The latter half of the dynamic storyline quest, which involved escorting the Camore civilians back to Exile Town, was released. As soon as this long-duration task was announced, players, who were busy farming monsters in the swamp, collecting materials in the area, or engaging in heated PK battles over the ownership of monster slaying rights, immediately ceased their activities and hurriedly returned to the base to gather.
It was close to noon in the game, but back on Earth, it was only six in the morning. This was a lull online period, and many players had just logged out after an all-nighter, while day players hadn't even logged in yet.
Therefore, the Holy Legion soldiers, who had packed their stuff and arrived early outside the base, were surprised to find that the number of undead was less than half of what it had been the previous day.
Andres, riding his steed, couldn't help but observe the bustling undead about the platform in the center of the base. He turned to Lowell and whispered, "It seems that their numbers have decreased significantly from fighting monsters."
Lowell nodded in agreement.
Skeletons were the weakest among undead creatures, and they could be eradicated completely by either destroying them or using the banishment spell to send them back to the Dimensional Realm.
Monsters in Taranthan had multiplied for over a thousand years, and powerful demonized creatures were everywhere. The fragile skeletons, despite being united and intelligent, would undoubtedly suffer heavy casualties while fighting these monsters.
Andres sighed and glanced back at the noisy undead with a complex look on his face.
A void incursion caused by an unstable spatial rift was a calamity second only to the resurgence of elder gods.
No one could predict what an unstable spatial rift appearing randomly in a certain location would bring—it could range from the diffusion of demonic energy corrupting the land and contaminating creatures to an invasion of void demons sacking villages and turning fertile land into desolate wastelands.
Taranthan was an area heavily affected by unstable spatial rifts. Although no void demons had invaded yet, the roaming monsters were enough to turn this vast land into an inhabitable zone for human life.
Having witnessed the undead's brave (or foolhardy) way of clearing monsters, with no cost too great, and a willingness for sacrifice, Andres, who had a strong aversion to the undead as low-level creatures of the Dimension Realm, couldn't help but respect their actions.
While these complex thoughts were running through Andres's mind, he suddenly saw… an undead walking to the center of the platform and standing still for a moment before slowly sinking into the ground.
Andres: "??"
Lowell who had an equally keen eye: "??"
Other soldiers of the Holy Legion: "??"
"I-is that… undead voluntarily choosing to return to the Dimensional Realm?" Andres gasped in shock.
When undead creatures were banished by a spell or when the summoning contract with a black mage was released, either voluntarily or involuntarily, they would return to the Dimensional Realm by sinking into the ground like this.
This puzzled Andres greatly. Black Mage Yang was standing pompously where the civilians were and directing the private thugs to load up the carts. How could these undead manage to release the summoning contract on their own?!
—Interpreting the process of players logging in as a summoning contract wasn't entirely wrong; it was just that this kind of contract lacked enforcement, and either party could unilaterally pause, terminate, or end the contract whenever they wanted…
As the Holy Legion soldiers watched in astonishment, more than a dozen undead walked to the platform and sank into the ground in the short span of a few minutes.
Other undead paid no attention to their comrades "returning," and they continued their own business noisily, whether in groups or pairs.
Andres: "…"
This "young" holy knight that had lived for more than a century clutched his head in torment.
I don't understand! I really don't understand at all!
These undead, who could communicate using a structured language and understand teamwork, had apparently entered into some kind of summoning contract with Black Mage Yang… but he couldn't even begin to fathom what sort of contract it could be!
Andres felt a sharp pain in his head as muffled, incomprehensible noises rang in his ears, which sounded close yet distant at the same time…
"Stop, Andres."
Andres's entire body was shaking, and he realized that he was drenched in a cold sweat.
"I-I… My apologies, I lost myself." Andres wiped off his cold sweat and lowered his head in shame.
"Don't dwell on things that you don't have to understand." Lowell noticed his subordinate's anomaly and advised solemnly, "No one can know everything, so don't question yourself over things that you can't know."
"Yes," croaked Andres hoarsely.
Lowell shook his head slightly as he shifted his gaze away from Andres to the unruly undead, brows furrowed.
Even though he had reprimanded Andres, Lowell himself was even more curious about these undead than his subordinate.
Andres was already one of the more experienced veterans in the Holy Legion cavalry, and even he had been so easily shaken. This left Lowell rather concerned… Perhaps agreeing to Yang's invitation wasn't such a good idea.
"Quick, look over there!" At that moment, a soldier frightfully pointed somewhere and called out to the others.
Lowell was slightly ticked off and was about to reprimand the soldier for his lack of military decorum when he caught sight of what the soldier was pointing at from the corner of his eye… Then, he froze.
The Holy Legion soldiers were waiting on an open ground outside the undead base. Since the base was still under construction and still mostly barren land, they could easily see the area unobstructed by tents.
Above the heads of the noisy chattering undead, the soldiers witnessed skeletons emerging from the platform where several of the undead had "returned" earlier…
Holy Legion soldiers: "??"
Horror crept into Lowell's face as he quickly turned his head to find the black mage.
Yang Qiu, who was directing the private thugs, didn't look this way at all.
Lowell: "…"
The black-robed inspector returned his attention to the earthen platform.
The skeletons that "floated" out of the platform would then walk down from it. However, it didn't stop there. More and more skeletons continued to appear!
Batch after batch, after batch…
In less than 30 minutes, the skeletons appearing on the platform had doubled, and the total number of undead had returned to as it had been the previous day—no, Lowell realized that there were seemingly even more undead now!
Lowell: "…"
Still with his expression of shock, Lowell stiffly turned away.
His trusted subordinate, Jorges Andres, turned pale and was clutching his head in both hands.
"Calm down, Andres!"
Lowell quickly cast a calming prayer on Andres and immediately led his unit to a place far enough from the base, where they couldn't see the undead…
Another half hour later.
"Thanks for waiting. We can set off now," Yang Qiu, atop an undead horse that wasn't too fancy, came by leisurely and notified the Holy Legion unit. "The undead convoy will set off ahead, while you guys are invited to accompany me."
"Alright." Lowell's reply was raspy, then he realized something wasn't right. "Huh? Convoy?"
"That's right." Yang Qiu steered his mount and gestured for them to follow.
With Yang Qiu in the lead, Lowell and his unit left their temporary resting spot. And then, the eyes of every one of them widened in shock when they saw the undead convoy…
Lowell's refined, handsome face transformed once more into an incredulous one.
The convoy was made up of over thirty three-wheeled metal carts, each operated by small teams of undead in a grand procession heading toward the east.
The undead pedaling the tricycles pulled along more than a hundred trembling civilian women, together with their simple luggage and provisions for the journey. Their laughter and cheers could be faintly heard even from several hundred meters away.
Lowell: "…"
The black-robed inspector quietly cast a calming prayer on himself as well.
Within less than ten minutes following the undead convoy… the soldiers of the Holy Legion had their worldview shattered—
Some of the undead who were running alongside the carts climbed into the cargo space of the tricycle carts, and after exchanging some words with their companions, they "collapsed" into a heap of bones.
These undead companions then nonchalantly used some sort of cloth to wrap up the "remains" along with the equipment and neatly organized them, all while continuing to chatter as they ran alongside the carts…
After a moment of silence, Black-robed Inspector Lowell had no choice but to cast calming prayers on all the members of his unit.
Level 1 players could use the teleport function at the respawn point to travel between Desolate Outpost and Exile Town every half an hour. Players that had yet to reach level 1, though, couldn't use this function yet.
This "level discrimination" setting would have been heavily criticized by players a week ago when the majority of players had Potential values ranging in the 40s. The teleport function set to 50 Potential value would have been met with strong objections.
But at present, there weren't many players complaining.
Even if some players hadn't reached the required Potential value, after the dynamic storyline quest of two days and numerous elite monster hunts, their Potential had increased.
And even if their Potential hadn't reached 50 and they were unable to use the teleport function, as long as these players participated in the dynamic quests, they wouldn't miss out on the storyline.
As for those who didn't have time to do the long-duration quest or players that didn't have friends to help carry their "bones," they could only sit in Exile Town in envy, listening to others discuss the layout of Desolate Outpost and watching others teleport to do the long-duration quest.
"It's too difficult. This game is just too difficult." Teacher Yu Chi, who was on sick leave at home due to a bad cold and rarely had the chance to log in on workdays, sighed. Right now, she was camping at the Master Gatherer lifestyle class instructor, grinding boring manual labor quests.
Those who could use the teleportation array to follow the main player force had already gone over to do the dynamic quest. It was currently the peak online period, and the entire Exile Town was deserted. Even the Master Gatherer's site which was usually the most lively only had a few stragglers.
"Teacher, did you want to do the long-duration quest too? Why didn't you ask someone to bring your character along?" another casual player grinding manual labor quests asked.
Teacher Yu Chi's ID was "Once You Teacher," which was an eccentric name because she hadn't known that the ID would only display up to three words. Anyway, due to her peculiar ID, even though Teacher Yu Chi was a casual player who didn't use up her daily online limit, many players still recognized her.
"I got a bad cold and was in the hospital getting an IV when the quest came out. Xiao Liu gave me a call, but I missed it," Teacher Yu Chi replied in frustration. "Had I known, I would have brought my helmet to the hospital; after all, it's not like I can't log in while having an IV."
"Yeah. Previously, when I stubbed my toe, the pain kept me awake all night. It only felt better after I logged into the game," said the other casual player. "This game is pretty amazing. It's even better than painkillers."
While they were chatting, two players in beginner gear passed by them. Upon hearing the conversation, one of them, with the ID "Master Liu," glanced their way.
"Hmm? I've never seen this ID before. A newbie?" Teacher Yu Chi also looked at the other two and used "Identify."
ID: Master Liu
Race: Undead
Level: 1
Potential: 82
"What the heck??" Teacher Yu Chi exclaimed.
Utterly bewildered, she then looked at the other new player that was walking away with Master Liu.
ID: Old Geng
Race: Undead
Level: 1
Potential: 98
"What the hell?!"
The other casual player didn't understand why Teacher Yu Chi had such a sudden strong reaction. "What's the matter? What's with the new players?"
Teacher Yu Chi pointed at the two new players that were walking away and croaked hoarsely, "Identify! Use Identify on them!"
The casual player nodded and used the skill…
"What the f*ck?! What's with that Potential value?! It's through the roof!"
"These damn developers! How can they give newcomers such a shortcut!"
"Rigged! I'm going to report this!"