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All around the world, word of the first Legendary item to be found spread.
In this super-connected world, information can travel really fast for those that actually need it.
Pretty much all players that weren't currently occupied learned, and even those would eventually learn.
Be it in Japan, Korea, Russia, England, Chile… Every player of Azimuth was bound to know.
The first Legendary Item, wielded by an NPC in the Southernmost village of the Continent…
The hardest place for any players where only those that wish to have an unpleasant experience or are sick in the head would go…
At least, this is what most think, yet, for the stronger Clans and gaming Groups, they could manage its difficulty just fine…
Many players wanted to visit this place for their own reasons, but most still chose to remain where they were, even if they wanted to they couldn't travel all the way South...
Because with the spread of the notoriety of the Sword, so did the fame of the Village.
It was impossible to learn one without hearing something about the other.
And after doing so, no one in sane conscience would choose to go there when there were so many other places to choose from…
Especially the players who aimed to become competitive... To become Pros...
Why waste your time there when there are so many better places? Potential? That only matters in the long run...
And when that time comes, they, those that choose to grow outside will be ready to move there and enjoy the benefits...
But not everyone was so calculative... Some did not even think at all...
There were even some complaints sent to Elden Throne, the game company that made Azimuth.
Why? Because some of the players who choose that area simply couldn't Level up, being trapped and forced to dig sand for 2 days…
In short, they weren't having fun.
How was this the open world they were promised?
If they choose Hardcore and died it was over?! How was this possible or even allowed in an MMO?!
If they wanted to restart somewhere else, they would also need a new account…
And a new game account was pretty expensive!
For the more ridiculous and stupid these people sounded, they were simply the result of modernity, they were inevitable, these types of people exist since the rise of social media back in the late 2010s.
Of course, those people were quickly shot down by the community and the company in itself, there were enough warnings in place already.
However, with their understanding of the market, Elden Throne was quick to act as they added new warning messages to both the Gameplay mode section and the Spawn point section.
Both of these forced the players to sign an agreement contract that forbids them from complaining in case they choose either Hardcore or Resko as their spawn point.
At least, as long as their complaint was related to those subjects...
The details are long and excruciating to talk about, but at the end of it all, it only contributed to decreasing the number of players spawning in Resko…
But with the hundreds of thousands of players joining Azimuth every hour, a small percentage was bound to migrate there.
Either by feeling they could take a challenge or by simply being unaware of how stupid their decisions are…
There will always be a grandma or dad that doesn't know what they're doing… Or perhaps that young kid that simply smiles at everything, having fun for even the strangest of reasons...
But all of this was unimportant to Dale, who after several long hours working in the middle of the night, had finally sorted through all of the books with old man Testros!
…
"Phew… We're finally done." Dale said with a small smile
His room wasn't filled with books anymore, and apart from a small pile on top of his table, all other books were stored within his inventory, which was now akin to a library…
"Indeed, we separated all of the Documents from historic books, and other miscellaneous books, leaving behind only the most important ones." Testros said with a nod as he looked at the table
After a long night of heavy work, they sorted through the books, choosing only the most necessary books.
Reading through all of the books would probably take years for a single person, so they couldn't afford that.
What were the contents of those books?
Books with information about the environment.
Books with information on monsters, be it the natural inhabitants of the forest or beyond them all, including ways to deal with them and how to use their materials.
Books from all professions… Alchemy, tailoring, smithing, and even some more mystical subjects like Runecraft, the art of imbuing magic into objects via special traces called Runes, and all sorts of 'Mancy'…
Pyromancy... Cryomancy... You got the drill.
And even books about the history and layout of Resko, who knows what they can find there? Going by official records would be much more time efficient than digging in blindly…
But for both Dale and Testros, the most important weren't those books, but the Techniques and training manuals used by the Corps to train their soldiers.
...
/Change of POV/
As he held the Manuals in his hands, Testros couldn't help but feel unending excitement.
How many years had he been waiting for this? How many thousands of times had he repeated the basic training method he learned on the Wall?
He knew everything about the basics, so much so that he developed his own combat style based on the faint memories he had of his superiors fighting.
And today he would learn exactly where all of that led to, the true face of the Southern Corps!
His heart beated fast in excitement, something he hadn't felt in a long while…
Now that he thought about it, today was quite an exciting day… All thanks to that little boy over there…
"..."
He seemed rather ordinary, apart from the fact he was quite buff for a young adult, the boy kept surprising him, someone over 100 years old…
From the bottom of his heart, he thanked him…
…
/POV change/
[DING]
"Hm?"
Dale's actions were interrupted by the notification from the game, it was so sudden he almost dropped the Skill book in his hand…
[Your actions have inspired a Key member of Resko's questline]
[Testros Reputation + 2 Full Levels]
[You're currently seen by him as Family]
[His respect for you has reached a new height, and unless something truly unpredictable happens, it'll never go down from this value]
[DING]
[A new event has been triggered, Past Glory]
Once again, those words…
As he read them, time seemed to slow down around Dale, making him very uncomfortable, especially this time.
He was very tired mentally, and right now, he felt as if his mind had been shoved under the scorching sun…
'Urg my head… Dammit…'
[Thanks to your actions in recovering a great deal of knowledge locked away in a forgotten place, the future prospect of Resko has risen greatly!]
[This information will greatly aid Resko in recovering its past glory]
[The Inner Potential of every native within Resko has increased greatly]
[Resko Reputation + 30 = 197]
'Still no change?... So close…'
'Will something change if I reach 200?'
{Ju-Arkesios praises your actions}
[The God of Prosperity and Harmony has used a portion of his powers to bless Resko]
[All Villagers will now experience enhanced growth for the next 2 weeks]
{####}
{Adjusting… New Parameters have been set}
Dale suddenly felt a bit more refreshed…
His mental pain greatly decreased, and he even felt a bit more light… It could also be an illusion caused by stress…
But that was far from the end…
[You've been given a choice]
'What?! Where did that come from?!'
[Intensive Training, Moderate Training, Weak Training]
[Thanks to the influx of information, Resko will soon start to flip a new page in its story]
[However, no matter what, there are still many things that need to be done despite that, not all have time to keep training and improving themselves]
[Thanks to the Blessing of their Patron God, it's time to work harder!… Or is it?]
[Intensive Training-> The villagers of Resko will fully focus on absorbing the information within the books and integrating its contents into their daily lives.
Due to this, the Crops and farm animals will be thoroughly neglected throughout the next 2 weeks, greatly increasing the chances of something bad happening to them.
Thanks to their focus, training and study efficiency will increase Massively.
There's a much higher chance of them finding a new advanced vocation.
There's a minuscule chance of them achieving something greater.
]
[Moderate Training-> The villagers of Resko will divide their attention between absorbing the information within the books, integrating its contents into their daily lives…
And taking care of their lifeblood, the crops, and farm animals, greatly decreasing the chances of anything bad happening.
Due to their divided attention, training and study efficiency will remain normal.
There's a slim chance of them finding a new advanced vocation.
There's a minuscule chance of them not improving at all due to the divided attention.
]
[Weak Training-> The villagers of Resko will focus on taking care of their farms and animals, continuing with their lives as per normal, only reading and training in their free time.
Apart from a select few whose day-to-day life included training, most won't bother to train and add more hardships to their already tasking life.
Due to their lack of routine and motivation, training and study efficiency will drastically decrease.
There's almost no chance of them finding a new advanced vocation.
There's a high chance of them not improving at all due to the divided attention.
]
"..."
'What now?...'
Once again, it was time for Dale to choose.
Potential versus Survival, what was he going to choose?
The lives of many within the palm of his hands…
…
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Notes