by Rick Scar
“What have you done? What have you done, my queen?”
If only he knew it wasn’t his wife who had gone mad… Unfortunately, no one who had seen the old hag that day had lived to tell the story.
***
Lich Arm
Type: Trophy
Description: A fortunate coincidence prevented the lich Varkul de Mosk to take your arm as a guarantee of your loyalty. Trying to do that, he lost his own arm, and his staff.
Confused about what he was to make of a trophy like that, Raven put it into his inventory and took a look at the staff.
The Otherworldly Staff of Maniarta
Rank: Unique
Level: 180+
Race: Undead
Specialization: Demi-Lich, Dead Anarch, Afterlord*, Drago-Lich*
Description: There are many rumors about Maniarta’s identity. Some say she was a loyal servant of Lady Death until the separation of worlds prevented her from coming back to her lady. Others believe that this is nothing but a legend invented by Maniarta who was just a mediocre necromancer. However, no one knows the truth.
Characteristics:
+600-720 necrotic energy damage
+40 Intelligence
+5 number of summoned undead of Baron rank
+2 number of summoned undead of Marquis rank
+1 unique skill: Death Rider Summons
Description: You can summon the mythical rider from the palace of Death.
Duration: 10 minutes
Cooldown: 1 month
+1 unique skill: Sufferer
Description: You can bring one living creature back from the afterworld. The summoned creature can stay in this world as long as their hands hold the staff.
Time to activate: 24 hours
Limitation: Can’t be used twice on the same creature.
Afterlord? Drago-Lich? Will was astonished to see a mention of two specializations that he had never heard of before. Just like his own, they were marked by an asterisk.
Well, it doesn’t really match my build... So... Also, the Mental Vermin seems to have worn off... Varkul’s death must’ve removed its effect...
After a brief thought, Will decided to examine the pile of bones, although there wasn’t much hope of finding anything useful.
As expected, he found nothing. He had already obtained all the valuable loot that Varkul had had.
If he was to be honest, he was disappointed by this. He wondered what reward he could have received if he had accepted the quest.
I was going to visit the tablet anyway. The reward would’ve probably been better than this staff I can’t even use. Only sell or exchange for something.
As he walked out of the castle, he suddenly realized that the building was now vacant.
Is there any way to make it mine? he wondered as he looked at the black walls. How could he take control over a property that had no master?
This problem was interesting, but not high on his list of priorities. The Raging Heavenly Snakes Plateau should’ve been close, but Will preferred not to start the tablet’s challenge immediately.
Round Four begins tomorrow. If I leave the tablet’s challenge for it, I’ll have to wait a month before I can try again.
Another problem to solve was the Locket’s respawn point. Just as Will had suspected, the last spot saved by the item was next to the Abode of Silence where he had fought the Bloody Ifrit.
Even if the Locket could teleport him to Floor Three, there would definitely be no way back. At least not a sure one. Technically, his personal royal teleport could handle a trip between Floors as it had been created exactly for this purpose. Will had used it several times while his space tunnel had been open.
But what if using the portal had only been possible thanks to the tunnel?
Pondering, Will eventually concluded that his tunnel was a miniature version of an inter-Floor gate that enabled players and NPCs to travel between Floors. The tunnel created by his shroud-breaking claw operated on the same principle as the gates, except it was illegal, and opened a way to any Floor.
The evidence was clear enough. If he got killed, there’d be no way back to his Floor.
“I hate missing out on an opportunity like that.” As Raven flew over the castle and landed on the other side, he was about to save, when he changed his mind.
Wait... I don’t have to rewrite it. I can…
The idea was simple, but it bound him to be more careful in his explorations. Following it, Will took off the Locket and put it into the inventory, temporarily refusing to use his emergency exit to Floor Three.
The world of Ascension was full of opportunities. In his travels, he could come across any sort of thing.
Such as creatures that can travel between Floors.
Will smiled at this thought and came up to a stone to create a new save. After doing that, he was about to move on when his Messenger Ring vibrated.
“What the…?”
He opened his inventory and browsed through the items that could possibly produce this sort of a signal, but his search didn’t last; a message popped up almost instantly.
He squinted at the lines. After a split second it took him to grasp their meaning, he gave a mental command activating the portal into his palace.
His arrival was noticed by everyone. Even the witches in their detached house could tell that something terrible had happened.
“NANEL! EMIN!” Will yelled, the message still hung in the air before his eyes, the lines blurred by rage.
Attention! The amplifying device for the Obedience Crystal will be destroyed in 23 hours and 59 minutes.
Chapter 263. Welcome to the Swarm
R aven dashed through the halls, crying out the names of his friend and wife, a whirlwind of emotions raging inside him. It was a mixture of confusion, bitterness, anger, and guilt. But out of all of them, fury dominated his mind, showing in his every step, and in his eyes.
He had no idea why he was this emotional. Why his inner beast had become more of an inner demon, craving to kill those who had hurt Nanel.
“Sire!” Emin rushed to meet him but stumbled when he saw the storm raging in the golden eyes that threatened to consume everyone that looked into them.
“Emin,” Raven growled, barely containing his fury so as not to vent it on his loyal friend. “You’re in charge of the palace! Where’s Nanel?”
“I can explain…”
Will heard him out without interrupting while struggling to curb his rage – but Emin’s words made him even more nervous.
Who could have the power to do that?
“We weren’t ready,” Emin summarized, but his face betrayed that he had more to say.
Seeing that, Raven paused for a few seconds.
“I know you have questions. But they’ll have to wait until we bring her back.”
“I understand.” After a moment of oppressive silence, Emin continued: “I don’t want to upset you even more, but there’s more news.”
Putting aside the question of why the queen looked like a Latian, Emin decided to report on the enemy and the moves they had made instead. He had no idea how Raven had learned about Nanel’s abduction, but he was glad that this news had reached him before it was too late.
“Don’t tell me that the Latians are attacking.”
“No. Just the opposite. Their forces have retreated to the border without attacking us.”
“The Swarm retreated?” Raven closed his eyes. His gut was telling him that this was somehow connected to Nanel’s abduction. The Swarm was the first place to look for her.
At least I can reach out to her once I come into the Bead’s range... Good thing I gave it to her... And that I remembered it.
“Alright.” Raven turned around and headed for the exit. “This doesn’t bode well, captain. We have to change our plans. Contact the intelligence and your officers. I’ll need our best soldiers and spies. By the way, where’s Rinnah?”
“Here I am, brother. I know what happened.” T
he Bruxa came out of the shadow silently and followed him.
“Good. Then you need no further explanations. Inform the Order, and send me any help you can.”
“What are you up to?” Rinnah drawled with suspicion as she stopped and stared into the withdrawing Raven’s back.
His answer made her swallow nervously.
“What I’ve promised. A war with the Swarm.” His words echoed through the halls. Who knew what the destruction-obsessed king’s plans would’ve resulted in…
…if it weren’t for the guardsman who ran up to him, waving his hands and screaming: “Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Sire! I… Forgive me. I…” Out of breath, he struggled to finish his report. It took him several long seconds to come to. “You have guests, Your Majesty.”
Will stopped to hear him out.
“What guests?”
“I... The Latians are asking for an audience.”
“Latians? They dare come here?! How many of them?! Where are they?!”
“In the reception hall. There’s two of them, sire.”
Due to all he had been through, he thought that they were probably messengers with a ransom request. Having such a valuable hostage as Nanel, they’d be stupid not to use her. However, several minutes later, he realized how awfully wrong he was. Nanel wasn’t a hostage. No. Time would only tell if she’d be a prisoner, or a sacrifice.
This came down upon him and his retinue like an avalanche, made them revise their plans once again, and re-consider what they already knew — or thought they knew — about the Swarm.
Had the two Latians came later, he would’ve launched the war he had been getting ready for the past couple of months. A bloody, pointless war whose victims would be beyond count, and consequences beyond estimation. It would’ve begun because of one Dolf.
But as Raven heard from the stuttering young Latian who was hiding behind her guard’s back (she looked ready to die, but not before she killed at least a few enemies), he realized that the possibility of rescuing Nanel AND making it in time for Round Four was slowly fading.
All effort invested in the tournament had been wasted.
The sense of injustice was gnawing at him, but he couldn’t possibly leave Nanel to her fate. He wanted another Floor for its tomb and tablet, but he could figure out another way to get them. Nanel was one and only. Up to that moment, he had been protecting her because he had use of her. But now... Now he felt different. He was unsure what was making him feel like this, but whatever it was, it had to be important as he put her life over winning the tournament.
As he made this decision, his sensitivity level changed again, although he didn’t notice it at the moment.
Current sensitivity level: 103%
***
The clock showed eleven in the evening. After Will took a break for a meal and a brief nap, he climbed back into the capsule. The decision to rescue Nanel (and the Swarm queen, according to what he had learned from the messenger) wasn’t the only one he had made that day. Because of the time limit, he resolved not to quit the game anymore while the timer was ticking.
On the map of his Floor, the Latian Empire looked like a near-perfect circle. The place where two hundred soldiers and spies headed by their king stood was two miles away from the Swarm’s border. It was known as the Tartil Peak, a place inhabited by sheep-like mobs that looked harmless, but were level eighty and above. Their single eyes were restlessly monitoring their surroundings. The moment someone came into their attack range, they began to bleat loudly, summoning their brethren and attacking the enemy with magic.
After cleansing the area (and getting a couple of miserable drops of XP as his reward because he had to share it with his allies), Raven took out his spyglass to look at the Latians patrolling the sky. The border itself was marked by small towers probably used by the patrols as resting places, connected by a phosphoric line painted on the ground.
Since not every Latian was an enemy, he preferred not to confront them directly. The soldiers were there to distract patrols, avoiding fights wherever possible, and the spies were tasked with cleaning up the next lines of defense for the king to pass through. All of them had gathered at the border the moment Emin passed Raven’s order.
By Raven’s side were the two Latian messengers, who instructed them on which path to take to avoid skirmishes, and told him about the Powder of True Light. Using this information, Will could craft bombs that could get rid of any magic below the Grandmaster rank for ten seconds within their range. These bombs were extremely expensive, but since Nanel’s life was at stake, Will spared no expenses, remembering the past when he had been making money off literally everything. That was when his connection with the witches came in extremely handy. He also remembered the day he met the Conclave members for the first time and subdued them.
Those were the times. No conspiracies. No wars. No large-scale queen-saving operations.
He took out a small oval item, the size of an orange, simply named Cleansing Bomb, which he then tossed onto his palm and turned to face the ten members of the Shadow Order standing behind him. He had put great hopes into them and their assistance. Each of them was a Senior Adept or higher. Sabina and Tessie in their golden robes – the two members he had met during his first visit to the Order – were there, too.
“Brothers and sisters,” he began. “We have a common goal. It’s time to put an end to the long-lasting conflict between our Order and the Swarm. You’re welcome to ask any questions you have. If there are none, we’ll set out.”
“I have a question.” A man with a long, drooping mustache and small horns all over his body stepped forward. He was rather short, and resembled an imp Raven had once met.
“Koltir. Speak.”
“We’ve gone over the plan, and we think that it might go awry… What concerns me the most is your wish to spare our enemies.” Despite his short stature, Koltir was a grown man. According to Rinnah, he was working his way toward becoming a Master. “You’re new to the Order. I don’t think you understand the kind of history we have with them. Even as a candidate for the Great Shadow title, you’re asking for too much. And as much I wish to support forming an alliance, or at least signing a peace treaty with them,” he smirked, “the losses suffered by both sides are too great to bury the hatchet so quickly.”
“I haven’t heard your question, brother,” Raven said, tilting his head to the side as he examined Koltir.
“I haven’t asked it yet. We – or at least, I – have come to your aid because you’re one of us. Most of us, however, came because Rinnah told us that you were getting ready for a war with the Swarm. That’s a crazy plan, by all accounts, but I like the idea of intimidating them and killing a couple of them as a warning for the others. So, my question is simple: why can’t we kill them? Hm? I know, I know, it’s to show that we come with friendly intentions. But why should we be the ones to make the first step toward peace? Hm?”
As Raven looked him over, suppressing the urge to punch him in the face for the stupid “hm?” he added at the end of each question, he kept tossing the Bomb up in the air and catching it. The question was actually a good one, but Will had already answered it two hours ago when Rinnah had come back from the Order, bringing more of its members with her.
Catching the Bomb in the air once again, Raven sighed.
The fucking clock is ticking. I’ll have a hard time making it to the heart of the Swarm alone. He needed a distraction. Many, many distractions. And no one but the Order was better suited for this task.
“Koltir, I’ve explained it before. Why do you keep pretending you haven’t heard it?”
“You’re right about someone having to put a stop to this war. But since when is that a reason to befriend the flies? Hm?”
“I’m not asking you to befriend them. You’re free to hole up in your castle and live as you’ve lived before. But I doubt that that’d make the Great Founder proud.”
“And you know that how? Hm?”
“Unlike yo
u, I have spoken to him.” Raven dropped his act of a leader meeting his followers halfway. He squatted for his eyes to be level with Koltir’s and hissed, looking into his eyes: “When I take his place, the Order will leave the shadows.”
“Leave the shadows?!” the people exclaimed, looking at each other in confusion and bewilderment.
“What are you talking about?” A boy, descendant of some demon by the looks of him, stepped forward. “We’re called the Shadow Order for a reason. Since forever, we’ve been serving the shadows. Following their way. And now you come asking us to leave and betray them? Are you sure about that? Do you realize what you’re saying?” His blue eyes with diamond-shaped pupils drilled into Raven.
The rogue straightened and, passing his gaze over each member of the Order, continued: “Erkhor, I’m not asking you to betray the shadows. Just to step out of them so that the world can see us.”
“Brother, the world can already see us.” A woman whose wings were swaying slightly behind her back folded her arms as she joined the conversation. “Trust me.”
“Spiara. Listen to me,” Raven said, growing more annoyed. He wanted to finish this conversation as soon as possible. “What the world sees is as a bunch of blood-thirsty monsters. It’s time to change this. In many nations, we’re hunted for being different. Many small countries have been forced by empires to end our cooperation. Most people simply don’t care that we have long stopped drinking blood.” Will spread his arms as he spoke in a hypnotizing voice, clouding their minds to make them agree. “I can’t promise you that they’ll love and embrace us once they find out the truth, but… Staying in the shadows, we’re missing out on a thing even more important than survival. As one of you, I want us to be free to enjoy this world that is much larger than we can imagine. I’ve seen it.”
He stopped. He could read on their faces what they were thinking. Travel safely. Live among people. Start a family with a human. Each of them had thought about it many times before.
Rinnah smiled and, coming up to stand by his side, added a few words of her own.