The war situation went on in a hurry without a break. The number of awls and spheres flooding in was virtually infinite.
I shot them down with my Desert Eagle, but they were endless. It felt like I was playing some kind of shooting game.
"Geez..."
There was no time to think about talents.
Of course, there was a lot that I could use once. Kim Suho's Sword Saint, Aileen's Spirit Speech, Yoo Jinwoong's whole body, Vast Expanse's eyes, etc...
However, my current SP wouldn't be sufficient for such enormous powers.
[SP: 3,975]
I needed a talent that I could activate using less than 4,000 SP. In my current situation, only one option came to mind.
[Owner of Spirit Stone]
Spirit power wasn't a bad talent. On the contrary, it was a unique force and was one of the best in the world. It also went quite well with guns and bows.
I took a deep breath and activated Bullet Time, slowing down the time. Afterward, I started the [Setting Intervention] while defending myself against the attacks raining down on me.
[Owner of Spirit Stone] [Special]
▶ Spirit Stone
- A stone that has accumulated the power of spirits. As long as the user has this in their possession, they'll be granted the ability to use spirit power.
▶ Owner of the stone
- Becoming the owner of the Spirit Stone provides them with the proficiency to utilize it.
To amplify its effect as much as possible, I ensured it provided me with the skills to maximize its potential.
[Consuming all SP to save the talent 'Owner of Spirit Stone.']
[The fortune that had been accumulating for nearly five years is finally being used!]
[Your talent level has been greatly increased!]
[The Spirit Stone's size and volume have increased!]
Thud-!
"What the fuck?!" I cursed instinctively, witnessing a moon-sized stone falling from the sky. How could that be considered lucky? I couldn't even hold it in my arms.
But I had no time to complain. I held my Desert Eagle with one hand and the Spirit Stone with the other. Thanks to its second feature, I instantly gained the ability to use it properly.
Applying the wind attribute to my bullets, I pulled the trigger.
RUMBLE—!
Imbued with the wind, they rushed in, disrupting the mana around them. Air currents ran rampant as they did, assisting their trajectories and blowing the enemies' attacks off-course, sending them wandering in vain.
Taking advantage of this chance, I pulled the bowstring.
"Ugh!"
"Kugh!"
My dark arrow knocked down two of my opponents simultaneously, the sonic wave it released pushing away their counterattacks. With the Spirit Stone now in my possession, hitting my targets had become a lot less difficult.
With nobody capable of approaching me, this ranged battle slowly began to lean towards my favor.
"That damn bastard!"
Indignant, they once again gathered their mana.
However, I had already prepared countermeasures against it. With my hand still on my newfound power, I unleashed hell using my machine gun.
Ta-ta-ta-da-da—
Its bullets scattered in a fan-shaped arc, then stopped in mid-air for a moment. They lined up beside each other, creating what looked like a grid or a net.
Wind Land.
It used a similar principle to what Rachel used last time, but I used bullets instead of swords as my medium.
Swooosh...
With the mana wave caught in my net, the Spirit Stone emitted intense heat and light. It consumed energy rapidly, but it still had a generous amount left due to its enormous size.
"Kuuugh!"
"Ouch!
With their secret art now fading, I fired another arrow, piercing through my exhausted opponents before they could even start creating proper barriers.
One, two, three, four... My targets fell swiftly. Eventually, only one person remained.
Using the wind, I blew away his hood, revealing him to be an old man. His hair was white, and traces of age and pain were evident on his face.
“…”
Aiming my gun at him, I pulled out the crystal ball to communicate with Rachel. As I did, he said something strange.
"You won't be able to get anything from me. Just kill me."
"... Really?"
I put the crystal ball back into my pocket and looked at him.
Did Lancaster brainwash this guy? Or did he voluntarily submit?
Either way, I had to get information from him.
"Why do you want to kill Rachel?"
"... Are you really asking me that? Do you love the princess yet are unaware of her past?"
"I mean, Rachel is suffering enough. She probably remembers your face, who you are, and the precious people you lost here."
He answered as if he had been waiting.
"Ha, suffering? Remember? What made you think those matter even the slightest?! No matter how deep and dark her agony is, it can never be worse than the pain of those deprived of even the opportunity to experience that suffering in this world!"
The old man talked about Lancaster's origin.
If I were still in the original Earth, this guy would've had no choice but to tone down his anger, live with it irreversibly, or kill himself. But this world had the means to exact vengeance. One such way was to sell their body and soul to the devil to become even stronger, making resentment and revenge inevitable.
As for Lancaster, he was the 'most realistic enemy' born from the chain of hatred.
"Still, Rachel's been suffering for 20 years. She's lived her whole life in despair and solitude. That should be enough to warrant your forgiveness."
"No. Death is the only way to such a resolution. The princess must die as my daughter did. No, she must suffer more than her. I don't even know how scared my child must've been..." His voice trailed off, tears rolling down his cheeks. He seemed completely different now that he wasn't releasing mana out of sheer rage.
"... Is that so?"
Listening to his cries as his body bent down, I slowly approached him.
"That's a shame."
Everyone in this world lived, thought, and died as if they weren't in a novel.
I was the only one to think otherwise.
"But I want the princess to live happily ever after."
Nevertheless, I hoped my story would have a happy ending, like an old fairy tale.
"So I can't leave you like this."
I pulled the trigger.
Bang-!
A brutal yet shallow roar echoed across the battlefield.
With our bout over, a fog-like silence descended upon us.
“…”
I pulled out the crystal ball with a sigh, only to find it already broken due to exposure to tremendous mana here. Scattering its fragments on the ground, I looked up at the sky.
Countless stars looked back down at me, seemingly trying to tell me something. I couldn't hear them, however. My mind could only think of my hometown, which lied further beyond the heavenly place they rested within.
* * *
Bang-!
Everyone was already asleep amid the deepening night when a deafening thunder burst into Rachel's ear like an auditory hallucination. Forcibly woken up, she trembled.
"What...?"
Only then did she realize she had fallen asleep after tossing and turning all night.
She sat upright, replaying the conversation the crystal ball relayed last night.
— ... Are you really asking me that? Do you love the princess yet are unaware of her past?
— I mean, Rachel is suffering enough. She probably remembers your face, who you are, and the precious people you lost here.
— I want the princess to live happily ever after. So I can't leave you like this.
Their communication device was destroyed after transmitting his voice for around three minutes.
She initially thought it was due to a malfunction, but Fermin later told her a well-made crystal ball could continuously transmit communication for a few minutes before breaking. She also added they should meet somewhere since they couldn't contact each other anymore.
Anyway.
Xtra's remarks were filled with immense meaning and weight. However, judging from the somewhat embarrassing content of their conversation, it was clear he was trying to protect her, even if radically so.
“…”
Recalling last night's events, she got up from her bed with a blush on her cheeks and walked away, but her toes hit something. Looking down, she found Fermin sleeping on the floor.
Rachel put her on the bed, covered her with a blanket, and left the room. It was still early in the morning, but the hallways of the Hall were already as bright as always.
Rachel opened the "Hall Map" delivered to her smartwatch last night.
"... Store?"
Going a little further from this side, she'd find the [Store], Unaware of what kind of shop it actually was, she decided to check it out as she calmed herself.
Arriving at its location, she immediately noticed a nameplate attached at its front.
[Hall Store]
Creek-
As soon as she opened the door, an extremely spacious room greeted her. Innumerable shelves filled with items lined up against its walls, and a hologram of a male merchant stood behind the counter in the center, ready to serve clients.
— ... You can purchase mana, even swordsmanship.
It spoke to the customer who came in here before her.
She tiptoed towards them and tilted her head to observe, keeping her body behind a bookshelf. Unfortunately, the cash register blocked her sights, preventing her from seeing them properly.
"Then, what is the most expensive thing here?"
Her eyes widened.
She felt like listening to them talk even if she didn't want to. The customer's voice sounded quite familiar and clear. Long ago, when she was still a Cube student...
— Well. I don't know about that either. There are more products in the Hall than what I sell.
"Then what is the most expensive thing you sell?"
— It's 'mythical swordsmanship.'
"What? I don't need that. Isn't there anything else? You know, stone-like debris?"
— There is no such thing as stone debris here. You can just go outside and pick those up.
"Are you picking a fight, you bastard? 'There is no such thing,' my ass. If I find it, you're dead..."
The woman arguing with the hologram was obviously Chae Nayun. She put her hand in the hologram and pulled it back, then turned around, clicking her tongue.
Rachel now stood right in front of her.
"... Huh?"
Their reunion was quite awkward. As rivals, they faced each other without saying anything.
No, they had nothing to say.
Nevertheless, Chae Nayun spoke first.
"It's been a long time... I guess?"
"... Yes. Long time no see."
"What? You're still too polite. Stop talking like that already. It's annoying." She grumbled and looked behind Rachel. Finding no one with her, she frowned slightly.
"What about your mercenary?"
"Our mercenary... How do you know about him?" She asked, growing suspicious of her.
Realizing she had made an instant mistake, Nayun swiftly made it seem like it was already common knowledge.
"... It's pretty obvious. Xtra, right? Rumors about him have already spread out."
Her eyes narrowed. "Is that so? Anyway, he hasn't joined yet."
"Why's that?"
"Actually, his mission to guide us is already over." She said, backing away and looking at the items on the shelves.
— Would you like to purchase anything? How about this flower to match your beauty?
"I'm fine, thanks."
Many of the products stimulated her desire to buy, most of them so-called shortcuts. Chae Nayun wandering behind her bothered her, however. When she hastily came out of the store, her rival whistled and followed after her, pretending not to.
Feeling famished, she opened the door to the [Restaurant], which was right beside the [Store], Since it was still early in the morning, the many seats it had to offer were empty.
Even so, she still sensed movements behind her. Checking what was going on, she noticed someone covering their face with a board. They had a bowl of ramen with rice on their table.
"This place only has one customer. Why did you even come here? Are you hungry?" Chae Nayun asked, standing right behind her. Rachel glanced at her to reply, but the door to the restaurant opened again.
"Huh?"
She was acquainted with all of the people that entered the room. Creator's Sacred Grace, including Kim Suho and Lee Younghan, Switzerland's Reisleufer, China's Shen Yuan... Recognizing her in return, their eyes widened.
Quite a few heroes made their appearance as well. Rachel bowed to them, then turned back around again.
"... Huh?"
The person who had just been sitting with the ramen had disappeared without a trace.
Was it a ghost? Why would ghosts eat ramen?
"Hey, you. Why are you here so early?" Chae Nayun asked, looking at Kim Suho.
He laughed. He hadn't heard her voice in such a long time.
"I got a text message saying that the Hall will be starting soon... More importantly, it's been a really long time." He turned his attention to Rachel, who gave him a faint smile in reply before checking her smartwatch.
She received the same message.
[The Hall meeting will begin in two hours. Everyone, please fill your stomach and gather in the [Meeting Room] in the center of the
Hall.]
* * *
Rachel and her subordinates headed to the [Meeting Room] as soon as the sun came up, talking about meeting strategies as they walked. Their opinions were consolidated into the statement, 'We're still in the top 20, so we must claim at least one advantage.'
"... Wow, what is this?"
"Seriously..."
Thinking about nothing else but the meeting, they were instantly overwhelmed upon entering the conference room. They couldn't even close their mouths anymore.
Its interior was far too beautiful for words to describe completely. The Hall itself was splendid and surreal already, but it was still nothing compared to this place.
"Where do we sit...?"
A huge round table was placed in the center of the meeting room's blue, crystal-cave-like space, and behind it was a stand where several people could sit in a row. On top of it, diamond-shaped white crystals floated around, acting as lighting.
Tling, tling—
Staring blankly at the scene, they received a message through their smartwatch.
[Each guild's two representatives must sit at the round table. The rest of the members will be sitting at the back stand.]
[The guild's representatives will be made up of their spokesperson and highest achiever. For the British Royal Guild, they would be Rachel and Xtra.]
As soon as she saw the announcement, diffidence spread across her face. She couldn't contact Xtra since last night, after all.
"Um, Vice-captain? We just have to sit on that stand, right?"
"... Yes. That's right."
"Yep!"
Other guilds began to enter the conference room as well.
Korea, China, USA, Japan, Europe...
Despite being part of one of the leading guilds, the royal family members were busy watching them out of sheer surprise.
"Oh~ Yeonha. It's been a long time. It's an honor to meet you here. Is your father alright?"
"Sure. The problem is that he's too uptight."
"Haha. The achievements of ES this time are truly remarkable and admirable. This quarter was really filled with a lot of shocking earnings."
"Oh, but it's not that surprising. We've always predicted that."
While surrounded by people, Yoo Yeonha talked about business. It didn't matter if they were a guild master or vice-leader. Everyone hoped to get even just a glimpse of her.
"Isn't that Chae Nayun's adversary?"
"Oh, yes."
"Really? I saw their amazing feat in the last dungeon raid! It was indeed impressive!"
"Oh, yes. I'm a bit strong. Very strong."
"As expected, like father, like daughter..."
People also gathered around Chae Nayun, but she had a different attitude from Yoo Yeonha. Rachel could only envy them.
She sat alone, doing nothing but scratching the round table with her fingernails. No one came to her. She made eye contact with Kim Suho, but Yoon Seungah was dragging him.
She mustered up as much courage to build a network, but...
[Hello.]
[Everyone, please sit down now.]
[Let the Hall meeting begin.]
Those announcements appeared in the air. Everyone found a seat, and the buzzing room soon became quiet.
A total of 239 people gathered and settled down quietly, 39 of which sat at the round table.
[Through this Hall and the fields inside it, you all will be given tests. Your field assignment and guild treatment will be based on your score.]
[The final winner will have me, the Hall.]
[On another note, it seems we have a vacancy. He must have been injured or argued with someone.]
All eyes focused on Rachel. There was only one slot left unmanned: the seat right next to her.
"Hahaha."
"Well, there are so many problems in England these days. It's impressive they could even come."
Some guilds, especially the Chinese, sent rather arrogant sneers. She pretended not to be affected by it, but her cheeks blushed.
[But it's okay. Moving on, I'll show you the first test's subject now.]
A small text appeared in the center of the round table.
[First Hall — 'Theory Learning']
It was a sentence that no one gathered here expected.
The war situation went on in a hurry without a break. The number of awls and spheres flooding in was virtually infinite.
I shot them down with my Desert Eagle, but they were endless. It felt like I was playing some kind of shooting game.
"Geez..."
There was no time to think about talents.
Of course, there was a lot that I could use once. Kim Suho's Sword Saint, Aileen's Spirit Speech, Yoo Jinwoong's whole body, Vast Expanse's eyes, etc...
However, my current SP wouldn't be sufficient for such enormous powers.
[SP: 3,975]
I needed a talent that I could activate using less than 4,000 SP. In my current situation, only one option came to mind.
[Owner of Spirit Stone]
Spirit power wasn't a bad talent. On the contrary, it was a unique force and was one of the best in the world. It also went quite well with guns and bows.
I took a deep breath and activated Bullet Time, slowing down the time. Afterward, I started the [Setting Intervention] while defending myself against the attacks raining down on me.
[Owner of Spirit Stone] [Special]
▶ Spirit Stone
- A stone that has accumulated the power of spirits. As long as the user has this in their possession, they'll be granted the ability to use spirit power.
▶ Owner of the stone
- Becoming the owner of the Spirit Stone provides them with the proficiency to utilize it.
To amplify its effect as much as possible, I ensured it provided me with the skills to maximize its potential.
[Consuming all SP to save the talent 'Owner of Spirit Stone.']
[The fortune that had been accumulating for nearly five years is finally being used!]
[Your talent level has been greatly increased!]
[The Spirit Stone's size and volume have increased!]
Thud-!
"What the fuck?!" I cursed instinctively, witnessing a moon-sized stone falling from the sky. How could that be considered lucky? I couldn't even hold it in my arms.
But I had no time to complain. I held my Desert Eagle with one hand and the Spirit Stone with the other. Thanks to its second feature, I instantly gained the ability to use it properly.
Applying the wind attribute to my bullets, I pulled the trigger.
RUMBLE—!
Imbued with the wind, they rushed in, disrupting the mana around them. Air currents ran rampant as they did, assisting their trajectories and blowing the enemies' attacks off-course, sending them wandering in vain.
Taking advantage of this chance, I pulled the bowstring.
"Ugh!"
"Kugh!"
My dark arrow knocked down two of my opponents simultaneously, the sonic wave it released pushing away their counterattacks. With the Spirit Stone now in my possession, hitting my targets had become a lot less difficult.
With nobody capable of approaching me, this ranged battle slowly began to lean towards my favor.
"That damn bastard!"
Indignant, they once again gathered their mana.
However, I had already prepared countermeasures against it. With my hand still on my newfound power, I unleashed hell using my machine gun.
Ta-ta-ta-da-da—
Its bullets scattered in a fan-shaped arc, then stopped in mid-air for a moment. They lined up beside each other, creating what looked like a grid or a net.
Wind Land.
It used a similar principle to what Rachel used last time, but I used bullets instead of swords as my medium.
Swooosh...
With the mana wave caught in my net, the Spirit Stone emitted intense heat and light. It consumed energy rapidly, but it still had a generous amount left due to its enormous size.
"Kuuugh!"
"Ouch!
With their secret art now fading, I fired another arrow, piercing through my exhausted opponents before they could even start creating proper barriers.
One, two, three, four... My targets fell swiftly. Eventually, only one person remained.
Using the wind, I blew away his hood, revealing him to be an old man. His hair was white, and traces of age and pain were evident on his face.
“…”
Aiming my gun at him, I pulled out the crystal ball to communicate with Rachel. As I did, he said something strange.
"You won't be able to get anything from me. Just kill me."
"... Really?"
I put the crystal ball back into my pocket and looked at him.
Did Lancaster brainwash this guy? Or did he voluntarily submit?
Either way, I had to get information from him.
"Why do you want to kill Rachel?"
"... Are you really asking me that? Do you love the princess yet are unaware of her past?"
"I mean, Rachel is suffering enough. She probably remembers your face, who you are, and the precious people you lost here."
He answered as if he had been waiting.
"Ha, suffering? Remember? What made you think those matter even the slightest?! No matter how deep and dark her agony is, it can never be worse than the pain of those deprived of even the opportunity to experience that suffering in this world!"
The old man talked about Lancaster's origin.
If I were still in the original Earth, this guy would've had no choice but to tone down his anger, live with it irreversibly, or kill himself. But this world had the means to exact vengeance. One such way was to sell their body and soul to the devil to become even stronger, making resentment and revenge inevitable.
As for Lancaster, he was the 'most realistic enemy' born from the chain of hatred.
"Still, Rachel's been suffering for 20 years. She's lived her whole life in despair and solitude. That should be enough to warrant your forgiveness."
"No. Death is the only way to such a resolution. The princess must die as my daughter did. No, she must suffer more than her. I don't even know how scared my child must've been..." His voice trailed off, tears rolling down his cheeks. He seemed completely different now that he wasn't releasing mana out of sheer rage.
"... Is that so?"
Listening to his cries as his body bent down, I slowly approached him.
"That's a shame."
Everyone in this world lived, thought, and died as if they weren't in a novel.
I was the only one to think otherwise.
"But I want the princess to live happily ever after."
Nevertheless, I hoped my story would have a happy ending, like an old fairy tale.
"So I can't leave you like this."
I pulled the trigger.
Bang-!
A brutal yet shallow roar echoed across the battlefield.
With our bout over, a fog-like silence descended upon us.
“…”
I pulled out the crystal ball with a sigh, only to find it already broken due to exposure to tremendous mana here. Scattering its fragments on the ground, I looked up at the sky.
Countless stars looked back down at me, seemingly trying to tell me something. I couldn't hear them, however. My mind could only think of my hometown, which lied further beyond the heavenly place they rested within.
* * *
Bang-!
Everyone was already asleep amid the deepening night when a deafening thunder burst into Rachel's ear like an auditory hallucination. Forcibly woken up, she trembled.
"What...?"
Only then did she realize she had fallen asleep after tossing and turning all night.
She sat upright, replaying the conversation the crystal ball relayed last night.
— ... Are you really asking me that? Do you love the princess yet are unaware of her past?
— I mean, Rachel is suffering enough. She probably remembers your face, who you are, and the precious people you lost here.
— I want the princess to live happily ever after. So I can't leave you like this.
Their communication device was destroyed after transmitting his voice for around three minutes.
She initially thought it was due to a malfunction, but Fermin later told her a well-made crystal ball could continuously transmit communication for a few minutes before breaking. She also added they should meet somewhere since they couldn't contact each other anymore.
Anyway.
Xtra's remarks were filled with immense meaning and weight. However, judging from the somewhat embarrassing content of their conversation, it was clear he was trying to protect her, even if radically so.
“…”
Recalling last night's events, she got up from her bed with a blush on her cheeks and walked away, but her toes hit something. Looking down, she found Fermin sleeping on the floor.
Rachel put her on the bed, covered her with a blanket, and left the room. It was still early in the morning, but the hallways of the Hall were already as bright as always.
Rachel opened the "Hall Map" delivered to her smartwatch last night.
"... Store?"
Going a little further from this side, she'd find the [Store], Unaware of what kind of shop it actually was, she decided to check it out as she calmed herself.
Arriving at its location, she immediately noticed a nameplate attached at its front.
[Hall Store]
Creek-
As soon as she opened the door, an extremely spacious room greeted her. Innumerable shelves filled with items lined up against its walls, and a hologram of a male merchant stood behind the counter in the center, ready to serve clients.
— ... You can purchase mana, even swordsmanship.
It spoke to the customer who came in here before her.
She tiptoed towards them and tilted her head to observe, keeping her body behind a bookshelf. Unfortunately, the cash register blocked her sights, preventing her from seeing them properly.
"Then, what is the most expensive thing here?"
Her eyes widened.
She felt like listening to them talk even if she didn't want to. The customer's voice sounded quite familiar and clear. Long ago, when she was still a Cube student...
— Well. I don't know about that either. There are more products in the Hall than what I sell.
"Then what is the most expensive thing you sell?"
— It's 'mythical swordsmanship.'
"What? I don't need that. Isn't there anything else? You know, stone-like debris?"
— There is no such thing as stone debris here. You can just go outside and pick those up.
"Are you picking a fight, you bastard? 'There is no such thing,' my ass. If I find it, you're dead..."
The woman arguing with the hologram was obviously Chae Nayun. She put her hand in the hologram and pulled it back, then turned around, clicking her tongue.
Rachel now stood right in front of her.
"... Huh?"
Their reunion was quite awkward. As rivals, they faced each other without saying anything.
No, they had nothing to say.
Nevertheless, Chae Nayun spoke first.
"It's been a long time... I guess?"
"... Yes. Long time no see."
"What? You're still too polite. Stop talking like that already. It's annoying." She grumbled and looked behind Rachel. Finding no one with her, she frowned slightly.
"What about your mercenary?"
"Our mercenary... How do you know about him?" She asked, growing suspicious of her.
Realizing she had made an instant mistake, Nayun swiftly made it seem like it was already common knowledge.
"... It's pretty obvious. Xtra, right? Rumors about him have already spread out."
Her eyes narrowed. "Is that so? Anyway, he hasn't joined yet."
"Why's that?"
"Actually, his mission to guide us is already over." She said, backing away and looking at the items on the shelves.
— Would you like to purchase anything? How about this flower to match your beauty?
"I'm fine, thanks."
Many of the products stimulated her desire to buy, most of them so-called shortcuts. Chae Nayun wandering behind her bothered her, however. When she hastily came out of the store, her rival whistled and followed after her, pretending not to.
Feeling famished, she opened the door to the [Restaurant], which was right beside the [Store], Since it was still early in the morning, the many seats it had to offer were empty.
Even so, she still sensed movements behind her. Checking what was going on, she noticed someone covering their face with a board. They had a bowl of ramen with rice on their table.
"This place only has one customer. Why did you even come here? Are you hungry?" Chae Nayun asked, standing right behind her. Rachel glanced at her to reply, but the door to the restaurant opened again.
"Huh?"
She was acquainted with all of the people that entered the room. Creator's Sacred Grace, including Kim Suho and Lee Younghan, Switzerland's Reisleufer, China's Shen Yuan... Recognizing her in return, their eyes widened.
Quite a few heroes made their appearance as well. Rachel bowed to them, then turned back around again.
"... Huh?"
The person who had just been sitting with the ramen had disappeared without a trace.
Was it a ghost? Why would ghosts eat ramen?
"Hey, you. Why are you here so early?" Chae Nayun asked, looking at Kim Suho.
He laughed. He hadn't heard her voice in such a long time.
"I got a text message saying that the Hall will be starting soon... More importantly, it's been a really long time." He turned his attention to Rachel, who gave him a faint smile in reply before checking her smartwatch.
She received the same message.
[The Hall meeting will begin in two hours. Everyone, please fill your stomach and gather in the [Meeting Room] in the center of the
Hall.]
* * *
Rachel and her subordinates headed to the [Meeting Room] as soon as the sun came up, talking about meeting strategies as they walked. Their opinions were consolidated into the statement, 'We're still in the top 20, so we must claim at least one advantage.'
"... Wow, what is this?"
"Seriously..."
Thinking about nothing else but the meeting, they were instantly overwhelmed upon entering the conference room. They couldn't even close their mouths anymore.
Its interior was far too beautiful for words to describe completely. The Hall itself was splendid and surreal already, but it was still nothing compared to this place.
"Where do we sit...?"
A huge round table was placed in the center of the meeting room's blue, crystal-cave-like space, and behind it was a stand where several people could sit in a row. On top of it, diamond-shaped white crystals floated around, acting as lighting.
Tling, tling—
Staring blankly at the scene, they received a message through their smartwatch.
[Each guild's two representatives must sit at the round table. The rest of the members will be sitting at the back stand.]
[The guild's representatives will be made up of their spokesperson and highest achiever. For the British Royal Guild, they would be Rachel and Xtra.]
As soon as she saw the announcement, diffidence spread across her face. She couldn't contact Xtra since last night, after all.
"Um, Vice-captain? We just have to sit on that stand, right?"
"... Yes. That's right."
"Yep!"
Other guilds began to enter the conference room as well.
Korea, China, USA, Japan, Europe...
Despite being part of one of the leading guilds, the royal family members were busy watching them out of sheer surprise.
"Oh~ Yeonha. It's been a long time. It's an honor to meet you here. Is your father alright?"
"Sure. The problem is that he's too uptight."
"Haha. The achievements of ES this time are truly remarkable and admirable. This quarter was really filled with a lot of shocking earnings."
"Oh, but it's not that surprising. We've always predicted that."
While surrounded by people, Yoo Yeonha talked about business. It didn't matter if they were a guild master or vice-leader. Everyone hoped to get even just a glimpse of her.
"Isn't that Chae Nayun's adversary?"
"Oh, yes."
"Really? I saw their amazing feat in the last dungeon raid! It was indeed impressive!"
"Oh, yes. I'm a bit strong. Very strong."
"As expected, like father, like daughter..."
People also gathered around Chae Nayun, but she had a different attitude from Yoo Yeonha. Rachel could only envy them.
She sat alone, doing nothing but scratching the round table with her fingernails. No one came to her. She made eye contact with Kim Suho, but Yoon Seungah was dragging him.
She mustered up as much courage to build a network, but...
[Hello.]
[Everyone, please sit down now.]
[Let the Hall meeting begin.]
Those announcements appeared in the air. Everyone found a seat, and the buzzing room soon became quiet.
A total of 239 people gathered and settled down quietly, 39 of which sat at the round table.
[Through this Hall and the fields inside it, you all will be given tests. Your field assignment and guild treatment will be based on your score.]
[The final winner will have me, the Hall.]
[On another note, it seems we have a vacancy. He must have been injured or argued with someone.]
All eyes focused on Rachel. There was only one slot left unmanned: the seat right next to her.
"Hahaha."
"Well, there are so many problems in England these days. It's impressive they could even come."
Some guilds, especially the Chinese, sent rather arrogant sneers. She pretended not to be affected by it, but her cheeks blushed.
[But it's okay. Moving on, I'll show you the first test's subject now.]
A small text appeared in the center of the round table.
[First Hall — 'Theory Learning']
It was a sentence that no one gathered here expected.
