It was chaos, pure chaos.
And the death toll was just as high. Hundreds died in the unexpected incident. If not for the warriors of the ice phoenix tribe, more would have died.
Unlike what Alex and the others thought. It was not an isolated incident. Twenty tire 3 monsters were summoned by the mysterious people. And the death and destruction they caused were immense.
Most of the city was in shambles.
Although Alex and Taka worked together to kill a peak tire 3 beasts. It was nothing compared to what the ice phoenix tribe had to manage.
Just as the beasts were summoned. Even when, most of the strongest members of the ice phoenix tribe were away, they rushed to save the people. They fought hard to secure victory in the shortest possible time.
And the one who shone brightest among them was none other than the eldest princess of the ice phoenix tribe. Sister of Laya and Meena. Next in line to inherit the title of the matriarch. Kalina.
Kalina had rushed out just as the battle began. With her superior strength as a tier 4 warrior, she easily disposed of the beast that she came across.
A tier 4 warrior was completely different from normal people. It was a domain of strength where they could directly borrow a part of the power from their spirit guardian. So, it was called the spirit guardian possession.
In the spirit guardian possession state, for a short duration, they become the embodiment of the spirit guardian. They can be compared to gods in ancient myths with perfect physical bodies.
Other than strength, It also gave them superiority over normal humans. Such as their ability to walk on air, slow ageing, and ability to store and use a vast amount of energy in their body. And finally, to synchronise with the spirit guardian to convey thoughts and emotions.
In a more general way, tier 4 warriors can also be called the powerhouses of the tribe. They can also be thought of as people with direct uplink with mysterious beings called spirit guardians.
And Kalina was such a warrior. Using her immense power, she killed five out of the twenty beasts alone. And in the process saved her sisters from danger. She was a badass warrior and at the same time a kind, loving sister.
But even with all her power, she couldn't save everyone. Her chilly eyes gazed at the corpse-ridden streets. And anger was clearly visible in them. Her ice arrows barely missed one of the main conspirators of the incident.
'If only I had been a little faster.' Her face darkened in dismay.
—------------------------
"Ahm… Hidden master, can you stand up?" Someone kicked Alex who was laying next to the corpse of a gigantic six-armed gorilla. He was peacefully nodding off, but the kick woke him up.
Turning around, gazing at the pipsqueak called Meena. The pent-up anger in his mind arose. He wanted to knock on her thick skull and force some manners into it.
But before he could do that, an icy hand grabbed his wrist.
It was a beautiful woman wearing a white dress. With piercing black eyes and wavy black hair. She looked like a goddess, elegant and beautiful.
However, the beauty was glaring at Alex like she would eat him alive if he dared to harm Meena.
"Hidden master, let me introduce you to my eldest sister, Kalina. Sister, this is the hidden master that I told you about." Meena kindly introduced Alex.
But it didn't ease the tension in the air. The grip was strong and Alex could feel the blood supply to his palm being cut off.
"Hi, I am the hidden master. Normal people call me Meru." Alex introduced himself.
Only after that did the death grip lose.
'She is too strong and gorgeous. She has a stunning body with the charm of a mature woman. How old is she?' Even in pain, unwanted thoughts about her beauty blasted through Alex's mind. He was slightly losing control of his teenage brain.
"Hello, sir Meru. My sister told me that you and Sir Taka killed the beast. You have my heartfelt gratitude for protecting the city and its people. To thank you, I would like to sincerely invite you to the palace of the ice phoenix tribe." She glared at Alex and invited him to the palace with no room to reject.
According to her sister, if Alex hadn't intervened when the beast attacked. They would have succumbed to the attack.
Even though the kid called Meru looked shady. If both her sisters praised him, there would be some truth to the matter. So, she chose to invite him and observe.
'I might as well follow them to the palace. Building a good relationship with the ice phoenix tribe would do me no harm.'
"Before that, can you inform my tribesmen, the stone head tribe? Or else they might worry about me."
"We will do that."
It was at that moment Alex noticed a stretcher carrying Taka leaving. He was also being carried to the palace to treat his injuries.
The beast had done a number on his first customer.
'This pesky piece of meat.' Thinking that Alex kicked the carcass of the six-armed gorilla.
[Ding]
Suddenly a notification flashed before Alex's eyes.
[Data shard found]
[Extracting data. Mana runes are found.]
[Modifying and improving to fit interdimensional farm parameters.]
[New function, fertiliser has been developed to enhance the mana inside crops.]
[The player can now create basic fertiliser by using the corpse of level 3 mana beasts.]
A series of notifications which startled Alex popped up in his vision.
'I should be happy that the farm unlocked a new function. But why does it feel like I was scammed? To make fertiliser, I need a level 3 mana beast. Does it mean beasts like the six-armed gorilla?'
'For god's sake, it was a tier 3 beast. Something dreaded by everyone on this continent. It was not some piece of cow dung or chicken shit. For basic fertiliser, I need to kill a beast like that. Was the farm joking?'
'Well, thanks for unlocking a feature that I might never use.'
Alex complained in his mind.
The farm was something that he depended on to survive. He was happy to unlock new features for it. But knowing how hard it was to kill one tier 3 beast. He felt dejected.
It was the reason for his complaint.
Nonetheless, he could worry about making fertiliser another time. Before that, he would really like to know what a data shard was. And how the farm was able to enhance itself using it.
Where can he find more data shards? By killing beasts?
Another plethora of questions muddled his mind. After thinking for a while, he gave up on thinking. He can't ask questions to the farm and any conclusion he might reach with the limited data he has can only be considered speculation.
And from his speculation, the awakening ceremony was one way to get data. And another one was by killing a beast like the six-armed gorilla.
If there are more, he has yet to come across them.
—----
"Sir, hidden master. Follow me to my home. We have a lot of chickens there. We can make a lot of fired and roasted chicken."
'For your information, it's fried not fired. Anyway, was this the reason she convinced her elder sister to bring me to the palace? The devil only needs my mayonnaise and food.'
Alex avoided Meena like plague.
Meanwhile, two pairs of shining orbs focused on Alex and Meena.
"Do you think he has any part in the attack? It is not every day that you see a young kid like him battling a peak tier 3 beast. He might be a spy. From what I heard, his powers are nothing like that of the stone head tribe." Kalina asked Laya.
"It doesn't seem like he is an enemy. Sir Taka, before he was carried away sang praises of his ability. He was totally convinced that he is an ally."
"Hm… We can wait and observe. So, about the metal shortage. Did you finalise the deal?"
But once she heard about the deal, Laya became meek. She didn't want her sister to know that she planned to import metals from the west.
Her sister was almost perfect if not for her prideful nature. She wouldn't like bowing her head to the westerners.
"We could talk about that later. Let's hurry back. There are much more pressing matters at hand." Laya quickly changed the topic.
The group slowly walked through the destroyed city into the centre, where the monolithic shrine of the ice phoenix tribe was situated. It was the symbol of pride for the tribe.
Surrounding the shrine was a massive palace. Made with thick granite and marble slabs. It was beautiful. Many sculptures and beautifully engraved walls adorned the way towards the palace.
Alex was mesmerised by it.
Before long, they reached the palace entrance.
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