Chapter 104: Options (1/2)
After a trip to the Temple to recover, the team ended up back in The Raiser's Horn. Most of them wore looks of desperation and frustration. How were they supposed to get stronger if leaving Valheim was next to impossible? Exile could only shake his head slowly as he looked around. 'The consequences of the vote are more severe than I imagined...'
”What do we do now? We can't stay like this...” Clay whispered as he leaned in towards Exile.
”The only thing you guys can do is buy equipment at Jarxos' place. The bonus stats would help everyone stand against those enemies. However, until we can handle them basically every player is trapped inside Valheim. Nerves will wear thin rather quickly...”
”The new guys basically have no money... You know we can't do that. It's not like we have enough to loan anything out either.” Clay replied to Exile's evaluation in a heavy tone. ”Is there nothing else we can do?”
”There are two options...” Exile sighed as he clasped his hands in front of his face. ”Jarxos has asked me to further explore the ruins where we found the Autosphere. But we all know how that turned out last time and the enemies are sure to be stronger like the wolves.”
Clay and the others who were listening in revealed ugly expressions at that option. Nobody thought it was a good idea. The Pantheon was sure to suffer many casualties affecting their overall power if they went down that road.
”What's the other option?” Burri asked with a helpless expression.
”The other option will be a lot slower but definitely safer.” Exile cast his gaze around the table. ”We have everyone focus on growing their follower count for everyone in the Pantheon. At the same time we'll have to press our NPCs to offer up gold and do what we can for the Civil War.”
A silence descended amongst them, which drew the attention of the other members who were further away. They were aware that their leaders were discussing the situation, and they were hoping to hear some good news.
”I understand growing our followers... Eventually we'll complete Milestones for stats but...” Clay stared thoughtfully at Exile as he chose his next words. ”It's too slow... I saw the rankings. Aeri is ahead of you despite what we did and that Arthur fellow is already Tier 1. If you take this path, there's a chance you'll fall off the rankings altogether in the short term.”
Exile knew where Clay was going with this. Their group needed sponsors for this game and those on the rankings would have the best chance of gaining their interest. However, he was the only one on the list, and he was already dangerously close to falling out of the top 100.
”Why don't we ambush some red players?” Leggy frowned as a dangerous idea formed. ”If we grab their orbs and give them to Exile, we could try to push him to Tier 1.”