Two days had passed since the massive monster invasion. The frontline fighters had been greatly outnumbered but prevailed over the enemy, although their victory left a bitter aftertaste. The mood among the players varied greatly depending on which guild they were in.
The leaders of the four biggest progression guilds were holding a meeting at the Fort Sandras Adventurers Guild.
“We’ll go on ahead.”
Yamata declared they wanted to pass through the underground labyrinth to whatever lay ahead. They’d lost many members fighting off the invading monsters, but their top eight players were alive and well. Their ability to function as a guild remained uncompromised, and they were committed to doing their duty as a progression guild.
Yamata’s master, Hiiiiive, and sub-master, Alan, wore dour expressions as they talked with the others.
“There’s no point sticking around here indecisively. We want to be back in action, building up on the sacrifice of the players who died in that battle,” said Hiiiiive, unafraid to ruffle some feathers.
The other guild leaders didn’t let him provoke them, though. They listened in silence.
The next speaker was Alan.
“We’re gonna make it through to the next town. Come and join us after you sort out your own problems.”
He and Hiiiiive stood up and left the Adventurers Guild. Misaki was outside, waiting for the meeting to end. Alan put his hand on her shoulder as he passed her by but didn’t say anything.
“…”
The Adventurers Guild’s creaky door was still swinging. Misaki peered inside the building and caught a glimpse of the other guild masters.
Yamata had suffered the fewest losses in the battle. Aegis and Crest, on the other hand, had lost many members.
“Aegis will probably be dissolved,” said Matsu. She alone was representing the guild in the absence of the guild master. “As I’m sure you all know, after the Prayer barrier was broken, the first wave of invading monsters killed half of our guild. Shirokado was the central figure in our guild, and without him, I don’t think we can continue as before.”
Shirokado had an almost religious following in Aegis. With him and half of the strongest Aegis players dead, the guild had fallen into disorganization.
“We’ve had members leaving to form their own guilds. As far as I know, they went back to Allistras, Emaro, and Calloah. After what happened, it’s hardly a surprise that people feel it’s senseless to keep going,” Matsu added with a self-mocking smile.
Those who survived the invasion had gained roughly ten levels from the massive amount of experience points awarded. And the frontline fighters who had received the angels’ blessing in Cerou got six more levels on top of that. Players at level 60 or higher could even deal with an invading Goblin King and its army of minions. By moving back to a town in a low-level region, they could secure themselves an easy life.
“Aegis is now a shadow of its former self,” Matsu said, looking like an empty husk, having lost the person who’d given her strength. “While there are so few of us, I’m thinking of Aegis taking on a support role to other progression guilds. That’s the least we can do to make up for the fact that the destruction on the front line was our fault.”
Matsu hung her head and fell silent.
“Our stance is the same as Yamata’s,” said Byakuren. “We urgently need to establish a new outpost and work on bolstering its defenses. But if we encounter another Prayer, we’re not going to recklessly approach it. Strengthening our bases takes precedence over that. We don’t want to get held up in one place again, though.”
Tears were rolling down her cheeks. After the battle was won, she’d found out that her closest friends were dead—the four friends she’d started the game with. She was the last one left.
When she lost one of her dear friends, Byakuren had abandoned her guildmates. She didn’t want to make the same mistake again. Instead, she was going to avenge her friends by ending this death game—it might have only been by clinging on to this resolution that she remained sane.
“We don’t have as many people as Yamata, so we’ll take some time to prepare before setting off into the unknown. While we’re in Fort Sandras, I want to see if we can find out more about the spirits and their Prayers.”
“…”
Crest’s representatives were next to speak, but they were taking their time. Many misfortunes had befallen their guild—apart from the losses in the invasion battle, they’d lost members to a player killer, and recently, many had died from an unknown cause in Calloah.
“…We’ve had the rug pulled from under us,” Flamme said quietly.
With only the weary Alba next to her, Wataru’s absence was conspicuous.
“Our branch chief and almost all the members stationed at Calloah have passed. Calloah used to serve as an important support base for us with midlevel players, but currently, it’s not operational. We’re planning to move some of our members from Allistras to Calloah and the front line. For now, we’ll collaborate with Twilight Adventurers to rebuild Fort Sandras and investigate the Prayers.”
The player killer incident had left a huge dent in Crest’s reputation. Some players were suspicious of the guild, while others thought that being a Crest member was a risk in itself, assuming that K and the other recently murdered players were victims of another player killer or killers targeting that guild specifically. With those sorts of opinions floating around, it was impossible to get the Calloah branch back up and running.
Alba and Flamme considered it impractical to carry on exploring the front lines without a working branch office, so rebuilding their guild was a priority for them.
Kagone, the sub-master of Twilight Adventurers, timidly asked, “Sorry, but…where is Wataru?”
Flamme and Alba exchanged nervous looks.
“…Many of our frontline fighters lost their friends in the recent incident in Calloah. Wataru is escorting them back to that town,” said Alba.
Kagone seemed relieved, but Byakuren and Matsu sensed there was something off in Alba’s demeanor.
“Together, we’ve overcome a great threat to us all… Every one of us has suffered losses in the process, but at least the experience has helped us align our objectives.”