<h4>Chapter 19: Night of the Chickens!!!!</h4>


    While Jack was having a very peaceful and pleasant dinner, the world of Infinite was going through its first upheaval.


    So many braves had spawned in the New Leaf Vige and had made their way toward the New Leaf in. Even the ones that had decided to explore the vige first had joined them not long afterward. After all, no one wanted to do the odd jobs the NPCs offered.


    At first, people kept dying to the surprisingly overpowered beginner monsters, but now they could hunt them rtively efficiently. They would almost spawn-kill the creatures by surrounding their respawn points. The task was bing an automatism to them.


    On a nearby rooftop, a pink-haired girl was observing them while recording. Seraphine had no clue what kind of event Jack had been referring to. Did he have information from a private beta test or from a dev directly?


    But, as she kept looking, she noticed something. The more the yers killed the chickens and the angrier they appeared. The once cute and cuddly creatures now spawned with feathers raised in anger.


    The physical model of the creatures steadily changing had to be a clue! That’s when she remembered Jack’s warning about not ganging up on chickens anymore. Had he been serious?!


    The more she looked and the more she could discern pure and unadulterated rage in the chickens’ eyes. Did she imagine things? It was more likely that Infinite was full of easily overlooked details that would give hints about the game.


    Such a concept was definitely different than most regr MMOs! Usually, one could skip quest dialogues and simply follow the minimap to one’s destination. Infinite seemed to reward yers for truly ying and not just mindlessly grinding. Well, this tactic would probably work to an extent…


    That’s when an outburst happened in the crowd as a party suffered many casualties. Instead of one chicken, two had spawned.


    “You guys suck! You can’t even take care of 1 chicken!”


    “Shut up. There were two! That’s a goddamn bug!”


    “Yes, we were just unlucky.”


    A bug? Was it really? It started as an isted case, but then it spread all over the field. The yers had no choice but to be even more vignt as one-chicken spawns became scarce. Many died, but they could run back very quickly after reviving in the vige. But, what was happening?


    “Guys, perhaps there are more mobs during nighttime?”


    “Oh, this sounds about right. The night is about to fall.”


    “Hear that, brothers? We gotta grind harder!”


    “I’m reaching level 1 before I sleep for sure!”


    “y them chickens! Huzzah!”


    The casualties were not enough to dampen their rekindled motivation. Even when there started to be instances of 3 chickens spawning, they remained motivated. Every three-chicken spawn meant aplete party wipe of all yers in the vicinity.


    Seraphine was observing the chickens, and they seemed ready tomit murder. Their physical model kept evolving: they were literally spawning with red murderous glowing eyes.


    “Guys, look at this! Red eyes!”


    “Damn, night chickens are badass!”


    “How are we supposed to kill packs?!”


    “Kill the groups of 2 beforehand, that’s all!”


    “The stronger they are, the more XP they’ll give!”


    That’s when there was a sh of red light as a single chicken spawned. Instantly, many yers nearby charged at it to pummel it. But, they couldn’t help but freeze a secondter. What the fuck was this?!


    <Chicken Overlord Level 6: Vengeful>


    The monster was bigger than humans: it was one fat chicken! It didn’t even budge as so many fistsnded on it. Then, it counterattacked. It pecked a nearby yer, reducing his head to a bloody mush.


    The yers could only watch inplete stupor and fright as the Chicken Overlord turned to one yer after the other and reproduced the same feat. A single peck was all it took to one-shot people. Seriously?!


    It wasn’t even over: the Chicken Overlord clucked loudly toward the sky. The weird noise reverberated across the entire hunting ground, affecting its brethren. They all charged toward the nearest brave, disregarding their normal aggro range.


    Seraphine was d to be watching from above. This was a bloody massacre! What made it even more nightmarish was that the chickens kept spawning over and over, seemingly infinitely.


    Some tried resisting:


    “Stay strong, brothers! This is an event!”


    “Kill all the chickens!”


    “RAWR!!!”


    But, these screams of bravery soon turned into dying screams. In a few minutes only, not a single brave was left standing. That’s when the Vige Chief came running. He was holding a bright blue gem in his hands. He activated it, and suddenly a shy blue barrier appeared all around the vige!


    A newbie had just revived when he saw a chicken charge at him. Just as he was screaming in panic, the creature bounced back on the blue screen. Thank God the vige was a safe zone!


    It was ironic how the tables had turned. The chickens were now the ones spawn-killing the yers! They were giving them a taste of their own medicine!


    Was this why Jack didn’t want to farm just yet? There was no point trying if he would have to evacuate not long afterward. Now that people were safe, they were moring loudly.


    “Holy crap! What kind of gameunch is this?!”


    “Was this a scripted event?”


    “Perhaps they really are trying to get revenge.”


    “This game sucks. It’s too hard!”


    “You can leave, but I’m staying. This looks he fun!”


    “This is a beast tide, isn’t it? How many games have this?”


    “None as early as the beginner vige, for sure!”


    “Still, what do we do now?”


    “Guerri tactic? We can kill a few at a time.”


    “Nope. There’s way too many of them.”


    That’s when the vige chief walked toward the crowd. “It seems I have overestimated you all. To be subdued by chickens is extremely shameful.” He sighed, the yers hanging their heads low. Others came forward and opened their mouths.


    “Sir, we wish to get revenge! How can we be stronger!”


    “Yes, Sir. Please tell us!”


    “We’ll do anything!”


    They all chimed in, all sharing the same sentiment. They could all feel that the Chief’s apparition was no coincidence. He was the key to sess!


    “Alright, I’ll give you all a hint. Two individuals can potentially help you. Whether they decide to train you will depend on how sincere you can be.


    – In the house with no door is a man that used to be an instructor for the royal army. He could teach you all you need to know about weapons.


    – In the shop with the flowers is a great florist that also dabbles in magic. He should be able to teach you all the basics.”


    Hearing this, the yers couldn’t help but beam: they had been right!


    “Ah! I see. Thank you so much!”


    “I know where the building is!”


    “Thanks for the guidance!”


    “We’ll do just that!”


    “Weapons!!!”


    “Magic!!!”


    “Hell yeah!!”


    With a clear goal now in sight, they all turned their effort to finding themselves a teacher. They were overflowing with motivation!


    As Seraphine watched it all happen, she was itching to join in on the fun. Where the hell was her teacher?! That’s when she noticed a line appear in front of her, one that disappeared as soon as it came.


    – Jack’ O: Yo, Bubblegum! I’m back. Everyone died yet or no?


    How was she even supposed to reply?! “System, write back: Motherfucking Chicken-ageddon happened! What’s our next move?!” She tentatively said.


    – Jack’ O: Chicken-ageddon, eh? As for our next move, you’ll see soon enough…


    <strong>Creator’s Thought</strong>


    In Infinite, some events are driven by both the world and the yers. For instance, it would most likely be possible to unlock the instructors early if everyone begged them to teach. But, it wouldn’t make much sense without prior information now, would it? Plus, the Chicken-ageddon made it easier to convince them anyway.