Chapter 217: Lost King

Facing a talking blue wolf with a deep voice that wasn't much different from grinding metal, Moon wasn't sure about his own goals or reasons for being here. "What are you doing here, though?" he asked.

"About that, I'm here for the trial but can't find my way to the Defense Faction," Raiju said, looking both troubled and lost.

"You're an ascender?" Moon frowned.

"Our clan was blessed with sentience a few generations ago; I'm the first to become an ascender," Raiju said proudly.

Moon squinted, rubbing his chin. 'I think Uon said something once about sentient beasts.'

"Did you go to the Normalization Facility, though?" Moon asked, skeptical. If someone like Raiju had been there, he was bound to have gained some attention.

"What's that?" Raiju asked, looking confused.

"I guess it's for humans only then," Moon concluded. "Anyway, where are we?" he asked, realizing he also didn't know his way back.

Raiju's tail whipped the ground. "No idea," he said.

Moon squinted deeper. "How did you find this place then?" he asked. Raiju's presence here was suspicious, suddenly appearing right where Moon happened to be.

Raiju pointed a paw at the spot where Moon had come from, which now looked like a huge tree on a small dune. "This wasn't here, then it was here," he said.

"Wait, what?" Moon's face fell.

"This tree, it suddenly appeared," Raiju explained again.

Moon turned around. "It wasn't there in the first place?" he asked.

"It wasn't. That dune, too." Raiju shook his head. "How did you get there?"

"The rift bastard threw me there," Moon said with a bitter sigh.

"No wonder," Raiju nodded in understanding. "Who are you, though? You look familiar."

"I obviously look familiar; check the Defense Faction grid," Moon said proudly.

A moment later, Raiju's eyes widened. "Oh, you're that guy leading the faction," he said in sudden realization. His expression quickly turned vicious. "I don't follow those who are weaker than me," he stated flatly.

Realizing that the wolf was picking a fight after the tentative peace they had just established, Moon's face fell.

Ding!

But before they could actually fight, a new system message flashed in front of Moon's eyes.

A while ago, in the Control Center, Lucen, Samuel, Ed, and Uon were searching for Moon all over the second floor.

"Where did that brat go?" Ed gritted his teeth. It had been far too long since Moon went through the rift.

No one answered; their eyes merely scanned the screens one by one. "Lucen, is there anything you can do?" Ed asked again.

Lucen shook his head. "I've used my entire authority to scan the second floor."

"I'll go search for him," Ed said, turning around to leave the room.

"Wait," Samuel called. "Your searching capabilities are less efficient than this. Don't waste your effort." He spoke slowly, trying to reason with Ed.

Ed stopped. "I will find out about that," he said, before—

"Edmond, wait," Lucen called. "The administrator reversed the trial starting time by six hours." He brought forth a new system window with a new countdown:

00 Days, 05 Hours, 59 Minutes, 58 Seconds

Ed blinked at the screen. "What does that mean?" he asked Lucen. "Ask the administrator."

Lucen dismissed his demand. "It could mean many things. If asking the administrator were so easy, I wouldn't have wasted all these hours."

"Like what?" Ed pressed.

Lucen rubbed the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes for a moment. "It could be that the rift truly malfunctioned, triggered a hidden quest, or he got inspected for something."

He paused before adding, "These are the three textbook reasons. In my long life, I have only ever seen one of them happen once."

"Which one?" Ed asked.

"Inspection," Lucen answered flatly.

Ed's face fell, but he didn't say anything. He could only pray that things would go well with the ticking bomb Moon carried.

They all sat down, waiting for any new updates. Moon wasn't on the second-floor grid entirely, so they had to wait for the administrator.

Thankfully, an update came at last.

"I think your kid made it out of whatever it was," Lucen said, snapping his fingers.

Before their eyes, a new Quest Notice appeared.

[Quest Notice]

Title: Lost King of Defence

Details:

Follow the indicator and reunite with your faction.

This quest was issued by the Administrator of the second floor.

"So small?" Moon exclaimed; he had never seen a quest window so brief.

"Who are you calling small?" Raiju growled. "Or what?" he added as a secondary threat.

Moon pursed his lips. "Wait, I might have found our way back," he said dismissively.

"REALLY?" Raiju's voice rumbled.

Moon frowned. "Where's that indicato— Oh..." He looked ahead, aiming his gaze a little high into the sky. "So that's where it is."

"Have you finally gone insane?" Raiju asked, his tail whipping restlessly.

"I got a quest with a floating arrow here showing me the way to the faction," Moon explained.

"Here where?" Raiju frowned.

"Here in the sky, right before your eyes!" Moon angrily pointed at the empty space.

"Are you messing with me now, human?" Raiju bared his teeth.

Moon's face fell; he felt like he had been through this routine before. For some reason, he nodded. "I'm messing with you."

Raiju looked at him with eyes full of disbelief. "I KNEW IT! FIGHT ME!" he growled, lowering his head for a lunge.

"Never heard of jokes?" Moon asked, looking helpless.

"Joking?" Raiju halted his attack, but his frown didn't cease. "So this is what joking is?" he asked.

"Yeah, you tell a light joke, everyone laughs," Moon shrugged. "No one is hurt; everyone laughs."

Raiju's gaze went empty; he looked a step away from being completely mind-blown. "Human, you've taught me a new sentient aspect." He nodded, looking suddenly grateful.

"My name is Moon." Moon introduced himself and extended his right hand. "How about a handshake? We'll be working in the same faction, after all," he offered.

Raiju looked at Moon, then at the extended hand. He studied the situation for a couple of seconds before nodding.

He sat back on his haunches, extending his right front paw for a handshake. "Your name sounds good."

"Yours too." Moon shook the paw and nodded. "Let's get moving then?"

"You really know the way?" Raiju asked, still skeptical.

Moon nodded. "I don't think we should fight. I'm the leader, and I became one because I'm strong." He looked ahead in the direction the indicator pointed. "Either of us getting hurt is a win for the enemy, don't you think?"

Raiju exhaled slowly. "You're right." He looked in that direction as well. "How about we race to where the faction is?" he asked.

Moon thought for a moment. "What if we meet an enemy on the way, tired and our Echo spent?" he asked.

It was true that Moon was feeling anything but secure at this point. An ambush in the middle of nowhere wouldn't be out of his expectations.

The administrator changing his mind and deciding to give him a sudden death sentence wasn't too crazy of a thought either.

He was truly unsure and didn't want to be taken advantage of by anyone while stranded in alien lands.

"You're smart, and you have a leader's mindset," Raiju nodded in approval. "I, as a leader myself, like your mindset."

"Alright, let's just run there; it seems to be a very long journey anyway."