A crowd of robbed minions wearing dragon-shaped masks stood in the large, dark cave chamber. The only light source was the bright glowing stone around the dragon and the dragon himself. Thick clouds of smoke drifted from his behemoth-like body, entering the vents in the cave ceiling.
The lines of the masked figures stood unmoving, sweat running down their bodies from the hot air in the cave. In the front stood a few players in brass masks, followed by lines of iron, stone and finally, wooden masked players.
The dragon was lying on a stone podium, his large body sprawled on golden coins glowing from the heat. Next to him was a short figure covered in a robe with a hood over her head. Her long blonde hair flowed from under her hood, reaching her waist. A slightly glowing glass bottle filled to the brim with glowing red liquid in her hand.
In front of the stone podium stood a stone bowl carved into a plain black pedestal. On top of it was placed a tall crystalline chalice.
Everyone was quiet, the only sound being the droplets of water hitting the ground and the occasional rustle of the robes.
“Unproven ones, step forward!” suddenly, the deep voice of the dragon echoed through the cave, bouncing between the plain stone walls. The air itself moved under the pressure that came with the voice.
Immediately most of the crowd moved forward, stepping closer towards the dragon lying on the stone podium. Their steps were firm and determined, without wavering or nervosity. On their faces were dragon-shaped masks made out of polished wood.
Strong odours filled with expectations and excitement were drifting from their bodies, entering the dragon’s nostrils.
“Kneel!” at once, all the players knelt, Vesuvius feeling their heartbeats intensify.
“From now on, you have proven yourself to be loyal and worthy of the honour of serving the chosen one of the dragon god!”
At once, as if under some spell, all of the masks changed into smooth stone masks in the blink of an eye.
“You two stay here! The rest can return!” the pair of glowing reptilian eyes looked at the blonde duo in the foremost line, invisible pressure spreading around their bodies.
However, there was no sign of fear in them as they firmly stood, their hearts beating loudly, not in fear but in expectation.
“Now, you who have already proven yourself before, step forward. It’s time for you to officially initiate as a core member!”
Sounds of steps and rustling filled the cave as a group of players in stone masks walked forward and kneeled in front of the giant dragon.
“Minions, you have already proven your loyalty before, and now you have also proved your persistence and abilities in serving the mighty dragon god and their draconic servants. From now on, you are an official full member of this organisation!”
In an instant, their stone masks vanished, changing into shiny iron masks that reflected the yellow light radiating from the dragon.
“You can return!” rustling sounds and steps once again echoed through the cave as the new batch of iron-masked players returned to the crowd.
Seeing that, Vesuvius nodded inwardly, knowing that his efforts to weed out uncontrollable and chaotic players worked. Those with such thoughts had already left during his expedition or shortly after that, and the new players that joined were all members of the guild, making them organised by default.
“Our numbers have grown, and now is a time to choose another batch to obtain brass masks and peer upon the true secrets of our faction! Those of you that have obtained my tokens, please step forward.”
At first, a player in black robes with an iron mask covered in silver scales patterns pushed himself forwards, his steps fast and eager. Above his head was a brightly glowing name: Drake-Kun.
It was the exact same priest player that was in the town that made a great effort to spread the dragon cult to the common folk.
The player kneeled before the stone pedestal with the dragon lying on top of it, his iron mask glittering in the yellow light.
Next, the blonde-haired duo in plain stone masks slightly walked forwards and kneeled next to the priest.
Loud murmurs and complaints erupted from the crowd behind them.
“How are they getting promoted when they just joined?”
“This is not fair!”
The powerful aura of the dragon suddenly erupted out, pressing against the crowd, the air turning heavy, before the dragon’s powerful voice deafened all of them, “Quiet down, minions! Are you saying that it is not fair? They already unofficially command more than half of our numbers! So it is just right to make it official to avoid any potential chaos in the command chain.”
Everyone immediately quieted down. There were still a few hushed complaints, but there were much fewer of them.
Vesuvius knew that something like that would displease few players, but he also knew that it was necessary.
‘They are a large group. They need their voice in leadership. It is better to do it sooner to solve any potential problems down the road. Maybe I could create a few divisions and randomly mix my players to propagate unity… No, that is unnecessary. After a few more missions together, they should all feel more like members of one faction, becoming more united. It is only a question of time.’
As for the level of their trustworthiness of them learning his secrets, he also didn’t feel any worry, knowing that, as a guild, they weren’t idiots.
‘I will give two of them my blood, which should convince them there are more benefits in working for me than selling me out. They can’t be as stupid as to try to deal with some high-tier guild to hunt me down. They know that as a small and new guild in this game, they would likely gain fewer benefits than from me in the long term. ‘
Finally, the last player pushed through the crowd, and above his head was a name: GugaBuga. He walked slowly, placing his legs unsteady with a heavy odour of nervosity rising from his body.
From what Vesuvius observed about him, he was always almost invisible, hardly working without making anything flashy moves. He was a typical quiet but hard-working type who, with his steady work, collected a large number of contribution points.
So Vesuvius decided to pick him due to the high amount of contribution points that he obtained, to propagate that hard work would pay off.
‘This should work. This way, everyone will have their voice in leadership. Normal players, priests, guild and together with current officers, the old players will also have one.’
“Pour the blood!” the dragon turned his head towards the short elf in the hood standing under his stone podium.
She immediately stepped forward, moving towards the stone bowl in front of the stone pedestal. She opened the bottle, and the air in the room immediately started to move and vibrate as the magical energy spread everywhere. She tilted the bottle and poured a glass worth of red liquid into the bowl.
The whole crowd immediately stirred, everyone trying to lean forwards to analyse what was in the bowl. Their bodies looked excited, their intuition telling them that it was something expensive.
“Drink my minion’s drink and become my kin!”
Without any hesitation, the four-player in front rushed towards the bowl, pushing against each other like wild hogs, sticking their hands and heads into it. The red blood stained their clothes, faces and hands.
The heat started radiating from the players, their bodies changing as a pair of horns tore through their hoods. The powerful magical waves stirred the air around them.
“Woah, is it a race-changing item?”
“Damn! That must be wyrm blood!”
“Are you kidding me? Do you know how expensive is shit like that?”
The whole crowd became restless, everyone sneaking their glances towards the bowl, thinking if they should run for it to try and obtain at least a droplet of the precious liquid.
However, no one dared to. Just the glance from the giant dragon guarding the bowl destroyed their plans, his colossal body throwing shadows on them, and the heat radiating out of his body made the podium red.
“Quiet down, minions. I am not done!”
As if someone poured cold water on their heads, everyone quieted down.
The dragon immediately turned towards the first three players that joined him.
“You have served me for longest! You are my most trustworthy minions, so I made a decision. It is time to raise your rank, giving you the privilege of wearing bronze masks.”
The small elf immediately took a small bottle from her waist. It was filled with the same red liquid, only much more luminescent. Just looking at it was enough to awaken greed in the players.
‘This should motivate them even more. They need a goal and things to strife for to keep them engaged.’
The elf grabbed the large glass chalice and poured the liquid into it, the red light refracting and glowing through the crystalline glass.
“Come and drink! Gain even more power, and become closer to the great dragon god.”