Zach had to admit: he was starting to get a little nervous.
Where in the hell were those damn question marks?
His cloth armor, already stained with yesterday and today's sweat, had once again beco soaked. Or rather, it was in one of its "waves" of soaking, as every ti he sweat, the sun ripped the moisture right out of the fabric, only for him to replace it as he further dehydrated himself. Gods, it was so hot. Unreasonably hot.
His legs, once more wobbly, resisted each step he commanded them to take. The uneven nature of the sand had caused him to feel pain in his arches and heels that he'd never before experienced. It was 6:02 PM, the temperature was only now beginning to very slightly drop—down to around 160.5—and he was panting with each step he took.
Gods, I really might die out here. This might be it. I've got no water, no food, and no idea where to go.
He'd kept his map open, ready to react in the instant that a question mark popped up, but now, after heading slightly more than 40 miles east, Zach was starting to think that his understanding of this desert might have been wrong. Maybe searching out question marks wasn't the correct way of getting through it. Perhaps he'd been mistaken about that being the only plausible path forward.
But no, wait. It had to be, because if not, then what? There was nothing else. It was just a massive desert filled with dunes, scalding hot wind, and mobs that had to be constantly avoided lest they kill you or the exertion required to fight them did.
(CITY) 3899.7m
The waypoint taunted him. Though he couldn't see the city, he could see the marker in the sky, and the marker, unlike the city, was always exactly the sa distance away from his eyes. Zach groaned as he pushed himself to keep moving his feet. He couldn't stop. He couldn't rest. He needed to find water or a town or sothing! If he stopped now, he might never get going again, and in a place like this, that ant death.
Throat's so dry, he thought. I should've bought that extra Coke. Or a water. I'm dying out here.
The thought of that ice-cold Coke. Right now, it made him feel such a powerful sense of desire that it bordered on torture. He moaned and said, "How in the fuck did Jimmy and Rian do this?"
In a very twisted way, he was actually glad to learn about Rian's evil deeds, but only because, if not for that, he would've refused to believe Rian had survived and made it to the city. He'd already be mourning his friend. In fact, assuming Zach sohow avoided death, he was going to lose his mind if he found Rian and saw that the kid was still chubby. Because, if so, it ant he'd teleported straight to the city or cheated sohow.
Seriously, how did they do this?
Opening his inventory and then box 1, which appeared below him and moved along with him, Zach took stock of his resources. In total, he still had five red stones, two yellow, and three purple, of which he kept one of each in his QI and the rest in box 1. He also had two light stones. Gods, he would be furious with himself if he ended up having to waste those on hydration. But the way things were going, it wasn't going to be long before he had to use another yellow stone. Especially as…
Hm?
Sothing changed on his map. It happened suddenly. Literally between one step and the next, three white question marks popped up on his map in dark, nearby areas, all within 45 miles of where he was currently standing. One of them was due east, another was northeast, and the last was southeast. Based on this, Zach now felt confident making the assumption that this was roughly around the distance one had to be in order for them to appear.
So, I wasn't wrong, he thought, relieved. Finally, he at least had an idea of where to go. The only question remaining was a simple one: which one should he travel towards? Instinctually, he thought of going east, as that, distance-wise, was closer to the city. But then he realized that would be a mistake, because if whatever was there wasn't what he "needed," he'd risk having to move in two opposite directions. No, it was best to start either north or south, and then head to the others if such was necessary.
I'll start with the northeast one.
Zach marked all three question marks. But as he did so, he realized that he wasn't limited just to using those colored pins. There was an entire screen that popped up, revealing what looked like thousands of choices. Everything from little pictures of trees to monsters, treasure chests, etc. He decided to keep it simple and marked them 1, 2, and 3 in the order he intended to travel.
Closing the map and opening his inventory yet again, he grabbed a small stamina potion out of box 1, popped the cork, and chugged it down. From what he could tell, it really did hydrate him, even if slightly, and the Gods knew his stamina was drained fast in this desert. The stamina potion would help stave off his need to rely on a yellow stone: at least for a little while.
I feel a bit better, I guess.
After gulping it down, he threw the glass off to the side, where it vanished before ever hitting the sand. Then he made his way towards the question mark in the northeast, which he'd labeled "1." Initially, he estimated he'd get there sowhere around 8:30 PM. But this was based on his current level of mobility. Yet, luckily enough, shortly after around 7:00 PM, the temperature began to cool much faster than it had yesterday. And by 7:10, it had dropped all the way down to a burning 135.5 degrees. But since everything was relative, it seed way less bad than it would have been if Zach had not spent two days pushing near 180. Heck, even 90 degrees would feel comfortable after all this.
As the temperature dropped, his pace increased. It did nothing to restore his hydration, but the easing up of the heat at least let him move faster while draining himself at a slower rate. And this continued to be true as, by the ti 7:30 ca around, and the sky began to turn orange, the temperature further fell to only around 110. Now, he found himself able to enter into a light jog, and when all was said and done, he made it to the waypoint by 7:55.
Upon arriving, Zach was surprised to see there was no grey-colored area or even a change in "areas" at all. Last ti, he'd found a tiny little outpost, and the area around that tiny outpost, despite being minuscule, had counted as its own "separate" area on the map, despite not even being a mile wide. This ti around, however, he found no such NPC area—or any kind of separately labeled region at all.
As he neared, it quickly beca apparent that there wasn't much of anything but more sand: no NPCs, no village, no quests. Just…just sand. And wait, perhaps one other thing. Zach cupped his hands over his eyes to filter out the setting sun, and then he squinted. There was sothing. A wooden barrel, all by itself.
Cautiously, Zach approached. He shifted his eyes around, looking for any sign of danger. There were no mobs in the imdiate area. He decided to get even closer. Now, just upon the barrel, he reached out and grabbed it. Lifting it up, it felt like there was sothing inside. Sothing liquid.
He beca excited. Could it be?
He didn't have a tool to open it, so he ripped the top off with his hands. Then he placed his nose near the top and sniffed, discovering no scent. Dipping just his pinky into the barrel, he then placed it into his mouth. His eyebrows rose. He risked another pinky. Now, he was sure. It was water. Pure water!
Zach let out a joyous cry and then lifted up the entire barrel, which felt like it contained over 30 gallons of water. Enough to last him days! With both arms, he lifted it up higher and then tipped it over until the glorious, clear H2O flowed over his lips. He didn't even care that so of it was dribbling over his face and onto the sand. He gulped, and gulped, and gulped. He couldn't rember ever consuming this much water at once. He might have consud close to a gallon just right there. By the ti he was done, he had almost coughed so of it back up.
"Finally," he said, turning his body towards the next question mark. "Finally, I found so—"
For no conceivable reason, as he took just one step over the sand, the barrel exploded. It just…it exploded. His entire body beca soaked from head to toe, offering him a touch of relief from the heat, but nevertheless, it did not feel good. Because all of that precious water was gone.
"Why?" he shouted aloud. "Why!"
He definitely hadn't done anything wrong. He hadn't been gripping it too hard. He hadn't been hit by anything. The only reasonable explanation was that it was "supposed" to explode. For whatever cruel reason, he'd been able to drink to his heart's content, and then the rest of it, which could've lasted him days, had just gone "pop." Now, angry and annoyed, he tried to calm down his temper by reminding himself that, in spite of everything, he'd at least fully rehydrated himself.
I can't get ahead out here, he thought. That was such bullshit.
As he began strolling along the sand towards the next marker, the one he'd labeled 2, he stopped short, jumped back, and then drew his rapier as a reddish, pulsating barrier appeared in front of him.
"What…what's that?"
Zach turned his body around full circle. This barrier went all around him, encircling him in the area where the barrel had been. Zach frowned. Was this so kind of trap? It seed that way. Striking the barrier with the rapier, the weapon made a zap and bounced off. This strongly implied he couldn't get out.
"Grrrrrrraaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh!" moaned sothing behind him.
Once again, he turned around, and now, he saw three pale, zombie-looking creatures shambling towards him, all of which wore torn clothing, had perfectly white hair, and very sharp teeth.
HP
1,450,000/1,450,000
Na
Sand Zombie A
Level
78
Although they moved slowly, there was little room to run or move around in. But Zach wasn't all that worried. For a trap, he was reasonably sure he would be able to handle these three without too much of an issue. Calling forth his inventory, he grabbed his card out of the QI, and then he summoned it.
Now, appearing behind him was the 7-foot-tall, T3 boss with the tusk nose, green skin, and spiky armor. It wielded a two-handed sword that sparked, tendrils of electricity dancing off the tip of the blade.
HP
7,115,000/7,115,000
Na
(T3) Gruthdark Captain
Level
80
Zach ordered the Gruthdark Captain to attack Sand Zombie A. Obediently, it took off at a run, raised its sword, and walloped the mob over the head for 199,211 damage. Then Zach ordered it to target Sand Zombie B. The mob disengaged and ran over to the next one; having pulled aggro, Sand Zombie A followed it. After striking Sand Zombie B, Zach did the sa with C. And now, all three zombies were biting, lashing out, and attacking his card, which did an admirable job blocking their teeth with his blade.
Zach ordered his Gruthdark Captain to move towards the left so that the three zombies would be forced to clump together and chase him. Then he activated Amplifying Surge, causing sweat to drip down his forehead. But it was only as he called upon his next ability that he really started to feel the fatigue of it.
"Val en Flamir Tre Arr!" he shouted, calling upon Fla Arrow III, his newest ability. This, like Ice Spear III, had a Moderate-High cost. And though Ice Spear III was a better spell for most situations on account of each spear hitting twice—one for physical, the explosion for ice—Zach distinctly recalled Olivir once telling him that zombies were weak to fire. And if anyone knew zombies, it was his silver-haired, boyish-looking, and impeccably well-dressed friend.
Nine rings of fire materialized, and nine flaming arrows soared across the small area, each one pumling the zombies, three apiece with damage ranging from 210 to 250k. They also set the zombies on fire, and now, each one was taking around 40k additional damage each second.
Fla Arrow II doesn't do that, he thought, impressed. He didn't even know this spell had a DoT component to it: damage over ti. It must be an added effect of jumping from II to III.
Weakened and burning, the Gruthdark Captain was able to finish off the first with a slice to the throat, causing the zombie's entire body to turn into sand and scatter. It also caused Zach to recall the penalty that he'd incur due to his card's much higher level.
144,211xp
The other two went down just as easily. And the mont they did, the reddish, wavering barrier vanished.
144,211xp
144,211xp
Exhausted, Zach sheathed his frosted spell-sword, made a "phew" sound, and sat on the sand for a mont, sweating up so of the water he'd only just had the good fortune of consuming. But at least it wasn't quite as hot as it'd been. Things could be way worse. Right now, he was still in decent enough condition to keep going. And overall, the "trade" he'd just made—if it could be called that—was probably worth it. He'd needed to drink so water far more than he'd needed to rest. That much was clear.
But nothing out here is free, is it? he thought to himself.
With the mobs slain, his card ran over and then stopped right by his side, where it remained motionless. Zach looked at its HP: it was missing around 300k. If he dismissed it, he'd have to pay for it with exertion. But that wasn't a trendous amount, so he lay back on the sand flat, got himself nice and relaxed, and held up his left hand, and then activated Card Dismiss, which turned the Gruthdark Captain into a tiny white ball of light, which flew into his open hand. An instant later, he threw it into his QI and then let his hand fall down to the sand as he panted for a bit.
Five minutes later, he was back on his feet and making his way through the desert once more. This ti, he was heading to the waypoint he'd labeled "2."
The temperature continued to drop as he walked, until finally, at around 8:30, it beca a very comfortable 75 degrees. Nearly room temperature. But this, he knew, would not last. Once the sun had fully set, it was going to plumt into the extre negatives. All the sweat on his robes would turn to ice if it had not dried by then.
Zach hurried, moving even quicker. But try as he might, he only managed to make it to within 5 miles of the waypoint by the ti 9:00 PM hit.
Now, it darkened considerably. But there was still at least so lingering light. Yet that, too, would be gone very soon, likely within the next half hour. The temperature had also plumted down to 30, which was 2 degrees below freezing.
Zach made a slight shiver as he hurried on. He was just 2 miles away. But it was too dark for him to run, as he was still diligently avoiding aggro from the insane amount of hostile mobs all over this place. The last thing he wanted to do was sohow accidentally get aggro from a bazooka elephant or whatever, and end up fighting a T10 boss in the dark.
Shit, he thought. I can't see a thing. I might have to call it.
By 9:15, only the smallest bit of light still remained. Things had darkened to the point where he could only just see his hands if he placed them inches before his eyes. At best, he had another five minutes before even that would be too much. The cold was also becoming unbearable. Zach had wrapped his arms around himself, his teeth chattering.
According to his map, it was now -64.3 degrees. A dangerously low temperature.
I guess that's it for tonight, he thought. I can't see a thing. So I've got no choice but to stop.
Or…did he? He was so close now. And he knew where he wanted to go. And since he was only dealing with a mile and a half of distance, did he truly need to call it quits?
Zach opened his inventory then accessed box 1, which appeared beneath him. He could scarcely see the items located within, but with the last of the fading light, he could just manage to find an item he was looking for by its outline. Star Gun (White).
Landy had brought him to the item shop specifically to purchase this item, and he still had 2 of the original 3 left. And now, as Zach pointed it up into the sky and aid, he felt a rush of gratitude towards the zany, tortured shopkeeper, as once again, this was going to co in handy.
Like last ti, upon pulling the trigger, a soft sound emanated from the gun, and then following this sound, a pathetically small little ball of light began rising up into the night sky. But looks could be deceiving, as once the ball of light reached its target, it exploded into a huge white, artificial light, which caused harsh, but perfectly serviceable lighting to fill the desert, likely enough to increase visibility in as much as a 3-mile radius.
Now, shivering and cold, Zach hurried on his way, moving much, much faster than he had during the daylight hours. Hastily, he swerved around mobs, though there weren't that many here, and he proceeded directly to the question mark.
And this ti, not only wasn't there another "area," but there really was nothing at all. Not even a barrel.
Confused, Zach kept going until waypoint 2 hit a distance of 0.0m and disappeared on its own, removing itself from his map and his view. Baffled, Zach looked around. There was nothing here. Not a single thing. There weren't even any mobs.
Scratching his head, Zach wondered if he'd made so kind of mistake. He looked off to his left, then right, then up—finding nothing anywhere. He looked down, and he saw only the sand beneath his feet. There was nothing else—at least nothing he could see.
But maybe…maybe he could hear sothing, though he wasn't sure, and it easily could've been his mind playing tricks on him.
Zach got down onto his belly and placed his ear to the sand. He strained to listen as carefully as he could. He thought he heard a tiny, nearly imperceptible buzz coming from beneath the sand. But it was so slight that the vibration may well have just been his imagination. So he listened even more intently.
"I don't know," he whispered to himself. "But man…it really does kind of sound like sothing's down there."
Zach thought about it. And the more he thought, the more he realized that, for there to have been a "?" at this location, there must surely have been sothing here. And if there wasn't anything around, above, or on this location, then that only left one other place: below it.
Freezing cold, shivering, and badly wanting to jump into a hot shower or bath, Zach began digging like a child playing on the beach—only a trendous deal more aggressively. He began by balling his hands into fists and slamming them down onto the sound with enough force to create silent, miniature explosions. Sand blasted upwards and into the air with each strike. And this, he continued to do until he'd pumled a hole about ten feet deep. But holes in this desert filled very quickly. And if he wanted to find the source of that sound, he needed to move fast.
Sliding into the hole, he dropped ten feet down and then landed on his boots. He then bent over and began hurtling sand out of the hole. But due to the rate at which it was starting to fill, he needed to be quick and expend energy: a lot of energy. By the ti he'd turned the ten-foot hole into a fifteen-foot hole, he was once again panting. But he wasn't sweating. No, it was far too cold for that.
With sand pouring in around him on all sides, it only took him a second or two when pausing for a breath for sand to be up to his ankles and then to his knees. Zach, out of sheer frustration, opened up his inventory, opened box 1, and then grabbed one of his two dium stamina potions. As the sand reached his hips, he popped the cork, chugged it, and then squeezed his hands into fists, breaking the empty glass, which disappeared soon after.
Now he was ready to dig.
"Gods-be-damned sand!" he shouted.
His energy restored, he began launching sand out of the hole he'd dug, moving so fast that, within two to three seconds, it was back down to his ankles. But he kept on going, and now, once more, he was making progress again. He dug down eighteen feet. Nineteen feet. Twenty feet. Twe…wait, wait. He felt sothing.
Zach stopped digging. Or rather, he realized he could dig no farther. Sothing solid was beneath him. Sothing that did not feel like sand, but rather, tal. Yet the sand was coming in so fast that, whatever it was, he only had an instant to inspect it. Dropping down onto his knees, he began pushing aside the thin coating of sand that remained, and now, he at last saw what he felt.
It was a thick, perfectly solid piece of tal. Once more making a fist, Zach bashed it down with all his might—and then he yelped in pain as a throbbing ache ca upon his wrist. It was like he was a level-1 punching a brick wall. "Yahhh," he said with a hiss, shaking his hand, which began to swell. But the swelling faded almost as quickly as it had arrived, thanks to passive HP regeneration, aning he hadn't broken anything—or if he had, he hadn't broken it seriously enough to where he needed to waste a red stone.
With more and more sand pouring in, Zach used his body as a barrier, letting the sand fill in all around him but without covering this one spot. In the harsh white light from the Star Gun, Zach could just barely make out what looked like red lines running along the silver, thick tal he was kneeling on top of. These lines seed to be converging upon a point. Sowhere off to his right.
Once more, Zach furiously moved sand out of the way as it started to fill up to a point he could no longer hold back. But just as it did, he uncovered the location where all the red lines converged. And there, he saw a button. A pressable button! One that literally said: "press ."
So Zach pressed.
And then the entire ground swung open like a trapdoor, and with a yelp, he began to fall.
Fast.
Zach felt wind beating against him as he plumted into a world of perfect blackness. Five seconds. Ten seconds. The wind beat faster and faster as he accelerated. He had no idea where he was going or where this was leading him, but clearly, it must've been sowhere, though he could see nothing at all.
For nearly twenty straight seconds, he fell straight down into these dark depths, well beyond the point of reaching terminal velocity. And then, he let out another yell as he landed on his knees, very hard, onto another tal-like surface. But it wasn't a yell from pain. Rather, Zach was simply startled. There was also very little sound upon impact, just a small thwack. Standing up, Zach tried to get his bearings straight.
Where am I?
Looking up, he could no longer see the light from the Star Gun nor the stars themselves, which ant that, whatever he'd fallen down had closed up; either that, or he'd fallen so far that he could no longer see the surface. Both cases were plausible.
Looking ahead, he realized that there was a very, very low level of light wherever he was, but there was so light, and all of it ca from the floor, where every few inches, Zach spotted a minuscule, pebble-sized LED light. Individually, these lights were practically useless, but collectively, they offered the barest minimum necessary for Zach to realize he was in so kind of cavern-like area.
The walls around him were made of a dark brown rock, but the flooring was made of tal. There also didn't appear to be anywhere for him to go except forward and into a very narrow, tunnel-like passageway. Stepping inside, the temperature seed to rise quite a bit, and the air was extrely humid: unpleasantly so. According to his map, it was 96 degrees down here, and there was a constant sticky quality he found off-putting.
It was also intermittently dark.
The walls were made of more of the dark brown rock, but the floor and ceiling were tal and artificial. On what seed to be a precise interval, the entire tunnel would light up from fluorescent lights above. These lights would stay lit for about ten-and-a-half seconds, creating a very dim, but visible amount of illumination, and then they would flicker on and off very rapidly before shutting off completely, subrging this tunnel in complete darkness. None of those tiny lights from before were on the floor here, so each ti the fluorescent lights above went out, it was pitch black, and it stayed that way for about fifteen seconds.
And then the lights would flicker on.
Zach stood where he was, feeling nervous and uncertain. He didn't like this place one bit. Sothing felt very, very off about it. He waited for the lights to co on again, and he looked around.
All throughout the tunnel, there were holes in the wall, and wires were coming out of these holes: thick wires wrapped in black tape. Whenever the lights were on, these wires would spark and shoot electricity. There were also boulders smashed apart here or there. The entire place looked badly damaged and broken. And Zach was sure it wasn't by his doing.
Mostly sure, anyway, he thought as he continued on.
Outside of a slight, ever-present buzz, it was uncomfortably quiet here. The only sound to be heard other than his feet ca from the lights above. There was a small zap when they turned on, a few small zaps as they flickered—as well as those from the wires—and then there was nothing but absolute quiet when the darkness returned.
Opening his map once again, Zach looked to the top left and saw that this area was colored orange. This, if he recalled correctly, ant it was mostly hostile. It also had a na, too: Lesser Heilor Station.
Don't like it here, Zach thought as he continued on. This place is spooky as shit.
Zach ambled forward down the tunnel, though he did so in roughly ten-second intervals. He would pause whenever the lights flickered and remain still when they turned off. Yet sothing strange happened when he was halfway down the tunnel. Sothing that made him freeze like a statue.
He felt breath on the back of his neck.
Is sothing behind ?
The lights turned on, and Zach spun around. There was nothing there. He hesitated a mont, wondering if his nerves were just getting the better of him. Deciding that was all it was, he sighed, about-faced, and continued to move on. Now, he walked just a bit more quickly. He really wanted to get out of here. Everything about this "Lesser Heilor Station" just felt wrong.
As he continued to move, the tunnel widened, and now he realized there were subway-like rails on the floor as well as chunks of white-stone rocks that filled in both sides of the rail. On both sides of him, there was a platform about eight feet above. Zach leaped up and onto the platform to his imdiate left. Then the lights went off.
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And again, he waited.
When they ca back on, the sound of his boots echoed on what looked like extrely damaged, paved tiles as he moved beyond a turnstile labeled: "Lesser Heilor Station." There was an empty security booth with broken glass, and terminals that advertised "transportation tickets," though none of them seed to work. He paused as the lights went out again.
And once more, he felt sothing breathing on him.
Instinctively, he struck out with his elbow, feeling nothing behind him.
I'm letting my mind play tricks on .
Zach hurried along the chipped, broken-tiled flooring, where decayed benches, shredded paper-based newspapers, and even a few skeletal remains were visible. There were cobwebs all over as well. It looked like he was walking through an ancient place built long ago. Nervously, he continued to walk as fast as he could until he stopped beside a security booth that had prison-like bars over the service window. The lights went off, and Zach held his breath.
They returned, and now, Zach jumped, startled, as a man's face appeared from the other side of the bars. A human face: his hands gripping the bars, his face contorted in pain. It was an NPC with a white na called "Ezoo Falkonay." He was wearing a yellow hard hat and a vest. His uniform said "first engineer" on it.
"A-adventurer!" he whispered, though the whisper ca across as sothing close to a scream.
A: What is it? Who are you?
B: Where am I?
C: Are you OK?
Not this shit again, Zach thought, wanting desperately to be anywhere but here.
He quickly tapped choice "B," and his mouth moved on its own. "Where am I?" he asked.
"You're in Lesser Heilor Station. Though I can't say I know why. Nobody cos through here anymore. At least, I haven't seen anybody in many, many years."
A: What's Lesser Heilor Station? Where is everyone?
B: This place looks really beaten up.
C: Are you OK?
Zach tapped choice "A" and said, "What's Lesser Heilor Station? Where is everyone?"
The man gasped, and his eyes widened. "Y-you an you don't know?"
Without being prompted, Zach continued his forced speech. "No, I really don't."
The man swallowed. Tears fell from his eyes. "We were experinting here. We got into things we shouldn't have. We released sothing. A wraith from the Beyond."
"The Beyond?" Zach asked, once again, not by his own doing.
"You should leave this place," the NPC, Ezoo, said. "I'm just a worthless engineer. They left here to die. But if you can power up subway car 8, you might be able to get out of here before she finds you."
This ti, Zach spoke of his own free will, and he asked, "Before who finds ?" He chided himself for going along with one of these quest storylines. He knew that was exactly what he was supposed to say, too.
"Before she does," the man said. "It doesn't matter what level you are. If she catches you, you'll die instantly." He opened his mouth to say sothing else, and then, even as the first syllable escaped his lips, there was a flash of sothing: sothing that moved behind him. Zach caught sight of it. It was a grotesque woman with an old, wrinkly face wearing a black hood. Her teeth were very sharp, her eyes were amber and lizard-like, and she had a smile so broad it bordered on maniacal.
That smile. It sent the fear of the Gods straight into Zach's spine. She tilted her head to the side, and her smile broadened even more. There was joy and wickedness in her eyes: so much so that it caused Zach's knees to tremble. She was like sothing exactly out of a horror movie.
And then she let out a shriek: one that was way, way too loud amid the quiet station.
Two voices yelled at once: Zach's as well as the man's. Zach watched as she swung a clawed hand, where her five nails, each nearly a six inches in length, cleanly swiped off the man's head. It flipped several tis into the air before disappearing out of sight behind the tal bars. As it did, the color of this area changed from orange to red.
And then the lights went out.
Zach had seen enough. Car 8. Power. Yep. Just do it and be gone from this place. He wanted absolutely nothing to do with whatever this was. Let him the hell out!
The lights ca back on, and Zach began walking very fast down into another section of this station, where there was a split with a sign labeled (Cars 1-4 Cars 5-8). Zach took just one step in the direction of the right path, and then once more, the lights went out.
And this ti, he was sure he felt breathing on his neck. More than that. He could hear the sound of a wheeze within the breath. This ti it was unmistakable. This ti it was deliberate. The lights ca back, Zach turned around, and then he scread and jumped backward as the old, decrepit, maniacally smiling face was just an inch or two from his own.
And she scread: "YAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Zach, startled, fell over and landed on his back. Shock and horror jolting him, Zach frantically rushed back up to his feet. "Oh, fuck this shit!" he shouted.
The creature then vanished. Just like that. It was gone. It simply disappeared.
"To hell with all this!"
This was Landy-level bullshit. Actually, no. This was way worse. Landy was just acting out of genuine madness and grief. But this? This was so cruel, devastatingly terrifying "thing" that had been put here on purpose and deliberately calculated to scare the ever-loving shit out of any adventurer to co through here. This was malicious and awful and definitely the kind of thing you wanted to do with friends, not all alone like Zach was.
Sprinting down the platform, he stopped short as he saw the creature with the old woman's face flying midair. Though she was plainly visible at first, she beca just a blur as she moved with such incredible speed that she caused car 1, which was to his left, and car 5, which was to his right, to both go careening off to the right side of the station. Zach had to drop to his stomach and fully duck his head to avoid them as they continued over his body and slamd against a tiled wall with a loud, banging crunch, which, due to the backdrop of quiet, sounded ten tis louder than it already was.
"YAHHHHHHH ahahahahaha!" the creature cried out.
And then the lights went out.
Zach, having no idea what he should do, remained perfectly still. He clenched his hands into fists. He needed to be calm. That guy was probably right about this thing being a one-hit kill to anyone who was caught. He had to think rationally. Yet, it was difficult, as his heart was beating faster and faster, and his fight-or-flight was kicking into full gear.
The lights ca back on, and there was no sight of her. But this, he realized, was worse than if he had seen her. Because it ant that he had no fucking clue where this Gods-forsaken abomination was.
Now, as he hurried along down the platform, his eyes darted every which way, and he nearly jumped at several shadows. Quickly, he passed up car six, and then he made it halfway to the next one. He stopped as the lights went out. He wondered if he should keep going. He knew the way. And yet, whether it was terror or simply hesitance, he remained stationary, hardly able to make himself breathe until the lights ca on.
And when they did, she was right there, closer than ever before. Her haggard, horrific face was right next to his own: close enough to Zach's that she could kiss him. And indeed, as she stuck her tongue out, she licked Zach's forehead, and it felt slimy and awful. Her smile then widened. All he saw were those inhuman eyes and the smile, along with her sharp teeth.
"I want to eat you…Zachys Calador," she said. Then she scread at him, her voice so loud that it hurt. "You are mine forever! You will be mine forever!"
She grabbed at him with both her clawed hands. Zach's body kicked into action. Although he'd never before encountered anything like this, he had fought countless enemies, and he knew how to evade a grab. He bent back, avoiding her grab, and then he lurched his body to the side, dashed forward, and blasted right past her, running as fast as he could towards car 8. He didn't dare look over his shoulder, though he could hear stomping feet close to him. Very close to him. She was right on his tail. Right behind him. So close.
And he was so Gods-be-damned terrified. This wasn't like what he was used to. This was like being in a Gods-damned horror movie. He could hear her laughing and threatening to kill him as her feet stomped down so close that she couldn't have been more than a foot or two behind. He could even feel her breath on the back of his neck despite how fast he was running.
This wraith…it had Zach so fucking badly rattled that, for just the briefest of instants, he wondered if he should just end the entire world and be done with it. But that was…no, that was an awful idea. He also wondered if he should Phase Reset and enter Unleashed Phase. But he knew that such a thing would not help him. He couldn't possibly fight her. She didn't even appear to have a na or a level. It was almost as though she were part of the environnt itself rather than a mob. If she touched him, he would die. He was sure of it.
Just before the lights went out, Zach reached the old, rusted doors to car 8. He pried them open, threw himself inside, and then looked behind him as he shut it.
And once more, she was gone.
Where was she? She'd been chasing him, so where? Where in the hell did she go? He was panting. He hated this place. This was, by far, the absolute worst thing he'd ever seen from the adventuring world. Except for maybe the dragon. But this was scary in a whole different way.
The lights went out, and then there was silence: total silence. Zach shuddered. He opened his inventory, opened box 1, and took out his Primordial Void Blade despite knowing it wouldn't help him. The weapon appeared sheathed in the scabbard at his back. Then he grabbed his card and attempted to summon it.
The summoning of mounts, pets, minions, cards, and all other controllables is disabled in Lesser Heilor Station.
Just fucking great!
Zach, in complete darkness, backed away into a corner of the subway car. He wasn't even sure which corner, as he couldn't see. He squatted down, tucked his knees into his chest, and then grinded his teeth as the silence proved even worse than the wraith's screams. He wanted to be out of here so bad. He wished he could teleport. Gods, he hadn't felt this powerless in so long.
He gasped and twitched as he heard a thumping from above. Sothing was on top of the car and stomping down hard. THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. The noise ca from the back of the car, and it was making its way to the front towards him. Should he move? Was he supposed to move? The noise continued until it was right above his head.
And then it stopped.
The lights returned.
Now, Zach could see feet-sized bumps in the car's roof above him, which led from the back of it all the way to the front. He looked around. There was no sign of the wraith. He scrambled up to his feet and looked around so more. He didn't know what to do. He just wanted to get out of here so badly.
The control panel!
Zach darted over to it. It was a square-shaped panel in the middle of the front of the car with a touchscreen that had only a single option. Power up and depart. He tapped it. All at once, the sound of an engine ca on, though it was quiet and weak. The status changed so that it now said: "This car requires 2:00 minutes to power up and depart. Once the tir hits zero, the doors will shut, and they will not again open."
In the sa instant, the front doors, which he had pried open, began to open even more so that they were fully parted, and so too did the doors in the back. So…was he just supposed to wait here for two minutes?
He crouched down, terrified. Was that all he had to do? Wait two minutes? Okay. Okay. He'd just wait right here and—
Zach whipped his head back and glanced over his shoulder. The wraith. It had boarded the car at the back. And it was looking at him. "Zaaaaaaaaaaaachyyyyys," it said, its voice old and feminine, but with a scratchy quality that made him shake his head no at her. "I want you to be with …forever!"
It took off at a run: at a speed so fast that Zach had no idea if he could even stand up and run out of the car in ti. So he did the next best thing. He got to his feet, spun around, and threw himself out of the front window, crashing through it with a loud crack and landing on the rail below; this, as the sound of the engine inside slightly ramped up.
"I'M COMING FOR YOU, ZACHYS!" the wraith screeched, flying out of the sa window and reaching for him as she dropped down on top of him.
Fuck it!
Zach activated Phase Reset and then Unleashed Phase. The mont it took effect, he imdiately activated Phase Blink, and now, an instant later, he found himself deeper into the tunnel and into a black void that only grew darker. Then ca the sonic boom, and it caused dust to leak from the ceiling above.
He couldn't go this way.
He turned back around—and she was already there. Inches from him. He scread and activated Phase Blink a second ti, going right through her and returning to the rail where he'd landed a mont ago. This ti, he imdiately began running, and he ignored the sonic boom that again caused more dust to leak down. Pumping his arms as he ran, Zach sprinted full speed back the way he'd co, going from car 8 all the way back to car 5. Then the lights turned off, and once more, he ca to a complete halt.
For so reason, he had never been attacked in the darkness. He had feared it up until now. But he was starting to think that, in the dark, as long as he stayed still, she could not get him. He wasn't sure why he thought that, and he certainly wasn't confident in the theory, but since he didn't have the stomach to blindly run around in the pitch black, he was going to believe in it.
He waited.
The lights ca back on, and there was no sight of her.
"One minute until departure," a male voice said, the sound of an engine audible even over here. "Please ensure you are inside the car. Once the subway car departs, anyone not inside of it will be stuck here forever…with us."
The voice began to change. Slowly. It went from masculine to elderly, then feminine. "You'll be stuck with us forever, Zachys Calador. Down here, with . Where I will haunt you for an eternity. Hahaha!"
And to think. He'd believed Landy's torture had been bad. This was almost perfectly calibrated to terrorize anyone who had the misfortune of picking this question mark. Zach was so distraught that he actually started to think crazy thoughts, like what would be happening right now if his cat were here with him. For so reason, he was completely certain that this wraith would not scare Fluffles. If anything, he would have to grab Fluffles and shout at him not to chase or "play" with the "monster lady." He wasn't sure why he was thinking about sothing like that. It was simply sothing that popped into his head.
I need to get out of here!
Zach had been through so many things to get to this point. And so much of it had been painful or scary. But this was terror in a whole different way than what he was used to or what he'd encountered. The closest he'd ever co to sothing like this was Yorna's B2, with the Eeps, and even that wasn't really comparable to whatever Gods-forsaken bullshit he'd stepped into.
Zach began to slowly walk back in the direction of Car 8. But he stopped as the wraith, which had only just been chasing him, stepped out of it. How had she gotten inside? He did not know. She'd been right behind him. But now, she was standing there, and despite being hidden behind a support beam that went up to the ceiling, she sohow knew exactly where he was, and she looked at him.
"Thirty seconds," the voice said, once more male and casual.
Zach wasn't sure what to do. But he knew he couldn't afford to let fear paralyze him. He had to get inside that Gods-be-damned subway car, and he had to do it very, very soon. So he waited—and continued to wait. Then he stepped out from behind the pillar, and the wraith hovered midair and began flying towards him, screaming his na.
"Zaccchhyyyysss Caladdddooooor!"
His entire body tensing, Zach spun to the left, activated Phase Blink, and found himself standing right in front of where subway car 1 had been—before she'd sent it hurtling into a wall. The mont Zach reappeared, he activated it again, and now, he was in front of car 2. The wraith, incredibly fast, soared right over to him, knocking back whatever was in her way, which in this case, also ant blasting car 6. Like before, Zach ducked beneath it, and then car 6 collided with car 2, causing a screeching sound of tal as they both derailed and beca compacted into the wall behind him. This, as two sonic booms caused more dust to leak and Zach's ears to ring.
The wraith lunged at him.
Zach activated Phase Blink twice more.
"Ten sec—"
The two sonic booms drowned out the man's words as Zach darted inside car 4, prying open the entrance and then closing it. The wraith, screaming at him, swiped at it, and not only did the door co clean off, but so did much of the siding on the car itself. Her claws made sparks as she ran them over the tal. Zach, gasping, turned around and jumped through another window, this one setting him down on the right side of the rail. Once again, he turned around to face her as she ripped her hand from right to left, taking half the subway car off with just that one motion.
"Five…seconds…"
He waited. Rather than jump out of the window, she bashed her way through, and now, heading towards him, her arms reached out to grab him. And if she really was as powerful as the NPC had said, then Zach reasoned that Phase Shield wouldn't help him here at all. Because as soon as the shield expired, the amount of damage returned to him, although a tiny portion of the total, would in this case still be so much that he'd die instantly.
This left him with only one option.
Unleashed Phase Duration
7:22 Remaining
For the very first ti, Zach was going to activate Phase Step, which for an incredibly expensive cost of four minutes, claid it would "step" him into "sub-dinsional space" for 0.5 seconds. It was an absurd price to pay, but this was perhaps one of the rare situations where there was simply no better alternative.
A mont before her two clawed hands ca down upon him, Zach activated this new ability, and then imdiately, a strange feeling ca over him. He heard a bizarre sound, like that of a "woommmmee." The world seed to slow down. Ti seed to slow down. The wraith seed to slow down. Everything felt at once attached and detached, connected and disconnected. There were fragnts of the world all around, like the world was just a bunch of shards of glass that were poorly glued together.
The wraith's claws were on him. Fully on him. But they were not touching him. They were going through him. Zach, therefore, simply took a step back—and then it was over. Everything returned in a rush. The wrath, glaring at him, reached out a second ti. Simultaneously, the sound of doors closing behind him reached his ears. The doors to car 8! His only way out of here!
In a blind panic, Zach threw himself away from the wraith, jumped into the air so that he rose to the level of the platform, turned himself around, and then activated Phase Blink just as the doors slamd shut.
Now, he found himself with his back a re inch or two ahead of the doors right as the subway car began to move, though it began slowly. His heart pounding, Zach shouted out: "Move, move, move!"
Then, he looked behind him, backed away, and scread as the wraith could be seen leaping into the air as though pouncing on car 8. Its body rocketed into the now sealed doors of the subway car, hard enough that it half tipped over. For a split second, Zach really believed it would flip fully onto its side. The movent caused him to lose his balance and fall onto his own right side. Hell, he nearly went flying through the window he'd broken earlier. But sohow, through so ans, the engines kicked into full blast, and the car began to move, a screeching sound occupying the air as it began traveling over the old, rusted, and poorly maintained railways.
It began to pick up speed—and then it lurched forward, causing Zach to again nearly lose his balance. But the wraith was still there, clinging to the side, its nails digging deep into the tal while its body flew outward and away as though it were resisting being blown off. With its right hand, the haggard-faced monster tightened its grip on the siding, and with its other clawed hand, it banged into the sealed door over and over, though for so reason, it was not able to fully break through—yet.
Then Zach heard sothing: static. This was followed by a voice. "……adventurer?" asked an upbeat, male-sounding voice. "Can you hear , adventurer?"
A green button was flashing near the panel that Zach had used to activate the subway car. He ran over to it and pressed it. "Okay, thank the Gods! You're alive! None of us believed it when we saw the activation of car 8. What's your status?"
A: I'm heading down the rail to Greater Heilor. There's a wraith trying to get in!
B: Oh, nothing. Just relaxing.
C: Who are you, and why should I answer you?
Zach wasted no ti in tapping option A. "I'm heading down the rail to Greater Heilor!" he yelled, his voice and emotions matching how he felt inside despite having no control over the words he spoke or how he spoke them. "There's a wraith trying to get in!"
"Understood, adventurer. Don't you worry. Greater Heilor has your back!"
Just then, there was a clicking sound, followed by a chanical hum. In his peripheral vision, Zach saw multiple, cara-like objects—about six in total—ejecting from the left side of the subway car. This hum continued until all six ceased moving, and then, there was one huge, collective flash: a blinding, white flash of light.
Following this, the wraith cried out in apparent pain and released the door, causing it to be flung off the side of the car, and Zach, following it with his eyes, watched as several explosive bangs resonated through the tunnel as its body slamd into support pillars and caused a massive section of the ceiling to cave in. This caused even more rumbling, shaking, and unsteadiness. And yet, monts later, after about ten seconds of relative silence aside from the sound of the subway car moving along over the rails, the wraith's scream could be heard once more.
"Adventurer, hold on tight! This is going to be a close one!"
Zach had no idea what was going to happen or why, but he did what he was told, and he tightly gripped the two tal bars nearest to him. But as the tal crushed and compacted beneath his fingers, he forgot that "hold on tight" ant sothing different to him than it did to a level 1. This beca apparent as he accidentally ripped both safety bars off the subway car.
Then things beca extrely bumpy. But this ti around, Zach cald himself and rembered to assert his dexterity. Quickly, he found a balance he'd been lacking. He began to move along with the bumps and the shimring. And this beca of critical importance as the wraith, chasing after the car, leaped into the air and slamd down on top of it.
"Adventurer, watch out!" cried the voice over the speakers.
Zach jumped backward and out of the way as one of its claws ripped through the ceiling. Then it pulled its hand back, and now, there was more thumping. Followed by a silence. Sohow, Zach just knew it was going to—
He lurched forward as the clawed hand bashed through the ceiling yet again, this ti where he'd been standing, confirming it could track him without seeing him.
"We're almost there, adventurer!"
Zach pursed his lips but didn't complain. He was too busy trying to survive as this fucking thing tried again and again to grab him. Each ti, its clawed hand would smash through the ceiling and co very close to getting him.
And then, at the worst ti…
Unleashed Phase Duration
0:00 Remaining
Zach began to sweat profusely. He fell to one knee. But he knew he couldn't stay on it. He had to move! He picked himself right back up. If nothing else, it was proof that his stamina really was starting to grow, because since becoming an adventurer, that was, without a doubt, the fastest that he'd ever gotten up after paying off the debt of an Unleashed Phase.
Jumping off to the side to avoid another grab, Zach opened his inventory, went to box 1, and chugged his final stamina potion, which gave him the energy to continue on. Not that it would do him much good. The subway car was now beginning to slow, rather than speed up, for a reason he just did not know.
What the hell? Why is it slowing down?
An increasingly loud screech filled the world as the car more forcefully applied the brakes.
"Adventurer, hurry! As soon as the doors open, run straight ahead and jump into the pilot seat, then press the launch button!"
"Launch button?" Zach shouted. "What does that even an? What pilot seat? What in the na of the Gods are you talking about?"
"Bad news, Adventurer. When that ceiling ca down, it unsealed the portal to the Beyond. There are another eighty wraiths heading to your position. You have no choice now. You have to get into the pilot seat!"
"What pilot seat!" Zach yelled again at the top of his lungs. But there just wasn't ti to figure it out, was there? Nope.
And now, he could hear a chorus of screaming wraiths, along with what sounded like a stampede of feet stomping down. Looking out the back window, Zach almost fainted. There really were about eighty of them, of which sixty were running, and twenty were hovering in the air.
But before he could even process how screwed he was, two things popped up into the air ahead of him.
ALB-4 Hum 00-1 Acquired.
Congratulations! Title Unlocked: Baby ch Pilot
You will not be able to use this ch again until level 140, at which ti you may purchase a license in the city. For now, you have been granted a one-ti piloting pass.
Zach moaned. What the hell was a ch? What did any of that even an? These words were just gibberish to him at a ti when he needed clarity. But clarity was not heading for him: no, these monstrous creatures were!
As the subway car at last ca to a halt, it pulled into a much larger terminal, this one with a ceiling that looked to be over a thousand feet above. It was also trendously wide and contained about a half mile of nothing but rocks that divided it between the right and left tracks. The mont the doors opened, Zach, clueless, simply ran out.
"Go straight!" the voice cried. "And don't stop!"
Go straight? Zach wondered. Why in the hell would I go—
Zach stopped short. What in the na of the GODS was that black-and-red, thirty-foot-tall giant robot? Was that an enemy? He drew his sword. Then he sheathed it. No, wait. Wait. The humanoid-like machine had a hatch open in its chest area, and there was an empty seat.
Am I supposed to go inside that?
The sound of eighty screeching wraiths made him realize he didn't have a choice. He could see them drawing nearer and nearer.
Groaning and confused, Zach bent his knees and then sprang up, lifting nearly twenty feet in the air. He landed on the edge of the open compartnt. Then he turned around, grabbed a handlebar, and pulled down on it, causing the piloting compartnt to close: and then go completely, totally dark. Now, he could see nothing.
But only for a mont.
A terminal between his legs lit up.
Synchronizing with pilot…
Pilot registered; Zachys Calador.
Choose Style Preference: Real-world movent, or seated controls?
The screeching ca closer and closer. Zach didn't have ti for this bullshit. He slapped his palm down, not even caring what he picked.
Real-world movent selected.
Suddenly, the seat he was sitting on retracted, and he almost fell over. But then wires began to wrap around his body, and sothing that felt like a balance board rose up beneath his feet. The darkness ahead faded, and like a screen, it ca on, but the image provided was closer to a window than any screen he'd ever seen. It provided a perfect, real-ti view of what was out ahead of him.
Eighty wraiths: all about to pounce. While he was standing here doing nothing!
Zach acted purely off reflex and instinct, and not off any understanding or knowledge of what this robot was or why he was in it. And so, simply by virtue of getting spooked, his body, in a standing position, made as if to run. And now, mirroring his motions with perfect 1:1 accuracy, the robot-thing followed his lead, once more causing him to nearly fall over from surprise. He heard two giant thuds as two machine feet matched the motions he'd made with his, which in this case ant taking two huge, massive strides forward.
Wait a second…
Three wraiths leaped at him, their bodies so small now compared to his. He was tall: thirty feet tall! He made a backhand motion with his left hand, and in 1:1 sync, so too did this giant robot. All three were swatted away and sent flying. And one of them—the one Zach could see in the corner of his eye—took a simply unbelievable 24,331,200 damage.
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"Oh," Zach said, amazed. "Oh!" he said a bit more enthusiastically. He glanced down. There were three pictures.
One showed a left-hand fist and a right-hand fist. And in a third column, it showed a fist.
The second picture showed one hand in a fist with the other hand open, and this showed a sword.
Finally, the third picture showed two fists being shaken, and this one had an image of two Uzi-like machine guns firing bullets.
Zach, looking ahead of him, briefly began shaking his fists up and down. This caused him to suddenly feel as though two guns were in his hands. Looking down, he saw there was nothing there. And yet, he could feel them. He could actually feel the guns in his empty hands.
Only half convinced this would actually work, he squeezed the triggers.
And then he fell in love.
BRAT BRAT BRAT BRAT BRAT BRAT BRAT BRAT BRAT.
Dark-blue wraith blood and damage numbers in the tens of millions began swarming his vision as wraith after wraith was shot dead and killed. And yet, there was such a swarm of them that Zach had no choice but to jump off to the side. He howled in amazent at how responsive and incredible this felt. It almost made this entire nightmare worth it!
Making a fist and a palm motion, the guns vanished, and now Zach truly felt as though he were holding a sword. This, he much preferred. He could even make the robot hold it with both hands. With that, he began slaughtering. And as he did, he realized that, now, for the first ti, he could actually see these mobs as mobs.
HP
17,200,400/17,200,400
Na
Wraith from the Beyond
Level
124
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Zach took an imdiate and natural liking to this machine. He felt so big. So unstoppable. All of the fear he'd just been dealing with converted entirely to a sense of empowernt, and as he danced around these wraiths, several of them managed to fly directly into him, causing brief monts of static and distortion as well as a few cracks in the screen. He glanced down.
HP
25,200,000/28,000,000
Na
Zachys Calador's ALB-4 Hum 00-1
Level
150
"This is aweso!" he shouted as he switched the sword for the guns again. The entire "ch" or whatever this was shook and vibrated as he began firing off more rounds of these dual guns that had appeared in his ch's hands. "This is what you get for putting through all that shit!"
BRAT-BRAT-BRAT-BRAT-BRAT-BRAT-BRAT-BRAT-BRAT!
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Zach, acting off instinct, jumped upwards, and the ch obeyed. But now, rather than land, he realized he was sort of hovering airborne. Then his jaw dropped. Could this thing fly?
"Flight mode: engaged," a voice said.
Zach, in utter disbelief, realized he could intuitively fly this thing by making motions with his hands, essentially steering it up, down, and around. Using one hand to control his motion, he turned his head—and the ch turned its head—and now, with a rear view, Zach began gunning down wraith after wraith, which were chasing after him, flying after him as he flew on ahead.
"Warning: You may not leave the encounter area without purchasing a ch license."
Zach nodded and turned back around a mont before flying too far away. He ca to a halt, dropped down, and as though there were wheels on his feet, he actually began to slide with a satisfying screech on the rocks. He rid himself of the guns and then began using an array of front kicks and cross punches to annihilate more and more wraiths.
By the ti there were only 10 or so of them left, he didn't want this to end. And in so weird way, he finally understood why he'd been put through all this. Not that he agreed with it, but he understood it. The point of this entire "event." It must surely have been to experience the intentional build-up of fear followed by a reward in the form of an extre high that ca with cathartic relief.
It also helped Zach understand the sheer magnitude of how powerful this giant ch was. Suddenly, all he wanted to do was reach level-140 and be able to pilot this. He wanted to bring it back to Galterra. How aweso would he look if he showed up to Elendroth in this thing? It was his, too. He'd acquired it.
But I thought there was nothing of great value to find out here? he thought, recalling what Gloral had said. Unless…unless this one is considered a piece of garbage compared to what you can get later.
The very idea of it made him excited. Switching to the sword, he cut the last few wraiths down to pieces. And then, suddenly, after the last wraith had perished, he realized he was falling: him, personally, not the ch. The ch was just…gone. Or no, not gone. Just in his inventory.
ALB-4 Hum 00-1 sent to your QI
Zach, in a partially reclining position, flipped himself upright and landed in a crouch on the rocks. The mont his knees touched down, sothing else appeared before him. And it was this that caused an uncontrollable smile to pop right up on his face, along with so wholehearted, giddy laughter.
CURRENT LEADERBOARD!
Na
ch Type
# Kills
Zachys Calador
ALB-4 Hum 00-1
81
Jas Green
ALB-4 Hum 00-1
21
Fluffles Ultdern
ALB-4 SHFNG 00-2
10
Eldora Vayra
ALB-4 ELF 00-01
8
Jascaila Iseldar
ALB-4 Hum 00-1
6
Zach laughed aloud. They'd co through here. They'd actually co through here! And what's more, he'd beaten all of them. Although, that was no surprise, as he'd been solo, and they'd numbered over a hundred. It was also no surprise that Jimmy had killed 21 of the 81 despite being just one person. What was a surprise was Fluffles. How in the hell was he on the list?
And wait…SHFNG 00-2? Did that an cats got their own chs as well? Wait, wait, wait, stop. Was this actually implying that Fluffles—his Fluffles—had gotten into a giant robot and was not only okay with it, but had done well? That he'd been able to control it and…Gods, what in the na of…? If only he could've been here to see that for himself. Though the idea of it was also kind of terrifying, maybe more so than the wraiths.
"Adventurer," said the voice, faint but audible. It was coming from the subway car. "Please co back aboard. You have a six-hour ride to Greater Heilor. You will travel four hundred miles. Please feel free to rest. There will be a reward in Survival dallions and a chance for eating and drinking when you arrive."
Whelp.
That sounded good to him!
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