The team started by filling up their potions and other consumables from the warehouse filled with the products of the guild’s production arm, and then headed out toward one of the fractures controlled by their guild.
With the intense scrutiny they were under, no matter how much Tim worked or how many times Lucy obscured their movements, their enemies would still figure out where they were headed. So, instead of directly heading for their targets, Sam decided to try one of the oldest tricks.
They would head for a fracture that could conceivably tie them up for a day or so, allowing their watchers to become complacent, then simply sneak away while they were getting comfortable in their hideouts.
Sadly, large-scale teleportation was still off the map for a while. Though a lot of mages had teleportation skills, moving a large group was extremely rare. According to Tim’s weekly threat report, there were rumors of certain guilds and players possessing skills that allowed them to teleport groups of five or even ten people, but they were either far away from their kingdom or protected-slash-exploited by their guild so much that hiring or poaching them was out of the question.
That didn’t mean Sam didn’t expect the Blood Brothers to find some solo or homegrown player who had the skill and try to surprise Ferabor during their fight.
Which is why Sam approached Fitzgerald, who, while euphoric after the successful creation of his portals, was majorly bummed out that the king decided to postpone their unveiling. It only took a short conversation with the eccentric man – fretted over by the similarly eccentric Lucrecia – to set him on a path of developing anti-teleportation defenses.
Sam was pretty sure that the royal palace and most of the noble residences had one, but neither he nor the other Sam had ever seen anything but rituals and mass spells that would stop teleportation. Granted, one of those devices would be on the same level of importance as the key to a guild vault, so it made sense his other memories didn’t contain anything about them.
Still, if he had had access to an eccentric Rune Master, why not make use of it?
The trip was without any problems.
They just made as much noise as possible, which, with Katie present, wasn’t the hardest thing to do. The goal was to be as visible and eye-catching as possible.
Which, if he was honest, was successfully done.
Sam spotted several ‘bandit’ groups – PK players – who instantly turned around when they spotted Katie dancing in front of the group while singing horribly. The girl had many talents, but singing wasn’t one of them.
A few monsters also eyed them with hunger or battle lust, but any of them that got closer than they were comfortable were incinerated by Dan’s cataclysmic fire.
“They see us coming, and they are not happy!~~” Katie sang as she skipped forward, twirling her giant sword.
Isabella sent Sam a sour look. “You just had to tell her to make a scene, didn’t you?”
Sam could only smile wryly. “Yes, well, live and learn…”
“Maybe next time, I could also sing…” Dan added with a small laugh.
“Please don’t. Karaoke was enough once,” Clarissa quipped flatly, sending a harsh glare at the muscled man.
“Hahaha!” Dan laughed awkwardly, scratching the back of his head.
Sam just shook his head and ignored them as his mana sense picked up a veritable army of people trying to stay hidden while they followed his group.
‘Man…what a bunch of amateurs.”
The fracture they were heading toward was in the middle of a small valley, surrounded by well-built fortifications – designed by Lara – that protected a fracture that led into a dimension that mirrored the valley itself. Only it was filled with rock-type monsters that dropped some really nice and valuable materials for crafters. And due to the monsters also providing skill books that were always in demand, thanks to the continuously growing player base, a lot of guild players frequented the area.
It was well protected both by the players and the geographical features. They approached the front gate of the fortification and were met by the NPC captain of the facility. While the big decisions were made by the players, they were still relying on the NPCs for the small things.
That would somewhat change in the future, where it wouldn’t be rare for a guild to have absolutely no NPC employees, but for most, that was just a waste of money. For Chrysalis, thanks to Lucy’s political acumen and Sam’s reputation, they could hire some of the best NPCs. Hell, the last time Sam talked with Lucy about it, she was complaining that several noble families started whining that she wasn’t hiring enough of their retainers.
‘What a problem to have…’ he mused. The other Sam bled for months, just to gather enough resources to buy a small house and hire a surly maid who barely tolerated him.
“Sir!” the man saluted. “Identification?”
Sam nodded approvingly and took out his guild emblem, the others following him. The guard captain visibly relaxed after scanning them before saluting them again.
“Welcome to Fort Valeward!”
“Thank you, Captain,” Sam responded warmly. “Everything ready for our dive?”
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The captain eyed him for his louder-than-normal voice for a moment before his eyes widened, and he nodded, before responding with an enthusiastic and similarly loud voice. “Yes, my lord! Everything is ready for you!”
Sam nodded and motioned for the man to go ahead, while he kept a magical eye on their followers. They were already rushing ahead, infiltrating the fort to take up watch. A few lagged behind, either to make sure they entered or because they were less confident in their stealth skills.
As soon as they were through the gates, the captain took a look around before turning back to Sam.
“My lord, before you enter the fracture, there are a few reports that I would like to go through with you. If time permits, of course?” he asked with an understanding glint in his eyes. Sam made a note to remind Lucy to increase the man’s salary.
He turned to his team. “Do you mind?”
Dan shrugged. Clarissa shook her head, and Katie just gave an enthusiastic thumbs up.
“We have time, boss,” Isabella responded out loud, her eyes taking in the inside of the fort.
Sam turned back to the captain. “Well, Captain. We’re yours for the next hour. Lead the way.”
“Yes, my lord!”
The moment they entered the cover of the fort’s building, they jumped into action. Sam patted the captain’s shoulder and signaled the team to go ahead.
“Captain, a small circus, please…”
The man just nodded. “Is an hour enough, my lord?”
“More than enough…”
“Then consider it done, sir,” the man replied with a sharp salute.
Sam returned the salute, and then he was off just as the man began yelling out orders.
‘Nice to have competent employees.”
**
They left the fort through a hidden escape tunnel and emerged into the mountains, west of the installation, surrounded by jagged rocks and deadly wind.
Sam closed his eyes, followed by Dan and Clarissa, as the three of them used their Mana Sense to see if anyone followed, while Katie and Isabella protected them with weapons out and ready to strike down anyone.
After five minutes, Sam opened his eyes and looked at his friends with a questioning look.
First Dan, then Clarissa shook their heads.
“Can’t sense anybody,” Clarissa replied. “For now, we are free of watchers…”
“Pity that this kind of thing only works once or twice before the enemy catches on…” Dan grumbled as the entire group relaxed and Sam began to lead them toward their target.
Sam just chuckled. “There are many ways to skin a cat…”
They kneeled on the ground in the coverage of a small copse of trees, hands on their weapons, but otherwise trying to stay as hidden as possible as they observed the small village that had sprung up around the fracture portal.
As the fracture was low-level, the people around it were also low-level. However, that meant that they were much more numerous than any other group around the higher-level fractures. The game was getting popular, so most of the beginner spots were teeming with noobs and low-level scrubs.
“So, what now, boss?” Katie whispered with the same volume as a toddler would whisper.
Sam held back a sigh. “I’m deciding between the smart and stupid approach.”
“What’s the smart?” Dan asked curiously.
“Tell Katie to go there and kill everyone.”
“Ooooh, I like that one!” the aforementioned girl exclaimed excitedly. Thankfully, Isabella kept a tight grip on her shoulder so her charge was stopped before she could even start.
“And what is the stupid?” Isabella asked as she struggled to keep the berserker in her spot.
Sam wiggled his eyebrows. “We simply walk in… It’s not like they can stop us…”
The other four stared at him for a moment before Katie grinned. “Let’s do that one! I like that one better!”
Dan nodded, an excited grin blooming on his face, while Isabella and Clarissa let out tired sighs.
“Excellent! Let’s go!”
It was an absurd scene.
Five of the strongest players in the area were walking into a small village that was built around a beginner fracture. There were guards placed there by the Blood Army, but they were mostly NPC guards who could slap around Level 10-ish players without any issue, and a few admins from their guild who were nowhere to be seen.
‘Probably, either hiding in their offices, or doing the fracture to farm money…’ he mused as he walked by another group of fresh players.
And not one of them reacted to them.
They were so new, so inexperienced that none of them recognized them as strong or famous players. A few of them offered to join their group, but Sam simply smiled and told them they were friends here to have fun. They were very understanding hearing that.
The guards gave them some looks, but as the group was suppressing their mana to the maximum, they didn’t react much.
Sam and his group were just entering the main square of the village when he felt a spike of mana. Snapping his head toward the guard who cast the scanning spell, he witnessed the man’s face turn paper white, frozen in place.
He simply smiled and returned the spike of mana. The man, if it was possible, turned even whiter and began to bleed out of his nose. Sam nodded and continued to walk.
They were a dozen yards away, the crowds bustling around them, when they heard the clatter of an armored body collapsing and the cries of surprise behind them.
Fortunately, they also spotted the fracture.
The oval portal swirled around with a flat gray color, nested into the embrace of an old well and surrounded by a small cordon, a desk with an NPC counting people and accepting the tax, while a giant line stood there, people waiting to enter the fracture.
“What now?” Dan whispered.
“What else? We stand in line!” Sam answered cheerfully.
Only groans were his answer.
Fifteen minutes later, they were almost at the portal. They spent most of the waiting time looking around, waiting to be recognized, and preparing to protect themselves. Katie was currently talking with a young girl behind them who was there with her own group.
“Really?” the young girl asked, eyes wide. “You can do that?”
“Hell yes!” Katie replied excitedly. “You just have to turn off and on a few options! At the beginning, it will be much harder without the proper assistance, but the payoff is sooo worth it!”
The girl rapidly nodded before opening her mouth to ask another question. However, the group in front of them entered the portal, and the bored administrator called out.
“NEXT!”
“Sorry! It’s our turn!” Katie told the girl with an apologetic face. “But you have my friend ID, so we can talk later!”
“Awesome! Thank you!”
“No problem!”
Sam smiled, listening to them as he stepped forward and looked at the admin. It took a few seconds for the admin to notice the silence before looking up.
He instantly recognized Sam, his face turning into an interesting shade of nauseous green. Then his eyes moved to Dan, Katie, Isabella, and finally Clarissa. He opened his mouth – whether to vomit or yell, Sam didn’t know, but he still didn’t let him do it.
Instantly, a great pressure, the likes nobody in the area had ever experienced, slammed down on the village, silencing everything as people strained under it.
Sam gave a finger gun at the administrator, who was staring at him with wide and fearful eyes, then simply walked around the visibly struggling guard with his group and reached out to the fracture.
[Fracture: Bloody Well]
[A well tainted by blood magic, holding horrors beyond most mortals. Cleanse the taint and bring relief to the village!]
[Time Limit: None]
[Charges: Unlimited]
Confirming that it was the portal they were looking for, he pushed the button that instantly transported them away, leaving behind a silent village that, as one, let out a relieved breath.
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