Terra Nova Online: Rise of The Strongest Player

Chapter 627: Mission Complete

Chapter 627: Mission Complete

After the banishment of rebel players from Empire-controlled lands, the rift between rebels and lawful players grew wider than ever, sparking the formation of guilds dedicated solely to tracking and eliminating rebels.

For smaller and mid-sized guilds that lacked control over significant resources, opportunities to level up in the wild were limited. Consequently, hunting rebels presented an incredibly lucrative opportunity, offering these guilds a path to escape mediocrity.

Rebel hunting provided not only substantial level gains but also monetary rewards from the Empire, alongside increased fame and favor within the Empire’s NPC circles— which was an all-around invaluable boost.

A few days after the rebels were driven out of the Empire lands, nearly everyone on the lawful side of the Empire seemed eager to join the hunt, driving the conflict between rebels and lawful players to new heights.

In the wild, players with the infamous red mark above their heads were prime targets for ambushes by lawful player parties, though the reverse also held true.

Rebels and lawful players hunted each other with relentless aggression, turning the conflict into a fierce competition that once again shook up the leveling leaderboards.

The leaderboards, stagnant for ages, began to shift dramatically as hunting down players, rather than monsters, became the more rewarding path.

Defeating a rival not only offered significant level gains to the victor but also costed the fallen player dearly, stirring up a new surge of competition on the leaderboards.

In general, if a player gained one level by killing a rival, the rival lost 1.2 levels for dying, making the net losses higher than the net gains.

However, at the same time, if killing a rival at level 235 yielded one level, killing a monster at level 235 only gave 0.3 levels, making killing players the clear superior choice out of the two.

This trend attracted even more players to the rebel-hunting business, igniting a player-versus-player conflict like never before.

The frustrations of ordinary players, long stifled by limited leveling opportunities, erupted as they clashed with rivals, as with the rise of the rebel wars, the game appeared to enter a decisive phase.

For each level gained from a player kill, the losing side lost an even greater amount, indicating the shift away from normalcy.

The game world seemed to be headed toward a stark division, and soon, only the elite and the below-average would remain, with little room left for mediocrity.

Skilled players were sure to gain momentum from the rebel wars propelling themselves above the crowd, while those struggling to keep up were sure to find themselves at a disadvantage.

Unable to match the pace of their more talented peers in player-driven leveling, they were most likely to dip below the global average, whether it was through their own lack of skills or losses while dying to rival enemies.

This meant that the game was heading for the final distinction, where the better players would rise above the crowd and become more favorable picks for various resident factions when they arrived on planet Terra Nova, while those underperforming would be doomed to a life of fruitless labor forever.

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( Meanwhile Ben )

After relentlessly searching for days, Ben finally managed to find the secret archive holding the knowledge of his ancestors.

It was hidden quite deeply within the labyrinth that was the previous Assassin’s Alliance, however, while it could have fooled another assassin, it could not fool the senses of Ben Faulkner.

Noticing how the sound of his footsteps echoed slightly differently in one section of the labyrinth, Ben decided to explore that particular hallway extensively, until he found the false wall that opened into a hidden pathway mechanism.

Although he never found out how to open the hidden mechanism, he broke down the wall to reveal the pathway behind it, which eventually led him to the treasure room where the skill scrolls were stored.

Within the treasure room, he not only found the complete manual for [Mirror World] and [Kill Strike] but also found other invaluable skills which he felt would be useful for Leo.

There was a tonne of knowledge available in the hidden assassin archives about different types of poisons, different types of assassination methods and the use of various types of assassination weapons, that was all lost in the modern world.

However, what caught Ben’s eyes the most, was the method to make one’s bones more flexible, changing their composition from being this solid hard structure that could break into fragments if hit hard, into this new form whereby they took a more flexible form, which could bend without breaking but was still equally strong.

In essence, it was the first step to learning how to [ShapeShift] and although the knowledge was incomplete, the rudimentary volume itself sent shivers down Ben’s spine.

Although difficult to master, just having access to such skills and knowledge gave Ben the confidence to continue serving as Leo’s teacher for many more years to come, as although he had not mastered the contents of the knowledge he found here in the ruins, he had faith in himself that he could master them while teaching them to Leo.

Hence, after what was months of relentless treasure searching, Ben found himself prepared to return to Crest-Hill Barony again, as he considered his expedition to the ruins to be completed.

“Lin Mu, prepare for return…. We begin moving back towards the Eastern Duchy from tomorrow” Ben announced, as Lin Mu beamed at those words.

“I hope you have found everything you were looking for, Teacher” she said, as Ben smiled kindly towards her in return.

“Yes I have…. My purpose for coming here is complete” Ben said, not elaborating on what he discovered, as the secrets that lay within the ruins were only for those belonging to the Faulkner family to share.

Thankfully, Lin Mu never pressed him on what he found either, knowing full well that only her brother Jin was worthy of knowing the contents of the scrolls that Ben had discovered here today.