‘Is this… Light Shone?’Coal failed to understand the reason for the sudden change this small village had experienced within two short months. The last time he came here, he almost lost his life, and that was the reason he hesitated to come to this small village at the edge of the world. However, today he came to the front of the small village to see an entirely different scene.Of course, everything was different since the moment he stepped into Forestedge. That place was swarming with alien humans, but that was the case for all the remote towns, and he heard it was the same with many other countries.Still, things changed much more when he came toward Light Shone from Forestedge. This was a road that anyone rarely travelled, and there were many signs of animals occupying it at night.However, today he met travellers along the way. In fact, he left Forestedge with a group of twenty people. All of them were aliens travelling to Light Shone, and he met some of them travelling back fr
“Does this fit your requirements, Mr Coal?”Amanda wrote the last details of the contract by herself. The lack of personnel was a significant burden to them, but they had no choice. Every one of them stayed after dark to practise Mana Breathing and took turns practising during the day. ‘I only opened two magic nodes until now, and I am worried.’All of them had to work since three distinct organisations joined around Jason, and this young man wasn’t interested in assigning or managing their duties.All of them had to work together since none of them could cause trouble with Jason around. Amanda eventually found it relatively easy to work with the US government and Aegis while Jason was the leader. They all had a common goal, and no one wanted to expose too many details or cause a scene. ‘Why am I even complaining here? Is it because I am afraid of the future?’She knew she couldn’t say a word to Jason.A young man who barely stepped into society, who just wanted to play a game. Stil
“Here!”“Ah! Thanks!”Jason thought little when he didn’t hear Amelia approaching him, but it surprised him a bit when he saw the steaming mug in her hand. He silently watched her taking a seat far from him on the pavement; just as he did.He wasn’t good enough to hear her movements at all. He tried to track her movements from time to time during the last week, but it didn’t work at all.‘But I can detect Xanders sometimes. How strong are you actually?’Jason had a feeling that Amelia might have reached a stage that clearly surpassed the limitations of the Grandmasters. ‘Well… Everyone has secrets. I hope she won’t be too angry when I ask some of them….’He sipped a mouth full of warm water from the mug Amelia brought.It was a chilly night, but his stats were too high for him to feel it much. He just appreciated the feeling and the memories of having something warm during a cold night, and he knew Amelia was doing the same. “Is she asleep?”“Yeah. I covered her up enough so she wo
“Omg! It is Jason. Can you see it? And there is Grandmaster Xanders. Will we see a showdown like that time?”“I can….”Jason wore common black pants and a grey shirt, and he had two swords with him; one on his back and the other on his waist. His hair seemed to be longer than what she saw the first day, and his eyes scanned through the crowd in a calm phase. Gillian didn’t feel too excited about Jason’s appearance. Of course, Jason was the uncontested leader of the Crystal Pulse, and many new exclusive members of the Crystal Pulse idolised him. ‘Did I make the right choice?’The doubt she had in her heart was the reason for Gillian’s lack of excitement. She was among the first few people selected as the core members of the Crystal Pulse. In fact, she didn’t have to apply for the exclusive membership, and she got an invitation from the Saintess Guild. Gillan knew this was because of the conversation she had with Amanda a couple of days ago. However, what made her feel nervous was t
“Everyone back on the line! We are done mapping here, and we are moving to the next mine.” Samson tried his best to look confident, but the sudden attack that happened to the group had shaken him to the core. He felt like he was back on the battlefield, and if not for all the therapy he had, he would have run back to Light Shone. Even Butch, the third strongest, looked scared and vigilant, and the players in the logistic group looked terrified. Luckily, nothing else happened for the last few hours. ‘They are so calm.’ He saw Jason looking at everything with an indifferent eye, and he seemed to be more interested in finding fruits for Hanna. Samson saw Jason putting everything into the pouch on his waist that looked like a normal purse, but it seemed to have no bottom. He heard this was something Jason created, and it had a space-time rune embedded in it. One needed Mana to use such an item, and it was basically a magical inventory from those fantasy stories. Samson heard from
‘I guess… It is okay to be scared….’Xanders felt several people he restrained with aura falling unconscious, but he didn’t know if it was due to fear or disgust. Either way, he didn’t care about them as long as they were alive. ‘This thing can’t be weak! Jason is taking it seriously. And it can speak very well… How the hell such a thing exists?’The spider-like creature was at least six metres tall and had sixteen eyes that rotated without stopping. He noticed a unique purplish glow in those eyes from time to time, and he wondered if it was an illusion. The more he looked at the creature, the more Xanders felt worried. ‘Shit!’He cursed when he felt more spiders appearing among the trees and from the old mines, these were the size of the first ones they saw and weren’t strong, yet there were many.“Jason! I will attack it!”He whispered from the side, waiting for an opening.“She can hear us, Mr Xanders. And she will kill you even before you scratch her, right, Brood?”…“You know
“Let’s go back!” Jason turned around after he no longer felt Brood’s presence. He had too much on his mind at the moment. “I… Still can’t move.” Xanders wasn’t the only one who had fallen under the petrifying effect. “Sigh! Let’s wait a bit. Carry the ones who are unconscious, and name this mine as the spider mines.” Jason shook his head when he saw Xanders’s expression, and this old assassin truly looked terrified. “Don’t worry too much, Mr Xanders. She can easily kill a Master Wizard. Samson, message me when everyone can move.” He ignored the sheer surprise he saw on the old man’s face as he walked into the forest. He wanted to find more fruits for Hanna before going back. “Ye… Yes, Jason! But… But what about the spiders?” Samson heard the entire conversation between Jason and the massive spider, but his skin crawled when he thought of the smaller spiders that had the body size of a bear. He suddenly understood what it meant to be a genuine leader. Jason calmly faced the
- We give you food, and you give us magic stones! Nice deal! Now I think Jason Hope is a Lunatic. Who else can say a twenty-foot spider is not unreasonable?- I know you are inside. Seriously? I peed myself after seeing that thing. - All the players in Light Shone. Start running! - Exclusive players of the Crystal Pulse! Are you happy now? Mining operation for Magic Stones in Spider Mines. Great. Get eaten by a spider. - Holy Moly! The currency no one knew about until now! Standard magic stone is equal to a hundred gold! The Crystal Pulse has secured three mines.- Is this a new trend? Befriending a field boss instead of attacking? Can this work? Is this a new feature in The Endless?- New tab on the official Crystal pulse website. Allied factions! Brood and her hive are number one. These people are lunatics.The internet had turned into another explosion and the truth about magic stones came out, but the actual issue came with the appearance of Brood. Many people had a phobia towa
"Shit," Amelia cursed under her breath as she deflected blow after blow, desperately trying to protect Jason from the relentless attacks.It wasn’t just her previous enemies; there was another massive threat looming on the horizon. She could feel the presence of a greater demon, its oppressive aura emanating from afar, finally ready to make its move.'I can't take on this thing,' she thought, parrying another strike aimed at her.She didn't have the luxury of time to grab Jason and flee. Besides, with the monstrous force approaching, running seemed pointless. This new threat was undoubtedly stronger than her.'If only he can fight,' she lamented, her grip tightening around her sword. She couldn't even afford a glance at Jason to check if he was still holding on. All she could hear were his painful grunts, each one a stab to her focus.…"Daddy, Daddy, no, I have to go!" Hanna cried out, trying to rush toward the mine entrance.Before she could take another step, Nocturne leapt from her
'This is not going to end well.'Jason barely caught his breath as he hid behind a stone column, narrowly evading the swing of a giant demon's sword. He felt a growing sense of helplessness as his spells failed to inflict any significant damage on these monstrous enemies. Surprisingly, his Arcane Spawns managed to restrain one of the demons temporarily. However, the limitation was clear—he could only summon three Arcane Spawns at a time, and that number was far from enough to take down even a single demon.'I don't think Amelia can hold on much longer.'While Jason was barely managing against a single demon, Amelia was handling all five of the remaining demons on her own. She moved with incredible agility, skillfully evading the swords and other weapons targeting her, striking back whenever she saw an opening. Her blade flashed, leaving shallow cuts on the demons’ thick skin, but it was clear that even with her skill, she was being overwhelmed. Five demons were far more than she cou
"Hanna, you have to be good and stay here, alright?""Alright, Daddy," Hanna responded, her voice tinged with sadness, but she kept her composure.'Hanna is a big girl. I can't cry. Mommy and Daddy promised to come back,' she reminded herself, trying to act brave.Floating behind her, Nocturne extended its tentacles, imitating the action of wiping away tears as if to comfort Hanna in its own eerie way."No, Hanna is not crying, Little Cuttlefish," Hanna tried to argue with Nocturne, waving her tiny fist cutely at the eldritch horror."Make sure everything is okay." Jason gave Hanna a quick peck on the forehead before turning to Samson and Butch."We will handle things while you are gone, Sir Jason," Butch assured him. Despite not being from Earth, he had learned to mimic Samson when addressing Jason. Many of the bodyguards, even those from Yuriel, had learned to act properly under Samson's guidance.Jason's gaze shifted to Dane, who was responsible for maintaining the outer perimete
“Eh….”Hanna turned her head around as she felt a familiar ominous feeling. “What is it, Hanna?”“Little Cuttlefish is here, Mommy.”She didn’t know where it was, but she felt its presence. A moment later, a ripple appeared near them and a small slit expanded in midair. An eerie dark feeling seeped out of it as several small tentacles slipped into their world. “Whee!”Nocturne floated toward Hanna making a cheerful noise. “Hiss.”Ancient Wraith hissed at the foreign creature. “Grr….”Nyx growled at the creature in anger, but it didn’t try to attack it. First, Nocturne was Jason’s pet. Second, her little master had no anger toward this thing. However, Nyx knew that the horrible disease had the same scent as this creature. It was a dangerous and foreign feeling that made them uncomfortable. “Gu! Gu!”Nocturne immediately released a defensive sound and hid behind Amelia, trying to protect itself. “Don’t harm Little Cuttlefish. It is not his fault.”Hanna gently patted Nyx’s head
“No! I will not let you go in.”Brood’s voice was sharp and loud, and Jason felt the surrounding air vibrate with her voice. “It is already spreading. Send out one of your Drones and check the caves to the north. There is a crack.”Jason didn’t care about Brood’s rant at the moment. He was much stronger than before. Even if he failed to defeat Brood, he was confident enough to survive against her and escape. Besides, Amelia should be already on her way here. “But… But… This is the only place I am supposed to protect. I… I didn’t let anything escape.”Brood’s voice broke a little as she tried to suppress the agitation. “Check it out. I can feel the monsters roaming beneath those cracks, and it won’t be long before they escape.”“But….”“There is no time. She is coming, and she is angry. So check it out. We will go in there and finish it, Brood. It doesn’t matter if you like it or not. It is too dangerous and we are going to end whatever is down there.”Jason had no idea what kind o
‘This is bad. This is very very bad.’Jason stared at the crack on the ground with a frown. He thought the corrupted land was beneath the spider mines, Brood’s lair. However, it seemed to be extended beyond his scope of imagination. He felt the pulsating mutated life roaming beneath the ground, and he had to use a lot of willpower to suppress himself from roaring. The mutated monster within him smelled the delicacy. Still, alerting them wouldn't be a good thing for them at the moment. Only two Grandmasters were at Light Shone while the others followed the bandit exterminators in secrecy. Only a Grandmaster could face a hunter, and anything above would be too much for this world.The red mist leaking through the crack corroded the mana in the surroundings.‘Is there a way to stop it from spreading? Should I repair the crack? But we better deal with whatever is inside first.’Jason didn't feel like angering Amelia anymore.‘I better see Brood. She must know what happened here before.’H
“You… You are Jason.”“I am.”Jason smiled at the man as he finally opened his eyes. He felt relieved to slip away from Amelia’s fiery gaze. “My… My arm….”The player panicked as he hurriedly inspected his arm. “The wound….”“It is gone now. Honestly, it wasn’t a wound. It was an infection.”Jason shrugged.“What exactly happened? I don’t think you were in Spider Mine.”The lower level of the Spider Mine was a forbidden place. Even if it weren’t, very few would dare to wander into the swarm of spiders. “No, Jason. I was working in the Northern Mine. We had a small quack at the lowest level, and a new crack popped up in the floor.”“And you were the closest to it?”“Yes.”“How big is this crack, did anyone else come into contact with it?”Jason didn’t want to drag out the discussion.This wasn’t exactly unexpected, but an open crack meant there was a hidden space underneath the mine that was contaminated by radiation. He needed to find out how big the hidden space was. ‘I really h
“Jason! We need to see Jason!”“What is going on?”Amelia came out of the house as she heard the loud voice. No one dared to shout in front of their home, and she wondered why Jason’s loyal guards didn’t act. “Madam…!”“Grandmaster Amelia! We… We need help. He can’t log out, and we don't know what to do.”“Hm?”Amelia frowned as he looked at the people from Jason’s world. She knew these were the selected people of the Crystal Pulse. Even though Samson and the other guards prevented this group of people from entering the house, they also looked worried. She looked at the man they brought in, and her eyes widened for a moment. There was a purplish wound on the man’s arm, and a dark purple smoke came out of it. He was groaning in pain and it looked as if the man was going senile with pain. He was twitching and rolling on the ground as the others held him. More people were gathering near their house, and she knew many wanted to know what happened to the fallen man. “Mommy… That unc
“Is it online?”“Yes, Chief.”“How is the reaction?”“I think it looks very violent, Chief. There is an outburst of responses.”“Good.”Despite his words, Magnus’s face showed no hint of comfort. “And Jason?”“He will stay on Yuriel for the time being, Chief. Amelia said she is keeping him there indefinitely. As long as this problem isn’t solved.”“Do you think she knows something?”Magnus rubbed his temple. Technically, there was no way for Jason to know the gaming cabin could transport him to another world. Even if an NPC told him so, it would be impossible to believe. ‘It isn’t like he could handle that kind of secret with such grace.’He believed it would be too much for even a man like Jason Hope. However, Amelia’s behaviour made him suspicious of her knowledge about their world. She knew how to arrange security and cover blindspots against modern weapons. This shouldn’t have happened if Amelia was from a magical world. Besides, her plan looked almost flawless, and even Magn