[Aydahar Cavaler]
A class created by the Onyx crown. Your level will be equivalent to Zyrus Wymar's, and your stats will be less than his by 5.
As a special class based on the crown’s authority, its upgrade and evolution differ from the normal classes. Reach the limits of your existence to attain a new Realm!
Blessing of Apep: On the longest night of every year, you can revive with a penalty of -10 levels, -5 stats (Permanently)
Note: Leveling up again will not give any stat bonus, and the exp required will be increased by 50%
Mark of Gorynych: Become the servants of the mighty tyrant. When performing brutal and destructive actions, you will gain a random buff.
Note: This is a formation-type skill. Activating it with large numbers will result in special buffs.
‘They're ridiculously good, but the next one is just as mind-blowing,’
Zyrus scrolled down and looked at the final skill. Since the Aydahar Cavaler was a special class, its skills were fixed from the start. Nothing would change even at lv 300 except for increased utility and effectiveness.
But even with a limitation like that, the first and the third skill made Aydahar Cavaler better than 90% of the other classes.
Dragonification: Attain partial Dragonification based on Zyrus Wymar. You can also use all of his skills at 10% effectiveness.
Note: This is an incomplete skill. Further progress will depend on your status at lv 100,200, and 300.
“Franken, keep an eye on them. We’ll set sail at midnight.”
“Where are you running off again?”
“To check on the progress of Altar,” Zyrus's words echoed as he hopped from mast to mast. This fleet was scattered throughout the second zone. It would take more than 40 days for all of them to gather at the same point, and from there they’d sail to the last island.
‘And in the meanwhile, I’ll inspect all of the bases on the way…’
…
The month went by without any significant events. Zyrus stood on the dragon of war’s hull and gazed at the blue ocean.
Compared to the dry sand on the plains of Ilios, he preferred the salty and moist air of the ocean. Their journey thus far was almost like a picnic.
The normal boss monsters and aggressive schools of fish were already killed by his fleet. The first zone had three islands, while the second zone had 8 main islands. 5 of them were in the south from the first zone’s headquarters while 3 were on the western side.
‘They should be arriving soon…’
Zyrus jumped at the highest vantage point on the dragon of war and looked at the sides. Druv, Strongfist, the beast legion, goblin riders, and the majority of subdued monsters were in charge of the western side, whereas Kyle, Lauren, Jacob, and Shi kun led the charge on the south.
There was a good reason why Zyrus distributed them this way. The Western fleet had the same number of ships despite there being just two targets. Why? Because the distance between the second and third island on this side was greater than their total distance from the first zone.
Countless aggressive fish occupied this area. Two out of the three years were spent on clearing this region all the way to the end of the second zone.
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*BUUUUUUUUUUUU*
*Hoooowwwwl*
Bugles and trumpets cried out one after another, and hundreds of ships fluttering with black sails covered the entire western horizon.
Clangs of metal and howls of the beasts reverberated soon after. Even the scattered fish were scared away by their presence.
“Let’s go greet them,” Zyrus climbed on Franken’s back and the duo soared towards the leading galleon– ‘Sedna’.
The entire ship was filled with loud cheers as they welcomed the duo descending from the sky.
“Long…time…no..seee..”
“Haha, long time indeed. Where’s Strongfist?”
“Sleeping….He fought…strong…fish…alone..”
“Oh, let him rest for a while then,” Zyrus chatted with Druv and gave everyone some pointers on their stat distribution and upcoming class and bloodline upgrades. All of the elites within his army were just about to cross lv 40.
*BUUUUUUUUUU*
Before they even reached the dragon of war, two more bugles resounded from the other side. Hundreds of ships pierced the sea like an arrow and appeared on the faraway horizon. Even from a great distance, Tiamat and Phorcys were visible like giant behemoths.
Zyrus repeated the same actions and greeted the players on the two galleons. There was a big difference between the players meeting him on the dragon of war versus him coming forward to greet them and praise them for their hard work.
A leader’s every word and gesture held the power to affect the morale of the entire army. Zyrus was no rookie when it came to this.
Finally, all of the key players held a meeting on the dragon of war while they sailed towards the 8th island.
“Alright everyone, I’ll now explain the situation on the last island.” Zyrus knocked on the table and pointed at the map he had drawn.
“What does it look like?”
“Rice paddies?” Shi kun answered as he observed the map laid out on the table.
“Yeah, it’s similar,” the others also agreed one by one.
“This place is called the ‘Scarecrow Island,’ the gateway between the second and the third zone. As you may have guessed, this place that looks like farmland is filled with bug-type monsters.”
Zyrus placed another sheet on the map on which a few scribbles were drawn.
“Mantises, Earthworms, Locusts, Butterflies…and many such insectoid creatures inhabit the area. They’re not much of a trouble since they’re around lv 35-39.”
He once again took out three more sheets, this time with much clearer images.
“The environment itself is safe for our ships to travel. Thus, the main danger comes from three other monsters. Ria, Shi kun, pass on this information to other captains and squad leaders as well.”
“Got it.”
“Sure.”
“Alright. All three of the monsters have reached beyond lv 40. You don’t need me to tell you what that implies. The first and most common threat are leafhoppers– also the main reason why I’m having this discussion.”
Zyrus normally didn’t share anything useful in the second zone in order to train his troops. But now that they were punching above their league, it was time for him to step up.
“The leafhoppers are different from the ones you know. What we’ll face upon arrival would be hordes of these bullet-like insects. And when I say 'bullet', I mean it. Hundreds of thousands of them could pierce through a normal lv 30 players with ease.”
Everyone was speechless. Just how frightening was that? Even if they didn’t die due to their armor and high defense, just the impact would wreck their insides.
“Troublesome indeed. What are the other two?” Ria asked with a slight frown. She was confident in her clairvoyance, but such aoe attacks were her hard counter.
“The second are as the scarecrows. There are ten of them scattered throughout this island which has an area of 36 square miles. Almost 90% of this is water layers, and within that 10% you’d fight these 10 boss monsters.”
Such a placement was geographically illogical. A farm without crops with an ocean passing through it–such a thing was only possible in the sanctuary.
“You’re going to fight the field boss on your own?”
“Nope. You’ll know why when we get there,” Zyrus waved at the leaders and exited the cabin. He divulged the leafhoppers' information because it would take thousands of lives if the players were unprepared. There was no need to go through such needless loss.
There was a difference between training and suicide–and those like Kyle and Jacob had sufficient strength to treat the fight against the boss monster as a form of training.
Days passed by as the whole army sailed towards the last island. The dragon of war was the vanguard while the Tiamat was at the rear. Phorcys and Sedna led the remaining 6 galleons which were slightly smaller than the previous four.
From afar, it looked like a black leaf was floating on the vast ocean. And on the dawn of the 83rd day since Zyrus’s return, the leaf arrived at the distant shore.
“Beautiful!”
“Yeah. But the better it looks, the more fucked up it’ll be,” Shi kun shook his head which was shining under the crimson sunlight.
The entire ocean was lit up by the sun which rose behind them. In front of them was a scene that defied the logic of nature, and yet, it was more harmonious than any place they’d seen.
“Remember, don’t stray away from your main galleon.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” Hundreds of captains answered Zyrus’s call.
“Disperse,” Zyrus waved his hand and activated the mana circuits to raise the speed. There were numerous ‘channels’ with land on both sides. Each channel was wide and deep enough for 100 ships to pass through. As for the land, even the grass that grew on them was 20 feet tall.
The sharp and green blades swayed and welcomed the players. At the same time, large swaths of leafhoppers flew in their direction.
[Caution! You have arrived at the last island of the second zone]
[Caution! Field boss “Pugalo” has detected your presence!]
[Commencing field raid…]