"Hm?" the guild master of the "Overlord" guild, Daniel, glanced up with calm indifference, sitting on his wooden desk, just looking at his panels.
Creating a guild required 100 gold coins, an exorbitant amount for most players who had just started the game, but for Daniel, backed by his family's vast wealth and connections in the real world, it had been a trivial cost.
When you create a [Guild], you immediately get access to a [Level 1 Guild Building] in the village, which you can use to start your operations, and also all members now have access to the [Guild Chat] to speak with each other from anywhere in the game.
[Overlord Guild]
[Current member count: 253]
Daniel, a mage by class, had a reputation for ruthlessness, just like his family.
His tall, broad frame didn't fit the typical image of a caster, yet his sheer aura demanded respect.
"Speak."
The man swallowed hard, "Sir! One of our members was attacked by a… uh, merchant in the street earlier today. While he was attempting to acquire… items, the merchant killed him instantly with a fireball!"
Daniel raised an eyebrow, his curiosity piqued, "An NPC merchant?" attacking NPCs could severely damage the guild's reputation with the silver-skinned inhabitants of the game, something he had no intention of risking
"No, sir," the other man shook his head, "It was a human mage, he threw a fireball and killed him instantly from a very long distance, I think his talent may be even stronger than yours-"
Fwish! Fireball! Boom!
-540!
The fireball soared across the room and struck the guild member directly in the chest.
There was no time for him to react; the force of the spell sent him flying back, his body disintegrating into pixels in an instant after a flash of blue light.
"Never compare me to anyone else," Daniel said coldly, his gaze fixating on where the man had stood just moments before, "Spend the next thirty minutes reflecting on your words."
The man's corpse disappeared, and Daniel sat back on his chair, his mind racing.
A player strong enough to one-shot one of his guild members? A merchant? Daniel narrowed his eyes. Something didn't add up.
"Hm…"
Daniel Thunder was his name, and as you might expect, he was from the 'Thunder' family, professionals in martials arts that owned many businesses.
He and his sister were the only ones in his family to get beta access to Universal Descent, suddenly making them the most important figures in their family, even more so than the head: their father.
As a martial artist, Daniel's sister picked the [Assassin] class, something they took pride in, but Daniel on the other hand didn't pick it since his [Talent] was related to magic.
He had only quit the game for twenty minutes to take a small break, but once he told his father and grandfather about his class, they immediately began to berrate him, thinking it was foolish.
You'll see soon enough, old man…" Daniel growled to himself, his grip tightening on the staff. "I'll crush anyone who dares stand in my way."
His thoughts drifted back to the mysterious mage, and his competitive spirit flared to life.
As the leader of the Overlord guild, he couldn't let such a threat go unanswered.
His fingers danced over the virtual keyboard as he wrote a message for the entire guild.
[MartialMage: Everyone prepare and level up, tomorrow we move into the deepest zone of the forest to take down the novice village's final boss. Be on the lookout for a powerful mage merchant—eliminate him on sight. The Overlord guild will reign supreme!]
Immediately, responses flooded in.
[MilfLover23: YES, SIR!]
[Ilovedogs: I'll watch out for him!]
[Eatordie: Let's get it!]
Daniel smirked, satisfied.
Whoever this mysterious mage was, Daniel would ensure that he never became a threat.
"I don't know who you are, but I will find you…"
…
The bright rays of the morning sun greeted Alex as he appeared out of thin air thanks to his [Rune Bracelet], the weird symbols spinning around his wrist for a few seconds before disappearing.
His limbs felt heavy, his mind still buzzing with the intensity of the game.
The clock on his phone read 6:00 AM, and he realized he had been in Universal Descent for nearly six hours straight, from midnight until now (12 hours in the game).
"Damn, that was intense," Alex muttered to himself as he shuffled toward his bed, "More than in my previous life at least…"
Despite the thrill of battle, his body screamed for rest.
Without a second thought, he collapsed onto the mattress, pulling the covers over himself.
Sleep came quickly, and for the next eight hours, Alex slept like a rock, recovering from his in-game adventures.
When he finally woke, the sun was high in the sky, and after a quick breakfast of eggs and toast, his phone buzzed with a message.
"Hm?" there was only one person that could contact him.
[Alice: Hey! I have some things to take care of, but I'll be on later. Let's meet in the game when I finish!]
Alex smiled, sending a quick reply.
[Alex: Sounds good. See you there.]
With that, Alex touched his wrist, the weird rune bracelet appearing again.
[Do you wish to enter the game?]
"Yes," he said, eagerly logging back into the world of Universal Descent.
The familiar sensation of the game enveloped him, and soon enough, he found himself standing right where he had left off—the forest clearing where the corpse of the [Bear King Boss - Level 7 (Elite)] still lay before him.
Now, at level 10, Alex felt an overwhelming surge of power coursing through him.
His stats had improved dramatically, and with the ability to deal over 1,000 damage per attack, there was little in this forest that could pose a threat to him anymore.
"Only need one more thing," now that he got Aris's staff and even enhanced it, his reputation among the silver-skin was at -1000.
Yet he knew he couldn't not go to the village anymore, so he needed one last item: a mask that would conceal his identity to NPCs.
And he knew one possible monster he could extract these masks from: the [Mask Monkeys] at the deepest level of the forest, right before the boss.
This was his legitimate only chance to be able to play 'normally' as long as he was in the novice village, when he left though he would immediately sell the mask.
He currently shouldn't have any enemies, and though he knew that as the game went on, factions, as well as other races, would begin to battle one another, it was still fairly calm for now.
[FateBreaker: I'm going deeper inside the forest to bring something, you can go to the village, you're strong enough.]
He sent this message just in case so that Alice could read it, then he went in the opposite direction to where he came from.
He was already close to the final zone anyway, so it didn't matter much if he had to walk ten more minutes to reach it.
And so he did.
Ding!
[You have entered the level 5-10 zone!]
Yet again he met some level 10 [Earth Foxes] and a new type of monsters, [Flame Scorpions], which all died, the former giving him an additional [Fox Ear], and the latter 22 points of spirit after getting two prompts from them.
And soon enough, he encountered the [Mask Monkeys].
"Finally," Alex smiled.