Killing a god was an unfathomable task, and Rocky couldn't wrap his mind around how anyone could assign such an impossible quest to a group of re tier-2 adventurers.
Even for a team of tier-5 warriors on the cusp of immortality, the mission would have been a monuntal challenge, but at tier-2, it was nothing short of suicidal.
"Why? Just why would we get a quest like this?" Erin groaned in frustration, while Rocky clenched his teeth, battling his rising anger.
Floor 24, unlike most of the lower levels, wasn't controlled by the Big Three factions. This fact alone explained why god-level beings were allowed to roam freely here, as had it been under Olympian, Dragon God, or Gemini control, there wouldn't be a single deity on this floor.
The treaty between those three powerful factions forbade sending gods below Floor 40. But here, in this independent territory, gods existed, and Rocky's group had drawn the short straw.
Their target was God Numa, the Mayor of Goldshire City. Once a loyal servant of the previous Floor Master for over 2,500 years, Numa had been appointed as the Mayor of Goldshire by the current ruler, Vladimir Stanev, only a few decades ago.
Numa, despite being only 3,500 years old—a relatively young age for a god—was now approaching the end of his life.
This was despite the fact that most tier-6 gods lived well past 5,000 years, but Numa's fate had been sealed by his relentless, vitality-draining fighting style.
Like Kronos, he had a fighting style that sacrificed his life force in battle after battle, and now, despite his divine status, he resembled nothing more than a frail, withered old man.
However, instead of gracing into retirent with ease, Numa wanted to take revenge on Vladimir Stanev before he died, which was why under his rule, Goldshire City was turned into a rebel stronghold.
Openly, there were no illegal activities on-going in Goldshire City and the Mayor was loyal to the Floor Master, however, underneath that facade, everyone knew that Numa covered for the rebels and often participated in high level etings himself.
Recently, there had been rumors that Numa was planning an assassination attempt on the life of the Floor Master, which had sent everyone on floor24 on the edge, as it sounded like a political blunder waiting to happen.
Vladimir Stanev was not as strong as many warriors under him. But he was shrewd.
He had a very underhanded thod to eliminate his opponents, and hence Numa was very cautious of how he behaved in public.
He had every food that he consud be tested for poison and he did not let unknown visitors anywhere near him.
He was very careful with his life, which was why the mission that Rocky and team received was next to impossible to accomplish.
The team spent the entire evening gathering information in various taverns, bars, and bustling corners of the city, hoping to uncover sothing, anything, that would give them a glimr of hope in this impossible mission. But the more they learned, the deeper their despair grew.
Every conversation seed to lead to the sa conclusion: Numa was not only a god but a master tactician. His life was guarded as fiercely as the throne itself, as in every tavern that the team visited, the story repeated itself about how Numa had survived countless assassination attempts, thwarted any and all who dared challenge him, and made a point of surrounding himself with the most loyal and ruthless guards Goldshire had to offer.
"He's paranoid," one patron grumbled as he sipped his ale. "And for good reason. He knows what's coming, and he's not taking any chances."
"Vladimir Stanev has been trying to take him down for years," another added. "But Numa's no fool. He knows how to stay alive."
Rocky and his team exchanged weary glances as each new piece of information only solidified the impossibility of their task.
The god Numa seed to have thought of everything. Every al was tested, every visitor thoroughly screened. His movents were erratic, making it nearly impossible to predict where he'd be on any given day, as even his own guards didn't always know his next step.
Erin sighed heavily, his shoulders slumped in defeat. "We can't do this. It's impossible. How are we supposed to even get close to him?"
Rocky clenched his fists, frustrated but unwilling to give up. "There has to be sothing. So pattern or habit he has."
As the evening wore on, and they scoured the city for any scrap of useful information, they kept hearing the sa praises of Numa's intellect and cunning. The god was careful, far too careful for them to exploit any obvious weaknesses.
Rocky's mind raced, trying to piece together a plan that didn't seem dood from the start, but it wasn't until the last hours of the night, at a small, dimly lit shrine on the outskirts of Goldshire, that they found a flicker of hope.
The shrine was quiet, a place where only a few wandered this late, but the old caretaker, who was sweeping the stone steps with slow, deliberate strokes, perked up at the ntion of Numa.
"Numa?" he said, lowering his voice to a whisper. "He cos here, you know. Every week."
Rocky leaned in, his attention piqued. "Here? When?"
The old man glanced around, as if wary of eavesdroppers. "Every Saturday. He visits the grave of the old Floor Master. He cos to pay his respects."
For the first ti all evening, Rocky felt a faint spark of hope. "Does he co alone?"
The caretaker shook his head, his brow furrowed. "No, never alone. Always has a full guard. They watch him like hawks, even here. But it's the only place he goes regularly."
Rocky nodded slowly, mulling over this new piece of information. Numa, despite all his caution, still maintained this one ritual—a visit to the graveyard, a place open to the public, albeit heavily guarded. It wasn't much, but it was the first concrete lead they had all evening.
"It's the only place where you might get a glimpse of his great visage," the caretaker continued. "But be careful. He's still a god, even if he looks like an old man, so if he glares at you, all strength will leave your legs… I know cause I've been glared at, hahaha, couldn't move for three days after that, fear paralyzed !"
The team exchanged looks, the weight of the information settling in.
They had their opportunity, but it was still shrouded in danger. The graveyard, with its open space and constant guard presence, would be a risky place to make a move, but it was better than nothing.
Rocky turned to his team, their faces a mix of weariness and grim determination.
They now had a target, a ti, and a location. The real challenge, however, was to now figure out how to turn that information into a viable plan.
"I know this seems impossible, but let's take a couple more days to figure out if we have a fair shot at success. Explore more adventures at empire
If we don't have a fair shot, I'll proceed with this mission alone, but if all of us agree that we can do it, then we can make an attempt–" Rocky said as he requested the team to hang around for a couple more days.
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