Date: 2022-02-28T18:00:00+00:00
Description: Alex/Xeal tried to let things come to him and in doing so things escalated quickly almost ending in disaster for him. Now it’s time for him to make his Will known and assert himself on those who wish to assert themselves on him. As forces from both reality and Eternal Dominion try to manipulate Alex/Xeal for their own designs, will he succeed or will he find himself overwhelmed and bogged down by the plans of others? Make sure friends and family stay together: Check Get first guild bonus: Check Establish a stable revenue stream: Check Secure future leaders for his guild: Check Spread the fame

Eternal Dominion book 4

Assertions

Bern Dean

Copyright © 2022 Bern L Dean

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Cover design by: ebooklaunch.com

Contents

Title Page

Copyright

In review.

Evening, September 20, and Morning, September 21, 2266.

ED year 1, day 200.

Evening, September 21, 2266.

ED year 1, days 201-202

Morning, September 22 to Evening September 25, 2266, and ED year 1, days 203-212.

ED year 1, days 213-214.

Morning September 26 to Evening September 28, 2266, and ED year 1, days 215-221.

ED year 1, days 222-223.

Morning, September 29 to Evening October 1, 2266, and ED year 1, days 224-230.

ED year 1, days 231-232.

Morning, October 2 to Evening October 7, 2266, and ED year 1, days 233-250.

Morning, October 8 to Evening October 8, 2266, and ED year 1, day 251.

Morning, October 9 to Evening October 11, 2266, and ED year 1, days 252 to 260.

ED year 1, days 261 to 262.

Morning, October 12 to Evening October 14, 2266, and ED year 1, days 263 to 269.

ED year 1, days 270 to 271.

Morning, October 15, 2266.

Thanks!

Preview.

Afterword

In review.

The following is simply meant to help refresh readers on some of the key points from the previous books in the series. Many important details will be left out and to get them you should read the full story.

Book 1:Restart:

Alex/Xeal finds himself waking up 20 years in the past after logging into Eternal Dominion(ED) to delete his character. As he looks at his 18 year old self just hours from the launch of Eternal Dominion in his new life, he decided to make sure things are different this time around.

He is joined by his friends in Eternal Dominion as they fight to earn their place in a world that will represent much of the world’s economy in the near future. His friends are as follows:

Dan, Ignis in Eternal Dominion, a mage who wants nothing more than to enjoy throwing fireballs;

Fred, Amet in Eternal Dominion, a warrior that wants to be in the thick of things;

Amanda, Clara in Eternal Dominion, a holy champion who refuses to just sit back and heal;

Samantha, Gale in Eternal Dominion, a cleric who is just looking to have fun;

Nicole, Aalin in Eternal Dominion, an arcane caster who prefers a good mix of offence and defense and is just happy to be with her friends.

The six of them work together as Alex/Xeal uses his knowledge from his last life to ensure that they have the best start possible. This included acquiring the coveted first guild bonus for his guild Free Art Expo (FAE) that is coveted by many as it gives his guild 1.5 times the normal member cap at each level.

Book 2: Traction:

After reaching tier 3, Alex/Xeal continues to build up the foundations that will ensure his guild’s long term success as complications come into play. Through the meddling of his younger sister, Alex ends up in a complicated relationship with Sam and Nicole, who have been best friends since early childhood, as they attempt to share him rather than fight over him, or wait for him to decide between them.

In Eternal Dominion the top dogs from Alex’s/Xeal’s last life have decided to take action to seize the top guild bonus from FAE by force. FAE is faced with a battle on four fronts at once and must resolve each at the same time or risk a prolonged engagement that could see his guild’s growth stagnate. Outnumbered but with the level advantage, FAE weathers the storm as they remove the roots of the issue while sending a message to Abysses End and every other major workshop that FAE will not go down without a fight.

Book 3: Concessions:

With the storm caused by Abysses End weathered, a quiet few weeks in ED has passed and Alex/Xeal is ready to challenge his tier 4 challenge and reach the capital of Nium. There he has a meeting with Prince Victor. However, somehow along the way Xeal found himself unofficially courting two noble ladies, Lady Dyllis, the daughter of the local viscount of the city Xeal took his tier 4 challenge in, and Prince Victor’s younger sister, Princess Enye. Sam/Gale and Nicole/Aalin are accepting of it due to the political nature of the situation so long as they are not pushed to the side and a budding friendship is formed between the four of them.

In reality Alex finds himself dealing with a surprise visit from Abysses End (Nantan) and decided to play up the philanderer angle that having two girlfriends naturally causes. His hope is to manipulate how Abysses End targets him assuming that Sam and Nicole will keep the worst at bay while he buys time with the act. This of course leads to the plan almost completely backfiring when one of his sister’s best friends, Jessica, ambushes him at Nantan’s encouragement. Alex finds himself torn on how to handle the situation and in the end decided to have her seek out help from a psychologist. The catch is he has to promise her a date if she still wants one after she completes her last year of school in June. Alex hopes that with help she can move past him as he tries to flip her to help him work against Abysses End. Even so, Alex knows his plan has failed as neither Nicole or Sam could play the hypocrite he needed for it and with a visit from Abysses End’s junior members upcoming he knows he needs a new plan yesterday.

Evening, September 20, and Morning, September 21, 2266.

Alex logged out of Eternal Dominion (ED) a bit earlier than normal as the last day and a half had been busy. Not only had they dealt with Jessica’s attempt to seduce him, but he had to plan out this evening for his date with Sam. At first, he had thought about delaying it due to the issues with Jessica but, Sam had been adamant about having the date. So tonight was going to be all about her. Alex had come up with what he thought would be the best date for Sam. Unlike Nicole, a quiet dinner wouldn’t work and the apartment couldn’t be cleared out for them. So Alex was taking her out to The Aquarium, an upscale restaurant, for dinner. He had reserved the best seat in the house for them to sit and enjoy a private dinner. After getting dressed in his suit, Alex made his way downstairs and left, passing Anna, Lauren and Jessica on his way out. Alex could tell that both Anna and Lauren were still giving Jessica grief over her actions the day prior but, he was happy to see that they were trying. Jessica did her best not to let her gaze linger on Alex as he left. Her first appointment with the psychologist was set for the 24th. Alex had set her up with one who he had known in his last life who had ended up working in ED. In fact, he was actually hoping he could use Jessica seeing him as a way to pull him into FAE. For now though, he just hoped he could help her overcome her issues and maybe convince her that dating Alex wouldn’t be a good idea. Soon Alex was walking up to the girls’ apartment and knocking on their door. A minute later Sam was standing in front of him wearing a new black dress that Alex had never seen before. She looked beautiful and Alex greeted her by pulling her into a hug and giving her a deep kiss before she could even say hello.

“Well, someone is excited.”

“What can I say, you look absolutely stunning.”

“Thank you, you clean up nicely yourself. Now let’s get going before I end up just pulling you into my bed.”

“That sounds tempting but, I think we should save dessert for last tonight.”

“So what are we waiting for?”

With that the pair made their way to the car. Sam was lost at first but then she saw Alex walking up to the door of the convertible midnight blue corvette parked in the guest parking. He opened the passenger door for her and she realized that this was their ride for the night. Alex just smiled at the look Sam was giving him. It alone had been worth the rental fees for the night. After the shock wore off slightly, Sam took her seat and Alex closed her door before getting in the driver seat himself.

“Alex, do you know how to handle a beauty like this?”

“I have a pretty good idea, and before the night is over you’ll have a chance to see how it feels as well.”

“Wait, I’m going to get to drive this?”

“Of course. You didn’t think we were just going out for dinner, did you?”

“Umm.”

“Sam, you didn’t think I would do something so unforgettable did you?”

“Now I feel bad for Nicole.”

“Sam, for Nicole, her cooking me a meal and enjoying a quiet night was the right way for us to break the ice. We are at a different point in our relationship as we have already started getting physical in ED. Now don’t worry, I intend to let Nicole experience most of what we do tonight another time. However, a few details will be kept special for just us to enjoy. Just like Nicole and I will have a few things that are kept as ours.”

“Alex, you’re awesome.”

With that Alex started the car and Sam enjoyed the sound and feel of the engine as Alex drove them to the restaurant for their 6:00 PM reservation. Alex was smiling brightly at Sam when he let her out at the valet parking offered by The Aquarium. The Aquarium was atop a hill overlooking the harbor, with the wall and ceiling being an interconnected aquarium full of tropical fish. Sam was in awe of the sight as the host guided them to their table. The table Alex had reserved was in a private room with a window overlooking the harbor as tropical fish swam through artificial coral overhead and to their sides. The table had a love seat that would let them look directly out the window while they ate and cuddled. Dinner was excellent with Alex enjoying a perfectly cooked piece of prime rib as Sam enjoyed the lobster ravioli with a side of garlic baked clams. The pair sat and watched the sun set until 7:30 PM before leaving the restaurant. Twenty minutes later they were at the private track Alex had reserved for them. It was a simple mile long straight away on both sides of a loop with a cone course in the middle. Alex put the corvette through its paces under the street lights, hitting 140 mph briefly on each straight away before handing the keys to Sam. Unlike Alex who had owned a similar car in his last life, Sam had never handled anything nearly as powerful as this corvette. That didn’t stop her from driving it like a woman possessed 20 minutes after she had been gingerly testing it out. Around 9:00 PM Alex had Sam take a side path to one of the best features of this course. Just to the side of it were cliffs that over looked the ocean in a secluded area. The next thing Sam knew Alex had opened the roof of the corvette, exposing them to the cool end of summer air. With the car parked and the roof open, Alex pulled Sam in to the passenger seat with him as they started making out.

“Alex, thank you for this wonderful night.”

“What else should I do for a woman I love.”

“Oh Alex, I love you too.”

Emotions took over as Sam and Alex broke in the rental’s front seat thoroughly. The pair finally made it back to the apartment just before 11:00 PM with messed up hair. They knew that Nicole would already be in ED and Amanda had spent the night at her parents. So they made their way to Sam’s bed with Alex’s overnight bag in hand and enjoyed snuggling before logging into ED for the night.

Alex and Sam logged out after a short session in ED where they took care of some guild business and Sam’s character Gale’s needs as well. As a cleric of Freya, she needed to partake in carnal acts at least once every three weeks in ED, or once a week in reality. It had been this need that had started Alex and Sam down the path to their relationship. Turning to his side, he found Sam’s beautiful blue eyes watching him as he pulled her into a good morning kiss.

“This is the best,” smiled Sam.

“It’s too bad we have to get up. We don’t want to keep everyone else waiting,” grumbled Alex.

“Ugh, don’t want to.”

Alex just smiled at Sam as he pulled the covers away exposing her beautiful body to him. The pair continued to flirt for a few more minutes before they got ready for the morning run. They made their way into the apartment’s common area where Nicole was awaiting them. Alex walked right up to her and gave her a deep good morning kiss as well.

“Mmm, I could get used to this. So when are you moving in?” Nicole asked.

“Nicole, I’m not sure we are all ready for that yet,” Alex replied.

“Alex, I think we have checked off all the boxes and Amanda is good to move back home for a few months before we all move to Colorado,” Sam responded.

“Yep, Sam and I have already discussed it and she will get you every evening and I will get you every morning.”

“That’s easy for you to say but, reality can be cruel. Love isn’t something that can be scheduled so cleanly. Look, I think me moving in is a forgone conclusion, especially after what Jessica did. However, please give me a few more weeks to calm my parents worries.”

“Nope, you have until Monday night to be moved in, so four days,” Nicole said emphatically.

“Why are you so set on this?”

“Alex, Nicole and I are really worried about when Abysses End sends the next girl at you. Jessica is just a poor girl who was a convenient pawn to use by them. The next girl will likely be a professional gold digger or homewrecker. We want you with us as much as possible right now so please don’t fight us on this,” pleaded Sam.

“You’re both wonderful, you know that?” said Alex ruefully.

“I’ll take that as a you agreeing to our demand,” Sam said with satisfaction.

“Yes, now let’s get to the morning run before everyone thinks that we all decided on an alternative form of exercise,” Alex said mischievously.

Both girls turned red at his words and they made their way out of the apartment. When Nicole noticed the corvette, she gave Sam and Alex a curious look. It was then that Alex realized the issue of the two seater. Amanda had the girls’ car so the three needed to squeeze in for the short ride.

“I take it the two of you had a fun time last night,” grinned Nicole.

“Yah, Alex was wonderful,” sighed Sam.

“So Alex, are you expecting Sam and I to cuddle while you drive us over?” Nicole asked slyly.

“Honestly, I forgot about needing to drive both of you this morning but, yah at this point, the two of you need to cuddle up.”

Nicole gave Alex a look before grabbing Sam’s hand and working their way into the seat as Alex started the car. Alex kept quiet about the blush on both of the girls faces as he drove them over. He had to make sure his own thoughts didn’t wander too far as well. When they pulled up, he got out and opened the door for the girls as everyone watched as both girls climbed out. Alex did his best to ignore the looks he was getting. Dan just looked shocked, Fred looked like he was troubled as Amanda looked his way instead of at Alex, Mr. Bell looked sheepish, while Mrs. Bell stared daggers at her son. Anna just looked confused as Lauren shook her head and Jessica did her best to just pretend nothing abnormal was going on and failing. As the three approached, it was Mrs. Bell who broke the silence.

“Well, I take it you won’t need to borrow my car anymore,” said Mrs. Bell with an arched eyebrow.

“Mom, it’s a rental. I have to return it tonight, and yes, I didn’t think it through to getting over here this morning. Sorry,” Alex explained.

“Sorry for what?” Mrs. Bell asked.

“Sorry for breaking traffic laws and endangering Nicole and Sam.”

“Good, though you are still in trouble. I’ll just let your father handle it when he gets home tonight. It is his last day of work after all.”

“That’s right, and you are all invited for dinner today at 4:30 PM,” piped up Mr. Bell.

“Isn’t that a bit early?” Anna asked.

“Your mom and I don’t want to keep everyone from ED too long, especially Alex as he has an important event tonight.”

“What, you scheduled something for your dad’s last day at work?” Dan asked incredulously.

“It is just how things worked out. Besides, it’s not so much I scheduled it as it was scheduled for me,” Alex defended himself.

“Still, you could try to work around it?”

“Dan, it’s fine. He needs to put his future before a small dinner party. Besides, I’m counting on him ensuring FAE’s success so that I can enjoy retiring into ED,” smiled Mr. Bell.

“Okay everyone, we can catch up more tonight at dinner. For now, let’s get this run done,” Fred asserted.

Alex led everyone on a new route that he had made specifically to avoid any of the newly sold or rented houses in his neighborhood. Once they were done with the run, he gave both Sam and Nicole their goodbye kisses and made his way inside to shower. After which he logged into ED.

ED year 1, day 200.

Xeal awoke in his bed in the mansion that prince Victor Vidfamne had allowed him to occupy. It was also the site of his developing guild headquarters. The prince had approved his plan to split the property into a five acre and ten acre plot. While the ten acres were just flat ground at this point, a new wall was already being constructed to signify where the two portions met. There was also a new modest garden being set up around the mansion designed for both beauty and functionality. It was important that he was able to entertain nobles and the like both inside and outside his home in the future. He had made sure that both Princess Enye and Lady Dyllis approved of his choice in design for the garden before proceeding. Today was another day he would be spending inside the Vault of Ucnuc. Now at level 52, Xeal had made his way down to the seventh floor and was now having to deal with ghouls that always had a few under leveled skeletons or zombies with them. This caused a few headaches for Xeal as he had to kill the under leveled monsters first, or his boost from his behemoth slayer title would disappear. Xeal couldn’t wait to reach level 55 and challenge the first quest the prince had given him. With that in mind, he activated his advanced return scroll and started his grinding.

Four hours later Xeal had come to a room that was being guarded by a group of four level 50 zombies and a level 57 ghoul. Normally Xeal would avoid a group this size, but he felt like the way they were guarding the door was suspicious. It wasn’t the first guarded door he had seen down here, and while he had marked the others for when he brought his friends here, this one stood out. Normally the ghouls on duty would seem to be relaxed and disinterested in the actions of their underlings. This time, however, the ghoul was taking an active role in guarding the door. Xeal couldn’t shake the feeling that if he walked away this opportunity would be lost, so he spent a half hour observing the guards and working out his plan. Finally he thought he had a fairly good chance to succeed using his items and skills. If the door turned out to be a bust, he would regret using so many expensive items, but he just couldn’t walk away for some reason. Once everything was set up, he approached the door, throwing a spell grenade loaded with a fire ball spell at the five guards. Instantly they were engulfed in flames and the four zombies charged after him. Xeal wasted no time in luring them into a hallway that dead ended. He had set up just under 20 mines that went off the moment the first flaming zombie reached them. The explosion that followed disabled all four zombies, allowing Xeal to quickly finish them off and return to engage the remaining ghoul. Xeal was able to pull off his normal chain combo and finish the fight with relative ease, leaving the door unguarded. However, his MP and SP were both low, meaning that he was in no condition to start another fight, making the notification he received informing him he only had five minutes to open the door before whatever was behind it disappeared, rather troubling. After a few seconds, Xeal made his move and with an instantaneous movement scroll readied he, opened the door.

The room was obviously an enchanter’s workshop with various tools and workbenches set up for use. The room itself was covered in dust and cobwebs, except in one corner where a humanoid figure was entranced in its work. It only took Xeal a second too long to realize that he should have run away immediately. The figure had locked on to Xeal and it looked to be a mix between curious and enraged. Xeal had to be careful as now that the male level 150 vampire had him in its sight, he wasn’t sure he even had time for the one second activation time of his scroll to escape. Before Xeal could come up with a plan, the vampire broke the silence.

“Well, what do I have here? A lone human offering himself as a meal?”

“…”

“Go on, please enlighten me as to why you are here, unless you really do just want to be a meal.”

Xeal was sweating buckets as he tried to think of an escape route but kept coming up empty. He had to talk his way out of this one.

“My apologies. I did not know anyone would be here. I am just an explorer looking for anything of value.”

“Oh, there’s no need to lie. I can sense the hilt you carry with you from that accursed blade. I know what you are looking for but, your search will end in vain as you do not possess the strength to reach its pieces below. Now as for how to handle you, hmm I know, throw away that blade’s hilt and I will allow you to go free.”

Xeal was about to begrudgingly accept the vampires proposal when a thought occurred to him. What if the hilt was all that was keeping the vampire at bay, and once he discarded it he would die? Death could be seen as a form of freedom, freedom from life, so instead Xeal held onto the hilt.

“I think keeping it is in my best interest. After all, it seems to cause you discomfort. Perhaps I only still have my life due to it.”

“Ah, so you’re not a simple fool. What a pity. You are right, it is keeping me at bay. However, it does nothing against other undead. Really, it’s a shame, I would have enjoyed a good meal. It has been so long. Perhaps I should visit the surface to see what has become of the land over the last few decades.”

“That would be troublesome as I would hate to have to inform the prince that we have an outbreak of undead.”

“Ha, you are funny as there is no way you could reach and convince him before I rampaged through the nearest settlement.”

Xeal just smiled at the vampire’s words.

“Hmm, you seem confident in your words. What are you to the blood sacks’ prince?”

“Just a friend and ally, who could be in his presence in less than ten minutes.”

“I see. If what you say is true, even if I did lay waste to a settlement, I would likely die as well. So how do we proceed? I can see the scroll you have ready for an escape. However, you and I both know I can keep you from using it while I can see you. So what would you suggest?”

“A contract.”

“Interesting. Go on, just what would we agree to?”

“Nothing major, just that you will not interfere with my escape and I will not inform anyone of how close to the surface you are.”

“One more caveat. If I find you down here again, you will throw away the hilt and face me without it.”

Xeal knew that this was the best deal he was going to get, so he made up the contract really quick before signing it and handing it to the vampire. Once the vampire had signed the contract, Xeal started to ransack the room.

“What are you doing?”

“Simple, I won’t be able to return so I figured I should take what I can now. Oh, and I wouldn’t try and stop me as that would break the contract we just signed.”

“What? It said nothing about letting you take whatever you want.”

“No, but it does say you will not interfere with me until I escape from this floor. That means any actions you take against me right now will break the contract. So thank you for all the tools.”

Xeal’s statement thoroughly enraged the vampire as the contract had also said that he would not attack anything on the surface so long as nobody set foot past the fifth floor in the Vault of Ucnuc. Xeal knew that it was only a matter of time before that happened. He was also upset at the appearance of a way over powered NPC as it would make locking down the area that much harder. However, all he could do now was retreat and create a strategy to deal with the issue moving forward.

“Clever. You better hope we never cross paths again, for if we do, you may wish for death.”

With those words the vampire left Xeal to finish looting the room before pulling out a normal return scroll and leaving the Vault of Ucnuc behind. Once Xeal arrived at the capital, he received a notification that due to surviving a solo encounter with a foe two tiers higher than himself, he was rewarded with an automatic level up. This brought him to level 53, and with the several sets of high quality enchanting tools he was able to secure for his guild’s use, the day had not been wasted. As he would need to travel a good distance for his upcoming quest from the prince, he figured he could get the last two levels along the way. So, he made his way to the teleportation hall and made his way to Angelbrook city as it was the closest location for him to start at. Wearing his cloak for concealment, Xeal made his way out of the city, heading in the direction of the quest’s challenge. As long as everything went well, he would be able to complete this quest in the next week or two. This was how Xeal spent the rest of his time before he returned to the capital to log out in the safety of his mansion.

Evening, September 21, 2266.

Alex pulled off his VR helmet and made his way downstairs to find that his mother was already busy making dinner with Anna and her friends help. He could tell from the smell that it was German meatballs and spaetzle. Alex had learned to appreciate his mother’s version of spaetzle as he had tried what a restaurant called spaetzle and had found it disappointing. His mom simply cut the dough into boiling water, making much larger pieces than you would find in a restaurant. Then to finish it off, she added butter and seasoned bread crumbs to it so it was delicious on its own. Add the sour cream based sauce of the German meatballs and you had a family favorite. The only issue was it was a major production to get it all done, especially if you were feeding a large group.

“It smells wonderful ladies,” Alex called.

“Easy for you to say, you haven’t been working on it for the last hour.”

“Anna, be nice. We both know that Alex’s time in ED is extremely valuable,” chided Mrs. Bell.

“Anna, I appreciate you helping mom. That goes for you two as well, Lauren and Jessica. Thank you for helping.”

“It’s a pleasure. I hope I can spend more time learning from your mom. She really is amazing to learn cooking from,” gushed Jessica.

“I’m glad you are enjoying it. I’ll be sure to have you help out as often as you can when you move in,” smiled Mrs. Bell.

“Thank you.”

“Well, I’ll go ahead and get out of your way now so you can finish things up.”

30 minutes later, everyone had arrived, to include Mr. and Mrs. Carter. As the dining room table wasn’t large enough to fit all 13 of them, they had set up some folding tables in the backyard to eat. Along with the German meatballs and spaetzle, long green beans were served to complete the meal. Everyone was having a good time celebrating Mr. Bell’s early retirement. Mr. and Mrs. Carter seemed to be enjoying talking with Alex’s parents about this or that. Sam, Nicole, Anna, Lauren, Amanda and Jessica were all engaged in talking together, though Jessica looked like she felt a bit awkward to Alex. Dan and Fred had pulled Alex aside for some guy time.

“Alex, seriously, you need to help us out here,” Fred said desperately.

“I don’t know what you want me to do,” a confused Alex responded.

“Look, you have women going after you left and right, both in and out of ED. You have to know some sort of secret,” Fred demanded.

“Fred, you already have Amanda, or have things gone south for the two of you?” Alex asked with concern.

“Nah, her and I are still a thing. It’s just that she keeps comparing me to you and I don’t know how to handle it. So any advice would be great, but it’s Dan who really needs a hand before some noble girl in ED snatches him up.”

“I’m fine, I can take care of myself,” Dan said with confidence.

“So, what, you going to ask Anna out or something?” Fred shot.

“Fred, that’s Alex’s little sister. Besides, she is still in high school.”

“Dan, you have already started seeing her, haven’t you?” Alex posed.

“Alex, I wouldn’t,” sputtered Dan.

“I know you haven’t done anything. Heck, I’m sure right now it’s just going on a quest here and there in ED. Still, you like her and are enjoying spending time with her and she is happy to let things develop like this for the next few years, right?”

“Huh, yah, after you got together with Sam and Nicole, it just kind of happened. Still, we aren’t actually a couple or anything. Heck, half the time I think I might end up being friend zoned by the time she turns 18.”

“Dude, you have the hots for Alex’s little sister. Damn, soon only Amanda and I won’t be related to you Alex,” joked Fred.

“Now onto you Fred. You need to treat Amanda better. Yah, you might think it is just her wanting to be spoiled like I do to Nicole and Sam. However, knowing you, it is more likely you don’t want to rock the boat to much so you fail to take any initiative. What Amanda wants is for you to take risks and put yourself in situations that show you are trying. If you just try and maintain the status quo, she will leave you and just deal with the issues it will cause in ED. The two of you make a good couple and so long as you treat her right, you’ll be good.”

“Um, okay, I guess I could spend more time with her outside of ED.”

“Good,” said Dan. “Now can we talk about something other than our love lives.”

The gathering continued with its light conversation until around 5:30 when Alex pulled Sam, Nicole and his parents aside. Sam had dragged her parents over as well.

“Alex, what is it?” asked Mrs. Bell.

“Well, you see the three of us have been talking, and we feel it would be for the best if I moved into the apartment with them.”

“Huh, I understand. I don’t like it, but I knew it was only a matter of time, especially after what happened the other morning.”

“You’re taking this rather well mom.”

“Well, what can I do about it? Besides, you’re all adults.”

“Hold on,” interrupted Mrs. Carter. “Sam, what happened that prompted this?”

Sam gave Alex a troubled look that clearly said she didn’t know how to answer her mom without causing an issue. Mrs. Bell was also looking at the pair to see how they would handle it.

“Mrs. Carter, there was a bit of an incident with the showering situation here and it caused an awkward situation to happen,” replied Alex. “Everything is fine. We just don’t want any opportunity for a repeat to occur.”

“Hmm, so instead you will be living with three girls?”

“Amanda is going to move back in with her parents for now,” said Sam.

“Oh, so it will just be the three of you. So how long until the baby showers?”

“Mrs. Carter, I understand your concerns,” answered Alex. “Believe me, I have several of my own. Please understand that while we are young, we are not dumb. Just like I don’t expect you to approve of our relationship in its current state, I don’t expect any of you to be happy that we are taking more steps together. I only ask you to try and accept our choices as ours. Please just be there for us as I am sure the day will come when we will want you in our lives and you will want us in yours.”

“You sound like your already married to both of them,” said Mr. Carter.

“If it was legal to marry both of them, I don’t think we would be that far off at this point. Again, yes, I know we are young, but I truly am committed to giving it my all to make this work.”

Sam and Nicole faces had both turned red at Alex’s words, but they both also looked extremely happy as well. Both Alex’s and Sam’s parents looked unsure on how to proceed as they all knew just how blind young love could be. Finally the moment passed and everyone returned to reality.

“So, when are you planning on moving out?” Mr. Bell inquired.

“Monday.”

“I see, well I suppose that’s that.”

“Wait, you’re fine with it just like that?” demanded Mrs. Carter.

“Look, if you had told me in June that my son would have two serious girlfriends, be making more money in a few months then I have in my life and become my new boss, I would have laughed at you like you were crazy. However, not only is all that true, but he has also grown up in ways I can’t put into words. At this point, as long as he keeps me in the loop and acknowledges my concerns, I trust him.”

“I still don’t like it,” frowned Mrs. Carter. “Sam, you and I need to sit down and really talk before I will be okay with this.”

“Okay, mom.”

“Good, and Nicole, I expect you to at least give your parents a call. If they start yelling, just hang up on them but, at the very least extend an olive branch.”

“No, the Juns need to be the ones to initiate contact,” Alex stated firmly. “If Nicole calls them, they will feel like she is seeking their approval. While I would like to have their approval, it is not worth the cost of them feeling like we are beholden to it even slightly. Mrs. Carter, feel free to let the Juns know we would love for them to reach out when they are ready. However, make sure they know Nicole is her own person and she is going to live her life as she chooses.”

“Then why don’t you let her say that for herself?”

“Mrs. Carter, I hate conflict, especially between family,” Nicole answered. “Alex has picked up on that and does his best to shield me when he can. He is also right when it comes to my parents. If I go to them, they will try and assert control again. I would like for them to reach out so we can redefine our relationship to something that works for both sides, though. If not for their and my sake, for my younger siblings’ sake.”

“I understand. It just feels like the three of you are getting really serious way too fast.”

“I know just how you feel,” added Mrs. Bell. “I would have never thought Alex would move this fast either. It’s not fair to us mothers but, it’s already too late. They have made up their minds. All we can do now is support them and be here when they need us to be.”

“I’m sure there’s much more that needs to be discussed, but Alex and the girls need to go soon, so let’s put it aside for now,” said Mr. Bell.

“Okay, Sam make sure you come over tomorrow morning to talk,” reminded Mrs. Carter.

“And Alex, I expect to discuss things with you in the morning as well,” added Mr. Bell.

Alex and the girls agreed before they made their exit for the night to return to ED.

ED year 1, days 201-202

Xeal got out of his bed in his mansion before meeting up with Gale and Aalin to head to the palace for their tea time. It was Alex’s first time going to Princess Enye’s gardens but, both girls had become regulars there so they knew the way. Still, as protocol demanded, they were being guided by one of the guards. When they arrived, Xeal took in the beauty of the gardens with perfectly manicured flower bushes and trees. In the center was a table set for seven. This made Xeal wonder who else would be joining them. It didn’t take long for part of his question to be answered as Princess Enye and Lady Dyllis appeared, following after an older woman with graying black hair and green eyes that matched her daughter’s. Queen Eleanor Vidfamne carried herself gracefully as she made her way to the table where Xeal, Aalin and Gale awaited them. When they arrived, Xeal knelt on a single knee and bowed his head as Gale and Aalin curtsied behind him.

“My queen, you honor us with your presence,” greeted Xeal.

“Oh, that really isn’t necessary here. Right now I’m just a mother investigating her daughter’s friends.”

“Sir Xeal, really, my mother thought with all the chatter surrounding you, she would come to meet you. Also, my brother should be joining us to talk about the upcoming banquet being held for the nobles to meet you.”

“It is lovely to see you as well, Princess Enye,” Xeal replied with a smile.

“Now let’s sit down and enjoy some tea while we wait for my son to find some time to join us.”

With that the six of them took seats, with Xeal seated with Lady Dyllis on his right and Queen Eleanor to his left, Princess Enya to the seat just past the queen, and Gale was seated past Dyllis and Aalin was past her.

“Now my daughter has said that while you are all seated like this, rank and status are ignored. So please treat me the same and my son will just have to accept my decision when he arrives. Now Xeal, please tell me about yourself and why my daughter has taken such a liking to you.”

“Mother please, control yourself. We both know Xeal is still unable to officially court me.”

“Oh, don’t worry about little details like that. I’ll make your father raise him to marquess myself if I have to. Anything would be better than letting Hugo Mercer and his family get their hands on you. I had resolved to watch you marry into another kingdom, or as you became an old maid. Now, as I was saying, Xeal, please tell me about yourself.”

Xeal took note of the Mercer name as he knew it was a marquess house that was a political power house in the kingdom. Having them as an enemy could prove rather troubling, but he also knew several ways to ruin the family from events that took place in his last life. Still, taking down the Mercer family before the unification of the continent could cause major issues for Nium. After making a mental note to build a plan to counter the Mercer family if they caused issues for FAE, he returned to the queen’s questions. Xeal took his time going over his history in game and discussing this or that with the queen as the rest of the table quietly watched for about ten minutes, before the queen turned to Gale and Aalin to get to know the pair of them as well. During her questioning, the queen would drop a story about Enye here and there. The whole time this was ongoing, Princess Enye seemed to grow redder and redder from embarrassment. Finally, the prince arrived to join them, and after he paid his respects to the queen and was told the rules of the table, he joined them sitting between Enye and Aalin.

“Well I take it mother has been thoroughly investigating you three in detail. So mother, what are your thoughts?”

“Victor, you mustn’t rush me. I still have many things to consider.”

“Now that Victor is here can we get through the pressing matters so we can enjoy a simple social gathering,” Enye stated firmly.

“Certainly,” agreed Victor. “Xeal, when do you think you will have taken down the shadow warrior and complete your firs quest?”

“I am currently plotting a course and should be able to complete it within the next two weeks.”

“Shadow warrior?” Gale inquired.

“The first quest Victor has me going on is a land recovery quest. There is a ruin that used to be a fort along the country’s border. However, a shadow warrior appeared one day and attacks anyone who steps foot within 20 miles of the fort. The warrior is always as strong as those it faces, which includes combining the power of all those in range. This makes anything except a one on one duel pure suicide but, even then the warrior is always able to use your own skills against you, perfectly. To make matters worse, items like spell grenades and landmines don’t work on it.”

“How do you beat something like that?” asked Dyllis.

“I have a few ideas. Hopefully they work out for me. If not, well, I am sure I will escape with my life at least.”

“You better,” ordered Enye. “I really don’t wish to lose you before I even have you.”

“Relax, Xeal seems confident in his ability to deliver,” consoled Victor. “Now, once you have completed your task, with your other accomplishments I will be able to justify making you a baron. I plan on announcing it and your courtship of Lady Dyllis at the banquet in three weeks. Between these two moves, it should cause issues for most of those attending with hopes to have a lady of their house start a courtship with you that night. Still, if my information is correct, one of the more troubling houses should have already made preparations that go beyond what I can shield you from.”

“Which house?” inquired Gale.

“The Mercer house,” replied Victor.

The table went quiet as they let it sink in that the same house that wants Enye’s hand was making a play on Xeal. Enye had gone pale as this could only mean that they were already aware of her having her eye on Xeal. Dyllis had a deep frown on her face, while queen Eleanor looked like she could kill.

“Victor, how did they find out?” demanded Eleanor.

“They haven’t. They simply are assuming as much. From what has been gathered, they know Xeal is set to court Lady Dyllis. Add to the fact that I have been showing an interest in him and Enye has taken Lady Dyllis as a lady in waiting. Finally, my allowing Maxwell to retire in Xeal’s service in a mansion I leased him and you can put things together. Right now it seems they think that I am drawing a large group of adventures into my service through Xeal. So it is unclear as to if they know that he might court Enye in the future. In fact, the public announcement of him courting Dyllis should throw them off. Still, we should expect them to have their daughter Vanessa ready to court Xeal.”

Once again the table was quiet as everyone took time to think over the situation. Xeal was going through what he could remember about the Mercer family from his last life. He knew that they had failed to secure Enye’s hand in marriage and eventually were outed due to a player exposing part of their corruption. The player had replaced the marquess in court and taken over the family by marrying Lady Vanessa. Still, that was ten years in ED time from now, and beyond that Xeal had no memory of Vanessa Mercer. However, it did give him an idea on how to use this.

“Victor, we all know that the Mercer house is rotten, it’s just that the kingdom can’t afford the fallout from their fall right?” confirmed Xeal.

“Xeal, I don’t like what that statement insinuates,” replied Victor. “It’s more like they are suspected to be corrupt but have hidden it enough that nothing can be proven.”

“Victor, if they really do send lady Vanessa at me with the intent of her courting me, don’t interfere until I ask you to.”

“What are you playing at?” demanded Dyllis. “You would have me become tied to that house?”

“Dyllis, remember, I will only accept those who will leave their house and serve in ours. If I move forward with the courtship, it would be done to set up the fall of house Mercer and the rise of house Bluefire. Prince Victor, you wouldn’t have an issue with me once I am an earl taking and exposing the Mercer house, then having my wife who supported me in bringing her old family’s wrongdoing to light act as justification for my taking over their role as marquess? Of course, you would be able to confiscate a reasonable amount of land you thought would be better off in the kingdom’s hands.”

Prince Victor and Queen Eleanor were both looking at Xeal like he was a monster while Enye wore a wonderful smile. Lady Dyllis’s eyes were wide and Aalin and Gale were having issues keeping their jaws closed.

“My, my. Victor, it seems you found a perfect fit for your ambitions,” remarked Eleanor with a smile.

“It would appear so. I hope you know what you are doing Xeal as if they find out what you are planning, I doubt even I could help you.”

“Hmm, tell me about Lady Vanessa.”

The table spent the next 15 minutes going over everything that was known about Lady Vanessa. The picture Xeal got was she was a lonely young lady as most houses approached hers with caution. This made her grow up isolated from anything resembling a true friend. Still, she seemed to act as one would expect a lady of the court to. Enye made it seem like Vanessa was simply biding her time, hoping to be able escape a cage similar to Enye’s own while playing her role. Xeal thought Enye was likely projecting and it was more likely that Lady Vanessa simply had learned how to survive in a troubling family. His hope is it had led her to feel little in the way of loyalty to her house. If so, not only could courting her pave Xeal a path to rise in court, it could also cause other houses to give up on courting him. Still, at the end of the day, there were a lot of what ifs and only meeting Lady Vanessa would provide any answers.

After they had finished talking about lady Vanessa, Victor spent another 20 minutes going over what was expected of Xeal at the banquet, leaving him with a list to help him remember, before leaving to return to his duties. After which, the rest of them spent the next few hours chatting happily while sipping tea and eating snacks. Finally the tea time came to an end and Xeal returned to his journey and grinding in preparations to face off with the shadow warrior. He needed to cross around 500 miles in the next 12 days to keep to his schedule. If it was in reality, that distance would be a daunting task as it required them to walk 42 miles a day. In ED, 42 miles a day for a level 50 player would leave them plenty of time to grind along the way. Xeal wished he could use this trip to unlock a city or two along the way, but unfortunately, city unlocking quests always required at least a small team to complete them. So Xeal simply walked and worked on leveling for the rest of his login, before he used another advanced return scroll.

Morning, September 22 to Evening September 25, 2266, and ED year 1, days 203-212.

Xeal’s time in ED for the next several logins was simply traveling and leveling along the way. He had successfully reached level 55 and was ready to attempt the quest when he arrived at the designated fort along Nium’s border with the kingdom of Habia. The kingdom of Habia occupied the north western portion of the continent. To its south was the kingdom of Paidhia, taking up the south west of the continent. Each of the countries controlled around 20 percent of the total continent, with the kingdom of Nium controlling the east of the continent and around a third of the land mass. The remaining quarter or so of the continent was made up of the level 200 plus maps, where it took too much effort to maintain control. These areas were situated as such that each country only shared a single land border with each other that were each between 300 and 400 miles long. This made border security more of an act of monster extermination and posturing. Most countries in ED were like this and many guilds would move into the no man lands once they had enough players above level 200, and founded their own pseudo countries by building guild cities in them. Very few of those ventures were tolerated by the NPC countries, with many demanding that the guilds bend the knee. Eventually it became normal for a country to agree to exempt the city from taxes in return for allowing the kingdom easy access to the area surrounding it. However, what never changed was the problems of establishing cities in what could be construed as contested border lands. Part of the reason why helping your country to become the only one on a continent was so beneficial was the elimination of this issue. Simply put, the best neutral maps for guilds to claim were always between two countries.

Over the following few days, Alex had detailed conversations with his and Sam’s parents about him moving in with the girls. At times these conversations became rather awkward as they devolved into talking about safe sex practices in the most roundabout ways possible. Alex felt like all he did for those two days when he wasn’t in ED was talk with parents. Nicole had even received a message from her parents. It had stated that while they were still disappointed in her, they did care and would be there when she was ready. Nicole had been both happy and annoyed at the message, as her parents were still trying to get her to come to them. After discussing it with Alex, Nicole had sent them a message saying that she appreciated them reaching out, but hoped they could accept that she was an adult and simply be happy that she was happy. No response had come back from her parents as of yet. From what the Carters had said, it seemed the Juns were still unable to process the situation but, at the very least they didn’t jump straight to hostility now. Alex spent Sunday morning and afternoon playing ED next to Nicole as it was their eighth date in game. Amanda had Fred help her move her stuff out Sunday evening in preparation for Alex moving in on Monday. It seemed that both her and Fred’s moods were better and Fred had even thanked Alex for the push he had given him at the dinner party.

Sunday’s dinner with Sam’s parents was awkward, as when Sam, Alex and Nicole had arrived, Mr. and Mrs. Jun were already there. Alex almost pulled an about face and left with the girls as he felt that the Carters had laid a trap for them. If it hadn’t been for the determined look in Nicole’s eyes telling him that she didn’t want to run, he would have done just that. So he took both girls hands and sat on the empty couch across the living room from them while they waited for Mrs. Carter to put the finishing touches on dinner. While they waited, Mr. Carter looked like he didn’t know what to do and just wanted to escape. Unfortunately that wasn’t an option, and a few minutes later, the tense silence was broken by Mrs. Carter calling everyone in for dinner. The table had only been designed to fit six comfortably and Mrs. Carter had set an extra plate at one of its corners, which Alex assumed was for him. When everyone was seated, the Juns were on one side, with Alex seated directly next to Mr. Jun, followed by Nicole as they shared one of the short sides, while Sam sat across from Mr. Jun and next to her mom, while her dad sat at the opposite end from Alex and Nicole, between his wife and Mrs. Jun. Mrs. Carter had prepared a beef stew served with French bread for dinner.

“Now, let’s just all enjoy a good meal,” Mrs. Carter said brightly.

“Thank you for having us over. It looks delicious, wouldn’t you agree Nicole?” prompted Mrs. Jun.

“It does, doesn’t it.”

“…….”

“Ah, how about that weather. Nights have been getting chilly lately,” said a nervous Mr. Carter.

Alex cringed as Mr. Carters terrible attempt to lighten the tension at the table failed to do anything but increase the awkwardness of it all. Alex knew that both Nicole and her parents were trying to think of a way to talk without starting a fight. However, neither side was really ready and if this situation continued, it would only compound the issue. So he decided to bite the bullet and just get the inevitable over with.

“Look, I appreciate what you are trying to accomplish Mrs. Carter, but Nicole and her parents aren’t ready for this yet. I don’t think I am either, so before something happens that makes things worse, I think it would be best if we let Nicole and Mrs. Jun clear the air in private.”

“Alex, I don’t know if I want to be alone with her right now,” Nicole said with worry.

“Nicole, take your phone with you with my number pulled up, or just yell for me. If I hear any raised voices or get a call, I don’t care if I have to break down the door, I’ll come to your aid.”

“Okay, but if I want to leave after, we will leave, right?”

“What, you would just leave when Mrs. Carter cooked you such a nice meal-“ Mrs. Jun began to remonstrate.

“Mrs. Jun, watch your tone and think before you talk, please,” warned Alex. “Nicole, of course, I would have left the moment we got here if you had wanted to.”

“Thanks. Okay mom, let’s see if we can clear the air already.”

“Do you really think this is a good idea?” Sam asked tentatively.

“No but, at this point it is the least bad option,” answered Alex. “If we simply left, all that would do is make it seem like we are running away, while if we had just continued with dinner, someone would have said something that would have set off a chain reaction. If we were lucky, it would end with a verbal spat, but it could easily kill any chance for reconciliation in the near future.”

“I’m sorry, I was just trying to get them to talk again,” Mr. Jun said sorrowfully.

“So you asked my parents to have you over the next time we were coming by?” Sam demanded.

“Yes.”

“And the pair of you decided to agree without even warning us. Honestly, I wonder how you can expect us to trust you when you can’t trust us.”

“Sam-” Mrs. Carter said worriedly.

“Forget it, mom. I love you, but right now I don’t want to talk about it.”

About ten minutes after Nicole and Mrs. Jun had disappeared, Alex received a message from Nicole telling him she was in the car. Sighing, he showed it to Sam and they bid their farewells before heading to the car. When they got outside, they found Mrs. Jun crying as she looked at Nicole sitting in the car. Nicole looked like it was all she could do to hold back her own tears and didn’t say anything until they were out of sight of her mom. When she did, the water works followed.

“Alex, thank you,” sobbed Nicole.

“Any time. You know I love you and will be here if you need me.”

“Nicole, you have me as well. We are in this together, all three of us. Heck, I’m sure Dyllis and Enye would be here as well if they could,” added Sam.

“Thanks, it really means a lot that you are both with me. I don’t think I would change a thing about our relationship even if our parents can’t seem to understand it.”

“Yah, screw it,” declared Sam. “Who cares what anyone else thinks, I love how things are right now. Besides, they are the ones who always told us sharing is caring when we grew up.”

Sam’s comment sent Nicole into a laughing fit while she was still crying. By the time Nicole calmed down, she had a bright smile in contrast to her tear-stained face.

“Sam, thank you, I needed that. I’m so lucky to have you and Alex here for me.”

After hitting a drive-thru for some food, Alex took the girls back to the apartment where he stayed with them until they logged back in for the night. Making his way back home, Alex logged into ED too for the last time while he lived there. The following morning he was all packed and ready to leave with his five large boxes worth of stuff. He had decided to leave his bed and furniture behind as he didn’t need either and he would be getting new ones when he moved to Colorado in January. The morning run was uneventful, although he could tell that Jessica seemed to be nervous. Figuring it had to deal with her first appointment with her psychologist being that afternoon, so he made a point to give her words of encouragement which seemed to brighten her day a bit too much, letting it slide as he knew she was on an emotional roller-coaster of her own right now. After the run, Alex loaded up the trunk of the girls’ car and half their back seat with his stuff and made his way over to the apartment. Once there, he unloaded his stuff into Amanda’s old room before unpacking a few of his essentials and splitting his clothes into two piles, as Sam and Nicole had both cleared out a drawer and part of their closets for him, meaning half of his clothes now lived in each of their rooms. He wondered if this was how his life would be moving forward, going back and forth between Nicole’s room and Sam’s room, never having a room of his own. After he had unpacked enough for the time being, he joined Nicole in her room for the next login. In the evening, Nicole made a simple dinner of fried noodles with pork as Sam assisted her. Following dinner, Alex joined Sam in her room before logging into ED for the night. The following day passed in the same manner other than Jessica seeming to be in better spirits than the day before. It appeared that the counseling session had done her some good.

ED year 1, days 213-214.

In the distance at the edge of his field of view, Xeal could just make out the valley in which the fort his challenge would take place resided. It had taken him almost two weeks of walking, but at long last he had arrived. Now he just needed to defeat the shadow warrior and activate the teleportation gate inside the fort and he would complete this quest. As he closed the distance on the final leg of his journey, he thought over his strategy one last time. He expected that the shadow warrior would push his abilities to the limit. He wouldn’t be surprised if he had to use his escape strategy at least once. Still, he could only hope his plan and skill were up to the task.

As the fort came into view Xeal took in the sturdy design. The fort was essentially two 60-foot walls built one in front of the other, 2 miles apart, crossing the 30-mile-wide valley. If you were being technical, it was actually two walls built, one by each kingdom. However, the prince planned on occupying them both before the Kingdom of Habia even knew what happened. If repairs and minor redesigns of the far wall could be accomplished, it would prove to be a major advantage when war broke out. No one was sure why the shadow warrior had appeared here 30 years ago. All they knew is it instantly started to slaughter the soldiers from the kingdom of Nium. At first the kingdom of Habia’s soldiers were mixed between excitement at what they thought was a preemptive strike from their nation, and horror at the brutality before them. When the surviving soldiers of Nium escaped and the shadow warrior attacked Habia’s soldiers, their feelings turned to pure terror. To this day both sides still put the blame from that incident on the other and the truth has remained obscured. Xeal reached the edge of the shadow warrior’s range and rested to recover his stamina before stepping forward. When he entered the designated area, he was hit with a system notification.

(Quest: Duel the shadow. Do you wish to accept this quest? Rewards: rank of Baron in kingdom of Nium, further rewards unknown. Warning, failing quest will have negative repercussions on your account. Yes or No)

Xeal selected yes and made his way to the first wall which was now only a mile away. When he had closed to within a quarter mile, a shadowy figure could be seen approaching from the wall. As Xeal stopped to wait for his opponent to come to him he took in its details. The shadow warrior was a faceless, bald, genderless humanoid figure. As it drew nearer, its features shifted to match Xeal. If another player were here they would likely be unable to differentiate between the pair. Yet another reason this quest was a one-man task. Before it could close the last 50 feet, Xeal charged at it as both he and the shadow warrior executed a piercing thrust. Both fighters were sent backwards as they recovered. The shadow warrior then activated elemental blades as Xeal did the same. As the shadow warrior tried to attack with double downward slash, Xeal countered with double upward slash. It was during this exchange that Xeal noticed that the shadow warrior was losing out on strength slightly and it seemed slower than himself. As the clashes of offsetting skills continued, Xeal realized the reason he was winning, even though the shadow warrior was executing everything better than he was, was due to the elder dragon mark. For whatever reason, the shadow warrior could not duplicate its ten percent stat boost. Even with this advantage Xeal found himself pressed to keep up with the shadow warrior. He knew that if he let it start a single chain, it would be over for him. Even escape would be impossible. The only reason Xeal even felt confident in winning was due to his fruit of life that would completely restore him, once. This would allow him to pick apart the shadow warrior who should have run out of skill points by then, if necessary. Now, however, Xeal didn’t need to worry about losing the fruit as long as he kept this up. Not only would he be able to waste all of the shadow warrior’s skills, he would still be able to pull off around 20 more of his own, letting him dominate this duel.

It was a few minutes later and Xeal expected the shadow warrior’s next attempt to be it’s last before it ran out of SP. As Xeal countered it he let a smile show on his face. He had done it. He had out lasted the shadow warrior. That smile lasted all of a second as the shadow warrior set up another double downward slash which Xeal barely reacted in time to counter it. All of a sudden, he had to worry about if the shadow warrior had infinite SP or just more that he had calculated. Either way, he had to decide in that second whether to fight or run. He didn’t know why, but he held his ground as he felt that running would end poorly for himself. Instead, when the shadow warrior went into its stance for a double upward slash, Xeal activated a piercing thrust. Xeal felt pain course through him as he took his first significant hit of the match, but so had the shadow warrior. Knowing that he only had enough SP to pull off 19 more double downward or upward slashes, he had shifted to the less powerful but cheaper piercing thrust. His hope was that the earlier clashes that he was winning had done enough damage that he could afford to trade blows like this. Xeal recovered faster than the shadow warrior and went straight for another piercing thrust. He saw the shadow warrior go to execute its own piercing thrust a second to late as Xeal scored an uncontested hit. Over the next few minutes, the pair exchanged blow for blow until Xeal found himself out of SP and at half health. The shadow warrior still stood tall in opposition to him, but it to had stopped using skills. It was then that Xeal realized that the shadow warrior never had SP or MP, it simply could execute any skill you could. However, if you couldn’t use your skills, neither could the shadow warrior. The following half hour turned into a back-and-forth battle as Xeal slowly over powered the shadow warrior. All the while he felt his skills sharpening. It came to a point where he started to lament that he was going to lose such a great training ground in order to complete this quest. Finally after a full hour of fighting, Xeal was done. With 15% of his health remaining the shadow warrior dissipated, leaving behind a massive mirror that shattered into thousands of pieces, all about the size of a gold coin. Upon inspection, Xeal couldn’t stop smiling as he quickly collected every last piece of the mirror for his guild. Its description read, fragment of shadow warrior mirror: able to create a copy of anyone who spills blood on, max tier 6. Usable once a day item can be upgraded by combining several pieces together required a skilled crafter. Xeal was able to collect all 4096 pieces of the mirror before moving on to the fort to find the teleportation gate.

As Xeal made his way into the fort, he passed by thousands of rusting and decaying pieces of equipment. This was all that was left as the untreated bodies had long since decomposed and turned to dust, ruining all of their gear in the meantime. Now all that the items were good for was to be buried in place of a body to give the fallen soldier’s family closure. The fort-turned-crypt was truly massive as Xeal ran the full 30 miles of the wall. At its peak, over 10,000 men would have been stationed here to protect the border. Now only rotting gear remained. Xeal resisted his natural inclination to first search the entire fort for anything valuable before running over to the other fort on the Habia side to do the same. The prince had asked him to disturb as little as possible while here, so he simply made his way to the teleportation gate that had been disabled once it was clear that the fort had fallen. Once he arrived, he found the gate was missing several key rune stones which the prince had supplied Xeal with, as well as instructions on where to place them. Once everything was in place, it was a simple act of supplying the circle with a small amount of MP to reactivate it. Once active, Xeal teleported to the garrison in the capital to report his success.

As Xeal stepped out of the teleportation gate, he found himself face to face with a pair of spears being held by level 250 guards. Instantly he held his hands up and showed his crest. This did little to lower the guards’ vigilance. They kept asking where he was coming from and why he had performed an unscheduled transfer. Xeal told them that he was returning after a classified mission but they refused to accept that answer and continued to push. It wasn’t until Xeal showed the prince’s seal that he was allowed to step forward while one of the guards escorted him to the captain of the guard. The captain of the guard was an older level 260 knight who was in charge of the day-to-day operations of the garrison in the capital. He was, however, rather low on the actual chain of command in the capital as he had to answer to any of the kingdom’s generals or their aides. If Xeal were to try and put it into terms in reality, he was like a one-star general that had to answer to all the two to four star generals who were always in the capital. Xeal actually felt sympathetic for the man, as at any other garrison he would have the run of the entire area.

“My men say you stepped out of our teleportation gate on an unscheduled transfer and refuse to give us the details.”

“My apologies commander, but until I am debriefed by the prince, the details are for his ears only.”

“How do I know you’re not an assassin who is just trying to get close to Prince Victor?”

“Really, a simple message to him stating Sir Xeal has just teleported into the garrison should be enough to clear up any issues, commander. Look, I get it. If you were serving in any other garrison you would at most have a local noble who stood above you. Here, however, you have to deal with hundreds if not a thousand or more individuals who all see you as beneath them, each one exercising that belief whenever they feel like. All while you try and curtail it as much as possible by exerting your authority in any little way you can.”

“I could have you in the stocks in a matter of minutes.”

“Commander, you could do a lot worse than that to me if you wanted to. Heck, most nobles would laugh at me if you did. However, you and I both know that if I am truly on an errand for the prince, it would be a mistake.”

“Sir Xeal was it? Well, I will be sending that messenger. Hopefully the prince responds promptly as you will be sitting in one of our cells until he does.”

“Very well, but I expect your messenger to state that Sir Xeal is being held at the garrison awaiting the prince. Not simply that the captain of the guard has a message for the prince.”

The captain of the guard looked like he swallowed something sour at Xeal’s words. Xeal had been right that the commander was going to use this situation to push his importance, by making the prince upset at his own guards for not promptly leading the messenger to him, causing Xeal to be locked up longer. Xeal had no plans of being part of any power plays other than his own. With that Xeal found himself being held in a modest but comfortable room designed to hold nobles on the rare occasion that there was a need to do so. Knowing that even if the messenger was quick he would still be here for at least an hour, Xeal decided to get a quick nap in. The next thing he knew he was being awoken by a knock and a royal guard he recognized from his times at the palace was entering his cell. Once the guard confirmed it was him, he led Xeal out of the garrison, through the city, and into the palace to see the prince, without saying a word. Finally in the late evening Xeal, found himself kneeling in front of Prince Victor.

“My apologies for how the garrison commander greeted you. The fault is with me wishing to keep your actions as secret as possible.”

“It’s fine, my prince. I understand just how terrible it would be if Habia were to find out that the forts are freed from the shadow warrior.”

“Yes, and as such I am glad to let you know that we have already begun to shift our men there as covertly as possible. By the time Habia finds out, it should already be too late for them to challenge us for their fort militarily. As such I must warn you that you will not be well received in the kingdom of Habia due to this. Now on to your rewards. As you know, I will be raising you to the rank of Baron at the banquet. I will also allow your guild access to the teleportation gate inside the fort. This should be a great boon for your guild. All they will need to do is report to any garrison with a teleportation gate and show their guild crest.”

“Thank you, my prince.”

“No, thank you. That fort will allow us a major advantage if and when war breaks out. I can only hope that you are able to return such results for the other 11 tasks I have given you.”

“I will endeavor to do so, my prince.”

(Quest, Duel the shadow: Complete, calculating completion rate… 94% completion, rank A. Reward: 10,000 gold, 8,000,000 XP, 30,000 renown, Mirror shards, pending rank of baron, guild access to Habia boarder fort, increase in favor with prince Victor and his faction.)

Xeal smiled at this notification along with the pair of levels he went up from the experience, bringing him up to level 57. He now only needed 22 more before he was able to take on his tier 5 quest. The fact that his guild could access the fort was also a major bonus as it would give them easy access to great leveling areas. It was then that Xeal had another idea that could set his guild up for major success.

“Prince Victor, if I may ask, what is your plan for the sixty square miles between the two forts?”

“Hmm, I don’t really have any plans for that area. What did you have in mind?”

“I just thought it would make a great spot for a frontier town, my prince.”

“Go on.”

“If done correctly, it could be made open to adventures like myself who wish to explore the area around the forts.”

“Wouldn’t the security of the forts suffer from such a place? Would it not be better to build it outside the walls?”

“Prince Victor, it wouldn’t be a public town. The kingdom would control who was allowed access. Doing this would create an incentive for you and others in your faction to attract more adventurers to your quests. Additionally, it would give them a reason to stand with your army to defend against Habia if and when they come.”

“Are you sure that they would stand and not run when the time came? No offence, but from what my reports say, most of your kind are self-centered. You are an anomaly in that regard.”

“No, I am just as self-centered. The difference is I see a much larger picture and will sacrifice today for tomorrow. Towns like the one I am suggesting build reasons for adventurers to care about the kingdom. Especially if they believe the other side would deny them such advantages.”

“Xeal, I simply do not see enough of a benefit to fund such a town. Believe it or not, being royalty doesn’t give us unlimited funds.”

“What if FAE funded it, my prince?”

“Why would your guild take on such a project? You wouldn’t even be the rulers of the area and would have to obey the garrison commander.”

“As you have allowed FAE access to the fort, we would be the main ones using the town. As for having to obey the garrison commander, so long as I have assurances that he won’t have the power of seizure, it should be fine. If major issues arise, I can always bring it to Princess Enye or you, my prince.”

“No, if I allow you to build a town there, a clear set of guidelines will have to be established. Outside a direct violation of those guidelines, the garrison commander will be the law. If there is a violation and Enye agrees, then you would be able to take up my time. For now, I need to think it over and you need to prepare for the upcoming banquet. I expect you to spend time each day with Lady Dyllis and my sister as they prepare you for it.”

“Yes, my prince.”

Xeal exited the prince’s study and made his way to his mansion where his guild’s headquarters had started to take shape. The back five acres were his private residence, including the newly designed garden that was still growing into itself. The front ten acres had been cleared and prepped for his long-term design of a massive building that would cover the front five acres with five stories and an open courtyard of around two acres in its center. This would be where everything from the reception area to guild member lodgings would be housed. If it was a basic function of his guild, it would be there to include several conference rooms of varying sized down in its basement. The space in between his private residence and his guild’s headquarters main building was reserved for specialty buildings that could be unlocked through various means. Had Xeal wanted to simply have his guild’s HQ completed, he would have paid for architects and engineers in the capital to take care of it. However, he had several players who wished to focus on those crafts and this was a valuable opportunity for them to gain experience. As such, the only NPC crafters on site were one master architect and one master engineer as they directed FAE’s players. Still, the cost to build FAE’s headquarters was taking all the gold the map of the capital was bringing in while his real-life headquarters was using all the credits earned from the map. Currently the basement was in its final step before they would be ready to build the building above ground atop it. When Xeal had first shown his design to the prince for approval, it had been a ten-story u-shaped design opening up into a courtyard that would be connected to the specialty building area. After a good bit of back and forth, the current design was settled on. If everything was kept on schedule, his guild headquarters’ main building would be complete on ED day 300.

After Xeal had spent a moment imagining and admiring his soon to be built guild headquarters, he turned and entered his mansion. Shortly after entering, he was greeted by one of the servants Maxwell had arranged for him who was on duty to answer the door and greet Xeal upon his return. After the obligatory niceties were out of the way, Xeal located Maxwell and had him send an invite to Princess Enye and Lady Dyllis to join him for lunch tomorrow, as well as preparing for the banquet. With that taken care of, Xeal turned in for the night, enjoying some much-needed rest. When he awoke in the morning, he received a confirmation from the ladies that they would see him for lunch. Xeal spent his morning catching up on guild business. FAE was now level 30 and had every one of its 96,935 member slots filled, with a waiting list that just kept growing. If things kept going this way it wouldn’t be hard for his guild to break one million members by day 900. Still, that was a long way off and Xeal knew FAE had several storms to weather between now and then. Once he had finished going over the current situation FAE was in, Xeal made his way to the nearest training center. These businesses made money by offering adventurers like himself a place to have practice matches, or work on their skills in private. Xeal spent a gold to make use of a premium room that would restore his SP and MP continuously, allowing him to practice his skills nonstop. Once he had entered the private room, Xeal pulled one of the mirror shards out and activated it. Smoke began to bellow out of the shard, coalescing into a humanoid figure that looked like a sickly gray Xeal. He could tell right off the bat that this shadow warrior was far weaker than the one he defeated in his quest. As the clash started, Xeal found that where the original executed all his skills with extreme precision, this shadow warrior was only around the 90% mark. This would still allow most of his members a great opportunity to exchange guild coins for training time, but for Xeal it was underwhelming. So Xeal went ahead and activated a second shard making it a two-on-one experience, which was pushing him harder than the original shadow warrior did. Xeal continued to train like this for a few hours until it was time to return to his mansion for his lunch with the ladies.

Enye and Dyllis arrived accompanied by around 8 royal guards who started to patrol the gardens. Xeal led both ladies to his private balcony that over looked the gardens where a table for three had been set. Midnight followed Maxwell out when he brought the miniature sandwiches and tea that had been prepared for today’s lunch. Xeal quickly took one of the meat-filled sandwiches and fed it to Midnight, an act that each of the girls mimicked. Midnight began to purr as if it was a real cat as it happily ate all three sandwiches before trotting off. Both girls giggled at this display before returning their attention to their own lunch.

“So Xeal, I take it this isn’t you simply wishing to spend some time with us,” stated Enye. “What is it that has you reaching out to us today?”

“Ah, so your brother hasn’t told you. Well, I have finished the quest he wanted me to complete before the banquet. So between now and then, I am to spend time each day with you two ensuring that I am prepared for what is expected of me. In particular I need to spend time dancing with you Dyllis as we will be expected to dance several times as our courtship becomes public.”

“Yay, this is so exciting. Father will be so happy to hear this. I can’t wait to show you off to the whole court,” gushed Dyllis.

“You’re going to make me jealous as I’m forced to watch from the sidelines until you can court me openly as well.”

“On that note, won’t Dyllis and I officially courting be an issue when that time comes, from the court’s perspective?”

“Not really, so long as you have not married or sullied her maidenhood. Especially once we make it known that the deadly quests you have been undertaking have been in pursuit of my hand. That will quiet most of the naysayers. Of course the Mercers will still be up in arms about it I’m sure. You may find yourself in their crosshairs even more then you are now.”

“So, what, I’m going to have to dodge assassins left and right?”

“No, not until they become truly desperate. No, they will simply try and create a scandal about you, then use said scandal to disqualify you from marrying me. This is why it is imperative that Aalin and Gale are baronesses in their own right as soon as possible and are officially courting you as well.”

“Really, court politics are so vicious,” said Dyllis. “To them we ladies are nothing more than uteruses that can grow their houses.”

Xeal could only wear a wry smile at Enye’s observation and Dyllis’s comment. He knew that of ED’s roughly 100 countries, around 60 of them were male dominated monarchies. In most of these, women could hold power, but only as a regent while the male heir of the house grew to a suitable age. Of the approximately 40 other countries, only around a dozen gave royal women the same status as royal men. Then there were a couple that were a complete inverse in roles, where the matriarchy was in charge. Xeal knew that players would shift the balance over the coming years and most countries that survived the massive wars would have to adapt. Nium however had not been one of those to do so. It had been able to remain isolated once it gained control of its continent. This had led to players who were sick of the constant wars to dominate the other continents to migrate here in massive numbers. That had also been when Abysses End had set its sights on Nium. At first, they had tried to simply intimidate the local guilds into surrendering territory to them. When that didn’t work, they started to absorb small guilds by turning them into training guilds for them. Many players in those guilds would flee, only for other players who wanted to try and become official members of Abysses End to flood in. This process continued for 36 years in ED as Abysses End slowly gained ground until they controlled a quarter of the continent. Only the massive alliance that Xeal’s guild Twilight Sky had been a major part of stood against them. Frozen Sky had pulled together about 15% of Nium’s tier 7 and up players in to his guild. This made Twilight Sky the main force in rebuffing Abysses End. It was then that the contracts were signed to ensure that none of the top players could leave and had to abide by all guild votes unless they started over at level 0. Xeal had thought like many others that this was to keep Abysses End from slowly paying off our members. No, it was Frozen Sky ensuring that when he joined Abysses End they would have full control of the continent. From what Xeal knew about Abysses End, it wouldn’t have been long before they replaced the kingdom’s monarchy with their patriarchy. Xeal couldn’t help but wonder what Enye’s and Dyllis’s fates had been in his old time-line. Both ladies would have been in their late seventies at that point.

“Dyllis, Enye, know that my women are much more than that to me.”

“We know, silly,” smiled Dyllis. “It’s why both of us are excited to court you and much more.”

“It’s also why we must make sure that the court can’t separate us, and why I can’t fault other noble ladies for trying to latch onto you as we have,” added Enye.

“I’m fine with ensuring that the court can’t separate us and that you are both excited to court me, but please don’t expect me to marry every lady who wants her freedom. I am perfectly content with the two of you, Aalin and Gale being my only wives.”

“We all know that is not practical,” said Enye. “I would expect at least two more houses to successfully make a move on you. However, as my future husband, I expect you to turn it to our advantage when the time comes.”

“Either way, it is a problem for tomorrow. Right now we need to focus on being ready for the banquet,” responded Xeal.

The three of them spent the next several hours going over various etiquette that would be expected of Xeal. Both ladies had been happily surprised at how much Xeal already knew about both of the etiquette and dancing. What they didn’t know is he had long since learned the kingdom of Nium’s etiquette standards for most situations due to being a viscount in his last life. Still, he had never caught the eye of major nobles or attended many events, so there were several nuances that he still had to learn. Especially with how announcing a courtship was handled. The ladies also wanted to refine his dancing technique to better meet the standards of the day. While the core was the same, Xeal’s style was modeled after the trends 50 plus years in the future for these ladies. When both ladies left in the late afternoon, they were pleased with Xeal’s abilities and had little worry about him being ready for the banquet. Both were also looking forward to spending time with him for the seven days. Of course, Gale and Aalin would be joining them a few of those times as they could use the practice as well, and both ladies enjoyed spending time with them.

Morning September 26 to Evening September 28, 2266, and ED year 1, days 215-221.

Xeal’s time in ED had been spent split between handling guild business, rehearsals for the banquet, and training. He was still only able to handle two of his shadow warrior clones at a time, but he was seeing great improvements to his abilities. He wondered if he had had this opportunity in his last life how it would have changed things for him. As much as he was gaining from his multiple training sessions a day, his guild leadership was gaining far more. Xeal had shared the mirror shards with them after they each signed a contract that stated the shard belonged to FAE. This made them non-tradeable and must be returned to the guild should they leave the guild. That wouldn’t stop a thief from stealing the shards given an opportunity, but it was better than nothing. Xeal had set 96 shards aside for guild leadership use while the other 4,000 were going to be available for rent using guild coins once his guild built a battle arena, which thanks to the prince approving his guild building a town between the two forts on the condition that FAE fronts all the cost, would be soon. The true prize was the army garrison teleportation network access, as unlike the normal methods, no level requirements existed. This was allowing level 20 players access to the whole kingdom so long as they used the Habia border fort as a waypoint. This single perk had let FAE evenly distribute its members across all five starting areas. At first this had caused the other guilds to demand that Xeal share his secret, which he did as he knew few guilds could gain access to it as he had. No, even the ones that would be able to would need another 180 days in ED before it was plausible. Besides, it would require them to publicly be aligned with the kingdom of Nium, which would make them an allied guild by default, as the prince would not tolerate major friction between them. By the end of day 221, both Princess Enye and Lady Dyllis were completely pleased with Xeal’s understanding of the court etiquette required for the banquet. Aalin and Gale had been speechless at how natural Xeal was able to handle all the little nuances that were still causing them issues. Both girls were also miffed that they were not allowed to be in attendance at the banquet due to court politics. Xeal had been able to calm them down by promising them that the situation would be reversed for the parties that would be held when the representatives from the other guilds arrived. Xeal spent his last night before the banquet on his balcony marveling at the massive money sink that was his guild’s headquarters. Of the over 10,000,000 gold Xeal had brought in from his map sales, 99% of it was being used to fund it and the town his guild was building. Xeal knew both would easily pay for themselves over time, but he also knew that could take five years or more in reality, or 15 years in ED.

Alex passed his days in reality by splitting his time between Sam and Nicole as evenly and fairly as was practical. He had to admit keeping up with both of them was challenging as both seemed to be fully embracing the increased access they now had of him. The morning runs were mostly uneventful except for Jessica making a point to say good morning to Alex each day. She explained that her therapist had encouraged her to build a friendly relationship with Alex, Sam and Nicole without any romantic expectations. Alex had been relieved to hear this, though he could tell that Jessica was having trouble ignoring her feelings toward him completely. Sam and Nicole were also happy to see her trying though they didn’t know what to expect. They all could see the conflict warring within her as she fought to both follow her therapist instructions and still get Alex to look at her as a woman. She still wanted to join Sam and Nicole in Alex’s arms, but she had also accepted that she needed to solve her own issues first. Still, she was encouraged by everyone supporting her in trying to set her life straight. Jessica didn’t know how to deal with so many people caring about her as she had always been guarded before. Even with Anna and Lauren she had always held back a part of herself, but now she felt a new path opening up for her. For the first time in her life she felt like she had a real family who would be there for her as she struggled to find her way. On the night before Alex would be attending the nobles banquet in ED, he decided to treat Sam and Nicole in reality. He cooked them a beef stir-fry made with a mix of fresh vegetables over white rice. Both ladies enjoyed the dinner as they both praised Alex’s cooking skills. After dinner the three of them just took time to enjoy relaxing together as they watched an episode of a web series together

ED year 1, days 222-223.

Xeal opened his eyes as he returned to ED at noon on the day of the banquet and started to get ready. He had to be dressed and ready in the next few hours as this was set up to be a prolonged affair that would start around 3:00 in the afternoon to midnight. It wouldn’t be until around 5:00 that most of the guests would be in attendance and many would leave before 9:00. However, as the prince’s guest of honor, Xeal needed to be on hand from 2:00 until the last guest left, unless given leave by the prince. After Xeal enjoyed a light lunch, he made his way to the palace where Prince Victor was in the middle of the last minute preparations. The venue for the banquet was a massive ballroom that could easily fit over 2,000 guests between the floor and the attached gardens. It was Xeal’s first time seeing this room as the few events he had taken part of in his last life hadn’t been held in the palace proper, but in a mansion like his own. The scale of the venue made Xeal sweat at just how many nobles he would interact with tonight. After voicing his concerns, Prince Victor laughed, assuring him that while there would be around 1,200 guests tonight, most would only be observing for now. Prince Victor expected only around one or two hundred guests to actively seek out conversations with Xeal. That number was still daunting to Xeal, as 200 nobles wanting his attention over the course of nine hours made him think it wouldn’t end well, as he would need to get through over 22 an hour, and wouldn’t even be able to give each of them three minutes. Plus, the need to dance with Dyllis and many other of the young noble ladies would take up most of his time. Prince Victor noticed Xeal’s trepidation and smiled before telling him to relax and that he would ensure he was not overrun. Around 2:30 Lady Dyllis arrived, dressed absolutely beautifully. She had her blond hair up in an neat but elegant bun. She was wearing a beautiful baby blue ball gown with diamond jewelry adorning her. She looked like a princess to Xeal and the pair of maids following behind her just added to the ambiance. It took Xeal a minute to pick his jaw off the floor as he took in the stunning beauty that was his escort for the night.

“Sir Xeal, it’s not nice to stare.”

“My apologies, my lady. You just look so stunning that I couldn’t help myself.”

“Sir Xeal, I do hope you don’t mind. I feel like communicating just how serious I am about our courtship to all those who attend tonight.”

“I do not mind in the least, my lady. If anything, I couldn’t be happier. To mark this occasion, I have also brought a gift I hope you can wear.”

Xeal pulled out a beautiful pair of dark blue sapphire earrings and a matching necklace. The set was absolutely exquisite and would pair perfectly with her dress. The earrings were studs with a sapphire the size of a pencil’s eraser, surrounded by white gold. The necklace was a white gold chain from which hung a sapphire the size of a marble that had been carved into a rose, with the outer ring of petals done in white gold. Dyllis’s eyes sparkled as she took in the details of the gift. It wasn’t long before she had changed out her diamond jewelry for the sapphires. The smile she wore as she modeled them for Xeal was wonderful.

“These are absolutely gorgeous. I must say you have exceeded my expectations for a courting gift,” cooed Dyllis.

“It is nothing compared to the joy that having you at my side tonight will bring me.”

“Xeal, I thought you were trying to avoid picking up any more courters tonight?” asked Victor.

“Pardon me my prince but, what are you speaking of?” a perplexed Dyllis asked.

“Nothing, it’s just that all the ladies of the court will be drooling over him once they learn how he treats you, Lady Dyllis.”

“Oh, well they can drool all they want,” smirked Dyllis. “Earning a place by his side, now that is another story all together. Besides, I have already accepted that Sir Xeal will have many ladies of the court after his affection. It just makes the fact that I already have it all the sweeter.”

“Prince Victor, relax,” responded Xeal. “I am sure you are correct and I will admit I intend to make use of the attention for my own plans. Still, any lady who I court deserves my best, especially as they will have to deal with sharing me. Besides, making my ladies happy is my first priority and it’s something I take great joy in.”

“Regardless, it is time for the guests to start arriving. The pair of you need to make your way to the greeting area.”

With that, a giddy Dyllis and a smiling Xeal made their way to the area just outside the ballroom to start welcoming guests. Over the next two hours they welcomed over 500 groups, ranging from individuals attending by themselves, to a group of ten that looked like a noble family with eight children ranging from 12 to 28, six of which were ladies. By the end of the greetings, Xeal had seen over 200 ladies who seemed to be evaluating him thoroughly. Their reactions to Dyllis had ranged from curiosity to trepidation, from what Xeal could pick up. The one thing Xeal was sure of was that each had noticed the beautiful sapphire rose hanging from her neck. Had it not been for the fact that etiquette dictated that the guests only linger in the greeting area for a few seconds in order to keep the queue moving, Xeal was sure many questions would have been asked. Still, after saying “on behalf of Prince Victor, Lady Dyllis and I welcome you to tonight’s banquet” 500 times in two hours, Xeal felt like he was done talking. He hadn’t had time to even remember a quarter of the families’ names outside of the ones he was already familiar with. This made his overall ability to place a face to a family name at around 40%. Luckily, it was not considered rude for a new noble to not remember each noble’s name and title when they first met. It wasn’t until you had had a conversation lasting longer than a minute and forgot their name or title that it was considered rude.

As Xeal led Dyllis into the ballroom filled with all 1,200 guests, he found himself the center of much attention. By now most of the nobles had time to discuss with their factions various things, with Xeal and Dyllis being one of those things. The pair made their way over to Viscount Weawen’s group that consisted of his son Dilwyn, Baron Ulric and a few other nobles Xeal knew were in the prince’s faction. Once there they all congratulated Xeal and Dyllis on their courtship, with Dyllis’s mother gushing about the jewelry Xeal had given Dyllis. The group chatted for a few minutes before a hush descended on the room and a crier announced the arrival of King Vincent Vidfamne and Queen Eleanor. The whole room including Xeal knelt or curtsied as the King and Queen made their way to their thrones set up in the back of the room. It wasn’t until the King sat upon his throne that he waved his hand and commanded the room to rise. As Xeal did so he got his first good look at the man who currently held the kingdom in his hands. Xeal hadn’t been entirely sure what to expect, but whatever it was it wasn’t this. The king looked like a strong wind would blow him over and lacked much of the presence Prince Victor and Princess Enye radiated. Still, Xeal could tell that the king held firm to his position even as his hair had just a few traces of black left in the sea of white it had become. Before Xeal could finish his assessment, King Vincent spoke with a firm and confident voice.

“I thank you all for attending tonight’s banquet that my son and heir put together. Now, if I am not mistaken, this event is to get a better look at a man who my son hopes to help us develop closer ties with the sudden rush of adventurers who hail from lands unknown, in our lands. As you all surely know, our nation is not alone in this and an era of great change has come to our world. Sir Xeal has demonstrated that cooperative relationships are possible and has helped shed light on many aspects of this situation. He has also quelled a minor insurrection of these adventurers in our land before it could spread. Additionally, he single-handily defeated the shadow warrior that plagued the Habia border fort, handing both forts over to our kingdom. Sir Xeal step forward!”

Xeal wasted no time in approaching the king before kneeling once he was in the middle of the open area that had been created by the crowd to give the king a reasonable amount of space.

“It is in recognition of your feats and dedication to our kingdoms prosperity that I hereby grant you the rank of hereditary Baron.”

“I pledge that my house shall always serve the interest of the kingdom and the royal line. I pledge that my sword will always stand ready to defend the kingdom from all threats internal or external.”

“I accept your pledge. May the Bluefire house dutifully serve the kingdom for generations to come. With that charge I pledge to you that your house will be treated fairly and justly so long as my line reigns. Now rise, Sir Xeal, and let the banquet begin.”

The moment the king finished speaking and Xeal rose, light clapping could be heard throughout the ballroom. After around ten seconds the clapping ended and servants entered laden with food trays. In about a minute the tables were filled with food and nobles were making their way to their seats at the long tables. Before Xeal could make his way back to Dyllis, he was stopped by a group of four. At the front was a middle-aged man wearing fine clothing with green and orange accents. Like the rest of the group the man had black hair and blue eyes. Next to him was a middle-aged woman, a man who couldn’t be over 21 and a lady who was slightly younger. This was Marquess Mercer and his family, at least those in attendance. Calming himself and preparing for some form of power move, Xeal greeted them.

“Marquess Mercer, to what do I owe the honor of your attention?”

“Sir Xeal, or should I call you Baron Bluefire now, I simply wish to congratulate you on your promotion and the rumored courtship between you and lady Dyllis Weawen. Still, I must say, it is quite the feat to not only become a baron at such a young age, but a hereditary one at that. The king must expect great things from you.”

“Marquess Mercer, either is fine. Thank you for honoring me with your words, and it is no rumor Lady Dyllis and I are courting officially as of tonight. As for what is expected of me, I can only say that I intend for my guild FAE to become a major pillar of support for the kingdom.”

“I must say Sir Xeal, you certainly are full of surprises. As you may know, my city has yet to see any of the new adventurers. I understand why that is but still, when would you say we should expect them to start arriving?”

“Marquess Mercer, I cannot give you an accurate estimation of when any given city will attract adventurers. There are many factors at play. That being said, if you wish to accelerate the process, issuing a quest to do so would be the best way.”

“I see.”

“Father, perhaps we should allow sir Xeal to enjoy the banquet and leave business for another day,” suggested Hugo.

“True, son. Now before I let you go Sir Xeal, I would like to introduce you to my daughter Vanessa.”

“How do you do, sir Xeal.”

Vanessa stood confidently as she assessed Xeal while he did the same to her. She had long and straight black hair that was pulled back by an ornate hair band that could almost be seen as a tiara. Like the rest of her family, she was finely dressed in a green ball gown with orange accents. Her ice blue eyes spoke of her upbringing and Xeal could feel a cold resignation when he looked into them. He wasn’t sure yet, but he felt that Vanessa was another noble lady whose house was simply a gilded cage for her. One which she was expected to leave only to enter into another one when she married. Xeal wondered if she was resigned to her fate and had accepted that her life would be decided based on her house’s decisions. Perhaps she was even content to live out her life in that manner. Still, one thing was for sure, she would not show her true self standing next to her father. Xeal bowed slightly as he greeted her.

“Lady Vanessa, it is wonderful to meet you and may I say, you look absolutely wonderful. I do hope to share a dance with you tonight. However, I am unsure at just how filled my dance card is.”

“Sir Xeal, you mustn’t worry, I have made sure she is,” reassured Marquess Mercer. “Though I must say you are quite popular. All sixty of tonight’s dances have been filled. I do hope you have the stamina to make it through them all.”

“Father, I am sure Sir Xeal will be just fine,” added Hugo. “Besides, even if he has to sit out a few dances, I’m sure it will be fine.”

“Lady Vanessa, I look forward to seeing you on the dance floor later, but for now I must return to lady Dyllis’s side.”

“Thank you, Sir Xeal. I to look forward to dancing with you tonight.”

Xeal thought he caught a momentary smile from the stoic Vanessa, but it vanished as quick as it came. He bid Marquess Mercer and his family farewell and returned to lady Dyllis and Viscount Weawen. As they ate dinner, several more groups of nobles made their way over to greet Xeal and introduce themselves, or their daughters. Many expressed either disappointment or excitement at either making the cut for his dance card, or missing out. Xeal could only smile and console those who had failed to secure a dance with him. Dyllis consoled more than a few of these girls and Xeal could tell that she held friendships with several of them as well. By the time the first dance was about to start, over 30 ladies had approached him and Dyllis about his dance card. As the dancing was announced, Xeal led Dyllis to the center of the dance floor, taking her in his arms. As the music started, he let the world fall away as he gave her his complete attention, only paying enough attention to ensure he avoided other couples on the dance floor.

“I must say this is the first moment so far I feel like it is just us tonight.”

“I know and it will only last for a few minutes before you will be taken away by other ladies,” sighed Dyllis.

“It really is a shame. I would love to simply dance the night away with you.”

“Oh, darling, that does sound nice. Unfortunately, duty calls. But worry not, several of my father’s friends who wish to congratulate me on our courtship will ensure I am not simply forgotten.”

“Still, you are my date and I feel as if I am abandoning you when I should focus on only you.”

“And that is why I adore you. You can’t treat a lady poorly and it is really quite wonderful and I know you will make me feel special later.”

“That I will. Now however, let’s simply enjoy one of our few dances we will get tonight.”

Xeal and Dyllis enjoyed their opening dance with smiles on their faces. As the dance came to an end, Xeal turned to find out who his next dance was with, only to find Princess Enye standing dressed in a beautiful purple ball gown with emerald earrings with golden accents and an emerald pendant hung on a golden necklace. She wore a beautiful smile as she looked at Xeal with a mischievous look. The ballroom was silent as everyone took note of her arrival. Xeal himself was surprised to see her as she had seemed to be absent earlier. He didn’t let his surprise affect him for long as he gave her a deep bow.

“Princess Enye, it is wonderful to see you and may I say, you look radiant.”

“Why thank you, Sir Xeal. I do hope you are treating my friend as she should be.”

“Of course. I wouldn’t dream of doing otherwise.”

“Very good. Now allow me to give you the honor of a dance with me.”

“Thank you for the honor, princess.”

Xeal and Enye danced in silence as neither dared to let out just how close their relationship really was. Xeal could tell that she was using the fact that Dyllis was her lady in waiting as an excuse to inspect her courter while making others uneasy about how aggressive they would be with Xeal. He just wished she had given him some warning as he felt it was a high-risk maneuver. He had thought she decided to stay away to avoid having to deal with Hugo Mercer making a play at her. Now, not only would Hugo surely make a move on Enye, but he might target Xeal as well. As if to prove the point, a clearly annoyed Hugo was waiting to ask Enye for a dance the moment the dance ended. Xeal could tell Hugo was doing his best to control himself as he approached Enye and asked her for the next dance. Xeal knew all he could do was watch as Enye accepted his invitation without showing the reluctance he knew she had. She had come prepared to deal with his advances. Xeal just hoped that others would rescue her from him soon as he knew he would be occupied for the rest of the night. Xeal’s next dance was with lady Johanna Smythe, who was a daughter of an Earl’s branch house. Her father was a non-hereditary baron who managed part of his Earl’s brother’s lands. Johanna had blond hair and brown eyes and wore a modest light pink ball gown. As the dance started, Xeal could tell she was nervous to follow after the princess as a dance partner.

“Relax, Lady Johanna. I promise I don’t bite.”

“Oh, um I’m sorry. It’s just that I wasn’t expecting to have to follow the princess. Surely I can’t compare with her.”

“It is not about comparing one with another but simply enjoying the moment.”

Xeal caught a quick smile on Lady Johanna’s face as she visibly relaxed and let herself enjoy the moment.

“Good, now isn’t this much better?”

“Yes, it is. You really are something. So, Sir Xeal, how was it to dance with Princess Enye?”

“Honestly it was nice, but I feel it may cause me more trouble than good.”

“Oh, yes, I can see how it might, especially with how Sir Mercer and his father looked when she took your hand. I dare say they will have a close eye on you now.”

“Closer. If you haven’t guessed it yet, I have most of the court’s attention due to the situation the world finds itself in. Add in that I stand out when compared to the rest of the adventurers in this kingdom and you will find many houses interested to see if I can bring benefits to them. I am already aware that my dance card is full of ladies for these houses, such as yourself.”

“Ah, so you were expecting to have several ladies attempt to build a relationship with you tonight. Was that why your courtship with lady Dyllis was announced tonight?”

“Precisely. I do apologize to you if it has put you in an awkward situation.”

“Not at all. It is actually kind of nice to have a reason to accept not convincing you to court me. Being a daughter of a branch house, I don’t have the standing needed to compete with a viscount’s daughter. Still, it is a shame. You seem so enjoyable to be around and as a noble lady I will have to accept my house’s decisions on who I marry. Who knows if they will be kind or cruel to me?”

Xeal could only sigh at Lady Johanna’s plight that he knew was all too common in most of the kingdoms of Eternal Dominion. He wasn’t in a position to fix any of it without marrying every eligible noble lady out there. Which was no solution at all as it would just cause more issues than were imaginable. Still, Xeal hoped that once the prince was on the throne and the continent was united something to improve their lot could be done.

“It is unfortunate. However, I am but one man and am limited as to how many ladies I can handle. For now, I simply wish to enjoy my courtship with Lady Dyllis.”

It was then that a commotion occurred and Xeal caught Princess Enye walking away from the dance floor leaving an irate Sir Hugo behind. The whole of the ballroom seemed to make room subconsciously for them. Xeal noticed the troubled looks on the king’s and queen’s faces as they watched the scene unfold. Xeal couldn’t find Prince Victor in the crowd, but he did catch Dyllis’s eyes and gave her a nod that she should go see to Enye. Xeal also felt bad that his dance with Lady Johanna was cut short by a considerable amount.

“It seems that fate did not wish for our dance to continue. I thank you for the pleasant conversation and wish you and Lady Dyllis the best as you court one another.”

“It seems you are correct. Still, I would feel bad to part with you in such a way Lady Johanna. So how about you join Lady Dyllis and I tomorrow morning for tea at my home.”

“Really!? Perhaps I should be grateful that our dance was cut short. I will see you tomorrow then.”

With that Xeal bid Lady Johanna farewell as his next dance partner stepped forward. Over the next hour and a half Xeal danced with 18 noble ladies from different branch houses of marquess’s and below, with a few daughters of knights and barons mixed in. Each of them were nice and he could tell that each of them had been prepared to attempt to start a courtship with him before the reveal of him courting Dyllis and Enye dancing with him. Still, he was kind to each of them as he enjoyed conversations with each of them while they danced. Dyllis had been absent for a good hour before she had reappeared, looking troubled. She gave Xeal a weak smile before she joined her father and his group. Xeal had only caught a few glimpses of Prince Victor as he moved from group to group, dancing with several noble women. It was Xeal’s 22nd dance when Lady Vanessa finally had her turn with him. Xeal greeted her with a slight bow as she curtsied.

“Lady Vanessa, it is nice to see you again.”

“It is nice to see you as well Sir Xeal. I look forward to our dance.”

Xeal watched the calculating smile that Vanessa wore as they took position for their dance. Once he held her, she locked eyes with him as if she was daring him to look away. When he matched her gaze and smiled back, her own smile grew as the dance started.

“I must say, you don’t disappoint. I can see why the prince and other nobles are trying to lay claim to you now. It is only a matter of time before you grow into something they couldn’t dream of controlling, isn’t it?”

“My lady, I don’t know what you are speaking of. There is no need to control me as my actions will always take the kingdom’s prosperity into account.”

“Of course it will, but that says nothing as to the prosperity of the noble houses. No, you would remove even the prince and king if it suited the kingdom’s prosperity, I dare say.”

“That is quite the serious accusation. We haven’t even had a simple conversation yet and you already see me as a revolutionary.”

“No we haven’t, yet you are already known to every noble in the kingdom on some level. Each of them is watching you closely. You have the crown prince’s ear, Princess Enye’s affection, and a rapidly expanding personal army. You expertly avoided almost all of the courtship attempts planned for tonight by announcing one of your choosing beforehand. Add to that the fact that your kind can rise from the grave and you have the recipe for you to pull off things others would find crazy.”

“If that is how you see me, then you are mistaken. No, what I see in myself is a man who would like nothing more than to accomplish his goal before fading into the background. While you are right that great changes are coming and I plan to play a major role in them, you are wrong to think that I am the cause, or even the instigator. No, the billions of adventurers who have arrived and yet to arrive are the cause. We as a whole create a destabilizing force as this world tries to adjust to our presence. Many countries will disappear in the coming years, let alone a few noble houses. My ambitions align with ensuring Nium is among those that thrive when the time comes.”

“See, you are a revolutionary. Tell me you wouldn’t seat yourself on the throne if you felt it necessary.”

“It would be a dark day if I felt the need to do so. I could want nothing less than that. I am an adventurer first, noble second. I have no desire for lands of my own beyond a nice area to rest. My place is out on the frontier of civilization and deep into the wild lands, not sitting on a throne.”

Xeal could see Vanessa falter for the first time with his answer before recovering a second later. Only now there was a mix of sadness and hope that replaced the resignation and resolve in her eyes.

“I must say you’re something else, it really is a shame-”

“What, that your family plans to bring me under their control by using you. Lady Vanessa, if you think my desire to be free has blinded me to the ambitions of others, you are mistaken. I am well aware that I must play the game, as such there are things I can’t avoid, no matter how much I wish to. I know that I will have to court you, but tonight will not be the night it starts.”

“You expect my house to be satisfied with that answer?”

“No, but I expect them to understand and accept it so long as I invite you to tea with myself and Lady Dyllis regularly.”

“What, are you afraid to be alone with me?”

“Nothing could scare me more than exactly that. No, I will not allow myself to be alone with any noble lady.”

“My, my, you are certainly going to do your best to survive this game with your freedom intact.”

“If I play it right, I might just grant freedom to a few others along the way.”

“Lady Dyllis is certainly lucky to have you so long as she can hold on and you can stay free.”

“Who knows what the future holds. Anyhow Lady Vanessa, I hope you will join us for tea tomorrow morning at my manor.”

It was then that the dance came to an end and Xeal bowed as Lady Vanessa curtsied before leaving without giving Xeal an answer, other than a smile. Xeal exhaled as she left. She had been more intense than he had expected. Still, he thought his discreet offer had made its way through, but only time would tell if she could break from her house. For the remainder of the banquet Xeal danced with one noble lady after another until finally the 60th and last dance of the night came. Like his first, this one was reserved for Dyllis. After dancing with so many women, very few stood out to Xeal and he was only sure he would see a few of them again. Dyllis looked as tired as Xeal mentally felt when he took her hand and held her for their dance to close the night. As they danced, they just enjoyed that they had made it through the night and could relax soon. As the dance came to an end, Xeal bowed and kissed Dyllis’s hand before escorting her to her father. Once he had bid farewell to several nobles who were with Viscount Weawen and the prince, he retired to his bed to sleep before tea the next morning.

Xeal awoke the following morning with 30 minutes to spare before Dyllis would arrive for breakfast before tea. Stretching, he took his time to do his regular status updates on the guild’s situation and look over what he needed to accomplish in the coming days. Once he was done with that, he made his way to his dining room where Midnight was already waiting, and a few minutes later Dyllis joined them, followed by Maxwell. Xeal stood up and held out the chair next to him for Dyllis to sit and join him.

“So, who do we have joining us for tea today other than Lady Vanessa?”

“Only Lady Johanna Smythe.”

“Hmm, I can’t say I am familiar with her. What made you invite her?”

“She was my dance partner when Enye walked out on Hugo. She is a daughter of Earl Smythe’s branch house and I believe she is his niece.”

“I see. That was nice of you and I’m sure she will appreciate it, but did none of the other ladies catch your eye?”

“Honestly, I doubt I could remember their names with how short the time I was able to spend with them was. Add to it that between you and Enye, most felt over their head when dealing with me and it was like I had the same conversation over 50 times. Still, I think the nail in the coffin was when Lady Vanessa danced with me as it showed the Mercer house was going all in as well. I just fear the next event where I will be expected to dance as all the houses with an eligible daughter in the main house are presented to me.”

“Oh Xeal, you are being slightly naïve. Many of the ladies you danced with may soon be adopted into the main houses if no suitable lady for you exists. Until you’re courting Enye, no house above baron will give up. It’s why I am willing to entertain the idea of you courting Lady Vanessa as it will limit or make all but the most ambitious earls back down, leaving only ladies from the remaining seven marquess houses as possible suiters that you can’t dismiss easily.”

“So, what exactly happened with Enye last night?”

“Hugo decided to take a bit more liberty than she would allow and she left. Honestly if it had been any other house, he would likely be dead right now.”

“That bad?”

“Worse, he treats her like they are already promised to one another and he owns her. I think seeing you dance with her set him off and made him act out more than usual.”

“I think I will need to accelerate my time table to reach earl to something faster than the prince would like.”

“What do you mean? You only need to reach viscount to court Enye according to the prince.”

“Yah, but until I am an earl, I can’t supplant the Mercer house and remove Hugo from the equation.”

“I thought that plan was meant to take years.”

“I don’t know if the Mercer house will give me years. I can’t afford to have an eighth of the kingdom hostile to my guild. Not to mention the chance for rebellion if Hugo takes over as marquess.”

“Surely the Mercer house wouldn’t be so foolish. Besides, the army wouldn’t support them.”

“They won’t need the kingdom’s army, they can simply make a deal with several adventurers guilds like my own. The next thing you know, key point after key point would be assaulted before the king even knows to react. The Mercer house has its eye on the throne if the conversation I had with Lady Vanessa is anything to go by.”

“Wouldn’t this lead to countries distrusting adventurers? Why would a guild choose to do something like this when they would be easily be captured by the guards after?”

“It wouldn’t be until level 200 adventurers were common and at that point most would be confident of winning. Countries already have a certain level of distrust of us. Most are already creating counter measures for just such events. My guild’s partnership with the kingdom is one such measure that the prince is putting in place. For the Mercer house, if they can simply get me to flip and support their coup, they will have nothing to stop them when the time comes.”

“How are you so sure that is the Mercer’s house’s goal?”

“I just am. I have no solid evidence but, it just makes sense with everything.”

In truth Xeal knew that they wouldn’t be the only noble family to try and use the chaos caused by the rising strength of adventurers to stage a coup. The Mercer family had just been stopped in the early phases of it in Xeal’s last life. He also knew that the countries in ED that had such coups occur successfully usually fell shortly afterwards. Many times it was to neighboring countries. Other times internal conflict shattered the nation into many small ones that eventually were absorbed by each other or another country. Either way, it never ended well for any involved and Xeal had to make sure Nium didn’t have to go through that. After Dyllis and Xeal finished breakfast, they made their way to the gardens where a table for four was being set for tea. After looking over the preparations for tea that were due to start shortly, the pair took a short walk in the gardens with Maxwell following behind the entire time. After which, a servant informed Xeal the Ladies Vanessa and Johanna had arrived. As Xeal approached, he noticed that Vanessa looked a bit put off to by the presence of Johanna and Johanna looked like she was in over her head. Bowing slightly, Xeal greeted the ladies as they curtsied in return.

“Good morning, ladies. I must say, you both look lovely today.”

“You are too kind, Sir Xeal,” greeted Vanessa.

“Yes, it is very nice to be here,” added Johanna.

“Ladies, please let us all be seated,” invited Dyllis. "I’m sure some tea would do us all some good.”

“Yes, let’s, but before we sit, please understand that at my table I prefer for rank to disappear as much as possible,” informed Xeal.

“How very odd,” commented Vanessa. “Well, as your guest I suppose I can accommodate such a custom.”

“Oh, how wonderful,” clapped Johanna. “I dare say that that is a relief myself.”

With that the four of them took their seats as Maxwell prepared the tea. Xeal sat with Dyllis on his right and Vanessa to his left and Johanna directly across from him.

“I must say it is surprising to see you, Johanna,” remarked Vanessa. “I would have thought a branch house’s daughter would have backed off last night.”

“Oh, you are quite right. In fact, I have your brother to thank as if he hadn’t caused that scene and interrupted my dance with Xeal I wouldn’t be here right now.”

“I think you mean to thank Princess Enye,” Vanessa said snidely. “However, I see Xeal just felt bad for your dance being cut short. I’m surprised you had the gall to follow through and actually accept his invitation.”

“Vanessa, the same could be said about you,” Johanna defended herself. “After all, it is well known that your house is at odds with the prince and Xeal is a member of the prince’s faction.”

“I must say, the whole disregarding rank is quite refreshing,” sneered Vanessa. “Normally one such as yourself wouldn’t dare to voice your true thoughts to me. Now Johanna, I know your house and mine are at odds due to politics but it is nice to see such a nice backbone in a fellow woman. I do hope your future husband allows you to keep it.”

“That is enough you two,” ordered Xeal. “I get it, house politics have made you enemies. For now let us simply act as if houses and factions didn’t exist. We are simply four humans enjoying some tea as we talk about everything and nothing all at the same time. Now Johanna, how was the rest of your night?”

“It was lovely. My uncle was so happy when I told him I was invited to tea. Oh, before I forget, he also asked me to invite you to visit Autumndale when you have a chance.”

(Do you wish to accept the quest, “Visit Earl Smythe in Autumndale.” Rewards unknown. Warning, failing the quest will have negative repercussions on your account. Yes or No)

Xeal quickly accepted the quest.

“Hmm, tell him I will put it on my list of things to do.”

“Thank you very much. Here, take this letter to get in to his court when you arrive.”

Xeal tucked the letter away into his inventory and turned to Vanessa.

“Now, how about you Vanessa. How was your night?”

“It was a night. I simply enjoyed my time at the banquet and slept in preparation to be here.”

“Vanessa, you didn’t do anything of note other than dancing with Xeal?” Dyllis asked incredulously.

“No, after our dance my purpose for the night had been accomplished. Xeal has accepted the inevitable, and while he refuses to acknowledge it publicly to preserve your moment, he knows it will happen.”

“Oh, and just what is that?”

“His courtship with me and eventual forced marriage once my house’s patience runs out.”

“Oh, Vanessa, while I will admit that Xeal can’t avoid courting you, he will in no way be forced into marrying you.”

“Oh, and just how is he going to avoid it when my father puts pressure on him and the court over the issue? Don’t be mistaken, it has nothing to do with my own wants, it is simply the will of my house.”

“Vanessa, you underestimate the prince’s will and unless I am very much mistaken, he will not allow the pressure to affect things.”

“Dyllis, Vanessa is right. Both the prince and I will only be able to delay things so long. Depending on how aggressive of a hand they play, I could be forced to marry Vanessa in the next six months.”

“My word… um should I be here for this?” gulped Johanna.

“Ah Johanna, I do apologize. As you can see my courtships are quite complicated and you likely don’t know the half of it.”

“So, it’s true, Princess Enye intends to court you once your station allows for it,” said Johanna.

“What has led you to think that?”

“Simple, the Mercer house being so aggressive to pair you with their daughter, who shouldn’t even be an option for a baron let alone a viscount outside their faction. Add to it the fact that you danced with the princess and the conflict between her and Hugo directly after. Everything points to her having you in her sights as a courting partner.”

“Ha, well if you are seeing that, I am sure other houses will as well, regardless of if it is true or not. Still, you can at most assume that. All I can say is that I am not courting Princess Enye. What the future holds or the intents of individuals, they are just that until they are not.”

“Please, don’t patronize us,” said Vanessa. “It’s quite obvious to anyone with half a brain if they put things together.”

“Vanessa, regardless of the truth of it, we all know how precarious such a situation could be,” chided Dyllis. “If it is true and becomes public knowledge, it would not only cause problems for the royal family, but you as well.”

“Oh, how so?”

“Xeal could easily avoid courting you and cost your family any chance of preventing Princess Enye and Xeal from courting.”

“Johanna, please keep all these thoughts confidential as it would be troublesome for the rumors to become any louder than they will be already,” requested Xeal.

“Hmm, very well, on two conditions. One is that Lady Dyllis will invite me for tea regularly, and you promise to visit Autumndale in the near future.”

“That should be possible. I will have my guild focus on reaching Autumndale. As for tea with Dyllis, that is up to her.”

“Hmm, I would need to consult with Princess Enye first as my duties as her lady in waiting take priority but, I don’t see there being an issue.”

“Good. Now Vanessa, as for me courting you it would be improper for us to court before I am a viscount. Please accept that and feel free to make it public that we intend to court at that point. I’m sure your house will appreciate the propriety of my decision.”

“Hmm, if such an arrangement is going to work my house will want some assurances.”

“What did you have in mind?”

“Let us provide a squire for you who will live here with you.”

“No.”

“I don’t know what to tell you. It’s either I leave here with a courtship gift or you accept a son from one of our branch houses as a squire. Anything else and my house will mark you as hostile and take actions to stymie your progress until you bow.”

“Such a pity. I had hoped that you could convince your house that keeping my situation in court ambiguous would be for the best. We both know the squire would be nothing but a spy and if I were to accept one from your house, my relations with the prince would become strained. So you see, for me, there is no difference in accepting a squire or not. Either way, your house will stymie my progress.”

“Yes but at least one way you will still be able to rise.”

“Ha, you are a fool if you think your house has any intent to let me even reach viscount. No, your father or brother will likely dispose of me at the first opportunity. All he needs to do is find a way to drag my name through the mud and put enough pressure on the crown to remove me from court. Then they can just use you as a rope for another noble and the squire who exposed me would be promoted. Vanessa, let us be brutally honest, your house will never have any sway on me. Even if I courted you, the moment you became my wife you would be just that, my wife, and your old house would have no hold on you anymore.”

“My word you are delusional. Dyllis, does he really believe any house would allow their daughters to break ties so completely.”

“Yes, not all houses are as poisonous as your own and just what will they be able to do, kill you?”

“What do they have on you that makes you fear them when you could be free?” asked Xeal.

“You both are mistaken. I simply must remember where I come from and what I owe them for raising me.”

Xeal stared straight into Vanessa’s eyes as she tried to convince herself of the truth of her own words. He could see the conflict inside her as she tried to not allow herself any hope. Xeal wondered what it must have been like to be raised in her house that even the hint of freedom that most of the noble ladies Xeal had known would risk their life for didn’t sway her. He could tell the simple thought of freedom scared her as if she would die if she ever tried to reach for it.

“I must apologize Vanessa. I had hoped that we could reach an understanding. Now however I don’t think a courtship between us will be possible.”

“Ha, you act like you or I have a choice.”

Xeal simply smiled and motioned a servant over before handing him a letter and whispering some instructions. The servant looked at the letter as if it might bite him before tenderly accepting it and rushing away. Vanessa wore a look of pure confusion at the scene before her as Xeal turned to her with a smile that told her she had just lost. Xeal had been playing the game on a whole other level than she was. Vanessa made a motion to leave only for Xeal to block her.

“Vanessa, please stay and enjoy your tea. It would look terrible if you were to leave to soon,” smiled Xeal.

“Sir Xeal, I feel as if I am no longer welcome here and it would be best for all if I were to excuse myself.”

“Nonsense,” asserted Dyllis. “Even if you and Xeal can’t come to an agreement on a courtship, I still believe we can remain civil and enjoy some tea.”

Vanessa was trapped as she knew it would be rude to leave and it would reflect poorly on her family. At the same time, she needed to inform her house of the letter Xeal just sent, hopefully before it reached its destination. She would put money it was headed to the prince right this moment. The only question she had was how long until it reached him. The following half hour was tense as the four of them sat sipping tea talking about the weather and other inconsequential topics. Dyllis looked like she was part of one of the greatest jokes of all time. Xeal just looked unconcerned about everything. Meanwhile, Vanessa was sweating as she thought about what a complete failure would mean for her once she returned home. Poor Johanna looked like she just wanted to become invisible. Her thoughts were if this was how court politics were played, she would rather not dip her feet in anymore. Meanwhile in a certain room a woman read the letter sent by Xeal before crumbling it and standing. She would not have it. Her youngest daughter would be allowed to remain free and marry who she had chosen. If the Mercer house wished to interfere at every turn, she would return the favor. Quickly Queen Eleanor pulled her husband away from his duties handing him a letter to sign before kissing him and being on her way. Finally, Vanessa could wait no longer and made her way to escape just as the servant returned and handed Xeal a letter. She turned white at the smile on his face as he read it before looking at the now frozen Vanessa.

“Vanessa, what do you know about the queen’s nephew Sir Rufus Mumford?” inquired Xeal.

“Please, no.”

Vanessa knew exactly who Rufus Mumford was and how useless he was. Put simply, he was a complete waste who didn’t have any future. If it wasn’t for his relation to the queen, he would be completely worthless. Why was Xeal bringing his name up here?

“It seems the queen is looking for a lady to court him. Perhaps you would be interested?”

“Oh, he is the son of an earl,” supplied Dyllis. “While he isn’t able to inherit, he should still be able to build up a nice branch family.”

“You’re bluffing. My house would never allow it.”

“Hmm, they would openly oppose the kings wishes?” mused Xeal.

“Why would the king be involved?”

“I think you are well aware of why. Now, I do wish you well and hope you enjoy your courtship.”

“My house will not take kindly to this.”

“Oh, I am sure they will tread lightly unless they wish suiters for your brother to be pushed, though I would feel sorry for any lady who was forced into that.”

“What do you want?”

“You don’t get it,” sighed Dyllis. “Xeal doesn’t want anything but his autonomy and his guild’s prosperity. If your house takes issue with that, he will use all means at his disposal to counter them.”

“Vanessa, unfortunately I cannot trust you. As such I cannot court you. Rather than allow your house to force the situation, I will.”

Vanessa looked defeated as she slumped in her chair as she fought to not cry. Dyllis looked like she wanted to pity her but couldn’t quite do so. Johanna, who had been largely forgotten at this point, wore a look of shock on her face and was glad she hadn’t been sent to act as Vanessa had been. Xeal just shook his head as he excused his guests. He would spend the rest of his day researching Autumndale and what it would take to reach there. Over the following days much of what had transpired at tea that day made its way through the court. The Mercer house was furious but had no way to vent. The message from the palace was clear, any further actions would not be tolerated. Lady Vanessa had been whisked away to her new courtship much to her dismay. Xeal had gone from a ripe target for courtship to a dangerous gamble for most houses. However, while most houses decided to back away, some looked at this as an opportunity now that the field had thinned.

Morning, September 29 to Evening October 1, 2266, and ED year 1, days 224-230.

Alex continued his day-to-day activities including morning exercises with the whole group. For dinner on Saturday the 29th Alex, Sam and Nicole spent time over at his parents’ house as they discussed ED and how Alex’s dad was enjoying retirement. Alex enjoyed seeing his dad light up as he talked about smithing and exploring the mine. He had gone down the path of a melee fighter as he didn’t want to have to deal with a complex class distracting him from his smithing. Alex’s mom was continuing her experiments with ED’s cooking system and had picked up alchemy as well. She believed that the two could complement each other and together they would yield far better results than apart. Alex could only smile at this as it had been a high-level technique in his last life that very few could ever master. Still, as a crafting focused player who didn’t need to worry about money, his mom had the time to explore it. She had selected the ranger as her main class as it was perfect for finding rare ingredients for both cooking and alchemy. Both were enjoying the time they had been spending together inside and outside the game. The pair acted more like newlyweds then a couple in their early forties who had been married for twenty years. Anna, who was still balancing high school and playing ED, acted jealous of everyone else who could play all day. She was still under level 20 and felt like she was being left in the dust by everyone. Alex assured her that she would be just fine as he was sure she would catch up eventually. After dinner was over Alex returned to their apartment with Nicole and Sam and after spending some time with just the three of them, he logged back into ED.

The following day dinner was being held at the apartment with Sam’s parents invited over due to the issue that occurred last time. Nicole had still not completely forgiven the Carters for that and Alex had lost a fair bit of trust, but he still wanted them to be a part of their life. Dinner had been awkward as everyone tried to pretend that nothing was wrong. It wasn’t until dinner was over that Mrs. Carter started to go into how she thought they needed to try and mend the fences, so to speak, with the Juns. This had led to Alex pulling them aside and going on at length about how bad of an idea it was for them to go to the Juns. He also used his experiences from his last life to craft his arguments as to how them approaching the Juns would play out. By the end of it he assured the Carters that while it may take years before Nicole could have a normalish relationship with her parents, he would make sure they weren’t cut out completely. Mrs. Carter didn’t seem happy with Alex’s indefinite timeline but, she accepted that she wasn’t going to get anything by pushing harder today. When the Carters were gone, Alex took his time calming Nicole down and ensuring her that he was here for her. Sam looked guilty over the whole thing and Alex had to reassure her that he didn’t blame her. He also made it clear that while he didn’t appreciate the Carters continuing to push them to reach out to the Juns, he knew they were doing so with good intentions. Once he had successfully comforted both Nicole and Sam, the three of them returned to ED for the night.

The next day was the first day of October and Alex was focused on getting ready for when the players from Abysses End showed up in a week. He still didn’t know any of the names but he had to make a plan for how Jessica would interact with them. Jessica also had her second appointment with her psychologist. She seemed both happy and nervous as she greeted Alex. Alex assured her that she should just be herself and be open and honest including about what she would be doing the following week when Abysses End arrived. The current plan required her to act like she had found her way into his arms alongside Sam and Nicole. This plan worried Alex as he didn’t want to cause more issues than it would solve. He promised her that he could come up with an alternative strategy if needed. Jessica told Alex that she would be fine but, she would bring his concerns up in therapy that afternoon. That night Alex received a call from Jessica saying that her psychologist wanted to have him present at the next appointment. After thinking about it for a while, he agreed to attend seeing it as a good opportunity to see how Jessica was really doing. He already knew that he was going to get an earful from Dr. Giles Blythe about his whole situation. If his memory was right, once he had given Alex a piece of his mind, Dr. Blythe would want to observe his relationship with Sam and Nicole. The man was always interested in abnormal relationships. It had been a large part of why he had taken his practice into ED as he wanted to understand those who chose to marry NPCs. He looked at all of the varying levels of commitment displayed by the individual pairings. From those who treated their wives in game as if they were completely real and forsook any real-world relations for them, to those that acted like their wives in game meant nothing outside of ED. Alex was sure that simply being allowed to study Alex’s relationships would be enough to entice Dr. Blythe into FAE. Still, he hadn’t met Dr. Blythe for another five years in his last life so he wasn’t sure if he had developed his interest in abnormal relationships yet. With that taken care of, Alex enjoyed the home cooked pasta Sam had prepared before returning to ED once more.

In ED Xeal was focused on reaching Autumndale and had found its location on the map. It was around 600 miles northwest from the capital of the kingdom, Nium city. Reaching the city wouldn’t be a major issue, however clearing the trial to enter the city would be. Autumndale was a wildlands border city. While it was around 130 miles away from the uncontrolled territory, it was still surrounded by higher level areas. His team would need to defeat a level 70 area boss in order to open the path for the city before attempting the entrance quest. Area bosses were massive challenges that required teams of at least ten players of equal level to the monster to even have a chance of defeating. It was the strongest class of monster that could exist inside of civilized lands. Xeal also knew he would need far more than ten players to take on this challenge as his guild still lacked enough top tier players in terms of skill. Right now, only Amser, Takeshi and he would fit the bill. Amser and her team were a no brainer for this task but he couldn’t afford to have Takeshi tied up for the three weeks or so it would take to complete the journey, defeat the area boss, and entry quest. No, this would be a great test for the budding main forces Xeal was building. He would need 100 players who could spend 10 days straight in reality focused on just ED. To facilitate this, he posted to the guild halls for tryouts to be held, with all players who make the cut and stay with the group until completion receiving 10,000 credits as payment. FAE members were ecstatic when they read the posting as it was a rare opportunity to make good money while playing. With Xeal, his friends and Amser’s team being automatically chosen, Xeal decided to delegate the selection of the remaining 89 slots to her and her team. He just passed her guidelines of what skills and abilities they would need. This was another area where Xeal’s last life gave him a huge advantage as others would need to guess at what was needed on a mission like this at this point in ED, whereas he knew just what kind of challenges the system would put before them. Xeal was also looking forward to getting to go on a major journey with Ignis (Dan), Amet (Fred), Clara (Amanda), Aalin and Gale for the first time since ED had launched. He was slightly worried about taking so much of his guild’s leadership away at once, but between advanced return scrolls and messaging, he was sure Casmir, Taya, and Takeshi could handle it.

Xeal had everyone focus on leveling in the meantime as Xeal prepared for the upcoming event that would be held at his guild’s headquarters. The event was planned to be held in the future courtyard as the building itself was still under heavy construction. It would still be over a month before it was complete to a point that it was usable, but the first floor was structurally done at least. The courtyard area was such that it was relatively easy to set up for hosting a few hundred guests. To do so Xeal had purchased a large tent that took up the center acre on its own and hired NPCs to act as staff for the event. From the reports that Xeal was reading, he had 25 guilds who had a representative at level 40 to attend. Add in the NPC merchants and crafters and the guest list was sitting at around 100. As Xeal looked over the guilds that were attending, only five stood out to him as major players from his last life. Templar Fall, Red Crushers, Rising Oblivion, Hope of Rejects and Night Oath each had played a large role in Nium’s early days, but only Night Oath was still around in Xeal’s last life. The rest had merged into other guilds, or been destroyed. Xeal knew that Red Crushers and Templar Fall were branch guilds of major real-world workshops and was curious to see what they were after in regard to FAE. He expected both of them to eye his guild as a whole, but how they would go about persuading him to give it to them he was unsure and he didn’t care. Just like he would not hand the guild over to Abysses End, Xeal had no plans to surrender it to any guild. No, if he knew Abysses End, the moment he passed it to another they would simply offer to buy it from them for an obscene amount of money and a place inside their workshop. Xeal would sooner dissolve his guild and let the bonus disappear forever than to lose control of it.

At the tea time with Enye and Dyllis on day 228, Xeal got more of the story behind Hugo and his actions towards Enye. The more Xeal knew the more he was ready to kill the bastard. It was clear that the reason Enye had been so reclusive in Xeal’s last life had to be due to him. Enye spoke of how he treated her like she was already his and had gone as far as to spread rumors that she was already tainted by him. Due to what kind of person he was, many in the court believed he had actually forced himself on Enye. Meanwhile, it was completely false and all that trying to dispel the rumors would do would be to drag Enye further down. So the royal family had no public recourse options without hurting Enye in some way. It was part of why Victor had been entrusted to find her a match, as if things were done normally the court would have already pressured the king enough that Enye would be married to Hugo. By the point she was done talking she had been little more than a blubbering mess and Xeal ended up throwing normal propriety out and holding her to him, reassuring her that he would not let Hugo have her while Aalin and Gale both wore complicated looks. Everyone present agreed that Hugo needed to suffer. Death would be too easy. The only time Enye laughed was when Xeal told of how he had dealt with Vanessa. Even then she felt sorry for Vanessa as she felt she acted as such due to the danger of acting differently while her house still controlled her fate. She made it clear that the Mercer house was one of the most extreme patriarchal houses and women of the house were often controlled by threats against those they loved inside the house. Enye figured that Vanessa feared what her father would do to her mother if she strayed from her house’s will. After the topic of the Mercer house the five of them spoke about the upcoming meetings being hosted by FAE. Once Enye and Dyllis were satisfied with Xeal’s explanation on why only Aalin and Gale would be present, they moved onto trivial topics as they just enjoyed the break.

During Xeal’s last login before hosting the other guilds, Amser reported to him that the selection of personnel for the expedition was complete. All members were at least level 45 and all tanks had the Behemoth Slayer title. Xeal would need to use the journey to help level this team up to at least level 55 before the attempted the level 70 area boss. Even then he expected over half of them to be killed during the raid and with how under developed the healers were at this point in the game, resurrection spells were at best a once a day use. This was a large reason why a full quarter of the team was healers. The complete breakdown was 25 healers, 15 tanks, 5 scout or kiting builds, 35 magic damage builds, 10 magic support builds, and 10 utility builds. Xeal and Amser both fell under the utility build for this as they had leadership roles as well as would be expected to step in at crucial times to avoid a full party wipe. Xeal felt like he had at least a 70% chance of succeeding with this party. He just wished he could add more players but ED would just make the area boss grow stronger if more than 100 players attacked it at once. Xeal took the opportunity to look over the names on the report and could only laugh as he noticed quite a few had been members of the failed Abysses End branch guilds that had impressed his members during that clash. Now FAE had absorbed many of the promising players Abysses End had exposed. Xeal wondered what had happened to most of these players in his last life as he only recognized a few of their names. The one that stood out to him the most was Saima Mahal, as she had been a top rate assassin in Xeal’s last life. While she had never reached tier 8, she had been credited with killing two tier 8 players on contracted hits. Even using surprise attack methods and targeting them when they were weakened from battle, taking down a player who was a tier above you was an impressive feat. Xeal decided that he would look at pulling her deeper into FAE and nurture her to see if she could succeed in reaching tier 8 this time around. Xeal would wait to see the rest in person before he decided on who else he should nurture.

ED year 1, days 231-232.

Xeal made his way to the courtyard that would play host to the gathering of guilds, merchants and crafters in a few hours. The tent looked like a small circus tent, only it was completely gray. At its entrance a pair of level 150 guard NPC’s stood sentry. Both were on loan from Prince Victor and would be reporting back to him on the results from this event. Four servants were standing by to greet all visitors and reiterated the rules for the meeting. Inside the tent was a wide-open area dotted with round tables for attendees to sit at. The inner walls were lined with tables that would be full of food and drinks soon. At the far side of the room was a small stage with a podium for Xeal to use to address everyone once they arrived. Overall, while everything looked and felt generic, Xeal was happy with it as it would suit his purposes. Shortly after Xeal arrived, his guild leadership started to stream in with everyone being present from his vice guild leaders. Casmir looked apprehensive about being put forward as an example of FAE to major guilds, but Xeal was confident he would be just fine. Taya seemed to want to run and hide and kept insisting she was just good for all the behind the scenes work. If it hadn’t been for the ability to use the garrison portals, she would have been unable to make it today as she was still level 39. Like most players she was spending a good amount of time working to prepare for her tier up quest. Amet and Ignis both had goofy looks on their faces as they took in the set up. Clara just looked like she was ready to step in once Amet or Ignis made a fool of themselves. Aalin and Gale just looked like it was another day as all the interactions they had been having with nobles had made them slightly numb to political situations.

The first guests to arrive were several NPC merchant groups who hoped to be able to do business with FAE. It became abundantly clear to Xeal a large reason why they were interested was the rumored ties to Prince Victor FAE had. Xeal deflected their advances assuring them that such talks would take place once the gathering had officially opened. Most merchants seemed a bit disappointed as they hoped that by being early it would allow them to get a jump on the competition. Still, they accepted it and started to mingle with each other. Next, several crafters arrived. These all seemed to have a variety of concerns from how FAE would affect their ability to sell their wares to if FAE would be able to supply them with raw materials. One thing that all the NPC crafters had in common was they could only barely be considered competent crafters. Xeal would be happy to add them to his staff when it came to training new crafters but none of them were above gold rank and most were only silver rank. It was after greeting several of the NPC crafters that the first of the five major guilds representatives arrived. Segur Woodlight from Hope of Rejects stood confidently as he took in the venue. He wore mismatched armor pieces and his green hair stood out as his defining feature. Xeal remembered how Segur had developed Hope of Rejects in his last life by bringing together all the players that several guilds had kicked out. At first, they had been laughed at for being full of trash, but as time went on it became clear that Hope of Rejects was a force to be reckoned with. It had no truly elite members and none of them were paid in credits but many were almost fanatical about defending their guild. He remembered how they had basically self-destructed multiple times to strike a blow against an enemy. Before they faded away when the lack of tier 7 players crippled them, they had been known as a group of madmen.

“I take it you would be Segur Woodlight from Hope of Rejects. I am Xeal Bluefire guild leader of FAE. It is good to see you made it.”

“Hmm, yes, I must say I am surprised that you greeted me personally. My guild really isn’t anything special. Heck, I only reached out to your guild on a whim, I never expected to be taken seriously.”

“You discount what you do too much. Yes, your guild is made up by those who don’t make the cut in major guilds but, by giving them a place to belong you will inspire great loyalty. Most other guilds here would fall apart if their main players weren’t paid or if they were targeted by several powers at once. While your guild may never be a major threat to topple others, if done right it can easily become the thorn in the lions paw.”

“I must say I am surprised that you see what I am building for what it is.”

“Yes, however your true test will not be surviving the other guilds, but nurturing a core that can weather Eternal Dominion itself.”

“I don’t understand. Why would ED turn on my guild?”

“Lack of top tier members to attempt high level quests and no foe to hold you together.”

“Hmm, would you elaborate please?”

“As time goes on the gap in levels between your members and major guilds members will grow. I would expect that your guild will reach a bottle neck at one of the tiers. With no guilds attempting to destroy you and no way to advance, your members will slowly evaporate. A few will find guilds who will accept them, but most will simply shift from adventuring to leisurely exploring the countries of ED, until you are left as a shell, unable to function due to the lack of manpower.”

“Hmm, thank you for your observations.”

Xeal and Segur parted ways at that point as another guild leader entered. Templar Fall’s guild leader Drezar Snaketoe had entered wearing his black robes. Drezar was a top tier player until he failed to break into tier 8. He had pale skin and carried a staff. Xeal knew he walked the path of dark magic, splitting his focus between necromancy and poison curses. He would go on to become a vice guild leader for his workshop once his guild was absorbed. Xeal didn’t have anything in particular to say to him, so after a short and polite greeting, they parted ways. As time passed, Xeal greeted several guild leaders he didn’t recognize from his last life until Friva Doomcutter from Rising Oblivion walked in. She wore leather armor and walked with confidence. Xeal had remembered how her guild had seemed like it might be one of the few to establish themselves as a new major power in the first few years of ED in his last life. That was until Red Crushers and Templar Fall had teamed up to remove her. Her guild was stripped apart in a matter of months, and if rumors were true, she was left destitute in reality due to her over leveraging herself financially. Her silvery white hare billowed behind her in thick waves as she looked at Xeal with her piercing teal eyes.

“Greetings, guild leader Xeal.”

“And greetings to you, guild leader Friva. Thank you for coming.”

“No, I must thank you for assisting me in reaching this point. Your members who came to help me level were greatly appreciated.”

“Think nothing of it. Us independent guilds must work together if we wish to weather the major workshops advances.”

“Indeed, still I see that you still assisted a few of them in reaching here.”

“A necessary move to avoid their ire until the time is right.”

“You didn’t seem to worry when Abysses End attacked.”

“Yes, but that was a single workshop and they started the issue. I am not so foolhardy that I wish to have every major workshop focused on destroying me to the point that they band together to be rid of me.”

“And you think that they will leave you be because you attempt to remain neutral?”

“No, I expect that their greed will keep them in check.”

“What?”

“I have something they all want but only one can have. The moment one attains it they will need to weather the onslaught from the others. Abysses Ends actions have tipped their hands and shown that FAE has a backbone. No, most will wait to strike once another fails, but before I can recover. If you would like to discuss this further, I will make time before the night is over but, I must greet more guests now.”

“Very well, I will hold you to that.”

Xeal bid Friva farewell as he thought about how he wanted to handle her. Ideally he would bring her and her guild into FAE, but he was unsure if he could entice her. Next to catch Xeal’s eye was Tyelk Rosewalker, guild leader of Red Crushers, dressed in blood red plate armor. Xeal greeted him, locking eyes while he did so. He could see Tyelk’s red eyes burn with focused brutality as he measured Xeal. Xeal knew that Tyelk was a brutal enemy to have as his tactics broke down to cripple, then crush, with no mercy. Over the next five years he would be responsible for crushing many rising powers as he strove to keep the continent ready for his workshop to tame. He had been a major player in Nium, succeeding in uniting the continent, after which his guild’s elites were absorbed into his workshop’s main guild with the remainder becoming a subordinate guild completely. They had remained one of the top four powers on the continent and top ten in all of ED in Xeal’s last life. Now he had to decide how to handle them as they may become a major threat, or a necessary evil for FAE.

“It is good to meet you guild leader Tyelk.”

“It is good that you are not weak, it would make crushing you later disappointing.”

“Ha, so you have already decided to crush my guild. Good, at least you’re honest.”

“It is nothing personal Xeal, you are just simply in my way.”

“It’s a shame. I had hoped that you would be a useful tool for the kingdom in the future. Now it seems that I must prepare to set a second example.”

“Ha, we will not fall to the same tricks you used on Abysses End. No, we know now is not the time, but once level 80 becomes common place, you should know it won’t just be my workshop coming for you. Most will not even offer you a chance to survive in ED at all.”

“Ha, I see you believe I am just a flash in the pan. If so, then why come?”

“That is easy. It would be better for everyone if you accepted reality and joined us now.”

“So, you are saying that either I hand my guild over to you or I will be destroyed and driven from ED.”

“Exactly, it is good that you understand.”

“That is about the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Now let me give you a warning. I will not be the first to strike you or any other major workshop as I am not suicidal or stupid. No, I know that to all of you I am nothing but an upstart that doesn’t know his place and that would only see me destroyed out of principle at this stage of the game. However, any guild who wishes to attack me better be ready to pay dearly for it. If you think what happened to Abysses End was a fluke, feel free to test it. Just know mercy will not be on the table.”

“Excellent, I do hate an easy game. I look forward to seeing you kneel and beg to join us one day, just like all other upstarts who think they can have a place at the table.”

“Good day and good bye, you are no longer welcome here.”

“Ha, you would dare remove me?”

Xeal simply smiled as he waited while Tyelk looked at Xeal like he was waiting for him to strike when one of the level 150 guards put a hand on his shoulder and turned him. Tyelk made a terrible mistake then and threw a fist without looking. The guard instantly killed Tyelk with a single swift strike of his blade, leaving a red chest plate behind. Xeal had to withhold his laughter as he uploaded the video to the forums to ensure nothing that went down could be twisted. As he looked around, he noticed that several faces were full of shock, especially the other guild leaders. The only one who looked happy was Friva who looked like she wanted to cheer. Xeal wondered what the story there was as he didn’t think the friction between the two would start for at least another year. Perhaps there was more to the conflict in his last life then was known openly.

“I do apologize that you all had to witness such a scene but, I must stress that my guards will not tolerate any attacks. I had only wished to remove a hostile entity from this event, but he attacked the moment my guards went to remove him. Please do not worry, I have no intent to harm anyone at this event.”

Slowly the room returned to normal with NPCs and guild leaders chatting. Xeal let out a deep breath as he returned to greeting several individuals he hadn’t gotten around to yet. After another 20 minutes, the last of the five guild leaders he wanted to meet arrived. Lori Lunaflower, leader of Night Oath walked in looking as unassuming as could be. She wore a nice black dress that contrasted with her silver hair making her look more like a companion for a merchant then an adventurer. Still, Xeal knew she was one of the most dangerous players to be on the wrong side of. Her guild walked the path of the elite. They did not believe in having weak members. As an upstart guild it had been a wise move as it made her guild hard to target. While Rising Oblivion had been crippled once its rank and file members left due to the pressure on them from Red Crushers and Templar Fall, Night Oath was like smoke. Its members were always players like Amser who despised large workshops and wished for freedom. However, they knew that they needed support as well. Many of the eventual 100,000 members came from guilds like Rising Oblivion who fell apart when the base fell out. Unlike normal guilds, Night Oath worked as a mercenary force, treating all of the smaller guilds who would seek their help when needed as their base. This let them handle contracts across the whole of ED as an impromptu main force. Sometimes they were even seen on both sides of a conflict.

“Welcome guild leader Lori Lunaflower. I must say you seem to be the only one at ease of the guild representatives tonight.”

“My, why wouldn’t I be? It’s not like you are something to worry about, or are you?””

“Hmm, that would depend on what it is you’re after. For those who wish to rule over this country I am a nightmare. To those like yourself who only wish to be free and explore the world, I might be a minor inconvenience.”

“Exactly, the tiger does not concern itself with the deer’s worries, it simply hunts it and consumes it.”

“Is that how you see FAE?”

“That is how I see all large guilds. Your guild will simply be the biggest meal when the time comes.”

Xeal simply smiled at Lori as she locked her light green eyes with Xeal’s blue eyes.

“I must say I do look forward to making you realize my guild is not an easy meal as you suffer from indigestion when you try us.”

“Hmm, we will see.”

With that the pair separated and Xeal mingled for another ten minutes before deciding it was time to officially open this meeting. Signaling to his vice guild leaders to take their places, Xeal made his way to the podium on the stage attracting the attention of his 99 guests who were present.

“Welcome one and all to FAE’s guild headquarters. I have invited you all here today for an initial greeting as well as to feel your intentions out. Some of you I have already spoken with. For the rest of you I will be making the rounds to touch base with all of you, hopefully before the night ends. Now please enjoy the refreshments that we have prepared and feel free to network with one another.”

Once the opening statement was complete, servants streamed carrying trays of food and drink for the guests. Many of the NPCs made their way over to the refreshments without delay, enjoying the high class items that Xeal had obtained. Most of the items were only available thanks to some assistance from Prince Victor. As the NPCs went after the food, Xeal met with the remaining guild representatives he had yet to touch base with. Most of them were not worth his or FAE’s time from what Xeal could remember. Still, as he was sure that some promising players slipped through the cracks in his last life, he had to ensure he at least evaluated them over time. After a half hour, several NPCs started to approach Xeal and his vice guild leaders. He handled them each in the same way, assuring them that most of the gear his guild was producing was going to be handling the needs of the recent influx of adventurers. He made sure that they knew that he did not intend for his guild to become a major supplier of raw or finished goods for the general market. If anything, they would be a consumer to make up for any lack of anything their guild needed but could not produce. Xeal knew that as time went on this would change until most merchants and non-master craftsmen would end up employed by guilds like his own. This would be the only way for many of them to survive the tidal wave of goods players would provide for the market. By the time Xeal was ready to take an active part in the market within Nium, other guilds should have already put pressure on it, though Xeal hoped he would be able to consume a few of the better merchants before other guilds did so. Xeal continued to talk with the guests, including several groups of independent crafters. He could only smile bitterly at the few who tried to secure a position as an instructor for his guild. Xeal knew that they were asking for much more than they were worth and much better options were out there. Xeal worked to maintain his neutrality and refused to make any concrete agreements, insisting that his guild would need to thoroughly vet each of them first. As the late afternoon turned into evening, Xeal bid farewell to all but the 24 guild representatives, many of which had been busy picking up the deals Xeal had been turning down, much to Xeal’s elation. Almost every one of the deals he was offered here would have become a major strain on his guild for years. Now his opponents would have to deal with it instead, especially the guilds he could tell were simply there to interfere with him. Once the last NPC had left, Xeal took to the podium once more as the room went quiet.

“Now that we have had an opportunity to chat briefly and many of you have seized opportunities for your guilds, I would like to move onto the next portion of this event. Each of you represents other players who reside here in the Kingdom of Nium. As such we all have much to gain from its continued prosperity. As such I will now turn the floor over to Crown Prince Victor Vidfamne.”

With that a new level of tension entered the room as Prince Victor entered from the rear entrance flanked by ten royal guards. Victor’s outfit made his banquet attire look casual, with the fur lined purple cloak that hung from his shoulders emphasizing his position. His guards wore matching armor that shined so much that you could check your reflection in it if you wished. Xeal could only smile bitterly as the prince had insisted that he be allowed to address the guilds in attendance today. Xeal had no idea what the prince’s plan was or what he would say. All he could do is watch and see and he was already holding in a laugh. Only he was bowing while the rest stood in shock as the prince approached the podium. Sighing, he made a coughing sound that broke the trance of most of the guild representatives. Soon the other noticed and before Prince Victor stood in front of the podium only five players had not knelt. When Prince Victor noticed this, he made a simple motion of his arm and five of his guards moved forward and removed the standing players from the event. Once his guards had returned to their positions, he began to speak.

“Thank you all for being here and showing me the proper respect my position requires. Now you may all rise. Those of you still here represent many new residents of my domain. While Sir Xeal here has thoroughly explained to me that most do not see the royal family as anything more than a curiosity and do not view themselves as one of our subjects, I intend to treat them as such, to a point. I have to accept that I cannot simply push you into service as I would a normal resident and most of you are at best mercenaries. That said, I do believe that you represent a resource that if properly utilized will bring great benefits to Nium. Now I know my presence here came as a surprise to all of you save the FAE members. Do not blame them for this. I insisted that they act as such. Now onto my purpose for speaking with you all today. It is truly simple. As I have already said I view you all as possible assets to my nation. However, you are also a great threat. I stand here to issue you all a warning that while guilds like FAE who prioritize the prosperity of the kingdom will always be welcomed, those whose actions pose a threat to the kingdom will be treated appropriately. I am sure many of you have plenty of questions and concerns about what this means, for that please reach out to Baron Xeal. He is currently serving me as my unofficial ambassador to and for all of the new adventurers in the kingdom. That is all I have to say and I will bid you farewell and hope that your actions will strengthen the kingdom.”

With that Prince Victor turned to leave and Xeal once again knelt and his actions were mirrored, albeit a bit delayed by the others who remained. Once he had left Xeal stood and retook the stage as the guild leaders present now each wore faces varying in levels of contemplation. Each of them had no idea Xeal had become a baron let alone that the prince would stop in to address them. Each of them was trying to figure out how to proceed with their personal agendas. Finally, after Xeal had given each of them a moment to contemplate, he addressed them once more.

“For the record I did not know the prince’s plan, only that he wished to make a short speech to you. Although that was more of a declaration then a speech. Now I am sure you all have a multitude of things you wish to ask me. I know better than to try and avoid your concerns completely as the prince just made it clear I need to address your concerns and relay what is necessary to him if needed. For today I will give each of you a single question in fairness. The order will be done by lots. Taya, if you could write numbers 1 to 19 on pieces of paper and have our guest draw them, I would appreciate it.”

“Will do Xeal.”

“Thank you. Now while she takes care of that I expect you all to start thinking of any questions you have. After today all questions will need to be submitted through my guild halls, or headquarters, at which time I will respond to you as fast as I can reasonably manage. As I will be spending months on campaign, at times this may mean it will be weeks before I will be able to respond. Hopefully the prince approves a work around for such times, but that is neither here nor there right now.”

As Xeal finished speaking Taya finished having the guild representatives draw their lots. The sour face on Drezar’s face told Xeal he was unhappy about his placement in the order. As he stepped forward to ask the first question, Xeal knew why. As Drezar was a top tier strategist from Xeal’s last life he knew that being last would allow him to formulate a better question by using the other questions and answers as intel. Now he had to ask whatever question he found the most pressing.

“My question is simple but consequential. Does your status and position mean our guilds would be committing a crime if we engage with your guild in combat?”

“That is an excellent question, one which I would have rather not have had to answer. In short, it’s complicated. Due to my status, I am given rights only nobles normally have. As such my guild is seen as a private army in a way. Typically, the kingdom would not allow such a large private force to roam freely or exist for someone of my station. As such, if it is only a minor confrontation, the kingdom will treat it as adventurers contending over resources. Now if you or your guild launched a full-scale attack on us without seeking and receiving approval from the local authority which outranks myself before attacking, then you will be labeled as treasonous and punished accordingly. Next question please.”

Drezar looked annoyed as Xeal cut him off from his attempt to ask a follow up question. The other guild representatives stepped forward one at a time asking several questions on how becoming nobility worked and how to act around them. Drezar seemed to grow more irritated as each of them wasted their question in his mind. Finally, Friva stood up and asked a question that Drezar approved of even if he disliked who had asked it.

“Will the kingdom punish us for assisting nobles in a plot that brings harm to the kingdom unknowingly?”

“Simply put, yes. As to the severity of the punishment, many factors will be taken into consideration. Diving any deeper would require specific information and can become extremely arbitrary.”

The guild representative who followed next asked a follow up question on what a player should do if a questline led them to assist the noble. Xeal explained that many quests do not care about the ramifications that come upon you for completing a quest. He encouraged them to research the noble and the political factions they affiliated with before accepting any questionable quest from them. Several more follow up questions followed this same line of questioning until Lori Lunaflower stood up to ask the final question.

“Is all of this what you meant by indigestion earlier?”

“No.”

“Good, I was worried you were just going to have your guild hide behind the kingdom.”

“You wish to fight me that much?”

“Yes. While I can see your members lack much, when it comes to skill their growth is outstanding. I am sure that you will make a worthy adversary to sharpen ourselves with.”

“Ah, if it is just sparring my guild would be happy to take advantage of your guild wishing to do so, though it would need to be in a controlled environment. We wouldn’t want too many deaths after all.”

“Hmm, intriguing, but no. A true battlefield is where we wish to be sharpened, not some pale imitation.”

With that question Xeal brought the event to a close as each of the guild representatives filed out with only Friva staying back.

“You said you would find time tonight to continue our discussion. Would now be a good time?”

“Of course. Just allow me a few minutes to pass instructions to my staff. Once I have completed that, would you mind joining me at my residence as this set up needs to be dismantled and our conversation would be best done in private?”

“Hmm, I suppose that would be fine.”

“Good. Now just give me a few minutes and we will be off.”

Xeal led Friva to his private balcony where Maxwell served them some tea before they started their discussion.

“Now Friva, where would you like to start?”

“You said that greed would keep the major workshops from working together to remove you due to you having something they want but can’t split. How am I supposed to accomplish the same thing?”

“You can’t. The first guild bonus is the only thing that I know of that is tied to a single guild. Its very nature is broken beyond belief. Right now my guild is the only one with the luxury to nurture crafting players in bulk. While doing so is slowing down my guild’s leveling speed to the point I am behind others in level, right now I still have more members. Once that number snowballs to the point that it overcomes the decreased renown per members gained mark, we will grow to the point that we double most guilds in size, even if that is 20 years in reality away. The point is, as none of them will share and no price tag can be placed on it so, I am safer.”

“So what am I to do, just accept that I will eventually be crushed when the major workshops decide to be rid of me?”

“No, they are not so nice. They will ruin you if allowed to.”

Xeal sighed before continuing deciding to tell her what her fate would be.

“Friva, if I may make a few assumptions and tell you how I see your guild and many others like yours?”

“I would rather work off hard facts but I will listen.”

“Alright. Right now, across all of ED, new guilds are being formed by friends like my own and I assume your own. Guilds are like sea turtles, less than a tenth of a percent will survive to adulthood, but once they do, they can live for a long time. You and I are guilds that have just hatched and are either still on the beach or just barely in the water. To major workshops you are not even a meal worth eating yet and I am simply a rare delicacy coming up for auction. For you they will wait until you are at your most vulnerable and destroy the base beneath your and leave you in financial ruin. Perhaps one may offer you a place if you wish to work while on your back for them, but none will allow you to stand as an equal.”

“You’re saying I should just give up and let them win?”

“No, I am telling you what reality is, and what you are up against. I have looked into each guild in Nium beyond the ones that attended today. Yours is one of the few I expect to make it to the water. However, that means nothing if you can’t survive to adulthood.”

“Oh, and what is adulthood in this scenario?”

“The ability to pay all of your top players for over a year while getting no returns from them.”

“That’s insane. I don’t even think most major workshops could do that.”

“Yes, but they have a history, allowing them to hold onto members that would normally jump ship at the first missed paycheck. It is why most of the guilds who survive will do so based off the wealth they have in the real world, not talent or leadership in ED.”

“So what are you, some rich guy in real life and that’s why you are so confident in yourself?”

“Every credit I have to my name has been earned through ED at this point and yes, I am currently bankrolling my whole guild. However, I am doing so in a self-sustaining way, hopefully. No, I was just lucky to figure out several things early and by doing so bring several unique advantages to my guild.”

“You’re speaking about your leveling secret and the mine your guild has, right?”

“Among other things but both of those can actually do more harm than good for my survival in the long run. As they say, the nail that sticks up gets hammered down. I fully expect that the moment my guild shows any weakness I will be swarmed by the sharks. Some will offer to buy us while others will attempt to use force and ED’s own mechanics against me.”

“And yet you stand up in blatant defiance to them all.”

“As I warned a friend of mine, you can either be a cornered animal ready to take a chunk out of your assailant, or a doormat. One of the things that show me hope for your guild is you seem to be the type to fight back, not bow.”

“I see. I am glad that you recognize that. Still, I don’t agree with everything you said here as you paint a very dark picture for independent guilds. Especially for a guild leader of one. If I didn’t know better, I would say you were trying to make me give up, perhaps even merge into your guild.”

“Ah, while I would be more than happy to accept you into FAE, I know that it would be a mistake right now. No, if you joined me before you failed you would regret it as you would always wonder if you could have made it. That being said, when the day comes that you feel you have no escape, please reach out to me as I would like to have an opportunity to recruit you before it is too late.”

“Too late, it’s not like I will die if I fail. You make it sound like once my guild falls, my life will end.”

“Depending on the method used, ED may very well remove your freedom. What I am about to say needs to stay between us as it is still an obscure bit of knowledge that may take years to be widely known. There are methods to essentially enslave your defeated foes, especially when it comes to a losing guild leader in a guild war. If the right method is used, you may find yourself with no options but never playing again, or joining those who defeated you in whatever roll they decide to use you in.”

“Wait, what? How?”

“You are aware of how I use contracts to bind players who join my guild to a set of rules and the system enforces them, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, when you created your guild, you accepted the laws associated with that, essentially signing a contract. In those rules you will find several disturbingly specific situations that you can find yourself bound to your conqueror. Now each of these requires your opponent to meet the requirements, but a sadistic enough foe would be more than willing to go the extra mile if pushed.”

“Wait, being a guild leader makes you vulnerable to a contract of that severity? How did you even find this out?”

“I am a baron. I have access to libraries that most players can only drool at right now. Still, you have to think to even look. Eternal Dominion is a brutal world that will let you hang yourself. The only thing that it even holds to is unless you accept the danger, you will not be raped.”

“Wait, I could be raped?”

“Not unless you ignore the warning before accepting a quest where failure could result in that.”

“How do you even know that?”

“I have looked into every possible way that one of the major workshops might try and attain my guild. As such I looked into every safety feature the system gives players and how things can play out. It is why if it looks like all is lost, I may simply logout for the last time just before my guild falls. If I am not present, they can never claim my guild. I would suggest you remember that as them doing so is one of the few ways they can actually take possession of your guild’s assets. You may even be able to negotiate in reality for a payment to be made before you login and let them destroy your guild.”

Friva was looking at Xeal like he was crazy but at the same time she didn’t dare ignore this information. She could tell that Xeal had focused on these situations a bit too much, but she couldn’t deny how important it could be.

“I must thank you for the warning. I will definitely take your words to heart and perhaps I will reach out if things look grim. However, for now I feel like I understand your disposition and can work around what your guild is doing. Hopefully your guild will take all the attention and mine can grow while they are focused on you.”

Friva left leaving Xeal alone for a while before he turned in for the night in preparation for the next morning. FAE’s expeditionary squad would be setting out after a final inspection was completed. Once they left the city, only advanced return scrolls would be able to be used to resupply, and only he would have them as it was a necessary precaution for him. After going over his mental check list one last time, Xeal let sleep take him.

The next morning Xeal was quick to get out of bed and after a quick breakfast he made his way to the now clear courtyard of his guild headquarters. Standing there awaiting him were the 99 members of FAE that had been selected. They stood in a loose group with players chatting among each other as they awaited Xeal’s arrival. The only feature that had been left from the day prior was the stage and podium. Xeal made his way to the podium and after clearing his voice to get everyone’s attention, began talking.

“Thank you all for being here. Today we set out on an expedition to unlock the city of Autumndale. Along the way I expect us to grow as a unit. The route we will be taking will start off with us passing through some leveling areas that are easier. This is so we can get some practice operating in such a large group. Unlike when you have been out in the field in small groups of ten, or less, we will not be able to avoid any monsters along the way. Additionally, I expect many battles to be chaotic as we will often have multiple small-scale fights happening simultaneously. Even in the easy maps it will be essential for us to learn how to operate as a unit to preserve MP and SP. Before we can start the unlocking quest for the city, we will need to take down a level 70 area boss. This fight is the main reason why most of you are needed for this expedition and I expect to take some losses from the fight. In preparation for that fight, we will be assaulting a level 60 area boss beforehand. I am sure many of you are second guessing yourselves as your levels are still below level 50 right now. Do not worry as you will all be above level 60 by the time we reach the level 70 area boss. Now lastly, as this is a guild funded expedition and you are all to be financially compensated, all loot will belong to the guild. Guild coins will still be awarded and some items may be auctioned after a fight, but the needs of the guild will come first. If no one has any issues we will be setting out in 30 minutes. Leaders, make sure your groups have what they need and let’s get going.”

Xeal stepped down as his friends and Amser checked in with the others and made sure that everything was in order. Once everything had been verified, Amser made her way over to Xeal and let him know everything was good to go. With that out of the way, Xeal led them out of the capital in a north western direction that would take them off of the road and into the wilderness. While he could easily take the road and save a week in ED on travel time, it would rob them of the ability to level efficiently while traveling, all but ensuring that they would be far to under leveled when they reached the higher-level areas.

Morning, October 2 to Evening October 7, 2266, and ED year 1, days 233-250.

Alex spent the next several days in reality continuing his normal routine. The only difference was that he had made it clear to everyone beforehand that he would not be leaving his apartment outside of the morning run. Meals had gone from one of them logging out early to prep and cook, to delivery as the focus was completely on the expedition. The only exception was when his and Sam’s parents came over for dinner Saturday and Sunday and brought home cooked meals with them. Nicole and Sam could only smile as they saw exactly what Alex had warned them about how he would get from time to time, play out. If they did not live with him, they would not even be able to spend time with him. Alex was also laser focused on Abysses End’s scheduled visit that would start on Monday the 8th as he would need to have his team ready to take down the level 60 area boss before then. Once Nantan arrived Alex expected things to become more hectic and he would have to spend some extra time outside of ED. Alex had gotten more than a few messages confirming things for the upcoming week. Alex finally received a list of the members Nantan was bringing with him as well. They were Ava and Mia Quinn, Thomas Clark and Larry Peters, all of whom were 18 years old and part of their young talent program. None of those names meant anything to Alex which told him that none of them had made a name for themselves outside ED, at least in his last life. Perhaps once he learned their player names he might be able to better place them, though he did have a few suspicions about Ava and Mia as he did know of a few notable twins who played for Abysses End in his last life.

In ED Xeal spent his days leading and guiding the expedition towards Autumndale. The first few days they focused on building team cohesion as they marched. This took the form of them fighting in formation battles where everyone would form up ranks with tanks in the front, magic in the middle and utility in the back as a rear guard, while scouts and kiting builds would step in to cover for a tank as needed. As well as scatter battles where everyone would break down to teams of four to engage multiple foes at once, there were also several hybrid scenarios practiced where part of the team would stay together as others broke off into small teams. Once Xeal felt confident in the abilities of the expedition members to work well together, he started to put them under pressure, constantly putting them in situations where they had to work together and switch between formations against large groups of enemies of higher levels than themselves. If Xeal hadn’t been part of the rear guard the expedition force would have likely lost a few healers during the first few times they found themselves overwhelmed. While Xeal held the rear together, Amser and her team kept the rest together and ensured that only a few of the revival items were ever needed. Xeal had prepared 100 of such items to avoid losing manpower before the level 70 area boss as none of the healers had been able pick up any revival skills yet and likely wouldn’t before tier 5.

By day ten all members of the expedition had reached at least level 50 and situations that would have overwhelmed them on day one were easily overcome now. Xeal was happy with the steady progress they were making even if they were still far from ready to take on an area boss of the same level, let alone one several levels above them. Still, they were trending in the right direction and several possible future expedition leaders were standing out. Saima Mahal and Caleb Elfheart both made Xeal smile as he watched them quickly become great assets that he poached from Abysses End after they fell apart in Nium. Both would be great for leading future expeditions and opening one city after another before level 100 when the next shift would occur. Until level 100, dungeons were unneeded as you could find great leveling opponents in the open fields of the maps. However, between level 100 and 200, there were very few maps with appropriate foes outside of dungeons. Whether they were the conquerable kind like the Kobold mine and Vault of Ucnuc, or challenge runs type that reset every time they are run that open up at level 100. Those days were still months away though and they would mark the final stage of ED that most players would reach as only those who reach tier 7 would be able to set foot into the wild lands where level 200 opponents were the weakest foes you would find.

Finally, in the morning of day 250, Xeal was leading the expedition to the area he knew that a level 60 area boss occupied. This area boss was one that wasn’t necessary to defeat for any quest that Xeal knew of and had been known as a great training battle in his last life. At level 59 Xeal was more than ready to face the boss even if he was a level below it. The lowest level left among the expedition force was 54 and more than one of them had taken note at how quickly they were catching up to their guild leader. Most of them felt grateful for Xeal crippling his own leveling speed to help them grow. The sheer speed of leveling he was allowing them would have been enough of a reward even without the credits they were being paid. As they approached the area boss, the once barely capable force shone with confidence. Each member knew their role in the fight to come as Xeal had drilled it into them for a few hours before they made their final approach. Finally they arrived at the cave that Xeal knew the area boss would storm out of when they entered its range. Looking at his force he could only smile bitterly as they had no idea what they were about to face as none had faced an area boss. ED didn’t start throwing area bosses at players before level 50 maps and they didn’t become common before level 80 maps. Compared to the foes that would be found on a level 80 map this one would be easy, but compared to everything they had faced so far it would be a nightmare. Once everyone had taken the position Xeal had advised them to take before the battle, Xeal initiated the battle by entering the range of the boss.

An earthshaking roar was heard from the cave as a dark figure emerged from the opening. As it charged, the rocks and earth in the surrounding area flew towards it coming together to form a massive earth elemental. The area boss stood 100 feet tall and 30 feet wide, towering like an absolute nightmare. The force that had been confident moments ago was frozen in shock before Xeal took command to shake them out of it before it was too late.

“Mages, fire your strongest long range single target spells at it now! Tanks, prepare to intercept and rotate! Healers and support, focus on the tanks. If they fall, we will be done for! Everyone else prepare to adapt as needed!”

The first barrage of attacks hit the earth elemental and it let out a roar and stomped the ground creating a ripple in the earth that pushed everyone within 100 feet of it back, damaging them heavily in the process as only a few had successfully avoided the attack. The healers who luckily were all over 100 feet back went to work healing the tanks, and chunks of earth fell from the elemental. Many mages cheered when they saw this, only to gasp when they watched the chunks of earth reform into smaller earth elementals. The battle had shifted from a single massive foe against 100 players, to a single massive foe and several smaller ones, and panic had started to creep into the expedition force’s ranks. Xeal however didn’t bat an eye before he gave out updated orders.

“60 40 mix break down and work to get rid of the mobs. I will keep the boss occupied while the rest of you focus on whittling it down. It has shrunk in size after that last attack. Keep the damage coming and watch for any elementals that try to rejoin with the main body.”

Xeal charged it, focusing on harassing the earth elemental, moving around its base as it tried to step on him. He was constantly moving and using an elemental blade whenever it seemed to lose interest in him. As he did so, the mages who had formed a spread out half circle continued to attack. Of the 100 players involved in the assault, only 40 were focused on the area boss while the other 60 worked to destroy the smaller elementals. Xeal knew that after a set amount of time they would meld into the earth then rejoin with the main body, healing it in the process. As the mages continued to rain damage upon the earth elemental, more and more smaller ones would fall off its body. Sometimes the elemental would throw the falling chunks at the mages attacking it, causing more chaos to ensue. The battle continued like this for 30 minutes with a few casualties here, or there, but nothing beyond recovery. About half of the chunks that broke off into smaller elementals were being destroyed before they could rejoin the main body. It was at this point that the elemental had been worn down enough that it entered its second phase. It had already shrunk to only 70 feet of height at that point and suddenly the two sides stepped away from each other, splitting down the middle and reforming as two 50 foot monsters. Xeal knew that each of the elementals were now completely independent of the other and would need to be taken down in a staggered attack as allowing both of them to enter the next phases together would be a quick one-way ticket to a party wipe. With 90 players remaining, Xeal went about putting out new orders.

“Everyone focus on the one on the right. Ignore the one on the left as I keep its attention. We need to kill that one first. I need three healers on me, everyone else keep up the same pattern and take down that elemental.”

Right after Xeal finished speaking, the two elementals finished forming and both jumped, creating a massive earth wave. The wave was twice the size of the one that started the battle. Luckily almost everyone dodged it enough to only take minor damage. However, formations were an absolute mess and five players died from the attack, leaving only 85 left. Xeal engaged his elemental, striking hard and fast to pull it away from the other one while the rest of the force unloaded on the other one. Xeal’s sole focus was on pulling his target away from its other half to minimize splash damage from what came next. More and more chunks fell off of the elemental on the right as the rest of the players were focused on it, thus creating a small swarm of elementals the size of goblins that were easy to kill, but could easily overwhelm the battle. If both elementals were taking that kind of damage, it would likely become like that. Time passed as more and more damage befell the elemental on the right until it was only 30 feet tall and started to glow from its own cracks. Xeal knew what was coming and quickly backed away from his elemental as he shouted orders.

“Fall back! It is about to explode! Find cover, or get low, as you don’t want to be hit when it does!”

Ten seconds later, a massive explosion that would have wiped out any tank not using a lifesaving skill within twenty feet of it, went off. Chunks of earth were blasted everywhere. Even the other elemental took a massive hit as more chunks fell off of it. Once the chunks had landed, they began to reform until around 200 goblin sized elementals stood on the field. The whole of the field was covered and chaos ruled for the next 20 minutes as one player after another was overrun. When the chaos ended, only 70 players were still standing and most of them were the worse for wear. Xeal knew that they had passed the point of no return as the remaining elemental would do the same. He hoped that they could endure, but with only 10 healers left he was worried about the group’s survivability. Finally, two hours after the battle had started, the same glowing from cracks appeared on the remaining elemental. Without even needing to give an order to withdraw, the remaining players did so. The following free for all was intense and over 150 goblin sized elementals attacked. When the dust settled only 34 players were still alive, 5 of which were healers. Xeal was pleased to see his friends had made it to the end, as it told him that the training he was having them do in this life was effective. In his last life none of them would have had anywhere near enough skills to be part of a team like this at this stage of the game. Now they were leading the charge and keeping up with players Xeal knew were professional grade.

(Congratulations. The guild FAE is the first guild to have a group defeat an area boss. As the first group to defeat an area boss in the game, a 1.5 multiplier will be applied to all rewards!) At the same time, a system notification went out to the entire game. (Congratulations to FAE for being the first guild to have a team made up entirely of its members take down an area boss in all of Eternal Dominion, awarding 10,000,000 bonus renown divided evenly among the members of the team.)

Xeal could only smile when the announcement went out. He was sure this would be all that Nantan would want to talk about when he met with him in reality. That had been part of the reason he had done this test run before taking down the level 70 area boss as it would avoid tipping his hand too much. The details of that fight would have let too much information out compared to a simple swarm boss like this. As the few remaining healers went about using the revival items to resurrect the fallen members of the expedition, Xeal made his way over to the loot. There in a mound was a larger bounty than anything any player had seen at this point in the game. Xeal went about separating out the different items, a good portion of which was gold that got added to the guild’s fund instantly. After separating everything out, Xeal was looking over the gear while smiling as the battle had pushed him and all his friends, including Amser, to level 60, or higher. If it hadn’t been for his need to get twice the experience as other players, he would be several levels higher than that. Still, all the best gear that had dropped was for level 60 players. There was a total of 26 items that could be equipped. 12 of them were two complete six item armor sets. One was a heavy plate set meant for a front-line tank named Heavy Mountain plate. Its stats were far better than the level 50 gear Amet had on so Xeal passed it to him. The other set, Natures Spirit, was meant for a cloth armor class and gave a great boost to spellcasters. After thinking it over for a good bit, he passed the set over to Ignis as he would get more use out of it then Aalin. The 14 remaining items were mostly hammers and maces and other blunt weapons, but two stood out from the rest. One was a beautiful staff called Natures Gift. It was ideal for a healer, but also was designed for self-defense. At the top was a flattened circle about the size of a volleyball with intricate Celtic knots and a green gem held in its center, and the bottom of the staff was a solid sphere the size of a softball. Gale received the staff as Xeal went onto the last item of note. It was a simple belt that to most would seem unassuming when worn, but Xeal knew just how valuable and rare it was. He was ecstatic to have it drop here as even in his last life items in its class went for at least 10,000,000 credits. It was a simple strength boosting item that increased the wearers strength stat by ten percent called the Belt of the Mountain. Items that give a percentage boost instead of a flat increase were always useable as they grew as you did. The only way Xeal would have been happier would have been if it had been a DEX belt. Still, he quickly equipped it and handed out the other weapons to the players who could best use them. Once the loot had been dealt with, Xeal led the expedition to an area to rest and do basic maintenance to their gear. As he did so he gave Amser command of the expedition, explaining that he would join back up with them in time for the final raid. The next week would require him, Gale and Aalin to spend some extra time outside ED to deal with Abysses End. With that and his need to do some power leveling without the group slowing him down, he handed advanced return scrolls to his party of six and they returned to the capital before logging out.

Morning, October 8 to Evening October 8, 2266, and ED year 1, day 251.

Alex woke next to Sam and found her looking over to him before she pulled him into a good morning kiss. The pair had enjoyed some time together before the logout to satisfy her faith’s needs in-game and the passion from it had spilled into reality as well. If it hadn’t been for Nicole needing her good morning kiss as well and the run that Abysses End would be at, Alex would have been more than happy to just spend this time in bed with Sam. However, responsibility called and Alex begrudgingly extracted himself from Sam and the bed. He quickly dressed before joining Nicole in the common area and giving her a deep and passionate good morning kiss.

“Is it terrible that I find you kissing each other hot?” Sam asked hesitantly.

“Sam!” cried Nicole while blushing.

“Nicole, calm down. Honestly Sam, it’s better than you being jealous. I still don’t know how you two can handle sharing me. At this point if I saw either of you kissing another man I doubt I could keep my calm.”

“Ha, yah, I think if I saw you with some random girl, I would be the same way, but with Nicole I just feel happy for some reason,” grinned Sam.

“Sam, I am happy that you like me kissing Alex as I never intend to stop, and I will admit that I don’t feel any hurt when he kisses you either. However, calling watching us kissing hot starts to cross some lines that I don’t think I am into,” Nicole stated firmly.

“Yah, I know. Still, I’m only being honest like we are supposed to be. After all, we are all in this together and I would rather it be known than not.”

“Thank you, both of you. Sam is right, we all have different wants and needs and feel differently about everything. Honestly, with what I am going to be dealing with today between Abysses End and Jessica, these kinds of conversations are important.”

“Yah, sorry about how everything turned out with Jessica,” apologized Sam. “I know you were hoping that we would just shut her down.”

“I still can’t believe we crumbled so easily and that she was willing to go as far as she was,” grumbled Nicole.

“I forgive you both. Still, the fact that she will be almost openly seducing me and I have to act like I’m receptive is going to be awkward for the next week.”

“Then you have that therapy with her today. What time is that again?” asked Nicole.

“3:30, then we have dinner with Abysses End at 5:30. Today is going to be a long day and Abysses End wants to host events each night.”

“Do we have to be there every night?” whined Sam.

“Absolutely,” stated Nicole. “Sam, do you want to leave Alex alone with that pair of twins that are with Abysses End?”

“You really think they would be that blatant?” an incredulous Sam asked.

“Nicole, Sam, I doubt the twins will do more than try and entice me to make a move on them. Once that move is made however, I would fully expect them to do everything in their power to get what they want.”

“That sounds so dirty,” glowered Sam.

“Sam, you and I both know he means they would try and rope Alex into Abysses End,” said an exasperated Nicole.

“I know. Sorry, I’m just horny this morning and I know a couple of hussies are going to be going after Alex right in front of us.”

“Okay, let’s get going or we will be late and I don’t want to leave Abysses End unsupervised,” said Alex.

The three of them drove over to Alex’s parents’ house to meet up with everyone for the morning run. When they arrived, they found all of the normal participants already present and doing some light stretching. Jessica was chatting with Anna and Lauren while Amanda and Fred flirted as Dan stood awkwardly like he didn’t really belong anywhere. Alex couldn’t help but chuckle softly at his predicament as he found himself the odd one out. A few minutes later Nantan pulled up in a luxury SUV and the four other Abysses End members followed. Nantan’s dark skin and dark hair was instantly at contrast with the pale skin and light red hair of the pair of identical twins that followed behind him. If their fit and tone features, mixed with at least a pair of c-cups hidden by only a sports bra and a tight shirt, weren’t enough to ensnare a man, then their striking green eyes would be. Alex couldn’t help but gulp as he took in their features. Sam and Nicole both exchanged troubled looks as they noticed Alex’s eyes. Had he not warned them beforehand that he had to be seen admiring any hot girl that came with Abysses End, they would have been kicking his shin right about then. Behind the two ladies were a pair of underwhelming men. Both wore baggy clothes and looked like they were just in average shape. When Nantan made it over to Alex he extended a hand and Alex met it with his own.

“Good morning, I hope everyone has been well,” Nantan said cheerfully.

“Indeed, we have been for the most part. Life continues to go on and things in ED have been going well.”

“Indeed, the announcement that your guild took down an area boss has sent a ripple throughout all of ED,” said Nantan. “Most guilds are only just finishing getting settled in their capital cities while you are moving on to greater things. I hear you are also a baron already. You certainly have been busy since we last met.”

“I have been but, those subjects can wait for dinner tonight. Right now, I feel some introductions are in order and then we have a good run planned for this morning.”

“Of course. Ladies, if you would go first.”

Giggling, the twins introduced themselves.

“Hi there, I’m Ava.”

“And I’m Mia.”

“We hope to get to know you all a bit better over the next week,” smiled Ava.

“Perhaps longer if life permits, but that’s all for now,” added Mia.

Next, the first of the young men stepped forward. He had pale skin like he didn’t know what the sun was and dark greasy hair. Alex knew his type as he had been the same for several years when his whole life revolved around improving in ED, even at the cost of his health.

“Names Larry, that’s all.”

“Larry, you’re no fun,” pouted Mia.

“Yeah, at least say it’s good to meet you or something,” Ava added.

“Would you two cut the peppy act already? It’s getting old, fast. Oh, and I’m Thomas by the way and I hope this trip is enlightening.”

Ava and Mia were now sticking their tongues out at Thomas, who unlike Larry, looked like he at least made some time to soak up the sun from time to time and wash his short brown hair. As he took in the group, Alex was sweating as he was now pretty sure he knew who the twins were in ED. In his last life they had been known as the deadly flirt twins, Celine and Luna Heartbreaker. Both of them were tier 7 players who specialized in sword fighting. Alone, either of them were nothing special, but together they could easily deal with six players of equal level and skill. They also had a reputation of brazenly flirting with their opponents to distract them. More than a few rumors had been wide spread that the pair were sleeping their way up the corporate ladder of Abysses End. However, nothing had ever been confirmed in his last life and Xeal found himself torn about how to handle them. He knew they were both new recruits to Abysses End and he had never had any direct issues with them in his last life. If he pushed a little, he could probably get both to jump ship but the cost might be too much. He knew that they would become top class players in the future, perhaps more if he could get his hands on them and help them grow as he was doing for his friends.

“It’s good to meet all of you. I am Alex. You may also know me as Xeal, guild leader of FAE in ED. I look forward to seeing what the next week holds.”

After Alex introduced himself the rest of his friends followed suit before the run started. For this morning’s run Alex led everyone on a planned route that would take the group on just over a three-mile loop that would pause at a nearby park that was the halfway point. Once they arrived at the park, Alex made use of the several metal bars for a variety of exercises, to include chin ups, elevated pushups and pull ups. He had warned all of the normal members of this twist coming and he knew that Jessica had made Nantan think it was a new normal that he had started last week. Alex could tell as they reached the park Larry was not cut out for physical exertion. Thomas was a bit better, but was still out of shape. However, Mia and Ava were more than ready for this. They smiled at Alex as they caught his eye checking in on everyone as he told them all to line up and start going through their sets. As the twins started the inclined pushups, they both pushed out their rears more than necessary, straining their tight booty shorts while giving the men present a smile. Between the ways Jessica purposely wiggled her butt while looking at him with a smile when ever Sam and Nicole were occupied, and the twins acting like they had no shame regardless of who was looking as they made sure Alex took in the show, Alex could already feel that this week was going to be an exceptionally long one.

After everyone had completed their upper body exercises, at least as much as they could handle when it came to a few of them, it was time to run back. Alex found the twins directly in front of him at the start as they glanced back and snickered provocatively at him. He could tell that they were all but calling him out for enjoying the view he had of them in their booty shorts in front of him. Before things became a bit to awkward, Alex made his way around the pair as they giggled and waved flirtatiously at him as he passed by. Alex couldn’t help but blush as he tried and failed to keep his mind on other things. He knew then that engaging with the twins would be like playing with fire and should be done only with extreme caution. They were not innocent girls like Jessica from what he could tell, but full-blown predators and he felt like they had him in their sights. Finally the morning exercise was complete and it was time for everyone to go their separate ways until tonight. Alex made sure to give Jessica a quick smile when nobody but Nantan was paying attention before saying goodbye to the group and returning to the apartment with Sam and Nicole. The shower after they returned lasted far longer than normal as Alex worked to calm himself down and Nicole and Sam made sure to remind him about what he already had. Both had expressed extreme annoyance at how the morning had played out. Neither of them wanted Alex anywhere near those twins without both of them with him. Alex couldn’t help but smile as both of them expressed their displeasure at having to let other women make passes at him. As the pair continued to vent, Alex just kept holding them as he listened, reassured, and apologized to them for his plan causing issues. He even offered to drop the act and just let what happens, happen. Both girls shot him down and made it clear that they could handle it for the next few months before they escaped to Colorado in January.

After breakfast, all three of them logged into ED and met up with Amet, Clara and Ignis to do some grinding. As they worked, they shadowed the main force to make sure they would be able to link up with them for the level 70 area boss on day 261, or 262, depending on how things worked out. Xeal hoped to be at least level 63 by then, but the extra experience he needed was making it hard just to keep up with his friends as they worked together. If it wasn’t for the fact that they were fighting foes five levels above Amet who had reached level 61 already, giving Xeal a greater boost than his friends, it would have been a completely lost cause. Still, Xeal knew that until he went off on his own again his leveling speed would start lagging behind them by a fair bit. The session passed uneventfully and before they knew it, it was time to return to the city to rest until they would repeat this the next day.

When Alex opened his eyes, it was 2:45 and he had 45 minutes to be at Jessica’s appointment. He wondered what Dr. Blythe would be like at this point in history and whether the man was already fascinated by nontraditional relationships. Chuckling to himself, Alex quickly got ready and left the apartment, making his way across town for the appointment. When he arrived, he caught his mom dropping Jessica off which had become standard practice in order to facilitate the therapy. Alex waved to his mom as she drove past before walking in to the psychologist’s office that housed Dr. Blythe and three other psychologists. Intently, Alex was met with the smell of leather as it permeated the office under the soft glow of the LED lighting. Behind a counter sat a conservatively dressed middle-aged woman with long, straight brown hair held in place by a hair band. Jessica made her way to the counter to check in as Alex made himself comfortable in one of the chairs in the waiting area. Jessica joined him shortly after, giving him a nervous look as she did so. He could tell that she was starting to hype herself up and it was taking everything she had not to bolt out the front door.

“Jessica, relax. All we will be doing today is talking. I’m sure Dr. Blythe just wants to better understand your current situation. I doubt he will say or do anything that will be anything but supportive of making you a better person.”

“I know but, I can’t help but worry about what he will ask you and where it might lead.”

“Relax, I am sure it will be fine.”

“Thanks.”

A few minutes later they were led into Dr. Blythe’s office. Alex examined the room that had a few couches and of course there was a chaise longue in the center of the room. Along the wall were several calming pictures of forest and lakes and the like. A single desk sat in the far corner facing the window with Dr. Blythe’s credentials framed next to it. When they entered Dr. Blythe was seated at his desk working on something. He had salt and pepper hair even though he wasn’t even 45 yet. His brown eyes caught sight of Alex and Jessica quickly and he stood up from his desk and greeted them both.

“Welcome, it is good to see you again Jessica, and you must be Alex. I’m Dr. Giles Blythe. It’s good to meet you and thank you for coming. Please make yourselves comfortable. I was just reviewing some things.”

“Thank you, Dr. Blythe,” greeted Alex.

“Good, good, now Jessica, for this session I just want to understand where Alex here fits into everything. Don’t worry, nothing bad will be happening and I won’t be critical about anything. As I have said before, we are here to recognize and overcome. What that means is ultimately up to you.”

“I know.”

“Now Alex, please tell me about yourself and how you see your situation with Jessica.”

For the next 20 minutes Alex went over himself and various other topics of his life, including why he had pushed Jessica into counseling. Dr. Blythe was especially interested in Alex’s relationship with Sam and Nicole. Alex was sure that the doctor was already intrigued by the nature of nontraditional relationships. Still, Dr. Blythe didn’t linger on that but instead he drilled down into how Alex had recognized that Jessica needed to resolve her own issues before letting her become part of his relationship. He complimented him on not taking advantage of the situation like most would. Finally it was time to bring Jessica into the conversation.

“Jessica, do you disagree with anything Alex has shared today?”

“No, it is hard to hear how he sees me, but at the same time it tells me that he cares.”

“Hmm, Alex do you have any romantic feelings for Jessica?”

“Beyond the simple physical attraction that any man has to a pretty lady, no.”

Alex noticed Jessica physically recoil at his words.

“Yet from what she has said, you are willing to give her a chance in the future as long as she addresses her own issues.”

“Yes, while I think it will be a mistake for her and me, I will gladly see what happens if for no other reason than it will help her move on.”

“Hmm, why do you think Alex is willing to do that Jessica?”

Jessica looked like she just wanted to disappear when she was asked that.

“Pity.”

“Jessica, if you think for a second that I would date someone out of pity you need to reassess who I am. No, I am willing to do so because I genuinely care about you and feel responsible for not shutting you down when I first noticed you looking. Some might construe that to pity, but were it that easy I would have simply taken you out to dinner and told you it wasn’t going to work out. No, regardless of anything else at play, I care about you in the same way I care about Lauren. You both are Anna’s best friends and are her support network the same way Dan and Fred are mine. If I find myself able to help someone that I care about, I will.”

Jessica seemed to shrink more but some hope shown in her eyes as well at Alex’s words.

“Thank you for sharing that, Alex. Jessica, I know that Alex’s words might feel like he is rebuking you for your thoughts of him pitying you, however I feel like he is just trying to let you know he cares. Now let’s go ahead and move into some breathing exercises, after which I want you to express to Alex how you feel.”

The next five minutes were simply listening to calming music as Dr. Blythe led Alex and Jessica through breathing exercises. After which Jessica seemed a little more sure of herself as she locked her brown eyes onto Alex’s hazel ones and started to let her feelings loose in a ramble.

“Alex, when I look at you, I see security and warmth, basically everything I don’t have at home. I won’t lie and say that your newfound wealth doesn’t factor into my feelings, but it is much more than just that. I have known you as Anna’s older brother since middle school and always thought you were caring. To be honest I have envied Anna for a long time and the only reason I think I didn’t become bitter about it was due to how welcoming you all are. I would be lying if I said I had never thought about what it would be like to marry and officially be able to call your parents mom and dad, before this year. Still, I never thought to actually pursue you until I found out you were making good money playing ED. I am shallow and I know it. Dr. Blythe has assured me that it is normal to be attracted to success but I still feel inadequate when compared to Sam and Nicole. I don’t feel like I deserve you and that helps me in accepting a lower position in comparison to Sam and Nicole. Honestly, I am grateful that you saved me from myself that morning and want what is best for me, and not just my body. I know you want me to move on from you and hope that working through my issues will help me do just that. While you may be right and I will eventually move on, right now you are simply too wonderful in my eyes for me to give up on. I hope you accept my feelings for what they are even if things don’t work out the way I want them to right now.”

“Very good. Now I think we should end the joint session here for now. Alex, if you could please wait for Jessica in the lobby I would appreciate it. We still have a bit of time left and I think a bit of time to really let everything process away from each other would be for the best. I am sure this will not be the last joint session we have.”

Alex gave Dr. Blythe a nod as he got up and left the room as he thought over Jessica’s words. As he dissected them, he found that flawed as her feelings might be, she really did want to be with him. It was only a question of if he would let her, in her mind. Sighing, Alex decided to put that aside for now and just focus on dealing with Abysses End. Ten minutes after Alex left, Jessica came out of the room and joined Alex, who was her ride for the night. Once they were in the car Jessica broke the silence.

“Alex, thank you for showing up today.”

“You’re welcome. Honestly, I was glad to meet Dr, Blythe in person, so I had my own motives at play as well.”

“Dr. Blythe did mention he was happy that he was handling my situation. Something about aspects of it fascinate him. He also warned me that some of the things he would see as fine others in his field would see as major issues to be fixed. I think he is talking about the nature of my desire to join other women in a relationship with the same man.”

“Yah, I was getting the same vibe. Part of the reason I chose him was that I thought he would address your parental issues without trying to just treat the symptoms. Besides, he is a psychologist, not a psychiatrist. He isn’t going to just talk to you for an hour every week or so, put you on meds, and call you good.”

“Yah, he’s nice. Even complimented me on finding people who care about me and want to help. He says that while I will have issues due to my parents utter disregard of my existence, at least I have support.”

“That support is how you will overcome your issues. It’s why I tore into Anna when she wanted to throw you out.”

“Thanks for that. Things are still awkward but I can tell she is trying to move past it.”

“Yah, but don’t worry. By the time you graduate, the two of you will likely be closer than you have ever been.”

“I hope so, and I hope that the same can be said about my relationship with you.”

Jessica mumbled the last part so Alex wasn’t quite sure what she had said. A quick glance told him it might be better that way so he let the conversation die off as he made his way to his parents’ house where he dropped Jessica off before picking up Nicole and Sam for the dinner with Nantan and the other Abysses End members. Nantan had decided that a less formal setting would be for the best for the first night and as such had reserved a BBQ area on the beach. Stepping into the apartment Alex was met with his girls wearing their beach wear. Sam had on denim booty shorts and a light blue tank top with a blue bikini underneath, while Nicole had on a blue and black sarong and a blue t-shirt to cover her black with white polka dots bikini. Both girls looked ready to spend an hour at the beach, perhaps even enjoy the sunset before coming home. Alex just smiled as he traded his blue jeans in to his plain black boardshorts and grabbed a towel.

“So how was the therapy session?” asked Sam.

“Good for the most part.

“So you didn’t get called a player for having a bunch of girls hanging off you?”

“No, and I don’t have a bunch of girls hanging off me in reality. I only have the two of you and that’s enough for me.”

“Alex, don’t kid yourself,” warned Nicole. “You may only be putting your hands on us, which we are grateful for but, for various reasons we know of at least three more who are hanging off you. Two of them may only want to ruin you at the behest of their guild and one may be fairly misguided, but they exist all the same.”

“Yep, so don’t grow complacent unless you intend to end up with a full-blown harem, both in and out of ED,” added Sam. “I’m sure Amser would love to hear all about that.”

“At this point I think it would be a flip of a coin if she would puke, or laugh at you,” smiled Nicole.

“She really has taken to laughing anytime I have to avoid adding a noble lady to my courtship list. Though I don’t think she would find the same humor if I brought the same practices into reality.”

Both girls just laughed as they made their way out to the car with Alex in tow. The drive to the beach was uneventful other than a few comments about how Alex needed to avoid being alone with Mia and Ava, as neither of the girls would put it past them to try something if an opportunity presented itself to them. Alex was happy to see both of his girls ready to run interference for anything that the twins might try and pull off.

When they arrived at the beach it was 5:20, but Alex could already see Nantan working on getting the grill going. Nantan had a red Hawaiian-shirt and beige shorts on and looked like a dad dealing with teenage kids. Larry looked like he didn’t belong anywhere near a beach as he wore jeans and a black hoody. The twins perked up when they noticed Alex and his girls. Both wore plain black bikinis that covered only the bare minimum to avoid being considered indecent. Thomas had on a loose white shirt and red boardshorts as he waved at Alex. As Alex, Sam and Nicole made their way over the twins got up and met them half way.

“Hi there, ladies and Alex. It’s great to see you all again,” chirped Ava.

“Yah, Larry and Thomas are such bores,” added Mia, rolling her eyes.

“I’m glad we can relieve you of your boredom,” replied Sam.

“You can say that again,” Mia said fervently.

“Hey, I have an idea,” piped up Ava. “Why don’t we enjoy some time in the water before the food is ready?”

“I don’t know, I kind of want to be here when the rest of our friends show up,” Nicole said uncertainly.

“Hey Nanten, can you make sure and let the rest of FAE know that we are playing in the ocean when they show up?” called Ava.

Nantan waved and gave Ava a thumbs up, letting them know he was good to do so and before anyone could object, Mia was pulling Sam as Ava pulled Nicole by the hand towards the ocean. The twins didn’t seem to know the meaning of no, or even allow it to be spoken. Alex could only shake his head as he followed after them, worried where this might go.

Alex, Sam and Nicole only had time to drop off their towels and extra clothing before Ava and Mia pulled them into the water. The ocean was cold but felt nice. Ava and Mia seemed to be enjoying acting like kids and he wondered where they were from. Unlike Alex’s fledgling workshop that didn’t have any active offices yet, Abysses End had offices in over 30 countries. All together they had over 100 offices and 10,000 full time members who kept everything running. Still, Abysses End was a shrewd organization and behind those 10,000 or so members were another 10,000,000 who were trying to join their ranks. Alex could tell that Nantan had brought potential full-time members to meet him as they were too young to have earned a spot yet.

“So, Ava, Mia where are you two from?” Alex inquired.

“Oklahoma, but we moved to Dallas in June after signing up to play ED for Abysses End,” Mia replied.

“Ah, so have you been to California before?” Sam questioned.

“Nope, we never left our hometown before moving to Dallas,” answered Mia.

“Yeah, this is our first time at the beach, so forgive us if we are a bit excited to enjoy it,” added Ava.

“It’s fine, I was just curious,” replied Alex. “So how did you end up in Abysses End?”

“Oh, you know,” started Ava.

“We both played VR games for fun once we turned 16,” continued Mia.

“Mainly ones that we could work together in.”

“Then when we graduated from high school Abysses End was doing a competition in our area.”

“Lucky for us it was a team event.”

“So we got three of our friends together and entered.”

“Our friends were just dead weight but we needed them to compete, so it was all good.”

“In the end they died each round, only sometimes taking an opponent with them.”

“Still, they bought us some time while we tore through the rest.”

“In the end our team placed fourth, but Ava and I took the top spots on the kill counts.”

“It was then that we were offered a one-year trial contract and we moved to the dorms in Dallas.”

“So here we are,” finished Mia.

“Does that mean you are stuck in Abysses End until the year is up?” asked Sam.

“Oh, honey no,” responded Mia. “We could leave but we would have to delete our characters and pay the severance if we did.”

“Don’t forget about the NDA,” added Ava.

“NDA?” asked Sam with a wrinkled brow.

“Nondisclosure agreement,” explained Alex. “It means that if they left, they can’t say anything about their experiences in Abysses End. If my guess is correct, it is a pretty heavy fine if they did so and worse, they can even face the fines repetitively. Even a wealthy person can end up a pauper if they are not careful.”

“Exactly, though for us it’s not that big of a deal as the NDA is just a slap on the wrist for aspiring members,” nodded Mia.

“Yeah, the one we signed wouldn’t even hold up in court nine times out of ten,” added Ava. “It’s the one that core members sign that holds weight.”

“We heard that there was a major incident a few years back where a newly added core member had a senior core member make an unwanted advance on them,” Mia said solemnly.

“The rumors range from full blown rape to a slap on the ass.”

“All the rumors agree that when the new member tried to take it to court the NDA shut it down hard.”

“What, you’re saying that you could be raped and not be able to report it?” an affronted Nicole demanded.

“Oh, I doubt that,” responded Mia. “Most likely someone got handsy and it has just been exaggerated to the extreme.”

“Still, how can you accept that?” demanded Nicole.

“How can the two of you share Alex?” Mia quipped.

“Not to mention I hear rumors of him having a few more girls in ED, even if they are NPCs,” Ava asked slyly.

“That’s different, we are with him consensually,” Sam said defensively.

“So you are fine with sharing him, as long as what?” Ava asked.

“Look, we know it’s complicated and I don’t feel like this is an appropriate conversation,” diverted Nicole.

“Fair enough but still, we’re curious about how it works,” an interested Ava said.

“Yeah, don’t be so defensive,” said Mia. “We’re not going to judge you on it. If anything, we’re jealous of you.”

“Yeah, if you can make it work out, you’ll get to hang out with your best friend for the rest of your life,” nodded Ava.

“Besides, we can tell that the whole womanizer act you have been playing up for Nantan is an act,” smirked Mia.

“The same way that our hussy act is all for show,” Ava also smirked.

“That’s not to say that if the right man came along we wouldn’t happily follow through,” hinted Mia.

Both twins gave Alex a smoldering look at Mia’s words before Nicole and Sam stepped in between them.

“It’s hard to believe you when you pull a stunt like that right in front of us,” glowered Sam.

“Ah Sam, don’t worry, we don’t want to take him from you,” Ava promised.

“Share him maybe, but who knows,” grinned Mia.

“How can you be so blatant!” cried a shocked Sam.

“Sam, calm down. They are just saying that they are interested in me. They are just probing you and Nicole right now to see how you react. Ava, Mia, I thank you for your honesty but I don’t think it would be a good idea.”

“We know and don’t worry, Nantan has hinted that he wants us to get close to you,” said Ava.

“He makes it sound like it’s to show us a successful player our own age who we can learn from,” nodded Mia.

“But the way he says it and looks at us we know he wants us to seduce you into the workshop,” said Ava gloomily.

“So forgive us for playing into that this week and please let us at least get your number and call you from time to time,” Mia requested.

“If we can make it seem like we have at least caught your interest it will help our standing,” added Ava.

“You just want to use him to propel yourself higher within Abysses End, a workshop that while we are attempting to mend the fence with, it is very likely that it will end badly,” said an exasperated Nicole.

“Oh, that’s cute,” grinned Mia. “You actually think that Abysses End is trying to play nice with you.”

“No, but they have to move with caution,” explained Alex. “After what they pulled, it broke etiquette with other major workshops. If they move overtly against us before we move against them, trust will be lost and that would hurt them far more than taking my guild would help. It’s why they want you to seduce me and pull me in so badly.”

“Exactly,” said Ava with a sharp nod. “Now unless you want dozens of women throwing themselves at you, our plan is your best option.”

“I only have one major issue with your plan, assuming it stops at phone calls, and that is how it doesn’t bring any benefit to FAE,” said Alex.

“Ha, I still can’t believe Nantan hasn’t called you out for that name,” smirked Mia.

“Yeah, can you have a more anti Abysses End name?” demanded Ava.

“What are they talking about Alex?” asked Sam in confusion.

“They are talking about how Free Art Expo could be a euphemism for F Abysses End,” replied Alex.

“Oh, so that is what FAE stands for,” said a wide-eyed Mia. “Ha, interesting.”

“Our bad for assuming otherwise,” pouted Ava.

“Still, the fact that you can see it means you’re aware and yet you haven’t changed the name,” said Mia with a raised eyebrow.

“I like the name and after Abysses End attacked us, I don’t feel like changing it until I feel my grievances have been settled,” said Alex with a small smile.

“Sounds like the name will remain until you are no longer in charge of your guild,” said Ava.

“Pity,” said Mia. “I had hoped you wouldn’t be so stubborn. Changing your name would show a lot of good will.”

“And when it was known that we persuaded you it would have helped us, even if you didn’t play along with our plan,” complained Ava.

“And now we are back to your plan. What is it the two of you want?” Alex asked.

“Credits mainly,” responded Mia.

“Don’t think we just want to be rich. No, we want to be free,” said Ava piously.

“We won’t spend our credits like an idiot once we have them,” said Mia.

“Yep. Stealth wealth is the best,” a nodding Ava agreed.

“So, what, you just don’t want to worry about your financial situation. To that end you would play with other’s emotions, including your own?” Nicole demanded.

“Oh dear, if I thought I could, I would convince Alex to give my sister and I children to tie him to us,” said Ava.

“Yeah, latching onto a single man who could give us what we want beats the other options we have,” Mia added.

“What, using your body to wrap as many men around your fingers as possible?” Alex asked.

“Hopefully we won’t have to go that far,” Ava said.

“No, we just flirt and leave them hanging,” said Mia.

“Honestly, if we ever actually let one of them have their way with us it would be the end of our aspirations as they all talk too much.”

“Yep, it wouldn’t take two days for everyone to know.”

“Then they would all expect it and we would be ruined.”

“So you’re saying that you won’t go that far until you find the man you plan to trap,” said Nicole with narrowed eyes.

“Trap is such a mean way to say it,” responded Mia.

“We prefer to say catch,” supplied Ava.

“Besides, we would make sure he agreed to impregnate us beforehand.”

“We want a willing partner, not a disgruntled benefactor who will have us in and out of court all the time.”

“Can you two stop that?” said an exasperated Sam.

“Stop what?” a confused Mia asked.

“Switching off each sentence, it’s weird,” said Sam.

“Oh, sorry but really it just happens naturally to us now,” said Ava with realization.

“Yeah, it started when we were young and playing sports,” stated Mia.

“It was an exercise to sync our minds.”

“It really helps us work seamlessly together even now.”

“If anything, you and Nicole should try it out,” encouraged Ava with enthusiasm.

“Nope, I’m good without picking up a creepy talking habit with my best friend,” said Sam as she shook her head.

“Pity, you two could have grown closer,” said Mia.

“Yeah, if we are honest, we don’t even think of each other as another person,” explained Ava.

“Nope, we are just one half of a whole to us.”

“That is just more creepy,” shuddered Sam.

“Looks like the food is done,” shrugged Ava.

“And your friends are here,” added Mia.

“Guess we should head in,” a relieved Alex said.

Ava and Mia nodded and the five of them headed in to dry off before grabbing some food. While Alex was drying off, he suddenly felt a pair of lips kissing both his cheeks the next moment Ava and Mia walked past him. Both turned and gave him a wink before heading off and leaving Alex alone with Sam and Nicole.

“Those bitches!” snarled Sam.

“Alex, do we have to play nicely for the rest of the week with them?” asked a glaring Nicole.

Alex couldn’t help but sigh as he answered.

“They are dead set on whatever plan they have in play and don’t care about who gets hurt along the way. Honestly, I’m with you two. If we play nice with them, I’m going to end up in hot water fast.”

“Oh, do they worry you that much?” Nicole asked with increased interest.

“Yes, if I didn’t have you two, they would likely succeed in catching me as long as I could extract them from Abysses End first.”

“Oh, so you like them?” asked Sam.

“Sam, that is a trap of a question. I am a guy and like it or not, a pair of hot twins is a rather common fantasy.”

“So you would be happy if we shared you with them?” asked Sam with narrowed eyes.

“Stop trying to trap me. I love you and Nicole. That trumps any fantasies I might have.”

“I’m-”

“Sam, drop it. Alex, thank you for being honest with us. Sam, getting into a fight about Alex being aroused by a pair of twins who are going out of their way to seduce him is just dumb. Especially when he has already admitted that he is worried about them succeeding and is willing to abandon his plans to avoid it for us.”

“Still, it pisses me off,” huffed Sam.

“It should. Just know that I have no intention of doing anything to hurt either of you. I am being honest about the attraction to raise your guards. The two of you are more than enough for me, if not way too much. No fantasy is worth losing what I already have. You both need to know that. Still, don’t let them get me alone.”

“You’re scared of them, aren’t you?” posed Sam.

“Very much so. They are driven and I am a prime target to them, one way or another.”

“Ha, a massive multinational workshop doesn’t even phase you, but a pair of twins who want your credits do,” smirked Sam.

“Sam, this is not the time or place for this conversation,” warned Nicole. “Let’s go join the others and we can talk about this on the way home.”

With that the three of them finished drying off and putting on their over clothes and joined the rest for burgers and bratwursts. The conversation was kept relatively neutral with the only notable things Alex picked up was how Larry was from New York and Thomas hailed from Miami. It seemed that Abysses End was killing two birds with one stone by letting some of their junior members meet each other. The twins kept sending looks and winks towards Alex the entire time, driving Sam up a wall while Nicole just ignored them. It had become so bad that even Amanda looked like she might punch them for Sam and Nicole while Fred and Dan just tried to awkwardly ignore it. By the time the 6:32 sunset happened, Alex was more than happy to escape. As Alex drove, he could tell Sam was still fuming and Nicole was too quiet.

“Sam, just let it out,” sighed Alex.

“What is there to let out! Everything is fine!” snapped Sam.

“Yep, two hussies didn’t just take advantage of the situation to continually throw themselves at your boyfriend while you were forced to watch. Sam, I love you and Nicole. This whole situation has me terrified as I didn’t expect such a brazen move.”

“Sam, I’m pissed too, but taking it out on Alex is just what they want. If they can cause friction between us, it will make their job easier.”

“I know, but I’m still pissed.”

“As am I, but I am focusing it at Abysses End, not Alex.”

“Fine, I’ll try and do that.”

Alex could tell something else was bugging Sam from the way she was acting.

“Sam, is there anything else you want to say, while we are letting out our frustrations?”

“Huh, yah, I’m pissed at myself as well.”

“Wait, what? Why?” asked a confused Nicole.

“Remember how I said I found you kissing Alex hot this morning?”

“Yah, I don’t feel the same and you know that. What does that have to do with this?”

“I found myself imagining the twins with Alex and felt the same, except it was mixed with pure rage. My emotions are a mess and I don’t understand why I feel this way.”

“Sam, thank you for telling us,” said Alex. “If I had to guess, you’re being influenced by your religion in ED. Whether your fine with that or not is up to you and I won’t judge you about it and I will help you work through it if you want me to.”

“Wait, you’re saying a fake religion in ED is making Sam bi?” asked an incredulous Nicole.

“Not exactly, more like it is causing her to become more sexually charged.”

“So how do I bring it under control?”

“I will need to look into it once we return to ED. It is likely that there is a workaround that can focus your desires.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means you would go from being attracted to anyone showing sexual desire to only a single, or a few targets. It will likely have other possible negatives such as obsessiveness that will need to be mitigated.”

“Great, so I can either be a slut or an obsessive bitch. Why isn’t Amanda having any of these issues?”

“She is a champion so she is more along the war side of things, meaning the love side of things is muted. Also, we will find a way to mitigate your issues. They may also be more pronounced due to the nature of our relationship.”

“So you’re saying that because she agreed to share you, ED is pushing her to accept it and enjoy it?” asked Nicole.

“That’s just messed up,” Sam said with a frown. “I don’t even do more than the bare minimum to maintain my status in the faith.”

“Wait Sam, are you kidding me?” asked Alex. “Well I think I know the issue. Sam, you need to focus on upping your devotion in game.”

“Wait, wouldn’t that have the opposite effect? There are a lot of the things that I would have to do that I’m not okay with.”

“Sam, right now you are likely being swayed surreptitiously by Freya to become a better cleric of her faith. To avoid this, you need to either start over and choose a new god, or find a path within your church to walk that avoids the parts you are not okay with.”

“Wait, are you saying the gods are real and all players who play a cleric or champion will slowly become paragons of their faith, both in and out of ED?” demanded Nicole.

“Not quite, but close. Any player who realizes what’s happening will find a way to mitigate it if they want. I’m sure if you check the forums, you can find something on this already. If not, you should start a chat on it.”

“Wait, isn’t that brainwashing? Wouldn’t ED be in a lot of trouble for something like that?” Sam asked worriedly.

“Am I the only one who read through the user agreement before playing? There are about ten pages of warnings and one of the first ones warns you of the game affecting you mentally.”

“Wait, how has that not been all over the news and gotten everyone up in arms about it?” demanded Sam.

“Simple, because every VR game has the same warning and after 50 years the horse is long dead and buried. Though I dare say in a few months it might be brought to the forefront once more as people realize how much playing ED is affecting people mentally. Only it will be for things like increased cognitive speed, not subtle brainwashing.”

“Either way, we’re back and we need to get some good grinding in if we want to keep up with our expedition team,” said Nicole.

“Yah, I’m coming. I guess I will just wait a bit longer to figure this all out,” sighed Sam.

“Sam, don’t worry, I will find an answer for you. Even though I am not of your faith, I can use my position as a noble that is involved with you to find a solution. Few faiths like to have issues with nobles, as they prefer growing closer to them, within reason.”

“Okay, let me know what you find out, but in the meantime, I’ll just deal with it.”

“Sam, I love you and you’re wrong. We all will deal with it. I love you and I know Nicole cares for you as well. We are all in this together. When one of us is having issues, we need to come together to deal with them.”

“Sam, Alex is right. It’s just like how my issue with my parents affects us all and your support is just as important as Alex’s. With you I know you aren’t just trying to get me in bed which helps reinforce what Alex does and makes it easier to accept.”

“Thanks, but we should really go inside and login for the night.”

The three had been sitting in their apartment’s parking spot for a few minutes at that point as Alex and Nicole made sure Sam was okay. Alex felt a bit guilty as Nicole clearly had some issues with what had just gone down as well, but she didn’t get a chance to vent as Sam had. He could only hope that Nicole had been satisfied by engaging with Sam. They made their way into the apartment and Alex gave each of them a deep kiss before they returned to ED.

Morning, October 9 to Evening October 11, 2266, and ED year 1, days 252 to 260.

Xeal split his next several days in ED between grinding and research for the most part. The only break from those was his tea time with Dyllis and Enye, at which they simply enjoyed a casual gathering as Xeal updated them on the progress of the expedition. Both ladies were riveted by his retelling of the earth elemental area boss. They also discussed the other guilds and how they had recently seen a major influx of players in the capital as more and more players reached tier 4. Tyelk had even brought a large group from Red Crushers to the palace one day and all but demanded to see the prince. Sadly for them, his actions were not appreciated in the slightest and the guards had removed them from the area. Furthermore, their whole guild had been banned from the noble district of the city for 90 days. Xeal couldn’t help but wince when he heard that as it would likely just enrage the fool more. It also made him wonder just how Tyelk had gotten on the prince’s good side in his last life. Either way it wasn’t a major issue to Xeal as he intended to more than make up for any lack of manpower when the time to expand Nium’s borders that resulted from the loss of their support. Enye and Dyllis were both insistent that Xeal needed to take Dyllis out on courtship dates once FAE’s expedition was completed and the city of Autumndale was unlocked for his guild. On his leveling progress Xeal was happy to reach level 63 as his friends were almost at level 65 on day 260, as they met back up with the expedition team in preparation for the level 70 area boss that they would assault on day 261. Every member of the expedition was at least level 60 and were ready to assault the boss. As for the research on how to work around Sam’s issues, Xeal had found a few promising possible solutions, though most were troublesome as they would require great commitment and weren’t actions to take lightly. Sam had gone quiet when Xeal had shared his findings with her. She had thanked him for taking the care to do so when it was just them as she didn’t want others to know what her options were yet. Xeal had made sure she knew he would support her either way and that she should let Nicole know at the very least.

In reality, Abysses End’s continued visit dominated Alex’s time as the morning runs were now full of more advances from Ava and Mia. Even Jessica had grown tired of how forward the pair were being and Alex had taken to keeping Sam and Nicole near him at all times. The real fun came when Alex’s mom finally had enough and pulled the pair to the side before Wednesday’s run. All three had come back heated and his mom looked pissed but refused to say what happened. After that Ava and Mia toned down their actions slightly, but still made a point of catching Alex’s eye whenever possible. Larry just seemed over the whole event by the third day and Thomas seemed more interested in talking to Dan and Fred than getting to know Alex. Nantan just smiled as he watched all of this go down, like things were going according to some plan. This just made Alex raise his guard further.

Each evening Nantan had an event planned for Alex and his friends to get together. Monday had been the beach, Tuesday had been mini golf which had been split between men and women, leaving Alex, Dan and Fred with Thomas and Larry, while Sam, Nicole and Amanda had to deal with the twins for the golf before they all met up for bumper cars, go carts and other side attractions. Amanda, Nicole and Sam all seemed to be in high spirits when they got done with the golfing portion of the night as Mia and Ava seemed to have thoughtful looks for a moment until they noticed Alex and they seemed to turn back on the predator mode, or something. Either way, he was curious to learn about what had taken place except that none of the girls would tell him. Bumper cars had quickly dissolved into Alex being targeted by four girls relentlessly. Sam and Nicole seemed annoyed by Ava and Mia butting in on their fun with Alex, but they kept their comments to themselves. The twins for their part kept the flirting down slightly, startling Alex slightly as he had expected them to be more blatant. Still, he took it as a small mercy and just moved on. When they held a ten-way race in the go carts it became clear just how well the twins worked together as they quickly took the lead by working together and made sure to hold onto it until the end. They smiled and laughed after it was over as they teased Alex by asking for a victory kiss on their cheeks. When he went to turn them down, both had shown him a pouty face as they harmonized a drawn out please in front of everyone. In the end Alex had held his ground until they gave up by saying he was no fun and acting like nothing had happened. Both Sam and Nicole seemed to have taken the scene rather well after how worked up they had been the night before. After the go carts, they all spent another hour playing old school arcade games that looked to have been designed over 100 years ago. Ava and Mia had demanded that since he wouldn’t give them each a kiss on the cheek, he owed them each a match of air hockey. With the stakes being that if he won they wouldn’t ask for their victory kiss again, but if they won he owned them a kiss on the lips. Exasperated Alex was about to turn them down when Sam and Nicole accepted for him. Alex was flabbergasted at both Nicole and Sam but when he saw their looks, he could tell that this was them saying they weren’t scared of the twins. So he accepted and the results weren’t even close. Alex easily won both rounds, leaving Ava and Mia stunned as they had figured they would win at least once. Sam and Nicole looked smug at Alex’s victory and spent the rest of the evening smiling. Finally, 6:30 came and it was time to call things to a close for the night.

On Wednesday Nantan took them bowling for two hours. Once again lanes were split between men and women. However, this time they were right next to each other and shared a ball return, allowing everyone to chat while they played. Alex could tell immediately after the first game that no one present was an experienced bowler as gutter balls were as common as strikes. His score of 134 took the top spot with Nicole’s 42 taking last place. That said, it was fun and the twins had calmed down a fair bit since their morning chat with Alex’s mom. Between that and whatever happened while they were golfing with Sam, Nicole and Amanda the night before, they seemed to have found a new rhythm to their approach. Now he only had to deal with them wiggling their butts and sending him winks as they took their turns bowling. Both had barely broken 100 which put them right in the middle score-wise after the first game. The rest of the night continued much the same with everyone chatting and goofing off as they bowled. It wasn’t until they were packing up to leave for the night that the twins pulled one over on him. Both Ava and Mia snuck up and gave him kisses on the cheek, leaving behind red lipstick marks, before hurrying away and telling him that was for taking the high score for the night. Sam and Nicole helped Alex remove the lipstick marks after they pointed them out to him as they sighed, letting him know that they didn’t blame him for the twins’ actions, and if anything, they should have seen it coming. Alex quickly gave them each a short but passionate kiss before leaving for the night. When he went to the desk to turn in the rental shoes it took everything he had to not laugh at the look on the teenager behind the desk. He looked dazed and when Alex handed him the shoes he just nodded and waved. On the way home Sam and Nicole laughed, teasing Alex that he had overloaded the poor boy’s brain by having four girls kiss him.

Thursday evening was another beach night, only this time it was deli sandwiches and other grab and go foods. Once again Ava and Mia pulled Alex, Sam and Nicole to play with them before Amanda Dan or Fred could join. Sam and Nicole surprised Alex by encouraging Alex to just go along with them. When the five found themselves a good 100 feet from anyone else, conversation broke out.

“So Alex, how long until you accept our deal?” inquired Ava.

“Yeah, we have even placated your girlfriends and your mom,” pushed Mia.

“Your mom is great by the way.”

“Yeah, she really cares about you and we can see how you turned out so great.”

“What are they talking about?” questioned a puzzled Alex.

“Ugh, we kind of made a deal with them at mini golf,” confessed Sam, a little red faced.

“What kind of deal?” asked Alex with trepidation.

“The kind where as long as we tone it down a bit and only have a few moments of our actions being blatant,” Ava replied.

“Sam and Nicole would support our plan and allow us to make Abysses End think you are interested in us,” finished Mia.

“Really, you two did that without consulting me?”

“Alex, it was part of the deal,” Nicole said firmly. “We had to wait until they showed what it would look like before you could know.”

“Yah, if you knew beforehand, we couldn’t get a good idea about how you would handle it,” agreed Sam. “Now we know what to expect and both of us are ready to deal with it.”

“So, what now? Do you expect me to just let them hang all over me? What’s next, them moving into the spare room?”

“Oh, that would be perfect, then we could really convince them that you are smitten by us,” gushed Mia.

“Yeah, we wouldn’t even have to create a call and message history then,” smiled Ava.

Alex gave Ava and Mia a withering look.

“Relax, we are kidding,” grinned Mia. “If we move too fast even Abysses End would think something is up.”

“Yeah, we want to move up the ladder, not have them put us under surveillance,” nodded Ava.

“Seriously Sam, Nicole, you two are fine with this!?”

“Alex, we are not, but we have accepted it as reality for the time being,” sighed Nicole.

“You are all idiots. Sam, Nicole, I love you both, but you both are missing the important fact that I love you and don’t want you to force yourselves into situations you hate. All that will accomplish is bitterness that will grow and eventually threaten our relationship. Ava, Mia, you both are looking at this like it will help you rise in Abysses End when it will only cause your stock to plummet. Once I burn you and they find that you failed to secure me, and if anything, harmed their chances of getting my guild, they will discard you. You remember the penalties you have if you leave Abysses End? Well, you should read your contracts closely. Better yet, get a lawyer to look over them. I’m sure you will find just how easy it is for Abysses End to terminate you and leave you in a worse spot than if you just leave on your own. You are all playing into their hand, whether you realize it or not. Until my guild is in their hands, they will not leave me alone. Say I add Ava and Mia to my harem as I’m sure they are calling it. Why wouldn’t they continue to try and find more ladies to warm my bed as they draw me in? Obviously if I take an interest in you two, I would love to play with a few more as I am a shameless womanizer. Stop playing the short game. All that matters is the long game. That goes for all of you. Sam, Nicole, I am already all in on you two so don’t think for a second you need to do anything more than you already do. Ava, Mia, you’re both wonderful, but you’re not worth losing what I already have, even if turning you down hurts me in the short run.”

“My word. I must say, while I know you just turned us down, that was wonderful,” Ava said with admiration.

“I’ll say, it makes me really want to chase after him,” cooed Mia.

“You two are hopeless. What is it going to take for you to give up?”

“Too late for that,” smirked Ava.

“Even if we have to wait until Sam and Nicole can’t handle it anymore,” agreed Mia.

“We aren’t going to just give up on grabbing you.”

“Perhaps in a year or two, if we can’t find an opening, we will move on.”

“I already know you two aren’t really serious about me.”

“What if we left Abysses End and joined FAE when our contracts expire?” Ava asked.

“Would you believe we are all in as well then?” Mia added.

“I will not entertain hypotheticals.”

“Fine, fair enough. Promise us a paid slot in FAE and pay our severance and we will start over,” declared Mia.

“Not how it works. If you want in to FAE, come to Nium when you reach level 80 and show me what you’re worth. For all I know you are towards the bottom of Abysses End’s new recruits and they only brought you to seduce me.”

“Fine, but if we pass your test then you have to match whatever Abysses End Offers us to stay on in July,” pouted Ava.

“And you have to write the contract in our favor,” said Mia. “None of the penalties and what not for leaving.”

“Matching the contract will likely not be a problem. The no penalties or restrictions for leaving is taking it too far.”

“Alex, are you serious? You are going to let them join FAE just like that?” demanded Sam.

“No, he is calling their bluff,” said Nicole.

“How cute, you think we are bluffing,” grinned Mia.

“Nope, we’re serious,” declared Ava. “Hope you enjoy seeing us in ED soon.”

Both Ava and Mia smiled brightly as if they were challenging Alex, Sam or Nicole to say they weren’t serious again. After none of them did, Ava and Mia returned to simply playing in the waves, enjoying their time on the beach. Alex couldn’t help but sweat over the fact that they could switch gears so easily. He knew he couldn’t trust them until he got them to sign a contract in ED. For all he knew, Abysses End’s plans were for Ava and Mia to do exactly as they were right now. To complicate things further, he felt like even if that was the reality of the situation, the twins wouldn’t hesitate to jump ship if the conditions were right. Alex was still lost in thought when he drove home that night and both Sam and Nicole wore worried looks as they looked at him. Neither of them had thought he would be so upset at them trying to work out a deal that they could deal with. Now they had to worry about just how far the twins would push over the next few days before they returned to Dallas. After they made it back home, Alex gave them both a kiss before they returned to ED to take on the level 70 area boss.

ED year 1, days 261 to 262.

Xeal led the expedition team to one of the four ways to reach Autumndale. Before them was a massive forest they had to cross. Of the four paths, it was the only one that players below level 80 had a chance to cross. It was also the only one with an area boss that had to be removed along the way. Large spider webs covered almost the entirety of the forest and grew thicker the deeper in you went. As the expedition worked their way through the webs cutting or burning as they went, hundreds of spiders ranging from the size of baseballs to horses, attacked. The spiders also ranged from level 1 to level 70 monsters, marking this as a unique area as few areas sent monsters to simply pester you. Xeal knew this was part of the area boss’s effect as all these spiders were its offspring. Killing the area boss would cause the forest to recover drastically until its revival, at which point quests would constantly be issued for players under level 80 to take it out. The system punished players ten or more levels higher than the area bosses with lowered loot and harsher fights. Xeal knew that when they engaged this area boss, the swarms of spiders they were fending off would look like nothing compared to what they would face. Each player knew that no revival items were going to be used on anyone other than the team that was going to take care of the city’s challenge, which was only ten of them. Still, they were excited to take on the challenge and get to have a day off after it. The past 30 days in ED had been nonstop marching and battle as they leveled up for this fight. After the fight was over, many were looking forward to relaxing in the capital for a few days before setting off on their next adventure. Finally, after six hours of marching, they had reached the staging area Xeal had indicated. Many had wondered just how Xeal knew so much about the areas as none of them even knew where any other area bosses were, and he had led them to two in under a week, in real world time. Still, they didn’t question his orders as he split them into their squads for the fight before ordering Amet and Ignis to initiate the battle.

Amet charged into a bowl like area that was clear of all vegetation and covered in spider webs that Ignis had cleared a path in with a low-level fire spell. In the center was a large mound that Xeal identified as the area boss’s nest. The moment Amet struck the nest with his ax, a massive tremor could be felt as he retreated as fast as he could. Out of the center a large black spider the size of a double-decker tour bus arose. It had a hairy abdomen and shiny black legs that looked like they were covered in armor. Its fangs were the size of Xeal’s arm and venom dripped in large drops from them. The area boss was named Queen funnel-web spider, and Xeal knew that it would push his team to the extreme. The moment after it had revealed itself, it was hit by every ranged attack and spell that they could throw at it. Flashes of light went off all over its body as it staggered about. The next moment, a piercing screech could be heard and thousands of spiders the size of basketballs and below came pouring out of the hole the Queen funnel-wed spider had come from. Xeal had known this was coming and to meet it he had each player present toss a single low-level spell grenade into the swarm. The resulting explosions took care of 90% of the swarm and the DEX based and utility builds went about taking care of the rest. While the swarm was being handled in the front, the rear was being assaulted by more spiders who were charging in from the surrounding area. There were far fewer of these, but they were also at least the size of a large dog. Most of the tanks were handling these as Xeal and his friends, with Amser’s group, charged into the main area to deal with the queen.

Xeal found himself keeping one of the queen’s legs occupied as Amet, Clara, Amser and a few other on her team did the same as the spider only attacked with six of its legs. Xeal could tell his strikes were barely a hindrance on their own and he was only hindering and controlling the queen’s movements. It was the same for the rest of the group focused on the legs as they worked to make sure not to be grabbed as any bite from the queen was almost certainly a one hit kill. While Xeal and the others in melee kept its movements under control, the rest of the team was busy hitting it with spells and ranged attacks, one after another. Even still, the queen wasn’t taking it easy on her assailants as she continuously shot web traps that would bind players in place. Ignis’s main focus had become destroying these wherever they landed before a player was trapped. However, luck played a major role in it as well, and already a few of Amser’s group had been trapped by them. One had been unlucky enough to be seized and killed instantly before they could get free while the other had taken the direct hit from a fire spell to get free. Xeal knew they were working against the clock as more and more spiders were swarming from the forest and the perimeter players were being pushed back. If it wasn’t for the fact that the average level of the attacking spider swarm was only level 40, they would have already been over whelmed. As it was, Xeal knew that they wouldn’t last long as things currently were. It was time to move to the next stage of the plan.

Giving the signals to do so, he quickly disengaged the queen along with the rest of the melee players. As they did so, the perimeter players collapsed inward, allowing the smaller spiders to surge forward as the queen surged out. Just when the queen was about to catch Xeal and the other melee players that had been pinning her down, they performed a 180 turn and struck out at her legs. This caused her to roll, which all of the expedition team had been waiting for, and they moved out of the way well before it occurred. When the queen recovered, several spiders had been crushed by her roll and the 75 remaining FAE players were fortified in her own nest. Inside the nest, players with fire spells were hard at work burning any and all egg sacks. These eggs would have hatched as the battle progressed, allowing wave after wave of weak but overwhelming baby spider swarms to cause issues again, and again. Now they were able to establish a workable perimeter from which to rain down attacks on the queen. Enraged, the queen barreled back in, disregarding the spiders beneath her. Xeal and the others who had been restraining her before went back to work doing the same once more. Now, however, they had to worry about the smaller spiders attacking as well while they used the queen to attack her own spawn. To counter this, several players had the job of watching their backs. Time passed as the minutes kept passing and the queen kept being pushed back. Eventually they brought her health below 30% and she added a spitting attack to her arsenal. The first player hit by it started to scream in agony as their body spasmed out of control until a detox spell hit them, freeing them from their torment. Unfortunately, they didn’t recover in time to avoid the swarm of smaller spiders around them. At 20%, the queen entered a berserk mode that forced Xeal and others to retreat as it killed players and spiders without discrimination. When the berserk mode ended it entered a weakened state and the remaining 30 players went all out attacking it. Finally, with 25 players left, the last of the spider swarm died as the queen fell to 10% health.

With a shudder the back of the Queen split open violently, sending a spray of venom cascading over the battlefield. Xeal used his elemental blades skill with wind to push the venom headed for him away as the remaining members use various other means to avoid direct contact with the spray. Five players failed and were dead before the healers could help them. Among the 20 remaining players were Aalin and Gale who Xeal needed to enlist to keep him alive for this next part. He quickly ordered Amser and the three other remaining melee players to keep the queen busy as a spider the size of a small sedan emerged. The reborn queen had sacrificed its size and power for speed. However, its venom was just as deadly as ever. Xeal made it to Gale just as she finished preparing her soul link skill for use. Blindfolded, she engaged in a deep kiss with him and established the link. The moment the link was up, Aalin encased the pair in a bubble shield, isolating them from the fight. As he turned around, he found that only Amser was still standing of the four players that had engaged the queen. Xeal knew that Aalin could only keep her shield up for ten minutes and once it fell, the fight would end one way, or another. Quickly Xeal took over the battle of speed from Amser. Thanks to the boosts Xeal was getting from his elder dragon mark and behemoth slayer title, he was able to barely keep up with the smaller spider queen. Even so, without the soul link he wouldn’t have survived a minute of battle in his current state. While Xeal kept the queen busy, the remaining 14 players put everything they had into killing it. Slowly but surely, they were making progress and the spider queen was getting frantic in its attempts to break away from Xeal and kill the few magic attack players left standing. The spider queen was able to launch several toxic spit attacks that killed a few of the remaining players. However, Xeal wouldn’t let it pass and he kept it from being able to kill enough players to tip the scales until finally, with 30 seconds left on Aalin’s shield, the queen shuddered as its last dregs of health disappeared. Silence dominated the field as the 12 remaining players looked at one another, nodding amongst themselves as they were finally, after 40 solid minutes of battle, able to relax. Gale kept the blindfold on knowing that now was not the time for Xeal to pay the price for them using the soul link. Then the system announcement came.

(Congratulations. Area boss Queen funnel-web spider has been defeated by your party. As the first group to defeat the Queen funnel-web spider, a 1.25 multiplier will be applied to all rewards!)

Xeal made his way over to the loot as Aalin made her way around to use the few revival items that had been prepared for the necessary team to clear the city quest. First she revived Clara, Amet and Ignis before moving onto the remaining three. Saima and Caleb were next as they both had shown excellent skills and would make great additions to the team. With Amser taking the nineth slot, all that was left was Lucy who Xeal was happy to see had grown since he had assigned her to lead a team in the kobold mines. This gave the team of ten two dedicated healers, three magic support players, one frontline healer, three dedicated frontline fighters, and a rogue. Hopefully it would be enough to overcome the challenge. As Xeal looked through the gear, he could only chuckle as he could tell immediately none of it was going to be of any use before level 70. Outside the crafting materials that required at least a gold level crafter to utilize properly and the gold, all the gear required a level 70 player to use. Still, there was a fortune worth of items present from consumables such as web balls, doses of poison venom, to a full set of spider hide armor. It would give great bonuses to stealth players and offered protection on par with plate of the same level. He noticed that it was ideal for assassin style players and poison magic users. Xeal stored the loot to be transferred to the guild warehouse for either purchase using guild coins, or rewards for crafting players who excelled. Afterwards, he thanked the players who weren’t joining in the city quest that were still standing and told them to enjoy some rest as the funds should be in their account in the next two days. That left just the team of ten standing there as they waited for Xeal’s command.

“Alright, let’s get to the other side of this forest and call it a day,” called Xeal.

“Are we going to be alright with just the 10 of us in here?” asked Lucy.

“We will be fine as the spiders will be much thinner for a while as most were killed here,” replied Xeal.

“Once we reach the other side, we are all using advanced return scrolls and you’re taking me on our date, right?” confirmed Aalin.

“Yah, then we will be using the next five logins to level and work on our team work before challenging the city quest.”

“Do we know anything about the quest?” inquired Caleb.

“Only that it is limited to a party of ten and will scale to our level. I don’t think anyone has unlocked a city yet unless we missed the announcement.”

“You really like triggering those system wide announcements; first guild, first to make it to a city, first to make it to a capital, first to kill an area boss, and now first to unlock an expansion city, or whatever the system will call it,” Caleb asked with raised eyebrows.

“It has more to do with I have no choice if I want to move forward. I’m not going to just sit around while others try and catch me. I’m sure there are many more system announcements that I could have triggered if that was all I was trying to do.”

“If you say so,” Caleb said with a bit of skepticism.

“Now, if you will excuse me, I need to take care of my backlash.”

The next thing anyone knew, Xeal was laying with his head in Gale’s lap as Amet and Clara held him down. That was when Gale’s blindfold came off and Aalin cast her shield once more. The next moment screams could be heard as Xeal cried out in excruciating pain. Everyone present watched with horror as Amet and Clara struggled to hold him still until it passed.

“Still makes me think they’re crazy for using that skill,” Amser said with disbelief.

“What skill?” Lucy asked.

“Not sure if it is a religious sect exclusive skill or if any cleric can get it, but basically Gale receives all the damage and pain from any hit Xeal takes while it’s active. I don’t know exactly how it works, but after it is deactivated Xeal has to feel twice the pain he passed to Gale.”

“My word, that sounds terrible. Why would anyone go through that?”

“Dedication to a cause, or goal,” replied Ignis. “What many of you don’t realize is just how much Xeal has grown since ED came out. I’ve known him most of my life, but there are times I have begun to question where my friend went with how different he has become.”

“Really, so he was just an average Joe before ED came out?” asked Amser.

“No, he was my best friend but, he was just as irresponsible as any young adult should have been. None of us really thought we would succeed in ED enough to make a living by playing it. We just simply wanted to put off growing up for another year, or so. Xeal though jumped in the deep end head first and dragged us with him. None of us would be anything without him. I can see that of the ten of us here, we five are the weakest, skill wise. Heck, if Xeal wasn’t constantly giving us pointers on how to improve and what stats to focus on, none of us would be much better than the average player.”

“You’re too hard on yourself,” spoke up Caleb. “Sure, Xeal has pulled you up, but you still have to keep up. The reason most experts can be found in major workshops isn’t because there are so few talented players, it’s because they know how to nurture the talents of their players. Besides, would you do anything different if you were him and he was you?”

“Point taken. It’s just hard sometimes as I don’t want to hold him back.”

“Friends are important, especially in a game like this,” said Amser. “Even if you fall behind in battle, the fact that he can trust you to take care of things in the guild is huge for him. The five of you give him security that if he needs to be gone for an extended amount of time, the guild will be fine.”

While they had been talking Xeal finally stopped thrashing while screaming, and he could be seen breathing heavily as he recovered while Gale stroked his hair.

“Ha, seems like this time was easier than the last time,” remarked Amser. “Well, we should get ready to move.”

With that the ten of them made their way through the forest, fighting their way through only a few spiders worth mentioning along the way. Xeal knew that for the next 30 days in ED the forest would remain like this as it awaited the next spider queen to rise. Xeal knew most of the spots that the new queen would spawn as they were currently nests for other smaller spider bosses. Once one of them became the new spider queen the number of spiders would skyrocket again until it was killed. The forest would repeat this cycle over and over again unless players farmed it to heavily, or just ignored the area. Xeal had seen both cases in his last life. In areas that were over farmed, no monsters ever matured enough to spawn as an area boss, while others that were ignored spilled over into neighboring areas, running rampant and causing all kinds of other issues. Both had pros and cons as farmed areas could be developed by players to be used for guild towns, or other projects. The area bosses in areas that were ignored could mutate into new, stronger versions of themselves. There had even been a level 250 area boss in a remote map that had mutated into a world boss when it had been ignored for three years. That discovery caused guilds to ban the hunting of certain area bosses in hopes that another world boss would spawn. Over 200 world bosses had spawned that way after guilds had started hunting down any players who didn’t obey the rule in their areas. No areas inside a country would ever reach that point as the NPC nobles of the land would step in the moment an area reached a certain threshold.

Finally, after six hours of walking and killing spiders, they emerged on the other side of the forest. The group quickly made it to the nearest safe point and used their advanced return scrolls to return to the capital for the rest of the login. As it was already late, Aalin agreed to hold off on their date until the morning and they all took time to sleep. In the morning, Xeal met up with Aalin. The pair made their way to a diner that served a light breakfast. They enjoyed the food before they spent the morning into the early afternoon shopping and watching the street performers as they passed by. Finally the pair sat down for lunch and Aalin shifted the topic to the real world.

“Alex, what is your plan going forward with Abysses End?”

“Nicole, you know my plan, or at least what it was before it started to fall apart.”

“You talking about how Sam and I caved to Jessica and tried to get you to agree to the twins plan?”

“Yah, I thought that you two would keep the girls away for me while I played like I was enjoying the attention. Now I am stuck. If I start acting like a proper gentleman, Nantan will know I was trying to play them, but if I don’t, I’m going to sink.”

“I actually have an idea that might work.”

“Oh? Please share.”

“Okay, but please let me finish before you comment.”

“Okay”

Xeal was intrigued as he could tell that Aalin was nervous about what she was going to say.

“So, Sam and I really messed things up when we caved to Jessica and the twins made us realize just how bad it would be if you have tons of random women chasing you. So I was thinking we turn the twins into your shield. If we had them move to the area and pretend to be dating you, they could act territorial by saying that they won’t allow any more women in. It would make sense as it would ensure that they held a monopoly over Abysses End when it came to influence on you. Besides, after getting to know them a bit better, I can at least appreciate how they didn’t try to go behind mine and Sam’s backs to get to you.”

“Hmm, I can tell this has been bugging you. First question, do you feel like you have let me down or that I am disappointed in you and that’s why you came up with this plan?”

“When you put it like that, kind of, but I know you don’t blame me, or Sam, and in a way, it just makes it harder to deal with. Honestly, I’m realizing that I’m not up to keeping women off you unless they are complete trash as I feel like a hypocrite.”

“I see. Nicole, I love you and I don’t care if you are a hypocrite because you are my hypocrite. Now, next question, do you see how this could backfire and make things even worse?”

“Umm, it could go from pretend to real, or Abysses End could make things hard on the twins if they try to keep others out.”

“Good, at least you see some of the issues. There is also that we don’t really know where the twins actually stand. They have shown themselves to be exceptional actresses and they could easily be setting us up for failure when we would least expect it.”

“I don’t think they are trying to do anything but survive with what they have.”

“That just means that they would turn on us the moment things get dicey. With you and Sam I believe I could go broke and you would both stay by my side. Your parents might be hell to deal with, but you would stay and at least try to make things work. The twins would disappear the moment things got that bad unless they became fully invested.”

“So how do we get them fully invested?...Oh!”

Xeal had given Aalin a look that said it wasn’t hard to figure out, while he glanced at her belly.

“Yah, at that point pretending would be long gone and all parties involved would be fully invested.”

“Um, Alex?”

“Yes Nicole.”

“So, I kind of have another thing to tell you.”

“Nicole, what is it?”

“Um I think we should wait until we logout and Sam is with us.”

“Okay, now let’s drop this for now. I appreciate you trying to find a solution and it may actually work for the next few months that we need it to. If you can get Sam on board, I’ll give it my okay. Just be ready to deal with the fallout if it fails.”

“Thanks, Alex.”

“Nicole, I love you, I just want the best for all of us and am worried that my plan is going to cost me both you and Sam. Ha, a few months ago I told you that this world would come first. Now I am almost ready to simply say screw it and just be happy with what I have.”

“Alex, I love you too and that means more than you know to me.”

With that the pair finished their lunch before splitting up as Xeal took care to add the spoils of the expedition to the guild warehouse before logging out.

Morning, October 12 to Evening October 14, 2266, and ED year 1, days 263 to 269.

Alex awoke next to Nicole and she quickly pulled him in for some fun as they had logged out an hour early, just for this time together. Once they were done, they cleaned up and met Sam in the living room of the apartment, dressed and ready for another run. Nicole pulled Sam aside before Alex even had a chance to give her a good morning kiss and disappeared into the bathroom. The next thing Alex knew he could hear their muffled voices as they argued about something. Alex wondered what they were talking about, but decided it would be better if he just let them work whatever it was out of their system, so he sat on the couch as he waited. About five minutes later both girls came out looking like they had something to say.

“Alex, Nicole says that you will go along with her plan to use the twins as a new shield, if I agree.”

“I will, but only because we only need to keep it up for a few months if it looks like it will cause issues in the long run.”

“So you would ghost them when we move?”

“Only if it was the only option as if I did that, we would be losing a possible ally in the future.”

“Thank you, Alex,” said Nicole.

“Don’t thank me yet. We still need to weather the storm this will bring down on us. Okay, now what was the other thing, Nicole?”

“Umm, well.”

“What Nicole is worried about is we are both a few days late.”

“Hold on, late on what?”

“Seriously, we both should be on our period right now, but it’s late.”

Alex’s face paled a bit and his heart started to pound as he processed what Sam was saying. Meanwhile, Nicole looked like she wanted to meld into the wall.

“Umm, are you saying you two might be pregnant?”

“It’s way too early to think that. Nicole is just over reacting because of what you said in game. It’s more likely that the stress from Jessica and Abysses End has thrown our cycles off.”

“Um, okay, so everything is still normal. We just have to keep an eye on it. You two are on the pill, right?”

“Yah, but it’s a weak one as we weren’t sexually active when it was prescribed and I know I missed a few doses with all the craziness that has been going on.”

“Nicole?”

“It’s the same for me.”

“We’re not pregnant, Nicole, so just calm down.”

“You’re both taking a test when we get back home tonight. Sam, Nicole I need to know.”

“Alex, we’re not pregnant,” Sam said firmly. “Besides, it’s still too early for us to trust a test. It could be three weeks before we would know for sure.”

“Okay, just keep me updated.”

“Alex, you’re not upset, right?” Nicole asked timidly.

“Nicole, I am not upset. Scared maybe. Really, it is just a lot to take in.”

“You’re both over reacting. Once again, we’re not pregnant. Just no way, no how.”

“Sam, but what if we are?”

“Well, then I guess Alex is going to have to man up and pamper us like we deserve as the mothers of his kids, right Alex?”

“You both have nothing to worry about there. As I told Nicole earlier, I’ve already started to realize that you two are more important than FAE, or ED. That said, it is my career and I plan on excelling, both as a father and a provider.”

“Good, now let’s stop worrying before we start hoping.”

“Wait, what?” asked a bewildered Nicole.

“Nicole, tell me with a straight face that you hope you aren’t carrying Alex’s child right now. Heck, the more we talk about it the less it sounds like a bad idea to me.”

“Um, well yah, I can see what you mean.”

Alex just stood and took in the exchange as Sam and Nicole started to blush as they thought about carrying his child. He knew that for better or worse, his relationship with the two of them had just entered a new level of seriousness, regardless of whether or not they were pregnant.

“So what day is three weeks from your missed periods?”

“Halloween,” answered Sam.

“Well then, if you two don’t get your period by then I guess we will be having our own version of trick or treating.”

“My word, that’s so lame,” Sam smirked. “At least we know you have the dad jokes down.”

The three of them just smiled as the pair of comments broke the tension that was in the air, as the three made their way to the morning run. Which, other than the three of them being the last to arrive, went relatively normally. Ava and Mia both pressed Alex for an update on if he was willing to work with them. To which he let them know that he, Sam and Nicole were still discussing it, but it was looking like they would have a plan to propose to them soon. With that out of the way, Alex was just happy that Sam and Nicole hadn’t let slip the awkwardness from the morning during the run. When they returned to the apartment, the three of them went over the preparations needed before a solid plan with Ava and Mia could be made. After they had assigned tasks that each needed to complete, they returned to ED for the day.

Xeal’s time in ED over the next five logins was a blur to him as they focused on team cohesion and leveling. During this time, Xeal went over party roles and formations that would be needed depending on what came up during the city quest. He told them that he was expecting it to involve a dungeon, or something similar, as it would make sense to have to make it to the other side of an obstacle of some sort. Xeal was careful to include preparations that would have nothing to do with the quest, as well as to hide just how much he actually knew. Still, he didn’t do anything he felt was a waste of time as the team steadily improved their coordination with each fight. Lucy’s healing was top notch, and Saima was an excellent scout and lure while Caleb proved to be a great planner and battle director. The three of them worked well together and Xeal was ecstatic that he had been able to pick them up so early in the game. He could easily see each of them reaching tier 7 one day and becoming pillars of the guild. By the end of day 269, Xeal was ecstatic with the team work that the group showed and felt confident in making it through the challenge before them.

Friday evening was scheduled for laser tag from 4:15 to 6:15. Alex and his friends met up with the five from Abysses End at the local laser tag arena. For the first round of the night, all ten of them played five on five, men versus women. They were currently the only ones using the arena as most people wouldn’t arrive until after 5:00, giving them a few rounds to themselves in the meantime. They played two rounds like this, both of which were close before they took a ten-minute break to rest. During this time Alex took the opportunity to speak with Nantan.

“So, would you say that this trip has been a success?” Alex inquired.

“Hmm, it has been fun, though I must say it has had mixed results.”

“Oh, are you speaking about how Larry has been mostly a lump? Man, he hardly even tried, even now in the arena.”

“Yeah, but what can I say? I was hoping that meeting you would light a fire under him. Alas, it seems he will remain unmotivated.”

“Ah, I see. So, were you hoping I would take the twins off your hands then?”

“What ever could you mean?”

“Nantan, don’t act dumb. Even I can tell when a girl is being overly aggressive, not that I am complaining.”

“Oh, then why even bring it up?”

“Nantan, I am running a guild quite well, all things considered from where I stand. I know that I will have to face down wave after wave of major guilds who wish to take what I have claimed. Heck, I’m sure you heard what went down with Red Crushers when I held a small conference.”

“I did, and I must say they acted with no form or grace. It was a truly terrible display.”

“I disagree. He told me straight to my face what he thought of me. He looked me in the eye as he declared his superiority. He may be an idiot for doing so, but I respect him for it. I know that when they move against me, it won’t be a knife to the back. Can the same be said of Abysses End?”

“Ah, I see, it is a trust issue. We have already attacked you and now we are seemingly trying to slip a pair of women into your bed. I can see how a cautious man might worry about our motives. So, how can I alleviate them is the question.”

“A question that I can’t provide an answer for. Nantan, look, I want to believe that Abysses End Is simply positioning itself as my first choice to turn to when the walls come caving in. That you and I are working to build bridges that are simply meant to encourage me to trust your motives. If you think I am foolish enough to believe that an attack that was carried out on four fronts with no in game coordination wasn’t known by high level individuals in Abysses End, then you are a fool yourself. Now let’s be honest here with what we want from this relationship.”

“My, my you really want to let it all hang out. I must say we underestimated your boldness. Though the thought of being where you turn to in your moment of need would be a good result for us, as long as that moment of need comes that is. I’m sure if you are saying this then you already know that we just want your guild for its member cap bonus. How we get there is still undecided but, to be honest, I want you almost more than that guild bonus. Out of all the players in Eternal Dominion, none has more fame across the world than you do. Your guild is the only new power that is even worth our attention at this point. An 18 year old boy is outshining every veteran player and workshop in his first ever virtual reality game. That is why I brought Mia and Ava here, to secure you, not just your guild. That is why I am focused on finding a peaceful way to merge your guild into us. That is why Tyelk was a fool for blatantly marking you as an enemy. Alex, you are going to find that when an opportunity to help you presents itself, many major workshops are going to jump to do so. My goal is to ensure Abysses End is the one you accept help from and join when you find your road forward blocked in a way you can’t handle.”

“I see, thank you for your honesty. However, trust is fragile and once broken takes time to mend. So please understand when I say for Abysses End’s own good, let’s hope my moment of need is a ways off still. As from where I stand today, I would sooner kick everyone from FAE and delete my character before giving my guild to any power.”

“You can’t be serious. That is just ridiculous.”

Alex fixed Nantan with a hard gaze before continuing.

“Nantan, why would I allow my enemy to win? Yes, it will hurt as I would lose everything I’ve built. It would cost me billions in the long run and I would likely never recover. However, I would still have my principles, and for me, that is enough.”

Nantan was studying Alex’s face for any traces of hesitation in his words. When he found none, he couldn’t understand how the young man could look head on at oblivion and not flinch. Had he known what Alex had gone through in his last life as he threw away everything he built rather than join an irreconcilable enemy, he would have known why the man before him would sooner throw everything away before letting that monster rise once more. If any other guild had the guild member cap bonus, Alex was sure that guild would become an overbearing nightmare for all other guilds. In his last life Abysses End had controlled over 15% of everything in ED. Yet they still weren’t satisfied as they reached for more as no other guild could oppose them head-to-head. The only way to fight them was by forming alliances with several guilds. Even then it was risky as it was common for Abysses End to absorb a single one of those guilds in secret to decimate the others. This had been what they had planned to do using Twilight Sky in Alex’s last life. Had he stayed, the way his friends in the other guilds would have learned of his betrayal would have been when they were ambushed by him. Having been on the other end of that many times himself, Alex could not and would not do it.

“I must say, Alex, you have given me a lot to digest. May I ask why you are so firm on this?”

“You just did. As for my answer, it’s simple. Any major workshop would easily become a monster to all others in ED if they had the bonus. Any minor workshop would be too flimsy to hold onto it if I gave it to them. So, until I feel that I will not be dooming all of ED to have an overlord that will ruin the world for everyone else, I will keep it away from all others.”

“I see, but who is to say that you won’t become that very overlord?”

“Only myself. My goal is only to be so within the country of Nium. My status as a knight and a noble there actually make it hard for my guild to have more than a minor presence outside of there. Especially since any assets my guild had in another country would be seized if Nium ever went to war with an allied nation. Nantan, I have shackled myself to avoid becoming that which I fear.”

“You really have an answer for everything. I must say you continue to exceed my expectations. Thank you for your honesty and frankness. I will talk with Mia and Ava about how they have been acting towards you.”

“I appreciate it. It really is a shame though.”

What Nantan didn’t know was how Sam and Nicole had been talking with Ava and Mia at the same time. As the night went on, the group played several more rounds of laser tag before calling it a night. Alex even got Larry to try after he called him out and gave him a figurative kick in his pants. Nantan had a grateful smile on his face when he noticed the change in Larry at the end of the night.

Saturday’s morning run was uneventful, though Alex noticed a slight tension between the twins and Nantan. Alex wondered just how things had played out between them after laser tag last night, but didn’t worry about it too much as things were now out of his hands. Jessica seemed to brighten when she saw Alex, giving him a discreet wink when the chance came. She seemed confused but happy when Ava and Mia didn’t try to butt in and dominate Alex’s attention. Perhaps him leveling with Nantan would actually play out for the best, though he knew it was a high risk move. That evening was the second to last get together planned by Nantan and he brought them to an indoor skydiving wind tunnel. He had reserved one of the facility’s tunnels just for their group. After everyone was suited up in bodysuits and helmets rented from the facility, they made their way to their tunnel for the night. There they met Tom, their guide and instructor for the night. Tom gave them a brief rundown of what to expect before taking everyone in one at a time for a familiarization that lasted for two minutes a piece. Then he started taking groups of three or four in for ten minutes at a time. Alex found the experience exhilarating and a great exercise in body control. While it wasn’t the best exercise he knew of, it was a nice change of pace. By the end of the night everyone was doing various acrobatic stunts while the wind tunnel made them almost weightless. Even Larry seemed to get into it and everyone was laughing and reminiscing about the night as they walked out of the wind tunnel at 6:30. Alex was quick to bid everyone farewell before heading home with Sam and Nicole to return to ED.

Sunday morning arrived, and as it was the last day that the group from Abysses End was going to be in town, Alex had set up a special run for the day. The time of the run had also shifted to starting at 6:00 instead of 4:30. Part of that was to allow everyone to make it to the site for the run as it was a good half hour away. The other part was that sunrise was at 6:40 and if everything went right, they would be cooling down just at that time. The later start time had also allowed them to make up some of the time they had lost from staying out late every night that week. When they arrived at the parking lot for the trail they were going to run, light was just starting to be seen over the horizon. All 16 of the runners were present atop the hill that over looked the ocean and pier a few miles away. Alex took a moment to enjoy the site before he led the run. As a whole, the run was uneventful but beautiful, and Sam and Nicole both took advantage of the scene to just sit on either side of Alex as the sun rose after they had finished the run and cooled down. Alex also caught the looks from Ava and Mia that were a mix of emotions as they watched the scene before them. Alex hadn’t realized how his hands had subconsciously made their way to both Sam’s and Nicole’s bellies. Luckily for them no one picked up on it, other the Sam and Nicole, who both just smiled warmly at the action. That night was another beach night except Nantan had reserved a beach that was set up for having a bonfire to close the night. Once the sun set at 5:56, the fire would be lit and the plan was to go until 8:00. When Alex arrived at 4:30, he was greeted by both Mia and Ava who seemed to have returned to their aggressive stance. Once again, the pair pulled him to the water as Nicole and Sam followed.

“So, tonight is the last night of the trip,” stated Ava.

“Yep, are you going to miss us Alex?” asked Mia.

“So overdramatic,” quipped Sam with a shake of her head. “You act like you aren’t planning to rush over to Nium the moment you hit level 80.”

“That’s not the same,” pouted Ava.

“Besides, that is still months away,” complained Mia.

“So, it’s not forever,” chided Nicole. “You two are acting like girls sending their lover off to war.”

“Easy for you to say as you get to have him near you all the time,” retorted Ava.

“Yeah, we only got this single week and everyone kept getting in our way,” whined Mia.

“If we hadn’t, you two might have gotten pregnant with the way you’re acting,” replied Sam.

“Would that really be so awful?” asked Ava.

“I don’t know, it is still a bit early to go all in like that,” mused Mia.

Sam was blushing brightly as the twins rubbed their bellies while looking at her mischievously.

“You two are hopeless,” Sam said, rolling her eyes.

“Love you too Sammy,” smirked Ava.

“Yeah, you’re so much fun to get riled up,” grinned a cheeky Mia.

“Can we get serious for a second?” asked Nicole.

“Oh, but we are serious,” said Ava.

“We just want to make sure you two know just how lucky you are,” said Mia with an intense look.

“We get it,” commented Alex. “You two are pissed at how things are playing out.”

“Yeah, we were having so much fun,” pouted Ava.

“Then you had to go ahead and level with Nantan,” said Mia with a glare.

“It was necessary to avoid a full avalanche of women in the future,” replied Alex.

“We know, it’s just now things are moving in a way that puts us at more risk than we like,” said Ava.

“So you better be willing to accept responsibility if things go badly for us,” warned Mia.

“Look, I promise that as long as you two play your role and sign the contract in ED saying basically that you’re not double crossing me, I will compensate you for any losses suffered due to the plan.”

“You really are paranoid, you know,” Ava pointed out.

“Sister, I think it has more to do with prudence in this case.”

“I know. If we double cross him it could spell disaster for his whole guild.”

“And as we might find ourselves members of his guild one day, I myself appreciate his caution with us,” stated Mia.

“Are you two done with your show?” asked Nicole. “We know that was an act to reassure us.”

“Oh, and did it work?” inquired Ava.

“Yes, do you feel more at ease now?” Mia asked.

“No, if anything, I have more concerns now,” Nicole responded.

“I don’t know Nicole,” added Sam. “I think they were just showing us how others see Alex’s actions and how they see them. Though which one is which is unknown right now.”

“That is the reason the plan is what it is now. Ava, Mia the two of you are wild cards and I suspect that Abysses End sees you the same way. Due to that, I have no way of knowing what their move will be and all of this planning may be for nothing.”

After a bit more back and forth with Ava and Mia, ensuring it looked like they were blatantly flirting with Sam and Nicole keeping them in check, Alex checked on Nantan and he could see him glaring at Ava and Mia. That told him that either he was in on the act, or the twins were going against orders. Either way, Alex needed to see this through as the die was cast.

The rest of the night passed by with food next to a bonfire and chatter while Ava and Mia ignored Nantan’s glares as they pushed their bodies against Alex’s at every opportunity. Fred and Dan had looks of concern on their faces as Amanda glared at Alex. Larry seemed to look at Alex in a mix of jealousy and reverence as he had finally started to participate over the last few days. Thomas just looked confusingly at Sam and Nicole who were dealing with the twin’s actions by smiling and edging them away. Nicole and Sam were dealing with it by dropping comments alluding to Ava and Mia no longer being an issue after tomorrow. Then finally the event came to an end and everyone went their separate ways, leaving Alex alone with Sam and Nicole on the drive home.

“So, do you think we will ever see them again?” Sam asked.

“Nope,” replied Nicole. “After the way Nantan was looking at them I think they will be kept far away from us.”

“So the plan is just dead then,” sighed Sam.

“I wouldn’t be so sure, but that may be the case,” shrugged Alex.

“Oh, what do you think will happen?” Sam questioned.

“It will depend on many factors, including how Abysses End wants to handle my declaration that I will cut off my nose to spite my face if it means my enemies don’t get what they want. Also, it will depend on the twin’s true motivations.”

“Do you have any idea what those are?” Nicole inquired.

“Several. Wealth, power, pride, lust, security, and adventure to name a few. In reality it is likely a mix of most of them. The question is really how much of each is in play, and how invested they are.”

The car ride was quiet as they thought over the situation and how things would play out. Either way, they had gotten through Abysses End’s first visit and had four weeks before they had to deal with them again.

Nantan returned to the resort and sent each of the junior members to their rooms to login for the night. They would be leaving in the morning to return to their branches and continue their growth. However, he had a wrap-up meeting to attend before he could turn in for the night. So he logged in and found the other three participants already waiting.

“Good of you to join us Nantan,” greeted Unknown 1.

“I do apologize for the delay. I had to have a discussion with Ava and Mia about their behavior.”

“I take it that they wouldn’t stay off Alex on their last night,” inquired Unknown 1.

“Those two have no shame,” huffed Atius.

“Yes, and that is why they were brought in the first place. It’s just a shame he called us out on it,” confirmed Unknown 1.

“You are all under estimating him as I did,” cautioned Atius.

“You are right,” agreed Nantan, “Still, his words laid a path for us to get what we want.”

“No, all he is doing is stringing us along,” Atius disagreed. “He knows what we want and he knows he can’t afford to have us bring our whole might to bear on him. So he stalls us by pretending he wants to foster a friendship, when all he is really doing is using us as a shield from other major players until FAE can stand on its own.”

“Atius, your opinion is noted, however, while we value your input due to having dealt with him in ED, I feel you are still bitter,” countered Unknown 1.

“Bitter, oh that’s an understatement. 60 days. 60 damn days. That’s how much he cost me. So yeah, I don’t like him, but that is not why I think he is playing us. It’s what I would do if I were in his position.”

“Enough, we all know that he out played us once already. We also know that thanks to that blunder, we have no short term moves that can be made in ED. Currently, our focus needs to be keeping another workshop from attaining the first guild bonus. Even if that means playing into FAE’s hand for a while longer,” interjected Unknown 2.

“Understood, so do we keep the course, or do we adjust our approach?” asked Unknown 1.

“We adapt,” said Unknown 2. “Alex needs to see us as a friend when the time comes for us to either welcome him in, or drive the knife in his back. We know that he enjoyed the attention from Ava and Mia even if he closed himself off to them for his guild’s good. Any further attempts like that will only be counterproductive. For now, we must be cautious as several other workshops have begun to move. Once Level 80 becomes common place, the real competition will begin and all temporary truces will be over.”

“Sir, that is all the more reason to be aggressive in going after Alex and FAE,” Atius said respectfully.

“Oh, do you think he would accept an offer for us to buy him out?” asked Unknown 2.

“Why wouldn’t he?” asked Atius a bit bewildered.

“Nantan, tell him,” commanded Unknown 1.

“Atius, our information indicates that Alex is now worth over 300,000,000 credits, and that doesn’t account for any of his in-game assets. If he did a full liquidation of everything, he could easily be worth over 500,000,000 credits. Even for us that is a significant amount. If you were making that in only five months, how much would you want to sell that business for?”

“Wait. How?” sputtered Atius.

“It matters not,” replied Nantan. “For now, we will need to maneuver him into a situation where selling makes sense.”

“Let’s wrap this up,” ordered Unknown 2. “Nantan, I will review Ava’s and Mia’s files and decide what action to take concerning them before the morning. As for everything else, we have four weeks to adjust our plans for the next visit. Let’s take advantage of that. I expect each of you to submit independent plans in the next week, and be sure to include your rational for each part.”

“““Understood.”””

ED year 1, days 270 to 271.

Xeal led his team to the outskirts of Autumndale where a red circle of light could be seen. He knew this was the sign that the entrance dungeon was still active. Once a guild had access to the city, no members of that guild could challenge the entrance dungeon anymore. The circle would only vanish once the fifth guild cleared it. This meant that if his team was made up of five separate guilds, it would only be clearable once if they succeeded, robbing them of the exclusivity that came with being the first guild here. The guild exclusivity was a major benefit as every new city would add more quests for his guild to complete, and more resources to harvest. However, Xeal knew the greatest advantage that the players who took on these dungeons was the experience. They were the only opportunity before level 100 to enter an environment similar to the repeatable dungeons that would become one of the main areas of interest before level 200. For many casual players those dungeons would be where they spent all of their time outside of the cities. The main differences between a city entrance dungeon and a normal repeatable dungeon lay with the level settings and difficulty modes. City entrance challenges adjusted for the level of the players challenging it, where a normal one would restrict who could enter by a level range. Additionally, the city entrance dungeon only had one difficulty mode, where you could adjust the difficulty in normal ones. In Xeal’s last life he had only been on a team once that opened a city, but he had read up on them extensively as he had organized several teams to tackle them in level 200 plus maps. Xeal approached the red circle and placed a hand on it, causing a notification to pop up.

(Do you wish to accept the quest, Clear Autumndale’s Entrance Dungeon? " Rewards: guild access to Autumndal plus unknown. Warning: failing quest will have negative repercussions on your account. Yes or No)

“Once I accept there is no going back. Is everyone ready?”

“Just get on with it,” said an impatient Ignis. “We were ready days ago. You just wanted to wait for Abysses End to leave before the system announcement went out.”

“What’s this about Abysses End?” Amser asked.

“Oh, they are trying to make us think they are friendly with us since their attack on us failed,” replied Ignis.

Saima and Caleb both winced at the memory.

“And are you entertaining the idea Xeal?” Amser asked with narrowed eyes.

“Only enough not to be black listed by them and cause a domino effect with other major workshops.”

“Xeal, why am I only now hearing about this?”

“Amser, you are a valued member of FAE, but you removed yourself from any official leadership role. Ignis just slipped up as it was not meant to be known outside guild leader and vice guild leader levels. That means I ask the four of you to keep quiet about what you know, and Amser, I will talk with you in private offline. If you a dissatisfied with my answer and wish to invoke your contracts clause over it, I will allow you to do so.”

“Fine.”

“Aalin and Gale, you two better be ready to tell her your plan as well.”

“Meany,” pouted Gale.

“Gale, you know why,” commented Aalin.

“Still, it probably won’t happen, so why do we have to tell her?” asked Gale.

“Trust,” replied Xeal. “Moving forward, if Amser stays she will expect to be kept in the loop with anything even remotely involved with Abysses End.”

“Good, now let’s get this quest done,” nodded Amser.

After getting a nod from everyone, Xeal accepted the quest and the next thing they all knew, they were in a cave of some sort. Then another notification popped up.

(Find the exit to the dungeon to complete quest.)

“Alright, it looks like we are in a maze-like cave network. We should expect a mix of monsters and natural obstacles. Until we verify that there are no intelligent foes, be on the lookout for traps as well. Now Saima, you and I will take point. Keep your eyes open for traps. Amet, you will take rear guard, with Lucy and Gale right in front of you. Clara and Amser, you will be in front of Ignis, Aalin and Caleb. Caleb, make sure you are mapping while we walk. You will be key to us not getting lost in here. Any questions?”

When the only response was everyone taking up their positions, Xeal just smiled before motioning everyone to start moving. Once they left the starting area the cave grew darker, and instead of using a light that would mark them as a target, Xeal passed out a rope. His vision was relatively good thanks to the elder dragon mark enhancing his senses. As Saima needed to see as well to do her job as a trap finder and Caleb needed to be able to map, he had handed them dark sight potions as well. Each potion was good for two hours and he had a total of 50 prepared for this quest. Everyone had one ready for when combat started, but as this quest could take over 20 hours, he didn’t want them to waste any more than needed. Just keeping Saima and Caleb covered for that long would take 20, leaving only three, or four per player, before lanterns became necessary. As they walked, they came across many forks in the path, but Xeal would use his senses to choose which path to take by always picking the one that had the freshest air. After an hour of walking, Saima spotted the group’s first obstacle. The path led to a sheer cliff with an underground river below. 30 feet across, the cave opened up again. The question was, do they try and cross, or do they turn back? After discussing it and referencing the map, they decided to check out other routes before they made the crossing. Down the first offshoot they went they found a dead end, and on the second they had to fight their way through a group of five level 60 vampiric bats. Xeal elected to toss out a few torches to illuminate the fight rather than use the potions this early, as he knew the closer they came to the exit the more fights they would be forced into. After five more off shoots returned similar results over the next few hours, they returned to the chasm to try and cross it.

The two openings were level with each other and several stalactites hung from the ceiling between the two sides. It was about 60 feet down to the water and the far cliff side was worn into smooth waves that offered only a scant amount of hand holds. With Xeal’s stats and skills, he had the best horizontal jump at 20 feet, but that was still 10 feet short. He figured that if he used the edge of the cliff to push off, he might be able to add another five feet, and if he was lucky, his height might give him just enough to grab the edge. Still, even then he only gave himself a 50-50 chance at best. If it wasn’t for the 50-foot rope that would be tied around his waist, he would have refused to even try. Falling was likely an instant fail for the quest and he didn’t want to lose his fruit of life yet. With the other nine players holding a loop of the rope five feet back from the edge and the looped end tied around him, he had just under 40 feet of slack to work with. So Xeal stood as far back as he could and started running as fast as he could until he reached the edge of the cliff and pushed off it into a jump. Reaching with everything he had, he felt his fingers clasp onto the edge of the other cliff before his body slammed into the side of it, and the wind left his body as he lost his grip and found himself swinging back to the side he came from. After he painfully slammed into that side as well, his team pulled him up and he started to assess what happened as Gale healed him. After Xeal went over everything a few more times, he set up to give the leap another go, only this time he was ready. When his hand caught the edge, he pushed his feet forward to act as a spring, allowing him to dampen the impact and pull himself over the edge.

The moment he stood, he found himself faced with ten level 60 goblins that had been hidden around the bend in the cave. The goblins were 50 feet away, but it would only take them ten seconds or so to close in on him. The situation reminded him of his tier up challenge to become a knight. After he assessed the situation, he hollered back to his team letting them know that he had to take care of a few enemies before he could help them cross. Standing five feet from the edge of the cliff, he took up his defense. The first goblin to rush at him was easy to side step and trip. After which, its momentum carried it over the edge and into the water below. The second went about the same, but the other eight were able to stop in time before they joined their friends. Smiling, Xeal activated his elemental blade, using wind as his element and went to work. The wind strikes that pushed out from his blades were perfect for dealing damage, even when the goblins blocked. As a result, the goblins grew enraged quicker and became sloppy, allowing for Xeal to maneuver another three off the cliff and kill the last five with relative ease. The only issue was that they had cut the rope on his waist in the chaos, forcing his friends to throw another one over. It took a few tries, but they eventually were able to succeed and use the rope to cross the chasm one at a time.

Once they were all on the other side, they reformed and Xeal emphasized to Saima that since they had seen goblins, they should expect traps. Saima had nodded, and not a minute later they had found the first of many, as goblins poured out from everywhere. The traps were crude and even a normal player would have seen them as long as they had dark vision. Xeal knew that most of them were set up with exactly that in mind, as few players would have been ready for the darkness in the cave system. Xeal had the entire party using the dark sight potions, except for him as he could still see well enough to fight. The main issue Xeal was facing was from how much the goblins stunk up the place as it made finding the freshest air extremely difficult. Additionally, the loot from killing the goblins and the experience due to being a higher level than them all made the trip a massive waste of time, if it wasn’t for the prize at the end. If this had been a normal dungeon, he would have marked it as irrelevant to his guild. Finally, after three and a half hours of fighting and exploring, Xeal caught a whiff of fresh air and he led his team towards it. A half hour later they had left the goblin zone of the dungeon at around the five-hour mark of being in the dungeon. They still had 28 dark sight potions and Xeal felt it was a good time to stop and recover for a while, as the four hours in the goblin zone had been full of fighting and everyone’s SP and MP was running low.

Once everyone had recovered, Xeal led them onward as they searched for the exit. Over the next hour, they only faced an occasional group of vampiric bats until they walked into a massive open chamber. Xeal stopped the group as he took in the sight before him. Laying in the center of the room was a group of 10 ogres. Each was at least twice the size of a man, but in the center of the group was one that could easily fit four, or five men in its belly, whole. Xeal was debating on whether or not to engage in what he knew would be a devastating battle for his team when he noticed the faint red portal just past them. He knew it was one of the ways out that was provided to them. He just didn’t know if it was the best option. He knew that, regardless of which exit they took, it would require a boss fight. The general rule was the earlier fights were usually the harder ones, but winning them could provide great rewards. There had even been parties who hunted down as many of the bosses as they could to increase their rewards. Xeal knew his team wasn’t up for a boss clearing run as they lacked the prep to stay in the dungeon for a few days. He also knew that if they took on the ogres it would be a hard fight and they would likely take heavy losses, so he turned to the team to discuss their options.

“So, ahead is a group of ten ogres. I can also make out a faint portal that I believe will open and let us complete the dungeon if we win the fight. The issue is, I don’t think I can keep more than two engaged, and even if Amet, Clara and Amser do the same, that still leaves two. I’m sure Saima can handle one, but the rest of you are glass cannons, and support. Even if only one makes it through, you won’t last long.”

“We have to beat them to get out, right?” confirmed Aalin.

“No, I think they are one option, but there should be an exit that will be just a normal cave entrance.”

“So the question is, do we take this fight and risk a party wipe, or do we avoid it and look for another exit?” posed Amser.

“Yah.”

“I say we go for it,” said Ignis. “As much as I enjoy being in this party, it would be nice to be done with this quest and get to relax for a day or so.”

“I don’t know,” murmured Aalin. “Wont we lose completion points if some of us die?”

“What if we drew them in one at a time?” offered Saima.

“I don’t think they will go to a distance that attacking one won’t draw the others, but if we attack, we can try it,” agreed Xeal.

“Why not use the tunnels to limit how many we have to face at once?” suggested Gale.

“I’m not sure they would follow us in,” replied Xeal.

“I have a plan,” stated Caleb.

“Go on,” Xeal urged.

“Right now, it seems like you are worried as you’re not sure on how they will react, and once we start the fight there is no going back, right? We just need to have a plan for each option. If they won’t follow us into a tunnel, we can just attack them from the tunnel, or retreat to the tunnel when they close in. Either way, we gain the advantage and can slowly kill them.”

“That plan only works if the cavern doesn’t get locked down,” Xeal said thoughtfully.

“Locked down?” asked Caleb.

“What do we do if when the battle starts, all tunnels are blocked by a barrier of some kind?” explained Xeal.

Xeal could see the gears turn in Caleb’s head, but it was Amser who answered first.

“We can use the wall to keep them in front of us as you and Saima harass them from the sides. Clara, Amet and I could hold the front, as the Gale, Lucy, Aalin, Ignis and Caleb support us and attack the ogres.”

“The issue with that plan is the big one,” advised Caleb. “I’m sure it is going to be hard to deal with.”

“Caleb is right,” nodded Xeal. “The big one will likely require Saima or I to devote ourselves to dodging it completely while everyone else kills the other ogres. Saima, do you think you could handle keeping the big one out of the fight?”

“If all I have to do is dodge and only deal enough damage to keep it focused on me, it should be doable.”

“Alright, now here’s the plan…”

Once Xeal had gone over the plan and everyone had their roles, they agreed to take on the fight. Slowly they crept to within range of the spells attacks that were planned, and Xeal gave the signal. Instantly, three large spells struck the nearest ogre, and it gave out a loud war cry and the battle began. A ring of light descended onto the battlefield and the levels above the ogres became visible. The nine smaller ones were each plain, level 70 ogres armed with clubs, while the massive figure was a level 70 ogre Commander and had a giant ax in its hands. This fight was essentially a normal boss and his minions and, in the field, the strategy of drawing the minions away from the boss one at a time would have been the best option. However, here they did not have that option. No, the ogre commander quickly bellowed out orders in a guttural tone and a language none of the players knew. The next thing they knew, the nine ogres formed up in an orderly fashion and started to advance on the team. Xeal smiled, as while it was never good to see the monsters act in an orderly fashion, it gave Saima the opening she needed to attack the ogre commander. Needless to say, she did not waste it, and struck it in the back, causing it to roar with fury and turn to face her. It was then that Xeal enacted the next part of the plan. He darted forward as the ogres turned to see what happened to their commander as another volley of spells slammed into the ogre that had been hit to start the fight. Then Xeal engaged that one with everything he had as Gale, Aalin and Amser went to the left, Amet, Lucy and Ignis went right, and Clara and Caleb stayed in the middle. The ogres seemed confused at how the team had split up, and without orders, hesitated to move into action. This delay allowed another volley of spells to rain down on the ogres before they split off into a disorderly mess, with four running at Clara and Caleb, and three went for Gale, Aalin and Amser. Only one went for Ignis, Amet and Lucy, while the last was tied up with Xeal. Amet’s group, seeing that only one was coming at them, moved forward and engaged their pursuer while the other two fought a retreating battle, pulling the other seven away from each other. Amet’s group was quickly overwhelming their target, while Xeal finished off the weakened ogre using elemental blades and his slashing chain combo. Five minutes later, each of them had finished their fights and were off to support the others. The four of them went after the group of three that Amser was struggling with, as Aalin and Gale supported her. Both could tell that Clara and Caleb were fighting a losing battle and would fall soon, but that had been expected from the start. Still, Xeal wanted a complete victory, if possible, so he had Amet and Lucy go to support Clara to try and save her, if possible. When they reached Amser, she was at half health and only had a quarter of her SP left. Ignis quickly launched spell after spell at the ogre closest to Xeal as Xeal charged in to attack it. With the pair’s arrival, the tide turned and the ogres started to lose as Xeal slashed them over and over again. Finally, after another five minutes the last of the ogres fell, leaving the four that had gone after Clara, left. As Xeal surveyed the fight, he could see that Amet had been successful in drawing two away from Clara, but she was only just hanging on and Amet wasn’t doing much better. Thankfully, Saima was still holding the ogre commander’s attention, though Xeal could tell her stamina wouldn’t hold out much longer. Quickly he made the decision and yelled for Saima to disengage as he charged the boss, and everyone else went to work on the last four ogres.

The battle away from Xeal fell away from his notice as he went at the ogre commander at full force, holding nothing back. Armed with its giant ax, the ogre commander shifted its focus to Xeal the moment it took the first hit of elemental blade. Its attacks forced Xeal to use every bit of his skill to counter them and still remain able to effectively attack. For Xeal, the world shrunk to him and the boss as he worked to kill it as quickly as possible with his almost depleted SP and MP pools. He knew that even after his team finished with the last ogres, they would be of little help as he doubted they would have any abilities left to use. Only Amser could join him in this melee for no more than an occasional attack of opportunity, as anything beyond that would just get in his way. Xeal would side step a downward ax slash, step up and stab the boss, before ducking the side sweep of the ax and slashing the boss. This pattern repeated over and over with mixed results as the battle continued. Finally, after Xeal had been engaged with the boss for ten minutes and was down to a quarter health, Amser jumped in to aid him. With a pair of foes, the boss switched tactics, but in doing so it just made it more predictable. It went from varying the attack angles greatly, to attacking in a fashion that was meant to strike both Amser and Xeal with each attack. The fight stabilized for a while like this until the boss fell below 15% health, and it entered a frenzied state. During this phase, the ogre commander became like a tornado as it spun its ax with wild abandon, hitting both Xeal and Amser with devastating force, finally ending by throwing the ax away, hitting Amser in the process, sending her flying even though she deflected it for the most part. This left Xeal alone to face the boss as Amser tried to recover from the blow. Xeal was down to 20% health and knew that his healers were out of service for the time being. He would have to finish this fight without any healing. To make matters worse, attack spells had stopped coming in, telling him that other than an occasional hit from one of the other melee players, he was pretty much on his own right now. Still, he did not hesitate to go all out and attack while dodging the boulders the ogre commander called fists. Punch, strike, punch, strike, blow after blow was exchanged as Xeal slowly fought a losing battle. Finally, after about a minute of this, Amser returned, looking ragged. She was under 10% health and looked like she was dealing with a heavily wounded debuff. That ax throw had really been a devastating attack. Xeal was sure that had she not partially deflected it, she would have been instantly killed. Now, however, she joined him in whittling down the boss as they both clung to life.

When the boss dropped to 5% health, Xeal was at 7% and Amser was at 3%. He knew that they were on track to fall so he called for a shift. He and Amser jumped back as Amet charged in with his 35% health. Amet’s health didn’t last long and was at 10% within 30 seconds and the boss was still at 4%. During the short breather, Xeal took in the state of his team. Other than Caleb, everyone was still standing, but all SP and MP had been spent and no health bar was above 40%. Of those that could engage the boss, Clara had 15% health, Saima had 38%, he was at 7% and Amser was at 3%. When Xeal could see that Amet wasn’t going to last for more than a few seconds, he motioned for Saima to take a turn, with a focus on getting a few good hits in. She did not last long however, and when she was under 5% health she disengaged, leaving the boss at 3.3%. Clara charged in and struck out at the ogre commander, getting a few good hits before being forced back as well. Xeal rushed back in the fight and went about racing health down with the boss. His team may have only taken it down by about 2%, but he would have to make that be enough as he raced it to 0%. When Xeal was at 4%, the boss was at 2%. Then Xeal and the boss both reached 1% together and Xeal called for the suicide charge from everyone. As Xeal dodged one last punch, everyone including Sam, Lucy, Ignis and Aalin, charged in recklessly with no regard for what came next. If any of them took an attack it would likely be fatal to them. Xeal finished the all-out attack with a lunging thrust of his own as he watched the boss’s health hit 0.

Breathing hard and absolutely pushed to his limit, Xeal looked around at everyone in a similar state. If a single goblin rushed in right now, it would likely be more than enough to wipe his whole team. This made him smile as he knew that this had been a great learning experience for them as a whole. Now it was time to leave after taking a few moments to recover slightly. During this, Xeal learned that Caleb had failed to survive after Amet and Lucy had reached them, but had used his skills to take an ogre with him. Xeal was disappointed, as if he had made it they could have continued after recovering, but entrance trials like this didn’t allow for the use of recovery items. On the plus side, Caleb was probably watching them right now in the holding room and would be revived as they exited. Xeal gathered the loot that was made up of a few pieces of level 70 gear and some high value crafting materials like ogre’s skin and fat, and led the team to the now bright blue portal. The moment they were through, the city of Autumndale came into view and they were all completely restored as a system notification appeared for each of them.

(Quest, Clear Autumndal’s Entrance Dungeon: Complete, calculating completion rate… 81% completion, rank B. Rewards: 500,000,000 XP, 100,000 guild renown points, Guild access to Autumndal and 1,000 gold all rewards split evenly among party )

That notification was followed by a system announcement that went out to the whole of ED.

(Congratulations to F.A.E. for being the first guild in Eternal Dominion to unlock an expansion city, awarding 1,000,000 bonus guild renown.)

Xeal smiled bitterly at the system announcement as it went out, as now he knew he and his guild would once again be thrust into the spot light. Other guilds would all but demand he hand over all the information he had on how to unlock expansion cities and what city his guild unlocked. It wouldn’t be long before every guild in Nium was headed to Autumndale as keeping its location a secret was all but impossible for his guild to do as its members made trips out to it. Still, he knew it would be at least another month in game before any other guild could put together a team and cross the map to reach here. That alone would give his guild ample opportunity to capitalize on the exclusivity they would enjoy during that time. With these thoughts Xeal strode into Autumndale and took in the sight of the streets as NPCs went about their daily lives as if nothing was askew. Xeal bid the rest of his team farewell, other than Gale as he had a date with her and what better place to have it at than a newly unlocked city. However, before their date Xeal needed to complete another quest by visiting Earl Smythe. Due to the late start caused by attending the bonfire at the beach, it had been 9 PM in ED when they started the dungeon and they had been in there for just over 10 hours. Xeal could feel the city waking up as he approached the keep in the center of the city. It was much larger than the one in Dragon’s Heart that the Weawen family called home. Xeal knew it was due to the city’s proximity to the wild lands that only level 200 plus players were able to enter with any hope of success. As such, Autumndale stood in defense of the threats that occasionally wandered out of those lands.

At the gate two level 150 guards stood and halted Xeal and Gale as they approached. Xeal told Gale to wait for him in the area as he doubted the guards would let her through while he knew even without his invitation from the earl, his status as a noble would get him to parts of the keep. The guards stopped Xeal only briefly as they verified his identity and within a few minutes he found himself in a waiting room. Xeal had only been waiting for a few minutes when a frazzled official walked in.

“Good day to you Baron Bluefire. I am Antony Nelson, assistant to Earl Smythe. I will be assisting you until Earl Smythe is available. Please let me know if there is anything you need.”

“Antony, relax, just tell me how long until Earl Smythe will be available.”

“Earl Smythe will be available shortly. Would you perhaps like something to drink while you wait?”

“Very well, I will take some water while I wait.”

“Certainly, Baron Bluefire.”

Antony returned a short time later with water and a cheese tray for Xeal to enjoy while he waited, before standing off to the side. Xeal sipped at the water and ate a few crackers and pieces of cheese while he waited. Ten minutes later the door opened again and an older gentleman walked in. The gentleman had short white hair with a clean-shaven face, paired with brown eyes and wore refined, but simple clothing. It was only thanks to the crest that matched the one Johanna had worn that Xeal could tell that this was Earl Smythe. The earl took Xeal in for a moment as Xeal stood and greeted him.

“Greetings, Earl Smythe. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“Baron Xeal Bluefire, you have been making quite the stir as of late for a youngster and recently elevated noble. I dare say, you have half the court rooting for either your success, or for your downfall. I sent Johanna to try and lure you in and see what kind of man you were. At first, I was disappointed that Viscount Weawen beat everyone to the punch, and when the Mercer’s pushed their daughter at you I thought that would be it. Yet you invited Johanna to tea simply because her dance was cut short and you used your connection with Prince Victor to avoid Vanessa. Your motives are hard to discern for one like myself who spends his time ensuring our borders are secure. So would you please shed some light on them for me?”

“Ah, I see. Hmm, it is quite simple. I have no interest in being tied to a house as a puppet. Add that I am currently working under the prince’s direction and I felt Vanessa courting me would be bad for the kingdom at this time. I had hoped to save the card I played to escape her a bit longer, but it was clear to me that it was a necessary move. My motives will always be simple, I just want to be happy and for the kingdom of Nium to prosper.”

“So, you’re saying that if Johanna made you happy and it increased the prosperity of the kingdom, you would accept her as a bride?”

“Earl Smythe, that is a far more complicated issue than that. For now, I think it would be best to just say that I am not looking for any more brides-to-be. It would be simpler to say if I can avoid a courtship without major issue, I will.”

“So, you did want to send a message when you pushed her off onto the queen’s nephew. I must say I was surprised to find out that the queen approved of the courtship. Even if her nephew is a waste, he is still connected to her, and if Vanessa Mercer marries him, it will still be a good strategic match for the Mercer household.”

“Earl Smythe, I do apologize, but if you simply wish to speak about matters of the court with me, I must decline.”

“Excellent. I was worried that you might have already been pulled into their games in the capital. Baron Bluefire, what I am looking for is an officer candidate to train up. The goal would be for them to lead expeditions into the wild lands once they complete their training. I am hoping that you would be interested in such a position.”

“Earl Smythe, I apologize, but I must decline as I am sure you would expect your trainee to spend most of their time here in Autumndale. If you would like, I can recommend some of my own personnel that would make great candidates, but I cannot be tied down to a single region like that.”

“Do they hold a noble title like yourself?”

“Unfortunately, they do not. However, they would be more than able to meet the standards to be granted honorary nobility relatively easily.”

“Perhaps. Just what relation are they to you?”

“The individual I have in mind is one of my guild’s vice guild leaders and he would want to bring a small group with him to train as well. That said, you could view them as his bodyguards in training for when the time comes for him to lead men without your help.”

“Very well, send him my way and I will assess him to see if he has potential.”

“Were there any other pressing matters that you wished to discuss with me, Earl Smythe?”

“Just what my city can expect, now that your guild will be active here.”

“Earl Smythe, all you need to do is look at the capital and you will see how my guild operates. We will simply set up a guild residence and take on any and all quests that we can. However, you should expect it to be a few months before we are actively operating in the area as the monsters in the area are a bit high still for most of my members.”

“I see. Well, in that case, I will bid you farewell and look forward to assessing your vice guild leader when he arrives.”

“Thank you, Earl Smythe. I assure you that he will be an asset to your city.”

(Quest, Visit Earl Smythe in Autumndale: Complete, calculating completion rate… 93% completion, rank A. Rewards: 50,000,000 XP, 5,000 guild renown points, Apprenticeship to Earl recommendation and 100 gold)

With his meeting with the Earl taken care of, Xeal left the keep and met up with Gale for their date. During the date, they explored a small part of the shopping district before retiring to a hotel and logging out once 4:00 rolled around in the real world, for their morning run.

Morning, October 15, 2266.

Alex awoke next to Sam to find that she was already awake and smiling at him. Smiling back, he pulled her in for a good morning kiss as they finished waking up together. Once they were awake, they met Nicole in the living room, and after Alex gave Nicole her good morning kiss, the three were out the door for their morning exercise. As they approached their car, they noticed two red heads waiting for them, and after a moment Alex recognized them as Ava and Mia. Alex froze next to Sam and Nicole, who had both likewise stopped when they noticed the twins. The twins however perked up when they noticed the three of them and closed the distance, while smiling.

“Surprise!” Mia called brightly.

“We’re your new neighbors!” grinned Ava.

“You don’t mind us joining you three for a little run, right?” Mia asked slyly.

“Wait, what, how?” Alex sputtered.

“Oh, we got into it with Nantan and some other higher ups in Abysses End when they tried to tell us what we can, and can’t do outside our contracts,” chirped Ava.

“So, we told them that if they wanted to be that way then, we would just stay out here until they were ready to butt out of our social life,” said Mia lifting her nose righteously.

“Then we noticed your building has an open apartment for rent, and instead of going to the airport we got a ride here.”

“Yep, and in the morning, we plan to rent an apartment, though it will be a few days to a week before we can move in.”

“You wouldn’t be able to help with that, would you?”

“I do remember hearing you have an extra room right now.”

Both Ava and Mia were giving Alex, Sam and Nicole pleading looks as the three of them took in the scene before them. Alex couldn’t help but sigh as this was both part of the plan, and not, as the twins were supposed to return with the next group that came to visit, and then pretend to start dating him. Now it looked like they were skipping the month of texting and phone calls before they came back part of the plan. Alex’s head was still trying to justify everything in his head when Sam spoke.

“Of course, we will let you crash in the spare room for a few days, though you will need beds to sleep on.”

“Sam!?” Nicole cried.

“What, it’s not like this wasn’t part of the plan. They just jumped ahead by a month.”

“Still, I feel like right now is not a good time for them to stay over.”

“Nicole, we’re-”

“Ava, Mia, how about I get you both a hotel room nearby for the week and a rental car until you move in to the apartment,” interrupted Alex. “That way you don’t have to rush out and get beds today.”

“Ah, but we were looking forward to seeing what it’s like to live with you for a few days,” pouted Ava.

“Yeah, we were going to have so much fun while we waited on the apartment to be ready for us,” whined Mia.

“And I’m sure it would be nice to have both of you over for the week, but I think it’s best for everyone if you stay in a hotel for the week.”

“Yah, we wouldn’t want to make you two uncomfortable when Alex shows us his affection,” piped up Nicole.

“I wouldn’t mind some of that affection,” Mia said hopefully.

“Nor would I,” cooed Ava.

“You two are hopeless,” sighed Sam. “Yah, I vote for the hotel idea. Sorry, but I’m not ready to share him any further than I do already right now.”

“Ah Sam, you’re not being fun,” pouted Mia.

“Look, let’s just get this run out of the way, then we can see about getting you two set up for the time being,” said a resigned Alex. “Oh, and don’t think I’m done getting the whole story from you two on exactly what your situation is right now.”

“Relax, we will let you know everything when we have time to sit and chat,” reassured Ava.

With that settled for at least the moment, they all piled in to the car as the twins sat with Sam on the back seat. Alex shook his head at how the others, and especially his parents, were going to react to him showing up with four girls instead of two.

Thanks!

Thank you to all of my patrons on Patreon, especially my knight tier patrons: Ottojanius, Jim Hall, Benjamin Griner, Rowan, Carl Benge, Clayton Flores, Nathan Ross, Matthew Nichols, Timelesschief, Christof Köberlein, Benjamin Grey, Casey, Daniel Sifrit, Fiedems, Karel Fannar, Michael Jackson, Tim Bartlett, Jason Bryant, Jeffrey Iverson,  Jacob Shaw, and FatManJiuJitsu.

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Preview.

ED year 1, day 272.

Xeal awoke in ED ready for a busy day. Even if it was midnight in game right now, he still had a lot to do this day. He needed to take Dyllis on a date as part of their courtship and send Casmir to train under Earl Smythe, on top of his regular tasks. He had decided that he would focus on reaching tier 5 and traveling to other continents and establishing partnerships across all of ED. Xeal was almost at level 64 and needed to reach level 79 before he could attempt his next tier up challenge. While he knew that the challenge would be simple for him, he also knew tier 5 was the last challenge before players started to have real difficulty raising their tier. It also was usually a full quest that took days or weeks in ED time to complete. Meanwhile Xeal was on the clock as he only had 118 ED days to be done with it and meet up with Geitir’s workshop leader if he wanted to keep the trade deal. The kicker was he needed other players to be able to make the trip to exchange resources if he didn’t want to continuously act as an errand boy for the foreseeable future. With these things and many more on Xeal’s mind, he went about getting things done, first by sending a message to Casmir to meet him at his mansion.

As Xeal made his way to his dining room he noticed Midnight following behind him. The catlike matagot had essentially come with the mansion and was cared for mainly by his head butler Maxwell who had served Prince Victor before semi-retiring in Xeal’s service. After giving Midnight the first bit of his midnight snack Xeal went about looking over the reports from his guild. The fort town was coming along nicely and the guild had already started work on the battle arena that would serve as the foundation of the town. It was going to be next to the simple guild hall that was also mid-construction. When finished it would have one main arena that could seat 10,000 and ten minor arenas that could seat around 100 each. Additionally, there would be 80 training rooms designed for small groups to train together, or an individual to use one of the mirror shards to fight a shadow doppelganger. Once they were able to get everything up and running his guild would have its first true training ground that would help hone the skills of its members with the potential to reach tier 7 and beyond. Unfortunately, with only 4,000 of the shards available, only a small part of his guild would be able to use them each day. Xeal knew that if he wanted to increase the number of top tier players further, he would need to secure more training opportunities for his guild. Xeal was going over the various options he knew of when Casmir was brought in by Maxwell.

“Casmir, thank you for coming.”

“No problem. So, what do you want me for?”

“I have an opportunity for you and your team if you want to take it. Now understand that if you take it, you will be spending most of your time in one area of the map.”

“Okay, that sounds restrictive. What is the opportunity?”

“Earl Smythe is looking for an officer candidate to train up. You would be reporting to him much like I do with the prince. The difference will be that while the prince sends me out all over the kingdom, most of your duties will be within the earl’s lands, at least before you reach tier 7 and your team is sent into the wild lands that border the earl’s domain.”

“So, I would become the subordinate to an earl. I’m not going to end up with a bunch of NPC noble ladies after me, am I?”

“I wouldn’t expect so. Depending on how prominent you become you may find yourself with a few suitors though.”

“Will this put me on the fast track to nobility?”

“It should, though you will still have to work for it.”

“Alright, why me and not Takeshi, Ignis, Amet, or any other vice guild leader for that matter?”

“Takeshi would be hindered more than helped if he took this opportunity and the rest either would be a bad fit, or don’t have the raw talent to succeed in this role. I won’t lie to you, our guild has an expert problem right now. Other than Amser, Takeshi and I, we are lacking in true top tier talent. We are making up for that with our elevated levels for now but, once we reach a bottle neck at one of the tiers, we will be in trouble. Of the players who have the talent and potential to join us, you are the only one who is in guild leadership. Taya and my friends are great, but they will never be a top player unless they have a few heaven defying opportunities. Their roles will become more administrative as time goes on as you and Takeshi will remain on the front lines.”

“So why haven’t you picked up any more vice guild leaders?”

“Times have changed. I can’t just bring players in and install them as leaders like I did with you three. Now it has to be justified, either from us absorbing another guild and keeping some of its leaders, or one of our members who have gained the recognition needed to be accepted by their peers. Believe me, I have a few in mind, but they haven’t checked off all the boxes yet.”

“Okay, so if I take this opportunity, how will it affect my role in the guild?”

“You would be the vice guild leader responsible for that portion of the kingdom. As we expand, others will be put in similar roles where applicable. Not every city or town will have a vice guild leader, let alone a guild hall. Most that do get a guild hall will only have a guild manager assigned to it. Earldoms will be the smallest that will have any vice guild leaders assigned to them. In all likelihood you will probably be in charge of the whole march that Earl Smythe’s lands fall in.”

“March?”

“It is the technical term for a marquess’s lands. Even though Earl Smythe city is the closest to the border from where he is, the land on that border is owned by one of the marquess families and his lands are a part of theirs as well. When you have met the earl’s standards, he will likely introduce you to the marquess as one of his new commanders.”

“All this nobility stuff goes way over my head. Are you sure I should step onto that path?”

“You will be fine as long as you don’t rise above an honorary viscount. At that rank very few nobles will bother with you as you have no inheritance to pass on and will hold little in the way of sway.”

“Okay, so is there anything else I should know before I leave?”

“Yes. Make sure your team learns not just how to fight, but how to be your assistants in running your region. I expect them to be able to aid you in managing the guild in the area.”

“So, what, are you going to divide the kingdom up into eights and have each of your vice guild leaders manage one of the areas with a team they build?”

“Exactly, with myself taking charge here in the capital and I will have five new vice guild leaders handle the other areas my friends would have taken as they will run our headquarters here.”

“So, as we spread into other countries, we will need more vice guild leaders?”

“No, we will only have a minor presence in any country other than Nium. At most we will need a guild manager and an outpost or two.”

“Xeal, why are you so focused on just this kingdom?”

“If I were to split our force in any significant way it will leave us vulnerable. I don’t know how much you have looked into the other 12 continents in ED and 100 countries of which only three are on this continent. That means the average for the rest is more than eight right now, and in reality, they range from four to 12. My goal is to unite our continent and have our guild be the top player power here when it happens. Once that goal has been achieved, we can look at the other continents as something more than a market to sell and acquire goods.”

“What if the rest of us want nothing to do with a war between NPC nations?”

“Then you are playing the wrong game. Adventuring and dungeon diving are 85% of this game, but the other 15% have the potential to ruin the 85% if ignored.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s say war breaks out and the kingdom your guild is based in loses. What do you think will happen?”

“The NPC rulers would change.”

“Is that all?”

“What else would happen?”

“Let’s see, they would want to reward any guilds that helped them, so they would give those guilds rights to resource areas they wanted. Now your guild just lost its main source of income and your guild hall and headquarters might be seized as well. It’s the same if you have holdings in two countries when they go to war. If you don’t pick a side, you risk having both your holdings being seized, and when you do, the other side will seize your holdings. Unless you are an independent player, a country that you are based in falling is catastrophic.”

“How can you be so sure that is what will happen?”

“Casmir, sometimes you have to just accept that I do. If I am wrong and war never comes, no guilds are ruined due to the fall of a nation and everything is fine and dandy, then good. Unfortunately, I highly doubt that.”

Xeal in fact knew how wars played out, and while he was overly dramatizing the fall out slightly as most nations feared the major guilds, only minor guilds, or guilds that tied themselves closely to a losing nation like Xeal had with FAE, would be truly gutted. Still, there had been exceptions made in the past, particularly when one guild would join a nation in return for them dismantling a competitor. These wars usually turned into drawn out meat grinders as heavy losses were suffered on both sides and it was common for a third power to swoop into take advantage of the weakened nations. This had been why so many players had fled to Nium in Xeal’s last life as it was the only unified continent and it held a stance of neutrality on other continents. Xeal didn’t know what would happen once there was only one NPC nation on each continent. Would peace finally be known or would they try and conquer other continents until all of ED only had a single ruler? Either way he didn’t see it happening in this life any more than it did in his last life.

“I see. Sometimes I think you worry too much, but I can see what you are worried about here so I will trust you. I’ll set out this morning to meet up with Earl Smythe and start my training.”

“Thank you. I wish you the best and I expect you to become our main wild lands expedition leader when you reach tier 7.”

“I’ll do what I can.”

With that taken care of, Casmir left and Xeal finished his snack and going over the reports before leaving to spend time training with the shadow warriors from the mirror shards he kept. After he had spent several hours honing his skills, he washed off and slept for six hours before getting ready for his first official courtship date with Dyllis. Dyllis arrived just after 10:00 in the morning wearing a modest baby blue skirt and white blouse, her hair done up in a bun with a boater hat accented with a ribbon to match her skirt. Xeal was already awaiting her arrival in front of his home dressed in black dress trousers and a button up white shirt with the top button undone. Their first date was designed to be a simple but enjoyable walk in the capital that included lunch. Xeal smiled at the pair of guards dressed in street clothes that would be following them both for the safety of Dyllis and propriety. When she was at an appropriate distance Xeal gave Dyllis a slight bow as she curtsied to him.

“My lady, you look wonderful.”

“Thank you, Sir Xeal. I must say, you look nice yourself.”

With that Xeal took Dyllis’ arm into his own and began their date. The pair talked about the little things as they explored the noble district of the capital. Unlike the other districts, the noble district had several areas designed for walks like the one the couple was on. Xeal was taking advantage of one that was close to his home for their date. After they had been walking and chatting idly for almost an hour, they came upon Maxwell who was standing next to a picnic blanket and holding a basket for the pair. Dyllis smiled when she saw the setup that had been prepared. They would be seated atop a hill that overlooked a small pond in the park where ducks were swimming. The scene was peaceful as the pair of guards took up a position on a bench off to the side while Xeal helped Dyllis sit down on the blanket.

“This looks wonderful Xeal.”

“I’m glad you approve. I thought it would be nice to do something simple as to not overwhelm you right away.”

“Oh, and what other ideas did you have that may have overwhelmed me?”

“Well, I was thinking of having a bit of a group date one of these days where you, Aalin, and Gale all accompany me on a hunt.”

“A hunt like, killing monsters? Xeal, I am much too weak for something like that.”

“Relax, we would be hunting, not battling, which for me means our focus would be on monsters that had value as food and were more around your level. Honestly, it is more of an excuse to hear you sing more. Besides, I think having you experience using your talents in fights would be a good experience for you to have just in case.”

“I see, that could be nice, though you will need to convince my father and Princess Enye to allow me to go, as both would be up in arms if something were to happen to me. My father because he loves me, and Enye because it would ruin any chance she had to court you.”

“Ah, in that case I do have one item that will give them assurances. I can guarantee that you will return so long as I still have it.”

“You’re speaking of a single use revival item as if it is no big deal. Would you really waste it on me when such things are usually reserved for the king or his top generals in battle?”

“Lady Dyllis, while I would lament the loss of the item, I would sooner part with it than you. It may be difficult, but I can find another one, while you are not replaceable.”

“I appreciate that you feel that way. Now let’s get off this topic and enjoy our picnic.”

“As you wish, my lady.”

The picnic was simple, consisting of deli sandwiches cut into small squares and lemonade that had been prepared by Xeal’s staff for them. The pair ate and chatted for a good hour before it was time to return. Dyllis to her duties at Princess Enye’s side and Xeal to his pursuit of tier 5. The walk back was pleasant and Xeal bid Dyllis farewell around 12:30 in the afternoon with a short kiss on the lips. When she drew back, she was smiling brightly at him and walked almost with a skip in her step.

Xeal quickly changed into his armor and made his way to the teleportation gate in the garrison as he prepared to take on the second task Prince Victor had given him. This task was another one that would secure border forts. This time it was for the fort on the border with the kingdom of Paidhia. The main issue that Xeal was worried about with this quest was the proximity of the fort to wild lands. He knew that it would be entirely possible for the fort to be overrun with level 200 plus monsters. The only reason that he didn’t think it would be was due to the description of the problem he was working off. Where the fort on the border with the Habia had a shadow warrior attacking anything that came in range, this fort had a mist. The story that he had gotten was that the mist just appeared one day and nothing ever came out after that. The teleportation gate in the fort had just stopped working and every attempt to figure out what had happened ended in failure. Xeal remembered this mist from his last life and the fact that it had been a player from Paidhia that had cleared it in his last life. Details of just how it was done were never known, but the player in question had only been a level 75 knight at the time. Even if Xeal was over ten levels below this, he felt that with a few levels gained along the way he would be able to accomplish it as well. After all, the player who had cleared it faded into obscurity due to their inability to reach tier 7, telling Xeal that they weren’t overly skilled. What Xeal was worried about was the luck aspect that could have been in play.

The nearest city to the fort Xeal had access to was one of the starting cities, Eaglehorn. From there it would be another weeklong journey to the fort as Xeal balanced his trip with the need to level along the way. The map surrounding the fort was only a level 70 map and Xeal planned to work on reaching level 65 before he reached the fort. He knew that the first few days would be spent getting through low level areas that were worthless to him right now. The worst would be the level 50 to 62 maps that would take him time to cross, but wouldn’t provide even decent experience due to the level penalties. These penalties played a large role in forcing players to change their grinding locations constantly. It was for this reason that having access to the kingdom’s garrison portals was extremely useful as most level 70 and up maps took over a day to even reach, and once there, players could go weeks before they returned to a city. However, there were many garrisons that were near level 60 to 100 maps located on the peripheral of the kingdom. Only, FAE still didn’t have access to them yet as the prince had just given FAE permission to teleport to the border fort Xeal cleared and was building a town at. Once there, his members could transport to any city in Nium that his guild had unlocked to them, while paying a discounted fee when compared to what one of the teleportation halls would charge. It also allowed players to reach the capital and other towns before level 40. Giving his guild’s lifestyle players a huge advantage as many of the best teachers were spread out across the kingdom. Xeal’s hope was that after he opened this fort up to the kingdom, he would be able to add the other forts to his guild’s portal access, thereby improving his guild’s leveling capabilities further.

Xeal went over his supplies, ensuring that he had everything he would need for his journey, and once he was sure, he stepped through the teleportation portal and arrived in Eaglehorn. Eaglehorn was a minor city alongside a river that specialized in fishing and trapping of aquatic monsters. It was also a great place for marine players to get their first taste of what it would take to live life on a ship at sea. Xeal had already set up a small guild hall in the city that was focused on these players as they would be an invaluable asset to his guild once the open seas came into play. Between harvesting the rare resources only available in the ocean and claiming the hundreds of thousands of islands that were ruled by monsters, naval players were essential. Unlike normal wild lands, building a private kingdom on an island was rarely contested by a kingdom. They were also some of the few areas that had level 100 to 200 maps that were not dungeons. Xeal smiled as he left the city and made his way into the surrounding maps at a quick pace. He kept up his pace, only slowing to deal with the occasional unavoidable fight. By the time midnight came, Xeal had reached a level 50 map and had to slow his pace as he had to be careful not to attract too many of the monsters here, as while he had a good bit of level suppression on them, they could still overwhelm him if enough of them attacked at once. With the change in environment, Xeal decided that it was a good place to find a safe zone and use an advanced return scroll to return to Eaglehorn, then teleport back to Nium and spend the night in his mansion as he still couldn’t perform a safe log out due to his elder dragon mark and the restrictions it placed on him. Still, the benefits it provided were immense, in comparison. It gave him a 10% boost to all stats and 2 extra points into his MP stat each level. In addition, all of his senses were heightened and he could tell that each level he gained, his senses were honed further. The major issues were that if he died even once, he would lose the mark, and with the log out restriction, it forced him to find not just a safe zone, but a secure location as well. Unlike other players whose avatar would disappear once they logged out, Xeal’s would remain and be completely helpless. He knew that many guilds would take that opportunity to kill him, even if it would result in the one who did it having to restart their character. Just the loss of prestige FAE would suffer from the situation would deal a major blow to them and Xeal’s aspirations. Once Xeal was safe inside his bed in his mansion, he went to sleep with the system set to log him out once his ten hours session ended.

Afterword

Well, if you are reading this than I believe it is safe to say you enjoyed, at least in part, book 4. If so, if you could leave an honest review letting me know how you feel I am doing that would be awesome. All I ask is that if you are going to talk about anything that happens in the story please put a spoiler warning at the start of your review. That said I hope you are satisfied with where the story is headed. Yes, it is still a harem book and yes more girls than the core four will make their way in Alex’s/Xeal’s life, but each will have a much longer path before they are fully accepted. It is extremely hard for me to write an afterword while not spoiling anything that is to come so, all I will say is that I attempt to be rational with how Alex/Xeal handles his relationships. At times things will be almost beyond his control as it was with Enye and Dyllis as saying no to either would have had extreme ramifications in the long run for his progress in ED. With that said I do feel like this book was the last of the set up for Xeal in Nium. Now he just needs to hold on, which will present its own set of challenges as time goes on.

Book 5, which is titled Interference, is on pace to come out on April 1st, 2022, and from my initial feedback is one of the best ones so far. Book 6 will be the first of my books to be over 70K words which is my new minimum as I get ready to become a full time author by mid-April when I leave my current job. The success of my books has truly been beyond my expectations as my goals and hopes when I put the first one out was just to make a few thousand a month. Now I feel like I can safely look at this as a career instead of a side gig to help make ends meet. It is thanks to all of you that I am able to say that and I hope to have many more years of bringing you stories to enjoy.

As always, if you feel I have forgotten something feel free to reach out to me on Facebook through my page or join my group. I am only one person and sending a message to my Facebook author page is the fastest way to get me to see it as I don’t get alerts on my personal page when non-friends message me for the first time. That said I will not answer personal questions like where I live even in a general fashion, please keep it to my story. If you would like a weekly extra that is not plot necessary but is canon, I publish shorts on my Patreon, the first two of which are currently available to my $1 patrons who will get another one every four weeks while my $5 patrons get one each week.

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Thank you again for reading my story and I hope you return for the next instalment of Alex’s tale. If you enjoy LitRPG and GameLit books check out the following Facebook groups. Both are great and have helped me get my stories out to you!

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