"A War Game?"
The Elf girl's lips parted. She never expected Roy to be plotting this. In Orario, when conflicts between two Familia are irreconcilable or for various other reasons, a War is held where the rules are self-determined.
In essence, two Familia choose a location and fight a battle. The winner takes all, plundering everything from the loser and potentially even sending the opposing Head God back to Heaven.
Ryuu's sky-blue eyes widened at Roy. Do you misunderstand my abilities?
No matter how weak the Rudra Familia was, they still had several hundred members. Her fighting them in a War Game alone—was this revenge? Or simply offering herself up to be killed?
Roy knew what the Elf girl was worried about and looked calm. "Don't worry about the combat strength. When the time is right, I naturally have a way."
The Transmigrator's greatest advantage was the information gap! Armed with countless pieces of intelligence, it would be too easy for him to find help. If pushed, he could always sell the red-eyed rabbit (Bell) to Freya prematurely and let the Freya Familia take action. Ten Rudra Familias combined would be annihilated! But the risk was too great. The Beauty Goddess's charm was not to be messed with. He could be controlled in a single encounter, and he didn't want to become the shame of all Transmigrators...
Ryuu felt like she was going crazy. Since meeting Roy, she had been led around by the nose the entire time.
"Trust me!"
Roy looked seriously at the Elf girl, without any hint of joking, his voice deep.
Looking at Roy's grave expression, Ryuu sensed a profound loneliness in him, as if no one in the world truly understood him. Having lost all her companions, she felt a certain empathy. The two of them were like orphans abandoned by the world, hiding in a dark corner, licking their wounds in solitude.
"Alright."
The Elf girl asked, "But how can you guarantee that they will agree to a War Game?"
"They will definitely agree!"
Roy said confidently. As a half-lewd observer of events, he knew the Gods' nature very well. The Gods in Orario were divided into the Order Faction and the Chaos Faction. The Order Faction, needless to say, complied with the rules of the lower world and lived peacefully. The Chaos Faction only retained the most basic bottom line—not using Divine Power—and did whatever they pleased otherwise. A Familia, at its core, was just an organization established by the Gods for their amusement. The Gods determined the Familia's direction: some explored the Dungeon, some forged weapons, some liked farming, and some liked to play the villain and deliberately contradict the mainstream...
Roy didn't believe that Rudra, the Head God of the Familia, could resist such a fun and sudden turn of events. Even if he did resist, Roy had several backup plans. One of them was bound to suit the constitution of the Dark Familia babies.
"War Games are not supposed to result in death."
"That's for normal Familia War Games. The Dark Faction is a different matter."
The two exchanged questions and answers until Ryuu was rendered speechless. She realized that Roy was not exaggerating. This young man understood the situation in Orario extremely well. Where did his information come from, to be so detailed?
The two chatted as they walked toward the Guild Headquarters.
Taking a shortcut, they entered a small alley. The Elf girl suddenly stopped.
"Stop!"
Roy silently retreated, positioning Ryuu in front of him.
The Elf girl's face was cold, and her alert eyes focused on a shadowy bend five meters ahead. She said coldly,
"Stop hiding, come out!"
A ghost-like figure stood there, completely shrouded in a black robe. Gloved hands, covered in carved patterns, peeked out. The figure looked extremely mysterious.
"Gale..."
Ryu questioned,
"Who are you?"
The black-robed figure said faintly,
"You don't need to inquire about my identity. The monster that appeared in the Dungeon—the Juggernaut—information about it must not be revealed to anyone. If you keep your promise, we will spare you. Otherwise, every person who knows will die!"
Ryu's pupils contracted sharply. The Juggernaut!
The black-robed figure continued,
"Do you understand?"
Ryu frowned, her beautiful eyebrows furrowing. This didn't seem like the style of the Evils (Dark Faction). Was this someone from the Guild?
"Cough! Cough!"
Roy lightly coughed twice, interrupting the black-robed figure. He couldn't stand by and watch; this old coot was putting on quite an act.
The newcomer was none other than Fels, the
"Sage."
Roy laughed,
"Wait, are you threatening us, or are you asking us to keep a secret?"
Fels remained silent. He really wanted to stand firm, but the other party clearly wouldn't accept that.
Seeing Fels' silence, Roy smiled.
As the administrator of Orario, the Guild possessed many privileges. To avoid attracting suspicion and apprehension from other powers and Famiilias, it had actively abandoned the use of force. Guild staff members did not have the Falmna (God's Grace), and Fels was the only personal armed guard of the Great God Ouranos.
Out of respect for the
"Sage's"
mastery of magic and Fels' Level 4 status, Roy maintained a degree of deference. However, if the intent was to threaten them, Fels was simply not qualified!
Although he had lived for eight hundred years, Fels' abilities were fixed at Level 4. If it came down to a real fight, it was debatable whether he could even defeat Ryu, who was accustomed to constant battle.
"You are..."
Fels finally noticed the young man behind the Elven girl. He didn't match the image of any high-level adventurer Fels was familiar with. What exactly was going on?
"My identity isn't important. I'll ask you again: Are you threatening us, or are you requesting us?"
Roy seemed to have grasped the other party's weakness.
The Guild wanted to conceal the existence of the Juggernaut.
The conditions for the Juggernaut's appearance were not complicated; throwing a few hundred pieces of dynamite into the lower levels would suffice.
A weapon in hand will give rise to murderous intent!
If other adventurers knew this information, they would definitely use it to eliminate their enemies. It was not hard to imagine how lively the Dungeon would become in the future. The Guild absolutely had to block the news.
Therefore, asking for a favor required the proper attitude!
Even if the Great God Ouranos chose to take a risk and use the Guild's connections to have other high-level Famiilias control them, as soon as Roy and Ryu shouted the information on the street, the Juggernaut's existence would quickly spread throughout Orario.
The initiative in this matter was in their hands!
After a moment of deadlock, Fels finally conceded defeat and said helplessly,
"It is a request."
Roy showed a smug smile, "You are a member of the Guild. Even if it is a request, then as an exchange, it wouldn't be too much for us to propose a small condition, would it?"
"What do you want?" Fels was stunned.
This entire situation had been completely unexpected. Ryu's sudden trip to the Guild made them fear she was going to publicly disclose the Juggernaut's information, so Fels had rushed over to stop her, never expecting the encounter to be this difficult.
Watching the young man slowly corner this mysterious figure and seize control of the negotiation, the Elven girl gained a completely new appreciation for the young man's quick wit.
Roy held up his index finger and thumb, forming a small gap, and smiled,
"The Guild will turn a blind eye to our upcoming actions, and then give us a little bit of convenience."