Bon and his friends sat in their favorite seafood restaurant. There were seagulls in the air, and a cool breeze wafted through the area.

“What happened between you and Steve?” asked Phil.

“Nothing much,” said Bon. “We just talked. Everything should be fine now. Let’s talk about our guild.”

“First things first,” said Bojana. “If we’re going to form a guild we need a name.”

Phil laughed, “A name is the least of our worries. We need sponsors. I can ask my uncle and his pals to invest in us.”

“Maybe that’s a good idea,” said Bon, “but it doesn’t matter if the sponsorship falls through. After all, it’s going to be just us. We aren’t mercenaries.”

“So we aren’t going to recruit new blood?” Phil seemed disappointed. He liked organizing things. He should have studied for an MBA instead of Bioinformatics. “To register as a guild we need lots of backing.”

“Then we won’t register,” Bon shrugged. “We’ll be an unofficial guild.”

“It will be great to get sponsors,” said Toby. “We have to be able to earn a living.” He was not doing too well financially.

“The Chinese people I met might give me a good deal for the qi gathering pill. I could contribute my share of the profits from that to our guild. Don’t worry about money.”

“Yeah,” said Phil. “We’ll take care of you, Toby. Don’t worry.”

“It’s a pity we can’t cultivate,” Bojana sighed. They had tried gathering qi the normal way but failed. Bon had been tempted to teach them Tian Bu Ru’s cultivation technique for mana users, but he had promised Tian Bu Ru to keep it a secret. Besides, it was risky. He remembered all the times he had died from cultivating it.

“On to the name then,” said Phil. “What about Quick Killers?”

“That makes us sound like hitmen,” Bojana said.

“Then Boss Slayers,” said Bon.

“Corporate hitmen,” Bojana shook her head slowly from side to side. “How about the Temple of Artemis?”

“That would be all right if we were all women,” Phil snorted.

“Aegis?” asked Toby.

“That isn’t too bad actually,” Phil said.

“It’s okay,” said Bojana.

Errel held no opinion either way.

“Then Aegis it is,” said Bon.

Phil suddenly started grinning as he looked at his phone.

“What’s gotten you so happy?” asked Bojana.

“Siobhan will be moving here soon. Everything’s been arranged. She should arrive in three days.”

“That’s great,” said Bon. “Now only Al’s left.” He didn’t know Al well, since Al had joined the team after Wheeler had whisked him away to the hundredth floor of the Tower. Still, Al was one of them. If his friends trusted him, then he would too.

“Al can come any time,” said Bojana. “His family has refused to move though. They should be okay where they are.”

“What about your family?” asked Bon.

“They don’t want to come here. My cousin is a Player. He’s joined Yuri’s Ruritania. He’s taking my family along with his when he moves there. Yuri has promised to give him a lot of money.” Bojana smiled, but Bon knew that she was actually full of worry inside.

“They’ll be alright,” he reassured her. “Speaking about money,” he said to Toby, “I’ve just thought of something. Once the monster threat worsens, the government should start backing us. They may not realize yet that Players are the only ones capable of defeating these monsters. In Melbourne, they found out that rifles didn’t work on them. As bigger monsters come out of the dungeons, their arsenals will become useless. They will have no choice but to turn to the guilds and to people like us. From what I’ve heard, the army hasn’t been able to sign up many Players.”

Phil patted Toby’s back. “Don’t sweat it. Everything will work out.”

“Right,” said Bojana, raising her bottle of beer. “To Aegis.”

“To Aegis,” they all raised their bottles.

After dinner, Bon and Errel went back to the flat. Bon began studying the Summoning notes he had made, while Errel watched TV. From what he had gathered, the Tower had not summoned monsters, but created them out of pure energy. Their spirits were artificial constructs. He had wondered if he could wipe his summoned monsters’ minds clean and then program them like the Tower monsters, but he couldn’t think of a way to make it work. He would have to experiment with his summoning powers some more. Just then he heard the news anchor’s voice from the television announce some breaking news. He went and sat with Errel on the sofa and watched the broadcast with interest.

“This is a live feed from our people on the ground in Munich, Germany,” said the anchor. Bon could see monsters pouring out from a portal that had formed a few feet over a street. They looked like lizard men. They were armed with primitive spears, bows and arrows, short swords and shields. A few were even hurling javelins at the group of policemen that were trying to contain the situation. The police had erected a crude barricade and there were armored vehicles on the other side, behind which they took cover. It was only a matter of time before the police got overwhelmed. The lizard men shrugged off the bullets that bounced off them as they marched forward.

The lizard men met the line of police and began slaughtering them. The cameraman ran further back and the video got blurry. A few minutes later, the camera focused on the lizard men again. Two armored Players could be seen making their way towards the monsters. The glow of their auras illuminated the area.

The two Players jumped towards the lizard men and began their killing dance. One was a Fighter while the other was a Lancer. They were well coordinated with each another. It was magical to watch. It was as thought they shared the same mind. In fifteen minutes the monsters were cleared, and the two Players walked towards the portal to inspect it. After a while they went back behind the barricade, and talked to the press who had been allowed to gather some distance away.

“Who are you?” one journalist asked.

“I am Gunther and this is my brother Dieter,” said the Lancer. “We are the leaders of a guild called Wildcat.”

“How did you get here so quickly?” another journalist asked.

“We ran here as soon as we heard the news,” Dieter said. “We can run very fast,” he laughed, “and we weren’t very far.”

There was Nikita in Australia, and Gunther and Dieter in Germany. There were probably thousands of Players just as good as they were, staying low until they were called upon to fight. It would be great if an international network of Players could be set up. The biggest threats in the world could be handled by the most gifted teams. If everything could be organized well, Earth would be able to survive this threat.

“Another one has crashed,” said Errel, reading the news ticker. This had been the fourth plane crash in the last week. An expert had said that there was some new phenomenon that was affecting anything electronic. Bon wasn’t sure if the expert was right, or just making things up.

“What do you think is causing it?” Bon asked. Errel was a little too reticent about sharing his thoughts.

“It might be because of the towers,” said Errel. “They were a dull black before, almost gray, but they have gotten darker according to the TV box. They must be causing some gradual change in the environment. I can feel a slight shift in the density of mana.” Bon activated his Mana Sense, and could make out a slight difference. Things were a little sharper. Maybe he was fooling himself into thinking there was a change. Errel’s sense of mana was a racial trait though, so it was a lot more accurate than his. He must be correct.

“You think the towers are pumping mana into the Earth? Why?”

“Who knows?”

The Tower and the multiple entrance towers it had planted on Earth were all a part of the Neutral Faction’s plan. They were a faction made up of gods. What sort of game were they playing? Were they really as benign as they seemed? Wheeler had said that there were traitors among them, and that he was a helpless pawn in the faction’s hands.

Bon studied his notes for the rest of the night, jotting down new ideas and then he finally went to sleep. He got up a few hours later and made breakfast. Errel got up a few minutes after Bon had finished cooking. They ate in silence.

“I’m going to go out and train,” said Bon. “Want to come?”

Errel shook his head. “I’ll stay here. I thought I would go visit the hospital later.”

“Call if you need me,” he put on his jacket and left the house.

He took a bus to a place near the Bay, and walked down until he came to a large grassy field. There was nobody here at this time of day, which made it the perfect place to practice. He started by summoning something easy, a rock golem. He did not use the auto summon skill function that the Tower had provided the Players. He did everything manually. He leashed the golem spirit, brought it through the dimensional rift while giving it a physical body and then made it appear a few feet away from him. He chained down its will using mana, crushing any emotions in the golem that may lead it to rebel. He then commanded it to walk in a circle.

He spread his senses into the dimension of monster spirits once again to look for another spirit to shackle. There was one that looked like a giant tree. Could it be his old nemesis, the Mangrove Giant? When he shackled it he realized that it was a different tree monster. He created the body and unleashed his will on the monster. A tree appeared on the grassy field, rising high up into the sky and with great wooden limbs. It looked just like an ordinary oak when it wasn’t moving. He commanded it to stay still, and then summoned another. Soon he had ten trees surrounding five golems. He commanded them to fight each other, sometimes taking control of their movements, wondering if they were capable of learning anything. They would make a formidable army if they could be trained to fight with more than just their basic movements.

He then sent the summoned monsters’ spirits back to their own dimension and watched as their bodies dematerialized on the grassy field. He summoned a bird to test his summoning range. The bird was small and harmless. He could feel the link between him and his summoned bird wear thin as it flew away. He constantly strengthened it with mana while commanding the bird to fly faster. He was able to make the bird fly all the way to San José before the link snapped, which was about forty miles. He had been able to see through the bird’s eyes, but it hadn’t been perfect. He would need much more practice before he became accomplished at it. The bird went back to its own dimension as soon as the link snapped.

He decided not to take the bus back. He enjoyed the long walk to his flat. On the way, he stocked up on some groceries and couldn’t help wondering if his summoned monsters would have to eat. Would they get weaker if they didn’t get any physical sustenance? Their core body was in spirit form, but they still had a physical shell. When he reached home he made some sandwiches and wolfed them down as he watched the news.

The Germans and the Australians were investigating the portals that had opened in their lands. No electronic machinery worked near the portals, and ordinary people couldn’t get close to them without collapsing. The Australian and German military had barricaded and fortified the surrounding areas. According to the report, both countries had recruited Players to patrol the areas round the clock.

Just then there was a piece of breaking news. The German Players, led by Gunther and Dieter, had daringly entered the portal and killed all the monsters within. The portal in Munich had vanished as soon as the team reappeared. Gunther and Dieter were smiling at the cameras as they walked out of the area, holding up a blue crystalline egg for all to see. In a brief interview, Gunther described the dungeon and the gigantic lizard king at its center. He praised his team and their bravery in destroying the portal. They had seized the strange crystalline object from the center of the dungeon, after which they had been ejected from it and the portal had vanished.

A little while later Bon called Sarah.

“Did you see the news from Germany?”

“I’ve been busy meeting with the Chinese sect people.”

How’s it going with them?” he asked her.

“They have sent us a draft of the contract. My cousin is looking it over now. They’re giving you, me and your dad sizable stakes in the new company. They are being quite generous. I’ll mail you all the details. You and your dad should go through the contract too.” Bon heard a beep coming from his phone.

“I’m getting another call, Sarah. I’ll call you back later.”

“Alright. Take care Bonnie.”

The call was from Phil.

“Bon, a portal just opened up near the airport. Come quickly.” So soon? Bon had thought that San Francisco would have more time.

“What kind of monsters are coming out?” he asked.

“The monsters aren’t out yet. There are a few cops keeping people away. The army and Hunter’s Paradise will be coming here soon. I’ll call the rest of our party.”

“I’ll be there in two.”

Bon walked to his balcony and took off into the sky. Ah, it felt so good to fly in the city. He should have done this more often. He made it to the airport in less than a minute and could see a gathering of people standing around a blue portal in the distance. He spotted Phil and landed near him, startling a cop.

“You’re a Player?” the cop asked. “Thank God you’re here. We have no idea when those things will come out.”

“Don’t worry,” said Bon. “We’ll take care of it.”

As soon as he finished speaking, the first monsters came out of the portal. They were big, green and mean. Some were dressed in iron armor. They held an assortment of weaponry—axes, maces, massive swords and thick spears. There were no long ranged weapons, thank God!

“Hobgoblins,” Phil groaned as he equipped himself. “Why are we getting minibosses while everyone else is getting regular monsters?”

Bon equipped his armor as well, and brought out his sickle and chain this time. Finally! He had missed this feeling. It wasn’t excitement. That had dried up in the Alpha test. It wasn’t joy either. He took no delight in hunting these monsters. It was more like satisfaction. He was finally doing something that he was good at.

“Stay behind me, and cut down any hobgoblin that escapes,” Bon ordered Phil, as he swung his chain in a small arc.

He grinned as he walked towards the hobgoblins who were mustering into rank and file. Time to paint the ground green!