Azimuth: The Elden Throne

Sorry for the delay!

Though there is one thing to announce:

I'll be posting chapter 15 after this one and then I'll proceed and post 5 more chapters, ending this 5 chapters per day schedule and reducing it to just 2 or 3.

It was supposed to be like that already, but due to my time, I have to put an end to it soon or I'll start suffering from the same thing I did in the past.

I hope you can all understand that.

But now... Enjoy the chapter, and gimme your power stones!

This chapter is 4.4 words long.

.

.

.

------------

/After some time walking.../

"This must be it."

Dale raised his head to look at the 3 stories tall building next to an open field.

It wasn't like the other more recent buildings that were suspended by wooden and stone beams.

It instead was built atop a slightly elevated stone platform, showing a time from before the Village was built.

Dale could tell the craftsmanship that had been used in this place, it was a bit simple, but it did well in making this place different from the architecture around it.

However, because this building was an old one, Dale clearly managed to see the outline of something on the walls.

He had noticed these before across the entire city, especially on the old ruins that littered the place, but this was his first time getting close enough to pay attention to it.

"Hum... These marks?... Water?" He mumbled to himself in disbelief

'How come? We are next to a desert...'

"Are you telling me it rains so heavily in this place that the entire village gets submerged in water from time to time?"

'The marks are around 1 meter tall, which isn't high, but if you take the other buildings around it...'

'It explains why the newer infrastructure is built over those beams but...'

'Something's wrong.'

"It doesn't make sense… Some of the houses are built with those but the older ones aren't?..."

'Simply put, the engineers of the past didn't have to care about such heavy rain, so they built their houses on the ground floor, but somewhere along the line, it started to rain heavily?'

'Either that or perhaps the city had a grand drainage system, one that clearly does not work anymore...'

Shaking his head in wonder, Dale looked at the wooden board hanging loosely on the wall next to the entrance as he thought:

'Welp... I still can't read their language… Just a bunch of funny scribbles.'

He scratched his chin.

"I like how the developers made it this way for immersion, but still…"

Opening his system interface, he managed to read the words on the board...

[Mercenary Guild]

'At least HardCore players have access to the translation feature, otherwise, it would be a pain in the ass…'

'I honestly thought that, given how close to reality HardCore gameplay seems to be, the developers would force us to learn their language from scratch...'

'But I can read and talk with them just fine, which is good.'

/Creak…/

Dale opened the doors to the Guild, taking a look at its rather plain interior.

A dark open hall that had that classic 'Adventurer guild' vibe, with many chairs and tables surrounding a large circular reception table built around a gran pillar that supported the room

At the far end of the hall was a bar built beneath a single staircase that led to the second floor, though he couldn't see the entrance to the third floor.

Given the size of the bar's counter, the place would've probably served food and drinks for all mercenaries passing through this area during rush hours.

It was likely a very busy place, though now, the only thing it could do was gather dust.

Even then, it seemed to do that very poorly as the ground was rather clean, it seemed someone cleaned the place from time to time.

It wasn't hard for Dale to figure out who it likely was...

"Hello?... Hello? Someone there?" He asked as he looked around

'This seems like a nice place, I can almost picture the scene of one being welcomed by a pretty counter lady after coming back from a hard adventure...'

/Clack!/

The moment he said those words, he heard the sound of wood cracking somewhere on the second floor of the Guild, followed by a door opening and a few words:

"Who is it?!"

"I told you all... Time... And time again... That this place isn't somewhere you can come to hang out!"

"GET OUT AND GO BACK TO… Oh... Who are you?"

"..."

'He's big...'

Dale raised his head to look at the newcomer that was now staring down at him from the second floor.

It was a muscular bald old man with a thick beard and thick shoulders, so wide he looked big even in comparison to Dale who was already a large person.

He had a huge gruesome scar on his right arm going all the way from his forearm to his shoulder, with part of it rising to his face as well.

On his waist was a short sword of standard size, but it looked like a long dagger in his hands rather than a proper weapon... Maybe not that exaggerated...

Still, from the way he walked, talked, and through his bodily expression, he looked like a man that was ready to fight at any moment, anywhere.

In a sense, even Dale felt him intimidating... Or somewhat scary.

(Image)

But noticing that he had spent too long thinking, Dale quickly replied:

"Ah yes, sorry for being rude, I was told by Miss Eino to come here and…"

"Hm..."

His eyes opened slightly when he heard that name.

"Eino? That old lady?..." He said with half a smile as he interrupted Dale

"Is that why you have that half-eaten Iron Apple in your hand?"

His tone seemed to contain some curiosity and even a bit of amusement...

"Yes mr…"

/BAM!/

The old man jumped from the second floor without hesitation, slamming his feet in front of Dale, grabbing his shoulders with both hands as he said:

"Call me Guild Head, kid."

He then put his right index finger on his chest, but not in an intrusive way, he just lightly tapped it.

"You are not yet fit to call me anything else, got that?" He said as he looked straight at his eyes

He was a bit taller than Dale as well, being over 195 Cm tall and possibly even 210 Cm tall.

Once again, he looked quite intimidating.

"Yes, Sir Guild Head."

"..."

The man did not say anything else as he turned around and sat in a chair by the counter of the bar.

"Let's cut all of the unnecessary talks and go straight to what matters."

"Oh yeah, I forgot to say it... But I'm Misgurd."

/FWOOSH!/

"?!"

/Grab!/

Misgurd suddenly threw a knife at Dale at breakneck speed, but he grabbed the knife in the air right in front of his face without flinching.

Though he was sweating a little as he realized how close to death he had actually been... In the first place, Dale didn't even realize he had a knife on his body...

He wondered just how many weapons he had hidden...

So he looked at Misgurd with a slightly confused yet pale face.

'I only have one life… Be a bit more careful please…'

"Hm... Alright, good reflexes." He said with a satisfied nod as he tapped on the counter

"And if you can eat an Iron Apple, your body must be above average considering you're still standing like that."

Misgurd looked at Dale for a few more seconds before he asked:

"Why are you here?"

"..."

'Here it is... I've been thinking what this Chain Quest was about...'

'I think I understand now.'

"There is something I want to find out… So I need to get stronger, that is all." Dale replied honestly without moving his eyes away from his

The man in front of him wasn't asking him why he was there, in the Mercenary Guild in itself, but why was he all the way there, in the South, lost amidst a forgotten Village few still remembered about...

He completely jumped all sorts of introductions and went straight to the meat of the subject.

"Hm... So you seek strength not for the sake of it, but for the sake of your objective?"

Dale nodded and said sarcastically:

"Getting stronger is also not bad…"

Misgurd, the Guild head, smiled.

"What about wealth and glory?"

Dale replied once again with a bit of sarcasm:

"I like money, I can't fight without good and well-maintained gear, and glory is just meh, but if it gives me a few free drinks in a bar then I'm all in."

'Even though I don't drink...'

Misgurd smile was so wide that it seemed as if he was about to open his mouth and laugh, but he stopped smiling and said in a deep tone:

"You have a good mentality, especially your honesty, I like it."

He lightly touched the counter, as if remembering something...

"I don't care why you came this far down South, so I will just say, welcome."

"For now." He said with a teasing smile, albeit it looked rather aggressive...

[Your quest has been updated]

[Pass the Mercenary Guild's test 1/1]

/Tap.../

"However, this doesn't mean you are in the clear yet."

"You were sent here for a reason, so I won't spare my breath, do you wish to proceed and become a Mercenary?"

"Yes." Dale said without much hesitation

'I thought about this on my way here, but joining this organization or not... It changes nothing.'

'Mercenaries are free by nature, and I doubt I'll have much forced on my ass in this remote village that is falling to pieces.'

'However, it's in such a place I can make the most out of joining it... Because once I grow to the right position... I'll be able to do whatever I want with it.'

"No hesitation... It seems you put some thought into it on your way here... GOOD!" He said as he slapped the counter with a smile

"I lost my patience with useless talking long ago, and I don't think it'll come back anytime soon, so I do appreciate such decisiveness... Though this doesn't mean you're a mercenary yet."

"This branch may be falling into pieces with its last proper commission having been handled decades ago, but this doesn't mean I will be making things any easier for you."

He got up and went to the main counter.

"I am not that sort of person, and even if I am the sole mercenary in this forsaken place, old and alone, I know very well the extent of my abilities, and I expect to be followed by people of similar qualities..."

"So be prepared."

"..."

'He sure sounds bored given how much he's talking despite saying he hated useless speech...'

'Guess he's still an old man at the end of the day.'

"In the past, this place used to be packed full of people… But now I… No matter."

"If you wish to become a Mercenary, then you need to show me you have what it takes."

"It doesn't matter how strong you are, only how capable you are."

"Power can lead you miles, but I seek more than that, show me you have the ability to make use of everything you have around and within you, that is how you survive in this field."

He furrowed his eyebrows and said:

"If you turn around and go walk to the back of this branch, you'll see a large, open training ground."

"I need you to grab a large spear I've left somewhere in there in the past and bring it to me…"

Once he said those lines, he walked past Dale moving towards the stairs leading to the second floor.

And on the way there, he said once more:

"This will be your test."

[Your quest has been updated]

[Welcome to Resko!

Quest type: Chain Quest (Slightly Rare)

Requirements:

Pass the Mercenary Guild's test 1/1

Become a Mercenary 0/1 <subtxt> . </subtxt>

-Pass Misgurd's personal test 0/1

Talk with Testros 0/1

*Optional* Impress both Misgurd and Testros with an outstanding performance 0/1

]

Reading the notification, Dale thought about something.

"The training ground?... Could that be the place where 'Testros' trains?" He said as he looked at the bald man

"..."

But Misgurd did not reply as he walked towards the second floor.

"Hum..."

'Fine, it doesn't matter if he explains it to me or not.'

'By the rate things are going, I will get a 'nice' meeting with this guy called Testros soon enough, likely midway through this mission…'

'There is no time to waste.'

Dale turned around and followed the instructions to a T.

…

He went around the Guild branch, immediately spotting the large open field.

It was rather destroyed and run down, being full of holes, tears, and cuts.

However, from the solid stone foundation, it was clear this was once a rather decent training ground… Now reduced to rubble after many years without repairs.

There wasn't much apart from that and a single straw scarecrow in the middle of the training grounds, Dale felt it rather cute and even a bit nostalgic.

However, he soon saw what he came here to do as right close to it was a spear stuck on the ground... A rather big spear, a bit too thick to be used properly as a spear though...

"That must be it…" He mumbled as he scanned his surroundings thoroughly

'I'm ready! Where is the trap?!'

But nothing happened.

Seeing as how staying still wouldn't do anything for his situation, he slowly approached the spear and grabbed it, pulling it from the ground…

"Hum?!"

And as he expected, as if this mission would be that simple...

"It's much heavier than I thought… Damn… What is this made of?" He complained as he changed his grip over the massive spear

To lift it, Dale had to use his two hands at the same.

It was so heavy that his knees bent!

It was important to remember that Dale's stats had greatly increased since he started the game and even before that, he was already incredibly strong.

It wouldn't be hard for him to lift a ton, but here it is, this spear was so heavy that the ground beneath him started to give way and break, working as an extra detriment to making him lose balance.

"Huff!"

'At least I am used to carrying weights so I have some training… But this is insane.'

'It's not unbearable... I can do it.'

/THUD!/

/... THUD!/

One step at a time, Dale made his way back to the Guild.

He did not notice, but behind him was another old man, looking at him with sharp eyes from a building nearby.

But he did nothing, only staring at him while he carried the spear back.

…

"H-Hello?! I'm back!" Dale spoke quickly outside of the Guild

He couldn't get inside with that massive item on his back, it wouldn't pass though the door that easily, and between risking damaging anything, he merely called for Misgurd from the outside.

"Already?"

"Kid, don't tell me you gave up?... !"

/Creak.../

Opening the door outside, Misgurd had a disappointed gaze on his face as he expected to see a tired boy.

But when he saw the spear on his back, he was stunned for a few seconds, unable to process what he was seeing.

Once he realized his own mistake, he brushed it off with a dry cough and said:

"Good work kid, Impressive work."

"Now, bring it back to the training grounds and come back once you are done."

[Your quest has been updated]

[Welcome to Resko

Quest type: Chain Quest (Slightly Rare)

Requirements:

Pass the Mercenary Guild's test 1/1

Become a Mercenary 0/1

-Pass Misgurd's personal test 1/1

Talk with Testros 0/1

*Optional* Impress both Misgurd and Testros with an outstanding performance 0/1

]

But Dale just looked at him with a black face.

"..."

"What? Are you displeased?"

'Did I push him too much?...'

"No, in fact, I wanted to ask, what is this shit made of?"

Misgurd smiled, it seemed he worried too much for nothing.

"We can talk about it later, now, get to work." He said as he turned around

"If you are already tired of just this then I bet this is it for you."

"..."

But Dale just shook his head and turned around, thinking:

'Without a doubt now, it's clear to me now.'

'These missions are meant for high-Level players, they may be disguised as Low-level miscellaneous quests, but no one would be capable enough to do these like me… Unless they had help or thought outside of the box...'

'I imagine his reactions aren't what a normal player would receive, he looked rather surprised.'

'This means... I'm halfway through completing the optional objective.'

"Strike... While the iron is hot." He said as he started to walk back to the training ground

…

/CHUNG!/

Dale slowly walked back and dropped the lance back in its rightful place.

"Phew… It's done."

"... But really, what is this?" He mumbled as he knocked on the spear

'It's not an item, else I would be able to see its item info…'

'Even if the item is too high Level, it always shows a system panel even if little to no information is shown…'

'At least from what I learned so far, it isn't unheard of in games for items to have hidden information that can't be accessed until a certain condition is achieved.'

'It's a bit too thick for it to be a spear... A Ballista bolt? But it's too heavy...'

"This isn't a spear kid, it's a flag holder." Someone said from behind him

"?!"

Dale turned around frantically to look at the person that surprised him.

It was an old man without a shirt. He was a bit sweaty, showing he was working hard not so long ago.

He had white spiked hair and a sharp thin beard.

He had a few scars on his body and a powerful 6-pack, this was one hell of an old man.

(Image)

Dale looked at the old man and asked:

"Are you Mr. Testros?"

The old man stuck the spear he was holding on the ground as he dried his face with a towel he was carrying on his shoulder.

"Depends on who is asking... Who are you?"

"Me? I just arrived, I am a traveler… Dale Houston at your service."

The old man stopped what he was doing, mumbling something in a low tone:

"Service…"

"..."

Dale obviously heard it all...

'Does this old man has some sort of PTSD?'

Testros closed his eyes for a moment and asked:

"Did that guy send you here? Almost no one in the village comes here anymore, even the few warriors we have, they normally train somewhere else."

Dale replied:

"If you are talking about the Guild's head, then yes, he asked me to bring him that spear, and now he asked me to bring it back here… So here I am."

Testros raised an eyebrow before nodding.

"He and his ideas... Each time he creates a challenge more ridiculous than the last..."

'He says he wishes to see the resurgence of the Guild, but he barely does anything to recruit people...'

'Though... He can't be blamed, if someone dies, how is he supposed to face their parents...'

'Maybe he already decided to see it die slowly under his hands...'

"But who told you to meet him? Normally, you wouldn't even be able to enter the village…"

"Oh, that... It's not that long of a story."

"I first met with Miss Eino and she took me in before she told me to meet the Guild's head, and now here I am…"

"Miss Eino… I see… It's rare to see youngsters like you being able to carry this flag, you seem to be below 20, did you receive training?"

Dale had to think for a moment before he replied:

"Not exactly… I did train my body, but that was mostly by myself."

"And if you are talking about a master, then I didn't have one, but I did have some help…"

"It can be said I received training from someone."

'If the AIs from the games I played can be counted as one that is...'

Not only that, when the Spear Skill formed on the Green Box, Dale also did try to join a spear Class in Real life, but he quickly found out that it was a waste of time and he could get everything for free and better inside Virtual reality.

There were many courses in real life that included Virtual reality, but the inconvenience of such ended up making him turn his back on those.

However, he did enter an online course. It only lasted a month as Dale outgrew every single instructor, that was why he thought his Spearmanship was decent...

'But perhaps... They were all low class to begin with...' He thought awkwardly as he looked at Testros

It was arrogance born from not really understanding the scope of the world, though Dale never really did flaunt his abilities, even so, his mindset pushed him down a little.

From the start when he believed Leve 1-2 to be low, so he put a lot of effort into growing...

To when he became Level 7, believing it to be a high one...

He won several competitions with the combination of his high reflexes and combat proficiency, and the money made from that endeavor was used to fuel his training routine in the real-world while also buying better equipment for him to access the Virtual world...

It was a self-propelling Cycle made possible with the System.

Testros shook his head, disagreeing with Dale's words.

"Be it small or big, training is training…"

"Seeing the spear on your back, how long have you been training in it?"

"Huh… Around 1-2 years of non-stop training, if we count other years… then probably around 4-5 years."

'Spear was always my main weapon of choice, be it in an RPG or some other game scenario... I always played with it in VR… Apart from a few times, like when I did a Mage build and I ended up using my staff as a spear from time to time.'

'In the past year of training, I didn't remain in VR 24/7, I still had to go to University and train my own body, but thanks to time dilation, I still managed to train for around one and a half years in it. And with all of my previous training…'

'It's incomparable to some people, even now, VR competitions are endless, including things like fights to the death since you can't really die in VR.'

'This allowed people to return to the root of such combat techniques... Deadliness and precision... To kill.'

'And there are people who remain almost 24/7 in VR training themselves… For decades under high Time Dilations. How can I compare?'

'I won a few competitions because of my insane reflexes and fast rate of growth, but if I were to be put against them, I wonder how far I'd fare...'

Testors thought for a moment and replied:

"5 years... Not small, not big…"

[DING]

[Your quest has been updated]

[Talk with Testros 1/1]

He turned around and said:

"However, before you go, there is something I would like to see..." Testros said as he scratched his chin

He raised his index finger to point far away and then at the flag.

"There used to be a small game between the flag bearers of the past... Have you ever thrown a Javelin?"

"Huh?... Oh..."

'Don't tell me...'

"It seems you know, this makes things simple."

"Throw it. As far away as you can."

"... Alright." Dale said with a frustrated expression

'It's not that I can't, but this thing is damn massive, I have no grip on it...'

'How do I do this?...'

"Can I run before throwing?"

"No, but if you can take a single step forward."

"..."

'First... Grab the flag and hold it by its base, then let it fall to a certain angle while I take a step forward for momentum...' Dale thought as he touched the spear

'Then push my arms with all my might in that direction, it is important to calculate the angle so the flag doesn't spin.'

'If I do everything right, it'll make a good arc in the air.'

"Phew... I'm ready."

/Pull!/

'Urg!...'

In one swoop, Dale pulled the flag from the ground and raised it sky hi, balancing it through its base end.

It wasn't easy, the ground was full of holes, it was very windy, and the flag looked to be around 4 M long.

He took a look at the camp and waited... Waited for the time when the wind wasn't against him.

And when the opportunity came, he allowed the spear to tilt...

/CRACK!/

With a powerful stomp, he took a step forward as he bent his body and raised his arms with all his might to push it into the skies!

"ARG!"

/Fwoosh.../

/CLUNG!/

The flag drew a clear arc in the air, falling onto the ground and digging onto it due to its weight.

"Haa... Haa... Phew." Dale said slowly as he cleaned the sweat from his face

"I did it... Can I go now?"

"..."

But Testros did not reply, too stunned to do so.

He stood there, watching the flag...

Dale had thrown it almost to the other side of the training arena, which was over 50M wide.

Well, from their position, he didn't start at the edge, but even then, to throw the flag that far...

It had to be at least over 30M...

"Hm... That was good enough. Thank you for doing this old man's wishes."

[DING]

[Your quest has been updated]

[*Optional* Impress both Misgurd and Testros with an outstanding performance 1/1]

"You better return for now."

"It was nice meeting you young man, but you should go back before that old head starts screaming in anger, he hates when people take longer than he expected."

"Especially when it's for something like this... But don't you worry, once you become friends with him, you'll learn he is actually pretty soft."

"..."

Dale nodded and left without saying much.

But when he was considerably far away, Testros started mumbling to himself with a serious face:

"Is this your doing?... Am I that pitiful in your eyes?..."

"So be it, I will give it a try… But I cannot guarantee anything…"

He continued to walk and said in a sad tone:

"This may be my final chance to do my duty… I hope the kid delivers…"

'He wouldn't mind anyway.'

…

.

.

.

Notes

As you've all noticed, each chapter is considerably longer than the one before it, quite a lot of work to edit each, but they're coming out in a rather good shape.

What do you think?

Peace.

I think you should take a look at innea.cm