"The wheel of fate has begun and the ancient prophecy from a hundred thousand years ago is about to be realized," Roland said as he stared at the kneeling figure below the throne
'Prophecy? Is it about the appearance of players?' Queen thought.
Everlasting World's background lore was vaguely explained by the Destiny Group, leaving the billion-wide player-base of the game in obscurity.
Even someone like her, who had an exalted status in the real world, barely had a hint of information about the game.
"Heaven-blessed individual. Human with an immortal soul. What is the purpose of your visit to my kingdom?" the King's deep voice rang out within the entire Keep despite him withholding his aura and power.
Queen looked up and replied.
"Your Majesty, I and my comrades wish to establish a Guild in your illustrious kingdom, please grant us the permission to a garrison in EverGuard."
"A Guild? Consisting of similar heaven-blessed individuals such as you?" the King asked.
Although she didn't know why she and the other players were being called 'heaven-blessed individuals', she nonetheless played along.
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Roland became silent for a few moments before saying.
"EverGuard is considered to be the frontline guardian of humanity against the world's myriad hostile creatures," he said. "By establishing a force and forming a connection with the kingdom, you will be subjected to do tasks that will benefit the greater interests of both EverGuard and the human race."
Queen nodded her head. "That is naturally so, Your Majesty."
"Good." the King smiled. "However, you must know that the forces of EverGuard are of the peak of this world. To complete the establishment of your guild, you must prove your strength."
At that moment, a system prompt appeared in Queen's eyes.
[The quest 'Founding a Guild' has been generated.]
____________________
[Founding a Guild]
Difficulty: ??? [1]
You wish to establish a guild in the EverGuard Kingdom, which stands at the pinnacle of the world. However, to do this, you must first prove your strength to the King.
There have been strange occurrences that have been happening in the Devilwood Forest. Demon Spawns, a type of monster born in Hell, are appearing at a rapid rate and have been killing warriors and merchants that passes through the forest.
Kill 100 Demon Spawns and find the reason for their rapid appearances.
Quest Clear Conditions:
1. Kill 100 Demon Spawns.
2. Find the source for their appearance.
Quest Clear Reward: Level +3. Guild Creation Order. Affinity with King Roland will open.
Failure Penalty: Lose the trust of King Roland.
____________________
"Head over to the Devilwood Forest, slay the Demon Spawns, and find out the truth regarding the arrival of the minions of the Great Demons," Roland said.
'A quest with an A-rated difficulty, it'll definitely be hard to finish.' Queen thought as she accepted the quest. 'Demon Spawns, I wonder how strong they are...'
*****
Meanwhile,
[You have reached Devilwood Forest.]
[As the first player to have discovered Devilwood Forest, you have earned World Reputation +500!]
[Experience points and Gold received increases by 20% for 3 days.]
[Warning! The recommended level for this map is Level 100!]
Ignoring the system's loud warning and the red-colored words that appeared in his eyes, Jaden stepped forward without hesitation.
As he passed by what seemed like a formless and colorless barrier, the world in his vision suddenly took a drastic turn.
In less than a second, he found himself in an eerily dark forest with trees as tall as 20 meters, towering up the sky.
The sky was dark and gloomy; faint rumbles of thunder could be heard from time to time.
The whole place was so quiet that one would probably hear a pin drop down the ground even from a hundred meters away.
'Hmm, this Level 100 map is connected right beside the previous map with the Skeleton Warriors... then doesn't that mean both maps are actually high-leveled ones?' he thought as he remembered the place where he first appeared.
When he logged in and was sent in that desolate wasteland littered with skeletal remains and countless bones, there were no system announcement that named the map.
As a result, he didn't know the minimum level required for the place, unlike now, when he was warned by the system about the Devilwood Forest.
"I wonder if I should've just stayed in that map and looked for stronger undead monsters," he whispered before shaking his head. "Ah, whatever. Abaddon will sweep through that place by himself."
'I hope.'
He then glanced at his status window.
____________________
[STATUS]
Name: Sky
Level: 15
Class: None
Health: 185/185 Mana: 70/70
• Strength: 103 • Vitality: 17
• Agility: 17 • Intelligence: 17
• Dexterity: 17 • Fortitude: 12
• Comprehension: 12
Stat points: 70
-----
Skills:
[Basic Sword Mastery] (Lv. 7)
[Skeleton Summoning] (Lv. 1)
[Chop] (Lv. 2)
____________________
After passing through the undead map which took him hours upon hours, Jaden encountered and slew a lot of Skeleton Warriors on the way.
This raised his level seven times, increasing his main stats by 7 points.
Even his Fortitude increased by 2 points after long hours of continuous walking, running, and fighting.
His Comprehension too also increased by 2 points after his Sword Mastery's level rose a few times.
Ignoring the rest of the skills, Jaden focused on the skill [Skeleton Summoning].
--------------------
[Skeleton Summoning] (Unique)
Lv. 1 (75%)
Speak the words "I Summon You From the Realm of the Dead, Skeleton!" to activate the skill.
• You can summon a 'Growth-type Skeleton' that will gain 5 stat points, which you can allocate, after every level-up.
• The skeleton will start off at Level 1.
• The summoned skeleton's basic stats are 1 Strength, 1 Vitality, 1 Agility, and 1 Intelligence.
• Equipment can be worn.
Skill Duration: Until the summoned skeletons are recalled or destroyed.
Skill Usage cost: 50% of current health.
Cooldown: None
--------------------
Although Jaden didn't know how Abaddon was faring right now, all by himself, at least he knew that the little skeleton hasn't died yet since he didn't receive any system message about it.
"Just leaving Abaddon summoned increases the proficiency of the skill. I wonder what will happen when this skill levels up to Lv. 2."
Jaden couldn't help but look forward to the skill leveling up.
Shifting his attention to his free stat points, he became silent.
'The monsters in this area will definitely be stronger than those rigid Skeleton Warriors. My level is definitely too low to even try to grind in this place.' he thought as the red-colored Warning kept flashing on the corner of his retina.
'I guess I need to start adding points into Agility, since this body wouldn't be able to keep up with my reaction speed and reflexes.'
Evading those monsters attacks would probably be impossible if I only keep adding points into strength...
Since after all, their stats would be way higher than mine.
For a while, Jaden contemplated how he would go about adding the stat points.
After a while—
"Add 35 points into Agility."
[Ding! Agility has increased by 35 points.]
'Let's save the rest. I'll need to see how fast and strong the monsters here are first. If this body can't keep up with me then I'll add the rest of the points in Agility mid-fight.' he said in his heart.
At that moment—
Just as Jaden finished allocating his stat points, a figure appeared.
*Growl*
It's two large diluted eyes viewed its surrounding from their sockets as a sharp nose rested below alongside its big underbite mouth that took one's attention. Razor-sharp teeth that could bite through metal could be seen followed by a forked tongue that displayed menacingly.
It had a tall explosive build with two scaly black arms dangling on both its sides that ended with broad hands and incredibly long and sharp nails. A horn sprouted from its forehead which glowed with a powerful aura, indicating its strength.
Right then, the demon's attention shifted onto the lone human figure that was Jaden.
Jaden's eyes narrowed.
--------------------
[Demon Spawn]
Race: Demon
Level: 110
Health: 124,000
--------------------
*GROWL*
As if it found a prey, the Demon Spawn ran towards Jaden with impeccable speed, crossing a distance of dozens of meters in but a few seconds.
Feeling the trembling ground and the terrifying aura that exuded from the rushing demon, Jaden's blood boiled with excitement as a wicked grin crept up at the corner of his lips.
An impossible fight was ahead.
'Add all stat points into Agility!'