Colt kept silent as he followed the group back into Valheim. He kept a slight distance from them, so that he could watch for any unusual movements.

“I’m Clay. Short for Claymore.” The man who had approached him glanced over his shoulder at Colt.

“Exile.” Colt wore a blank expression as he met Clay’s gaze.

“Exile, huh?” Clay’s eyes narrowed as he hummed. “Don’t think I’ve heard of you before. No matter. We’re bound to meet new people, right?”

The group chuckled as they monitored the players that they passed. They did not appear to be on edge, but it seemed to Colt that they were watching for something or someone.

Soon, Clay turned down a nearby alley. Colt had never been here before, so he glanced at the doors that they passed with a raised eyebrow. They barely crossed twenty metres before Clay stopped. He raised a meaty fist and banged on the wooden door next to him.

There was a creaking noise as the door parted with its frame, leaving a gap that was just wide enough for them to pass through. Colt’s eyes widened as he looked at the interior. ‘It’s a bar!’

“Welcome to The Raider’s Horn.” Clay glanced at Colt. “Jorgan runs this place. Claims he used to be the God of Revelry or something like that.”

“How did you even find this place?” Colt’s cheek twitched as he looked at Clay in a new light.

“Funny thing that. Just stumbled on in as I was looking around.” Clay scratched his cheek as his face turned red. “Anyway, here’s the kicker, and why we need you. Jorgan gave me a quest that requires a party. If we complete it, this place will open to the public.”

Colt frowned as he listened to that. It sounded somewhat familiar to what he had gone through with Jarxos. ‘He probably has a hidden reward then.’ Colt squinted at Clay, which made the latter laugh.

“Yeah, I know. Sounds suspicious, right? Well, I’ve got nothing to hide. We’ll each gain +5 stat points and I get a special horn that can give a buff to my allies.” Clay’s grin was broad as he looked at Colt’s dumbfounded expression. “What? Did you think I would hide it?”

“Of course.” Colt nodded as he glanced at the others. “You seem to be aware of the game’s situation. So revealing a rare item like that to everyone puts you in danger.”

“What? These guys?” Clay waved his hand at the others. “We’ve played together for years. Recently, one of our group quit just before we joined this game. It’s a real shame. He would have loved this.”

There was a resounding sigh as everyone but Colt hung their heads. “So that’s why you need me? Or to be more exact, it’s why you need a new party member.”

“Don’t say it like that! You’re definitely the one we need.” Clay eyed Colt before he continued. “You’re the guy that Kaleidoscope is after, right? Rumour has it they think you discovered a tomb. But if you’re here… That means there’s a chance you succeeded and escaped their ambush.”

Colt realised where this was going. Clay had obviously heard about him entering the shop and his subsequent fall out with Kaleidoscope. It did not take a genius to figure out that he might have some valuable information or item. Especially when you took into consideration Kaleidoscope mobilising their team to hunt him down.

“So, you’re thinking that your quest might lead you to something that I may have already dealt with?” Colt remained vague about his answer. Making sure that he did not confirm or deny anything.

“Right you are! The information that you may have could prove more useful than anything that you have on you. All we’re asking is for you to join us as a temporary party member. If it is somewhere similar to anything that you have been to, and you provide useful information. We’ll give you a split of everything the rest of us get besides the Horn.”

Colt thought about Clay’s offer and felt that it was a good one. There was still some risk involved in his end. But the stat points he could gain were worth it. He made a show of pretending to consider it for longer than what he had. The cheeks of Clay and the other guys twitched as their smiles became strained.

“You’ve got a deal.” Colt stared at Clay while acting as if it was a hard bargain. “However, as long as I’m with you guys then you have to help if we have any trouble with Kaleidoscope.”

“That’s not a problem.” Clay waved his hand as though he were shooing away something trivial. “None of us like Kaleidoscope any way. So it’s no skin off our noses.”

Colt smiled when he heard that. ‘It seems like these guys could be reliable.’ Colt nodded to himself as he glanced around at this group. “When do we leave?”

Clay chuckled as he slapped the table next to him. “Oh, you’re eager alright! Good. We’re ready to go but it’s best if we leave in two groups of three. That way we won’t draw too much attention. If everything works out and you decide to stick around with us, well, maybe we can form an official guild!”

“You mean Pantheon boss!” One of the other guys chuckled as he corrected Clay.

“Sorry, we can form a Pantheon!” Clay shrugged his shoulders as he noticed Colt’s wide eyes. “I’m still getting used to this game’s terminology.”

“You guys know how to form a guild?” Colt stared at Clay’s red face in disbelief. “How?”

“Hm? Don’t you know? I thought everybody did. It was one of the first things discovered by the first batch to arrive here…”