BENJI POV
BOA. Berserkerz On Air.
Currently, BOA is a mid-sized guild totalling over 150 members. With that number, it can be said we are a large-sized guild. And people are right in assuming that because the guild itself is undergoing various transitional activities from mid to large.
Back when it still held its peak substance as a true Supernova Guild, BOA was respected but mostly feared. A small guild of not more than 40 people, yet it managed to compete with a C-ranked team, not even a year after its conception. The Supernova title was further cemented when BOA took 23rd place in the inter-sector ranking tournament. With BOA’s rapid rise, people hailed them as the second coming of Zephyr Guild.
Unfortunately, the higher you are, the harder you fall.
The fall from the peak was too sudden, and the pain, both figurative and literal, was unbearable. Many senior members retired due to injury, or worse, were left crippled, never to don the Gear again for the rest of their lives. And to think, it all came down to one guy. But that’s not even the worst part.
What happens when a power vacuum emerges in the heart of a sector teeming with guilds that harbor little goodwill toward their rivals?
“…...”
Jackal and I were there to witness the aftermath firsthand. We watched as our home was torn apart, piece by piece, by the other guilds. The districts we had painstakingly nurtured became their battlegrounds, fought over like scraps among starving dogs. Our past achievements were belittled and mocked for months to come by those envious of our Supernova title.
After Venti’s departure, Jackal was among the few who stepped up to pick up the pieces. Despite enduring relentless mockery and bullying, he endured, steadfastly stacking the building blocks one by one. Even as members of other guilds scorned him and laughed in his face, he maintained his smile. The cycle of ridicule persisted for another six months until, at last, we regained our footing.
Haha, can you imagine being in his shoes? When I asked him if he was angry at those guilds, you know what he said?
“Of course I am mad. But it’s not going to earn us the money needed to revive BOA.”
“To revive BOA,” he says. All this time, he could have easily created a new guild and started fresh, instead of negative rock bottom. Yet, he still holds onto the hope that Venti will return and lead BOA into a new era once again.
Can you believe it!? The nerdy bookkeeper, always preaching about pragmatism with the guild savings, turns out to be the most romantic of us all
And yet, I couldn’t bring myself to laugh at him because, if I were in his shoes, I might have thrown in the towel ages ago. Maybe I would’ve started a new team or party, only to fade into obscurity within some other guild, spending my days on their bench as a relic of my past.
Now that we’ve finally managed to rebuild our home, a guy has come along and stirred up a storm at our doorstep once again. Though less abrupt this time, the storm is brewing nonetheless. The magician’s tailwind serves as a harbinger of an impending Area War, one that will inevitably sweep us all into its tumultuous currents.
The Bulls, Chariot & Gladius, Seika, Cosa Nostra.
All of them are gearing up, vying for power and influence in hopes of challenging inner-ring guilds and securing a larger share of the pie. And then there’s BOA, right in the thick of it, smack dab in the middle of its most vulnerable period during its size transition.
To say that our management side is understaffed would be an understatement. Jackal continues to fight with the same resolve he displayed six months ago. His favorite phrase is “The work never ends.”
I’ll tell you straight up: a district war is looming. There’s no escaping it, and sooner or later, the majority of neutral powers will be pulled in one way or another.
And along with it comes the darker side of the guild world, the side everyone tries to hide behind closed doors. Sabotage, threats to members’ known associates, buying and selling of information—backstabbers and thieves will have a field day with guilds being distracted left and right as they manage bigger problems.
“And you are telling all this to a courier with an above-average KPI because?”
“Hehe, I’m getting to that in a minute. You said you were a Danger Zone Courier once didn’t you?”
“Yes, I did.”
“Ever heard of Iron Viper?”
-----
KON POV
This Benji guy brought out some difficult names. Is BOA currently embroiled in an area war with Cosa Nostra? The mafia guild? Yakuza versus Mafia—now that would be a sight to behold.
But what really caught my attention next was the guild he mentioned afterward.
Iron Viper, is a guild that’s not quite a guild.
They are many things, but if I were to describe them in one word, it would be a parasite. They have no headquarters, no centralized command, and not even a branch footing in any official districts. They’re like stray ghosts, never staying still in one place, constantly moving, seeking opportunities for riches and more riches.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
They don’t specialize in Hunting, Area Grab, Preservation, or even Exploration. Instead, they amass riches by infiltrating other guilds, acting as spies, and selling sensitive information. At one point, the Vipers manipulated a guild towards its demise, orchestrating it like a puppet play. I witnessed it myself when a small outer sector guild was ambushed by another guild amid its Rogue AI purge commission.
Are you telling me that BOA is currently infected?
“Hooo boy, not even a twitch after I mentioned that. You should try your luck at a game of poker.” He breathed out.
“I have heard of them. The guild with no centralized command that specializes in information trade.”
“Then you have seen how bad it can get yes? Especially now that our guild is currently recruiting people left and right without much background check. From my instinct alone I can detect that BOA is at least one-tenth infected. In other words, for every ten members inside the guild, there is at least one traitor.”
That’s bad. It doesn’t take a genius to see how this could greatly affect the overall state of BOA. It reminds me of how a certain parasitoid wasp species targets a caterpillar, laying its eggs on their body. The larvae then feed on the caterpillar while it’s still alive, leaving behind the husk of its expired self.
“And here’s the twist. It has been an age-old assumption by many people, including me, that Iron Viper’s area of influence tends to be on the outer sectors that are close to the abandoned zone. And now they are somehow here in the middle ring targeting BOA specifically. Granted I may not know how the other guilds fare. One-tenth is far too extreme don’t you think?”
“So you are saying someone guided those Vipers into BOA’s front door?” I clarified.
“Yep, and what better way to name a list of the possible suspects other than the neighboring guilds that BOA has a rivalry with?”
I narrowed my eyes. Is he referring to Seika? That seems like a stretch, especially when there are other, more believable suspects around, like Cosa Nostra. Seika, the clock tower, has always kept to themselves, away from the majority of public events and conflicts.
“So you see Kon, in my eyes, everybody except Jackal is a suspect. And at this point, you are either with us or against us.”
“That’s a lie.”
I halted his intimidating gesture with a statement before he could play along with his bad-guy act. He paused his advance, looking at me with a mixture of surprise and confusion.
“That part about me being either with you or against you, that’s a lie. You didn’t mean it at all.” I stated as a matter of factly.
“…...”
“You don’t have to make yourself out as the bad guy. I can see your desperation in plain sight. You love the guild as much as that Jackal guy does. That’s why you never called in those two other people who are waiting on the restroom entrance to intimidate and rough me up. Am I wrong?”
“…... Heh……Heheh. Well, you are not wrong. But you are not entirely right either. You see, I like my current life. But too bad, it’s either you or nothing but hard-tack rations for the coming winter. Sorry kiddo, I rather not spend the rest of my life chasing after Vipers in outer sectors.”
Again, a lie. But this time he refused to listen to reason. Looks like I didn’t have much choice.
I knew he didn’t intend to harm me too severely. If I had to guess, they probably just wanted to knock me unconscious, kidnap me, and bring me face-to-face with Jackal, the leader of BOA. It’s what the Yakuza do, after all. They kidnap people and bring them to their leader to discuss outstanding loans and debts.
With nothing left to say, I drew upon my prana, allowing my orange ember to flicker as I sought to read Benji’s entire being. My eyes dimmed as my concentration expanded, encompassing the entirety of the mall restroom, down to each cubicle and the smallest contour of the white, shiny floor. I offered a slight bow to him before assuming my Aikido stance, preparing myself for his first move.
I could sense Benji’s hesitation, and I sympathized with his predicament. I could envision BOA’s potential downfall, reminiscent of that ambushed guild. But so what? I had my own team to protect. Unless Venti had a say in it, I had no interest in meddling in other guilds’ affairs.
“You are a good Pathfinder, you know that?”
“…...”
“But that’s why you will never win against me.”
He pocketed both his hands and started walking towards me. From his gait alone, I could tell that no matter what I did to him, he would complete his mission of knocking me out and bringing me back to Jackal. A poke to the eye, a kick to the groin, an elbow to the solar plexus—no matter my actions, he would continue to inch forward with that determined gait to fulfill his objectives.
The way of Shatei (Soldier).
If that’s how you want to play, so be it. I’m not obligated to adhere to your sense of man-to-man pride. After all, winning is subjective, and I’m not here to win according to your terms. I’m here to finish this so I can get back to my Kahlua Milk and show my friends what jazz is all about.
Just as I was about to dash toward the Roomba and smash it to trigger its security alarm, I heard a voice from outside the restroom. A scuffle ensued, followed by two smacking sounds, and then everything went silent. Benji even paused to look back at who was causing the racket.
Venti?
Did I take too long chatting with Benji, prompting him to come to check up on me?
“Oyabun (Patriarch),” Benji exclaimed as he bowed down deeply at the approaching Venti.
“Oyabun my ass, I’m no longer in the guild remember? Oi Kon, What the heck took you so long, were you doing number 2 or something? It’s your turn to sing.”
I glanced at Benji, noticing he was still bowing at Venti. I excused myself and delved deeper into his intent to discern his motivation. There was a hint of respect in his gesture, but mostly anger. The anger wasn’t directed at Venti, yet it simmered nonetheless, lacking an outlet.
It was a heart dissonance.
“Oyabun, please excuse me.” After a brief moment, he solidified his expression and looked up to stare directly at Venti.
Benji put his hands back into his pockets and proceeded to flare his presence, enveloping the entire area. This version of Benji was the most serious I had seen so far. He approached Venti with the same determined gait he had towards me, but this time, his intent was magnitudes thicker and all-encompassing.
He intends to test himself against a wall. To what end? Benji himself doesn’t seem to know.
He stopped directly in front of Venti and stared intently into his face. After a couple of seconds, Venti finally sighed and turned to face Benji fully. His expression grew serious as they engaged in a silent stare-off, gauging and testing each other within their minds.
I didn’t have to wait long before suddenly, they both reared their heads back and slammed them into each other.
BLAM!!
It was loud. The cubical doors even rattled for a brief second. Is this how Yakuzas fight amongst each other? The proverbial bashing your head against the wall?
Their foreheads remained glued to each other for a moment before Benji dropped down to his knee, panting heavily, blood trickling from his head.
“Gahaha! Not bad, but you still lacked guts. Let’s go, Kon, Elizabeth can only do so much before Zack finishes all of your chocolates.”
Venti patted the bruise on his forehead before gesturing for me to come and follow him. I glanced back at Benji, still kneeling on the floor with a bloodied head. His resolve wavered as he gritted his teeth and clenched his fists tightly. The anger was still there, but now it seemed mostly directed towards himself.
As I turned back to follow Venti, I didn’t dismiss my area of intent and kept it focused on Benji. He watched my retreating figure, his determination hardening once again, but he didn’t make a move. No doubt, he was planning something that would involve dragging me along with it.
Yeah, the future promises to be troublesome. I might have to deal with the Iron Vipers again, huh?
Whatever. It’s a problem for future me.
For now, I’ll just binge-eat chocolates until my sugar-deficient brain is appeased and sing my heart out until I can put it all in the back of my mind.
I wonder which song I should sing.