Chapter 45: The Final Link

The scenery in the painting was enchanting—the setting sun, the flaming maples, and the crimson fortress, all bathed in layers of vibrant, dazzling light.

Yet, a closer look revealed that the blood-colored ancient fortress, nestled halfway up the mountainside, emanated an aura of decay and antiquity. This aged presence suppressed the passionate, fiery maples, making them appear somewhat somber. Even the slanting sunset and the wisps of lingering clouds in the sky seemed to lose their original hues, tainted instead by the fortress’s blood-red shade into something eerily, wickedly vivid.

[Notification: You have triggered the final stage of the main quest, "Reconstruction!"]

...

Quest Name: [Reconstruction] (Main Quest, Part 5)
Requirement: Proceed to the Hill Water Tower and complete the final task.
Reward: Unknown.
Description: A landscape painting has guided your eyes to the hill at the heart of the isolated island. Go forth; enter the water tower—once an ancient fortress—and you shall unveil the secrets buried in the island’s deepest depths.

[Notification: This is the final stage of the main quest. The difficulty is extremely high. Collecting the special items hidden across the island may reduce the difficulty of clearing this quest.]

...

The main quest for this assessment differed significantly from previous ones; every quest description provided advance guidance. For instance, the fact that the fortress in the painting had been converted into a water tower led Ember to wonder: what was the true intention of the Chaos Apostle? Was it plotting to secure the legacy bloodline of the Imperial visitor, or was it the blood-colored fortress itself, which might serve a vital purpose? Or perhaps, it was both.

Although the quest did not explicitly mention Anna’s whereabouts, it was evident that her final destination was the Hill Water Tower.

As a descendant of the Imperial visitor’s bloodline, why would she, rather than using her special abilities to break through the encirclement when Maple Island was being ravaged by the Dark Veil, instead head toward the water tower in the center of the island? No matter how one looked at it, there had to be an unknown, significant reason driving Anna to make such an unconventional choice.

The answer to all of this lay within that water tower.

"The location for the final battle has been revealed, and it also hinted at special items hidden on the island. That most likely refers to the Maple Blood Badge, which is rare good news for us! Let’s move—next stop: the Library. I hope we can make more discoveries there!"

The Drinking Water Company’s progress had been much faster than anticipated, saving precious time. Since the Library was located at the foot of the hill, the four of them had plenty of time to spare. However, the ceaseless Dark Veil storm was already closing in on the outskirts of the city. As the squad rushed out of the commercial district, they spotted several hurried players also heading straight for the hill.

"It’s Ember and his group!"
"What do we do?"
"Run! We can't afford to provoke them!"

Most of these players were loners who had refused to join the original three squads of the city district. Seeing the situation turn dire, they had been forced to form a loose alliance to stand against the larger groups. Among them was one of the players who had previously been scared off by Ember; seeing him now, he frantically urged his companions to stay away to avoid a fatal disaster.

Noticing how these players looked at him as if he were a ghost and scrambled to flee, Ember asked his teammates in confusion, "Do I look that scary?"

"Well..." Cup of Wine Grew Stronger muttered.
"Well what?"

"Well, I don't know if you're scary, but you certainly don't look like a normal human." Cup of Wine Grew Stronger eyed Ember’s right arm. "Did you catch some kind of virus? This looks so bizarre! I feel like if you keep using this weapon, you might lose your humanity someday. You saw the criteria for that portrait earlier—I bet you'll turn into either jelly or rubber, hehe!"

Ember helplessly swapped out the weapon, and his rugged appearance reverted to normal. Cup of Wine Grew Stronger nodded immediately, "That looks much better!"

"Go on, go on. Don't talk if you don't understand aesthetics."
"Hmph! As if you know so much!"
"Nonsense, how could I be an artist if I didn't understand aesthetics?"
"Here we go again..."
"Believe it or not!"

Ember rolled his eyes and re-equipped the Active Soft-Tissue Biological Arm. He looked at this special anomalous weapon with great satisfaction. Not only did it provide high damage output, but its extension properties also enhanced his blocking capabilities, allowing Ember to serve as a primary tank even without a shield.

Furthermore, he was looking forward to obtaining the anomalous accessories, wondering if collecting the four-piece set would trigger any further changes.

"If I can't expand the weapon's appearance horizontally, vertical extension works too! A punch that reaches three meters away—just thinking about it is exciting! If I could control the stretching zone at will, that would be even better! Didn't a certain anime character do exactly that?"

Lost in fantasies about the potential of the Active Soft-Tissue Biological Arm, Ember arrived at his destination: the Library, the closest of the six large insect nests to the central hill. Compared to the Drinking Water Company in the commercial district, the Library was in much worse condition. The outer walls had collapsed, pillars had fallen, and the remaining structure barely supported half a tilted floor. Moreover, traces of battle remained at the entrance, with ant corpses scattered everywhere, and deep, booming thuds echoed from within the nest.

Someone was inside!

"Let's go in and check!"

Stepping over countless ant corpses, Ember charged into the nest first, only to find even more piled inside—a testament to the Ant-Shaped Shadow-Eaters' trait of winning through sheer numbers.

As they pushed forward, the thundering sounds grew louder. After bypassing a dim study room, the four of them reached the edge of the battlefield, where they were stunned to see that the player clearing the nest was alone. His game ID was particularly eye-catching:

White Flag!

"The top-ranked player on the Scavenger sub-list? So he was here all along?"

With the game time drawing to a close, Ember had finally spotted another sub-list topper. As for Not a Taoist, who dominated the University sub-list, there was still no sign of him.

What surprised them even more was that White Flag was not only soloing a large insect nest but was simultaneously challenging two Ant Leaders. He relied on no auxiliary items, fighting bare-handed, yet steadily maintaining the upper hand.

He was this strong?

Ember felt a jolt of shock. He had dealt with Ant Leaders before; their mobility and charging power were extremely troublesome. Anyone with a Strength level below ten would suffer secondary damage from the impact. Ember had previously used the Spider Egg, a counter-item, to bullfight the leader until it bled to death. But White Flag did the opposite: he didn't dodge or evade, facing the charge head-on and forcibly resisting the immense force with his bare hands!

Then, grabbing the mandibles with one hand and stepping back with his right leg, he exerted strength through both arms, forcibly neutralizing the ant’s biting attack right before their eyes. When the second Ant Leader charged in, White Flag suddenly used the momentum to leap up, stepped on the ant’s back, and seized the opportunity to attack its abdomen, which lacked reinforced armor.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Three muffled, heavy impacts echoed from afar to Ember and the others, leaving them astonished by the sheer power contained in his fists.

"To resist the reinforced charge of an Ant Leader, your Strength must be at least ten! Is White Flag's starter talent Strength?"

"From what I've heard, it seems so."

"It looks like having high Strength really does let you do whatever you want!"

White Flag’s performance taught Ember and his team a lesson: when a certain attribute reaches a high enough level, the combat scenario transcends conventional modes. Furthermore, the Ant Leaders were typical "brawny but dim" creatures with very singular combat skills. Their reliance on brute strength was useless against White Flag, who possessed even higher strength, allowing him to take on two at once.

"So, what should we do?" Cup of Wine Grew Stronger asked Ember. The Library’s large insect nest was her quest objective; if White Flag cleared it, she would lose out on a huge amount of points.

Before Ember could reply, White Flag suddenly reacted. He pushed back one spider leader and waved enthusiastically at the four of them, "You guys are finally here! Hurry, hurry, lend me a hand! I can't hold on much longer!"

Huh?

Hearing this, Ember and the others exchanged glances. After scanning the area for tricks and finding none, Lu Renjia nodded slightly at Ember. Seeing White Flag’s increasingly desperate pleas for help, Ember decided to assist. The four of them immediately joined the fray and, in cooperation with White Flag, made short work of the two Ant Leaders.

"Whew... that wore me out..."

White Flag was a tall, gentle-looking young man. If they hadn't seen him hold his own against two Ant Leaders, no one would have guessed that his Strength level likely surpassed all other closed-beta players.

"White Flag, long time no see."
"Brother Expert, it's a good thing you arrived in time!"
"Even without us, taking down these two Ant Leaders wouldn't have been difficult for you."
"That may be true, but it's exhausting!"

White Flag and Not an Expert were old acquaintances on good terms, so he didn't worry about being ganged up on. He wiped his sweat and complained wearily, "I'm an Explorer-class player; I'm not good at combat. These ants are just too numerous, and dealing with two Boss leaders at once nearly killed me."

"Heh..."

Hearing the ferocious White Flag describe himself as an Explorer who wasn't good at combat, Ember and the others wore expressions that clearly said, "Do you really expect us to believe that?"

Yet, after the laughter subsided, seeing the weary look on White Flag's face, Ember felt a sudden sense of empathy. He, too, had stated his true class time and again, but no one ever believed him. Connecting this to the posts the other had made in the discussion group, Ember finally concluded that White Flag was indeed an Explorer who happened to be good at combat. It was no wonder he had managed to secure the top spot on the Scavenger sub-list despite the failure of the Forbidden Life Zone quest.