Chương 271: Chapter 260

He looked over the people arrayed in front of him and let out a bone-weary sigh. He really didn't have the energy for this. Lucy was still tapping away with her medieval designer shoes, sensible but fashionable – perfect for kicking your face in and impressing stuffy nobles – next to Lara who was standing there, just grinning, while Clarissa, Dan, Katie, and Isabella were trying to act like a five-year-old who definitely didn't break the heirloom vase.

He saw all of them opening their mouth, no doubt to unleash a barrage of information that would fry his already tired brain. Instead, he held up a hand, silencing them, and pointed toward the building where Lara's office was.

"In there!" Mouths closed instantly, and the group began to shuffle toward the building somewhat awkwardly. It took a few minutes, but they were safely ensconced in the office, everybody finding a place to stand, sit, or lean against. Finally, Sam dropped down in an armchair, which dangerously creaked under the force, but he didn't really care. He dragged his hand down on his face and let out another sigh.

"All right, let's do this," he finally spoke up after a minute of silence. The others in the room perked up and opened their mouths, but before they could unleash whatever they wanted, Sam continued to speak while pointing at Clarissa.

"Clarissa, go to the Healer's Guild and get them to set up a satellite site here in our town. As fast as possible. Talk to Lucy if they need some economic reassurances." Clarissa nodded determinedly while Lucy frowned a little, but still made a note on a notepad that appeared in her hand. Sam, not waiting for comments, continued to give instructions.

"Dan, Izzy, and Katie. I want you guys to head out immediately and make a line from here to the border and, along the way, try to discover all bigger animal groups and monster dens. Record the groups and eliminate the dens. No quarter." As soon as he finished the last sentence, Katie began to grin excitedly. Sam very politely ignored that and continued.

"If you find something that doesn't belong, contact me immediately." He took a breath and made sure to look the three of them in the eyes.

"I want to be clear. Not after you rested, not after you dealt with everything. No. The moment you lay your eyes on anything that doesn't belong in the wilderness, you are already dialing me or Lucy. Understood?" Happy with the heavy nods, he turned to Lara, who immediately straightened, waiting for her orders.

"Focus on the walls and battlefield visuals. Make sure everything is airtight and they can't sneak around, over, under, or sideways anywhere. Ask Fitzgerald for the wards. He will know what to do." He took a deep breath and then continued.

"Also, as of now, we need strict control on who can enter the town. Set up some kind of security and identification system. They have some kind of artifact that covers up the taint of blood magic." As he said that, he saw Lucy flinch a little out of the corner of his eye, but he was mostly looking at Lara, who was processing the instructions.

"Got it," she replied, looking like she almost wanted to salute.

"Wall, scouting, and security. Will be done."

"Thank you," he replied and finally he turned to Lucy.

"Look I know you want to yell at me, but I'm this close to just blacking out. So, give me a few hours to take a shower, rest, eat something, and get to my apartment," he said while holding up his thumb and index finger close together for emphasis. He then smiled.

"You can yell at me there…" Lucy took a moment to eye him before reluctantly nodding.

"Fine… See you there." With that small bit of procrastination done, he turned back to his team and steepled his fingers together.

"Now, who would like to tell me how your adventure went?" Once again, nobody wanted to look into his eyes. Thankfully, Clarissa found her courage, looked back at him, and began to talk.

"We found the church and made contact with them," she stated simply, not going into details. That was fine. He would read the After-Action Reports when his thoughts weren't dancing to Enter the Gladiator in his head.

"The ritual?"

"Learned it and I've already gave it to the Healers' Guild and Lucy," she answered instantly while Lucy nodded, confirming it.

"Adam has already started the constructions."

"Can we rush it?"

"Not if we want to keep it a secret."

"Fuck secrecy. I want all the people available to work on it. We have those Glorious Artefact guys now. Make sure they participate."

"What about Fauna Ark?" Sam frowned.

"Send them the ritual and materials. They have some competent people running the show there." He thought a little before looking at Lucy again.

"Have them set up a ritual chamber open to the public. Anyone with a donation can get rid of their blood magic skills. Do the usual PR and public education stuff."

"Got it!" He nodded, then turned back to Clarissa.

"I'm glad you managed, but you wouldn't be this nervous if something else didn't happen. Did somebody else contact them first?" Clarissa shook her head.

"No… it was just… you described them as peaceful nuns and priests who abhor blood magic…" As Sam listened to her, he began to have a sinking feeling.

'Did my meddling change something?' Clarissa took a deep breath and continued to explain, rushing out the entire sentence in one, almost mashing together the worlds.

"Theyareactuallyfanaticalcommunistswhowanttomurdereveryonewhousesbloodmagic!" Sam blinked as he untangled that rush of information. Then he blinked again as he comprehended the words.

"Communist fanatics?"

"Yes."

"On a scale of one to ten…" he asked as his voice trailed off as he took in the look on Clarissa's face.

"That bad, huh?"

"Well, if you're willing to go through the cleansing ritual, they're quite friendly…" Sam stared at his teammate for an entire minute before letting out a deep, exhausted sigh.

"Sometimes, I wish I drank alcohol…" This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Hours later, refreshed after a shower, a quick snack and just sitting in a comfortable chair and staring at nothing, Sam opened the door to his apartment, dressed in comfortable clothes.

On the other side of the door was Lucy, holding a computer, a document bag – a secure high-tech box looking like an old-timey leather bag designed to transport important documents securely – and with a severe look on her face. Sam waved her in and jokingly spoke.

"Whatever it is, it's not my fault." Lucy, instead of speaking, threw the bag onto his coffee table and then, with a few button presses, turned on his media system and began navigating various websites, selecting videos, forum posts, and putting them on the big screen with incredible speed.

"Then how do you explain this?" she asked, frustrated while pointing at the screen where a very familiar scene was being played out. He watched for a moment as he fought against GrindHog from his enemy's perspective with some very well-chosen background music. Then his eyes wandered over to the other things showing on the screen and he began to read. There were posts about basically all of his recorded steps in the city.

Somebody apparently had a few brain cells to rub together and managed to connect the cover identity he used to enter the city with his real one, so there were even people analyzing every damn item he touched or even looked in the direction of. Then there were the countless videos of every action he took in front of players, all of them jumping on the opportunity to gain their fifteen minutes.

Naturally, there were already thousands of fancuts, compilations, Easter egg hunts, conspiracy theories, theory crafter videos and so much more. Apparently, most people were talking about Sunspot and his presence there. At first glance, a lot of people thought that he was the mastermind behind the destruction that ravaged the city, claiming that his fight with GrindHog was just for show. While several people were hailing him the savior of the city.

Especially because somebody somehow managed to record the ritual in the Temple of the Sun. Stepping closer to the screen, he enlarged the video, looking like some old shaky-camera footage, then he narrowed his eyes. Lucy stepped closer and also looked at the video.

"What is it?" He paused a video and pointed at it.

"This is impossible."

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"Because I was there. If the camera angle is real, that means whoever recorded was standing at least 200 feet in the air over the ocean."

"Could they have been invisible?"

"I'm pretty sure the Avatar of the Sun would have struck them down."

"So then, who…"

"The only thing I can think of is the game company. It looks visually appealing and gives people a look into what happened behind the scenes," he said, voice laced with frustration.

"Damn…"

"Yeah…" he agreed with her before minimizing the screen and continuing to look. He watched the rescue of the cursed player from her perspective.

"Heh, I was right, she did curse a lot…"

"Do you know her?"

"I have never seen this person in my life," he told the truth as he looked into Lucy's eyes.

"Before I saved her, that is." She scrutinized him for a few seconds before nodding.

"Fine. I'll believe you for now. We have bigger issues to deal with." Sam also nodded, turned away from the screen, and headed toward his kitchen.

"Want something to drink?"

"Yes, please." Hydrated and comfortably seated – Sam leaning back lazily, sipping his lemonade and Lucy holding a laptop in her lap while several documents were spread around her – they continued their discussion.

"So, my glorious bureaucrat, lay it on me." Instead of laughing, she just scowled.

"I don't know how you do it, Sam. You managed to be in the middle of one of the biggest player-led military operations since the beginning of the game." She suddenly looked up from her own computer, nailing Sam with a stare.

"Did you know it was going to happen?" Sam spread his arms open.

"I can, with hundred percent truthfulness, say that I had no fucking idea that was going to happen."

"Why do I have a hard time believing you?" came the reply immediately, Lucy's lips twitching a little. Sam just smiled.

"Because you know me, Lu. Honestly, the only reason I was down there was because those damned nobles didn't want to talk to me without a local reputation. Then the game railroaded me into joining the expedition as the fastest way to get said reputation."

"Couldn't you have found something else?"

"Could have? Sure. But I wanted to spend as little time in a city filled with players who are a fan of PK."

"Fair."

"What about international reaction to the event?" Lucy shrugged her shoulder causing her frazzled hair to bounce around a little.

"Not much. Sunspot is the 'capital city' of the area, but for others, it's just a lawless place where criminals gather. They don't even do trade with them officially."

"So, they're going with the whole 'dead criminals is a good thing'?" he asked after taking another sip of his drink.

"Pretty much…"

"And unofficially?" he asked, leaning forward a little, interested. Lucy matched his energy, also leaning forward while smirking mysteriously.

"Well, if my sources are to be believed, there is some manner of 'concern' going around about the possibility of the attack being repeated in more civilized cities."

"Running like chickens with their head cut off?"

"Like you wouldn't believe…" she replied before her smirk turned into a frown.

"This is where the main issue starts."

"Oh, do tell…"

"Based on what I gathered, right when the information reached the capital, the Church of the First Drop appeared, calling for sharing the purity with everybody and culling the corrupted ones," she explained dryly.

"From what I saw on the forums, the general player populace thinks they're some kind of joke event. However, the politicians only heard the words of 'purifying ritual' and they were lining up to support their cause."

"That bad?" Lucy sent him a devastating look.

"According to Lord Silvercrest, the mayor of Ironwood already received a word to start building a temple for the incoming group of priestesses from the Church of First Drop." Sam looked back at her, bewildered. This was so outside of his expectations that he had no idea what to do with them. Lucy, however, wasn't patient enough to let him think.

"Seeing as this is clearly your fault, I would like to hear an equally good solution to the issue." Sam nodded, then looked away from his friend. The church was different from the memories he inherited. In those, the Church of the First Drop was a peaceful congregation of priestesses who accepted anyone with open arms and only defended themselves and never went on the offensive, unless they were menaced by somebody who was clearly a blood mage or something along those lines…

How that managed to turn into a communist murder cult, he didn't know. His actions shouldn't have affected them, as they were living in isolation. The only ones who could change them were the devs and the game's system. His hunch was telling him that this was too heavy-handed for the system. It was usually much more subtle than this. However, a question still remained. Why do this?

'Maybe a question to ponder for later. I need to figure out the situation…' he mused before turning back to Lucy.

"We cannot prevent the temple from being built, right?"

"Not unless you want to go to war with a lot of people," came the slightly sarcastic reply. Sam thought about it for a second before shaking his head.

"Nah, not now…" he replied with a small chuckle. Lucy, very visibly, didn't return his smile. After a few seconds, he leaned forward, resting his elbow on his thighs.

"Alright, here is what we are going to do, Lu," he began as Lucy looked ready to take notes.

"We cannot stop the red tide, so we need to manage it. Lean into it."

"That is?"

"Send people, resources, and money to them. Make sure we are their suppliers, we provide them with clean sheets, we cook their food and if we can swing it, we protect them. You know, the usual."

"Ahh… What about the ritual?"

"Do you have the description?" he asked in turn, hoping that it didn't change from his past life. Lucy simply handed over a sheet, which he read in short order, letting out a relieved sigh at the end. He put the sheet down and slapped it gently.

"Make sure that everyone knows that this ritual can save you from blood magic."

"Can it?"

"It can prevent blood mages from using your own skills against you, but otherwise, no. But the simpler the message is, the better."

"So, ritual equals safety?" she asked, while making copies of notes.

"Yeah… start with a whisper campaign, then some targeted one for guilds that like to fight. We could offer discounts on the materials. Or to build them their own ritual chamber."

"Already had plans for that. Unless they want it from marble and precious gems, the material cost is negligible. If this takes off, it is another giant money maker."

"Really? That's excellent…" They lapsed into silence as Sam contemplated his ideas, while Lucy began to draw up the skeletons of their plans. Finally, after almost a quarter an hour of the room being filled only with some background noise and the clicking of Lucy's computer and scratches of her pen, she finally broke the silence.

"What about you? Back to fighting the blood mages?" Sam just shook his head.

"I need some more powerful options in my arsenal. I'm off to see the wizard…"

"Which one?" she immediately asked, bringing up a map of the continent where Emerald Kingdom could be found. Sam just sent her a disappointed look. She looked back innocently.

"What?"