[+2 Strength]
[+1 Agility]
[+1 Mana]
His taught muscles relaxed as soothing power seeped into his body. Zyrus could clearly observe his improvement in this suppressive environment.
The players also received a notification at the same time he leveled up.
[March forth to claim your throne, and conquer the vast lands with your flag held high]
[You have selected
[New authorities will be given based on your performance]
[Ranking system has been added!]
[Countdown for the next reward: 29d 21h]
[Players will earn points based on their activity. Rewards will be given according to your ranks]
*KIKIkiii*
“Retreat,”
Zyrus didn’t wait for a second and immediately gave the command to head back. The fruit bats were roused like a hornet’s nest after seeing the white flag that appeared in front of him.
“Use everything you have to attack the bats,”
Zyrus had no intention to hold back this time. The flag would automatically draw aggro from non-affiliated monsters. And since the island didn’t have a civilization, every creature would be drawn to the flag and try to kill him.
200 ophidian warriors walked out and used their claws to climb up the trees. Everything happened so fast that many players were unable to react.
[Wrathful reconning]
[Prairie Fire]
Shi kun and Jacob used their ace skills one after another.
*Kikkkki*
“Mages, use all your mana and retreat with the bears, thugs and assassins are next,” Zyrus gave out another command and channeled his mana.
He didn’t have much MP left, but the situation was within his expectations.
[Shackles of nihility]
Blue shackles bound by black chains erupted from the coconut trees. Dozens of fruit bats were caught off-guard by the attack and lost their momentum.
Zyrus didn’t bother with the fallen bats and retreated with his troops. Even he wasn’t confident in dealing with dozens of gigantic bats.
“Hurry back! They’re afraid of sunlight,” Ria’s voice sounded in his head via the conductor’s tiara. She was like a walking radio station that managed the entire army.
It was strenuous to advance in the forest to begin with. Thus, in just a couple of minutes, all 5000 players were back at the beach.
“It’s safe for now, but what about nighttime?” Kyle asked with furrowed brows.
“Leave that to me. Gather all the resources first,”
Others were reassured after hearing Zyrus’s calm voice. This place wasn’t the first ring where they got food from the system. They would starve to death if the bats weren’t dealt with.
A few hours weren’t enough to search the area, but still, there were 5000 of them. The manpower more than made up for their lack of strength.
Zyrus walked to the piled-up wood and beckoned the others.
“Distribute the fruits, a bite is enough to last a whole day. Take out half the logs and stones and create a boundary,”
Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Got it, but will a boundary stop them?”
“It will,” Zyrus didn’t explain anything further and ordered the ophidian warriors to carry the logs.
He knew a lot as an arcanist. Different races had their own way of survival in the wild. Fire was the most common among them, but he didn’t plan to burn the wood.
‘I wonder if that'll work,’
Zyrus mulled over his theories and ordered Elsid to bury the largest log. There was a simple reason why he wanted to destroy everything on this island.
He naturally wanted the resources, but that wasn’t all. This place would become a vanguard to attack the north of Kyros continent. There was no need for sustainable development on an outpost.
Of course, this wasn’t his only goal. He wanted to do a little experiment on the island. And whether he succeeded or not, nothing would grow on this island.
Zyrus ordered the ophidian warriors to carry 99 more logs to cover the whole site. Apart from the one that Elsid had planted, the rest of the logs were completely hidden beneath the sand.
“Are you going to use black magic?” Jacob asked with wide eyes as he saw the ophidian warriors. Lauren and the others also wanted to know about his summons, but none were as curious about magic as Jacob.
“It’s similar. Tell everyone to spread their mana in the air,”
“Got it,”
Zyrus wanted to create something similar to a totem and a mage tower. They were totally different in nature, but he had gained an inspiration from the proving grounds.
Totems relied on belief to do a variety of tasks. Protection against wild animals, warding off misfortune, Weakening natural disasters and many such examples. Offensive totems can even boost the stats and skills of the target.
Unlike them, the mage tower had a singular purpose. It could control the mana in a designated area.
Although it sounded simple, its usage was anything but that. Research, warfare, farming, and any other activity that needed mana could use a mage tower.
Both the totems and the mage towers needed mana to function. Naturally, pura mana was easier to harness than peoples’ beliefs.
But unlike totems used by the primitive tribes, the mage tower needed a tremendous amount of high-end resources. Both had their advantages and disadvantages.
Zyrus had no means to gather enough resources to create a mage tower in every place he conquered. Even creating a totem was difficult.
However, things were different if the abyssal mana and void laws were added into the mix. Zyrus summoned the white flag and made it hover above the central log.
‘I doubt it’ll work without a medium, but protecting this area should be possible,’
He slit his wrist and placed it above the log. Just a drop of his blood was enough to change its color to red.
Zyrus poured all of his abyssal mana into the blood. Unfortunately, he couldn’t sense the connection with other logs when his mana fused with the red log.
There was a minute chance that they would resonate with one another since they had the same material. He would be able to influence a wide area if the other logs connected with the blood-red one.
As for using his blood on all of the totems? He'd be sucked dry considering the size of this island.
Though it wasn't the ideal scenario, it was within Zyrus’s expectations. This wasn’t something that could succeed with one try. A lot of trials and errors were needed for a new invention.
‘If only I could use my summons as a medium,’ Zyrus thought wistfully as he carved a spell model. With the number of aliens on earth, he didn’t have to worry about losing a few thousand to create totems.
It would become a horrifying force once they merged with the land. But for now, he just drew a basic mana-gathering spell combined with a light barrier.
Others might find this difficult, but Zyrus could easily weave the threads of mana to engrave spells on the totem. He was done with the process before players released all of their mana.
“Alright, gather around,” Zyrus clapped his hand and stood on top of the log. The white flag fluttering on a wooden branch ruined his domineering image, but he could do nothing about it. Only by conquering more land would the flag change.
“I’m not going to give you false hope for tonight. It’ll be a bloody battle where many of you might die. However, as long as you believe in our strength and this totem, I promise you that you will survive this night and many more to come.”
The players were speechless at his words. Believing in strength was one thing, but what could a bloody log do against thousands of bats?
“What is the totem?” Ria asked as she stepped forward. She knew that the players didn’t have the courage to talk with Zyrus. Forget about humans, even trolls and ogres were avoiding his eyes.
Thus, it was her job to act as a middleman between the two.
“Recall your first day in the tutorial. Remember how you focused on the enemy’s weak spots to kill them and how you survived the first night.” Zyrus didn’t answer the question and gave them the time to think things over.
“Think About the theme of the crown hunt and flag march. Do you find the whole process familiar?”
A pin-drop silence descended over the beach. They couldn’t think of anything similar to the sanctuary.
“Is it related to evolution?”
“Go on,” Zyrus encouraged Stephen to continue. This was the first time the brown-haired youth was talking to him since the crown hunt.
“Humans were like other animals in the past. We stayed in the wild and fought for survival, but before long, we learned to group together and hunt the predators. From tribes to villages and cities, from stone weapons to firearms that made us the apex predators, it was a long process of evolution. The theme of the sanctuary looks similar.”
The players were taken aback at his remarks. It wasn’t hard to come to this conclusion. The biggest difference between the first and the second ring was the concept of home.
“Correct. It’s better if you think that way, even if it’s not the whole truth. As for the totem, you should know what it represents, right?”
Even the trolls and goblins had their totems, much less primitive humans.
“You might think that a totem is nothing but a symbol that unites the people. However, this is a place where everything is possible. As long as you believe that the totem will protect you, It will.”
Zyrus concluded his speech and ordered them to rest till sunset. What he said before was only half-truth.
Totems and the power of belief wasn’t omnipotent. Regardless of an ant colony’s beliefs, an elephant could stomp them to death.
Rules only applied to those who were on the same level.