Naru Island.

12:30 p.m. 20th Banem 1092.

Naru Island was one of the thirteen islands south of Rosendun which the Maggots had been working on. It was one of the smaller islands, mostly occupied by a dense forest, and beautiful, sandy beachfronts. Many Edo-period Japanese style buildings had been erected close to the beach, eating into the forest's edge.

Naru Island was designed to serve as both a wildlife reserve and a beachfront. Guests to the island could pay for exclusive tours through the forests, getting a chance to witness many of these proud beasts in their natural climate. The resort was not aimed toward actual gamers who spend 90% of their time slaying every creature they came across, but toward regular people who have always wanted to go to a reserve but lacked either the time, money or opportunity.

Paths had been cleared through the forest, allowing for easy travel. Several workers walked along the paths, burying bones and faeces along their edges to ward off the local wildlife. Suddenly, the workers paused their work, looking up to see a small group walking down the path towards the beach.

"Good Afternoon, Silver-san, Stryke-san, Hope the day's been good?" greeted a worker as the group neared.

"Afternoon Byron-san," Stryke politely greeted with a toothy grin. He then added as he patted JWSilver's back. "We were just checking to make sure we'd taken care of all the bosses. Luckily, it seems there's none left, so you guys can work in pea—"

Grooowl!

Stryke paused and looked to his left, eyes wide as a large, tiger-like beast walked out of the bushes. The tiger's gaze travelled from Stryke, to the workers, and finally rested on the edge of the road. It took a step forward, but then stopped as it smelled an unfamiliar, but powerful stench.

The tiger bent down to sniff the road, but instantly reeled back afterward. It rubbed its nose with it paw and once again glanced at the road in confusion, It then looked at the workers and let out a low roar and pawed at the ground in frustration.

JWSilver raised a brow, surprised at the beast's behavior. Scratching his head, he turned to Stryke and asked, "Any idea why it's acting that way?"

"I'm not sure, but I think we blocked off its path," Stryke answered with a frown as he scratched his mane. The warrior made eye contact with the tiger and motioned with his hand, "This way. Come this way." As he spoke, he slowly walked down the path. Luckily, it seemed the tiger understood, as it actually followed along the path's edge.

Stryke finally stopped at the end of the path, and pointed at the ground. "Safe. You can pass through here."

The tiger frowned as it slowly inched forward, and then sniffed the ground. Thankfully, the foul, repulsive, scary stench was no longer present. As a result, the tiger could cross unimpeded. The proud beast looked over its shoulder and chuffed at Stryke before it disappeared into the thickets at the other side.

Stryke rubbed his snout as he embarrassingly said, "It was nothing. Have a good day now." With that, he waved goodbye to the tiger and returned to JWSilver. "We have to leave some room every couple of meters for the wildlife to pass through. We don't want to disrupt the ecosystem too much."

JWSilver nodded, "Yeah, you're right. I was too concerned with the visitors' safety that I forgot about the wildlife."

"Safety won't be an issue as long as they have a guard with them," Stryke explained as he said, "The monsters here are around level 80. Hire a few level 100 and above guards to escort the guests, and the monsters would not dare to attack. They are too sensitive to power imbalance."

"Thanks for the insight," JWSilver said with an appreciative nod. "I'll remember to use that when designing the paths for the other islands."

"No problem," Stryke said with a laugh, and then pointed toward the beach. "Let's go. We've still got nine more islands to inspect." With those words, he and JWSilver walked toward the beach where a boat awaited them.

Surprisingly, however, they saw a daeben sitting on their boat, sketching on what looked like a notepad. The daeben's long, messy hair covered most of his face from view, but he was dressed in a pair of black sleeveless shirt and pants.

Stryke instantly recognized the messy hair and excitedly called out as he ran toward the daeben, "Kashi!"

The daeben lifted his head and turned to look at Stryke, revealing a pair of red eyes that definitely belonged to the guildleader of the Hopeful Maggots. Kashi chuckled and raised his hand as he greeted, "Yo! It's been a while."

Stryke jumped and slapped Kashi's hand in an exaggerated high-five. "Of course it's been a while. You're always busy with some dastardly plan."

"Hey! My plans are not dastardly!" Kashi protested. He then reached out and pulled on Stryke's cheeks, proclaiming as he did, "Didn't really have the opportunity to appreciate this last time, but you've really changed, huh? It's permanent?"

"Ow!" Stryke cried, but did not attempt to push Kashi away. Luckily, the daeben released him, and then, scratching he sore cheeks, he answered, "Yeah, it's permanent. It's a complete race change. It has its perks though. Like I can vaguely understand animals for one. Really helps with this resort building job—Ah! " Stryke's eyes widened as he realized he was forgetting something.

Stryke rushed over to JWSilver and dragged him to the boat. "Kashi, meet JW. He's the brains behind this whole operation. Dude is scary smart." He then pointed at Kashi and said, "JW, this is Kashi, the Maggots' guildmaster. He's scary strong so be careful."

"What are you talking about?" Kashi protested. "I'm not scary."

Stryke just looked at Kashi, not bothering to deign that claim with a response.

Kashi, realizing Stryke was not taking any of his bullshit, coughed and turned his attention to JWSilver. He held out his hand as he said, "Leila told me about you. It's an honor to finally meet you."

"That honor is mine," JWSilver laughed and shook Kashi's hand as he revealed, "There are dozens of forums online dedicated to you alone. I feel like I already know you despite this being the first time we've met."

Kashi nervously laughed as he scratched the back of his head, "Dozens?"

"A low estimate," JWSilver replied with a shrug. "You're pretty popular online."

Kashi sighed, burying his head in his hands as he lamented, "How did this happen?"

"I see it as a huge plus though," JWSilver stated as he looked over his shoulder at the beachfront hotels. "In essence, you are a brand name now. Everything you touch will be introduced to and then dissected by the public eye. When the time comes, we won't have to advertise much. Just let the world know this place is partly owned by Kashi of the Hopeful Maggots and they will come flocking in to see if it's any good."

Kashi's brow rose as he gave JWSilver a once over. With a teasing smile, he asked, "You wouldn't happen to know Miote, would you?"

"Only by reputation," admitted the teenager with a confused expression. "All my proposals have to be approved by him before the work can begin. Why're you asking?"

"Nothing, nothing," Kashi placated. "I just feel like the two of you would get along."

"Haha, I don't know about that," JWSilver nervously laughed as he scratched the back of his head. "Miote is, you know... He's too awesome for someone like me."

Pa!

"Ow!" screamed JWSilver as he rubbed his forehead and looked at the daeben in shock.

Kashi dropped his hand, a smile on his face as he said, "No one's greater or smaller than anyone else." He mimed a gun with his right hand and pointed it at his head. "We all die all the same if we lose our brains." The daeben stretched out his hand and tapped the teenager's chest, "Don't ever put yourself down. I don't."

JWSilver paused, eyes wide as he looked at Kashi. He then nodded and replied with a smile, "I can see why Stryke worships the ground you walk on."

"Hey!" Stryke shouted, turning red as he jumped and clamped his hand over JWSilver's mouth. "Why're you talking about that?" The Sphinx turned to Kashi, desperation on his face as he quickly asked, "So, Kashi, what brings you here, anyway?" After a pause, he added, "No. More like, how'd you get here?"

Kashi chuckled but chose not to expose the little raid leader. "I'm here to pick you up. We have an important meeting to attend. And I took a boat from Norcha to get here. Leila told me where'd you be."

"Ah, that daily check-in actually paid off," Stryke muttered as he released JWSilver. "Wait. You said a meeting? Where?"

"At Serisis," Kashi revealed. "We're having a meeting for the kings of Serisis, Rosendun and Aygorzi. After that, we'll also have a meeting among the Maggots' division heads." The daeben looked at JWSilver and said, "You can come too if you want. Who knows, you might see something that interests you."

"I'd love to, but I can't," JWSilver lamented, "Someone has to watch over all this. Every second matters."

"I understand," said Kashi with a regretful sigh. "We're lucky to have someone like you helping us. When this is done, let me know if you need help with anything."

JWSilver nodded and then said as he walked toward the beach houses. "I'll definitely take you up on that."

Kashi added the teenager to his friends list and then turned to Stryke. "Alright, Stryke. It's time. We've got to go."

"Wait. What about my friends?" Stryke asked. He had left his raid squad behind to carry out this inspection.

"Unfortunately, only division heads this time," Kashi replied. "We can't take everyone or it might come off as a show of force when we get to Serisis."

"Ohhh," Stryke murmured as understanding dawned. After a moment however, he looked at Kashi with a teasing grin, "Is that you or Leila talking?"

"I've learned a thing or two too," Kashi replied with a snort and then said as a portal appeared in front of him. "Get in already."

Stryke's eyes went wide as he shouted, "Since when can you open portals!?"

"A lot's changed since we last met," Kashi replied with a playful smug grin. "You'll understand when you go in."

Stryke looked at Kashi and chuckled. "Nothing's ever constant with you, is it?" The sphinx took a step towards the portal, but stopped just before entering. He looked at Kashi and asked, "This meeting. What are the chances that something will crash the party?"

"Don't jinx it!" Kashi shouted and booted Stryke into the portal. The daeben chuckled as the portal closed behind the screaming sphinx. The daeben laughed as he pulled out a scroll depicting a street in the capital city of Rosendun, Riven.

Kashi ripped the painting and then jokingly said as he was consumed by a pillar of blinding light, "Next stop on the Kashi Express..."