Several hours have passed ever since Faith had officially been banished from the kingdom and abandoned by the only people she knew. Having nowhere to go, no place to stay, and no one to talk to, she continuously walked straight forward on the yellow dirt path laid out in front of her. The suns began to set and the sky started turning into the red-orange color it was the night before Faith's life pulled a one-eighty.
She stared up at the sky with remorse, but that was when she noticed a large shadow covering her entire body. Once she noticed the change in scenery, she heard a roar that filled the skies. As she turned towards the two suns resting on the horizon and widened her eyes while excited, she saw an enormous winged reptile soaring in the sky. From Faith's point of view, the four-legged, crimson-scaled reptile was without a doubt more than three times the size of a modern airplane. Its crimson-red wings which were about half its size sprouted from its back and pushed downward, giving it more velocity and height. The tail waving behind the dragon was about the same length as its body, and it released a brilliant red and black flame towards the end. Spikes matching the reptile's scales were hanging from the top of its head to its tail.
There was no doubt in Faith's mind that that was a dragon, and that began to make her tremble. Though watching the dragonfly above her was a sight to see, she couldn't help but think that she would have to one day go up against something of its scale.
Faith softly: [This world is terrifying,]
She could barely make out speech in her head but managed to pull out a nervous smile.
Faith: [But this... is gonna be an adventure.]
Faith ran toward the direction the dragon was heading as if she was trying to follow it to its den.
While trailing underneath the dragon, Faith kept a good eye out for what was in front of her. To make sure she didn't lose the dragon due to any unforeseen circumstances, she tried her best to manage but forgot about one important aspect. As she was running, a sudden pop-up appeared in front of her face, one in bold red text reading:
Warning!
Stamina - Low
Hunger - Low
Dehydrated!
Those flashed in front of her eyes, blocking her from seeing the dragon flying above her, and eventually making her feel insanely tired. Just like when she used her teleport move against Zack, she felt as if she was completely drained. She lost sight of the dragon and made camp in between a huge horseshoe-like rock structure. She pressed her back against a smooth surface on the rock and opened her inventory. She pulled out a glass of water that Zack had given her before she left and chugged it down within a few seconds. The 'Dehydrated' status effect faded away, but the others remained.
Faith whining: [What am I supposed to do about those?]
She opened her inventory again, placed her bottle in, and began looking through the pouch of loot that Zack handed her.
Faith: [Jeez, he didn't even give me any food! What am I supposed to do about these annoying things?]
She attempted pushing the interfaces out of view but had no luck.
*
As Faith sat in the middle of nowhere and complained about her current ordeal, more ominous things were happening in further and more distant lands.
In the middle of a cold, snow-piled forest, laid an abandoned, worn-down castle made of stone and surrounded by ice and snow, as well as its own debris. Entering the front gates of the castle would bring the courtyard into full view. A large space of the courtyard is filled with an oddly placed volcanic structure made of hot rocks and molten lava, that didn't look man-made like a creature built it on its own. On the opposite end of the courtyard was the massive castle that seemed to have gone through a catastrophic attack. Walls around the castle were torn apart, some spots looked lightly burned and others to a crisp. Despite the exterior of the castle, the inside looked a lot cozier.
The first room to be seen upon opening the castle doors was a throne room that had a large campfire laying in the very center. Unlike the Leviere throne room, this one was extremely empty. No banners were hanging on the walls, no special colors around the place, and nothing remotely special about it. Several doors were scattered across the walls, leading to dungeons, the kitchen, the dining room, and the living rooms. Though the castle itself was enormous, it seemed as if most of it wasn't in use.
Sitting on the throne was the slit-eyed individual. He sat in peace as the fire in the center lit up the room and created room for comfort.
The room was mostly silent until suddenly the vampire slammed open the castle doors and grunted as he made his way to the fire. The Dragon Tamer watched him act inappropriately in shock.
Dragon Tamer with a chuckle: [Omar, what did I tell you about running off on your own?]
Heirloom, the Dragon Tamer was on the short end of the three, standing at about five foot five. His attire consists of slim cardinal red armor that went from his feet to his shoulders and sharp golden blades sticking out the back. A cape to match his attire could be seen hanging on a wall near his throne.
Omar seriously: [Don't tell me what to do, kid.]
Heirloom flinched and made a fist.
Omar: [If you want to fight, I'll gladly kill you.]
A mysterious laugh came from a door to the left of the castle lobby along with the sound of footsteps getting louder.
Ninja kicking open the door: [It's been a while, Omar!]
Both the vampire and Heirloom groaned.
Heirloom shouting: [Can't you guys open a door like normal people?!]
The Ninja was a tall fellow. At about five feet eight, he looked fairly slim and bony. He was wearing pitch black sets of clothes with a mouth mask to match. With a katana hanging on a rope behind him, he was always ready for a fight. His name was Vijan Dahal.
Vijan confused: [Did I do something wrong?]
Omar smirking: [Well, well, well, if it isn't Vijan.]
He walked up to the ninja and raised his head to look into his eyes.
Vijan smirking back: [You've been gone for almost an entire day. Did you get stumped by a paladin?]
Omar with a growl: [Paladins can suck my peen! I can kill one in two seconds, flat!]
Vijan laughed to himself.
Omar: [What's so funny?]
Vijan: [Do you really think you can kill your only weakness?! That's stupider than trying to tame Heirloom's dragon!]
Omar irritated: [Who are you calling stupid, bitch?!]
A bright white flame-like aura started forming around the vampire, giving Heirloom bad vibes. Likewise, Vijan reached for the katana hanging behind him.
Heirloom: [Vijan! Do you want him to kill you?!]
Vijan released his grip on his sword and lowered his mouth mask.
Omar: [That's what I thought, bitch.]
His aura began to fade away as he saw Vijan back down. Heirloom sighed in relief.
Heirloom: [Did you at least get what you went there for? The source of power.]
Omar: [What? No.]
He caught Heirloom's attention.
Omar: [The infamous Zack Chagnon was there.]
Heirloom opened his eyes and stared at the ground. Omar wrapped his hands behind his head.
Omar: [Even if I wanted to find the source, Zack would destroy me in two seconds.]
Vijan laughed to himself again, which caused Omar to flinch the second he heard him, and grew a temper.
Heirloom: [I didn't expect Zack to be there at this time... wait, where were you exactly?]
Omar unsure: [The kingdom of Leviere, apparently.]
Heirloom surprised: [Leviere? Isn't that the super pitiful kingdom with super intense diversity?]
Omar nodded in agreement as he walked back to the campfire.
Omar: [It isn't bad compared to the other kingdoms in the north.]
Heirloom walked up to his throne and sat down, all while thinking to himself.
Omar: [Zack is the most powerful Paladin in the world, thanks to the stupid god he calls Christ.]
Vijan: [That's weird all on its own, isn't it? Nobody knew the existence of a Jesus before he arrived.]
Omar turned to Vijan with a curious glare.
Vijan: [Anyway, did you sense the power again after leaving us?]
Omar: [No, dude! After the first time it went off, I wasn't able to sense it anymore. I went all the way to Leviere, and they just forced me out like I was some stupid demihuman. But, I did sense it for a fraction of a second last night. It came and left faster than I could analyze it. I'm pretty sure it was the same source though.]
Vijan: [Maybe it didn't come from Leviere. Maybe you got lost and assumed that the power came from that pitiful kingdom?]
Omar: [Dude, I grew up in Leviere. There's no way I'd get lost on my way there... unlike someone when we went to their hometown.]
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Vijan irritated: [What did you say?!]
Heirloom shouting: [Can you two just shut up for a moment?!]
Omar: [Don't tell me what to do.]
Heirloom: [I'm trying to focus, okay?!]
The dragon tamer shouted with a voice crack.
Heirloom: [I can't think if you two keep arguing!]
Both Vijan and Omar stopped talking but gave each other a mean glare.
Heirloom: [Thank you.]
With his arms crossed and narrow red eyes focused on the ground beneath his throne, Heirloom was forced into thinking of a strategy to please both of his battle-addicted companions, as well as a way to get his hands on the power they sensed just the other day. Thinking about it wasn't an easy task, but it only took him a moment to realize what he needed to do.
Heirloom raised his head and looked at the two with a maniacal grin
Heirloom: [I have the perfect plan. We are going to Leviere.]
Omar and Vijan both grinned back as if Heirloom's grin was contagious.
Heirloom: [Fuck the Demon Lord's order. Leviere is more twisted than any other kingdom we've been to, so it's time we bring an end to it.]
Omar with a smirk: [What is this plan?]
Heirloom: [It'll take some time to put all the pieces together, but trust me for once.]
Omar nodded. Just before leaving the throne room, Vijan softly punched Omar's shoulder.
Vijan with a smirk: [Let's see just how powerful Zack Chagnon really is.]
----------------------------------------
Standing beside the Lyon guild's quest board were Parker and Sean with their arms crossed and eyes narrowed. They were staring at each individual quest, reading out the requirements in their heads, and searching for the easier quests to get a quick buck.
It's been two days ever since the both of them were kicked out of Zack's humble abode. Using Zack's name, they managed to get a place in the guild's apartment complex for a month without having to pay a dime and get food from certain places where Zack was well respected. Though they were living a decent lifestyle in the new MMORPG world, Parker couldn't help but feel guilty for Faith's life as it was.
Sean and Parker had taken on multiple quests to raise their levels, anything from side quests that included saving cats from rooftops to slaying some extremely low-tier monsters that were not even remotely frightening. They managed to raise their levels to level 24, which was more than quadruple what they used to be. Slaying slimes was fairly simple, but anything higher than level 20 was a challenge.
Ever since they reached level 24, getting experience from low-tier quests was basically impossible, and they would get bombarded by Wilson to tier up to receive tier C quests.
Parker in anger: [UGH!]
He dug his hands into his hair and shouted.
Parker: [These missions are too much for us to handle!]
They took Wilson's suggestion and previewed the C-tier quests. As they expected, the quests were way too dangerous for their current level, and could possibly get them killed.
Sean: [Don't complain that we're taking the easy quests.]
The wizard didn't take his eyes off the quest board.
Sean: [Our levels suggest we move onto C-tier, but we haven't accepted the request yet. We can still continue to grind the low-tier missions like they are nothing.]
Parker, whimpering tone: [Yeah, but maybe we should take a break and do something soothing. Hey! What do you say to fishing?]
Sean irritated: [Fishing?! We wouldn't be getting any money from that!]
Parker groaning: [I hate this world—]
???: [Did you guys hear about how the king banished the sorceress?]
Parker and Sean turned towards the scrawny-looking player. He ran towards a more built character that was wearing heavy armor and began a conversation with him. The mention of their friend caught their attention.
Macromil: [Yeah, it was crazy!]
The guy in heavy armor replied.
Macromil: [I heard that the sorceress had to fight the Head Officer to keep her citizenship.]
Biltaun: [It wasn't like she was going to win anyway, but she managed to land an attack.]
The scrawny adventurer laughed alongside Macromil after they took a big chug of their beverage. Parker turned to Sean with a worried expression.
Parker: [Can't believe he was kicked out by force.]
Sean carelessly: [At least we didn't have to go with him.]
The wizard turned to the quest board and looked directly at a specific quest.
Sean: [I get that he's our friend and all, but this is for the greater good.]
Sean pointed at a sheet of paper and had Parker look into it. Parker gave it a long glare, reading through the requirements and difficulty. The quest was called 'Hungry Hungry Crocs' and it required the adventurer to slay a few anthropomorphic crocodiles that have been terrorizing and eating people by the lakeshore.
Parker disappointed: [You want us to fight man-eating Crocs?]
Sean: [You're a healer and I'm a wizard. We're more than capable of taking on a few level-two human-crocs. C'mon, don't be a wuss.]
Parker nervously: [I mean... if you think we can handle it, we might as well.]
Sean nodded and pulled the sheet of paper right off the board. On his way to Wilson, he heard the same two people talking about the rumors going around about a heinous group of psychopaths. He stopped himself before he could activate any chat options, and eavesdropped while acting casual.
Macromil full of energy: [Yeah, but they went on a murder rampage a couple of days ago! They went against the entire kingdom of Penn and won!]
Biltaun: [Penn doesn't have a Paladin. That's probably the main reason they lost.]
A young girl with fairy wings attached to her back and long ears joined in their conversation. She sat on a chair to Biltaun's right and called one of the servants over.
Fleari frightened: [Yeah, but still... it's crazy to think a couple people took out an entire kingdom.]
Macromil laughed as Biltaun patted Fleari's curly chestnut hair.
Macromil: [The Demon Lord's general that came to Leviere yesterday was rumored to have joined Hydra not too long ago.]
The mentioning of the vampire gained Parker's attention. He walked up to Sean and stood by his side.
Macromil: [If it weren't for Mr. Chagnon, we would've been just like Penn.]
Fleari: [Don't you think he's going to come back with his friends?]
Macromil: [No chance! I'm sure James is on his way back to the city as we speak! With his intel on Penn and Hydra, Mr. Chagnon should take them out without a sweat!]
Parker silently: [They're talking about the same demon lord general that was looking for Felix.]
Sean disappointed: [You're worried about him again.]
He gave Wilson the quest sheet.
Parker: [I just think leaving him out in the wild, alone was the worst thing we could have done.]
Wislon happily: [Would you want to start this quest immediately or put it on hold?]
Sean turned to Parker.
Sean carelessly: [Felix was nothing but dead weight. He knew nothing about this world and treated everything as a joke, and look where that got him; banished from the kingdom and targeted by the Demon Lord's general!]
Sean put the quest on hold and opened his inventory.
Sean: [If you want to go help him out, fine. I'll figure out this stupid world on my own.]
Parker looked at Sean as if he were one of those psychopaths going around the world. He couldn't believe the words coming out of Sean's mouth. Sean turned to Parker after noticing the sudden silence and saw the disgusted glare he was receiving. Feeling guilty, he turned his head back and looked down.
Sean softly: [Listen. He's my friend too, but sometimes you gotta let go of those that are holding you back.]
Parker softly shook his head and turned around.
Parker: [Find me when you learn how to be a real friend.]
On the top left of Sean's peripherals, beneath his map, he saw Parker's name fade away. He had left the party and gone out on his own. After a groan, Sean turned back to Wilson and began the quest on his own. A destination was set on his peripheral map, so he went along with it.
Before Parker could leave the guild building, he noticed a hoard of adventurers crowding the exit. As he moved in closer, he began to hear the cheers and praise of more people from the outside. Now curious, he pushed his way through the crowd and ended up standing dead center of an empty road. Though he was in the center, none of the attention from the NPCs was going toward him. They all were chanting the same few words.
Crowd: [Welcome Back James! Welcome Back James!]
Confused about what was going on, Parker looked further down the road he was standing on and noticed a man sitting on top of a dark red horse while smiling and waving to the crowd. Suddenly feeling embarrassed to be standing in front of a guy receiving a standing ovation, he moved back into the crowd and watched as the horse clamped its hooves against the floor and moved onward. A mini parade for a single person who looked just as ordinary as any other person. Without asking any questions to the people around him, Parker stood silently until the man passed and the crowd died down.
----------------------------------------
Zack stood tall in front of the castle doors with his hands behind his back and covered from neck to toe in his suit of armor. He was waiting for the gates to open and for the Messenger of the Northeast to come through with some news. Zack had received the message of his arrival shortly after Faith left his home, and had been anticipating this meeting for a long time.
Ever since becoming the Paladin, he has only seen the Messenger once, and that was during his orientation. Zack stood nervously in the castle garden as he waited for something to happen. The moment that the gates creaked a little bit, Zack quickly straightened himself up and eased his nerves with a little hum. His anxiety slowly rose as the gates took a while to open up and reveal the tall man standing beside his horse.
He had short spiky black hair, sharp black and narrow eyes, and baggy yellow clothes that looked as if they didn't fit him. He was a lot taller than Zack and more masculine. Though he looked carefree, he had a handbag by his waist that carried all of his essentials. Walking up to Zack with his horse leashed in hand, he let out a hand for a handshake. Zack took a gulp before reaching out and firmly shaking his hand.
Paladin Zack nervously: [Sir Zhang, it's been a while.]
James: [Please, just call me James. As a citizen of this kingdom, I don't feel entitled of receiving such honorifics.]
Paladin Zack: [R... right. Anyway, would you like to come in?]
James nodded as a guard walked up to him and offered to take his horse to a stable. James allowed him without arguing and followed Paladin Zack into the building.
They made their way to Zack's little office and sat across from each other.
James: [So, you had urgent news?]
Paladin Zack: [You're quick to business.]
James: [I'm sorry, did you want to drink some tea?]
Zack awkwardly laughed as James made himself comfortable on the chair given to him.
James: [So what's so urgent?]
Paladin Zack seriously: [Rumors have begun spreading about the Kingdom of Penn. Do you happen to know anything about them?]
James interested: [Penn? What happened there?]
Paladin Zack: [A group of heinous criminals that goes by the name of Hydra,]
James immediately got out of his comfortable position and narrowed his eyes as Zack continued talking.
Paladin Zack: [I'm not too sure about it myself, as they are rumors... but the word is that Hydra completely wiped out the Kingdom of Penn just a few days ago.]
A girl with long black hair entered the office and softly closed the door behind her. She walked up to a set of couches behind James' seat and laid back. She was of average height and had a hot pink shirt on. What she was doing in the office was unknown, but Zack didn't seem to have a problem with her sudden appearance.
James seriously: [Hydra usually only targets small cities and villages, so why...]
Paladin Zack: [It's only just a rumor, so don't take it too seriously. We all doubt that a few criminals have what it takes to take down an entire kingdom.]
James: [Hydra isn't only a group of criminals. They're capable of damage beyond that of a psychopath. They wiped out a friend of mine's village a few years back.]
Zack let out a light exhale.
James: [Normally I wouldn't go out of my way to put myself in danger, but since it's them.... I'll do it. what's the mission?]
Paladin Zack: [You're to go to the kingdom and get as much information as you possibly can. Confirm or reject any of the rumors, and bring the truth to the king.]
James stood up after a nod and walked out of the room. After the door closed behind him, Zack turned to the girl lying on his couch. With a lollipop in her mouth and luscious black hair, she somehow managed to slip into the background as the two were talking.
Girl awkwardly: [What?]
Paladin Zack: [You can't just walk into an important business conversation uninvited, y'know?]
Girl: [I was gonna listen to that conversation regardless if I was allowed in the room. Telepathy comes with many perks.]
Zack sighed.
Girl: [You think the rumors are true?]
Paladin Zack: [Of course not! If anything were to happen to Penn, they would have contacted the other members of the alliance, don't you think?]
The girl sighed and pulled the lollipop out of her mouth.
Paladin Zack: [James has a really good track history, so we have no reason not to believe anything that comes out of his mouth.]
Girl: [Whatever you say, Paladin of the East.]
She walked out of the Paladin's office and left him in there silently. Zack let out a groan and stared at his ceiling. With worry written all over his face, he couldn't get the thought of Faith dying alone in the world out of his head. He began to feel guilty for kicking him out of his house before he could do any wrong, but this didn't last long.
Zack pulled his in and stared straight at the wall in front of him with a sharp glare.
Paladin Zack: [If any of the rumors are true, I'd have to revoke his ban and bring him back to safety...]