"Fuck, where are all these hoards of monsters coming from?"
"Squad leader, we need backup or the Drisica fortress would fall in the hands of the devils."
The soldiers of the northern fortress were tired and exhausted from the battle that has been going on for weeks now. Not only was the army pushed back, but now even defending the fortress seemed like a challenge.
It was all going smoothly in the beginning under the command of the newly appointed squad leader who was leading the defence of the Drisica fortress. She was none other than Elexis, one of the top royal knights in [Mayhem] and the first ever person to get such a high military rank in an Empire as big as Sahhan.
Under her command, the NPC and Player soldiers wreaked havoc amongst the devil army, with barely any casualties. The devils were getting pushed back so easily that it was unreal.
Soon after, the devils somehow managed to tame monsters, and it just evolved to a point that there were now at least 100,000 monsters amongst the 200,000 strong devil army.
There were just 90,000 soldiers of the empire, and although the fortress gave them a natural advantage against the devils, the power gap was now steadily getting reduced due to the monster backup that the devils had gotten.
"It'll take at least two more days until reinforcements arrive, we have to hold out till then. Close the gates and fortify the walls. Ready the cannons and oil barrels. We have to stop the enemy's moment otherwise we won't even get a moment to breathe."
A beautiful yet serious voice commanded the soldiers. Elexis was a beautiful yet domineering woman who looked to be in her mid-20s. Her hair was red and was falling wildly on her shoulder, and she exuded the aura of a fearless lioness.
It perfectly matched her warrior-like getup. She wore a mix of silver and red plated armour and held an elegant spear in her hand. On her armour was the imprint of the Sahhan Empire.
"But ma'am, we don't have much firepower left. If we waste all of it now, we won't have any left for later."
"You won't need them when you are dead. Just do as I say."
"Aye, captain."
Elexis sighed as she rubbed her temples with her fingers, her beautiful face had a tired complexion.
'To think my first quest after becoming a squad captain would turn into an S-ranked quest. I hope the rewards are worth the trouble.'
Even though things were looking bad, Elexis was fully confident that she would be able to complete the quest, even though the reinforcements were days away from the fortress.
The only reason behind her confidence was her own skills, She was her own trump card. If worse comes worse, she would have to reveal her full strength and win the battle.
"Leader, the cannons are ready and awaiting your orders."
"Let's go. It's time to heat up the battlefield."
A soldier came to report and Elexis followed after him to the top of the fortress walls where the cannons were located.
***
"What should I do for now?"
I had logged in [Mayhem] and was currently inside Harold's castle. My engagement date was decided to be in a month, so I was basically free till then.
When I wasn't able to find any immediate goals, I decided to check the forums.
The forums, as usual, were filled with talks of all kinds. Some of them involved me, while some others involved other famous players like Crestfallen, Abel, Elexis, Doom, Dracomancer, etc.
'Those were the monsters I would have never dreamed of meeting with, forget about interacting with them.'
But now, I had already met and talked with Crestfallen. I was sure I would encounter the others sooner or later.
Apart from the talks about players, the real talk and game news was about the first worldwide competition that would be held by the Kibea corporation.
Not much information was released, but I did see something unexpected.
There was an email in my inbox, and when I opened it, I wasn't surprised at the contents.
[Special Invitation to the first International Mayhem Tournament (IMT).
Dear player Shura,
It is our pleasure to announce the first-ever official Mayhem Tournament on an international level. An envoy has been sent to officially invite you to the tournament, but we have prepared a small gift here if you decide to accept the invitation, apart from the benefits spoken by the envoy.
Expecting an earnest reply,
Regards,
Jacob Eves
Kibea International.]
The personal message from Kibea wasn't the surprising part. I had already expected this. But the actually surprising part was the gift that they had attached if I were to accept the invitation.
I could see a small red stone attached as an item slot to the email.
I clicked on the item to see its details.
[Eyes of the Wise
Type: Active and Passive Skill
Rating: Legendary 4 Star
Item description unavailable at the moment.]
"....."
What was this?
This elaborate attempt to entice me into joining the competition. The more I thought about it, the more suspicious it all seemed. But what was infuriating was the timer that ticked just below the mail.
[3 days, 16 hours and 32 minutes left until the expiration of this message.]
[Would you like to accept the invitation?]
[Yes] [No]
'Now this is just like cornering me to accept the invitation, Is this even an invitation at this point? Why does it feel like I am selling my soul to the devil?'
I sighed as I violently scratched my head and horns, making a mess out of my hair.
"This is obviously a trap."
And I feel like diving right in.
'I still have 3 days' time, let's see how things go. Even if I don't accept the invitation in-game, it's just an eye power, right? Not like it's a big deal!
'It's a big deal, eye powers are super rare, not to mention a legendary 4-star skill at that.'
I sighed again thinking about it. I was tempted to click on the accept button without thinking much, but I calmed myself down for the sake of not walking straight into the honey trap that the Kibea corporation had laid down for me.
"Shura, when did you come?"
As I was rummaging through my head to think of a solution, I heard a sweet voice call out my name, bringing me out of my reverie.
"Ena… how have you been?"
I looked at Ena who was wearing a light pink gown dress and looked like a blonde fairy.
She smiled as her eyes curved.
"I was thinking about you just now."
I felt something bubbling inside me as I talked with her. Knowing that a beautiful girl like her was thinking about me was enough to make my heart flutter, just not for long.
An ogre girl's silhouette flashed in my eyes, making me clench my head as I stumbled a bit.
"Shura! What happened? Are you fine?"
Ena shouted worriedly as she held my hand to support me.
"I am okay, don't worry. I just got dizzy for a second."
[Due to the continuous guilt of not being able to save someone precious to you, a heart demon has been manifested inside your soul.]
[The heart demon is currently dormant, but it can still affect your emotions.]
[Your legend status is trying to suppress the heart demon.]
[Supressesion failed. Heart demon has been judged to be a separate entity instead of a status condition.]
'Well, fuck!'
Even though the notifications in front of me were scary, I somehow managed to squeeze a smile on my face.
'I would have been scared shitless if I didn't have a cure for this situation, right?'
I took out the Pill of Separation that I had made to save the princess. Only one of them was consumed while two pills still remained with me. I never expected that they would come to practical use so soon.
Without hesitation, I consumed a pill. Soon, I could feel a cool sensation running throughout my body and gathering at my heart. The dormant heart demon that had just been born and didn't even have a proper shape started to vanish with the cool sensation.
[The heart demon inside your soul has been vanquished.]
[The heart demon has been conquered in an unorthodox way.]
[You are the first person in the history of Ethra, be it player or NPC, to conquer a heart demon as soon as it was born.]
[An achievement has been unlocked: Quick on feet.]
[Reward: Soul Nourisher (One time skill).]
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