Volume 1, Chapter 24 – The Eight Great Factions (Part 2)

In other words, the relationship between the girl before her and the so-called Sanctuary was simply that of an employer and an employee.

Even though her body and some of her habits had changed, Tianyin still retained the mindset of a normal person.

So after hearing Yivrea’s explanation, she understood right away.

“So that means you’re not actually part of the Sanctuary’s faction, right?”

“Correct. But since I already called you Xiaoyin, you can just call me Rea.”

“Mm, got it.”

Tianyin nodded in understanding.

“Then, since Rea isn’t part of the Sanctuary, which faction do you belong to?”

“That question, huh?”

Yivrea smiled softly.

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“Actually, I don’t belong to any faction. If I had to say, I’d probably be… factionless neutral, I suppose?”

“Factionless neutral?”

“Yeah. If I’m not mistaken, Xiaoyin, you’re probably factionless neutral too, right?”

“Eh, I’m not really sure about that…”

Tianyin looked a little lost. She had thought the so-called factions were simply the divisions of power across the entire game world. But what exactly did “factionless” mean?

And besides…

The girl in front of her, Yivrea, gave Tianyin a very unusual feeling. Although she knew Yivrea was an NPC in this game world, her intelligence and awareness were practically on par with a real human being.

For a moment, Tianyin even felt as if this world might actually be another real world.

“Anyway, being factionless neutral makes life very tough in this world~”

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“Tough?”

“Of course. Being factionless means we have to bow and scrape before the Eight Great Factions. And on top of that, those factions don’t exactly welcome us factionless neutrals either…”

The conversation suddenly took on a heavier tone.

“That’s exactly why people like us are often hired by the major powers. Doing so gives us the protection of those factions, even if only indirectly~”

“Eh, if that’s the case, then why not just join one of those factions? Wouldn’t that solve the problem once and for all?”

Tianyin asked, clearly confused. After all, that seemed like the most reasonable course of action.

“Xiaoyin, it seems you really don’t understand how the Eight Great Factions work.”

“Eh… is that not how it works?”

Yivrea responded with a gentle smile.

“It’s not that simple, Xiaoyin~”

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“You see, the Eight Great Factions consist of: the Sanctuary, the Academy that centers around magic, the Stronghold of beastmen, the Fortress of dwarves, the Kingdom of humans, the Nature faction of elves, the Inferno composed of devils and demons from the underworld, and finally, the Graveyard, made up of the dead and undead.”

“Each of the Eight Great Factions has its own unique ideology and core race. Most of us neutrals don’t fit into any of those categories. So even if we wanted to join, it wouldn’t make a difference.”

In short, as factionless neutrals, there were all sorts of restrictions that made joining other factions nearly impossible.

Basically, it was just how this game world had been designed…

“I see…”

Once she understood the key point, Tianyin wisely stopped asking about joining other factions.

“Then, Rea, among the Eight Great Factions you just mentioned, which ones are the strongest?”

Since she couldn’t easily join any faction, Tianyin shifted her curiosity toward another topic.

She was quite interested in how powerful each faction was.

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“Hmm, as for which of the Eight Great Factions is the strongest, I can’t say for sure… but I remember that thousands of years ago, there was a great war when the Inferno invaded the Main World, and the remaining seven factions had to join forces to fight back. So, if I had to guess, the Inferno was probably the strongest faction.”

“The Inferno, huh?”

Images of clawed, snarling devils and grotesque demons filled Tianyin’s mind.

“Well, that’s quite a lot I’ve said already. I didn’t really go into much detail about the Eight Great Factions, though. Xiaoyin, do you still want to keep listening?”

“Mm-hm, I do.”

Tianyin nodded.

So, for the rest of the time, Tianyin sat on her chair, sipping the black tea Yivrea had prepared for her, listening intently to her detailed explanations about the Eight Great Factions.

By the time the outside world had grown dim, their long conversation had finally come to an end.