“Will he be okay?”
“What exactly happened to him?”
From a distance, Hiro could hear Liberty’s voice faintly. Slowly, all the senses in his body had functioned back to normal, and Hiro could feel the air surrounded him. Even though his eyes were still tightly closed and his head felt very heavy, Hiro could feel the presence of several people nearby.
As his nose began to work, he could smell the sweet fragrance of someone he knew. It belonged to Liberty.
“He’ll be fine,” another voice murmured. A man’s deep voice, Hiro could tell it was Alan, The WitchDoctor of Immortal Knights. But… what was Alan doing here?
Hiro tried to remember what had happened to him until his body ached from head to toe. He clearly remembered that he successfully carried out his plan to finish off Jorogumo with the frozen holy water.
He couldn’t recollect what had happened after that. He didn’t even remember whether his party had successfully cleared the dungeon or not.
‘Wait–aren’t Alan and the others trapped by the spider’s webs?’
Instantly, Hiro gained back his strength to open his eyes as if he had just returned from the dead. When he opened his eyes, a pair of tiny, tearful black eyes were looking at him from up close.
“Kwakkk!”
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtSpyro jumped in surprise at Hiro, who suddenly opened his eyes. The dragon slipped backwards and fell onto Hiro’s stomach.
“Argh.” His head felt like it was going to explode. Hiro groaned as he clutched his head, which was throbbing painfully as he forced himself to get up.
“Hiro?”
Liberty looked very worried. Her eyes were puffy and wet with tears. The girl’s face was also red because of crying too much. She sat on a wooden chair next to the bed where Hiro laid for several hours.
Hiro looked at his surroundings in confusion. He knew where he was now. It was the same room he always used in Jacob’s residence in the LSO. The room that was not so wide was filled with many people, and all of them were staring at him.
Jacob immediately rushed to Hiro’s feet when he saw his friend was awake, while Cara and Noah remained indifferent. They stood while leaning against the wall. Even though they didn’t seem to care about Hiro’s wellbeing, both of them were relieved that Hiro had come to his sense.
Meanwhile, in front of Hiro’s bed stood the main members of the Immortal Knights. The closest to him was Alan, who carried a briefcase like a doctor’s on call. It seemed like he had just checked on Hiro’s condition, because after all, a cleric was indeed a doctor in that game world.
“NightFall, how are you feeling?” Alan asked as his eyebrows knitted together. He looked just as worried as the others.
Hiro tried to relax his stiff neck. He didn’t know how long he had been unconscious to make the people worried about him.
“I’m fine. Maybe after resting a little longer, I will get back to normal.” Hiro just realized that his throat felt dry. He almost coughed as he spoke. However, he restrained himself from coughing or other people would worry about him even more.
“We did it. All of these thanks to you, NightFall.” This time, Dominic talked. He even gave a sincere salute to Hiro by bowing his body slightly. The others followed his actions in unison.
Hiro arched an eyebrow at them, feeling they were exaggerated. He only carried out his duties as a party member to clear the dungeon. However, he got something unexpected. It was a tribute from the people he admired.
“Th—thank you.” Hiro didn’t know what to say.
Dominic straightened his back. This time, his hand moved to grip the wooden board on Hiro’s bed. He seemed to take a deep breath and looked a little nervous. Hiro knew that the man was trying to say something important, and Hiro had to prepare his heart to hear it.
“We’ve already decided. What if you and your friends join the Immortal Knights? We will give you a special position.” Dominic spoke fluently in one breath.
“What?!” Jacob, Noah, and Cara were surprised to hear that. After all, Hiro’s so-called friends were the three of them.
“We will definitely become the greatest guild,” Draco added confidently.
Hiro took a deep breath. He already knew that a time like this would come. However, he didn’t know it came too soon.
He already had an answer for this offer. After all, he had already registered his own guild, even though it hadn’t been officially released because he didn’t have 10 members and a fixed name yet.
“Thank you, Dominic. I really appreciate your offer. But, I’m sorry, I plan to create my own guild. We can become an ally later after my guild is ready.” Hiro explained while looking straight into Dominic’s eyes, not wanting to offend the man. And his efforts were successful.
Dominic nodded and smiled faintly.
“I had thought you would reject it, NightFall. You are young and talented, even your party members consist of talented young players. It’s a waste of time if you don’t focus on polishing your skills and forming a strong guild in this game.” Dominic spoke like a father talking to his son.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmHiro smiled in relief.
“Thank you, Dom. I will do my best.”
After making sure Hiro was fine once again, the members of the Immortal Knights finally bid their goodbyes to leave.
It was noon, but Jacob, Cara, and Noah kept yawning. They had been awake all this time to watch Hiro’s condition when the man suddenly collapsed in the dungeon. Even Noah had to carry him out.
After the Jorogumo boss was defeated, Noah returned to the end of the tunnel, where Jacob and the others were still trapped in the spider’s webs. He then used his flames to burn the webs until it was destroyed without hurting the person trapped in it.
In fact, it was Noah who worked his ass hard that night.
“I have decided.” Hiro muttered as Jacob, Cara, and Noah were about to leave the room, giving him a time to be with Liberty.
The three of them halted in their places and looked at Hiro questioningly, waiting for his words.
“You three, join me! I’ve already set up a guild for people like us.” Hiro looked seriously into the eyes of his three friends one by one. His decision managed to make the three of them dumbfounded for a few seconds before giving a different response.
“Yes!” Jacob agreed absolutely.
“What?!” Cara was flabbergasted.
“Are you crazy?!” Noah’s tone seemed to disagree with Hiro’s decision.
Hiro nodded. He had made up his mind. Even though the three of them might refuse his offer, he would fight to get them. Because in his heart, he believed that his meeting with them was a fate.
And a strong guild could definitely be created soon.
“Wait for me, Yuujin.”