Chapter 20

-Renz's PoV-

*Player Novo' has joined the guild 

A message pinged our entire guild.

"Welcome to our guild!" we greeted Novo in unison.

"T-thanks... I guess," she replied bashfully while scratching her head, clearly overwhelmed by our lively welcome.

I guess she could act cute sometimes huh? And here I thought she was just a bundle of silence, petulance, and annoyance at all times.

"Wait just a minute, I'll make you an officer right now," Liz tinkered with the guild system.

"How much do you know about guilds?" I asked her while Liz was busy.

"Not much," she replied curtly.

I guess she is still a newbie after all even if she is extremely talented at playing VR games. I asked Liz about her after our first battle out of curiosity due to her extraordinary skills and she said that Novo had been mainly playing VR single-player games. I guess that is where her mastery in dodging comes from.

Just as I was about to explain the guild system, Raynolds beat me to it. Tsk, this simp.

"Then let me enlighten you, Miss Katherine," he winked seductively before continuing, which in turn made my gut wrench. "There are 5 distinct rankings in a guild. First is a normal member who is part of the guild but has the lowest rank compared to others. Next is the officer rank which can be assigned by the guild leader and vice leaders, mainly for guild war purposes. Moving on is a high-ranking officer wherein a guild can have a maximum of 5. The last 2 ranks are the vice leader and guild leader. A guild can have only 1 vice leader and guild leader. They are responsible for assigning officers to participate in guild battles. In essence, a guild's ranking is classified as members, officers, high-rank officers, vice leaders, and guild leader," he explained.

"I... see," she muttered.

She seems unsurprised. Though to be fair, the guild system of CoA is no different from most fantasy MMO games.

Player Novo' has been promoted to Officer' rank.

"There, all done!" Liz energetically said.

I checked the guild chat and saw that many players are online today. 67 online out of 82 members. It's no surprise though since it is Friday after all. A good day for gamers to play their favorite games and have a bit of fun after a long arduous weekend. Most of the response after Novo joined the guild was the standard greetings and welcome from the guild but after she became an officer instantly, the guild chat became a buzz.

Glave: Wow, an officer right off the bat? Is the new member that strong?

Serendipity: I wanna see this new guy.

Klyth: Yeah, me too, if I win in a duel against him, I'll be an officer too, right?

I typed in the guild

Renz: No, that's not how it works, besides she's a support player so a 1v1 duel is out of the question.

Serendipity: she is a girl? Now I'm itching to meet her!

Rayder: Must be the leader's friend so she became an officer this quickly. I'm sure she's not that good and only got promoted due to her connections.

Zed: What a bold assumption, Lizbeth is always fair in her decisions.

The guild members went on about their theories about the new member-turned-officer. Most of them are basically categorized into two reactions. The Liz supporters and the anti-Liz faction. This is occurring right now because FairyDust, our former guild leader, stepped down from her position and assigned it to Liz. When I asked her about it personally, she conveyed to me that Liz would be a better guild leader than her and she wants the guild to thrive and become even stronger than it currently was.

I fully agree with her though. Liz is charismatic and has something particular in her that draws talented players like Novo and NambaWan. Still, many did not take the guild change in leadership lightly. It is mainly because the guild has been around for a long time (approximately just after the first Andartha's Cup) and is also one of the well-known guilds in the North American CoA server, composed of mostly skilled guild members. Most of the players that were unhappy about the change were veteran players who are jealous of young blood suddenly upping them in the guild sovereignty. It was more rampant 2 months ago when the leadership had just switched, but many have been silenced when Liz became a ranker. Though that achievement is clearly not enough given the current situation we are in. This is one of the main reasons why I suggested that Liz should recruit members she knows and trust for now until this whole thing blows over.

I glanced at Novo, the three of them appear to be busy talking to each other. Good thing too, since I don't want her to see our guild in such discord. Raynolds probably knows it too that is why he's busy chatting her up. That, or he's just simping as usual.

"Want to go check our guild hall?" Liz invited her before continuing to explain how. "You can get there by checking your teleport list. It's already been added to your list since you're now part of our guild. You can go there anytime you want! Well, as long as you're not currently in a battle with monsters or players... but I'm sure you already know that" Liz rambled on.

"Sure, it's still early so why not," Novo shrugged.

We all teleported to our guild base. It is located in the guild continent where all of the guild halls are built after creating a guild. This continent cannot be visited by normal means, except by joining a guild and teleporting to your guild hall.

What greeted us outside was a huge guild hall with the usual three-story Gothic architecture-style building with large stained-glass windows, pointed arches, and flying buttresses situated on the sides of the building. We went inside and what greeted us is an enormous hall complete with a vaulted ceiling, stone-clad statues of gargoyles for a more alluring design, and many more ornate decorations akin to medieval luxury designs. A few members pass us by while giving a quick greeting which Liz returned amicably.

Novo marveled at the sight, clearly impressed. A hint of pride welled up deep inside me even though I knew all too well that I did nothing to affect the designs of our guild hall. I have to admit though that FairyDust and Photon have a keen eye for architecture since I heard from Liz that they are the ones who renovated and designed this whole place.

"It's huge..." Novo murmured.

"Of course, we put a lot of resources into constructing this building for our fellow guild members to hang around and have fun!"

"Oh, but first, let's go to the workshop, I want to forge a set for you since you have Armor for beginners," Liz suggested.

"No need, I will outleve-," Liz placed a finger on her lips to silence her.

"No excuses, I will not have one of my members go around with a set for level 20s. Besides, we have a lot of guild resources since we are also a fairly strong guild," Liz said convincingly.

Or so she says, though I'm a hundred percent sure that all the resources will come right out of her pocket.

"Liz is correct miss Katherine. Also, I will be the one to craft your set, if you would allow me to, since I am the highest-level blacksmith of our guild so do not be wary of the quality," Raynolds bragged.

"Alright fine," Novo relented.

We all went to the guild workshop while garnering stares from members we passed by. Most of them likely already identified Novo and saw that she is only level 65. This is bad, it might start some severe rumors about Novo's recruitment even though they haven't really seen her aberrant skills. I should have advised Liz to not make her an officer right off the bat, though I'm certain she would ignore me anyways, she never was one for caring about reputations and other trivial stuff and always follows her heart in whatever she does, which is a trait that I greatly admire from her if I were to be completely honest.

"Here we are, the workshop!" Liz exaggeratedly gestured with her hands to the workshop like some kind of a grand reveal.

The workshop is just a large room inside the guild hall and not that grand compared to the main hall. We went inside to see a room full of assorted kinds of stuff, Armor, weapons, and such, with a forge smith situated at the farthest part of the room.

"How long does it take you to make a level 65 set?" Liz asked Raynolds.

"I could probably do it in a couple of minutes, but I want her set to be stylish so I would have to think of a good design instead of just a randomly generated one," Raynolds pondered.

"Oh, I want to help in designing her set! Let's add some frills and make it look cute to match her in-game avatar!" Liz proposed.

I took a quick glance at Novo and saw her look flabbergasted. I wallowed in schadenfreude at the sight.

"W-wait, at least let me pick the design!" She exclaimed.

"Nope! it's our gift to you for joining the guild so we want to surprise you with the finished product. Renz, please show her around the guild first, we will catch up once we finish her set," Liz instructed.

"Give it up, newbie. Once she's made up her mind, there is very little we can do about it," I dragged her out of the workshop by hand while she was still frozen in shock.

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We both toured the whole place while I guided her. From the guild training hall where members can duke it out in a friendly PVP match all the way to the guild alchemy room where we craft consumables like explosives and other dastardly concoctions in which she eyed warily. I'm sure that what happened during our last bout is still fresh on her mind wherein I had to resort to... Unusual tactics. I blame it all on that Chu guy though.

In the middle of the tour, we bumped into another player I hardly get along with. A man who looked to be in his late 20s if he used the face scanner as his avatar. He's bald and wears a samurai-style plate of Armor with his katana sheathed in his left side hip and 2 small wakizashi on his other side that he sometimes uses as a backup weapon or for long-ranged throwing if necessary.

I identified him 

Jarde

Hp: 100% 

Mp: 100%

Lvl: 95

Guild: Concord of Heroes

Duel wr: 78%

Wins: 632

Matches: 810

Team Rank matches wr: 61% Wins: 528

Matches: 866

1v1 Rank matches wr: 59%

Wins: 551

Matches: 934 id#:***********

Introduction: Add me, and I can boost your level for a price!

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? If it isn't the guild leader's lapdog?" he taunted.

Spoken like a common thug, the only thing missing are two lackeys by his side and it would've been perfect. I'm sure he must've heard about the rumors regarding the level of the new officer and came to check for himself and this was not a coincidental meeting since he is still infuriated about what happened recently.

"Want me to beat you up again in a 1v1 duel?" I responded irritably.

He already challenged me once for the officer position and I defeated him soundly. He's someone who is unskilled and doesn't train in the slightest to improve all the while blaming it all on something superficial like a rigged system or a biased guild leader simply because he's still not an officer.

"Hmph, even if I took that match seriously and beat your sorry ass, I'm sure you guys won't still make me an officer," he dismissed.

I don't blame him for wanting to be an officer this badly. Officers have the right to participate in guild wars that happen every month and in return, get more resources than just regular members. Many take the game very seriously. For one thing, it is the most popular VR game right now, another is you can actually exchange resources in the game for real-life money due to the never-ending buyers of materials in trading sites and such to increase their stats. Some even boost characters as a side job and are paid for their time due to the difficulty in leveling up in this game. No wonder why he is adamant about becoming an officer and getting preciously, limited guild war materials that can be exchanged for monetary purposes. Though that does not excuse his poor attitude.

"You know that's not true, we had a bet, and I would have gladly stepped down if you somehow managed to beat me," I countered.

"And you expect me to believe you? What's your proof? That girl over there who became an officer at level 65? How pathetic. Hey girl, tell me the truth, how many dicks did you suck to get promoted to an officer right off the bat?"

"Jarde!" I shouted.

Just as I was about to punch this dickhead, penalty be dammed, a hand stopped my movements.

"It's fine, let's just ignore him," Novo declared nonchalantly as she walked past him.

I followed suit, not without giving my most menacing glare to this dickhead as I walk past him.

"That's right, run along kids 'cause you both know I'm right. Nepotism runs in our guild. I guess this is what happens when a useless girl becomes the guild leader," he spat venomously.

My blood boiled at his insult to Liz. Just as I was thinking about how should I deal with this guy, a murderous voice cut me off.

"How about a bet then," Novo spoke.

It stopped me from doing what I was supposed to do. She appears to be extremely pissed, which is unusual for someone like her who doesn't fall to provocations easily. The only time I saw her even come close to being this angry was the time we first met when I mistakenly questioned Liz's dedication to the tournament. This is bad.

"A bet?"

"Yes, if you win against me in a duel, I'll step down from being an officer and convince Lizbeth to give you my title."

"Hoh, really?"

"But if I win, you'll have to quit the guild."

"Hahaha, what a funny gal, you think a low leveled twat like you have a chance against me?" He guffawed.

"Wha-what are you saying!? You're a spellcaster, not a melee fighter, this is absurd!" I exclaimed.

"Stay out of this Renz," she warned.

Shit, the situation is getting worse. Anger is clouding her judgment. A 1v1 is completely different from a 2v2 match for a spellcaster-type player. For one, she won't be able to cast any skills due to having no backup to stall or make space for her to channel her spells. Basically, she is going to have to fight without any spell usage making her entire character build rendered useless. She there is no way she can possibly win this.

I know she is good at survival and dodging attacks but it will only take two to three lucky hits to end her while she would have to hit the enemy numerous times for her to win. She might get an unexpected critical shot like what she had done to me using her hidden dagger but after the element of surprise wears off, she would become a sitting duck. I have to somehow stop this match from happening.