.

Kazuya had been wondering what direction he was going to take in the game. His initial purpose was to assemble the people he knew that will be gathering here to recruit them for the company he was planning on building with Mei.

He had already gathered quite a number of people and this was all thanks to Void Android. His weird tendency of using random people to validate himself turned out to be a blessing for both of them. The numerous amounts of people that Kazuya planned on looking for in the game unexpectedly passed by Void Android's random questioning.

[Void Android: Hey boss]

[Winter Fog: Stop calling me boss. You haven't even signed a contract yet so I have no right to be called that]

[Void android: minor issues, minor issues. You're the boss I want to work for and I'm already following your orders, aren't I?]

[Winter Fog: Do what you want then]

Kazuya rather appreciated this person's personality. If he had not known him from his previous life, he would have not trusted this carefree person. This was especially considering what he had been through. Kazuya's trust was probably the hardest thing to gain for people he didn't know well beforehand.

Amongst the most popular people in his previous life, the most famous ones that had had a reputation to have been trustworthy were Void Android and SummerBreeze. This was the reason why he was looking to establish a relationship with these two quite early and they could have been found in this game.

A collaboration with these two people could have only been a dream in his previous life so he wanted to make that possible in this one. He couldn't think of any negative repercussions aside from the previous companies that signed them losing the chance. Not only would he save them from the rejections they suffered, he would also give them a better working environment.

[Winter Fog: So what did you need me for?]

[Void Android: I was just wondering what your plans were about the people we've been having talks with. You haven't offered any of them a position in the company you'll be making aside from myself]

[Winter Fog: That's because I haven't even talked to them about the terms of joining my company. You should know how unbelievably strict it is. Besides, how could they just believe a random player offering them a job that they so much wanted after getting so many rejections in real life?]

Void Android who was behind his keyboard cringed after having a few arrows hitting him. He was indeed the very first person who jumped into the pirate ship before knowing what he was getting himself into. The pirate ship was incredibly strict as he found out what the captain's rules were and there would be no room for disloyalty.

[Winter Fog: I intend to spend a little more time with them so that they get to know me a bit before I offer them a job]

[Void Android: I believe that there will be a faster and more proper way of handling that]

[Winter Fog: What do you mean by that?]

[Void Android: I'm amazed at how like-minded or similar the people I've passed by were actually like. For both sides to come to an agreement, I think rather than approaching them slowly, you should take the initiative to make them come to you]

[Winter fog: You're referring to 'The Rise to The Call' Quest?]

[Void Android: Indeed, the guild establishment quest. This game has a unique system for it that involves challenging quests that the guild master needs to complete alone. This is a test that the game presents to individuals who want to establish their own guild]

The Rise to The Call quest was a unique quest in NGO. Unlike other games that have simple level requirements and a fine, before a guild can be established in NGO, the guild master has to go through the quest. A quest that can be unlocked early but will be difficult to complete even in higher levels.

From the game makers' perspectives, a guild master must not only be charismatic but also skillful. Anyone who passed this quest had the right to call themselves a guild master and would garner the respect of any player who tried the quest themselves.

[Winter Fog: I've actually been considering it but I still haven't made up my mind]

Of course, he had considered it before. It was just that like meeting Autumn Mist again, he wanted to meet up with his old guild as well. It was only after Void Android reminded him that he had no time to be selfish now. He was going to be in charge of the livelihood of a lot of people and not to mention the potential deterrent or possibly weapon against the Kurogane Conglomerate.

"(I apologize in advance old friends… I won't be able to join you in this life)" he breathed in deeply before telling Void Android to focus on doing quests with Autumn Mist and the others to get their level up since he was going to take a shot at the quest.

There were currently no guilds that have been formed on NGO yet. The guild quest was making itself infamous on the forums as its' difficulty climbs along with the guild master aspirant's level. The quest unlocks when a player reaches 25 which was the current average level the players have reached since the game's launch.

Winter Fog was already level 32 because of his advanced knowledge of the game. It needn't be said that it was a piece of cake for him to complete the quest even though it was the first time he was doing so.

NGO lived throughout the years as a popular game because of it's unique and risky approach when it released. Unlike other games that released a lot of information about their games nowadays where players could plan their builds and classes throughout their entire playthrough, NGO only released the necessary information and allowed players to discover things for themselves.

This provided people with a sense of adventure discovering a new world and its systems. Although not everyone was a fan of this, those who were, lasted and made the game thrive for a long time. Those who were spoiled in the recent games with all the information available to them didn't last very long and moved on to other games which left the real people who wanted to play get along with each other due to their similarities and preferences.

[Void Android: I really can't believe this…]

It only took a few hours, but Matsumoto Kippei rubbed his eyes while reading the system notice multiple times over. They had just finished the daily quests and were about to move to dungeons when the whole server stopped to read what they couldn't believe.

[System: Congratulations to player 'Winter Fog' for being the first person to successfully establish a guild!]

[System: The Guild 'Midnight Wanderers' is the 1st guild to be established and will be rewarded with in-game currency, reputation points and a special prize from the game. Congratulations!]

[Autumn Mist: So that was why he blocked all contacts! You should have told me it was the guild quest Void-san!]

[Void Android: He said he wanted to keep it a secret because he wasn't confident that he could finish it since he hasn't tried, but as always, he never fails to deliver]

[Autumn Mist: That guy never has any interest in the message boards. I doubt he realizes that people have been trying to do for days what he just tried and completed in a few hours]

[Void Android: I agree with you on that. He said he didn't care about it at all since he knew what he wanted to do next but those of us who check often see ourselves from people witnessing us completing dungeons that other people have a hard time finishing]

[Autumn Mist: I don't get why people find it hard though. We basically steamroll every new dungeon we try]

[Void Android: That's only because we have Winter in our party. You may not notice it much but him being with us makes the difference of being able to steamroll the dungeon or wiping out numerous times]

[Autumn Mist: I don't believe you]

[Void Android: This is the first time that you'll be doing a high-level dungeon without him right? This will be a good lesson for you then]

If Void Android didn't understand one thing, it was the presence of Autumn Mist. Winter Fog had never been interested in socializing with other players and only focused on interacting with those who he thought would be perfect to join the company yet this student with them who was basically a noob to online games was spoiled by him.

Do they really not know each other offline? Was the question that has been on his head whenever he saw the two. His biggest suspicion was that his boss secretly liked this girl and that was why she kept her around but he could never prove it.

That day, Autumn Mist experienced her very first death in-game and it wasn't just once. This made her accept the seemingly talented and lazy player known as Winter Fog was truly a person who she could rely on and the game she rated as 'pretty easy' was a lot harder without him around.

-

Needless to say, Winter Fog's name went from being a mysterious pioneer dungeon raider to the guild master of the very first guild. His name went along with the likes of the famous players proving themselves in the pvp arena and those players who wasted no efforts in pioneering the creation of NGO's player made encyclopedia.

However, what the players that got along with him didn't expect, was that no one aside from Void Android and the mascot like Autumn Mist was invited to the guild. Even well-known players who applied to join the very first guild in the game were either ignored and rejected so their hopes to be invited went down further.

They all thought that now that Winter Fog had made a name for himself, he would have no time to hang out with people like them who were also known as the rejects of society. What happened next was as Void Android ad expected, they were all offered interviewed thoroughly and given the chance to renew their lives with the research that made them shunned in the real world in the first place.

Who could not be interested in such a proposition? Most of them would even think of signing a deal with the devil if they could turn their life's work into something that could be funded and released to the public under their names.

What they did learn next, however, made them think that signing an actual deal with the devil wouldn't be so bad after all.

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