Chapter 235: A Deal With the Ice Queen
Adrian disappeared from Alabaster Fortress as he no longer needs to be there. He knew Alabaster Fortress is done for which is why he needed to get out of there. The entity with a powerful aura that he felt is as powerful as Cristobal.
The fortress commander of Alabaster Fortress was only about level 100 when the first siege happened. Adrian speculated that the fortress commander is about level 150 or higher by now. His guess is not that far from the truth as the fortress commander is about level 170. The fortress commander might be powerful but not powerful enough to contend with the undead he saw.
The doom knight who is half a second late in killing Adrian though is not happy as it scoured the battlefield to find the demon. Due to Adrian's mischievous antics, the doom knight wasted ten more minutes to find him. The undead even took their time to demolish the Alabaster Fortress.
The undead erased Alabaster Fortress on the map as it is all reduced to rubble. Countless soldiers and player corpses in the fortress became undead. There might have been a chance for only parts of the Alabaster Fortress to be destroyed if Adrian is not there but no one will know because no one is left alive.
The news of the devastation of Alabaster Fortress became a hot topic in the forums that players that have familiarity on the cities and towns that the undead will encounter could only voice their dismay. All the time and effort they used will be gone the drain just because the undead is marching towards them.
The number of complaints became numerous that the players suddenly started the movement to boycott Pandemonium. The movement might have become big but a heated debate suddenly came in the forums. One side wanted the developers to stop the undead march north while the others are saying that Pandemonium must remain free from developer intervention.
There is a larger number of players that want the game Pandemonium to become more organic and let players decide the fate of the world. This comment would have shut those that wanted developer intervention but they countered that the undead only rose up when one player unlocked a unique class.
Those in favor of developer intervention shouted that one player should not decide the fate of the game. This comment made those that do not want developer intervention clamp up as they could not counter this argument as it is a fact. However, one of the GMs or Game Master's stated a quote that quelled the fight between players of both sides.
"Pandemonium has always been about making the world expand due to the ingenuity of the players therefore the developers cannot stop what is already in motion. Though the developers could not do anything about the marching undead, the players are free to do anything.
You can attempt to stop the march of the undead or even aid them in their march. Pandemonium was never meant to be played in a linear fashion. Also, one player did not trigger the undead event as any event could be triggered by any circumstances such as killing an ant on the sidewalk.
The undead was always meant to rise again. Even if the player in question did not unlock his unique job class, the undead would still rise again. Remember fellow Pandemonium players that in Pandemonium we make our own destiny. You choose if you will be swept by the tide or swim against the currents." One of the Game Master posted on the forums.
The Game Master who posted this is one of the Game Masters that is widely popular for his wisdom. The Game master's name is GM Stewpid. Yes, it is his chosen name despite him being treated as the wisest of all the Game Masters.
The forums cooled down and now they no longer wish for developer intervention. Be it intentional or not, the players noticed something that the Game Master stated that might be crucial information. GM Stewpid said that they could join the undead which meant that they could become undead themselves using this event.
A lot of players often wondered if the undead were ever going to be accessible as a starting race. Now, the players were given a hint on how they are going to become of a new race. This is a chance to become something other than the starting races. This means that more spells and abilities will be available to them once they become undead especially for dark attribute spell casters.
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Unknown to the commotion that he is partially to blame, Adrian returned to the forge or Aurgelmir only to see that the fire giant is still busy forging the crown. Adrian knew that Kanlaon is heavily damaged while Saena used all the status ailments in her arsenal to stop something or someone.
Adrian hurriedly went to his soulbounds location that is near the lava channels. He became surprised as he thought it would be undead that he will encounter but actually it is just one person. This person did not look like it is living in this heated environment because of the way they are clothed.
In front of Adrian is a woman that is about 178 cm tall. She is wearing a luxurious white dress with a fur coat blazer made from wolf fur. She is also holding a huge scepter that has something like a snow globe on top. She had skin like that of snow with eyes that is like frozen water. Her blue hair is kept in a bun while there is a crown of ice adorning the top of her head.
Adrian could not believe what he is seeing because a Legendary NPC is actually in front of him. Technically, she is in front of his soulbounds but since Adrian is now there then the former is true.
NPC: Elona
Tier: Legendary
Title: Ice Queen, The Frost Witch of the North
"May I know why you are attacking my partners, Your Highness Elona?" Adrian stated. He did not know how to address the woman. But since her title said Ice Queen, Adrian decided to call her Your Highness.
"I am just punishing a bunch of rowdy kids who suddenly attacked me that is all. Are you the master of this kids, little demon?" Elona replied.
"I am. But our greeting to you will be dependent on the answer of why you are here." Adrian stated trying to sound mysterious and powerful.
"I am just wondering what that old blacksmith is up to because energy fluctuations is reaching my kingdom located a bit further north from here. I did not know that he hired guard dogs so that he cannot be disturbed." Elona teased.
"Old man Aurgelmir is currently busy forging something extremely important. He does not wish to be disturbed at this time." Adrian stated as he cast Invigorate to bring all his soulbounds to full health.
"I see. If that is the case then I will not bother him. But I am giving you a word of advice, I am not the only one coming to this location to know where the source of that energy fluctuation is. You are lucky that I am not hostile to that frost giant because we of the north treat him favorably. Looking at you now then you will not be able to stop them" Elona stated.
"Thank you for your warning, Your Highness. I will keep that in mind and call upon reinforcements." Adrian replied but it seems Elona is still not satisfied as it keeps on eyeing Kanlaon.
"Is there something more you need to ask, Your Highness?" Adrian asked.
"Your dragon. How is it able to control two opposing elemental forces? I can even sense a third element within it that is currently suppressed." Elona replied.
"Trade secret." Adrian replied but it seems that the Ice Queen did not bother asking to elaborate.
Elona did not want there to be a misunderstanding that she is bullying someone weaker than her. She still has the dignity as a queen to become an example for her people. Also, the young demon in front of her called Aurgelimir, a demigod being, old man meaning they had a close relationship.
Adrian did not know that his casual title for those older than him would cause a severe misunderstanding. Though Aurgelmir did not stop Adrian when the latter called him an old man. The frost giant even liked his title but he clearly did not state it and would only cough when Adrian calls him that to hide his joy.
"If you want, I can help protect Aurgelmir's forge from those coming towards this location." Elona suddenly stated which made Adrian raise his brows.
"What do you want in exchange then, Your Highness?" Adrian replied.
"Straightforward, I see. I hope some of my close aides were like you instead of hiding their problems. I am liking you quite a bit now, little demon." Elona stated but Adrian just looked at her waiting for what she wanted.
"I just need you to go to Niflheim and get a flower native to that place for me. Do we have a deal?" Elona stated and Adrian received a system prompt. Adrian read the system prompt and immediately answered.
"We have a deal, Your Highness." Adrian replied while doing a graceful bow.