"Even if they are a collective, someone's got to be organizing them. Remember how much they love order? Without structure, they'll collapse," Van said. "Of course! This is just what we've been waiting for. We just need to figure out where the Emperor Dragon is."
"Emperor Dragon? I thought they were all kings," Sang commented as she looked at Van with a puzzled expression.
"They are kings, but there's one dragon known as the Emperor, and he's the one who rules over all of the other dragons. If we take him out, who knows what kind of chaos it will bring?" Van asked with a laugh.
Sang nodded after a moment's thought. "It's worth a shot, but we're going to need to be careful. Even if it's localized, this kill switch means that innocent people could be at risk. Whenever we strike, we need to give sufficient warning."
"But that risk wouldn't stop you, would it?" Van asked quietly.
Sang glared at Van. "No. No, it wouldn't. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't do everything we can to minimize causalities."
Van wanted to open his mouth and argue with her about the sanctity of life, but he knew it was a waste of time. They had been arguing endlessly about the idea of acceptable losses over the last few weeks, and neither of them was going to change their minds or positions. Instead, he merely shrugged. "Whatever. It'll be on your conscience. Thanks, Jet."
"Of course. Do you have any other directives for me?" Jet asked as he stretched his wings out. His wingspan was impressive now – nearly 32 feet in length.
"Not yet," Van said. "But stick around here. Once we identify our target, we might need you to get us there."
"Very well," Jet said, "I shall await your return."
Van turned to face Sang. "Alright, let's get moving! This is finally the news we've been waiting for. We've got the numbers for it, so all we need to do is figure out where the Emperor is hiding. Then, we launch the biggest raid that this game has ever seen."
Sang smiled. "It's good to see you so excited," she said. "I've been missing this side of you."
"If we keep moving, we'll be fine," Van said. "Come on, let's go rally up the team. We've got a dragon to hunt.
"You are not going to believe this!" Sahara called out proudly as she rushed into the war room where Van and his allies had gathered. Upon the wall was a large map of the entire realm, marked with possible locations of the Emperor.
Van, who had been sitting at the table and conversing with Kylian and Capello, looked up at her. "What's up?"
"We found the Emperor!" Sahara announced.
"That quickly?" Van asked. "Perfect. Where is he?"
In answer to the question, Sahara pulled out a large envelope and threw it down on the table. "There!" she said.
"That's an interesting seal," Kylian commented as Van grabbed the letter up and began to open it. The purple wax seal showed a multi-headed dragon with flames spewing out of each head.
"Hear ye, hear ye," Van said as he read the letter aloud. Kylian, Sang, Fredlin, Sahara, Capello, and Bidane stood right behind him, reading over his shoulder. "Let it be known to all the world that Draco is no longer hiring professional players. We have worked hard to select the best of the best and, as such, we have recruited as many as we need. However, fret not, noble adventurer, for you still have a chance to join Draco. Within a fortnight, there will be a grand tournament to be known as the End of Ages."
"That sounds ominous as hell," Sang interjected.
"Tell me about it," Van said as he continued to read. "The End of Ages is open to all who have the courage, strength, and desire to earn their rightful place at Draco. Many will play, but only five will earn the right to call themselves a Draco pro. Those who achieve the impossible will be granted a feast with the entire royal court for a night that you will never forget."
"The entire royal court?" Van asked. "All of Draco in one spot?"
"End of Ages… no more recruiting…" Sang mumbled. "Van, I'm pretty sure this is the final event in the game."
"Sounds like it," Kylian said. "They're probably gathering together to celebrate the end of the world."
"They can't be that arrogant," Van answered. "Can they?"
"How are we still breathing?" Sang asked. "They've had so many opportunities to kill us, Van. But they haven't. Why? Because these bastards want us to suffer. We might not understand them, but I can guarantee you that they are arrogant beyond all reason."
Van shrugged. "Well, I'm not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Maybe we should join this tournament."
"Join it?" Bidane asked. "Don't you mean attack it?"
"Attack it and fight against the hundreds of thousands of players who are going to be there?" Van asked. "If we join the tournament incognito, we'll be able to figure out the details of the feast, earn our way to the top, and then coordinate a big attack. Chances are, since the feast is invite only, it will be at a separate location."
"So, we get into the tournament, find out where the feast is, and then move the Iron Dragons to kill them," Sang said. "Brilliant. But we'll only get one shot at this."
"From the looks of it," Kylian said, "we've got three weeks before everything blows up."
"It seems like a huge risk," Van said as he put the letter down. "But it is easier than searching for the DRZs while Draco continues with their plans. But if we do this, we're putting all of our eggs in one basket. If this fails, that's it. We're done for."
"Not a lot else to go on," Kylian said. "So, it's this or continue stabbing around in the dark, hoping for another big break."
"I say we go kick some dragon ass!" Capello shouted. The rest of the room heartily echoed the sentiment.
"Alright, fine. Let's join this tournament!" Van said. "They said there's five slots, right? That's Sang and I, Kylian, and Sahara and Fredlin."
"Why am I being left out?" Bidane demanded to know.
"Because, we're going to need you to coordinate the Iron Dragons," Van said. "Even if we get eliminated in the tournament or end up in trouble, you'll be able to get them moving."
"And the reason only five of us are going? We should take as many as we can," Bidane said.
"Getting alternate characters is going to be a hassle," Van explained, "plus, we can't be sure that Draco isn't going to be using some kind of permadeath system in there, and the last thing I want is for us to be forced to kill one another."
Bidane shrugged. "I guess that makes sense. Fine. Capello and I will ready the troops for action, but I better have an opportunity to kill one of these guys. I will avenge Dolly."
"I suppose we must now turn our attention to getting alternate characters," Kylian said as he walked over to the table and sat on the edge of it. "Any member of the Iron Dragons will immediately be recognized. We're going to need new characters."
"But we're also going to need characters that are of a high enough level to compete in the tournament," Van said. "I mean, we'll be facing levels as high as 80. We don't have enough time to start new characters and rank them up."
"Well, while you guys figure that out, I'll go inform the troops of the plan," Bidane said.
"Don't mention any details about the dragons," Van reminded her.
"Right, right," Bidane said as she grabbed Capello by the arm and pulled him away from the group. "I won't mention a damned thing."
"I have an idea of where we could get some characters," Fredlin said. "But it's not going to be cheap."
Everyone turned to face the ranger. "We're listening," Sang said.
"Well, for those of us who are busy and have more money than time, we tend to employ power levelers to do the hard work for us."
"Power levelers?" Sang asked.
"Professionals who level up characters for money," Van said. "How do you not know that term by this point?"
"You guys have phrases for everything in this world, and I can't keep up," Sang snapped back. Van smiled at the bit of banter. It was nice to bicker with her again, even if just for a moment.