The royal city was bustling with people as the early morning sun loomed high above them. The common folk made their way through the town square filled with vendors.

Things seemed calm on the surface, but if one were to walk through these streets it would be hard to miss the throne-crumbling words that were mumbled through the mouths of the passersby. 

The tense atmosphere was thick and anxiety-inducing. One couldn't help but keep their gaze on the ground. Not being able to look at another in the eye as they passed by on the streets. 

It wasn't only because of the horrid rumors of court officials and the royal family, but because of the authoritative soldiers that patrolled every corner of the city. Which only seemed to solidify the rumors in the people's hearts.

Prince Uriel managed to control the royal city, letting his men patrol the streets for possible spies or those who were stupid enough to vocalize their alliance with crown prince Mathew.

Executions, to set an example, were plentiful in the eyes of the commoners. Making everyone fearful for their future, they couldn't help but hold onto the rumors that spread all over the kingdom.

“A hidden prince will rise to defeat the two barbaric princes and clean up the inadequate court.”

Were they real? Who knows. But the common folk that loved gossip didn’t care to check. They’ve long grown tired of how the old king used to rule, and now, hearing that a new prince will come to clean up the court, it was like receiving rain in a desert.

Of course, these rumors were spread by none other than Elliot and his allies.

Rumors are rumors, but given enough pressure and context, it's just enough ammunition to fuel a rebellious group of individuals. Especially for those who are willing to fight.

And that's what he needed.

Elliot decided to start a rebellion. It wasn't easy, by far, it nearly took his whole deadline of two months.

He knew in his heart that two months isn't nearly enough time to collect trust and enough people to start a rebellion, but he had to hurry!

He had a few plans in his head collected from all the books he read. He can only hope they worked...

As the crowd bustled through the city square, Elliot leaned against a red brick wall, pulling over a brown hood trying to obscure his face.

His eyes shifted across the crowd as he noticed two figures dodging into an alleyway. Elliot's heart quickened at the sight, making his body itch to follow. But as soon as he gained the courage to, he felt his coat get pulled from behind.

Feeling the neckline press against his throat Elliot immediately surrendered. Like a docile kitten.

"And where do you think you're running off to?" Flynn's whisper pressed against his ear.

Elliot knew it had to be Flynn who pulled him away. So, as soon as he turned to face this man, his eyes innocently blinked, "what do you mean?"

With scorn on his face, Flynn apathetically pulled Elliot onto an isolated pathway. Letting the shadows from the tall buildings cover them the deeper they went.

"Don't play dumb, I saw you sneak away as soon as I said to stay close. What do you take my orders for? I only said you can follow us if you'd listen to what I say. I should have known-"

Elliot couldn't hear anymore; he quickly pressed his palms together as he slightly curled his body trying to look pitiful.  "Ah-okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" If he let his words continue any further, Flynn was sure to take him back to dr. Phelps on the outskirts of the city.

Flynn, fully understanding this boy's mind, let go of his coat and pushed him forward. "Then listen."

Two men dressed as merchants stood before them as they waited for Flynn's orders. Seeing as the prince was easily dragged by their former commander, one couldn't hold their snicker. This boy was supposed to be the future king of this kingdom?

The group didn't delay as they made their way through the back allies, finally making it to the backdoor of a famous restaurant.

The business was booming, and it wasn't a surprise. It was one of the top restaurants in the city, not only because of its exquisite food, service, and atmosphere but because it was the only place that prioritized secrecy. This place was a meeting ground for officials, Earls, and royals.

This place was a meeting ground for officials, Earls, and royals. And because of these meetings of bribery and deals, all kinds of information were flooding the private rooms. Filled with every blackmail material money couldn't buy.

As soon as Elliot's group made their way through the door, they were greeted by servants. One older server looked at the group with a cold frown, he kept an arrogant air as he spoke with some fake politeness. "Sorry sirs, but this area is off limits I'm going to have to-"

"It's fine!" an old man's voice quacked behind him. The servants were surprised at the appearance of their owner. He was in a cold sweat as he quickly made his way toward the group of strangers and bowed, leaving the servants speechless.

They couldn't help but be curious. Who had enough power to make the master of blackmail so fearful? As far as they knew, only the king was capable.

"Masters, apologies for the unwarm welcome, please, let me get you a private room so-"

"No time, show us the tunnel." This sentence alone was enough to shock the servants and owner but given that it came from the youngest of the group seemed even more shock-inducing.

But what Elliot said was true, he doesn't have time to sit and drink tea! Tonight was the night that his plans were going to be carried out! Any later and he just might get a flashing countdown to his death from his beloved system!

The owner was shocked before he collected himself. He nervously rubbed his hands together as he nodded a few times. "Ah, yes, yes, a great young man like you must be very busy! My apologies, please follow me!"

Leaving the bewildered servants behind, they made their way toward the storeroom of the restaurant.

The storeroom seemed painstakingly ordinary, but with the push of some boxes and a lift of a rug was a trapdoor.

The owner held onto an oil lantern, shining the stone steps that lead down a narrow tunnel.

Elliot observed the tunnel. The somehow familiar endless darkness made him uneasy.

"Must have been quite the feat to create such a thing right under the king's nose." Flynn's voice interrupted Elliot's thoughts, making him glance at the guilty restaurant owner.

"This…" the man didn't speak until he cleared his throat, "my ancestors were quite ambitious."

Elliot narrowed his eyes. That's putting it lightly. 

These ancestors had the audacity to create a tunnel system under the city, with some exits even reaching the castle. And for what reason? Illegal trade of goods, but mainly...people.

Though, what kind of king wouldn't figure it out? It was happening right under his home. This was jointly planned. 

The king didn't care about illegal trade as long as he had full access and gained a profit. After all, what the people didn't know wouldn't hurt them.

This may have never been found out by the common folk. But with the right people, things can easily be uncovered.

Elliot let his eyes cool as he shifted his gaze away from the man, "I truly do appreciate your cooperation, your service will never be forgotten."

The old owner shivered as he didn't hear an ounce of sincerity in those words. 

He recalled a few nights ago, two men, dressed just like the two merchants beside this young man, somehow managed to sneak into his room and were able to recount every aspect he'd done throughout his time as the restaurant owner, which made him in near tears.

He wasn't stupid, only someone with great influence would be able to collect such information. Who knew what else this young man knew, but he didn't care to find out.

The "influential" young prince eyed Flynn, making him nod as he faced the owner, "you have a map for these tunnels, right? Hurry up."

As soon as the owner left the room, Elliot let go of his icy atmosphere. Immediately letting out a tired sigh, "it's truly tiresome."

Flynn couldn't help but look at Elliot with some hint of reproach, "you…really…"

Elliot couldn't help it. As the days passed by, he could feel his body slowly become sleepier. Hell, he thought his body was going to fall into another coma.

But with Phelps' help, he managed to pull through these days. Still, it was quite taxing.

Feeling an abrupt lightheadedness, Elliot could sense his body sway until his shoulders were caught by a pair of warm hands.

He was led to sit on a few crates as he could barely hear Flynn's voice, "Sit. Rest."

Something cold touched his lips, making his dazed face frown. He knew it was just the vial carrying one of Phelps's tonics, so eventually, he downed its contents.

He wasn't sure how long it took for him to come to, but when he did, Flynn was sitting beside him as he studied some paper that seemed to be the tunnel's blueprints.

Elliot glanced around the storeroom and realized they were the only ones there. Not to mention the owner, but the two disguised merchants were gone.

"They're checking the routes?" Elliot was sure that Flynn would make sure that the routes through the tunnels were safe before leading more of his men through them.

Flynn didn't even glance at Elliot, his eyes glued on the paper, memorizing every pathway they needed to know. "They'll be fine, they're trained for it."

Elliot watched the man's profile, he fiddled with his fingers before he looked towards the trapdoor.

Elliot spoke slowly, "I thought I saw the countess." 

The two figures at the town square, he could have sworn they were George and countess Jasmine…but there is no way, right? Why would they be here of all places?

Flynn paused, taking a moment before finally looking at Elliot. His expression was complicated before he decided to speak.

"I did receive some information that…Uriel caught Earl Winston."

Elliot shot up, "and you didn't tell me?!"

"I knew you'd be upset."

Elliot grit his teeth, even knowing this, does it make sense as to why Jasmin and George would be here?! Still, this somehow cleared his doubts.

Thinking this, another problem arose. "The earl was protecting the king, what if-"

"Not yet, if Uriel did kill the king already, he wouldn't have hidden such a fact. He fears Mathew taking the throne more than anything. From what I gathered; Uriel locked them in a place called the backrooms."

"The backrooms…" Elliot paused. Memories of Gabriel's past flashed in a blink of an eye. He recalled his chambers being there…though it was desolate, sometimes Mathew and a few servants would come to see him.

Rather than a place for royals to sleep, it felt more like a prison.

Flynn noticed Elliot's pause, and gently called out, "Gabriel?"

Elliot blinked back into reality and got back to the main topic, "why would Uriel wait?"

Flynn knit his brows, "Who knows what he's planning, but whatever it is, we don't have much time."

Elliot nodded with a solemn face, "we truly don't, let's hurry!"

Before he could even finish speaking, he heard a light ding chime in his head, making the already anxious Elliot speechless with rage.

[Dear player! Here's a friendly reminder that you have 24 hours left to finish the world quest! Good luck!!]

With these cold mechanical words ringing in his ear, a timer was slapped in his face. No matter if he closed his eyes or looked away, a small 23:59:57 sat just at the bottom left of his vision.

This damned system really did add a death countdown!

Once night fell, things flew into chaos. Mathew besieged the royal city, and with his soldiers quickly making their way toward the castle, he easily gained Uriel's full attention.

Fires struck the city and rapidly crawled their way to the castle walls in the form of fire arrows. War cries shook the sky as the two armies collided in a bloodbath.

Mathew learned the news of the king's capture and took desperate yet precise measures to infiltrate the inner castle.

Still, Uriel had the upper hand with his men everywhere in the city and the protection of the castle walls. But things quickly went south when the fight triggered the common folk, making the peasants who were nothing but ants to him, revolt.

They exerted weaponry that was usually impossible for peasants to wield. Not only did they aid Mathew, but some fought against him. 

And just within minutes of fighting, Uriel's soldiers rebelled, creating a chaotic massacre.

This gave Uriel a headache. What the hell was going on?! Uriel might not have grasped it, but Mathew was quick to understand. This was a trap laid out by a third party!

Indeed, this was Flynn's doing. A few instigators hidden within both armies, along with the uproar of the common folk, were enough to confuse and distract Uriel and Mathew.

As the battle ensued, the tunnels below that were once used to aid the king of illegal trade were now being used to lead the enemy right to them.

Flynn stealthily slipped out of the tunnel, bringing with him only two of his trusted men and, against Flynn's will, Elliot.

The tunnel's exit was located at the back of the castle within a secured room for storing illicit goods. The place was usually heavily guarded, but thanks to the chaos outside, there was no one to notice a group surging from the tunnel system.

Elliot donned black and silver armor, blending into the crowd of soldiers. He refused to stay behind as Flynn wished. He knew that no matter what, he had to take the throne.

The group quietly slithered out of the secured room. Elliot didn't have to do much, as Flynn and his two men were highly coordinated. They stealthily slipped through the halls and took care of anything in their path.

Elliot knew that Flynn's specialty was stealth. Because of this, the armies he trained were also quick, quiet, and deadly. He knew, if it weren't for Flynn, they wouldn't have gotten as far as they did.

With the help of Gabriel’s memories, Elliot was able to provide the best route within the castle. It wasn’t until the sound of a muffled scream that made Elliot and Flynn paused their steps.

It wouldn’t have been strange to hear the screams of the fallen, but they managed to make it to the backrooms. A place far away from the fighting. This muffled scream was weak as if the owner of it was at the brink of death but obsessively held onto life.

Elliot‘s eyes slowly shifted toward two large wooden doors. The doors carved with beautiful art pushed a memory in Elliot's mind, making him realize...this was his old room.

Flynn noticed Elliot's pale face and stepped forward, blocking him. He unsheathed his sword before slowly opening the wooden door.

Elliot prepared his rapier, but once he saw inside the dimly lit room, his eyes widened in bewilderment.

The king was rested, or rather, haphazardly thrown on the bed with a dagger firmly pressed against his neck.

But it wasn’t this that stunned Elliot, but rather the one holding the dagger.

Earl Winston looked over at Elliot with surprise on his face but was soon overtaken with grief. His voice was grim, but it held onto a warmth as soon as he said the young prince's name.

"Gabriel..."