"What was that?!" Exclaimed Wrock.
Akiol faked a cough, "Remember that sword I said I couldn't use. Well it was more like it wouldn't let me use it. I managed to convince the sword to let me try it out. Then you saw the rest."
"You convinced a sword? Does the sword speak?" Tilia asked suspiciously.
'Not necessarily speak, more like a telepathy sort of thing. Do you not believe a sword can have a consciousness?' Stars spoke up, or thought up.
"A sword really can talk! That's so cool!" Yielya exclaimed.
"Honestly wasn't something I expected. Sorry if I had offended you." Tilia apologized, she felt a little bad.
'Ha Ha! Fret not, for I am a generous individual. Forgiving you is simple!' Stars boasted.
Akiol didn't want the sword's ego to grow anymore so he absorbed it. There was some protest immediately.
'Come on! That was my grand reveal! The moment when they realize the strength came from me! The shock on their faces! Why must you absorb me now?!'
"I can keep you out more often if you let me use you." Akiol replied calmly.
'Your pulling this again?! I told you, you don't have the strength for that. Your body would explode!'
"Then until I am strong enough then."
'Fine!'
Stars went quiet, mostly likely pouting. When Akiol faced the other three he was immediately bombarded with questions.
He quickly quieted them down and said he would explain the story some other time. This did take some convincing, but eventually they gave in.
"Well that's the quest done. . . ? Honestly feels a little anti-climatic." Wrock sighed.
"It would feel even more anti-climatic if we retreated after the quest was done. You're the only one who wants to continue fighting." Yielya retorted.
. . .
When they reached the Adventurers Guild they decided to split off to different towns. Spreading their search for the remaining two party members.
Akiol teleported back to Goldlight. He decided it was time to log off for the day. There were some things he wanted to research anyway.
When Akiol awoke and rose from his bed, stretching. He did his daily light body tempering techniques and made himself some food. Which was the instant noodles.
Sighing at his lack of will he opened his laptop and browsed through the forums.
There was various ads for guilds and posts of questions about certain things in-game.
Something did catch his eye however.
Shocking News?! Competition Arriving Soon??
Clicking on the post he then read the details.
There was a leak in the developers plans, in the soon future there would be a pro competition, with three different kinds. It was always the reward that attracted players however.
In first place the team or player(s) would receive 100,000 USD a grand prize. Along with a golden plate that would hang on the Adventurers Guild with their name on it, never to be removed. Finally a quest related to their class, which was random but would definitely provide benefits.
Second place would receive 50,000 USD. Along with a silver plate on the Adventurers Guild's wall.
Third place would receive 10,000 USD. Along with a copper plate on the Adventurers Guild's wall.
For the major player guilds the plate could serve as advertisement for their guild. Maybe even some companies would invest in their particular guild. Ordinary players eyed the cash prize and even the first place quest.
Akiol didn't mind the competition much, he only wanted to find his party members. Becoming champion was never on the list. However the plate could serve as a message, so he looked at the details of the three competitions.
First was exclusively for guilds, this came with an extra prize for first place. An announcement in-game for their guild. This was a 5 vs 5 battle. Which would be available for all people to watch.
The second was a normal player 5 vs 5. Since they didn't want the guilds to hold power over the ordinary players this was created.
Finally a 1 v 1 available to all, even guilds. This was a true show of power and skill. However most likely the only views it would get would be at least the semi-finals.
This competition wouldn't be available until a certain percentage of the player-base was over level 100. To enter you would need to be at least level 100. There was no upper limit for the time being.
Of course this soon gained many votes, nearly dominating the forums. More and more people saw it and even the developers had to respond due to the massive amount of questioning.
They did confirm that this would be happening, as a small celebration for the game's massive success. There was a small note saying they would take care of the person who caused the leak but not many paid attention to that.
Since it was in the future Akiol didn't mind it. He would ask his party members about it some other time.
He bookmarked the post for later and continued scrolling through. There was more posts about the upcoming competition. Filled with votes and bets being placed on who would win the guild version.
Akiol saw a post about the lack of Lesser Rock Golems. He stared at the post for a bit but decided to continue scrolling. As long as no-one knew it was his fault, there was no need to confess.
Akiol did this for another hour before decisively turning the laptop off. Stretching he decided he would shower, then rest.
Once he was lying down he recalled today's events. Going over things he could have done better he fell asleep.