I look at the mission numbers in awe, never thinking I could advance so quickly.
'It's a miracle that my shadow soldiers could do this...it's unbelievable!' I look at each of my shadow soldiers, suddenly remembering that their levels were based off of their previous class. Sadly, you cannot advance their class which I concluded after many tests, basically throwing one into a pit of monsters, but that issue can be fixed with their sheer numbers.
I close the window as I open the other mission, the reward confusing me for a few moments before a realization washes over me. 'This is an upgrade to my parasitic form!'
I inwardly jump for joy as I imagine what will happen...but then something else catches my eye. I look over at a piece of black armor plate, its red hot glow a slowly fading memory. From the piece of plating slowly rises a wisp of smoke, a flake of shadow.
My eyes go wide as I hurriedly run over and pick it up. 'Inspect!'
*Ping!*
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An armored piece of the Alpha Pillar, highly resistant to hot temperatures. Resurrection is possible.
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A grin forms on my face as I flip around the material, a shout of excitement escaping my throat, "Finally!"
I snap the small piece of shattered armor in half as I store the other piece, 'If I can decipher the carapace's composition, I can use this to create armor to let me enter that hellish landscape!' I came to this excited conclusion after seeing the armor able to become red hot and still able to withstand explosions, which means it could definitely work in that hellish world. Plus, it won't require as much power as The Reaper mech.
I calm myself as I place the piece of black armor on the grass, painted orange and fluorescent green from the blood of the Pillars. I hold out my hand as I speak, my demonic voice echoing in the plains, "Arise."
Ping!
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"Resurrection failed."
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I shake my head as I clench my fist, steeling my will even further. A slimmer of anger rises in my voice as I say, "Arise."
Ping!
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"Resurrection failed."
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I clench my fists as a shattering sound echoes from my palms, shards of purple fall to the ground. I yell in full force, every piece of my will within me released in one intense yell.
"Arise!"
Ping!
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"Resurrection of level 6 shadow soldier successful!"
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A harsh shriek echoes around us as the temperature plummets, wind beginning to roar with life. Seconds later, a large figure erupts from the ground, black mist trailing behind them like a contrail.
It lands on the ground, white fire engulfing it's figure in a blinding blaze. I look away from the flames as they immediately begin to die down. I wait a few moments before turning back towards the figure, a look of shock appearing on my face.
The Alpha Pillar stands before me, its appearance having gone through an entire makeover. The skin is now obsidian black as white magma like cracks cover the surface. The once black eyes and legs are now pure white in color, their hard carapace even tougher. It has grown from 7 meters to 10 and has purple plates covering it's spine, a calm white glow burning underneath.
I smile as I immediately know what to name him, "Your name is Yogan. And I already have a mission for you."
It silently watches, waiting for me to continue. I recall all of my other shadow soldiers as I point towards the woods, "Hunt me an A class mana bear."
It doesn't hesitate for a moments as it burrows into the ground, silently disappearing from view. I walk over to one of the regular pillars as I search through the corpses, but no shadow like wisps float from the remains of any of them. Only organs and mana cores. Speaking of...
I hold out my hand, "Arise."
I summon all of my humanoid soldiers as I tell them, "Gather any mana cores you can find in these Pillars and place them where I am currently standing."
They immediately get to work, as they grab any mana cores they can find, even broken ones and immediately begin placing them at my feet. I smile as I walk over to the corpse of the Alpha Pillar, beginning to carefully search its body.
Collecting this many cores is a difficult task even for a group of veteran adventurers, After searching for several minutes, I finally find it. In my hand is a red crystal ball, orange patterns twisting and turning within, like a flame.
I smile creepily before waving my hand, causing the Alpha Pillar Core to disappear into my blue storage ring. I turn around and stare wide eyed as I see hundreds of cores already stacked in a pyramid.
"..."
"Fuck."
I sigh as the joy I felt moments ago diminishes when I realize that I am going to have to sit here and store each one. I sit down, beginning to store each one. As time passes, the pyramid seems to never end, but seeing how I spent hours making swords, this is nothing. After about 20 minutes, I see a disturbance in the bushes in front of me, but I don't worry.
A few moments later, Yogan appears from the bushes, a bear corpse being dragged behind him.
In my ears, I hear a Ping!
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"New Quest."
"The Hunt."
"You may have proved your strength, but strength is useless if you don't have trust in some people, then what is the point? Help gain it by giving them a meal worthy of royalty."
Goal: Hunt an A class Mana Bear
Reward: Title: Hunter
Completed
Click to redeem reward(s)
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I smile as I accept the mission, happy to see a change in pace from the constant storing. I open my titles list and a large group of names pop up in a neat row. I read over them again and again before signing and closing the menu.
'Do these things even have any effects? If so, they don't show in this damn interface.'