Chapter 19 - Meeting Royalty

Chapter 19

~

Setting off towards Crisa Kingdom after fetching a map from the General Store, the two had only walked for a few minutes when Nana suddenly stopped in place.

"What's up?" Abaddon asked once he realized that his portable sun protection had left his side.

Not receiving an answer he backtracked a few steps and followed her gaze, seeing nothing out of the ordinary in the green shrubbery and slightly elevated terrain lining the road's edges leaving enough space for about 3-4 carriages traveling side by side.

Nana still ignored him, not moving her eyes from whatever she spotted before suddenly sinking into the ground.

[Burrow]

"Nana!?"

Abaddon, now left alone, had a dumfounded look on his face not really knowing what to do.

There's wasn't anything convenient like a mini-map in GAO so he couldn't track where she went and he had a feeling any messages he sent wouldn't be read anytime soon.

Before he could think of anything however, he heard a haughty voice yelling at him as a man with an extremely punchable face with his head tilted backwards far enough Abaddon got a full view of his unevenly sized nostrils walked into view.

"Yoooo. That's some nice gear you got there. Friend."

As if on command about a couple dozen people stalked out of the foliage in tandem with his words and positioned in a rough circle surrounding Abaddon in the middle, jeering down at him from the ridge flunctuating between 2-3 meters above ground level.

"It would be a shame to lose it, wouldn't you say? Oh, I just had an idea. So, I'm pretty good with keeping stuff safe." He gestured at the people at his side as a mocking smile appeared on his smug face. "What do you say I hold onto them for you, hmm?"

Unfortunately, Abaddon's attention was attracted elsewhere when he saw the top of a familiar mess of black hair leisurely drifting along the ground behind their legs reminding him of a shark's fin gliding across the water's surface, eyes widening in panic as he immediately shouted as loud as he could.

"WAIT! WAIT! Wait! Don't attack first!"

"Oh? That was easier than I thought it would be, though I don't blame you. I like smart people, even. Now, just hand over everything you've got and we'll let you be on your way." The man commanded in a pleased tone of voice, intimidating these idiots was way too easy not to mention profitable.

Just bring some numbers and they instantly cave in.

Abaddon breathed out a sigh of relief upon seeing her simply circling around them for now, it would be very difficult to gain entry into the Crisa Kingdom if they were tagged for PKing since it made the majority of NPC's during the initial stages automatically wary or even outright dislike you upon first meeting.

"Sorry, I don't think I will. I'm pretty attached to my stuff at the moment."

"You don't think you will?" The man's eyes narrowed dangerously, raising a hand prompting a hanful of Rangers to notch their arrows and taking aim.

"Nope." Internally, Abaddon lamented his fate encountering this cliche situation as soon as he wanted to move on.

Even worse because he had a strong feeling Nana wouldn't be very keen on going along with his most optimal solution to handle the current situation, running away.

He knew none of these idiots could catch up to either of them if they just decided to book it.

Not that he wanted to let them go for any moral reason, it was just that their logs would display who had killed them upon respawning again which was a bit of a problem.

[Masking Haze] would prevent his own name from being shown but Nana didn't have anything to hide hers.

"Despite trying to hard to conceal it, are we going to get outed this fast?" Abaddon suddenly had the urge to cry. "Goddamnit, and they've already seen me which means I can't just hang out of sight and let Nana release some of her restlessness."

If by now he didn't realize that the girl had a penchant for fighting then he'd just be disappointed in himself.

Her constantly asking about Dungeon this and Dungeon that was what really cemented his theory.

"I see. It's a bit of a shame you probably won't drop everything, but I suppose I shouldn't be greedy." The man let out an annoyingly grating laugh at his own words before cutting downwards with his hand signalling the Rangers to let loose.

Abaddon easily moved out of the way but planned on letting one of the attacks land, a slight miscalculation on his part leading to the arrow he'd chosen digging into his arm instead of merely nicking it.

Letting out a hiss of pain, instinctively ripping it out and worsening the bleeding due to the barbs at the back of the arrowhead, Abaddon heard the notice he'd been waiting for ringing in his ears.

[Scanning battlefield. . . Scanning complete. Player GildedKing and GildedKing's Party has initiated Player Combat. All team members are allowed to retaliate against relevant Players without reprocussions for the next hour.]

"Nana, you can go ahead now!"

As soon as his voice rang out a startled scream echoed which then turned into one of excrutiating pain once a dull thud was heard, one of the ambushers shooting out from their ranks and landing next to Abaddon who heard multiple cracks when the guy impacted the ground covered in blood with his whole torso crushed into itself.

An eerie silence followed as his body started glowing shortly after flaking into blue pixels before disappearing, leaving behind a pile of gold coins and 2 pieces of equipment in his place.

"I guess it was bound to happen sooner or later but I'd have preferred 'later' rather than 'sooner'." Abaddon sighed, knowing that their description would most likely be spread all over the internet by the end of the day.

...

Nana ignored the ambusher's terrified screams as she mowed through them, batting the one closest to her away with a swipe of her arm sending him flying.

She thought this game was supposed to be fun but so far the only thing she'd enjoyed was the Dungeon runs that had in turn made her extremely strong which was both nice and not. Nice because she enjoyed progressing her strength, not nice because the she'd have to try even harder to find stronger opponents in order to get a satisfying fight.

Something she imagined to be quite the rarity if this was what most of her potential enemies were like.

Seeing as she wouldn't feel anything other than disappointment from trying to see this as anything else but just that, she picked one of the ideas her mind had supplied her with at random and lackadaisically tried using it.

[Earth Magic]

Drawing upon the energy she'd discovered suffusing throughout her entire being once she entered the game she manipulated it to conform to her incredibly powerful will aided by the A.I remnants' systematic framework to interpret her desires and structure them into a more coherent form.

With a light but firm stomp of her foot, a thin pole of stone about 3 meters long with a coarse uneven texture shot up from the ground beside her.

Reaching out to grasp it she snapped it free from it's connection anchoring it in place and raised it, testing it's weight.

She frowned slightly when it barely even registered in her hand, unfortunately, it seemed she would need to upgrade the Skill to higher Levels if she wanted to improve and further expand the possibilities available to her.

At least, that was the answer she arrived at after consulting the very helpful, extremely eager even, connection to the Skill itself.

It was something she had to all of her Skills which supplied her with the answers to her questions regarding their capabilities and limits as soon as she asked.

Elemental Coating had come to her naturally, however, she felt it much more difficult to influence the earth if it was too far away from her body in comparison to if it was in close contact with her.

Swinging the stone pole in a wide sweep hitting another handful of ambushers who quickly joined their first comrades at the nearest respawn point, Nana let out a dissatisfied noise when the pole gained a series of small cracks along it's length.

Deeming it useless she sharpened it's tip and reared back before throwing it, the deadly projectile leaving a gust of wind behind it's path, spearing through another couple of unfortunately lined up ambushers prompting a round of inarticulate screams as they stared down at the penetrating object anchoring them to the ground in profound horror, too shocked to even feel the pain before they too disappeared in motes of light.

Reaffirming in her mind that melee was the superior way, Nana went back to her more comfortable style of fighting, with her body.

[Earth Magic - Elemental Coat]

[Water Magic - Elemental Coat]

Raking her earth claws honed by sharp currents of water she almost completely sheared through another ambusher, his body now consisting of multiple separate sections only hanging on by few scant threads of flesh which just barely managed to keep him 'intact' when he feel to the ground with a grotesque squelch, a noiseless scream ripping out of his throat, eyes wide and crazed insensatedly staring into the air, unresponsive.

Eventually there was only one left, the man Nana had internally designated the group's commander who was currently standing on shaky legs with a noticeably darker patch extending down his legs staining his pants.

"W-WAIT! WAIT! WAIT! I-I'M SORRY! P-P-PLEASE JUST LET ME GO!" He bellowed, voice unhinged, as if he was staring at death turned tangible, stumbling backwards, shaky hands raised in front as if to provide a false sense of security.

Hope blossomed within GildedKing's chest as the harbringer of brutality actually stopped.

Nana's face lightly scrunched up as an unpleasant sour smell entered her nose, unfortunately further amplified due to her senses being much sharper than the average human and even most animals.

Luckily, although it would normally be very difficult to operate with enhanced senses, her tolerance ceiling had also followed along accordingly negating that particular side-effect.

Even then however, she wasn't very keen on approaching the smell's source any closer.

"A-Actually, t-this was all just a big mis- misunderstanding! Ahahaha! I-I just wanted to give newbies a 'lil scare and a warn- warning against these things happening f-for real! I swear!" GildedKing promised with a smile uglier than crying, hair sticking to his forehead drenched in cold sweat alongside the rest of his body.

Nana ignored him and instead pondered on how to proceed from here when she suddenly had an idea.

"D-Don't worry! It was all my fault that you actually believed my farse! M-Maybe I should take up career in acting? Hahaha-" At this point he was just rambling on auto-pilot, instinctively wanting to stall the situation for as long as possible even if that wouldn't really change the end result.

[Earth Magic]

Performing another stomp, Nana shifted her footing as a 1x1x1 block of stone shot out of the ground with a 'ploof' sound.

When she determined it to be at the optimal height, her cocked fist still clad in the earth gauntlet shot forwards and crashed into the cube which instantly exploded into pieces shooting out in the direction of her punch.

"NO! NONONO-AAAAAAAHH!!" GildedKing screamed in fear and then pain as the rain of shrapnel punctured his flesh with such force they emerged on the other side coated in a deep red, peppering into the ground, almost sounding like coins tinkling together as they pinged off of it.

Shortly after, GildedKing looked more like a piece of cheese than a human being, his eyes completely showing the whites with froth trickling down the corners of his mouth before he slowly started collapsing backwards, shattering into specks of light once he hit the ground.

Abaddon different from most of the current Player base didn't react with anything other than maybe a slight wince in response to the brutal violence displayed right in front of him.

Having played GAO, relatively, for multiple years he was, reluctantly, already used to seeing such scenes both through videos courtesy of PVP events and clips, even experiencing them first hand like now.

Habitually started to gather the loot for 'distribution' Abaddon only came back to himself when a small neat pile was stacked up in front of him.

Raising his head wondering where Nana was he saw her once again staring into the shrubbery, Abaddon readying himself for another fight when she let out a small exhale through her nose and turned away.

...

"H-Holy f-f-fuck. . . Is there really like, literally no iota of fucking censoring in this game? Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing? That guy literally just got fucking cut into pieces bro. . . I-I think I'm gonna throw up-" Peeking Shadow quickly raised a shaky ghostly pale hand to block his mouth upon feeling his stomach convulsing and twitching in utter revulsion.

Glancing to the side and seeing his priorly decently active chat come to a standstill he had a 'very slight' suspicion he might not be alone in his thoughts.

Peeking Shadow continued streaming the abolute slaugher taking place, because that was what it was, it wasn't even a fight at this point, watching it with a grim morbid fascination unable to look away for even a second despite desperately wanting to.

By the end of it, as the last throes of the guy's unearthly screams echoed across the battlefield Peeking Shadow's whole body was as white as a sheet of paper and trapped in a constant state of trembling.

Wiping away the cold sweat prolifically streaming down his temple, pretty sure he was on the verge of going into shock any second now, he was abruptly ripped back to awareness when the demonic girl suddenly turned her head to meet his gaze.

Peeking Shadow instantly turned to ice feeling fear not unlike what he'd imagine he would feel upon being locked onto by a massive t-rex and instantly felt his breathing pick up, almost hearing his bones creaking by how tightly he was tensing up.

As if he was looking through a pair of binoculars and zooming in, the girl's eyes slowly enlargened in his vision until they trumped his whole body in size, Peeking Shadow suddenly realizing that his surroundings had turned into a sea of jet black making the mystical green rings encircling her larger than normal pupils almost glow in the dark.

Suddenly focusing up, her eyes turned slitted sharpening with an animalistic edge as they pinned him in place scrutinizingly.

And then as if nothing had ever happened he abruptly awoke from the strange state with a loud gasp, the girl having disappeared from his sight.

["Hey, earth to Peeking Shadow? Hellooo? Did he shit himself?"]

["That was fucking scary, did she look this way? I feel like she spotted him."]

["Nah bro, are you high? How would that even work? PS is way too far away to realistically be discovered, not to mention being mostly concealed by the foliage."]

["Nevermind that, does anyone know who that is?"]

["No idea, haven't seen her before but I guess that's not surprising. It's not like everyone's gonna walk around with a stream of their own."]

["Yo, does anyone know her class? I dunno 'bout you but if I can just no-sell PK assholes just as easily then sign me the fuck up to the Battle-Mage club."]

["You sure she's not some sort of Tank? She's certainly built like one and all of the attacks those idiots flung at her in a panic did fuck all."]

["Hey, PS. Just out of curiosity, you're near Crisa Kingdom, right?"]

["I'll donate 10 000 credits if you go talk to her, you won't."]

["PS, don't give in to greed. LOLOLOL."]

["Getting your skull cracked for 10 000 credits? Totally worth."]

["Pain is temporary. Benefits are eternal. Go forth my child, fulfill your cruel destiny for our amusement and you shall be awarded amply."]

Peeking Shadow still quite shaken up but no longer to the point he couldn't control his body wondered how the hell his chat could recover from the sight so quickly, concluding that despite the streaming function being a pretty advanced piece of technology it didn't compare to actually experiencing it in person.

Sending another careful glance in the road's direction, he still waited a few extra minutes until he was really sure that he was in the clear then promptly exploding as he shook the small device hovering over his shoulder to provide a 'first person view'.

"Are you bastards still in the mood to joke around so happily, huh!? I almost just died and you don't care at all!? Don't ever let me meet any of you fuckers, you hear!! I'll rearrange your ugly faces until even your mother can't recognize you!" He screamed himself hoarse, filling the stream with an uncomfortably close up view of his face.

["U mad?"]

["It wasn't that bad, just think of it as a bad dream and you'll be fine PS."]

["I'm sooo scared. Anyway. I'm posting the clip of the fight on the forums. I'm too lazy to analyze it myself so I'll just let the gigabrains over there do their thing."]

["Link."]

["Link. +1"]

["Link. +1"]

["Link. +1"]

". . . You guys are heartless, you know that!?"

...

Many hours later Nana and Abaddon eventually emerged from the forest they'd been trecking through revealing a massive stretch of verdant green grasslands on the other side, the road continuing through it towards a structure just barely visible on the horizon.

"Oh, look. We can see it from here, not long left now."

"Hmm."

*Caw*

Although they could see it from that far away it took almost another full hour to cover the distance, the group not in any particular hurry to get there faster.

Nana who normally wouldn't want to waste time was currently placated munching on a Forest Boar Roast which she'd grilled halfway through their journey, the substantial chunk of meat a deep golden brown covered in a rich thin layer of amber colored fat emitting an intoxicatingly tantalizing smell of decadence, smokiness and spices courtesy of her [Refilling Spice Satchel] (Epic), her sharp shark teeth easily tearing into it to reveal succulent juicy flesh.

Abaddon had also made the mistake of accidentally revealing that the [Spatial Storage] had a stasis function which lead to Nana going through a fair bit of her Forest Boar Meat stock and storing them for later consumption which took quite a while and would've taken quite alot longer if it weren't for her monstrous ability to multitask.

Nana gained another 4 Levels due to the rather frequent rate they encountered monsters at.

They had also been accosted by some oddly strong bandits on the way but they were quickly cleaned up and disposed off, though not before being looted, Nana finding a medallion in the bag of who was most likely their leader.

[Mysterious Medallion] (Quest Item)

[Type: Miscellaneous]

[Information: A medallion belonging to one of the bandits in the infamous group who has recently settled in the Green Leaf Forest around a month ago. The patterns engraved into it seem to depict a griffin stood up on it's hind legs in a threatening posture.]

Initially she did what she'd done until now with things she didn't care for, throwing them at Abaddon, but after he puzzled out that for him it was just shown as [Steel Medallion], he convinced her to keep it on herself because it was most likely related to her quest.

In other words she uncaringly chucked it into her [Spatial Storage].

As they neared the Crisa Kingdom the first thing that stood out was the massive brick wall dozens of meters tall, the other thing was long, long the line to the gate.

It consisted of about 30/70 with the majority being what looked like merchant caravans.

The reason being that the Crisa Kingdom, settled on a large grassland with forests surrounding it, didn't really have a solid way of acquiring resources independantly.

Luckily however, the founder wasn't an absolute idiot, choosing this location precisely because it was situated in between multiple other Kingdoms known for their commerce with the intentions of making the Crisa Kingdom a viable stop/trade hub allowing travelers of all kinds to have a place to rest or possibly sell their wares.

And looking at the very trafficked entrances, more of which were visible further along the wall's sides and most likely beyond, his gamble had payed off.

Lining up at the back of the queue Abaddon nibbled on the, in comparison to her own, very small chunk of Forest Boar Roast he'd practically had to beg for still surprised at how good of a cook she was since she didn't strike him as the type.

"Wha- Hey, get your own!" He pushed away the head of his Familiar who'd just tried to snatch a piece for itself when he wasn't paying attention, unfortunately, it apparently wasn't giving up anytime soon.

"Nana can you give me some more, please? My dumb bird won't stop attempting to steal mine."

"Hmm."

"Pleeeease."

Nana hummed for a moment, suddenly throwing another chunk his way, the meat quickly caught by the Imperial Hell Hawk's talons whilst it was still in the air before he could even react as it took to the skies letting out a mocking screech.

Meanwhile, Abaddon's face darkened contemplating about the viability of cooking a bird related to Hellfire as he grumpily bit into his own, now slightly colder, piece.

It took about another half hour until they finally arrived at the gates, the guards were predictably a bit startled by Nana's height especially because she'd been covered by the carriage that went in just before them, but they didn't have any trouble entering following a few control questions and a small fee, though they did have to put their hands on a glass orb to check whether they were listed criminals which obviously, they were not.

"Alright, it's about time for me to get off I think." Abaddon said with a stretch in front of his door as he checked the time on his hud after they found an inn and rented two rooms. "I've got work in a few hours and my sister is probably about to wake any time now."

Nana simply nodded and promptly entered her own room, closing the door behind her.

". . . Well, I guess I should've expected something like this but, come on, not even a goodbye? Rude."

...

[GAO - Forums > General > Off Topic]

<[Topic: ABSOLUTELY BRUTAL PVP 1 V 24 - SLAUGHTER OF THE PKERS]>

1. OP

This is not clickbait.

-----[LINK]-----

Fair warning, watch at your own risk. There's no censoring whatsoever, it looks hella realistic and you can see human insides very quickly become human outsides more than once.

One guy gets sliced up like a piece of salami and you can literally see the different layers before he disappears.

GAO is fucking hardcore as shit dude.

2. Player

Watched it, the guy wasn't kidding about the level of gore. I know it's just a game, but fucking hell man. Imagining myself as one of those ambusher guys makes me shake, can you adjust the level of pain felt?

3. Player

You can't. I've tried everything and even resorted to ask the devs formatted as an error report after a goddamn Rabbit literally cracked my skull open when I wasn't paying attention, said it's meant to be as close to real life as possible.

4. Player

Rabbits capable of breaking bones = realistic.

5. Player

BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD! GATHER BROTHERS, AN APOSTLE HAS DESCENDED!!!

6. Player

I went through a similar experience, getting robbed by Players I mean, very satisfying to watch them get completely slaughtered.

10/10 would watch again, just not when eating.

7. Player

Holy shit, this feels illegal to look at. Does GAO's lawyers have magic fingers? There's no way people would be okay with this being available to the public, the game is practically interchangeable to reality at this point.

8. Player

Kinda scaroused rn, anyone else?

9. Player

>>8

You're fucked in the head or you've got balls of steel and a weird ass fetish bro.

10. Player

>>8

I get you boo, mama wouldn't mind that warrior goddess breaking her back~

11. Player

>>10

Wtf.

12. Player

OP, check your dms. I'm rather interested in any information you have regarding the lone Player, furthermore, if you agree not to disclose it to others I'm willing to pay a handsome sum.

13. Player

>>12

HEY, FUCK YOU! YOU'RE DIAMON, AREN'T YOU!? BASTARD, DON'T EVEN TRY GETTING A HEADSTART ON RECRUITMENT.

14. Player

>>13

I don't know what you are talking about.

15. Player

>>14

I KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE!

16. Player

>>15

Oh, wow. You finally discovered who your neighbor of the past 16 years was? Color me impressed.

...

[GAO - Group Chat - Gathering of the Elite]

BeastGod33 has accepted the invitation.

Imperial has accepted the invitation.

Diamon has accepted the invitation.

Warrior King has accepted the invitation.

Thorny Rose has accepted the invitation.

Dragon Emperor has accepted the invitation.

HeavensFavorite has accepted the invitation.

Sacred Saint has accepted the invitation.

BeastGod33: What's with the pretentious ass names, both the chat group and the last 3 to join.

Justice Bound: Meh, it's not wrong.

HeavensFavorite: It's fitting isn't it?

Dragon Emperor: Only such a name would adequately portray my majesty.

Sacred Saint: You have no right to talk about pretentious Mr. God~

...

Diamon: I suppose everyone has seen the video?

Warrior King: THAT'S RIGHT, DIAMON TRIED PULLING A FAST ONE BY BRIBING THE OP!

Thorny Rose: Oh, my. That's no good Diamon~ I thought we all agreed on entering an alliance to push ourselves up the rankings?

Sacred Saint: It would've been pointless either way, OP wasn't the one that recorded the clip, it was originally taken from someone named Peeking Shadow's stream.

Thorny Rose: Oho? As expected of the information spider, already laid out your web have you?

Sacred Saint: How mean~ Calling me a spider? I'll cry, you know.

Imperial: Get the the point, I'm not wasting my time on small talk.

Diamon: Agreed. Anyhow, does anyone have any idea of how large the Level disparity would have to be for someone to replicate a similar feat?

Dragon Emperor: Hmph, no need. I can take on just as many and without getting hit a single time.

BeastGod33: Alot.

Imperial: Depends on the ambushers' Level.

HeavensFavorite: Hypothetically, let's be generous and estimate the attackers to all be Level 14, their Tanks with a fairly standard Stat distribution would have around 780 HP and since she's clearly capable of one-hitting them, initially without any Skills according to what I could see, she'll need to have at the very least 780 STR. Even more if you account for the DMG varying depending on how much force you put into it. She was just swatting them away like flies which should deal next to nothing.

Justice Bound: Is that even possible?

HeavensFavorite: Don't know how but apparently, yes.

Thorny Rose: BeastGod33 and Imperial, you're probably the farthest ahead out of all of us, what is your current Levels?

BeastGod33: 23

Imperial: 22

Sacred Saint: In that case, it's fairly obvious who the girl in the video is barring the possibility of her being a cheater. No one other than just two Players should be a higher Level than you two at the moment.

Diamon: Nana or Abaddon, then.

Thorny Rose: I'm betting Nana~

Justice Bound: How would you even know, she could just as easily be Abaddon.

Thorny Rose: Just a hunch~ Fufufu~

HeavensFavorite: Anyone know where the video took place?

Sacred Saint: Nearest Kingdom is Crisa.

Dragon Emperor: Tsk. I'm in Helya.

Justice Bound: I'm not near either.

Warrior King: +1

Diamon: +1

BeastGod33: +1

Imperial: +1

Thorny Rose: +1 Unfortunately.

HeavensFavorite: Sacred Saint?

Sacred Saint: :-)

HeavensFavorite: WTF, WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS SO LUCKY!? THIS IS SO UNFAIR!!

...

"Young Miss?"

A viscious smile appeared on Arctic Raven's face as she watched the video featuring one of her new 'friends' shearing through the crowd of PKers, splashing blood and guts without even flinching.

"Excellent."

...

"Oho, how scary~"

"Who's bright idea was it to give that girl more ways to dismember people? She was already monster enough before she could manipulate goddamn elements."

"You scared, Mergen? Don't think trying to pretend you're not by being your usual scoffy self will work."

"Hmph. As if you would ever have the courage to face her yourself."

"I'm not fighter so your argument's invalid, also we're besties so why would we ever fight for real?"

...

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing, just. . . thinking about some stuff."

"You mean that video of Nana that exploded?"

". . .So you've already seen it, then."

"It's pretty difficult not to, it's on the first page of the forum."

"Listen, although it may look bad I'm sure she-"

"Oh. Was that why you were acting so weird? You weren't sure how I'd react?"

"I mean. . . Sometimes it feels a bit like you're still thinking of her as the little girl that just left the gym all those years ago and I wasn't sure how you'd take it seeing her, uh-"

"Brutally murdering albeit virtual people?"

". . .I guess that. Yeah."

"Chad. I already knew something like this was bound to happen eventually, especially since it's Nana we're talking about."

". . .You did?"

"You remember Chelsea?"

"Chelsea Collins? She was in your class, right? Short hair, gossipy, typical popular girl posse?"

"Yep, that's the one. Anyway, she kinda fell off after we graduated and she's been trying to keep that attention she had back then alive by being active in the class group chats and around a few years ago she somehow got her hands on footage of this thing called the [Gauntlet of the Underworld] and obviously didn't think twice about posting it."

". . .You saw that too?"

"You've seen it?"

"Ah, yeah. . . I kinda got invited to the VR version of the dark net around that time as a result of the company rising in value and influence."

"You didn't show it to me back then for the same reason you didn't want me to see this video, right?"

". . .Yeah, you got me. Nana's also made quite a name for herself on the darker side of the VR world, she's kind of like an urban legend at this point."

"Show me."

"You sure? I mean. I don't kno-"

"Chad. I've already come to terms with her growing up and probably making some choices I personally wouldn't have, but it's Nana, the one thing I know if anything about her is that turning down a potential fight just isn't in her DNA. I was a bit shaken up initially yes, but I just can't bring myself to think anything bad of her despite knowing that she's most likely been involved in similar stuff more than once."

". . ."

"Also, we both knew very well that she was never normal, right? I mean, come on. What 6 year old would be able to dedicate themselves to do even a quarter of the training she did back then. Completely off of their own accord. Without complaining or slacking even once."

". . .Alright."

...

Logging in again the next night after spending the daytime in the gym, during which she ended up having to make some major adjustment in terms of the weight she was imposing onto her body due to finding her strength suddenly seeing a ridiculous increase.

Jonah had also reminded her to add him, Jenna, Charlie and Karl in-game.

She did as soon as she reappeared inside the inn room she rented so she wouldn't forget to do so again.

After a quick check on Abaddon's status on her friendlist showing him to still be offline, she pondered on what to do now that she temporarily couldn't just follow him around and wait for him to lead her somewhere interesting, her previous plan seeing as he seemed very knowledgeable about the game.

A few minutes later she was sat on the inn's brick-tiled rooftop cooking the rest of her Forest Boar Meat she hadn't gotten to yesterday.

[Earth Magic Lv.2] > [Earth Magic Lv.3]

[Water Magic Lv.2] > [Water Magic Lv.3]

[Tectonic Shell Lv.1] > [Tectonic Shell Lv.2]

[Draconic Might Lv.1] > [Draconic Might Lv.2]

[Ravenous Advancement Lv.1] > [Ravenous Advancement Lv.2]

[Rapid Regeneration Lv.1] > [Rapid Regeneration Lv.3]

[Seismic Smash Lv.1] > [Seismic Smash Lv.2]

[Charge Lv.1] > [Charge Lv.3]

[Taunt Lv.1] > [Taunt Lv.2]

[Shield Bash Lv.1] > [Shield Bash Lv.3]

[Crushing Presence Lv.1] > [Crushing Presence Lv.2]

[+3 STR]

[+2 AGI]

[+1 VIT]

[+6 INT]

[+5 PER]

[+2...]

[+...]

Nana ignored the notifications occasionally pinging in her ears as she continued keeping an eye on the Forest Boar Meat whilst getting more familiar with the use of Skills in fighting with the help of her instances which had increased from 15 to 25 alongside her INT leaping.

"Hey!"

"Hey!!"

"HEY!!! YOU THERE UP ON THE ROOF!"

Hearing someone shouting loudly Nana curiously leaned over to look over the edge, seeing a rotund man dressed in a nice set of clothes glaring up at her with a scowl on his heavy-set face.

"Whatever you're doing up there, you better stop right this second!" He pointed angrily, the crowd that had stopped to take a look at what was happening standing around him in confusion until they suddenly got a waft of a mouth-watering fragrance drifting through the air.

When the man saw another handful of customers trickle into the inn his face flushed in agitation.

"Get down from there and make yourself scarce lest I come up there and drag you down myself!"

"Why."

Nana asked flatly which only served to make the man even angrier thinking she was acting oblivious on purpose just to be obstinate.

"That's it! Don't blame me!" The man declared and promptly stormed off fumingly, returning a few minutes later with two decently muscular young men and a large ladder which he, with their help, placed against the inn's front and barked out an order.

"You two, quickly go up and get her down from there."

""Right away, sir.""

The two nodded and was just about to start climbing up when a stout middle-aged woman with noticeably broadened shoulders and a hardened no-nonsense air to her matronly features wearing a sturdy working outfit resembling a modified waitress uniform emerged from the building.

"What's with all this ruckus." She asked gruffly blowing a messy lock of brown hair from her face, an eyebrow raising upon seeing the scene in front of her before she turned her gaze to the man who had stiffened slightly the moment she appeared.

"And what exactly do you mean to do with that ladder, Osmond?"

"Hmph. You should know well what I'm going to do, Diana. I didn't take you for someone to use such a 'underhanded'- " He emphasised. "-method to attract customers, it seems your former discipline and integrity has faded over the years since you retired from your post. Truly a shame, indeed."

"Funny hearing that from you." She said unimpressed.

"And what, pray tell. Could you possibly be insinuating now?"

"Nothing in particular. Just reminiscing hearing about a close friend of mine dining at a rather fine establishment and discovering that the Boar Prince Steak wasn't as nice as the one he had personally slain and cooked himself. I think I remember hearing him being unable to distinguish it from normal Forest Boar Meat." She said, her face scrunching as if really trying to recall whilst idly tapping her chin with a finger.

"Ghk-" Osmond quickly covered up a flinch by coughing into his hand and was about to speak up when his eyes glinted upon seeing the crowd part revealing a 2-guard patrolling squad.

"What seems to be the problem here?" One of the armored men asked as he and the other guard stepped forward.

"Osmond here is tresspassing onto my private property and is ordering his employees to physically assault one of my guests."

"YOU-!? Do not try to spin this into something that it is not, Diana!"

"Just said it how it is." She shrugged flippantly.

"Ma'am!" The older of the two guards startled slightly upon seeing her before quickly saluting, elbowing his confused looking colleague to do the same.

"No need for that. I'm retired already." She waved it off.

"Y-Yes!" He nodded. "Then, do you want us to remove this man from the premises?" He asked respectfully, the two of them had questioned some of the onlookers to take stock of the situation prior to moving in after seeing that it was nothing outwardly urgent and concluded the man had been behaving aggressively from the start.

"Go ahead."

"I will not take this humiliation lightly, Diana!" Osmond yelled and strained against the guards pushing him away, his two employees trailing behind not daring to protest.

"Yeah, yeah. Oh. Right. One of you come back after you're done with him."

"Do you mean us, ma'am?"

"Yes."

"Understood, I will be back shortly."

Seeing that the commotion was over the spectators standing around slowly scattered with some going on their way and some seduced by the fragrant smell of meat and spices in the air entered the inn with anticipation.

"Are you done soon?" Diana directed her question at the roof, leaning back against the inn. "Not that I don't appreciate the free advertisement since it's gotten me more customers, but you had something to do coming to Crisa, didn't you?"

Nana once again leaned over the edge to stare at the woman.

"I overheard you speaking with the boy when the two of you arrived." She explained, elaborating when she saw the girl still looking at her inspectingly. "I have good hearing." Her lips quirked up in amusement, a sharp glint flashing past her eyes, tapping her ear.

"Mmm. Done."

"Good. Just in time."

The older one of the guards jogged over coming to a stop at her side, speaking up in a respectful voice as if adressing a superior.

"Ma'am."

"I'll be borrowing you for a bit if that's okay."

"Of course."

"Then, thank you in advance." Diana nodded gratefully, much to the guard's palpable joy, and raised her head. "Girl, why don't you come down from there. This fine gentleman here will lead you to the barracks."

The guard followed her gaze and was a bit confused, was there someone up on the roof?

He quickly got an answer to his question when he saw a figure vaulting over the building's edge, eyes widening in surprise he instinctively moved to catch or at the very least somewhat cushion their fall before Diana grabbed his shoulder stopping him in place.

The guard was a bit dazed from this unable to comprehend why she'd prevented him from helping, startling when the person landed with a heavy thud and then realized just why when the now revealed girl haphazardly straightened up, eclipsing him in size even with the slight slump in her lazy posture.

"Now then, off you go. Show her the way to the barracks and see if you can't find Marcus while you're at it." Diana said giving the guard a firm pat on the back, making him stumble briefly.

"Y-Yes ma'am." He quickly stuttered out and gestured courteously. "Let us depart, young lady."

As their backs gradually disappeared into the crowd Diana's eyes lingered on the girl, only retrieving her gaze once she couldn't see her anymore.

"Scary little girl, that one." She muttered under her breath. "It's probably best I send out a warning to exercise caution during interactions, wouldn't want her suddenly going on a rampage in the middle of the city now would we?"

Diana's sense of danger had been in a constant but muted state of buzzing around the girl meaning she was dangerous but not actively so, the spell she had cast proved her instincts right.

[Detect Prowess - Physical]

[Strength: 3915 Vitality: 3003 Agility: 433]

...

Nearing the barracks synchronized shouts of exertion was heard, getting louder the closer they got originating from the massive training grounds next to it, rows upon rows of soldiers exercising with disciplined movements whilst a smaller group of what seemed to be trainees were present in the other half doing their best to keep up.

The guard leading Nana approached one of the other soldiers strewn across the compound and asked for Marcus, the woman pointing towards the opposite side of the field over her shoulder, throwing a curious look at his temporary charge.

Nodding he voiced a brief thanks and followed her directions, walking past the majority of the soldiers training and rounded the group revealed a small table placed where it wouldn't disturb their practice, a man currently sat looking out over everyone present with pride shining in his wizened eyes.

"Marcus, sir!" The guard stepped forward and announced himself gaining his attention.

"Yes?" Marcus, a solidly built visibly aging man with short salt pepper hair and light stubble answered in slight confusion, a gaze filled with wisdom and calmness glancingly inspecting the man.

A patrol guardsman?

"Lady Diana instructed me to escort this young lady to the barracks and further asked me to seek out your presence. Seeing as I have completed her task, I will go back to my duties." He reported, performing a respectful bow before he turned around and walked away.

His curtness was born from a slight worry, he was previously showing a newer guardsman the reigns and he didn't want to be responsible for something going wrong as a result of the rather reckless attitude most youths his age possessed.

"I. . . see?" Marcus blinked, his eyes moving over to the admittedly impressive girl stood in front of him. "Were you seeking me out, girl?" He asked, inwardly pondering if he had seen her somewhere before concluding that he hadn't, he was fairly sure he would've remembered her.

The girl hummed, Marcus unable to suppress a surprised expression upon seeing her reaching into a crack in space and retrieving a neat stack of papers which she handed over.

[Quest Completed: Perilous Courier]

[Items Acquired: 15 HP Potions (Medium), 15 MP Potions (Medium), 6000 Gold Coins.]

-

[Perilous Courier (2)] (Epic)

Type: Chain Quest - Second Part

Quest Requirements: Investigate the bandit group ambushing messangers on the road between the Crisa Kingdom and Green Leaf Town and acquire [???] from [??? - ???] to help identify the perpetrators behind them.

Rewards: 25 HP Potions (Medium), 25 MP Potions (Medium), 8000 Gold Coins, 20 SP

Raising an eyebrow he began skimming it's contents, his brows gradually furrowing the more he read.

"So that's why I hadn't received any of their reports lately." Marcus mused out loud, leaning back and crossing his arms as his sharp mind spun with possibilities. "Did you encounter any difficulties on the road whilst making your way over here?" He asked the girl who tilted her head, shaking it no a moment later.

"Hmmm." Marcus' eyes narrowed as he wondered why the girl had been allowed to pass by, this was clearly intentional sabotage on the perpetrator's part, so why? He would eat his own hat if whoever was behind this wasn't keeping close tabs on both Alexander and Clovis.

Whilst Marcus was in thought unable to arrive at a feasible conclusion regarding his doubts, a thin man wearing a brown cloak on top of airy blue clothes made for maneuverability in mind with a badge denoting his status as a messanger ran over and swiftly handed him a paper slip before immediately taking off again.

"Ah." Marcus let out once he'd read what was written on it, keeping the small notes on the girl in mind as he sent her a searching look and rephrased his previous question.

"Did you encounter anyone hostile to you whilst making your way over here?"

Receiving a nod this time Marcus had the urge to facepalm, he'd almost missed some potentially rather important information.

"Were they wearing or carrying anything that would point to their origins?"

"Mmmm. . . Oh."

Reaching into her [Spatial Storage] again, the girl chucked a medallion his way.

Catching it, he turned it around, eyes turning cold upon seeing the emblem engraved onto it's front.

"The Grephiten Kingdom."

[Quest Completed: Perilous Courier (2)]

[Items Acquired: 25 HP Potions (Medium), 25 MP Potions (Medium), 8000 Gold Coins, 20 SP]

"Thank you for risking your safety bringing this to my attention, girl." Marcus rose to his feet and regarded her with a small bow of gratitude before straightening up. "Are you occupied with anything for the next few hours?" He asked, receiving a headshake in response.

"Then, could I trouble you to accompany me for a bit? I'd like for you to describe in more detail your encounter with those ambushers on top of anything that may have stood out."

Checking on her friendlist again and seeing that Abaddon's name was still greyed out Nana went along with the man's request, trailing after him out of the training grounds and deeper into the city towards it's center where a majestic castle stood.

Made of white brick, multiple robust towers surrounded the enormous circular main building which sported the tallest of said towers on it's top.

Arriving at a stretch of wall reaching around the premises, the guards stood greeted Marcus with a salute and swiftly granted the both of them entry after brief period during which they politely inquired regarding Nana's presence.

Marcus being there and personally vouching for her making their entry a rather smooth affair.

Passing through a sizeable garden filled with meticulously taken care of flora, a noticeable but not pungent scent of flowers lingering in the air, they then made they way through a long path of winding hallways, Marcus always marching at a brisk but measured pace navigating the confusing maze with a confident gait.

Eventually they came to a stop in front of a towering set of double-doors, the wood a captivating mix of browns and reds with thick strike plates bolted into them further reinforcing it's frame.

"Please wait here for just a moment. I will let you in shortly." Marcus requested, quickly slipping inside leaving Nana on her own.

...

Entering the large hall Marcus marched along the carpet leading towards the three-step platform where a throne was placed passing thick sturdy looking pillars on his sides, elegantly carved windows lined the walls allowing the sun to filter inside filling the room with a warm atmosphere.

The sounds of light conversation previously echoing throughout the room tapered out upon his arrival, Marcus shortly after taking a knee in front of the platform.

"My King." He called out with a slight dip of his head, only raising it when he was acknowledged to see Crisa's King, a valiant looking man with rich curly locks of brown hair alongside a powerful beard decorating his dignified face and two advisors by his side.

"Sir Marcus." The King responded heartily, the corners of his eyes crinkling as a light smile graced his visage. "Is something the matter? I thought you were busy whipping the young'uns into shape." He continued with a deep chuckle, his manners illuminating a rather sunny disposition most probably wouldn't associate with someone of his status.

"Ah, yes. It's like this-" Marcus started, explaining the initial lack of communication between Crisa and Green Leaf Town and the recent revelations brought to light.

"I see. . . The Grephiten Kingdom, huh?" The King let out a rumbling sigh. "I wonder what they could possibly wish to accomplish by doing this, it seems their tolerance has reached it's limit. I do not think it will stop at just this now that they are acting however."

"We have always been a thorn in their side My King, it was only a matter of time." One of the advisors voiced.

"Ever since that despicable example of a King rose to power following Grephiten's previous ruler's passage I knew something like this would eventually occur. He is greedy, driven purely by avarice that one." The second advisor supplied with a scowl.

"Not much we can do at the moment other than prepare for what he is preparing." The King briefly closed his eyes before opening them again, looking to Marcus. "Sir Marcus, you said Clovis and Alexander had sent someone to act as a messanger, yes?"

"That's correct. She is just outside My King."

"Is she the one Diana had sent out a notice for?"

"Yes."

"I see. Then, let us not make her wait for longer than necessary. Bring her in please."

"Understood." Marcus nodded, standing up and making his way back to the door.

Pulling it open, he was about to speak when his words got stuck in his throat as he took in the scene in front of him.

The first thing he registered was a captivating fragrance originating from the roast the girl was holding dripping in golden amber fat which ran down her arm and pooled on the floor, the other thing being one of the Shockwave Lions usually patrolling the castlegrounds as commanded by the Royal Beast Tamer.

Not only were they rather fearsome in a fight, the shockwaves they produced with their roars would very quickly alert everyone else of possible intruders making them a very effective part of the security.

Currently, one of them was being held in a chokehold from behind, it's paws flailing in the air as it struggled to move, sparkling eyes locked onto the meat with drool leaking out of it's mouth like a broken faucet whilst whining growls containing the distinctly vibrating quality the species' noises possessed echoed between the walls.

The girl on the other hand was sat down comfortably, leisurely ripping into the roast with surprisingly shark-like teeth, restraining the beast with an incredible ease looking like she wasn't even registering it's powerful body straining against her.

Presumably hearing the door opening she raised her head and looked at him.

It was only after an uncomfortably long period of awkwardly staring at each other that Marcus realized she wasn't making any attempts to move and spoke up with a cough.

"The King is awaiting you."

"Mhmm."

". . ."

". . ."

"Are. . . are you not going to answer his summons?"

"Oh." She blinked, standing up and walking past him into the throne room, still carrying the Shockwave Lion with her, it's behind limply dragging on the ground.

Marcus looked at the trail of fat she was creating, unable to hold back a pitying grimace seeing it dripping onto the royal carpet as he closed the door and sprinted to walk in-step with her.

"Hmm?" The King hummed curiously as he inspected the girl once she'd arrived in front of his throne, meanwhile, the two advisors' faces scrunched up dissatisfaction, their expressions turning more and more disappointed as the second trickled by.

"Girl, quickly greet the King properly." Marcus whispered and tried gently guiding her into a kneel, his attempt completely ignored as she remained immovable even with the rising strength he was utilizing.

"Impudent! Not only do you refuse to show respect to the King but you are also desecrating this sacred hall with such barbaric manners, bringing food and dirtying the royal carpet, you do not even deign to wipe your mouth!? Shameful." One of the advisors huffed angrily, twitching as the girl simply took another bite of the roast.

"And quickly let go of the Shockwave Lion! If the royal protector beast is in any way hurt then you will not like the consequences!" The second one threatened grimly.

". . . Why."

"You ask why!? You dare treat these halls as a common pub! Such behavior has no pla-!"

"Why." Nana repeated in confusion, feeling a bit of fat dripping down her chin she wiped her mouth on the Shockwave Lion's mane, doing the same with her other hand once she'd finished the roast making the advisors even angrier.

"YOU-!"

"Hold." The King interrupted, an amused smile appearing on his face as he adressed them without moving his gaze from her eyes. "She's not attempting to deliberately undermine my authority nor show me disrespect, she is simply asking why she should listen to what you are saying, are you not?" He explained airily, ending with a question directed at the girl who tilted her head before nodding.

Though not very obvious, Nana was very picky with who she chose to listen to.

Yama, Sam, Chad and Coach John had met her when she had no real wants to speak of so she went along with what they said because she didn't know what else to do at the time, something that gradually changed as she came to see them as more than just strangers at which point she actually wanted to listen because she'd come to value them as people close to her.

Jonah and Vanessa could help her improve her strength, same with Chang-hoon and Somchai, Dai Hui too granted he couldn't provide direct improvements towards her strength, however, him helping Yama was enough for her to go along with his wishes most of the time.

Of course, this slowly changed over time as she got more familiar with them.

Orson because she'd recognized him as a formidable fighter, same with Quill. Kaya and Jun because she'd more often than not land in interesting situations following their directions.

More recently Abaddon, because he knew things he realistically should not. Things she personally found of value such as Dungeons, she wouldn't have found one as quickly as she did had she not tagged along with him.

Moving away from individuals she didn't care for rules others had established, preconcieved notions such as laws, etiquette, behavior and what have you wasn't something she herself had agreed on creating so why should she act according to them?

Probably the only reason she wasn't currently wanted by the authorities was because those she actually listened to had unintentionally steered her away from any 'crimes'. . . mostly, in the real world at least.

Which wasn't to say she'd obey every single thing they said, but in comparison, everyone else's words were essentially just filtered out as white noise most of the time.

As she grew and furthermore breaking out of the A.I remnants' grasp, she'd also started getting more willful rather than the more constant passive state she'd been in prior.

Now she actively sought out interesting situations instead of merely waiting for things to come to her.

Another faucet that went into choosing whether she'd listen or not was her ability to read body language which helped her sort out others' intentions towards her and thereby who had her interests in mind and who did not.

It was in many ways rude and outright arrogant to think in such a way, however, the title of 'King' held no meaning in her mind. She didn't know him personally and saw no need to accomodate nor go along with what others deemed 'right' just because they said so.

He hadn't shown her any reason why she should, the advisors even less.

"I thought so. Unfortunately I currently have no way of convincing you I'm worth of your attention in any way you would recognize on such short notice so let us move past unecessary decorum." He declared, pre-emptively waving away any protests. "Instead, why don't you regale me with how you met the ambushers and the subsequent events."

Now that the King had spoken up and personally allowed her behavior the advisors had no choice but to reign in their temper no matter how much they inwardly wanted to reprimand the disprespectful girl.

A lengthy truly gruelling questioning session later, mostly because Nana only answered in one or two word sentences when asked, the King leaned back with closed eyes whilst discussing with his advisors who had chosen to just ignore Nana's existence so they wouldn't get riled up again.

Meanwhile Marcus respectfully stood to the side, Nana herself having simply laid down on the floor boredly swaying her feet side to side, still holding the Shockwave Lion who had given up trying to escape after tiring itself out.

"Girl." The King called out a while later making her turn her head to look up at him. "Would you be interested in doing something for me? Not for free of course, I will make sure to reimburse you properly."

Nana made a questioning noise.

"You see, the Crisa Kingdom. Long, long before my rule, acquired the help of a very powerful Mage who owed the, then, King a favor. Anyhow, the King redeemed his request in the form of a spell formation to protect the Crisa Kingdom from it's enemies. Unfortunately, the formation has long since ran out of the power fuelling it and I have never been confident enough to send away any of my men strong enough to possibly acquire a new one away from the Kingdom's side."

"Mhmmm." The girl hummed absentmindedly, seeming rather indifferent.

"I know where the closest suitable item is, however, it is inside a Tier 4 Dungeon which not many are willing to tackle for the price I am currently able to provide as a reward." The King sighed slightly, people of Tier 4 strength was already fairly rare by themselves nevermind a decently sized group of them which was required to tackle a Dungeon of the same Tier.

During his talk he could see the her visibly perk up at the mention of a Tier 4 Dungeon.

"Would you be willing to go in their stead and retrieve the [Oyster King's Dawn Pearl]? Now that the Grephiten Kingdom is making moves it is even more important we re-activate it as soon as possible."

[Perilous Courier (3)] (Epic)

Type: Chain Quest - Part Three

Quest Requirements: Retrieve the [Oyster King's Dawn Pearl] from the Tier 4 Dungeon [Drowning Gulf] and deliver it to the King of Crisa.

Rewards: 10 HP Potions (Large), 10 MP Potions (Large), 15 000 Gold Coins, 40 SP, A request from the King

"Mmm."

"Excellent." The King nodded happily. "Here is a map showing the entrance's location." He said throwing it over.

Nana caught it and chucked it into her [Spatial Storage].

Just as the King was about to continue speaking, warning her of the most prominent dangers the Dungeon contained, he saw her glance at something to her side before suddenly beginning to sink into the castle's floor which started rippling like the surface of a lake.

By the time they had recovered from the surprise she had already disappeared from view.

"Huh." The King blinked.

". . ."

". . ."

"WHERE IS THE SHOCKWAVE LION!?"

...

It was only when Nana emerged in front of the inn that she realized that she'd brought the Shockwave Lion that tried stealing her food with her which she simply released from her hold making it sag to the ground and walked inside.

Abaddon had finally come online and coincidentally enough she had just gotten a map she could let him decipher so she wouldn't have to.

Meanwhile, the abandoned Shockwave Lion shortly after returned to it's senses and after looking around, seeing unfamiliar buildings, it decided to stalk after the person that had brought it away from the castle grounds.

...

Abaddon had just opened his door when he was suddenly startled upon finding Nana stood just behind it, jumping slightly.

Before he could even get a word in she abruptly thrust something in his face.

"Help."

A bit thrown off, it took a moment until his brain caught him up on the situation.

Taking a step back so he could actually see what she was holding, he raised an eyebrow as he grabbed the thick brown paper slightly rough to the touch.

". . .Nana did you go meet the King while I was offline?" It took him a while to recognize it but he was 99% sure this map was showing the location of the [Drowning Gulf] Dungeon.

"Mmm." She simply nodded in response.

". . ."

"Ffffffff-"

He missed the chance to meet with the King of Crisa.