"Official Annou: Establishment of Guilds and Fas"

  Rael scrolled through the test forum post, the thread title glowing at the top of the page:

  [System Update] Guild Creation Now Avaible!

  A full week had passed sinch, and as expected, the forums were a madhouse. Pyers were already f fas, posting recruitment messages, and speg about which guilds would dominate Solmora.

  He clicked into one of the pinned discussions.

  [Megathread] Official Guild Creation Update - Who's F What?

  Before he could start reading, his door smmed open.

  "Bro, check the update!"

  Elias practically skidded into the room, his straight bck hair slightly disheveled. He wasn't even wearing socks—just a loose T-shirt and sants as he rushed uilds are in! This is huge."

  Rael barely had time to react before Elias flopped onto his bed, leaning over his shoulder to look at the s.

  "You're already on the forums? Nice. Let's see what kind of nonsense people are cooking up."

  Together, they scrolled through the flood of chaotic replies:

  — [BloodWarrior99]: FIRST GUILD TO HIT LEVEL 10 GETS 500 BUCKS FROM ME.— [ArdentDreamer]: Anyone wanna make a cuild? Strictly NO PvP psychos allowed.— [XxDraisxX]: If you're not min-maxing from day one, don't even bother joining a top-tier guild.

  "Holy shit, people are already going full tryhard." Elias snorted.

  — [S1lverHand]: We need a merary guild. No itments, just tracts. Pay us, we fight.— [Hod69]: Yo, where my succubus enjoyers at? We making a real guild.— [Moderator]: This message has been removed due to tent viotions.

  Elias choked on a ugh. "Every time, man. Every single game."

  Rael smirked but kept scrolling. Somewhere deep ihread, a random ent caught his eye.

  — [SkyBound47]: Wonder if any of the old legends are ing back. ROF, DeathParadigm, maybe even Bloodfang?— [JunoStorm]: Who cares? ROF disbanded like four years ago.

  The Rael like a spark in dry grass.

  Remembrance of the Fallen.

  Elias went quiet. His usual amused expression faded slightly as he g Rael, watg for aion.

  Rael didn't say anything. His fingers hovered over the mouse, but he didn't scroll past. The forum noise faded into the background.

  A memory flickered—his old team.

  Evan at the front, leading like an unshakable wall of steel. Leon slinging spells with reckless abandon. Oliver standing at the back, unreadable, loosing arrows with pinpoint precision. Lu moving like a shadow, untouchable.

  And himself—guiding them, making the calls, keeping the team together.

  Four years.

  Elias leaned back against the bedpost, stretg. "Didn't think I'd see that name again," he murmured, his tone casual, but there was something knowing in his voice. "Wild how people still remember."

  Rael exhaled through his nose, clig to another post. "Yeah."

  More chaotiter flooded the s, but one post stood out—a discussion gaining tra fast.

  [BckQuill]: "Okay, fet the usual guild stuff. Did aually read the fine print of the update? There's some crazy hidden meic about Guild Snty. If a guild proves itself 'worthy' in the eyes of the Order, they don't just get a guild hall—they get actual nd and autonomy. Like, full-on kingdom-building meiot just owning a fort or a castle—ruliory. This isn't just a PvP feature; it's baked into the world's structure."

  Rael sat up straighter, eyes narrowing.

  Elias, still slouched, perked up. "Wait—what?"

  Rael scrolled down to the replies.

  — [IronHorizon]: "Yeah, I saw that too. The game calls it Token Rights. Basically, the Order reize a guild as a Sy, granting them political authority over a region."— [SilverWraith]: "LMAO so basically guilds bee actual ruling fas in the game? Not just PvP but like, managing cities and eies??"— [CrestfallenKnight]: "Yup. And it looks like the only way to get Token Rights is through Order Trials or by pleting insane-scale world events."— [CrimsonBaron]: "Bruh, this game is on another level. We're talking actual kingdom wars down the lihis ain't just a guild system; it's a full geopolitical endgame."

  Elias sat up properly now, gng at Rael. "Dude. This is huge."

  Rael didn't respond immediately. His fingers hovered over the mouse as he read further.

  — [StormReaver]: "Calling it now: top guilds are gonna monopolize this. The big dogs will ruhing, and casuals will just be stuck paying taxes lmao."— [VortexSeeker]: "Unless someone new rises up. New guilds, new power struggles. Hell, if someone wao take over, now's the time."— [ShadowWarden92]: "Imagine if an old team like Ravens came back. They were tactical as hell. If they formed a guild, they'd be one of the stro in the game." — [EbonFang]: "Oh, you don't know? Their leader, Salzar, is already ref the guild with new blood."

  — [ShadowWarden92]: "Wait, seriously? Salzar's bringing Ravens back?"— [EbonFang]: "Yep. Already recruiting. Saw a few names pop up in the roster—some solid pyers."— [StormReaver]: "Damn. If they're even half as good as before, they'll be a problem."— [IronHorizon]: "No way they'll be the same without the old core. New blood or not, that kind of synergy doesn't e easy."— [VortexSeeker]: "Maybe, maybe not. Only time will tell."

  Elias leaned ba Rael's chair, arms crossed, watg him scroll. His gaze flicked to the mention of the Ravens before shifting back to Rael's face. Then, he smirked.

  "You know," Elias started, drawing out his words, "you're pying anyway."

  Rael didn't look away from the s. "And?"

  "And," Elias tinued, stretg his legs, "you're already thinking about it."

  Rael clicked his tongue. He wasn't wrong.

  Elias leaned forward, resting his arms on his knees. "Look, I get it. You stepped away from all that. But let's not pretend you're just here to pass the time." He gestured toward the s. "You don't just py—you break things down, figure them out, see angles no one else notices. It's not about winning for the sake of it. You like solving things. And this?" He tapped the monitor. "This is the biggest puzzle you've had in a long time."

  Rael's fiapped lightly against his desk.

  Elias leaned in, voice casual but deliberate. "You could pretend to be casual for a while. But eventually? Yonna see some guild making dumb moves, yonna think about how you would do it better, and then—boom. You're in." He leaned back, smug. "Might as well skip the pretending and start now."

  Rael clicked off the forum page and turned in his chair to face Elias. He wasn't grinning, but there was something sharp in his eyes now.

  * * *

  The s faded to bck as Rael logged into Solmora.

  A momehe world loaded in—a sprawling cityscape bathed in the golden hues of dusk. The marketpce buzzed with pyers bartering, NPCs calling out their wares, and distant bells tolling the end of the in-game day. He stood in the pza, the meeting spot he had sent to both Gale and Leon.

  It didn't take long for them to arrive.

  Leon was the first, his armored robe shifting as he slowed to a stop. "Alright, I'm here. What's sent?"

  Gale wasn't far behind, adjusting the straps on his sword as he came to a halt beside them. He gave Rael a fused gnce. "You don't usually call us like this."

  Rael didn't waste time. "I'm making a guild."

  A brief silehen—

  Leo out a low chuckle. "The hell? That's what this is about?"

  Gale blinked. "Wait… seriously?"

  Rael nodded. "I wasn't pnning on it, but things ged."

  Leon crossed his arms, amusement still ced in his tone. "What, did someoalk you into it?"

  Rael smirked. "Something like that."

  Gale tilted his head. "I thought you didn't care about guilds."

  "I didn't," Rael admitted. "But this game's different. The guild system isn't just about status—it's about trol. Influehere's a structure here that be shaped, and if we don't take the initiative, someone else will." He met their gazes. "I don't io sit bad let others decide how this world works."

  Leon exhaled through his nose, shaking his head with a knowing grin. "There it is. The real reason."

  Rael didn't deny it.

  Gale still seemed surprised, but there was ation in his voice when he asked, "So what's the pn?"

  Rael looked betweewo of them.

  Leon stretched his arms behind his head, still grinning as he scrolled through the guild interface. Then, almost absentmindedly, he muttered, "Man… I missed this feeling."

  Rael g him.

  Leon exhaled, shaking his head with a small chuckle. "Y'know, ba ROF, we were always breaking stuff down, making pns, pushing ahead. I didn't realize how much I missed it until now." He shot Rael a side gnce. "And, holy? I'm gd you're moving fain."

  Rael didn't say anything right away, but there was a brief pause before he gave a small nod. ly agreement—more like quiet aowledgment.

  Gale, meanwhile, looked between them, frowning slightly. "ROF?"

  Leon blihen g Rael. "ht. You old him?"

  Rael sighed. "Not iail."

  Gale crossed his arms. "I feel like I just walked into the middle of something."

  Leon smirked, but it was more nostalgic than teasing. "Let's just say… before all this, we were part of something big. ROF—Remembrance of the Fallen. It ro team, one of the best. Rael was our leader."

  Gale raised an eyebrow. "Pro team?"

  Rael didn't add much, but his expression was unreadable. "It was a long time ago."

  Leon shrugged. "Yeah, but legends don't just fade away, do they?"

  Rael shot him a look, and Leon just grinned.

  Gale still looked skeptical. "So, you guys were, what, famous or something?"

  Leon ughed. "Something like that."

  Rael stood, brushing off the topic. "Doesn't matter. That was then. This is now." He gestured toward the guild interface. "And we've got work to do."

  Gale studied them both for a moment lohen sighed. "Fine, keep your secrets."

  Leon patted him on the shoulder. "Hey, stick around long enough, and you'll see why it mattered."

  Gale just shrugged, but in the back of his mind, he made a mental note—he could always just look it up ter. If it was something big enough for them to be this vague about, there had to be records of it somewhere.

  Rael was already moving forward. "Let's focus on what's ."

  Leon and Gale exged a gnce before following. The past could wait—right now, the future was being built.

  He exhaled. "First, we establish the guild. After that, we grow. Not just numbers, but influence. If the game's guild system is as deep as it looks, then trolliory isn't just about fighting—it's about positioning, resources, strategy."

  Leon grinned. "So we're going big."

  Rael met his gaze. "If we're doing this, we do it right."

  Gale crossed his arms, nodding slowly. "Alright. What do we need?"

  Rael opehe guild creation interface, scrolling through the details. "Guild funs are tied to levels. We start at Level 1 with basic features, but leveling up unloew perks. Here's how it works…"

  Guild Progression System

  Guild Level 1:— Basic guild hall access— invite up to 50 members— Shared ste for resources

  Guild Level 2:— Unlocks guild missions (PvE and PvP tasks)— Expanded member cap (100 members)— Basic guild buffs (+2% EXP gain)

  Guild Level 3:— Allows guild banners (visual representation in the world)— Unlocks minor influen Order territories— Guild shop with disted items

  Guild Level 4:— Intermediate guild buffs (+5% EXP gain, +2% resathering)— Access to guild-trolled dungeons— Larger shared ste

  Guild Level 5:— Unlocks the ability to own minor settlements— Guild members gain passive stat bonuses within owerritory— form alliances with uilds

  Guild Level 6-9:— Expands settlement trol— Unlocks unique fa-reted perks— Increases guild bat bonuses in PvP zones

  Guild Level 1nition as a Sn Guild (Eligible for Order Trials)— establish autonomous rule over a region— Full geopolitical influerade, w, military trol)

  Rael skimmed the details before looking back at the two. "To level up, we need achievements and members. We don't just grind—we o plete objectives, prove ourselves, and expand."

  Leon leaned over his shoulder, eyes glinting. "So, what I'm hearing is… we're aiming for Level 10."

  Rael's lips twitched slightly. "Wouldn't be much of a pn if we weren't."

  Gale huffed a small ugh. "Well, shit. Guess I'm in for the long haul."

  Rael finalized the guild creation process. A moment ter, a notification popped up.

  [SYSTEM] Guild "????" has been successfully created.

  A bnk space. The name field still o be filled in.

  Leon smirked. "So… what's it gonna be?"

  Rael tapped his fingers against the desk for a moment, then typed in a single word.

  Eclipse.

  A firmation s appeared.

  [SYSTEM] Guild "Eclipse" has beeered. Wele, Guildmaster.

  Leo out a shh. "Yeah… that fits."

  Gale raised a brow. "Why Eclipse?"

  Rael g the s, watg as the guild interface activated. His voice was calm, steady.

  "Because an eclipse isn't just the absence of light," he said. "It's the moment before everything ges."

  Leon grinned, something knowing in his expression. "Dramatic as ever."

  Gale shook his head with a half-smile. "Guess we're really doing this, huh?"

  Rael clicked the final firmation button. "Yeah. We are."

  * * *

  Their first job together as a guild party came from a looble in Vash'kar. It wasn't an official guild quest—just a normal bounty, but it would do for now. The task was straightforward: recover a stolen heirloom from a group of bandits hiding in a forested ravi of the city.

  The jourhere was uful, but as they reached the outskirts of the bandit camp, Rael raised a fist, signaling them to stop.

  He sed the area. Four hostiles patrolling the entrance, light armor, mostly iron ons. Nothing special.

  "Take them fast before they alert the rest," Rael murmured.

  Gale smirked, drawing his sword. "Been waiting for some a."

  Leon cracked his knuckles, small flickers of frost dang at his fiips. "I'll freeze their legs—slow them down."

  Rael uhed his bde, its silver edge glowing faintly with divine energy.

  The fight started with Leon unleashing a sharp gust of ice magic, freezing the grouh the bandits. As they struggled tain their footing, Gale dashed in, his sword fshing through the air.

  The first bandit barely had time to react befale's bde carved through his defenses, sending him sprawling.

  Another lu Rael, but he angled his shield, defleg the strike before tering with a , precise ssh of holy light, cutting through the bandit's armor with ease.

  A third mao break free from the id attempted to flee.

  Leon was faster.

  A sphere of fire shot forward, exploding against the bandit's bad sending him crashing face-first into the dirt.

  The st bandit dropped his on and raised his hands in surrender. "H-Hey, wait! I tell you where the loot is—"

  Gale knocked him out with the pommel of his sword. "Not ied."

  The dust settled, and sileuro the forest. The bodies of the fallen bandits y scattered at the entrance of the ravieam still rising from the frozen patches where Leon's magic had taken hold.

  Rael stepped over one of the unsen, his gaze sweeping the narrow trail that led deeper into the camp. He could see the glow of torchlight flickeriweerees ahead.

  Leon exhaled, flexing his fingers. "Not bad. We hahat ly."

  Gale rolled his shoulder, sheathing his sword. "Could've been er. I should've taken two of them before they eveed."

  Rael smirked slightly. "Then do better ime."

  Gale huffed but grinned. "You're enjoying this too much."

  "No," Rael said, eyes forward as he started moving. "Just calling it how it is."

  They pressed on, stepping carefully over the roots and uerrain. The path curved slightly before opening into a wider clearing, where the actual camp sprawled before them. Wooden barricades formed a crude perimeter, and two watchtowers fhe entrance. Several tents were pitched in a semicircle around a tral bonfire, where six figures sat drinking and talking.

  One of them stood out.

  The Elite Bandit, rger than the rest, had heavier armor—studded leather reinforced with metal ptes—and a long, curved greatsword resting against his shoulder. He wasn't just some random thug.

  Leon clicked his tohat one's gonna be a problem."

  Rael he way the others deferred to him, their stances less rexed whenever he moved. The leader, most likely.

  Gale tapped his fingers against his sword's hilt. "We got a pn, or are we just jumping in?"

  Rael's eyes darted betweehen to their surroundings. "Leohem clustered with ice. Gale, go for the ranged ones first—I'll deal with the leader."

  Leon raised a brow. "You sure about that?"

  Rael uhed his bde. "We'll find out."

  The fight started with Leon ung a wave of frost, coating the ground and catg two bandits mid-step. They cursed as their movements slowed, and Gale took the opening, dashing forward in a blur. His bde whistled through the air, cutting through the first bandit's side before he twisted and knocked another off bance.

  The Elite Bandit reacted fast. He barked a and, and the remaining fighters spread out. Uhe first group, these ones were experienced.

  Rael barely raised his shield in time as the greatsword came crashing down. The impact rattled his bones, and he had to dig his heels into the dirt to hold his ground. Strong.

  The Elite Bandit pushed forward, pressing the weight of his bde against Rael's shield. "Not bad," he growled. "But not good enough."

  Rael suddenly angled his shield, redireg the pressure to the side. The bandit stumbled forward just slightly—enough for Rael to strike.

  His bde fshed, divine energy surging along its edge as he sshed across the bandit's exposed side. A deep cut opened, but the man barely flinched. He was tahan expected.

  Meanwhile, Leon had switched to fire, hurling bursts of fme to keep the others from overwhelming Gale, but it wasn't enough.

  A bandit got past the fire, closing the distand smming a dagger into Gale's side.

  Gale grunted, staggering back. His HP dropped into single digits.

  Leon saw it happen. "Gale—!"

  Gale moved before anyone else could react. With his free hand, he grabbed a potion, ripped the cork off with his teeth, and dowhe whole thing in seds.

  The wound stitched itself closed, and his HP shot back up. He exhaled sharply. "Okay. That was too close."

  Rael's grip on his sword tightened.

  They were struggling. This wasn't like before.

  He stepped back from the Elite Bandit, breathing slightly heavier than before. If this was what a single elite fight felt like, then casual py wasn't going to cut it.

  Gale wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, his breathing still uneven from the near-death enter. The bandit that had stabbed him y sprawled on the ground, motionless.

  Leon flicked his wrist, sending another firebolt toward a retreating enemy, the explosion lighting up the battlefield for a brief moment.

  Rael squared off against the Elite Bandit, gripping his sword tighter. The man was still standie his wounds, his smirk ced with amusement.

  "That all you got?" the bandit taunted, adjusting his stance.

  Rael didn't respond. Instead, he stepped forward, his bde gleaming with divine energy.

  The Elite Bandit lunged first, his greatsword arg downward in a devastating overhead strike. But this time, Rael was ready.

  He sidestepped, letting the massive on sm into the dirt, and with a single fluid motion, he brought his sword up in a tight diagonal ssh, carving a golden arc through the night air.

  Holy Edge.

  A radiant gash split across the bandit's chest, and for the first time, his smirk faltered.

  Rael didn't give him a ce to recover. With precise footwork, he closed the gap, bashing his shield into the man's ribs, f him off-bance.

  Leon seized the moment.

  A trated spear of ied in his palm before ung forward at blistering speed, pierg straight through the Elite Bandit's exposed shoulder.

  He staggered back, blood dripping from the wound.

  "Now," Rael anded.

  Gale was already moving. His bde fshed owice—then a third time, each strike cutting deep.

  The Elite Bandit tried to raise his sword for a final swing, but his strength failed him. His knees buckled, and he colpsed with a heavy thud.

  A system notification flickered at the edge of their vision.

  [SYSTEM] Elite Bandit defeated. Rewards distributed.

  A heavy silence hung in the air for a moment befale exhaled.

  "Okay," he muttered, rubbing his neck. "That was way harder than it should've been."

  Leon rolled his shoulders. "No kidding. If we're struggling this muow, we o grind. Hard."

  Rael didn't say anything. He already knew.

  They had no choice but to level up—fast.

  With the bandits defeated, they turheir focus to the tent at the ter of the camp.

  Rael stepped inside first, sword at the ready. The interior was dimly lit by a siern hanging from the support beam. A crude wooden table was stacked with various stolen tris and bags of , but his eyes went straight to a small, ornate box resting at the back.

  He picked it up and flipped the tch open.

  Inside, led on a bed of velvet, was a silver sig ring inid with a deep blue gemstohe crest engraved into the metal matched the description from the quest.

  The stolen heirloom.

  Rael held it up, letting the light cat the polished surface.

  "Found it," he called out.

  Gale and Leon stepped inside. Gale raised a brow. "That little thing caused this much trouble?"

  Leon smirked. "People get real touchy about seal stuff."

  Rael closed the box and tucked it into his iory. "Let's move. I don't want to stick around in case more show up."

  With that, they left the tent and began their journey back to the city—this time, with a clear goal in mind.

  Rael uood—if they wao stand a ce, they had to grow stronger.