( Real World )
Leo was living the life both within the game and in real life after his meeting with both Amanda and Luke within the game ended smoothly.
He no longer hid away in the halls and was back to his jolly old self.
On this particular day, however, it was Luke who emerged from the game, with a distinct scowl on his face.
"Hey, what's got you down, brother?" Leo inquired, noticing Luke's preoccupation and the stormy expression clouding his face.
For a brief moment, Luke's gaze met Leo's, hinting at an internal struggle before he opted for silence as he offered a strained smile instead. "It's nothing significant," he managed to say, before heading towards the bathroom.
At this juncture, Leo could sense an invisible weight on Luke's shoulders, however, he wrestled with the dilemma of whether to delve deeper into this subject or to respect his brother's apparent wish for privacy.
"Good morning, Luke," greeted Amanda, her cheery voice slicing through the tension.
"Morning," came Luke's lackluster response as he went into the bathroom for a change of attire.
Amanda turned to Leo, her brows knitted in concern. "What's troubling Luke today? He seems... different" she asked, as Leo could only offer a noncommittal shrug in response, his own uncertainty mirroring hers.
"If you're so clueless, why not just ask him? Dummy, you're his only support system here. If you won't step up, who will?" Amanda chided, her words spurring Leo into considering a more direct approach.
Feeling as if Amanda's advice made sense, Leo resolved to confront Luke once he came out of the bathroom, however, as Luke came out, he himself started the conversation, without Leo needing to push him for it.
"Hey Leo, those assassins that attacked us that day….. I mean, why were they after you in the first place?" Luke asked, as Leo found himself in a tight spot when facing this question.
"Oh… that-, why do you ask?" Leo counter questioned as Luke let out a long sigh and said "Well, us DarkSky guild members were attacked today by those same people, they demanded for us to reveal your whereabouts and step down from the Grand Tournament".
"What? The guild was attacked today? What happened?" Amanda said in shock, jumping into the conversation as well.
Driven by her innate curiosity, Amanda pressed for details, prompting Luke to delve into a comprehensive account of the earlier skirmish at the tavern within the game, with this narrative interlude affording Leo a precious window of time, enabling him to carefully formulate his response.
"Well, they are chasing me because of an item brother. I have an item that I found from a dungeon raid, it's a cloak which when activated helps one become nearly invisible in shadows….
It's a valuable item for the Assassin class, but if it causes you problems I can hand it over…" Leo said, lying through his teeth as he tried to come up with a believable story as to why the assassin's were chasing him.
"Ohhh, so it's because of an item…" Luke said, as he nodded in understanding.
"Well, no, ofcourse I'm not going to make you give up your item. It's fine, I was just asking because of curiosity" Luke said, as being the good brother he was, he did not doubt Leo's words.
"I'm sorry for causing trouble for you and your guild…" Leo said in a gullible voice as now Luke felt bad for bringing up this topic.
"Guys, I hate to interrupt your bromance, but we are getting late for work, let's talk about this later-" Amanda reminded as her timely intervention ensured that the three of them did not miss roll call for the day.
*********
( That same day, The S Class Abode, Cervantez's house )
Cervantez had specifically requested Luke's services, assigning him to work exclusively for him throughout the entire duration of the Grand Tournament week.
He had made this request because he wanted to spend more time analysing upcoming fights even outside the game, however, on this day a different topic dominated their conversation.
"Oh, so it's because of an item….. must be a semi-legendary or legendary grade item if the Night Guild want it. Your brother seems to have struck gold" Cervantez said, as he tried to remember if any such item existed in his past life, however, he could not think of anything in particular.
"You also said your brother's fighting skills are top notch? Is that your bias speaking or is that your frank opinion-" Cervantez asked, as he did not have a nice image of Leo in his mind ever since their first encounter.
Unlike Luke, Cervantez thought that Leo was impulsive, dumb and emotional.
He wasn't the type of player Cervantez wanted for his guild, however, listening to Luke praise him he was rethinking his offer.
"He's excellent…. No weaker than Cola or Tor atleast" Luke said as he thought about the fight that unfolded in the dark alley and how Leo responded to it.
"Well if he is a thief or assassin class player in possession of a legendary item, we can maybe recruit him…." Cervantez suggested as Luke beamed at the idea.
"Well, I'd be happy if we could. I don't think he has joined any major guilds yet" Luke replied as Cervantez pondered about this proposal deeply.
On one hand, he had not heard about any prominent player named Jin Mu in his past life, however, one's fate could change because of the most minute things.
If in this timeline, he was a formidable player, then Cervantez was open to recruiting him.
"Alright then, send him an invite to meet me here tomorrow. Let's talk outside the game after the round of 128.
If his personality doesn't seem like a big problem, I may offer him the role.
However, we already have one Tor in the guild and I can't afford another PR nightmare, not atleast at this stage of the game" Cervantez said, as Luke nodded his head in understanding.
'I will make sure he's on his best behaviour' Luke thought, as he resolved to prepare Leo for the meeting tomorrow.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target, thankyou for all your support this week as well! ///