Novel Full Chapter 473: Corrupted Beasts
Chapter 473: Corrupted Beasts
Ethan took the paper.
He looked at it once. Then again.
That was it. Just a small sheet with a few lines written on it.
There was a location and the targets as well as the rewards.
He looked up.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
Sera leaned back against the wooden counter behind her. Her arms crossed loosely, but her eyes stayed on him, as if measuring something.
“I know it sounds simple,” she said. “But remember something important.”
She tapped the counter lightly with her finger.
“You’re in Elysium now.”
The word seemed to carry weight in the air.
“Nothing here works the way you’re used to. That Level 1 beast written on that paper? In your old world it would probably qualify as a annihilation-grade threat.”
She tilted her head slightly. “Here it’s just an angry animal.”
Ethan didn’t react immediately. He folded the paper slowly and slid it into his coat.
Sera’s gaze sharpened. “Don’t underestimate it just because the number is low. The real threat is the corruption it self.”
“I understand.”
Ethan turned and began walking toward the door. Then he stopped. Something else had come to his mind.
He turned back.
“One more question.”
Sera raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”
“How do I get stronger here?”
“You complete missions,” she said. “You kill monsters, you help people.”
She tapped the counter again.
“Every time you do something meaningful, the world system notices. When it does, it rewards you with system points.”
Ethan listened carefully.
“Enough points and your level increases.”
“That’s it?”
Sera shrugged. “That’s the foundation.”
She leaned forward slightly.
“There are other ways too. Rare treasures. Ancient relics. Special achievements. Blessings from higher beings.”
She paused.
“But for someone starting out?”
“Missions and killing monsters are the best or probably only option”
Ethan nodded slowly. “Thank you.”
Then he left.
Outside the Adventurer Hall the sky stretched endlessly above the town.
But it wasn’t blue.
It was silver.
A strange metallic glow filled the sky like a giant mirror reflecting light from somewhere beyond reality. Clouds drifted slowly through it like pale ghosts.
The entire world felt slightly wrong.
Ethan stood there quietly for a moment. He pulled out the mission paper again.
[Corrupted Beasts.
Level 1 Threat.
Southern Farmstead.]
He looked toward the southern road. A long dirt road stretched beyond the town gates, disappearing into distant hills.
Ethan folded the paper again.
“Corrupted beasts,” he murmured. “Level 1.”
Then he started walking.
“Yumiko.”
[Yes, Master?]
“Do you have any idea what corrupted beasts are?”
For a moment she didn’t answer. Then she spoke.
[Somewhat.]
Ethan kept walking through the town streets while listening.
[The world of Elysium contains a strange phenomenon known as Gray Mist. It appears in certain regions of the world. Nobody knows exactly where it originates.]
Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.
[If any creature enters that mist… animal, human, or any other species… and the mist manages to invade their mind… they become corrupted.]
[Those beings eventually lose all reason and turn into monsters.]
Ethan’s footsteps slowed slightly.
“And killing them gives evolution points?”
[Yes. That is one of the primary ways this world’s system encourages hunters and adventurers to eliminate corrupted creatures.]
Ethan looked toward the distant hills.
“This place is dangerous.”
He kept walking.
“And it seems people from other worlds enter this place pretty often.”
His voice lowered slightly.
“We need more information about this world.”
[Agreed.]
He left the town not long after.
The southern road stretched across rolling grasslands. The silver sky cast a pale glow over everything.
Wind moved through the grass like waves across a sea.
Ethan walked calmly. His senses spread outward. Even suppressed, his perception remained terrifying.
Eventually he reached a small village.
The houses were simple. Wooden buildings with thatched roofs. A few small farms surrounded the area.
Villagers looked up as he entered.
An adventurer.
They could tell immediately.
Ethan asked a few questions. The village was small. It didn’t take long.
Soon he found the farm owner.
An old man with weathered skin and tired eyes stood outside a small house near the edge of the village.
When he saw Ethan approaching with the mission paper, relief flooded his face.
“Thank you adventurer!”
He bowed slightly.
“Thank you for accepting my quest.”
His voice trembled slightly.
“Would you like to rest first before going there?”
Ethan shook his head. “No need.”
He handed the paper to the man.
“Take me to the farm and give me the details.”
The old man nodded quickly. “Yes, yes of course.”
They began walking.
The farm wasn’t far from the village.
As they walked, the old man spoke.
“Three days ago… a corrupted wolf entered my farm.”
Ethan listened quietly.
“I managed to drive it away somehow.”
His voice carried bitterness.
“But during the chaos… it bit one of my cattle.”
He sighed heavily.
“I didn’t notice.”
His shoulders slumped.
“And later… that cattle turned corrupted.”
Ethan frowned slightly.
“And then it spread.”
The old man’s voice trembled.
“Now all 10 cattles in my farm are corrupted beasts. They won’t leave. They destroyed my barn.”
He looked toward the distant farm with hollow eyes.
“I just want my land back. It’s my only source of income.”
Ethan nodded.
Then he asked quietly, “If a corrupted beast bites something… it becomes corrupted too?”
[Yes.]
Yumiko answered immediately.
[Once it spreads through the victim’s body and reaches the mind, corruption begins. That is why these creatures are extremely dangerous.]
They soon arrived at the farm.
The place looked peaceful at first glance.
A modest wooden house. A barn. Several fenced pastures.
But the barn doors were shattered. The fences were broken.
A haystack near the house was burning slowly, smoke drifting into the silver sky.
And in the tall grass beyond the fields…
Something moved.
Ethan stopped walking.
His eyes sharpened.
Three creatures stood in the field.
They were large. Roughly the size of cattle.
But they were not cattle anymore.
Their bodies were twisted. Their hides were dark and cracked. Black crystalline growths erupted from their flesh like jagged armor.
Their eyes glowed red.
One of them lowered its head and gouged the ground with massive crystalline horns. The soil ripped open like paper.
Ethan watched silently.
[Corrupted beasts.]
Yumiko confirmed.
Ethan raised his right hand.
Light gathered.
The Sword of Infinity appeared.
The blade shimmered with a quiet cosmic glow.
One of the beasts lifted its head.
Red eyes locked onto him.
For a moment the world went silent.
Then the beast charged.
The ground shook.
The creature moved absurdly fast. Far faster than any normal animal.
Space seemed to bend around it. The distance collapsed.
It was suddenly right in front of him.
Ethan sidestepped.
Barely.
The horn sliced through the air where his chest had been. The wind pressure hit him like a wall.
“Even my reactions are suppressed.”
He understood immediately.
This world was limiting him to his very core.
“I’m moving through molasses compared to before.”
But even suppressed…
He was still faster than the monster.
As the beast passed him, Ethan moved.
The Sword of Infinity swung.
A clean round arc.
The blade cut through the creature effortlessly.
The beast split in half.
Two massive pieces of flesh slammed into the ground.
Dead.