"Morning, guys!"
"Morning."
"Are you ready for today?"
"Haha, of course! It is time to show our prowess to the whole federation!"
"Have your read the news yesterday?"
"Naturally, the guild leader said it best! We will win!"
"I don't know. Isn't this painting a target on our backs?"
"So what? It's not like others can gang up on us or something."
"Well said! We will defeat whoever comes!"
"Guys, let's focus on the qualification battle now."
Discussions immediately spread as Dream Avenue gathered. Liam and his friends appeared as well, joining the conversation.
A few minutes later however, Radiant Shield frowned as he voiced what everyone thought:
"Where... is Cyclone?"
Instantly the friends fell silent. Somehow, they had a bad feeling.
"Could something have happened to her?", asked Balm with a fearful expression.
"Hey, don't jinx it!"
"Maybe it's your cousin again?", asked Silent Acacia with a glance at Silver Blade. The woman's face was incredibly dark. She swore that if her cousin had something to do with it, she wouldn't stop this time until the family finally punished him harshly.
Even if Brayan was soon set to join the army, the severity of such a punishment was quite uncertain. After all, he was still a Colville, and others wouldn't make life too difficult for him.
In Silver Blade's mind the real punishment for people like him can only be to take away his money and business.
As Silver Blade's thoughts spun her eyes turned grim, sending a chill down everyone's spines.
"I will investigate!"
Liam noticed that Silver Blade was about to log off, reminding her hastily:
"Don't forget our fight."
Silver Blade nodded as her body disappeared. The friends looked at each other, seeing the worry in their eyes. With stifled chests they waited until their fight was about to start.
Luckily, Silver Blade came back just in time, but her face didn't look good.
"Any news?"
Silver Blade shook her head, saying:
"I have called a confidant of my uncle. According to him there have been no moves on Brayan's side."
"Is he trustworthy?", asked Quickstep with furrowed brows.
"No. He's a sleazy bootlicker. But recently he has been trying to get on my good side, so he probably wouldn't lie this time."
The others nodded, but their hearts were still heavy. In the meantime, they had also tried to contact Cyclone but hadn't reached her, indicating that she wasn't wearing her console.
The guild leader's disappearance couldn't be hidden, and the rest of the guild naturally grew worried as well. Such a mindset was obviously not conductive for the upcoming match.
However, they couldn't escape the fight. Soon, C reminded Dream Avenue about the start of their fight.
In guild battles only one hundred players could be selected to participate in order to give smaller guilds some chances. Balm was thankful that Cyclone and her had already made their selection yesterday.
Thus, one hundred members of Dream Avenue appeared in the arena, but Cyclone remained absent.
A huge number of fans had come to support their idols. Obviously, they also noticed that something was wrong. The guild members appeared somewhat dejected, and their leader was missing.
A strange atmosphere spread as everyone began to theorize.
"Did Cyclone sleep in?"
"Maybe she has some important appointment. I heard that Dream Avenue is about to finalize their gaming house."
"Haha, Cyclone definitely got cold feet after boasting too much yesterday!"
"Hey, who are you to dare slander my idol?!"
"Who let that idiot in?"
"Damn, blind fanboys are the worst! Everyone can see that Cyclone is afraid!"
"You! Do you dare to face me in the arena?"
"Of course! Contrary to Cyclone I'm not a chicken!"
"Brainless hater! Shut your mouth!"
Suddenly a woman sitting behind the hater drew her sword and swung it with all her might.
"Ah! Assaulting from behind! Just as cowardly as your guild leader!"
"Well done! Guys, let's teach him a lesson!"
"I'm in!"
Instantly a brawl broke out in one corner of the arena. It only continued for a few seconds, however, as a light suddenly engulfed all the fighting players and banished them from the arena, setting a penalty of at least 30 minutes depending on the severity of their actions.
"F*ck! Now I can't watch Dream Avenue because of that d*ck!"
"That's unfair! He started it, why have we been banned as well!"
"Ok but really guys, what do you think is going on with Cyclone?"
"I don't know..."
News of Cyclone's disappearance spread quickly. Many journalists also came to the arena, wanting to dig deeper. There was not enough information for a story yet, but these wolfs had smelled blood.
Down on the arena floor the guild members heard all the discussions. Their minds were chaotic. Under such circumstances Balm made use of the option to hide the audience so Dream Avenue could focus on the battle.
A few moments later the caster announced the beginning of the match. A large prawn suddenly burst out of a lake which had appeared in front of the guild.
A quick check showed that it was a level 35 world boss. Everyone felt pressure as the monster's body towered above them.
However, as the fight began it quickly became apparent that the prawn was quite weak for a world boss. Its skills had a low range, and its defence left much to be desired.
Everyone collectively felt relieved. Following Liam's lead, the guild swiftly dealt with the monster without casualties, drawing deafening cheers from the fans and momentarily letting everyone forget about Cyclone's disappearance.
After the fight Liam and his friends looked for a quiet corner to discuss what to do now. They quickly decided to start from Cyclone's home.
Not caring for anything else all the friends swiftly logged off. Bloody Edge even directly forfeited his upcoming qualification match, leaving the solo contest early, earning him everyone's admiration.
Liam blinked and found himself back in the apartment. Next to him Serena also woke up. Following Liam, she naturally heard the entire discussion. She looked extremely worried, close to tears.
"I hope Cyclone is alright."
"Don't worry! I'm sure she's ok."
Liam gave Serena a quick hug before the siblings went downstairs. He called his two bodyguards. Hearing that Liam was about to go out, the two were rather surprised.
They had been assigned by the security company to look after Liam since a while ago, as the bodyguards were always on rotation. However, after getting to know him, Liam hardly went out, making their job quite easy.
As professionals, though, the bodyguards naturally wouldn't delay. They prepared the hover car and waited outside for Liam and Serena.
But as they got seated, they suddenly noticed a problem. They had no idea where Cyclone lived.
Liam and Serena weren't the only ones who were met with this hurdle. Luckily the console offered such an easy way to chat with their friends.
Balm and Silver Blade swiftly let everyone know Cyclone's address having visited their friend's home before.
Liam told his bodyguard who served as driver the address. The man thought about it for a moment and planned a route, realizing that the location wasn't that far from Merida's clinic.
The car got moving and the interior fell silent. Liam and Serena were both plagued by a nagging worry, hoping Cyclone was alright.
However, as they got closer to their friend's home, a voice suddenly spoke in Liam's mind.
[Attention, player! It has been detected that you have not logged in.]
[Your next match starts in 00:05:00.]
"What?"
Liam couldn't help but let out a startled shout, shocking everyone in the car.
"Liam?"
"Sorry. I just got a notification from C."
"What is it?", asked Serena curiously.
"I have a match in five minutes."
"Now? Didn't you check it earlier?"
"I didn't think of it."
Liam frowned massaging his temples. The situation obviously took a bigger toll on him than he thought. Even after Bloody Edge mentioned his own match Liam forgot to check.
Perhaps it was also because of his subconscious disregard for the solo contest.
"What should we do now? Do you... want to forfeit? Or should we take a brake somewhere?"
Feeling Serena's anxiousness Liam took a deep breath and smiled, patting his sister's head.
"Don't worry. Just continue towards Cyclone's home. I will finish the match quickly."
"You want to fight while driving? Didn't even the government say how dangerous it is to get disturbed while playing?"
"It's alright. I'm used to it."
Serena blinked her eyes in puzzlement. Liam noticed that he had misspoken. He hastily entered the game before Serena could ask more questions.
In a flash Liam appeared in a new arena. He let his eyes wander over the audience stands consisting of floating mechanical constructs, corresponding to the dwarven city the arena was located in.
To his surprise the arena was quite packed. Many of the audience members were obviously sent by guilds to scout out Liam's fight.
Some top players like Conter had even come personally to take a look at one of their strongest competitors.