Lord Of The Lost

The Forum Master outlined the incredible haul from their expedition, and it was nothing short of remarkable.

Many players were left speechless by the sheer value of what had been collected, but now came the hard part: dividing it all up.

The distribution was complicated. By rights, the fragments that dropped from Little Bob's body should belong to Border Town. But other items, like [Mutu's Wolf Claw], raised questions.

For instance, the elite werewolf who had been wielding the wolf claw was killed by [Cold Fury], not by William directly. This meant William couldn't absorb the werewolf's extraordinary traits, as [Killing to Prove the Way] only activated when someone used their 'own strength' to take a life.

This rule extended to the game's experience system as well. Players earned experience based on their participation in a fight, not through indirect or opportunistic kills.

If indirect kills were enough to gain experience, players could just press a button to launch a nuclear bomb and rack up massive XP by obliterating enemies. But the game didn't work that way, such a kill had no strong connection to the player, so it yielded almost no experience points.

On the other hand, players who actively contributed to a kill, even in minor ways, like blocking a monster's escape route, could still earn a small amount of experience. It all depended on how involved they were.

William addressed the group decisively:

"I don't want the werewolf corpses. You all can divide them amongst yourselves. But the three fragments from Hope's notebook should stay with the players. They're too important to hand over to Border Town."

He continued, "As for the Sequence 7 wolf claw, let's set it aside for now. The cost of using it is too high; elite werewolves couldn't even handle it. Maybe we can forge it into a high-quality extraordinary item later."

The group nodded in agreement. The only materials needing immediate distribution were the werewolf corpses. Everything else, like the [Glorious Lantern], already had clear ownership.

"Fair enough," the Forum Master said, visibly relieved.

"By the way," he added, "we also recovered the fragments of the dragon scale armor."

William scratched his face. "Yeah, I know."

That armor had been a lifesaver. It absorbed massive amounts of damage during their fight with Wolf Lord Mott, and without it, William would've been torn apart long before the battle ended. In the end, the armor shattered under the strain of the Wolf Lord's relentless attacks.

At that moment, Metatron chimed into the discussion: "We need to train extraordinary blacksmiths."

It was a valid point. Border Town didn't have anyone with the extraordinary abilities needed to forge high-quality tools. Once apprentices in the Blacksmith path became extraordinary, they were sent to the front lines, leaving the town severely under-resourced.

Making sophisticated items from the werewolf materials would take far more skill than the local apprentices possessed. Worse yet, blacksmith apprentices required extended rest periods between forge sessions, and even then, their success rate for crafting high-quality tools was abysmal.

The Forum Master sighed. "I know this is critical, but I don't have the time to arrange it right now. I still need to meet with the mayor to oversee the job transfer ceremony."

The Gambler raised an eyebrow. "Wait, 'you're' changing your job?"

The Forum Master shook his head. "Not me. I'm helping others transition into their new roles."

That made the situation clear. The Forum Master had a team of carefully selected subordinates. Up until now, he hadn't arranged for their collective job transfers. But with the rising stakes and the sheer number of materials requiring expert handling, waiting any longer wasn't an option.

The group exchanged knowing glances. The battle for survival wasn't just about brute strength, it was also about preparation, resource management, and making sure the right people had the right tools.

Every step counted now. There was no room for delay.

Metatron nodded, saying, "Alright, I'll start looking for players suited for the Blacksmith Path."

Suddenly, William spoke up, "How many job transfer slots are available for the advanced paths?"

The Forum Master paused, a little surprised, then replied honestly, "There are 26 spots for the Knight Path and 19 for the Warrior Path."

The power of professional imprinting wasn't infinite. Over the years, the number of extraordinary individuals emerging in Border Town had dwindled. In the past decade, not a single transcendent had been born.

As a result, while job transfer quotas existed, they were extremely limited, especially compared to the influx of players.

For players, advancement was straightforward: they leveled up, and by Level 10, their extraordinary traits became fully formed. But for the indigenous people, it was a slower, more gradual process. Their extraordinary characteristics developed over years, not levels.

Both players and indigenous apprentices shared one similarity, though: the awkward, transitional stage between apprentice and transcendent.

At this stage, they were extraordinary, but not fully realized.

Alex understood this all too well. After becoming an Assassin apprentice, his talents were partially unlocked, granting him a handful of abilities from the Assassin Path. However, leveling up no longer enhanced his extraordinary traits. While he could still gain attribute points, these weren't nearly as valuable as the unique abilities that came with a completed transcendent transformation.

This created a frustrating dilemma.

For players, the grind to Level 8 was already steep, and the difficulty skyrocketed from there. It was often more practical to give up leveling and pursue a job transfer instead. Apprenticeships came with professional imprints and foundational knowledge, allowing players to develop their extraordinary traits more quickly.

For players who reached Level 8, the process of advancing through apprenticeships was already shortened thanks to their strong foundation.

The Forum Master turned to William and asked, "Which path will you choose?"

Without hesitation, he answered, "The Knight's Path."

The determination in his voice was clear. He'd been deeply inspired by Helka's Knight Guards, that unstoppable force of unity and power. He craved the strength to command such an invincible torrent.

"How many slots do you want?" William asked.

The Forum Master thought for a moment before replying, "Maybe 20, or at least 15."

William considered this, hesitated briefly, then typed, "I'll need 10 slots for the Warrior Path. Can you arrange that for me?"

The Forum Master nodded. "When the time comes, just send someone to find me."

William knew the resources in Border Town were limited.

While basic job transfers for paths like Blacksmith or Guard were available in nearly every village, they were capped at two or three per village. However, these lower-tier paths had limited potential. A Guard, for instance, had a hard time surpassing Sequence 9. While it was rumored they could reach Sequence 8, no Guard in Border Town's history had ever achieved that.

Hunters fared slightly better, with a higher ceiling, but they too were often stuck at Sequence 9.

The only exception was Little Bob. Gifted from a young age, he became a Hunter apprentice early and advanced to Sequence 8; an extraordinary feat in the town's history.

Higher-tier professions, on the other hand, held a special status in Border Town. Their slots were strictly controlled by the mayor.

The Forum Master's influence came from his knack for alliances and leveraging others' strengths, allowing him to sway the mayor's decisions. William, however, earned his reputation through sheer strength and battle prowess.

William could easily approach the mayor to request ten slots himself, but he knew the process would be time-consuming. Instead, it made more sense to let the Forum Master handle it.

After all, these were resources essentially handed to him for free. Better to use the slots for people he trusted than let them fall into the hands of strangers.

It was a simple choice and one that kept their alliance strong.

The strength of any extraordinary path lies in the number and quality of its characteristic abilities, or "entries."

In general, the more entries a path has, the more versatile and powerful it can become. However, the quality of those entries determines just how effective and unique that path truly is.

Take werewolves, for example. Their characteristic entries allow them to develop a range of formidable abilities, often outclassing other paths of the same level.

A Sequence 9 werewolf, with its primal strength and instinct, could easily dominate Sequence 9 knights, warriors, or even demons from more advanced paths. But the true potential of a werewolf is only fully realized at Sequence 8, their 'complete form'.

At Sequence 8, werewolves gain extraordinary dominance, their abilities far surpassing those at Sequence 9. And beyond that lies the Sequence 7 Wolf Lord, capable of commanding entire packs of wolves with ease.

According to the butcher's insights, there's even talk of werewolf heroes—those who have 'reached the pinnacle' of the werewolf path. These beings surpass the Wolf Lord at Sequence 7 but fall short of Sequence 6 because only those on advanced pathways can ascend to that legendary level.

In the magical world, Sequence 6 is often referred to as "legend" or "demigod."

But achieving such heights is a monumental challenge. Even with natural talent and unwavering determination, it takes over a decade of rigorous training for most mortals to reach Sequence 9. And the journey from Sequence 9 to Sequence 8 can take even longer.

---

William, the Forum Master, and the others had witnessed Helka's overwhelming power firsthand.

To truly grasp the strength of extraordinary beings, it's not enough to rely on appearances; one must sense and understand their inner essence.

Helka, the commander of the King's Guard, is one of the king's most trusted allies and stands at Sequence 7. Yet, despite being on the same level as Wolf Lord Mott, Helka was able to crush him with ease.

Why?

First, Mott was at the end of his rope, his strength diminished.

Second, even within the same Sequence level, not all extraordinary beings are equal. Helka, as a Sequence 7 Knight, operates on a much higher level than Mott, a Sequence 7 Wolf Lord.

If Mott had been at full strength, the battle wouldn't have been so one-sided. While Helka might still have emerged victorious, the fight would have been far more grueling and hard-fought.