Punishment
"This is so amazing," exclaimed Rachel as she floated in circles around the area, her excitement overflowing.
Segler watched her with mild irritation before letting out a resigned sigh.
"You're truly insufferable," he remarked coolly before walking away to inspect the place on his own.
"Hey, wait for me!" protested Rachel, following him without stopping her levitation, equally eager to explore every corner.
Meanwhile, Sally stood there, not really sure what to do.
"Um… what should I do to get those mana fragments or stones?" she finally asked, her tone a little uncertain.
"You can go check the mission board. Lua usually posts simple requests for cleaning, gathering materials, or hunting," Sig explained naturally, pointing to a large board nailed next to an improvised wooden and stone structure.
"Thanks," Sally replied with a small smile before walking over to the board. She started looking for a task that seemed easy enough to begin collecting her first coins in the game and buy some equipment, just as Sig had suggested.
"Players can also post missions now, but they have to pay to put them on the board," Lua commented with her usual calm while helping Liora assemble more lamps. The bed was already finished, right next to the enchanted blanket protecting her little space.
"If we need materials, can we pay you to post a mission?" Sig asked with interest.
"Yes. Although you can also sell materials to each other. If you do it through an official posting, I'll be able to step in if either side makes an unfair deal," Lua explained without lifting her eyes from her work.
"Can we just buy them directly from other players?" Sig insisted, determined to clarify every doubt.
"You can, but it's different. To open a shop, you need the proper permit or a designated stall. If you make a face-to-face trade, it's considered a transfer, not an official purchase. For example, if your friends were untrustworthy, they could have robbed Liora before she had a shop… although in that case, I probably would have intervened," Lua said with complete tranquility.
Joe, who was arranging several stones near Lua's plot, felt a shiver run down his spine.
"I have my shop permit now," Liora announced proudly as she showed a small medal and placed a blanket right next to Lua's. The fabric was covered with multiple runes that glowed faintly.
"And what does that change?" Loli asked, watching curiously.
"Try picking something up," Lua suggested with a little gesture of invitation.
Loli leaned over to grab one of the lamps, but the moment she touched it, she felt it weighed tons. The runes on the blanket lit up all at once, immobilizing the lamp completely.
"I see," murmured Loli with an understanding expression. "A pretty efficient way to prevent theft. Excellent."
"But you've made so many lamps… How much do you need to level up your profession?" Sig asked, amazed by the pile that kept growing on the enchanted blanket.
"Mmm… it already leveled up," Liora replied with her usual serenity.
"And what recipe did you learn this time?" Loli asked, her curiosity renewed as she stepped a bit closer. As a cook, every new level had granted her another recipe, although the last one had also been something involving rabbit meat.
"It's called… Reactive Mana Map," Liora said as she began to read the description slowly, studying each detail carefully.
Reactive Mana Map
Tool Level: Novice (Level 2)
Type: Detection / Utility
Effect:
When unfolded, it generates a real-time sketch of the area within a 40-meter radius, displaying the terrain and the approximate location of living creatures. Hostile enemies appear as red dots and neutral or passive ones as yellow dots. The map updates as long as it remains unfolded in the user's hands.
Durability:
Continuous use up to 10 minutes per activation.
Activation:
Manual, by unfolding it and channeling mana.
Area of Effect:
40-meter radius around the user.
Description:
An enchanted map crafted on parchment treated with beast blood and inscribed with a Mana Engineer's stylus. Designed for novice explorers who need a basic overview of their surroundings without relying on advanced magical senses.
Notes:
– Does not function while the user is actively fighting (attacking or using offensive skills).
– Does not reveal details about race, level, or abilities.
– Requires 1 Mana Stone Fragment to recharge.
– Becomes unusable if rolled up during use.
Creation Requirements:
– 1 × Parchment of any type (not leather or hide)
– 1 × Mana Stone
– 1 × Beast Blood (any)
– 1 × Mana Engineer's Stylus
– 5 × Minor Mana Hearts
"What?" Sig murmured with a serious look as she stepped closer. "You can actually make a map like this?" she added, her voice tinged with excitement.
"I think so," Liora answered, tilting her head a little with a puzzled expression.
"That changes a lot of things," Sig exclaimed immediately before dashing off toward Bert to tell him the news.
Loli followed her with her eyes and finally shrugged.
"Alright. We've got everything ready. Now we need to gather the ant materials," said Joe, walking over with a confident smile.
Lua turned her gaze toward her house, where all the materials were neatly arranged and ready to start construction. Then she looked over to the makeshift furnace where Silver was heating the ore from the last expedition. Even so, she knew it wouldn't be enough to forge all the tools they needed.
"It's time to call everyone," Loli commented quickly, her face lighting up with determined enthusiasm.
…
"Alright… Uncle, Dean… I really hope you're actually useful this time. You're the highest-level players in the group," Sig said bluntly as they all walked in a line along the forest path.
"Don't worry, this will be a piece of cake. We're not the same useless idiots we used to be," Joe replied confidently, thumping his chest hard. The hollow thud of his hardened leather armor echoed as if he were trying to convince everyone of his courage.
The others glanced at each other, checking their new armor and improved weapons. Just feeling the weight of decent gear gave them a false sense of security.
After a couple of minutes of walking, they reached the mouth of the cave.
"Leave the front to me," Joe announced, brushing aside some bushes with his arm as he stepped forward with a grin that bordered on arrogance.
"Wait, Joe! We need a plan," Bert warned urgently.
"Tsk… Nonsense. The ants can't hurt me anymore," Joe scoffed with a dismissive wave as he approached the cave's dark entrance. He took a deep breath and yelled mockingly:
"Hey, ants! Come out if you dare!"
A brief silence followed his taunt… until a distant echo of footsteps began to swell. With each passing second, Joe's confident expression grew more strained.
The footsteps kept multiplying.
And multiplying.
And multiplying.
When an entire swarm of ants finally emerged from the darkness, they looked like a miniature army: dozens of reddish, gleaming bodies, each one a full meter tall. Their mandibles clicked open and shut with a dry snap as they spread around Joe like a living tide. His eyes widened completely as a shiver crawled up his spine.
"Ah… shit," he whispered.
At that exact moment, the others turned around and bolted without hesitation.
Joe spun clumsily and started running after them, trying to smack the ants crawling up his legs. His health bar was dropping alarmingly fast.
"Wait, you bastards! Don't leave me behind—help me attack them!" he shouted in desperation, waving his arms.
"Shut up, idiot! We told you to wait!" Sig snapped as she sprinted full speed ahead without even glancing back.
Dean, more practical than the rest, drew his bow, fired an arrow into the ground, and vanished in a flash of light, reappearing dozens of meters ahead.
"Waaaaah!" screamed Loli, who was leading the escape with a panicked look. She was the fastest in the group, so her wail echoed along the path as she fled.
Alfred simply shook his head as he ran with resigned calm, keeping an eye on Sig in case he needed to cover her. Sig herself was laughing uncontrollably, far too amused by the spectacle to feel scared.
The last in line was Bert, who wasn't exactly quick. His luck hit rock bottom when an ant with a grotesquely large head leapt at him and sliced him clean in half with shocking ease.
Meanwhile, Joe kept stumbling forward, covered in bites all over his armor, his health bar already down to half. Even so, he managed to keep his legs moving until the partially ruined palisade of the village finally came into view.
High up on the wall, Lua watched them silently, her expression utterly serious.
Around her, a few curious players peered over the edge, drawn by the shouting and commotion. Their faces shifted from curiosity to disbelief when they saw hundreds of red ants—each a meter tall—advancing like a disciplined army. Some were even climbing over each other, forming mounds that looked like living waves.
"Wow… what is that?" Rachel shrieked, her eyes huge.
"Do we… have to fight that?" Segler asked, his voice trembling.
Sally opened her mouth to answer, but only managed a strangled whimper as she glanced nervously at Lua. For her part, Liora turned calmly toward the leader, fully convinced that, as always, she would handle everything without breaking a sweat.
Lua raised both hands without a word. With precise movements, she began drawing runes in the air so quickly the strokes were almost invisible. Each rune was different, but they fit together with mechanical perfection. Within seconds, a dozen symbols glowed around her before merging into a massive magic circle.
A second circle appeared directly above Joe and the swarm chasing him.
And then… the rain began.
Hundreds of ice spikes fell in straight lines, piercing carapaces, limbs, and antennae without mercy. Each shard stabbed effortlessly into the ground but ignored the players as if they weren't even there.
Lua made a small jump, landing right in front of the survivors, who turned around with their hearts in their throats.
The ice rain ended with a final crack. All that remained was silence and a sea of ant corpses covering the ground.
But Lua's steady gaze on them was more terrifying than any swarm.
"You shouldn't bring enemies to the village," she said in a neutral tone. This time, it sounded even colder than usual. "You will have to receive a punishment."
In the air before the players—and before Bert and Joe, who had just respawned with their faces still pale—a glowing message materialized:
Debuff: Curse of Forgetting
Type: Penalty / Stackable
Effect:
Reduces experience gained from any activity (combat, gathering, crafting, quests) by 1% for 1 week.
Stacks:
– Can stack multiple times, increasing both duration and penalty percentage.
– Example: if applied 3 times, the penalty will be 3% for 3 weeks.
– No maximum stack limit by default.
Base Duration:
7 days (168 hours) per application.
Activation:
This punishment can only be applied by the Village Leader as a disciplinary measure against members who break rules, cause serious conflicts, or harm the community.
Description:
A punishment imposed by the settlement's highest authority. The mark of forgetting binds itself to the offender's spirit, slowing their growth and weakening their progress.
Notes:
– Does not affect experience already earned, only experience gained while active.
– The debuff appears on the status panel with an icon of a torn scroll and a stack counter.
– It can be removed by high-level purification skills, a forgiveness ritual by the Leader, or rare special consumables.
– If the player leaves the village, the debuff persists until the duration ends.
"Ugh… sorry," they all muttered in unison, lowering their heads as they stared at the message in resignation. One percent might seem minor… until you remembered every beast counted, and that percentage could pile up quickly.
"Now take the corpses inside," Lua ordered. This time, it didn't sound like a suggestion or an optional quest.
"Um… will the corpses be yours?" Sig asked, her voice tinged with sadness as she looked over the field littered with nearly fifty meter-tall ants.
"Whose else would they be? I killed them," Lua replied without the slightest change in her cold expression, making Sig instantly regret the question.
"I… just wanted to clarify," Sig stammered, mentally vowing never to lure mobs near the wall again.
Lua slowly turned toward the players watching from inside the village.
"You help too," she ordered calmly.
And no one dared to protest. As if on cue, they ran out and began lifting ants in groups. The weaker ones took turns hauling them with great effort, while Joe and Dean dragged a couple of carcasses along, silently swearing that next time they'd pretend to be busy somewhere very far away from the village.