Jake could always ignore Frederick's call. He didn't owe anything to him, after all. So, he was eager to do that and just look for another base… but then he would lose the chance to sell the loot that he obtained. Besides, Frederick wouldn't call a non-guild member to talk if he didn't have a good reason… it was probably related to the incident with those three shitheads. In the end, he decided to think about it for a while.
"... I will take my herbs with me just in case and select a map where I won't be bothered by anyone," Jake thought, and then he began to get his herbs and leaves.
Every time Jake saw that guild, he felt like they weren't bad people, but he still felt weird. He didn't know if it was due to those dreams, the possible ghost haunting him, or for some other reason, but it was better to avoid them from now on. With that in mind, Jake headed toward their base while thinking of just hearing what they wanted to say and then moving on as soon as possible. His annoyance was hard to miss or hide, so the people around could only frown while looking at him
Weirdly enough, nake saw many people heading to the same location while he got close to the area. Most of them were in small groups, and they didn't look like members of large guilds. Some of them were even people like Jake, who preferred to operate alone. Jake wasn't the one who got invited apparently...
"Luke… That asshole… He probably finds many ways to contact people and make them his acquaintances," Jake thought.
It was weird to think that someone so annoying could have so many friends, or at least people willing to listen to him and his guild master. As if they were waiting for a lot more people to come, the people of that camp had made a platform for their leaders to address many people. With that in mind, Jake decided to hide behind some big guys wearing heavy armor. That way, no one will bother him once he leaves. Those types of reunions were a good chance to hide and gather intel from other people since no one would be able to discover who was trying to check their status in such a massive crowd.
"This kind of thing… Is the perfect moment for assholes to infiltrate… I guess this was a poor choice of words," Jake thought. "Still, they must have considered that since a lot of their members are here guarding the buildings and the entrance."
Jake looked around, but he didn't find Lana, Louise, and Karina. It didn't seem like they would be hunting at such an apparently important moment, but that probably would be for the best. They didn't have much experience fighting without a tank to get the aggro of all monsters, so they needed to obtain as much experience as possible.
"My apologies for calling all of you so suddenly, and I am thankful for coming for this meeting this fast," Frederick said after he stepped forward on the high platform he had made. "Recently, I obtained information that some humans are starting to cause trouble in many worlds. While that wasn't something unheard of since we all came here, things are starting to get out of hand. Many tribes of other species have been attacked and slaughtered for apparent no reason, and while we were investigating this, we obtained information that an entire kingdom of a certain world has been completely destroyed by human hands."
The people there began to murmur after hearing that. Jake furrowed his eyebrows since that wasn't the power that those two were supposed to have… unless they joined a bigger organization. It wasn't hard to imagine that all the scum would eventually find each other and work to only cause problems for other humans.
"With that in mind, I would like you all to pass any information that you might have about anyone suspicious to guild masters that you trust," Frederick added. "Also, it will be dangerous for those who hunt solo in small groups. I would advise you all to join a larger group, at least for a while, until we find a way to deal with this problem. This might sound a bit high-handed, but we need to work together to solve this as soon as possible. We can't let our reputations as species get worse when some other species already dislike us. We are trying to solve things with diplomacy and hunting those criminals. Still, we can only achieve so much without making progress improving things by ourselves."
Jake knew that diplomacy was important, but he wasn't patient enough to rely on that. Besides, he was too rude to have any skills when it comes to that. He was also pretty distrustful of strangers, even if they had a good reputation. Nevertheless, things were getting serious again, so he wondered what he should focus on… he wouldn't follow Frederick's advice to join another group. That would be too much of a pain.
"I will be counting on all your help for us to endure and pass through these trials as soon as possible," Frederick said.
In the end, Frederick didn't have much to say, but he called all those people because they would need to talk to themselves and reach their own conclusions about that problem. They weren't his guild members, so he couldn't give them orders. As for Jake, he wasn't interested in either.
"I can't just focus on hunting those guys since they can be in any part of the universe, and cooperating with others will take too much of my freedom," Jake thought. "I suppose I can only keep hunting and getting stronger while working as a bait to lure them. If those two joined a larger group, I would eventually be targeted. When that happens, I'd better be prepared for it."
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