Chapter 111 — An Unexpected Visitor
Hours passed.
And we were still stuck in the same room.
I was beginning to hate this window.
Not because there was anything wrong with it, but because every time I looked through it, I saw the same thing.
Imperial soldiers.
Walking down the streets.
Checking the alleys.
Watching the entrances.
And making sure nobody suspicious slipped through their patrols.
I had spent hours studying their movements, hoping to find even the smallest mistake. A gap between patrols, a street they had forgotten to check, or a moment when the soldiers became distracted.
Anything would have been useful.
But the Empire seemed determined to make my life miserable.
Every hour, the patrols changed their routes. Sometimes a group that had been walking down the main street suddenly turned into an alley. Other times, soldiers appeared from streets that had been completely empty just minutes earlier.
It was almost as if they were deliberately making their movements unpredictable.
Which, considering the Empire's resources, wouldn't surprise me.
I pulled the curtain aside again.
Another patrol passed.
I let it fall.
"...Still nothing."
Behind me, SK sat on the floor, maintaining her white armor. She carefully cleaned each piece before checking its condition and setting it beside her.
She had been doing that for quite a while now.
Honestly, I couldn't tell whether she was preparing for a fight or simply trying to keep herself occupied.
Blaze, meanwhile, had finally decided to take a nap.
He was lying on the bed with one arm behind his head, looking completely unbothered by our situation.
I stared at him.
How can you sleep at a time like this?
He had fought an Administrator yesterday, so I supposed he deserved some rest.
Still, it was difficult to understand how someone could remain so relaxed while we were surrounded by Imperial soldiers.
Volt was the only one who seemed as frustrated as I was.
He sat at the table, surrounded by small tools and pieces of equipment. His communications device was disassembled in front of him, and he had been trying to repair it for the past few hours.
Every now and then, he connected two wires, tested the device, and frowned when nothing happened.
"This thing is driving me crazy," he muttered.
I glanced at him.
"Any progress?"
"Define progress."
"Can you contact the Resistance HQ or not?"
"No."
"Then no progress."
Volt sighed.
"Thanks for the encouragement, Ryze."
"You're welcome."
He gave me an annoyed look before returning to his work.
Our problems were piling up.
First, there was the Empire. We had no idea when its soldiers would decide to stop watching us and start attacking us.
Second, there were the bounty hunters.
Apparently, my bounty had become attractive enough to draw all kinds of trouble toward us. Some hunters were experienced players who knew how to track their targets, while others were heavily equipped mercenaries who wouldn't hesitate to attack if they thought the reward was worth the risk.
And after yesterday's battle, I wouldn't be surprised if even more of them started paying attention to Blaze.
Third, there was the journey itself.
We still had a long way to go, and traveling through the New World was never as simple as following a road.
You never knew what might happen.
A monster could suddenly appear.
A hostile faction could block the route.
A random event could turn a peaceful village into a battlefield.
Or we could run into another Administrator who decided that fighting Blaze was a good way to spend the afternoon.
Honestly, that last possibility was starting to feel a little too realistic.
I rubbed my forehead.
Why can't we have one normal journey?
"All right," Volt suddenly said, putting down his tools.
"Let's go through our options again."
I turned toward him.
"Again?"
"Unless you've magically discovered a way out while staring at that window, yes."
I glared at him.
"I am scouting."
"You're staring."
"I'm scouting while staring."
"Very productive."
"Shut up."
Volt chuckled before turning serious.
"First option. Teleportation."
I shook my head immediately.
"No."
"Didn't think so."
Teleportation would have been the easiest solution. If one of us could open a portal or use a teleportation skill, we could leave the city without having to deal with the patrols.
Unfortunately, none of us had access to a skill that could do that.
Even if someone possessed a short-range teleportation ability, we still had to consider the tank and our supplies waiting outside the city.
Leaving those behind wasn't an option.
"Second option," Volt continued. "We sneak out."
I pointed toward the window.
"Look outside."
"I know."
"Then why are you saying it?"
"Because we're discussing our options."
"That isn't an option. That's a fantasy."
Volt leaned back in his chair.
"Fine. Third option. We create a distraction."
I paused.
That one wasn't completely impossible.
If we could draw the soldiers away from one of the gates, perhaps we could slip through another route.
But there was a problem.
"What kind of distraction?"
Volt opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
"...Still working on that part."
I stared at him.
"Brilliant."
"Do you have a better idea?"
I looked toward the window again.
"No."
"Then stop criticizing my ideas."
"I'm criticizing the lack of ideas."
"Those are my ideas!"
"Exactly!"
SK quietly cleared her throat.
Both of us stopped arguing.
"If you two have finished," she said, "perhaps we can focus on the actual problem."
Volt raised both hands.
"I'm focused."
"So am I," I added.
SK looked at me.
"Then tell me what you have learned from watching the patrols."
I straightened slightly.
"Every patrol follows a different route. Their movements change roughly every hour, and there are no consistent blind spots. The main roads, alleys, and entrances are all being watched."
I paused.
"They're not simply patrolling the city anymore. They're actively preventing anyone suspicious from leaving."
SK nodded.
"Then sneaking out through the streets will be difficult."
"Difficult?" I repeated.
"Impossible is the word I'd use."
"Nothing is impossible."
"Great. Then you go outside and tell me how it goes."
SK gave me a flat look.
I sighed.
"Sorry."
She returned to checking her equipment.
I leaned against the wall, crossing my arms.
The more I thought about it, the worse our situation seemed.
The Empire clearly knew something had happened in Helios Reach. Whether they knew our exact location was another matter.
If they knew we were staying here, why hadn't they attacked?
Were they afraid of Blaze?
Were they waiting for reinforcements?
Or were they simply gathering information before making their move?
I couldn't figure it out.
And that uncertainty was worse than having soldiers banging on our door.
At least then we'd know what we were dealing with.
I looked toward Blaze.
He was still asleep.
Or at least pretending to be.
"Hey, Blaze."
No response.
"Blaze."
He shifted slightly.
"What?"
"Any brilliant ideas?"
He opened one eye.
"About what?"
"Getting out of the city."
He closed his eye again.
"Not really."
I stared at him.
"You're kidding."
"Wake me up when someone has a good one."
I grabbed a pillow from the nearby chair and threw it at him.
He caught it without even opening his eyes.
Then he smiled.
"Violence won't solve everything, Ryze."
"Neither will sleeping!"
"Depends on how tired you are."
He placed the pillow beside his head and went quiet again.
I clenched my fists.
One day, I'm going to throw something at him that he can't catch.
Probably.
Maybe.
I returned to the window.
The Empire still hadn't attacked.
The patrols still hadn't stopped.
And our communications device was still broken.
If reinforcements were on their way, we couldn't afford to wait until they arrived. Aetherion was one of the Empire's major capitals, and the Empire had enough soldiers and resources to make this city a nightmare for anyone it wanted to capture.
We needed to leave.
Soon.
Preferably before someone decided to knock down our door.
Then Blaze spoke.
"Hmm."
I turned around.
"What now?"
He wasn't looking at me.
He was staring toward the door.
His expression had changed.
The lazy smile was gone, replaced by a calm, attentive look I had seen before.
During battles.
When he noticed something the rest of us hadn't.
"I think we have a visitor."
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Volt slowly put down his tools.
SK immediately rose to her feet.
I reached for my rifle.
The room's atmosphere changed in an instant.
Whatever frustration we had felt disappeared beneath the familiar tension of a possible encounter.
Volt moved away from the table, keeping his weapon within reach.
SK approached the door, her scythe resting at her side.
I positioned myself where I could cover the entrance without standing directly in front of it.
My finger rested near the trigger.
Whoever was outside had managed to approach our room without drawing our attention.
That alone was suspicious.
SK stopped a few steps from the door.
"Identify yourself!"
Silence.
She waited.
No answer.
Her grip tightened around her weapon.
"I said, identify yourself!"
Still nothing.
I exchanged a glance with Volt.
He looked just as confused as I was.
Had we been discovered?
Was this an Imperial soldier waiting for us to lower our guard?
Or was it a bounty hunter who had somehow tracked us down?
SK moved closer to the door.
"Identify yourself, or we will assume you are hostile!"
Before she could finish, a voice suddenly shouted from the other side.
"Wait! It's okay! I'm friendly!"
We froze.
The voice continued.
"I'm from the Resistance HQ!"
My eyes widened.
For a second, I genuinely thought I had misheard.
"...What?"
I stared at the door, my rifle still raised.
Someone from the Resistance HQ?
Here?
In Helios Reach?
End of Chapter 111