Chương 5: The Villain Everyone... Likes?

.. Likes?

Gloria stood beside one of the waiting carriages, utterly starstruck as she took in its sheer scale. The vehicle was enormous, easily the size of a small house, its sturdy wooden frame reinforced with steel plating that quite frankly made her stare for a moment longer. Why? Well, because this was the first time she had ever laid eyes on one of these in person. They had never actually appeared in the game itself, only in scattered bits of lore or like jpg. files in the distance.

She was, however, most surprised when she first learned that these massive carriages were actually capable of flight. The revelation had come courtesy of a certain creature she already knew quite well, which was called a Flyght. It was quite familiar to her, because it had been a popular mount in the game, used by those races incapable of flight for long-distance travel. Even though she knew almost everything about the Flyghts, seeing one harnessed like this was quite shocking in its own right.

This particular specimen looked like an enormous serpent, its body adorned with three pairs of large, angelic white wings that spanned wider than its entire length. They were impressive creatures, each easily triple the size of a normal horse.

"I shall be in your care for the time being. Accept my thanks." The Flyght seemed to respond positively to her words, its large eyes brightening as it gave a hiss in return. This particular mount seemed properly taken care of, and from what she could see, the guild actually looked like it took excellent care of most of its mounts in general.

The entire area behind the guildhall had been transformed into a vast open space clearly designed for carriages and their accompanying beasts, with wide lanes and sturdy posts for securing the larger mounts. Gloria found herself theorizing that the people here must switch between different types of creatures depending on the environment, using these for long-distance or aerial routes while relying on hardier ground beasts for rougher terrain and monster-infested wilds.

A window slid open in the small front compartment of the carriage, and a plain-looking blonde elf leaned out, calling down to her.

"Grounded one, get inside and prepare to leave soon! The next White Whale is due within the hour, so we are working on a tight clearance timer!"

'Right… That again.' The doors to the carriage swung open, and after a brief pause she stepped inside, finding the interior far less glamorous than the vehicle's impressive exterior had suggested. The space was constructed almost entirely of reinforced wood, with steel supports visible along the walls, and it felt noticeably smaller than it appeared from outside thanks to large hidden storage compartments that took up nearly as much room as the passenger area.

Still, there were plenty of comfortable seats, and for the moment she had the entire carriage to herself… Is what she wanted to think.

"Yooo, girlie, what a coincidence seeing you here!" The deep voice rang out right as Gloria settled into her seat, and she ate her words almost immediately. Entering right behind her were the two Gold-ranked adventurers from the guild hall. One was the familiar mountain of muscle known as Bar, and trailing him were three women, all of whom were clinging onto him, not to mention that all three of them were watching him with what could only be described as hearts in their eyes.

He turned and pressed a quick kiss to the cheek of the nearest one before the other adventurer physically shoved him the rest of the way inside.

'DAMN. He's already got three wives?? Then why the hell was he hitting on me for?! These are all total babes!' Her focus did not last long on that fact, since her eyes followed the other adventurer… because he actually creeped her out a little with his elongated face, extremely sharp jawline, and stark white hair. His eyes remained fully closed the entire time, giving him an unsettlingly serene appearance.

"Show a bit of humility, Bar," the man said calmly, pushing his companion inside the carriage.

"By how she manhandled you back there, she is obviously not as frail as her rank would suggest." He turned his attention fully toward Gloria and offered a nod.

"Hello there again, new comrade. It is a pleasure to meet you, and a pleasure to be working on this job alongside you. My name is Rali, and this right here is a friend of mine called Bar. We are both Gold-ranked adventurers. Can you tell us your name? We did not quite catch it back there." Gloria simply looked at them, a faint trace of amusement flickering across her features even though Rali's unusual appearance left her slightly unsettled.

She had intended to give them a false name—something safe and ordinary like Grace or Gracie, but the moment she opened her mouth, her body refused to cooperate. The words came out on their own in that majestic voice that brooked no argument.

"Gloria Superba. Be well to remember that, for it is an honor to meet me." A long, stretched-out moment of silence filled the carriage, and Gloria wanted nothing more than to peel her own skin back in sheer embarrassment.

'WHAT DO YOU MEAN?????' If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Her mind was screaming at full volume. She knew she had not wanted to say that name, so why had her body betrayed her so completely? Every time until now she had managed to say mostly what she intended, even if the delivery came out wrapped in that overly dramatic flair. Why was her new form revolting against her on something this simple?

She looked at them, noting their complete lack of dramatic reaction as they casually settled into their seats across from her.

'Ohhh nooo… Is it that bad? So bad that it warrants them freezing up?' Gloria thought, before screaming inside her head again,'OF COURSE IT IS!!!' She tried desperately to explain that she had been joking, but her mouth refused to cooperate.

'SPEAK, DAMN YOU!' Yet her body simply would not obey, which turned out to be strangely convenient when they finally showed any kind of reaction at all. Rali was the first to speak.

"Huh. All right then. Nice to meet you, Gloria." Bar, on the other hand, just snorted and leaned back in his seat.

"Really? Little lizard? That's a really basic name for someone who dresses like that." Gloria's mind spiraled into pure chaos.

'What!? Did they not hear me??' She had poured so much energy into that single thought that it slipped out loud before she could stop it.

"What? Does my name leave such a little impact on you?" The two men looked at each other for a brief moment before both burst out laughing at the same time, their voices overlapping in a loud "Yeah? Why are you so serious?" and "Why would it?" Rali was still chuckling as he leaned back in his seat.

"Why would it leave much of an impact? It is the most common name in the majority of the known world. Only those softies in the human sinkhole down south are scared to name their children after her." Bar nodded vigorously.

"Yeah. It's a good name though, because Gloria is the most powerful being to have ever lived! Her name is associated with power itself!" Rali jumped back in with clear enthusiasm.

"Exactly. Who wouldn't want to name their child after The Conqueror? Or in your case, as a grounded, name yourself after her." Gloria sat there with her mouth slightly open in a small 'o' of pure shock, completely taken aback by their words. That was the last reaction she had expected. Were people actually admiring her, in some strange, roundabout way? Could that really be what was happening here? And the idea of parents naming their children after her character…

well, she could think of no bigger praise toward the legend she had built. A big smile spread across her face as she nodded a few times.

"Great then. I'm glad you both understand." Bar leaned forward in his seat, right across from her, with a really creepy smile across his face.

"I can't wait to see if you will live up to that name though." Gloria ignored the unsettling expression, choosing instead to take his words at face value as a challenge to her strength. She was just about to respond when another voice cut into the conversation, that same strange, muffled sound from before.

"No need, Bar. I will see to it that you don't have to test it." The new arrival was the same hooded figure who had stood up for her back at the guild hall, that mysterious Gold-ranked adventurer Gloria still could not quite see through.

'Another Gold-rank?' she thought with a touch of interest, noting how this quest was apparently being taken a bit more seriously than its Bronze-tier label had suggested.

"You again Archer…" Bar muttered with a look of genuine hatred flashing in his eyes. The now-named Archer completely ignored him and moved to sit down next to Gloria. They glanced at the two men across from them and spoke in that same distorted voice.

"Why the sudden change of atmosphere? Are you not glad to see another gold-rank with you?"

'Ohhh, drama!' Gloria thought, as she watched the tension crackle between them like sparks on dry tinder. Bar leaned back, dead focused on her.

"Tagging along again, creep? At this rate people are gonna think you actually like our company." Rali placed a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"No need for insults, even the veiled ones." He then turned his gaze toward the hooded figure.

"I'm surprised to see you join us, Archer. Why would a simple cave interest someone of your caliber?" The archer simply replied, "I don't need to explain myself to you." Then they turned their attention fully toward Gloria.

"I heard your name earlier, so it is a pleasure to meet you. But you should know that this isn't a regular quest, and that these people also aren't regular adventurers." Rali's tone sharpened immediately.

"Archer… Be careful of what you say." The hooded figure continued undeterred, addressing Gloria directly.

"These two do their homework before they ever pick a quest. If they're here, it's because you caught their eye—and once that happens, they tend to tag along with whoever they've set their sights on. Call them... opportunistic people." Bar practically exploded.

"You do the exact same th—" He was cut off mid-sentence when the driver's voice boomed from the front compartment.

"Strap yourselves in, folks! We are going, and we are going now!" A loud, resounding strap echoed even within the enclosed space of the carriage, and the instant it did, the entire vehicle was launched straight into the air with tremendous force. Flyghts were extremely fast creatures, so much so that they were known to break the sound barrier when they truly unleashed their power, but this particular one failed to do so because of the massive weight it now carried behind it.

Still, Gloria could lean toward the window and watch in awe as the ground fell away beneath them at an astonishing rate, the carriage climbing higher and higher into the sky. The other adventurers seemed to take the sudden ascent in stride, calmly settling back into their seats and looking away from one another as though this were just another ordinary trip, but Gloria's external composure hid a storm of pure delight raging inside her head.

'This is all so super cool!' She thought, barely able to contain her excitement as the world outside transformed into a breathtaking panorama. After only around ten seconds they had already reached eye level with the lower clouds, the carriage zooming forward with surprising smoothness despite its size. Even though she was thoroughly impressed by the sight, she could not help thinking that she herself was way, way faster when she flew under her own power.

What captured even more of her attention, however, was the so-called mysterious archer, who leaned in a little closer to her.

"You already heard my nickname, so you know what to call me. But I must say, Gloria is a superb name, no matter how common it might be. Don't let their joking comments make you second guess yourself."