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nRoland Village was bustling with new players.

"Quite a few people here are running around in groups.

" Yuki said as she walked with Chi hand in hand. The two were wearing cloaks and face masks to hide their appearance. She had made these before they left. They were not very good and only offered 2 points of defense, but they kept their faces hidden from the public eye. Yuki planned to start her mercenary group with just her and Chi to start off with. Since they were the only ones who had reached the first stage of the Fortification Realm within the game at this time through cultivation, they were much stronger than the average person. They did not want their identities exposed just yet.

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"Ryu, are you sure we can do this? I mean, my combat ability is very...

" Chi asked through team chat. She knew more than anyone that she was not good at fighting. She had only practiced Yuki's basic punches and did not know how to use them in a fight just yet.

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"Don't worry. I have been thinking about that. Chi, you live alone, right?

" Yuki had been thinking about Chi's combat ability and knew as it was now Chi would easily get murdered by many players.

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"Yes, it's just me.

" Chi answered.

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"You can't officially move out of your apartment, but you can stay with me. So every morning from now on, we will get up early and work out and spar for an hour every day on the roof. We will start off with a twenty minute run, then push ups, situps, and squats. We will start off with two sets of each, then end it all with a sparring session. Oh, and during the run, you will be practicing your punches.

" Yuki explained. She figured Chi would not mind staying with her, so she did not state anything as a question, but more of you will do this type of thing.

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"Okay!

" Chi smiled brightly and nodded her head. In a soft voice too soft for Yuki to hear, Chi mumbled:

"Hehe, I can stay with my Yuki...

"

nThe two walked up to a large building that stood tall with two floors. It was made completely out of stone, and the whole place seemed to be carved by some kind of special tool to create the inside. There was no door to this place, so people could just walk in and out as they pleased. When they walked in, there was a huge board that stretched across one side of the guild with hundreds of people standing in front of it. On the board were many requests, so many in fact that requests had to be stacked on top of each other. Yuki walked over to the registration counter that just so happened to be free. Behind the counter, a young woman sat filling out paperwork. When she heard someone arrive, she looked up and smiled.

"May I help you?

"

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"Yes, I want to do two things. First, I would like to register a mercenary group, and second I would like to put out a bounty on two people.

" Yuki replied.

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"Okay. That is easy. Let's handle the bounty first since it is the fastest.

" The young woman replied. She then took out a form and handed it to Yuki.

"Fill in the person's name and the bounty amount. If it is a recurring bounty, please check the box below and write the maximum number of times you wish for this bounty to be carried out.

"

nYuki nodded and began filling things in. In just a few minutes, Yuki had filled everything out and handed the form back to the young woman.

"Okay, let's see, these bounties are for KillerT and Blade. For the amount of 100 gold and to be carried out 5-.... 50 times each!?

" the Young woman stared at Yuki in shock! Their mercenary guild had just opened, and only small amounts of money were flowing through on the bounties, but here she had gotten a big fish who had loads of money! She was dancing in her seat since she got a cut of the commission!

"Master, this woman should have realized you were of high status. Since you are paying so much, we will give a 10% discount. This means 10 of your bounties will be paid by my mercenary guild. So the total price is 9 platinum.

"

nYuki nodded and handed over 9 platinum coins, which the young woman nervously took and quickly stored away. Once she did, she went right to work, and seconds later, two loud and clear world notifications were announced. This was repeated five times.

nThe Mercenary Guild has just placed a new bounty out on player: KillerT. All mercenaries take up arms and help fulfill this bounty! 100 gold for each kill! Up to 50 kills! Get your kill in to secure that 100 gold before it is too late.

nThe Mercenary Guild has just placed a new bounty out on player: Blade. All mercenaries take up arms and help fulfill this bounty! 100 gold for each kill! Up to 50 kills! Get your kill in to secure that 100 gold before it is too late.

nOff in another location of the game, two people were sitting by a campfire resting up after fighting a bunch of monsters. The potions in their hands dropped to the ground and spilled everywhere when they heard the announcements. Blade looked at KillerT, who was looking back at him, both of their faces as pale as a sheet of paper.

"What do we do!?

"

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"Log out!

" KillerT quickly went to open his menu to log out but was stopped when a flame arrow suddenly crashed into their campsite.

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"There they are, get them!

"

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"Don't let them escape!

"

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"That 100 gold is mine!

"

nEven the forums exploded as soon as the announcement finished.

n@GreenHat: Holy **! Someone actually dumped 10 platinum on a bounty to kill those two!?

n@BraveSoul: My guess is that those two pissed off some influential person, and now they are paying for it.

n@FingerSandwhich: Why the hell are you guys chatting on here when you should be hunting those two dregs down!? They were seen near the Fordon Plains right now and are being chased by a mob of people!

n@GreenHat: What!? Really! I am there right now. I can't miss this. I need 100 gold to marry WhiteLotus in game!

nThe one post by FingerSandwhich caused the forums to quickly die. Soon the video platforms would have video after video of what would soon be called the great chase.

nThe cause of this epic chase was now standing at another counter, getting a lecture from the old man behind the counter.

"You wanted to start a mercenary group with just the two of you!? What the hell are you thinking!? Don't you know the rules? You need 5 people minimum to even think of starting a mercenary group!

"

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"5 people!?

" Yuki felt depressed. How could a loner like her have 3 more friends!? She was already lucky to have Chi!

nChi also felt gloomy. She was the same as Ryu. They had no one they could consider friends except for themselves.

"What should we do?

"

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"I am not sure...

" Yuki said with a frown.

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"You can just put up a recruitment notice! Just like everyone else. Here, fill this form out. The guild will then put up a notice.

" The old man said.

nYuki took the paper and gave it a quick glance over. It only asked for basic information.

"For the name of the mercenary group, we can call it… Shadow Squad. Leader… Ryu… Vice Leader… Chi...

"

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