Leveling up the World

Chapter 844: The Third Player

A little late to the party, arent you? Dallion said as he repaired the wall.

The albino shook his head.

You shatter half the arena and still repair that? He went to the generals desk and slid a finger along it. No echoes, he noted. Didnt see that coming. Although he was just a greedy snob, we had to keep an eye on him.

So much for the Order being omnipotent. Then again, the general had fooled the world for decades, if not longer. Or maybe there was another explanation.

Dallion split into instances, rushing at Cleric. Before the man could react, Dallion summoned his bladebow and shoved it into the others shoulder so that the kaleidevristo came in contact. The bishops entire arm turned translucent. There could be no doubt that Dallion was in the presence of another copyette. For some reason, the bishop didnt seem the least bit alarmed. Sluggishly, he looked at the transparent part of his body, then slowly pushed the weapon off him.

Should have guessed. Dallion unsummoned the bladebow. The whole losing magic never matched up. Was there ever a Cleric?

There still is. That part was mostly true. He gambled his magic at the Academy and lost. We took him in. Hes been a monk ever since. Quite happy to be sealed off from the rest of the world. I just took it from there.

So, the Order did keep an eye on my family.

Not you, though. Were keeping tabs on your grandfather. The man has a knack for getting out of tight situations. Hes a bit like you in that way. And, of course, theres the promise to House Elazni. Cleric looked around. Any other reason we should stay here? I prefer that the repairs start sooner rather than later.

Youll repair this? Dallion snorted. Just like that?

Nerosal needs a symbol to mark its rebirth. This is as good as any. The general was despised by many.

Dallion could see it now: the Hero of Nerosal returns as a noble to take down the evil cultist whod held the city in his grasp. The story wouldnt be far from the truth and, above all, it would put the mind of many at ease. Likely, the city guard would also take an active part, capturing their share of low-level criminalspossibly a few more cultists. With a bit of donations from the Order, even the slums could get leveled up.

Sure.

Walking out of the main entrance, one might almost forget what had happened behind. Dallion instantly spotted several guild masters along with their captains. No doubt they had gathered in the hopes of getting contracted for the repair words. Knowing how the Order operated, all of them would be hired for the job, along with every other able awakened.

The overseer was also present, observing the actions of the city guard. Unlike before, she pretended not to notice Dallion. Strangely enough, no one else seemed to notice him, either; as if he and the bishop were in a different realm altogether.

You still have some tricks I dont know about, dont you? Dallion thought.

The two went off the main streets, venturing into the quieter parts of the city. Initially, Dallion thought that they were randomly walking around, but soon he recognized the surrounding buildings. This was where Eurys workshop had been before she had moved out to Lanitol.

Do I get a prize now that my work is over? Dallion asked.Cheêck out latest novels at wuxiahere.com

Who said its over? The albino glanced at him.

The general is gone. Or do you expect me to purge the world of all void matter?

A tempting suggestion, but no. The void, like the Star cults, is only a threat when theres too much of them. Many of them have already gone into hiding. Some claim that the next Star has already emerged, but the archbishops prophecy isnt clear on the matter.

You seriously believe in those prophecies?

Do you believe in instances? the bishop asked, causing Dallion to quickly shut up. Thats not the immediate concern.

That still didnt sound right. If combined with the over provinces, that had to make well over a hundred.

The land the domain occupies is the empire itself, the bishop added. Yes. Even if we include all the recent gains through alliances and conquest, the emperor is three quarters short. As the saying goes, getting to a hundred is easy. The hard part comes after.

Dallion remained silent. It was still a bit difficult to swallow.

You, for example, have the level of a count, should you decide to go along that route. Achievements help, but its impossible to reach the gate through them alone.

You think hell try to conquer the world?

Its been the dream of all emperors. The current one inherited a lot, so it was natural for him to set things in motion to increase it. Now hes nearly at the endgame. On the map, the domain of the empire increased, until it filled up everything. Its believed that upon passing through the sixth gate, the awakened becomes a Moon and obtains the power to create their own world.

Seven Moonsseven worlds. Had there been another Moon in the pasta Moon of Colossi? It sounded possible, although Dallion still had his doubts. If nothing else, he couldnt imagine what the eighth trait would be.

The aether map crumbled into glowing dust that faded away into the air.

You want me to help you take down the emperor? Dallion went up to Cleric.

The archbishop would be grateful for your assistance. According to his prophecy, if the emperor isnt stopped, hell fail. Most of the human race will be banished as a result.

It wasnt lost on Dallion that the copyette said most.

If the emperor passes the point of no return, succeed or fail, half the world would be banished. The Order only wants to keep the current status quo. If we didnt, we would have gotten involved in the conflict decades ago.

Helping the Order against the emperor. Back when Dallion had woken up in the room without doors or windows, he couldnt have imagined hed end up in a situation such as this. There wasnt a single lie among anything that the copyette had said. The logic was clear, and so were the stakes. The Order wasnt willing to enter the fight and Dallion was too weak to take the emperor on his own, yet if there was one new thing he had learned in the last ten minutes, it was not to submit his will to anyone.

What about Eury?

Attempts were made to approach her. The bishop gave a vague reply. Shes too focused on the Azures to see the bigger picture. Hopefully, youll be able to quell any conquest ambitions once the main threat is dealt with.

Yeah, right. Ill see what I can do.

Dallion was just about to add a few more conditions, when all the water shot out from the nearby lake, creating a pillar up to the sky. It wasnt the only one. More pillars followed, rising up so they could be visible from every part of the city.

People everywhere stopped what they were doing, staring at the unusual occurrence. So great was the allure that even the limiting echoes failed to extinguish their curiosity.

People of the world, a loud female voice boomed, coming from the pillars. As it did, they changed shape, transforming into a nymph in battle armor. Recently, the so-called Tamin Emperor turned part of the coast to glass. He probably thought that his toys could deny us what was rightfully ours.

Dallion felt the strings of his harpsisword tremble. This wasnt her usual eagerness for battle, but pure unadulterated fear, emanating from the very depth of her being.

Our conquest was cut short millennia ago, the nymph figures continued. But now were back and will finish what we started.

Spell circles appeared in the air, launching dozens of aether blades at the water pillars. Within seconds, they destroyed the nymph forms, causing the liquid to splash back into its original locations. Sadly, it was too latethe declaration had been made.

Now, there were three players aiming for the awakening gate.