By the time Apophis arrived at the meeting place, everyone else was already there and speculating among themselves why he'd called them.
Upon revealing himself, Apophis said, "I've gathered you here to talk about the greatest opportunity of your lives. I'm inviting you all to join my guild, Eclipse. But first, a little context. As you know, the pro-Federation camp just achieved 99% success in all its Era missions. The Federation will soon win the war, earning us the ability to explore space itself! With this in mind, I invite you all to be among Eclipse's first members!"
Everyone seemed skeptical.
White spoke up first. "I get offers every day from top guilds. They offer me huge salaries and benefits worthy of a real-life CEO. That's not something that happens very often in this modern age! Why should I give up all that for the sake of a guild you created a few hours ago?"
Hulk added, "I agree. Besides all that, you've gained a pretty bad reputation lately, Apophis. You know people see you as a traitor for joining the Federation, right? A guild needs to grow if it wants to succeed, and it needs to be popular to do that. I have the feeling that lots of players will think you're just gonna betray them again if they join."
Everyone added more disparaging comments, except for Lotus, who kept silent but seemed to be thinking deeply about something.
Apophis grew annoyed and replied, "Listen! Of course people don't like me. Independent, successful players are always hated by the submissive members of big guilds! It's human nature to want everyone else to be just as bad off as you!
"Of course, I understand your arguments perfectly. I admit that I can't offer anything close to what the biggest guilds can offer. Not right now, anyway. Nevertheless, I have an advantage which is completely unique. I can see the future, remember? Well, I'm going to reveal my true secret now. In reality, I've had a secret weapon from the very beginning!"
Apophis stretched out his arm and let a black viscous liquid flow out!
Everyone leaned in, fascinated, as the eye of Enclabossa opened in the black pool. They inspected it.
╔══════════════╕
╟─╼ BONDED SOUL
║ ╰╼[Name]: Materialization of Enclabossa
║ ╰╼[LvL]: ???
║ ╰╼[Rank]: ???
╚══════════════╛
Enclabossa spoke up, surprising them all. "I have a mission for you! But it must remain strictly secret!"
All players received a notification.
System: The Materialization of Enclabossa wishes to speak to you about a sensitive subject and asks to bind your soul with an oath! If you accept, you may never speak of this with anyone else. Breaking this oath will delete your character permanently from the Galaxy of Horus.
Everyone accepted without hesitation, and Enclabossa continued. "I thank you! I am the Soul of Apophis, having fused with him in thanks for freeing me from my temporal prison. Unfortunately, my power is not what it was before! The universe, during this millennium, has stolen away my power.
"Nevertheless, there is a way for me to restore my old strength! In truth, what you call "Dungeons" and "Raids" are portals to anomalies in the universe. Their energy is of unknown origin and does not come from the Big Bang which created all matter in this universe.
"This anomalous quality allows me and my host to absorb the power of the creatures killed inside them. However, these portals must be opened to their maximum potential if I am to restore myself, and this height of power is what you call the 'IronMan' difficulty level!"
The five players received the same quest notification.
╔══════════════╕
╟─╼[Soul Quest] The Resurrection of Enclabossa [0/10]
║ ╰╼[Repeatable Quest]
║ ╰╼[Recommended Level] ???
║ ╰╼[Difficulty] X
╟─╼[Summary] Enclabossa requires you to open the most powerful portals in the universe to help it regain its original form.
╟─╼[Objective] Finish 8 Dungeons and 2 Raids in IronMan mode.
╟─╼[Reward] For each completed Dungeon: 1,000,000 GC + 100 Skill Points + 1 Legendary Skill for your class.
╟─╼[Reward] For each completed Raid: 100,000,000 GC + 1,000 Skill Points + 1 Runic Skill* for your class.
╚═══════════════╛
System: Do you accept this quest?
There was no time constraint or other failure condition for this quest, so everyone accepted it at once. Even if they never pursued it, it was an opportunity that had the potential to pay off hugely in the future!
Hulk spoke up again. His tone was a little more thoughtful now, since he now understood that Apophis's desire to create a guild might actually have some potential with such huge rewards at stake. "Thank you for the quest, Apophis. Not sure how useful it is, though. There's no way we have the means to finish it! Not even a single Dungeon, let alone whatever those Raids are! I don't even think those are part of the game yet."
Apophis gave him a confident smile in return. "We lack the means to beat the quest? That's where you're wrong, Hulk!"
But before he could elaborate, an important message popped up.
Server Announcement: The war between the Eternals and the Federation of United Planets is over.
Winner: The Federation of United Planets.
Consequences: The Eternals have been recognized as a non-hostile faction within the Federation. Those who do not respect Federation law will be considered "Renegades," and will be hunted down and imprisoned. Players can now access the Galactic Transport System, and can become full Federation citizens upon reaching Level 10.
Apophis smiled. He couldn't have asked for better timing. "I recently made an agreement with the Federation. Planet Era will be under my control, and all players below LvL 10 are legally under my supervision. We—the members of Eclipse, I mean—will have the leisure to recruit all the new talent we could hope for. With every resource imaginable at our disposal, it won't be difficult at all to get these Dungeons cleared."
The four players he'd called to the meeting took a few moments to reflect. In the end, every one of them agreed to join Eclipse.
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*Runic: Skill rank higher than Legendary. Almost impossible to obtain.