Global Fog Survival

[Detection: The current survivor’s progress has met the requirements…]

[A phase-wide task is about to be issued to all: “The Land of Sin”—set foot on the birthplace of all suffering.]

[This task has been added to the “Parchment Scroll—Quest List.” You can check the detailed information at your convenience.]

Colin wasn’t too surprised by the appearance of a new task.

After all, the last time he first killed a “Lord-class Mutant,” a task had been issued to everyone. However, a phase-wide task… this was the first time he’d seen one.

Including this, Colin now had three phase tasks on him. One was “The Witch’s Head,” another was “The Withered Olive Tree,” and now this new one.

“But… the birthplace of all suffering? Are we supposed to go fight the final boss? I barely escaped death, the area just opened up, and we still don’t even know how to survive. Now, the main boss has been pointed out? You must really think highly of us…”

Colin muttered to himself. If he wasn’t mistaken, this task was also appearing for the first time. At least for Russell’s group, there had only been two universal tasks. Now, they were further along than that group, so an additional task wasn’t too surprising.

Without hesitation, he quickly opened the parchment, which was already at hand, and checked the task list.

[Quest Description: The birthplace of all suffering, the land where the First Miracle, “The Twisted Holy Father,” manifested its miracle. It was once the center of the entire Era of Suffering, the most prosperous, grand, yet also darkest and most twisted area. The final destination of countless “miracles.” Go there. There, you will find everything you wish to know. All the truths of this age are there…]

[Quest Time Limit: 176:54:36…]

[Quest Requirement: Set foot on the “Land of Sin” and there, witness the true form of the First Miracle, “The Twisted Holy Father!”]

[Quest Rewards: Hardened Black Bread*999, Fog Points*1000, Recovery Card*1]

“Witness the true form of the First Miracle, ‘The Twisted Holy Father’?”

Skimming through the description, Colin’s first thought was:

Isn’t this just sending them to die?

The remaining survivors couldn’t even look directly at a Lord-class Mutant, let alone a “Great Miracle”! And now they were supposed to face the true form of a Great Miracle?

Just the Seventh Miracle, “The Pain’s Bearer,” had only bestowed a blessing and already created an immortal cavalry of pointed-hat knights. How powerful must its true form be?

“Facing a being like that… even if I had hacks, it’d still be a fifty-fifty chance at best. Now, you want us to meet the true form?”

For a moment, Colin couldn’t help but wonder if the system’s CPU had glitched. Why issue a task like this—was it even possible for them to complete?

It was as if the system was really overestimating their abilities.

“And what I want to know most is: does this age even matter? I want to know how to go home, how to take everyone back to Earth, back to a place where we can drink soda, play games, eat fries, and indulge in junk food every day. That’s the only thing I care about now. Does your so-called ‘truth’ include that?”

To be honest, in the first few days, Colin had been somewhat curious about how this world had become what it was. But after everything he’d been through, he no longer cared about the secrets of this so-called “World of Suffering.” Now, all he wanted was to return home and bring the survivors back with him.

Never to set foot in such a place again…

But then, something in the system’s message made Colin pause.

It said:

[Perhaps, there you will find what you want to know.]

“Really?”

Colin was taken aback. Could they really find out how they ended up here?

And more importantly, how to return to Earth?

Suddenly, a new goal emerged in his mind: to set foot on that so-called “Land of Sin” and bring the survivors back!

“Let’s hope you’re not lying to me,” Colin muttered silently.

The system didn’t offer any more specific information. Despite being something he interacted with frequently, the system remained a mystery to him.

It was even more mysterious than the main game system!

[The answer may not be exactly what you expect, but at least you believe that there, you will find an answer.]

Shaking off the thoughts in his head, Colin focused on analyzing the task, his mind racing.

“The place where the First Miracle, ‘The Twisted Holy Father,’ manifested, the center of the Era of Suffering…”

He muttered to himself. Colin didn’t know much about the “World of Suffering,” but he had a feeling…

That in that era, there must have been a lot of people…

In just over forty days since the “Gondor” survivors arrived, they had killed billions of Mutants. Colin’s group, a civilization of young Earthlings, must have numbered in the tens of billions at least, if you did the math.

And yet, despite having wiped out untold billions of Abominations, the number still seemed endless.

So, just how many people had lived during the “Era of Suffering”?

With such a vast population, it was inevitable that this world would have changed fundamentally. Yet, it still resembled a medieval society, just with enough to eat.

These were the kinds of questions Colin couldn’t begin to answer…

One thing was clear though: the population of the “World of Suffering” far surpassed that of Earth.

“For a church to have unified such a massive population across an entire world, how did they manage it? Was it through miracles?”

A flood of perplexing thoughts crossed Colin’s mind. He shook his head, focusing on analyzing the task information.

“A land where countless ‘miracles’ converge… So, this confirms my theory: the Church of Suffering has been artificially creating ‘miracles’ through distortion and despair…”

His eyes swept over the task details, finally settling on the task timer.

“176.54.36… A countdown. Roughly five or six months left…”

Colin contemplated for a moment. He had become quite sensitive to countdowns after his various experiences. He knew that countdowns were not to be taken lightly. When they ended, something bad usually happened.

For example, the countdown in the “Rats in the Walls” quest…

That countdown hadn’t had much to do with him personally. When it ended, it marked the death of the last survivor. Had he arrived after the countdown ended… He would likely have only found the remains of the survivors, devoured by the monsters.

Now, as he considered the countdown for the “Land of Sin,” a feeling of unease crept over him.

Without hesitation, Colin delved deeper into his thoughts on the matter.