Vigilgladis. Vivrus’ capital could be considered the largest place Kihet’s ever been and he thought Xu’s sacred Tree was large. He boldly claimed it was the largest thing in the world, taller than Rozzosea’s fortress walls. Nothing came to mind more prominent and grandiose than a city constructed inside the great world tree. Fingertips of its branches stretched across hundred acres of land like a fishing net enough to cover the country.

They were in awe of its presence from days away. Now that they were right below it, the two felt incredibly overwhelmed by its sheer size. They were still hours away from the main gate and yet, had to turn their heads fully to one side to see one side of the tree.

“It’s humongous!”

“Tell me about it.”

Kihet saw dim flashes twinkling from the tree. The insectoids turned this ginormous tree into a fortress with each spot of light represented how much of the tree was occupied. To say, it was the entire bottom half of it and still expanding upwards.

“Kihet, we should send a letter back to Martha before we go through the checkpoint. We might not get another chance after we go in.”

“Good idea, but can you not tell her about my emotional outbreak? I don’t want her to worry about me.”

“Leave it to me!”

“Don’t add unnecessary stuff.”

“I’m just writing what we’ve been through.”

Kihet kept a close eye on Lily as she composed the letter. After he approved it, Lily then folded the paper in different angles and lengths until it took the shape of a dragonfly. For her origami magic to come to life, a magic crystal was required as a catalyst to give it the ability to fly.

-Come to think of it, the first time Lily introduced origami to me was when she folded me a crane.-

“Lily, when things quiet down, teach me how to make a crane?”

“I’ll even teach you how to make a turtle, a dragon and a cute little hedgehog!”

“Even a hedgehog?”

“En! With all the tiny spikes it has!”

-Is that even possible? It must be some sort of witchcraft to turn a simple piece of paper into something that complex.-

Thanks to Aten’s badge, the wait into the capital was short as they skipped through inspection and entered a tunnel. Kihet wondered what significance it held to disregard any doubts the insectoid held for them. Even if they did, they couldn’t do anything but obediently let them pass. What influence did Aten had for them to walk through the main gate without issues?

A vast network of bridges and nets extend over their heads. The heart of the tree was caged within spirally roots hanging from the top and shined its brilliant light acting as the sun. Buildings were dug into shape of large pillars and more being constructed by termite types. The residential side was silent, but the market was crowded. No one flew despite some sub species of arthropods have wings. It was assumed soldiers and guards were the only roles granted that authority.

As they stepped out of the burrow, they were approached by soldiers waiting on the other side.

“Scuse me, you two. I presume you’re the travellers that from Xu? We received word you two are important guests and will bring you to our Queen.”

No doubt Aten must’ve alerted the Queen of his presence.

Kihet kept silent and followed the soldiers through the heart of the colony. On the way, he noticed several large scars carved across some of the buildings. There was a massive one that ran through three complexes. A battle took place here. Could whoever be responsible for that had killed Malth? Thinking about it, Kihet tightly held the battleaxe. No amount of prayers would bring his friend back, but he hoped whoever in charge had information about Megith’s whereabouts.

They were guided into the deepest quarter of the capital burrowed deep in Vivrus’ world tree.

“Oracle, our Queen expected you.”

“Should be.” He arrogantly replied. “I sent someone running back to her a week ago.”

“Before we allow you through, we will have to confiscate all your weapons. Worry not, we will secure your belongings-.”

“Hands off. Do Not touch this this or I’ll send your heads rolling. This axe is worth more than your life to me. I will keep this and go meet with your Queen.”

Kihet was prepared to reason with Lily, but she didn’t try to lecture him. She knew the importance of his friend’s weapon. Instead, she dropped her bow, sword and arrows into the guard’s hands then returned to Kihet’s side. Following her example as Kihet dropped his Nagamaki, two swords. He spread his cloak as a dozen flint carved knives and crystals from the Mantis’ scythe dropped out.

The guard’s exchanged looks with one another as they opened the door, but Kihet kept Malth’s axe. They never attempted a second try to remove Malth’s battleaxe from him.

As the doors opened, the chamber echoed loudly then silence. The walls were tangled by overgrown pure white roots branching down from the ceiling and weaved over the floors. It was brightly lit even with no eye-catching light source as if the root’s holy radiance fended off the darkness. On the far side of the room, a throne in an ever-changing color of rainbows, stood alone.

But at the center of the place, there were two figures. One was a corpse, made quick work into a pile of unidentifiable mass while the other stood victorious. The victor’s lower half, a centipede’s body, crawled up the stairs and coiled around the throne. Her upper half clothed in transparent-ish silk fabric and had the most colourful wings of an insect monster on her back.

She flicked her blade and sheathed it as she set her eyes on Kihet and Lily who were bewildered by the scene.

“For defeating the Queen, Elarinya Rosa Anneldia now has the right to succeed the throne!”

“Eek! Wh-what happened?!” Lily gasped.

“It’s one of those duels for the throne. This is bad.” Kihet clicked his tongue. As he knew nothing about the newly declared Queen, he found himself about to start negotiations without any advantages.

He braced himself as he made his presence known and boldly marched down the red dyed silk carpet. He looked down at the mess, and his nose caught a whiff of an unpleasant acidic smell from the corpse or what’s left of it.

“Welcome to Vigilgladis, Oracle. Please forgive my appearance, I had recently inherited the throne.” Snapping her fingers, cleaners immediately rushed onto the scene and disposed of the corpse. “If I only knew replacing Vivrus’ ruler was this easy, I would’ve challenged the Queen ages ago. However, as we are now both strangers to one another, I believe we are at an equal footing.”

“You chose this time to take the throne. You knew I was coming. That Dragonfly told you.”

“The old senile fool? He did, to which I decided it was time for the throne to become mine. Don’t worry, I served as a retainer and handled tasks of the past rulers I was sworn to. I am overly familiar of how things are handled.”

“Then I’ll cut to the chase.” Kihet thrust a handful of documents forward. “Xu needs Vivrus’ soldiers.”

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“Against the Towers?”

“And Rozzosea.”

“Ah, yes. Numbers are Vivrus’ greatest asset.” The Queen spread her fingers, inspecting the sharpness of her claws. “We may be many, but we are not infinite. They may be my soldiers now, but regardless I must treat them as individuals with lives of their own. If you’re to ask them to commit to your cause, I hope you’re prepared to offer something of equivalence or of higher value.”

“You have a Tower you want me to get rid of.”

“Indeed, the Oracle’s duty! However, you will eventually challenge all Towers one day or another, with or without my aid.”

“Stop beating around the bush and tell me what you want instead.”

“First, introductions. I have yet learned the name of the first hero accompanying the Oracle. Isn’t that right, Kihet?”

Kihet remained unfazed and instead gestured Lily to introduce herself. The Queen had more information about him than he had about the Queen thanks to Aten. However, if Aten knew about his friends and had a connection to the current Queen, she may also know more about Megith.

“Wu Tomoe, name.” Lily announced then quickly turning to Kihet. “Did I say it properly?”

“You’re fine.”

“The priestess. I see you’re learning Viviran, perhaps if I spoke in Devil folk’s tongue, it would be easier for you to understand?”

“P-please…”

“And I’ve heard about the fate of Xu’s late Prince. You have my condolences.”

“Thank you.”

“With introductions complete, Oracle, I shall tell you my proposal. Given your recent awakening, it seems to be impossible for you challenge the tower right away. Instead, I require your assistance to stabilize the Tower in Vivrus as you did for Xu.”

Kihet immediately shook his head upon hearing the task. For Xu, he was able to light the altar in the Sacred Tree’s shrine because one of the corrupted Heroes was sealed outside of its Tower by Henrick. If he were to ignite the altar in Vivrus’s World Tree, he would have to defeat the one guarding the Tower in this region or lure it and seal it like Henrick did.

“The requirements to do that is not possible with my current abilities. I need to go into the Tower for that.”

“I have expected as much. Then I will impose three problems you must solve to win my favor. How does that sound?”

“I won’t accept unless I hear it.”

“Understandable. I will guarantee I will offer tasks that would be suitable for your ability.”

“By the way, where is the Tower? I couldn’t see it on the way here.”

“That’s because it burrowed itself deep underground, as its roots are spreading.”

“Spreading? Like, the same as spreading poison across the land like Xu?” Lily asked.

“Almost, dear Tomoe. The corruption is blindly digging through underground in search of contaminating the Great Tree’s roots. I predict if it slightly makes contact with one of the great roots, Vivrus and all insectoids under the great tree will perish with no chance of reviving it. We’re only delaying the inevitable. Fortunately, it spreads incredibly slow.”

“How much time would you say is left?” Kihet asked.

The Queen opened her mouth for a moment then closed it back. She answered with silence. From her expression, Vrurus stood on its last roots. Kihet guessed they have at most a few years left.

“We have already harmed the great tree enough to protect it and our homes.”

They were cutting off portions of the tree’s roots as the miasma expanded. They could only do so much until it reached the base of the tree.

“And you want me to stop it.”

“If possible that would be ideal or find a way to slow it even further before you leave for other countries.”

“What are the other conditions?”

At the mention, the Queen frowned and slithered off the throne. She closed the distance between them, lower herself to the same height. In an almost whispering voice, she answered. “A fully developed dungeon has recently spawned close. Very close. I wish for you to rid of it. The other, is Rozzosea.”

“The dungeon I can understand, but what about Rozzosea?”

“They want the same thing as Xu does. Everyone from the last decade knows Vivrus has an abundance of iron veins. They wish to acquire it by all means even if it means by force. In exchange for our cooperation, Rozzosea will reward us with lots of silvers and half of Xu’s land. Rozzosea was confident they will conquer Xu. The deal almost made it through you know?”

“Are you serious?”

“That is until yours truly interfered. With the previous Queen disposed of and my words which are now absolute, I sent an envoy to decline a moment ago. I find siding with the Oracle is much more benefitting than expanding into Xu than losing it to the Towers later. You know what that means, don’t you?”

“They’re going to come here.”

“And I’d like you to send them running home with tails between their legs when the time comes. Simple, right?”

Kihet scoffed at the Queen. He remembered the Giant’s strength, particularly Salith who destroyed him during their duel. If there were any elite fighters like her, Kihet questioned the chances of the Insectoid’s victory against Giants. It’d be a slaughter fest for the enemy if they were to use their gigantification. The insectoids might as well be using sticks and stone to fight against fully armored rampaging titans.

“I believe I kept you two here longer than I should. You must be exhausted from your trip from Xu. I will have my guards lead you to the finest suitable housing and we shall continue negotiations tomorrow. I look forward to our cooperation, Oracle.”

The Queen was right. The toll of being lookout was beginning to take effect. Even if he wanted to have his questions answered, particularly about his friends, it’d be best to ask another time. Also, it didn’t help that Lily was stressed throughout the conversations which made her more fatigued than she should be.

With that, their first meeting with Vivrus’ Queen concluded as they were escorted out of the throne room and given their weapons back.

There were guards stationed at each corridor, discouraging them to explore the underground chambers. They kept a close eye on them, especially Kihet. As they passed by a forked path, there was a squad of royal soldiers walling off one of the hallways. He suspected something valuable was being guarded down that tunnel. Perhaps it was Megith, perhaps it was towards the city’s treasury.

“Kihet, don’t think of doing anything stupid.”

“I know.”

Outside, they had free reign after they received the address of the tavern they were to stay. Before either of them decided to call it a day, they decided to do some reconnaissance around the marketplace. The heart of the Great Tree mimicked the orange glow of a sunset then started to turn white like the moon for nighttime. The number of insectoids did not decrease as different variants roamed the streets.

“Look at prices of silk fabrics! They’re dirt cheap and they’re really well woven!”

“So are many other things. The only expensive items seem to be well made equipment.”

“You’re right, but everything else here would cost double if they were sold in Xu.”

Many blacksmiths put crudely forged weapons on display as if it was their best work. There was a knife about the same quality of Kihet’s which costed a hefty sum of silver. Looking around, Insectoid adventurers didn’t have the best equipment. Many of them used materials crafted from parts of their trophies. If he would compare, the equipment Kihet and Lily were better, if not, one of the best in the country.

It appeared Vivrus’ technological advance of weaponry was lacking, almost at a primitive level compared to other countries. He saw many eyes stealing glances off Malth’s battleaxe as he passed through the streets. Fortunately, all who met his glare immediately turned away.

From their tour, Kihet purchased a roll of silk and arrows for Lily. After they found the tavern, he exchanged a letter for a key to their room. Everything was paid for as long which was a slight relief on their finances. However, when he opened his purse, there wasn’t much left.

“We need money.” He sighed.

“There’s a guild hall to take quests.”

“Guild hall? I’ve never been to the one in Xu. Never really know how they work different than mercenaries.”

“Should I give you a quick rundown about it?”

“That would be nice.”

First, she told him about the seven classes one would be registered based on one’s combat style. The purpose of classes was to help others identify roles to form parties and strategize faster. Currently, there are seven classes known as: Fighter, Mage, Apothecarist, Ranger, Gladiator, Defender and Tracker.

In their instance, Lily would be identified as a Ranger while Kihet would be a Fighter.

“Now about the guild. I’m only scratching the surface of this topic!”

Guilds were formed because armies at the time weren’t large enough to protect the land by themselves. Sometimes they need to reserve their forces for upcoming battles or defend certain key locations. The number of monsters, bandits and Tower forces claimed abandoned territories proving difficult for the army to spare its forces to assist villages around them. They would hire mercenaries if it wasn’t for their greed, so the rulers created guild halls. Unlike mercenaries, adventurers take requests to earn money and are not bound to contracts. Unlike the army, they are given large amount of freedom as long as their morals are not led astray.

To protect beginners from accepting suicidal quests, there were ranks given to adventurers: Hero, General, Knight, Squire, Soldier, Adept, Apprentice, Rookie, Novice. Hero being the top class, where no one yet was worthy of the title because the challenger will need consent from the ruler of all seven kingdoms to pass. General only has a small population of about fifty people worldwide achieving this rank in history. The number of knights below a thousand, Squires around fifteen thousand with most belonging in the lower ranks.

“What are the perks for ranks aside from being qualified to do harder quests?”

“Ranks can give you access to equipment donated by the army. If they deem you are trustworthy, you could be authorized to purchase siege weapons, resource packages, or ingredients too dangerous to be sold in markets.”

“If you know this much, I assume you have a rank.” He stared at Lily whose face instantly became flustered.

Poking her fingers together, she awkwardly laughed. “Well…”

Judging from her expression, Lily didn’t have one. Kihet couldn’t blame her since she was busy performing rituals as the Sacred Tree’s priestess.

“Got it. We’ll stop by the guild after tomorrow’s hearing.”

“Really?!”

“Getting registered won’t hurt. I have a feeling the Queen would make us anyways.”

“Then let’s get to bed! We have a big day tomorrow!”

“Why are you climbing onto my bed when you have your own?”

“It feels weird having to sleep away from you after all those nights of being together.”

“That’s because we only had one tent.”