The metallic vessel rocked gently on the open Lucent treerail. A masked grey-haired mortal stood in a pool of blood, surrounded by four Tier 2 voidents, two of which were awakened.
Na'koma's fists were clenched, and dark tendrils of black aura swirled around his hands.
Strangely, the four voidents hesitated to attack him. He cocked his head to the side mockingly, and since corruption demanded blood, the voidents’ addiction to it pushed them to attack. One voident tried to slash at Na’koma with a corruption covered sword but the berserker just sidestepped, caught the voident's arm mid-swing and drove a black finger into the man's throat. Blood sprayed out wildly causing the voident to sputter and gurgle before collapsing, clutching his neck.
The other three shamelessly ganged up on Na’koma. He took a series of flesh-eating slugs to his chest powering through the corrosive damage. The more corruption that struck him, the more frenzied and crazed his movements became. A wave of tiny black thorns erupted from his neck and stung one voident, paralysing him in place. After taking a beam of red energy to the back, Na’koma closed the distance between him and another voident. He grasped the voident's head with both hands and twisted and pulled, tearing the man's head from his shoulders with a disgusting crack. Blood spurted from the gaping wound, and the headless body fell onto the deck.
He grabbed the paralysed one by the collar and drove his black fist through the voident's skull. The head tore into pieces, blood and brain matter splattering across the deck. The remaining voident tried to flee, but Na’koma caught him easily.
Terror filled his face and he fell to his knees, begging for mercy. "Please... please don't kill me! I surrender!"
Na’koma’s eyes glowed blue as he stepped forward, the black aura swirling around him growing more intense. He raised his hand, and the dark tendrils snaked out, wrapping around the voident's body. The man screamed in agony as his bones were crushed.
Na'koma looked into the vicomcer, blue eyes blazing with feral rage. “The wicked should spare me their grovelling,” he said as the voident's screams pierced the air. “I do not take voidents alive.”
The video ended and both Langa and Undkese stared at the black interface with fascination.
It was early morning on the final day of their voyage and the two of them had spent the night watching the renowned, self-proclaimed bounty hunting king of the First Storey, Na’koma the Black Fist killing voidents over and over again. Langa had never seen such raw, brutal physical violence outside of an action movie before.
“No one, not even Unbound Jareeksha, delivers cathartic brutality to voidents like Black Fist,” Undkese said, with respect in his eyes.
“I know,” said Langa, almost speechless. “I don’t think I can stomach that much blood, but he inspires me to hunt voidents.”
Na’koma’s videos always began with him already on the inside, ripping the voidents apart. Langa was a fan of the bounty hunter’s work, especially now that he knew how terrible voidents were. He wished Na’koma included how he infiltrated and found voi-dens so that Langa could learn from him, but he knew that if he did, the voidents would be able to guard against him.
As he watched the bounty hunter, Langa wondered if he had the courage and will to pave his own path the way Na'koma had. Hesitantly, he opened a new tab on his system interface, titled: Open Deity Challenges. Currently, there were only two.
[2. [The Onslaught of the Dark Void would like to offer you a Challenge for the divine skill: Mana Channels of The Dark Void.
Time Limit: 13 months/1 Year]
1. [The Lackadaisical Herald of The Lightning Storm, Adtonifulmin has proposed a Sponsorship Contract for you.
Contract Type: Visage
For more information on the rules and regulations for Visages, as well as the specifics of this type of sponsorship contract, please read The Relgte of The Unrivalled Tower Master, Scroll 4: Chapter 6
Accept: Y/N?
Time Limit: Unknown]
He stared at Adtonifulmin’s offer for a moment longer before closing his system interface. He didn’t have to decide whether the path of Adtonifulmin’s Visage was the one he wanted to take right now.
*
The capital city of Tishiba’s Peak was located at the top of Tishiba Mountain, the tallest of all the mountains in the Anukirtam Mountain Range. The range was a series of tall grey mountains that rose to the sky and hid behind sparse clouds. Above them all, Tishiba Mountain stood tall and proud. Langa was sure it was over 10 000 kilometres high, and even though he had never been to Mount Everest, he doubted it looked as imposing as this one.
The air up in the clouds was colder, but not as cold as he was sure it was supposed to be. Strangely, the air didn't feel thin, as Langa was not struggling to breathe. He remembered the agonising training he'd done in Tanzania a few years ago to improve his stamina when racing in high-altitude countries. Was the oxygen level here the same as below? With a jolt, he realised he didn't even know if he had been breathing oxygen during his entire time in the Tower. All he knew was that the air was made of lucents that made up mana. Did that mean oxygen was one of those lucents? He would have to read up on all that later.
For now, he admired the Creator's work as the massive mountain came fully into view. Langa could see multiple settlements as big as the entire city of Risa's Plateau built along the mountain's sides as they passed them. It was fascinating, and he was not ashamed that he gazed out of the windows in amazement alongside the children.
One of those settlements along the side of the mountain was the town Liv had told him about, Sorrento Creek. The cloaked lucent bus dropped Synn off outside the town. They made sure to land away from any prying eyes, as they did not want the children to be spotted. Once that was done, they continued on their way, the bus rising higher as it went up the mountain.
Surprisingly, the closer they got to Tishiba's Peak, the more subdued Undkese seemed to get. He took the wheel from Aria because he was the only one who knew exactly where they would be landing, and he drove the lucent bus towards their destination.
"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Aria asked Undkese. "The place you're taking us to looks like the Federation Military Base."
"Yes," he responded, not looking at her. "I already organised everything, the Magistrate will be waiting there to receive us."
"You aren't talking about the Magistrate of the capital, are you? Don't tell me your father is the Magistrate of Tishiba Province!" she gasped.
This time, Undkese did turn to look at her. "Of course not. The Magistrate is a woman. The reality that you do not know a public fact like that when you are an Executive of the Guardians Guild is proof of your guild's incompetence."
Aria's hair turned the brightest shade of red that Langa had ever seen, and she sat back down, looking annoyed. He couldn't blame her since he hadn't known that either. To be fair, though, in his case, it was less incompetence and more that he had no interest in the rulers of this Floor. He was a player and would be leaving this Floor as soon as he cleared it.
It was very early morning when they reached their destination, and the red sun had barely risen in the sky. They landed in a secluded lucent rank, which had nearly all of its surfaces made of polished rocks and silver metal. It made Langa think that this was what it would look like if someone had a private airport on this Floor. There were a few other lucent carriages parked in this place, all looking luxurious, and decorated with precious crystals. There was even an extravagantly decorated flying carpet as well.
A large number of Federation police officers were waiting in line as alighted the lucent bus. Aria asked what they were all thinking, “Who the hell is this guy's father?”
Undkese was leading the pack, followed by Aria and the children, with Langa and the rest of the Guardians bringing up the rear. He was careful as he came down since he was holding a sleeping Teyin in his arms. The Federation Police stood at attention in two lines, leaving space for the party to pass in the middle of them.
Surprisingly, they all bowed when Undkese walked past them, his lips thin and his face impassive.
At the very end of the line, stood two goblinkin guards and one owlkin woman. He could feel the intensity of their karma without even trying, so Langa activated his Team Player title to scan them. The title showed him that they were all level 20 to 22 NPCs, which was impressive, especially considering that most NPCs had no respawns, so levelling up would be more dangerous for them.
The owlkin woman was clearly the leader, and according to the scan, her name was Varden Bir Gent. The colours of her military uniform were blue and red, with the Ankhurtam Federation flag embroidered on it along with many badges and decorations. There were also embroideries around the collar of her jacket, showing the unity between the birdkin and goblinkin on the 1st Floor.
“Wow, that really is the Magistrate of Tishiba’s Peak!” Aria whispered beside Langa as if she could scarcely believe it herself.
Langa walked slowly, so as not to wake the child sleeping in his arms. The other children seemed a little intimidated by the uniforms too, clinging to Aria for safety as Undkese stepped forward.
“Greetings, Magistrate Bir Gent. As I promised in the message I sent to you, my party and I have brought the children to the city safely,” Undkese said, standing up straight in front of the owlkin and saluting her.
“So, you finally made it home, Undkese. At ease," she said gently. "Your father was worried.”
"I appreciate the concern, Magistrate, but it is wasted on me," Undkese told her, still standing up straight. She raised her eyebrows at the formal greeting as her eyes swept across their entire group. It seemed she had something to say to him, but she did not interrupt him. "As you can see, these people helped me get here. This is Aria, an Executive of the Guardians Guild and her subordinates who travelled with us and provided extra security for the children. Over there is Blitzhunter. I informed you about him in detail, that he saved both myself and the children's lives. There is another friend of mine who could not come into the safe zone, but without her, the children and I would not have been able to escape."
"I see. Thank you all for your service," The Magistrate said, looking at the small group of them. All the Federation Police officers present there stood at attention and saluted them. "I doubt this city can ever repay you for your hard work."
The owlkin crouched down so she was at eye level with the younger children. "I'm sorry about what you had to go through, but please don't worry, you're safe now. Please follow Lieutenant Brass for some treats. After that, we will take you to a safe place so we can contact your families.”
Hope filled the children's faces, but they also seemed reluctant to accept her offer, looking to Langa and Undkese for reassurance. Langa was conflicted because he had no idea how reliable the police on this Floor were.
"I promise we will make sure that they are returned home without any harm coming to them," the Magistrate assured him. "Come, Lieutenant Brass, take the children to the safe house," she instructed.
Undkese gave Langa a confident nod. He had always looked out for the children, hell, he had nearly died, sacrificing himself for them. If he trusted these people, then Langa would have faith as well.
He patted one of the children's heads. "You'll be safe, I promise. If anyone tries to hurt you, I'll strike them with a massive bolt of lightning," he said with a smile. It was both a promise to the children and a threat to the people present, to ensure that they treated the children well.
They relaxed, trusting him. A few of them looked excited at the prospect of a bolt of lightning coming down to smite enemies, and that was enough for Langa.
Langa handed the sleeping Teyin in his arms to the lieutenant and one of the older children ran up to him and hugged him across the waist. "Thank you, Blitzhunter. I'll tell my mommy about how you saved us," she said, and he awkwardly patted her head too. Aargh, gratitude made him uncomfortable.
Once the children were led away, the Magistrate spoke once more. "Again, I want to thank you for what you've done for those poor children. If there is anything we can do to pay back the Guardians-"
Aria shook her head. "No, thank you. It was because we failed in our duties as keepers of order that the voidents were able to get a hold of the children," she said. "The Guardians do not need, nor do we accept, rewards from mortals. I would like to offer our sincere apologies from Guardian Knight Merreddyd for the lives we were unable to save."
Aria's hair had turned the sombrest shade of brown as she and the other Guardians bowed their heads before the Magistrate.
"Please lift your heads. You do not owe us anything. However, we would appreciate it if you would report to the Federation Police about what happened in detail. Perhaps your testimony will help us prevent something like this from happening again. Undkese, you know the way to the office, please take them there."
Langa made to follow Aria and Undkese but the Magistrate stopped him. "No, Blitzhunter, please follow me instead. The High Commissioner wishes to meet with you."
Aria gave a surprised quirk of an eyebrow, and Undkese visibly tensed at the mention of the High Commissioner, but Langa was too annoyed at how much it seemed the name of Blitzhunter was going to stick to care. Fuck, there had to be a better moniker for him than that. He really hoped that name would not follow him even after Ascension. It was good for terrifying voidents, of course, but the thought of being stuck with it for all eternity just made him cringe.
He followed the Magistrate towards the large military building, sulking.
Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.
Langa had to take this meeting seriously. He knew it was a big deal because the 1st Floor was a series of mountain ranges, divided into 52 Federations and Provinces, each of which was led by a Magistrate. Each Federation was mostly self-governed, with the Magistrate being the highest authority. The one who stood above all fifty-two Magistrates was the overseer of this world, the High Commissioner of the Anukirtam Federation. He was the one who settled territorial disputes among the different Federations as well.
That begged the question, why would the Commander-in-Chief of the Federation Military be interested in Langa?
As he surveyed the impressive military base with multiple members of the Federation Military stationed all around, he was impressed at the extensive security. This base was well guarded, almost too much so. He supposed that this much security was necessary if the High Commissioner was working here today. Well, what mattered was that thanks to his presence, the children would be safe here.
The inside of the building was bare, the only pictures that lined the walls as the Magistrate led Langa up to the main office were of different goblinkin and birdkin in military uniform. The corridor was filled with door after door leading to the offices of high-ranking military personnel, although most of them appeared to be empty.
Finally, the two of them reached the largest office at the end of the corridor, and the Magistrate knocked. "Sir, it's Magistrate Bir Gent."
"Enter," a low, deep voice said.
She pushed open the door, and Langa looked around.
It was bare except for a desk, chair, a few cabinets, as well as a large silver door behind the desk. The desk was covered in lucent tiles, and the only personal item seemed to be a picture of the High Commissioner beaming while holding a young owlkin girl in his arms. The walls were covered with pictures of previous High Commissioners. There was also a large lucent tile on the wall with a map of the Tishiba Mountain range.
Seated behind a desk was the High Commissioner himself, an aged owlkin engrossed in one of the lucent tiles on the table in front of him. Langa's karma stirred at the owlkin's presence, making him step back slightly. It was more powerful than his reaction to the Magistrate outside, so he scanned the High Commissioner with his title.
To Langa's surprise, he was an NPC of Level 25, the maximum level for the first ten Floors. He had to be strong as hell.
“Sir, the player you requested to see is here,” the Magistrate said.
“Thank you, Varden, you may go,” he said without looking up. The Magistrate bowed and left the room. After she exited, Langa stood awkwardly in the centre of the room, until the High Commissioner finally spoke.
"Are you the player who saved my son?" His deep voice filled the entire office.
Langa raised his eyebrows. He hadn't heard anything about one of the children being the High Commissioner's son. Was that why there had been such a swift response to the incident? That could explain why so many of the Federation Police were guarding this place.
"I didn't know your son was among the kidnapped children," he said honestly.
The High Commissioner looked up. "No, from what I've heard, my son was an accessory to goblinkin trafficking."
It took a moment for Langa to piece together what he was saying, and when he realised it, he was taken aback. "You're Undkese's father?"
The High Commissioner frowned. “So he didn't tell anyone anything? I swear, that boy can hold a grudge. I am Randika Mutouris Anukirtam, the High Commissioner and highest authority of the Anukirtam Federation.” He held out his feathery hand.
Langa took the hand without much thought. So what if he was meeting the supreme leader of the entire world of the 1st Floor? This wasn't nerve-racking at all.
[Achievement! You are the first player in your tutorial batch to have a private audience with the High Commissioner of The Anukirtam Federation.
+5% Renown]
Huh? He hadn't known that there would be an achievement for this. He supposed it was worthy of note if he was the first, though.
“I'm Langa Zulu. Yeah, I did help to save Undkese and the kids, but he was able to keep them safe and alive until I arrived. Also, Synn helped save the children too,” he said, emphasising his name as he had no desire for the High Commissioner to start using his nickname as well.
Langa kept his voice steady and polite. While it was intimidating to meet someone this powerful in terms of authority, Langa had met a literal god, so everything else paled in comparison.
High Commissioner Randika nodded. “Ah, your other friend. Yes, Undkese did mention her as well. You needn't worry. I will make sure to issue her a reward as well. What you all did was remarkable, pushing back a player over five levels ahead of you. Thank you for saving my subjects and correcting my son's foolish mistake," he said, sighing. "The voidents didn't know it, but they nearly brought the entire Federation to its knees with this incident. You prevented a great tragedy on this Floor. If word got out that an Anukirtam was supplying voidents with children, that would destroy the people's faith in our leadership. We're barely hanging on by our feathers as it is.”
“I just wanted the voidents’ bounty,” Langa said, the praise making him uncomfortable.
He did not like how it almost seemed as if the family's reputation mattered so much more to this owlkin than the safety of the children. He knew that maintaining order in their territory was important to leaders, but would a little empathy kill him? Especially considering the large number of people they hadn't been able to save.
“You are too humble, Langa Zulu,” the High Commissioner said. “You did the Federation a great service. I will reward you for your hard work, but first, there is something I would like us to talk about."
Langa got comfortable in the chair. He knew he had been summoned here for a reason, not just his most recent achievement. He could practically smell a quest coming his way, and could only hope it was a good one that would earn him money. It had to, after all, this guy was like the president, so he had to be rich.
“What is it?” he asked.
“My son is precious to me, and I know sometimes he can take the wrong path in his desire to prove himself, but I value his opinion a lot. Did you know that just a month ago, he was doing well in the Federation Police, as a promising Private? I daresay he could have made Sergeant in a few years. I still have no idea why he chose to be a player when the system announced the integration of the Third Storey. He got his levels reset because of it," High Commissioner Randika said, shaking his head.
Langa wondered if this was leading somewhere or if this owlkin called him here to vent about his pride and disappointment in his son.
"Once he returned to the 1st Floor from the tutorial, I contacted him, asking him to return home because I did not want to lose another child. Undkese took that to mean that I lacked faith in him, and it angered him, so he tried to prove me wrong."
In all honesty, Langa thought the High Commissioner was fighting a losing battle. In the time he spent with Undkese, Langa did not think he was the military type. He was tough, one of the strongest people from their tutorial batch that he'd met so far, and an excellent tank, but he liked reading to children and dreaming about heroes saving the world. He could tell that Undkese craved adventure and desired to be one of those heroes himself.
High Commissioner Randika sighed. "In the past few days when I spoke to him, he kept going on and on about you and how much of a good person you are. He says that we need more people like you to fix this Floor’s greatest problem.”
Langa shifted in his seat. “I’m afraid your son has a slightly skewed opinion of me. He admires me because I saved him from certain death, but honestly, the videos he saw were edited to make me seem a certain way.”
“I thought so as well. After all, when Undkese likes something, he gets too passionate about it. When I saw your videos on the Dent, I saw potential."
"Thank you," Langa said hesitantly. “Is that why you wanted to see me?”
“Partly. Langa, what do you think of NPCs? What is our role in the grand scheme of things?” The High Commissioner said as he sat back in his chair.
Role? Langa hadn't given it much thought. If this were a game, the answer would be easy. The NPCs existed to help facilitate the players' growth. However, according to Adtonifulmin, one of his family members was back on Earth, meaning they were an NPC. He refused to believe that they existed to be a stepping stone for players.
“They are just people, living their lives. Why should they have a defined role?” he asked.
“Good. You never know when it comes to players. Most players have this sense of superiority where they feel that because they are the chosen ones of the deities, they are better than us. They see our lives as empty complements to their adventures,” Randika said, tapping his thin hands on the desk. "However, most of the non-players I know, which is the majority of my people, are content to live simple lives. We are blessed to live in a world full of magic, safe from the dangers of being consumed by corruption."
Langa watched him impatiently, wondering if there was a point he was trying to make.
“You may not understand this fully, being from a lost world, but this is what everyone in the infinite multiverse prays for. They unceasingly pray that The Unrivalled will have mercy on them and integrate their world into a Tower,” he said. “Inside the Tower, we get to live in a world where pockets of corruption are sealed from those of us who are weak."
Weak? Langa could hardly believe his ears. This man was not weak, he was the strongest NPC Langa had ever met.
"Players are willing to do dangerous quests to get us what we want, so we don't need the power to fight for our survival. It’s not like we ask you to do those things for free; we usually give quests with decent rewards, but you’d be surprised how many players choose not to honour their agreement. If not for the presence of the system contracts to force them to obey the rules of the Tower, most players wouldn’t keep their word.”
“That doesn't surprise me in the least,” Langa said with a shrug. "Humans—I guess mortals—are all like that. We all choose what serves us the best. I don't know anyone who will selflessly save people without thinking about what benefits they will get from it.”
“Fair enough. But it's worse now, with the 6th Floor blocked off. Overcrowding rages throughout our world as players from batch 3 stay down here instead of climbing. They are much more skilled and capable at a lot of crafting skills, and so, a lot of jobs went to them, leaving the young NPCs alone, unemployed, and idle,” Randika said.
“Because of what Anarchist did, the NPCs turned to voidentism for money and power,” Langa said. He couldn't believe it had taken him this long to realise the connection.
That explained the increased number of voidents on this Floor and why Jandri was crumbling under pressure. Had Anarchist done this on purpose to increase the Accari Crows’ numbers, or was that a side effect of overturning the 6th Floor that he took advantage of?
The High Commissioner sat back down. ”Precisely. That's why I need your help to save this world from the Accari Crows.”
“I don’t know why you are telling me this, but I’m not that person. I’m not going to save you or your people,” Langa told him bluntly. "As soon as I'm done with the Celestial Clash, I'm earning enough karma to Ascend to the 2nd Floor."
"Relax, that is precisely what I want. The Accari Crows need to be dismantled from the top down. Getting rid of the foot soldiers is useless. Like I said before, we don't make players work for nothing,” he smiled. "The voidents of the Accari Crows are a menace on the Ground Storey. Myself and the leaders of the 1st to 10th Floor need the help of players to take them out. Have you heard the names, Jareeksha, Merreddyd and Kerafonika?"
Langa had heard of Jareeksha and Merreddyd but not the third person. “I've heard of the Guardian Knight and The Unbound.”
High Commissioner Randika scratched his feathers. "That's to be expected, I suppose, since Kerafonika died four years ago. Those three have one thing in common. I selected them from each of their tutorial batches because of their potential and willingness to fight against injustice. One of them has chosen a treacherous path now, but he walks it boldly, so I can't fault him for it.”
"Okay, so what exactly do you need from me?" Langa asked.
“To facilitate cooperation between the Floors, we need the ability to connect and share information on a non-public platform to help us govern our worlds better. From every tutorial batch, I always choose someone who will provide a link for us to fight this scourge of red and voident players since, as NPCs, we can't climb the Tower,” he paused. “Unfortunately, the link was broken when that loathsome player brought forth anarchy on the 6th Floor, creating Void rifts that rippled across the lucent step lines connecting the Floors. When Kerafonika tried to stop him, he killed her."
Langa listened silently, wondering where the High Commissioner was going with this. So, Anarchist hadn't just destroyed the lives of innocent people on the 6th Floor but had disrupted an important system for the leaders of the Ground Storey as well.
"This led to a disruption in interFloor trade. Now, we are forced to use The Hallow Reapers Merchant Group, because frankly, any other interFloor merchants that don't pay the toll get robbed by their seemingly unaffiliated bandit guilds like The Icitill Clan. I have been searching for someone within your batch to act as the new link. Despite their great power, I have ruled out Maipsatenkka and nearly everyone in your batch's top ten because they don't align with my vision. I have considered Hayese, The Rising, and Joan Williams, but I'm reluctant to judge people's capabilities by their Renown. Action is what gets my attention," he said as he watched Langa closely. "Your reputation as a ruthless voident hunter precedes you, and Undkese trusts and looks up to you. I would like to trust the person who saved my son. Perhaps it would be good for you to serve as a new link for us."
"What does that even mean? Just hunting voidents and disrupting the Accari Crows' plans? I can do that on my own." Langa frowned.
High Commissioner Randika stood up and paced around his office. “Each leader of a Floor has their own network of information on the locations of many things, voi-dens, dungeons, Gates, maestril rifts, you name it. They have spies everywhere, and no one knows their Floors better than the NPC leaders."
He gestured to one side of the wall and waved his hand. A transparent lucent tile appeared, showing Langa what appeared to be a library. An assortment of ancient scrolls, leather-bound tomes, and gilded manuscripts floated around in the air inside, unreadable letters on the covers.
"What is that?" Langa asked, drawn to it.
"It's the private library belonging to the Floor leaders," he said. "We have access to information that even the Guardians don't. We know how voidents consolidate their power and make Void Gems, and what it means for them to be awakened. Choosing the right people to divulge this information to is important.”
The High Commissioner stared at Langa with narrowed eyes. “Langa Zulu. Are you qualified to take this mission on?”
If the Floor leaders had information that was non-public about voidents, it was possible that they also might have information on Void Stars and the Brand.
“Absolutely!” Langa said excitedly.
His hopes were dashed a moment later by the High Commissioner’s next words. He pulled out a golden lucent tile shaped like a crown. There were a hundred empty lines on it and he said, “This allows you to enter the roving library. However, to give you access to this sensitive information, I need proof of your strength,” he said. “You will clash with many factions in the Tower, some much stronger than you. Will and determination can only get you so far. You haven't been truly challenged by players of your level, and I need you to show me that you are strong enough to stand against them.”
"How can I do that?" Langa asked.
The High Commissioner considered him for a second. "You are taking part in the upcoming exhibition match of the Celestial Clash, aren't you?"
"Yes," Langa said.
[You have been offered a quest.
Accept Y/N?]
MAIN TOWER QUEST #1
NPC Leaders across multiple Floors have no way to directly communicate with each other other than sending players back and forth. In the past, they used the pathways connected through the lucent steplines linking all floors to the Tower. This link was broken four years ago after the battle between Anarchist and Kerafonika.
The leaders need a player who can act as that link.
The High Commissioner has heard rumours of your strength, but your lack of experience worries him. He wishes to see your strength for himself.
Quest Rank: Rare
Quest Objectives: Win the exhibition match of the Celestial Clash Time Limit: None Quest Limitations:
Only available to neutral/positive alignment players who:
-Have received the favour of the High Commissioner of The Anukirtam Federation.
- Have a Renown of Familiar Newcomer 50% or higher.
Cautions: This is an evolving quest
Quest Rewards:
Floor by Floor Leadership Quests become accessible.
The High Commissioner’s gift
Failure Penalty:
Loss of Renown on the 1st Floor
It was ironic to think his Renown kept increasing because of his videos, even if that hadn't been his original intention. If he hadn't put himself out there to find his family, he wouldn't have qualified to receive this quest.
“I accept the quest,” Langa said at once. He had already been planning on winning anyway.
“Good, show me your resolve and strength, and I promise, there will be plenty of advantages for you. Now, let me issue your rewards for the previous quest,” The High Commissioner said and stood up again.
[You have completed The Quest: A Tearful Homecoming
Contributions:
Expected Contribution per player: 50%
1. Langa Zulu - 52%
2. SynnForessa - 48%
Quest Completion Grade: C
+500 EXP
+130 karma
+ 50 silver coins]
[You have been nominated as a reward proxy by Player SynnForessa.
+ 50 silver coins.]
Langa guessed that the karma and EXP went straight to her, but since he was receiving the coins directly from The High Commissioner, he had to receive them for her. He probably received a higher contribution than her for physically bringing the children here. As he accepted the two pouches, Langa wondered what Synn would do if he ran with her money. With how greedy she was, she would probably hunt him down, kill him and rip it out of his corpse.
“I can arrange a transport for you through my private teleporter unless you have something to add to The Federation Police?” the High Commissioner asked.
“Nope, I'm ready to go. Can the teleporter take me to Sorrento Creek?” he asked.
“Of course," he smiled. "It can go anywhere in this world. I will set it for Sorrento Creek's main town square. All you have to do is open that door," the High Commissioner said, gesturing to the large silver door behind his desk. He tapped it with a wand, and the glyphs on the door lit up. "The private teleporter is through there."
"Thank you," Langa said, stepping around him.
"Langa, I will be watching your game, so show me what you can do,” the owlkin said, sitting down at his desk. "If you prove yourself, I can allow you to take one book from my private collection."
"Make sure you keep the gift ready, High Commish," Langa said, opening the door with a grin. "There is nothing I hate more than losing in a competitive sport."
It didn't count if he lost on purpose.
He heard the High Commissioner laugh as he opened the door. Inside, there was a wheel much smaller than the large one from Risa Plateau, and Langa stepped inside, selecting Sorrento Creek as his destination. Before he left, he sent Undkese a message letting him know that he was leaving and gave him the address to Sorrento Inn. He wanted to leave as soon as possible before the Federation Police decided they wanted him to give a statement as well. He also let Liv know he was on his way.