Back in Deserted Valley, Ren met up with Leonel. It was easy to meet with him ever since Leonel had his own pod. Now it wasn’t a hassle to work their schedules around each other.
“Uncle and Auntie arrived today?” Leonel asked as they walked the familiar path of Deserted Valley.
Ren nodded and told Leonel what had happened.
“Man, I hope my parents are as kind and understanding as yours.” Leonel turned grumpy at the thought of his own parents. “I bet my parents wouldn’t believe me if I told them I became a millionaire. I bet if I showed them about my new home, they’d report me to the police thinking that I’m selling drugs or something.”
Ren laughed a bit. “But you have to tell them at some point. Those lands aren’t ours, and the government would take them any moment.”
Leonel’s lower lips puckered out a bit, and he looked like an older man while doing so. “I’m going to when they arrive next weekend. I’m going to slap on their faces how rich I have become, and they will prostrate before my feet and apologizes for the mistreatment I received since young.”
Leonel said those words intending for it to be overbearing but only came out as weak and quivering.
Ren knew that Leonel respected his parents despite him talking badly about them. He was a filial son just like him. The only difference was that Leonel’s mother had a wide mouth. She loved to rant and scold like there was no tomorrow.
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you explain to them.”
Leonel whipped his head in Ren’s direction with tear-filled, shaking eyes. “Really? Thank you! My parents trusted you more than their own son, after all.”
While the two chatted, they kept going forward, and Instead of heading towards Fighting Lamb, Ren took a turn in the fork and walked along the path leading to the numerous guild.
“Hey, Ren! I thought we’re going to Fighting Lamb?” Leonel asked and jogged to catch up to Ren.
“Later. We’ll take care of some business first.”
“Business? What business?”
“You’ll know when we get there.”
“Can you tell me now?”
“No.”
“Why so secretive? Tell me. Tell me.”
Ren ignored Leonel while keeping a look out at the guilds they passed by.
If his memories served him right, the guild he was looking for should be around the area. Instead of recruiting unknown players as Rox and Roxy did, Ren had a much better idea to speed things up.
He would temporarily merge two guilds, and his eyes were set at a cottage in cobblestones with thatched roofs.
Roaring Tigers (Refer to Chapter 45)
Ren smirked. No better option than to strike a deal with a guild known for their heroic and gallant deeds. At least, he would feel more at ease working with them than with strangers he didn’t know.
“This guild seemed familiar.” Leonel pointed at his chin and stared intently at the guild name plastered on the wooden board on top of the door frame.
“They’re the ones who engaged Poison Viper in Gargantuan Cave. And thanks to them, we slipped past those thugs and cleared the cave.”
Leonel slammed his fist against his palm. “Right! Now I remember. Are we here to say thank you from what they did before?”
Ren only shook his head a bit. “You’ll find out soon.”
He then knocked on the door, and just at his first knock, the door opened wide and Tor’s bulky pecks and sideburns greeted him.
Tor’s square jaw stretched wide, and his brown eyes sparkled with delight that it was beginning to get creepy. Ren was even rethinking his plans.
“Are you here to sign up for Roaring Tigers, mate?”
“. . .” Ren blinked, and it was only when he found his voice. “Ah. No. My name is Ren, and this is Leonel. I’m here to propose a deal you might want to hear.”
Tor’s smile disappeared, and he stared at Ren and Leonel up and down. “Deal?”
“Can we enter for a bit? The air outside is rather chilly,” said Ren.
“Ah. Yes. Yes.” Tor immediately widened the gap in the door and let Ren and Leonel enter his guild.
“Where are my manners? The name’s Tor by the way.”
The interior of Roaring Tigers was the same as Fighting Lamb. The only difference was that theirs had more stone materials and had rugs on the floors and furs hanging on walls.
There were also some players in the guild, and counting Tor, they were about seven of them.
Perfect.
Tor then introduced Ren and Leonel to the others while Ren asked after the introduction, “Are these all the members you have?”
Tor got a little embarrassed, and he smiled sheepishly. “Ah . . . unfortunately yes. We’re in need of members right now by the end of the month so that we won’t get dissolved.”
Bucky, Tor’s right-hand man with a prominent bucktooth, whistled in. “It’s because you prohibited PKing. That’s why the others left.”
Tor’s face hardened. “My stance is clear. We will not kill players unless they’re the ones who initiated the fight. That’s our rule! Without those rules, nothing separate us from beasts in here.”
“Yes. Yes.” Bucky just waved his hand in a bored tone and yawned.
Despite Tor’s scary appearance, he was a man of principle, and Ren very much like that.
“You need members? Then you will surely like what I will propose to you.”
“Oh?” Tor crossed his arms, and his muscles flexed while Leonel could only drool in envy.
His genes didn’t allow him to grow that big of a muscle.
“It’s about the upcoming guild war. If your guild wins, then forget about ten players. Hundreds would surely line up at your doorstep.”
Tor scratched his head, face unsure. “Sorry to burst your bubble, but I think that having only seven members wouldn’t win the guild wars.”
Ren only smiled. The one that hid a sinister plot. “And that’s why I propose a merging of guilds.”
. . .
. . .
Roaring Tigers were shocked at what Ren said that the room turned deathly quiet.
At the side, the vein’s on Leonel neck pounded hard when he whipped it hard in Ren’s direction.
“Huh?!”
“Your guild and Fighting Lambs. They’ll merge as one.”