Second World

During Jack's time training inside the Space-time Chambers, he completed two affairs. Both had perfect results and he was awarded 200,000 merit points and 10 ruling powers. Because of this, more affairs appeared requesting his decision. He sent the information about the three new affairs to the investigative teams. The situation at the border settlements had cooled down so the teams were no longer needed there.

Jack didn't find Peniel after waking up. He remembered then the fairy was borrowed by John. He spent the morning conversing with Wilted about the kingdom faction quests.

Wilted confirmed that every country in this game world indeed had a chain kingdom faction quest that was tied to the fate of the country. Much like the one he had in the past which ended up putting him as a candidate to the throne.

He then asked for more details about the quests involving Verremor, Palgrost, and Sangrod. Those are the remaining countries that still had their original sovereigns.

Wilted explained that if players worked on the chain kingdom quest in Verremor, it might result in the separation between the tribes. Verremor's Council of Ten would disband and the tribes came to war with each other, much like the time in Verremor's past. This civil war would continue until one tribe became the victor and united the nation.

Jack hoped it didn't come to that. He had worked hard for peace with Verremor. If that nation came into conflict with itself, it would be practically useless against Liguritudum's threat.

Luckily, Wilted said the chain kingdom faction quests had counterparts. Like the one in Themisphere which let the players choose to support different princes, or the one in Liguritudum which let the players choose either to support the rebel prince or the legitimate rulers. The one in Verremor also let players work on preventing this civil war.

Jack asked for more details, especially on Verremor, and sent the details to Four Winds. A few tribes were responsible for initiating the separation in Verremor. One of them was the Angryfeet tribe. With the collaboration between the Angryfeet and Raretooth tribes, Jack did not doubt that Master should have his agents initiate this separation quest already.

Four Winds thanked Jack for this valuable information and said he would work with Kabaka to prevent this separation from coming to fruition. Due to the incident at the border, they already had enough evidence to deal with the Angryfeet tribe. They should be able to expel this tribe from the council.

As for the other tribes in Wilted's list, Four Winds said he would keep an eye on them.

Jack reminded Four Winds that players' involvement was vital in increasing the pace of the quest, so Four Winds should investigate any guild in Verremor that might be involved in this separation quest.

After Jack's cue, Four Winds said he did get reports that Warsong Rising had been close to the Angryfeet tribe as of late. That guild used to be the Raretooth tribe's underling. Master might have given that guild instructions about the quest so that they could destabilize Verremor's political situation.

Jack left the situation in Verremor to Four Winds. He had done what he could. He had enough matters to deal with.

As for the chain kingdom faction quest in Palgrost, the rebellion by Thelgrun's brother was indeed the result of one. Its' opposite quest involved approaching the political leaders who were half-hearted about the rebellion and were influential enough to persuade the parties to change sides back to supporting Thelgrun.

Wilted didn't memorize all the names of these influential tribe members, but she told Jack the ones she remembered. Jack didn't have Manager Steelhand in his friend list, so he passed this info to Jeanny who would pass it to that guy. This info should let him focus his effort rather than searching around blindly for clues about what to do.

As for Sangrod, the execution was also the result of a chain kingdom faction quest but it was the opposite of the one that overthrew the original sovereign.

The chain kingdom faction quest of Sangrod was where Marcus' sons and daughters gathered together and led a rebellion that ended their father's a thousand years of rule. The counter to this quest was one where Emperor Marcus was made aware of this attempted rebellion and took out his offspring before they carried out the plan.

From what he had heard, the latter quest was the winner.

Jack wasn't truly bothered by who ended up ruling Sangrod. He didn't know any high-ranking Sangrod officers other than Horatio, and he was not close to that prince. Yet, he didn't like Emperor Marcus. This was someone who could execute his offspring without remorse. He even tempted King Themos to do the same in exchange for a longer lifespan. This was not someone who could be trusted.

Jack wasn't sure what Emperor Marcus' reply would be to his message asking for permission for his army to pass through Sangrod's territory, or at least pass near Sangrod's border. It took around five days to know. That was also the time for the army to gather.

He was wondering what he should do if Emperor Marcus declined his request. He had no answer to that solution. He would deal with it when it happened.

Jack went to the throne room after the conversation with Wilted. He received a reply from President Thelgrun that morning. Thelgrun was happy hearing Jack's reinforcement. He promised he would also meet with Jeanny to coordinate the defense with her.

"At least this one is cooperative," Jack remarked. His previous trip to Palgrost to improve relationships had its benefits.

Now, he just needed to wait for Emperor Marcus' reply and for the army to gather at the appointed rally point. He left the army management details to John and Armstrong. He could do nothing to speed this up so all he could do while waiting was strengthening himself for the upcoming conflict.