MM - Chapter 174 - UNDERCURRENTS

Celeste Luu Rahn

- South of Mirror Lake Town -

Celeste was not having a great morning. Or was it night now? No, that was definitely the morning sun rising. It marked the beginning of another exhausting day. The damned time difference between the inside and outside worlds was just one more impossible detail to keep track of lately. Celeste wished she could go back in time to when she told Raine she wanted to be more reliable, so she could kick her own ass into shutting the hell up. It was that stupid, too-pretty face of his. 

Being around Raine in the outside world for extended periods of time was dangerous. Celeste made a quick mental note to keep contact between them at an absolute minimum going forward, especially after her last conversation with Mel.

I never should have let her talk me into customizing our avatars together. What a nightmare. It is possible to not think and talk about Raine every second of the day!

Worse than Mel’s unending gossip about Raine were the many disturbing updates about ‘that fucking doctor.’

I swear if he starts fucking her, too, I’ll… Ugh! I bet he’ll be drooling all over himself when he finds out what those two perverts have planned. STOP! Don’t. Think. About. It! Stupid brain. God. Why do I even care?! He’s not interested in me like that. No! I’m the one who’s not interested! Who cares what he thinks, or where he sticks his dick? I sure as fuck don’t!

Despite her mental grumblings, the time with Mel hadn't been all bad. The options for avatar customization were truly endless so long as she didn’t try to change the shape of her body. All thoughts of Raine and Mel vanished as the guild’s officer chat went nuts; they were supposed to stay off it unless there was an emergency. The rapid back-and-forth conversation pinged Celeste’s interface a dozen times, each notification accompanied by an obnoxious beep.

Kevinsbakon: “Two scout forces spotted south by southwest! No positive ID.”

Richtor: “Two elites north! It's them again!”

Milkdud: “Shit. TY, you better retreat.”

TwistedReligion: “What? No way! My 12th just leveled again, and there's no way those two got their levels back already. Those bastards are seeking death!”

Deloralicious: “Idiot. That saying isn’t going to catch on no matter how many times you use it. Stop messing around and get your people out. Unless you want to be stuck grinding at MLT for the next week.”

Celeste’s eye twitched as they continued wasting precious seconds arguing, rather than following the orders she had already given them. It hadn’t taken long for their ‘little’ army traipsing through the woods to attract the attention of CronGate. The bastards were ramping up their aggression with every passing hour, and their elites were no joke.

Possibly the only good news over the last two days was finally managing to finish everyone’s aspect quest. Thinking about the annoyingly simple delivery each person had to do made Celeste’s nostrils flare. If only she’d met Raine before trying out ZL on launch day, she could have done it too. Her tutorial aspect—a whopping 5 Connection—was less than useless in comparison to the recruit’s drool-worthy regeneration at low health. Remembering Raine’s disappointed face when she proudly proclaimed her aspect’s name and effect made Celeste’s neck burn with heat.

She banished his cursed face with a vicious shake of her head, refocusing on the task at hand. Their most glorious and esteemed leader had laid a seemingly simple mission at her feet—take the recruits and travel south to the bindpoint at Twin Falls Town. As if such a thing could be easy in a world like ZionLine; there was much more to contend with than CronGate.

Monsters were everywhere, constantly picking off anyone who lost focus for even a second. Just getting everyone logged in, in formation, and pointed in the right direction was complex enough. Initially, she tried moving everyone south while they were below level 5 so they didn’t have to worry about TVT (Traveler vs. Traveler combat). Except the monster rushes made that impossible.

Moving in large groups had the nasty side-effect of causing the local monster populations to band together, ignoring racial boundaries in an attempt to crush the invaders. The beasts took about half an hour to gather, and once they started attacking, there was no end to them until you either left the area or were wiped out. On the bright side, thanks to the constant fighting, many of her people were level 6 and 7 now. Yet for every success, there were five failures. The 20th Detachment was the largest of all—those who died recently and were stuck doing drills and leveling near Mirror Lake Town with Rhino.

At Morty’s suggestion, Celeste had split the recruits into twenty detachments that could move independently while the others were logged out. However, that left her running back and forth, working all hours of the day to protect them.

The newest iteration of the plan involved moving three detachments at a time, except everyone was still spread out after the last plan. CronGate was quick to take advantage, relentlessly assaulting her thinned forces the minute they logged in.

Their efforts wouldn’t be so challenging to fend off if Celeste could talk to everyone at once the way Raine did. The one time she’d tried, her directives were catastrophically misunderstood. She clearly told the 3rd detachment alone to cover a monster rush on the west front. Yet, the 7th and 13th went with them, destroying the entire army’s cohesion and allowing a second wave of monsters to hit the 6th’s flank. By the time she realized what was happening, the 6th was entirely wiped out.

Additionally, it wasn’t possible to keep everyone in the same raid group all the time. Logging out resulted in being kicked from the raid. Re-adding thousands of people each shift took time and effort Celeste couldn't spare while also organizing and protecting everyone. It was much simpler to have each detachment leader host their own raid. Yet that left her unable to talk to everyone at once in situations like this.

Celeste’s mind raced through options on how to respond to the threats from multiple directions. Usually, she and Mel could handle most problems, but the older girl was already dealing with a monster rush to the east. Of course, messaging Mel or asking for her help in the general or officer chat would go unnoticed. Only Raine’s personal messages were worthy of setting an audible notification, and nothing anyone said would change the stubborn girl’s mind.

Celeste growled, lips pursed painfully tight. Her fingers blazed with righteous fury as she responded to the officers. She derived immense satisfaction from not using the ocular interface inputs as Raine had instructed. “Do not engage! Pick up the pace! All three detachments are to rendezvous at location beta ASAP! Fizgore, please block whatever those scouts are up to in the south. I’ll deal with the elites. Richtor, progress update on the western wave?”

Richtor responded quickly (at least Raine’s brother wasn’t the worst human on two planets at communication). “They’re almost at the tipping point. Looks like the first wave will be spiders and those burrowing bastards. Boars and golems in the second.”

Celeste couldn’t decide whether to spit or curse. Both combinations of monsters were a nightmare and would require her direct intervention. CronGate’s elites were no slouches either. The pair of mixed classes, a Mystic Warrior (Cleric and Warrior) and a Berserk Warrior (Brawler and Warrior), had been harassing her forces for two days. One fought by stacking multiple berserk abilities, while the other backed him up with short-range heals. Now level nineteen, they could easily wipe out an entire detachment in minutes.

Twisted’s blustering about beating them was exactly that. If he were stupid enough to fight, Astra would only lose levels and gear. Richtor’s group could handle the monsters for a short time. Losing another entire detachment would be a massive blow to the already slipping morale.

The timing of the current situation reeked. The elites had returned too quickly. Celeste had a sinking hunch that they had something new planned. Whatever it was, she better go see it for herself. The only reason they were managing at all was the equipment Raine left her. But that supply was dwindling fast. If she allowed the elites to wipe out and loot more of her people, well, that wasn’t going to happen. Celeste leaped and sprinted north on solidified puffs of air.

Her current priority had to be stopping the elites. Dying to monsters, while certainly less-than-enjoyable, didn’t impact morale the same way as dying to other players. Each time the elites struck, tens of recruits quit the guild. Celeste was sure they would have lost more than a few thousand if not for everyone waiting to see what Alaric would do to pull them out of this hell.

Hearing their whispers wasn’t easy. It was painfully evident that her leadership was lacking. She was trying her best, but it wasn’t good enough. It didn’t help to know in her bones that if Raine were here, he would somehow make all their troubles look easy.

Knowing she wasn’t good enough made each hour hell. It took everything Celeste had not to abandon her duties to spend time with her father. There was no telling when the grandmaster would arrive to investigate the firearm. These were likely her last days with him, and she was spending them failing at an impossible task. On top of that bottomless stress was the need to maintain her own outside training for the match in two weeks.

Yet here she was, leading thousands of people she didn’t know the names of through a wilderness chalked full of death. Not that Celeste had any plans to complain.

I said I’d be reliable, so that's what I'll do! Seriously though, get your ass back here and help me out, jerk!

As she raced toward a fight that would hopefully allow her to blow off some steam, a stubbornly recurring memory invaded. Almost every time she thought of Raine, Celeste couldn’t help but recall his hand powerfully smacking her ass. The heat in her neck crawled to her cheeks as the sensations from that impact came back as though it just happened.

I swear to every god that may or may not exist, if you’re off flirting with another girl right now, I’m going to cut off your balls, Raine fucking KongRu.

Selena Celendine

- North of Widow’s Canyon -

Selena had never run so hard in her life. The Morkits were relentless, thundering after them for leagues. The ground shook beneath their mighty paws, rattling her teeth. She’d been made to feel fear many times in preparation for her girding, but this was different. Always, there was a bevy of royal guards out of sight, prepared to swoop in and rescue her if the worst came to pass.

The Girding did not allow for such niceties. She was allotted only one guard below level 100, and a singular companion to venture into the Mystic Realm with. There could be no other safety nets, or the covenant would be broken and ancient gods would forsake the Celendine line.

Selena had shared a final farewell with her family before departing. As with every child who left for the ordeals, they were not expecting her to return alive. The Morkits were determined to see those expectations met.

“Is… time… yet?” Selena panted, every muscle in her body demanding she suck in oxygen harder than she already was. Her mount was no better. Its nostrils flared, and dried phlegm had long since stained its lips.

Meanwhile, her mercenary companion, a mere level 30, easily kept pace. Alaric eyed her up and down in the scrutinizing fashion he often used. It reminded Selena of her mother’s elites. There was no point hiding treats stolen from the kitchens from them; nothing escaped their analysis.

Alaric looked behind them, likely searching for Lyale. “Almost. Dismount and hop on.” With ease, he pulled ahead of her and spread his arms, presenting his broad back.

Selena stared dumbly, not believing what she was seeing. “Excuse… me?”

“Princess carrying an actual princess isn’t on my bucket list. It's either this, or I toss you over my shoulder. Your choice.”

Selena tried with all her might not to snap at the man. She had no idea what a bucket list was, or a princess carry, and the casual manner in which he continued to speak to her was unacceptable. Her muscles burned from fatigue, and the angry mob of deadly beasts was right behind them, rapidly closing in now that her Discipline had bottomed out. Selena had little choice. Cringing, she dismissed her poor mount and landed in a stumbling run. With the last of her strength, she jumped at Alaric’s back. He slowed enough for her to crash into him, which was just as comfortable as slamming into a brick wall. Then, they were off.

Selena’s eyes popped as their speed tripled, then tripled again. She’d never flown so fast. The scenery whipping past was dizzying, and yet there was hardly a breeze. This was no mere physical boost; it was more clear than ever that her mercenary really was a caster. Selena wasn’t lazy or stupid; she had thoroughly investigated Alaric before offering him the chance to accompany her. Her efforts, of course, included questioning the official who administered his class advancement. Unfortunately, she found scant details about the mysterious Armsman class, even in her family’s personal library. However, all the guard captains agreed that Armsman sounded like a melee-centric class.

Yet, the demonic skulls he unleashed in rapid succession, blasting the ground beneath his enemy's feet, running on thin air, and summoning giant pillars of element-coated rock all pointed toward him being a caster. But by far the most suspicious detail was that he could do all of that at level 30. With how often he was pulling out new tricks, Selena had an itching suspicion that she had only seen the surface of what Alaric was capable of.

With a chance to breathe and think, she asked the most vital of questions, “Lyale… Do you think he…” She couldn’t bring herself to say it. Lyale had been with her since she was a toddler. The idea that he might be dead was unacceptable. Fear and dread for the man had her clinging tighter to Alaric.

He didn’t have to speak loudly to be heard with the air so calm around them. “He should be alive. I doubt a Forkit was leading them. No way a few Morkits did him in.”

Selena scoffed, relieved by his words but unwilling to let it show. “Forkits are a story meant to scare children.” Suddenly, his words registered, and her frown deepened. “Wait, how do you know about a random legend like the Forkits, but not The Girding?”

Alaric’s head shook, his hair tickling Selena’s nose. “Forkits aren’t a legend. As for what I know and don’t know, it's a Traveler thing. We hear about all kinds of random stuff, then usually end up having to fight it.”

Selena’s frustration was rapidly getting the better of her now that the Morkits were no longer visible behind them. “I will not accept such an insipid explanation. You have many other questions to answer as well! How did you jump off thin air? That should not be possible for a tier one class, no matter what skills it gives access to.”

Alaric shrugged, his response even more annoyingly brief than before, “It’s a Traveler thing.”

With arms draped over his shoulders and fingers spread wide, Selena smacked his chest in annoyance. Her voice rose in pitch, a hint of fear worming its way into her tone. “Most importantly, why did my Voice fail to affect you? You can’t be a traitor. Not with mother’s favor, yet you shrugged off the royal binding as easily as blinking.”

“It’s a Traveler thing.”

Selena gave up, falling limp against his back with a groan. “Is that all you have to say? How am I to trust my back to you if you won’t answer a few simple questions?”

Alaric’s skill faded, and the world returned to normal. That clearly also meant her brief respite was over because he stopped running and unceremoniously dumped her to the ground. Standing tall with hands on his hips, Alaric looked down at her like one might an annoying sibling. “We don’t have the time to build trust, and neither of us is interested in it to begin with. If you want to live, you’ll listen to what I say, and if I want my reward, I’ll keep you alive.”

Selena frowned, knowing Alaric had the right of it. From the very beginning, he’d seen through all her attempts to manipulate him, which only made continuing to try more fun. “How could you say that after what we just went through? Lyale might be…” Selena trailed off with a sniff, a single fat tear building at the corner of her eye, “You’re all I have left, Alaric.”

With a disgusted sigh, the mercenary rolled his eyes and turned away. Selena pursed her lips at his back. There was no nefarious or perverse intent behind attempting to manipulate this particular Traveler. Befriending him in her own way was simply more amusing than her usual entertainment. And at this particular moment, it was an excellent distraction from her crushing fears and the anxiety of what they were running toward at full speed.

Selena wondered what strategy to try next. She’d been positive that appealing to her vulnerabilities by begging for trust would work. Her many guardsmen told her time and again that life-and-death encounters brought people closer together. Apparently, the Morkits weren’t what Alaric considered a life-and-death danger. Which begged the question: what did?