16 The Lady In Black, Part One
{Zenith}
Zenith stood amidst the aftermath of her "battle".
The street now lay silent and still, the only sound the distant moans of the undead echoing in the night.
Three hours. For three hours, Zenith had done nothing but scour the streets, looking for undead to kill.
Her greatsword dripped with dark ichor, evidence of the countless zombies she had dispatched with ruthless efficiency.
Not that she had much to show for it, though.
EXP: 202/220
WST: 8500
[All of them were either level 1 or 2. Damn it!] Zenith cursed, shaking her head. [I was hoping there'd be at least a few level 5s or 10s. But, whatever. Got more potions, got more tokens. I guess I can call it here.]
Alone at last, she allowed herself a moment to rest.
The EXP she had gained was minimal, relative to the insane number of zombies she'd wiped out, but still, it was worth it.
If anything, maybe it would "make Helmyr happy", as her new armor's description said.
[... Unless her standards just went up that far, this does at least confirm that it's not the quantity of undead that matters, it's the power of the undead. So, if I want to get that weapon she was talking about, I probably need to look for more powerful undead things to take down.]
Just as she began to relax, a familiar chime echoed in the air, signaling the arrival of a System notification. Intrigued, Zenith quickly accessed the message, her eyes scanning the text with keen interest.
Feature Gained!
Guilds!
Zenith's brows furrowed in curiosity.
[Guilds? Really?]
She had a hard time believing the System was actually encouraging players *not* to kill each other, but it seemed that was what it had done for once.
Tamira appeared, out of nowhere, as per usual.
"So, what do you think? Interesting stuff, right? " Tamira's cheerful tone borderline blared in Zenith's ears.
"I'm not too sure what to make of it," Zenith admitted.
"Well, allow me to elaborate on this handy new feature before you make up your mind!" Tamira explained, her voice brimming with enthusiasm. She sounded strangely proud. "Basically, guilds allow players to form groups and work together towards common goals. One of the key benefits of being in a guild is that players can earn Activity Points for their guildmates, which allows them to rest and recover without the burden of meeting their individual quotas."
Zenith stopped.
[... So, someone else can reach your quota for you?] Zenith's eyes widened. [That sounds pretty crazy.]
"Additionally," Tamira went on, "players can take on specialized roles within the guild, such as blacksmithing, potion-making, or healing. By contributing their skills in these areas, they can earn Activity Points for themselves without having to go into dungeons. Of course, they'll lose out on EXP this way, but most people are going to be reluctant to harm the person sharpening their blade."
[Makes sense, I guess.]
"You don't sound too excited," Tamira noted. "Why is that?"
[I won't be joining any guilds soon, I think,] Zenith replied internally. [To get Helmyr to make that weapon for me, I have to fight anyway. This news is pointless to me.]
"I guess you're right."
[Besides,] Zenith continued, [this could be abused pretty easily.]
Once again, the way it usually did, Tamira's snake face turned curious.
"What do you mean?"
Zenith then voiced the one concern that popped up the instant she read that message about people clearing dungeons for others.
[Some guilds will just force their weakest, their outcasts, into clearing dungeons for them. That's all this means,] she thought, Dylan's face flashing before her eyes, [the leaders are going to get to sit on their asses while regular players handle everything for them.]
Tamira's reaction was odd.
She giggled. Again, as if Zenith had caught on to some joke Tamira had made to herself.
"Perhaps."
She disappeared.
With a shrug, Zenith dismissed the notion for the time being.
For now, she would continue to walk her own path.
It was all she felt she could do.
---
{Julia}
After absorbing the System's announcement about guilds, Julia's mind buzzed with excitement and curiosity.
This was exactly what they'd been looking for.
Finally, players could join groups without having to fear being used for EXP. A functioning community could be built from this foundation. She could already see it.
And, if she could see it, perhaps the government's remnants could as well.
[We might just have actual law and order again,] Julia thought with a smile.
Naturally, the group fell into discussion, weighing the pros and cons of forming a guild. Eventually, they reached a unanimous decision.
Obviously, they were going to do it.
"So... what should we call ourselves?"
Julia grinned, her mind already racing with possibilities.
"How about the Blue Shield?" she suggested. "I don't know about you but I hear that and I think protection, solidarity, and strength. Everything we stand for."
Her friends nodded in agreement, and with a collective sense of purpose, they set about creating their guild.
As Julia navigated through the holographic interface of her HUD, she couldn't help but marvel at the sheer number of guilds being formed worldwide.
The registry was filled with hundreds, soon to be thousands, of names, each one representing a group of players banding together for a common cause.
"There's so many of them," Max remarked, her eyes wide with wonder. "Do you think we'll be able to compete with all these other guilds?"
Julia shrugged, her mind already focused on the task at hand.
"Hopefully, we won't have to."
With a few deft taps on her interface, Julia completed the registration process, and the Blue Shield Guild was officially born.
"Now that we're a guild, we need to figure out who's going to tackle the dungeons first," Julia said, her voice brimming with excitement. "We'll take turns, rotate between members. That way, we minimize the chances of any casualties."
"I'll go," Fred volunteered, his determination shining through.
"I should probably go too," Julia added. "Who else?"
Two others from their group stepped forward, eager to join the expedition.
Max, and an older man by the name of Olem.
"Well, it looks like we're all set," Julia said, a sense of anticipation building within her. "Let's not waste any time. We'll head out to the dungeons right now."
With a sense of purpose and determination, Julia and her companions set off toward their first dungeon expedition as members of the Blue Shield Guild.
---
The night was shrouded in darkness as Julia and her group ventured into the streets, their footsteps echoing against the pavement.
The air felt heavy, with each member of the Blue Shield Guild on high alert as they scanned their surroundings for any sign of danger.
"Keep your guard up, everyone," Julia said, her voice low but firm. "We don't know what we might find out here, so stay sharp."
Max, the youngest member of their group, stuck close to Julia's side, her eyes wide, searching for the slightest anomaly around them.
Julia couldn't help but feel a pang of concern for the girl. Max was brave, but she was still inexperienced, a fact that weighed heavily on Julia's mind.
As they made their way through the deserted streets, Julia's thoughts raced with the possibilities of what they might encounter.
Monsters weren't the only threat they could encounter.
The System disagreed, for now, though.
Raid Incoming!
Enemies: Goblins
Level 5 - 15
Beginning in:
60
59
58
And so on.
Julia's heart skipped a beat.
A raid meant one thing: a massive onslaught of monsters, spawning out of nowhere and soon converging on their location.
"We need to find cover, now!" Julia exclaimed, her voice urgent as she glanced at her map.
Desperately, Julia led her friends towards the nearest building, their footsteps quickening with each passing second.
They ducked into the darkened interior, their breaths coming in ragged gasps as Julia closed the door behind them. From here, all they could do was wait for the inevitable.
[If you manage to hide well enough, you don't have to fight during a raid,] Julia reminded herself. [We just need to be quiet. That's all.]
Julia's heart pounded in her chest as the seconds ticked by, each one feeling like an eternity.
Naturally, Max ended up right next to her. Julia threw an arm behind her friend, her hand pressed firmly over the girl's mouth to stifle any sound that might give them away.
Finally, the minute was up.
The air was filled with the sound of goblins spawning, their guttural snarls echoing through the night.
Julia held her breath, her senses on high alert as she strained to hear their sounds outside. She needed to know if they were drawing closer.
For a while, those snarls were all. But, then, something happened.
It sounded like the goblins were fighting something.
The sounds were unmistakable. Weapons clashing and spells being cast.
Someone was fighting the goblins.
As time ticked on and the battle appeared to continue, from the sounds of it, they were holding their own.
Cautiously, Julia approached the window, her heart pounding in her chest as she peered outside.
What she saw took her breath away.
There, in the midst of the chaos, stood that same mysterious woman in black and green armor, her form illuminated by the flickering light of nearby street lamps.
With a ferocity that bordered on madness, she tore through the goblins with reckless abandon. It almost looked like her attacks were fueled by primal instinct rather than refined technique.
Julia watched in awe as the woman fought, her mind whirling as the spectacle unfolded. One after another, she cleaved through them with that massive sword she wielded.
[... No wonder the goblins didn't find us,] Julia thought. [Holy shit.]
And yet, despite the odds stacked against her, the woman showed no fear.
Around ten minutes passed and the raid came to an end.
Julia found herself unable to tear her gaze away from that woman outside.
She watched as the lady took a moment to catch her breath, her chest heaving with exertion.
It was then that Julia made her decision.
"J-Julia!?" Max yelled as the woman ran out into the street.
Immediately, the lady saw her and put her sword up, her intense, glowing, green eyes looking at Julia like she was just another goblin.
Julia swallowed. Then, she asked:
"Can I speak with you?"
