Gate 10

The Blood Pact was signed and the order was set for a week. The day before Gate 10, Kazi kicked back and relaxed. No point in breaking himself apart. He messaged Sun-young and Marta to do the same, but they said they would be fine. Apparently, fighting Goliath wasn't as easy as they thought it would be and they needed more time to do it.

That left Kazi with William. William who was Level 28 and glowering with confidence. Whatever had been ailing him before, his battle with Goliath had rectified it.

February 22, 177 of the Heavenly Era. Monday. At the call of Gate 10, the pair arrived. Kazi blinked. William went agape.

"Woah…"

The Heavenly Tower was a busy location. Players were scattered and went at their own pace, though that rarely meant it was empty. There was always someone going in and out. Guilds sometimes exempted their players for attending.

But today, at the advent of Gate 10, all the guilds were here.

A total of five thousand, seven hundred and twenty-seven players had come. One thousand two-hundred and seventy three players had died so far. Failed to climb the Heavenly Tower. The remaining two thousand had opted out of participating, either out of fear or anticipation.

None, however, made more of a splash than the Big Three Guilds: the Templar Knights, the Alhambra Guardians, and the Sapphire Order. Massive squadrons lined-up and ready for war. Roughly a hundred players per group, with the Guardians having seventy or so.

The first thing that popped into Kazi's mind was, 'How can they guarantee they'll be on the same team? I smell shenanigans…'

In Kazi's eyes, the Templar Knights seemed to be the most impressive, followed by the Sapphires and the Guardians. There was more discipline and crackling of magic. A quick use of Weapons Analysis Lv.3 told him their weapons were of a higher quality too.

[ Attention players! Gate 10 will open in 10:00 minutes! Please head over to the Heavenly Tower if you wish to participate as soon as possible! ]

[ Attention players! This is a raid! ]

[ Attention players! There will be no Server Room! You must go through one of four entrances! ]

[ Attention players! Once in a raid, you cannot leave until it is finished! ]

[ Attention players! Once in a raid, you cannot leave until it is finished! ]

Kazi crossed his arms. 'I'm always prepared, so we should be fine.'

"Better hope we get to join the Templars," William said. "They feel strong to me."

'They feel strong? Interesting. It seems William has picked up a new skill.'

"All the big guilds pick the best of the best. I heard from a friend that the entry test is super tough," Kazi said.

"Aren't Emmy and Layla with the Templars? We might be able to join them."

"Who?" Kazi's nose wrinkled. "Emmy and…Layla?"

"You know, those guys that helped Sun-young. Remember? We met them on the train? I didn't really talk to them but you kinda did."

Kazi craned his head, gobsmacked. "You mean Emma and Samuel?"

"That is not what Sun-young said their names were."

Okay, wow. He figured Ms. Sun-young was bad with names and faces but that bad? Astaghfirullah.

"Let's just hope she doesn't forget to come either." Kazi pursed his lips. "Fighting Goliath, she and Marta might have bitten off more than they could chew."

"What, you think they…?"

"I messaged Ms. Sun-young a couple minutes ago. She said Goliath was taller than she thought he would be and that another pair of players tried to fight him and died brutally. She's taking the time to properly synchronize with Marta."

"Jesus." William shuddered. "There's a chance that could have been me, eh?"

Kazi had talked to Goliath—and he wasn't wrong. Goliath was a complex man. A kind, patient man that accepted gifts and did not mind peace, but from the urging of his people and his god, was pushed to fight. Goliath claimed his stature, fighting skills, and thirst for battle was a gift from their god, Dagon, and that he was granted these gifts solely for just causes. The battle for the Holy Land was one of those just causes. 

"Food?"

"Huh?" William caught on and opened his inventory. "Oh, check."

"Weapons? All good?"

"Freshly made!"

Kazi's smile widened. "Then we've got this."

"You've been training me and Marta so much," William suddenly pointed out. "Are you sure you were able to squeeze in some on your own?"

"I'll be fine."

Before sleeping, Kazi would squeeze in half an hour of training to level up Flow of Mana. To increase Flow of Mana wasn't merely to understand, it meant to increase the quality of mana too. It was very common for players to be stuck at a particular level of mana control due to the lack of quality. With Third Eye Meditation, gaining a stronger grasp on his mana and increasing its quality was child's play.

[ Flow of Mana Lv. 7

Subtype: Support

Cost: —

Rank: C

The ability to control and manipulate your mana inside your body. In exchange for MP, increase Strength, Agility, and Resilience by up to 70 points. ]

Seventy points were then spent to the three core attributes: strength, agility, and resilience. If he hadn't been so focused on Marta and William, he might have been able to reach further heights. 'Oh well. What's done is done, and I don't regret helping them.' He smiled as he looked at William from the corner of his eye. 'I can feel his confidence. William isn't just stronger, he's happier.'

There was nothing better than seeing someone happy because of your own actions. Kazi smiled to himself, then waited. Eventually, it arrived: a black screen announcing the open of Gate 10.

[ Attention players! Gate 10 has opened! ]

[ The raid has begun! ]

[ The raid has begun! ]

[ The raid has begun! ]

There was a rush. Luckily, because of the Big Three Guilds, it was a semi-organized kind of rush. The massive squadrons of the Big Three entered first, before everyone else followed. The black portal swallowed every player, including Kazi and William.

***

Before he opened his eyes and regained consciousness, his legs were already upright; he was standing. Why?

'No, first things first, where am I?' 

Kazi Hossain opened his eyes and saw that William was next to him, blinking, and so were a bunch of other players. Hundreds of them all lined up in a large hall reminiscent of medieval Ireland. His eyes scanned every inch of the hall.

'No, this is a throne room. Hmm, Norman architecture too? No, before that. I see old Celtic.' Kazi double-checked his surroundings. Fresh gray stone formed the innards of the hall. Built brick by brick, lit up by crude lamps of hollow rocks filled with moss, and with an arched doorway at the back that was slightly elevated.

'Yes, this must be a castle in Ireland untouched by the Viking occupation.'

Players were speaking in low murmurs. Some planned to wander but stopped in their tracks upon seeing the long dark window of text.

[ Gate 10 : Raid of Clontarf

Main Objective: Participate in the great battle and stay alive for 20:00 hours!

Prize Pool: Calculating…

SPECIAL LIST OF OBJECTIVEs:

Kill Sigtrygg Silkbeard

Kill Dubgall mac Amlaíb

Kill Gilla Ciaráin mac Glún Iairn

Kill Máel Mórda mac Murchada

Kill Sigurd Hlodvirsson of Orkney

Kill Brodir of Mann

Kill Ulf the Quarrelsome

Kill Plait the Bravest Knight

SPECIAL PRIZE POOL: Calculating… ]

Ahead of the large gathering of players was a throne and a king. A frail man that, despite his advanced age, looked the part of a divine leader. A man with wisdom and strength that surpassed the boundaries of the ordinary.

[ Name: Brian Boru

Class: Master Axeman

Level: ? ]

The era had already been deduced and now the System told him the rest. This was the Battle of Clontarf of 1014. The ultimate battle between the Irish and the Vikings. The culmination of centuries of hate and division in old Ireland. The first of the Milesians, the mythical ancestors of the Irish people, once proclaimed upon stepping onto the land: "You dwell in a good land. Abundant are its mast and honey and wheat and fish." Indeed, the land was worth fighting for. Whether it was in history or in the Heavenly Tower, there was no stopping this war. The sharp, blue eyes of the High King spoke to nothing but victory and intentions.

The players were here to fight. To kill. To win.