After three days there was already some change to the territory. Final Fend and Braag took over the management, starting with rebuilding the walls. The population had increased slightly and even the income had improved a bit. Dream Avenue's members continued to take the citizens' quests. Although those were boring tasks like killing 50 monsters in the forests, watching the territory recover made it all worth it.
Liam and his friends were also satisfied with the territory's growth so far. They brought the research lab blueprint to Greypine Tower. From now on the guild could construct this special building which would periodically produce various recipes.
Afterwards the friends went to do their own things. While Liam upgraded some equipment the others went to do quests in the territory or fought some battles in the arena. Time passed and announcements came rolling in. Many guilds from weak to strong finished their territory wars. Slowly the players on the level ranking closed the gap to Liam and his friends.
In this way two days passed. The friends were getting close to level 50 in the game. However, something more significant was happening outside of it. It was finally the time for Liam and Serena to move to the guild house.
That evening the siblings were in their bedroom, packing their belongings. At this point they didn't have to worry about money anymore. Liam had bought a lot of pretty clothes for Serena. Seeing the sparkle in her eyes each time she received a pretty dress, Liam also felt his heart jump in joy. Now that they had to pack it all up Liam was surprised that one suitcase was not enough.
While trying to make some room in one of the suitcases Liam suddenly heard a light sob. He looked towards Serena, who held a simple white shirt in her hands. Liam took a deep breath and patted his sister's back.
"This… this is the first shirt Merida gave me."
"Yes. We will never forget her kindness for taking us in!"
"Liam, don't you think we should… maybe stay a day or two longer? We can cook something nice for Merida to make it up to her."
"You know it wouldn't make much difference. Furthermore, the gaming house is not far from the apartment. You can come and see Merida whenever you want to. We can also invite her for dinner. But we can't live forever in her apartment…"
"Ok…"
Liam could see that Serena was struggling but she faced the situation with admirable maturity. He did his best to keep her mood high, telling her how much fun they will have in the gaming house living together with the others. Soon, the siblings had packed all their belongings. It was strange seeing that everything fitted into four big suitcases. However, compared to a few months ago this was already much better.
Liam grabbed two suitcases in each hand, carefully carrying them through the door. Behind him followed Serena carrying her teddy bear Sergeant close to her chest. Liam could have sworn he saw Merida's throat quivering as they came out from the bedroom. But the resolute woman didn't show her own sadness, instead putting on a bright smile to lighten the mood.
Merida had insisted on personally driving the siblings to their new home. Thus, they left the apartment together. They got into Merida's car and left the house followed by Liam's bodyguards. It wasn't a long drive to the guild house. After only a few minutes they were standing in the lobby, looking at the stylish sign saying Dream Avenue above the large opening leading towards the public area.
The renovation of the guild house had been finished for a few days now. Curious fans passed by from time to time, peeking through the large glass front. However, the guild house was not open to the public yet. Dream Avenue was still working on providing consoles, merch, staff, and everything else. Thus, the opening was scheduled a month from now.
However, this didn't stop the guild members from moving in. Shortly after Liam, Serena, and Merida arrived a ding could be heard. Two elevators opened and about a dozen people came out. A few familiar faces were taking the lead. It was three women and two men, namely Cynthia, Mel, Silva, Dominic, and Kel. The other people stayed a few steps back, but Liam also recognized them as members of Dream Avenue.
"Liam! Serena! Welcome!"
Cynthia smiled brightly as she walked forward and hugged her friends. As the person who had moved into the guild house first, she saw herself as the host, taking on the responsibility of providing the siblings with a warm welcome.
Directly behind her followed the other four friends, also greeting the siblings with friendly smiles. Silva even walked up to Merida, politely shaking the doctor's hand.
"You must be Miss Hearley. Nice to meet you. Liam and Serena have told us a lot about you. I'm amazed there are still compassionate people like you out there."
"Haha, you are praising me too much. Miss Colville, I take it? Meeting you today, you are really amazing. I will leave the siblings in your hands from now."
Liam watched for a second as the two women talked before he was pulled away by Cynthia. The blond woman introduced the rest of the people to Liam and Serena.
As expected, they were members of Dream Avenue. They had moved into the guild house two days ago, as had Dominic and Kel. The guild house had eighty apartments. Half of those were rather big while the other half were smaller two- or one-room apartments. Out of the smaller ones ten were reserved for staff. This was rather unusual as Red Oak City was far from having a housing crisis. However, since Liam had advocated for his old community to be employed in the guild house, this arrangement had to be made.
Liam's friends naturally agreed. Anyways, there were still seventy apartments left for the guild members. While Dream Avenue's core members were guaranteed an apartment if they requested it, the rest was reserved for guild members from poor backgrounds. Usually this applied to those with poor parents who were just moving away from home. Otherwise, there was no reason why Dream Avenue's members would struggle to get an apartment with the wages paid by the guild.
The seven players who had already moved in were exactly those kinds of teenagers coming from poor backgrounds. The youngest of them was only sixteen. He could never have imagined that he would be able to have a bright future thanks to a game. When he showed his single mother his first paycheck, they both broke out in tears. Since then, the young man was determined to give it his all for the guild. And his efforts were quickly recognized as he became the leader of one of Dream Avenue's well-known teams, Fiery Law.
The young teenager called Chris – or rather Vulcan in the game – was extremely talkative and lively. Liam quickly came to like him as he got Serena to laugh brightly. Thanks to Chris, Cynthia, and Mel there was no awkwardness as everyone got to know each other. They stayed in the lobby for a while as the other members of Hotpot arrived one by one. Although no one else would move in today, on Liam's request the friends had decided to meet today to make the move easier for Serena.
When all of Liam's friends had arrived, Merida was ready to leave.
"Can't you stay a bit longer?", asked Serrena reluctantly.
"Oh Serena. Do you want this old woman to hang out with all of you youngsters?"
"Well…"
"Don't worry, cutie. We can see each other whenever you want to. We can go out for dinner, or we can watch movies together. And I am sure you will have a lot of fun with everyone here in the guild house! I am also looking forward to hearing about Dream Avenue's success. Who knows, perhaps one day the name of the chef Mirage Fan Number One will be famous throughout the federation."
As Merida said this, Serena's eyes suddenly lit up.
Right! If I become famous, wouldn't Merida hear about my achievements no matter where I am? She would surely be proud!
Suddenly a seed was planted in Serena's heart, and it was quickly sprouting. A seed called ambition.
Merida wasn't sure what exactly had happened, but she was glad to see Serena's eyes light up. The trio of Merida, Liam, and Serena talked for a bit more before hugging each other goodbye. Everyone had reluctance in their eyes when Merida left the lobby.
A few moments later they were approached by their friends. After a few jokes the mood of the siblings had stabilized. This was the start of an enjoyable evening. Just like last time the friends took advantage of the fact that they had the facility all by themselves. They made some fast snacks generously prepared by Cynthia and went to one of the theaters to watch some movies.
Mel and Cynthia were arguing if they should watch a horror or action movie. Suddenly an annoyed cough came from behind their backs. They turned around and met Silva and Liam who both stared at them strangely. The two women quickly understood, glancing towards Serena. In the end they agreed on an animated comedy movie and the entire theater was filled with laughter.