It took several minutes before Sora finally calmed down a little and wiped her tears off. She couldn’t believe that she ended up crying in front of all these people without being able to stop herself. She felt embarrassed and more importantly afraid.
She was afraid that they might hurt her just like everyone else did. But, unlike everyone else, these people didn’t seem bad. They didn’t give her any bad feelings at all. She couldn’t believe that she had met people who wanted to help her.
“… Did you calm down?” Isla asked as she gently patted the girl’s shoulder.
“Mm…” The girl nodded her head.
“It must’ve been really tough on you. But, don’t worry, we will help you as much as we can. They won’t get you anymore.” Isla nodded.
Even though initially, Isla didn’t have the intention to bring this girl with them, seeing her condition and hearing about what she went through, she could only feel deep sympathy toward Sora. She could understand where the girl came from and her past as Isla was in a sense similar to that girl.
‘I can’t ignore someone in need.’ She thought to herself as she stood up. ‘Whatever trouble this might bring us, I do not mind.’
“I suppose you agree to my offer?” Isla asked.
“… I don’t know much about you all. But, I suppose I can at least see where you’re bringing me.” Sora replied.
“Great!” Arthur exclaimed. ‘Isla has some amazing convincing abilities. She easily made her change her mind. No wonder she’s a leader, this is like a second nature to her.’
A few words were more than enough for Isla to take things where she wanted them to go. She didn’t have to say anything grandiose or long. She simply showed sincere emotions and carefully gave Sora another option to save herself.
“Wow… Another person joined us just like that.” Herculia muttered with an astonished look on his face. Their group had grown larger and larger in a short period of time. What was before only 4 people was now 8. It doubled.
“Well, hi there, Sora. You can call me Emmy. This big man right here is Heruclia and that grumpy boy is Danny.” Emmy introduced them with a friendly smile and extended her hand to Sora to shake it.
The girl was hesitant at first but then slowly shook her hand. “Nice… Nice to meet you.”
“Hehe, you’re so adorable.”
“Enough chit-chatting. We need to go. Finlay and Serko have been waiting.” Isla clapped her hands, taking everyone’s attention.
“Where did you guys put them?” Arthur asked.
“Oh, right, he doesn’t know!” Herculia snapped his fingers.
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“You will see for yourself,” Danny replied as he started walking after Isla.
“… Ok.”
Finally, the group left the gates and headed into the main street where the city was at its liveliest state. The capital was extremely massive to the point where seasons differentiated between one area and another.
The number of people living in it was in the hundreds of millions or even billions. So, even during the late hours of the day, the city was still brimming with life as if it never sleeps. It was like a beacon of light in the darkness of the world around.
A few minutes later, the group took a turn and moved into the smaller streets and blocks of the city. The farther they walked, the less populated the places became.
Eventually, they stopped in front of one particular building. Away from most activity, this particular area was very quiet compared to where they were a while ago. The sense of tranquility coupled with the snow falling from the sky endlessly gave it a very comforting albeit cold feeling.
As for the building, it looked very seamless in its surroundings, blending well with everything else. It had nothing unique going for it except for the sign hanging in front of the door. ‘Frozen Mead Hotel’ it said in large letters.
“A hotel?” He asked.
“Yes, we have found hotels in here. So, we decided to book a room and keep Finlay and Serko there. They should be safe.” Emmy replied.
“I didn’t know hotels existed in this world. But, it does make sense.” Arthur muttered. ‘Though, I wonder if there are those fantasy taverns around. I must look into that.’
“Hey, are you coming, Arthur?”
Looking down, Arthur realized that everyone had walked inside. So, he shook his head and followed them. The interior was very fantasy-like but also with some hints of modern simplicity. A few seats, a main desk, and stairs to the side that led to the floors above.
There was only a receptionist at the main lounge who greeted them casually and went back to reading the book in her hands as if she didn’t care. So, they all headed to the floor above silently.
‘Wow, that lady looks very grumpy.’ Arthur thought to himself. ‘She’s glaring at me now. Don’t look…’ He averted his eyes quickly when he felt the strong glare poring into his back.
Reaching the second floor, they moved through the corridors and stopped in front of one of the rooms. Isla then used the key and opened the door. The interior of the room was very simple. One bedroom and a bathroom.
“Hm? Who’s there?”
Immediately, two kids emerged out of the room, peeking hesitantly. When they saw Arthur and the others, their eyes lit up in excitement.
“Guys!”
They rushed toward them in a hurry. One of them hugged Arthur and the other hugged Isla enthusiastically.
“Hey there guys, hahaha!” Arthur smiled as he patted Finlay’s back gently. “Did you miss me?”
“Yes! Where have you been?! We waited so long!”
“We had work to do,” Isla replied. A hint of softness could be seen in her eyes as she stared at Serko and Finlay. “Did anyone come here or knock on the door?”
“No, we stayed here alone the entire time.”
“That’s good.”
“… This is the place you talked about?” Sora asked. “I have never been to a hotel before.”
“It’s the temporary place we’re using to stay hidden from the eyes of people,” Danny replied. “We will have to move out somewhere else sooner or later. With the guild update available now, we’re bound to need a place of our own to establish the guild.”
“I wonder how much a building would cost us if we try to buy one. It must be quite expensive.” Emmy replied.
“Or we can just buy land and build our own headquarters there,” Herculia suggested.
As the group started discussing that, Arthur listened with a frozen expression.
“Wait, wait, wait. Hold your horses, guys! You’re already making a guild?” He asked. It was not the fact that they were starting a guild that surprised him, it was the fact that they were going to start a guild this early.
Not only does a guild require a lot of attention and work to establish and expand, but they were all still fairly early into the game even if they were the best players in the world.
“…”
The group looked at Arthur confusedly. “Uh, of course we are. What’s so confusing about it? Of course, you’re going to join, Arthur.”
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. Isn’t it a little bit too early to start a guild?”
“It’s not. We’re the very first people to arrive at the capital. We have to make use of that opportunity and establish our presence here before everyone else eventually arrives.” Danny replied.
‘… It seems they don’t understand how guilds work. Usually, starting a guild early is a very risky thing to do as it hinders the players’ growth and makes them focus on other tasks instead of leveling up and getting stronger first.’
Arthur was aware that Isla and the others were not into video games before they started playing DO so such small details would go right over their heads as they would approach things with real-life logic rather than in-game logic.
“Is there a problem with that, Arthur?” Isla approached him slowly.
‘Should I even stop them from starting the guild? Does game logic even apply in this world to make starting a guild now counter-intuitive?’
The simple answer to that was… He didn’t know. There were too many variables to simply follow his idea. Arthur didn’t want Isla and the others to do something risky so soon but at the same time, if it was a good opportunity, he didn’t wish to hinder them.
‘It’s certainly a risky move but… Is it worth taking?’
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3