章 42: 041 Treaty
The assassins lurking in the shadows only appeared once they knew the coast was clear.
"Well Riot, did you get the footage you expected?" asked Cain.
Riot was dancing with excitement, "Yes I did! It was beautiful. You killed Alexander in such a splendid fashion. It will make for some good entertainment."
"Good, send me the edited video before you post it. If I feel the need I'll make a few suggestions on some changes."
"Will do!" Riot then logged out of the game to start his editing.
"Weird dude." Horizon couldn't help himself and expressed his opinion.
"He is but he may be a great asset. I'm going to set up a meeting with James. I want to see if we can raise his group's fame by using Riot." Cain paused for a moment, "I'm heading back to town, continue your tasks and contracts now."
Cain went toward town and his 10 brothers all vanished into the air. They all had their own things to do. Cain didn't limit their actions unless a group effort was needed. He would then rally his troops.
He didn't waste any time and quickly contacted James.
James and his group were continuing through the forest towards the elite that Karma had found when he got Cain's message. James had no clue why Cain wanted to talk to him. He told the group what was going on and they all stopped to see what Cain had to say.
** Chat Group: Void - Blaise**
[- Void: Harbingers of Death and myself would like to make amends. -]
[- Blaise: Amends? Like some form of treaty? -]
[- Void: Yes. -]
[- Blaise: Why? -]
Cain could not tell James that he was actually supposed to secretly protect him if needed. He was to be an unknown shadow who followed James around and made reports on his activities. But that was ruined by Alexander so he needed to come up with other reasons.
[- Void: We respect strength. I also know that you can see through stealth. It would be pointless to have you as an enemy. Rather we would like to make a no-conflict treaty. -]
[- Blaise: Go on, does this treaty only apply to me or my friends as well. -]
[- Void: The treaty conditions are fully negotiable. I would like to meet you and your team in person to talk it over. I will come alone, you can verify with the method that you can see through stealth. Correct? -]
[- Blaise: Well, yes I could. Let me talk it over with my friends. -]
[- Void: I will wait for your response. -]
"He wants to make a treaty with us, he wants a no-conflict one." James explained Void's desires.
"Do you think we can trust him?" Totem was suspicious of Void's true motives.
The twins, more specifically Karma, were against the idea. "I don't think they are trustworthy. They are filled with the desire for revenge. You all saw how they left Totem to attack my sister…"
"I have an odd feeling that we can trust them enough to at least have a meeting together. When we talk Reaper can observe him. She has a good sense of when people are lying." Talon offered his opinion.
James and everyone else turned to look at Mercury. "He is not wrong. I was able to tell that you were a good person and made you team up with me." she said while looking directly at James.
After fighting alongside Mercury, Destiny had started looking up to her. She didn't see her as a role model or anything but felt like Mercury did have a good sense of things. "I trust Mercury's judgement. If she can determine if he is genuine then I will agree to whatever decision Blaise makes."
Karma turned to look at his sister. He did not expect her to talk about someone like that. They have always been burned by people in positions of power. Their lives took a massive turn for the worse when some bad people coming looking for them in the real world. Ever since, he and his sister have had to struggle for survival.
Reluctantly, he agreed with his sister. If she was ready to grow then so was he. He did feel a sense of belonging while around James.
"Alright, I will continue my conversation with Void." James furthered his talk with Cain.
[- Blaise: We will agree to the meeting. I assume you know our general position. From that spot of our battle, we are to the right in a valley. -]
[- Void: I will arrive as soon as I can. Thank you for agreeing. -]
** Void left the chat **
** Harbingers of Death Chat **
[- Void: I set up a meeting with James to clear the bad blood. I will need some Potions of Speed to get to the meeting place. Also, I would like all of the Rune Crafting and Alchemy supplies that we bought out. I may need them for the negotiations. -]
[- Horizon: I sent you the Rune Materials. -]
[- Mule: I sent you home Alchemy Materials. -]
[- Jolly: I sent you some of my Potions of Speed. -]
[- Void: Thank you, I will let you know the outcome -]
Cain made his way to the city's southern exit. He was able to see that smoke was still rising into the air in the direction of Zone-29. He figured it was coming from the area that James and his groups fought.
He drank a potion and headed his way to where the battle took place. He was able to see a few groups of people attempting to make their way to where the smoke was coming from. Many of them were struggling. For the average and slightly above average player it was almost impossible to fight their way into Zones that have monsters even a few levels higher than themselves. It was the main reason why the leveling process was so slow.
There were a few ways you could get around the difficulty of higher Zones. The first was to be a stealth class; you could just sneak your way through the Zones. The second was to be in a good party; a medium-sized party with good synergy between their players and classes could find the path of least resistance and choose their battles to make it through the Zone. Third was to be in a top guild and rely on a massive platoon. Finally, you could be a top player who was extremely skilled and confident with their abilities. Regardless of the method, there were always outliers and unexpected situations that could make or break your way through the higher Zones.
Most players stay in Zones around the same level. Average players can be a Zone or two higher than their current level while a below-average player typically is found in a few Zones below their level.
There was an understanding between nearly all players; if you didn't play with others it was nearly impossible to progress through the game. It is why people flocked to guilds no matter how good they were. Even a bad guild could increase their member's farming speed.
There were little to no downsides to playing in parties. There were really only two… The experience points and loot were split between the party members. The loot was the biggest issue. If you didn't have a trustworthy party leader they could abuse their loot distribution powers.
Being a rogue player was difficult but very rewarding. It followed the whole 'Big Risk, Big Reward' mindset. The players who could manage solo had no worry about splitting their experience and loot with anyone else.
The most important thing for being a successful solo player was your efficiency while killing monsters. You could play solo but take dozens of minutes per kill and average less experience points and profit per hour then people in a decent group.
Prior to Broken Chains it was not too uncommon to find solo players but the difficulty of Broke Chains is a completely different level. Only a few remain trying to make a name for themselves; all the others already ran to join a guild. Only three rogue players managed to successfully make a name for themselves: Reaper, Talon, and now Blaise.
Cain can only imagine the splash those three will make now that they have joined together. He experienced first hand the capability of Mercury and James. Talon came later but his abilities shined during his downhill fight against a close quarters class.
It took Cain a half of an hour to reach the old battlefield. When he got there goosebumps formed all over him. The ground was still warm, fires still crackled, the devastation of James's final attack gave this part of the Zone a look all of its own. It was a huge contrast between the previous lush green and thriving plants. What was most chilling to him was the silhouette of him and his brothers that were present on the ground. Their bodies had protected the ground beneath and behind them from the explosion so the sinister outlines of human bodies were present.
Everyone who managed to make their way to the battlefield all felt the same chills as Cain. Unlike him, they could only tell that 6 people died here. They could only guess that those 6 people died in a horrific way; it reminded them of the history books they read in high school about Pompeii.
Cain saw that there were members of a few of the top guilds investigating the battlefield. Among them was Scarlet; Alexander's informant. He wanted to kill her but did not currently have the time to waste. He reentered stealth and continued on his way to James's positions. As he was leaving Author noticed him and frowned. [Wasn't that the assassin's leader from the video?] he wondered.
Cain took another 10 minutes to get to where James was waiting. He looked around and didn't see James's friends.
"I thought we were meeting all together?" Cain felt a little disrespected; did they not trust them like they said they would?
"They didn't want to idle around, they dragged a boss off to a nearby cliff. I waited here because I would make too much noise. I can only assume there are people investigating nearby." James cleared up Cain's worry. "Come on and follow me."
James led him to where the fight was. He saw 5 people giving their all while fighting a level 36 elite monster. It looked like a Unicorn with black fur. They were not having an easy fight without James's aid. His Leaching skills were an extremely useful utility that they were currently missing.
Shortly after James appeared Cain noticed that the fight got significantly easier. The Unicorn was glowing various colors that would change from time to time. He also noticed that the 5 people fighting would also get a colored aura based off the current glow on the Unicorn.
Cain looked at James, he knew that James was responsible for the change in the battle. At times the Unicorn would slow down then speed back up. Sometimes it would take more damage then previous attacks. His team mates would also take less damage. [I guess this explains my sluggish movements during our fight earlier… ]
Cain wanted to ask James a lot of questions but knew he couldn't. James would never answer someone who was previously deemed as an enemy. He also wouldn't tell strangers so easily.
"Join the party and fight alongside them." James commanded Cain while sending him a party invitation.
"Sorry?" Cain was caught off guard.
"They want to see what you are made of and how easily you can adapt to the situation. They only think you are good at hit and run tactics based off of our battle. Prove them wrong and we will talk." After James sent the invitation he focused on the battle between his friends and the elite monster.
Cain was flabbergasted, he can't remember the last time someone questioned his ability. He was going to prove them wrong.
[- Blaise: He took the bait, now that he is in the party he can't attack us during the fight. -]
[- Reaper: Thanks! I forgot how much your spells affect the battle with high level monsters. I don't think I can ever go back to fighting them without you. -]
[- Blaise: You guys shouldn't get too dependent on my spells. I won't always be around. -]
The 6 of them were talking in a private chat so that Cain wouldn't be able to know that he was talking about him.
The fight was quite easier now that James was back. Mercury's damage finally returned to normal. Just like James her actions were limited; her Crushing Assault skill caused just as much noise as James's fireballs when it crashed into the environment. Her basic attacks, while strong on their own, cannot compare to being able use her battle skill when off cooldown. James's leaching abilities made up for her missing damage.
It did not take long for Cain to get into their rhythm. He knew that Mercury would need openings for her heavy attacks so he wanted to make a good one. Just after the twins made a pincer attack Cain leapt into action.
Cain approached the Unicorn from its side and grabbed it's horn. He used his forward force to create centripetal force to swing himself around its neck and hopped into it's back.
He was standing on the back of the Unicorn and grabbed it's mane and pulled hard on it. Causing the glorified horse to buck up on its hind legs. Mercury saw the opening Cain made and capitalized on it. She positioned herself in front of the Unicorn and readied herself for a heavy attack. James made sure that she was given the buff to increase her strength and debuffed the Unicorn's defense.
She swung her axe vertically and made a large cut from the base of the Unicorn's chest to just about where its neck started.
Knowing that an impact was coming Cain jumped off of the Unicorn and used Tendon Cutter on its hind legs. He noticed that he beat Karma to the punch, instead of taking the glory all for himself he grabbed ahold of Karma's hand and threw him up in the air towards the Unicorn's neck.
Karma landed while straddling the monster's neck and caused it to topple over. Since he was in a prime position Karma stabbed the Unicorn in one of its eyes causing a Semi-Blind status effect.
Unicorn felt extreme pain in it's eye and started to buck it's back legs. Even though it was on the ground it was still dangerous if someone got hit by the kick. Cain, who was directly behind the fancy horse, got into a defensive stance. Just as the Unicorn kicked towards Cain an Earth Wall grew out of the ground between the Unicorn and Cain.
Seeing that he was safe Cain entered back into stealth and moved his position. Karma also took the chance to back off of the Unicorn until it settled down.
Totem wanted to ensure no one would get kicked while the Unicorn thrashed around so he used Trapping Vines and wrapped the animal up so that it could not move.
Since James's friends knew that any damage would break the Vines they held off on their attacks. Cain was not privy to the information and was about to follow up Totem's trap with an attack but noticed that no one was advancing. He could not stop his dagger in time. Since he knew he could not stop his attack he redirected the attack to the ground next to the Unicorn's throat.
"Looks like you catch on well enough." Mercury was slightly impressed.
"Does damage break the Vines?" Cain felt he had to know. He remembers that no one attacked his two brothers trapped by these vines in the past.
"Yes." James was the first to give out the information.
Everyone looked at him, it didn't surprise them that James gave out critical information. They knew he would not do so without good cause.
"Mercury, you can use Crushing Assault this time, aim for the neck. Talon, you damage the eyes once more. Karma and Destiny, prepare to use Fatal Strike when the beasts get up. Totem you be ready to recast Trapping Vines in case it doesn't die." James rattled off some commands.
"What about me?" asked Cain.
"Let's see if you can figure that one out yourself. Everyone, be ready to collect the loot and move out. We can't stay here much longer." James was cryptic when answering Cain.
Mercury positioned herself next to the Unicorn with her axe hanging above her head. She used Maddening Strength to maximize her own damage. James buffed her by leaching the Unicorn's attack power as well. The scene looked as if the Unicorn was to be beheaded.
Mercury's axe started glowing and she swung her axe down with all of her might. If this was not a game the Unicorn would have lost it's head; instead a large cut appeared where her attack made contact with its neck.
The Vines all instantly broke and the Unicorn was freed. Just as the Unicorn was standing up Talon used Double Shot to completely blind the horse; there was an arrow in each of the Unicorn's eyes. Destiny and Karma came out of stealth using Fetal Strike! Each attack hit but did not kill the Unicorn. It was left with barely 1% of its health points left.
Totem used Trapping Vines on the ground around the Unicorn so that it would not be able to move. It was at that moment a woman appeared next to the horse with a glowing dagger.
It was what James was hinting at; his Magical Eyes found that someone was following Cain without him knowing. He wanted Cain to deal with whoever it was.
The woman that appeared was Scarlet. She had also noticed Cain at the battlefield and recognized him. Unlike Author, she had a method of tracking another rogue in stealth. It was a very rare skill called Predator's Scenes. It allows the user to track a single person even through stealth.
Just before her dagger made contact with the Unicorn she was trapped in vines. James didn't want to trap the Unicorn but instead trap their uninvited guest. As hard as she fought she was unable to bring the dagger the last few inches. Cain knew what he had to do; he rushed her.
As Cain rushed towards Scarlet, James secured the kill. He didn't want Scarlet to take it in the event that Cain doesn't kill her in time.
Cain quickly entered stealth and used Veiled Strike, he wanted the chance to stun his target. The dagger landed on her back and he was successful and stunned his target. He followed it up with an axel kick and knocked her to the ground. Before she was able to retreat he grabbed her hair. He had let his anger get the best of him; he was fighting dirty.
He pulled her hair so that her head went towards him. He crashed his elbow into her face causing her to reel backwards from the impact. He then changed his grip on his dagger to a reverse grip.
He used Back Handed Strike and slashed her from her left shoulder to the right side of her hips. She was almost dead.
Her hair cleared from hiding her face and he saw hatred in her eyes. They were burning with anger due to how she was being treated. Cain wasn't using the game's skills to deal with her and was treating her like some street thug! How humiliating!
She found her footing and lashed out. She tried to use Hidden Strike to catch Cain off guard but failed. He struck out with his free hand and the dagger penetrated through his open hand. He closed his hand around the hand that held her dagger, not letting her do anything in response. He looked her right in the eyes and used Fatal Strike stabbing her in the heart.
Her vision went black, she had died. However, just before she blacked out she heard Cain whisper something, "Alexander sends his regards."
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット