Terra Nova Online: Rise of The Strongest Player

Chapter 231: Pandemonium

“Oh yeah? And what do you want in return for this huge favor?” Leo asked, knowing full well, that for a favor as big as the one Cervantez was offering, the catch had to be equally big as well.

“I want ‘TheBoss’. I know you have a special relationship with him….” Cervantez said, as Leo felt his heart skip a beat when he heard those words coming out of Cervantez’s mouth.

Even if the secret of him being the number two player Leo Skyshard was exposed to the world, the link between him and ‘TheBoss’ remained as elusive as ever.

For Cervantez to ascertain that he had a special relationship with ‘TheBoss’, meant that he knew something that Leo could not even imagine.

‘If he figures out that my other identity is ‘TheBoss’, then my life would end right here. I haven’t even had sex yet…. I don’t want to die a virgin’ Leo thought as he nervously glanced at the ankle bracelet on his body.

If his identity as ‘TheBoss’ were to be exposed here, the bracelet would instantly electrocute him, ending his life, as this grim consequence made Leo feel extremely uncomfortable, given the dangerous turn the conversation was taking.

“I’m not sure what you mean, I have no idea who The Boss is, nor do I have any link with him-” Leo said, shrugging his shoulders as he lied with a straight face.

Unfortunately for him however, Cervantez was not willing to back down on this subject, as he had a distinct hunch that Leo was definitely connected with ‘The Boss’.

In his past life, there were only two players that ‘The Boss’ actively engaged in conversation with and one of them was the merchant class player ‘Sky Merchant’, who Cervantez now presumed to be ‘Leo Skyshard’ in this life.

Since he was convinced that the Sky Merchant from his past life was the same player as Leo, he was confident in his hypothesis that Leo had a special relationship with ‘TheBoss’, and was one of the only two players who could actually contact the elusive boss at will.

If Leo could somehow help convince ‘The Boss’ to join his DarkSky guild, then Cervantez felt confident in conquering the entire Terra Nova world with his backing.

‘The Boss’ in Terra Nova was more than just a talented player. He was a brand of his own.

While every other player in the game was given tags like ‘The best berserker’, ‘The best Knight’, ‘The best swordsman’ etc. The Boss was given the tag of ‘The best player’ as in the eyes of the masses, he was a cut above everyone else.

For Cervantez, having such a player as a member of the DarkSky guild meant that he could portray his guild as the one-stop solution for any player wanting to reach the highest summit.

With all the best talent in the game converging into ‘DarkSky’ guild, Cervantez hoped to clear all the difficult quests that were bound to show up in the game during the later stages and somehow rise to become the Emperor of Unity Empire one day.

However, for all his future plans to succeed and for all the best talents to converge under his banner, the joining of ‘TheBoss’ in his guild was critical, as he was the symbol of solo players, who gave hope to the masses that they did not need to join a big organization to be successful.

“Well, I won’t force you, however, let’s assume that you have the opportunity to someday convince ‘TheBoss’ to join my guild… then I’d suggest that you take it.

If ‘TheBoss’ joins me via your reference, I’ll give you the exclusive rights to sell all silver mined in my territory, helping you earn hundreds of thousands of gold coins a month” Cervantez said, as while he did not explain how he knew that Leo had a connection with ‘The Boss’ since explaining it would reveal his biggest secret. He instead kept the offer of Leo recruiting him open for the future.

“Keep it in mind, will you?” He followed up, as Leo nodded his head calmly.

“Sure, if I ever have the chance to meet him, I’ll convey your message” Leo said, as he acted completely nonchalantly, even though he was rattled internally.

Thankfully, Cervantez did not seem to doubt that he was ‘TheBoss,’ so any other assumptions he made could be dismissed as unfounded without sufficient evidence.

“Well, that’s it for me then, I guess. Thank you for having me over,” Cervantez said as he shook Leo’s hand and started walking towards the door.

“Hey, Cervantez…” Leo called out, stopping him just as he was about to leave, as Cervantez turned to face him with one eyebrow raised inquisitively.

“Yeah?” he asked, curious, as Leo flashed him a wide smile with a mischievous glint.

“Hope you get your number two spot back soon,” Leo said, subtly reminding Cervantez that he was no longer the second-ranked player in the game, to deliberately rub in the fact that he had outdone the sector S resident.

Irritated, Cervantez couldn’t stop his right eye from twitching as Leo’s comment reminded him of the exact reason as to why he disliked Leo in the first place.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get it back soon enough,” Cervantez retorted before walking out of Leo’s apartment, leaving Leo all by himself once again.

************

( Meanwhile back on Earth )

Elena hummed a cheerful tune as she seemed lost in the rhythm of her cooking with the enticing aroma of spices filling the cozy kitchen.

It was a typical evening for her as she cooked dinner for herself and her husband, however, it was made better by the fact that the sky outside was clear today.

Usually, Washington rarely got any sunlight at all, with dark storm clouds always covering the sky, however, today was one of those rare days when the sky was clear and the sun shined through, elevating her mood to cook.

Elena skillfully maneuvered the sizzling pan, her hands dancing in time with the melody that played from the small radio perched on the windowsill, as she danced lightly while cooking.

With the sun streaming through the window and casting a warm, golden glow on the kitchen countertop that was cluttered with an assortment of cooking utensils, jars of spices, and ground meat, the atmosphere was pretty romantic, which turned on Jacob who was watching Elena dance and cook with joy.

In this peaceful setting, Jacob couldn’t resist joining in the harmony of the moment as he silently tiptoed into the kitchen with a playful grin spreading across his face.

Without making a sound, he wrapped his arms around Elena, pulling her gently against his chest, as he used his lips to plant soft, affectionate kisses on her tender neck that made Elena giggle and blush as the sensation of being kissed made her spatula momentarily pause in mid-air.

“Mmmhmm” Elena moaned in joy, as she let herself be loved by Jacob, before starting to giggle as he began to tickle her using his tongue.

Everything seemed to be perfect and the world seemed to be a beautiful place when suddenly, without any warning, the serene scene shattered.

The floor beneath their feet trembled ominously, a low rumble escalating into a violent shake within seconds as the kitchen utensils began clattering loudly as they toppled from the counter, crashing onto the tiled floor.

“Earthquake….” Jacob said in panic, as he threw a quick glance at his natural disasters alert watch, and saw that the earthquake was a dangerous 9.5 magnitude menace.

“Jacob!” Elena cried out, her voice laced with fear, as the initial tremors grew stronger and the cracks in the apartment’s ceiling grew wider.

At that moment, Jacob being the ever quick thinker that he was snapped into action, as he knew that there was no time to spare.

Had the earthquake been any weaker, Jacob would have attempted to evacuate the building, to get out of the second floor that they lived in and rush out into open ground, however, with the magnitude of the earthquake being 9.5, he did not wish to take such a risk.

With no time to spare, he lifted Elena effortlessly onto his shoulders and dashed outside the kitchen.

Maneuvering through the quaking kitchen, dodging falling pots and swinging cabinet doors, Jacob headed for the sturdy metal desk in the living room, a designated safe spot for emergencies like this.

Almost throwing Elena under the desk, before joining himself, Jacob started to brace for impact, as he positioned his shoulders against the center of the desk, hoping to bear additional impact instead of Elena, should the apartment come crashing down on them.

Almost immediately as they reached under the desk, the world around them turned chaotic as the ceiling plaster cracked, sending dust and debris raining down on them and the lights in the apartment began flickering wildly before succumbing to darkness, leaving them in a trembling shadow.

Elena screamed, her voice nearly drowned out by the sound of the building’s anguished protests as she buried her face in Jacob’s chest, seeking comfort in his steady heartbeat amidst the pandemonium.

Jacob wrapped his arms protectively around her, his body shielding hers from the smaller pieces of falling rubble as overhead, the beams holding the multi-storey apartment groaned ominously, threatening to break any second.

A few seconds passed by and the Earthquake did not seem to subside at all, as after about a couple terrifying minutes, with a deafening crash, large chunks of the ceiling began to collapse, as the apartment complex finally gave out to natural forces.

The sturdy metal desk that they were hiding beneath vibrated with the impact of each hit, but it held firm, becoming their only shield against the chaos above, as they could feel the higher stories of their apartment complex crumbling down violently.

Fear surged through the duo as their safe haven shrank with each passing second, with the rubble of the apartment piling higher around their shelter.

“We’re gonna be buried alive…. There will be no way out for us from this mess…. It’s not like there will be any rescue efforts made to save us-” Elena said in panic, as she feared the worst.

To her, it seemed like the end was near.