Noctis could sense the inquisitive eyes of the onlookers behind his back.
He can obviously picture their envious looks, and hear hushed murmurs all over the Lobby.
He understood their viewpoint, as they don't often get to rescue a player in a dire situation, and a beautiful girl at that.
Takara Erich remained seated on the ground not far from where Noctis just dueled her former Guild Master and won.
She is too stunned to react at the sudden turn of events she just witnessed right in front of her.
Noctis approached her, extended her a hand, then helped her get up.
Then he noticed that she trembled while standing.
So, he helped her get into a chair and sit down.
He also ordered a fresh hot porridge to replace the one that Joe spit on.
Noctis sat on a chair next to her and put an arm protectively over her while she hungrily ate the meal I bought.
He waited for her to finish her meal while gazing at her.
He couldn't help but look at her cute, good-looking face, with her flawless skin, sexy body, and sleek black hair down to her shoulders.
She looks like a chubby yet athletic young girl. With the spell book she carries around, she is obviously a mage.
“Who are you? How do you know me? Why are you helping me?"
She managed to say shyly. She couldn't bring herself to look Noctis in the eyes.
"You can call me Zero. I didn't like the way your former Guild Master and your ex-Guildmates are treating you. So, I thought I'd at least help you get out of your predicament."
“But”
"But what about how you'll fare later on in the game, now that you’re guild-less and all?"
“Yes, that's what I'm concerned about."
"There's no need to be concerned about it. I got you covered. Come. We need to be somewhere with fewer prying eyes."
Though Noctis could still hear murmurs here and there, and occasional glances in their direction, he was glad the crowd has dispersed.
At the next table, he could hear them murmuring to each other in hushed tones.
" Isn't that the newbie guy who passed the tests with flying colors, and even ranked at the top of the tests? I heard rumors that he has a very powerful backer."
He just ignored what he heard and focused on what needed to be done.
He stood up, held Takara's hand, then they looked around to find the VIP corner of the Lobby.
" You're a mage, right? What spells can you cast? "
" How did you manage to get all of my information?" Takara said, surprised.
"Yes. I'm a mage. Specifically, a multi-elemental battle mage. But I can’t fully utilize my powers because of lack of support."
She said with pleading eyes.
"Don't worry. I got your back, Takara. But I'm not forming a guild. You've seen how I fight. Solo. And don't expect me to spoon-feed you. The least I can do for you is help you until you get strong."
"Thank you. I'm starting to like you more and more."
She said sweetly.
Then they managed to find the VIP corner.
Noctis scanned to see if there is anyone who might eavesdrop on us.
They are too busy minding their own business to even care about them. There are fewer people in the VIP section.
It seems that players need to have a nobility badge to use the VIP section.
They went straight to the Dark Market and filled up their inventories with what they needed.
Good thing Noctis has an unlimited amount of money, as all the items starting from summoning scrolls down to potions are legendary to God-class.
And they are the most expensive things in the game, as only Game Administrators are capable of making them.
After they finished buying what they needed, he can’t help but notice her mediocre stats.
This won't be beneficial in the long run.
"Did you know that using high-quality items like potions, and the highest-quality spells can drastically improve your stats? There are some bugs in this game that we can use to our advantage."
Noctis whispered into her ears.
"Why the need to be so secretive?"
She slapped him on the shoulder and whispered back.
"Because not all the players know about this. Hush now."
He gently held her hand and touched her face.
"I know you have a lot of questions about my identity, and why I hide my face behind a mask. Perhaps you will get a chance to know who I am, see my face, and why I helped you in the future. I promise. But not for now. I need to get stronger."
"Does it mean that I need to get stronger, and do it solo if I have to?"
Takara asked, with her looking straight at Noctis.
"Yes. You need to get stronger. Use whatever means you can. Let's keep in touch."
Since making friends and chatting in RPG Fantasia is possible even with great distances, Noctis made the first move and added her in-game.
He even chatted to her in advance.
He took out a money pouch filled with a lot of money and even had an extra Nobility Badge with him.
"Here. Take this money pouch. It never runs out of money. Also, take these extras of my Nobility Badge. I don't just give Nobility Badges to anyone, so don't fail me. Those will come in handy. Use it wisely."
Then they hugged before she let go and went off, probably to challenge the next floor, and train solo.
Noctis liked that girl at first sight, but he knew that he has to stay wary. He’d seen what happened to his brother, because of one fatal mistake.
And he didn’t want to do the same.
Noctis can only hope she won't turn traitor later on.
If worse comes to worst, we'll, he’ll have to eliminate her from the game.
A player must be careful in choosing allies and tie loose ends when he encounters enemies.
.
Noctis did what he did not just because he pitied Takara, but also because it is practical to take advantage of what he knew about RPG Fantasia. He needed to gain and nurture potential allies who'll be major power players in the future. His years of experience in playing online games taught him to play smart, and plan two steps ahead of the enemy. He thought about the Scraper Guild. Will he use or discard them and give them a hard time when he encounters them again? He considered contacting his father so he can remove the Guild from those shortlisted for the Nobility Badge, and get the Scraper Guild back to square one. Perhaps Noctis can even have them eliminated. There must be a reason behind their Guild Leader being a bully. He also needs to approach his deceased brother's allies and get them on his side. He went to the next floor to challenge the first floor of the Novice Stage. There are 5 Stages in RPG Fantasia, namely Novice, Intermediate, Legendary, God Mode, and Creat
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The entire Scraper Guild headed straight for the Necromancer Guild’s headquarters in a state of panic right after Joe Franco got humiliated in a duel. The fact that someone much more powerful than them, and a complete newbie at that, beat up their Guild Master and gave them a taste of their own medicine is a hard pill they are forced to swallow. “What the fucking hell on earth happened, eh? Did someone else beat up your Guild Master again?” Leica Hattori, the healer of the Necromancer Guild grinned wickedly at Joe Franco, then looked at the panicked faces of the other Guild members. “Looks like your guild lost your punching bag to a total newbie, huh?” Leica noticed that Takara isn’t tagging along with them. “God damn it, Leica. We’ve already suffered enough. Just heal our damn guild leader, and be done with it.” Sadako Minamoto, the assassin of the Scraper Guild, cut in. She couldn’t stand to hear Leica’s words. “What’s the matter, Sadako? Can’t stand to hear me speaking?” Sa
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On the 17th floor of the Intermediate Stage of RPG Fantasia, players quickly left the 15th floor, as they heard that forces of 3 Game Administrators will battle it out on the 15th floor anytime today, and they didn't want to get involved, or else get caught in the aftermath. The players knew that without the Nobility Badge, they stood no chance of intervening in the upcoming battle, and if they attempted to do so with their average stats, they'd get eliminated from the game right away, forever. In the dangerous world of RPG Fantasia, where alliances and balance of power might shift at any time by any means possible, it was like walking on a thin wire that might snap with one single mistake. You have to tread carefully and try not to anger Game Guardians, Game Administrators and elite players, for elite players with a Nobility Badge treat ordinary players as just mere cannon fodder at their disposal. Anger a Game Administrator, Game Guardian or even an elite player as an ordinary,
Morrigan is at her castle, inspecting the quality of the new shipment of modified Egyptian weapons sent over by Anubis, th, witchy brews sent by witches under Hecate's orders, and a witch's spell-book containing witchy spells sent over by witches under Hecate, accompanied by her male assistant named Ryuma Ochima. "What's up with the other two Game Administrators lately? I can sense that today's batch of shipments aren't high quality, and can only be used by the non-elite soldiers at best. Something is fishy right here, Morrigan. The three of them are up to something funny. "Ryuma held out a witchy tome for Morrigan to inspect.Morrigan accepted the witch tome, opened it, and read a sample spell written in the demonic tome out loud. " Oh Hecate, the one in command of the witches, I invoke you to grant the sword of an ordinary soldier the magic of darkness to smite down the soldiers of the light." " That's a basic spell used by the ordinary witches. What was Hecate thinking when sh
Methis sat at the table in the VIP area of an Inn somewhere in the Legendary Stage, with Hades and a young female hybrid vampire player named Etsu Yahiro. Etsu noted that there was an awkward air of silence and unease as the two Game Administrators from the Minority Faction didn't see eye to eye with each other. "Ahem. Now that the three of us are here, let's sort out the misunderstanding between the two of you, alright? This can't be allowed to go on, or else it will develop into a civil war, and the Majority Faction will take advantage of this." The young and sexy vampire cleared her throat, and began to speak. " Hmph. "Both Hades and Methis said together in unison, looking down their noses at the attire that Etsu wore. " I don't see anything wrong with what I'm currently wearing, you ancient, outdated oldies." Etsu sharply remarked, annoyed by the way the two Game Administrators looked at her attire, as if they were judging her because of that. "Now that I got your attentio
After the auction officially ended, Iona,Kaori and Noctis met up in the Inn of the 10th floor at the Novice Stage,while Yuusei went back to his spot in the VIP Corner of the Blacksmith shop to reconsider . They sat at a VIP table in the Inn, busy eating a meal of oven roasted chicken, while drinking expensive cider. "I believe you didn't invite us to this meal for nothing, and for free, Lelouch. You even took extra precautions to place a shield barrier around us that prevents the others in the VIP section from overhearing what we're talking about. Who are you? What do you want? Why did you help me and my sister earlier? "Iona asked Noctis while she was slicing a piece of chicken with her fork and knife." Just call me Zero instead. As for who I am, well, both of you will know when the time is right. Straight to the point. I see. What if I told you that I know exactly who the entire Assassin Guild is planning to face off against right now, and I got better quality items and weapons
"The Last Item to be auctioned off today is the Nemean Lion's Fur Coat. The starting bid is 30 million gems." Yurika announced from the stage of the Auction House. "I bid 40 million gems for this fur coat." Noctis looked around to see an elite orc player bid for the fur coat. Let's see how this develops. The Orc Guild belongs to the Majority Faction, and his brother used to clash with, and often kill Orc players from the Majority Faction for trying to get into his way. The Orcs are strong, muscular and tanky, with great defense, attack power and strength, but they are slow due to their size, so the speed stats of the fur coat will be just a minor boost. Noctis thought to himself. "I bid 100 million gems"An elite goblin player from the Goblins Guild countered. The goblins also belong to the Majority faction. They are said to be extremely rich, hoarding a lot of gold and jewels in their headquarters. They specialize in sneak attacks and setting up ambushes, making the most use
With Esumi out of the picture, and having successfully rescued Kaori, the half-sister of the elite. player Iona, Noctis outsmarted the Necromancer Guild Leader. "Thanks for helping me obtain the mace, and helping to look out for my sister, Lelouch." Iona chatted with Noctis. "It's not a problem, Iona. I have a question, though. Why did you bid for that mace, when you're not even a fighter class? The weapon isn't compatible with you. And why did you let your sister fend for herself, with zero support, when you could have at least backed her behind the scenes since you got a Nobility Badge? "Awkward silence filled the air for a few minutes before Iona managed to reply back through the message function of the game system. " I wanted to get back at Esumi for disrespecting my sister upfront. So I decided that I might as well spoil his plan for the 100th time again. And as for why I let her fend for herself with zero support, it's because I want her to get stronger. How? She has to get
A few hours passed inside the Auction House. Noctis observed the situation inside the Auction House getting more tense and awkward, with the excited players bidding at absurdly high prices in an attempt to obtain semi-legendary class items. It's a wonder they can hike the value of so-so items that high. I'm not surprised. Dogs always fight for scraps, not the whole meal. Noctis thought to himself, totally unimpressed by the items being auctioned off. "It's a wonder that fights don't break out inside the Auction House. I can already sense that the tension is about to break the fragile peace inside from here." Noctis remarked while observing the whole scene. "Simple. If a player attempts a fight inside the Auction House, he'll be an open target to the other players inside the Auction House. If a player attempts to start a fight, they immediately get ejected out of the Auction House if they aren't attacked first. "Oshe replied to Noctis. " Now that all the auxiliary items have no
Yuusei and Noctis went inside the Auction House together, wearing their disguises. They went to the counter of the Auction House, and presented the three legendary class items to the sexy and attractive girl wearing a tight fitted adventurer's clothes that exposed her flawless skin and sexy body who is seated behind the counter. The girl's eyes widened in surprise at the sight of the three items. "The mace, pendant, and coat are normally items dropped by minibosses after they die. To think someone managed to change the class from Rare to Legend class. This will definitely cause an uproar among the elite players. Are these the items that you want auctioned off? "The girl asked with a questioning glance at the two. " Yes it is. I'm Tabito, the one who changed the class of these items, and the person here beside me is Lelouch. Here is the initial payment of gems. "Yuusei introduced both himself and Noctis to the girl, while he placed a pouch full of gems at the counter right in fro