EPISODE 124: [ADVENTURE ASSOCIATION]
— Edryan Queendom, Year: 7291. Season: Color Fading.
The early morning sun shone as it crested over the horizon. Softly, a maid called my name, waking me from my slumber. I rose immediately—it’d been a few hours since I slept, as my meeting with my generals drew long into the night. Nearly halfway through, Lily left, but not before I arranged a meeting with her at the crack of dawn. It was not of my own accord, as there was too much on my plate to get done before the start of the Grand Summit.
It didn’t take long for me to finish my morning necessities. It was different not seeing Madria close by, but she held her own duties to attend after our return. In the afternoon we would see each other as we gave my mother’s full council a report on the events that took place in the Hall of Attributes.
The moment I left my quarters, I paused, a surprised expression on my face. Standing guard near my entrance were Tobi, Eniola, Aurelia, and Atlas Indrian—cousins of Alexandria from lesser branches. They were also my [Imperius Knights], who are meant to be my personal guard. Hundreds of busy maids and other personnel worked their way around them as the entire War Throne Palace was preparing for the summit.
The moment they saw me, each kneeled, before Tobi took the lead in speaking.
“We have failed to protect you. Please punish us.”
A small smile crossed my face. “Rise, it was no fault of your own.”
“Please punish us,” Tobi stated, followed by the rest.
“What occurred was not your fault, you may rise.”
“Please punish us,” they said in unison, unrelenting.
“Hmmm, then I shall—you all will be the first to go through my super soldier training. Should you survive—consider yourself thoroughly punished. Now, fall in line, ” I commanded—stepping past them to keep my appointment time consistent.
It was their duty to protect me, but due to my actions, they failed. I knew it was not their fault, but it was clear they were going to be stubborn about it until an appropriate punishment was delivered. My experience in the Hall of Attributes left me with a curiosity about how attributes could be manipulated, and I wanted to build a strong force of soldiers using it.
I met Lily in the royal garden. A cool breeze flowed through the air and the chirping of birds and buzzing of my… special bees… accompanied us in the background. The dark-skinned woman wore her usual gothic-like attire, which was her battle uniform. It consisted of a dress that fell just above her knees, a wide waist belt with several needle-like daggers, and a dozen or so faceless puppets strapped in various places. Her hair was done up in two pigtail-like ponytails and she wore thick combat boots. I’d never received the opportunity to ask her about her attire, and today was not that day. Blank crochet grey-white dolls, ready to be transformed into someone's likeness, were strapped in various places over her body. Her class had evolved to [Imperius Shadow Curse-Master] after accepting my employment, and from her presence, I could tell she’d leveled decently from her mission.
“(Inspect),” I said.
Lily Maar – Level 100: Imperius Shadow Curse-Master
While she waited, the assassin was smelling the flowers cultivated throughout the garden. However, as she was inspected, she turned sharply in my direction.
“You’ve grown Lily,” I stated—my eyes squinting at her last name.
“Don’t you knoooooow it’s rude to inspect a lady,” she responded. Her gaze glanced at the [Imperius Knights] behind me.
“Secure the area,” I commanded.
The four knights did as they were told and gave us room to speak. That wasn’t enough as Lily chanted and her shadow, which seemed longer than normal, expanded to cover us in a partially transparent dome. This would stop any eavesdroppers from listening in.
“I’m assuming the information you've learned must have been worthwhile to get you nearly twenty-five levels,” I said, gesturing forward to the deeper parts of the garden. Twenty-five levels in two months was nearly record-breaking outside your first advancement.
“Hmph, if not for thaaaat I would be very upset with you. I’m an assssassin —not a spy like my mother.”
We began to move forward, the surrounding barrier covered us in a dome of nearly ten feet in every direction. The wildlife in the garden flew around us as my guards followed us at a distance.
“Well, what has my assassin stumbled across in a job better suited for a spy?”
“The plans of the [Adventurer Association] once you ignite a war—at least a part of them,” Lily said.
This time, there was no long drawl in her voice. This time, her tone wasn’t as monotone as usual, but it possessed an edge to it, I’d never heard before. I paused for a single step, before continuing. I didn’t need to ask Lily to explain, as she began once I’d gotten over the shock of her opening statement.
“As you know, there are several major Adventurer Association headquarters in Edryan. One here in the capital, the one in Drumia as it is close to the Caphai Lakes, but the one I went to was the one located in Rumis—home of the Romus. What I retrieved was a small but vital piece of information from the headquarters located there. Sometime during your scheduled conquest, the Association will detonate several true dungeon cores and release a massive beast outbreak over Edryan.”
My eyes widened and this time, my steps truly halted.
“What?” I said in nearly complete incredulity. “Although the Association was started by God El—they’ve always held sway to each individual country's rulers and Gods. In fact, most of the Association here should be led by magi-humans… They are subjected to each country's laws and regulations…,” I trailed off.
“And if they decide to take action on their own? A secret cult who believes in nonsense but holds enough sway to establish their goals?”
“You’re talking about the [Cult of Genesis]—if you’re bringing them up then you must have information on them.”
Lily looked me up and down as we walked through the royal garden. Vibrant colors, reds, oranges, blues, and more were spread in a fantastic display of flowers. Large bees, nearly the size of an adult's fist, went about their duty. In front of us was a large glass dome, a greenhouse—the [Honey-house], in which lived my most prized possession. As we drew near, more and more guard patrols began to show themselves. These men and women levels were at a minimum in the upper one hundred ranges. Most were close to two hundred, if not there already.
“I trailed a minor noble by the name of Gideon Johfir who is a member of this cult—he’s here in the city now,” Lily began. While she spoke, she removed a doll and showed it to me before she began to play with it. The doll was filled to the seams with stuffing that threatened to explode outwards. It was dressed like the common Edryan noble, but with too tight clothes which were barely held on by their buttons. The puppet held a jolly, happy expression as she held it. Lily removed one of her dagger-like needles. This one held an extremely sharp hook, that looked better for catching fish than crocheting. As she spoke, she began to play with the doll.
“The Johfir family specializes in the commerce of tool refinement—specifically, the low grade magical types that are one use—after today they will be no more, perhaps you should take over their operations.” Calmly, she stabbed the dagger into the belly of the puppet, twisting it before ripping out a chunk of the stuffing.
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I swallowed as the puppet began to squirm in the hands of Lily and the stuffing that fell to the ground turned red. Lily continued to walk, holding the puppet before her as she stabbed it and removed stuffing in multiple places. Her eyes shone with excitement, and she licked her lips in relish with each twist and pull of the stuffing. She appeared like a thirsty beggar who’d finally drank their first sip of a cool, refreshing beverage.
“Gideon Johfir was part of the [Architects of Resurgence]—they are the more… rational branch of the cult. I believe they are the main ones overseeing the destruction of the dungeons in Edryan lands. Gideon oversaw the creation of these,” Lily paused in her actions and removed a spherical device before tossing it to me.
I caught the spherical device. It was a glossy black orb with a belt of runic script concentrated around the middle. Within, I could see sparks of red coursing its way through. The object was surprisingly light for its size, but if it contained what I believed it did, then…
“(Inspect).”
Argon Disruptor
Type: Item—Explosive
Rank: Rare
Charge: Full
Standing: Product of the Architects of Resurgence
Description:
A marvel of magi-tech of gnomish origins, the Argon Disruptor is a device built to expel a small amount of Chaos Mana at a specific frequency most are unable to detect. Once activated, these devices are challenging to detect by most mortal and esoteric senses.
“What does it do and what exactly are the plans of this cult,” I asked as I stored the object away. Before Lily could speak, I paused in shock—my thoughts drifting back to the events during my fight against Alarax—the high advance golem stationed as the boss in the [Ruined Temple of Elrunian]. “{Mana Lock}—what happens to a dungeon if it experiences that de-buff.”
Lily smiled, a twisted, sick thing, as she continued to rip the stuffing from the puppet—leaving red trails in our wake. The puppet's struggling grew slower, and by the time we arrived at the greenhouse it halted completely—the features it once held no longer recognizable. Its expression was now twisted to that of fear, pain, and much, much more.
“Hmph, that's all you had in you? Disgusting weakling,” Lily said, tossing the doll to the ground. It was only then, as we moved away from it, that I noticed its shadow… it was far larger than it should be. In fact, it looked like a large, heavyset man…
“If a dungeon cannot release its mana… it goes BOOM,” Lily stated as she returned her attention to me. “These devices are made with slightly expensive materials, but they aren’t that difficult to source. The true problem lies in the chaos mana within. If a few hundred of these are scattered throughout a dungeon and simultaneously explode, then it could seize up the dungeon and prevent it from continuously releasing its mana. The Johfir’s business in small goods was a cover, but they hold no records of whom these goods were being shipped to—it was only through the trail I followed from the guild to them, that I was able to get this far.”
“Can you write up a detailed report of everything that occurred—have it by my desk by tonight, I’m sure there are more relevant things you haven’t shared.”
Lily rolled her eyes, but saluted. Her shadow returned to normal as our conversation came to an end. She left, my words her dismissal, and I entered the greenhouse, my [Imperius Knights] converging behind me—the Adventurer Association on my mind.
The [Adventurer Association] was a continent-expanding organization that held its roots to the very rise of God El — the Adventurer. During my… stay at the Mountain of Final Hope, I learned more about the rise of the first Gods than I thought possible.
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From the textbook: New Genesis, Year 15.
This quote is taken directly from the words of El Edri before his rise into Godhood as God El — the Adventurer. These words were said to be stated to a small gathering of friends, believed to be the first of the New Gods.
“It’s beautiful out there, the dungeons who provide us strength and opportunity—the mountains which we challenge ourselves to climb. Those stars that are just-out-of-reach, twinkling in the night sky—the depths of the seas in which calamities breed, and the sea-men have all to themselves. All of it should be explored, discovered, reimagined in a tall tale. Our Creator has painted a wonderful canvas on which we are left to uncover its hidden secrets.”
“So explore! Go out there and level—LIVE!
So rise! Climb the tallest of mountains—DIE!
So BE! Become the very best version of yourself in which on that final day…, you can say you’re proud of the journey you’ve written, and the stories you’ve told!”
“Let this be the establishment of Adventure—let this be the establishment of an Association! Perfect! That’s what it’ll be called—Adventurer Association, created in the hopes of nurturing adventurers whose hearts wish to uncover the greatest mysteries!”
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The hive's activity was tremendous, and I gazed up at the large beehive, partly constructed by the keeper of this place, partly made by the bees themselves. The hive easily extended nearly five meters upwards and close to ten out. Around it, bees entered and exited as they worked passionately continuously producing their special honey. A woman, dressed in a bee costume with red-yellow and black stripes, ran around frantically. On her head was a small grub that wiggled around happily. Several other workers were present in similar attire and one, noticing me enter, immediately ran to retrieve the woman.
“Your Highness Lawruthian! What a pleasant surprise, oh you wouldn’t believe the success we’ve been having this season with extracting Edryani Honey! I believe we’ll have an excess of eighty-four bottles this year. Have you seen my cousin recently? Kareem can be such a bone-headed quagle goose, you need to reprimand him immediately! He won’t let me have access to a few of the special bees that have recently been added to the farm. Oh! Goodness, where are my manners,” the lady said before removing a small grub from her head.
“This is Princess Lorina Ang’lo Mushen Cortez — First of her name, of course. This may be a new queen in development! I believe this colony has finally reached its maximum capacity with a total of five thousand, two hundred and sixty-eight members, I’ll have you know, I know each and every one by name!”
The woman took a deep breath to continue, and the smile on my face only grew. “It’s good to see you too, Karma. I’ll be certain to remind Kareem to not be so stubborn the next I visit the royal farms.”
“Good! Princess Lorina has had nothing but a diet of the most exquisite royal jelly and should undergo her metamorphosis over the winter, only to emerge at the dawn of New Beginning—ready to start a second colony of the most famed honey in the noble circles!”
I laughed, a broad smile on my face at Karma’s enthusiasm. I always enjoyed my visits here as Karma would update me on everything without being prompted. The woman in front of me was by far one of the most valuable members of my staff. This was the woman in charge of collecting and refining the [Edryani Honey] produced by the most valuable bees in the queendom. Doing a routine inspection here was part of the activities I held on my very full plate. The high-level [Bee Tamer] continued to chat, updating me on various components.
The news she gave me was fantastic—if another queen could emerge, then the amount of revenue I’d relieve from the greater families would only grow. Before I left for Starglow Valley, the Oni, Lorde, Drumian, and the royal family of Dioni made several offers for a large transaction of the honey. It wasn’t just them who wanted large quantities of [Edryani Honey], so I’d host an auction of this year’s stock during the Grand Summit.
An hour passed when I finally extracted myself from the [Honey-house], the sun was properly in the sky and breakfast was calling my name. A small jar of honey was in my hands that I carefully stored into my spatial bracelet.
“It seems you enjoyed yourself,” a familiar voice called from the side of the greenhouse. “You didn’t think you could go forever without meeting me?”
“It so lovely to see my vice president of Law’s Sweet Golems. I’ve dearly missed you Bucca,” I said.
The elf rolled her eyes at my sarcasm, but a smile was on her face. “I’m glad you’ve finally returned from your trip to Starglow Valley. I sent several messages waiting on instructions, but it seems you were too busy conquering to respond,” the sky-elf said. “It doesn’t matter—LSG has missed you too. I’m glad you’ve already overseen our most valued product. About the honey and the messages…”
I sighed, but brightened at the news Bucca began to update me on. Today was going to be a busy day.