As much as I enjoy making fun of Zoom Sorbet by butchering their party name in any way possible, I do have to grudgingly admit that they did play their own part in my story and the story of the world of Placeholder.

So bear with me as I backtrack a bit, all the way back to their (not-so) grand entrance.

---

Samuel, the late-teen gamer turned dwarf [Cleric], was worried about leaving the tutorial. There had been no guarantees that mentioned that the party would be transported together. As such, he took a quick look through the upgrade options he had available, grumbled when he saw he didn’t have anything new, and then left the tutorial.

He felt a bit nauseous during the transport, and the next thing he knew, he was standing in front of a large dark-blue obelisk.

System: Zone entered, Capital City Vir. Faction - Vir

He found himself in a central plaza on cobblestone-paved roads with a bustling medieval city surrounding him.

He also saw quite a few stares being shot his way. I guess I did just pop out of nowhere, was his first thought, but he realized a second later what the looks actually were.

Ah, I don’t see any dwarves around. Must be a human city? He continued speculating. None of them look hostile, though, so I think I should be fine?

His thoughts were interrupted when a familiar cat-eared [Rogue] appeared next to him.

“Ah, Nick. Glad you could make it,” Samuel greeted him.

He only got a grunt in return, which was about what he expected. Of the party, Samuel got along the worst with Nick, so he was really hoping he wouldn’t be stuck alone with him.

His fears were alleviated when their elven [Wizard] appeared.

“Oh, good to see you too, Ethan. I was worried our party was going to be split,” Samuel said.

“I was expecting that the transport would keep us together, but after such a strange tutorial... Yeah. I’m glad it didn’t split us up,” Ethan replied.

The three looked around as they started attracting even more looks from the surrounding citizens. Then other adventurers started appearing too, which drew even more of a crowd.

Both the townspeople and the adventurers started whispering amongst themselves. Doom Fury was included in that.

“What’s taking Rich?” Ethan asked.

“Dunno,” Nick said. “Maybe he’s got a choice to make, and he’s busy rubbing his two good brain cells together to figure it out.”

Samuel and Ethan chuckled lightly, and that’s when Richard appeared.

“There you are-“ was all Samuel could get out before Richard ran forward and jumped onto a nearby market stall.

He struck a pose with his sword pointed into the air and shouted, “Greetings, citizens of Vir! We are adventurers from another world!”

Of all the possible responses to that proclamation, the townspeople gave the one the adventurers least expected.

“It’s the adventurers!”

“They’re armed!”

“[Guards]! Help! [Guards]!”

The crowd dispersed in a panic, leaving behind a group of 50 confused adventurers.

“Great going, Rich. Good job,” Nick gave Richard a sarcastic slow clap.

Richard at least had the decency to look embarrassed. “Uhh. Sorry, everyone. I thought we needed to make an entrance. Impress them, you know?”

“You definitely made an impression,” Nick said.

“Oh, shut it, Nick. Rich already apologized,” Samuel snapped. Then he sighed. “The only question is what to do now?” His question was answered by a horn sounding and shouts.

“EVERYONE FORM UP!” Richard shouted. “Casters and archers in the middle! Everyone else, you’re the tanks! Delay and dodge! And finally, don’t shoot first! We are going to defend ourselves only. Am I clear?!”

The gathered adventurers looked back and forth between each other.

“AM I CLEAR?!” Richard bellowed.

“YES, RAID LEADER!” Samuel, Nick, and Ethan shouted in response. They all moved into position.

That was finally enough to get the gathered adventurers formed up.

It was just in time because they were soon surrounded by town [Guards] coming from all directions.

Bows and arrows were trained in both directions in an uneasy stalemate.

“Steady!” Richard called. “We are not going to shoot first.”

One of the [Guards] strode forward and called out. “What is the meaning of this? Adventurers, why are you taking up arms against us and our people?”

“We have taken up arms against no one!” Richard shouted back. “We are only preparing to defend ourselves in case you decided to attack!”

“Very well, then,” the [Guard] replied. “You will come to no harm! Lower your weapons, and we will take you into custody peacefully!”

“Fat chance of that!” Richard called out.

Samuel walked up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder. “Rich, this can’t keep going. Don’t make things worse.” He walked over towards one of the lines of guards and dropped his mace. “I surrender.”

One of the [Guards] picked up the mace and put it into his inventory. Two others came and bound Samuel’s arms. “Come on, Rich!” Samuel shouted. “I know that you could fight all these [Guards] and win if you needed to, but there’s no reason! Let’s not have our first moments in this world be a bloodbath!”

Several of the [Guards] shifted uneasily at those statements, but Samuel ignored them and locked eyes with Ethan. Please, Ethan. You know he won’t listen if it’s just me.

Ethan looked away and sighed. He waited a few beats, and then he too walked forward and surrendered.

That started a chain reaction. Soon all of the adventurers were walking forward to surrender. Richard was the last, but he finally came too. With that, they were led away.

“I really hope I don’t regret this,” Richard said to Samuel.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not like we’ve broken any laws. We should be fine!” Samuel said optimistically.

----

A few hours later, they were sitting in a jail cell.

“Don’t worry, guys, it’s not like we’ve broken any laws!” Nick mocked Samuel.

“How was I supposed to know that they had laws against brandishing a weapon in public!?” Samuel asked.

Stupid lawful-good[1] idiot, Nick thought to himself. His stomach growled. At least they didn’t take away my stuff. Nick pulled a cheeseburger out of his inventory, took a bite, and gave a long contented sigh. “Mmm, that’s good.”

Ethan and Samuel quickly noticed what he was doing.

“Nick, where did you get that?” Samuel asked.

“From the tutorial! Where else?” Nick took another huge bite. “Mmm, it’s so good. The inventory even kept it warm and everything.”

“You stole it from the tutorial?!” Samuel exclaimed. “Dude! Are you trying to tick off whoever brought us here!?”

Nick scowled. “It was free food. There was an unlimited amount. Of course, I’m going to stock up until my inventory’s full.” He took another bite. “Oh yeah, there’s a weight cap, by the way,” he said around a mouthful of burger.

“Unbelievable,” Samuel muttered.

Nick just shot him a literally cheesy grin and said nothing.

Meanwhile, Rich hadn’t responded and was still just staring out of the prison cell. Samuel went over to him, but Nick’s attention was grabbed by Ethan, who slid over and threw an arm over his shoulder.

“So, Nick. Happen to have an extra burger for your best bud, Ethan?” the [Wizard] asked.

The [Rogue] grinned. “Of course… For 10 gold.”

“10 gold! That’s highway robbery! I thought we were friends!” Ethan shot back. “I’ll give you 2 gold.”

“You’re right. I should factor in the friend discount.” Nick nodded. “In that case, I’ll drop it to 8 gold. Just for you.”

“My friendship is only worth 2 gold to you? 4 gold. Final offer.”

Nick sighed and pulled out another burger. “Oh well. Guess I’ll just have to eat this one too.”

“Wait!” Ethan sighed too. “Okay. Okay. 5 gold-“ Nick gave him a dubious look. Ethan held up a finger. “And! And I’ll help you sell off the rest of the food you took to the other adventurers at a completely exorbitant price.”

Nick grinned and shook his hand. “Deal.”

Ethan pulled out a single gold coin, and they were both confused for a bit until Nick put it into his inventory, and it added 5 to the total. Huh. One gold coin that’s worth 5? So.. A five-gold, gold coin? Weird. He shook his head.

“By the way, what is an exorbitant price for a burger?” Nick asked.

“Oh, just means excessively high-“ the [Wizard] started explaining.

Nick scowled. “I know what exorbitant means. What I mean is, was 5 gold actually a lot for a burger? How much is 5 gold?”

“That’s… An excellent question. Hmm. We’ll have to shop around to see how things are priced before we start selling off your stockpile.” Ethan paused for a second. “By the way, how much food did you-“

“It is my fault, though!” Rich shouted at Samuel. The entire party turned to stare at him. He seemed on the verge of tears.

Rich turned and grabbed the cell bars again. “It’s my fault. I wanted to make an entrance, you know? Make an impression.” He chuckled mirthlessly. “Instead, I made them afraid of not just me, but all of us. I ruined our chance. I’m not fit to lead Doom Fury.”

Sam tried to put an arm around his shoulder, but that wasn’t quite feasible as a 4 foot 5 dwarf. “Don’t say that, dude. So you messed up. We all have. We just have to keep moving forward. Besides-“ Sam laughed. “I don’t know of anyone else that would be able to get 50 adventurers into a workable combat formation so quickly. So, if you’re stepping down, I’m not sure who we would replace you with. I certainly don’t want the job. Ethan would make things too complex, and Nick…” He shot a glance at Nick and then shrugged. “Nick is Nick. I wouldn’t trust him with that much responsibility.”

He gestured at the party and continued. “So, like it or not, you’re stuck with the job. Even if you messed up.” Nick caught a twinkle in his eye. “Colossally. Like, it’s impossible to understate the amount of trouble you got us in.”

“Yeah,” Ethan added. “It’s amazing that they were willing to isekai such an idiot.”

“Yup, I thought I was good at getting the party into trouble, but you put me to shame,” Nick joined in. “Even in our campaigns, I never managed to destroy interplanetary relations in such a short amount of time. You truly are the greatest diplomat of our time.”

Richard snorted and then wiped away the tears that had been forming in his eyes. “Did I ever mention that I hate all of you?”

“All the time, but don’t worry, we hate you too.” Sam patted Richard on the shoulder.

The party laughed, and Nick remembered a conversation that he had with his mom.

Why do you all say such mean things to each other? she had asked.

Because we’re friends, was all he could answer.

Nick chuckled. Yeah, you’ll know we’re really mad at each other when the insults stop.

Rich took a deep breath. “Alright, the party finds itself trapped in a prison cell. They are rightfully accused of breaking a law they knew nothing about. What do they do?”

“Break out,” Nick answered immediately.

Samuel scowled. “Even if I thought that was a good idea, which it definitely isn’t, we don’t even have our weapons. How do you plan to break out?”

“Oh,” Nick deflated. Darn. I don’t know how to lockpick things either. So much for being a [Rogue].

Ethan coughed and then whispered. “Uhh. I might actually have a way that we could escape if we need to.”

“Go on,” Rich said.

Ethan gestured them closer and then whispered, “[Mage Bolt].” The black bolt hit the wall of the cell and didn’t seem to do much.

“You can cast without your wand!?” Nick shouted.

Sam immediately grabbed him, pulled his head down to his level, and put a hand over his mouth. Ethan nodded at him in gratitude.

“Yeah,” Ethan said. “So, I could probably [Mage Bolt] or [Ice Bolt] the cell doors until they fail if we have to.”

Nick struggled free and said. “Jailbreak! Let’s do it!”

“No way,” Sam said. “We’re in this mess because we accidentally ticked off the people of this world. I don’t want to see what happens if we tick them off on purpose.”

Ethan nodded. “Yeah, that’s kinda what I was thinking.”

“But.. I’m a [Rogue]. It’s like in the code that I have to break out of jail,” Nick pouted.

Sam shook his head. “Do [Rogues] even have a code? And if they did, wouldn’t their goal be to break it?”

“I don’t care. I call for a vote!”

Rich sighed. “All in favor?”

Only Nick raised his hand.

“Yeah, sorry, Nick. Not gonna fly,” Rich said.

Darn. I thought I could at least get Rich on my side. “Why not, Rich?”

“This isn’t DnD. We need to be careful. There are real consequences to what we do now.”

Nick sighed. “Okay, fine. What do we do then? No jailbreak, so we just sit here? That’s so boring!”

“Like I just said, this isn’t DnD! We can’t just fast forward to the part where something interesting happens!”

They heard a cough from behind them, and all turned to the cell bars. An exquisitely dressed man stood there. “Excuse me, I am looking for the leader of you adventurers? I was told I should find him in this cell?”

Ethan, Nick, and Samuel all turned and pointed at Rich.

“That’s him.”

“Yup, Rich.”

“Sorry, Rich,” Sam added a shrug to his statement.

With a sigh, Richard stepped forward. “I suppose that would be me. I am Richard, leader of Doom Fury and the primary one responsible for the incident in the square.”

“Greetings, Richard,” the man replied. “I am Simon, the [King’s] [Magistrate]. I have come to discuss your arrest and see if we can come to an agreement that will allay the [King’s] fears but also earn you back your freedom.”

“Okay, I’m listening,” Richard said.

Simon pulled a light-blue orb out of his inventory. “Does your world happen to have oath stones?” At Richard’s head shake, the man continued. “Ah, I am glad I asked. You see, what this will do is allow me to use a skill [Lawfully-Binding Oath]. We would ask you to take an oath that you will not harm any of the people of the kingdom of Vir, and once you are so sworn, we are willing to give you an official [Pardon] for your infractions.”

“Of course! None of us want to hurt anyone!” Richard reached for the stone.

“Not so fast, Rich,” Ethan said as he stepped forward and put a hand in front of Rich. “We don’t have all the details here. What does [Lawfully-Binding Oath] do?”

“It’s a simple skill, really,” Simon replied. “The words of your oath will become legally binding, and anyone with a skill that can detect guilt will be able to tell that you have broken it.”

Ethan’s eyes narrowed. “And what would the punishment be for breaking the oath?”

“Imprisonment, of course. Unless the way you broke the oath was particularly severe.”

Ethan nodded along with that but still was eyeing Simon like a hawk. “And what is the specific wording of the oath that you would have us take?”

“I will not harm any of the people of the kingdom of Vir, should suffice,” Simon answered.

“Bull spit!” Ethan shouted.

What? Nick thought, and he could see his confusion mirrored on Richard and Samuel’s faces.

That was an inopportune time to encounter the chat filter for the first time, but to Ethan’s credit, he soldiered on. “Don’t take the deal, Rich!”

“But Ethan, that’s our ticket out of prison!” Samuel said. “We have to take the deal!”

Ethan sneered. “Don’t you get it? Under those terms, we have no way to defend ourselves! They claim to be worried about us, but what if we get attacked by them, huh? Even if it’s self-defense, we’ll break the oath and go to jail! What if we get attacked by bandits? Or what if they use that as leverage to try to force us to fight in their armies, huh?”

Good old rules-lawyer Ethan, Nick nodded. Finally using his powers for more than derailing sessions.

“I can assure you we would never do-“ Simon started saying.

“No deal,” Rich cut him off. “I’m sorry, but we cannot accept a deal like that with so many unknowns. We’re in an entirely new world, and we can’t afford to take an oath that is so open to abuse.”

Simon nodded. “Very well. Are you opposed to taking an oath at all, or is it just the terms that are disagreeable?”

Ethan and Rich shared a look, and Rich continued. “Just the terms. I would only be willing to take one that Ethan signs off on.”

“I believe we can come to an arrangement that both sides should find suitable,” Simon replied.

Nick tuned out the rest of the discussion as the oath got butchered, turned into legalese, and then negotiated back and forth.

“I will, through no conscious action of my own, cause injury to any of the residents of the kingdom of Vir except in the case of self-defense, in the case of a lawful raid conducted with full knowledge of the appropriate law enforcement for the region, or in the case of attempting to apprehend a lawbreaker,” Simon stated. “Do you truly need all of these provisions?”

Ethan nodded. “Of course! Through no conscious action of my own means that we don’t break the oath if we cause an accident that hurts someone.” He muttered under his breath, and Nick barely caught it. “It should also hold up if they have mind control magic.” He coughed and then continued. “Self-defense is obvious. We need to be able to fight back if attacked. And the other 2 provisions are in case we take any jobs helping out the town [Guard].” Ethan scratched his chin. “Hmmm. Maybe I should include a provision for war.”

“War?” Simon asked. “I swear to you that the four kingdoms have very much been at peace since their founding.”

Ethan cocked an eyebrow. “The four kingdoms, eh? Well, we know nothing of your geopolitical landscape. What about any other kingdoms, or any other enemies?”

Simon shook his head. “If there are other kingdoms, we do not know of them. And I must say that including a provision for war would not help allay the kingdom’s fears.”

“Well, it should be fine. Not like they could enforce their law on us if we’re at war with them,” Ethan muttered. He looked at Rich, “I think that should be about as good as I can do on short notice while in a jail cell.” He turned to Nick and Samuel, “Anything you think I missed?”

“You’ve always been better at that stuff than me,” Samuel replied. “I think it’s good.”

Ethan nodded. “Nick?”

“Huh? Oh, uh. Yeah. Sure. Sounds good,” Nick replied.

“Great. Thanks for your help, Nick,” Ethan said. “Well, Rich. I think we can take it now.”

Richard took a deep breath and steeled himself. “Alright, no time like the present.”

Simon intoned his skill’s name, “[Lawfully-Binding Oath].” The orb started glowing softly, and then he handed it over to Rich.

Rich repeated the words to oath exactly, and the orb stopped glowing. Then Rich fell to the ground and started convulsing.

“RICH!” Sam screamed and ran to him. Nick and Ethan followed right behind. “[Heal]!” the [Cleric] cast.

Nick watched Sam’s mana bar go down even as Rich’s HP… Stayed at full? Wait a second.

Richard stopped convulsing and shot the party finger guns. “Gotcha.”

“Dude. I hate you so much,” Sam stated flatly.

“Love you too, Sam,” Rich replied.

The rest of the party took the oath in turn in front of a very bewildered Simon.

“Now that that is out of the way, I am allowed to give you an official [Pardon],” Simon said. Nick could somehow tell that he used the skill with that last word. “As for what to do next, it is starting to get late, so we will secure accommodations for you and the other adventurers who take the oath. The [King] has expressed a desire to meet you should I deem it appropriate, so Richard of Doom Fury…” Simon thought for a second. “What exactly is Doom Fury precisely? You mentioned you are its leader?”

Richard looked a bit sheepish. “It’s the name of our party.”

Simon cocked an eyebrow. “The name of your party?”

“Our adventuring party,” Rich clarified. “I am the leader of this group of four people.”

“Only the leader of these four…” Simon mumbled. “Hmm, it will have to do.” He shook his head. “Anyway, you, Richard of Doom Fury, will be meeting with the [King] tomorrow. He will have many questions for you, I am sure.”

Richard went as white as a sheet. He looked back and forth between the party and Simon. “Could I bring some others along?”

Simon shook his head. “I am not sure I see why that would be necessary.”

“Well.. You see..” Nick could tell Rich was stalling while trying to come up with a reason why everyone else should go with him.

“I’m his law advisor,” Ethan said. “He really shouldn’t go without me in case the [King] wants to discuss treaties or things of that nature.”

Simon nodded. “Very well.. The two of you should be fine.”

“And I…” Sam said. “I’m uhh… His spiritual advisor!” Sam finally came up with his excuse. “I should be there as well to ensure that any decisions are made in accordance with moral behavior.”

Simon gave him a dubious look. “I suppose three should be fine.”

The rest of the party looked at Nick. Talk about being put on the spot, Nick thought. “And I.. Am also important… I handle important matters… Of… Security. Security! I’m Rich’s bodyguard, you see.” Nick cringed, even as the words came out of his mouth.

Simon’s look turned flat. “His [Bodyguard]. Truly?” The question turned to Rich.

“Ah, yes. He’s there to… Help look for [Assassins] and such,” Rich nodded.

Thank you, Rich. Nice save! Nick thought.

“Very well,” Simon sighed. “I will take you at your word for now. I will suggest that the four of you meet with the [King] tomorrow. You will go in with no weapons in your inventory, and you will show the utmost respect. Is that clear?”

“Crystal,” Rich nodded.

After that, the [Magistrate] had the [Guards] let Doom Fury out of their cell and give them their arms back (with a strict warning not to pull them out in public).

After that, they were shown to a fancy inn where they would stay the night. After looking around town for a bit, they went back and hit the hay. Nick was out like a light.

---

Ethan heard Rich toss and turn, and then eventually get up after about half an hour. He went out onto the balcony, and Ethan decided to follow him.

They stood there on the balcony, looking up at the stars in silence.

Rich broke it first. “It still just doesn’t feel real, you know?”

Ethan chuckled. “Yeah. Being isekaied. Being brought into a game world. Magic being real. I getcha.”

Rich shook his head. “Not even that. I’m going to go talk to the king tomorrow. Or I guess the [King]. What am I supposed to say? How will he react to learning we’re from another world? What if I say or do something stupid?”

“Well, you will definitely do something stupid,” Ethan teased. “But don’t worry. Sam and I will be there to help mitigate the problems caused by how moronic our leader is.”

Rich snorted. “And Nick?”

“We’ll keep an eye on Nick too to make sure he doesn’t try to steal the [King’s] crown or something,” Ethan chuckled.

They lapsed into a comfortable silence before Rich broke it again. “Thank you. You guys have always had my back, and I don’t say it often enough. Thanks for always being there for me, even when my decisions got us in trouble.”

Ethan threw an arm around his shoulder. “No sweat. That’s what friends and guildmates are for, right?”

They stared at the night sky for a bit longer before Rich spoke again. “Why do you think we’re here?”

“What do you mean?”

“I guess… There’s that one guy Jake with the [Hero] class, so he was probably brought here to save the world or fight a Demon King or something. But why are the rest of us here? What are we supposed to do?”

Ethan smirked. “I thought you of all people would figure that out.”

Rich cocked an eyebrow.

“We’re here to go on adventures of course! We’re in a world of magic and adventure! Just because we aren’t the [Hero] doesn’t mean we can’t go on quests! Save damsels, fight-“

“MONSTERS!” came a faroff cry. “[GUARDS]! MONSTERS ARE ATTACKING!”

“Wake the others and follow as soon as you can,” Rich said. He then put a hand on the balcony railing.

“Wait, Rich maybe we should just let-“ Ethan started. Rich vaulted over the railing on the balcony and landed heavily on the cobblestone road. Ethan winced and watched Rich’s HP drop a bit, but the [Warrior] was up and running immediately. “The [Guards] handle it..” Ethan trailed off with a sigh.

Well, can’t leave him to fight alone, Ethan thought as he ran to wake up Nick and Sam. Soon enough, all three were chasing after their errant leader.

They saw the torches off in the distance and raced towards them. The torches lit up the area, and Doom Fury saw a couple of people lying dead next to the carriages. There was only one torch that was still being carried, Rich’s. By the time they got to him, he was completely surrounded by black wolves with red eyes.

“About time you guys got here!” Rich said as he dodged a leaping wolf and put it down with a quick sword strike. However, that left him open from behind, and one leaped onto his back and latched on.

Ethan shot a [Mage Bolt] at the wolf, but that wasn’t enough to kill it.

“Ethan! Danger close[2]!” Rich called out.

“But you’re already wounded-“ Ethan started to protest.

“I can tank it!” Rich dodge another wolf. “DANGER CLOSE! NOW!” Rich yelled.

Samuel sent a pre-emptive [Heal] Rich’s way as Ethan complied. “[Overchannel]. Ice freeze my foes.” He pumped quite a bit of mana into it but left around half of his bar. “[Ice Bolt]!” He let the spell loose, and it hit Richard dead on.

The area exploded into a freezing mist, and Ethan worriedly checked Rich’s HP. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it hadn’t done that much damage. Got it. [Overchannel] ups the AOE more than the damage.

When the mist cleared, Rich was standing in a sea of dead wolves.

“Good work,” Rich said. More howls off in the distance greeted his statement. “Looks like that was just wave 1. We have civilians to keep safe, so we’re going to draw aggro. I’ll be the primary tank-“ he said as the wolves burst onto the scene. Dozens of them.

He grimaced. “Well, boys, looks like we’re all playing tank today.”

---

James, the [Guard Commander], immediately put together a squad to go help the citizen who called for aid. Within a minute, they were running towards the caravan.

He was assuming that the citizen had been exaggerating. There had never been a dark wolf attack of that size in the history of Vir.

If anything, what he had been told had underestimated the carnage that lay before him.

The squad of [Guards] was dumbfounded as they came across the scene of a slaughter. Dozens upon dozens of dark wolves lay dead, and 4 figures were off in the distance still fighting them.

One was shouting as if to get the wolves’ attention, and indeed he was spending most of the time surrounded and fighting defensively.

Another was agilely running from carriage to carriage, killing any wolves that approached them with just a knife.

A third was casting a spell that James didn’t recognize at the wolves and hitting them with ethereal black magic. When the injured wolf would leap to try to attack him, he ended them with a single blow from his torch he held in his other hand.

The fourth seemed to be mostly watching, though he did crush the heads of the few stray wolves that approached.

The [Guards] stood there dumbfounded for quite some time but were broken out of their reverie by a louder, deeper howl.

“Boss incoming! I got main tank. Nick, off-tank! Ethan, help me with DPS! Sam, keep on the [Heals] and get those dang NPCs to help with the ads!” the [Swordsman] shouted.

Then the giant beast ran onto the scene. A dark wolf alpha. “By the blue text,” James swore. “Aim at the alpha! Ready..”

The [Mace-wielder] ran over. “No! We need your help with the small ones! Aim at those.”

“But the alpha-“

“Is going to be handled. Rich and Ethan have got it as long as I can help them. Shoot the ads!” The [Mace-wielder] ran back to help the other two.

James saw the logic in that. The beastborn [Knifeman] was in danger of being surrounded. “Change target!” James called. “Dark wolves. Ready. Loose!”

Bowstrings twanged, as a hail of arrows took down multiple targets.

James watched out of the corner of his eye as the [Swordsman] was bitten by the alpha but remained standing. He must have quite the HP pool.

He ordered another volley even as he kept an eye on the fight with the alpha. Their [Battlemage] is using some kind of ice magic? He didn’t recognize it, but [Battlemage] was a rare class for someone to take up. However, what shocked James was how many times he cast it. That has to be half a dozen casts! How could he have the MP for that?

Then the [Swordsman] was bitten again. James shook his head sadly. You fought well, stranger. His mind finally caught up with what he had seen. The [Swordsman] had been bitten again and had remained standing.

Not only that, he had called out, “Save your [Heal]! I still have a third of my HP left!” And then he killed the alpha with a skill called [Power Strike].

James was so shaken he forgot to order the next volley. The rest of the night was a bit hazy for him. He remembered finding out they were the adventurers that were arrested earlier that day. He remembered telling them to loot their kills. And he remembered writing a missive with a hand that wouldn’t stop shaking.

To His Excellency [King] Vir,

I took the time to pen this humble missive because I thought it of the utmost importance that you be aware of precisely what we are dealing with in terms of military strength. If the four adventurers that I witnessed in combat are any indication of their power, from a military standpoint, we must avoid confrontation at all costs. Their combat strategies are unorthodox. Their resource pools are double the highest I have seen at a conservative estimate. And their strength is monstrous. If we were to come to blows with the 50 adventurers who found their way here, I believe we could subdue them, but not without the cost of hundreds if not thousands of the lives of your humble citizens.

Please, my [King]. I beg of you to attain peace with them at any cost.

James, [Guard Commander]

---

To say that both sides were nervous going into the meeting that day would be an understatement. Richard lost his breakfast, and the [King] didn’t manage to sleep at all the night before.

However, when the time came for their meeting, most of it was actually… Uneventful.

The [King] received Doom Fury in his throne room, and they simply answered his questions as politely and formally as they knew how. He asked them many. About the world they came from, about their classes, and about their skills and magic.

Doom Fury held nothing back, and they also asked questions about the world they found themselves in.

All in all, it was boring stuff that you have basically figured out by now. Then they got to the matter that the [King] was most worried about. The reward for Doom Fury saving dozens of lives on that merchant caravan.

He wasn’t sure what adventurers would want. A title of lesser nobility? Wealth? Land? His [Advisors] had urged him not to guess, so he went with their suggestion. He asked them. “For your acts of heroism in placing your lives on the line to protect my people, I would like to reward you. Name anything within reason, and it shall be granted to you.”

Doom Fury looked back and forth between themselves, and then Richard spoke. “Your excellency, there is only one thing my party would like to ask of you.” The entire court waited with bated breath. “We would like to establish a guild for adventurers.”

The court was confused. What was being asked for?

Richard continued. “We have no permanent place to stay, no channels for people to request jobs from us, and no place to record our findings about this new world. I believe that the establishment of a guildhall could solve all of these problems and also be beneficial for your people as well, your majesty.”

The [King] visibly relaxed. “Very well. [Court Mage] send a [Message] to whoever is needed. Let it be done with all haste.”

Doom Fury watched as the [Message] was sent, and Ethan spoke. “Your majesty, I have two more requests if it would not overly inconvenience your [Court Mage].”

The [King] looked at him warily. “What might they be?”

“I would like to learn the [Message] spell if possible. And I would like as many other adventurers as possible to learn it. We have been scattered throughout your world and are lost and alone, and I would like all of us to be able to talk to each other about the things we have learned of your world.”

The [King] agreed, assuming Ethan was capable of learning the spell, and that is how Doom Fury’s cross-kingdom communications began.

Over time, King Vir put in a word with the other kingdoms to have [Wizards] and [Sorcerers] taught the [Message] spell there as well. A message was also passed along that every mage taught was requested to [Message] Ethan from Doom Fury with any important information that they found (they did have to clarify that he was the elven [Wizard] from Doom Fury who posed near the obelisk).

Since you had to have met the target of the spell and know their name, that meant that Doom Fury’s posing up on stage had gone from an unfortunate cringe-worthy memory to an important event. Without it, most adventurers wouldn’t have had anyone from another kingdom to [Message].

And so the adventurers slowly found their place in society. They were the mercenaries that you hired to guard your trade caravans from monsters. They were the brute strength you bought when your [Guards] needed to break up a [Bandit] den. They were… The people that you hired to pick herbs for you when you just couldn’t be bothered to do it yourself.

To be fair on the last one, the world was a lot more monster-infested than the people of Placeholder were used to.

And so little by little, the adventurers prospered. The gold they earned for their jobs was a nice supplement to the amount they made from killing monsters, and they grew to become the middle-class of the stratified world.

Most were content… Most.

---

Richard was bored. Slaying monsters for a living was great and all, but he was missing the adventure. The sense of advancement. After a few months, everyone had stagnated around level 6 or 7 because there simply weren’t enough high-level monsters to advance past that.

The only other option was to raid a dungeon, but Richard knew as well as anyone that parties that tried didn’t come back.

That’s why when Jake’s response to Ethan’s [Message] came, Richard leaped at the chance.

“We have to go! A dungeon that has been cleared and put into a training mode? This could be our big chance to finally level!” Rich shouted.

“Hold up, Rich,” Ethan said. “We need 4 elements for the boss, it says. I only have ice.”

“Can’t you pick up the other bolt spells too?” Rich pleaded.

“How many spell points do you think I have?” Ethan snorted. “I could maybe pick up another one, but that also means that I would have to give up on getting [Ice Shards] for even longer since I already picked [Message].”

“So you’re saying we can’t go?” Rich sighed.

Ethan shook his head. “I’m saying if we are going, we’ll need another caster at least.”

Rich lit up even as Ethan took on a look of horror. “You mean we need to recruit? Of course! Why didn’t I think of that! We will give all available [Wizards] and [Sorcerers] the chance to join the indomitable Doom Fury!” He turned to the door. “Let’s get started immediately!”

He noticed his party members were lagging behind and whispering amongst themselves.

“Is everything okay?” Rich asked.

“Oh, sure. Sure,” Nick nodded. “But just make sure to really sell it when you talk about joining our party.”

Sam shook his head. “Actually, maybe tone it down a little. You don’t want to scare anyone off.”

Ethan went and threw an arm around his shoulder. “Don’t listen to either of them. Just be yourself.” Rich missed the words that he mouthed to the others, “No interfering with the bet!”

Doom Fury made their way down to the main hall of the guild. As soon as they got there, Rich leaped onto a nearby table.

Ethan and Sam groaned as Nick whispered, “Pay up.”

They each tossed him a gold coin, as Rich shouted, “Greetings, fellow adventurers! As you know, I am Richard of Doom Fury, the illustrious, eminent party at the forefront of the creation of this very guild!”

Nick held up one finger, but Rich ignored it and kept up his speech. “We are looking for another brave magic caster, either a [Sorcerer] or a [Wizard] to join our indomitable, unconquerable ranks!”

Nick held up another finger.

“The mage in question must be in possession of 2 of the 3 following spells to assist us in our grand, magnificent quest-“

Nick whispered to the others. “Aaaand, pay up again.” They groaned and tossed him another gold piece.

“[Fire Bolt], [Air Bolt], and [Earth Bolt]. Are any of you present willing and able to join us?” Richard finally finished.

The front double-doors slammed open, and a man walked in.

“Wait. Didn’t he just walk outside?” Nick whispered.

“I am Jake the [Sorcerer], master of earth, and fire! I would be willing to grace Doom Fury with my presence on their quest,” the man said.

Rich couldn’t put his finger on it, but he didn’t like the man for some reason. “Are there any others who would be willing to join us?” The rest of the guild members avoided his look, so he turned back to Jake. “Very well. You can join if the rest of my glorious comrades deem you a good fit.” He hopped down from the table and addressed his party. “We’re putting it to a vote. Who thinks we should take along Jake the [Sorcerer] with us on our quest?”

Rich deliberately didn’t raise his hand and was shocked when Ethan, Nick, and then finally, Samuel raised theirs. Though Sam did mutter something when he did, “This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of them!”

And so Doom Fury gained its fifth member and headed for the village of Faroff.

It was a long trek. Ethan hadn’t been kidding when he had told Rich that it was as far south as you could go and still be in inhabited lands.

Their reception from the [Village Elder] was cold, but Rich paid it no mind, and the party planned to spend that day learning about the nearby dungeon.

It was a good thing they did. That was when the first attack happened.

Villagers called for aid from inside the influence of the town obelisk, so something seemed wrong from the start. Doom Fury rushed to the scene and came across the usual suspects. Wolves. However, something was off. Patches of their fur were missing, and their flesh seemed a bit… Twisted.

What the fugue? “[Identify]!” Rich called out. “We’ve got level 2 zombie wolves! Everyone be ready for anything!”

To say that the fight was a one-sided slaughter would be an understatement. These wolves had more HP than the normal ones, but they also lacked the intelligence that the normal wolves had.

Richard and the party laughed off the first wave.

They chuckled a bit when they easily slaughtered another wave that came about 30 minutes later.

They were no longer laughing when waves kept trickling in every 15 to 30 minutes for the rest of that night, and zombie alpha wolves started joining in.

“Rich, we can’t keep this up. We need to call in reinforcements!” a bleary-eyed Ethan said.

“And who would we call?” Rich snarled. “We’re in the middle of nowhere!”

Ethan said nothing, and Richard sighed.

“I’m sorry. The lack of sleep’s getting to me. We’ll need to work out rotations to let people get some shuteye if this keeps up,” Rich said.

“A good plan,” Ethan nodded. “However, I had an idea for our distress call. Jake’s party should be down in this area somewhere, right?”

“Isn’t he busy with that whole save the world quest?” Sam asked.

“We got that system message that the [Demon Lord] claimed the first dungeon, so Jake should be headed back up this way anyway.”

“Okay. Send a quick [Message] asking them to hurry back to Faroff since it’s under attack,” Rich said. “Keep wordcount to a minimum to save MP.”

“Already on it,” Ethan said. “[Message] Jake. Faroff under attack. Need assistance ASAP.”

He paused for a bit and then said. “Got a response. 1 week out. Will hurry. Survive.”

Rich laughed. “See, just one week, guys! We got this. Easy!” He didn’t believe his own words, and he could tell that Ethan didn’t either. However, Sam, Nick, and Jake seemed to buy it at least a little, so Rich counted that as a win.

The party worked out rotations for resting. It was especially critical for the mages to get rest to get their MP back; without it, they were useless against the alphas. That meant Rich had to bear the brunt of it all. His sword strikes one-shot the zombie wolves, while everyone else took 2 or 3 attacks. He also only used SP, so that meant it took him less time to recover compared to the mages.

As such, Rich was nervous for the party going into the third day since they sent their [Message]. It was finally Rich’s turn to sleep for a full 8 hours.

He was forced to rest and watch as his party member’s resources were all whittled down to nothing. When he finally managed to complete his rest, none of the others were in a position to continue.

“Everyone take a break,” he said. He cut off the party’s protests. “Your HP timers are still low, right, Nick?” Nick reluctantly nodded. “Good. Then get back to full HP and then come back out and help. I’m completely fresh now, so I should be fine.”

Rich made that statement with confidence. He knew he could handle a wave by himself. Even if it had an alpha.

Soon enough, the next wave attacked. Sure enough, it had an alpha.

This will be a bit dicey, but I got this.

Then another monstrous form joined the first, and Rich started quaking with fear.

A zombified bear. Rich’s first instinct was to run. He remembered the village behind him. His second instinct was to call the party back to help. A glance at their critical HP and low resources cut that back. His third instinct was to panic. But he choked that back.

He reached deep inside himself and found something past all that. Bravery. Defiance. Call it whatever you will, but he knew that if he was going to sell his life here for his party, he would sell it dearly.

His grip on his sword and torch turned white-knuckled as he spoke. “Monsters. It’s your unlucky day. You face Richard of Doom Fury.” He paused and steeled himself. “COME AT ME!” he shouted and charged into battle.

The zombies needed no prompting and were already headed towards him.

Richard put the first leaping wolf down with a quick sword swing. He jammed his torch down the mouth of the second and then pinned it to the ground. A quick downward chop with his sword finished it, and he pivoted with the move to dodge under a third leaping wolf.

However, the larger monstrosities had joined the fray.

The giant wolf leaped at him, and he managed to spin out of the way. Right into the waiting paw of the bear.

Richard went tumbling but managed to right himself and turn it into a slide. He even managed a sweeping cut on one of the wolves that attacked him during it.

“Is that all you got!?” he shouted and charged the bear. He baited out the next claw swipe and jumped backward out of its way. “[Power Strike]!” he called as he hit the bear with a powerful swing.

It moaned and stumbled backward. Rich pressed the attack and landed two more swings on it.

That was a mistake. The zombified alpha wolf caught him from the side with a bite and took him to the ground. The other wolves dogpiled him and started clawing and biting him.

He killed four wolves but knew he would die if it kept up. He jammed his sword into the alpha’s head and shoved with all his might. That was just enough to displace it, and Richard regained his feet.

A wolf had a hold of his torch, so he tossed it, wolf and all, and made his health potion appear in his left hand. He chugged it, crushed the vial in his hand, and glared at his opponents. “Time for round 2 beaches.”

More zombie wolves kept coming, and Richard lost track of how many he killed while he tried to focus on the alpha and the bear. He maneuvered them in each other’s way so that he wouldn’t get blindsided again. He didn’t press any advantages that he didn’t have. He even picked his torch back up at one point to have a second improvised weapon to fight the ads.

It still wasn’t enough.

A bite here, a claw attack there, the mental stress of the entire situation, it all added up. And that’s why Richard was too slow to dodge the last claw swipe from the bear, and he was sent tumbling to the ground with no HP.

The zombie alpha walked over to him and bit him. He screamed. Get up, Rich! Fight! You have to keep fighting!

He was in negative HP, and his body refused to move.

He was bit again. “COME ON. MOVE!” he shouted at himself. His fingers barely managed to clench around his sword, but that was it.

He was going to die here.

I’m sorry, everyone. Get away from here as fast as you can. Don’t die here like me. Rich closed his eyes as he awaited the final bite.

“[AIR STRIKE]!”

Rich’s eyes popped open as a familiar form kicked the wolf off of him.

“Sorry I’m late,” was all Titus said.

[1] Lawful-good – One of 9 character alignments from DnD. The first term denotes how important following the law is to a character, and the second term denotes their morality. The first term ranges from chaotic to neutral to lawful, and the second from evil to neutral to good.

[2] Danger Close – Military term meaning that friendly forces are in close proximity to the area where artillery fire has been directed. Doom Fury has their own meaning for that term, because in their case it means “Maximized AOE on my position”