Versatile: Alternate World

Getting the valuable info from Sera means the next expansion update is imminent and will soon be added to the Alternate World's big map. Thankfully, this was not a PC game, or else, the game alone would need quite a lot of storage to download one continent map.

The next expansion would be the event called "The Descent of the Angels" and this will unlock the new Continent, Luminous. Just like what Sera said earlier in our conversation, Luminous is a floating Continent. It exists way high up in the sky. Perhaps you can think of it the same as the floating islands in Granblue Fantasy but instead of individual islands, it will be a big continent itself.

Of course, this continent is floating above the biggest body of water which is called the Dark Sea due to how the whole continent is covering the sunlight in that place allowing multiple monsters with dark attributes and a kill or be killed environment on that bodies of water. It is a place that will be unlocked alongside Luminous.

Personally, I am excited for this patch to arrive and go live. Not because there is a whole continent to explore, another species to interact with or the new classes that will come along. Sure, the classes are something good and exciting as I can get benefits on it as a Versatile Class which will allow me to unlock new weapon forms of my Versatile Weapon and new skills to use. But those features are nothing new in most patches in the future.

What I am looking forward to the most is the new feature that will be added along once you enter the continent and finish one of its main quests that cannot be skipped. Pioneers will be the first to fully enjoy it as they will be required to have it once they step foot on Luminous.

This feature is the "Flight" system. This is not a system in which you will have to use a vehicle or a pet to fly, but you, yourself, will be able to fly on your own. It is very good for exploration but this is not the optimal system for transportation since you can only fly for a limited amount of time, especially with your stamina limit.

Since the Luminous Continent is situated on a floating continent and the NPCs living there can all fly, it also makes sense that some buildings in the game are also located, high up in the sky, making the Flight System necessary. However, there are also options for those who have fear of heights or acrophobia, and that is the instant teleportation platform which transports anyone who has this fear to any floating areas. It will only be limited to those who fear heights and cannot be used by regular players who can fly just fine.

At first, only the Pioneers will be capable of learning it first. Once the expansion is out, the new race will also be released and every player will gain a chance to change their race once for free. This time, the Angel race will begin with the ability to fly in the very beginning, bypassing the need to use the training immediately. What is interesting is that once anyone learns to do the "Flight System", then they can use it anywhere, even in the future new continents, it's not exclusive to one continent only since that is a bull.

The second feature is not that impactful to me since I can easily tame a beast myself but the second feature involves the mounts. Players will be able to own get a mechanical horse as a mount. It is a cool mount but it was only there for players who have not tamed any monsters by themselves so for players like me who already have their own pets and mounts available and druids who can basically summon either a  tiger or a bear to become their mount that can also attack, this addition of a mount is not useful to us.

And the last part is going to change the farming method of players in the future which is the "Dark Sea Boss Rush Mode". It is the place where you can farm elemental fragments that you can imbue to any weapon, armor, and equipment you have to gain extra stats, fancy elemental attacks, aura effects, and many more. You can say it is the main endgame at the current state of Alternate World where players will regularly hunt, kill, and grind inside this place to gather Elemental Fragments to enhance their current weapons.

It's a brutal but rewarding mode that many hardcore players will like. Not only that but it is an endless mode and every month, players who regularly play there, will obtain limited-time titles they can equip for buffs and other stuff like gold, potions, and some supplies being used by every player every day. Once you are tired of doing dungeon runs, then the boss rush will test your mettle whether you are already veteran enough or you are still a newbie.

I returned to my cabin and deployed my portable smithy to use. I have to start preparing my new equipment as soon as I can. I need to ramp up all of my defense values as soon as I can as that is the necessary stat I will be going to need a lot during the  Luminous Expedition.

Compared to the Sandurk Expedition where we just needed to kill a crapton of monsters and kill a raid boss that basically got murdered by Queen Tanya, Luminous Expedition won't be as generous as the Sandurk Expedition where NPCs can hold their line against the enemies just fine and with a very strong ruler, Sandurk is an easy expedition to do.

As for the Luminous Leader, well, he is in the trash tier. One of the most cowardly leaders available in the game and also the main reason why the Luminous Expedition exists in the first place. He will also be the main reason why the expedition team will be divided into two factions and that is to either side with the King of Luminous and the Angels or to side with the rebels and the Fallen Angels.

For now, I will refrain on which side I will be choosing but things will get worse the more the expedition progress, and the true enemies which will be the Devils will appear and will cause havoc which will trigger the main end goal for the expedition which is to eliminate the Devils.

The scale of the battle here will be really hard as the next expedition, you will basically play it like you are playing an RTS game(Real Time Strategy for those who don't know), you manage the hunger of your comrades, you plan your attacks, manage the resources, do counterattacks if you are attacked and plan an ambush or surprise attacks.

It would have been amazing if you are commanding players as the players basically have no need for food and if they die, they respawn, and they are strong enough to handle abuse against attacks and many more advantages. But since that is not the main case, you are stuck with NPCs. There are only a few NPCs that can rival players but they also need to rest, eat and have to get high morale to perform better. The reason I will be raising my defense stat as soon as I can is that I will have to become the main defender of the clash in the future.

In the middle of the expedition, the "Siege of the Kingdom of Light" will begin and the battle between the two factions will happen. The lesser your NPC soldier losses, the easier the battle gets. Now, here is what the Main Defender will do. All of the attacks that are meant for the others will be redirected straight to me. The higher my defenses, the harder I am to kill and the longer I will last in battle, allowing the NPCs to do their jobs.

In the siege, the death of either faction's defender will result in instant loss as that only means no one will be protecting the NPCs from any incoming attack. Whoever wins will gain the ability to occupy the castle as a result.

I am quite sure to join the next expedition. Those who have joined the previous expedition in the past will gain higher chances to join again especially if they do well in the assessment process of selection. This is why I will have to create new equipment for me to become the best defender in which faction I will choose.

Then, I just got the big idea that I didn't think about before. Since in future battles, we will need to maintain the hunger levels of the NPCs, that means being a cook will work wonders right? I have to try it, and I think the best time to learn good cooking in the game, is now.