《The Guild System》


 1 System has successfully loaded

    A twenty-two-year-old man by the name of Raymond Lee was sitting in front of his laptop and playing an MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game) called Eaion. He wasn''t really bad nor was he that good at playing the game. In the gaming world, he was just slightly above average in skill. He once thought that he could become a pro-gamer, but his skills turned out to be pretty average.


    It was back in high-school when his dream was formed. Back then he was a promising martial artist, he was fit, and was a rather studious student. Yet after a pretty bad fall, his body became unable to perform as well as before.


    He could no longer win any tournaments, he couldn''t even train as hard as before. He was still rather fit as a person, but that wasn''t enough for him. As he tried harder than before, he just ruined his body even more. After being unable to continue doing the thing he used to love, he was unable to focus on his school work and was going under great depression.


    Raymond''s parents tried their best to help their son but it was to no avail. As his depression and his anxiety were reaching their peak, he started thinking about killing himself.


    It was at that darkest moment in his life when one of his friends introduced him to the world of online gaming, manga, light novels, web novels, and anime. It was a world that was so new to him. It was like a book that came to life. In these vastly different worlds, there were many interesting things. In there, his character could do almost anything.


    The thing he liked the most was the online games. In that world, he can once again be a powerful individual. He found it fun to play, and it was something even he could do in his current state. Though Raymond never recovered from his past injuries, and he never became the same again, but he was happy.


    A few years later, Raymond who once had an athletic body was now a rather chubby individual. Though he wasn''t too fat, he was still quite fat. Since he stopped exercising and focused all of his free time playing video games, he became a rather unhealthy individual.


    ...


    At the moment Raymond was playing another MMORPG, and he has been playing for a few days straight. He hasn''t been sleeping a whole lot not wanting to miss the events were he can gain event items.


    Once the event was over, he could finally move from his chair. He wanted to get some water, but as he stood up he felt rather dizzy. His head felt like it was being hammered upon. He then tripped and fell face-first on the floor.


    It seems like he hit something as his head started hurting even more. He could no longer move, and in the corner of his eye, he could see something reddish... Raymond then came to a realization. The thing that he was looking at, that was his blood!


    Raymond got scared as he felt his body getting colder and colder. His vision slowly turning darker and darker.


    ''I don''t want to die! I don''t want to die! Not like this! I just got enough money to roll for an SSR GACHA!'' Those were Raymond''s last thoughts before his mind blacked out.


    ...


    Raymond who felt like he was asleep for a very long time, could feel a warm feeling enveloped his body. He could then finally open his eyes, and once he did the first thing he saw was green. He was under a rather tall tree.


    He then tried to get up, as he did he felt his body was lighter than before. In fact, the feeling he got was as if he returned to the time before he was injured. Raymond then looked down and saw aside from his shorts he wasn''t wearing anything. But that wasn''t the most surprising part, the most surprising part was his belly fat disappeared. What replaced it was a six-pack, his abs were back. As Raymond continued to be confused, a floating text box suddenly appeared before him.


    "System has successfully loaded."

 2 Level 1

    "Guild System has been fully activated." Raymond was surprised to see the floating box in front of him. It was at that moment, information came flooding into Raymond''s mind. The information given to him was on how to open up his status screen. It was simple enough all he needed to do was think of opening up his status screen like he was clicking on it in his mind.


    A holographic screen appeared before him.


    [Status


    Name: Raymond


    Race: Human


    Class: Guild Master


    Level: 1


    HP: 72/72 MP: 1/1


    STR: 8


    AGI: 5


    DEX: 5


    INT: 4


    WIS: 4


    VIT: 6


    Luck: 3


    Skills:


    Active: None


    Passive: Charm (max), Guild Master''s aura (max), I am the Guild Master (max)


    Guild House: Guild (Lvl 1)


    Guild members: 0/5


    NPC: 0/2


    EXP: 0/100]


    ''There seem to be other options in this UI type thing, but I can''t access them yet. Though I wonder what this charm thing does. I think I can press it''


    Raymond started to press on the holographic screen and tapped on the charm, Guild Master''s aura and I am the Guild Master skills, which then showed a description.


    ''Charm: As a Guild Master, one must have the appropriate charm to lead and guide. (Skill increases the affinity with others. Makes people unconsciously have a good impression of you.)''


    ''Guild Master''s Aura: The Guild Master is a reassuring figure to his teammates. (Increases the stats of guild members within a twenty-meter radius.)


    ''I am the Guild Master: As the leader of the guild, the Guild Master must be the most powerful member. (Increases stats depending on how many players join the Guild. Stat boosts +5 from each player that joins. MAX cap Twenty Members.)


    ...


    Raymond was so excited about the situation, that he was given a system. The only thing he was sad about were his parents. ''Maybe losing an awful son like me was for the better.'' Raymond decided not to dwell too much on the subject. He first needed to see how he was going to survive in this new world. The stats on his screen weren''t remarkable he wasn''t even given skills to protect himself. All he had was a charm skill which wasn''t that useful if something attacks him. The other skills don''t even work if he didn''t have any guild members.


    He was going to check more on the status screen, but then a voice sounded in his mind.


    "Player open your task interface and do your missions." The voice that spoke was rather robotic and reminded him of Siri.


    "Are you my system?"


    "Please open up your task interface and do your mission."


    "Hey, how do I level up? How do I get guild members and NPCs?"


    "Please open up your task interface and do your mission."


    "Are you a defective system? You keep on saying the same thing. Can I switch to a better system?"


    "Host, please stop slandering me. I''m an honest and great system, the host just needs to open up the task interface."


    "SO, you can respond normally. Then why weren''t you answering my questions."


    "The host doesn''t have a high enough level for me to answer."


    "What, I literally asked you how to level up."


    "Then I told the host how to level up by opening the task interface, and completing the mission."


    "Fine then, I''ll just do the mission."


    Raymond finally opened up the task interface. The task interface opened up in his mind.


    [New player task: Check the inside of the level 1 Guild house]


    [Task reward: A set of beginner equipment.]


    ...


    Reading the task given to him Raymond finally remembered that he was only wearing underwear. He then proceeded to look around and saw a cottage-like structure and beside it was a lake.


    "Hey system, is that the guild house?"


    "Correct."


    Raymond approached the cottage surrounded by tall trees. It was a simple-looking building made out of wood. Raymond entered the building and to his surprise, the inside looks slightly bigger than the outside.


    Upon entering the first thing you would see was a front desk, like what you would see in a hotel. Behind the front desk was a hallway with eight doors. Raymond opened the first door near the front desk.


    The inside was of a simple room with one window, a single bed, a chair, and a table. Raymond wanted to check the other rooms but most of them were locked.


    "These are the rooms for Guild Members, will be unlocked once you appoint others as guild members."


    "Guild Members, how do I appoint one?"


    "You need to go out and meet the people living in this world. Once the host finds someone he wants to be a guild member, he needs to let them sign this agreement."


    A scroll then appeared before Raymond, but as he was about to grab it the scroll disappeared.


    "Aren''t you going to let me read it?"


    "The host doesn''t need to read the scroll, it''s basically just something that asks the Guild Members to stay loyal to the guild."


    "What happens if they''re not loyal?"


    "The punishment for disloyalty is death."


    "Alright then... How about telling me about this world?"


    "The host needs to explore and find out for himself. For now, the host just needs to finish the task given to him."


    "Fine, fine, I''m finishing it." Raymond continued opening the remaining doors. One of them was a kitchen and the other was a storage area with some closets that had nothing in them.


    ''Ding'' The Task interface popped open.


    [New Player task: Check the inside of the Guild House (Completed)]


    [Do you want to receive your reward now? Y/N]


    Raymond without hesitation clicked on Y. A blinding light blinded him and before he knew it, he wasn''t naked anymore and was wearing something. It was the basic leather armor that one could usually find a beginner wearing at the start of an MMORPG, underneath the armor were some normal clothes. In Raymond''s right hand was a short sword, he recognized it to be a gladius. He also had a short bow and some arrows.


    As Raymond was appreciating the new equipment he got, he received another task.


    [New Task: Hunt for food]


    [Task Description: As a Guild Master you must provide for your guild. As you are currently the only one in your guild, you need to provide yourself with food.]


    [Task Reward: GACHA function will be unlocked, one free GACHA roll.]

 3 First Hun

    "Hey, how do I hunt? I haven''t gone hunting in my entire life!"


    "The host should be able to do simple hunting if he wants to survive in this world."


    "Aren''t you going to help me? You didn''t even give me any active skills, that could help me in a hunt. What is this, d*rk s*uls level difficulty!"


    "Active skills can be acquired once the host reaches level 2."


    "So, what you''re telling me is that I can get a skill once I reach level 2, but how do I get to level 2?"


    "Experience points can be acquired by killing or doing missions."


    Hearing the system telling him that made Raymond sigh. He already knew it would be something like that, but he was hoping there was another way. Though his body returned to the time before his injury, Raymond wasn''t so sure if he could hunt whatever dangerous creatures were in this world.


    For all he knows, there something like orcs in the forest. Based on his basic knowledge about those creatures, he stood no chance. He wasn''t even sure if he could take on a goblin. He did have some knowledge in using swords, but that''s against humans, as for the bow and arrows he has never used that kind of thing.


    Raymond went outside the Guild House and started swinging the sword around. The weight was perfect for him, and after a few practice swings, Raymond tried out the bow. As he expected the bow was pretty hard to use. He was trying to hit a tree, but the arrow was going all over the place.


    If possible he wanted to use the bow for hunting, since it was a long-range weapon making it the safer choice. But seeing that he couldn''t even hit a non-moving target, using the bow would be unrealistic in the hunt.


    ...


    After practicing a few more minutes, Raymond was hesitating if he should leave the safety area of the Guild House. After thinking for a while he gritted his teeth.


    "Now that I''m given this kind of chance to be like those characters in the novels I''ve read, shouldn''t I go all out. If I fail then I die, well I already died once what''s another death." As Raymond was hyping himself up the system suddenly spoke.


    "Host please remember that you currently only have one life." Hearing what the system said dampened Raymond''s mood. Still, did the system say something weird?...


    "Hey system, you said I currently only have one life. Does that mean I can have multiple lives or I can revive?"


    "Host''s level is too low to access that information."


    "What level do I need to be then?"


    "Host''s level is too low to access that information."


    "..." Knowing that the system wouldn''t budge, Raymond no longer bothered asking. Instead, he felt a bit excited, if he grows strong enough it seems like even death would be nothing more than a triviality. As he was getting even more excited Raymond walked into the forest that was surrounding his Guild House.


    ...


    After a few minutes of walking, Raymond found the surrounding trees, insects and other things to be no different from what he has seen on earth. In fact, it was eerily similar that maybe he wasn''t in a different world at all.


    ''Maybe this world is like those novels were it''s similar to medieval earth, but with only slight differences. Though I also think this could be a fantasy world where dragons roam the sky, seeing as my stats has 1 mp, meaning magic must exist here...''


    ...


    While Raymond was walking around he finally spotted an animal. It was a rather large boar, heck it wasn''t just rather large it was bigger than he expected to be. It was two meters long and two meters thick, and by looking at it from the distance Raymond could see that it was even taller than him.


    Raymond seeing how big that boar was started thinking if he should back out and look for another smaller prey. Yet after thinking about it for a while, he decided to try it out. Raymond climbed up the nearest tree, and once he was positioned properly on one of the thicker branches, he got his bow and arrow ready. He aimed at the boar that was eating.


    As he pulled on his bowstring he could feel his hands shaking. He then tried to regulate his breathing calming himself down. His hands shook only slightly now. Raymond could feel his heart racing, he didn''t know if it was due to his anxiety or excitement, possibly both.


    Raymond then released his arrow, as he heard the twang of his bowstring he saw the arrow fly towards the boar. Due to him shooting from an elevated height the arrow seems to be flying forward much faster than when he was practicing.


    It looked like the arrow was going to hit, but then upon nearing the boar it just scraped its side.


    "ROAR"


    ''The f*cking boar actually roared like a lion!'' Raymond screamed in his mind. The boar turned around and spotted the person who shot the arrow, it then charged at the tree Raymond was on.


    Seeing the boar charging at him, Raymond was about to fire another arrow, but the boar was faster as it hit the tree he was on. The tree shook horrendously, Raymond was about to fall off. It was a good thing his reflexes were back in his peak state, so he was able to hang on. Though he didn''t fall the arrows he had all fell to the ground.


    Raymond then saw the boar was about to charge one more time. It once again hit the tree which made it shake even worse than before. It now felt like the tree was going to snap under the pressure. It was at that moment Raymond had an idea.


    This situation seems similar to the time he first encountered the Asylum Demon in D*rk S*uls. Raymond gripped his gladius and jumped down onto the large boar''s head. The blade pierced through the boar''s skull like it was butter. At first, the boar was moving around wildly, but after a few seconds, it started slowing down until finally, it stopped moving altogether.


    ''Level up''


    ''Level up''


    ''Level up''


    ''Level up''

 4 Level up

    Raymond was trembling in excitement after killing the large boar and was soaking in the feeling of victory when he was suddenly interrupted by multiple pinging sounds. He couldn''t even enjoy his first victory after coming to this new world.


    Still, he was rather excited seeing how much he leveled up. But he didn''t feel any different than before. Wasn''t he supposed to feel stronger after leveling up?


    [Task Completed!]


    [Task Reward: GACHA function will be unlocked, one free GACHA roll. Do you want to receive your reward, now? Y/N]


    Raymond clicked N for now as he wanted to check on his stats first. After doing that he quickly opened his status screen.


    [Status


    Name: Raymond


    Race: Human


    Class: Guild Master


    Level: 5


    HP: 72/72 MP: 1/1


    STR: 8


    AGI: 5


    DEX: 5


    INT: 4


    WIS: 4


    VIT: 6


    Luck: 3


    Attribute Points: 12


    Skills:


    Active: None


    Passive: Charm (max), Guild Master''s aura (max), I am the Guild Master (max)


    Guild House: Guild (Lvl 1)


    Guild members: 0/5


    NPC: 0/2


    EXP: 10/4200]


    Upon looking at the status screen Raymond noticed that instead of his stats going up after leveling, he was given attribute points. Aside from that he also noticed that the skill tree was unlocked as well.


    Though Raymond wanted to check on the skill tree, he first wanted to test out the attribute points. He wondered if he would feel a significant change after he used the attribute points. Since he wasn''t sure if he would feel the effects if he spread them out, Raymond decided to put all of his attribute points on strength.


    The moment his strength increased from 8 to 20, he felt a sudden surge of energy flow through him. There were no physical changes on his body, as it remained the same. He wasn''t sure if he truly became stronger so he tested it out. He took a stance and then kicked a nearby tree.


    The tree wasn''t as thick as the one the large boar was hitting, but it was still pretty thick. Yet the moment Raymond kicked it, the tree shook violently it almost looks like it would''ve been broken if he was a bit stronger.


    Back on earth even at his peak condition, the most he could do was make some leaves fall from a tree of this size, but now it shook violently and a lot of leaves fell down. The strength boost was real, he wondered if there was a level cap.


    "Hey, system, is there a level cap, or is there a limit on how much my stats can grow?"


    "The host doesn''t have a high enough level for me to answer." Hearing the system answer like that, Raymond gave up on asking again. No longer bothered by the uncooperative system, Raymond started to look at his skill tree.


    The skill tree was rather different from the other skill trees he has seen. For starters, the skills he could unlock weren''t just for his specific class which was Guild Master. He could also unlock skills from other classes which were, Martial Artist, Swordsman, Mage, Priest, and Archer. There were also common skills that all classes could use, and finally the Profession skills. The Profession skills were currently cooking, crafting, and farming. Like with his class, Raymond noticed that he had no restrictions in regards to Professions as well.


    "System, are these classes and Professions the ones my guild members could pick?"


    "Yes, for now, the classes and Professions are limited, but if the host works hard and levels up the system, there will be a lot more classes, Professions, and skills."


    "Wait... I can level you up! How do I do that?"


    "The host hasn''t fulfilled the prerequisites to hear the answer." Hearing what the system said, Raymond could only shrug his shoulders. He then noticed another tab in his UI, and it''s says Equipment. He also noticed that he had an actual Exp bar. When he checked his status screen before he didn''t see that, it must be because he was too excited by gaining a system.


    ''I''ll check on that later, for now, I need to look at what skills, I can get.'' Raymond saw that the skill tree was rather lackluster as there were only a few skills, and most of them were locked due to his low level.


    It would seem like he could unlock two skills from each class, one passive, and once active. To unlock a skill he needed to use SP, and currently, he has 8 SP.


    ''I guess I get 2 SP''s per level up. Now were should I used them on?... Normally I would use my SP on active skills since I like seeing if my skills look cool. But I can''t do that now, I need skills that could help me survive.''


    Raymond wanted to get the heal skill but when he looked at the skill description he was disappointed. The heal skill needed 2 mp to be used, he only had 1 mp. He should''ve increased his int or wis, maybe that would''ve increased his mp.


    ''No use regretting... I just need to make the best of what I have.''


    On the other hand, the active skills of the fighter classes, don''t seem to need MP. They consume stamina and something called accumulated power instead. Seeing as there was no stamina bar, Raymond though that using the skills would just make him feel a little tired. As for the accumulated power thing, he should get an explanation once he got the skill.


    The skills he could get for his class as a guild master were still locked, once again due to his low level. There was also the common skills that all classes could have, and the profession skills.


    After thinking for a bit, Raymond decided on what skills he needed the most to survive.


    ...


    Raymond''s current skills were now like this.


    Active: Inventory (Lvl 2), Battle cry (Lvl 1), Iron Skin (Lvl 1), Snipe (Lvl 1)


    Passive: Charm (max), Guild Master''s aura (max), I am the Guild Master (max), One-handed sword master (Lvl 1), Bow master (Lvl 1), Cooking (Lvl 1)

 5 GACHA

    After Raymond used his SP to gain new skills, the knowledge of those skills flowed through his mind. He now understood how to use his new abilities. Aside from that, a new bar appeared on his status screen. It was an accumulated power bar, it was something similar to fury and the rage bar in other games that had barbarian classes. So Raymond decided to call it the Rage bar instead since accumulated power bar sounded too long.


    The Rage bar fills up every time he successfully hits an enemy target. Once it fills up, he''s able to use either Iron Skin or Battle Cry, one was from the martial artist skill tree, and the other from the swordsman skill tree. He also had the snipe skill from the archer skill tree which can be used continuously and has a cooldown of ten seconds.


    Once he was done understanding what the new skills do, Raymond touched the large boar and then placed it into his inventory.


    Aside from those three class active skills, Raymond got a lot of passive skills. Which helped him understand his weapons better.


    He also had one common skill which was the inventory (Lvl 2) skill. The inventory was something like a spatial pocket, were he could store his items. Basically, it was like any inventory in games. The level of the inventory skill determines how big the spatial pocket was.


    Then finally there was his one Profession skill which was cooking. He got the skill since Raymond didn''t know how to cook the large boar.


    "Hey System, why didn''t I have a cooking skill at the beginning. I already know how to cook, so shouldn''t I have cooking level one right from the get-go?"


    "Does the host think that being able to cook an egg could be considered cooking?" Though her voice was rather robotic, Raymond could still somehow hear a mocking tone.


    "Hey, don''t you know that eggs are the symbol of life. Being able to cook eggs should make me a cooking God."


    "... The host seems to have sustained brain damage. Will now commence brain massage via electrocution." Raymond was about to retort, but before he could do so he was electrocuted.


    ''The f*cking system actually electrocuted me!''


    ''Host you do know I can read your mind. Stop slandering this honest system, I just did this in the best interest of the host who seems to be delusional.'' Hearing the system''s answer Raymond no longer bothered arguing with it.


    He then checked his equipment, and it turns out to be quite normal. The gladius only showed the stats of its attacking power, and the armor only showed its defense attributes. There was nothing special with his equipment.


    Once he was done checking the new things, Raymond finally accepted the mission reward, and the Gacha function was unlocked. Seeing the Gacha function Raymond was extremely excited, as even before he was transported here, the thing he liked the most was the feeling of the Gacha game. You either go big or go home crying.


    In the Gacha function, you can win anything from items, equipment, mounts, and summoned NPCs.


    "Hey system, how can I have more chances in doing more Gacha rolls."


    "The host needs to defeat specific enemies to gain Gacha points to be able to do more rolls."


    "What are these specific enemies and where can I find them?"


    "You will know when you see them, as for where to find them the host needs to look for himself."


    "You really are a useless system aren''t you?"


    "Host if you slander me any more than this, I will think that there is something wrong with the host''s brain and will need to perform another massage (electrocution)."


    "... Whatever, just do the Gacha roll already." The Gacha function started to roll as Raymond prayed to the RNG Gods for an SSR. When it stopped rolling the system notified him of what he got.


    [Acquired Rare NPC Royal Knight.] A card then appeared before Raymond, and in it was a picture of a knight that looked rather familiar. It looked like one of the knights in an old game he used to play. A stream of information about how to use the card was sent to his mind.


    Raymond then activated the card and a 191 cm tall knight appeared before him. The knight was fully covered in plate armor and he had a kite shield on his left hand and a spear on his right hand. A new tab appeared in Raymond''s UI. It was a tab for the NPCs he had, the UI was getting even more complicated than before, which excited Raymond.


    As he was getting excited by himself, the knight NPC stood in front of Raymond without moving or saying a word.


    "Hello, do you understand me?" Raymond tried communicating with the knight but it didn''t respond.


    "Is this Sir Knight okay, why isn''t he responding to me?"


    "The NPCs created at this stage have simple AI''s and can only respond to the commands attack, defend, and follow. They''re unable to talk to you or respond like a normal human being. They also don''t need to eat and sleep." Hearing the system''s answer made Raymond a bit sad. He thought that he would be able to talk to another person aside from the system.


    ''Well, whatever let''s check his stats for now.'' Raymond opened the NPC tab on his UI.


    [NPC 1:


    Name: (Guild Master should assign a name)


    Race: Human


    Class: Royal Knight


    Level: 1


    HP: 182/182


    STR: 27


    AGI: 17


    DEX: 18


    INT: 8


    WIS: 9


    VIT: 20


    Luck: 11


    Skills:


    Active: Spear charge (Lvl 1), Iron Wall (Lvl 1)


    Passive: Spear Mastery (max), loyalty to the master (max), Knight''s honor (max)


    EXP: 0/1200]


    ''What the heck! This guy is way more powerful than me and he''s just level 1! As expected from a Rare drop, with this, I can hunt more freely, time to level up some more!'' As Raymond was getting even more pumped up he noticed something weird.


    "Hey system, why are there aren''t any more tasks given?"


    "Tasks will be given at the appropriate time. The host can also look for some tasks to do."


    ''Well, whatever I''ll just try looking around for more monsters and level up a bit more before returning to the Guild House.''

 6 Join me

    A sixteen-year-old boy and a fourteen-year-old girl were running for their lives. Chasing behind them were a group of men. As the siblings neared the forest they stopped for a bit.


    "Brother that''s the Elisora Forest, no one goes in there and lives. There are many monsters in that forest."


    "We either die by monsters or be played around by those bandits and sold into slavery. I would rather take my chances on the monsters." No longer hesitating the two entered the forest. When the bandits saw the two actually entering the forest, they stopped.


    "Boss aren''t we going to follow them in?" One of the bandits asked their leader.


    "Do you know what that place is? If you want to go and capture the brats then be my guest." Hearing what his boss said, the bandit turned silent.


    "Well, we did capture a lot today, losing two kids ain''t a big deal. Come on let''s get back and bring the new merchandise and have a drink at the hideout." The bandits no longer bothered with the two brats as they headed back.


    ...


    Inside the forest, the older boy was holding onto his little sister''s hand while warily moving forward. There were a lot of rumors about this forest, about it being infested with monsters. Usually, if there was a monster den in the area, the knights of the kingdom would''ve handled them. But Elisora forest was different, as every attempt to subjugate the monsters have failed miserably.


    Since Elisora was at the edge of the Kingdom''s borders it was hard to send knights to deal with the problem. It took a lot of resources to send even a few knights to the area. So after so many failed attempts the Kingdom no longer sent any knights.


    ...


    While they were cautiously moving forward, the siblings suddenly heard the rustling of some bushes. When they heard this they started to run. As they kept on running, they felt like there were now many more things following them. When they felt their hearts beating so fast that it felt like it would burst, It was then a group of green-skinned monsters appeared before them. They were small monsters that were half the size of an adult human, they looked at the siblings while brandishing different types of weapons. Seeing the monsters in from of them, made the little sister tremble in fear.


    "Brother I''m scared."


    "Don''t worry Roselia, I''ll protect you no matter what." As the brother comforted his little sister, he noticed that they were now surrounded by these green-skinned monsters. He let go of his sister''s hand and got a rock from the ground. He was ready to make a path for his sister to run away. As he was readying himself for his death struggle, a spear pierced one of the monsters.


    The siblings then saw a knight wearing a majestic looking armor killing the monsters. Then from behind them, another person appeared. Though he wasn''t wearing any flashy armor like the knight, his movements were agile and elegant. It was as if he was dancing with his sword as he slew one monster after another.


    While the siblings were mesmerized with the mysterious man''s swordplay they saw one of the green-skinned monsters was about to stab him in the back.


    "Look out!" Roselia shouted, but the man with leather armor didn''t even bother to dodge as the dagger was about to pierce him. To the siblings'' surprise, the ma didn''t die as the dagger was unable to pierce his skin, in fact, the dagger broke upon contact.


    What was his skin made of, is this reason why he wears such light armor? When the siblings thought they wouldn''t be any more surprised than this, the man did something even more amazing. He pointed his finger at one of the monsters and a ball of fire shot forth, burning the monster to cinders.


    It didn''t take long for the duo to kill off all the monsters present. Even though there was a lot of blood that sprayed from the monsters, the two didn''t get hit by a single drop. The knight then stood behind the man wearing leather armor.


    When the siblings saw this, they guessed that maybe the young man before them was a noble lord. The siblings quickly knelt on the ground.


    "My lord thank you for saving us." After a moment of silence, the older sibling looked up and saw the stern expression on the noble lord''s face. They might''ve offended the lord, as he was thinking about how to salvage the situation, the noble Lord spoke.


    "Do you desire power?" The siblings were now looking at the noble lord''s face confused as to why he asked.


    "Rise and answer me. Do you desire power?" Hearing what the noble Lord said, the two rose from their kneeling position and still looked confused.


    "I will ask you once more, do you desire power?" The noble lord was now looking impatient. So the older sibling clenched his fist and answered.


    "Yes my lord, I do desire power." Hearing the older sibling''s answer, the noble lord nodded his head and looked at the younger one.


    "How about you, do you desire power?" Roselia hesitated for a bit and looked at her brother who nodded his head.


    "Yes, I do my lord." Hearing their confirmation the noble lord smiled as he raised his hand. A bright light shone before the siblings and within that light two scrolls appeared.


    "Then, say your names and pledge your allegiance to me, Raymond, proclaim me as your Guild Master." The siblings didn''t understand what a Guild Master was, but seeing the numerous miracles happen before their eyes, they no longer hesitated.


    "I Brom pledge my allegiance to you Lord Raymond my Guild Master."


    "I Roselia pledge my allegiance to you Lord Raymond my Guild Master."


    Once the siblings spoke those words, the scrolls in front of them opened up and some writing appeared on the blank page. They assumed that the large letters were their names, they had no idea as they didn''t know how to read. The two scrolls disappeared and then a flow of information came flooding into their minds.


    [Congratulations on becoming a Guild member. Please choose your class.] The siblings were surprised to see the floating words in front of them, but what surprised them, even more, was that they could understand the words. They could now actually read!

 7 Character selection

    [Recruit future Guild Members: Rescue the siblings that are being attacked by goblins and recruit them into the Guild. (Completed)]


    [Reward: +2 SPs, +5 Attribute points, and one Gacha roll.]


    [Do you want to receive your reward now? Y/N]


    While the siblings were distracted Raymond clicked Y. As he did that the system suddenly spoke.


    ''Host congratulations for being able to satisfy your chuunibyou.''


    ''I ain''t no chuuni! Also, you''re the one that told me that I need to make a good first impression. You told me to act like a cool Guild Master.''


    ''If that''s the host impression of being a cool Guild Master the host really is a chuuni.''


    Raymond gritted his teeth as he was thinking about how to respond. It has been a few days since Raymond came to this world, and he already understood that the system was, the kind of system that would counter everything he said. If he ever wins an argument or insulted the system, the system would threaten him with a massage (electrocution).


    ...


    While Raymond was arguing with the system, the siblings were about to pick their classes. Due to the information given to them by the system, the siblings understood what classes mean. Basically they needed to pick something like their occupation.


    The two new Guild Members were now on the character selection screen. They were given five classes to select. Upon selecting a character a short video of what they could do was shown. Seeing something like that for the first time, the siblings looked at each one with anticipation.


    The first class they looked at was the martial artist. Upon clicking on the class a video played in front of them. In that video, the siblings saw a lone man being surrounded by multiple men with swords.


    Despite the overwhelming odds in front of him, the martial artist was calm. The swordsmen charged at the martial artist, and they slashed at him from different angles. But upon contact with the martial artist skin, the swords were unable to slice through.


    The martial artist then proceeded to pummel the swordsmen with his bare fist. Kicks and punches were done in quick successions, hitting the swordsmen and pushing them back. The martial artist then jumped upward to the sky and released a palm strike.


    A huge hand came from above squashing the swordsmen down below. The martial artist then landed on the ground bowed at his fallen opponents and left.


    After watching the video for the martial artist, the siblings grew excited. Will they be able to become that strong if they choose the martial artist class? The two wanted to pick the class immediately but stopped as they decided to see what the other classes could do first, before choosing one.


    ...


    The next class was the swordsman class. When the two saw this they weren''t as intrigued as before, since they thought that the swordsman class was weak. Seeing as the martial artist killed a ton of them. Though they were reluctant they still watched the video.


    Once again a man was standing in an open field this time he had a sword at hand, and his opponents were around three people.


    The lone swordsman chuckled and provoked the three other people which infuriated them into attacking. Once the enemy swordsmen were near, the lone swordsman slashed in a wide arc. The three swordsmen blocked the attack but were still pushed back.


    Once the three swordsmen were pushed back a few meters, the lone swordsman smiled cockily at them and charged. The three swordsmen were about to intercept, but then as they slashed at the lone swordsman his body blurred. The lone swordsman then moved at a super-fast pace that made him look like he had clones attacking the three from all directions.


    The three swordsmen were unable to react as they were sliced into pieces. After his opponents were gone the swordsman sheathed his sword and left.


    ...


    Seeing that they were wrong about the swordsman, the siblings quickly checked the other classes. The next one was the Archer class, so this time it was a long-range class. When they clicked on the video, they saw a beautiful maiden jumping from one tree to another.


    Below the trees were other archers ready to fire at the maiden. The maiden then quickly moved from tree to tree to evade the arrows, as she moved she also fired back. Each arrow she released would kill one of her enemies.


    The maiden saw the enemies had lined up in a straight line, so she jumped down from the trees, and pulled on her bowstring her arrow glowed red as she released it. That one arrow pierced through all that stood in its way.


    ...


    After the archer, was the mage class. The siblings couldn''t understand what a mage was, so they were quite curious to watch what the class can do.


    A robed individual carrying a staff was in the middle of an open field. Similar to the martial artist class he was surrounded, but the number of enemies was twice as much. The mage raised his staff and pointed it at the enemies ahead. A ball of fire came forth and engulfed the enemies.


    The mage then fired a second shot and this time a large spear made of ice pierced through enemy lines. As the enemies got closer the mage raised his staff above his head, and dark clouds started to gather. The mage pointed his staff at the remaining enemies and bolts of lightning came down, killing off the enemies that were charging.


    ...


    Was the mage class a God, it summoned fire and lightning, was this perhaps the strongest class? The siblings then thought about it for a while and felt like though the mage had a lot of firepower they never saw it move or take a hit like the other classes. Maybe it had no defense capabilities, so once you get near it might be vulnerable. With that as their last thoughts, about the mage class, they checked the final class priest.


    The priest that the siblings know off were old men that preach the way of their Gods. They weren''t combat-ready and were only people that know how to talk. So they weren''t sure what to expect from the priest class.


    ...


    Once again another person wearing robes appeared in the middle of an open field. This time the robes were white, and there seems to be two swordsmen fighting. One of which was badly wounded. The priest pointed his open palm at the wounded swordsman. A holy light covered the swordsman and his wounds gradually healed.


    The scene changed and this time there were numerous individuals on the ground that looked like they were poisoned. The priest then knelt on the ground and started praying. A small circle of holy light enveloped the poisoned individuals, and after a few seconds, they were no longer poisoned.


    Finally, the scene changed for one last time. An army of knights were attacking another army of knights. The priest raised both his hands and a beam of holy light surrounded the army of knights on the same side as the priest. The knights that were at a stalemate started to overpower the army that they were facing.


    The priest then knelt on the ground exhausted but he had a smile on his face.


    ...


    That was the end of the video, the siblings now had some basic idea of what each class does. They wanted to ask the Guild Master about his opinion, but upon looking at his stern face they decided to talk between themselves.

 8 Information

    The siblings started talking about the pros and cons of each class were. To the two of them, the most important con of each class was that the classes needed weapons. The siblings were currently penniless, they had nothing on them to buy weapons. They couldn''t ask Raymond for equipment, as they didn''t want to bother the Guild Master more than they already did.


    So the two decided to pick the classes that didn''t need weapons. Brom picked the powerful martial artist class that used only their body to battle, while Roselia chose the priest class to support her brother.


    When the two picked their classes, they got different notifications. For Brom the notification he got was.


    [Class: Martial Artist]


    [A powerful fighter that uses nothing but his powerful fists and legs. "I need no weapons for I am the weapon."]


    [Gained Passive ability: Unarmed combat mastery (Lvl 1)]


    Roselia also received her own notification.


    [Class: Priest]


    [A blessed soul willing to sacrifice herself for the safety of others. "May the holy light bless us all."]


    [Gained Active ability: Minor healing (Lvl 1)]


    Once they read their notifications a flow of information came into the siblings'' minds. The two felt enthralled by the new power they received especially Brom. Though he was a rather hot-blooded young lad, that used to get into fights, he wasn''t skillful in it.


    Now that he gained the passive ability of Unarmed combat mastery (Lvl 1), he felt like he could take just about anyone with his fist alone. He wanted to try out his new power, but as he was thinking that he heard a voice that interrupted his thoughts.


    "Follow me."


    ...


    After Raymond received the notification that his two guild members finished selecting their classes, he told them to follow him back to the guild house. After days of staying in this God-forsaken forest, Raymond knew that staying in one place for a prolonged period of time was bad.


    While trying to level up, Raymond had looked around the area near the safe zone which was the guild house. By exploring the forest he learned that the further he was from the Guild House the more monsters that shouldn''t be anywhere near a beginner village start showing up.


    He also learned that the area surrounding the Guild house was a place no monster would come near. The system told him that the Guild House was a safe zone, in regards to monsters, it was able to fool them to move far away from the place.


    The system also said that due to its current weak state, that its defenses weren''t up to standards at the moment. Due to these imperfections in the defense, there were some monsters that were able to stumble upon the Guild House, but they were easy to deal with. Unfortunately, more intelligent lifeforms such as humans can''t be fooled the same way. So it urged Raymond to level up and finish all his tasks so that the system could upgrade itself.


    ...


    As they were walking, Raymond was checking out the stats of the siblings, since he saw a new tab in his UI. It was a tab called Guild Members, in it were the statistics of his new guild members.


    [Status


    Name: Brom


    Race: Human


    Class: Martial Artist


    Level: 1


    HP: 52/52


    STR: 5


    AGI: 3


    DEX: 3


    INT: 3


    WIS: 4


    VIT: 6


    Luck: 7


    Skills:


    Active: None


    Passive: Undying Body (max), Unarmed Combat Mastery (Lvl 1), Farming (Lvl 2)


    EXP: 0/100]


    [Status


    Name: Roselia


    Race: Human


    Class: Priest


    Level: 1


    HP: 31/31 MP: 7/7


    STR: 2


    AGI: 3


    DEX: 5


    INT: 6


    WIS: 3


    VIT: 3


    Luck: 10


    Skills:


    Active: Minor healing (Lvl 1)


    Passive: Undying body (max), Sewing (Lvl 2)


    EXP: 0/100]


    ''What the heck, both of them have higher luck than me?! Also, what''s this undying body?''


    ''The undying body allows your guild members to resurrect in respawn sites ten minutes after they die. Once their body dies their soul is then placed into the system, and with their data, a backup body with the same stats will be formed and the soul will be placed in it. Currently, the host can set three areas as respawn sites. The undying body isn''t all-powerful Guild members can still die from old age.''


    ''Hey, why do they have an undying body and I don''t?!''


    ''The host is a foreign substance and not a part of this world. To resurrect the host''s body will require more power, which I currently don''t have. The system needs to be upgraded for the host to share the same benefit as the guild members.''


    "My lord where are we going?" Raymond was startled when he heard Brom''s voice, but he immediately went back to his stern expression.


    "Don''t call me lord, call me Guild Master."


    "... Guild Master where are we going?" Brom once again asked, a little bit concerned as they were going deeper into the forest.


    "We are heading to the place you will live in from now on." After giving his answer Raymond no longer spoke. He didn''t speak much since he didn''t want to lose his aura of dignity. He wanted to play the role of the cool, serious, mysterious Guild Master.


    ...


    After a few minutes, the group finally arrived at the Guild house. The area of the Guild House looked different from the time Raymond first arrived here. Now there was a barricade of wood covering the area of the guild house, and wooden spikes on the ground.


    Raymond was able to do all this as he invested some points into craftsmanship which helped him make some basic things with wood. Upon entering the area of the Guild house the siblings noticed a beautiful wooden cabin beside a lake. There was also a small cornfield by the side.


    The reason for the cornfield was because of the lack of food. After hunting most of the prey, Raymond quickly found out that there were fewer animals to eat, in the area. Though based on what the system said he could eat monster meat, Raymond refused to eat those disgusting looking monsters.


    So he also placed points into the Profession of farming. The first time he planted the seeds, he was given a freebie that would allow them to grow instantaneously. Now, most of the time he eats a bit of meat and mostly corn for sustenance.


    ...


    After showing the siblings their new rooms, Raymond brought them to the kitchen were the dining table was. He made the siblings a quick meal and fed them, once they were done eating Raymond could finally talk to them properly.


    "So why have you come to this forest?"


    "We were being chased by bandits, our village has been destroyed, and most of the women and children have been captured. Our mom and dad were killed in the raid." Brom gritted his teeth as he answered Raymond.


    ''What a cliche event... Well, if I follow the normal standard, the next thing I should say is.''


    "I see... So do you wish to take revenge on those bandits?" Raymond asked as he rested his face on his fist.


    "... I do, I wish to take the lives of those bandit scum." Brom answered in an almost growl like voice. Roselia was also showing a face full of determination.


    "Then you should do it... But before you could do that you need more experience, more power. I don''t want you two to die on me after you just join my Guild. So before you head out to get your revenge, you need to have sufficient power to take it."


    "How do we gain more power?"


    "Don''t you already know?" When Brom and Roselia heard Raymond''s reply, they remembered the information they got when they become Guild Members. To get stronger they needed to level up, to level up they needed to complete certain tasks or to kill.


    "Alright now that you know what to do, I have some questions for you. As you can see, I and John over here have lived in this forest for a long time, and we don''t know anything about the outside world. So can you tell me what''s the outside world like right now."


    Hearing Raymond''s question Brom and Roselia answered the best that they could. The forest that they were in was called Elisora forest, which was within the Western Human kingdom. There were three kingdoms on the continent that the siblings knew of. The Northern Dwarven Kingdom, and the Eastern Demi-Human Kingdom.


    The village the siblings came from was called Raul Village, and they were part of the Valiere Duchy. That was all they knew, and that was based on what they heard from the traveling merchants that visit the village.


    "What''s the nearest city from here?"


    "The nearest city would be Netter City, it''s a two day walk from here to there."


    Hearing this new information, Raymond received a new task.


    [New Task: Help the siblings in their revenge.]

 9 PVP

    [New Task: Help the siblings in their revenge.]


    [The siblings have now become your Guild Members. As their Guild Master, you must ensure that your Guild Members are fully loyal to you. To achieve this you must help the siblings destroy the bandit group that attacked their village.]


    [Special Requirement: The siblings need to have the most bandit kills]


    [Task Reward: +2 attribute points, +1 SP, 50000exp, and one Gacha spin]


    [Failure Penalty: Affinity with siblings lowers to neutral. Lose one level.]


    Seeing the task reward made Raymond happy, since if he completes the task he can finally do ten Gacha spins. But this was the first time he saw a failure penalty. After giving him the information he needed the siblings went to their rooms to rest. Once he was alone in the kitchen Raymond spoke to the system.


    ''Hey system what is this failure penalty?''


    ''Does the host fail to understand what penalty means? I can''t believe that the host''s current intelligence is at 14, there must be a glitch in my processing, the host intelligence should be -14 instead.''


    ''What the heck! I know I don''t look it, with my incredible body and my six-pack, but back in my high school days, I was in the top ten of my class.''


    The moment he finished talking Raymond was electrocuted. At first, Raymond thought that he could tank the electrocution once he levels up, yet no matter how high his Vit was he couldn''t handle the electrocution. In fact, with his current skills of Iron Skin (Lvl 3) and martial artist''s vigor (Lvl 2), allowed him to tank the large boar he fought during his first day in this world without a scratch.


    Because of Raymond''s fear of dying in this unknown world without being able to achieve anything, he focused more on the attributes Agi and Vit. This was so he could evade and tank any opponents'' attacks. So with his current stats which were far better than before, he felt like he should be able to handle the systems electrocution.


    Yet the reality was different from his expectations, as no matter how strong he got, the electrocution still hurt as much as before.


    ''Does the host feel better now?''


    ''...''


    ...


    On the following day, Raymond and his two guild members were standing a meter apart in front of the guild house. It would seem that they were about to initiate a fight as both Raymond and Brom took their stance. The reason for this was because of what happened moments ago.


    "So for you guys to get used to your new abilities, how about we have a little sparring match?" When Raymond said those words a notification popped up for the three of them.


    [Entering PVP mode]


    [Fighting until only one side remains standing. Losing condition is if ones HP reaches lower than 10%.]


    [Do you wish to continue Y/N]


    ''Another new function? This time it''s a PVP mode... There''s a lot of things that this system could do. It should stop calling itself the Guild system and be called the RPG system instead.''


    ''The host is slandering me again. All of the other modes are just there to help you create the strongest guild. The main job of the host is still to create the strongest guild. More updates will be made once the host is able to upgrade the system. All of the updates will help the host create the strongest guild. In fact, the more you upgrade me and the Guild the more freedom you will have.''


    Hearing what the system said made Raymond feel hyped. He had many ideas on how to create a strong guild based on the different novels and animes he has seen. Maybe if he has access to the inner workings of the system, he could do one of his ideas.


    "Guild Master, what is this, what''s PVP?" Roselia who has mostly been silent asked Raymond.


    "PVP is basically a duel of sorts, it''s basically asking if we''ll fight. You don''t need to join us, Roselia, only me and your brother will do the PVP. Brom are you ready?" Still, a bit confused Brom just nodded his head.


    "Then click Y." The two of them clicked on the Y button.


    [PVP will start in 3... 2... 1, FIGHT!]


    Raymon stood still, while Brom took a stance. He wasn''t so sure, but like before the moment the PVP began, information on what to do was directly sent into his mind. He couldn''t understand why this information wasn''t given beforehand, but it didn''t matter right now. Since he was given a chance to test out his new power, he had no complaints.


    Roselia who was watching at the side also received a more detailed explanation of what PVP was. Even though this was her third time receiving information directly in her mind, it still felt a bit weird. Though she still had many questions, she kept quiet as she watched her brother face the unfathomable Guild Master.


    Brom looked at the casual way Raymond stood. With his new ability, unarmed combat mastery (Lvl 1) Brom could see all the openings Raymond was making. No longer hesitating Brom charged forward and attacked. He was surprised by how refined his movement was even while running. As he got close he punched forward, Brom was sure that his attack would connect, but then Raymond just swayed his body a bit evading the attack.


    Brom was shocked, but he didn''t let up on his attack as he did a roundhouse kick. Even with that great transition from punch to kick, Raymond easily evaded. But that didn''t stop Brom who started attacking with both his fist and his legs, and he did so with fluent movement. Each attack he made was so precise and flowed fluently that it made him excited. Even though he still couldn''t hit Raymond, Brom was amazed at how good he was at fighting now.


    If it was before he wouldn''t even be able to do a single punch properly, like the punches he was doing now. Raymond who was on the receiving end of Brom''s attacks was amazed. He wasn''t expecting the unarmed combat master to be this good a skill. Raymond used to be a martial artist but his skill wasn''t as great as Brom''s. That would mean unarmed combat mastery (Lvl 1) could make one into a martial arts expert, and that was just level 1.


    It was a shame that even without the same unarmed combat mastery, Raymond could easily dodge the more skilled Brom. The reason behind this was their stats, in Raymond''s point of view Brom was hardly moving at all.


    ''I guess I have a rough estimate on how good the unarmed combat mastery is now. Better finish this fight.''


    Raymond then casually threw a punch at Brom. Seeing the incoming punch Brom wanted to evade but he wasn''t fast enough. So he tried blocking the attack, but then as Raymond''s punch hit him, Brom could feel the bones of his arms breaking. Unable to stop the attack, Brom flew a few meters away hitting a nearby tree.


    Brom''s HP quickly turned depleted into zero, which surprised Raymond. As he and Roselia were both shocked by the development Brom''s body slowly vanished.


    "BROTHER!" As Roselia screamed a notification window appeared before Raymond.


    [Victory]

 10 leveling

    Brom saw a lot of notification windows appeared one after another.


    [Received a fatal attack]


    [You have died]


    [Will Respawn in ten minutes]


    [Exp decrease 20%]


    Those were the last things he saw before he lost consciousness.


    ...


    Brom who felt like he took a nap suddenly heard a voice speaking in his mind. It was the soulless voice of a woman.


    [Debuff: All stats are lowered 20% for the next thirty minutes]


    After that, he felt somebody suddenly lunged at him. Brom slowly opened his eyes and he saw his little sister hugging him. He noticed that she was screaming something but he couldn''t hear it, in fact, he couldn''t hear anything.


    He then saw the Guild Master approach him. Once the Guild Master was near, he could suddenly hear what his little sister was screaming.


    "Brother! Don''t scare me like that, I thought I lost you!" Brom was confused at first, but then he remembered what happened. He died while doing the PVP, no he was killed by the Guild Master. Though he revived he should be angry at the Guild Master that he made his little sister cry, but for some reason, he just didn''t feel that way. He couldn''t get angry at the Guild Master, in fact, he didn''t feel any negative emotion towards the Guild Master.


    Even Roselia felt like she was supposed to be mad at Raymond for killing her brother wasn''t even a little bit angry at the Guild Master. She even thought that the Guild Master was rather handsome, even though her mind was telling her his face was average. As the siblings were getting a bit confused about why they were feeling this way, Raymond looked at Brom. He was trying to see if there were any changes in his looks after reviving.


    Seeing as there were no visible changes in his outer appearance Raymond sighed in relief. He then scratched his head as he spoke to Brom and Roselia.


    "Sorry, you two... It''s been a while since I fought anything aside from monsters. So I wasn''t able to control my strength properly. Though I do know you guys can revive I still made a mistake and I apologize for that."


    "... Guild Master... Are you a God, or perhaps a Demi-God?..." Brom and Roselia looked at Raymond with both reverence and fear. If Raymond was a God everything would make sense. He was the one who granted them abilities, and not only that he even gave them a body that couldn''t die. If he was not a God or someone related to one, then how was he able to do such miraculous things?


    ''How can the host be a God, when he can''t even upgrade this system. This system is the one doing all the work and the host is the one getting praised, how illogical.'' The robotic system actually sounded a bit sulky. Raymond didn''t bother answering the system as he shook his head.


    "I am no God nor am I a Demi-God. I''m just a Guild Master of a nameless Guild." Listening to his answer the siblings didn''t believe him.


    "Well, though I''m sorry for killing you, we need to go out and hunt. You two need to level up quickly. Once you two are at an appropriate level, we can go and kill those bandits that took everything from you."


    When the siblings heard that they could take revenge, their eyes lit with a deadly fire. They wanted to quickly get stronger.


    "Alright, seeing as you guys are all fired up. Let''s go out and level up!"


    ...


    Six hours after they started their journey to level up, the siblings were already tired. They had killed numerous monsters near the Guild House.


    While they were beating one monster after another, Raymond noticed that the level up of the siblings was different from his. When Raymond level-ups he gets attribute points in which he can use to increase his stats. On the other hand, when the siblings level up, they get a specific boost on their stats, they are unable to control it. The only thing they could control was their skill tree.


    ...


    Though each level up gave them an incredible feeling of getting powerful, it didn''t help Brom and Roselia deal with their fatigue. The first time they killed one of the monsters in the forest, the siblings felt ecstatic, but as they continued doing it continuously for six hours without any breaks, they felt exhausted.


    Raymond and John didn''t join in the fight, as the monsters Brom and Roselia were killing no longer gave them Exp. So the only time they joined in was when they saw that the siblings were in danger. They did this since dying was inefficient.


    Even though they could revive, they would be revived in the Guild House and lose Exp, so they needed to walk back to their current location. That would be very inefficient, so Raymond and John became something like bodyguards.


    Raymond could kill all the monsters, but if he parties with the siblings and they share exp the leveling of the siblings would slow down considerably. Also, this was so they can practice their co-op skills.


    After ten hours of continuous grinding, Raymond was satisfied with how much the siblings leveled up. Once they reach a certain level, he could finally leave the forest and explore the new world he was in.

 11 Leaving the Fores

    Two days after their gruesome leveling spree, the siblings finally hit level twenty. Raymond didn''t know how strong the bandits were, but with their current levels he feels like he could take them. Also, he wanted to leave the forest already.


    Raymond was quite excited going on his first adventure in this new world. The siblings weren''t'' useful regarding information. They were normal everyday villagers that didn''t even step foot outside their village, before they were attacked by bandits.


    The only information they had about the outside world was from things traveling bards and merchants told them. The information by the bards were pretty much hit and miss, as they tend to exaggerate certain things. On the other hand, the information given by the traveling merchants were also a subject of doubt. Since they admitted that most of what they were saying were basically rumors.


    ''I wonder what the dwarves look like here, are they the same as the dwarves the people of my world imagined? How about the demi-humans, are they the legendary cat people! Will I finally get a cat girl waifu!''


    The system''s robotic voice interrupted his daydreaming.


    ''The host should stop daydreaming about catgirls and start thinking more about how to improve. The stronger the host gets the better it is for you and me.''


    As Raymond was about to respond to the system he saw the siblings running towards him wearing their new armor set. Brom was wearing eastern style clothing with gauntlets, he looked like the monk from Di*blo 3.


    Roselia, on the other hand, was wearing a priestess outfit similar to the beginner priestesses in R.O. The two got the equipment from Raymond, who in turn got it from the system. He found out that the system had a cash shop, but he was unable to access it due to him having no money.


    The system needed the currency used by the people of this world. Even with a system and in a different world, he still needed money to enjoy himself.


    This was one more reason why Raymond wanted to go out of the forest, so he could get money. So he then started haggling with the system, I asked for a loan. Once he gets the money he would immediately pay for the equipment.


    ...


    The party of three finally set off on their first adventure from the Elisora forest to the nearest town. John the NPC knight was left in the Guild House to protect it.


    After leaving the forest the first place they headed was the former village Brom and Roselia lived in. Upon arriving at their old village, they saw nothing but burnt houses and fields. They even saw dead bodies that attracted some wildlife. They already knew that this was what they would see, but seeing it in person still affected the siblings.


    Roselia was trying hard to hold her tears from falling, while Brom clenched his fist. He then looked at Raymond and asked.


    "Guild Master, can you revive them? If you can revive them they can join the guild and help you in whatever you want to do." Brom didn''t know how powerful Raymond was, but he knew that he was powerful enough to grant his sister and him undying bodies. Maybe he could do the same to these dead people.


    "I cannot do that... Like I said before, I am no God. Even the strongest ability of the Priest class, Ressurection cannot revive people that have been dead for a long time."


    Though Raymond answered with a face full of indifference the truth was he was also affected by the sight of dead bodies. In fact he almost puked when he saw the dead bodies. He already knew that this world wasn''t all fun and games. He has even killed numerous monsters by now and was about to kill some bandits. But seeing a dead human body that was killed this way was a first for him. He had tried to prepare himself mentally but it was no use. The scene before him was a real-life fantasy horror.


    "If you want you can offer them a proper burial. I''ll be waiting at the Village''s exit, once you''re done we''re leaving." After saying that Raymond left the scene no longer able to handle it. Brom simply nodded his head and started working.

 12 Knight-apprentices

    Brom dug a huge hole on the ground and placed all the bodies he could find into that hole. He wasn''t sure which one were his parents, his aunt, and uncle. All the bodies have been torn, burnt, or eaten. There was no possible way to verify who was who.


    Roselia looked at all the dead bodies and was no longer able to hold it in and started to cry. Seeing his little sister act that way, Brom had no words to comfort her. So he continued to pile up the bodies into a mass grave. Once he was done he started burying them under the land.


    ...


    While Raymond''s group was getting sidetracked, a group of three youths wearing gambesons and had short swords on their waist were heading to the same town, Raymond and his group were heading to.


    "Hey, are we really doing this?" One of the youths spoke a little bit hesitant.


    "If we don''t do this, then we''ll never match up to those upper-class snobs. Even though we''re not the firstborns, we''re still children of nobility. We got to show those b*stards that we can do better than them." Another youth with a fierce look on his face responded while raising his fist up in the air.


    "Daniel is right Rei, we gotta do this." The tallest of the three youths spoke with determination in his tone.


    "But wasn''t this quest the highest difficulty. It clearly stated that third to fourth-year knight apprentices were recommended to take the quest. Are you sure about this, Lux? " Daniel still looked a bit scared.


    "That''s just a recommendation, it doesn''t mean we can''t take it. Also, if it wasn''t this hard, then it wouldn''t be worth doing it. Don''t worry Daniel, we''re just going to scout the area. If it looks like it''s too much for us then we retreat." Lux smiled reassuringly at Daniel. Hearing what Lux said finally calmed Daniel down a bit.


    ...


    The three were knight apprentices from the custodians of iron, a local knight academy of the city of Scorchrun. After taking a quest from school to subjugate the bandits near the borders of the human kingdom and demi-human kingdom, they headed town that requested for the subjugation.


    It was a bustling town with a lot of security, as they saw a lot of local watchmen. As the trio walked through the streets, they noticed an abundance of crippled homeless people. Some of which approached them, unfortunately, they had nothing to give. They might be knight apprentices and noble children, but they were broke. They were only slightly better of the peasants, in fact even a merchant was better than them. They had no money, no claim to a noble title, and were only barely allowed to attend the knight academy.


    ...


    After evading more of the beggars, the trio headed to the mayor''s house. Unlike nobles, the mayor was an elected individual who governs a small piece of land. Upon arriving at the mayor''s house the first thing that came to to their minds was ''what a big house.''


    Though the mayor was a powerful individual within his town, he was an ordinary citizen except for the title. But this mayor seems to be loaded, the trio then thought that the mayor might be a merchant. Since only nobles and rich merchants could afford to live in such a house.


    Lux then knocked on the door, and the one to open it was a very attractive woman wearing what looks to be a modified maid''s uniform. This maid uniform emphasized the parts that were supposed to be emphasized on a female body.


    "How can I help you my dear Sirs?" The maid smiled seductively at them.


    "We''re here to meet the mayor. We''re the knight apprentices from the Custodians of Iron." Hearing Lux''s answer the maid showed a surprised expression. She then led the three into the house and made them sit in a waiting area.


    "Please wait as I call the master." The maid bowed deeply showing off her cleavage. The three youths had different reactions. Daniel averted his gaze, Rei shrugged his shoulders, and Lux stared at it intently. Seeing their varied reactions made the maid giggle as she left.


    Once the maid left the three looked around the area. There were a lot of decor and finery in this area alone. It would mean that the mayor was richer than they expected. In fact, it looks like he was richer than most barons.


    "This guy is sketchy, do you think he''s one of those scum that takes some liberties in his position?" Rei frowned as he continued to look around.


    "It doesn''t matter if he is or he isn''t that isn''t part of our mission. Also, this level is pretty normal. In fact, finding a kind-hearted noble or politician is rarer than finding a flying horse." Lux shrugged his shoulders as he answered.


    "Then do you think that''s the reason he posted that quest in our academy? Instead of hiring mercenaries he decided to ask the nearby knight academy for the cheaper knight apprentices to do the job." Daniel shared his opinion with his friends while still blushing.


    "I said let''s stop talking about that. How about we talk about that maid instead, did you see those bouncing knockers of hers?"


    "Yeah, those things look super heavy." After that the trio talking about the very attractive maid until the mayor arrived.


    ...


    The mayor was as they expected a person that looked like a giant pervert. He was all smiles when they said they came from the knight academy, but when the three stated they were first-year students, the mayor showed a dissatisfied face. He then started to talk faster as if he wanted to end the conversation immediately. The mayor gave the three of them information about where to find the bandits. Once that was done the mayor quickly and politely shooed them away.

 13 Meeting with the three knight apprentices

    After honoring the dead Raymond and his guild members started walking towards the nearest town to gather information. As they were walking they noticed a group of youths wearing gambesons heading the opposite direction. The moment they got near Raymond heard them talking to each other.


    "Shouldn''t we prepare a bit more before we Raid the bandits'' hideout." The timid looking one spoke.


    "Daniel, are you going to keep on doing this? We''re already halfway there, if you want to back out then you could go back to town and wait for us there." A mean-looking youth responded to the timid one.


    "But-" Hearing their conversation Raymond''s gamer''s instincts kicked in. Well it was not necessarily gamer''s instincts even a normal person could guess that the three youths were heading to the place he wanted to go to.


    ''How convenient, it''s like this world is helping me do what I need to do. I might actually be the protagonist of this world.''


    ''The host is becoming delusional again. Do you want another free massage (electrocution)?''


    ''I can dream can''t I?'' While answering the system, Raymond approached the three knight apprentices.


    "Excuse me, I couldn''t help but overhear that you three are going to bandit hideout." The three knight apprentices looked at the man that suddenly talked to them. He was wearing some leather armor, it looked pretty good and the sword on his waist seemed even better than theirs. He didn''t look like someone interested in robbing them, but once could never know.


    "What do you want?" The three were now wary of Raymond. It was even possible that Raymond was part of the bandits that they were about to attack. The three held onto the hilts of their swords. Seeing this Brom clenched his fist and took a stance, Roselia was also getting ready for the conflict. The tension was escalating as Raymond sighed.


    "We aren''t your enemies, we just want to join you on your way to the hideout."


    "Why?" Lux asked Raymond without dropping his guard.


    "We want to eliminate the bandits as well. You see we''re sorta like a mercenary group." Hearing what Raymond said Lux and his group looked at the two behind Raymond. One of them was a scowling boy wearing a weird outfit while clenching his fist. The other looked like a priestess of some random religion. She looked beautiful but she did not really look like someone who knew how to fight. They no longer look like bandits, but they didn''t look like a mercenary group either.


    "Are you sure your mercenaries? If you are, how about showing me your emblems?"


    "Emblems?"


    "You''re obviously not mercenaries... You don''t even know what emblems are." Lux shrugged his shoulders as he answered.


    "Let''s stop wasting time talking to these guys." Rei sounded a bit irritated as he spoke to Lux.


    "Okay, we might not be proper mercenaries but we''re strong enough to help you guys." Lux once again looked at Raymond''s group. Aside from Raymond who looked decently armed, the other two didn''t look like they could keep up.


    "I don''t think you understand what we''re about to face. This isn''t just one or two bandits, it''s a large group and they''re pretty famous in this region. We don''t have the leeway to protect you guys."


    The moment Lux said that Raymond activated the swordsman skill [quick draw]. Raymond''s sword was now beside Lux''s neck. The five people present couldn''t even see Raymond draw out his sword. They only noticed it when it was already at Lux''s neck. Seeing this only increased Brom and Roselia''s reverence to their Guild Master.


    On the other hand, Lux''s group were shocked by the sudden development. Even some of the instructors in the academy weren''t that fast, in fact, it was possible that was the fastest sword draw they have ever seen.


    "We can handle ourselves just fine. So are you willing to bring us along?" Raymond sheathed his sword and asked.


    "... Just a minute, I need to talk with my companions." Lux, Rei, and Daniel walked a bit further away so that Raymond can''t hear them before starting their conversation.


    "So what do you guys think?" Lux asked the other two.


    "They might seem a bit suspicious, but they aren''t here to harm us. Seeing as that one guy could''ve killed us all and take all of our stuff. Even if the other two prove to be useless in a fight, that one guy alone could handle it."


    "Yeah, I''ll also feel safer with a person like that in our group."


    "Then it''s decided." Lux went back to Raymond and told him that they could join his group to the bandit hideout.

 14 Bandit hideou

    Raymond''s group followed the three knight apprentices to the hideout of the bandits. While the six of them were walking, they started talking to one another. At first, Brom and Roselia were wary of the knight apprentices. The first impression they got from them wasn''t really good.


    But after talking with them for a while, the sibling saw that the three knight apprentices were actually good people. Even though they were noble sons, they didn''t act anything like the rumors the siblings heard regarding such prodigal sons of nobles. In fact, they found the three knight apprentices rather endearing. The group of youths were now talking happily with each other, while Raymond was walking at the rear talking with the system.


    "So what''s the deal with that guy?" Rei lowered his voice as he asked Brom.


    "Who? The Guild Master?"


    "Guild Master, what''s that?" Hearing Daniel''s question, Brom thought about it for a little while. The knowledge he gained when he became a guild member was rather shallow, so he wasn''t really too sure. But he had his own view of things, so maybe he can just say that.


    "It''s like the leader of a mercenary group. Though I''m not entirely sure if you want you can just ask the Guild Master."


    "Wait, that''s not what I wanted to ask at all. It doesn''t matter if he''s the Guild Master, or a mercenary lord or something like that. What I want to know is how strong is he?"


    When the siblings heard Rei''s question the two of them looked at each other confused as to how to answer. The Guild Master was strong, but how strong he was they didn''t really know. Most of his battles they Guild Master had would end with one hit.


    "We don''t really know how strong the Guild Master is. We''ve never actually seen him go all out before. Even against huge monsters in the forest of Elisora would only take one to two hits from the Guild Master, before they die."


    "Wait! You mean the monster-infested forest of Elisora!"


    "Yeah, we live there with the Guild Master." Roselia happily answered trying to join in the conversation. The three knight apprentices looked at Brom then at Roselia and finally at Raymond at the back. These guys actually lived in such a dangerous place that only senior knights and lord knights would even think about venturing in it.


    The trio couldn''t help but look at Raymond''s group in a different light. The three couldn''t help but get even more curious as they asked Brom and Roselia more questions. The siblings tried their best to answer.


    ...


    The group finally reached the hideout of the bandit group. The hideout was located near the borders of the human kingdom, it was at a mountainside hidden within a rather thick forest. The group didn''t get too near as they observed the hideout from afar.


    Looking at it from a distance it doesn''t look like they could sneak in and attack from behind. Due to the hideout being built at the base of a mountain it had a lot of natural defenses. Well, it''s not like they were trying to sneak in, they came here to annihilate the bandits.


    Aside from the mountainside, the bandits built a wooden defensive wall around the hideout. Which made any potential attacker forced to use the one entrance into the hideout. The entrance didn''t have a gate or anything blocking it and it was guarded by four bandits who were wearing relatively good armor.


    ...


    "So what''s the plan?" Raymond asked Lux who seem to be the leader of the other group. Hearing Raymond''s question Lux awkwardly scratched his head.


    "... Actually we don''t have a plan. We just thought that we could directly attack the bandits from the front."


    "Nice and simple, I like it," Raymond responded with a confident smile. If it was before, when he first came to this world, Raymond would''ve been more cautious. But now that he had a lot of skills that increased his defense he wasn''t as afraid as before. Also, if things really turn sour he could still run for it. He even got a teleportation scroll, that would instantly teleport him back to the Guild house. He got this after doing a GACHA spin, back before he met the siblings. He saved it just for situations such as this.


    Seeing how confident Raymond was made the others feel confident as well. Even the timid Daniel was feeling a bit more courageous just by looking at Raymond. This was a side effect of the charm skill.


    "Alright then, if no one has any objections let''s just storm the place." Rei''s adrenaline was over the roof at this point.


    "Before we attack can you leave the bandit leader to us?" Raymond asked Lux, hearing the question made the siblings clench their fist.


    "Sure, we don''t really care as long as all the bandits in that base are eliminated," Lux responded not really caring about this. With that out of the way the group were about to raid the hideout.


    Raymond who was supposed to be reluctant about the idea of killing another human being wasn''t actually feeling that way anymore. He found it weird but decided not to be too bothered by it. He still hasn''t realized that his moral standards were slowly being changed.

 15 Raiding the hideou

    Brom was the first one to charge in, followed by the knight apprentices. Raymond told Roselia to stick with him and heal anyone that gets injured. The two followed behind the charging four.


    The bandits guarding the entrance noticed the charging enemies. One of them was about to call for backup when an arrow pierced his skull. Seeing their companion die so suddenly they were shocked and another arrow pierced another head.


    "Intruders!" One of the bandits was finally able to shout before another arrow pierced his head. The remaining guard ran into the hideout while shouting for reinforcements.


    The three knight-apprentices were amazed by how easily Raymond dispatched those three bandits. Seeing that just made them even more confident as they boldly charged forward.


    Brom who passed through the entrance saw that there were at least fifty bandits in the hideout. There were also people in cages, mostly young females. Seeing their tattered clothing and their empty expressions, Brom understood what had happened to them.


    Rage filled his heart as he let out a warcry. He charged at the enemy camp without any hesitation. The three knight apprentices that were right behind Brom also saw the scene of the young women being used. They too couldn''t hold it and attacked, even the timid Daniel felt a boiling rage deep within him wanting to smash the bandits'' heads into the ground.


    They all started attacking and a chaotic battle took place.


    ...


    The bandit leader wore a shocked expression as he watched the enemies who suddenly raided his hideout attack his men. They didn''t even bother talking and directly attacked. Though their actions surprised him a bit, he wasn''t that surprised by it as he noticed the three knight-apprentices. Seeing those three the bandit leader came to the conclusion that the mayor tried hiring some students from the nearby knight academy.


    What truly shocked him was the boy at the forefront attacking his men in a wild rage. He looked exactly like one of the siblings that he failed to capture a few days ago. But that was impossible those siblings entered Elisora forest. Even a group of knights would find it difficult to survive that place, much less two village brats.


    Even if by some miracle those siblings had survived, it was impossible that they would become as strong as the boy smashing his fist on his men. As he was pondering, one of his men looked a bit worried and spoke in a low voice.


    "Boss what are we going to do? Should we retreat?" The bandit leader smacked his subordinate''s head.


    "Are you an idiot?! Are you actually afraid of some kids, why should we retreat? Don''t you see what''s happening? Even though they''re quite powerful there''s just a few of them, they''ll eventually lose steam and be slowly killed by our numbers."


    As if waiting for the bandit leader to say this Daniel slipped up and was stabbed on his shoulders. Even Brom who had his iron skin skill had a few flesh wounds here and there, his hp bar slowly being depleted.


    When the bandit leader saw this he smiled and was about to say I told you so. But before he could say anything a ray of light fell down on Brom and the others. The wounds they had disappeared, which shocked not only the bandits but even the knight apprentices. They then looked around and saw that a girl wearing priestess robes was raising her hands and shouting the words [Heal].


    ''What the f*ck, what is a priestess of holy light doing here, dealing with low leveled thugs like us!?!'' The bandit leaders screamed in his mind. He was panicking so much that he wasn''t even able to notice that the priestess looked exactly like one of the siblings he let go the other day.


    "You sh*theads attack the priestess!" Hearing the command of their leader the bandits started to swarm towards Roselia. Brom and the others wanted to protect Roselia, but the remaining bandits blocked their paths.


    The bandits were nearing Roselia but as they got close they felt something passed through them. The bandits standing behind saw what happened and stopped in their tracks. The moment their companions got near the priestess, their heads suddenly flew away from their bodies. It was at that moment they saw the man standing beside the priestess who was holding the hilt of his sword still in its scabbard.


    ...


    Raymond who had just cut off the heads of the bandits was feeling weird. This was the first time he had killed another human being but he felt nothing. It was like he had just cut down an NPC in a game.


    It was weird indeed, he viewed his new guild members as his family but he saw the bandits as disposable NPCs. He knew that something was wrong with him, but he couldn''t quite pinpoint what it was.


    ...


    The bandit leader who witnessed Raymond''s sword strike knew that Raymond was at least at the level of a senior knight, meaning there was no way they could win. The bandit leader wanted to sneakily escape, but then as he was moving an arrow accurately hit the area near his legs. He looked were the arrow came from and saw that it was Raymond that attacked him.


    ''If he wanted to kill me, he could''ve done so from the start. But he spared me... He must want something from me. Maybe I can survive this ordeal after all.''


    ...


    It took only half an hour before Raymond''s group was able to eliminate all the bandits save for their leader. The knight-apprentices were rejoicing when they saw Raymond approach the bandit leader.


    "What is it you want from me noble sir? I''ll do anything you want, I''ll give you all my riches, and I''ll even tell you where I hid my secret stack of gold. If you want I can even become your subordinate. So long as you let me live, I''ll give you everything." The bandit leader quickly started negotiating. Raymond shrugged his shoulders and spoke.


    "Fine, I''ll take all of that and let you live, but under one more condition."


    "What is it? Name your price." Jun gestured at Brom and Roselia to come forward.


    "These two companions of mine want to fight you to the death. If you''re able to win against both of them, I''ll let you go."

 16 Bandit Leader

    The bandit leader was shocked at what Raymond said. Based on what he saw, even though the two before him were pretty powerful for some brats they weren''t really a threat to him. If it weren''t for Raymond being there as a guardian the five brats wouldn''t have stood a chance against him or his men.


    Now he wants them to fight each other? Was Raymond that confident in their skills, or was he looking down on him?


    "You want me to fight these two in a death match?"


    "Yeah, so do you agree?"


    "Are you really going to let me go if I kill them? You won''t try to hunt me down once I succeed."


    "I-" Before Raymond could answer Lux intervened.


    "Sir Raymond, a moment please."


    "What is it?" Lux pulled Raymond away before answering in whispers.


    "Sir Raymond, you might not know this, but that bandit leader is particularly famous in the area. He''s a rank 4 warrior."


    Upon hearing the new term, Raymond talked to the system using his mental link.


    ''Hey, system, how powerful do you think a rank 4 warrior is?''


    ''I''m currently unable to answer the question due to the limitations of my level. The host needs to upgrade me first before I can answer.''


    ''You''ve been such a useless system lately.''


    ''...'' The system didn''t respond which surprised Raymond.


    ''What''s this aren''t you going to threaten me?''


    ''Sorry this system does not talk to idiots, please come back when you have at least plus fifty in intelligence.''


    ''Who you calling an idiot, useless system?!''


    While Raymond was arguing with the system Lux thought that Raymond was in deep contemplation. After a few minutes of silence Raymond finally spoke.


    "It doesn''t matter if he''s a rank 4 warrior or a higher rank warrior. As long as my guild members want to do it, then it shall be done. You two, did you hear that this guy is apparently a rank 4 warrior. Do you two still want to face him?"


    Raymond might not know what a rank 4 warrior signified, but the siblings should have a basic idea. Hearing what Raymond said the siblings answered with resolve.


    "It doesn''t matter how strong he is we will get our revenge."


    "You hear that?" Raymond looked at Lux. Hearing the siblings answer, Lux finally understood that there was something deeper going on here. At first he thought that Raymond was just bringing the two out to gain some experience, but it turns out it was for revenge.


    ...


    The bandit leader waited at one side while Raymond''s group was having their little discussion. He couldn''t hear what they were talking about and he didn''t bother to listen, as he was thinking about what to do next. As someone who has seen the evil side of the world, the bandit leader didn''t put too much trust in what Raymond said. It was entirely possible that once he wins, Raymond would not do as he promised and kill him.


    ''Maybe I can take one of the brats as a hostage... No, that won''t work. If that guy is willing to have them have a battle to the death, he won''t care if I take them hostage or not. Damn it, what should I do?''


    As the bandit leader was thinking of different ways to survive, he saw that the two siblings were now in front of him glaring at him.


    "Do you remember us?" Brom asked while clenching his fist.


    "Sorry, but I don''t seem to remember you two. I''ve seen a lot of people before and my memory isn''t really that good." The bandit leader answered shrugging his shoulders while unsheathing his blade and raising his round shield.


    "You dare forget what you''ve done to our mother! You dare forget what you''ve done in our village?!" Roselia shouted at the bandit leader with a fury.


    "Sorry lass, I can''t remember what I can''t remember. So are we doing this or not?"


    "Of course we''re doing it, I won''t be satisfied until my fist smashes your head!" After Brom shouted he dashed forward madly at the bandit leader. The bandit leader raised his shield as he was covered in a reddish aura.


    ...


    ''What''s that?'' Raymond asked the system.


    ''That''s combat energy, it''s the same energy you use when you activate some of your skills. Though your other skills are activated via mana and the rage bar, the majority of them use combat energy.''


    ''Why isn''t that kind of thing in my status screen?''


    ''My abilities are limited due to my current level. If you want me to be able to accurately measure your combat energy you need to upgrade me first.''


    ''You keep telling me to upgrade you, but you never tell me how to do that.''


    ''The host just needs to level up and do his tasks diligently.'' Hearing the system''s standard reply, Raymond no longer continued talking to it.


    ...


    Brom attacked the bandit leader who raised his shield and blocked Brom''s fist. Upon contact with Brom''s raging fist, the bandit leader was shocked. The power behind that attack was stronger than he expected.


    Brom then continued to deliver attack after attack, punching, and kicking at the bandit leader. The flow of Brom''s attacks was relentless, giving the bandit leader no time to counterattack. Yet despite the continuous attacks Brom couldn''t get past the bandit leader''s shield.


    "[Frenzy]." The bandit leader heard Roselia''s voice as she raised her hand. A gold light enveloped Brom, and then suddenly his attacks grew faster.


    ''Damn it! I need to get rid of the priestess first!'' The bandit leader gathered combat energy and once one of Brom''s attacks hit his shield he pushed Brom aside. Brom''s balance was broken and he stumbled giving the bandit leader a chance to dash towards the priestess.


    The bandit leader was about to stab the priestess, but he was surprised to see the priestess looking very calm as she was about to get stabbed. The bandit leader was expecting her to do something but in the end he was able to easily stab the priestess in her belly.


    The bandit leader wanted to pull out his sword but it was stuck in the priestess''s body. He then heard the priestess saying a string of words. "[Heal], [Fortify], [Heal], [Imposing]." The bandit leader didn''t understand what the priestess was saying, but when he saw the golden light envelop her, he had a decent idea of what she was doing.


    The bandit leader who was still in a dazed state felt combat energy accumulating from behind him. He wanted to evade but it was too late as a powerful strike had hit him from behind blasting him away. The sound of booming thunder echoed throughout the hideout as Brom''s fist hit the bandit leader from behind.


    Brom had struck the bandit leader with his strongest skill, [Thundering fist]. With his current level, he could only use [Thundering fist] twice. So he waited for the perfect opportunity to use it. Seeing the chance of course he used it without hesitation.


    ...


    Brom helped his sister pull out the sword that was stabbed into her belly. The siblings thought that victory was theirs when suddenly they heard a roar coming from the direction where the bandit leader was blown away.


    The whole body of the bandit leader was now enveloped in an ever thicker red aura. His eyes were now devoid of reason as he charged towards the siblings.


    Seeing the change that happened to the bandit leader, the three knight-apprentices were about to help but Raymond stopped them.


    "Don''t disrupt the match."


    "We need to help them. That''s the warrior skill [berserker''s rage] it increases the warrior''s strength by one whole rank in exchange for his sanity. For the next hour or so that guy will go on a rampage killing everything in sight. Even for you Sir, a berserk rank 5 warrior isn''t easily handled." Rei told Raymond in a tone full of panic and urgency.


    "It doesn''t matter. No one is allowed to intervene in this match until a winner is concluded."

 17 Mission complete

    The bandit leader that was in a berserk state roared loudly and charged at the nearest person he could find. The first person the bandit leader spotted was Brom. Seeing the charging bandit leader, Brom wanted to move but was shocked to see that the speed of the bandit leader tripled and in his surprise, he had no time to evade.


    [Iron Skin] [Lvl 2] Brom quickly used his strongest defensive skill. His martial artist class had a lot of skills that were dived within the realm of offense and defense. But he had limited SP and couldn''t afford to acquire all of them, so he asked the Guild Master of what he should do. Raymond then explained to him that he needed to focus on either being an offensive type martial artist or a defensive type martial artist.


    Depending on what he chose he needed to use his SP on that side of things, and only save one for the other side. Listening to the Guild Master''s advice made things simpler for Brom and he decided to become an offensive type martial artist, and he only added one defensive skill which was [Iron Skin].


    ...


    The bandit leader in his enraged state punched Brom''s body. Even while using [Iron Skin] Brom was pushed back and coughed up a bit of blood. He then saw that one attack depleted a quarter of his health points. Before he could get his bearings back, Brom saw that the bandit leader was about to initiate another attack.


    Still unable to evade the incoming attack Brom had no other choice but to grit his teeth and once again use [Iron Skin]. As he was about to get hit, Brom was enveloped by another golden light.


    "[Fortify]!" Roselia used a buffing skill to strengthen her brother''s defense. With greater defensive power Brom was able to withstand the bandit leader''s second strike. Brom wasn''t knocked away this time and was able to keep his balance. Brom then quickly moved behind the bandit leader and with his sister buffing skill [frenzy], he was able to strike the bandit leader six times before retreating.


    The bandit leader then swiped his arms trying to hit his opponent. Brom jumped upwards to evade while doing a flying spin kick hitting the bandit leader''s head. Upon contact Brom felt that even the head wasn''t as vulnerable as he thought it would be.


    It doesn''t seem like normal attacks were going to work on the bandit leader. As he was devising a plan, Brom saw the bandit leader''s sword which he tossed aside, and he got an idea. Brom skillfully evaded the bandit leader''s attacks while running towards the sword. As he was getting near Brom shouted at his sister.


    "How many more heals can you do?!"


    "Just two more!"


    Brom picked up the sword and just stood there waiting for the bandit leader to attack him. "Roselia, the moment I get hit heal me with everything you have left!" After shouting that, the bandit leader attacked the stationary Brom.


    Brom''s HP dropped to a dangerous level and Roselia used [Heal] bringing his HP back to a little bit more than half his health, Roselia used her last remaining heal, and Brom''s HP was back to full health.


    After getting hit by the bandit leader''s attack Brom held his ground and pushed forward stabbing the bandit leader in his chest. Due to the immense combat energy being released by using the berserker state, Brom was unable to thoroughly pierce the bandit leader''s chest. But he was already expecting that.


    Brom then started punching the sword''s hilt trying to push it into the bandit leader''s chest. He repeatedly kept on punching it at close range. Of course, while he was doing this the bandit leader was also attacking him.


    For every five strikes, Brom was able to do the bandit leader was only able to get in one strike. When Brom''s HP was nearing zero, he felt the sword was able to penetrate a bit into the bandit leader''s chest. When he felt that he immediately used his strongest attacking skill, [Thudering fist.] With a loud boom Brom''s attack hit the sword hilt pushing it deeper into the bandit leader''s chest piercing his heart. After he was finally able to do what he wanted Brom backed away.


    The red aura that surrounded the bandit leader slowly dissipated and his body fell to the ground unmoving. The very moment this happened, a bunch of notifications appeared before Raymond.


    [New Task: Help the siblings in their revenge. (Completed)]


    [Special Requirement: The siblings need to have the most bandit kills. (Completed]


    [Task Reward: +2 attribute points, +1 SP, 50000exp, and one Gacha roll. Do you want to receive your reward, now? Y/N]

 18 New Guild Members

    Raymond who saw the notifications pop out was feeling a bit weird. Aside from the first time he saw a dead human body back in the siblings'' village, he no longer felt apprehensive seeing dead bodies.


    ''I know humans are adaptable but aren''t I being too adaptable?... Hmm, whatever, Let''s not think about it too much.'' Raymond once again dismissed the idea.


    He then pressed the Y button and he received the rewards for finishing the task. When he pressed on it and received his reward he got another notification.


    [Level Up]


    It has been quite some time since he last leveled up. The monsters near the guild house weren''t strong enough and no longer gave him any EXP. Though he understood that there were more powerful monsters deeper into the forest, but as long as he didn''t have the undying body like Brom and Roselia, Raymond didn''t want to risk it. He might''ve died once already, but dying this early in his second life wasn''t something he wanted.


    When he was about to check on his status screen, the siblings approached him and knelt on the ground. If the siblings were loyal before because of Raymond''s miraculous deeds and him saving them. But after helping them get their revenge even though there was no need to do so, it made them absolutely loyal to him to the point that Raymond could do anything to them and they won''t mind.


    In the eyes of the siblings, Raymond was now something akin to a God. He was powerful, can do miracles, and he helped them in their most dire moments. Even if he wasn''t a God, he was a God in their hearts.


    This time they were willing to fight for Raymond, they were willing to die for Raymond, they would never allow anyone to slander him. This time they weren''t doing this because of the contract but because they wanted to do it from the bottom of their hearts.


    "Guild Master, thank you for granting us our revenge."


    "Guild Master, thank you for giving us the strength to have our revenge."


    "No problem, we are now one guild one family," Raymond answered while laughing heartily as he was in a good mood after leveling up.


    ...


    While the three Guildmates were talking to each other, the knight-apprentices were releasing the locked up people. Once they were done they looked at each other trying to discern what the other was feeling.


    "What do you guys think?" Lux asked the other two.


    "I haven''t seen anyone fight like that, especially with one''s fist. The combat energy he was releasing was different. Also, the last technique he used that made that horrific noise was awesome!" Rei excitedly gave out his opinion.


    "Do you guys think they were taught by Sir Raymond?" Daniel asked his two companions.


    "Sir Raymond uses a sword, Brom uses his fist, and Roselia is a priestess. The three of them have nothing similar except they claim to be from the same Guild. We don''t even know what a Guild is."


    "The siblings look to be a bit younger than us as well. So instead of guessing, how about, we ask them how they became so strong?" Hearing Lux''s suggestion the other two nodded their heads.


    ...


    Raymond who was about to check on his status screen was once again interrupted. This time the ones who interrupted him were the three knight apprentices.


    "Sir Raymond, may we ask you a question?"


    "What is it?"


    "Were you the one who trained those two?" Lux looked at Brom and Roselia who were standing behind Raymond.


    "... I guess you could say that, why are you asking?" Hearing his answer the three knight apprentices looked at one another and nodded their heads.


    "Can you make as strong as well?" Rei asked with a face full of resolve.


    "If you''re asking if I can make you guys like Brom and Roselia, then yes I can. But if you''re asking to become as strong as them then that will depend on your efforts."


    Wasn''t becoming like the siblings the same as them asking to be as strong as them. What was the difference? The three were getting too excited to think further on the topic as the three knelt on one knee and placed their right hand on their chest. This was the Knights way of showing respect to their liege.


    "Please Sir Raymond, make us stronger." Hearing the three youths speak at the same time with such resolve in their tone surprised Raymond. He looked at each one of the knight-apprentices and asked.


    "Aren''t you guys going to be knights? Are you three willing to let go of such an opportunity to follow me?"


    "Yes!"


    "Are you three willing to let go of everything you have just to follow me?" Raymond ask once more just to be sure.


    "Yes!"


    The three knight apprentices answered without hesitation. Seeing them act like that, Raymond shrugged his shoulders and told the system that he wished to appoint the three as guild members.


    Raymond then lifted his arm and three scrolls appeared out of nowhere. Seeing this the three knight apprentices felt that their decision was truly the right one. Knowing that if they stayed in the knight academy the best they could do was to become some third rate knights that would do nothing more than doing some guard duty. Now that a new path was before them, why not have a gamble and take it?


    "Since you are willing to forsake everything to follow me and gain the strength you desire. I acknowledge your resolve. Say your names and pledge your allegiance to me, Raymond, proclaim me as your Guild Master."


    Raymond said almost the exact same thing as he said to the siblings, with some minor differences. Also the same as the siblings the three understood what to say.


    "I Lux, pledge my allegiance to you Lord Raymond my Guild Master."


    "I Rei, pledge my allegiance to you Lord Raymond my Guild Master."


    "I Daniel, pledge my allegiance to you Lord Raymond my Guild Master."


    Same as before their names were being written on the scrolls. The scrolls disappeared and a stream of information came flooding into their minds.


    [Congratulations on becoming a Guild member. Please choose your class.]

 19 System Upgrade

    When the three knight apprentices got their first notification, Raymond also received a new notification.


    [New Task: Upgrade the Guild]


    [The new Guild Master has gotten the basics down. Now that he has enough members it''s time for an upgrade]


    [Requirement: 0/1000 Gold]


    [Task Reward: System Upgrade]


    When Raymond saw the task reward he got really excited. But when he saw the requirement his excitement lessened. He was broke and had no money to speak of. Then he saw the pile of treasure the bandits had accumulated.


    ''Well since my guild members and I were the ones that took them down, their treasures should belong to us now... But why does the system need gold to level up the guild?''


    ''The host should know it takes money to make a better guild.'' The system''s robotic voice answered.


    ''I thought that you can make things out of nothing.''


    ''The system isn''t almighty, also I''m not the one who makes the rules and assigns the tasks.''


    ''Wait, if you''re not the one who makes the rules and assigns the tasks then who''s the one doing it?''


    ''The system only knows what it''s supposed to know.'' This was basically the system''s way of saying that it had no idea.


    ''Well, whatever I''ll just talk it out with Lux and the others later. For now, I need to check the new skills I can get.'' Raymond no longer bothered asking anything further and quickly opened his UI. He was now level 40 and he was finally able to see one of his Guild Master skills was unlocked.


    [Guild Master''s Influence.] It had only one level like all the other Guild Master skills. The Guild Master''s Influence is an ability that gives him 10% Exp that guild members get from killing monsters or completing missions. He could adjust it by lowering it up to 5%.


    Raymond quickly used his SP to get the new Guild Master skill. ''As expected from the Guild Master skills they''re all awesome.''


    Raymond was happy upon gaining the new skill. He then looked at the three new Guild Members. He also looked at the captured women. The new Guild Members were still trying to pick the class they want, as for the captured women they look like they were waiting for Raymond and the others to make a decision on what to do with them.


    ''I guess, while I wait for the three to finish picking a class I can do a GACHA roll. I can finally do a x10 GACHA roll!''


    Raymond quickly went and opened the GACHA function. He then pressed the button that says x10 rolls. The counter started rolling for a bit and Raymond pressed stop. A bunch of notifications popped up.


    [Normal: Healing Potion x3]


    [Normal: Energy Potion x3]


    [Rare: Sun Strike]


    [Rare: Lion Piercer]


    [Rare: Heavy gauntlets]


    [Super Rare: NPC card Blacksmith]


    ''Fuck! The hell, there''s no UR, not even an SSR!'' Raymond wanted to rage but held it in. It took him a few missions and a couple of days to get as many as ten GACHA rolls. Yet he didn''t get an SSR. He could only sigh at his misfortune.


    ''Well, at least I got an SR NPC card, it''s even a blacksmith. I guess I can settle with that for now.'' Raymond then looked at the other things he got in his inventory. Sun Strike was a two-handed longsword, Lion Piercer was a spear, and Heavy gauntlets were basically steel gauntlets.


    While Raymond was checking out the stats on his new weapons, the three new guild members were almost ready to pick their classes.


    ...


    After talking it out for a while, the three finally decided which classes they would get. Lux chose the swordsman class since that was the class closest to being a knight.


    Rei chose the martial artist class the same as Brom. He chose it since he thought that the martial artist in the demo looked powerful.


    Finally, Daniel chose the archer class, since it was a class that attacks from a distance. Also, Daniel had a basic understanding of how to use a bow and arrow, which made him feel like he had an affinity with the archer class.


    Once they were done picking their classes Raymond spoke to them. "Alright, now that you''re part of the guild, how about we talk about what to do with the treasures and the captured women. Since you three won''t be returning, how about you don''t report to the mayor about the completion of this quest of yours, and we keep the treasure and help the women ourselves?"


    Hearing Raymond''s suggestion Lux and his group looked at one another. Rei and Daniel gave their consent to the plan.


    "Let''s do that, there''s always knight apprentices dying when doing quests so us not reporting will make the mayor think we died. Seeing as the quest was not appropriate for us, they''ll easily believe that we failed and died. We''re also pretty insignificant third sons and fifth sons, so they won''t be sending a search party. As for the treasure, yeah, let''s take it, that greedy pig of man has enough embezzled money. No need to make him richer. As for the women, I hope the Guild Master helps them. If we bring them back to that perverted mayor who knows what he''ll do."


    Raymond nodded his head happy that they agreed to his proposal. He then went near the pile of treasure and placed it into his inventory. When the three new guild members saw the huge pile of treasures disappear they weren''t shocked to see such a scene anymore.


    [New Task: Upgrade the Guild]


    [The new Guild Master has gotten the basics down. Now that he has enough members it''s time for an upgrade]


    [Requirement: 5230/1000 Gold]


    [Task Reward: System Upgrade]


    ''Those bandits were richer than I expected.'' Raymond then clicked on the Guild Upgrade button.


    [New Task: Upgrade the Guild (Completed)]


    [The new Guild Master has gotten the basics down. Now that he has enough members it''s time for an upgrade]


    [Task Reward: System Upgrade. Do you want to receive your reward, now? Y/N]]


    Raymond clicked on the Y and another notification popped up.


    [The system will now begin to upgrade, estimated upgrade time 24:00. Some functions will be suspended as the System Upgrades.]

 20 Custodians of Iron

    Once Raymond was done with his task he approached the twenty captured women. Some of them looked at him devoid of emotion, others looked at him in fear, and the few seems to be broken.


    "Do you guys have a place to return to?" Hearing Raymond''s question the captured women had no answer.


    "if you have someplace to return to, then I will gladly bring you home. But if you don''t have anywhere else to go, how about following me? If you follow me I promise that you will never have to fear anything again. So what do you say?"


    Some of the captured women agreed without hesitation, the others thought about it for a while and decided that they had no choice. While the few of them were unable to answer at all. Raymond could only sigh, as he looked at the ones who couldn''t answer. Those women have already been broken, to the point that they might not be able to live normally anymore.


    ''Better ask the system if there''s something in the system shop that could help. Seeing as I have the money now I could probably buy something useful.''


    After getting the answer he wanted from the captured women, Raymond and his group set off to the forest of Elisora.


    ...


    As Raymond and his group left the bandit hideout someone was looking at them from afar. A man with messy orange hair and sheepish looking black eyes was watching the whole situation take place. He scratched his head while he sighed.


    "Well, this is a problem. Henry is going to kill me if he finds out someone else took the mountain bandits gold... Well, nothing I could do about it now. Though there is the option of stealing it back... Nah, that''s too troublesome. Still, that guy... Is he perhaps another one of the Gods chosen?"


    The orange-haired man looked at Raymond, who suddenly turned his head in the orange-haired man''s direction. The man quickly hid behind the tree he was standing on.


    "Did he noticed me? Heh, a chosen one of the Gods or not that guy looks like he''ll be doing pretty interesting things. Should I report this to Henry?"


    The orange-haired man smiled slyly while shrugging his shoulders. He backed away into the forest and vanished


    ...


    In the knight academy of the Custodians of Iron, a woman wearing full plated armor with two short swords dangling at her waist was angrily walking through the quest hall. Though her aura was menacing that didn''t lessen her beauty. With wavy blond hair, piercing blue eyes, and skin so soft, she was as beautiful as she was deadly. She was one of the knight commanders in the Custodians of Iron.


    "Where is he?!" The lady knight smacked her hand onto the receptionist''s desk. If she didn''t control her strength the marble desk would''ve been crushed. The scared receptionist trembled before the angry knight. The receptionist couldn''t answer as no words could come out of her mouth. The lady knight was once again going to yell angrily but someone interrupted her.


    "Is that the way a knight commander of the Custodians of Iron should act?" A burly old man with bunch of scars on his face and a great sword on his back appeared in the quest hall. Seeing these two mighty figures the students were in a frenzy.


    "Two knight commanders appeared, and it''s Lady Clarise and Sir Guillemot!"


    "This is the first time I''ve seen Lady Clarise the Iron lady and she''s as beautiful as the rumors say."


    "Sir Guillemot the indomitable wall is the whole reason I''ve come to the Custodians of Iron."


    As the students were getting rowdy Claris glared at Guillemot.


    "Stay out of this old man! My brother, my beloved brother went out and did a dangerous mission and one of these fools allowed him to take it! If anything happens to my brother Daniel, then I-"


    "Enough Clarise!" Another person appeared within the quest hall. It was a man with an immense aura of dignity. He was wearing ceremonial clothes and on his waist was a thin short sword. The moment he appeared all the students, the receptionists, and even Clarise and Guillemot knelt on the floor.


    "Grand Commander!" All of them placed their right hand on their chest, this was the knight''s salute.


    "Clarise I understand your worry but being too overprotective of Daniel won''t help him in the long run. How is he to grow if you do not allow him to."


    "..." Clarise clenched her fist and lowered her head while biting her lips. Seeing her act like this the Grand Commander sighed.


    "Very well, I shall allow you to fetch your brother from his quest. But if it''s not yet done allow him to finish, also only support him when absolutely necessary." Hearing the Grand Commander''s words, Clarise beamed as she stood up and once again gave a knight''s salute.


    "Thank you for your benevolence Grand Commander. I shall leave at once!"

 21 Guild Lvl 2

    Clarise exited the stronghold of the Custodians of Iron and saw someone at the gates. He was wearing very light clothing and had an air of arrogance. The arrogant looking man was accompanied by two rank seven warriors. The moment he saw Clarise he showed a creepy smile.


    "Clarise, I have heard what happened to your brother. I''m also worried about him. You know me and Daniel we''re like brothers. So I hope you allow me to help you bring him back."


    "Hmph, you''re well informed Aldis, were you able to bribe one of the students to be your spy?" Clarise squinted her eyes as she spoke.


    "Does it matter how I got the information? I''m here to offer you my help."


    "I do not need your help." After answering Clarise started walking away, but then the two subordinates of Aldis blocked her path.


    "What do you think you''re doing?" Clarise looked at Aldis with eyes as cold as ice. She started emitting bloodlust that shook the two rank seven warriors.


    "Clarise, why do you keep on denying me? Don''t you know how much I adore you? If you just accept my feelings, you would no longer need to be a knight. You could be the wife of a duke." Aldis looked at Clarise with crazed eyes.


    "Aldis tell your men to move aside and leave me be. If they don''t move I''ll move them for you." Clarise''s hands were touching the hilt of her swords.


    "You dare to threaten me?! Woman, you might have caught my interest, but you''re nothing more than the daughter of a lowly baron. I, on the other hand, am the firstborn son of a duke! Despite knowing this you continue to disrespect me! You continue to deny me!" Aldis could no longer hold it in as he started to shout at Clarise. Seeing him act that way made Clarise sigh.


    "I might need to show a bit of respect to your father, but not to you. Now move out of my way!" The two rank seven warriors felt intimidated by Clarise and stepped aside.


    "What the f*ck are you two doing?! Stop her from leaving?!" Aldis shouted at his two subordinates. Clarise past by Aldis''s subordinates and they did nothing to stop her.


    "Clarise, I command you to stop!" Hearing what Aldis said, Clarise who was about to leave stopped walking and spoke to Aldis.


    "You have no right to order me Aldis son of Duke Brian. Only the Grand Commander and the king my order me... I''m letting you go now, Aldis. Because of our past, I will overlook what you did here today. But remember this, you might be a son of a duke, but that doesn''t mean you can do anything. You''re just a son, not the duke himself. I''m a knight commander of an order of knights. Unlike you, I have actual power both physically and politically. So you better think twice before you decide to do something idiotic like this." Once she was done saying her piece Clarise left.


    Aldis gnashed his teeth as he angrily looked at Clarise''s fading silhouette.


    ...


    Raymond and his group finally arrived in Elisora forest. Upon entering the forest''s domain some of the women were frightened and even the three former knight apprentices were unnerved, especially Daniel. The reason they were acting this way was because of the many gruesome rumors surrounding Elisora forest. From the monsters that live in it, to the spirits that lead people astray making them unable to return.


    ...


    As the group were walking through the forest, a few monsters had appeared. At first, some of the women panicked but before the monsters could do anything, Raymond was able to kill them.


    He kept on spamming the [quick draw] skill while buffing himself with [frenzy]. With his current level and his rather high AGI and DEX, none of the people present could even see his hand move.


    All everyone could see was him passing through and the monsters being split in half. When everyone saw what was happening they felt that they made the right decision in following Raymond.


    ...


    After walking for a bit the group was finally able to reach the area where the Guild house was located. When they arrived everyone was shocked by the sight they saw, even Raymond.


    The wooden walls that Raymond made were replaced with stone walls. Not only that the walls expanded and there were now arrowslits on them. There was also a gate that blocked their entry into the vicinity of the guild house.


    The wooden stakes Raymond placed on the ground disappeared and instead, there was now a wooden watchtower from within the walls.


    The group of newcomers were surprised to see a small stronghold within the forest of Elisora. The siblings were also surprised at first but quickly adapted since they believe that doing something like this was easy for Raymond to do.


    On the other hand, Raymond was the most surprised of all. He was already expecting some improvements when he leveled up the Guild but not this much. Seeing the new Guild house and the new fortifications, Raymond felt like the Guild System was better than he expected.


    ...


    As everyone was still stunned by the sight before them, the gates were opening and John the royal knight NPC appeared. Without saying anything he immediately stood behind Raymond. When the three knight-apprentices saw this they were once again shocked.


    "That guy looks like a knight commander. Do you guys think the Guild Master is the illegitimate son of the king?"


    "Maybe he''s the prince of another kingdom and he''s on the run."


    "That guy looks strong, I wonder who is stronger him or the Guild Master."


    As the three knight-apprentices were gossiping Raymond stood in front of everyone and signaled them to listen to him.


    "From now on this is everyone''s new home. You see the building within the walls, your rooms are in that building. Each one of you can pick a room that you want, except for the first room to the left, that''s my room. I hope you guys help make this place a better place."


    After giving his announcement Raymond left the stunned people and headed straight to the new guild house.

 22 Guild House

    The new guild house was a three-story tall building. It was made of stone and wood, but it was mostly a wooden structure. Aside from the outer look, the inside was also different from before.


    Upon entering the building there was still a front desk like in a hotel, but behind it was no longer a simple hallway. It was a large grand hallway with candlelight illuminating the darker areas. On the sides were large glass windows that allowed the sunlight to come in.


    Raymond was momentarily amazed by the sight, but after the initial shock, he immediately headed to his room, which was located on the left side of the grand hall. Upon entering his room the first thing he laid his eyes on was something he sorely missed. In the corner of the room right beside a window was an object that he never expected to see again, especially in this fantasy world.


    "It''s a f*cking computer!" Raymond quickly ran towards it and touched the monitor, pressed on the keys on the keyboard. He then looked at the system unit, none of the parts he saw was something he knew about. He checked the inside and noticed that most of the parts were different from what he knew of. In fact, they looked pretty futuristic, but the basic layout remained mostly the same. It was still quite easy to spot the power button.


    Raymond wasn''t bothered by the look and tried turning it on. Upon turning on the computer a notification appeared on the screen. It was a countdown timer, 13:57:03. It was the same timer on when the system would finish upgrading.


    When Raymond figured out what was happening he fell on the floor in defeat. "This f*cking system is messing with me!"


    Usually when Raymond says something like this the system would respond but seeing as it was quiet made Raymond feel weird. After looking at the monitor with the countdown for a while, Raymond could only sigh and hang his head in defeat.


    ...


    After the disappointment with the computer, Raymond started exploring the inside of the guild house. The first floor of the guild house had basically ten rooms including his. The kitchen as well as the storage room were also on the first floor.


    Unlike before when the Guild was level 1, the storage room was now filled with weapons and armor. It seems after upgrading the Guild he got all these freebies as well. The equipment in the storage room was basically the same as the beginner equipment he had the first day he arrived in this world.


    After checking out all the equipment, Raymond moved onto the next room. The room beside the storage room was the kitchen. Unlike before the kitchen and dining room were no longer in the same place.


    The kitchen was now a separate room filled with basic spices and cooking tools. The room wasn''t like any modern kitchen but it was way better than what they had before.


    The next room was the dining room, and upon entering Raymond knew that this was the biggest room yet. It was like the mess hall in H*rry P*tter but instead of four long tables there were only two, and the size was half of the one in the movie.


    That was everything on the first floor, Raymond then headed to the second floor. The second floor looked like a college dormitory with intersecting hallways and rooms. There was a total of thirty rooms on the second floor.


    The third floor was the same as the second absolutely no difference. The third floor was the last floor, but Raymond spotted a way to get to the roof. The roof of the building was flat and wide, it looked like you could do some mock battles here.


    As Raymond was looking around he arrived at the edge of the building and saw the people below. The once empty Guild which only consisted of him and John had more people now. There were people walking around looking at the walls, checking the fields.


    As he was looking at his new guild members Raymond noticed that the sun was going down. At the distance in the wide forest of Elisora Raymond saw the setting sun. The sky furrowed with wispy bands of cloud, softly glowing colors from the palest amber-pink to deepest flaming red. It was a magnificent sight to behold.


    ...


    As Raymond was admiring the sunset the three knight apprentices had already picked out there room on the first floor. They didn''t take any room on the second floor since all the captured women stayed there.


    ...


    The three were now gathered in Lux''s new room and they started their discussion.


    "So what do you guys think?" As usual, Lux spoke first.


    "This place is pretty well fortified, not only that I noticed that there were some monsters near the gates but instead of attacking they left in a hurry. As expected of a stronghold in the middle of such a dangerous forest." Rei answered excitedly.


    "This place might be smaller than the stronghold of the Custodians of Iron, but the way it was built is pretty good. Actually, I''m confused about how this place was built. It''s impossible to build this place without anyone noticing. I haven''t heard any rumors of workers heading into this forest. You don''t think the Guild Master built this place by himself?" Lux asked his two companions.


    "After what I witnessed today, I won''t be surprised if that were true."


    "What do you think Daniel?"


    "..."


    Lux and Rei looked at their third companion and noticed that he was deep in thought. He looked rather scared, which wasn''t surprising since Daniel was a very timid person.


    "Hey Daniel, is everything alright?"


    "Daniel do you hear us?" Rei poked at Daniel''s side, which made Daniel jumped up in fright.


    "Huh? What''s happening?" Daniel looked around the room warily.


    "What''s the problem, Daniel?" Lux asked a bit worried seeing Daniel''s reaction. When Daniel saw his two friends were looking at him in worry, he sighed.


    "Because of all the things that happened, we completely forgot something."


    "What is it?"


    "We forgot about my sister!" The moment those words left Daniel''s mouth, the room became deathly quiet. After a few minutes of silence, the three started to panic.


    "Sh*t we completely forgot about that crazy sister with a brother complex!"


    "Oh no, she''s going to track us down here!"


    "What should we do?!"


    "How about Daniel goes back alone and tells them that we died while fighting bandits, that would solve everything." Rei gave a suggestion.


    "I don''t want to do that."


    "So what should we do?" The room turned silent as the three started thinking harder.


    "I got it! How about we don''t bother, and lay low in the forest. Even with your sister''s skills, she would never guess that we went into the Elisora forest. No one saw us going here, and the last person to see us was that mayor. So she doesn''t have enough clues to track us down. Even she should admit that we most likely died on that quest."


    Hearing what Lux said Ren and Daniel thought about it for a bit and nodded their heads. Lux was right all they needed to do was to lay low for a while.

 23 New Task

    In the dining table, all twenty-six people in the Guild have gathered to eat. Except for John who was outside guarding the vicinity. Raymond who was focused on eating was quite happy to see that he no longer needed to cook as almost all the captured women knew how to cook. Even though their level of skill in cooking wasn''t the same as Raymond''s who had the cooking skill at Lvl 2, he was still happy that he no longer needed to do the job.


    In fact, seeing as Brom was now tending to the fields, and most likely some of the captured women will help, Raymond no longer needed to do menial tasks.


    ''Now that I think about it, I no longer need to go out and kill monsters. With my new skill [Guild Master''s Influence.] I can just sit down and relax as my Exp bar fills up.''


    Seeing as he still hasn''t gained the undying body, Raymond was happy with the new skill that required him to do nothing and he would still be able to level up. Now all he needed to worry about is how to gain more Guild Members. The more Guild Members out in the field killing monsters, the more Exp he could gain.


    ...


    After a satisfying meal, Raymond headed to his room and slept. The following day he checked the timer on the monitor and saw that there were three hours left before the system finishes upgrading.


    So as he waited Raymond did his usual morning routine, he went to the river beside the Guild house and washed his body. After which he went to the kitchen and was about to cook a meal. But as he arrived at the kitchen he saw several women cooking already.


    The women spotted Raymond, they stopped doing what they were doing bowed their heads and greeted him. They then started serving him food. Raymond gladly accepted the food that was served to him. Once he was done eating he went out and looked around the area which the system deemed as part of the Guild.


    The Guild area was now thrice as big, and the wooden walls he made before that turned into stone walls were now covering an even larger area than before. Raymond pressed his hands onto the stone walls, it was smoother than expected. He wanted to try punching the wall to see how durable it was but decided not to do it since he didn''t know how to fix it if it actually breaks.


    Aside from that, the size of the fields seem to have increased as well, but that''s because of Brom''s efforts. Seeing as they had more space Brom expanded the field to its current size.


    ...


    As Raymond continued exploring the new Guild areas he noticed that Brom his sister, alongside the new Guild members were approaching him.


    "Good morning Guild Master." The five of them greeted him almost in sync.


    "Good morning. So how are you three, is everything alright?"


    "Yup, everything''s fantastic!" Lux answered too enthusiastically which was a bit unnatural.


    "I see... So what are you guys doing together so early in the morning?"


    "We''re about to head out and hunt." Roselia was the one who answered in a very cheerful voice. Seeing her finally adapting to the place made Raymond''s lip curl up a bit.


    After a few more pleasantries the group of five headed out. Seeing them heading out to do some hunting made Raymond smile.


    ''Work hard my dear Exp farmers.''


    ...


    After walking around a bit more the countdown finally ended. ''System Upgrade Complete.'' The moment Raymond heard the familiar robotic voice, a few new notifications popped out.


    [New Task: Make the Guild Better]


    [With the recent System Upgrade the system has gained a lot of new functions. Use these new functions to make the Guild into a better place.]


    [Requirement:


    Guild Name 0/1


    Guild Banner 0/1


    Building 0/2]


    [Task Reward: +3 attribute points, +1 SP]


    [New Task: Prepare for the otherworlders]


    [With the System Upgrade, you are now able to summon players from another world. Create a popular MMO to bring in more players. Use these players to create a stronger Guild.]


    [Requirements:


    Create an official Forum 0/1


    Advertise Beta test 0/1


    Otherworld Players 0/20]


    [Task Reward: +10 attribute points]


    When Raymond saw the new tasks his eyes almost sparkled in excitement. The first task wasn''t surprising, but the second one was something special. He would finally be able to summon other people like him, the players. Based on the task description they would camouflage this world as an online game.


    As he was getting more excited he noticed a problem. The former world he was on, wasn''t advanced enough to warrant this kind of VR experience. If they suddenly sent something beyond that era''s technology won''t there be a lot of problems?


    ''Hey system these players, will they be coming from my previous world?''


    ''Yes, they will come from the host''s previous world, but from a future timeline.''


    ''A future timeline?''


    ''The timeline the host was from didn''t have the technology needed for full dive VR. So the players will be from a timeline where the full dive VR already exists.''


    ''So I won''t be able to see my friends and family enter the game?''


    ''Correct, the timeline we will connect to will be a few hundred years from your future.'' Hearing the system''s answer made Raymond feel both relieved and disappointed.


    ''So how am I suppose to do all these new tasks?''


    ''Of course, the host will use the computer in his room.''

 24 Class advancemen

    [New Advance Second Classes]


    While Brom and his group were walking around the forest looking for monsters to kill, a new notification popped up for the five of them. When the three knight-apprentices tried clicking on it another notification popped out.


    [Level too low. Required level 15 and above to access Advance Second Classes.]


    On the other hand, the siblings were able to access the information on the Advance Second Classes. The way it was presented was the same as when they picked their initial classes. There was a choice to pick four different Advance Second Classes, and when clicking that class a video would be played.


    For Brom, he could advance to a monk, brawler, Initiate Dragon Seeker, and an elemental fighter. The monk was a class that combined the strength of the martial artist and some holy skills of a priest. The priest skills it has can only be used on itself and not on others.


    The Brawler was a more aggressive version of a martial artist. The class discards all defense in exchange for an overwhelming offense. In fact, the more damage the brawler receives the greater the damage it could give.


    The Initiate Dragon Seeker was a class that seeks to strengthen its body to an extreme. This class abandons the techniques of a martial artist for raw power. Among the four Advanced Second Classes of the martial artist, this class looked to have the greatest defensive capabilities. It was pretty much a tank class with good firepower.


    Then finally there was the Elemental fighter. This class as the name suggests uses the elements in unison with its fist. The diversity of its skills in the video was quite the sight to behold. Among the four advance second classes of the martial artist, this class seems to lack in firepower, but it makes up for it with its different ways to use its abilities.


    ...


    Roselia was also able to choose an Advance Second Class. Her choices for her class were also four different types the Linker, Bishop, Heilagur, and the Druid.


    The Linker class focused on buffing allies. The Bishop class has stronger healing spells than the initial priest class. The Heilagur class was a class that could fight, buff, and heal. It was an all-rounder type but each of its skills was relatively weaker than the other classes.


    The Druid class was a class that abandons all of the Priest''s healing skills in exchange for nature skills. The Druid Class uses the forces of nature to aid itself and its allies in battle.


    ...


    Now that they can change their classes into these more powerful classes, Brom and Roselia alongside Lux and the others started discussing which class would the best choice for the siblings.


    After a rather lengthy discussion, Brom chose to become a brawler, and Roselia chose to become a Linker. Once they chose their classes a new notification popped out.


    [Second Class Advancement Quest]


    [You have chosen to become a Brawler. The Brawler is a class that doesn''t shy away from any confrontation. It revels in the fight and it never backs down no matter what.]


    [Requirement: Allow yourself to be hit multiple times without backing down. 0/500 hits]


    [Reward: Class Advancement: Brawler]


    [Second Class Advancement Quest]


    [You have chosen to become a Linker. The Linker is a class that strengthens allies to have a better chance for survival.]


    [Requirement: For the duration of the class quest, you are restricted to only using buff skills. 0/100 Buffs.]


    [Reward: Class Advancement: Linker]


    ...


    While Brom and Roselia were about to start their Class advancement quest, Raymond was sitting in front of the computer. He turned it on and it finally booted up properly. The screen displayed only three things on the desktop.


    An internet browser that was different from all the internet browsers Raymond knew off. Then there was an application that was called Building Mode. Then finally there was another application called Create Quest.


    The moment he saw the three things in the monitor a stream of information was relayed into his brain. The internet browser was something that would be able to connect him to the world wide web of the future. The Building Mode was like the game S*m City. Using Building Mode Raymond could create new things for the Guild.


    Finally, Create Quest was as the name implied an application that creates quests. Raymond was allowed to create quests not for himself but for the Guild Members. The rewards of the quests will be dictated by the system depending on the difficulty.


    Raymond was ecstatic when he saw the functions on the computer, but among all of them, the thing he liked the most was the internet browser. Though he was happy gaining his old body and becoming stronger with minimum effort, Raymond still missed reading manga and watching anime. With this computer that connects to the internet in the future, he would be able to watch and read a ton of stuff.


    The moment he thought of that he was electrocuted.


    ''The host can use the computer for leisure purposes, but only after doing a certain amount of work. So which task will the host do first?'' Raymond completely forgot that his system had a mind of its own.


    ''Fine, I''ll do the make the Guild better task first.'' Raymond clicked the building mode and the first thing that appeared on the screen was a question. It was asking Raymond what the Guild''s name was. Raymond without thinking much about it typed in the name, ''Eternal.''


    [Are you sure you want to name your Guild, the Eternal Guild?] Raymond without any hesitation clicked yes. This was the name of the Guild he and his friends made back when he started playing MMOs. The reason they named their Guild as such, was because they thought that like their friendship their Guild would last forever.


    Raymond looked at the name of the Guild and showed a rather sad smile. ''This time for sure I''ll make it to the end.''

 25 Building Mode

    After picking the name of the Guild the next step was to make a banner. There were already some presets ready. Raymond wasn''t too bothered at what the banner would look like so he just chose randomly.


    The banner he chose had a picture of a half western dragon, half phoenix being. The left side was that of the legendary winged dragon its left wing was open looking majestic, while the right side was a bird of burning flame another legendary creature called the phoenix.


    Once Raymond clicked enter, the banner appeared outside the Guild House, four banners appeared waving down the walls. Another one was created on a pole in the middle of the Guild space.


    The people who were moving around saw the sudden appearance of the banners and were amazed. Though they didn''t know what the bird was in the banner, they knew of the legendary dragon on the other half. They were mesmerized by the design that they stared at the banner for a few minutes.


    It was just one thing after another after coming into this place. It was like they had entered another realm, a mystical realm full of magic and wonder.


    ...


    While the former captured women were looking at the banners Raymond continued to mess around in Building mode. He was already two requirements down before completing the task. The only requirement left was to build two buildings.


    On the screen, he saw how large the Guild space was and it looked to be a few thousand square meters. Raymond checked what buildings were available on the menu screen. He was surprised to see a variety of things he could place in the Guild Space. In building mode, he could extend the Guild house and place more rooms. He could put furniture and accessories. It was basically like S*ms.


    Raymond then looked at the building presets. There was the basic farmhouse and there was even a convenience store. Heck, he could even put a computer shop if he wanted to. There were even things that he didn''t know of, most probably buildings from the future.


    Unfortunately, he didn''t have enough gold to make any of the fancy buildings. The convenience store cost around 20,000 Gold Coins and that was the smallest one. He only had 4,230 Gold Coins to spend.


    ''Well, it''s not like I''ll buy something like that this early in the game. If the players saw a convenience store in a fantasy world, they might complain that their immersion was ruined. Though there were players that don''t really care about stuff like immersion as long as it looked cool. Hey system, do the gamers from the future timeline have the same tendencies as the gamers from my timeline?''


    ''The gamers from your time and the ones in the future are basically the same. In fact, they became even more aggressive as time went on, and the E-sports scene became even more competitive.''


    ''I see... So, I guess I''ll purchase something I need for the upcoming players. I need a forge to create weapons but we don''t have the basic materials for forging. Even if I do buy the forge with no materials it would be useless. Hmm, so I won''t be able to use the blacksmith NPC anytime soon.''


    Raymond started scrolling down the building presets to see what he can use at the moment. With his current funds, the choices were limited.


    ''I do have a ton of weapons after the Guild leveled up, maybe I should create a weapon shop... That won''t work, where would the players get the gold coins to buy weapons? Even I only have limited amounts of Gold Coins. I could make them find work in the nearby town as mercenaries, but then they would buy their weapons from that town. Hmm, it would be ideal if I could find something like an iron mine.''


    ''I need something that the players don''t need to use gold coins on. It would''ve been cool if gold coins drop from killing monsters. Hmm, now that I think about it, I do have a lot of monster corpses. I wonder if I can sell some of their parts in the nearby towns, I better ask Lux later. So what to build... I guess a Granary is needed.''


    Raymond checked how much a Granary cost, the simplest one was around 200 Gold Coins, while the most expensive Granary Cost around 50,000 Gold Coins. It seems that the expensive Granary was the one they used in the future.


    After checking the prices of each Granary, Raymond decided to buy a medium-size Granary. He then placed it near the cornfields. The people who were walking by the area were then forcibly pushed away and then a building was being constructed right before their very eyes. There was no one making the building which made the people watching once again look at the miraculous scene in amazement.


    After a few seconds, the Granary was constructed. The people who saw the miraculous construction were experiencing a myriad of emotions. They were both afraid and amazed by the unknown. They were glad that they were saved by such a powerful person who can use such mystical techniques. They felt honored that they were allowed to live in such an amazing place.


    ...


    Raymond wasn''t aware that the captured women were practically deifying him at the moment, as he continued to browse the building presets. After scrolling down a bit he found another suitable building. It was a training hall were players could practice their skills. It costs around 600 Gold coins to construct the training hall.


    It had a lot of equipment from wooden weapons to wooden dummies. The area it encompassed was as large as the Guild house, the only difference was this was a single-story building. The same as the Granary the construction happened almost instantly and this time the people watching were pretty much numbed by the event.


    Once Raymond was done a notification appeared before him.


    [New Task: Make the Guild Better (Completed).]


    [With the recent System Upgrade the system has gained a lot of new functions. Use these new functions to make the Guild into a better place.]


    [Requirement:


    Guild Name 1/1


    Guild Banner 1/1


    Building 2/2]


    [Task Reward: +3 attribute points, +1 SP]


    [Do you want to receive your reward, now? Y/N]

 26 Ogre Cave

    After completing the first quest Raymond was about to do the second quest. But before he got started on that, he asked the system some questions.


    ''So, are the players going to have the same system as the local Guild Members?''


    ''No, their restrictions are greater than the local inhabitants that become Guild Members. The reason behind this is because I need to recreate a body for them to use in this world, the effects of the undying body skill will be weakened. Unlike the locals who need to wait ten minutes, the players would need an hour before they can respawn. Also, the skills they gain cannot be transmitted in their minds like you and the others. They will instead be given a skill assist function. The skill assist will guide them to use proper movements to activate their skills.''


    ''Alright, another question, can you place objects in defeated monsters, so that players can loot items upon killing the monsters?''


    ''That''s not possible, the monsters in the forest aren''t part of the system so such a function is not possible.''


    ''Okay, then how about currency. What else could we give the players aside from Gold Coins as currency?''


    ''How should I know, I''m just a system here to assist the host in creating the strongest Guild.''


    ''...''


    ...


    While Raymond and the system were discussing how to treat the players once they arrive, Brom and his sister had successfully advanced to their respective second class. In fact, it was quite easy for them to finish the quest to advance to their second classes. Brom just asked his companions to hit him until the quest requirement was satisfied. While he was getting hit, Roselia kept on using buffing skills on him.


    ...


    Now that their class advancement quest was done, the siblings were currently helping Lux, Rei, and Daniel level up by killing nearby monsters. Because of their mass killing a while back, it seems like there weren''t enough monsters in the area they were in.


    Since this was the usual spot were Raymond and the others kill monsters, some of the monsters started to unconsciously avoid the area. They might not be smart but they still had the instinct to evade an area that smelled like the blood of their own.


    "Should we go deeper into the forest?" Rei asked his companions.


    "I don''t think that''s a good idea, even the Guild Master doesn''t go that far into the forest." Roselia voiced out her opinion.


    "So even that powerful guy has something he is wary of."


    As the group was discussing what to do next they heard a weird sound. The five of them immediately hid as they surveyed the area. After looking around for a bit Daniel who had enhanced vision due to his class spotted a group of hobgoblins and goblins carrying some women.


    Hearing Daniel''s report Brom was about to charge in and save the women, but Lux stopped him. "What are you doing?"


    "If you go in now, we could save those ladies, but what about the others that they already captured? Let''s follow them for now and see where their base is." Brom looked at Lux who also stared back with a serious expression on his face.


    "Fine then let''s follow them." The group then followed the hobgoblins. With Daniel''s scouting skills it was easy for them to follow from a distance so the hobgoblins wouldn''t notice them.


    ...


    They were now rather deep into the forest when the group arrived in a cave. The cave was guarded by two four meters tall creatures with thick green skin and grotesque faces, they were holding trees and it seems like they were using it as weapons. This was the first time Brom and the others saw something like the creature before them.


    The group then spotted the hobgoblins entering the cave. Brom could no longer hold it in and charged towards the cave. Lux was too late to stop him and sighed as he followed close behind.


    "[Fortify] [Inspire] [Frenzy]" Roselia started buffing the group. Daniel who was standing at the distance took an arrow from his quiver and pointed his bow upward [Arrow Rain]. He released his arrow up in the sky and a rain of arrows fell on his enemies.


    [Provoke] Brom used a skill to attract the two gatekeepers'' attention. The ogres roared and angrily charged at Brom. The Ogres started swinging the trees they were carrying at Brom who simply stood there and allowed their attacks to hit. His HP decreased dramatically but in exchange, his strength was boosted.


    This was one of the new passive skills of his class [Unrelenting Spirit] for every HP lost he gains an increase of 0.2 in his strength stat. Brom then punched forward shattering the tree one of the ogres was holding. Rei and Lux then swooped in and attacked the Ogre who was unbalanced because of Brom''s strike.


    "Daniel support us!" Lux shouted but there was no response. He then looked behind him and saw that both Roselia and Daniel were being eaten by another Ogre, not only that it seems like they have been surrounded by hobgoblins and goblins. As he was distracted by the sight he felt a massive object hit his head and as he was about to blackout a bunch of notifications ringed in his mind.


    [Received a fatal attack]


    [You have died]


    [Will Respawn in the Guild, ten minutes]


    [Exp decrease 20%]

 27 Gathering forces

    Brom who was fighting the ogres in front of him was losing HP quite fast. Still, that didn''t bother him as he continued to right relentlessly. When he saw that the healing spells were no longer being cast on him, Brom finally noticed that he was surrounded and that his companions have already died. He gritted his teeth and like the character description for his class, Brom never backed down as he continued getting hit and striking the monsters before him.


    As his HP bar was nearing zero Brom was able to kill a dozen goblins and a few hobgoblins. He wanted to at least take down one ogre before his inevitable death. With his strength stat at an all-time high Brom charged forward.


    The Goblins and Hobgoblins started blocking his path and attacked him. He endured the small hits he received from the goblins and pierced through their blockade. One of the ogres then swung his arm but Brom was faster as he punched the ogre who was attacking him making a hole in its stomach. Once that was accomplished Brom was hit by multiple objects and died.


    ...


    Raymond who was busy trying to figure out how to advertise to players, suddenly heard somebody screaming. He quickly got up from his seat and started running towards where the scream came from.


    ''Have monsters breached the walls?... No, that''s impossible since John is still alive and his HP hasn''t even decreased by a point. Also, these people wouldn''t be running out, but running in instead if there were monsters.''


    Raymond noticed that a few women were running out of the Guild house. As he exited the guild house he saw two men fighting. Well, to be more precise he saw one guy punching at the other guy and the other guy allowing the other to punch him freely.


    "If it weren''t for you we would have at least save those three women. Now none of them have been saved!" Brom shouted at Lux who had his head down. Daniel and Rei were trying their best to hold Brom back, but due to the difference in strength, they couldn''t hold him back for long. Roselia, on the other hand, was shouting at her brother to calm down. Yet despite her efforts, Brom couldn''t hear her.


    "What''s happening here!" Raymond shouted, upon hearing his voice Brom finally stopped attacking Lux. Brom and the others looked at Raymond.


    "You guys tell me what''s happening here."


    The group then started to explain their encounter with the ogres. When Raymond heard their story an idea popped into his head.


    "I see... Brom what Lux decided to do was the right thing to do. If you''re going to save someone then you must try to save them all."


    "But we weren''t able to save a single person." Brom lowered his head in regret and shame. He was granted strength by the Guild Master, and after beating the bandit leader he felt like he was pretty strong. Yet now he was once again reminded that he wasn''t strong enough. Seeing him look dejected Raymond patted his shoulder.


    "Don''t worry we will save them, that''s what the guild is for." Raymond then opened his status screen and checked how many people he can turn into Guild Members. When he checked his status screen he saw that the Guild Members bar was different from before.


    It was now separated from local and foreign. The local had 5/50 while the foreign was 0/20. He quickly understood that the local must mean people of this world while the foreign were the players from his old world.


    "Gather all the women here," Raymond commanded the five.


    ...


    While waiting for the women to gather Raymond started to think about why he wasn''t feeling anything when he heard that women were captured by hobgoblins. He knew based on the novels he read what goblins did to human women. Yet despite that, he wasn''t feeling all that bad, in fact he was actually grateful for this event to come to him when he needed it.


    ''I know these people are real, and this is not a game... But... I just can''t see them as being the same human species as me. What''s wrong with me?...''


    Before he could delve deeper into this thought, Raymond decided to put that thought in the back of his mind for now and started talking to the system instead.


    ''Hey, are there still game streamers in the future?''


    ''Of course, there are. In the advent of the full dive VR, they became more popular than ever.''


    ''Can you convert the Gold Coins I have into whatever currency they have in the future?''


    ''I can,'' hearing the system''s response Raymond couldn''t help but smile.


    ...


    After waiting for a while everyone in the Guild has gathered in the main square where the pole that had the banner of the Guild was located. Raymond stood in front of the thirty people present and spoke in a voice that was loud enough for everyone to hear.


    "I have gathered everyone here to ask for your help. It has come to my attention that some unfortunate souls have been captured by monsters, and I wish to save them. But with my strength alone, I won''t be able to do that. I know most of you have been through traumatic experiences and I won''t fault you if you do not wish to help. But if you wish to save these poor souls the same way I saved you, I will grant you the power to fight! So who wishes to join me?!"


    Without any hesitation, all of the women stepped forward as well as the current guild members. Raymond nodded his head and began the process of making them into guild members. After everyone had become Guild Members and chose their classes, Raymond made another announcement.


    "I now know everyone is eager to help but we cannot strike yet. We need more reinforcements so tomorrow I plan to summon warriors from another world."

 28 Otherworlders

    After explaining about the otherworlders that would be coming, Raymond divided the thirty guild members into five teams. Each team had a member that was Level five and above, this was of course Brom and the others. Once that was done each team went out to kill the remaining monsters near the Guild''s vicinity.


    Once that was done Raymond went back to his room and checked his computer. ''So system, which country has the most gamers?''


    ''China has the highest population of gamers.''


    ''Heh, so China still has the most gamers even in the future. Alright then let''s convert some of the Gold Coins into whatever currency they still use over there.''


    ...


    In the middle of a room, a gaming capsule opened, and out came a nineteen-year-old boy. This was Chen Fan a somewhat known Game Streamer. As he got out of his gaming capsule he stretched his body for a bit.


    He had been playing the new game ''Air Space'' for a few hours now and he felt a little bit dizzy. As he took the bottle of water at a nearby table, Chen Fan sat down in front of his computer.


    As he was about to edit one of his videos, he noticed that he had a lot of new mail. He quickly checked them, when he suddenly got to one mail that was offering him a job to review a new game, as a beta tester.


    Chen Fan clicked on the link which sent him to the official site. The game was simply called the Guild. The official site was pretty good looking but it lacks a lot of information. It only had the information about the characters you can select and that was it.


    There were no pictures, no videos, nothing was present except for a bit of information about the storyline. Chen Fan was a little bit intrigued and checked the amount the other party was offering. Chen Fan who was drinking a bottle of water almost spat out when he saw how much he was offered.


    "300,000 yuan!"


    ''I know I''m pretty well known nowadays but that''s the largest offer I had so far. Of course, I''m going to accept the deal!''


    Chen Fan quickly replied to the email, agreeing to the terms stated above. Once he looked at the contract he was sent and saw that there was nothing wrong with it he signed it. After a few minutes, he received a link to download the new game.


    To his surprise, the game was barely 1GB. Even a normal computer game nowadays was at least a few hundred GB much less full dive VR games.


    ''Is this for real, or am I being scammed? Is there going to be a virus in this thing?'' Chen Fan started to deliberate if he was going to download the game or not. But in the end, he decided to go download the file, since he already signed the contract.


    After downloading the file, he installed the game and quickly tried it out.


    ...


    Upon entering the game he was greeted by the voice of a woman asking him to create his character. In the character creation screen, it seems like there was no option to change his gender.


    ''A gender lock in this day and age? Well, it''s not like I was going to make a female character.''


    The character creation screen was quite detailed and he could recreate his looks with ease in the game. Chen Fan then started to make a character that looks like him but is slightly more handsome. He then typed in the name of his character, Merlin.


    Once he was done with the character creation, the scenery changed and what greeted him was a bright light. After a while, he finally saw what was before him. He was standing in what looked to be a magic circle. Standing in front of him, was a man wearing light armor. Behind him were a dozen women looking at him curiously.


    ''The game characters look so realistic.'' Those were the first thoughts Chen Fan had when he saw Raymond and the others. Seeing as full dive VR hasn''t been out for that long the level of the graphics was barely different from old school VRs. Yet this game looked real, it really felt like he was transported into another world.


    "Warrior from another world, as my summoned warrior please complete your pledge to me." When Chen Fan heard what Raymond said his body started moving on its own.


    ''This must be an event scene.''


    Chen Fan then knelt on one knee placed his right hand on his chest and spoke. This was also done without his consent. Chen Fan thought that he would then speak out against his will, but after a few seconds, nothing was said. He then saw a text box appear before him, it was telling him to say something.


    "I Merlin, pledge my allegiance to you Lord Raymond my Guild Master."


    Once that was said, Chen Fan was then asked to pick a class. The initial class were a martial artist, swordsman, priest, archer, and mage. There was a video for each character portraying what they cand do.


    The PV was really well made and Chen Fan felt like he would like to watch the characters perform in a movie. After watching each PV, Chen Fan chose to be a mage since that was the character class he usually chooses.

 29 Talking to the NPCs

    After picking his class Chen Fan aka Merlin started looking around. He was truly impressed by the graphics of this game. It was confusing that such a great game was using less than 1GB. As he was wondering what to do next, Merlin then thought of opening his status screen and to his surprise, a holographic screen appeared before him.


    [Status


    Name: Merlin


    Race: Human


    Class: Mage


    Level: 1


    HP: 40/40 MP: 10/10


    Combat Energy: 2/2


    STR: 2


    AGI: 2


    DEX: 4


    INT: 7


    WIS: 6


    VIT: 3


    Luck: 5


    Skills:


    Active: Energy Bolt


    Passive: Undying Body (max)


    Profession: Locked (Requires Level 10 to unlock.)]


    ''So there are different races... How come I didn''t get to pick what race I wanted? It must be because it''s in beta. Also, what''s the difference between mana and Combat Energy? This game really doesn''t want to hold my hand.''


    Merlin was about to click on the skill tree when one of the lady NPCs approached him.


    "Warrior from another world, please follow me to get your equipment." Merlin nodded his head and followed the lady into the Guild house. Upon entering the Guild House, Merlin was quite surprised to see what was inside.


    The building from the outside looked like a Gothic building but the inside looked like a twenty-first-century hotel. As they walked through the halls Merlin was fascinated by everything he saw. It''s not like this was the first time he has ever been in such a building, but to see it in a game and with such detail was new to him.


    Not only that he was also finally able to notice that the sensation of the wind blowing past his face. The feeling was so authentic that it didn''t register in his mind that he was in a game. Usually, even in full dive VR the sensation of the five senses was either downplayed or overplayed. You either feel it too much that it''s unnatural or you don''t feel anything at all then it doesn''t seem like a full dive VR game.


    As Merlin was appreciating the realism of the game, he didn''t forget to use the video function he found in the UI. He was excited to see the reaction of his fans when he uploads a video of this game later.


    ...


    Merlin arrived at the Guild''s storage room, and it was filled with weapons and armor. Unfortunately, there were no inspect skills to see what level the armor and weapons were at. So he needed to guess based on the look of the equipment alone.


    ''I guess it''s quite fun to see which armor and weapons will be good to use through trial and error. Also, with how real everything looks some experts might be able to tell which weapons are better than the other.''


    Merlin who couldn''t discern which was good equipment and which wasn''t just picked randomly. He chose some random staff and a knife, he tried wearing some armor but most of them were too heavy. So he just wore chainmail and a robe.


    Once he was done choosing he was guided back out. When he stepped out of the Guild House he noticed three other people have been summoned, aka they were three other players.


    They received the same cut scene as him and once they said the pledge words, Merlin noticed that a mark appeared on their right cheek. There was a tattoo that looked to be a combination of a western dragon and a phoenix. It was the same as the banner of the Guild. Seeing that Merlin unconsciously touched his right cheek.


    ''Do I have one too?''


    After a few seconds, Merlin was no longer bothered about the tattoo, as he started talking to the nearby NPCs, or to be more precise the nearby NPCs started talking to him.


    "So you''re a warrior from another world? Are you strong?" A man with a rather scary face approached him. He looked like one of those old school characters in anime that liked to fight.


    "Do you know the Guild Master? Is he also a person from your world?" Another NPC spoke to him this time, it was a person that seems to have a bright personality.


    "You guys didn''t even introduce yourselves before bombarding him with questions. I''m sorry about that Sir, I''m Roselia it''s nice to meet you." This time it was a rather cute girl that spoke to him, she looked like one of those girls next door kinda girls.


    "I''m Merlin, the great mage Merlin." Merlin then started to roleplay since it felt like the right thing to do in this situation.


    "A mage? Like one of those in the class selection screen?... Can you tell us what a mage is? Oh, sorry I forgot to introduce myself. The name''s Lux it''s nice to meet you, Sir Merlin." Seeing as Merlin looked to be a middle-aged man the group of teens talked to him rather respectfully.


    ''Wow the AI in this game is unreal, it''s like they are actual living people. Also, they know about the class selection screen, doesn''t that ruin the immersion, or are they perhaps players as well?''


    "You don''t have mages here, and you know about the class selection screen?" Merlin probed, it was unlikely they were players because of what they said at the beginning, but just to be sure.


    "Hmm, don''t all that pledge loyalty to Sir Raymond get to see the selection screen? Wasn''t the information relayed into your mind? Also, it''s true we don''t have mages here. We only heard about them from the selection screen. We do see in the selection screen that they seem powerful, but we really are unsure about that class. We don''t know anything about mages, except the information relayed to us by Sir Raymond''s ability. So are mages really that powerful?"


    ''Hoh, interesting that''s the setting of this game...''


    "I see... I can tell you without a doubt in my mind that Mages are really powerful! We are a group of people that try to seek the truth of the universe and harness its powers." Merlin started bullsh*ting as he continued to talk to the NPCs. As their conversation got deeper, the more impressed Merlin was in the AI of the game. These NPCs were practically living breathing beings, with varied expressions and thoughts.

 30 First Raid

    After Merlin was done conversing with the NPCs, the group of new arrivals approached him. It was easy to guess what the classes of three were. Two of them were most likely mages like Merlin and one of them was most probably a martial artist.


    "Hey, your a player as well right?" One of the three players spoke to Merlin.


    "Yeah, and you guys are?"


    "Oh damn, sorry about that, it''s just so hard to differentiate who''s the NPC and who''s a player. Well, I guess if you see the tattoo on our faces would be a good indication, but you never know. Hi, I''m disguisedfox, these two are lonelypants, and Diablo, you must be the same as us a streamer right?" The player who was speaking was a rather cute looking girl with a nice smiling face. ''Was this her real appearance or did she modify it?''


    "I''m Merlin, and yeah I''m a streamer as well."


    ...


    While the three players were talking to each other, the final streamer arrived. After the last streamer was done with choosing a class and getting his equipment, Raymond ordered one of the local guild members to call everyone back to the square.


    Once everyone was gathered, Raymond spoke in a loud voice so that everyone would hear him.


    "My fellow Guild Members of Eternity, with our current strength it is finally time to uphold justice and eliminate the vile monsters and rescue the captured maidens!"


    Hearing Raymond''s declaration the local guild members let out a warcry. Raymond then activated the quest he made in the Create Quest application. This quest could only be seen by the players.


    [Story Quest: For Justice]


    [As a summoned warrior of the Guild Master Raymond, you must help him uphold justice by eliminating the monsters and saving the damsels in distress]


    [S Rank mission]


    [Requirements:


    Kill goblins: 0/20


    Kill hobgoblins 0/5


    Save captured women 0/2]


    [Task Reward: +10 attribute points, +3 SP, increased affinity with Guild Master, 1 Rare Equipment]


    Seeing the mission prompt Merlin and the others were getting excited. The five streamers decided that they needed to stay together if they wanted to have a chance to do this quest.


    ...


    "Hey, did you guys try using your skills?" As the NPCs were getting ready to leave, one of the streamers named Gandalfisawizard asked the others. All of them shook their heads in response.


    "No, not yet, why?" Merlin asked.


    "See for yourselves." Doing as Gandalfisawizard said Merlin tapped on the Energy Bolt skill, and then a video on how to do it was displayed. First, he needed to think of the words Energy Bolt, then a text box would appear before him which he needed to read the words. Then he needed to point his staff in the direction of the enemy. Everything seems to be easy enough but then Merlin noticed what he needed to say to activate the spell.


    ''O mana gather and form, [Energy Bolt]'' It was short and easy to say, but it felt embarrassing to say it. It was then the group finally noticed something else.


    ''Doesn''t this mean if we get stronger spells, the more complicated and longer it would be. We might be speaking a whole essay in the higher levels.''


    "You guys think you have it hard? To use my active skill I need to follow a set pattern of movements shown by the skill assist function." Lonelypants told the others as he made awkward punching movements, but after a few tries, he was able to use his skill.


    "This game truly is something else. This kind of way of using skills might be hard, but it seems like it''s going to be fun." Disguisedfox told her opinion to the others. Seeing a pretty girl smile made the four male players swoon a bit. Even lonelypants no longer felt angry at the difficulty of using the skills. In fact, the four male players started thinking that the way to activate skills was rather fun and innovative.


    As the five were practicing their skills, they saw that the NPCs seem to be done with their preparation as they started walking out of the Guild space with Raymond at the forefront.


    ...


    As Merlin and the other players followed the NPCs they couldn''t help but once again marvel at how realistic and good looking this game was. As they were walking through the oak-brown forest, the players were enchanted.


    Looking at the tall and ancient-looking trees made the group of players truly feel that they were transported into a fantasy world. At the distance, they could hear the growling and roaring of the animals or would be monsters, which just added to the fantasy atmosphere they were feeling.


    These look and feel coupled with the sunlight illuminating the forest just added to the appeal. Some of the players thought, If only there was some BGM that matched the scenery it would be even more epic. On the other hand, the others felt like a game like this shouldn''t have any BGM as it might ruin their immersion.


    ...


    ''Why is the host joining the raid? Did the host forget that he doesn''t have the undying body like the others? If the host is worried about EXP, The host could''ve stayed in the Guild space and still receive ample experience points.'' Hearing the system saying a stream of words, surprised Raymond. Usually, the system wouldn''t start a conversation and only talk when Raymond speaks to it.


    ''Are you worried about me?''


    ''The system is worried about the host in a lot of ways, for example, the host''s intelligence.''


    ''Now that''s the system I know... Well, of course, if I can I wouldn''t want to risk my neck by going to such a dangerous place. But this is necessary, I need to show the players how cool and badass I am. I need to make a good first impression on these streamers for my future plans.''


    ''Future plans? Does the host have the capability to even make plans?'' Hearing that comment Raymond and his system started arguing again.


    ''This is the problem when you have a system with an AI.''


    ...


    On the way to the cave, some monsters had attacked the group but they were easily killed. The players had leveled up because of these random encounters. The first time the players saw a monster come attacking, they were frozen on the spot. They knew that it was a game in their heads, but seeing the approaching monsters still made them scared. But after some more encounters, the players were finally able to adapt and assist in killing the monsters on the way to the cave.


    When Lux saw the players'' performance he felt disappointed. ''Are these guys really warriors from another world? If they freeze up from some small animals attacking them, will they even be able to help in fighting hobgoblins? They might hinder the operation. I wonder what the Guild Master is thinking summoning these guys to help.''

 31 Attacking the Ogre Cave

    The group finally arrived at the cave where Brom and the others died. At the entrance of the cave, there were five ogres instead of two. Seeing this made Raymond frown a bit.


    ''Either the monsters were smarter than I thought, or there''s some kind of boss monster controlling them... Well, either way, we still need to purge these guys who are near the Guild space. Also, if anything goes wrong I can use this teleport scroll I got in case of emergencies.''


    After calming himself down by touching his teleport scroll, Raymond looked at his guild members. The highest level was, of course, the NPC John who was at LVL 30 and the next ones were Brom and Roselia who were at LVL 25 and then Lux and his group who were at LVL 12, finally the captured women plus the players, who ranged from LVL 5 to 7.


    ''I hope this is enough, if we lose the first raid with the streamers, it''s going to be embarrassing and it might dampen my future plans.''


    ...


    "My friends, we have finally arrived in the den of evil. The monsters inside might look fearsome, but do not falter, do not fear, for I am by your side. As long as I stand The Guild Eternal shall never lose! Now FORWARD!"


    The Guild Members screamed their warcries as they charged into the cave. The Ogres seeing the Guild Members coming towards them roared and they too charged forth.


    ...


    Merlin and the players were at the back for they knew that the first to charge was usually the first to die. With their current low levels, facing a monster that big wasn''t going to work out for them. As the players stood behind taking videos, they saw Raymond charging forward at the forefront,


    They saw Raymond fighting an Ogre by himself, while the other guild members were dealing with the four other ogres. Raymond pointed his finger at the ogre and flames shot out. The flames were able to burn some of the ogre skin but it didn''t do that much damage. He then took out his bow as the ogre was charging at him, he pulled his bowstring and released his arrow upward into the sky. A few seconds later a volley of arrows fell onto the charging ogre.


    The ogre was now fully enraged as it swung the three it was holding downward at Raymond, who deflected it by knocking it to the side using the back of his fist. Raymond then touched the hilt of his sword and multiple sword slashes were made, cutting the ogre. Raymond followed that attack by jumping upward and when he was above the ogre''s head he did a mid-air flip and pounded the ogre''s head with the heel of his right leg.


    The ogre knelt onto the ground in one knee. As the ogre was about to retaliate, Raymond snapped his fingers and vines came out from the ground restraining the ogre. Raymond then unsheathed his sword raised it upward and sliced down, cutting the ogre in half.


    The players who witnessed this scene were amazed, as expected of the Guild Master. That whole fight just showed them that the Guild Master has all the skills of each class. As the gamers were amazed by how well the Guild Master was fighting, they noticed that a bunch of little green men were coming out of the cave. These were the goblins and the hobgoblins. Seeing their prey finally show up the players finally joined in the attack.


    ...


    The battle between the monsters and the guild members was chaotic. Though fewer in number the guild members were able to utilize their skills in a cooperative manner which made the whole battle flow into a favorable direction for them.


    It was a good thing that Raymond decided to group them into teams of five. If he didn''t do that and they attacked the cave without any teamwork the guild members would''ve died already. Well, it wasn''t only their teamwork that was winning the fight. Both Raymond and John''s battle power was overwhelming the monsters, as they only had a bit of difficulty defeating the ogres.


    ...


    It took them a few hours to finish off the monsters outside, and no more reinforcements came. The casualties on the guild side were around twelve Guild members, most of them were the recently appointed Guild Members and Roselia and Daniel.


    The players were able to survive since every time they were about to encounter a fatal strike Raymond would intervene to help them.


    After the battle outside was over, and no boss monster was shown Raymond decided to enter the cave as well. But before they entered Raymond told the guild members to store the bodies of the monsters in their inventories.


    Hearing their orders the Guild Members started doing as they were told. The players got excited when they heard that order, as they felt like the carcasses of the monsters might be very valuable. While everyone was doing that Raymond spoke to the system.


    ''So in the future do they still have ESRB?''


    ''The ESRB has been lost a few decades ago in the future were the players are from. There was a consensus that no matter the content of a game, it is the player''s right to decide what he/she could play no matter the age.''


    ''So we won''t get a mature rating? Cause I can pretty much guess what''s going to be inside that cave.'' Raymond looked at the cave they were about to enter and frowned. Even though he was sure that inside the cave that was full of goblins and ogres was going to have sex victims, he wasn''t worried about the women, but about the feelings of the players instead. As Raymond was trying to understand his own feelings on the subject matter, he heard the system''s voice.


    ''The host doesn''t need to worry, no matter how much r*pe and violence is shown our game will not be shut down.''


    ''Hmm, I see... Hey system, why does it seem like I cannot feel sympathy nor empathy?''


    ''The host''s level is not high enough for me to answer that question.'' When Raymond heard that reply he felt something was weird. Even though he had heard that reply from the system a hundred times by now, it was weird to hear that reply right now.


    ''Does this mean what''s happening to my emotions has something to do with the system?''


    ''Yes,'' Hearing that answer Raymond felt something was going to snap in his mind, but then he heard Brom''s voice.


    "Guild Master, we''re done with the cleanup."


    "Huh?... Oh, alright tell the others that we will wait for those that have died to come back here. Roselia and the others should have already respawned at the Guild."


    Brom nodded his head and told the others what Raymond said. Once his conversation with Brom was done, Raymond noticed that he was no longer feeling that stressed about the revelation that the system has done something to his emotions. As Raymond was about to restart the conversation, the system was the first to speak.


    ''The host should stop worrying about that. The system is not here to harm the host in any way, the system is here to help the host.''


    ''If you''re here to help then why are you controlling my emotions.''


    ''The host''s level is not high enough for me to answer that question.''


    Raymond gritted his teeth and then sighed. It would seem like no matter what he did, he wouldn''t get the answers he was looking for at the moment.


    ''Fine, I''ll get to a high enough level to get the answers I want. It''s not like I''m going to die if I don''t know it. Yeah, I already died once, so not knowing this, for now, is an okay price to pay for this new life.'' Raymond comforted himself, as he placed the thought about his emotions in the back of his mind.

 32 Inside the cave

    As Merlin and the other players entered the cave with the NPCs, the first thing they noticed was the smell. It was a putrid smell that made them want to puke. The players tried looking if they could lower the setting on the sense of smell like they did when they lowered the pain meter before the battle started.


    ...


    They realized that the game had this kind of settings when they were first attacked. Lonelypants who was a melee class was damaged by one of the monsters and he felt the pain of the attack. That was when the players noticed that in the settings you can reduce the pain you felt. Of course, as modern-day gamers, they didn''t want to feel that kind of painful experience in a game, they weren''t masochists.


    Yet no matter how hard they looked they couldn''t find any setting to lower the sense of smell. This meant that they had to deal with the putrid smell. This was the one time the gamers hated the realism of this game.


    ...


    As the group went deeper into the cave they found out that there was no light in the cave. As they stepped in, the group watched as their shadows dissolved into the surrounding darkness. It was dank and the only sound was the dripping water. It was so dark ahead that it looked like they were about to enter an endless abyss. Do the goblins and ogres need no lighting at all? Does that mean they had some sort of night vision, or were they using some other sense to guide them in this darkness?


    ''If I were like those protagonists in novels, I would have dissected the goblins and figure out what made them tick. But even if I try to do that I won''t be able to understand anything.'' Raymond couldn''t help but sigh. He wasn''t some hidden science nerd that knew how to do stuff like that.


    ''Has the host finally admitted his own lack of intelligence? Should we celebrate once we return?'' The system''s voice sounded in Raymond''s mind. Though robotic it felt like it was genuinely happy, which just irritated Raymond.


    ''I''m pretty sure a majority of people wouldn''t be able to do it as well. It''s not because I''m stupid or anything, you need someone that specializes in that field to be able to do it.''


    ''Is the host being a Tsundere?''


    ''Huh? Who are you calling a tsundere?!''


    As Raymond and the system were once again bickering Roselia spoke to Raymond.


    "Guild Master, how should we proceed?"


    "Wait a moment." Hearing Raymond''s response Roselia nodded her head and waited. Raymond proceeded to open up his cash up, this was one of the functions that only he has. In it, he could buy almost anything imaginable for a price. Some of the items were also level restricted so he just can''t buy things willy nilly.


    Raymond scrolled through the cash shop and finally found torches and matches. Each torch cost 10 copper coins which were pretty cheap. Raymond quickly bought thirty-six torches and a few matches. He then gave everyone a torch except for John who doesn''t really need it.


    With that, the group proceeded to go deeper into the cave. The inside of the cave didn''t look naturally formed as numerous pathways appeared as the group went deeper.


    "Everyone search around if you see a prisoner bring them back here." Hearing Raymond''s command the usual groups of five went to check each pathway. The players formed a group of their own and started to move around, excited to explore the cave. Since they still hadn''t completed their quest by saving two captured women, they had to find them before the NPCs do.


    ...


    Merlin and his group walked through one of the pathways, and at the end was a place that looked like a room of sorts. The smell was worse in this room, as they shined their torches in the area they were surprised at what they saw.


    Several naked women were chained to the ground their bodies were thin and had scratches here and there. Some were even pregnant and it was obvious what got them pregnant. Seeing this scene made the players feel horrified especially disguisedfox who was the only girl in the group.


    The group of players then started to comfort themselves by saying this is just a game, this is just a game. Some of the women who still had their sanity, when they saw the light spoke to the players.


    "Is anyone there, please save us." The group of players after calming down a bit started to release the prisoners.


    ...


    While the players were having their unique experience, Raymond also explored one of the pathways. In that pathway, he also reached a room, in that room he saw a group of small goblins feeding on human women, who looked to be their birth mothers.


    The small goblins who looked rather cute noticed Raymond and cowered into a corner. Seeing them act like scared pups, made Raymond a bit irritated. Though he couldn''t feel sympathy for the women, he knew that they didn''t deserve to die like this.


    "As one of my favorite anime characters once said. In the end, the only good goblins are the ones who never come out of their holes."


    After saying his line, Raymond proceeded to kill all the goblin children.


    ...


    After a few minutes, each group returned back to the center of the pathways, all except for one group. When Raymond saw that a group was missing, he thought that maybe the group found the boss monster and died.


    ''Well, we''ll know when they get back.''


    The other guild members then started to report to Raymond what they found. The groups mostly found women prisoners, and one of the groups found an armory of sorts. It seems like the weapons of fallen knights and mercenaries have been gathered by the goblins.


    "Sir, what do we do with the women?" Brom asked. Raymond then looked at the group of nearly naked women and sighed.


    "The ones who can still respond and still has their sanity, bring them to the Guild house. As for those that are devoid of emotions and are pregnant... After we bring the sane ones to safety, we''ll kill the others." When Brom heard Raymond''s response his eyes widened. Though Raymond could be sometimes cold and look stern, Brom knew that deep down Raymond was a good person. So he was truly surprised to hear what Raymond said


    "Sir, surely we can still save them."


    "... Fine, call all the guild members." Brom nodded his head and did as he was told.


    ...


    After everyone was gathered in front of him Raymond told them what he planned to do. The reactions of some were mostly the same as Brom. The former captured women seem to have a different opinion than the others.


    "If we let them live, it would only prolong their suffering. Killing them is a mercy that they deserve."


    "Surely they can recover from their state. Please, Guild Master, reconsider." Roselia pleaded and so did her brother and the former knight-apprentices. The players on the other hand had no say on the matter and treated the whole thing as a cut scene.


    "What the Guild Master says is right." One of the former women captured by the bandits spoke, her name was Agatha. She was one of the older women in the group.


    "Why, do you say that? Surely you understand what these women are going through. Why don''t we save them?"


    "It''s because I and the others know what they are going through, that we want to set them free from their pain. The suffering we endured pales in comparison to the suffering they endured. We only needed to please human men, they have been r*ped multiple times by monsters. The children they will bear will be monsters as well. After that kind of experience, I imagine only a few would want to live. So let us grant them the mercy they deserve."


    Seeing all the other women agreeing with Agatha, Roselia and her group knew that they won''t be able to convince them.


    "It''s settled then. We will save those that can be saved, and we will grant mercy to those that can''t" After hearing Raymond''s command the guild members started talking to the semi-naked women. Roselia hoped that most of them could be saved.

 33 Demi-Human

    When the guild members gathered around to talk to the semi-naked women, they noticed something weird. Some of the women had animal ears and tails. The guild members were shocked by the sight. When Lux saw those ears he mumbled to himself.


    "Demi-Humans."


    Some of the demi-humans who had better hearing than most trembled slightly when they heard Lux''s mumbling. On the other hand, when Raymond and the players saw the demi-humans their eyes sparkled in delight.


    "Hey, do you guys see that it''s fox eared ladies!"


    "OMG, so cute. How come we didn''t have the option to be demi-humans I would''ve liked to have bunny ears as well."


    "So this is that kinda MMO."


    The players were getting a bit rowdy as they stared at the demi-humans, while the other guild members were looking at the demi-humans in fear and awe. This has a lot to do with the stories about demi-humans told in the human kingdoms. Most of which were grossly exaggerated. On the other hand, the demi-humans see humans as evil people that hunt down their kind and make them slaves.


    "What are you guys doing? Bring them out first before questioning them. The smell here is getting unbearable." Hearing Raymond''s voice the guild members snap out of their surprise and guided the ladies outside.


    ...


    Once the group was outside of the cave, they could see the full glory of the semi-naked women. Five of which were demi-humans. When Raymond saw that the guild members were hesitating on how to talk to the demi-humans, he spoke to them.


    "Everyone should check on the others, I''ll be the one to talk to the demi-humans." Without hearing their response Raymond approached one of the demi-humans. It was a girl with fox ears, and three fluffy looking tails. She looked at Raymond warily and got into a defensive position.


    Raymond also scanned the girl. He really wanted to touch her ears and tails, but for now, Raymond held himself back as he noticed the wounds on the girl. Raymond then extended his hand and used a healing spell on the fox eared girl.


    The girl was surrounded by a white light, and then to her surprise her wounds had healed almost instantaneously. Raymond then proceeded to heal the other demi-humans as well. Once he was done he spoke to all five of them at once.


    "It''s alright now, I''m not here to hurt you." Hearing his soothing voice, as well as feeling the full effects of his charm skill, the demi-humans felt relieved. The demi-humans then started to tear up while some of them went ahead and cried. All except for one who looked devoid of emotions.


    "Okay then, let''s get you guys back to my base so that we can get you some proper clothes and food." Raymond showed a reassuring smiling face to the demi-humans.


    "Thank you." One of the demi-humans bowed her head and the others followed suit except for one. Seeing that one of them wasn''t responding to outside stimulus made Raymond sigh.


    "I see... You are no longer, you." Raymond approached another fox eared girl that was smaller than the other one. She had only one tail and her eyes were ruby red, she was pretty cute but unfortunately, she was already long gone. Seeing Raymond approaching the little girl, the fox eared girl with three tails remembered what the humans were talking about a while ago.


    "We will save those that can be saved, and we will grant mercy to those that can''t." When she remembered those words she immediately blocked Raymond''s path.


    "Mighty one please do not harm my sister."


    "Your sister?"


    "Yes, this one is my little sister. Please show mercy mighty one."


    "You do know, you''re little sister is-" Before Raymond could finish his sentence the older fox eared girl interrupted him.


    "I will take care of her until she gets better!" Raymond and the girl looked at each other''s eyes. Raymond could somehow see the resolve in the fox eared girl''s unwavering eyes.


    "Alright then, if that''s the decision of the family member, who am I to say otherwise. Then five of you should follow me to back to my base." After speaking to the demi-humans Raymond looked at his guild members. "You guys after assessing the others bring them to the guild as well. John, you stay here and escort the ladies once they''re done."


    After giving out his orders Raymond left with the five demi-humans. The players, on the other hand, didn''t know who to follow. But after thinking about it for a while, they decided to explore the cave some more.


    Since they already know what fate awaits some of these women, the players didn''t want to see the scene of their execution. Though they understood that this was only a game, it felt too real. From the expressions of the NPCs to the way the acted and the decisions they made. They felt alive and so watching them kill those women wasn''t a sight the players wanted to see.


    On the other hand, if those women were enemies with red names. They would''ve killed them without hesitation for the EXP.


    ...


    Raymond led the demi-humans back to the Guild. As he was walking he spotted the group that died previously. The demi-humans spotted the group of humans as well, which made them cower behind Raymond. Usually, these demi-humans would''ve prepared to fight, but in their current conditions, they weren''t able to muster the strength nor the courage to fight.


    "Guild Master," Seeing them salute Raymond the demi-humans were no longer as tense. The guild members also noticed the semi-naked demi-humans and had a lot of questions. But seeing as they were with the Guild Master they held their curiosity back.


    "So what happened back there? Why were you guys killed?"


    "We met a huge red-skinned monster with horns, it had sharp claws and club as a weapon. The moment it spotted us it attacked. We tried fighting back, but its skin was too tough that we couldn''t even scratch it."


    "I see... Alright then, you guys head back to the entrance of the cave and wait for me." The guild members nodded their heads and left. As they were leaving they couldn''t help but glance at the demi-humans.


    ...


    ''A monster that has that kind of characteristics, in a cave filled with ogres and goblin variants. It might be an oni.'' While he was walking Raymond started thinking about everything he knew about the oni from video games and anime.

 34 Taking care of the Demi-Humans

    Upon arriving in the guild space Raymond led the demi-humans into the guild house. When the demi-humans saw the stronghold in the middle of the Rakaja forest they were surprised. Rakaja is a demi-human word for monster.


    Currently, Raymond whose race was human was speaking the language of this world. He hasn''t noticed yet but the language he was using was that of the natives. Some of the demi-humans could understand only a bit of what he was saying. The only one who knew how to speak the human language well enough to talk was the three-tailed fox girl.


    As the demi-humans continued to walk through the stone walls of the guild, they started thinking that the man in front of them must be an influential human. Knowing this fact the group of demi-human grew even warier knowing of Raymond.


    To them, it was possible that Raymond was lulling them into a false sense of security before selling them off as slaves, like what most influential humans have done. They had heard the stories of how humans trick demi-humans into slavery. It was especially true for the beastman race such as theirs. Among demi-humans, their race was the one humans liked to capture the most.


    When they arrived at the storage room they saw numerous weapons and armor. Some of them even thought of getting the weapons and using them to escape from Raymond. They quickly discarded this plan since they couldn''t even move properly much less hold a weapon. Also for some reason, they didn''t really hate Raymond, despite him being human.


    ''He did save us after all... He might be a human but maybe he was different from the others.'' That single thought suddenly came into each of the demi-humans'' minds. Unaware that his charm skill was doing its job properly, Raymond was able to find clothing for the women, he then handed each of the demi-humans clothes.


    After giving them clothes Raymond guided them into the kitchen. Raymond with his cooking at level 1 was able to make a meal that made the demi-humans mouth watery. The smell that filled the room made the stomachs of the demi-humans growl in anticipation.


    When Raymond served the demi-humans the soup they hesitated a bit, but then the three-tailed fox girl took a sip.


    "Delicious!" She started gorging down the soup. Of course, she didn''t forget to feed her sister as well. Though she had a blank expression the little sister was still able to open her mouth once the food was near her. Seeing the siblings eat without anything happening to them, the others started to eat as well.


    Raymond looked at the demi-humans and sighed. He needed to get back to the guild members, but he couldn''t just leave the demi-humans unattended. He wanted to ask the guild members to take care of the demi-humans, but after seeing their reactions he decided that wasn''t the best course of action.


    While he was thinking of what to do Raymond suddenly heard someone shouting outside of the guild house. He left the girls to their meal as he headed outside.


    ...


    "What the hell was that?!"


    "That Oni was ridiculously fast for its size."


    "This game should have some inspections skills, so we can see what level the monsters are at."


    "Was the guy the boss of the place?"


    It was just the players complaining after dying.


    ''Wait a minute the death penalty of the players forcefully logs them out and they can only log back in after an hour. Does that mean it has been an hour already?''


    ''Due to the players numbering only five at the moment, I was able to adjust the respawn time to half an hour. I notified the streamers that the respawn time of half an hour was only applicable for now. Once other players join in the game it would be adjusted to a full hour.'' The system responded to Raymond''s question.


    ''I see...'' Seeing the complaining players, Raymond got an idea. These players obviously had no prejudice against the demi-humans, in fact, Raymond was sure they were as ecstatic to see animal eared girls.


    Raymond then opened the create quest function and made a quest. Once he was done he approached the players.


    "Warriors of another world, I have a request. As you know we have just saved some women from the vile monsters. I need one person to take care of them while we destroy the remaining monsters in the cave. I hope that you lady warrior can help with this task."


    Raymond spoke to disguisedfox and a notification popped up in front of disguisedfox.


    [New Task: Take care of the demi-humans]


    [The Guild Master has assigned you the task of taking care of the demi-humans. He fears that the other guild members have some prejudice against the demi-humans and won''t be able to take care of them properly. Seeing as you are from another world the Guild Master hopes that you''ll be up for the task.]


    [Task Rewards: Race change: Beastman]


    [Will you accept the task Y/N]


    Seeing the task reward disguisedfox''s eyes lit up and she immediately accepted the quest.

 35 Boss monster

    After disguisedfox got the new quest she immediately told the others. A look of envy was seen in the male players'' eyes.


    "How did you get the task and not us? Is it because we''re men?"


    "Yeah, I say the devs are being sexist!"


    "Yeah let''s file a complaint against the evil devs!" The male players started to get mad. Raymond then spoke to the male players.


    "As for the other warriors please accompany me back to the entrance of the cave and help me slay the remaining monsters."


    [New Task: Kill the Red Oni]


    [The Guild Master wants your help to eliminate the oni menace.]


    [Task Reward: Global Race Unlock: Oni]


    When the players saw that they could change their race into an Oni they felt elated. Though they were a bit confused as to what Global Race Unlock means. Even Raymond was surprised by the task rewards given by the system. He was the one who created the quest and its narrative, but he was not the one who chooses the reward. The system is the one that determines what rewards to give depending on the quest that was given.


    After accepting the quest, Raymond waited for the other women to come to the guild house. It would seem that only one woman were saved, the others were granted mercy. Seeing this sight made Raymond question the strength of humans.


    ''Are the humans mentally weak, or are the demi-humans just that much stronger mentally and emotionally? Maybe it''s a difference in culture or something...'' Raymond decided to slowly learn about the cute animal eared people later, first he needed to kill the boss monster in the cave.


    So after confirming the remaining woman was given clothes and fed, Raymond alongside the male players set off back to the cave.


    ...


    When they arrived at the cave entrance it was already around three in the afternoon. Upon arriving Raymond noticed that the guild members had transported the weapons and armor outside of the cave. When Raymond looked at the equipment that was taken, even a layman like him knew that the equipment hasn''t been maintained properly for a very long time.


    ''I guess I can use the blacksmith NPC for these things.''


    While Raymond was waiting for the other Guild Members to finish transporting the goods outside the cave, the players were feeling something weird. They felt a bit weak so they quickly checked their status screen. They got a debuff out of hunger, it won''t kill them but it does lower their stats a bit.


    Seeing this debuff the group started looking for anything to eat. Raymond noticed the weird behavior of the players and checked their statuses. Once he ascertained what was happening to them he got some bread from his inventory and gave them to the players.


    Seeing the pieces of bread given by the Guild Master the players quickly took it and ate. The debuff then disappeared.


    ''So it''s one of those games that have a hunger function. Now it kinda feels like a fantasy MMO with a mix of survival. I wonder what happens if we die while having the hunger debuff, will the debuff disappear or will it still be active after respawning? Better check that out next time.'' Merlin didn''t know what to feel with the hunger mechanics in such a game. Though it was a plus in the realistic setting of the game, it was also bothersome for a game like this.


    When the guild members were done taking out all the equipment inside the cave. Raymond and his group ventured towards the area were the players were killed. It was deep inside the cave and it took them a few minutes to reach.


    In the deepest part of the cave was a large open area that had a lot of bones of different animals including humans and demi-humans in it. At the end of the area was a giant five-meter tall monster. It didn''t seem to have noticed them yet. It had red skin and two large horns coming out of the side of its head. The weapon it was wielding was a two-meter long wooden club.


    It was also wearing something similar to loincloth which Raymond found weird, not only the clothes but the weapon it wielded as well. The goblins and hobgoblins did wear human armor and such, but the ogres had their junk waving around as they were naked. That was acceptable for Raymond since there wasn''t any human equipment large enough to satisfy their needs. They were also not smart enough to create their weapons and armor.


    Yet the one in front of him was wearing the proper equipment for its size. That would mean that some intelligent creature created the weapons for the oni, or the oni itself was an intelligent creature that could create its own weapon and clothes.


    As Raymond was wondering about that, a task notification appeared before him.


    [New task: Kill the Red Oni]


    [Requirement: Get the last hit]


    [Task Reward: Instance Dungeon: Oni Cave]

 36 Boss figh

    When Raymond saw that notification it felt like it would be hard to accomplish. Seeing as he can''t see the health bar of the enemy. He needed to guess when was the right time to attack. It was also cool if he could solo the monster, but seeing as how easily it subdued the other guild members, it was most probably the same level as him, or even of a higher level.


    ''It would''ve been cool if there really was an inspection skill. Hey system what do you think?''


    ''At my current level, I cannot add such a function. The host needs to continue to level up and do his tasks properly if he wants to unlock more functions.'' Hearing the system''s answer Raymond no longer replied to it and instead talked to his guild members.


    "Alright then, let''s kill this thing. Martial artists at the front, use [iron skin] when it approaches. Mages and Archers get ready to initiate a volley. Swordsmen will attack after the martial artists block the monster''s first attack. Priests will heal when needed." The Guild Members did as they were told and went into their positions. Once they were in positions Raymond gripped his sword handle and licked his lips.


    At this very moment, Raymond was very nervous. Aside from the first time he fought in this world. This was the only other time he felt there was an actual danger to his life. He couldn''t help but touch the teleport scroll every now and then.


    ''Hey system, you already removed my sympathy and empathy why don''t you remove my fear as well?''


    ''The host''s level is too low to hear the answer.'' Hearing that robotic answer was actually able to calm Raymond down a bit.


    ''Alright then, it''s now or never.''


    "Priests buff us with everything you have." The priests gave all the Guild Members, every buff they can currently cast.


    "Mages and Archers unleash everything you got!" Upon giving the signal a torrent of arrows and spells fell on the Oni. Though there were numerous arrows that came down using the skill [arrow rain] not one of those arrows was able to pierce the skin of the Oni. On the other hand, there were only two mages and the strongest skill they had was [fireball] which was only able to burn a little bit of the Oni''s skin.


    The Oni finally noticing the group of intruders roared at them. "Archers stop using [Arrow Rain] and use [Piercing Arrows] instead, Mages continue using [Fireball]! Martial Artists get ready to endure this incoming a-"


    Raymond wasn''t able to finish what he was going to say when the Oni arrived in front of the martial artists ready to swing its club. The group of martial artists immediately used [Iron Skin]. Brom used both [Iron Skin] and [Unrelenting Spirit].


    The Oni with one swing of its club was able to blow away two martial artists despite them using [Iron Skin] but the remaining martial artists were able to endure the strike stopping the Oni momentarily.


    "Swordsmen charge in!" The swordsmen alongside John came slashing at the Oni. Unfortunately for them aside from John who was able to cut a bit of the Oni''s skin, the others were unable to even scratch the Oni''s thick skin.


    "Change targets destroy his weapon instead!" The swordsmen then switched their target from the Oni to the club it was holding. With each swing of their swords, the club was slowly sustaining damage.


    The Oni once again roared as it was about to swing its club at the swordsmen, but before it could do so Raymond used [provoke] from behind the group of martial artists. The Oni didn''t understand what happened but it felt like it wanted to attack the man hiding at the back.


    Seeing that [provoke] worked, Raymond told the mages and archers to change positions. The Oni wasn''t able to penetrate through the wall of martial artists. Still, it was able to kill one more martial artist. Now only three of them remain, Brom, lonelypants, and one of the maidens.


    "Continous fire!" The archers started using [Piercing Arrows] and were able to make their arrows penetrate deep enough for them to get stuck onto the Oni. The mages, on the other hand, were already at zero MP and could no longer cast spells. They needed to wait for a minute to recharge 1MP.


    The Oni who was being attacked from all directions was getting angrier and angrier. As its anger rose it moved even faster than before. The Oni was about to attack the archers, so Raymond used [provoke] again but this time it was ineffective.


    The healers were also nearing their mana limit as they finished healing the remaining martial artists. Unable to withstand one blow the archers were easily blown away. It then set its sights on the Mages, who were desperately trying to flee. Yet in the end, they were unable to escape as well.


    Seeing that in the span of a few seconds the Oni was able to annihilate half of his men made Raymond feel a lot of pressure. As he was thinking about what to do next, he saw Brom charging in.


    Brom''s current strength stat was triple the usual, as his HP was basically one point left. He aimed his punch at the wooden club which almost broke upon impact. Yet despite Brom''s best efforts, the club was able to endure the strike but Brom did not. Seeing his second strongest member die, Raymond could no longer wait.


    ''It''s now or never.'' Raymond started gathering mana and was reciting spell words. This was currently his strongest attack. He wanted to use it when he was sure the Oni was about to die, so he can clear the quest, but he felt threatened at the moment and could no longer wait.


    "[Frost Nova]" A beam of ice hit the Oni and was slowly freezing it. As this was happening the swordsmen continued attacking it. When Raymond thought they were about to win, the Oni used its free arm and grabbed onto one of the swordsmen and started eating her.


    As it was eating the damage it sustained was slowly healing. The Oni was also blocking the [Frost Nova] spell with its wooden club. It looked like the club was absorbing the spell, or was it negating it... Seeing that scene Raymond was now sure that the wooden club was truly something enchanted with magic.


    He didn''t know what to do at the moment, as most of their attacks were barely working on the Oni. Even John who had the highest attacking power in the group was unable to pierce deep enough using his spear. He was even using the Rare spear Raymond got from his last GACHA, Lion Piercer.


    While Raymond was formulating a new plan, John who continuously without pause attacked the club was able to destroy it. The moment the club was destroyed Raymond saw that a third eye appeared on the Oni''s face.


    That looked like an obvious weak spot. Raymond summoned his bow and arrow and fired at the third eye. When his arrow pierced its eye the Oni screamed in pain. It didn''t die, but it looked weakened. Yet despite that, they still couldn''t finish the job.


    The only player left at the scene was lonelypants and he decided to no longer join in the fight and simply video it from afar.


    ...


    While Raymond was thinking if he should retreat or not, he saw that some rocks were falling from above their heads due to the intense tremors the Oni was making as it stomped and flailed wildly. When Raymond saw that he got an idea.


    ''They''re going to respawn anyway, and if I don''t do something they would''ve lost EXP in vain.'' Once he decided what to do, Raymond started firing attacking spells above, he was trying to cause a cave-in.


    "Everyone hold it down into one spot!" When the guild members saw what Raymond was doing, they immediately understood what he was trying to do. They then used everything they had to make the Oni stay in that general area. When Raymond saw that he had done enough, as the rocks kept on falling he quickly used his teleport scroll.


    Raymond was teleported to the Guild House, he waited for a few minutes and a notification popped up.


    [New task: Kill the Red Oni (Completed)]


    [Task Reward: Instance Dungeon: Oni Cave]


    [Do you want to receive your reward now? Y/N]

 37 Changing Race

    After beating the Oni Raymond waited for all the Guild Members to respawn. Once they respawned he had gathered them in front of the Guild House.


    "Everyone thanks to your efforts we have saved those capture monsters. Not only that we have destroyed their nest and eliminated them! To our first victory as a Guild! For the Eternal Guild!"


    "The ETERNAL GUILD!"


    The Guild Members cheered in unison. The Guild Members then started to prepare for a feast. The other members went out to hunt, Raymond summoned tables and chairs and the others started fixing them. The remaining ones started cooking.


    The players watching this sudden change in the atmosphere were getting excited as well. They saw that the wary guild members were finally able to talk to the demi-humans. Though the demi-humans could not respond by themselves, since they cannot speak the language they asked the three-tailed fox to be their interpreter.


    ...


    When the Guild Master returned disguisedfox''s quest was completed and she could now go and change her race. She was surprised to see that even after changing her race she could still retain her level, and her class will also remain the same.


    She immediately chose to change her race, as she was about to change, the system asked her which tribe she would choose. There were five tribes, the cat kin, the wolf kin, the fox kin, the rabbit kin, and the bear kin.


    Each tribe had its own specialty. The cat kin were an agile tribe and specialized in fast-paced fights. If there was a rogue class that would''ve been the perfect class for them


    The wolf kin were good in cooperative play as they have race buff that gives them greater strength the more wolf kin were near.


    The fox kin were a tribe that had an unusually high amount of mana. Unfortunately, the people within this continent do not know how to use mana, and the fox kin was considered to be the weakest of the beastmen tribes. Though they compensate for this weakness with their cunning.


    The rabbit kin were a tribe that had the most numbers, not as much as humans but they are the most numerous beastman tribe. They are also the fastest among the beastmen and have powerful legs that allow them to jump quite a distance.


    Then last was the bear kin this tribe is considered the most powerful among the beastmen tribes. They are a warrior tribe with superior strength.


    Seeing the description of each tribe, disguisedfox wasn''t bothered all she was looking at was which tribe would make her look cuter. She wasn''t a pro gamer and was a streamer that focused more on the aesthetic look, so the cuter she was the more views she gets.


    After looking at each tribe, and seeing a preview of what she would look like after changing, disguisedfox decided to go with the tribe that was literally in her IGN. As she picked the fox kin tribe, her overall appearance didn''t change. The only difference was now she had fox ears and four tails.


    While she was changing her race she was surrounded by a blinding light, which attracted everyone''s attention. When the light disappeared and disguisedfox appeared as a fox kin almost everyone was surprised. But the most surprised one of all was the three-tailed fox.


    The three-tailed fox was talking to disguisedfox moments ago and was sure she was human, but now it turns out she was part of their tribe. She then approached disguisedfox and spoke in the beastman language.


    "Are you an actual part of my tribe? I thought you were human." disguisedfox could now understand both human and the beastman language so she was also able to respond in the language of the speaker.


    "Yes, I was a human recently and now I changed into a fox kin." disguisedfox happily replied, which confused the three-tailed fox.


    The other players who saw disguisedfox change into a fox kin, they grew excited and wanted to change race as well. When they clicked on the change race a warning popped up.


    [WARNING]


    [Changing race to Oni will revert your level back to 1. You will also lose your ability to choose a class]


    [Will you proceed? Y/N]


    When the players saw that warning, they were able to calm down their excitement. They then saw a description of the race.


    If players choose to change race to an Oni they will not be able to pick a class, instead, they have a chance for race evolution. Monster races are unable to use human skills, so classes are worthless to them. On the other hand, they have powerful natural endowments. Also, players in monsters races could trigger a race evolution once the player''s level is high enough.


    When the players saw this they felt conflicted. They were indeed interested in race evolution, but they were also interested in their class advancement. It seems like each race has their own merits and demerits.


    "So are you guys going to change your race?" Merlin asked as he was not going to change his. He liked the mage class, and he wanted to see what the later levels would feel like.


    "I think, I''ll stick to human for now." Gandalfisawizard had a similar reason as Merlin.


    "I don''t really like the look of the Oni." lonelypants gave his opinion as well.


    "Guess, I''ll be the only one doing it," Diablo answered while pressing on the Y.


    Like disguisedfox Diablo was surrounded by a blinding light. In that light, his physical appearance was changing. His height remained the same, it didn''t increase to the same height as the Oni they fought. He then had horns sprout out of the sides of his head, but they were rather small around one foot in length. His skin was also the same, with only a bit of it turning red. He also grew a third eye. Aside from those changes he looked pretty much the same.


    The Guild Members who saw his appearance immediately thought of the Oni they fought. When they remembered that the surrounding air grew tense. They were wondering if the warrior from another world was somehow infected and turned into an Oni.


    "Everyone calm down. The otherworlders have the ability to change to the race that has an affinity with them, or a race that they have already beaten."

 38 Tears

    When the three-tailed fox heard Raymond''s explanation she was shocked, not by the ability of the players to change their race. Instead, she was shocked by the fact that the players from another world, and that the people in this place were all unperturbed by the fact.


    ''Are they all from another world?'' The three-tailed fox immediately dismissed the idea, unlike disguisedfox and the other players, the local guild members looked at them in fear. The same way the demi-humans looked at humans.


    Then how come they were so unaffected by the people from another world. Was it normal for humans to summon other beings from a different world, where the humans so powerful now, or was it just the humans in this stronghold?


    The three-tailed fox felt a bit dizzy just thinking about it.


    ...


    While the three-tailed fox was contemplating the existence of the players, Diablo who turned into an Oni wasn''t bothered by the staring people, and immediately checked his status screen.


    [Name: Diablo


    Race: Oni


    Race: Human


    Class: Mage


    Level: 1


    HP: 150/150 MP: 20/20


    STR: 15


    AGI: 2


    DEX: 2


    INT: 2


    WIS: 2


    VIT: 10


    Luck: 4


    Skills:


    Active: Roar (max), Goblin King (Lvl 1)


    Passive: Undying Body (max)


    Profession: Locked (Requires Level 10 to unlock.)]


    Diablo was surprised to see his stats, there were amazing. His strength and his vitality were even stronger than the strength of lonelypants martial artist class, at level five. Though there were also demerits, like every stat except for STR and VIT were bad.


    He then looked at his current skills.


    [Roar]: Afflicts fear debuff to enemies that have lower strength than the player. Affects enemies that hear your roar.


    [Goblin King]: Can make goblins into minions current maximum is at two minions. The higher the level of skill the more goblins and goblin variants can be turned into minions.


    When Diablo saw his skills, he was excited. He could make an army of goblins fight alongside him. He then checked his skill tree and saw that the skills available for this class were few. Also, the next unlockable skill was at level 20. He also checked up to what level he could upgrade the [Goblin King] skill. It was only up to level ten, and at the maximum level of the skill, he can only make twenty goblins into minions. Seeing this made Diablo sigh.


    ''Well, there goes my dream of a goblin army.''


    ...


    After the initial shock of the race change the players did, the guild members continued their setup. The feast began and everyone was having a great time, even the wary warbeasts felt happy on the Guild''s victory.


    The players looked at the food and started eating. Even though in their minds these things were all 0s and 1s, they still couldn''t help themselves from eating a lot. The food was pretty good, and it felt rather exotic as well. Eating in a fantasy world was quite fun.


    Raymond who was watching the scene before his eyes had a smile on his face. He couldn''t help but remember that at the beginning it was only him and John. Now the Guild was slowly looking like an actual guild.


    He was no longer alone in this world. He felt a bit irritated at himself that even now he still views the residents of this world as humans that weren''t the same as him. He was actually also viewing the players as such.


    He felt something was touching his skin. He then saw that everyone was looking at him. The cheerful atmosphere somehow changed as everyone was looking at Raymond with a weird expression on their faces.


    "Is there something on my face?" The Guild Members approached Raymond.


    "Guild Master, why are you crying?" Roselia asked looking worried. Actually all of them were looking worriedly at Raymond. When he Heard what Roselia said Raymond quickly touched his face and they were right he was crying.


    "Huh, I''m crying?" Raymond was confused as he tried wiping away the tears. He couldn''t understand what he was feeling. Even as he wiped his tears more just came flowing out.


    "Huh, sorry about this, I don''t know what''s happening. I think I got something from our last battle. You guys go back to having fun in our feast, I''ll be-" Before he could finish what he wanted to say, Raymond felt someone hugged him, and then another, and then another. Roselia and some of the girls started hugging him, while the men patted his shoulders.


    Watching their guild master, the man who had changed their lives crying made him seem human. Ever since they met him, he would always show a stern expression and he looked at things as if he was an outsider. At times he didn''t feel human, he didn''t feel like he was one of them. Yet now he was crying as if both in pain and joy.


    "It''s alright Guild Master, we don''t know what you''ve been going through, we might not understand your pain, but for now it''s alright to cry." Hearing one of his Guild members say those words, Raymond''s walls felt like they were crumbling a bit. He then started to cry, he cried until his tears could no longer fall.


    Raymond then looked at his guild members, his new family, and showed a weak smile. "Thanks, everyone... Come on then let''s continue the party!" Raymond summoned a bunch of mugs filled with beer and lifted one and shouted. He then started drinking and the feast resumed as everyone looked a little bit happier than before.

 39 The growing popularity of the game

    Merlin who saw Raymond crying, actually thought he could somehow feel Raymond''s pain. At first, he thought that Raymond was going to be the heroic stoic leader type character, but after seeing that scene maybe he was wrong.


    ''These NPCs could actually express such emotions? They could laugh and be merry feeling happy after a victory. They can cry and feel melancholic, and express confusion as to why. They know about camaraderie and comfort each other in times of need. Aren''t these NPCs more human than us?''


    Merlin couldn''t help but think about the current world, and then looked at these NPCs. It was just a game and these guys were supposed to be 0s and 1s. Yet in this game, these NPCs look like they were living happily even in a world were everything was out to kill them.


    ...


    While everyone was having a good time a notification appeared before the players. It was warning them that there twelve hours of using the full dive VR for the day was almost up. When they saw this they were about to reluctantly log out when another notification appeared.


    [WARNING!!!]


    [Upon logging out characters will enter sleep mode. Depending on where you log out your character might incur debuffs or at worst death penalties. Please be mindful of where you sleep]


    When the players saw this notification they were grateful it appeared before they were able to log out. Still, this game is trying too much on being as realistic as possible, not only do they need to eat, they also needed a place to sleep.


    ''Whatever, first I need to find a place where this body can sleep peacefully.'' Merlin and the other players needed to act fast, as they only had a few minutes before they are forcefully logged out. They quickly headed to Raymond who was drinking beer after beer.


    "Guild Master, is there any place where we can sleep?"


    "Of course, you can have any room you want on the third floor of the Guild house. Just pick any room that still vacant." Hearing the Guild Master''s reply the players thanked him and were about to leave when Rei spoke to them.


    "Are you guys going to bed so early? The night is still young, and you guys want to sleep? Are the warriors from another world, such lightweights?" Even though Rei was a bit drunk, some of the male players didn''t like the way he was talking to them. Yet they didn''t have time to deal with him at the moment.


    "Sorry, we believe that resting while you can so that we can always be ready for the next battle. Also, getting drunk will hinder our abilities for the next battle." Merlin who was good at LARP was able to speak an excuse and left with the other players after speaking with Rei.


    Once the players were gone Rei found what Merlin said weird. The way he talked was like an experienced merc, but the way they acted during the battle were like brats that don''t know the smell of blood. Lux who was watching their exchange shook his head.


    ''Truly an interesting group.''


    ...


    Merlin and the other arrived on the third floor of the Guild House. They couldn''t appreciate the look of the floor or the rooms, as the time limit was nearing. So without thinking too much about it each one of them randomly chose a room and lay their characters on the bed before logging out.


    ...


    Once Chen Fan got out of his gaming capsule he looked at the time. As expected it really had been nearly twelve hours since he started playing. He didn''t notice that time moved that fast. Also despite feeling full in the game, his actual body was hungry.


    ''Well, that''s to be expected, it was just a game... Also, it looks like the time in the game world and the real world are pretty similar. Adding to the fact that we need our bodies to be in a secure place when we log out, might make things a bit difficult. Well, that just adds to the charm of the game. Alright then better get to editing the videos and posting them online, before the others beat me to it.''


    ...


    After one day the unknown game called the Guild became a trending topic. Five rather well-known streamers had shared their experience in the beta of the game and it was an amazing sight. The graphics were flawless, the NPCs lifelike, the monsters were scary looking, and the battles were fun. It looked like a difficult game to master depending on which class you choose.


    Also, it seems like the game has many races and you can change into them when specific prerequisites are done. When the other gamers from China learned that only fifteen slots were left to join the beta, a lot of them made a request in the official forum of the game.

 40 A lot of applicants

    The following day despite drinking numerous amounts of beer, Raymond was not affected in the slightest. It must be because of the Druid''s passive skill called [ailment immunity]. Though the level of the skill was low, it still helped him overcome being drunk. On the other hand, most of the guild members couldn''t move and had hangovers.


    When Raymond woke up from his sleep he did some stretching and did his usual morning routine. Unlike the day before no one was out of their rooms, and some of them were even laying on the ground too drunk to move.


    Raymond helped the guild members who were outside and placed them inside the Guild House. After he was done moving the drunks he washed his body by the river ate his meal and did some morning exercise.


    As he was exercising Raymond remembered a conversation he had last night. While they were having the feast, Raymond asked Lux if they could sell the body parts of the monsters they killed.


    "Yeah, some of these things are worth a lot of money. We can go to town and sell them to the local merchants. I hear a lot of alchemists would buy these things in bulk."


    "Can''t we just eliminate the middle man and sell them ourselves?" Hearing Raymond''s question Lux shook his head.


    "I don''t know about you Guild Master but I don''t know anything about business or the prices of these materials. Also, it won''t go well if we meddle with the merchants association. The best thing we could do at the moment is to find a suitable merchant and make a deal with him."


    After that Raymond and Lux made some plans to head to town the following day to sell what they can sell.


    ...


    Once Raymond was done exercising he was about to check the computer and start binge-reading while waiting for Lux and the others to wake up. When Raymond noticed that the official forum the system made had a lot of requests asking him to make them beta testers.


    ''Oh right, I haven''t finished that quest yet.'' Raymond also checked his funds and saw that he already used almost half of the gold coins he got from the bandits.


    ''Before I accept other people to join, I need to think of a way to make cash... Hey system, since you can convert gold coins into earth''s currency can you make earth''s currency into gold coins?''


    ''Yes.''


    ''I see... Maybe we can use a cash exchange system. How much is the conversion of USD to Gold Coins.''


    ''300 USD= 1 GC.''


    ''Woah, that''s a big amount... But for a game like this, there should still be some rich kids that will use it. Okay, then can you make the conversion into 400 USD= 1 GC so we can keep the extra hundred.''


    ''I can do that''


    ''Alright then, now I just need to think of a way for them to buy the coins. Cause right now the players don''t really have a use for gold coins. If I start selling some weapons that might work, but normal players won''t be able to get gold coins in the first place. At this point, the only way would be to buy it from the cash shop...''


    Raymond started thinking of what he could do at this point. He started thinking as hard as he could while tapping his fingers on the desk. He looked at some of the applications in which the system was kind enough to translate into English. As he was reading he suddenly thought of something.


    ''Wait, I see... I could do that.'' Raymond stopped reading the application letters and started checking the catalog of items he was allowed to buy at his current level. He started looking at the cheapest items that were available, as he scrolled down he saw what he was looking for.


    Raymond found a small shining blue marble object that cost around 1 copper coin to buy. He then used the building mode and checked the prices for creating a small storage area and a shop. With his current funds, he would barely be able to buy the cheapest stuff.


    ''If the trade with the merchants goes well, I think I can make some money and make the players contribute.'' Raymond was getting excited as he finally saw a path he could take. It was then that he also remembered that he hasn''t accepted the reward from the last task.


    [New task: Kill the Red Oni (Completed)]


    [Requirement: Get the last hit]


    [Task Reward: Instance Dungeon: Oni Cave]


    [Do you wish to receive your reward: Y/N?]


    Raymond pressed Y and information about the instance dungeon was relayed to his brain. He could now build an Instance Dungeon portal for free using the building mode function. But the only people who could use the Dungeon would be the players, and the locals, as well as him, wouldn''t be able to.


    ''I can use this later, but right now the players aren''t really at the level were they can deal with this kind of dungeon. I''ll get to that when I finish the other stuff, for now, I need to see if the monster parts we got can really be sold. Damn, there so many things to do now.'' Raymond felt his head hurting a bit. He was starting to feel a bit of pressure as it seems like even though he was just at the starting line, it was already hard to manage.


    ''I need a secretary or an advisor or something like that.'' Raymond sighed as he massaged his forehead. He then remembered another thing that he forgot because of all the excitement.


    ...


    Raymond summoned the blacksmith NPC and then looked at the commands he could give. It would seem that this particular NPC has a better AI than John, as it could actually give some rudimentary responses. It was modeled after dwarven blacksmith characters in Japanese novels. It seems like its responses though limited all revolve around the setting of a dwarf in a blacksmith shop.


    The commands that were available were to forge and to mend. There was also a command that helps improve weapon and armor quality depending on the materials given. Raymond then presented some of the monster body parts he had in his inventory. The blacksmith NPC had no use for most of it, but things like the bones of the ogres and Oni, as well as some of the teeth of different monsters and animals, could be used to forge weapons. But to be able to use the blacksmith NPC Raymond needed a smithy, and that costs a lot of money to build.


    ''So everything I need to move forward rests on the negotiations with the merchants... Why couldn''t I summon a merchant NPC or a negotiator type NPC...''


    ''That''s because the host''s luck is pretty much nonexistent.''


    ''Really you haven''t spoken all this time, and you just decide to talk now just to insult me''


    ''It''s not an insult it''s the truth.'' Raymond decided to ignore the system and started thinking of what he should do with the negotiations with the merchants.

 41 Your sister is coming

    When the demi-humans woke up Raymond called them to the dining room. Once they had a drink of water and were looking a bit better, Raymond started the conversation.


    "So what do you five plan to do now? If you still have a home to return to, I can assign some of the Guild Members to bring you back." The three-tailed fox translated what Raymond said to the other three. On the other hand, the only human left alive that was captured by the goblins shook her head.


    "I have nowhere else to go. If you can please allow me to stay here. I can cook your meals do a bit of farming, and if you want I can accompany you in bed." The human woman said all that with an expressionless face.


    "It''s alright for you to stay and do the cooking and farming, but there''s no need to accompany me in bed." Raymond tried his hardest to not show it in his face, but he actually imagined the woman in his bed for a brief second. The human woman nodded her head in response.


    "Thank you, if you need me in your bed just ask, I''m willing to do it anytime." Raymond started to wonder if it was bad to accept the woman''s offer as she keeps on asking for it. But in the end, he decided that doing it with her, in her current mental condition would feel wrong. Also, he wasn''t feeling that back up yet, that he needed to do it. Maybe he would think about it when the need arises.


    "So what''s your name?" Raymond asked to change the subject.


    "I''m Patricia."


    "I see Patricia, for now, you can go look for Brom and tell him that you are assigned to be one of the cooks, as well as a new farmer. He''ll explain what you need to do in more detail." Patricia once again thanked Raymond before leaving to find Brom.


    Now the only ones present were Raymond and the demi-humans who looked to be finished discussing what they were going to do.


    "The three of them wish to return to their tribes. As for my sister and me, if you will allow it can we stay and I''ll become one of your warriors."


    "Of course you can stay... But to become one of my warriors that would mean you would pledge your allegiance to me. That would mean you will forever be bound to the Guild is that alright?"


    The three-tailed fox stood tall and looked Raymond in the eye.


    "Even though I have lost to the ogres and was captured while protecting my sister. I Ainia am a proud warrior of the fox kin tribe. I will not back down and am willing to follow you my new chief to the underworld and back."


    "Very well, I will make you part of the guild. Once you have been approved you will pick your class, I want you to choose the mage class, understand?" Raymond who had seen the information on fox kin when disguisedfox changed race knew of the fox kin''s amazing amount of mana. Ainia who heard what Raymond said didn''t understand what he meant but all she needed to do was follow, so she nodded her head.


    Once that was done Raymond initiated the usual pledge and accepted Ainia as part of the Guild.


    After that, Raymond gave the five players a quest telling them to bring the three demi-humans back to their tribes. It was a good thing that the demi-humans knew the general direction of their tribes and remembered the rout the goblins took when they kidnapped them.


    The players receiving the new mission to head out of the forest and escorting the demi-humans to their tribes got excited. This quest means that they could get to see more NPCs of the animal eared people. So they headed out as soon as possible.


    ...


    Once he was done with the demi-human issue, Raymond spoke to Lux and told him that the two of them would be heading out to town to try and sell the monster parts they got.


    ...


    In a certain mansion, a beautiful fully armored woman was lifting a fat man by the neck. The killing intent she was emitting made the fat man pee in his pants.


    "What did you say?!"


    "The three boys that you''re looking for haven''t been back for three days now. They''re most likely dead."


    "You! How dare you say my brother''s dead!" Clarise, Daniel''s sister tightened her grip on the mayor''s neck.


    "My lady, you cannot kill a public official like me." Clarise then showed a very sinister smile at the mayor.


    "I won''t kill you but I will beat up until you wish you were dead." The screams of the mayor were heard throughout the mansion but none of the people working there went to help. What could they possibly do in the face of a knight commander?


    Well, Clarise didn''t just beat up the mayor because of the bad news he gave her. She beat him up also because of the numerous rumors about him kidnapping young maidens and having his way with them. In fact, the moment she entered the mayor kept on looking at her with a lustful gaze. Too bad she hasn''t found any evidence or she could have killed the mayor outright. So Clarise settled with beating him up.


    ...


    After she was done with beating the mayor to an inch of his life, she left the mansion and was heading towards the forest were the bandits, Daniel and his friends were suppose to subdue.


    "Don''t worry Daniel, your sister is going to save you," Clarise mumbled to herself. As she was walking out of the town in the corner of her eye she saw someone that looked a lot like Lux. She saw him with an unknown man, and without her brother. Clarise wanted to immediately confront them, but then she thought that maybe Lux sold her brother out. So she decided to follow the two until they went back to whatever base they had.

 42 Confronting the sister

    Raymond and Lux had successfully formed a partnership with one of the merchants in the nearby town called Roth. After that was done, Raymond and Lux were headed back to the Guild space. As they were walking Raymond whose senses had greatly increased was able to hear nearly silent footsteps following behind them.


    He could also smell the scent of something like a perfume. At first, he thought that it was just a coincidence that someone was just going the same way as them, but now it was different. The person behind them actually followed them all the way to the Elisora Forest. It was obvious now that the person was tailing them.


    Raymond held the hilt of his sword and started using linker skills on himself and Lux. When Lux noticed that he was being buffed by the Guild Master he also held onto his sword hilt.


    "Hey, how about you come out now?" Raymond spoke after he was done giving buffs on himself and Lux.


    "..." There was no response. Lux then took out his sword and looked around warily, while Raymond was trying to pinpoint were the sound was.


    "Are you sure you don''t want to come out now?" After asking for a second time, Raymond looked at the direction where he smelled a bit of the person''s perfume. When Clarise saw that Raymond was looking directly at her she had no other choice but to show herself.


    ''Well, I guess hiding really isn''t my style.''


    When Raymond saw the person who was following them he was nearly mesmerized by her beauty. He had seen numerous beautiful women after coming here, as most of the captured women have above-average standards. Even the demi-humans were extremely nice to look at, but this person was beyond that. The person looked like a character from one of his favorite VNs but the color of her eyes was different. The game character he remembered had sea-green eyes but this woman had piercing blue eyes. Also, her hair wasn''t tied in a bun but in a ponytail.


    Not only did she looked like that lady knight character he remembered she was even wearing a similar full plated armor with an old styled dress, made from old-fashioned blue cloth, underneath. Her demeanor exuded pride, confidence, and majesty. She was practically a twin of that game character.


    "Are you going to ask if I am your Master?" Raymond couldn''t help but blurt out those lines as he looked at the stunning beauty before him. When Clarise heard what Raymond said she frowned.


    "I see you''re one those kind of men." Clarise''s killing intent was directed at Raymond who was jolted awake. He then understood what just came out of his mouth and shook his head.


    "Sorry, I didn''t mean it that way. You just reminded me of someone that said something similar upon meeting me." Of course, that was only in a game. "If I offended you I apologize, but can you tell me why you were following us?"


    "... Fine, I accept your apology since you look sincere. But make another comment like that and I might cut you down. As for why I''m following you that boy should know." Clarise gestured at Lux whose body shook a bit upon being looked at by her. Also, though she accepted Raymond''s apology Clarise continued to frown at Raymond while looking at him.


    "Guild Master, that person is Daniel''s older sister."


    "Oh, so you''re Daniel''s older sister. Are you here to meet him?"


    "Yes, I wish to bring him home with me."


    "I see... I could allow him to follow you back, but he would need to return here."


    "Who are you to decide that?" The atmosphere once again grew tense as this time Clarise drew her twin blades.


    "I am his Guild Master, and he has already pledge allegiance to me. I do understand that he has a family and that you are worried about him. Which is why I''m allowing him to return home every now and then." Raymond answered calmly as he was also getting ready to counter whatever Clarise throws at him. Though Clarise didn''t understand what a Guild Master was, she could understand the term pledge allegiance.


    ''This guy trick my innocent baby brother?!''


    As the two were staring at each other intently they didn''t notice that Lux was already gone as he started running back to the Guild House. He wanted to bring Daniel out so that he could talk to his sister.


    Clarise who had her whole focus on Raymond saw that though his stance was good it wasn''t that of a swordsman. The stance he took seems to be more for an unarmed fighter than a swordsman. It also looked like Raymond had a lot of openings, but Clarise still felt that getting close was extremely dangerous.


    ''What''s with this guy his stance, the way he presents himself, all make him seem like a total amateur, but my instincts are telling me that he''s really dangerous.''


    "Are you really not going to give me my brother?"


    "I never said I won''t give him to you. I only said that you need to bring him back." After hearing Raymond''s answer Clarise no longer hesitated and charged at Raymond. She used combat energy to boost her speed. She used a movement technique called [light Step] which allows her to move a few meters from point A to point B in a blink of an eye.


    As she got close to Raymond and was about to strike, she saw Raymond drawing his sword at unbelievable speed. If she attacks now she would lose in speed and get cut down instead. So Clarise decided to block the sword strike with one of her swords. Once she was able to block Raymond''s strike she was surprised to feel how powerful he was. She was forced to use another knight technique [Iron wall] which strengthened her weapon to be able to withstand Raymond''s strike.


    As her left hand trembled by the power of the strike, she used her right-hand sword to attack. She tried to pierce Raymond''s left shoulder. She didn''t want to kill him but simply knock him out. Raymond was able to easily dodge the strike by moving his left shoulder backward letting the piercing sword past by.


    Raymond let go of his sword then tried to grab hold of Clarise''s right hand but she quickly withdrew her hand. She then spun around and tried kicking Raymond''s neck, but Raymond swayed backward and was about to counter with a punch but Clarise backed away.


    ''I see so that''s why his stance was all over the place. This guy isn''t a true swordsman, his hodgepodge of different things.''


    After that one brief exchange, Clarise had a better understanding of the opponent in front of her. She then started to control her breathing as she inhaled and exhaled at specific intervals. As she was about to get serious she heard a familiar voice.


    "Big Sis!" Daniel arrived with Lux.

 43 Wherever you he goes I go

    When Clarise saw Daniel running towards her she used [light step] and appeared in front of him. Both Daniel and Lux were surprised by the sudden move, but before they could say anything Clarise hugged Daniel.


    "I was worried about you. I''m so glad that you''re safe." Clarise hugged her younger brother as tight as she could without hurting him. The moment she saw her brother all the anxiety she built up flowed out of her. She didn''t want to let go scared that the moment she loosens her grip her younger brother would disappear again. Daniel was surprised, though he couldn''t see his sister''s face he could hear the sound of someone sobbing. His sister who was ever proud, whose will was as sharp as her sword was actually crying?!


    Even Lux was surprised to see the demonic woman could actually shed tears. If he told anyone that knew her that Clarise the maiden of steel the iron lady had shed a tear, they would''ve thought he was crazy.


    After hugging her brother for a moment Clarise wiped the tears that fell from her face and looked at her brother.


    "Are you alright?"


    "Yes, I am. I''m sorry for making you worry big sis." Daniel knew that his sister always worries about him, but this was the first time he had ever seen her cry.


    "I see, that''s good. Alright then let''s go back home." Clarise held onto Daniel''s hand but he let go and shook his head.


    "No big sis, I''m staying here."


    "Huh? Is it because of him? Is he forcing you to stay here against your will?" Clarise pointed at Raymond who was watching the show at the side.


    "No, it''s not because of the Guild Master. I''m staying because I want to stay." Daniel who was usually timid and weak, especially in front of his sister was showing great resolve today. Ever since he joined the Eternal Guild, he knew that his sister would come for him at some point. He kept of thinking what to do when it happens, and after the feast, he finally came to a decision.


    ''If I go back with big sis, I will forever be under her shadow. I will never be able to break free, and I will always be her coward of a brother.''


    "Why?" Clarise looked at her brother and was confused by his sudden change. The always timid brother that needed her protection was showing such resolve, it confused her.


    "I wanted to change, I wanted to have more courage. I was always being compared to you. I was always being looked at as if I was a loser. I could tell what everyone was thinking. Is that kid really the younger brother of Clarise the youngest knight commander? I wanted to say something, I wanted to fight back, but I lacked the courage to do so... Guild Master Raymond had granted me that courage. With him and this Guild, I want to grow stronger, strong enough to be able to tell everyone proudly that I am the younger brother of Clarise the Maiden of steel!"


    Clarise looked at her brother shocked. Was this boy, no was this man really her brother? She hasn''t seen him for only a few days, but it seems like he''s a totally different person. Clarise then closed her eyes and spoke to Daniel.


    "Do you really wish to stay here?"


    "Yes, I do," Daniel answered without hesitation. Hearing Daniel''s answer Clarise once again unsheathed her swords. She then opened her eyes and looked at her brother with a serious expression.


    "Very well, then show me just how much you want to stay here." When Daniel heard what his sister said he was stunned, but then he smiled and nodded his head. He got his bow and arrow ready and answered.


    "Then I will show it to you big sis!" After Daniel gave his answer a torrent of bloodlust came assaulting him. It was so intense that it would''ve made a normal knight apprentice kneel on the ground shaking. Yet Daniel who has experienced facing the Oni, and had battled and died numerous times against monsters this level of bloodlust was something he could handle. Though his hand was slightly trembling he gritted his teeth and stabbed his hand with an arrow, which replaced his fear with pain. He then pointed directed his arrow at his sister.


    "I won''t back down from something like this!"


    Everyone who saw Daniel''s action was shocked, especially Clarise. She looked at her brother with her eyes wide open, she then smiled and sheathed her sword.


    "I see, your resolve is commendable as expected of my little brother." Clarise then grab hold of Daniel''s hand and showed him a tender smile. "You have grown." Hearing what his sister said almost maid Daniel cry but he sucked it in and nodded his head.


    "If you want to stay here, then so be it."


    "Thanks, big sis, I promise I''ll visit you in the Custodians of Iron every now and then."


    "Hmm, there won''t be a need for that."


    "Why?" Daniel looked at Clarise confused by her answer. It was already a miracle that this overprotective sister of his would let him go, but now she didn''t want him to visit her. Clarise seeing the confused expression on her brother''s face made her smile even wider.


    "There''s no need for that, from this point onward I''m quitting as a knight commander, and I''m joining you here in this so called Guild." When everyone heard what Clarise said Daniel and Lux had their mouths wide open. Raymond on the other hand, already guessed that this might happen.


    "Are you sure about this?" Raymond asked the brocon of a sister.


    "Wherever my brother goes, his sister would follow." Hearing Clarise''s response Raymond could only shrug his shoulders.

 43 Wherever he goes I go

    When Clarise saw Daniel running towards her she used [light step] and appeared in front of him. Both Daniel and Lux were surprised by the sudden move, but before they could say anything Clarise hugged Daniel.


    "I was worried about you. I''m so glad that you''re safe." Clarise hugged her younger brother as tight as she could without hurting him. The moment she saw her brother all the anxiety she built up flowed out of her. She didn''t want to let go scared that the moment she loosens her grip her younger brother would disappear again. Daniel was surprised, though he couldn''t see his sister''s face he could hear the sound of someone sobbing. His sister who was ever proud, whose will was as sharp as her sword was actually crying?!


    Even Lux was surprised to see the demonic woman could actually shed tears. If he told anyone that knew her that Clarise the maiden of steel, the iron lady had shed a tear, they would''ve thought he was crazy.


    Even Raymond who just met her today was shocked to see such a person cry. It was surprising to see a person similar to that lady knight in his favorite VN do something like that.


    Clarise didn''t mind the weird looks she was getting as she continued to hug her younger brother for a while longer. After hugging her brother for quite some time, Clarise wiped the tears that fell from her face and looked at her younger brother.


    "Are you alright?"


    "Yes, I am. I''m sorry for making you worry big sis." Daniel knew that his sister was always worried about him, but this was the first time he had ever seen her cry. She didn''t even cry when a lance was stabbed into her stomach.


    "I see, that''s good. Alright then, now that I know that you''re fine let''s go back home." Clarise held onto Daniel''s hand and was about to pull him away but he let go and shook his head.


    "No big sis, I''m staying here."


    "Huh? Is it because of him? Is he forcing you to stay here against your will?" Clarise pointed at Raymond who was watching the show at the side.


    "No, it''s not because of the Guild Master. I''m staying because I want to stay." Daniel who was usually timid and weak-willed, especially in front of his sister was showing great resolve today. Ever since he joined the Eternal Guild, he knew that his sister would come for him at some point. He kept thinking about what to do when it happens, and after the feast yesterday, he finally came to a decision.


    ''If I go back with big sis, I will forever be under her shadow. I will never be able to break free, and I will always be her coward of a brother.''


    "Why?" Clarise looked at her brother and was confused by his sudden change. The always timid brother that needed her protection was showing such resolve, it confused her.


    "I wanted to change, I wanted to have more courage. I was always being compared to you. I was always being looked at as if I was a loser. I could tell what everyone was thinking. Is that kid really the younger brother of Clarise the youngest knight commander? Is that coward really the maiden of steel''s brother? I wanted to say something, I wanted to fight back, but I lacked the courage to do so... Guild Master Raymond had granted me that courage. With him and the others in this Guild, I want to grow stronger, strong enough to be able to tell everyone proudly that I am the younger brother of Clarise the Maiden of steel!"


    Clarise looked at her brother shocked. Was this boy, no was this man really her brother? She hasn''t seen him for only a few days, but it seems like he''s a totally different person now. Clarise then closed her eyes and spoke to Daniel.


    "Do you really wish to stay here?"


    "Yes, I do," Daniel answered without hesitation. Hearing Daniel''s answer Clarise once again unsheathed her swords. She then opened her eyes and looked at her brother with a serious expression.


    "Very well, then show me just how much you want to stay here." When Daniel heard what his sister said he was momentarily stunned, but then he smiled and nodded his head. He got his bow and arrow ready and answered.


    "Then I will show it to you big sis!" After Daniel gave his answer a torrent of bloodlust came assaulting him. It was so intense that it would''ve made a normal knight apprentice or even a senior knight kneel on the ground shaking. Yet Daniel who has experienced facing the Oni, and had battled and died numerous times against various monsters, this level of bloodlust was something he could handle. Though his hand was slightly trembling he gritted his teeth and stabbed his hand with an arrow, which replaced his fear with pain. He then pointed his arrow covered with blood at his sister.


    "I won''t back down from something like this!"


    Everyone who saw Daniel''s action was shocked, especially Clarise. She looked at her brother with her eyes wide open, she then smiled and sheathed her swords.


    "I see, your resolve is commendable as expected of my little brother." Clarise then grab hold of Daniel''s hand and showed him a tender smile. "You have grown." Hearing what his sister said almost made Daniel cry but he sucked it in and nodded his head.


    "If you want to stay here, then so be it."


    "Thanks, big sis, I promise I''ll visit you in the Custodians of Iron every now and then."


    "Hmm, there won''t be a need for that."


    "Why?" Daniel looked at Clarise confused by her answer. It was already a miracle that this overprotective sister of his would let him go, but now she didn''t want him to visit her. Clarise seeing the confused expression on her brother''s face made her smile even wider.


    "There''s no need for that, from this point onward I''m quitting as a knight commander, and I''m joining you here in this so called Guild." When everyone heard what Clarise said Daniel and Lux had their mouths wide open. Raymond on the other hand, already guessed that this might happen.


    "Are you sure about this?" Raymond asked the brocon of a sister.


    "Wherever my brother goes, his sister would follow." Hearing Clarise''s response Raymond could only shrug his shoulders.

 44 No

    "I Clarise former Knight Commander of the Custodians of Iron, wish to formally join your group." Clarise declared while looking at Raymond. Her confidence and the dignified way she spoke made it quite hard to reject her. When Raymond was about to respond Daniel interrupted him.


    "Big sis, if you join what will you do about being a knight commander?"


    "Weren''t you listening, I already said I''ll quit."


    "You do know you can''t just do that big sis. Unlike us, knight apprentices who can just disappear and people will think we died in a mission. You, on the other hand, are important to the kingdom. If you disappear they''ll send out a search party."


    "Like I said I''m going to quit, I''m not going to fake my death. I''ll head back to the stronghold and I''ll quit the normal way by resigning from my post."


    "If you do that they''ll ask you questions and you can''t just say you quit because you want to join a different organization. If you did that they''ll find out about the Guild and things might get worse from there." Daniel responded very worriedly to his sister.


    "There''s nothing they can do about it. If I want to quit that''s my own decision. If they want to stop me then they need to kill me."


    "I''m afraid that''s what they would actually do to you... Then what about dad and mom, if you quit the whole family will be dragged down." Daniel wasn''t that worried about the notion of dying since if Clarise joins the guild, she would also gain the undying body and be able to revive after a period of time. Daniel was more worried about the people back home. Their dad was a simple baron and he was relatively poor. While their mom was just the third daughter of another baron.


    Daniel''s older siblings weren''t also doing that great, and at the moment they were using Clarise''s status as a knight to expand on the tiny bit of land they had.


    "The moment I turned eighteen they already discarded me. If I didn''t have the talent with the sword they would''ve given me as some kind of merchandise to some noble son with too much libido. You know the only reason I even tolerate that family is because of you little bro. But now that you''re also out of their grasp I don''t care what happens to them."


    Hearing Clarise''s answer Daniel understood what she meant. Their father and mother weren''t exactly the paragons of parenthood, there was even some debate if they should even be called parents. The same could be said for their eldest brother and eldest sister, who only cared about themselves. But the people that work in the manor do not deserve to fall with those scum. As if reading his mind Clarise spoke to Daniel.


    "Do not worry about those that work under them. I already have a plan for them. Just trust in this big sis of yours." Clarise gave her little brother a reassuring smile.


    "I see... As expected of big sis."


    "Alright then, now that''s settled please allow me to join this guild of yours," Clarise spoke with her usual dignified appearance.


    "No," Raymond answered without any hesitation. Even though Clarise looked like the character in the VN he loved back in the day, she seems too troublesome. She had the same feel and demeanor as the character he knew but with the added trait of being a brocon.


    She was also someone that had great skill with the sword. Unlike the other players and locals, her original skill before joining was actually a cut above the rest. Even her beauty was actually in line with Raymond''s type, but the brocon trait was too much of a negative factor to cover up the positive factors.


    Now if Raymond was the brother character that Clarise was being a brocon about, then he might have allowed her to join. But unfortunately, it was someone else, and it was even one of his subordinates. That would mean that she might nag at him regarding the treatment of her little brother.


    ''Just doing my tasks was already cutting my time from reading and watching. Heck ever since I got the computer I haven''t even been able to look at a single manga. Adding her to the mix would be a gamble, she either lightens the load or she makes it heavier.''


    Hearing Raymond''s reply the three were shocked. Lux and Daniel were stunned by Raymond''s decision because this was the first time they saw the Guild Master reject someone. The same Guild Master that made noncombat oriented women into Guild Members.


    Clarise was also shocked to hear Raymond''s answer. Ever since she was little with her talent and beauty no one has ever rejected her. She even noticed that same look that most men gives her, coming from Raymond when he first saw her. She thought that maybe he was already smitten by her, but it seems like she was being overconfident, or did she just hear wrong.


    "What did you just say?"


    "I said no, as simple as that. Did you not get that?"


    "Why?"


    "Just because." Raymond didn''t want to say because she was a brocon since that might trigger her.

 45 Hidden Classes

    When Raymond was about to leave and return to the Guild Space, the system spoke to him.


    ''Hey, Host, you shouldn''t deny that lady from joining. Her initial strength is beyond the others we have seen in this world. Based on the fight you just had, without any buffs, you would only be slightly stronger than her. Well, that is, if she gets serious.''


    When Raymond heard what the system said he was surprised. Unlike the Oni, Raymond didn''t feel threatened by Clarise, also unlike the Oni, she was good to look at which might have made him feel less scared. Still, the system had appraised that Clarise was near his strength if he had no buffs. The strength he has currently was beyond that of a normal level 41 since the task rewards he gave him additional attribute points.


    ''So does that mean she would jump to level 41 if she becomes a guild member?''


    ''No that won''t happen. Instead, her strength will decrease a bit, but her potential will increase as I am a mighty system that can grant her near-infinite growth.'' Raymond could somehow feel that the system was slowly sounding a bit more human, and that''s not only because its voice was sounding less robotic now.


    ''Even with that, I wouldn''t want her in my guild since it still feels too troublesome.''


    ''If she was only going to be a strong guild member, I wouldn''t bother with the host''s decision. But she has the possibility to unlock a hidden class. The more classes there are the more skills the host can gain and the stronger the host will be, which in turn would make the guild stronger.''


    When Raymond heard what the system had to say he started to hesitate and was now conflicted. He really wanted to see what kind of hidden class Clarise could get, but he was still troubled by the usual cliches of brocons that he has seen and read.


    As Raymond was talking to the System the three who were stunned by the rejection finally reacted. They all looked at Raymond who suddenly stopped moving. Lux and Daniel didn''t find this strange as Raymond has done this kind of thing multiple times. Clarise, on the other hand, thought that Raymond was feeling bad for rejecting her.


    The three waited for Raymond to do something. After a rather long time contemplating, Raymond sighed heavily. He looked at Clarise who seem to be eagerly waiting for him to change his mind. When he saw how cute Clarise looked at this moment Raymond felt that maybe it was alright even if she is a brocon... Truly everything about her was mostly positive but the brocon thing just makes it a little bit harder to like her. Raymond once again sighed heavily.


    "Fine, I will allow you to join." Hearing Raymond changed his mind, Clarise gave Raymond a knight salute.


    "Thank you." Raymond looked at the eager Clarise who still looked dignified but at the same time cute. ''Damn it, if only this girl wasn''t a brocon.''


    "Alright then, pledge your allegiance to me and proclaim me as your Guild Master."


    "As you wish..." After Clarise responded she went silent for a few seconds.


    "What''s the problem, are you having second thoughts?"


    "No, it''s just that I don''t think I got your name."


    "Oh, right, sorry I forgot to introduce myself, I am called Raymond." When Clarise heard his name she knelt on one knee and spoke.


    "I Clarise pledge my allegiance to you Raymond my Guild Master." Unlike the others, Clarise didn''t call Raymond with Lord and simply called him by his name without any honorifics. The moment she proclaimed her allegiance the usual stream of information flowed into her mind. Once that was done Clarise felt her combat energy weakening. She knew that there was a power restriction on her at the moment, but based on the information that flowed into her mind, she would be able to get her power back rather quickly and more as long as she kills a few enemies.


    After that, she was asked to pick her class. She was given the five basic classes the same as the others. Once she was done watching each class in action another notification appeared before her.


    [Due to your innate talents you have unlocked hidden classes]


    [Paladin- A warrior that wields the sword and has the power to cast divine miracles.] There was a video of the class that was available and of course, Clarise watched it.


    In the middle of a battlefield, surrounded by numerous enemies there was the supposed paladin holding a two-handed sword. This paladin was able to deal with his enemies with swift and powerful swordsmanship. But since the paladin was alone against multiple opponents he was easily surrounded.


    The paladin then received the attacks of his enemies and was unperturbed as he continued to cut his enemies down. Once he was able to escape the encirclement he raised his sword and a divine light surrounded him healing his wounds.


    The paladin then stabbed his sword onto the ground and two knights with a holy glow were summoned defending him from the approaching enemies. He then lifted his sword, swung it forward and a wave of energy came out sweeping through the enemies on the battlefield.


    Seeing the enemies were still numerous, the paladin once again raised his sword up, but this time he raised it higher than before, pointing straight at the sky above. He then swung his sword down towards his swarming enemies, and a huge cross of light fell from the heavens crushing all of his opponents.


    That was the end of the video and Clarise checked the other hidden class.


    [Queen of Swords- A class that could only be unlocked by a female swordsman that is loved by swords. This class is able to use all manner of swords, complemented with different sword styles.] Clarise started watching this class''s video as well.


    Once again it was one person against multiple opponents. The female swordsman had a short sword at hand as she charged at her opponents. With the short sword, she was able to use swift attacks.


    While she was slashing at her opponents the short sword glowed and turned into a two-handed broad sword, in which she swung with a powerful blow. Her opponents started flying into the air. She jumped upward and her broad sword turned into a whip sword which extended and slashed at her enemy like a whip.


    Then as she landed the whip sword turned into two one-handed swords in which she used to do a combination attacks. As her opponents surrounded her she stabbed the two swords onto the ground, and then two became four and the four became six until the field turned into a field of swords.


    The enemies tried to grab hold of the weapons on the ground but they were unable to touch them. The female swordsman, on the other hand, was able to use every single sword on the field, which she used in a devastating massacre.


    The speed she moved in made her look like she there were four of her using all manner of swords killing her opponents. Once every opponent was dead the field swords turned back into one sword.


    Clarise really liked both of the hidden classes and was unsure as to what to pick. Raymond on the other hand was ecstatic in seeing two hidden classes appearing.

 46 The beastmen

    Clarise took a look at the hidden classes and made a decision. Even though the paladin class looked quite good, she was much more interested in the aggressive style of the Queen of Swords.


    The style of the Queen of swords seems to be able to do less than the paladin. Seeing as the paladin can summon, heal, and attack. But the Queen of Swords offensive ability was nothing to sneeze at. What really got her to like the Queen of Swords class was the ability to use all manners of swords.


    Ever since she was little Clarise had an extreme fascination with swords. She found the various styles of swords and the sword styles to match said swords to be truly intriguing. She had tried most of the swords and sword styles the Regon Kingdom had to offer. So when she saw the different kinds of swords in the video, swords that she has never seen before, Clarise eyes sparkled.


    It was like a child that found a brand new toy. Swords were the only thing that could match Clarise love for her little brother, sometimes it could even exceed it. This time was one of those times the sword exceeded her love for her little brother. The only reason she even thought about choosing the paladin class was that it was a class that could help her better protect her little brother. Yet this time her fascination with swords had gotten the better of her.


    So with excitement Clarise no longer hesitated, she clicked on the Queen of swords. When she finished selecting her class another stream of information was relayed to her brain. Her status screen then appeared before her.


    [Name: Diablo


    Race: Human


    Class: Queen of Swords


    Level: 1


    HP: 110/110 MP: 3/3


    Combat Energy: 160/160


    STR: 12


    AGI: 10


    DEX: 10


    INT: 5


    WIS: 5


    VIT: 4


    Luck: 7


    Skills:


    Active: Sword Change (Lvl 1)


    Passive: Undying Body (max)]


    ...


    While Raymond was dealing with Clarise, the players who were given the task of escorting the three demi-humans were having a nice chat as they walked. Seeing as none except disguisedfox could understand the three, she became the players interpreter.


    "So you three don''t come from the same tribe, right?" One of the players asked and disguisedfox translated.


    "Yes, the two of us come from the wolf kin tribe. She, on the other hand, is from the bear kin tribe." The oldest of the three replied while pointing at her tail and ears and then pointing at the ears and tail of the girl that was from the bear kin tribe. "You could tell the difference by our tails and ears. That is regarding the females of our tribe, but when it comes to the males you should be able to instantly know which tribe they are from."


    "Why is that, are the males different somehow?"


    "Yes, as you can see us females are no different from you humans aside from our ears and tails. In fact, aside from the people of our tribe, the human race is also the only other race we can mate with. This is one of the reasons why I think you, humans, like capturing our women and selling them as slaves."


    When the players heard her answer they suddenly went silent. The backstories in this game weren''t anything new but when modern people like them hear about slavery from another person it feels bad. Even though they knew the humans they were talking about weren''t them the players still felt like it was them.


    Seeing the reactions of the players the wolf kin maiden smiled gently. "Don''t worry, I do understand that like us wolf kin that has bad and good people, the humans are separated like that as well. It''s not like our tribe hasn''t committed evil upon the human race. The test for one of our tribesmen to be considered true warriors is if they can bring the head of a human warrior. Though this tradition did start after humans started kidnapping our tribesmen it doesn''t excuse that we too have done wrong in your eyes."


    The wolf kin maiden continued to talk about such dark topics with a smile on her face. The players didn''t know how to react to such stories and were quiet for some time.


    "Do all beastmen tribes do that?"


    "No, based on my knowledge each tribe has a different way to get back on the humans. Though I do remember hearing that the humans the bear kin tribe don''t have this kind of relationship." When the wolf maiden spoke she looked at the bear kin maiden, who sighed.


    "It is true our tribe doesn''t mess around with the humans since the humans no longer mess with our tribe. The reason for this happened a few years before I was born. At that time the bear kin tribe was also facing the problem of the women being captured and sold to slavery. So in retaliation, the chief at the time annihilated nearby human villages."


    "Of course the humans wouldn''t stand for this and had sent a group of knights to annihilate our tribe. Yet when the knights came with our tribe''s superior strength as well as our knowledge of the terrain, we have were able to win the battle. In fact, after the first attempt, the humans sent a stronger force and attacked but we were also able to defeat them. After that, the second attempt th humans no longer sent any people to attack. Even though we won the battle our tribe had suffered a lot of casualties."


    When the players heard the bear maidens story they felt like the humans in the story gave up too quickly. There must''ve been something else that was happening another factor that contributed to the humans backing out.


    The group continued talking even while the occasional monster comes to attack. The players who were now a bit used to the game were no longer fidgety even while facing the rather scary looking things. After a few hours they were finally out of the forest and had reached the territory of the demi-humans.

 47 The wolf kin tribe

    Once they reached the other end of the forest the demi-human women smelled the air and smiled happily. They could smell the familiar scent of other beastmen. While the beastmen were basking in the joy that they were able to return, the players checked their status screen as they were able to level up.


    When they opened up their status screens, some of the players were shocked by what they saw specifically the players that changed their race.


    Diablo who became an Oni, no longer was given attribute points, instead, his stats were raised automatically in specific areas.


    [Name: Diablo


    Race: Oni


    Level: 6


    HP: 290/290 MP: 30/30


    STR: 23


    AGI: 4


    DEX: 4


    INT: 3


    WIS: 2


    VIT: 16


    Luck: 4


    Skills:


    Active: Roar (max), Goblin King (Lvl 1)


    Passive: Undying Body (max) kanab¨­ (Growing Weapon)


    Profession: Locked (Requires Level 10 to unlock.)]


    The strength and vitality attributes were the ones that increased a lot, while the others only increased by one point while some didn''t increase at all. Also, his kanab¨­ the club weapon he got at level 2 needed to level up as well and had a different experience bar. disguisedfox was also having a very similar problem.


    [Name: disguisedfox


    Race: Fox Kin


    Class: Priest


    Level: 9


    HP: 72/72 MP: 107/107


    STR: 2


    AGI: 5


    DEX: 7


    INT: 15


    WIS: 9


    VIT: 3


    Luck: 7


    Skills:


    Active: Minor healing (Lvl 5), Frenzy (Lvl 2), Fortify (Lvl 3)


    Passive: Undying body (max) Staff Mastery (Lvl 1)


    Racial Skill: ???]


    She only had one attribute point per level and the SP she received was reduced to one as well. She also had some attributes that grew by themselves as she leveled up which was her Int and her Wis. Also, her racial skill that was ??? didn''t change. The only good thing that came out of the race change, aside from the aesthetic look was the fact that her mana was double the amount compared to when she was human.


    They then started talking to the other streamers about their new discovery. While the players were talking amongst themselves the bear kin girl approached them and bowed her head.


    "Thank you for bringing me out of the forest. From here my village is just around the corner, I can go back home by myself."


    "Are you sure, if you want I can accompany you all the way," Merlin asked the bear kin and disguisedfox translated. He didn''t ask because of the goodness in his heart but because of the chance that more quests could be found in the bear kin village.


    "I appreciate your offer but, though we are no longer hostile against humans, most of my clansmen do not like your kind." Once she said that Merlin had nothing more to say. So the bear kin once again bowed her head and was about to leave, but then lonelypants spoke.


    "Before you leave can you tell us your name?"


    "It''s Natasha." After saying her name Natasha left. When Natasha was no longer in sight the older of the two wolf kin spoke to the players. "By the way, my name''s Luna and she''s Taika. We would also like to thank you for your help, but the same as Natasha we can go by ourselves from here. Cause, unlike bear kin the wolf kin are mostly hostile towards humans and would probably kill you on sight."


    "We aren''t afraid of death! The Guild Master has ordered us to safely escort you guys home and that''s what we''re going to do." Gandalfisawizard acted passionately as he spoke.


    "If that''s true then why did you let Natasha go?" Gandalfisawizard had no come back for this. It was Diablo who answered instead.


    "We were just momentarily shocked and had weren''t prepared. But now that we got our bearings back we must insist on escorting you." Diablo knew what he was saying was just some random bullsh*t but he did not know what else to say. Seeing them act this way made Luna chuckle.


    "I do not doubt that you do not fear death, but it might cause other problems if you were to come with us to our village."


    "It doesn''t matter, if you leave we will just follow you." The players who let go of Natasha easily didn''t allow to let Luna go as well. They were more aggressive especially the male players since aside from more quests they wanted to see more fluffy-tailed girls.


    Seeing that she wouldn''t be able to convince the players, Luna shrugged her shoulders and guided the players to her village.


    ...


    It took them only a few minutes to reach their destination and on the way, the group had encountered zero enemies which the players found a bit disappointing.


    "Since we''re near my village the warriors would''ve dealt with any hostile being in the vicinity."


    "If your village is that well protected, then why were you two captured by the goblins?"


    "We were captured when Taika and I alongside some warriors who were tasked to protect me were heading to a different village. On the road we were ambushed by a group of hobgoblins and ogres, the warriors fought bravely and died honorably in battle. That group of hobgoblins and ogres didn''t kill me and Taika instead they captured us and brought us to their cave. The rest after that you already know."


    Though she was once again speaking about something rather dark, Luna didn''t seem to be bothered by it. After hearing that story the players no longer asked any follow-up questions. The group then arrived at the entrance of the village which had no walls and was composed of large tents in the middle of the plains.


    When they arrived the villagers looked at the players and were emitting extreme hostility. It was then the players noticed why Luna said that they would notice the difference between a male and female wolf kin once they see it. The male wolf kin was a literal wolf standing on two legs and had arms with opposable thumbs. The male wolf kin looked like a werewolf which got the players excited.


    The warriors of the village got their weapons out and were about ready to attack the players when a notification popped out.


    [New Task: Escort the demi-humans to where they want to go (completed)]


    [Task Reward: Race change: Beastman, SP+ 1]


    [Do you want to receive your reward now? Y/N]

 48 The war between clans

    The warriors of the wolf kin village surrounded the players and were about ready to attack when Luna stood before them.


    "Cease." When the warriors heard her voice they actually stopped. They then looked at her surprised. One of the men approached Luna and Taika.


    "Luna you''re alive... Why did you decide to return now?" The warrior spoke brimming with hostility. Luna was surprised to see this reaction. She was expecting them to be hostile to the humans especially the Oni, but she wasn''t expecting them to be hostile towards her. The warriors pointed their weapons towards her.


    "What are you doing?!" Luna asked while looking outraged.


    "Because of you, our clan is doomed!"


    "What do you mean? Nevermind, where''s my father, I want to speak with my father!" Luna bypassed the warrior blocking her path and was about to walk forward when the warrior spoke.


    "The chieftain is dead." When Luna heard those words it was like her brain stopped working for a second. The players who were also being surrounded by the wolf kin warriors were waiting for an opportunity to do something. It would be awesome if they could just kill there way through but since this place could have a lot of hidden missions they didn''t wish to kill the wolf kin if possible. Well, even if they wanted to they couldn''t since they were extremely outnumbered. So they decided to treat this whole event as a cutscene.


    "Father is dead... How is that possible?! You lie!" Luna bared her fangs at the warrior and growled.


    "It is true the chieftain is dead, and it''s all because of you. When you disappeared we tried looking for you, but we couldn''t find a single clue. We couldn''t even say if you were alive or dead since there was no trace of your body. Because of that incident, the Azan Clan broke our alliance claiming that you have disgraced them by fleeing from your marriage. The chieftain tried to explain that you wouldn''t do such a dishonorable thing such as fleeing from duties. Unfortunately, the great son of the Azan Clan your supposed husband felt so humiliated he didn''t believe a single thing the chieftain said. He then challenged the chieftain in the eyes of the God of war to Kazan, the chieftain refused and was killed."


    Luna couldn''t believe the story the warrior was telling. Her father was old but he was still the strongest warrior of their clan.


    "My father would never refuse to do the Kazan."


    "He refused because of you. It was for your honor, the chieftain truly believed you were innocent. If he were to accept the Kazan that would''ve meant that all the accusations of the Azan Clan were true."


    When Luna heard that she couldn''t help but clench her fist, her claws pierced her skin making it bleed. Her eyes were red as she wanted to cry but stopped herself. She was angry at the Azan Clan but she was also angry at herself. It wasn''t her fault that she was captured by monsters, but maybe she should''ve committed suicide when she knew she would be captured. If she had died and left a body, they could''ve used that as an excuse.


    ''I even thought that I was so lucky to be able to come home... But because of me, my father died.'' As Luna was wallowing in her sorrow Taika spoke out for her.


    "It wasn''t the mistress''s fault! We were captured by ogres!" When the warriors heard what Taika they were stunned into silence but only for a few seconds.


    "It doesn''t matter now, no matter what the truth was. Now the Azan Clan wants to take over our whole clan as slaves. They have given as three days to answer, today is the second day. Tomorrow if we don''t give our answer, if we don''t submit willingly they will wipe us out."


    Luna was jolted awake when she heard the warrior''s words. "I will not allow this clan to fall!" She then looked at the players and approached disguisedfox.


    "You people are like mercenaries correct? I want to hire the Guild Eternal to protect my clan." When the warriors of the tribe heard what Luna said they all looked at her as if she was insane. She was actually hiring humans, a fox kin, and a monster to protect them?


    "Not only have you lost your mind, but you have lost your pride as well. Actually hiring the likes of humans to protect us." The warrior growled at Luna who then growled back.


    "My father might have died, but I am still the daughter of the chieftain! I will do anything in my power to ensure this clan survives!"

 49 Lets make a deal

    When the warriors heard what Luna said they still felt like it was wrong. "Are we really going to give out our pride just to survive?"


    "Is our pride more important than our lives? If we die here today then that''s the end of it! Our clan will cease to exist and no one will even remember our names, or if you wish we could become slaves to the Azan clan. We would be able to live but what kind of life will that be? Isn''t being a slave worse than just asking for help, we aren''t even just asking them to help us out of pity, were paying them to help us in our war."


    "But they''re humans. Not only that there''s also one from the fox kin tribe." One of the warriors spoke out. Even though they understood that there was a need to ask for assistance, asking help from humans was not something they would ever dream of doing.


    "Yes, shouldn''t we ask other clans for help instead of asking these outsiders?"


    "You do understand that the reason we tried to please the Azan Clan was that no one from our tribe can face them. Even if we could no other clan would risk their people''s lives to help us."


    "So you believe these humans can do it?"


    "I know they can do it?" Hearing Luna''s confident answer the warriors grew silent. Even if these humans were weaker than what Luna claims, having more forces does help. It was either compromise now or die.


    When Luna saw that the warriors were now silent she once again looked at the players and spoke to disguisedfox.


    "Will you help us?" When Luna asked this question disguisedfox got a quest prompt.


    [New Task: Help the Wolf Kin]


    [The wolf kin of the Lobo clan wishes to hire the Guild Eternal to help save their clan. Relay this information to the Guild Master, and convince him to join the battle.]


    [Requirement: Guild Master helps the Lobo Clan]


    [Task Rewards: +10 affinity to all Lobo clan members, 1 random racial ability of the Wolf Kin tribe.]


    "I will tell my Guild Master of your request." When Luna heard disguisedfox''s answer she remembered the man that they call the Guild Master. He was a normal-looking human but the aura he emitted was different from the others, it felt grand.


    "I see... Please make hast we might not have enough time." disguisedfox also knew that they don''t have enough time, well gaming time. Walking to this area took around three hours time, meaning walking back and forth would take six hours of their time, and the gaming time limit of twelve hours might happen in the middle of this quest mission.


    disguisedfox looked at her Exp bar and sighed as she approached Diablo who had the strongest attacking power.


    "Can you please kill me." When the players heard disguisedfox''s request they got confused. She then explained the new quest she received. When Diablo and the others heard that she was the only one who received the quest they felt envy. Some of them even thought of changing their race then and there but stopped themselves.


    They stopped since though there were many merits in changing race there were also many demerits. When they were checking out the race change properly, they noticed that they could click on the line human and information about the race appeared. What they saw went like this.


    [Human- The race with the most population on the planet. Among all the other races the humans have the most potential. At the start, they are born physically and sometimes mentally weaker than the other races but that does not hinder their potential growth. The human race is the only race that is compatible with almost all job classes, not including race-specific hidden classes.]


    The others felt like changing races was a gamble they didn''t want to risk at the moment. So they stuck with the human race.


    ...


    Now knowing the situation and seeing that things won''t move unless Raymond was here, Diablo agreed to disguisedfox''s request. He then tried to attack disguisedfox but then a notification appeared.


    [Do you wish to challenge disguisedfox to a PVP, Y/N?]


    "It doesn''t seem like I can kill you." Diablo clicked on N and shrugged his shoulders.


    "Fine, then let me borrow your sword." disguisedfox extended her hand towards Gandalfisawizard who handed his sword. Without any hesitation disguisedfox stabbed herself.


    When Luna and the other members of the Lobo Clan saw what disguisedfox did they were shocked. What had happened why did the fox kin killed herself? While they were confused disguisedfox''s body turned into orbs of light and then disappeared.


    "What happened?!" Luna asked the players with a look of pure confusion on her face. Unfortunately for her, the players couldn''t understand a word that she said.

 50 Going to help

    Raymond who had just finished giving Clarise a tour around the Guild Space was now in his room in front of the computer. Even though he really wanted to start reading some manga, and light novels, he needed to finish the pending tasks he had. It was about time that he recruited other players into the guild, seeing as he still needed to recruit fifteen more players to finish his quest.


    So after checking the list of applicants, Raymond couldn''t read each and every one of them. So in the end, Raymond simply decided to accept the group that would help increase the strength of the Guild quickly and this group were the pro players.


    At first, he was going to just recruit one pro player team, but then Raymond had a great idea. If he recruited to competing teams of pro players, their rivalry should push them to try and level up faster.


    So Raymond accepted two groups of pro gamers that were from two rather well-known gaming clubs to be beta testers. One group had eight players, while the other had seven. The one with one less player in their group was the stronger more well-known team.


    Once he had sent them their invitations, the two pro teams quickly responded and almost instantly logged into the game as if they were waiting for it. It was at that moment a notification appeared in front of Raymond.


    [New Task: Prepare for the otherworlders (Completed)]


    [With the System Upgrade, you are now able to summon players from another world. Create a popular MMO to bring in more players. Use these players to create a stronger Guild.]


    [Requirements:


    Create an official Forum 1/1


    Advertise Beta test 1/1


    Otherworld Players 20/20]


    [Task Reward: +10 attribute points]


    ...


    Raymond did the usual speech and accepted them as Guild Members. It took them only a few seconds to picked their classes. Once that was done they were guided to the storage room were they got their weapons, and each team quickly headed out into the forest.


    Though they did leave one member of their team to talk to the NPCs trying to see if they could trigger a quest. Raymond was quite amazed by how efficient they moved compared to the streamers.


    ''As expected of pros, they really are different. I guess the next type of player I would want would be the guys who got a lot of money to spend. Well, that''s after I figure out a way to make the cash shop viable, as well as find something they can spend that money on.''


    ''It''s good that the host is thinking so hard about this.'' The system suddenly chimed in Raymond''s thoughts.


    ''Of course, I need to grow stronger faster, so that I can feel safe enough to live my life reading, watching, and playing.''


    ''It''s good to see the host hasn''t changed and is as simple-minded as ever.'' When Raymond was about to respond, he suddenly saw disguisedfox appeared at the respawn point. She quickly looked around and once she spotted Raymond she approached him.


    "Guild Master I have some urgent news!" disguisedfox then started to explain the situation with the Lobo clan. Once disguisedfox was done with her explanation a new task prompt appeared before Raymond.


    [New Task: Show the guild''s might]


    [The Lobo clan has requested the Guild Eternal to help them win the war against the Azan clan. This is your chance to show the beastkin clans the strength of the Guild.]


    [Requirements: With you at the forefront as the Guild Master, bring Four Local Guild Members and Seven Foreign Guild Members. You cannot bring any NPCs. Win the battle with these limited members and showcase the Guild''s might.]


    [Task Rewards: Affinity with the Lobo Clan (max) and will become allied forces, other rewards will depend on the Lobo Clan]


    While Raymond was reading the task notification, someone spoke behind him.


    "That seems to be quite an interesting mission. My brother and I, will of course be going." Raymond looked behind and saw Clarise and Daniel. When Raymond heard what Clarise said, he didn''t mind since he was going to invite her anyway. Even though she was only level 1 her skills and basic stats were better than most.


    ''So now I only need two more local guild members. Also, since there are already four players waiting at the Lobo Clan plus disguisedfox, I just need two more players.'' Raymond then saw the two pro players looking at him, he smiled and signaled them to come to him. The two approached Raymond, who then gave them the quest.


    Upon receiving the quest the first thing the two pro players did, was to try and convince Raymond to allow more players to join. Unfortunately for them, Raymond was never going to budge. Seeing that they had no room to negotiate they agreed to do the quest by themselves.


    The next people Raymond invited were the siblings Brom and Roselia. Among the guild members, they were the highest leveled ones and had the most seniority. Once Raymond was done and assembled the group that would help him complete the quest he wanted to quickly move out. But, before they left disguisedfox asked a question


    "Guild Master, shouldn''t we bring more with us?"


    "Don''t worry, this group is enough," Raymond answered with a confident smile on his face. Even though deep down he also felt that this many weren''t enough. Though based on the task description maybe this quest would be easier than expected.

 51 Getting ready for war

    "Chieftain the third day since we have given the Lobo Clan our demands is coming." One of the wolf kin warriors of the Azan Clan knelt in front of the Chieftain. The Chieftain of the Azan Clan was a rather young wolf kin who was twice the size of all the other warriors of the clan.


    He was Deza the Chieftain of the Azan Clan. Despite his age, he was chosen as the Chieftain simply because of his strength. He was the greatest son of the Azan Clan and the supposed husband to be of Luna.


    He looked at the warrior who reminded him of the deadline he gave and nodded his head. He got his knives out and spoke to the warrior.


    "Get the warriors ready for battle, tomorrow the Lobo Clan either submits or dies."


    ...


    While the Azan Clan was preparing for war, the Lobo clan was having a bit of a problem. Luna was surprised to see only eight people come back from the Guild. She then started talking to disguisedfox as to why that was.


    While Luna was confused and complaining to disguisedfox, Raymond couldn''t understand a word that was said.


    ''Hey system, is there a skill that could help me understand all languages?''


    ''Yes, there is, it''s a Guild Master skill that could be unlocked when you reach Level 45.''


    When Raymond heard the system''s answer he looked at his level which was 42 and his Exp bar was barely growing even with the help of his [Guild Master''s Influence] skill he was having problems leveling up. While he was thinking if he should risk going deeper into the Elisora forest, disguisedfox approached him.


    "Guild Master, Luna wants to know why we only brought so few guild members."


    "Tell here cause this is all we need to win." disguisedfox told Luna what Raymond told her, and before Luna could say anything back one of the Lobo Clan''s warriors started shouting.


    "What is he saying?" Clarise asked disguisedfox who was getting a bit tired of translating but did so anyway.


    "He said that he was right not to trust filthy humans. There simply toying with us. The reason they brought so few is that once they feel like it would be losing battle they''ll flee. I don''t even think they can fight our weakest warrior."


    When Clarise heard what the wolf kin warrior had to say she nodded her head as if she understood something.


    "Tell their leader to bring out their strongest warrior and I will face that person in one on one combat." disguisedfox translated what Clarise said, which made the Lobo Clan warriors howl. One of the warriors stepped forward. He was a male warrior who had a huge sword like weapon, made from a bone of a large monster or animal that was attached to some wood. Simply by the looks of it, the weapon seems to be quite heavy.


    "I am Kenta a proud warrior of the Lobo Clan. Come at me little girl and I shall show how a true warrior fights." Clarise didn''t need disguisedfox to translate as the gestures the warrior was making was enough for her to understand that the fight was on.


    Clarise took out one short sword and dashed forward without hesitation. Kenta and the other Lobo Clan warriors who were watching were surprised by Clarise''s speed. Caught by surprise Kenta could not evade the incoming sideward slash. So he had no choice but to block. Seeing as Clarise was rather skinny and the weapon she was using was a twig compared to Kenta''s weapon, the warrior of the Lobo Clan was confident that the strike would do little to no damage at all.


    When Clarise''s sword was about to make contact with Kenta''s weapon, her sword changed shape. Clarise''s one-handed sword grew in size and turned into a two-handed bastard sword. With her strength enhanced by her combat energy, Kenta was blown away. He flew a few meters before stopping.


    While Kenta was trying to get back to a fighting stance, Clarise quickly changed her sword back to the one-handed sword and rushed towards Kenta. This time with him being unbalanced Kenta wasn''t even able to lift his sword to block the incoming attack when he felt the cold steel of the sword was pointing at his neck.


    Everyone was shocked by how quickly that duel ended. The Lobo Clan as well as the Guild Members were shocked by Clarise''s prowess. But more than that they were surprised that her sword changed from a one-handed sword to a two-handed sword and vice versa.


    The Lobo Clan thought it was another one of the human''s trickery. On the other hand, the players were excited since that was not a skill from the swordsman skill tree. That would mean it was either a skill from an advanced class of the swordsman class, or it was skill from a different newer class.


    "So are there any more challengers?" Even though they couldn''t understand the human language, the warriors of the Lobo Clan could pretty much guess what Clarise said. Even if they considered Clarise''s ability to change her weapon during a battle a form of trickery, they understood her skills. None of the current Lobo Clan warriors were her match.


    It would be shameful to go accept the challenge despite understanding the difference in skill. The Lobo Clan warriors had their heads lowered feeling ashamed at themselves.

 52 The night before the battle

    Not one wolf kin warrior from the Lobo Clan stood up to challenge Clarise. Standing behind Brom, Roselia was looking at Clarise with shining eyes. Ever since she was told by Lux that Clarise was none other than, Clarise the Iron Maiden.


    Clarise the Iron Maiden was one of the few women knights in the Regon Kingdom. She was the youngest and also the strongest of all the female knights. She was the idol of most of the girls in the kingdom and Roselia one of those girls.


    She had heard of Clarise''s deeds from the traveling merchants and all of them seem like something that came out of a fairy tale. Now that she has seen her in person those stories might all be true after all.


    ...


    Clarise stood proud and tall among the hundreds of warriors of the Lobo Clan. She challenged them without fear of losing.


    The players were liking Clarise more and more. A beautiful proud and powerful maiden. On the other hand, Brom felt like he needed to train harder. He and his sister were one of the first people to join the Guild and yet they were lagging behind a newcomer.


    Raymond was surprised at how quickly Clarise adapted to her new class. Was this perhaps a talent honed by battle?


    ''She really is the whole package, if only she wasn''t so much of a brocon.'' Raymond couldn''t help but sigh.


    Seeing that no one was going to respond Luna approached Raymond and bowed her head. She then spoke in the human language but it was obvious she wasn''t used to it.


    "Please... Help Our Clan." It was as if an infant was talking but Raymond still understood it. He nodded his head.


    "In the name of the Guild Eternal, I vow that we will save your clan." Knowing that Luna wasn''t that adept in speaking the human language, so he had disguisedfox translate for him. When Luna heard Raymond''s answer she felt relieved and almost cried.


    Even though Raymond only arrived with few reinforcements, Luna couldn''t help but think if it was Raymond he would be able to do it. When the other members heard Raymond''s response they also felt the same as Luna. They all started thinking that the man before them would be able to save them from their predicament.


    Once again Raymond''s charm skill was working its magic.


    ...


    After the initial distrust, and after that one battle coupled with what Raymond said. The Lobo Clan finally accepted the Guild Eternal''s help. Their attitudes change rather quickly. This was a normal trait of the beast kin. Some days friends might become enemies, and enemies might become friends. Once that was out of the way the Lobo proceeded to hold a celebration.


    This was a ritual most wolf kin clans do before they head into battle. They believe that since this might be their final meal, they needed to have the best meal they can have as tomorrow might be their last.


    The players were having fun dancing with wolf eared girls. Some of the wolf eared girls tried to approach Daniel but were stopped by the glaring Clarise. Some of the brave male wolf kin were trying to approach Clarise but they too failed.


    Raymond one the other hand was having fun testing his strength against the wolf kin warriors with a friendly match of arm wrestling. Not one of them were able to even make his hand flinch.


    As the celebration was reaching its climax, the wolf eared girls invited the male players to their tents to allow their seeds to be pass on. Even Raymond was invited and it was Luna who invited him, this was also part of the tradition of the clans. This was just in case the warrior dies in battle, it was to ensure that his strength would be passed onto the next generation.


    Of course, everyone was invited all except Daniel, who was actually looking a bit envious at the others. Brom also refused as he didn''t like doing something like this casually. The players who wanted to see if they can get some 18+ content also begrudgingly refused as the game time was about to end.


    Of course, Raymond had no reason to refuse and was the only man among the Guild Membres that was able to have the most fun that night.

 53 The beginning of the battle

    Raymond woke up the next day and saw a beautiful naked woman with wolf ears beside him. When Raymond saw Luna he started to remember what happened last night. This soft looking wolf girl was very intense. Remembering what happened last night made Raymond think about his previous world.


    ''I guess this counts as my first time. If I don''t count pr*stitutes I guess I have never done it before.'' Once Raymond finished deciding that he stood up wore his clothes and did his usual routine. He noticed that there was a well in the middle of the town were he could get water to wash up.


    When he approached the well, he noticed Clarise who was standing outside a tent. It looked like she was guarding her brother from the wolf kin women. Seeing that Raymond couldn''t help but shake his head.


    ''I kinda feel sorry for the guy.'' When Clarise spotted Raymond for some reason she approached him.


    "Good Morning Clarise." Raymond greeted her with a smile on his face.


    "Good Morning, so Guild Master, I have been going around this village earlier this morning. After a quick look, I found out that this place has not a single fortification. Normally I would advise intercepting the enemy before they reach the village, but because we lack too much information we cannot act carelessly. So Guild Master what should we do?"


    When Raymond heard what Clarise said he was a bit shocked. This woman who showed no signs of being interested in anything except for her little brother was actually taking her job as a Guild Member seriously.


    ''I guess she really isn''t that bad.''


    "Don''t worry about that, we will face them near the village."


    "Is that all? Don''t you have a strategy or some tactic we need to employ?" Clarise was now looking at Raymond a bit disappointed.


    "Strategy? Tactics? Don''t you use those if you''re facing an equal or greater opponent? The ones we''re facing now are just a bunch of mutts. The power difference is so huge that I kinda feel sorry for our enemy." Raymond felt really confident as he answered.


    When Clarise heard what Raymond said she was momentarily stunned. The way he gave his response and the look in his eyes, he truly believed every word he said. Baffling enough, it doesn''t sound like he was being arrogant. In fact, Clarise felt weirdly reassured and motivated when she heard Raymond''s response.


    This was the first time she felt this way from the words of another person that was not her little brother. Even the Grand Commander from the Custodians of Iron wasn''t able to make her feel this reassured. Clarise found her feelings confusing and strange.


    Seeing that Clarise wasn''t responding and remained silent for a few seconds now, Raymond spoke.


    "So, is there anything else you want to talk about?" Hearing Raymdon''s voice Clarise snapped out of her thoughts.


    "No there''s nothing more. Thank you for your time, Guild Master." Clarise gave a knight salute and left. Raymond who saw her leaving back was a bit confused by that reaction of hers.


    ...


    After doing his morning training Raymond saw that the players were had logged back in. They approached and the male players started asking Raymond about what happened to him last night. Raymond responded by giving a knowing smile.


    When the male players saw that smile of Raymond''s they all started to curse him, as well as curse the gaming time limit.


    ''Someone really should make a better device and remove the time limit.'' All of them thought as they looked at Raymond with envy.


    ...


    It was near noon when the Azan Clan finally arrived. At the distance, Raymond could see numerous wolf kin warriors. It seems like the Azan Clan was four times bigger than the Lobo Clan. By the looks of it, they were a couple of hundred warriors on the enemy''s side.


    When the Lobo Clan saw this their bodies tensed up a bit. The children and the noncombatants of the clan were all hiding at the back of the village. On the other hand, Raymond and the players were looking at the Azan Clan with glittering eyes. To them, the Azan Clan were nothing more than piles of EXP.


    When Deza saw the armed warriors of the Lobo Clan, he knew what their answer was. He then noticed Luna was at the front lines, when he saw this he got angry.


    ''So she really did flee from her obligations. Hmph, what shame the dead Lobo Clan''s Chieftain must feel, to have a daughter like that.'' When Deza was looking scornfully at Luna, he finally noticed that there humans with the Lobo Clan.


    "Hmph, the Lobo Clan actually asked help from the humans. They have lost their fangs and just cowering sheep, they don''t even deserve to be our slaves. Go on my brethren Kill those filthy cowards of our proud Wolf Kin tribe!"


    Deza gave the order to charge and half of his forces started running towards the Lobo Clan''s village. The main weapons they were using were knives made out of monster bones. Deza was expecting the Lobo Clan to meet them head-on in battle as that was the usual style of warfare between wolf kin clans. But to his surprise he saw that only the humans were charging to the center of the battlefield, not a single warrior from the Lobo Clan moved an inch.

 54 Overwhelming difference

    Moments before the battle started Raymond told disguisedfox to translate what he was about to say to Luna.


    "Luna let your men stay behind and protect the village. I and my men will go forward and meet the enemy forces head-on. If any of them get past us then you''ll have to deal with that. Though I don''t think any one of those guys will be able to get past us."


    When Luna and the other Lobo Clan members heard what Raymond said they thought that disguisedfox might have mistranslated. Yet when they reconfirmed it, there was no mistake on what was said.


    "Are you sure? I think you might have underestimated the strength of the Lobo Clan." Luna spoke worriedly. In response to that Raymond smiled at her and answered.


    "I already promised in the name of the Guild Eternal that I would help your clan in achieving victory. I tell you now the Guild Eternal has never lost, and will never experience losing. The moment we lose will be the moment we die, and I don''t think the Azan clan has the power to do that. So trust in me and witness how we achieve overwhelming victory."


    The moment those words came out of Raymond''s mouth not only did the local Guild Members feel motivated and excited, but the players were also feeling the same thing. Even though disguisedfox has yet to translate what Raymond said, Luna and the Lobo Clan members could somehow understand as they felt Raymond''s confidence.


    The group then saw the Azan Clan charing towards them. Seeing this Raymond lifted his sword and pointed at the enemy forces as he shouted.


    "For the Guild Eternal!" The Guild Members all shouted in unison. "For the Guild Eternal!" Raymond and the Guild Members charged forward, and at the forefront was Brom. He was the fastest person charging towards the enemy lines, and the moment he was near one of the enemy warriors he used [Shockwave Punch].


    The moment his fist came into contact with the enemy warrior, the enemy warrior felt nothing. He sneered as he looked at Brom and thought as expected his only a human. Those were the last thoughts of the enemy warrior before he exploded.


    The skill [Shockwave Punch] uses 20 combat energy to activate. It''s a skill that allows the user to punch a vibration attack that could disrupt the internal organs of the target. Depending on how large the difference between STR and VIT of the user and the enemy, the greater the effects.


    When the charging Azan Clan warriors saw what happened to their companion they were all shocked but that didn''t stop their charge. They were now charging towards Brom, as one of them was about to face Brom in battle, he noticed that a sword was coming towards his face.


    The Azan Clan warrior was able to dodge the thin short sword by a hairsbreadth. As he was about to counterattack, the short sword suddenly turned into a broad sword. The moment the sword changed shape the small distance of the blade to the warriors neck disappeared and his head was cut off.


    While that was happening many Azan Clan warriors were being killed or hurt by raining arrows. This was surprising since there was only one person using a bow. If that wasn''t enough balls of flame came shooting towards them burning some of them to cinders.


    There was also the monster looking opponent that uses a club. Each time his club would hit an Azan Clan warrior, they would fly away or get smashed.


    Yet the most frightening one of all was the person casually strolling through the battlefield. His sword was still sheathed, he was walking as if there was no imminent threat to his life. Yet every warrior that approached him were cut in half instantly, no one was even able to see his blade come out of the sheath. Even the brave warriors of the Azan Clan couldn''t go near the man, as he looked at them in disappointment.


    ...


    Raymond who had just killed a few dozen Azan Clan warriors was frowning as he looked at his EXP bar. Even though he killed them directly the EXP points he got only filled .10 percent.


    ''I was already them to be quite weak, but not this weak.''


    ...


    Luna who was watching behind saw how easily the members of the Guild Eternal kill the Azan Clan warriors. It was as if adult warriors were facing a bunch of children. She already expected them to be quite strong, based on how they rescued her and the other women from the Ogre cave, but she didn''t know how strong. She didn''t see them fight so she had no way to accurately gauge their strength. Yet now that she saw them fight, it would seem that even her wildest imagination of how strong they were was an insult to the strength of the Guild Eternal.


    ...


    Kenzan who was watching at the backline saw his men being slaughtered like livestock. That wasn''t a battle that was a massacre. He knew at this point that even if he send his remaining men to the battlefield not much would change, there would just be more sacrifices.


    ''Where did the Lobo Clan, such powerful humans?''

 55 One on One

    The Azan Clan warriors were dying by the dozens. On the other hand, the Guild Members don''t even have any visible injuries. Even if the Azan Clan warriors were able to get a hit in, the Guild Members had healers that could quickly heal those injuries.


    Knowing that they would lose if this continued Deza needed a way to turn the tide of battle. They couldn''t run away, cause if they did they would become the laughing stock of the whole wolf kin clans. For them, it would be better for the clan to die than become cowards that flee from battle.


    Deza then shouted at the top of his voice. "You humans I challenge your strongest warrior to a duel to the death!" Everyone on the battlefield stopped attacking for a moment and looked at Deza.


    ...


    Deza walked towards the center of the battlefield and so did Raymond and disguisedfox. Raymond had disguisedfox translate for him, and then he gave out his response. "Why should I fight one on one with you?"


    When Deza heard Raymond''s reply he frowned. If he had challenge the strongest warrior of another clan, usually they would quickly rise up to the challenge. Yet the human before him didn''t do as he expected. He couldn''t help but look down on humans even more.


    "Backing away from a duel don''t you have any pride?"


    Raymond was about to respond, with what''s the use of pride if it can''t bring you victory? When he suddenly got a notification.


    [New Task: Guild Master''s prestige]


    [You have been insulted by the enemy leader. Your honor and dignity as a Guild Master are being tested. Show to them the power of the Guild Master.]


    [Requirement: Allow the opponent to attack you until the opponent has used his strongest move.


    Do not allow even a single HP to drop.


    Once the opponent finishes using his strongest move. Destroy the opponent with a single attack]


    [Task Reward: +150,000 EXP, +4 attribute points, +1 SP]


    Though the rewards weren''t that good, Raymond was always up for extra SP and Attribute points.


    "Fine, I accept your challenge. But what are the stakes? Surely we aren''t fighting just for the fun of it."


    When Deza heard Raymond''s response he felt a bit relieved but he didn''t show it on his face. He then gave Raymond an answer.


    "If I win, I want your men to retreat and allow us to fight with the Lobo Clan without your men''s interference."


    "Alright, but If I win I want your clan to become a subordinate clan to the Lobo Clan." Raymond no longer wanted to annihilate the whole Azan Clan as they don''t really generate much EXP. So if they became a subordinate clan to the Lobo Clan that would become their Allies, that would be more beneficial to the Guild.


    When Deza heard Raymond''s demand upon victory he couldn''t help but gnashed his teeth. He had no choice if he doesn''t agree his men would all die.


    ''No matter what if I lose we would''ve died, at least he didn''t ask for the cleansing of the Azan Clan.''


    "Fine then, I agree. Let the duel begin." The moment Deza said those words the others distanced themselves from the two.


    Deza knew that Raymond was extremely strong since he could kill his men without making known how he did it. Still, Deza also knew that if he allowed Raymond the first strike he might lose momentum. So with his two daggers at hand, he rushed towards Raymond with blinding speed.


    Deza did a forward thrust with the dagger on his right hand, Raymond easily evaded by swaying his body a bit. Deza then quickly followed up by slashing horizontally and Raymond simply ducked evading that attack as well.


    Deza then followed up with continuous strikes, and the flow of each of his strikes seem like a never-ending torrent. To the ones watching at the side, they think that Deza had the upper hand and all Raymond could do was evade.


    "The Clan Leader is winning!"


    "Even against that monster, the Clan leader is actually winning."


    "Is the enemy leader stronger than the Guild Master?"


    "You guys are blind, the Guild Master is the one with the upper hand," Clarise commented while watching the battle beside her brother Daniel.


    Though Raymond simply continued to evade, each of his movements evaded Deza''s attacks with only a hairbreadths distance. Not only that Raymond all throughout the fight hasn''t moved from his spit. Deza gritted his teeth as he tried attacking faster. Yet despite going faster Raymond could still easily evade his attacks.


    Deza quickly backed away and growled at Raymond. Surprisingly he spoke in the human language, though he spoke a bit slowly and it sounded a bit weird it was still understandable.


    "Why aren''t you attacking?! Are you looking down on me?!"


    "..." Raymond didn''t answer as he couldn''t say it was because he got a quest not to hit him until he was exhausted. When Deza saw Raymond not responding he felt enraged. The human in front of him didn''t even consider him as an opponent that was worth talking to.


    Deza then discarded his knives and howled. When the Azan Clan members saw what Deza did they all quickly went further away. Seeing his men were already far away, Deza closed his eyes and howled some more this time louder than before.


    Everyone from the Guild including Raymond was confused as to what was happening. Deza then opened his eyes and they were now blood red, his fur that covered his whole body started to stand up like a porcupine. His claws extended a bit and he bared his fangs while going down on all fours.


    The tension suddenly grew as Deza''s bloodlust was growing more and more.

 56 Moon Berserker

    As Raymond was confused as to what happened Deza suddenly moved. The speed of his movement was so much greater than before. Even though his movements became more linear, Raymond could barely avoid them. This time Raymond had no leeway to not move from his spot. In fact, he felt that Deza became a bit of a threat to him. Though it doesn''t seem like Deza''s power improved that much, but his speed was a problem. So in response, Raymond finally unsheathed his sword.


    Most of the Guild Members were amazed to see Raymond do this. Even while fighting the oni and other monsters, they have never seen Raymond draw his sword. Usually, it would be drawn so fast that the eye could not follow, and then it will go back into the sheath.


    Clarise could also feel that Deza was a major threat. Based on what she was seeing Deza would''ve been her equal if she was back in her peak state. In fact, in some respects, Deza was stronger than her. Being a beastkin Deza had superior physical abilities and Clarise could see that in sheer speed alone he was far superior to her.


    Though Deza''s increased physical abilities were amazing Raymond who was still able to evade and defend with his sword was equally amazing. If Raymond could keep up with Deza''s speed that would mean in Raymond''s eyes when she first attacked him, she must''ve looked like she was moving like a slow turtle.


    ...


    ''The f*ck is this sh*t! This is a bug, this guy gotta be a cheat!'' Raymond screamed in his mind as he blocked and evaded each of Deza''s attacks. Unlike before he had no leeway to evade with minimum movement. He was even using all the buff skills he had, yet he could barely keep up with Deza''s speed.


    Because of the quest, he had no choice at the moment but to deflect and evade the attacks. None of his current defensive skills would allow him to get zero damage when hit. If he could he wanted to use a spell of sorts that could be used for defense like a wall of earth, but unfortunately, all of the mages skills were for attacking.


    It was possible that the advance classes of the mage had defensive abilities, but currently, Raymond couldn''t unlock those skills since none of the players who picked the mage class have reached the level required to unlock advanced classes. Even though Raymond could potentially unlock all the class skills, he was unable to unlock the new classes, only the players could do that.


    So Raymond was stuck with rather few spells. He did have a spell from the druid class that could ensnare the enemy called [binding vines] but the enemy was too fast for that skill to be effective. So his only choice at the moment was too keep on deflecting and evading hoping that Deza would tire out before he makes a mistake.


    ...


    Luna who came closer to watch the duel between Raymond and Deza was growing worried. Deza was actually using the wolf kin''s racial ability [Moon Berserker]. This was an ability only the male wolf kin possessed but was only usable during the night of a full moon.


    It was an ability that puts the user in a trance-like state which enhances all of his abilities and animal instincts. Aside from only being able to use this skill during a full moon, it had also the demerit of making the user go into a killing frenzy. The user of the ability will be unable to think rationally and will be drowned by feelings of anger and wanting to kill.


    He would kill anything in sight no matter if it was an enemy or an ally. The user would fight until the full moon was gone or he dies first. It was a good thing this ability was something the wolf kin could control and activate by will. So they would only use this ability as a last resort when all hope is gone.


    It was not that surprising that Deza used the ability in his situation, but what was surprising that he was able to use the ability in the first place during broad daylight.


    ''How is he able to use [Moon Berserker] without the moonlight? This is unbelievable, is this really the same ability or is it a new ability or perhaps it''s a secret ability the Azan Clan has? Are all the Azan Clan warriors able to use this ability as well?''


    Luna imagined all the remaining Azan Clan warriors using [Moon Berserker]. If that were to happen even with the help of the Guild Eternal they might all die a gruesome death.


    ''No, even if they could use it, they won''t, else they would kill each other as well.'' Luna shook her head stopping herself from thinking too deeply about it. She then concentrated on the battle that would decide the fight between the two clans. She could only hope with all her heart that Raymond would win.

 57 Battle to the death

    Raymond continued to desperately deflect all of Deza''s attacks, it doesn''t seem like Deza would tire out anytime soon. In fact, it felt like he was the one who was getting tired from defending. He was moving less but he was the one who losing stamina.


    ''Is this the difference between our physiques? But that can''t be right as my body is enhanced by my stats, so physiques shouldn''t really matter...''


    While Raymond was thinking one of Deza''s claws nearly hit him. Raymond held onto his weapon tighter than before, he had no time to be thinking about such things. After some time Raymond was finally getting used to Deza''s odd movements and was feeling more at ease in dodging.


    Yet at the moment he lowered his guard a bit Deza made an impossible move, he stopped mid-jump and actually stepped on the air. When Raymond saw this his eyes almost popped out.


    ''What the f*ck isn''t this blood destruction from NGNL! The h*ck you''re a wolf kin, not a f*cking warbeast!'' Raymond couldn''t help but scream in his mind. Seeing the nonsensical movement that Deza did, reminded him of that ability that only a few had in that particular anime he liked to watch.


    The torrent of attacks grew even fiercer as Raymond could no longer keep up. Despite his advantage of having higher stats, Raymond was still unable to keep up with Deza''s growing speed. If he wasn''t allowed to attack or counter and only had the option to evade Raymond knew that this was nearly an impossible quest.


    Raymond was now getting irritated as he continued to defend for a whole forty minutes. Even the players and the wolf kin clans who were watching were getting tired of looking at Raymond doing nothing but defend.


    Of course, the Azan Clan, kept on screaming at Deza to finish it quickly, while the Lobo Clan was quiet on the other hand the players were screaming at Raymond to do something. It was at that moment Raymond finally made a mistake and the grip on his sword slipped a bit allowing one of Deza''s claws to nick the side of his neck. A drop of blood fell from Raymond''s neck.


    When everyone saw that the Azan Clan warriors started cheering in delight. The players were feeling a bit confused. To the local Guild Members, this was the first time they have ever seen Raymond take damage. On the other hand, the Foreign Guild Members aka the players all thought that this was just unavoidable cutscene. In their minds, Raymond would somehow pull a miracle win, or if he dies because of the plot then they started thinking about who would replace him, maybe it would be Clarise.


    While everyone was thinking about what will come next, Raymond was looking at the notification that appeared before him and wanted to scream.


    [New Task: Guild Master''s prestige(Failed)]


    All that hard work was for nothing. This was the first time he had failed to do a quest, and he wasn''t liking the feeling. The moment he saw the notification he no longer evaded Deza''s attack. Everyone was shocked to see that Raymond was no longer moving and he lowered his hands. Did he give up? This was in everyone''s thoughts, they then saw Deza use his claws to pierce Raymond''s body. They all thought that would be the end, but to everyone''s surprise, the claws couldn''t go deep enough to wound Raymond.


    The very moment Deza stopped moving Raymond was able to grab hold of both of Deza''s arms. Deza tried with all his might to separate from Raymond, but no matter how much he pulled Raymond''s grip wouldn''t loosen. So Deza started biting Raymond but neither his claws nor his fangs could pierce through Raymond''s skin.


    Everyone was shocked by the sight, as the roles have reversed. The one who seem to be winning was now struggling, while the one struggling was now in control.


    "You f*cking mutt, you actually made me fail a quest." No one could hear what Raymond said as he whispered those words into Deza''s ear. Raymond then tightened the grip on Deza''s hands. Even though Deza was in a berserker state and wasn''t supposed to feel pain, the wolf kin chieftain sounded like he was whimpering. Raymond then pulled both of Deza''s arms off, and blood sprayed all over the place.


    Raymond then grabbed hold of Deza''s head and smashed it onto the ground repeatedly. Even though what he was doing was a horrible sight for both sides, Raymond felt a bit of his stress was going away as he continued to smash Deza''s head onto the ground. The system might be controlling a part of Raymond''s emotions but that wasn''t the case all the time. It was only removing some factors that might make it difficult for Raymond to complete his tasks, and because of that, this situation was happening. It removed some of Raymond''s emotions at this moment for him to be able to complete the mission, but it didn''t remove Raymond''s anger and frustration which accumulated during the fight.


    After Raymond was done with Deza, there were no cheers from his side only silence. Some of the Lobo Clan members were looking at him in fear. Clarise on the other hand could sympathize with Raymond''s plight. This has happened to her before as a commander when her actions were misunderstood.


    In her eyes, what Raymond did wasn''t some random violence, it was a warning to the Azan Clan. It was a message in blood, telling them to never even think about going back on their agreement or else.