“If it has the characteristics of all the monsters we’ve faced so far…” Lucas mumbled, watching the chimera slam another Crystalhead into the ground. “This won’t be easy.”
His eyes narrowed as he observed the chaotic battlefield. The mutated monsters weren’t attacking out of mindless rage or instinct. Their movements were deliberate, almost coordinated, as though they were guarding something.
In contrast, the Crystalheads charged forward relentlessly, their aggression unyielding. Even when their crystal bodies were shattered into pieces, they regenerated almost instantly by absorbing surrounding crystals.
Then, Lucas’s gaze landed on something, a high-tech door behind the chimera, previously hidden by its massive frame.
“Interesting…” he muttered.
Activating his
‘Whatever it was, it wasn’t something ordinary,’ Lucas thought, his mind racing as he pieced together the situation. ‘The mutants are defending it like their lives depend on it, while the crystal monsters are hellbent on getting inside.’
Without wasting time, Lucas willed one of his spider bots to crawl through the ventilation shafts toward the sealed room.
The spider bot skittered through the vents, navigating around debris and stray energy discharges from the chaotic battle below.
When it finally reached the room, its vision feed displayed a massive device at the center of the chamber.
“This is diabolical,” Lucas muttered with a wry smile as he took in the sight. It was a reactor, a colossal Mophalite-powered reactor.
It was designed reminiscent of a nuclear reactor, with a cylindrical core encased in a lattice of pipes and crystalline conduits. The core glowed with an intense, pulsating blue light, casting eerie reflections across the chamber.
But something was wrong.
Blue arcs of energy occasionally flickered across the room, crackling like ghostly lightning. Thin, vein-like circuits of glowing blue spread erratically along the walls and floor. Most ominous of all, a massive crack ran down the side of the reactor’s core.
From the fissure, an otherworldly blue gas hissed out in rhythmic bursts, swirling into the air and forming a hazy cloud that distorted light and created an unnatural shimmer in the room.
“This is very diabolical,” Lucas muttered again, the crooked smile still tugging at his lips.
His thoughts were interrupted by Chloe’s voice calling out from behind him. “Lucas! What’s going on? You’ve been standing there, smiling like a lunatic. Is it something bad?”
“I might’ve just found the source of the outbreak.” He quickly described what he had seen through the spider bot’s eyes.
Listening to his description, Chloe’s brows furrowed as uncertainty clouded her expression. “So, these monsters are fighting over the reactor to power themselves up. Is that it?”
Lucas nodded. “Yeah, that’s the gist of it. And the reactor’s leakage is probably what triggered the outbreak.”
“The System asked us to neutralize it, but how exactly?” Chloe muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration.
“To be honest, I think it’s tied to the clear requirements,” Lucas replied thoughtfully.
Chloe turned to him, raising a brow. “Go on.”
“Here’s what I think,” Lucas began. “The System likely wants us to find a cure for the mutation first. That cure could act as a countermeasure against the reactor’s leakage. But to obtain the cure, we probably need to defeat the hidden boss guarding it, just like that huge gorilla chimera is protecting the reactor.”
Chloe cupped her chin, processing his explanation. “So… defeat the hidden boss, get the cure, then take down the main boss and neutralize the reactor?”
“Exactly. Sounds simple, right?” Lucas nodded, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
“Sure, but how are we going to do that?” Chloe crossed her arms and stared at Lucas.
“Well…” Lucas’s lips curled into a smirk. “We start by heading back to the first floor.”
Chloe arched a brow, clearly unconvinced. “And?”
“And then,” Lucas continued, his smirk transforming into a mischievous grin, “we head to the break room and rest.”
Baffled, Chloe blinked at him, her arms dropping to her sides. “Wait, what? Break room and rest? Did I hear that right?”
“Yup,” Lucas said with a chuckle, already making his way toward the elevator. “There’s still a ton of compressed food in there. Might as well make use of it.”
Chloe stood rooted in place and muttered, “You’ve got to be kidding me, right?”
Lucas turned back briefly, his grin widening. “Relax, Miss Matcha’s Empress. The spiders are already out there doing the hard work while we just kick back and recharge. We can’t fight two bosses on an empty stomach now, right?”
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***
20th October 2023, Town of Mount Mor, Main Lobby of Hexxen Tower.
“Come on, what’s taking them so long?” Samantha grumbled, pacing impatiently in front of the hidden dungeon’s elevator.
Pressing her hand against the elevator’s door, a glowing blue screen appeared in her vision.
Frustrated, she let out an audible groan. “I let those two off to go on their little date, but now they’ve gone and cleared a whole dungeon without me? Seriously!”
“They may have encountered unforeseen circumstances, forcing them to enter the dungeon,” Jager reasoned in its mechanical tone.
Off to the side, Manuel spun his hammer lazily in its hands, looking utterly bored. “Man, this is such a vibe kill. Can’t we do something while we wait? Even Phillip’s bored, aren’t you, buddy?” it said, glancing at the robot horse.
Phillip snorted dismissively, completely ignoring Manuel’s comment.
“It’s been six hours since they went into the dungeon. Is it really that difficult? It’s already midnight,” Samantha sighed, plopping down onto the ground and pulling out the
Just as she was about to delve into its pages, a scrawny man with unkempt hair suddenly burst into the room, panting heavily. “Ma’am! Outside!” he gasped, doubling over to catch his breath.
“Hmm?” Samantha stood up, her brow furrowed as she recognized the man. “What’s going on, Flynn?”
“Outside…” Flynn wheezed, struggling to get the words out. “Monsters… they’re rushing this way!”
“Monsters?!” Her eyes lit up with excitement at the news.
Manuel slammed its hammer onto the ground with a loud clang as its red singular eye flickered to life. “Finally! Let’s go! Where are they, tiny man?!” it growled, practically buzzing with energy.
Even Jager and Phillip, who had been standing idly moments ago, shifted their stances.
Grabbing Flynn’s shoulder, Samantha demanded, “Where are they?! Take us to them, now!”
Flustered, Flynn stammered, “O-okay! Follow me!” He quickly turned and bolted out of the room, with the group hot on his heels.
Exiting the building, Samantha noticed a crowd of people gathered near the edge of the mountain, their attention focused on the town below.
As soon as their leader, a burly man with a giant sword strapped to his back, spotted her, he rushed forward. “Madam! We’ve got a problem!” he said urgently.
He pointed toward the base of the mountain, where a horde of monsters was swarming through the town’s streets. “Those monsters are back!” he growled, anger etched across his face.
Samantha followed his gesture, narrowing her eyes as she studied the chaos below. Among the stampede, she spotted massive greenish brutes riding on enormous buffalo-like beasts, rampaging through the streets and smashing anything in their way.
Recognition flickered across her face. “Those monsters… They’re the same ones that were chasing us during the car ride,” she muttered as she recalled the encounter.
<>
Area Quest - Monsters Invasion III
A horde of monsters has descended upon the peaceful Mount Mor, threatening its inhabitants and infrastructure. Their purpose is clear, to overrun the town and claim it as their territory. As an inhabitant of Mount Mor, you need to fend off the invaders.
Task(s):
- Eliminate 80% of the attacking monsters to force the horde into retreat.
- Defeat the horde’s commander. (Optional)
Reward: Depends on your contribution.
Penalty: Mount Mor will be a monster territory.
<>
“This is the third time already!” Bryson growled, slamming his fist into a nearby tree trunk, the bark splintering under the force.
Curious, Samantha asked, “Third time? What’s going on, Bryson?”
Bryson, the leader, turned toward her with a frustrated frown. “We’ve had similar quests twice before. The first time was about a week ago. Goblins flooded the streets, dozens of them, all over the town, killing too many of our people. We barely managed to clear it.”
He paused, his expression darkening. “Then, four days ago, it happened again. This time, it was those green hulks. Only a dozen of them, but…”
His voice trailed off, his fists tightening at his sides. “They tore through our defenses like they were paper. It wasn’t even a fight, it was a slaughter.”
Bryson clenched his fists, his voice dripping with bitterness. “We failed that quest.”
“Many of us were either dead or severely injured, but we were lucky to have Flynn over there to heal us,” Bryson said, nodding toward the scrawny man nearby.
“So, the remaining survivors decided to group together and use the Hexxen Tower as our base. But not everyone agreed. Some were too stubborn and chose to leave instead.”
“Initially, there were fifty of us. We even had a dozen Mages in our group. When we discovered this place was actually a dungeon, we decided to try clearing it to level ourselves up. We prioritized letting the Mages enter first so they could get stronger and help us protect the town. But the dungeon was… well, you know… Since you and your friends cleared it.”
Samantha nodded thoughtfully at Bryson’s explanation as she gazed at the monsters smashing the town’s infrastructure.
“Boss! The scouts are back!” a man suddenly shouted, running toward them.
Hearing this, Bryson turned towards him and pressed, “How is it? How many are there?”
The man stammered, his voice shaky. “There’s at least fifty of them. Half of them are riding buffaloes. And… our men spotted a special monster.”
“Special?” Bryson’s eyes widened.
“Yes,” the man continued, swallowing hard. “It had a hood on and was holding a staff.”
Turning to the two robots behind her, Samantha asked, “What do you guys think? Do you think we can defeat them?”
“According to my preliminary analysis, I believe the ammunition left behind by Master Lucas will be sufficient to deal with the horde,” Jager reasoned, its red lenses glowing.
Manuel chimed in, “Yeah, but those brutes have a leader with them—a shaman, no less. I bet that shaman’s gonna be buffing his buddies. But, like, they’re all muscle, no brain, so we’ve got this.”
“So their boss might be a bit problematic, huh…” Samantha muttered with a frown, her mind racing. “What would those two do in this situation?”
Before she could dwell further, Flynn suddenly shouted, “Ma’am! They’re coming!”
Samantha snapped her head around, already sensing the disturbance. She spotted the horde of green brutes charging up the mountain, their buffalo mounts thundering through the terrain like a battering ram.
Bryson’s voice boomed through the camp. “Get into position! Archers, take the high ground! Warriors, with me! We’ll hold the line and stop these monsters!”
At his command, everyone in the camp sprang into action.
Turning toward Samantha and the robots, Bryson fixed her with a serious gaze. “Madam, I won’t ask for much, but please, fight alongside us.”