...…
When Shin got back to his room, he immediately took a quick shower before heading to his gaming cabin. He logged in to get an update on the current situation.
He did not want to bother about the state of the Sacred Light Kingdom since it did not concern him much. After all, the mission was initially for Owen and Ithilien, and the rest only helped for their respective benefits.
As for the side about the HeadHunter Guild, he passed it to the experts of the Hand of Midas. It was their expertise, so he could live it to them, especially when they were dealing with the matters with the Titan Guild anyway.
He could leave it to them while he dealt with his own business.
He then opened his system logs to read the previous notifications that he just received.
System: Congratulations on successfully defeating the Grand Centipedeus (Larva)! You and your affiliates will gain a massive boost of fame and reputation points.
System: The connection between this plane and the Underworld has weakened. But since the dimensional gate connecting the two worlds is already in the process of opening, you can no longer stop the arrival of the Lord of the Flies.
System: The avatar of the Lord of the Flies, the Glutton Demon King Beelzebub, has already been selected.
System: A certain existence interferes with the connection of the Demon King and this plane. The opening of the Dimensional Portal has slightly been affected and extended.
System: Estimated Time for the Portal Opening:
Arrival of the main army: 299 days, 19 hours, 12 seconds. (In-game Time)
Arrival of the vanguard army of the Bug Tribe: 87 days, 12 hours. (In-game Time)
…
Shin did not know how long exactly the original timeframe was until this invasion occurred, but it seemed like they still had more than enough time to prepare themselves.
Based on the information that he had gotten from Solus previously, it seemed like the Bug Tribe possessed an army that could sweep through the entire Aurora Continent, especially when they had powerful demonic beings in their ranks.
But given this time, he was confident that they would have more than enough time to level up and familiarize themselves with their current tiers.
From his estimate, the vanguard army of the Bug Tribe should have a lot of monsters that underwent their third mutation or evolution, which were equivalent to the third tier of the respective classes of the players.
After reading through these notifications, Shin proceeded to read the rest.
This time, it was meant for their team since Owen and Ithilien were the main initiators of the quests. The Hand of Midas also benefited from them since they were a closely affiliated Guild of their adventurer team.
System: Empyrean Talons has been directly promoted to an A-Class Adventurer Team. Quest acquisition and team promotions in the Adventurer Guild will increase greatly.
System: The Affiliated Guild, Hand of Midas Trading Firm, will benefit from this event. Their fame and reputation will spread throughout the entire Aurora Continent.
System: Hand of Midas Trading Firm has become an Empire-Class Trading Firm!
…
Shin was not aware of the classes among the lifestyle guilds and trading firms since it was not his major field. He specialized in exploration and battles, which fell among the Combat Guilds like the rest that he had faced.
But given that the words 'Empire-Class Trading Firm' sounded quite good, he guessed that it was something that his big sister would love.
He even had gotten a message from Shiella regarding this matter.
Snow White: My dear little brother, you sure are my lucky charm! Keep up the good work and let this big sister handle the rest.
Shin shivered intensely when he read that message. The hair on his body stood erect, giving him serious goosebumps. He would rather Shiella give him an intense scolding or let her curse him than hear such words from her.
He felt nauseous reading the content of her message while suppressing himself from vomiting.
He did not want to dwell on this matter as he quickly proceeded to read the next series of notifications.
System: Congratulations on clearing the Elemental Spirit Promotion Quest!
System: Your Reaper's Retainers, Blackie and Whitie, have successfully become Monarch Elementals!
…
Those were just simple messages, but their contents left Shin satisfied. He read the notifications a few more times before opening the panel meant for his Elemental Spirit Companions.
Just like Solus, Hanzo, and Astaroth, the two newly promoted Elemental Spirits now had special borders of their own. Their name cards and the background they had were now designed with special properties of their respective elements.
-------------------
Spirit Name: Blackie
Status: Reaper's Retainer – Darkness
Race: Special Elemental Spirit
Bloodline: Abysmal Penumbra Spirit
Purity: Monarch
Transformation: Abysmal Monarch
Ability Status: Temporarily Sealed
Tier: Current 3 (Potential 5)
Level (Sealed): Adjusted to 170 (Max 500)
-------------------
Spirit Name: Whitie
Status: Reaper's Retainer – Light
Race: Special Elemental Spirit
Bloodline: Sacred Radiant Spirit
Purity: Monarch
Transformation: Sacred Ruler
Ability Status: Temporarily Sealed
Tier: Current 3 (Potential 5)
Level (Sealed): Adjusted to 170 (Max 500)
-------------------
Blackie, who was in her special transformation, looked both scary and seductive at the same time. The pair of bat wings on her back and the scorpion tail at the back of her waist caught his attention immediately.
She was looking at him in a model-like posture while licking her sharp claws.
The background and the border of her name card were shrouded in black Mana, representing the dark element. They moved slowly and flowed rhythmically while the dark tendrils at the edges of the border gave off the feeling that they were alive.
Whitie, on the other hand, stood imposingly and majestically with his arms crossed in front of him. His robe which resembled the one that the kings used to wear in ancient times fluttered as a golden halo hovered right above the crown over his head.
The golden design of the name card seemed to be releasing a constant pulse of sacred light as its borders shone in brilliance.
The contrast between the two name cards was easy to notice. But when they were placed side by side, they seemed to be giving a certain sense of balance and harmony.
Shin then placed all the special name cards of his Elemental Spirits and appreciated their respective beauty before nodding his head, fully satisfied.
He was only left with Vladimir and Grimrace now. But given that they were already in the middle of their respective evolution, he knew that it would not take that long before their name cards also transformed.
Vladimir was still digesting all the inheritances that Dracula had left for him, even though Shin was somewhat unaware of it. This Blood Prince would also change his name card once he was done with it.
Grimrace, on the other hand, would naturally evolve as long as he devoured more elemental spirits or abomination spirits. All Shin needed was to find a suitable target that he could give to this Abomination.
Shin thought that this was where the notification would end, but he was wrong, as he noticed that there was a final notification that he barely noticed at the end.
When he read through all the system notifications, he saw a somewhat strange notification that did not seem to belong to the rest.
System: You have found a clue related to your quest 'The Ancient Powers'.
Quest Update: Investigate more about the Bug Tribe and the Lord of the Flies, the Glutton Demon King Beelzebub.
Added Conditions: Find an opportunity to head to the Underworld and learn more about the Devil Ancestor.
System: This quest is a special prolonged quest. This quest does not have any time limit.
…
Reading those notifications, Shin felt that it was rather interesting. He almost forgot about this quest since Solus had asked him to delay investigating the Ancient God Book in his possession.
Solus said that the Gods and Goddesses in the Higher Plane would instantly notice its existence once he used it, which would make him a big target for everyone.
He felt that he needed to reach the fifth tier at least and became a Sovereign Being before he could continue investigating this quest. But it looked like the system was telling him that he could get more clues about it in the Underworld.
Unfortunately, he did not know much about that place, much less finding a way to head over there.
He could guess that it was somewhat related to the portal that was about to open and the next major content that was about to be released, but that still needed to wait until it happened.
Regardless, he was grateful since he at least knew what to do next with this particular quest later. "I guess things keep on piling up."
He mumbled as he organized himself and thought about the things that he needed to do.
But at that moment, he received a few messages from a few people. The first ones were from Ithilien.
Ithilien: Vice Commander, you are finally online!
Ithilien: Can you come to the Maze Forest for a moment? The Elven Seer wants to talk to you. It seems like he wants to take you for helping us.
Ithilien: He says that he wants to reward you or something like that.
Shin raised his brow for a moment sending a reply casually.
Sickarius: I'll be there in a minute.
He then paused and proceeded to look at the rest of the messages.
Snow White: My dear little brother, come and visit the city when you are free. I am done with everything and talk to the people that you have sent. We can now open it to the public if you want.
Snow White: But I suggest waiting until we fully establish the port where we are going to relocate the Calderock Town before its promotion to a Basic City.
Snow White: However, we will have some problems since the wall of ice is about to fully melt, making the Frozen Kingdom open to the world.
Shin thought for a moment before replying.
Sickarius: Do we have any way to hasten the construction of the Port City? I can send more funds if you need them.
The reply came almost instantly.
Snow White: Tsk! Tsk! You sound like a tycoon right now, don't you think? Money is not the problem. That is something that I will not lack inside the game.
Snow White: There is a way to solve our problems, but I need you to deal with a couple of things. Tell me when you are free. I have some job for you.
Snow White: But I suggest you free some of your time and head over here as soon as possible so that we can finish this already. I still have to clear my class promotion quest, if you are not aware.
Shin chuckled when he saw those messages since he preferred this rather than getting those sweet messages that gave him goosebumps and cringes.
After making sure that he did not forget anything, Shin quickly took out a return scroll and instantly crushed it.
…
Not long after, he arrived at the Maze Forest once again.
But this time, he could not help but sweep his gaze in the surroundings since he felt that he arrived at the wrong place.
The entrance of the Maze Forest was still filled with people. But instead of the battle-ready formation that he had arranged previously, it was not filled with players lining up to get inside.
There were also some high-level NPCs guarding the entrance, seemingly checking everyone, who was trying to get inside.
"I wonder what happened to the spies that the elves have. I hope Adept Hands and Tinker deal with them properly," he mumbled as he walked toward the Maze Forest.
He did not want to line up with the rest, so he asked Ithilien to send someone that fetch him outside. He was one of the main contributors, who saved the kingdom, so he should at least have this kind of privilege.
When he entered the forest, he could not help but think once again if he was indeed in the right place. This region seemed to have transformed from a resource map to a huge forest city.
He felt that he had been away from the place for decades due to the scatted people, both NPCs and Players, walking around. There were also some established houses in the trees and up their branches, giving out an ancient and tribal atmosphere due to their primitive designs.
The whole map had completely transformed in such a short time that he got offline.
"It looks like an elven city, alright," commented Shin as he followed the guide leading the way.
When he arrived at the center of the Maze Forest, where the altar used to be located and became their temporary base, he could not help but open his eyes in amazement.
He found a majestic tree at the center of a huge pond. The primitive yet exquisite houses that the elves had built surrounded the pond as the people gave their regards and worshiped the tree at the center.
He could also see some elves giving offerings, which transformed into specks of light for some unknown reason. These lights filled the air, illuminating the whole place.
There was a long wooden bridge connecting the land beneath the World Tree and the land surrounding the pond. Its entrance was being guarded by a group of elven knights, who lined up at the edge of the bridge.
From what Shin could see, these elven knights were mighty, and could not be faced by any player in the current stage of the game.
He appreciated the view for a few more moments before following the guide once again. Right now, he was quite curious about what happened with the current council of elves, who would be leading this kingdom.
...…
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