When Liam woke up it was already the next day. Huff. He let out a breath of relief and the first thing he did was summon the system interface.
Name: Liam
Level: 60
There it was, blinking vividly. It was 48 hours of hard work and it was worth it. He was finally ready for the elves and to make the trip across the land of barbarians.
Unfortunately by this method, his summons were still a tier lower when compared to him but that would be rectified soon.
The barbarians had huge numbers on their side. This was why they were feared by both the elves and the humans but Liam was counting on this same thing to level up his minions during this journey.
"Alright. Time to head back." Liam stood up, his hand swiping away the system screen in front of him when he suddenly noticed a flashing message.
"Hmmm?" Liam opened it.
"I know you are in the nether realm. The meeting you requested can be arranged." It was a message from Kouske.
Heh? Liam couldn't help but smile at this message, not because he heard the reply that he hadn't expected but because there was something weird about it.
First, they agreed to a meeting.
And second, they wanted to meet on his turf, where he was strongest.
"Hmmm… Are they planning something?" Liam chuckled, getting out of bed. "It doesn't matter. Either way, I am doing this." He knew he was taking a risk but he had to do this.
And from this interaction, he knew that the other party was most probably in the nether realm at the moment. However, he was not going to meet with them through traditional means.
He had another plan. This guy had stayed in the dark for too long now. So it was time to lure him out into the light.
He sent a reply to Kouske asking for coordinates and time for the meeting but shortly afterward, he called for Hiriyu and set some things in motion.
…
…
…
In other parts of the nether realm…
Suddenly something interesting started to happen in a small demon settlement, quite a distance away from Thol city. Hushed murmurs and whispers about the sighting of a treasure started quietly spreading.
It looked like this news was tightly kept under wraps for a long time but since today was the day an expedition was leaving from the demon settlement to hunt for this treasure, a lot of tongues started wagging and the cat was out of the bag.
In one of the settlements, Kouske and Barret were standing next to a black cladded figure.
"I am sure of it, sir. This is what I have heard and I also confirmed it. They are leaving in a couple of hours so if we leave now, we should be able to get there before them and obtain the treasure." Kouske said.
After two seconds of silence, the black cladded figure flashed his eyes open and nodded, "I agree. We should leave now." He had a pair of gold-rimmed glasses on. Even though inside the game, no one's physical inability was translated, this person was still wearing glasses.
Kouske was immediately shocked. "Brother, you are coming?" Barret, standing next to him also looked similarly shocked. The big boss seldom came with them on these kinds of trips so what was happening now?
"Is there some danger?" He nervously added.
However, the black cladded figure only shook his head, "No. On the contrary, this will be a very fortuitous encounter."
Once again the two of them were shocked but the next second they revealed excited expressions wondering what this fortuitous encounter might be. If their brother said something, then it was 100% set in stone. So they were already looking forward to it.
Just as the group of players prepared to leave, suddenly Kouske remembered something which gave him a bad aftertaste in the mouth. "Right. That guy messaged me again. He is asking for the date, time, and coordinates. What should I tell him?"
The black-cladded figure immediately came to a halt. He remained silent for a couple of seconds without saying anything else. Everyone else also quietly waited as they were already used to this behavior of their leader.
Though the person randomly pressed brakes like this, afterward he usually said something mind-blowing. So they had no problem waiting for it.
However, seconds quickly turned to minutes as the person still remained silent. After a few minutes, he sat cross-legged down on the ground and started to meditate.
Of course, Kouske expected no less because the person in question here was their worst enemy, their biggest opponent. Not only was he strong but he also had a twisted personality. So this much was to be expected.
And thus, the complicated silence continued, and finally after half an hour, the black-clad figure once again opened his eyes. Unexpectedly, there was still doubt in his eyes.
"I can't see anything clearly now. Let's first head out and I will try to think about this later with a clear head." The guy adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses again and muttered.
"Ok, sir." Kouske completely agreed with him. They were about to do something important now. So it was best to think about this nuisance and deal with him later. The treasure was the most important at the moment.
As for Liam, the meeting he had requested was strange, but that could easily wait for later. Since they had lost two of their core team members thanks to the damned guy, they were now in a hurry to gather more strength and support.
The group then made some preparations, silently left the area, and started their treasure hunt. This secret treasure was definitely going to be theirs.
Kouske was a calm and cool-headed person but after suffering so many losses against Liam continuously, he couldn't help but imagine the expression on the hateful guy's face when they finally meet!
How would he react to this new treasure in their hands? Did he think that they were so easy to trample upon? This was just the beginning.
A couple of hours later, the group arrived at the spot where the treasure is supposed to be. This area was the 'plagued lands' with overgrown, disease-infested rotten forests and slowly dying beasts, all afflicted with the same disease.
Just the air in the surroundings made everyone want to puke their guts out. This trip was not going to be a picnic. However, no one cared about that.
Along with Kouske and Barret, the other players started busily looking around for any clues or special NPCs while the silent leader of the group walked alone to a corner by himself and sat down in a cross-legged position.
"Why are we even searching? Look there. Sir has started his business. He will soon let us know the exact location and whatnot." One of the players lazily yawned.
"He He. You are right. There is no need for us to work hard. The big boss is awesome after all." Another one agreed.
Seeing the group happily chatting and gossiping, Kouske frowned. He walked over to the group and sternly looked at the lazy bums.
Seeing him everyone quickly became silent but it was too late. "So you don't want to do any work and simply want to hang around for the reward?" Kouske gave them a stern lecture.
He then went back to searching. Others also started doing their work properly and cleared some of the mobs from the area searching for the possibility of an elite.
Unfortunately, they couldn't get more information about this treasure. The details they had were very vague. The only thing they were sure of is the area.
And if it was a treasure, it was usually either dropped by an Elite or perhaps looted from a treasure chest. So everyone peeled their eyes open and searched the zone.
Soon another hour silently passed by and everyone had already combed the area from top to bottom. Everyone grumbled as this was turning out to be a waste of time.
Even Kouske was beginning to wonder about the validity of this tip. Perhaps the demons were mistaken about the treasure in this region?
He looked towards the person who still had his eyes closed and continued to meditate. He then hesitantly walked towards him.
He did not want to disturb him but at the same time, he wanted to give the update. At this stage of the game, time was money so they couldn't afford to waste their time here.
"Sir, we have looked everywhere. There are no traces of treasure in this zone." Kouske said in a low voice. He then patiently waited for an answer, without knowing if he would get any.
Surprisingly the next second itself, the black-cladded figure shook his head. "No." He answered simply. "I am not wrong. The fortuitous encounter we have come for is right here."
Just as he finished speaking, suddenly, out of nowhere, a loud clapping sound echoed.
CLAP. CLAP. CLAP. CLAP
CLAP. CLAP. CLAP. CLAP
A person slowly materialized out of thin air.
