Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Hey, we're back after the short break

If you forgot where we left at, Dale is currently in the sewers opening a mysterious door when someone started to approach him from the shadows, putting him on edge...

Let's see who this strange figure is!

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"..."

Holding his breath, Dale remained silent, waiting, unmoving, and as still as a rock as he held his spear in front of his body.

/Step step…/

As the steps drew closer, he estimated his enemy's position and prepared to intercept them whenever they crossed the corner, aiming his spear at the general area where their head would be based on the weight behind each step.

It wasn't anything impressive, such senses would automatically form over time as one fought and hunted, something Dale experienced many times in other Virtual Reality games before Azimuth.

Though, being honest, this sense wasn't very refined as Dale was certain someone like Misgurd would be capable of much more...

/Step.../

And the moment he heard the step cross the edge of the corridor, he moved into action, swinging his spear without hesitation!

/Pierce!/

"!"

But he stopped a moment before it hit his target.

/Fwoosh!/

The speed of the spear was so fast that air was blown directly into the person's face, making their mouth and eyes open!

"You? What are you doing here?" Dale asked as he looked at the person in front of him as he put down his spear

"H-Hello, sir…"

'Almost crapped my pants...'

In front of Dale was Rodi!

From anyone he could've imagined, Rodi was one of his last options as he was under Misgurd's and Testros' direct supervision.

Obviously, as the person directly responsible for the previous mess, and also the spokesperson of his Guild, he should've been extremely occupied right now dealing with the aftermath of his own actions…

However, here he was…

"Are you going to answer me?" Dale asked with a frown

"Ah! Sorry, sir!" Rodi said as a bead of sweat fell from his forehead

'I didn't even see it… The air pressure was seriously intense, my hair is all messed up…'

"So uh… The Guild Master asked me to fetch you since they needed your opinion on a few matters, but I didn't find you there so I went after you…"

"And one thing led to the other..."

'I can only say that I was lucky, I went after the footprints he left but they stopped after a little while…'

'But I found a hole that led to this new Dungeon! And after seeing his footprints again…'

"Is that so?..." -

'I did spend a bit of time here… But not that much.'

'I'm glad they need me, but I'm also upset it had to be now.'

'Sigh, really, what a waste, I should've waited a bit more before exploring this place with David… That XP and loot boost are going down the gutter it seems.'

"What do they need me for, exactly?"

'At least that…'

Rodi was caught by surprise, but he thought for a moment and said:

"I think it was something about discussing the future of the Guild…"

'That was everything, please don't ask anything else…'

"Hum… I see. Go back and tell him that I'm occupied and that I'll go back soon."

'I'll at least finish this little adventure and hit Level 30 before leaving.'

"I will!" Rodi said as he checked his in-game notification with a smile

But Dale wasn't done as he said:

"Since that is done, how about we talk about something else?" Dale said with a frown

'He saw a bit too much.'

'The biggest problem is how he saw me holding the Holy relic… Unless David breaks out of his act, people would see my actions as suspicious.'

'After the bandits' attack, I grabbed the holy relic and went on an exploration to the sewers? Yeah…'

"!"

Rodi suddenly froze in place.

'Here it is! I knew it… He wouldn't be happy with me stalking him…'

'Specially since…'

Rodi looked at the holy relic strapped on his waist.

He thought of many possibilities, some good, some bad…

/Buzz…/

"Hm?..."

David suddenly started to tremble on his waist, prompting Dale to grab it…

'What is he planning this time? To move now of all times…'

And as he did so he said:

"Forget what I said, I have a better proposition."

/Flash!/

Dazzling light was released from the Golden head illuminating the walls of the cavern.

The image of a strange object was formed, and Dale immediately understood what David wanted him to do!

A smirk formed on three corners of his lips.

It was time for some acting…

"... Before all of this happened, I was on a mission to look for a certain object, but I'm afraid that I'm now short on time…" Dale said in a low but clear tone

"Eh?..."

'Why did he... No way... Could it be… A Quest?!'

'Aha! Please!'

The image on the wall changed, showing a very incomplete blueprint of the sewers.

"... This item was lost somewhere in this place long ago."

"I have barely started my search and I'm afraid I don't have enough time to seek it out anymore."

"This is very important, and I would l prefer that you remained silent about it all this time." Dale said as he looked straight into his eyes

'Albeit it's a strange concept, NPCs can lie and manipulate players.'

'I played other games where suspicious Quests would be given from time to time to players which would make them question the morality of their actions and nature of their tasks...'

'Confronting such things would usually lead to unseen paths and rewards...'

'Rodi isn't stupid, he'll notice that without a problem, the questions are, how long until then, and when he does find it if he hasn't already, will he keep his promise and stick to my side?'

'Even if not, I can just eliminate him, and if he's smart, he'll understand that too.'

'Their standing is at an all-time low, and their Reputations do not equate to mine.'

'I could kill them all and put them in prison for an unforeseen period of time, essentially killing their chances as early game competition.'

'People would rather believe the Hero that saved them as compared to the criminals that just raided their Town, it would be stupid to even conceive the idea of doing the contrary in the first place.'

'Though the Elders aren't stupid, they may realize something is amiss if the player they sent after me vanishes... They may even see through my lies straight away if I were to try and create an excuse.'

'Albeit... It's not like I need to take care of him on my own...'

"... I still didn't completely pardon you for your previous actions, but I'll give you a decent reward if you can find it and forget about that matter."

"What do you think?"

"Yes! O-Of course I can do it!"

Dale nodded as a grin formed on his face.

"I'll go back and return soon, see if you can find anything in the meantime." He said as he slowly walked away

Turning his back one last time, he said, "Be careful of the creatures that prowl this place…" as he vanished into the dark hallway

[DING!]

Meanwhile, he received a new prompt:

[You have created the Quest: The Seal of Promise]

[Please, determine the reward for this task]

[You have delivered the task of completion to another player]

[This quest is currently under the jurisdiction of player: The_Third_Egg]

Without saying much more, Dale left the corridor, leaving an excited Rodi behind as he finished setting up the details for the Quest…

…

/A few minutes later…/

"We should be far enough to talk now." Dale mumbled as he rested his back against the walls of the sewers

"... So tell me, why did you do that?"

David slowly regained his focus, saying:

"... It was an opportunity, and we needed an excuse."

"Since our operation got busted this quickly, it was best to move on and make the best of what we have."

Dale wasn't convinced.

"So you had me give him a task to look for the key? I didn't even know it was here! Nor what it looked like, heck, he may even start making questions." Dale said with a frown

"It is here… At least this is the most likely place for it to be."

"I can't do much about the door's location being leaked... But... He seemed... Rather gullible."

"Either that or he is a professional liar of an unbelievable level, so I say we're in the clear... For now."

"Now, for the subject at hand..."

"There is a memory… An event I recently recorded... A long memory of the day the priests left me to seal the lower floors of the Catacombs..."

"They threw the key into the river due to desperation, a river that led to this sewer."

"They were in a hurry to leave and complete their mission, so much so that they didn't even properly dispose of the key…"

"I never understood why, but my bet is that they were so afraid of the slight possibility of something crossing from the other side that they decided to eliminate that possibility altogether."

"My bet is that they came to the conclusion no one would ever be able to use the passage as long as the key vanished."

"And since no one apart from them would know the password, that problem was as good as done."

"The doors themselves are incredibly sturdy, and the stone around them is unique, few things should be able to break it, especially so around the doors where their strength is enhanced."

"So unless a very strong and very patient creature appears, willing to drill a long passage around it, then the doors did their job properly."

"In the first place, the true defenses of this place are its people, the doors were meant to hold or prevent something from crossing it, and if something extremely strong appears, holding it down for a few moments was what they were intended for."

"I don't remember exactly when the Key was disposed of... I do remember it being thrown down the gutter, but when that was amidst their rush and where that part of the city equates to the sewer... It would be too much of me to pinpoint that."

"But we can cut the chase significantly by determining which of the 5 redirected Rivers it fell onto, and as the Rivers run from North to South, eventually fusing into one big underground River, finding it shouldn't be too hard as I should be able to determine its position based on its proximity."

"If the Key isn't in this section, then we could search in the place where the now dried river used to be, but that would be hard as it is now covered in sand and dried rock…"

"And the last option is even worse, we would have to follow the river's course all the way to the forest but that would take forever."

"Though it's a feasible option."

Dale frowned and said:

"First, why do we need the key if you can just open the door?"

"I can open this door just fine, and I can like do the same for the other one... But that would be through brute force." David replied awkwardly as he looked away

"I'm not as familiar with the second door as I am with this one, so to preserve my powers, looking for the key is fitting no?"

"Alright... Then... Why would they be so desperate? Were they aware something would come after them?"

"And lastly, why not just tell me mentally instead of having me freestyle like that? I was rather embarrassed..."

"Waste of resources for such a simple task." David said with a poker face as he replied to Dale's third question

"..."

"As for the second thing, I don't know precisely."

"I remember the ArchBishop receiving an encrypted message and becoming euphoric, I know that much because at the time, for safety measures, I had been moved from my Altar to the ArchBishop's private room."

"Immediately after decoding the message, everyone in the church started to pack, and soon enough, I was plucked out of my cozy corner and brought to that dark place to act as a temporary seal…"

His expression twisted as he had the urge to spit on the ground even though he couldn't...

"I swear, if you ever see those guys, give them a beating for leaving me there!"

"..."

'A message… I wonder what could've made him become like that.'

"Still, I am surprised you had me leave." David said in wonder

'Albeit David is a Holy relic, I had the impression he wasn't very pleased with Rodi appearing out of nowhere like that...'

"Of course I did. I had to make a choice, and I wasn't so keen on ordering you to silence the poor sod..."

"And alas, opening the sealed door in front of that brat wasn't really an option either."

"Though... I guess we can sneak there again if necessary..."

"And in any case, my powers will still last a little longer, so go do your things and when you're done, come back and bring me along so we may explore the world beyond the doors!" He said in an epic tone as he shone in the dark

"I will, but first, I want to see what they need my help with."

'Although I'm dying inside... Arg!"

"My 1 week double XP… It's the second time this happens..."

'I'll treat this as a lesson and only explore places if I have ample time to spare.'

'Hopefully, next time, I won't find a Dungeon through a Quest, and I'll have time to at least invest a few days in it...'

"Whatever it is, it's up to you Dale."

"Honestly, I don't really think the kid will find the other key before we come back."

"I can help you track it down, but he only has luck to rely on. I even think that by the time we come back, he may be dead due to the creatures that live in the sewers now…"

'Perhaps silencing him would've been the merciful thing to do...'

Dale shrugged and said as he started walking:

"We'll see, for now, try to remember as much as you can as I bring you with me."

"For my excuse, I don't think anyone will question me if I say I'm doing so to make sure you are safe..."

'I really didn't want to leave right now... But the state of the Village matters more than an earlier Level cap.'

'In fact, it may be even worse to Level up faster, I barely enjoyed my privileges.'

David was surprised to hear Dale's statement.

"Oh! You're bringing me with you! It's been ages since I've gone outside of the Church!... You know... Like that..."

"And before doesn't count, that was pretty boring..."

Dale smiled.

Talking about the outside, the two made their way out of the Catacombs…

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Notes

Welp, we're arriving at the exiting Arcs, ooh boy! I'm excited.

I made several changes to this chapter and fixed a previous hole in the explanations, hopefully, things are clearer now.

Had to read some chapters in the future to understand what was going on before making changes...

Anyway, peace.