Chương 443: Chapter 442 – Council Meeting Part 1

Morning came so Damion and Elicia headed to the Atlantis City Council Chambers. If the fate of the world was going to be discussed Elicia wanted to hear it firsthand. Damion saw no reason not to let her come along, so they left Helge in the care of his grandparents and went to find out exactly how difficult the first SS Rank floor was.

Inside the council chambers were all the S Rank mages of Atlantis, as well as Mage Thresbane and a few dozen A Rank mages, which made up around half of the A Rankers now calling the city home. Elicia took a seat in the gallery, while Damion headed to his seat next to Mage Teft at the council table. Other mages were still arriving, but shortly after Damion took his seat, Mage Teft began the meeting.

"This meeting is to inform the A Rankers and other interested parties on the progress the S Rank team has made in delving into the Avalon labyrinth," Mage Teft began.

"Some of you, no doubt, have already heard we have successfully crossed the threshold to reach SS Rank floors." A number of the mages in the gallery whispered to each other at Mage Teft's confirmation of the rumors. SS Ranked floors meant there was the possibility to ascend to that level for all of them. But in addition to that, it meant more S Rank materials. Currently, the only S Rank materials readily available were from the S Rank guardians of S Rank labyrinth floors or dungeons.

Occasionally, S Rank materials were acquired by killing a wild S Rank Demonic Beast, but aside from strong beast waves, in which the city affected maintained rights to spoils, there were not many wild S Rank Demonic Beast kills, unless you wanted to venture into the Black zones. On an SS Rank floor, the guardian would be SS Rank, but the rest of the Demonic Beasts on the floor would likely be B Rank to S Rank.

Even if the A Rankers could not handle the S Rank Demonic Beasts, there was still going to be an influx of materials, which meant more money and potentially more high-grade artifacts.

"The difficulty of this first SS Rank floor cannot be underestimated. Even though some of our members are now close to crossing the SS threshold, the guardian of the floor is not one we can defeat, even if some of our members rise in Rank."

"Do we need to clear the floor?" a mage in the gallery asked.

"I mean, can't we just make use of the floor for training while the other Demonic Beasts are cleared out and once a group is strong enough challenge the guardian?"

"That is one solution," Mage Levine admitted.

"But our goal is not simply to become stronger. We need to determine if this floor constitutes the midpoint of the labyrinth."

"You are talking about Mage Wells' plan to take us to the Mother World to fight in some war between the Iblis and the Alfar."

"Yes, she is," Damion answered.

"Though, we won't necessarily be directly participating in the war. The goal is to undo a magic seal that was created long ago. If we can release that seal, we can put an end to random Realm Breaches opening up all over the world and stop the majority of beast waves." The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Your story about how you survived Exile is a great story, but it's just that," the mage countered, "a story. We have no proof of anything that you said is true."

"Skepticism is understandable, but you…" Damion began, but was cut off.

"Mage Wells' story is not up for debate, Mage Cowel," Mage Thresbane suddenly spoke up.

"Most of you know who I am, and who my people are, even though we have not advertised it. I will tell you this plainly, Mage Wells speaks the truth, and it is in your, and our world's, best interest to follow the plan he has laid out."

"Is it then your intention to go with them?" Mage Cowel asked.

"As the leader of the Protectorate, it is my duty to protect humanity. To see to it that our history and way of life are passed down from generation to generation. And to be able to protect the last of our people should the worst come to pass. To this end, I am unable to assist in the expedition to the Mother World, or in the clearing of the labyrinth floor, but others of my people can." Damion took note of Mage Thresbane's refusal to assist but also came up with a curious question.

As important as the expedition to the Mother World was, the SS Rank Mage could not assist, not accompany them all to the Mother World, not even able to go into the labyrinth to help clear floors. If he could not enter the labyrinth because of his duty, did he ever enter any? If not, how did the Shadow Mage reach SS Rank?

"We greatly appreciate whatever assistance you and your people can provide," Mage Teft told Mage Thresbane.

"Since an SS Rank has been discovered, I believe those of us closest to reaching SS Rank should attempt to reach that level before we delve into the labyrinth again. If we are able to clear this floor and it turns out to be the midpoint, all our worries are for naught. If it is not the midpoint, then I believe it will be time we go before the S Rank Assembly to ask for assistance."

"The Assembly may not be willing to assist us," Mage Teft said to Mage Levine.

"Mage Harris said we were on our own. And after their attempts to take over and secretly strike at our city, I fear we have more enemies than allies in the Assembly."

"Aside from a few families, most are not our enemies, they are simply not our allies," Mage Strand cut in.

"They have no reason to be our allies. But now they have one. Access to an SS Rank floor is an opportunity that they will not want to pass by. We just have to make sure they are willing to aid us in our cause before we grant them access."

"I would say there are certain ones we don't want to grant access," Damion added, thinking of the attempt Headmaster Sorin had made at tricking him into unleashing a beast wave into Atlantis. The incident was not public knowledge, as they had decided to try and bluff Sorin and the S Rank Assembly into believing the defenses of Atlantis were greater than they were. This strategy had also resulted in the Headmaster going unpunished for his scheme. However, now there was an opportunity to get back at him.

How much would Headmaster Sorin and his ilk dare to scheme if the majority of the S Ranks in Atlantis were to reach SS Rank and he was left behind?

"It should not be an issue with the Assembly to leave out families that have been openly hostile to you," Mage Teft said.

"This will also aid in gaining the support of those who have been neutral before. They played the long game and stayed out of it, but now they have the opportunity to rise above the rest."