Infinite Realm

8th floor, Outer region.

A team of players numbering at least 15, were gathered at a particular spot at the 8th floor. They all exuded refined auras and had a sharp look in their eyes seeming like well trained soldiers. They all had Mid tier Mortal rank weapons with at least one Upper tier Mortal rank weapon or equipment. Some even had two or three.

The players had formed a circular formation with a diameter of 10 metres. At the centre of the formation was a table with a large map and 3 players, all garbed in level 5 Upper tier Mortal rank weapons, were standing beside the table. One look and one would know that they were experts and not your average players. If Sato or even Fudo were here, they would surely know who one of the players was. This team was that of the super guild Emperor's Might and one of the commanders at the centre of the formation was the Sly devil, 'false king' and the 5th 'Hand of the Emperor', Chesces.

"So according to the information we received, there should be a Special Elite at the Middle region?" A mage dressed in blue clothings asked. Fudo would surely remember him as he was the one who made Nishida Kotaro take a step back. He was the commander for the Emperor's Might branch at Riverdale, the 'false king' Azure Dragon.

"Yes." The third player present replied. For him to be present in the midst of two high ranking members of Emperor's Might was more than enough to show that he too was of a high ranking.

"Where exactly then?" Azure Dragon asked.

"We aren't so sure but the information indictates the 9th or 10th floor." The player answered once more.

"I guess it should be the 10th. Even though following such numbers is too cliché, my gut tells me it is." Chesces replied with a wryly smile.

"Doesn't matter anyway. We would still have to pass through the 9th floor to get to the 10th." Azure Dragon commented.

After a short period of deliberation, Chesces said "There are a lot of monsters here and with a party of 15, it is very difficult to just run past them; we always get tied down. At this rate it would take us a day or so to reach floor 9 of the Middle region or even floor 8. Each second that goes by increases the risk of out movements being found out by the other guilds."

The player who had been replying Azure Dragon retorted "So what if they know? Would they dare to disrupt our plans or compete with us? I doubt that they would even do so with the measly players they have."

"It's better to prepare for the worst. We didn't bring our full force here while most of them did. If we force them too much and take all the good stuffs, they would eventually lose it and retaliate." Chesces sighed.

"Hmph. Let them bring it. It's been awhile since I have participated in a guild war."

"That 'while' was just last month..." Chesces retorted.

"...tch."

"Enough you two. We're here to achieve our mission and not bicker about facts." Azure Dragon stated. "Black Tempest, Chesces is still right in saying that we have to avoid clashing with those guilds. Our players might have quality but they have quantity. How many players do you think you can handle on your own right now? 30? 50? 100? Or is it 10?"

With each number Azure Dragon called, Black Tempest became embarrassed.

"Even if you can handle them, there are a lot more players than that. For this mission, we have to complete it as soon as possible. Rather than arguing over nonsense, you might as well plan a way forward for us to reach there quicker."

"I apologise." Black Tempest lowered his head.

" *Sighs* Don't worry about it. I understand your reason for complacency. Yukino is still back at the base. Most of the outside forces would focus on her movements and very few know that you are here. Those few as well, all belong to the guild but we still can't blitzkrieg our way into the Middle region."

Azure Dragon didn't blame Black Tempest any further because he knew how he was. If Chesces was like a calm headed guy that evaluated all possibilities, Black Tempest would be a hot-headed player who only believes in brute strength. Though this was far outstretched when compared to the real Black Tempest, it wasn't that far from it. But one good thing about him is that he doesn't argue with his superiors.

"Prepare for departure. Our next stop would be at the 3rd level of the Middle region."

"Yes." Chesces and Black Tempest replied.

. . . . .

"You said what?" A cloaked man asked the player who kneeled in front of him.

"We just received intel. Our spies planted in Emperor's Might have noticed the absence of Azure Dragon and a few other special characters of the guild."

"Hahaha. I wonder where that kid went to."

For someone to call Azure Dragon, who was already a middle aged man, a kid, the man had to be older than him by far and not just by one or even five years.

"The other chieftains request that you weaken them a lot." The player, who dressed like a Ranger with a bow on his back, commented while still kneeling down.

"Hmph. Request? More like a trap." The cloaked man harrumphed. "They are probably trying to set me up with this. Emperor's Might guild here might be a branch but it still has some capable warriors. Having me handle them myself isn't reasonable. Those old baldies probably want me to mess up and then they will hook the blame on me."

"So, are we rejecting it?" The Ranger asked carefully.

"Hmph. If we do that, how will I preserve my face in the next meeting?! Track down where those children went to and inform me immediately."

"Yes, my chief."

With that, the Ranger abruptly departed. He did it so smoothly and soundlessly that one would think he was actually an assassin instead of a ranger. From his movements alone, it was enough to show that he was an expert class player and not a weak one.

"Hehe. I told you before little Azure. Calling yourself 'Dragon' when you're nothing but a snake. You shall soon come to witness that terror of the Nightmare." The cloaked man's eyes glistened through the darkness of his hood.

. . . . .

"Boss! Boss!"

"What's it?" Blood Sword who stood close to the corpse of a monster questioned with anger. The two people he had sent after Sato had some how lost his trail so he was really angry. He went levelling at another grounds, Kiro mountains to be precise. The reason why he chose here was because most people would head to Black Grill's Cave and it would be too risky to find a prey. But here in Kiro mountains, he could hunt as much players as he could.

Blood Sword was only able to enter Riverdale Town back then because he was still an orange name and clearing his record wasn't so hard; he just had to die enough times. Now however, he wanted to dedicate himself to being a true dark player and he decided to set his base of operations in Kiro mountains. It was safe because they had a feasible retreat path similar to Black Grill's Cave; high levelled monsters dwelled deeper so regular players wouldn't chase them that far if they ran deeper.

'It's too bad that I might not get the chance to meet that a*"ho*e.'

"Boss. I just got news. They've found him!"

"Eh? Found who?" Blood Sword asked with a confused expression.

"Him! The player you were looking for!" The player who reported the news projected an image through his system interface. The image displayed was that of Sato's figure.

"Are you sure?!" Blood Sword gingerly asked while grabbing the shoulders of the messenger.

"Yes, I am boss." The player was surprised by his behaviour but he still hastily replied, worried that Blood Sword would get mad at him for delaying.

"Where then?!"

"At, at Black Grill's Cave." The player hastily responded.

"Black Grill's Cave...Men, pack up. We're heading to Black Grill's Cave. It's time to collect some debts."

AN :

Remember when I made Chesces from my number one supporter? Well I plan on doing something similar but this time, it will be random from the top 10 voters....Good luck people and vote a lot.