-Three Years Post Saturation Completion CONT.-
If you would have been earning 5% XP at Level 10 *The Cap for Alpha*, per kill, it was drastically reduced down to 0.5% upon becoming a Beta Ranker.
A lot of theories began flying around online about why things were panning out the way they were, and eventually, a single theory came to be accepted as the main reason.
The planet's Grade. Since the central particle abundance on Earth is only at Alpha Rank, theoretically, the existence of Beta particles shouldn't be possible.
This theory later became fact as the Pro-Rankers came out and clarified that their power was forcefully locked at the peak of Alpha Rank upon exiting Instances.
The Beta-Rankers would constantly complain about feeling more tired and physically exhausted when back on Earth. In contrast, they would feel supercharged within Instances, leading Scientists and Conspiracy theorists alike to infer that within Instances existed the presence of other Particle Types.
Since this discovery was made back in 2031, it had been a topic of heavy debate until February 22nd, 2032, when theory became fact in the form of a single notification from Arkadia.
[It has been determined that the bare minimum of 0.5% of the Earth's population has reached the maximum potential of Alpha Grade; the target goal has been reached:
[Prepare for Beta Particle Adaptation and Increase.]
[Be advised, as the Particle Saturation is being processed, random Permanent Instance Dungeons will spawn.]
[These Perm-Instances will appear at random locations, which can be anywhere in the world and will not disappear upon being cleared.]
[These Instance's are an integral part of the Particle Increase and act as a filtration to raise the Naturally occurring Particles on Earth.]
[Earth Particle Saturation Progress: Alpha (Complete), Beta (1%)]
Collectively, the entire planet held its breath when the notification appeared. Some people wore sadistic grins, others were filled with fear, and then there were the crazies…like Brenden, who were hyped as hell to have a new challenge to face.
As for my reaction…well, I was furious; my rage knew no bounds because I knew what was coming next. The appearance of Permanent Instance Dungeons could only mean one thing: abundant resources.
And as the lowest rung on the latter, I didn't doubt it would be my dumb ass in there mining or grinding for resources like a gold-farming bot in a videogame.
The worst part is that's precisely what happened. Two months later, when the saturation reached 10%, *Yep, It's A LOT slower,* the first batch of Perm-Instances appeared.
And it wasn't just one either; more than 30 popped up seemingly overnight all over the world, and as luck would have it, one opened up SMACK DAB in the center of downtown Atlanta, 30 minutes from where we live.
Chaos doesn't even describe the destruction the sudden appearance caused. The formation of a Perm-Instance was Cataclysmic. The ground split open, swallowing entire buildings; Lightning Struck tens of thousands of times a minute, gale-force winds swept through the city of Atlanta, and there were even reports of Fire Tornados spawning.
That wasn't even the end of the event either, since once the dungeon was formed, it looked like a miniature mountain with a large, glowing door at the base of the mini-mountain.
It was only when this door boomed loudly hundreds of times a second that the absolute terror began.
After swinging open with enough force to level everything for a mile around the construct, thousands of monsters poured out, each at the bare minimum being at Low-Alpha rank.
Because Vesaragon was primarily based in Atlanta, all of us heroes were activated and sent to the front lines to fight. That was one of the worst days humanity had seen at the time.
Mainly due to the emergence of Beta-Rank monsters and the fact that it was also the day we realized our modern weapons wouldn't work against higher lifeforms.
That day, April 22nd, 2032, was the day hundreds of guilds were wiped off the plant, and it wasn't just the United States facing this problem; it was happening all over the world.
The USA alone had a total of 19 Perm-Instances appear within a week, and with them came the loss of life for millions of innocent people, along with hundreds of thousands of heroes.
It took months to gain control over the situation, and when the battles were over, the Perm-Instance was considered cleared for the first time, and we found out that the gates were forever open.
Seeing this as a massive opportunity, the USA-HA relegated control over specific dungeons to high-ranking guilds, and our Vesaragon Guild was one such guild.
Forts were built circularly, enclosing the Perm-Instance in giant steel walls that climbed over a hundred feet toward the sky, creating a disturbing image of a mountain within a skyscraper.
That was how my life as a low-ranking Gold Farming bot began; day after day, I was sent into the Instance to mine rare Particle ore, collect herbs, gather sparse resources, and kill Low-level monsters to harvest.
-Five Years Post Saturation Completion.-
It had been five years since the first batch of Perm-Instances appeared, and in that time, Earth had undergone not one but two particle saturations, leaving the planet as a newly minted Gamma-Grade Planet.
Along with the upgrade, two new Arkadia Shops were unlocked, bringing with them two new, larger forms of currency, Beta and Gamma Coins.
The items in each new shop could only be purchased with said corresponding currency, and like usual, the rich Rankers were the first to buy up the limited items.
However, none of that mattered to me anymore…
In fact, not much mattered to me anymore…
If it wasn't bad enough that for the last three years, I had been subjected to never-ending physical and mental abuse, severely poor working conditions, and multiple mental breakdowns, my family was no longer whole.
July 4th, 2034…that is a day that is forever imprinted in my mind.
It was the day that my Father, Lawrence Garret Jörgensen; my Sister, Annie Henderson; my Nieces, Amiee Henderson and Rebecca Henderson; my Older Brother, Reily Aaron Jörgensen, my last Niece, who shared the same name as my sister-in-law, "Little" Emilia Jörgensen…were all murdered.