Year 2163 - The third year in the Second Great Guild War.
At the Black Sea, in an unnamed island.
Thump!
A horse-drawn carriage wheeled down a bumpy dirt road, kicking up clouds of dust and small pebbles as it rumbled along.
"..." A black-haired man looked at the unopened letter in front of him with a thoughtful look.
He was dressed in simple but elegant silver armor with a symbol of a six-pointed star on his shoulder pad. He had a sheathed sword dangling from his waist, a silver scabbard, and a shield slung over his back.
His short, neatly trimmed beard accentuated his sharp jawline and navy-blue eyes, which were intense and piercing.
Along with his pale skin, he looked pretty pleasant to look at, but his expression was somewhat sorrowful and seemed to come from deep within his soul.
"Adam," a brown-haired man who was seated beside him called out as he looked at the letter. "Aren't you going to open it?"
Adam looked at the letter, then shook his head and placed it inside his chest pocket so the letter would be close to his heart.
"I don't need to," he said with a sigh and looked out of the window, watching the forest pass by. "Is this really reliable information? I don't know why, but this is too good to be true."
The brown-haired man's smile slightly vanished, and he seemed anxious for some reason.
"This information came from Sapphira herself. She has never let us down before."
"You are right, Liam." Adam wryly smiled to himself, not quite sure why he was having a weird feeling, and then looked to the two people seated opposite him.
One of them had similar-colored brown hair as Liam, but she looked more attractive with gentle-looking eyes and bob-cut hair and a slender figure that made the armor look slightly too big for her.
She was Lisa, Liam's twin sister.
Beside her, a long-legged beauty with navy-colored eyes and long black hair sat with a book in hand. She looked very intellectual, with fair skin and long eyelashes that accentuated her mature-looking eyes.
With her slender, curvaceous body, she exuded an aura of grace and poise that would make it hard for any man to look away from her.
She was Amelia, an old friend of Adam's that spanned all the way from middle school.
"Nikholas, are we close?" Adam opened the door slightly, letting in the cold wind of the approaching winter and shouted towards the driver.
At the driver's seat, the last member of their party used the reins to steer the horse down the dirt path.
He had a bushy beard that seemed big enough to house a whole family of birds and a wide-brimmed hat that cast a shadow over his face. His body was big and muscular, the result of his former occupation as a lumberjack before he focused all his time on Mortal Online.
He had a rugged, weathered appearance that didn't make him really popular with the opposite sex, but he had a gentle-looking expression that made him seem kind and caring.
"We have reached the end of the line!" Nikholas shouted as he saw a small mountain in the distance that was blocking the dirt road from going any deeper into the forest.
He gently made the horse's stop, and the carriage stopped right beside the thick-looking forest that seemed endless around them.
The cold wind whispered through the branches, making them sway and scratch each other with their wooden fingers.
After opening the door, Adam jumped out of the carriage and looked around the surroundings with narrowed eyes.
The forest was thick and dark, with lots of cover, making it the perfect place for someone to try to ambush them.
However, even with his Kiryoku, he couldn't sense any danger nearby.
It eased some of Adam's worries, even though the strength of his Kiryoku had only slightly grown from his infant state. After all, he was never a patient enough to practise it.
In situations like this, with uncertainties lying behind every corner, he regretted it.
"Finally." Lisa let out a gentle moan while stretching her limbs as she stepped out of the carriage.
Liam looked towards the small mountain that blocked their path and saw that there was an archway, barely the size of an ordinary door, leading deep inside the mountain.
It looked like the archway was nature-made, but also like the rims of the archway was chiseled by a man.
"We should hurry up!" Liam turned to Adam and shouted for some reason. "No time to waste!"
"Why are you shouting?" Adam frowned and did a zipping mouth motion with his hand. "This is near enemy territory. Absolute silence is preferred."
"Ahah, sorry." Liam sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
Shouting, ignoring the potential threat, and carelessness was common mistakes among Mercenarymen, but not for experienced mercenaries such as them.
However, Adam swept away the mistake because he thought it was just Liam's excitement, knowing that they were close to winning the war for Lady Sapphira.
"Let's move." Adam said and took the lead as they headed towards the mountain.
After stepping through the archway, Lisa and Liam lit up their lanterns, giving Adam enough light to see where he was walking.
After a short while, Adam's eyes shrunk into a narrow line, and his legs instinctively stopped moving.
"What is it?" Liam asked with a few sweat drops trickling down his face, and he didn't bother keeping his voice down. "We are almost there."
"Quiet." Adam shout-whispered, almost sounding like he was shouting based on his facial expression, but the words came out as a whisper, and wrapped his fingers around the hilt of his sword, but the intensity of the danger was almost overwhelming.
"This is a dangerous place. We should return and ask for reinforcements."
"But we are so close!" Liam shouted. "We traveled all the way from New World to get here!"
"Don't you think this is strange?" Adam asked with a suspicious whisper. "Why did they send me here if there was something that could help Star Faction win the war? Why not someone stronger?"
"Other generals were busy and their armies were needed elsewhere," Amelia whispered, trying to convince him. "And Sapphira trusts in you, always has."
"..." Adam stayed silent, his mind racing with questions and doubts.
However, the expectations weighed heavily on his shoulders.
"Fine, but move quietly and slowly." Adam said while others nodded.
They continued moving slowly, inching deeper and deeper into the center of the mountain.
And, after a short while, they arrived at the heart of the mountain. It was a spacious room with a large stone pedestal in the center.
However, there was nothing on top of the stone pedestal. It was empty room, and based on the carvings and scratches on the wall, it was a former Boss Room, but it was cleared a long time ago by mercenary party.
Meaning, even the treasure chest had most likely been taken away. Therefore, there was nothing left to scavenge from this place.
"Nothing?" Adam frowned, and then his hair stood on end as he realized that something was off.
'My Kiryoku is going off! Someone is coming, someone powerful…'
Clap, clap, clap—thunderous clapping reverberated across the mountain as a person walked from the shadow of the rocky wall.
He was a clean-shaven, handsome man with a sickening grin on his face and crimson eyes. He had long red hair that reached his lower back, and he was nearly two meters tall with a well-toned body.
He exuded an aura of confidence and power that radiated like a scorching inferno.
Adam drew his sword and pointed it at the man, feeling the intensity of the man's Killing Intent that was locked into him.
"Calamity..." Adam whispered coldly. "How bold of you to come here alone."
"Hah," Calamity let out a short laugh and rested his cheek on his palm. "Alone? Hardly."
Adam frowned, but at that moment, he felt a sharp nail stab into the back of his neck.
"The fuck?" He quickly swatted the hand away and turned around to see Liam clutching his aching wrist with a cold expression on his face.
Adam's eyes shook, and he then plucked the nail out of his skin and saw that its tip was coated in some kind of slimy poison.
At that moment, a notification popped up in front of him.
[You have been poisoned!]
"L-Liam, w-why..." Adam dropped down on one knee; he couldn't see anything straight except the blurriness all around him. "A-Amelia, N-Nik... L-Liam p-poisoned me; k-kill him!"
However, Amelia, Nikholas, and Lisa didn't move and instead looked towards Calamity and bowed with mixed emotions on their faces.
"W-what..." Adam's eyes trembled as he tried to process what was happening in front of him.
"See, I am not alone," Calamity walked towards him with his hands inside his pockets. "Your friends have betrayed you. They led you here, so I can zero you."
"W-why..." Adam whispered and screamed as he tried to stand up, but he realized that he must've been poisoned by Chaosbeing's essence, as only something like that could paralyze him in an instant.
"I am sorry; I really am," Liam crouched in front of Adam and gently lifted his head to look into his eyes. "However, the Death Faction will win this war. Calamity promised us a seat in his council."
"Hah..." Adam let out a weak chuckle. "A-after everything we did... you betrayed me for money?"
"Not only for that," Liam shook his head. "It's not like we killed you. You have done enough; live your life outside the game; get a family; that sort of Normie stuff."
"Y-you don't get it..." Adam suddenly grabbed Liam by his collar and pulled him closer. "T-this is my life."
Liam paled and quickly removed Adam's and backed off quickly, but he accidentally tripped on a small rock on the ground and fell down on his back.
"Ouch..."
"Brother, are you alright?" Lisa ran to her brother, and helped him to stand up. She then looked at Adam, conflicted look on her eyes, then she said. "If you were in our shoes, you would've done the same thing."
"Who do you think I am?" Adam laughed and looked towards Amelia and Nikholas. "What about you two? Nikholas, I helped you with your debt and never asked anything in return.
"And you… Amelia, back in the school, wasn't I the one that protected you from them? Without me, your life would've been a living hell."
"That doesn't mean I should be your loyal follower to the ends of time," Amelia said and crossed her arms to push her breasts up. "We are adults now."
Nikholas looked coldly at Adam, and didn't open his mouth. His usual gentleness and kindness had long disappeared.
At that moment, Calamity scoffed and drew his glorious sword with a blade that looked like it was made of hardened blood.
Adam pulled out his medallion from his pocket and opened it, revealing an engraved heart with something written inside.
Calamity placed the blade against Adam's neck, but then he saw the medallion. He frowned and snatched the medallion from his hand.
As he saw the medallion, his eyes turned cold and rageful.
The medallion read: 'Yours truly, Yu.'
Calamity, in rage, smashed the medallion on the ground and broke it under his foot.
Adam watched in silence, with blurry vision, as dozens of silvery pieces of the medallion scattered across the ground.
"I truly don't see what she saw in you." Calamity said coldly.
"I am so tired of hearing your name, about how much of a genius you are, and that you'll accomplish great things.
"I am Calamity, one of the Grand Lords and a person who achieved an S-ranked score on the tutorial. I am the man closest to challenging Konrad for the spot as High King!
"Y-yet, why..." he gritted his teeth and raised his sword high. "Why are they always talking about you?!"
"B-because..." Adam coughed blood and smiled. "They can see who you are, especially Yu. A pathetic worm, that's all you are."
"Pathetic, you say..." Calamity chuckled coldly and swung the sword down, beheading Adam with a single strike.
As his head rolled down the ground, the light from Adam's eyes disappeared, and lastly, his body vanished among floating pixels that seemed to glow with otherworldly light.
The pixels slowly faded from existence, and with that, the last sign of Adam also disappeared from Mortal Online.