"Hey, guys, are you here to see Mr. Jack too...?"
The leader of one group of players spoke up.
The Hall of Heroes players exchanged glances, but shook their heads in denial.
"No, we're just here to see if there are any side quests."
"Oh, come on. What's there to hide? Quite a few players in Peacock City already know that Jack's Circus has come here. They even performed at a theater downtown..."
The leader, whose name was "Her Shop Is Studded with Diamonds," smiled and continued.
"We just wanted to try our luck and see if we could join this faction... I heard that Polaris is a member. Come to think of it, we haven't even unlocked the main quest yet. Hall of Heroes is a big guild. Surely you won't deny us even this little opportunity?"
As he spoke, he looked at the last group of players and said:
"Come on, guys. Say something."
The leader of that group was called "Ill-Fated in Old Age." After a few seconds of silence, he spoke as well:
"Yeah, we want to join the Circus too... If Hall of Heroes plans to monopolize the place, we might as well fight it out right here."
Seeing this, the Hall of Heroes players immediately discussed the matter in their party channel.
They found that these two newly arrived groups of unaffiliated players were all around level fifteen, the average for players. Although their own levels and equipment were better, they were not Transcendents, and they were vastly outnumbered. There was no need to get into a conflict.
So Smoke Bomb chuckled and said:
"You're far too prejudiced against Hall of Heroes. We don't throw our weight around like the Lost Name guild..."
He then pointed at the Winery's gate and sighed.
"We'd be