Chapter 48: Joined

The news of the king's death spread like wildfire throughout the Southern Empire. Panic gripped the capital city as rumors and speculation ran rampant through the streets. In the corridors of the castle, guards scrambled to secure the premises and prevent journalists from breaking in, their voices filled with urgency as they tried to piece together what had happened.

In the castle...The center of it all lay the lifeless body of the king, his eyes closed in eternal slumber. investigators and other mages came to check the sight.

Outside the castle walls, the city descended into chaos as word of the king's death spread. Citizens gathered in the streets, their voices filled with fear and uncertainty as they tried to make sense of the tragedy that had befallen their empire.

But amidst the confusion and fear, one thing remained clear, the king was dead, and the empire stood on the brink of uncertainty. Without a clear successor to the throne, the future of the kingdom hung in the balance, its fate uncertain and its people gripped by a sense of foreboding.

There were no known assailants and all the suspects they had simply just did not fit the description, and with such people still being out there, there were announcements for everyone to stay indoors because if the king wasn't safe, none of them were.

Shops and markets lay deserted, their owners shuttering their doors and windows in fear of what the future might hold.

In the countryside, villages and towns buzzed with speculation as word of the king's demise spread like wildfire. Farmers abandoned their fields, their work forgotten in the wake of such momentous news, while travelers hurried along the roads, eager to reach the safety of their homes before nightfall.

Despite such news, there were still doubts, however, the princes and princesses confirmed the story while also adding vows of revenge to the assailants.

But apart from fear and doubt, there were questions. Who could have perpetrated such a brazen act of violence? And more importantly, why?

Some disregarded the royal's official report and believed it was the work of a lone assassin, striking without warning and vanishing into the night.

But others were not so easily convinced with that and just chose to go along with the official story. They argued that such a brazen act could only have been carried out by an experienced group, a faction with the resources and the expertise to orchestrate such a carefully planned operation.

It didn't help since many mages said that they saw multiple people.

"I will find my father's murderer!" Cedric declared as he was being consoled by Henry

"Let's calm down, you're not in your right mind." Henrey said

"Right mind? My father was killed!"

"I understand, but the Cedric I know isn't like this."

"What the hell do you know? You don't know what I'm going through."

"I do know what you're going through, I went through it several times over, and yet I'm the one who's both sane and peaceful...until you calm down, don't talk to me, Cedric."

*****

Perseus POV

[Side quest complete!]

[Level up!]

[Level up!]

For the past 2 weeks, Lind and her squad helped me go past the 10 floors and unlocked the rest floor while also helping me to find the secret room, beating that boss and all the difficult process to find the base of theirs.

I went through Hans and his stupid tavern and eventually made my way to the base. We had to go into this secret red swirling portal where I was then brought over to this dimensional pocket that had this large black castle with black and red banners billowing in the wind.

Most of the members of this place had cloaks on, though they didn't put the hood on to hide their faces, they had a surprising amount of people, quite scary if you really think about how much damage they can do once they decide to be destructive.

As I made my way deeper into the fortress, I caught sight of mages engaged in physical training, their muscles straining as they pushed against heavy weights and practiced combat maneuvers.

Eventually, I was led to a room with a large door. And inside, there was this wall set in this semi-circle formation where there were hooded figures sitting on chairs on top of it. The atmosphere was thick with tension, and I couldn't shake the feeling that all eyes were on me despite Lind standing there as well.

Even when I'm here, they don't take their hoods off and won't let me see their faces...it'll be hard to turn them over to Cedric if I don't who they are...I'll need to get close to them.

"You must be the descendant of Sam Wyatt," one of the figures spoke, their voice echoing throughout the room, "Lind has spoken highly of you, and we are eager to see what you are capable of."

"We have several divisions within our organization," another figure explained, "Each specializing in a different aspect of our operations. You have shown promise, and we believe that you could be a valuable asset to any one of them."

"We offer you the chance to join our ranks," the first one spoke, "We can provide you with the training and resources you need to reach your full potential. All we ask in return is your unwavering loyalty and dedication to our cause. To help us discover the truth."

"Of course, I accept."

They then gave me the option of choosing the different squads as they also explained each of their roles and each figure gave me their development plans on how they plan on utilizing me. but I eventually chose to just stick with Lind, much to their disappointment, nevertheless, they weren't too sad since I joined them anyway.

"Hmm, it seems that means my squad should get a raise." Lind teased her colleagues

"Don't get too cocky, it's only one person, I know that you're getting a raise anyway, but you won't get a further increase just because you recruited another person." a woman's voice said, I remember her being in charge of this group's finances.

"What do you plan to do first?" an old figure asked me