Notoriety, page 7
“Dan, I need to ask you to not challenge the fact that my parents are the law when it comes to Anna until she turns 18. Anna, I know you don’t want your brother telling your boyfriend how to date you, but I don’t need Mom, or Dad for that matter, feeling like they need to remind you that you’re still 16 or 17.”
“Got it, walk on eggshells,” responded Dan. “I can do that as long as they are reasonable. Sorry, but if it is something that would make Anna leave me and I don’t want that, I can’t be completely spineless.”
“As I said, I am asking, not demanding. As far as I care, you two have been warned by me and as her brother and your friend, my job is done…”
Just like that, Alex enjoyed shifting the topic to lighter subjects as they rejoined the others as Sam, Nicole, Ava and Mia all got their kisses. They all shared what they had been up to as Alex shared the gist of how the meeting in ED had gone, before Sofie let them all know dinner would be ready shortly, leading them all to get dried off. Dinner was only slightly tense as Anna resumed her role of seeming to be defiant, as Mr. and Mrs. Bell pulled her to the side to talk after it. Alex just hoped that no more curveballs would be thrown as he and the others went to return to ED.
After the normal morning routine, Xeal got right to work as he bid Mari, Enye, Lingxin and Dyllis farewell, as he and most of the others made their way back to the capital in Nium. There they met up with the rest of the expedition force who were all ready to go after the last phoenix that would require overcoming a system-generated obstacle that required numbers to overcome. As he arrived, he read over the latest scouting reports from the intelligence network that he had acquired with his purchase of the South China location. Xeal had to admit that it had been worthwhile to keep the location’s team intact for the most part, especially with Bold Soul as they were an excellent investment. This time had been no different as Xeal frowned at the ridiculousness of Abysses End’s plan to ambush him and his members. Only a fool wouldn’t expect one due to how he was sure that half the game should have realized what his next target would be. Still, over 100,000 players gathered from their associated powers was a bit on the extreme side of things, as Xeal sent out his orders and everyone made their way to the teleportation hall.
Xeal smiled as he arrived in the capital of the Muthia empire and just hung out with the ten players who had come with him. Like every other member of the expedition, he had just arrived in one of the other countries as 1,000 decoy players impersonating FAE’s expedition team arrived in a separate location. While Xeal thought of them as a decoy, they were headed for an area that was definitely a profitable prize that was out of reach for most players. This was due to it being reachable only through a level 110 dungeon floor located in a level 100 to 280 dungeon like The Vault of Ucnuc. The good news was that only a small force was currently occupying it from Abysses End and the 1,000 he had sent would easily be able to occupy and hold the dungeon for weeks if they tried. Xeal smiled as Abysses End correctly identified the decoy for what it was at first, though that changed about two hours later when they realized its target. While they still didn’t pull the 100,000 players from Xeal’s actual target, they did start to react, though they were way behind as Xeal sent another order out. With it, another group of 1,000 FAE players arrived and started to make its way towards a different one of Abysses End’s resource-rich areas in another country. This time Abysses End reacted faster and sent reinforcements out, as Xeal sent another 1,000 players to go after a different target held by Abysses End. Altogether, Xeal had 500,000 players set up like this, with him having agreed to pass Fire Oath a few prized locations in exchange for them bolstering his ranks for this operation.
The result of having 500 teams of 1,000 headed to 500 different locations was enough to cause Abysses End to falter and after 12 hours of no movement, 90,000 of the players waiting in ambush left. It was with this move that Xeal made his own as he sent the regrouping orders out and made his way to the Thizosta Dynasty, where he regrouped with the 1,000 players. At the same time, 100 of the 500 teams used return scrolls and made their way to the Thizosta Dynasty as well. Xeal could feel the massive blow to FAE’s finances as the move was completed and his team of 1,000 went to face off against the 10,000 that remained. As the 100,000 trailed an hour behind, Xeal was just happy that this was the last opportunity that Abysses End would have to pull off this maneuver as they got ready for the day of travel that they still needed to do. The fact that everyone using a VR helmet had logged off during the 12 hours it took to get Abysses End to blink, had allowed them to not need any breaks as they made their way across the frozen tundra. As the Thizosta Dynasty was located on one of the northernmost continents, it was almost always covered by snow and the monsters were very adept at using it to their advantage when ambushing. By the same token, they would only attack prey that they felt was an easy target and would avoid revealing themselves when they felt like they would lose. The result was a repeat of their time in the desert of the Nuya Empire, as they found themselves facing several large-scale battles between long stretches of traveling. The main foe that caused them issues were ice elementals, as they would attack in such quantities that Aalin’s ice manipulation couldn’t keep up and the boosts that the environment gave them were massive.
Finally, after a full 18 hours of travel, they had arrived near the area where the 10,000 players who were associated with Abysses End were waiting for them. Xeal expected that they would wait until his team was occupied with the level 180 ice colossus that guarded the area that they needed to reach. With the report about the results of the 100,000 players who were trailing him and the other 400 expeditions coming in, Xeal was confident in his next move. While it had come at a large financial hit and more than a few death penalties after mobilizing almost everything that he possibly could, the estimated costs for Abysses End quadrupled his own. Plus, the loot that each successful expedition earned, accounting for the portions that would go to Fire Oath players, was enough to cover half of it while Abysses End had only suffered losses. Xeal also knew that while this would slow down FAE more than Abysses End, it was still a great blow to them and their reputation, that combined with the boost to FAE’s reputation was worth the losses. It also ensured that 10,000 would be all that he had to deal with as he closed in on the staging area that Abysses End was using.
When Xeal arrived, he found an empty field of snow, or at least that would be what he believed if he hadn’t read the report and known that every player was using a single-time-use item called a snow cloak. This allowed them to visually blend into the snow completely until they attacked, or started to cast a spell. The entirety of FAE’s expedition had also used snow cloaks to sneak up on this area and all they could see of each other was an outline, and this was only visible due to them all being in the same party. Now while the snow cloak would drop if a player attacked or cast a spell, it would not if they used an ability that wouldn’t cause any damage, or required a chant, like Aalin as she turned the snow into solid ice. She did this as rapidly as she could and the results were fantastic, as it only took a few seconds before the ambush was exposed and by the time they figured out the general area that Xeal’s team was in, it was too late. The opening move was to throw out over 500 spell grenades charged with ice spells. Mixed with Aalin’s continued focus on shifting the snow to ice, by the time the bombardment was over, three quarters of Abysses End’s forces had at least their feet frozen in the newly formed ice. While any halfway decent player could free themselves in a few seconds and a few had done just that already, it was still enough to make them sitting ducks for the second round. That was to say that over 200 electrical spells hit Xeal as he unleashed the full power of it upon the disorganized mess in front of him.
When the wave of electricity had finished working its way through the mass, Xeal and Gale kissed as they activated the soul bond as he charged in alone as over 500 more spell grenades landed. This time they were charged with electricity spells and Kate was doing her best to send as much of it at Xeal as possible, along with all the spells that were raining down. Even so, Xeal knew that while the area that all of this was happening in was in total chaos as players started to die, that it was only around a fifth of the total force that had been pulled in. The other roughly 8,000 players were starting to get organized just as Xeal felt 200 of the strongest electrical spells out there hit him as he charged out of the chaos. What he saw was the start to a counterattack, as he sent all 200 spells’ worth of electricity into the front lines of it. The result was a few dozen players being killed instantly as he charged straight at the stunned crowd. Fortunately, the spellcasters had all hesitated just long enough for Xeal to enter the hole in their ranks that he had opened, as he attacked while constantly moving. While he did this and disorganized the counterattack, his forces had charged and decimated the first few thousand players that had never managed to regain control of the situation, completing phase one of the attack.
Phase two was far more complicated because the element of surprise had been lost for the moment, or at least that was what they thought until Xeal disappeared from their sightline in the chaos. As Xeal escaped their ranks, a mist descended upon them that caused them to start to cough as they found themselves poisoned. To make matters worse, it seemed like the mist was trapped inside an invisible barrier as it assaulted them alongside a howling wind. Xeal knew this wind barrier was Ihyi Kaze and Vento Tempestas’s doing, as they created a wind effect that carried poison that Lily Iglis had used her abilities to make into a mist. To avoid this attack, Xeal had used another snow cloak to escape back to his own forces, as Aalin used her ability to send a ton of snow into the air to mix into the poison mist, and effectively create a whiteout condition in Abysses End’s ranks. Next, Holly went to work creating a wall for FAE to take cover behind as attacks of desperation started to fly from the confused players, creating more chaos. It was in this mess that Lucida opened a portal, fueled by combining several minor ones cast by other FAE players and instead of a few dozen tier-4 and tier-5 demons, five tier-6 demons escaped into the poison blizzard. Xeal could see Lucida sweating after she had closed the portal to prevent it from becoming permanent, as if it did it could cause major issues. This was followed by an army of snow golems that were created with the last of Aalin’s MP and Taya using the nature phoenix’s ability to breathe life into the lifeless. Xeal knew that the two-foot-tall golems would do little in the way of damage, but they would allow the chaos to increase even further.
Ten minutes later the results of this devastating combined assault, mixed with Xeal sending lightning into anyone who wandered out of the trap on their side were clear. Meanwhile, the players still hidden had reported that only a few thousand had escaped on their side as the remains of the defeated army were a grisly sight, with two of the demons still being alive. This was quickly corrected as Xeal sent a blast of electricity into both of them and gave out orders as Gale canceled the soul bond, sending him into pure agony for around ten seconds. As he regained his mental state, Xeal learned that they had suffered around 100 losses in the fight, all of whom had been revived and the gains from the fight were substantial. Xeal could care less about the gear that they had gained as he was lamenting how many cards they had played in the fight to ensure that they won. The only benefit was that summoning demons could be explained away with an item being the root, for a while at least, and he could make it seem like it was an expensive price to pay. While the reality was the fact that Xeal was sure that counter measures to everything that had just been used would be developed for the next time they clashed.
Once everyone was recovered, Xeal wasted no time in assaulting the ice colossus and when they arrived, they found a 100-foot-tall humanoid figure. It had light blue skin and held two blades made from the same ice that protected its vitals from attack. That said, the massive gaps that were needed to allow the armor to move made its joints easy targets, as Xeal sent out the orders as he charged up a max power blast to start the fight. As the bolt of electricity connected with the ice colossus’s breastplate, it shattered into a million pieces as it was forced to take a step back as it let out a massive roar. This was followed by every player on Xeal’s side charging in as all the dragonoid players who could take to the air did so. The fight that ensued was fast paced and almost too easy as the ice colossus regenerated its armor just before the players reached him as it smiled, only for the trap to close on it when Aalin fused every joint. This caused it to fall forward as a few unlucky players found themselves beneath it, as the rest went to work tying it down as they attacked it. Needless to say, it was quick to try and destroy its own armor as Aalin focused on making its armor shrink, constricting its whole body in the process. While it had eventually won that battle, it had lost the war as it was just a giant target without the armor and it was unable to escape the hundreds of ropes binding it in any truly effective manner.
While there had been some casualties on FAE’s side, they were relatively minor as Xeal summoned Midnight for the luck bonus and delivered the final blow with an electrical attack and dragon’s breath combo. The loot that had dropped was great, with a full set of level 180 plate armor that would be great for any player who was operating in a cold environment. There were also several ice-themed weapons and materials. With the fight taken care of, it was time for most of the expedition to leave, as Xeal and those in the complete know about the phoenixes entered the ice cave that was in front of them.
The first thing that Xeal ordered was for Aalin to fog up the almost funhouse effects of the ice that was surrounding them, that had been mixed with a reflective surface. This made it quite clear to Xeal that this cave was not entirely natural as they progressed deeper into the maze and closer to the next phoenix, while dealing with an occasional ice elemental. This normally would have not caused any real issues, but with everyone running on empty from the over 32 hours that they had been awake, active exhaustion was catching up to them. As much as Xeal would have liked to wait to enter the cave, he knew that Abysses End was only six hours at most behind them with another 15,000 players. If they failed to secure the phoenix before resting, they would be all but giving it to Abysses End.
In Xeal’s last life, he could remember visiting a guild city that had been built by what had been an upstart guild at launch called Frozen North, above these caves. While they had never become a true major power in his last life, Xeal still remembered how they had held Abysses End off for decades in ED from being able to claim the city. Their efforts had been so great that it had started to invigorate others who were weary from the constant struggle for a time. However, all of that came tumbling down when Abysses End managed to secure 51% of the guild’s shares in reality and took the guild leader of Frozen North to court when he refused to follow their orders. In the end, all the guild leader could do was lament that he had let 90% of the shares end up in the hands of others and at the threat of jail time, hand over the guild and city to Abysses End. That had been a dark day as thousands of large and small guilds that were in similar positions started to frantically try to secure their shares with mixed results, as many found that Abysses End and other major guilds had already bought a fair bit of theirs. While many found that they had secured 51%, it had caused the price of their shares to spike and Abysses End started to demand a seat on their board of directors, or a full buyout. This was why all those who held shares in FAE were required to give Xeal the right of first refusal if any offers to sell it came and that clause transferred to any new owners.
While Xeal was reminiscing to himself, he started to think what it would take to build cities above each of the phoenix’s locations and quickly abandoned the idea. All that he could see were giant price tags to put up billboards that said “attack here Abysses End”, unlike his method of hiding the chamber where each phoenix was. Now that Ihyi had the mark from the wind phoenix, setting up ventilation shafts with Holly’s aid would be much easier. It was while Xeal was thinking about this that the group arrived at their destination after two hours of walking and in the center of a room was the only space that was missing ice. In its center stood a naked redheaded woman looking bored as she looked at them before speaking.
“Well, at the very least you didn’t leave me for last. That said, what is one of the divine’s marked doing here as well? Don’t tell me that he struck a deal with them after all of these millennia.”
Xeal wasted no time in tossing her the clothes that had been prepared beforehand that were fireproof, at least if it wasn’t anything too ridiculous. That said, they were rather plain and she frowned before putting them on as he started to speak.
“No, you are not last, nor were you left for now by anything other than coincidence. I take it that you are fire, though if you could pick a name, I would appreciate it. As for Gale being marked by Freya, let’s just say that she has a soft spot for yours and your sisters’ plight and no, Watcher as I call him now, did not send me…”
Xeal went on to detail the situation surrounding him and the other phoenixes before even giving her a chance to respond in his half asleep state. By the time he was done, he had spent a full 15 minutes giving her an update on all of her sisters and presented Nanami to be marked as he stepped back and she responded.
“Hold on, you just expect me to agree to all of that simply because all of my sisters did?”
“No, I expect you to decide on a name and tell me what your thoughts on it are and for us to work something out. But before that, Aalin, can you take Ignis, Amet and Clara and go back to erase anything that could be used to lead others here that we left behind and Holly, Ihyi, start working on isolating this chamber.”
