Zyrus stared at the message with wide eyes and immediately opened his status.
Status:
[Name: Zyrus Wymar]
[Race: Sylvarix]
[Class: Balaur Summoner (Locked)]
[Rank: Onyx Crown]
[Level: 20]
Exp: 0/500
[Title: The last Apostle (Temporary)(Locked)]
[Achievement: -]
[Talent: Blood fusion (S rank)]
[Trait: Earth Movement]
[Strength: 40]
[Agility: 38 (+5)]
[Vitality: 60]
[Intelligence: 30]
[Mana: 38 (+2)]
[SP: 25]
HP: 3500
Combat stats:
MP: 370
Recovery Rate: 50% (+20%) (Per hour)
Stamina: 449
Recovery Rate: 30% (Per hour)
Crit rate: 15%
Crit damage: 120%
Penetration Bonus: 10%
Final damage Bonus: 20%
Health Regeneration: 10% (+30%) (Per hour)
Resistances: Void (?), Abyss (?), Poison (150%), Earth (50%), Blood (35%), Penetration (30%), Slash (30%), Blunt (30%), Critical (10%),
Elemental Affinity: Void (?), Abyss (SS), Poison (S), Earth (C)
[Eye of Annihilation], [Poison breath], [Arcane Lance], [Master of Sojutsu], [Spear aura], [Malediction]
[Bloodspine spear (Unique)]
[Lorica Squamata (Unique) (Evolvable)]
[Zubry Solleret (Rare)]
[Bone necklace Totem (Common)]
[Ring of command (Sealed)]
Currency: 53 S
Items:
[Ore of Kothar (Fragment)]
[Fang of Nidraxis (Unique)]
[Scroll fragment (Rare), Durability: 2/3]
[Vitality recovery potion x 15]
[Mana recovery potion x 8]
[C rank Skill Tome x 1]
[C rank Skill creation scroll x 1]
[Weapon Enhancement Potion (Rare) x 1]
As Zyrus had told his subordinates before, the system became more complex after reaching the second ring.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
MP was calculated by (70% Mana + 30% intelligence) * 10, whereas Stamina was calculated by (50% strength + 30% agility + 20%vitality) * 10.
[I’ll give you guys some time to catch up with the changes. Tell them about class selection and Bloodlines yourself]
“Thanks,” Zyrus nodded at Anansi with a smile. Normally, the players would be ordered to proceed with class selection and bloodline evolution right after the system upgrade. Every second spent on the temple of order was precious.
[See you later then.]
After Anansi vanished, Zyrus strolled around the players who were still undergoing their transformations. Due to the trait of Sylvarix he was faster in adapting to changes in his body.
He knew more about this Befehl Mountain than other players. There were five peaks on this world-like mountain.
He was all too familiar with four of them, Square of Adura, The proving grounds, Rakt gorge, and the Hall of Darga. Even he didn’t know much about the last peak, and the ‘real’ temple or order at the center of these five peaks.
Players can only visit the square of Adura after reaching a new ring. 7th ring was an exception, and no one can access this place at lv 1 on the first ring. Thus, all of them had no more than 5 opportunities to go there.
The same was true for the resting grounds as well. These two were the rewards given for the players' struggles in the sanctuary.
The system was fair towards all in the sanctuary. There was a fundamental level of difference between each ring. Without systems help in improving their level of existence, there was no way for new players to survive.
Power of laws, Concentration of mana, and many such aspects were the biggest differences between the two rings. By leveling up and getting achievements one can shorten the gap, and the players would evolve on a fundamental level by getting the blessing of order.
Since achievement determined one's future potential, he wasn’t surprised when Jacob woke up before anyone else.
“Did you completely merge with the ogre’s heart?” Zyrus asked as he looked at Jacob’s gray hoodie which was on the verge of ripping apart.
“Yes! I feel much stronger now,”
Zyrus wanted to remind him that he was still weaker than the goblin riders, but after looking at his sparkling eyes he decided not to.
‘They’ll know how weak they are after we go to the second ring,’
Ria, Lauren, and Kyle were the next three to wake up. There weren’t any physical changes in their appearance, but the aura they gave off was completely different.
Shi kun and the troll leader were the next to complete the process, followed by goblin riders, Pouka, specter scorpions, and the rest.
‘Human players are weakest among them all, but it’s to be expected,’
Challenges in the first ring were too quick for humans to showcase their potential. The limit for the second ring was lv 50, and it would increase by 50 levels for all the next rings. Unlike the peak of Adura, the players can improve their class and bloodline every 20 levels.
Thus, there were sufficient opportunities for everyone.
“Listen carefully to what I’m about to say,” Zyrus interrupted Ria who was teasing Shi Kun by comparing his talents with a troll.
“Since when did you become an administrator?”
“A month ago,” Zyrus replied in a joking tone, but there was some truth in his words.
“Jokes aside, I’ll explain how to get a class and improve your bloodline.”
“Please do,” Kyle replied in a serious tone.
“Open your status, you’ll see a new tab under Class and Race. Click on that and you’ll be teleported to a new location.”
“Why do we have to teleport everytime?”
“You just don’t realize how big this place is. You’ll become a granny by the time you reach there by foot,” Zyrus answered Ria and continued,
“The two places are called the proving grounds, and Rakt gorge. As the name suggests, you have to prove your worth to the system to get a desired class. The terrain and challenges will be random depending on your past performance, so there’s nothing I can advise you about.”
As he had said before, the sanctuary was a fair place. Their efforts were already awarded at the peak of Adura. If they wanted to get a new class or improve their bloodline, then they would have to earn that opportunity.
“What about Rakt gorge?” Ria asked once everyone digested the information.
“It’s a gorge filled with blood. There are different caves and crevices you can choose based on your preference and strength. The key there is blood, you can drink it, bathe in it, eat the medicine that grows on the shore or kill the blood beasts that inhabit the area, it all depends on you.”
“I see. It’s pretty straightforward.” Kyle nodded in understanding.
Since Zyrus had been telling them about the sanctuary whenever he had the chance, his subordinates were more prepared than other players.
“Good to hear that, I’ll leave the rest to you then,” Zyrus spoke with a pleased smile.
Ria wanted to curse Kyle for taking the hot potato, but it was too late. Zyrus had already vanished from the spot.
“Great, now we’ll have to explain this ‘straightforward’ process to 6000 players. Pretty easy,” Ria grumbled and wore her conductor’s tiara.
“Looks good on you,”
“Stop buttering me up and explain things to your units,”
“Can’t you tell everyone yourself?” Lauren asked with puppy eyes.
“Though it’s annoying to admit, there was a reason why he left the explaining to us. We should establish a clear command structure from now on.”
“Ugh- how I envy Jacob,”
Apart from Jacob who vanished right after Zyrus, the rest had no choice but to drag their feet and explain everything to the players.
…
A verdant forest floated above the fluffy clouds. Schools of levifin swam in the blue sky, making the scene look like a heavenly paradise.
*Crackle*
A red crack appeared on the edge of the verdant forest.
“Wow! This is totally different from the last time,” Zyrus observed his trial grounds with awe. He expected to be sent to a battlefield or an arena given his summoner class, but this place was quite unexpected.
Although he knew that this place was nothing but an array formation, he couldn’t help but admire the scenery.
[Welcome to The proving grounds]
The system’s voice rang across the floating island. The levifins dove down the sky as if they had sensed the upcoming threat.
[Would you like to proceed with the trial?]
[Yes/No]
Zyrus clicked ‘Yes’ without hesitation. He wasn’t an expert summoner by any means, but passing a trial at lv 20 should be a piece of cake for him.
[Commencing the trial…]
[Searching for suitable opponent…]
[Target selected: Oroszlan]
[You have met the conditions to unlock the unique class: Balaur summoner]
[Trial's difficulty will be adjusted accordingly]
*BOOOM*
A crimson lightning bolt descended on the center of the lively forest, sending tremors across the floating island.
‘That’s a fucking summoner?’
Zyrus cursed inwardly as he looked at the crater. His image of a summoner was of a slim person wearing a magic rob with a staff in hand.
Although he was somewhat of an exception, he was nothing like the monstrosity in front of him.
*ROOOOOAR*
A 20-foot-tall giant roared to the skies above. He had a lion’s head and the legs of an elephant. Players weren’t allowed to use anything except their class-related abilities in a trial. Thus, Zyrus thought that it’d be more difficult than he’d thought to win this fight with ophidian warriors and amargs.
“Summon”
…
…
‘I’m screwed.’
Until this moment, Zyrus didn’t realize how deep in the shit he was. Forget about the ‘slightly’ difficult opponent, he couldn’t win against a bunch of rabbits without summoning his troops from Earth.
During the fights in the city of ruin and the month he spent on the source of origin, he had forgotten about something crucial.
He had retreated rather pathetically from Earth. And while he was safe in the sanctuary, the same couldn’t be said for his summons who were left on the mountain.
He was well aware of the time discrepancy whenever he traveled to Earth. Even if only an hour had passed on earth, it was more than enough for the glemorax army to decimate his 50,000 summons.
‘Damn, to think that the countdown of 12h was based on Earth's time,’
He didn’t know what was the difference in passage of time between the two worlds. Did he travel via a wormhole? Did he go back to the past or the future?
*ROOOAR*
Whatever the case may be, Oroszlan didn’t plan to just stand there and let him figure that out. The giant tore apart the space with his roar to summon his followers.
Hundreds of Barbary lions emerged from the portal, charging towards the lone Sylvarix.