In a large building called the Cathedral of Hope, a group of players were gathered around a large round table. Each one held a position of power among the 13 strongest guilds in the Cosal kingdom. Since the game was launched, no major tournaments were initiated that involved players participating. Finally a tournament was announced to be held by NPCs. A pre-existing tournament in the game called the Champion's Order.
It was a big deal for players as it could dramatically increase their fame within the Cosal kingdom. Each year the tournament was held at the Cosal kingdom, but it was slightly different this year. There were some restrictions placed with this year's tournament. NPCs from the Ushain kingdom were completely restricted from entering the capital currently.
In the arena, you could not kill the opponent in battle, but only get their health to 10% of it's maximum before the duel ended. It was a new rule that was implemented with the introduction of players into the tournament. The biggest rule was the level restriction placed on players. There were two separate tournament brackets. One for players from levels 50 to 99 and the other for players levels 100+
Both tournaments included NPCs with competent fighting skills. The crowd was worried that the removal of the death penalty would ruin the charm of the arena. But with the introduction of the chrysalis from players, the battles would only get more chaotic and interesting.
The meeting was because of the upcoming tournament, but more specifically the problem surrounding it. The Ushain NPCs had no access to the arena or the capital for that matter, but that was a different story with Ushain players. They could easily hide their ID and join the arena. It was a matter of revealing potential military power to Ushain guilds.
"I suggest the idea of isolating each player and having their ID checked before entering the city." A large man with broad shoulders and a stern face spoke. He wore a camouflaged Cosal soldier's outfit. His voice was deep and ingrained itself in your mind. The man was a big military fan and liked replicating the appearance and voice of famous historic generals from the 1800's. His name was-
"Grant! Do you know how much time that would take to check every player entering the city!? There's no way in hell the king would accept a proposal like that!" The hot headed woman who yelled was named Cyra. Her bright red eyes were accentuated by her short blond hair and pitch black cloak. Her character's appearance resembled old English folklore about vampires. She even changed the shape of her teeth to better resemble fangs.
"*Sigh* I need both of you to calm down. There isn't a need for panic right now. The tournament isn't for another three days. With our current reputation, King Eldon has entrusted us to figure out a solution to a problem that's caused by players." A man with light brown hair interrupted the two's argument. His plain looking face was accommodated by a pair of green glasses. By his appearance, one could clearly see that he was a mage. The name of this young man was Pequam.
"He's a calm and sociable king that's been in power for over 80 years with only peace prospering in his kingdom. I'm sure he doesn't want us to use excess amounts of force when it comes to the safety of his kingdom." A young beautiful woman with silky black hair was added. She wore a full set of silver armor covering everything except her head. She winked at Pequam. Only for him to shiver in disgust as he tried to distance himself further from her. The woman's name was
"Alright everyone!" A loud voice roared throughout the room. "I think we all know there's an easier solution to this." The voice came from a bright eyed Chinese player. His hair black hair spiked upwards. He wore a black and gold set of armor with a red cape strung over his right shoulder.
A large wrapped weapon was strapped to his back. It glowed mysteriously from underneath the cloth. He was the highest level player within the Cosal kingdom. Zhaohui, ranked 2nd in the game. Unlike Apollo, everything from his chrysalis to his class was hidden from the public.
Everyone was silent except for Zhaohui. "We should let those players into the capital!" He was a kindhearted person that wanted everyone to enjoy the game. There was no hesitation in his words.
".....A-are you okay?" Crya asked. She was genuinely confused at what he just said.
"Nonsense! We are the strongest players in all of Cosal. If the Ushain players want to threaten our kingdom's safety. Then we just have to crush them and force them to retreat!" Zhaohui was halfway to standing on the table. He smiled brightly to everyone in the room.
But the reaction didn't look as positive as what he thought it might be. Everyone just stared at each other awkwardly, not knowing what to say. Then Pequam spoke up. "I don't think it's a bad plan Zhaohui."
Every player at the meeting excluding Zhaohui looked at Pequam like he was crazy. They couldn't just start a war with the Ushain players out of nowhere. If they did it would create a huge problem for both kingdoms as they're currently in a standstill. One single event could tear that small bit of tension and start a whole war between two kingdoms.
"You know we can't just fight them like that...'' Even Grant was a bit hesitant to perform an act of war. He might've wanted to fight in a war just like every general he aspired to be, but there were also the citizens residing in the capital to worry about. They couldn't force the capital to become a war zone for players.
"Let me explain myself." Pequam said. "I think it will make more sense if I translate what Zhaohui was actually saying."
Pequam explained. "What he originally meant was: "Have the Ushain players enter the city. Opening our gates will act as bait to drag hostile players into our territory. Every guild will have a few members patrol the city and find any suspicious activity. Once any suspicious players are found, we capture and report it to the guards. That way, we'll have hostages for interrogation."
""""....""""
"How is god's name did you even-. You know what! I don't even wanna know!" Cyra shouted. She was so dumbfounded at Pequam's answer that she second guessed herself. "There aren't that many members in my guild compared to a lot of the guilds here. Numerous members are also joining in the arena. I don't think I can spare as much man power as the rest of you." Cyra said.
"Well... let's put it to a vote then." Zhaohui stated. "All in favor?" 7 people raised their hands. "All against?" 6 people put up their hands. "It looks like this matter is settled. Pequam if you could try and accommodate the smaller guilds, I would appreciate it." Zhaohui left the room, leaving all the hard work to Pequam.
The meeting ended with a new plan being proposed to King Eldon.
-
At a beautiful inn. A young woman elegantly exited a carriage. Her silky dress followed behind in her footsteps. Then another person exited the carriage behind the young woman. She wore a winged cap and dark green cloak. Underneath the cloak you could see a silver armor peeking out, it was a common armor for soldiers in the Cosal kingdom. Her right arm was strung tightly to her chest.
The elegant woman with beautiful silver hair was Jessica. The other woman wearing a soldier's armor-set was Luna. After they entered the capital, Jessica gave Luna a sling for her arm. So rather than it hanging limply, Luna now had it against her chest.
They were entering the Neillios Inn. Owned by a noble of the Neillios household. It was common for visiting nobles to stay at fancy inns. Luna was on guard for any possible threats. Well.... at least she should be, but she got distracted by everything she looked at. It was a reaction more akin to when Noll first awoke. He would keep asking question after question for two days straight.
But after he awakened as Luna's chrysalis, he could see her memories and decided to learn about most things on his own. He didn't question her about the outside world at all which confused Luna. But ultimately she knew it must've been some programming or something that was holding him back. If he was silent then he was most likely just reading her memories as though it were a book. "Ugh" Just the thought of her being a book was disgusting.
She had to get over her disgust and deal with it eventually because The Legendary DreamWalker wouldn't read itself. Her goal was to read at least 3 pages a day. After today she would increase it day by day. Eventually when she finishes the book, it will complete the quest and she'll get her reward.
Another thing that's happened to Noll recently is his reluctance to appear in front of her. After he turned into her chrysalis, he didn't appear next to her anymore. It was more of like a feeling he was there next to her, but he really wasn't.
After they entered their room, Jessica and Luna were greeted with a gorgeous bed and luxurious room. 'Must be nice, being rich and all.' Luna felt a bit of jealousy. If only she could live a life like this. Everyone had thoughts like these at some point. For now she decided to enjoy it while it lasted.
"Ahhhh'' Luna plopped herself right on the couch. Her feet lying comfortably on the table. Jessica didn't seem to mind Luna's attitude and started preparing herself to sleep.
"Ugh fine..." She reluctantly took the book out of her inventory. She got a better look at the cover this time. The author of the book, Magnus, apparently had written his name in some strange ink. His signature glowed a light orange. Finally after stalling for an extra 2 minutes, Luna opened the book. As soon as she saw the first page, the book pages shone brilliantly.
[Dream sequence initiating]
[Welcome...]
"Huh?!" It felt like the world stretched out around her. Luna's consciousness was sucked into the book. Suddenly everything went black.
-
After she opened her eyes the scenery looked completely different. The sun shined brightly. A green forest spread widely in front of her. She was on the side of a mountain. Further down the trail, she could see a group of people in cloaks. They shouted slurs and curses towards Luna's direction.
They were far away so it wasn't too clear at first, but as they got closer, Luna saw two people running away from the cloaked people. One of them wore a mask and had long blonde hair flowing in the wind. The other looked to be a little boy with crimson hair.
The two ran so fast that it looked like they were about to pass right by her. But as soon as she faced the crowd of cloaked people, she felt a pull from her right hand. Her entire body was pulled away from the oncoming stampede and she was forced to follow the two strange people.
She tried to say something but her mouth was shut tight. Her appearance and clothing were different as well. The right arm that was previously disabled was now completely normal.
'What's going on!?'
Noll was in this place with her as well. It felt similar to that time when she first met him. The world being blurry beyond a certain range. Some of the world looked like fluffy clouds. It was a strange sight.
Her hand was pulled by the man with the mask. Her legs was forced to run for their dear life. It was already pretty clear, but the cloaked people behind her didn't like these two very much. As their weapons were constantly trying to cut her and the two other people in half.
Then they reached the end of the road. All that was left of the ground in front of them was a 500 foot drop. The three of them were cornered. But the two of them didn't seem worried. Even Luna herself didn't feel like this was some climatic end. She had only just started the story after all.
The figure in the mask behind Luna smiled. He drew his sword from its sheath. The tip of his blade slowly dropped and hit the floor. A small noise came from the below when the blade and ground collided. That's when Luna noticed it. The man's left arm was missing from under his cloak.
"....Crescent" His blade cut in an upwards ark tearing through 1/3 of the cloaked men. The mountain shook at the power behind the attack. Then Luna and Noll both realized who they were with.
'DreamWalker!?'