Hoard of Demons.

Once Ari waited for about 8 minutes, he felt like he was sucked into something. He opened his eyes again, and saw he was back in the room. Ari sighed in relief, then fell asleep again.

----------

The next morning, Ari got dressed and ate breakfast at the inn. After he finished, he headed towards the guild. Some of the adventurers greeted him when they saw him. Ari was kinda famous after all.

Ari continued his work until the guild master summoned them for an afternoon meeting. He sat down and waited for everybody to come.

When everybody was seated, Xinxus cleared his throat.

"Ahem, as you know the demon king has awoken." Everyone nodded. "Well, I have gotten a report that says that a hoard of demons will come in about 2ish days."

Everyone had a serious expression and straightened their backs.

"So, I want you guys to try your best to recruit as many adventurers as you can. Even if they're F rank, they can still help with carrying stuff."

Some people took notes, Ari just doodled a bit on the paper.

After the meeting was over, the guild staff started putting up help posters for the raid. Many adventurers signed up at once, and the guild was working hard for the whole day.

---

"Carry, did you hear about the demon hoard coming to the starter village?" Tussled Weeper asked his friend, Grief Star.

"Of course I heard of it, and don't say my real name in the game." Grief Star sighed.

"Yea yea, anyways what's the level requirement?"

"Hmm..Well the guild posters said that even F rank can participate, and you need to be level 10 to register..so like probably 10 or higher?"

"Oh, that's good then. I turned level 12 just recently, how about you?" (Tussled Weeper)

"I'm level 15 right now."

"Wow, do you just grind the moment you get home from school?"

"Well kinda. I like this game a lot, and I just..level up." (Grief Star)

"Yea, I can get that. This game is so realistic. The NPCs even give different answers, no matter what you ask them."

"Oh, speaking of NPCs, have you heard about the NPC with the mask?" (GS)

"You mean the one at the guild?"

"Yea, apparently no one knows what's underneath his mask." (GS)

"Woah, that's mysterious. Do you think he's like a secret character you need in the future?"

"Maybe, some people are trying to get close to him. But he just waves them off." (GS)

"That makes it sound even more plausible. He's probably is a secret character."

"Maybe, but for now. Let's just grind the orcs." (GS)

"Fine."

---

Ari was on a wagon, heading towards a plain that will be used to fight the demons. He was nibbling on some bread from underneath his mask. His friends tried to peak under neath there to no avail.

"C'mon let me have a peek will you?!" Arask complained.

"No."

"Wait, it it because your extremely ugly!" Arask swung his head towards him.

"Boy, it's actually the opposite." Ari thought. He just smacked Arask and started reading a fandom book.

"Peh." Arask grouched and stared at the flowers.

After about 4 hours, they found a good place to camp. As they were finishing, they heard scrambling. Ari looked over, and saw a handsome dark blue haired man on a horse.

His light armor was white and dark blue. His eyes narrowed in a sharp formation, and his broad shoulders gave him a seductive look. He had muscles, but they didn't stick out. They were lean and attractive.

Ari gulped a bit, but then he remembered he was a boy now. He couldn't be drooling over a man! But he didn't like girls...eh i'll just be single forever then.

Xinxus came forward and greeted him respectfully.

"Your excellency, Lixian. Thank you for joining us for the hoard."

"No need for all of that, I can't just stay and eat meat while soldiers and adventurers die in battle." Lixian's sexy voice replied.

Ari used to be a girl, and he only just turned into a boy. So it was normal for him to freeze and stare. Lixian sensed something, and looked at him. Ari quickly turned his head and tried to act as normal as he could, as he walked away.

Lixian looked at the retreating Ari with interest. He subconsciously curved his lips a bit. Ari got the chills, and ran away.

Ugh that was horrifying. Ari hid behind a tree and shivered. Sigh, if I wasn't for my mask then I would have had drool coming everywhere. He wiped the bottom half of his mask clean, and just sat down.

Ari was about to relax, when he heard a voice.

"Ehh..are you the rumored guild official?" A golden haired boy appeared behind him.