Although Hand of Magic was explained in great detail with the model, the magic apprentices hadn’t made much progress yet because of their intellectual and logical faculty and their talent in controlling magic power.
Most of them had indeed grasped the basic version of Hand of Magic, but nobody had picked up the derivative versions yet.
Roland enjoyed a drink and watched them practice while explaining the key points to them.
The magic apprentices worked hard and memorized every word Roland said, because they were not certain how long Roland’s careful instruction was going to last!
At the center of the city, inside a castle that was only slightly shorter than the magic tower, a party was going on.
The drawbridge had been lowered, and wagons were rolling in.
For many lords, castles were their home and their last shelter. Should the city fall, they could still survive a long time huddled in their castles while they waited for reinforcements or other opportunities.
The castle was brightened by candles. A dozen bards were playing soft music together.
Standing on the balcony on the third floor, John watched the groups of guests in silence.
Beside him was a charming girl.
“It’s starting soon. They’re still not here.” The girl giggled. “I don’t think your plan is working.”
John put on a smile several seconds later. He sat back in his chair and said, “It means that not all the Golden Sons are barbarians. We should be careful in the future. It’s best not to have conflicts with them.”
The girl teased, “Brother, I didn’t expect you to be scared of someone your age!”
“They’re unkillable and mad like cultists. Who’s not scared of them?” John shook his head. “Why has the Life Goddess brought such monsters to us from an alternate dimension?”
“Who knows what a deity thinks?” The girl was in a long red dress. Her hair was red, too, making her look like fire. “Since the two Golden Sons are not coming, I’ll talk to other guests. It’s boring to stay with you.”
John nodded and said, “Off you go... Right, ask your friends to be careful and not do anything too outrageous. I think the Golden Sons might all be defenders of justice.”
The girl stood up and looked at John. “Are you suggesting that they will intervene if they catch nobles doing bad things?”
“Very likely.” John sighed and said, “That’s why I have always asked you to treat civilians better, or you will not meet a good end if you run into them. Should you happen upon a Saint Samurai, you wouldn’t get away with it unless the royal family speaks for you.”
“Who can be so unlucky as to run into such experts?” The girl found her brother hilariously prudent.
Looking at the moon in the sky, John said, “The Hossens, who liked eating human hearts, thought the same, but they’re all dead now.”
Briefly stunned, the girl frowned and said helplessly, “All right, I’ll listen to you and treat the small folk better.”
“That would be for the best.”
The party lasted until midnight, but John was apparently unhappy because the most important guests weren’t there.
The other guests were smart enough to notice that, so they did not stay too late but left after they had fun.
In the magic tower, Roland had been teaching the apprentices tricks regarding the derivative spells of Hand of Magic.
The magic apprentices were rather enthusiastic. They would rather not sleep to figure out the mechanism of the spells.
Roland didn’t need to sleep. Unwilling to betray their passion, Roland taught them patiently until time stopped.
Crawling out of the virtual cabin, Roland habitually opened the official website of the game, only to discover that an announcement was made on the website that had previously remained unchanged.
“First update of the game, to be implemented on August 17!”
Roland exclaimed when he read the title and clicked it.
The announcement was simple and included three pieces of information.
“A unique numbered ID will be added to the character system to distinguish people of the same names.”
“Female players will be protected by systematic underwear. Nobody and nothing can negate the system against the female players’ will, so that they will not be offended by NPCs and other players.”
“Guilds are now open to the public. You may register your guild through Torry-Boursin in the Holy Realm of Fareins Kingdom. He’s a high-ranking noble. You can barely see him unless your reputation is high or you have special people to introduce you. Please try to increase your reputation in the game.”
The first two pieces of information were not important for Roland, but he was impressed by the third.
The country that the players were at was called Hollevin. Where was the Holy Realm of Fareins?
He did not have the vaguest clue.
Roland opened the forum. Everybody was asking the same question. Such rich players even offered thousands of bucks for an answer.
Some well-informed players bragged on the forum, saying that they knew where Fareins was but wouldn’t speak it.
Roland estimated that those people were receiving countless private messages right now.
The first person to establish a guild... Most ambitious groups would want to claim the glory.
But Roland did not care too much. His friends talked about building a guild, but it was just going to be a small one. They did not intend to compete with the big guilds.
At this moment, his phone rang. He accepted the call and asked, “What’s up? It’s early.”
“About the guild in the game. I’ve informed Brazil and Li Lin. Come to the old spot.”
Half an hour later, Roland went to the cold drink bar by bike.
It was not seven yet, and the waitress hadn’t come to work yet. So, Schuck brought food and drinks to entertain his friends on his own.
Pouring each of them a cup of juice, Schuck said, “I think we can be the first to establish a guild.”
Roland nearly spewed out the juice in his mouth when he heard that!
“Why?”
“Didn’t I tell you before that I had to study the doctrine of the Church of Light in the Holy Realm?” Schuck explained with a gloating smile, “The Holy Realm is in Fareins, and I’ve met Torry-Boursin and talked to him several times. He’s a nice guy.”
His friends were all lost for words.