As the final rung needed to include all the previous rungs together Mrs Hamilton had insisted that they needed a suitable space for the battle to occur Helen asked them to name the time and the place Donny begged HelenÆs understanding in this instance because they needed to devote time and resources to addressing the structural stability of the town in the wake of the challenge
For now the final rung was indefinitely postponed
Alana knew it was rather pointless to attempt again while she was completely exhausted and shocked from the events of the challenge but she couldnÆt get her attention to shift away from the details of that fight Once more she focused on the feeling of that bitter wind blowing the iron rich dust in waves across the wasteland
If she wanted to follow Randidly up to the next tier of strength she needed to build her image One detail at a time
A glimmer of orange wrapped around her fingers illuminating the tent Narrowing her eyes Alana pushed harder The light brightened shifting from a firefly to a candle
In the final three strikes Randidly had moved and the sky had darkened His entire body had become that of the Grim Chimera And yet now without the support of Donnyton her image had to struggle to produce a bit of light
Not that RandidlyÆs attacks had been perfect but they had shown fulfillment They were from a point on this path that was immensely more advanced than AlanaÆs own Their charm had been obvious
He had left Donnyton a Path And a sinkhole to remind them of the cost of straying from it
Chapter 952
Alana closed her eyes Even now she could see those three attacks When Randidly moved that first time
A knock came at the tent flap causing her eyes to snap open The voice was low and relaxed but just slightly hoarse Are you ready
Politics right now Donny ShouldnÆt we just sleep Alana asked
Donny chuckled quietly and then fell silent As the silence dragged on for a few seconds Alana recognized that he was likely just as affected by the challenge as she had been Maybe he used those few seconds to fantasize briefly about his own bed Perhaps But after being shown our limits we canÆt just avoid the other Zones too many people saw what happened
Alana quietly dragged a brush through her hair to remove any bits of scorched ground and debris Honestly she needed a shower after the fight she had just isolated herself and attempted to improve her image She wasnÆt ready to meet with a delegation from another Zone
Yet what choice did she have
After putting on some high quality armor for appearance sake she quietly laced up her boots Although her main pair had been destroyed in the fight Alana had several identical pairs made so she wouldnÆt have to go without They fit snuggly and would provide excellent footing on any surface Then she walked out to join Donny Who is it
Zone Eleven Donny grunted Without any more explanation the two walked through the dark night toward the center of Donnyton They passed the many whispering Squads and civilians doing their best to ignore the long stares
No one spoke to them They just watched Donny and Alana Likely they were waiting to see what this meant for Donnyton After all Donnyton had lost
As they approached the wide oak doors to the Village Center AlanaÆs heart seized Really the only thing Donnyton lost was the support of Randidly Ghosthound
Within the front room four individuals were waiting
I guess we are all here Sam said sourly
Alana did her best not to grin Despite SamÆs understanding of the necessity of this meeting he was the most unreasonable of the assembled group As such he didnÆt bother to hide his irritation that he had been dragged away from his studies for a political matter Likely he had done almost the same thing as Alana had except SamÆs focus had been on forging If he had been given a few more hours Alana had no doubt that Donnyton would have a few more high end weapons to test
Mrs Hamilton and Donny looked tired but their faces were studious neutral Perhaps correctly they believed that right now was a time when Donnyton needed defending from political damage more than anything else ReginaÆs expression was mild as though she hadnÆt just dragged back a dozen people from the brink of death
Likely the reason that the meeting had been delayed this long after the challenge was because she refused to participate until everyone that could be healed had been seen to
Ed wasnÆt present but Clarissa was quietly nursing a strong cup of coffee that Alana could smell across the room It was clearly spiked with rum With these six they had the clout necessary to speak with the representatives from another Zone After a few quick glances to check in the five walked through into the ornately designed library where the delegation from Zone Eleven waited
There were three individuals in the room All three immediately registered as minor threats to AlanaÆs Danger Sense Skill A fiery hair young woman was spinning the expensive globe on the reading table looking profoundly bored She wore long leather boots that were practically designed and had a golden sword strapped to each hip As DonnytonÆs group entered she looked up at them and then back down
Not the one with power then
A teenage boy with large spectacles leapt to his feet as soon as the group entered Then he blushed and sat back down next to his tall bow He toyed with an extremely small dagger seemingly unnerved by the sudden arrival of DonnytonÆs group
Not him either So
The third individual was sitting with his fingers steepled on the comfortable leather couch that was pressed up against the one wall not lined with books His bearded and tanned face immediately split into a grin as the group from Donnyton entered
Thank you so much for meeting us on short notice The bearded man rumbled His voice was so low that Alana could hear it resonating in her chest as he spoke I donÆt want to waste your time as you deal with the aftermath of that battle so IÆll make it quick
The man pointed at the woman with two swords SheÆs Melanie His finger moved to the bespectacled young man ThatÆs Kirk
Standing the man offered the group a short bow And IÆm Warlord We are here to request assistance with a certain matter After seeing the strength of Donnyton well I think that there is no one more qualified to help us
Unless we just asked the Ghosthound to help The swordswoman Melanie turned away from the toy globe and graced them with a smirk
Mrs HamiltonÆs face twitched but she easily smiled at Warlord in the next moment It might be a chaotic time for us but we are all individuals struggling underneath the suppression of the System Tell us what kind of assistance do you need
Military force Warlord said with a sigh As IÆm sure you know new Zones are assigned certain random magical benefits for lack of a better term as well as Danger Zones To encourage expansion From what I understand Donnyton was given a mine filled with very rare ores The carrot and the stick provided by the System
However our Zone received a very strange random benefit WarlordÆs face twisted Instead of a mine or a forest or an enchanted river we received something dangerous
Kirk straightened his glasses A Dungeon We received a Dungeon
Warlord studied DonnytonÆs group for reactions Alana realized he was waiting to see if they responded at all to his words Ultimately his gaze fixed upon Clarissa Because from the moment he had mentioned a Dungeon she was beaming with excitement
Warlord continued to speak slowly enunciating every word clearly An Epic Dungeon it calls itself An Epic Level 75 Dungeon And every week a wave of Level 70 monsters explodes outward WeÆve resorted to building physical impediments to guide them away from our cities but the Zone is close to filling with the runoff We were hoping that Donnyton could help us deal with this problem
Roy moved his jaw slowly from side to side enjoying the loud pops the bones made as they slid in and out of place The Toad Lord that had been assigned to guard him had looked up at the noise at first but over the past few days it had largely grown accustomed to the skeleton manÆs strange habits Now it just ignored him