After a few minutes of laughter, banter, and joking around, mostly at the expense of Derek, everyone once again became more relaxed and comfortable.
No one felt awkward around Liam any longer, and they could converse more casually.
However, unfortunately, this festive atmosphere did not last long.
Though Liam wanted everyone to relax a bit before starting the main topic, not everyone had the same thought.
All of a sudden their booth door banged open and Berat arrived in a hurry.
He could have messaged this to everyone in the group but since all the members had assembled here in the royal city which was very close to the trade city, he couldn't stop himself from joining the group.
Also, the news he had to share was that huge. It demanded personal notice!
"Guys! Guys! Big News!" Berat barged in, giving a very dramatic entrance.
Liam chuckled as he felt a deja vu. He already knew what he was going to tell. The guy was almost bursting to reveal his important finding.
"Should I steal his moment?" Liam grinned wickedly and then decided to let him be.
After all, his work in farming for gold was pretty efficient, and it made his life a lot easier.
Liam silently took another swig from the beer mug while Berat panted and continued.
Looking at him everyone else as well quieted down and allowed him to speak.
"Where have you guys been? Something big has happened! There is a new event! There are now demons in our kingdom!"
Hearing him say demons, immediately everyone looked at Liam. They all gulped and wondered what now happened?
Their big boss was capable of doing something to affect the whole game?
However, Liam shook his head and chuckled lightly. "No. No. This is not me. You guys are overthinking. Berat, you continue."
Berat did not understand because he did not get a chance to talk to others yet and he was stuck in the Auction House all day.
So he squiggled his nose and continued talking, a slight confusion lingering in his voice.
"Lately, a lot of demons are popping up in the towns and cities. When these guys are killed, they drop some sort of crystals called rift crystals."
"These crystals can teleport a person or even a huge raid group to a different kind of place."
"Map doesn't work there, so we don't know where exactly we are."
"But apparently there are a lot more demons and there are different kinds of terrains."
"Sometimes, there are deserts. Sometimes there are ice lands. And sometimes, there is water everywhere."
"And there is a time limit before this rift closes."
"Currently, no one has managed to win over the hordes of demons but I heard that this event gives a lot of experience points."
"The current leaderboard rankers are all starting to change. The major guilds are starting to take action."
"More importantly, several guilds are using this event as a tactic for recruiting."
"Because participating with a good guild group is more advantageous, a lot of individual players are beginning to flock over to guilds."
Berat explained everything that he had learned without leaving out any details. He then looked at Liam specifically and added the last part.
"Boss, I don't know if we have any plans to expand, but this is a perfect time."
"Ok. I got it." Liam nodded.
He had to admit that he was very impressed with the man's scouting. Berat had gathered a lot more information that he expected.
But this was not all. There was a lot more to this.
No one had succeeded yet so they were not aware but Liam knew it beforehand. The true reward in this event was not the experience points.
The real reward was…
"Alright. You heard the man. Take a break for another half an hour and then we start." Liam smiled.
"Yes! Boss!"
"We will get the first clear!"
"Yeeeeeee!"
Loud cheering sounds echoed, filling the entire booth.
Liam smiled and then waved at Derek and Mia, calling the two to meet him outside. There was work to be done, starting with…
"How is the guild setup coming?" Liam enquired. "You registered it yet?"
"Yes, but the final registration is still left." Mia answered.
The registered members have to be together for a certain period to count as a single guild, so Liam already knew that this wouldn't have been completed just yet.
But there was also something else on his mind.
"I wanted to ask you both your opinions on a matter, an important matter." He came to the main point, talking to both Derek and Mia.
"What type of guild, do you both think that we should have?" Liam asked.
Derek remained silent while Mia asked him her doubt. "What does type mean? Lifestyle or some other kind of specialized guild?"
"No, I mean a big one or a small one?" Liam smiled.
"Let's start from the basics. What do you think should be the size of our guild? I want your honest opinion."
"Hmmm?"
"A small guild can be easy to manage. We can make sure that everyone is trustworthy and everyone is powerful."
He paused and then continued. "But a big guild can also be equally good."
"With the strength in numbers, there are many more things that we can accomplish. We can be thoroughly prepared for any kind of future."
"Hmmm… so what do you think?"
"Liam, what you said is correct. However, the bigger the guild, there will be that many problems also."
"If we don't set everything up properly, we can crumble from inside," Mia answered first.
She was talking from experience as it was only recently that their guild had collapsed in the same way.
"Ok." Liam nodded and then he asked the other person specifically as he was being quiet. "Derek?"
Derek nodded and stopped walking. He then looked at Liam solemnly and answered. "Mr. Liam, I think a bigger guild is better."
"In my opinion, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages."
Derek as well was speaking from his experience as he had personally watched the Stormtroopers guild bully others with their numbers.
Liam looked at the two of them and then smiled. "Ok, thanks for letting me know. I also agree with Derek."
"Though what you are saying is not wrong Mia, there are ways in which we can make sure that our guild is not a house of cards."
"Even if we become bigger, we can still ensure some sort of integrity." Liam knew this because some guilds did something of this sort in his previous life.
They had an excellent hierarchy established within the guild. They had outer members, inner members, core members, and high-council.
Of course, above everyone was the guild vice-leader and guild leader. This was the rough outline.
For most parts of the game, guilds with this sort of structure were very stable, some even existing after the world collapsed.
Liam did not think about this before because he was not fully committed to forming a guild, but now with a team slowly coming together, he wanted to try it out.
He explained to Mia and Derek that he wanted to establish a similar setup.
"We can be extremely selective when promoting guild members to the core or the high-council position. They will be our main strength."
"These will also be the only members we trust completely." Mia and Derek as well agreed with Liam.
Though Mia was initially apprehensive about forming a big guild again, she couldn't refute the fact that some situations needed numbers.
There was simply no going around it.
And, this was nothing revolutionary. Many guilds had this sort of setup.
They had an overall more extensive structure with a smaller, more compact core structure.
However, Liam, Mia, and Derek still talked about things in great detail, even the most minor factor, because a lot was riding on this single decision.
Their very lives could depend on this single decision so it was best to talk about it rather than regret it later on.
While continuing to discuss, the three of them reached the main administrative building.
***
What do you guys think the new guild name will be? ;)
