"Dad! Why are you still in your TLA avatar?!" Himari screamed.
"This IS his avatar here too," Abs answered.
Himari stood confused for a few seconds with her mouth stuck open in an 'O' shape.
"I mean, you heard us call him Chibilamb. That much should have been obvious. But I knew this would happen anyway. And I got a good laugh out of it. Thank you, Himari" Abs continued.
"I really don't know what in blue blazes is going on here. I guess this Chibilamb is the other guild master she mentioned on the way here." Jason thought to himself.
"This is just confusing. He's actually a really buff guy in real life!" Himari exclaimed while pointing at Chibilamb.
"I understand you, honey. But if this shocks you, you haven't seen anything yet." Abs chuckled.
"What's the point of me having my actual appearance, then? All that scanning to fit my actual appearance in the beginning was for nothing?" Himari asked
"Every player starts out like that. As you progress, you get to change your appearance at some point. Like your old man here. Besides, having your actual appearance helped me identify you." Abs answered.
"Ok...I can't argue with that last bit." Himari responded.
Chibilamb smiled and waved at Himari.
"How can that be both cute and sort of creepy at the same time?" Himari thought.
Jason kept looking glancing across the room.
"These, guys seem more like a family. I'm still curious about why there are strange rumors go around about this guild. So far, there's nothing weird that gives off the vibe of cult activity." He thought,
"Why's this room 20 ft high? The doors are also extremely tall." He continued glancing through the room.
"Alright. Now that the second GM is here, let's get down to business." Abs declared, turning towards Jason and Carl.
"Abs told me that she found you both in the hidden cavern of monsters." Chibilamb started.
"Was that where we were?" Jason asked, looking terrified
"So that's why there were that many monsters!" Carl exclaimed.
"We were heading back from a quest when we suddenly just stumbled into that place. It felt like we had suddenly stepped into another dimension. Before we knew it, we were surrounded by monsters and had to fight them for hours while looking for an escape route." Jason added.
"Back up a little bit. Where did this happen? I mean, do you remember the exact location where it felt like you had crossed over into another dimension?" Chibilamb asked
"I think it was at the border of the Dinodorf," Jason answered.
"Hmm." Chibilamb rubbed his chin as he exchanged looks with Abs.
"Can I ask a question?" Jason asked.
Jason shot Carl a terrifying look.
Chibilamb raised an eyebrow.
"Go ahead, Carl. You're Carl, right?" He responded
"Yes. Thank you. Those two little creatures we saw in there. Are they really the two missing legendary beasts from the NPC wars?"
"Yeah, they are," Chibilamb answered.
"And we'd like you both to keep that a secret for now." He continued.
Just then, the doors banged open revealing Ari with one foot up in the air. The sound caused Carl Jason to jump in their chairs and reach activate their weapons. Chibi lamb put his tiny hooves to signal them to calm down. The giant's intense gaze shifted through the room and locked on to Himari. She gasped as he stomped towards her and bent over to stare her right in the eye. The sudden blast of air from his nostrils caused her hair to flutter violently.
"Activating Fatal F." DD announced.
"DD NO!" Himari ordered.
His serious gaze shifted to DD.
"I KNEW IT. ONLY AN ARACHNOID GUIDE WOULD COME UP WITH SOMETHING THAT MENACING." Ari's voice thundered.
Chibilamb stood up from his chair, but was blocked by Ab's outstretched arm.
"Hold on. Don't be too jumpy." She calmed him down.
Ari stood upright and reached out his paw to Himari.
"I'LL ACKNOWLEDGE YOU. FIRST, BECAUSE YOU BEAT ME. AND SECONDLY, BECAUSE YOU'RE MY BOSS' SISTER. I'M ARIEL, HER BODYGUARD. BUT YOU CAN CALL ME ARI FOR SHORT."
"Err... nice meeting you, Ari." Himari blurted through a nervous smile.
"That was scary! For a moment, I thought he was going to gobble me up. " she thought.
"YOUR CASE IS DIFFERENT FROM OVABOSS'. BEFORE I BECOME YOUR BODYGUARD, YOU'LL HAVE TO FIGHT ME IN A ONE-ON-ONE MATCH AND WIN, SINCE YOUR LEVEL IS LOWER THAN BOSS'. I GOT KNOCKED OUT THAT TIME BECAUSE I LET MY GUARD DOWN. BUT THAT WON'T HAPPEN AGAIN." Ari boomed while his grip on Himari's hand tightened.
"No, thank you. I'll have to turn down your offer. I think I'll be fine without a bodyguard." Himari answered through clenched teeth, willing him to let go.
"I'M NOT OFFERING. I'M CHALLENGING YOU TO A REMATCH." Ari roared with his eyes twice larger than they were before.
Just then, Himari noticed a tab opening.
"Oh God, no..." She mumbled as she noticed the words...
Ariel ZaLeoneid has challenged you to a PvP
Accept
"WHERE THE HECK IS THE REJECT BUTTON?!" Himari yelled.
DD cleared her throat and raised a finger as if responding to a cue.
"In A.W.O.W, when a sentient NPC challenges..."
"SHUT UP DD! DON'T YOU DARE SAY IT! What kind of muscle brain designed this game anyway?" Himari sighed after yelling.
Abs dramatically turned to Chibilamb and smirked. His eyelids slightly dropped as he eyed her in response.
"Newbie angst?" Carl asked
"Yeah. She'll get over it with time. She's strong. But she's just not fully aware." Abs responded.
Himari's head slightly tilted in Abs' direction.
"I know you heard me." Abs raised her voice.
"I AGREE. AND IT WOULD BE AN HONOUR TO DUEL MY BOSS' CUTE LITTLE SISTER." Ari gave Himari a gentle pat on the head.
Himari looked up and gazed into his deep amber-colored eyed. As he grinned, His white fangs glistened, reflecting the sunlight from the windows.
"Fine. Name the time and place." Himari responded.
"HERE IN THE UNDERGROUND BATTLE ARENA. I'LL GIVE YOU ONE WEEK TO PREPARE." Ari responded.
"One week... fine. It's better to get this done quicker anyway." Himari sighed
"COME ON! WHERE'S YOUR FIGHTING SPIRIT?!" Ari swung his paw towards Himari's back but missed when Himari dodged with lightning-quick reflexes.
"Nah-uh! I've seen enough to know how dangerous your back pats are," Himari responded after rising from her quick squat.
"Yours too." She pointed at Abs.
"My, my. You're a fast learner." Abs teased.
"Also, he just mentioned an underground Arena." Himari continued.
"Yes, we do have that here. There's more to this guild HQ than meets the eye. Go show her around, Ari."
"SURE THING OVABOSS. C'MERE PORKY!" Ari beckoned to Himari as he left the room.
"What?!" Himari turned and shot Abs a fierce look as if to telepathically tell her "This is all your fault."
Abs laughed heartily and waved them away. As they both walked out of the room, Chibilamb turned his attention back to the guests.
"So, back to our SHEEP! HAHAAA see what I did there?" Chibilamb asked.
Carl and Jason, who had been sitting up stiff in their chair, gazed wide-eyed at Chibilamb in silence.
"Are we supposed to laugh?" Carl asked with an eyebrow raised, breaking the silence.
Jason nudged Carl with an elbow and Carl responded with a frown, mouthing "What?"
Abs bit her lips, fighting the urge to laugh.
"Alright. Before I get back to talking about what you saw in the cavern? What guild do you 2 belong to?" Chibilamb asked.
Just then, Abs grabbed took out a silver coin from her pocket and started flipping and catching it.
"Edgy edge guild." Jason and Carl answered in unison.
"Edgy edge... Isn't that Noydale's guild?" Chibilamb asked with a frown.
Abs flipped the coin so hard it blasted a hole through the roof.
"Did you just say Noydale?" Abs leaned forward with a serious look.
While Ari led Himari through the hallway, his ear twitched. He stopped in his tracks and growled under his breath with tightly clenched fists.
"What's wrong?" Himari asked as she stopped behind him.
EDGY EDGE TERRITORY:
A young man in black armor whimpered as he held on to the edge of a cliff with all his might. His legs dangled while he tried to pull himself back up. Just then, a boot with a spiky sole stomped down on his hands. The man's scream echoed through the air as debris fell through the thick clouds of smoke rising from the depth below. The owner of the boot bent over and leaned on his knee, applying even more pressure to the foot that crushed his victim's hand.
"AAAAAAAARRRGH Boss! Sir Noydale! Please! Don't do this!" The armored young man pleaded amidst screams.
Noydale's left eye peered at his victim through the locks of his long black hair.
"Oh, I will." He responded with a voice that sounded like he was gargling marbles.