Inside the Lesser Orange portal.
When Nova saw Jack entering, his lips curled up.
‘Good. Now I hope he will fight just as he used to,’ he thought, as two notifications he had become extremely familiar with flashed in his mind.
[Select a weapon]
[Mission starts in 05:00]
He paid no heed to them and instead looked toward Erevan, who was regulating his breath.
“Since we’re already here… is there anything else we need to know?” Nova asked calmly as Jack walked right beside him.
Erevan took a deep breath before looking at Nova. “I’ve already shared everything I know. Even if I knew more, you could just ask the system after the mission starts.”
“Sounds good.”
Nova turned to Jack and said, “I didn’t have time to say it earlier, but I do hope for your sake that you’ve been training because I don’t want to die here.”
Jack patted his friend’s shoulder and winked at him. “Maybe.”
Then he continued, “But seriously, aren’t you acting a bit too much like a stranger? Do you think I’d come here without training? If you keep treating me like this, I might not rescue you in the future.”
Nova shrugged, unbothered by those words. “I was just asking.”
As the two of them made some small talk, five minutes flew by.
Soon, a series of notifications rang in the four of their minds.
[Mission starts in 00:02]
[Mission starts in 00:01]
[Mission started]
[Mission: Kill 1000 warriors from the other civilizations]
Reward:
1. Primary Reward:
o Gold: 7,450,000
o EXP: 350,000
o Half Elemental Orb x1
o Title: The Thousand Chosen
(Your civilization relies on you to prop it forward and usher it into a better era. All Stats +400. High bloodline suppression towards others of your civilization.)
2. Special Reward (If completed within 10 years):
o Bronze Mystery Box
‘What is this mystery box even?’ Nova looked at the rewards, unable to hide his surprise as he raised brows. ‘This is much different from what Erevan said. Shouldn’t the rewards be better? Did he lie to us or is this the full extent of the most difficult portal on Earth?’
Before he could continue his train of thought, and before the orange fog swirling around them disappeared, Erevan’s voice rang out.
“System,” he called calmly. “Lock the portal to four people.”
[This quest is made for 1,000 people to clear. Locking it to only four people means nobody will be able to enter from now until you either die or succeed, and the difficulty will be drastically increased.]
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
[Are you sure?]
Those words echoed not only in Erevan’s mind but in everyone’s. It was as if the system was trying to use the others present to dissuade Erevan from continuing with his request.
He didn’t care about this small trick and pressed [Yes] without hesitation, then turned to Slade, Jack, and Nova. His face as serious as it could be, he said in a commanding tone, “Confirm.”
Slade didn’t bat an eye and silently confirmed. Having already expected such a scenario, Nova and Jack also confirmed right after.
With all four people present having confirmed the decision to lock the portal to only four people, another notification rang in their minds, and its contents made all of them draw a cold, deep breath.
[Mission: Kill 1000 warriors from the other civilizations]
Reward:
1. Primary Reward:
o Gold: 180,000,000
o EXP: 4,300,000
o Elemental Orb x4
o Title: Ancestor
(You are the backbone of your civilization and, without you, the civilization wouldn’t be able to continue existing. Every word you speak is a mandate, every action you take is just and righteous. All Stats +800. Total bloodline suppression towards others of your civilization.)
2. Special Reward (If completed within 10 years):
o Gold Mystery Box
“This…” Jack muttered absentmindedly, unable to believe what he was seeing.
He wasn’t the only one.
Nova shared the same emotions, and although Erevan and Slade had prepared for such a change, they weren’t immune to it.
There was nobody who could stay calm reading the current mission’s rewards.
Just the Gold coins and the EXP alone were enough to drive the current Earth’s population mad with envy, but that wasn’t even the most outrageous reward of them all.
Even though Nova didn’t exactly know what an elemental orb was, nor what a gold mystery box entailed, he certainly understood the significance of the Ancestor title.
As long as he made it out of this portal, Earth and all its inhabitants would be under his influence, the Federation included.
That meant… nobody from Earth would be able to threaten him, and he could focus on getting stronger, as quickly and as much as possible.
The four of them were so absorbed in the system panel, each for a different reason, that they didn’t even notice they were now standing in the middle of a desolate town square.
When Nova finally snapped out of his thoughts, he turned to Erevan and hastily said, “Doesn’t the Ancestor title mean nobody from Earth can go against us?”
He couldn’t imagine the disaster that would have occurred if someone else had obtained this title. At the very least, his freedom would have been eternally compromised as long as the holders were alive.
It was another wake-up call, one that reminded him there were too many ways to lose everything in the blink of an eye.
It wasn’t only Nova who was worried. When Jack heard the question, he also looked over, expectantly waiting for an answer.
Erevan reluctantly tore his gaze away from the rewards window and said, “Not really.”
Those two words made both Nova and Jack heave a sigh of relief, but before they could smile, Erevan continued.
“If you were to stop at Grade 0 while someone in your civilization reached Grade 1, 2, or perhaps even 3, then… do you think your suppression would amount to anything?”
“It’s not only about titles. Any effect, any Force, they don’t matter if the gap between two individuals is too wide. If I were you, I wouldn’t bother with suppression. I’d focus more on the Stats provided by the title. Only those are certain while the rest is fleeting.”
Nova thought about it for several seconds and found himself nodding.
Titles’ effects weren’t omnipotent. The same went for the system, otherwise, how would races be able to sneak into it their own man-made classes to trick new civilizations into working for them?
This also meant he couldn’t take them for granted. What he could do, however, was use them for his own benefit, exploit these titles to their fullest until they no longer worked.
It wasn’t hard to understand when someone laid it out so clearly, but the trials and errors behind such a statement were so numerous that Nova couldn’t even imagine sharing such knowledge as easily and lightheartedly as Erevan did.
Clap.
“Alright, stop overthinking things.” Erevan clapped his hands, snapping both Nova and Jack out of their thoughts. “First of all, we need to settle down, as this will probably be our town for the duration of our stay in this portal.”
Nova finally looked around himself.
‘Nobody is here, but it looks as if someone built this town just for us four.’
The town was spotless, free of even a single speck of dust, but it wasn’t large, just enough to house a thousand people.
The thousand people who should’ve united to complete the mission.
As Nova’s head swiveled left and right, a shimmer caught his attention.
‘What was that?’ he thought, his eyes following it until he found himself staring at the sky, where the shimmers converged into a barrier that encompassed the entire town.
‘An array shielding the whole town…’ Nova thought in wonder at the array’s large scale, just before he felt someone poke him on the shoulder.
Lowering his head, he saw Jack looking at him as if to ask, “What’s up?”
Nova shook his head slightly, indicating it was nothing, and said, “Let’s pick a house.”
“Mhm.” Jack nodded, and as the two walked in a random direction, he continued, “After that, we need to carefully review the rules of the portal.”
Nova hummed in acknowledgment, taking in the sights of the new town.
Based on what Erevan had said a year ago, this was a place where they would need to spend many, many years.
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