- Kuroka -
"Woah… that was so coooolllll." Gasper cheered from behind his mask.
She too had a smirk on her face.
The pride and arrogance he was showing reminded her of Vali. The beatdown which followed next was just a cherry on the cake.
It was totally different from his usual knightley side that he had shown so far.
Kuroka guessed that the opponent had something to do with the kidnapping and was getting a beating due to it.
His strength… it really was beyond any other player she had heard or seen so far.
By now, she didn't doubt the fact that Arthas, the Guild Master of the Fairy Tail Guild, was the strongest player in the game.
In fact, it wasn't just his brute stats or spamming skills mindlessly but also his actual skill level. While it wasn't on par with Arthur, he was improving at a speed visible to the naked eye.
The more he fought, the better he got. Even in the real world, such a person could have become someone famous with proper resources.
At this level, she doubted there would be anyone outside the actual Supernatural beings who could match him in pure skill in a few years.
In fact, it wasn't just him.
Even that girl, White Rose… she was trained.
Kuroka could tell from a glance that she was absolutely trained and not just at a human level. She was a Supernatural for sure. That was why she hadn't given her identity to her or gone with her to meet the rest.
She wanted to get to know them on her own terms first to know if they could be dangerous to Gasper and her and only then join them if she was satisfied with them.
White Rose's behaviour did seem good at first glance but she couldn't afford to hurry to take a decision like that.
What had attracted her even more was one of the Skills he was using.
The white aura around him… it felt awfully like Touki. Was there Senjutsu and Touki in this world?
Kuroka hadn't had much time to explore other classes and playstyles, being six months late in this game. She had devoted all her time to level up and increase her strength to find Shirone at the fastest but now she was realising that in doing so she was also missing out some things which could affect her strength in the long run.
If this world had Magic, Touki and Senjutsu then it would do her a lot more good to find those things than rely on a fighting style she was totally unfamiliar with.
Maybe if she really joined Fairy Tail, she could find out more. They did seem like they had a lot of information about high level Classes and Skills, being the strongest players in the game.
The Tier 4 competition was starting and while she would have waited to watch it normally, she had a lot of work to do after today's encounter so she took Gasper and left for the Blacksmith's shop in the city.
- Shiroe -
"Really, are you guys sure you don't need any support? It sounded quite dangerous." He asked.
The sudden guild messages were made in the public chat of the Guild and attracted too much attention.
He had been the first to respond and didn't get any answer at first. Later Veena explained the whole situation to them and everyone was worried sick after hearing everything. Kidnapping?
Sure Shiroe knew that those kinds of things happened in the game. They had saved Elaine from it and then Bina and Rose from actual human trafficking… but it still came as a surprise to everyone.
In the past few days, they had been working here and Star's Class Quest was still ongoing. In fact it was set to be tomorrow but the information had made them all reconsider things.
Star was ready to drop the quest and go to Greenfrost. It was only after Arthas himself said everything was in control that he stopped. Practically speaking, a bunch of T4 going there would just increase the burden on Arthas right now.
It would just give his enemies more targets to kidnap. That's why the best option right now was to stay in Llyne and get to tier 5 as soon as possible and level up.
That would increase the power behind the Fairy Tail name and give them the power to fight against any repercussions that might come from the aftermath of this incident.
The Order of Black Hand was a huge guild. A guild led by a Tier 7.
Tier 7.
He wasn't sure if they could all win against a high level Tier 6 as a team right now, let alone a Tier 7.
They might have some chance if they sacrificed Damon and caught the other side in a trap but even that was speculation based on his estimates of the full strength of a Tier 6.
Damon was just level 6 of T6 and he was not exactly a pure combat based class either.
"Yes. We are fine. Arnold and the rest of the Knights have increased security around us. Veena and Rose are protected by a T6 at all times. I want you all to reach T5 as soon as you can and concentrate on leveling up the Guild. We have a big opportunity in front of us." Arthas said from the other side of the line.
"What opportunity?"
"I was just awarded the position of the City Lord of a City by the Prince of the Country."
…
"What?"
"I was just made a City Lord. We might need to move."
"...seriously?"
"Yup. I was surprised out of my mind too but it turns out that the guy who saved Rose was actually the Prince of the Country. We might be looking at the beginning of a Quest of some kind. I will tell you more after I find out about the City's location next. Just concentrate on leveling up the Guild. We will need more members to establish ourselves in another place. Oh, and leave a few places open. I am planning to recruit the girl who helped Rose and her brother."
"Got it." Shirone agreed, his mind thinking about the plans for the next town already.
"Oh, and I might need to go to the Capital. Veena got some deals with some of the businessmen and nobles of Greenfrost. You might need to receive them if they send people there before we return. If we need help, we can just inform you all."
"I will take care of it. Just be safe there, you three."
"We will."
The conversation ended.
Rose and Veena had a private chat with Bina and Elaine after that and ended the chat as they left to rest.
Shiroe sat down in his place and looked at the rest of the core members of the team.
"Looks like all our plans to develop the territory in Greenfrost will need to be put on hold." Sigh… truly, the plans of mice and men…
"Cheer up. What's a mere territory? Arthas is going to be a City Lord. Can you imagine that? That's going to be some kind of achievement in and of itself."
"Probably, but I doubt it would be so easy. Arthas is right, the first thing we need to do is level up and get to T5 as soon as we can. Suikazura-san, is next. We will be going around doing a Field Boss sweep to level up next. No need to wait for them to return to pick up speed. We can later help Rose catch up. As for Arthas and Veena, they are already at a high level."
Over the next few hours, they made several plans.
Arthas told them about the undead in the areas near Greenfrost.
They were weak against Holy and Fire Type attacks and plenty in number. The only reason it was hard to hunt them was because of their poison and the miasma that covers the area.
Because of this reason, the thing which Greenfrost's Church and Knight Academy order the most are the Miasma Pills. It kind of makes sense why they gave Veena that reward for the World Quest. It wasn't just because of her Class but also so that they could produce more of the Miasma Pills and increase supply to Greenfrost.
This game always does things for a reason.
Right now, the Fairy Tail Guild has been more or less established in Llyne and now they already have another target in front of them.
Things were finally starting to pick up pace and they had to step up their game to not get left behind.
- Game Master -
"Woohoo, he went all out for the Achievements, didn't he?" He laughed as he watched the scene of the finals of the Greenfrost Tournament.
"He did. I actually enjoyed the scene. It seemed quite normal. Everything fit in so well." Tiamat smiled, a rare smile.
"So the cat helped with the Valkyrie and they might meet the next day. They came together faster than I had thought they would. Good for them."
That tournament… it wasn't meant to be for players.
At least this year's T5 tournament wasn't meant to be. It would have opened up the next year for normal players.
He hadn't expected someone to reach Greenfrost at T5 so soon, get recommended and even win.
Even the quest which Arthas got was actually meant to be for the players who participate there… next year.
There was a whole main quest associated with this year's quest… which was now completely out of track.
"Do we need to readjust the scenario to suit the quest?" Red asked.
"Hmm… no. Leave it be. The people in the game were all based on actual people. All of them contained actual personalities rather than just wisely written AI programs.This meant that this world works just like a real world. Let them do it."
Then he thought of something and a smile came to his face.
"He met Arthas Menethil, didn't he?" Now he wondered how the main quest of Auvudor would go?
The Undead… the Invasion, the Lich King.
How would the fight between two Arthas go?
Which one would win?
Can Junior change the fate of the world?
"It's so exciting to watch. Almost as if watching a real life self-insert fanfiction… and I would prefer it if I didn't know what will happen in the future of this story. Since Junior wants to run, let him run. If he falls, he will learn from it… and if he can't… even with all these cheats… then he probably wasn't meant to be the one in the first place. Not to mention the rewards of this quest…"
In front of him was the map of the kingdom.
Near Greenfrost's borders was the city of Alverton, the city which was given to Arthas to govern and guard.
And the city beside it… the city of Stratholme.
"Hahahaha he already looked spooked when he realised which setting this was that he had stumbled into. I wonder what he will do when he recognizes the name?"
The only reason he hadn't named the Kingdom was because one of the references contained the name Lorderon in it, one which his Junior had actually triggered.
Now… how will you deal with the future quests, junior?
Enjoy the time of peace and get as strong as you can. The future has many storms waiting. You would need all your strength to face them.
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Beta Note: The advance chapters are in order of what is updated, a first Tier will not get 2 advanced chapters for every story, only the next two to be released.
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Author'sNote:
I am back with another chapter of 'Soul Art Online'.
The Tournament is finally over.
Arthas went all in the references in this one.
Next chapter will have the award ceremony and the date with Rose and we will meet the big Kitty and the Trap Vampire. In two or three chapters, I will start working on the second World Quest.
The game is progressing in a way even the Game Master didn't expect and Arthas is becoming something like Grid did in the Overgeared Novel.
Enjoy the new chapter.
Good Day, Peace Out.