Why are they here? I thought this place was reserved for the raid party. There’s no way I would’ve missed them in the raid. Even if I don’t remember half the faces here, I’d at least somewhat remember them. I’ve been grinding as hard as I could, setting up Tsuno to follow him, and now he’s right here. I wanted to ambush him, attack him right in the middle of town like he did to me. If he recognizes me, I won’t get a chance to do that.

  While the group was talking, a familiar figure snuck into the restaurant. Nue finally made it, quickly sitting down with Mai and seamlessly joining her conversation with Stein as if she had been there from the start.

  The group finished their greetings at the door with Finn, all the while Sheko stared daggers at Kaizo. He spared a moment to glare at his sister for not telling him they were coming. Tsuno caught his stare and took a step to hide behind GesStar. They followed Finn to the empty table Sheko had left. GesStar was saying something, his tone apologetic, while Finn replied in a strained voice, “Yes, I heard you the first two times—you’re sorry. Just, at least announce next time if you aren’t coming. You’re lucky that I value new players getting to enjoy the game over my own fun. You definitely would’ve gotten killed if you’d brought her to the raid.”

  Kaizo interjected, even though Finn was talking to GesStar. “I don’t know about that. Your lineup looked kind of stacked for a beginner-area raid.”

  At this, Nue stood up, offended by the insinuation that the raid had been easy. “My mother has fought in other raids before this one. She said that all raids can pose danger, even for veterans.”

  “Your mom? Come on, what would she know?” Kaizo shot back. “Listen, I’ve been playing almost since launch. There absolutely are beginner dungeons and bosses. I didn’t get the chance to go on a raid, but I bet I know almost as much as someone’s mom—considering everyone has, at most, a bit over two years of experience.”

  “Well, maybe you don’t have someone to teach you respect,” Nue retorted. “But if you lot had any formal training, Phantasm wouldn’t have been able to join. In any normal sense, our raid lost more than half its members. If you weren’t immortal, we wouldn’t be having a celebration but a funeral. My mom wasn’t even going all out, and she still contributed more than most of the Masters.” Nue turned dismissively back to the appetizers on the table, gulping down a steaming gyoza.

  Kaizo seemed stunned for a moment before comprehension dawned on his face. His voice was heavy with condescension as he replied, “You’re a Tian, right? I bet you’d say you helped even if you had players carrying you on their back the entire fight.”

  He raised his hand forcefully, stopping Nue from replying, and continued as he began walking away from his group toward Sheko, still talking. “I don’t care for a Tian to argue with me on this again. Leave it be—I won’t be convinced. We caught the second half of your raid, but other than Phantasm’s attitude, I don’t understand. It’s just a game, guys. I don’t see how you would’ve changed things so much as to save most of the people that died in the raid, anyhow.”

  Kaizo paused and stopped in front of Sheko, waiting for a handshake.

  This guy is obnoxious. He’s right on some things, but he has zero tact. Maybe he just doesn’t care. Still, I’d rather not fight him now, so I’ll humor him.

  Sheko turned in his chair to face Kaizo. His eyes initially locked on Kaizo’s belly before he looked up and met Kaizo’s gaze as they shook hands.

  “Tsuno told us you’re her brother,” Kaizo said. “Nice to meet you. I hope talent runs in the family. Very impressive acrobatics in the raid—sad you weren’t high-level enough to deal much damage.”

  “Well, thanks,” Sheko replied, his tone neutral. “Though that sounds a bit hollow when you just said it was a raid for beginners.”

  “Why are you taking it hard? Most of you are beginners, after all. And for that, you definitely should celebrate being able to beat it on your first try.”

  Nue whispered behind them to Mai and Stein, loud enough for Sheko and likely Kaizo to hear. She laughed at the idea of a raid failing on its first try being an expected outcome.

  Well, I mean, realistically, she’s right. You should never fight to the death in a losing battle if you have a choice. But this is still a game—not everyone has to play perfectly.

  Kaizo immediately flared up at the comment. “Shut up. You shouldn’t even be here. This should be a party for Masters.”

  Sheko seized the chance to deflect. “Why are you arguing with her? You said yourself there’s no point arguing with a Tian, right? Anyway, last I checked, this was a party for the raid—all of us. We came together one random day, wandered into some random caves, and immediately assumed we’d found a raid. Why are you here, though?”

  GesStar stepped between Sheko and Kaizo, effectively separating them. “He’s part of my party. Finn invited me, which was kind of him, and I’m sorry we’re being poor guests. Right?”

  Kaizo stopped, took a deep breath, and then replied, “Yes, I guess you’re right. Still, it’s just a game. Sounds to me like Phantasm is excluded while he got replaced by an NPC. He’s still a player. Even if he wasn’t the best teammate, he still helped.”

  Finn sighed, visibly exasperated. “You know what? I’m getting tired of explaining this to anyone who asks about Phantasm. Anyone here actually think he should be here?” He paused, looking around. “Anyone? Does anyone want to explain why he isn’t welcome?”

  The party fell silent. After a moment, Sheko decided to speak. “Phantasm didn’t just have an attitude problem. I’ll start by saying that, from what we’ve seen, he might’ve been the strongest participant in the raid. He would’ve been invaluable to us if he weren’t the worst kind of player to encounter. I watched the recording of the raid. Unfortunately, it missed the start of it—”

  Someone piped up from another table, “Sorry about that.”

  “Don’t worry,” Sheko replied to the interruption before continuing. “What it missed was Phantasm running straight for the boss with his team—which, correct me if I’m wrong, were illusions—and starting the fight before we had any chance to come up with a strategy or proper positioning. A bunch of people died for nothing because of him. Maybe, if that was all, I could forgive him. But then he tried to steal loot. I don’t know if he chose it on purpose or by chance, but he tried to take my raid reward. Thankfully, I have a wonderful and attentive teammate who noticed it in time. Honestly, I kind of wish I’d survived just to see the beatdown that followed, even if all my limbs were barely attached at that point.”

  “Okay, sounds reasonable not to invite him and to kill him in response,” Kaizo said, nodding slightly. “But you should’ve made agreements about how to share the loot in the end. I mean, lots of other people died besides you. What did you do with their loot?”

  “We handed it to their teammates. Mostly, we put the loot from the teams that got wiped out with Emilia, which was very gracious of her.” Sheko nodded toward Nue.

  “And who is Emilia, exactly? Someone you trusted so much with all that loot?” Kaizo asked, his tone carrying an unusual sincerity.

  “Nue’s mom,” Sheko answered simply, pointing toward Nue, as he hadn’t actually been told her name.

  “So, you left all that loot with a random NPC who’s part of your team? How is that much better than Phantasm stealing your loot?” Kaizo finished, his voice cutting through the room.

  The accusation sparked an eruption of shouts from players at various tables. Some rebutted the claim, arguing that they had received their loot chests from Emilia without issue. Others sided with Kaizo, voicing suspicion over whether leaving such a large share of loot with an NPC had really been the right call.

  Finn and GesStar shouted together, “Stop that!”

  Then Finn continued, “This should’ve been done in a much more relaxed environment, but we were planning to open the loot chests from the start anyway. To remove all suspicion—which, I assure you, is misplaced—we’ll open the loot together in celebration. Is that okay with everyone?”

  Everyone voiced their agreement, though some were far more enthusiastic than others.

  “Let’s do it in ranking order,” Finn proposed. “Everyone who died in the first phase goes first, then the second phase, and finally—” Finn paused for effect. “Third phase.” He said this last part dismissively, as if the final phase barely mattered.

  “I was hoping we could wait for the last person who hasn’t arrived yet—not including your mom, Nue, of course.” Finn’s words were casual but carried a note of welcome. Nue simply nodded, acknowledging both the sentiment and the exclusion.

  Stein then stood up from his seat as conversations speculating about the rewards filled the room. “Yeah, I just got an update from them. Phantasm ambushed them to force them to tell him where we put the loot—and then killed them.”

  The room shook as almost everyone struck their tables in outrage at the bad news.

  Sheko spoke up, trying to cut through the tension. “Well, not to steal the spotlight, but at least I’ve got him locked into a duel in a week. I hope you all come to watch. I’m not so sure about my chances, but he doesn’t seem very skilled, so I promise I’ll give him a good thrashing. Now, let’s get on with the main event!”

  If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

  The group cheered again as the first-phase victims pulled out their simple copper-lined chests from their inventories. The sight was comical, reminiscent of old cartoons, as they seemed to produce the large chests from tiny traveling packs or purses. The chests started small but grew to their original size as soon as they were removed from the inventories.

  The party waited eagerly as the first-phase victims prepared to open their chests. They called out in unison, “Three… two… one!” and opened them simultaneously. A golden light flashed across their faces before their expressions soured.

  One of them shouted across the room, “There’s barely anything in here! Just a leather bag, some potions, and some sort of fancy pin. What the hell? You were right—they ripped us off!”

  Some of the raid members shouted in agreement, while others looked stunned.

  “Stop that! Stop it! You weren’t robbed—inspect that pin!” Jake shouted, his voice cutting through the noise.

  The player who had accused them grumbled but picked up the pin anyway. His eyes widened in surprise as he examined it. “It’s a Life-Saving Brooch! How much did you say these were worth?”

  Jake replied quickly and authoritatively, “Life-Saving Brooches can only be found from strong bosses. Their supply is very limited. At the cheapest, they’re worth 5,000,000 lir.”

  The entire raid erupted in cheers at this explanation. The happy new owners quickly pocketed their brooches before anyone could get any ideas about stealing them.

  Even the first-phase victims received a reward worth 5 million lir. My entire kit was worth less than 20,000. Either I haven’t noticed that the economy is broken, or that sounds like enough money to get top-tier gear up to the mid-game—maybe even better, Sheko thought.

  While the rest of the first-phase victims finished securing their rewards, one member sat frozen in shock. She finally revealed what had surprised her so much: a clear crystal jewelry box. She placed it on the table for everyone to see. Inside, on a red pillow, sat ten small emerald apples.

  “What is it?” one of the other victims asked impatiently.

  The girl, whom Sheko finally recognized as the one who had destroyed the forest clearing, opened the box and picked up one of the cut gems. “It just says it’s a Sacred Apple Tree Seed. It says my perception isn’t high enough to know more. What does that even mean? I didn’t know there was a perception attribute.”

  This time, Kaizo offered an explanation. “Perception is a hidden attribute, like defense power or attack power. It’s derived from other attributes, mostly dexterity. There are also several skills that improve perception, either generally or in specific cases—like the Researcher job, which boosts perception for gaining info on monsters.”

  I should write that down, Sheko thought. I don’t know if I really plan on getting a job for perception, but it could be important in case there are cursed items or monsters with really dangerous abilities.

  A moment later, Chris came from behind the counter carrying some first-course meals and a mysterious box. The box glowed orange, like the embers of a fireplace, through intricate engravings that resembled ancient Greek mosaics.

  "You can let Hestia inspect one of those seeds, and we’ll know what they do by the end of the party," Chris said. "I promise you’ll be able to take it back later or redeem items from the clan hall based on their value—plus a tip for bringing something new."

  Noticing Sheko's confusion about the clan hall, Yuso began explaining. “It’s not something all clans do—it’s unique to ours, or at least to how Hestia does it. She’s Chris’s embryo and the reason this building is larger on the inside. She enhances the building’s durability and facilitates the clan’s reward system.

  “You see, you can either bring in completed missions or donate items to the clan to earn additional rewards, with a share going to Chris. You can then redeem these rewards—usually, the items gain some fire- or healing-based enhancements.”

  “That’s amazing,” Sheko said. “It’s like you guys get double rewards. How doesn’t that break the economy if you can just drop a normal sword and get a magic fire sword out of it?”

  Yuso laughed. “Well, for one, it takes time for Hestia to process requests. She’s gotten a lot better since the early days, but it’s still not immediate. And Chris prefers to keep this place chill and enjoyable for himself and his friends. If he had to constantly make swords to sell, he’d be miserable. For now, only clan members are allowed to use the system.”

  Is this a recruitment pitch? Well, I don’t think I’ll have issues if I do join them, so why not? Sheko thought. “So, are you recruiting for your clan?”

  “We almost always are, but we only allow members in after running them through a check—mostly focused on their embryos. We usually recruit veteran players. Temmi is an exception because she has a Maiden-type embryo. As you saw in the raid, she’s no joke. We’re pretty sure she was able to destroy the forest because of her rare type. You were quite impressive yourself, but rules are rules.”

  So it’s back to questions? Well, this is probably a much better deal than just answering a few questions I could ask. If I’m part of their clan, they’d have a reason not to reveal what Odysseus does as well.

  “Fine, but let’s talk about it after the party,” Sheko replied.

  “Now, let’s get on to the second phase!” Jake called.

  Time to see what I got, Sheko thought as he took out the silvery chest from his borrowed inventory. He couldn’t feel the strain on his muscles, but it was heavy, taking him a few seconds to extract it. Others had similar issues. One of the lucky noobs who survived the first phase even had to ask for help pulling his chest out. When they were finally set down, the chests thumped heavily on the tables.

  The devs are crazy for actually making these out of metal—they’re huge, Sheko thought.

  Just as he was about to open his chest, he noticed the winged boot symbol engraved onto its clasp. “Hey, Finn, you got a clue about this symbol?” Sheko asked, slowly pushing the chest to show Finn.

  “Oh yeah,” Finn replied. “The top rankers got that to signify an extra reward. Now let’s see what you got.”

  Sheko didn’t delay further and opened the chest. Inside, he found a sheet of crystal feathers. Wait, is that... He reached in and pulled out a giant wing—part of the Alicorn’s wing. While it was larger than Kaizo’s massive frame, the Alicorn’s full wings were each double that size.

  Mai stood from her seat to congratulate Sheko, while a few others sneaked touches of the wing to inspect it. Sheko confirmed through inspection that it was indeed the “Crystal Alicorn’s Wing.” As suggestions for its use flew at him, Sheko grinned. I already know what I’m going to make with it. This will look so good as a duster coat.

  Once the wing was removed, taking up almost all the free space in his borrowed inventory, the rest of the chest’s contents were revealed: four leather bags filled with gems, a Life-Saving Brooch, potions for HP, MP, and SP, and three all-purpose elixirs to remove debuffs. Not like I need those with Mai around, Sheko mused. Additionally, there was a topaz unicorn horn wrapped in silk, labeled Juvenile Topaz Unicorn Horn. The name made Sheko feel a little bad.

  Finally, the main event was at hand. Sheko’s reveal had been distracting, but everyone knew the raid winners—those who went the whole way—were about to become very wealthy.

  The winners took a moment to confer before Finn addressed the group. “We decided that, since Sheko’s reward was special, we’ll split the final phase rewards between the category toppers and the rest, to give the toppers the respect they deserve as well.”

  Sheko rose from his place to look at what Mai had received, while Temmi and a girl Sheko hadn’t noticed before moved beside Nue, awkwardly asking for permission to see her rewards.

  These chests were true works of art, crafted entirely out of gemstones. The flat tops bore replicas of the giant mural from the cave, while the clasps featured intricate artwork depicting seven unicorns, each in a different color. The designs alone drew another round of gasps from the gathered participants, building anticipation for the great rewards within.

  When the chests were opened, the anticipation proved well-founded. Each participant received not one but two Life-Saving Brooches. In addition, there were eight leather bags, which someone eventually opened to reveal large, perfectly cut gems. The chests also contained potions of noticeably higher quality than those from the earlier phases. Beyond these, the group found four unicorn horns in different colors, similar to the one Sheko had received. If the logic held, there should have been two or three more horns if the boss’s own horn was part of the loot.

  The top rankers stood up from their tables, gathering together to open their chests. Seeing this, Sheko joined them.

  “We already saw what you got,” Finn called out, sounding somewhat confused as to why Sheko was joining the group.

  Sheko didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he reached into his inventory and pulled out Phantasm’s chest. Its clasp was marked with a symbol of a broken heart, signifying that he had tanked the most damage during the raid.

  Realizing Sheko’s intent, Finn grabbed his arm and whispered, “You promised to give that back to him if he wins the duel. You just said you’re probably going to lose. You can’t take this stuff—where’s your honor?”

  “Down in that cave,” Sheko replied flatly. “When I was close to passing out from stress, Phantasm was holding out on helping us just to get extra rewards. Anyway, I don’t plan to take his stuff. I’m just going to look at what he got.”

  Finn sighed but relented. “Fine, but it’s your responsibility to guard it. If you lose it—on purpose or otherwise—I’m not letting you join the next raid. I’m starting to understand how someone who decides to break their own limbs to stay alive thinks. You know healing broken bones is really difficult here, right? Even high-rank healer jobs can’t do it on command. You probably would’ve had to die anyway, unless you were planning to play around in a wheelchair for a month or two.”

  “Fine,” Sheko agreed. “You always have the final decision on who gets to join your raids, so it’s only reasonable. I’ll keep in mind not to get broken bones the next time I fight.”

  Finally, they opened the chests. The rewards were the same as before, with the exception of the rank-specific rewards.

  Prismo received the boss's horn. Unlike the other horns, this one was the size of a lance, almost as long as the wing Sheko had received. It was made of diamond and seemed to shift colors on its own, shimmering with an ethereal glow.

  Finn's reward was an oblong gemstone, dark purple in color, with black flames rising from its base to the surface before dissipating. He held it up, inspecting it closely. “I guess it’s an egg? That makes sense. I’m mostly support, so getting an ally to help me fight seems reasonable.”

  The prize for most healing went to Finn’s friend, who received a glowing miniature replica of the mural. It perfectly captured the mural’s appearance when it was healing the unicorn before the group had destroyed it.

  Finally, against Finn’s better judgment, Sheko opened Phantasm’s chest. The contents drew everyone’s attention.

  “Hair?” Sheko questioned aloud, lifting a shimmering strand from the chest.

  The moment he touched it, the strand cut his finger slightly. “Wow, that’s sharp.” He took a moment to inspect the strands more carefully, realizing they were flexible threads of gemstones. Like Prismo’s horn, the strands constantly shifted colors.

  “This is cool and all,” Sheko continued, “but what does the unicorn’s hair have to do with tanking damage?”

  Prismo answered as if it were obvious. “The unicorn’s mane kept changing colors. Whenever I hit it with an element that matched the color, the unicorn was completely unphased. You can probably make a shield—or maybe a whip—out of it.”

  “Well then,” Sheko declared with a grin, “I have all the more reason to actually beat Phantasm now. Who’s with me?”

  Surprisingly, despite Sheko’s declaration being one of the most selfish things someone could say, some people cheered. It was both impressive and disheartening to see how quickly people would support something if it hurt someone they didn’t like.