“I think they’ll give their all even without your encouraging words,” Franken snorted at Zyrus’s somewhat hypocritical words.
With Nuckelavee constantly counterattacking against the players, the ships were in a stalemate of being repaired and broken apart. It was a torturous process for the players as they could neither eat nor sleep peacefully as long as the monster wasn’t ‘refined.’
‘Well, the ships aren’t the only ones that are being refined.’
The players too were in a similar process of creation and destruction. They could heal themselves with potions, magic, or the ship's formations. But what about their willpower and tenacity? They had no choice but to rely on themselves.
Zyrus expected that more than a thousand players would die if things progressed in a similar manner. Still, their survival and progress rate were dozens of times better compared to others who ascended from the first ring.
“By the way, how’s it going with the scroll?”
“Do you plan to leave before reaching the island?” Franken asked with a raised brow.
“While I planned to wait till they are accustomed to the sea, it looks like that is no longer necessary.”
He had considered the worst-case scenarios in preparing for his plans on earth. Thanks to Lauren and Kyle’s efforts, there wasn’t any internal strife among players. Ria and Shi kun were doing a good job in management as well. There weren’t any immediate matters that didn’t allow for his short absence.
Zyrus and Franken chatted for a bit and decided to leave Elsid and the abyssal warriors behind. He would lose some of his attack power, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
‘Besides, nothing can stop me from conquering the lands on earth.’
Zyrus had never repeated the same mistake twice. It was this trait that allowed him to reign supreme amongst all players.
And soon, the Glemorax would realize the consequences of their failure.
Since Zyrus had decided to depart to the earth, he called Ria and the others one by one and gave them detailed instructions. There were other dangers on the sea apart from the fish.
Weather, chaotic currents that surged from the depths of the ocean and various special terrains… While these weren’t enough to stomp their journey to the next island, it was better to be prepared when facing such scenarios.
Zyrus was done with his tasks after a couple of hours. One of the main advantages of being a leader was that apart from important occasions, he didn’t have to partake in tedious tasks. He could use his time more efficiently with the help of his subordinates.
‘Now, there’s just one last thing to do.’
Zyrus sat on the mast and opened his status screen. Although he didn’t try to level up, there were a lot of skirmishes on the sea which gave him a good chunk of exp. Adding onto the previously accumulated exp, he was close to reaching Lv 25.
Status:
[Name: Zyrus Wymar]
[Race: Sylvarix]
[Class: Balaur Summoner]
[Rank: Onyx Crown]
[Level: 24]
Exp: 2029/2531
[Title: The last Apostle (Temporary)(Locked)]
[Achievement: Call of the kin (A), Slayer of Camazotz (C+), Pioneer (B), Brave Sailor (E-), Helm of the cyclone (A+)]
[Talent: Blood fusion (S rank)]
[Trait: Earth Movement]
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
[Strength: 48]
[Agility: 42 (+5)]
[Vitality: 60]
[Intelligence: 43]
[Mana: 42 (+2)]
[SP: 31]
[EP: 3]
HP: 3500
Combat stats:
MP: 437
Recovery Rate: 50% (+20%) (Per hour)
Stamina: 501
Recovery Rate: 30% (Per hour)
Crit rate: 15%
Crit damage: 120%
Penetration Bonus: 10%
Final damage Bonus: 20%
Health Regeneration: 10% (+30%) (Per hour), +20 HP/sec in Boss fights
Resistances: Void (?), Abyss (?), Poison (150%), Earth (50%), Blood (35%), Penetration (30%), Slash (30%), Blunt (30%), Critical (10%), Water (5%)
Elemental Affinity: Void (?), Abyss (SS), Poison (S), Earth (C), Blood (F)
(Previous)
[…]
(New!)
[Xisheng Arts], [Avatar], [Vortex Manipulation]
[Lorica Squamata (Unique) (Evolvable)]
[Zubry Solleret (Rare)]
[Bone necklace Totem (Common)]
[Ring of command (Sealed)]
Currency: 1 S
Items:
[Bloodspine spear (Evolving)]
[Ore of Kothar (Fragment)]
[Fang of Nidraxis (Unique)]
[The Ocean's Testament]
[Ring of Sebek]
[Vitality recovery potion x 1]
[Mana recovery potion x 2]
[Weapon Enhancement Potion (Rare) x 1]
[Oroszlan’s journal]
[Drake’s bones x 10]
[Drakes’s tendons x 10]
[Drake’s mutated heart x 1]
His static skill tab had changed greatly compared to the last time. His overall strength had improved once again after leveling up. It was a pity that he couldn’t use the remaining SP or EP without getting used to his strength on earth.
The difference between both worlds was great enough as it was. If he added more stats then there was a good chance that he’d be unable to handle his own strength. Earth wasn’t sanctuary afterall. Even Zyrus didn’t know to what extent his strength would be changed in a lower dimension.
‘One thing’s for sure though, I will be much stronger compared to here.’
From a certain perspective the players of now were akin to demigods by earth’s standards. The laws of the earth were fragile compared to the sanctuary. Zyrus guessed that someone over lv 100 could annihilate the earth with a single blow.
And ironically, that same blow might not kill the weakest creature in the fourth ring of the sanctuary.
The difference between them was vast beyond compare. However, it wasn’t surprising since the sanctuary was built with the essence of countless civilizations like earth. It was like comparing a little town with an Empire that governed the whole world.
While the analogy wasn’t quite right, the current situation could indeed be summarized that way. Zyrus shrugged the useless thoughts away and jumped down from the mast.
*Thunk*
“You ready?”
“Mhm.”
“Good, don’t forget to hide with my aura.”
“Got it,” Franken nodded with a serious gaze. Who wouldn’t be nervous when crossing over the borders of spacetime?
Zyrus decided to first hide using the cube’s power. He didn’t know how long it would last, but he couldn’t just show up in the middle of the battlefield. His best bet was if the warehouse was safe and that he’d be summoned inside it.
Before anything else, he had to determine the passage of time on earth. The fact that his summons were dead could only mean two things: Either they were killed after reviving, or a day had yet to pass on earth.
In either case, it was crucial for Zyrus to hide for a day in order to revive his troops once again. One couldn’t go to war without an army afterall.
‘I said that it would be the end when I return…’
Zyrus’s eyes gleamed in coldness as he took out the cube. As a monarch he had to keep his words.
[Would you like to return on Planet Earth?]
[Yes/No]
[Note: You can stay on Earth for 100 days. This chance to return will expire once you reach lv 25]
Zyrus clicked 'Yes' without hesitation, and in the next instance, both the Sylvarix and the reindeer vanished from the dragon of war.
…
The red sky was redder than Zyrus recalled. It was as if the whole world was afraid of something as there wasn’t a single sound across the mountains.
Thousands of four-armed glemorax were surrounding a vast mountain range. They numbered in groups of hundreds and thousands, each surrounding gigantic golden stakes in the middle.
As Zyrus and Franken hid beneath the cube’s halo, both were stunned for different reasons. Everything was new for Franken as this was the first time he had left the sanctuary.
Zyrus was befuddled as he couldn’t tell how long had passed since he went back to the sanctuary. It wasn’t like he could just ask the glemorax king about what time it was.
The yellow stakes he saw last time were turned into miniature suns in the sky. The earth was illuminated under their golden glow that surpassed that of the sun.
The red sky and golden earth gave the duo a suppressive feeling. Still, it was much less than what they felt on the second ring.
Besides, with their strength it was impossible to trap them for long. This was a killing move that was designed for Zyrus when he was in the first ring.
The current him was too strong to suppress with just these stakes.
‘I think the cube will exhaust its energy before the summoning time is up,’
6 hours were left until the ophidian warriors revived once again. The cube wouldn’t last that long.
“Let’s go to the warehouse first.”
“Where?”
“Beneath us?” Zyrus replied and stomped on the ground. He didn’t want to take any risk and expose his movements, but he didn’t have a choice in the matter.
The cube was his true trump card against any unexpected scenarios. He couldn’t afford to waste its energy in hiding for hours. Fortune seemed to favor the duo as without any ripple of energy they were teleported to the underground space.
“Nice place! Looks like your gamble worked.”
“Let’s hope so,” Zyrus wasn’t as optimistic as Franken. He had a nagging feeling that the glemorax chief or at least the one behind him had sensed his movement. As powerful as the cube was, he himself was barely above lv20.
Zyrus didn’t waste any time thinking about that though. His gaze was currently focused on the 500 cocoons that were trembling with abyssal mana.
It was time to awaken his legion.