One week had passed since the Ragnarok Guild opened a path connecting the Iron Bears’ Refuge to the rest of the world. Since then, Ragnar had concluded his last week at the firm and was now dedicating himself 24/7 to the game.

  His first days as a free man were as productive as they could be.

  He had three meetings with Niki, each lasting two to three hours to continue planning the new sanctuary. He evolved from level 21 to 24 just by lumberjacking, woodworking, and housebuilding with his guildmates.

  Speaking of them, most of his friends and guildmates also leveled up one or two levels. Despite the massive grind and its gains, no one had any new skill or piece of equipment to show off.

  According to Niki and most building guides out there, the work had to be done in distinct phases. Ragnar ended up choosing to follow them, but focusing on the main building first.

  The first step would be laying the foundation. To do that, the old floor had to be removed and the ground had to be leveled again to even out the new and expanded foundation.

  It took most of the week to do that. The Black Pawn Five were there almost all the time Ragnar was. During a brief chat with Yuska, the summoner of the group, Ragnar found out that Yuska chose that class because of Crown.

  “You can’t look cooler than a guy that can summon a freaking Leviathan,” he had said when they were tearing down the ruined walls of the adjacent buildings.

  When that whole area was stripped naked of every gram of stone, Niki came to make sure that the whole space was large enough to fit the Taj Mahal-like palace she had designed.

  “It’s perfect,” she said with bright eyes and a large smile on her face. “We have enough space to build a large road on each side.”

  Ragnar walked with her to the middle of that empty area.

  “After all the planning we made, it would be weird if we ended up without enough space. We have destroyed what? More than twenty buildings?”

  “Twenty-three, to be precise. But it’s your fault. You asked for a big place, I gave you a freaking palace,” Niki’s tone was full of pride, and she added, slyly, “Despite the Taj Mahal actually being a mausoleum for an Islamic king of old.”

  “Fine, fine. We cleaned this place, what’s next?”

  “We’re still in the first step: building a solid foundation. We’ll have to dump a bunch of concrete and a huge amount of high-quality stone blocks to hold the palace. Speaking of which, do you have a name for it in mind or do we have to keep calling it ‘palace’ or ‘main building’?”

  “I decided to call it Veraluna Palace. It’s named after the Aloe Veraluna that grows in our gardens. You know it. It’s the secret ingredient I used to concoct my successful sunscreen.”

  “That’s actually a beautiful name. Alright. Now, back to the project. After we build a solid foundation for the Veraluna Palace, it’ll be time to raise the pillars. It goes without saying that they’ll have to be thick and really well made to sustain the whole structure.”

  “Of course!”

  “Good. After that’s done, we’ll connect those pillars using supporting beams. These two, plus the foundation, are the skeleton of the whole thing. The lower pillars and beams will hold the upper floors, balconies, and ceilings. Once all the structural work is concluded, we’ll arrive at the Finishing Stage of the construction process. It basically means all the finishing touches required, like raising walls, laying tiles, installing doors and windows, painting, plumbing, trimming, and finally the electrical infrastructure… Just kidding.”

  “Great. You know what you’re doing, so we’ll follow your orders, Chief Architect Niki.”

  Her cheek flushed a bit. Despite being a badass assassin, a confident player, and a smart person overall, she was still prone to the embarrassment of a sincere compliment.

  ***

  Distance-wise, it was a long journey going from Belo Porto to the Wolf’s Lair Fortress. However, thanks to the teleportation circles connecting the major cities in each province, it took a bit more than an hour for Thorn to get there.

  His visit was unannounced. It was a way to surprise the Black Paw guild after they had betrayed the Rose-Thorn Alliance, the very alliance that gave them that fortress.

  Mounted on his epic war-tiger, Thorn climbed the slope leading to the only gate. His eyes were wide open to any sign of aggression. A part of him expected to be received by volleys of arrows, skills, and spells. But all he saw were the nervous stares of the sentries atop the wall.

  He stopped before the closed gates, dismounted, and raised his voice just enough to be heard by the nearest sentry. “May I come in?”

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  “Let me check with the fortress's leader first.” He turned away and disappeared from the battlements.

  Thorn stood there, waiting for the NPC to return while keeping an eye for any movement atop the walls. At any moment a player could come, spot him, get startled, and sound the alarm before he could speak to anyone.

  To his surprise, the sentry arrived accompanied by Tonks himself. The paladin, now leader of the Black Paw, looked down with an unfriendly face, and said, “We’re done with your alliance. What do you want?”

  “May I come in so we can talk about our guilds like two grown men?”

  “That wouldn’t be smart given the latest… developments.”

  “Look. I wouldn’t come alone if I wanted to kick you guys out of this place, wouldn't I? I’m here to give you one last chance. Turning your back to us was a really stupid idea. Like, really stupid. But right now, we don’t have another guild to man this place.”

  “What are the new terms?” Tonks said, leaning over the battlements.

  “The Black Paw can keep this place, but our cut from the mine shall be higher.”

  “How much higher?” The paladin made the money gesture with his right hand.

  “I’ll tell you if you let me inside to take a look around. It’s been a long time since one of us had come here to see if everything’s in order. Besides, I have a contract that we need you to sign. We’re getting bureaucratic due to the latest episode.”

  Tonks gave Thorn a long, silent, and impassive look before saying, “All right. Open the gates.”

  The two reinforced wooden leaves creaked as they opened before the co-founder of the Rose-Thorn Alliance. He waited for it to open fully, whistling while Tonks took the stairs to meet him.

  The paladin approached accompanied by two level 60 guards. The guild leaders shook hands and Tonks led Thorn into the courtyard. A loud thud announced the closing of the gate.

  “As you can see, everything is in order. We’ve increased productivity by over 30% in the last week,” Tonks said, gesturing to the piles of crates, racks, and tables spread throughout. “I know what we did was low and scummy, but I’m always looking for what’s best for my guild.”

  Thorn narrowed his eyes, having a hard time believing a low-level player could have the audacity to say something like that with a straight face.

  “Yeah. I’m also always thinking about what’s best for my guild. That’s why I believe this fortress would be in better hands under the management of the Phantom Brigade.”

  “What? You can’t go back on your word like that!” Tonks accused, sliding his right hand cautiously to the sheathed blade at his waist.

  “Feels bad when it happens to you, huh?” Thorn shot back.

  The paladin drew his sword in one quick motion, followed by the two guards accompanying him. However, before Tonks could act, a short sword pierced his jaw. Its blade went straight to his brain and out of his skull, delivering a critical blow that took a good chunk of the paladin’s health points.

  Tonks tried to react, but the damage he took left him incapacitated. It was up to the guards and players around to save him.

  The two guards surrounded the hunter and swung their swords at the same time. However, Thorn blocked the blade coming from the left flank with the upper arm of his bow, and parried the other with the blade that struck their leader. The trio fought during the few seconds it took for Tonks to finally recover.

  He was ready to join the fight, but ended up dazzled by the melee prowess of a hunter. A long-range class was dueling like a great swordsman would: swinging, lunging, parrying, and even deflecting all the arrows shot by the nearest archers.

  Kicking the chest of one guard and stabbing the forehead of the other, Thorn bought enough time and space to sheath his short sword and draw his ornate compound bow. In a quick glance, the hunter could see the mesmerized expression on the paladin’s face.

  Tonks would have darted against his opponent if it weren’t for the three guildmates that spawned and ran right at the enemy.

  Time to stop toying with them, Thorn reflected, grasping his bow harder. First, he turned around, minding the position of everyone while dodging the incoming projectiles. Then, he calculated their future position and leapt over two meters high, spinning his body a full turn while shooting arrow after arrow.

  Each member of the Black Paw took one shot straight to the chest. Not a single projectile missed its target, and they all fell to the ground with their warcry cut short by the power of a Sanguine Hunter.

  “How’s that possible?” asked Tonks, the only survivor, baffled by the scene he just witnessed.

  Thorn gave him a cold smile, basking in his greatness and at the hopelessness stamped in the paladin’s face. It was always a joy to see arrogant jerks being put back in their place.

  “I could tell you how my class works, but I don’t feel like it. Especially to you. After all you’ve done, I should’ve put a price on your head to make your life a living hell. But you’re not worth it. I’m after someone else.”

  “Who? I–I–can help you find him or her!”

  “Get out of here before I change my mind and decide to kill you.”

  Tonks snorted, gritted his teeth, swallowed his pride, and fled.

  Thorn made sure to see him out of the fortress. He climbed the stairs to reach the walls and gazed at the running guildmaster.

  The paladin ran away like his life depended on it, looking over his shoulder from time to time. Maybe he was afraid of Thorn changing his mind and deciding to start hunting him.

  The Sanguine Hunter got bored after the paladin ran half a kilometer. He descended from the wall and took a stroll around the courtyard, always with both eyes peeled at any sign of danger. For all he knew, the paladin could now be in touch with his guildmates, planning an assault or coordinating a massive spawn inside the fortress with his currently offline colleagues.

  However, none of that happened. Thorn was able to find the five remaining players hiding inside and quickly dispatched them with his short sword. Atop the main building, he gazed at the lushness of the open field surrounding him.

  Such a great place for a fortress, too bad it’s in a low-level area, he thought, then opened the fortress’s panel and watched the countdown tick down. That meant he was 100% alone. The countdown only ticked down if the defensive force was completely defeated or the place was abandoned.

  “I’m not gonna stay here for twenty-four hours. Better call some of the folks from that guild to claim this place,” Thorn wondered aloud. “Then it’ll be time to find that druid.”

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