Endless Evolution As A Skeleton In A Game-Like World

Thalia was older than both Ark and Olivia, and very much more mature, so they were used to being babied and cared for by her.

That was what made their current predicament even stranger...

"What is the problem, Thalia?" Olivia ran a hand through her dark hair.

Thalia kept her head buried in her arms for a few more seconds, before she slowly raised it so that they could see part of her face.

"No one wants to sell us land or even rent out their building..."

"Hmm?" Ark gave her a blank stare. Was that the reason she was so down?

Getting a permanent location for the guild wasn’t even her job...

She had mentioned something about checking out a few locations, but Ark never expected her to take it so seriously.

’It seems she is more of a perfectionist than I thought...’

For her to be that down, just because she was unable to complete one task was surprising.

Ark knew a certain someone who would even rejoice and reward herself just for the effort.

He glanced at Olivia, and she stared back at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

She frowned before turning her attention back to the woman she was petting.

"But why won’t they sell us land?" Olivia cooed, her brows creased with confusion. "Is the land above our budget?"

"No..." Thalia sighed. "They just refused to sell."

Ark let out a breath. "They don’t want to sell the land because we are a guild."

Something sparkled in Thalia’s eyes as she sat up straight. "Is that the reason? They never told me why they wouldn’t sell, they just kept giving me strange excuses."

She frowned. "I thought I was somehow the problem..."

"No, it has nothing to do with you." Ark shook his head. He should have expected this...

There was a reason Eden was not filled with guilds. Apart from the steep requirements to actually open one, the guilds already in existence fought tooth and nail to make sure no other guild was formed.

The major guilds played a role in this, but mostly, it was the smaller guilds who acted like thugs, harassing business owners and potential members to make sure upcoming guilds failed.

"I should have expected it. The small fry don’t want another fish hunting in the same lake as them."

"The smaller guilds want to monopolise the dungeons and towers, so they will do anything they can to make sure more competitors did not show up..."

Despite the fact that Eden needed as many guilds and players as possible to prevent breaks, they could care less.

Clearing towers and dungeons were meant to be a service to humanity, but in truth, they were also a booming business, with a dungeon able to easily generate thousands of credits.

Thalia seemed to relax a little after realising there was nothing she could have done to complete her job.

But now, that earlier sadness had transformed into anger. "Who are these guilds, and why isn’t anyone doing anything about them?"

Ark shrugged. "If you cannot overcome the small fry, then you are not capable of running a guild... that is probably what the association thinks."

Thalia frowned and let out a tired breath. "So what do we do? We can narrow down our suspects to guilds in Issen, but even in Issen, there are dozens of guilds ...."

"And so?" Olivia pounded her fists together. "I say we go door to door and smash every single one of them! That will send a message to those crayfish!"

She got to her feet and was about to head towards the door, when Ark held her shirt and pulled her back down to her chair.

"Slow down, little gangster."

There was no need to meaninglessly chase after them, all that would do was distract them from their training.

"All we have to do is wait. They will reveal themselves sooner than later..."

Ark picked up another well spiced bone and placed it in his mouth.

"And when they do..."

Crack!

The bone disintegrated, the calcium rushing into him. And then his voice darkened.

"We will crush them."

<••>

Three days later, Thalia had finalised everything that concerned the newbie.

The application had been approved by both the association and their partner guild, so now all they had to do was wait.

For one full week, they had visited the Astral arena every single day and repeated the same schedule.

At first, they would work out, and then they would spar until they were half way dead, after which Thalia would carry both Ark and Olivia to the hero’s statue to recover their stamina.

Ark was getting more acquainted with his body, and his mastery over his weapons was steadily increasing.

Although he could not always go all out against Olivia, Thalia was a good alternative. She could take everything he threw at her and even more, so with the two of them, he was never lacking a sparing partner.

But after one week, the process has become incredibly repetitive. So Olivia decided to take them to her next location...

The last time, it had taken an hour to get from the city to the Astral Arena, but this time, it had taken four good hours...

"Just where are you taking us this time?" Ark asked. The smile she had on her face throughout was disturbing to say the least.

She was clearly very eager to show them what they had found.

That wasn’t a good sign...

"For us to go this far out of town, I have to say, I am rather curious as well." Thalia chimed in. "Won’t you give us a hint at least?"

"Nope. You will find out once we get there." She replied smugly.

From lush green forests, and tall elegant trees, Ark began to notice a shift in the terrain.

The grass slowly grew ashen, and the trees thinned out till there were no more trees to speak of, and then all that was left was a barren land.

The carriage came to a stop.

Click!

The window to the rider’s area opened, and the coachman’s face appeared in it.

"We are here, this is as far as I can go~" His voice nearly broke.

"Hehehe..." Olivia snickered as she opened the door, but the moment it swung open, they were suddenly assaulted by a wave of heat.

??

Ark got out of the carriage and stared at the place Olivia had brought them... it was a barren wasteland, a site of a volcanic eruption.

Lava was still actively spewing out of the large volcano in the distance, the sky was clouded with ash, and veins of magma drifted down the floor.

But that was not all, the moment his feet had touched the floor, he noticed a certain drag, as though he had been weighed down by an invisible force.

Thalia had a concerned look on her face as she stared at the scene. "Ummm... Olivia, where did you bring us?"

The earth suddenly rumbled, and the world seemed to tremble as a colossal creature rose out of the mess.

The monster was as large as a house, it’s skin was made of blackened stone, and magma seemed to flow through its body the way blood would flow through a human’s.

Its eyes were made of fire, and when it opened its mouth, magma poured out of it like a waterfall.

[Threat detected! Obsidian Giant, Level 25 x 1!]

Thalia swallowed. It was a boss.

But Olivia snickered, her hands poised proudly on her waist. "Welcome to hell." She smiled.

"Our goal..." She raised a finger and pointed it at the giant looming in the distance. "Is to bring back its head."

Ark stared at it for a while, before he let out a dark chuckle. "I see..."

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