Adam had known for a long time that he had a high libido. During his time in Cocytus, he had used Lilith’s body to satisfy his lust more times than he could count. That had been when he was just a teenager. His body had grown since then, as had his libido, but he’d been keeping it in check for so long he’d nearly forgotten how easily he became aroused. The merest glance from Aris was now enough to make him hard enough to slice through diamonds.

  Their shower ended up being a lot longer than intended. When they emerged into the living room, dressed in casual clothes, it was to find someone else waiting for them.

  “Good morning, you two. You sure took your sweet time. I’ve already finished preparing breakfast.”

  Light filtered in from the balcony and illuminated the beauty before them. Her hair was long, blonde, and seemed to sparkle as she brought out a tray from the kitchen and set it on the coffee table in the living room. Her eyes were a light blue. They reminded him of sapphires. At the moment, she was wearing a red turtleneck that stretched across her expansive bust, simple pants that conformed almost lovingly to her amazing hips, and white socks. She greeted the pair with a smile.

  “Good morning, Fayte!” Aris greeted the woman with a bright smile. She walked over to the woman with quick steps, surprised her with a hug, then sat down and took a deep breath. “Wow! This smells delicious! I can’t wait to dig in!”

  “They’re just pancakes, but I hope you like them.” Fayte was nothing if not adaptable, so she quickly recovered from the surprise hug and smiled at the girl. She then glanced his way. “I’ve also got some coffee. Two sugars. No cream.”

  “It seems you know what I like,” Adam said, scratching the back of his neck as he walked into the room more sedately than his companion.

  “Of course. We’ve been living together for over a month now.”

  Fayte Dairing was the disowned daughter of the Dairing Family—a powerful family that owned numerous business holdings and had a net worth of over one hundred billion dollars. She had been disowned by her father after refusing to marry Levon Pleonexia, the heir to another, even more powerful family. In desperation, she had accepted a bet proposed by Levon. If she could accrue half the Dairing Family’s annual income, increase her reputation to match or exceed the least powerful family among the top ten most powerful families in the American Federation, and create a guild within Age of Gods that ranked among the top five national guilds, Levon would publicly call off the marriage and convince her father to accept her back into the family.

  This bet was stacked so heavily against her it was obvious to everyone that she had next to no hope of winning, but that hadn’t stopped Fayte from accepting it. She was determined the do everything in her power to win. Adam at first had thought it was an act of desperation. He understood the truth now.

  Fayte was a sore loser.

  She hated losing more than anything and became highly motivated when placed under duress. Whenever she lost at video games, she would challenge him again and have a new strategy in place to beat him. She was also the kind of person who preferred straightforward confrontations and hated subterfuge. Whenever they played video games and she lost their little bets, she would make lunch or dinner without complaint. It must have been this aspect of her personality that caused her to accept Levon’s bet.

  She wanted to beat Levon because he had stacked the odds so heavily against her.

  That was why she brought him on. Adam was her ace in the hole. Of course, she was the reason Aris’s Mortems Disease had been cured, and so he planned on doing everything within his power to help her. He was even certain now that he would have helped her even if she hadn’t cured Aris.

  That was how much he liked and respected this determined woman.

  The three of them sat down around the L-shaped couch in the living room. Adam pilled pancakes onto three plates and served them all. There was also butter and agave, which Aris did not hesitate to load up on. He sighed.

  “Aris, I know you’re cured, but please make sure you’re still eating healthy. Don’t add too much butter. It’s bad for you.”

  “You’re my lover, Adam, not my mother. Please act like it.”

  “I am your lover, and that’s why I worry about you. This is my right as your future husband. Please listen to me.”

  “Tee-hee. Okay. I guess I can listen to you this once.”

  “Thank you.”

  Aris wiped off some of the butter she had lathered onto her pancakes—there had been so much it looked like a small mountain of glistening fat—though she kept the agave. He didn’t mind so much since it was a healthier alternative to regular syrups, which were high in fructose and corn syrup.

  In the past, Aris had been a very willful girl who never listened to anyone. Her poor parents had often been run ragged by the rambunctious child. Adam could have held her reins back then, but he’d loved her far too much and would often spoil the girl rotten, much to her parents’ dismay. It wasn’t until she caught Mortems Disease that he began acting more like a mother hen. He couldn’t help it. Adam just wanted Aris to live a long life so they could stay together.

  “What’s the plan for today?” asked Fayte. She squirmed as if uncomfortable by their conversation.

  He sent her an apologetic smile before abiding by her will. “I think the first thing we should do is form our guild. We have a [Guild Creation Token], so I think we should use it right away before anyone else finds one. The earlier we can get this done, the better off we’ll be.”

  “I agree, and I’ve been looking into how guilds are created in Age of Gods.” Fayte pushed aside her now empty plate, grabbed a tablet sitting on the coffee table, and input some data. “It looks like Mystique Incorporated has been updating their website since the game launched. Last night, they added some new information about creating guilds. Here.”

  Adam took the tablet from Fayte and looked at the screen. Aris got on her knees and leaned over to rest her chin on his shoulder so she could read as well.

  “It says here we need to register our guild with the Guild Association. We also need to buy a building that will serve as our guild headquarters,” he said.

  “There are several plots of land that are available to buy for people looking to create a guild,” Fayte explained. “It says on their website that our guild headquarters cannot be located within the city. It doesn’t say why, but if this game follows the logic of other games, it stands to reason this is to avoid getting the city caught up in a guild war.”

  Guild Wars were, simply put, a battle between guilds. They not only served as a means of spicing up the PvP aspect of gaming, but to settle disputes between guilds.

  It wasn’t just guilds who used guild wars as a means of settling disputes either. Ever since the signing of the WWIII Armistice and the creation of the virtual world, governments the world over had used Guild Wars to settle national disputes about any number of issues. Adam remembered when the American Federation had a Guild War with Taoist Union over a trade dispute. The Taoist Union had won that war, but they’d lost the one after that.

  “Do you already have a plot of land selected?” asked Adam.

  Fayte shook her head. “I’ve looked at several options, but I think we should speak to the Guild Association before choosing. I’d like to get their opinion before I make a decision.”

  “In that case, I think you and I should travel to the Guild Association when we log on today. Aris, you, Lilith, and Susan should head out with Titania and Kureha and do some grinding. We need to make sure to maintain a higher level than everyone else in the game,” Adam instructed.

  “Okay! I’ll take Lilith, Sue, Titania, and Kureha out to kick some monster butt.” Aris grinned as she thrust a fist into the air.

  Fayte sent him a wry smile. “Aris is a very different person now that she’s been cured.”

  But Adam shook his head. “No. This is Aris’s true self. She’s just gone back to being the Aris from before she got Mortems Disease.”

  “Wooo hoo! I am ready to kick ass and take names!” Aris continued to cheer.

  Fayte raised an eyebrow at Adam, who merely shrugged and looked away.

  The Guild Association office was a large building made of white bricks and a red-domed roof. It looked somewhat like a cathedral and was located in what was generally considered the Craftsmen District of Solum.

  This section of the city had been given that name because this area was surrounded by weavers, dyers, armorers, bookbinders, painters, masons, bakers, leatherworkers, embroiderers, cobblers, candlemakers, etc. The sound of hammers pounding at metal echoed all around them as they walked. Plumes of smoke wafted from several chimneys, filling the air with white and black. When Adam turned his head, he saw a weaver creating a basket through the window of a shop. Another building housed a couple that was working together to dye clothing. Someone was working everywhere he and Fayte looked.

  Nobody else was at the Guild Association when they arrived, but that made sense. They were the only people with a [Guild Creation Token], which meant they were the only ones who could form a guild. Why would anyone else be present when there was no reason for them to be here?

  They walked across a marble floor. Long tables on either side of the vast interior filled the space. Tellers stood before those tables, though all of them appeared to be in varying states of boredom, with some resting their chin on the butt of their hands and others simply leaning over, dead to the world. One of them was even sleeping. Something Adam noticed about the workers was that all of them were attractive men and women.

  It must be a design of the game. People are more agreeable when the person they are talking to is attractive.

  It was a sad truth of the world, but people who were considered universally attractive could get away with a lot more than people who weren’t. An attractive male might not get in trouble with a woman for stalking her. A woman might get off with a warning instead of a ticket for going 245 kph down a 120 kph freeway. Being “hot,” as it were, was just another weapon in a person’s arsenal.

  Of course, being attractive often came with its own set of problems.

  Fayte was living proof of that.

  They walked up to one of the tellers, a sleepy-looking woman whose head kept drooping. She didn’t even seem to notice them until Fayte coughed into her hand.

  “Oh… er… h-hello! Can I help you two? Are you lost?”

  I guess I can’t blame her for thinking we’re lost. I’m sure she didn’t expect someone to come here for at least another month if not longer. Guilds normally aren’t created this early in the game.

  “We’re not lost. We’re here to form a guild,” Fayte said with a smile.

  The woman blinked. “You are? Um, I don’t know how to tell you this, but you need a [Guild Creation Token] to form a guild and… oh, my. I-I see you have one right here. Wow. So it’s true. I heard there was someone who came into possession of a [Guild Creation Token], but I wasn’t sure I believed… ah! Wait! Doesn’t that mean you’re Fayte Dairing?!”

  “I am,” Fayte said, nonplussed.

  “I am so sorry for not recognizing you! I-I am actually a big fan of yours! Um, this might be very forward of me, but can I… please shake your hand?!”

  Fayte shifted uncomfortably as the woman bowed over the table and stuck out her hand, but she was the daughter of a powerful noble family—if disowned at the moment—and so she had learned early on how to remain calm at all times. Her eyes crinkled as she held out her hand and accepted the shake. Adam could tell she was smiling behind her veil.

  “Th-thank you very much!” the woman said, tears of gratitude in her eyes. The other tellers looked very jealous, especially the men.

  “You are welcome,” Fayte replied diplomatically.

  “I’ll never wash this hand again!”

  Fayte’s smile became fixed. “No, that’s unhygienic. Please make sure to regularly wash your hand.”

  “If you’re Miss Fayte, then wouldn’t that make you Adam?” The woman turned to him. Finally.

  “That’s right,” Adam said.

  “I didn’t get to see the tournament, but I heard all about what you did. Your love and loyalty toward Miss Fayte is so strong you surrendered without even putting up a fight. It sounds so romantic!” She clasped her hands together and stared between them with such an excitable look Adam imagined she had hearts in her eyes.

  Adam and Fayte shifted away from each other as a strange tension settled between them. These feelings had been growing ever since Aris came out of cryosleep, but it wasn’t like there was anything they could do about it. He wasn’t stupid enough not to recognize that she had feelings for him. At the same time, he couldn’t reciprocate those feelings because he loved Aris. That was simply all there was to it.

  “Maybe we could move this along,” Fayte said, trying to get back on track.

  “O-oh. Right. Yes. Let’s do that. So, um, you two came here to create a guild, yes? Please, follow me. There’s a lot to tell you about the guild creation process, so we should go somewhere more comfortable. Oh! By the way, my name is Clarise Fontina. It’s a pleasure to meet you both.”

  Adam hadn’t been paying attention to her status information, but now that she’d introduced herself, he couldn’t stop himself from looking at the status display.

  Name: Clarise Fontina

  Description: An excitable guild associate. She is a romantic at heart and gets easily distracted.

  Lvl: 10

  Health: 190/190

  Creating a Guild

  After moving out from behind the counter, Clarise led them to the end of the hall, through a small doorway in the corner with a hallway on the other side. Adam looked at one of the doors they passed. Made with burnished wood and swirling designs, it had an oblong plaque situated at about eye level with a number on it. 001. The door immediately after was 003, 005, and so on. Doors on the other side possessed even numbers.

  The door they entered was 011.

  A fairly spacious interior greeted them. The luxurious red carpet made this room feel very expensive. He’d once read that carpet in the Middle Ages was something only the rich could afford, which made him wonder if this was supposed to be a sign of the Guild Association’s wealth. In the center of the room were two couches with the curvature of classic furniture, a table placed between them, and at the far side before a window was a desk with a neat stack of papers.

  “This is one of the rooms we use here at the Guild Association when dealing with matters like the formation of a new guild, disputes between guilds, and so on. Please, make yourselves at home.” Clarise opened the door wide, stepped aside, and gestured toward the couch.

  “Thank you,” Fayte said.

  “Thanks,” Adam mimicked her to be polite.

  They sat down on one of the couches, and once more Adam noticed how Fayte sat as far from him as physically possible without seeming impolite. Clarise didn’t sit on the couch. She walked over to the desk. First, she grabbed a small bell sitting on the desk and rang it. Then she grabbed several sheets of paper from inside of a drawer and a rather ornate quill. Only then did she sit down on the couch opposite them.

  “First of all, I believe congratulations are in order.” Clarise gave them both a bright smile. “You are the first people to form a guild, which comes with certain privileges that I will explain to you very soon. Before I get into that, though, let us have some tea.”

  “Tea?” Adam asked with a blink.

  The door opened seconds after he asked and a woman dressed in the white and black frilled uniform of a maid trundled in, pushing a cart. He could only stare in surprise as the woman quietly and efficiently set out the teacups on beautifully designed plates with golden embroidery, poured some refreshing-smelling tea, added another plate, and then set a three-tiered table full of pastries in the middle. All this happened in a few seconds. Then the woman was pushing the cart back out the door, which closed shut behind her with a soft click.

  “Please, help yourselves while I explained both the benefits of being the first guild and the guild creation process.” Clarise gestured to the tea and cakes, then squealed to herself. “Gosh, this is so exciting! I never could have imagined that I would be the first person to help with the creation of a guild—and of all people, it’s Miss Fayte’s guild I’m helping create! Oh, I could honestly die happy right now.”

  “Please don’t die on us. We still need to create our guild,” Fayte said, a wry smile in her voice.

  Clarise tried to regain her composure. “O-of course. Please excuse me for my loss of composure. Ahem. The tea and cakes.”

  Adam removed his mask and set it on the coffee table. The moment he did, there was a sharp intake of breath. He looked over to find Clarise staring at him in shock.

  “Something wrong?” he asked.

  “Oh, no! Not at all! I was just surprised by how hot—er, no. How handsome you are! Yes. I’m surprised by your handsomeness. I-I mean, I’m not completely surprised. I just didn’t realize you would be such an attractive man! Oh, gosh! What am I saying?!”

  Adam smiled wryly and reached out for his teacup as the woman buried her face in her hands. He first tried the tea with nothing. It vaguely tasted like Darjeeling, but there was a unique aroma and flavor that made it distinctly fantasy. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The taste was just… different.

  As he was drinking, Clarise gulped as Fayte reached up to remove her veil, revealing the face of a woman so beautiful he would have suspected it to have been created by polygons and pixels. It was simply too perfect for words. Clarise seemed to think so too. She was transfixed as Fayte poured some milk into her tea, stirred it, then pinched the handle between her thumb and index finger, using her middle finger to support it as she brought it to her almost too perfect lips.