Erai Kimura's Story

It has been almost a year. Currently, it is the start of November, painting the landscape of EDEN in a nice golden-brown color in the AREAS such as the Forests, and mountains. Most player have found something to do to pre-occupy their time here, creating shops, guilds, businesses, and other types of livings.

The Knights of Hyperion is currently training for the upcoming PVP tournament, with the promise of being released from the game.

The Silver Lyre guild is currently investigating the rumor of the Game Masters being the top tag-team battle.

The Game Masters are simply enjoying the panic, but rumors say a new event will be released soon.

Phoenix sat back in her chair in the reception room of the guild hall. Having been there almost since sunrise, her neck was beginning to get a little stiff and she was losing her patience with the players that had come to call on the Knights of Hyperion. It had been released that the Knights would be competing in the tournament this month, thus everyone and their mother have decided to show off their talents in hopes to join. The closer the date of the tournament, the more people had shown up seeking entrance to the exclusive guild.

It had never been apparent to Phoenix how many people had the same skill set in EDEN. All of the members of the guild had something that kept them apart from the crowd, but so many of the men and women that practically begged to be initiated were all the same. Nearly like clones, they had the same armor, the same weapons, the same specialties, or at least they had begun to blur together in her mind. One would think that over the past year people would start branching out of the standard classes.

Why am I the one doing this? I thought this was Gladius' job Phoenix wondered. Normally, Gladius would be the first to weed through the groups. Simply put, if her cold demeanor was enough to scare them off, Phoenix didn't think they were cut out for the guild. Usually, she only sees the top picks of the other guild members and she's just remembered what a charmed life that is.

Now that her thoughts had turned to the other members of the guild, she'd started wondering where any of them were. She hadn't seen anyone come in, but it was entirely possible that they had sneaked in. With crackling limbs, she stood from her chair and dismissed the few people that were nearby in a commanding voice, "I will be taking a break. I expect you to not bother me while on my break. I'll thank you to respect the guild hall if you really must wait here."

She all but ran to escape from the responsibilities that filled her mind. The minute she left the hall, her mind felt a little less cluttered. Warming her skin to the sun, she stretched with a satisfied grin.

---

---

Gladius smiled back at the man, silently thanking him for all that he'd done and will do for her. And most of all, she was thankful for the change in venue. She wasn't sure she could have stayed in that rancid place for another minute, and the arena was as good a place to meet. Their only problem was the amount of people present there, but she'd cross that bridge when she gets there. "The arena then. I'll check back on you in a while, but for now, I'll be bowing out." She gave him her own version of a salute before turning in the different direction than him. They both had their lives, and those did not need cross other than for the jobs that benefited them both. That made things easy and simple, just what Gladius needed.

She quickly made her exodus from the alley as well and entered the bustling city. It was safe enough to shed her cloak and she breathed a sigh of relief upon being free of the stuffy fabric. Her scarf was well enough to protect her from the weather and she didn't need another layer. She wondered briefly if she should head home then or take the time to look around the city and maybe find something useful. Or perhaps she should check back on the guild.

Speaking of the guild, she felt a certain looming dread fall upon her at the memory of what she was supposed to do. Phoenix would probably kill her. She knew the woman wasn't overly fond of having to deal with potential newbies. It truly wasn't a task Gladius would forcibly push upon another person. She knew how boring and menial the task was. "Scheiße, she's going to kill me." She sighed in acceptance of her fate and pulled out her menu, scrolling through her contacts to get to Phoenix's name.

"I know. I'm sorry for leaving you to deal with the applicants. I was at home. My head was killing me. Just tell me how I can make up for it."

She hit send and put the ball in Phoenix's court. She'd probably have her sift through all the remaining applicants that Phoenix obviously abandoned. It would probably take up most of her day, leaving her only little time to hone her skills after. Then after that, she'd have to deal with more guild related things. She could already feel her head throbbing madly. Merc's words earlier rang loudly in her ears but she waved them away. She was fine. She could still handle it. She could rest later, when everything was dealt with. For now, she needed to make sure everything was in order for the tournament or whatnot. As for this thunderous pounding in her skull, she'd probably take a page from Merc's book.

Gladius ran her eyes around the city and grinned as she spotted a store that seemed decent enough. She entered it, garnering a few awed looks from the few patrons inside. She paid them no mind, being used to the stares. It was part of the package of being the strongest guild's second-in-command. Besides, she had more pressing issues in mind than the eyes of a few people. She approached the counter with a blank face and said, "Your best and strongest bottle please."

The rather weighty man behind the counter blinked back at her, his hands occupied with tweaking his curly moustache. It was distracting, to say the least. "Bottle?" he asked with wide eyes, as if Gladius had spoken another language. That surely wasn't the case. She'd gotten over getting her languages mixed up in the first few months of the game. Her english came naturally now so it definitely wasn't her fault that this man was looking at her like some kind of fool. Her lips curled down ever so slightly as her eyes hardened. She could already feel the beginnings of another migraine and she didn't have the patience to deal with him. In one swift movement, she'd grabbed hold of his collar and pulled him halfway over the counter, the tip of a sharpened knife pressing ever so slightly beneath his chin. "I'm not going to repeat myself." Her voice was grave, tired, before she let go of the frightened man. She was certian he may have pissed his pants, but that was none of her concern. She picked out a booth that was as secluded as possible and pointed towards it with her knife. Her arched brow and stern gaze didn't relent until the man hurriedly nodded and scampered off to get what she ordered.

With a satisfied smile, she made her way towards the chosen booth, already overhearing the murmurs that have erupted. She knew it was out of character for her to suddenly lose patience like that and she might have just started a chain reaction of rumours, but she couldn't be bothered yet. Her head was killing her and she'd just deal with the reprecussions later, preferably when the world wasn't spinning and she didn't feel like puking her guts out. She reached the booth with a sigh of relief, cluthing at the soft leather of the seat like her life depended on it. The white tablecloth was swimming in her vision as she tried to lower herself down to the seat. Maybe she was pushing her body a bit too hard.

The shaking waiter quickly arrived with a bottle of something labeled in French and a wine glass. He placed them down hurriedly on the table, flinching when the glass almost fell on its side. He caught it in time, thankfully, and didn't suffer the wrath of Gladius' glare. Honestly, she didn't thinks he would have even have had the energy to tell him off if her dropped the glass right then and there. All she needed was for the pain to stop, so she waved him away and began to pour herself a glass. "Zum Leben," she raised her glass to no one, before downing it all in one gulp. She was beginning to feel better already.

((Okayed with WilPen))

---

The sun beat down on the dark man's head. The way his dark cloak shrouded him gave a chill to those that had the ill fortune to cross him. It wasn't as though he meant to come off in such a way, but it was basic instinct to realize that he was dangerous. The smile on his face would trick everyone except the extremely astute. It was only through keen observation would one realize that the smirk had more sinister undertones, but by then it would be too late.

Normally, Benji wouldn't be in such a dark mood. Despite his cold exterior, he usually has a more inviting air about him. However, it was once again drawing closer to the tournament dates and guilds full of pathetic weaklings were beginning to seek him out to pad their team. If he was honest, the members weren't exactly pathetic, they did have to meet certain qualifications to even compete in the arena, but their begging lumped them all together. He hoped to whatever being was watching over him that he'd never be like them.

His thoughts had sucked all his attention from his body that had been wondering through the town. What had begun as an attempt to hide his identity from the beggars had turned into a moody stomp through the courtyard. It was only when a force had come crashing into him did he take full stock of where he had ended up.

Originally, Benji reacted with anger. Whatever little twerp had run into him would pay dearly. This was not the day to mess with him. However, once he caught sight of the familiar blonde hair and glinting armour, the dark cloud that had been hovering over him lightened a little. Sure he was annoyed, but this just got interesting.

"Phoenix," he called with a much happier tone to his voice than had been in his thoughts. He offered her a hand, surprised at how far back she had bounced off of him. "I didn't expect to see you out and about with the line in front of that guild of yours." Despite his alliance with the Knights of Hyperion, he couldn't help the disgust that slipped from his mouth with the word 'guild'.