Chapter XXXVI - Royalty

As Raia joined the party, Marcus sent a message to everyone to gather at the pub. It was getting further in the afternoon as more people began to gather. The once quiet pub was now bustling as the day laborers ended their day and piled in and their boisterous laughs could be heard through the neighborhood.

Artox was the first to arrive, and shortly afterwards the twins joined the table and introductions were made. Marcus began to explain their next steps as they were going to turn in their reward for saving the soldiers and afterwards go to the Government Administration building and create their guild.

Now came the hardest part of creating their guild... the name! The name of a guild could be a make it or break it moment when it came to recruitment. Many names were tossed around from everyone in the party before Marcus remembered one from a game he had heard about on the news that was fighting The World for Dive supremacy and decided to send out his first suggestion:

"How about The Phantom Enigmas? What do you guys think?"

"I like it!" Artox commented "Certainly better than mine!"

"I still feel like we should go with Nature's Wrath" Mawu replied "But it's not bad...."

"Hmmm that's so like you Nobody, you certainly are an enigma!" Lisa added.

"I don't mind it at all." Raia commented as she certainly didn't really have an care either way.

With the decision of their name solidified, the party exited the pub and made their way towards the Northern Checkpoint and was stopped by a guard.

"Halt! This is the Noble's Quarter, state your business!" The guard stated in a stern voice as he held out his hand.

Marcus approached the guard and held out the coin he had received from the soldiers in the sewers. "We were told to present this to the King after we had saved a group of Knights from death in the Sewers of Despair."

The guard took the coin and noticed the insignia immediately. "We thank you for your service, wait here one moment, we shall get an escort to lead you to the audience with the King." He said handing the coin back to Marcus.

It didn't take long for a lanky skinny official to come running up to the group. He was gasping heavily and taking deep breaths between his words "The Royal Highness Himself is awaiting your arrival! Please follow me!" He didn't even wait for the party to respond before turning around and running back to the Imperial Palace.

The party took glances between themselves before they chased after the man. The Noble's District was a completely different world than the remaining 3 districts in Sterling. The buildings were spacious and there was plenty of room between them. The materials were of a higher grade which gave them an alluring air around them and there was sections of grass all over the place.

Front and center was the Imperial Palace at the end of the long marble stone path. Long and wide marble steps greeted the party as pillars of similar material could be seen on both sides as the Castle pierced the sky. Long towers with even taller roofs were scattered breaking up the shorter more square sections of the castle. A large gate made of a dark wood was opened by the guards stationed there as the official lead them through into the large gathering hall.

The hall was lit up with braziers which gave off a warmth to the cold chilly afternoon. A large crimson and gold encrusted rug ran the entire length from one of the room to the other which housed three large thrones and in the central throne was the King himself.

King Augustus Sterling the 52nd was a strong burly man. He had short blonde hair in his younger days but now it was a deep silver. Before he ascended to the throne, he was born as Jack, but as every King before him, they all took the name of the first, Augustus. He was the 6th in line for the throne when the last war had broken out with the Continent of Chaos and unfortunate for his older brothers, they didn't make it. He has always had a strong sense of justice and it was thanks to his leadership that Sterling City has prospered for the last 20 years and has grown to become the titan that it is today.

The official quickly lead the party through the long hall and approached the stairs before the king and kneeled before him. Marcus followed and kneeled slightly adjacent behind the official and the rest of the members of his party did the same behind him.

"I present to your Highness, the group who saved the soldiers from that monstrous spider in the Sewers of Despair milord!" The official stated loudly.

"Rise brave blessed ones!" The King commanded in a domineering tone. Marcus stood up and handed the coin to the official who took it and presented it before the king as he knelt beside him. Augustus took the coin and observed it silently before pocketing it and continuing as he started into the eyes of Marcus. "We are indebted to your kind souls for returning our Knights to us safely. Please if there is something I can grant you, I shall, you simply must name it."

Marcus bowed "We greet the most wise and honorable King, I am Nobody and these are my companions, Artox, Mawu, Lisa, and Raia. In our raid of the Sewers of Despair, we took care of the false one who claimed himself as the 'King of the Sewers' and retrieved this token." He said as he reached into his inventory taking out the crystal Guild Creation Token. "We would be honored to set up our Guild within these majestic walls, however we do not have the steep capital required to set up base of operations and were wondering if it wouldn't be too much to ask to waive the start-up fee."

Augustus grinned as he flicked his fingers towards the official who stood up and went and took the token from Marcus and presented it kowtow once more to the King. Augustus took it in his hands and reviewed it intently before handing it back to the official who returned it to Marcus. "That is indeed one of our Royal Treasures that was taken by that sly b****** from our Treasury. Since you have done us a great honor by taking care of that cretin. I shall allow it. Take this to the Administration Offices and they will see it done." He said before waving his hand as an official document was created out of thin air and sealed with his insignia before dropping into the hands of Marcus.

"If that is all, you are dismissed." The King said flicking his hands once more. The party bowed once more and turned to leave.

<Hidden Objective Completed!>

All 5 Knights were returned to the Kingdom safely! +50 Fame!

<Congratulations to Nobody, the first user to achieve the rank of Baron in the Kingdom of Man!>

+10 Fame!

Marcus was excited as now he would start to be respected by the NPCs in the realm and would be given a higher tier of information. Players could acquire nobility through The World but their returns were very time-consuming with the exception of Baron.

Baron at 75 Fame

Viscount at 500 Fame

Earl at 2000 Fame

Marquis at 10000 Fame

Duke at 100000 Fame

Even after 10 years of playing the game in his past life there was not a single Duke among the player base. The party exited the Imperial Palace as they congratulated Marcus on his achievements. He had advised that both the twins were very close to unlocking the Baron title themselves.

The group approached the Government Administration Office and entered in and approached the desk. The office was in a minimalistic design as there was next to nothing besides a desk and a worker in a chair.

"We would like to apply for the creation of a guild." Marcus said.

The office worker didn't even acknowledge them before she began speaking behind her spectacles. "There are four requirements to create a guild:

1. A Guild Creation Token...

2. A group of no less than 5 members...

3. The leader of the guild must have at least 50 Fame...

4. The startup fee..."

The lady behind the desk finally looked up at the group of 5 and her eyes went wide as she noticed Marcus and began apologizing "Oh my goodness sir Baron, I apologize for my rude behavior. Do you have the guild creation token?" She said with a thin smile on her narrow face.

Marcus nodded as he pulled out the platinum token and handing it to the lady. "Oh my goodness, you don't see one of these every day... Well that takes care of requirements one through three... Now, in order to startup your guild, the initial deposit is 1,000 gold coins, have you brought the funds with you?" She asked once more.

Marcus shook his head "No I'm afraid we only have about 6 gold between the five of us, but the King himself gave us this." He said as he took out the royal missive. The clerk broke the seal and read the lines and smiled before she said "It looks like the King has taken care of the startup fees, now follow me, I shall lead you to the estate grounds..." She said standing up and leading the group out of the office.