Chapter 376 - Stepping up (Patreon)

"Welcome back. First of all, I would like to thank Morgan Waaberi, the CEO of New Dawn, Tavine Illolont, the acting leader of the elves, Savyre Tychar, the queen of the children of the sky, and Becca Swan for joining us tonight," the host of the show said with a smile.

"I'm the one who thanks you for the invite, Leandra and let me thank Tavine and Savyre for coming here. I understand that this is a very tense situation, and I appreciate you taking your time to discuss this fringe group with us," Morgan turned to the side, where the elf and the harpy were sitting.

"I'm the one who is grateful for giving us a platform to publicly reject the view of this terrorist group," Tavine replied.

"So you are condemning their actions?" Leandra, the host of the show, asked.

"Of course. What they did goes against everything that we believe in."

"So none of you don't believe that humanity overstepped in our requests and expansion?" Leandra asked.

"If I'm being completely honest, I do think humanity overstepped at times. However, that doesn't mean that we, the elves, are looking for reparations. We want to live in peace and join hands while working for a better future."

"Even I'm aware that organizations such as this LLD prey on real fears and turn problems that are either small or that are already resolved into effective bogreyman's," Savyre turned to Becca, "Did I say that right?"

Becca smiled, "I believe you meant boogieman. Throughout history, all terrorist organizations used a real fear to fuel the flames of their cause. However, I'm more curious about how that attack is being seen by your people if you don't mind me asking."

"The children of the sky are appalled. We know better than most what it is like to be attacked for no reason. If this group wanted to send a message, all they did was show that they refuse to accept anyone who doesn't align themselves with their cause and are willing to hurt innocent civilians for what? To send a message? They are little more than thugs," Savyre scoffed.

"The elves mostly agree. We do have some small groups that support the concept of what the LLD did, but even the most radical of them are against the unnecessary violence displayed. Our world has seen too much war already. Between the Wendigos, the rampages, and the random appearance of powerful monsters, we already have too much to worry about to start a fighting among ourselves. The main issue here is that these thugs have powerful explosives and are willing to use them with no regard for anyone's life," Tavine turned to Morgan, "Mr. Waaberi, I want to make it clear that I'm not accusing you of anything. However, is it correct to say that you are well versed in gravity magic? The way the explosions returned to the point of origin and gathered the debris felt like something along those lines."

Morgan nodded, "Indeed. Although I couldn't say for certain since none of the cameras caught the actual explosion, it seemed like whatever they used had a gravity well of sorts. I wouldn't go as far as to say they were able to make a black hole since if that was the case, I believe the destruction it caused would be much worse. It pains me to say this, but there is a possibility that they used one of my own spells."

"Is it a spell that anyone can buy?" Leandra asked.

"Yes, it's one of the programs used by our A-heart rooms. I worked very closely with that project, and the first spell that was placed in the simulation was that one. To make it worse, anyone who used one of the A-heart rooms can learn the spell free of charge. It's a freebie that I mostly use as a vacuum cleaner substitute. That's why I wanted to share that spell with everyone. All you have to do is ask about it. I knew that if enough mana was used in the spell, it could cause a lot of damage, but I never imagined that it could be used like this. I'm sorry," Morgan lowered his head while holding both hands together.

"Is there any way to track the people who learned that spell?" Becca asked.

"Unfortunately, no. The data we receive from the training rooms is encrypted, and we don't track what you do inside it. If you buy a specific simulation for a spell but don't actually try to get it, we won't know. The idea was to maintain everyone's privacy, but now, it seems like a mistake."

"I disagree. This shows that you still care about the people and are not just looking to benefit your shareholder's pockets. I won't say that your company's products and services are not exceedingly expensive, but you at least still have some morals. Either way, is it possible to consider everyone who used one of the A-heart rooms a suspect?" Savyre asked.

"If we do that, we will have over three million suspects. It's hardly something to narrow down. The spell is not particularly complex either, and it wouldn't be impossible for someone to pass the spell to others or even create an improved version. Not to mention that there are other spells available in the guild that could produce similar results. As much as I wish it would be this simple, I'm afraid finding the perpetrators is going to take more than that. I wish it wouldn't. We lost 53 people in that attack, and the criminals are still free. It's not fair," Morgan sighed.

Seeing the mood was going in a direction that wouldn't make for a good interview, Leandra spoke up, "It is not, and I'm sure everyone here agrees that the people responsible must be brought to justice. What gives me hope that we will find them is the fact that none of the leaders of the races was killed during the attack. I must say that knowing that Romeo is the chairman of the guild makes me feel safer now. After all, he was willing to risk his own well-being to save others during such a harrowing event."

"Speaking of which, is Evandar injured? I was surprised when I saw that he stepped down from his position even if it is supposed to be something temporary," Savyre turned to Tavine.

"This attack caused a lot of unrest among our people. Evandar was overwhelmed with the situation, and the attack took a toll on his health. He is not just the leader of the elves but also one of the senior members of the council of elders. A group composed of the eldest among our people. After going through something like that, his doctor recommended that he rest for a few weeks before resuming his work. If I'm being honest, he didn't want to take such a long break, especially during these circumstances, but his wife forced him," Tavine chuckled.

"Ah, yes. That is only more proof that we are more similar than we imagine. It doesn't matter if you are a human, an elf, or children of the sky. We are all at the behest of our life partners," Morgan nodded with a smile.

"Indeed we are. My mate almost stopped me from coming here, fearing another attack," Savyre chuckled.

"Do you mind talking about them? I think that knowing a bit of your day-to-day life might help everyone see that we really are the same," Becca asked.

"Sure. Although I'm not sure, I will be the best case study. You see, the children of the sky are mostly female, and we don't need a male to reproduce. I won't go into details, but we can perform what we call…."

As the subject trailed off from the attack and started to focus more on the life of everyone in the interview, Hera stopped paying attention in the television. She wasn't that interested, and hearing Becca tell someone else about her life just felt weird. If someone she didn't know came to her talking about her life because they heard about it in an interview, she would feel very weird. Pulling her tablet, she saw a message from her father letting her know that he was already back home. Today was the one-year anniversary of grandma Triss' death, and she didn't want to leave him alone, even if he fitted in very well with the people of Boothudurn.

After Triss' funeral, Eridan told Hera that he was divorcing Stella. The way she treated his daughter was a big reason for that decision, but the last straw was when they received the news about Triss. Instead of asking if he was OK or saying that she was sorry, Stella's first question was, 'so, who gets her house?' That triggered a huge argument that made Eridan realize that she would never put anything else before what she wanted, even when her own husband had just lost his mother. After that, he asked Hera for help to become an explorer, a crafter, to be precise. He went through the entire training, and because of his knowledge as a furniture maker, he managed to pass the test on the first try. Hera and her friends all took a short vacation back on earth during that month.

Hera spent most of the past year kept going back and forth to the Wailing Valley, helping the guild find a new doorway in hopes that it would lead to the room she hoped to find more about the tamer. That worked, in a way. She did help the guild find the doorway, but it led to a small room that was just a sandy desert in a five-kilometer-wide area. Unfortunately, there was nothing there. No monsters, no structures, no people, no dungeons, nothing. It seemed like a complete dead end, but everyone was sure that there had to be something. The main idea was that there was something underneath the sands, but so far, no one was able to find anything about it.

At the same time, Hera was helping Rutigan and Boothudurn's council to find out more about the rest of the people of Kul Dorul and looking into other rooms to find an area that matched where the tamer should be. Most rooms  she found were too far away and would require a big trip to reach. Even if she was willing to do something like that, Silah wasn't that excited about the idea. Even when the explorer would spend a week in the Wailing Valley, the blacksmith already complained. In a way, Hera found it sweet. Her girlfriend didn't want to be away from her, but it showed the difference in mentality between the two. It was normal to spend a few days or even weeks without seeing someone to Hera. For Silah, that only happened when someone had passed away. Still, the two understood that there were differences and that they could talk when something was bothering them.

"My dad is going home. I'm going to spend the night at his place," Hera announced to Silah, Helena, and Alex, who were inside the house. Bonnie and Blue were back on earth, Blue was there for a party for her cousin's new baby, and Bonnie was house hunting with her mother. Ever since Eridan came to the MAZE, the researcher has been trying to convince her mother to become an explorer so they could stay together.

"Do you want us to go? Would that be better than having just the two of you there?" Silah asked.

"I honestly don't know," Hera sighed. She didn't have a plan for what to do. All she knew was that she needed something to distract her father.

She was gathering her things and about to head out when everyone received a message through their tablets.

'Rampage Warning - Report to the guild immediately.'

"Shit," Alex got up and went to put on her gear.

"That came on a really crappy day," Hera sighed.

"Maybe not. It will be a good way for him to distract himself," Helena suggested as she went up the stairs to get her gear ready.

"Rampage… that's the thing that turns a room into a dungeon with respawning monsters?" Silah asked.

"Pretty much, and since it's going to be the first that ever happens here, we are not entirely sure how it will work. If someone doesn't want to risk staying here, they can go to a different room and wait for this to be over," Hera replied.

"Do you really think I'm not going to stay to protect my home?" Silah gasped.

"Nope. I was positive that you would stay and fight. I'm just reminding you that you can send your family away, so you have fewer things to worry about during the battle."

"That's… actually a good idea. I'll go talk to them. See you in the guild?"

"See you there."

Silah rushed outside while Hera went to her room and put on her gear. Since her grandma passed away, she had upgraded all her equipment. New armor, a new handaxe, and the one Silah gave to her had been upgraded. Not just that, but Hera was now level 25. Not that it would make much of a difference, considering the levels of the dwarven guard, this rampage shouldn't be a problem.