Leo paused. With his weapons, armor, and two powerful madou beast, he could handle most things. But a sturdy shelter sounded appealing—a place to rest and feel secure, far better than sleeping on the rough wood in Sunny’s nest. A shelter with a few well-placed defenses would turn him into an unstopable force.
But something about the offer felt odd. The anonymous player had appeared just when he needed it, last time with armor and now with a shelter blueprint. Leo decided to be cautious and replied, “Got any blueprints for a a better grade shelter? Like A grade”
After a pause, the response came, “A grade require materials that are beyond your current strength to gather. Even if you could, what would you offer in exchange?”
Leo grinned, realizing he’d likely struck a nerve. This person wasn’t just a regular player. Most were barely scraping by at with D grade gear, but this player had knowledge of A grade crafting. Leo suspected they weren’t new to the game at all.
This make him suspect there are veteran player out there, new player will than occasionally send here. After a moment, another message appeared.
"Bet you're wondering who I am. Tell you what—I’ll throw in a D-grade shelter blueprint to show some goodwill."
Leo smirked, satisfied. Accepting the blueprint would give him an advantage, but he’d remain cautious about this “friend.” As the blueprint appeared in his system panel.
__________
Tora shelter Blueprint
Grade: D
Usage: 1
The Tora shelter stands as the peak of D-grade defense, crafted to hold its ground against most madou beasts below level 10, including a few evolved ones. Outfitted with autonomous defense weapons, this shelter fends off threats even when you’re away. Perfect for players who need a reliable place to rest!
A sturdy sanctuary forged for those who value survival—and a solid night's sleep!
___________
The description made the shelter sound like a commercial ad, but Leo was intrigued by the mention of “autonomous defense weapons.” He clicked to learn more, and the blueprint expanded into a rotating miniature of a dome-like structure with small cannons on top.
[Tora shelter (can be built anywhere)
Required Materials: Iron (0/500), Alpine wood (0/100), skystone (0/5), Bronze (0/100), Marble (0/1000)]
Seeing the massive list of materials, Leo’s excitement dimmed slightly. This was the most complex project he’d encountered, and he hadn’t even heard of some of these materials.
Luckily, reaching level 10 hadn’t come without its perks. While chatting with the mysterious player, the system had sent him a congratulatory gift package. He eagerly clicked to open it.
[Congratulations on obtaining: White Rock, Golden Feather…]
Leo scanned his inventory. It seemed like an assortment of valuable items, but some had names he didn’t recognize. He checked their descriptions for more information.
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Starting with the White Rock, he noticed its background color was white and slightly different from the typical items, indicating a higher rarity. Leo deduced this was likely a very high grade item, one of the rarest he’d seen.
Curious, he clicked for a detailed description of White Rock Hill, only to be met with:
[Information Unavailable.]
He groaned in frustration. This system was practically taunting him with this high-level item, only to keep its purpose a mystery. Still, it was better to keep it stored for now.
Next, he checked the Golden Feather.
[Golden Feather
Effect: Grants temporary invincibility for 3 minutes.
Side Effect: Weakens the user for 7 days.
Usage Limit: 3 times.
“Shine like gold, but pay the price.”]
Leo’s eyes lit up—three minutes of invincibility sounded incredible. But his excitement faded as he read on. ‘Seven days of weakness?’ This so-called buff could just as easily be a death sentence. If he consumed the pill in the wilderness, those seven days could easily mean the end. And even if he survived, he’d be vulnerable to attacks from other players or madou.
The rewards were like a scam. First, he couldn’t even see what White Rock did, and now the Golden feather had dangerous side effects.
‘At least I still got something else,’ Leo thought, sighing.
____________-
Berserk Potion
Grade: C+
Effect: Instantly boosts strength by 5x for 60 seconds.
Usable on self or madou beasts. Can only be used once per individual.
“Because smashing things five times harder is always the answer.”
___________
Relieved to find no side effects, Leo felt reassured. Next, he looked at the Evolution Potion, marked as D grade. Although its effects weren’t guaranteed, the potion have a small change to trigger evolution in both humans and alien beasts.
________
Evolution Potion
Grade: D
Effect: For humans, effects are unknown. For alien beasts, it increases the chance of evolution by a bit.
“Will it make you a genius or just give you extra toes? Who knows!"
_____________
Though the results weren’t certain, multiple bottles could be used together to stack the Evolution chance. Leo inspected the Evolution Potions, noticing the bottles were labeled by effect: red for brute force and blue for agility. If he could gather enough of these, he might ensure a full Evolution, even specifying which attributes would be enhanced. He grinned, impressed by the potion’s potential despite its limitations.
Summoning Sunny to his side, Leo decided to give it a try. He poured a red Evolution potion into Sunny's mouth, hoping it would boost his strength. Sunny shuddered, flapping his wings in reaction.
“What’s wrong?” Leo asked, concerned, but his system reassured him with a message:
____________
Madou: Umbra Eagle
Name: Sunny
Status: Evolving
___________
Seeing that Sunny had calmed down, curling up with his eyes closed, Leo sighed in relief, figuring the potion was simply taking effect.
Next, he turned to his Terra Bear, “Moonie,” who had already undergone one Evolution. Checking its stats, Leo was impressed:
_______________-
Madou: Terra Bear
Name: Moonie
Rank: Champion
Level : 13
Health: 6000
Strength: 2500
Agility: 600
Vitality: 3000
Skills: Swipe, Rage, Crush
____________________
The bear’s Crush skill, could ignore defense, made it a formidable partner, especially when paired with Sunny’s black umbra skill to obscure the enemy's vision. Leo’s mind raced with strategies, envisioning how the two beasts could work together: Sunny disorienting opponents while Moonie delivered the crushing blow.
Determined to make Moonie even stronger, Leo lined up several Evolution potions, selecting two blue (agility) and two cyan (speed) bottles. If he could turn Moonie into a faster, more agile beast, it would be a true force on the battlefield. Hoping for the best, he administered the potions to Moonie, eager to see the results.
Just as Leo was checking his inventory, the system notified him of a major update. The world chat exploded, messages flooding in as players reacted to the changes. Before he could respond, a large system message covered the entire screen:
[System Update Complete. Please Click Restart.]