During the time when Lady Maria disappeared, what were the players in Torrent City up to?
Possessing frightening initiative and unafraid of challenges, players had thrown themselves with passion toward the mysteries of the Sun Gods. But what could they actually gain from that fervor? To answer this question, there was one rather unique player who could not be ignored under any circumstances.
From the noble faction, Cerys, Gear Deacon of the Church of Steam, and Hedda, Inquisitor of the Intelligence Bureau.
Hedda had once followed closely at Cerys' side, acting as her cultured and intellectual adjutant. It was difficult to imagine that such an eloquent and elegant young woman could bear the brutal and bloody profession of Inquisitor. And yet Hedda, through outstanding personal ability, completed the chained tasks of her advanced profession and earned both the potion formula and qualifications to transfer into the class of Judicator.
At the end of her task, Hedda had witnessed a secret interrogation carried out on a priest of the Sun pantheon.
Thus, she obtained some very interesting things.
For example: the internal turmoil of the Radiant Church, the inconsistencies in the gods' oracles, and matters related to the First Flame…
"Hedda, the closed beta will be ending soon, won't it?" Cerys carefully adjusted the steam generator fixed to her arm. A semi-covering gauntlet, like an exoskeletal brace, shuddered faintly as jets of steam hissed from its vents.
"Half a month left. Why?" Hedda pushed up her monocle, watching impassively as her partner tinkered with her new toy.
Steam-powered exo-armor.
Cerys was ambitious. She sought to use this contraption, along with a viciously bloody weapon, to abolish the continent's heavy cavalry system. The proposal had already been classified as top secret by both the Weavebinders and the Church of Steam. Supposedly, it bore the potential to divide eras and change the face of war.
"The church's colleagues should be getting restless. That ridiculous fellow has sought you out time and again. Bold of them, daring to pry into the state of the gods themselves."
"Should we help them?"
"No! We help ourselves. If we don't understand the condition of the Sun Gods, recklessly reshaping the continent's balance will spiral beyond our control." Cerys swung her gauntleted fists twice. She could sense how dangerous the substance known as phlogiston was in the air of this Fractured World, when burned and contained by a steam generator, it released formidable energy.
Having finished adjusting her toy, Cerys fished a document out of the messy workbench and gestured for Hedda to read. Hedda quickly grasped the contents.
Deployment order: ten experimental steam cannons, one hundred and fifty prototype steam rifles, and two Boiling Water Spiders.
Looking at the order, Hedda began to understand.
"The Intelligence Bureau issued a secret mission yesterday, extract the precise location from anyone who might know, by any means necessary." Hedda slipped the document away. Her partner, just like the grandees of the Noble Council, wanted to know the condition of the Sun Gods.
But probing the gods was an extremely dangerous endeavor.
No different from a child playing with fire.
A moment's carelessness could mean burning alive. The gulf between mortals and divinity was utterly despairing. The best method to test the Sun Gods was through the First Flame, but the First Flame was far too unique, not something mortals could casually approach. Therefore, the fallback was to probe the Lords of Cinder, those who had once linked the Flame, to deduce the First Flame's condition. This was the so-called indirect plan.
"Contact our church's colleagues. Tell them, we're willing to attempt supporting their plan."
The Fractured World, this game whose realism defied belief. What was it truly trying to convey to them?
From the moment he entered, treated by NPCs as a petty thief, Tyr had been unable to shake a single thought. He felt something was guiding him, compelling him forward, something impossible to ignore.
Once again, he stood before that grand epic mural.
This scene, within the Luminous Cathedral, was the most magnificent and awe-inspiring place. The will of the Chosen Undead who linked the Flame seemed, even across endless years, to transmit itself through the mural to the beholder.
"Hey, Tyr."
"Yeah~~ coming."
The call of his companions snapped him back. He hurried over with his weapon in hand. Ralph and Phylin were waiting patiently. As players aligned with the Church faction in Torrent City, the three formed a small raiding group.
Ralph, shrewd and experienced with internal affairs. Tyr, gifted with diplomacy, able to open doors quickly. Phylin, currently one of the strongest players in the closed beta.
Truth be told, players under the church's wing generally enjoyed far better treatment than those elsewhere.
"What about Su?"
Arriving at their usual quiet, secluded meeting spot, Tyr noticed someone missing.
"He went to approach Sister Maria, to test the waters." Ralph revealed something unexpected. Their original plan had never involved Sister Maria.
"But if we draw her in…" Tyr frowned. He worried that involving Sister Maria could push their plan out of control. After all, in terms of raw strength, NPCs in the transcendent ranks still surpassed players by far.
The only real advantage players held was organization.
"Not really. If it's Sister Maria, even if she refuses, at worst she'll warn us. Nothing harsher." Ralph had a knack for reading people. Besides, that black-clad nun's kindness was plain to see. He knew well: this wasn't a game to be treated mechanically. If the method was right, turning NPC power to one's own use wasn't impossible.
It was just a matter of persuasion.
Tyr, Ralph, and Phylin, leading the church-aligned players, after some information sharing with other factions, discovered that the Radiant Church under the Sun pantheon, centered on the Luminous Cathedral, had shifted its resources and manpower significantly since the latest oracles.
Through Phylin's current position, they uncovered a little secret.
Concerning the Church, the gods, the First Flame, and the Lords of Cinder.
The closed beta was in its final countdown. The first official version was about to release. If these old beta-testers blundered into the live version without grasping even the main storyline, that would truly be stumbling blindly through a game.
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