Suddenly facing the parent of someone who you had a deathmatch with was not something Ryan could have expected or prepared for.
Especially when Seffara coughed out her drink and gave it away that something was wrong.
Neil turned to Seffara in confusion. Seffara accidentally pressed too hard and dented the enchanted water bottle.
“Sorry, I’m still acclimatizing after hitting dragonslayer.”
Neil nodded in understanding.
“Ah onya friend. I remember when I first hit dragonslayer, I couldn't go a single day without breaking every door I came across.”
It was one of the wonders of the world. An elf talking with a heavy Australian accent. Zedart didn’t have much of an accent, likely using the system granted [Translation] skill to give clarity.
Neil didn’t care about that.
Though that was only a minor distraction compared to everything else. Ryan internally went through Neil Kelly’s skills then looked around for his wife, Donna Kelly a [Dragonslayer Rogue].
There were skills that were designed to track people down, to understand the situation and find the quickest route to your target. He had zero doubt that the [Dragonslayer Rogue] would have put Artigan on her shit list.
It was very possible that she would be capable of telling something was off if not tell he was Artigan immediately.
Normally, both the husband and wife duo operated together which was making him nervous.
Neil moved from the table to Ryan in an instant, startling him. The [Warrior] reached out for a handshake.
“G’day mate Neil Kelly, [Dragonslayer Warrior], guess you might end up in a team with my son if Valee’s assessment of you is any good.”
Ryan shook the hand, remembering how she told the world he was a ‘competent adventurer’. Somehow, everyone seemed to have forgotten that bit and just remembered the kiss.
“Ryan Robinson, and nah, she exaggerates. I’m probably going to relax at my current realm grade for a bit. Acclimatize myself.”
“Fair enough. Well, it’s not like Zedart will be moving up anytime soon, eh?”
“What do you mean?”
“The missus finally got him, she did. Caught him right as he was going to a town portal in Sector Five. Good old Donna, always the tracker.”
Fuck, Ryan didn’t say out loud. That was why Zedart’s mother wasn’t here.
The Kelly parents had been hunting for their son ever since they found out he’d lost his safety life. Donna must have found the trail right as Zedart was returning Rax’s glove to the Unwanted. There were no portal towns in the leveled zone where Ryan was at. It was likely that the first time Zedart had traveled through that free zone it triggered Donna’s skills. Then she nabbed him the second time he traveled there.
Scary ass dragonslayer tier [Rogues].
It also meant that the Unwanted might not get their glove back anytime soon.
“Haha, what happens next? Are you two going to keep him under house arrest?”
Neil scratched his head.
“Honestly, I hadn’t thought about it. I just wanted to know if his head’s on straight, or if he’s still after that Artigan fella. As long as he’s not rushing and gotten caught up in something… well I don’t know if we can really force him to stop. Always been a headstrong kid. Takes too much after his mother I tell ya.”
The attitude threw Ryan off.
Now, Ryan knew a little bit about the Kellys, pretty much everyone did. Their original team had been famous because they were considered the weakest team to have ever killed a dragon. Boosted by relics that they had found in Sector Eleven, the group of ninths actually killed the dragon without a single Epic class on the team.
Just good old adventuring prep.
That alongside their personalities were considered the ‘working couple’ amongst dragonslayers. The first to give hope to the less talented adventurers that they could hit dragonslayer.
It was still jarring knowing that these parents had raised someone like Zedart. He’d half been expecting their public image to have been a persona.
Yomar, Grettfield’s teammate the [Aegis Guardian] crossed his arms, annoyed at the interruption to their meeting.
“This is a place for dragonslayers, can you two deal with the pleasantries afterwards?”
Seffara appeared next to Ryan, she gave his shoulder a light squeeze.
“This here’s my student. Got in a rough run-in with the government during his first Trial and I’ve been trying to get him in shape ever since. I think I’ve done a good job.”
For the first time, the bare chested [Barbarian] actually looked over in interest.
“A proper student? Been awhile since you’ve done that, wasn’t Latarro your last one?”
“Nah, that one didn’t need much teaching at all. This one however…”
She tried to put her arm around his head as Ryan ducked out from underneath. Seffara didn’t try to push the issue, likely because she was worried pushing too hard might actually cave his head in.
Yomar was not impressed at all. The stickler [Guardian] in weird stone-like armor did not have an inch of that adventurer’s humor that everyone else did.
“Seffara’s student or not, he doesn’t belong here. He can’t be trusted.”
An aura like a tidal fortress slammed into Ryan, trying to push him out. Fortunately, Ryan was more than capable of dealing with an aura clash, he shaped his [Rogue’s] aura like a careful knife, holding steady against the incoming tide.
Everyone other than Seffara and Grettfield blinked at that. She smirked at Yomar.
“Told you I taught him well.”
Ryan elbowed her, then regretted it. He rubbed his arm.
“You’re not taking credit for Latarro but you’ll take credit for me? Now that’s greedy.”
“Hah! Are you saying that taking credit for you is a greater feat than Latarro? Now that’s arrogant.”
Grettfield turned to Yomar while the two had their banter.
“Ryan here was the one that notified me of the looming threat. Without him, neither you nor Ulhen would have been here in time to stop the initial outflow, nor to minimize the Lich King’s assault. He has perhaps saved hundreds of thousands of lives with that alone. Even if that was all he could offer I would have invited him here nonetheless.”
That seemed to convince Yomar at least. Neil was about to say something but Seffara spoke first, her tone accusatory.
“Funny, you didn’t tell me about the threat.”
“That’s because we only found out about it a day before. Besides, I thought you’re busy acclimatizing to dragonslayer.”
“I still am, that doesn’t mean you don’t tell me about this right away. I swear if you were withholding information for my protection, we’re going to have problems.”
Seffara was still sensitive to the reveal that Barry had been holding information from her for her own protection. If Ryan was being honest he might have unconsciously done the same thing.
Neil was just confused.
“Hold on, how does an evolved adventurer know what was going on before any of us?”
That was a loaded question and a half. There was no way to really explain what exactly was going on except to pass the hot potato to someone else.
“[Witch] Grettfield knows what’s going on. I think it’s up to her how much is appropriate to share.”
The [Witch] tutted.
“A little over a day ago, Ryan informed me of the nature of the Passive Tyrant’s fight. The [Shapeshifter] known as Pinkie—a highly deviated class for [Rogue] drakes—was attempting to shift into the Passive Tyrant. That was why all the [Dangersense] alerts went off in The Realm.”
“Makes sense. It was a good thing that didn’t work out. Can’t believe someone else was so close to a Legend, it’s a good thing that she didn’t succeed. That dragon thing with the power of the Passive Tyrant? That's the stuff that comes straight out of nightmares.”
Grettfield seemed to disagree.
“No, if anything, if the [Shapeshifter] had truly transformed into the Passive Tyrant, things would be better. The problem is the Witch Tyrant had interfered in the middle of the Legend and interjected.”
All of the dragonslayers turned to Grettfield at that.
“That was when the fight between the two Tyrants happened.”
Grettfield projected a scene of the tree of light against the Passive Tyrant and her endless fists. From the expression on their faces, none of them knew that this had happened. Apparently, being a dragonslayer didn’t necessarily mean they were the most informed.
Neil was in horror as he watched the projection where the Passive Tyrant held the Witch Tyrant’s robes and was about to knock her out.
“That’s—that’s probably a trick right? The Witch does this to trick her enemies don’t she?”
“It’s not in the Passive Tyrant’s nature to trick people like this. Nor does the Witch Tyrant create false tricks with the Chieftain Tyrant. We firmly believe that the Witch interfered in the battle between the [Shapeshifter] and the Passive Tyrant and created… this.”
She gestured to an eerily accurate figurine of the flesh pillar that was Pinkie. It was placed on the map of Farallon islands thirty miles from the coast of San Francisco.
Neil was lost.
“Why? Why would she do this?”
“We believe Pinkie was meant to turn into a clone of the Witch Tyrant. One that would terrorize Earth while the original stayed in The Realm. This misshapen version of Pinkie was likely the backup plan. It explains why the Lich King was so unprepared for us.”
Neil wasn’t enjoying the line of thinking at all.
“These are a lot of assumptions, aren't they? I thought the idea with the Witch Tyrant was to not bother thinking about her plans at all.”
It was one of the ‘solutions’ that people had come up with. Don’t bother trying to plot against the Witch Tyrant because she would always be ten steps ahead. Just do your own thing and hope you weren’t in her way.
Grettfield sighed.
“Unfortunately, we no longer have that option. From making the blacklisted dragonslayers flee into Earth, to creating Artigan, to slaughtering local guardian deities and subjugating the Realmers in Sector Thirteen, to sending this disaster-piece into my city, we can well and truly say that we will no longer be in a peaceful era. The Witch Tyrant is moving and we must all be prepared if we do not want to be crushed underfoot.”
That was probably why these specific dragonslayers were in the room. Grettfield had decided that gathering allies and working together would be necessary for survival.
Neil seemed the least prepared for this. He was a man that had been born during the golden generation, well after the Tyrants had won the war.
“I understand what you’re doing but this is a little too much for me, yeah? The Witch Tyrant isn’t someone we can just work against.”
Grettfield shook her head.
“I am not suicidal, nor do I believe this room could go up against her. What I am requesting is an alliance against the chaos she’s going to spread. You help defend my city and I will help defend yours.”
“Is it really that bad? Why, why is she doing all of this?”
“She wishes to complete the Trial System. Ten slots, seven tyrants, perhaps one Mezhar, she is looking for two more.”
“Bloody hell, you’d think a [Shapeshifter] that turned into the Passive Tyrant would meet her standards… then again maybe she wasn’t that far off either.”
He stared at the projection of a tree of lights. Even a projected image seemed to have a weight that was almost ethereal in nature.
“I didn’t think she’d be the type to put lives in danger for something like this. Ruthless when she needed to be, but this…? I thought we had options even if we failed the Trial System? What’s changed now?”
Grettfield hesitated, Ryan did not.
“Her daughter died.”
All of their eyes were on him. Apparently this was only news to Neil, cause he was the only dragonslayer blinking at him in confusion.
“What?”
The [Aegis Guardian] already knew about all of this, he was rather pissed off that it was mentioned at all. He put everyone in a box, isolating them from the outside world. Then blurred forward and grabbed Ryan by the shirt.
“You idiot. Do you know what you’ve done? You’ve put Seffara and Neil at risk by telling them all of this. The Witch Tyrant can track unguarded thoughts.”
Then the [Aegis Guardian] turned to Grettfield angrily.
“I told you, sympathetic magic is dangerous. Why did you tell him about her damned daughter?”
He was getting the feeling that the [Aegis Guardian] was less pissed off about status and more about protecting people from dangerous things.
Ryan grabbed Yomar’s iron-like wrist and squeezed.
“She didn’t tell me anything. I found out through the Witch Tyrant, and Seffara already knew before today.”
Yomar turned back to Ryan. The man was like his class, an impenetrable fortress that protected those within.
“You still shouldn’t be spreading this around. You’re putting everyone that knows in danger.”
“Are you trying to say that we should keep allies in the dark about the true reason why things have changed? Neil deserves to know why he’ll be fighting. He deserves to know why his son lost his safety life and is realmbound.”
As casual as Neil might have been, there was no way the two parents hunted Zedart for months unless they cared about him. At the very least, they deserved the truth.
[The Rogue Adventurer] and the [Aegis Guardian] stared each other down for a few seconds. Ryan put his hand out, stopping Seffara from interrupting making Yomar let go. They were going to be allies and Ryan didn’t want his status to be just ‘Seffara’s student’ here.
Yomar let go of Ryan’s shirt and marched back to the table, standing by Grettfield’s side.
Neil was still trying to come to terms with what had been said.
“Her daughter… she had a daughter? The reward for completing the Trial System. Of course. That’s why she’s doing all this. Manager’s abode.”
“Well—”
Grettfield clapped loudly, making sure to interrupt Ryan before he could go on a tirade about the Manager. She clearly didn’t think that now was the most appropriate time for it.
“Now that Neil knows the truth of things, shall we get you up to speed about what’s happened with Pinkie?”
Grettfield gestured to the map on top of the large table. Ryan and Seffara stood on the opposite end of Grettfield and her team.
On the table was a map of California’s coast, along with Farallon islands just thirty miles from San Francisco. San Kingsgrove was more inland, though the distance of fifty miles wasn’t half as comforting as one would hope
Pinkie’s miniature figurine was right on top of the central island.
“Using a pre-established teleportation anchor, I have managed to transport Pinkie to the Farallon islands. Despite her current state, she seems to have no intention of using [Return to The Realm]. Naturally, the greatest issue is that her current state is almost as strong as the Passive Tyrant’s physical body with nearly as much power.”
It used to be said that the Passive Tyrant could match a team of top-tier dragonslayers with just her body alone. It turned out that was a gross underestimation of her strength if this was just a bad copy of her arm and leg alone.
“While that is the biggest threat, that is not the only problem we have. More of her actual body is the Witch Tyrant. It’s currently in the middle of that pillar of flesh, summoning an endless tide from the skill [Shades of the Dead].”
Creatures from black ink broke out of the flesh pillar, populating the island in a continuous stream of an endless army.
“Currently, the plan is to have dragonslayers on rotation. Partly to wipe out the swarm, and partly to watch out for any other traps like the Lich King.”
“An unkillable swarm spawner, huh? And the swarm controller is secure?”
These were all adventuring terms common for the Trials. A situation like this wasn’t too uncommon, in fact, Ryan had been involved in one for his second Trial. In general you wanted to target the controller first.
Grettfield waved a hand and a massive box zoomed out from the corner and hovered over the table. Black inky script crawled on its surface, keeping whatever it was secure.
The Lich King was in a smaller box within the bigger box. A two feet by two feet cube that would have killed any adult if they were squeezed within. Not if they were just bones though.
For the lich King, this was just humiliating.
Within the bigger box was half a dozen rats, all eating, frolicking and… well doing what rats did.
“The rats are there as even intelligent undead tend to have an aversion to the living. I will find better torments when I have time.”
The Lich King turned its purple flames on Ryan.
“You! You there young man! Find a way to free me and I will grant you all that you desire. The immortality of Liches? The ability to bring others from the dead? All of it can be yours.”
Ryan leaned in and stared at the Lich King like he was a particularly interesting animal at a zoo.
“Whoa, it’s a real life Skeleton Lord situation, huh?”
The Lich King’s eyes dimmed slightly.
////
I was sick. Am still sick but at least there's no headache. Will try to get back on schedule. Sorry for the missed chapters.