Hell Lurkers Headquarters
"How are things, any new intel on Blue Feather and Equinix?" Jason, the director of the Hell Lurkers, asked his right-hand man, Paj.
"Blue Feather is aggressively recruiting new members, expanding their influence wherever they can. They’ve even set up recruitment centers in cities controlled by other workshops, which has offended quite a few people," Paj reported.
Jason paused, considering this. "They have strong backing, Paj. They won’t suffer too much from stepping on toes. But their boldness is concerning. We need to keep a closer eye on them and start cutting off their supply lines. Talk to our allies—tell them to sabotage Blue Feather's recruitment efforts, especially in territories where major workshops operate."
"Do you really think Blue Feather could become a serious threat to us?" Paj asked, his tone skeptical.
"Not yet, but we can't afford to be complacent. Especially since we’re all operating in the same kingdom," Jason explained. "What about Equinix?"
"Equinix has their forces split between two kingdoms, but they’re stronger than us across the board—numbers, finances, influence. Their elite players are on par with ours, so they’ve got both quantity and quality."
"Their forces are split between two kingdoms?" Jason pondered a little. "Are they trying to bite more then they can chew, or was this a coincidence of spawn locations?"
"We can't say for sure," Paj replied. "But it could be both. They could use the spawn locations to test the waters and then decide what their next move will be. And with the competition we face in Sordia, if by chance they decide to set their eyes on it..."
Jason’s expression darkened. "So, you’re saying we don’t stand a chance of ruling over Sordia if Equinix decides to settle there?"
"If they join in the competition with the major workshops and decide to settle down in Sordia, I'm afraid that'll be the case," Paj replied. "We don't know yet if players can take control of a kingdom, but either way, we’re currently third in the power rankings. And that excludes Equinix's presence."
They were lucky to have such a high stand point and that was mainly thanks to Ahartohaim's spawning system that calculated the coordinates depending on the location on Earth from which the account was created, and the character first log.
"Third?" Jason asked in disbelief. "What’s the situation there like, Paj?"
"Are you asking about the general situation in Ahartohaim, or our people’s situation?" Paj inquired.
"Both," Jason said after a brief pause.
"Most workshops have recalled their players from other VR games that stopped producing enough results and are focusing all their resources on Ahartohaim. This game has become a gold mine, and everyone’s fighting for a piece—that's the result of the information that transpired to us. We’ve even found traces of military organizations starting to operate inside Ahartohaim," Paj explained.
"So they couldn't hold back anymore."
"As you know, players were distributed among the four continents and various kingdoms based on their login region. In Sordia, primarily we’re up against Equinix, if they decide to stay, Crimson Star, and Grand Riot as our main competitors. Their strength exceeds ours. But we also have competitors within the same league, like Blue Feather if they continue to grow."
"Crimson Star and Equinix," Jason muttered. "Formidable opponents."
"Indeed, however, we shouldn’t rule out the possibility of migration, sir," Paj cautioned.
"True. We need to be vigilant," Jason said, his tone thoughtful. "How are our people holding up?"
"Excellent. There’ve been no issues since we dealt with Green Crest, and our main team should reach Level 2 by the end of the day," Paj reported.
"Good. That’s what I like to hear," Jason said, relaxing in his chair. "One more thing, Paj. Any trace of the creator of that guide?"
"No, sir. Unfortunately, not," Paj responded.
Jason remained silent for a few moments. "Alright, you’re dismissed. Don’t forget to contact our allies."
"Of course, sir," Paj said, leaving the room.
Jason leaned back in his chair, his mind racing. Why do you want to remain hidden from me? he wondered before turning back to his work.
. . .
By now, Eden and Cole had long arrived in Oakland Valley, but killing Wooden Golems had lost its thrill. The method was one favored by weaklings, but it was necessary—it provided far more EXP than fighting other types of monsters. This was, after all, the fastest way Eden knew to reach Level 5.
However, now that Ahartohaim was officially flooded with players, leveling up in peace came with a downside: other players. Being near Akem City, it was inevitable that some of the players would come to explore the valley.
While their levels were too low to pose a direct threat, they could steal the grinding method, which was a problem. And if word came out, facing a group of professional players belonging to an established guild was Eden's last desire on his wish list.
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Since no EXP could be gained from killing other players at this stage, and valuable equipment was scarce, player-killing was a waste of time, according to Eden. But was there a way to keep all the nuisance out of the valley? Eden pondered this question. With his knowledge of events yet to unfold, he found a solution: block the entry.
But how?
The forest inhabitants weren’t limited to golems and the Guardian. Other monsters and wild animals roamed the area, including the Divine Frogs.
While the Forest Guardian protected the forest, the Divine Frogs were its cleaners. They consumed any impurities that could contaminate the forest. One such impurity was poison. But the poison had to be potent enough to threaten the forest before the frogs would appear.
This being said, It was no coincidence that Eden had kept the poisoned pieces of fragrant wood. Using his sword, he dug into the earth beneath two trees near the valley's entrance and buried the poisoned wood.
The poison spread rapidly, attacking the trees and corrupting the earth. Within half an hour, the first Divine Frog appeared. The frogs couldn’t dig for the source of the poison. All they could do was absorb the poisonous energy into their bodies.
But as the poison continued to spread, there was no fear of the frogs finishing their task anytime soon. At the players' current levels, not even a single Level 6 Divine Frog could be defeated, let alone a group of them.
Blocking the entrance this way meant that Eden and Cole were also trapped in the valley until the frogs finished their work and left. But that wasn’t a problem—they needed to level up.
"Now come, let’s see if we have any unwanted company in the valley," Eden said, venturing into the forest.
Cole followed closely behind. They had to assure that there were no players remaining in the valley, if possible.
They didn’t spend much time searching—the forest was vast, after all. But they considered themselves lucky; they hadn’t encountered any other players or inhabitants in the more popular areas. With everything in place, they began grinding for EXP. Too much time had been wasted traveling, and Eden suspected that by now, some players might have already closed in on the second level.
Cole slashed at the neck of a Wooden Golem, killing the monster with a last strike. Unfortunately, it dropped nothing except for the usual EXP.
Without pausing, Cole moved to lure another golem. It was his turn. These monsters were solitary, so there was no fear of being attacked by a group. Although he couldn’t yet face a golem alone, Cole knew enough to handle it safely towards the tree trap.
After a few minutes, Cole returned, another golem in tow. With practiced efficiency, he trapped the monster between the two ancient trees.
"Good job," Eden said, immediately stabbing and slashing at the golem's weak points.
They continued their grinding, focused on the bigger prize: reaching the second level. After a few hours of relentless effort, their reward finally came.
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[ Congratulations, you have reached Level 2 ]
+ 2 Attribute Points
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"I'm taking a break," Cole said, collapsing onto the ground. He was tired, which was to be expected.
Eden sat down beside him, taking a pouch of water from his inventory. The cool liquid was a welcome relief as it flowed down his throat.
"Nice spot you’ve got here," a voice suddenly called out, announcing the presence of a group of players emerging from the woods.
"So, there 'were' some," Eden muttered to himself.
"Glad you like it," Cole replied in a cold tone.
"We’ve been watching you for a while," said the leader of the group, a player who went by the name Celestial.
"And why didn’t you keep watching?" Eden asked, resting his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Celestial’s expression soured. Eden’s tone clearly irked him.
"We come in peace, alright?" Celestial said, raising his hands to show he meant no harm.
"Purpose and duration of visit, please," Cole demanded.
Celestial glanced between the two players in front of him. Unfortunately, as with inhabitants, a player’s level wasn’t displayed. And with certain special items, even their name could be hidden.
"We’re here to strike a deal," Celestial explained. "We promise to keep this location and method hidden from other players, but in return, we want to grind alongside you. What do you say?"
Eden burst out laughing. "Are you even listening to yourself? Forget our workshop—at our level, we could kill all of you right now." His tone then grew serious. "This golem doesn’t give enough EXP for everyone to share. If we partied up, we wouldn’t level up until next year. But we won’t be here forever. Once we reach Level 5, you can use this spot and method." He tried to dismiss the problem.
Celestial hesitated, deep in thought. A girl behind him started to whisper something, but one of her teammates quickly silenced her.
"We don’t know how long it’ll take you to reach that level, and unfortunately, we don't have that much time to wait. I’m sorry." Celestial raised his hand, and two arrows shot out from behind Cole and Eden.
They reacted quickly, but not quickly enough to avoid the projectiles. Damage indicators of [ - 14 ] and [ - 8 ] appeared above their heads, despite the protection of their chestplates.
"Too slow," Eden muttered, dissatisfied with his performance.
" - 8?" a sword user from Celestial's party said after witnessing the pitiful damage.
"Numbers." Eden smiled mischievously.
Celestial and his group drew their weapons, ready to engage. Entering combat, the HP of their opponents wasn’t displayed, so they had no idea how much of a challenge they were up against.
"If I wasn’t so tired, I’d take you all by myself!" Cole yelled, charging at the group in a fit of anger.
The shield user in Celestial’s party moved to the front, with three sword users following close behind. Celestial, along with the two staff users, took positions to provide cover fire.
"Why bother talking if you planned to ambush us from the begging?" Eden shouted. "I hope you drop something good when I kill you."
With his superior strength and speed, but low on stamina, Cole didn’t waste time. Using a real life fighting style, he grabbed the shield of his opponent, forcing an opening, and drove his sword into the player’s neck, dealing a devastating [ - 32 ] damage.
The shield user tried to retaliate with a stab from his short sword, but Cole dodged it, then blocked an incoming attack from one of the sword users.
Meanwhile, Eden was confronted by the other two sword users. He skillfully placed himself between them, making it impossible for the staff users up front or the hidden archers at the back to land a hit on him without injuring their own people.
Cole stepped on the foot of the sword user and drove his elbow into the player’s nose, dealing [ - 7 ] damage and inflicting a [Weeping] status effect for five seconds. He then kicked the shield user, creating enough distance to unleash a flurry of attacks on the panicking sword user.
Unable to withstand Cole’s onslaught, the player fell soon after the [Weeping] effect wore off, his movements frozen by the pain he was unaccustomed with. Right then, an arrow hit Cole in the leg, inflicting pain and a damage of [ - 7].
"Motherfucker!" Cole yelled, limping to finish the remaining shield user.
Eden toyed with his two opponents, always keeping them between himself and the staff users, gradually leading them closer to the enemy’s backline.
"Damn it, I don’t have a clear shot!" the hidden bow user tasked with Eden as his target cursed, emerging from his cover to find a better position.