Second World

Jack and Samuel went directly to the palace. When they were near, Jack asked Samuel. "If I come by myself, will I be allowed entry?"

"If the guards were either first or second prince's camp, you will most likely be denied, or are given difficulty. Considering their influence, nine out of ten you will encounter such a situation. The third prince's residence is on the Western side. There is a side entrance there which is linked directly to His Highness' residence. If you enter from that side, you should be fine. Come, I will show you."

Samuel brought Jack circling the wall to the Western side. He saw another smaller gate with several soldiers guarding it. Samuel and Jack both produced their kingdom faction badge. The soldiers gave them entry afterward.

The entrance from this side was not that grand compared to the main entrance. Jack continued to follow Samuel as he took Jack past a small courtyard and into the palace structure. Jack estimated the position they were at now was rather far from the main gate where he had entered the palace the first time.

After entering the palace, they navigated through several stairs and hallways, but not as long as when Jack came with Commander Quintus. Jack soon found himself inside the hallway that he recognized. The door to the prince chamber should be at the corner ahead.

"Do you memorize the way?" Samuel asked.

"It's not as complicated as when entering from the main gate, I think I can manage," Jack answered.

"If you happen to come by yourself, do pay attention to not wander around by yourself outside of this side of the castle, or you will bump into the first or second prince's people. At that time, they can easily frame you of trespassing, then you will have a whole lot of trouble to deal with," Samuel warned.

Jack nodded his understanding.

When they entered the prince's chamber. Prince Alonzo was standing by the window. Royal Advisor Mason was by his side.

'Is this dude always here?' Jack thought of the Royal Advisor. He didn't see Princess Sindral, though.

"Samuel, mister Storm Wind, you are back! How goes the negotiation?" Prince Alonzo said cheerfully. Jack noticed he was not as pale as before. The fact that he could now stand mean he was much better than the last time Jack saw him.

"It went well, Your Highness," Jack replied as he handed the letter signed by Haestus. "I'm glad you look much better now, Your Highness."

"Thank you for your concern," the Prince said as he accepted the letter. He opened and studied it with a smile. He said, "and thank you for your effort. I am truly grateful for it. Are you ready for your next assignment?"

'Next assignment? So soon?' Jack thought. He was not in a hurry to complete this chain quest, considering its difficulty. He thought at first there would be some waiting period in between the quests like what happened with the duke's chain quest. But then again, the struggle for the throne was against time, it was not like the first and second princes stayed idle.

At the same time, Jack also heard a notification saying that he had completed the first part of the faction chain quest. He received 500,000 exp, 30 gold coins, 2000 merit points. His Archmage class was close to reaching level 33 before this. He soon heard the notification that he had reached that level.

"What's the assignment?" Jack asked.

"Represent me as my ambassador," Prince Alonzo said.

"Ambassador…? I probably need to clarify, are we talking about a person who is sent to another country?"

"I do believe that should be the definition."

"Which country?"

"Sangrod Empire," it was Royal Advisor Mason who answered. "Aside from the Republic of Palgrost, Sangrod Empire is the other countries we are allied with. If we can gain the influence of their important members and showed the other nobles here that the third prince was able to establish a relationship with our allied country, it should build more confidence in Prince Alonzo."

"The point of your visit was only symbolical and to set up an arrangement for my formal visit," Alonzo said. "The family I have been talking to all this time is the Lucien family. You will meet up with their patriarch."

"Family?" Jack asked.

Mason took the chance to explain, "The Sangrod Empire was governed by a collection of families. It is similar to the orc clans, but the Sangrod families put more emphasis on their blood relations. Do you know what the race governing the Sangrod Empire is?"

"Vampires."

"Yes, I see you are rather knowledgeable. Not all the denizens are vampires though. Most of the common civilians are humans like us. Under the surface, our two countries might not be that different. That's probably also the reason we are allies with them. The families who governed the country, though, are a different race altogether. They were the denizen of darkness who consume blood for sustenance."

"Uh, did they treat their human subjects as livestock to be consumed?" Jack asked.

Mason laughed. "They did drink their blood, but it was done out of willingness. They of course didn't drink the human until they died, they simply take a little to sustain themselves. In return, the humans were provided protection and payments in coins. Becoming the blood donators to the ruling families is seen as an honor to the humans in the Sangrod empire, and not everyone has the luxury. Rigorous checkings were done before the humans were chosen, and when someone does, it usually is a job for a lifetime."

"Oh, very civilized of them," Jack thought. It was different from the usual depiction of vampires in his world, where they were depicted as bloodthirsty and savage monsters. Some stories romanticized the vampires into something more appealing. Perhaps these Vampires here were the types like those in the romanticized stories.

"So, this Lucien family. I only need to meet up with them?" Jack asked.

"Yes, please give them this letter once you meet with their patriarch, Caleb Lucien," Prince Alonzo said as he handed Jack another envelope.

'I have a feeling this Caleb Lucien is going to give me another task before I am sent back here,' Jack thought in his mind as he received the envelope. He heard a notification voice informing him that his faction chain quest had been updated.

He opened his Quest page to take a look. Underneath the chain quest's description, there was an additional section.

Part 2: Ambassador to Sangrod Empire

Difficulty: S

Rewards: 1,000,000 exp, 40 gold coins, 5000 merit points, additional rewards possible

'Wow! 5000 merit points. Once I complete this job, I will be an Earl,' Jack thought. His kingdom faction nobility badge had accumulated 5170 merits, with 3240 exchangeable points.

"As for your success in your first assignment, also to assist you in the next, I want to give you another reward," Prince Alonzo made a gesture and a soldier in heavy armor came forward.

"This is Heathcliffe, a dedicated soldier. I don't know if you notice him, but he was one of the soldiers under your command during the expedition."

"He is?" Jack honestly didn't remember. There were too many soldiers in the vanguard troops he commanded during the expedition.

"I have requested the soldiers who have followed you in that expedition. Who amongst them was willing to be your companion? To my surprise, quite a number had come forward. I took the liberty to choose the best."

A companion? Jack was surprised. He had failed to get Samuel to be his companion, but unexpectedly he had been presented with another. Jack used Inspect on the soldier.

Heathcliffe (Elite Human, Knight), level 45

HP: 65,000

Not as powerful as Samuel, but better than Princess Purple's companion. At this time, having any companion was a luxury only a few players possess, so he would not complain.

"Thank you, Your Highness," Jack exclaimed. To Heathcliffe, he said, "I will be relying on you."

Heathcliffe made a bow. He presented something to Jack. "This is my Companion Token. I had already bound myself to it."

A runic symbol appeared as that token was presented.

"Use your hand and touch the center of that symbol," Peniel explained.

Jack did so. He felt a rush of energy blanketing his arm. Some tickles were felt for a while before the runic symbol dissolved.

"This token is now also bound to you. Anytime you need me, just activate this token and I will be by your side."

Jack accepted the Companion Token with elation. Now he had his personal tank.

"By the way, Your Highness mentioned several soldiers were willing to be my companion? Why not have them all follow me?"

Prince Alonzo paused from Jack's question. The Royal Advisor laughed. Peniel hit Jack on the head and said, "one can only have one companion. If you bind a contract with another one, the previous one will be nulled."

"Oh…" was the response Jack gave. He hurriedly laughed it off and said to Heathcliffe, "Doesn't matter.. Heathcliffe here is more than enough, anyway, haha."

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