Chapter 200: [200] Fable’s Request

The Fable Guildhouse...

"What is the meaning of this, Soo-min!" Soo-jin stormed into her sister’s room, practically blasting through the doors as she glared at her.

"Please, Lady Soo-jin!" The guard that had been outside hurriedly tried to stop her from causing a scene.

They could not touch her, they knew as much, so all they could do was beg her to be considerate.

"This is Lady Soo-min’s private quarters, you may be the thirteenth princess, but even you cannot barge in like this—"

Soo-jin suddenly grabbed the soldier’s mouth and squeezed it so tightly that his lips turned red, just before her tail exploded into his gut, sending him flying out of the door.

"I am talking to you!" Soo-jin snarled as she turned back to face her sister, slamming the door shut and pinning it closed.

Soo-min was seated next to a traditional wooden window, a cup of fragrant tea steaming in front of her.

She continued staring through the window, silently, as if Soo-jin was not there. Then after a few seconds, she let out a breath and turned to face her, her face an emotionless mask.

"It seems you have grown more arrogant over the years. What is it?"

Soo-jin walked up to her and raised a crumpled piece of paper for her to see.

"You invited Kasket for a joint dungeon dive? Why? What are you and that old woman plotting?"

From the very moment Soo-jin found out about the latter, she had gotten an ominous feeling she was unable to shake off.

There was no way her mother saw Kasket as anything worth her time, so if she took out her precious time to issue this request, it meant she had something planned, something horrid.

And it was all because of her.

She would have probed into the future if she could, but her abilities did not work that way, and forcing it could potentially lead to terrible consequences.

Soo-min frowned slightly. "I don’t know how you got your hands on official information, but it is just as you read, we want to collaborate with a bright upcoming guild."

"Don’t give me that bullshit." Soo-jin’s frown deepened and the hairs of her tail stood up straight.

"No matter what you think influenced our mother’s decision, it does not matter. Once she sets her mind on something..."

Soo-min’s voice trailed off. She shrugged and took a sip from her cup, and she was done with the conversation.

Soo-jin was still boiling with rage, but she knew how her mother could be, she knew how far she could go to accomplish her goals.

And she knew only Soo-min could stop her. So she lowered her voice.

"I am the one she has an issue with..." Her ears dropped down.

Soo-min placed her hand on her chest. "Leave Ark and the others out of it."

Soo-min was silent.

"Please..."

Something shifted in Soo-min’s eyes, but she shook her head and drank the tea in one gulp.

"You’d better start training. You are going to be on that mission..."

<•••>

Fable was a name that bore so much weight that many players would jump at the mention of it. They were not just one of the top guilds in Eden, Fable was the number one guild.

The top five guilds were unshakable titans that stood at the very peak of Eden.

Each guild was said to be more than capable of wiping out an entire country, so to have one guild unarguably position themselves at the top only went to say how powerful Fable was.

Ark’s friendship with Soo-jin did not make him forget this, if anything, it only made him more aware.

He stared at the letter Thalia had placed in front of him, the one that bore the Fable seal, a Phoenix with its wings spread out.

Even among the stack of letters from other reputable guilds, it stuck out like a sore thumb, immediately capturing his attention.

Ark picked up the letter, and even before opening it, he was already trying to figure out just what it was...

Was it Soo-jin’s doing?

Since she bought them the guild house, Ark was sure she no longer had plans on having him join her guild, but that didn’t mean she was not cooking up any other schemes.

Schemes were like oxygen to her, Ark was unsure if she could live a day without plotting one thing or the other.

"Are you just going to stare at it all day?" Olivia asked, pulling his attention from the paper and to her face. She frowned. "You’re keeping us in suspense."

Ark sighed, then broke the seal. When he pulled out the paper, he half expected something magical to happen, like how it had been with Harrow, but there was nothing of that sort. It was just a regular piece of paper.

He read through the details in silence, and after he was done, he folded the paper and stuffed it back into the envelope, allowing a tense silence to occupy the room.

After a few seconds, Olivia could no longer take it. "So? What did it say?"

She was the first person to speak, but Ark could tell that the others were just as curious as her.

Thalia’s gaze alternated between him and the papers, and Rodolph, who was not even a member of the guild, had his ears perked up from the very moment he heard Fable.

Ark would have chased him off, but it was not like it was much of a secret. The reason he had been silent for so long was because he was still trying to wrap his head around what he had read.

"Fable wants to collaborate with us. On an ascension dungeon."

Thalia let out a breath she did not realize she had been holding, and her frown deepened. "Are you sure that is what is in the letter?"

She had been worried before, but now, Ark could see a hint of fear in her eyes as she glanced to the side, deep in thought.

Olivia, too, was silent for a few seconds as she gave it some thought. The only two people who had absolutely no idea what was going on were Rodolph and Tessa.

Rodolph was a simple carriage rider. As an adult, he knew about the top guilds to some extent, but he was not a player, and neither was he of noble blood, so he was largely oblivious to the politics between them.

As for the little elf, she seemed far more concerned about finishing what was on her plate than whatever they were talking about.

"I don’t understand. What is with this atmosphere?" Rodolph finally broke the silence. "Shouldn’t you be happy that the biggest guild wants to collaborate with you?"

Ark shook his head. "It is not that simple."

He took a second before he began his explanation. "Although we may be popular because of a few minor achievements, we are nothing compared to even the lowest-tier guilds in Eden."

Not only were they not done with the registration process, they only had three members, most of whom hadn’t even ascended once.

"On the contrary, Fable is ranked number one..."

Thalia nodded. "Fable has never collaborated with other guilds except in the central tower. All their newbies are either prodigies or outstanding individuals."

She glanced at Ark. "There should be no reason they would want to collaborate with us... except."

"They want friendship," Ark replied, knowing it was likely the farthest from the truth. "Or..."

"They want to destroy us," Olivia said coldly. She had been quiet for some time, but now she had an intense emotion burning in her eyes.

It was reserved, like something she was trying so hard to suppress. This was the first time Ark had seen such a look in her eyes.

"What are you thinking?" he probed.

Olivia shook her head, then sighed. "I’ve seen it before... in my parents’ guild... in Harrow."

As the words left her mouth, the room once again fell into silence.

Ark had known Olivia for quite some time now, and she hardly ever spoke about her parents or family.

In the past, she would often brag about them, but after some time, she simply stopped.

Click!

Rodolph’s spoon fell on the table as it slipped out of his hand, his food nearly hanging in his throat as he choked out his words.

"Y-you are from Harrow?!"

Tessa quickly handed him a glass of water. "Me Rodolph drink or you’re going to die!"

He quickly snatched it out of her hand and gulped down the entire glass before fixing his eyes on her.

"If you are from Harrow, then what are you doing in this guild? Why aren’t you with your family??"

Pain flashed in Olivia’s eyes.

Rodolph waved his hands in the air as he babbled on like a fool. "Do you know how rich they are? You would be far better off with them—!!"

Ark and Thalia turned around to stare at Rodolph, and he felt as though his mouth had been paralyzed, right from his tongue down to his throat.

The pressure they were exuding had frozen him in place. He could not speak.

"Get out," Ark hissed, and Rodolph immediately jumped to his feet and exited the room.

Ark took in a breath to calm his rage. "Olivia?"

She shook her head and raised a hand. "It’s fine... I’m fine."

He had always known Olivia and her family were not on good terms, but he never pushed for an answer because he knew it would mean digging into old wounds.

If it was important, then she would tell him herself.

Rodolph quietly left the room without another word.

"As I was saying..." Olivia continued after a short delay. "It is not unusual for bigger guilds to request partnerships with smaller guilds."

"It is a tactic almost as old as Eden. They coax you into thinking they want to be allies, and then once you are in the dungeon, away from all eyes..." Olivia’s voice died down, but her explanation was as clear as day.

Once there was no one to see what was happening, they would snuff out the competition.

But therein lies the problem. Kasket was in no way competition to Fable, and yet, they were also not worth partnering up with...

A deep frown settled on Ark’s face as he tried to figure out their intentions.

"So..." Thalia stared at the letter. "What are we going to do?"

..

..

A/N!

Heyooo!

Author here! First of all, thank you all for all the support so far, it means a lot to me.

Now I have some not-so-good news, exams!

I have my Masters exams coming up tomorrow, yes, tomorrow!

So for the next three weeks, I will be locked up with exams. I am not saying uploads will stop, I will try to make sure I keep it going.

But there might be times when I miss a day or post a temporary Chapter that will be fixed in under 24 hours (just a little heads-up).

I am going to try my best to make sure this does not happen, but if it does, please bear with me.

I apologize for any further inconvenience.

Also, special thanks to Helevator666!!!