"Haa, what an exhausting day. I hope Lina made something good to eat."
Cynthia opened her eyes to the familiar environment of the gaming house. Letting out a sigh she sounded like a working man coming home to his family, looking forward to his wife's cooking.
"Of course Lina made something tasty. She's a professional chef after all."
Mel rolled her eyes as she also woke up, stretching her body. Just now the party had been surrounded by fans. They dutifully tried to interact with the fans, celebrating together, making pictures, handing out autographs. But instead of shrinking, the crowd only became even bigger. The friends realised that they would never be able to deal with so many people. Thus, they took the easy way out and directly logged off.
Although some people might consider them disrespectful, the friends simply didn't have the mind to continue. They were exhausted from the dungeon run. Their only desire now was to rest.
"Sweet, sweet home."
Cynthia smiled as she sprawled on the couch. The others also made themselves comfortable. Ending work early they suddenly had a lot of time on their hands. They either talked in low voices or grabbed some books to calm down. It was an incredibly peaceful scene.
After a while Cynthia stood up. She walked towards the window, watching the beautiful spring day. The sun shone brightly. The city was vibrant and lively. Working all day in Fate of Crunaboul Cyclone somewhat missed going to the park or drinking a coffee with her friends.
"What are you thinking about?"
Suddenly Quiana appeared next to her.
"Well, I was kinda thinking that I would enjoy a vacation."
"Really? It hasn't been long since the maintenance, right?"
"Yeah. But even then, I was still thinking about the game, worrying about Dream Avenue."
"Well, perhaps you are worrying too much. Dream Avenue is on the right track. The guild is filled with talents. You have done a good job. You can allow yourself to relax a bit."
At this moment Adrian also joined in, reassuring Cynthia:
"I agree. You and Mel have created a great guild. And everyone will witness it during the next tournament!"
"Thanks…"
Cynthia showed a sunny smile. She wasn't stressed out to the point of being overwhelmed. After all, Dream Avenue was her and Mel's dream, their precious baby. But it still felt great to receive some reassuring words from her friends.
"You know what?", chimed Rachel in. "Let's reward ourselves today. We don't need to go to the gym eeeeevry day, right? Let's make an exception. We haven't been to Ten Thousand Tastes in a while."
"Sure."
"Sounds good."
The friends didn't discuss much. Rachel's suggestion indeed sounded tempting. Today, they deserved to slack off a bit. Thus, the decision was made. The friends continued the conversation for a bit until Rachel noticed something else.
"Why does it seem like the street is getting busy?"
"Are they… coming here?"
Staring out of the window the friends noticed that the street was indeed busier than usual. More and more people arrived and entered the gaming house. The friends had a bad premonition. If this continued, the gaming house wouldn't be big enough to hold so many people. A crowd might even form outside.
"Are our fans coming here to celebrate?"
"We should have thought of that."
"What should we do now?"
Just as the friends were annoyed and even a bit nervous, the elevator door opened and three people came in. The one in the lead was a young man with a thin, tall build. A pair of glasses sitting on his nose gave him an intelligent appearance. This young man was Jonathan, or Jon for short. But in the game, he went by the name of Sun's Knight.
"You don't have to do anything.", sounded Jon's composed voice, drawing everyone's attention.
"Are you saying…?"
"Yes, we have already anticipated that something like this might happen. Merch and food are stocked, and we organized the security. The fans are allowed to celebrate to a certain degree. However, you don't need to show up. In fact, it is better if you don't. It would just add to the chaos."
"Great!"
"Haha, Jon, you're awesome!"
"I'm just doing my job so you can do yours."
Although Jon tried to sound indifferent, or rather professional, he couldn't supress a faint smile from forming on his face. Cynthia and Mel looked at each other. There was no need to say anything. Their eyes expressed the joy upon being able to find such a competent manager for the guild.
"So what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
Afraid that the street might become so busy that they would be unable to leave, the friends decided to set off early. However, they didn't forget to invite some of their close ones. People like Serena, Trey, and Felix received messages and logged out of the game to join the celebration. Mel even invited her dad, but the man declined.
Knowing that his daughter was doing well he was also feeling much better and didn't want to shamelessly join a bunch of young people. He was afraid an adult would spoil the fun.
Mel didn't insist and swiftly got ready. About half an hour later multiple cars left the gaming house, which was already filling with fans. The friends were glad after reaching Ten Thousand Tastes. They were enthusiastically received by the head waiter and booked a private room. Over the next few hours rows and rows of exquisite dishes were consumed amidst joyful laughter.
As the name suggested, Ten Thousand Tastes prided itself in its variety. In their restaurant everyone would find something to their taste. Although most people would consider everything to their taste, as Ten Thousand Tastes had a great chef and only quality dishes.
"Here, Dom! Dom! Try this salmon! Sea food is so rare on Falva Star. I don't know how they got their hands on it!"
Dom laughed brightly as he took the fork from Mel and swallowed the salmon. Sitting next to her best friend, Cynthia witnessed everything with a meaningful grin on her face. Her eyes sneakily wandered to Liam and Silva sitting next to each other, engrossed in a conversation about… economy? Politics?
How could those two be so boring? Cynthia moved her eyes further, spotting Serena who, judging by her expression, shared Cynthia's thoughts. Luckily, Trey was there to distract the young girl. Actually, Liam also tried to bring Serena's friends Dark Hammer and Red Sparkle along, but their parents wouldn't accept.
Even so, they were quite a lot of people. The atmosphere was great, and everyone was filled with joy. Until the head waiter entered the room.
"Apologies, dear guests. I didn't want to interrupt you. But I decided to inform you that there is something you might want to see. Right now, someone called Henragon is giving a life interview. Are you interested?"
"Henragon? Someone from GalanTen?"
"Should we watch it?"
"Sure. Let's see what he has to say."
The friends were quite curious about their supposed competitor. There was a TV in the room. The head waiter turned it on and switched to the interview. The face of a man in his late twenties with wavy black hair and stern eyes could be seen. He was sitting in a press room, and voices of reporters came from behind the camera.
"Mister Henragon. What do you think about Hotpot achieving the first clear today?"
"What I think? Hmpf, I'll tell you! This first clear is not worth anything! It is impossible to achieve this so quickly! They must have known something beforehand. I won't acknowledge Hotpot as the number one!"
Immediately some murmur spread through the press room. The friends watching the interview were surprised that this man turned out to be so petty. Serena was indignant, crossing her arms. The rest, however, laughed it off. Henragon was being a sore loser. The first clear achievement was there for all to see. No matter what Henragon said, this wouldn't change.
Cynthia was simultaneously looking at her phone. She browsed some reactions online and it quickly became apparent that Henragon definitely wasn't winning any new fans now. Just the opposite.
Suddenly Rachel had a moment of enlightenment. She slapped her own forehead, exclaiming that she finally knew why Henragon looked so familiar. He was on Gorocom Gaming back in the days, a club Fortune also partnered with from time to time. Mel turned towards her friend, her expression clearly saying:
"You only figured it out now?"
All in all, the interview didn't anger the group. It was almost like watching a bad-mannered clown. Nothing Henragon could say would diminish the party's confidence. Even if he unknowingly made a good point. The party indeed profited from Liam already having some strategies prepared. But even without it they were confident that they could beat Henragon. This was the confidence of the number one team!
While everyone went on, the interview also continued. The friends didn't pay too much attention. That is, until a certain point was made by Henragon.