Chapter 290 (1/2)

It was a time of three long weeks, filled with dread. Simon put off his travels for a Class, instead waiting within the sphere of influence of his spring, just hoping that nothing would change around him. The monsters around him grew abruptly weaker too, and then abruptly stronger, as dungeons came into being around the 4 towns.

Then one of the towns fell to its Tribulation, and became another dungeon they had to worry about.

From Simon’s position, there was a village directly West, that was the village founded from the golden coin Simon earned. Then there was another village to his North and a bit West, which was the closest one to him. Then directly north of Simon, and North of the other village, was the new fallen Newbie Village, which became a dungeon. The final Newbie Village was more East of Simon than anything else, the farthest away. But all three surviving villages worked together to address the new problems.

Simon found himself very quickly outclassed by the level of monsters in the surrounding areas, as he didn’t have a Class to improve. So he isolated himself further. It seemed the golden lilies kept monsters away, so Simon stayed put, hoarding more and more of his Mending Liquid, learning Refine and turning it into something much more potent.

After three weeks, there was another notification.

The Tier III Raid Boss has been slain by Lucifer! In the wake of its passage, the Boss has passed onto Lucifer an Ancient Rarity piece of equipment.

Your Zone has opened up to the worlds above. Two Champions descend into your Zone. These Champions are randomly determined. Fulfilling quests and services for the Champions grants increased experience accumulation and skill growth. These Champions stand opposed to one another. Your Zone will not progress until one Champion has triumphed in its war against the other.

The first Champion to descend to your Zone is the Wild Rider. A loner and more at home with animals than people, the Wild Rider’s true bond is only with his steed, the Ivory Stag. Pledging to the Wild Rider will immediately grant the Soul Bond Skill.

The second Champion to descend to your Zone is the Skeleton Knight. Brutal and efficient, the Skeleton Knight prizes order and discipline above all else. Pledging to the Skeleton Knight will immediately grant the Ancient Stamina Skill.

The Wild Rider will be marked with a green pillar of light for two weeks. The Skeleton Knight will be marked with a grey pillar of light for two weeks. Good Luck, and choose your Champion carefully, for they will shape your Zone.

Above him, Simon could look and see the green pillar of light very close. It seemed to be beyond the villages, but still quite close. Meanwhile, the grey pillar of light was much farther away, more to the South and East.

While undoubtedly needing a Class, Simon was also tempted by the thoughts of Skills by pledging to the two Champions. But mostly he was drawn to the idea of the Wild Rider. Not only was it closer, but having a Soul Bond with a monster seemed rather interesting…

Even through the thick fear and worry that had gripped his heart tightly since arriving at this place, Simon felt a glimmer of hope. Perhaps this world, this world changed by the System, wasn’t so bad after all.

But still, the caution won out. Over the next several weeks, Simon simply communicated with the traders who came through his spring, which had become something of a trading outpost, with several huts built for the people who passed through. Simon learned about the two Champions.

To the Southeast, the Skeleton Knights had a castle in the middle of the badlands, which most people had avoided anyway, but they wanted to explore in the future to trade with the other villages. He had an army of lesser skeletons too, but most of those were deployed to the South, struggling against Donnyton and Franksburg.

Meanwhile, the Wild Rider was very close to these villages, and had taken over suppressing the nearby dungeon. It was unclear from looking at the Wild Rider whether it was a man or a woman, and they spoke only sparingly, but they were fair and respectful. Trade could be conducted with them, and traveling in and out of their territory was fine.

There were some drawbacks to both, in the form of new and more powerful monster spawns in the surrounding area, some of which obeyed the Champions, but others which did not. It made sense that the Wild Rider would bring more monsters suitable for riding, but why did the Skeleton Knight fill the badlands with zombies and crypt spiders…?

The other news was mostly what Simon thought of as propaganda, coming from the Southeast, talking about the heroic battle to slay the Tier III Raid Boss. Rumor had it that some of the “Classers” from the area were already at level 40, approaching 50, and could slay a normal Raid Boss with one hand.

Both of Donnyton and Franksburg were upgraded villages, and both had their strengths. Donnyton was filled with interesting characters, who led their squads to victory time and time again, hunting in the badlands. Even the Skeleton Knight was on his back foot against them, and peace talks had begun.

Meanwhile, Franksburg had Lucifer, the man who slew the Tier III Raid Boss. Travelers claimed that the Ancient Rarity equipment he obtained was a cloak of darkness that allowed him to teleport.

Simon was torn between believing them, because of the System, and calling them crazy.

But it did serve as… something of a spark. So Simon set his goals, and then trained and trained, grinding up to the goals he set for himself. After two long, arduous months, he finally reached those goals, and looked nervously at his status screen.

Simon Bliss

Class: ---

Level: N/A

Health(/R per hour): 67/67 (33.5)

Mana(/R per hour): 108/108 (53)