228 The Congregation of Enemies

Ren was having a headache when he familiarized himself with the players and guilds present in Twin Moon Axe Clan.

There were Poison Vipers, which wasn't worth mentioning because there was no core member within their ranks. They must be made up of some players who didn't have anything to do in the guild. The leftovers in short.

There was Great Dynasty with Roni and his rich friends.

Black Lion that was led by Hidey with Saya, Mike, and other members.

Fate Alliance Guild with Dimitri and Rayna and some of their schoolmates.

Dark Python with Trixie and Robert and their cahoots.

Golden Phoenix with Ruru, Lucia, and Rosie.

There was even a ragtag group of teenagers, and one of them was composed of Lily and her usual friends, Kylie, Josh, Zack, and Ray.

What were they doing in here? Ren thought and was having a headache already. Were they sightseeing again?

Ren didn't care as long as they stay out of his way or else . . . kids or not, he wouldn't spare them this time.

And last but not the least, Sleeping Dragon with Cang Lu and . . . Ren's eyes shook, and his head pounded hard against his skull.

Hixel . . .

Hixel was already in Sleeping Dragon. At this point, he was probably just a member under Cang Lu. But he would rise in position and become a core member and one of the leaders of the guild in the future. Hixel was one of the people who planned his death in the past.

Ren's attention was focused on Hixel alone, and the rest turned invincible in his eyes. He would make sure that he would collect that debt with a lot of interest.

There were also other guilds, but they were not worth mentioning.

"Now what?" Ragnar asked Ren when they climbed down from the croc and stood on solid ground.

The Clan was small, like a newbie village, and it was cramped and chaotic, with a lot of players going here and there for quests.

Roni spotted Ren, who was about to call him to introduce him to Great Dynasty and his wealthy friends. He wanted to brag about his group and his equipment but paused when one of the members of Black Lion went to Ren.

Roni knew that cute girl with short black hair. It was one of Ren's friends, Saya. He frequently saw them together way in high school. He even had a secret crush on Saya, which was one reason why he was jealous of Ren.

But now, Saya was a thing of the past. There were a lot of beautiful girls in Fate Academy, and Saya's beauty and social standing was mediocre compared to theirs.

Roni smirked before he went with his friends. Sharina's rare equipment would belong to them. His friends even paid hundreds of thousands to a beta tester that knew how to get Sharina's equipment. They were on the right track in this quest.

On the other hand, Ragnar was avoiding any eye contact with any members of Golden Phoenix. It would be troublesome if those girls spotted and recognized him.

"Don't worry. As long as you didn't tell them who you are, those girls wouldn't know that it's you," whispered Ren jokingly. "Did you already tell Silvia?"

"No," Ragnar answered with a stern voice. "And I don't plan to. Those girls couldn't hold a secret."

Ren was going to tease Ragnar to pay him back for blackmailing him when a familiar voice rang in his ears.

"Ren!"

Ren ignored that voice, and he was about to go the opposite way when Ragnar snatched his collar and pulled him back.

Ren threw a menacing glare at Ragnar's way before he faced Saya with a blank face.

Saya paused in front of Ren and placed a hair behind her ears before she beamed at him under her lashes. "It must be Fate that we met here. I've called you many times this morning. Why haven't you picked up?"

"I'm busy."

Saya took a step back, stunned.

In comparison, Ragnar and Evie looked the other way, pretending that they didn't notice how cold Ren's voice was.

"Sorry. Then how about later? Or tomorrow? Or after your business here?" Saya persisted. Now that she had broken up with Mike, she felt free and had a lot of guts and thicker skin.

Saya believed Ren's current attitude toward her was because of her past actions, and she understood him. His bout with Mike put a rift in their previous relationship.

However, now that she was free of Mike, she believed that Ren needed a little courting, and they would get back to the way they were before.

And who knows? She and Ren might ended up together now. She didn't believe that four years of 'like' could just disappear like that.

Saya wanted to rekindle those feelings.

Ren stared seriously at Saya, and when he realized she wouldn't go away without saying yes to her, he grumbled under his breath, "We'll see about that meeting. I'll message you." Anything so you would go away already.

Saya clasped her hands and beamed. "I'll wait for it then. And don't worry. This is my last job with Black Lion. After this, I'll resign from the guild and maybe . . . I can finally join you and Leonel and we could go on adventure together."

She could have left Black Lion the moment she broke up with Mike. Ren thought. But she didn't. That alone was proof enough that Saya was still expecting something from Mike. That she still wanted to see the man and know how he would react to the breakup.

If she really wanted to end things with Mike, she wouldn't show herself to her ex. She would avoid him at all cost. But what did he expect? All she did was always half hearted.

Maybe she was still hoping for anything from Mike. Who knows, maybe with the break up, Mike would realize how important she was, and he would do anything to get her back.

At least, that was how it was always in the past.

Anyway, Ren wasn't interested in whether she left Black Lion or not. Or whether she gets back to Mike or not. He wasn't inspecting any more from her.

He just needed her to leave and stop annoying him.

"Where's Leonel, by the way?" Saya asked after the short silence. She just noticed who Ren's companions were. She was so excited to see Ren that she didn't see anything but him.

Saya's eyes locked on Evie, and she paused for a moment. White hair, same height, and the same name. Was she the same Evie as the person in the restaurant?

Saya was so sure of it, and her eyes narrowed at Evie. "Are you Evie from the restaurant before?"

". . ." Evie wanted to say no. She didn't want anyone to know her real identity as much as possible. Especially a stranger that she didn't know well. Even if she was Ren's friend, or ex, or girlfriend, she was a stranger to her.

However, she felt hesitant to lie, especially in front of Ragnar, who knew who she was. And Evie even suspected Ren already knew she was Evie, his classmate. Ren was just being respectful about her privacy and pretended that he didn't know her, which she was thankful about.

Torn on how to answer Saya's question, it was Ren, and Ragnar who replied for her.

"No," both guys answered in a stern voice.

Evie and Saya were surprised at how protective they were that the latter blanked out.

With how Ren defended the girl, Saya was convinced that she was indeed Evie in the restaurant. She wasn't just born yesterday, not to know what was going on.

However, she wasn't that one hundred percent sure, so she still had little doubt and didn't persist with her line of questioning anymore, especially since Black Lion was already calling for her.

"Then see you later, okay?" Saya said and waved her hand goodbye. She gave Evie one last look before she went away. Now that there was nothing tying her back, she had nothing to fear.

Saya smirked. What's days of feelings compared to four years?

When Saya was gone, Evie and Ren both released a relieved sigh.

"Your girlfriend?" Ragnar teased.

"No," Ren replied calmly with an edge to his tone. He then changed the topic. "Let's go to Sharina and get this done and over with."

Ren walked towards the Twin Moon Axe's chieftain when he skidded to a stop because an annoying pair blocked his way.

"Ren. What are you doing here?" Dimitri laughed a little when he realized his stupid question. "I'm sorry. My bad. Are you here for Sharina's quest too?"

At his side, Rayna smiled her brightest, sweeter than sugar. "Hello, Ren," she said, didn't recognize Evie, so that at least put the latter at ease.

"Yeah," Ren replied with a stoic face at Dimitri's question while ignoring Rayna.

Dimitri nodded at Ragnar but couldn't recognize the Orc. "You working for him?"

"Something like that," Ren simply said.

"That's a shame. You could have worked for us and helped the school. But anyway, if you're after Sharina's quest too, I'm sorry to tell you, we'll be the ones to complete that quest and acquire that rare blade."

Ragnar frowned.

Evie repressed her yawn.

Ren shrugged. "We'll see. But if we complete that quest . . . then nothing personal. It's just purely business."

Dimitri stared at Ren before he hid an arrogant smirk behind a cordial smile. "I wish you luck, then."

"Bye, Ren. See you at school." Rayna sweetly smiled before they left.

"You sure are popular," Ragnar said to Ren as soon as the two people left. Not even interested to know who the two were.

"Don't mind them."

Eventually, the three of them squeezed their way into Sharina, the chieftain of the Clan and started their adventure in the land of the Orcs.

----

A/N (Doesn't consume coins)

In the succeeding chapters, we'll dive into the land of the Orcs and face some Gods and of course, fight some guilds and players.

To be honest, I don't know how long these escapade is. If its more than fifty chapters, I might change the Arc title.