bards are quite rare.”

“Are they strong?”, asked Cyclone doubtfully.

“Alone? No. But with a large number of allies around them…

Let’s just say a guild might have too many mages but they will never have too many bards!”

“Well, if you put it like this it seems I should hurry up to accept her.”

“Definitely! You better do it right now.”

Suddenly Silent Acacia let out a loud whistle:

“Not bad!”

“My friend, did you spot a gorgeous female warrior?”, asked Radiant Shield, earning him an angry glare from Quickstep.

Silent Acacia showed an embarrassed smile, waving his hands quickly:

“No, no, what are you thinking about? I just checked out the quest rewards!”

“Oh right, we almost forgot!”, echoed Silver Blade. She opened her journal, noticing the blinking text.

“Wow, SSS evaluation! Enough EXP to reach level 23! And a chance to choose two out of six pieces of equipment, with one guaranteed to be of rare quality. Really, they didn’t hold back.”

The party cheerfully choose their equipment, feeling the century-old joy of numbers going up.

Subsequently they conversed some more, accompanied by the peaceful noises of the forest, until they reached Duabalis Harbor.

“Haha, marvel at my new shield! I am ready to ward of dragons and demons. Mirage, lead us into battle!”, proclaimed Radiant Shield excitedly.

Liam laughed, watching the burly man stroll along the streets of the city:

“Sorry but I have to disappoint you. We have business to do back in the novice village.”

“Novice village? I assume we won’t find dragons there.”

“Well…”

Liam smiled mysteriously, holding back his words. The others curiously pressed him for an answer, but he kept his mouth shut deciding not to spoil his friends.

In retaliation the others punished Liam by collectively ignoring him until they reached the novice village.

The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

When they stepped out of the teleportation platform in Prento, Cyclone exclaimed in amazement:

“Wow, there are so many people here!”

“Not surprising. I heard that a new wave of consoles hit the market yesterday.”, explained Quickstep.

Silent Acacia had naturally watched the same report, adding his two cents:

“Those console producers must be working overtime right now.”

“Ha, but I’m sure they aren’t complaining. Their profits are through the roof.”, said Radiant Shield, having discussed this with Sun’s Knight.

“Right. Luckily the preparations were already in place and every planet has the means to produce consoles, or the government might be hit with some riots.”

“Really? I didn’t know. Who is producing the consoles on Falva Star?”

Liam only asked casually but was immediately met with multiple strange gazes.

“What?”

A few eyes moved. Liam followed them and stared at Silver Blade.

“You? But isn’t your family in the construction industry?”, asked the young man incuriously.

Silver Blade found the topic somewhat embarrassing, but she didn’t want to leave Bleary Mirage hanging:

“My family has many businesses. Two of them are here on Falva Star. One is Colville Constructions, which I am the CEO of, and the other is Colville City Military, which is in the hands of my uncle.

Those two companies built and fortified most of the structures on Falva Star.

But Colville City Military also has an additional purpose in manufacturing consoles. However, we are not alone in this business. It is a cooperation of multiple companies under the supervision of the army.”

Liam was surprised to hear this.

“So, you are sitting right at the source? This means if I have difficulties buying a console some time, I can just ask you?”

“You can say so…”

Noticing Silver Blade’s less than enthusiastic tone, Liam felt quite awkward. Seeing him like this, Cyclone secretly sent a message:

[Cyclone: Silver and her uncle are not on good terms. She doesn’t have much to say in the other company…]

[Bleary Mirage: Oh… Did I put my foot in it?]

[Cyclone: Don’t worry. With the success in the game, it’s already getting better. With your help it will only be a matter of time until Silva becomes the next family head!]

Liam rolled his eyes realizing the high expectations Cyclone had for him. But he also didn’t deny her…

Not wanting to endure the awkward atmosphere any longer Liam led his friends out of the village.

They tracked through the jungle for a while, watching the eager new players fighting against rabbits and wolves.

Twice they had to wait for Radiant Shield who ran off to play the hero, helping some newbies against elite monsters.

Afterwards they were forced to speed up as the grateful players recognized them and clamored for autographs and pictures, leading to more players becoming aware of their presence.

Liam brought his friends, sprinting through the jungle. After a while they slowed down due to exhaustion. The terrain was gradually getting steeper, costing even the players with their increased attributes some effort to cross.

But at least this showed that they got closer to the volcano at the center of the island. In this barren region there were a lot less players, or at least that was what Liam thought…

Through the thinning foliage the party looked at a steep mountain with a few narrow paths. Surprisingly a long line of players climbed the mountain with determination etched onto their faces.

“What’s going on? Is there some event?”

“I’m not sure.”, admitted Liam. “We will know when we get there.”

And so, the party joined the others in traveling the harsh path, amazed as even more players arrived from time to time.

Braving the ever-increasing heat the party soon reached the top of the volcano. Dark fumes floated towards the sky, coming from the boiling magma below. A black, hot stone surrounded the mouth of the volcano. The entire scene made it clear that this was not a place welcoming life.

And yet a considerable crowd had formed on top of the volcano, surrounding a strange formation made of sharp red and black crystals, towering high into the air.

Observing the situation, Liam finally understood what was going on. He sighed as he brought his friends to push through the crowd.

“It was worth it coming here!”

“Just one look is enough to heal my broken heart.”

“Really, ever since Hotpot cleared the first dungeon we were forced to walk so far! If I ever get them in my hands I will…”

At this moment the player who just spoke felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around and his face paled instantly.

“Mi… Mirage, what are you doing here? Haha, I’m your biggest fan. Just say the word and I will work myself to the bones for you!”

Liam suppressed his amusement watching the player and simply answered with a polite smile:

“No need to work for me. I would already be thankful if you can let us through.”

“Us?”

The player leaned slightly to the side.

“Oh, it’s Silver Blade, and, and Cyclone… and…”

The player stopped talking, awkwardly stepping to the side with a strained smile on his face.

Liam didn’t take it to heart. He took the last few steps, finally reaching the front of the crowd.

He found the angelic figure showing her back to the crowd. All the players kept a respectful distance from her, admiring Her Holiness Lewriova from afar.

Liam blended out the commotion caused by him courageously approaching the mighty nephilim. When he stopped next to her, Lewriova obviously recognized the party:

“Adventurers! You are back! I heard of your feat. Let me offer you my thanks in the name of all nephilim for thwarting Kelsnim’s plans!”

“We only did our duty, your holiness.”

“It pleases me to hear this. But I’m sure you had a reason for coming here, don’t you?”

“Yes. We found a special artifact in Kelsnim’s fortress.”

The party noticed a few curious gazes from the crowd. They frowned, trying to block the line of sight with their bodies. Silent Acacia sent a message in the party chat:

[Silent Acacia: Mirage, some of them might be recording. They could sell this information.]

[Bleary Mirage: Well, there is not much we can do. Furthermore, this information might do others more harm than good. They would have to rack their brains, trying to find the compass.]

[Silent Acacia: I hope you’re right…]