Kael gave his current stats a quick once-over.
Over 90,000 health, nearly 70,000 attack damage, and defenses hovering around 16,000. He had the stats to hold his own on another server, no doubt.
The real question was, should he bring backup? The [Pass Token] could grant passage to a party of three. Besides himself and Zoe, that left one open slot.
Hazel? he mused. Probably not necessary. Rena, or Lila?
He couldn't decide.
Forget it, I'll just go alone, he concluded. I'm just picking soone up. It's not like I'm planning to start a war.
With that, he set the idea of forming a party aside. A glance at the clock showed it was just past 11:00 AM. He’d been up since three in the morning and was only now feeling the exhaustion creep in. He logged out and headed for a much-needed shower.
Freshly dressed, Kael picked up his phone and called Zoe. After a few rings, she picked up.
"Yeah? Kael?"
He could hear a cacophony of combat sounds in the background. "Zoe? What are you doing?"
"In-ga, what's up?"
"I'm heading to the Thaloria server today. I'll co find you this afternoon. What city are you in?"
"No way, really? You can leave your server now? Ah, crap, I'm in the middle of a dungeon. Let call you back in half an hour."
After she hung up, Kael browsed a few news sites. The Whitmore family drama was no longer a trending topic. The number one story globally was the launch ceremony for Arbazon.
"SHOCKER: Carrington Family Revealed as Majority Shareholder in Arbazon!"
"SECRET'S OUT: Arbazon Launch Venue Has a Capacity of One Million!"
The forums were buzzing.
"Who are the other three mystery shareholders in Arbazon? Are they the other three families behind Godpath?"
"No way. If they were, how could the Carringtons hold a 50% stake?"
"Didn't the big four corporations behind Godpath say they wouldn't enter the ga as players? Isn't the Carrington Family breaking the balance of power?"
"Okay, buddy, I see you read the headline but not the article. They said they wouldn't enter as players. Opening a marketplace doesn't break any rules."
"So, did the Carringtons have a falling out with the other families?"
"Definitely not. Their business empires don't even overlap."
"All you can say is the Carringtons found a perfect foothold right within the established rules."
It was only from reading their discussion that Kael realized his own na, along with Elon's and Lila's, was nowhere to be found on the corporate registry. It looked like he wouldn't have to make a public appearance after all. The whole point of the launch event was for the Carrington Family to provide a powerful public face for Lila's venture.
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Kael leaned back in his chair and stretched. His eyes fell on a few sheets of paper on his desk, and he froze.
"Fuck," he muttered. "Does this an I morized that whole speech for nothing?"
Just then, his phone rang. It was Zoe.
"Kael, are you really coming to the Thaloria server?"
"Yeah, all my prep is done."
"Thank God. I can finally get out of here. The people on this server are incredibly hostile to anyone from Earth. The original colonists who ca here through the interstellar migration program face serious discrimination. We just got ganked on our way out of the dungeon."
She sounded genuinely distressed. "My level 25 epic chest piece... they looted it right off my corpse."
"What? Thalorian civilization is supposed to be similar to ours. Besides their green skin, they're almost identical. Why are they so hostile? From what I rember, Thaloria was technologically and culturally backwards until the migration program helped them develop."
"Tell about it. They don't seem to appreciate the help at all. Last week, there was a server-wide guild survival tournant. All the local guilds tead up to wipe out the ten of us immigrant guilds first. Not a single one of our players even placed for rewards."
"Hmm..." Kael's expression hardened. "Looks like I'll have to change my plans."
"Change your plans? What plans?"
"Oh, nothing. Just tell the leaders of the other Earth guilds that payback is coming."
"You got it! We'll be waiting for you."
"Right. Which main city are you in? I'll et you there."
"I'm in Windre City."
"Okay. See you this afternoon."
Kael had been wondering if he should bring a teammate. Now, he had his answer.
He got up and left his room, running into Lila just as she was coming out of the gym, a towel slung around her neck. They hadn't seen much of each other since their shopping trip.
"Lila," Kael said, rembering the ga. "I need to talk to you about sothing."
She wiped the sweat from her brow. "Hold on, let go change."
A short while later, they were sitting on the sofa in the main hall. After listening to Kael's proposal, Lila looked confused.
"Go to the Thaloria server? How?"
"I got a [Pass Token] in the ga that lets travel to other servers," Kael explained. "That woman we t, Zoe? Her character is on Thaloria. I figured I'd go over and bring her back."
Lila imdiately turned her head away and refused. "I'm not going. Why would I want to third-wheel your date?"
Kael rushed to clarify. "You've got it all wrong. I heard the players from Earth are getting bullied over there. I thought we could go give them a piece of our mind."
Her expression soured even more. "Hmph. So you only think of when it's ti to fight. No thanks."
"..."
Kael was speechless again, knowing he'd said the wrong thing. He was truly hopeless when it ca to won.
Suddenly, Lila burst out laughing. Seeing his flustered expression, she couldn't stay mad at him.
"I'll let it slide this ti," she said, a smirk on her face. "But from now on, you can't just use as your hired muscle."
"Deal," Kael said, breathing a huge sigh of relief.
After lunch, they both logged back into the ga. Kael first cleared out his inventory, then went to find Hazel to give her the level 60 [Dragonscale Bulwark].
Hazel took the shield, her eyes going wide with ecstasy as she read its stats. She ran her hands over it reverently. Then, she tried to equip it and realized she couldn't, freezing on the spot. Finally, her lip trembled, and tears welled up in her eyes.
"Daw... Dawnbreaker, I... I can't..."
Kael, startled, imdiately started trying to comfort her. Maybe the prank was a little too an.
After calming Hazel down, Kael and Lila traveled to Alderfall City. Situated in the southwest of the Mythrosia Empire, it bordered the Thaloria Empire. To cross over, you needed official approval here.
Kael partied up with Lila and walked into Alderfall's Civic Hall, approaching the city's governor.
"Your Excellency, we request permission to travel to Thaloria."
The governor glanced at the glowing [Pass Token] on Kael's belt and nodded. "As you possess a Pass Token, I grant you leave to enter the Thaloria Empire."
He held up a hand, his voice turning stern.
"Before you depart, you must understand three things."
"One: You will obey their local laws."
"Two: When you return, your party will not exceed three mbers."
"Three: You will not tarnish the honor of the Mythrosia Empire. Know that the Empire is your unwavering shield."
He paused, his eyes locking onto Kael's.
"And should you violate the first rule... rember—the Empire will still be your shield."
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