A New World, an immersive game experience

Not noticing that Elizabeth seemed worried about what he might say and taking in by her fake confidence, Eldrian continued as if everything was normal. "Well, I've negotiated with Pelaros and he has agreed to a few conditions. Though he had some of his own."

Elizabeth quickly focused on what Eldrian had just said and considered the benefits and what they were currently doing. "Are we going to station one of the forts we clear?" she asked.

It was the biggest possible benefit of a guild reaching level 5. But the risk involved were also great. A mix of wonder and drear filled Elizabeth.

Therdul, who had been listening in, was covered in a cold sweat as he thought of the responsibility that would place on them. Judith, however, smiled. She felt it would be a great thing, especially if, as Eldrian said, there was an endless stream of undead coming.

"Station, no." Eldrian smiled. "Kynigo is in quite the bind, so Pelaros agreed to let us take command of a fort."

This wasn't that big a deal to Eldrian, who had even been the temporary mayor of Kynigo for a few weeks right after it had suffered through a siege. He felt it would be quite the simple task to manage a fort in comparison.

Of course, he was forgetting that he had basically delegated all the work to competent personal. None of whom would be in the reclaimed fort.

Or rather, he wanted to dump that onto the guild. Elizabeth seemed to pick op on this and it caused her stomach to churn. This was a massive bombshell, and terrible news wrapped in pretty packaging.

Until now, their guild had basically only owned a mansion. It was no longer even large enough for all the members to use, and it was in Kynigo, which was terribly inconvenient for their current mission.

She had actually been thinking of stationing a fort near the center of the kingdom to secure them a central position in the kingdom. But she felt there was more bad news to come.

Thinking of their current mission and the incoming undead, Elizabeth groaned. It would force them to split their forces and chances of failing would rise drastically. And she had a sneaking suspicion which fort they were given responsibility of.

"It's going to be that one, right?" she asked, holding her head, thinking of all the trouble this would stir.

"Which one?" Eldrian and Judith asked. Ilmadia was currently talking with Myropsis, so they weren't part of the conversation.

"Kyno Northeast..." Elizabeth felt her energy being drained by the second. "That was the condition, right?"

"Impressive."

"Please tell me you refused."

This couldn't be worse. If things were less chaotic, this would be great news, of course. But as things stood, there was no way they could manage an entire fort. Stationing one would have been good enough. Why did Eldrian have to go and bite off more than they could chew?

'He's going to dump this on us and then go off god knowns where...' Elizabeth saw a very bleak future laying ahead for herself and the guild.

Eldrian however, had no intention of dumping this on anyone. Though he didn't want to be involved with the actual management, that much was true.

He had negotiated for this because he wanted a proper base of operation. The fort was near the Kyno lake, which was a no go thanks to a certain flaming soul.  Seeing the name awakened undead, Eldrian just knew that spelled certain death.

However, if he could get Itireae's help with the awakened undead, then the lake and the surrounding forest would prove a great boon.

Strangely, the entire area was abandoned. Eldrian wasn't sure when it had happened, but he had recently noticed that the undead were giving the lake a wide berth. He could only assume they feared the flaming soul, even though both were undead creatures.

For now, Eldrian would also give the lake a wide berth.

Gaining access to The Forsaken Cavern -an old abandoned mine near the fort- would be good enough.

It was currently a nest for many types of monsters, but from records Two had gone through, it once was a truly rich mine. Containing all types of materials. Confirmed to have plenty of Rank 2 metals and suspected to perhaps have up to Rank 4 (divine metals).

He needed that if he was to stop relying on other's generosity. And for the plans Eldrian had, he felt it was a must. But to claim a mine he needed support, he needed a faction and people.

Kynigo was in too tight a spot to offer him much, so he would call upon his fellow player. Explaining this to Elizabeth, she couldn't believe her ears.

"I am also planning on attempting to make jamming artifacts for the guild's top brass. But considering this related to the background of this world and the gods' interference, the materials aren't going to be cheap. I don't think anyone in their sane mind would just gift that to me."

"D-do you think — can you make something like that?"

"I think so. I have a vague idea how the AI camera works. But while the artifact is active, I doubt you'll be able to use it yourself. Right, who in the guild has started streaming?"

"Everyone but Ilmadia and me." Elizabeth replied.

"So, what do you say? Are you in?" Naturally, they would also gain access to Pyknos forest, but thanks to the undead, it was mostly a dead forest now. It would take some time for life to return.

Though, there might still be hidden troves and special plants scattered throughout the forest. It would be a good place for newbies to train and also make some money. If things calmed down, Eldrian felt there should be plenty of quests.

'For now, the situation doesn't really allow for normal game structure. If things settle, we might see it return... If things settle...'

AN: Remember to vote and comment if you are enjoying the story.