Everyone said they would accompany William on his mission. They had obtained rare equipment, some with set effects and some without, as well as various potions. Mick had even obtained a potion that boosted strength, which sold for 20,000 SC at the market. Since no one wanted it, he sold it right there at the market.
Then, everyone returned to the shelter under Joseph's leadership.
In the morning, Joseph's first order was to get everyone into the trucks. A huge convoy was quickly formed.
William was the last to arrive. As soon as he arrived, he was curious to see everyone running around like ants and asked Joseph what was going on.
"What's going on? Another wave of zombies?"
Joseph shook his head. "No. We're going to the Field Boss in the north."
Joseph smiled. "Don't worry, you'll understand when we get there."
Fortunately, the roads had been cleared, so it didn't take long to reach the hills north of Nortmere.
The sun was beginning to rise over the hill, painting a beautiful scene with its rays shining from the east.
The convoy of trucks stopped at the foot of the hill on the Northmere side, and everyone took all the ammunition and weapons they could carry.
William grabbed a few heavy machine guns.
When he reached the top of the hill, he understood why Joseph had brought so many people.
He even thought that there weren't enough people. He sat down and watched the scene in front of him in amazement.
There were tens of thousands of zombies. They looked as if they had been thrown into an area, but that wasn't the case.
The vast Northmere fields seemed to have been set up to produce zombies.
In the middle of this huge field was a huge rift. It was difficult to estimate the distance from where he was, but it looked hundreds of meters long and dozens of meters wide.
Zombies were entering and exiting the rift, as if they were taking a sip of the Ley energy coming out of it.
William couldn't see clearly from this distance, but he could see that the bottom of the rift was filled with hundreds of high-level zombies.
He could sense the presence of Level 11 and 12 zombies, and among these hundreds of high-level zombies stood a zombie that was enormous in size.
It was over five meters tall, but its width made it look even bigger.
It wasn't just its size that was terrifying—its mass was equally intimidating. Its body was swollen and taut, as if it might burst at any moment; it resembled a gigantic pile of fat. Some parts of its skin were cracked, with black, pus-like fluid oozing out from beneath. Its belly hung down, sagging and bulky, nearly reaching its knees.
In the midst of all this horror, only a thin, dirty piece of cloth hung beneath his naked body—insufficient and shameful, as if to insult his very existence.
There wasn't a single strand of hair on its head. It was completely bald and smooth, but that didn't make it any less terrifying. Because right in the middle of its head, covering most of its face, rose a huge nose. It was almost human-sized. The inside of its nose was a pitch-black void, and when it breathed, a mist carrying the scent of death seeped out.
His eyes were small, almost lost in that huge face.
His arms were long, far beyond normal. Hanging down to his knees, with thick, heavy fingers, they were not zombie-like, but more reminiscent of a gorilla. What he held in one of these arms was dazzling—or terrifying.
A giant tree, uprooted from its roots.
A piece of a tree that was easily ten meters long, its branches broken, its trunk still standing in places with its bark intact. It was holding the tree like a weapon, grasping it as easily as if it were a toy.
William couldn't help but be impressed.
"How is this possible?" He asked Joseph with a frown.
"If it's a zombie evolved from a normal human, how did it grow so big? Is it because of Ley energy?"
Joseph shook his head. "We don't know. We came to investigate when we heard the system notification and found enough fuel for the helicopters, but it seemed to have appeared out of nowhere.
William turned his head and looked at the giant creature again.
[Necromarax General Ur'Mog the Bloatfather Sv 13 (Field Boss)]
The fact that it was marked as a field boss next to its name made this creature even more terrifying.
"Um, what do we do?" William rubbed his hands together and looked at Joseph expectantly.
"We're in no hurry, let the kids play with their big toys." Joseph smiled.
William looked around and found the toys Joseph was talking about. "These are toys?"
William was surprised to see some weapons that even Marcus, Edmond, and the others had trouble carrying.
"Hehehe, these were bought with your money. You should be proud."
Joseph chuckled and explained. "I found these weapons at the market. They're much better than the ones we have, and the ammunition is very cheap. A box of ammunition is 10 SC. The whole mechanism is only 10,000 SC."
William nodded in admiration.
"I'm thinking of placing these all over the city."
William laughed. "Then you don't need me?"
"No, no, you misunderstood. These weapons are only effective up to Level 7, in short, they will only be used to kill low-level zombies and will be used by low-level people. We still need the help of strong people because there are so many high-level zombies." Joseph shook his head.
"I'd like to get stronger weapons, but those capable of killing Level 11 and above are extremely expensive. The cheapest ones start at a million, and the price difference is brutal."
William raised an eyebrow. "I gave you 100 million SC…"
Joseph smiled and put his hand on William's shoulder. "Don't worry, I'm not wasting your money. First, I bought these weapons for the city's security. Then I bought all the necessary building plans to develop the city. How much do you think these cost?"
William pursed his lips. "I don't know, 10 million SC?"
"Close. 15 million SC. But most of that was for basic buildings. There are a few advanced buildings that were essential to acquire. Now I'm thinking of using a third of the remaining funds to purchase distributable techniques. That way, people won't have to spend money on basic combat or civil engineering techniques. They can use that money in a more meaningful way."
William nodded.
"Are you thinking about entertainment centers?"
Joseph laughed. "Heheh, don't worry. I thought about that at first. I already have plans for centers such as bars, restaurants, libraries, and gyms. I'm even thinking about igniting individuality in version 1.0. Everyone should work for their own home, buy land with money, and places like bars and restaurants should be subject to fees. We'll go back to the classic old system because we now have a complete financial and tax system."
William nodded as if he understood, but frankly, he didn't really care.
Even the cheapest technique he found for himself on the Marketplace in the system was 12 million SC.
[Phantom Stride: The user disappears like a ghost and appears at another point with a momentary movement. They leave a faint trail behind them during the movement, which delays the reaction of their enemies. Ideal for evasion and positional changes. (This is only for those who can improve the technique to Level III and above.) It does not provide any increase in speed. It improves your movement mechanics. It is directly proportional to your current speed.
Developed by Vergo of Astrian.]
Techniques above a certain price no longer provide things like power or speed. Rather, they improved the basic physiology of humans, allowing them to do superhuman things. This technique was a similar introductory technique. It was expensive, but it was the technique William thought would be easiest for him to learn.
For example, let's take another technique that is very effective even at the first level.
[Twin Fang Style: Crescent Eclipse: A series of five stances developed for warriors who have mastered dual sword fighting. Each stance shapes the ley energy in different directions to suit both offensive and defensive scenarios. The style is based on the symmetrical harmony of speed and power.
1. Stance: Crossed Curse, the user crosses their swords in front. During the swing, two horizontal ley waves form and sweep forward for fifty meters. Ideal for clearing a wide area and applying pressure.
2. Stance: Vertical Grief, Both swords are lowered in a downward cutting motion. The vertical ley waves that emerge sweep the enemy line in half. Suitable for area control and breaking defenses.
3. Stance: Horizontal Wrath, The sword in the right hand is pulled to the left, and the sword in the left hand is pulled to the right, then released simultaneously. Two opposing ley waves explode with intense pressure. The range is short, but the power surpasses the previous stances.
4th Stance: Sunset Guard, The tips of the swords are crossed slightly in front. This stance concentrates the ley energy and creates a semi-transparent energy shield in front. It can absorb several attacks at the same level. It is a defensive stance.
5th Stance: Sunrise Fang, the swords are reversed and positioned downward like a pair of fangs. The attack performed in this stance is the style's most powerful move. The intense ley energy grants the attack "absolute" penetrating power. It can pierce through armor, shields, and techniques alike. Due to the excessive energy expenditure, it can only be used for a short time.]
[Developed by Fang Xuan of the Fang Clan.
Note: Anyone who has mastered this technique and has a sword harmony index of +1000 or higher can apply to join the Fang Clan.]
In a word, it was a perfect technique. It did not provide any extra power. It only provided a technique, as its name suggests, and the power gained was proportional to one's own power. To master such techniques, one had to master the basics.
For example, William could not improve this technique beyond Level 1 because his knowledge of ley was shallow.
Yes, his ley statistics were at their maximum for both sub and main, but that wasn't enough.
William knew how to extract ley from his body and how to use it, but that was all.
He didn't understand ley. He knew how much his ley pool was worth in points, but he couldn't see it inside his body, nor did he know the paths it took through his body when he used it.
The numerical value of William's ley pool was 10 points for each main statistic. For the sub-statistics, it was 20 points.
In short, the total value of William's ley pool was 1120. The first stance of this sword technique was costing him exactly 70 points.
William looked to see if basic information about ley was sold at the market, but he couldn't find it. Moreover, that wasn't the only problem. William needed guidance. No matter how cool and powerful these techniques seemed, they required guidance.
For example, the technique called Obsidian Veil.
[Obsidian Veil: A suit of armor woven at the edge of absolute emptiness, where spiritual attempts echo unheard.
Not only does it suppress mental and spiritual attacks, it also suppresses the user's internal fluctuations. It interacts not with the mind, but with what lies beyond the mind. Deadly to the Seedless, incomprehensible to those whose self is intact.
When activated, a transparent black veil descends between the user and the world. Emotions are muted, thoughts become short, and desires fade. This technique is more of a separation than a shield.
]
[This technique was developed by Nuhvarakos.]
William did not understand any part of this technique.
The explanation of the technique was just as incomprehensible. When he saw the practice description after purchasing it, he regretted it. The technique's description sounded very cool, though.
[It is based on the principle of erasing the echo before mental contact. The practice passively deactivates the resonance layer of the self-identity and pushes mental vibrations into the non-systemic range. During this process, the user must produce an echo-free mental oscillation by superimposing at least three frequencies in the mental shadow layer. This oscillation cannot be measured with classical ley; it can only be detected with non-ley vibration meters.
The first step of the practice is to bring the mental being frequency to the level of "0.000" this is not silence, but the systematic erasure of the inner echo of being.
The user does not become 'invisible' or "non-existent" at this point; on the contrary, they become directionless and unique in all mental systems.]
As soon as William saw this explanation, he threw his technique manual on the floor in anger. He knew it was a mental defense technique, but that was all. He couldn't understand anything about the rest of it.
Weren't there any easy techniques? Yes, there were. Very easy ones. But they were just as difficult.
[Titanus Spine: A body transformation technique developed based on the ancient titans, focused on pure physical development. The user reconstructs an organ system at each level with ley energy. When all five organs are complete, an "Internal Titan Structure" is formed in the user's body.
It looks easy to practice, but only those who can endure pain can walk this path.]
The name of the person who developed this technique was unknown, but the name "titan" was not something that could be easily uttered.
Even William was a little scared when he heard the word "titan." Because it conjured up images of giant beings with extremely powerful physical bodies.
Just like sword techniques, there were five levels, and each level corresponded to an organ.
The best part of this technique was that it could work in conjunction with the system. When he focused on the technique, he could even see his progress level.
He had currently completed 23% of the first stage, the Steel Fiber stage. When he reached 100%, his muscles would be completely reorganized and changed.
The second stage was related to the skin, and for now, it was just a beautiful dream. William had to endure pain in order to improve this technique. The improvement of the technique was also beautiful in this regard. William had allowed dozens of zombies to attack him at the same time in order to improve this technique.