Races: Online

He would have to leave him behind.

There wasn't much Han could have in plan right now, there was no looming timer unlike the last time, no immediate consequence placed if he chose to abandon this, but a sense of urgency was apparent in the air. This mission didn't need a punishment for him to move.

And so he began with his own path.

Pushing Timothy away and going on his own discretion and all by himself has simply been one of his immediate decisions as he pushed through the crowd of people. Even if his friend wanted to—it would be hard to even chase after him.

He was glad.

He didn't want to risk his friend.

But he was also terribly lost at the moment.

People knocked and pushed their shoulders against him as he continued forward. He was going against the flow of the crowd. Well, if they were fleeing from this direction, it meant that the source of problems were also there.

But that wouldn't be his first stop.

He needed to go to...

Well, if only he knew where to find his destination first.

He hadn't had the chance to steal away the map from Timothy so he had to think and use his previous knowledge. Surely there was some kind of mechanism that would help him like—"World Map." He whispered those words to himself as a familiar menu once again appeared before him.

It didn't appear to show the entire 'world' but only the city itself.

Han Jing sighed in relief, finding himself a navigation tool was...why hadn't he thought of this before? He didn't have any time to regret his previous idiocy, the map before was now showcasing the outlay of the city for him. His own position was designated by a green orb that blinked in the map. And he could even see the other coloured orbs in another part of the city: there were only three orbs excluding his.

Where were the other two [ Players ]?

Shaking his head, he had to focus on something else first. He couldn't imagine fighting with the people here and so it only left him with one option based on the quest—'Put them back in their place'. 'Them' referring to the other [ Players ] but even then, it was unreasonable to think that he would be able to stop them at all through sheer brute force.

That was a one way ticket to pain.

But going empty handed was also a wrong choice to have, he wasn't sure if they would be able to recognize a fellow [ Player ] immediately and whether or not they would be hostile to him. 

The [ Wood Elf ] hadn't been responding either.

And so he had to take his chances, the young man mentally chose a location within the city. A golden yellow line appeared on the map, his route towards the Market. He would need to equip himself first. So not long after he ended up in the Market district, there were still people within this place—it wasn't easy to get away from one's place when there was panic and frantic. But it also meant that it was the most opportune time to grab things and nobody would even bat an eye. Han Jing didn't have enough time to consider morals now, besides stealing wasn't supposed to be something strange for a [ Rogue ] to do. But as he snatched away some items from the nearby stand…

He flicked a silver coin into the inside of the shop.

It was hardly enough but he'll repay his debts later.

.

.

.

Boaz could have run out of here much earlier and perhaps until now. The one who he was talking to had even healed him… they weren't attacking him at all. A fake sense of camaraderie and truce between them, but he watched his friend, Ryden hit the ground as the [ Rogue ] kicked them right in the face. His friend stayed down for what seemed to be a minute but still tried to push himself up, grabbing ahold of his weapon and digging the butt of his spear into the ground as some kind of crutch—they were simply kicked once more.

And this time his friend staggered and stayed on the ground for good.

Boaz gulped.

Without further ado, the enemy laid his eyes on him before shifting to the two people still fighting at the gates. The setting down of the sun did not stall them one bit, if anything it only set the scene before them even more. It was almost poetic.

A hand and warrior of [ God ] fighting against and bringing justice to the evildoer.

Garlands and wreaths of light swirled and curled around the [ Tiefling ] as they tried to break through the bindings. It was there that the person the woman referred to as 'Bleu' once again made his assault. Indeed he was simply romanticizing the scene. What was supposed to be one of the elites of the Kraelonia Academy was hardly managing herself against one of the intruders, and even the very one that was beside him had the luxury to stand around and watch. 

He ground his teeth, it would be different if everyone had been here, they would have outnumbered and overpowered their opponents. They were in the Capital City! So where were the enforcements? How could people just stand around—

Boaz was standing here right now. 

Why couldn't he be the reinforcement?

The [ Level ] 8 Guardsman was armed with a weapon. He felt a lurch in his throat as his gaze shifted  towards the hilt of the sword. He would probably be nothing more than a nuisance but he could contribute at least. Even as a cannon fodder. Anything that would shift the tide of the battle towards them was already something. He wasn't supposed to be a coward. 

His fingers hovered above the pommel of his sword.

"I wouldn't recommend doing that." The blonde woman gave him a smile.

A chill went down his spine, the [ Dangersense ] racked up by another level, it was screaming in his ears as he watched the complete obliteration occurring right before his eyes, the [ Rogue ] attacked the [ Paladin ] behind their back, slowly but surely wearing them down—and he wasn't even doing anything at all. What kind of [ Guardsman ] was he?

The aura of fear and self preservation kept the man locked in place.

"Excuse me!" A shout pierced through the crowd as the sound came from somewhere. Somebody skidded from the next street and appeared in the main gate, as something white came. Hope formed in his chest that was quickly crushed down.

It wasn't reinforcements at all, rather what was a kid doing here? 

And they were carrying and waving around a makeshift white flag.

Boaz blinked.

Were they nuts?! How could they even—surrendering was not an option! The City of Gloria wouldn't fall with only three people coming their way here and attacking! "Run away kid! This is no place for you!" 

The woman beside him glanced towards the new arrival and blinked, "Oops. It seems someone has dropped by?" She tilted her head a bit, their gaze scrutinizing the boy. "And with a flag? Are you here to surrender?"

Boaz gritted his teeth, whatever if they were stupid or not, he had to do something about this—he pulled out his sword and swung the blade at her. [ Swift Cleave ] ought to—a blast of light erupted around her and shot him backwards.

She glanced towards him with a frown, "How horrible, haven't I just healed and saved you before and this is how you repay me?"

The [ Guardsman ] lived a rather peaceful life, he fought back a smile and raised his weapon once more. But this would be a nice way to go—

"Waaait! This isn't for surrender at all, rather this is for negotations, didn't you guys come here looking for Sage Grass? I have some!"

.. .

"What are you doing here?" A female voice boomed as they remained hidden within the forest.

The [ Mermaid ] cursed. 

She was more used to using her skills and powers against men, it seemed like she had to rely on something else. However, the choice of words that the newcomer was using… she could recognize them. Or rather, she recognized the person she was with. The [ Mermaid ] tossed another look at the [ Wood Elf ] and frowned. "You didn't tell me that you'd be meeting with someone."

The [ Wood Elf ] rubbed his temples, their voice was slightly strained but also amused, "Oh, I actually did—but I didn't expect her to have arrived before we even stepped into the city. I guess someone's been levelling up properly."

Neither she nor the person didn't say anything in return.

The wind blew uneasily through the forest, a tension springing up in the air.

It made the [ Mermaid ] a little on edge. The usually jovial [ Wood Elf ] beside her simply stared back into the forest. So this was the person they had wanted to meet and not the Human that they had made an [ Alliance ] with? Even now she didn't have a single clue on who the [ Wood Elf ] was talking with right now, she usually knew the ones in the [ Universal Chat ] so who were they?

Should she say something to clear things up? 

A bright light streaked down from the sky and seared into the distance.

"W-What was that?" Odele jumped up from her feet and gazed back into the direction, if she wasn't mistaken that had been the city of Gloria itself. So had something? The man beside her had still been silent, waringly so. And yet she conjured the rippling water in front of her, the symbols were on the screen as she sent a message to the group chat between her, Lucia, Bleu and Tierra.

The three of them wouldn't be in charge of something like that?

"My, my, shouldn't you already be running back into the city?" The [ Wood Elf ] asked as their gaze flicked towards the direction of the light. His once relaxed tone still held on, but there was a sense of something else… something more mocking.

Or perhaps challenging was the right term.

It wasn't meant for her.