Lenard, Maria, Lucina

(Author- I hope you all enjoy it! If you do, please take the time to comment as it helps with my motivation to write!.)

1_

*Thud*

The door of a black polished car closes behind Lenard as he sighs, resting in his limo's comfortable and spacious back seat. The bitter taste of the piss-like beer still lingered on his tastebuds. Sitting across from him is a younger woman. Her long blond hair and striking blue eyes drew his gaze, a soft smile gracing his lips as he looked at her. He reached across the cabin and gently pressed his hand to her soft face.

The woman leaned into his hand with a smile, she enjoyed her husband's attention. "So. How was he Guild Leader?" She asked, her calm and soothing voice was pleasant on his ears. She had always been stubborn about keeping their professional and personal life separate. Lenard found it a bit strange that she insisted on keeping up appearances as much as he did, but he didn't have a reason to go against it. Besides, even in professional settings she always enjoyed his affection and even sometimes would show hers.

He groaned as he leaned back, his hand already missing the feel of his wife. "He was interesting. But more importantly, I think he will be just what we need. He is strong, dangerous even. Despite the terrible things he has gone through he is still himself. He seems reliable and from what I can tell he'll be loyal to us."

Maria, his wife nods her head considering what her husband had said. "Interesting. John Herroll was a decent prospect as well. He is strong and his personality seems to be relatively manageable. He's a little older but as we saw in the arena it hasn't started to slow him down yet. I managed to sign him to our elite member contract, paying 50,000 credits a year for three years, as well as guild-provided housing for himself and his nineteen-year-old daughter."

Lenard nodded his head. That was an acceptable number. He worried what his wife would think when she heard his report. 

"Milo Smith was signed to an eight-year core member contract paying 100,000 credits a year. He will also receive a guild-provided duplex for him and his family." 

Maria hesitated, looking at him in surprise. "A core member? That might be a bit much considering he has never even played a VRMMO before. I don't like the idea of giving him a position of command so soon." 

Lenard knew his wife would have reservations, but he couldn't turn away from this decision. "No. The boy is good. He is outstanding. Not only is he extremely young, but he is a hard worker, and the immaturity and arrogance we typically have to deal with from boys his age are nonexistent. The reason he fought in the arena in the first place was so that he could keep his dying mother and two sisters out of the oil fields. He is a hard worker, and I believe that he has the makings of an elite soldier and an even better commander."

Maria sighed, her husband always made bold decisions, often relying on his gut feelings for guidance. She hated that he was so often right. Immortal Light was originally been founded by a young couple when VRMMO games first launched. It was thanks to these gut feelings that they managed to grow the guild to its current size and find itself a powerful backer like EcoEnergy. 

Maria nodded her head, "Very well then. I trust your judgment." She said quietly, pausing as silence filled the air. "Besides, I've received word from our spies that Lucid Dream has also begun to investigate the Legacy Land in Reshiri Mountain. The two guilds had recently begun to clash against each other and it looked as if a full-scale war between their two guilds was inevitable. 

Lenard glanced at his wife's face, her beautiful blue eyes always enchanted him. He never understood why his wife had been so insistent on marrying him despite their rather large age gap. He remembered vividly when he had first met his now wife. He was thirty years old. His lovely wife had just turned twenty. She had been one of his first supporters when he founded Immortal Light. 

She had spent the next three years trying to win him over. Finally, she had succeeded. He still remembered how excited the woman was when he agreed, and he still remembered how almost predatory those bright blue eyes had been. Even after twenty years of marriage, he still had the same feeling. She was a scary woman. 

"Let's go home," Lenard stated. 

His wife's expression softened at that. He could tell she was nervous about being away from the guild as long as they had been. Even a day or two could make a large difference in the game. Thankfully, their daughter, whom they had left in charge upon their departure, had managed to keep the guild moving in a positive direction. Lenard couldn't help but grow excited, his blood boiling. Immortal Light had once been on track to become a superpower in the gaming world. His name, Black Flame, had once been respected by even the titans of the gaming industry. Now, his chance to rise once again had come. Immortal Light was ready to evolve. All it needed was one last push. This last push started with conquering the Legacy Land.

2_

The loud sounds of battle shook the land as a young woman, Vice Guild Leader of Immortal Flame, shouted out orders to her men. She stood tall, her figure strong and imposing. She had long ice-blue hair that followed down to her waist, flawless pale skin, bright icy-blue eyes that seemed to pierce the soul, and a beautiful figure. She wore light blue and white robes which flowed around her gracefully and were decorated with beautiful golden patterns.

-FrostFire (Lvl-4) [Sorcerer]-

The Information hovering above her head was quite impressive as leveling up in this game was shockingly difficult. Even after two weeks, most players were still level one and most professional players were level 3. This put her at the peak of current players. 

She watched the battlefield in front of her, her guts turning as she still felt a bit nauseous from the sight. Bodies of wounded men were being dragged past her by some of the lower-level soldiers in her army. She looked at the expressions on the newbie's faces. Nearly half of them looked as if they had already puked earlier, and some of them looked like they were about to. 

The wounded men being dragged away were screaming or groaning, the blood flowing from their wounds staining the ground behind them. This game was too real. Even with the pain turned down to 30%, the realism was absolutely brutal. The feeling of losing a limb or a spear piercing your gut was brutal even with the pain reduction. 

Turning her attention back to the battle below, she watched as her men were attempting to break through their enemy's lines. The terrain made that difficult. The legacy land was a strange place. It was a dark place filled with a thick blood-red fog. The terrain was rocky and desolate as if all life had been sucked up and destroyed. Whilst inside the legacy land, people would slowly lose their life force, making it impossible for people to remain inside the place for long periods. 

The loud sounds of metal clashing on metal filled the air along with the screams of the fallen. She watched as her men reorganized themselves into a roughly created wedge formation before charging forward. A large portion of the enemy forces has utilized the entrance of a massive cave to create a phalanx formation, making themselves neigh unmovable. As her men charged, she watched. As they began to grow closer to their target, she raised her staff and began to chant. 

She spoke in words completely incomprehensible to most of those around her. She spoke in an ancient language. As her chants came to an end, her spell finally began to form, and a swirl of mana began to gather in front of her. As she chanted, she slowly inhaled the air, a noticeable spicy flavor dancing on her tongue. Fire Mana. 

Finally, after three seconds, her spell had been completed. The gathering of mana swirled in front of her before transforming into a bright red ball of flames. The roaring heat almost felt as if it was torching her skin, the air around her shimmered from the intense flames. Her body began to tremble as she felt all the energy drain from her. Then, with a wave of her staff, she sent the flaming ball of fire flying down towards the phalanx. 

Tearing through the air, the massive fireball roared past her charging men, eliciting a whoop from them. It swiftly descended upon the horrified men of Lucid Dream. With a crash, the fireball exploded into their ranks. The fire coated the men, setting alight those who possessed flammable gear, their screams reaching her even over the sound of the battle around her. The formation collapsed, causing the men to scatter and flee deeper into the cave. 

The fireball had been a success, but unfortunately, it had not worked as she had intended. The flames had only managed to claim the lives of half a dozen soldiers, and as her men approached, they had been forced to halt as the fire continued to burn at the cave entrance. She had intended to disrupt the forces with her attack allowing her men to blast through them and defeat them swiftly, but unfortunately, her plan had failed. 

As she watched the scene below her, she collapsed to her knees, her body feeling weak and her mind feeling cloudy. Using a third-level spell was still too much for her. If she had still been level three when she attempted to cast it, she would have certainly perished before she even could have completed the spell. 

She felt the hands of her friend gently grasp her from behind, helping her up. "Lucina… I mean, Vice Guild Leader, are you okay?" The woman asked, a worried look in her beautiful amber eyes. 

-Leona (Lvl-3) [Barbarian]-

Leona was a gorgeous woman, her long white hair was divided into four expertly done braids that reached her waist, two hung down her back whilst the other two were draped over her shoulders. She had light brown skin, a deep red lipstick, and elegant blue tribal tattoos that covered the upper half of her face. She wore heavy gleaming plate armor with a large steel great-sword slung upon her back. 

FrostFire nodded her head, albeit slowly. "Yeah, I'm okay Hannah." She replied, her voice breathy as she panted, her chest heaving from exhaustion. "Hannah… I mean, Leona. Please gather the men and reorganize them. I want them prepared to storm the cave as soon as the fire dies down."

She took a moment to regain her breath before pulling herself free of Leona's hand, "Leona, take command. I have to log off for a bit to recover." She groaned, her head still spinning. 

Leona nodded her head, a smile spreading across her face, "Don't worry Vice Guild Leader, I'll snuff them out by the time you're finished resting." Leno declared with a large smile, pulling the large great sword from her back.

Hearing this, Lucina pulled out a small green stone and crushed it in her hand. Outside of combat, one can use a return stone to teleport to a designated city or town. She used this stone to return, before immediately hopping offline. 

She lay in her gaming cabin for a moment, her head spinning. It was strange how she still had the headache here in the real world. It was something that she found a little worrisome about the game. However, she dismissed this thought from her mind as she desperately wanted to close her eyes and sleep. 

She opened the gaming cabin, before climbing out and walking over to her bed. She then collapsed face-first onto it, before closing her eyes. As she did so, she could feel the sweet relief of sleep washing over her. She did not resist, allowing the feeling to consume her as her consciousness faded to black.