It had been a week since then.
It was now a day to the wasteland display event, a highly anticipated gathering where guilds showcased their prowess by sending out a team to hunt for resources in the wastelands. Everyone was excited, but there was also pressure.
Apart from the wasteland display event, guild teams and sub teams had to be in top form to raid dungeons within their sector.
On the guild’s training grounds, a massive space designed for members to train through various combat situations and develop different attack strategies, preparations were in full swing.
The training grounds were a massive space, dotted with mock battlegrounds, obstacle courses, and arenas where guild members sparred and honed their skills.
While all this was going on, a certain prankster duo were up to their usual antics. Axel and Blitz stood before a drone with a camera and were streaming a live video of the training grounds. The drone buzzed overhead, capturing the action from above and broadcasting it to an eager audience.
But unlike their guildmates they weren’t here to train, no, these two were here to carry out another one of their pranks.
“Hey everyone, it’s your favorite pranksters, Axel and Blitz, coming to you live from the white Comet guild’s training grounds!” Axel’s voice boomed.
Blitz chuckled, her voice a bit more calm but equally enthusiastic.
“That’s right, folks. We’re giving you an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the
preparations for the wasteland display event. But of course, that isn’t all!”
“We are here to carry out one of our ‘largest’ pranks yet!”
Axel then leaned forward towards the drone camera, grinning mischievously. “We call it, ‘The Real Fake Monster!””
Comments started to roll in rapidly:
“This is going to be epic!”
“Axel and Blitz at it again!”
“Can’t wait to see what they have planned.”
“These two never disappoint!”
Blitz then spoke, her eyes sparkling with excitement as she did.
“That’s right, haven’t you all wondered exactly what makes members of the White Comet Guild so special? Why you didn’t get a chance to join the guild even though you wanted to? Well, we’re going to help you all find out!”
The comments continued to pour in:
“Yeah, why didn’t I make the cut?”
“White Comet Guild secrets revealed?”
“This is going to be so good!”
“Show us the inside scoop!”
Axel leaned in closer to the camera, holding the suspense. “I’m sure you are all wondering how exactly we plan to do that? Well, voila!”
He pulled out a strange hexagon device with a slick black and white design. It glowed faintly, its edges shimmering with a yellow light. The comments exploded with excitement and curiosity:
“What is that thing?!”
“Looks like expensive high-tech!”
“Leave it to Axel to bring out the cool gadgets.”
“This prank is going to be legendary!”
Axel explained, “This is a holographic device made by the Wei family. It was created to take the shape of small objects that can actually be physically interacted with by compressing atoms in the air using reflective capturing light technology. This can make hover chairs or elevate other office objects.”
He paused for effect, letting the audience’s curiosity build.
“And this is where things get good. Due to our genius expertise in technology, we changed its program and boosted its power output. Now, instead of those small office hover chairs, we’ll be creating…”
He grinned widely, leaning even closer to the camera. “Monsters!”
Blitz chuckled, her enthusiasm practically infectious. “Stay tuned, everyone. You’re about to witness the prank of the century!”
…
One of the sub teams in the training grounds, made up of fairly new members, Team Vortex, decided to take a break. The team consisted of four members: Leo, the calm and strategic leader; Mira, the cheerful and optimistic healer; Jax, the brash and impulsive warrior; and Aria, the quiet and observant archer.
Leo wiped the sweat from his brow, glancing at his team. “Let’s take a break, everyone. We’ve been at it for hours.”
Mira nodded enthusiastically, her ponytail bouncing. “Great idea! I’m starving. How about we head to the café and stuff ourselves?”
Jax stretched his arms, cracking his knuckles. “Finally! I could eat a horse. Or two.”
Aria, always the silent one, simply nodded.
Leo took a deep breath and leaned against the wall.
“We’ve been making good progress, but we need to pace ourselves. No sense in wearing ourselves out before our test raid tomorrow.”
In every guild new members had to form a team and raid a dungeon under the guidance of a supervisor, in order for it to be decided if they would become full fledged members or not.
Mira smiled, her eyes twinkling.
“Leo’s right. Plus, I heard they have a new dessert at the café. Something with chocolate and caramel. I can’t wait to try it!”
Jax laughed, shaking his head. “You and your sweet tooth, Mira. But I won’t complain. I’m in the mood for something sweet too.”
Aria finally spoke up. “The café does sound good. But we should be careful not to overindulge. We need to be in top form for tomorrow.”
Leo nodded in agreement. “Good point, Aria. We’ll eat, but let’s keep it balanced. We can’t afford to be sluggish during our test raid.”
Mira pouted playfully. “Fine, fine. I’ll restrain myself. But only because it’s for the good of
the team.”
Jax grinned, punching Leo lightly on the shoulder. “You’re too serious sometimes, Leo. But that’s why you’re the leader, right?”
Leo chuckled, pushing off the wall. “Someone has to keep you in line, Jax.”
As they made their way through the hallway, laughter and chatter filled the air. Jax was in the middle of talking about a particularly intense battle from earlier when a sudden, high- pitched growl stopped them in their tracks.
A kobold, its eyes gleaming with malevolence, lunged at them from a shadowy corner. The team momentarily froze, shocked by the presence of a monster in the guild hallway.
“What the-?” Jax shouted, reaching for his weapon.
Mira shrieked and fell to her knees, clutching Leo’s arm tightly. “How did a monster get in
here?”
“Was there a dungeon break?”
Leo quickly regained his composure, stepping protectively in front of his team.
“Everyone, stay calm. Let’s figure out what’s going on.”
Aria, her eyes wide with shock, had her bow drawn and an arrow knocked in an instant. “This
shouldn’t be happening. We’re in the guild!”
Before they could react further, a larger kobold, almost twice the size of the first, emerged behind it. The ground seemed to tremble slightly with each step it took.
Leo’s face turned pale, his voice barely above a whisper. “Isn’t that a kobold king, an A-rank
monster?”
Mira, still clutching Leo’s arm, fell back in sheer terror, her eyes wide with fear as the ground shook with each approach of the monstrous kobold king. “How… How is this possible? Where
is everyone? Why is there a monster in the hallway?”
Jax gritted his teeth, frozen in place. He was just as scared as the rest of them. Before they could react further, the kobolds suddenly vanished into thin air, and laughter erupted from behind them. Turning around, they saw two senior guild members laughing across the hallway, it was Blitz and Axel standing there, laughing their hearts out.
“Damn that was priceless! They wanted to shit their pants.” Axel said, trying to catch his
breath.
“Yeah… so much for preparing for their test raid.” Blitz said, also trying to catch her breath from laughing too hard.
“Wait… what?” Leo asked in confusion.
[A/N: sorry for the delay in upload guys, caught a cold but I’m better, so things will go
smoothly for now on.]