The two of them watched some animation for a while. Since they had been too busy during the day and hadn't slept well the night before, they both went to bed early.
The next morning passed without incident.
Rainier told the other warriors and Wayne that General Jetharias was reportedly furious with Cantrebree for some unknown reason. The General had given her most trusted adjutant a relentless scolding and even declared she would petition the Regent to resign from her position as leader of the Warrior's Guild, saying, "Let whoever wants to manage it, manage it."
In truth, Rainier was putting it politely; he didn't want to air the guild's dirty laundry. Everyone knew Cantrebree was likely scolded because they had collectively "skipped work" and missed the Assessment Day yesterday. This had deeply "hurt" the serious General Jetharias.
But it couldn't be helped—the net cafe was simply too enticing. Compared to the tedious task of hitting wooden stakes to slowly improve strength or exercises called "combat simulations" that couldn't involve actual live-steel confrontation, playing games was the real deal. Though it was far more expensive, the sensory stimulation and immersion were incomparable to traditional training.
Recently, everyone had even started competing over who had progressed further in the game, who had watched more episodes, or whose account level was higher.
At the same time, given how brutal the queue had been yesterday, the members of the Warrior's Guild had reached a silent understanding: they would try their best not to recommend the net cafe to friends in other professions. Doing so would only make their own wait times longer and more painful.
Moreover, some veteran players were only now realizing that the rule they once found incomprehensible—being allowed to play only every other day—was actually designed to satisfy the needs of more people. Otherwise, those few wealthy individuals would have truly occupied the stations every single day without letting anyone else in.
Among the crowd, Wayne was surprised to see two familiar faces he hadn't seen in a while: Lyria, the warrior trainer from Goldshire, and Corinne, the rogue trainer.
The two were walking toward Wayne, casting meaningful smiles his way.
Lyria waved a greeting and went to join the queue. Even a veteran player like her had to wait her turn now. Corinne, however, walked straight up to Wayne and asked, "Is the cheese good?"
Wayne already knew Corinne was an agent of SI:7, but he was still surprised she would appear at this time. He replied, "Terrible. It tastes awful."
Corinne glanced left and right. "There are too many people now. I'll come find you tonight."
Wayne stopped her and led her into the net cafe, having her sit at an adjacent station.
"Hey, Boss! Why is this person cutting the line?" someone shouted from outside.
Wayne yelled back, "Debugging! It'll be just a moment!"
Then, he and Corinne entered Saint Seiya together.
The advantage of the movie mode was that the screen didn't display the footage to outsiders by default. Wayne fast-forwarded through the opening scene, and he and Corinne appeared in the stands of the Sanctuary's arena. Below them, Seiya was fighting Cassios.
Like Little Tess the night before, Corinne understood immediately. "Why didn't I think of this? This is the safest, most secret meeting place imaginable!"
Wayne smiled triumphantly. Below them, Cassios had already grabbed Seiya, preparing to kill him with a hand-blade strike.
However, neither of them had any interest in the fight. Corinne shared what she could disclose from the past few days.
It turned out that Mr. Braiden was indeed an external informant for SI:7. On that day, the People's Militia of Westfall had given him a secret letter regarding the Defias Brotherhood to be delivered to Stormwind. Unfortunately, the meeting had been witnessed by a Defias thug. The thug followed Mr. Braiden back to his residence, leading to the scene Wayne had witnessed.
Fortunately, the organization had decrypted the contents of the letter overnight. While the specific details couldn't be revealed, one thing was certain: there was a mole for the Defias rebels within Stormwind City, and their status was quite high.
More importantly, that mole was involved in the Defias rebels' criminal operation of kidnapping a certain "Diplomat" from Stormwind.
At the mention of the word "Diplomat," Wayne instantly recalled the infamously long questline "The Missing Diplomat." Naturally, he knew who this "Diplomat" was.
Wayne wanted to ask more about the letter, but Corinne immediately changed the subject. She indicated that if he wanted her to say more, Wayne would have to do more.
Corinne knew her own worth, but she also stated that it was precisely because of Wayne's performance that she was here.
She had two purposes for this visit: "First, my superiors asked me to convey their gratitude for you securing that important secret letter at a critical moment. They also invite you to join us."
Wayne was shocked. "You want me... to become an agent too?!"
Corinne nodded. Although her mind was on serious topics, she was momentarily stunned by the Pegasus Meteor Punch Seiya unleashed against Cassios in the arena. "You... this... what is this?"
Wayne was used to this reaction by now. "Don't pay it much mind. This is just the very beginning of the basics. If you watch through to the end—to the Hades Chapter—you'll find that what's happening now is just child's play."
Corinne couldn't help but wipe some sweat from her forehead. Watching the giant Cassios collapse instantly, she returned to the topic. "Yes. You... being able to fight to a draw with Master Shaw made the few agents who know about it find it hard to believe. Although SI:7 is primarily composed of rogues, the Master doesn't mind having a powerful mage like you join our ranks."
Wayne sneered inwardly. Mage... mage my foot...
He asked aloud, "What are the benefits of joining the organization?"
Corinne: "You can know many things you otherwise wouldn't. For instance, what else was written in the letter you just asked about. If you're willing to join, I can tell you."
Wayne: "Is that it? No rewards or anything?"
Corinne: "If you join, the Master has agreed to let you start directly as a 'Middle Finger' level agent. There's a monthly stipend of 15 gold. Of course, when there are no missions, you can continue running your net cafe, just like how Erlan runs his cheese business."
Wayne extended his fingers, folding them back one by one as if calculating the 15 gold. Finally, only his right middle finger remained extended, and he held it up. "You want me to be this?"
Corinne nodded. Of course, in the World of Warcraft, this gesture held no special meaning...
Wayne: "And the price? What's the catch?"
Corinne: "You need to carry out missions. The higher the agent's level, the more arduous the missions tend to be."
Wayne: "Alright, I've made up my mind. I'm not doing it."
Corinne wasn't terribly surprised, but she still froze for a second. "That fast? You don't want to think about it?"
Wayne: "I just run a net cafe. I'm not interested in those things. What happened that day was a pure accident. I was actually going to see Mr. Braiden to ask if they would sell the timber yard. I wanted to buy it to open a larger, more spacious net cafe."
Corinne nodded slowly. "I did hear about that. That's what you told Dughan when you explained the events of that day."
Wayne: "You can even see the security reports?"
Corinne smiled slightly. "As long as the organization wishes, there is nothing we cannot see. Besides, that timber yard is the organization's property. There's no reason the Marshal's report wouldn't pass through us."
Wayne: "My god... it's practically on par with the FBI."
Corinne: "What is... the FBI?"
Wayne quickly changed the subject. "What was the second point? You only mentioned the first."
Reminded by this, Corinne's brow furrowed. "The Master asked me to tell you that while he doesn't doubt your strength, 'hidden arrows are harder to dodge than open spears.' Someone in Stormwind Keep has their eye on you, believing your appearance poses a threat to them."
"While this point baffles the Master, and the situation is currently stable, he still hopes you will be careful."
Fragments of quests and plotlines from his past gaming life flashed through Wayne's mind.
Although it was currently early October in the year 24 of the Dark Portal, he was well aware of the major events that would unfold in this world over the next three to five years.
Hearing that Mr. Braiden's farm was SI:7 property only piqued his interest further.
He turned to Corinne and said, "I know something that your Master will be very, very interested in. But now, it's my turn to make demands."