novelaction Chapter 246: Hard-Earned Rewards
Chapter 246: Hard-Earned Rewards
In contrast, the second piece of loot carried far less value.
[Demilo's Hand-Drawn Map]
Description
- Recording things that are bound to change seems foolish, but Heroes usually have nothing better to do.
As the name implied, it was simply a map. The material resembled parchment, and when Ashe unfolded it, the surface revealed dense layers of annotations.
Glowing markers: Current location, Star Hall Central City.
Terrain: swamps, mudlands, forests, caves, and mountains.
Resource Points: lumber mills, ore pits, crystal mines, mercury factories, gold mines.
Special Areas: Dragon Nest, River of Flowing Gold, House of Destiny Quiz, Miracle Paradise, and the Tree of Wisdom.
Ashe and the others studied the map carefully. In the end, they shook their heads in disappointment. "There's no mention of the Rainbow Tail."
They had hoped a Hero's map might reveal clues about it. After all, Heroes had effectively integrated into the Virtual World's system. In theory, they counted as insiders, and it seemed reasonable to expect access to such information.
Even so, the map itself held tremendous value. Resource points alone made it worthwhile, but the special areas stood out even more. The House of Destiny Quiz offered a chance to question the Virtual World itself, provided one could answer its challenges. Miracle Paradise allowed one to obtain spirits without cost.
The most daunting of all was the Tree of Wisdom.
Sonya had once explained that it could directly elevate the rank of a chosen sorcery class, as long as one paid the required price. It was, in essence, a tree capable of changing one's fate, a wish-granting machine for sorcerers, and a gateway into the Sacred Realm.
It sounded even more dependable than the Rainbow Tail. The problem lay in that "price." Sometimes the cost was minor. More often, however, the records told darker stories. Sorcerers paid a heavy price, often leading them to death by their own hands.
One such case stood out. The Tree of Wisdom demanded that a sorcerer lose all communication abilities for three days. This included the ability to speak, hear, read, and write.
During that time, the sorcerer became entangled in a murder case in the real world. Unable to communicate, he completely misunderstood the situation, believing that another crime of his had been exposed. Panic overtook him, and he lashed out, killing others. Trapped in silence, his paranoia deepened, and he came to believe that his wife and son intended to betray him. In the end, he killed his entire family.
When his abilities returned, the real murderer had already been caught. Upon learning the truth, his mind collapsed, and his soul fled back to the Virtual World.
Even so, the Tree of Wisdom remained irresistible. Too many sorcerers knew their own limits. They understood they lacked the wisdom needed to advance. Compared to that, seeking the Rainbow Tail felt safer. Failure might cost only a part of one's soul, whereas facing the Tree of Wisdom risked surrendering it entirely.
Logically, a map filled with such information should have ranked first among the loot. Yet Ashe and the others showed little interest, because it was, quite literally, just a map.
Experience Orbs could be absorbed. Spirits could be controlled. But this map could not leave the Virtual World. It could not be carried into the next entry. Even memorizing it offered little benefit. They never knew where they would appear next. Without a fixed reference point, they would only get lost in the labyrinth of the Ascending Golden Rain.
A map without coordinates was like loving a character drawn on paper. No matter how much one invested, it led nowhere.
Using it tonight was also unrealistic. The car was already on the verge of breaking down, and the distances involved were too great.
The map included a scale. After a quick estimate, even the nearest Miracle Paradise lay roughly ten kilometers away. With a functioning car, the journey might be manageable. On foot, however, crossing wilderness and thorns would drain all their soul energy.
Distance was only part of the problem. They had already fought the Wolf Dragon pack and the Legion of Heroes back to back. Even with time spent traveling by car, they had lingered too long in one area. The White Bull had long since moved ahead.
If they did not want to be overtaken by frozen time, they had only two choices. Either move forward quickly, or leave the Virtual World. There was simply no time for them to search for Miracle Paradise.
Compared to Resource Points, however, the glowing markers drew more attention.
Aside from their current location, the map showed four other Star Hall Central Cities. They lay far in the distance, likely within the Static Zone. While no further details were provided, the names alone hinted at the deeper structure of the Continent of Time.
The Legions of Heroes were no mere natural phenomenon. They were organized forces, acting on behalf of powerful factions within the Virtual World. The question now was, what kind of existence could establish hidden factions and enslave both sorcerer projections and Knowledge Creatures within it?
"Star Hall... could it be a faction created by a Divine Lord?" Sonya asked softly, as though wary of being overheard.
Ashe shook his head. "Maybe. Maybe not. We don't have enough information. Guessing won't help. Those cities might even be remnants from a past era. Any projection entering them could be turned into a Hero, gain awareness, and begin preparing an army to invade the real world."
"Isn't that just the story I told earlier?" Dia immediately said.
Ashe went on, "In any case, if we want to uncover the truth behind the Hero legion, we'll have to see those cities for ourselves."
He paused, then added with a hint of regret, "Too bad we can't take this map with us..."
"Don't you already have a Virtual World map?" Sonya raised her hands, then brought them together. "Can't you merge them somehow with a miracle?"
Her words struck him like a spark.
Ashe opened his Virtual World map, and a notification immediately appeared.
[Map information updated.]
On the right side, the Zoom button now displayed a red exclamation mark. He had used the zoom function before, but expanding the map had only revealed empty, unknown space. After that, he had ignored it and kept the map minimized.
This time, when he zoomed in, the map expanded fully.
It resembled a pizza cut into eight slices. Most of it remained shrouded in darkness, but roughly one-eighth had been revealed. The terrain, Resource Points, special areas, and even the four Star Hall Central Cities were now clearly visible.
Looking at the map, Ashe felt a sudden, overwhelming urge to uncover the rest. Then he noticed something else.
Besides that, Ashe also noticed a small, oddly distinct known section within the unknown areas. Upon careful inspection, he recognized the landmarks—the Stone Mine and the River of Flowing Gold—and confirmed that it was the area they had explored the previous night. It turned out that the Virtual World map could automatically record explored regions! And he had never realized it until now.
He did not know how useful this feature would be, since they appeared in different locations each time. Besides, they had explored just fine without it before. Nevertheless, a faint sense of regret rose in his chest. It felt like confessing to a childhood friend, only to discover she had liked him for years, leaving him to wonder why he hadn't noticed sooner.
Even so, Ashe felt grateful. He glanced at Sonya. "Swordswoman, I'm so touched right now I feel like kissing you."
"No problem."
Sonya extended her hand, signaling for Ashe to perform a hand-kiss.
Ashe glanced at it. "You've been swinging your sword with that hand all this time. Isn't it sweaty?"
Sonya clenched her hand into a fist. "Stand still. I can kiss your mouth with my fist instead. A tongue kiss works too, as long as your mouth can fit my fist."
Dia looked shocked. "Why kiss only the Swordswoman? What about me? Watcher, are you implying I didn't do well enough?"
"Come to think of it, if we really divide things by contribution, it should be you two kissing me instead," Ashe said, crossing his arms. "But if we rewarded the top contributor with a kiss after every battle, that would feel strange. Even if I didn't mind, you certainly would."
He paused, then added, "Since we're on the topic, let's set some basic boundaries. The most intimate things we do together should stop at hugging and holding hands. Kissing, touching, and the like are too personal and should be off-limits. Otherwise, it would make the third person uncomfortable."
He paused again. "Of course, it's fine if done in private."
Sonya frowned. "What are you thinking?"
Dia blinked. "I think I know what Watcher is thinking... No way! The White Queen won't, the Red Dead Apostle won't, the Black Butler won't, and neither will I!"
Ashe ignored them and moved on. "The map's information has already been recorded in my Virtual World map. If we happen to arrive in an area that's already on the map next time, we can focus on nearby Resource Points and special areas."
If the Commander's Handbook had given Ashe and the others a taste of the benefits of strategic planning, this resource map practically overwhelmed them with possibilities. Yet it had severe limitations. Without a Virtual World map capable of importing external records, Ashe wouldn't have been able to use it at all.
The Virtual World wouldn't deliberately drop maps just for him. There was only one plausible explanation, which was that sorcerers proficient in a certain sorcery class must have a way to "absorb" such maps.
Ashe almost instinctively thought of a term. Prophecy Class.
Coincidentally, the Gospel Kingdom happened to be a stronghold of the Prophecy Class. Could something like this really be possible?
Ashe quickly pushed the thought aside. Rather than training in the Prophecy Class himself, it would be far more efficient and far more comfortable to rely on a Prophecy agent.
Ashe, Ashe. When something comes up, don't think about handling it yourself first. Think about who's best suited for the task. Skills learned from shirking responsibility in the workplace shouldn't be forgotten just because you've come to another world.
After a brief moment of self-reflection, Ashe calmly picked up the third piece of loot.
It was unusual. The moment he touched it, he realized it was a spirit, but it didn't look like any spirit he'd seen. It had no wings. Instead, it resembled a triangular bipyramid, almost like an earring ornament. Its body was completely transparent, except for one face that glowed faintly blue. The information it conveyed left the sorcerers astonished.
[Conjuring]
- Zero-Winged Spirit
Requirement
- Can only appear in the Virtual World. Can only be used in the Virtual World.
Effect ① – Summon
- Absorb residual soul energy from Soldiers.
Effect ② – Command
- Assign unit types to yourself and your followers. Assigning units consumes soul energy. Multiple units of the same type can be assigned, but only armor can stack.
Available unit types
- Star Hall · Star Swordsman: Weapon damage to souls +15%. 3 layers of armor. Humanoid unit with a longsword. Costs 1 point of soul power per unit.
- Star Hall · Star Archer: Ranged attacks deal +20% damage to souls. Shots are locked-on and do not weaken over distance. 2 layers of armor. Humanoid unit with a bow. Costs 2 points of soul power per unit.
Signature Quote
- Congratulations on becoming a player in this endless game, though you are not even qualified to be a piece on the board.
Key Note
- This spirit cannot evolve.
- Absorbing identical spirits unlocks additional unit types.
- Only one instance of the same spirit can be possessed.