0.
At this point, other users were still unaware of Apophis.
However, signs of sothing happening were beginning to spread.
Across every server and every region, strange rumors were circulating among NPCs.
“Phew, don’t even get started. Those black snakes have been ruining the crops lately.”
“There aren’t that many, but they keep showing up.”
“Black snakes are an ill on.”
“Doesn’t seem like a good sign.”
Everywhere, people were talking about black snakes.
It was enough to make the players suspicious.
Regions and servers aside, what was truly bizarre was that NPCs of all levels were talking about the sa thing.
There was no way this wouldn’t seem suspicious.
At first, players assud it was just so local quest.
But soon, they realized it wasn’t just a local phenonon—it was happening all across Eternal World.
Naturally, the internet was in an uproar.
[Title - Black Snakes? What’s this about?]
[Posted by - LoweredMyLevel]
『Everywhere I go, NPCs keep talking about black snakes.
There’s no way, but... are the NPCs bugged?
What the hell is this?』
[LootAndDie: So, they’re dropping hints in every region, across all levels? Has this ever happened before?]
[HealthDepleted: ????? For real? I’m logging in now.]
[HealingReject: Yeah, even overseas servers are talking about it.]
└ [BuffOnlyMain: Even overseas?]
└ [GoldHoarder: What the hell is going on?]
With no explanation for these ntions of black snakes, players /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ scrambled to uncover clues.
But there was nothing to find.
Instead of searching for direct answers, so started to dig into other possibilities.
[Title - Black Snake Mystery: This Might Be Huge]
[Posted by - LegendaryItemSeller]
『NPCs keep saying the black snakes are appearing and it’s making them uneasy.
They’re all repeating the sa lines about it being ominous.
It’s happening across different regions and servers.
Honestly, this feels like so kind of promotional event.
There’s never been a ga-wide, all-server, all-level event in Eternal World.
Even anniversary events were minor in comparison.
This sudden shift probably has sothing to do with the Heroic Council eting from a few days ago.
I’m guessing that’s what triggered this full-scale event.』
[ExplodedWhileUpgrading: Oh? A ga-event?]
└ [LegendaryItemSeller (OP): Yeah, that’s what it looks like.]
└ [WatchingFromOutsideDungeon: Just speculation?]
└ [LegendaryItemSeller (OP): No, it’s a hot topic in overseas communities too.]
└ [NoHealForYou: Oh?! So it’s a real massive event? This is gonna be insane.]
└ [TankerForReal: Whoa, an event for all levels? Absolute god-tier ga.;;;;]
[Title - Why This Has to Be an Event]
[Posted by - HealthFullNow]
『There’s no way this isn’t a major event.
Every NPC across all servers and levels is talking about it, but players barely see any black snakes.
The NPCs ntion it, but they only seem to bring it up to players.
Among themselves, they don’t discuss it at all.
And yet, when you watch their everyday routines, they act normal.
The only ti they ntion the black snakes is when a player asks or when they have to bring it up.
This is 100% an event.
Otherwise, there’s no reason for NPCs to behave this unnaturally.』
[LuredMobsAndDied: Oh, this makes sense!]
[PotionBox: What kind of event will it be? I can’t wait.]
Players’ expectations soared.
Naturally, guilds were the first to act.
When a major event happened, getting information quickly and moving accordingly was always beneficial for guilds.
So, multiple guilds began making moves, approaching high-level NPCs to gather intelligence.
They were desperate to learn anything about the Heroic Council.
However, no one seed to know anything.
So NPCs trembled in fear at the ntion of the Heroic Council, while others grew furious, claiming complete ignorance.
With no concrete information, they couldn’t be certain.
But one thing was clear.
This event had started because of the Heroic Council.
Yet, there was too little information to act decisively.
They couldn’t just ignore it, either.
It was too ambiguous.
That was why, despite the growing interest, only one guild was moving aggressively.
Rapid Guild.
“We need to prepare without anyone else catching on.”
On the surface, they seed focused solely on leveling up.
But those in the know understood—they were desperate.
The best strategy was to get their levels as close as possible to key benchmarks.
Most of them were pushing for level thresholds like 99, 199, and so on.
Of course, Seong’s backup team was working themselves to the bone.
Since Seong aid to hit level 200, they had to match him.
So they grinded relentlessly.
Even Rapid Guild, ranked third in the guild rankings, was dedicating all its resources to supporting them.
“Phew...”
They were optimizing everything for maximum efficiency.
And with their sheer power and skill, their leveling speed was beyond belief.
By now, they should have felt secure.
But instead, Rapid Guild was growing more anxious.
It wasn’t just about Seong and his backup team.
Damn it...
The solo rankers were moving.
Rankers from 1st to 4th place weren’t making any moves.
It was clear they had no intention of participating.
But from Rank 5 onwards, things were different.
I heard they’ve stopped grinding and are investigating instead?
Thankfully, the 5th to 7th rankers weren’t affiliated with any major guilds.
Even so, Rapid Guild knew they had enough potential to rise into the top 10 at any mont.
Of course, Rapid’s current strength was substantial.
If Luna Team, Seong’s backup squad, continued growing at this rate, they’d beco an unstoppable raid force.
But they still couldn’t ignore the solo rankers’ movents.
This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.
Will Mina... no, will Yuna be able to handle them?
The 9th-ranked solo ranker.
Yuna, who was on the verge of surpassing the 8th-ranked player, had beco the pri target of other solo rankers’ scrutiny.
The reason?
Simple—she was too exceptional.
Honestly, if I were in their shoes, I’d be wary too.
Unlike the other solo rankers, she had started two months later, yet not only had she solidified her place among them, she was now on the brink of overtaking 8th place.
It was only natural that they were trying to keep her in check.
Most of all, her control skills were absurd.
She was soone who simply had to be monitored.
The higher-ranked players didn’t particularly care, but those in the 5th to 7th range of the solo ranking had been obsessively keeping Yuna in check.
And yet, she was still closing the gap.
We haven’t had a direct confrontation yet. But this ti, it’ll be different.
According to the information Seong had gathered, players would be grouped into brackets of 50 levels.
In other words, as long as the solo rankers participated, they would all be in the sa group.
And Yuna, fully aware of this, was planning to deal with them herself.
The real issue was whether she could handle them all.
Yuna had simply told them to trust her before disappearing into seclusion training.
That left Rapid Guild with no say in the matter.
Well, we have no choice but to trust her.
There wasn’t much Rapid Guild could do for Yuna anyway.
So.
They had no choice but to shift focus and assist their other main priority—Seong.
That was why they were rapidly developing his backup team.
Their pace was unprecedented.
So fast, in fact, that other guilds were accusing them of exploiting a bug.
But even with all that, there was still a gap between them and Seong.
Seong was sohow moving even faster.
How the hell is he leveling up that quickly?
1.
While Rapid Guild was pondering this question...
Over at Seong’s location.
A procession of demons stood in line, each one repeatedly striking the neck of the demon in front of them.
Thud~! Thud!
Smack! Smack!
The sickening sounds echoed in all directions.
But the demons had long abandoned resistance, mindlessly reaching for the throat of the one ahead.
Overseeing this disturbing scene was a single demon, barking orders.
— "Alright, everyone! Maintain order! Let’s do this peacefully! Strike the neck of the demon in front of you! And, ah! Dedicate your lives to Seong-nim!"
— "Yes, understood!"
At Zrak’s command, the demon at the front, whose neck was already hanging on by a thread, calmly extended it.
And in one swift motion, Seong’s subordinates finished the job.
[You have gained a massive amount of experience points.] ×10
The ssage popped up repeatedly.
Seong scratched his head as he looked at the situation.
Is this... really okay?
Honestly, at this point, if he got penalized for it, he wouldn’t be able to argue.
But beside him, Kalina simply smiled and reassured him.
“It’s fine. The world’s will isn’t paying attention to this place right now.”
“Hmm.”
“It’s probably preoccupied with sothing else.”
That seed to be the case, so he left it alone.
If this was truly an issue, soone—whether it be the system itself or Overpalace—would have stepped in by now.
The fact that it was still working ant it was at least half-approved.
Seong calmly continued collecting experience.
He’d use this thod until the system eventually stopped awarding experience from summoned demons.
No need to worry about penalties before they actually arrived.
2.
The User Managent Team was responsible for overseeing players across various servers.
Naturally, the East Asian Server Managent Division was one of the largest.
But right now, it was eerily empty.
The reason?
Personnel had been drafted due to Apophis.
With so many people reassigned, staffing was critically low.
And because of that, monitoring players had beco lax.
But there was no choice.
“Ughhh!”
“Just kill already...”
“I an, no, save ...”
Whenever a senior staff mber dropped by to retrieve sothing, they looked half-dead.
Even Assistant Manager Lee Won-sang had grown gaunt from shuttling between the Apophis Team and his usual duties.
The workload was on an entirely different level.
Junior staff mber Oh Jin-hyuk swallowed nervously as he watched.
Just as he was about to ask sothing—
“...Just focus on monitoring the solo and double rankers for now.”
“Yes, understood.”
“If there’s anything unusual about the rankers, report it imdiately. We can’t have them exploiting anything during an event.”
“Got it!”
Oh Jin-hyuk answered confidently.
But Lee Won-sang didn’t respond, rely walking off to rejoin the Apophis Team.
Left alone, Oh Jin-hyuk glanced at Seong’s absurd experience gain and thought to himself.
Well, he’s not a ranker, so I’ll just focus on the actual rankers~
Had Lee Won-sang overheard that thought, he might have smiled bitterly before choosing suicide on the spot.
Instead, Oh Jin-hyuk simply carried on, casually keeping an eye on the top-ranked players.
Reviews
All reviews (0)