Chapter 457: Contribution System, The Void King Attacks
The contribution system of Eternal Ascension worked in an extremely precise way, one that Leon had come to understand over the course of his two lives.
One needed to be considered having done something that contributed greatly to the death of the monster or native for them to receive the experience points and loot from the kill.
For example, even if a player attacked a monster, it was likely that the system wouldn’t consider them as contributing to the kill and thus wouldn’t reward them if they didn’t significantly injure the monster or play a crucial role in its defeat.
And even then, you could still be considered as contributing without even harming the monster yourself, as long as your actions directly enabled the kill.
That is how Leon and the girls could gain the experience points from the Servant of Monsters, because simply holding it down was what made it possible for Celeste to land the killing blow.
Basically, you needed to do something that, without it, the monster wouldn’t have been killed, some kind of essential action that tipped the scales.
In contrast, that meant that even if you threw all your skills at the Void King and didn’t actually manage to injure it or do anything to affect the outcome, you wouldn’t be considered as having contributed to the kill at all.
Still, in terms of that, Leon was more confident than ever that he could find a way to contribute meaningfully.
He rushed toward the Void King who had simply been observing around after coming out of his rift, standing motionless as if waiting for something.
The monster horde around him also seemed much less violent than the others as they circled their King, awaiting his commands, their eyes fixed on him with unwavering loyalty.
Then ten members of the Requiem Guild who faced the Void King on the other hand were ready to battle, their weapons raised and their formations tight.
Among the ten was Granite, the man covered in thick plates of stone that seemed to grow from his flesh, Mortis, the guild’s strategist and support, and many of the other strong members of the Requiem Guild.
It seemed they had divided their strongest task force for the Void King while letting the "weaker" members deal with the Ice and Flame King and Serpent King since they weren’t considered as much of a threat by comparison.
Either way, Leon’s arrival did not go unnoticed.
"You’ve decided to act, Celestial?" Granite turned to gaze at Leon as he arrived before the Void King too, his voice carrying a note of warning, "I wouldn’t do that, you do not have the strength to face this thing."
He was followed by Celeste, Violet, Emilia, as well as Alphox who was sitting on Leon’s head and Pyra which surrounded Celeste, their presence giving Leon confidence.
"How would you know that?" Leon replied, his voice calm and steady.
"Well," Granite’s grin widened, revealing teeth that looked as hard as stone, "Each of our members would be able to wipe the floor with you, and yet even we might struggle with the Void King without Cavin or Empress, so I would advise sitting back and letting us handle this, I believe you already completed the requirements of the quest we gave you."
Upon hearing that, Leon’s expression didn’t even budge, though he did read the description of the quest once more, his eyes scanning the words.
[Objective: Participate in the Level 6 Monster Tide and help the Requiem Stronghold be promoted to Level 6.]
’That’s right!’ Leon realized, his eyes widening slightly, ’It only says that I should participate and help, which I did, now as long as the Requiem Guild manages to complete this Monster Tide, even if I leave now, I’d be perfectly fine...!’
But still, even with that new knowledge, this didn’t mean Leon would leave, especially with so many opportunities present in here, loot and sub-talents that could help him grow even stronger.
And so, he made his choice.
"I wanna fight," Leon replied with a smile, which made Granite groan in frustration.
"Whatever, don’t be shocked when you or your girls die," Granite said, turning back to face the Void King.
Leon didn’t reply, though Emilia and Celeste did seem kind of nervous upon looking at the massive Void King, its form towering over them like a mountain of shadow.
Only Violet seemed relatively calm, though he could feel a cold aura materialize around her, ready to intervene at any moment, her hand resting on her rapier.
And more importantly, at that very moment, something unexpected happened.
BOOM!
A shockwave erupted from the Void King as he lifted both his hands, a dark orb appearing above him as he opened his mouth, the sound of his voice echoing across the battlefield.
"The God of Void is... watching...?" the Void King spoke, his voice deep and resonant, filled with a mixture of surprise and reverence.
The Void King himself seemed in shock as he looked upward at the vortex, the two crimson dots that served as his eyes landing on the only Servant of Void still alive above, floating motionless.
"Void...?" the King called out.
The servant simply kept looking down and shrugged, as if indifferent to the King’s existence.
"So be it..." the Void King muttered, his voice dripping with disappointment.
Leon didn’t understand what the two of them were saying, but the fact the Void King was the only one of the five kings able to talk was unexpected.
Instead, he stretched one of his void hands forward and spoke a single word that echoed across the battlefield.
"Attack."
At that word, every single monster that had been sitting around rushed forward, their roars filling the air, while the Void King himself blitzed from his spot, appearing right in front of the group, his giant void face staring directly at them, the emptiness of his gaze almost hypnotic.
"Begone," he commanded, and he unleashed his Void Orb toward the group at once, the power of the thing so powerful it made everyone worried, its dark energy crackling with destructive potential.
BOOM!
A terrifying explosion erupted where the Void Orb hit, forcing almost everyone to either back away or shield themselves from the blast.
But surprisingly, the firepower of the Void Orb wasn’t actually that strong as it didn’t injure anybody, its destructive force strangely contained.
Instead... it seemed to have another purpose, something far more sinister.
Because right where the Void Orb landed, a portal had appeared, its edges crackling with void energy, and the Void King immediately put his arm inside, reaching into the depths of the portal.
Fwoosh!
And after a few seconds, he pulled out a massive weapon.
"Void Blade," the king said while looking above, more to himself than anybody else.
It was a massive sword forged from pure darkness, its edge crackling with energy that seemed to tear at the fabric of reality itself.
"Here we go," Leon said to the girls, his voice filled with determination, "We have to do everything to make sure I contribute to the kill!"
"Yes!" the girls said, ready to unleash their power too, their weapons raised and their eyes fixed on the Void King.