CHAPTER 52: “ELAIN OF THE BLOOD”

A deal…

Suspicious. Who wouldn’t consider it suspicious? Two random players with powerful weapons attacking you then suddenly changing their minds raised a couple of flags. Also, the deal they spoke of…

“We’ll help you defeat Elain,” LadyMaia had said. Her grin reminded Ai of a mischievous child talking about her secret hideout. “In return you have to join our guild!”

Guilds...he knew about them of course, and he thought about them a few times. Being in a guild came with its own set of benefits. You could take part in Guild Events and even get special buffs. Ultimately, he had decided against it for two main reasons. Firstly, his personality wasn’t really suited for group activities. Guilds demanded communication, something he wasn’t good at. Secondly, he didn’t think any guild would take in a Mediator. Apparently LadyMaia did.

LadyMaia and LemonRush were part of a guild named Rose Eloquence. From the brief explanation they had given, it was a relatively small guild with a handful of members. The guild’s main goal was to discover new hidden story quests and rewards, hence why they thought Ai would make a valuable member.

A soft poke on his cheek made him look up.

“Still thinking of their offer?”

Ai nodded. He was probably thinking about it more than necessary. There were a couple of reasons why he didn’t immediately accept or decline. First, he didn’t know how strong Elain was, so he didn’t know if they would even need the help. Second, he didn’t know the actual condition of the guild itself, how the members behaved and what kind of atmosphere it had. The last thing Ayn needed was to be stuck somewhere toxic and unhealthy with no escape.

Morion stared at Ai’s troubled look and gave a suggestion. “What if we see how strong Elain is first? We’ll continue with our original plan up until that point and you can decide what to do next.”

Ai sighed, right now that was the best step they could take.

They were heading towards the center of the arena, where the tall towers were. According to the plan, they would make a small temporary base somewhere in those towers, preferably somewhere sturdy.

The towers felt even more daunting as they neared the Ruined City. He knew that the towers and spires stretched beyond the clouds, but up close...he felt like he was standing in a land of giants.

As expected, the center of the arena was pretty empty because there were less places to hide but the two kept a vigilant eye and didn’t let their guard down. The open space offered more visibility, but it also exposed them too much.

The two carefully stepped into the city and kept close to the walls of the towers to lessen some of the exposure to attacks. As they walked, Ai looked around and mapped the roads in his mind.

Aside from being daunting, the city also looked quite pitiful. The walls of the towers were cracked or destroyed with wild plants slowly growing in between the cracks. Ai could imagine that the city would’ve been lively and majestic if it was still alive.

The two looked for a suitable tower that they could use. They were looking for a sturdy tower that wouldn’t crumble easily, but not so much that they couldn’t use it for traps. Too fragile and it wouldn’t make for a good base but too sturdy and it would create less advantage. An unstable piece of flooring could make for a good trap for an unsuspecting enemy to walk into.

They ended up using one of the towers not too far from the middle.

The inside of the tower was a mess. The first floor was just overrun with plants and weeds, Ai couldn’t even see what the floor was made of. There were also bits and pieces of furniture, but none held their original shape. The second floor didn’t look any better, filled with countless more rubble and broken furniture.

As they ascended further, they could see more of the Ruined City through the holes in the walls. Ai wondered what these towers were used for. There were many of them and not a lot of small buildings, so perhaps it served as a living complex like an apartment? Or maybe the Ruined City wasn’t a city in the first place? He continued to run through possibilities in his mind but didn’t stop walking.

Finally they settled on the fifteenth floor.

They found a snug little corner facing the stairway. It offered a good view of the surroundings but still gave them enough protection. 

The two sat down to take a little rest. Ai sent Athens to fly around the outside of the tower. It would be able to monitor the blindspots. Morion pressed his calf as if he was massaging it even though he shouldn’t feel any fatigue.

“Habit,” He laughed when he saw Ai looking at him intently.

Morion reached inside his inventory then pulled out a single paper and pencil, handing it to Ai. Between them two, Ai had the better memory. Carefully he began to create wobbly lines on the paper. A few strokes and they got themselves a workable map of the area around them. Ai also marked some spots on the map that might be advantageous for them. Like for example, there was a small alleyway just a little ways from the building they were in that could make for a hiding spot. There was also a wall south of the building that had a small hole that could make for a great asset if they needed to lose their chasers. Ai could crawl through the hole while Morion could easily jump over it. Since they lacked the manpower, little details like that would make all the difference for them.

Morion glanced outside the window and pointed out that the sun had shifted. “Looks like there is a day and night system in the area.”

His long fingers gently touched the places that Ai had marked on their makeshift map. “There might be some things that we can only see at night, so we should be on the lookout for those as well.”

Ai nodded. There was also something that he was thinking about as well. This big mysterious city with its rundown towers, what did the developers intend to do by placing them here? To be honest, it could just be a type of terrain that offered uniqueness for the players and also a scenic environment, but Ai felt that something else was going on. Call it mediator instinct, but he felt that climbing up one of these towers was something they needed to do. It seemed rather pointless to do that, given that all the players were on the ground and not high in the sky, but he couldn’t shake the feeling.

“Is there ever a quest in these kinds of events?” Ai found himself asking.

Morion frowned and shook his head. “These kinds of events are usually just for players to fight other players. There would be no need for there to be any kind of quests.”

“But has the arena ever been a cityscape like this?”

Morion pondered about it for a minute before looking at Ai with realization stark on his face. “No.”

A sudden boom followed by a rumble interrupted the rest of their conversation. The two carefully peeked over one of the holes and saw an explosion of rubble and smoke coming from one of the towers not too far away.

At the corner of his vision, Ai saw Athen flapping its wings and made a speedy entry into the tower. It slowly landed on Ai’s shoulder.

“It might be a strong player for Athens to be taking cover.”

Morion clicked his tongue. “It’s Elain. For her to be this close to us this soon…”

He reached into his inventory again and pulled out a handheld telescope.

“She’s fighting a player.” Morion muttered. “I don’t see her partner anywhere.”

Ai tried his best to look at where the strong player was, but couldn’t see much. He saw something gold glinting at the street below. It could be the player’s armor or weapon.

“Here.” Morion handed him the handheld telescope. 

Now with a better view, he could see that the golden glint came from the player’s sword. Elain was a female player that didn’t look all that intimidating at first. She was shorter than most players with long flowing red locks that matched her fiery expression. She wore a full body armor that almost looked comical with her smaller stature and a shiny golden sword that glinted under the golden sunset.

“Elain of the Blood.” Morion explained, looking warily at their biggest opponent in the arena. “Leader of the Blood Oaths, one of the top guilds in [World Symphony].”