The Evolution of a Goblin to the Peak

If they were on a mission outside Olympus then it would be fine but... If the warriors stayed outside and started to build the base. The others would see it as them trying to expand their territory. The worst-case scenario would result in a large-scale war. It was especially the case if they build a base near the other Holy Lands or Large Countries.

Luckily, in the entire Hall Plains, there's not a single Large Country or Holy Land. Although this land was huge, it was still desolate and small in the eyes of those large countries. The territory of Olympus alone was sixty times larger than Hall Plains.

It was too large that it had hundreds of small countries in its territory. That's why sometimes, a small-scale war occurred inside the territory. Those small countries were fighting each other and the higher-ups couldn't even bother those people since they were too busy with a much bigger problem.

The warriors would also take some missions to investigate those small countries. Just like what happened to the Dukedom of Halbun where Souta fought the old man that wields the power of curse.

"The warriors doing missions outside of Olympus have also received the same warning. The situation is getting out of hand." Markov said to him.

"I understand. Then, what about the demons?" Souta nodded and asked.

"The demons? The demon army had stopped advancing. Still, solidified their formation in the southern part of the continent. They are currently in a standstill against the large countries in that land. We've sent some of our warriors there a few months ago." Markov slowly explained.

The demon army had occupied hundreds of kilometers of land in the southern territory. They were currently fighting the army of the four large countries in that land. Most of the battles were still between low-level experts and it haven't escalated to a full-blown war of all top powerhouses.

The top powerhouses were still keeping each other in check. If one moved then the rest would follow suit.

Through Markov's explanation, Souta was glad that the demon army was still moving according to his memory of the game. If it changed, he would be worried and have to provide all sorts of plans.

"Here, look at this... This is basic knowledge so there's no problem with me sharing it with you." Markov placed a map on the table. He looked at his men and asked, "Give me a pen."

"Yes, sir." His subordinate nodded and left. In just a minute, he came back and gave a pen to his Squad Leader.

Markov glanced at Souta and asked, "You haven't been dispatched to the battlefield, right?"

"Against the demons? Yes, I haven't, I only heard it from fellow warriors." Souta nodded lightly.

"This is roughly the battlefield of the demons." Markov drew several small circles on the map and showed it to Souta.

Souta narrowed his eyes and said inwardly, 'This is roughly the same.'

He was glad that the situation here was somewhat similar to the game. It means that he hasn't made an impact on this land. Well, ever since he came here the only experts that he fought were from Red Matter Association. Also, he hasn't made a move in other important areas.

'Here, the Solnes City... This will be called Solnes Theatre in the next few months. I need to make ample preparation.'

He didn't know a lot about Solnes Theatre as he didn't participate in that battle, but Souta knew an important thing. One of the highest-grade mana fruit would appear there, a mythical grade mana fruit. It was called Tears of Divine Might.

The person who grasped it in the game was none other than the Top 14 in the Players Leaderboard. That man used the power within the fruit to achieve all those feats and even in an interview, he always gives the credit to the Tears of Divine Might.

Souta didn't know the effect but he had to get it to know it.

Is it a fruit that could give him a vast amount of experience? An increase in level? Maybe a unique skill or some powerful abilities? Or something that could enhance stats tremendously?

Who knows since the Top 14 hid all the details of the mythical grade fruit?

No one knew its effect.

Hu~

Souta sighed as he leaned his back on the chair. If he knew that this was going to him, he should've paid more attention to the details of that event. The only thing he knew was that the Tears of Divine Might would spawn in the Solnes Theatre in the next few months.

No matter what, he should get his hand on it. There's no way that the mythical grade fruit had a low effect. The lowest effect should be a tremendous experience points that could directly increase his level by four to five level. If his level was lower it would probably increase his level by seven or maybe eight.

At the very least, he had a few months to prepare himself.

One thing that's for sure. He would meet the Deadly Sins in that place so preparation was all he needed.

"Avoid coming close to the southern territory," Markov warned him with a serious expression. "Although it's too far from this place, there's still a chance that you would get caught in the battle. Without missions from the higher-ups, don't ever go in that land."

"I know." Souta nodded sternly. He valued his life more than anything else. He wouldn't do something out of his league.

"That's it." Markov fixed his posture and added, "I think we'll finish the portal soon. About the leader of the Red Matter Association, some of our warriors went back to Mirror Lake and they've found that Avron's and the Messenger's bodies were gone."

"So they survived the explosion?" Souta raised his eyebrows.

"I don't know. But it's true that the effect of the slave collars on the executives disappeared so it indicated that Avron died but maybe the Messenger took his body." Markov shrugged his shoulders.

"I see... I'll check things out in this land. Once I've noticed something, I'll quickly report it." Souta said.

"Good." Markov nodded.

Souta left the post tower after he finished talking to Squad Leader Markov. He went back to the tournament and found that it was almost finished.

He sighed as he went back to his seat. He at least wanted to rest for a week or two but it seems that he could only shorten his rest period. It's mentally exhausting but he had to tough himself if he wanted to survive.

"I'll just finish this festival..." Souta said in a low voice.

"Where did you go?" Alice suddenly asked him.

"Me? An envoy from Mine Valley had arrived. Then, I talked to Squad Leader Markov who is in-charge of the construction of the portal." Souta answered her question with a tired look.

"Is there something I can help with?" Alice noticed his look and tone so she knew that Souta was thinking about something huge again. It should be a serious matter. So the only thing she could do was decrease the weight he was carrying.

"Yeah, I'll inform you later. For now, I want to enjoy my time watching the tournament." Souta said as he forced a smile on his face.

"I got it." Alice nodded and smile gently.

It was currently the 12th match, the last match of the upper tournament today. The match was between Doranjan and Ardelo.

Doranjan was no doubt a top contender as he was a monster at the fourth stage. Aside from Souta, there's no other monster at his level in the entire Astros.

Ardelo was a man with long blonde hair tied in a ponytail on the back of his head. He was wearing a black mask with a black outfit. In his hands, he was holding a pair of sharp daggers. He was one of the top experts in the Noxious Corps, the group that Franklin founded with Isabella.

He was strong but he was having a hard time fighting Doranjan, a fourth stage monster called Great Green Dragon.

Doranjan's body was ten meters tall and he had a length of fifteen meters. Each of his wings spans seven meters. His green glossy scales were like a tough armor that could rival those high quality orange-grade armor.

He opened his huge mouth and greenish energy gushed out like a tsunami.

"Shit!"

Ardelo cursed in a low voice as he tried to escape but he found that all the escape routes were blocked. He forgot that the space in the arena was limited so he couldn't move the way that he wanted.

Boom!!

A loud explosion occurred that shook the entire arena.

Doranjan glanced at the smoke and slowly said, "Give up, you're not my match."

Yes, an S-rank would need a party composed of different specialties just to fight an initial fourth stage. A lone S-rank wouldn't be able to prevail against a fourth stage monster.