A few minutes ago, in a human city smaller than Thalendor but still home to tens of thousands of people, a strange group was moving swiftly.
The people in this group did not act with the calm and composure typical of the city’s residents; their demeanor was more akin to that of trained soldiers following orders.
What they had in common besides the way they acted was their strength.
They were all Level 11 adventurers!
Even though Level 11 strength wasn’t anything earth-shattering in Elysium, it was still a respectable level that many people didn’t possess.
Among humans, it was commonly said that only those above Level 11 were true warriors.
So it wasn’t unusual to see a group like this, but what was unusual was that they all acted in such an orderly manner and weren’t distracted by anything other than the objective assigned to them!
"Hurry up, hurry up... the money I’m paying you doesn’t grow on trees! Quickly complete these missions that the people of this city have given us, and tonight we’ll finally form the Hogue Guild!" A man said loudly, pointing his finger around and assigning tasks to the people nearby.
Suddenly, a bright blue light descended from the heavens and materialized into a woman’s body right there.
The woman who appeared exuded a delicate, sensual beauty, with long black hair framing a noble face.
She had pointed ears reminiscent of elves’ ears, though shorter than those of the elves Lohan had met, suggesting she was likely of half-elf descent.
She wore a mage’s outfit that evoked the formality of a secretary, donning a fitted vest that accentuated her ample breasts and slender waist... Her body was proportionate and well-defined, drawing the gaze even of the man’s soldiers, who forced themselves to look away from the woman.
The townspeople watched the scene in wonder, still unable to believe that something like someone appearing that way in the middle of town was possible, unaccustomed to what these strange people had been doing since they arrived in their town, but to that group, that action was perfectly normal.
The woman was disoriented for a few seconds, until she saw the faces of the people around her and ran over to the man who was assigning tasks.
"Boss, I have important news!" she said urgently.
The man stopped what he was doing and looked at the woman questioningly.
"What is it, Siena?" he asked.
"According to our informants, the group of Players from the Vance Group accompanying Isaac Vance arrived in the Open World this morning," she said.
Hearing that, the man felt a sense of urgency well up in his chest, but then he remembered how close he was to elevating their reputation in this city and that possibly tonight he could form the first Guild of Elysium, and the urgency faded.
"Haha, don’t worry about it, Siena. In a few hours, we’ll show those fools from the Vance Group why the Hogue Group will be the vanguard of this new era! Hahaha!" He began to laugh heartily.
Although they sensed those words were dangerous, the soldiers around him knew it was best to please their boss and also began to laugh, hopeful that their work here would be enough to secure a glorious future for them as well.
But suddenly an alert siren sounded, with a blue screen floating in front of everyone.
[Congratulations to Player ’Halon’ for becoming the first PK in Elysium’s Open World!]
Seeing that this was an alert for a player who had achieved a first, the man’s eyes widened in horror.
Fortunately, he read the entire message and was relieved to see that it had nothing to do with the guild he wanted to form.
But then he realized another important point and shouted angrily. "Damn it, if I’d known there was an achievement like that, I would’ve killed one of you!"
Hearing that, none of the soldiers dared to respond.
Considering how high their salaries were, if the man asked them to die for him in Elysium, they would do so without hesitation, even if it meant losing the rare classes they had and becoming Common Class Players.
"Halon... could that be Isaac Vance’s username?" the man wondered aloud.
Hearing that, everyone fell silent; only Siena remained pensive for a few seconds before shaking her head. "No, boss, if I’m not mistaken, Isaac’s name in Elysium is Newton, as far as I know."
"Hmm... I wonder if someone in his group betrayed him and killed him? Thus earning that PK achievement?! HAHAHA, serves those foolish Vances right!" The man laughed, delighted by the news.
Knowing that whoever earned that title was likely a traitor to one of Evelyn Vance’s sons was such good news that his anger at not having achieved it himself was greatly alleviated.
But suddenly, just a few seconds after the first alert, another alert popped up.
Hearing that familiar sound, Ernesto Hogue’s shoulders trembled.
Horror-stricken, he looked at the new screen that appeared and was speechless.
[Congratulations to ’Atralis Requiem’ for becoming the First Guild of Elysium!]
"SON OF A BITCH!" he shouted furiously. "Who was the son of a bitch who managed to do this before me? Was it that piece of shit named Halon?!"
Hearing Ernesto’s rage, the soldiers bowed their heads, not daring to look up and meet their boss’s gaze, knowing that the fate of that unlucky soul would be worse than death.
Not even Siena had the courage to hold her head high, choosing silence while Ernesto screamed in fury.
The people in the surrounding town were confused by this, not understanding what was happening to that group that had previously seemed so helpful, now showing such a crude side.
"Siena, tell me, who was the son of a bitch who got to the Open World before us?!" he asked furiously.
Siena shook her head like a frightened kitten. "I’m sorry, boss, our contacts didn’t tell me about anyone else in the Open World besides the people from the Vance Group."
Hearing that damned name again, Ernesto grew even angrier. "Great, great, how wonderful, very well... Astralis Requiem, right?! I’ll remember that name. You better hope I never run into you in Elysium, or else I’ll show you what true power is! And Siena, thoroughly investigate every Player in the Vance Group and find out yesterday who that piece of shit called Halon is, too."
"Yes, boss!" Siena said seriously and transformed into particles of light that flew into the sky, returning to the real world as if her life depended on it.
Meanwhile, just as the Hogue Group Players were confused about who Halon was and enraged that someone had stolen their first guild’s achievement, Isaac Vance was just as enraged, but I believe the culprit behind this was Ernesto Hogue.
Unbeknownst to them, Isaac was completely wrong, and surprisingly, Ernesto was partially correct... he just didn’t know that the leader of Astralis Requiem was another child of Evelyn Vance!
Meanwhile, Lisa and Halon—the ones responsible for all the commotion—were simply carrying a large pile of dry leaves and beetle carcasses to cover the chest as best they could, hoping that it wouldn’t be visible to any curious intruder.