EDGY EDGE TERRITORY:
The tall and well-toned Noydale stood a few feet away from the edge of a cliff, in the midst of six hooded figures, while he brainstormed with them. He had on a black leather trench coat with spiky shoulder pads. Underneath the trenchcoat, his entire upper torso as well as his arms were wrapped up in grey bandages. He also had on both hands, black spiked knuckle duster gloves. A bright red glow of light escaped through the curtain of hair that covered his right eye as he keenly observed the translucent tab that was suspended before him. The six similarly clothed hooded figures that surrounded him, also had open tabs in front of them. They seemed to be waiting for Noydale's next words.
"We're in serious trouble here. They're defenses are air-tight," he said in a guttural growl that seemed to be his general tone.
"Of all the guilds!" he added while clenching his fists.
"Look, I don't care how strong they are. We can't risk letting those rats expose us," he continued.
"Why don't we just kill them in real life?" one of the hooded persons asked.
"Good idea, Ajax. Will you be able to cover up afterward and leave no traces for the cops? Will you also pay me back the money they owe me? Huh?" Noydale asked with flared nostrils.
"Uh... sorry boss," Ajax responded.
"Yeah. I thought so. Any other brilliant ideas?" Noydale yelled while turning to stare each of the six in the eye.
"Quick, guys! Quick, quick! Or some of you will end up like him," he pointed to the player in black armor a few feet away from him. He was bent over on his knees, grasping his head and shivering while muttering to himself.
"But Boss, this is the cult guild we are talking about. Any guild that ever attacked them completely disappear..." another hooded person started speaking up but was shortly interrupted by the visibly annoyed Noydale.
"Tornado, you are this close to taking a bungee jump into the lava pit. Go ahead. Make my day."
Tornado bowed his head in shame while the others kept silent.
"Forget the hocus pocus voodoo rumors surrounding those guys. Why are we even struggling with this? You're all the so-called best cheat players in the system. Someone, find a solution right now!"
In response, the hooded players immediately got busy, typing and punching away on their tabs.
"Ok. Let's think straight. A frontal assault is definitely out of the question. Fine. I admit that those guys are monsters to be able to build a base in such a harsh environment. And they have the Seven Silver Braids. But no matter how strong they might be, they must have a weakness. We must find it and exploit it," Noydale continued as he paced back and forth.
"I have just found a way," one of the hooded figures called out.
"Well, quick! Let's hear it, Blaze!" Noydale responded.
"We might not be able to survive climbing up to the summit of Mount Adler, which is what I bet they are hoping for. But we have a lot of earth-major warriors on our side. We can drill our way from under, through the mountain, and into their base at incredible speed. If we attack with the full force of our guild, they'll be overwhelmed and we'll be able to destroy them along with their base," Blaze stated.
"Blaze. That's the stupidest idea I've heard so far." Noydale responded after listening closely.
Blaze was stupefied. All that could be heard at this point, was the sound of a gentle breeze. Even the whimpering player behind Noydale had his hands over his mouth.
"Oh. Ohh I just got a brilliant idea! Since climbing up Mount Adler would definitely be a suicide mission, we'll have our earth-major warriors on the front-line drill an underground tunnel from here, through the mountain and into their base," Noydale continued.
Blaze spoke up again, "But Boss, that's what I jus..."
"Shut up, Blaze. I'm talking. Don't you dare interrupt me." Noydale cut in.
"It'll be a surprise attack. But we'll have only half of our men attacking their base. I'll wait here with the other half for your signal. Once you've broken through and you have their base marked, we will teleport there, capture the rats and end AOTL. Blaze! You'll be leading the first wave. Get the warriors ready! We attack A.S.A.P!" He ordered.
"Yes Sir!" The six yelled in unison.
MOUNT ADLER, AOTL BASE:
Himari stood with Ari at the center of the wide circular battle arena. The diameter was just about combined length of two soccer fields.
"THIS IS IT," Ari's voice boomed from beside Himari, causing her to flinch. It resounded through the empty arena.
"I don't think I'll ever get used to your voice," Himari grumbled.
"HM? MAYBE YOU SHOULD SPEND A DAY OR TWO WITH A LEONEID PRIDE," Ari responded.
"Leoneid...is that your race?" Himari asked
"PROUDLY SO!" Ari roared in excitement while clashing his cutlasses.
"When did you...could you please put those things away?" Himari answered from a few feet away.
"HAHAHAAAA YOU ARE GAINING SPEED, PORKY! THAT'S A GOOD THING!" Ari thundered again, in a pose that seemed to threaten Himari even more.
"My name is...Ughh...never mind. And don't get too excited. Our match is in a week, remember?" she quickly responded, holding out her palms
"I THOUGHT YOU SAID IT WAS HIMARI. NEVERMIND'S A WEIRD NAME. LIKE, YOU NEVER HAVE A MIND OR SOMETHING. OR NO OPINION. ARE YOU OPINIONLESS, MINDLESS OR BRAINLESS?" Ari answered rubbing his chin after he had quickly put back his blades.
"You've been hanging out with big sis way too long. Also, don't get me started on weird names. Ariel ZaLeoneid? Like Za Warudo? I should probably take offense with that. And isn't Ariel supposed to be a girl's name?" Himari fired back.
"I WAS BORN WITH THAT SURNAME, AND I'M PROUD OF IT. AND THE NAME ARIEL COULD BE USED FOR BOTH FEMALES AND MALES," Ari calmly responded.
"Really? Says who? Enlighten me," Himari asked.
"SAYS OVABOSS. SHE'S THE ONE WHO CHRISTENED ME. APARENTLY, IT MEANS LION OF GOD IN HER LANGUAGE," Ari answered.
"Oh wow... I had no idea," Himari responded in shock.
Suddenly, hundreds of pillars of white light shot out of the ground all around them in the arena. Himari jumped and immediately assumed her fighting stance. But Ari remained calm. Several new faces stepped out of the pillars of light. Elias was the last one to emerge.
"Ari, Himari. The GM's orders are to standby on high alert," Elias stated in a serious tone.
"What for?" Himari asked.
"I SMELL A BATTLE BREWING," Ari answered.
"A guild battle is about to begin," Elias continued
"Whaaa...?" Himari squealed in a high-pitched voice, already dreading her first day as an official member of the AOTL guild.