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Chapter 50: Road to War

Makoto woke up in his seat.

It was Friday and the nightmare from last night had taken away quite a lot of sleep from him so it was not surprising that he drifted off at the end of his last lesson.

With a sluggish movement accompanied by his heavy body he wiped away a bit of drool from his cheek and forced his mind awake again.

This was not time to sleep.

He strained his eyes for about 15 minutes and was finally able to go back to his apartment.

Walking back was what finally really woke him up.

After coming home he quickly changed his clothes to something more comfortable and entered his capsule, today would be the 5th day and also the start for his Journey to the border.

His Uncle Narkas was already waiting for him as he walked down the stairs of the mansion, together with the rest of his party.

Makoto gave a quick nod to both Lilliana and Sanja while hugging Sharon after which he turned to the first of his house, ready to hear the last instructions before leaving the Capital for quite some time.

"I see that you have readied yourself for the things to come. That is good.

War is an ugly thing boy, there is no real winner or loser as both countries have countless losses and especially this struggle at the border will only yield more bloodshed.

Mental fortitude is what makes it possible to survive in times of strife, that and dependable companions which I think you have.

As the first of House Forrowfell I command you and your Party to assist in escorting 80 Mages from the Capital to Stronghold Kernum.

Furthermore I also command you to participate in the defense of the Stronghold and in assisting to protect the lands of Asuria!

May the Divines guide your blade and hasten your step!"

Journey to War!: (Quest)You have been tasked with escorting 80 Mages from the Magic Institute to the Stronghold of Kernum which is currently under siege!

It is your responsibility to make sure that every single one of them makes it to your destination as every Mage is worth a hundred normal Soldiers in times of War!Rewards:Glory and Honor to either yourself or your respective House or Guild.Penalties:NoneRequirements:Must have incredibly high Intimacy with house Forrowfell.

For Asuria!: (Quest)The Stronghold Kernum is under siege!

You have agreed to protect the land and defend the commoners from their impending demise!

Failure is not an option as this could heavily influence the tide of the war as a whole!Rewards:Glory and Honor to either yourself or your respective House or Guild.

1 Gold for every enemy Soldier killed by your hand at the end of a successful defense.Penalties:Should the Stronghold of Kernum fall, Sarachec Soldiers will attack the Capital of Asuria next and even more turmoil at different parts of the border will break out.

The potential for yet another Stronghold to fall will increase by 50%.Requirements:All citizens or players of Asuria are allowed to partake in this Quests.

A bit overwhelmed about suddenly receiving 2 Quests at once, Makoto needed a good minute before accepting them both.

Surprisingly he was not the only one that received the Quests as his party members also talked about them.

The rewards themselves could be called meager but that was not the point.

Participating in a war could have an incredible effect on the local Commoners of Asuria as they would hear stories about your deeds in the war.

It was an excellent way for a House or Guild to plant its roots in a Kingdom.

If he played his cards right and helped in fending off the Soldiers of Sarachec, Makoto's House would gain and incredible amount of fame and recognition.

It would not only help his Uncle in grasping for more power but also inform the other Countries about their house.

Unable to hide his smirk after he imagined the possible gains he would get from this Quest, Makoto needed a moment to calm down again.

Who did not want to be talked about in admiration and awe after all?

Finally he looked at Narkas who was still waiting for an official reply from him and nodded.

"I will make you proud Uncle, I promise."

Slamming his fist against the Crimson Spider on his chest he gave a short bow to the serious Narkas in front of him before leaving the mansion.

His party quickly followed him and seemingly out of nowhere the before absent Arbecus appeared on his shoulder.

Makoto had been wondering for quite some time where his pet had disappeared to after logging in.

"Are you perhaps afraid of Uncle Narkas?"

He finally asked the little black Spider but naturally Makoto didn't get a response from it.

Shrugging his shoulders once he turned back to more important matters.

They would meet up with the Mages at the Magic Institute so that was their next destination.

"So how long will we be walking until we reach this Stronghold, Makoto?"

Lilliana asked him, it was not only curiosity that had pushed her to voice this question.

After being in a party with the little Summoner for quite a while now he was able to get a good grasp on her habits and personality.

Lilliana or Lilly the little Witch that Makoto liked to call her, was a quick tempered but lazy girl that loved to take the easy way out if possible.

This had become especially apparent in the Labyrinth Dungeon that they had been in for the last 5 days in which the dark haired girl had complained about the endless amount of walking nearly every 10 minutes.

It was quite incredible really if you took into account that it was not even your real body that got tired and that you also never got any muscle pain.

Theoretically you could probably walk for an eternity as a player if you kept your Hunger and thirst on acceptable levels.

Your Stamina only got drained from straining activities like running or fighting inside Azalon.

Simple things like walking or practicing a swing or form could be done without any noticeable drain to your stamina.

In a way it showed the clear difference between Game and Reality.

Getting his mind back on track, Makoto responded.

"As far as I know, not far, the border is quite close to the Capital so it should only take one or two days of walking."

Clearly relieved to hear that, Lilliana let out a sigh and Sanja had a small smile on her face as she watched her best friend.

"Lazy as always I see."

"Don't call me lazy Saja, you know I hate walking for no reason."

Pouting, Lilliana turned her head.

"Yeah, I still clearly remember how you always asked for a piggy back ride when we walked back from the cinema..."

"Don't tell them that!"

With flushed cheeks and upset that Sharon and Makoto knew this embarrassing bit about her past now, Lilliana started to chase their Cleric around.

Sanja's laugh could be heard in the entire street as she kept on teasing the little Lilly, further angering her with every word.

The mood was surprisingly lighthearted and both Makoto and Sharon couldn't help the smile as they watched the mad chase.

After a few minutes, Lilliana's ingame Stamina hit rock bottom and she finally came to a halt.

Stamina inside the game was calculated with the Vitality, Agility and Strength stat in mind.

Most Magic Classes had incredibly poor Stamina which in turn made running and close combat fighting for an extended amount of time impossible for them.

On the other hand, someone that diligently increased all 3 of those stats like Makoto had done for quite a while now would soon enough develop a monstrous amount of Stamina which was something that his Class needed anyways as extended battle was his forte.

All close ranged fighters had to keep those 3 stats in mind but how they increased them was naturally up to them.

There was countless ways of building your Character and an incredible number of secret stats to unlock that would help you fight but in the end your basic stats would be one of the few things that a player could trust in.

Makoto and his party arrived at the Magic Institute after 15 more minutes of walking.

Just like always, the design of the entire building was quite strange and stood out in the surrounding landscape.

Outside, standing neatly shoulder to shoulder was row after row of Women and Men in long blue robes.

The 80 Mages seemed to be all ready for departure.

Greeting the entire Squad with a wave, Makoto stepped out of the surrounding crowd that kept its distance from the group.

"As some of you might know, my name is Makoto and I am a member of House Forrowfell that will escort you to your destination and also help to defend the border, pleasure to make your acquaintance."

A few of the Mages also introduced themselves but the majority seemed to ignore him and his party.

Some glanced at the Crimson Spider Crest on his chest but kept their mouth shut until a middle aged Mage stepped out of their midst.

"My name is Carsus of House Oltin, High Mage of the Magic Institute and Leader of this Group.

I welcome your participation in the coming battle but I have no idea why Council Member Narkas even bothered with sending us 4 people when we will be together with over 5 thousand Soldiers that are also going to travel to the Stronghold..."

Makoto naturally had been unaware of this fact but kept his cool and didn't let it show on his face, instead he smiled.

"Well should this not be enough of a hint that we are a special kind of support then?"

Winking once towards the stunned man in blue robes he quickly turned away and lead his party to the back of the group so Carsus could not ask any further questions for the time being.

"Don't tell me you knew about the Soldiers?"

Sharon whispered to him but he only slowly shook his head while keeping the High Mage in his field of vision to make sure that he would not notice it.

"No, I didn't know but that makes our job a lot easier, not only do we not have to worry about the Mages, we are also safe from other monsters as most beasts would think more than twice to attacking a group that big."

Unsure what else to do, Makoto decided to lead his little party to the end of the rows of Mages only to find a familiar face in the standing Men and Women.

"Farabello? Is that you?"

Makoto was quite surprised to see the little wide eyed Mage here again but thinking about it logically it was not that unusual.

He had met the boy for the first time in the Caravan that he took to the Village of Shivercliff, originally the Caravan had been meant to reach Elisante after all.

Both never really spoke much on their Journey but they had exchanged a few words, enough for his face to stick in Makoto's memory.

The same seemed to apply to the apprentice Mage as it became quite obvious that he recognized him.

"Makoto was it? Guess I remembered your name wrong, still nice to see an old face again.

Imagine my surprise seeing you here of all places and on top of that as part of a house..."

Grinning once he quickly introduced his party and explained how they knew each other.

Farabello looked at each and every one of the girls for quite some time with an open mouth before turning to Makoto and saying something quite dangerous.

"I see you have fulfilled every mans dream and already established a Harem now that you are part of a House."

Feeling his smile freeze on his face, Makoto looked to his right and left and could see the same frozen expression on everyone's face except Farabello's.

"You sure tell some tall tales my friend, hahaha."

Quickly putting the boy in a headlock to keep him from spouting any more nonsense, Makoto was able to avoid a crisis even though both Lilliana and Sanja showed some dangerous glares towards him while Sharon's frosty smile was a big enough hint that she was very close to putting an arrow or two into the unknowing apprentice Mage.

Women were scary creatures...

"If you say something like that again I can not guarantee for your safety!"

He quietly whispered to Farabello and the little boy instantly went pale.

The conversation slowly but surely went back on track even though Sharon showed a very scary smile from time to time.

Apparently Farabello had still been part of the Caravan with Zergoon when the Bandit raid happened and he was also captured like most people.

He quickly told the same story of how they managed to escape and continued their Journey to the Capital.

Afterwards he applied as an apprentice to the Magic Institute and trained his Magic while also fighting in the Labyrinth from time to time.

It seemed that even the Magic Institute used the Dungeon inside the City as their own personal training ground to teach their young Mages about proper combat.

After a few more minutes of mindless chatting, a shout went through the ranks until finally reaching Makoto and his party.

"Get ready for departure!"

Farabello quickly fell back into his respective row and started to walk after the leading Mages.

Makoto and his party also started to follow the many blue robes through the streets and layers of the City until reaching the East Gate of the City.

They had to travel down two more layers to actually reach the ground so they were high enough to see the actual size of it all.

When someone says he has been with over 5 thousand people you might imagine a gigantic mass of bodies and that would not be wrong at all, it was quite something.

But when you are told to meet 5 thousand Soldiers, all standing in a neat formation while wearing heavy platemail and wielding either a Sword and Shield or Spear, then that is something completely different.

It is worlds apart and at the same time it still is the same amount of people.

The only difference was that the 5 thousand Soldiers are a hundred times more intimidating and no one dared to even come close to them.

Seeing row after row of heavily armored individuals under the burning sun made Makoto realize, maybe for the first time, that they would really participate in an actual war.

They would partake in an incredible amount of bloodshed and carnage in a Virtual Reality game.

Talk about hardcore...

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I know it is a bit later than promised, sorry about that :P

We are slowly getting to some really interesting parts of the story so I hope you stay tuned for the things that come! ;D