North of the Central Plains lay a seemingly endless desert. Without the flying continent shrouding the sky, the might of two blinding suns illuminate the desert all year around.
Their power created an environment which was hostile to life, but it also caused intense mana to gather in the Northern Desert, which created magical anomalies and bred natural treasures.
The Northern Desert had always been inhabited by wandering tribes of various races, mostly dominated by orcs. Until a few thousand years ago when humans came all the way from the Southern Ocean, founding Aviar, the only country in the Northern Desert.
However, contrary to other countries, Aviar was more of a loose alliance of tribes. The most powerful of those had claimed territories for themselves along the desert's biggest river, the small spirit river.
The small spirit river was a branch of the big spirit river, which formed the border between the Rising Basilisk Empire and the Red Steppe. Its name was somewhat deceptive as even the small spirit river was big enough to be a source of life for the creatures living in the Northern Desert.
Somewhere east of the river, within the territory of Aviar, was a medium-sized tribe called 'Five Pillars'. It used to be a wandering tribe until it decided to settle in a favorable location around a picturesque oasis.
The reason for this decision was the formation of two magical anomalies in the vicinity which attracted many brave and foolish adventurers to try their luck at seeking treasures.
For the players this place was still rather obscure but today a large number of them were gathered in the area.
The Five Pillars tribe had many smaller inns inviting the reckless treasure seekers to rest. A group of five players were seated in one of those, sticking their heads together.
A silent breeze blew. It ruffled the large greyish-white sail protecting everyone from the sun and chased a few particles of sand over the crooked wooden flooring.
Some of the inn's clients turned their heads into the breeze, gladly welcoming the refreshing feeling. The locals looked at them, scoffing audibly, showing their apprehension towards outsiders.
Immediately a burly man carrying multiple cups came from the shadowy counter, placing the cups down to placate the locals.
Just then the waiter heard a buzzing sound close to his ears. He looked to the left just in time to find a small mosquito with an extremely long mouth flying past him.
The annoying insect weaved through the inn until it finally sat down on a wooden table. Instantly the sky above its head darkened.
"Damn those guys!"
A man with short brown hair and a surprisingly innocent face cursed angrily hitting the table with his palm, not even noticing the insect dying at his hand.
Next to him sat a man almost identical in appearance, his flashy mage robes unable to hide his chest heaving in anger.
"Let's go out and kill our way through!"
"I don't think that's a great idea…", answered a low voice coming from a young woman with flowing pink hair. A thief cladded in simple black garments nodded in agreement.
The last person sitting on the table was a young man wearing heavy armor. The others glanced at him, subtly following his lead. It was Final Fend, who massaged his temples with a grim expression.
"We don't know exactly how many people they have. I think we caught them off guard. If they were prepared to ambush us, why would they only mobilize ten people?"
"Hmpf. I think they underestimated us! A bunch of no-names, I never heard of them. Maybe they tried to ambush us thinking they could make a name for themselves.", scoffed Overbearing Zen.
His brother agreed quickly:
"Instead of being stuck here without a teleporter we should leave before our enemies call for reinforcements."
"You are right in that we should act, but let's not move mindlessly. Friendly Dagger, can you investigate our ambushers and find as much information as possible?"
"Sure, boss."
Friendly Dagger nodded as he stood up and entered stealth. Final Fend let out a sigh. A while ago he formed a team with other members of Dream Avenue and began to successfully clear dungeons and some more difficult quests.
Their team vaguely rose to become the second most prominent in the guild. Everything went smoothly.
Now the guild was preparing for the world boss. Thanks to Liam they learned that the Draconian, Mehphre, didn't stay in one place, moving around all the time. But if they spotted him once, Liam could deduce his movements the following days.
Thus, the guild members had split into smaller teams to do some quests and look out for the world boss.
Final Fend brought the Zen brothers, Friendly Dagger, and Melodious Edelweiss to the Five Pillars tribe.
On their way back from a short quest the group bumped into ten players who seemed to prepare an ambush. Caught of guard the players attacked abruptly.
Final Fend's team quickly fought back. They killed two enemies, opening a way out and fled. But in the process Dominating Zen unfortunately fell and respawned in the tribe.
After regathering the group entered the inn, brooding gloomily.
Final Frend discussed some more with his four teammates until Friendly Dagger returned.
"Did you learn something?"
"Yes.", answered the thief with a stern nod. "I found some of the players who attacked us lingering around the town entrance. One of them was cursing loudly, having been scolded by their boss."
"Serves him right.", scoffed Dominating Zen.
Friendly Dagger didn't comment and continued reporting:
"I heard them mentioning two guild names. Beast Den and The Only Way."
Final Fend furrowed his brows thoughtfully.
"Sounds familiar…"
"The Only Way? Wasn't it this new guild who has surprisingly gotten a hard mode first clear?", asked Dominating Zen. His brother nodded as he added more information:
"Yes. They entered the game quite aggressively, poaching players and even swallowing a smaller guild belonging to a famous club in its entirety."
"What about Beast Den?", asked Melodious Edelweiss.
Final Fend answered uncertainly:
"The name rings a bell, but I don't quite remember."
"Never heard of it. Probably some no-names, not worth mentioning. Since that's the case we should finally find a way to leave.", stated Overbearing Zen arrogantly.
"No. We can't be reckless now that we know we are facing two guilds."
Overbearing Zen sighed but inwardly he accepted Final Fend's opinion. He turned towards Friendly Dagger, asking:
"Do you know why they attacked us?"
"I'm not entirely sure but I overheard them talking about set equipment."
"Damn. Petty thieves. If they had the ability, they would earn sets with their own strength."
"Losers."
The Zen brothers clearly looked down on the thieving guilds as they caressed their stylish mage robes, which were powerful set equipment. As their only set piece, however, the robes couldn't yet unleash their full potential.
Earlier, as Dominating Zen died due to the ambush, he did indeed lose a piece of equipment but luckily it wasn't his robe. Nevertheless, he was understandably indignant and would love to take his revenge.
Eventually Final Fend sighed as he spoke:
"There is no helping it. We need to inform the guild."
The rest of the group nodded reluctantly. No one wished to admit that they couldn't deal with the situation but since they had been targeted by two guilds, the enemies would surely outnumber them.
As Final Fend explained their situation in the guild chat, a chaotic tumult immediately broke out. Many of the members clamored that they would come to assist. One message stood out the most.
[Glorious Hotpot: Damn, you too?!]
Final Fend luckily noticed the message before it was completely buried, replying quickly.
[Final Fend: Guys, please calm down for a moment. @Glorious Hotpot, have you been targeted as well?]
[Glorious Hotpot: Yes! Settler died once before we could escape. However, we managed to hide for a while until those people left on their own.]
[Final Fend: You should be close to us, right? I'm afraid those who attacked you are now reinforcing the people over here.]
[Settler: Damn, why are they targeting us?!]
[Final Fend: It seems to be for the set equipment.]
[Glorious Hotpot: But no one on our side has set equipment…]
[Olveb: Bosses, I just took a look at the guild association. The Only Way has only been established about a month and a half ago but even though they were slightly late they easily recruited 350 members. Their guild leader is called Silken, and they have a registered vice leader called Therva.]
[Glorious Hotpot: Silken and Therva? Never heard of them.]
[Final Fend: Me neither.]
[Olveb: Beast Den exists since the first hour and their guild leader is Fat Tiger. They often work together with a guild called Morning Glow, so we need to be careful of that as well.]
[Glorious Hotpot: Thank you. I know about Fat Tiger. He clashed with Mirage, Silver, and Cyclone when they were level three. Since then, Fat Tiger tried to make some trouble occasionally.]
[Final Fend: Level three!? How do you know this stuff?]
[Glorious Hotpot: How can you not know?!]