Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 253 The Hanging Gardens Part 1

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—-----------------

[DING]

[Within ten seconds, you'll be transported to Babylon, please, refrain from logging off and if possible, remain still to avoid unnecessary issues]

[Ten… Nine… Eight…]

"..."

The countdown started, and he wasn't the only one paying attention to it.

All around the world, players paid attention to it.

Casual people, unaware of the truth and the possible dangers lurking with the reality they believed to be fictional.

People with ambitions, those with goals beyond most common folk, though if those desires only went as far as the realm of the imaginary, that would depend on themselves.

Those in between, too prideful or talented to be contented with the ordinary but unwilling or too unskilled to pursue the very top, to become the shining beacons all would look up to.

And finally…

[... Six… Five… Four…]

…

"... Babylon… This time…"

Mixed within… Those that would shake worlds... Or die trying.

'This is the start of the Revolution.' The man thought as he got up from his seat on the ground

[Three… Two…]

He approached the Altar where the distorted fragment of a strange relic stood.

'No matter how much the outside changed… Some things still remain the same…'

'Forever… And ever.'

"Are you all watching? I hope you are…" He said with a chuckle as he closed his hand on the Relic

[DING]

[As the Prophecy foretold, it shall be assembled once more] A voice echoed within the halls, strong and deep but full of hatred and contempt

[Oh thief that dared bare its fangs against its creators, suffer the wrath of what has already fallen...]

/Tremble…/

As those words came to an end, the entire ruins around him started to shake ominously…

[The Main Quest…]

"Not today fuckers." He said with a wide grim as the countdown came to an end

'As if I would go through this trouble.'

[... One]

[Transporting player to Babylon]

As his body turned translucent, he raised his right hand to the skies, giving everyone and everything that was watching him the middle finger!

'Hasta La Vista!'

/Vanish!/

/BOOM!/

And as he disappeared from the world, the first colossus fell.

But what it was meant to guard had already vanished and the intruder it was meant to detain had already left…

/Shine.../

So it's eyes started shining in dark light.

…

/Fwoosh!/

"!"

The man eventually reappeared somewhere else, still holding onto the golden piece of distorted metal, confused as if he had succeeded or not.

'From the looks of it… This atmosphere and environment…'

/Smile…/

"Hahaha… I can't contain myself."

Hidden by a crowd of people, a man smiled evilly, the golden shard in his hand glowing faintly.

…

/Meanwhile…/

/Teleport!/

"Hum?"

/CHATTER!/

The moment the countdown came to one, Dale saw the world turn white. Not long after, as the colors returned one by one, he saw a completely new scene in front of him.

A massive crowd, he couldn't see much aside from that.

Even with his hight, it seemed he was close to the upper section of the crowd but far from its edge.

'By the looks of things, this must be the Event location…'

/Thud... Thud.../

'Urg, I hate this player density, I can't do or see anything.'

Dale was currently in the middle of a crowd of thousands of people, all players waring all kinds of items and even weapons, making him feel a bit suffocated.

But in a sense, he was in a much better position than those around him…

Due to his armor, Wyvern Ignition, no matter how much people tried to squish into him, he would be fine, but the contrary couldn't be said.

His armor possessed some sharp ends to it and the last thing anyone would want is to be pressed against it, that wouldn't be a fun experience.

'They should be around here somewhere…' Dale thought as he looked around, immediately noticing the world above him

A massive tower of indescribable proportions rose into the endless skies, vanishing amidst a layer of pure white clouds.

Around that tower, he could see what seemed to be hanging discs connected to the central structure via long pathways.

Those were platforms where people stood, some full of plants, some acted like fountains, causing water to fall into the distance, dissipating into mist and rain...

Although these platforms seemed to only exist within a few dozen floors of this massive tower...

Dale assumed those platforms to be where the players were teleported to, and given the circumstances, he must be in one himself.

He tried to find his teammates, but amidst thousands of people, the only thing he managed to find was annoyance.

'If only I could push everyone around me aside… Or just take flight...'

'They're bothering me.'

Dale had the urge to jump around and just disregard the others, he wasn't a rude person but this was a limited event, he wasn't here to idle around on a line…

He couldn't fly on his own, nor could he 'air walk', so he was, unfortunately, stranded.

But as he would soon find out, being a nuisance to public order wasn't something to aspire to…

[DING]

[All players, a total of over fifty million users, have been successfully transported to the Event area]

[From here on out…]

"ARG! JUST GET OUT OF MY WAY!" Someone exclaimed from the side, interrupting the notification

"..."

'So it has started.'

When there were no rules, Humans were quick to fall into panic.

Once one started screaming and misbehaving… Others soon followed and mayhem ensued.

How many people could each of the disks hold? 1000? 3000? It likely depends on its size and purpose.

It was impossible for Elden Throne to create individual spawning places for every single player, but they could separate some disks from those that had... Difficulties being in crowds, and he knew very well that was the case.

Before the Event started, there was a small form players could fill if they wished, asking them about their preferences...

Maybe he should've said that he was socially awkward and had anxiety when in groups, maybe then he would've been put in a smaller and more contained space instead of this mess...

No matter what, once thousands of people started moving around chaotically… Problems started to occur.

Previously, he could stand somewhat comfortably as every player was summoned around a meter or two from one another, but now, Dale found himself pressed, screamed at, and pushed as people moved without aim, clustering into one place, but instead of doing anything, he stood still.

He knew this situation wasn't something they hadn't thought of, crowd and behavior control were one of the very first things designers had to think of whenever they projected an Event.

And he knew this wasn't just any Event…

[DING]

[Disclaimer! Violence isn't permitted within the public confines of Babylon]

[Remain calm and…]

"HOW CAN I REMAIN CALM LIKE THIS?!" The same man exclaimed as he pushed someone aside, trying to get out of the crowd

"..."

As he looked at the situation unfolding and the chaos around him, Dale tried to seek his companions, especially Ermin.

He possessed many important items he wished to trade, and wouldn't it be quite a disappointing situation if he were to be impacted by this man's outburst?

But he couldn't find them... Albeit not long after as he was lost in his own thoughts, he received a notification from him, telling them to gather together inside the Tower.

So with a smile, he replied to the message, returning to his thoughts:

'No matter how much you prepare, some people just aren't going to go well with crowds, even if this is technically a small one.'

'Each of these disks has a Crowd of about 3K+ people, but this is my perspective, there could be more.'

'The teleportation was also a bit disorienting so that could be it too.'

[WARNING! Taking disciplinary action!]

As the System notification played in his head, the air around the crowd trembled and several ripples traveled across the air…

/Fwoop…/

From those ripples, strange objects manifested. Dozens of small pyramids with strange runic designs on them.

[Tower Inquisitors

Challenge Level: 150

]

For Dale, he quickly saw the individual Levels of each of the Inquisitors, but the ordinary players did not, for them, it was all ???

A rather harrowing sight, to see hundreds of strange creatures that could potentially kill you at sight...

"Remain calm and enter the Tower in an orderly manner." One of the Inquisitors said as it flew above the players

As it said that, many lights ignited around the people, arrows, and other things indicating where to walk and at what speed manifested as to try and smoothen out the situation.

"AHH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?" The previously screaming man asked as he was pulled up by the Pyramids being unable to move due to some strange magic

"Standard Player Number 0009213027, ID: Old*MountainDew, no previous records of…"

"PUT ME DOWN!"

"Chaotic behavior won't be tolerated, this has been your first and last warning." The Inquisitor said as the pyramids put him down

"TSK! Bunch of metal trash!" He said as he swatted one of the pyramids away

Dale shook his head at his actions.

'He's a lost cause now, if he had such anger issues and problems staying within a Crowd, he should've just said so in the Forms.'

"VIOLENCE WON'T BE TOLERATED!" The Inquisitor exclaimed out loud

"W-WHAT?!"

/FIUM!/

The moment the man touched the pyramid, dozens of Inquisitors gathered around him before blasting him with red energy beams, leaving behind nothing but the smell of burnt flesh.

/Blerg!!/

It was a suffocating smell, causing all who managed to watch this scene to have the urge to vomit, with some exceptions...

Some did let go of their stomachs, although thankfully, whatever they threw out of their bodies was soon cleaned as it vanished.

Most players however had their own censoring activated, so they saw smelled, or felt nothing.

Sometimes Dale wished to be like them too...

"..."

'Foolish bastard.'

'Elden Throne has always been very through with these kinds of things, and they rarely if ever lost any kind of legal fight... Maybe it's thanks to the fact they have a hand in supernatural powers...'

'In any case… Time to see what this Event has to offer.'

Dale followed his floating arrow, moving into the tower.

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Notes