Azimuth: The Elden Throne (New Version)

Chapter 264 He who is Desperate

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/Meanwhile…/

"... Alright, it's been about 15 minutes." Derol said as he checked the time

'It's time for me to do my job.'

Back at Resko, while Dale was busy grinding Favor, Mr. Derol, the disguiser, got ready to act as Dale himself.

'Everything went as planned.' He thought as he checked his inventory 

'When everyone was called for Babylon, I stood amidst the crowd, some of the agents also recorded this just in case.'

To cover all fronts, some of the agents were posing as normal streamers, they logged in after Babylon opened, catching a glimpse of Dale before they entered the event zone to further solidify that Dale wasn't a player.

Because logged players couldn't refuse being summoned.

'Even for the players that logged in later, they saw me walk around, there's no way they could suspect.'

'The only possibility is that Dale instantly refused the Event, which no one did because it's not exactly possible, there's a buffer time to be able to do so.'

'Once I did enough, I came back to this room to rest a little but time's up.'

'I've already got this telegraphed.'

'I just need to walk around some specifically busy areas and make sure everyone notices me, to act as if I'm doing something like he always does.'

'Then, I'll stop by the Inn and enter his room, I'll leave his armor behind and enter Babylon, that way, even if one of the Villagers decides to visit, they won't be able to figure out something's wrong.'

'Whatever happens from that scenario will be his problem to deal with, but that's within the expected.'

"My greatest concern is these people." Derol said as he adjusted his glasses as he read Dale's report

On the page in particular were the names and profiles of each and every single main NPC of Resko.

'I need to avoid most of the critical Villagers as much as possible as they'll likely be able to tell I'm not him, problems might arise if they find out about it.'

'Albeit Dale is supposed to be resting from his injuries, no one can tell when one of them may decide to pull him, or me, into some unexplainable scenario.'

'If they don't find my identity then, they'll soon figure it out as I prove incapable of performing their tasks.'

'I just need to buy 40ish minutes, just enough for one hour to pass at Babylon, then I'll leave.'

'I can't do it half-assedly either, I have a standard to maintain if I wish to keep my customers.' He thought as he got up from his seat

Maybe it was obvious due to his looks, Derol was an Actor, not a famous one by any means but that was due to his own abilities.

He was such a good actor that before he could even shine, someone much bigger than himself scouted him… At least that's the story he liked to tell himself.

And albeit it was partially true, his fate had been set from the start.

Someone born with a unique talent like his wasn't meant to be constrained to the boundaries of the standard.

[Ding]

"Oh?... Here it is, my signal." Derol said out loud as he got up from his seat

To make sure his operation went smoothly, all of Roger's agents had been employed throughout the course of his predetermined path... Well, most of them.

Like mentioned before, a few agents were already in Babylon.

They were there to make sure critical characters and even other risky players did not interact with Derol during his act, and even if they did approach him, Derol would be ready with his already formulated answers.

They also had multiple alternative paths and plans in case anything out of the ordinary happened, all to maintain the act.

All this while, Derol had been waiting for the signal, the release of a public announcement by his Boss.

That was the promise Roger had told Dale about, his way of separating his in-game identity from his real one.

Now, it was time to give him a perfect alibi.

He took a small mysterious book from his inventory, activating his Skill on it.

[Activating Skill, Mantle Target 3.5-Star]

[Activating Skill, Duplicate Individual 3.5-Star]

[Activating Skill, Performance 5-Star]

[Passive Skill, Comedy and Tragedy 2.5-Star has activated]

[Passive Skill, Alter Ego 1-Star has activated]

"..."

His body started to transform as his muscles grew, his shoulders grew broader and his hair shortened…

A series of small and major transformations all occurred at the same time, eventually culminating in the very figure of Dale.

Even his Aura had completely changed.

"Hm... To think that even with such an imperfect disguise, my Strength rose this much…" Derol said with Dale's voice as he checked his arms

'Maybe his total Stats are already beyond the scope of my Skill's range, even if maxed.'

'I feel a bit strange... As if there's something missing from my body.'

'Is it due to the incomplete transformation?...'

With a sharp expression very much like Dale's, he started downing the armor.

'It's heavy… But nothing I can't bear.'

'The weight of the metal itself is the least of my problems.'

The Southern Imperial Armor proved extremely daunting to move around in, causing Derol to wonder how Dale moved so swiftly within.

The world of the strong was a strange one…

Eventually, after checking everything to see if they were in order, Derol left the room, taking a step into the busy streets of Resko.

"Begin operation." He whispered to a man in a dark cloak next to the door of his temporary home

"..."

The man said nothing as he turned to the right and entered an alley, and so did Derol… Dale as he turned to the left and went on his way.

What Derol initially thought to be an easy mission would soon descend into chaos… Eventually, after much hard work, he would successfully enter Babylon as planned.

Albeit that was a story for another time.[1]

…

"What… What is this?..."

Meanwhile, just a few moments after Derol started walking around as Dale.

'This is impossible! I can't believe it!'

There was a player with a sharp expression and ragged hair hidden within a small crowd.

His gaze was of utter and complete disbelief as he saw Dale walk around the place, because for him, this shouldn't have been possible.

After all, he knew the 'truth'.

'95% of all players are still within Babylon, how come he's still here? I thought... I thought he had gone into hiding to do so!'

This man was Mamoca… The original owner of the Skill Desperation.

Or better put, the original owner of the Skill Vital Heart before it was adapted for Dale.

All those weeks ago after his death, Mamoca logged in to a heart-wrenching discovery.

His extra Skill had vanished.

When creating his character, Mamoca bet on luck and randomized his character sheet.

For his luck, he was given extremely high stats well above those of even a Level 5 character on all fronts, together with a pretty high Constitution, higher than that of a Level 10.

The world was telling him to become a tank.

If that wasn't enough, he was given the Extra Skill, Desperation, a Skill that could nullify all damage for a few seconds and that could be used rather consistently.

It was the perfect Skill for a tank to have… But it was stolen.

On that fateful day he regrets to this day, he followed his Guild master and companions on the Church raid to fight for the items within.

But everyone knows how that went… In the end, they were all wiped out by a single large-scale area attack.

Aside from him. Desperation proved its worth and saved his life.

But that proved to be its downfall, as it singled him out from all around him.

Upon being killed, Mamoca was logged out, but in that process, his Skill was somehow transferred to another being, Dale.

By reading the notifications of the Event, Mamoca was sure of one thing… That Dale was no NPC, he was a player!

Ever since that day, Mamoca grew obsessed with proving this truth and unmasking Dale's plans as vengeance for the loss of his prized Skill.

A Skill that would've allowed him to climb to the top of the world of tanks, a Skill that netted him a great spot in the Guild!

After all, the moment he lost it… Mamoca was demoted within their ranks.

Instead of being rewarded… Instead of being given anything… He was scorned.

Mamoca knew that he had been played, he let fame go to his head, he allowed himself to be thrown into a terrible Event and that cost way more than he could pay.

He couldn't take revenge on his Guild for their heatless actions, he was still a member at the end of the day and he wasn't strong enough for that either way.

Even if he worked extremely hard to make up for the lack of the Skill, without it he was just a Tank with a little bit more juice, nothing significant at all.

So he decided to put his sight elsewhere… A place he knew would wield results… 

He was going to unmask Dale! That was what he had dedicated his time and efforts to doing!

'I've always been there, watching. All Events, I've recorded them all, studied them, watched his patterns and behaviors... I have evidence.'

'For me, this is enough to prove who he is... If only I still had those notifications.'

'But they vanished!!! Even the System itself is on his side!'

'I followed him everywhere and refused to go to Babylon just to get a new definite proof… But he's still here?!'

'This information would've turned the world around, it would've paid for what I lost.'

'But how come he's still here?! He's no NPC, I know it!'

Grinding his teeth in desperation and anger, Mamoca continued to follow 'Dale' around.

'A few minutes after the server opened, he left, so I thought that there was still some possibility, even if small that he had a way to enter Babylon, that he was just playing everyone.'

'I've already understood that my target possesses strange means, the ability to control the System somewhat and to influence others.'

'I can't let myself be swayed also.'

'But he keeps coming back...'

'Dammit! Was this in vain?!'

Now that Mamoca had lost his chance to enter Babylon, this meant that he had no more future with his Guild.

His Guild members knew of his obsession, they had been told of his theory by him.

But they told him he was delusional, that there was no way that was possible.

They tried to deconstruct his theory at first but after a while, they gave up… Not without a warning.

If this obsession of his caused him to be behind them, they would kick him out.

And this was exactly that scenario.

He betted yet again, but it seemed all of his luck was spent to get his Skill, now things only look bleak.

"Urg... What do I do?..."

'There has to be a way... A way to unmask this... I need to run some tests... Yes.'

Mamoca's expression grew devilish as his eyes grew delirious.

'What if... This isn't Dale?'

'It's absurd, monstrous even... But it's easy to prove.'

'What I can't verify... Others can.'

'From there, I just need to record. That'll be his downfall!'

'... And even on the off chance he's the real deal...I'll just keep a look out.'

To Mamoca who was slowly losing his sense of self, it didn't matter if Dale was real or not.

He would prove he wasn't who he said he was.

So he started walking.

This would mark the start of a rivalry between the Actor and the detective, the one who held the mask and the one who was trying to pull it out.

This conflict would surprisingly never affect Dale himself, as for a very long time still, he would live without even knowing of Mamoca's existence.

What would he say if he were to see him right now?

Would he laugh?

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Notes

Just a small 'side' chap explaining what happened outside.

We'll be back with Dale next chap.

Peace!

[1] Maybe a side chapter?