With the quest completed, Shadow quickly made his way past the check post to the gate of the city. There were a couple of guards with halberds and spears at the gate. As soon as he walked past the gate, a couple of notification sounded through the entire White Heart Kingdom.
White Heart Kingdom Region System Announcement: Congratulations to Shadow Tyrant for becoming the first player in the White Heart Kingdom to arrive at a city! Rewarding the title of First Citizen of White Heart City.
White Heart City Reputation +50;
Blackrock Town Reputation +100;
With this done, Shadow quickly gave Rudra a few of the designs for the Antelope Spear and immediately selected to logout of the game. They were luckily able to manage to clear the quest within the time. He still had 10 minutes to reach Winston at his office. He had no clue about what it is and was in a hurry. He quickly got off his pod and started to move towards Winston's office.
On the other hand, the situation inside vita-nova and the forums became very chaotic. Everyone was surprised by the announcement of Shadow Tyrant reaching the White Heart City. Most of the guilds were shocked.
The forums were also ablaze with similar comments. All the players in the entire game soon came to know that someone managed to reach the city and his name became quite famous among all the players of the game.
"Ridiculous! We are dying to maintain level 9 and these guys have already reached the city," shouted Raging Blade who was in the middle of the same quest. They were having a very hard time in clearing the quest and were constantly being hampered by monsters that continuously came out of the forest and attacked them. This could only be stopped by going into the forest to kill the leader monsters.
"That guy Wandering Hermit was right. There are people who are way ahead of us. We should have listened to Blue Dart and contacted him when we saw his friends cross level 10. I bet they all managed to get into the city," said another member of the team.
Blue Dart had already expected such a situation to arise ever since he saw Crimson Power and Merlin in the leaderboard crossing level 10. He had realized that Shadow had found a method to finish the quest in a faster or easier manner.
He had insisted to the guild leader and other members of his team that it is best that they contact Shadow to come to an agreement, but none paid heed to him. Blood Wolf also understood the situation when Blue Dart suggested it. In fact, he understood it better than Blue Dart. He knew that neither Shadow Tyrant nor Merlin Grimlock would tell it to them before they reach the city.
Blue immediately tried to contact Shadow about it as soon as he heard the announcement. With Shadow already logged out, he couldn't contact him. This, he immediately called Blood Wolf.
"What is it?" asked Blood Wolf. He was also quite busy in the game at this time and really didn't appreciate Blue Dart's call at this time. The others who knew about Blue's suggestion were already pestering him for not taking initiative. Even few guild elders were using this opportunity to embarrass him.
"I am unable to contact him. It looks like he logged out. He didn't share his contact number. I can only contact his account," explained Blue Dart. Blood Wolf had ordered him to wait till Shadow reaches the city before contacting him for the guide to the quest.
This was the most important part of their agenda right now. Everyone in the game wanted to be able to reach the city as fast as possible. "Is Merlin not responding either?" asked Blood Wolf.
"He isn't responding. It is quite odd for him to not respond. I don't know if they want to keep it secret and only use it for themselves. It would cause a lot of friction between them and other guilds, if they do this. It is weird for him to not respond," explained Blue Dart.
Merlin had an entirely different take on the issue. As much as he was concerned, they managed to finish the quest because Shadow was at a higher level and hence managed to help them level up easily and finish the quest. He couldn't give a way for them to level up easily.
Without any other options, Merlin just told Blue Dart the truth and told that he would just have to wait till Shadow comes back from his meeting. "I am sorry, it might take more than 3 hours in game, but we mainly depended on him to finish the quest," explained Merlin to Blue Dart.
His explanation hadn't reduced the pressure, he would face as it is was hardly of use to any of them. Most thought that Shadow had somehow finished another special quest or something before he completed the quest. Some players were also putting pressure on the Crimson Realm guild members. Luckily, Shadow hadn't created a guild yet at the city, else the players would have gone crazy if they didn't know the method to clear the quest.
Balthazar had an entirely different issue right now. As he got out of the pod, he saw that he got another mail which informed him that his meeting with Winston wasn't at his office but moved to some other room in the mansion and to ask Thaddeus for directions.
He quickly contacted Thaddeus Crane through his wrist band and Thaddeus soon led him to a place which he least expected. It was Elder Max's old room.
"You're kidding right?" asked Balthazar.
"No, they wanted to go through his possession and cross check if we missed something," explained Thaddeus and left Balthazar in front of the gate.
Balthazar initially didn't care about checking Max's rooms and belongings for any clues because he didn't care about it. He expected that his family already took care of it. He didn't really want to go through his uncle's belongings.
He had the same issue right now. He didn't want to go into his uncle's room. He had a lot of memories related to his uncle and would possibly remember a few things once he entered the room. Though he had come to terms with the betrayal, he had quite a few happy childhood memories that had lost all meaning after his experience with Max on Rowley's ship.
He still wasn't ready for this. As he was pondering over it, someone opened the door. The man that stepped out was almost 8 feet tall with thick arms. He wore a long grey coat with a hood, a scarf covering his nose and mouth with a pair of shades over his eyes.
"Oh! you finally came. I was just about to go back. Why are you so late?" asked the man in a gruff voice as he pulled Balthazar inside the room. In the room, other than himself there was Winston, Evelyn Price, Dick and the man who pulled him inside.
Dick was looking around the place and was bagging several stuff from the room, while Evelyn was showing some documents to Winston. Dick waved his hand as soon as he saw Balthazar enter.
"I hoped you would come a bit later," said Winston looking at Balthazar as he shook his head. "Well, I don't have much issues. Talk it out with him. I can't decide this on my own," he continued looking at Evelyn and the disguised man.
"This is Evelyn Price," said Winston introducing her. "She is the younger sister of the prime directer, Harvey. She used to be a commander of clandestine operations unit and worked alongside Walter. She now works as a political advisor for Harvey Price."
"Nice to meet you Madam Price," said Balthazar shaking her hand.
"Nice to meet you Balthazar. I have worked with Walter and was also acquainted with your father. Still can't believe that your uncle was responsible for these deaths," replied Evelyn. "You have my condolences."
"The big guy to my left is Lieutenant General Xander Drake. He is your superior officer at the alliance military," she continued pointing at the person who pulled him into the room.
"We were told that you were responsible in finding out Max's involvement with knights of the old republic and the Nirbaadh Pirates. You somehow managed to get information about them, when most of us failed," added Xander Drake as he pulled of his hood, shades and scarf.
He had white eyebrows and white hair in a crew cut and red eyes. He was clearly an albino. That was truly a rare breed in this century. He had a few scars on his face that gave him a look that would frighten most people.
"The Nirbaadh pirates have shown themselves in the open and we are concerned about a potential crisis. So, we need a response team," said Evelyn showing him the documents in her hand.
They were new posting orders for him directly under Evelyn. It had suggested him being employed in a clandestine operations group under her direct command. It looked like they wanted him to investigate the knights of the old republic and any affiliates of them that would probably cause any more troubles to the social structure of the alliance or any way they might collaborate with the apes.
"Is this for real?" asked Balthazar as he went through the documents that Evelyn provided. He couldn't believe that he was being asked to spy. He only managed to get escape the blast and managed to get Max caught because he knew the future and a lot of luck. Now, he is being considered someone adept at such work and being offer this position.
Though he had worked as an assassin for two years and had done a lot of spy work as a part of finding out about his targets, he didn't have any specific training for it nor did he know the protocols to be followed for such outfits. He definitely needed to be trained for something like this, but the documents suggested he start the work as soon as possible.
"Well, I don't want to force you for this. Moreover, you have been through some severe trauma. Winston did suggest something. Though you have the teams technical support, how about you work for the duration of three months which is your leave on your own or with your family," suggested Evelyn looking at Winston.
"I don't really want you to go do something without proper preparation. Though you managed to get information about them, you almost died the last time. You best get some proper training and get vetted from Walter," said Winston.
"Yes, there were a few things you could have done better. We might have ended up saving quite a few lives or gotten hold of more information if you had been a bit more prepared," agreed Evelyn. "I would be the one usually training new recruits but seeing that you already have some practical experience and you are a member of this family. I am fine if Walter is confident."
"Yes, that is a good thing," added Winston. "Walter had the most experience in dealing with these folks. He is also currently pursuing them. You could follow him, and he already has experience in teaching these things."
"Yes, actually I don't care as long as you follow a few guidelines which would ensure your safety and also make sure we don't lose any valuable information or cause a delay of information transfer," said Evelyn. "I will just mail you these details so that you keep track of them. In fact, I don't care if you do nothing for these three months of your leave. I can train you afterwards."
"I am sold," said Balthazar holding out a hand to stop both of them. "Send me the guidelines. I will look into them. I already had a few plans in following up after these guys. Just hope you can provide me some technical support. Mainly I will need a few duplicate identities, I could use."
"That is a capital offence unless approved," said Elaine looking at him in surprise. She couldn't believe that Balthazar asked him for something like that as if it was peanuts.
"I like the kid," said Xander Drake laughing. He was always aggressive and tended to like people who took initiative. "Though you are just to be my subordinate as a part of your cover. Feel free to ask me if you need anything."
"YOU ARE ALREADY WORKING ON IT!!!?" shouted Winston. He was extremely angry. He had already felt that his grandson going to help Robert for the position of elder was dangerous. Now, he came to know that Balthazar was already planning something dangerous and he still didn't plan to explain everything.
"Well, I have a few contacts and I know that the best way to get to information is to infiltrate or at the very least get into their circles. I already know who might be in contact with the Nirbaadh pirates or at least end up contacting them. I think I can move in their circles with a bit of help," said Balthazar frankly without reacting to Winston or the other two.
"I can't directly help you with getting a duplicate identity without getting additional information about what you are planning," said Evelyn seriously. "It goes against protocol."
"Actually, I don't need an identity from you. I am sure I can get one on my own. I just need you to back me up in case I ever get caught by authorities," said Balthazar smiling. "I will try to do a few things on my own in these three months. These are still my official leave. I will go where I want to. Once, I join your outfit, I will inform you of everything and follow your orders," continued Balthazar as he put the documents back in her hand.
Xander started laughing loudly after he heard this. It was clear that Balthazar was telling them that he would do it with or without their permission. He was just hoping that they would serve as his back up in the worst-case situation.
Evelyn was shocked that the young man was so frank with her without any ounce of fear. It was especially unexpected coming from a someone in the military. Both Drake and Evelyn had a lot of prestige among the armed forces. Even after she informed about her working alongside Walter, he was extremely bold in front of her.
Dick was the only one who held his calm. He already knew that Balthazar was targeted. He realized that Balthazar was being so bold was probably because he was already a target and defeating them and kill his opponents was the best way to escape this issue and live a normal life.
Before he setup a security group, he had led a life where he ran away from powerful people. He only managed to gain his fame after killing his enemies and then came to be known to Bruce. Thus, he understood Balthazar's intentions and need to go after the culprits who attempted to kill him.