"I am the Captain of the 10th floor by the way. You can call me Lily", the woman introduced herself.
Lily was a 23-year-old woman who was releasing a motherly aura as she casually converse with the bewildered Hiraya. Her stature of 5'11 didn't fall short compared to Mordred. Her voluptuous physique made her upright position bent at times from the front huge baggage she was carrying. Below her eyes was a mole that amplified her seductive beauty. With pinkish thick lips, hair dyed coal, and alluring eyes, she glanced at Hiraya.
"Why falter? Don't worry, I won't hurt you, you are the beloved Heir of the Arimaonga family after all", Lily uttered as she shifted her gaze to Minokawa who was looking down at her like a sovereign.
Inspecting Minokaw's might, Lily plastered a grin as she turned at Hiraya.
"As expected of the Heir of the late Empress, you have tamed an SSS-grade monster right at the Tutorial! Those damn guilds will now plead in their knees before us!", Lily marveled as a hint of resentment flashed in her eyes for a split second before she sounded a wicked laugh that weirded Hiraya.
As she had now recuperated, Hiraya motioned her hands to instruct Minokawa to wrap her wings and let go of his vigilance. Nodding her head to Minokawa, she glanced at Lily and spoke.
"You! What do you want?! And what do you mean by Heir? I don't remember having parents", Hiraya exclaimed as she felt her headache from trying to reminisce her past.
Lily then skimmed the surrounding people, browsing through their greedy and inquisitive eyes. Realizing that it was not the best place to narrate her long story, she spoke.
"Let's go to our Mansion and I will tell you every detail you have to know about our guild and your mother.", she whispered as she pointed her hand toward the exit of the crowd, waiting for Hiraya's response.
Reluctant as she might be, Hiraya was keen to know their intentions and her mother whom she had no knowledge of.
"I will but let's wait until one of my friends arrive", she answered as she stare at Althea who was moving her head back and forth erratically as she scanned the Resurrection Hall.
"Hiraya, it's weird. Alab should be here by now.", she mumbled, her eyes quivering as worry permeated her.
Scanning her surroundings too, Hiraya was weirded out as they left the Turorial at almost the same time as Alab.
"You're right, he should be here by now.", she uttered as she started to worry too.
Fidgeting with her dress, Althea lowered her head as she mumbled.
"What if… what if something bad happened to him after we left?", she asked as her fingers rumpled on her already untidy dress.
Walking closer to Althea and touching her shoulder, prompting her to calm down, Hiraya asserted.
"Don't worry, he might be sightseeing at the Tutorial for the last time. He will be back soon, okay? Let's wait", she calmed the troubled Althea.
Having understood her words, Althea nodded her head as her hands rested on her sides. She then looked at the Resurrection Hall as they waited for Alab's arrival.
—-
As they waited, Hiraya scanned the surrounding people as she tried to search for Kevin. Observing faces she was not familiar with, Hiraya gave up as she didn't find Kevin. She thought that he might be back on Earth by now and must have been treating his mother.
A tap on her shoulder was felt as she turned and saw acquainted players from the Tutorial. There were a total of 5 girls who all were her competitors for stealing the SSS-grade item from the crazy girl.
With an enthusiastic attitude, the girls greeted Hiraya which she replied with the same energy.
"I didn't know that you are the Heir of the Arimaonga Guild!"
"Had you told us, we would have helped you in getting that SSS-grade item."
"We are all A-rank by the way and are now members of the Arimaonga guild"
"Of course, we are all tamers too! But we don't have a tamed monster yet"
"Is this your tamed monster? Can I pet her?!"
Minokawa expelled steam out of his body as he snorted, expelling sparks from his mouth. The girls who were about to caress his sharp feathers retreated as Minokawa's body started to ignite with flame.
Hiraya could only watch them as she instructed Minokawa to withdraw his flame which the latter heeded after releasing another snort. She got acquainted with these 5 girls during their chase of the crazy girl. It happened only for days but their shared hardships were nothing to scoff at. It was through these that they seemed to forge sisterhoods.
Shortly after exchanging small talk, a silhouette of a boy started converging from inside the Resurrection Hall, enticing their attention.
Just as Hiraya and Althea thought that it was finally Kevin, a boy with a disproportionate body, his feet gigantic in size with bulging thick veins along the limb, emerged.
Sigh
Heaving a sigh, they witnessed countless players flocking towards the boy, each throwing their flashiest greetings as they present their handouts containing the item offered by their guild.
With eyes glancing downwards as the players barely reach his talk knee, the boy looked at them with smug as he shouted.
"What? Only medium and small-sized guilds?! Why are the large guilds not recruiting me?! I'm an SSS-rank!", he shouted as he glanced through the crowd in the rear. They hadn't taken a move yet as if they were evaluating his capability.
Now that Alon had declared his rank, it was normal that a player emerged from the crowd one after another.
"I am Mulan, a member of Necromancer Guild, join —"
A young boy clad in leather armor that screamed stinginess walked out from the crowd. The SSS rank also enticed him as he marveled at the prospect of their guild regaining its past glory.
However, he wasn't able to finish his words as mockery from nearby players resounded, blocking his words from reaching Alon who had immediately lost interest in him.
"BWAHAHAH, Necromancer my ass, you don't even have a Necromancer in your guild anymore."
"That's right. Even our medium-sized guild could defeat your guild now that you've lost that freaky Necromancer"
"Just hide in your bolthole and cry, your medium-sized guild won't be powerful again!"
Mockery and disdain ensued in the area as the boy felt his back being stabbed by their harsh yet factual words. He felt a sloppy liquid dripping down his head as eggs came hurling toward him frantically. With his head lowered, he broke free from the crowd as his figure vanished into the exit of the platform. A drop of tear fell from his eyes as he regrets ever stepping out and yearning for their guild's prosperity.
Hiraya and Althea saw this scene as they urged Lily to help the boy. In that short time, they understood that Lily was a kindhearted and honest woman despite her seductive demeanor.
Hiraya and Althea hadn't secured a foothold in the Tower yet and going against these multitudes of players might be detrimental to their future development. They were certain that Lily would help the boy as she had showcased her prestige from her remarkable entrance earlier. With a nudge, they urged her to step forward.
But, they felt disappointed at hearing Lily's mumbles.
"They deserve it. No… that fucking Necromancer Guild deserves more than that!", she mumbled as her alluring eyes flashed with rage. Her thick lips quivered as she got furious at seeing the boy.
If she had an egg with her right now, Hiraya and Althea felt that she would join the aggression as she laugh wickedly.
"Why are they so mad at that guild?", Althea mumbled as she watched the boy leave the area with her eyes oozing empathy.
The laughter gradually died out as they restored their vying looks for Alon. Three players walked out from three separate sides as they stride closer to Alon and the representatives of the small to the medium-sized guild who had retreated to the far side upon witnessing their arrival
In face of these large guilds, their offers would seem like a drop in a vast ocean. They could only walk back to the crowd as the moment the large guilds stepped up, these guilds has already lost the fight.
In front of Alon, three players stood at a long distance from each other as they gazed at him keenly. His potent aura was overcast by their demeanor, implying their phenomenal strength.
A man with fangs protruding from his mouth, with a wound mark falling from the temple between his eyes until his chin, was the first one to break the silence.
"Kikiki, it seems that you are also a crazy guy! Join us at Lawless Guild! and let's bring demise to the Tower kikiki", he shrieked as his orange pair of clothing swayed along the night breeze. Alon felt disaster emanating from the man should he join him thus he decided not to choose his guild.
A chubby girl scooped a pack of food with her left hand hugging her wide physique as she held meat with her right hand, and stammered as she spoke.
"Join—us in The Best– of the Best– among the Best Guild", chewing on the meat, she spoke. Feeling weird about her, Alon thought that the guild was full of boring and slothful people so he brushed it off his list.
Finally, a burly man with great stature that surpassed the knee level of the gigantic feet of Alon, spoke dignifiedly.
"I am the Captain of the 10th floor, Mordred, pleased to make your acquaintance. I hope you will consider joining our Sword Saint Guild, one of the five large guilds in the Tower. We promise to offer resources enough to satisfy a promising talent such as yourself.", Mordred spoke.
Hearing all their words, in no time, Alon had decided.
"Alright! I will join the Sword Saint Guild! Hohoho"