Factions Abound: Final Round

Yorin's self-sacrifice earned a raucous cheer from all Adventurers and NPCs that had gathered in the stands. Even Merrick could not help but cheer as the Knight-Errant broke the Holy Rosary that was protecting him from Desci's spores so that he was able to use his magical ability.

A moment later as the cheers were dying down, Merrick wondered if Yorin knew that he did not need to break the item. If he had simply used Purgatory Magnetism, it would have negated the regenerative ability of the item. It did make for a good show, however, so Merrick would not begrudge him for the decision. After all, they were all gamers at the end of the day, and that was dramatic as hell.

Merrick was getting ready to delve into the dungeon when the War Officiant made an announcement that threw him off, "There will be a five minute intermission before the third round begins. All remaining Adventurers in the dungeon will be transported and locked down to their starting position. All bystanders and viewers will lose their monitoring access. The Faction Leaders will meet with me now."

Thom got up with a shrug and walked out to meet the War Officiant. DeathX did the same. There was nothing that Merrick could do at this point, so he decided to use the five minutes to cycle through his gear and make sure that it was all ready.

After seeing Desci's ability in play, Merrick wished that he had something like the Holy Rosary for himself. Instead, he would have to rely on his own abilities and try to take out the Druid before Hades Collective realized that he did not have the same immunity that Yorin had. Merrick let out a sigh when he realized what Yorin had truly done.

Fortunately there was an unenchanted set of beads left over in Merrick's inventory. He took a second to charge them with arcane energy, making them seem enchanted, and then wrapped them around his wrist in the same way that Yorin had been wearing the item. After that, Merrick secured the new consumable items that he had crafted for the Faction War, and then five minutes had passed.

Thom returned to the sidelines of the Colosseum with a smile. Merrick could tell that he was trying to suppress a laugh. Thom simply shook his head when he noticed Merrick's gaze. Then the War Officiant called forth the participants of the third round to the stage for the final start.

As Merrick joined DeathX next to the heavily armored Knight serving as the War Officiant, he resisted the urge to comment. The War Officiant, for the first time, raised the face of their helmet so that both DeathX and Merrick could see the disappointed grimace on her face. "Listen, idiots, this is supposed to be an Item Hunt. I understand that you both have poor feelings for the other at this point. Merrick, you had Alric throw the first round. D, you had your boys do the same in round two. If either of you outright betrays the notion of this Faction War in round three, you won't just be losing the War. I'll be submitting a claim to my superiors."

That answered the question that Merrick had. The War Officiant was, in some way, a Mouseion employee. DeathX agreed hesitantly to the terms. Merrick could tell that his heart wasn't in it though, the Hades Collective Faction Leader was still planning on going straight for Merrick.

Since Merrick did not directly answer, the War Officiant looked directly at him and said, "Merrick, I need you to acknowledge."

"My only goal is to win this Faction War. I don't care about whatever squabble DeathX and his Faction have against me."

The War Officiant let out a relieved sigh and then closed her helmet. Her voice then carried out to the whole stands, "To prepare for the final round, the dungeon areas have been reset. New monsters have been spawned. Any structural damage has been removed. Merrick will join Alric in the Curious Glades starting point. DeathX will join Desci and Grunt in the Hades Collective starting point. They will be hunting for… the Colosseum Champion's Soul. Thus starts the third and final round of the Item Hunt!"

DeathX dropped into the dungeon without ceremony. Merrick leaned in a little closer to the War Officiant and said, "Tell Mouseion hello for me."

The War Officiant sighed, "Oh they are watching. So please don't break the game."

With that, Merrick dropped into the dungeon and joined Alric.