A new dawn arrived. Some of Dream Avenue's members met for breakfast in the guild house, all looking quite lazy. Over the last few months, they had poured all their time into Fate of Crunaboul. If they weren't playing, they were honing their skills. Now that they had some free time, they barely knew what to do with it.
"Hey, Lenny, want to play something else today?"
"I don't know… ever since Fate of Crunaboul came out everything else feels kind of dull."
"What about some good old RTS?"
"Alright, if we get a group, I'm down for it."
At another table someone was sighing:
"Haa, I wish I could have time today, but I need to visit my grandma. It's her birthday today."
"Aren't you lucky? The birthday of your grandma is within the game's break. You won't miss anything."
"Yeah, I guess. A few weeks ago, when my aunt celebrated her birthday and I arrived late my mom was less than happy."
"That's kinda unfair, no? Doesn't your mom understand that this is your job now?"
"Not really. She has always wanted me to play less. Even before Fate of Crunaboul. Otherwise, I wouldn't have moved to the gaming house. However, the more she reads in the news the better it gets. I think she slowly sees the potential."
"Now that I think about it, you guys are quite young.", commented someone else. "Before joining Dream Avenue, you probably had a lot of free time which you could spend gaming. I was already working as a firefighter. That was quite stressful."
"A firefighter? Really? I didn't know you're so amazing Riley!"
The woman, Riley, smiled upon receiving the praise but then shook her head:
"It's alright. In older cities being a firefighter deserves more admiration. But in modern cities like Red Oak the system is so advanced there is way less danger. In modern high-rise buildings even a fire engulfing an entire floor can be suppressed without firefighters."
Liam and his friends were sitting together as well, talking about their plans. Meanwhile Cynthia and Mel were listening to the other tables with one ear. They found it quite amazing to learn about the experiences of their guild members. In the game they knew them as assassins, hunters, mages, etc. But getting to know the people behind it produced a different feeling. It reaffirmed Cynthia's and Mel's conviction to lead the guild to success, providing for all those people.
Simultaneously Liam and his friends were conversing about all kinds of random topics as Fortune, or rather Rachel, mentioned something:
"Recently I head so many offers for endorsements. Even Gong asked."
At this point Cynthia perked up:
"Gong? The designer brand?"
"Yes. But I don't know if I can take the deal. First I need to talk with Bellissio. Otherwise, I wouldn't cooperate with a competitor of one of our sponsors."
"Yeah, sounds like the sensible thing to do."
Next to Rachel sat a young man with freshly styled, raven black hair. He had a rather rough face which gave him a certain manliness and maturity. He wore a white shirt with a neon-green logo and a collar made from metal. A heavy, short-sleeved jacket was draped over his shoulders. There were also two green pieces of layered cloth around his underarms. He looked quite dashing. This young man was surprisingly Liam's old friend Trey. Listening to Rachel he said:
"In my opinion there is no need to endorse Gong. Their clothes are ugly anyways. Bellissio is much better."
Rachel looked towards him and couldn't help but chuckle:
"Well, if our fashion expert says so, I might as well reject Gong."
"What do you mean? Fashion expert?"
Trey really didn't quite understand if Rachel was being ironic. But the gorgeous woman quickly reassured him:
"I mean it just the way I said it. You have a nice sense of style. Honestly, out of the boys you dress the best! Despite…"
Rachel stopped herself but everyone understood what she meant. It was surprising that Trey dressed himself well after being homeless for a while with barely any money for clothes. However, Trey didn't take it to heart. His past was a part of himself. There was no need to hide. Thus, he laughed slightly as he answered:
"Do you really think so? I have no idea about fashion. I just grab stuff at random if it suits my taste."
"I agree with Rachel. If you are only choosing based on your own taste, then you really have a great taste!", said Silva as well.
The others chimed in, all showing agreement. Even Dominic and Kel reluctantly praised Trey while thinking that they had to step up their own game.
"Guys, you are too kind. I am planning to complete my player registration today. Honestly, I'm quite nervous. It's only because of that I dressed a bit better.", said Trey with some embarrassment, prompting the others to offer their encouragement.
Meanwhile, sitting on the other side of Trey was Liam, wearing a puzzled expression. Were Trey's clothes really that good? Why couldn't he tell? Looking down on his own outfit he thought it looked quite good. A black, well-fitting shirt and black jeans. It suited his taste but the contrast to Trey was not small.
Liam was quite comfortable in his clothes. He raised his head again and noticed that the atmosphere had calmed down as. Thus, Liam playfully asked Rachel:
"Really, you have so much to say about Trey's style. But why have you never complimented mine?"
Immediately Rachel fell silent. She smiled wryly not knowing how to deliver the news. A snort could be heard from the side. Liam turned his head and saw Cynthia barely able to hold back her laughter. Mel sat next to her, whistling while looking towards the ceiling.
"What? Say what you have to say…"
"Liam, sorry to break it to you, but you look like you are stuck in the last century."
Liam froze as Quickstep, or rather Quiana, answered bluntly. But glancing at the others it seemed everyone shared her opinion. Only now did Liam realize that his clothes really didn't quite fit in with those of his friends. Apparently bright colours and metal attached to one's clothes were the modern style. Before moving in Cynthia had prepared suitable clothes for him but Liam only wore what he was used to from his past life.
Of course, in Liam's past life there were many occasions where he dressed fancily. But in this life, there had been no real reason to do so until now.
"Is it really that bad?", asked Liam. He looked around and his friends were all nodding slowly. Liam could only show a wry smile. Suddenly bright, bell-like laughter could be heard. It came from Serena who couldn't hold back after seeing her brother make such a funny expression. The laughter of a child can be incredibly infectious and soon all the friends chimed in.
Liam let out an annoyed sigh:
"Ok, ok. I get it. I will try to buy some more modern clothes…"
Feeling that Liam seemed to genuinely be a bit down, his friends stopped their laughter. Silva pondered for a moment before trying to console him:
"Don't worry about it, Liam. You have been homeless. It's only understandable that you had no time to care about something like fashion. Since we have nothing to do today, why don't we go shopping? We can help you find something that looks good and suits your taste."
As Silva said this the friends glanced a few times at Trey but no one disagreed. They watched as Liam took a deep breath and easily adjusted his mood. He thought about it briefly. Considering that there was really not much for him to do until the guild house's opening in four days, he decided to agree:
"Alright. Then, I will trust you guys as my fashion assistants."
Realizing that Liam hadn't taken the matter to heart, everyone smiled once more. Rachel was quite excited. Different outfits were already playing in her mind as she spoke up:
"That's great. Don't worry, after we are done with you…"
But at that moment Rachel was suddenly interrupted by Cynthia:
"Huh, Rachel didn't you promise to help be chose decorations for the opening today?"
"I… don't think so? Ouh!"
Suddenly Rachel made a small jump as she felt Cynthia kick her chin. The gorgeous women glared at Cynthia and the latter glared back. Finally, Rachel understood. She dramatically slapped her head saying:
"Oh right, sorry. I almost forgot. Of course I'll help you!"
"And Mel, you come as well!"
Watching Cynthia's face which didn't seem to tolerate any rejection, Mel also agreed reluctantly. The others either had something to do or were not keen on shopping, so in the end only Liam and Silva were left.
Liam couldn't help but feel strange. He glanced at Cynthia, not sure what she was playing at. Wasn't she earlier quite enthusiastic about fashion? But now she suddenly preferred choosing decoration, something which could be done at any time?
Well, whatever. Silva was also someone quite knowledgeable about fashion. Furthermore, going in a smaller group might lower the risk of getting recognized. Thus, going solely together with Silva sounded… quite good.