The world’s top guilds began preparing for the general assembly march. The English Royal Court prepared to join as well and squeezed every cent from their impoverished pockets.
The total cost of food while traversing the Central Asian wilderness, the magitech tents and cooking utensils for camping, various communication crystals, artifacts, bribes to pay the local officials, costs to use the portal gateways, etc. amounted to more than tens of billions of won.
Yes, tens of billions of won evaporated from their pockets just like that.
They decided on horses for transportation and took 11 from the royal stables. Each hero departing for the general assembly received one. England was a country of knights, so the royal stables undoubtedly featured high-quality horses.
Rachel also announced Dake’s termination, which quelled the public’s sentiment towards the English Royal Court to a certain extent.
We haven’t forgiven you, but James Finley wasn’t exactly a model citizen. There’s nobody else to represent us at the general assembly. Let’s continue after that… or something along those lines.
“Xining, China is willing to open a portal for us,” Fermin said as she entered Rachel’s office.
Fermin looked strong for a woman with a toned body, sun-kissed skin, and long hair tied in a ponytail. She succeeded Dake after his termination.
“Most of the Korean guilds will probably depart from New Delhi, right?” Rachel asked.
New Delhi was the closest city to the general assembly, but the English Royal Court gave up on using their portal since the local government there suddenly increased their fees to an absurd amount. Did it make sense that each person had to cough up a whopping 1 billion won per use?
“Yes, but going there will do us no good right now since that place is crawling with helicopters and drones. It’s basically media hell. Ah… More importantly, please take a look at this. This is the magitech tent we recently purchased.”
Fermin took out a rubber ball.
Rachel curiously looked at it before asking. “What is it?”
“Now, look at this. It’s smaller than a football, but when you roll it like this!”
Fermin exclaimed before she rolled the ball. It traveled across the office before hitting the wall.
Then… nothing happened.
They blinked a few times at the rubber ball.
“What? What’s wrong with this thing? Is it because we bought it pre-owned? Please wait a moment.”
Fermin tilted her head and approached when it suddenly went, Shwaaak! The rubber ball transformed into a tent.
“Ack!”
“…!”
She jumped in surprise. Rachel also flinched, but tried her best to hide it.
“It doesn’t look bad, but it got stuck on the wall,” Rachel told her.
“You’re right. I apologize,” Fermin mumbled in response.
Did the tent open when it struck the wall? A part of it penetrated the room. A single tent cost nearly 10 million won, but ended up unusable.
The office doors swung open and a man rushed in.
“Vice Leader, please take a look at this!”
Marcus, one of their high rank members tasked with accompanying Rachel, rudely entered without knocking. Something seemed off about his behavior.
“Hurry! Hurry!”
He exclaimed and dragged them out to the guild building’s front yard where a crowd gathered. Everyone immediately saluted Rachel and made way for her.
Rachel and Fermin wore the same shocked expression when they saw what caused the commotion.
“This… What’s all this?” Rachel asked in a daze.
A mountain of equipment and resources lay in front of her. The English Royal Court wanted to procure these exact items, but couldn’t due to their financial situation.
Marcus couldn’t hide the excitement in his voice.
“Someone donated all of this! Look! This is a top-of-the-line magitech tent! It’s designed to withstand the mana storms in Central Asia for a week! There are 24 right here!”
The natural disaster known as a mana storm occurred quite frequently in Central Asia. It would be difficult for the English Royal Court to withstand if they didn’t use these special tents.
“Who donated all of this?” Rachel asked with a hint of skepticism.
They desperately needed the magitech tents, but she couldn’t welcome this with open arms. Her instincts told her to suspect everything.
“We don’t know who sent them, but they included a card.”
Marcus took out a card that looked quite small compared to the mountain of donations. It had a Christmas-themed background with a few words scribbled on it.
[To Rachel,
From, Fellow Cube Alumni]
Kim Hajin didn’t plan on writing a card, but thought Rachel might refuse the donations. However, this didn’t dispel an ounce of her suspicion since so many Cube alumni existed.
“Huh? Vice Leader, there’s something else written on the back,” Fermin said as she glanced at the card.
Rachel immediately flipped it over and read it.
[I’m still using the coat you gave me last time. Please think of this as my token of gratitude for the debt I still owe.]
“Ah!” Rachel gasped after reading those words.
Fermin glanced at the card again and asked, “Still owe? Is it someone you know, Vice Leader?”
Rachel smiled at the pleasant surprise and thought to herself, I guess you succeeded in life. Well, how can someone so smart not succeed?
She nodded at Fermin’s question and replied with a smile.
“Yes, I think I know who it is. However, I’m the one indebted to him.”
“Oh, is that so? It’s someone Vice Leader knew after all. What a surprise. Did you date a daddy longlegs at Cube?” Fermin playfully teased her.
“No, that person isn’t that tall,” Rachel innocently replied.
“Ah… Sure…” Fermin muttered in disappointment.
Rachel now felt certain about where the gifts came from since Lancaster wouldn’t know those memories. She held the card dearly before turning towards Marcus, who busily took inventory of the donated items.
“Was there an address of where it came from?” she asked him.
“No, there wasn’t any. More importantly, is it alright to receive these now?”
Marcus asked and she briefly pondered before nodding.
Rachel couldn’t refuse a gift from an old friend. She wanted to thank him right away, but sadly didn’t know how to contact him. Regardless, she believed he left out his address for a reason and decided to leave it at that.
“Yes, it’s from someone we can trust.”
She spoke full of confidence.
***
— The guilds participating in the general assembly have arrived.
I observed the march from China’s gloomy, winter sky. I could see everything on the ground as if it happened in front of me thanks to my thousand-mile eyes.
— The English Royal Court guild from England, the Reislaufer guild from Switzerland, and the Twilight guild from Japan have chosen our city.
The Chinese reporter covering the guilds spoke in front of the camera.
A total of 35 heroes gathered in the city: 12 from Japan, 12 from Switzerland, and 11 from England. Each guild could bring 12 members, but England suddenly lost Dake.
— Let’s move.
Rachel proudly mounted her horse and the other guild members trailed behind her. The coverage team from the English broadcasting station, BBC, closely followed them.
— The weather is quite cold today.
Fermin spoke up.
The winds blowing across China felt like sharp icicles compared to England.
— Please be careful of the climate here.
Rachel warned her fellow guild members.
I observed them shaking in the cold and shifted my gaze towards the desolate plains.
“When will they reach that place?” I wondered.
Civilization would disappear from view in 300 km and 13 different paths would appear in front of them. The 13 paths would further split into 8, which would further split into 6… Every single path featured rugged terrain and it would take them more than 10 days to reach the general assembly’s location, which formerly belonged to Afghanistan.
— For the crown’s glory and our nation’s restoration!
The English Royal Court members enthusiastically cried out as they marched.
I slowly drove my helicopter and followed them. The helicopter silently flew and would be impossible to spot from the ground.
[EH-64 Elioch] [High Rank] [Mount]
[A helicopter manufactured by Essential Dynamics. A masterpiece with greater efficiency and abilities. It has been enchanted with numerous spells.]
Enchantments: 1. [High Rank Silence] 2. [High Rank Camouflage] 3. [High Rank Durability] 4. [High-Intermediate Rank Magic Resistance]
I enchanted this helicopter myself. Then I discovered I could create an even stronger synergy with [Young Dwarf’s Dexterity]. I didn’t need to explain how well [High Rank Silence] and [High Rank Camouflage] worked together. I could’ve never attempted [High-Intermediate Magic Resistance] with only [Dexterity]. This allowed me to pass through the mana storm without any problems. [Random Consolidation] also made it impossible for most flying monsters to spot this helicopter.
I leisurely flew and watched over the English Royal Court guild.
***
Two hours passed since the march started.
The guild traveled far beyond the city into abandoned territory. Rows of concrete and traces of civilization appeared like milestones. These landmarks degraded over the years and blended in with nature now.
“This is where the real march starts,” Fermin said as she stopped on her mount.
Rachel tightened her grip around the reins and stopped as well. The guild members trailing behind did the same.
“How many… paths are there?” Marcus muttered in disbelief at the sight before them.
The desolate land split into 13 paths across the horizon. The mana storms carved out these steep and narrow paths like ravines. Some paths would suddenly descend or slope upwards.
This unreal sight would overwhelm anyone who only ever lived in a modern city.
“Earthy, which path do you think is correct?” Rachel asked her spirit.
The young spirit looked around, but couldn’t give Rachel an answer. Instead, it alerted her of another approaching group.
“Another guild is approaching.” Rachel told her guild members, who looked into the distance as the sound of hooves reverberated.
The Reislaufer guild from Switzerland soon arrived.
The English Royal Court members looked at them with envy because the Reislaufer guild brought a group known as the Golden Generation of Switzerland. This party consisted of Sehit, Varga, Vars, Tilma, and Maritz. The entire world knew their names.
Sehit led the group and approached the English Royal Court with a leisurely smile.
“Greetings, friends from Europe.”
Rachel nodded at him.
She had heard of Sehit and his exploits. He enrolled at Cube two years before her and graduated with honors, placing 10th in his batch.
“It’s a pleasure to meet the English Royal Court, which we grew up admiring. Vice Leader Rachel, this must be fate. What do you think about traveling together?”
Sehit asked as if doing them a favor. The English Royal Court members didn’t like his tone.
On the other hand, the Reislaufer members grimaced when they heard Sehit’s offer since it obviously only benefitted the other side.
Surprisingly, Rachel refused the offer.
“Thank you for the kind offer, but we politely refuse. We’ll just be a burden.”
She knew Lancaster might ambush her and didn’t want to drag any innocent people into her problems.
Sehit slightly raised his brows. “You don’t have to refuse. We have a mercenary and pathfinder familiar with the terrain here. It’ll be much easier if you come with us.”
“Ah, w-we also hired a pathfinder!” Fermin exclaimed as her hand shot up.
The Reislaufer members looked at her and she slowly lowered her hand.
“Ah, is that so? I heard you didn’t hire one. You know… because of that incident…” Sehit spoke in a roundabout manner.
“It’s a local. We… we hired a local and he knows this place quite well too!” Fermin quickly replied.
“Ah, I see. You had your own plans all along.” Sehit and the rest of Reislaufer smiled.
However, their smiles didn’t look friendly at all. It looked more like sneers as they laughed.
Fermin awkwardly scratched her head and lowered her gaze to the ground.
“Fine then. We’ll be on our way. May honor and luck be with you.”
Sehit didn’t offer a second time and their party headed towards the diverging paths.
The Reislaufer guild chose the 6th pathway as the other English Royal Court members glared at Fermin.
Marcus openly displayed his contempt and approached her.
“Why did you do that?”
“What?”
“I said, why did you do that?”
“I really hired a local.”
“From where?”
“I already said a local, right? I made some arrangements before we came here.”
“Is that person really a local?” Marcus continued to interrogate her.
Fermin stuttered back. “Y-Yeah… A local… a half-Korean local…”
“A half-Korean that lives in China?”
“Yeah… something like that? Hey, it’s not impossible, right? Anyways, just wait a bit.”
Then Fermin took out a crystal. They absolutely required these communication crystals in Central Asia since the mana storms disrupted all electronic equipment.
“Yes, it’s me, Fermin. Yes… yes… yes…”
She spoke with the crystal to her ear and nodded a few times.
Marcus and the rest watched her with skepticism. Fermin seemed oblivious to their gazes and brightly smiled. Then she pointed to the 3rd path.
“The 3rd one! Vice Leader, we should take the 3rd path!” she enthusiastically exclaimed.
The guild members continued to glare at her with obvious discontent, but Fermin seemed quite confident and dead set. They had no choice but to listen. Besides, it wouldn’t make much of a difference. They would’ve tossed a coin to decide if they didn’t have a pathfinder.
“Alright, time to march!” Fermin gleefully shouted.
The third path turned out to be a narrow ravine with a grueling slope. Even the horses struggled to climb it. They continued for about an hour before more paths appeared. The road further split into 8 paths this time.
Fermin led the way and stopped. She pressed the crystal to her ear again.
“Yes, there are 8 paths. Yes, yes, yes… ah… yes… Everyone, follow me. We’re going through this path.”
She confidently informed everyone again.
“Damn it. Hey, where is this local person watching us from? Did they mention their current location or something?”
“Just shut up and follow me. You can lead the way if you’re dissatisfied.”
“No, it’s not that I’m dissatisfied… Sigh…”
Marcus and the others didn’t seem satisfied. However, they had to follow Rachel, who silently followed Fermin.
Fermin continued to guide them with unconvincing words like: Over here, this is the path we have to go through, we’re almost there, just a bit further!
The sun went down and the horses became exhausted when they arrived at a flat plain.
Marcus dismounted from his horse.
“Hey Fermin, these guys will die if we go any further. Let’s set up camp and rest. I wonder where we should camp?”
“Wait a minute. I told you, right? This local person really knows the way around here.”
“Not even 12 hours have passed, you know? I’ll acknowledge his skills after he properly guides us for a week.”
Marcus grumbled, but he and others slowly trusted the pathfinder Fermin hired. They couldn’t help but acknowledge the pathfinder’s skills since they hadn’t run into a single monster or enemy.
Fermin discussed something with the pathfinder before suddenly nodding again.
“He says quite a deep cave will appear in a bit. We’ll be a target out here, so let’s camp over there.”
“A cave?”
“Yeah, he says there’s a cave. Let’s go, go, go! Let’s get moving, Vice Leader.”
Could someone find such a cave here? The guild members didn’t know whether to trust Fermin, but the mysterious pathfinder proved them wrong again after a cave appeared.
“Wow, what the hell… That pathfinder actually told the truth?”
“Holy…”
The guild members slowly stopped doubting the pathfinder. Rachel also seemed to fully trust the pathfinder now.
“I told you, right? This person is amazing! Anyways, let’s hurry inside!” Fermin triumphantly smiled and ushered them into the cave.
The guild members led their horses by the reins and entered one by one.
“Ah, Vice Leader is coming too, right?” Fermin asked her.
However, Rachel didn’t budge and simply stared at Fermin.
Fermin seemed confused when Rachel suddenly reached out.
“Give that to me.” Rachel ordered her.
“Huh? Give you what?” Fermin seemed to be at a loss.
“The communication crystal.”
“…”
Fermin’s expression stiffened and she nervously gulped. She anticipated this, but still felt nervous when it finally happened. Honestly, she felt a bit scared. It happened sooner than expected. Fermin thought it would take at least 4 more days before Rachel demanded to speak to the pathfinder.
“Ah, come on. This is my responsibility. I’ll hold onto it for now.”
“Hand it over.”
“Ah… that’s… I can’t… This is one of the terms on the contract so… only I can speak to that person.”
“Hand it over, right now.”
“No… that’s… because… the contract is like this you see… this half-Korean pathfinder is in love with me. You know, something like love at first sight? That’s why he refuses to speak to anyone other than me, so Vice Leader can’t…”
“Dake must’ve told you, I know.”
“…”
Fermin flinched at Dake’s name and could no longer do anything. A part of her felt relieved she wouldn’t get punished since Rachel knew Dake ordered her.
Fermin bit her lips and sighed. “T-That’s… Haaa…”
She hesitated one last time and handed over the communication crystal for contacting Xtra.
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