Arcadia— Heroes Of Relics
Updates every 10:00PM UTC+7 Centuries ago, a mysterious meteor descended upon the Earth. Instead of wiping all life forms on the planet, it terraformed the Earth, transforming both living and non-living things alike. This event was called the Great Meteor Fall. Monsters and Beasts appeared and proliferated on the land, causing a shift to the ordinary lifestyle people once knew. Humans also underwent changes thanks to the meteor. Some were granted supernatural powers, and some were granted strength. With these changes, mankind concluded that life will never be the same. The rise of adventurers and guilds was only a few things brought about by the change. Those who wielded great power became prominent figures. But this was just the beginning. The ground zero of the meteor, where it descended, became the territory of a powerful entity known as the Dark One. No one knew where he came from, but rumors said he was inside the meteor when it landed. The energy levels in ground zero were so potent that an average human wouldn't be able to survive it. As such, only high-ranking adventurers could enter it with great difficulty and survive. However, no one came close to the fortress of the dark One, built on top of the meteor itself. As years passed, the monsters and beasts became more powerful, and the adventurers struggled to keep up. But there was no real threat. The Dark One didn't seem to care for Earth's inhabitants, or maybe he was in deep slumber, awaiting his awakening before he invaded Earth. It was foretold, however, that the Dark One was close to awakening, and the powerful monsters and beasts were a clear sign of it. Backed into a corner, the countries were forced to rely on forbidden technology to combat the upcoming invasion. Messing with the space-time continuum, mankind was able to summon influential and powerful people from the past. They became known as Heroes of Relics. These heroes partied up and became Earth's last line of defense against the oncoming invasion. Albrecht Stein was part of the Heroes of Relics. However, he was kicked out of the party since they no longer needed a porter. His only particular skill was spatial storage space, and he was just an additional headcount, so they kicked him out. Just like the other Heroes, he was transported to the future with the sole purpose of defeating the Dark One. But now that his purpose was gone, he decided to live a quiet life in the countryside. That is until the final countdown was issued, and the world's destruction drew near.
A Kingdom's Downfall
The layers leading to Ground Zero weren't one outerlayer after another. They were territories divided by the guilds based on their presumed difficulty level.
Some of these territories have dungeons to be cleared, and once an outerlayer was conquered, these dungeons still won't disappear. Once a dungeon was cleared, another one is expected to spawn.
Located by the outskirts of the Second Outerlayer is the Kingdom of Pantheos, a formidable kingdom ruled by the great King Fahlrus VI. The Kingdom of Pantheos is home to many powerful heroes and adventurers.
Their Pantheos Guild alone had recruited twenty Diamond-Rank Adventurers, and three Platinum-Rank Adventurers not including the five party members of the Heroes of Pantheos.
(As stated before, a person summoned from the past is instantly considered in the Platinum-Rank bracket. They automatically get Platinum Tags as soon as they were summoned.)
Nevertheless, their strength waned when the outbreak occurred. It wasn't a slow outbreak, but an instant one wherein the kingdom was filled with beasts in a matter of minutes.
There wasn't enough time to evacuate, and the adventurers didn't have time to regroup and organize themselves. Despite the power they boasted, the Kingdom of Pantheos fell at the hands of the beasts, and the Second Outerlayer expanded its territory with the downfall of the aforementioned kingdom.
Slam!
"The Second Outerlayer! There's a breach in the Second Outerlayer!" Leon screamed as he fell to the ground. He was one of the lucky ones who managed to reach the Zecian Portal located in the middle of the Kingdom of Pantheos. This portal allowed him to teleport straight to the Kingdom of Lomenschwaal.
As soon as he teleported, however, the light of the portal disappeared, which meant that the dimensional portal to the Kingdom of Pantheos was destroyed, and the beasts had overrun the entire area.
"What do you mean the Kingdom of Pantheos had fallen?" Cainsz asked. It was too ridiculous to be a prank, and Leon was a musclehead so there was no way he would joke about something serious. Therefore, Cainsz was led to believe that the Kingdom of Pantheos had really fallen, and Leon was one of the few survivors who got out of there before it crumbled.
"I was there when it happened. Two beings emerged from the Second Outerlayer. They were followed by an army of beasts— manticores and mud golems, to be exact." Leon reported, his breathing was ragged. As he lay down on the ground with his dwindling consciousness, he noticed that Albrecht was there.
"Ah, it's the porter." He greeted, plastering a forced smile on his face as he lifted up his hand in greeting. Albrecht bowed in response.
"This is bad. This is bad. If the Kingdom of Pantheos had really fallen... then we have no choice but to gather everyone and get there as fast as possible. The Second Outerlayer can wait. Right now, we have to assist Pantheos so they could reclaim their kingdom."
Cainsz could already foresee the hefty amount of paperwork and assistant requests to be sent out so they could gather a decent amount to form a party. Even then, they had to coordinate with other kingdoms so they could reclaim the Kingdom of Pantheos altogether. It was a pain in the rear side, but as the party leader of the Heroes of Lomenschwaal, Cainsz couldn't turn a blind eye to the catastrophe.
"Marilynn, give Michael a quick call. We need a healer here." Cainsz ordered, to which Marilynn nodded in response.
"And Albrecht, I'm sorry that we had to process your contract during these troubling times. You don't have to do anything for now. Just get some rest, and we'll call you once the conquer attempt for the Second Outerlayer would commence."
"As much as we wanted to ask for your help right now, it's not part of the contract. And we're going to honor that contract. Besides, you're exhausted after fighting that Adamantium Goliath Snake."
"Wait, he fought— he fought an Adamantium Goliath Snake?! ALONE?!" Marilynn turned around and faced Albrecht. This was the first time she heard about the incident, and it almost made her eyes pop out of their sockets.
"Yes, now go call Michael. Albrecht, thank you for taking your time and coming here." Cainsz bowed as he indirectly dismissed Albrecht. He needed to process a couple of things tonight, that's why he wanted to send Albrecht out as fast as possible so he could start with all the tasks at hand.
'What perfect timing, the guild master isn't even present.' Cainsz heaved a sigh.
"..."
"..."
"I'll be back tomorrow," Albrecht said out of nowhere before he opened the entrance door. "If you need an extra porter, then I'll be there."
Upon saying that, Albrecht excused himself and headed out of the guild. A grin briefly appeared on Cainsz's face as he waved his hand at the door.
It seemed like, they made a good decision in recruiting Albrecht.
— — —
"At last, enough blood has been spilled. The great one will be pleased with our sacrifice."
"It is not nearly enough, brother, we need more sacrifice."
"That's why we conquered this kingdom. It will be our foothold as we expand our territory."
"The High Elders might not be pleased, but we didn't deviate from the Ironclad Rules."
"Of course, we did this with our domain's benefit in mind. I'm sure the High Elders would understand."
"The Inner Circle... it might very well be within our grasp."
Two figures floated above the Kingdom of Pantheos, or rather, what had become of it. What was once a bustling kingdom was now laid waste, trampled by beasts as its structure was destroyed. The portal in the middle of the kingdom was smashed by one of the manticores, and not a single person was saved.
It was a massacre, a grave reminder of the overwhelming might of the Dark One. In a single moment, a kingdom had fallen, and this was just the prelude to what was about to transpire.
— — —
After checking in one of the taverns nearby. The stay amounted to a single gold coin since Albrecht chose a room with two beds— one for him and one for Yukina.
"You should've gotten a single room, young mister." The receptionist lady suggested. "Not only is it cheaper, you'll also get closer as a couple."
"It's cheaper. Maybe we should get the single room." Yukina agreed with the receptionist lady.
Her response was misunderstood by the receptionist, and the receptionist started squealing.
However, Albrecht paid it no mind, and he grabbed Yukina by the arm. "Let's go." He continued.
"Why? The lady—"
"I can afford it, you don't have to worry about the price, Yukina." Albrecht firmly said.
A serious expression was written on his face. At first, Yukina assumed that he was absolutely against the idea of sharing a bed with her. Yukina had no idea what the big deal was. They were merely going to share a bed. If he didn't want to, then she could just sleep on the floor.
Unbeknownst to her, though, Albrecht's mind was preoccupied with Pantheos's downfall. Such a formidable kingdom was destroyed in less than a day. This spoke loudly about the immense might of the beasts.
"Yukina, you were saying something about a tragedy, right? Was that it? The attack on the Kingdom of Pantheos?" Albrecht asked out of nowhere.
In response, Yukina shook her head. "No, that was just the start... I think."
If you're liking the story so far, please consider leaving a review, comments, or voting with your power stones. They're all greatly appreciated.
Oh, and add this novel to your collection as well hehe