Chapter Ninety-Seven

"As of this current moment, we don't know where the summoner is hiding," Balaegon began, "But we have a few ways to find out. The simplest way would be to split up and explore the entire dungeon's floor by foot. However, considering how foolish such a plan is, I never honestly thought that would be a good decision. Therefore, we've designed several methods over the years. We should assume that all methods will have an equal chance of succeeding."

"Equal?" Edward mumbled. Balaegon turned to him and shrugged.

"That means we have no idea how likely they are to work," He explained, "We've never been in a safe environment to test our methods, so we're not entirely sure what to expect. Ultimately, though, we should be able to find the summoner's location soon enough. The floor boss is likely guarding him, so we'll use that opportunity to strike both. When we do, we'll use all of our forces to assault the target location to end them."

"We won't have to worry about their troops respawning, either. They're already far above the limit of what the dungeon considers acceptable. Until their troop number returns to an acceptable level, anybody we kill will die permanently," Volund explained, "However unless we kill their summoner, he will simply summon new troops to replace the old ones. We must guarantee his death above all else— any other result would be considered a mission failure."

"Exactly," Balaegon nodded. He turned to Edward, "That's where you'll come in. You can level up and grow stronger over time while we've stagnated for thousands of years. That's what I want you to do in the meantime."

"You just want us to level up?" Edward asked as he folded his arms. He looked at his friends, then shrugged, "I don't see why not. When will the assault begin?"

"In a few days, most likely. It'll take time for us to locate the summoner and his guards," Balaegon answered, "In the meantime, anybody who isn't involved in finding him will assist you in whatever way you desire."

'So we can cheese our XP bar? Would they sacrifice their lives so we can gain XP if we asked?' Edward wondered for a second. After a moment, he sighed and shook his head, 'I doubt it. Most likely, they just intend to help us fight the champions infringing on their territory.'

"We need to kill as many monsters as possible," Edward explained. Then, he looked to his side and opened his menu to check the time, "However, we need to rest first. Is there someplace we can rest our heads?"

"I will have one of my guards help you," Balaegon nodded. He turned to one of his guards and nodded his head. The guard flinched for a moment, then turned to look at Edward, "This is Thom. He'll lead you to a tent."

Thom looked at Edward and the others with nervousness, then slowly obeyed his commander as he walked outside of the tent. Edward and the others followed him, each eager to log off of the game after nearly eight hours of playing. Everybody was tired and excited to get some actual rest. As they exited the tent, Ikarus stood up and followed them down the road. Like before, everybody who caught sight of the large dragon quickly moved out of the way before running to another part of the encampment.

As they walked, Edward turned to Brandon, "What time will you be able to come home tomorrow?" 

Brandon touched his chin as he seriously pondered over Edward's question. After a moment, he turned to his brother and said, "Around lunchtime, I think. The flight should only be an hour or two, so I can get there on time if I buy my ticket after logging off. If not, I'll only be able to come home around five or six."

"Okay. Text me as soon as you get off the plane. I want to meet up away from mom and dad," Edward explained, "I don't think they'd react well to the news I have to share with you."

Brandon turned to Edward with a confused expression on his face. Before his brother could ask him any questions, Edward shook his head and put his hand on Brandon's shoulder.

"It's not what you think— probably. Just don't tell anyone when you arrive, okay?" Edward pleaded. After a moment, Brandon nodded before returning to the guard before him. Another few minutes passed before Edward and the others finally arrived at their location. Before he and the others walked inside the tent, Edward checked the time and turned to the guard beside him.

"Tell Balaegon that I might be late tomorrow," Edward said. Confused, the guard turned to him, but Edward didn't explain further. He and the others entered the tent and found several cots waiting for them, "Everybody take a cot and get some actual rest. Brandon and I won't be able to log in at the normal time tomorrow, so you shouldn't wait for us." 

Leila and Markus nodded before lying down. Once they made sure they were comfortable, they each logged out. Both of their bodies went limp as if they were actually sleeping. Brandon logged out a moment later while Edward was walking to his cot. Only once he laid down did he remember a very crucial piece of information.

'If Ikarus is this large in the real world, won't his weight drag him right through the floor?' Edward wondered to himself. He quickly sat up and opened his menu. After scrolling through the social tab, he found Leila's contact and called her. 

She accepted the call only a moment later. Her voice entered Edward's ears as if she were right next to him— only that she appeared asleep right before him. It was a strange feeling— to hear somebody's voice while their mouth didn't seem to be moving.

"Yeah?" She asked, the tone of her voice confused.

"I have a problem. Ikarus is too big for the building to hold, so I need you to talk to Mrs. Snow. Somebody needs to move my body outside the building without accidentally cutting the power so I don't get logged out. Otherwise, Ikarus's weight will drop him right through several floors."