Chương 356: Chapter 342

Sam rushed toward the nearest guild building, where a guild member already waited for him. He was escorted into a small room, where his spent equipment was dumped, along with a bunch of trash littering his inventory. His potions and other consumables were then quickly refilled. While outwardly he looked focused on the task, inwardly, he was marveling at the fact that a throwaway line to Lucy about pit stop crews turned out to be effective.

He had read an article in his last life about doctors studying how pit stop crews operated and translating that into the operating room – so he had wondered what would happen if they applied that concept in the guild. As he went through his equipment, a guy stood at the edge of the room, out of the way of the whirlwind of activity, and was giving him a rather thorough description of the situation.

"Crimson Lotus – a middling guild with no public affiliation to any of the big guilds – but based on the name, it's not hard to guess where their loyalties lie," the man said, rolling his eyes.

"They have been a nuisance for a while, but yesterday they began to gather en masse, and now they've decided to attack Rockfall."

"Anything important there?" Sam asked as he was making sure his armor straps were on tight. Another person placed a heavily reinforced box in front of him and opened it. Inside, in small receptacles, sat several grenades. They had faintly glowing white and blue lines, telling Sam that they were probably made by Liz. They were clearly labeled: smoke symbol, mushroom cloud, lightning, and sunglasses. With a deft movement, he transferred all of them into his inventory.

"Simple mining town, with two fractures nearby. All of them are low-level."

"Is the attack a retaliation for what we did?"

"More than likely. Also they're investigating how we handle the attack." Sam spent a moment thinking before speaking.

"Adam already gave orders?"

"Yes, sir," the man nodded.

"Keep watch, but don't act until you arrive."

"Good. Relay new orders. Have everyone pull back and leave only the observation team."

"Are you sure, sir?" came the concerned question. Sam just smiled.

"Of course. It's not like they could do anything to me…"

"A-allright, then. Order relayed… sir," came the hesitant reply a few seconds later.

"Any notable people?" Sam asked as he quickly inspected his sword. The man, glad to be back on familiar territory, began to talk, giving him an exhaustively detailed description of the people in Crimson Lotus. After listening for a while, Sam decided that he probably wouldn't have much trouble dealing with them. The highest level among them just reached Level 100 while he was getting closer and closer to 200. No… the danger would come from a different direction.

Leaving the guild building, he pulled up his messenger screen and dialed Tim.

"Take a trusted team and set up within striking distance of Rockfall," he began without any preamble as soon as the man answered the call. Tim, ever quick to catch things, frowned slightly.

"You think it's going to be an ambush?"

"Could be bait, too."

"Get you and your team away from the city and strike?"

"Yeah, but Dan and the girls are with Adam."

"Alright, we'll shadow you," Tim said, already moving.

"Good luck!"

"Thanks!" Sam replied before hanging up. He then summoned Lucky, spent a few seconds just breathing in and out as he ran his fingers through the familiar's silky-smooth fur, before jumping onto his back and running toward the town of Rockfall. One thought echoed in his mind.

'It has begun…' While on his way to Rockfall, he decided to check his gains from his northern adventure. Originally, he had planned to sit down somewhere comfortable in Ferabor and go over them, but Adam had interrupted him. So now, sitting on Lucky's back, rushing through the forests of the Emerald Kingdom toward a battle that was more than likely a trap, he opened his system screen. While the smaller fractures barely gave him any experience points, the last one – with the three phases – had given a good chunk.

Especially since they had completed it first and handed the gem they found over to the NPCs. And a bit of an increase in his skills. [You have leveled up!] [You are now Level 160!] Sam stared at the number.

'That can't be right…' He immediately opened the logs and saw that it was actually correct. The first clear had given him that much.

'Bonkers…' [Gained 24 unassigned attribute points!] [Thanks to your clear leadership and seamless teamwork, you gained +2 DEX +2 PER, +3 WIS, +3 AGI, and +2 END!] He quickly opened his status screen and began distributing his new stats. Sadly, he didn't have enough to raise one more attribute to 100 in one go, so he distributed them according to his needs. Agility got two, Dexterity one, Wisdom two, Endurance twelve, Perception two, and the last four went to Strength.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. [Perfect Mana Core is now Level 65!] [Mana Scales is now Level 200!] [Due to your thorough understanding of your skill, you gain the subskill Abrasive Scales!] [Abrasive Scales: Level MAX (MAX%) (Passive) Thanks to your understanding of mana, you managed to toughen your scales enough that when hit by a melee attack, the attacker suffers a percentage of their own damage. The percentage of reflected damage is 10% of the absorbed damage.] [Mana Weaving is now Level 87!] [Void Manipulation is now Level 93!] [Void Affinity is now Level 94!] [Void Soul is now Level 78!] [Obliteration is now Level 15!] It was a bit sad that Abrasive Scales couldn't be leveled further, but even then, he had a few ideas how to maximize its damage. [Abyss Sight is now Level 18!] [Art of Etheral Body is now Level 12!] [Physical and Magical Resistance is now Level 60!] [Corruption Resistance is now Level 82!] [Necrotic Resistance is now Level 34!] A bit short list, but Sam was still happy. Every time a number went up, he was happy. Approaching the area where Rockfall lay, he urged Lucky to slow down and took a circuitous route that was supposedly hidden, according to the report he had been given. He didn't fully trust it yet, but it was a good test for the group Adam had built. Jumping off Lucky's back, he patted the giant wolf on its flank.

"Get into my shadow and watch my back…" he whispered affectionately. The wolf licked his face once, then gleefully dove into his shadow. The last thing Sam saw were two blinking eyes before even those vanished. Stretching a little, he crouched down, activating a small runic plate that would help him blend into the environment. Feeling the magic wash over him, he pulled his cloak hood down and began creeping forward, mindful of every sound he made.

Meanwhile, he released a thin pulse of mana – not unlike a radar pulse – and watched as the low-fidelity image of the surroundings revealed itself. Rockfall, like many other mining towns, was simple. He could 'see' the worker housing, bathhouses, the mining facilities, enormous storage areas, and a station for the outgoing carriages. A small square for gatherings and early morning markets. A low wall surrounded the town – enough to stop wild animals and bandits, but not enough to stop a determined player guild.

The pile of dead NPC guards proved that. He focused on the enemy, menacing the civilian and worker NPCs in the middle of the town. They stank to high-heaven of blood magic – proving that they were indeed a deniable asset of the Blood Army. Sam spread his mana outward, searching for the group planning to ambush him, but there was nothing.

He found the observation team and could feel Tim almost on the other side of town, arriving with his own team – but there was nothing indicating that the Blood Army had decided to use Rockfall to bury him. He even checked the top of the mountain, just in case they wanted to literally bury him in Rockfall with a rock avalanche – but no. Not even a trace of explosives anywhere.

'What the hell is their plan?' he wondered as he called Adam. The messenger rang once before the guild leader picked it up.

"Yes?" Adam asked.

"I'm here, but I don't see any enemy action aside from Crimson Lotus," Sam said. Adam glanced to the side, then back to him.

"No movement here either. Very weird." Sam pressed another button, calling Tim. The screen shifted to a three-way call, Tim's cowled figure taking up a third of the display.

"Tim, anything on your side?" The bowtie-wearing assassin shook his head.

"Silent on all fronts."

"Could be that they're aiming at Ferabor?" Adam asked, concern creeping into his voice. Sam shook his head.

"No way. It's too well defended."

"Any other place I can see being attacked is Brightgarden and Deepanchor, then…" Adam said. Sam thought for amoment and looked at Tim, silently asking for his opinion. The man didn't disappoint.

"I would start with Deepanchor. Sabotaging our main harbor would be devastating." Adam considered it for a few seconds before reluctantly nodding.

"I have the remnants of the Steel Lions protecting it. But if they attack…" Sam had to agree with them.

"Alright, so this is a diversion that we have to accept. Losing a mining town would slow us down." The other two nodded in agreement.

"Tim, can you trust your team?" Tim didn't answer. He simply stepped aside. Sam had to bite back a snort. A full team – composed entirely of women – stood arranged throughout the clearing. Each of them wore tight, form-fitting leather armor that looked like it had been designed by someone who considered "protection" a secondary concern. They weren't just standing there, either. They were posed. Some leaned casually against trees, one leg bent just enough to accentuate their silhouette.

Others stretched as if warming up, movements just slow enough to draw attention. One was adjusting her gear with deliberate care, while another crouched low, checking her boots – her posture just shy of excessive.

"Yes," Tim said proudly.

"They're my best team." Sam really wanted to ask several questions, but decided to save them for later.

"Good. Then take your team – leave the observation unit – and head to Brightgarden. Scout the area and handle anything that needs handling. Then pick up all those furries and take them wherever Adam tells you to." He waited until Tim nodded in understanding before turning to Adam.

"Send a team to Deepanchor. You know what to do. But I want you to stay in Ferabor and coordinate from there. Prime the defenses just in case. Full NBC lockdown." Adam groaned.

"Ugh, I hate NBC lockdowns…"

"Blame those bloody idiots for playing with blood magic."

"I know, I know… I still hate it." Sam smiled slightly.

"Any questions?"

"You're good for Rockfall?" Tim asked as the team began to prepare to move out after a few silent hand signs. Naturally, they did so with an impressive amount of bending, stretching, and provocative posing.

'I don't understand that guy's luck…' Sam thought, momentarily distracted as one particularly flexible young woman bent down to pick up a simple piece of equipment she had 'accidentally' dropped – clearly within Tim's line of sight. Of course, Tim remained completely oblivious to both her frustration and the merriment of the others.

"They're scrubs, high on their own hype. They think because the Blood Army secretly supports them, they can do anything," Sam said, waving off the concern.

"Still, be careful," Tim replied.

"You never know what they might have hidden…"

"Well, unless they figured out how to set up anti-magic fields, I'm fine…" Sam said casually. Adam, however, was taken aback.

"Wait! What? You can do that?"

"What? Set up anti-magic fields?"

"Yeah! I didn't know it was possible…"

"I mean, I haven't gotten to it with my runic studies, but it shouldn't be impossible," Sam said. He wasn't actually worried. Anti-magic effects were extremely rare in the world of Magic Unknown. Magic was interwoven with every aspect of life, so the developers made it incredibly difficult to create anything resembling a true anti-magic field. Occasionally, someone figured out how to counter specific types of magic – but full suppression wasn't really possible.

It hadn't even been possible in the future, as far as he remembered. There were rumors that someone had figured it out, but nothing ever came of it. Adam let out a relieved breath.

"Huh.. good, I was starting to get worried." Sam just chuckled.

"Keep an eye on it, but I wouldn't stress about it just yet." He looked at Tim, who was ready to move, then back at Adam, who was already being pulled into something off-screen"Alright. Everyone knows their job. Let's do it!"

"Good luck, boss! Team, move out!"

"Have fun, Sam!" Adam said with a small smile.

"Same to you…" The screen vanished, and he was left alone with a town full of idiots – and innocent civilians. He couldn't help but grin.

"Let's do this fast…"