News of Riven's capture spread like wildfire across the lands. Bards sang of the valiant soldiers who braved death to restore order to the land. Of the great red general who led his front line with courage, and his trusted lieutenants who led the assault on the towers. But the loudest of praises were heaped on the Great General Leila Lightwood, shrewd tactical genius who dared the steep cliffs to launch a surprise attack on the king. As leader of the Hopeful Maggots, it was later revealed that Absalon's guild was a sub-guild of hers. She had coordinated the attack with him in secret so as not to tip off the drakul.

Following the events of that fateful night, waves of change rippled over the lands. First and foremost was the new King's strange decision concerning the drakul: Not only did he forgive their crimes, but he urged co-habitation from his country men. He refused to give them a separate land of their own, insisting all of Rosendun should live together as one. 

The first few days were hard on the drakul as most men still harbored strong hatred for their kind. But despite counsels against, King Parissius stood firmly by his decision. However, were it not for the drakul's fierce loyalty and pride, his plan may very well have backfired. 

Where the others races showed hatred, the drakul emulated kindness. Where the others looked upon them with hatred, they returned acceptance. For they had made a vow to try their darndest to make this work, and while anyone could argue they weren't actually at fault, they never brought it up.

Eventually, Rosens began to feel shame for attacking people so full of pride, who refused to stoop to their level. Slowly, but surley the attacks ceased. 

Bards lauded the King's decision to stick by his plan, as it would usher in a new age of peace in Rosendun. 

Absalon was promoted to official general of Rosedun's main army with his lieutenants each commanding sizeable legions. 

The relatively unknown guild 'Hopeful Maggots' received a lot of plaudits from the people for their heroic antics behind enemy lines. They were granted a land of their own in Ranad where a guild home was built in their honor. 

It wasn't long till every adventurer wanted to join the renowned guild, but their selections were so few and far between that eventually, the clamor for spots stopped altogether.

Meanwhile, under Leila's watchful eyes, Absalon led the army on their first real conquest to end civil wars and monster invasions in Rosendun in an attempt to unite the land fully under one flag. Of course, this also meant clearing the high level beasts around the borders to open trade routes with other countries. 

This quest filled the adventurers with a 'sense of purpose' which most felt they lacked before. Many decided to join the army's ranks to try and work their way up. Others started actively forming guilds to rival Hopeful Maggots undisputed control. A few others switched to crafts at the behest of the royal palace which paid top Syros for well made works. It was rumoured this request for an influx of craftsmen also came from the Hopeful Maggots.

Naturally, for the craftsmen to succeed, gatherers were needed to work the environment and obtain necessary raw materials. And in turn, for the gatherers to succeed, they needed warriors to clear dangerous beasts from the surroundings. And finally, for the warriors themselves to succeed, it all came back to the excellence of the weapons craftsmen made. After all, it was soon clear crafted weapons were superior to store-bought stocks.

This rapid increase in activity occurred in less of a fortnight. Rivalries grew, new players flocked to Rosendun, and the economy flourished as a result of the influx of adventurers. 

In a month, there was a difference so stark, many could scarce believe they were still in the same country. Racism had been all but squashed, guilds were growing left and right and it seemed talks could soon resume with nearby neighbours. 

It was a change worthy of the history books, and the name on everyone's lips was Leila Lightwood: leader, healer, visionary, disciplinarian and ridiculously beautiful. Most of the changes were rumored to have been proposed by her, and it was no wonder her guild was still the most feared despite having the smallest numbers of all.

BUT

Despite the glowering endorsement she and her guild-mates received, there were rumors floating in undercurrents. Stories of the true leader: a so-called demon who instigated the attack, devoured the previous king, and forced Absalon submit. Rumors of his demon hound which followed him everywhere and dragged his enemies to the gates of hell. His name was unknown, but some claimed he may have once been a dark elf.

With no proof however, these stories were seen as uncouth slander against Leila's Maggots and were usually kept to backrooms and drunken bar talks.

Truly, Rosendun had entered a golden age... but the man who led it there was nowhere to be found.

***

Hopeful GuildHouse,

Ranad

The leader of the Hopeful Maggots had her head buried in piles of paperwork on her desk. Whoever said running a guild was easy didn't know what they were talking about. It was terrifyingly time-consuming and she found herself forcibly tearing herself away from the table when she'd spent way too long.

Leila placed her quill on the table and rubbed her eyes. She looked out the window at Fera's statue, which had been renamed to Fera's square once it became a local attraction. She couldn't help but feel a surge of pride at the adventurer's running about accepting quests and whatnot. The town had really grown, just as he'd said it would and with the way things were going, even his crazy dream might be a reality.

It had been a month since the Battle for Riven and the last time she'd seen the real leader was three weeks back when he claimed he wanted to explore, and selfishly pushed all responsibilities unto her. Not that she minded: It was relieving to be in charge of something for once.

Outside, her whole life was dictated by her father, corralled by her teachers and strangled by her peers. In here, she was in charge of her own fate: a fact she relished to no end.

She stared at the horizon as she whispered, "Where are you?"

***

Northeast Rosendun

Achoo!

"I wonder if someone's talking about me," muttered a certain dark elf.

Accompanied by his trusted direwolf, and three adventurers, he rode towards the northeast borders.

***

Restricted Sector

Building 0

Level 3

Auditorium

Suzuki, like many others sited in the medium-sized hall, wondered what they were called for. The young gamer could count almost thirty people in the room. Amongst them were familiar faces in the form  Saeko Minako and Jade Yuhi: two people he had spent a good portion of his offline time with. The only missing person was Taiga....

As if summoned, the aforementioned walked into the room dressed simply in a T-shirt and jeans. His hair and eyes remained as wild and intimidating, drawing nervous glances from those present.

The young man, unaffected by the glances, swept his eyes across the room. He grinned when he spotted Suzuki and took a seat beside him. 

"How's you been?" Taiga asked.

"Good."

Awkward silence.

"And your avatar? What's his name again?"

"Never told you."

"True." Taiga scratched his head. He still found it hard to believe just how anti-social the kid was. It was hard getting him to string words together, let alone hold meaningful conversations. "So, you have any idea what we're doing here?"

"Dunno. But I'd bet James is behind it."

Taiga picked up on the familiarity. "Been meaning to ask. How do you two know each other?"

Suzuki shrugged, but said in quite the serious tone, "He saved my life."

"No kidding?"

"Dead serious."

"Huh," Taiga snorted. "Doesn't seem the saving type."

"He's not. He's a demon who'll use anyone, even an underage kid to get what he wants. But since my angels don't come to work often, I gladly accepted his help."

Taiga raised a brow. "That's a bit dramatic."

Suzuki smiled. "You think so? My avatar's starting to rub off on me I guess."

"Odd choice of words, but I get what you-" James Shouyou's entrance gave him pause. "I guess you were right about the culprit."

Shouyou was joined by Akari and Yukino. Each of them wore serious expressions which caused a shiver to run through the class.

Shouyou started the introductions. "Thank you all for coming as soon as you were called. For those who don't know, I am Shouyou James, and this is Akari Seki. He spoke to you all on the first day. And I'm sure each and everyone of you is well-acquainted with the lovely Miss Asagi Yukino. She has been watching over you all both mentally and physically. I heard some of you even got injured just so you could see her, but sadly she's already taken... somewhat." The mood lightened as they laughed at his jab.

Suzuki sighed and shook his head. It was really infuriating just how well that man could handle people. To be fair though, he had learned a thing or two from him.

Shouyou continued his address. "Most of you are currently wondering why you've been called here.  Well, the reason is simple: each and everyone of you is going to make history." He paused to let his words sink in, watching as their gazes flickered between confusion, curiosity, then tinges of excitement. At this stage, he continued, "When you first arrived, you were told this was to find a cure for the phenomenon called parallel... That was a lie. While finding a cure for parallel is certainly a by-product of this project, its not the main focus."

Once again, he paused for effect. "What we're about to reveal to you is both top-secret and dangerous. Those in this room, are the ones we believe can handle the pressure and risk that comes with this job. But, if you're uncomfortable, feel free to leave now. We won't hold it against you, and you can still stay on-campus for as long as you'd like."

No one moved from their seats. Of course no-one did. He hand-picked them himself.

"Good. Seki'll take over from here. I wish you good luck." James exited the room, leaving the inhabitants fixated on the director.

Yukino dimmed the lights as Akari set up projections on the screen. "I'll get straight to it... Japan will soon be invaded, and we need soldiers."

It took a second for his words to full register, but when they did.. "EH?! What Did You Just Say!?" "Invasion!?" "From Who!?" "What The Hell Is This!?" "Who The Hell's Invading Us!?" "Why is this happening?"

Akari let them scream for a while then raised his hand to silence them. Strangely, none had even made a move to leave the room despite their obvious displeasure. He had to admit: Shouyou knew his stuff, "They are a new coalition called the United Front. Right now it includes US, Britain, and the former U.S.S.R. China and North Korea haven't joined yet, but it's looking like they might eventually join up. Israel is set to announce their inclusion in the upcoming weeks too. They will all invade."

Taiga whistled. "Whoa Whoa Whoa. Aren't we completely surrounded then? Do we even stand a chance? Few nuclear bombs and we're K.O."

"Therein lies our sole advantage. They will... no cannot use nuclear weapons on us."

"Why not? If they cared about public backlash they wouldn't be invading in the first place."

"They don't care about the public's opinion on this. Soothing the masses will come after they obtain their objective."

"Which is?"

"The coils. Right now, not only are we the sole producers, but it's impossible to reverse-engineer causing total dependence on us for power. The rise in anti-global warming protests forced governments to seek alternative energy sources. Hydro-plants have too many negative environmental effects so the Tesla coils became the de-facto energy source. Think about it. Having your entire country powered by an object you have no control over. Any half-intelligent leader would know this is a huge threat to national security."

"So if they can't make it..."

"Yes, just abduct the producers and force them to work for you."

"Wow. The world's really fucked up." He turned to Suzuki. "What you think?"

Suzuki shrugged. "It was only a matter of time before this happened. If anything, it's only happening this way because of the kind of country we are." He spoke a bit louder than he intended to and his words drew curios glances from everyone present. Their eyes urged him on. 

Surrendering, he elaborated. "If I were a leader and I really needed a certain resource I would get it, no matter who it belonged to. If trading doesn't work, I invade and steal it. Of course to do this, the support of my people is needed, so I spin a tale or two. Doesn't have to be true; just enough to get the ignorant masses of my back. In some cases, if done really well, it might even garner their support. Look at colonization where the colonists went 'to educate the barbarians.' Or when troops are sent into other countries 'to quell the horrible horrible incidents.' But what every last one of these 'acts of selflessness' have in common is the country or state involved always get something that didn't belong to them. And they get these with the thumbs up or general indifference of their people.

The problem with Japan is we don't have enough terrorist activities to incite armed interventions; we're arguably the most technologically advanced country; and we're often ridiculed for being 'too damn nice'. Spinning a story to create a good reason for invasion is just too difficult. So what do you do? Invade first, get what you want, then appease the annoying masses. Well, at least that's what I'd do."

The shrewdness in his voice caught everyone off-guard. This guy wasn't just talking. He meant every word he said. It was kind of scary.

Taiga especially was impressed. "And here I thought you couldn't complete a sentence. Next thing I know you're pouring out essays."

"He looks familiar. Who's he again?" Akari whispered in Yukino's ear.

She raised her PDA and brought up his profile. "Mato Suzuki, Age seventeen. L.N.E profile: Kashi. Level 82. Leader of guild: Hopeful Maggots."

"He's the dark elf!?" Akari asked incredulous. "They are nothing alike."

"Interestingly, Shouyou-san's comments on him called him, "few screws short of insanity... in a good way.""

"Can someone be insane in a good way?"

"I don't know. You'll have to ask him yourself."

Akari sighed. "I'll pass." He returned his attention to the room which had erupted in a heated debate about the virtues of war. The instigator had somehow slunk into the background, letting them fight amongst themselves. In that vein, he and the dark elf did have something in common.

He loudly cleared his throat, redirecting their attention in his attention. "To combat the incoming threat, we will have the thirty-five of you present test, and improve our Gladiator series. Clear progress will upgrade you past this to the Rangnarok series of which there are only six spots available. It is advised you keep playing Live no Evil as each of you have shown increases in your NS(Neuro-sync) levels since you started playing. This'll go a long way in aiding your integration into the Gladiator series."

Yukino stepped forward. "That is enough for today. We'll give you some time to let this sink in, but for those of you who ant to get started immediately, we've decided to split you into teams of five. Each team will live in suites here in the restricted sector. Don't worry, there's more than enough space for you all in the suites. In fact, most would find it a nice upgrade. The teams are as follows..."

Suzuki waited as names were called out, teams were formed and  they were handed brochures and keys to their new homes.

"Team four: Mato Suzuki, Minako Saeko, Yuhi Jade, Taiga, and Usman Taki."

Suzuki glanced at the familiar faces, then at a dark-haired young man with quite the charming smile.

He shook his head. Just great. This should be a fun experience.....