MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

As Jack passed an alley, he was suddenly dragged into the shadows. 

"HEllo— TcH, yOu'rE BeInG FoLlOwEd. ThE StEnCh oF LiGhT…." The ghoul spat out before dragging student and master away. 

A few minutes later, they were in some random wine cellar, their true appearance visible to the two of them. Their cadaver-looking skin was almost glowing in the dark. 

"YoU, yOu wEnT To tHe iNqUiSiTiOn…." One frowned. 

"You're welcome! They'll be chasing the dark elves in the Eternal Mines for a while now. Anyway, what's up?" 

"We fOuNd tHe lIcH: tHe cAnYoN! bUt tHeRe's oNe iSsUe…."The ghoul seemed irked. 

He was annoyed by WC. Ever since the Invisible Deer, many lumberjacks had stopped their activities in the Greenwood Forest and rotated to the Canyon for it was one giant rock quarry. 

Their numbers made it so they had a bigger impact on the ecology and Braves had followed, trying to exploit the NPCs' assistance to hunt faster. 

As soon as they realized the players' potential, the WC association had increased the rewards for the monsters inside. This brought even more Braves! 

"So you're telling me WC and the adventurer guild control the area where traces of the Lich just happen to be?" 

"YeS, rEgReTtAbLy…" 

"Fine, I'll do something about it. You guys stay out of sight and play nice. Now's not the time to alert the Inquisition just yet…." 

Their status as ghouls brought them strength, but they had to tread carefully. After all, they were one report away from having the entire world turn against them. 

Jack swung by the MTG association to report his findings. The whole dark elf thing had their leader breaking a table in anger.

"If they killed any of our miners, I swear to DYG I'll have their pointy heads on a pickaxe!! We need to have a meeting with the mayor right now and—"

"We both know it won't be that simple. The militia won't risk their members' lives so easily. Disposables scouts will be sent until more information is gathered." 

As soon as Jack said that, the man began begging him to find them. He would offer his full support, and— at that point, Jack was already gone. 

Face the dark elves for gold? Nope! 

Become a sacrificial pawn for another? Double nope! 

It would be a lie to say that he wasn't interested in the race and their magic. He could become way stronger with their help….but why would they share their power with humans?! 

Dark Elves were elitist bastards that weren't exactly known to be charitable. He simply ran away from MTG's headquarters as quickly as possible, heading for the Drunken Sailor. 

The scammer was already ready to brief him on the recent developments. 

1. The number of players had increased drastically. They were now outnumbering the NPCs. Still, the various NPC powerhouses kept them in check. 

2. The FF association was still as peaceful as usual. It was unknown what MTG was doing, but most players stayed away from it. WC was the most active they had ever been. 

3. The drunken Sailor was on track to become a player HUB where one could gather information as well as a party. Shows + Brave Discount On Beer = Popularity!

As the alcohol flowed, the players were happy and VERY talkative. The tavern's staff was also on the lookout for anything relevant. Their bonus pay depended on it. 

"How's the information handbook going?" Jack inquired. 

"We're ready to start the sales any time, Boss!" The man grinned with a scheming smile as he respectfully presented a small booklet. 

Jack quickly reviewed it: 

- Points of interest in Sprigfield 

- Hunting grounds nearby! 

- Infinite Common Sense

- Adventuring Tips! 

Of course, the whole thing showcased the Drunken Sailor as the number one landmark in Sprigfield. It even exaggerated the power of the FF association to scare would-be farm invaders. 

"Perfect, I want this to be in the hands of every player in Infinite without exception." Jack declared. 

All the information contained inside was extremely easy to obtain, but having it compilled in one easy-to-grab booklet was its main advantage. 

"You know what to do next, right?" Jack grinned. 

"Yes, Boss!" 

"Great!" Hopefully, everything would go well. 

A) Control the media 

B) Acquire Wealth 

C) Create an army 

D) GG? 

It was only a matter of time before Sprigfield fell… 

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Deep Rock Canyon was HUGE! 

It was also swarming with players. They were akin to housewives/husbands picking vegetables a the market, except with monsters. 

Luckily the place was so vast that it still didn't appear crowded. There wasn't any lack of creatures either. While they didn't respawn quickly, they took an eternity to kill. 

Jack's party was currently overlooking the scene from a vantage point. This time Moon Moon was with them. Its tail wagged as it pointed at everything, its eyes glowing. 

"Woo!" (Curious!) 

Jack patiently introduced the various monsters: 

— Caw Caw! — 

"Those are Rock-Peckers. They have heavy-duty beaks and devour rocks to live. You can either intercept them with fire mid-air or wait for them to swoop for an attack." 

— Roll! — 

"That's a Rolling Stone, literally a living boulder. They seem to exist to protect the Canyon itself and will happily turn any living creatures into a bloody splatter." 

Archer and mages were running after the birds, eager to get some easy XP. As ranged classes, it was finally their time to shine! But, they'd run away from the boulders. 

It was the opposite for the melee peeps equipped with pickaxes or blunt weapons. Their weapons were especially effective in shattering the rocky creatures. 

The group that was the most pitiful was definitely the swordsmen. They could still defeat both enemies, but they were obviously having an incredibly hard time. 

#RIP Swordsman Supremacy! 

But Jack suddenly pointed toward a corner void of any players. 

"Look there. There's a boulder that looks slightly different than the others. Do you know what this is?"

"Woo?" (Special Living Boulder?) 

"Nope, that should be a camouflaged Rock Goblin. They're indigenous to this land, and they are great at adapting. They have to be stressed about so many players showing up." 

"Woo?!" (Wow!) 

"Yep, but they're smart and decisive. They won't attack before they are convinced their odds are good. Try not to antagonize them too much." Jack suggested. 

"Woo?" (What's that?) 

The little wolf extended a claw toward a few deep-looking fissures at a few key locations. Some were in the walls, others were in the rocky floor, but all looked positively menacing. 

"That's the Terracotta Dungeon. Technically the name should designate clay pottery, but it's an entire gulf filled with nothing but living rock statues." 

"The place is meant for way more than 4-5 players. We'll need an expedition if we want to tackle it. In the meantime, we have to head deeper into the Canyon, way deeper."

"Let's go, shall we…" 

An orange party soon appeared in the hunting ground. There were two unidentifiable creatures shaped like a rat and Chicken, a wolf happily running about, and two humans. 

Everywhere in the Canyon, players were running away from rolling boulders, trying their best to stay alive. Amidst all the chaos, a duo stood out so damn much. 

Players stared at the scene unfolding before their eyes: 

"Is this for real?"

"Is this fool using a sword?!

"Wait, that's Brave-Bully Derek, isn't it?!" 

A lone swordsman valiantly fought a living boulder. He stood still, waiting for the thing to roll at him only to dodge and powerfully slash at the very last second. 

But even then, all it did was leave a white streak on the rough exterior. Many watched him struggle, puzzled. His attacks were obviously ineffective, so why wasn't he running away?! 

— Slash! Slash! Slash! — 

— Slash! Slash! Slash! — 

-1

-1

-1

-1 

Even then, he didn't falter one bit. His goal wasn't actually to defeat the creature. He was only training as his master had instructed. He did not care one bit about looking stupid. 

Inwardly he kept repeating his new master's teachings. 

"A sword is but a tool. Do you know what this means?" Derek had thought this was a lesson about using the best tool for the job, but it wasn't. 

"It can protect and destroy alike. It's meant to exert your will. Getting the right tool is one thing, but an unwavering will is the most important. Do you understand now?" 

As long as the will was strong enough, all tools would be the same. Could he reach such a level? This was akin to the power of the Swordmasters of Legends! 

Thus he kept relentlessly striking, with players mocking him and Jack casually observing by the side. 

Logically the NPC shouldn't be able to grasp this technique just yet. Heck, even the current Jack couldn't use it at all. 

But, he felt that the man was slightly different ever since the Dragon Fight. It was as if slaying a dragon had unlocked part of his potential. 

Whether it was an illusion or not, they would know soon. In the meantime, he inspected the rewards he had gotten from the Loot Box. 

< Dragon's Amber Core (Shattered) 🔸> 

< Crystal Dragon Claw 🔸> 

< Dragon' Amber Eye 🔸 > 

< Crystal Armor Manual 🔸> 

He currently had the last one open, calmly reading it while the sound of combat echoed in the background. He was so calm that no one even noticed his presence. 

Derek fought the boulder while Moon Moon happily ran after the thing. "Woo!" This was like playing giant fetch! The players really couldn't understand them: 

"That wolf definitely has a screw loose. It almost got squashed again!" 

"That swordsman is so stubborn. Just run!"

"They're both insane." 

Some started watching the show, some even betting, but others wouldn't be satisfied with just that.

A few had nefarious plans: they were the ones that Derek had beaten up in the past. Now was the perfect opportunity for revenge! 

As they sneakily approached the fight, Jack sighed, reluctantly putting his manuscript down…