New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 572 Third Stage Conundrum

Their descent into darkness was uneventful, with no more surprises, enemies, or puzzles in sight. They reached a small, dark room, with, in the middle of it, a shimmering white portal, waiting for them.

Astaroth wordlessly stepped through, his curiosity reaching new peaks.

He felt a small tug on his body as he passed through the portal, before reappearing in a forest, with the tree line fading away close by.

One by one, his allies started appearing near him, weapons drawn and at the ready. But they stowed them away not long after when they noticed no immediate danger.

Astaroth was already walking forward, trying to see past the tree line. After walking for half a minute, he reached the end of the forest, opening up to a small hill down, and open fields ahead.

But something else stole his attention.

The massive tree, towering over the fields, surrounded by stone walls of dark grey stone. This was an exact copy of Bastion City before they had reconquered it.

With one exception.

Dragons were flying around the top of the tree, seemingly in harmony.

"What the fuck… This dungeon is messing with us…" he said, under his breath.

Phoenix wandered over next to him, taking in the sights as well, her breath cutting short.

"This dungeon is the strangest I have ever been in. It feels like more of a trial than a dungeon. It feels like it's showing us the past, more than anything else. A bit like the other one we completed together."

Astaroth nodded his head at her words. But this felt much more profound than that time. It was like the dungeon was trying to teach them something.

Astaroth waited for everyone to gather at the edge of the forest before they discussed their next step.

This stage felt like it would take a while.

***

Across the continent of light, in a remote valley of the Ash Elf kingdom, Killi was meeting up with his officers in their new guild base. Most of his guild was still on their way there, taking the slow and stealthy path here.

But his officers were more resourceful, for the most part, and had rushed there with their own means. They looked on in awe at the size of the base from atop one of its walls.

"Is this all ours, for real?" one of them asked.

Killi chuckled.

"Mostly ours, at least. By proxy. But yes."

Another of the officers looked around himself, before raising an eyebrow.

"Doesn't this look exactly like the Paragons' base?" he asked.

Killi chuckled again.

"I thought the same thing when we arrived here a few days ago. The court mage said places like these were a myth, but were said to be present across the lands. I guess this is one of them."

"Wait… Court mage?" the same officer asked.

"There is much to discuss. Let us get to a more suitable meeting venue. The view here is to kill for, but not where we should discuss important matters."

As Killi and his officers travelled toward the large tree, in the center of this walled-off valley, they passed a few newly built huts and hovels, with a few Ash Elves looking at them warily.

The officers felt strange about being looked at like they were aliens and averted their gazes.

"Don't worry. They'll get used to us in no time," Killi affirmed.

They made their way to the tree, whose entrance was a large hole, with no doors barring the way. It was a strange sight, for something that was supposed to be protected.

But before they could enter, a group of Ash Elves suddenly appeared around them, weapons drawn and pointed at them. At their head, a tall man with silver hair, and an air of authority about him.

"Halt. Identify yourselves, newcomers."

Killi took a step forward, raising his hands in a sign of peace.

"Sir Kloud. Surely this isn't necessary. These men are my officers and are under my orders."

Kloud looked at Killi, his eyes still stone cold.

"Just following my orders, Sir Killi. They are unfamiliar faces and must identify themselves before entering. Those are the rules."

With a resigned sigh, Killi motioned to his men to proceed.

One by one they identified themselves, a bit insulted they had to be subjected to this, in what was supposed to be their new guild base. But one quick scan of the man in front of them made them swallow their pride instantly.

Kloud felt the magic brush over him, but made nothing of it. He knew the Abnormals had a tendency to scan everyone and everything they saw.

Once everyone checked out with the names they called out, Kloud stepped aside, and the rest of the soldiers lowered their weapons.

As they entered the tree, one soldier walked over to Kloud, stowing his daggers away.

"Don't they look weak? I would have expected the Abnormals he sent here to be stronger looking than this. At least almost as strong as himself."

Kloud laughed lightly at this comment.

"I doubt many of them are as strong as him, Korin. The speed at which he grew was nothing to scoff at, even by our standards."

Korin nodded, agreeing with Kloud's words. But he still felt a tad disappointed that their new allies looked weak enough to fall to the local wildlife.

It was only a week later, when all the Knights of the Sun finally arrived, that he understood why Astaroth had sent them their way. The sheer amount of abnormals, with their levels all between thirty and forty, was enough to make him understand what power they held.

There was a quality in quantity, after all.

***

In Bastion City, a woman sneaked into the outer city, by climbing over the walls, accompanied by four other men. They managed to go undetected and started heading toward the inner walls, sneaking their way around town.

When they reached the familiar walls, which all of them aside from her had climbed over not but a month ago, she grinned.

"Leader. Is it wise to go over these walls? They seemed much better guarded than the last time we were here…"

The woman turned her head to face this man and sneered.

"There will be no cowards in my ranks. If you can't muster some courage for yourself, run yourself through with your blade and leave my guild this instant."

The man gulped at her words but steeled his expression.

"I apologize for my words, leader!"

After waiting for the patrol to fly over them, the group of five quickly climbed over the wall, seemingly undetected. Such were the skills of trained assassins.