Vol. 8 - Ch. 400 - Sub-guild's Name and Sub-members Introduction!

"I'm back, and have brought them with me.""Slow, but alright! Welcome, everyone!"

"Welcome back. We're also done with preparation, so you can guide them to their seats."

The guild room was brimming with the anticipatory mood as I entered inside.

The decorations, peculiar to the culture festival, were adorning the room. I guess they must have taken help from an interior specialist guild. Over all, neither too gaudy, nor too lackluster decorations created a fantastic mood. They just fit perfectly for the taste of students. Though, we're students indeed.

Everything was well and all, except one sore spot for my eye...Lana had ‹Sachineko-sama› resting on her lap as she waved her hand to greet us.

Forgive me ‹Sachineko-sama›, for I am currently burdened with the task of guiding a sub-member given by Sierra-sama~. Wait for me, I will surely rescue you from the demonic clutches...

Leaving behind‹Sachineko-sama› in the tiger's den for now, I showed the sub-member their seat..

"Guys, please take a seat according to the name indicated on the triangular nameplate on the table.."

We had come a long way compared to the tiny group we used to be in the beginning, so it was a bit difficult to set up the seating arrangement with that much size . That's why we came up with the triangular nameplate. I mean, we will be going through thick and thin from here on. It would be boorish to not put effort into it. There was also a nameplate for ‹Eden› members to avoid making them feel as an outsider.

I looked around and most of ‹Eden› were already on their seats. Leaving aside Hannah, Celestine and Shizu who were playing the role of waiter or waitress.

Hannah took out food and drinks from the ‹Item Bag› while Celestine soundlessly served them with his spectral speed. Impressive as always. S~ᴇaʀᴄh the NʘvᴇlFɪre.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Once sub-member found their seat and dishes and all were served completely, Sierra and I stood on the podium specially added for this occasion. No, even I didn't know there were such arrangements. Man, who even ordered this, though. Sounds unnecessary, but since we have it, might as well go along with the flow!

I pushed aside my racing thoughts into a corner of my mind and raised my voice.

"I'm really glad to see everyone gather today despite their busy schedule. Let's welcome our 10 new members—the members of our sub-guild ‹Arc-Arcadia›. To the pinnacle, together!"

In tandem with my declaration, everyone clapped to greet them. Sub-members responded shyly.

‹Arc-Arcadia›. I had a great headache deciding on the name. For all that to be said, it was going to be a part of ‹Eden›. A half-hearted would obviously not fly.

I first rummaged my mind to see if there was a name that could be synonyms with ‹Eden› but a step shorter in philosophy. I couldn't think of anything, however. Since Eden meant a paradise in device, I thought 'Realm', 'Gaia' or 'Garden' but they also didn't fill the scheme that I was looking for.

Then, I backtracked and recalled the time when I decided on ‹Eden›. What were my feelings at that time? I was as delighted as the kid suddenly finding a river of chocolate. How could I not? It was the realization of my dream that I had always harbored in my heart. The world of ‹Dungeon Activity› that I had always longed for, and I was living in that moment. (I still feel the same, alright?)

It was the Utopia, the paradise for me that I had so dreamt of. That's why I chose the name 'Eden'.

When I recalled all that, the word 'Arcadia' suddenly floated in my mind. A name synonym with Utopia.

But just the name Arcadia felt somewhat pale to fit the bill, so this leads to me adding 'Arc', which means 'Great' 'Sovereign-Ruler-Leader'. Now the name finally felt worthy of being our, Eden, sub-guild. For we were someone aiming for the height unattainable by others.

Furthermore, Arc also shared similar significance as Noah's Ark—An Ark heading for the Utopia (Eden Ascension Ark). “That's it,” I thought and settled on 'Arc-Arcadia'.

Ah, I digress again, haven't I? Let's quickly introduce them.

"Alright, time to introduce. Let's start with ‹Eden› members first. Also, do mention your skills etc. I will start first, though most have already known about me."

It was now introduction time and while it might look a bit redundant considering the name was already there in the triangular nameplate, I believe this would leave more expression.

Sierra and I introduced ourselves, followed by other ‹Eden› members. It was basically talking about what our major, job, level, class, position and captured floors etc was. Sub-member couldn't hide their surprise when they heard about our level and all.

We did cross LV70 in this dungeon week after all, which was otherwise next to impossible to happen in first-year, and that too before the summer vacation.

With our introduction coming to an end, the baton was passed to the sub-members.

"Let's start with Aegis-senpai, the leader of ‹Arc-Arcadia›. Aegis-senpai, if you can."

"I-I got it. Good day to everyone. I am Aegis. Though I am lacking on level at this moment, I have been graced with the chance to become guild master of ‹Arc-Arcadia› under Zephyr-san's instruction. My major is ‹Combat Department Year 2 Class 31›, and my job is ‹Princess Knight LV10›. The highest floor I have reached is in the Intermediate-mid dungeon, but as earlier mentioned my job is low leveled due to ‹Job Transfer›. My position in the battle formation is vanguard—an attacker. I will do my best to not besmirch the hard work of Zephyr-san."

Following my signal, Aegis-senpai started with her self-introduction.

Well, a LV10 guild master might be too weak from the perspective of this world. This was a meritocracy dominant world for you. Level, ability and leadership quality—the one that excels in these aspet usually become the guildmaster.

In her favor, Aegis-senpai once was ‹Knight LV75›, and she also had a great deal of experience in dungeons. Considering level was something that would follow up for sure, the next important thing for guild master was the experience.

Afterward, ‹Songstress Princess› Noel and ‹Racc-Shell› Lacritta introduced themselves. But since everyone already met them, they kept their introduction short. Next, it was the Harmonic Trio turn.

"Our turn, though most probably already know since we're in the same class. Beginning with myself, I am Sachida, the leader of the harmonic trio party ‹We want to become Princess›. My job is ‹Magic Swordsman›, Lv24. We managed to cinch a victory against ‹Battle Wolf› recently. Please guide me along!"

"Next is me! I'm Emi, a member of the ‹We want to become Princess› party like Sachi-chan! Class 1-1, and my job is ‹Magic Companion› Lv24. Please look after me!"

"Last is me. I am also a member of ‹We want to become Princess› party like Sachi and Emi. The name is Yuuka, from the same class. My job is ‹Magic Archer›, Lv24. I hope to get along with everyone."

The magic equipment trio. I have only seen them getting along exceptionally well.

Sachi sported wavy, semi-long brown hair and slightly bigger eyes than usual. The adorned, red headband she wore earned her plenty of points.

‹Magic Swordsman› was an upper-tier version of ‹Swordsman›. Basically a high-ranking low grade job that specializes in vanguard position, and a pure attacker.

She wasn't part of any particular category, so that makes her one of the first no-category members to join us.

Emi, much like Sachi, had short brown hair in a bob-cut hairstyle and amber eyes that gave off a friendly vibe. She was also wearing an amber headband. ‹Magic Companion› was a versatile high-ranking low-grade version of ‹Magic› jobs, and a part of ‹Magic Equipment› series, capable of performing attack, buff and healing etc.

The last member of the harmonic trio, Yuuka, too, sported straight brown hair, and a pair of firm, azure eyes that were closer to shade of green. Like the other two, she was also wearing a headband, primarily featuring shades of purple close to blue, adorned with flower decoration. Her job, ‹Magic Archer›, was also a high-ranking low-tier job, making the last part of ‹Magic Equipment› series. It mainly specialized in long-range physical attacks and was capable of playing scout roles to some extent.

I heard they yearned to be like Noel and girls of ‹Eden› which led to them setting their party name ‹We want to become Princess›. But ‹Princess› huh. If only they wanted to become ‹Maiden› though......

Ahem. Anyway, it seemed like the three, featuring the same color of hair and job, felt a kind of resonance the moment they talked with each other. Ever since then, they're practically together all the time. I dare say there shouldn't be any second group that gets along like the—Gh!? This sensation, the ‹Intuition›! What's with this sudden chill, and why are you staring at me, Celia!?

Cough, right. How could I forget Celia and Lulu's friendship transcend the normance? Ahaha, silly me.

Phew. Back to the topic. The three were a part of guild ‹Maiden Association› until some kind of mishap led to member count dropping to just 14 people. They lost the support of their guild, and in the end formed the party ‹We want to become Princess› to challenge the dungeon.

I did meet them while they were hunting for ‹Battle Wolf› alongside Noel and Lacritta. From what the trio told me, they quite frequently teamed with them. They really are a friendlier bunch, aren't they? Either way their party of themselves plus Noel and Lacritta worked good enough that the lack of support from their guild didn't bother them later.

Since we were on the same class, they also often came to ask for advice about dungeon etc, and perhaps due to that, they hardly met any obstacle in their dungeon exploration. They were also the first of the students to attend my lecture on ‹Training Manual›, so I guess I should say they were bound to succeed, eh?

Well, to sum it up, their party was quite efficient and capable, comparing the exploration speed of Class 1-1 as whole.

On the other hand, the misfortune of the C-rank guild, ‹Maiden Association›, didn't end just there as they even ended up dropping to D-rank. So, they did try to retain the trio, however failed in doing so since they were more interested in the interview held by ‹Eden›.

My opinion? they were warmly welcomed! Who wouldn't want capable individuals, right?