A New World, an immersive game experience

"What of me? Why not send me instead?" Myropsis asked after a few seconds, speaking up for the first time.

Until now she had just quietly been listening to try and understand the situation. Due to her travels, searching for the magic plants to heal Pelaros and to build and strengthen connections with the rest of the kingdom, she was out of the loop of the city's personal situation much like Pelaros.

"You just returned," Pelaros replied, "I thought that I would give you some time to relax."

"While I appreciate the offer, uncle, this isn't the time to be lax." She countered, shockingly sternly. Murmuring, "It is truly quite shocking how different the situation is in all the different cities."

"What do you mean?" Elizabeth asked, having heard her mumble thanks to standing next to her.

"It is just that it feels like a different world..." Myropsis sighed as she recalled the condition of the kingdom and the stark contrast between the capital and the rest of the kingdom.

"In the capital, it almost felt like the war was a thing happening in a distant kingdom, not to our own. It truly felt like a different world, yet if you left the capital and the duke cities you are hit by this hammer of reality."

"The cities of Verest and Velosmere are overrun with refugees. While the cities of Vistico, Juzna, Naraan, Silva, all the cities on the front lines felt like ghost cities when I visited. Unlike with Amrough, Herglem, Diades, they were given time to grasp the severity and abandon the cities, and they did..."

"I thought they were prohibited from leaving?" Eldrian brought this up, confused.

"Not the general populace, only those in key positions with obligations are prohibited. After all, they had taken up their position and took advantage of the benefits it brought. If they now shrink when it comes time for them to fulfill their duties, well that would be quite the cowardly act."

Eldrian nodded in agreement, "But what about the fact that the mayors need to abandon their cities once the outer walls are lost?"

"That... Is true." Myropsis herself was shocked by this rule, while the reasoning behind it made sense. From a standpoint of defending a city, it made no sense. If the mayor abandoned the city the morale would naturally drop sharply.

This was the first time Evale and the others had heard about this, turning to Pelaros, their questioning stares caused him to laugh uncomfortably.

"Well, I couldn't agree with that order." He said, wishing he could turn into his human form so he wasn't such a massive target for the stares.

"I agree with you, uncle. It is an absurd rule and only implemented due to the failure of one mayor. Granted, the damage from the event had been massive. The rule makes sense if you look at the bigger picture, but... I cannot agree on the stance of abandoning entire cities!"

"That we can all agree on," Pelaros said while the rest of the group nodded in agreement.

After a moment where everyone mulled over their opinions of the situation and the actions implemented by the kingdom, Elizabeth finally asked. "What is the plan going forward?"

It was not Pelaros who answered this, but instead Evale. "Our first priority should be opening the nearby mines again." Turning to Eldrian she asked, "Can we rely on you to find which mines have the least amount of monsters and/or undead?"

"Yeah, just point me to where the mines are."

​ "There are three in the southern cliff, however, since we lost both the twin towers and Pyknos fort I doubt it will be safe for us to attempt opening them."

Looking at the area, Eldrian found that the forest and fort were overrun with red dots. However, the cliff area seemed quite empty. Shockingly the same seemed to be the case for the twin towers themselves.

"The cliff itself seems quite clear, but the forest is indeed not a good call."

Evale nodded, "The other mines should be around these villages." Evale said, pointing to the villages near mountainous areas. There were also a few mines near the eastern ganalin fort, but of course, that fort was also overrun with red dots.

"It actually seems like the villages while abandoned are not in bad shape," Eldrian replied after a moment adding that he was not sure if his map could inspect the inside of caves. He felt like there was a cutoff and had no idea where this was.

"Understood, we will act with care." Evale thanked Eldrian for the warning.

Thinking of the villages, most that been abandoned not due to the original siege but because of the scattered remains of the undead army. Eldrian also clearly noted that there were still multiple groups active. Realizing this he had to ask. "What happened with the wandering undead?"

"That... Midway through a troublesome earthquake started. It caused us to lose nearly half of the people who had decided to go..."

Eldrian froze for a second, taking a deep breath he calmed himself. 'It's alright, don't jump to conclusions.', "What about Vivian?"

"She's alive, but..."

"Is she hurt?!"

"No, she's fine. Fine..." Evale did not sound convincing.

"Evale, why are you so uncertain?"

"It's best if you go see her after the meeting." Evale didn't know how to explain Vivian's condition.

"Then can we wrap this up?" Eldrian asked, wanting to make sure that she was truly okay.

"I think for now we have all mostly gotten to the same page," Pelaros said, while there were still things needing to be discussed, for now, it might be better to call a break.

Pelaros personally wanted to go and see what these vertical farms were and he needed to personally see what the damage to the city was after the siege.

Nodding, Eldrian stood up and left quickly. He wasn't sure where Vivian was but he felt like chances were high that she would be in the house he had gifted her. Heading there, Eldrian was surprised to see Maia waiting for him. No, she just happened to be busy outside the house currently.

"How did you know I would come?"

"I didn't, we are actually still managing this estate too." She replied, "I'll go in first and announce-"

Eldrian indicated for her to stop. "Please don't." Moving past the stunned beastkin, Eldrian entered his old house with a smile of nostalgia of easier times. Heading towards the main bedroom, he knocked on the door and waited for a reply.

Not getting one, he knocked again and announced he was going to enter.

Upon stepping into the room he was stunned. Vivian was a complete mess as was the room, it looked like some sort of battle had taken place. The walls and floor were covered in scars of fire and sword.

'The hell?' Looking at Vivian who was seemingly meditating in the center of the room, Eldrian had no idea what to make of the sight before his eyes. Using mana sense, he could see that the room had far denser mana than normal. Yet her condition seemed normal.

"Vivian... Are you okay?" Eldrian asked, hoping that he wasn't disturbing a breakthrough or something.

Vivian did not react to Eldrian's question immediately and he did not want to force the issue. Sitting down next to her, he decided that it would be a good idea to meditate and get a better grasp of his own situation.

AN: A big thanks to everyone who continues to support the story by simply reading on Web, voting for the story, or sharing comments. It is all greatly appreciated.