John stopped in front of his blue pillar and gently placed his palm on its warm surface.
[Congratulations on your successful completion of the Relentless Assault!
Are you ready to see your performance?
Yes/No]
Selecting Yes, he was presented with another screen.
[Calculating your overall performance!
First wave: 1077,43
Second wave: 1103.61
Third wave: 1349.36
Fourth wave: 462.59
Fifth wave: 1749.4
Semi-total: 5742.74 points
Worthy feats:
Diligent defender - 500
Participated in defense of all waves
Zombie exterminator - 500
Delivered at least five hundred killing blows to Zombies
New Alpha - 350
Delivered at least one killing blow to Rothound Alpha
Knightbane - 150
Delivered at least three killing blows to Skeleton Knights
Commander conquered - 350
Delivered killing blow to Skeleton Commander
Defender of the Fated Ones - 500
Participated in defense against Deathfiend Fatebreaker
The Fated Hero - 2500
Delivered killing blows to all five Deathfiend Fatebreakers while holding a position on the Fate-ladder
Overall performance: 10592.74 points
Proceed to the list of possible rewards?
Yes/No]
Reading through the additional bonuses made him very glad he didn't skip the fourth and fifth waves.
Yes!
[Attention!
You may only select up to three cards and all of them will be soulbound to prevent abuse and protect their owners from outside pressure.
Lucky draw: Common/Uncommon/Rare
Random Ability card: 50/500/5000
Random Ability modification card: 10/100/1000
Random body modification card: 25/250/2500
Random single-use attribute boosting card: 50/500/5000
Precise choice: Common/Uncommon/Rare
A single-use attribute boosting card of your choosing: 100/1000/10000
A single-use card, which can upgrade any ability modification card of the same or lower rarity by one: 500/5000/-
Special:
Fated box - All remaining points
A box containing a single card of undetermined usefulness]
The warning on top made him chuckle. He was worried that there would be people who would steal all the rewards from their residents, but this did the exact opposite.
If they had prevented their wider population from participating, the result is going to be a significant loss for their future strength.
Moving the focus back to himself, John began thinking about the best combination of three cards to pick.
Crossing the majority of the options out immediately, he was left to choose among random rare ability, random rare attribute boost, and the uncommon promotion card. The last one could upgrade his Affinity effect to rare, and further into epic with the rare variant he carried from the first day of the apocalypse.
Which two should I pick?
The promotion card felt like the right choice, but it was difficult to decide between the Ability card or the Attribute card which would be only useful later, but provide no benefits until he collected the uncommon ones.
Oh, wait!
A sudden realization hit him. He could buy rare cards at Al'drul's emporium, and a brand new Increased affinity effect should be somewhere between one-fifty to three hundred blues. However, the rare attribute boost was at two thousand!
If this pans out, I could save days' worth of mindless slaughter.
Wanting to prove his idea true, he headed into the shop with an eager smile on his face.
"Hey Al'drul, sorry to pop in like this, but I have a quick question. Do you have a rare Increased affinity effect for sale?"
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
Lifting one of his eyebrows at his sudden intrusion, Al'drul slowly nodded. "But of course. Are you only curious or are you interested in buying it?"
"Hmm, it depends. How much is it?"
"That one is two hundred and forty-five."
That's a lot, but… How much do I currently have?
Opening up his deck, he saw ten yellows, eighty-two blues, and nine hundred and seventy-seven whites.
I've been sitting on that rare promotion card long enough…
"Yes, I'll take it." Placing his palm over the yellow crystal embedded in the counter, he willed seven yellows and seventy blues through.
[Increased affinity effect
Can be linked with any ability bearing an affinity tag to increase its affinity effect by 15%]
Nice, now let's see the epic variant.
Going through his considerably large pile of unused cards, he pulled out the one he gained as a reward for killing the first Zone guardian. Willing it to be used on this new rare card, it crumbled, changing the yellow coloring into green in front of his eyes. The upgrade not only increased the percentage but also added a whole new additional bonus.
[Increased affinity effect
Can be linked with any ability bearing an affinity tag to increase its affinity effect by 25%, also lowers the affected target's resistance by 5%]
Nice!
"John, do you have a moment? There is something I'd like to talk about," Aldrul interrupted with an uncharacteristically uncertain tone.
"Mm? Oh, sorry, can it wait? I am currently in the middle of something."
"I suppose it can, but return when you can, it is important."
John nodded, slotting the card into the center of his deck, and making it form links with all three of his abilities.
"I'll come after I pick the rewards from the Relentless Assault."
Leaving the emporium, he headed back to the pillar with the still-open screen displayed on its surface.
Hmm, this makes the first choice simple. Give me one random rare single-use attribute boosting card!
[A great choice!
You gained a single-use rare Vitality boost card
Remaining points: 5592.74]
[Vitality boost
A single-use card that is destroyed upon the use to permanently increase Vitality by 15 up to a maximum of 70]
And there was the next threshold. Twenty to E, forty to D, and seventy to C.
Now it was between a second boost or a new Ability, and well… he could use something more engaging than the Wave of force.
Hmm, what if I…
He could try messing with Fate and push for a less random reward, but after the last fight, he wasn't certain if it was a good idea. He understood his mistake and would have to learn finer precision before attempting anything similar in the next fight.
Here, however, he could probably repeat the previous thing. Brute force the card and worry about the backlash later.
Making a decision, he pushed his frayed Fate into another burst, willing the card to have a minion tag.
Give me a random rare ability card!
Feeling the Fate to latch on, he knew something happened, but before he could understand what, his whole body was hit with a debilitating bout of weakness and pain.
Fuck!
[Perfect pick!
You gained a Desert wr…]
His vision was quickly blacking out, and he knew he was about to lose consciousness.
The third card!
Focusing up, he willed his last choice the moment he was claimed by the blissful darkness around him.
Th… ate… ox!
His motionless body smacked on the marble-like floor with a dull thud.
The minutes ticked by, hour by hour until the time hit sixteen past eight in the afternoon, and the whole world froze.
Waking up and being unable to move was a horrifying experience, and the only thing keeping John from freaking out was the massive screen displayed in front of his closed eyes.
[Congratulations! You are among those who have faced the Relentless Assault.
Rewards: Fate is increased by 2
Special conditions met: Be part of the group which successfully killed the Sector Overlord
Rewards: Fate is increased by 2
Special conditions met: Land the finishing blow on the Sector Overlord.
Rewards: Fate is increased by 4.
Special conditions met: Land the finishing blow on at least 1 Rothound Alpha
Rewards: Fate is increased by 1
Special conditions met: Land the finishing blow on at least 1 Skeleton Commander
Rewards: Fate is increased by 1
Special conditions met: Land the finishing blow on all five Deathfiend Fatebreakers
Rewards: Fate is increased by 5
Note: The third day is behind you]
[Congratulations! You are among the top 100 humans on the Fate-ladder.
Everyone will get a rare body modification card Identify monster and ash according to their placement, those who are already in the possession of Identify monster get a special choice instead.
1: Sparrow - 47 Fate
2: Sgt. Harrison - 30 Fate
3: Reaper - 28 Fate
4: Doomhammer - 22 Fate
5: Kun'arl - 19 Fate
6: Stormfall - 18 Fate
7: Valerie - 18 Fate
8: Mao Di - 18 Fate
9: Warlord Urr - 17 Fate
10: Katuška - 17 Fate
…
…
100: Redblade - 15 Fate
Rewards: Stack of 2500 white and 50 blue piles of ash.
Note: Stay tuned for the next episode of Fate-ladder after the special event, now for more exciting news…]
[Make a choice!
1: 1500 white ash.
2: Second half of the upgrade token for Identify monster card]
This time, the decision was simple and John immediately picked the obvious choice.
[Congratulations humanity!
You have proven yourself worthy to be allowed to fight for your place in the wide universe.
As a reward, everyone may first participate in an optional worldwide event, tailored to bolster your individual strengths, cover your weaknesses, and grant you life-changing rewards.
Do you wish to participate?
Yes/No]
Selecting Yes, the world unfroze, but he was welcomed with an unexpected reply.
[Error!
You are in an unavailable space. Leave immediately or you will be forced to forfeit your participation]
This message had wide implications, but not daring to risk any delays, John rushed through the arch, and the moment he stepped outside, he was swept up in a blue haze.
The world around him vanished in a bright-blue flash, and a moment later he found himself standing on a soft red carpet in a gilded room with a white marble table stacked to the brim with towering piles of paper. Behind it, barely visible, sat an overweight man wearing fancy clothes and a large bicorne hat.
"Excuse me?"
"Ahh, the latecomer arrives," he spoke with a hard lisp, "Now, tell me which discipline you are going to participate in, so I can finally have my lunch break."
Huh?