Liam glanced at the crowd. He signaled Cyclone to stand in a way that no one could see her hands when she took out the compass and handed it over to Lewriova.

“Such strong void energy…”

Her Holiness whispered with trepidation, turning the compass in her hands. Everyone looked at the needle which moved to always point in the same direction.

“If I’m not wrong, this artifact can detect strong void energy. Adventurers, you have done well retrieving this item. You deserve a reward.

Let me think…

Right, this might be helpful to you.”

Lewriova turned her hand, revealing a scrolled parchment. With a satisfied smile she handed it to Cyclone.

“What’s this?”, asked the mage curiously while inspecting it.

“It’s exactly what you need.”, answered Liam.

Immediately Cyclone’s eyes lit up with excitement. She quickly shared the information in the group chat.

[Land Lease DBC0001

Category: Unique

Effect: This land lease grants the holder the right to develop plot DBC0001 in whichever way they want.

Guilds, shops, homes, taverns… none can be realized without a land lease. But now you can live out your creativity.]

“Cy, this is…”

Balm choked reading the message. Her hands shook, knowing that they were one step closer to founding their guild.

Cyclone looked at her, her lips quivering. The others were infected by the atmosphere, feeling similar joy.

“Congratulations.”, said Radiant Shield in a heartfelt tone.

“Thanks. But this is not only for me and Balm. This little parchment will be the beginning of something big! For all of us!”

“Yes, for all of us!”, echoed Balm.

“We are looking forward to it.”, whispered Silent Acacia.

“I am pleased you can feel such joy about my reward. However, I would like to discuss something with you, adventurers.”

“Thank you, your holiness. Of course, we are listening.”, said Cyclone with a genuine voice, not treating Lewriova like an NPC.

The angelic woman showed a small smile, lighting up the world:

“The artifact you brought me. We need to test its full use. Please follow its directions to three different locations and investigate the situation.”

“Yes, definitely!”

Cyclone saw her quest updating, telling her to follow the compass. She took the artifact back from Lewriova, instantly hiding it in her inventory before someone could get a good look.

Lewriova nodded at her and fell silent, indicating that the conversation was over.

The party gathered together, about to leave but were met with the eager, chaotic crowd.

“Hotpot, I’m your biggest fan!”

“Cyclone, what did you give the NPC just now?”

“What reward did you get?”

“How did you get her holiness to talk so much with you?”

The crowd seemed to be split into three different factions. But they formed a united front, blocking the party’s path.

Cyclone glared angrily at the players.

“Guys, open a path! Let us through!”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Only if we get a picture!”

“Only if you show us that item!”

“Only if you help us get her holiness’ attention.”

“You! Leeches! Id… mph.”

Before Cyclone could say things which would make her end up in some gossip magazines, Balm quickly blocked her mouth with her hands. Meanwhile, the others asked Liam for ideas in the party chat.

Suddenly, three people reached the top of the volcano, breathing heavily, obviously being in a hurry. They frantically looked towards the crowd, their eyes showing a fervent light.

The two women and one man ignored their exhaustion, rudely pushing into the crowd.

“Hey, don’t push!”

“Who do you think you are?”

“Stop right there, buddy!”

Despite the strong resistance the trio gave it their all, finally reaching the front. They broke out of the crowd, appearing directly in front of the party, their bodies shaking.

“Ho, ho, Hotpot! It’s really you!”

The woman in the lead, with a thin figure and curly green hair, stuttered while scanning the ten glorious players before her.

“Yes, and you are…?”

Silver Blade asked carefully, noticing how the light in the woman’s eyes dimmed. But when Watchful Eye spoke up, she was immediately overjoyed:

“Young lady, this should be ‘Glorious Hotpot’, founder of our biggest fan club.”

[Silent Acacia: You know this? Is she some pro player or something?]

[Watchful Eye: No. This is part of my job.]

Glorious Hotpot looked at her idols with fervent eyes, making them quite uncomfortable, while introducing the other two people she brought with her:

“I knew my love would reach you! But I’m not the only founder. These two are Hotpot Victorious and Go Hotpot Go.”

“H… hi.”

The man and woman shyly greeted the party, frozen in the face of their stars.

Liam glanced at his friends, guessing if someone knew how to deal with the situation. Just as he wanted to speak up, Fortune stepped forward. Liam nodded inwardly, letting the experienced content creator handle this.

Fortune put on a dazzling, warm smile, facing Glorious Hotpot:

“The support of people like you is incredibly important to us. We are truly grateful. But right now, we are in a difficult situation. How about you excuse us for now and we will set an official time for autographs and pictures?

We would also have more time for extended conversations then.”

“Ahh, Fortune! You’re the greatest! I have viewed your videos about Crunaboul at least ten times!”

“I’m glad you love them so much, but…”

“Right, right. Difficult situation, is it?”

Glorious Hotpot glanced over her shoulder, looking at the crowd which was baffled by the switch in the atmosphere.

Her sharp eyes spotted many familiar faces. She turned around sticking out her chest:

“You, you, you, and you! Can you even call yourself real fans?! How dare you make things difficult for our idols? Apologize!”

A few people in the crowd lowered their heads dejectedly.

“Yes, club president. You are right. Sorry.

“Sorry, I was too excited just now.”

“Sorry, Hotpot! Please don’t hate me, I am your greatest fan!”

“Wait, I am…”

“How dare you two discuss with the club president here? Can any of you measure up to her?”

The rest of the crowd watched those people, inexplicably feeling unwell. A few people, who had earlier taken the opportunity to gather information carefully left the crowd.

Glorious Hotpot nodded in satisfaction.

“Good! Now all real fans, hear me out! Let’s form a path for our idols and let them descend the mountain in peace!”

“Yes! Club president!”

Immediately about a fourth of the people in the crowd drew their weapons, eying the others violently. Since the people gathering here were mostly of low levels they didn’t fear losing some equipment.

The rest of the crowd reacted chaotically, some itching for fights and some backing off in fright.

“Brothers, let’s go! For Hotpot!”

“For Hotpot!”

Suddenly weapons were swung, and a chaotic battle began. The fans pushed towards the side, trying to open a path for Liam and his friends.

“Come quickly, we need to take this chance!”, urged Glorious Hotpot.

The party members were taken aback by the change in the situation. They looked at each other strangely, shrugged their shoulders, and followed the president of their fan club.

When Liam and his friends passed through the opened path, the fighting players already toned it down. Only those who loved fighting for the sake of fighting continued, while the rest lost their motivation.

The sound from the top of the volcano subsided as the party walked down the path. But now they had another headache as the three founders of their fan club hovered around them, determined not to be left behind.

[Cyclone: What should we do now? It feels wrong to abandon them…]

[Fortune: We need to handle this carefully. Sometime your most fervent fans can become your biggest haters.]

[Balm: Should we invite them to join the guild?]

[Bleary Mirage: Sure. Just promise them now. Maybe they find someone else to admire before the guild system opens.]

[Cyclone: Mirage, didn’t you say the guild system opens in a few days?]

[Bleary Mirage: Sure. But you know how teenagers are, their love can be fickle.]

Immediately Liam felt multiple strange gazes gathering on him.

[Silent Acacia: Hey Mirage… how old do you think that green-haired girl is?]

[Bleary Mirage: I don’t know, maybe 17 or something?]

[Silent Acacia: And how old am I? How old are you?]

Liam glanced at his friends, coughing awkwardly. For a moment he got confused by his real age, which was 24, obviously much more mature than some 17-year-old fangirl.

Thus, he overlooked that his party members were all pretty young themselves. Only Watchful Eye stood out, being around thirty years old.

Liam wisely didn’t answer Silent Acacia’s question, letting his friends chat around in the party chat until they reached the novice village.

Arriving before the teleporter it took the party some effort to get rid of their fans. Only when Balm added them as friends did the trio finally leave.

Once they appeared in Duabalis, the friends let out deep breaths of relief.

“Finally, we managed to shake them off.”, said Balm, her shoulder slumped from exhaustion.

“Fans can get quite scary…”

“Praise the rule that only level 10 players can use teleporters.”