The highway went quiet in minutes. The shaking stopped. The screams and growls of the fleeing monsters died down, leaving only the echo of their panic behind.

Then, a soundless chime echoed, not in their ears, but directly within their minds. A pane of translucent blue light materialized before each of them. A cascade of notifications began to scroll before their eyes.

SYSTEM NOTIFICATION: REGIONAL RAID QUEST DETECTED

—[QUEST RECEIVED: The Culling of the Verdant Valley]—

Goal: Complete all 5 sub-quests to neutralize the major monster infestations in the valley east of Loden.

Progress: 0/5 Sub-Quests Completed

Reward: Valley-Wide Buff: +10% Resource Yields (7 Days)

Special Conditions: Required Party Size: 20-50 Survivors (Levels 60-70).

Description: Five catastrophic monster infestations have pushed the Verdant Valley to the brink of collapse. This region-wide Raid Quest requires coordinated assaults by large survivor groups to eliminate thousands of monsters through waves, ambushes, and defensive stands. Each sub-quest targets a threa. Your success will determine the survival of this region.

Warning: Failure to complete all sub-quests will cause the permanent degradation of the Verdant Valley, making it uninhabitable.

—[END]—

Reidar wolves stopped.

"What is this…" Reidar said. "Have you ever seen something like this?"

"No," Lena said, and Jake did the same.

Lena blinked. "It talks about a Raid Quest. Region-wide."

"What does that mean?" Jake asked.

"It means the System wants everyone in the area to work together," Reidar said.

He then checked the quest more deeply. Alongside the main quest were the sub-quests it referenced, each with their own goals and rewards.

—[QUEST RECEIVED: Silence the Chittering Tunnels]—

—[QUEST RECEIVED: Uproot the Crimson Bloom]—

—[QUEST RECEIVED: Shatter the Grotto]—

—[QUEST RECEIVED: Eclipse the Spire]—

—[QUEST RECEIVED: Quell the Mire]—

"The Culling of the Verdant Valley," Lena said. She looked east, toward Creamont.

"You think the monsters were stampeding because of the target monsters?"

"It might be, but… "

"We should check it out," Lena said. "We need to pass the valley regardless if we want to reach Creamont."

"Shit…"

He turned to her. "There is no way we can avoid this, right?"

"I don't think so. We might bypass the monsters, but we will be forced to fight regardless. We might not be able to go through the valley without the others' help, depending on the situation."

There was something else, though.

"Also, this quest will increase the strength of whoever joins it. It means that people within a 500 square kilometer radius will have more chances to survive, and if they are part of a settlement, it means, by proxy, that even those people will get more chances. There might be someone from Creamont. As I said, we should check this out."

What Lena said was right, but…

Reidar just wanted to buldoze through everything.

"Lena," he began, his voice low, "Every minute we delay is a minute my family is in danger. I get that we need to go thorugh here, but..."

"Helping? This is a massive undertaking. We should delay. And for what? To help strangers? After what happened at Havenwood, I'm not inclined to extend myself like that again."

Lena's expression was unreadable for a moment, then she nodded. "I understand. But consider this, Reidar: the System doesn't issue these kinds of region-wide quests lightly. If these infestations aren't dealt with, they will spread. That stampede we saw? That was just the beginning. If these things aren't culled, they'll overrun everything between here and Creamont. Your parents included."

She had a point. A very, very good point. Reidar hated it.

He looked toward the east, where Creamont and the valley were. It was a direct line. If these infestations grew unchecked, they would spill out for sure.

Reidar pulled up the main quest again and studied the reward structure. It offered Rare equipment. Skill tokens. The System was offering everything survivors needed to push forward, to level up, and to gain power.

One of the quests offered a title that gave twenty-five percent increased damage against armored foes. Another provided immunity to vine entanglement and increased fire damage. The titles alone were worth the risk.

"Damn it," he said.

"Fine," he said. "We will check it out, but If it requires too much time, we get the hell out of there."

Lena nodded. "Agreed. So what's the plan?"

The quests weren't all the same.

"We first check if we can go through everything avoiding the quests. If we can't then we will go find the others, if any."

Reidar wanted to desperately fly through the obstacle. The problem was, that he would be without protection. Flying monsters were a thing, and right now, Reidar could only summon five creatures since the Feral Pack proficiency was still low. He couldn't share the skill, not even to Jake.

Unfortunately he could, meaning he would need to go through the valley, and if that was house to whatever monster was there, then he would need to kill them anyway.

<Up to a certain point.>

But there were also other thoughts in Reidar's mind. For example, why was the system forcing cooperation?

A single group maybe could take care of everything if they were high-level enough. It was likely there was no one aside from Reidar and his group able to do that, hence why the raid, but still, it all felt too deliberately pushing humans to group.

<Something's going on.>

"There are some pretty interesting rewards here…"

"Like what?" Lena asked.

"Valley-wide buffs," Reidar read. "Ten percent increased resource yields for seven days. That kind of thing."

"What are the threats?" Lena asked. "The monsters in these quests."

Reidar pulled up the first sub-quest and read the description. "Something called Razorwing Skitterers. Thousand of them are in underground tunnels. Insectoids, it sounds like."

"I hate insects," Lena said.

"Another one has plant monsters," Reidar continued. He scanned the details. "Thorn-Lashers. They regenerate from briar patches. The quest recommends fire."

"We can do fire," Lena said.

The three went through the quest details.

"How many people do you think are within five hundred square kilometers?" Jake asked.

"I don't know," Reidar said. "But if the System is calling everyone in that range, it has to be more than a few hundred."

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