Once I left the bunker and made sure the doors and camouflage devices were in place, I decided to start clearing the area of Loorgs. I chose to search around the bunker to see if my senses and detection techniques could spot any.
After searching for about 20 minutes, I detected a Loorg 400 meters from the bunker. Considering the closest Gate is a kilometer away, I can say that Lorgs have come quite far.
The second thing I noticed was the energy of the Lorg; it seemed slightly stronger than that of normal Lorgs. However, it didn't feel like an elite Lorg (normal Lorgs that appear near the respawn points and give 5 coins).
Since it was something I hadn't seen before, I decided to proceed with caution, using my stealth items and techniques to get closer and assess the situation. It appeared to be a normal Loorg, not even larger like an elite Loorg.
So, I decided to shoot an explosive arrow. It hit and exploded, killing the Loorg instantly. But what surprised me was the system message. If it were a normal Loorg, it would have given me 3 coins, but this time it was different.
[YOU HAVE KILLED A LOORG. COINS: +4]
I got four coins, which had never happened before, especially for a normal Loorg. Still, the number of coins represents the Loorgs' power, so this one must have been stronger than a normal Loorg.
Knowing there could be other Loorgs nearby, I decided to keep searching around the bunker to prevent any from escaping in any direction.
After a few minutes, I found another one, this time 600 meters from the bunker. This showed that, apart from a few, the Loorgs hadn't gotten too close to the bunker, which was a relief.
After getting closer, I decided to just shoot an arrow this time. Of course, I made sure to aim at the head to evaluate both its hardness and its speed in case it dodged. But again, the arrow hit and killed the Loorg, and I got four coins.
Realizing they didn't seem to have anything special, and were definitely weaker than elite Loorgs, I decided to do one last test: face the Loorg head-on.
After finding another one, 650 meters from the bunker, I approached and deactivated my stealth technique when I was close. Instantly, the Loorg noticed me and ran towards me at an unimpressive speed. I let it get close and decided to block its claws with my arm to evaluate if they could cut better.
This time, I was a bit surprised, not because they cut me, but quite the opposite. It didn't even scratch me, even without using any technique. With this in mind, I let it attack me without defending myself, and again, I realized it couldn't hurt me.
After a moment of thinking, I remembered the changes to my old ability {Regenerative Adaptability}, which evolved into {Regenerative Resistive Adaptability}, increasing my resistance. After looking at my resistance values, I fully understood why it couldn't hurt me.
I have a cut resistance of 100 and a Toughness of 70, meaning that for its claws to harm me, they would have to overcome a defense of 170, not counting that I have more than one resistance that could work together.
For example, I have resistance to the energy it's using, Ground Strength aura, which is both a type of aura and an element. Damage types I also have resistance to. So, if I approximate my defense against the Loorg's attacks, it would be 570, which is quite high.
(Apart from cuts, the energy the Loorg uses counts as damage from Ground Strength aura, aura, elemental, and ground element. Each has 100 in resistance, working together with adaptations. If an adaptation increases by 100, resistance increases by 10).
Anyway, that doesn't answer why these Loorgs are different, despite having the same characteristics as normal ones. So, I decided to quickly kill the Loorg with my axe and use my information source, Emily.
"Hi, William, can you give me a moment? I'm busy," she said, with growls in the background.
I quickly realized what was happening.
"Sure, let me know when you've killed all the Loorgs."
It only took a few minutes while I continued my perimeter search for any Loorgs that might have gotten too close, for Emily to inform me that she was now available to talk.
"Alright, I'm free now. Have you finished your business? Join us in killing Loorgs."
"Almost, I have something to ask you. And from what you said, it seems you've already met up with Leonard."
"Yes, I have. Do you want to say hello?"
"No, I'll greet him in person later. For now, I have a question."
"Sure, go ahead."
"I recently started killing Loorgs, and the ones I've encountered have slightly stronger energy than usual and give 4 coins. Do you know what they are?"
"Oh, those are normal Loorgs, but they have a minor advancement."
"So, they're stage one, low?"
"Exactly, and the higher the progress in their path, the more coins they give."
"But these didn't change in the number of coins they gave compared to when they didn't have a path."
"That's the exception."
"Another question, why are stronger Loorgs appearing now?"
"That's because the strength of the Loorgs is related to the number of Gates. And since the three strongest people are in the same city, the number of Gates and the strength of the Loorgs are higher than usual."
"What's normal?"
"In other cities, there should be normal Loorgs without a path and only a few with a path but at stage one, lower."
"And just to know, how is it in this city?"
"..."
"Is it that bad?" I asked after her silence.
"Stage one, low, are the most common, but there are also quite a few stage one, middle. Not only that, but there are normal Loorgs and other variants."
"... And the quantity?"
"... Thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands. The closer you get to the city center, the more Gates there are and the stronger they become. Come as soon as possible."
"... I'll come after destroying a few Gates near me."
"Thank you," she said, relieved.
It seems gathering the strongest people wasn't a good idea. Not to mention, it's not just the three of us contributing to this increase in difficulty. There are probably hundreds of system users, or rather Prime Users.
It looks like I need to hurry and destroy the Gates near the refuge. Fortunately, after evolving my talent, my skills made me invulnerable, at least to the Lorgs I've faced. They also allow me to replenish my energy, primarily Qi, letting me use my techniques without worrying about a lack of energy, especially when thousands of Lorgs gather.
Once I left the bunker and made sure the doors and camouflage devices were in place, I decided to start clearing the area of Loorgs. I chose to search around the bunker to see if my senses and detection techniques could spot any.
After searching for about 20 minutes, I detected a Loorg 400 meters from the bunker. Considering the closest Gate is a kilometer away, I can say that Lorgs have come quite far.
The second thing I noticed was the energy of the Lorg; it seemed slightly stronger than that of normal Lorgs. However, it didn't feel like an elite Lorg (normal Lorgs that appear near the respawn points and give 5 coins).
Since it was something I hadn't seen before, I decided to proceed with caution, using my stealth items and techniques to get closer and assess the situation. It appeared to be a normal Loorg, not even larger like an elite Loorg.
So, I decided to shoot an explosive arrow. It hit and exploded, killing the Loorg instantly. But what surprised me was the system message. If it were a normal Loorg, it would have given me 3 coins, but this time it was different.
[YOU HAVE KILLED A LOORG. COINS: +4]
I got four coins, which had never happened before, especially for a normal Loorg. Still, the number of coins represents the Loorgs' power, so this one must have been stronger than a normal Loorg.
Knowing there could be other Loorgs nearby, I decided to keep searching around the bunker to prevent any from escaping in any direction.
After a few minutes, I found another one, this time 600 meters from the bunker. This showed that, apart from a few, the Loorgs hadn't gotten too close to the bunker, which was a relief.
After getting closer, I decided to just shoot an arrow this time. Of course, I made sure to aim at the head to evaluate both its hardness and its speed in case it dodged. But again, the arrow hit and killed the Loorg, and I got four coins.
Realizing they didn't seem to have anything special, and were definitely weaker than elite Loorgs, I decided to do one last test: face the Loorg head-on.
After finding another one, 650 meters from the bunker, I approached and deactivated my stealth technique when I was close. Instantly, the Loorg noticed me and ran towards me at an unimpressive speed. I let it get close and decided to block its claws with my arm to evaluate if they could cut better.
This time, I was a bit surprised, not because they cut me, but quite the opposite. It didn't even scratch me, even without using any technique. With this in mind, I let it attack me without defending myself, and again, I realized it couldn't hurt me.
After a moment of thinking, I remembered the changes to my old ability {Regenerative Adaptability}, which evolved into {Regenerative Resistive Adaptability}, increasing my resistance. After looking at my resistance values, I fully understood why it couldn't hurt me.
I have a cut resistance of 100 and a Toughness of 70, meaning that for its claws to harm me, they would have to overcome a defense of 170, not counting that I have more than one resistance that could work together.
For example, I have resistance to the energy it's using, Ground Strength aura, which is both a type of aura and an element. Damage types I also have resistance to. So, if I approximate my defense against the Loorg's attacks, it would be 570, which is quite high.
(Apart from cuts, the energy the Loorg uses counts as damage from Ground Strength aura, aura, elemental, and ground element. Each has 100 in resistance, working together with adaptations. If an adaptation increases by 100, resistance increases by 10).
Anyway, that doesn't answer why these Loorgs are different, despite having the same characteristics as normal ones. So, I decided to quickly kill the Loorg with my axe and use my information source, Emily.
"Hi, William, can you give me a moment? I'm busy," she said, with growls in the background.
I quickly realized what was happening.
"Sure, let me know when you've killed all the Loorgs."
It only took a few minutes while I continued my perimeter search for any Loorgs that might have gotten too close, for Emily to inform me that she was now available to talk.
"Alright, I'm free now. Have you finished your business? Join us in killing Loorgs."
"Almost, I have something to ask you. And from what you said, it seems you've already met up with Leonard."
"Yes, I have. Do you want to say hello?"
"No, I'll greet him in person later. For now, I have a question."
"Sure, go ahead."
"I recently started killing Loorgs, and the ones I've encountered have slightly stronger energy than usual and give 4 coins. Do you know what they are?"
"Oh, those are normal Loorgs, but they have a minor advancement."
"So, they're stage one, low?"
"Exactly, and the higher the progress in their path, the more coins they give."
"But these didn't change in the number of coins they gave compared to when they didn't have a path."
"That's the exception."
"Another question, why are stronger Loorgs appearing now?"
"That's because the strength of the Loorgs is related to the number of Gates. And since the three strongest people are in the same city, the number of Gates and the strength of the Loorgs are higher than usual."
"What's normal?"
"In other cities, there should be normal Loorgs without a path and only a few with a path but at stage one, lower."
"And just to know, how is it in this city?"
"..."
"Is it that bad?" I asked after her silence.
"Stage one, low, are the most common, but there are also quite a few stage one, middle. Not only that, but there are normal Loorgs and other variants."
"... And the quantity?"
"... Thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands. The closer you get to the city center, the more Gates there are and the stronger they become. Come as soon as possible."
"... I'll come after destroying a few Gates near me."
"Thank you," she said, relieved.
It seems gathering the strongest people wasn't a good idea. Not to mention, it's not just the three of us contributing to this increase in difficulty. There are probably hundreds of system users, or rather Prime Users.
It looks like I need to hurry and destroy the Gates near the refuge. Fortunately, after evolving my talent, my skills made me invulnerable, at least to the Lorgs I've faced. They also allow me to replenish my energy, primarily Qi, letting me use my techniques without worrying about a lack of energy, especially when thousands of Lorgs gather.
