Reghan stood on the tall wooden stage beneath the gate, scanning over the hundreds of people that had come for the encampment’s protection. Inside, a variety of mixed expressions filled the faces of the people, most of which were clearly anxious about the incoming battle. There were those who were excited, which is a rarity amongst the general population, who Reghan knew he could count on.
The past few days had been hectic, to say the least. The reinforcements on the walls had taken so much more effort than he initially planned for. Even so, he found the time to go outside and gain more experience from the higher-leveled wolves further out into the forest, gaining 2 more levels in the span of 2 days. Now, He is level 12, a few levels above the others, with the [Natural recovery] talent to boot. Regaining 1% of health passively is an insane boon, an advantage that almost covered the need of consuming potions, as long as he is playing it safe.
Amongst the hundreds of fearful people, Reghan assigned those who stood out from the rest to the vanguard role. They will defend the initial wave from the outside and survey how the initial attack was, hopefully clearing them in the process. Naturally, Reghan will be the leader of this elite group of people.
He wasn’t a fan of the mystery that shrouded the level-up system. Until now, nobody truly understood how to level up. Sure, fighting things was the only reliable method to achieve it, and generally speaking, one should only fight those who were at least the same or even better, higher level.
Of course, that was only a theory. The thing that introduced Reghan to this world told him that the system rewards effort and merits the most. That only those who faced danger were worthy of the system’s gifts and power.
From that conjecture, Reghan decided that the vanguard unit shouldn’t deal with the lower leveled enemies. Since there’s a solid chance the kills will net no levels ups for the higher leveled ones, those should be handed over to those who needed them instead.
And thus, the second unit, called the defense squad, was formed. It was filled with those who had the knack of fighting but could not gain enough levels to fill the vanguard squad. If the initial wave of wolves proved to be too easy to deal with, he’d let the defense squad clear them instead.
Sure, it was a risky plan. There’s a possibility that they might screw up. In that case, the Vanguard had to replace their spot and forgo the idea of sharing levels.
[Task #2 - updated : Defend the gate. The wolf mother is planning to destroy the gate. A wave of enemies will strike the gate in 00 : 30 :41. Waves cleared (0/3).]
[Upon succession of the defense, rewards will be distributed to each participating member, based on their merits. A colony chest will also be distributed, providing ample rewards for everyone.]
30 more minutes.
Clearing his throat, Reghan began his speech.
“Everyone! I applaud the lengths of the effort we’ve gone through to build what we had today!”
The large group of people snapped awake, listening intently.
Far, far away from the center of the encampment, Richard stood still at the outside of the gate. Anxiety clear from his pale face, he gripped his giant sword tightly as he struggled to calm himself.
This will be his first time fighting without the direct support of his other party members.
“Haaa…”, exhaling his tension away, Richard reminisced about the first few days he was stuck in this… terrifying world. Despite his gigantic figure, he was soft-hearted and wasn’t prone to violence. Everyone always assumed otherwise, and now, he finally had to step up and be a better contributor to his group with well, violence.
Admittedly, he was scared stiff when he stepped foot into this world. Who wouldn’t? There’s a part of him that desperately wanted safety by gaining more levels, and he’d let his greed show in the initial few fights against the wolves when he teamed up with Julie. Things got better since then, but…
Then the Elite bear showed up.
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For a while, Richard had thought that he’d grown to be more courageous. But that single encounter nearly brought him down to his knees.
He face-palmed when he pictured the time that encounter happened. Never has he cowered behind a woman who was a few times smaller than he is. The expression and sheer disgust on Amanda’s and Julie’s faces then were solidly ingrained into his memory. And yet, by some miracle, they remained as a party. Perhaps those two ladies were more forgiving that he thought, or perhaps there were simply no other better options out there.
Richard vowed to never fear again. And so does Karl, even if he doesn’t show it.
[Task #2 - updated : Defend the gate. The wolf mother is planning to destroy the gate. A wave of enemies will strike the gate in: 00 : 10 :02. Waves cleared (0/3).]
“10 more minutes.”, The man beside him said, waking Richard from his thoughts.
The vanguard squad was filled with people who were above level 8. That naturally meant that Richard and his party were relegated to this role, and he will do anything to show that he was indeed worthy of being here. Looking around, he tried to spot his other party members, but the darkness of the night made that an arduous task.
Since Julie and Karl fought with range, they should be assigned to the back line. Amanda was an anomaly, opting to hide somewhere between the lines, striking when it was the right time to show herself.
Lifting his sword and resting it on the floor, Richard closed his eyes, praying for everyone’s safety. Wolves aren’t necessarily a threat to them, with all the experience from the fights before, but there’s a sense of apprehension that was visible from everyone’s tense stature, despite their best efforts to hide it.
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Death. What does it mean?
Without life, there will be no death. Without death, what was the purpose of life?
An affinity was the system’s way of measuring one’s connection to the elements. Yet somehow, the system considered death as an affinity. Does that mean Death itself was an element? Or was my understanding of elements flawed?
That question remained in my head as I drifted between consciousness. I perceived I was floating in a sea of nothingness, with no horizon in sight. No, it was more like there was nothing to be seen in the first place.
I was stuck here, relishing in the sweetest scent that I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.
It was hypnotizing. It was comforting. It was… peaceful.
Is that… how death felt?
“You again…” A sudden booming voice erupted in the scene. Shaking the entire nothingness around me. That’s strange. How can nothingness be shaken?
“I see… you’ve found my beacon, and you remained alive.” It spoke, somewhat amused by my appearance. “So I was right. You are tainted with death. And judging by your smell… You’re not the usual kind too.”
I remembered this voice… It was… Ezekiel. The deity of shadows and death, as described by the system. This is the second time I’ve met it, but I don’t even know what it looked like.
All I know is that this… thing is bad news.
“Still alive… but only barely.” A slight curiosity escaped its… Lips? Does it even have one? “What a fool to have touched those that weren’t meant to be touched. Or, perhaps, you have succumbed to its temptation?”
Despite my best efforts to speak, the fact that I had no mouth made it an impossible effort. Speaking of which, the body that I was born with wasn’t present either. In a way, I wasn’t really here, physically speaking.
“The system seemed to deem you to be aligned with my realm. But ultimately, that’s not for the system to decide. And again…”, a momentary pause silenced the scene. “I’m not interested in the system’s games.”
“If you truly are worthy, you will gain the connection to my realm one way or another, regardless of my blessings. Then we will speak once more.”
A rush of wind rushed past me, clearing the haze of darkness bit by bit. I witnessed the color that was drained from the outside world returning, gradually repainting the image of where I lay still.
The… dungeon. Right… I was… here.
My body refused to listen to my command, even after I had regained full vision of my surroundings. How long did I go under? What about the defense? Do they need my help?
Then, slowly, I felt the air and the smell around me moving about. It was during that time that I could force myself to move a tiny portion of my body. The herculean effort I put forth only resulted in my fingers and toes wiggling.
Gradually, my strength returned. It was like I was slowly pumped up with life, regaining most of the use of my limbs as I groaned, desperate to stay awake.
I felt like the last time I woke up was ages ago. All my bones and joints ached as they moved, but bit by bit, I rose from the floor with an ugly grunt, as ugly as how those zombies sounded.
I remember now. There was a system message before I lost my consciousness. I re-opened the system log, searching for the last passage it showed me while the stone knocked me out completely.
[You are now infected with Death poisoning. Once awake, you will lose 1% of health every 10 seconds. You will not regain health while you are infected.]