Chương 128: Chapter 127: Convergence

Cyrus wanted to meet at the harbor, near the old fishery where the river bent south toward the sea. It was a ten-minute walk from the crafting district, and I used the time to sort through my inventory. And that's when I found it. The Shadowthread Armor sat in my inventory, forgotten, buried beneath materials, potions, and the miscellaneous debris of days of grinding.

I'd gotten it from Alice after the Broodmother fight in the mine, traded for the skill rune and the spear, and then promptly stowed it away because I had quite a grind ahead of me to reach 25. I pulled it out and stared at it for a long moment. [Shadowthread Armor] Rare Level 25 Medium Armor Defense: 72 Agility: +8 Dexterity: +6 Vitality: +4 10% resistance to Poison Restriction: Art of Finesse Seventy-two defense, compared to the Black Warg Breastplate's forty-eight, plus eighteen attribute points on top.

It was a massive upgrade that had been sitting in my inventory for days while I fought an Enhanced Field Boss, a hundred Crimson Court players, and a particularly strong Paladin. I wore level 15 armor to the battle of the quarry because I simply forgot I had this. Brilliant, Orion. Truly brilliant. I equipped the Shadowthread Armor right there on the harbor road, pulling the dark, spider-silk weave over my torso.

The material was light, flexible, and its grey and black color scheme meant I could still be the Black Ranger of Carpa. Combined with the Greenveil Shrouded Mask and the Cloak of Tidemark, I looked like a proper high-level Ranger. My defense value jumped significantly, and the attribute bonuses pushed my Agility and Dexterity even higher. The Vitality was welcome, too; four more points in the stat that kept me alive. Lesson learned. Check your inventory more often.

Cyrus was leaning against the fishery's stone wall when I arrived, his staff — a new one — propped against his shoulder. He hadn't changed much since the last time I saw him: the same lean build, same kind smile, same subtle but powerful aura. But his team wasn't with him.

"Orion." He pushed off the wall and extended a hand.

"Good to see you. You look different."

"New gear."

"It suits you." He eyed Spriggan's Will on my back.

"That bow is even newer than what you'd used in the Spriggan VOD."

"Unique drop. From the very same Spriggan." His eyebrows rose a fraction, but Cyrus wasn't the type to dwell on someone else's equipment. He nodded and got to business.

"Do you know the caves in Fang Forest?" I thought about my very first day playing Godsrealm. I had gathered the Flamewing Tulips in a cave locked by a makeshift gate, just behind the goblin camp that had pretty much started my adventure. Something powerful was dwelling in that cave, something that even the system warned me not to mess with at that time. However, I clearly remembered the promise I'd made, too. I'll be back.

Ever since then, I kept close attention to all forum posts regarding the caves in the forest, and knew that they were being actively scouted, but progress has been incredibly slow so far. Mobs there were over level 22, and there were plenty of puzzles and other mechanics that were simply too challenging for the current player base.

"I know of them, but my knowledge is lacking."

"Not much information out there," Cyrus nodded.

"But that's because it was clearly designed as level 25+ content, despite there being lower level mobs, too."

"As far as I know, no team or guild has cleared them so far."

"We just did this morning," he said.

"It was quite challenging, even for us, although I'm in charge of Second Wind's dungeon-delving program."

"Dungeon-delving program?"

"You see, Athos, Blue, Kara, and other top tier players of the Guild are farming field bosses all day. They rotate their play sessions to maximize the time spent hunting for a Guild Creation Tablet."

"Understandable," I nodded. In Silverwing, King's Glade was the only official Guild so far, so the race for the top spots was still on. Even in the entire kingdom, there were only three who had successfully been created: Knights of Avalon, or Avalon for short, was the first to form, and the de facto number one Guild of Ravenloft. Ryder always loved theatrics, so giving the name a spin was definitely not out of character.

King's Glade clutched the second spot thanks to us defeating the enhanced Spriggan of the Greenveil. I wasn't sure if 'enhanced' bosses had the tablets as a fixed drop, or if we were just lucky, but they definitely deserved it. The third one was a Guild from the region of Onyx Tower — The Golden Order. I knew little about them. Lurking on the forums was something I enjoyed doing, but aside from keeping track of Avalon, I was mostly focusing on my region.

I will definitely do my due diligence about them soon, I thought.

"Meanwhile, my team and I constantly run the five-man dungeons of Tidemark, gathering first clears, record clears, or just clears in general. And we also train weaker teams to do the same."

"You're the man for the job," I nodded.

"But doesn't Athos miss your firepower on the field?"

"Oh, believe me," he smiled.

"Second Wind has enough guns out there." Thinking about Athos and Kara, I had to agree with him. Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

"So, what about the cave?"

"We cleared the Cave of Bones. It's the middle one on the map." It wasn't the cave that I visited in the past, but the name suggested it wasn't a pleasant place, either.

"How was it?"

"Hard. Undead enemies, mostly, harder than the Twinfire dungeon." That reminded me.

"Yeah, I saw you guys cleared that as well. Did you try the Ravenmere Catacombs, too?"

"We have pretty much farmed Ravenmere all the way until level 22. The end boss gives incredible EXP."

"What's the end boss?" I knew dungeons replaced their bosses after the first clear, as proved by Cyrus when they cleared the Twinfire Burial Site and shared it on the forums, but I haven't checked Ravenmere yet."

"It's called the 'Wicked God's Apostle'. It flies around, hits hard, and has dark Cleric abilities." So pretty similar.

"Did you guys claim many first clears?"

"Two dungeons around Tidemark, so yeah, I would say so."

"Send me the VODs, I'd love to check them out."

"Will do," he smiled.

"Continue, please," I said, realising I hijacked the discussion.

"Undead enemies, three different puzzle rooms, and then a boss fight. A very difficult boss fight." He looked around as if he didn't want anyone else to hear us. He likely didn't, as information like this could mean someone trying their luck with the caves, too.

"Ix'chel, Lord of Bones."

"Sounds like a Mayan or Aztec god."

"It's designed that way, too." I recalled what the last forum post I'd read about the cave said.

"The northern cave is supposed to be Mayan or Aztec inspired, too, right?" I asked.

"I think all three of them are, if you get deeper in."

"So how was the boss fight?"

"Ix'chel is a skeleton warrior with a gigantic serpent's tail. Sort of like a snake-centaur, but much bigger."

"That sounds creepy."

"Oh, it is terrifying," he nodded.

"And the fight is incredibly hard. But the drops were good." He glanced at the staff.

"But here's where it gets interesting." He pulled up an image from the in-game menu and showed me what looked like a screenshot of a stone chamber. Symbols covered the walls, and at the center was a massive circular door, sealed shut.

"After we killed the boss, this door opened. Behind it was a room, large, mostly empty, with three recessed alcoves in the walls. One of them was glowing."

"Was there anything else? A door, or a path?" I asked.

"No. But this appeared the moment we stepped inside." He swiped to another screenshot. Convergence Chamber Activated Waiting for the remaining paths to be unlocked. Time remaining: 0: 29: 14"Thirty minutes?" I asked.

"Thirty minutes. And when the timer hit zero, we were all teleported back to the cave entrance. No loot from the room, no progress saved. Just a boot back to where we started." That was interesting.

"Could you make the other two marks glow somehow?"

"We tried everything. If I had to guess, it has to be done from the other side." That got me thinking.

"The other two caves?"

"That's exactly the conclusion I came to."

"That would mean all three of them have to be cleared roughly at the same time."

"That's my read. Three caves, three teams, simultaneous clears. Have to be finished within 30 minutes of the first boss clear." He leaned forward.

"And honestly? I think the real dungeon only comes after that. The three caves are just the entrance exam." I was starting to see the reason Cyrus contacted me.

"You need more parties," I guessed.

"Second Wind has plenty of members, though."

"I've been talking to Athos about it. He can't pull too many teams off the seal rotation for something so uncertain." Cyrus paused.

"But he can spare Verdugo's for the western cave. They're strong enough, and Verdugo's been itching for some dungeon content."

"That leaves the northern cave."

"The hardest one, from what I'd read. Mobs between level 23 and 25, lethal traps, and so far, a puzzle that drowns the entire party on the first unsuccessful attempt. Also, it is not as linear as the other caves, and apparently, the correct corridor changes with every run. It needs a team leader who can think on their feet and keep people alive through content that kills most parties in the first chamber." He looked at me.

"That's you."

"I'm in," I said. There was no reason to think about it.

"But where do I get a party? Five top-tier players aren't really growing on trees."

"I was hoping you could solve that problem by yourself," he patted me on the back.

"No Guild will spare an expert squad just because we ask them." I ran through my mental roster. Athos and Kara were locked into Second Wind's operations. Denxy and Alice were in Serendine dealing with Crimson Court. Gaul had his own problems. Ace was in a different region. Stone and Sylph had already left for Silverwing.

"Give me a couple of hours," I said. Cyrus nodded.

"Take your time. We would like to attempt the caves tomorrow, though." He pushed off the wall once again and picked up his staff.

"And Orion," he said.

"If my intuition is correct, this is going to be a harder and longer trial than just a simple dungeon. We'd really need a dedicated team."

"I'll keep that in mind." He extended his hand again, and I shook it.

"It's good to have you back in Tidemark, Orion. Let's see what's underneath it."

My first message went to someone most people would consider an unusual choice. Orion: Lothras. I need a favor. His reply came within a minute. Lothras: What kind of favor? Orion: I need a powerful party for a massive multi-group dungeon. A pause. Then: Lothras: I can't come myself. Things are complicated here. Something I loved about Lothras was that he didn't ask questions. Multi-group dungeons weren't a thing.

The most famous group trial was in the city of Ravencrown, and only Ryder's team had cleared it so far, but even that was considered a normal, 6-man challenge. If Cyrus was right, if the caves connected into something bigger that needed three teams of players to clear it — that would be the first in the entire kingdom. Yet the Paladin didn't ask anything. It was essentially a yes-or-no question to him. Orion: I know you're neck-deep in Crimson Court politics.

I figured even if you couldn't come, you might know people who could help me out? Another pause, longer this time. Lothras: You remember the two people I talked about, after Tidemark? Orion: You don't compliment people often. When you do, I pay attention. Lothras: They're Midnight Sun officers. Midnight Sun is trying to farm their Guild Seals, too, so I can't guarantee they'll say yes. Orion: But you can ask. Lothras: I can do more than that. They owe me. Orion: Owe you? Lothras: Long story. Two minutes passed.

Then: Lothras: Done. They'll message you shortly. Consider it a returned favor. Orion: For what? Lothras: For not shooting me in the back at the quarry. I stared at the message for a moment. Orion: I would never have done that. Lothras: I know. We said our goodbyes, and the next notification came in about five minutes. Somnus: G reetings. Lothras tells me you're assembling a team for something interesting, and that I should strongly consider helping.

His exact words were, "He's the best player I know, don't be an idiot." I almost laughed. Somnus: I'm Somnus, Acolyte, Midnight Sun Elder. My partner Redcap and I are currently in Carpa on business. What's the job? I explained the situation in a couple of sentences. Somnus: S ounds like exactly the kind of content we've been looking for. The Field Boss rotation is getting tedious, and Ajax won't mind us taking a side project if it leads to a dungeon discovery. Redcap's in. When do we start?

Orion: Be in Carpa tomorrow morning, I'd imagine the project leader will want to hold a briefing for all of us. Somnus: Done. That was three. Myself, Somnus, and Redcap. Three more to fill a six-person party. We had an Acolyte and a Spearfighter who'd gotten praise from Lothras. That meant that both the melee and the long range control was in good hands.

I covered the ranged DPS part, and with my new gear, stats, and skills, I was not exaggerating when I said that there was no one else more suited for the job in the entire county, likely the region. Possibly the kingdom. I needed a tank. A reliable Guardian or Paladin that could hold the line, keep the aggro, and deal with high-stress situations. A healer who was an expert at keeping bigger groups alive. Someone who didn't lose composure looking at higher numbers in challenging times.

And preferably another melee DPS next to Redcap, someone who could focus down threats and assist the frontline, but was fast enough to jump back and help the backline if needed. Crimson Court or not, I already knew there was a perfect trio of players for the job. I opened the message interface. Orion: Alice. Quick question. How do you feel about a little trip to Tidemark? Bring Denxy and Desirae while you're at it. Her reply took a couple of minutes, which was unusual for her.

Alice: We are actually heading to Tidemark right now. But not because of that. Orion: What's going on? Alice: I'll explain when we arrive. However, if you play your cards right, we might be able to help you with whatever you're planning. Orion: What does that mean? Alice: It means you're going to have to talk to our guild leader. I stared at the screen. Alice: Phantom wants to meet you, Orion.