Chương 358: Chapter 344

Sam spent most of the trip on a call with Lucy. He mostly stayed silent, listening as she handled the current crisis – occasionally offering his advice or an idea or two. Most of her work involved making sure no one was doing anything suspicious in any other city while Deepanchor burned. She also had to handle the most demanding task of all: communicating with the nobility and government representatives.

Almost every minute, a messenger barged into her office, demanding to know what AFK and Chrysalis were doing about the situation because Lord so-and-so and Lady what's-her-name were worried and would really like to know what Chrysalis was doing so that they could also prepare to participate in any possible actions.

He watched as Lucy calmly – and with the grace of someone who had worked in customer support – smiled and explained to each and every one of the messengers, all of whom insisted their question was the most important, that the guild was doing its best and, for now, everything was well in hand. For fun, she came up with a new action plan for every messenger, spreading misinformation even at a time like this – one of their contingency measures.

Most NPC nobles could be trusted to behave logically–as expected of a computer system–and act in their own best interests. But as the game had been out for some time, many players and guilds had wormed their way into noble families and organizations, just like Sam and Lucy had. This way, if any of those people decided to leak the information their messenger carried, their enemies would only dance to their tune.

'I wonder how long we can keep this up before the others catch on?' Sam thought as he rode on Lucky's back, the forest blurring into indistinct shapes around him. He remembered clearly that by the time the other Sam died, in-game espionage had reached levels that almost surpassed those found in the real world. With illusion spells, potions, and items that transformed people, alter voices, and more, it was incredibly easy to create chaos, distract people, and, in general, muddle the waters.

Large guilds had entire sub-guilds dedicated to information gathering and decryption. It got so bad that Future Unknown had to introduce a way to authenticate recordings from their game. With it, people could at least prove they hadn't altered their footage. Naturally, some enterprising individuals used those same codes to doxx several prominent streamers. In response, Future Unknown added layers of obfuscation and randomization, along with an application that allowed users to verify videos containing those codes.

This, in turn, sparked a constant war with hackers trying to crack the obfuscation and randomization algorithms.

'Hmm… there is an idea…' he mused. As a shareholder, he technically had a way to contact the company. Especially after his 'episode' – they made sure of that.

'I could recommend it and get ahead of a bunch of useless drama…' The other Sam watched those dramas while munching on snacks, endlessly entertained – but looking back, lives had been ruined because the company hadn't kept up properly with the actions of the player base. Sam frowned, then chuckled after having an idea.

'Why not try it?'

"Hey, system!" he called out loud.

"I need to talk to a dev!" He didn't expect anything to happen, but almost immediately a screen appeared in front of him, making him flinch and cling tighter to Lucky's fur.

"What the–" He was cut off as the screen filled with a camera feed of some office–packed with whiteboards and smartboards, all of them blurred out–and a tired-looking man he recognized. The man he had spoken to in the hospital looked rough. A five o'clock shadow clung to his face, nearly a beard, and dark circles hung under his eyes. His hair was a mess, and several distinct coffee stains marked his off-white lab coat.

"What do you want?" the man asked harshly, glaring at him. He opened his mouth to continue, but– BEEEP The familiar censor beep cut him off. Sam smiled awkwardly.

"I found a potential security issue that could lead to loss of life, and I thought I should tell you." The man sighed and nodded while waving his hand.

"Fine. Fine. Go on, wunderkind. Dazzle me…"

"Alright, so here it is…" As Sam explained, the man's dismissive attitude quickly faded, replaced by focused attention as he grasped the importance of what he was hearing. By the time Ferabor's walls came into view in the distance, the man was finishing his notes.

"Anything else?" he asked, but Sam just shook his head.

"Good, this'll already give us plenty of overtime…" The man shrugged and let out a tired sigh.

"Still, thanks. Still hate you." This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. The screen went blank for a moment before vanishing entirely, leaving Sam blinking in surprise.

"Well, that was… odd." A second, much smaller screen replaced it. [Thank you for reporting a bug! We, at Future Unknown, would like to thank you for your efforts!] He dismissed the notification, hoping the company would take him seriously, then reached over to pat Lucky on his head.

"Come on, buddy! Only a little longer!" he cheered the giant wolf.

"I can see the gates!"

"Wuff!" Lucky charged through the gate without regard for consequences, ignoring the large crowd waiting to pass through security and sailing over their heads. A few people shouted–some in fright, most in indignation at him cutting the line–but Sam ignored them. Every second spent here was a second Deepanchor went without his help. Granted, he was fairly sure the city would survive. After all, just because he was powerful didn't mean his party members were weak.

If he had sent only Dan to reinforce the defenses, Sam suspected he still would have prevailed, with most of the harbor city intact. Still, the Blood Army wouldn't stop with just two krakens. They had to be planning something else… Lucky galloped through the streets, following Sam's direction toward the warehouse Fitzgerald had taken over. As they reached the building, Sam launched himself into the air, flipping forward and landing in a run as Lucky slipped into the shadows behind him.

As if sensing his arrival, a maid with the Silvercrest symbol embroidered on her apron opened the door at that exact moment. She said nothing, simply stepping aside as Sam rushed past before calmly closing it behind him, as though this were a routine task she does every day. Sam ran through several corridors before arriving in the familiar hall that housed the massive circular portal, its surface buzzing with energy. Fitzgerald stood beside it, busy with what looked like last-minute checks.

In the background, Lucrecia sat at a table draped in an intricate cloth, sipping from a porcelain cup while a stone-faced maid stood behind her. Sam gave her a small wave, which she returned enthusiastically, but most of his attention was on the swirling circular portal. The closer he got, the more the hairs on his arms stood on end. And, of course, on its creator.

"Master!" he called, breathing a little harder – more from excitement and anticipation than exertion.

"Is it ready?" His master straightened and ran a hand through his already messy hair.

"My dear Samuel! Of course, it is!" he said with a cheeky grin.

"After all, I created it!" Sam eyed the man with suspicion. He clearly remembered what it meant if the man made something.

"How mean…" the man muttered, then sighed, his shoulders sagging as if whatever he was about to say hurt him on an emotional level.

"It has been checked by several other masters. It's perfectly safe. We're only waiting for the politics to… settle down," he added diplomatically while eyeing Sam's disheveled countenance.

"Good… good…" Sam muttered nervously before stepping closer. The mana in the air tingled against his skin, sending a shiver down his spine. He eyed his excited master once more before he waved Lucrecia goodbye with a small, hesitant gesture, then took another cautious step toward the portal. Sam inhaled deeply. He closed his eyes. Then took one last step. The portal's mana washed over him like a tide, and for an ephemeral moment, he felt weightless.

His body lost cohesion, his mind struggling to parse the surging sensations. Then his feet hit solid ground, jolting him back into the material plane. Opening his eyes, he found himself in a hall much like the one he had left–minus the bombastic noble lady and her entourage. Several medieval-style secret agents waited silently, watching for him to regain his balance. One of them opened a side door, silently indicating Sam should proceed. He bowed slightly, smoothed down his clothing, and jogged toward it.

The moment he stepped through, the door closed behind him with a definitive click. He glanced back, heard the lock engage, and refocused. Deepanchor awaited. Trying to pick up sounds from outside, he quickly found a staircase behind the door and began ascending. It didn't take long to realize its destination. The roof. Doubling his pace, he circulated his mana, preparing both body and mind for the battle ahead. He took the stairs two at a time and reached another door–thankfully unlocked.

Pushing through, he emerged onto a flat roof, suspiciously free of chimneys or other cover, save for the small building enclosing the entryway. Sam inhaled sharply as he stepped onto the flat roof, his boots scraping lightly against the stone. The harbor city stretched before him, a chaotic tapestry of flame, smoke, and shadow. Much of it was on fire–mostly the outer walls. Giant flames roared, clashing with the blood-sucking parasite grass, sizzling as they spread.

"Dan seems to be having fun…" he muttered. He couldn't see his friend from this distance, but he could imagine the grin on his face, the thrill in his eyes. A massive cloud of burgundy hovered above a section of the city, dense and unnatural. It wasn't smoke–it had a weight, a presence. It rolled slowly like molten blood, pulsing subtly as though something alive stirred within it.

Occasional flashes of colorful light cut through its depths, revealing brief glimpses of metal and motion, accompanied by the distant clang of armored combat. From the reports Sam had overheard on Lucy's call, most of the Steel Lion remnants were inside the cloud, battling the abomination the Blood Army had summoned. From this distance, he couldn't see details, but the intermittent flashes and crashes told him everything: the fight was relentless, brutal, and inhuman. And then, the krakens.

One alive kraken roared, thrashing its massive tentacles with explosive force, sending salty water and chunks of seabed flying across the harbor. Ships that had been too slow to escape were reduced to kindling in the torrent of debris. The other kraken lay broken into two, one half submerged and floating in the churning waters of the harbor, while the other half covered the destroyed part of the city.

It seemed Katie had done her best to turn the mutated kraken–its blood-red skin and black-veined flesh–into ingredients for sushi. One stray tentacle was even impaled on a flagpole, resembling a massive skewer. The active kraken's mouth bristled with countless sharp teeth. Its tentacles swatted anything on the ground, occasionally recoiling as if struck by lightning–or something more eldritch–before slamming back, sending dust and mud into the air.

The creature's roar blended with citywide chaos, smoke rising and punctuated by distant screams and explosions. Sam's gaze swept the city. Flames burned along the walls, smoke swirled into the sky, and the burgundy cloud loomed like a living shadow. The streets were either full of debris or people rushing about. Naturally, because this was a game, those unaffiliated with the guild didn't cover. They just took it as an emergency quest and threw themselves into the meat-grinder.

His chest tightened at the devastation. It hurt. He had poured tremendous effort into building this city. Not to mention the other guild members, who had invested even more to ensure it could function as a trading hub.

'Probably why it was attacked…' he grumbled to himself. He wanted to act. He wanted to fight. Another roar. Another building destroyed by the titanic monster. He didn't hesitate. He just shook his entire body, loosening up his muscles. Then, without waiting even a moment longer, he flooded his body with mana. And then he was off.