Author Note:
I've made some edits to the previous chapter and events leading up to now. Basically I wasn't happy with where the book was heading and don't want Ethan entering Northstar personally. Nothing major has changed and shouldn't need a re-read!
Thanks for understanding!!!
Bella watched as he exited the train and made his way over. She stood a little straighter, frustration marring her expression. He could immediately tell she was desperate for an answer. Ethan was glad to give it. For the last week or so he had been going over his plans for this level. And the more he thought about it the more he realized he didn't have enough time to do everything he needed before moving on with the level. He was getting pulled in too many directions with too many goals that needed to be completed.
Bella showing up had presented the perfect opportunity. One he would gladly capitalize on. For the longest time he had wondered how he would get answers from Northstar. He wasn’t the snooping type, evident by the way he had initially gone about things. Give him an enemy to fight and a clear goal to accomplish, he could do that. For him that line of work came easy. So it had been with a sense of dread that he had decided he needed to infiltrate Northstar and find the answers himself.
But things had changed now. Bella had shown up. And when she had she came with a proposal. One Ethan knew he wanted to take her up on but not before he had a stronger backing if things went south, which they always did.
Tomas had provided that backing, he had confirmed what Ethan had already suspected. The man would show up when things came to light. He would be there to help put an end to the tyranny that Northstar posed.
Ethan had the perfect person to see that they got the information they needed. And to make matters easier, Bella also wanted in on the deal. She had told him straight that she needed to find Roy’s fiancée. They had been tracking the woman since Bella had removed the curse from her party. But they had reached a dead end. The tracks had turned cold as they got closer to the Mirage.
From there, Bella and her team had split up, with some staying behind while others spread through level two, looking for any leads. Bella for her part, believed Northstar to be involved. It all stemmed back to the curse, though Bella wasn’t willing to divulge more on the matter. Just that the necromancer, and thus Northstar were heavy favorites to be the culprits. At least in her books anyway.
So she had come to Ethan looking for answers and opportunities. Ethan for his part, had seized it like a lifeline. Now, all he needed was Bella to join Northstar, use her acquired skills to find any information she could and Ethan would handle the cavalry when it no doubt turned into a messy fight.
Ethan moved closer, noticing the way Bella tracked him, all the while having a frown on her face.
“Have you learnt anything?” She asked as he moved closer, forgetting about common courtesy and moving straight to questions.
“I have all the information I need to make an informed decision, yes.” Ethan answered.
“Should we walk and talk?” He continued, not waiting for an answer and powering forward.
Ethan currently wasn't wearing any armor, nor had he been when he had entered Broken Dawns headquarters. He’d had to make a shift in his planning. Now that he wasn’t going completely undercover, Ethan had decided his armored self would deal with the creation of his new guild and becoming another figure moving the pieces on the board, all the while ‘Jack’ would deal with Bella and getting answers, while also selling the information he obtained to all the major guilds that had a grudge with Northstar. It wasn’t the strongest hidden identity foundation, in fact, if someone looked hard enough, they would quite easily be able to put two and two together. However, Ethan didn't really care. At the end of the day, it didn't really matter and had more just started as Ethan wanting people to think he was older while he was in his armor so he could be taken more seriously. But he was well aware that he had done a bad job at setting this whole hidden identity up. Still he would try to stick with it for as long as possible.
As such, he currently couldn’t return to his apartment with Bella and instead headed towards one of the many parks.
Bella let out a sigh and fell into step beside him. “So what’s the plan. Are you willing to help?”
Ethan nodded, turning to look at her as she caught up. “I'm in. Just as we discussed last night, if you enter Northstar and figure out what happened to your missing party member, I'll help you take them down. And if, for whatever reason, it's nothing to do with Northstar, I'll also help you if you need it.”
Bella watched him for a moment, likely figuring out a response.
“And how do you plan to help me?”
“However I can. I just need you to trust that I'll be there.” Ethan responded straight away.
“I don't trust that easily.”
“I think you’ll have to. Just know that I have a plan. Also, remember that time you lied to me and escaped with the necromancer?”
Bella narrowed her eyes. “I told you that was for an important reason.”
“And I'm telling you now, I'll be there when you need me.” And Ethan meant it. Bella had massive potential and was someone he wanted to gain the favor of. This was his chance to make that happen, this was his chance to bring one of the strongest humanity had created, to his side.
After a couple minutes, in which they walked in silence, Bella nodded. “Okay. Deal. So how do I go about this?”
“It's simple really. Every guild on the second level requires you to sign a contract, instead of word of mouth, like it was on the first level. But that can work in your favor. In essence you can sign a beginner's contract with them, and just like back on Earth, start a ninety day trial. During that time, you’ll have to find something damning, otherwise we will have to pull out, because after that, the system recognizes you as a member of the guild you’ve signed with, and betraying or leaving them can have all sorts of consequences.”
“So ninety days?”
“That's the one.” Ethan answered. “Are you up for it?”
He paused, watching Bella for her answer. She frowned for a moment before nodding with finality.
“Good. Because the sooner we start, the better.” He said, looking around the park they had arrived at. It was an open field, trees scattered around it, people walked the twisting paths, some even sitting down enjoying a meal on the lush grass. For a moment, Ethan watched them. They were all going about their lives, even the small squirrel that had entered his perception. It was almost peaceful.
“Just remember,” Ethan added, “You don't need to fight anyone or get yourself into trouble. Just use that freaky skill of yours to do some recon.”
Bella scoffed beside him, “I don't need you telling me what to do. Just be there when I need the help and let's leave it at that.”
Ethan gave a single nod in acceptance. “Fair enough.”
After that, they had continued to walk around for a moment, going over all the smaller details that needed to be covered so they were on the same page. When it was time for Bella to leave and begin her journey of subterfuge, Ethan said his goodbyes, promising to meet up at this very park once a week.
When she was gone, Ethan left the park behind and found a nice little alley, where he promptly changed into his armor and headed back to the apartment he shared with Leah.
With Bella playing her role and hopefully providing information for him, he was set to begin the next part of his plan. He still didn't think he was overly ready to leave Nexus and begin the journey to the monolith but he was ready to start his recruitment. The first person on his list was someone he dreaded confronting once again. Memories of the Mirage tried to surface but Ethan pushed it down.
He opened the door to the apartment, noting Leah wasn’t home, which wasn’t overly surprising. Despite her reservations with Marcus, she had overall enjoyed her time with his team, and had opted to stick with them for a while longer. So they were likely running another dungeon. Ethan for his part, felt like he had handled the whole situation rather well. Initially he had been reserved about her going off and entering dangerous situations, but after realizing she could take care of herself and noticing he was being a hypocrite, Ethan had taken a step back and just let it happen. Yes, however, it was still hard. But strength wasn’t given. He was well aware of that. Especially if your strength came from body cultivation. Which reminded Ethan he would have to plan his next advancement, and find a time to experiment with all the knowledge that had been crammed into his head. Which all led back to his first recruit. He needed a healer to help with his channels.
After a bite to eat, and confirming his plans, Ethan headed out the door once more.
The old bastard had spent most of his previous life actively avoiding people. But Ethan remembered enough of the man's habits to make an educated guess. Those habits unfortunately led him straight to a bar. Ethan stood outside the establishment for a moment, staring up at the sign hanging above the entrance. The Rusted Mug. Even after all these years he still remembered it. A small part of him had hoped his memories were wrong. Unfortunately they weren't. The moment he stepped inside he found the man occupying a table near the back of the room. Empty bottles littered the surface around him while another hung loosely from his fingers. His gray beard was unkempt, his robes stained and his eyes unfocused. Ethan frowned. He remembered the man drinking. He didn't remember it being this bad.
So instead of approaching, he simply sat down and watched. The old healer paid no attention to anything around him. It was as though the world no longer existed. Eventually he pushed himself to his feet. The chair beneath him crashed backwards. Several patrons laughed. The healer flipped them off before stumbling toward the exit. Ethan waited a few moments before following.
The old man wandered through the streets of Nexus with a stumbling step. More than once he nearly fell over. Several times he walked directly into people. Ethan remained several paces behind the entire time. There was no point rushing. He already knew where this was heading.
Sure enough, after several minutes the healer turned into a narrow alleyway. A few seconds later a loud crash echoed out. Ethan sighed and followed after him. The old man was lying face first on the ground. Completely unconscious.
For several moments Ethan simply stared, then he gave the man a gentle kick. It didn't work. If anything it made it worse, the man started snoring.
This was the man he intended to recruit. Humanity truly was doomed.
Eventually he called upon his water purifier. Several liters of clean water fell onto the man's unconscious body.
The old man exploded upright, sputtering and swearing while water poured from his beard. "Which bloody bastard did that?" His furious gaze landed on Ethan. The two stared at each other for a moment while water dripped from the healer's nose and soaked into his robes.
Ethan folded his arms, watching the man through the slit in his helmet. “I need to talk to you.”
The old man's expression darkened. "You can bugger off, you bastard.”
"I have a proposition."
“Shit way of going about it.”
“Fair. But you were sleeping. And smelt. And I tried to wake you normally.”
The man sniffed his armpit and crinkled his nose. “Don't care. Fuck off.”
Ethan sighed. Why did things always have to be so difficult. Unfortunately for him, Ethan hadn't come all this way to be dismissed.
"I know where to find your granddaughter."
A spell surged through the old man's body and Ethan watched the transformation happen in real time. The smell of alcohol rapidly faded. His posture straightened. His breathing steadied. Color returned to his face. Within seconds it was as though the last several hours had never happened.
Ethan watched with interest. Even now he couldn't identify exactly what spell had been used.
The old man slowly climbed to his feet. Gone was the stumbling drunk. Gone was the defeated shell of a man drowning himself in alcohol. Instead Ethan found himself staring at the healer he remembered. A man who had survived the trials for decades. A man who had once stood amongst humanity's strongest.
His eyes locked onto Ethan's and for the first time since arriving, Ethan felt genuinely uncomfortable. Hope. Fear. Desperation. They all burned within that stare, creating something far more dangerous than anger ever could.
"What do you know?" the healer asked quietly.