Kapitel 144: In Person Meeting
"We are going to have to admit defeat."
The table was smacked, "We have been at war for a month now! We cannot forfeit after all the resources we have spent!"
"That's exactly why we have to! We have been on the losing side for far too long! Our members morale is low, many are applying to leave. Zealous is hiding behind many soldiers, we cannot get to him. We should salvage our reputation here, regather resources, and strike back at full power."
Grimes was angered, "Salvage our reputation?! The nine top guilds have to admit defeat on one guild! There will be no reputation left!"
"We have no choice Grimes. We cannot afford to fight a losing battle."
"Tch!"
"Then we are agreed?"
There was reluctance, but no one objected further. The war was hurting their guild and their profits, it would be best to cut the damage now.
And so a post was made on the Forums. The nine guilds admit defeat!
An uproar immediately took place, even if the guild was one of the top ten, they managed to win a war against nine other guilds! Who doesn't love an underdog story? The reputation of Infinity Base skyrocketed, many changed the ranking of the top guilds on their respective tier lists. Infinity Base now ranking number one.
Zealous sat on a luxurious chair with a grin, he had done it. His gamble has succeeded, the once looked down upon Infinity Base was now ranked number one.
As he grinned to himself he murmured, "This. . . this is only the beginning."
~ ~ ~
Travis awoke slowly, he rubbed his aching head. As he saw himself in his room with confusion a set of memories hit him.
"Ah. . ."
He had lost, he had expected this outcome. However it still hurt his pride. He sighed to himself. There was still such a long way to go.
He picked up his sword that was leaning on his bed and walked out of the room. As he walked through the manor he digested the battle with Flinnder. He came up with things he should have done, moves he should have taken. As he walked he eventually found himself back in the training area. Perhaps his legs brought him here from habit.
The training area was empty, an odd sight for him. Usually Dimitrin got here before him, no matter how early he tried to show up. Regardless. . . he drew his sword. He began picturing the movements of Flinnder and Dimitrin. As he swung through the air he began a mental battle with the two. After three moves he decided Flinnder wasn't possible. He simply didn't have enough experience with him. So he continued with Dimitrin.
His sword cut cleanly through the air, his body moved fluidly. As he practiced in the training area he began to feel something new. Something he never had before, his sword began feeling at home in his hand. It always had a small sense of discomfort, usually unnoticeable. Now. . . it was like it was tailored made for him.
His movement's pace began to increase. They grew faster and more sharp. He felt at home with his sword, with battle. Like this was his calling all along.
A voice sounded, 'You. . .'
Travis was jolted out of his strange state by surprise. He blinked and looked around. The only person he saw was Dimitrin. . . wait.
"Ah! How long were you standing there?"
Dimitrin raised an eyebrow, "So now you notice? I have been here for the past ten minutes."
Ten minutes? Travis quickly looked at the time, he had been practicing for two hours!
Rubbing his brow he asked, "We're you the one who spoke?"
"Spoke? I only answered your question, I have remained silent the whole time."
Travis frowned but soon pushed away the matter. Perhaps he misheard.
"Lord Flinnder requests your presence." Dimitrin said, it was the only reason they were here anyway.
"Oh! I shall head over immediately then. Thank you."
. . .
Travis was seated on a chair in Flinnder's office. The royal tapped the desk and asked, "Are you aware of why I called you?"
"I am afraid not Lord."
"First, a congratulations. You have far surpassed what you once were in the past. An astonishing feat. You even managed to harm me!"
"It was only possible due to your generosity Lord."
"Mm, humble are we? Anyway, onto the main reason. Your armor." Flinnder then pointed to the open gash on Travis' chest plate. The armor he obtained was now incredibly outdated for his skill and level. However he wasn't particularly focused on obtaining a replacement.
Flinnder then opened a map on the desk, "I have been meaning to find this place for a while. Now I have an excuse too. A stash said to be hidden by a Duke long ago. I obtained one of the few maps. I have no clue what is inside this stash. Yet it is a Duke's stash, so it will not be disappointing, if it exists."
Travis looked up from the map, "I assume if there is any armor, it is for me?"
"Correct! We are in need of proper armor for you. Else I would become laughingstock. So tomorrow we will search this Duke's stash. Let's just hope our luck is enough to obtain some worthwhile items."
Travis thought to himself, 'I am sure with your luck, there will be all we need!'
~ ~ ~
Akiol breathed in a fresh air. He had arrived at his location. Pulling out his phone he opened the group chat. They had all agreed to meet up at a cafe in two hours. Their planes had landed at different times, so this was needed.
He hailed a taxi and asked for a ride to the cafe. As the taxi drove him to his location he looked out the window. The city was nice looking. It held the proper vibe of a bustling midsized city. Yet his thoughts prevented him from absorbing the sights.
Fifteen minutes later the taxi arrived at the cafe. After paying his fare he stepped into the cafe. An employee then asked, "Will you be the only one seating?"
"I'm waiting on five others."
"Would you like to be seated now?"
"That would be nice."
"Follow me please."
Akiol was then seated at a corner booth. He politely declined the offer to take his order, he would wait for the others before that.
He still had a decent amount of time before the others arrived. After putting the details of his table in the group chat, he browsed through the forums.
Surprisingly only fifteen minutes later someone arrived. A wavy browned haired and eyed woman walked over and asked incredulously, "Akiol. . . ?"
He responded, "In the overtaken flesh."
"It would be hard to tell. . ."
Akiol sighed, "Don't tell me, is it the silver hair and eyes?"
"Well. . ."
"Is that my only noticeable feature?"
"No, it's the one people will notice first though."
"That's essentially the same thing Wrock said!"
The woman took a seat, "Alright, now guess. Who am I?"
"This one isn't hard, Kan'na."
Kan'na clicked her tongue, "I had hoped you would get it wrong."
"It's not hard, you carry the same tone of voice."
"You noticed by voice??"
"One I noticed, there are others that shall not be explained."
"Now I'm curious though!"
"Heh. . ."
The two chatted for a while before another joined. A tall blonde blue eyed man sat on the table, ". . . You all look completely different."
The two immediately fired back, "You're one to talk!"
Kan'na continued, "What is this? You went from a quiet timid kid, to this tall man. I feel like you're the one who changed the most!"
"It's definitely weird being taller than both of you."
This was none other than Jarvis! He had taken over an individual with a very social personality. However they always failed to commit to maintain relationships. So they never had any friends, but had no issue speaking with random strangers. This was a polar opposite of Jarvis. Who didn't socialize much, but liked to maintain relationships. The two personalities were always at a clash, sometimes Jarvis didn't speak, others he wouldn't hesitate to speak his mind. He only hoped that the two would fuse together, eliminating the traits he didn't like.
The three continued to converse when Wrock and Tilia joined. Tilia was a firm looking woman with black hair and eyes, her hair was tied in a ponytail. Her face had a stern look to it. However this seemed to only be the side effect of running a business. For she still remained the same.
Yielya was last to join, Jenna seemed thin for a body under Yielya's care. A redhead with freckles on her face. Walking up to the table she paused, "You guys. . ."
Repressing the urge to let his head fall onto the table Akiol asked, "Right, in clockwise order from where you're standing, guess."
"Wrock's significantly smaller and just looks different, though you still have that aloof look on your face. Kan'na. . . yeah you're definitely Kan'na."
Kan'na gently smacked the table, "Seriously! What gives me away?"
"Your voice just confirmed my expectations. There are other things but that was certainly the most obvious."
"Oh come on!"
Smiling playfully Yielya continued, "Tilia definitely, that serious look on your face hasn't changed."
Tilia held her hands up, "You got me!"
Moving to the next Yielya crossed her arms, "Now, who are you? That can't be Jarvis right?"
Wrock was quick to jump on this, "I know! This guy is entirely different! He's now the biggest out of all us!"
"Seriously? Jarvis?"
Shrugging Jarvis replied, "It took some getting used to."
Casually pointing, "And this is Akiol, I knew that when I entered."
"Oh? What gave me away?"
Yielya smiled and didn't answer.
Wrock balled up his fists, "Man, I really thought the lack of silver features would've messed you up."
"That's not my most prominent feature!", Akiol was adamant on this.
"It's the first that's noticed.", almost everyone replied immediately.
Yielya laughed wholeheartedly, "Don't worry Akiol, you're mostly the same to me."
"I dunno if that makes me feel much better."
Yielya took a seat and the party began to happily speak about their lives. Allowing a bit of rest before they continued.
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein