Chương 349: Chapter 335

They rushed toward the old capital, riding on their familiars with excitement on their faces. The first part of the 'quest' was done – even if at the beginning they didn't even know they were doing a quest – and now it was time for the big showdown. Sam expected at least some clashes with other guilds who would feel slighted by their inability to be first, but he had hope that the government forces would be there first, and he and his team could waltz in there and take the first on the raid, too.

Magic Unbound rarely had first awards, but when it did, they were good. He couldn't remember what the unique title granted, but it couldn't be anything worthless. And even if it was just a decorative title, the sheer fact that they got it would be its own reward.

"How is the situation?" he asked as the wind flew past his face. Lucy, on the other side, answered, voice tinged with worry and frustration.

"Tumultuous."

"Well, that is a loaded word."

"Yeah, because the situation is loaded," Lucy answered.

"The people just found out that somebody completed the quest."

"Do they know it was us?"

"No. But they suspect it." Sam smiled.

"Are they heading for the old capital?"

"It's like an exodus of players…" Lucy answered.

"But Tim is already there and is keeping an eye on things."

"Tim?"

"Mhm. I sent him up the moment I knew you were doing something stupid."

"That's hurtful…"

"Well, live with it," came Lucy's cheeky reply.

"He also has a pack full of potions, elixirs, and a change of armor if you need it." Sam glanced over their team, some of their armor more tattered than others, and nodded.

"Thanks, that'll help."

"Thought so. You all play too hard…"

"Hey!"

"Sorry, but that's the truth…"

"You're a mean one…"

"Deal with it…" The road toward the old capital was full of crowds of players, all streaming toward the same destination. Sam at first feared they would be constantly attacked by glory seekers or people trying to slow them down, but with so many players travelling on mounts, in carriages, or whatever they could find, the team was completely lost in the chaos.

"Wow! That's a lot of people!" Katie called over to him as her mount came closer to Lucky.

"Don't even think about it!" Sam yelled back.

"We need to reach the fracture portal!" Katie just sent him an annoyed look, then grinned.

"I would never!" The old capital of the northern territories had long since ceased to be a capital or even a city. Nowadays, it is more of a town, built on the outskirts of the old capital, where they used stones from the old buildings to build a new wall and other structures. Due to this, most of the ruins near the town were spotty at best, or completely missing at worst.

However, the deeper one went into the old capital – whose name had long since been forgotten – the bigger and more complete the buildings became. Now, some astute observer would ask: why didn't they just take over those buildings? The answer, as always, lies in magic. When the last ruler of the capital fell – to foul betrayal, as they sometimes do – he had cursed the throne and, with it, the capital.

The people living there, and the people succeeding him, didn't take the curse seriously, taking it as something a desperate, petty tyrant would say. Then the nightmares began… History was not clear – at least in those books Sam had read in the Nowhere library when he was preparing – what exactly happened between the nightmares appearing and the exodus of those who survived, but it was nothing good.

This was further underscored by the fact that no one who left the capital survived more than a year after leaving the place. The end result was that the old capital became empty, and the shadows gained life. Any unwary person entering would be consumed by the things lurking there. As they stepped into the town of Precipe – named very appropriately – they found themselves surrounded by the swirling chaos of throngs of players.

NPCs were nowhere to be seen; all of them fled the moment the tide of players flooded the place. Sam and the others turned left the moment they saw the crowd in the town, and headed around it. Their mounts sped up, jumping over groups of people who had the same idea, until they sighted the old gates of the capital. The stone wall had more holes than a hole factory, but the two columns on the side of the old gates still stood – weathered by time and weather, but still reaching for the sky, holding nothing back.

On them were several flags representing the current rulers, flapping in the cold wind. Around them was a temporary wall set up by burly northern soldiers, glaring at anyone who came closer to the area. Some were constantly yelling for people to stay back. Others were doing their best to catch people trying to sneak in, though Sam did not doubt that most of the high-level sneaky people were already in the old capital. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

They landed in a small, empty space, dismissed their familiars to the disappointed whines and chirps of the animals – except for Melody, who simply took up his now customary position behind Clarissa. She still wasn't used to it – glancing occasionally back awkwardly, making eye contact with the transformed goose before looking away – finding the whole situation extremely weird. Sam thought it was funny as hell…

Katie even confided in him that she had already commissioned an artist to make fan art of the healer and goose ronin. He couldn't wait. The moment the familiars vanished, a hush fell over the surrounding crowd. Hundreds of eyes, as one, were fixed on them as the silence was slowly broken with a wave of whispers that swept over the crowd.

"Is that them?"

"Did they really manage to open the portal?"

"How strong do you think they are?"

"Who do you think is the hottest?"

"Look at those muscles! Yum!" Sam exchanged a look with the others, but with a well-practiced motion, they turned as one toward the temporary fortification that had been set up. The crowd parted before them, either wanting to see what happens when Solar himself approached the government officials, or waiting to experience schadenfreude when Sam failed. Naturally, the officials noticed them, and Sam saw several of them whisper behind their hands as he and his team approached them.

He also idly noticed that one of them, in an odd getup, was waving around a magical artifact that reminded Sam of a steampunk Geiger counter – with rainbow sparks emerging from the surrounding air, before vanishing into the ether. As Sam got closer, the artifact began to emit a rapid beeping noise, causing the soldiers around to snap to attention, eyes fixated on the team approaching them.

The lead official, dressed in warm but high-quality clothing with the nation's symbol on the left side of the coat, raised a hand.

"Halt," he spoke simply, with an authoritative voice. Sam stopped, the others following his lead. Then he bowed a little.

"Good day to you, sir!" The man ignored him and glanced at the man who elbowed himself through the big, burly soldiers, waving his artifact around, creating a rainbow light show. Meanwhile, another hush fell over the crowd as they watched the proceedings, when a fight didn't break out instantly.

"That's them?" the official asked. The guy with the artifact waved it around a little more, adjusting a few dials here and there, but after a minute of tense waiting, he spoke up.

"It appears so, my lord." The official nodded, a bit of sneer settling on his face.

"Good enough, I suppose." He turned back to Sam and looked directly into his eye.

"My name is General Swige. Come with me." He then turned around on his heels with military precision and began to walk deeper into the fortification. The soldiers around them surged forward, quickly enveloping Sam and his friends. Not seeing any reason why they would resist, Sam put a calming hand on Katie's shoulder while Clarissa simply poked Melody, and the entire group followed the good general to the disappointment of hundreds of watchers. It was at that moment that his messenger buzzed.

Lucy: There is another bounty on your heads. Be careful! However, before he could answer, they stepped through the great columns, and his messenger vanished to be replaced by another screen. [Warning! You entered an event area! To ensure an even playing field, outside communication has been blocked, and recordings have been cached until the event ends. We wish you an exciting adventure and if you have any questions, you can reach us at…] They were led into a small camp, seemingly the center of the military action performed by the rulers of the nations, and there the good general took them to one of the half-open tents. Surrounding a table with a map on it stood several military officials and government representatives, all of them wearing fur-lined cloaks and a grave look. General Swige stopped before the table and motioned for Sam to step closer.

"Look, boy," he began in an annoyed tone.

"I don't want you here, but the magic is ironclad. There is something that you've done that makes it so that only you can enter the portal."

'Right smack in the middle…' Sam noted grimly.

'Not a fan of players. Noted.'

"General," he spoke up in a respectful tone, interrupting the man. The general looked annoyed at it, but Sam just plowed through.

"If you could give me a second, I might illuminate the situation." The general stared at him as if taking his measure before tersely nodding, as he fell silent. Sam took a deep breath and began retelling their adventure through the five fractures, finishing with the thrilling battle against the Ruler of the Northern Empire, Empress of the Snow Vaults, Eldara Iceguard, the last protector of the Titan's Fang.

As he spoke, most of the officials gathered closer, intently listening, while several of them were making copious notes. Finally, as he finished, the general nodded.

"I see…" he ran his fingers through his well-taken-care-of beard thoughtfully.

"That does explain many things." Then he snorted.

"I still don't like it." Sam wisely decided to stay silent this time.

"A true northern man should be the one to brave the fracture holding the echo of the Heart of the Nation!" By the end of that declaration, his voice turned from rough grumbly into nationalist pride. Sam smiled.

"I agree completely, sir. But it seems magic itself wishes us to give it a try. How about you allow us one run, that should negate whatever protection is on the portal." Sam knew there was no way the general could allow or deny entry to the portal, but it would probably make the man happier. He could say that it was on his order that Sam and his team entered the fracture. The general looked thoughtful upon hearing that, then exchanged a few pointed looks with his advisors and lieutenants.

One after another, all of them nodded – with a few exceptions who shook their heads – until the general turned back to them.

"Very well. One chance. One opportunity. No more," he declared in an authoritative tone that echoed around the camp. Sam bowed, his team following suit a moment later.

"Many thanks, sir." Pleased, the general waved them away.

"Go. Show us the pride of the South!" [New quest acquired!] [Speaking and Entering] [You have been 'allowed' to enter the Heart's Torment fracture by General Swige. Take this opportunity and show the northern warriors your mettle.] [Time limit: One fracture run] [Penalty: Death, Lowered reputation with the northern countries] [Reward: A unique title,???] Sam dismissed the screen, bowed to the military officials once again, and turned around, where one of the captains was already waiting for them.

He saluted, striking his fist against his chest and motioning Sam to follow him. They were led through the winding paths of the old capital, every street lined with grim-faced soldiers and wild-looking mages that were twitching and staring at the shadows suspiciously, until they arrived at a small square, right in front of a wrought-iron fence that had seen better times, but was still recognizable. The soldier saluted again.

"I shall stop here," he told them, eyes roving around the surroundings as if watching for hidden enemies.

"The mausoleum is in the middle of the old graveyard. You can find the portal there." Sam shook his head and thanked him. They watched together as the soldier practically ran away. Then he spoke up.

"You can reveal yourself…" From the shadows cast by the ruins next to them, an extremely familiar figure emerged. Tim. Tim was currently dressed in a black leather armor that was – for some god-forsaken reason – shaped as a vest, while also wearing a bow tie. At least he had a cloak on. Behind him, Sam could see eight red eyes blinking lazily in the shadows.

"Hey, boss! Having fun?"

"Pretty much. You?" Tim chuckled.

"Like you wouldn't believe…" He reached into his inventory and pulled out several bags, handing one to each of them.

"I have been hunting assassins since they set up the blockade." They took the supply bag with a quiet thank you as Sam looked at the weirdly dressed assassin.

"Oh, that many?" Tim chuckled.

"Before the event locked down communication, your bounty almost doubled with the northern guilds joining in." Dan hissed.

"Doubled?"

"At least," Tim confirmed.

"Awesome!" Sam exclaimed.

"I had a bet with Lucy I could reach one million by the end of the year…"

"With the way you're going, boss… I'm pretty sure you're going to win that one…" Tim told him with a chuckle. Sam unpacked his supply bag, refilled his potions, drank a few elixirs, then put the rest away. As Tim prepared to go back to hiding, Sam had only one question.

"What's with the vest, Tim?" Tim just smiled happily.

"Oh, this? Liz made it for me. She said it would suit me." Sam gave him a thumbs-up.

"It does."