Rebirth Online World

Author’s note: HO HO HO! Have you guys been good? I hope you were. Here comes the christmas miracle – chapter 94.
As for the chapter 95, unfortunately, it has to be pushed to tomorrow.
My uneducated little sister required my undivided attention and guidance.
Math is a subject her tiny brain can hardly register. T___T

Anyways, hope you enjoy this one and see you guys tomorrow~.

Mountain passage on the border of Minaeryth Kingdom and Acalen Kingdom, Karias’s POV

“Leader, we’re losing on the left flank! Send some reinforcements!”

“Right flank is barely holding, we need some help as well!”

“Alright, I’ll send them right over!” I was turning desperate, but I couldn’t let it show.
As a leader of the [Waning Moon], I knew that our situation was hopeless.

Damnit, those vultures from [Brilliant Sunshine] guild are giving us a run for our money!
We, the [Waning Moon] guild, were always rivals with Shining Sunshine.
Every single MMORPG our members played resulted in rivalry followed by enmity.
It’s not like we hated each others’ guts, we were just this competetive.

Luck had it that even when we wanted to sign truce, somehow member of one or the other guild broke the terms and the shitstorm followed.

When Loiterous came out, me and my friends were skeptical.
We were doing quite well in Eurasia and few other MMOs.
However, when the reviews came out, coupled with the Albatros Company’s encouragements and video feeds from the game itself, our spirits were kindled.

I mean, who wouldn’t want to enter a Virtual Reality, another world where you can achieve anything?
It didn’t matter who you were, everyone had the same chance.

Like I said before, our [Waning Moon] guild was comprised of very competetive players, thus when we realized that every effort we make results in stats increase, equipment gain or learning new skills, we were ecstatic!

For a moment, we were even able to forget our enmity with [Brilliant Sunshine]!
Constantly training and thinking of way to better ourselves, we had a lot of fun playing after work.

At the beginning, it was obviously tough, even the [Wild Dogs] were able to shred us to pieces.
To seasoned MMO players like us it was a huge blow, dying to level 1 monsters…ugh.
However, things were different here. We had to adapt in order to survive.
When we received our respective classes, all the struggle became easier.

Slaughtering monsters enmasse, even the rare ones weren’t a challenge for our troop.
That’s when we started dungeoning and got obliterated…

Because of our mentality as experts in the other games, we pulled too many of the mobs at once.
The difference in statistics made us completely helpless.
Only the screams echoed as me and my friends were once again reduced to bloody smithereens.

After reviving, everyone had a bitter smile on their faces, but not one of us considered quitting.

Quickly learning the ropes and finally accustoming to the difference between controlling a character and doing everything ourselves, we were able to gain the upper edge over casual dungeon monsters.

If I was asked what was the hardest, it would definitely be quests.
Loiterous worked like a sandbox and everything had to be done by us, players, there was no tutorial nor any other guidance.
You wanted a quest? Work for it by talking to the NPC who doesn’t give two shits about you…
Figure out what he wants and maybe you’ll get a task.
It’s as if the developers were saying “We provide you with the world, you guys need to fend for yourselves”.

Nevertheless, happy adventuring days like those don’t last forever.
One day, when we were trying to conquer a dungeon located in the middle of Minaeryth Kingdom, [Brilliant Sunshine] ambushed us.
Unfortunately, me and my guildmembers were tired from fighting the boss and our respective health bars were low.
The boss in front of us was about to fall, with ecstatic faces every single one of us waited to be announced as a guild in charge of the place, when…

Couple of seconds later, lightning run through the water like vicious serpents and electrocuted us.
Following which an enormous fireball appeared out of nowhere and the remaining members were incinerated.

That was two weeks ago.
[Brilliant Sunshine] took control of the dungeon we so painstakingly worked for and left us hanging.
Their members quickly got an influx of cash and bought new gear from the Auction House, eclipsing our efforts with their vicious strategy.

With nothing left, I was forced to call for retreat.

*sigh* Our voice chat was flooded with curses and resentment.
I couldn’t blame anyone, I was engulfed in rage myself, however, there was nothing we could do.
The dungeon we have lost control of was a special type of underground cave flooded with water.
To even find its location two of my guildmembers stayed holed up in the library, looking for clues for almost two weeks.

Siren-like creatures with tridents were the primary monsters of the place, obstinately obstructing the path to the lair of their leader.
You would guess that creatures resembling sirens would be beautiful, but it was far from it.

If I were to speculate, [Kylzeds], that’s what they were called, were an ugly mutation of a murloc and a siren.
No one in their right mind would call those abominations beautiful.

Since the creatures were of water element and the entire cave was flooded, the basic knowledge suggested electrocuting them.
It worked wonders, easing up our time inside the cave.
This is exactly the kind of strategy [Brilliant Sunshine] copied and used on us.

Earlier on, when we were dungeoning, my friends and I were able to cut off the limbs of the creatures, resulting in absurd amount of damage done to them, sometimes even a fatal blow.

After the update, it was completely different, nothing was so easy anymore.
However, that’s not the reason we were unable to take the cave back.

There were two days prior to the update release when we could, but it was simply a suicidal mission.
The [Kylzeds] were somewhat resistant to the electricity and even if some of them weren’t, their large health bars could take the lightning damage.

For us players, it was a suicide to run into a Lightning Mage inside such a cave.
Not only could the [Brilliant Sunshine] take a superior position within, we were only able to attack the location once a week.
With our forces of similar manpower, it was a lost cause.

Grief and resentment filled our hearts, but we had to move on, otherwise we would be known as losers.
No one wanted that, thus we came up with another plan.

Loiterous was up and running for around four in-game months now, thus the players couldn’t achieve much so far.
With that in mind, we dispatched towards the border of Minaeryth Kingdom and Acalen Kingdom.

Mages were ridiculously overpowered before the update, now they were somewhat toned down.
Howbeit, no one could say that about the NPCs.
They were always bound by the rules yet they had immeasurable strength.

Obviously none of the players could compare, we werenewcomers in this world.
Everything was new to us, both classes, subclasses and the locations.
Some of the players from my guild tried to gain tutelage from one of the Mages but they were flatly rejected.
It seems that the lofty magicians weren’t interested in lousy adventurers.
At least those from Acalen Kingdom weren’t.

Nonetheless, I was certain that sooner or later, either players or merchants will pass through this region, so why not open up a trade center here?
The place I’m talking about is a vast plateau located amidst a mountain chain, 1500m above the sea level.
Although the area was rocky, thewinds were howling from time to time and the soil was simply non-existent, this area could very well be a trading center!
With no taxes enforced on the items, everyone could enjoy the cheaper prices.
Some may call it a black market, but I think of it as of a free city.

In this mountainous area, it’s the only passageway from Minaeryth Kingdom to the Acalen Kingdom on the western border we could find.
Since we couldn’t control the dungeon we wanted, at least we thought that gaining control over this border area would be beneficial in the future.

As a quite a numerous guild, counting 5000 players in total, we had many artisan classes at our disposal.
[Architects] weren’t rare, but for this enormous project, we couldn’t tarry.
Who knows what [Brilliant Sunshine] will do if they learn of our plans.

When the vote passed, me and my guild travelled to various cities recruiting NPCs and the players alike, spending all of our wealth in the process.
This all or nothing play was our only chance to stay afloat and become a force to be reckoned with in the early phases of Loiterous.

It has been two weeks, and the stockade was almost finished.
After the establishment of a well-fortified trade center here, my guild was planning on levying taxes on this grey area.
Not too much, so it won’t act as a deterrent, but a rather mild tax, encouraging passing through the area.

[Brilliant Sunshine] learned of our plans and ambushed us once again.
We were kind of expecting it, but being burdened with the protection of the workers, we were at a disadvantage.
Not only that, our equipment was now in different leagues.
Previously, we were equally skilled, now my guild was in a bad spot.
Nonetheless, we fought tooth and nail, if this opportunity was lost, we would be truly left with nothing!

The luck had it that one of the direct henchmen, Brox of the [Brilliant Sunshine] was taught by some powerful mage who supposedly came from Acalen Kingdom.
My mages were still struggling to readjust after the update, while Brox seemed less affected, drawing some weird circles and chanting with obscure words.
It was obvious that his spellcasting was less hindered than others’.

I have only ever done such chanting in other games, but it seems that Loiterous’s developers decided to take inspiration from those popular titles and included that system in their VR.

As the battle developed, our previously equal groups began to differ in numbers.
My [Waning Moon] was pushed farther and farther behind.
Few unlucky guildmembers that logged in during this unfortunate time had been mercielssly slaughtered amidst their confusion.
There was nothing I could do to warn them, I had to think of a bigger picture and focus on the battle.

As our morale fell, our last line defenses were about to crumble.
Desperate cries rang out, my people tried their best, but it obviously wasn’t working against the flood of enemies.

Suddenly… *ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR*

As if electrocuted by a thunder, my head jolted backwards.
What I saw confounded me.
An enormous, brown elephant, with two huge tusks, probably around 5m in length was currently making his own one-man stampede through the almost finished trading center.

Everything we have so painstakingly built was left in ruin in a matter of seconds.
Cries of retreat echoed out, many people screamed at the top of their lungs.
The saddest part was that many of the NPCs died.
Knowing [Brilliant Sunshine], they’ll blame us for this calamity.

As soon as this ginormous beast appeared, everything turned to shit.
I can’t even fathom how can this goddamn 10m tall elephant live in the mountains!
How were we not able to see him, this plateau is at most 5km in circumference!

Distraught with these thoughts, I died miserably under the violent rampage of the wild beast.
The only thing I was able to see was this.

It was a mammoth?!
That thing looks more like a ginormous elephant!

I respawned inside Legis City, located in the north-west of the Minaeryth Kingdom.
Looking around, I saw that all of my guild members were distraught.
This time, we were truly obliterated.

As the depression sank in, suddenly our guild chat gave off a sound.
It was a signal of a message from an important member, an “officer” so to speak.

“Guys, I’ve found out that the Church of Holy Light is recruiting mercenaries! The rewards they promise are awesome! Equipment, gold, influence! What more could we possibly want?”

Seeing the message, at first I was suspicious, but considering the sender, one of my most trusted friends, Hannis, I knew it had to be true.

“Huh, guys? Why is no one responding?” guessing from the emoticons he sent, Hannis was confused.
I tasked him with scouting, he didn’t know what happened yet.

On the other hand, all around me I could see hope returning to my guildmembers’ eyes.

…

Two hours later, my entire guild enrolled as mercenaries to aid the church.
I don’t know what this Icicle Whitesnow did, but if capturing him means that I will be able to enjoy playing with my friends for quite some time, I’ll gladly help the church out.

…

Floating Fortress atop the mountain range bordering Minaeryth Kingdom, Cartox’s POV

What a foolish bunch, to actually think they can settle in the Tenris’s area.
Those adventurers are probablyt brain damaged.
Hmph, calling them fearless would be a compliment, even my Acalen Kingdom doesn’t want to anger that mythical beast.

From what I know, Tenris is a relict of the past, left inside the mountain range as its sole guardian.
As long as he’s there, no invaders can slip through to the Acalen Kingdom.
Our ancestors valued security and peace. No wonder they created such a safety measure.

It’s saddening that the way of [Ezykh] was lost. If not, the mages wouldn’t be in such a horrible shape compared to the past.
Tenris is staying put because of one of those ancient symbols, if only one such glyph can pacify such a dangerous beast, I can only imagine what else this kind of magic can conjure.

Shaking my head a little, I wondered if there will be a day when someone recreates the lost ancient magic.

Icicle’s house, Icicle’s POV

Teasing Sara was a lot of fun.
I have no idea why she so obstinately wanted to stay, but it doesn’t matter.
There’s nothing of value to steal inside my house and she sure as hell doesn’t know my real identity.

Anyways, since a beauty like her decided to stay, I won’t say no.
All in all, even if nothing happens between us, she’s an eye candy.
What’s surprising is that Sara cooks really well.
All the more reason to keep her.

Laying on the sofa, I put the VR helmet on.
Feeling a tinge of pain from my arm, I was once again reminded of the skirmish.
It’s all because of that shitty barkeeper, he has ruined my mood.
Next time I go there, I’ll demand a free meal for all the damage I’ve received.

Heh, I guess this old bastard will agree if I threaten to advertise his bar as a dangerous, shady area.

I sensed that my lips curled into a smile, clearly thinking of such petty revenge was below me, but oh well.
My mind simply had to vent its frustration by fantasizing.

As I was about to drop the thought and log into Loiterous, Sara’s cheery voice rang out “Are you logging into Loiterous?”.
I was a tad bit surprised she knew about it, but the trend of Loiterous was rapidly rising among the masses, so I didn’t put it to heart.
Simply nodding in acknowledgement, Sara added “You need to eat healthily to recover faster, you had better log out in 8 hours real time or I’ll disconnect you myself”.
Before I could even react, she turned around and left.

My thoughts fleetingly wandered to the bathroom, where Sara could be taking a shower in a second…
Mm, indeed, that slender curvy blond with ample breasts would be quite a scene.
However, after looking at my bruised, purple-like right arm, I dropped the thought.

There’s no need to endanger myself any further, having a tigress around is enough.
When I felt a little commotion in my lower region, I hastily logged in.

…

Icicle’s house, Lisa’s POV

This is weird.
Carefully searching Icicle’s house, I wanted to find anything that would help me track his origins, but there’s nothing here!
I know I shouldn’t but this is so tempting!

Isn’t curiosity inherent to humans?
If it isn’t, then why did the Pandora open the box?
Nevertheless, I felt kind of bad for doing this.
After all, I’m using a fake name as well.

At least I think Jeremy Grand is a fake name, if my company records can’t find anything about him, then who can?
I guess police records wouldn’t have anything either, although Icicle blurted something about the jail.

The barkeeper still remembered him, so it had to be a few days ago, it would coincide with the time he wasn’t playing.
Arghh, this is giving me a headache.
I came here to repay his kidness… again, and now I’m looking for some shady stuff like a lunatic.

Losing my cool over some brat who’s younger than me, what the hell am I doing?!

Taking a stroll through the small apartment, I felt as if this was a sightseeing trip.
Everything looked fresh and new.

My mood was shaky, due to me being confused for no apparent reason.
I don’t know if it’s woman’s intuition or teenager’s infatuation syndrom, but something’s clearly wrong with me.

When I stumbled upon the bathroom, I furtively went back to the room Icicle stayed in to check if he’s not peeking at me.
Confirming he’s in the game, I looked for some towels, hell, I even found a bathrobe of suitable size! Lucky!

Undressing in someone else’s bathroom felt weird.
This was definetely a new experience, one I most likely don’t want to repeat. It’s too embarrasing!

…

Leaving the hot, steamy shower realization hit me.
I have finally found out why it feels weird to be here.
There are no cosmetics, only one mirror in the entire apartment to look at!

I never took notice of such things, but now that they were missing, it felt empty.
Fortunately, I have found a hair dryer, praise the Lord!

After successfully drying myself, I laid in Icicle’s bed.
In the entire house there was no male scent, doesn’t he masturbate?
Looking for a hidden stash, I couldn’t find anything.
Don’t tell me he’s gay now!

Last time I asked this, he broke the glass bottle with sheer strength of his grip.
Since Jeremy was so sensitive about that subject, I guess there’s no point pondering.

Still, considering the limo Icicle came in, he has to be some kind of a bigshot.
That “friend gave me a lift” story doesn’t convince me.
His bodyguard or whoever he was, was simply too polite to him!
No one shows that kind of respect to some random “friend” of his employer.

Maybe if I checked his phone I would be able to find something out…
Wresting with the thought, I decided to restrain my curiosity.
First of all, Icicle let me stay in his home, so betraying his trust would be bad.
Secondly, he helped me out even though he could leave me to the wolves.

As for the third… judging by the way those two guys ended back there, if he had his phone on him and I was to involuntarily wake him… I might end up far worse.

At least those two idiots, Jack and Carl will have to put extra work in.
They will hundred percent grumble about my absence, no one will be lenient towards them now.
Fufufu, just thinking about this made my mouth curl up in a smile.

Engrossed in such pleasant thoughts, tiredness swept over me.
Morning meetings drain too much energy out of me.
I decided to take a nap to get some rest, hoping that some things will become clearer after much deserved sleep.