When I finally woke up, I could feel the full force of the sun hitting my eyelids. I groaned, shielding my eyes as I sat up. My head hurt, and when I finally opened my eyes, my vision swam. The light was still blindingly bright but it was more bearable now, so I stood up slowly, bracing myself from my body's backlash. I was still on the grass patch, but the corpses of the lion and the vines were nowhere to be seen. At that thought, I decided to check the notifications that had been flashing in the corner of my vision.
You have slain 1x Mutated Lion [Lvl.5]! You gained 500EXP, 2x Lion Claw, 1x Lion Hide, 2x Raw Lion Meat, 200 New Gems
You have slain 3x Grappling Vines [Lvl.1]! You gained 300EXP, 1x Green Bean Seed, 1x Rope, 120 New Gems
You have slain 1x Acidic Grappling Vine [Lvl. 3]! You gained 300EXP, 1x Rope [Acid Resistant], 120 New Gems
The Acidic Grappling Vine and Grappling Vines do not count towards your 'Kill 5 Creatures' Quest. Quest Progress: 1/5
You have levelled up! You gained 500 New Gems!
You have levelled up! You gained 500 New Gems!
You have levelled up! You gained 500 New Gems!
300EXP to next level!
I groaned when I saw that the four vines did not count for my quest, but it did make sense. With my Class Skill, I could just spawn harmless 'enemies' every time I get this quest and easily get the rewards. That was surely not what my Team of Workers wanted. It didn't make me any happier about the development, though, because it meant that I had to find and kill four more enemies. Great, just great.
With that thought in mind, I set off towards a random direction, and in my ear, I heard a familiar ding.
Hello, humans! I bring with me the first ever Major Event! So far, you have survived by pure luck, and the sacrifice of many of your kind. But from now on, luck will no longer take you far. During this Major Event, you will be divided into groups based on your locations, and each group will have a quota of monsters you must collectively kill in order to complete this first Major Event! As a whole, your planet must reach 32 billion monsters slain, about five for each of you still alive. Thereafter, you will be formally integrated into the System Universe, and will therefore receive all its benefits. That is not the only reward you will receive, however, but I am sure everyone will find out the details soon. Don't disappoint us!
Integration
Category: Major Event
As a fledgling participant world in the System Universe, all of you must first prove your place. Succeed, and you reap the benefits of being a part of us. Fail, and you will just be one of the many worlds that we give up on. Humans, what shall it be?
Reward: Formal integration into the System Universe, any EXP you gain from the kills, a Mythic Skill of your choosing for the top contributors, New Gems and Ancient Crystals based on contribution and [a custom Legendary Skill for everyone OR a Custom-Generated Companion
Failure: the monsters get stronger and more numerous every once in a while and your world will eventually be overrun
Completion Requirements: 32 billion monsters slain worldwide, 40 million monsters for your region (formerly known as Michigan)
Duration: N/A
My eyes widened at the details of the Major Event. It seemed like I no longer needed to worry about a lack of monsters for me to fight. That was about it for upsides and I could think of many bad things that could happen to us based on the rules. 32 billion monsters... It was a gigantic number that my brain could not comprehend. Even 40 million sounded like a number that I would only vaguely imagine, but given that Michigan had 10 million people before the Purge, it means that there were at least 8 million left. So that was 5 monsters per person. When I thought of it like that, the number did not feel that big, but I had to consider children who were too young to fight, too.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
I groaned. The numbers hurt my head just thinking about it.
Regardless, neither my personal Quest nor the Major Event would be completed by just standing here, so I quickly decided on the next course of action. I would want to use the money I have now to upgrade some of my stats. Now that I realized each level gave me 500 of those Gems, the quest rewards no longer felt large. However, since it was my first ever quest, I did not want to just leave it hanging there, not to mention that there was the mysterious yet deterring 'Cut' punishment awaiting me should I fail.
I tried something before I set off for a nearby shelter, "System, how long do I have for my 'Kill 5 Creatures' quest?"
16 Hours/24 Hours Remaining
I grinned when it worked. This suggested that there might be more hidden commands I could learn. Keeping that in mind, I set off towards a nearby building.
--
A man I did not recognize stood at the entrance of the large house, a kitchen knife in his hands. He tensed as I approached, his eyes wary as he scrutinized me for any sign of danger. I asked, trying to be polite, as I gauged his ability, "Hello, can I enter? I am..."
I hesitated. Did I really want to give him my real name? Who knows if there was a Class out there who could curse people based on their names. I surely had seen them in stories I often engage myself in. Thus, I instead introduced myself with an alias. This could work as long as none of the people I knew in college - mostly Emi, but I could trust her - recognized me. That wasn't difficult and I could deal with identity problems when they arise.
So I said, "You can call me Terra."
"Terra, huh? I will let you in, but if you cause any trouble..." he glared at me for effect.
I nodded, "I won't do anything to harm anyone inside unless they initiate it. Plus, I will leave soon."
He squinted at me for a moment longer, before stepping aside to expose the door. I walked through fast, my peripheral vision pinned on his knife. When I passed him, I couldn't help but hold my breath, but he did not show any further aggression. Relieved, I entered the house.
The interior was large, with a few couches lined up against the walls. A few people were resting in them, some chatting amongst each other. Only one person noticed my arrival, waving at me, and the rest were too caught up in what they were doing to care about a newcomer. I went over to a corner with a sofa after returning his greeting. I just wanted to rest for a few minutes before throwing myself back into combat. 16 hours were not that much when I also needed to consider sleeping.
I held my head up on my palms, eyes closed but ears alert. When I heard a soft 'thump' next to me, I opened my eyes reluctantly and turned to my side to find the man who had waved hello to me earlier. I asked with a tired tone, hoping that he would leave me alone, "What?"
He smiled, "I'm Elias, Elias Blackwood. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
That made me feel a little bad about disguising my real name, but I replied regardless, "Please call me Terra. Same here. So what do you want?"
"Just asking around. Is your Class good at fighting monsters? For the quota, I mean," he must have guessed my distrust, because he quickly elaborated, "I have a combat class, I think. I can corrode enemies with its Skills."
I was reluctant in sharing my Class' details, but since Elias was so open to it, I wanted to at least reveal something about me. Not to mention that his Class is quite powerful too, and if I could convince him to join me... Did I really want to form a party? It would be great, but the loot also had to be split, which was not to my liking, but it could allow me to challenge tougher opponents and get more money. I settled on giving him a lying-by-omission, "I can create things as long as I can think of it. It's hard to describe, but I can use it offensively too. Do you want to work together?"
His grin widened, "Yeah, sure! We can rest for a while more if you want to, though."
I nodded, and it was only then that I started taking in his appearance. Elias was striking, his pastel blond hair forming curls around his face and falling freely. His eyes were a reptilian-like mix of forest green and yellow, eerily reminding me of poison dart frogs. He wore a simple white t-shirt and a beige jacket, his long slim fingers gripping the side of the sofa.
image [https://i.pinimg.com/736x/e5/d8/9a/e5d89a6fc543d77ee13e30400f1be45e.jpg]
This picture is found on Pinterest and does not belong to me!
He laughed softly, "What, checking me out?"
I fought off the urge to roll my eyes and stood up, gauging the pros and cons of getting rid of this monster-fighting partner, but everything told me that it would be worth it. Sighing, I gestured for him to follow and headed out of the house.
Ding!
You have made an Battle Group with Player #EYKF-25981! You will now have boosts when you are within proximity of them. Level up your Battle Group Unity Level to increase your buffs!
I groaned. Seemed like we were going to be together for a while.