'He is strong, at least stronger than an average middle-stage Elementalist,' Alex thought as he looked at the man dressed in a pristine white dress complemented by a tailcoat.
After meeting with the Seraphian lady, Alex and the team made their way to the location given by Halagax and learned more about the quest, specifically the person who was giving them the quest.
Halagax was approached by a man named Klaed, who introduced himself as a member of the Pegasus, a mercenary group, and shared that the city was in danger, and if nothing was done, it was doomed to be destroyed.
He shared that the effects of the Eclipse were much stronger than the last time, which was the reason for the large number of strong creatures that had fallen to its effects and were attacking the cities.
It was not hard to believe his words when three of the islands were already destroyed, and the medium-sized islands only survived because of the reinforcement, but with only three days left and a growing number of creatures, it was not farfetched to think that even the main island could fall.
The Pegasus group knew that the Seraphian clan had an ancient weapon of devastating might that could deal with even an Elemental Ruler and could also easily help them safeguard the city.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtBut the weapon was incomplete, with its power core missing, and the Pegasus group knew where to find the core needed to power the weapon, but to acquire it, they required outsiders' help.
Klaed made Halagax take an oath before he shared the location of the core and how it could be acquired, so he couldn't share further information, which was why he arranged for the team to meet with the man, but it was not without cost.
Halagax had told them how it was an individual quest, but the whole team could acquire the quest, and to tell them the details and guide them to Klaed, he had made them agree to the contract to share 50% of the points with him, in case they completed the quest.
"As you should already know of me and the danger this city is in and the weapon that could protect it, I will begin by sharing the location of the energy Core," Klaed said after everyone got comfortable in their seats and he had made them take law oath to keep what they learn to themselves.
"The core is hidden in the underground dungeon on the main Island, on its fourth floor, in the cell numbered twenty-ninth," Klaed said, and after a short pause, he continued.
"As per the information my group has gathered, the core was stolen from the Seraphian clan three decades ago, and the man who did it was captured just two days after the robbery, but he committed suicide minutes after he was caught,"
"The clan failed to acquire the core even after they interrogated every person related to that servant,"
"But from our intelligence, we found that the thief was a guard in the dungeon, and from one of the prisoners at that time, we were able to learn that he entered the cell numbered twenty-ninth on the day the core was stolen,"
"The prisoner inside the cells died two days after the robbery, which means there is a great chance that the core could be hidden in the cell,"
"So while the chances are not very high, as decades have passed, and tens of prisoners have entered and exited the cell, we still hold hope to find the core there or maybe some clue to where it might be hidden,"
"Astill his date, no records of the core being sold have come to light, so your mission will be to get caught for a crime and thrown into the dungeon and then escape and search the cell,"
"You have the right to decline my request, but if you do accept it and find something of value, then my mercenary group promises you 30% of what the Seraphian clan will reward us," Klaed said and took a short pause to let the information sink in.
Alex knew of the Pegasus group as they were one of the most well-renowned groups in the setting that Zero had created for the event, and the group was also responsible for saving a number of cities in his previous life.
But even then, he couldn't help but see this whole matter as fishy, even though giving just information would give the group very little reward compared to securing the core at a time of need and becoming heroes.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmBut what bugged him was that if the Pegasus group could find where the thief visited and secure such info, why couldn't the Seraphian clan, who could easily track the location visited by the guard.
It could be that they did and found nothing, and the Pegasus group was just being ambitious by thinking that they might locate what the other counted, or it could be that there was more to the story than they were revealing.
"If you are thinking, the way we discovered this information, the Seraphian clan could have done so with ease, then you wouldn't be wrong as that is exactly what had happened at that time,"
"But they didn't know was that the prisoner inside the cell was 'Ilyemos Gaon' The Dreamweaver, who, after a bad defeat was left crippled and weak, and ended in up jail because he disrespected one of the Seraphian clan young master,"
"So the theory that he made Lyon steal the core, the greatest weapon of the Seraphian clan, and then used the last of his strength to hide it in the cell, and because of pushing, his body died shortly after executing his revenge, makes perfect sense,"
"If you accept my request, I will give you this revealer scroll, which is a Fifth rank scroll, and it should be enough to remove any illusion that was cast generations ago," Klaed said as he took out a misty gray paper scroll.
The puzzles Alex and the others felt were missing from the story came together perfectly, making everything clear, and the doubts they had vanished in an instant.
Alex still had some doubts, like wanting to confirm if the story was real or just made up, but thinking they were not alone in securing this mission, he quickly dropped that thought.
The team asked Klaed how they were going to reach the main island and how they would enter the dungeon in the quickest way, and he said he would take them to the main island and disrespecting the Seraphian clan affiliate publicly would be enough for them to be thrown in a dungeon without any trial.
So, without further questions, the team accepted the quest, and minutes later, a cloaked figure arrived who was an associate of Klaed and the man responsible for teleporting the group to the main island.
While the team was aware that without their presence, the metropolis would have at least a third of its strength gone, and this could result in its fall, they also knew that defending the main city was much more important.