Lohan recalled an experience from years ago, when he was still in the other world and spent his days watching World of Warcraft streams from a hospital bed.
He was following a streamer who was part of a guild that decided to open up recruitment wildly after a world first. In less than a month, the group grew from 50 to 500 members.
The result, as one might imagine, was a major catastrophe... A group with extremely inflated egos clashed; intrigues constantly arose among the members, both new and old; communication became impossible; and a group of arrogant new members, unwilling to bow to anyone, ended up starting a conflict with another group of players from a different guild, which ultimately sparked a war against the server’s largest guild without the original leaders’ knowledge.
The guild was dismantled within weeks, destroyed from the inside out by the chaos of poor human management.
Recalling that story, and considering the extreme pace of expansion that Astralis intended to pursue, even though Elysium was different from WoW, and the guild’s players were, in part, considered "employees" of the guild, Lohan could still see people with inflated egos, letting the power of Elysium and Astralis go to their heads, and without strict, controlled management, causing just as much chaos as that WoW guild he’d watched crumble.
Even though Lohan wasn’t afraid of other players, given everything he’d observed in this world, other players weren’t the only concern the guild should have.
For now, players were still struggling to leave the beginner villages; a group like Astralis, with an average level of 14 to 15, was already something extraordinary... but for the inhabitants of this world, level 15 was still just a small step.
Many beings had long since surpassed that level; city guards were typically at least Level 20, with an average of Level 30, and captains and generals exceeded that figure to levels Lohan couldn’t even estimate.
If a group of unruly new players decided to cause trouble in Thalendor, and in doing so offended a single Level 21 City Guard, someone who had already undergone the second evolution, the guild could likely be wiped out by that single guard.
Having already undergone an evolution like that himself, Lohan was fully aware of the difference in power between someone before and after an evolution; so, to prevent people like that from being offended and bringing some kind of disaster upon something they’d worked so hard to create, Lohan had to say something.
"Guys, hold on a second." Halon’s voice echoed through the guild’s mental link, interrupting the euphoric atmosphere. Everyone turned to the blue Slime, noticing the seriousness in his voice. "I understand that these numbers are exciting and that seeing Epic bases knocking on our door is incredible, but I strongly recommend that we don’t rush into this."
Alice furrowed her brow, curious. "Why, Halon? We need more members both to accelerate our growth and to defend ourselves if other guilds try to surround us."
"Sure, I completely agree that we need more players to grow this way, obviously I’m not against it, but I believe that adding a large number of players all at once, especially people who aren’t familiar with our guild culture or how we operate, is practically asking for trouble..."
"Unlike the real world, where everyone is just an ordinary human, if we bring in hundreds of people now, each with a different background and different potential, especially given our focus on recruiting elites, the likelihood that we’ll lose control over them is enormous. They could be spies from other corporations, or worse, unstable individuals who might tarnish Astralis’s reputation or start unnecessary conflicts with the elves of Thalendor in our name. A guild is like an organism; if the cells grow too fast and without coordination, the result is a tumor, not a strong body."
He paused, making sure Lisa was paying attention. "Beyond quality, we definitely need to prioritize the loyalty and mental stability of each member. I’d rather have 50 members who would give their lives for Astralis and operate in sync with us than 5,000 random players who are only here for Lisa’s credits, dungeon loot, or to brag about being part of the best guild in the game. I believe we could handpick candidates who truly have the spirit of the elite and integrate them gradually, rather than going through a mass recruitment process."
Lisa remained silent for a few moments, processing the logic behind what Lohan had said.
She recalled her own experiences at the Vance Group, where rushed mergers often resulted in major losses due to cultural incompatibility, but since everything had always remained within manageable limits, it hadn’t occurred to her that the people here might be even more unstable.
"Halon is right," Lisa finally stated, her authority sealing the decision. "The glamour of rapid growth can blind us to the vulnerabilities it creates. Dylan, Alice, I want you to revamp the selection process."
"Don’t just look at the Stats of the Bases, but at the mindset of these Players. Even if we have to pass on Players with Epic Bases, I want people who want to follow our path, not just a flashy job, even if their Base is Common or Uncommon."
"Let’s limit the first batch of new members to no more than two digits, obviously focusing first on the three Epic players and the best Rare ones, and then, by process of elimination, lowering our standards."
Dylan and Alice exchanged a glance and readily agreed. They realized the wisdom in what Halon had said—something they, in the excitement of marketing, had momentarily overlooked.
"Right, Halon. I apologize for my earlier impulsiveness," Alice said with a sincere smile. "I’ll prepare some tests for these candidates, including psychological evaluations as well."
"And I’ll handle the real-world background checks to make sure none of these darlings are a Greek gift from some other group," Dylan added, already jotting down details to remember on the paper in front of him.
Seeing that everyone had heard what he said, understood his concern, and cared enough to take it seriously, Lohan felt a wave of relief wash over him.
He realized that, even though Lisa was the president and had the capital, and Dylan and Alice were social experts, his voice was truly respected.
As someone from the Lower Zone in this world, Lohan couldn’t shake the anxiety he still felt when dealing with people from the Upper Zone, knowing how deeply rooted people’s prejudice against people like him was.
Fortunately, with each passing day, this group showed him just how unfounded those concerns were, making him feel more and more at ease.
With the recruitment plan finalized, the group wrapped up the formal meeting. Alice and Dylan left the room to begin preparations for the interviews and tests, leaving Lohan and Lisa alone at the wooden table.
When the door opened, Lohan heard lively conversations from some Players who, despite the offer they’d been given, had still logged into Elysium to play some more.
And considering just how great the perks they were offering were, Lohan knew it would be impossible to stop these Players from improving in Elysium, where every bit of progress directly increased how much money they earned.
"You really care about the ’home’ we’re building here, don’t you, Halon?" Lisa asked in a low voice, moving closer to him and letting the tip of her tail lightly brush against his membrane.
"To be honest, Lisa... this is the first place in a long time where I don’t feel like I’m just a disposable pawn on someone else’s chessboard," Lohan replied honestly, thinking not only of this world but also of everything he had experienced in the previous one. "I want to make sure the stars can truly rest here for a long time."
Lisa let out a snort that Lohan recognized as a sign of satisfaction.
She looked at the Astral Chest in the corner of the room, which now contained the new Dungeon Core, and got excited, running over to grab this new toy that she hadn’t been able to use until now.
Lohan saw the excitement in the girl and laughed, also approaching to see what could be gained from it.
The calm after the dungeon was productive, but Lohan knew that in the Syn, their names would continue to burn like a supernova.
As he watched the excited girl, he allowed himself to relax for a moment, feeling the sap of the ancient tree coursing beneath him, extremely faint.
The conquest of the Cave of Whispers was the first step; recruiting elite members would be the second; and until the third step arrived, Lohan wouldn’t waste a single opportunity to improve himself.
After all, what good would all that potential be if he wasted it by doing nothing? Even if Astralis grew and became an unstoppable force, Lohan knew that nothing was more important than his own individual strength.