[Received Divine Quest: Tragedy's Tactic]

The next few moments passed with only the sounds of Melpomene's light laughter filling the air, knowing well enough that I would become awkward or frustrated whenever women were brought up in such a way.

Sighing tiredly as Melpomene finishes laughing, I cannot help but wonder why it was brought up at all before asking, "Are you trying to tell me to woo these overpowered female players or something? I'll tell you right now, you're asking for drama and I don't like drama. If I start collecting super strong women like I'm putting together a harem then there goes my reputation as well as theirs."

"Polygamy and bigamy is legal in Bygone Era, though," Melpomene counters my 'harem' argument casually. "Isn't that part of every young man's dream? Have a wife for every night of the week?"

"This conversation is degenerating too fast, how long until they kill that boss?" I ask to change the subject to something much more comfortable to talk about.

"Soon," she replies simply, looking forward once again. "Is there something else you would rather talk about?"

Thinking back over my time in the manor and watching the different creatures fighting one another, I say, "There were two sides to this raid dungeon, right? One side fighting against the sight-seer and one side trying to help it. Who?"

Nodding their head in slow appreciation, as if tasting my question itself, Melpomene says, "You're not wrong, it's one of the reasons I decided to throw you into the mix. You were growing strong enough fast enough at the time that you would be a force to reckon with if the other side managed to plant any players in the raid. As for who the other side is… why should I spoil the fun? That's future content, Hack."

"I see…" I say distractedly, letting my thoughts run wild for a few moments while speculating on the issue. Pushing those thoughts aside, though, I say, "If you can't tell me who the opposition is, can you tell me how strong they are? If this raid dungeon was part of a holy faction's screening process, then I can imagine an unholy faction was meant to be involved to ruin everything. Since they were not here they were not ready yet, right?"

"Right," she agrees easily enough. "On most accounts. However, did you forget who we are? I am the mistress of fate, Lady Luck, leader of the neutral pantheon, and you are my Oracle. We do not have opposition, only choices and obstacles. Do not allow such a narrow world view to blind your potential, Hack.

"As for how strong they are…" she continues, trailing off thoughtfully. "The righteous, profane, and neutral factions all have their own screening processes. Each god is allowed one or a few champions and their religions are allowed to take in all the followers they want. However, Imperial Law prohibits the worship of profane gods and merely turns a blind eye to use in the neutral faction. Ergo, the righteous gods will have the greatest followings while the rest of get the remainder. However, the neutral and profane factions will recruit based on quality in order to combat the righteous quantity."

"So… they're still low in number but their numbers are like my party," I say after a few seconds of consideration. "My party was small but our clan was in the top thirty for firepower in our server because of our training, experience, and my own abilities. Which means the groups on blind or illegal sides will be held to the same standard?"

"Yes, the people recruited by the profane gods will be players and NPC who are at least above average in their ability," she assures me calmly. "Which is why I mentioned your going out and collecting players with abilities like yours. If you don't, someone else will snatch them out from under you and not all members of the neutral faction feel the same about the current world as I do. Many will side with the profane, simply for the entertainment."

Having glimpsed the plot of the game's story, I find myself feeling oddly pressured. I was strong, probably in the top one hundred players for all I knew. However, there were still thousands of professional players and even more randoms with good Luck who could stumble across game-breaking abilities.

All the while, each of them were popping up on somebody's radar and catching the interest of the game's story-related factions while they prepared for the actual story. This raid territory and dungeon were supposed to be content for players over level one hundred but everybody who took part was only over level fifty or sixty.

Those story factions were still in the preparation phase, so there would obviously not be any actual story events and plots until the player base was over level one hundred. Right now, the were picking out the cream of the crop for chess pieces while letting all the other pawns prove themselves or pick a side.

Since there were different versions of priestly and paladin classes based on the different gods, it was safe to assume that the different factions already had thousands of players apiece by default. Then comes the other classes seeking divine or simply religious benefits shadowed by the personal recruits of the faction leaders. Recruits like me.

Considering the little effort that I myself had put into gathering capable players, amounting to much less than three hundred clan members, I ask, "Uncovering this raid sped things along, didn't they?"

"Yes and no," she replies lightly. "The factions like ours are not feeling rushed, but the players will be. The players will become hungry at the news of the benefits your alliance has accrued and will seek their own. Through any means necessary. Groups like your arch enemy, Fallen Monochrome, may even resort to their own means of securing land and power through attacking Bygone Era's natives like bandits."

Closing my eyes as a rush of familiar images and sounds rush through my mind, I feel an old fire start to come to life in my chest as a blood boiling heat flows through me. I saw my first battle in the war for monochrome taking place, a small city housing a couple tens of thousands of players and NPC being raided. Fallen Monochrome's dark colored banners were waving in the dark, almost shining in the light of burning homes and businesses.

For a brief second, I saw a turning point in my life. The point when I was stopped feeling like a kid in a video game and started feeling like a vengeful spirit. I was fighting off a group of players in some street, trying to buy time for NPC families to escape.

In those few images I saw my enemies suddenly completely ignore me and turn their spells and attacks on the NPC. The looks of shock and fear and pain in their faces were so real, the unwillingness to die and the confusion as to why they found themselves in such a situation. There was some kid, I could not even remember if it was a boy or girl, with arrows in their back limply held in a dying mother's crying arms.

Suddenly, Melpomene's voice was there in my ear pulling my out of my PTSD as she said, "It's not real… Leo. It was basically imaginary, nobody really died. It was all just a man-made setting and circumstance played out for amusement. You don't have to take it so seriously."

Smiling ruefully down at my hands clenched into fists in my lap, I say, "Amusement… THAT was for their amusement? You can read my mind, right? See my thoughts and memories as they come up? You heard it, right? How they laughed and cheered as the city was wiped off the map? How they toyed with the people they killed and even captured some. For FUN?"

"You're still thinking about it, so how can I not hear it?" She asks softly, losing all of her leisure as the light atmosphere of the entire cathedral around us seemed to subtly darken. "But, yes, it was all made possible for the sake of amusement. It is still possible, even here, but not to the extent that it was in that virtual reality. However, Hack, it can happen and it will happen. In fact, for several reasons, it's MEANT to happen."

Taking a deep and steadying breath as I try my best to clear my mind, I say, "There's no way to stop it or minimize it, is there? I don't… I don't think I want to go through that again. Even with this character, I don't think I'm ready for another war like that."

Nodding their head slowly again, Melpomene does not say anything for an oddly long time before tiredly sighing and saying, "You don't actually have to, Hack. We are the neutral faction so we have the right to just sit on the sidelines and watch as everything happens. If you chose to remain neutral, I would support you. However, I feel like it would be a waste of your… existence itself… to do nothing.

"Everybody always says that one man does not make an army, that a single person cannot make any difference," she goes on, regaining some of her light and leisurely attitude as if none of this actually mattered. "However, a single feather can tip solid gold scales. A single grain of sand can disrupt the flow of time in an hourglass. You're not the same feather or grain of sand you used to be, are you?"

"From the mouth of tragedy itself," I remark with a hollow laugh, looking over at the goddess across the aisle from me as I do my best to remain grounded in the present. "No, I'm not a feather or sand or an ant. I'm just some kid trying to make money and enjoy my life at the same time."

Shaking her head with a similarly hollow laugh, Melpomene says, "You and I are a lot alike, Hack. We both just want to enjoy being alive while we're still alive. However, do you think you could enjoy life from the sidelines watching more innocent natives die time and again? If you really sat on the sidelines, you would probably just leave Bygone Era."

Pushing aside all of those thoughts for the time being, I simply ask, "What do you need me to do?"

Sighing with obvious relief in her voice, Melpomene says, "Exactly what I said earlier. Go find players with exceptional power and recruit them. I simply figured it would be easier for you to collect female players of such a caliber, but if you're interested in men instead… to each their own."

Ignoring her jokes, I say, "Do you have any advice on how to do that? Any specific people or places?"

"Nope, that would be cheating," she replies quickly and easily. "All I can say is that you need to start traveling. Sure, Sierra wil produce a plenty of above average players but the real power players are scattered. Don't you also have something you need to do in the imperial capital? Focus on building yourself up and everything else will fall into place around you. Does this answer your question?"

Even if it did not, I did not have much of a choice. I myself was an emperor and I needed to swear fealty to the game's proper emperor. Having access to a proper sized army, even if it is just made up on Infected Mortal players. It will mean that I at least had my own army with which to level the playing field against the godly factions.

"Yeah," I say with a tired sigh. "Travel to the capital and keep my eyes peeled for any exceptional players or people that I can make exceptional, right? And just overall prepare myself for another war between NPC and players."

"It's not just a war between players and natives, Hack," Melpomene corrects me quietly. "It's going to be several wars in several stages, created intentionally to attract and retain the largest among of players possible. it's not just in reality where war is the most profitable business, Hack, but also here."

Fighting the urge to punch something, I stand up and calmly grow out my wings before saying, "Then, I had better go help the others finish that boss so I can get to work on this new mission. Thank you, Melpomene, for saving me."

Nodding up at me from her seat, Melpomene says, "You're my champion, it's only right that I do my best for you. However..." she adds, trailing off while pointing at my body which was now vaguely shining with white and gold light. "The boss is already dead. But, good luck on your quest. I'll be seeing you soon."

[Received Divine Quest: Tragedy's Tactic]

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