Chapter 4: Casting nets at all sides
Translated by: Chua
Edited by: TN and Elkassar
Though the trio of party Ace were all putting up a good show, at least 9 out of 10 people were attracted by that strange and horrible looking shield wielded by Reef. It was still that same line – a dime or a dozen could unleash devastating damage output, yet those that were experts in tanking damage……the ones that would do the dirty work of braving the frontlines… could only be described as precious rarities! To dare to display a shield out in this medium intensity warfare….this inevitably meant he belonged to those few scrubs; he was definitely not an imitation, if not the first to die would be him.
“Is it my good fortune, to actually encounter a solo flying MT?”
In that instance, this notion swirled in the minds of at least 20 others.
The viperwolf was indeed terribly unlucky to be pincered by the trio of Sheyan. Moreover it was only an average beast; currently, it was suffering a dozen gunshots, receiving burnt slashes everywhere by Reef, and getting pounded by Sheyan!
One must understand that at present, with the boost from his concoction, Sheyan’s peak strength had reached a breathtaking 44 points!
Although it seemed like Sheyan and Reef were thoroughly suppressed in the previous world, that was due to the the abnormal circumstances and difficulty of that world! Even the realm understood the demands were too harsh, and allocated an ultimate ticket for them to return to the realm at any time.
Right now, they were thrown into a fairly normal world; though it had a ‘B+’ difficulty, it was already 2 levels down from the previous world difficulty of ‘A’. Though his knucklers were white grade, with Sheyan’s outrageous 44 strength, he easily dealt crushing damages. Unable to last for even 10 seconds, the viperwolf’s skull was totally wrecked with dents and bullet holes; blood splashed chaotically in resonance to the wolf’s melancholic howls.
Sheyan and his buddies simultaneously received the notification:
“Your battle contribution to the RDA company is raised by 14 points……after the battle concludes, you can utilize your contribution points to purchase relevant supplies from the shuttle’s interior.”
After slaying the viperwolf, Reef and Mogensha naturally joined in the battle. Instead, Sheyan squatted down and started analyzing the viperwolf’s corpse; all because the claws it demonstrated had left him a distinct impression. After careful inspections, he realized that though this creature was hailed as a ‘wolf’, it actually had a grip like that of primates. Each paw had a soft padding, three toes and an opposable thumb, allowing it to climb trees and stalk its preys quietly, without leaving a trace!
After organizing these details, he recalled the pack nature of viperwolves; Sheyan could formulate their intrinsic hunting pattern – a three-dimensional hunting field. It could rely on trees as well as its silent trailing to encroach towards its prey, and finally sneak attack them within metres. This sort of vicious scenario caused even Sheyan whose HP had reached 800 to shudder in fear; deciding that it was best to avoid conflicting with these creatures in the dark.
Naturally, in view of other contestants around, Sheyan continuously allowed Reef and Mogensha to bask in the limelight. While he himself only produced a white grade shotgun, where he had no qualms about hiding his true prowess.
The crowd’s observation were exceedingly critical; though Sheyan seemed aggressive, his shotgun was indeed lacking. It boomed loudly and noisily, yet it couldn’t even slay a heavily wounded viperwolf. He occasionally stood forward, delivering two punches while taking several blows for Reef; all these happened concurrently with receiving the spiteful glares of others.
Facing such an awkward situation, Sheyan remained calm and collected. After learning that the battling front lines had eased a little, he then threw a blended-mix of ‘bear and eagle’ at the few contestants in front. A dull mist dispersed out, allowing them to enjoy the fruits of his latest research.
Though the buff effects were weakened by using the AOE aspect of his ability, strength +3 and agility +3 wasn’t considered poor. It was equivalent to the enhancement of a black grade equipment; a total boost of 6 base attributes! In view of the sparse nature of good equipments in the realm, the attribute bonus of his blended-mix could even surpass some average equipments of many contestants.
Being engulfed by a sudden mysterious mist; apart from an impulsive, incomprehensive fool who cursed out “What dog shit is this?!”, the other contestants realized something. They instantly noticed that their own base attributes were favorably transforming. Successive exclamations of delight – “oh, yes!” “Alright!” could be heard. Some even gestured a thumbs up to Sheyan.
Of course, Sheyan wasn’t one to discriminate. There was still the backline of long range combatants and supports, gunmen as well as mage/summoner etc. He casually tossed a flask of blended-mix, increasing their agility and intelligence. Nevertheless, he could only cast an apologetic glance to those unique contestants requiring intelligence at the front, and strength at the back.
The crowd glittered with admiration. After tossing out the two blended-mix, everyone was enlightened that Sheyan was indeed a hybrid support; one that could tank a little for the MT while providing massive crowd support. Normally, such a breed would belong to a core member of a party, delivering crucial support to everyone.
If such a person possessed a formidable damage output, he could very well vye for the leadership position in a party. But if not, his position would still be unshakable within the party, and welcomed by all. Numerous eyes were set ablaze; a MT plus another hybrid support, this was no doubt the twin thighs supporting their party’s body. Though they could experience this combination for only a short while, they were still relatively glad to have them for this battle.
The battle continued for several minutes; Sheyan was now slightly depressed, not because of the resources he sacrificed, but because the RDA company didn’t acknowledge his efforts as contribution. According to the realm’s normal method of determining, this was definitely an impossibility. During wartime, the frontline soldiers would definitely receive outstanding military service, but wouldn’t the logistics/transport factions too? The cooks and support staff? This was outrageously unreasonable!
While grumbling internally, a tremendous boom abruptly rattled over. Someone had managed to fling a grenade into the mouth of a howling viperwolf, undoubtedly the outcome was a splattering of brains and blood. Still, Sheyan hadn’t touched that viperwolf one bit, even Reef and Mogensha were fully focused at another side. However, he suddenly received a +5 contribution from the RDA company. Moreover, Reef and Mogensha who were basking in glory also received an external +2 contribution rate.
“So that’s the case.” Sheyan was enlightened. “If a contestant had received a strengthening bonus from me, then his contributions in battle……a dividend would be shared with me.”
Of course this dividend was linearly related. For example, if killing a viperwolf earned Reef 20 contribution points while hosting support benefits from Sheyan, then he would only receive 18 points, while Sheyan could receive 5 points. It definitely wasn’t calculated as Reef taking 15 points, while the remaining 5 goes to Sheyan. In other words, the total contribution rates would be increased.
Noteworthily, the contribution was tied to an individual creature. For example, when 10 support enhanced contestants worked together to kill a single viperwolf, Sheyan would only receive a single reward, and not 10x of that reward.
Since that was the case, Sheyan immediately retained his own plans. Ultimately, he still had a wealthy spendthrift backing in Reef, hence, he wouldn’t lack materials in the present world. Therefore, squandering a little now was fine, as long as he rationed his supplies throughout the course of this world. Rather as of now, he could earn much more contribution points.
Presently, he had already realized this wasn’t the only battlefield after digging information from the surrounding contestants! This humongous valkyrie had 4 different exits on the east, south, west and north. Large packs of viperwolves had appeared before all exits, attempting to invade the interior of the shuttle. Thus, an inevitable clash broke out at all exit fronts. No other words needed, there were now 4 other battles occurring at each side!
Presently, there was only one thing on Sheyan’s mind, and that was to be a good samaritan. He would service the contestants in this realm war with generous attribute boosts. By doing so, even if he remained motionless, wealth would come rolling in.
Right now, he was positioned within the west battlefield. Thus, he proceeded to detour to the north. Yet when he reached here, his heart skipped a beat; because all the viperwolves had been utterly annihilated! Moreover, there were lesser contestants here. Looking at the contestants here leisurely sitting around, they appeared rather accustomed and familiar with each other; chattering and laughing amongst themselves. Their bodies emanated a dull ocher glow, which obviously indicated they belonged to a large scale party. Those malicious and well-coordinated viperwolves had all been slaughtered cleanly, without a single one escaping!
Even the carcasses left behind were currently being carefully stored by some contestants, trying to maximize their benefits.
A lofty and tall contestant was currently squatting at the foremost of the battlefield, with a cigarette lodged between his fingers. The contestant wore an oxygen mask over the face, so what was this cigarette for?
Sheyan couldn’t expect this contestant to be a smoking addict; as he observed every few seconds, the contestant would pull down his mask and take a savoury puff. It seemed like the poisonous air was merely a secondary concern to him.