Chapter 25: Main Story Clues

[Broadcast: Scavenger reserve members "X034" and "X879", University reserve students "U457" and "U513", and Foundation reserve employee "D464" have successfully destroyed the first medium-sized insect nest!]

"First kill!"
"Great work, brothers!"

Duke Thunder, who had taken down the spider leader with a single blast of his shotgun, jubilantly announced to his teammates, "Everyone contributed to this first kill, and every one of you will receive one hundred guild points! What makes me happiest, however, is that you all stood together during the most difficult moments, preventing further casualties. I, Duke Thunder, have seen your performance. Rest assured, once the game officially launches and the guild grows, I will never treat you unfairly."

"Haha! Guild Leader, you’re being too modest!"
"We’ve already received one hundred guild points; how could anyone call that unfair?"
"Boss, hurry up and loot the leader! If we can get a targeted item for the Lord Boss, we can challenge a large-scale first kill! No matter how strong Ember is, can he really solo a medium insect nest? He’s probably staring at his leader boss right now, feeling frustrated!"
"Hahahaha!"

As a wave of laughter broke out, Duke Thunder’s gloom over his team's losses vanished. But just as he was searching for the loot, three consecutive notifications of medium-sized insect nests being destroyed appeared. One of them caused Duke Thunder’s fingers to freeze, and the reckless laughter came to an abrupt halt.

[Broadcast: Foundation reserve employee "D1106" has successfully destroyed a medium-sized insect nest!]

*Snap!*

It was as if an invisible hand had slapped the faces of the Thunder Guild members. They were as dejected now as they had been smug moments ago, because this notification displayed only a codename. This meant Ember had not only successfully soloed a medium-sized nest, but his speed was barely slower than theirs.

The player who had mocked Ember earlier looked incredibly awkward. He forced a smile and explained, "Ember must have encountered an ant nest; it’s not comparable to the difficulty of a spider nest. Plus, he’s soloed quite a few Shadow-Eating Insect Mothers, so it’s no surprise he got a targeted item. His strength is really nothing special. Without us, Boss, couldn't you also solo the spider leader?"

"Enough! Stop with this useless talk!"
Duke Thunder’s expression darkened. "Ember is strong—strong enough to solo a leader boss. There’s no point in denying that. If he were weak, he wouldn't be worth worrying about. Brothers, Ember’s existence proves only one thing: if an unknown, ordinary player can rise to prominence, then our Thunder Guild has the same opportunity to reach even greater heights!"

"The Boss is right!"
"We have quite a few members who have broken into the Killing Island. We actually have a good chance at competing for the title of Knight."
"Exactly! Our primary goal is to ensure the Boss becomes a Guardian Knight. There's no need to rush into killing Ember. Once the guild is fully established, no matter how strong he is, won't he be ours to toy with as we please?"

Duke Thunder’s impassioned speech was inspiring, but his heart was filled with resentment. If he could, who would want to endure this humiliation? Being outshone by a random player was something Duke Thunder could hardly tolerate. However, for now, it was unwise to lock horns with Ember. The most important thing was to quickly accumulate ten kill points so that everyone could retain their closed-beta rewards, which would help the Thunder Guild position itself rapidly once the game officially launched.

"We’re in luck; the spider leader dropped a venomous fang. If I’m not mistaken, this item will be effective against the Ant Lord. However, before officially tackling the large insect nest, we’d better find another spider leader and use up the remaining mantis blade. If we can get another fang, our chances of a first kill will improve significantly."

...

"Whoa! That Ember guy is quite fierce!"
"No kidding. If he wasn't fierce, could he be my 'thigh'?"
"You finally admit I'm fiercer than you!"
"Get lost! The 'thigh' position is always for tanks; why is a mage like you trying to get in on this? Hey, hurry up and see what good stuff the mantis leader dropped. It’s a good thing I reacted fast, otherwise I would have been hacked to death eight times by now!"
"Let this old Taoist take a look... Oh! Interesting. It’s actually a growing mantis egg. If cultivated properly, its strength can increase rapidly. Used well, taking down the Spider Lord should be a breeze. The only annoying thing is that this can't be brought out of the assessment space!"

...

"Everyone has worked hard. Take a rest and recover your state."
After the battle, Fish-Scale Arm beamed with joy. Just moments ago, he had led three players in a fierce battle against the Ant Leader, successfully killing it with the help of a Shadow-Eating Insect egg obtained from the Spider Mother. Unfortunately, the Ant Leader’s drop was disappointing—only a special material for reinforcing anomalous armor, which was of no help in the current situation.

Fish-Scale Arm sighed inwardly, placing even more value on the last spider egg in his backpack. His group had cleared eight small insect nests, but only obtained three special items. If not for the accident earlier that required an egg to save the situation, he wouldn't feel so regretful about the Ant Leader’s poor loot.

"Sister Fish, I’m sorry."
Repetition Chicken looked apologetic. It was his poor positioning that caused a major lapse in the otherwise perfect boss fight, wasting precious resources.

"Haha! No worries. Staying alive is what matters. I don't think it's a loss to use an egg to keep you safe," Fish-Scale Arm replied with extreme nonchalance. "I’ll take the liberty of assigning this reinforcement material to Blood Feather. None of us have anomalous armor, so it would be a waste otherwise."

"I have no objection."
"Neither do I!"
"Thanks."
Blood Feather, who carried five short axes on his back, gave a thin smile to his three teammates before returning to his expressionless state.

Watching this, Fish-Scale Arm felt a pang of emotion. Ever since he had known Blood Feather, he rarely saw him show much expression. That slight smile was already his limit. The man seemed to carry a natural cold aura and preferred to keep his distance; even he found it hard to get more than a few words out of him.

"Sigh, let’s go. Let’s find another Ant Leader. Hopefully, our luck improves. If we’re still this unlucky, we’ll have to challenge the Mantis Leader!"

...

To play it safe, Ember using two spider eggs to kill the Ant Leader was a luxury. But from another perspective, since he already had ten kill points, he didn't have much need to clear more nests. As a solo player, ensuring his own survival was his primary goal.

"Everyone is moving fast. It hasn't even been an hour, and the small nests are already done, and four medium ones have been swept. At this rate, meeting the assessment goals won't be a problem. By then, battles between players will erupt quickly. Yet, I still haven't run into anyone I know."

Ember felt puzzled. After he had killed three people in a row, this school had been completely ignored. He was initially worried about someone stealing his kills, but it turned out he seemed to be the only person in this town.

"Whatever. As long as I keep moving forward, I'll run into them sooner or later."
No longer dwelling on it, Ember went to check what the Ant Leader had dropped.

...

[Reinforced Impact Booster]
Type: Consumable
Function: Increases the judgment criteria for skills like Impact or Charge by two levels of Strength. (5/5 charges)
Description: The reason the Ant Leader’s reinforced impact was unstoppable was entirely due to its well-honed, iron-like waist muscles.
[Hint: Equip this item on your waist to improve the judgment effect when using skills like Impact or Charge.]

...

"The Jump Booster hasn't worn off yet, and now I have an Impact Booster. Nice."
Ember smiled and immediately equipped the booster to his waist. The Ant Leader’s base strength was only eight, but the reinforced impact had added two extra levels. Otherwise, thanks to the defensive capabilities of the active soft bio-suit, he wouldn't have lost 40% of his health in one hit.

With the addition of the Reinforced Impact Booster, Ember’s charge judgment could reach ten levels of Strength. The direct damage alone was as high as forty-three points, and including the impact effect, the total damage pushed toward ninety. This was without even calculating the Super Armor bonus. Furthermore, he hadn't even used the important attribute points he gained from leveling up; it was clear that he didn't need to give his all to deal with the Ant Leader.

Aside from the booster, the Ant Leader also contributed an inlay that increased the base damage of weapons, finally making Ember feel that this lousy game wasn't hopeless when it came to loot.

"Now the question is, how to trigger the third part of the main quest."
Ember looked up at the school building, which was already showing signs of collapse. He didn't think searching every classroom one by one was a good idea. He felt there must be something extremely conspicuous in the school for him to trigger the main quest; otherwise, he would waste all the remaining game time.

"So... what is something obvious that I subconsciously ignored?"
After a moment of contemplation, a flash of inspiration hit him. He ran back to the classroom where he had first discovered the Ant Mother. If there was something most obvious in this school, it had to be the pitch-black hole in the center of the classroom. A question then surfaced in his mind: why did the Ant Leader dive into that hole earlier?

Crouching at the edge of the hole and peering down, Ember’s vision couldn't pierce the darkness, but he did receive a game prompt.

[Hint: Two levels of Perception allow you to discover that the slope of this hole is suitable for walking.]

The prompt appeared, undoubtedly confirming that Ember had found the right path. Sensing dust beginning to fall from the ceiling, he didn't hesitate to step into the hole, navigating the darkness with the night vision provided by his two levels of Perception.

Shortly after he left, a crumbling wall gave way under the strain, causing a chain reaction. The school building, which had survived the initial darkness, collapsed suddenly due to the Ant Leader’s repeated impacts, leaving several players who were just about to team up to tackle this medium-sized nest completely dumbfounded.

*We haven't even started fighting yet, and you’ve already collapsed?*