The Undead Faction was, by all accounts, the safest choice.
Their overwhelming numbers, ability to endlessly revive, and sheer persistence made them the dominant force in every cycle of the Faction War.
It was the obvious side to pick for most Stream Hunters...
However, Adam knew better.
The biggest flaw with joining the Undead was that rewards were ranked based on individual performance and how many fellow Stream Hunters ascended with you.
Because so many players chose the Undead, the competition for faction points was ruthless.
Only the strongest and those capable of mass slaughter secured the best rewards.
The rest? They barely got anything...
Adam had already experienced that firsthand.
'In my last life, I joined the Undead… and barely earned a thing before getting thrown to the third floor.'
Surviving wasn't the same as thriving...
The more you climbed the Tower of Yxthar, the more you'd realize just how important strength was.
By comparison, the Orc Faction had far fewer members.
That meant fewer competitors and, in theory, a higher chance of ranking among the top players.
However, there was also a major drawback...
The Orcs were massively outnumbered!
With so few battles happening on their side, gaining faction war points would be harder.
Since those points could be converted into coins and valuable resources, that was a significant disadvantage...
The logical move was to stick with the Undead.
But Adam wasn't looking for the safe option.
He needed a path to strength...
And he had a feeling joining the orc faction could provide it.
With that in mind, he made his choice.
[You have chosen to swear allegiance to the Orc Faction]
The moment the confirmation flashed across his vision, a new system prompt followed.
[Faction War Point Rankings have been revealed]
[Current Orc Faction Rankings]
[1st Place] – The Atrocious One (4,232 points)
[2nd Place] – King of Shadows (3,232 points)
[3rd Place] – Distant Eye (2,321 points) The most update n0vels are published on NoᴠᴇFɪre.nᴇt
[Your Place] – 57th Place (0 points)
'Ah, so there's only 57 people in the orc faction...'
Adam wasn't surprised, this was to be expected...
In his last life, he remembered there being over a thousand stream hunters on the undead faction...
Adam's eyes locked onto the third name.
'Isn't she that so-called prophet?'
Distant Eye was famous for her precognitive abilities.
Unlike most challengers, she didn't rely on brute force.
Her ability to glimpse into the future made her invaluable.
Because of that, she was heavily guarded... practically treated like royalty by the Government.
At least, until she lost her mind...
A year before the Tower of Yxthar retaliated against Humanity, she went insane.
But now, he had a guess...
She must have glimpsed something so terrifying, so utterly beyond human comprehension, that her mind couldn't withstand it.
'Future vision, huh… A double-edged sword, indeed.'
After all, seeing those entities sent out by the Tower of Yxthar despite not having the status of a [Viewer] yet, one was bound to become insane...
His thoughts were interrupted by the flood of messages from the chat.
[Forest Scarecrow is confused as to why you chose the orc faction]
[Disciple of Ice] : Did you perhaps misread my message...?
[5th Style Sword Master has d 20 coins]
[5th Style Sword Master] : Do not bother, this streamer is a peculiar one.
[Arken_Knight agrees]
[Prankster of Kingdoms is amused by the Streamer's actions]
[Prankster of Kingdoms has d 20 coins]
He had his reasons anyway... plus, he'd attract a lot more viewers this way.
Being daring and standing out was quite good at times.
Shutting off the notifications, he set his next objective.
Find the remaining Orc settlements!
The war had already pushed their forces into hiding, which meant he'd have to track them down...
The landscape of the second floor was a barren wasteland.
Ruined fortresses, shattered weapons, and the decayed remains of fallen warriors littered the battlefield.
The sky was a murky gray, the sun barely piercing through the dense fog that clung to the ground.
Adam moved cautiously.
He estimated that the nearest Orc stronghold was at least an hour away...
He was about to continue walking when he heard a sudden sound.
The rattling of bones...
His muscles tensed as a chilling presence filled the air.
The ground shook a bit.
From the skeletal remains buried beneath the battlefield, over fifty skeletons began to rise.
Their hollow eyes burned with an eerie blue glow, their movements clattering as they assembled into formation.
'Hm. Just skeletons...'
Adam thought, a bit relieved.
He was underleveled right now, hence he really didn't want to meet any of those stream hunters who spent months or possibly years grinding on the 2nd floor for levels before heading to the 3rd floor...
One of the skeletons lunged.
Adam reacted instantly.
His hand shot forward, fingers grazing the creature's ribcage.
The moment they made contact...
A crimson glow erupted from his palm.
The skeleton imploded. Its bones snapped inward, crushed by an invisible force before its remains were absorbed into Adam's body.
A surge of energy coursed through his veins.
[Skeleton has been slain.]
[+30 Exp, +0.01 Basic Soul Core.]
[Faction points are increasing…]
Adam didn't have much of a reaction as another skeleton attacked.
This time, he didn't dodge.
Instead, his arm morphed, veins pulsing with blood magic as crimson tendrils shot forward, piercing through multiple skeletons at once.
Their bones shattered on impact.
[+30 Exp, +0.01 Basic Soul Core.]
[+30 Exp, +0.01 Basic Soul Core.]
[+30 Exp, +0.01 Basic Soul Core.]
[Faction points are increasing…]
More enemies rushed in, but they were predictable.
Adam barely needed to exert himself.
His body moved fluidly, passing through between attacks while tearing his enemies apart.
The battlefield became a bloodstained graveyard.
His ability wasn't just effective... it was efficient against numbers.
'These skeletons give the same rewards as goblins from the first floor…'
And there were thousands of them here!
A realization struck him.
'No wonder there are stream hunters who pick the orc faction and don't mind losing... farming was quite efficient!'
This was basically a goldmine!
The battle lasted minutes.
Skeletons fell one after another.
Their brittle frames crumbled under the sheer force of Adam's attacks.