Cyclone waited a few seconds until the commotion subsided.
"Please understand that I can't tell you too much. It isn't that I don't trust you, but every leak could cause a lot of damage at the moment."
"Don't worry guild leader, we got your back."
"Right, if other guilds come, can't we just fight?"
"Who would come here with bad intentions? Isn't it great being a part of the first guild?"
"Brother, that's it!"
"Dream Avenue! Dream Avenue!"
Watching the guild members spontaneously begin to chant, everyone felt a special emotion. A kind of cohesion began to form.
It took quite a while until Cyclone could continue to talk:
"Thank you. This means a lot to me and Balm. Really.
Now about our outing. Sun's Knight will organize you all into groups. Please follow his directions. Every group will have a leader whom I will invite to an extra chat to make communicating easier."
Sun's Knight behaved professionally, waiting for Cyclone's signal before he took over. The guild members didn't cause any trouble, smoothly gathering in groups.
Meanwhile Liam and his friends conversed quietly, having an eye on the different chats. A small discussion was going on in the global chat, as the players found out that Dream Avenue was planning something.
This couldn't be hidden. It didn't need spies to realize this, as such a gathering of players naturally drew attention.
Speculations were rife and naturally people guessed that the guild was aiming for a world boss. Immediately other guilds made their preparations. Be it to ambush Dream Avenue or to snatch away the world boss.
Gaming was a competition, and no one wanted to see Dream Avenue get too far ahead. However, the guild had made thorough preparations under the planning of Liam and Sun's Knight.
After separating the guild members into teams, the entire crowd marched towards the teleporters causing a spectacle in Duabalis. Each team leader had their instructions. Thus, the leaders weren't necessarily chosen on ability but also on trustworthiness. Naturally Liam's friends possessed both and therefore had to take up the mantle of team leaders.
The teams were brought to the teleportation platform where they mostly teleported to different cities. From there they went by foot or other means to different towns.
Looking from above one could see the guild encircling a plain somewhere in the vast Rising Basilisk Empire. They walked towards the plain from all directions.
However, one special team was led by Bloody Edge. It was made up of thieves separating and stealthily trailing behind the other groups. Their job was to keep a look out for any guild who might follow them.
When one of the thieves discovered something suspicious the players in the group they were trailing would be marked as potential spies. Initially Cyclone was against this plan, but the others convinced her. Everyone would love to fully trust all guild members, but this was just not realistic.
And the caution paid off as at least three thieves reported suspicious activities. When the party learned of this they were not surprised and continued doing their jobs. One by one the teams arrived on the designated plain, everyone looking around curiously.
"Leader, is there a world boss here?"
Somone in the team led by Liam asked in confusion. They only saw a vast plain with the occasional tree and a few mobs. The most exciting was an elite monster which was already besieged by two teams, bound to fall in seconds.
"Show some patience and wait for everyone to arrive."
Liam placated his team members, conversing with them leisurely. The occasional advice he gave made the players slowly understand how vast Liam's knowledge of the game was.
Over the course of the next 15 minutes the teams arrived one by one. When everyone was gathered, Cyclone called for attention which worked quite well thanks to the team leaders.
"From what I heard everything went quite wells so far, thank you. Now, please stand close together in a circle around me."
"Guild leader, can you finally tell us what's going on?"
"What's there to see here?"
"This plain doesn't seem like it holds anything interesting."
Murmurs went through the crowd. One could feel the rising impatience.
"I promise we will begin soon! Please lend me some patience. Stand closer together.
You over there, you're too far away. Sorry for the inconvenience. Ok. Ok.
That should suffice. Thank you."
Cyclone stood among her friends, who were pressured by the crowd as well. Being at the centre they had little space to move. Eager to get out as well she quickly gave the signal.
[Cyclone: @Watchful Eye. You do the honour!]
[Watchful Eye: Sure.]
A few of the players standing closer looked curiously at Watchful Eye who took a scroll out of his inventory.
The usually taciturn man couldn't hide his emotions at the moment. He was unaccustomed to standing in the limelight. When the party discussed their plans and Liam decided to send Watchful Eye to prepare for the boss fight, the latter even thought about rejecting.
However, when Liam praised him as the steadiest member of the group he felt quite honoured and decided to do his part. All of this led to the situation where Watchful Eye now stood in the middle of the crowd, unfurling a scroll under everyone's eyes.
Suddenly a magic circle separated from the scroll in front of Watchful Eye. It appeared incredibly mysterious filled with countless runes which resonated with the world itself.
The magic circle began to revolve, slowly rising towards the sky. It stopped a few meters above the ground, where it quickly grew in size. Soon, it covered the entire guild.
The process wasn't fast. If someone would attack at this moment the guild would be forced to fight.
Bloody Edge and his thieves were the only ones outside the circle, roaming around. They held their eyes open for any suspicious movements. Suddenly Bloody Edge frowned. He looked towards a tree not far away, focusing his eyes on a swaying branch.
It might have just been the wind but at this moment there was no room for mistakes.
Bloody Edge carefully sneaked over, his steps incredibly soft, barely ruffling the grass below his feet. His eyes were fixed on a certain spot below the tree.
The longer he looked the more suspicious that place appeared. The tree's bark felt off, its pattern slightly blurred.
Bloody Edge thought that his training in the silver mines already paid off. He was sure a thief was in hiding there.
Moving like a feather the thief moved behind the tree without getting too close. He estimated the direction of his opponent's back, approaching slowly. At the same time, he sharpened his senses, making sure there were no other reinforcements.
Seconds ticked by. Bloody Edge felt his body tense up. Yet he didn't even dare to breathe deeply, afraid of being found.
He spotted no other movement until he got close to the tree. Suddenly everything happened in a flash. He activated his [Four Direction Dagger] skill, aiming where he expected the thief.
A faint blur could be seen in the air as the opponent felt the danger. But in a duel between thieves, it was often too late if you let your adversary get close.
Four daggers doused in bright holy light shot out, pinning the thief and stunning him. Her body was revealed, clothed in black but with her fair face visible. Initially her face was showing shock, but it quickly changed to resignation mixed with a hint of respect for a skilful foe.
Bloody Edge could only see a hint of her face as his skill hit and he quickly followed up with a [Cut Throat].
[-1015!]
[-1136!]
He was surprised that the thief didn't die after two attacks. There was a considerable gap in their levels after all. His movements didn't stop, however. With another slash of his dagger the thief was unable to hold on and fell to the floor.
Bloody Edge wasn't overly excited, knowing that it would have been an embarrassment if he wouldn't have succeeded. He entered stealth again, leaving before drawing the attention of others.
[Cyclone: Bloody Edge, quick, tell your team to come!]
Upon reading the message Bloody Edge stared towards the magic circle, which began to shine in a subdued light, enveloping the guild members. He urgently reminded his team while sprinting towards the centre.
This time he didn't particularly care if he was spotted. His only focus was on arriving in time.
Suddenly he felt a sense of danger from behind. Gritting his teeth he didn't deviate from his path. A prickling pain travelled through his leg as an arrow hit him. But Bloody Edge ignored the damage, soon reaching the guild.
Luckily his team members made it as well. All the thieves knew that they couldn't miss this occasion, giving it their all.
Just as the last thief lunged forward below the magic circle, it pulsed with a vast amount of mana. Ripples spread through the surroundings and Dream Avenue disappeared abruptly.