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-----------
/A few minutes later…/
The tremblings slowly weakened until they eventually… Vanished.
Thankfully, the Earthquake didn't last very long, nor did it cause much damage from what Dale could see, but it sure caused one hell of a mess.
It was hard for him to even move without knocking on something on the ground.
/THUD!/
"AH!"
Just when everything seemed to calm down, a heavy metal rod fell on Dale's head with a clear 'dong' noise.
He quickly touched his head with an upset gaze.
"Shit, guess my luck ended completely after I got those Accessories…"
'This won't become a bump will it?'
But Dale had no time to think as the system was brutal!
[Analysing the age of all Villagers…]
[Analysing the potential of all Villagers…]
[Analysing the Villagers Levels…]
[Level 1-21 -> 13]
[Level 21-41 -> 10]
[Level 41-61 -> 42]
[Level 61-81 ->37]
[Level 81-91 -> 4]
[Level 91-95 -> 1]
[Level 95-99 -> 1]
[Level 99+ -> ?]
[DING!]
[The reassessment of Resko's overall rating has been completed]
[Resko 1.5-Star -> 4-Star]
"Wait a minute!" Dale exclaimed as he read through the notifications
'Even Villages have Star ratings? What does that mean?'
Dale was dumbfounded, he couldn't see the Levels of the Villagers, only estimate, so all of this was really novel for him.
Seeing this gave him a completely new view of the Village! He could only complain that it wasn't a bit more precise...
'... And these Levels…'
'Those around 1-21 must be the young kids, and those from 21-41 must include some of the younger teens… And some of the noncombative adults...'
'Even the ones that didn't train their bodies during the 2-week growth, like Illia.'
'What is that '?' symbol though? Are you kidding me, system? Are you teasing me?'
'Is one of the developers playing around with me? What do they intend to accomplish with that? There's no way there is a Level 99 and above badass in the Village...'
'Even if you consider whatever is sealed below us, they wouldn't count as Villagers...'
"... I used to think that most Villagers would be about that range, but I was wrong..."
'They really grew...'
'But what took my attention was the rest… Especially the number of people around 61-81.'
'I can't say what level they were before, but it was certainly not this high.'
/FUOMMM!/
"?!"
Out of nowhere, Dale felt as if his chest had been hit with a hammer!
It was so sudden he took a step back, breathing quickly to recover.
"Ha… Ha… It's one thing… After the other…"
'This is… Prime force?!'
It wasn't his first time having this feeling, during his training with Tina, she would also periodically press him with her Prime Force in order to get him used to it.
Normal people can't feel it, but for those that trained in it, such pressure would be enough to send them unconscious!
But Dale was trained to resist this, so at most, he lost a bit of his breath.
'It's coming from… This direction is…'
'The forest?'
Yet with the same great timing, the system once again interrupted his train of thought:
[DING!]
…
/At the same time, outside.../
From here on, the following messages were played for all confused and euphoric players:
[DING!]
[Announcement for all players currently residing within a 10Km radius of Resko:]
[Due to some unforeseen circumstances, Resko's rating has been reevaluated]
[Resko's minimum recommended player Level has been increased from 65 to 90]
[The environment has been modified to cope with the recent changes, now boasting an altered terrain with new areas to explore, new treasures, and opportunities to uncover]
[The size of available Field areas has been modified]
[The Number of Field encounters has increased significantly]
[Two new explorable areas are now available to all that are up for the challenge:]
[A estrange large fissure has opened deep in the desert, draining a large portion of the sand and stopping Resko's desertification… For now]
[The new Field, "Yellow, Hard-Stone Dessert" is open for exploration!]
[The forest grows restless, something lurks within it, destroying its previous millennial harmony, and beasts from deeper sections have started to migrate due to its presence!]
[The forest cries in pain! Bleeding severely, a vile ritual unfolds in the center parts of these dark woods, empowering all beings within!]
[The entire Southern Field, Southern Horizon Woods is now under the Unique effects, Uprise, and Vitality Outburst!]
[Uprise:
-Elite Monsters are now the Norm, no more Fodder, and Normal monsters are now a once-in-a-blue-moon rarity.
-The likelihood of monsters with Exceptional Ranks spawning has increased massively!
Boss Monsters -> 55% of spawning
Elite Boss Monsters -> 5.5% of spawning
Field Boss Monsters -> 0.3% of spawning
Variant Monsters -> 60% of spawning
Elite Variant Monsters -> 3% of spawning
Unique Monsters -> 25% of spawning
Special Monsters -> 1.25% of spawning
Apex Monsters -> 0.01% of spawning
Superior Species -> Can't spawn under normal circumstances
Extraordinary Ranks -> Unknown
]
[Vitality Outburst:
-Waves of fatality fill the earth, empowering all lifeforms originating from it.
-The self-recovery ability of the forest has been pushed to its limits.
-Monster's growth cap has been removed!
-The Cycle of life has been disrupted, and all balance is at risk!
-Southern Horizon Woods recommended Level has been set to Unknown.
-Monsters can now strengthen themselves nonstop.
-Every day, the Vitality of the forest seeps into the Monsters' body, pushing it further.
All Fodder monsters have been consumed to fuel this endless wave of Vitality.
Normal monsters' challenge Level increases by five every day.
Elite monsters' challenge Level increases by three every day.
Exceptional rank monsters' challenge Level increases by one every day.
-Monsters can now mutate when all conditions are met.
Normal monsters' mutation chance increases by 30% every day.
Elite monsters' mutation chance increases by 8% every day.
Exceptional rank monsters' mutation chance increases by ?% every day.
]
As he read through each change, Dale's heart beat faster and faster.
'I… It seems even the world wants me to Level up now!'
He quickly rushed outside, jumping atop a tall house, and gazing at the forest on the horizon.
"That…"
Even though it was morning, he could see a strong green light coming from deep in the forest…
Perhaps light isn't the proper word to use… Mist? Rising to the sky as if announcing that something was there.
He looked at the other side, he could see it far away, a large gash seemed to have opened in the earth.
To be visible even from here, it was likely as wide as even the Grand Canyon!
It was unknow how deep it was, but it was possible to see the sand rushing there like golden waterfalls...
"What is that?" He mumbled to himself as he turned back to look at the forest
"Problem." Someone said behind him
Dale immediately recognized the voice, he turned around and asked:
"What kind of problem?"
"..."
Tina, crossing her arms with a frown on her face said:
"The kind that is better-taken care of immediately."
"Can we do it?"
She became silent.
But after a while, she said:
"Do we have a choice?..."
"For now, come with me." She said as she turned around, vanishing
She gave him no choice, but regardless, Dale had no other plans.
So he followed her while the players discussed and whispered with each other…
…
/Not long after… Outside the Village/
/Dum… Dum…/
Heavy steps echoed in the silent forest…
A tall creature, humanoid, holding a large metal cleaver dripping with red blood made its way across the leaves and branches as if they weren't there, to begin with.
It was one with its surroundings, moving around so proficiently that it seemed the forest itself was making way for the creature to move around.
Standing at a mighty 5M tall with bulging muscles and primal clothes, it placed its left hand on a tree, making the bulky tree bend slightly.
"..."
It observed the people beyond the forest, hunting or mostly… Fleeing from the many small 'critters' that lived in the tall grass.
At least, this was what those 'small' insects were, critters, harmless like a mosquito… But just as annoying.
These giant flying spiders the size of a person's head were nothing but inconveniences for it.
Hidden beneath an intricately crafted wooden mask, its red eyes suddenly changed targets.
They moved from person to person, as if looking for something…
'Not this… Not that one… Much less that one…' This was what the creature thought as it observed the players hunt
Weak, too weak to even bother remembering it, pathetically weak, that was what it thought.
'Perhaps those are children? Practicing simple combat before they come of age?' It came to a conclusion as it looked at a heavily armored man swinging an equally heavy claymore
Still, it quickly looked elsewhere, those 'children' weren't what it came here for.
It came here with a purpose, a message, and a goal to be accomplished.
And these beings… Humans were in the way.
"..."
But it didn't move, it knew how to deal with them… At least, it was told how.
"... %$#$^." It said in an unknown language
Its eyes were gazing upon a wall not so far away, a few minutes on foot at most, half a minute running at best.
What would take 20-30 minutes of walking for Humans could be covered in half a minute for this creature.
That was how it measured the distance.
'No need to rush.' It thought as it took a step back
But then, it stopped, feeling the wave of Vitality cross its body.
/Clench.../
It clenched its fists.
Did it really have time to waste? When out there…
"%$%^." It grumbled with some sorrow
'They are waiting for me.'
So the creature took a step out of the dark forest and into the clear fields.
…
/Back at Resko…/
[Your Quest has been updated]
[The Unknown Devil
Requirements: Pass the Shard of a Greater Devil to Tina 1/1
Wait for her to inspect it 0/1
]
"... I see, so there were signs." Tina said as she inspected the shard with a sharp gaze
It had been a few minutes since they arrived at Tina's home.
Dale immediately gave her the Shard, he was curious about what she had to say about what had just happened and the strange light from the forest, but this came first.
Tina observed the shard for a few good minutes, her expression turning darker and darker the longer she spent gazing at it.
And after a while, she finally closed her eyes, saying that line…
For Dale, what she said had completely altered his understanding of the situation…
It seemed everything was connected from the start!
"Signs? Did I just commit a blunder by not showing this before?" He asked awkwardly
"No child, you made no mistakes, regardless of it being shown to me now or before, nothing would've changed, this only confirms some of my worries."
Dale dropped his head, saying:
"I am dumb, please enlighten my mind."
"Look at you, joking even in this situation… It seems my training wasn't enough to make you realize your situation." She said sharply as she placed the shard on the table
"..."
Seeing his expression become serious, Tina let out a sigh as she flicked the shard back to Dale.
She smiled with a rare tender gaze...
"I would like to be in the mood to play around like you, being relaxed is okay, and I'm not reprimanding you for it."
"At first, I thought the presence of Devils so close to the Village was simply due to the many years of mismanagement of their population and the fact the Wall had long started to lose its effects…"
"But that may not be entirely the case."
"It seems the unrest in the forest is connected with this matter… Rather, the source for the unrest may have come from this Devil's presence…"
"In simple terms, a Greater Devil has made its way beyond the wall…"
Her tone was heavy, whatever that was, it was certainly something that made even the confident and straightforward Tina change her style.
"Of course, this shard could be from a Devil that already lived in the forest, but from all of my years living in this place, I know very well what sort of Devils prowl these woods."
"If there had been a Devil of this caliber living around, it would've marked its territory long ago..."
"If you know where to look, their trails will be everywhere, like fireflies in the dark sky."
"And this shard… It's definitely from one I'm unfamiliar with, and its very existence proves one thing…"
"That it got hurt."
[Your Quest has been updated]
[Forest Hierarchy
Requirements:
Find out what is happening at the center of the forest near Resko 1/1
*It seems that the source of all of the chaos within the forest is the presence of a foreign Great Devil from beyond the Southern Wall!
*There is a great likelihood that the Great Devil is seriously injured after clashing with the rulers of the Great Forest!
Investigate further by traveling deeper into the forest 0/1
Eliminate/solve the source of the problem 0/1
??? 0/1
]
Dale's focus was between her words and the notification, making his expression goofy…
"By your expression, I'm sure you have no idea what I'm talking about…" She said with a small smile
"Well, that is to be expected, I didn't teach you about the rankings between Devils, much less what they can do precisely…"
"I thought it was too soon to fill your head with that."
"But the situation calls for a change, and as such, pay attention to what I have to say."
However, despite everything she said, she smiled… And he knew that smile…
Dale gulped, why did it seem like the words she said to him before she threw him in the forest half-naked?
…
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Notes
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