Azimuth: The Elden Throne

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Day 4

Dale wholeheartedly stuck to his schedule.

From around 5 to 7 Am depending on when his buff activated, he would wake up and start his day by eating a nice round of breakfast made by Illia, followed by his daily training/exercise with Testros in the training field near the Mercenary Guild.

From there, he would eat Lunch with Illia, getting another bonus before spending the rest of the entire day studying, doing nothing else but that for the remainder of the day.

If he could, he would use about 2-3 hours per day to try and talk with the other Villagers in the hopes of triggering more Quests and learning more about them.

With his new Privileges, all of his Quest rewards have been improved, and since he had resolved to not go to a Dungeon for now, his only source of XP came from them.

His combat ability and knowledge of the world around him were increasing day by day, but the world around him was ever-changing, moving forward together if not faster than him.

Yesterday, his missions were officially added on the wooden boards by the pretty Guild receptionists under Misgurd's request, and right now, they were exploding in popularity.

Even now, some players could be seen competing with each other over them...

Being able to go outside ahead of time and Reputation was a blessing, no matter how difficult the Quest was.

It was a mix of everything they desired.

Being able to hunt monsters on the field for some nice XP, while raising their Reputation with the chance of some item drops...

Albeit Dale could not farm those flying spiders from gear, the players could, so the value of hunting for them was many times higher than for the Villagers and Dale.

Not only that, any extra drops they got would be theirs, and if they wanted to, they could sell those out for extra profit while also being paid for their service.

And it wasn't a low amount, it was quite decent, much more than what they could do if they were to spend the same amount of time doing miscellaneous Quests...

Way more fun, less tiring, and every reward was better...

They were perfect missions for these beginners and veteran players alike.

At first, some larger groups thought of using those to their advantage, their plan was to leave a small group to do the mission, while having another, smaller group, explore outside.

But they soon realized that such a thing wasn't going to be easy to accomplish…

The moment the first group of players was selected and brought to the area where the mission was going to take place... Hell started.

They were the best available.

The Highest Level... Being around 10-13 on average.

The best gear from the tutorial, each having their own sets, while also possessing synergy as a group...

And finally, the highest Reputation...

Without a doubt, all of them were definitely among the top 50 players of Resko right now...

So they went to the wilds with their heads held high, they were the best players!

Streams were made, videos were being produced, everyone was excited for the first group that would conquer the outside!

The moment they arrived at the crops, they all received their respective notifications.

The Quest was starting.

[Protect the Crops from the Pests 0/?]

[Protect the Cattle from the Pests 0/?]

[Subjugate breeding grounds 0/20]

[Eliminate enemies, Bone Mice 0/1000]

[...]

There were many groups, each of them belonging to a specific group.

Some gathered Quests to protect the Crops, others the Cattle, while a few grabbed Quests to thin down the numbers of Pests...

But they all had the same target in mind.

All of their missions triggered, it was time to hunt!

So each went to do their own things, separating from each other as they thought that it would be better to spread around rather than to compete with one another...

What they didn't realize was the intrinsic nature of their Quests...

Barely had they moved, but wave after wave of those pests started to attack, making the players use everything they had to defend.

A few that were too far were immediately killed, crushed under the waves of flying spiders, a cruel way to die...

Others managed to flee to the backlines, the small walls surrounding the crop fields.

That was when their war started.

They barely had time to breathe, much less to explore outside.

They were fighting against a single frail, but relentless creature... Timid when alone, Bloodthirsty when in groups.

The Bone Mice, creatures with an average Level of 10, ranging from 5 to 15… Not one, not ten, but thousands, rushing to them in waves of dozens from all fronts.

"GUAAH!"

"WHAT HAPPENED?!"

"IT'S A BIG ONE! TANKS! CHANGE FORMATION!"

It was obvious, but when thousands attacked, even if rare, something unusual would appear.

If they were unlucky, a Level 15 to 25 Elite would attack them, sometimes Variant even.

(Elite -> +10 or more Levels/ Higher stats or abilities)

And leading each wave would be a Level 30 Elite Variant, but only one, the problem was when this Small Boss monster spawned on the same side, a 1/16 chance given there were 4 fronts for them to attack, North, South, East, West.

The players could only cry as they fell one after the other...

Worst... If they could be attacked by those... Then... If they were super unlucky, wouldn't a Boss type spawn?!

But thankfully out of 10 enemies, 8 were fodder types, as to be expected from such low-class mobs that relied on numbers.

(Fodder -> -10 or more Levels/ Lower stats or abilities)

Still, they were agile and a pain to deal with, especially when in groups, they had sharp fangs and could even fly close to the ground, although they preferred to use the high grass as cover to ambush their joints and weaknesses.

Acting in groups, their teamwork was decent, and all of that combined was already more than these players could take.

If one were to die, it meant that he had failed the Quest and that he would receive the failed penalty.

But for those that remained alive, it meant that their job had now become even harder as they had lost one person, as no one wanted to fail.

Still, for this first batch of players, only the strongest and most reliable were chosen, so they completed the mission without a single casualty... But with a LOT of stress.

And luckily, no Boss monster spawned at the end.

Yet, albeit many suffered, they quickly forgot about it, quickly bragging about their rewards to all! Making many envious and some of their competitors even angry.

Their drop items... Their Levels... The money and Reputation... All in abundance comparable to even some of the other Higher Level areas, as this was supposedly their worst hunting grounds.

This caused many to start their own plans, they would be there to grab the missions when they were posted again the next day...

But when the videos of their mission were posted, many were forced to take a step back simply due to the difficulty of this Quest, be it willingly or not.

Because if they went with the expectation of being carried, the only thing they would get would be a few gold coins since the mission rewards were mostly based on contribution.

Perhaps this was better for the top players, less competition the better, but it also meant that the difference between the top and the lower players would increase... Albeit, from Dale's perspective, this was bound to happen.

Why should he try to keep them equal?... How can you balance a game where the top 1% spends 10 hours per day playing the game while 80% of the player base plays the game scarcely every once in a while?

Those that invest more effort into their own activities will always excel over others, there is no reason to try and diminish their efforts.

Of course, he'll still try to keep them close within certain boundaries, since in the end, if a group becomes too strong, wrong thoughts may start to fill their minds.

At the end of the day, for most players, the penalty for failure was too large, a full -2 points to their Reputation.

That was huge, considering that until they reach +10 Reputation, all of their Reputation gains will be halved.

That would mean that, with a single failure, they would lose a whole 4 Reputation!

To some players, that was everything they had… They couldn't afford to lose the little they had and end up wasting more time working like some kind of overworked intern…

It wasn't fun, this wasn't what they came here to do, they wanted to explore outside, hunt monsters, see the beautiful sights of this world, interact with the people…

Make money and get rich!

But so far, they were trapped, they couldn't hunt, they couldn't interact with the Villagers, much less get rich.

Most of them only wanted to leave, they couldn't blame the Villagers, nothing good would come out of that, so they blamed the players, the ones that caused all of this to happen, the greedy players that caused a commotion.

It was safe to say that those Clans weren't really having the best experience, being hated by everyone…

And after their previous losses, most of them had already quit the game or created a new account from scratch, either complaining to the game company, asking for a refund, or to their superiors that caused their characters to be incarcerated indefinitely.

Regardless, the days continued as normal...

...

Just as the players moved around, the Villagers had their own schedules.

Most remained a fair share of their time within the makeshift Library, studying whatever books caught their attention, to the point the place became quite stuffy...

As such, some left after grabbing an interesting book, hoping to improve or to study somewhere more comfortable, like Barme, who grabbed a small collection of smithing books, ores, minerals, and such, leaving to read them in the calmness of his forge.

Jyter did the same, he was very interested to see what was written in those books and how it fared against his own knowledge.

Besides, he didn't quite want to be the sole one doing nothing as even some of the kids were studying.

As long as he could catalog what was contained within those books, that would be enough.

So grabbing what he felt to be enough, he left for his own house.

Of course, this was done under a certain order, all borrowed books were marked and written down, just in case someone forgot to return them.

They were all precious relics, written by people that weren't within them anymore, they had to cherish them all, even after they copied them all.

That was why children were completely prohibited from grabbing books on their own...

Others, like Tina, preferred to do their own things at their own pace, without really having a goal in mind.

She sometimes grabbed a book, read a few pages, and stopped, leaving the book as she went to do something else, and other times, she would fetch an entire collection without a single word...

But without a doubt, all of them were really focused on doing something, whatever that may be...

After all, they didn't have much else to do anyway.

The children did what they were best at, and that was play, albeit, far away from the players...

They were still apprehensive of these new people, and it wasn't the first time they had seen some of these people looking at them in weird ways…

Some were okay, some were strange, looking at them as if they weren't people... Or worse.

A few of them went to the library to pass the time or by the request of their parents, others played with wooden swords and dolls, letting their imagination do the rest…

While some simply lazed around under the sun, whatever fancied those small Souls.

But the most impacted by all of this were certainly the young adults, people within a similar age gap as Dale.

Teens and Adults between the ages of 16 to 22, were the most affected by his actions, and the ones that were trying their hardest.

Some wanted to be like him, others wanted to surpass him...

They admired and felt envious, such were their complex emotions.

At first, they felt strange, who was this person that did so much in so little time?

But now, after being proven wrong and experiencing the difference between them and Dale more than once, they decided to try something... Albeit this was seen more with boys than with the girls.

It wasn't rare to see a group of teens in the training field, swinging their swords, axes, spears, and whatever every day, trying to somehow catch up and prove themselves.

Only to be slapped in the head by one of the adults or the Elders who knew better, they wouldn't improve if they were that reckless with their actions.

What did they even want to prove? Perhaps they themselves didn't know, they just wanted to do something...

And despite their many blunders, they were progressing at immense speeds with the help of the books, potions, and the guidance of the Elders.

Nevertheless, it would take a long time for them to give Dale some trouble...

Or would it?

…

/Huff huff…/

While Dale focused on his studies, a man ran around the Village, caring a child in his arms.

The child was clearly a young boy, supposedly around 7-9 years of age.

He didn't look well though, he was breathing and sweating heavily, his face was red and looked overall weak, and his skin was burning to the touch…

All were common symptoms of high fever.

"Huff... Huff..."

The man, presumably his father, knew that very well, so he brought the child to the only healer nearby, Yumi, who was currently reading an old recipe book engraved with golden leathers she borrowed from the Library...

/Bam!/

The man opened the door quickly, he was desperate, and his child was in critical condition, he couldn't think of anything else as he rudely slammed on the door, making the old hinges scream in pain...

Thankfully, Yumi wasn't on the second floor experimenting, otherwise, she would've certainly been startled by his actions, and possibly, even messing something up, potentially causing a minor disaster.

Instead, she was on the first floor reading the book about chemical reactions with her glasses on, although, she did throw her teacup in the air due to how sudden the man's actions were.

The teacup, one of her favorites, thankfully fell on the couch, not breaking, making her let out a sigh of relief.

Albeit it spilled hot tea around the area like rain...

Still, noticing the boy, she was quick to move, running around the table and grabbing a set of tools on a nearby shelf, while also putting on a mask.

And while the man cried on her side dramatically, she focused on identifying the problem with the child.

Was it a simple fever? Or worse, a disease?

Because such things weren't impossible to happen, especially deeming the newcomers, she had to put on her mask to minimize risk while also asking the father to remain a certain distance from her just in case.

It was also an attempt to have the man calm down a little.

Yumi was glad to be of help but deeming the situation, such feeling only passed through her mind for an instant, especially under the pain-filled face of the child next to her.

...

And as the time rolled down, she became more and more distressed as she couldn't quite pin down the problem.

There was a heat coming from the chest of the boy, and it was clearly too much for him to handle… But what was it?

In the corner of her mind, she felt that she had seen it before...

"..."

'No inflammations, and he was okay until yesterday.'

'He spent the entire time in the library, so what caused him to change so suddenly… Allergy? But against what?'

She thought and thought, and eventually, something struck her mind.

What if this wasn't necessarily a bad condition?

She turned towards the father and asked him to call… Testros.

And without even questioning, the man bolted outside.

Yumi, on the other hand, could do nothing apart from trying to identify the cause, just in case her worries were wrong.

She wasn't a doctor in the end, her specialty was potions, she simply learned medicine so she could identify simple injuries and determine the best potion or concoction for that...

She didn't want her patient to suffer, never, so she kept trying.

…

/7 or so minutes later…/

"Yes, yes... I'm sure of it, this boy has gathered a small amount of Mana in his heart." Testros said as he removed his hand from the boy's chest

'How unusual... Dale was already irregular enough, we now have this kid?'

'Is something going on, or was this to be expected?...'

'No, this is a sign of change, this time, we reacted quickly, but next time?'

'Extra procedures will need to be enforced from now on.' He though as his face grew serious

"What does that mean?!" The boy's father asked, confused

"It means he's okay, Bartho, and that your son is perfectly fine, although we'll have to give him a hand."

'We'll also have to check his older son and daughter after this, they could also be at risk even if they inherited even a small bit of this kid's talent.'

Testros looked to the side, gazing directly at Dale.

"It's up to you."

Dale frowned

"Me? What can I even do?" He questioned as he walked away from the wall he was resting on

Originally, Dale had been studying with Testros, but he was suddenly disrupted by a running man...

Things happened, and he followed them to know what was happening.

"Just like I told you before, shape it, and use it to remove the Mana from his body."

"I could do it, but my body wouldn't be able to take it if his and my Mana were to get in contact, things could get messy."

"You, on the other hand, are different."

"Your body, surprisingly enough, is more adapted to this kind of thing than mine."

'Though, such gaps can be overcome with sheer proficiency, so technically, I could do it as well.'

'But I want him to try it as well, he needs to know how to do such things in case such an event repeats in the future.'

'Besides, I'm not lying, his body can consume this kid's Mana while mine would have an adverse reaction, I would have to spit it out.'

"... Okay, I'll try."

Dale approached the boy, with a pensive gaze.

'A little kid, he doesn't look to be beyond 10, yet, he can feel Mana already? We barely even acquired the books...'

'No, he could already do so before, however, with the books, he found a way to absorb it and jumped straight into it?'

'That is impossible, otherwise, he would've flared up like this much sooner rather than now.'

'But how come? It's impossible for the kid to understand what he read, perhaps he doesn't even know how to read...'

'What caused this then?... Without a doubt, he is talented... At least, his body is.'

'Natural talent? A boy born to be a mage?... He read the book and tried to follow its drawings?'

'How funny.'

Without much pressure, Dale easily absorbed the Mana within the boy's heart, increasing his temporary by an immense amount!

1...

But that was simply a temporary measure, he would eventually accumulate it again with whatever method he used to become like this in the first place.

To this, Testros suggested that the kid remains at his side at all times so he can identify the cause, and potentially teach him how to control his condition, albeit, this will involve intense physical training and study…

Would a child even be able to cope with that?

Dale was fine either way, not like he needed the old man to teach him 24/7.

Most of the time he was the one that taught himself by reading the many books available, while Testros remained free to do whatever.

Nevertheless, it became clear to him, that the hidden talents of the Villagers were starting to bloom, if so, would he be able to keep up?

Time, they only needed time to grow, they had everything else they needed, knowledge and a vast array of people determined to improve…

But did they have such time?

...

/Shua shua shua.../

Far away, near the massive wall that covered the horizon, a group of 60 warriors, clad in layers of armor, marched under the dawning sun and hustling wind toward the core of a silent forest, leaving behind hundreds of hungry and defenseless people...

One side was welcoming a glorious age, while the other side had to live under the shadow of a massive wall...

The future was starting to unveil itself.

…

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Notes

The time skip will start to catch up, with the first week being completed next chapter and the second week in the chapter after.

In some ways, this can't be really taken as a time skip, but when I wrote these chapters, I thought that instead of jumping 20 chapters of content and slowly mentioning what happened as we went, it would be best to make a small 2-4 chapter long overview of everything that happened.

Most time skips will be like this unless we already have something in mind for what the mc will do.

For example, if the mc is trapped in a cave, I could suddenly do a 1-month skip and show how he survived and his progress instead of having him go through the boring procedures of learning how to build a tent...

Anyway, that was it, peace!

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