Zenith Affinity

The role of ‘Guild Mom’ wasn’t an actual position, but if one asked almost anyone in the Zenith Star Guild [★], they would disagree. Aralen hadn’t felt so right about a…job? Or maybe just a position of morale enforcement? A motherly caregiver? She wasn’t quite sure how it worked, but no less than five players from different parties had come up to her looking for nothing more than just a hug from a mom. That simple and solid comfort that can only be found by a mother, something that Aralen was apparently good at.

Her heart felt like it was opening up further for every player that came to her for comfort or assurance. It was the desperate feeling of struggling to find a place to belong, lost and confused in a new world. When one loses everything and is looking for a place to call home.

It wasn’t just this new world; it was the combination of losing all material, social, and familial connections and possessions, as well as appearing in a new body that they weren’t particularly used to. Even the ever headstrong Sky seemed to be getting used to being in a new body and gender, and she was still being taught how to properly care for herself.

The guild was good like that, as they formed close bonds as a group of people fighting together. They even promised that her son wouldn’t have to fight monsters until he was 18, something that Aralen would be forever grateful for. A young teenager like him fighting actual monsters and corrupted elementals…it made Aralen’s heart hurt. Her son had it worse than most, going from a tiny young teenager’s body that was constantly growing and seemed to have energy for days, to this new massive body that acted like a garbage disposal for all the food it needed to consume.

Not all was bad, as Aralen got to work with Atticus, a fantastic chef who had taken to wearing coveralls to ensure that no fur escaped any time they were in the kitchen. Atticus was an extremely talented chef, putting together truly delicious meals with new and fantastical ingredients, but wasn’t quite as good at baking as Aralen was. If only she could have brought her recipes with her into this world, but at least she memorized quite a few of the ones she used more often than not. The rest would come with time and a whole bunch of trial and error.

That was all fine, the guild was working on ‘leveling up’ as they called it, but really they were preparing to move to this wondrous place called the Crystal City, where people of the sky and the sea live in a world of crystal that sits on the edge of the Prismatic Sea. She had asked about it, as well as housing, and the like. Sky had honestly laughed, telling Aralen that she would be absolutely shocked by the place they would be living in when they got there. Something about the ‘guild hall’ being the size of a small town within the city. Aralen had never seen a guild hall, nor did she have any idea about size or even what came with it, but Atticus had explained from her limited knowledge that it was akin to an entire community wrapped up in a series of buildings bigger than a stadium from Earth.

Apparently, the one in the Crystal City was something special, a uniquely beautiful place that the designers took particular pride in. Sky had sort of described the guild hall within the Crystal City as a palace of blue-white crystal, only broken apart by flowing water and a surprising amount of flora. The contrast between the nearly iridescent, glowing crystal and the vibrant green of nature was something Sky had spoken on for quite a while. She had said that the Prismatic Sea was a shallow body of water with pearlescent sands, clear blue waters, and a bridge that sat nearly even with the surface of the sea, except for the waves and tides. Aralen wasn’t sure how that was going to work, but Sky had emphasized how incredible it was in the game, much less this reality.

All of that sounds amazing, almost unreal, even. And while he was sort of bored most of the time, at least her son would find a peaceful life in a place that sounded like paradise. Her son’s real name was Andrew, but everyone in the guild called him ‘Smash’ on account of the stupid player name he had chosen. He seemed to like it, especially when one of the absolutely gorgeous women in the guild called him that. Unsurprising.

Speaking of beautiful women, Aralen wasn't bad either, at least in her own mind. Truly, she had made a human, but it was like she was young again, in her thirties or late twenties. In all honesty, the best part was the lack of back pain despite her chest size. Something about becoming a higher level, increasing her strength and constitution, or something?

That gorgeous mermaid…or myrim, named Kesa, had talked about it. A brand new body on top of increasing stats meant no pain. She could even stand for most of the day without issue, and Kesa had recommended a basic healing spell to start. Aralen had hit level 5 through cooking and exploring Ostbury alone, which gave her two skill points. She took two spells from the holy tree of healing: [Holy Touch] and [Rejuvenating Light]. She cast them all the time, even on herself.

Everything up to that point felt fine. The guild had paid for a room for her and her son to remain in while they were out leveling, and Andrew had even found a group of younger players that all shared his situation, the body dysphoria making life extremely difficult for some of them. But then Sky asked her to talk on behalf of the guild, saying that it was of the utmost importance to the safety of most of the known world. Aralen couldn’t read her tone in the words she typed in Guild Chat, but it seemed important to the point where she no longer thought that Sky was kidding.

And now, Aralen’s mind was wandering as she and Andrew sat in a reception room. This huge Association, as they called it, was apparently a worldwide organization that dealt with problems like the one they were here to talk about. She glanced at the notes she had taken from Guild Chat last night. Essentially, instructions on what she should say, whom she should talk to, and every talking point she needed to speak on after that.

Storming into the local Branch Leader’s Office was a bit brash in her mind, but Sky and Zedra emphasized the importance of her mission, and yet she still found herself sitting outside the office with a bit of apprehension. The receptionist had only allowed her to stay because she had named-dropped the Zenith Star Guild, though there was no promise of being allowed to actually see the man.

She sat there for nearly two hours before the receptionist stood up and approached, “The Branch Leader will see you now.”

Aralen popped up and pulled her son along, “What is his name?”

The receptionist's eyes widened, “Uhh, just call him Branch Leader Vanderbilt.”

Aralen nodded and followed the nervous girl into the office. She opened the door and announced, “Sir Vanderbilt, representatives of the Zenith Star Guild to see you.”

“Thank you, Katerina. Tea, please.” The man had a skinny mustache on his aristocratic face. He seemed slightly foppish at first glance, with deep blue robes and golden trim. His office was fairly opulent as well, only adding to the view. His voice seemed bored and dismissive, as if just being able to hear it meant you owed him something.

“Yes, sir.”

He stared at Aralen and Andrew with a blank face, either hoping that they would talk first or that they would just leave instead of bothering him.

“Well, Branch Leader-” Aralen started and was immediately cut off.

“You are not, Solara Sky. Why have you darkened my office today?”

Aralen kept her features neutral, “As I was saying, we are here to report something that is possibly a great danger to most of the known world.”

“Oh? A giant meteor coming to wipe us out? A herd of elementals coming to tear down the Ostbury walls?” He said sarcastically.

She just then accepted how difficult this was going to be and moved onward. “Have you been informed of the dungeons that have arrived with the players?”

The man sighed dramatically, “Obviously, I have. Please stop wasting my time.”

“It has come to our attention that the dungeons are going to be leaking the monsters that spawn within them, and they are pushing out with ferocity. It doesn’t appear to be a problem when-”

“A problem that isn’t a problem. Katerina! Please escort these people out-”

It was Andrew's turn to interrupt, and he did so by slamming his fist on the table, “You will listen to my mom, and you will stop being mean!”

The Branch Leader’s scowl locked in on the huge nothdren barbarian, “Your mother?”

“It doesn’t matter, we are telling you something important…When the party known as the [Sword Souls] took on the dungeon that spawned just outside the city, now known as the Ostbury Crypts, they had to slay dozens of undead that were marching out of the dungeon portal and engaging anything and anyone that drew near it. When [Reality Check] took on the Zaphid Caverns, the endless hordes of insects were pushing out into the valley and fighting all the other monsters, displacing them from their habitats. The entire guild is currently-”

He held up his hand, “And what tier are these dungeons?”

“Those two were tier 1, but the same thing just happened at a tier 2 dungeon, where the guild is right now.”

“And you are implying that the higher-tier dungeons, which apparently only you players can seemingly find, are now gathering their forces to invade our world and whatnot?” The Branch Leader said, for the first time, leaving the disdain out of the message of his sentence and leaving it only for the word ‘players.’

“Yes, that is what they are saying. There are no fewer than 50 dungeons across all the known areas of the world that the players know about, and most of them are tier 3 and 4. Even if we know where they are, no players will be ready to engage them for months or more, and while they are spreading out, it will take time for all of them to ascend through the tiers and take on dungeons. But until then, there will be many overflowing with the creatures within.”

The Branch Leader sighed again, but this time it seemed to come from the fact that he had actual work to do.

Katerina entered with a tray and tea, offering it to everyone, though she did pour the Branch Leader’s first.

“I suppose I should apologize to you. For weeks now, you players have been entering the Association and demanding everything, as we owe you just for showing up on our campus. It has been a nightmare to deal with, and I am tired of it taking up our time when we should be working to keep people safe. Then you enter my office and demand a meeting, but you actually have important information. So, you have done the right thing, and I do apologize for being rude, but this is the fifth time a player has entered my office with demands on how they should be treated or how I should act. I have been working with the crown to find places for players while they sort out their needs, and yet they still come here with demands.”

“Thank you for seeing us, and we honestly think this is something that has the potential to be a great threat to the world. The dungeons are unlike anything that has been in this world.”

“Speak to me on that a bit. What are these ‘dungeons’ truly? I have heard of them, and the important resources they contain, but what are they?”

Aralen nodded, her eyes reading Guild Chat as she communicated with Zedra and Sky. “Dungeons are something that we call ‘instanced environments’ that exist in their own space. There are several magical properties to them, including the multiple versions of each dungeon existing simultaneously.”

“What does that mean?”

“Well, most of our guild is in a dungeon called the Bloodfall Gulch. Each instance only allows one party of five players, and yet we have around 5 parties in the dungeon right now.”

“Right now?”

“As we speak, yes.”

“Alright, continue.”

“Thank you,” Aralen said. “The other interesting thing in dungeons is that you cannot truly die while within them.”

The Branch Leader’s face showed all the shock it was capable of, “That…cannot be…a place that refuses your death?”

“Essentially, yes. When one dies in the dungeon, and this is beyond just players, they are brought back to life outside of the dungeon instance.”

“Amazing. And yet, only players can find them?” He asked.

“For now, yes. But there is something else, too. Anyone can become a 'player,' just by joining a guild or party that uses the player system. We had a group of non-players join the guild, and they have full access to the player system. That includes the telepathic guild-wide texting system, the inherent dimensional storage, the ability to pick and choose skills as one levels, and more.”

“And the players can find the dungeons that this whole problem is coming from?”

“Yes, sir.”

The Branch Leader nodded and began to write everything down. He had a lot of messages to send.

≪ ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ≫

“The Branch Leader seems like a dick,” Dark said.

“Aralen said he was frustrated dealing with players, but hopefully he won’t be in the future,” Kesa replied.

“Still, though, how could anyone be mean to the Guild Mom!?” Sky said.

“He’s an ass. Aralen showed all respect, and he still came off like that,” Atticus said. He had found a kindred spirit in Aralen while they worked in the kitchen together.

“Annnnd snap!” Sky said. She activated her newest skill, [Super Nova], as a final AoE blast. It made a horrifying, tearing sound before the [Sun Bringer] collapsed in on itself and blasted outward. The force and heat of the blast almost left ripples in the very fabric of reality.

"Damn, that thing is something," Dark said.

"Not bad, huh?" Sky asked with a smile.

“Alright, how close are you to 30, Sky?” Zedra asked.

“One more run, I’d wager. Less than a tenth remaining.”

“Great, let’s quickly get our loot and finish up our runs for the day by getting everyone to 30.”

“I am gonna need at least two, if not three more runs, I think,” Dark said.

“That’s fine. It’s still the afternoon for now, we should be able to get three or four more by sunset.”

Atticus nodded before he asked, “What is hard mode going to be like?”

“I am not sure,” Zedra said. “Especially when it comes to tricking the dungeon to make it faster. I know that the Beast absorbs every skill, but I am not sure how that will work in Hard Mode.”

“Do you remember how it worked in the game?”

“We were locked in the chasing mechanic back in the game. There was no escaping it, and even with perfect rotations and whatnot, you couldn’t do anything but follow the path.”

“I see.”

“Yeah, it’s gonna be interesting. I almost think it will be easier to fight the Beast before the camps, just because he won’t have those extra skills,” Dark said.

For the rest of the day, all of the tier 2 parties of Zenith Star Guild [★] continued grinding through the Bloodfall Gulch. As that happened, the Branch Leader of the Ostbury Adventuring Association sent out messages and began to formulate plans to find and harness the dungeons.