Struggling to Survive in Hell Difficulty

Chapter 28.

"...t-then, I will begin..."

While standing in front of a bunch of screens, Muriel adjusted the glasses that she had procured out of nowhere and began her explanation.

"...as you have known, this world... Miriande Gloralis is a place where monsters are everywhere, and people fight against them using weapons and magic that they could cast."

The screen changed to display a bunch of video clips of people fighting against Monsters using weapons or magic or both. They utilized different tactics and strategy, grouped up or spread out, protecting themselves using magic or performing evasive maneuvers, all for the sake of gaining advantage against the large monsters and finally kill them.

Looking closely, it all took the perspective of people... or rather, players that were fighting these monsters.

"What you just saw are the greater monsters that appeared and lead other monsters to attack the people of Races living here, causing many calamities and even deaths when left alone."

"...you are talking about Monster Lords and Stampedes."

"Y-Yes, there are many other similar terms used by other people of Races like what miss Witch just used... but our focus is not on this situation itself, but the underlying reason behind it."

The screen changed again, this time displaying a... large, black blob similar to a slime that I once stepped on back in the Forest of Darkness. There was no scene of people fighting against it, only a rotating 360 view showcasing... nothing but a black slime.

"...although there are no common physical similarities with each other, we call this Chaos Factor. This is something that could be found in... Monster Lords, using what miss Witch said. Whether inside their bodies or just being attached on the outside."

"Chaos Factor..."

"And the next evolution of Chaos Factor is known as... Chaos Fragment." 

This time, the screen changed to a zoomed-out image of the Chaos Factor... but there was a large dark field around the fragment itself. 

"If the Chaos Fragment successfully swallowed the creature it latched onto, it would evolve and take the shape of the said creature. Not only Chaos Fragment had greater durability than a normal Chaos Factor and even its original host, but it can also create a... field that is called Chaos Corruption."

"...and the purpose of this... corruption field is to... what, exactly?"

"That... is currently still being studied and analyzed..."

I turned to look at the Witch, but she merely shrugged her shoulders. I had no idea what that meant, but I knew asking it out loud would shift the current balance of both power and information between them.

"So, what is your goal in detecting this... chaos thingy? To the point you came barging here and infuriated miss Witch over here?"

"I... it's because of the possibility of what a Chaos Corruption can do."

This time, the image on the screen changed into a video of a purplish black creature... supposedly the Chaos Fragment that had shapeshifted into its previous host. The video slowly zoomed out, revealing several snakes, rabbits, and even Goblins that looked like they were hunting the former two animals.

And the moment the Chaos Corruption spread and touched the animals and monster... their physical forms suddenly undulated and transformed into a larger yet significantly more beastlike appearance. They then let out an abnormal howl or shriek before they scurried away from the approaching Chaos Fragment.