Rey had been thinking about it for a while, and this was the solution he arrived at.
'I've already gotten the Fairy King's [Architect] Skill, and Ater is making preparations for me to receive his [Alter] Skill, but what of the rest?'
He had no idea how he was going to obtain [Reset] yet, since the Dragon Emperor was already dead, and [Skill Creation] was out of his reach at the moment. As a result, the most feasible Skill he could easily obtain next was [Clairvoyance].
'I just have to make it to the Shrine and make contact with her.' Rey thought to himself, though his expression quickly darkened once he thought about it a little deeper.
This decision was risky.
'She only helped me the last time because I was of some assistance to her, but what of now?'
"If I may speak freely, Master…" Ater's voice suddenly echoed in the hall, pulling Rey from his deep thoughts.
"You may."
Everyone turned their attention to Ater, watching him smile as he spoke.
"I believe your plan is superb. The Oracle is bound to cooperate, since we have preserved the Elves and we also have them in our ranks. Her allegiance has always been to the Elves, so knowing that we saved them—and we can do otherwise—gives us leverage."
"You mean… they're our hostages?"
"Precisely so."
Esme couldn't hold herself back after hearing her people being referred to in such a manner.
"H-hey—!" She yelled out, staring at Rey in disappointment.
She tried to shoot Ater a similar glare, but upon seeing his glowing crimson eyes and intimidating smile, she decided against it.
Rey noticed this, but didn't say anything about the matter.
'Ater and Esme visited the Fairy World together. She must have caught a glimpse of his true nature, so she won't make trouble with him.' He reasoned. 'But what about me?'
Perhaps it was due to their history as friends… and maybe something more.
Rey sighed, shrugging those thoughts aside.
Instead, he focused on Ater's reassuring words to him.
'Looking at it from that angle, I suppose he has a point. In the prophesied timeline, it seems only the Elves are meant to survive, so if we threaten The Oracle with their lives, she'll cooperate.'
Unfortunately, even this came with another problem.
'What if she becomes aggressive?'
The last time they fought, he had all kinds of Skills and she was still ahead of him. At the moment, he barely had anything, and his Stats were incredibly low.
How was he going to win against her if he couldn't convince her?
'Perhaps all of this worry is unnecessary.' He sighed. 'It would be nice if she just cooperated.'
"Thanks for the assurance, Ater. Still… I don't think we can mobilize based on the mere assumption that she'll cooperate. We will be mobilizing an army to attack Adrien, a risky plan that will serve as our first blow to his force. If we are to do this, we must be extremely confident that it will work."
"You are right, Master… which is why I would advise you to let me come with you."
"Hmmm…"
If Ater tagged along with him to the Oracle's domain, he would be plenty useful. But, would that truly be enough?
"I will come with you as well!"
The Fairy King's voice suddenly resounded in the hall as he appeared at the center of the table with his two arms folded. He had a broad, confident smile on his glowing face that caused everyone to squint when he appeared.
"It's been a while since I last saw The Oracle, and having me with you should serve as a compelling force to convince her." He added. "At the very least, she won't attack you as long as I'm with you."
Rey listened to this and was even more at ease.
'Ater and I are enemies of the System, and Seraph is a servant of it. That was the main reason why I was very concerned about our safety and ability to convince her, but if the Fairy King is with us, then…'
… It was possible to win!
"That's an excellent idea! Let's go with that."
Everyone nodded, and just like that the first place to strike was established.
********
The meeting continued for another hour or two, as detailed planning had to be go into the seize.
Rey got to know just how many forces the United H'Trae Alliance possessed, and the specialty of their forces. Of course, it would be foolhardy to take every single one with them, and the Elves had to especially sit the battle out, so it was necessary to plan properly.
The Fairy King didn't leave the meeting immediately, instead choosing to listen in to the plan—especially since he was now a part of it. He also gave a few opinions here and there, allowing them to formulate a coherent plan in no time.
Once the meeting ended, everyone was dismissed, and while Rey had a few rounds of conversation with his classmates—his friends—it didn't last very long since they had to begin preparations on their end.
At the end of it all, only one person remained to speak to him.
"Rey…"
It was Esme.
"… It's been a while." She said as calmly as she could. "How have you been?"
"…."
Rey didn't know what to say to her.
'Only a few years passed in the outside world, but in here it has been about ten years.'
The flow of time in the Fairy King's world usually flowed much faster than in the outside world, which meant a minute in the Fairy World could be an hour or a day in the outside world. However, the Fairy King altered the flow of time to accommodate the new army and also give them ample time to train and prepare as they awaited Rey's arrival.
As a result, barely over 3 years had somehow become 10 years in the Fairy World."
'All of my classmates are in their late twenties already, and they look it too.' Rey smiled wryly as their images appeared in his mind.
On the bright side, they had gotten much stronger than he remembered.
Each of them had awakened an S Class, and their Levels as well as Stats were practically at the maximum they could be.
Rey reckoned the same would be the case for Esme.
'Ten years since we've seen… and you look as stunning as always.' He wanted to say, but kept those feelings aside.
"I'm great." Rey shrugged. "More importantly, how about you? Are you alright?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I mean… you're coming with us to the Shrine, so you're going to see your deserted village. It should remind you of everything that happened, and all the people that died. Will you be able to handle it?"
"…."
Esme, the Half-Elf who was previously rejected by her people, had always cared for them.
A lot had happened within all these years, and she who was once an outcast had grown to become their leader. She was now widely loved and accepted by the Elves within the Fairy World, which meant she had gotten closer to them.
'Telling her to go back to where her people were slaughtered might be too much.'