Winning Hearts

A flash of light flared, depositing Ares squarely onto the teleport node in Black Dragon City.

He brushed the dust off his gear and headed for the Guild Hall, wanting to check what was required to start his own guild.

He'd only gone a handful of steps when, out of nowhere, a figure radiating bright light appeared in front of him. The guy's entire set of equipment was actually S-Rank!

Ares frowned a little, instinctively activating Eye of Insight. His opponent's stat panel sprang into view:

[Character]: James Ashford

[Level]: 820

[Class]: Thief

[Skills]:

1. Shadow Evade: Instantly vanish and reappear in a random position, dodging the next attack. Cooldown: 20s.

2. Deadly Poison Blade: Coat your weapon with poison, making the next attack inflict continuous damage: lose 5% HP per second for 10s. Cooldown: 30s.

3. Shadow Shield: Reduces all incoming damage by 50% for 8s. Cooldown: 40s.

4. …

[Talent]: Undying (S-Rank) – When HP drops below 10%, become immune to all damage while all attributes double!

A subtle raise of Ares's brow hinted at his interest. "That's a pretty unique talent… With those skills, whether you're raiding bosses or dueling other players, you'd be a serious handful."

Before Ares could speak, James cut in: "You're Ares, right? Last time, you got lucky and waltzed into the ruin we discovered. Normally, under Apocalyptic Guild's rules, we'd hunt you down till you dropped back to level zero… But our guild master is feeling generous. If you join us, we'll forget the whole thing—sound good?"

Ares snorted in contempt. He'd already seen Apocalyptic Guild in action enough to know their style. Just that gaudy guild symbol above James's head was enough to turn his stomach.

"Beat it. Otherwise, I'll kill you even if it means going red."

"Going red" referred to how the game protected newer players: in major cities, player-killing was prohibited. The attacker would be flagged as "red," prompting the city's enforcer squads to hunt them down and throw them into "jail" for twenty-four hours.

James burst into laughter. A mere Level 30 newbie, threatening to kill him at the cost of going red? It felt like a kid who'd just learned to talk telling Mike Tyson, "Don't piss me off, or I'll sock you even if I skip nap time!"

"Kid, don't bite off more than you can chew. Make us mad, and Apocalyptic Guild will camp your respawn point until you quit the game. Trust me, we don't bluff—"

People nearby started whispering:

"Man, that guy's insane. Apocalyptic Guild is the biggest guild in Black Dragon City…"

"Yeah, but Apocalyptic Guild also has a pretty nasty rep…"

"Hey, keep your voice down, I don't want any trouble!"

Some onlookers tried to be helpful:

"Dude, don't push your luck. Apocalyptic Guild won't let you off easy if you turn them down. They'll come for you sooner or later."

Ares ignored the chatter, leveling a chilly stare at James. "I'll give you three seconds. If you're still here when I'm done counting, I'll send you back to your respawn point."

James sneered arrogantly, throwing his head back in laughter. "Sure, show me how you plan to send me back."

In the crowd, someone mumbled, "I heard James is one of Apocalyptic Guild's top fighters. With an S-Rank talent, even a thousand-plus-level veteran can't guarantee beating him."

Ares remained impassive. "Three… two… one…"

The instant he finished, he swiftly drew his sword. A mere flick sent a flash of cold light slicing the air. 

In a blink, a massive damage value popped over James's head. 

He didn't even get the chance to trigger his so-called S-Rank Undying talent before a white light flared—James disappeared, instantly sent back to the revive point.

The bustling teleport node fell dead silent. Ares sheathed his sword without a word and walked away, ignoring the chaos erupting at his back. 

Sure enough, the forums exploded with chatter minutes later, posts popping up everywhere:

"Shocker! A level 30 newbie Warrior just one-shots an 820-level Thief!"

"Apocalyptic Guild Gets Humiliated—Who's Bold Enough to Pull This Off?"

"Someone Do the Math—Just How Big Was That Damage Number?!"

Ares headed straight to the Guild Hall. The interior was huge, bright, teeming with players trading and chatting. After a quick look around, he spotted Benjamin, the NPC who handled guild creation.

Stepping forward, Ares greeted him politely. "Hello, I'd like some info on creating a guild."

Benjamin cracked a warm smile as he sized Ares up. "Well, for starters, you need to be above level 30. Looks like you meet that. Next, there's a series of guild-creation quests—tough ones that'll test both your strength and perseverance. Finally, you'll need 300,000 gold as start-up capital."

Ares gave a slight nod, doing a mental tally. He opened his inventory, intending to check funds—then paused in shock at the numbers staring back at him.

He had 1,700,000 gold.

"Where'd all this come from…?" he muttered, soon checking his mail to find the answer. His previously listed pieces of equipment had pretty much all sold.

With the funds in hand, Ares said firmly to Benjamin, "I'll take on the guild-creation quests."

Benjamin's gaze flickered with approval. "I like your spirit. First step for starting a guild is building trust with the city's residents!"

"Ding! You have accepted Guild Creation Quest 1: 'Winning Hearts.'"

[Requirement: Increase the favor of three NPCs to "Friendly." These NPCs are Alex the bartender, Tom the street performer, and Lucy the gardening enthusiast.]

Ares raised an eyebrow. Raising NPC favor? This was new to him. Probably meant giving gifts or something along those lines.

"Fighting monsters is so much simpler," he muttered wryly. "Turns out raw damage isn't everything, huh?"