one
A gentle breeze rustled through the air, carrying with it the soft scent of blooming flowers and the promise of warmth. Laughter echoed through the air as members of the guild gathered in the pavilion, embracing the sunlit day with picnics, herb trades, and playful banters.
I just got back from another round of evil spirit slaying, and my inventory was full of loot, ready to be transformed into useful and valuable items. In the distance, I could locate Penelope, one of the first friends I made in the early days.
“Hi Isa,” Penelope greeted me lively as she ran my way. “Where have you been? The Guild Commander coronation is about to begin, and I thought you won’t make it in time.”
“Penelope,” I greeted her back as I walked with her towards the center of the pavilion, “I was on the cleanse quest, didn’t know it would take that long. Also, Guild Commander coronation? Didn’t we just change Commander last month?”
“We did, but it seems Seraphina is mad that her order wasn’t taken seriously by the higher-ranking players, so Malicious is taking the reign again.”
Seraphina was also one of my first friends. She had been the Guild Commander since our guild, Ivy Meadow, was created. Due to her health issue, she took a break from the game and she was back in the game a month ago. When Seraphina took a break from the game, the guild was for Malicious to manage and live up to his name, during his reign our guild became well-known for eliminating whatever obstacles in front of us, whether it was evil spirits, infected monsters, or other guilds.
As a returning player, Seraphina had many things to catch up on, and eventually, it became a reason for other new guild members to deem her not suited to be the Guild Commander as she was also in a lower rank than the rest of the members. Hence why her current decision.
As we got closer to the pavilion, a broadcast message stole our attention.
“Today, the Ivy Meadow Guild is celebrating their new Guild Commander. Congratulations, Malicious! May the Ivy Meadow grow in prosperity under your reign.”
A rustle of grass was heard from behind me, and I found Seraphina walking toward me with her pet trailing behind her. “Isa,” she greeted.
“Seraphina,” I replied, “what happened?”
“You know how it started. The disrespect of the newer members, the disobedience, and the mess they have created. I know the older members of Ivy Meadow have been defending me, but I’m tired of fixing their mess while getting trampled. I’m still recovering, which made Malicious upset at me for letting them do this for too long. So, I’m handing the leadership to Malicious permanently.”
“I see,” I responded before continuing, “So what is Malicious going to do?”
“You’ll see in a bit.”
As I finished reading her chat bubble, flashes of red letters showed up on my screen.
'STORMBRINGER HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE GUILD.'
'ORACLE HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE GUILD.'
'CHAOSROAD HAS BEEN REMOVED FROM THE GUILD.'
After a few more flashes in the guild chat, Malicious finally made an appearance in the chat.
"Listen up. As long as I am the commander, I demand respect and obedience if you want to stay in this guild. No one disrespects Seraphina or any players in the guild, no matter how low their rank is. I don't care how high your rank is or how skillful you are, if you disrespect one of us, you disrespect the whole alliance, including me. When I find out about that, I will remove you from the guild and will not stop attacking you until you quit the game."
After his long paragraph, the mood became somber and even no one dared to move in the game. Seeing the awkward silence, Seraphina added, "Let's all have fun."
"Right, I just found a rare dark spirit at Goddess' Garden with big rewards. Anyone wanna join?" Being the mood maker she was, Penelope shifted the once awkward atmosphere back to the lively one as other players enthusiastically showed their interest in the quest.
"Isa, are you joining?"
"One spot left! Isa, join us! We need your maneuvering skills!"
"Sorry guys, I'll skip this one," I rejected, "My inventory is full. I need to go anyway. See you guys later."
After I bid goodbye to the people in-game, I closed the game before turning off the laptop. Chronicles of Elysium was one of the games that I hadn't gotten tired of yet as I had been playing since a few months after its release until now. At first, the game was interesting so I kept playing. But now, what kept me playing was the community and the sense of belonging I found in the guild.
"Finished gaming, Isa?"
I turned around and found my roommate, Amber, who just got back from her class. Her tired face was enough to describe her day.
"Just closed my laptop, Amber," I responded as I watched her slump into the couch. "Did Professor Martin give the class a hard time again?"
"Not the class, Isa," Amber shot up from the couch before continuing, "It was only me! Like, what's his deal? Why does he hate me so much? I knew getting into his class was a bad omen for the rest of my semester!"
"Okay, I get it," I stood up before grabbing my bag, fighting the urge to laugh, "Let's cure your wounded heart in the cafeteria. I hear they serve the legendary chicken tenders today."
"Why don't you tell me sooner? Let's go then!" She exclaimed before grabbing my hand and running out of our dorm room.
