Sam staggered out of the royal palace, exhausted.

Fortunately, it was a good exhaustion. They talked for a long while with the king and his advisors, the ruler's daughter occasionally chiming in with information she had gathered.

Sam mostly talked about player used tactics – naturally couched in game terms – while nixing (very politely) ideas that knew would be immediately seen through by players. They may have seen the height of strategy and tactics for the local NPCs, but for the players, they were ancient history they had been boredly listening to during their mandatory education. Furthermore, Sam had a feeling that the Blood Brothers or the people they employed were much more educated on the topic.

For now, it was enough that he shot down the major plans that would fail, but later he would need access to the more detailed plans to make sure nothing 'stupid' happened. It wasn't like Sam thought he was smarter than the simulated strategic advisors or the king, but he felt that his viewpoint would do wonders for those plans.

'Haaah… the life of a time traveler is never boring…' he complained to himself as he walked through the alleys of the capital city.

He was about to call out to Lucky to ride back to Ferabor when he finally had enough and turned around.

"Why are you following me?" he demanded in a harsh whisper.

The king's daughter, clad in mid-tier armor, looking like every NPC adventurer there to populate the city and for players to fail romance, stood there, arms crossed in front of her, frowning.

"My father felt that you would need a point of contact," she stated matter-of-factly. "I volunteered, of course."

"You did, huh?"

"Yes," she nodded as if sharing some universal truth. "Somebody has to make sure you do not blow up the country."

Sam just sighed.

"So that's it? You are now the ruler of Ferabor, and we get some tax benefits?" Lucy asked, sitting behind her desk. Her familiar raven was on a stand (built by Liz for maximum avian comfort) and grooming itself.

"I mean, I had to do that fracture, but in a nutshell, yeah…" Which was their codeword for things they couldn't discuss while the game system could be observing them.

"I see, I see…" she replied while nodding. Then her eyes turned cold. "And may I ask who this is?" she asked, pointing at the king's daughter, who was standing silently behind Sam, looking around with muted curiosity.

Sam just rolled his eyes. "This, Lucy, is the king's daughter. She is my new minder. Apparently, I'm irresponsible with explosives."

Lucy sent him a withering look in response. "And does the honorable king's daughter has a name?"

Sam put his arm over the back of his chair and looked back at the stoic woman. "You know, I never asked. Hey! What's your name?"

The sound of palm meeting face echoed around the room, followed almost immediately by the 'laughter' of a raven, while the king's daughter sent him another glare, conveying her exact feelings.

"You may call me…Agent…hmm…Hawk. Yes. Agent Hawk," she replied after some thought.

Lucy raised an eyebrow, but simply bowed her head. "Welcome…Agent Hawk. Could you enlighten me on the reason for your presence? I mean, aside from trying to limit Sam's…tomfoolery."

Sam bravely pretended not to see the king's daughter looking at a carving of a hawk on Lucy's shelves, given to her from one of their crafters as a thank you. If he remembered correctly, it provided comfort to avians around it.

Agent Hawk scoffed. "He blew up an entire warehouse district. While under cover and observed."

"I'm familiar…" Lucy replied dryly.

Sam just smiled smugly.

"I'm here to make sure that your…group has direct contact with the royal palace and to limit the damage this fool would do."

"Good luck with the second one…" Lucy answered while absorbing the implications. "So, if I understand it correctly, His Highness wishes to be part of our war effort?"

"Indeed. My honorable father felt that because you have been in conflict with our enemies, a connection would be an advantage to everybody."

"Understandable. My next question would be: what kind of support can we expect?" Lucy asked with a glint in her eyes, which Sam knew meant that she was already planning several political moves to make use of the received information.

Agent Hawk shook her head. "My honorable father felt that showing support before any large battle would be taken as showing favoritism toward a small, unaffiliated group by the majority. So, unless it is an emergency or something endangering the country – maybe the world – you are operating on your own."

Lucy nodded as if expecting it. "Understood." She stood up and walked around the desk, and extended a hand. "Welcome to the crazy world!"

Agent Hawk shook her hand while looking a little confused. "I beg your pardon?"

Lucy let out a small – and well-practiced – giggle. "We have been trying to make Sam less crazy and to curtail his tomfoolery, as you said. Success has been marginal."

"Ah…Maybe my expertise could provide a new avenue for this project?" she replied with a smile in the corner of her mouth.

The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

Sam, standing in the doorway, halfway out of the office, called out.

"You girls do that! I have stuff to do! See ya!" And then ran away like a very brave and smart man.

He used even more bravery to ignore the calls for him to return.

He was in the warehouse, dumping his 'trash' drops for the crafters of merchants to sell later, when he realized he hadn't even looked at the scroll yet. It was dropped by some kind of vampire-plant hybrid, so he expected a good reward.

'The only question is if I can use it personally, or do I have to use it to annoy the enemy?"

Sam looked around to see if anyone was looking, and when he saw he was alone in the room, he slowly retrieved the ancient-looking scroll from his inventory. Despite looking like the first breeze would turn it into dust, the scroll felt solid in his hand. With a slow and deliberate movement – and a deep breath – Sam slowly unfurled the scroll and began to read.

A minute later, reaching the end, he began to laugh.

'So that's what they were after! This couldn't have been better if I had planned it…' he gloated while giving the scroll another read.

[Congratulations! You found the Scroll of Crimson Bloom Revival!]

[Crimson Bloom Revival: When the user dies, their spilled blood pools beneath them. After a brief moment, the blood blooms into a crimson flower, reconstructing the user's body and reviving them at full health.

Each time this revival occurs, the crimson flower left behind becomes a Crimson Bloom Contagion.

Crimson Bloom Contagion:

- It corrupts and twists the surrounding area

- Causes nearby monsters to gain strength, aggression, and vampiric/plant mutations

- This corruption gradually spreads outward like encroaching roots.]

He was very familiar with this skill. Sadly, once again, because the other Sam had watched several videos about the situation. A situation that happened in a faraway country, and a good time after the Blood War, so Sam, like most people in the Emerald Kingdom, could only watch it from afar and thank their lucky stars it didn't happen to them.

The skill wouldn't have been an issue if it weren't for the hidden attribute.

That is, if the people around the dead individual timed things before the crimson flower took root but after the resurrection, they could harvest the flower and consume it. And consume enough flowers, and they would learn the skill.

And naturally, those idiots immediately captured a bunch of birds, fed them the flowers, and let them loose.

Sam had fragmented memories about hearing epidemiologists thanking the players for providing case studies.

The end result was the complete collapse of the NPC kingdom and the players behind it, leading the players to leave the game due to griefing and spawn camping.

And now it was in his hands…

Sam's first instinct was to throw the scroll into his vault, never to see light. But then, he realized, the game system would probably generate it as a rare drop for someone else. Probably, just to screw with him.

"How to take it out at least semi-permanently?" he mused out loud as he turned the scroll over in his hand. "It would need some kind of divine inter…Ah! The fanatics! Yes!"

He stood up with renewed vigor and grinned. "Sam, ol' buddy! You are a certified genius!"

It took only a few minutes to reach the local Church of the First Drop, protected by stone-faced paladins of the order, while cheery nuns made sure to spread their faith.

Entering the church and gaining an audience with the local abbess was the work of another few minutes. He was, after all, the leader of the company that supported the church in their endeavor, and he was the leader of the group that brought them the message about the blood cultist. His status among the nuns of the Church of the First Drop was something between a legendary hero and a saint.

Amidst the bowing and prayers, Sam approached the elderly abbess and gave her a deep bow.

"Respected Elder, I have come with a task that requires your expertise!" he declared in a strong, yet low voice.

The abbess, catching on to the importance of the task, nodded. "Honored guest, I'm happy to assist you with anything. Please, follow me," she replied in a soothing voice that told the tale of countless hours of praying, then she turned around and led Sam deeper into the church, until they were standing in a basement near a ritual area.

'Like she is reading my mind…' Sam suppressed a grin and took out the scroll.

The abbess and several rubbernecking nuns all recoiled from the item the moment it emerged, hissing in disgust.

Being made of sterner stuff than regular people, the abbess quickly got control over herself, and with hard eyes, she turned toward the offending artifact.

"Honored guest, is there a reason you brought this… thing to our hallowed halls?"

"My apologies, abbess, but I felt you were the only ones who could help me purify it," Sam responded somberly while inwardly cackling.

The abbess's eyes widened, and then she smiled.

"We are indeed honored to help you in this endeavor. It is our sacred duty to get rid of as many abominations as possible!" she exclaimed fervently, and the nuns listening all cheered. "Follow me, honored guest, we shall start posthaste!"

Almost an hour later, Sam watched as a group of stormy-faced nuns, at the direction of the abbess, set up the ritual circle and, amid great chanting, prayer, choir music, and a lake of blood that appeared out of nowhere, purified the scroll.

Holding the scroll reverently, the abbess approached him with a friendly smile. Behind her, the watching nuns swarmed those who did the ritual, taking them away for rest and some TLC. She stopped a few feet from Sam and held out the scroll.

"Honored guest, as you no doubt saw, the ritual was a success. Please accept our thanks for helping us to get rid of that stain on our wonderful world!"

"You're welcome, abbess. It was my duty to aid you in the task," he replied, smiling blandly, his eyes eagerly looking at the changed scroll. So, without further ado, he took the scroll and bowed. "I shall take my leave. There are many more abominations waiting for me to destroy them!"

Upon his declaration, he noticed a single, proud tear leaving the abbess's eyes.

"What a hero… Go! And bring the faith to those who dare to taint our radiant world!"

Leaving the church, Sam speedily returned to the HQ set up in Ferabor and quickly locked himself into an empty room.

With trembling hands, he opened the scroll and began to read it again. The ancient symbols on the scroll changed from blood red, dripping with malice, to gentle white with golden accents on a cream-colored parchment.

[Congratulations! You managed to purify the Scroll of Crimson Bloom Revival with the help of the Church of First Drop!]

[Your reputation with the Church of First Drop has increased!]

[You gained the Scroll of Purified Bloom!]

[Purified Bloom: This scroll contains a consecrated ritual derived from the remnants of corrupted plant magic. The Church of the First Drop has reshaped its essence so it no longer blooms from blood, but instead forces corrupted flora to undergo a sanctified transformation.

Contains the ritual: "Bloom of Cleansing".

Effect:

Allows the user to perform a ritual at specific plants or magical flora. Affected plants are transformed into sanctified ingredients, used to craft Anti–Blood Magic Elixirs and other potions effective against those who wield cursed blood.]

Sam did a little dance and closed the scroll.

"Lucy is going to love this," he said happily and started walking toward the door. However, within a second, he froze, the smile leaving his face.

"I wonder if she is still angry?"

He thought about it for a moment, then shrugged and opened the door. "Eh, who cares… You only live once."

'Who knows… maybe I'll get a third chance…'

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