Reincarnated Avatar; I got 2 SSS-Rank Unique Skills
Chapter 116: Popularity surge

Chapter 116: Popularity surge

While the whole world was burning outside, the culprits responsible for all the chaos meanwhile were inside the game, going about their business like they didn’t just start a fire and abandoned it.

Noah and his teammates didn’t expect the level of hype that would follow Club Echelon’s creation, it shocked them but trust Noah, he took full advantage of the publicity.

Noah knew that one day or another, his true identity behind Lord Doom would be revealed but for it to be revealed in such a manner..., he could not have envisioned it any better.

Alongside his teammates, and Nightingale and his crew, they took full advantage of the publicity for the hiring to man the club building.

Not just for hiring for the club building, but also for recruiting in-game.

Originally, new guilds that are created in the game take a long time to grow.

In-game guilds are divided into 4 distinct categories, the super anonymous guilds, the weak guilds, the pseudo-top guilds, and then the top guilds of the game that are affiliated with teams in the English Pro Alliance.

Every new guild in the game that is not affiliated with a club in the English Pro Alliance automatically starts as an anonymous guild.

To build popularity, it would take time and a lot of effort.

But due to Lord Doom’s association with guild Echelon as its guild leader, guild Echelon got a big boost, starting as a weak guild as all Lord Doom fans trooped in, joining the guild to give it an early boost and a solid foundation.

Nightingale’s money also played a big role.

But now, with this sudden publicity birth due to Club Echelon’s creation, the popularity of guild Echelon in the game skyrocketed.

From a weak guild, guild Echelon’s level skyrocketed to the very top of the pseudo-top guilds, just one step from becoming a full-fledged top guild.

And just like that, the threat of guild Echelon that the top guilds in the 11th server feared became a very present reality.

With the guild’s sudden rapid expansion, there was a lot of work but Nightingale and his crew were more than happy to take on the job, allowing Noah and his crew to focus on building their in-game Avatars.

Nightingale didn’t take on all the expanded work himself with just his friends though. Afterall, money could solve so many problems.

He hired real-world assistants that would also live in Club Echelon’s building, but their job description would be defined towards the guild.

Their work was the guild administration on his behalf.

And just like that, a new juggernaut was born in the 11th server, the rapidly developing juggernaut called guild Echelon.

While all of this happened, Noah and his teammates already abandoned all of it as they focused all of their attention on the game and their in-game Avatars.

They needed to get to level 60 as soon as possible.

Not just leveling up, they also focused on their skill points seeking quest, and they started with the team quest, the Song of the Eternal Siren.

...

[WARNING!]

[You have entered the Abyssal Shores!]

[You have triggered the Quest: The Song of the Eternal Siren]

[You have triggered a hidden storyline!]

[Quest Rank: S]

[Recommended Players: 5+]

[Objective: Resist the Eternal Siren’s melody and break her curse before she drags all into the abyss.]

[Failure Condition: All party members succumb to her song, dying.]

Aria looked at Noah. "Hidden storyline?"

Noah shrugged. "I dunno".

Aria cursed. "Nothing with you is ever normal, huh?"

Benjamin chuckled. "The walking calamity himself has struck again".

According to Noah, the original quest description says a cursed melody lingers in the ruins of an ancient cathedral, driving all who hear it to madness.

To break the curse, the team must battle waves of enemies while deciphering the forgotten notes of an ancient hymn to restore harmony, but now the objective said resist the Eternal Siren’s melody and break her curse before she drags all into the abyss.

The quest has changed due to triggering the hidden storyline. By how much it changed though, they had no idea.

They would have to find out as they played.

Without hesitation, their journey began.

Noah and his team stood at the edge of the Abyssal Shores, a desolate coastline where the sky was forever tinged with a haunting purple hue.

The ocean beyond was black as ink, its surface unnervingly still, until it wasn’t.

A faint ripple distorted the water, and the first note of a melancholic melody hummed through the air.

The Song of the Eternal Siren.

The quest had begun.

A translucent, ethereal mist began creeping across the sands, carrying the melody further. It wasn’t just a sound; it was an enchantment, a force that dug into the mind, distorting thought, bending reality.

Noah immediately felt the pull, at least his Avatar.

A whisper in his mind.

’Come closer’.

His vision blurred for a split second, the world tilting as if reality itself were drowning as his orientation suffered.

Aria gritted her teeth. "Tch. A mind-control effect?" She unsheathed her twin blades, stabbing one into the sand as an anchor.

"Noah, this isn’t what you told me!" She growled.

Noah chuckled awkwardly. "I didn’t see this coming too". He defended himself.

Genevieve’s eyes flickered with divine light. "This magic..., its ancient. The song doesn’t just lure you, it binds your soul to her".

A counter already popped up showing how much of their soul was already bound by the ancient Siren.

Benjamin clapped his hands over his ears. "I swear if this is another one of those irresistible temptation traps, I’m suing the developers".

Caleb’s expression remained unreadable. "This is worse than that". He muttered. "The melody adapts. The longer we’re exposed, the stronger the pull".

Noah took a deep breath.

He had fought against illusions, against shadow magic, against nightmares that tried to twist his will. But this? This was something else.

A psychological war.

’Worth being a quest that gives skill points’. He thought.

"Well, let’s start". He muttered, taking the first step forward.