Demetra took a full minute before she spoke again. She pulled out a liquor flask and chugged a drink.

Unbeknownst to the Legatus but known to her Centurions, the flask's contents are Alban Wine mixed with human blood.

Alban Wine is one of the most expensive wines in the Republic- even nobles would not casually purchase it.

Typically, it is considered a courtesy to offer a fellow high-ranking military officer a drink.

But such is the gravity of the situation that Demetra neither offered it nor did Augustus comment on her lack of courtesy. Besides, Demetra couldn't have offered wine with human blood to a Legatus even if the situation was more pleasant.

"So, let me get this straight, Augustus," said Demetra finally after chugging several gulps of wine.

"You willingly left behind most of your forces to try and impress the nobles by bringing them here at the quickest time possible."

"But in the process, you neglected the security of the device that the Senate tasked you to deliver?"

Demetra's question may as well have been arrows that hit him directly; Augustus visibly winced upon hearing his incompetence stated in plain words.

"I beg you, Demetra," pleaded the Legatus. "Please help me."

Demetra looked at him coldly.

"You should know that I am obliged to report your incompetence to the Senate."

And without waiting for a reaction or response from the Legatus, Demetra turned towards one of her Centurions.

"Remus, delay the order I just gave you," said Demetra to the Centurion. "Immediately head to the capital and relay what the Legatus said. Use one of the griffins and deliver the news personally."

"At once, Imperatrix!"

"And tell them that the Sanctus Lux Fortress is taking measures to recover the device."

The man called Remus excitedly left the room and closed the door behind him. Apart from being ordered to deliver important news to the Senate, it is a rare opportunity for anyone to ride a griffin. Despite the severe atmosphere of the room, some of the Centurions couldn't hide their jealousy at Remus' luck.

Then, Demetra opened a map of the Undead Regions and began asking the Legatus questions about what happened.

"Augustus, where did you encounter the trolls?"

Augustus pointed at a location on the map.

"Here, Demetra."

"You said there were a hundred?"

"Yes, about a hundred. But my men managed to take out about 40 of them. The trolls who survived then retreated and headed in this direction."

"So, around 40 trolls left."

"Yes, Demetra."

"And you're positive that the device is with one of them?"

"The battlemage personally in charge of protecting the device was eaten whole by one of the bigger trolls- including the device. I saw it happened."

Demetra showed no surprise at this. The smallest trolls are over 10 meters, but some reach over 15 meters. Swallowing a man is not a difficult thing to do for a fully-grown troll.

As for the Antikytheran Device, it is the size of a small clock. It wasn't too much of a leap to imagine that the device was now in the stomach of a 15-foot-tall troll. Fortunately, the device is made with powerful enchantment and would not be dissolved by the troll's digestive system.

"How many men did you lose?"

"About 300 from the encounter with the trolls and about a hundred more from severe injuries. By the end of the encounter, I had less than a hundred men left."

It is a testament to the combat capabilities of the Lorikan Legionnaires that a mere 480 men fought so well against a hundred trolls. But sadly, it wasn't enough.

If the Legatus had brought his entire legion, the losses would have been greatly minimized, and the device would have been secured in the hands of the Imperatrix by now.

"I am sorry for your men," said Demetra scornfully. "If only they had a competent leader."

The Legatus hung his head, having nothing to say in his defense. His mission ended in tragedy due to his selfishness and incompetence.

"Very well, I will notify all Auxiliaries to hunt the trolls," said Demetra. "By now, most of them have reached the 3rd Star- that should be enough to fight trolls if they overwhelm them with their numbers."

Then she asked about the other matter that had not been touched upon since the start of the conversation.

"Where are the nobles now, Augustus?" asked Demetra. "Are they resting in the noble's quarters of the Fortress?"

Augustus once again started sweating bullets. And instead of answering directly, the Legatus continued narrating what happened after the trolls attacked them.

"After the attack of the trolls, I had a few of my surviving men grant proper funeral rites to their fallen brothers- the ones that weren't eaten, at least. Then, I sent about 60 men to follow the trolls to keep track of their whereabouts."

"But on the night when they left, we were ambushed by bandits. At the time, there were only 20 legionnaires left fit to fight, along with the few guards and servants that the nobles brought with them."

"And then- and then- and then-"

At this, the Legatus burst into tears and desperately grabbed his hair, making him even more messy than he already was.

"And then, the nobles- the nobles were abducted."

A heavy silence fell upon the room.

Nobody spoke- they couldn't, for the sheer incompetence and risk the Legatus brought to the Republic was, up until now, deemed unlikely to happen.

First, he lost a valuable artifact that, in the hands of the reckless, could very well open several dangerous portals to unknown World Fragments.

Second, several important people of the Republic were abducted under his protection- if one could even call that protection, to begin with.

There will be a reckoning of epic proportions for Legatus Augustus. At best, he will only be stripped of his rank, and his family will be forever tarnished.

At worst, his incompetence could be interpreted as a deliberate sabotage of the interest and safety of the Lorikan Republic, where he will then be either imprisoned for life or crucified as a traitor.

If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it.

There is no pleasant ending that awaits the Legatus. The only question is how bad it would be depending on the device's recovery and the nobles' successful rescue.

"On top of losing the artifact, you allowed the nobles I invited to be abducted?" asked Demetra calmly.

It was this calm tone that made her even sound more dangerous.

The Legatus couldn't look at the Imperatrix in the eyes. Instead, he pointed at a specific part of the map as a response.

"This is where the nobles were abducted," he said quietly. "There were about three hundred bandits, but my remaining forces managed to take out a hundred. Then, this is where we believe they were headed."

He pointed at another part of the map again.

"They are most likely headed there, an abandoned fort," the Legatus said. "I believe the fort is called-"

"I know what it's called," snapped Demetra. "That is one of the abandoned forts in the Undead Regions."

The Legatus hollowly nodded in acknowledgment.

"Is there anything useful you can tell us, Augustus?" asked Demetra with barely concealed rage and disappointment.

Augustus remained silent. It is evident to everyone in the room that he has nothing else to offer.

"Very well, Augustus," said Demetra finally. "The Senate will determine your fate."

She turned her back towards the Legatus and paid him no more attention. Then, she turned towards one of the Centurions.

"Auctus, go after Remus and tell him what happened to the nobles," ordered Demetra. "Tell him to tell the Senate that I will do my best to rescue both the Antikytheran Device and the nobles."

BANG!

Demetra punched the wall, causing a visible hole in it.

"We have to," she said out loud to no one in particular. "After all, both incidents happened within our territory."

Then, she rang a bell- a signal for the servants outside that Demetra requires their aid. Not long after, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Enter," said Demetra.

"How can I serve, Domina?" asked the servant.

"Escort the Legatus to one of the guest rooms," replied Demetra. "Prepare a warm bath for him, a meal, and give him a hot oil massage."

Upon hearing this, the Legatus was visibly surprised.

"Imperatrix, my thanks for your hospitality," said the Legatus politely. "I admit, I was not expecting such a warm welcome in light of what happened."

Demetra once again looked at him coldly.

"No need to thank me, Augustus," said Demetra. "Consider this your last bit of comfort."

"When the Senate learn of the disastrous outcome of your mission, they will all lineup to screw you in every hole you have. The oil is to make the penetration slightly bearable."

She gestured for the servant to escort the Legatus out of the room. After the Legatus and the servant left the room, she turned to her officers again.

"Everyone, forget what we just discussed," said Demetra with a sigh. "We have far more urgent work."

***

While Demetra is holding an emergency meeting in light of recent events, Adam has reached his first destination.

It is a small cave about half a day's worth of travel from Fort Vindomora, where the nobles will be held captive.

"We're here, buddy," said Adam to his mount. "Being an undead sure has its advantages, huh?"

From the Forgotten Temple, Adam and his mount have been traveling nonstop. Although he already knew that his mount was an undead, Adam still couldn't help but be impressed that Karva did not slow down even once. Hence, they arrived at their first destination a few hours earlier than Adam initially anticipated.

"You can slow down a bit, buddy," said Adam. "Let me survey the surroundings in case there are enemies."

'If I recall correctly, they called it The Howling Cave,' thought Adam. 'It used to be a territory of a huge pack of direwolves.'

In Adam's previous life, Dark Sun completed the quest to rescue the nobles. Since they saved significant figures of the Lorikan nobility, they received many rewards from the Fortress and the nobles.

One of the rewards they received was the right to own a portion of Fort Vindomora's profit. Although the Fort would still be under the authority of the Sanctus Lux Fortress, the guild became entitled to 20% of Fort Vindomora's income.

As such, Dark Sun immediately made the previously abandoned Fort functional so that the Lorikan legion and other players may consider it an alternative base of operations. They had plans to set up a small town with all sorts of shops and services that players could use in exchange for gold.

Weeks later, Dark Sun began to explore the surrounding area of their new territory, and they eventually found a small cave about a day's worth of travel from Fort Vindomora. Although the loot they acquired was never made public, they did live-stream the cave raid. That is how Adam knew to expect direwolves to be inhabiting the area.

Then, many months after this relatively unremarkable livestream, some of the loot from the cave was unexpectedly revealed when Tyler Evergreen shared in an interview that Dark Sun traded the loot from the cave to him in exchange for several rare materials and an undisclosed amount of real-world currency.

The loot that Tyler received was an armor set tailor-made for fire users. Although he never revealed the armor's specs, Tyler continued to use it for most of his gaming career as a Pangean player.

'That Pyromancer Set is mine,' thought Adam.

Since the day Adam became a Pyromancer, many items once wielded by the top fire-using players are now destined to fall under Adam's possession. There is no reason for him not to claim items that would directly benefit him. While Alchemy, Blacksmithing, and Rune Tracing are Adam's other classes, Pyromancy is one of his most essential means of combat. He cannot afford to fall behind other players.

Although Adam is now an Adept Blacksmith, the armor and weapons he can create are still nowhere near the level of the unique armor sets and items scattered around the Undead Regions. There is no reason for him to pass up on the opportunity to secure an armor set specifically for a fire user such as himself. And besides, the armor set's location is right on the path of where he is headed.

'Two birds in one stone, as they say,' thought Adam expectantly. 'I'm curious to see what its specs are exactly.'

As a regressor, Adam knows where certain items are and how to acquire them. However, he didn't immediately wander around the Undead Region to loot these items because he judged that grinding his class proficiency was far more critical.

At the start of playing Pangea, high-level and powerful items helped a lot in securing dominance. But now that players have access to the Sanctus Lux Fortress that offers a steady supply of essential consumable items and quality gear, these once-considered powerful items are now considered common even amongst average players.

Indeed, pro gamers are now only publicly acknowledging that improving one's class proficiency is far more critical than grinding levels or completing quests. A player with at least an Adept rank will fare far better in combat, exploration, or crafting than someone with lower-class proficiency, even if they possess more powerful equipment.

Most players are still only at Intermediate rank, just below Adept, since many focused on doing profitable venues such as doing random jobs or live streaming over developing their class proficiency. Only the players with easy access to in-game and real-world resources had the opportunity to focus on grinding their class proficiency.

Being high-level and possessing top equipment may help a player secure the top spot, but a high-class proficiency will help a player keep it. After all, items can be removed or deemed obsolete, and levels will be lost if slain. But one's class proficiency will never decrease- it can only improve.

After reaching a certain distance from the Howling Cave, Adam finally saw the enemies he expected to deal with.

As he once watched in the Dark Sun's livestream, a pack of direwolves guards the cave's entrance. And the alpha of the pack conveniently is also outside. This allows Adam to scan the pack before engaging them.

He decided to go on foot to get closer while remaining undetected, so he temporarily unsummoned Karva. He also drank an invisibility and haste potion to reach a concealed spot that he judged to be close enough for him to better observe the wolves without being detected.

Upon reaching it, he activated a scroll.

Scroll: Scanning Vision!

The scroll lasted only 30 seconds, so he did not waste time and started observing the direwolves.

"I see," murmured Adam. "Not bad."

There are over 60 direwolves, and more than half are under level 100. Adam does not consider them a threat, but he intends to prioritize eliminating them as they will undoubtedly become a distraction when focusing on the more powerful ones.

Next, about a dozen direwolves have an average level of 130. These will be the next target once he eliminates the weak ones.

And finally, there is the boss.

Alpha Direwolf, Level 159

HP 800/800

Details: A powerful and agile beast capable of using frost magic and is capable of commanding the lesser direwolves. It is weak to fire.

'How fitting that a boss guarding a pyromancy set uses frost magic and is weak to fire,' thought Adam. 'Their levels aren't too bad. The real challenge is their number.'

While Adam is technically only at Level 144, in reality, he has the stat advantage. This is because he had the opportunity to take several elixirs, far more than even the wealthiest players in the Lorikan server had.

This is why he's more focused on the number of targets than the boss level. Besides, Adam had been fighting enemies with much higher levels than him, so this wasn't anything new.

Furthermore, the scanning scroll helpfully indicated that it is weak to fire. Adam has Pyromancy as one of his classes and numerous consumable items that can either inflict flame damage or enhance it.

'Watching those livestreams in my previous life instead of studying sure paid off now,' Adam mused. 'Had I known I would regress, I would have watched even more livestreams. Or memorized winning lottery numbers.'

Recalling every bit of information regarding the Dark Sun's raid of the cave, he began formulating a plan of attack suitable for a solo raid and made all the appropriate preparations. It didn't take long for him to accomplish this.

After months of crafting, he is eager to hunt monsters once again.