After dinner, Ryan went back to grinding monsters for a few more hours before the news hit: the Guardian had been slain.
The guild that brought it down wasn't one of the major names everyone knew. It was a small, almost unheard-of outfit. But according to Nightwalker, who had gone to see the battle in person, at least six or seven large guilds were stationed around the perimeter, making sure no one interfered or tried to snatch the loot.
The guild's name was Crimson Wake.
In the years to come, it would rise to become the largest guild in the world, a gathering place for the strongest players alive, and the very guild that would help propel Ryan toward becoming the world's first Holy Paladin.
They weren't supposed to appear until the game's second version. Yet here they were, suddenly on the stage ahead of schedule.
