(
[God damn… it was alive? I guess?] I stared at the remains, a bit stunned. [But how the hell did it not notice me?] I mean, I slept inside the thing. You'd think an undead tree would notice something literally laying up inside its body. But whatever, I wasn't gonna waste brainpower trying to figure that out.
What did catch my attention, though, was the shiny black crystal lying just a few feet away from the Treant's blown-up corpse. My inner loot goblin immediately screamed, "MINE."
I floated over, already imagining it added to my nonexistent hoard. Of course, I checked to make sure it wasn't about to explode or curse me or some dumb magic trick like that, and I checked to see if there was no monster hiding somewhere. Once I gave it the all-clear, I moved in, practically landing on top of the damn thing. I had to physically touch something to store it, after all.
I focused on the crystal, imagining it vanishing into my [Inventory], and just like that, boom, it disappeared and slotted itself right next to my currently useless Desert Eagle. Clicking on it to see its description, another notification that I haven't seen before pops up.
(
[Oooh, I can consume mana cores now?] That was new. Naturally, I hit "Yes" just to see what would happen.
But… nothing. The dark mana core vanished from my [Inventory], sure, but I didn't feel a damn thing. No power-up, no rush of energy, nothing. [Whelp, that was a waste of a mana core,] I grumbled to myself, feeling mildly scammed. But if I were to once again find myself back into that white void, I would've seen a small gray ball of water floating in the air.
[What did it do? System, what did it do?] I waited a moment, but no answer came. [You know what, screw it. Let's give you a name. I'm gonna get tired of saying "System" all the time. Let's go with… Alexa.] Giving my system a super original name, a ding echoed in my head as another notification popped up.
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HiddenQuest: New World Setup (1/???)(Completed)
Description: Name the system given to you.
Reward: + 1 Common Summon Token gain. + 1 Common Power Token gain. + 1 Common Item Token gain. + 100 SP)
(Thank you, host, for giving me the name of Alexa.) A new voice, one that was monotone, yet kinda feminine, sounded in my head as I stared at the rewards given to me.
[Well, Hello Alexa, it's good to have someone to talk to] I said hello to Alexa and opened up the [Token Wheel], happy that I named my system.
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Common Summon Token used. lv 1 - Tall-Neck gain (Horizon Zero Dawn)
Common Power Token used. Cooking gain (Passive)
Common Item Token used. M11oa1 gain (Earth)
)
I let out a small giggle when I saw my new summon, a massive metal machine straight out of Horizon Zero Dawn. One of my favorites, actually. There was just something calming about the way it moved across the map, and standing on top of it? Felt really good watching everything.
While I was pretty hyped about the Tall-Neck, the rest of my rewards were… meh. Since I still didn't have arms, the M11OA1 was useless, and the passive skill [Cooking] might as well have been [Staring at Rocks] with how dead everything around me was, so nothing to cook with. Plus, no arms, again. Until I got a summon with actual hands and fingers, these rewards were just collecting dust.
Letting out a small sigh, I shifted my focus back to the Tall-Neck. First things first, I had to move down the mountain I was on, since summoning something that big on a steep slope was just asking for disaster. A quick twenty minute flight down the mountain and finding some sort of clearing later, I finally summoned my Tall-Neck.
Appearing right in front of me, the Tall-Neck filled me with a sense of awe. I couldn't help but fly around its towering body, examining every piece that made it up. The mechanical design, the smooth movement, the sheer size, it was beautiful. I spent at least twenty minutes just admiring it before finally landing on top of its head and using [Body Takeover]. The moment I did, my vision shifted once again.
While my vision was already pretty decent and somewhat normal im piloting the drone, the perspective from the Tall-Neck was something else. It reminded me a lot of how I see things when I'm in my dungeon core body.
When I'm in that form, I can see from every direction, up, down, left, right, all at once. It's a full 360-degree view, and honestly, it still trips me out sometimes. I haven't fully gotten used to it yet. As a Tall-Neck, the visual overload was toned down, but the similarity was definitely there. I guessed the Tall-Neck had 'eyes' scattered all over its saucer-shaped head, at least, that's what it felt like with how wide the vision was.
Other than that? Everything was mostly fine. Walking with four legs was weird at first, but once I got the rhythm down, it felt almost natural. So, I kept moving forward in the direction I had originally chosen. Thanks to the [Map] system, getting lost wasn't even a big concern.
One thing I didn't realize at first, but was definitely in my favor, was just how heavy I was. I could easily trample through any of the Undead Treants that crossed my path like they were twigs. Some trees offered no XP when I crushed them, probably just regular dead trees, but others did reward me with XP, even if they didn't always drop mana cores.
Most of the time, they only left behind busted-up chunks of their undead bodies, which I of course stored away. Occasionally, though, they dropped a mana core, which I scooped up and tossed into my [Inventory] like a proper loot goblin. Basically, every time my body touched something, it was gonna get stored into my [Inventory], and I already stored up so much rotten and dried wood.
(
You just gotta love the sound of XP notifications slowly trickling into your mind. It's like a soothing little jingle of progress. And since the Treants didn't even fight back, it was basically a free XP farm, plus, they dropped dark mana cores. Win-win scenario for me!.
—
Somewhere in the human territories
"My Kings, our mages detected a large mana spike in the Whispering Forest near the Elven borders. We're still investigating the cause, but so far, we've found no clear clues. However, from last mana spikes, We believe our enemies may be testing some sort of magical device, possibly a weapon meant to be used against our armies." An old man in a bright red robe read aloud from the report, his voice calm at first, but it faltered as the silence in the room stretched on.
None of the four figures before him said a word. They only stared and the air became heavy with their collective presence. The old man began to sweat beneath their gaze, the mental pressure was immense when they heard their enemies testing new weapons. The man lowered his head and waited, hoping to be dismissed before he collapsed under the weight of their silence.
"You're allowed to leave. Report back any findings, no matter how small." The words came from a frail-looking man cloaked in pure white robes. Despite his fragile appearance, the other kings knew better. Even if all three of them joined forces, they couldn't defeat him. He wasn't just a king, he was a chosen one, the bearer of a divine mark granted by their god, Iros, the god of light.
"I shall take my leave. Long live the Kings," the old man said respectfully before quickly exiting the chamber.
As the door shut behind him, a groan echoed through the room.
"Ugh… problem after problem. I swear, I wish we could just invade those bastards already. We have hundreds of ships, dragons, wyverns, beasts, mages, siege weapons, and yet we do nothing! Why must we keep waiting? We can win this war!" The voice belonged to a middle-aged man clad in golden knight armor, his tone laced with frustration and barely-contained anger.
"I agree," another man added, this one dressed in a vivid blue robe. "We've got over a million soldiers between our kingdoms, and new weapons are being developed every day. The longer we wait, the stronger they get. We should strike now, while they and their gods are weak!" His voice rose as he slammed his fist down on the thick wooden table they were gathered around, the impact echoing through the war room.
As he spoke, a section of the table the man slammed down on broke, the sound sharp and jarring. However all four men ignored the broken table as a bright blue glow enveloped the broken edges. Slowly, the shards of the table floated back together, seamlessly reconnecting as if the damage had never occurred.
"If the Department of Mana Surveillance and Control detected a mana spike near the elven kingdom's border, who knows how powerful the weapon they've created is. We need to start sending in spies to gather intelligence and prepare for what's to come." The man in golden armor continued, his mind racing with the ideas of this new threat.
"Calm down," came the steady voice of a young man wearing a pure white robe. "I've already sent men to clear a route through that damn forest. They're halfway done with the task. According to their reports, it'll take at least six more months to finish unless we send additional forces or equipment." His voice was calm, an attempt to temper the tension in the room, especially between the two eager warmongers.
Just as the two war-hungry men were about to argue over how to speed up the war effort, they were interrupted by a calm yet stern voice.
"ENOUGH. We have a far more serious problem," the old man spoke, his voice carrying an air of authority that immediately quelled the tension in the room. "Iros has sent me a divine message."
At those words, the other Kings instantly stopped arguing, their attention now fully focused on the old man. The atmosphere shifted, the weight of the divine message was massive as it hung in the air as they all waited for the message.
"W-What was the message?" The man clad in golden knight armor spoke carefully, his tone laced with concern.
The old man took a deep breath, his gaze steady as he delivered the grim news. "Something not of this world has arrived. I don't know what it is, or where it is. But it is imperative that we find it and control it, NO MATTER WHAT. Send your finest men after it. If we can capture it, our holy crusade will become unstoppable."
A heavy silence fell over the room. The three Kings sat in deep contemplation, the weight of the message settling in their minds. The first to speak was the King in the bright blue robe.
"I will send a team of five from the Beast Master Guild, along with three Seer mages, including my son, to locate and secure this... thing," he declared, his voice was a bit nervous but it was firm.
"I'll send eight Knights from the Golden Crest to act as guards," the golden-armored king added, nodding his head at the blue robed king.
"Stop. If we send this many strong men, the enemy kingdoms will undoubtedly notice the movement," the old man interjected, his voice calm but firm. "Only send men below C-Rank for now. If they can't handle the situation, then we will escalate and send stronger forces."
The golden-armored king was quick to argue, his frustration clear. "Why send weaker men? It's better to find and control the thing quickly before anyone else does."
The old man shook his head, his expression serious. "This must remain a secret. Our enemies cannot know about it, nor can they find it. This being has the potential to shift the entire war if our god has seen fit to send us this message."
He sighed deeply, then continued, his tone growing quieter but no less urgent. "But... they likely already know about it. However, we must act carefully. There's no need to start the war prematurely, not yet. Just give me eleven more months before we start escalating." The old man said, telling the kings around him about some plans for the future.
The room fell silent as the gravity of his words settled in. Without another word, the old man motioned for the kings to proceed. One by one, they summoned their messengers and delivered the same directive, each with their own sense of how to continue.
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Thanks for reading
Comment if there is a mistake.