Chapter 8 - Meal With Claudia

"So, why didn't you join any guild?" Claudia asked after wiping her lips with a napkin. She cleared the tiny drops of the meat juice from her mouth before wetting her throat by sipping on her wine.

"Straight for the goal, huh?" Tom asked, stretching himself back on the chair. The restaurant he picked wasn't as fancy as the one where he celebrated his first paid raid. Its delicious food and absolute comfort made it one of the less-known sweet spots of the Online Hub.

"You see, joining a guild once effectively binds you to their structures forever," Tom said after a moment of thought. The topic might be simple, but that didn't mean it was easy to explain it.

"What do you mean by that?" Claudia asked, leaning her head to the side a bit. "Ah, avatar's preference, right?"

"Yeah." Tom nodded his head. "Once in a guild, you will get a role. Once you have a role, you will wish to get better at it, plotting the nature of your next skills." He explained, taking a huge sip of his dark beer.

"Is there something wrong with playing like that?" Claudia asked, squinting her eyes as she fell into deep thought. "I know being versatile might be fun, but isn't it more efficient to work in a group?"

"Well," Tom sighed, "this entire talk is all based on the assumption that this theory is right in the first place." He moved his eyes on his glass, admiring the intricate crafting of it.

"Yeah, I'm aware of that," Claudia replied, leaning forward with interest beaming in her eyes.

"Tell me, then. What would happen if your guild were to disband?" Tom asked as he stopped admiring the glass, using it as intended instead.

"Huh?" Claudia shrugged in surprise. "I would join another one. It's not that much of a big deal." She shook her shoulders before placing her elbows on the table and resting her chin on her cupped hands.

"What if the tactics of the other guild will be different? What if you decide that being a brawler is not really your style?" Tom continued to poise his questions.

"I think I get your point," Claudia replied, with her interest dying out. 'In the end, it was something so simple,' she thought to herself, slightly disappointed by how straightforward this little mystery was.

"Right." After a moment of silence, Tom suddenly recalled something. He pulled out his card before looking up at Claudia's face. "Can you pass me your card for a moment?"

"Ah, sure!" She replied, shaken awake from her momentary, absent-minded state.

The membership cards were the most prized possession of every player. Or at least, that's what every new player was told while joining the community. The truth was slightly different, though.

"Here, five million for you," Tom announced while pressing his card against Claudia's. Tom only needed to prepare the transfer beforehand. Once the two devices were brought together, a local connection was established, allowing the funds to move over.

"Wait, are you for real?" Claudia protested, raising her widened eyes at the man. "You won the bet fair and square. I slaved that raid, so there is no need for that," she said, reaching forth to snatch her card back.

"Don't mention it. Thanks to you, I went far further than usual without putting an immense strain on my body," Tom rebuked, pressing the confirm button and sealing the transfer. "I got a favorable split, and that's more than enough for me."

Tom couldn't be bothered by such a small amount of money. He still had roughly fifteen million left on his account, amounting to several times the funds he received for his entire upbringing.

'The set that I wanted goes for around three mil. A studio should go for somewhere around one mil.' Tom calculated in his thoughts. Yet, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't find a way to spend the rest of his money.

For someone not finding pleasure in extravagance, this amount was more than enough to live how he wanted for years. 'With how easy it was to earn it,' Tom shrugged from the anticipation that overwhelmed his soul, 'I should never lack money again for the rest of my life!'

Tom didn't prioritize earning fat stacks of money in his life, but he was more than aware of the value behind it. Living off the military rent of his lost father, he had no other choice but to learn how to appreciate every penny he had.

"Eh, if you insist, I won't say no to free money." Claudia smiled as she gave up her attempts to persuade Tom. "On another note," she suddenly changed the topic, "what would you say about going to raid together again?" Claudia asked. "This time, a fair split, though!" She quickly added.

"That might not be a bad idea," Tom replied calmly, even though his mind went slightly awry. He had no problems talking to the girls or interacting with them. That didn't mean that he was comfortable when doing so, though.

'So far, I only paired up with other guys,' Tom thought, considering the proposition. 'Well, there is nothing wrong with abandoning the sausage party, is there?' He ultimately decided, raising his head and smiling at the girl.

"Well, I will take you up on your offer," Tom said, raising his cup in a cheer.

"For our next raid, then!" Claudia raised her glass to Tom's cup before lightly striking one against the other.

"For our next raid!" Tom echoed Claudia's toast before downing the rest of the beer in his mug.

"Now then," Claudia said, putting her glass away, "how about we go somewhere peaceful to discuss the strategy for our raid tomorrow?"