“In the end, you still are weak Hideki.”

. . . . . .

3 and a half years ago at a bar in the Garuba district, Shinjuku city.

A group of young men and women averaging between 18-19 years of age were having a small celebration for their successful term exams.

“Haha. After today brothers, we would no longer be identified as the weak freshmen we previously were but we would shine bright against our seniors. Now, cheers people!”

“Cheers!”

With that, all the people present downed their drinks in a hurry. Euphoria was all plastered in the faces of most of them with few already displaying a ruddy complexion as a result of the high alcohol contents of the drinks.

“Damn. This is why I hate bars in Garuba. They just fill their drinks with bitter alcohol; no quality taste at all.” a young man with black hair and tall height enough for him to be a basketball player complained while trying to withstand the taste of the drink.

“Haha, what would you know eh, Katsuo? Alcohol ought to taste like this. Such that only worthy men can tolerate it. Look even the ladies aren’t complaining.” Another young man but with a brown hair laughed out while mockingly smiling at his partner opposite him.

“I don’t know whether you are complimenting the us or insulting us?” A young lady who was refilling her glass said absentmindedly though she was staring at the brown haired man as if ready to pounce at him the very second he makes the wrong comment.

Awkwardly laughing, the brown haired young man replied “Don’t misunderstand me Ema. It was a compliment really. Ehn. It isn’t a bad thing for women to be stronger than men in alcohol tolerance. You’re a feminist; shouldn’t you be supporting me?”

The black haired young man, Katsuo harrumphed “Hmph. Only a fool would trust the words of a man who thinks with his lower body.”

“What did you say?” The brown haired man turned aggressive though it looked like he was putting on an act. Truth be told, he shouldn’t be blamed after all, his opponent was a man capable of going pro in basketball if he wished.

“You think we’re all stupid? Everyone knows you brought us here so you could try your luck with any girl that would get drunk. For crying out loud Yato, this is a red light district. Now one comes here without having a secondary objective.” Katsuo pointed out.

“Don’t offend us men. My plans may have been spoiled but don’t think it’s impossible for someone to come to a red light district just for fun.” Yato yelled.

“So you admit it?”

“You…”

“Hey, hey. Enough is enough okay. It’s already been quite a hectic day for us all. Can’t you guys just relax and enjoy the food and drinks? Remember, today’s a day of celebration not one of marriage quarrels.” A silver haired man spoke.

“Hahaha.” Everyone laughed.

“You…” Both Yato and Katsuo pointed their fingers at the silver haired man but in the end none of them made a move.

“Haha.” the silver haired man chuckled.

Like that, conversations were going on among the group with a couple of them laughing, some flirting, others challenging their body’s bottom-line on alcohol intake. All in all, the entire atmosphere was upbeat and cheerful.

“So did you hear? Conquest is coming online tomorrow.” A student spoke up.

“Oh? That new VR game?” Another side character asked.

“Yeah. I heard it was made with the newest features in the VR sector. I even watched the ad. They were all like ‘Conquest, envision your imaginations’ or something.” A pink haired dude who we might never see ever again commented.

“Hehe. Isn’t that what they all say? I bet it’s going to be just lousy.” Yato guffawed.

“Hideki, what’s your take on this?” Ema faced the well built young man beside her.

“I don’t know yet. After Syncral had you know, ‘Syncralled���, no company would dare to bite off more than they can chew. So it should be worth it.” Hideki commented.

“But it’s best we ask the real pro, Sato. Compared to him, I’m just a small figure.” Hideki smiled humbly while he looked towards a black haired young man opposite. Even though it seemed like he was just focused on his meal and drinks, he still payed attention to their conversation.

Lifting his head up, Sato said in a somewhat ethereal voice “Conquest eh? It’s worth it. I have this feeling inside me that tells me despite not being exactly as they advertised, the game should to be good; probably being the best we currently have.”

“And so the expert has spoken.” Yato bowed exaggeratedly.

With that everyone laughed and resumed their various discussions but Hideki still looked at Sato. What he was thinking, no one knew.

“Haha. You lost Yato. Now hand me 3 ALDs.” a slightly fat guy yelled.

“Bullshit. You cheated.”

. . . . . .

The next day at the Shinjuku School of Engineering and mechanics.

Even though their exams were over, the students of the mechanical engineering department, 017 class series, still had some obligatory classes to attend but it wasn’t like they would all seriously pay attention in class.

“So are guys in or what?” A tanned skin man who looked like he had a mix of African heritage in his Asian blood asked the class members around him.

“In for what?” Yato asked curiously as he was close enough to overhear him.

“In Conquest of cour-” An enthusiastic young man suddenly yelled forgetting his location but that was until his mouth got closed by his seat neighbour.

“Keep it low you moron. Professor Stales might hear you.”

“We plan on making a guild of ours rather than joining those pros. That way we get to keep what we get and stay together and united. Most of the class members who are planning on playing Conquest have already agreed with me; it’s just you guys left.” The tanned man continued from where the other young man stopped off.

“Nice. I’m in.” Yato agreed to the arrangements.

“Do you think you would be able to go against the other guilds just with you guys? That’s just stupid.” The silver haired guy from before commented.

“Don’t worry about it. I got a couple other experts[1] to hep us. With their help, we would be able to rival 4th tier guilds already and if we all train with them we might be able to stand up to some of the weaker 3rd tier guilds.” (AN : Experts here doesn’t refer to the type of players but rather experienced and adept players.)

“…looks like you’ve got this all planned out. Count me in then.”

“Hideki what about you?” The tanned guy asked.

“Considering it’s made up of us close friends, I’m in.” Hideki nodded.

“Wait wait wait. Take, do you mean it’s only us guys? What about Ema and the girls?”(AN : Not the verb ‘take’ but ‘Take’ in ‘Takehashi’.)

“Well Ema said she’s already in a guild.” The tanned guy, Takehashi replied.

“When did that happen?!”

Takeshi spread his arms freely while saying “I don’t know. AS for the other girls, most of them aren’t interested with only Mia, Junko, Asami and Asuka giving the ‘go ahead’.”

“What about Sato?” Hideki asked.

“He said he prefers going solo but whenever we need him, he would come.” Takehashi replied.

“So he was to play the role of a trump card eh? What a show-off.” Yato humphed.

“At least we still have him on our side and that’s better than nothing.” Silver haired dude expounded.

“Dear students at the back. It seems you’re not that interested in my class. If that is the case, why don’t you just leave and wait for your results to come out” Professor Stales shouted from the stage in front of the class, with his eyes focused on Takehashi’s bunch and a smile that wasn’t one.

“Don’t misunderstand professor. Haha, we are just exchanging thoughts on the topic..” Takehashi stated with the rest of the group also laughing awkwardly.