Chapter 619 Change Of Plans
-Sorry, Master. The explosion caused by the escape attempt must have caused the Monsters to be drawn to this location.
-As Rey heard that, he sighed and shrugged.
'I already figured out that much. Still, to think so many would pour out at once! He could see at least fifty of the A-Tier Monsters in front of him, and they were all looking incredibly fat and healthy.
Watching them keenly, he even had a fleeting statement. "They kinda resemble T-Rexes..."
Despite his laid-back attitude and casual demeanor, Rey's inner thoughts and actions were far from the simple front he displayed.
"This wasn't how things were supposed to go! Glancing to the Elves behind him, his eyes locked on Deli-the de-facto leader of the Young Ones who made their escape.
"The real Deli is still in the Fortress, and the one with the Elves is Emil. The plan was to make her blend in among them and naturally enter the Elven Community to serve as a double agent.
Rey had already scanned the entire forest a while back. It was only about one-fourth the size of the territory of the United Human Alliance, and while it still took some time to fully understand the layout, there were still certain things he didn't understand until he had a closer look.
In order to achieve this, he decided to let Emil take the lead as an Elf and infiltrate the Elven Community while he watched from the sidelines and planned ahead.
As his Symbiote, he could always sense whatever she did, even if she was far away from him. As such, he would be aware of everything happening in real time.
As long as their bond remained, she could use his abilities and he could use hers as well.
In essence, there was no true danger involved.
"The goal was to integrate her so well into their world that she would begin to actively investigate the Shrine and the Oracle while I explored the other regions and confirmed the Natural Resources that Ater found here; hence killing two birds with a stone.
It wasn't that Rey had completely given up on an Alliance with the Elves, but he found something like that to be very unlikely given the circumstances.
'Instead of wasting my time and effort on useless peace treaties with these racists, it's best to find their leader and strike a deal with them.'
The Oracle was the only person in the entire Elven Community who was of interest to him, and he was going to strike a bargain with them.
'I don't know how the negotiation will go, but as long as I do not harm any of their people, even though they try to harm me, I should have no real disadvantage in striking the deal.'
Rey was even ready to go into darker waters if push came to shove and the Oracle wasn't forthcoming.
He would do anything, really, if it meant saving Alicia.
'Of course, I haven't forgotten the rest of my reasons for coming here, but I really feel the need to get this Curse thing settled first. The plan was going so well too...'
Emil had effectively secured her position as leader in the eyes of the Young Ones, and they were even on their way to the Elven Settlement.
If not for the emergence of these Monsters...
'Emil isn't allowed to use any of her other abilities in her Elf form, which meant I had to show my face ultimately. It completely ruined the plan, but... maybe I can still salvage the situation.
In the original plan, he was willing to vilify himself if it meant distracting the Elves long enough for him—or Emil- to explore the Shrine and the rest of the Community in order to investigate the Oracle.
But now, he was having a different thought.
'Quid pro quo. I'm not sure these people understand that concept, but there's only one way to find out, isn't there?'
Rey looked at the Monsters before him and gave a slight scoff.
During his thought processes, they had barely moved a few inches towards him. Due to the speed of his thoughts, as well as body, he could engage in introspection all day and they still wouldn't be able to gain on him.
He had gotten his fill of that, though.
"Let's make your execution a little flashy. I need to put on quite the show, after all." With a brilliant grin plastered on his face, he returned his hands to his pocket and caused his eye to shine with bright red hue.
~FSHIIII!~
In an instant, several bright blades formed behind Rey, especially behind him. His dark hair fluttered with the winds blowing wildly thanks to the overwhelming pressure his new items created.
[Divine Weapon Creation]' His thoughts echoed as the golden-lined blades all gleamed with marvelous power.
A dozen of them floated in the air, awaiting his commands, but he let them remain still.
'I can make more, but that's not really necessary. I want to be very flashy, but also not give away the true depth of my power. This should be enough to do the trick.
"ROOOOOOAAARRRRRR!!!"
The Monsters all charged at him, almost as if out of fright.
When creatures are exposed to danger, there are two options; fight or flight. The inability to choose between the two results in the last option-freeze.
These Monsters did not have any complex sense of reasoning, and their hunger perhaps clouded their more sensible faculties, so they chose the former-FIGHT.
-BOOOOOOOM!~
Many slammed their tails and feet on where Rey stood, hoping to crush him swiftly and then feast on his mangled flesh.
However, their attempts were laughably unsuccessful.
"I'm getting the hang of this Zone Layering..." He spoke to himself, not even minding the Monsters
'Overlapping the Zones really makes it impossible for pretty much any of their attacks to hit. The only exception will probably be something that nullifies my attack, or if the attack is moving faster than the rate at which I layer the Zones'
With his analysis complete, Rey aimed his Divine Weapons and casually sent them forth with his mind.
'Spare no one!'
~WHOOSH!~
*Chapter 620 Perfect Growth
~WHOOOOOOOOSH!~
The display was akin to fireworks of gold and crimson.
The glistening blades shot into the air, faster than bullets or rockets, as they pierced through the enemies almost as soon as they were launched.
They easily cut through the thick hide of the Monsters-all of them being nothing more than easily shredded dough with little to no resistance to offer.
The golden blades danced around the group of Monsters, trapping them inside a cage of golden slashes and certain death.
By the time they were finished with their duties, barely a second had elapsed.
And that wasn't all...
-SPLOOOOOSH!~
All the blood and entrails of the Monsters gushed out at the same moment, completely bursting from their corpses.
The crimson liquids reflected the brilliant glows of the golden blades, hence creating a firework of such disgustingly beautiful art. Bubbles and splatters of blood, along with slabs of innards-all of them flying in multiple directions-created the most artistic expression of execution.
All who laid eyes on it could not dare opine to the contrary. "And with that... it's a wrap." Rey smiled dismissively at the bloody pile that now lay before him.
He would have to use Magic to get rid of all the gore.
Almost as soon as he thought that, though, he got a System Notification.
[System Notice]
{EXP Threshold Will be Supplemented by [Perfect Divine Growth]!}
-You Have Leveled Up!~
-You Have Leveled Up!~
-You Have Leveled Up!~
-You Have Leveled Up!~
-You Have Leveled Up!~
'Hmm...' Rey rubbed his chin with one hand as he looked at the System Window. He already knew the effects of his [Perfect Divine Growth] Skill, but the notification still caught him by surprise.
'I suppose it makes sense, all things considered...'
Normally, he would find it difficult to Level Up once after attaining the Status of an S-Tier entity, but seeing as he Leveled Up five times consecutively, he couldn't help but be amazed by the effects of his [Perfect Divine Growth] Skill.
'I guess this means I can still get consistently stronger; even while I'm on this mission. That thought alone put a wide smile on his face.
'Judging from what I've seen, the Skill roughly improves my growth tenfold-no, even more!
Leveling Up once made it about half times more difficult to Level Up again. In essence, you would need more EXP to gain another Level.
Without [Perfect Divine Growth], Rey reckoned he would have indeed Leveled Up once, but nothing more than that.
Instead, he gained four extra Levels, and that was with them each being half harder to grow from.
Stacking them up like that, it was a miracle he managed to get so far.
'I wonder what effect it has on Skills. Thankfully, I was able to see one! Rey brought one of his hands from his pockets and stared hard at it.
[Grand Hardened Body]. That was the name of the Skill that he just obtained from the A-Tier Monsters, which caused their body to possess incredible defensive abilities.
It was a Passive Skill too, but since its rank was only A-Tier, its effects were pretty useless to him. Still, he decided to test the Skill out by applying it to himself.
The moment he did so, he got another notification.
'As I thought...' His grin widened as he looked at the System Window floating before him.
[System Notice]
{Skill will automatically evolve due to the effect of [Perfect Divine Growth]!}
-You Have Unlocked A New Skill: Unbreakable (SS-Tier)-
"Whoa! It went straight up to SS-Tier. That's incredible!" Rey muttered to himself in genuine surprise.
His emotions were suppressed instantly.
'Tch...' Now more rational in his approach, he examined the occurrence with more clarity and took a more skeptical approach.
'Is this how it'll be for every new Skill I obtain and use, or is there a different threshold for them?'
Perhaps this particular Skill went so high up the ranks because it already had perfect compatibility with his body and his other existing Skills. In a way, the Skill wasn't particularly useful, since he could achieve the same result by product of his other Skills.
Having a Skill dedicated to that effect was nice, but it wasn't particularly fulfilling a major need within his arsenal. 'If I obtain more obscure Skills, it might take longer for them to advance that high. Plus, this Skill being A-Tier probably contributed to that effect...'
All in all, it was too early for celebrations. He still had to run certain tests to ensure he knew precisely how the Skill operated, and how its limits worked.
'For now, though, these are good results. Returning his hands to his pockets, he cast a Spatial Spell to suck in all the gore that now littered the area.
The Spell took on the form of a miniature black hole, functioning similarly to a vacuum cleaner.
He already preset it to only take in the Monster Parts, excluding the sands and other essential parts of the beach. ~FSHUIII!~
Once the absorption began, Rey took his gaze away from the process for a moment and focused on something else.
"Status Window."
[STATUS WINDOW]
- Name: Rey Skylar.
- Race: Human (Otherworlder)
- Class: Singularity (S-Tier)
- Level: 206 (00.00% EXP)
- Life Force: 13,000
- Mana Level: 29,000
- Combat Ability: 21,550
- Stat Points: 250
- Skills (Exclusive): [Doppel]
- Skills (Non-Exclusive): [Merger]. [Dead Calm].[Sacrifice]
- Alignment: Neutral Good
[Additional Information]
You have done the impossible and stand at the precipice of power. As such, you now possess the interest of this World.
[End Of Information]
'As expected... I have returned to Neutral Good! Rey nearly laughed, but he held it all back.
The same way he could see the System's plea to 'Help' Esme was the same way he saw its pleas to help every single one of the Elves that he saved.
'I wanted to test out my theory in this fight, and it seems I was spot on!
This single act of heroism seemed to justify him in the eyes of the System. While this would ultimately be beneficial for him regarding his disposition, it also meant the affirmation of one of his most troublesome suspicions.
'The System, or rather this world, really has a bias towards the Elves. With that now fully realized, another question resulted from the fact.
'Why?'
Chapter 621 Lesson On Nature
[Moments Later]
"Horrible! You're so horrible!"
"You really killed them? How disgusting! What a beast you are!"
"How could you do such a terrible thing?!"
Rey was met with reproach from the Elves the moment he stepped inside the barrier, causing his previously good mood to sour instantly.
'The hell…?' He clenched his teeth as he stared at them with stifled annoyance.
Ater had indeed informed him of the culture of the Elves and their no-kill policy. No matter how dire the situation was, Elves would never take another life.
It was a crime against Nature.
They viewed those who engaged in this act to be nothing more than beasts, so humans and the other races fell under this category. The only lives they were commanded to take were those of the Dragons, and the only reason they did so was because it was a declaration from the Oracle.
Everyone obeyed—no matter their disposition.
However, the Monsters that Rey mercilessly slaughtered weren't Dragons. They were an integral part of Nature, and he just prematurely deprived them of their lives.
In Elven Culture, that was unacceptable.
"They would have killed you, perhaps even me, if I didn't strike back. Yet you wanted me to spare them?"
"YES!"
Rey's quizzical expression only grew worse as he was further plunged into annoyance.
"Why?"
"Because Nature ought to be preserved. Those Monsters are unintelligent, like babies, so they have no real idea what they're doing. As the intelligent ones, it is our responsibility to be better."
"The fuck…?" Rey couldn't help but strongly disagree.
"So your excuse for not trying to kill the Monsters who would not hesitate to devour you, if given the chance, is that they don't know any better?"
"I-INDEED!"
"I find that dumb and idiotic." Rey bluntly responded to the group as he walked past them, facing his fortress.
"H-HEY! Those are the rules of the Community."
Pausing, then turning back to look at the Elves behind him, he sighed while giving his answer."Well, your rules are wrong."
The Elves gasped as they heard his words.
Never before had they heard that their rules were wrong. As a result of that, there was undoubtedly shock mixed in with the anger they felt upon hearing Rey speak so terribly of her people.
Rey noticed this and sighed even harder, shaking his head in the process.
'They really don't get it, huh?
Elves never took lives, and it was all for the balance of Nature. While this seemed altruistic and good at first glance, it was fraught with too many problems.
This attitude of the Elves would inevitably lead the population of Monsters to keep increasing while they did nothing to stop it. Eventually, the Monsters would overwhelm the Elves in both number and quality.
'And that's even scratching the Surface Level. There's also the major problem of EXP and Leveling UP.'
In this world, there was only one way to Level Up, and that was to get EXP.
Leveling Up granted set Stats that often determined who was stronger, and who was weaker. The problem was that EXP was needed to Level Up, and the higher one went, the more difficult it was to Level Up forward.
'EXP is most popularly obtained by killing things with EXP in them, which allows the killer to Level Up. That's the kind of world we live in.
It seemed like everyone was able to accept that fact except the Elves.
'Their current Levels fluctuate between 30-50. I'm guessing the higher their Levels are, the older they are. It's why I took Deli, and not any of the other girls, and made Emil disguise as her.'
It wasn't that aging increased the Levels of the Elves, but rather… the EXP accrued over time.
'While it's very hard, EXP can also be gained by learning new things or working hard in a particular field. Even if you've never killed in your entire life, if you participate in enough new activities and obtain fresh experiences from them, your EXP will shoot up.'
The process could also improve Stats without the need to Level Up. In essence, it was a slow-burn, but legitimate means to grow.
'Elves live a very long life, so it isn't strange that they use this method.' Still, Rey considered it to be highly inefficient and a severe waste of resources and time.
'Not only will they be lacking in good combat experience, but they could have become so much stronger if they just actively pursued it.'
This was why he considered the rules stupid!
Esme was a Half Elf, yet the way she was able to grow so strong in such a limited span of time was enough to convince Rey that the Elves were simply nerfing themselves for no good reason at all.
Their rules were simply dumb.
"Your respect for Nature is arbitrary." He said, walking further towards the Tower.
The moment they heard this, all forty-seven of the Elves flared up—though Emil pretended to, since she couldn't do it.
"What do you know?!"
"How dare you say that, ungrateful wench!"
"Why are we even talking to you?!"
As he heard them call him all sorts of names, Rey was tempted to once again cause them to tremble and beg before him, but he chose not to.
By using Zone Layering on himself, he could prevent his smell from traveling beyond the close range himself. Using Sound Magic, he could still convey his words to the Elves, so the layered effect didn't affect his ability to communicate.
As a result of this elaborate method, none of the Elves fainted even when they were so close to him. "Look, if you respect Nature, then grow stronger. That's how Nature truly operates." He told them with cold eyes.
As his gaze pierced theirs, beads of sweat formed on their faces and they immediately fell silent.
"Unless you grow strong enough… you will lose everything." He began, his tone grim as his voice remained solemn. "That is a promise."
It was only a matter of time that the Monster Horde overflowed and made it to their Community. Perhaps they had ways to deal with the incursion of Monsters, but with the Dragon War at hand, the number of disposable Elves had to be considered.
Sooner or later, they would be ransacked by the monsters.
"The reason you all lost to me is because you're weak. It's because of that very reason that those Monsters would have killed and eaten you."
The faces of the Young Ones paled as Rey told them the harsh truth, though many of them shook their heads as he spoke.
They didn't agree.
"Nature is dog eat dog. Monsters kill people and other Monsters, so you are permitted to kill Monsters."
If no one did, the Monsters would only grow stronger—until they devoured everything.
"N-no… no I don't agree…"
"Y-you can't be right!"
"We believe Big Sis! The Elders are correct!"
"The rules are never wrong!"
The Elves seemed to be reciting something as they all objected to Rey's words.
"Monsters don't know any better. We have to be better… we are Elves, servants of Nature. We aren't savages…" Rey shook his head and sighed. Clearly, this was a waste of time for everyone.
Yet… YET…!
'I don't want to let this one go!'
Chapter 622 Resource Contemplation
Deep in the forest, beneath the bright surface of the world lay the Floors of a certain structure-a Dungeon.
It was a realm shrouded in perpetual darkness and teeming with monstrous life.
As one descended deeper into the depths, the air would grow thick and heavy, carrying with it the musty scent of ancient stone and the faint tang of decay.
The lower floor was a vast network of twisting tunnels and cavernous chambers, hewn from solid rock by unknown hands in a time long forgotten. The walls remained rough and uneven, their surfaces marred by the passage of time and the claws of countless creatures that called this place home.
Throughout the Lower floors, the sound of dripping water echoed through the cavernous spaces, a constant sign of the subterranean rivers that flow unseen beneath the earth. Pools of brackish water gathered in the low points of the floor, their surfaces rippling with the movements of unseen creatures lurking within.
Monstrous denizens roamed the lower floor, their forms distorted by the perpetual darkness. From the hulking shapes of the more gigantus creatures to the lanky statures of the smaller critters.
The Ecosystem of this place was quite intricate and diverse -as expected of one of the Great Dungeons that existed in the world.
Just like every day, the Dungeon would continue its internal activities without interruption.
At least, that was what was supposed to happen.
~VWISH!~
In a sudden display of light, several figures suddenly appeared within the Dungeon. Their silhouettes were easily masked by the darkness that the Dungeon offered, and their presence surprisingly went unnoticed by the several creatures that called this place home.
A total of fifty intruders just entered the jaws of death-the lair of monsters.
Fifty-eight of them were pointy-eared ladies who looked confused as to their surroundings and what they were doing in such a space.
One of them was within a bubble-still unconscious-as she floated with the rest. She too was pointy-eared, but since she was still fast asleep, there was no expression on her perfectly clear face.
Then, there was the odd person among the others.
Not only was he the only male among the group, but he had no pointy ears, neither did he look anything like them. Also, unlike the anxious and shocked reactions of the ladies that surrounded him, his reaction to this was nothing short of absolute calmness.
He had a smile on his face as he looked around-almost satisfied with what he was taking in.
"So this is the Great Dungeon that exists in the Land of the Elves..." He mumbled, ignoring the cries and shrieks of the girls around him.
They were panicking so much despite his previous assurance that everything would be fine.
'Sigh... they're no different from kids.'
At this point, Rey was beginning to wonder if he made the right choice bringing the Elves along with him. However, after going over his lines of reasoning, he reassured himself of the validity of his choice.
'I wanted to come here myself, but after the unexpected incidents with the Monsters, my plans had to be tweaked a little.'
Rather than visiting the Dungeon himself, he decided to let the Elves tag along-partially because he wanted them to observe him more, but also because he wanted them to see for themselves how nature operated.
"They strike me as little kids who have no real idea about how the world operates. Exposing them to places like this should make them grow up quickly!'
Of course, this wasn't his primary motivation for coming to the Dungeon. However, since it was practically like killing two birds with one stone, Rey didn't think of it as a loss in any reasonable way.
'While they see what I show them, I'll take my time looking
through the resources here. He smiled to himself.
[Perfect Divine Appraisal] was going to come in really handy.
After going over a few more things in his mind, Rey finally had the luxury to give a proper response to the Elves who kept screaming and freaking out amidst the danger they were surrounded by.
"Calm down. We are within my barrier, and I have also put a Cloaking Spell on us, so we should be undetectable here."
Monsters beyond the Grand Tier Class did not exist, and since Rey's Magic was in the Divine Tier-two Tiers above the limit of Monsters-he was pretty confident in his statement.
Besides, even if a variant or mutant existed, he found it difficult to believe they would exceed the Absolute Tier.
'If a Divine Tier Monster exists here, things could get really bad. Still, I can't allow my fear of the highly improbable to prevent me from taking action!
He already spread out his senses to his limits, and he chose to remain vigilant in the Floor they were currently on despite the Monsters being of no real danger to him.
"The goal here is to observe the Minerals and prospects of the materials that can be found here...'
Plunder was not his goal-at least, not for now.
Until he obtained sufficient information regarding the Oracle, he had to be careful about his approach to the resources of the Elven Community.
'But, in strict terms, these resources are absolutely useless to the Elves. Not only will they never conquer this Dungeon, but they have no refinement or production method to make proper use of these materials!
Hence, Rey didn't really see any reason to hold himself back.
'The Dungeon even exists in the forest, outside their immediate area of civilization.'
Not only was it surrounded by Monsters, which the Elves constantly avoided engaging-unless absolutely necessary -but there was no motive on the part of the Elves to venture so far into the territory of the Dungeon.
'If I took everything I wanted here, who could blame me?' Absolutely no one could!
'I think I've had a change of heart! Rey thought to himself with a smile as he looked behind him, noticing how the Elves were still scared out of their minds.
An idea entered his mind, and he couldn't help his grin from widening.
'Not bad. Not bad at all...'