"Did he really just say what I think he did? Are you asking a kid who has been a climber for not even 200 days to fight a Lich? Have you lost your mind Sir Patrik?" Asked Guildmaster Mark, as he tried to knock some sense into the pdin.


    "Whether he can defeat him or can''t defeat him, whether Earth lives or dies, whether humans are supposed to suffer or thrive, it is not you, or me, who decides it.


    It is Lord Gemini who does.


    If he wishes to save us, no Lich or Elder Lich or Ancestral Lich can touch us.


    If he wishes to punish us, no-one can save us" Pdin Patrik said with absolute conviction.


    "Why fight then? Why spend resources? Why build the ground zero facility? We should all just gather and pray at the church, if Gemini wants to save us-"


    "SAY ''LORD'' GEMINI... THEY ARE NOT YOUR DRINKING BUDDY FOR YOU TO CALL THEM CASUALLY.


    YOU WILL NOT DISRESPECT THE LORD IN MY PRESENCE" Patrik said in an angry voice which made even Mark shudder.


    "You-" Mark began to retort, however, before he could say anything association leader Cody cut him short.


    "Alright enough-" Cody said, as he tried to restore order within the council.


    "We will leave no leaf unturned. I agree with guildmaster Mark''s proposal that we need to recruit external help for this fight.


    But I will also not discard the church''s viewpoint.


    We will recall the Champion Of Gemini for this battle.


    Even if he does not personally participate, his presence on the battlefield alone will serve as a motivation for the masses.


    What Pdin Patrik feels is a representation of the broader sentiment. We can all be Earth''s mightiest heroes, however, the kind of confidence the Champion Of Gemini can inspire amongst the troops, none of us can.


    Even if he just stands there, it will be a symbol that Gemini is with us and that will be a big morale booster for our troops.


    As for the recruitment of external help, the Climber''s Association is willing to foot the entire bill, so guildmaster Mark, please rally a trustable ally to our side" Association leader Cody said, as he found a middle ground between the church''s fanaticism and guildmaster Mark''s rational.


    "Pope Cole, you will bring back the Champion Of Gemini in time for the fight right?" Cody asked Cole, who nodded his head in acknowledgement.


    "If the Champion wishes to be here, he will be here" Pope Cole replied as Cody rolled his eyes at this answer.


    The Church Of Gemini was the only religion on Earth and every single climber/ non-climber believed strongly in them.


    In a war against the undead where morale could be the key between victory and defeat, the presence of the Champion could be the ''X'' factor for victory.


    "It''s okay Sir Cody, I know Rocky, he won''t cower in Earth''s time of need. If the message reaches him, he will return" Karna said confidently as Cody sighed and nodded his head.


    "Alright, keeping this matter aside, let''s move on to what preparations we need to do before the raid? What resources need to be bought? How to organize the front and back lines?


    We only have 7 days, we need to finalize the n of attack fast" Cody said, as he flipped his hand and a holographic model of the tower and the ground zero facility around it came into view.


    "I''m open to any and all suggestions….. how do we handle this mess?" Cody asked, as the discussion on the actual war n began.


    *************


    ( Meanwhile Rocky )


    Back inside the forest, Rocky was putting his newfound swordsmanship insights to full use.


    Once they found the river and built their individual shelters on-top of nearby trees, everyone decided to hunt monsters and gather points on their own.


    The group split up for this part and Rocky ventured off into the forest on his own to try and put his skills to the test.


    Having learnt a new form of swordsmanship without using eyes, Rocky had unlocked some core secrets of the sword, such as the sword projection and sword intent.


    Before, he could not see the results of those moves, however, now, Rocky could see how a thin blue hue covered his sword whenever he used sword intent and how a white visible gush of wind projected outwards from his sword when he performed a sword sh.


    Against low level monsters, Rocky could effortlessly slice their bodies in half, however, if he really pushed himself hard he could now slice through two thick trees back to back and damage a third with his full powered sword sh.


    Slimes, horned rabbits, rooster chickens, silver foxes, Rocky hunted them all with ease, as by the time it was nightfall and time for him to return back to the base, he had hunted a total of 114 monsters, an astronomical numberpared to Sophia who could hunt 35, Buhara who could hunt 27 and Erin who could hunt 14.


    Even Professor Maven, who was watching Rocky from afar, felt goosebumps down his spine when he saw Rocky''s effortless technique to kill monsters, as to him Rocky''s way of the sword was simply ''beautiful''.


    In life, he had seen countless warrior''s wield the sword.


    Some tensed up the entire muscles on their arms as theyunched a full power strike, some put their full body''s force behind a sword projection, however, Rocky was different.


    Every action he made seemed casual yet perfect as his mastery of sword appeared to be deeper than most and was a pure joy to watch.


    It was almost an intangible feeling, like watching a really talented sports yer, however, as Maven watched Rocky he could feel it in his guts that someday Rocky would be a great swordsman.


    ***********


    ( Meanwhile, Riyan )


    Riyan was a dark elf under the service of Perseus.


    He belonged to the elite spy corps of the Olympian guild and was tasked with the mission to spy on Rocky Yadav and find out his recent affiliations.


    In under half a day, he found out the location of the isted forest where the mid-term evaluation of the university for nourishment of young talents was taking ce and was sessful in breaching it''s isted barrier for entry without raising any rms.


    ''The total test area is around 10 square kilometers, but if I only search near water sources, I can find out where Rocky Yadav might be in another half a day or so'' Riyan thought to himself as he began his search for Rocky.


    The brief he had received from Perseus regarding this mission was such that it did not outline any extra challenges that Riyan needed to be wary of, however, unknowingly he had entered the mad principal''s trap the moment that he entered the isted barrier.


    From the start, Liam always knew that it was impossible for the barrier spell to hold out high level assassin''s/ spies which was why the spell he kept his eyes on was a tracker spell that kept a track of how many individuals were present within the isted area.


    The moment that number spiked by one, Liam knew someone had intruded the isted space, as while Riyan hunted Rocky, Liam began hunting for Riyan, who had no idea what sort of a mess he had inadvertently walked into.


    -----


    /// A/N - We have finally hit the first milestone! Chapter 100! Let''s go!!!!


    The story is only starting, and things will heat up nicely in the chapters toe ///