Chapter 62: The Calamity of Beasts

Chapter 62: The Calamity of Beasts

The sudden fainting of the young priestess startled everyone. Fortunately, upon inspection, it was found that she had merely collapsed from exhaustion and was not seriously harmed. Clark quickly arranged for her to be taken to rest and also prepared a room for Alex. After all, Alex was the town's great benefactor, and they wanted to treat him well.

Taking this opportunity, Alex made a somewhat unusual request to Clark. He asked if Clark could help him collect the spirit crystals from the bodies of the black wolves. Clark didn't hesitate at all and immediately agreed. As hunters, they often went into the forests to hunt low-level magical beasts and sell the spirit crystals they extracted. They were well-versed in the process.

Upon hearing Alex's request, Clark confidently assured him that he would personally handle it and that no one would dare to withhold any of Alex's spirit crystals. Clark was quick. It didn't take long before he handed over all the spirit crystals extracted from the black wolf corpses to Alex.

However, to Alex's disappointment, the quality of these spirit crystals was quite low. Apart from the spirit crystal from the lead wolf, which provided Alex with 20 points of crystal energy, the rest only contributed one to two points each. Since not every beast had a spirit crystal, Alex ended up with a total of 50 points of crystal energy. It wasn't much, but at least it was better than nothing.

With some free time on his hands, Alex grew curious and asked Clark about something very important. Where exactly was he?

"This is the territory of the Northern Alliance... uh, Mr. Alex, you didn't know?"

Clark was visibly surprised by Alex's question but answered truthfully. He then cautiously expressed his confusion. After all, Sweetwater Town was on the border of the Northern Alliance—how did this man end up here?

"Sigh, don't even ask."

Clark's question brought a look of regret to Alex's face.

"My teleportation spell malfunctioned, and I somehow ended up here... I wandered in the wilderness for two days before finding my way out. But that aside, what's going on here? I walked through the mountains for two days without encountering a single animal, and then there was that pack of black wolves... I thought magical beasts rarely appeared in civilized areas?"

"It seems your luck really wasn't good."

Learning how Alex ended up here, Clark's expression grew complex as he eyed him.

"You might not know this, but it's the season of beast calamities right now..."

Clark's explanation helped Alex understand why he said Alex's luck was bad. The Northern Alliance is situated near the Twilight Border, where a beast calamity occurs every year.

The reason is simple: magical beasts are wild animals tainted by chaotic magic, and many wild animals have migratory instincts. They might act on instinct or be driven by more powerful magical beasts, but every winter, they attack the heartlands of human civilization.

The Northern Alliance, being the first line of defense, bears the brunt of these attacks. While they use natural barriers and fortress checkpoints to fend off most of the magical beasts, the forests are vast, and some creatures inevitably slip through.

The black wolves that attacked Sweetwater Town were likely among those that snuck through the defenses. However, as Clark spoke of this recent attack, his brow furrowed, and his expression darkened.

"To be honest, I'm worried. We face beast calamities every winter, but this year's came unusually early. The magical beasts appeared far too quickly. Normally, even if some slip through during a beast calamity, they don't show up until after the third snowfall. But this time, they appeared right after the first snow. I'm really concerned that something might have happened at the border fortress..."

Clark was troubled, as he explained. As he mentioned, beast calamities weren't new. Every winter, from the time he was born, these magical beasts would attempt to invade the heartlands during the heavy snow.

But it was usually predictable. Sweetwater Town, though close to the border, was still a fair distance away. They would typically pack up before the first snowfall and leave once it ended, as the snow would block the mountains and drive the wild animals away due to the magical beasts' threats, making it safer.

However, this time, the magical beasts came far too quickly. While Clark was anxious, Alex's eyes were gleaming with excitement the more he listened.

Countless magical beasts? A calamity of beasts? Oh my! That's a lot of spirit crystals! So much money!

How many ten-pull treasures can I get?!

Right now, Alex's biggest headache was the lack of dimensional points. But there wasn't much he could do about it since he had only created the main framework of the game.

The dungeons weren't under his control, and he didn't know how the "Codex of Dimensions" connected to those strange worlds. What frustrated Alex even more was that the dimensional points awarded in each dungeon were ridiculously low!

When Alex originally designed the game, it was intended to be a mobile game. In mobile games, a single chapter usually has at least a dozen levels. Players would complete a chapter and, at the very least, accumulate enough resources for a ten-pull.

But for some reason, after coming to this world and traversing those "dungeons," the "Map of Myriad Dimensions" became incredibly stingy. It mostly provided main quests and occasionally triggered a side quest, but these didn't always yield dimensional points.

This left Alex extremely frustrated. He now deeply regretted not adjusting the points to 999,999 back then, even if just for testing purposes. Now, the dimensional points he could earn in each dungeon were severely limited.

Although he had gained considerable benefits, for Alex, the soul stones were the core. Not to mention, he was still lacking a powerful finishing move! Both [Arthas] and [Kerrigan] were currently unusable.

Alex was now hoping that his next summon would bring forth a true angel. With that, he would have more confidence, whether it was for flaunting his strength or taking on a boss. He wouldn't be as desperate as he was when facing the Lich Lord, where he almost ran out of options and had to rely on luck to survive.

Alex had already determined his path. He would use the dungeons to farm equipment and skills. But as for dimensional points, judging by how the system behaves, relying on quests to accumulate points is less effective than just paying for them!

And now, with the front lines in a state of crisis and the country in dire need, as a paladin of the Temple, I must dedicate myself fully, even to the point of... well, maybe not that far.

But in any case, there's no way I'm passing up all that money! With this in mind, Alex made a firm decision deep in his heart.

Head to the Order Fortress, farm money, and pay to win!

Alex's decision wasn't purely motivated by money. As a member of the Temple, he was well aware that most of the Twilight Border's fortresses were under the Holy Nation's control.

This was somewhat similar to how the United States has military bases in places like Hawaii—overseas territories that, while they might infringe on other nations' sovereignty, are often welcomed by smaller countries. The same applies to the Holy Nation's border fortresses. They are even more welcomed by these small countries.

The reason is that the Holy Nation's fortresses face enemies that aren't human but chaotic beasts. These small countries don't have the manpower or resources to build such fortifications to protect themselves.

So, when the Holy Nation offers help, they are naturally grateful. Furthermore, the Holy Nation's military is well-organized and disciplined, far superior to the so-called Western powers.

From what Alex had seen of people like Malte and Stone, their dedication was exemplary, further enhancing the Holy Nation's reputation compared to other major powers.

Just look at that young priestess who fainted from exhaustion. She had no prior connection with the people here, yet she was willing to stand and fight alongside them, despite her youth. Alex had to admit, the Temple was not like the ones he'd read about in novels.

Of course, not every member was flawless, like that Connie... But in a way, that was a good thing. It at least proved that the Temple was a human organization, made up of real people.

If every member of a group had an exceptionally high level of dedication, Alex would seriously start to wonder if the Temple wasn't using some kind of brainwashing technique to control its members.

After all, it's acceptable for most of an organization's members to be good people, but if they're all good people, that's a bit terrifying.

After learning the situation from Clark, Alex decided to rest in Sweetwater Town for the night before heading to the Order Fortress. In addition to farming money and paying to win, he was also effectively reporting back to his organization.

Alex was a bit curious about this. After all, he hadn't shown up for over half a year—Stone and the others might have even reported him as dead...

When Clark heard of Alex's decision, he tried to dissuade him. But seeing that Alex was determined, he didn't press the matter.

As their savior, Clark certainly wouldn't treat Alex poorly. He gave Alex the best carriage in Sweetwater Town, and Alex gladly accepted it. The Order Fortress was several days' journey from Sweetwater Town, and walking the entire distance would be exhausting.

With a carriage, Alex couldn't have asked for more. However, what Alex didn't expect was that the young priestess also sought him out, requesting to accompany him to the Order Fortress.

Alex was a bit surprised but agreed without much thought. After all, they were colleagues, and having someone to watch his back on the journey wasn't a bad idea.

So, after spending the night in Sweetwater Town, Alex and the young priestess set out together, embarking on their journey to the Order Fortress.

(End of Chapter)

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