Chapter 113: The World Rankers
The room had grown unusually quiet.
A few minutes ago, we had been arguing about SK's refusal to admit that she was practically part of the Resistance. Now, all four of us sat around the table, listening to Abbyrose explain what had happened to our headquarters.
Even Blaze, who had spent most of the time watching our arguments with the expression of someone observing a comedy show, was paying attention.
Abbyrose sat in the middle of the table, her red hair falling over her shoulders. Her hooded cloak rested beside her.
She looked exhausted.
Not just physically, either. There was something in her eyes that told me she had witnessed something she would rather forget.
I folded my hands together beneath the table.
"Start from the beginning," I said. "Tell us exactly what happened."
Abbyrose nodded.
"To be honest, we still don't know the identity of the attacker. We don't even know what they are."
"What do you mean?" Volt asked.
"I mean exactly what I said. We don't know if the attacker was a player, an NPC, or someone affiliated with the Empire. For all we know, they could belong to another faction entirely."
She paused.
"But whoever they were, they completely wiped out the main Resistance HQ."
My fingers tightened beneath the table.
The main headquarters.
Gone.
I had spent so much time worrying about the Empire hunting me that I had barely considered what might happen to the place I was supposed to return to.
Now, I wasn't even sure whether there was anything left to return to.
"What about the other bases?" SK asked. Her voice was calm, but I could tell she was taking the situation seriously. "Surely the Resistance has more than one headquarters."
"We do. Several, in fact. But we haven't been able to reach them yet."
"Why not?"
"Communications are unstable, and the attack disrupted several of our established routes. Some of the bases may still be operational, but we can't confirm their status. Others might already have evacuated."
Abbyrose lowered her eyes.
"Everything happened so quickly. One moment, I was preparing my equipment for my next assignment. The next, I was on the floor, unconscious."
I looked up.
"You were unconscious?"
She nodded.
"I don't remember what happened immediately before I lost consciousness. I only remember hearing alarms and people shouting. When I finally came around, the entire place was in chaos."
Her fingers curled around the edge of the table.
"Captain Trigger found me. He managed to drag me somewhere safe, and we escaped with a few other survivors."
Captain Trigger.
At least one familiar name had survived this disaster.
"What about the others?" I asked. "The people who were still inside?"
"I don't know."
Abbyrose's answer was barely audible.
"I really don't know, Ryze."
I looked down at the table.
For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to look at her.
My hands were trembling.
I pressed them together, trying to make them stop, but that only made me more aware of it.
I had survived battles. I had watched people disappear from my life. I had fought against the Empire knowing that every mission could be my last.
But the Resistance HQ had always been there.
Even when I was far away, even when I was injured or stranded in some unfamiliar corner of the New World, I knew there was a place where our people were still fighting.
A place where I could return.
A place that proved we hadn't lost everything.
Now, that place was gone.
What am I supposed to do now?
"Who would even be strong enough to do something like that?" Volt suddenly asked.
His voice broke through my thoughts.
"You're telling me that a single player destroyed an entire Resistance headquarters? Are you kidding me?!"
He leaned back in his chair, shaking his head.
"That place had defenses, experienced fighters, and enough people to repel an ordinary attack. Even if someone managed to break through the outer defenses, they would still have to fight their way inside. You're telling me one person did all of that alone?"
"That's what the survivors reported," Abbyrose replied. "At least, that's what we know so far."
Volt clicked his tongue.
"Then maybe it was an Administrator."
SK shook her head.
"I doubt it."
Volt turned toward her.
"Why?"
"Because an Administrator is certainly capable of destroying a base if they decide to use their Authority. But that doesn't automatically mean one of them was responsible."
She rested her hands on the table.
"Think about it. If an Administrator wanted to destroy the Resistance HQ, they would done it a long time ago? They could simply use their Authority openly. There would be no reason to hide behind an unknown identity unless there was something else involved."
"Unless they wanted to send a message," Volt countered.
"Possible. But that's speculation. We shouldn't accuse an Administrator without evidence."
I had been quiet for too long.
There was one possibility I couldn't ignore.
"There's another answer."
Everyone turned toward me.
I raised my head.
"Players."
Volt frowned.
"Players?"
"Not ordinary players," I clarified. "There are only a few players in this world who could accomplish something like that."
I took a breath.
"The World Rankers."
The words hung in the air.
For the first time since Abbyrose had begun her explanation, Blaze showed a visible reaction.
He tilted his head slightly.
"World Rankers?"
He looked between us.
"What's that?"
I blinked.
Then I remembered.
Right. Blaze had spent most of his time the void, and with his memory problems, there was no guarantee he knew about every famous player in the New World.
SK took over the explanation.
"World Rankers are among the strongest players in the New World. They're not simply people who have reached high levels or collected powerful equipment. They're players whose abilities, experience, and achievements put them in a class of their own."
She paused to make sure Blaze was listening.
"Some are famous for winning battles against overwhelming odds. Others have conquered entire territories, defeated raid bosses that ordinary groups couldn't handle, or survived encounters that should have been impossible."
Volt nodded.
"And they're well known, too. Not just among the players in their own games. Their names spread across different worlds. Some have become legends."
"Legends, huh?" Blaze said calmly.
He leaned back in his chair.
"Sounds tough."
I stared at him.
"That's all you have to say?"
"What else do you want me to say?"
"Someone might have destroyed our entire headquarters, and you're acting like we're talking about a strong opponent in a game!"
Blaze shrugged.
"If they're really that strong, then worrying about how strong they are won't help us. We need to know what they can do and why they attacked."
I opened my mouth to argue.
Then I stopped.
Annoyingly, he had a point.
SK nodded in agreement.
"sir Blaze is right. We don't even know whether a World Ranker was responsible. We shouldn't jump to conclusions just because the attacker was powerful."
"Exactly," Abbyrose said.
She had been listening quietly, but now she straightened in her seat.
"Which brings me to the reason I came here."
The atmosphere changed again.
Abbyrose placed both hands on the table.
"Captain Trigger gave me a direct order. I was instructed to find you and deliver the Resistance's new orders."
I leaned forward.
"New orders?"
"Yes."
She took a breath.
"Because the main headquarters has been destroyed and our remaining bases are currently unreachable, the Resistance is reorganizing its operations. All surviving members who can still receive orders are being directed to relocate to another game."
Volt's expression grew serious.
"Which game?"
"BattleNet."
For a moment, I thought I had misheard her.
"BattleNet?"
Abbyrose nodded.
"All surviving Resistance units are being ordered to regroup there. The remaining command staff will coordinate the relocation, and Captain Trigger has instructed me to bring you along."
She looked directly at me.
"Your orders are to head to BattleNet as soon as possible."
I exchanged glances with Volt and SK.
BattleNet.
A modern military world filled with firearms, armored vehicles, military installations, and players who had spent years mastering combat under very different rules from those of SkyRealm.
It wasn't exactly the sort of place I had expected the Resistance to use as a new base of operations.
But considering the state of things, we couldn't afford to be picky.
"Why BattleNet?" SK asked. "Is it because the Empire has less influence there?"
"That's part of it. But there's more to the decision than that."
Abbyrose's expression hardened.
"As you've probably heard, the Empire is preparing for war. Their forces are mobilizing across multiple games, and we have reason to believe their next moves will affect more than just SkyRealm."
Volt leaned forward.
"So the Resistance is moving its surviving forces before the Empire can strike?"
"That's the plan. We need to regroup, restore communications, and figure out which bases are still operational. If we remain scattered, we'll be picked off one group at a time."
I understood the logic.
The Resistance had lost its main headquarters. We couldn't contact several of our other bases, and an unknown enemy powerful enough to destroy our home was still somewhere out there.
Meanwhile, the Empire was preparing for a war that might spread across the New World.
Staying in Helios Reach was becoming more dangerous by the minute.
And if we wanted answers, we needed to move.
I was about to ask Abbyrose another question when something suddenly occurred to me.
"Wait a second."
Everyone looked at me.
I turned toward Blaze.
"BattleNet… isn't that the game you wanted to visit?"
Blaze looked at me.
For the first time that evening, his expression changed from casual amusement to genuine interest.
"That's right," he said.
He rested one arm on the table.
"I've been meaning to go there for a while."
I stared at him.
"You knew we might end up going there?"
"No. I just wanted to visit."
"Of course you did."
I sighed.
Somehow, despite everything that had happened, Blaze had managed to turn this into another one of his strange coincidences.
But then I remembered what Abbyrose had told us.
The Resistance was gone.
Our home was gone.
An unknown player had destroyed it, and the Empire was preparing for war.
Whatever waited for us in BattleNet, it was no longer just a destination.
It was our only way forward.
I looked at Abbyrose.
"All right. We'll go."
She seemed relieved, though the worry in her eyes didn't disappear.
"Thank you."
"But first," I continued, "we need to get out of Helios Reach. The Empire has the city surrounded, and our supplies and vehicle are still outside the walls."
Volt sighed.
"Right. Because apparently escaping one disaster isn't enough for us."
SK stood and adjusted her armor.
"Then we should stop wasting time. If the Empire is preparing for war, we can't afford to remain here."
Blaze rose from his chair.
"BattleNet, huh?"
He glanced toward the window, where the silhouettes of Imperial patrols moved through the streets below.
"Let's see what kind of world it is."
I followed his gaze.
Beyond the walls of Helios Reach, our vehicle waited somewhere in the wilderness. Beyond that lay roads we hadn't traveled, enemies we hadn't met, and a world that was about to become far more dangerous than any of us had expected.
We had lost our headquarters.
We had lost our sense of safety.
And somewhere in the New World, a player powerful enough to erase the Resistance was still walking free.
I tightened my grip on my rifle.
Fine.
If BattleNet was where the Resistance would make its stand, then that was where we would go.
But first, we had to escape this city alive.
And judging by the soldiers marching beneath our window, that was going to be a problem of its own.
End of Chapter 113