Eli had a small smile on her face as we stood in silence. I realized what had to be done and wondered if I really wanted to, if I truly had to. This was the person who had defended me for the longest time. I smiled back at her. The forest seemed eerily quiet, with only the flowers swaying gently in the wind. Eli wore a shy expression, and neither of us broke the silence until I spoke.
"Shouldn't we warp to Floor 8?" I asked.
Eli, being kicked out of her trance, replied, "There's no point." She pulled out a pamphlet from her pocket. Like all the others, it had a logo at the bottom with the mark of the Crusaders Guild, making it official.
Near the bottom of the pamphlet, it read, "This boss doesn't spawn for a week after the floor has been unlocked."
We walked back towards the others as Eli held onto my arm.
Her blueberry-like eyes seemed to glow in the light of the floor. We passed groves of flowers and trees that looked to be hundreds of years old.
We continued walking through the forest until we reached the wall of the orc fortress. This time, we were at the entrance. The door was a massive iron structure with bars that seemed to be rusting, and the surrounding city was eerily silent. Inside the city, Ryena and Viri were talking to Risto.
Channeling mana into my ears, I managed to overhear their conversation.
"Your guild needs to be the one to challenge the boss first, otherwise you stand no chance," Reyna said.
"I would say we stand no chance…" Viri replied.
"No chance," Reyna continued. "Either way, we made a deal, and we won. That's what happens."
"Good luck with your fight," Reyna added.
"What do you think our chances are?" Viri asked Risto.
"If you get help from another top guild, your chances will skyrocket," Risto said.
"Which one should we try?" Reyna asked.
"Black Cats or the Crusaders are your best options," Risto replied.
"Why not Sovereign?" Viri interrupted. "They have a lot of members."
"Didn't you hear? Sovereign lost its challenge," Risto said.
"To who?" Reyna asked.
"A player-killing guild known as the Reapers," Risto replied. Reyna looked concerned upon hearing this.
"Has Sho done anything about it?" Viri asked.
"Sho said she can't prove that their guild is killing players," Risto explained.
"That's a smart decision," Viri added. "Sho doesn't want to start a war with them for no reason. Their guild does have a lot of players."
"How many?" Viri asked.
"150 members," Risto replied.
"That's the weird thing—they have no orange players."
As we drew closer, Reyna and Viri seemed to notice us, and Risto teleported away. Viri looked at me with an evil smile.
While we waited outside the city, Valen and his guild left. They were each carrying items like plates, weapons, armor, artifacts, maps, and trophies such as teeth necklaces. Valen wore a brown cape that seemed to be made of bear fur and looked quite comfortable. I wondered why they weren't showcasing their inventories but realized that their inventories were likely already full.
As they walked past us, trying to flaunt the loot they had gathered, Valen had a smug smile on his face. Viri seemed visibly annoyed by Valen, and Risto, standing with Valen, was holding maps and gave Viri the same sly look Valen had.
Ascend's party grouped up slightly outside the city, then were engulfed in a red light and warped away. Reyna seemed relieved and let out a tired sigh.
"Why don't we explore the city?" Reyna suggested.
"Wasn't the city locked?" I asked.
Tenshi interrupted, "They might have left something behind."
"We can also kill any remaining orcs," Viri added with a smile.