A group of players found themselves in an unfamiliar land. Be it the green grass below their feet or the metallic trees and rocks that were scattered about, everything emitted a sharp aura. Sharp enough to lacerate their skin without touching them.
“Whoa…”
“Where is everyone else?”
“Damn it! I fucking hate teleportation.”
“I share your sentiment, but get into formation first.”
“Y-your majesty!”
“I’m just a projection,” Zyrus waved his hand to settle down the players and surveyed the area. Similar scenes were occurring in different spaces as everyone saw a gigantic version of Zyrus in the sky.
Even if the island was divided into 64 spaces, they were still too big. It was no wonder that the players felt they were isolated in a dangerous area.
Zyrus made sure that everyone was organized as he had intended. Seeing that everything was set, his projection began to speak on all 16 spaces.
“We don’t have the time to go into details, so I’ll keep this brief. The island we’re on is shaped like a kite, with a division of 64 spaces. The enemies are at the center and they occupy 20, while we are at the western edge and occupy 16. Our goal is to win a total of 50 spaces. Move as I say from now on, and don’t waste even a second by lazing around. Every inch of this island is valuable. How much you gain from it will depend on your luck and comprehension.”
Zyrus’s projection faded alongside the last sentence. The concise speech had given everyone an idea about what to do.
At the same time, on the westernmost edge of the island.
“Phew…I’m glad we didn’t draw the aggro at first sight,” Zyrus stretched his arms and leaned back on the rough boulder. Even the blunt edges of the boulder were giving off a vibe similar to an unsheathed sword.
The ten Vajeer were looking at him with somewhat envious looks. They didn’t have the scales of the Sylvarix.
Forget about leaning back, even standing up was hurting their soles.
“So, what’s the plan?” Ria asked.
“Nothing for the time being. Move out and get in contact with the players. Our only task this month is to get used to the environment and the rules of Shatar.”
“Roger that,” everyone nodded despite their nervous feelings. As the common saying went, sharpening an axe wouldn’t slow down the cutting of wood.
Only after reaching their optimum state would the players be able to give their best. One glance at the surroundings was enough to tell them that the natives that lived here would be anything but simple.
It was hard to gauge their level of civilization where every blade of grass was akin to a sword. The island of metals was without a doubt deserving its reputation.
“Ah, I almost forgot. Kyle and Strongfist, you two stay behind,” Zyrus looked away from the scribbles he was drawing and pointed at the leaving group. What he said to the players also applied to him: Don’t waste even a second by lazing around.
While confused, both Kyle and Strongfist sat around him and observed his drawings. It was a weird sight to see as a human, an ogre, and a nearly ten-foot-tall Sylvarix were sitting around in circle.
Zyrus looked at the two, “Do you remember what I told you about runes and formations?”
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“Runes gather strong energy. Formations made by strong runes.”
“Exactly,” Zyrus stuck a twig above a diagram. Strongfist’s words were the simplest way to explain what runes and formations were.
“The runes…do you know how they were created? How did the first sentient being learn magic from scratch?”
“…”
“From nature?” Kyle muttered as even he wasn’t sure of his guess.
“I once thought so as well, but that’s incorrect. Legends say that there was once a primordial world, the origin of all things. It was in that world that the runes were created. Everything developed in the current era is related to the ancient relics; one way or another.”
Arcanists studied countless artifacts and created a classification for different runes. They learned their usage one by one and experimented with their combination. Like how different characters made a word and a sentence, the runes were just like that.
Language was used to convey one’s thoughts. Runes were used to converse with nature.
“Now this is just my conjecture, but I feel like runes are related to laws. Formations are stories and poems, runes are characters, and ink is mana. What about the molecules that make the ink then? I think that they are connected to laws.”
Kyle and Strongfist tried their best to digest his words. This was too advanced of a topic for them, but with a simplified example, they could grasp the edge of it.
Zyrus didn’t look away from the ground and continued his hypotheses,
“If we go along the way, then one way to sense the power of laws is by using formations. Mana is everywhere in the sanctuary. Pure mana contains countless laws, and thus, it’s too difficult to sense any of them. Having a specific attribute of mana is similar to having a higher concentration of some laws in the mana you use. Your elemental affinity is your comprehension and compatibility towards the said element and the laws that govern it.”
If the start was his guess, then the latter sentences were something that was long proven. Zyrus had told the players about it in the first ring as well.
Neither Kyle nor Strongfist uttered a word after that. The words Zyrus spoke thus far were enough to give them an idea.
They realized what their– no, what every player's next mission would be.
…
A week later,
Players were now somewhat accustomed to life on the Jindao island. Humans, trolls, and ogres tried their best to make some weapons out of wood and stones. Rats and other small beasts were also using their inherited knowledge to use leaves and blades of grass in their attacks.
Among the 100,000 of them, the ones who worked hardest were the upper echelons of the beast legion. They started with 2000 monsters after the crown hunt, and now, they had the most members among Zyrus’s troops.
They had the hardest time in awakening their intelligence. Even the two appointed Vajeer didn’t have the ability to speak, much less the others.
But this didn’t mean that they were barbaric animals. When thinking about the stages of evolution, they were closer to primates who were just a step away from creating a civilization.
*Rooooar*
*Hiiieek*
A golden lion and a striped flying monkey ordered their respective troops. Elephants, cows, hyenas, snakes, rabbits….every beast imaginable was engaged in a chaotic fight. The mutation caused by the system gave them all sorts of bizarre abilities. It was theoretically impossible to categorize them into a single group or race; courtesy of the sheer number of variations they had.
The sixteen commanders who led the beasts were thus unable to create an organized army. They were well aware that this was the main reason behind their lack of strength. But try as they might, they failed to awaken their as well as their subordinate’s full intelligence.
[Zyrus Wymar has issued a new mission]
[Faction Shop has updated]
[Contribution Board has been created]
[New means to earn contribution points have been added]
*Rooooar*
*Grrroooowwl*
None of them knew how to read or write. But thanks to the system, the texts as well as their meaning were directly conveyed in their heads.
The beasts used their clumsy paws and claws to click on the glittering message. The rules of order were fair. They had lost their memories after spending eons in the time loop, but even the tides of time failed to erase their instincts.
And right now, their instincts were howling out the same words: Their time had come.
[Mission: Study and experiment with the formation written below]
Use the formations in every way imaginable. Combat, construction, or even just fooling around. Each unique information you provide will give you corresponding contribution points.
More specific and organized information will give you extra points.
Note: Buying one-time-use talismans that can store the formations is recommended.
Not just the beasts, every player received the same message from the flag. The shop also sold a large variety of talismans along with the method to make them. At the same time, materials required to make them were also added to the mission board. The arrangement was generous to the point where you could exchange a stack of talismans for a dozen trees.
Still, everyone was looking at the same screen with glowing eyes. The biggest reward for the mission was the mission itself.
Study and experiment with the formation written below. Everyone was given free knowledge on different runes and their combinations that made the formations.
The knowledge that was hard to obtain even for the scholars on the Kyros continent.
Chapter 189: Faction Shop
8 min read