Ch 102

  As Greg began to theorize about how broken, in a good way, Yumiko’s new quiver was, Emily was busy examining everyone else's equipment. During this process, Matt discovered that his new boots were enchanted to be exceptionally durable, so much so that they would only break under the most extreme conditions given their current power levels. Emily had noted this detail as the group leveled up; with each advancement, the weapons provided by the system had increased in both power and durability alongside them. This meant that everyone, except Bob, Apricity, and himself, possessed what was likely an excellent weapon that they could wield effectively until they themselves became more powerful.

  For Greg and Emily, they had both clearly reached that point, but each intended to keep their old weapons as backups and for use when surrounded by individuals they didn’t trust. There was also the question of whether the new gear would scale in effectiveness like their current equipment, as Emily couldn’t find any indication that it would. By examining the gear crafted by hand, such as Yumiko’s crude arrows, it was apparent that not everything could adapt in the same way. This added to the growing list of questions to which they had no answers. However, the most pressing issue on all their minds was how they were supposed to exit the space they were currently trapped in.

  "So, any ideas on how we get out of here?" Zara inquired, after they had exhausted all activities. "I mean, if we're going to be stuck here for a while, it would be nice to know the plan so I can get some sleep."

  "We didn’t break it, did we?" Rose asked, a hint of concern in her voice.

  "We might have," Greg admitted with a shrug. "I mean, we didn't enter the dungeon through the normal means, but I think that since the system sent us here, it must have a way to resolve the situation."

  As if summoned by Greg's words, they all received a new system message that appeared before their eyes.

  Error.

  Due to completing an unnamed instance dungeon with any formal connections to the universe merit points, merit points are unable to be assigned or distributed.

  Attempt to circumvent this issue have failed.

  Please select a representative and name for an organization.

  Warning, once selected a universe wide message will be sent with said information and official members can be added and roles assigned as the organization levels up.

  "It's a guild system," commented Greg after a rather long pause, his brow furrowed with thought. "The only question is how it works and whether becoming the leader is a good thing or not."

  "A name being broadcasted out there would be significant," added Emily, twirling a strand of hair nervously. "But for all we know, the achievements of the guild might be highlighted too. Plus, who knows how things are managed on a large scale? We could easily be stepping on other guilds' toes."

  "It could be a golden opportunity too," countered Eleanor, her eyes gleaming with possibility. "For all we know, creating a system-recognized organization is rare, and just having one could open up a world of possibilities."

  "There are too many unknowns," stated Matt, shaking his head. "And we aren't being given an option. So, why are we even discussing anything other than who is going to be our representative?"

  "That's going to be you," stated Greg firmly, crossing his arms. "Unless you can tell us why it should be anyone else."

  "I was thinking Bob, actually," countered Matt with a smirk. "He could be our mascot—"

  "No," cut in Emily, her voice decisive. "Even if you were joking right now, Bob isn't an option because he still has to talk through you."

  Bob sent an awkward image of himself crossing his legs in a distinctly human manner, which Matt interpreted as a sign of refusal. Following Bob's gesture, everyone else chimed in, unanimously declaring Matt as the only and most suitable choice. Just after the last person voiced their agreement, Matt received a system notification.

  Congratulations, you have been awarded the right to found a system-recognized organization. Please name your organization and recruit at least three others to complete its founding.

  "Well, it looks like that's settled," grumbled Matt, scratching his head. "The system is telling me to choose a name. Surely you can all help me with that, unless you want me to call it Silent Mountain."

  "That doesn't sound too bad," commented Emily with a thoughtful expression. "But I think we can come up with something even better."

  "How about Earth's Adventurers or Earth's Heroes?" suggested Zara enthusiastically. "We could aim for something grand, like trying to claim all of Earth with a name like that."

  "No, I don’t want that," replied Matt firmly. "If I'm going to run this organization or something like that, I want self-sufficiency to be at its core. I don’t want a bunch of nobodies joining just to get some benefits."

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  "Then how about 'Isolated Cells'?" suggested Eleanor thoughtfully. "Kind of like sleeper cells, but focused more on your idea of having each group operate independently from the others."

  "We might as well go with 'Clandestine Cells' if we're going to be that obvious about it," Emily interjected, still playing with her hair. "Actually, that sounds perfect for how we want to operate. It would make it easy to cut off any group that causes issues and keep our overall size discreet, but it's not exactly a name."

  "Then why don't you offer one?" Eleanor retorted, her voice tinged with frustration.

  "I believe it's important to remember that none of us has slept in what has likely been over a day," Greg cautioned, his voice weary yet steady. "Now, we're tasked with coming up with a name that we'll all probably have to live with for the rest of our lives. So, please, let's keep a cool head and not get upset if someone doesn't like a suggestion. Personally, Silent Mountain is the one I favor the most so far. It's simple, unassuming, and yet it has the potential to become a volcano, suddenly exploding onto the scene."

  "In that case, how about Hidden Valley?" Rose offered, her eyes bright with inspiration.

  "We're not a salad dressing," Apricity retorted, rolling her eyes in mild exasperation.

  "Oh, is that where I've heard it before?" Rose questioned, a sheepish smile spreading across her face. "It just popped into my head."

  "That is the problem," Emily agreed. "All the names that are coming to mind are from books I've read, and I don't want to taint my vision for us with them. Still, I want our name to mean something about our guild, and I feel like Silent Mountain is lacking something. A mountain is a stationary presence, unyielding and unmoving on the scale we can perceive. Correct me if I'm wrong, but you intend for us to be very spread out, with no real power bases in most places we operate, right?"

  "I have no idea," Matt responded, scratching his head in uncertainty. "This isn't something I know enough about to give a good answer to. Still, I don't see myself leading a massive army to attack anything, as that isn't who I am."

  "Scattered Stars," suggested Yumiko thoughtfully, her eyes lighting up with inspiration. "It highlights the scattered nature that Matt wants and, at the same time, makes it clear that we are looking only for those who can thrive in such an environment."

  "That sounds good to me," Matt commented, nodding in approval. "Does anyone have any issues with it?"

  When no one voiced any objections, Matt nodded again, feeling a sense of satisfaction as he received a system message after acknowledging the name.

  Scattered Stars has been designated as your organization’s name.

  Please complete formation by inviting at least three others to be founding members.

  Note founding members do not have to be present at the time of founding.

  Matt blinked several times before turning to Greg and speaking. "It says that founding members don’t need to be present. Greg, should I invite Jaelyn or anyone else?"

  Greg frowned, pondering for a moment before sighing and responding. "You kind of have to. If you don't, and it's discovered that you could have done so, it will cause issues unless we have logical and good reasons for not doing it. If it hadn't told you directly, we could have pleaded ignorance, but with the skills we know of, we can’t rely on that being an option."

  "Why can’t we just say that we wanted to limit it to our current party?” Apricity asked, tilting her head. “I mean, what’s so wrong about that?”

  "Reputation," answered Emily, with a knowing look. "Plus, Matt can use this opportunity to invite everyone we care about, and maybe there will be a tool that helps locate them all if they accept."

  "That is actually a really great idea," agreed Apricity, her eyes lighting up. "Matt, you’ll send an invite to my mom, right?"

  "We need to prioritize the order in which he sends them," stated Greg, crossing his arms thoughtfully. "For all we know, there might be a limit to how many he can invite."

  "I agree. So first, it should be everyone here," suggested Eleanor. "Then Jaelyn, and after that, I think we should all pick someone and find a way to make the order random."

  "That works for me, but I don’t have anyone to invite," replied Rose, with a small shrug. "Even if I did, I wouldn’t want to disrupt my clean break with my past."

  After that, everyone nodded in agreement, and they decided to have Bob choose a number. He would then tell Matt, but only after each person had selected a number and quietly whispered it to Rose. Ultimately, the order for the second picks was Yumiko, Matt, Zara, Emily, Greg, Apricity, and finally Eleanor. They all ended up creating a list that circulated several times as they realized there was no limit; they figured they might as well try to include as many people as possible. It was only after they completed the entire list that Matt went to extend invitations to all those they had thought of, only to receive a new message.

  Invitations ready to be sent, please add a simple message as to why they are being invited.

  Time limit to ready message is 30 seconds.

  Matt felt pressed for time and didn’t think he could consult the others, so he quickly drafted a message stating that all eight of their names were safe. He reached out with an invitation in hopes that it would facilitate finding each other more easily in the future. Once the message was sent, Greg was the first to speak, just as Matt received a notification that Greg had accepted the invitation.

  “Was that really the best message you could come up with?” Greg questioned, raising an eyebrow.

  “I only had 30 seconds, and it needed to be something that everyone you all invited would read and accept,” Matt explained, a hint of urgency still in his voice.

  “If we were back on Earth and I read that, I would think it was a scam,” Greg remarked, a skeptical look on his face.

  Shortly after Greg's comment, notifications began to flood in as each person in the room accepted the invitation. As this happened a new system message appeared.

  Matthew Pierce has formed the Scattered Stars organization.

  That was it—nothing more than that. Yet, the mere fact that they had never encountered such a message before indicated how uncommon it truly was. Along with this revelation came another wave of acceptance messages, swiftly followed by a system notification acknowledging the milestone of surpassing 25 members.

  Your organization has reached the point where you can designate others to positions of leadership.

  Currently available slots: 2.

  Currently available roles: Vice leader, Administrator, Recruiter.

  Frowning, Matt shared this information, and instantly Greg advised him to appoint Eleanor as his vice leader and Jaelyn as a recruiter. Although there was some back-and-forth discussion between them, it was clear that if expanding their numbers was the key to unlocking more benefits of their organization, her role made too much sense. However, before they could conclude their discussion, they all received another system message, and Matt received two. The air was thick with anticipation as they paused, eyes scanning the notifications that could change the course of their strategy.

  System merit system activated by clearing unnamed instance dungeon.

  Awarding 500 personal merit points.

  Merit store unlocked.

  Your organization members have cleared an unnamed instance dungeon in the Darkened Expanse dungeon.

  Awarding 500 reputation to your organization.

  Basic organization controls unlocked.

  Simple organization controls unlocked.

  Advanced organization controls will be unlocked at 1,000 reputation.