Chapter 144: Accepting the Quest, the 40th Floor's Ferocious Beast Paradise?
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Things had to be made clear. Even though the group wasn't likely to gossip, Seito gave them a firm reminder to be cautious. If their powers were exposed in the Eastern Country, the worst-case scenario would likely be government recruitment or protective surveillance. But other nations? If they learned of such power, they wouldn't hesitate to use every means necessary—including assassination—to eliminate the threat. This secret had to stay buried.
The others nodded solemnly.
"Don't worry, Shiro and I hardly ever leave the house anyway," Sora grinned.
"Kanade and I won't say a word," Kirukiru Amou added. She understood the ways of the world and possessed the self-control to match. As for Kanade, she barely spoke to anyone outside their inner circle to begin with.
Seito nodded in satisfaction. "Alright, let's all perform a True Login. It's time you experienced what it's actually like."
As the words left his lips, Seito logged in, his physical form vanishing before their eyes. The others followed suit. Upon entering the game, they were immediately greeted by a system prompt.
"I see... so we only have one life this way?" Sora rubbed his chin.
One life. This meant that dying in the game resulted in true, permanent death. This mode was clearly not meant for reckless exploration or high-risk suicide missions. If your life was gone, everything was gone.
"We need to use True Login regularly," Seito explained. "The era is changing. We can't remain flowers in a greenhouse who have never tasted the bitterness of a real struggle. We need to familiarize ourselves with the sensation of true combat and the instinct of survival."
The logic was sound. As more people manifested their abilities in reality, the world would only become more dangerous. Early exposure to a sense of crisis would be their greatest advantage.
"Where are you heading first?" Sora asked.
"Kanade and I are going to finish the quests we started earlier," Amou replied.
"I'm going to check out the 40th Floor," Seito decided.
The 40th Floor was known among players as the "Ferocious Beast Paradise." It was a realm teeming with various high-level beasts where "Safe Zones" were actually the territories of specific beast tribes. These tribes were naturally hostile to one another. A player's initial teleportation point determined their "Home Tribe," and all beasts and players from other territories were considered enemies.
The true value of this floor lay in the beast corpses. When wars broke out between tribes, the fallen beasts—if not consumed by the victors—would condense into rare crafting materials. Players on this floor were often nicknamed "Corpse Looters."
However, looting wasn't easy. Stepping a hundred meters outside your tribe's territory alone was a death sentence. Most players had to follow their tribe's beasts when they went out to hunt, but beasts rarely left leftovers. You had to be fast, and you had to be lucky.
"Alright, let's split up then," Sora suggested. He and Shiro had their own unfinished business to attend to.
God's Domain: 40th Floor.
Inside a hidden cavern.
As soon as Seito materialized, he was nearly staggered by the sight before him. Looking at the "Ferocious Beasts" of his assigned Safe Zone, he almost spat out a mouthful of blood.
Since when were tiny kittens considered 'ferocious beasts'?!
Seito's mouth twitched. Before him stood a colony of small, white-furred cats, each sporting a distinct crescent moon mark on its forehead. They stared at him with wide, adorable eyes, looking more like pampered pets than legendary monsters.
Scanning the area, he realized he was the only player in this cavern. The environment was clearly a natural cave system that served as the cats' sanctuary.
"Little Sun-Moon," Seito called out.
"Mew~"
The cat jumped out from his ring and landed gracefully on the cave floor. The moment she appeared, every white cat in the cave froze. Seeing Sun-Moon's elegant posture, the entire colony suddenly prostrated themselves, bowing their heads as if acknowledging their Queen.
Seito blinked, stunned.
[Your pet "Sun-Moon" has become the Queen of the White Moon Cat Tribe.]
[Ferocious Beast Evolution Template Unlocked.]
["White Moon Cats" can evolve into the Top-Tier Beast: "White Tiger".]
[Evolution Points required for the tribe can be obtained through hunting.]
[Current White Moon Cat Population: 10,000+]
[Evolution Points required per cat: 100,000.]
"Evolution?" Seito's eyes lit up. This was a gold mine! With Sun-Moon as the Queen, this entire tribe was effectively his private army. If he gathered enough points, he could turn these cute kittens into a legion of legendary White Tigers. I guess tigers really are just big cats, he mused.
"Eh? Seito-kun, you're in this Safe Zone too?"
"It's you?!"
Two voices rang out from behind him. Seito turned to find Yui Yuigahama and Ai Hayasaka staring at him in shock. It seemed they were also "White Moon Cat" players.
Seito couldn't help but chuckle. "Should I say you two are lucky... or incredibly unlucky?"
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Thank you for reading.