Knives & Levels - Chapter 122

———

You have completed the quest: Halt The Seed

Reward: Medallion Of Frozen Time

———

Colt barely had a second to blink after stepping through the portal, before a medallion appeared in his hand—it was cold to the touch, and the crystal and energy it gave off were the same as the frozen time Crystal he’d seen in the Academy itself.

It contained an insect in the middle of flight; a beetle… And it radiated smaller waves of Edicts as well. Colt tucked it away, focused instead on the landscape around them. He went for his knife as he took in the space around him. It was fascinating to be back in New Nashville, a city he thought he would never see again during his journey into the dungeon.

Even as he looked out, he saw the mist starting to give way. The light of the day shone down from above, the sun cutting through the many misty, icy, cold figments that were just a bare remnant of what it had been like in the dungeon they'd spawned from.

He felt a shudder of relief knowing they'd made it back here in at least a safe capacity to live and breathe. He looked at his companions, whose grins showed they were equally happy to have made it too. Then Colt took in a deep, wonderful breath, feeling the air of the city and the freshness of the sky above as more and more mist dissipated by the second. They'd all come through the portal, and behind them, it had closed.

Along with the notification that it had distributed faction rewards from before, Colt was eager to return to Nashville and get himself in that sauna that the wonderful woman had begun to run. The idea of soaking his worn and wounded soul in it was so intoxicating that he immediately began to trudge back toward the city.

"Wait a second," Sarah said, drawing him back. She looked around and saw the whole group gathered around her. "We've got to deal with something right now."

“Yeah?” Colt asked, drawing himself short. His body screamed that it wanted to head back to rest.

She turned to Nick, her eyes hard. She spoke with a voice as cold as the icy landscape that they had just escaped from."I don't forgive you for what you did, Nick. Betraying us, shooting Colt, and trying to help Denny out in the city is an unforgivable act of betrayal."

Nick’s spine went straight, and he lowered his eyes, not meeting hers. "I'm sorry, I know you can't forgive me for what I did. But no, I'm not a worthy person to be among you. I didn't think I could keep up with your resolve, ambition, and ability to gather power and face the challenges around us. When Nate took that icon, I thought my life was over. I didn't think I'd have a chance of getting anything as good as that again because I thought you would leave me behind without being able to keep up."

She frowned at him. "I know what you think. I've thought the same thing multiple times when I look at either Nate or Colt, and they just seem to leapfrog me to face anything that I'm terrified to go against. But that doesn't mean you can just go and betray us. I feel weak, too. I felt weak during that fight, and I got another Edict, and I still don't feel like it's enough."

Nate and Colt exchanged a look while Julia cleared her throat. “I’m not sure if it helps the matter. But I turned down the Icon that was offered to me.”

At this, all of them snapped their attention over to the mage. She hadn't said a word about that.

"You got offered an icon?" Colt said, and his mind went to the only real iconic monster they had faced in the dungeon: the Abominable Yeti. He thought of its edicts with cold and ice, and thought of her current skill set, and was surprised. "Wait, why?"

Julia contemplated the answer for a bit, tapping her chin, maybe reveling in having taken the heat off Nick. "It just didn't feel right. It didn't feel exactly like me. That kind of raw, overwhelming might seem more like someone who wanted to go and be an ice warrior than a girl who just wants to use magic. But I wanted to say that I didn’t take it. That should help, right?”

Nick glared at her.

“—You’re thinking about Icons wrong, man. You wanted it so bad, but you didn’t ask yourself if it was right for you. We don’t know what else we’ll run across, and when you choose an icon, you're locked in. You should be careful. Make sure that icon is right for you, can you seriously say Csaba was it?”

“No,” Nick answered.

"I think of it more like a template," Nate said, folding his arms and working his jaw. He kept his eyes peeled as the mist was lightening and revealing more of the area in New Nashville around them than it had been for weeks. In a way, they were still out in the open, though, given their advanced levels and the fact that Colt hadn't seen anything as powerful as the phantoms they'd just slain in the Academy before now, he didn’t feel worried. They were wounded and exhausted, yes. But if something came around, like some level 50 orcs, well, he shrugged. They would be easy enough to kill.

“Regardless of Icon, my point is, I don’t forgive you, Nick. But I respect what you did in the dungeon. If you’re willing to let all this crap go, then maybe there can be a place for you in this group.” Sarah huffed, already seeing that the group was sidetracking her main point.

“What do you mean about it being a template?” Julia decided to keep the conversation going, as Colt tried to picture why she’d chosen not to take the power of the Yeti. With its Ice Edicts, he saw it as being useful. Then again, he’d denied Cerberus for a Goddess… Perhaps she had similar sights.

"It's a template to form a path. A guiding path, but not ultimately the last place you'll step on your journey, or the partnership with your Icon. For example, I was unwilling to do Csaba’s first quest for me; however, I just completed his second by finishing the dungeon.” Nate held out a hand and then showed them his reward.

He flared out the astral flame, and now it was brighter. And that, as he’d obtained new control over the Edict, could be very much seen in the fact that in his hand, the blazing blue fire now radiated a whole other aura of authority and power it hadn't before, which led to another question that Colt had.

What had everyone else gotten from the Celestial Seed quest?

They went around sharing—Sarah had seen an advancement from her new Edict Drain to a lesser level.  Nate hadn’t seen a direct item… Instead, the chunk of metal he’d stolen from the Celestial Seed appeared to be enough of a piece of loot that the System thought it worthy. Nick got a small vial of reflective water, like that which had been in the pool. Julia had also seen an advancement to her Edict, Surge. This advancement put it at a Greater level.

After a quick conversation between them, they decided that maybe it wasn’t best to linger outside of the dungeon they’d conquered and began the arduous trek back through Nashville to return to their city and report the good news.

As they walked, Colt had a feeling the news would reach them before they arrived. The mist began to lessen by the second.

And with it came a flood of relief. They had solved the most immediate problem plaguing the city and saved it from the intruding outside forces. He didn't pretend everything was good, and on reflection, inside of there, there was a lot to do for this city to survive.

But he could picture their happy faces upon their return. He and his friends had been able to free them from one danger in this world and give them the freedom they didn’t have before—free to reclaim Nashville however they saw fit. Hopefully, with the endorsement of the groups that lived outside of the walls, the new governing body would be able to take control and rehabilitate this place into a functioning city.

And then what?

It was hitting the point now, after a couple of months after the end of the world, that supplies and supply chains were starting to break down. There was less of a population to feed, meaning they could survive using canned goods and gathering. Eventually, they would have to source more sustainable food, but all of those details weren’t for Colt to solve, thankfully. That had been the whole point.

On the route back, they encountered monsters loose on the streets and dispatched them, though given the almost 40-level disparity between them and these monsters, it was far too easy to take down and didn't result in any levels.

As the mist cleared, the streets and forest were a different place. It felt… Well, like everyone who was supposed to be here had been abducted, but past that, there was a certain tranquility and beauty in the mix of nature interceding with the civilization that had been before. Once or twice, Colt spotted a deer running through alleys or basking in the glowing sun as day finally had its chance to break through the semi-permanent mist.

They made their way back to the great stadium walls, and by the time they had made it there, the mist had evaporated out of the air and vanished into the clouds above, giving them a bright, sunny view of the city for the first time in ages.

When they arrived at the gates, it was chaos. The guards were shouting their welcome. A flurry of information was presented before them as people cheered on their success. People came to the gate as they entered, shouting and cheering for the heroes, a treatment Colt didn't want. He just wanted to return to the nice little abode the woman had made in the sauna, dip himself in the warm, welcoming waters, and then forget the troubles of his past few days.

But the crowd didn't let him. There was wild cheering from people on the other side, as the disappearing mist had heralded the group's return better than any kind of announcement—and it took a whole gaggle of guards to break them out of the crowd and urgently bring them to the governing office. Colt was confused but accepted nonetheless, and he and his group were escorted there.

The governing office had completely transitioned to the stadium's outer banks.

They arrived to a worried crowd of semi-familiar faces, they suddenly had a simple crystal thrust into their hands—the Faction Focal point. The crystal was flashing white. Colt hadn't had the chance to look at it before since Nate had been performing all the administrative functions for them, and Colt had made a concerted effort to distance himself from that role. It was far too easy for the next strong man to come in and take over, given what he'd done to Denny, and he didn't want to give that image to the people. In his heart, he wanted them to be able to rule on their own, regardless of what he thought, because part of him didn't want to tie himself down to this city.

Colt knew he needed to retain the freedom to dungeon dive and risk his life.

If administration meant beholding yourself to the people here and given how cheerful and pleasant they were, it was a responsibility that Colt felt would be more damning than anything else.

He looked at the worried faces of the council—newly appointed people, some of them still in term, waiting for the election results. These were the folk who managed the city and dealt with the annoying bits that came with administration. It was a lot of bureaucracy, but when managing so many people whose number only grew by the day, it took a bit of bureaucracy to make it all work.

Dealing with faction issues should be their problem, yet here they were, heads dipped as they presented the Crystal before Nate, Colt, and the rest of his group as the returning heroes and as if they ruled the city.

"I don't see what any of this is needed for. We aren't ruling this place, so why are you consulting us about this? And why is it so urgent?" Colt said and ran a hand through his hair. By all rights, he should be in a warm bath right now. Maybe with a fresh coffee. Not this.

"Well," one of them cleared his throat, "it seemed right because it requests that the people who cleared the dungeon interact with it to see their reward. We tried to get an idea of the option."

Colt squinted and looked at the crystal that they had presented before them. The fact that it was flashing was off, especially since it was eerily similar to an alarm. He looked at Nate, and the man grumbled, "Do you want to take a look at it?"

He looked at the rest of the administration around them. None would meet his eyes. Colt had made it painfully obvious he wasn't about to come in and take power, and it had been killing him to take a look at this thing for ages. So when given the opportunity like this, Colt folded. He went over to the crystal and put a hand on it, and was suddenly flooded with a message:

———

Congratulations on defeating the Frozen Academy! Based on your quest, the reward from your quest, and the fact that this is your first above C+ ranked dungeon, your Faction has been presented with the unique ability to purchase the Frost Academy Mist upgrade.

Purchasing this will allow you to manifest a mist around your faction’s city, increasing comprehension of Cold Related Edicts by 10%. It will also allow the faction to use the mists offensively and defensively, obscuring areas with heavier mist at the will of the faction. Additionally, this will upgrade your defender and attacker bonuses by another 5%.

Would you like to spend 1,000 faction points on this purchase?

(Y/N)

———

Colt looked at it for a long minute, and then at the faction points to spend. The city had an accumulated total of 1,500. Numbly, he told the rest what he'd seen, and there was a murmur of disagreement among the council as they debated whether they should buy this upgrade.

“You should take it,” Colt said, as he hovered over the button.

It would be so easy to just hit yes and force the decision for them. But it would be exactly counter to what he’d said he wanted for them. An act that would have repercussions, even if it was for their benefit.

It wouldn’t be your first. A part of him said, the same part that had gone and killed Denny…

Colt set the crystal on the table and stepped back, his fingers shaking slightly.

He’d let them argue, debate, and hold a vote. Though he saw a lot of benefits and no negatives, he didn’t even have the time to go through the rest of the menu. And having a hand on that crystal, too, would take his mind places he couldn’t afford.

You are not this city. You are not in control of them.

Colt refocused himself on the people arguing and caught the last snippet of their conversation. “We still don't know how to address the outsiders who arrived asking for help. They refused to talk to any of us except for the strongest, saying we're all too low-level."

Nate shook his head. "So you want us to represent the city again to outsiders? That doesn't seem like a brilliant idea, considering we don't even have a fully functioning government at this point, and you'd be presenting us as your ruling body."

"Well, if we look weak or refuse to deal with them, then what if they come back angry?" another man argued with Nate.

"Do we have outsiders?" Colt asked, curious.

"Yes, some people from Atlanta say they're representing a Warlord named Crimson. The whole thing doesn't sound good at all, but the people are nice enough, and they brought back that Wind Mage that Denny used." This also sparked his interest. He'd remembered the man fleeing with his hand cut off; to think that he’d be brought back as a prisoner by others was… Well, unexpected. He never thought he’d see the man again.

Colt sighed. "We'll take the meeting if that's what they're insisting on. We didn't go through such great lengths in the dungeon just to see us come undone because we refused to take a meeting. Whatever trouble we can mitigate, we’ll do our best, but I'll clarify that we're not representing New Nashville. And I’ll be resting before we meet any outsiders.”

The people shared a look as if they didn't quite believe that, which was a frustration point. For as often as they claimed that they weren't running this city and the mayors campaigned on their own ideas, the general opinion of the people of New Nashville was different. Simply put, people wanted to cling to those they saw as strong to get them through times of strife. It had been the issue with Denny, and why so many had been willing to go along with things that he'd been doing, because he presented a strong image and kept them safe.

Now that Colt was so high leveled as well as his friends, and they had just conquered a dungeon that had been seen as a massive threat to the entire city, people were only going to talk more. He shook his head and made his promise to himself, even if these people didn't believe him, and then left to go to the spa. Nate and anyone else who wanted to deal with the annoying things could do so.

If he wasn't running the city, then he didn't have to answer to any more of this. He'd let them pick what they wanted to do with the new potential faction purchase. It wasn't his affair. It was whoever they’d elected to deal with.

Colt walked through the streets, gaining looks and cheers from people who realized what they'd done as he made his way back to the sole point of focus where he could relax in this place: a nice, warm bath.