-[Night Hawks], Mystic Lake Underwater Hideout, Southern Branch Headquarters-

“Will they come, Vice Leader?”

A branch leader of the Night Hawks asked, following behind the Vice Leader of the group as he walked down the long corridors of the underwater hideout.

“Of course. Front Lines is known for its loyalty toward its members, especially toward their famed leader.” the Vice Leader of the Night Hawks replied, smiling as he led the group of branch leaders down the hall.

“But what about him? I had heard rumors of him back in the old days before he had joined Front Lines. That man is the definition of danger.” another branch leader jumped in, frowning at the prospect of engaging in battle with a certain member of Front Lines.

The Vice Leader’s smile broadened.

“I did not issue the challenge unprepared of course,” he said, as the group entered an enormous chamber filled with healing supplies and a variety of equipment and tools, “These resources will be more than enough to last us through a long battle with their entire guild. The traps that we will lay around Mystic Lake, along with the abilities of our elites, will hold off any siege prepared by them. And, as for that man-”

“The Guild Leader has returned!”

A sudden announcement by a guard at the door rang throughout the hall, and the branch leaders turned around, leaving the Vice Leader and heading to their Leader in order to welcome him back.

“Welcome back, Guild Leader!”

“Just in time as well! Please take a look at our battle strategies…”

“Could you please spare a moment to go over the inventory list?”

“I would like some resources to be allocated to my branch at Twilight Shores.”

“Leader, please authorize the mobilization of forces at Seraphim’s Cove!”

One by one, the branch leaders surrounded the newly-arrived Guild Leader, who began to respond to each of their requests.

“Thank you. Strengthen the defenses near the ridge over here, and place two units of offensive mages behind a line of warriors near the bridge. Three units of healers behind the mages near the escape tunnel, just in case we need to do a strategic retreat. Scatter the rouges in the forest nearby, stationed around half a mile distance apart to cover up the entire map.”

The branch leader, having received the instructions, gave him a smile and nodded, heading off to organize the troops.

“We need to stock up 60 dozens more of healing potions, 30 dozens more of mana potions, since we will be relying on the warriors and rouges as we currently have a shortage of mages and healers. Keep 50 more dozens of each kind as backup, I already contacted reinforcements from other branches to aid upon command. Tell the mages and healers to drink mana potions like water if they have to. Don’t let the last line fall back, ever.” he continued, as he quickly scanned the inventory list that the branch leader had handed him.

“Tell your branch that we will be doing a resource rotation. We will be forcing Front Lines to retreat in the main direction of each branch one after the other, taking out a proportion of their forces each time. This will give the branch that had just engaged in battle time to recover. We will send advance troops ahead of time to resupply each location, while keeping a bare minimum amount of resources at each fort until engagement. Don’t let resources idle in any location not in battle, keep it moving at all times and don’t be afraid to use it to accomplish our goals. Make sure to send escort squads to accompany the transport troops.” he told the other branch leader, before looking at the last one, “Keep Seraphim on hold. Engagement may not be necessary. Issue a level two warning to tell them to keep on guard at all times, further instructions to be given upon later circumstances.”

“…”

The Vice Leader watched as the charismatic young Guild Leader handled each request smoothly, taking on the role of the leader without flaw.

He stood in silence for a moment, before releasing a low laugh.

So my position here is that unnecessarily… He thought to himself, laughing in pure hatred for the young leader, Haven’t you chosen well, honored ex-Guild Leader…

He then laughed again, this time in anticipation of his own scheme.

Turning his back on the crowd, he began to walk down the hall to his own chamber, his footsteps echoing.

I can’t wait for everything to begin, honored Guild Leader. For you will be the sacrificial pawn for me to get rid of the eyesore of Front Lines.

His eyes darkened.

And, in the meantime, why don’t you two off each other? After all, being two of the top players in this world should make you two evenly matched.

His lips slowly broke out in a smile.

In the end, there is no place for you two in my Eden…

Guild Leader Dante…

And Vice Leader Rune.

—————————-

-[Front Lines], On-Route to Mystic Lake-

“Why did you three follow me?”

Rune dashed across the plains toward Mystic Forest, traveling toward the designated location given by the Vice Leader of the Night Hawks.

“Because we all know this is clearly a trap, and that their target may be you, not Fiorae.” the three replied, following closely behind their Vice Leader.

“I know. I am well aware of that fact.” Rune said, not looking back as he continued on, “But this doesn’t change the situation of Fiorae being held hostage.”

“And what can you accomplish alone, against the entire army of the Night Hawks?” one of them said, her eyes narrowed, “We three have known you since your earliest days. We know exactly what you are capable of.”

She then paused, letting her next words sink in.

“But you are no longer a solo. You are the leader that the guild depends on. And for that reason, if not anything else, you must not die…We won’t let you die. Think about the rest of us, don’t be the selfish person you once were.”

There was a silence in the group, before another of them spoke up.

“Sorry, Rune. You know how it is with Ellie. She may say all those harsh things, but inside she truly cares about you.”

The girl named Ellie blushed, glaring at the speaker.

“S-shut up, Pyre! I-it’s none of your business, I-I just wanted to tell Rune to stop acting on his own!” she stammered, stealing a glance at Rune before continuing to glare at the member named Pyre.

“Don’t worry, I’m sure all three of us are thinking the same. We are friends after all, right, Mirai?”

The last member of the group nodded, having stayed silent the entire time there.

“Friends.” she repeated calmly, her expression unchanged.

“W-who’s friends with that idiot? Don’t assume things-” Ellie started, but was interrupted by a small chuckle from Rune.

“Thank you.” Rune said simply, giving them a warm smile.

Pyre and Mirai nodded, and Ellie blushed even harder, looking away.

“A-anyway…so why aren’t we using the teleportation portals or scrolls? Or even horses? They would be much faster than running there on foot.” Ellie said, avoiding looking at Rune.

“Because then we would be even more vulnerable to attack than we already are.” Rune explained, “Guild Leaders can control the teleportation portals of their territories freely.”

There, he narrowed his eyes.

“The Guild Leader of the Night Hawks, Dante, is no fool. He is just as great of a strategist as he is a fighter. None of the teleportation portals to the Mystic Lake area have been closed off. In other words, he is inviting us into his territory with open arms. As for teleportation scrolls, they have a period of vulnerability right after arrival. We will be exposed to any and all forms of attacks, without a chance to defend ourselves.”

He then paused.

“That leaves us with no option but to travel directly to Mystic Lake ourselves. But in order to get there, we have to go through Mystic Forest. This is where riding on horseback will be disadvantageous to us. We may have speed, but we have limited mobility. The dense forest makes it difficult for horses to travel through it, and we will be in plain sight for any hidden forces, while we ourselves have little ways to retaliate. We could simply leave our horses at the entrance of the forest, but we will definitely be marked by the time we do that.”

“Considering all that, we have no choice but to go on foot. Though Dante most likely has already concluded that, and has set up traps and units scattered around the forest. But the units are likely not placed there to ambush us. Everything has likely been put into place in order to stall us for as long as possible, so that he could be fully prepared at Mystic Lake by the time we arrive. Everything, to turn the tide of the war in their favor.”

The other three stayed silent, realizing the severity of the current situation.

Then, Rune smiled.

“There is an addition to his strategy though. He is not the type to stockpile an equal amount of resources at each branch, and then call for backup when needed. With that said, he will likely keep ‘moving’ supply lines across his territory. A team of a few dozen individuals, with their inventories filled with the supplies, escorted by another team of elites.”

There, Rune turned to his team members, his eyes gleaming.

“That is another reason why I originally wanted to go alone. After all, there is no war without the materials to go to war. Before I headed out…”

“I had already sent troops to plunder every single one of his supply lines.”

————————

-[Mission: Possible], Instance Home Base-

“Are you f****** serious.”

As the final member of the high level instance team appeared in front of them, the players could hardly believe what they were seeing.

[Lux]

Level 10

“What the hell…isn’t this supposed to be a level 35 instance? Why the heck is a level 10 noob here?”

“Great…we are failing this for sure. Alright boys, try to stay alive long enough to time out, we don’t want any unnecessary casualties here.”

“F*** this sh** I’m out…”

“Anyone want to volunteer to team up with the noob? We will remember your brave sacrifice.”

The group went silent at the last comment, nobody wanting to team up with the newcomer.

“MasterShifu, can you please accept him into your team? You are the highest level here…” a member eventually said, looking at the strong-looking swordsman standing in the middle of his crowd of followers.

“Hell no. Why the hell would I want to take care of a noob that will only drag my team down?” MasterShifu replied, sounding extremely annoyed.

His gang of followers agreed in unison.

“Erm…I think we should accept him…Sir MasterShifu…” a quiet voice suggested from within his gang.

The group turned to look at the speaker, the only girl in the instance and one of MasterShifu’s team members.

The girl, a beauty with big golden eyes framed by luxurious eyelashes, and pure white hair so silky and smooth that it made her look like an angel that had just descended from the heavens, looked at MasterShifu shyly, before blushing and looking down at the ground, embarrassed of her sudden input.

“But my sweet dear Rina…” MasterShifu said, looking at her with an adoring expression on his face, “He will only drag us down. I can’t have him possibly ending up getting you hurt, my most beloved!”

He gave her a wink, and the rest of the group, including the followers, shivered in response.

“But he will die if he goes alone…” Rina said, gazing at MasterShifu, “…Let’s get out of the instance safely, all of us together…”

MasterShifu blushed, looking at Rina with completely love-struck eyes.

“Hmmm…If my darling Rina says so, the honorable MasterShifu shall comply! Toward victory, my boy!”

He swung his arm around Lux’s shoulder in a friendly gesture, pointing toward the distance.

Then, he pulled Lux closer, so that he could whisper the next lines to him.

“You better not make trouble for my team, especially for Rina.”

He gave Lux a death glare, warning him of the consequences otherwise.

“And if you do, I won’t hesitate to get rid of you.”

“…”

Lux stared right back at him silently, unfazed by his threats.

MasterShifu could feel a cold shiver run down his spine.

What the hell is with this guy…

He let go of Lux, laughing as if they merely had a nice chat over a campfire.

“Well, let’s get to it then! Looks like there are three syndicates to take care of. We can go in groups of five, since there are 15 of us.”

He then patted himself on the chest, confident.

“Me and my boys can take care of two of the syndicates. The rest of you go take care of the other one. If you guys manage to survive, come join us at the boss fight at the end…if you guys survive that is, hahaha!”

The group of ten that was assigned to the other syndicate looked unhappy with his comments, but remained silent out of fear of MasterShifu.

“No objections? Good, then off we go!”

MasterShifu began to lead his group away from the rest of them, beaming as if he had already claimed victory over the instance.

Soon, the group of five found themselves in front of a dark passageway.

“So this is the hideout for the first syndicate. Looks pretty cheap, they must not be rich like me, hahahahah!”

The group stayed silent, nobody wanting to tell MasterShifu that this was simply generated by the system.

“Alright, stay behind me everyone, I got everything under control-”

He stopped talking.

Right in front of their eyes, his health points bar dropped to zero.

He turned to look at the group one last time, reaching his hand out toward Rina, his eyes widened in shock.

“R-Rina…”

MasterShifu’s form burst into thousands of tiny crystals, fading away into nothingness.

System Prompt: Player [MasterShifu] has been defeated by Syndicate Member [NPC: Getaway Driver A].

A brief period of silence followed, as the members processed what had just happened.

“Did he just-”

“No, I don’t want to die yet! I’m done with this!!!”

“I only joined his group because he was famous, now that he’s gone, I’m out of here!”

But before any of them could escape, the group became surrounded by Syndicate members, who appeared out of the passageway after the Getaway Driver A.

“Is this the end?” one of them asked, as if acknowledging his fate.

Rina stood there silently, tears glistening in her eyes as she looked at the NPCs that surrounded them.

“Oh, lookie lookie, we have guests! Unwelcome guests that is.” the NPC known as [Janitor A] jeered, surveying the group in front of him.

“Ohhhh, how nice of them to come and visit! Though I must say…they seem to be missing one of their members?” NPC [Dealer A] added, laughing at the horrified expressions on the members’ face.

“Hey guys, one of them is still in noob gear! I say we get him first, what do you all think?”

The leader of the NPCs, NPC [Mafioso A], turned to look right at Lux as he said this.

“Ohhh, you are right! Hahaha, what’s a noob like him doing here anyway? Little boy got lost or something?”

“Hahahha, good one! Don’t kill him too fast though, it’s rare to see a weak one wander into here. Make sure to play around with him for as long as possible.”

The NPCs soon surrounded Lux, who looked at them with a blank expression.

“Oh, he’s done for, let’s take this chance and run for it-”

Swoosh.

Before they could finish their sentence, their mouths fell open at the sight in front of them.

All the NPCs were lying on the ground, completely lifeless.

And in the middle of the scene of destruction, stood the same man whom they called a “noob” earlier.

System Prompt: Player [Lux] has defeated Syndicate Member [NPC: Janitor A],

Syndicate Member [NPC: Dealer A],

Syndicate Member [NPC: Spy A],

Syndicate Member [NPC: Blackmailer A],

Syndicate Member [NPC: Getaway Driver A],

Syndicate Member [NPC: Mafioso A]…

The list continued on almost endlessly.

“…”

Lux withdrew his sword calmly, tilting his head at the group, curious as to why they looked so shocked.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“WHAT THE FLYING HECK!???”

Chapter Eleven- End.

—————————

A note from Hikaru Seishin (read for important update information):

Hey guys, it’s been a long time since I’ve spoken to you all, and a long time since I have updated my novels (sorry about that D: ). I apologize sincerely for the delay, but I would just like to say a few things about my fictions as well as my future plans for them.

To keep it short and sweet, here’s the basic idea:

1. I am going to be very busy this summer, so unfortunately, I won’t be updating as often as every single day. But whenever I have some free-time, I will be writing and updating. So keep an eye out for updates as the summer progresses!

2. As for which fictions will be updated, I will be focusing mostly on the following three: Dark Eden, Colosseum 72, and I Became Soldier A (short title). These were picked based on reader demand, and thus get priority over the others. Yet, I will be updating my other works there and there as well, so don’t get discouraged if your favorite work is not one of those three!

3. Specifically for Dark Eden, I have received a request to write a side story on Rune and Fiorae. I will be doing that eventually, though I would like to get more of the plot going before I add any side stories.

4. For Colosseum 72, I left off right before the introduction of the other main character of the story- Mikage’s main rival. Much apologies for that, but I will definitely be continuing, though I will be slower to update that (as a purely mystery and strategy-driven story, it is not as easy to write as some of my other fictions). I hope you all can understand, and I will see you soon in Colosseum 72!

5. For Soldier A, I am now ready to jump right back into the story with lots of anime and manga cliches, as well as criticisms from Main Character. It should be interesting and fun for me to write, and I hope that you guys will continue to support this fiction, along with the others, in the future!

That’s all there is for now…thank you for reading (if you are still here that is), and I will see you all next time!

Yours truly,

Hikaru Seishin,

May 20, 2016.