31 Ch 31: Birth of a Guild

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Felix's POV

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9th January, 2015

"You guys…. Couldn't you have told me about this sooner?! Silia, my little cupcake, even you kept it a secret…"

"D-Dad, I'm sorry! l-I was entrusted with this secret… I probably wouldn't have known about it if I didn't catch Felix by coincidence!"

"Uncle Derick, she's right. I was the one who prohibited her from telling anyone about it…"

"*Sigh*..."

Uncle Derick sighed in defeat.

Dad, Uncle Derick, Silia and I were in Dad's study. We were here to tell him about the future. Of course, after we told him, he was in a state of disbelief. He thought we were joking. In the end, I had to pull out my trusty Law of Force to make him believe us.

He was the most trustworthy employee we had. Besides, he was Silia's dad, so one way or another, we had to tell him.

"What now? I believe you guys have already made plans, right? What's the point of even telling me all this? There are only 3 years left now, anyway."

"Derick, yes, we have already made plans, but that doesn't mean another input won't be helpful to us. You are a very intelligent guy and, most importantly, my most trustworthy man, besides my son. Yes, I hired you for a purpose, but I never discredited your character and have even come to respect it. I would never slight your opinions."

"Boss… you and your son are really something… all the weird things you have been doing, and that gym too… they were all for 'Etheria', right?"

"Yes, it is safe to say that all of our lives are staked on this… if it doesn't work out, then we can only go with the evacuation plan, but that's the last resort."

"Huuu… do you plan to tell others about it?"

Uncle Derick seemed to have accepted the reality now. His blue eyes gleamed as he questioned.

"Honestly, that's what I want your opinion on the most. What do you think? Should we do it or not? You've been a supervisor here for more than 4 years now. You should have an opinion, right?"

"Just from what I've heard, it seems close to impossible to do this with just us. Even if we use others in the 'game', without telling them the truth, they will only see it as a game and nothing more. They won't take it seriously at all. I can deduce the risks associated with it, but we still need more people. We need to get them stronger than the last timeline. Boss, have you made any preparations for this inevitable 'Revelation'?"

"Stop with the formalities, Derick, especially now that you're an insider. Anyway, we indeed have been making some preparations. Felix and I have been observing all the employees and noting down the most trustworthy ones among them. I'll send you the list. You can cut it down further if you feel like it. Just tell me the reason to do so."

"Alright… bos- *ahem* Richard, I'll work on it…. But first, I need some time to sort out my thoughts, so I'll take my leave now. Goodnight Richard and Felix. Come on, Silia, let's go home."

We all stood up to bid both of them farewell.

But before Uncle Derick exited the study, he turned towards me.

"Felix… when did you regress exactly?"

He asked with a serious tone. His eyes were shaking a bit.

"It was midnight, 16th of May, 2010…."

He closed his eyes as he heard my reply.

"So there really wasn't a chance to save her…."

"Dad…"

"No worries, cupcake. Now, let's go home."

Dad and I didn't say anything and just quietly led them to the main door and bid them farewell.

In these years, Silia and I had been growing quite close. She once told me how her mother passed away. It was an accident that happened in late 2008. The horrible part was that it happened right in front of Silia. Silia was getting quite emotional at that time, so I stopped her from telling me the details. But just from her reactions, I could infer that it was a terrible sight, especially for Silia who was only 12 at that time.

Uncle Derick still hadn't re-married. I've heard that some of the employees had made advancements on him, but he respectfully declined all of them.

Anyway, it was none of my business, so I didn't discuss it with him or Silia. He is an adult, an intelligent one at that. He'll figure things out on his own and at his own pace. I could only wish him the best of luck.

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29th April, 2015

It was nighttime.

A lot of our employees were sitting in a conference room located at the top floor of the gym. They were all secretly invited here with the excuse of it being 'Dad's Birthday treat'.

If there was anything in common between the employees, it was that they were all important 'players' in the future.

Dad, Uncle Derick and I have been working hard these past months. The list of people we could tell the truth was continuously being shortened down until we couldn't find a single reason to short them out.

Dad and Uncle Derick checked them through their interactions. I checked them through my telepathic abilities. I hadn't told Uncle Derick about these abilities of mine. He only thought that I was using my experience and superior instincts to detect their emotions.

We didn't put any biases on the list. Even if it was a legendary player, if he/she didn't pass our criteria, even they would be shortlisted. Thankfully, we didn't have to shortlist any of our 'legendary employees'. They were all holders of great character and were also quite close to the Hudson Household.

Although, a lot of our employees were shortlisted, that doesn't mean they were bad people or were antagonistic of us. The selection criteria was just that stringent. But we did plan to tell them about it, if any of them ever meets our criteria in the future.

The employees that were invited included:

Geralt aka 'ColdSteel' and his crew of 12 'Brothers'

Ivan Moore aka 'RayChaser'

Alexio and his girlfriend Mariana

Robert Thorn aka 'IronWave'. A great future Blacksmith with 'SS' rank talent.

Jonah Burdock aka 'RancidFist'. A future Brawler with 'S+' rank talent.

Oliver Furgus aka 'SappyRock'. A well liked future Tanker with 'S' rank talent.

Amelia Ruth aka 'RoseBurner'. A great future Alchemist with 'SS' rank talent.

Nora Maverick aka 'Macha'. A great future Knight with 'SS' rank talent. She was also quite a tomboy in real life…

(A/N: 'Macha' was a Celtic Warrior Goddess. Pronunciation is something like 'Maa-Kha'.)

If you look at their in-game names, they seem quite relevant to their jobs. It was not a coincidence, the 'game' only allowed the players to select their names after their 'Talent' had been awakened. The players normally chose names relevant to the talents they had awakened.

Most of the employees with great talents were still in the process of meeting our criteria. There were 3 years left, I was sure that most of them will enter our secret fold sooner or later.

There were 74 other employees here as well. Most of them didn't have that great of a talent, but were quite skilled in their crafts and had made a name for themselves. I had taken the liberty to 'Compel' them adequately enough for them take the last step themselves. The ones present here were exactly the ones who had taken that last step and were quite loyal to us.

"*AHEM* Hello, everyone. I know that all of you are quite confused about the arrangement here. It was supposed to be a party, but you guys are sitting in this conference hall."

Dad entered the hall and gained their attention.

"Yeah, Boss, isn't it a little too formal here for a celebration? The whole venue here is for a conference meeting…"

Ivan asked.

"We will have the celebrations later on. But first, we'll be having a rather serious discussion…. You all are also probably confused as to why I sent these invitations and told you all to keep them a secret."

"Mhm"

A lot of the employees agreed and nodded. Thankfully, they didn't really feel too nervous about it.

"Son, pass the iron ball."

Dad called out to me and I passed the ball to Uncle Geralt.

"Before we start the discussion, I want you all to pass the iron ball to each other and assess its solidity. Take your time, pass it to each other, and make your assessment however you like."

They were all confused, and a bit bewildered, but did as they were told. It took some time to do it, but when it was done, they put it back on Dad's table.

"What is your assessment of the ball?"

"It seems pretty solid to me. It's heavy and when I knocked it, I didn't feel any cavity in it."

Robert Thorn aka 'IronWave' replied in a very confused tone.

"Is this the assessment of all of you?"

"Yes" "Yeah" "It is."

They all agreed to it.

"Now please observe my son's hand. It is clean, with no substance on it whatsoever. Son, please show them your hands."

I did as I was told and showed them my hand. I moved closer to the ones who were farther away in seating to make them assured, too. Then I came back to Dad's side.

"Every one of you who was invited here are my most trusted employees and co-workers. I trust you all enough to show and tell you something that has been a deep secret for us, for years…Son, please do it."

They were bewildered when they heard Dad's words. I could feel that some of them had gotten a bit nervous.

I grabbed the ball and hovered it in front of everyone. Suddenly my hand that was holding the ball started to glow with a dim blue light. Then a scrunchy sound could be heard. After a few seconds, I dropped the ball on the ground and almost dropped to the floor myself. Thankfully, Uncle Derick was standing right beside me and supported me in time.

"Son, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Dad, just a bit of exhaustion."

I assured him and looked over at the employees. They all had their jaws dropped and eyes widened in disbelief.

I expected this to happen. We didn't put up this 'circus performance' for nothing.

"B-Boss, what was that light?..."

Uncle Ivan stuttered as he questioned.

"This was the demonstration of the power of Laws and Mana. We had to demonstrate this so that our next discussions can go smoothly. The Iron ball on the ground is a bit hot right now, so let it cool down a bit. You can all observe the damage on it after some time."

No one said a word. They all waited patiently for the ball to cool down. Uncle Derick poured some water onto it to accelerate the process. Steam rose as soon as the water made contact with the ball, earning near inaudible gasps from the people.

It took some time, but it finally cooled down enough. The ball was then passed on to the employees to check it themselves. Their eyes widened and their hands holding the ball shook when they saw a clear impression of my fingers on the solid iron ball.

"I believe everyone has now seen the effects of it. If any of you still have skepticism about what you witnessed here, you can tell us. My son will demonstrate it for you again after he has recovered. Is there anyone here who doesn't believe in what they saw till now?"

Dad's question was met with absolute silence. No one here could find any foul play in what they just saw before their eyes. Everything they had seen till now was as transparent as we could make it. They were also a bit nervous to say anything at all.

I could also see some concern for me in all the employees' eyes, especially Mariana. I gave her a reassuring smile and sat back on my table, which had platters full of calorie bars. As my mana pool grew, my mana regeneration also grew with it. With the calorie bars, my mana would be full in just a couple of hours, and my condition would get better.

"It seems like you all trust what you saw here. I know it's quite hard to digest, but please try to. What we will be discussing now will need as much of an open-mind as you can muster. Please listen to what we have to say to the end, and then we'll discuss it together."

And so Dad started his narration…

.

.

.

.

.

.

The narration had ended and everybody was trying to digest what they had heard.

"Felix….you are a regressor?"

Mariana spoke out in disbelief. The others also started looking at me.

I smiled wryly at her.

"Yeah… before I regressed, I was a 27-year-old man…"

"*inhale* I thought you were always trying to keep your distance from me because you were a child… it turned out to be this…."

Her priorities were definitely skewed compared to others…

"Will we be having the same powers as you in the future?"

Alexio asked this time, his eyes having an excited glint. He wasn't much different either...

"This is nothing compared to what you guys will get. I had somehow regressed with a bit of mana in me. It is really miniscule in comparison to what humanity will get after the Convergence."

"Why exactly have you told this to us? Just trusting us doesn't cut it. At the end of the day, we are just normal employees."

Nora Maverick aka 'Macha' questioned.

This time, Dad was the one to answer it.

"Almost all of you here have been personally hired by me from all around the world. It wasn't a coincidence that we met each other and you all eventually ended up as my employees. According to Felix, all of you will have great potential in the 'game' and eventually after the Convergence."

Nora had a hint of clarity in her eyes when she heard that.

"So, was all the goodwill you showed us just to make us your foot soldiers?"

It was Robert Thorn aka 'IronWave', that questioned this time.

"Honestly, no… if we wanted you to be just our pawns, then we wouldn't have even told you the truth. The fact is that humanity, by nature, will fuck over itself. I have witnessed it with my own eyes. We Earthlings will cannibalize each other for our own interests, and when the time comes, we will not be powerful enough to face our enemies. The best thing that can happen out of this is that we form a strong single front. And if you really don't want to do that and want to stay independent, then I request you to not get into conflict with each other in the game or after the Convergence and keep this all a secret. You know what the consequences will be if something like this was to be leaked to unsavory individuals. Please, this is all I ask of you…"

Everyone's eyes shook in conflict as they heard me. I didn't force them to join us, but requested a ceasefire to show my respect for their decisions. These people were quite loyal to us originally, so invoking more positive feelings in them was easier.

"*Sigh* All that training in the gym… was it for what is to come? What if we decline your invitation? Wouldn't all your efforts be wasted and even turn against you?"

Uncle Geralt voiced out this time.

"We have already accomplished our biggest goal if you guys make an oath to not get in conflict with each other. It can just be a verbal one. We trust your characters enough to believe you with just that. If you can do that, this facility will always be here for your use. We'll still teach you all we can for your preparation. That includes glyphs, the language for magic spells and skills, too."

They all went silent when they heard me. They stayed this way for a very long time.

I could see that Alexio and Mariana wanted to speak up but didn't, given the atmosphere right now.

"Look, you can take your time. I know it's a hard decision to make. Let's meet here tomorrow again, to hear your decisions. Don't worry, no matter what choice you make, you won't be harmed in any way, shape, or form. I'll vouch for that on the Hudson Family's name."

They didn't move from their positions even after they heard Dad. They just sat there, still contemplating their options.

"Boss… I can't be an ungrateful bastard for everything that you have done for me and my grandma. I can't vouch for everyone here, but you have done too much for me to just leave you like that. Hey, Derick, you entered his fold because of that too, right?"

Unexpectedly, Uncle Ivan responded. He had a small grin as he questioned Uncle Derick.

"Yeah… thinking about things that could've happened, if Richard didn't help me in time, still makes me shudder…."

"It's the same for me. My grandmother is my only family left. Boss, because of you, she was given a new lifeline. I don't care if there was an agenda behind it. What matters is that my grandma is still alive and well because of you. The debt I have to you is something you can't imagine… so count me in… I'll be joining your league or whatever you wanna call it."

Ivan made his declaration on the spot.

Dad, Uncle Derick and I were all surprised witnessing his spontaneous decision.

"Haha! Thank you! You can call it a 'Guild', by the way."

"Aha! That's so in line with our game company! By the way what's our guild name?"

"We haven't decided yet... Well choose one when the time comes."

Dad responded excitedly and Uncle Ivan joked around, too.

"Uncle Richard! Us too!"

Mariana shouted on behalf of Alexio and herself. After seeing Uncle Ivan, she finally gathered her courage and said what she wanted to say this whole time.

"Little Mariana, Alexio, welcome to the guild."

Dad smiled warmly at them and responded.

At this point, the couple saw my parents as their own parents. Mom and Dad had the same sentiments towards them as well. For them, it was never a question of 'Will', it was a question of 'When'.

"*Sigh* Guys, what do you think? Wanna take the leap of faith?"

Geralt asked his 'Brothers'.

"Stop with your nonsensical questions! You just wanna sound cool! I can see it in your eyes that you wanna join them!"

"Yeah!" X11

Roger, one of the 'Brothers', brutally exposed Uncle Geralt and the other 11 'Brothers' stoked the heat.

"Tsk. I'll teach you all a lesson in the training ring after this…. Boss, me and my brothers will be joining you too. Please be kind to us."

"Haha! That's without a question!"

"B-Boss, me too… I still haven't forgotten the day when you helped me out with those nasty loan sharks."

This time, it was an employee who didn't have that great of a talent in the future.

After seeing her courage, it was as if a dam had burst open. One after another, the employees started to make their declarations.

'All our efforts were worth it in the end…'

I was getting quite emotional seeing all this. I looked over at Dad and saw him in a similar state to me.

"Aaa! Fuck it! I can't ruin such a cheerful mood! Count me in as well! Jonah, Nora, Oliver, you guys coming in?"

Robert Thorn aka 'IronWave' shouted out loud. He was a close colleague to Jonah, aka 'RancidFist', Oliver, aka 'SappyRock' and Nora, aka 'Macha'.

"Hehe! You can count on that!"

"Me too! I can't wait to punch people with that magic!"

Jonah and Oliver joined in readily, excitement shining through their eyes.

"Hmmm, I'll do it only if Felix personally trains me… What?! Don't stare at me like that! He said he's 27! And look at him! He's gigantic!"

Dad's ears perked up as soon as he heard the conversation. He had a sleazy smile as he looked at us. It seemed like he expected this, and of course he would, because…

It was Nora…

2 years ago, Dad had offered her a job when she was still in her college, doing her bachelor's. She had officially joined our company, last year.

She was 21 now, the same age as Alexio and Mariana. She was quite the tomboy too, with her short platinum blonde hair and pale blue eyes. She was quite tall, almost 6'0" and had a lean muscular build, which showed through her shoulders that were broader than an average woman.

I always felt weirded out whenever I used telepathy on her and saw her obsession and love towards me… that was most probably one of the reasons why she trusted us enough to pass our criteria…

"*Sigh* I'll do it… but don't expect too much from me…"

"Hehe~ Don't worry, I'll let you take your time~ I have great patience~ I've been patient for 21 years now~ A couple more won't hurt~"

I got irked by her cocky demeanor and decided to teach her a lesson.

"Stop kidding yourself, it was not patience. You were in girls-only boarding school till your highschool ended and were just an awkward kid in college. I have an eternal memory. I clearly remember the time when we first met. Your eyes shined like a starved animal looking at its prey as soon as your gaze landed on me. You seemed pretty desperate, I tell ya."

I had basically massacred her…

"You… did you really have to be this brutal with me?! And how the hell did you even know this much about me?!"

"Well your future-self was quite a blockhead and didn't even make the effort to hide her information. Don't worry, I've got you covered in this timeline.*Wink*"

"You were way too mean this time… I'll have my revenge!"

And so she joined us as well…

The people that were left also joined us. Now, only one was remaining…

It was Amelia Ruth aka 'RoseBurner'.

Amelia didn't say anything, just stared at Uncle Derick. She had been at it since Dad's narration ended…

Uncle Derick had naturally noticed it since long ago.

"*Sigh* You know… even if I agree to your proposal, it will only seem like I'm doing it to make you join…"

The whole crowd went silent when Uncle Derick spoke.

"Don't give me that shit, Derick! You know I'm not such a petty person!"

Like Uncle Derick, she had lost her partner too and was a widow. Unfortunately, she couldn't have kids, so she didn't even have the support of a child.

Dad had hired her 3 years ago and in those years she had been increasingly getting fond of Uncle Derick. She had proposed to him, but Uncle Derick had respectfully declined her. It was his personal matter, so we didn't discuss or intervene in it.

But now, it seemed like it was a 'make or break' situation…

Like before, Dad and I didn't intervene and let the adults handle this by themselves.

"*Sigh* I've been thinking about it lately… I deprived Silia of a mother for so long and now she's a grown up adult…Just for my feelings for my late wife… I'm really one of the worst fathers out there… Silia had practically spent her whole late teens at Richard's house, where she at least found some warmth… Amelia… Do you really want to be with this kind of guy?…"

The crowd's breath accelerated.

Their expressions told that they all unanimously disagreed with what Uncle Derick had said. We all knew how much he loved and cared for Silia. Whenever Silia achieved something or had her birthday, Uncle Derick gave treats to everyone in the office, down to the janitors. If a topic of children was ever discussed, he was the forerunner at bragging about his daughter. To him, his daughter was his everything.

"Derick… I've been in the same position as you… I know the hurt you went through… Don't blame yourself this much, Silia has grown to be a wonderful woman under just your care… It could've been worse if you found the wrong partner in a hurry and she treated her badly… Besides, she's still with you… WE can still give her the warm home she deserves… I promise, I'll make it happen…"

Uncle Derick looked over at Amelia for a long time.

The whole crowd held their breaths.

By the end, he had a small smile on his face.

"It's a date then."

"Yahooo!" "Hurrayyy!" "Hahahahaha!"

The whole crowd erupted in cheers.

Dad came over and pushed Uncle Derick towards Amelia, or should I now say, Aunt Amelia.

Needless to say, they both felt quite awkward about it and just sat together in a corner.

The employe- *ahem* Guild Members gave them some space and slowly calmed down.

"Alright, if you have any immediate questions, then ask away. No need to be shy now. You are all the 'Founding Guild Members'."

Dad was truly a businessman through and through. They seemed to have really liked the ring of their new title and had a smile on their faces even when they tried to put on a thoughtful look.

Suddenly, Uncle Ivan frowned and looked over at me.

"Felix, can your magic heal people, too?"

I knew what was going on in his mind.

"*Sigh* My own cannot but 'Healers' who have compatibility with the Law of Life can. I know what you're thinking, Uncle Ivan. I also have people who I want to heal…"

"So it really can't be done?"

"I was a freak accident. I somehow regressed with Mana infused into me. The Convergence will happen 10 years later, that would be the time when people will get their strengths from their 'game avatars'... But not all hope is lost… In the last timeline, even before the Convergence happened, I had felt the effects of my talent in my real body. I don't know if it's really possible, but if we can somehow awaken the 'Healers' in advance, just like I did, we may have a chance."

"I see… Felix, is it possible for you to infuse mana into another person?"

"If I could, then I wouldn't be the only one with mana here. You are either born with a mana pool or Akashic Record creates it in its own mysterious ways. If you're talking about injecting my mana into someone, that's the worst option you can take. A person can only absorb either the natural untainted mana in the atmosphere, or use objects or substances that have natural mana in them. Every person has their own mana signature. You can say their mana is tainted. If one injects their mana into someone else, there can be catastrophic effects."

"*Sigh*"

"Uncle Ivan, don't lose hope just yet. There is surely a way."

"Look at you… consoling a grown ass man, but in hindsight, you are a grown ass man inside too! Haha!"

Uncle Ivan tried to lighten up the mood a bit, and it did help.

"Felix"

From the corner of the room, Aunty Amelia called out to me. Her hand was bound tightly with Uncle Derick's.

"Yes?"

"Let's suppose that we manage to awaken a 'Healer' early. Can you tell me the effectiveness of a 'Healer' and what they can heal?"

I knew why she asked this… I had to give her some hope. It was hope for my own Mom too…

"The effectiveness of a 'Healer' totally depends on their proficiency in the Law of Life. Don't worry, if we can find a way to awaken early, then we will definitely find the best 'Healer' we can to do the job."

I said with conviction.

"Thank you, Felix"

Aunty Amelia said with a bright smile.

"There is no need for gratitude at all. I won't be able to do this alone. All of us here will all have to work together to find a way. That's exactly why a guild exists in the first place."

A grin made its way when I said the last part. I looked over at everyone here and saw a similar grin plastered on their faces as well.

"*AHEM* You still haven't told us about our futures. If you can find out where we were on Earth, surely you'll have information on us too, right?"

Oliver, aka, 'SappyRock' asked.

"Yeah, it is personal information, so we'll send it to you by email. Read it and then completely delete it from your devices. I believe you all know the gravity of the situation. Try your utmost to not leak any of this information."

They all nodded with serious expressions as they heard me.

"Alright, alright, this was supposed to be my birthday treat! The food is already prepared in the lounge area. What are you all waiting for?! Go and dig in!"

"Hahaha!"

The atmosphere was cheerful. They all took to the elevators and slowly evacuated the conference room.

Dad and I stayed in the conference room. We still had a bit of work to do. Uncle Derick seemed like he wanted to stay here and work with us, but one glare from Dad shut him up and he went along with Aunty Amelia.

Nora seemed to be itching to stay here too, but Aunty Amelia took care of her and dragged her down with her.

She was such a nice lady.

The hall was empty now…

"Dad… if our criteria for them was even a bit lower…"

"I know son… even after passing our stringent conditions… they still had so much resistance…."

"I think we should make our passing criteria even more harder than this…"

"We'll discuss this with Derick… for now let's just do our work."

Dad and I opened our laptops and got to work. It was just a simple task of sending their information to them.

We had already prepared the information for them. We were just making the final checks.

Some of their information was heavily edited by us to hide the existence of my 'Compel' ability and Tri-Scar. In the case of Tri-Scar, they would only be mentioned as our hidden force, not a criminal gang.

Alexio and Mariana's case was the one we edited the most, specifically their real life information. We completely hid the involvement of the Orphanage Director and Tri-Scar from their case. That could expose us and my abilities. We only mentioned that a gang was kidnapping people from all over Yormino for prostitution and that Mariana was a victim of that in the last timeline. We also linked the contacts of all their seniors who had unfortunately been the victims but were safe now. The rest was pretty much the same information as I had on them.

After we proofread everything and sent it to them, we also made our way to the lounge to celebrate together.

It was pretty rowdy down there. Dad even allowed me to have some beer.

'Ah~ this feeling~ I missed it so much~'

On this day, a Legendary Guild was born.

(A/N: PLEASE HELP ME WITH A GUILD NAME! I don't want any sappy guild names with a message of the MC's goals behind it. I want a really cool and cocky guild name, one that would unleash terror upon enemies but will be a pride for the members. I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE ANY SUGGESTIONS! THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!!)

(A/N: Man, this was a fun chapter to write.

Don't worry, all the introduced characters will appear a lot when the game starts. I figured elaborating on them so early would only make the prep-arc even longer.

Leave a power stone if you like my content…and…

Thank You all for reading this chapter!!!)