Epoch: A Berserker's Rise

Chapter 24: Ember City

The old guard had the same reaction as the others, but he still said "Are you sure about that?"

Adam was feeling really bad right now, the pressure brought by a group of Level 70 Silver guards was too powerful. This may be a game, his mind was inside.

Still, his mind had been strengthened by his soul too, so he was able to keep his calm and answer "I am, I offended two cults worshiping two Great Devils, and they put a bounty on my head."

The Old Guard frowned and said "You were able to kill this assassin by yourself? You do indeed seem to have good equipment on you. If you want to get the reward for this head, you need to go to the guards' barracks. Come, I'll lead you there."

He then turned to the others in the squad and said "I'll go with him, keep working." They all nodded but Adam could still see them steal glances at him.

The two left the outpost, and as they walked Adam couldn't help but ask "What's the Blackheart Alliance, exactly?"

The guard replied "They didn't tell you? They are the Kings of the Underworld, one of the racial powers."

Adam repeated "Racial Powers?"

The guard looked at Adam and said "You really don't know much about the world don't you?" Adam shook his head so the guard said "Boy, where do I begin There is a certain hierarchy in Epoch, the powers form a kind of pyramid. At the very top of the pyramid, the strongest power in our world, is the Holy Temple, or the Temple of the Gods. Unlike the Racial Powers, they don't differentiate between the different gods and serve them all. However, they don't really have any political impact, their sole purpose is to fight against the evil forces."

The guard continued "Following them, are the Racial Powers. All races have created organizations to protect their kind, some doing it alone and others teaming up. For example, Northmen us have formed the Coldlands Empire in the far north of the continent, but the Fae and the Wood Elves have teamed up to create Feynwoods. Blackheart Alliance is one of those Racial Powers, it is an organizations that deals with assassins and was formed by Dark Elves and Catkin."

Adam asked "Which one is stronger between Blackheart Alliance and Coldlands Empire?" The old guard replied "There are a total of 8 Racial Powers, and they all are as powerful as each other, just that they are different. If you intended to seek protection from Coldlands, then I'm sorry to tell you it won't make a difference."

Adam shook his head and said "It wasn't my intention in the first place. And what about the Azure Sky Kingdom? How does it compare to the Racial Powers? And are the races here mixed are will depend on who you work for?"

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The guard replied "Officially the kingdom is under the Coldlands Empire, but all races are accepted here. But there are some kingdoms where they don't accept certain races. As for how we compare to the Racial Powers? We aren't anything compared to them. They literally have tens of kingdoms like us under them."

Adam smiled and asked "Then why be a guard here? Why not go to the Coldlands?"

The guard scoffed though and said "Lad, what do you think I would do there? Even here I am only a border guard, if I went there I would have nothing to do."

Adam asked "Then at which level do you reckon I should go?"

The guard replied "Level 20." Adam frowned and asked "Why so low?" The guard smiled and said "How do you think you will become a Bronze Rank?"

Adam shrugged, he really had no idea. The guard continued "Once you hit level 20 you will be able to rank up, and the only place to do so is the Racial Powers. Only your races' power may allow you to take the tests to get a new class."

Adam nodded, this was a very useful piece of information. From there, the two continued walking in silence, until they finally reached the gates of the city. They were currently in the middle of the day, and there were a lot of people queing to enter the city. However, the guard led Adam past them all, and they were able to enter the city without having to wait.

Inside, Adam couldn't help but feel glad he had killed that assassin, there were way too many people wishing to enter the capital.

And it didn't get better inside, the streets were filled with NPCs, all with varying levels and ranks. What Adam found impressive though was the guards. Unlike the old guard escorting him, the ones in the city were [Ember City Patrol], and were Level 100 Silver Guards. They were even more crazily powerful than the border guards.

Soon, Adam stood in front of a huge building only bested by the Royal Palace. Unlike the latter though, this building wasn't fancily decorated, it wasn't decorated in gold and silver, but made of wood and steel, this was a true fortress. Those were the barracks.

The old guard stopped in front of the building too and said "You go inside and give them the head. I'll go back to my post for now."

Adam nodded "Thank you for your help." The old guard smiled and nodded before leaving.

Standing in front of the building, Adam titled his head to look past the barracks. There, was the Royal Palace. It was quite normal after all for the guards' barracks to be near the palace. This made things easy for him, finding the palace would be a pain were he to search through the city. Well, finding it wouldn't be very difficult with how big it was, but getting there would with how big the city was.

But that was for later, and Adam set foot in the building.

The two guards standing in front of the entrance glanced at him for a second before looking away, he didn't look like a danger and he was even brought here by a border guard.

Once inside, Adam couldn't help but be amazed by what he saw. The interior was much bigger than it seemed, and in the distance Adam could see several important areas.

First was what he sought, an office to greet anyone who wasn't from the guards. There was a beautiful secretary there who was probably here to handle anyone who had an appointment or give out quests.

Past her office, Adam could see recruits being trained. A Level 120 Silver instructor was teaching young men and women, who had levels varying between 10 and 60.

Other than them, a few people could be seen walking by, each and everyone of them being important and powerful people.

"Mister, can I help you?"

Adam heard a sweet voice call out to him, coming from the secretary. He smiled to her and said as he approached her "Sorry, I was a little lost."

The secretary smiled and said "It's alright, you are the first blessed individual we see. What are you here for, do you wish to join the guards?"

Adam was surprised, he didn't know that was an option. However, he shook his head and said "I am not here for that. I have been attacked by an assassin, which I killed. I am here for the reward."

As he said that he took the head out of his inventory and showed it to the woman. She looked at the head curiously and asked "Do you know where she comes from? It would help to find how much her head is."

Adam replied "She's from Blackheart." She raised an eyebrow and looked at Adam surprised. He smiled and said "Two cults have placed a bounty on my head in the Blackheart Alliance, so expect to get a few more heads."

The secretary let out a little smile and said "Quite confidant aren't you?" Adam leaned in closer and said "It's because I have what it takes."

The secretary leaned closer too and said teasingly "Do you?" Adam laughed and put the head down as he said "It won't take long before you hear about the heroic deeds of Valiant Heart, guild leader of King's Heart and greatest blessed guy!"

She chuckled and said "You are the first one to get here at least, maybe you aren't completely wrong. However, I wonder how you became a Guild Leader, I don't remembering registering you in?"

Adam froze for a moment before looking away and saying "What do you know, I just haven't officially created the guild. Speaking of this, could you help me create it?"

She smiled "I can do that, but what do I get in exchange?" Adam asked "Does it cost anything to create a guild?"

She shrugged and said "It depends on my mood, so you tell me, does it cost anything?" Adam got back in front of her face and said "I think I should be asking you."