“Yeah,” Zyrus replied to Kyle with groggy eyes. His whole body was aching but he couldn’t just sit on the corpse. Everyone was looking forward to the loot, including himself.
Anansi and the ship were nowhere to be seen. The field boss should’ve been turned into particles, yet in front of him was a corpse that was like an empty husk. It was fundamentally different from the normal ‘corpses’ since it was unusable by any player.
Zyrus jumped down and looked at the flood of notifications. For a moment his vision was filled with numerous shimmering screens.
[Congratulations! You have killed the field boss “Camazotz”]
[You are the first players who have killed a field boss in the flag march]
[+3 SP, 10% increased Exp gain on occupied territories]
The general rewards were somewhat lackluster in Zyrus’s opinion. All the players got were 1000 exp and 3 SP for a near-death experience.
‘Maybe the good rewards will come after we finish the mobs.’
Zyrus consoled himself on behalf of the players and looked at his personal rewards. In front of his eyes floated a screen adorned with fangs at the corner which were dripping with blood.
[You have dealt the most damage to the field boss!]
[You have dealt the final blow to the field boss!]
[+5 SP]
[+1 EP]
Exp +500
[Level up!]
[+2 Strength]
[+1 Agility]
[+1 Mana]
[You have obtained the Achievement: Slayer of Camazotz (C+)]
[+20 HP recovery/sec in Boss fights, Blood Element affinity (F)]
“Why the strange face? Check this out if you’re done with the loot,” Franken beckoned him over to the pile of gathered materials.
“I got an F rank affinity, not that it's bad, but it feels like there’s more to it.”
“Hmm…we can only wait till everything’s killed then.”
Zyrus shrugged and made his way to the camp. There was no such thing as unfair rewards in the sanctuary. There should be a reason why the system didn’t mention anything about the miracle created by players’ willpower.
Only after repelling the monsters would the flag tier up, so it was logical to believe that the final loot would come after that. The corpse of Camazotz that still remained was a good indicator.
“By the way, I have a task for you,” Zyrus gave the rare scroll fragment to Franken and continued,
“Use Aiden’s equipment to power it up.”
“How? And why are you giving it to me?”
“Don’t play dumb, you should know something like overdrive,” Zyrus gave the one-eyed reindeer a knowing glance. He was unable to see his companion's status for some reason, but even without the system’s help he knew that Franken wasn’t a simple existence. Not just anyone could casually chat with an administrator.
Besides, it wasn’t like overdrive was some rare skill. Most powerful beings would be familiar with the concept.
“I’m a proud reindeer, not a sacrificial lamb. I’m pretty sure you’re not giving it to me just to save time.”
“Ahem, you just have to be a decoy later on. Consider it a necessary quest to see my planet.”
“Well, sure. Hope it’ll be exciting.”
“You bet,” Zyrus said while thinking of the glemorax king and the continent that was almost ruined. It felt good to have someone who understood your schemes. The two discussed about the aliens on Earth while the players killed the remaining bats and iguanas. One of the reasons why the crown holders didn’t participate in the fight was because the players needed some exp and individual fighting experience.
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With the 2,000 beasts joining the fray it didn’t take long before the cleanup was over. This battle was a roller-coaster ride where things could’ve gone wrong at any turn. And thanks to that, they were on the cusp of conquering this island.
The system also agreed with that notion.
*Ding*
<{Congratulations! You have killed the monsters who were attacking your camp}>
<{Your Flag’s Tier has risen to ‘2’}>
<{Congratulations! You have killed the ruler of this island}>
<{HP recovery potion x 3, Night’s blessing x 1, to all participants}>
Zyrus skipped past the flag and equipment tabs and looked at the last reward. It was something that he was expecting.
‘And it’s a lot better than I imagined.’
<{Congratulations! You have met the qualifications to generate a unique authority}>
<{The authority “Numen” will be applied to your flag!}>
Getting an authority was always great. Zyrus clicked on the ‘flag march’ tab with shining eyes.
[March forth to claim your throne, and conquer the vast lands with your flag held high]
[You have created a base on
]
[Your Blank Flag has risen to Tier 2!]
[Inventory is unlocked! You can store a limited amount of resources on each base]
Note - It is possible to transfer resources by paying charges
|Blank Flag: Tier 2|
Territory effect: +10% Exp gain, +10% to MP and Stamina while defending.
A primal force that transcends the worlds, The Eternal Watchers who guard the realm.
[You can appoint slain foes as the ‘Watcher’ of your base]
[Base specific and overall effects will depend on the appointed Watcher’s skills and traits]
[Note: Only special creatures can be appointed as a Watcher]
Zyrus stared fixedly at the white flag which had now gained black, winglike patterns on its edges. Another change was that after the increase in a tier, the flag was fluttering on a red wooden pole instead of a dry log. It was nothing major on its own; however, Zyrus knew that this was the system’s way of acknowledging his idea of a totem.
‘We’ve made great progress in the flag march.’
Zyrus was sure that none of the other kings were anywhere close to him and his troops. He didn’t bother with the other rewards and walked to the corpse of Camazotz. Now it made sense why it was left as is.
<-< Detected a special lifeform! >->
<-< Conditions met >->
<-< Would you like to use the authority ‘Numen’? >->
[Yes / No]
Zyrus didn’t hesitate and clicked 'Yes' on the little message. In the next instant, the field boss’s corpse crumbled into dust and flew towards the scarlet pole.
*Tiiiiiing*
A glaring beam of light erupted from the flag and lit up the night sky. The whole campsite had become a lighthouse on this stranded ocean. Only time would tell where this light guided them.
The players who were recuperating stared at the reddish-black light, and as if to answer their curiosity, new words were being engraved on the sky.
<-< A Watcher has been appointed to this base >->
[Base Effects]
Nightmare’s Beloved: Life drain +10%, All stats +3 at night.
[Overall Effects]
Life drain +1%
“Great, now you guys can conquer this island with ease.”
“What do you mean by You guys?” Ria asked with a glare at the sensitive words. She could already feel the mountain of work on her shoulders.
“Don’t worry, this time I’ll have to work on management myself,” Zyrus chuckled at Ria’s sour face. He wasn’t planning on skimping his duties. Well….not all of them anyway.
“If you say so. Should we gather everyone?”
“No need. Tell them to rest, we’ll gather after the morning.”
Ria nodded at his words and left with the other crown holders. While it was better to clear the island now since the monsters were in disarray, the players were in no condition to fight at the moment.
“You two stay here, I have some things to talk about,” Zyrus called over Kyle and Lauren who were about to walk off. His tone was heavy unlike the casual talk before.
“Do you have a special task for us?” Lauren asked with a twinkle in her eyes. She and Kyle had followed Zyrus enough to realize when he was being serious.
“Indeed. It’s related to your professions.”
Zyrus wasn’t talking about the class given by the system, and both Kyle and Lauren understood this fact. They hadn’t talked much about their lives on the arc of Noah, but Zyrus could guess some things with just a glance. It was the reason why he took them in during the tutorial.
Now, it was time to put their talents to use.
Ria, Shi kun, Jacob, and even Stephen were only good at either combat or basic management related to it. And as important as it may be, fighting was just a part of their life. How could it be that simple to govern millions of players? Zyrus needed more than just military knowledge to create a strong force.
It was arduous to build a solid foundation for an empire without the right people. Zyrus knew this from the start, and today he was taking the first major step towards it.
“What can we help with?” Kyle asked after a momentary silence. Calm as his voice was, the trembling hand on his sword relayed his excitement.
“First of all, select 300 trustworthy players. It doesn’t matter what race they’re from or how talented they are, I want them to be absolutely loyal to me.”
“I can handle that,” Kyle replied with assurance.
The response was within Zyrus’s expectations. Kyle was more like a leader of a special operations unit than a commander on the battlefield. This task was suited to his talents.
“Secondly, weed out those who are likely to betray us in dire circumstances. Kill them in silence if it’s serious, otherwise group them in a separate squad.”
“Got it,” Lauren affirmed with a nod. It didn’t need to be spoken about what would happen to that separate squad.
“Good. Start with both objectives while the players are taking over this island,” Zyrus gave them a nod of approval and headed towards the pile of materials with Franken.
The second ring would last for 10 years. He was in no hurry to level up and conquer.
These thousands of players would form the core of his army and empire. The longer they stayed with him, the stronger they would become. After a couple of centuries, any player who survived from this group would become a leading figure of the whole sanctuary. That was no trifling matter.
‘It’s fine if a few soldiers betray me in the future, but it’ll be disastrous if a leader of loyal followers did that.’
This was the cold hard truth that Zyrus learned the hard way. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice, even if it meant that some would be unjustly sacrificed.
Such was the weight of the crown.