Pumpkin Girl had the most radiant smile.
The Elves' Griffin had left its ancestral home simply for the taste of her cookies. Was there a better achievement than that? Well, perhaps her managing to grab Jack's attention?
Either way, the gluttonous bird didn't take long to craft itself a nest…in the exact same tree as the Fairy! The two could be heard bickering about living arrangements.
"You birdbrain, this tree's mine! Find yourself a new one, humph!" She'd utter, only for the creature to refuse categorically.
"Scree!!" (Such a big tree for such a tiny thing? No way!)
This tree just happened to be very close to the house. It wouldn't give up on a tree that smelled of Pumpkin Cookies from the nearby chimney.
They both were mythical creatures, yet this was their concern?! Jack couldn't help but shake his head: "You two, stop it. I'm about to embark on a dangerous journey here!"
For the first time, they stopped squabbling.
"As if! You're the one causing trouble! Everyone should worry about meeting you instead!"
"Scree!" (The nail-sized girl is totally right!)
They were both nodding, watching him as if he was some kind of ultimate evil roaming the land. Worry? None whatsoever!
"Tch— What do you take me for?" Jack grumbled. "Just watch! This time we'll be so low-key no one will even notice we were there, just like a silent fart, right Moon Moon?"
"Woo!" (100%! We'll be like the wind, invisible!)
The two left the Farm with a pep in their steps: super-secret operation none the wiser was starting! After all, they didn't want to distract from the war preparations…
━━━━━━ POV ━━━━━━━
A cloaked man and his pet were chuckling happily.
An incredibly vast plain stood before him, one that almost seemed alive. The wind current was so strong that it ruffled the tall vegetation, seemingly making a wave.
Here resided an ancient race that excelled in speed, power, and elemental affinity. Oh, and apparently it was possible to become one of them. How amazing was that!
The man glanced at his pet lovingly as he exclaimed.
"We made it! We finally reached this god-forsaken place! Can you believe it? Not only did we bypass the need for a key, but now we have this entire land to ourselves!"
"Caw-Caw!" (Happy!)
The black raven on his arm happily reveled in its master's joy.
This man was someone who had no relation to Jack whatsoever. He wasn't even from Sprigfield or Timber City but from another settlement entirely.
He was still relatively unknown, but very soon the world would get to know the Racing Raven! Sadly, his happiness would be short-lived…
— BZZZZ! —
It started as a soft murmur as if the wind itself was buzzing, but then it became louder and louder until it turned into a mighty roar.
The mana in the entire realm began gathering over the steppe until it created a freaking tornado! The calamity obscured the sky and was going faster and faster.
"W-what kind of insane event is this?!"
"Caw-Caw!" (Panicked!)
Something suddenly materialized in the sky: Huge, countless, glowing magically, and very out of place! Those looked just like…..steps?! A stairway to heaven had just appeared?!
As the duo was staring blankly, a man appeared out of nowhere. He looked young, easygoing, had a wolf by his side, and was already casually descending the stairway.
"Oh? This place's neat. Still, let's hurry before the others arrive." The youngster nonchalantly commented.
"T-the others?!" The "Racing Raven" was already trembling.
"Sprigfield is coming."
"Sprigfield?!"
A second later, it all became clear as the stairway began spitting players out faster than the spawn of a Newbie Village! Sprigfield as an entire freaking Town!
The hopeful Racing Raven's gaming plan had suddenly turned into a nightmare. If everyone could suddenly access this place, all his efforts would have gone to waste!
Meanwhile, the cause of it all was happily strolling next to him, as if he already owned the place….
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Yep, this happened mere hours after Jack declared that he wouldn't make waves.
After a pointlessly long portal opening ritual that would have made anyone else cry, Jack had finally managed to activate the Green Key at the Sprigfield plain. That's when…
[Please Select One!]
[Visit the Eternal Steppe!]
[Annex the Eternal Steppe!]
Annex?! Who the hell could resist this?! Only someone who didn't understand the implications! There was no way this wouldn't be mad entertaining!
Annex meant a whole lot of opportunities!
- New Hunting Grounds
- New Playable Races
- Trading routes
- Much More!
Heck, pushed to the extreme, it was even possible to start a conquest war! How freaking awesome was that! He simply couldn't resist.
Meanwhile, the other option was simply to be teleported to the place…alone. This could be used to monopolize quests and specialty drops, but that was about it.
As for the impact this would have on the world of Infinite…he didn't care! No matter what, he'd struggle until he came on top. That was his current philosophy!
But even he had to admit: this was freaking grandiose. A stairway made of wind now linked both of their worlds!
Enough to impress him? —> Made the other players mad!
"L-look there! It's floating?!"
"Oh god, there's a man Climbing toward heaven?!"
"He's not just climbing. He's waving too. What the heck is he?! Should we wave back? What will happen if we do? What…"
At this moment, the entire Town saw him. But just as they were wondering if he was some Heaven's Envoy NPC or something, they finally noticed the small wolf by Jack's side.
It was also waving its little paws, its tail whooshing from side to side as it enjoyed the view. Sprigfield looked so tiny from there!
"Woo!" (I'm taller than all of you, hehe!)
A second later, the duo climbed some more, suddenly disappearing as if hidden by a mist. With his disappearance, they finally came back to their senses.
"Demon King?! Don't let him get ahead!"
"Move your asses, an entire New World Awaits!"
"Stairs in the sky?! Unfair! Acrophobia's a medical condition…."
Solo players and guilds alike all decided to participate. They all rushed toward the heavenly stairs like their buts were one fire! (For some, it really was)
But just as they were all about to migrate to this new area….
[Eternal Steppe!]
[First Wave 347/500!]
Wait, there was a limit to the number of players?! What kind of BS was this?! But then, many observant peeps couldn't help but remark something odd:
If the places were limited, then why hadn't D.L. monopolized them all? After all, their leader had obviously started the party. Was there something ominous on the other side?
But as they hesitated, others dashed in like cattle at a slaughterhouse. They simply followed the momentum, unaware of the fate that would await them…
Jack had begun it all, yet he was so relaxed. He chuckled as he saw Moon Moon jumping in and out of the tall grass/wheat, ignoring the sobbing Exploring Player.
The whole place gave a wild vibe, the lush vegetation not showing a sign of ever being maintained. Then again, there was a reason for that…
"Moon Moon, move back a bit," Jack warned.
He grabbed a random pebble, throwing it a few meters near the wolf's position. That's when the herbs began flailing around wildly, coiling around the rock and dragging it down.
* Gulping wolf noises! *
The poor wolf had the equivalent of a heart attack. This was the same grass it had been playing in?! SCARY!! It hurried back even faster than the players hurried in.
Actually, there were already a few that had misstepped and…
"Arrggg! Help, help, please! I'm—" Their desperate cries would quickly become muffled, their bodies sure to become nutrients for the plants.
The gaze turned incredibly wary, everyone glancing at every piece of golden grass as if their mortal enemy. Heck, some were already afraid to step off the stairs.
As for going back…
[This Gate Is Currently One-Way!]
[Complete Missions to Unlock!]
Many now understood why there weren't that many D.L. members. This place was a freaking deathtrap— until they cleared it anyway.
Their faces were so expressive that it was a show in itself. It was a mix of surprise, unease, confusion, and even dread.
The members of a small faction were already pale. They were all here….Wouldn't this mean that anything they controlled back home would be up for grabs?!
Some glanced at Jack resentfully, while others chuckled as they understood that danger came hand in hand with opportunity.
The wise ones were already observing his every move, eager to copy whatever he was doing. After all, he showed no fear as he walked the field. How?!
He should have been scared of the sneaky hiding enemies, and yet he seemed utterly confident that nothing bad would happen to him. How?!
"D-demon King, Sir. How can you know about…." A shy and naive player asked.
"Oh? The enemies? Just look." He shrugged.
Some became angry at his reply. Why the hell wouldn't he just tell them, eh?! Still, many there understood the truth. He really was just looking!
The way the monster herbs swayed was different than the regular ones. It was barely noticeable, and even he himself wasn't sure why he knew at times, but it was apparent.
Some just didn't feel right, and this was enough for him to have 100% confidence in where he was stepping. Still, not everything was under his control.
Jack glanced at the horizon while frowning. THEY were coming!
The ones still on the steps couldn't feel it, and many on the ground didn't realize either, but the earth was very slightly shaking.
Jack knew this trembling very well. He wasn't just familiar with it, but it had become part of his life at some point.
A cavalry was coming, but not any cavalry. Would they be the monsters or allies here? Centaurs, lots of centaurs…
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