“Haxks. Good m,” Thalia greeted with a radiant smile. “How did you sleep?”

  “Like a log,” Daisuke returned wearily. “Where’s the meeting being held?”

  “One sec, I’ll take you there myself.”

  He observed as she hurried down the long ter separating them. Behind it, several female clerks were assisting adventurers with their various tasks.

  Some were handling nelits, others were weighing and purchasing Mana Crystals, while most were registering members for job requests. There were even a few defleg love fessions and ging when their suitors slumped to the floor in utter devastation.

  Daisuke couldn’t help but wi the se.

  A few moments ter, Thalia returned after finding a suitable rept to fill her position. “Ready to go?”

  “I’m not sure,” murmured Daisuke, “it depends on what this meeting is all about.”

  “Oh, there’s nothing to worry about,” she reassured with childlike innoce as they approached a door at the back of the rge hall. “This whole ordeal will be for your be, I promise. The Guildmaster will give you the details.”

  Well, I’ve been through way too muply take your word for it, he muttered mentally before ting the skill: Eye of Verity.

  DING!

  [The Eye of Verity peeks beyond the veil. Guild clerk Thalia speaks the truth.]

  his will definitely e in handy going forward.

  Beyond the door, a corridor stretched out, fnked by walls painted with the tales of epic battles and mythological creatures. This path led to an expansive courtyard, designed not just for training but as an oasis within the guild’s heart.

  Lush greenery, vibrant flowers, and carefully pental rocks framed the courtyard’s perimeter, creating a serene trast to the bustling guild lobby.

  Thalia guided Daisuke through this impressive space. It wasn’t long before she stopped at a door led at the end of a narrow porch with polished wooden floors.

  “Good luck,” she said with a supportive smile, her haing on the doorknob.

  Daisuke scrutinized her expression for a moment before cautiously stepping inside. A lively se unfolded before him as he ehe spacious chamber, filled with people predominantly within his own age group. A quick survey of their attire suggested they hailed from diverse social backgrounds, mostly modest it would seem.

  Scattered among the youthful crowd were a handful of older individuals and young adults, adding a touaturity to the gathering.

  Thalia closed the door to a slight ajar, peeking like a mischievous child for a moment before she left. Daisuke sighed with a hint of exasperation before moving forward.

  The room resembled a uy lecture hall. At the front, a le stood in position with rows of desks sloping upward toward the back of the room.

  As he nontly made his the stairs, Daisuke ighe hum of versation and prying eyes that followed him. He gravitated toward the back of the css where there were fewer people and an additio, just in case he o make a hasty retreat.

  Zephyr hid underh the desk wheook a seat. “Sorry for keeping you cooped up like this,” Daisuke whispered apologetically. “But you prefer this over returning to my iory, right?”

  “Kyu~”

  Daisuke felt like he was in school all ain—not the fact that he was smuggling an animal… monster… Divi, into the , but just the sheer ay of being around so many strangers. It was unnerving, but he tried his best to keep his cool.

  “What exactly is a Divi anyway?” he asked.

  Zephyr adorably tilted his head.

  Now that the newly arrived had bee the ter of attention, Daisuke sighed and took a moment to look around. It didn’t take long for him to notice that the adventurers were segregated into two groups and a subcategory: Pyers, NPCs, afolk.

  In the world of Sehrei, every race possessed some form of unique innate abilities. Beastkin, for instance, boasted incredible physical strength and animalistic traits, making them formidable warriors and adept survivalists.

  Elves, oher hand, were beautiful and kindred spirits that shared a close affinity with nature. They were celebrated as a peaceful and intelligent race, excelling in archery and wind magic.

  In stark trast, humans were a weak, greedy, and iving species with ahat shone brighter than the sun. With unyieldiermination and iy, they tinually strived for dominance over the world.

  Acc to Sehrei Online’s lore, thousands of years ago, they actually mao achieve that goal. It is written that a group of humans, knoyers, were able to seize plete dominiohe world, elevating themselves to the status of demigods.

  However, human greed proved insatiable, fueling corruption and uing civil u. Their empire colpsed uhe force of its ow, annihitiire poputions.

  As retribution for their transgressions, the higher-ranking gods puhe pyers. They were banished from their exalted positions and cast back to the earth, forever branded as The Fallen. Cursed with immortality, they were o roam the nd for all eternity, battling monsters and fulfilling the pleas of the very people they had subjected to lives of hardship and suffering.

  Daisuke frowned, a finger cupping his . In a pursuit for realism, the developers made it pretty difficult for pyers to distinguish themselves from NPCs. Oher hand, NPCs could easily make the distin ao gravitate toward their own. That’s exactly what’s happening right now.

  The game’s lore made it pretty clear that The Fallen are more immoral and self-destructive than The Locals, so all the other races are incredibly wary. And it doesn’t help that, despite the millennia that have passed siheir fall from grace, pyers are still trying to take over the world again.

  All of a sudden, gasps of awe started erupting in the . All eyes were now focused on a youth as he asded the flight of stairs. It ainfully obvious that he was relishing the attention, and he swept his fihrough his hair with a flourish, fshing a ile.

  “Kyaaa~”

  A few girls cried out excitedly.

  A pyer’s name was hidden by default, but users could opt to make it visible if they so choose. They seldomly did, however, sinonymity in a game filled with petition was an obvious advantage.

  This guy was different; he couldn’t care less about tact or tactics. He had his name boldly dispyed along with that of his guild and its insignia. If that wasn’t ostentatious enough, he was also decked out in a plete suit of fshy armor.

  A few rows down from Daisuke, the snob suddenly came to a halt as he spied a group of people, his once-exuberant expression twisting into a scowl.

  It was unclear whether his frustration stemmed from the group’s apparent indiffereo his presence, or the fact that they were Beastfolk, but his anger suddenly fred.

  “When I received the invitation from the guild clerk, I never expected something like this,” he muttered, casting a critical gnce around the room.

  O, fifteen… how many of them were there? If Beastfolk was his only gripe, it would have been bad but not so bad. But he had a problem with NPCs as a whole.

  His gaze returo the group he had singled out, drawn to the nervous demeanor of the girl among them. Her lips were bitten as she struggled to evade his pierg stare.

  Yet, rather than stirring pity, her ay seemed to kindle his anger even more. It was clear he expected her to tremble with fear, to plead for fiveness while prostrating herself before him. Anything less wouldn’t suffice.

  “If it isn’t bad enough that dungeons are sed with pyers, most of the mid to high-level ones are monopolized by big guilds. And to make matters worse, NPCs who are merely a means to an end for pyers, are being adventurers and making matters worse. You should know your damn pce!” His voice thundered, causing the entire css to shrink ba fear.

  Daisuke observed quietly, his resting in his palm. It’s pretty iing that he would make such a bold cim, especially sidering that the norm among NPCs is to bee adventurers. Joining the Adventurers’ Guild isn’t as lucrative for pyers. While adventurers exist to serve the people and mainly operate within dungeons, pyers are more self-serving. They enjoy the freedom of accepting quests from NPCs, challenging Field and dungeon Bosses, expl a ruins, and mapping uncharted territories—all driven by their pursuit of personal power ah.

  The girl, clearly startled by the verbal attack, csped her hands together to steady her trembling fingers, her body taut with tensioeary eyes searched for words, but they eluded her.

  “That’s your problem,” the Wolfkin beside her sneered in response instead, his words tinged with pt.

  The snob frowned. “You… what did you just say to me?”

  “You heard me,” he affirmed. “Why don’t you pi someone your own size.”

  “You mongrel! Do you even have any idea who you’re messing with?”

  “Obviously a lowlife if you stand there and pi a helpless girl like that.”

  The pyer’s face reddened in his fury. With a mental and, he summoned his ons—a longsword at his side and a k the base of his back. Without hesitation, and to the horror of the onlookers, he uhed the sword menagly, i on lopping off the heads of both imperti Beastkin.

  “You obviously have a death wish,” the pyer spat venomously. “So I’ll gdly send you off to hell.”