The Legendary Fool

154:

As Tom’s party cut across the throng of people crowding the Nexus City’s plaza, Tom could not help but notice the attention they were receiving. The Deathforged Remnant Armor had proven to be even more eye-catching than he’d expected, but that wasn’t all that stood out. The unconventional longsword that was sheathed at his side would make running cumbersome, atleast without it unsheathed.

Aleph’s lustrous silver hair that was dotted with strands of amethyst made her appearance stand out and coupled with her azure eyes and striking physique, her appearance was hard to forget.

Zirel was the one who stood out the least amongst their group, but his piercing alabaster white eyes and the effortless grace he carried himself with would tell a keen eye that he was no ordinary climber either.

A healing potion was strapped to all three of their waists, with extras stored safely in their inventory.

They were as ready as they could be.

Tom allowed his gaze to sweep across the plaza, hoping to avoid any needless encounters yet still finding it prudent to assess any people that could prove to be troublesome.

The first two groups of climbers seemed to be independent, groups of three and four respectively. None of them were people he’d seen before, which made sense considering that the person he’d used Maya on had been intending to accept a Nexus Quest with his party.

Tom’s keen eyesight was able to determine that none of them were wearing the Neem Guild’s pendants. As Tom had found out after using Maya on both Rowan and Lorcan, the pendants were created with a card ability and the rarity of the metal used in the forging process signified the status of the pendant holder.

If Rowan, Lorcan and the middle-aged man that had welcomed them to the Nexus City: Bulwark all wore pendants, it was more than likely that their possession was mandatory as a proof of identity.

What Tom found more interesting was the makeup of the groups. Each group seemed to have at least one archer, the four man group having two. One of them had a bow strapped to the back while the other had a small, compact crossbow strapped to his side, both clearly a step above the run of the mill artifacts.

Swordsmen seemed to be a popular vocation as well, though perhaps it would be unwise to consider them such just because one person in each of the groups had a sword strapped to their waists. For all he knew, they relied on their cards entirely for combat and had the sword as a last ditch defense weapon.

There were three people he couldn’t figure out, at least not entirely. One was a woman, clothed in shimmering robes that had to be an artifact of some sort, a bland wooden staff her only accompaniment. Another was a man clad in a dark leather chest armor and leggings, a total of six small daggers sheathed in built in openings on the surface of said armor itself. Four daggers were strapped to his chest and two more, longer ones, were sheathed in the thigh region of his leggings.

Finally, there was a person clad head to toe in armor, but Tom could not detect any hint of a weapon on them, sheathed or sheathed. After his experiences with Zirel, he subconsciously found himself deeming them the most dangerous amongst the lot.

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But Tom didn’t really see any of them as a threat. If he had judged correctly, they were independent climbers, which meant that while they wouldn’t try to help them due to their own interests with the Neem Guild, they also wouldn’t try to hinder their progress.

The Guild itself though, that was an entirely different matter.

Tom’s gaze fell upon the five-storey building that served as the headquarters for the Neem Guild, or more precisely, upon the two guards that were clearly conversing with each other.

As they drew closer to the Nexus Node: Epsilon, Tom’s eyes narrowed as one of the guards nodded before retreating inside the Guild Building, while the other guard trailed their progress. He tried to pretend like he was sweeping the area with his eyes, but even from such a distance, Tom’s eyes didn’t miss how the guard’s locked on to his group.

‘I can smell the bullshit from here,’ Tom wryly thought, before shaking his head. ‘Oh well, at least this is a safe zone.’

As Tom entered the active radius of the Nexus Node: Epsilon, his vision lit up by an ethereal blue notification.

[Active Nexus Quest: Active Rift

Description: An Active Rift connecting the first floor of the tower to the Nether Realm has been detected outside Nexus City: Warden. Currently, a Stygian Titan, accompanied by four Nether Shamans and an army of Deathless Sentinels tied to the life force of the Nether Shamans have escaped the rift.

Over a hundred parties have accepted a variant of this quest.

Requirement for completion: Slay five deathless sentinels as an individual or fifteen deathless sentinels as a party OR slay one Nether Shaman OR break the adaptive shielding around the Stygian Titan.

Rewards: 3 Nexus Points, 10 Uncommon Ranked Side-Fragments, 1 Uncommon Ranked Core Fragment OR Six Nexus Points and three Uncommon Cards OR Ten Nexus Points, One Rare Card, One Rare Artifact and ???

Would you like to accept this quest as an individual or party?]

Tom read the description for a second time, his lips pursed in thought. While the Nexus Quest itself, on the base level didn’t seem beyond the capabilities of their party, the valuable rewards being offered for dealing with the Nether Shamans or the Stygian Titans were a matter of concern.

He did not want to get caught in the crossfire of the Stygian Titan, but from what he’d learned about the Nexus Quest’s difficulty, three nexus points should be well within the capabilities of their group.

“So, uh, what are we thinking?” Tom asked, his own tone thoughtful as he turned to look at Aleph, who seemed a little pensive, before his gaze flickered over to Zirel.

‘Well that was a mistake,’ Tom thought, somehow having forgotten that Zirel was the one who was prepared to fight his way across kingdoms to reach the tower, the eager smile stretching across his visage saying more than words ever could.

“Finally,” He softly whispered. “A crucible where I can test myself. No politics. No games. No Nottrakon besides I. No status to protect me. This is what I’ve been searching for all this while.”

It was in that moment that Tom realized that perhaps the real reason why Zirel wished to climb the tower was because he wanted to truly, without a doubt be rid of the long shadow his father, the Nottrakon King, had cast on his entire life, a feeling of inescapable control that had been suffocating him all this while.

“Everyone is free to make their own choice,” Aleph said, her voice solemn. “But I’m not going to run from this. Not today. Not anymore.”

Tom sighed, before shaking his head and letting a small smile tug at his lips, “We get access to some advanced portal shenanigans and the first thing we agree on is to throw ourselves into the midst of some neverending war. Fuck me, I’m in,” He replied with a chortle, his hand resting on the hilt of his blade.