Second World

”Thatʼs pretty cruel of you,” John said. ”But smart. You know this is going to come back and bite your ass so you cut them loose. But donʼt think for a second that we believe that you have nothing to do with those robberies. Those acts were too organized for thugsʼ works. Only a guild the level of yours could pull it off.”

”I would warn you to not slender us any longer,” Manager Steelhand was no longer feigning his anger. ”Iʼve held back out of respect as we have invited your guild, but donʼt think for a second that I will let you off if you continue to disturb this meeting!”

”So, are you saying that Iʼm no longer welcomed here?” John asked, he was still wearing his smug expression.

Queen Magenta took the chance to hiss out, ”Of course you are no longer welcomed here! If you still donʼt leave within five minutes, donʼt blame us for being discourteous.”

Scarface didnʼt say anything, but his face clearly showed that he was in agreement with the statement. Manager Steelhand who had been playing the good-cop part since the start, no longer try to mediate. He was even regretful that he did not chase away John from the start.

John shrugged and picked up the recording stone, ”all right, Iʼm leaving.”

”Put that stone down!” Manager Steelhand told him.

”Oh? Do you want to erase this evidence of your guildʼs treachery?” John asked.

”That matter had nothing to do with us!” Manager Steelhand bellowed.

”Then this stone has nothing to do with you. Why should I give it to you? It is mine, so it is my right to take it away.”

”It can cause misunderstanding and ruin our reputation!”

”So you want to take it away from me? Like a robber?”

Manager Steelhandʼs hands were trembling. He tried his best to hold back the urge to pounce at this detestable man.

John turned around since Manager Steelhand was not saying anything. ”Any of you is welcomed to stay here. I bet we will soon see the rise of an alliance of thugs and bullies. I for one want nothing to do with it.”

He went to the team he had come with, ”letʼs go!” He said.

They stood up and went away with John. The players who guarded the entrance looked at their superiors, trying to see if they gave a signal to block these people, but their leaders were silent.

Another group stood up. It was Saint Edge people led by William of Wellington. He gestured to Manager Steelhand and the others and said, ”Please excuse me, I will leave as well.”

Kill Order also left with the rest of Black Cloakʼs members. He didnʼt even bother to address Manager Steelhand and the others before leaving. He simply walked away from the venues.

Several guilds started to leave as well under the leads of the two largest guilds amongst the audiences. Some opted to stay. Weary Wolf and Warriors of Solidarity were amongst those that stayed.

”Let them leave, they are just wimps who are not destined to be rulers,” The Real Man said.

Scarface stood beside Manager Steelhand, ”we have always expected there to be some that are unwilling to join, but this was much more than expected.”

”Yes… that prick had truly ruined our plan,” Manager Steelhand grumbled. ”Who is he anyway? Saint John... I know some influential players from Handy Craftsmen, but Iʼve never heard of him.”

”Nor do I. Are you letting him go?”

Manager Steelhand had a steely tone when he said, ”what do you think? We have prepared some strike teams for this scenario, it is just larger than we initially thought. Iʼm going to prep the team. You and Queen Magenta should mobilize yours as well.”

”Agreed,” Scarface replied.

Jack clicked his tongue seeing the outcome, almost half of the participants had left. The result was even better than his expectation.

”Whatʼs going on?” He heard Earmouthʼs voice from behind. The guy had just returned. ”I saw many people leaving.”

Jack told him of the events that had just transpired. Earmouth stomped his feet and cursed out loud. He was just about to say something when his expression showed as if he had just been distracted by something. He had a blank face for a while before saying, ”I have to go,” and left to the back of the central courtyard where the three organizing guilds were at. Jack wondered what that was all about.

Manager Steelhand was still at the center of the courtyard. After he saw that no one else was leaving, he proclaimed, ”I assumed those that are still here had already made up your minds to join our alliance? For the next phase, we will reveal something which was our three guildsʼ secret. Only those that agreed to join our alliance would be privy to it.”

Guildʼs secret? Jack was intrigued. They had kept the best for last. Maybe John shouldnʼt have left so soon.

Manager steelhand took out a device with a strange shape. It had jagged claws on its edges with a weird-looking dark blue orb at the center. There was a thin mist that constantly swirling around it.

”This is a Unique Artifact!” Manager Steelhand told the others.

Everyone gasped. They knew about the rarity grade of items, and Unique was just one step away from the best grade of Legendary. Not many knew the term Artifact, but those that knew were even more amazed that Corporate United had got their hands on one such item. An Artifact was a one-of-a-kind tool in this world.

Jack had several Unique Artifact with him, but that was also the reason he was worried. He knew from experience how a Unique Artifact could be a gamechanger.

After everyone quieted down, Manager Steelhand described the tool in his hand, ”Our guild was lucky enough to get our hands on this item when we were exploring another ruin nearby here. This artifact was called Shackle of Vows. It might be a unique item, but it gave no boost in combat ability. However, its function was rather special. It can bind the promises between two parties. Each party will state his or her promises and conditions. If one party broke the promise, a curse will fell on the person. We have never seen the effect of the curse yet, but its description said that the curse is very severe and can potentially lead to death. And the death penalty is the one when you died in the wilderness. Even if you try to hide in a city when the curse takes effect, you will still suffer the same penalty.”

Jack was astounded, that was the perfect tool for secrecy. It held no benefit if he got the item, but for guilds that mostly valued secrecy, this was a heaven-sent tool. Jack could roughly guess in which direction this conversation was going.

As expected, Manager Steelhand told the remaining audiences that in order to join the last phase of this meeting and join their alliance, everyone had to make a vow using this artifact. Where they will promise secrecy on what they heard and witness during the rest of this meeting.

Jack wondered if this would include him as well. He thought about what he should do if he was asked to take a vow. After thinking for a while, he realized that he had a way to circumvent the artifact. He might not be able to tell others about it, but that didnʼt prevent him from recording the event in the meeting and then probably accidentally drop the recording stone in some peopleʼs laps.

That wouldnʼt be considered as he was the one that spilled it, right? He was laughing in his mind. It was lucky that he had bought three recording stones. He had given one to John. Another one he had used to record the meeting before this. He could use the last one to record the remaining meeting.

He was still laughing in his mind when he suddenly received a guild message. He checked the message and saw it was from Earmouth. Strangely the message asked him to go to the outer edge of this ruin. What was he being called over there for when the next part of the meeting was just about to start?

He asked Peniel, ”can I leave the Recording Stone here to record the event?”

Peniel replied promptly, ”nope. The stone could only record the things in your vicinity, and has to be in your possession when being activated.”

Too bad, Jack thought. He reluctantly left the premises. Before he left, he glanced at Warpath who was still standing there. ”You didnʼt receive any message?” Jack asked him.

”What message?” He asked back in puzzlement.

”Never mind,” Jack said and left.

😉