Chapter 345 Undercurrents

Blue Sea Prefecture…

Inside this prefecture who was one of the few to survive the rampage of the Clown Society that spanned weeks and was already being rebuilt, as normal activities went on in the prefecture, 3 cloaked individuals visited.

2 of them were on brown cloaks that also covered their faces, while the last of them was on a black cloak that covered his body like the others.

Their entrance into the prefecture went unnoticed in the myriad of other activities that went on. Strangers in cloaks visiting was not an uncommon sight, most especially after the saga of the Clown Society.

Clown's crazy ideologies and order of chaos wrath a lot of damage to the planet, tens of thousands of civilians were left broken and traumatized after.

Helped by their friends and loved ones, some of these broken civilians managed to find their way back to sanity, also motivated by the fact that the first President was going to be sworn in, in just a few days.

Not every broken civilian was able to recover though, especially those that were literally the last of their line. Those that not only lost their whole family and friends, but literally lost their towns and prefectures as a whole.

As the only survivors from their region, they were left traumatized to an almost unhealable level.

Having lost motivation to live, sights of these traumatized survivors in different-colored mourning cloaks could be seen all across the planet as they lived out the remainder of their lives as lackadaisically as possible.

Most of them didn't even know about the first President, all that was on their minds was the traumas of their past, they haunted them.

Literally everyone else who saw them pitied these broken people.

This was why the sight of these 3 strangers entering the Blue Sea Prefecture didn't elicit any alarms. If anything, they only elicited pity, reminding the civilians of the dark reign of the last King and Clown's crazy rampage.

Their broken frames moved through the streets without aim.

[Semifinals Team Battle Fixture: Team Excellent Torque vs Team Spear!]

"Holy sh*t! It's about to start and we're not there yet!"

2 players sprinted through the street even as their stamina rapidly depleted, but they did not pay attention to it as all their attention was on the tournament.

After a few days since the Quarterfinal showdown, the first semifinal showdown was finally about to take place and it was between 2 eccentric teams.

Team Spear was an eccentric team in the professional game community who were famous due to their focused usage on spears. Every single pro player on Team Spear were Pugilists, and they all wielded spears in tournaments.

This made them one of the most one-dimensional teams in the game.

Their offensive power was crazy and explosive, able to take down most teams before they could settle into their rhythm but the lack of a healer also left them vulnerable as well-prepared teams could easily take them out.

This combination of pros and cons presented an eccentric pro team that had earned a good reputation for many famous one-sided victories, while also earning an alternate funny reputation for suffering the most ridiculous of losses.

As for their opponents, Team Excellent Torgue was another eccentric team. Their core team was comprised of 3 Pugilists, 2 Elementalists, and a Pugilist reserve 6th player, their battle strategy was a little more refined than their opponents.

The 2 Elementalists were mostly the main damage dealers, as they had the best Elementalist equipment of the game to enable them deal as much damage as possible. While they did the most damage, the Pugilists were the real killers.

The strategy of this team was simple, torque was a force that produces or tends to produce rotation or torsion, this was the core of their strategy.

With the Elementalists attacking head-on, the 2 swordsman Pugilists of the Excellent Torgue team were famous for their marauding rotation strikes from the flanks. Most times, pairing this with their Elementalists, their kill rate was crazy.

Neither of these 2 players wanted to miss this exciting match-up. Having just completed a high-paying NPC mission, they were slightly late already and was the reason for their regret as they intended to watch the tournament live.

"F*ck! It already started, this is your fault Smoking Valkyrie".

"Stop shouting my username in public, you were the one who hyped the mission that it is so favorable, definitely not my fault!"

As they bickered in public even as they sprinted away, drawing a lot of attention, they suddenly paused as both of them discovered something at the same time. Shock appeared on their faces.

[NPC Character: ???]

Level: ???

Grade: ???

Main Class: Pugilist

Danger Level: Extremely Dangerous!

…

[NPC Character: ???]

Level: ???

Grade: ???

Main Class: Summoner

Danger Level: Extremely Dangerous!

…

[NPC Character: ???]

Level: ???

Grade: ???

Main Class: Pugilist

Danger Level: Extremely Dangerous!

"…"

Both players froze, they stammered at the same time. "R-red named NPCs!"

…

Thud!

Footsteps rapidly moved through the nearby forest.

"Richard, did you blow our cover?" One of the hooded men hissed.

"I didn't!" Richard hissed back. "I was with you both all the time".

"Those people that your brother took special attention to are really special, I didn't believe it before, but the ability to sniff us out of the crowd immediately despite being mere Grade E Superhumans, that's special".

"Do not mention my brother before me!" Quinn hissed again.

Crow did not pay attention to him, he turned to look at him. "Do you think we can try recruiting them to work on our side?"

"Afterall, from what I've observed, they respect profit above all else".

"I don't know!" Quinn growled back.

"My Crow have sighted them, they're close". Crown unsheathed her light sword. "This confirms it, it is not a fluke, they did recognize us".

The next moment, this powerful assassin leaped into the skies.

…

"We're going to be rich!" One of the 2 players muttered excitedly as they followed the trail that was left by the NPCs.

"If we can find their hideout, the new President will definitely reward us with such a handsome reward that we'll be the best players of the next version!"

This player's excitement was palpable.

It was hard for red named players to escape the detection of players, their hostile status literally turned them into a hotspot in players' maps.

"Don't shout, they must not know we're following them". The other was calmer as he advocated for caution.

"Shriek!"

They barely spoke when the screech of a crow reverberated in the skies.

On looking up, all they saw was a gigantic black shadow descending towards them. They could not ascertain the identity of the gigantic shadow before they were engulfed in it.

Bam!

They were knocked unconscious instantly.

…

Blink!

Smoking Valkyrie woke up to see himself in an unfamiliar environment, he was tied to chains and 5 red named NPCs were in the same room as them. Despite feeling dizzy, red named NPCs was hard to miss.

"What is your name?" The voice was harsh and grating.

"Smoking Valkyrie". He answered immediately.

"What?"

"Smoking Valkyrie, that is my name, I swear I'm not lying".

This NPC looked at the others before he continued. "How did you know our identity? Why were you following us?"

"What is your motive?"

"Did Legolas send you or is it the President?"

"Do you think you can defeat us in a fair fight?"

"KILL US!" The 2nd player, Fish Asura shouted valiantly like a brave knight but the NPC sneered in response.

"We already know that you lots don't die".

"Instead of killing you, we'll torture you till you tell us the truth".

In their dilemma, these 2 players were surprised as their virtual interface lit up a notification before them.

[You have triggered Special Mission: Paradigm Breakers!]

[Mission Details: Break the paradigm, join the train of the villains in the upcoming version for access to vastly more rewards than other players.]

[Mission Rewards: ???]

"…" Fish Asura was left speechless.

Smoking Valkyrie reacted faster. 'If I don't tell them the truth, we'll be tortured, depriving us from growing alongside other players. But if we relent, perhaps if I play my cards right, I may benefit'.

He no longer hesitated, he answered all the questions that the game system allowed him to answer, excluding only information related to earth and their identity as players.

In the end, the NPC was convinced. "If you can help us like you offered, we are willing to take you on your offer".

"Today, we're generous, tell us what you want as rewards".

"…" Both players were flabbergasted, and it was at this same moment that their virtual interface lit up another notification.

[You have triggered Special Mission Reward Option: Independence!]

Smoking Valkyrie's eyes widened. "I need weapons…, lots of weapons".

"I need class knowledge…"

"I need money…"

"I need power…"

The atmosphere instantly turned awkward, Smoking Valkyrie read it.

He coughed and chuckled awkwardly. "I'll take anything you offer".

"You're hired".

…

Phew!

Smoking Valkyrie sighed as he wiped away his non-existent sweat. Filled with regret all of a sudden on remembering something, he checked.

This player shouted the next moment.

"Team Spear won!"