Lux wiped sweat from her brow as she directed her team of Holy Light players through the ruins.
"Make sure to get the blood splatter on the eastern wall," she called out. "Nothing can remain untouched."
A player with shaky hands approached her. "Is this really necessary? The disease only affected goblins, right?"
Lux fixed him with a stern gaze. "We purify everything. No exceptions."
Across the plaza, members of the Lucky Stars Team grunted as they dragged goblin bodies toward a pit in the underground chamber.
"Watch the claws," Garble warned as he tipped another carcass into the growing pile. "Those things are still infectious even after death."
Meanwhile, ProGamer_Daddy crept carefully through the narrow corridors of the western ruins. The stone walls here felt different—drier, with strange symbols etched along their length. His torch illuminated a series of small chambers branching off from the main hallway.
"What the hell..." he muttered, stepping into the first room.
Shelves lined the walls, each holding rows of desiccated remains. Unlike the fresh corpses outside, these had been carefully preserved—skin pulled taut over bone, organs removed, bodies positioned with unsettling care. He moved his torch closer, examining the mummified figures.
Something caught his eye. He moved to the next chamber, then the next, counting under his breath. His face paled as the pattern became clear.
"Hey!" he shouted, his voice cracking. "Garble! You need to see this!"
When Garble arrived minutes later, ProGamer_Daddy pointed silently at the rows of preserved bodies.
They finally solved the mystery of the unequal gender ratio among the captives.
---
It was almost dawn by the time the sky lightened, and Alyanne had finally settled the last batch of captives.
The physical and mental states of the captives varied widely, leaving her with plenty of work ahead.
Yawning softly, she opened the door to the containment shelter and decided to head to the warehouse to find some food for the new "guests." However, upon reaching the newest warehouse, she was stunned by what she saw.
The warehouse, which had been empty the day before, was now packed to the brim with all sorts of supplies!
There were magical items of various grades, half-rotted farm tools, non-magical weapons of every kind, shriveled herbs and fruits... There were even several neatly stacked piles of intact stone bricks, their colors suggesting they'd been freshly pried from the walls of the ruins!
She rubbed her eyes.
"Am I sleep-deprived to the point of hallucinating?"
Just then, the carefree laughter of players shattered the warehouse's silence. One of the players, waiting inside on purpose, popped his head out from a pile of loot and flashed a wide grin.
"Good morning, Alyanne! Could you help us convert these supplies into magicoins?"
Alyanne's heart skipped a beat, and her head began to throb reflexively. It felt as though her energy was already depleted before the work had even begun.
"You all… How did you manage to transport so much stuff in just one morning?!"
And those stone bricks—what was the deal with those?!
She seriously suspected that if not for the fact that no grass grew in the giant pit, these players might have dug up the very ground to haul back.
Meanwhile, Viktor, having recovered from the aftereffects of overexertion, was busy tallying up the players' achievements.
As this was currently the only main quest, all 50 players—whether freshly respawned or still lingering in Honeyvale Town—had participated in the goblin eradication mission.
Among them: 4 players, having engaged too little with goblins, were defeated in close combat. 13 players died from explosions, collapses, or accidental friendly fire. 9 players perished at the hands of the terror beast. 5 players, gravely injured, opted to end their suffering themselves after the mission concluded.
Looking at the performance dashboard, he couldn't help but marvel, "As expected, overwhelming firepower beats all flashy tactics!"
The casualties were lower than during previous scouting missions.
Of course, the players' "revival cheat" also played a critical role.
The battlefield experience they accumulated remained the most practical and valuable learning they could gain. It was more than enough to deal with the goblins, whose combat effectiveness had already been reduced by 80% thanks to the players' antics.
For players who had gone above and beyond, he was generous with rewards.
Experience points, magicoins, even the previously scarce contribution points—everything was distributed in units of two digits!
To accommodate offline players, the reward announcements would also be synchronized to the forums.
The MVP of the entire main quest was, of course, the unlucky yet fortunate LootGoblin.
From providing crucial intelligence early on to sabotaging the ritual array and preventing the captives from being sacrificed, his contributions were enormous.
---
Congratulations to player LootGoblin for earning 345 (300+31+14) contribution points!
All excess points have been converted into magicoins at a 10:1 ratio.
Item Rewards: …
Additionally, initial favorability with residents of Honeyvale Town and the Pigeon Ruins has been permanently increased by 10 points!
---
Other players, such as FastingMidLane, also received their fair share of contribution points and other rewards.
Viktor didn't hold back at all with these prizes.
Aside from snatching two epic-grade magical items from the goblin warehouse along the way, he left all the remaining loot to the players—whether they chose to sell it back to the game's shop or keep it for themselves.
How to prevent in-game currency inflation was his concern. But for now, he just wanted the players to enjoy their victory to the fullest!
"Contribution points! Haha, I finally got some contribution points too!"
"Wow, LootGoblin's reward is so much higher than the second-place player's! Must've been some shady deal, huh?"
"If I hadn't called him out, he wouldn't have done squat!"
LootGoblin kicked CowardlySurvivor in the rear. "Get lost! Do you have any idea how painful it is to go half a month without saving progress?! These are my hard-earned rewards!"
Shoving his way past the crowd, he entered the warehouse, only to be dumbfounded.
"Wait, where's my mountain of gold?"
He had merely lingered at the giant pit for a bit. How had three whole warehouses been emptied by the players?!
Terrified, he closed the announcements, rolled up his sleeves, and plunged into a chaotic scuffle over the remaining loot...
Back at the pit, the ruins had long since turned to rubble.
The Lucky Stars Team, holding the packed teleportation array components, arrived at a flat open area on the edge. Nearby was the illusion array core that Viktor had repaired.
Now, another teleportation array was about to join it.
Hedgehog placed a dull, deep-purple gemstone onto the array.
A brief flash of white light—success!
"This stone is fading. Does it work like a battery? Does it need replacement when it's fully drained?"
"Who knows?" NeverShowOff wiped his sweat and stood up. "In any case, Viktor will figure it out. If he wants to include this place in his territory, he'll ensure the teleportation array works."
The distance between Honeyvale Town and the Pigeon Ruins was about an hour on foot. Along the way, random mobs would spawn with a tested death rate exceeding 20%.
A teleportation array was essential to connect the two locations.
Garble gazed down at the ruins below.
"But we're too short on manpower. We haven't even finished developing Honeyvale Town; there's no way to spare people for this mess here."
After sorting out the valuables from the ruins, convincing players to return would be even harder.
Hedgehog said, "But this could serve as a temporary base for exploring the Great Oak Forest!"
When they couldn't make it back to Honeyvale Town, at least they'd have a safe zone to spend the night.
"True." Garble nodded.
As someone who had actually survived two nights in the Great Oak Forest, he fully understood its value.
Lux arrived just in time to catch their last sentence.
"I've been looking all over for you guys!"
Lux hobbled over, leaning on a tree branch she somehow found.
"Thought you guys got logged out too!"
"We dodged a bullet by not heading to the plaza immediately to check the commotion."
Garble glanced at Lux's left leg.
"What happened to your foot?"
"Got ambushed by two goblins playing dead while I was clearing the battlefield."
Speaking of it, Lux looked exasperated. All the goblins were supposed to have been sacrificed. Yet, somehow, a few slipped through the cracks. She let her guard down and ended up as the only player injured post-battle.
The Holy Light players had used up all their mana, so now she had no choice but to limp around.
Lux shook her head.
"Let's not talk about that. What are you guys doing here? Why aren't you raiding the warehouse?"
Hedgehog chuckled.
"We've already been there!"
The first thing they did upon arriving was raid the goblin warehouse. Thanks to their connections with LootGoblin and NeverShowOff, they had a good grasp of the valuable items in the warehouse. Though most of it looked useful, only a few things were truly practical.
They just took a small portion of the essentials.
Thanks to the Cloth Cuckoo Workshop's output, the Lucky Stars Team had plenty of magicoins, to say the least!
Anything else they needed, they could just buy in the shop.
"What about you? Why didn't you go?" Garble asked.
"Had to clean up the mess. By the time I got there, the leftovers weren't worth scavenging."
Lux shrugged. She only picks the good stuff, unlike those players who take everything indiscriminately. When the others thought about her "heroic deeds," the three players let out a synchronized "tsk."
"Yeah, that cleanup was necessary," Hedgehog said earnestly.
Good thing the opponents were goblins.
If it had been dwarves, elves, or even humans, he'd already be questioning the game's moral boundaries.
"Don't even mention it!" Lux winced. "I just wanted to test the game's freedom, and it docked me 50 SAN points!"
She almost hit the 30-SAN danger line!
Garble replied in a calm tone, "Could've been worse. Hedgehog isn't as crazy as you, but even his SAN value is down to 45."
Between the two, Hedgehog was definitely the more shameless one.
He single-handedly created a 10-version guide on SAN point deduction scenarios and standards on the forum. And he seemed on track to release an 11th version.
The funny part was that his antics were mostly harmless, just outrageously cheeky.
Even Viktor, who usually increased goodwill just by helping out, gave him an extra 5 magicoins as a consultation fee.
Hedgehog raised his hands in protest. "Correction: It's at 55 now!"
Maybe even the game developers were fed up. So, with the reward settlement, they introduced a new system to exchange contribution points for SAN value.
The exchange rate was 10:1.
Ten contribution points could buy 1 SAN value—a much faster method than waiting a month for an automatic 1-point recovery!
"Heh, heh heh," Lux forced a laugh.
It wasn't just the SAN value. Her contribution point calculations were also docked heavily. Thinking about it was enough to make her tear up.
Bringing up two painful topics in a row, she decided to steer the conversation away from herself. She looked at the already-constructed teleportation array.
"What are you standing around for? Aren't first-tier players supposed to be busy?"
"Can't we enjoy the game for once instead of just grinding tasks and leveling up?" Hedgehog retorted.
It was basically a fancy way of saying they were slacking off.
To be fair, after a draining battle, there wasn't much else to do. Might as well take in the scenery.
In the past few days, they'd been so focused on stealth and skirmishes that they hadn't properly taken in the ruin's overall appearance.
Especially during the day.
NeverShowOff gestured towards the pit with his chin.
"Hedgehog just said that conquering this territory feels anti-climactic. He's thinking about planting a marker nearby."
"You want drama? Just wait for tomorrow's victory banquet," Lux asked.
"Who said there's going to be a banquet?"
"I'm guessing. Food doesn't store well, and yet Alyanne's buying food at higher prices than other supplies. Feels like prep for a banquet."
Hedgehog gave her a thumbs-up.
"Impressive!"
Is this the sharp intuition of a capitalist playing the in-game economy?
Lux glanced around.
"By the way, what's this new territory called? Don't tell me it's actually called Pigeon Ruins like the announcement said."
At that moment, Garble kicked something hard underfoot. Looking down, it seemed to be a roughly meter-long stone. It had been shaped artificially, forming a rectangular block.
He felt a hunch and crouched down to clear the dirt piled on top of the stone by player bombardments.
The commotion caught NeverShowOff's attention.
"Garble, what are you doing?"
"There seems to be writing down here."
Using the machete as a makeshift shovel, Garble quickly brushed off the dirt, revealing a fallen stone tablet with twisted engravings.
Three heads immediately crowded in.
"What's this?"
"Looks like some sort of text."
"Goblins can write?"
"… Is it possible this was already a ruin before the goblins took over?"
"Wait, there's something in English at the back! Seems newly engraved."
"What does it say?"
---
[Welcome to Saequs. Let this serve as a reminder of the great God of Sky, Kalil.
The Wolcen Mountains will forever protect the children of the sky, carrying their final hope.]
---
Lux rubbed her chin.
"Saequs? Was that the original name of this Pigeon Ruins?"
Hedgehog grimaced. "Sounds clunky. I still think 'Pigeon Ruins' is better."
"Where's Wolcen Mountain? Is this new content?" Garble asked with confusion.
"The lore mentions the Wolcen Mountain Range as the natural barrier northwest of the Great Oak Forest, right?" NeverShowOff replied, trying to place the location in context.
Hedgehog nodded eagerly. "Just one word off! Definitely related!"
But there was no guarantee.
Oakwood and rubberwood were just one word apart, but one's for furniture, the other's for making tires.
---
Since they couldn't be sure. The obvious move was to find Viktor!
"The Saequs stone tablet?" Viktor looked up from his work. "Yes, I translated that text. And Wolcen Mountain is indeed within the Wolcen Mountain Range."
He returned to tallying the resources players had brought back, throwing in an unceremonious remark. "But you can't go there yet."
"Why not?" All four players asked at once.
"Because you're not strong enough."
Viktor's tone was flat, as though stating a simple fact.
"The terrain of the Wolcen Mountain Range, along with the lingering power of the God of Snow there, does block the Great Oak Forest from expanding northward. But that doesn't mean the area is like the forest's outskirts where we are now."
In fact, that area could be considered the true heart of the Great Oak Forest. The monsters haven't stopped trying to push northward.
Many Level 7 monsters gather there.
Neither the current players nor the present Watchers could handle it yet. So, upon discovering the stone tablet, he translated the information readily for the players.
It served as a carrot to motivate players to grow stronger.
Or, as a hidden plotline for those who loved exploring in-game lore.
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50 advance chapters!
[email protected]/Malphegor