Mysterious Fog World: Eldritch Nexus

As Samantha defeated the wave bosses one by one, the rest of the fighters were also working hard to defeat the remaining monsters. The battlefield was chaotic, filled with the clashing sounds of combat and the cries of the fallen.

The fight against the undead monsters was not particularly hard. Unlike the enemies in the previous waves, the undead lacked overwhelming strength. Instead, they relied on their sheer numbers. Skeletal warriors clattered forward, zombies shuffled relentlessly, and ghouls leaped with eerie agility. Despite their numbers, they were not unmanageable.

The undead were especially vulnerable to fire magic, making the fox women’s fire mastery their greatest bane. Flames roared and crackled as the fox women unleashed their fiery attacks, reducing the undead to smoldering heaps of ash and bone. Despite being the group with the most monsters, the undead were the first to fall.

The deep divers, on the other hand, were more formidable opponents. Their numbers were vast, and they wielded water mastery with deadly precision. Streams of water surged and twisted through the air, and mental attacks struck the defenders' minds. Though stronger than those of the evil eyes, these mental attacks were largely ineffective against the defenders’ fortified minds.

However, the deep divers’ water mastery posed a significant challenge. Their attacks suppressed the fox women’s fire abilities and demonstrated their high level of control over water. The battlefield became a mix of boiling steam and splashing water as the two elements clashed.

Despite the attribute disadvantage, the fox women managed to hold their ground. Their increased strength from the Mighty Oak Acorns and the low sequence fire mastery they possessed gave them an edge.

The last group of insect monsters was the toughest to deal with. There was a variety of insect-type monsters, their chitinous bodies glistening in the dim light. Despite their average strength, they were the hardest to defeat.

One reason for this was their sheer numbers, second only to the undead monsters. The main reason, however, was their incredible defense. The mortal insects had defenses close to that of rank 1 extraordinary monsters. The rank 1 monsters had defenses even higher, surpassing rank 2. The rank 2 insects had the highest defense of any monsters they had fought so far, their exoskeletons nearly impenetrable.

The defenders’ increased strength from the Mighty Oak Acorns was crucial. Without it, the fight would have been nearly impossible. Even when the rest of the defenders had finished off the other monsters, more than half of the insect monsters remained. It took the combined efforts of all the fighters to finally bring down the remaining insects.

The battlefield was littered with the remains of the monstrous horde. The defenders, exhausted but victorious, began the arduous task of cleaning up and searching for loot.

The fog zone with the undead monsters resembled a massive graveyard, with tombstones and crypts dotting the landscape. The fog itself was blackish, adding to the eerie atmosphere. There was not much to find in this desolate place. A few minimal herbs and materials were found, ones that required such an environment to grow. The only significant treasure was the extraordinary potion formulas for ranks 1-7, Necromancer for the Death path.

Drake examined the formulas with interest. It was the same path potion formula he had obtained from the ruined village when he first started the game. The difference was that he had only acquired a rank 1 formula from the village after defeating the Despair Skeleton. Here, they had found potion formulas for ranks 1 to 7.

The fog zone with the deep divers was entirely underwater, forcing the fox women to purchase water-breathing auxiliary potions from the system shop to explore it. As they descended into the murky depths, the water around them shimmered with a faint blue light. The fox women swam through the aquatic landscape, their movements graceful and fluid.

They discovered many aquatic herbs and other water-type materials scattered throughout the fog zone. In a small underwater garden near a castle on the sea floor, they found a special lily plant. The flowers were a vibrant blue, resembling crystal, and blue crystal fruits hung delicately from the stems. The fox women knew immediately that they had found a treasure. The garden, clearly dedicated to these plants, contained fifty of the precious lilies, which they carefully collected.

Inside the castle, they found a treasury filled with weapons and materials. The fox women quickly packed and delivered the contents to the territory, leaving nothing behind. Among the items in the treasury were many protected parchments. These parchments contained numerous water and psychic-type mortal and extraordinary spells, as well as extraordinary potion formulas for ranks 1-7, Sailor for the Sea path, an uncommon path alongside the Death path.

As they continued their exploration of the castle, they stumbled upon a closed room adorned with strange runes. The door was locked and proved to be exceptionally strong, requiring the combined efforts of several fox women to break it open. Inside, they found a ritual circle carved into the floor and an idol of a grotesque-looking monster standing before it.

The room exuded an ominous aura, and the fox women instinctively understood that this was where the deep divers offered sacrifices to their dark god. The air was thick with unsettling energy, and the ominous light from crystals embedded in the walls cast eerie shadows on the walls.

They had no intention of taking the idol. The risk of being marked by the evil god was too great. The fox women exchanged wary glances, their unease palpable. They decided to leave the room untouched, retreating from the sinister presence that seemed to linger in the air.

The fog zone with the insect monsters was covered by a dense forest. Massive trees towered above, their branches intertwining to form a thick canopy. Vines snaked up the trunks, flowering plants added bursts of color, and moss carpeted the forest floor. The air was thick with the scent of damp earth and the sounds of rustling leaves and distant animal calls.

The fox women moved through the forest, collecting as many extraordinary materials and herbs as possible. The abundance of resources forced them to leave behind most of the mortal ones, focusing on the more valuable finds.

While exploring, they came across a strange shrub. It had a dense, bushy appearance with intertwining branches that created a natural barrier-like structure, resembling a small, impenetrable fortress. The stems were covered in small, sharp thorns, and the oval-shaped leaves had serrated edges and a thick, leathery texture. The shrub bore berry-like fruits that were a striking deep blue with a hint of purple, making them easily noticeable against the green foliage.

The fox women quickly identified it as an extraordinary plant. One of the assassins, cautious but curious, decided to test the berries. She took an extraordinary antidote to counter any potential poison and ate one of the berries. At first, she felt no difference, but a few seconds later, a subtle change washed over her. She felt slightly more resilient as if her body had gained a bit more defense.

The eyes of all the explorers shone with excitement. They carefully packed up the plant, knowing they had found something valuable. As they continued their search, they discovered hundreds of similar shrubs scattered throughout the forest. They took every single one, knowing their potential value.

When Drake reviewed the treasures, his excitement was palpable. The crystal fruit plant and the thorny shrub were particularly impressive. He could already envision the benefits they would bring to the territory.

Name: Blue Crystal Lily

Level: Sequence 9, Peak-Stage

Description: Eating the Blue Crystal Fruit will increase Water mastery to level 1, advanced stage, if below it, or increase by one level if in the advanced stage. No effect above the advanced stage. The plant produces fruits every three months, 10-15 per harvest.

Name: Bulwark Bramble

Level: Sequence 9, Peak-Stage

Description: Eating the Bulwark Berries will increase defense.

The plant produces berries every three months, 300-500 per harvest.

After eating 100 berries, the defense increase will be equivalent to the extreme defense of rank 1 of the extraordinary sequence.

Likewise, 200 berries are needed for rank 2, 300 for rank 3, and so on.

Thus, a total of 5500 berries are needed up to rank 10. After that, eating more will have no effect.

To get the complete extreme defense of a rank, the user needs to be at least that rank or above.

If the rank is less, the user will only get up to a minor defense increase for the next rank.

The Blue Crystal Lily was of no immediate use for the territory as no one currently had water mastery. However, it did not require extreme conditions to grow and only needed to be planted underwater. Drake decided to create a lake within the territory later on to cultivate these and any other aquatic plants they might find.

The Bulwark Bramble, on the other hand, was similar to the Mighty Oak Tree. While the latter produced strength-increasing acorns, the bramble produced defense-increasing berries. Although the output of a single plant might not be as high compared to the oak tree, the territory had more than two hundred Bulwark Bramble plants. This meant they could potentially produce more defense berries than strength fruits.

Drake ordered his followers to collect all the berries and store them separately. The insect monsters had actively consumed the berries, so they could only collect roughly twelve thousand berries. These berries were the reason behind the insects' formidable defense. Unlike the minotaurs who were unaware of the oak trees, the insects had fully exploited the berries' benefits.

Drake reflected on why the defense of the insect monsters was not at rank 10 despite being mortal monsters. The reason was that they could not increase their defense to a rank without at least being in that rank. Instead, they only gained a minor increase for the next rank.

Thus, the mortal insect monsters had a defense equivalent to a weak rank 1. Despite consuming many berries, they couldn’t achieve more than a minor rank 1 defense. Only a rank 1 extraordinary monster could consume more berries to attain extreme rank 1 defense and then a minor rank 2 defense, and so on. Additionally, with over a hundred thousand contenders for the berries from more than a hundred plants, few had an extreme defense for their rank.

As his followers gathered the berries, Drake sighed in relief. ‘We were fortunate to defeat the insects when we did,’ he thought. ‘If we had faced them later, their defense could have been even more impenetrable.’

By the time everyone returned, only fifteen minutes remained before the next wave. Drake called a few of his followers, including the twins, Maria, Aria, Darla, Samantha, Zara, Rachel, and Barbara, to discuss the upcoming wave. As they gathered around, they noticed the serious expression on Drake's face, wondering what he wanted to say. Some among them already guessed the agenda of the meeting.

“Should we participate in the next wave?” Drake asked, his voice steady and contemplative.

All of them were startled by the question but quickly began to ponder deeply. The room fell into a thoughtful silence.

“My lord, I am deeply ashamed to say this, but with the increasing difficulty of the waves, we will be hard-pressed to complete the next one,” Maria explained truthfully, her eyes reflecting both concern and resolve. “In this wave, we already faced three rank 3 monsters and more than a thousand lower-rank extraordinary monsters. The next wave will certainly have even more monsters. Despite our recent power-ups, if there are too many monsters, we might not be able to defeat them without sustaining losses.”

She paused, looking around at her comrades before continuing, “But my lord, if you wish, we will follow your order and put our lives on the line to clear the next wave.” Her voice was steady, filled with unwavering determination. There was no flattery or trickery in her words—just the solemn promise of a zealot ready to lay down her life for her lord.

The rest of the members nodded in agreement, their expressions mirroring Maria’s resolve. Each one of them, at minimum, was a fanatic in their loyalty to Drake. He knew they were speaking their true thoughts, considering what they believed to be the best for him and the territory.

Drake listened to their points carefully. He had also come to the same conclusion. They had too little time to prepare for the event. If they had more time, he was confident that not only the tenth wave but even the final, twelfth wave would have been possible.

But Drake didn’t dwell on it for too long. Completing the ninth wave was a significant achievement, and truthfully, he had expected less. His followers had performed excellently.

He could still participate in the tenth wave and purchase many different weapons from the shop to deal with the monsters, given the points he had collected from the previous three waves. But that would be like putting the cart before the horse. The expenditure would be too great, and there was a high chance his followers would die. They didn’t mind dying for him; they would do it with a smile on their faces. But Drake had no intention of losing even a single one of them.

“There is no need to be ashamed. I know you didn’t have much time to prepare, but even in the little time you had, you worked hard and proved to me that I was right in placing my trust in you. This is merely the first challenge; many more will come in the future. I hope that you will continue working hard like this,” Drake said, his voice steady and reassuring.

Everyone felt emotional hearing him and knelt on the ground simultaneously.

“My lord, please forgive our incompetence. We swear that we will not let you down ever again,” Maria said her voice filled with determination.

“Okay, get up. Like I said, I am satisfied with your performance in the event. None of you are incompetent. So stop thinking about it,” Drake said firmly.

“Thank you, my lord,” everyone said emotionally as they got up. Despite Drake’s reassurances, they still felt a deep sense of shame as if they had let him down. All of them vowed that they would never repeat what happened that day and would never feel that shame again.

Time passed, and ten minutes before the start of the tenth wave, Drake once again heard a voice from the sky.

[Do you want to participate in the next wave?]

“No.”

[Player Drake Stone rejected participating in the tenth wave. You can no longer participate in the further waves.]

After refusing to take part in the further waves, Drake gathered his followers. “Clean up the territory and sort out our gains,” he instructed. “Plant any of the plants that can be planted in the territory.”

He ordered them to dig a small cavern and a small pool to temporarily plant the Mindbloom Vine and Blue Crystal Lily until they could come up with permanent solutions.

But before all that, he instructed everyone to eat a hundred Bulwark Berries each to gain extreme rank 1 defense. The berries were both sweet and sour, with a small size that made them easy to consume quickly. The territory residents ate them eagerly, feeling the gradual strengthening of their defenses.

By the time the ninth wave was completed, 36 hours had passed since the event started. The sky had turned dark, signaling the night of the next day. Exhausted but satisfied with their progress, Drake decided to log out and have a good night’s sleep back at his home, as he hadn’t logged out for the past 36 hours.

As he lay in his bed, Drake felt the weight of exhaustion settled over him. The soft mattress and familiar surroundings provided a stark contrast to the intensity of the past hours. He closed his eyes, grateful for the respite, and soon drifted into a deep, restful sleep.

The next day, after a rejuvenating rest, Drake logged back in. Just as he arrived in the territory, he heard the voice again from the sky, precisely at the forty-eight-hour mark.

[World Event: Monster Tide ends now. Congratulations to all the players who participated in the event. A ranking will be announced for 10,000 players based on the number of points acquired in the event. The rankings 101-10,000 will be updated half an hour later on the website and players’ game panel. Half an hour after that, the top hundred rankings will be announced worldwide.]