Rising Tide

'

Blessed in death and undeath does thy heart beat, for life is death and null. '

Ok, so... this place is really fucked up.

First of all, 5 gold pieces a night for an inn... we literally cannot afford to be here for even a day, second... this smell is ABSOLUTELY some sort of undead, it smells of rotten vegetation and meats... disgusting... and finally, third, this place is full of druggies and hookers... like, I am absolutely fine with people who do druggies and the profession of brothel working... but these people are something else entirely!

Like, naked in the streets slamming their heads against brick walls something else, this isn't just your ordinary slum... this is... advanced slums.

Most of us agree that we will probably just get a meal and camp outside of town, but Dice and Anise seem to want to fix this place for whatever reason.

I mean, what are we supposed to do?

The government running this place is clearly corrupt and enforcing a huge inflation scheme

to keep workforce down... the taxes seem to be high and for nearly anything, the biggest professions being policemen and pimps doesn't exactly paint an excellent picture for the state of this town or the people who run it.

It's probably run by some player who doesn't understand anything about running a country.... or, maybe it's just a really incompetent ruler npc...

Dice and Anise refuse to let me turn a blind eye to this place, to be honest... I want to fix this mess. There is absolutely something wrong with this town if Undead are just free to do whatever they want, and frankly I am hard pressed to find an answer to where are they coming from.

Just as we landed we spotted a few of them, a few casts of holy spells from Anise knocked them out but... seriously, this is bad.

I... ugh, what a pain.

I guess we'll have to get involved somehow, but for now we just need to get information. Our goal is close, I know it, but beyond any shadow of a doubt I know that knowledge will push me further here. First thing I have to learn, who the hell is running this joint amd what are these people consuming that makes them go crazy?

Alright, maybe first I should cleanse this place of Undead...

| I recommend casting the new spell ' Vo Sa Radia ', it will kill the low level undead nearby! |

Leave it to me system, I can kill a few skeletons and zombies. This is an opportunity to test out Calamity.

' Initiate combat sequence, eliminate all targets of undead variance. '

| Er... Cobalt? It doesn't work like that... |

Eh?

Ugh... fine, alright.

' Vo Sa Radia '

- 5th tier Radiant Magic, Vo Sa Radia -

Fifth tier? Really System?

| It works though! |

Well... touche. It seems this place was really cleaned up, the smell of undead has definitely disappeared a bit... but, that still doesn't solve the other problems. Who's this Radia guy anyhow?

| How'd y-!?! |

Quite.

I am running out of patience with you, system... so, tell me. Why is there some punk running around with Divinity again, I thought you said the gods died. You wouldn't lie, would you system?

| Mm... shit... ok, well... there may have been a few... tweeks. |

Alright, another problem to fix then.

I should make a list.

1. Teach the group proper values and morals.

2. Fully outfit the group.

3. Fix this town.

4. Find Asi.

5. Kill Umbra.

6. Kill Radia.

Anything else I should add, system?

| I don't think most of those are nessesary... |

7. Overthrow the system.

| -! H-Hey-! Don't get any funny ideas! I can delete you if I wanted-! |

Do it then.

| F-... Fuck you. |

I need you to stop interfering with me System, especially when you don't even give me quests or item drops anymore.

Alright, on to other ( more important ) matters.

Food.

- " Any recommendations for places to eat, Jotun? "

" There is a really good Deli at the southern district here, the pastrami is especially good. "

- " Oh yeah? Do they sell the meats whole or sliced? "

" Eh? No, they serve the sandwiches straight up. "

- " Do they serve it on rye bread at least? "

" I don't know the difference between breads, dumbass. "

- " Fine. Lead the way. "

For a town with such a small agricultural yield like I am seeing right now, its weird they have delis that sell pre-made food... it's definitely cheaper to just sell the meats... eh, I just hope it isn't cannibalism or something.

Frankly, Pastrami sounds really fucking good right now... haven't had it since Origin, so it better be good.

Alright, rickety cobblestone streets drenched with a damp fog... Undead around... Lamp lit streets that barely shine under the sunset... and we are going to a deli. Perfect.

I bet it's some form of Vampire, this place just screams that to me.

But let's see... this Deli is called...

' Danielle's Deli. '

Not a very creative name, likely the owner.

Though I won't harp on their naming sense, mine is so much worse, the sign that supports it is neon tube placed against a wooden frame.

Isn't that a fire hazard?

Whatever.

...

Everything is fucking wood here-!

Floors, tables, walls, everything-!

This Pastrami better be good because this whole place is pissing me off... is this whole town just one big fucking fire starter?

....

Well, the sandwich was good... can't really go wrong with Pastrami on Rye, but they did a pretty good job. It's normal Pastrami by the way, nothing weird somehow... not even a trace of mana or harmful chemicals.

ALRIGHT-!

- " Time to go, I think we camp outside the southern border. When we get there I need Scarab and Syn to began doing large-scale scans of the entirety of this damn city for any clues on what we need to do, The turrets and Dice will set up the physical camp. "

With no further words, we began walking towards the southern border of this square town... jeez, I am really going to have to stay here three days... well, maybe I'll get to star-gaze again with the crew.

...

Hm. Someone is following us..

Their Mana is crazy off the charts too... what the fuck? These fucking stalkers, they seem to be getting better and better.

No Void or anything interesting, just mana... wait a fucking second, that's a... Ohoho~... this just got interesting, that's an Atlas Grade World Item they have...

Let's see if they follow us outside the city, if they do... their lives are forfeit, and so is that item...

| Quest Gained-! |

| Coven of Vlak-Root Cove |

| Requirements - Act upon this city in a meaningful way. |

| Optional - Uncover the coven. |

| Optional - Reveal Divinity |

| Optional - Assist in slaying the evil within the city. |

| Optional - Become the ruler of Vlak-Root Cove. |

| Rewards |

| Atlas Grade World Item (???) |

| ( ??? ) |

| ( ??? ) |

| Title ( Count of Vlak-Root ) |

There we go system.. alright, now I am interested. If this place has Divine World Items in the mix, then it just might benefit me to place some effort into this place. I am not taking the lordship though, I have other things to do.

| Understood. Accept the quest? |

Absolutely.