Transcendent Resurgence: Regressing on an abandoned Earth

A blue torrent of water fell on the bubble. Neither its force nor the mana it contained were the biggest threat.

The power of harmony.

That was the most frightening aspect of the water beam launched by the merfolk.

*BAAAAAMMMM*

Every being within a kilometer bled from their ears. The clash between the army formation and the water beam created a doomsday-like scenario.

As for the bubble? It didn't even last long enough to make a popping sound.

<No matter what happens, don't lose your focus>

Zyrus sent the message with gritted teeth, but in fact, it was unnecessary. The players were in no condition to do anything except for keeping their brains intact.

*Splllash*

An ivory dome was deflecting the water beam on all sides. Zyrus had created a cone-shaped rune formation that solidified water. Due to the immense power of the merfolk's cannon, the conical tip was bludgeoned into a spherical dome.

*Crrrack*

And even that was on the brink of collapse. The good thing was that the beam was also losing its momentum at a steady pace.

'But at this rate, the formation will shatter first.'

Zyrus knew that neither he nor the players were in any condition to handle the water beam. Even 10% of its power wasn't something players below lv 50 could handle.

"I'll leave it to you."

The ophidian warriors thumped their chests and knelt on one knee. They too were starting to resemble an actual army rather than just a bunch of summoned creatures.

"Zirnitra, take them above and return when the formation breaks. The same goes for the rest."

"Yes, my liege."

The ophidian warriors who had water elemental seeds leapt on Zirnitra's back and waited for the formation to break. The players cheered them on with the feeble voice they could muster.

Zyrus wasn't worried as much in comparison. Everything was according to the plan he had devised beforehand.

'There are no surprises left on this island.'

*Shatter*

The formation broke with a loud rumble and flooded the remains of the bubble. Just as the remnant power of the beam was about to engulf the players, a dark blue haze nullified the water's momentum.

One second, five seconds….

The players stood dumbfounded as they looked at the bubble that was slowly regenerating. Even if they somehow survived the attack, the bubble shouldn't be regenerating on its own.

Unless…

"Look over there!"

"What?"

"Can't you see it?"

The players murmured among themselves as they looked at the anchor. That place should've been empty as all of them were gathered here.

<Didn't I tell you? We're not alone.>

At Zyrus's words, the ones who had captured the anchor revealed themselves. Meter-long scorpions were crawling all around the anchor.

Half of their body was obsidian black while the other half was in a haze like state. They were natural assassins in the dark, with daylight being their fatal weakness.

Bust just as everyone evolved after progressing in the sanctuary, they were no exception. After undergoing the bloodline evolution at lv 40 their eyes had become crystalline white.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"It's the Specter scorpions!"

"Can they create illusions now?"

"Who cares? We woooonnn!"

Some plopped down in exhaustion while others roared in victory. Zyrus smiled at the players and held up his twilight crusher, right at the merfolk palace.

The cannon was the trump card of the merfolk, and as such, it wouldn't be used anytime soon.

Now, all that was left was to conquer the bubbles and push back the enemies. The Vajeers were more than capable of handling it on their own.

*Gulp*

Zyrus drank a mouthful of wine and glanced at his status. He had learned two new skills which was a good thing, however, there was something he had to focus on more than ever.

'Ranking up'

[Master of Sojutsu (C+): You have mastered the art of spearmanship by stepping into a realm of your own]

[Originating from the basics of Sojutsu this skill has reached its full potential. Create your own style of spearmanship to break the limits of this skill]

Effects: ATK + 50, Crit rate +15%, Crit damage: +30%

CD: None

[Spear aura (C): By concentrating your physical prowess at the tip of your spear, you can shout out 12 aura blades to attack your enemies]

Effects: Penetration bonus +15%, each spear will deal damage based on stamina consumption.

CD: 5 minutes

These were the skills he had acquired while he was at the Pyramid of Tsaatan. After using them for a long time he was right on the verge of upgrading them.

'Now that I think about it, I should tell this to everyone…'

Zyrus didn't dally around and immediately opened the text function. What he was writing was something that very few were aware of before his regression.

<< Try to learn as many skills as you can, and at the same time, don't neglect the ones you've learned already >>

<<You've experienced what the blessing of order does. However, did you know that with each ring, a new type of blessing is added?>>

Every player who read this message stopped what they were doing and stared at the screen. Anyone who wasn't stupid would realize just how important this information was.

They were used to hearing new things now and then, but something like this was exceptional even among the things Zyrus had shared thus far.

<<I won't go into details, but we can summarize the blessings effect in one word. First ring - initiation. Second ring - Assimilation. And for the Third ring - Fusion>>

Zyrus didn't write anything further and closed the screen. He believed that knowing too much was just as bad as knowing too little.

He knew that what he and the players needed right now was accumulation of knowledge.

Runes, elemental seeds, and formations. After figuring out these three, there wasn't much he could 'invent' for the time being.

All that was left was practice. He'd let the players experiment on their own and reward those who figured out something new. Only after collecting sufficient data could he create the fundamental structure of the subclass.

Zyrus knew deep down that the time for his return on earth was approaching as well. So before that, he had to become as strong as possible.

'The Earth will be mine once I return.'

…

Two years later, at the top of a steep canyon.

81,702 players were looking at the familiar roulette for the fifth time.

After earning an easy victory at the Shuidao island, they were once again lucky and thus reached the next island, Mudao.

It was the island representing the wood element. The whole place was filled with strange plants and towering trees. The natives that lived there were treants and forest elves which were a pain to deal with.

Mudao became a living maze due to those two races' talent in manipulating flora. The wood element had the power to nourish, grow, and it also possessed remarkable tenacity.

The natives didn't have any great offensive powers, but it didn't mean that they were easy to defeat. They were hard to find and harder to kill. It took Zyrus nearly 14 months to finally kill them and conquer the island.

After that, they were sent to a dangerous area and then began their conquest of this island, Fengdao.

Fengdao represented the wind element which was elusive in nature. The whole island was made up of foggy cliffs and enormous canyons.

The natives that lived here were similar to harpies and birdmen. And as one would expect, the greatest difficulty of Fengdao lay in its terrain.

Just like how the bubbles worked in Shuidao, there was a similar function of hook and chain on this island.

To put it simply, after conquering an area, the players would gain a chain bound to that place, along with a hook that could target any nearby space.

Once bound, the chain would remain steady regardless of how fierce the wind was. This was the sole method for moving around on this island.

The ones who liked this place more than anyone else were the archers. It wouldn't be a lie to say that they single-handedly dealt with a third of the enemy forces.

'Fortunately, the most troublesome part is left for last,'

Zyrus tapped the twilight crusher as he looked at the roulette wheel. Based on the current odds, it was almost certain that their next destination would be a dangerous area.

[==] The stage has been selected [==]

[==] The second game of Shatar will begin on Huodao [==]

[==] Warning!!! A dangerous area has been allotted [==]

[==] Initiating teleportation to The Boiling Sea of Kiama [==]

Zyrus wasn't surprised by the dangerous area that was selected. Huodao was the most difficult island, and the dangerous area that was closest to it was none other than the sea of kiama.

"Raise your defenses to the maximum. No matter what comes, don't get separated."

"Roger that."

The players responded one by one and took charge of their ships. Of the main commanding structure, only Ria and Jacob were leaving with Zyrus. It couldn't be helped since the others had their own task on the four islands they had conquered.

With this, the sails were raised for their final journey in the flag march.