“Eden?” Lyndis questioned, “Why did you mention Eden? How is he involved in all of...this?!” he moved in and grabbed onto the coat of the mad man shaking him demanding an answer.

“Don't you know?” the mad man with his hands up not resisting replied with that and a confused look on his face. He honestly did not know why these people who tried to kill them didn't know why?

“No! Now tell-”

“Lyndis calm now!” Sain along with Shadow and Raven grabbed onto Lyndis and dragged her away from the mad man since she was close to wanting to kill him and thus making it very difficult for him to answer any questions.

With Lyndis restrained by Raven and Shadow and Miriel and Serena not really caring for what was done to the mad man, Sain said, “Will you answer our questions?”

The mad man seeing that Sain was still pointing his spear at him answered, “Fine. We have all the time in the world to. Well you freemen do but I don't. Make it quick before I die” he made a gesture of 'go ahead' to him.

Sain nodded and then asked, “What is your connection to Eden.”

“Eden?! Yes, I know that person. A dragon hybrid of some sort. Long ago...a century ago to be precise, don't give me that look, I come from a race that has double the life span of humans. It's normal for me to live for over a hundred years. Anyway a hundred years, give or take a decade, I was in service of a certain sage.”

“Please cut to the chase” Sain said while interested in learning some history of Eden nonetheless did not see the relevance to all of this to Eden. He poked his spear at him again while Miriel was gripping her whip to be used.

“Calm down lad...I'm getting to it. Anyway I and many other were in service to a certain sage that had acquired this wonderful crystal of pure mana. Yes, we took some years studying it until Eden, Alexandra and Viv came to take it back” he said remembering the events in his mind.

There was excitement, amusement and then...fear.

“Take it back? You mean it wasn't that Sage's?” Miriel asked.

“No” the mad man said bluntly, “He and four others stole it off Eden and they hunted those five down to get them back I later learnt. Anyway the thing that was stolen was a 'Mana Fragment', lots of things were unknown but the most prominent thing about it was it forcefully draws out the power of those affected by it. Lots of experiments later one some people captured to do so and Eden goes berserk destroying the tower where all the research was and all that were involved...expect for me.”

“Except for you? How are you different?” Shadow asked this time. He made sure to keep an eye on the mad man waiting for him to slip up so he can put a dagger in his ribs to end it. He was quite pissed to have to spent two days in

“Ah! I have no idea but in exchange for my minor life, I promised that I would do him something equal to my life being saved. Then several decades passed and nothing happened. I almost thought they had forgotten about me until they came to ask me something to do when I was in this lab hiding from the world. I and this lab was here before that city was built.”

“Long story short they wanted me to make a copy of something and gave me a branch of the original to work with. It took me decades to finish it and it was only done recently where I gave word to the Kingdom that I did...and then they sent men to steal and plunder my research, something I promised to those three on my life!”

The mad man had it dramatic in his choice of words. He was completely different from when he was toying with them. Perhaps...this was the real him or part of it when he was serious and not trying to kill and use them as experiments at least.

“Why would the Kingdom want you dead and steal your research?” Sain asked. He was wondering why he couldn't contact Eden right away in the first place.

“Simple! I am a dangerous man with dangerous research. Since they cannot use me any longer, they let me live since they would earn the wrath of Eden otherwise, they will kill and steal from me when I am dead and my job done. There are many factions in the Kingdom and those who forgot the grace and more to the point power of the Emperor crave for the throne itself! While the continent is unified, at the same time it became a game of thrones when the Emperor dies.”

The group frowned at this. If something or a group of people were planning on taking over, it meant that the Kingdom was in danger. But at the same time many people tried and failed to do so already.

“Weed can't permanently die and no one ever stole the throne” Lyndis said, “He's like us so how does killing him in this g-world matter?” she asked.

“His real body which is not stored on this world is a key weakness. Though none have succeed yet, with time, someone may do so from what I know. The mud known as nobles get more dirty more quickly when the plate is cleaner. Anyway I believe that you are part of Eden's guild?”

“Yes and you are....someone from the guild?”

“Someone that Eden originally wanted in his guild. When I accepted the job he offered his protection. I denied though later on I did try to accept the offer from before but Eden denied me that himself” he made a smug look of disappointment, “I believe it had to do with me staring intensely of the power of that 'mark' on his guild mates. Too dangerous for me to be near them. Anyway I want to know why you are here to kill me when Eden did not send you so.”

Sain and the others looked at each other.

“We got a guild quest from one of the survivors from those guards that told to kill you and destroy all research involved” Sain answered.

“Bah. Typical of nobles. When you cannot get, you destroy. Tell your guild about this later and he and anyone involved will be eliminated. Better for those scum to die. Right, now that you are here, I can entrust you with this.”

The mad man moved his staff and drew back the yellow and gold orb that was the size of a large egg and placed it in Sain's hands.

Obtained Copy of Yggdrasil's Core

He placed it in his inventory noting the name to be the tree of life in Norse myths. The mad man whose seems to be less mad now that they had spoken to him then pulled a lever which opened a space in the ceiling and a ladder fell down for them.

“Climb up and you will get out in around 5 minutes” he said, “I will at least make it easier for you to deal with those scum nobles. My life for the future of six young lads is a good deal.”

“Wait what are you doing?” Sain asked stopping the mad man from pulling the second lever.

“Destroying this place of course” he said, “Since you are on a guild quest to kill me, you must complete it else those nobles have an excuse to take everything from your guild. Unless you want Eden and the other two to wage a massive war over this I suggest you do as I say. Give the core to...what's her name...Alena I think....no give it to Viv since it will be safer that way.”

The mad man pulled the second lever and the whole lab started to shake.

“You have five minutes to escape” he said smiling at them, “Then this whole place will collapse.”

“Wait! Won't this core count as part of your research?!” Miriel asked quickly with the others nodding in agreement. The Guild quest did say to destroy all research involved.

To this the mad man grinned and said, “My dear girl, once completed that core was no longer mine by Eden's. And besides...the guild quest was most likely referring to my...other research. They used that excuse to try and get that. Now off you go.”

The mad man shooed them away to the ladder where they climbed for a further 5 minutes to get out.

At the bottom of the laboratory...the mad man said to himself in a quiet mutter no louder than a whisper over the sound of crashing, “Done. My life is repaid now Eden. My life for theirs'....I hope that my work is beneficial to you in the end...”

He looked up with fond eyes as the last of his laboratory crashed down killing him.

xXx

The group barely managed to climb out in time before they were trapped and killed as well. When the laboratory completely collapsed, they got the following message.

You have completed the Guild Quest: Search through the forgotten Labs

The dangerous lab where a mad man was experimenting in countless innocences over the years have been killed and the research destroyed forever.

Fame +100

Contribution to Kingdom +50

Level up x3

Collect reward from Lenny or administration for the quest.

The group gained a three levels due to this quest and plus the one level up they got during the quest itself, they gained a total of four levels thanks to this quest in two days. It was an extremely fast pace for this part of the game.

They say if you put your mind to it, you can gain the first 100 levels in a year. However after that you can at best gain 50 levels a year and to a certain point it drops again. But Sain didn't focus on that, more importantly thanks to the marks progressing to the firs stage at last, the bonus that they got from it increased.

A total of 30 points or 6 levels equivalent was gained thanks to this as well. As such Sain checked their status windows to see what they gained thanks to this. And skipping over the actually showing of the status windows, they have improved a bit.

He and Miriel had reached the level 120 point where they could equip whatever Alena was making for them though only the girls knew that designs they would be forced to wear. After that Shadow and Serena are both close to that point with a small 2-3 level difference to get there.

However both Raven and Lyndis had the biggest problem with their levels. They both needed 6 levels to reach level 120 as they were level 114 each. This large sum had to be completed in the next 5 days.

However for now, they would need to complete this guild quest though it left a bad taste for Sain since he directed his anger and hate at the wrong person...though it was justified seeing that, 'that' research, the one he and the others fought against was unrelated to what he was ultimately doing.

Sain sighed thinking about this as a voice asked, “Did you just come out there?”

Shocked Sain and the others turned to see...

“Viv?!” they all cried out at the same time with the exception of Raven who was on guard.

“Yes it's me. So you coming from there means that 'he' is dead right?” Viv asked with a frown looking at the filled up hole where the ladder was that got them out of there.

“Yes....” Sain replied not looking at him in the eyes. Though not knowing that relationship between him and that person, judging from how Viv reacted, his death was not exactly a good thing.

“What of 'that' research. Did he complete it and give it to you?” Viv asked again to Sain. He was waiting for Sain to give him something which he knew to be that 'Core'.

Going through his inventory, Sain took out the 'Core' that the mad man gave him at the end for no more reason but to give it to Viv...else Alena he supposed.

“So...he completed it in the end” Viv muttered looking at it and taking it off Sain's hands and placed it on his inventory saying, “Good job” to either them or the mad man, Sain did not know.

For a moment of silence where there was nothing going on, Sain asked “So...where now?” Sain paused to think about it, “That...man said that the Kingdom was coming for him and 'that'” referring to the 'Core' that he had just gave Viv.

Viv nodded to this and then said, “I see. Tell me a list of people that relate to those who are part of this scheme” to Sain.

Sain thought about it and could only think of one person, “That guard that gave us the Guild Quest, Lenny.”

“In that case, take me to the person who gave you the quest. Are there any others that survived?” Viv asked again though itching to get to Lenny to 'question' him.

Sain shook his head and Viv smiled. These kinds of things are better if less people know about it. Another few hours passed as Sain and the other best tried to explain what happened in the last two days to Viv.

“Interesting...” Viv would mutter once in a while listening in on the smaller details like how some of the monsters would act or how the other players were revived as almost perfect copies of themselves with some defects in speed, power and skill but not appearance.

When Sain asked if it was a good thing when the mad man died...

“It's a good thing since he knew himself that he was too dangerous for the world right now. We are on a turning point on whether everything will collapse or not. Understand that there are so many things to support but so little pillars to do so. The Kingdom Knights and Independent Guilds are only some of the few” Viv answered in all seriousness which caused Sain to feel a but shameful that he regretted the mad man's death even a little bit.

“Hmm...can people really accept death like that?” Lyndis asked. She was not comfortable that people doing that since it seemed close to suicide which is heavily frowned upon.

“Depends on how much you believe you have achieved. There are many men that have done a lot and yet think it was not enough and yet many more men who have done nothing to feel that they have achieved everything” he answered. The years of wisdom came out there when Viv said that.

“Isn't the latter just accepting fate as it is?” Shadow asked. He did not like the idea of having follow others for all his life.

If anything, he would prefer that he would be the one leading not the other way around...though the current circumstances were more than fine and Shadow was happy enough about that.

“Perhaps...that are some that whose lives can't end so easily due to many reasons. Take your body is destroyed and you exist as a spirit not of your own free will. Death would be preferable then. They who are trapped like that are the ones who are to be pitied...” Viv said in a sad tone, “Especially when there is no escape even in death.”

Miriel then asked, “Who are these people you are referring to? Do you know them?”

“I known them for a long time...” he muttered not wanting to answer anymore.

“....”

As the some hours passed and they reached the city, Sain and the others took Viv to the hospital in which the guard Lenny gave them the quest.

“Ah! You completed the task did you not?” Lenny said looking much better than two days ago.

Before he was in a state that it was not that unusual for him to die at any time. But now he looked well enough.

Stepping in front of the others, Sain addressed Lenny.

“Yes, the quest is complete.”

“Congratulations, now the Kingdom will be safer than ever” he said with a smile truly believing it, “With this, people can at least sleep a bit better.”

Seeing this smile, Sain was unnerved. Did he truly not know what he was about to do if he succeeded?

“Cut the crap for now guard Lenny” Viv said moving in front of Sain. Lenny could feel that Viv was a powerful person especially since he was a NPC, “Which lord do you serve?” Viv asked Lenny.

Pondering what Viv was talking about he said, “I serve Lord Deran why?”

“I see....” he muttered, “That means...there are another four lords with him on this....”

“Umm...Viv?”

There was a flash in Viv's eyes which Sain knew to be...he stepped a few steps back to avoid the blood at least. The others followed suit and Serena covered her eyes not wanting to see what would happen next.

“Dark Torment” Viv said finally which seemed to be an eternity to the group.

The floor under the bed Lenny was lying on had some dark mist climbing up and surrounded Lenny in an instant. The dark mist turned into hands like entities that poured into Lenny.

“Ahhhhhhhh!” Lenny let out a short scream before he died just like that.

“What's going on?!” several voice from close by shouted running here. Sain and the others could hear the footsteps in which meant they were coming in seconds.

Hearing this scream, several people, doctors, nurses and guards ran to see what was going on. Several patients that were same room as them ran out afraid for their lives as the same or more amount of people poured in.

“Dark Magic! Dark Magic!” one patient was very intent to scream out as much as possible.

“What...? Dark magic? Who?!” one person who was a guard ran in said seeing what was happening.

One of the patients, Lenny a fellow guard injured in duty was dead and the person who did it was...a young child?!

“What on earth is this?!”

The doctors and nurses and others were shocked to see that someone was killed just like that especially by someone looking like Viv.

“Halt and put down the staff!” one of the two guards that came in shouted noticing that the staff looked to be quite expensive...

“Halt and surrender else die!” the other of the guards shouted. They were both prepared though reluctant to a young child cut him down if it needed to be.

Viv turned and looked and without a smile...pointed his staff at them. Realising that they had to stop Viv from casting a spell, the guards charged at Viv while the group further backed away from him and the incoming battle.

“Attack!”

The guards took only two steps when Viv finally said, “Grow Root.”

BANG!

The world changed as Sain and the others blinked. In one second, Viv was about to be cut down by the guards and in the next...giant roots pierced and killed all if the guards while protecting Viv. The two guards were killed instantly without them knowing what happened.

Blood spattered all over the room as Viv silently and as if he had no emotions withdrew the roots of their bodies letting them fall onto the ground dead.

“Why did you kill them?!” Lyndis screamed at Viv. She did not like the fact that people were just...killed like that without reason or warning.

Viv turned to look at her and said, “They were attacking me. Self defence.”

“That still-” Sain shut her up and then said, “We have a bigger problem now. Two...no three guards are dead and the suspects...” he looked at everyone, “Are us.”

Seeing this, Viv turned to the group and said, “Come along, we're going to Alena first. I need to speak to her. Nothing is going to happen to us” he assured them though the appearance of Viv who now looked like a serial killer did not help their case.

“But-” Lyndis was about to say something again but Viv cut her off and said, “Until we get to Alena you all will not talk okay?” with a smile that said 'I will kill you if you continue'.

Lyndis and everyone else immediately shut their mouths not daring to make another noise. He tapped his staff and the roots around the room threatened to stab and kill them as well.

“Now let's go, I believe there are people wanting to met us.”

xXx

The guards heard the news quickly. It was easy when a group of people were saying 'murder murder in the hospital' and guards can easily jump down to the lower levels in this city easily. As such the commander that was ranked under the captain commander which was equal to a general in normal battles otherwise was alerted and he sortied the guards to this location.

“Looks like we have company already. As expected from this city” Viv said going out.

When they came out of the hospital they were surrounded by over 30 guards at once with 20 archers on the building and 10 mages prepared to bombard them with magic. It was quite a sum of reinforcement to be used against him.

The guards were equipped with light armour with ropes at the sides to use to quickly go down a layer in the city. There were ropes all over the place as they descended. The archers were the same though they wore black light armour that cut off at the shoulders. The mages however were the typical types with their robes and hoods and such.

Plus there were more coming as well.

“This is such a pain...” Viv muttered really considering to blow them all away. All it would take was to attack the mages and archers at the back first using his roots to defend and wipe out the guards at the front.

The extreme level difference between the two sides made it easy for Viv to do so. Plus as a standard these guards are only around the level 200 point. Some were a bit stronger at level 300 but it wasn't much of a difference to him.

However if he does than it would be a bigger pain to explain to a few important people of why he would kill them all, what happened for him to do so and rebuild the parts of the city he would blow up.

“Surrender now and we will not attack! This area will be lit up along with your body if you do! You have been warned!” one of the guards using some sort of sound amplifier spell.

The group was getting nervous of what was going to happen to them as well.

As such Viv took out the guild emblem.

It was pitch black meaning they were an S rank Independent Guild with a symbol of a dragon surrounding a sun at the centre and with stars all around it. It was the symbol of the oldest and strongest guild.

It represented himself, Eden and Alexandra all at the same time and their power.

“Unless you want to be our enemy, back off!” Viv shouted allowing the guards to see that he was part of 'that' Independent Guild.

“That's...” the guards at the front backed off a few steps before someone from behind forced them froward again.

“Steady your aim! Do NOT back off men! Don't you DARE back off!” someone shouted who was most likely the commander.

The archers and mages were now even more readied to shoot Viv down. Using the emblem only had the opposite effect.

“Stop! Hold your fire!” The commander from behind came forward. The other guards moved to give way for him.

He was a middle aged man wearing armour that was similar to what the other guards were wearing but it was thicker and one more layer and yet looked like it was lighter than the common armour around. It was most likely enchanted to boost the commander's ability as well.

Plus even without it, the commander looked extremely powerful as well. Around level 400 or 500 if Viv guessed right compared to the weaklings that he commanded. But even that was nothing before Viv...no it was as expected since he was hundreds of levels above him.

Upon seeing Viv, he apologised of what disrespect his guards had to him and asked what happened hoping it was an misunderstanding.

“Ah, I killed three of your guards in there” Viv said without lying.

“What?” the commander uttered in disbelief.

The commander stiffened up to these words and the other guards aimed their weapons at Viv again. To them it was a confession to a crime, an attack on them. Viv speaking to them like they were nothing was an insult on them.

“Kill this brat!” one guard shouted for the others to follow in to attack at once.

“Stop! Do NOT attack!” the commander had to shout again to stop his men from doing something extremely stupid. He and all the other commanders in the kingdom know not to face this particular guild if they wanted to live.

“I'm..sorry about that again. My men tend to be...hot headed at times though for very good reasons” he said.

Due to the commander being a lot taller than Viv, almost two heads taller in face, he was looking down on Viv. No, he was seriously looking down on Viv.

“Not problem” Viv didn't consider those guards much anyway.

“But why did you kill them? Why did you kill my men?!” he asked furious.

He had no intentions of going against 'that' guild but killing people indiscriminately was another whole thing that was wrong. To stand in front of the person who killed three of his men, one which only escaped recently from hell...it made him want to attack Viv.

“Two of them was due to self defence. I rather not have a blade go through me, especially when they are so slow to kill when it comes to me. The first...was due to a personal vendetta” Viv responded.

“Personal vendetta....?” the commander frowned. He placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.

“Of course, one of Lord Doran's men. I and my guild now have a personal grudge against him and those who associate with him after that child Lenny called him his master” Viv explained.

“Why? What has Lord Doran done to incur your wrath?” the commander asked.

“Simple. You know of the guards that were sent to clean out a certain place and only one came back?”

“Yes...they were to kill a kidnapper and mass murderer. It was right to get rid of such a man.”

“However the problem is not that whether he was a kidnapper or mass murderer, he had done nothing of the sorts of humans for decades, he sworn in front of the Emperor himself when he took that pledge. The problem was that he was researching something important to the Kingdom and Lord Doran tried to steal it, and when he failed to destroy it instead. I believe Lord Doran was one of those who can issue Guild Quests for others? A lowly guard like Lenny would not be able to and despite this he gave the quest to my Guild!”

“So what Lord Doran decided to get rid of that scum. The Emperor has done nothing for years now! His influence wanes and he still protects that scum! It would be an insult to the code we obey if such a man exists!” the commander shouted with his men nodding.

The crowd that has gathered back at the edge peered and listened in and seemed to agree as well.

“Like I said, the problem is that someone was trying to steal his research. Tell me, do you know what it involved?” Viv asked with a snort looking down on the commander not caring that 30 people were aiming their weapons and spell at him.

“No idea, something horrible I know.”

“Pfft” Viv started laughing. It was the first time the group seen him laugh like that.

“You are standing on it. Lily City, this city was part of his research. This whole city was his creation and yet someone dared tried to question his motives? You are scum that know nothing using your ignorance to cause trouble.”

“Take those words-”

“Or what?” Viv asked cutting off the words of the commander, “Kill me?”

“If it must be than yes” the commander replied. There were now over a hundred men under his control in the area as they gathered during the commotion. Viv looked around seeing this scene.

“Do you all really think...” A black aura started to surround his body as Viv talked, “This will be enough?! Me of all things?!”

A black light spread from Viv's body. The entire city and more was plunged into the night even though it was noon. Almost all light was prevented from coming in, this entire space was under his control now.

The sky was littered with stars even though it was not night and it was strange to see them at the edge as well. Yes, it was like they were trapped in a dome.

And his body was changing as well. His body looked partly different like there was something else mixed in as well. Some parts of his body, like part of his head and an eye and an arm lit up like flames though it was not flames but light, ghostly light like he was some sort of ghost.

The guards started to panic and the Commander quickly shouted, “Don't worry! This is all an illusion!”

'Illusion my ass, what kind of illusion can alter the sights of so many people at once?! Plus doesn't he feel that power coming from Viv's body?!' Miriel thought cursing the commander to be so idiotic even if it is to calm his men down.

And then another person entered the scene.

xXx

“Viv?!” a female voice was heard from a distance away and a person that they all recognised as Alena appeared.

She while not having her child with her naturally as this was a battlefield now, was dressed in a white and green dress with an apron on and an bandanna on her head tying her hair into a ponytail.

There were immediately whispers of her when she appeared. Comments such as the Kingdom was stepping in now or things are finally ending with her here were thrown around. She ignored them and made her way to the commotion glancing at the group and let out a small sigh seeing them frozen in fear of Viv.

“Why are you....” she looked at the current situation where Viv was about to attack and the guards were about to attack him as well, “Doing this here in the middle of the city. You know I prefer you all to take your issue outside the city where I can't see and can't care about.”

Her hand were on her hips staring at both sides but none of them seemed to have listened to her.

“Both sides, arms down” she said ordering them. When both sides decided to not follow her warning again she repeated, “Both sides, arms down else I will be forced to report that you all are intentionally fighting in the city using Kingdom resources!”

“Alena” Viv looked at her with a smile, “I haven't done anything yet.”

“Except forcefully controlling the space around this entire city, with this you can kill practically anyone in it in a matter of seconds. Plus you are in that half spirit form which I remember once caused an entire city to worship a strange deity to try and get rid of you! Viv...please don't make me. What did they do wrong to anger you?” she asked in a pleading tone.

“Nothing for any others” he looked at the guards, “To know. Guild Secrets” Viv answered.

“Guild Secrets my ass! Three of my men are dead, killed because of him!” The commander pointed in anger.

“....” Viv stared at the commander and said, “Meh, not worth it.”

He disengaged against the guards causing his body to go back to normal and the space turning back to day how it was suppose to be.

However the guards did not do the same. They were still very keen on attacking Viv.

“He's not a human so it's fine.”

“Yes, we will get a promotion and reward if we kill it.”

The guards started whispering on how to get rid of Viv for their own profit. At the same time, Viv moved some of his roots underneath the ground to the location of such people.

“Commander! Viv has let down his arms and so will you!” Alena ordered in a commanding voice.

The Commander shrug and said, “You have no power over me. All you bloody leaches called 'Kingdom Officials' or 'Managers' are pests to get rid of! I will get my justice whether this Kingdom follows me or not!”

“....”

Alena was dumbfound at his words. He was literally declaring that he was above the law and above the kingdom as well.

“Commander are you-”

“Oh shut it whore.”

“....”

There was silence as the commander not only cut Alena off but also insulted her.

Viv sighed and shook his head, “There you go..had to insult her.”

“Ho....a whore you say?” Alena's eyes could not be seen by Sain and the others but they expect it to be filled with extreme hatred right now. Around her body, a red aura appeared.

“Yes a common whore that leaches off the so called great captain commander of this city. You are nothing before-Ahhhhhh!” The commander let out a scream of pain his hand was crushed.

He had to insult her husband while he was off with many more competent people on a dangerous people with her sister.

Alena moved without anyone noticing and grabbed and twisted the arm of the commander including the armour to which he was wearing there as well. As Alena let go, the commander jumped back and the dented mark of Alena's fingers could be seen.

“Damn...you whore! Kill her!” he shouted.

That to the minds of many including the other guards was a mistake. However orders were orders and they moved to attack Alena.

“Bad mistake” Viv said unleashing hell onto the grounds.

BANG!

From the ground, the roots that he planted burst out grabbing and crushing the guards that tried to attack and those who wanted to finish him off as well for good measure. Within seconds the hundred or so forces were either killed or captured.

“Well now, what will you do Commander?” Alena asked walking slowly to the commander who was still grasping his hand in pain.

Not only had the commander insulted Alena personally, they made it so that they were about to murder an extremely important Kingdom official that managed Independent Guilds.

Anyone who touched them would be killed. Though the only question was by whom they will be killed by now.

“You have a lot of guts for a mere substitute for this city. There have been many like you before and many will come after you who act like a brat despite your responsibilities. Answer me this, how strong do you think I am?”

She cracked her knuckles and equipped some heavy gloves that were three times the size of her hands. In particular they looked quite mechanical and had a giant bolt screw at the back of each one.

The left was coloured blue and the right was coloured red. They looked heavily but Alena had zero problems using them.

“Now that you have tried to attack me. I have to fight back don't I? Else some people will question me. Don't worry. I will make it painful.”

“You bitch...” the commander muttered angered and drew his sword with his other unharmed hand to swing at her.

BANG!

But before he did, Alena moved up in front of him and smashed her fist into his armour and him causing a large crack to be heard, most like his spine being broken.

Being sent up a bit in the air by the punch along, Alena quickly moved in again with a style that was similar to how boxers moved and punched again.

BANG!

The armour broke into pieces and there were two large punch marks on the chest of the commander.

Barely conscious at any rate, Alena then said to him, “Just for you to know. I was holding back and thank God my husband, sister and more to the point my parents won't ever know about this. If they did, you would have to suffer something worst than death.”

“....”

The commander fell unconscious as some other guards not associated with him grabbed him and dragged him away.

With that, Alena turned to the group and said, “Now then, I believe we have a lot to talk about.”

xXx

Back at the 'Independent Guild Administration Centre' which doubled as Alena's home, the group explained what exactly happened in the laboratory where they and many many other players were forced to be toyed with and go through.

“I see...so that's what happened...I wondered why a guard like Lenny could give a Guild Quest. Usually they have to go through the administration first which make sure every detail is to the letter” Alena said with a sigh, “I did not expect that the nobles are starting to interfere with this system.”

“Isn't that bad though?” Miriel asked, “I thought nobles weren't suppose to interfere.”

“And then haven't...until now that is” Alena answered, “I suppose it had to do with the recent years where the Emperor hasn't done anything major.”

“Why would that matter?” asked Shadow.

“Because for one, this generation of nobles, the natives at least only heard stories about Weed and such. Without him actually doing things, their loyalty depends on themselves and how they were raised. Nobles will eventually be corrupt sooner or later” answered Viv.

“I see...then why doesn't Weed do something about it? His fame in the game is it is more likely to lose your memories of everything than to not know about him” Sain asked Viv.

“That is because Weed generally splits things into two stages. The first is him training and gaining gold. The second is him actually managing the Kingdom, most of it is self run but at the same time he pumps lots of gold improving it only to reap the benefits by taxes. The funny thing is that even though he tried many times to raise the taxes to the maximum, he was forced to lower it via expectations an longer term benefits.”

Viv let out a chuckle thinking about it. Alena also joined in though the group was somewhat in disbelief that the Emperor known for setting low taxes and lots of benefits to the lower class would try to do that...and fail.

“Anyway the main thing is that certain nobles are getting ahead of themselves recently. Can you deal with it Viv?” Alena asked to him though it was more directed to the guild in general.

“Don't worry about it” Viv said, “I'll get Anna to get rid of them and Park to clean the rest up as a training exercise.”

“With done with, let's go to the second thing we need to talk about.”

Viv proceeded to look at Sain's right hand and said, “You took it off didn't you.”

Flashes of the memory in the laboratory of the pain when taking it off and gaining these strange powers went through Sain's mind.

“Yes...” he uttered feeling some shame like he was a child caught doing something wrong.

“We can't change what happened any more than we can change every last detail in history...though there are very few exceptions to this” Viv sighed, “However what we can do is know what to expect in the future. Listen carefully, as this is important. When you took off the gloves, the marks expanded and progressed correct?”

“Yeah it said something about going to the first stage, each of ours were different though. My one was flames while Sain's was similar to snakes” Lyndis answered.

“That first stage is the true starting point...for better or worse. There are three stages in total, each one more dangerous to use than the next” Viv said.

“Worse...worse than personalities being altered?” Sain asked. He would rather not have something worse than that happening.

“Correct. The effects vary but it is highly possible to lose a use of one of your senses. This effect is temporary for the second stage, if some of you remember Ron going into Hydra form, that is the second stage. The third stage goes beyond that and the effects are permanent.”

“So...what effects does the first stage have?” Miriel asked in the end.

“From what I know, that power you used back then was the first stage. Eden nicknamed it as 'Boost' as it literally boosts your powers. The second stage is called 'Awakening' which is a long way away from you right now. The third and final stage is called 'Mankai' or 'Bloom'.”

“Why is it called 'Bloom'?”

“Because like a flower you blossom and then...wilt away after the power fades away” Viv said sadly, “Your masters used that only a few times altogether. Because of that, they lose several things whether it is emotions or memories.”

Shadow then asked, “So...how do we use this 'Boost' power? It was enough for us to defeat monsters that are double our level. It would be useful to use.”

Viv sighed and then answered, “I don't recommend using it often or at all. But if you wish to use it or have to, you should be able to. If you cannot it means that the power is not stable yet. Eden and I estimated it would appear soon enough when you reach at least level 150.”

That was a fair point away. It would take them a few months to get to that point, but with dungeon hunting all the time...that point would come in around 4 months at best.

But at the same time, But at the same time school was starting in two months in game time. That would inevitably cause the time for them to play to decrease by quite a bit. However as long as the continue to play, they would get stronger bit by bit.

“Is there anything about the marks we have you can explain? I mean, how come our master's own marks aren't like...this” Sain looked at his right hand though covered by the glove, he could feel that something had become bigger than before.

The others also did the same. They all felt the same thing ever since they took it off at the laboratory.

Viv nodded and then proceeded to say, “That is because they have trained for years to control and contain it. The gloves on them are only there for safety. Do no take them off for a while else it might kill you or worse.”

“I see, anything else on the powers we developed thanks to this?” Miriel asked with Lyndis nodding in agreement on the topic. For some reason they were usually on the same note on these kinds of things.

“Each 'Mark' is different. It's powers depends on you as well though we can sort of guess what kinds of powers you may get. So far everyone's except for Miriel's one was guess correctly.”

“Why was my one different from what you expected? Is it possible that it changed at some point?” Miriel decided to ask since she was the different one this time.

“We guess that your one was to be similar to Sain's but it ended up similar to Lyndis' instead and not these things can't be changed so easily” Viv answered.

“I see...” Miriel was in deep thoughts on why this was. She was compared to Lyndis instead of Sain so she wanted to know why that was. On the other hand the others knew why Miriel was similar to Lyndis.

They were practically the same else one aspect of them. Their personalities that they had developed over the years.

“Anyway that should be enough for now. All of know is off hand from Eden and you can ask him when he's done with whatever he's dealing with later. Now, I have some business at the lowest layer of this city” he said getting up and exiting the building leaving the group with Alena and her child.

xXx

Another 5 days passed with the group doing dungeon runs every day in order to get Lyndis and Raven's levels to 120.

Another thing to note was that as Lyndis and Raven levelled up 6 times due to this, the others levelled up as well. Sain and Miriel only gained 4 levels during this time while Shadow and Serena gained 5 since they were leaving the last kills mostly for the two to get.

As such Sain was now level 124, Miriel at level 126, Shadow at level 123 and Serena at level 122 with Raven and Lyndis at level 120.

In a nutshell they did at the very end to which they spent another more hours than they usually would in the dungeon eventually slaying the boss there. It was an oversized Imp that was as large as a person instead of the usual tiny and weak counterparts.

And because of this, they came back to the city late at night almost running back as they rather not deal with some things in the night though Miriel was slightly less so since her stats were boosted by a bit due to her race.

“Damn we're late! Alena is waiting for us to appear!” Lyndis started complaining though it was less so of making Alena wait for them but rather they were about to get new equipment of her design and making.

Another thing to know was that now that Raven was level 120, he had equipped his new shield and spear that he brought all those months ago. He had a go at the weak imps while they were going out of the dungeon.

“Don't complain so much, it was for you and Raven that we had to stay longer than we should have” Shadow retorted not liking that they were faced with more enemies than usual taking down the boss monster.

“It was still good training nevertheless” Sain pointed out.

“Yes but I thought we were behind straining ourselves to kill one more monster as once commanded by a certain person I remember. That reminds me, Sain you haven't been...acting up lately have you even in a dungeon” Shadow asked.

“Yes...” Sain was thinking about that as well, “I'm half sure on what was the cause but now is not the time. Shadow can you carry Serena, she's almost out of breath.”

Sain and Shadow looked behind them. Raven, Serena and Miriel were back there. While Raven was wearing heavy armour, he looked as find as Miriel who was only wearing a robe that was near weightless.

However Serena at the same time and her shorter figure was have trouble keeping up with the others.

“....Fine” Shadow finally said after thinking about it. It would not be the first time he would had to carry her on his back.

However, “I kindly refuse!” Serena said rapidly not stuttering at all. This somewhat shocked the others but in the end even after a few suggestions on why she should, they left her to run on her own.

An hour later, they came to the city and went up several layers to where the Independent Guild Administration Centre was.

“Is it done?!” Lyndis said immediately barging in excited and not caring for her rude attitude.

However Alena was not angry at her and simply smiled and said, “Yes, it is done. All six sets of them each customised for each of you. Now I have prepared a dressing room for each of you. Take your time putting it on and ask if you need help putting it on” she warned before Lyndis grabbed her one and rushing into the dressing room.

Miriel and Serena followed suit quickly as well leaving the boys with Alena. Sain bowed slightly and said, “Thank you for doing this for us.”

“Don't worry about it. It was quite fun to discuss with the girls on what you three will wear.”

“....”

Suddenly the three realised that their fate was in the hands of the girls. They hoped that their clothes covered more than it revealed...

xXx

Some minutes passed and all of them eventually came out in their new equipment and looks. Outfits were quite unusual since they took up all of the armour slots at once. By adding or taking from the outfit, the effects of it change as well.

As such it was possible to further improve an outfit.

From the start, since Lyndis was the first to rush in to wear, she was the first to come out.

Her outfit consisted of one shoulder plate with two layers. Two arm gauntlets double layered. Chest piece that extends down just above to stomach. Leg armour that reaches to to knees. Underneath is a one piece dress that goes halfway to her tights. The armour is white and red and colour and is called the Holy Flame Armour.

From viewing the stats from the equipment, it came out like this.

Holy Flame Armour Outfit Durability: 80/80 Defence: 35

Armour that was made to fit a person who is both a swordsman and a fire user. This armour was modelled after and was based off the Holy Flame that purifies and destroys evil. The armour is of medium weight and includes a second layer underneath as well which is dress with flame resistance cloth.

Restrictions:

- Level 120

- Melee and Fire User class

Options:

- Fire Resistance +5%

- Agility +10

- Charm +15

“This is wonderful!” Lyndis cried out hugging Alena in happiness.

The armour she now wore fit exactly as she imagined it to be. She could move her limbs and body better than before and plus and the most important thing was that she looked good in it.

Plus the durability was much higher as well as the defence and she got better stat boosts as well.

Next, Shadow was the next person to get out in his outfit. With a scarf that was unable to cover his scorn he complained, “It feels like I'm wearing nothing at all.”

Lyndis grinned and drooled a bit looking at Shadow which made him back away some more from her. He did not want to be attacked by her at any rate.

The outfit that Shadow got was one that suited him the most...though he did not like to admit it. It was a super light armour with little to no defence. It is near skin tight and is basically normal tight clothing but has pads on the knees and some basic gauntlets on the arms that are thin. There is also a scarf to cover his face when he needs to and is transparent at day and dark at night.

The outfit had this status window.

Super Light Assassin Outfit Durability: 30/30 Defence: 3

Extremely light and tight clothing that was made to ensure that the wearer would be completely unrestricted in moving around. However due to the thinness of the outfit, the defence and durability of it decreased a lot. Along with the scarf used to hide one's identity, the outfit is perfect to use at night where enemies have a hard time tracking you down.

Restrictions:

- Level 120

- Thief related class

Options:

- Able to blend into the dark better

- Stealth Skill +20% in Dark

- Dagger skills +30% damage

“Lyndis if you keep on staring I will stab you in the back” Shadow finally threatened when Lyndis almost went up to him to completely check out his body.

He held his dagger and short sword at hand which had slots on his new armour at the back in a manner of self defence.

The next person to come out was Raven.

“Not bad~” Lyndis commentated while Shadow sighed at her.

“....”

Raven silent went up and stood next to the others not even caring of Lyndis nor Shadow's current appearance. Shadow had a feeling that his outfit was the most normal for some reason.

Like Lyndis, Raven now wore medium weight armour instead of full heavy from switching from full plate and half plate armour. Because of this parts like leg above the knee, stomach and arms are exposed. However he wears light leather armour there at the same time those his arms are exposed all the same. Shadow believed that this was done to increase his speed some more at least.

The armours he wore had the following status window.

Half Plate Guard Outfit Durability: 80/80 Defence: 40

An outfit that includes a chest piece that goes down but to the stomach, arm guards that do not extend completely to the shoulders, knee guards that do not extend to the thighs and metal boots that fully cover over the ankles. Includes leather armour underneath to provide some defence in the gaps.

Restrictions:

- Level 120

- Melee Class

Options:

- Vitality +15

- Impacts of light blows will be decreased exponentially

- Impacts of heavy blows will be decreased slightly

The stats that this armour had was only a bit better than Lyndis' due to the leather armour he had underneath instead of cloth armour. In exchange Raven's armour focused more on taking blows than anything else with light blows being less of an issue now than before.

The next person to come out was Serena.

“Wow...did not expect that” Shadow said looking at Serena wide eyed. It was hard not to notice...that.

“Yeah!” Lyndis said happily, “Now people won't target her as much” she was happy with the results.

“Umm...is this okay?” Serena asked timidly.

“Of course” Alena said naturally, “Who do you think designed that?”

Serena replaced her robe with a one piece which is similar to a skirt but instead acts as shorts instead. There is a leather chest piece that was stylised for her as well and unusually also wears a large piece of armour on her right arm now that looks like she had a claw there though it is only complete at the wrist to hand and bits at the arm and shoulder. Her boots also reach near her knees as well and there is a belt fashion on them along with her other clothing.

Her outfit had this status window.

Iron Claw Druid Outfit Durability: 40/40 Defence: 15

An outfit that designed for comfort for the user. It's light weights and easy fitting shorts and boots make it easy for the wearer to run around. The leather chest piece is there for extra defence and protection while the arm claw that extends from the right hand to the shoulder increases defence and attack at that area.

Restrictions:

- Level 120

- Druid Class

Options:

- Able to deflect blows and attack using the iron claw

- Agility +15

- Projectile Resistance +10

Next was Sain who was the second last person to come out.

“Quite plain.”

“Yes very plain.”

“I-It...suits you!”

Shadow, Lyndis and Serena in that order commented on how Sain looked. In fact his outfit did not change that much at all. Sain had a wry smile on his face as they commented like that. However there were slight differences everywhere that made it easier for him to go with.

For example, while wearing the leather armour, the gauntlets that he wore were now incorporated into that rest of the armour and there was extra metal guards that extended up beyond the elbows. This was the same for his legs and now he wore metal boots instead as well.

His outfit had the following status window.

Reinforced Leather Outfit Durability: 60/60 Defence: 30

A leather armour that is quite plain but was made to fit the person in question. At the arms, magical arm guards were incorporated into the outfit while adding extra defence along side the arms and legs as well. Metal boots were also added in as well to increase kicking power.

Restrictions:

- Level 120

Options:

- Spell Strength +15%

- Agility +10

- Kick damage +30

The Durability and defence increased a bit but the most important thing was the other boosts. Originally the 'Magical Arm Guards' had a 10% boost in spell strength but now it was improved to 15%. Furthermore, he had extra stats in agility and kick damage.

Finally it was Miriel who was the last to come out despite starting to change a bit after Lyndis.

She was wearing an one piece mini-skirt that reaches a bit above her knees that is black and purple in colour. Boots and clothing on wrists match in style. She also wears another layer of cloth on her chest area that is white. Another thing is she is wearing a two pointed witch hat as well.

“How do I look?” she asked the others coming out.

“Great!” Lyndis gave a thumbs up immediately. Raven nodded as well and Shadow and Serena made their own comments on her as well.

“....”

However Sain was there silent stunned looking at her.

“Sain?” Miriel asked going over to him wondering what was going on, “Hello?” she waved her hand in front of him which caused him to snap out of it.

“You look pretty” he said pretty much without intending it to slip out.

“Ah....thanks you look good yourself” Miriel started blushing and turned away with a slight grin on her face.

If one looks at her outfit's status window it would look like this.

Stylish Magician Outfit Durability: 40/40 Defence: 5

An magician outfit that was made with style. Every piece of his outfit was designed to match in style from top to bottom and yet not neglect the protection of the wearer as a fashion statement. This outfit made for a female magician also improves her abilities as well.

Restrictions:

- Level 120

- Magician Class

Options:

- Intelligence +10

- Charm +10

- Casting speed +25%

With this all of them had new outfits that cut back on certain equipment slots and were more powerful than ever. Sain estimated their abilities and strength in battle increased by around 30% due to these new equipment alone.

“Well then” he said smiling, “What should we do first?” he asked the others.

“You can first help me on some small tasks” Alena interrupted, “Due to the recent commotion your standing among this city dropped quite a bit. This will help restore it and gain trust and reputation.”

For the next 2 months, they were used by Alena and the rest of the city as forced labour for all sorts of things.

Author's Notes:

- Word Count: 10000~

- The final bit of this chapter arc. I spent a bit more time than I should designing the new equipment that the group would wear. I based some of them off the equipment shown at the end of the volumes of OSO. It was quite interesting to use those images as a reference at least.

- Now I'm going to take a break. I don't write well in the heat...my brain shuts down most of the time when I do.