Chapter 257: A Game of Tag

[Detection: A new entity has entered the continent.]

[Further analysis: It is someone registered within the data of the system. A human named Quinn.]

Thirty minutes before the meeting started, these notifications came up. There was no surprise on the face of the gamer nor did he think that any violence would be involved in the appearance of Quinn. But to ensure things, he needed to go there and greet the human himself. Something which he believed was part of the aim of the Monarch residing within Quinn.

"This is a pleasant surprise." Zeke began, jumping to the location right away using a [Teleportation Scroll]. Quinn sat on top of large rock, looking apologetic as much as he was ashamed.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting exactly?" Zeke said in his normal tone.

"Mister Zeke, it's me. Quinn." The human thought that it was necessary to clear this out as, Zeke may not be aware of who he was talking to.

"Uhmm yeah I kinda knew that already Quinn. Anyway, what brings you here? I doubt that you're already done with your mission."

Quinn was surprised with how Zeke treated him. It was like there was nothing wrong with the situation. The gamer was casually talking to someone who left his team, nearly killed Sylph, and fought him to an extent that could have even reached a fight to the death.

"Yow. Are you still there buddy?" Zeke furthered as Quinn snapped out of his train of thought.

"Oh. Yes Mister Zeke."

"Look, I don't actually have a lot of time so let's make this quick. I'll ask and all you need to do is answer. Is that okay?" Quinn gave a nod in response.

"Okay. First things first. Are you an ally or a foe."

"Ally."

"Good. That means you're Monarch buddy also has a goal close to mine. Now tell me, what pushed you to this route?"

"Pardon?"

"A Monarch cannot be defeated that easily. Each one of them has enough power to rival the main deities. So you going here means that there is something, an obstacle, that was too overwhelming for your Monarch to finish on his own."

"Yes, it actually has something to do with the black thing which, I'm sure, can be seen on your [Minimap]."

"Hmm I see."

Zeke still thought of Vask as an enemy. But unlike Pier, he didn't feel much hostility toward this Monarch and, if a truce was being offered, then the gamer simply could not refuse. After all, the power of the Monarch is second to none. But he decided not to let this show. Playing his cards well in order to gain the upper hand.

"Okay, this is my last question. What do you have to offer then?"

"So it did come to this point." Quinn said in reply.

"Oh, so you were aware that this was inevitable?"

"Yes. Actually Vask told me about this."

"Well that saves us a lot of trouble then. Now start talking."

"We can give you two things. First is information of Glade and, second is on the Chaos that covers the seas of Mythos."

Quinn was expecting Zeke to push things further. He knew that things wouldn't be this easy and that there would even be a chance for the negotiation to fail. That was probably the reason why he got shocked as soon as the gamer said:

"Okay."

"What?"

"Did becoming a host fry some of your braincells Quinn? Okay means your part of the team again."

"Aren't you even going to make a binding contract Mister Zeke?"

"Don't be silly. That creature inside you is a Monarch and, a proud one at that. He won't break a promise which he himself decided to make because, that'd just make him look stupid. As far as I know, Monarchs put a lot of value on their dignity and appearance. Well, most of them at least."

"B-but."

"Why does it look like you don't like the outcome."

"No it's not that Mister Zeke! Aren't you even going to ask any other question?"

"Look, there's already all sorts of crazy going on in Mythos right now. I can't go and ask every little detail and investigate on the same things. But that doesn't mean I'm relying solely on my instincts." Zeke stepped close to Quinn and bumped his fist on the human's chest.

"Don't get emotional but, you're still the only person fit to lead the elites. And I'm counting on you in this mission."

Quinn began getting teary eyed at this point. Zeke threw a handkerchief at him as he looked away.

"Finish with those waterworks and make yourself look decent. The least we could do when I bring you back is to ensure that you're presentable." Zeke said, waiting a full minute as both of them finally teleported back to base.

As soon as they got back, Quinn felt his heart skip a beat. He was gone for so long that he didn't know how his former teammates will treat him. He didn't even know if they would see him as their ally anymore. But such things were trivial matters compared to the larger task at hand.

"We'll be having a meeting shortly. Stay in your room and rest until I call you. Got it?"

"Yes Mister Zeke." Was the short reply of Quinn who did as he was told. Or at least, that was how things were supposed to go.

"Quinn?" Kaguya appeared. The only person which Quinn wanted to avoid as much as he could was there in front of him. He looked at Zeke and, there was nothing but a smile on the gamer's face as he shouted.

"WE HAVE AN INTRUDER!"

Quinn didn't have much energy at that point. He began by running form both Zeke and Kaguya as he assessed the situation.

"What the hell is going on here? I'm sure Mister Zeke isn't backstabbing us so why shout something uncalled for as that?"

The next ones which got in Quinn's way were Julia and Mordred. He threw a small blade through them, [Weapon Blinking] to the location of the blade as he continued running around.

"Mister Zeke, if this is your idea of a joke then it isn't helping at all!" Quinn furthered as he continued running around the base. Meanwhile, Zeke was still with Kaguya who slumped to the ground.

"Mister Zeke, was that…"

"Well don't just sit there Kaguya! We need to catch him. Go. GOOO!"

Kaguya moved immediately. Mobilizing all the members of the elites and asking Amare to lead the team as she focused on assault and capture.

Quinn passed by the elites one by one. Shock was written on all of their faces as Quinn continued moving through the headquarters. In fact, he didn't even know why he continued doing so and only guessed that it was probably because of Zeke shouting as he did a few minutes ago.

"Hey that's Quinn right? Get him!" Curio said as two defenders who were with him tried to set up a barrier.

This didn't work because Quinn used a piercing spell, breaking the barriers as he followed up with [Flash Step] which Curio was able to follow. But this was only a small distraction as Quinn weapon blinked again. Going back to the location of the two defenders and running to an open route.

"Oh you ain't running away mister!" Curio furthered but, even before he could follow, detonates came on their area. Freezing him and the two defenders temporarily.

Meanwhile, as all of this occurred, Zeke contacted the core members of the team; those who were natural inhabitants of Mythos.

"Guys I need you to calm down and listen to me."

"Zeke? What the hell was that shout earlier?" Sylph began.

"Yeah that was so unlike you." Allesiah followed as both Windsprites knew that the gamer would never shout a command that may cause panic.

"Ahh so you did notice. Good. Good."

"What do you mean?"

"Well for the moment, we're having a little game with Quinn. Help him in avoiding the elites but don't make your moves obvious."

"Are you serious right now? We can destroy the base in the process you know."

"Oh don't worry about that. Heron will set up her [Cloud of Dreams] to prevent any actual damage to the base."

"You crazy little…"

"Well that would be all for now. I'll explain everything in the meeting later." Zeke said as he cut off the communication.

There was no time to waste. More than anything else, Zeke knew that he needed to optimize all of his actions. And this included getting the elites to trust Quinn again.

Under normal circumstances, they would just doubt him. Yes, if Zeke simply introduced him in the meeting, then there would be members of the group who'd have doubts about the agenda of Quinn. But through this method, they had no choice but to follow him and aim for him. Taking out whatever negative emotion they had against Quinn along the way.

Zeke watched everything through his [Minimap]. Seeing how Quinn evaded the elites one by one while also ensuring that he didn't cause any serious injury on them. And after a few more minutes, Quinn was finally cornered.

"Heron." Zeke immediately contacted the [Dragon Morpher] at this point. Moving on to the next stage of his welcoming back party for Zeke.

"Yes master?"

"Place them on generated world number thirty-two."

"That weird looking one?"

"Yup. That's the one." Zeke said as the whole base slowly changed.

"Come on Quinn, you need to try harder." The gamer commented as the skyscrapers and tall buildings rose one by one.