New Eden: Live to Play, Play to Live

Chapter 504 Dropping The Bomb

Astaroth pulled something from his inventory, the light of the appearing item bringing the attention back to him. As the white light faded away, he took the scroll in his hands and tossed it to Gelum'vire.

He knew the old mage would want to read it before the prince, to make sure it wasn't anything dangerous, so he went with tossing it to him, directly.

As Gelum'vire caught the scroll, he carefully opened it, starting to read its contents. It took him no longer than ten seconds to have his jaw suddenly go slack, his eyes widening, as his gaze went from the paper in his hands, to Astaroth, and back to the scroll.

He rapidly gave the precious scroll to Nalafein before looking at Astaroth with a deep look of respect and appreciation. Not everyone would give away such a precious item, without making demands much more restraining than he had asked of them up to now.

Killi, who sat next to Nalafein, suddenly became extremely curious as to what the scroll contained. But when Nalafein deposited the scroll on the table before him, his face suddenly grave, he could glance at its contents.

Even Killi's eyes widened in surprise.

'He got his hands on a second piece of land! How fucking lucky is this guy? I guess the rumours about him being a golden goose aren't just lies.'

Nalafein was dead serious as he stared into Astaroth's eyes.

"Are you truly giving this to me, King Astaroth? With no more attachments than the ones you have already asked?"

He was a little wary. It wasn't anyone that would give away something of such value.

Not at such a cheap price.

But Astaroth's smile widened a little, before nodding his head.

"Prince Nalafein. I believe it should rightfully be yours. I also consider this not just a fair transaction, but also me repaying a long overdue favour. If you hadn't freed me from those shackles, a little over ten years ago, I wouldn't have been able to stand where I stand right now.

"That simple action you took, even if at the behest of Lady Anulo, led to me meeting so many great people, and shaped my path from then on into what it has become. I believe it is only fair I give this to you, as a long-awaited thank you."

Astaroth's words echoed inside the room, with not many people having the context behind them. But to Nalafein and Gelum'vire, those words were the sweetest of melodies.

Gelum'vire had long known that the prince was the one that liberated Astaroth from their jail many years ago. He had never said a word about it, since he also believed it was the right thing to do, in retrospect.

Nalafein had tears forming in his eyes that he had to focus on keeping in, lest he show weakness in front of all these people. But to him, this meant much more than just thank you.

Most people in this world believed in Karma and fate, Nalafein being one of them. He had firmly believed that day, a decade ago, as he freed Astaroth, that he was sowing good karma, and that fate would reward him later on.

But given how his life had turned after that incident, he had sometimes wondered if he made the right move. But as the wheel of fate came back up to him now, with much more than what he had put on it, he was ever so grateful.

Astaroth wasn't just offering him a chance to redeem his lost position. Astaroth was offering him a fresh start, with so much help, it almost assured him success.

Killi looked at the young prince with question marks on his face.

'What happened between them, before the update?' he wondered.

But it wasn't his place to ask. He only wondered why he was here if this only concerned the prince and Astaroth.

But just as he was about to ask, Astaroth locked his gaze on him.

"That brings me to your presence here, Killi. I have heard through the branches that you wished to form the largest guild in New Eden, and have the feeling you are already well on your way to success on this wish."

Killi chuckled.

"For how long, though? With this place under your name, how long will it be before every player flocks to your side? I'm only holding the torch for you later, in my opinion. And this meeting only reinforces that feeling for me. Why bring me here at all?"

Astaroth grinned at him.

"Because I'm offering you a chance to stay ahead. Tie yourself to Prince Nalafein, swear that your guild will always work under him, and form an alliance with me.

"Under those conditions, Prince Nalafein should be more than willing to give you a large role in building up his forces and kingdom, as he retakes the Ash Elf kingdom. And who knows, once he has succeeded in taking back his throne, maybe he will agree to leave the land I just gifted him to your care entirely, leaving you with the same starting point as I did."

Killi's eyes widened, as he finally caught on to what Astaroth was insinuating. He wasn't just asking him to become formal allies or to tie himself to a kingdom.

He was giving him the chance to keep up with Paragon's potential, with as much as a chance he had. This was a tremendous opportunity.

Or, as Astaroth had said in his message, a golden opportunity.

Turning his head to Nalafein, Killi stood from his chair. He glanced at his two accompanying officers, to see if they had something to add, but they both shook their heads, an enormous smile on their faces.

So Killi did what he thought was the right thing to do.

Kneeling on one knee, Killi brought his right fist to his chest, lowering his head.

"Prince Nalafein. My guild might not be the most powerful yet, but I swear it is all you will ever need if you give me this chance. I hereby swear fealty to you and promise to help you regain your rightful title!"

Nalafein looked at him with a solemn expression. He then stood up and grabbed his sword, pulling it from its sheath.

Placing on Killi's shoulder, Nalafein spoke these words.

"I, Prince Nalafein Uuthli'vlos of the Ash Elves, hereby knight you, Sir Killi, commander of my future forces, and future lord of the mage tower. Rise, Sir Killi."

As Killi rose to his feet, a notification sounded in his ears, at the same time as one for all the players to hear.

*Player Killi, leader of the guild Knights of the Sun, has officially bound himself and his guild to a royal party of New Eden. By doing so, he is granted the title of knight and a rank upgrade. Congratulations, player Killi!*

The forums immediately erupted.