Brand New Life Online: Rise Of The Goddess Of Harvest

"And you've done well in not letting that happen, by destroying these two hidden dungeons, not only you've slowed down their plans, but you've bought us valuable information and time." The King admitted. "Your help has already been priceless for our country's safety, I am really grateful for what you've done, all of you."

The King bowed his head to us, something we never thought someone as prideful looking as him would ever do.

"Y-You don't have to bow, your majesty…" I tried to stop him. "We're not even halfway through this entire ordeal anyways. It is also time for me to reveal you some of the information I've gathered recently."

"Information?" Wondered the King.

"What is it, Planta?" Camilla wondered.

"Well, the reason we were able to detect those hidden dungeons was thanks to my Spirits. I was able to tell them to follow certain materials I got from the chimeras we fought, and they easily led us to where they might have originated." I answered.

I quickly revealed to them how there were hundreds of tiny spirits flying everywhere using my Aura, surprising them even further.

"And with their help, I was able to find three paths. Two of them led to these two hidden dungeons, one to the sewers, the other to the abandoned laboratory. And the third…" I said, looking into the King and the Queen's eyes. "It led me to the Magicians Guild Tower."

"…"

"…"

The two remained in silence for a while, they probably had mixed feelings, but didn't feel as surprised as I imagined.

"We had our suspicions, we even thought about it many times." Said Camilla, sighing.

"We've also sent many spies there, but they never said there was anything weird." Sighed the King. "But your Spirits, the ones that brought you to the dungeons hidden with powerful magic, led you there then, huh?"

"I assure you that there MUST be something wrong there… I don't know what, I'm not even pointing fingers at anybody either but… I think that place must be connected with the Cultists! The Spirits are usually scared to go there too, they feel it, something sinister is growing there…" I muttered, feeling a bit of the same fear the Spirits transferred to me through our connection.

"If the Magician Guild were to be the ones truly behind this then…" The King said. "It's not going to be easy to stop them, even as a King, I have to admit it."

"They're too powerful, they're the second strongest organization after our royal family itself." Camilla said. "Merlin, their Guild Master, is an incredibly powerful and wise Grand Archwizard, he's Level 400."

"L-Level 400?!" We were all left even more speechless.

"Or even above that Level, he's very old, and has lived for many years, not just what a human would live." The King sighed. "My gran grand father has documents saying that Merlin was still there, an old man as always. This means he's at least three hundred years old, if not older."

"W-What…?" Mark was left completely shocked. "T-This is ridiculous…"

"Level 400…" I said. "So there are levels above 300, huh? This means he has most likely he has completed not once, but perhaps twice or three times the Advancement Trial, right?" I asked.

"So you know about the Advancement Trial for Ascendancy?" Camilla asked. "It is something that only those that have reached Level 300 know… But yes, after hitting Level 300, you have to complete one every 50 Levels."

"Merlin then completed… one at Level 300, then another at 350, and another… at Level 400? If he's over Level 400, then… that's three trials." Jenny muttered. "D-Does this means he's super overpowered?"

"He's not all-powerful." The King broke our tension. "Merlin has grown weary, weak, and very old. His magic is mighty, but his body is at its limits of what a human can achieve in terms of age. He has extended his lifespan so much he's deteriorating rapidly now that he's reaching the end of it. If this old monster, which we've relied for years to be our Kingdom's protector, is truly related with the cult… it's not like he's an impossible foe."

"There's a way?" I wondered. "Ah! W-We shouldn't be acting too suspicious though, maybe he's nice and fighting against them in the shadows! Who knows?"

"I want to believe that too, but there's also the necessity to always be prepared for anything." Said Camilla. "We need contingency plans for the worst-case scenarios, that's how you manage a Kingdom, Planta."

"…" I remained in silence as I felt frustrated.

The wall of a monster at Level 400 like Merlin, who was not only an incredible magician, but also someone that could be related with the cult was… unnerving, if not even more frightening than fighting one of the 72 Demons of Goetia!

"So you're saying he is physically weak and grows weary and exhausted, huh?" Mark wondered. "What else? Are there more weaknesses?"

"Hmm…" The King stared thinking about it. "I believe we should address this once we're completely sure he is related to the cultists…"

"But walking into the Magician Tower knowing this… Wouldn't it be like walking into the tiger's den?" Rita asked. "And without a plan at all either…"

"Didn't you visit that place?" I asked her. "How were things there?"

"Normal? I-I mean, we went there before we even knew what was going on… And before we destroyed their hidden dungeons." Rita said. "But it was fine? The magicians were of all ages there, young, old, middle aged, young adults, and so on… There was a huge library at the entrance, with countless books, flying artifacts, it looked like a magical place. I never thought… they could have been hiding something so dark there."

"So you've registered there, I guess?" I wondered. "Hmm… Alright, I guess we might have a nice excuse to get there with Rita!"

"What are you planning on doing, Planta?" Camilla asked me. "You… don't tell me…"

"I'm going to register in the Magician Guild and see how far I can get before they show us their true colors." I smiled. "Can't you help us out with camouflaging our Status?" I asked her through her telepathic network.

"…" She remained in silence and sighed. "I can, but I'll need someone that could help me imbue my magic into equipment first. So your plan is infiltration, not bad. You're bold! I like that… Alright, you got me."

"Leave that to me, don't worry!" I told her back. "Ahem! So, we'll infiltrate!"

"You will?!" The King was both joyous and afraid of my plan. "B-But…"

"Don't worry, there's still a lot of things to do." I answered. "Also, I imagine you won't be just sitting there, right, your majesty?"

"Of course." He sighed. "I was about to tell you that we'll be assembling larger knight squadrons, and we'll assign one to you, led by David and some of his trusty knights."

"Hmm, I don't know if we'll need their help, we're pretty strong ourselves." Rita said, wondering if it was a good idea.

"We appreciate the help!" I said. "And don't mind my rude friend's words. We'll be happy to have more backup whenever we raid a dangerous place. But I imagine that's not everything, right?"

"Indeed…" The King nodded, as he unfolded the many plans he had in store.