Talking with Dilah'ec turned out to be surprisingly pleasant. Her direct attitude and clear thirst for personal power made her a great person to deal with.
And she was right about the concealment cards, I should have thought of that myself.
From afar, the shelter looked as if nothing had changed. A pair of guards standing before the open gate, a bunch patrolling at the top of the walls, just like the Iron Citadel. That was if John ignored the angry-red beam shining up into the sky.
He noticed a silent conversation between her and her friend and from their body language he believed that she was trying to do something the guy did not like to hear.
Seeing her rush off into the night the moment they arrived at the gate made him chuckle.
"I need to ask," the man spoke out. "How is it appropriate to address you?"
"Hm? I guess John is fine. I don't care about titles."
Seeing indecision war on the guy's face, John signed and gestured for him to speak freely.
"I mean no offense, John, but it is not proper for you to be called by your name," he said in reluctance. "By our estimates, you should be one of, if not the most, powerful native human in this world, and as such it is your duty to lead your…"
"No," John interrupted. "I am no leader. I hate politics, posturing, and all the shit that goes with it. Honestly, I find more pleasure in hunting undead by myself and my trusty companions," He nodded toward the Desert Wraith floating behind him. "I did my part early, helping to establish a safe community of survivors but now I want to focus on my personal strength and protection of those few I care about. You may think of me as a mercenary instead."
"I... see. You should speak with his highness Melis'ar." The man replied in a clipped tone with displeasure written all over his face. "Follow me."
The guards at the gate lifted their fists in what John believed was a military salute, but everyone watched him with cautious and distrustful eyes.
The inside of the shelter was a stark difference. Instead of the dirt ground, he stood on a polished marble floor and the whole shelter was barren except for the Desperate Fool's Inn, the Challenge board, and one other building that was currently blocked off by panels of light.
"If you don't mind, I'll quickly explain the situation to his highness. I'll be back momentarily," he offered a short bow and was about to move away.
"Oh, one more thing before you go. I forgot to ask your name," John spoke out. After all, it would be better to have a name instead of thinking about him as that guy with Dilah'ec.
"Galan'il, the Knight-Protector of Lady Dilah'ec, daughter of Archduke Calian'ci."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," John offered his hand, which Galan'il shook awkwardly and walked in the direction of the unfinished building.
Hmm, do I just stand here?
Looking around, he had a couple of eyes watching his every move but no one was there to stop him from wandering off.
Hmm, perhaps I could… John smiled and headed to the Challenge board.
There were more than a few of the invaders pointing at him, but John ignored them and placed his palm on the board.
[Welcome to the Challenge board!
You may have only one challenge active, but be aware that some require payment upfront to be taken or prevent all drops from the targeted opponents until successfully completed or failed.
The rewards are paid immediately upon completion.
* Crushing the brains
* Breaking the skulls
* Wiping out the packs
* Overcoming the legion
* Venturing outside
* Exterminating the invaders
More challenges will be added after the Challenge board is upgraded.
Daily challenges available: 2/2]
John noticed one missing and three challenges that were not available the last time, and after a little bit of focus, their descriptions popped out.
[Overcoming the legion
Easy: Contribute to the kills of 10 Skeletons and 1 Skeleton knight while delivering at least 2 killing blows.
Rewards: 50% more total ash from the targeted opponents.
Moderate: Contribute to the kills of 20 Skeletons and 2 Skeleton knights while delivering at least 5 killing blows.
Rewards: 100% more total ash from the targeted opponents.
Hard: Contribute to the kills of 35 Skeletons and 4 Skeleton knights while delivering at least 8 killing blows.
Rewards: 150% more total ash from the targeted opponents.
Very hard: Contribute to the kills of 50 Skeletons, 4 Skeleton knights, and 1 Skeleton commander while delivering at least 10 killing blows.
Rewards: 250% more total ash from the targeted opponents.
Warning: You may begin the challenge at will by starting its two-hour countdown for successful completion]
That one screamed, the inner courtyard of Charles' castle. The other one, though, caught John's eye.
[Venturing outside
Moderate: Contribute to the kills of 150 Zombies and 10 Rothounds while delivering at least 30 killing blows.
Rewards: 100% more total ash from the targeted opponents.
Very hard: Contribute to the kills of 300 Zombies, 20 Rothounds, and 1 Rothound Alpha while delivering at least 60 killing blows.
Rewards: 250% more total ash from the targeted opponents.
Extreme: Contribute to the kills of 500 Zombies, 40 Rothounds, 2 Rothound Alphas, and 1 Rotfiend while delivering at least 100 killing blows.
Rewards: 350% more total ash from the targeted opponents.
Warning: You may begin the challenge at will by starting its five-hour countdown for successful completion]
The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.
Oh yeah. Which one should I pick?
The very hard option was indeed hard, but John could see himself easily succeeding. There were a couple of Alphas running around further away from the city outskirts and the rest was just a good old grind. The extreme was a different thing altogether.
Going by the name and requirements, there should be Rotfiends somewhere even further out. The question was, could he clear five hundred zombies, forty hounds, two alphas, and the big bastard in under five hours?
Well, I'll have to find out, he grinned and made his choice. After that, he focused on the final option.
[Exterminating the invaders
Easy: Contribute to the kills of 2 non-native sapients.
Rewards: 50% more total ash from the targeted opponents.
Moderate: Contribute to the kills of 4 non-native sapients while delivering at least 1 killing blow.
Rewards: 100% more total ash from the targeted opponents.
Hard: Contribute to the kills of 10 non-native sapients and 1 E-grade non-native sapient while delivering at least 2 killing blows.
Rewards: 150% more total ash from the targeted opponents.
Very hard: Contribute to the kills of 15 non-native sapients and 2 E-grade non-native sapients while delivering at least 3 killing blows.
Rewards: 250% more total ash from the targeted opponents.
Extreme: Contribute to the kills of 20 non-native sapients and 3 E-grade non-native sapients while delivering at least 5 killing blows.
Rewards: 350% more total ash from the targeted opponents.
Savage: Contribute to fully subjugating or wiping out the entire invasion party including their leader and shattering their pillar.
Rewards: 500% more total ash from the targeted opponents.
Warning: You may begin the challenge at will by starting its twenty-four-hour countdown for successful completion]
Hmm…
"Which challenge have you chosen?" Asked Galan'il, who was followed by a pair of white-haired invaders.
Looking at his face, John easily spotted the apprehension, as they seemed poised like springs ready to spring out, going all out at the slightest sign of aggression.
"I might dislike politics, but I am not a rabid animal," John answered with a frown and pulled up the black card.
[Venturing outside
Zombie: 0/500
Rothound: 0/40
Rothound Alpha: 0/2
Rotfiend: 0/1
Killing blows: 0/100
Time limit: 5 hours]
Seeing him relax upon reading the name only to widen his eyes in disbelief after reading the requirements was satisfying in itself, but there was more John would ask for the implied threat in return.
"It makes me wonder, though. Is there a challenge to exterminate us, the natives, for you instead?"
The wince on the man's face said enough, but what he said after that made John a little more sympathetic.
"It's not instead, it is both. You natives are lucky the System heavily disincentivizes infighting because for us it is every invasion for itself," Galan'il sighed, "Sure, our leaders can form alliances and work together, but at the end of the day, it's personal strength and rank of our shelter that matters the most."
"I see. Is that why Dilah'ec hoped for an alliance between us? To stop the other invasion from taking root in this city?"
"That is not for me to say," Galan'il shook his head. "Come, his Highness is ready to meet you."
They walked inside the inn where he was greeted by an older man in ornately decorated silver armor who dismissed his escort and pointed at the table in the far corner with only a single occupant.
It was a man with a youthful face, silver hair that fell over his shoulders like a gentle waterfall, and pale blue eyes. He seemed heavily absorbed in a black book, ignoring everything around him.
Making his way through the dining room, John ended up standing before the table and uncertain about what to do.
"My apologies," his new escort softly whispered, and then in a louder voice said, "Your Highness?"
"Yes, Duraq'er?" The prince finally lifted his eyes from the book and noticed John.
"Oh, right, you must be John. I am Melis'ar, the son of Aerilian Emperor Virtras'ah," he introduced himself and to John's surprise even offered his hand.
"At first, I planned to have our meeting at my chambers, but I was informed that you might find a less formal setting more to your liking. Is that agreeable?" The prince asked in a friendly, but confident tone.
"It is," John smiled. "Do you mind if I order something before we speak? I returned from a System trial only a couple of minutes before the announcement and I am famished."
"But of course," the prince nodded. "Do you have a recommendation for me? I am curious about your local cuisine myself."
"Mhm, let's see if they still have my favorite."
----------------------------------------
The meal and the talk took them over an hour and they were currently talking about the possible future cooperation when Dilah'ec burst out through the privacy bubble that the prince erected around their table.
"I… gasp… have an important… gasp… news," she wheezed out.
Seeing Melis'ar's layback demeanor wash away and morph into sharp focus, John was about to let them handle the situation in private but was interrupted by a wave of the prince's hand.
"Stay, if you don't mind."
Having a moment to catch her breath, Dilah'ec began her report.
"As you were surely informed, I went east in search of the Zone guardian and thanks to John's advice I was able to locate and defeat one on the northernmost bridge to the east zone. However, I continued my search and when I got to the southernmost bridge I found another one that was watched by one of Ulian'al's scouts."
"I see there is more to it, isn't there?" Asked Melis'ar, gesturing for her to continue.
"Yes, your highness," she nodded. "I successfully captured the scout and killed the second Zone guardian. The reason I rushed back was that after a quick interrogation, the scout revealed that Ulian'al found the place with the highest chance of the Sector overlord's lair and was already preparing to lead a raid party there."
"No, that makes no sense," Melisar refuted her new intel. "His retinue couldn't have been that much more powerful than mine, and we are nowhere near strong enough to safely face a Sector overlord."
"That is only true if he cares about the lives of his subjects," added Duraq'er gravely. "If he goes together with nine of his best warriors, some of them might die but there is no doubt that they will succeed."
"What would you advise me to do?" Melisar asked his knight-protector.
"I can understand his highness Ulian'al's reasoning. You are no match to him in direct confrontation, but your legendary card is giving you an overwhelming long-term advantage so forcing you into immediate conflict is a shrewd strategy. The unfortunate truth is, unless you are willing to sacrifice the majority of your people to cripple his fighting force before they get inside, there isn't much else you alone can do."
He left them to an uncomfortable silence where both Melis'ar and Dilah'ec were frowning and trying to think of a solution and after a couple of seconds, the prince looked at John.
"I am afraid that we have no choice but to ask for your help, John. What troubles me is what you will ask in return."
During their talks, John mentioned that his unique bastion was outside of the world command structure and in return got an explanation to a question that was bothering him. It turned out that the System would not allow a missing branch in the structure and as such, when any unique shelter outside of it consumes the upgrade, the pinnacle monster respawns the next day and can be killed for a second time.
This meant the Sector overlord was once again available inside Charles' castle and unless he interfered, the upgrade to bastion would fall into the other party's grasp.
"Hmm, we can agree that letting the other prince get his hands on it is bad for all of us right?" John asked, and seeing their nods continued speaking. "Because time is of the essence, I will offer you a token of goodwill and lead your select few into the Charles castle where we will slay the Sector overlord before the other party arrives. We will discuss how to deal with the card afterward, but what I expect for this service is a fair payment in ash from each of you who joins up."
"That is too dangerous, to…" the knight-protector began but was interrupted by Dilah'ec.
"I agree! And if you don't mind, I want Galan'il to come with us."
"You can't do that! You are…" Duraq'er tried to refute her but was once again interrupted, this time by Melis'ar.
"How confident are you, John, to beat it with our help?"
Trusting his gut, he decided to reveal a little more of his strength.
"I killed it by myself four days ago. Now, and with your help, it should be far easier."
"Very well. You, me, Duraq'er, Dilah'ec, and Galan'il. We leave immediately."