I see.”
“But her standards are high, so… she went on a few blind dates, but she said she didn’t even see most men as men and left right away.”
“Her standards must be high.”
SwordNoob listened to her words impassively. Then they reached the location of the girl’s party. There was a calm-looking, middle-aged woman with a big dog-like spirit, and a lady with a graceful face in her early 30s.
The girl grinned as she said, “My aunt likes macho men. She also likes martial arts.”
“…!”
* * *
The Assassin Steer was in charge of information gathering for the Hermes Guild. Using contact groups spread extensively, his task was to keep an eye on the trends of the Versailles Continent.
“There’s a high possibility that the Lord of the North’s Morata is Wargod Weed…”
Steer considered this a matter that needed to be reported to his superior.
Bardray was currently in the Ziubellin Dungeon of Haven Kingdom. It was not an exaggeration to say that the hunting ground poured out monsters. Not only in Haven Kingdom, but no matter where you went on the Versailles Continent, it was among the worst hunting grounds for players. Turning off his whispers and even the guild chatting window, Bardray had declared that he wouldn’t come out before he hunted the formidable sorcerer named Ziubellin.
“What should we we do, Steer-nim?” asked his subordinate in information.
Bardray spent most of his time inside dungeons with his teammates. Nobody knew when their hunt would end.
Steer sighed. “We have no choice but go ourselves. Send a request to the guild corps. We’ll enter the dungeon in order to meet guild master Bardray-nim.”
Steer and 30 members of the Hermes Guild entered the dungeon. They were all over level 360, but the level of the monsters was too high in Ziubellin Dungeon, so they couldn’t help but shrink back. After many complications, they finally reached the place where Bardray was at.
Bardray was resting and maintaining his weapons with his 12 Elite Guard. Monster corpses were lying around the place where they were resting, exuding a foul smell.
“Bardray-nim.”
“For what matter did you come all the way here, Steer?”
“There is something I must report.”
Bardray looked interested. As befitting of him, who dominated as the strongest in the Versailles Continent and was completely equipped with ultimate items, he had overflowing composure.
“It’s about Wargod Weed.”
“Weed, you say…”
Bardray nodded his head. “If it’s about him, then it would be worthwhile for you to come find me all the way here.”
“Weed’s identity has been exposed. I believe he is the Lord of Morata. Though of course, there are still many parts about him that I still cannot understand.”
“And those are?”
“It’s estimated that he’s a player who started in Rosenheim Kingdom, but it’s that it hasn’t even been a year and six months since he started Royal Road. That doesn’t make much sense. And the more shocking thing is that he is sculpting as a side job.”
“Side job?”
“Considering his fighting ability, you’d think that he wasn’t actually a Sculptor. Even so, he made a Magnum Opus with the sculpting he did as a hobby, and he’s good enough to shake the continent.”
He had judged that the Pyramid, Light Tower, and the Goddess Statue were sculptures made as a hobby!
“Ohh, isn’t that amazing?”
“Sculpting was a side job? Yikes! I was completely in awe after seeing a sculpture made by him.”
Bardray’s teammates all said a few words each.
“Come to think of it, if it’s Weed, we could even call him our junior.”
“Ah, in the Continent of Magic?”
“Since he became the best about 6 months after we left, y’know.”
“We were once the best in the Continent of Magic. And for quite a long time, too.”
The Elite Guard conversed gladly. They had known each other since the Continent of Magic. They had been noble lords ruling over famous castles in the Continent of Magic! Bardray had also been the best lord in the Continent of Magic.
“I do miss those times.”
“Well. I don’t really wanna go back; I don’t want to lose the merit of this Versailles Continent’s clear air and being able to fight while directly moving your body.”
“I don’t want to go back either, but… they were still really fun times.”
The castle lords who gone through thick and thin with small wars and dispute heard of the creation of Royal Road and gathered in one spot. The popularity of Continent of Magic had passed its peak and was obviously in decline. As rulers of one region, they felt that very distinctly. An enormous amount of items and gold actually funneled to the castle lords. They earned sums that normal employees wouldn’t even be able to imagine. Most of the lords were Dark Gamers who were raising their profits while maintaining their organization. They came to a conclusion through a meeting.
They would move to Royal Road.
The lords took their forces directly into Royal Road. That was the inside story of the birth of Hermes Guild.
“Weed became extremely famous after we left.”
“He conquered quests and dungeons that even we gave up on, right? You don’t know how surprised I was after hearing the news that he’d even gotten through Ivan Porte Island’s labyrinth.”
“He’s a truly incredible player. Though of course, if Bardray had stayed in the Continent of Magic, he wouldn’t have given up his spot so easily.”
Bardray only smiled as he listened to the conversation of the Elite Guard.
The system of command that accompanied Hermes Guild’s pecking order was strict, but it didn’t apply to the Elite Guard. Bardray and the former castle lords, the Elite Guard, were the founding members of the Hermes Guild. Through their agreement, they decided that the very strongest among them would be the leader and govern the others. Their law was that if someone among the Elite Guard became stronger than Bardray at any time, they would then become the leader.
As such, the leader of Hermes Guild had changed a few times in the early stages of Royal Road. For both Bardray and the Elite Guard, it became an opportunity to become stronger faster through well-intentioned competition. Of course, there were also castle lords who completely fell behind during the competition. In Royal Road, you must directly move your body and possess very fast judgement and keen senses. The lords who became stragglers maintained the influence of the guild through deputies.
Hermes Guild was the best guild that originated from the Continent of Magic. They were also acquiring information about Weed through various pathways.
“The Continent of Magic and Weed…”
Bardray’s face became lost in thought. Such an expression could not be found on him often.
“Steer.”
“Yes, Leader-nim.”
“Continue keeping an eye on the North.”
“Understood.”
“But there is no need to make it a bigger deal than necessary.”
“That means–?” Steer’s head jerked up.
Hermes Guild normally gruesomely crushed any opponents who showed even a little speck of defiance. They dispatched assassins to either kill or bribe the key people. They also didn’t hesitate to commit cruel acts, like sending out the battle forces and setting a village or castle on fire.
“There’s no need. Even before we step forward, he’ll be caught and eaten by hyenas seeking prey first.”
Steer thought for a moment and nodded. “You’re right, Leader-nim. The Resurrection Army led by Daymond will also go North soon.”
The Resurrection Army’s force was greatly weakened. They weren’t able to take Odin Fortress in the end and decided to retreat; their territory in the Central Continent was rapidly shrinking. The Resurrection Army wasn’t able to hold out in the Central Continent any longer. There was no strong kingdom in the North yet, so they were were withdrawing to aim for there instead. They also had a hostile relationship with Weed, because through the quest of the Matallost Church, it was he who achieved the great service that stopped the Resurrection Army.
Bardray said, “Weed is indeed famous. However, once he suffers a defeat, his fame will disappear as quickly as it came. Ruin takes but a moment.”
The increase in skill and level through hunting, as well as power expansion! Bardray thought of those as the only things that should be shown in quests and broadcast appearances. That was because a high level and power made other players fearful and submissive to his commands.
After finishing the hunt with the Elite Guard, Bardray became deep in thought about the subject during his break time.
“The Continent of Magic, hm.”
He had left the Continent of Magic with the lords who were of the same mind as him. They had to make their characters and prepare in advance while acquiring information about Royal Road early on. However, sometimes he secretly logged into the Continent of Magic as a pastime. It wasn’t hard, since his character was still right there.
The Continent of Magic was the game that he had dedicated his youth to. It was on the decline, but he was deeply fond of it, so he couldn’t quit. Then he encountered rumors about Weed in the game, a rumor that he had ascended to the position of the strongest after Bardray left.
“The God of War Weed. That Weed is currently the best on the Continent of Magic.”
“Is he just having an easy time ’cause Bardray isn’t logging in?”
“It’s the opposite. We’ve got to see him as being way more outstanding than Bardray. Not only did he single-handledly catch a dragon that Bardray couldn’t hunt, but he also explores dungeons alone.”
“You mean by himself without anyone’s help?”
“It’s something Bardray could never have done.”