Early Development

Everything went very smoothly. When Lize returned, though, she was so startled by the completely transformed base that she stood hesitantly outside the gate, clutching the supplies and belongings she had bought, afraid to go in. If Rhode hadn't spotted her, the poor girl might have stood there until dark.

Naturally, Lize had questions about what had happened. Before she left, Rhode had said he would clean up the mess, but common sense suggested that meant nothing more than tidying it up. There was no way he could have transformed the place so thoroughly. Still, since Rhode didn't want to say more, Lize didn't press him. After everything they had been through, she trusted him almost unconditionally. The whole thing was certainly bizarre, but Rhode himself was a mysterious person, so it wasn't all that surprising.

Besides, Lize believed that one day Rhode would tell her all his secrets.

Through Lize, Rhode also learned what was happening at the Mercenary Association. The old man was clearly astonished that Rhode had managed to deal with the haunted house, and evidently didn't believe they were capable of handling such a notorious place in Deepstone City. Sereck, however, had taken their side. What was more, he had used Lize to hint that Rhode should be mindful of his position and his limits, to avoid inviting unnecessary trouble.

Rhode understood Sereck's hint. He knew perfectly well that although Sairiel Haunted House was infamous, Deepstone City was hardly short of skilled people. Someone like the swordmaster Sereck could easily deal with whatever was inside, even without knowing what those things really were. The fact that they had never stepped in made it clear the problem wasn't that the monsters were too strong. There had to be other, more complicated factors at play.

After all, the house was in the Upper District, which belonged to the nobility. There were bound to be complications. Rhode and the others had only just moved in, and the house was still known as haunted, so no one was likely to come looking for trouble right away. But once some time had passed and people realized the house was no longer "haunted," things could get difficult. They had bought such a large house for just six hundred gold coins. The paperwork might have been in order, but anyone would have their suspicions. After all, there was no such thing as a free lunch.

Rhode understood all that, of course. He was just curious why Sereck had warned him. The two of them had no connection to speak of... Had Sereck developed an appreciation for his talent after their earlier battle?

But those were concerns for later. The most pressing matter before Rhode was the future development of the Starlight Mercenary Group.

The first problem was manpower.

A mercenary group of only two people wouldn't do. It was true that, thanks to Rhode's familiarity with the region, they could complete some missions without much difficulty. But a lack of manpower meant they couldn't adapt their formation. With their current lineup, they could only fight undead. If they ran into living creatures, things would become much more troublesome. As for ordinary mercenary jobs, such as escorting or transporting goods, no one would be willing to hire them with so few people.

But if they were going to hire someone, what kind of person should they look for? At the very least, they needed good value for money... Given Rhode's current assets, he could afford to hire only one or two more people. He had to spend his money wisely. If he picked the wrong person, it would be too late for regrets.

Sitting in the study, Rhode furrowed his brow and pondered. The spacious room felt rather empty, with nothing in it but a desk, a few chairs, and a bookcase. It was a little shabby, but for now, they would have to make do.

Closing the book in his hands, Rhode sank into deep thought.

In August of the Year of Glory—one and a half years from now—the Kingdom of Light would announce, after an investigation, that the Kingdom of Night had attacked its merchant ships along the border. It would then swiftly send in its forces, occupy the Solagan Mountains, and take control of the local residents. Claiming that they were responsible for the attacks on the Kingdom of Light's merchant ships, it would arrest and execute them.

Two months later, the Kingdom of Night would retaliate with its army. It would retake the Solagan Mountains, wiping out the Kingdom of Light's garrison there.

Then all-out war would break out.

The Moon Principality, where Rhode lived, would be the first to bear the brunt of the Kingdom of Night's attack. In truth, this could have been avoided, but the Kingdom of Light's council issued an order that forced the Moon Principality to stand against the blades and swords of the Night.

That was the worst slaughter of players Rhode could remember. The Kingdom of Night sent powerful armies, including vampires and bone mages, whose average level was close to eighty, to strike the Moon Principality with devastating force. For the players of the time, whose levels rarely exceeded forty or fifty, it was a catastrophe. Many players organized themselves to defend their land, but their feeble resistance was utterly futile against the Kingdom of Night's formidable army. They died again and again, and came back to life again and again, yet still couldn't stop the enemy's unstoppable advance. And just then, the Kingdom of Light's council made a decision that shocked every player: it declared that the Moon Principality was conspiring with the enemy and sent troops to attack it.

That was the final straw for the Moon Principality, already tottering in the midst of the storm. Attacked from both sides, it began to retreat step by step. And then the ruler of the Moon Principality, Lydia Paffield Mira Fralika, finally made her decision. She sent her elite army, the Purple Lily, to escort the players and her people to Trisphia Port, where they could evacuate.

Rhode still remembered the scene. They had stood beside the long line of refugees, nearly every player gritting their teeth as they stared at the land behind them. They weren't just humiliated because, as players, they had been driven out by NPCs. They were furious at the idiots on the Kingdom of Light's council.

The residents of the Moon Principality had left. They wore tattered clothes, their faces ashen, and hurried away.

The players of the Moon Principality had left too. Their faces flushed, they had roared, "Developers, are you messing with us?" "Game company, go to hell!" "I'm gonna kill those bastards on the council!" Then they had departed, unwillingly.

Only one person remained.

The girl who, with the power of a Seraph, stood alone against the Kingdom of Night's army of a hundred thousand, and only closed her eyes after the last ship had left Trisphia Port. To the very end, she had upheld her vow: "A king must always stand behind their people and shield them from wind and rain, whether they wish it or not."

Afterward, the players' fury erupted.

Rhode clearly remembered it as the biggest outburst in the history of the Dragon Soul Continent. In less than a week, hundreds of thousands of players flooded the game's official forums. Many claimed this was a violation of the players' will. Even more players expressed their fury through action. One player guild after another sprang up, and then they turned their blades of vengeance against their fellow players and NPCs in the Kingdom of Light's faction. It was after this that Rhode finally abandoned his casual attitude toward the game and started taking it seriously. After gathering several players who shared his deep-seated hatred of the Kingdom of Light, he founded Starlight. They did it to defend their dignity as players, to rebel against the game system, and, more than anything, to vent their rage and exact revenge.

They succeeded.

Under Rhode's leadership, Starlight grew stronger by the day. They swept across the Kingdom of Light and utterly destroyed its council. Then they honed their blades and launched an attack on their other sworn enemy, the Kingdom of Night. In the end, they succeeded there too, even personally killing the Dragon of Night, one of the Five Dragons of Creation. After that battle, Starlight rose to become the strongest guild in the entire game—without equal.

They had succeeded. They had achieved glory. But deep in Rhode's heart, a small voice never went silent.

When they destroyed the council, when they defeated the Dragon of Night, Rhode had wondered: If I'd had this kind of power back then, could things have taken a different turn? Could everything have changed?

Rhode didn't know. But he also knew it was only a dream. The game couldn't be rolled back, and there was no way to start over. That was what he had believed, until he came to this world... Only then had Rhode realized that he had another chance to start over and change his fate.

He didn't want to taste that bitterness again. He would never allow himself to suffer that humiliation again, whether as a refugee or as a player.

Before all this, Rhode had considered going to Golden City to try his luck after leaving the Dusk Forest. But when he learned what had happened to Lize, he changed his mind. If he had once built a powerful guild capable of utterly destroying both the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of Night, one that could even stand against the devils of Hell and eventually kill the Void Dragon, then why couldn't he do it again?

A year and a half wasn't a long time, but it wasn't a short time either.

Now that the Mercenary Association had recognized him and he had a base, Rhode was finally ready to make a serious effort. He would recreate his former glory here. This time, he would never let that humiliation befall him again. Rhode would not tolerate it.

Everything was back on track. It was time for him to start preparing.

Looking out at the beautiful view of Deepstone City, Rhode recalled the attributes and skills of the NPCs he had hired in the game. Before long, he had made up his mind.

"Lize."

He stood up and tapped on the desk. The girl, who had been reading by the window, heard Rhode call her and immediately rose to her feet.

"Let's go to the Mercenary Association."

The Mercenary Association was as lively as ever, no different from the previous few days. Bored mercenaries sat around tables in the hall, drinking and chatting, while more people crowded around the front to accept or turn in missions.

Rhode quickly found their name on the stone board at the front of the hall, which listed the rankings of every mercenary group in the Paffield region. There were thirty-two groups on the board, and Starlight was ranked last, with a very conspicuous zero for its score.

Seeing that, Lize looked a little dismayed. She had seen the rankings yesterday, but the thought of her mercenary group falling from the middle of the pack to the very bottom still made her feel awful. Even so, she took a deep breath and managed to calm herself before speaking to Rhode.

"Sir, we're in last place and have no points... The other mercenary groups have at least five points. We need to come up with something."

"I know."

Rhode nodded slightly and looked up. He soon spotted another name: Red Eagle. If he remembered correctly, Red Eagle was the group led by the female mercenary captain Lize had met before. They seemed to be doing quite well, ranking twenty-first. They were the kind of group that neither sought great success nor risked failure, safely holding a middle-of-the-road position.

But Rhode hadn't come here over such a trivial matter. He only gave the board a glance before heading to the other side of the hall.

The layout of the Mercenary Association was clear. The hall on the left was occupied by members of the various mercenary groups, while the right-hand side was where unaffiliated mercenaries gathered. For various reasons, they hadn't joined a mercenary group and could only wait here, either taking ordinary jobs or hoping a group would recruit them. As a result, this side was much quieter than the main hall. The mercenaries sitting at the tables either chatted with a laid-back air or sat motionless in a corner, scowling as if someone owed them money.

Rhode and Lize drew plenty of attention when they appeared. Several people whistled loudly and greeted them with grins. Rhode evidently had no intention of paying attention to those idiots who couldn't even tell what sex someone was. Lize, meanwhile, was already used to this kind of rowdiness. She put on a polite, restrained smile and kept her distance, without bothering to respond. She knew these mercenaries were just bored and looking for fun. Whether she got angry or pleased, they would get what they wanted, and then things would only become more troublesome. It was better to act as if nothing had happened. They would lose interest and stop bothering her.

Ignoring the annoying noise, Rhode turned toward a corner nearby. Then he walked over...

The wine in the cup was still as sweet as ever.

The old man set down his wineglass and pressed his trembling right hand down firmly. Leaning back in his chair, he stared vacantly at the floor. He had once been a member of the Wind of Light Mercenary Group. Back then, he had been confident and brave, brimming with hope and vitality. He had often imagined that one day he would become the group's captain and lead his men on expeditions and adventures. That had been his hope, and his goal.

But everything changed after he was injured.

He had lost the strength he once possessed, and the people who had once admired him had abandoned him. And now? That once brilliant young man had become a pitiful old wreck who could do nothing but drown his sorrows in drink. The thought filled him with grief. He lifted his head and swept a disdainful gaze over the young people around him. They were too young, still chasing their dreams. Adventure, beautiful women, money, fame—what did any of it matter? It was all meaningless. What would these youngsters have left once they lost everything they depended on?

The old man reached up and touched his right eye, hidden beneath his eyepatch. Then he raised his glass and tried to call the bartender over for another drink.

Just then, he noticed two people come over and sit down beside him.

"Walker? Mr. Walker Diedar?"