The sounds of thousands of confused Players filled my ears, and as the light cleared from my eyes first, I found that we really have returned to the Waiting Hub. However, still recovering from the blinding teleportation, I noticed all the other Players have become quite diverse in their attire since the last time I saw them. For besides them wearing different variations of armour and clothes matching their Class, there was also some wearing heavily furred coats and armour with fresh snow still stuck on top, and others wearing desert cloaks and scarfs with grains of sand falling from their loose cloths. Except what really stood out to me was the few thousands of Players currently sleeping on the ground. Though I quickly came to the conclusion that those Players were all teleported in their sleep, since I remembered it was midnight in Novus, and instead decided to focus my attention on the Waiting Hub that also changed quite a bit since the last time.

Opposed to simply being a large walled white space from before, it now appeared to be an entirely massive empty colosseum, carved from precisely chiseled and pristine stone. Looking around, I noticed the many tunnels all along the walls leading up to the elevated seating platforms above us; specifically noting how the entire colosseum was perfectly split into 100 different sections, each being labeled by the corresponding roman numeral on the wall underneath the platform, and divided by a few pillars along the long staircase between each section. Though apart from that, the sky above the space was longer a white nothingness either, but instead a beautiful array of stars and a single planet far in the distance. A planet which notably had a crimson moon currently shining its bright light throughout the massive landmass of the otherwise purely water planet; and even with my amazing eyesight, it was still too great a distance to clearly make out the details of the Pangea-like continent.

“Huh!? Why the hell are we back here!?” Someone nearby questioned, finally recovering their sight.

“The Waiting Hub!? What’s going on!?” Another questioned, also recovering their sight.

“You gotta be kidding me,” A different person complained, “I thought I was done here!”

Player by Player, they all finally began recovering their sight and realizing the situation we were all teleported into. And with all the commotion going around, the sleeping Players eventually woke up to quite a surprising morning. Then suddenly catching everyone’s attention, an announcement appeared floating in the sky.

Attention All Players:

The Siege Event Will Start In 2 Hours.

Both Your Allies And Your Enemies Are Those Under The Same Guide.

You Can Prepare And Strategize In Whichever Way You Like.

Victory Will Result In Receiving Double Rewards, And Defeat Will Result In Receiving Normal Rewards.

And floating right under the announcement, was a new timer.

Please Wait: 1 Hour, 59 Minutes, 50 Seconds

COMBAT IS PROHIBITED

When the Players read the announcement, some cheered in excitement for the Event and potential Double Rewards, while others loudly voiced their dislike in having to be forced to participate in the Guide's games, and the rest who simply seemed to be indifferent about the situation.

“Fuck, yeah!” A heavily armoured man shouted nearby, “Looks like we’re going to war, boys!”

Causing the group of mostly meathead Fighters around him to chant, “Siege! Siege! Siege! Siege! Siege!”

Though opposed to them, almost every other Player was already beginning to huddle together and think of an actual strategy for the upcoming Event—with most groups and Parties temporarily separating to find Players with the same Guide to strategize some sort of plan with.

However, too physically and emotionally exhausted to deal with anyone right now, I pulled a random cloak from my Inventory and draped it over my face. Then heading through the nearest tunnel, I made my way up to a random section and laid myself down on the floor of one of the many rows of seats. And hoping to avoid drawing any attention to myself, I closed my eyes and decided to rest for a while, pretending just to be a still sleeping Player—which ended up being true when I actually dozed off.

Feeling the cloak lifted from my face, a familiar girl's voice yelled out “Oh! Guys, I think I found him!”

“Ughhh, what the hell happened to him?” A familiar boy’s voice mentioned, “He’s dripping blood all over the floor.”

“He looks like he’s been through a lot, maybe you should heal him?” Yet another familiar voice suggested.

“Oh, shut up. I’m fine.” I told them, sitting up to see Dream, Faust, and Lavie. “Can’t you see I was sleeping?” Grabbing the cloak back from Dream and laying back down.

“Looks like he might also be grumpy.” Dream jokingly teased.

“Dream and I both just got back from being slaves, and you don’t see us being grumpy.” Faust notably mentioned.

“You what? Slaves?” I repeated, catching my attention. And looking at the both of them again, I realized they were extremely thin, dirtied, and dressed in rags; though strangely not much different, Lavie was also dressed in rags, with the added addition of cloth wraps along her limbs and across her breasts.

“It’s a long story, but it helped me realize there’s seriously something wrong with Faust.” Dream stated, “He’s been tortured for weeks now, but he just keeps taking all the punishments for the slaves.” whispering, “I think he might secretly be a masochist.”

“I am not!” Faust adamantly objected, “And if anything, there’s clearly something wrong with you for enjoying watching, you...you weirdo sadist!”

“Okay, okay, okay. Settle down you two.” Lavie stepped in between to stop them from continuing bickering, “Obviously there’s something wrong with the both of them, it’s why I didn’t save them after they told me they both volunteered to stay as slaves—something about a special auction they were waiting for.” And Dream and Faust nodded in agreement for once.

“Oookay…” Unsure how to feel about children volunteering to be slaves, I quickly changed the topic, and asked “So why were you looking for me? I know you guys don’t have the same Guide as me, so what is it?” Remembering them not reacting to 13 when we met the Goddesses.

“Man, were you actually asleep?” Faust questioned in disbelief, “Didn’t you hear the mob of Players demanding to reveal yourself?”

“When I found him, I think he was.” Dream confirmed, “But I don’t know how you didn’t wake from all that chanting.”

“Wait, what’s going on?” Still slightly groggy, “A mob?”

“Allow me to explain.” Lavie offered, detailing “After the first hour passed and the majority of Players finished planning multiple strategies for the Siege Event, having nothing else to do, they all began to focus on the Rankings instead.”

“So? What does that have to do with me?” I questioned, unsure how it was.

“Well, once again you skyrocketed up 26 Levels in a single night—according to the people who now keep track of the Rankings hourly. And since the next closest Player, which is me at Lv.40, took over the span of 3 weeks to reach even that Level, some Players believe and have openly accused you of somehow cheating the System—driving the mindlessly masses to the same conclusion.” Lavie explained thoroughly.

“Oh...so what do you guys believe?” I asked them, curious about how they viewed me.

“Maybe if you didn’t ghost us and answered any of our messages, or read the Top 10 Chat you would already know that.” Dream happily alluded to the Chat.

“I didn’t ghost anyone, I was sleeping.” Justifying myself, “But I’ll check out the Chat right now.” Opening the Top 10 Chat, I scrolled back to before Lavie, Dream, and Faust offered to look for me.

Top 10

Xian- You think what they're saying about Eyes is true? That he’s a "Cheater" and a "Fraud"?

Dream- Fake news!

Casino- I wouldn’t bet on it.

Lavie- Not even a little bit.

Da Vinci- ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Faust- Ha! Don’t make me laugh!

Omega- Never met him, so I can’t say.

Tobias- He’s one of us, remember?

Essex- I’ve discovered we Level significantly faster by killing higher-level monsters opposed to lower-level ones, so it’s entirely possible for Eyes to have discovered that too, perfectly utilizing it to completely surprise the Players who thought their Rankings were secure.

Xian- I really didn’t think so either.

Lifting my recently desperate mood a little, I replied with a thank you message.

Sorry I didn’t respond to any of your messages, I was sleeping.

I also read your earlier messages, and although I haven’t even met half of you yet, thank you for at least not believing in the rumours going around.

Casino- Remember that if you ever find yourself visiting my future establishment later.

Essex- Was my assessment accurate?

Da Vinci- (✿◠‿◠)

Omega- I only truly make my conclusions about someone after I see and meet them in person.

Xian- I can’t really judge about Leveling, I haven’t even Leveled that much myself in the last few weeks.

Tobias- I messaged you the details about our agreement if you want to read it later and reply back privately.

Distracting myself with the company of Lavie, Dream, Faust, and everyone else in the Top 10 Chat; I felt a sense of relaxing relief from simply conversing with all of them about the mundane—much more so than sulking alone by myself in sorrow.

Through our group conversations, we learned: Casino was in the process of opening up his own casino in Asheton, Essex was initiated into the prestigious Circle of Mages in the Spiral Towers, Tobias was distracting himself with easy Assassination Requests for the Underground, Omega was on his way to joining the Unholy Order of Death Knights in Sya, Lavie was fighting in a dwarven colosseum in Norik, Xian was accepted into the Bardic School of Symphonies, and Dream and Faust were planning to save/steal all the exotic and rare animals/monsters from a high-class slave auction occurring the on the eve of the Five Heroes Festival.

And knowing what Da Vinci was doing, I revealed to everyone that she was currently in the process of designing a castle for me. One which I allowed her to have full creative control over, and one which she was fully intending to construct herself after being completely satisfied with her architectural redesign of the entire castle. Though as to not leave myself out, I decided to tell them I was now the Head of an Elven House called the House Ven’Thyl; openly inviting them to visit if they passed by, even extending an invitation to join if they wanted—but expectedly, they had no interest.

Please Wait: 10 Minutes, 19 Seconds

Nearing the end of the timer, we all decided to head towards our respective Guide’s sections, naturally predicting we had to; but before Lavie left, she said “Oh, I almost forgot!” She then suddenly pulled out 30 different types of shirts, overshirts, sweaters, and jackets; along with 10 pairs of different underwear, and 10 pairs of different pants.

“Whoa, Lavie, I didn’t need you to make this many!” Shocked by the sheer number of unique and stylish clothes she created.

“Yeah....I kind of got lost in fashion designer mode one night, and before I knew it, these were all made when I woke up the next morning.” Lavie mentioned, acting if it wasn’t a big deal.

“I mean I’ll take all of them if I can, but how much do you want for them?” I inquired, admiring Lavie's sense of style as I inspected each piece of clothing.

“I was only using low-quality cloths and materials, so I think I only used up 80 Silvers worth of material, but as for the labour...I think a Gold is good enough.” Lavie randomly calculated.

“I’ll take it!” Pulling out 50 Gold out of my Inventory, I handed it right over to Lavie.

“W-Wait, I meant 1 Gold for all of it.” Lavie clarified, trying to hand back the rest.

“Don’t sell yourself or your clothes short, Lavie.” Refusing to take back the Gold. “You’ll definitely be in high demand if the other Players and the people in Novus see your clothes, so I’m counting myself lucky to just be buying ‘Novus’ Future Biggest Clothing Brand’ at such good prices!” I truly expressed to her.

“Hah, is that what you believe, or is that what you saw with your abilities?” Lavie smilingly asked, hesitantly accepting the payment.

“What do you think?” Giving her a wink before shoving all my new clothes into my Inventory and leaving to head to my own section.

Feeling more cheery thanks to the Top 10, I made my way to XIII section and sat myself away from the groups already gathered there. Using the little time remaining until the start of the Event, I finally took a second to address the myriad of notifications I completely ignored for hours now—forgetting the order and first starting with the obnoxiously large one I couldn’t escape from.

2nd Class Choice

Meeting the Required Level for the 2nd Class Choice, you are now eligible to choose between receiving a Class Change or a Class Promotion.

The three Class Promotions have been chosen through the culmination of your Actions and Experiences so far; with one being your Preferred Method of Combat, the other being a Highly Recommended Class Progression, and lastly being an Unknown Decided Fate.

*Note* Choosing another Starting Class will cause you to lose all currently known Skills that are incompatible with your chosen Starting Class, and doing so will also reset you back to Lv.1, with the Class Change Options not appearing again when the Required Level is met. Choosing an Unknown Fated Class will cause you to lose all currently known Skills and reset you back to Lv.1, with you being forced to follow the Decided Path of your new Fated Class, and no longer able to have a Class Choice.

Choose:

*[Elemental Tri-Style Archer]* [Fighter] [Healer] [Mage] [Magic Archer] [Ranger] [Rogue] [Unknown Fated Class]

“So I can still change Classes if I want to, but what’s with the Unknown Fated Class option? I mean why would anyone want to follow a ‘Decided Fate’?” I asked myself, not getting the appeal of the option at all. I then figured, “Maybe there’s more to it than I know, but I’ll let the other Players find that out for me when they’ll undoubtedly choose it.” Choosing the Elemental Tri-Style Archer instead.

Congratulations, you have been Promoted to the 'Elemental Tri-Style Archer' Class! All Stats now permanently increase by 3 per Level, and your current Stats have all been increased by 50 for the previous Levels. You have learned the Skill: [Elemental Affinity]. Elemental Affinity: Naturally developing a compatible Elemental Resonance within your Magic Cores, you excel at ingratiating every Element within your body; enhancing your Elemental Control, Efficiency, and Potency. Gain a 5% increase to Control, Efficiency, and Potency of all Elemental-Type Skills. Skill Level based on Magic and Intelligence. Percentage increases by 5% per Skill Level. Elemental Affinity increased by 3 Levels.

“What am I gonna do with this, I only have one Elemental-Type Skill?” Though putting the question in the back of my mind, I moved on to the smaller notifications.

You have reached the current Maximum Level of 50, and can no longer increase in Level until further notice. You have learned the Skill: [Archer’s Spirit]. Hand-to-hand increased by 5 Levels. Swordsmanship increased by 3 Levels. Combat Aura increased by 1 Level. Element Arrow increased by 3 Levels. Ensnaring Arrow increased by 2 Levels. Explosive Arrow increased by 4 Levels. Turning Arrow increased by 1 Level. Sniper Shot increased by 1 Level. Perception increased by 1 Level, and has reached the current Max Level of Skills. Twin Arrow increased by 1 Level, and has reached the current Max Level of Skills.

I also quickly went back and read the descriptions of the notifications I missed.

Archer’s Spirit: Embodying the true essence of what it means to be an Archer, you strive to aim for absolute perfection, displaying a growth that reflects your desire for such. Gain 10% more Experience for all Archer related Skills. Combat Aura: Adapting and prospering through intense battles, you have discovered how to physically augment your body with Physical or Magical Aura. Cost is the amount of Stamina or Mana converted into Aura. Aura Damage/Defense based on Strength/Magic and Skill Level. Archer’s Triality: Beyond limiting yourself to one thing, your mind and body truly becomes capable of Processing, Focusing, and Manipulating three things at once; naturally freeing you of preference and indecision. Close-Combat Archery: One of the Three Pinnacle Styles of Elven Archery; Close-Combat provides the Aptitude, Evasiveness, and Physicality needed to become a Trinity Archer. Complete Mastery is required for combining the Styles, but unbalanced Mastery will result in overwhelming the others and erasing their progress. Skill Level based on Skill Levels of the Close-Combat Style. A True Combat Archer: Learning the Close-Combat Archery Style from someone who’s already fully Mastered it, you obtained the power with your own ability and effort, and are acknowledged as a True Combat Archer. +33 Strength and Agility.

Then with almost perfect timing after I finished reading the descriptions, the timer hit zero and Nulla suddenly appeared floating in the starry sky above. Still dressed in the same unbuttoned crimson red tailcoat garb Lavie and I first picked for him, with an added black top hat on his head, he tapped his throat and began to speak.

“Hello, hello! Welcome back to the Waiting Hub, Players!” His voice reverberated throughout the entire colosseum, “I hope you spent your time wisely preparing and strategizing for the Siege Event!” forming his name into a wicked smile on his nonexistent face. “Though before I explain the exact details of the Siege Event, why don’t you all first pick which side you wish to be on!” He gestured his hands and instantly caused every Player to be surprised with a message.

Pick Your Side For The Siege Event:

[Attackers] or [Defenders]

Time Limit: 2 Minutes, 59 Seconds

*If you do not decide before the Time Limit ends, you will automatically be assigned to the side with the least amount of Players.*

“I haven’t really given it any thought to which side I wanted to be on, but I guess if we’re defending a walled castle or something, then the Defenders side would definitely be perfect for an archer like me.” However after I made up my mind and picked Defenders, a new Quest suddenly appeared.

Quest

A Step To Annihilation:

Having already decided to walk the Path of Annihilation, you are unable to choose the side of the ‘Defenders’, and are automatically placed onto the side of the ‘Attackers’ where you must Win the Siege Event at all cost.

Reward: Awakening ‘Annihilation’ Failure: Losing the Siege Event will result in ‘Annihilation’ consuming and erasing you from all existence instead.