Cauldron

In Fallen Fate Online were many stats, and each had its own purpose, so it was very important for any player to take their Status Points distribution seriously since in the beginning, it was the main element of increasing power for anyone.

"If you want to get faster then I would recommend improving agility, endurance, and of course, strength." Harald said quietly running beside him.

"Strength...? How would that help me?" Zayne was puzzled, "Isn't agility the most important thing, or endurance?"

"Hah, you know nothing at all about the human body. Look at Roland, he's fast and tough, but I wouldn't call him the most agile man in the world. However, he is strong enough to make the ground beneath him crack after a leap, which gave him the most powerful momentum." Harald said with a slight smile as he glanced at Roland, running ahead.

Zayne was silent for a while before he asked with a frown, "Hey, what about you? Don't you think you're too strong physically for a doctor?"

"Hahaha, you think if I'm a doctor I should be weak but smart? Actually, I can do both! What's more, I also like to fight and also know how to heal wounds, the perfect combination, don't you think?" Harald smirked.

Zayne wanted to answer, but he already had too little strength as he could barely move his legs.

"I prefer balance." Harald spoke calmly with a cold look, "I am fast, strong, tough, and intelligent. Sure, the choice is yours."

'Balance...? Well, maybe that's not a bad choice, considering I don't know what path I'm on yet.' Zayne inwardly muttered and opened his status. He was interested in three stats and had 9 Status Points, so his choice was obvious.

[Strength: 4 -> 7]

[Agility: 7 -> 10]

[Endurance: 6 -> 9]

[Status Point: 9 -> 0]

At the same moment, Zayne's body was covered in a blue glow. Zayne immediately felt his breathing become easier as well as his legs stopped hurting.

'Fine! Now I can definitely catch up with her! All I need is just a little strength!' Zayne exclaimed inwardly as he sprinted forward with all his might, overtaking Harald.

"Well, well, looks like someone's got a competitive spirit. That's good!" Harald smiled broadly, about to catch up with Zayne, as suddenly his eyes went wide, "What the hell...?"

A pale blue veil appeared around Zayne, though he had already used his Status Points, so this was not supposed to happen. Harald had seen it several times in his life, so he was surprised, unlike Zayne.

'Hmm...? What's going on? Is this some kind of special visual effect? What's the point?' Zayne said to himself with a frown.

[Fate has heard your wish. This is a special case that does not require you to use the Fate Coin as it depended on your will and the amount of Fate Force]

[Your Strength is permanently increased by 1 point, 7 -> 8]

Zayne was puzzled for a moment, then he smirked and said, "I don't know what's going on here, but I should definitely use this!"

Zayne's eyes lit up in flames as he felt himself becoming much faster. Even though Elin was well-trained, she concentrated on agility, so in the straight distance, she was inferior to those who combined.

Crackle.

Zayne took a step forward as the ground beneath him slumped slightly before he sprinted with tremendous speed, catching up with Elin in seconds.

"Hey, looks like you're not as fast as you used to be, are you?" Zayne showed her an arrogant smile, making her frown.

Elin was bouncing off tree branches, but she couldn't be faster than Zayne because she was making too many movements.

"Hmm? Sounds like you're trying to figure out which one of you is better, doesn't it?" Roland turned around with a smirk, "Well, in that case, I need to show you what you should be aiming for! Rina, get ready!"

Rina's eyes went wide, "Agh...? What are you talking about?"

Suddenly Roland jumped high and bounced off the tree behind him with all his might. His enormous force threw him forward like a projectile from a cannon, and the tree was snapped in two, falling on Zayne who was running behind him.

'Holy shit!' Zayne exclaimed inwardly, bouncing aside at the last moment.

"Hahaha, Roland, your body is a real treasure. Getting muscles like that is incredibly difficult." Harald exclaimed, leaping over the tree trunk easily, overtaking Zayne and Elin. They could not catch up with the others, so they returned to camp together, last.

Elin crossed her arms over her chest, stared at Zayne, and snorted, "Pff, you're just lucky we ran ahead. If we'd been fighting, you wouldn't have even noticed me!"

Zayne passed silently, seemingly ignoring her, then he waved his hand and with a slight grin said, "Maybe, but excuses certainly won't make you faster."

Elin grimaced as her hands clenched into fists in anger, but she didn't continue as everyone was already on their way to Chaos Hearth.

The squads were ready, eleven in all, ten men each. At the front was Roland, with Amelia, Rina, Aron, and Harald behind him, joined quickly by Zayne and Elin.

"Fine, we have enough time to get to Chaos Hearth. Let's go, I'm sure with proper teamwork we'll be able to complete the mission without loss!" Roland exclaimed, raising his sword up before heading forward.

The soldiers moved coherently as a single mechanism since they had all been through extensive training, so the group was on the hill in just a few minutes.

"How much left?" Roland turned to Rina, staring intently at Chaos Hearth with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I think it should happen right now!" Rina exclaimed, and as if responding to her words Chaos Hearth glowed brightly.

For a moment a silhouette of the amber eye appeared in a bland black hole that seemed to see through everything, even the heavens, then a bright flash of light blinded everyone and red flames devoured everything around it.

The red flames spread out in a circle, gradually disappearing and leaving something entirely new in its place.

"Oh, that looks interesting." Harald said in excitement, holding up his chin.

A village appeared in the place of the Chaos Hearth, but its inhabitants were not human, but short, green monsters with primitive tools in their hands.

'Is that really...?' Zayne muttered inwardly as he remembered creatures very similar to those that walked between the huts.

"Goblins... Fine, that's a pretty easy target." Roland nodded confidently as his strict gaze covered the entire goblin village, "There are over a thousand of them, each of us will have to kill about ten goblins. Well, that's not bad."

"Commander Roland, it appears to be an Open Type, I don't see any other entrances or hidden locations." Rina said quietly studying Chaos Hearth closely from afar, seemingly her eyes saw more than the others.

Aron stepped forward, "We're lucky. Goblins are not the strongest of opponents. Their only advantage is quantity, but the quality is definitely on our side."

"The only thing that worries me... What the hell are they doing?" Harald frowned, pointing to the massive cauldron in the center of the village.

Many goblins were stirring the purple liquid with sticks, from which massive poisonous clots occasionally flew out. After a while, a group of goblins emerged from one hut carrying a huge plate over them, as though they were about to bring the cauldron's contents to someone.