"Liam. Huff. Huff. Master has agreed to your terms." Ning Xi informed Liam in a hurry. She appeared to have raced up the ten flights of stairs to reach him in time.
"That's good."
"But what about the equipment? Isn't there a huge shortage of gaming capsules at the moment?"
"Leave that part to me. I will have the gaming capsules delivered to your address later today."
"What?" It was so easy? Ning Xi couldn't believe it.
Liam smiled and nodded again, easing the anxious expression on the woman's face slightly.
"Alright. If there is anything else, we can communicate by phone or you can ask other guild members inside the game. My train is here. I will leave now."
"Un." Ning Xi reluctantly looked at Liam as he climbed onto the train. For some reason, his calm expression irked her. It was as if they were all pawns being used by this man.
"Hey, we are only joining on a trial basis. Just because you gave us the gaming capsules, don't expect anything from us." She suddenly felt compelled to remind him.
However, unexpectedly, Liam only continued to smile. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
The train sped off, and the mysterious stranger who had appeared today disappeared almost as quickly. Ning Xi stood in a trance at the same spot for several minutes and then finally left the station as there was a lot they needed to prepare for.
Was the world really going to change completely? She gulped.
***
After returning home, Liam immediately logged back into the game. He had wasted quite a bit of precious time, but it was a necessary evil and there was nothing he could do about it.
"I hope that asshole is not around." He mumbled as he opened his eyes within the same time space. Of course, immediately a voice boomed in response.
"What did you say?"
Bastard! I know you can hear me! The guy had completely disappeared for hours together, but now he was back. Liam inwardly cursed his bad luck and shook his head.
"Nothing, Master. Can I demonstrate to you my progress?"
The old hulking elf laughed at his bad attempt to change the topic. A sinister light shone in his eyes as he started walking towards Liam with a grin. "Sure. That's exactly what I had in mind."
And for the third time in a row, Liam saw someone cracking their knuckles and walking towards him with a pair of menacing eyes. However, this time, he did not dare to be confident or arrogant.
This was going to hurt!
Liam did not even have a chance to inform Alex or anyone else from the guild about the recent addition as the old monster directly jumped into the scene and started pummeling him without any restraint.
But unlike before, his strength was somewhat restrained. So Liam was able to somewhat fight back and dodge.
"Come on. Put your back into it. Didn't you train so hard all this time?"
Pa! Pa! Pa!
"I can only imagine how hard you've been training. You must be so sure of your abilities that you logged out of the game, wasting several hours of this precious time."
Liam's eyes widened. Did this guy just say log out of the game? Aren't NPCs supposed to be unaware of something like this?
Moreover, this was not the first time this elf had let slip something like this. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, and his comment only served to reinforce his wishful thinking.
This elf in front of him was perhaps the key to everything!
"You still dare to think about some nonsense while you are sparring with me? I guess you are too good for this level of strength. Why don't I kick things up a notch?"
Fuck! Liam immediately snapped out of his thoughts and paid attention to the monster who was hurling punches at him. He needed to have a long chat with this monster, but that had to wait. For now, he needed to survive.
"Stop half-assing things. I can see that you use mana to bolster your physique, but once again you are only barely scratching the surface. Go all the way and push your body. Stuff your mana into every cell of your body. Use every wisp of mana you have to make yourself stronger. Get it together."
Crack! The elf tossed another punch, which sent Liam flying away.
However, at the last minute, he managed to do exactly as he was told and churned his mana core to bring out more agility and balanced himself as he landed on his feet.
A grin crossed Liam's face, but the elf sneered at him. "We haven't even begun, brat. "Don't get too cocky just yet."
Liam let out a deep breath and focused as the next batch of hits landed on him like a hurricane. As for the guild battle, he had already helped the best that he could.
With the Empress added to the team and the game plan, the chances of their victory were now 60-40 at best. The rest would have to be handled by the guild.
There was simply no other choice. The guild battle was important but, at the same time, this old elf in front of him was several times more important.
There was nothing more he would be able to do now. This was where his focus and concentration needed to be.
And if the guild could not manage this much on their own, perhaps that endeavor was a wasted effort from the beginning. This challenge was nothing like what was going to come in the future.
If they are not prepared for this, then there was no point in grooming more players. It was not possible for him to always carry them. They needed to stand strong on their own.
So this would be a test for everything. They would either come out stronger than ever or fade into obscurity.
