Second Life Ranker-Chapter 38 - Akasha’s Snake (6)

The fire in the western jungle started as a small spark. However, the flames swelled as they devoured the now-destroyed Kobold village and engulfed the whole jungle. Goblins and Kobolds who had lost their homes to the fire began to move away from the unstoppable inferno. Numerous conflicts occurred between monsters that inhabited the area, but they still had no choice but to abandon their territories. Confusion spread throughout Section E, and everyone was on high alert, from players to monsters.

* * *

Black smoke and red flames were everywhere as all hell broke loose in the Goblin village. Cries of help rose all over the village.

"Chief! Chief! We’re in a bi—urk!" A Goblin flung open the barracks door but just as he was about to enter, a hatchet soared to him from inside the barracks, splitting his head.

"I am not a chief. I am your king!" The Goblin King frowned in annoyance as he looked at the other chiefs. "You sure it was the Orcs?"

"Yes. They destroyed as many villages as I have fingers, and Orc bodies were found in all of the villages."

The Goblin King gritted his teeth. ‘Those damn Orcs. You weren’t content with raiding our villages, you also had to set them on fire?’ More than eight villages had been destroyed, and countless numbers of Goblins were still asking for help.

Their investigations had turned up evidence pointing to the Orcs as the ones responsible for their present difficulties. They had massacred entire villages and set them on fire, even allowing a couple of survivors to run to other villages so they could follow them and kill more Goblins. Even someone’s worst enemy couldn’t possibly be this cruel.

They hadn’t even bothered to declare war nor were there any recent clashes between the Goblins and the Orcs. As a matter of fact, they’d even recently talked about cooperating and pooling their resources because of the increased number of humans. And in the end, the Orcs had only stabbed the Goblins in the back. About a third of their strength had evaporated in one night.

"Orcs, I don't know what you want. But we Goblins will never forget what you have done.” The Goblin King’s eyes blazed with fire.

Suddenly, another Goblin barged in. "My lord! My lord! Kobolds and Gnolls have sent messengers! They are asking us to ally with them to take revenge against the Orcs! They want an alliance!"

The Goblin King turned towards the Goblin standing at the door. ‘We’re not the only ones?’ For a second, he thought there was something fishy going on, but this suspicion didn't last long. It was more important to retaliate against the Orcs first. "Lead the way! I’ll meet them! We will kill all of the Orcs!" The Goblin King sprang up from his seat and rushed towards the place where the Kobold and Gnoll messengers were waiting and discovered that they had been through similar experiences as well.

"The same thing happened to us! The Orcs attacked us too!"

"Our worst enemy! The Orcs killed our king too! We must take revenge together!"

When the Goblin King heard their stories, he started to believe that the Orcs had gone mad and provoked all the monsters around them. It was likely that they’d not only targeted the monsters in the area but perhaps even the entire region. The Goblin King immediately ordered his minions to check on other monster races. Soon the reports came back.

"The same thing happened to the other races!"

"Trolls and Ogres were attacked too! They also asked for an alliance!"

Then suddenly, the Goblin King was struck with an idea. 'This is my chance to be the real king of the entire forest!' Ever since he was a child, he’d been said to have great intelligence for a Goblin. He knew something was off about the whole situation, but at this point, he no longer cared if the Orcs were the real culprits. What really mattered was that he could use this as an opportunity to bring together the angry monsters and stand tall as their hero. He could even become the true king of the forest, which he had yearned for his entire life.

And when he heard the report about the armies of Lizardmen heading east, the Goblin King pounded on the table as he shouted. "There’s no time for this! Even those cowardly Lizardmen are waging war on the Orcs! How can we simply stand here? Follow me! I will personally cut the throat of the Orc King myself!"

Perhaps the Goblin King’s charisma captivated the other monsters because their eyes started to burn with determination. The loss of their homes and the anger they felt at the Orcs pushed them into complete madness.

"Follow the Goblin King!"

"For revenge! Kill the Orcs!"

Led by the Goblin King, a monster outbreak began. Armies consisting of thousands of monsters rushed indomitably towards the eastern desert.

* * *

[You have created conflict between monsters and led them to start a war. Additional karma will be provided.]

[You have acquired 1,000 additional karma.]

[Sudden Quest / Monster Outbreak]

[Content: It is an unwritten rule among the monsters in Section E that they don’t intrude into each other's territory, but the rule has been broken. A war between the monsters has begun. Survive and eradicate the source of the war.]

[Rewards:

1. The title “Monster Hunter”.

2. The Goblin King's Eye.

3. Five-colored jewel of monsters.

4. Additional karma.]

'Yes! It's progressing just the way I wanted.' Yeon-woo smiled as he watched Goblin King making a speech in front of thousands of monsters.

Akasha’s Snake would revive faster the more monsters it consumed, and now waves of Lizardmen and other monsters were heading towards the Orcs. No matter how much power the Orcs had, it would be impossible to block them. The resurrection wouldn’t just be a regular one. Perhaps Yeon-woo might even raise the biggest Akasha’s Snake in the entire history of the Tutorial.

Now that the seeds had been sown, Yeon-woo only had to sit back until the fruit was ripe and ready to be plucked. 'It’s a shame it turned into a sudden quest.' There were many kinds of quests in the Tower. Main quests referred to the main task on each floor of the Tower. Hidden quests were concealed as hidden pieces and only offered to those with the right qualifications. And then there were sudden quests, which occurred due to sudden turns of events.

The sudden quest was sent as a notification to all the players in Section E, just like the Main Quests. Those who didn’t know what was going on in the Tutorial might think they were just given more quests to hunt monsters. 'But those who know a thing or two might suspect something strange about the change.’ The slight chance that he’d arouse other players’ suspicions made Yeon-woo uneasy, but he decided not to worry too much about it. ‘Even if they realize what’s going on, it’s too late for them to act.' They wouldn’t be able to do anything. The shot had already been fired. Yeon-woo didn’t know what the aftereffects would be, but as he looked at the monsters marching in the distance, he began quietly following them.

* * *

While the Goblin King rallied the monsters, Bain glanced at the people around him and his lip curled in a sneer. "I see some useless players here." They were the members of Team 1, some of whom had sullen expressions.

“Look who’s talking," Crassus muttered in an irritated tone.

They always quarreled like cats and dogs whenever they bumped into each other, and so Crassus couldn’t help it if nothing good came out of his mouth. Bain scowled at Crassus, who laughed coldly in response. "What else can you do other than stare at me?"

"You cocky little asshole. You don’t even know who you’re messing with."

"I’m afraid I do. And we can test that right away if you want.” Bain and Crassus gazed at each other, their auras intensifying. The air around them heated up and gusts of wind began to blow.

The players around them stood with their arms folded. The two were the most talented players in Team 1, and a fight between them would be quite entertaining. Besides, at least one of them would be eliminated from the Tutorial rankings, and it was like killing two birds with one stone. However, their fight stopped before it could even begin.

"Both of you, stop fighting like children. Don’t you understand we’ll be better off eliminating the target instead of wasting our time?" Dyke, who was the designated adult in Team 1, stepped forward, clapping his hands. Bain and Crassus frowned at the same time, but neither of them complained. They knew Dyke was correct. However, the other players smacked their lips in frustration.

Dyke said as he looked around, "I hear the target is near the Orc settlements close by. Let's get rid of him as quickly as possible and get back to our business. Of course, we shouldn’t let our guard down, as he is the one who wiped out Team 2."

Bain and other players nodded.

"Let’s get in formation and move out."

The players advanced in a battle formation that Bild had taught them. Although they couldn’t be considered friends, the amount of time they spent training together honed them well for battles. Their eyes filled with greed as they marched forward.

'I have to take his head, no matter what.’

'I’ll do it even if I have to betray them.’

'I have to get to the top somehow. I can't be satisfied with my current rank.’

‘There's gonna be a fight even after we take down the target. How do I get away from these idiots?’

Each of them was thinking of something different when there was a faint rumble. Boom!

Dyke raised his hand and stopped. "Hold it."

"Why?"

"What's going on?"

Bain and Crassus had to pause just as they were about to dash forward. They looked back at Dyke with frowns on their face. Dyke knitted his brows. "Didn’t you hear it?"

Bain was about to yell at him, but suddenly, there was another rumble. Boom! Boom! He definitely heard it this time. "Is it coming from the ground?"

They stood bewildered, wondering what was making the earth shake so much. Crassus, the one with the keenest senses in Team 1, suddenly turned towards the west. "Dyke, look over there!"

When Bain, Dyke, and the rest of Team 1 looked in the direction he was pointing to, their faces froze. Boom! Boom! Boom! A massive tidal wave of thousands of monsters was sweeping through the forest towards the dry wasteland. It seemed like all the monsters in Section E had come out.

"T-this is ridiculous!" None of them had ever seen or heard anything like this before. The sight of natural enemies like Goblins, Ogres, and Trolls marching as one army sent chills all over their bodies.

"Dyke!" Crassus quickly turned to Dyke. Dyke gritted his teeth. No matter how excellent they were as players, the monsters would easily trample over them.

"R-retreat!" At Dyke's shout, the players of Team 1 began to run away desperately. However, it was too late.

"Get out of my way, human! Stand in my way and you'll die!"

"Die, humans!"

To the monsters, the humans were nothing more than annoyances blocking their way. Hatchets flew from all directions, and poisonous darts rained down. Swish!

"Aargh!"

"Ugh!”

The players fell to the ground one after the other as angry Ogres and Trolls charged at them. The entire team was annihilated so quickly by the monster outbreak that they didn’t even have a chance to resist. Dyke was crushed under a swarm of monsters, and Crassus’s limbs were torn off, disappearing inside an Ogre's mouth. The monsters rushed towards their next targets.

"You piece of shit!" Resentful that he had to flee from mere monsters, Bain turned around and tried to fight. However, it didn’t matter how well he fought, monsters rushed to him nonstop. Neither his sword nor his skills made a difference. He almost lost his mind. 'Not now! Not like this!’ His ambitions were being demolished by these monsters. ‘I will be the sword of the Cheonghwado and have the whole army under my—’

"Die, human!" But before he could even complete his thought, a large axe flew towards his head.

'When—'

Slash! One of his arms flew into the air. Blood gushed out from his shoulder. Before Bain could do anything, the Goblin King held his halberd up in the air as he roared deafeningly. "Death! Death to all those who stand in our way!"