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Chapter 411: Logging In Once More
After having dinner, we decided to go to the rooftop. There was a big terrace in my house, so we decided to take some time to relax in here. My entire family was too tired though, so they all went to sleep, especially my parents who were exhausted and liked going to sleep early every day, mostly because they woke early as well.
So at the end, I ended with Mark and Rita with me. It was a long day, but we enjoyed it a lot. It helped us unwind from all the worries we were feeling and to appreciate the little things in life. I always believe that's the most important part of life as well, to always enjoy the little things, and be thankful you can wake up each day and live.
"Oh man, I am beat" Sighed Rita, sitting over a comfy chair while drinking some wine. "So are we going to log-in? I bet your daughter and her friends must be already playing in their rooms."
"I would rather take a break from there" I sighed. "However, now that I know its not a game, I feel obligated to go see how everyone's doing. Also shouldn't we be making a guild?"
"Right, how about we make it tonight then?" Mark suggested. "Is Lily available?"
"She messaged me just now! Seems like she has been playing for hours now, she sent me a picture of her with the brownies. They seem to be hunting for monster meat and expanding the field for more houses." I said while checking the game app. It was possible for players to send messages even when one of them was logged off, and even send pictures taken in-game.
"Then let's go and make a guild! Though I don't want to stick for much longer. I want to nap." Sighed Rita.
"Yeah I'll go check on everyone, then probably build a few things and log off as well." I said. "The Demon King's going to take a whole month to awaken, so at the very least we can take it easy for now."
"Sounds like a plan, let's go then." Mark agreed rather quickly.
"W-Wait! Before that, what about magic though?!" Rita asked.
She really wanted magic, didn't she?
"HMMM" The Great Spirit began inspecting Rita with her powers. "She seems alright? I guess she could awaken to something. Mark can certainly do it. Though if you really want them to awaken strong magic, we'll need materials to use to create their Magic Circles, this can't be done so easily."
"Ah, the Great Spirit says we'll need materials to make your magic circles first." I said while analyzing things. "And after that, you'll finally begin using magic. But let's take it easy for now, don't rush things, Rita."
"So that's how it works, a Magic Circle, inside of our bodies?" Mark wondered. "Interesting Maybe I should do some more research on the internet."
"Meeh We need materials?! And what sort of materials? This isn't a magic world or something, is it?" Sighed Rita.
"Well after what happened in the First Contact, it's kind of is now. Just still developing." I sighed. "We can use my own plants as materials, but also animal blood and bones are good. I think we could use what's left of the lamb we ate today. There's a giant bucket of blood from it too."
"I see, sounds a bit gross but I am willing." Said Mark.
"Anything else?" Rita sighed.
"Hollows! You need to hunt a few Hollows and get their Magic Crystals, those are crystalized masses of impure mana, if we use magic to purify them, they're perfect fuel for their awakening." The Great Spirit said.
"We'll need to hunt Hollows" I sighed.
"H-Hunt Hollows?!" Rita asked while raising an eyebrow.
"What's a Hollow?" Mark wondered.
"W-Well"
And like that, we spent ten minutes in explanations. Once the two learned not only about the Hollows existence but about Blackie's awakening into a Demonic Beast, the two almost lost their minds.
"S-So there are invisible monsters in this world we can't even see?! And from a while ago?!" Rita was completely flabbergasted. "S-So maybe all of those superstitions of ghosts are real! Maybe a lot of monsters from beliefs are real too?"
"T-This is certainly completely insane" Sighed Mark. "And it seems they only attack those with Mana, so if we ever awaken, we'll need to risk ourselves at being targeted by them."
"W-Wha?! This wasn't supposed to be happening" Rita seemed dispirited now.
"Well, seems like you don't want to be a witch anymore? Huh? Well, I won't force you, its your decision." I shrugged.
"N-No! I want to!" Rita complained. "I REALLY WANT TO!" She suddenly grabbed my arm and started begging. "Elayne we've been friends all along, please don't leave me behind!"
"E-Eh? Calm down! Alright, I was just saying. If you two become Magicians, we'll need you two to fight monsters as well, we might be able to make charms to throw them hollows away from you, but so we can grow stronger, we need to hunt these guys. And perhaps more monsters that might eventually show up." I said. "Get it guys?"
"Alright, I am willing to." Mark didn't even hesitated unlike Rita. His will was very strong. "I promised you I will protect you, Elayne. Well, you're way stronger than me so I don't think I can completely protect you from all harm by myself but I just want to become someone reliable."
"Hehe, and I appreciate it." I said, giving him a head pat.
"Geez, get a room already." Rita sighed, crossing her arms.
To her comment, Mark and I grew redder out of embarrassment! How can she say that out loud like nothing?!
"R-Rita!" I exclaimed.
"A-Ahahah" Mark laughed slightly nervously. "S-So anyways, let's log-in for now."
"Yeah, let's go." I nodded.
Like that, we moved back to our rooms and brought out the VR headsets we brought along, connecting them to the internet. At this day and age, even the countryside had a rather decent internet connection.
FLASH!
My eyes opened once more, as I was greeted by the beautiful night sky of Arcadia, and the surrounding mystical Forest of Beginnings, overflowing with nature everywhere.
For some reason, this also feels like my home.
Chapter 412: Otherworldly Invasion
The Gods of Arcadia feared the worst. A malicious force had infiltered into Earth below their very noses. The many cracks left behind by the Demon King of Miasma's attack had yet to be healed. The largest and most obvious ones were healed, but smaller ones, as little as the head of an ant were not as easy to repair, and there were thousands of them distributed everywhere.
Of course, no normal living being could get through them except extremely small insects which would only be harmless at most. But these small cracks still bean to fill Earth with the Mana of Arcadia with each passing second, slowly yet steadily.
However, certain entities, perhaps those that lack a physical body, could easily get through them... And that's exactly what happened. As the Gods attempted to find a solution, the Demon King of Death, Thanatos, laughed from within the Underworld, celebrating that one of his underlings, one that lacked a physical body, had managed to infilter this "new world".
"A New World ripe for conquest, with so many fresh and delicious souls..." Thanatos celebrated.
...
In the middle of a city, below the darkness of the night, within an abandoned alleyway, a small ripple emerged.
Crack... crack!
It was as if the empty air itself was beginning to shatter. The only person there, a homeless man sleeping inside of his make-shift house of carboard and sticks suddenly woke up from the noise.
"Who's shattering bottles now?" He muttered, looking around, only to find an utterly bizarre sight.
Crack... crack!
The empty air was gaining several cracks, one after the other, constantly. The cracks expanded slowly, until a small hole, as big as the head of a person opened, leading to a completely black void.
"W-Wha...?! What the fuck?! What did I drink tonight!?"
The man woke up and began crawling away in horror, however, he couldn't help but take a peek at what was happening as he ran away, almost instinctively from the dreadful presence that had begun to emerge.
CRASH!
A monstrous, black-colored claw emerged from the cracks, which seemed non corporeal get it had the power to touch things physically.
And then... hundreds of red eyes emerged from within the hole, glancing at the man's very soul.
"W-What is that?! G-G-GHOST?!"
The man didn't dared to look any further, running away and quickly disappearing from the scene. If there was one thing he learned from living in the streets was to never mess around with dangerous people, that included inter-dimensional monsters.
"A cowardly soul..." The voice of the entity whispered, as its entire body finally managed to get into the other world, the Rift it created slowly beginning to repair itself. "Hmph, the Gods work fast..."
CLASH!
The hole closed before he could even hold it further, yet the entity's connection with his master remained as strong as ever.
His formless shadow-like body began moving around, glancing around everywhere. Countless red eyes grew over his phantasmal body, analyzing everything.
"What a strange and bizarre buildings... Yet, so many souls! Millions of souls packed in such a tight area!" He exclaimed. "Yet..."
Suddenly, he noticed how his body was beginning to weaken, even part of it was fading away.
"This world lacks the Mana to maintain my form for longer. I need a host." He sighed, suddenly noticing he was surrounded by dozens of strange, formless monsters similar to him, but with several faces and limbs, made of shadows.
"Mana..."
"Tasty..."
"Gimme... gimme!"
The entity seemed pleased by their visit, however.
"So Hollows form in this world naturally already, huh? Good, you are going to be a nice aperitive.
"GRAAAHHH!"
The Hollows quickly tried to devour the entity, and jumped over his phantasmal body, ripping him apart and absorbing his Mana!
However, as they devoured the entity, they suddenly started squirming and groaning in agony. Their bodies quickly dissolving into black liquid, which began to gather around together into a large mass of darkness.
FLUOOOSH!
"Ahhhh! Not so bad! This world's mana really has a unique taste!" The entity laughed. "Now... I would really love to make more mischief and disasters but... It does seems my master has another mission for me."
He slowly heard the voice of Thanatos whispering to his very soul.
"Phantasmos, this is the world where that detestable Yggdrasil's true body resides. Find her and devour her soul! And while you are at it, open the cracks leading to this world. We shall continue where the previous Demon King left at!"
"Yes, Master! It will be a pleasure!"
Phantasmos flew around the city at night, devouring as many Hollows as he could to grow stronger, while directing his gaze into the faraway countryside. His body slowly started to divide into tiny pieces, each tiny fragment flew towards a separate direction of the city, seeking more of these small cracks.
Not only this city was being affected, but his presence quickly spread around the entirety of north America in just a few hours since his arrival. His soul fragments moving at incredibly fast speeds and absorbing Mana to keep themselves alive.
"These Hollows is all I can take easily. I shall need more strength to reap souls, physical bodies. And monsters are excellent sources of physical bodies at that!" Phantasmos began to laugh, his plan was slowly being set in motion.
Each of his soul fragments started to instigate the small portals leading to Arcadia, as the cracks slowly, yet steadily began to grow larger. It might not be instantly, but in a few days or weeks, true chaos will finally engulf the world.
"All of you pitiful humans' souls shall become my Master's dinner..." He laughed, glancing into the faraway wilderness of the countryside. "But first, my master wants his aperitives."
Meanwhile, within Arcadia, the Gods glanced into Earth through the System's interface, quickly detecting the powerful phantasmal presence of Phantasmos within Earth, and he was growing stronger with each passing minute!
"From all of the Generals, it had to be him?!" The God of Creation exclaimed.
Chapter 413: Back To The Village, A New Tribe Joins
The moment we logged back in the game- I mean, the other world now, I felt like we were back home as well. We were greeted not only by the pretty nigh sky filled with stars and the moon, but the surrounding forest seemed to have changed... I do remember it being bustling with trees, but now it was like ten times as massive! Not just trees, all matter of colorful flowers, herbs, and mushrooms were popping everywhere. The forest was also expanding.
By merely sharing my senses with my tree body, I instantly recognized what was happening. It was all thanks to... me! My own body roots were expanding into the ground slowly, and the more they expanded into the faraway land, the more nature kept growing everywhere constantly. The forest had expanded a lot already!
Ding!
[Welcome Back, Planta!]
[Your [Yggdryad's World Tree Seedling (Divine Grade): Level 3] has grew ten meters larger, and its roots have expanded over fifty meters through the underground!]
[The Forest of Beginnings, your [Territory] has expanded!]
[You're generating large quantities of Mana and Spirit Energy, the many spirits of the forest, alongside all of the flora and fauna had been enhanced!]
[Fauna reproduction and growth rate has been increased by +50%!]
[All Spirits and other Intelligent Inhabitants of the Forest of Beginnings are growing stronger! Their growth speed and growth rate has been increased by +50%!]
[All of your Territory inhabitants seem to be rather happy!]
[You have collected +6340 Community Points!]
[You can use Community Points to improve your [Territory]!]
[Your influence as a World Boss is expanding, many beings fear you, and others seem to see you as a new goddess!]
[You have collected +232 World Boss Points!]
[You can spend World Boss Points to exchange for amazing rewards in the [World Boss Store]!]
"Oh wow, I've got quite a lot to do, don't I?" I sighed. "I need to manage the territory better and also see what I could get in the World Boss Store while I am at it... Probably the entire Player base knows I am a World Boss now. I just hope nobody is planning any funny business for now."
"Guider Spirit are you there?" I called to my spirit, quickly summoning Belle as well. "[Summon Familiar]!"
FLASH!
A magic circle appeared in front of me, as Belle was teleported to my side.
"MEEEEHE!"
She was enormous and fluffy! After her latest evolution she got as big as a truck, and now she can even evolve further... I am kind of afraid of making her evolve right now to be honest, but it should be something I should do soon anyways.
"Belle! How are you doing? Sorry for logging in so late." I sighed, giving her head pats, and kissing her forehead.
"Meeeehheee!" She seemed happy, licking my entire face.
I quickly decided to ride over her back and move across the forest, quickly making my way towards the village that I had built below the shade of my tree body.
"Ah, you're finally back!" The Guider Spirit reprimanded me.
"Huh? Why are you acting as if I was gone for weeks? It has only been a day!" I sighed.
"I guess it has been that little time. So much happened that I am having trouble getting everything in my data well stored. So anyways, are you finally ready to increase your territory defenses? I think you've got quite a generous sum of Community Points now!" He said. "I have the feeling that in the future we might get attacked by outside forces, you have to take advantage of the Territory Management system!"
"I know, I know! I am not going anywhere for now- Well not really, I'm going somewhere. I just want to meet up with my friends. We'll be making a guild first though." I said with a smile.
"Oh right! You wanted to do that. Well, it would be better if we hurry up with that." The Guide Spirit said. "The faster you get a guild the better. You can enjoy a lot of benefits there."
"I see! Alright, we're here." I looked into the village I had built yesterday, it was slightly larger than I remember it, and there was even more people this time around. A lot of fairies had decided to move in here while the kingdom was being reconstructed, apparently.
"I-It's Planta!"
"Lady Planta!"
"Our chief's back!"
"No, our goddess!"
"Uwaah, she's prettier than I remember!"
As I reached the village I was swarmed by my inhabitants. Brownies, Gnomes, Fairies, Squirrel-kin, and what seemed to be Myconid, mushroom people! These were new people I had not seen before! Just where did these guys came from?
"Hello everyone, how is your night going?" I greeted everyone happily, blessing them with my aura of healing and spiritual energy, which made them feel at ease at my side. This was probably an extension of my "Divinity" I believe.
"Lady Planta! You're finally back! Great! We've created a Council of Chiefs!" Said Acorn, rushing to my side and hugging my belly. He was as adorable as ever!
"Acorn! Is that so?" I wondered.
"Yeah! My grandpa, the squirrel-kin chief, the gnome and brownies chief, Queen Titania, and our new friend, the chief of the Myconid!" Acorn presented me an old Myconid, a mushroom person similar to the Mushroom Brigade.
However, he looked thinner and older, filled with wrinkles as if he was a dehydrated mushroom. His eyes seemed very tired and he had a long white beard that covered his entire face. He was holding himself barely by using a cane.
"It is a pleasure to meet Lady Planta, the Queen of our Forest!" He said happily.
"Y-You're the Myconid Chief? Nice to meet you as well sir!" I said, giving him a gentle handshake. "I am honestly surprised, where did you all came from?"
"Oh, we came here just half a day ago! Our tribe has been living in the underground area of this forest, hiding from the surface and monsters for many generations. Some of my children seem to have seen you valiantly fighting to protect the entire forest." He said. "After learning you became the new Heart of Nature and Spirits, we've decided to walk towards the surface to see her majesty's grand existence. We are here to serve you, Lady Planta."
The old Myconid and the rest of his tribe, which were around a hundred, all kneeled before me, offering me their loyalty.
Ding!
[The [Myconid Tribe] has joined your [Territory]!]
Chapter 414: Completing An Hidden Quest And Time To Finally Make A Guild!
Ding!
[The [Myconid Tribe] has joined your [Territory]!]
[You have completed the [Hidden Quest]: [Completely Unify All Tribes of the Forest of Beginnings]!]
[Due to your outstanding achievements and your charismatic presence, the shy and introverted Myconid had decided to come out into the surface and offer their utmost loyalty to you, the new Heart of Nature! Hurray! Now all tribes have been finally unified!]
[You received the following Rewards: [Mushroom Farm Blueprint] x1, [Mushroom Castle Blueprint] x1, [50000 EXP], and [200000 Gold!]
[LEVEL UP!]
[Your Level has increased from Level 77 to Level 78!]
[You earned Bonus Skill Points and Stat Points!]
[All Your Stats have increased!]
[You have accumulated a large quantity of unused Skill Points, make sure to spend them by Fusing Skills in the Skill Forge or by Buying new Skills in the Skill Tree!]
Woah that was a whole quest?! Well, thanks for the extra level! Though this time around it really feels like I really didn't do anything at all... Nonetheless, I appreciate the blueprints.
And a mushroom castle, huh? This reminds of a Mario Bros...
"W-Well, this was sudden but you're all welcome! I suppose you've already meet the Mushroom Brigade?" I asked the chief.
"Oh yes, that band of very competent lads! We've indeed seen them." Said the Myconid chief. "They remind me of the ancient heroes of our stories, it almost feels like they were revived or something, hahaha!"
"Y-Yeah, hahaha..." I laughed along.
I better not tell them they're the real ones, this poor grandpa can barely handle walking, he probably won't be able to take on such news really well.
"Lady Planta, hurry! Queen Titania and everyone else is waiting for you! Myconid Chief, let's go!" Said Acorn, hurrying us up. "Wait Acorn! Where are my friends? Have you seen them?"
"They're already there!" Acorn said.
"Oh! Okay then..." I felt slightly surprised he was being so pushy, but it was probably because this meeting was really important.
I quickly brought the Myconid chief with me over Belle towards the Chief Meeting Hall, a large building I had built before logging off yesterday. The chief was brought over my legs, he was really tiny. The old grandpa was giggling like a child as he was carried by Belle. Myconid are sure adorable even when old.
As I finally arrived at the wooden-made hall, I was greeted by Titan and Achlys in there, or well, Mark and Rita, and Lily too! And there was also Titania, Acorn's grandpa, the Gnomes and Brownies Chief, and... Huh?!
"Hey Planta! How are you doing?" It was a beautiful vampire queen.
"Huh, you're finally back, my nemesis." Said DarkReaper.
"We've been waiting for you for a while now!" Angelina sighed.
The four guild masters that were already my friends, the number one ranker, and my daughter's player were here too! Why though?! Well, I am happy my little Elena's here but why is Angelina in here? And Black Haze has nothing to do with us either!
"W-What's going on?!" I asked to my friends.
"W-Well, they insisted in coming." Sighed Titan.
"Fear not, it seems it is for good things." Titania said.
"Yeah, I am mostly a bystander here though! But I've been protecting your place while you were off, so you should be grateful." Giggled Black Haze half-teasingly.
"I want a rematch..." My daughter looked at me with deadly eyes, which were glowing redder. Her friends must be around, but were not invited here.
But taking things into consideration, nobody else than my close friends know she's my daughter, why did she joined this meeting at all? Or was her intimidating presence enough to make everyone here agree to anything she demanded?
Sigh...
Everyone, I am sorry for my daughter's disrespectful behavior!
"Okay, can I get an explanation now?" I sighed, sitting down in my overly luxurious chair.
Interestingly enough, this chair was crafted by the gnomes for me. It resembled a very beautiful, and detailed throne that made me look down on everyone due to how high it was. And it was all made of the finest wood they could find, decorated by jewels mined from the underground caves.
"Well, we've introduced your NPC friends about the Guild and its many things, and they seem to want to join it." Said Angelina. "I don't remember about this before, but I've investigated with everyone else on the internet, and it seems possible for NPC to join Guilds made by players, as long as they have a high "bond level" with the Guild Master."
"It would be amazing if we could join the guild!" Said Acorn's grandfather.
"Yeah, even as a Queen of Fairies, I would gladly become a member below your command, Planta." Titania said with a sincere smile.
"I agree." The Myconid Chief said.
"Me too!" The Gnome chief said. "Also, milady, do you enjoy your new chair? We've crafted it specially for you! All my people put their sweat and blood into it to finish it before you came back!"
"I-I see... And I do love it, thank you." I smiled back at the Gnome chief.
"So, anyways... I guess that's that. I was already planning on inviting you guys, I don't know why this whole meeting was necessary..." I sighed. "I am more interested in why Black Haze is here. And Dark Reaper, dear?"
"I am here as a bystander. I am planning to see if my guild could make an alliance with yours, but it would be better to see your future achievements before deciding." She said. "My guild is the strongest in the whole server and making an alliance with yours would mean a lot for you and us as well."
"I see, so you want to see if we deserve it?" I sighed. "I am not really interested in this alliance so-"
"Wait, Planta!" Titan suddenly stopped me. "Think your words more carefully, she's incredibly important!"
Suddenly, he started using the private whisper function, which was pretty much like a private voice chat.
"If we can make them all our allies, fighting the next demon king would become way more easily if we can coordinate things correctly!"
"A-AH! You're right..."
The Blood Roses Guild was really powerful, having them all to our command to fight the next demon king might be crucial for our next victory...
I guess I cannot just dismiss her now.
Chapter 415: The Possibility For A Powerful Alliance
Sadly, although Titan tried to stop me, I still ended saying those rather... selfish words out of the blue. I thought Black Haze would get mad at me and leave, but she giggled.
"I knew that would be your response. Don't worry, I just want to hang out with you." She laughed a lot. "Though are you sure? My guild's super strong, we could help you out."
"Y-Yeah, sorry, I guess that came out of nowhere. Forget it. I will gladly make an alliance, take as long as you want to decide." I smiled back slightly nervously.
I thanked God she was the playful and mischievous type that doesn't mind when others are rude against her.
"Oh, so you've considered it! Good then!" Smiled Black Haze.
"And as for you, Dark Reaper..." I said while imagining her saying she was here just for show or something.
"We want to join your new guild." She said. "My friends are out eating so I came alone."
"Y-YOU WHAT!?"
I felt completely taken aback!
My own daughter wants to join my guild... willingly?!
HUH?!
This was... completely unexpected.
But at the same time, a dream come true!
Like this, she'll always stay with us and we can bond better in-game, hehehe...
"So that's a not? I expected it. Well, that's it. I will come back one day for a rematch. Until then-"
"W-Wait! I didn't meant it that way! You can join! I will gladly welcome you! I was just... surprised. That' all." I sighed while calming down.
"Oh." My daughter's red eyes glowed brightly, an evil smile emerged in her lips, sharp teeth showing menacingly. "Good then."
"But why... why do you want to join our guild, dear?" Lily wondered.
"Yeah aren't you like a lone wolf?" Achlys asked.
"I... I feel the same, why?" Titan wondered.
My daughter glanced back at them, her smile going back to her usual expressionless, yet adorable face.
"Have you never heard of the saying keep your allies close, but your enemies even closer?" She said with a malicious aura. "Planta's my rival. We fought and I won... yet that victory didn't even felt like one, she never truly died, so it feels like she went easy on me. I want to keep her closer to see how she grows, and I'll keep up with her. We'll have a rematch no matter what!"
Geez, I should had expected that response.
Everyone in the room looked at my daughters response in disbelief.
"Are you serious?!" Titania angrily said. "Planta don't accept her! She's too suspicious! Look at her creepy grin!"
"Don't talk to her like that!" I roared back at Titania, who suddenly shut down due to my angered response.
"H-Huh? T-This is the first time you scream at me..." Titania felt all saddened.
Oops, right, she doesn't know she's my daughter.
"S-Sorry! I am really sorry, I let that... heat of the moment get to me. I didn't intended it." I sighed, giving her a head pat and taking out of my inventory a strawberry cake slice.
"O-Okay..." Titania pouted a bit but accepted my token of sincerity.
"S-So anyways, is that it?" The gnome chief wondered. "We should go get that guild thing done asap!"
"Yeah!" Said Angelina.
"Alright then, everyone, let's go." I sighed. "Dear, come with us too if you want to join! Bring your besties."
"Sure." Dark Reaper quickly went to look for Anna and Elisa.
The Vampiress quickly walked to my side.
"Dear, now that you're a World Boss you'll need some protection, even more if we go to the Player Town. I'll come with you for now. But remember I can't be your bodyguard all times." She said. "Also call me Rosemary! Black Haze is just the name I use publicly."
"Okay, Rosemary it is then~" I sighed, feeling the pressure of a high rank player at my side.
Also is she a man or a woman IRL? I can't really tell, but her way of speaking and moving, she's most likely a woman.
"So anyways, what's your gender? You seem to have two names and a male and female persona so..." I asked, feeling a bit bolder.
"Fufufu, you're asking a person inside the game about their personal life? Do you want me to report you or something, Planta~?" She laughed.
"A-Ah! Sorry, I didn't meant it like that!" I said slightly flustered.
"But fine, I am feeling generous. How about a deal?" She asked, my friends were nearby, hearing her words. "Let's meet up IRL in a cafe somewhere... Ya'll live in Canada right? Then we can see each other then, you'll find out who I am in that moment."
"We do live in Canada, yeah..." Titan felt slightly nervous. "I-Is this okay though?"
"Ah, I would gladly meet you!" Lily agreed too fast.
"Sure girl, if you really want to. But you pay the drinks, hahaha!" Achlys giggled.
"Hmm~! Your friends seem most happy about it. So? Planta?" Asked Rosemary.
"Uuuuhh..." I felt slightly pressured. Mark didn't seem to like this though, and I couldn't help but agree with his instincts.
What if it's a creep or something?!
Well, all four of us will be going, and I've got my magic too.
I doubt any bandit could even do a single thing to me now... but still.
Uuuuuhhh...
Ahh! Well, whatever!
"Sure, whatever." I sighed. "Let's decide the time and place through chat later on."
"Ahhh~! I am most pleased!" Rosemary smiled happily. "I've always wanted to have IRL friends."
"You don't have!?" I asked in surprise.
"Meh, from all my candidates, they're all a bunch of hot-blooded teens so I don't care about meeting them IRL. You guys are down to earth and quite nice." She said, giving me a head pat.
"Don't head pat me!" I sighed.
"Y-Yeah! Don't head pat her." Titan said, suddenly hugging me to protect me from the mischievous vampire.
"Fufu, you're so close! So cute~" Rosemary giggled. "So, anyways! Shall we get going? You friends are back now."
She pointed at my daughter and her friends entering the room.
"We're ready." She said.
"Alright then! Time to make our guild, everyone!" I celebrated. "Guide! Can you teleport us to the Capital of Players with our friends?"
"Sure, all NPC seem willing, so its possible to bring them along! Let's go!"
FLAAAASH!
Chapter 416: Visiting Nexus City At Long Last! & Planta's Enormous Popularity!
Ding!
[Welcome to Nexus City, the place where all Players can come to relax, battle in the arena, join various guilds, buy and sell products, and explore the Endless Labyrinth Tower!]
When we finally arrived, I looked around in surprise. This place was sure huge! It was an immense medieval-styled city which was as big as the eye could see. There were large walls protecting the city, surrounding it. And aside from hundreds of thousands of players, I also saw some unique NPC that lived in here.
This place was actually the Capital of a Faraway Kingdom in another continent named Nexus City. Apparently, according to the lore I read, this place was designed by the gods for Players, but the Kingdom in here also decided to offer their help, serving the Players and helping them in their various necessities as some sort of deal with the Gods.
There were big buildings everywhere, some as big as over ten floors, the style of buildings was more reminiscent of renaissance than medieval. There were probably over a million players in this place already, and probably a bit over that number in the NPC department, the natural inhabitants of this world. If there was anybody that was born in this world that knew players the best, was in here.
Although the normal inhabitants didn't bath us an eye, many Players noticed our arrival in here. My friends were enchanted by the beauty of the city, which was completely illuminated using large lamps fueled with magic crystals.
"Woah, so this is the city we can go anytime we want?! This place's amazingly beautiful!" Achlys was going insane.
"Ahh, I had visited this once before but this is really a beautiful city, isn't it?" Titan sighed.
"So pretty! And so many people everywhere..." Lily seemed the most enchanted.
"Seems like this is your first time visiting this place." Angelina laughed. "Well, let us guide you to the area where we can make Guilds, the Guild Confederation, which manages all other Player Guilds."
"Alright!"
As we walked down the beautiful streets, our party, which was filled with many people of different appearances, even some rather fancy-looking queens such as Titania, brought the attention of many people.
"Hey, are those newbies?"
"A lot of them are level 70 but... what with those other super high-level players?!"
"A Level 200 Player? What is she doing with a bunch of newbies?"
"W-Wait a second... Those Player names..."
"Eh? Huh?"
"Hey! Wait a second!"
"This can't... be! They're here? She's here!"
Suddenly, hell broke loose. Hundreds of players finally realized who we were, although they seemed mostly fixated on me from all of us! Indeed, "Player Planta" was probably the most popular topic in the game right now.
The gameplay videos I had uploaded had reached over 700k views by now, and just this morning I had even received an email of my ad revenue payment, it was almost 4k Canadian dollars... it was only a few videos, but ad revenue worked the more people watched the videos. I happily accepted the money though. Although it is not enough to drop my job... yet.
"Agh, right! I forgot, you're super popular!" Sighed Rosemary.
"Certainly, she's more popular than the first ranker of this server..." Sighed Angelina.
"Ahahah, right... I wonder who that is." Rosemary giggled.
The Players kept approaching as they all swarmed our surroundings. A lot of them were asking for an autograph somehow. And others were asking if they could take a selfie with me! Am I some sort of e-celeb now?!
"Please take a selfie with me!"
"Can you sign this piece of cloth?!"
"Please Planta let me give you a handshake!"
"Can we make a video together?! Anything is fine!"
"Planta you're so sexyyyyy~~~!"
"Man she's hotter than in the videos..."
"Is it really a girl IRL though? Maybe its just a perverted old man or something hahaha!"
"Oi shut up! Our Queen Planta is surely a motherly, and beautiful woman IRL!"
"Please crush me with your thighs!"
Ding!
[You earned 1 Fame!]
Ding!
[You earned 4 Fame!]
Ding!
[You earned 7 Fame!]
Ding!
[You earned 35 Fame!]
Ding!
[You earned 22 Fame!]
Ding!
[You earned 9 Fame!]
[Your Fame has increased greatly!]
[Your CHM Stat has increased!]
W-What with the Fame increasing?! Is people giving me Fame?!
In this game, there's a very easy Fame System. People gain the ability to increase or decrease someone else's Fame by 1 point each day. It is mostly a vanity thing, but it seems that by increasing it a lot, you gain new perks such as titles, skills, and even a new stat altogether.
"E-Everyone... I... I am really happy you like me and stuff but I am busy right now..." I sighed, apologizing to everyone.
"Yeah!" Mark said, suddenly stepping in with Rita.
"That's right! She's busy right now! If you want to ask her for something you'll have to deal with her managers." Rita said with a cheeky smile.
"W-Wait, those are her friends, Titan and Achlys?!"
"They're also super rookies!"
"I am pretty sure they were in the high rankings of world boss damage too!"
"Holy shit she even got managers, she's surely popular!"
"Guys look, her first video reached a million views already!"
"Huh?! Really?!"
It seems that as we made our way to the Guilds Confederation, my videos views were increasing exponentially! Why was that? Because I showed up to the public?
"Please Planta give me your autograph!"
"Become my wife! I will give you as much Gold as you want!"
"Accept my gift, please! I made these cookies for you!"
"I made this pie!"
"And I crafted this shield, please use it!"
Suddenly, even more people showed up, mostly those of the Crafting and Cooking Guilds that began to gift me all manners of items for free! What the heck?!
"T-Thank you... Thank you for your gifts..." I sighed, storing it all inside my inventory.
And as we were about to finally reach the building...
A group of high-level players stopped us, they were all wearing black suits and looked professional!
"Hello Planta, we heard you were here so we couldn't miss out. I am the representative of Arcadia News, an agency that recruits great talents and celebrities of BNLO. We would like to offer you an exclusive contract to edit and upload your videos. Of course, you will be paid amazingly well! You're a rising star after all!"
"EH?! M-Me? A rising star...?"
This was going a bit too fast!
Chapter 417: An Incredible Offer & Creating A Guild!
It seemed things were escalating quickly into something completely out of my wildest dreams. I was being offered an exclusive contract with the most popular source of news of BNLO, the very channel with over 70 million subscribers?!
It was such a well-known agency that it completely covered all news and even tournaments between servers and the like. If I were to work with them, wouldn't I get rich really quickly?
Me... a celebrity?!
For someone born in a humble farm, I never thought I could become a rising star surrounded by glamour.
But imagining myself walking across a red carpet while wearing a fancy dress, glamorous sunglasses, and surrounded by bodyguards... kind of awakened the hidden egocentric little butterfly inside of me.
Me... someone famous.
Hahaha...
...
...No!
I can't do this yet! I was going to make a guild!
"Not only would you be known by the entire American Server, but the rest of the Servers in South American, Europe, Asia, Australia and Oceania will know of your great feats!" The man said. "Ah, my bad! My name is James Thompson, and this is my IRL name. Please, have our business card!"
The man quickly handled me a business card, which was an in-game item too, I stored it inside my inventory after taking a little glance at it.
"Our exclusive contracts include a negotiable 70% of revenue for the celebrity in question, alongside ads, original content such as novels and webtoons made exclusively surrounding the character, and even all type of merchandise!" The man said. "Planta, we know of how incredible you are, so we are offering all of this to you upfront!"
"A-Ah... I... W-Well... Uuuuhhh..." I began swallowing saliva in nervousness.
This was way too good of an offer!
But I was letting my little greedy side blind my judgement.
"Oi, stop annoying her."
My daughter suddenly stepped in front, as my friends were already holding the enormous crowd back. She quickly pointed her katana back at James, her sharp eyes glowing redder.
"Hoh, is this your friend, Planta?" James asked, his smile growing... creepier.
"Fuck off." Elena said.
"I can't, unless Planta herself tell us to go away." James laughed, readjusting his sunglasses. "Young girl, don't get involved in things that are not your problem."
"She's my future guild master so I've gotta protect her, even if she's a klutz sometimes." Sighed my daughter.
Aww, she's gonna protect me?
"AHEM!"
I quickly interrupted things before the two were to begin fighting... James was a Level 207 player, so he could go 1v1 against Elena no problem.
"Anyways, James, I appreciate your offer! I will think it for now, but I am really busy. As you heard her, I am going to make a guild." I said.
James immediately changed back to his gentle demeanor.
"But of course Planta, have fun." He said. "We will be expecting your prompt call!"
The man quickly walked away with his agents, as I felt relieved.
"Don't trust them Planta, they're leeches that only want to leech off your success and money. Go solo and there'll be nobody controlling you." My daughter said with a rather edgy smile.
"I... Eeh, well, I will investigate them if they're trustworthy first and all of that. Maybe making a non-exclusive contract would be nice though..." I said. "I mean, its just the videos and I get extra money, think more maturely dear."
"Hmph..." She wasn't really listening.
"Anyways! Let's go inside!" Rosemary quickly led us inside, quickly closing the door of the Guild Confederation as we were greeted by a rather calm hall. There were a few players here and there, mostly being attended by NPC working in the agency.
"Alright, we're finally here..." Mark sighed in relief.
"That was hell..." Rita sighed. "But bestie you're such a celebrity!"
"Y-Yeah, I don't know if I am really enjoying it though." I sighed.
"Anyways, it was interesting to see but let's get this done with. I don't want to spend more time in this Player-infested place." Sighed Titania.
"Right..."
We walked near a receptionist, who greeted us rather cheerfully.
"Welcome to the Guild Confederation! Do you wish to create a Guild or create a Guild Alliance? This also works as a Bank, so it is possible to deposit your Gold in here! Players seem to lose Gold when they lose a PVP battle, so it is quite worth it!" She said happily. She was a cute pink-haired girl.
"I would like to make a Guild! Are there any restrictions or special requirements?" I asked.
"Yes! The requirements are that the guild master must first pay a fee of one million gold, be at least on their third Rank Up, and sign some documents here." She said with a smile, a system window showed up in front of me, showing me the "terms and services" of making a guild, which were many.
I read it carefully, but it seemed to be mostly common-sense stuff, such as the confederation not taking responsibility if the guild loses everything after a guild war and stuff.
Ultimately, things got done really quickly, I brought out a big bag with a million gold and then paid and signed everything else, the guild was finally made.
And in honor of our home, we called it "The Forest of Beginnings"!
Yeah it was rather unoriginal, but it sounded good.
After that, we registered all my friends, including the NPC.
Ding!
[You have created a [Guild]!]
[You have named your Guild [The Forest of Beginnings]!]
[The [Guild Managing System] has been merged with the [Territory Management System]!]
[Your [Territory] has become your [Guild Territory]!]
[Guild Renown will be automatically converted into Community Points upon your command!]
[You can now upgrade the Guild and obtain various perks by using Gold and Community Points!]
[You can now purchase properties!]
[You have become a Guild Master!]
[You acquired the [Guild Master] Title!]
[Over 10 people have joined your guild, congratulations!]
[You have formed an Alliance with the [World Knowledge Guild Alliance]!]
[Several new Guild Alliance perks have been unlocked!]
And it was finally done...
Chapter 418: New Guild Abilities
Ding!
[The [Territory Management System (Divine Grade)] has acquired a Fourth Ability, [Guild Management]!]
[The [Territory Management System (Divine Grade)] Level has increased from Level 1 to Level 2!]
[All Abilities within the [Territory Management System (Divine Grade)] have been enhanced as a result!]
[Territory Management System (Divine Grade): Level 2]
A Special System that grants several Abilities to the user, such as the creation of Buildings and Blueprints, the Management of the whole territory, the Village Chief Authority, and the management of Resources and Community Points.
It is an ability that grows the more is it used, and there's many Quests that can be completed to complement the System by itself and gain more benefits from it, such as new Blueprints and Community Points.
Community Points can be spent to do a variety of things, such as Leveling Up Buildings, which always needs them from Level 1 onwards, to strengthening Villagers, and also forging new bonds with other Villagers, and can also be used to enhance anything related to the village.
Level Bonus (2): Enhances all Ability Effects by +20%. Decreases Necessary Materials and Community Points Requirements for Creating and Upgrading All Buildings by -10%.
[Special Abilities: 4/4]
[Building Creation: Lv2]: Grants the ability to utilize materials and magic to create building blueprints which then are registered. Registered blueprints can be used later on to instantly create buildings as long as materials are provided. Buildings created are always Level 1 but can level up through using more materials. Upon building leveling, buildings will gain unique abilities and traits. Expand to see all Buildings Blueprints Available. Decreases Materials required for Building Creation by -10%, Increases Building Abilities Effects by +20%.
[Territory Defense: Lv2]: Grants the ability to create specialized buildings for the protection of the territory. All sorts of weapons can be made with the required materials available, which fit the "theme" of the user. Blueprints are unlocked over time at the same time as normal Buildings, or through creation. Leveling Defensive Buildings will increase their damage dealt and effects greatly. Decreases Materials required for Building Creation by -10%, Increases Building Abilities Effects by +20%.
[Village Chief Authority: Lv2]: Grants the ability to see Villager's feelings and detect if they're feeling good or bad. Grants the ability to complete special quests to gain Trust with NPC, valuable materials and items, and Community Points to further upgrade the village and strengthen its inhabitants. Earned Community Points are increased by +20%.
[Guild Management: Lv2]: Grants the ability to access the Guild Management Menu, where new Guild Skills can be acquired and leveled through the usage of Community Points. It also grants the ability to purchase territories and buildings, to expand the maximum guild member quantity, amongst many other things. Decreases Community Points required to purchase Guild Skills and Level them Up by -10%. Increases total Rewards earned from Guild Wars by +20%.
Ah, the Territory Management System was upgraded! And it gained the Guild Management Ability too, which grants... Wait what?! Is this legal? Do all Guild Masters have this?
I asked the Guide Spirit, but he seemed to be sure this wasn't something everyone gets.
"No, those special affects you get through the addition of Guild Management into the Territory Management System are unique only for you! You're currently the only one that has unlocked this ability." Said the Guide Spirit. "Pretty cool, right?"
"I-I guess..." I sighed.
"If I were you, I would challenge some guilds to a guild wars, you can get +20% rewards! What a cheat! You could steal even more out of another weaker guild, and make yours grow in popularity and power, hahaha!" The Guide Spirit had slowly been growing more wicked.
"Well, as long as it is between players that cannot die, I guess I might consider it." I nodded.
"You're done now?" Wondered Angelina. "Well, now that you're done, check the Guild Management Menu! You can check all the skills you have. You use Guild Points to buy skills and level them up. You can also get "traits" which are like skills but that affect non-player focused things such as increasing chances for rare items to pop up by defeating monsters, and so on!"
"Sounds interesting... Let me see then!" I said.
Ding!
[Opening Guild Management System...]
[Guild Name]: [Forest of Beginnings]
[Guild Master]: [Planta: Young World Tree]
[Guild Ranking]: [Not Ranked]
[Guild Level]: [Level 0]
[Guild Contribution]: [0/50000]
[Current Members]: [10/25]
[Guild Skills]: [None]
[Available Guild Skills (Level 0)]
[Boss Slayers: Lv0] [Increases Damage Dealt Against Boss-type Monsters by +10%] [Cost: 2500 GP]
[Money Grubbers: Lv0] [Increases Gold Dropped from monsters by +10%] [Cost: 2500 GP]
[Hunting Maniacs: Lv0] [Increases EXP earned from slaying Monsters by +10% [Cost: 5000 GP]
[PVP Lovers: Lv0] [Increases Damage Dealt Against other Players by +10%] [Cost: 10000 GP]
[More Skills will become available once Guild Level increases...]
[Whenever you collect Guild Points, they will be automatically turned into Community Points.]
[1 Guild Point = 1 Community Point]
[Guild Contribution is like EXP and can be earned as a daily basis by all guild members hunting monsters or doing special Guild-related quests together. Slaying Bosses also increase Guild Contribution.]
[Players can also donate Gold which will be turned into Guild Contribution automatically, with a rate of 100 Gold = 1 Guild Contribution]
[Guild Contribution can also be exchanged for Guild Points, which will automatically convert into Community Points.]
[Guild Skills costs in GP is automatically converted into Community Points.]
[However, you can earn the most Guild Contribution and Guild Points by participating in Guild Wars.]
So this means I can even use my own gold to make my guild stronger right away! Wow, this is clearly a bit pay2win, especially because of all the forums I've found of players selling or buying Gold for real life money.
And it seems that if we don't go that route, normally, we would be forced to do guild wars to maximize profits and try to earn enough contribution, huh...
Well, that's what normal players would need to do.
But me? As long as I make my people happy back in the forest, I can earn Community Points which can be used as Guild Points!
Chapter 419: Special Guild Abilities
Currently I had around 6300 Community Points, which wasn't really enough to get much, and I also planned to use them to level up some buildings as well, so I decided to save it for now...
If it wasn't because of the insistence of my friends! Especially of my daughter.
"He buy the Gold Skill so we can get more gold!!" Rita was excited.
"Hmmm, the EXP one wouldn't be so bad..." Lily said.
"Purchase the Boss Damage one, its really good!" She insisted.
"You three, stop annoying Planta over this..." Sighed Titan, facepalming.
"I guess... I can buy these two, yeah sure..." I sighed, quickly clicking on it. "But don't ask for more after this!"
Ding!
[You have exchanged 2500 Community Points!]
[You acquired the [Boss Slayers: Lv1] Guild Skill!]
[You have exchanged 2500 Community Points!]
[You acquired the [Money Grubbers: Lv1] Guild Skill!]
[Guild Name]: [Forest of Beginnings]
[Guild Master]: [Planta: Young World Tree]
[Guild Ranking]: [Not Ranked]
[Guild Level]: [Level 0]
[Guild Contribution]: [0/50000]
[Current Members]: [10/25]
[Guild Skills]:
[Boss Slayers: Lv1/10] [Increases Damage Dealt Against Boss-type Monsters by +10%]
[Money Grubbers: Lv1/10] [Increases Gold Dropped from monsters by +10%]
[Available Guild Skills (Level 0)]:
[Hunting Maniacs: Lv0] [Increases EXP earned from slaying Monsters by +10% [Cost: 5000 GP]
[PVP Lovers: Lv0] [Increases Damage Dealt Against other Players by +10%] [Cost: 10000 GP]
[More Skills will become available once Guild Level increases...]
So they become Level 1 once purchased. Well, it's the same bonuses anyways. I would guess they cost more Community Points to level them up?
[Boss Slayers: Lv1/10]
[Increases Damage Dealt Against Boss-type Monsters by +10%]
[Level Up Cost: 5000 GP]
[Money Grubbers: Lv1/10]
[Increases Gold Dropped from monsters by +10%]
[Level Up Cost: 5000 GP]
Geh... It costs double that?! So that would already be 10k if I wanted to level them both! Damn, I now have way too many things to spend my Community Points on.
And knowing my guild members, they would certainly ask for them.
"There you go, you now have those bonuses... Now leave me alone in this regard, please. And if you want to also get them to level up, you've gotta contribute the guild!" I reprimanded them. Anna and Elisa had been rather silent in the background, but quickly responded once I said that.
"Yeah I guess now that we are in the guild we should contribute." Nodded Anna.
"I agree! Do not worry, Planta! We shall graciously slay some weekly bosses to contribute! Don't worry." Elisa said with a smile.
Both girls were slightly similar to their real-life counterparts. Anna was an elf with long red hair, she even had freckles. Meanwhile Elisa was just the same, except her hair was even longer and in the shape of drills, and several parts of her body were covered on incredibly shiny golden scales, she had wings and a dragon tail, and even golden horns, she was a Dragonkin.
And these were their Status:
[Player Name]: [RedPhoenix]
[Gender]: [Female]
[Title]: [Phoenix Master]
[Guild]: [Forest of Beginnings]
[Guild Alliance]: [World Knowledge Alliance]
[Fame]: [1305]
[Race]: [Mythical High Elf Phoenix Princess: Lv201/300]
[Job Class]: [Mythical Ancient Beast Grand Tamer: Lv201/300]
[Player Name]: [GoldenLady]
[Gender]: [Female]
[Title]: [Golden Dragon Princess]
[Guild]: [Forest of Beginnings]
[Guild Alliance]: [World Knowledge Alliance]
[Fame]: [1733]
[Race]: [Golden Dragonkin Princess: Lv182/200]
[Job Class]: [Draconic Spirit Magician: Lv182/200]
Anna was only 6 levels from reaching my daughter's level, while Elisa was several levels lower, having yet to reach Level 200 for her next Rank Up. However, she was really strong. I've heard Dragonkin are a very powerful physical and magical mixed race that is quite popular.
However, they also have tons of elemental weaknesses to balance them, so they usually are built to deal lots of damage and be swift, evading attacks if possible. Elisa was clearly a magician-type.
Meanwhile Anna is a summoner and tamer, she has a bunch of mythic beasts she can bring to battle that I've seen before, but her strongest one and the one that seems to care the most for her is the Phoenix, which even gave her a title and all...
And as I was analyzing my daughter's friends, Dark Reaper agreed with what they said, nodding while smiling confidently. She seemed to really want to go hunt some monsters right now based in her face expressions.
"Yeah, we shall swiftly bring you some offerings, Planta. We will put our own weight." Dark Reaper said. "My Cursed Sword Muramasa has been itching for fresh blood as of late, your sap certainly didn't made the quote!"
Gosh, my daughter really loves to roleplay, doesn't she? This is a completely new facet of hers only her friends must know. I don't know if I should giggle or find her adorable. Well, I will do both...
"Hehe, very well then Dark Reaper!" I said with a smile, giving her a head pat. "Do your best, dear!"
"D-Don't call me like that! We are rivals! You should address me like one!" She got angry out of the sudden, throwing way my hand and angrily looking at me.
Though I noticed she was blushing a bit.
"Oh my, I can't consider you my rival when you're so cute though!" I couldn't help but say those words, shocking her even more.
"You're so wicked! To think you would use such tactics to make me lower my guard." She said. "However, I won't fall for them, heh."
My friends looked at my daughter with eyes filled with disbelief.
"I can't believe your daughter is this much of a role player." Rita whispered.
"S-She's certainly funny to be around..." Lily giggled.
"I... I have no words." Mark seemed perplexed.
"S-So anyways! Now that we are done, let's go back home for the moment, shall we? Let's check on the village and cook some food while we are at it." I said with a smile.
And just as we went back to the Forest of Beginnings, a sudden System Message arrived.
Ding!
[The various Gods of the world of Arcadia would like to talk with you about recent events!]
[Should you listen to them, the Gods promise they will reward you handsomely.]
Huh? The Gods want to talk with me?!
Chapter 420: A Live Chat With The Gods Of Arcadia?!
After having fought against the crowd of crazed fans, and going back to the Forest of Beginnings, I suddenly saw a large system window pop up before anything else... It was something related with the Gods themselves, no less!
Ding!
[The various Gods of the world of Arcadia would like to talk with you about recent events!]
[Should you listen to them, the Gods promise they will reward you handsomely.]
And they're going to reward me for merely agreeing to talk with them? Are they that desperate about talking with people or is this... another reason?
Well, I don't lose anything hearing them over.
And this way, I can also ask them some questions regarding the Demon King! Now that I saw his past, my head's filled with questions.
Such as why they left him like that?!
Why were they so stupid?
And why... why is Gaia completely ignoring him now?!
I want answers!
"Everyone, I've got an important call... Ah, Rita, Lily, can you cook something for the village people to celebrate another peaceful day? Here, have these guys to help!" I said, quickly summoning around a dozen Cooking Spirits of all shapes and sizes.
"Foowaa!"
"Foofooo!"
"Fweeeh!"
Rita and Lily nodded, rather confused.
"S-Sure, but who's calling you?" Rita wondered.
"I don't mind either... But yeah, is it something really urgent?" Lily wondered.
"YES, really, REALLY urgent." I nodded, quickly whisking away from the scene by retreating my [Yggdrasil Avatar].
It would be weird if I was interrupted by my friends while talking with the Gods of Arcadia, so I better be careful, concentrating my soul and consciousness into my tree body.
POP!
Suddenly, a small little face, my face, emerged in my tree body.
"Woah, I guess I can do this too... I wonder if I could move the whole tree... Well, that's for later." I sighed. "Guide, accept the request of the Gods, let's talk with them."
"V-Very well... I am just as nervous as you are! Y-You better behave in front of them, Planta!" The Guide said.
Ding!
[Initiating [Live Chat] with [Game Masters: Council of Gods]...]
[Live Chat has begun!]
FLAAAASH!
Suddenly, all my surroundings changed. Pixels made by the system emerged one after the other, reforming all of my surroundings into a completely different space.
This space... could only be described as some sort of outer space, or event the cosmos itself. I saw stars everywhere, the darkness of outer space, planets and even meteors everywhere...
It was a rather beautiful, and even enlightening sight.
And in the middle of everything, I was there, standing in my Avatar form, somehow.
"So you've accepted, that's a relief."
The voice of an old man echoed everywhere all at once. I looked down, to the left and right, until I glanced up.
And I saw him.
He was enormous! Titanic, even.
A grandpa with a long white beard, wrinkles, eyes lacking irises, and white clothes.
He was sitting in the cosmos itself, and surrounding him, there were several other figures.
While he seemed like the embodiment of Light, the others resembled the embodiment of other elements.
True titans like I had never seen before.
One represented Fire, another Earth, there was one completely made of Water, of Winds... and so on, until I landed into a familiar face, Gaia, sitting at the side of a lady clad in darkness and stars.
Is that Nyx? It must be! She's Rita's patron.
"I... Huh? Are you-"
"Welcome to the council of Gods, Planta." The God whose standing seemed the highest amongst the others, which I believed was the God of Creation interrupted me, welcoming me.
Somehow, that annoyed me a little bit. He looked like he was in a hurry, however.
"Your stay here will be merely momentary, we do not agree with giving you more favors."
"We won't become your personal council either, we are already very tired with all the job we have by maintaining the Server Active."
"Oh, and you're really cute."
The Gods began talking one after the other, some seemed colder than others, but the Goddess of Water praised me and called me cute...
"T-Thanks? Err, so what do you need to talk about first?" I wondered, without wanting to jump into questioning them when they seemed so busy already.
"She doesn't seem afraid of us?"
"Indeed, she's quite strong willed, despite her weak demeanor."
"Interesting, a mortal would usually become paralyzed by seeing us."
"Well, I've interacted with you guys before, even if not directly..." I sighed.
"I understand that well." The God of Creation nodded. "Now, let's begin. Planta, we have called you here to give you a request. Amongst the many Players, only you and your close friends are aware that this World... is not a Game."
"I... yeah, you're not planning to tell anybody, don't you?" I sighed, containing my urge to question him why even disguise this world as a game and bring so many people here.
"No, we cannot disclose this information with others." He sighed. "We have even considered deleting your own memories from your consciousness. But after many conversations, we've decided to trust you, as you've trusted us already."
They can delete my own memories?! Is it through my soul or something? Yikes...
"I... Thank you for trusting me." I said with a smile.
"However, this trust also comes with special tasks we might sometimes ask you. As you know, the incident with the Demon King of Miasma... was not planned. He sneakily managed to ignore the System's rules and limitations and was able to even breach into the other world, Earth." The God of Creation said. "Thanks to your aid and that of the many other Players, he was defeated..."
"Yeah... That was an intense fight, can't believe it happened just yesterday." I sighed.
"Nonetheless, things are not over." The God of Creation said.
"It is... not over?" I asked, feeling slightly worried about what he would tell me from now on...
I swallowed a bit of saliva, readying myself for the truth.
"Your world... is in a terrible crisis."