The sky was a blanket of gray clouds, and from time to time it drizzled, which made anyone here feel like a shadow was looming over them on the horizon.
At this time, a dozen or so players were standing near the mouth of the chasm, scanning around for a sign of someone. Even though the person they were looking for, the headmaster, had instructed them to return to the academy, curiosity about where he had gone had gotten the better of all the players here. Him vanishing into the mystical wormhole-like tunnel above the bottomless chasm during the assault on the bandit encampment became the last time they saw him.
Perhaps if they waited here, they might trigger some hidden plot or event. Yet, as hours passed with no sign of the headmaster or any significant discovery, their enthusiasm waned. Some players had even started leaving to return to the academy.
Among this group of players were Alfred and his party. As the most veteran players in the game, they were the ones who initially proposed waiting here for the return of their headmaster.
Prominence suddenly sighed, his shoulders slumping with frustration. “This is taking forever… Where could our headmaster NPC have gone?”
“No clue,” Storm replied with a helpless shrug, similarly dejected.
Alfred, with his usual demeanor of fixing his nonexistent glasses, offered a speculative hypothesis. “Considering the game’s setting as well as the magic knowledge we have learned so far, it wouldn’t be a stretch to think he might have gone into an independent world or something. Y’know, like those you see in novels.” In fact, this had become a rumor circulating among the players, lending credence to the possibility.
“That would be pretty cool if that were the case,” Storm remarked, nodding thoughtfully as his gaze drifted to the bottomless chasm below. “One thing to note, though, this chasm is truly bottomless. I tossed a few pebbles down, but there wasn’t even an echo. Maybe it will become a fascinating destination for exploration once we acquire the ability to cast flying magic or something.”
“Nuh-uh,” SuperNova interjected while shaking his head, “I’m not so sure about that. The place is too dark, and we don’t know what we’ll find down there; it’s too risky.”
“That’s true…”
“Hey, remember those bandits that got captured and hauled back to the academy?” Mike piped up suddenly, having just returned from a short break, likely catching wind of something new on the official website forum.
Speaking of which, the task of escorting back the captured bandits that had been left behind was handled by KuroUsagi, Auralise, and the others.
Prominence arched an eyebrow. “Yeah, what about them?”
“Well, some peeps who are into role-playing decided to strike up a conversation in order to interrogate them, and you won’t believe what they found,” Mike continued and paused to add tension to the topic.
“What?”
Several players in the surroundings perked their ears on this conversation.
“Don’t make us curious. C’mon, spill it.” Prominence nudged Mike’s elbow.
“Alright, alright. So, these NPCs responded to them and began spouting strange things. At first, they were begging for mercy, as you’d expect, but then the role-players got them talking,” Mike narrowed his eyes, his fists tightening slowly. “Turns out, they weren’t just run-of-the-mill ‘bandits’ like the game makes them out to be. Of course, I don’t believe their words in the slightest after what happened with the village.”
The other players also hardened their expression over this fact. Clearly, the raid on the village had caused them to hate these bandits very much. Revenge seemed to be the only justified outcome for their crimes.
“But that aside, they managed to glean some interesting info about the game world from them,” Mike emphasized. “I must say, the AI they used for those small-time mobs is top-notch. Their dialogue was convincing as hell.”
“Wow, more world-building! I wonder if we’ll get to explore new regions in the next update or two. That’d be awesome.”
“Definitely. Right now, the gameplay still feels a bit restricted. A bit more freedom would be a game-changer.”
Storm and Prominence voiced their opinion. The rest of the players were also abuzz with this newfound information, their fingers flying across their Shadowlink Marks to find more news about the interrogation of the bandits.
As the players were engrossed in what they were doing, a small disturbance occurred above the chasm, attracting their attention.
“Look over there, there’s something strange happening!” one of the players exclaimed.
“Let’s check it out!”
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
As Alfred and the players hurried toward the source of the disturbance, a portal shimmered into existence above the chasm. First, a leg emerged, followed by the rest of their headmaster’s body. Behind him, a magnificent silvery wolf emerged, carrying what appeared to be captives on her back.
Gasps of surprise echoed among the players as they watched the unexpected arrival, anticipation bubbling within them as they eagerly awaited an explanation for their headmaster’s sudden appearance.
***
Victor just emerged from the passage connecting to the pocket dimension, only to be met with a surprising sight: The players were already gathered on the other side, awaiting his arrival. Furthermore, they all had fanatical gazes that were screaming “We have been waiting for your return! Now, give us a hidden mission!”
It almost felt as if they were his crazed fans who were unwilling to let him go.
“Ahem. Haven’t I instructed you acolytes to return to the academy posthaste after clearing the bandit encampment?” Victor questioned, asserting his authority as the headmaster. He even let out some mana force to pressure them a little.
“My apologies, Sir Astralium,” Zero replied, bowing with a hand raised apologetically. “It was my suggestion that we wait here for your return. Now that we’ve ensured everything is in order, we can rest assured.” As expected of a consultant, his way of speaking is smooth.
“I see.” Victor had never really explicitly forbidden them from waiting for him, so he found it unnecessary to punish them in any way. Perhaps they were genuinely hoping for a special mission from him. Truly a bunch of dedicated sycophants through and through.
With that in mind, Victor opened his mouth to address the players. “The time is just right. I do have a special task to entrust you all.”
“Please, ask us anything!” Prominence was the first to raise his hand in full enthusiasm.
“Yes! Even if it means jumping into the bottomless chasm, we’re up for it!” Storm declared boldly while striking a salute pose.
“Uh, I’m not though.” SuperNova slightly shook his head.
“Hush. It’s just a metaphor. I’m not really going to jump down there; that would be suicide.”
Victor was not so petty as to dwell on their impulsive remarks, so he immediately went with the details of the task. “Very well, it seems that you’re enthusiastic. Listen carefully, I want you to secure the passage from this place to the academy — eliminate any threats you encounter along the way. If you carry out your duties diligently, a handsome reward will await you.”
Almost all the players gathered here were at the first stage Initiate Attunement; Victor thus had confidence in their abilities, knowing they were more than capable of completing the task. He had already dispatched the mission to the Shadowlink Mark, having prepared it beforehand.
“Yippee, thank you, respected Headmaster!”
“We will execute this mission flawlessly!”
“That’s right. That’s right.”
“…”
Speaking of which, the two overseers had unexpectedly agreed to allow his players to explore the pocket dimension for their amusement and even lent him a few keys to open the pocket dimension. The keys were different than the artifact fragments and were smaller and had a simpler shape. Of course, there were several restrictions that they strictly imposed on this agreement, which were as follows:
1. There could only be one group of a maximum of ten individuals with powers below Elemental Adept Magus, who could enter the pocket dimension at a time.
2. Exploration was limited to the outer areas, excluding entry into the mechanical tower.
3. Any deaths occurring within the pocket dimension would not be the overseers’ responsibility, and they possessed absolute authority to punish those who violated the aforementioned rules.
Victor found no reason to refuse these conditions and briskly agreed. After all, the players were respawn-able entities, and he had little to worry about beyond the potential loss of equipment and some meditation progress. Moreover, the resources within the outer area of the pocket dimension were already plentiful. He felt grateful for the overseers’ willingness to accommodate his request.
The players soon dispersed to carry out their new assigned task. Meanwhile, Victor swiftly returned to the academy with Lumen in tow. Since the players were too focused on their mission, they failed to notice and discuss the captives being carried by his magical mount.
Traversing the Thornwood Forest with his current level of power was pretty easy. Despite having a distance of about fifteen kilometers, Victor was able to reach the academy in less than fifteen minutes. This was while waiting for Lumen to catch up to him. The poor beast had to bear the weight of several people on her back, slowing her pace.
Upon arrival, Victor found the academy bustling with its usual activities, seemingly untouched by recent events. Peace had returned to the place, although the incident had resulted in a significant number of casualties, despite it being not as severe as the arachnid invasion. Overall, exactly twenty-six players had lost their lives, with about twenty more suffering from minor to severe injuries — nothing too alarming.
As for the captured mercenaries, Victor had instructed the players to hastily construct a prison. However, before its completion, he temporarily housed the captives in a large room within the Headmaster’s Building and the players monitored them. He would also have Lizbeth help monitor. There was little else to be done about them for the time being, after all.
Similarly, Victor put Jared, Dorian, Elara, and Rowan in a single room on the same floor as his office. They were still unconscious for now, and likely wouldn’t wake up until a few hours later. Just in case, however, he put them in chains that Eleanor had specifically crafted.
Now, he stood before the imposing double doors to his office. A melancholic feeling emerged in his heart; he had achieved his revenge, his sole reason to have gone this far. He had killed Graviel and sentenced the others to an even worse fate. He had completed the goal that had become the driving force behind his whole operation.
Yet, somehow, a profound emptiness gnawed at him from within. Was this what those people seeking revenge felt after they accomplished their lifelong goals?
Victor sighed, and he slowly pushed the doors open. As they creaked apart, a sudden movement caught him off guard. A small creature, no bigger than his hand, launched itself toward him like a bullet, latching onto his face like a lice that refused to let go.
“Master, you’re back!” A high-pitched voice rang in Victor’s ears, belonging unmistakably to Lizbeth, the fairy.
“Umph?” Victor’s voice was muffled by the fairy clinging to his face. Though the situation was absurd, he didn’t mind as much and even felt a surge of warmth. With gentle hands, he peeled her away from his face, offering a strained smile. “Yeah, I’m home.”
Whatever the case, his life wouldn’t change — he would still be the headmaster of this academy and the orchestrator of the fourth natural disaster.