Futile Efforts

A day before Levi returned to Aetheria…

Deep in the dark treacherous nights of the eastern part of the Badlands where the known lands end and the unknown lands begin, in a realm known as the Dark plains, a spear could be seen piercing into the skull of a beast.

The dead monster's body pixelated and faded away, leaving only a small green mana core.

{4,891xp gained}

"I think that's the last of them" the wielder of the spear said to Aiden and Twilight.

He was 6'8" and had well defined muscles, a towering contrast to both Aiden and the scout, Twilight. His jet black hair could only be seen after he took off his Corinthian style helmet. 

He was bare-chested with only a Crimson-red cloak and a tunic that covered from his waist down. The only defense his very light armor provided was the shield he carried on his back, the steel arm guards, and a shoulder pad on his left shoulder. In full view, Titan almost looked like an ancient Spartan warrior.

"What do we do now, seems like this is the end of the road," Twilight pointed out, with a hint of despair, as he assessed the yawning abyss, a deep, dark cliff that stretches endlessly before them, like a scar torn into the earth itself. Its jagged edges loom ominously, casting long shadows that swallow even the faintest hints of light, all shrouded by a thick mist of fog. From its depths emanates an eerie chill, sending shivers down his spines and a sense of foreboding into his heart.

"This is a deadend, how are we even sure there's anything beyond this fog?" Titan sighed, referring to the thick fog that rose from the cliff into the sky.

He stared condescendingly at Aiden, who had been pacing from one end to another.

"There has to be a way," Aiden mumbled under his breath, racking his brain and carefully examining the area for any way over this cliff.

'If the whispers led us here then I'm certain, the castle is just beyond this fog' Aiden thought to himself, right before spotting a slab of stone covered by dust and dirt.

He dusted off the debris, revealing a mixture of symbols, letters and numbers, all jumbled up on the slate.

The two warriors noticed that Aiden had made a discovery and joined him in analyzing the slate.

"What language do you think this is?" Aiden pondered.

"I don't know, it's a rune so maybe ancient text or something" Twilight shrugged.

"That's no ancient text," Titan disappointedly sighed.

he continued after taking a closer look "It's all jumbled up nonsense, the creators probably never intended for the castle to be found," 

"How did you say you found the map again?" Titan inquired hinting at his suspicions of Aiden.

'Once again I have to think of something to tell these idiots' Aiden thought to himself.

"I've already told you, I found it at the temple of the Demon King, and besides can't you see that we have already achieved something great," 

"What do you mean, we didn't find anything?" Twilight eagerly inquired.

"This alone proves that there really is something out there, and if someone went through all this stress to hide something here, it definitely means the castle is just across this valley," Aiden explained, staring down the deep endless edge.

"But it doesn't matter, if we can't find a way to activate that rune, then all the time and resources we sacrificed to get here was all a waste" Titan pointed out.

"Damn… I shouldn't have taken a loan on a long shot like this, and I was hoping to use the reward to buy my own castle," Twilight sobbed.

"How come you are always broke even after what we normally make," Titan inquired playfully.

"You know the life of a pimp isn't a cheap one, you have to…." Twilight's cheerful voice faded away as Aiden fell deep into his thoughts.

Aiden couldn't let that happen, he had already come this far and he wasn't going to go back empty handed, if he did how would he avenge Elsa. These heartless warriors needed to pay.

He racked and tugged at his brain, in a matter of seconds, shuffling through ideas accompanied by the possible reality that this might be the end, until he remembered that if there was someone who could possibly change the fate of his reality it would be the warrior Levi, he has already seen him do things like this.

The only issue would be where to find him, he could be anywhere by now.

'But it's best I start searching from Lowdan, where we first met, but first I'll have to convince these two to follow me back' Aiden reasoned.

…..

Levi had approached all the warriors around and for one reason or the other they always ended up not trusting him, some even tried stealing his Axe when they realized he was a new player so he opted to stop showing it off, resulting in the job becoming even harder.

He had left Ladiel and traveled to a neighbouring village called Lhimpher, in an attempt to find a warrior he could convince to visit his father's shop, and now he was running out of time. 

Mr Lucky had earlier sent him a message asking where they could meet up in Aetheria, so he was probably already waiting for Levi back at Ladiel. Levi would have to return back home without anything to show for it.

"Maybe I could convince him to buy a thing or two," Levi tried consoling himself, as he hailed an incoming wagon, bringing it to a stop.

"Cheer up kid, there's no reason to look so down, you'll make me feel bad," The old man teased with a light tone.

"It's you," Levi said, looking even more displeased to see his usual ride.

'of all the hundreds of wagon riders how do I always run into this greedy old man,' 

"Why do you sound so disappointed, you'll hurt this old man's feelings," the old man playfully teased.

"Tsk, is this how you treat your friends?" the old man shrugged.

Levi, after having a very disappointing day, was in no mood for all this back and forth banter, neither was he in the mood to give this greedy old man any more than he had to.

"I'm fine, I'll wait for the next one," he said trying to ignore the wagon parked right in front of him.

"I can't just leave my most esteemed customer, why don't you hop on so I can give you a ride," the old man suggested in a friendly tone.

"So you can rip me off how much this time?" Levi sneered

"And what kind of citizen would I be if I collected any money from the Hero of the Lowlands," The old man said with a friendly smile.

"Huh?!" 

Levi for a second, wasn't certain he had heard the old man correctly.

[It seems your reputation has begun to spread