Windket looked different under pressure.
It wasn't just cleaner.
It was performing cleanliness like a trained actor following a cue.
Dirt got shoved under planks. Rags became curtains. Smells were masked with frantic smoke and perfumed oils.
Men who had spent their lives ignoring one another began smiling with a practiced frequency.
Roland Vale paced inside his house like someone walking a knife's edge.
The map on the table, a child's sketch of the village turned into his plan for pageantry, was creased to the point of softness.
He kept rubbing his thumb along the edge of the paper, watching the stewards and servants race outside to arrange bunting and polish brass.
Pride and panic coiled together inside him like a rope frayed at both ends.
"Where is Laro?" he barked suddenly at Brann, the Captain of Windket's Guard. "Where are those scouts? It's been hours now!"
Brann straightened, hands clasped behind his back. "Still no word, Sir."
Roland's jaw flexed. "Think they found treasure and ran off with it? Knowing we wouldn't dare chase for the next few days?"
Brann hesitated. "Could be, Sir. Or maybe -"
Roland cut him off with a gesture, "Just focus on the Royal Association for now… It's not like we have much of a choice."
While across the village, the orders looped down like a public prayer.
Flags stitched overnight.
Windows were scrubbed until they sparkled.
Even the large, crooked well in the square got an honest-to-god scrub.
Street urchin who usually argued over stale bread now carried buckets in solemn procession, their cheeks hollow and nervous but obedient to the show.
Meanwhile, deep inside the forest…
-BOOM!
A burst of red lightning erupted as Arlen dropped from above and shoved his spear into a hissing ten-meter serpent's head, blasting a hole through its skull.
-Ding!
{Crimson Viper slain. 200 EXP Received!}
Arlen exhaled hard as he pulled the spear back. "And now we wait six minutes…"
The snake's head was as wide as a wagon's wheel with scales the shade of bright red.
Its eyes were still venom-bright even in death.
He crouched beside it, tapping the body with his spear tip.
He hadn't planned on using Red Lightning again. Not with how quickly it drained him.
But the moment that thing spat out that deep purple smoke, he didn't exactly have a choice.
[Man, where are all the goblins and slimes…?]
He sighed, hanging his head low.
The thought of facing another Tier 1 monster made his stomach twist.
Magic Beasts like this one were deceptive. Their sheer physiology let them punch way above their Stage.
This serpent was only a Mid-Stage Tier 1, yet it had the strength and venom to flatten most humans two stages above.
And it was more luck than skill that he managed to shove his spear through its skull before it could react.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have survived either.
Still…
200 EXP for something that deadly?
[That's… garbage.]
-Ding!
{EXP is calculated relative to Host's Tier and Stage.}
[Yeah, well, that's bullshit! A monster that strong should-]
-Ding!
{Host can sell the monster carcass.}
[Yeah but still…]
-Ding!
{Advisory: Processed monster parts yield more Credits.}
"Like I said," Arlen groaned, "Idon't know how! And I don't have the time either. Need to get stronger before the Association shows up."
Then a thought struck him mid-breath.
The world didn't measure power in Levels. It used Tiers and Stages.
"Hey, System," he said, wiping sweat from his jaw. "Can you tell me what Stage I'm actually in?"
-Ding!
{Updating Status. Calibrating to native power system.}
-Ding!
{Status Updated. Native System metrics now integrated.}
"Cool," he muttered, opening the panel.
[Protocol: Chronos]
Name: Arlen Hale
Race: Human
Circuits: 2
Affinity: Time, Red Lightning
Level: 7 / 100 (Tier 1, Mid-Stage)
XP: 942 / 1,708
Status: Normal
Stat Points: 0
Stats
STR: 1
AGI: 1
EDU: 1
DEX: 1
MP: 3 / 36
MP Regen: 0.1/sec
LCK: 1
Magic
Red Lightning Reinforcement (Epic) (Active) (Min. 5 MP/sec) (7 Circuits for Optimal Function)
Skills
Precognition (Legendary) (Active) (Min. 2 MP/sec) (2 Circuits for Optimal Function)
Gear: Crossbow (Heirloom), Partisan Spear (Rare), Laro's Sword (Common)
Credits: 349
Tabs
[Shop] [Inventory] [Map] [Crafting]
"Let me take a wild guess… I go a stage up with every five Levels…"
-Ding!
{Correct.}
"So that'd make-"
-Ding!-
{Optional Quest Received!}
Arlen blinked. "…Huh?"
The panel shifted again with new text glowing in violet-gold script.
{
Optional Quest
Target: Wyvern (Fire)
Predicted Tier: 5, Mid-Stage
Time Limit: 2 Days
Time to Accept: 05:59:52
Reward:
5000 Credits,
Time Dilation - Aion Field (Legendary)
Time is slowed to a crawl with respect to the user's perception and cognition.
}
{Do you accept this challenge?}
Arlen stared blankly at the text. Then slowly, very slowly, he asked with genuine concern in his voice.
"System… are you stupid?"