And there was one person that popped in his mind at this moment, E.
"I'll call you later," as Hao approached, Hil didn't walk away and instead closed the call. Hao inwardly nodded at her action, feeling that she made the right decision just now.
"Anything wrong?" he stood by her side, while asking without any desire to know the answer.
"It's nothing," she shrugged, before she recalled something, "right, how did you do with the lady? I briefly met her before she left and I don't know what you two talked about."
"We… Talked about the future," Hao simply briefed everything he spoke with Cher in such a simple sentence.
"Future? Your future?"
"Ours," Hao smiled before stepping outside. The air of this night seemed to be slightly windy and quite refreshing for him. "I wanted to ask you about something."
"About the academy?" Hil got outside with him, and the two kept slowly walking side by side like close friends.
"No, it's about the local competitions here."
"Local competitions?" Hil stopped, with a look of doubt over her face, "you know that most of the big competitions are closed for now in wait for the new game, right?"
"I heard," he already did his research and failed to find any good competition around, "so I need your help about this."
"May I know why?" she crossed her arms, looking in more doubt towards him.
"Did you know what I talked about with the lady?" he didn't answer directly, instead he threw this question that made Hil shake her head. "We both are building a guild in the new team."
His selection of the word, Both, was on purpose. And from her reaction he knew Cher already told her about their collaboration together.
"A guild?!" This word wasn't that alien for Hill's ears. "What for? Aren't we creating a game team?"
Hao knew this might be hard to absorb for any ordinary gamer. In fact this was one of the factors the big names in the gaming world depended upon to create a wide gap with normal players when Dawn would be launched.
"You know that the new game is made of two parts, one that's an MMORPG game and the other is like the old Apex MOBA game, right?"
"It's what many people know," she nodded, "but what is the value of having a guild there? Apex never had guilds and only teams!"
"It's the way the two parts work together in the new game," Hao tried to simplify things for her to understand, "yes Apex game and many other games depended entirely upon establishing pro teams and competing in big and fancy competitions all over the world. But this world of gamers is soon to see major changes."
"By guilds?" Hao started to walk again and Hil followed. "I still can't get what's the value of having a guild in such a game."
"Well… If you studied Dawn thoroughly like I did, then you'll get the answer easily."
"Are you a beta?" she asked and he only had to let this question slip aside.
"It's not about being a beta or not. The lady didn't play the game yet she already is aware of the facts I'm speaking about."
"Then I have to wait until the game is launched and try it, right?"
"That would be a mistake," Hao knew this was the factor which the big names were depending upon, "waiting for the right moment and wasting valuable time in exploring things is a mistake for sure. After all, not everyone is oblivious to what we should do when the game is launched."
"You are saying…"
"If we decided to wait until that day, I'm afraid to say we'll already lose much before even the start of the race," he turned, looking directly into her eyes before adding, "we should prepare as others are."
"Why… Why are you telling me this?"
"Well… I'm going to be the leader of the guild's team, and you are going to be the vice captain," Hao started to walk again, leaving Hil behind lost in her daze.
"B… But…" she hurriedly chased after him, "I'm not that good as a player."
"You were," Hao said, "you had the skills to go way beyond what you are now."
"So…" she seemed a little dejected. After all, what he said wasn't something she would say no to. She always dreamt of being a good player, strong enough to be included in the big teams in the city.
Even if the teams here weren't as good as the world class teams in the states, she would be appreciative of such a chance.
Yet she also was aware of her shortcomings. She was one holding that dream of going pro, but she missed her chance and failed to achieve that dream.
"If it was the Apex game or any other game then I'd say it's too hard for you to break free from these shackles… But we are speaking about Dawn here."
He raised his head towards the night sky filled with stars. He randomly pointed towards a constellation there as he added, "in the start of any game, everyone will stand on the same ground looking at the distant stars. We are equal, for one rare moment in our time that will grant something miraculous to people like you."
"Miraculous?" like being hypnotised by his words she said, and he nodded with a big smile over his face.
"It gives you a chance, a brand new chance to prove yourself again under a fairly fresh start. So, do you want to try and seize this chance with me?"
He extended his arm, and this time it was like he was formally meeting her for the first time.
"I'm Hao, the leader of the Illuminati guild's elite team. It's nice to meet you," he said with a smile that brightened up his face in such a dark night.
"I…" she hesitated for a second before he pointed up towards the sky, reminding her of the words he just said. "I'm Hil, I'm pleased to work with you."
"Good," he shook her hand firmly, "now do you know if there are any local competitions here?"
"You still didn't tell me about the guilds' value," she broke her arm from his, while not losing her focus.
"Pretty sharp on details you are," he chuckled, feeling that she regained bits of her true spirit after the last words he said, "think of it like this… We have a country to build. We need elites to form the upper ruling echelon for the country to thrive. But we also need its people to work hard and support the economy and industry with their contribution for the country to survive."
"I… I'm a bit lost," she seemed to be good when things were related to gaming, yet sucked at anything else.
"In Dawn game, the simple concepts of gaming will change. For example the current gaming industry is built upon players with great micro and macro skills, playing the same types of characters that anyone can play in the games, right?"
She nodded. After all, the Apex game, the game she excelled at, was played in this way. Everyone could select one character from a list of over a hundred and fifty names. All characters would share the same set of skills. Only the players' individual skills will make the difference here.
"That will change," Hao started to take her into a dive at the upcoming game, "in Dawn game, each player will have a chance to select a character from a fixed list. But he will have the chance to modify anything in his character equipment and skills. From now on, the top celebrities of the gaming world won't be the players alone, but players linked to the images of their unique characters in the game."
"Changing the gears and skills… Won't that be unfair?"
"That's not true," Hao was familiar with such a comment. This was something he heard from a couple of pro players when he was testing that game.
"Think about it in this way... If the game allows players to get materials from the MMORPG world and use these in building cool gears, how would that be unfair? It's all up to the abilities of players. If the team is weak or doesn't perform well in the MMORPG world, then it won't play well in the formal competitions, right?"
"Hmm… So that's why guilds come into the picture?"
"Bingo," Hao raised his thumb to her, "if a single team tries to gather up materials on his own, then they'd need lots of time to do that. Not to mention many dungeons and boss monsters won't fall with few players. A guild is a necessary need to survive in Dawn, where many players will have a bigger role than just playing for fun or watching their idols perform on the stages without being of any help."
"Normal players will have a chance?" Hil wasn't still fully aware of the facts Hao was speaking about.
"Indeed," Hao firmly nodded, "if pro teams will need the help of guilds, then normal players will have a chance to embark on a long journey aside from their loved characters. Fans won't only have to support their teams from seats and behind screens anymore… They will have an opportunity to help their idols to gather up materials and even upgrade some of their gears and skills."
"This…" Hil started to slowly grasp the concept Hao was speaking about. In her mind, a grand image of great fans cheering in any stadium behind their beloved team changed to armies of players competing inside a big game world, trying to support their teams by winning dungeons and clearing monsters.
"This is a big move," Hao summed it up like this, "it won't only change the world of how gaming is, but it will also impact the lives of normal people, not only the lives of pro teams."
"So…"
"We have to build our guild," Hao returned to the first point this talk started with, "and we have to try and lure all the skilled players we can get from the places around us."
"Can't we just use the people here?" Hil pointed back towards the dorm.
"We will," Hao nodded, "but it won't be enough."
"We have almost over four hundred people here!" Hil argued, and yet that argument didn't succeed in changing Hao's mind.
"Let me tell you this, the number of guild members in any expected third rate guild will be over two thousand. And I'm speaking about the expected numbers at the first weeks of the game."
"What?!!" Hil was shocked when she heard that. "How come they get so many members at such an early time in the game?!!!"
Hao smiled in silence, only inwardly sighing. It was a fact now in front of his eyes, how big the gap between normal players and those in the big teams.
The ones in big teams already crossed miles in their plans. Many secured rich deals with sponsors from big companies. They already acquired their headquarters, established their guilds and started building the structure of the guild.
They even started heavy recruitment waves all over the world. Yet such moves were done in real life and in such secrecy to not alarm the normal gaming community about this.
Of course if anyone said the pro teams with big sponsors and pockets were afraid from the normal gamers, one might call him crazy. But Hao knew this was a fact.
After all, no matter how high and mighty these teams might look from the surface, they were well aware of what Hao just said to Hil minutes ago.
They were all starting from the same point. If any group of friends decided to join the race, and for some reason they were wealthy enough to fund a guild and recruit members, then they'd pose a threat to these pro teams.
Yes it wouldn't seem realistic considering that the best players were already in pro teams, but who said that gems weren't buried under dirt?
These teams didn't succeed out of coincidence. They had big minds planning for every move of theirs. So they wouldn't let such a threatening probability exist, especially if they had the power to crush it.
Different teams from all over the world reached such consensus without even prior agreement. To succeed, they had to survive the initial stage of the game. And to do that, they had to act in such a secretive and cunning way.