Serena laughed happily seeing Cy, Dominic, and Kel waiting outside her apartment. She worked together with Cy to urge Liam. The latter could only stop his work and left together with his friends. They took the elevator towards the highest floor of the building. There was a large open area for the guild members to hang out, but also smaller rooms if someone wanted to have some privacy.
The common area had pool tables, a large screen, comfortable couches and chairs, books, and many other commodities to waste one's time on.
The group of friends passed through the common area and arrived in a spacious dining room which looked more like a restaurant with enough space for about eighty people. One of the walls was completely made of glass, granting a great view at the city below.
Since Dream Avenue hadn't hired a chef yet, the friends had to prepare their own meal. At least Cy had made sure that the storage was filled. The friends didn't miss anything as they had a hearty breakfast together. The other seven guild members also arrived, joining in.
The atmosphere during the breakfast was completely different than in Merida's apartment. The young men and women joked around, ridiculing each other's eating habits. Cyclone ate her bread with way too much honey while Chris didn't like sweet breakfast at all. Dominic was trying to lose weight and thus opted for some healthy cereals with fruits while Kel grabbed himself everything containing protein in an attempt to build more muscles.
Overall, the few guild members had a fun experience. After the meal they talked a bit more before it was time to enter Crunaboul. They sat down comfortably and their minds sank into the game world.
Liam and his friends reappeared in Greypine Town. They went on some quests aiming for level 50.
Meanwhile in Efiye Luphen City, the capital city of the elf race. This was a sprawling, breathtakingly gorgeous city located along the side of a mountain. It was entirely built from white stone, with exotic plants creating a lively atmosphere. Because of the majestic towers reaching towards the sky, it was also called City of One Hundred Towers.
Guilds who had their headquarters in Efiye Luphen City also tried to fit in with the landscape, building their guild headquarters in tall towers. There was a competition among the guilds. The higher one's tower the more respect did the guild earn.
And the highest player-created tower in Efiye Luphen City belonged to none other than Galaxy. When other players walked by and admired the imposing building, they couldn't help but feel awe, bolstering Galaxy's reputation.
Suddenly two people stepped out of the crowd, walking straight towards the tower. The surrounding players whispered to each other, asking if anyone recognized those two. They were like a heavenly sent pair of a handsome man and a beautiful woman. Thanks to their striking appearance a few people indeed recognized them quickly.
"I know it! Those are Silken and Therva!"
"Oh right, I heard about them. Aren't they the guild leaders of this new guild, The Only Way?"
"Now that you say it! But what are they doing with Galaxy? Are they working together?"
Listening to the discussion coming from the surroundings, Therva aka Theresa couldn't help but show a satisfied smile. She flicked her long, blond hair, drawing even more attention, causing some players to be stunned by her beauty. Her vanity was greatly satisfied. A moment later she and Silken aka Ken disappeared into Galaxy's tower. They expertly navigated through the tower and entered a meeting room where a few people were already waiting.
"Ah, Silken and Therva! Welcome, welcome!"
The guild leaders of The Only Way looked at the speaker. They recognized him as one of the loyal followers of Star Gazer, a blue-robed human mage called Age of Frost. The mage was seated at a large wooden table. Right next to him was a black-armoured orc called Spiked Pen. On the other side were a pair of acquaintances as well, namely Fat Tiger and Glorious Sunrise.
Ken showed a slight smile as he looked around the room.
"Morning, everyone. Is Star Gazer not here yet? Is he still busy?"
Ken's eyes stopped on Age of Frost, appearing genuinely curious. He could see the mage's eye twitch lightly. Ken smirked inwardly. He knew exactly what was going on with Star Gazer, he only wanted to hear it from Age of Frost.
Although he and Brayan had worked together before, there was no friendship in business. With Brayan leaving Falva Star there was one less competitor. If it weren't for Brayan's family, many of Brayan's 'friends' would try to undermine his businesses while Brayan wasn't present.
Age of Frost was obviously annoyed but since they had invited Silken, he could only explain with a strained smile:
"The boss has recently started to travel towards the central star system. Of course, he will take care of the guild whenever possible but in space there are stretches where one can't connect to the game."
"Ohh! Star Gazer went to the central star system and didn't even say goodbye? Hmm. He must have smelled a big business opportunity. I have to ask him the next time he returns to the game."
At this time a light cough came from Spiked Pen as he took over the conversation:
"Mister Silken, I am sure the boss will happily discuss this with you when he enters the game. Especially, since he left us with a task which we need your help for."
"Oh?"
Silken suddenly became serious as the topic was switched. He sat down together with Therva, briefly nodding towards Fat Tiger and Glorious Sunrise. Suddenly Age of Frost hit the table with his flat palm, drawing everyone's attention. When he lifted his hand, a small black token was lying on the table. It had two crossing swords engraved on it.
Everyone was confused for a moment. Inspecting the token Therva was the first to speak with a surprised expression:
"A territory challenge order?"
"Exactly.", confirmed Age of Frost. "The boss retrieved this territory challenge order after the last guild war. And you can imagine whom he intends to use this on…"
"Dream Avenue?", asked Fat Tiger with a frown.
"Yes!"
"Why always them? Don't you have an easier target?"
Spiked Pen glanced towards Glorious Sunrise who unexpectantly hit a hint of rejection in his voice.
"There are multiple reasons. Dream Avenue snatched one of the best territories for themselves. Furthermore, they show signs of being the first guild on the server. If we can take their territory, we will deliver them a strong blow they might not recover from."
Spiked Pen also thought that his boss might desire revenge. But he quickly dismissed the thought, not daring to speculate on Star Gazer.
After Spiked Pen's explanation everyone was silent for a moment. Silken pondered before expressing his stance:
"From what you are saying I take it that you want to form an alliance and attack Dream Avenue's territory together. Our guild is naturally willing to help. For the right price."
"Yes. Don't go cheap on us!", agreed Therva.
Spiked Pen and Age of Frost both frowned faintly. They knew that without Star Gazer here they were in the weaker position. The upcoming negotiations would certainly not be easy. And suddenly they were even dealt an unexpected blow as Fat Tiger spoke up:
"Sorry, but Beast Den is out. If you want to attack another guild, we can still discuss it, but we won't compete with Dream Avenue again. That's a waste of time."
Age of Frost was taken aback, staring at the two guild leaders.
"Are you joking? You aren't really afraid of Dream Avenue, are you?"
Unfortunately, Fat Tiger and Glorious Sunrise resolutely shook their heads. The discussion went back and forth for a bit before Fat Tiger and Glorious Sunrise left Galaxy's headquarters. While the others were annoyed with Beast Den, Fat Tiger and Glorious Sunrise didn't feel bad. They were eager to transform the information Glorious Sunrise gathered during the last guild war into profit.
Now only Galaxy and The Only Way remained. Silken was inwardly delighted, knowing that his worth just multiplied. During the negotiation with Galaxy, he clearly had the upper hand. Finally, an alliance agreement was reached. Age of Frost and Spiked Pen had pale faces, dreading the moment they had to explain themselves to the boss. They realized that their only chance at redemption was if they could get another guild to join the alliance…
The formation of an alliance wouldn't be openly announced but it could be investigated in the guild association. Thus, it was not surprising that the information quickly spread among the big guilds.
Everyone was wondering what Galaxy and The Only Way might be planning. Liam and his friends were discussing as well when a notification suddenly appeared in front of Cyclone and Balm. The two women suddenly exclaimed in anger:
"Those… those… dogs!"
"A territory challenge?!"
"What? What happened?"
"Cyclone? Balm? What's going on?"
Cyclone gritted her teeth as she explained to her friends:
"Galaxy issued a territory challenge! They want to snatch away Greypine Town from us!"
Instantly there was a commotion among the friends. They cursed Galaxy despite not really knowing what a territory challenge entailed. There was panic on their faces. They were afraid that Dream Avenue was not prepared for the battle…