Bamboo field

Ameanum didn't expect Soryn to speak of the Dark Guild. He knew they had taken over the Tower and had messed up with the game, but other than that hasn't heard of them causing problems anywhere else.

If they had found the Air Spire and even had tried to destroy it, that was something big.

"I have encountered them in the past and had seen the results of their tricks, even among Blessed Ones." [Ameanum]

Soryn seemed to have taken some courage from that response to continue speaking.

"Yes, as you say, they use many tricks that define logic. It is almost like they have special control over the world a few times. Many of my people disappeared without leaving behind anything, not even a corpse, almost like they never existed, but it didn't seem to be some teleportation spell. They even made simple items more potent than the highest equipment I have ever come across, and I have seen my share of powerful artifacts."[Soryn]

Ameanum understood what he said, and the power that Soryn described them to have surprised him. Of course, the AI System would adapt under any hacking attempts and fight back made it impossible for one to take control, but from Soryn's description, it seemed they had found some way to bypass it.

That explained how they had taken care of the Guilds who tried to fight them and possibly why the Company couldn't do anything.

The entire game was under their control somehow.

Even if they had found some way like that after two years, the Company should have dealt with them, but it didn't seem to be the case.

"I cannot help you yet, but I am working towards taking back the control and ending the chaos they had made. But promise you much, but what I can is that I and everyone else who can help me will do everything in our power to bring things as they should be." [Ameanum]

That wasn't the best hero approach one could take, but Ameanum knew NPCs like Soryn preferred someone offering facts and not someone who promised vague things.

His assumption was correct as Soryn nodded, stood up, and made another bow towards him.

Ameanum told him to sit as they had more things to discuss.

"I can't tell you a lot of things, but I am in a hurry."[Ameanum]

Ameanum checked his surroundings to make sure nobody watched them as he went closer to Soryn and continued their talk by whispering.

"We need to pass the borders to the North Kingdom. There are a few people who can help us there and need our help. We don't have a lot of time, just a few days."[Ameanum]

Ameanum explained the situation with the Guild back in Carda, and Soryn seems happy to help deal with a few Blessed Ones who didn't know their place.

Ameanum told him to stay here and get some rooms as they would spend their night here.

Ameanum left as he had to make some preparations but gave Soryn coins for the rooms. He trusted him as he knew a person of the Spires was one following their words and was kind to the ones who promised to help them, but ruthless to the ones who wronged them.

He also told him to get new clothes, as his outfit was like a glowing arrow putting a target on him. He was reluctant about it, but he understood it was important for their quest, so he accepted it.

Ameanum made his way out of the city.

A tall bamboo field surrounded the city, and the architectural style was more Asian than typical medieval.

This pace was one of the few Player created cities in the game. Of course, it needed many resources to make one, but Players had more freedom in its design, as far it wasn't something inappropriate. Also, if one successfully developed one, the owner would make more coins, depending on its placement.

Especially now that dungeons existed, some cities' popularity grew cause there was a dungeon nearby.

There weren't many monsters around, and even if the ones around were between levels 40 and 50, Ameanum could avoid them with no problem.

He made it further into the field as he found an open space where the bamboos seemed to have been cleared a bit.

There was a hut made of bamboos in the middle of that open space.

A few bamboos in the edge of that open field had a weird white stone on them, which let a thin white smoke, and they got placed to make a rectangle if seen from above.

Ameanum knew that those were monster repellents and powerful ones to work on most monsters in the area.

He also knew that the alarm like Spell surrounding the area would warn the owner of the hut the moment he stepped close, not because he could see it but cause he knew the owner.

He stepped in, and from one window of the hut, something appeared to be thrown towards Ameanum, but he caught it with no problem.

It was a piece of bamboo that got cut to be sharp enough, especially if thrown with sufficient force.

More bamboos like that were thrown through the window towards Ameanum.

He could easily avoid them, but he caught each of them and even got hit by some, but none passed him.

It continued for a minute. Then, finally, a little over one hundred pieces of bamboo were thrown and made a pile in front of Ameanum.

Ameanum removed any of the bamboos which had pierced his body and threw them to the pile.

"Did you have your fun? You know I prefer the times we just have a cup of tea and discuss things." [Ameanum]

There was silence for a moment, and then they heard a female's chuckle coming from inside the hut.

The door of the hut opened, and a young teenage female appeared.

At first, one would think she was tired cause there were black circles around her eyes, but as she moved full of energy, one could understand these circles were painted there. Furthermore, the circles weren't only under her eyes but making one full circle at each eye with her eye at the center.

She was wearing white fury shoulder pads, a medieval black bikini at the top, and a black pair of pants with a grey belt that seemed white but hadn't been cleaned for a while so it had turned to grey.

Since she wasn't wearing much at the top, one could see her body's shape, and she was physically fit. She seemed like she could break one with just her hands, even if she wasn't too big but wasn't too short either.

At her belt hanging were some pouches and a tea pan.

Her eyes and hair were black except for a hair stride; she painted it white and was a line along the left side of her face.

"Hey Pan, a long time since I last saw you." [Ameanum]

She came towards him, saying nothing and starting sniffing him.

"Yes, I know. I have been a little different since the last time we saw each other. What do you say we speak inside while having some of your tea?" [Ameanum]

She nodded, and Ameanum followed inside her hut.

Pan wasn't speaking, not because she couldn't but because she would say words only in a critical situation, or so she let others think; in reality, she was just too lazy to speak.

Once inside, she opened one of her pouches with some tea herbs inside and produced some heat using some mana gems she had. This way, they didn't have to worry about the hut getting filled with smoke.

She pulled some water by using her magic and started creating the tea, while in the meantime, Ameanum told her his story.

They had some of the tea when it was ready, and Ameanum was over when she had finished her fifth cup, even if he was at his first.

Pan really liked tea, so she was drinking it quickly and had many cups per day. In addition, she could grow herbs using her magic, so she was rarely out of them.

"So that's why I am here. What do you think? Can you help us?" [Ameanum]

It was difficult to leave the kingdom a magic field surrounded by the borders and weren't allowing one to pass it without authorization. Even teleportation couldn't pass it, but there were a few who have bypassed it.

Pan was one of them. Mother Nature pressed her, and she could move freely around by using unique plants she could grow.

They acted like the Teleportation Circles, but she didn't have to pay any material cost to use them, just use her mana.

Pan seemed to consider this for some time, and Ameanum knew it would take a while for her to decide.

What she was asking her needed to do was to use some effort, and she wasn't up to it most of the time.

"You know, the mayor of the town we want to go to is a tea fan also. I think she also is growing her special tea, and it seemed quite different from yours." [Ameanum]

This sentence had the effect he wanted and drew her attention.

"I will take you there."[Pan]

After that, she had been lost in thoughts. But, from her drooling, Ameanum could tell what she thought about.

"How long till you are ready, then? We need to be there soon."[Ameanum]

Pan got snapped from what she was imagining.

"Hm.... come tomorrow with the friend you mentioned. We leave before noon." [Pan]

She went outside the hut searching for something, and Ameanum also went his way back to the city as he couldn't help her here.

He would typically try to ask how close they would get, but he knew that Pan's direction was almost non-existent, but he knew he had a few ways to get in soon if they were in the North Kingdom.

He didn't head back to the city right away, but planned to do some monster hunting.

It's been a long time since he used his Growth-type sword, and it was still relatively weak as they still considered it of Low Rank.

But even with at Low-Rank, it seemed to reach the power of a simple Base Grade one, and with the help of the Skills of Ameanum, it was even more powerful but wouldn't be a Master Rank equipment.

He moved as lightning around, hunting for monsters and dealing with them just as fast.

Screams could be heard, and cause of the bamboo field, none could see anything.

Players were confused about what was happening and why so many monsters seemed to scream.

A few went to investigate, but none found the reason but only the corpses of some before they disappeared by the System.

Ameanum noticed that his weapon was progressing, but it wasn't as much as when he killed the Players the first time he used the sword.

Either it was because a Blessed One was the first kill or the true nature of the Growth-type weapons. Ameanum was confident that it was the second case.

The Growth type weapons needed human sacrifices to get stronger.