by Rick Scar
“Good.” Upon seeing the message that the whole forest had been cleansed, Will took out the bamboo flute he had received a long time ago, and activated it. The flute glowed an enchanting green color, and the cave walls, which had been mutilated by the curse, started restoring themselves before the companions’ eyes, with beautiful flowers blossoming all around them.
Here I come! A pretty little thing appeared before Will, smiling happily and showing all her teeth, her small arms spread wide. But no one could hear her mental greeting. Realizing that, the little dryad sniffed, trying not to cry, and muttered mentally: I wish I were an adult. I wish I were an adult. I wish I were an adult.
“Hi, Ukumi.” Looking at this little girl, who lived in his sweet and funny memories, the rogue picked her up and said, “I have cleansed your forest. Please show me the way to your mother.”
After hearing this news, the little dryad instantly livened up and clapped her tiny hands, smiling. Daltaro came up and patted her on the head. “Hi, grown woman, raised by her sisters. Long time, no see.”
Ukumi raised her nose proudly and nodded, accepting the compliment.
Nanel stared at the tiny creature in silent admiration, while Rinnah leaned in for a scrutinizing look. “What a small thing.”
The dryad’s fists shot up instantly to punch the offender. If Will hadn’t been holding her, she would probably have fallen to the ground. You overgrown bully.
After three hours of walking, they reached the Green Lagoon. Once the passage opened, Nanel and Rinnah, who had been warned in advance, entered it. It was the ladies’ first time there, so neither Will nor Daltaro wanted to rush them on to the senior dryad’s home and let them take the time to marvel at the wonder of natural beauty that was the dryads’ settlement.
“Hello, White Raven. Greetings to all your friends.” Upon seeing such a big group of strangers, the senior priestess examined each one. Her eyes landed on Hades. Seated on top of the dog’s head was her daughter, who was waving her hands happily.
“Get off. Behave like a priestess.” Drawing some air in and exhaling slowly, the senior dryad said, “I am very grateful to you for rescuing our forest. There is lots that I could say, but you probably already know what a wonderful thing you have done. Please accept this reward.”
Attention! You have cleansed the Taargada Forest.
Rewards:
+50,000 XP
Friend of Dryads (Title)
The Dryads’ approval up to Admiration
The Ying-Yang tree bark
A unique potion recipe: The Great Forest Spirit
The Ying-Yang tree bark
Rank: Epic
Description: A valuable resource for crafting and upgrading your gear.
Recipe: The Great Forest Spirit
Rank: Unique
Description: A recipe for creating a potion summoning the Great Forest Spirit.
Activation: Spill the potion on the ground and say: We need you, O Great Spirit.
Title: Friend of Dryads
You are allowed into local shops to buy and sell items.
And no skills for me? Will went over the messages several times, but there was no mention of any skills being awarded. Since this quest had not been assigned to him in a regular way, he didn’t realize he wouldn’t get any. The rewards were fairly good but he had still expected at least a few handy skills.
“It was my pleasure to help you, Priestess. May I ask one question?”
“As a friend of our people, you may ask any questions you like.” The little, childlike woman’s eyes stopped on Raven.
“I will be honest with you. My goal is to become stronger. That’s why I’m looking for some particular skills: rare or unique. I would trade my rewards for one of those. Please tell me, Priestess, do you have any such skills?”
The priestess shook her head. “Forgive me, Raven. We are dryads. And any skills we have are for dryads only. I am sorry.”
“I… I understand.” Making his peace with this situation, Will closed the messages. “May I help you with anything else?”
“You may ask my sisters. They will probably appreciate your help.”
Oh. That doesn’t always work, Will thought as he parted with the priestess.
“Good luck, messenger. May the Forest keep you safe.”
Chapter 214. Meeting of the Allies
W ill was sitting on the edge of his capsule. He blinked twice, then headed for the kitchen, yawning as he went. He wished someone would invent pills he could take instead of eating actual food for proper nourishment. After opening the fridge and seeing it was empty (he had forgotten to buy any food the day before), Will just decided to order take-out and relax a bit.
His father had already been examined and was in a good hospital, and Leah was working on a new business plan. Will had no idea what exactly she was planning; she wouldn’t answer any of his questions.
While he waited for the delivery, he did a little exercise and took a shower. As soon as he sat down to browse the forums, the doorbell rang.
“That’ll be my dinner.” Will picked up the money and walked to the door, still shirtless, and opened it without even looking in the peephole.
“Hi, Will.”
“Sarah?!”
Smiling sweetly, she glanced at his bare chest. “In your Sunday best, I see. How nice of you.”
“You’re not the delivery guy,” Will blurted out.
“Was that meant as a compliment? Will you let me in, anyway?”
“Ah, yes. Sorry. I’m waiting for some take-out to be delivered.” After closing the door behind his guest, Will went to the kitchen. “Tea or coffee?”
“Coffee, please. Am I disturbing you?”
“No, it’s okay. I was just waiting for the delivery.”
“Good.”
“So, what can I do for you?” Will put the kettle on and then sat down across from her.
“I was going to come right after you triggered that global event, but I was too busy at the time.”
“Oh, I see. Craving some comments from the horse’s mouth, were you?”
“Sort of.” She nodded at his bare chest. “Are you going to put a shirt on?”
“They’re all in the wash.”
“All?”
“I only have two t-shirts and one hoodie, so yeah, I put them all in.”
“Oh, I see. Could you tell me a little more about the quest? How did you get it? Where? Any details you can give me. Everyone is dying to know.”
There was another ring at the doorbell.
“Hold on a sec. I hope it’s the delivery guy.”
***
“Why couldn’t you discuss this over the phone?” Will asked, unwrapping his meal.
“Because it wasn’t the only thing I wanted to discuss with you.” Sarah took a sip of her hot drink and looked at him. “We’re getting lots of emails from people asking what happened when you visited the priestess, and who that companion is that’s following you in the most recent videos. As per the contract you signed with us, we are obliged to demand answers.”
“Sure. I remember. But still, that’s no reason for you to come in person. What does your boss really want?”
She shook her head and smirked. “You’re right. Too much time has passed since we last met. I forgot just how smart you are. Good. As you can probably guess, I play Ascension too.”
“Come on, it would be weird if you didn’t.”
“My sources tell me that you are one of the key figures in the upcoming battle with the bloody Ifrit. Our offer is quite simple. I want an exclusive video report from the battlefield… or rather a live broadcast.”
Will put his spoon back into his soup. “But you can’t do live broadcasts in this game.”
“We haven’t publicly announced it yet, but… a negotiation with the devs opened this opportunity up for us.”
“If that’s true, your broadcast will make a fortune. You understand that the TOP clans will want their share, don’t you?
”
“I’ve spoken to all four of them. The broadcast revenue will be split between us, the clans, and you.”
“You negotiated behind my back?” Will’s brows knitted together. “What the hell?”
“I just got the clans’ consent to the broadcast. If you have no objections, we will discuss the distribution of profits at the general meeting tomorrow. Mollie told me you’d be going back to Floor 3 two days before the event. Unfortunately, my boss can’t wait that long. There are only four days left until the battle. It’s time to start advertising our broadcast so more people will find out about it and buy tickets.”
“Actually, I’ve already finished what I had wanted to do.”
“Yeah. Everyone has seen already. Congrats, by the way. Level 103 is cool.”
Will finished his meal and wiped his lips with the back of his hand. “By the way, I have a question. Have you got any more emails like that one you showed me during the interview?”
“I can’t tell you that. Sorry.” She shrugged, looking disappointed. “So, what do you say?”
“I have no objections. When and where are we meeting?”
***
Once he had returned to the game, Raven parted with Ukumi and headed for his palace. Rinnah and Daltaro had already set off to their home; Nanel was busy honing the new skills she had gained through that crazy clean-up operation.
“Hi, Emin. Missed me?” Will shook the captain’s hand and sat down across from him. Once again his old friend had his nose buried in his papers. “You must be getting rusty. Every time I come here I see you at your desk. A real bookworm.”
“Please don’t joke about that, my king,” Emin smiled bitterly. “If I don’t do it, who will? Your plans need thorough preparations. By the way, thanks to the measures you’ve already implemented, the treasury is now getting more money. Have you noticed?”
“Shame on me, but I haven’t.” The rogue opened the state management menu, opened the treasury folder in a few clicks, and saw exactly what the captain was talking about. “Now I have. Any urgent news?”
“No. But there is some troubling news.”
“Troubling? They must be really bad if it troubles you.”
“We have been receiving some reports about the Latians making some suspicious moves. From the border where the wall is being erected.”
“Suspicious? What are they doing?”
“It’s still difficult to see the whole picture, but they seem to be preparing a coup.”
“Are they gathering an army?” Will tensed up. He had foreseen something like that, but at that moment he was still only halfway through his war preparations.
“No. Not yet. But they are moving in large numbers to the Monarch’s Door. They seem to be after the ring.”
“What happens if they get it? Will they be able to overthrow me?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. The previous cases of ring possession all happened during the times of unrest and disorder. The Holy Empire was torn apart by a civil war. In the Shakhra’Maer tribe, the late chief’s heir was murdered by unknown assassins.”
“But you and Daltaro told me this ring has the power to make anyone a ruler, regardless of any resistance. That was the foundation of my plan. Why haven’t you told me this before?” Raven paced up and down across Emin’s office.
“I… I didn’t think it was important. Perhaps it can you only make you a ruler in those states that need a single, strong leader.”
Will crashed his fist on the table. “Damn you, Emin. Do you remember our last talk? Do you remember the kingdom we mentioned then?”
“Yes. The kingdom of Distrik.”
“That’s the one. And why did we mention it?”
“As I told you then, they have two gold mines, and another mine of extremely rare, magic metals,” Emin repeated, looking up at the ceiling.
“But now we have another problem. I can’t be sure that the Latians won’t just replace me behind my back.”
“My king…”
“Emin, stop that,” Will interrupted with a short wave of his hand. He couldn’t blame Emin or Daltaro for his own mistake. He had been intoxicated by the opportunities the ring could open to him and had given absolutely no thought to the possibility of someone using it to dethrone him. “All right. I’m calm. I’m really calm. I don’t blame you, but our plans need revising and… and let’s just hope for the best. Anything else?” Will sat down in the armchair and prepared to listen.
***
They spent the next hour discussing Adamarona’s finances and internal politics, giving orders, and sending couriers to each corner of the country.
Raven’s head was buzzing. When, after signing the last document, he stretched himself out, his bones crunched.
“I’m coming back to the third floor. You’re in charge, as usual.”
“Yes, my king. I wish you a good battle.”
“Oh, you already know? Nanel told you?”
“Yes.”
“That girl can’t keep her mouth shut.” Will shook his head and set off for the portal to meet the clan leaders.
***
The allies met in a large tent on the future battlefield, in the middle of the military camp constructed by RD and some other clans. Named the Abode of Silence, this location was formed of a large bay surrounded by rows of tall rocks that stretched out for about a mile. The enemy was expected to come from the Laa-Garah Sea. Fortuna’s Grin and their NPCs were to take the right flank, the Faceless Army was on the left, and the fourth clan, Messengers of Heavens, was to attack the enemies back on their ships. RD were in the vanguard, taking the greatest risk… and therefore, the greatest rewards.
“Hi everyone. Sorry I’m late.” Will looked at the two leaders he had not yet been introduced to. They were both male characters: the Faceless Army’s leader was a human and the Messengers’ a member of the Fallen race, in other words, half-human, half-giant. This race had an interesting story. When he had first joined the game, Raven had considered playing as a Fallen, but they were too slow, even at high levels and with acceleration gear. The upsides were thick skin and a strong physical resistance.
Will couldn’t work out which classes their characters were as they were both wearing regular clothing. The Faceless leader’s nickname was Gloomy Hangman; the other man called himself Son of Hercules.
Another unfamiliar character, but familiar person, was a Vanarian lady. Will couldn’t imagine how much time you’d have to spend in the character editor to make such a beautiful insect. The name displayed over her head was Reporter and hiding beneath it was Sarah.
Both leaders were staring back at him, particularly Gloomy Hangman, who was probably remembered the losses his clan had suffered at Will’s hands during the lake battle.
“Hi.”
“Hello.”
After greeting Will, Mollie continued from where she had left off: “So, we’ve discussed and revised the main plan many times already. Now, each of us must come up with their own Plan B, just in case the Ifrit’s strategy deviates drastically from what we’re expecting. We’re expecting the enemy to go through three stages of transformation. Our plan is for the fourth stage. I will send it later as an attachment. Raven, are you familiar with Plan A?”
“Yes. I read it. And, since I was absent when you drafted it, I would like to discuss one thing with all of you, except for Reporter.”
Son of Hercules shook his head disapprovingly. “Oh, here comes a brazen one. We’ve considered so many options that I’m at a loss as to where I should even begin explaining them to you.”
“No problem, then. So, you’ve considered what to do if the Ifrit appears to have the Duke rank.”
“Yes. We have. But, honestly, that would mean many, many people will get killed.” Berserker stared at the sprawled out map and small, differently colored figures representing the clans that were displayed on it.
“As I just told you, we’ve considered all possible scenarios.” The half-giant was resting
on a pillar that was supporting the tent. “And, since you were the first to bring it up: can we hear what sort of help you will be providing exactly? We know each other’s skills, at least most of them, but not yours. Except the few we saw in your videos.”
The silence inside the meeting tent was growing tense. Will preferred not to disclose his skills to everybody; not just as a matter of personal safety, but also because he wasn’t sure any of them could be of any use against such a formidable boss.
“I will go to battle in the first lines. That’s all you need to know.”
“You’re hiding information from us even at a time like this,” Hangman said accusingly.
“My skills don’t really matter. The only advantage I can add to your plan comes from me making the first move. I have a skill which allows me to ask any creature three questions that they will have to answer. We just have to come up with the questions.”
“What are you going to ask him about? How to get to the library? Ha, ha. What a ridiculous skill.”
Will glanced at Son of Hercules and replied, half-closing his eyes: “Seriously. How the hell did you become a leader?”
“WHAT?”
“Am I the only one here who can see the value of my skill? The enemy will not attack while it is active, and we will be able to know its weak points before the battle even begins.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this before?” Mollie grumbled, apparently finally seeing the value Will was talking about. As a matter of fact, this skill – and the information about the enemy it provided – could decide the outcome of the battle.
“I only got it recently.”
“Then let’s make most of it.”
Sarah smiled silently as she watched this discussion, looking forward to the great battle that was about to break out in the Abode of Silence.
