When Liam and his friends returned to the top of the volcano, the scene was more cramped than ever. Players formed a large crowd, competing to talk to Lewriova in order to finish their current quests before the point limit was reached. From time-to-time desperate shouts and curses could be heard as people were pushed into the crater, receiving a free teleportation to the novice village.
Even Hotpot's fame didn't help them much right now. They had to push a way through the crowd like anyone else. Fortunately, their high stats gave them a small advantage, and they soon appeared in front of Lewriova.
"Adventurers, you returned!"
The gorgeous nephilim showed a gentle smile but one could see the exhaustion in her eyes. In preparation of the war even the strongest NPCs were working hard all around the clock.
"Yes, we did it! We found Zelgor. Although he was definitely hiding well.", answered Cyclone.
"I already got the news. Thank you very much, adventurers. Thanks to you we can have a lot more confidence in this upcoming war. Here, take your reward."
Cyclone couldn't wait to snatch the small pouch from Lewriova. Not because of the reward but because she was afraid that the point limit would be reached any second now. But with the reward in hand a notification popped up, announcing the successful completion of the quest and the friends could finally be relieved.
Taking a look at the rewards there were no special items but other than that Lewriova was quite generous. With more than 25.000 EXP the friends made a big step towards level 58. However, in total they needed almost 140.000 EXP. After reaching level 50 levelling really became more and more arduous. If it weren't for the event, the friends definitely wouldn't have advanced so quickly.
Other than the EXP the friends also received a small amount of gold and 100 points, which was the most generous reward so far.
Afterwards there was not much left to do. Checking their journal the friends realised that the point limit would be reached in at most half an hour. Thus, they didn't start another quest but went back to Greypine Town for some leisure time. Recently the friends didn't spend much time on professions or questing in the town. Thus, they made up for it right now.
The friends split up, conversing in the chat. About twenty minutes later the much-anticipated announcement finally arrived.
[Server Announcement:]
[The first part of the event 'War on the Void' has officially ended. Congratulations to the order faction for being the first gather 10.000.000 points, thus completing the preparation phase. You have earned a vital advantage for the upcoming second part of the event!]
[Players, be prepared! When the sun rises again the time for war shall begin. All players level 50 and above will be joining the event tomorrow. You have only one chance to decline. And players below level 50, don't lose your vigilance! With the powerful guardians placing their attention elsewhere, all kinds of hidden plots will start moving in both the order and the chaos faction!]
When this announcement rang through the world, it immediately caused loud reactions everywhere. The global chats of both factions were going crazy. The order faction was celebrating their first victory over the chaos faction, while the latter were cursing. Players below level 50 were cursing those above them for being lazy while those players above level 50 were cursing those lower for not being good enough. Some of these messages quickly spread through the real world, reaching the order faction, which couldn't help but gloat. Fierce wars of words were held in many online forums.
The event swept out like a wave and was soon processed by the media. Various articles were pumped out in record time.
"50 tips for War on the Void"
"What to look out for during the event"
"The first big event: All you need to know"
Of course, these news outlets didn't have more information than the players. There were only two possible ways to get information on the event. One was to be a well-connected family or individual with information from the ancient ruins. Or, one had connections to the central star system, where the event happened yesterday.
This couldn't be helped. Although the point limit for the central star system was adjusted to the server's strength, the average level was just that much higher and the population bigger. It was not surprising that they would finish gathering the points earlier.
However, ironically the top guilds were actually not happy about that. Finishing the event two days earlier was equivalent to two days without an EXP boost. Since the top players of other servers, like Hotpot, could rival the top players in the central star system, this was quite the disadvantage. Liam and his friends were now about half a level ahead of Apollo, Pride, and the like.
But what happened in the distant central star system had no effect on the players on Falva Star. They were all fervently discussing what might happened tomorrow, coming up with the most outlandish assumptions. In one forum a cult even formed, proclaiming that Crunaboul would be destroyed. Many joined in on the fun, creating an internet phenomenon.
In this heated atmosphere time flowed quickly. Soon it was time for the game to go offline. Liam and his friends found themselves back in their guild house.
When Liam opened his eyes and stretched his body, Cynthia already appeared in front of him, piercing him with her eyes.
"What?", asked Liam with a chuckle.
"Come on, expert! Tell us what will happen tomorrow! I want to be prepared."
"Yes, Liam."
"Right, was should we look out for?"
Liam pondered for a moment before shaking his head.
"There is really not much to prepare for, and I don't want to spoil the fun. Just gather as much points as possible and you're good."
The friends tried to get some more information from Liam, but he remained tight-lipped. Instead, it was Silver Blade who offered some vital advice:
"I remember that our family has some information on the event. What follows will be a truly large war between the two factions. I don't know too many details, but there is one thing to look out for: Don't get embroiled in the fight between two strong NPCs. In this war even the most benevolent NPCs won't be able to take care of us little adventurers. If you enter the area of a spell you won't survive. Among the records we retrieved from the ancient ruins there were many jokes about the players who got caught in the crossfire."
"Thank you, Silva. See, that's a great advice. I don't want to become a meme for dying to some NPC's spell."
Cynthia shivered just imagining the scene. The friends had witnessed a few truly powerful NPCs act and it was not something they could withstand. Especially the scene where a dragon claw arrived through space to capture Mehphre, the draconian. The friends found it hard to belief that they could ever face such a might even after reaching level 100.
Silva's news quickly became the number one topic of discussion. The guild members were fantasizing about the scene tomorrow, discussing which NPCs might clash. They looked forward to the likes of the basilisk king, Lewriova, but also the devil Souravnimn. This topic accompanied them through the evening, even as they went to the gym. One could feel the excitement in the air. That night many people all around Falva Star found it difficult to sleep. Yet when the sun rose, they were still full of energy, eagerly waiting for their consoles to wake up.
Finally, it was nine o'clock. All over the planet players were in a hurry to enter the game. Yet there was not the slightest delay. The players entered smoothly.
When Liam opened his eyes, he wasn't surprised to find himself in a different location. He was standing on top of a majestic wall blocking a mountain pass. On one side of the wall was a rough mountain terrain but between the grey rocks there were still growing some lively plants and grasses, adding a touch of vitality. The other side, however, was barren with scorched rocks and craters, showing signs of frequent battle.
Liam was not alone. Many players were spread on top of the wall, looking around with bewilderment or excitement. And yet the players were greatly outnumbered by the NPCs. Below the wall, on the side bearing some vitality, a mighty army had gathered. With heavily armoured dwarven warriors, wood elves carrying bows and arrows, high elves keeping to the rear while preparing their spells, orc warriors with massive two-handed weapons wearing brutal expressions, and human warriors with swords and shields.
The NPC army combined the finest soldiers the order faction had to offer. Of course, it wasn't that dwarves only had tanks or high elves only provided mages. But it was already difficult enough to coordinate the different races. If they tried to mix the various units, the situation would probably turn helplessly chaotic.