NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17: Mob Title
Vorden saw Wrex standing precariously in the middle of the room.
'He wasn't attacked instantly...'
His breath hitched as he placed a hand on the window frame.
"See? Nothing is actually here, just another empty—"
Wrex's words were cut short.
In an instant, he was rammed against the wall by two massive horns—similar to an antelope's but far larger.
The ground shook violently.
The Shore came into full view. It was at the Ruinborn rank, most likely tagged as a Dimta.
It had two muscular legs, two short arms, and resembled a miniature T-Rex. Only its horns and thick blue fur set it apart.
'Fucking idiot.'
Vorden had to jump in.
But Wrex was also quick.
He gritted his teeth, gripping the horns tightly to stop them from piercing him.
They could.
They were capable.
The creature thrashed its body, trying to break free from Wrex's grip on its horns.
Its horns weren't smooth.
Small, sharp spikes jutted out along their surface, piercing Wrex's hands.
A moment later, the beast overpowered him, throwing him aside.
He slammed against the wall with a heavy thud.
'I need to spill blood,' Wrex thought, pushing himself up slowly.
His back ached. His palms burned.
Blood dripped from his hand.
Just as he was about to launch his next attack, he froze.
The creature had already been slain.
Vorden stood over its corpse, moving his blade along its massive horns as if inspecting their thickness.
He barely looked like he had exerted any effort.
"I would have loved to keep this as an artifact—or perhaps as art in the living room. Real worth it. But... hmm." Vorden frowned.
...
[Seeker, you have vanquished a Ruinborn-ranked Shore: Dimta]
[100 Caculs points]
[1000/5000]
...
'I didn't even see that. Or did I... and just missed it?' Wrex wondered, looking up at Vorden.
He really did live up to his reputation—the legend of survival everyone had seen on the screens.
Wrex's eyes drifted to Vorden's blade.
He couldn't help but admire it.
The design, the presence, the sheer weight of its power—it was something to be reckoned with.
Vorden dismissed the Creed Blade and turned his gaze to the still-hovering screen.
'Really? I don't understand this panel's reward system. It seems like the rewards are just random.'
He was baffled.
He had slain two Ruinborn-ranked Shores and earned 100 Caculs points for each. To him, the progress felt unreasonably slow.
So, just an assumption—if he slew a Gloaming-ranked Shore, would he only earn 50 Caculs points?
Well, he had to try first to know. But from what he had seen, most Shores here seemed to be Ruinborn-ranked.
Now, he was beginning to understand that strange welcome message the panel had displayed. This Night Shift was categorised as Mid-tier.
Did that mean most, if not all, Shores here were at the Ruinborn rank? Perhaps. He wasn't entirely sure. Some research would be needed.
Vorden turned to Wrex, who was still staring at the dead creature.
"Hey. Since this is your third Night Shift, do you ever get some kind of ranking for it? Also, how does your reward system work?"
"Huh?" Wrex looked up, slightly confused by the sudden question. Why was he asking that now?
Still, he didn't take long to answer. His voice cracked slightly at first before he continued:
"...No, Night Shifts aren't officially given a rank by Glory, but we Seekers have created our own rankings. Though, this is just from what little I know.
"It starts from First-tier, then Second, Mid, Fourth, Fifth, and Special—which is one of the most dangerous types of Night Shifts, where high-ranked Shores appear. And finally, there's Bim—the most dangerous of them all.
"Your first Night Shift was ranked as Special, according to the news report. If it had been a Bim, hardly even a Top-Level would have made it out alive. It's easier to find a pin in an ocean than for a Top-Level to survive a Bim. There are even rumours of unknown Shores of unclassified ranks appearing there, despite that no-one had ever came across such a high-ranked night shift."
He explained all this while massaging his shoulder.
"Oh. That's certainly beyond," Vorden said, a hint of fascination in his voice.
It was, however, strange that the panel, controlled by Glory, had used the ranking patterns created by Seekers.
If his guess was correct, perhaps it was all because of his rank.
Yet, that theory later seemed to make no sense to him.
Wrex had practically stated that ranks for night shifts did not exist, so whatever rank a Seeker held, it would never follow such a pattern.
Unless... he belonged to a different classification.
Nothing was certain.
This small piece of information only strengthened his resolve to begin his research.
Fortunately, he had plenty of resources, connections, and everything he needed.
"Yes. And for your second question..." Wrex trailed off, his eyes seemingly focusing on his own panel, which remained invisible to Vorden—just as Vorden's was to him.
"Rewards don't follow the same pattern for everyone. It depends on the Seeker's rank.
"For us Fang-Wrought, we typically earn 30 Caculs points for each Gloaming-ranked Shore slain. Then, for every rank higher, it increases by 10.
"For the stronger ranks—either Lurkers or Top-Levels—they earn 50 to 60 Caculs points per Gloaming-ranked Shore slain, and their rewards double as their rank increases.
"Lucky bastards. I really wish I were at their level. Now I need about 500 more Caculs points to rank up."
Wrex sighed, looking down at his feet in disappointment.
Vorden let out an awkward laugh, scratching the back of his head.
'He just called me a lucky bastard! Imbecile!'
'And by the way, who's "us"? I'm not even a Fang-Wrought. Whatever. At least now I understand the reward pattern.'
Vorden sighed deeply.
As a Top-Level, he was earning 100 Caculs points for every Ruinborn-ranked Shore he killed.
That meant if he slew a Howler-ranked one, he would gain 200.
He wished he could find at least two—just another stroke of luck like in his First Night Shift.
Though, that whole situation had ended in a way he never wished to experience again.
But his fellow Seekers dying before his eyes?
That was inevitable.
Unless he wasn't there to watch.
Once they are weak, they are useless.
He recalled when he had once played as that weak side character.
Life as a player had been miserable.
But because he loved the game's world-building and power system, he kept playing.
That damned character had held him back.
His knowledge of the game had remained limited—reliant on information from the game's group rather than personal experience.
His knowledge had been so restricted, almost like a novice's.
To the extent that he hadn't even known shit about the reward pattern.
And now, this fool had the audacity to call him—and others at the Top-Level or Lurker rank—lucky bastards.
What insolence.
His only gain from that weak side character—well, from this supreme extra character's body he now possessed, it was more of a good riddance to weakness—wasn't much of a help in power scaling or understanding the system.
Many things still eluded him, and this body only made it worse.
However, one advantage remained—his past closeness to the Main Character, a slight connection to the Female Lead, and several shared rewards.
That side character had been too weak to ever experience a second Night Shift after the first.
Vorden shoved the thoughts aside.
It was time to immerse himself in this world and make it his new home.
He had to stop viewing it as mere game reality and fully commit himself to it.
He was this character now.
And this was his home.
There was seemingly no hope of returning to his past life.
Not that he would, even if there was a chance.
That world had already fallen into chaos, plagued by monsters.
Well, it was time to keep moving.
Time waits for no one.
They had to do what needed to be done and get out of here as soon as possible.
Vorden exhaled before speaking.
"Let's keep moving. I'll gift you the next Shore we encounter."
He almost regretted the words the moment they left his mouth.
But Wrex's eyes had already brightened, his smile stretching wide.
"Really?"
"Eeek. Yes. Do I have to repeat myself?" Vorden almost cursed in frustration.
Before he could say another word, he turned—only to see that Wrex had already vanished from his spot.
The young man had instantly burst into the hallway.
'Shit. Impatient dog. I thought he was quiet, weird, and gentle—it would be nice if he had remained so. But no! Just another runner!'