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Halfway through the week, Eldrian finally got confirmation from GAIA that Old Sword was safely in the afterlife. The news had been a massive relief for Vivian. She finally calmed down and took some time to process the news.

A large group of players, around five thousand, arrived from the empire around the same time. Eldrian had ignored that and left it to Elizabeth to handle things. There were even two representatives from the empire, both at Tier 9. Which was a massive welcome in the current situation.

They seemed to refuse to help directly in the war, but where they were, their presence would help regardless—after all, only fools would charge towards someone stronger than them. Currently, the players were split to the west and east and the representatives followed suit.

One to the east, where the undead marched on.

The other to the west, where all types of monsters were flooding in after the orcs.

***

"Why are you refusing to work with us?" A tall-ish dwarf asked. He was yet another out of the slew of guild representatives who had come to accost Elizabeth and Phoenix. They truly did not seem to realize the difference between controlled quests and war quests.

A common point was that each and every guild thought this was going to be easy. At least, all the guilds who tried to meet with her had this attitude. This would be the tenth.

Elizabeth was aware that this was only around half the guilds who had come to Taurus. Nevertheless, the taste they left in her mouth tainted all the guilds.

"We aren\'t." Elizabeth replied flatly. "We are more than willing to work with you, but we won\'t work under you."

"Right, I heard you think too highly of yourselves. You know one success doesn\'t make a guild."

"One success...?" Elizabeth shook her head and laughed. These guilds from the empire, their attitude was certainly haughty.

They saw themselves as the chosen. Trained by the best and backed by the best. They expected respect and subservience from everyone, at least from the other players. They showed a modicum of respect to the king, at least.

\'I mean, even the representatives weren\'t as haughty...\'

"Like I said before, we have our own business. You are welcome to help the rescue mission in Pediades, or to go into the fields and fight the migrating monsters." Elizabeth paused. Like each meeting before, she would need to make her stance clear.

"But don\'t expect to order me or anyone from my guild! We worked hard for what we have. Of course, I won\'t say you should stay out of Kynigo. The gods know we need all the help we can get. But I won\'t be handing you our fort!"

"Tsk!" A elf clicked his tongue. "It isn\'t much to ask, right? In return, you won\'t have to worry about the undead."

"If you really think that..." Elizabeth decided not to say what was in her heart. They would learn soon enough. This was not a playground for the players.

Even with all their success, the average levels of Phoenix members were only around thirties. Death was too common. Only the elite managed to crawl themselves to a level in the forties.

This was another reason for these players\' haughtiness. Their average levels were in the fifties, with their elites even reaching the sixties. In comparison, Phoenix\'s members were lacking. Or so it seemed. But levels...levels really meant little in a fight between a Tier 4 and 5.

The Tier 4 will lose in almost all cases. These players didn\'t quite understand how large the gap was. They might have learnt it in sparring matches—during training. But they had never felt the desperation as they stalled the enemy while the cries of death surrounded them.

Knowing that even at the cost of your life, you could not change a thing. Such a suffocating feeling was something that only the veteran players, who had refused the empires, knew.

As for Phoenix\'s low levels, this was not something the members felt conflicted about. Not at all. They took pride in it. Their low levels showed just how hard they had fought. How much they had died for their quests.

It was not ineptitude, but courage. To fight and die to help the NPCs, and to make that death count. That was a deep pride of the guild.

Of course, they didn\'t shun high levels. But, to boast about levels. It was something that no one in the guild even considered. They understood that the important classification was Tiers. And Tiers alone.

"Then I take it as your refusal for cooperation." The dwarf said.

"Fine, take it that way." Elizabeth didn\'t feel like arguing. It felt like she was having the same conversation each time.

With a hmph, the dwarf left, and the others followed after him.

"Nikki?"

"I give them a week or two."

"Oh? That is quite impressive."

"Yes, they at least have some backing for their pride. They are strong. But they failed to realize that they are strong in a vacuum."

"Well, that was the last guild who had a meeting scheduled. Will you give the report to the king?" Elizabeth asked, wishing to return to Pediades to ensure everything was moving smoothly. She was also needed to help heal the recently rescued.

Her magic was stronger than the normal priests. The guild had simply accepted and only those close to her knew the true reason for this.

—

"I see, so they are still players at heart..." Eldrian nodded. It was to be expected. After all, they were being trained like heirs in the empire. The reality was going to be a hard hit for them all. "Having pride when they were only Tier 4. Ah, reality is going to kick them really hard."

"How about things here?" Elizabeth asked. The recent changes in the situation having called her away from fort KN—as they have decided to call it, Kyno Northeast was simply too long.

"More of the same. The undead migrating inwards aren\'t all that strong. The hit squads clear the large clusters. I believe the guild is getting constant quests through this too."

"Yeah, sadly, the quests don\'t reward levels. But the monetary rewards are superb and, thanks to the low average level in the guild, even the XP rewards make a difference. We\'re even starting to form a decent budget."

"As for the undead who escaped these quests," Eldrian continued, "well...they find themselves before a wall. Killed easily by the arrays we have added between the towers."

"So, things are going as planned?" Elizabeth asked and Eldrian nodded.

"Yes, it seems I can finally focus on my training."

"That is wonderful... By the way, is that the girl?" Elizabeth pointed with her head to where Jade was waiting. People moving around her in a wide berth.

"Yeah, Jade. Seems her power or bloodline or whatever is far stronger in the game. It oozes out of her and charms anyone who comes within three meters of her. The charm increases in power the closer you are. At one meter, without any defenses, you\'ll be willing to kill yourself for her."

"You\'re kidding, right?"

"I wish. I find myself slipping from time to time. Luckily, my defenses are strong, so I only get urges that I can fight. But...it\'s such a pain."

"Why not just kick her out?"

"She\'s a pain, but she has her uses."

Elizabeth smiled, thinking that it was much the opinion they held about him. The irony, she found it truly refreshing. "Ah..." Elizabeth nodded, trying to hide her smile. "Hows the other plans going?"

"Good, I\'ve confirmed with Ashliel how to go about it. She already gave me what I needed."

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