Chapter 783 Quincy
When the deep immersion capsule closed, Klaus Park found himself in pitch blackness. Seconds later, a whirring sound as if a motor was starting to turn resounded and the monitor inside the capsule turned on.
"Klaus, is everything all right? Are you comfortable?" A soft voice echoed in his ears, Hollie's voice.
"Yes, this is just different from usual. It's not bad at all."
"I see, try to relax. I'll adjust the settings so that everything is perfect. Feel free to let me know if you need anything specific."
Klaus, still a little apprehensive, nodded, feeling the slight tingle run through his body as the sensors synchronized. He watched the holographic monitors behind Hollie displaying real-time data on her health and mental state. So, when Hollie had finished adjusting some of the settings, she lifted her glasses and said:
"Klaus, I'm now going to start the deep immersion. Any questions, bugs or discomfort during the process, please log out."
"Bug? Espe..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Hollie pressed the button that started the deep immersion, and Klaus was completely enveloped by the sensation of his mind being pulled and stretched like bubble gum. Then, in the blink of an eye, Klaus was no longer inside the capsule. Instead, he was standing inside a tent.
The atmosphere was rustic, with the comforting smell of burnt wood. Sunlight streamed through the fabric of the hut, and Klaus looked around, confused by the sudden change. The walls of the hut were made of a mixture of furs and fabrics, and the floor was covered in colorful rugs.
Kaizen blinked, momentarily disoriented by the abrupt transition. His surroundings had transformed so quickly that he hadn't even had time to process the change.
"What the hell just happened?" Kaizen muttered to himself, putting his hand to his forehead as he tried to process the change. "This time, I didn't see that black world, nor the loading and login screens... I went straight into the game without going through that process."
While Kaizen was still trying to understand how this transition of worlds happened and was processed so quickly by that new capsule, suddenly the canvas of his tent opened, revealing Xisrith, who was carrying a small wooden box with some fruit inside. His red eyes looked surprised for a second and then a smile appeared on his lips.
"You've finally decided to log in, haven't you?" She said as she placed the box on a table. "You think you're going to leave all the work of rebuilding the city to the others?" she continued, now crossing her arms and puffing out her cheeks.
Klaus shook his head, pushing away any thoughts of the capsule and concentrating on Xisrith's presence.
"I was just a bit busy with classes. Sorry I took so long," Klaus replied.
Xisrith nodded, as if he had expected this answer. "Well, we're glad to have you back. There's a lot of work to be done and your help will be invaluable." She gestured invitingly for him to accompany her outside as she lifted the tent's thinnest canvas slightly. "Come on, everyone will be happy to see you."
Klaus then went outside with Xisrith and contemplated how badly the city had been damaged.
In the heart of the city, where the Capitol once stood against the sky, now lay a crater with a vast encampment. The silhouette of the largest monument and building could still be delineated by the ruins and rubble strewn across the crater, but the scars of the war against the demons were visible in every crumbling stone.
Peace was achieved quickly, in a single night, but the marks left by this scare were too great, too painful.
The city, once a vibrant center of commerce and culture for this kingdom, was now immersed in a silence, broken only by the sound of hammers beating and the determined voices of workers. The walls around the Capital, once impenetrable fortresses, still stood virtually intact as silent witnesses to the conflict that had almost destroyed everything.
All over the city, merchants and craftsmen were setting up makeshift stalls, re-erecting the structures of their businesses that had been knocked down. The sound of hammering mingled with the din of voices, creating a symphony of renewal. However, despite the unusual silence, there was a palpable consensus that the city would not be defeated by the darkness that had overtaken it. The flame of hope burned brightly in the hearts of these people.
"We are working hard to recover what we have lost. The population is united, working together to rebuild not only the buildings, but also the trust that has been broken in them. We need to restore the trust and hope that was shattered during the attack." explained Xisrith, his eyes reflecting determination as they looked down on all this from a higher part of the camp. "Luckily, apart from the nine demons, no NPCs were mortally wounded."
They then started walking through the camp and, while being squeezed from all sides, managed to reach the central part of the camp.
Soon, Xisrith pointed out a tall, imposing man who was supervising the reconstruction of a damaged structure. He wore gleaming armor that seemed to have been carefully restored, and the emblem of the kingdom shone on his chest. There was his name above his head, which indicated that he was an NPC.
"Kaizen, this is Quincy Coyle, the Commander of the Royal Guard. He is one of the pillars of this kingdom and his leadership is being instrumental in rebuilding the city," Xisrith introduced with a respectful gesture in Quincy's direction.
Quincy looked at Klaus with shrewd eyes, appraising him before he gave a discreet smile and bowed completely, with an exaggerated bow from Kaizen's point of view.
"Welcome back, Mr. Kaizen. It's a great honor to finally meet you and be in your presence."
At the same time, all the other guards on the scene dropped to their knees on the ground and Kaizen, a little embarrassed that they were all watching, said as a bead of sweat trickled down his forehead:
"Please, men, that's not necessary."
Everyone stood up afterwards, and Klaus greeted the Commander with a handshake and a nod. Finally, he looked behind the Commander's shoulder, seeing a large table with a map of the city full of marked points.
"Looks like you guys are well organized."
"Ah! That's right, sir... We've marked the most structurally critical points in the city and we have a meeting scheduled with the leaders of the local and foreign guilds. They are coordinating efforts to speed up the restoration." said Quincy.
Kaizen looked intently at the map spread out before them, his hands folded behind his back as his dark eyes roved over the marked points.
"We're prioritizing the reconstruction of the residential districts first, followed by the markets and, of course, the city's defenses. We believe that by strengthening the foundations of everyday life, we will restore not only the buildings, but also the trust of our people," explained Quincy, tracing lines on the map with his finger.
Kaizen nodded, pleased with the approach. It was rare for a kingdom to focus on its people first and then on defense. However, not everything was right in his eyes on this map. His eyes were fixed on a specific point: the main avenue.
"I see you've marked the main avenue that connects to this camp as a low priority. Why did you do that?"
"The amount of destruction on the main avenue was too great. There's debris everywhere, lots of blood and demon flesh. If we start there, it will take us days just to take care of it."
"I understand the reasons, but the benefit of cleaning up this place will still be better. The avenue connects different points in the city and is a direct route from the camp to the city's main entrance and vice versa. If we want to have more effective restoration work, cleaning and restoration should start there."
"Very well, sir! I'll arrange that at the meeting with the guilds."
"Thank you... By the way, what about the Oloneiros King, where is he now? How is he coping with all this?"
Quincy raised his eyebrows, a brief moment of hesitation hanging in the air before he answered. "Well, Mr. Kaizen, the Oloneiros King... He wasn't in town when everything happened."
Surprise took over Kaizen's face. "What?"
Quincy shrugged. "That's hard to say. He's been known to disappear from time to time, usually in search of his own... distractions. This time, the distraction he chose was a widow from a noble family who lives in a country town. Don't worry though, he's completely safe and hasn't suffered a scratch."
Kaizen frowned. "And he hasn't come back yet? Surely he's worried about what happened here."
Quincy let out a short, bitter laugh. "Worried? Oh, Mr. Kaizen, it seems you don't know our dear king very well. He hardly cared. Being teleported and having his city destroyed doesn't bother him any more than having his stock of wine depleted, and I'm not even being ironic."
The news made Kaizen close his face, a mixture of incredulity and irritation taking over. "What kind of king is this?"
Quincy shrugged his shoulders, as if it were something commonplace. "The Oloneiros King has his own priorities, Mr. Kaizen. Being king isn't always one of them."
The answer wasn't enough to calm Kaizen's growing irritation. He stared at the map for a moment, absorbing the magnitude of the task before them, before turning back to Quincy with steady eyes.
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