Chapter 127: Collision (2)

"Did you know that the elves, merfolk, and dwarves were once part of the World Alliance?" Tardal asked.

"Yes. By chance, I conversed with a fragment of Patrick's lingering thoughts, so I know about it."

"

Huh

, to speak directly with the legendary Radiance... I must admit, I'm envious." Tardal showed a genuinely envious expression and shook his head. "But now isn’t the time for such talk. If you really are a Solaris Cleric, I have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor?" Kai asked for clarification.

He needed to know if it was a mission or request, something that was essentially a command or if it was something he could refuse based on his judgment.

Tardal nodded and slowly began to say, "This is a heartfelt request, so hear me out before you respond. The Church of Muldine was driven into history by the World Alliance, and afterward, the World Alliance naturally split. The human army, which was briefly united, divided into three kingdoms and two empires. The elves retreated to the forests, the merfolk to the deep sea, and the dwarves to the underground. Hundreds of years have passed since then."

Tardal suddenly continued with a sad expression, "Humans are greedy creatures. Moreover, hundreds of years is an incredibly long time for humans."

He talked about the fear of humans forgetting the past.

"There were humans who tried to enslave the beautiful elves and merfolk, and those who wanted to steal the dwarves' knowledge and craftsmanship."

And about how humans themselves ended their interactions with other races.

"Now, the other races do not trust us humans. In fact, they may not have trusted us even a thousand years ago when the World Alliance was formed. The only one they believed in was the Apostle of the Solarian God, Helik. Their bond with the Apostle was that strong."

"I see... That might be the case."

It made sense, considering they entrusted the sacred relics to them rather than to humans.

Then, Kai realized what Tardal wanted from him and why he wasn’t directly stating his request.

"Are you asking me to inform them of the return of the Church of Muldine and to have them join the Darkness Hunters?"

"I won't deny it. The current war clouds looming over the continent are enough to engulf not only humans but also them. By the time we are attacked, it will be too late. Now is the time to unite our forces."

Ding!

[

Restore the World Alliance

]

Difficulty: A

Humans, elves, dwarves, and merfolk were once allies fighting under the same banner.

However, as time passed and generations changed, the forgetful humans have forgotten the past recorded and yearned to use the others for their own ends.

The bad blood between the races deepened for hundreds of years, and now none of them harbor any amity for the humans. You, on the other hand, are the Solaric Cleric. You can make whole again what was their united vision. Bring the humans, elves, dwarves, and merfolk back into the World Alliance and fight the darkness coming.

Quest Reward: Special Title, Shepherd.

Failure Penalty: Lose favor with Tardal. Lose favor with the elves, dwarves, and mermaids.

An A-difficulty quest...!

Other than the quest he received from the Dark Wizard Zirukan before he changed to a Solaris Cleric, this was the highest-difficulty quest Kai had encountered.

Restore the World Alliance...

It didn’t seem like a quest that could be completed in a day or two.

But it’s not a quest that needs to be rushed.

Moreover, it was a request from Tardal, but he had control over the situation.

"... I am considering your request quite positively."

Kai then tapped his temple, taking his time to think.

One minute, two minutes passed unrelentingly, and eventually, Tardal said first, "If you can bring them into the World Alliance, I won't spare any support."

"Really?" Kai asked with bright eyes. It was as if he had been waiting for this.

"Of course. At least, we, the Kingdom of Rashion will spare no support..."

"That's more than enough. Alright, I accept your request." Kai smiled and accepted the quest without hesitation. "But I will hold you to that promise of sparing no support.”

"As long as I’m not buried in the ground and I cross the River of Oblivion, I will never go back on my word."

Kai firmly grasped Tardal's outstretched hand. With a handshake, a satisfactory deal was made.

***

A base camp in the forest with lush green leaves was normally a comfortable place where players rested before entering the Elven Forest.

However, today, the atmosphere at the entrance was as heavy as if lead had been poured over it. Two groups were creating this heavy atmosphere.

"Apologize."

"Apologize? What exactly did we do wrong?"

"The western region of the Elven Forest is controlled by the Black Bee guild. Since you hunted there without permission, it's only right that you pay and apologize."

"

Ha

, stop talking nonsense. How do you expect to control a forest as big as this?"

One group was a bunch of Wizards wearing black robes, and the other group, who wasn't intimidated by them, stood their ground.

These damn Black Bee guys are always the ones causing trouble.

Do they think they’re the only Wizards in MID Online?

Poor Furima party.

Those Black Bee bastards always target parties, never guilds.

The players looked at the Furima party, who were being unilaterally harassed by the Black Bee Guild, with sympathy, while they sent openly displeased glances toward the Black Bee guild.

Of course, the Black Bee guild wasn't fazed by such silent pressure.

Vulture, the leader of the Black Bee party, slowly looked around and then suddenly turned his body.

Crackle!

A spear of lightning instantly formed in his grasp! Without hesitation, he threw it like a javelin, piercing Furima's chest.

"

Gah!

"

"

Ahh

! Oppa!"

"What the hell are you doing...?!"

The Furima party members tried to draw their weapons and protest.

Slash! Slash!

Wind Cutters from Vulture's hands stopped them, not allowing any of their movements.

Even if he lacked manners, his skills were top-notch.

"...

Kugh.

"

In an instant, the Furima party fell into a critical state, and their voices rapidly diminished.

"

Hmph

," Vulture, showing a bored expression, looked around and snorted.

These insect bastards only understand after getting beaten.

The Elven Forest was a place where massive tree monsters, called treevago, mostly appeared. Given their size, their HP was high, and thus, the XP per kill was also good. Because of this, Vulture had received an order from the guild's higher-ups.

—Use force if necessary to claim the western region of the Elven Forest as Black Bee territory.

In simple terms, it was to control the hunting grounds.

After working on it for a few weeks, players had mostly stopped approaching the western part of the Elven Forest.

Of course, there are still those clueless enough to come, like today.

However, by showing such overwhelming force each time, they would eventually comply. The Black Bee guild had expanded the number of controlled hunting grounds in this way and would continue to do so.

"Let's go."

Vulture laughed at the ordinary players who couldn't even protest as he left the camp.

Only after he was gone did the players start voicing their complaints.

“Damn it! Those rude bastards, why doesn’t anyone take care of them?”

“Seriously, Titan and Black Bee, those two guilds are way over the line.”

“Hey, is there any Cleric here? Someone needs to heal the Furima members.”

“Try using this potion for now.”

Players quickly gathered around the Furima Party, offering their help. They didn’t have the courage to confront Black Bee directly but felt the injustice deeply.

A Cleric emerged from the crowd.

“I’ll take a look at them.”

Wearing a white Cleric robe with the hood pulled down low, the player quickly healed the Furima party with just a few uses of Heal.

The eyes of the other players watching widened.

Wait, did he just fully heal them with a few Heals?

How high is his Holy Power?

I’ve never seen this player around here before, which party is he from?

Before they could satisfy their curiosity, the Cleric, seeming to be in a hurry, quickly left the area.

***

Reaching a secluded spot in the Elven Forest, the Cleric pulled back his hood. The face revealed was Kai’s.

“Those Black Bee bastards are truly insolent, and it’s not just me who thinks so.”

Kai’s fist trembled with anger at the one-sided violence he had witnessed at the base camp. He felt an overwhelming urge to rush out and cut down those thugs.

But I can’t yet.

He had finished gathering information on the Elven Forest. He prepared all the necessary items, and listening to ASMR before bed had put him in top condition.

So, let’s tweak the plan a bit.

His original plan had been to ignore other players and head straight to the Elven Village using the map Ayana’s mother had given him, but after witnessing the base camp's horror, it was hard to just pass by.

I can't ignore injustice! No wonder why I always end up at a loss.

Of course, his sense of justice wasn’t the only reason.

I’ve wanted to take down those Black Bee bastards for a while...

They were one of the top ten guilds in the world, and having thugs like them in that position was irritating in itself.

I originally planned to mess with them during the invasion event in two months, but...

The thuggish behavior of the Black Bee accelerated his plans.

Kai placed his hand on his sword hilt and muttered, “They said it’s the western region of the Elven Forest?”

Kai turned his body toward the west.

***

"That was really impressive earlier. Your Wind Cutter casting speed and accuracy are getting better by the day."

"Did you see their faces? They were so angry, but they couldn't say a word!

Bwahaha

."

"Well, someday you guys will be able to do it too. Just keep watching and learning."

In the party Vulture led, he was the king and god. He was treated like an emperor, and he loved this game for that reason.

You get what you deserve based on your skill. What a great world.

Just by being good at the game, he could earn more money than most office workers. Vulture pitied the geniuses born in the past and blessed himself for being born in this era.

"

Um

... But the mood among the players these days isn’t good."

"Mood?"

"Yes. If you look at the regional chat, there’s quite a bit of people who have been talking badly about our guild, and the community’s opinion isn’t favorable either."

"

Tsk, tsk, tsk

," Vulture clicked his tongue and looked at his subordinate with a pathetic expression. "Do you know the one unchanging truth throughout history?"

"What is it?"

"Weaklings, no matter how many gather, are still weaklings. They can never beat the strong."

"

Uh

... But historically, haven’t there been cases where the weak succeeded in revolting? Like Pugachev's Rebellion or the Sepoy Mutiny?"

"Yes, there have been instances where the weak banded together and defeated the strong. But remember, this is a game."

Once again, a spear of lightning formed in Vulture's hand.

Crackle! Boom!

The scattered lightning brought down a giant tree, and Vulture pointed to it, saying, "In reality, no matter how good a fighter you are, can one person beat a hundred barehanded? No. But in a game, if there’s an overwhelming difference in level and item grade, and if you have talent, a hundred or two hundred newbies are nothing. Even you, do you think you’d lose against a hundred level 30 Wizards?"

"Well... of course I'd win."

"

Ha

, that’s exactly why I love this game. It's all about meritocracy." Vulture chuckled and jerked his chin. "If you get it now, focus on leveling up and getting better items. Now, let’s go take down that treevago over there."

The Black Bee guild members started casting fire magic, which always dealt critical hits to treevagos.

"Alright, let’s go for a clean focus fire."

Then, just as they were about to launch their attack at the standing treevago, someone slowly walked out from behind a concealed tree and stood in front of them.