As Creon and the wise-men marched across the city of Frieda, He noticed the city had changed. The players had already began creating warbands. a warband was the equivalent of a party, and they were necessary if you wanted to venture deeper into the forest. they also boosted exp. Most importantly tho, they served as protection. PKing did not carry very harsh penalties in this game, and most npc's didnt care at all unless you killed a player they liked or someone important. This meant of course that people would be afraid early on, and the weak would come together en masse.

Generally speaking, it seems like the bigger the warband, the weaker the players Creon thought. the slums had also grown. players who couldnt get a class or had started playing late were often rejected and bullied by warbands and ended up in the slums. The slums were worse than any ghetto Creon had ever seen, there were more broke down houses here than in a warzone. the people looked unhealthy and dejected. the players looked around frightened, hands always on some makeshift weapon, as if they had lost faith in humanity.

Many of the wise-men were surprised, even the few who were from the slums originally before becoming monks. "What happened here..." muttered Oz. Just then, they witnessed a middle aged man tackling a teenager. Creon, after seeing all these scenes of poverty and despair, could no longer stand idly by, and intervened. Pulling the older man of the kid, he asked what was going on. The kid tried to run, earning him a reverse roundhouse kick into the nearby wall. Creon was many things, but not naive.

"Allow me to rephrase that, what did you do to make him chase you" Creon addressed the kid, who was probably only 2 years younger than himself. From the way he attempted to take advantage of Creon's kindness and escape, Creon was sure he was the guilty party. "The brat stole from me! He took me drinkin money!" screamed the older man.

"You were just going to drink it away or spend it on whores! my mother is sick! she needs medicine!" cried the boy. Creon spoke calmly "That does not give you the right to take from others". "Shut up! It's you outworlders fault that we're suffering in the first place! Always so money hungry, taking up all the jobs, and to top it off, you even throw your own people whom you deem unworthy here, overpopulating the area!"

Creon began to better understand why the slums looked so horrible. "So, young brother, you want to heal your mother?" He rose his voice. "Are you all tired of living in filth as second class citizens? Then take power for yourselves! For we are all equal! a long as you have mana, what stops you?" "We dont even have classes! What do you know of are suffering? We're weak and always will be!" many complaints rang out at Creon's words. Creon expected this however. "If you are weak, then allow me to grant you power! This boy shall be the first!"

Before the boy could react, Creon's hand was on his forehead "Activate Conversion! Monk-priest!" They were both clad in light for a moment before the boy stepped back, stunned. "This is..." he muttered in a daze. "You have the skill [Cure] now do you not? Give the man back his money and go to your mother." The boy did as he was told, and before he ran off to see his mother, whispered "My name is Alveron, Thank you". Creon turned to the older man. "you need discipline, luckily Oz can beat the weakness out of you." And then he bestowed the monk class on the man. By then, A huge crowd had gathered around him and the wise-men.

"Come! Join the Magi! Open your eyes! we will give you true knowledge, we will give you the power to stand equal! Who will join us and accept our gifts?" one by one, people began to come forward. both players and npcs alike were slowly lured in by his words. Creon performed conversion after conversion, giving people the class they were most suited for after having the show him their status window. Most received the monk class, but there were also plenty monk-priests and mana-adepts. Some of the players accepted his blessing with tears in their eyes. For saving them from classlessness and giving them strength to stand against their aggressors, Creon had earned their undying loyalty.

Creon sent the other wise-men to go and spread the word. Creon ended up spending the rest of the day converting people, most of whom immediately joined the magi. A few of course just took the class and left, but Creon knew that would happen. He wouldnt force any one to join him. Not publicly at least. The next day declared, "My brothers! I go to hunt wolves, not small animals such as rabbits and foxes! Will you join me?" He received a deafening war-cry as an answer. The normal limit of a warband was 100, but because they were all from the same faction, this limit was lifted. this is because factions, such as the kings army, would normally go out in huge groups and needed bigger warbands.

Creon led a warband of over 1000 that day comprised of both players and npcs alike. Of course that was nowhere near the full number in the slums. Oz was busy educating most of them on the same truth of mana that Creon had given to he and the other wise-men just this morning. He and his followers marched out through the city, with players forming the vanguard, as they would be perfectly fine if they die. Ignoring the stares from the other players and the small animals like rabbits and foxes in the field, they reached the edge of the forest

In response to the huge number of invaders on their lands, a huge united pack of 150 wolves emerged from the woods. Their average level was 15, and the average level of the Magi with Creon was around 8. However Creon and his followers outnumbered the wolves 10 to 1. Creon knew that there would be casualties however. The wolves had much more experience with team work. He quickly relayed orders. " Mana adepts! Quickly attack with fire and wind to keep them at bay! Monks standby near the mana adepts, when the wolves break through the inferno, do your best to keep them separate! Monk-priests, begin healing the monks hp and replenishing the mana adepts mana!"

His orders were followed immediately as the wolves began to charge.the streams of fire, augmented by the streams of wind were incredibly powerful, although, they lacked focus. Well, thats due to the class itself.. thought Creon. he would definitely need to improve his [Conversion] skill, but even after hundreds of conversions, it was still short of intermediate, but only slightly so, he could feel it. Meanwhile, several of the wolves were almost upon them, snapping Creon out of his thoughts. The monks were ready though.

The monks rushed forward and separated the remaining wolves. But the wolves who had overcome the raging wall of fire were mostly higher leveled and had racial traits such as [Regeneration] or [Foresight] . Whenever a group had trouble, Creon would appear, striking from a distance with [Mystical Palm Strike] or he would rush in directly and beat the wolf down with a staff. One of the wolves broke out of the group of lower level players surrounding it, causing Creon to rush over. This would be a good chance to try 'that' out He used [Mystical Palm Strike] to knock it over from a distance. He swiftly used his staff to pin the wolf down, then hit it with several normal [Palm Strikes], stunning it. He then attempted to use [Tame] four times, unsuccessfully. On the fifth time, he screamed "submit!" while activating the skill, and it was a success.

He didnt actually want the wolf though, after all, most people feared wolves, and it wasnt time to use fear, not yet. "Go back whence you came" he told the wolf. "Become strong, and then return to take your place beside me!" Creon didnt know if h understood or not, but the wolf had ran off almost as soon as he heard the words go back.Oh well, my taming skill isnt that high. I didnt really want it anyway. besides I learned that your own emotional state is important while taming, so that information is compensation enough thought Creon. The battle was over by then. a few players had died, and an npc old man laid dying. He was one of the more respected men in the slums, and one of the first to be converted by Creon.

"Someone call a monk-priest over" Creon yelled, rushing to his side. An npc couldnt come back to life. "No!" screamed the old man. " Ive lived long enough, and I dont wish to die some pathetic death like falling from a roof or getting sick, this is the most heroic death I could ask for in my long life of mediocrity. Let me have this. More importantly, listen! you have enthralled the people! given us hope of equality with your words! Dont abandon us! Watch over us! Take responsibility for your actions and the people will give you their undying loyalty. These are the last words I will speak, engrave them into your heart!" The old man looked at Creon, tears brimming in his eyes, with a defiant smile on his face. Creon grasped his hand . "I will do as you have charged me my brother. Be at peace and rejoin the mana"

Creon, who knew this was only a game, felt his heart truly soften at this moment. All of it was so real, and he could feel the old man take his last breath as he disappeared into a puff of grey smoke which slowly drifted away. Creon rose to his feet and shouted to the crowd that now surrounded him.

"Our brother has become one with mana! May he live forever!" everyone who had watched the emotional scene all shouted in response "May he live forever! May he live forever!" This would soon become the phrase used amongst the npcs of the city when someone died. It had not been planned, but everyone at that moment was so united, that they all shouted at the top of their lungs. The Magi , who had escaped general notice, would be all over the forums the next day, famous for both their fervor and unity. Creon turned his eyes back to the city. "Come my brothers, It is time to return."