As soon as the event began, players from all directions poured into the [Toxic Forest], creating an almost chaotic scene at the forest’s edge.
The major guilds led the charge, forming large teams to efficiently farm monsters.
These creatures, at level 20 to 25, were perfect targets for most players who had leveled up enough to participate in the event.
However, Alex knew that the deeper parts of the forest hid much stronger monsters, some as high as level 40—a death sentence for anyone unprepared.
Ding!
[You have received the effect ‘Poison’, but thanks to your antidote, you are immune!]
Those who had consumed a high-quality antidote, like Alex and Alice, were safe from the forest’s poison.
But not everyone was as fortunate.
Ding!
[You have received the effect ‘Poison.’ You have consumed a low-quality antidote, thus the poison effect is reduced.]
-5! -5! -5!
“WHAT? I GOT SCAMMED!” one player shouted in frustration, clutching his side as the poison drained his health.
“SHIT!” another yelled, quickly chugging health potions to counter the poison’s damage.
Even if players managed to craft antidotes themselves or buy them from others, they had to be wary of quality.
Poorly made antidotes only lessened the poison’s effects rather than fully neutralizing them.
And those without antidotes altogether?
They couldn’t step foot inside the forest without risking death in seconds—unless they had a special passive skill to resist poison.
At the entrance to the [Toxic Forest], tens of thousands of players gathered, but only about ten percent of them actually made it inside. frёewebnoѵel.ƈo๓
Most were stuck, scrambling to either find better antidotes or form last-minute parties.
Daniel’s guild, though large, had barely managed to gather around a thousand antidotes for its members, enough to send some of them into the forest.
Participating in events like this was critical—those who succeeded gained access to rare loot that could propel them ahead of other players.
Every monster slain offered points, and those points could be exchanged for valuable items.
[Points Shop:]
[Magic Crystal (Rare):] Buy for 25 points/piece.
[Pet Seal Card (Rare):]Price varies by quality; B-Rank 50 points; A-Rank 100 points; S-Rank 250 points; SSS-Rank 1000 points.
[Bottle of 15,000 Experience Points (Legendary):] 200 points/piece.
…
The shop had some tempting items, but Alex’s eyes were fixed on the SSS-Rank Pet Seal Card.
It was the most expensive item, but essential for hatching his shadow pet egg.
In addition, he needed at least 50 Magic Crystals to synthesize and help his pet grow after hatching.
Doing the quick math, Alex realized he would need around 2,250 points to get everything he wanted.
Monsters in the forest only awarded around 5 to 10 points each, so he would have to be both fast and efficient to accumulate that many points.
“The poison feels weird,” Alice commented, pinching her nose as they walked deeper into the forest, a faint green mist swirling around them.
“You’ll get used to it,” Alex said, checking their surroundings. “We need to find some monsters to kill before others clear them out.”
With thousands of players entering the forest, it was likely that they’d run into others at some point, but for now, their focus was on finding and killing monsters.
One small but important rule made the event even more dangerous: the ability to steal points from other players.
[If you kill a player, there is a chance to acquire some of their points when they respawn!]
Alex smirked.
This feature added a whole new level of tension to the event.
Ambushes would be common, and in his past life, major guilds like Overlord and Madmen had spread their members across the forest to backstab unwary players.
Alex had been ambushed like this in his past life, so he knew the dangers.
Still, in Alex’s eyes, killing humans for points was far easier than hunting down high-level monsters.
“This event’s going to turn into a bloodbath,” he muttered, scanning the forest.
While some players would be chasing after [Magic Crystals] and [Pet Seal Cards] (mainly summoners), most were after the [Bottle of 15,000 Experience Points].
For the average player, who was around level 15, this item represented a guaranteed level-ups by at least two to three levels.
But for Alex, who was level 33 and required 24,000 experience points to level up, it wasn’t worth it.
Alice, at level 26, was in a similar position, though she could maybe level up once using it.
They didn’t have to wait long before encountering their first monster.
…
[Toxic Lizard] (Common)
[Level: 25]
[HP: 5000]
[Warning: Its tongue causes mid-level poison.]
…
Fortunately for Alice and Alex, the antidotes the latter had crafter were of high-quality, thus negating the effect of even middle-level poison.
The others wouldn’t be so lucky, though.
A lizard the size of a wolf slithered toward them, its tongue flicking dangerously.
“Ready?” Alex asked, raising his staff.
“Go for it!” Alice replied, her bow at the ready.
With a quick wave of his staff, Alex cast Grand Fireball.
Boom!
The fireball collided with the lizard, instantly reducing it to a pile of scorched flesh.
-5537!
[You have slain ‘Toxic Lizard lvl25’. You gained 176 experience points.]
As the game’s leveling system dictated, Alex received reduced experience points for killing a monster below his level.
Alice, however, earned three times the experience since the lizard was closer to her level.
Ding!
[Would you like to extract from ‘Toxic Lizard’?]
Alex grinned.
His extraction ability activated on the very first kill.
He quickly initiated the process.
…
[Venomous Lizard Scales (Rare): Durable scales with a faint poison effect. Can be used for crafting toxic-resistant gear. The rare material makes it highly sought after by armorers.]
[Lizard Fang (Common): A sharp fang from the Toxic Lizard. Mostly used as a basic crafting material, but with little value beyond low-tier weapon enhancement.]
[Poison Gland (Uncommon): A small sac filled with the lizard’s mid-level poison. Can be used in alchemy or to coat weapons for a limited time.]
…
As said before, Alex, thanks to his [Extraction Points] reaching 100, could now check the descriptions of the items before even extracting them!
Ding!
[You have extracted Venomous Lizard Scales (Rare) from ‘Toxic Lizard’.]
Ding!
[You have gained 8 points from slaying ‘Toxic Lizard’!]
[Event Points: 8/2250]
“Not bad,” Alex said, moving forward. “Let’s keep going.”
Alice nodded, though she didn’t get any points from the kill—points weren’t shared among party members.
As they ventured deeper into the forest, they encountered more monsters: a few more Toxic Lizards, and even Poisonous Spiders.
Alex’s extraction skill continued to pull valuable resources from the monsters, earning him more points.
The spiders gave him strength attribute points, by the way.
By the time they reached their next area, Alex had accumulated 73 points.
Not bad for a few low-level kills.
The amount of points you gain would increase the deeper you went.
Suddenly, a noise from deeper in the forest caught Alex’s attention.
As they approached the source of the commotion, they saw a group of players wearing matching emblems: the Overlord guild.
“Heh…” Alex muttered, recognizing them instantly.
“Hey!” Alice whispered urgently. “It’s those assholes from before!”
Even she remembered the unpleasant encounter they’d had with this guild.
“Yeah…” Alex chuckled darkly, his eyes gleaming with mischief. “Let’s play a little trick on them.”
Alice’s face lit up with excitement. “Okay!”
Together, they quietly approached the Overlord guild members, ready to cause some trouble.