Back in Duabalis the party began discussing how to proceed. Silver Blade suggested following Lewriova’s quest, but Radiant Shield suddenly received a message, prompting him to look at Cyclone:

“Sun’s Knight just wrote me. He is available now.”

Immediately the blond woman put on an unusually serious expression.

“Good. We have been waiting for this. Maybe it’s time to discuss our guild?”

Cyclone looked at her friends, meeting silent agreement.

“Should we book a tavern or something?”

“Why not hold the talk on our new property?”, suggested Balm with sparkling eyes.

“Sounds good. We should inspect the place which might become our headquarter in the future!”

Liam, eyeing the two women, asked skeptically:

“Are you sure you want to hold a discussion there?”

“I… think so? Why? Is there something wrong with our property?”

“Not exactly… well, you will see.”

Knowing that everyone was eager to inspect their new land, Liam didn’t dissuade them more. He left the teleportation platform, strolling along the main road.

On a whim he took a turn, bringing his friends into a busy street teeming with merchants. NPCs and players alike set up stalls and shops here, praising their wares.

The party members took a few curious looks, but with their lead in level they didn’t find any appropriate equipment.

Liam didn’t bother and entered a miscellaneous NPC shop, buying a few barrels.

Looking around the room, Cyclone suddenly found something interesting, asking Liam a question:

“Expert, is it possible to build some things out of wood?”

“Sure. There is even a craftsman profession in the game. If you like woodworking, you can give it a try.”

“No thanks.”

Cyclone wasn’t interested in such a profession, she only wanted to realize her idea. With a bright smile she bought a large board of wood, a few tools, and a strange, big pen powered by a magic crystal, which was used to burn patterns in wood.

The others were curious, but Cyclone was tight-lipped.

Soon, the party left the shop, following the street. After two left turns they reached a small plaza which served as the crossing between the main street and the merchant district.

To the right one could see the street leading up to the mountain covered in magical fog, where most original nephilim resided. To the left and right of the street were many large, open plots growing green grass.

Looking to the opposite side of the plaza, the party members noticed a prominent construction site which was making quick progress, already showing signs of a tall building with lavishly decorated walls.

When Liam crossed the plaza, everyone almost expected him to bring them to the construction site, but at the end he made a turn to the left, stopping before a plot of land at the entrance of the plaza.

Everyone noticed an inconspicuous shield at the center of the property, reading DBC0001.

Balm took a deep breath, holding back tears as she looked at the untouched land. Cyclone also had chaotic feelings in her heart. She slung her arm over her friend’s shoulders, spending a moment of silent appreciation.

Liam allowed them to enjoy the moment before advising Cyclone:

“You need to activate your land lease so you can be acknowledged as owner.”

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Cyclone pondered for a moment, asking hesitantly:

“Can only one person be the owner? After all, we cleared the dungeon together.”

“Yes, but you can later register the property under the guild’s name. That’s how the game intends it.”

Cyclone nodded slowly, taking out the land lease with a thoughtful expression. She glanced at Balm next to her. In a flash, she pressed the scroll into her friend’s hand.

Balm glanced at her hands in bewilderment.

“Cy? Why are you giving this to me?”

“Why not? We are both guild leaders!”

“Yes, but…”

“No buts. You deserve this!”

Cyclone earnestly stared at her friend. She had already noticed that Balm appeared distracted today. But she was surprised to see a tear roll down the woman’s cheek as she tightly grabbed the land lease.

Cyclone gave Balm a quick hug.

“Let’s talk later.”

“Mhm.”

Balm nodded, readjusting her emotions. With a solemn expression she unfurled the scroll and activated it with a thought.

A message appeared before her eyes.

[Land lease detected. Do you want to register as owner of plot DBC0001?]

[Yes]

[No]

When Balm pressed yes, the scroll in her hand vanished. Everyone stared at the property expectantly.

“And… now?”, asked Silver Blade in confusion.

“What? What do you expect to happen? This property now belongs to Balm.”

The others could only smile wryly. They felt strange, like someone opening a box of hyped-up chocolate, who was then disappointed when finding, indeed, chocolate.

Liam chuckled looking at them and turned to Balm to explain how to manage a property. The healer easily understood the various options, granting her friends permanent access.

Finding a notification before them, the others didn’t stay on the street any longer and entered their future headquarters. Although it was only a small step which didn’t change anything, it invoked a special feeling in everyone.

Cyclone smiled gleefully, taking out the things she bought earlier. She placed a wooden board on a wooden stake and nailed them together.

Watching her sink the nails into the wood crookedly, Liam also agreed that Cyclone wouldn’t make a great craftsman.

Still, the young woman was quite happy as she took out the pen-like tool and began to burn something in the wood.

Her actions quickly attracted the other’s attention.

“Dream Avenue…”

“Is this the name of our guild?”, asked Silver Blade curiously.

“Yes!”, exclaimed Cyclone proudly. “It stands for a road to the top, fulfilling our dreams! And everyone who wants to travel with us has a chance to one day stand above all others!”

“Wow, you… put some thought into this!”, praised Silver Blade.

Cyclone looked at her friends, noticing how everyone slowly got familiar with the name, exchanging a satisfied look with Balm.

“Balm and I racked our brains for quite a while to come up with this.”

Balm smiled brightly, stepping forward to help Cyclone prop up the shield. She pushed strongly, trying to sink the shield into the solid earth.

After struggling for a few seconds, Balm suddenly felt someone behind her.

“Let me help you.”

The young woman glanced over her shoulder, finding herself face to face with Radiant Shield. Her ears reddening, she nodded silently and stepped to the side.

Cyclone glanced at her friend, a glint flashing in her eyes while holding the sign together with Balm. Radiant Shield seemed oblivious as he gave the construction one solid blow with his hammer, instantly securing it in the earth.

“Thank you.”

Radiant Shield looked confused by Balm’s squeaky voice, nodding calmly.

Liam watched the scene in amusement. He took out the barrels he bought and placed them in a circle on the empty field.

“Ok guys, let’s talk.”

“Coming.”

Balm was the first to respond, hurrying towards Liam and sitting down quietly. Only then did the others join slowly, glancing between Balm and Radiant Shield while conversing leisurely. A few minutes later Radiant Shield notified everyone that Sun’s Knight had arrived.

Balm quickly granted him access. A tall man in fairly standard level 13 armor with some red make-up around his eyes entered the field.

“Hey guys! It’s been a while! And for those who don’t know me: I’m Sun’s Knight!”

“Welcome, welcome. Sit here!”

Cyclone stood up to greet the man who might become the future manager of their guild. Afterwards a few more people arrived. The boisterous Final Fend, excited Braag, and reserved Mirage Fan #1 appeared one by one.

While Final Fend and Braag were excited about being invited as a founding member of the guild, Serena held herself back, sticking close to Bleary Mirage. The others noticed her behavior and mostly let her be.

When everyone was finally gathered, they began to seriously discuss the future of their guild.

Liam began with explaining the role of guilds in the game, from guild wars to owning territory, guild ranks and affiliated NPCs.

When the others heard that guilds could convince NPCs to join them, which would give a bonus in wars, everyone involuntarily glanced at Silver Blade, preparing her to put her charisma stat to work in the future.

Sun’s Knight seriously noted down everything Liam said. He already had a few standard systems laid out on how to distribute wages and contribution points. But listening to Liam he knew they needed to make some adjustments.

Next, it was his turn to prove his talent as a manager, explaining the party a few of his plans. This naturally led to the topic of shares.

The party decided to let Cyclone and Balm control 26% each. The rest of the original party was granted 6%. A heated debate broke out considering giving Colville Construction shares as well, but in the end, Silver Blade rejected the idea since she didn’t have sole control of the company.

Final Fend and Braag remained empty handed, but they showed understanding. They were already happy with getting the role of founding members in the future.

Serena held herself back, not daring to have any demands. Thus, she was quite flsutered when Cyclone insisted on naming her a foundign member as well.