Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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In an abandoned section of Resko covered by dust and vines, two people and one giant green guy gathered in front of a closed Gate half buried in sand.

One of the abandoned entrances of Resko, a once busy street now deserted and cold, almost worse than a ghost town.

They would often times gaze at the distance where strong lights could be seen shining and twinkling...

Resko was slowly coming back to life.

...

As time passed, the two either reviewed their items or discussed with one another, meanwhile, the green giant had his eyes closed as he rested.

"It's almost the promised time, where's Dale? We have to depart." Tina asked as she crossed her arms

"He should be here soon, but if he gets late I'll go fetch him up." Testros replied as he stared at one of the half-buried buildings, shaking his head

He had once entered that home, it used to be an old toy shop.

Now the entire first floor was gone.

/Step step…/

"He's here." Testros said as he turned his head to the side

"Phew... Sorry, I overslept." Dale added awkwardly as he approached the group

'I spent too much time on my PC and ended up losing track of time.'

'Next time, I'll set up a timer, it's not hard anyway, I was just lazy.'

"Did you get everything?" Tina asked as she looked at him

/Nods/

Dale nodded.

As planned, Dale was supposed to be the carrier of this operation, being the one responsible for their stuff.

Of course, everyone carried something, but it was mostly immediate items they could use in emergencies and their basic gear, they didn't even have travel bags with them as that was Dale's sole job.

Dale didn't care to be just a simple carrier, although it did bother him a bit to be reduced to a mule of some sort.

Like before, he had learned his lesson about going around with a full inventory, so this time, his inventory wasn't full...

But it was still stacked with consumable items and even spare weapons and armor for multiple situations.

He also had other survival objects in his inventory, and despite the fact they occupied quite some space, they were all inexpensive shop items so Dale did not mind at all.

If the situation where he had no space left arose, he could easily discard these items and move on.

Dale still had his eyes on some of his Quests that involved collecting materials in the forest, if he was to make this trip even more worthwhile, he would have to pay even more attention.

Aside from that, Dale also had a large backpack on his back, it was mostly empty but the bag was there in case items he couldn't fit in his inventory appeared.

Such as Caladgolg and the Nameless Spear on his back.

Obviously, Dale would be bringing both with him on this venture, and despite how awkward it felt to carry a massive sword around, Dale would find a way, he had to.

Even if it meant having Caldgold float horizontally or above the treetops...

In fact, he always wondered how the first Commander carried this sword around because it feels like one hell of a bother.

Aside from those, he wore simple clothes meant to protect him in the forest such as a cape that clung to the body, gloves, and high boots.

Testros and Tina also had their own designs, likely made to suit their own combat Styles...

While Muddan was mostly naked, he still wore his rags albeit he now had something that seemed like a rage covering his chest too, it didn't look like proper clothing but it also didn't look like a shirt.

"Give me a moment." Dale replied as he put his bag down

"Let me check it one last time and we can go."

'At least this way I can be 100% sure I didn't forget anything.'

'There is also the chance one of the Elders forgot to give me something.'

"Alright, let me go over the list again…" Tina said as she took a step closer to him

One of the reasons Dale had been late was that he had to first pass through some people to collect the items they prepared for them.

As albeit their departure was being kept a secret, a few still knew they would be leaving.

First, he went to Barme to get the spare gear and other items he made for their trip and later passed through Adamante to get some of the leather clothes he was wearing.

He then went to Misgurd to get things such as potions Yumi made and even food rations Illia made earlier in the day.

Dale didn't expect the latter, but with that, he would have a constant buff in the wilderness, a bonus he didn't expect.

Dale also passed through Ophelia's house, though she didn't have much to give him apart from a rather unusual item…

This was because everything Ophelia gave him was in the form of training and knowledge, there was no way to impart anything else to him at this time.

It would only be a desperate and meaningless attempt.

[Doorin's foot (Rare)

Rating: 2.5-Star

Requirements: N/A

Description: A small talisman made from the fur and foot of a rare Doorin, a small critter of the Horizon Woods.

It doesn't seem to hold any powers but its maker believes it gives luck to its wearer as Doorins themselves are quite elusive.

And sometimes, that was everything a talisman needed to do

]

It wasn't anything impressive, but it was still something Dale accepted with a smile, tying it to his waist as he made his way to the meeting point.

He felt happy to receive such an item, but hoped he wouldn't need to rely on it…

A man could dream.

…

/A few minutes later.../

"... Sharpening Stone?"

"Here."

"Hum… That was all, nothing's missing unless my head decided to play some tricks on me." Tina said as she massaged her forehead

"Then, onwards, we already wasted too much time." Testros said as he kicked the sand, flying to the top of the Wall while causing some sand to move due to the strength of his legs

"..."

/Jump!/

'Muddan also jumped, following Testros.'

"... After you." Dale joked as he looked at Tina

"Fufy... Only you to still be able to joke at this situation." Tina replied with a smile as she vanished

"..."

Dale raised his head to stare at the top of the wall, many emotions passing through his head.

'From here on out…'

/Step step step!/

"Wwaaait!" Someone exclaimed behind him

Turning around, he saw a certain girl with green hair running quickly as she breathed heavily, holding a small box of items

It was Yumi, she seemed extremely exhausted as she didn't even bother to remove her gloves and coat... She even had her glasses, something she didn't use frequently when she went outside.

Though those ventures were few and far-between to begin with due to her previous habits.

One strange thing about her was that her gloves seemed... Half translucent.

Those were her new gloves that boasted incredible levels of protection, they had been made from the skin of the Yirg Dale and the others slew a few weeks ago.

She also had a new coat made from its skin as well, but she liked her old one.

It made her feel connected to her past, and although she wasn't dependent on it as much as she was a few weeks ago, she didn't want to leave it behind and forget it completely.

Even if it was clear which coat was better

It made her feel connected to the people that made her into who she was, of course, she would never forget those that accompanied her after her parents were gone...

Wasn't that why she was here?

"Yumi?"

'What's she doing here at this hour? I thought all potions had already been handed over to Misgurd before I logged in.'

'Did she make more? Or perhaps a mistake?... Doesn't look like it...'

'Ahh... I see, that's why she's like that.'

'Silly girl…'

"Huff… Huff… OH NO!"

Because she was running with a large box in her hands on uneven terrain, it was obvious what the outcome of her rush would be.

It was impressive she hadn't fallen by now, perhaps she slowly picked up her pace as she realized she was getting late?

'Regardless…'

/Hold…/

Dale gently held her before she could even fall, creating quite the situation.

As they looked at each other over the Moonlight, a single notification played:

[Yumi's Affection has risen slightly]

"..."

'Girl, you're too easy to please…' Dale thought silently as he looked at her

His eyes momentarily looked to the side.

At the top of an old roof, he saw Misgurd with his arms crossed.

It seemed he had also felt his gaze as he quickly took a step back, vanishing into the shadows.

'... So he was following her, well, at least this way I won't feel too bad about leaving her alone.'

It was rather cold and Yumi was clearly extremely exhausted, she might end up collapsing on her way back and there was no one to help her nearby if something bad really happened.

Her physical condition wasn't the best despite the training she did recently.

Dale could not even rely on the players to fetch her either as all abandoned sections of Resko were listed as Yellow danger zones, meaning that any player that was found in those areas would be somewhat penalized, especially if they logged out in there.

He wanted to make them all Red, but in the end, the system only gave him three options to choose from, and the one that pleased him the most made these areas Yellow.

Though so far, few players had explored these zones... For a simple reason.

There was nothing here.

Like background props in other video games, it was mostly old architecture.

And considering how much time it took to explore them, it was best to farm XP and be done with it.

Dale was sure there was something in there, but he didn't have the time to seek it out.

"! A-Are you leaving?..." She asked as she looked away for a moment

"I was just about to leave… In fact, they're likely watching us right now." Dale joked as he looked at her

'It would be strange if they didn't, they all jumped over a minute ago, if they didn't look back I would be the one worried...'

"EH?!"

Yumi looked everywhere, and the moment she realized that Dale was holding her shoulders, her face grew even hotter.

But she made no effort to remove his hands...

"C-Cough! It sure is hot out here, haha…"

"..."

'It's freezing cold…'

And realizing that her excuse wouldn't fall through, Yumi just took a step back in embarrassment, giving him a box.

"Here… I uh… I know those other potions were enough but I… Uh… Sigh."

"I couldn't really sit still so I made a few more… I hope it's not too cumbersome."

"..."

Dale looked at the box and smiled, accepting it.

"Not at all." He replied with a smile as he stored the box in his inventory

He also did a slight gesture to mimic how a Noble would store an item in such an inventory space, he saw it from a live stream on his PC one of these days, and since then he had been imitating it for the sake of realism.

Yumi wasn't surprised by this motion as she had already grown used to it, exactly what Dale wanted.

Sometimes he felt bad for lying, but Dale knew lies were often better than blatant truths.

Knowing how and when to share a truth was ideal, only ignorant fools would share they were reincarnations or time travelers without an ounce of caution.

There was also the question of who you talked to, people understood and accepted things in different ways, not to say of their relationship with you...

/Poof.../

In any case, after giving the box away, Yumi suddenly became extremely relaxed, falling to her knees.

She closed her eyes as she smiled, only opening them again to look at Dale one last time.

"Come back soon."

"... I won't take too long." He replied with a smile as he turned to look at Misgurd in the distance, giving him a nod as he helped Yumi stand prior to turning around and jumping as well

"..."

Yumi stood there in silence as she looked at him vanishing beyond the wall, and not long after Misgurd approached her from behind touching her shoulder...

/Touch.../

"?!?!?! KYAAAA!"

Because she was extremely concentrated on her own thoughts, Yumi got extremely startled by the old man, jumping forward with extreme energy.

"I... Didn't mean to start you..." Misgurd replied as he looked at the fallen Yumi

"U-Uncle..."

'Wait! H-How long has he been there?!'

'Oh no... Please don't tell me...'

"Hehe, Come back soon... How cute!" Misgurd teased a he looked at Yumi

"YOU!"

Even more embarrassed than before, Yumi bolted past him, running far into the dark streets of Resko.

"... Sigh, silly girl." Misgurd mumbled as he went after her

He only stopped once to look back for a slight moment:

"Humph... If you are late I won't spare you during training." He said with a smile before vanishing into the dark

The farewells had been given, it was time for a new adventure!

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Notes

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