Rivalry: Infinite Buff

Chapter 51- Welcome to Sovereign Guild

With the deal and plan in place, Ivan immediately summoned Iron Man to Ginkgo Village. It would be about two hours before he arrived from Leaf Town, so Ivan decided to go see the village chief. He found out that Mr. Bowen hadn’t returned but he did get other useful information. It turned out that fruit trees and tea seeds could be bought from the chief, but only Jim was allowed to make the transaction.

Ivan was so disappointed every time he thought about how he rejected the amazing offer from the chief. He didn’t have time to dwell on his feelings though because suddenly a loud voice echoed in his head, "Sovereign Guild, one of the top ten guilds, is open to any players who are over Level 5. With only one gold coin, you will have the chance to join us! Super level players will get at least $2,000 per month! Join us now!”

SovereignLeo, the speaker, stood on a stone platform and advertised how rare the chance was.

A group of players were gathered around the platform asking questions and making comments.

"Sovereign Guild? I have heard of this guild before. And, I also heard that their president, SovereignKing, owns a company! A total millionaire.”

"Great. A millionaire that asks for the entry fee?"

"Come on! Didn’t you hear $2,000 each month after you reach the Super level? I would invest one gold coin.”

"You know what? You’re right! Let’s go!”

Obviously, the crowd was intrigued by the offer of $2,000, even though not every player would have the opportunity to reach Super Level. Ivan and Left-handed love stood off to the side watching and rolling their eyes.

"What happened here? What are they thinking? Recruiting players even though there’s no guild yet? And an entry fee? I am so ashamed of them," Ivan criticized.

"I bet they are celebrating their dumb idea right now. I am not surprised to see it happening again," Left-handed love sneered.

"Oh? Left-handedLove, is there something I don’t know about them? "Ivan was confused.

Left-handed love sighed, "Actually this is not the first time Sovereign Guild tricked other players. They always make some big promise to attract players, and once they receive the entry fee, they find some reason to kick the players out of the guild.”

“They wouldn’t dare? I mean, have they thought about what would happen if all of those players got together and went against the guild?” Ivan never thought that someone would plot to make money so easily.

"It's pretty sneaky, plus, Sovereign Guild’s management team works for the Howards. I am sure that they have defined hundreds of solutions to deal with different issues. Trust me, even if you got evidence, Sovereign Guild has this ability to ruin an individual’s game if they cause trouble.”

"Disgusting! I hate to think that  I play games with those freaks," Ivan was infuriated.

"I guess SovereignKing isn’t aware of this. The team behind the Sovereign Guild has to figure out how to manage and run such complex game business. Here’s the thing, there are three Howard brothers; the eldest is Caleb, then SovereignKing and the youngest is Cassius, SovereignWolf. I can’t wait to see where their company ends up.” Left- handed love scoffed.

"They can do whatever they want. Anyway, their rich dad will always be there to bail them out. It’s not our business," Ivan didn’t care about them or their business.

"I would be pissed if I were their dad. I never told you this, but I have always looked at Mr. Howard as a role model. He started with nothing to get where he is today. I am afraid that this game doesn’t help him, it only increases his debt. If they keep running the company the way they are, I am afraid it will need to close. I believe that the middle son, Bill, will have the greatest chance to inherit his father’s assets,” Left-handed love said with admiration.

Ivan wondered, “Does Bill play Rivalry, too?"

Left-handed love nodded, "Do you remember SovereignOcean on the leaderboard? If I am correct, that is Bill.”

Ivan looked at Left-handed love strangely as he continued to talk. Suddenly, Left-handed love stopped mid-sentence and said, “Why are you looking at me like that? I am straight, I can’t give you what you want!”

"Come on! You accuse a guy if he is just looking at you. My target is girls, always has been. I am just curious about how you gained that information and who you really are. You know so much, what is your background?”

Hearing this, Left-handed love looked everywhere but not into Ivan’s eyes, "Me? I'm…I’m just like you. A common player."

"Ummm, I bet…” Obviously, Ivan was not convinced by the answer, but it wasn’t worth arguing about. It really didn’t make any difference in the game so why question any further. Ivan knew that Left-handed love would have his back in the game, and that was enough for him.

“There is my guard walking toward the hut. We will stay to help plant trees. Left-handedLove, would you like to join us?” Ivan asked.

Left-handed love confirmed he would help, then they all walked toward the orchard, leaving Sovereign Guild and their followers behind.

Iron Man was sitting in the thatched hut when he saw Ivan coming. He immediately stood up and ran to Ivan, “My Lord, I apologize for being late. I was learning with Rock.”

"Rock? The guard in the Loda? What was he doing in Leaf Town?” Ivan was surprised Rock didn’t stay in Loda and went to Leaf Town again.

"Rock came to help us. He brought a couple of guards to town and trained our men," Iron Man explained.

"Okay, I see," Ivan nodded, not expecting to find an enthusiastic NPC.

After a short talk, Ivan sent a mission to Iron Man. From now on, Iron Man would stay at the orchard protecting the fruit from others. As an NPC, Iron Man of course accepted it cheerfully. After all, if he hadn’t, Ivan was his master and could erase him from the system.

Knowing that the bodyguard was in position, Jim rushed to the area with his hoe and began working without saying a word. Each time his hoe moved up and down, something magical happened; green sparkles danced about and there was a huge hole within seconds.

Ivan guessed that it was the skill of Peasant. It was said that Holy Peasant could easily chisel even the hardest rock. Ivan wondered what additional strength he could gain if he ate something planted by a Holy Peasant. However, he didn’t know if he would ever have the chance since it would take an unimaginable amount of time and money for a player to reach Holy Level. As far as Ivan knew, the chief of Ginkgo Village was still not at Holy Level. He was impressed that even the so-called lamest class in Rivalry, had incredible skill.