The First Store System

After Lily left for the Panagea, Aakesh also turned around and proceeded in the direction of the portal room.

As usual, Aakesh looked at the ranking leaderboard after entering the room. After seeing no changes in the top ten ranks from the last day, Aakesh moved his eyes away from it.

Aakesh then took a step forward and touched the closest portal using the tip of his finger. The next moment, a suction force stronger than anything he could fight against appeared and sucked him inside.

The next moment, Aakesh found himself in the spot he had left a day before.

Aakesh currently stood in a jungle filled with giant trees. The trees were so dense that not even a ray of sunlight passed through the trees, creating a dark surrounding.

Aakesh didn’t need light to see through things. Hence the scene in front of Aakesh was similar to what he would have witnessed in the presence of the sunlight.

After appearing, Aakesh didn’t stop but proceeded in the northern direction.

Before leaving Panagea a day before, Aakesh had accepted a quest with good rewards, but since the sun was to rise in a few minutes at that time, Aakesh decided to do it the next day.

Aakesh thought about the quest, and the next moment, a blue screen containing all the details of the mission appeared in front of him.

[Adventurer, one native tribe of Dark Forest, needs your help!

A few days ago, when one of the members of the tribe was going on his hunt, he came across an extraordinary scene.

The tribe member felt that it was a Godsent opportunity, but in reality, it became a terror situation for the tribe.

Since that day, sixteen members of the tribe had died in bizarre circumstances, with not even their bones remaining.

Solve the problem for the tribe. Watch out for the mysterious terror, for it could also engulf you.

Complete the mission, and you will get ten trillion XPs as a reward. If you succeed in not only solving the situation but also creating an opportunity for the tribe, your prize shall see an unprecedented increase.]

[Warning: Failing in the quest means certain death, with a decrease of ten levels as a penalty.]

At the end of the quest screen, there was a warning in deep red blood-like color. It was also the reason behind Aakesh accepting the mission since it was the first time he had come across a quest where the punishment was certain death.

Aakesh then waved his hands. The next moment, light particles started moving away from the quest screen, and in no time, they disappeared, waiting for Aakesh to call it again. Not long after, a blinding white arrow appeared, showing the direction to Aakesh.

The jungle Aakesh was currently in was called the Dark Forest. As its name suggested, it was filled with darkness all year round.

The Dark Forest was a high-level area in Panagea, with the creature’s Levels varying from Level 100 to Level 500.

The tribe Aakesh was going to help didn’t live deep in the forest since the leader was only a Level 250+ figure.

After traveling for a few minutes, Aakesh finally came around the tribe’s territory.

Just from standing, Aakesh could sense an aura of gloom and terror spread across the area.

Aakesh approached the gate but didn’t find anyone standing there, guarding the door. If it were some other time, there would have been several guards, but out of the sixteen deaths, fifteen casualties were the guards, while the last one was the person who saw the extraordinary event in the first place.

Aakesh expressionlessly passed the gate and continued traveling. Even though Aakesh had already entered the tribe’s territory, Aakesh didn’t find even a single tribe member.

Time flew by.

For the quest, Aakesh needed to first meet the leader of the tribe, and since she lived a few thousand miles away, it took Aakesh some seconds to cover that distance on his foot.

“ARG-”

When Aakesh was only a few miles away from his destination, his steps suddenly came to a stop as he heard a scream filled with heart-rending pain. The cry didn’t continue for long as it disappeared as quickly as it came.

Aakesh’s eyes suddenly turned cold as he turned to his left. It was the direction from which the scream had originated.

A few hundred meters away from Aakesh’s standing spot, a house made of wood and mud stood there, and that house was the source of the scream.

Aakesh’s eyes peered through the walls and saw an extraordinary scene.

Only the skeletons of a body remained in the house, but it was also disappearing. The scene looked as if the skeleton was a painting, and someone was slowly waving a paintbrush over it.

A few meters above the skeleton in the air, Aakesh could feel a terrifying aura converging.

Aakesh’s hair suddenly stood as he sensed an evil sight at him. Aakesh’s eyes turned chillier as he took a step forward in the direction of the house.

The skeleton suddenly stopped the process of disappearance as an aura filled with cruelty and terror emerged like a cyclone from the place where Aakesh had sensed the converging aura.

Aakesh increased his speed, and the next moment, he appeared in the sky with the sword waving at the invisible air.

Things didn’t go as Aakesh had expected. Aakesh’s sword effortlessly went through the air, and he suddenly got pushed back by an invisible hand.

Aakesh suddenly released a burst of his energy. Using that burst, Aakesh stabilized himself from crashing hard to the ground. Utilizing the momentum from it, Aakesh charged at the spot again with a red hue surrounding his sword.

“CHHISS!”

The next moment, a sound of cold water pouring on hot metal rang in the area as the sword passed through the air, similar to the last time.

But unlike previously, no pushing force emerged this time.

“Why are you attacking me?” Before Aakesh could prepare for another attack, a question filled with confusion and anger rang in his head.

Aakesh ignored the question and attacked again. This time, a white light twice the size of the sword covered it, starting from the hilt.

Aakesh then pushed the sword forward with unprecedented momentum.