In newspapers worldwide, the two words Glory List repeated over and over. However, although the list contained every guild in the world, the Glory part referred to something else. Ten Guilds of Glory are the most powerful in the world, irrespective of their origin.
These guilds were all belonging to the legendary S-rank. According to the World Summit agreement that happened a hundred years ago, any guild that reaches this rank will be acknowledged by all nations. Therefore, S-rank guilds had the right to enter any dungeon and go to the other world.
This was not a ploy to make the powerful guilds richer. These superpowers rivaled countries with their strength. It was to increase the strength humanity had. Therefore, these guilds were given the right to venture into any dungeon they desired, as long it didn’t belong to other guilds.
“Among these guilds,” said Julia in her presentation. “There were two holders of the fastest clearance record of a C-rank guild: God’s Blade, the world’s strongest guild, and Dragonir. You should be familiar with the first, Arthur.”
“Yurirl belongs to God’s Blade.” Arthur nodded as he remembered. “As I remember, he is the youngest grandmaster swordsman.”
“Yurirl is, without doubt, a genius the world will never see again,” said Julia with envy. “If we can somehow convince him to join our guild, then we too will be….” The vice leader’s voice trailed as she bit her nail.
“I invited him once before I left Jerano, but he refused. However, since we are a criminal guild, pouching any members from other guilds would make them our enemy. We don’t have any blades or dragons chasing us.”
“I thought young men were hot-headed and rash, but you are as cold as ice,” Julia said before she presented the next piece of information, which was the current applications received both God’s Blade and Dragonir. “Although some think their numbers are the same, it’s not. Vetus-rankers and Rei-rankers usually clear a C-rank dungeon. These numbers for these ranks, specifically, are dropping.”
“And that happened after we broke their record,” concluded Arthur, and Julia nodded. Then, she presented another slide: the number of applications that Ascent had received these past two days. “…two thousand?”
“This is what happens when you break a world record. You become admired. This is nothing compared to other guilds that achieved similar world-shaking things. However, we are criminals.”
“And we will attract criminals.” Arthur sighed and closed his eyes. His chair leaned back as Julia turned off the presentation. Then, she turned on the lights and sat opposite him.
“I didn’t leave a letter to my father when I left Runera. At that time, I thought it would be a short break from studying. I wanted to help a friend who helped me and who saved me. However, I became a wanted criminal.”
“We can go back to Runera if you want,” said Arthur, and Julia snapped her eyes open in surprise. “I planned on visiting them anyway to take back what is mine.”
“You left something in our city?” asked Julia with confusion. Arthur smiled before he opened his eyes, stared at her, and gave a grin. “…what is yours?”
“Runera.”
“Are you still asleep?” Julia snorted and laughed. “Runera doesn’t belong to anyone. Not even the Ghost Ruler. It’s a city of runes and magic….” She paused and snapped her eyes open. “You… You…”
“You’ve seen what I can do,” said Arthur as he raised his hand. “I was the one to create Runera.”
“…I had certain doubts about your sanity, but now I’m questioning your opinion of my intelligence,” said Julia with a frown. “I’m not a fool. Runera is a two-hundred years old city, and you are barely nineteen.”
“You are right. I didn’t create the city in this timeline.”
“I know I’m right, Arthur. After all, you are… But, what do you mean by this timeline?” Julia was cutting her sentences as her ideas became a mess. “Are you pranking me?”
“Not at all. I was the person who wanted to create Runera before it appeared in this world. However, someone else carried my will, plans, and knowledge from other timelines and created it. Someone I know.”
“Aha, sure.” Julia waved her hand. “I wanted to give you this report in this manner, alone, to serve as a warning for our guild. Our recent achievement put us in the spotlight but also caused some… disturbances. Dragonir and God’s Blade might turn their eyes toward us.”
“What are we expecting, Julia?” asked Arthur, but Julia shook her head. “You don’t have an idea?”
“I’m just as new to running a guild as you are. However, there is a certain man, who is in this stronghold, that knows the ins and outs of the guilds’ world. I heard he woken up yesterday.”
Julia was referring to Mr. Tate. Arthur tapped his fingers on the table while considering it. Although he could more or less guess the human heart and prepare for the worst, he didn’t know what guilds would do.
“We are a criminal guild, and Mr. Tate has a family,” said Arthur as he opened his eyes. “However, it wouldn’t hurt to ask him. I heard he was the guild master of a known guild in the past.”
***
The youth that managed to sneak into the fortress with his speed was still being pampered by Tiara, who felt like mother nature to him. However, Arthur knew he had to do something about it. After using his Creator Art, Submission, Arthur realized the youth was telling the truth.
Therefore, his status was pending. Arthur was interested in his speed, but the youth refused to join their guild. Since he endangered the guild by knowing their current location, Arthur considered erasing his memories.
“Those were my considerations,” said Arthur at the end of his speed. He was talking to Mr. Tate, who was still sitting in the bed. The man was looking at the food tray in front of him, his thoughts unknown.
“An issue like this one can be solved in more than one way, but you came to ask me?” asked Mr. Tate with confusion. “Are you testing my knowledge, boy?”
“I am.”
“Haha!” Mr. Tate chuckled as he placed down the spoon. “At least you are being honest. In any case, I would try to coax him. He can be the ear you need inside Thiria.”
“An ear?” muttered Arthur with surprise. “Is there a need to trust an outsider with something that sensitive? I have my shadows.”
“I met those shadows. They are the perfect intelligence agency, but an insider is different. He will get certain access to the insides of Thiria. Of course, this is assuming that you want to deal with Dragonir.”
“Is this another skill you obtained from being a guild master?”
“As long as life and death are decided in our work, we need to pay attention to details and foresee the next tide. I heard about your guild’s achievement. This is bigger than you think it is.”
“I should be wary of God’s Blade and Dragonir?” asked Arthur as he smiled at the man. However, Mr. Tate shook his head.
“God’s Blade is too caught up in their next mission to care about politics. They are not ones to throw their weight around. However, Dragonir is different. Thiria is the backer of that guild, and their leaders are obsessed with reputation.”
“Has there been cases of their interference with smaller guilds?”
“Interference is too light. Dragonir has no issue crushing anyone who disrespects it. The Titan Guilds are above the law, as no government can do anything to them. This is why most guilds grow under the shadows of another Titan Guild. It gives them protection.”
“However, Ascent has no protection and is a criminal guild. Not even the Titan Guilds want to interfere with this mess. Should we expect the seven families to push them after us?”
“There are three powers that keep the world in balance, Arthur. Although the seven families are the strongest in influence and numbers, it’s called balance. The other power is guilds.”
“Then, the seven families don’t control the guilds. However, there must be some sort of agreement between them. Otherwise, we would be a world-scale war that ends us before we have a chance.”
“This almost happened a few decades ago. A certain guild master killed a king, a direct descendant of a country, over a personal matter. That kingdom mobilized every force for revenge. However, the other Titans intervened to ensure that didn’t escalate into full-blown destruction.”
“Isn’t it better to remove competition?”
“The guilds are competitors over resources with each other and the rest of the world. However, if one of the Titans were crushed under the hands of the seven families, it would set a precedent. The Titans couldn’t allow that. It endangered their standing.”
“And how did it end?”
“The guild master chose to step down from his position and become a recluse. In the end, the matter was buried without the public’s knowledge.”
