Chương 113: Chapter 112: Taking Stock

The alarm went off at seven, and for once, I let it ring. I lay there for a minute, staring at the ceiling of the cottage, listening to the rain against the windows. Scotland was doing its thing again, and I couldn't remember the last time I slept through the morning. I didn't ponder for long, though. I could log in at 9, and I wanted to check the forums after my morning routine. After the usual workout-shower-coffee-breakfast combo I reached for my tablet and went to sit on the porch.

A lot of things had happened since I checked Ravenloft's news. The Silverwing sub was bustling with activity. 📋 Godsrealm Forums › SILVERWING › GENERAL [DISCUSSION] Guild Creation Race – Who's Closest? WardenPrime · 6 hours ago With the patch notes confirming Guild Creation Seals drop from Lv. 25+ Field Bosses, the race has officially been on for quite a while. I have been tracking Guild activities throughout the region (thanks to all my sources!), and so far only 9 guilds have successfully killed at least 1 Level 25 Field Boss. These things are no joke! King's Glade is leading the race by a wide margin. Their Silverwing division is currently at 6 confirmed kills, and yesterday, even their second group got on the table by killing the one in Serendine!

Crimson Court is focusing more on territory control; they are forcing smaller guilds away from spawn locations, securing their spots for as many Field Bosses as possible, but the constant fighting is putting them behind. They are currently at 4 boss skills so far, and no Guild Seals. Midnight Sun is actually doing some heavy lifting in the race, they killed their third boss yesterday, so Furrowhold's biggest guild is currently in third place! No Guild Seals, however.

Second Wind is the only guild on this list that had only recruited from one county so far, and they are currently at 2 Field Boss kills, with no Guild Seals, but Guild Leader Athos is leading a raid today to hunt the Ravenkin Warlord at the southern plains of Tidemark! The other guilds that I know of have one boss kill each: Stormfall, Oathkeepers, Vanguard, Swords&Sparks and The Good Company all have killed their first Field Boss in the last two days, no confirmed Guild Seals.

Outside the region, there are currently two guilds that have more Field Boss kill than King's Glade: The Golden Order and Avalon, with 8 and 9 kills, respectively, but no confirmed Guild Seals for now. Although according to my sources, Avalon is on a dungeon clear right now that might or might not drop one as well. Anyone else hearing anything? The first guild to officially register is going to set the tone for the entire region.

👍 6, 891 💬 934 replies The comments were a mix of speculation, trash talk, and genuine analysis. A few players claimed they already have Guild Creation Seals, which was an obvious lie, while others argued that the drop rate was so low it would take weeks before anyone had one. So Alice went boss hunting today! Big day, indeed. I scrolled on and sure enough, I found the post about the fight. 📋 Godsrealm Forums › SILVERWING › SERENDINE [NEWS] King's Glade Second Division clears Mythril Automaton!

KG_Desirae · 2 hours ago After 7 attempts, King's Glade's Serendine division has defeated the Mythril Automaton, a Level 25 Field Boss found in the southern cave system. Commander Alice led a 30-player raid to victory with ZERO deaths on the final run. Massive shoutout to our tank Denxy whose blocks in the enrage phase were absolutely clutch, and to all the DPS and healers who pushed through. Serendine's strongest. Silverwing's strongest. And we're just getting started.

👍 456 💬 98 replies A level 25 Field Boss, cleared with zero deaths. Even though it took 7 tries, that was impressive by any standard, but especially for a secondary division operating without Phantom and the guild's main roster. Alice ran a tight ship. I put the tablet down, finished my coffee, and headed to the capsule.

I spawned where I'd logged out the night before, close to the teleport gate. The morning air was crisp, and the city below was already alive with activity. First order of business: the Association. I turned in the Broodmother quest at the Gold rank counter. The clerk stamped the parchment and processed the reward. Quest reward: 50, 000 EXP, 2 Gold Coins, 3 Adventurer's XP The EXP was even better than the gorilla quest. My experience bar now read 213, 580 out of 750, 000; a solid chunk, but still a long road to 25.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Three new Gold quests had appeared on the board overnight. I scanned them quickly: a material collection job for a local blacksmith, an escort quest for a merchant caravan heading to the neighboring county, and another extermination quest, this time targeting a pack of Ironhide Boars in the western hills. I took the boar quest and the collection job, leaving the escort for now.

It was a timed quest and they were leaving in less than 30 minutes, and I didn't want to spend the whole day travelling, no matter the rewards. On the way out, I stopped at the market district. I had a growing pile of materials in my inventory that needed sorting. I found a quiet bench near the river and opened my inventory. The list was getting long.

Gorilla hides, spider chitin, venom sacs, silk glands, Paleshimmer Crystals, common ores, assorted potions, and a collection of items I'd been carrying since Tidemark without doing anything about them. Time to take stock. The Ravenkin Dreadcaller material was first. Exquisite fangs from a high-level elite, meant for crafting. I'd been saving them for Danza back in Carpa, but Carpa was a teleport away and I wasn't sure when I'd be heading back. You stay with me for now. The Blue Flower Cake recipe.

I'd picked this up during the Spring Festival in Carpa and hadn't touched it since. The recipe required specific ingredients I didn't have, but more importantly, it required a cook or a kitchen to prepare it in. I turned the recipe over in my hands. Serendine had to have a bakery or a cook who could help. I'll ask Berg about it later. Next up: the Dusk King Carp. A rare fish I'd caught during my time in Tidemark.

I found no information about the fish on the forums this morning, which meant that it was either not important enough, or nobody else had caught it, yet. There might be a chef, an alchemist, or even a fisherman in Serendine who'd know what to do with it. Another question for Berg. The two Echoes. The Woe's Echo and the Voidwalker's Echo were both sitting in my inventory. Elindra had been clear: I needed to collect more before deciding which one to advance.

The Spriggan's Echo on the Auction House confirmed that Serendine had an Echo-dropping Field Boss somewhere in the county. If I could get my hands on a third Echo, I'd be in a much stronger position when I eventually found a Grand Alchemist. And then there was the coded journal. I pulled it out and flipped through the pages again. The same indecipherable symbols, the same geometric script, the same things I couldn't read. I'd need to find a scholar, a linguist, or someone with knowledge of ciphers.

Elindra might be able to crack it if I delivered the script to her, but that would mean going back to Tidemark, and I wasn't going to do that just yet. I also wanted to check out the Greenveil ruin. Berg had mentioned how no one could enter, and it made me intrigued. It could have been content that was waiting for a trigger or a future event, or a puzzle waiting for someone to figure out; either way, I didn't want to leave Serendine without checking it out first. I closed the inventory, stood up, and stretched.

The morning sun was breaking through the clouds, warming the stones of the river bridge. Enough sitting. Time to work.

The Ironhide Boars roamed the western hills, about thirty minutes from the city. The terrain was different from Tranquil Valley; dry, with sparse vegetation clinging to the slopes and paths winding between the grey stone. The wind was stronger here, too, and I had to keep that in mind. I found the first group quickly: three boars, rooting through the soil. They had metallic grey hides that reflected the sunlight and made them look like they were wearing armor.

Naming them 'Ironhide' made sense now, and I soon realized that physical attacks won't be very effective against this bunch. My first basic shot confirmed my suspicion. The arrow hit the nearest boar's flank and rang off with a metallic sound that had no business coming from an animal. -148! Half the damage I'd been doing in Tranquil Valley. Basic attacks were going to be useless against this armor. I adjusted. Piercing Shot landed on its back, penetrating its skin, and I followed it up with Burning Arrow.

The fire spread across the plating and found the gaps between the armored sections. The DoT was doing a lot of work. The new rotation took shape. A strong attack like Piercing Shot or Withering Light came first, then Burning Arrow into the weakened area, then basics aimed at the softer underbelly when the boar reared up to charge. The charges were fast and predictable, so despite the lower damage numbers I could still grind them without much thought. Lune couldn't bait them safely.

They were too aggressive, too armored, and one wrong step would put her in serious danger. She watched from higher ground while I handled them solo, while she used Foxfire to heal me when needed. Each boar took about three minutes, but the experience was better than the gorillas; roughly a thousand per kill. I settled into a rhythm, and my mind wandered while my hands did the work. I thought about Alice. She was the real deal.

I'd known that from watching her fight the players, but the Broodmother clear had confirmed it. Her tactical instincts were sharp, her build was exceptional, and she fought with a composure that reminded me of some of the better players I'd faced in Valhalla. Her mechanics weren't as clear as Athos's, but her arsenal made up for the difference. And she'd been constantly improving King's Glade's second division, despite the clashes with Crimson Court and the tight competition with Vanguard. Phantom had chosen well.

By noon, I'd killed twenty-eight boars out of thirty. The last two went down in quick succession after I found a narrow gully where I could funnel them into single-file charges, turning their aggression into a disadvantage. Hunt Ironhide Boars: 30/30 Roughly 30, 000 experience from the kills, plus whatever the quest reward would give me. Not a bad morning. I thought about Ace on the walk back. He'd told me Gryphon's Claw was hunting for Guild Creation Seals as well.

The Guild Creation Race was going to heat up fast, and understandably so; the first guild to officially register would set the standard for the kingdom. I wasn't in that race. But the people I cared about were.

I stopped by The Quiet Oak on the way back. Berg was behind the counter, polishing mugs, the same way I'd seen him do yesterday. He nodded when I sat down.

"The adventurer returns."

"I would like an ale," I said.

"And answers, if you would." He nodded.

"First: if I wanted someone to cook or bake something for me, where would I go?" Berg raised an eyebrow.

"To Petra's, of course! She runs a bakery near the cathedral. Excellent pastries, and she's been teaching some of your kind how to cook, from what I hear."

"Perfect. And second: have you ever heard of a fish called the Dusk King Carp?" He looked straight into my eyes, surprised.

"Don't tell me you caught one?"

"I did." He set the mug down carefully, as if the conversation had suddenly become more important than his work.

"The Dusk King Carp is a delicacy of the old courts. It only lives in Dusk Lake up in the North. Haven't heard that name in years. Even Duke Dayne's feasts rarely have it on the menu." He leaned on the counter.

"If you're looking to do something with it, Petra would know. She trained under the Duke's head chef before opening her own place. If anyone in Serendine knows how to prepare a Dusk King Carp, it's her."

"Thank you, Berg."

"Adventurer, if she makes something from it, you bring me a taste. That's my fee for the information." I smiled.

"Deal." I finished the ale, paid, and stepped back into the city. Let's visit Petra.