Chapter 6 – The Birth of the Three Burning Eye
Yggdrasil's night sky shimmered like liquid code. Streams of aurora light bled through fractured constellations, as if the world itself was still debugging reality.
I stood on the edge of the neutral zone in Vanaheim, the humid jungle fading into a stone clearing that overlooked the valley. It was the perfect meeting place — remote, low monster density, and wrapped in mist thick enough to hide a small army.
Tonight was the first meeting.
And I wasn't showing up as myself.
I cloaked my avatar in a simple illusion — nothing flashy.
No glowing eyes, no wings, no telltale aura.
Just a tall human figure in a black hooded coat, faint shimmer on the hem, and a mask that covered the lower half of my face.
To anyone scanning my data, I was just "Traveler_R," Level 35 Human Spellcaster.
The perfect disguise.
HIME: "Camouflage integrity: ninety-nine percent. Estimated detection chance: below one percent."
"Perfect," I whispered. "Now let's see if these kids are worth the trouble."
The first to arrive was Kurohane, just like her forum schedule predicted.
Her avatar was an obsidian-haired human with sharp crimson eyes and mechanical wings — not for flying, just decoration.
She was known in the beta community for her analysis threads, dissecting spell frames like she was reverse-engineering reality.
She waved lazily as she approached. "So, you're the mysterious recruiter who slid into my DMs. Nice hood. Very dramatic."
I chuckled. "Gotta keep the mystique alive."
"Right. So what's this about? You said it wasn't a raid group."
"Not exactly. You'll see soon."
Then came EchoLynx — beastman type, all white fur and half-smirk. His ears twitched as he scanned the area.
"Man, you weren't kidding about 'off the grid.' I had to dodge five elite mobs just getting here."
"Consider it a test of commitment," I replied.
He grinned. "Cute. If I died, would that make me fail or pass?"
"Depends on how funny your death animation was."
"Fair point."
One by one, they arrived — some cautious, some curious, one who accidentally tripped a monster spawn and screamed over voice chat until I turned it off.
By the time everyone was assembled, there were nine of us in total.
Kurohane the analyst.
EchoLynx the data-miner.
Rin_0, an elf with freakish luck in drop rates.
Solt, the silent blacksmith who barely spoke but somehow typed entire essays in the chat.
A twin duo named Dyna and Vex, who specialized in glitch-hunting.
An undead cleric called Mourne, obsessed with lore.
A halfling trader, Pix, who could smell profitable data from three servers away.
And me.
Just Traveler_R.
They were rowdy, mismatched, and maybe a little insane — but brilliant in their own ways.
EchoLynx leaned against a rock, tail flicking. "So, boss — what's your deal? You're the one who pulled all this together, right?"
"'Boss' is a strong word," I said. "Let's go with coordinator."
"Sounds suspiciously like a boss."
"Then I'm a boss who takes notes."
When they asked about my level, I deflected, but Kurohane wasn't fooled.
She scanned my aura with a low-tier detection spell. "Wait… no way. You're at least fifty, aren't you?"
The group fell silent.
Even EchoLynx's ears froze mid-twitch.
"Level fifty? Already? Dude, that's like… double my grind output," Dyna said.
"Triple mine," added Pix.
I shrugged casually. "I'm just efficient. Observation beats repetition."
Kurohane whistled. "Efficient? That's an understatement. You've broken the XP curve."
I just smiled under the mask. "I prefer to think of it as… strategic pattern recognition."
They peppered me with questions. "How do you level so fast?" "Do you exploit weaknesses?" "Do you macro farm?"
I didn't give them the whole truth — but I gave them pieces.
"I watch my opponents. Learn their strengths, their timing, their cooldown windows. Then I build around it — race, class, items, all tailored to counter. The trick isn't to fight harder. It's to fight smarter."
EchoLynx nodded thoughtfully. "So it's like chess, but the board's alive."
"Exactly. And I don't let anyone know which piece I am until it's too late."
Kurohane leaned in, intrigued. "You hide your race, don't you?"
"Something like that," I said smoothly. "An illusionist never reveals all his tricks."
Her eyes glinted. "Respect."
Once everyone settled down, I finally explained the reason for this meeting.
"This isn't a raid team," I began. "It's not a guild for glory, or loot, or PK records. What I want to build is a network. A circle that trades in something far more valuable than gold — information."
Mourne tilted his skeletal head. "Information?"
"Think about it," I continued. "Yggdrasil isn't just a game — it's a world. Every line of code, every AI behavior, every bug — all of it has value.
"The devs built a system that rewards discovery. There are hidden races, skills, world items, and event triggers buried in this place. Whoever controls information controls progress.
"So that's what we'll do."
Pix's eyes sparkled like coins. "You mean we'll sell it?"
I smirked. "Precisely. Data brokerage. We find secrets, we verify them, we trade them. Information for resources, contacts, rare drops.
"We don't need to be the strongest fighters. We just need to know things others don't."
EchoLynx chuckled. "So we're becoming info dealers. Sounds shady. I like it."
"Better than being broke," said Rin_0.
Kurohane crossed her arms. "Knowledge as currency… I can work with that. But what's the catch?"
"No catch," I said. "We share findings. Everyone contributes. Everyone benefits."
Solt finally spoke, his voice low and mechanical. "You're proposing a decentralized knowledge economy."
"…Yes," I admitted. "That, but fun."
We spent hours planning that night — discussing data management, secure chat systems, encryption for trade deals, and of course, what to call ourselves.
Suggestions were… chaotic.
"Data Hawks!" said Pix.
"No, no, 'The Archive,'" offered Kurohane.
"Too boring," said Dyna. "We need something cooler. Edgier."
"Something that sounds like it could either save the world or burn it down," EchoLynx added helpfully.
I stayed quiet for a while, watching the flicker of our campfire in the mist.
Then it came to me.
"The Three Burning Eye," I said softly.
Everyone turned.
"Three?" asked Rin_0.
"Past, present, and future," I explained. "The three kinds of truth every world tries to hide. We'll uncover them all."
For a long moment, no one said anything.
Then Kurohane smiled. "Okay, that's actually badass."
EchoLynx raised a paw. "All in favor?"
One by one, hands lifted.
Unanimous.
[System Message: Guild 'Three Burning Eye' Created.]
The moment the notification appeared, I felt something click — not just in the game, but in me.
A network forming, a pulse connecting nine minds through data and curiosity.
We weren't heroes.
We weren't villains.
We were observers, archivists, opportunists.
The world of Yggdrasil was vast — and we'd just built the first map.
That night, after everyone logged off, HIME's voice drifted softly in my ear.
HIME: "Guild established successfully, Ren-sama. Emotional pattern: pride detected."
"Not pride," I said. "Anticipation."
HIME: "Projected success rate?"
"Unknown," I whispered. "But that's what makes it fun."
Outside the dome, the world was gray and dying.
Inside the server, nine sparks burned like data-born stars.
And together, we were about to set Yggdrasil on fire.
End of Chapter 6 – The Birth of the Three Burning Eye