Rebirth Online - Chapter 14：Assembling The Knights

11th login – Assembling The Knights

In the FFAID Corporation building, Ryuuji is training once again. You can see now that his body is not thin anymore. Although it’s not bulky, there’s muscle throughout his whole body. His movements are also agile.

“It’s amazing to see how he progress Dr. Hans.”

“Ooh, Mr. Aaron. It is indeed. He should be able to proceed to 7% but he’s only using 3% right now…”

“That’s still a good number considering the variable on the body and brain calibration. So, how about his body condition?”

“His muscle is developing firmly all around his body. Rather than focusing on excessive strength, his speed is magnificent. It should be able to hold out.”

“Splendid. So, can we start to test him inside the game? I want to see him on at least 5% or 6%.”

“I think there’s no problem with that. After all we have the perfect lab in there.”

“Yeah. Although I can feel that Mr. Rainer starts doing something behind my back.”

“My my… I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Never mind.”

Mr. Aaron then leaves the room with some hidden thoughts in his mind.

Quite a sly fox aren’t you Dr. Hans?

Meanwhile Ryuuji who’s been training all the time can feel something different.

My body is moving just like the way I want it. I think I still can move faster. Yes, I can still get stronger. I think my body can move well like in the game. But, my overdrive state, I think I should hide it from them. I won’t show all of it… after all I still don’t believe them.

*****

On the school break time, Kongou comes to visit Hikaru at his class. He is coming at him in such a hurry.

“Hikaruuuu… have you heard about the rumor?”

“What is it Kongou?”

“This month monthly event looks like to be a prologue for the upcoming update.”

“Which update are you talking about?”

“The far east continent. You already know that Rebirth Online will have an expansion update. So, to rile up the players attention, the winner of this month event will get a privilege of early access to the far east continent?”

“Whoa… is that true? An early access means that we’re able to hunt the monsters down freely. But, isn’t it bad that it will only be granted for one player?”

“No, it’s not like that. The winner will be rewarded a ship that can be used to travel to Far East continent freely from any dock. Although the further the distance, the longer it takes to arrive.”

“Wow. A ship? Taking the circumstances of monthly event reward of unique item, the ship should be special right?”

“Yeah. It’s called Neptune’s tears. The ship can travel twice as fast as regular ship and can carry up to twenty players.”

“So, what’s so amazing about that?”

“Do you know how much a ship cost?”

“I don’t know.”

“A regular fisherman boat that can carry two people maximum cost 5.000 gold. So, this ship could cost about 250.000 considering the amount of players that it can carry. If you take the double speed into account, it should be around 500.000 gold. The most special thing is a boat that a player can buy is it can only have 10 players maximum. With the early access to far east continent it can be sold for 1.000.000 gold.”

“whhhaaaatt?? One million gold??”

“That’s true; the rumor has spread in the Rebirth Online forum boards. Although the monthly event quest hasn’t been announced but the prize has gathered a lot of crowds.”

“So, we’re going to participate right?”

“Hah? Are you serious? Don’t you hear what I’ve just tell you? There’s going to be a lot of players gathered because of the rewards. Our chances are slim.”

“I don’t really thinking about winning… I just want to see how stronger I get… Hehehe…”

“I guess if that’s what you want, there’s no harm in going.”

“Yosh… it’s been decided. We’re going to compete.”

*****

In the kitchen of blue rose guild, Sakuya now have gotten used to it. She is now preparing a meal even though nobody is there. Just when she is cooking, a girl voice can be heard inside his head.

“Sakuya, I’ve got some reliable information this time.”

“Snow… what is it?”

“This month monthly event will grant the winner a privilege of early access to far east continent. The winner will be rewarded a ship to travel freely in the sea. I’ve also found Kuro’s location. He’s on a small island near the Eden fall. If you don’t want to wait until the Far East continent released, the only way to travel there is using the Neptune’s tears, the ship rewarded for this month event.”

“So, that means I have to win this month event isn’t it?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“I guess I don’t really have another choice don’t I? Don’t worry. I’ll participate and I’ll definitely win.”

“Okay then. I’ll try to look for more information.”

“Thank you snow for always helping me.”

“No problem.”

After that, Sakuya continues her cooking. She doesn’t seem to be sad this time.

Don’t worry master. I’ll see you soon…

*****

In a certain guild hall, a woman in yellow outfit is smirking.

Heh, something is different…

Since that day he left me, I can feel this surge of power inside me…

Is this the same power like that man?

The woman then takes out the Encarta and start to cast a spell. A few seconds later a skeleton rise from the ground.

Yeah, it’s definitely the same.

Does it mean that I was given power by the system to continue what I’ve been doing all this time and turn it up a notch? Hehehe… that must be it…

The woman then puts one of her hand on his head because she feels a little bit of pain.

Ugh… it hurt’s a little bit but I can handle it…

Just wait… hahahahahahaha….

*****

Today is the first day for Ryuuji to log in to the game world. For the last two weeks, he’s been training his body all the time.

Finally…I can log in to Rebirth Online…

“Ryuuji, you must remember that you can’t make any interaction to other players. Especially Sakuya.”

“Yeah, I understand. My interaction with Sakuya will only fasten Mr. Rainer plan.”

“That’s right. Then, I’ll see you inside the game.”

“Okay Mr. Aaron.”

Ryuuji then wear the Syder that have been prepared for him. He’s not lying down but he’s sitting at a chair. All over the chair, there are sensors that can be seen. Some people that looked like a lab assistant help to set up some cables that will be connected to him. Ryuuji is now sitting in the chair with cables connected to him and sensors monitoring all over his body. He then closes his eyes and enters the game world.

When he log in, he’s at lakeside village. The place where the battle with the wyvern takes place. He has a flashback and remembers the entire scene from that day. His sadness and anger, all come back to him. Just when he’s lost in his thoughts, someone is calling out for him.

“Ryuuji… are you ready?”

“Yes, but I prefer you address me as Kuro inside the game Mr. Aaron.”

“Okay then, please walk towards the dock.”

“Roger that. By the way I’m surprised to see that you have a character in this game.”

“Of course I have. After all, me, Mr. Rainer, and Mr. Sakaki from the corporation each have a game master authority.”

“I see. So, what to do now?”

Just when he arrived at the dock, a black ship is coming at him. The ship has black sail, black hull, and it’s just plain black in all over the ship body. In the front of the ship, a carving of a dolphin present. The ship then docked in front of Kuro.

“Come on, aboard the ship.”

Kuro is following Aaron instruction. He gets on to the ship from the side. When he gets on, he is examining the ship. There’s nobody onboard except for him. No, it shouldn’t be right. There should be someone that’s driving the ship. He looks to the wheel and he can see someone familiar. It’s Genki.

“What are you doing here Genki?”

“Nothing much. I’m just told to pick you up and escort you to the facility.”

“So, you’re only doing this because you were ordered to right?”

“Not really. I could decline the task when it was given to me. I’m doing this because I want to. Becoming the captain of the nautilus is fun.”

“So, this ship is called nautilus? More importantly, where are we going?”

“I’ve told you before; we’re going to the facility.”

“I never heard of such a place in Rebirth Online.”

“Don’t worry. It will be weird if you ever heard about it before. By the way the journey will take around an hour. You can do anything you want in the mean time.”

“Okay.”

Kuro then opened his party windows. In there he can see Sakuya condition. It seemed like she was in black factory city. She seemed to be doing fine. Kuro wants to tell her that he’s alright but he was told not to do that. After all, he also understands that his interaction with Sakuya will increase the possibilities for Sakuya to be a perfect AI.

So, he decided to do some training on the deck. He starts to copy his martial arts training that were taught by Rob. He’s probably doing that to see the results of the training. He is moving a whole lot better and faster. That will be enough to please Mr. Aaron later when he sees Kuro’s movement. But, Kuro realized something.

I haven’t unleashed my full potential. I should do that when I have a time alone.

After that practice session, Kuro notice that the ship is heading in an unexpected direction. The ship is heading to the south east. They slowly encountering with some small islands on their way.

Out of the areas that exist in Rebirth Online, only 30% is frequently used by players. 30% is rarely used, and 40% is not yet explored. Kuro himself managed to explore for about 80% of the whole continent. But for now, they’re heading to somewhere new.

“Hey, Genki. Where are we? I’ve never seen this place before.”

“We’re going to the far east continent?”

“Far east continent? Isn’t that area haven’t been released? So, it shouldn’t existed yet right?”

“It’s going to be released soon. The Rebirth Online world that you know right now is only 10% of its true size. There are a whole lot of unexplored lands but players can’t get access to those areas yet. Even me as a GM I’ve only covered about 30% of its total. So, even if it’s not yet released, the area is existing.”

“I see. This world is much bigger than what I thought.”

“Don’t fret about the small details. Just prepare yourself for the upcoming test.”

“You’re right.”

After an hour on the sea, the ship finally landed at a shore. It was a tropical island. Kuro gets off from the ship and he didn’t see anything special about the place.

“Come here, follow me.”

Kuro then follows Genki into the jungle. The surrounding area seemed like a regular forest, and there’s no sign of any civilization. Until they arrived at a really modern looking door. It appearance looked like a regular metal door but it have a really high technology implemented. Genki then making a gesture in the air and the door split open.

They enter through the door but there’s nothing. It’s only a 1x1meter space but seeing Genki comes in, Kuro is just following him. The door then closed and Kuro can feel that the room is moving. That room turns out to be an elevator. Soon they are moving downwards and the outer wall becomes a clear glass which can be see trough.

Kuro then surprised to see the facilities that he’s in. There are a lot of people working and they seemed to be busy. The lift then finally arrives at the lowest floor. The safety door opened and they were greeted by Aaron.

“You’re finally here.”

“Yeah. I’m surprised to see this facility. I never think that such a place is exist.”

“Do you honestly think that we monitor the game from the real world only? We’re making a base here to monitor the game system from inside the game too.”

“I see.”

“Enough with the small talk. Let’s head to the hall first. Genki, you may take your leave now.”

“Understood.”

Genki then leaves Kuro and work with the other people. After that, Kuro and Aaron walk to a training hall within the facilities. They arrived and there are familiar researchers inside, but Kuro can’t find Dr. Hans.

“It is strange, all of you are here but I can’t see Dr. Hans.”

“Ooh, although he’s the one that created the Syder, strangely enough he doesn’t want to use it.”

“That’s weird.”

“Yeah. Anyway, are you prepared for this?”

“Yes sir.”

“Let me warn you. What we’re going to do is for you to maintain your overdrive state. For that reason, we’re going to increase your sensitivity to 100% from a regular player that’s only receiving 10%; do you understand what does it mean?”

“Hmm… my senses will work better right?”

“That’s true, but it seems like you missed the most important point.”

“What’s that?”

Before Aaron gives him the answer, he takes a deep breath.

“Let me tell you the truth. The increase in your receptor means stronger signal will be sent to your brain. You can taste the food in the game better, you can smell better, feel better, but the worst part is about the pain. Do you understand?”

“Is that mean that if I get hurt in the game it will really hurt just like in the real world.”

“That’s the gist of it. But the worst part, if you died in the game you may really died in the real world.”

“Whoa, are you serious?”

“Yes I am. Even if you’re hurt a little bit in the game, your real body will be hurt even though there’s no scar or damage. So, taking into the worst case scenario where you die, the signal that is sent to your brain may be too strong until your brain think that your real body is already dead. So, do you still want to do it? If you’re willing to proceed, we’re also will try our best to prevent anything bad from happening to you.”

“I don’t really have another choice am I? I’ve gone this far so it’s too late to go back.”

“Okay then. Let’s hope for the best.”

After that, Aaron moves from the center of the training hall to the side. There’s a special room for monitoring what happened.

“Are you ready?”

Kuro then gives a thumb up to Aaron. A few seconds later, a monster is summoned in front of him. It was an easy task. It’s only a level 3 jumping rabbit. After he defeats it, another monster appears. It’s a level 12 triffle armadillo. Then after he defeats the monster, a stronger one is summoned. Level 15 goblin warrior, level 20 Degaru crab, level 24 killer mantis, level 30 earth golem, level 33 water spirit, level 40 salamander, level 45 gryphon, level 50 blue centaur, level 57 skeleton mage, level 62 black dragon, level 70 death knight, level 76 naught’s leader, level 80 holy marauder, level 83 Cerberus, level 90 efreet.

One by one of the monster summoned, Kuro managed to kill them quickly. Kuro battle style is something else. Different than regular players that attack the monster head on, Kuro aim for their vital spot. Landing damage on a monster vital spot grants them critical damage. To see that Kuro can easily find each monster vital spot and land an attack there is amazing.

He is killing them efficiently. Most of them disappear into glowing dust, just after one attack. After he defeat efreet, the summon stopped.

“It’s amazing to see how you easily defeat them.”

“That’s not something to brag about. So, what’s the meaning of this?”

“We’re just testing your battle power. From now on, the real research will be conducted. Are you ready?”

“Whenever you’re ready.”

After Kuro said that, a monster that he never seen before appears. It looked like a dragon but it’s different from any other dragon that stands using four feet, it’s only using two of them. The other two looked like has been changed into arms. One is holding a sword and the other one is holding a shield. It’s a human-like dragon. When it’s summon is finished, it opened its eyes and it was colored red. His scales are now shining in red too. What Kuro thinks to be the scale is actually armor. The armor is blazing red and looked so strong. Kuro finally see the name on top of its head and the name of the monster is level 102 blood dragon.

Are you serious?

Aaron tell him before that he will try his best to prevent Kuro from dying yet what he send forth is a powerful monster above level 100. Furthermore it’s a monster that Kuro knows nothing about.

The blood dragon then leaps to Kuro and swinging his sword. It is so agile and makes Kuro shocked. Kuro managed to dodge the swing but the blood dragon’s attack continues. It slashing the sword again and this time Kuro nearly miss to dodge it. The tip of the sword managed to graze Kuro’s arm.

“Uuaaarrrgghhh….”

Kuro is now screaming in pain. The wound on his arm is not that bad but it stings and hurt so much.

It’s bad… I never think that it will hurt’s so much… what’s wrong with this monster? It’s too strong… Tch… I should never believe Aaron in the first place… this battle is going to be bad…

At that time, Kuro have realized that what Aaron say is true. If he died in the game in his condition right now, the chance of him to die in the real world is almost 100%.

Just when he thinks, the blood dragon attack comes once more. This time, fire comes out from his mouth which is unexpected by Kuro.

Ugh… this is going to be bad…

Kuro then tries to cross the katar in front of his body to block the fire but it’s pointless. Kuro’s body is engulfed in fire and can’t be seen anymore. His body is completely hidden from sight within the raging fire.

When Aaron sees that, he falls to his knees and looked depressed.

“Just what he’s doing… He can’t possibly die right?”

He looked to right and left looking at the other researcher expression but none of them gives him a reply. The room is then filled with complete silence.

*****

The day passed quickly and the blue rose guild member is now gathered. Among them Sakuya and Akari is the only two that belongs to other guild. They are gathered on a round table and seemed to be having an important talk.

“So, what you’re saying is Kuro’s now located on the Far East continent right?”

“Yes, Akari. That’s why to get there quickly we need to win this month event.”

“I get it. I’ll also ask Nagareboshi members to participate.”

“Thank you Akari. You’re help is so assuring.”

Akari promised her guild Nagareboshi to help out is really a big insurance. After all, Nagareboshi is one of the largest guilds in Rebirth Online. With 12.000 members registered right now and keeps on growing.

“So, do you have any idea of the quest this month?”

Roberto the one who’s seriously making a fool of himself, at such times is becoming a different person and can be so dependable.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t know. The information of important event is not published to the database. Therefore at this point, we know nothing.”

“Don’t worry about it Sakuya. No matter what the event is, we’re going to win.”

The one that’s full of confident in saying that is Hikaru. He’s making a victory pose without thinking.

“Heh. There will be a lot of strong player out there. Are you stupid? But, it’s right. We’ll definitely win.”

The one who said that is Leona. Her new appearance is so alluring and charming. Just by her saying that, giving a boost of confidence to the guilds.

“Yosh, let’s gather tomorrow at Harbor Bay then.”

“Alright.”

The guild member replies together. Although the event hasn’t been announced, but the quest time and place has been released. It’s going to take place tomorrow at harbor bay at 10.am. The party then logs out one by one and takes a rest for the upcoming events.

In the morning, all of them have gathered at the guild hall. They then head out together to the town portal. They selected their destination and commence the warp. It was the first time Hikaru, Leona, and Kongou visit the harbor bay.

As the name implies, it’s a city that’s near the sea and in a shape of a big harbor. A lot of ships is docking and busily comes and go. Harbor bay is famous of its sea transportation and have routes to almost all sea side city in Rebirth Online. They also have a leisure trip cruise that’s very famous. Because of that it’s one of merchant favorite’s places to open a shop. The local market is very famous of its sea products and imported goods that you can’t find elsewhere.

Today, because of the event, the city is flooded with players. Most of them come because they’re drawn in by the quest rewards. A ship with a value of approximately 1.000.000 gold. Around 80.000 players have gathered. This time, the players gathered seemed to be more prepared. They are ready for anything what may come. Because judging from the last update event of the wyvern which leaves some distrust from players towards the FFAID Corporation. Anything is possible to happen in the event.

When the time for the event to start is nearing, suddenly all the ship that were docking is set sail which attracts the audience. In the midst of that, one ship is drawing near. The ship is colored blue and crystal clear like an ice. In the front of the ship there’s a statue of a mermaid decorating it. Although the ship is not big, but the ice like surface reflecting the sun light and radiating a blue color to the surrounding. It’s such a beautiful scene like the aurora.

When it slowly going towards the dock, players can see someone is controlling the ship. It’s Genki. This time, he’s not in his Hawaiian shirt but dressed up like a pirate. He then takes out a microphone and start to greet the crowds.

“Hey ho. How’re you doing fellow sailor? Are you ready to sail?”

“Yeah.”

The crowd is replying instantly. They are excited. When they see the Neptune’s tears form, it is possible for it to exceed 1.000.000 gold. The design of the ship, the materials it made of, the double speed of the ship, the size of passenger, and more importantly early access to Far East continent. Nobody can resist the temptation to win.

“So, have you guys wondering what this month event will be?”

“Battle royal.””Boss battle.””Items gathering.””Hide and seek.””Dance contest.””Eating contest.” And all sort of idea comes out from the crowds.

“Well, that’s a pretty interesting idea but unfortunately this month event is much simpler. So, everybody have a chance of winning today.”

When the crowds hear that, they’re full of expectation. It’s definitely not some high rank quest but an easy one. They can’t wait until Genki announces so they’re demanding an explanation about the quest form him.

“Come on, tell us already.””Yeah, what’s the quest.”?”What is it?””Do I really have a chance in winning?”

Seeing that the crowd is in such a rush, Genki have no other choice but to tell them right now.

“Okay. Okay. Calm down a little guy. I’ll tell you now. This month event quest is a rock-paper-scissor contest.”

“Whoa!”

The crowd is surprised to hear that. It’s really is simple and it’s true that everybody have a chance of winning.

“Okay, the rules are simple. Firstly you can do it with anybody. You just need one win to continue to the next round. If a player wins, they will stay and have to continue the contest. If a player loses, they will be teleported outside of the city and can’t come back in until the event is over. If a player didn’t do a rock-paper-scissor math, they will automatically disqualify. So, are you ready?”

“Yes.”

Dum…Dum…Dum… the sound of canon fired from the Neptune’s tear signaling the start of the event. Just like that, mass rock-paper-scissor match is held. The player that loses quickly teleported out of the town. It’s progressing rapidly because it’s kind of a duel which eliminates half of the crowds in one match. From 81.346 players to 40.673.

Sakuya, Hikaru, Kongou, Leona, Akari, and Akane still survived but Roberto and Shibo is eliminated already. After they finished the first round, a comment from Genki comes in.

“Whoa, that was fast. So, are you ready for round two? Go!”

After that, another signal is fired. The blue rose member then goes on once more. This time, Kongou is eliminated. From 40.673 down to 20.336 with 1 player disqualified.

“Okay. Are you ready for another round?”

From 20.336 to 10.168. This time the rest of the party survived.

“Let’s continue with the fourth round.”

5084 players left because of that and this time Akane is eliminated.

“The fifth round.”

2542 players remaining after the fifth round. In just five matches that take up in nearly three minutes, nearly 80.000 players have lost.

After the sixth round, 1271 player left and Hikaru is lost. Only Sakuya, Leona, and Akari remains. The three of them have a reason of why they can’t lose. It’s all for Kuro.

The Seventh round only leaves 635 players and one is disqualified. The three of them survived once again.

317 players left from the eight rounds. 158 players on the ninth round and 79 players left from the tenth round.

“Well, look what we’ve got here. This is the top 100 rock-paper-scissor players. Everybody that survived this round will get 10.000 gold each.”

When Genki said that, a lot of people determined to stay on the match even for just one more round.

39 players left and one is disqualified. Once more the trio survived the match.

“It’s finally nearing the climax. So, keep on the contest.”

19 players left and this time Leona is disqualified. We can see the disappointment from her face. Because the number is not even, the danger of getting disqualified is bigger now.

Nine players left and one is disqualified. This time Akari and Sakuya survived. The look on their face now is more serious. Everybody who has been eliminated is watching from the monitor provided outside.

“Okay, to make it fair, we’re changing it to a battle royal. In five minutes, the last one standing is the winner. If you lose you’re instantly out, but we’re making it the best out of three instead of one. A player has to do a match in every minute or he or she will be disqualified. So, are you ready? Okay, get set, go!”

When the signal is given, Sakuya and Akari spread. They both go to different sides and picked an opponent. They managed to defeat their opponents and now, only 6 players left. When they see that, although they were given the time to rest, they keep continue on doing the contest. They taken the rest of the players by surprised and managed to win. Now, only three players left.

“Eehh, there are three of us left?”

When Akari noticed the situation form 6 players, the other player that do the contest have the same thoughts as Akari and Sakuya. So, this players definitely not some regular players.

Just when she turns her body to see the remaining player, someone is already behind her back. It’s inevitable but the match has to continue. The player has long white hair and wears a red blood robe. Akari doesn’t know who that player is but Leona knows her. It’s se7en or known as Seven. He’s the one that breaks the record to be the fastest to reach advanced class.

I guess I have no other choice.

“Look what we’ve got here guys. The battle is nearing its end and there are three players left. And the two of them are now engaged in a match.

Firstly, rock…

When Akari use rock, Seven puts up a paper. It’s 0-1.

Ugh… I’ll try rock one more time…

The second time she use rock, Seven have changed it to scissor. It’s 1-1.

Yes… I can do it. I’ll go with paper next…

This time paper is used by Akari but Seven keeps his scissor. It’s 1-2.

Ugh… I’m not planning in losing here. I’ll try scissor next…

When Akari decides that, the outcome is inevitable. Seven put up a rock and win the match. Akari then warped out of the town.

“Whoa. Look at that guy. Here’s our final match. The winner will get’s the Neptune’s tears and early access to the Far East continent. And look what we’ve got here. It’s Sakuya, for everybody that has see her dance won’t forget her for sure. On the other hand, her opponent is Seven. Most of you guys have known that he is the fastest one to reach advanced class. You may heard rumor about him but never met him. Here’s Seven guys. So, are you ready? 3…2…1… go…”

When it comes to this, I definitely can’t lose.

That’s what’s on Sakuya’s mind. That looks on Sakuya face is now very serious.

Firstly, rock…

When she uses rock, Seven use paper. It’s 0-1…

Ugh… he’s good… I’m going to use rock again…

For the second time, she use rock again, but once again Seven put up paper. It’s no 0-2…

“Hey Hikaru, it’s not looking good. Do you think she will lose?”

“Don’t talk like that Kongou, it’s a bad omen.”

“Well, I’ve never think that rock-paper-scissor can be this exciting.”

The blue rose guild member is watching from the big display outside the town. They also can see the look on Sakuya face is now worried.

What should I do..? Master… please gives me strength… okay; let’s go with rock once more…

The event is coming to an end. More people are watching with anticipation, the prize for the winner is makes people wonder who will get it and what he or she planning to do with it.

Sakuya hand slowly moves and she put up a rock. It’s such a surprise that Seven put up a paper again. It’s 0-3…

“Okay guys, here’s the winner.”

It’s such a huge shock to Sakuya. She just stands there and tears start to flow out from the corner of her eyes…

“I-Impossible… M-Master… I-I’m sorry…”

When Seven see that, he is surprised. He didn’t think that she will cry in front of him. As someone who’s been interacting with people that use such a strong facade, Seven gains an ability to understand what other people are thinking. That’s why he is so good at rock-paper-scissor. This time, he can clearly see that Sakuya is crying from the bottom of her heart. He never saw such a scene before in his life. It can be said that her tears touched his heart.

“Hey… do you really want to win?”

Sakuya is surprised when she heard Seven talking to her. She then gives a reply while trying to stop her cries.

“Sob…sobs… yeah… I really have to go to the Far East continent.”

Seven can feel the feeling that Sakuya has, also her determination. It’s the first time for him to see someone with such an honest and pure feeling. He then scratches his cheek while blushing a little.

“I don’t really care about the prize, so you can take the ship. But, you have to bring me with you.”

“Really..? Is that true..?”

When Sakuya hears that, she instantly grab Seven’s hand and looking at him with her hypnotizing red eyes. It’s getting big and sparkling because of the tears. Because of that, Seven get more flustered.

“Yeah… just back away a little. You’re getting too close.”

“Ooh… I’m sorry…”

Sakuya let go of Seven hands and wipe out her remaining tears. She then looked at Seven once again and gives him a big smile.

“Thank you.”

When Seven see that, he throws his head to the side. He doesn’t want Sakuya to see that. his face is now brimming red and if there’s water on top of his head it will vaporized right away because of the heat.

Genki then comes down from the ship and do something amazing. He takes out a bottle from his bag and muttered. “Neptune’s tears minimize.” After that, the dazzling ship slowly get’s smaller and then goes inside the bottle. Genki then walked towards Seven.

“congratulations on winning. Here’s your reward.”

Genki said that while handing out the bottle with the ship moving inside to Seven.

“no, you can give the rewards to this girl.”

“Eehh, is that true? Well, here’s your ship Sakuya.”

When she receives the bottle, she looked at it without blinking. The ship is so beautiful and magnificent. After that, she put it in her bag. She then gives a bow to Genki and Seven.

“thank you.”

After she said that, she turns her body and was going to walk away but Seven called out to her.

“hey… have you forgotten your promise? You’ll bring me with you right?”

“ooh… I’m sorry… Hehehe… please follow me if you would.”

Seven then follows Sakuya from behind until they regrouped together with the blue rose guild.

“Eehh. Why he’s here?”

Hikaru is shocked when he see Seven behind Sakuya.

“he’s giving me the ship at one condition. He’s going with us to the far east continent.”

“nice to meet you. My name is Seven. I hope we can get along from now on.”

Roberto then examines Seven and nodding his head.

“hmm… hmm… I see… you’re here because you like Sakuya right?”

“Eehh… wh-wh-what’re you saying… th-th-that’s definitely wrong.”

Seven is doing his best to deny that but it’s obvious for everyone else to see. He’s starting to act weird but Sakuya doesn’t understand what’s happening.

“well, let’s head back to the base for now.”

*****

At the blue rose guild, Sakuya then takes out the bottle with the ship. She then checked the item.

Neptune’s tears.

Durability: 100.000/100.000

Total passenger: 0/20

Description: It’s one of the best ships made by the carpenter of varnian. The legend says that it was made using the tear of Neptune, the king of the sea. Granting the ship with the ability to move faster than any other ship on the sea.

Special traits: move twice as fast as any other ship. Radiates a warm blue light to the surrounding area, can be used inside a cave. Early access to far east continent.

When she finished read that, she looked back to the rest of the party.

“so, anyone that’s willing to come with me, please raise your hand?”

“it’s obviously me.”

Seven raises his hand without any delay.

“I’ve promised to protect you, so there’s no way I’ll let you go alone.”

Hikaru then stands and raises his hand.

“I’ll also come to save Kuro.”

Akari won’t lose to Sakuya when it comes about her feelings to Kuro. she also desperately tries to save him.

“there’s no need to do that. you know that the blue rose guild will always on your back. I’ll also ask Kenta whether he’s available to come or not.”

Roberto said that confidently. But, that leaves Kongou to think about some matter.

“so, how about Marianne? It would be great if we got a healer.”

When Kongou said that, Roberto, Shibo, and Akane fell into silence.

“I think that is not possible for now. I’m sorry.”

Akane is the one that finally gives the replies to break the silence. Sakuya, Akari, and Seven who’s not from the guild doesn’t know anything about that, so they decided to close their mouth.

“well… that’s not important right now. We’ve got me, Kongou, Hikaru, Sakuya, Seven, Akari, Roberto, Shibo, Akane, and Kenta. That’s 10 people. Don’t you think we need more?”

Leona is observing their condition right now.

“yeah, I think that way too. The far east continent level range is 40-70 right? We don’t want to take some risk. Anyway, what’s the average level of this guild? We’re going to be on the same party right? My level is 62 and my class is a wizard.”

Seven is now doing some thinking too. He’s in a new guild that he never met before, so he doesn’t want his first expedition to the far east continent to end up in a failure. But, considering that the entire guild member is on their advanced class, so the level must be pretty high.

“me, Kongou, and Leona is on 54. Kenta, Shibo, and Roberto are 56, while Akane is 57. I don’t know Akari’s level tough. But partying with Sakuya isn’t an option either. So, I guess it will be better if we gather players that can be in the same party with you.”

“I see. So, what’s your level Akari?”

“my level is 60. So I can be in the same party with you.”

“okay, I’ve got someone with me. how about you Sakuya?”

“Eehh… I can’t say it. That’s kind of embarrassing.”

The blue rose guild member knows about the meaning of her reaction. It will cause a huge uproar if regular players found out about her level. But, the more she try to hide it, it just will make people more curious about it.

“come on, just say it already. Even if your level is low, that’s not something for you to hide it. I can help you to level up. Tell me now.”

Leona then covers her mouth when she hears that. Seven is showing his best and try to appeal to Sakuya. It’s obvious that he like Sakuya but his action is not right. He tries to act cool while in fact he’s just embarrassing himself.

“uumm… nty two…”

Sakuya say it in a really small voice.

“what? I can’t hear you… it’s something two… is it fifty two? Don’t worry… level is not everything. The most important thing is how you played the game and enjoyed it.”

When she heart that, Leona finally can’t hold it in anymore. She burst in laughter and it’s a harsh comment as usual.

“Huahahaha… what a joke… Sakuya is too kind but I can’t help it. My stomach hurts… Huahahaha…”

“hey, why are you laughing?”

Seven is confused hearing Leona statement. But her next sentence is more surprising.

“Sakuya level is ninety two you fool… Huahahaha…”

Leona is laughing hard while holding on her stomach. But, Seven succumbed into a sorry state.

“nine…ty…two…”

His face is now doesn’t have any expression. When he remembers what he just said, he feels that he wants to die.

“huwaaaa…” he then hides his face between his hand to hide his embarrassment. He curls up on the corner and tries to calm down.

“Huahahaha… it’s so funny…”

Surely, the only one who can laugh on this situation is only Leona. The whole room feels sorry for Seven but he’s standing in front of a devil.

“well, enough with that, we need a way to gather some players first.”

Roberto calmly led the conversation on the right track once more.

“I’ll ask my guild. I think I can get some players to help us.”

After she said that, Akari then start to contact her guild members.

“Shibo, do you think you can ask for a help from a fellow swordsman class? We need more fighters to stand on the frontlines.”

“okay, I’m going to ask around.”

Shibo then also start to gather some party member.

“I don’t think the three of you have any other friends right? You’re always hunting together. How about you Seven? As a solo player, do you have any friends?”

“nope. So far, I’m hunting alone.”

Seven seemed to have recovered and returned to join in the conversation.

“well then, I really don’t want to do this but I’ll try contacting my friends.”

Seeing that Roberto seemed to be so reluctant to ask for help it makes Hikaru curious.

“hey, Leona. What’s happened between Roberto and his friend?”

“haven’t I told you? He’s just a lazy bum who’s resting while the rest of the member is hunting. That’s why he has a lot of enemies.”

“ugh, at first I think that was a joke.”

Kongou who also hears that is surprised as well. Leona has said it once but they took it as a joke. But, if it’s him, it seemed to be possible. after all their times together, there are times where Roberto is completely useless.

After few minutes contacting their friends, they seemed to find some people that are willing to help.

“I’ve got two crusaders with me.”

“that’s good news. Thank you Shibo.”

Having one or two more tanks is really helps in a battle.

“a dancer and a bard will come from my guild to help us.”

“that’s great Akari. Now we’re fully supported.”

“but, we’re still lacking six players.”

“don’t worry… I’ve got that covered.”

Everyone is surprised to hear that words coming from Roberto. He sure is reliable sometimes.

“so, should we call this expedition as a princess journey?”

“what do you mean Seven?”

“the one that’s willing to go to the far east continent is Sakuya right? So, she’s our princess. We’re the round table knight that gathered to protect and help her.”

Leona laughs once again when she hears that. she doesn’t know that Seven is full of hilarious delusion. if only Seven know Sakuya true reason to go to the far east continent. He’s surely going to be dumbfounded. The guild member realized that but it’s such a waste to let him go. After all his level is pretty high so they just planning to go along with the play.

“well, the roundtable knight, assemble!”

When Seven said that, only Hikaru who’s giving him a proper reply. The other is either ignoring him or giving him a half-hearted shout. After that, Sakuya take over the spotlight.

“okay then. As a token of my gratitude, I’m going to cook some food.”

That simple sentence from her has brought life to the party.

“hoorrraaayyy… Degaru crab soup please.”

“don’t you want anything else to eat Kongou? I would like some fried lizard please.”

“okay okay…”

After that, Sakuya leaves the hall and go to the kitchen. Sakuya who’s cooking accidentally drop a cup. It fell down to the floor and breaks into pieces. Sakuya then pick up the pieces but one of the sharp one causing a small cut in Sakuya’s finger. It’s only a small cut but a drop of blood coming out.

I have a bad feeling about this… Master… I hope you’re okay…