Chapter 55: Iron Grip
The ambush from VoidShadow barely registered in Flynn’s mind once it was over. It had been little more than a distraction, a brief interruption in his routine. He dismissed the boy almost immediately. A Rogue without patience or proper awareness of his surroundings was never going to rise to the top, no matter how flashy his tools were.
That said, the equipment VoidShadow had used was another matter entirely.
Two items, in particular, lingered in Flynn’s thoughts. The weighted net that had locked him in place had been far more effective than he cared to admit, and the black face mask had its own appeal. He could already picture it, something like that would finally give him the look of a proper eleventh-century shadow-stalker rather than just another player fumbling around with daggers.
One detail, however, stood out as strange. The combat log had not displayed his attacker’s name. Instead, it had simply labeled him as ’Hostile Rogue.’
Flynn could have checked the official forums, but that would take time, and he preferred faster answers. He sent a message to Amy instead, and before long her voice came through his comms, clear and immediate.
"The nets and masks are crafted by Tailors," Amy explained. "The mask is Rogue-exclusive. It doesn’t just hide your face, it masks your personal data too. Name, level, gear stats, everything. It’s basically the system’s way of giving Rogues anonymity."
That caught Flynn’s attention right away.
"Do you have any in stock?" he asked. "I’d like to pick one up."
"The nets are Tailor-only tools, same way your bombs are locked to Engineers," Amy replied after a short pause. "Other professions can’t use them. As for the masks, we do have a high-quality one in the shop. My brother says you can have it for free. Want to come grab it? We’re in the city."
Flynn glanced up at the towering mountain ahead of him, its dark slopes stretching toward the sky.
"I’m still out at the mines," he said. "Just send it through the mail and I’ll pick it up tonight. Thanks, Mimi."
"It’s Amy. Stop calling me that," she shot back, though the irritation in her voice was mild at best.
Flynn laughed under his breath. "Alright, Amy. You’re kind of cute when you’re mad. I’ll buy you a drink later."
"Pass," she huffed. "Just pay me the market value instead."
"How about dinner then?" Flynn insisted. "I’d feel bad just taking the mask for free."
Amy hesitated. It was only a meal, nothing more, and Flynn had helped them secure a Glorious Achievement. After a moment, she gave in.
"Fine. Just dinner."
As Flynn continued chatting with her, he made his way toward the main mine shaft. Before he reached the entrance, though, he noticed something unusual. A steady stream of players was pouring out of the tunnels, most of them miners or prospectors. Their expressions were sour, and their voices filled with frustration as they muttered curses under their breath.
One man spotted Flynn heading in the opposite direction and raised a hand to stop him.
"Turn back, kid," the man said gruffly. "Tunnels are locked down again. Some bastards claimed the best veins and kicked everyone else out."
"Locked down?" Flynn let out a short, incredulous laugh. "Who has enough manpower to control an entire mine?"
The man gave him a long, skeptical look.
"You just get here from a Starter Zone or something?"
Flynn nodded without hesitation. "Yeah. Got to the city yesterday. What’s going on?"
The man sighed and set his pickaxe down, as if preparing himself to explain something obvious.
"Alright, listen carefully so you don’t walk in there and get yourself killed," he said. "There are six major factions running things in Moster. North American players make up most of the population here, but the international groups are organized too. The Europeans and South Americans each have their own blocs, those are two. The other four are the so-called Big Four guilds: Wind-Dance, Night-Song, Aether-Reach, and Iron-Blooded Academy. You’ve at least heard of Wind-Dance or Aether-Reach, right?"
Flynn shook his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips. Guild politics had not exactly been his priority over the past few days.
The man stared at him as though he had just admitted he had never heard of gravity.
"Are you serious? Those are world-class pro organizations. Everyone knows them."
"First time I’m hearing about it."
"Then consider yourself educated," the man said, his tone shifting into something close to pity. "Take it from me, don’t mess with the Big Four. Even their regional branches have enough firepower to crush anyone who gets in their way. The only people who can stand up to them are other pro guilds."
He was getting animated now, his hands moving as he spoke.
"You heard about Mila, right? No, of course you haven’t. She’s the one who got the World First clear of the Ceylan Ruins yesterday. High-ranking officer in Wind-Dance, and runs their operations here in Moster. Then there’s Beetle and Promise, top-tier players, same guild."
"So that’s who they are," Flynn murmured.
He had not realized that the group that snatched the World First from Let-There-Be-Light’s team was backed by such a heavyweight organization. He quickly relayed the information to Amy, only to receive what felt like a digital eye-roll in response. Apparently, Mila’s affiliation was common knowledge to everyone except him.
Not particularly interested in a prolonged lecture, Flynn steered the conversation back on track.
"So what exactly are they doing in the mines?" he asked. "How do you ’lock down’ something like that?"
The miner’s expression darkened.
"The old-fashioned way," he said flatly. "They kill you."
He jerked a thumb toward the tunnels.
"There’s no copper on the surface, you have to go deep. The six factions split the tunnels into territories and keep the best veins for their own people. Works great for them, but the rest of us get screwed. They open things up late at night, but once daytime hits and their combat squads log in, the cleansing starts. If you’re not wearing their tag, you either leave on your own or you leave dead."
"That’s... efficient," Flynn said, though there was a faint note of amusement in his voice.
He had seen plenty of ruthless tactics before, but the scale of this operation was something else. Even so, it left him with a problem. As a Junior Engineer, he needed iron, but copper was quickly becoming just as important, and in much larger quantities.
The miner clapped him on the shoulder.
"Good luck, kid. Guys like us just scavenge at night. I’m heading off to get some sleep."
Flynn nodded, then glanced at the man’s nameplate as he turned away.
[Big-Mountain.]
"Hey, Mountain," Flynn called after him. "Out of the six factions, which one’s the easiest to talk to?"
Mountain stopped and looked back.
"You thinking of asking permission?" he asked. "Don’t bother. Unless you know someone high up, they won’t even listen. But if you’re set on trying, avoid the international blocs. The North American guilds are... polite, at least. They’ll warn you before they kill you."
He gave a short, humorless chuckle.
"Still won’t let you mine, though. Copper’s too valuable. They’re aiming for a full monopoly."
With a final wave, he headed off.
"Stay safe."
Flynn watched him go for a moment before sending another message.
"Amy, do you guys know anyone in the Big Four?"
Her reply came almost instantly.
"The Big Four? You mean Wind-Dance and the others? Why? What did you do this time?"
"They’ve locked down the mines. I need access," Flynn said. "I was hoping you might know someone who could smooth things over."
"We know people," Amy replied, "but we’re not on that level. We don’t have the pull to get someone into a restricted zone. They’re hoarding copper to build up resources. If they make one exception, everyone will start asking."
She paused, then added with a teasing edge,
"What’s wrong? Is the great Night-Stalker stuck?"
Flynn smiled to himself.
"Not exactly. I just prefer the path of least resistance. If I don’t have a contact, I’ll find another way."
As he spoke, his form faded into Stealth, and he began moving toward the mine entrance.
Amy laughed softly on the other end.
"Oh, I get it. Going full lone wolf now?"
"I wouldn’t put it that way," Flynn said. "But if you were here with me, Amy, I wouldn’t mind taking on the whole world."
"Please don’t," she shot back, clearly flustered. In the background, Flynn could hear Let-There-Be-Light saying something, probably giving her a strange look. "We’re about to start a dungeon run. Talk later."
The connection cut.
Flynn did not notice the final message she sent a moment later. His focus had already shifted to the guards stationed at the mine entrance as he slipped quietly into the shadows of the Black-Iron Mount.
---
Inside the Ceylan Ruins, Amy suddenly slowed.
"Wait," she said, turning to Let-There-Be-Light . "I just remembered something. Didn’t you say Night-Stalker’s friend Blood-Stained Boxers is a high-ranking officer in Iron-Blooded Academy?"
Let-There-Be-Light blinked. "Yeah. Why?"
Amy frowned slightly.
"I think Flynn forgot he has friends in high places."
But they were already moving deeper into the dungeon, and the message she had sent remained unread as Flynn disappeared into the darkness.