Sabbatical – Chapter 222: Old News

Elder Wu leaned back in his chair as he cradled his blood-filled glass. He had expected something more formal in response to the dungeon appearing, but it would seem the president did not deem it necessary to address the nation quite yet. He had already been informed that the official response in most of the world to the All-Mother's movements was rather subdued, so it seemed to be a trend of sorts from those in power. The same could not be said about anyone else.

Just watching the small recap most news programs liked to air before actually showing you the anchors was already very… sensationalised, in Elder Wu's opinion. They weren't lying about what had happened quite yet, but they sure were milking the bits of truth they had for all they were worth. They had been at it for almost two weeks, after all. At this point, new material was hard to come by. Well, except for the dungeon, but they don’t know what’s in it.

The only real news the government had given was that a carrier group had been dispatched to Point Nemo where the dungeon had appeared, something Elder Wu himself was not so sure about. It was a point of inaccessibility for a reason; sending ships there — as good as they might have become over the years — was still risky. Especially if the All-Mother decided that she did not want them close by. Their weapons would do precious little against her or the Dragon she had summoned.

He, of course, doubted Aperio would take action against anyone coming close to the isle. Elder Wu had a ship he kept near Point Nemo at basically all times, to run some... rather delicate experiments, and it had tried to approach the new land mass as soon as it had appeared. The Sea’s Servant had never gotten close to the shore, only ever ending up on the other side of the island instead. By this point, Elder Wu was decently certain the same would hold true for anyone else that attempted to approach.

The voice of the news anchors took him from his thoughts of what the self-proclaimed creator of the universe would do with the people that came to her island. Most of their introductions did not even reach Elder Wu's mind as he had heard them more times than he wished to count and still did not care for them. The only thing of some note was the fact that one of the anchors had seemingly gotten a Class of their own, though they did not seem quite ready to tell their colleagues yet.

"With the recent appearance of those who call themselves 'awakened'," the first anchor began, "the world we have known is most assuredly coming to an end." He turned slightly to face his colleague. "Despite everything we have come to learn, and the daily influx of fresh internet videos that feature people showing off their new powers, we have yet to hear anything of note from the White House. The president's continued silence seems a little weird, doesn't it, Jane?"

"It sure does, John," the other anchor agreed, giving a slight nod. She swiped away something that was on her tablet before she set her gaze squarely on the camera. "While we have not gotten any official statement, we have been informed by the press secretary that a carrier strike group has been pulled out of the South China Sea and is now on its way to the island that has appeared in the middle of the ocean."

Elder Wu gently shook his head as the camera zoomed out just enough to fully show the map behind the two anchors. They were going on about why this particular group had been chosen, and the path they were likely to take, but he knew quite well why those specific ships were on their way. The assorted pieces of magic that helped power the Navy's newest carrier were quite handy when you wanted to stay at sea for essentially forever. On paper, the only thing that ship couldn't do was produce food for the crew, and Elder Wu knew for a fact that it could indeed do that as well. The top brass of the Navy simply didn't like or trust the idea of food fashioned from an energy they barely understood.

"While I am usually in favour of our nation being at the forefront of discovery, I feel like protecting our homes should take priority here." The man shifted subtly in his seat, Elder Wu noting with an amused huff how the chair moved itself slightly forward as if guided by an invisible hand. "After the standoff in New York, there have been more reports of 'awakened' being attacked.

"Most seem to disregard the aggression displayed towards them," John continued as the camera moved once again to show only him and a small section in which the footage they had of the encounter could play. "But others take matters into their own hands, such as this woman. While we still do not have a name, we do know that she was seen in a small town on the West Coat that goes by the name of Riverburg just over a week before the standoff happened. Coincidentally, she was also seen there mere hours before she appeared at the scene."

"How are we supposed to protect ourselves from a vigilante like that?" Jane asked as the camera focused back on her. "It’s only a matter of time before someone does something she deems unjust and, once again, takes matters into her own hands."

John shifted slightly in his seat at the comment, eliciting another amused huff from Elder Wu. The old Vampire took a sip of blood as he ignored the chatter about just what Aperio might do. As far as he was concerned, their little theories amounted to nothing and never would. They did not know what she truly was, and even if they did they could never comprehend it. He himself couldn't, and he had far more experience on the matter than they ever would.

Luckily for him, the segment about the vigilante did not last long and they shifted to the various protests that had formed over the last couple of days. Like with all things, mortals were quick to create their little tribes and yell at one another. Elder Wu would have sighed at the foolishness of it, but that would have been hypocritical of him as he knew well enough that he was guilty of the same thing. It was a part of life, at least on Earth.

"While we have not yet heard any official statement on the matter," John said, "sources tell us that Congress has been recalled from their recess to hold an emergency meeting on the matter and, if what we have been told is correct, there will be a new measure put in place requiring everyone with these powers to report themselves to the government."

"That's a good way to get a riot," Elder Wu mumbled to himself before taking another sip. "Also dumb." They didn't know, of course, but it was only a matter of time until everyone had access to magic, which would make this decision even worse. If it passes, that is.

Luckily for the residents of Riverburg, that would not happen here. The council had made very sure that every facet of the city was firmly under their control, and nobody should be stupid enough to try and challenge their claim on it. The OSA agents running around were currently tolerated, but depending on what the government did, they might find themselves dead or captured sooner or later.

The chatter that spread through the council building also did not go unnoticed by Elder Wu. Most of the people in his employ were already quite knowledgeable on the matters of magic, and had already figured out what would happen. After getting the okay from the various council members, the employees had started to get most of their important family members shifted over to Riverburg.

Whether he liked it or not, Elder Wu was going to need to prepare for the upheaval that was to come. So far, things had remained fairly tame, but he doubted it would remain that way once the All-Mother's ban on attacking became moot. There would be chaos, and he would make sure the people who served him would be protected. It was his duty, and he would not fail in it.

///

Jacob stood with his dungeon companion Ryan inside what he could only describe as a temple, one that was located at the foot of the only mountain on the tundra. It was oddly empty. It was especially odd considering that they had entered it with a larger group of people, but the others had disappeared shortly after entry.

An explanation for what had happened came a moment later, when a woman wearing a backpack and a sword on her hip appeared in the room alongside a small message from the System.

Participants were judged as insufficient and have been split into groups that match the requirements of the floor guardian. You may now proceed to challenge the floor guardian.

The message was accompanied by the sound of grinding stone as a large mural depicting creatures Jacob was not familiar with began to swing open, revealing a truly gigantic circular arena. At the end of the open space, he could see a three-headed dog lying on the floor, seemingly asleep. Going by how far away he currently was and how big the dog still appeared to be, he could see why the System thought they needed help. It was a harsh truth, one that brought his attention back to the woman who had only glanced at the beast before she let out a sigh and started to go through her backpack.

Jacob looked at Ryan, the other man seemingly just as confused about the newcomer as he was. Neither of them spoke, watching the woman as she pulled a few slips of paper with something scribbled on them out of her bag.

"Take these," she said, holding out two papers each to Jacob and Ryan. "They'll be useful in the fight."

"What, exactly, are these?" Jacob asked, not taking the offered paper. "And who are you?"

The woman hesitated for a moment before she looked up at him. "I go by many names, but you may call me Wyllt."

"Wyllt?" Ryan sneered. "Did the System pull people from different times, too?"

"It did not," Wyllt replied. "Not in the way you seem to think, anyway." She waved the slips of paper around a little. "Are you going to take the talismans or not? Either way, I want to get past this annoying stray and go up."

Jacob could have sworn he heard the woman mumble something about 'Cerberus being a dumb choice', but he did not comment on it, instead taking two of the four offered papers. "Don't you want to know our names? And what do they do?" he added, trying to read what was written on the talismans.

"I don't. With any luck I will not see you again after this. As for the talismans, one will protect you from the fire it will spew and the other should prevent you from dying at least once." Wyllt offered a shrug and returned to digging through her backpack. "I won't guarantee the second one though, death is always a bit tricky."

"Enchanter?" Ryan asked.

"In a way," the woman replied, glancing at the man. "I won't reveal my Class to you if that is your goal, so don't even bother."

"I wasn't going to," Ryan said. "Just wanted to know if this was made by someone who has at least the inkling of an idea of what they are doing." He shifted his gaze towards the monster. "Not that I have much choice. Or know of a way to verify that these things do what you claim."

"What are we even fighting?" Jacob asked. "I'd assume it'll be a simulacrum like the wolves and rabbits we fought, but if it's something more mythically inspired like this seems to be, I would also think it would have a few more tricks up its sleeve." He looked at the beast again. "Paw, fur. Whatever."

"It sure looks like Cerberus," Ryan said. "At least from what I know of it."

"That's because it is," Wyllt replied. "Except with fire breath, probably lighting, and lots of biting and swiping. If you can stay at range and do damage, that will be good enough."

"And you are going to do, what? Keep its attention and play a tank?" Jacob asked and looked Wyllt up and down. As much as he did not want to feel that way, the woman certainly did not look like she could take a hit. Definitely not from a beast that seemed to be far larger than any of them.

Wyllt raised a brow at his question before she gave a nod and pulled a shield from her bag; one that was decidedly too big to fit into it. "That is exactly what I will do, yes."

For a moment, Jacob considered asking if she also had a suit of armour in there, but he thought better of it. Ryan was doing enough to antagonise someone who was much better prepared for this fight than either of them were. While it was possible that she might try to do something malicious, he doubted it would happen. If Wyllt had wanted them dead, Jacob was pretty sure they already would be.

"Well," the woman prompted, "are you two ready?"

"As ready as I am going to get, I guess," Ryan replied, taking the knife out of his pocket again. "I really should've brought the crossbow."

"That or a gun," Jacob said. "I would have brought one of mine, but I wasn't anywhere close to home when this entire thing happened."

Wyllt gave a chuckle at the words. "A gun would do precious little against the monsters here. They are… Well, they are pretty bullet resistant. Whoever made them doesn't want them shot. I tested it."

"Good enough for me." Ryan shrugged. "I can use my powers at range anyway, the knife just makes it easier to use."

Jacob could only offer a shrug as well. He was definitely not ready to face that beast, but he could do nothing to better prepare himself, so what choice did he have? He couldn't exactly leave — not that he wanted to — and killing a metric ton of wolves and rabbits did not seem that useful either. He and Ryan had to kill close to twenty of the things to advance to their current level, and the grind was only bound to get worse after that.

Jacob shook his head once more and set his sights on the beast on the other side of the large arena. "I'm ready."

GamingWolf

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