Isolde excused Isaac and invited the guild master into her office. She blinked when Johan, the guild master of the Gate Defender’s Guild, walked in through the door.
Garbed in a suit tailored to his frame, the guild master made his way toward Isolde. When he got close to the desk, he smiled softly. "Sorry to trouble you, Lady Selyne."
Isolde raised an eyebrow and tapped the table. "You may sit."
Johan sat down. ’She’s something else. I’ve seen what Eliza has bee as a Titled god, and I thought she was already a goddess on par with Selyne, but now, seeing her in the flesh, I might have been wrong.’
He thought inwardly. Those golden tear marks flawlessly etched on her face, and those long, delicate eyelashes drew one into her mesmerizing eyes.
She sat there so calmly, like she wasn’t before one of the top-ranking men in the country.
Clearing his throat, Johan posed himself. Unfortunately, Arthur found this talent before he did.
"I would like to borrow your husband." Johan’s demand made Isolde raise an eyebrow.
"What for?" Isolde asked, her posture shifting to a more rigid one. That demand wasn’t what she expected.
Johan’s eyes narrowed. "We all know how rare and unpredictable purple gates are, but lately, a purple gate has been appearing repeatedly on 59th Street Bridge. It’s been like this for the past week, appearing at different parts of the bridge and taking people who haven’t returned."
He sighed heavily. "Some freelancers have also gone in, but no one has returned. Queens city, as we know it, might be in a critical state if that bridge is shut down for too long."
During the apocalypse, New York City collapsed, and each borough, after being rebuilt, became individual cities as they once were. Staten Island, which had the least population before the apocalypse, was now second only to Manhattan.
Brooklyn was the smallest due to its freelancing culture that never left until the crisis came and wiped out their progress over the century, taking countless lives and a great number of infrastructures that would take decades to rebuild.
Queens was just behind Manhattan. It was only recovered after Manhattan gained stable footing, but Queens City lacked prominent families like the Bane Family and the Fourth Strongest Family.
Staten Island had the Pendragon dungeon, which was one of the major reasons it was so dense.
Manhattan was the first to be rebuilt, and people flocked toward where it was safer, and that tilt made Manhattan City not just the leading city in the country, but also in the entire world.
It was one of the eight cities to regain order. Unfortunately, there was a reason these cities were called New Manhattan, New Queens, and the reason was that although they tried to replicate what they had a century ago, it wasn’t possible.
Not all districts could be identical; aesthetics changed, roads changed, and a lot changed to acmodate their new lifestyle, but iconic structures like the Statue of Liberty, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the 59th Street Bridge were repaired to their former state.
After a period of silence, Isolde spoke. "You want Godfrey to clear this purple gate?"
Johan placed one hand on the desk. "It’s a purple gate, a high-risk dungeon, a Titled god Tier one at that. The mayor has assembled the military to block the bridge, but that would have adverse effects if it isn’t opened as soon as possible. The authorities aren’t willing to risk an asset like a Titled god agent in a purple gate."
He folded his fist, staring at Isolde with concern.
"Justice Guild is silent. They have at least two Titled gods, yet they’ve refused to speak. They’ve just been inactive. Pagoda Guild is trying to consolidate their forces, as they’re already losing badly to the Justice Guild. No one wants to waste manpower on a highly dangerous gate that has no record of a dungeon break. If there won’t be a dungeon break, why risk yourself, and if there was, it would be better to fight outside the dungeon than inside, where the terrain won’t be favourable."
"In short, no one is willing to stick out their head for something that would probably cause a loss rather than reward them. It’s better to wait for a Titled god Tier blue or red gate dungeon; even a green gate would be better than a purple one." Isolde said, then looked at Johan intently. So why should her man go into that gate then?
"No one, not even strong freelancing teams that formed recently. We all understand the power a Titled god holds. According to statistics, over the past month, over fifteen thousand people who might have accessed the Titled God test are dead, and we have less than a hundred and fifty. Not all have been found, even when the statistics say we should have around this number."
Johan tilted his head. "Why would anyone want to risk that power? They would rather do something else. There have already been people with god plexes demanding worship locally; the authorities have subdued them, but more might rise up in the future. Everyone is reserving their power and going after what would make them stronger, not weaker."
"It seems you’re the only one concerned." Isolde replied.
"We can clear this dungeon; people’s lives will be affected if we don’t. The Gate Defender’s Guild will form our best team and enter the gate with Godfrey. Without him, we’ll just be marching in to be slaughtered."
Johan brought his other hand to the table as he shifted. "There are lots of powerful people in the world right now, but being a paragon, a progenitor, or a Titled god just means we’ve officially bee resources; walking storage of mana, just as rewarding as a dungeon and, in a way, less dangerous than a dungeon with an unknown, usually unfavorable terrain. If Godfrey does this, he’ll gain a leverage."
’He’s right. We are more vulnerable and more of a prize the stronger we get. If things keep up this way, Titled gods will hunt Titled gods; Progenitors would do the same. It will be humans killing humans for the same reason we killed beasts.’
"It’s all to make the petition better. Can’t outsmart the Mana Tree, can we? It discovered the best way to make it interesting for those who have grown to certain levels was to give them resources to one another," Johan added.
"If the raid succeeds, the core of the boss would belong to Godfrey. Although I would love to purchase it at any price."
Isolde raised an eyebrow. ’I knew there had to be something in it for himself.’
User Comments
0 comments from readers