Seven full cycles of the sun and two moons alternating in watching over the world have passed since Drone had a meeting with Shye, the new diamond member of Constantine Consumables.
Since then, he journeyed nonstop for six days, traveling from city to city, teleporter to teleporter, to reach his corporation's headquarters in Valenzia City as soon as possible, eager to attend this quarter's manager summit.
Wearing a formal coat, tie, and perfectly fitted black pants, Drone stood before a mirror inside his room at a luxury inn.
He looked dashing.
Slightly tilting his head to the sides as he admired his appearance, Drone smiled satisfactorily.
'Heh, you look dashing again today, Manager Drone.' he thought to himself as he strode out of two doors—his room's and the inn's.
He then entered the carriage waiting for him in front of the inn, making one last short journey towards Constantine Consumables' Main Headquarters.
Half an hour later, his elegant carriage arrived in front of a vast, towering, and majestic building made from a mix of luxurious smooth granite blocks, top-quality cement, and mild steel, exuding simplicity and elegance.
In front of the building were multiple banners, each displaying different insignias corresponding to various long-standing partnerships—a testament to Constantine Consumables' business competence.
Taking one deep breath before exiting his carriage, Drone entered the bustling building in a dignified manner, capturing the attention of customers, staff members, and managers like himself.
His entrance was captivating, yet, it triggered different reactions from those of the same occupation as him.
Some looked at him in utter disdain; a few smiled kindly, while most were apathetic.
Drone wasn't new to this though, this meeting happens four times a year after all.
Ignoring the unfriendly managers, Drone smiled warmly as he exchanged greetings with several amicable ones, leisurely strolling around the lobby and shaking hands with them, all the while exuding an unusual sense of calm confidence.
Promptly after, he chose an empty seat in the vast lobby, waiting for the meeting to start like everyone else.
Regrettably, it was inevitable that a certain manager would appear, and the moment he did, Drone realized that his tranquil wait was about to be disrupted.
Just a few seconds after the commotion caused by Saille died down, a staff member tasked to help run the manager summit walked towards the lobby.
"Honorable Managers, the executives are ready, please enter the summit room"
Hearing the staff member's words, all of the managers waiting in the lobby stood up and proceeded toward the summit room.
***
Meanwhile, inside the Drokka Advanced Adventurer Zone, in an area called the silver grass savanna, an ashen-haired young man lay lazily on his sleeping bags.
'Haaah...It's been five days... They've already hunted seven gazelles... Just three more, and my plan goes up in smoke...' Shye sighed, momentarily checking the progress of the adventurer party.
After another half an hour of lazing around, the cold night arrived, once again shrouding the world in a veil of biting darkness.
As usual, Shye got up, preparing himself for another night of waiting in vain.
His anticipation of failure proved to be correct as the evening was once again uneventful.
The adventurers took turns in sentry duty, none the wiser that someone was doing so from the shadows of the shrubs.
Hours quickly passed.
In just two more hours, the sun would rise again.
Shye was losing hope in his plan, prompting him to think of other ways to complete his quest.
'Haaah...Should I try my luck and climb a bloody tall eucalypt tree?' he sighed, deciding to pack up and head towards the blood-eucalypt forest instead of continuing to idle at his current location.
However, just as he was preparing to rise, eerie and spine-chilling roars reverberated from two mature acacia trees, while two pairs of red dots, resembling the eyes of monstrous creatures, emerged atop the trees.
"W-WAKE UP!! WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!!"