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Forgotten Lands - Chapter 10 (Book 2)
🕑 Added 2024-03-25 11:00:06 +0000 UTCThe Whiter Clover Guild didn’t have a proper office. They created a temporary guildhall in a large stable.
Zayn didn’t expect much, but the restoration of the stable progressed further than anticipated. The guild members used firm oak plants to replace the uneven ground, removed everything unnecessary, and transformed it into a proper guildhall.
The Guild Association provided a mission board and several other devices required to accept and complete missions. The basic devices were there. However, White Clover didn’t have enough money to purchase furniture. Their entire fortune had been drained to purchase the Guild Mission Board and the remaining devices.
Zayn didn’t think too much about that. Establishing a small guildhouse in a town was a great achievement for a new guild. That wasn’t something most guilds managed to do without backing. Even some guilds with financial support couldn’t increase their reputation fast enough to establish a foothold in Ulgnov.
A guildhall in a small town was quite useful for White Clover. The guards in the town were Elite Tier-1 entities with above-average combat strength. Even Zayn and his brothers would suffer if they dared to fight a Guard in Ulgnov head-on. No one sane enough would stir trouble with the White Clover Guild as long as they remained in Ulgnov. For the time being, at least.
‘At least, they can rest here. That’s better than being on the run wherever you go.’
“I thought I was mistaken when Storm Monarch told me that someone called ‘Zayn’ rescued them, but it looks like I was right,” A hoarse voice rang out next to Zayn, “We have a celebrity among us.”
Zayn’s head flicked to the source of the voice and his jaw nearly dropped to the ground. He had already been surprised to encounter Elveriun and Storm Monarch in the Magma Prairie, but he never expected to meet one of the old monsters in – a stable – the White Clover’s guildhall.
A middle-aged man with short brown hair and vibrant brown eyes that glimmered golden in the sunlight appeared before Zayn. The man had a well-defined physique. He was not bulky but every step he took was filled with determination. Zayn couldn’t detect a single open spot as the man approached him.
“Please excuse my manners. I didn’t expect to meet a celebrity today. Everything is a little bit stressful these days,” The man with the in-game name ‘SupremeDaddy’ excused himself, “My in-game name is a little bit embarrassing because my daughter chose it for me. Call me Erik, please.”
Zayn smiled, forcefully taking control of his facial expression. He knew Erik, but not from Forgotten Lands. They clashed a few times, and Zayn always lost. His losses were always miserable. There was never a time he won. However, the reason for that was simple.
Zayn fought to protect his people. He tried to ensure that as many people would survive the apocalypse. In the meantime, Erik was an emotionless killer. He eliminated everyone who dared to block his path. There were only a handful of people who survived encountering Erik. One of them was Zayn. He survived a few encounters with Erik. Some of them had been far from happy occasions.
Only a few years later did Zayn learn to understand how Erik turned out like that…only after losing everything that had been important to him.
Erik’s family had been killed when the apocalypse erupted. That triggered the madness within him.
However, the current Erik was still his family’s SupremeDaddy.
‘So many things are different.’ He smiled, “My name is Zayn, but it looks like you were aware of that.”
“I read some of your guides. They're expensive but pretty amazing. I never expected to learn so much about Forgotten Lands in such a short time. Your guides helped us grow stronger faster than our peers,” His voice turned darker, “Unfortunately, we were still too slow.”
Erik sighed deeply but his expression lit up right after.
“Thank you for helping my people. Without you, they would have died.”
Zayn didn't think that their death would have worsened White Clover’s situation, but there was no need to get further involved into their business. At least, that would have been the case if he didn't find Tom, Erik, and Elveriun.
Whiter Clover was a small guild with two dozen people. They lost most Cards of their Heart Deck and were also Classless Players. But they didn’t give up when the bounty hunters pursued them. No matter what, they didn’t give up. They retaliated with all their might even if that was not enough to defeat the bounty hunters. That was what Zayn was looking for.
“But why did you help us? And why did you want to meet me?” Erik asked, his eyes narrowed to a slit. He tried to gauge Zayn’s intentions, but he couldn’t get a glimpse. Zayn was wealthy and powerful. He was probably busy with other stuff as well. There was no need to escort White Clover’s members to their guildhall and meet their Guildmaster.
Zayn ignored Erik’s question.
“How are you faring against the bounty hunters? Do you have a plan, or are you still wondering how to deal with them?”
“We considered giving Zapter what he wants. He might not return us our Ranked Armaments, but he might terminate the bounty on our heads.”
“But that would also mean that White Clover’s reputation would deteriorate. Everyone would consider your guild as an organization with no backbone. If you cannot even handle bounty hunters, how are you supposed to compete for resources? Your guild’s members will have difficult procuring enough resources to grow stronger once the Guild Association hears from your miserable loses against mere bounty hunters,” Zayn pointed out, “Did you not already notice that the Guild Mission Board gives you fewer missions with valuable rewards?”
Zayn saw the Guild Mission Board from the corner of his eyes when he entered the guildhall – stable. He didn’t think much about it, but Erik wasn’t a good guildmaster. Erik didn’t even know what he was supposed to do against mere bounty hunters. How was he supposed to lead his guild against other guilds in a Guild War? What would happen once Forgotten Lands turned reality? Would their Guild shatter and everyone other than the few powerhouses Zany remembered be killed?
Zayn had no recollection of a guild called White Clover, and he began to understand why.
Erik clenched his fists in frustration, “What should we do then?”
“Dissolve the guild,” Zayn said without any hesitation.
“WHAT?!?” Elveriun shouted, ready to charge at Zayn.
“Why would I do that? We created White Clover to play together, not to conquer other regions or claim dungeons.”
“You should dissolve your guild to avoid dragging your friends into more problems. If you play together for the sake of playing together, you don’t need a guild. I’m pretty sure that you read my guides about Guilds. That means you know that you and your friends could have joined the Guild Association to complete missions together. There is no need to struggle.”
Erik was about to say something, but Zayn interrupted him with a simple gesture.
“Since you and your friends desire more than playing together for the sake of fun I propose you to dissolve your guild…and to join mine.”
“You have a Guild? No. That’s not important. Why would you invite us into your Guild in the first place? Everything you’ve done until now…doesn’t make any sense. Saving us could have been your desire to maintain justice, but the rest? That seems a little bit over the top, especially the invitation,” Tom interrupted, which Erik approved with a nod.
“I second that. Your actions are…confusing, to put into simple terms.”
Zayn merely smiled. He opened a holographic screen and typed a few things before more notifications popped up in front of him.
[1000 gold coins have been deducted. Basic(Lv.1) Guild has been established]
[Please name the Guild to complete the process.]
“I do have a guild now,” Zayn said nonchalantly.
[Golden Time (Basic Level 1) has been established. Congratulations, Guildmaster!]
“As for my reasoning, I cannot tell you everything,” He pointed out truthfully, “But I like your tenacity. Even though their Foundation was several hundred points above yours, you guys fared decently well against the Tier-1 bounty hunters. Some of you managed to injure the bounty hunters as well. However, the most important aspect is that you guys are still newbies and that you haven’t chosen a Class Path yet.”
“Your tenacity, loyalty to the Whiter Clover Guild, teamwork, and being Classless Players combined are perfect to nourish powerful Players. Of course, that doesn’t explain everything, but I like to act according to my gut feeling.”
“And your gut feeling tells you that we are…worth it?” Tom asked skeptically.
“Exactly,” Zayn smiled brightly, “I think that everyone here is worth it.”
He noticed that everyone was a little hesitant and added, “By joining Golden Time, you won’t have to worry about bounty hunters. Creating a suitable Heart Deck for everyone and providing decent equipment won't be a problem. My guild will become a workshop soon as well. That means you can become professional Players, who will be paid well by playing Forgotten Lands. Of course, that also entails that you guys will have to take Forgotten Lands seriously. But I think that is not an issue since everyone worked hard to establish the guildhall. You guys worked hard, and I want to reward you for that.”
Zayn didn’t intend to create his Guild so early, but that didn’t matter much. He sensed the opportunity to get his hands on three future powerhouses and had to grasp it. Throwing the golden opportunity aside would be foolish.
Everyone had questions. No matter how much someone trusts their gut feeling, it didn’t make sense to invite a bunch of nobodies with an extraordinarily generous offer like Zayn's.
“Why?” Erik merely asked.
Zayn didn’t have to think much to answer the question.
“Because I want to change the future.”
