《Hazard Frontier》 C001 - What He Truly Wanted Two figures stood back to back, surrounded by a thousand people. Tremendous killing intent leaked from the eyes of the surrounding people, clearly directed toward the two figure. One of the two was a silver-haired female wearing a full set of black leather armor. The body-hugging leather armor glowed with an indistinct red light. Her fierce gaze observed the opponents in front of her cautiously, while her hands held tight a pair of short curved blades. One of the blades was wreathed in flames, the other was coated in ice. Behind her was a black-haired male wearing a pure white robe. The robe had a faint blue glow, emitting a holy arrow. In his right hand was golden staff inlaid with intricate designs, and on his left hand was an open book, an image of an angel hovering above it. An assassin clad in black, and a saintly white priest. They were an uncanny pair, complete opposites of each other, but they had been together for a long time. They had paired up when they first started playing this game right on the day of its release, and now after five years, the game was about to shut down, but they were still together. The thousand people surrounding them were members of the guild they were in a few moments ago. The guild decided to do dungeon runs for the remaining time of the game, but the guild-master stole the loot that was supposed to be the duo¡¯s. It shouldn''t have mattered as the game was about to end, but the two were prideful people. They couldn''t accept such a disgraceful act. With each other¡¯s consent, they left the guild right in the middle of the dungeon and started attacking the other members, which soon led into the current situation. ¡°Today, your legend ends!¡± The guild-master was actually quite happy of the result. The two were known as the strongest pair in the entire server. He had invited them to join his guild and did not make an enemy out of them because of their strength, but now that the two had left on their own and even attacked, he had all the reason to dispose of them. ¡°You have grown arrogant just because no one dared to challenge your strength! Today, all of that ends!¡± The two didn''t respond. They only glared at the people surrounding them. ¡°Hmph! Charge!¡± After snorting at their arrogance, the guild-master issued the order to attack. The front-line warriors closed the gap between them and their prey. The ranged attackers readied their ranged weapons and magic spells. The assassin and the priest only smiled. They already knew the outcome of this battle. ¡°It was the best thing ever!¡± Carl was completely engrossed with his excitement as he repeatedly watched the gameplay video on his smart-phone. ¡°I just can¡¯t get enough of this!¡± He was in a fast-food restaurant together with Allen. The two were college students and classmates, taking Computer Science. They were now in their fourth year with the first semester having started a week ago. Carl was a gaming addict, and he loved VRMMO games, although he didn''t have the talent for it. He could only watch and admire the gameplay videos of the top players, wishing that he were in their shoes. The two went to this fast-food chain to eat snacks while discussing the paired homework given by their teacher¡­ or that how it was supposed to be. As soon as they seated after taking their orders, Carl started browsing through latest online gameplay videos and found the current most trending and popular video. It was a two versus one thousand fight, with the duo winning flawlessly. ¡°The assassin is just so good almost all her attacks were critical and fatal hits, and she was so fast they could barely touch her! The priest is just as amazing! I never thought that battle priests could be so strong!¡± ¡°He uses the blessings of the Rai God, and specialized his equipment to boost divine and lightning damage¡­¡± ¡°I know that, but the way he links he skills together is just unthinkable. It¡¯s completely unorthodox!¡± ¡°Not really¡­ he¡¯s just using AOE lightning and barrier spells to crowd control and deal group damage, then let the assassin finish off the job. What¡¯s actually amazing is his mana management.¡± ¡°Meh, I still don¡¯t know how to do that, and now that the game has shut down, I¡¯ll never be able to.¡± The potato fries they ordered had arrive and they started eating. ¡°Those two will forever be a legend. The Assassin BlackPrincess and the Priest LessHealMoreKill¡­ I wish they had better names, though.¡± ¡°It¡¯s definitely much better than someone I know who named his character I Am Carl.¡± They laughed as they munched on the food, completely forgetting the homework they were supposed to do. Allen lined up in front of the cashier in a convenience store. He had separated with Carl after they left the fast-food chain. The female cashier had a strange smile on her face as she scanned the items in Allen¡¯s basket through the bar-code scanner. The items were mainly bread, instant cup noodles, instant coffee, more bread¡­ Allen knew that the cashier was probably thinking on how unhealthy his diet was, but he had no choice. He needed to save money now that his primary source of income was gone. Right after exiting the store, he felt the phone in his pocket vibrate continuously. He first looked around, making sure that no one could see him, and then went to a small back alley. Hey, hey! A female voice immediately greeted as soon as he answered the call. ¡°You called quite early today. What¡¯s up?¡± Hehe, I just heard something cool at school, and so I couldn''t wait until later to call. Sorry, about that! Were you busy? ¡°Not really. I¡¯m just on my way home.¡± Oh, then do you want to hear it now or should you go home first and call me back instead? ¡°Now¡¯s okay.¡± Nice! Then, be surprised! After last night, I thought I¡¯d take a rest for a while, but after hearing about this game my friends were talking about earlier at school, it peaked my interest and I wanted to give it a try! Wanna partner up with me again? If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The girl on the other end of the call was precisely the assassin of the legendary pair who defeated a thousand, the same assassin being praised by Carl earlier. And of course, Allen was the priest. The two of them had kept it a secret from their friends. They enjoyed each other¡¯s company in the game world, and they didn''t want to be tied up to others, especially to people they know in real life who also plays the game. If their friends knew, the two would end up being obligated to play together with them, which they were not interested in. They haven¡¯t met in real life yet, though. At first they only sent e-mails, then after two years they advanced to phone calls, and in-game voice chat which made playing together much easier. For five years, they had maintained this sort of relationship and distance. Her offer tempted Allen. He wanted to play with her again; before he knew it, partnering up with her had become one of the greatest joys he had in life. Looking down at the convenience store bag, he sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯d really like to, but I can¡¯t for now.¡± He only had enough money left to pay for three months of rent in his apartment. The small amount remaining will be used to buy meals until he could find a part-time job. Incidentally, the fast-food meal from earlier was Carl¡¯s treat. I see¡­ That¡¯s too bad then. I guess I¡¯ll just play with my friends this time. ¡°Yeah, you do that.¡± I will, I will. Anyway, in case you change your mind, the game is called Hazard Frontier Online, then beep me, call me, alright? ¡°Sure, sure. See ya.¡± See ya! The call ended. Allen returned the phone to his pocket. He wanted to talk with her more, but suddenly asking for that would make things awkward. They had always kept this casual distance between them, and acting differently all of a sudden would definitely be noticed by her. She was an assassin after all, and her senses were keen. Allen smiled at that thought, then started to walk home. Days quickly passed by, and it was now Friday. The two versus thousand fight that happened on Sunday night was still the center of discussion among Allen¡¯s classmates. Carl¡¯s excitement had barely dissipated. After class, Carl sat on Allen¡¯s desk and placed his smart phone in his hands. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Allen took the phone. On it was a paused gameplay video. At first, he felt slightly nervous, thinking that Carl might had figured out that he was the priest from the popular video, although it didn''t really matter now that he had stopped playing and the game had shut down. ¡°It¡¯s her, right?¡± Carl pointed at a figure in the video after clicking the play button. It was a girl with platinum hair with a shade of blue. In her hands were a pair of blades as tall as her, it was a wonder how she could swing those efficiently. In front of her was ferocious-looking four-legged beast as huge as a van. Its body was covered with dark green fur and shards of black and blue crystals. The first to move was the beast, swinging its mighty paws lined with sharp claws at the her. The girl nimbly dodged under the swing, then rolled to between the beast¡¯s hind legs, appearing right behind it. Before it could turn around, she had already attacked five times with the huge blades. The speed and accuracy of her swings were unbelievable. Each strike drew blood, sending flesh and crystals flying in the air. Every time the beast tried to retaliate, the girl would just dodge its attack then send a flurry of slashes at its defenseless body. After nearly three minutes of that repeated process, the beast¡¯s fur was now dyed red. It stumbled due to lack of blood, revealing a huge opening. Taking the chance, the girl slashed with both blades, drawing a crescent moon of blood. The beast¡¯s head flew into the air. ¡°This video came in early in the morning. They said it came from a game called Hazard Frontier. When I saw it, the first thing that I thought was the assassin BlackPrincess!¡± Allen didn''t say a thing and instead rewound the video. Her movements were definitely the same as that of his old partner, and the game was the same one she mentioned. Looking at her equipment, they seem to be above average. Could she have gained those within the span of four days? Suddenly, interest grew wildly in Allen. He wanted to play, too. He wanted to experience what she was experiencing. He wanted to know what this game was, what kind of world it has, and the challenges he could conquer in it. Handing the phone back, Allen picked up his bag and ran out of the room, ignoring his Carl¡¯s calls. Without realizing it, a smile had crept up on his face. He had always felt that there was something lacking. Although, he had fun playing with her, he felt that he still needed something more. He had finally found it. ¡®How did I not notice it all this time?¡¯ ¡®Was I unconsciously trying to deny it?¡¯ He ran, and ran, and ran¡­ Standing inside the game shop, he scanned the VRMMO games stored in the glass display case. Quickly, he found it: Hazard Frontier Online. Seeing the price tag of the game, and the subscription cost, he mentally calculated the money he had reserved for the rent. ¡®If I buy this now, I won¡¯t have money to pay for the rent after this month, only enough for food if I skimp on meals.¡¯ Making up his mind, he pointed at the game box in the display. ¡°I¡¯ll buy this!¡± All this time, he had played and fought together with her as a pair, and he had enjoyed it to the fullest, but he was still lacking something. ¡®I want to fight against someone who is my equal!¡¯ Only BlackPrincess fit the bill. ¡®Wait for me.¡¯ He smiled as he imagined how she would react on their next meeting. C002 - Entering the Frontier! As soon as Allen arrived in his apartment, he locked his door and stood in the doorway for a few seconds. He was panting hard after running all the way here from the game shop. In his hand was plastic bag, and inside it was a game box. He was both excited and depressed. The excitement came from the thrill of being able to play a VRMMO once again, and the depression from the knowledge that he could only last a month in this place unless he finds a way to earn money. Hurrying to his room, he took out the contents of the plastic bag and stared at the game box¡¯s front cover. On it was the image of a party of four people facing against a huge beast covered with shards of crystals protruding all over its skin. The four people were armed with huge swords and guns and outfits varying from simple clothings to heavy armor. At the bottom was the game title, . Turning the box, on the back cover was a few in-game screen-shots and a short description of the game: Welcome to the world of Hazard Frontier Online! Join many other players as you live in a world ravaged by the after-effects of the event called , where an unknown material from outer space, , entered the world¡¯s atmosphere through a meteor crash. * Choose a , the last bastions of humanity, and defend it from monsters and hunt them to improve your gear * Increase your rank and class up by collecting * Create your own equipments and items, as well as combat skills and abilities, then trade them with other players * Participate in player versus player, group versus group, and versus matches * Roam through the dangerous world to discover new frontiers, set up a new , form alliances, or infiltrate another to steal their supplies and sabotage their equipments More info can be found in the web address provided. It was indeed quite different from the previous VRMMO that he had played. This game should belong in the post-apocalyptic genre, with the focus on hunting, crafting, and survival. Based on the description, the player must also be wary toward other players because of the infiltration feature. This type of game has a high-risk high-reward mechanic for hardcore players. ¡®Suits me well.¡¯ Allen booted up the Virtual Gear System Drive, connected it to the Internet and his laptop computer, and inserted the game disk. The installation sequence started and he followed the usual installation instructions. While waiting for the install procedures to complete, he accessed the game¡¯s website and subscribed an account. He then went to the forums and looked up some information that might be useful. He chanced upon one thread that got his attention. BlackPrincess: now recruiting members. Send PM for request. JediKnight: Wer u the 1 on dat vid dat came out dis morning? BlackPrincess: Yes :) JediKnight: So stronk! LuckierThanThou: i kno u! u wer also dat 1 frm d game dat juz ended, ryt? The assasin on dat 2v1k! BlackPrincess: Secret :P JediKnight: STROOOOOOONK!!! Leme join! StrayCat: nya~ ur my idol nya~ i want in nya~ LuckierThanThou: ALL HAIL OP LEGEND! let me in 2! LookingForGF: r u single? LuckierThanThou: ^lol Closing the Internet browser, Allen sighed. She was doing quite well even without him. The installation was still going on, so he went out to the kitchen and boiled water. He then made coffee and ate bread to go along with it; this was his dinner. After that, he removed his clothes and took a bath. The apartment he was staying in was small and cheap, but it had everything he needed: kitchen and dining room, bathroom, and bedroom. He dried his body afterwards and wore a pair of shorts. The installation had completed while he was in the bath. Connecting the Virtual Gear Head Interface to the Virtual Gear System Drive, he turned the head equipment on and wore it over his head. The Head Interface had a built-in battery while the System Drive had an Uninterrupted Power Supply and Voltage Regulator. This was so in case of a power outage or voltage fluctuations, the system won¡¯t be turned off. In game, the player would receive a warning of the situation and be automatically logged out safely afterwards. Even though there was an installation procedure, playing the game still requires the game disk to be played. The game disk and installed software must be a match, or else the game would fail to start. This was an anti-piracy procedure followed by all marketed virtual reality games. Pirated software were very unsafe as they may be modified and inserted with a virus that could steal the player¡¯s information, destroy the system, or worse, harm the player¡¯s life. Virtual Reality have many dangers, and so hardware and software manufacturers follow a very strict set of laws and unsaid rules. Violation of any of the law had very heavy punishment, as it was the customer¡¯s life that was at risk with that. Lying down on the bed, Allen wriggled around on his back until he found a comfortable position. This had been his routine ever since that time where he woke up with a very sore back because he did not lie down properly and played the game for hours on end in that position. ¡°I wanna be¡­ the very best!¡± This was his startup voice command. It was a feature available with this hardware. It allows the user to change the startup voice command into something he or she prefers. The Virtual Gear set of products could not be lent to other people. Only the registered user could use it. His vision darkened until he couldn¡¯t see a thing, followed by the loss of all other senses. On his first time experiencing this, he felt extremely scared, but after getting used to it, for the him now, it was a very comfortable experience. After the fade out, a ping! sound entered his ears followed by a small translucent window appearing in front of him. Below it was a virtual keyboard.
User Authentication Username:____________________ Password:____________________
He extended his hands forward and a gray silhouette in the form of his hands appeared over the virtual keyboard. With practice motions, he typed in the necessary information and pressed enter. The translucent window dissolved and was replaced by a burst of bright white light. As the white light filled his vision, beams of light of varying colors appeared and hit him. Each beam was accompanied by a unique melodious sound, and when they passed through him, the sound would change and he could feel the sensation of being touched. There was also a sweet fragrance and a strange feeling in his mouth. This was actually a calibration procedure to ensure that the virtual sense organs worked. Ten seconds passed, and the calibration scene disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. The black scenery slowly faded into light, and Allen found himself floating above a beautiful scenery. A slow and beautiful BGM started to play. He saw cities similar to the real world, filled with the people¡¯s liveliness. There were also vast forests and huge mountains, beautiful lakes and oceans. There were also varying cultures among the people. They lived all over the land, spread out far and wide. It was an era of peace and advancement. A soft calming female voice began a narration. Humans had used their research to improve their lives further, and also to protect nature and its natural resources. The world had truly become a beautiful one. Suddenly the view changed into a dark night sky. The music also increased its pace, changing into a dreadful one. But then, it came. It fell from the skies. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. A meteor pierced through the starry night sky and landed in the middle of the forest. The scene fast forwarded to morning. A group of people arrived and surveyed the crash site. It carried with it something we thought could change our lives for the better. Buildings were built around the crash site. They took samples of the meteor inside and started researching it. They found a discovery that filled their faces with joy. It was then followed by experiments, demonstrations, and forums about a new source of energy. It was a mistake. The discovery we considered to be the key to our dreams became the harbinger of a nightmare. A crystal grew on a laboratory test rat¡¯s skin. The rat rapidly changed into a hideous creature and escaped from the lab. Soon, other animals had crystals sprout from their skin, mutating them into huge monsters. Cities were ravaged. Humans were killed. Almost nothing remained of the previous glorious civilization. The music then slowed down again, this time it was filled with a soothing tone. But still, we held on to hope. A group of four people were walking in a forest. They all had a variety of outfits. Their only similarities were the huge weapons they held. They were the exact same four figures on the game box¡¯s front cover. They encountered the same beast, and fought until they defeated it. Salvaging its remains, they brought those back with them into a walled off area. The remains were then used to strengthen their equipments. Some of them implanted crystals into their body, then showed that they had become much stronger and faster. These are the hopes of humanity. The same thing that brought this nightmare upon us is still the key to our dreams. Join us, and return the world to its former glory. The scene faded out and Allen found himself standing in front of an image of his self. He knew this was the character creation screen. He didn¡¯t change his appearance yet. He was still absorbed at the movie sequence he saw. Despite having read about the background story of the game on the Internet, seeing it with his own eyes left him with a deep emotion. ¡¯What if that actually happened in reality, what would I do?¡¯ Thinking about it too much would only be a waste of time since it¡¯s only in theory, so he shook his head and focused on the task in front of him. It was the common Character Creation for most VRMMO that does not allow gender swapping. It starts of with taking the person¡¯s actual appearance which was stored in the System Drive. Once a year, a registered user of the Virtual Gear line of products must come to a branch store of their company and update their appearance. This way, the interfacing of the virtual body over the actual body wouldn¡¯t cause an uncomfortable feeling. Since he planned to surprise BlackPrincess, he made sure that his appearance was different from that of his LessHealMoreKill character. In fact, he chose to just change a little from his actual appearance. In front of him now stood a man in his early twenties. His face was average, but his platinum deep-set eyes were truly captivating. Slightly long unkempt black hair and his slender physique made the impression that he didn¡¯t take much good care of himself. All in all, Allen was quite satisfied with his appearance. Of course his eyes were not platinum in real life. They were light brown. BlackPrincess doesn¡¯t know him in person, so she wouldn¡¯t easily figure out that it was him. For the name, he gave it some thought and decided on something easy to remember. AllIsDead His full name was Allen Isaac Jodead. Taking the ¡®All¡¯, ¡®Is¡¯, and ¡®dead¡¯ and combining them resulted in this name. He had also used this name in some of his accounts before. Typing in the name, he breathed a sigh of relief that no one had taken it yet.
Welcome to Hazard Frontier Online Please choose a background story for your character: Only Survivor The Base you lived in was attacked and destroyed by the Crystal Beasts when you were young. Your parents escaped with you toward a nearby Base. By stoke of luck, a party of Crystal Soldiers from that Base found you during their routine patrol, and rescued you, but not before your parents were killed. Child of Heroes Your parents were both very talented Crystal Soldiers. During one of the most intense attacks of the Crystal Beasts in the Base you lived in, they stood at the front lines and defended the Base with their lives. In the end, they suffered from grave injuries and died. Product of Science You were the results of genetic research conducted by a group of mad scientists. Using the cells of the most talented deceased Crystal Soldiers, the scientists created a human being whose purpose was to be a Crystal Soldier. You were like a Phoenix born from the ashes. Mysterious Person No one knows where you came from. You just appeared in the Base one day while a Crystal Beast was attacking, and helped the defense. You¡¯ve been living in the Base since then.
The choices were interesting and well-thought out. Allen couldn¡¯t help but admire the developers of this game. This was the first time that he had to spend a lot of time to think over what choice he should make. For other games, he would always pick the most interesting ones or the ones that would benefit him the most in terms of bonus stats and skills. ¡¯Maybe I should chose Only Survivor. It fits my name very well.¡¯ He was tempted to go through with that idea, but it felt a bit boring for him. After a few more minutes of deliberation, he gave up. Closing his eyes, he performed a strange dance and sang a song no one knows about. If someone saw him, they would not believe that he was the legendary priest LessHealMoreKill. Suddenly, he stopped singing and dancing, and extended his hand forward. Opening his eyes, his hand had landed on an option.
You have chosen to be a Mysterious Person
¡¯That felt a little anticlimactic.¡¯
Please chose a Base start in.
A map of a huge continent appeared. In the center of the continent were about ten dots scattered close to each other. Away from the center, the dots were more farther apart. There were nineteen dots in total. The continent was shrouded by a black cover, except for the areas around the dots. He had looked up this information on the Internet and he knew that these dots were the so called , and the visible areas around them were the explored regions. The game had only started about a month ago, and this amount of exploration seemed a bit too little in Allen¡¯s perspective. He planned to avoid meeting up with BlackPrincess until he knows more about the game and built up his character, so he should chose a place with few other players. Looking at the map, he saw one with almost no explored areas. It was on the Northernmost Area and very far away from the other . ¡¯This looks perfect.¡¯ Lesser explored areas could mean that the players who were in that were either few, weak, or both. Without hesitation, he chose that .
You have chosen . Good luck and Godspeed.
Allen felt a dreadful premonition while reading that message. C003 - The Precursor Inside a room was a simple bed, a closet locker, a huge table with various equipments, and a computer terminal. On the bed was a figure with unkempt black hair, with only a pair of dark gray underpants on and black watch-like device on his left arm. A beeping sound came from the device, and the figure on the bed woke up, revealing his platinum-colored irises. Slowly, he got up from the bed and looked at the device on his wrist. Pressing a button, a hologram appeared and hovered above the device.
From: Assistant Trainer Natalie Myers To: Unranked Soldier Codenamed AllIsDead Subject: Registration Completion Message: Soldier, today is the day. We owe you a great thanks to what you have done last month. If not for your help, would have ended up as rubble. You have accepted our offer and proceeded with the paperworks over the course of this month. Even with the lack of information such as your origin or the reason for your appearance during that time, we have decided to ignore those facts due to our gratitude and approved your registration. Gear up and proceed to the .
Quest Received! Registration Completion Proceed to the to complete your registration.
Indeed, the figure on the bed was Allen. He stood up from the bed and looked around the room. The walls and floor were made out of metal sheets. Feeling the cold seep through the soles of his feet, he hurriedly went to the closet locker. Inside were a white button-shirt, a black and gray jacket, black pants, and dark gray short boots. Touching the pants, a holographic message appeared over his hand. This was the Item Interaction Window. In it were the choices: , , , and . In Hazard Frontier Online, Item Interaction Windows, or IIW, appear automatically whenever the player interacts with an item. A choice can then be made by mentally choosing an option without the need for manually clicking, pressing, or using a voice command. This shortens the time spent on interacting with objects in the world. Choosing , the pants disappeared from Allen¡¯s hand and reappeared on his body. Doing this same process for the other items, he was now fully clothed. He then tried to interact with the other items inside the room like the computer terminal and the equipments on the table, but the options were grayed out. It meant that it was not yet available for interaction. ¡¯I guess I need to do the quest first.¡¯ Allen was quick to adapt. He had played other games before and he had already noticed that this quest, like other games, will be used to teach the player the basics and at the same time provide some sort of back story for the game so that the player can easily immerse himself or herself in the game world. He left the room through the automatic sliding door, commonly seen in many futuristic SF movies. On both sides of the wall beside the door was a biometric fingerprint scanner with a keypad. The decor on the outside was pretty much the same as in the room; walls and floors of metal sheets. Lined on the both sides of the corridor were doors similar to his. ¡¯So how do I get to this lab?¡¯ He remembered the information he read on the Internet. One of the starting items, the watch-like device on his wrist called the , had many features. One of that was the feature. Pressing one of the buttons, an IIW appeared with only one option: *New*. Selecting , a thin blue light appeared from the watch aimed toward the floor. Before hitting the floor, it steeply curved to trace the floor, formed a straight line along the corridor and turning around a corner. When he let go of the button, the light disappeared. Only the person and his party members could see that light. This feature reminded Allen of an old horror SF game. He activated the again and followed the light. After a few turn, he arrived at an area with four elevators. He entered one of them. The control panel in the elevator had the among the buttons, so Allen chose that. It was a no-brainer. While the elevator descended, Allen couldn¡¯t help but admire at the amount of details in the game. In the previous VRMMO he played, he was too focused on getting stronger by leveling up, collecting the best equipments, and refining his combat abilities. Now, after watching that opening video, and starting the game in this manner of waking up in a room and receiving messages, he felt like he was truly living in this world. It was so immersing that he didn¡¯t notice that he had already arrived if not for the doors opening by itself. He walked out of the door and was greeted by a man wearing a guard uniform. He was seated behind a counter with a computer terminal The counter formed an arc surrounding a corner of the room. There was a glass-paned door by the wall beside the counter opposite the elevator. The guard took out a handheld device that looked like a bar-code scanner. ¡°Show me your .¡± Following his instructions, Allen placed his left hand over the counter. The guard hovered the scanner device over his . After three seconds, a green light appeared over the scanner. ¡°Go on ahead.¡± The guard pressed a few keys on the keyboard hidden behind the counter. The door opened with the sound of pressurized air escaping. Allen entered, and as he did, the door slid close. In front of him was another door but there was no sign of it opening. Instead, cold air blew from the vent on the ceiling while air was being sucked out through the vents on the bottom of the two opposite walls. Allen felt his ears ¡®pop¡¯ as the pressure in the room changed. The door then slid open. ¡¯That was way too awesome.¡¯ He thought as he stepped out. At first he was actually slightly regretful for giving in to his desires and buying the game, but now, he thought it was worth it. It was different from his previous experiences, but it was still as great or even better. ¡¯I wonder why this isn¡¯t as famous as the other games?¡¯ ¡°You¡¯re here.¡± An aged voice interrupted his thoughts. He looked around and saw a balding bespectacled man who looks to be in his sixties. He wore a white lab coat and in his hand was a clipboard. Behind him were a few other people in white lab coats. Some of them were filling in and filing documents. Others were carrying samples from one station to another. In the three walls of the room were entrances to corridors that led further in. Not knowing how to respond, Allen could only stare at him. ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous¡­ Unranked Soldier Codenamed AllIsDead.¡± He had to look at the document attached to the clipboard to figure out Allen¡¯s name. ¡°I¡¯m Doctor Kevin Pheol. I¡¯m the head researcher here in Base 19¡¯s laboratories. Follow me.¡± He then turned around and guided Allen to the rightmost corridor. They passed by many rooms lining the corridor. Allen could see the people inside conducting all sorts of experiment with materials that looked like crystals. Seeing his interest, Dr. Pheol started an explanation. ¡°These are the Living Crystal testing chambers. We are trying to further understand and discover the possible uses of Living Crystal. It¡¯s dangerous, but we have a full complement of safety equipments and procedures for handling up to emergency case scenarios. We¡¯re here.¡± They arrived at the end of the corridor, and Allen was guided into a room. The first thing that came into view was a control terminal console in front of a glass panel. Behind the panel was a bigger room. There was a reclining chair in the center, and the backrest had a gap in the middle. There were a lot of large equipments surrounding the chair, most of them had mechanical arms with injections and surgical tools on the tips. There was a female who seems to be in her late twenties, also in a white lab coat, sitting in front of the terminal console. As soon as they entered, she greeted them with a light nod, then turned back to the console. ¡°Is the calibration procedure done?¡± ¡°Almost there, doctor.¡± Dr. Pheol nodded with satisfaction then guided Allen into the inner room. ¡°She¡¯s my daughter, and also my assistant. Take off your upper clothes and settle down on the chair. We¡¯ll just be behind the glass.¡± He said as he left the room. The door slid close and the clicking sound of the lock could be heard. The glass panel was see-through only on one side. From the inner room, Allen could only see a mirror. He took of his clothes with the command and placed it on a nearby empty desk, then sat down on the chair, feeling slightly nervous. ¡¯I still don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.¡¯ Dr. Pheol must have forgotten to explain to him what he was here for. That was the conclusion he came up with. Just sit down and relax. The doctor¡¯s voice came through the speaker. There¡¯s an air vent on the sides of the headrest of the chair. We¡¯ll be mixing a sedative in, so don¡¯t worry. Allen quickly felt more relaxed. The sedative was working. Vital signs stable. We¡¯re beginning the procedure. Injecting anesthetic through the spinal fluid. Good. Waiting for full effect¡­ There you go. Now, ready the control segment. Align it with the Medula Oblongata. Align the First Limiter on the Second Thoracic Vertebra. Attaching¡­ You might still feel a slight pain. Don¡¯t worry, that¡¯s within the predictions. Okay¡­ now insert the locks. Wonderful, well done. Prime the LC fluid. Inject in 3¡­ 2¡­ 1¡­ As expected, no rejection and 100% assimilation. Congratulations, AllIsDead. You are Base 19¡¯s very first Crystal Soldier. We rest our hopes upon you.
Class Up! You are now a Crystal Soldier with Class I Rank 0. There are ten classes, ranging from I to X. For each class, there are eleven ranks, 0 to 10. After reaching the eleventh rank, receive and pass a promotion quest to receive a recommendation for class up. Then, show the recommendation to Dr. Pheol.
You have gained 50 Crynergy Points. With your back story of , you gain extra 20% Crynery Points. You now have a total of 60 Crynergy Points available for distribution. Crynergy Points are used to improve your character¡¯s traits. There are five traits: *Vitality - This determines the amount of damage you can receive before you die. *Health Regen - The rate at which you recover from injuries outside of combat. During combat, the recovery slows down to 5%. *Stamina - Using skills drain stamina. Management of Stamina is essential in combat. *Rejuvenation - The rate at which you recover from exhaustion. During combat, the recovery slows down to 50%. *Ability - This determines the number of skills you can use in combat. Note that the amount of Crynergy Points required for improving these traits increases every ten levels of improvement.
Distribute your Cryngery Points now Requires 1 Crynergy Point for upgrade Current Value 1000 => 1040 After Upgrade Requires 1 Crynergy point for upgrade Current Value 100/s => 105/s After Upgrade Requires 1 Crynergy Point for upgrade Current Value 100 => 105 After upgrade Requires 1 Crynergy point for upgrade Current Value 20/s => 21/s After upgrade Requires 1 Crynergy point for upgrade Current Value 5 => 5 After upgrade (requires eight upgrades for value to increase)
This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. Allen had not yet risen from the reclining chair when those windows popped up in front of him. He read through them all, and he already had an idea about it. This was another one that makes this game different from the others. Instead of using the traditional stats that affect other properties, the properties or themselves were being raised by the distributed points. He upgraded to 8, increasing the number of skills he can use in combat to five. He then upgraded and with the remaining points equally; 18 upgrades each. ¡¯s value was now 190/s while was now 38/s. His reasoning for this distribution was that if he increased his and , it will take longer to regenerate them. By increasing the regeneration first, it would increase his survivability on the field, as long as he doesn¡¯t get hit too much.
New Achievement! The Precursor ¡°We rest our hopes upon you.¡± You are the very first player to become a Crystal Soldier of . Rewards: 10 Creation Points Badge Access the terminal in your workshop to see the rewards.
Before he could react to that sudden announcement, the door opened and Dr. Pheol entered with a warm smile. He quickly put his clothes back on. ¡°I had never seen such a beautiful and complete assimilation of the to a human being before. I could truly expect great things from you in the future.¡± Allen only nodded his head. The woman from earlier appeared behind the doctor. ¡°Assistant Trainer Myers left me with a message for you. She said that as soon as you¡¯re done here, you are to proceed to the training grounds. My assistant, Eleanor, will see you out of the labs. I will be staying here to study your data and results.¡±
Quest updated. Registration Completion Proceed to the to complete your registration.
Eleanor nodded at Allen then left the room. He followed behind her, and they left through the corridor. On the way back, Allen couldn¡¯t help but notice that his steps were lighter, and his senses felt sharper. Eleanor noticed his confusion. ¡°That is the effect of the Living Crystal. It boosted your physical abilities. With that boost, it makes handling the Crystal Weapons much easier.¡± He remembered the opening video of the game as well as the recorded battle of BlackPrincess. ¡¯So, those are the Crystal Weapons¡­¡¯ With those over-sized weapons, it wouldn¡¯t be hard to imagine ordinary people having a difficult time waving those things around. Finally, they arrived at the exit of the . ¡°See you later.¡± ¡°Please, always be careful.¡± ¡°I will. You, too.¡± After saying his farewell, he left by going through that small pressurised chamber again. The was a simple circular room with two heightened areas on each side. The one on the left was at a height that could be jumped on, while the one on the right required pulling yourself up. On the opposite side of the entrance, on a second-storey height, was a see-through glass wall of an observation room. Behind the glass wall were three people: a stern-faced middle-aged man with only one arm, a serious-looking woman in her early twenties with short brown hair, and a bespectacled teenage girl holding a clipboard. ¡¯The trainer, the assistant, and the secretary, I¡¯m guessing.¡¯ Allen had used the to quickly find the . He had just entered, and this was the site that greeted him. After a few seconds of standing there, he saw the middle-aged man conclude his conversation with the serious-looking woman, then used the microphone on the console. Congratulations, I¡¯ve seen the report. A hundred percent assimilation. Don¡¯t let that get to your head. That doesn¡¯t matter when you¡¯re out there. What you need is real combat abilities. We¡¯re here to observe your capabilities in combat against those damned beasts, so we¡¯re gonna simulate one right now. This training ground can provide a realistic hologram for you to fight against. Don¡¯t hold back and shame yourself. Without even introducing himself, he had made a rough explanation of what Allen was supposed to do. On the opposite side of the entrance, on the bottom of the wall beneath the observation room, a part of the wall opened and lowered. Behind was a rack of weapons, each one as huge as Allen. They¡¯re just practice weapons, not the real deal. Pick one you¡¯re most comfortable in, then we¡¯ll start. There were many choices, but the one that caught his attention was the pair of blades smaller than the others. It reminded him of BlackPrincess. He shook his head and seriously tried to choose a weapon. He hefted them in his hands one by one to get a feel for them. In the end, he chose a double-edged sword. It was the easiest to use and most common weapon. ¡¯When in doubts, choose a sword.¡¯ That was Carl¡¯s motto. That might also be the reason why he can¡¯t get any better, as he kept on using a sword even though he was clumsy with it. What a plain choice. Even the trainer agrees. At least, it¡¯s tested and proved. Ready yourself, we¡¯ll start now. In the middle of the room, a figure was drawn with light, then formed a material figure. It was a Crystal Beast much smaller than the ones Allen seen. It stood on all four limbs, and growled while facing him. It looked like a dog. No, a wolf. Suddenly, it dashed toward him then opened its jaws to take a bite. In Allen¡¯s mind, multiple possible choices of action presented themselves. This was something that he had developed over the course of five years he had spent with BlackPrincess. Sidestep, step back , block, parry, counter; those were the most common choices, but Allen ignore those. He jumped. He rested the sword on his shoulder, then bent his knees. As the beast approached, he raised his left hand to meet with its snout and extended his legs. His body lifted of into the air, then supporting his body lightly with his left arm, he cartwheeled over the beast. Using the momentum of his vertical turn, he swung the huge blade on his shoulder, drawing a beautiful arc in the air. The blade met the flesh on the beast¡¯s rear that was not covered by crystal shards. Its right hind leg flew into the air, and it fell down sliding forward. It then turned into particles of light and disappeared. The trainer¡¯s voice boomed over the speakers. Well done. It¡¯s a beautiful skill, but that only works in here. The actual thing is much tougher than that. For now, you pass. Do your best and improve you skills. Don¡¯t slack in training even for a day! We have already sent things you might need. Go back to your workshop and access your terminal. Dismissed!
Quest Updated. Registration Completion Return to your workshop and access your terminal to complete your registration.
With a sigh, Allen returned the weapon to the rack. It felt very comfortable in his hands. He had no plans on just using that type of sword forever, though. He remembered that the game allows players to craft their own weapons and gears. He¡¯ll just have to hope that the crafting system can allow him to create something that could suit his taste. As he walked toward the exit, he felt a stare on his back. Looking up at the observation room, he could see the serious-face woman staring at him. They looked at each other for a time, until she turned and walked away. ¡¯What was that?¡¯ It wasn¡¯t something new. Almost all VRMMOs have realistic NPCs, but for some reason, here on Hazard Frontier Online, the NPCs felt much realistic than in other games. It was probably because of the mood and setting. This was a post-apocalyptic world. The people of this world, the NPCs, were all trying their best to survive, grasping on the thinnest threads for hope. Using the , he found the . It was the room he ¡®woke up¡¯ in. The door automatically slid open and he entered. ¡¯That must be the terminal.¡¯ He approached and stood before the terminal. It had a simple monitor and two hemispheres with five grooves each where fingers could fit. Placing both hands on a hemisphere each, fitting his fingers in the grooves, an IIW appeared. He chose , and the monitor flickered and turned on. Instead of having to look at the monitor, the information was shown in a holographic projection hovering above the monitor.
The User Terminal is accessible in the Player¡¯s . It contains the functions: *Item Storage - As the name suggests, you can store items here from your item bags. Items bought by you and sent to you are all automatically stored here. It has an indefinite amount of space. You can access this to store and retrieve items. *Trade - You can view items for sale here like crafted weapons, armors, or skills, all over Hazard Frontier Online. You can also sell your items here. Items can be sold as single purchase or it can also be auctioned. *Achievement List - This is a list of your achievements. Access this to claim your rewards. *Codex - View information on people you have met, events, and other things that you have encountered in world of Hazard Frontier Online.
Allen quickly opened the , and there it was. The Precursor. He read the information again, and it seems like it wasn¡¯t a mistake. He retrieved the rewards. Creation points could be used for crafting; that, he knew. He then equipped the badge.
Badge of Recognition Everyone in knows who you are at a glance. You are . In the eyes of NPCs, you are the very first person to achieve a perfect assimilation of . To Players, you are the very first player to register as your base.
The game had been live for a month already, so this confused Allen as to why he was the first person to register in . Looking back on it, no wonder the area around this base was unexplored. There was no one to explore it after all! He opened the and selected the information of .
Base 19 This is the northernmost base and also the last base to be established before the Frontier group disappeared. Base 19 is the furthest from the central region, and thus exposed to harsher environments. The beasts in the region are much stronger than in other bases. It is recommended to start in another base, then travel later to this base to challenge stronger opponents. *This information as well as information on the other 18 Bases are available on the game website.
Of all the things he could miss, it was this information! Allen felt slight despair on his situation, but then a smile slowly formed on his lips. How ironic! He had wanted a challenge, and now the game had thrown one right in his face. ¡°It looks like I¡¯ll be having a fun time.¡± A mad laughter resounded inside the room. NAC Just a little something NAC = Not A Chapter ;) I''m just feeling great and want to share something. The last chapter I uploaded, was meant for today, July 24. The time I uploaded it was past 12 midnight, at +8 GMT. I should have waited for 1 am, dear me. I was planning to upload a chapter once a day, but this mishap means there won''t be a chapter for today, July 24 as it was already uploaded an hour early. Sorry, readers who are finally getting into the story. This will be a slight test to your patience (which I know is actually pretty long, since some of you may even be reading fictions here on RRL that are on indefinite hiatus, and are indefinitely waiting for an indefinite update XD). So, I just woke up an hour ago. It''s about 8 am here right now, and I have approximately 40 hours to upload the 4th chapter which has not yet been drafted. It will come out within 40 hours, don''t worry (unless real life stuff really goes wrong, I heard there are 2 storms entering our country. Pray to Orlanth (KODP reference) that we won''t have a power outage here or a messed up Internet connection). I also want to share my writing process to you, and tell me if it''s actually good or bad. Opinions may differ, but that''s the way it is. I always start with the concept in my head. Every time I''m not doing anything like playing on the PSP (old, I know, but I don''t have the money to buy better gaming consoles. Will you donate if I set up a paypal donation feature? ;) ), reading manga and webnovels, or playing visual novels, I end up staring into blankness, thinking of what to write. I have a restless mind, and my mom was scared that I was going crazy. That''s why I started to write, so I won''t go crazy. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.As many of you may have noticed, Hazard Frontier has a Monster Hunter or Gods Eater feel to it. Well, yeah. I''ve been playing on the PSP, so it''s not undeniable that I have gotten inspiration from those two. So, after thinking of a concept, I''ll write an outline of at least 1 to 2 chapters ahead. Right now, there''s only the concept for chapter 4, and it''s looking quite awesome. Two lines of a summary what''s going to happen in the chapter, lol. When there''s already a concept, on my free time or when I''m physically busy like ''depositing'' in the toilet, taking a bath, or trying to fall asleep (I''m a caffeine addict, I chug down coffee like it''s water), I imagine what''s going to happen and keep it all in my head. Some of you may think this is inefficient, since I might forgot it. That''s true, but I can''t write on paper. I need to type directly in the computer (that means I''m lazy. yeah I dont take down notes in class). At night, when I''ve thought up of something solid, I sneak out of bed and type the story (my mom forbids me from staying up late). I do the editing along, then do a proofread before and after posting the chapter (I don''t abuse the button, stupid me.) And that''s how you get your chapters. Now, let me get back to writing. I feel better sharing all that. Haha. Feel free to comment and critique, as well as rate my fiction (I know it''s still only three chapter, but well, who doesn''t like being rated, especially if you''re quite confident in your story). Thanks for reading this. On a side note, should I actually ask for donations? muhaha. I need a better computer. The one I''m using right now experiences BSOD at least once a week :| C004 - An Impossible Task As Allen laughed like a madman, a Beep! sound had broken him from this hysterical reverie. A mail icon popped up in the top right corner of the terminal¡¯s hologram. It seems like the messaging system can be accessed both through the and the terminal. Without the need of leaving the terminal, he opened the message.
From: Assistant Trainer Natalie Myers To: CrySol I-0 AllIsDead Subject: Registration Completion Message: Congratulations. Your registration have now been completed. You are now an official Crystal Soldier, or CrySol, of Base 19 with Class I and Rank 0. As a reward and in preparation for your future prospects, we have taken the liberty to provide you with basic equipments. Access your Item Storage to procure them. Afterward, please proceed to Mission Control to start on accepting tasks to help and humanity as a whole.
Quest Complete! Registration Completion You are now an official member of . From now on, quests can be received by talking with the in . Some quests can also be received from NPCs related to special events.
Allen nodded in satisfaction. He was now fully immersed in the game, and receiving the confirmation that he was now an officially registered member of this base had filled him with some sort of pride, especially now that he was the first player to register here. ¡¯All of them are chickens, afraid to take on a challenge!¡¯ He then accessed the to view the items that he had received.
Small Item Localizer 8 slots This is a portable storage space.
Item Localizer This is an item similar to a bag. It is compact and durable, and can be easily equipped on your waist. You can equip up to a maximum of three of this item. The uses a special technology that converts mass into a small manageable energy form. This energy form can then be stored inside the in separate containment slots. Similar items can be stacked up to a maximum of 20. Because the materials were stored in energy form, they are weightless, making the transport of multiple items very convenient.
Emergency Warp Add-on This is an add-on function for the . This allows the user to return to the from outside the base. When used manually, it opens a dimensional warp over ten seconds and requires the user to stand still, then sends the user through it. It can then be used again after six hours. When the user¡¯s life is in danger, as long as the function is not in cool-down, a dimensional warp will be opened instantly and send the user back an instant before the fatal blow hits. This function then requires 12 hours before it can be used again. In case the function was in cool-down, the dimensional warp will still open instantaneously, but the user will be trapped in the warp for 12 hours (forced logout) due to the instability of the system caused by the forceful activation of the function.
Stun Grenade A simple grenade that releases a burst of light and shock wave within a small radius. The target must be within the radius and facing the blast to be effective.
Basic Ampule Agitates the inside the body to increase during combat to 100% for 5 seconds. Can be used on self or on others.
Basic Stimulant Stimulates the inside the body to increase during combat to 100% for 5 seconds. Can be used on self or on others.
He installed the on his and equipped the . There are three , five , and five in the which he all transfered to the . There was one item left in the .
Double-edged Sword This is a simple double-edged sword. Its edges are lined with that can be activated by pressing the trigger, increasing the damage by 100% for 5 seconds. (Cooldown: 2 Minutes) Damage: 100 Slash(1.0) Pierce(0.5) Strike(0.0)
There are three types of melee damage: Slash, Pierce, and Strike. *Slash - Damage caused by the sharp edge of the weapon. *Pierce - Damage caused by a sharp point on the weapon. *Strike - Damage caused by a blunt part of the weapon. Damage is calculated depending on the part of the weapon that hits the target and the part of the target that is hit by the weapon. To maximize damage, hit the weakest part of the target with the type of damage it is weak to.
He equipped the weapon. As he did, his right lower arm started to changed. The skin split apart, and crystal shards began to grow. It passed through the sleeves of his jacket without damaging the fabric. It then changed form into a thick band surrounding his lower arm, from the wrists until just below the elbow. This was the ¡®sheathed¡¯ form of the weapon. He stepped back from the terminal into a wide space in the room. He then extended his hand forward and closed his grip as if holding a bar. While doing so, he focused on the band around his arm and an IIW appeared. He chose and the band ¡®melted¡¯ and crawled over his hand. First, the handle formed, followed by the thick guard. Then the blade finally formed. The sword had formed in front of him with the handle within his grip. This all happened within the span of a second. At first, Allen just stood there, staring at the sword. The corners of his lips twitched, then he shouted. ¡°SO COOOOOOL!¡± That sort of transition between the sheathing and unsheathing of a weapon had never been experienced by Allen before in other games. It was always the standard drawing of the weapon manually from where it was placed. Once again, Allen wondered why this game wasn¡¯t very famous. After reveling in the system¡¯s aesthetics by repeatedly sheathing and unsheathing the weapon like a fool, he finally settled down and decided on a course of action. ¡¯I need to start with a quest, or course.¡¯ Using the , he quickly made his way to to finally start on taking quests. Almost all VRMMOs have a quest system, and Hazard Frontier Online was no exception. was a wide semi-circular room. The curved wall was lined with holographic monitors. Facing the wall were consoles which were busily being managed by uniformed men and women. Noticing Allen¡¯s arrival, a man who was standing in the middle of the room, turned to look at him. He was wearing a full white formal attire complete with tie, accentuating his grayish blue hair. He looked to be in his early thirties. As he saw Allen, a warm smile formed on his face, and walked to him. ¡°Soldier AllIsDead¡­ I¡¯ve heard about you. Come, I¡¯m sure your here to lend us a hand.¡± He patted Allen¡¯s shoulder, then guided him to a side of the room where one of the uniformed women was sitting before a console. ¡°Karen.¡± ¡°Director Ostwald!¡± ¡°No need to be so formal, Karen. This man here is AllIsDead. He has registered and will be taking missions from you.¡± ¡°It is a pleasure to work with you! My name is Karen Juris and I will be assisting you here in Mission Control.¡± ¡°The pleasure is mine.¡± The woman was in her late twenties, and the way her eyes would peek at the man who guided Allen and she called ¡®Director Ostwald¡¯ indicated that she has an attraction to the man. ¡°By the way, my name is Larry Ostwald, and I am the Director of Base 19. You don¡¯t have to be formal with me, though, and just treat me like you would any others. We are all family here, trying to survive day by day. I¡¯m sure I will be seeing great things from you in the near future, but do be careful.¡± As he said that, he patted Allen¡¯s shoulder again and returned to the center of the room to watch over the other workers. ¡°So, what do I do here?¡± ¡°Taking a mission is quite simple. You only need to come to me, and I can provide you with a list of missions you can take. The available missions can change daily or weekly, depending on the importance or urgency of the task. Some missions have a set deadline, while others can be completed any time. You can only take one mission at a time. Once you¡¯ve chosen a mission, proceed to the Hangar and have the transport team take you near the site of the mission, then, you will have to walk the rest of the way. This is to ensure the safety of the transport team, as they are no soldier unlike yourself. Missions may range from collecting of materials to complete elimination of a group of beasts. Once you¡¯re done with the mission, send a completion beacon and the transport team will pick you up at a designated pick up point. If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.While you are outside in the duration of the mission, you are free to roam around and do other things you want. Just make sure that you prioritize your safety. If you want to return before completing the mission, you can use the Warp Add-on on your Communicator, or walk back on your own. Using the completion beacon without completing the mission will automatically register you as having failed the mission. In that case, you may suffer from some punishment depending on the gravity of the situation. When you have returned before completing a mission, the transport team can take you back to the site again. That is all the necessary information regarding Missions. Would you like to take one now?¡± Allen committed to memory the details regarding quest-taking, especially the part of abandoning the quest. There seemed to be a punishment for that, and he was unwilling to try to know what it was. ¡°Yes, if possible.¡± ¡°Okay, please wait.¡± Saying that, Karen started fiddling with the console. After ten seconds she turned to face Allen again. ¡°There is only one mission currently available. Would you like to accept it?¡±
Dr. Pheol¡¯s Request The is running low on materials for one of their experiments. They would like your assistance. Collect 10 Vulpia blood samples. No time limit.
¡°Yes. I¡¯ll take it.¡± ¡°Okay, please show me your Communicator.¡± Allen did so, then Karen took out a device that looked like a bar-code scanner, similar to the one the guard used back in the lab. She hovered it above the Communicator on his wrist. ¡°All done. Ten empty vials have been sent to your terminal. You don¡¯t need to return to your Workshop. There is a terminal in the Hangar that you can use. Make sure to retrieve those vials before leaving. To use the beacon, access it using the Communicator.¡± ¡°I see¡­ Thanks.¡± ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Good luck!¡± ¡°Yeah, you too.¡± Allen left and headed straight for the . As he entered, he was greeted by the loud noise of machinery. Looking at the source, there was a group of people wearing overalls surrounding what looked like a three meter tall¡­ ¡¯Robot?¡¯ He was quite surprised. There was no mention of this in the game description or the game¡¯s official website. He took note of this as he decided to check it on the forums later. The group of people and the robot was clumped together by the left side of the hangar near the entrance where Allen was. To the right by the wall, he saw a terminal. He walked to it and used it to access his . Just as Karen said, there were ten in there which he took and stored in his . ¡°Hey, there. Are you the new guy?¡± A voice came from the side. Allen turned his head and looked at the person who just spoke. There stood a young man in his early twenties with short messy blond hair and pierced ears. He was wearing an attire similar to Allen. ¡°My name¡¯s Jake Kingston. I just received a message that the new guy was coming over for a mission. That you?¡± ¡°Yes. Codenamed AllIsDead.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. I was afraid I mistook you for someone else. I already have the details of your mission, so just tell me whenever you want to go to the site and I¡¯ll give you a ride.¡± He pointed his head to the side, toward the exit of the , a set of blast doors. There, a huge three-wheeled vehicle was parked. It resembles that of a Big Bike, except there were two wheels at the back. It was sleek and black, and gave the impression of speed and power. ¡°I call it the Worldrunner. Custom built it myself. None of the other transporters can beat me and my bike. You¡¯re lucky you were assigned to me. Even if all the beasts in the forest came chasing after us, they wouldn¡¯t be able catch up. The thing runs faster than any vehicle you can imagine, on almost any type of terrain, and it also runs silently. Gotta thank Dr. Pheol for thinking up new ways to use those crystals.¡± ¡°Impressive.¡± Allen couldn¡¯t help but sigh in admiration. He was not a bike junkie in reality, but there were things that you could appreciate without even knowing anything about it. The bike in front of him was such thing. ¡°So, we going?¡± ¡°Sure. Let¡¯s go.¡± Jake led Allen to the exit, and they got on the bike. The ¡¯s exit opened and the black monster carried the two out into the open world. True to Jake¡¯s words, the Worldrunner was indeed very fast. Allen held on like his life depended on it, as the world around him had turned into a speeding blur. In just a few minutes they stopped as they had reached their destination. ¡°You know the procedures. Use the beacon if you want out.¡± ¡°I will.¡± ¡°See you then, and take care out there.¡± ¡°Yeah, you too.¡± They parted ways. Allen watched as the man and his prided creation disappeared in the blink of an eye. ¡°I forgot to ask what a Vulpia looks like.¡± The may also have information about it, but he had completely forgotten to check. Tinkering with the he found that Dr. Pheol¡¯s contact had been registered in his contact list. Quickly, he sent the doctor a message. In just a few minutes, the reply came filled with a string of thanks and gratefulness toward Allen for accepting the request. At the bottom of the message was an image of a Vulpia. Unsurprisingly, it was the same beast that had been simulated during the combat test in the . Having forgotten the trainer¡¯s words, Allen was filled with confidence that he could easily complete this quest. With a confident gait, he walked through the dense trees looking for prey. The Vulpia was a wolf infected with that normally hunts in packs. Its strength ranges from that of a Class I Rank 0 to a Rank 4. Once a group of Vulpia reaches Rank 4, urgent missions will be given within the bases. That was the case for the central regions. Within the region that was located, the Vulpia were rarely hunted due to the lack of active CrySols. Because of this fact, they had time to cultivate the in their body, raising their power to that of a Class III Rank 10. Of course, Allen did not know about any of these. If he had checked in the beforehand, then he might have been more cautious. Dr. Pheol had also forgotten to warn him about this fact. Allen had only based his estimation of their strength on the simulation in the , whose strength was based on the commonly known data, not on the actual data within ¡¯s region. Allen was hiding behind a tree. After he started his search, he had quickly found a Vulpia sleeping in a clearing between trees. It was already midnight both in reality and in the game. Going through that starting quest and spending too much time appreciating the game¡¯s aesthetics had made time pass by quickly. In other games, Allen would have already passed at least 10 levels during this time. ¡¯Time to make up for lost time.¡¯ He unsheathed the double-edged sword. With a finger, he gently stroked small hidden trigger. He then jumped out from behind the tree and dashed toward the defenseless monster¡­ only to stumble in shock. It was gone. He had only taken his eyes off of it for a few seconds as he prepared his weapon, but it had disappeared at that moment. ¡¯Where is it?¡¯ Allen felt slightly panicked. Normally, this wouldn¡¯t affect him if he was faced with a conniving human opponent like in other games, but the opponent this time was monster that lived by its instincts. He could predict the thoughts of human opponents who naturally aimed for efficiency, but not of monstrosities who were driven by their desire to kill and survive. ¡¯Behind!¡¯ He heard a rustling sound from the same area he had hidden before. Without turning to look and check, he quickly jumped forward and rolled on the ground. A strong gust of wind hit him from behind. He then scampered and stood on his feet. In a small clearing between trees in a forest, stood man and beast facing each other. Both had the same foreign object integrated into their body; one implanted, the other infected; one suppressed, the other uninhibited. The first to move was the man. Allen dashed forward and swung the blade upward diagonally to the left with two hands. He aimed for the beast¡¯s neck. The Vulpia only stood there and watched the blade¡¯s edge approach it. As the weapon was a few inches away from cutting flesh, the Vulpia moved. The rest of its body steady, its right paw moved to meet with blade. Allen sneered. No matter how tough the beast¡¯s claws were, it would still be damaged by the attack. It would even be better if he could cut that paw off. Then, the crystal shards protruding from the Vulpia¡¯s front right leg melted and crawled over its paw. The claws grew longer and sharper, and its paw was surrounded by a dense layer of crystal. This only took an instant to happen. With a loud and sharp noise, their attacks met. The conclusion of their clash was obvious. The sword rebounded and hit the ground, burying deeply. Allen lost his balance and stumbled forward. With this opening, the strengthened claws reached for his chest. -400 -50 Bleed In an instant, almost half of Allen¡¯s health disappeared. He saw a hologram hovering above the , showing a pair of gauges with the Vitality and Stamina values. The damage had greatly surprised him. Before he could recover his composure, the Vulpia attacked again without giving him any time to breath. It lunged forward, swiping with its pair of front legs, both with hardened paws and a set of sharpened claws. -360 -400 Allen had greatly underestimated his opponent and had suffered severely for that mistake.
Kekeke, reminds me of that time I played GEB for the first time. Mission said I should avoid the Vajra, but I attacked it instead. C005 - Resolution; Confusion
Emergency Warp passive function activated.
Allen saw the message as he found himself back inside his . The gauge hovering on top of the quickly recovered every second as any sign of physical damage on his body disappeared. There was also a 12-hour countdown now present for the warp function¡¯s cool-down. ¡°WHAT THE HELL!!!¡± This was the first time that Allen experienced such a humiliating defeat. He was taken down in three hits. The Vulpia didn¡¯t even make any real effort. It was as if swatting a fly. Still furious, he accessed the in the terminal and looked up the information on Vulpia.
Vulpia Wolf beast mutated by the infection. Generally, it has black fur and crystal shard protrusions in random locations all over its body. It has an average height of 150 cm when standing on four limbs, and a length of about 270 cm. Vulpia normally hunts in packs, as a single Vulpia is generally weak. Vulpia are Class I Rank 0 monsters, and can cultivate to increase their strength. The strongest Vulpia ever recorded was a Class VII Rank 5 monster during the establishment period of the bases. Nowadays, when a pack of Vulpia reaches the strength of Class I Rank 4, an extermination mission will be given to the nearest base, and thus no Vulpia stronger than Class I Rank 4 had ever been seen since then. Extra Note: had neglected the extermination missions. The Vulpia around the base had been seen to have a strength of Class III Rank 10.
Allen wanted to bang his head against the terminal. He didn¡¯t know how much the gap in strength between Class I and Class III was, but based from his experience, it was enough to turn him into a joke. The Vulpia was supposed to be weak, and he had thought so, too. He should have taken the trainer¡¯s advice more seriously. Feeling a bit depressed, he went to the bed and sat down. He considered dropping the quest, but he didn¡¯t want to risk chances and test himself against the unknown punishment that served as a consequence. It also seemed like this quest will affect the results of the research that the was performing. ¡°What should I do?¡± He whispered under his breath. He remembered the glorious days he had with the girl who had been his partner for five years. They were the strongest. They cleared all quests they took easily. Even if they encountered an extreme challenge, they could still overcome it by relying each other. They would always watch out for each other¡¯s back. The assassin and the priest; The taker and preserver of life. The taker preserves the life of the preserver from his enemies; The preserver takes the life of the taker¡¯s opponents. Their roles were opposite by general consensus, yet they switched roles to protect the other, breaking any sort of common sense. For the first time, he felt the emptiness and loneliness of not having her by his side. ¡°This won¡¯t do.¡± He shook his head. He had a goal he must achieve. This was just another challenge. His partner may not be by his side, but she was in his heart, providing him with the courage and motivation to persevere even in the direst of straits. Slapping his face, he changed his mindset and firmed his resolve. He will not underestimate any opponent he would face from now on. He swiftly made his way back to the . Jake was surprised to see him, but immediately understood what had happened. ¡°Its strength caught you off guard, didn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°We¡¯re losing personnel every month because of those things. If you succeed in this mission, you wouldn¡¯t only be helping the doctor but also all the people in the base. One less of those creatures is a blessing for everyone here.¡± Seeing that Allen didn¡¯t respond, Jake turned to look at him. He saw in Allen¡¯s eyes a determination and resolve he had not seen in others before. He smiled and patted Allen¡¯s back before getting on the Worldrunner and leaving the base. Allen had already drawn his weapon before proceeding deeper into the forest. The starlight and moonlight was blocked by the dense cluster of leaves, but he could still see quite clearly. This was also an effect of the implant. Slowly, he made his way back to the place where he had seen the Vulpia. He was crouching low and treaded the damp soil with caution, avoiding dead twigs and leaves to reduce any noise. He had also covered the surface of the sword which he rested on his shoulder with mud to prevent it from reflecting light. Soon, he arrived at his destination. There, the Vulpia was again lying down on the grassy soil, resting. Its body gently raised and lowered in tandem with its breathing. Every now and then, its tail would move, indicating that it wasn¡¯t fully asleep. Its body was slightly bigger than what was recorded in the and its fur were gray instead of black. The crystals on its body were not as random as in the data, but were more clustered around its front legs and around the spine. If it had a weak point, then it would be the area on its lower front torso, the stomach. Allen was in the same spot as he was when he tried to ambush the beast. He looked down and saw the faint footprints he had made, as well as that of the Vulpia. He followed the Vulpia¡¯s trail and found himself on the opposite side of the clearing from where he was initially. That meant that the Vulpia retreated in the opposite direction of where he was before, then circled around silently in the span of a few seconds. He felt admiration toward this opponent. It was quick, strong, and intelligent, and still has room for growth. Under the moonlight, the crystals on its body shimmered with a faint miriad of colors. ¡¯I¡¯m not even worthy of being its opponent¡¯ Suddenly, a gust of wind blew from behind him. The Vulpia¡¯s nose twitched and its eyes lazily opened, staring at his direction. ¡¯So this was how it had found me earlier!¡¯ There was no turning back for Allen now. He stood up quickly, with his left hand touching the on his belt. In the instant that the Vulpia stood on its four legs, he had already opened the storage and located the , his eyes never letting the beast disappear from his sight. In the corner of his vision, the was already in his hand and the option in the IIW was already selected, just waiting for a final confirmation. The Vulpia didn¡¯t attack. From its dark green eyes glinted a light of wary. If it seemed like it had looked down on Allen on their first confrontation, now it had detected his change in his attitude. Slowly, it took a step back while lowering its body. It was a posture where it was ready to dash on any direction. Allen smiled wryly. Now that the beast was completely serious in taking him on, does he even had a sliver of chance to come out of this victorious? Why do you dare to face against those stronger than you? This was a question that Allen asked his old partner when they were just starting out. During that time, they were still low-level characters. The under-geared assassin had invited him to challenge a ten-man dungeon on their own. It¡¯s to challenge myself! Why would you do that? Huh? You don¡¯t know? Know what? Whenever you conquer a challenge, you become way way stronger than you were before you took it. I see¡­ What if you failed? Hahaha! Why are you laughing? Because that was a funny question! If I fail, then I will pick myself back up and face the challenge again. Being able to do that is also a process that can make you stronger! Every time you fall, you look back up from where you were, see the mistakes you made, and improve upon them, then face the challenge again until you conquer it. That¡¯s how you become strong! But what if you can¡¯t conquer it even though you have failed so many times? That¡¯s what you are here for, right? Looking back in the past, it was her who was truly the strong one. She had only brought him along with her to the peak in her search for greater challenges. ¡¯So why had not she chosen Base 19?¡¯ For now, Allen kept that question in a corner of his mind. There was a more important matter that needed his attention. The Vulpia decided to make the first move, seeing that the human in front of it had no intention to initiate the attack. It dashed forward to the left, the side where the human was holding its weapon. The other hand was gripping something, and that had made the beast wary. By moving toward the side with the weapon, it was further from the unknown object, and the human would not be able to perform an attack with enough power behind it. For Allen, the move the Vulpia chose was the worst possible. The beast was truly an intelligent one. Attack with the blade, throw the grenade, dodge to the center of the clearing, or into the forest¡­ Right now, Allen was at his peak condition. Choices appeared in his mind as his brain worked in full gear. In that split second, he had looked over all the possible actions he could take and their probably results. He went through them one by one, discarding those with the lowest chance of success, slowly chipping away the failures. Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon. He did as she had told him, to look at the failures and continue improving upon them, to reach that point where he could finally conquer the challenge, except that he was doing it all in his mind. This was how their legend started of being the undefeated pair. If she relied upon him to help her gain victory, then how could he let himself fail even once? Outside the game, in the real world, the Virtual Gear System Drive was processing information at an unprecedented speed. From the usually silent device, a high-pitch whirring sound could be heard and it was gradually heating up. Back in the game, the situation was slightly different compared to when they were together. This time, he had failed once, and from that failure he had learned a great lesson. He wouldn¡¯t fail a second time. It was not something that he could allow. The action he chose to take¡­ ¡­was to take no action. He waited for the Vulpia to come close to him. The beast thought that the human which was supposed to have died from it earlier but suddenly disappeared was being arrogant and foolish. It felt that he had not learned his lesson from that experience. Just because the human had survived and had brought a strange item with him, he thought that he had a chance against it. With a low growl, the Vulpia jumped forward and landed half a meter away from Allen. Its right paw with a set of sharpened claws and layer of hardened crystal lashed out toward him at a speed that was barely visible with the naked eye. During that time, Allen was quietly observing the beast, watching every slight movement it made. In his mind, he simulated the beast¡¯s next probable set of action and what he would do during those cases. The simulation changed with every minute change in the actual beast¡¯s movements. If a normal person heard of him doing something like this, they wouldn¡¯t believe a single word of it. When the Vulpia jumped, Allen had noticed that its weight had shifted to its left, and its right paw was slightly higher off the ground. In his mental simulation, the beast had attacked with its right paw. Allen shifted his body with small but compact movements, and moved forward to meet the attack with his body. He turned his body to the right while shifting his sword over his head from his right shoulder. When the sharp claws approached, the sword was already raised in an almost vertical position, the flat of its blade touching his left arm. The sharp claws met the flat of the blade supported by Allen¡¯s shoulder from the other side. Although he managed to block a direct attack, he already knew beforehand that the force of the Vulpia¡¯s attack wasn¡¯t so simple. Before he was thrown off to the side, his and the beast¡¯s gaze met. As they did, he showed a smile of success. The Vulpia¡¯s gaze moved toward his left hand. The was not there anymore. While Allen was changing the position of the sword to block the attack, he had already activated the beforehand because it had a three-second countdown before it exploded (forgot to add this information in the previous chapter). By taking small actions, the beast¡¯s wary gaze transferred from just the item in his hand to all over his body. That moment of loss of attention did not escape Allen¡¯s eyes. He tossed the grenade vertically, hidden behind the blade that he raised to defend. -120 Even though he had defended, he still received a huge damage. He was knocked to the side, leaving the grenade still hovering in the air. He fought hard to keep his balance in mid-air, landing on his feet and sliding a few inches on the ground. By that time, the grenade had exploded right in front of the Vulpia¡¯s face. The bright burst of light brought a searing pain into the beast¡¯s eyes which were normally more sensitive to light. The accompanying shock wave rattled its brain, causing its body to slightly stumble forward, then fall down on its side. It had lost its sight and motor control. Allen knew that this would not last forever. Taking this opportunity he dashed with everything he got and swung the sword with all his momentum behind it. The tip of the sword glanced against the soil, slicing off blades of grass. Allen¡¯s eyes were directed in a single place. His target was the currently exposed stomach. -100 -50 -13 Bleed The sword embedded itself in the beast¡¯s abdomen, a part of the edge and the tip buried deep within. Gritting his teeth, he pressed the trigger and twisted the sword, then swung it to the side, tracing the Vulpia¡¯s torso toward the front, cutting of one of its front legs. -10 -200 -200 -200 -26 Bleed He could feel the Vulpia¡¯s bones and organs being crushed and sliced inside its body as the sword¡¯s blade went through them. Even though he had dealt such huge damage, the beast was still alive. This was a game after all, and no matter how many times he destroyed its organs, it wouldn¡¯t die as long as it had a single point of left. The Vulpia still had about 40% left. The grenade was about to run out of its effect. With the sword raised and pointed to the moon, he prepared to swing down and cut the Vulpia¡¯s head off, betting on the chance of a probable fatal or critical hit. As he was about to bring down the sword, the Vulpia¡¯s eyes opened and gazed at him for a moment, then shifted to look behind him. It was looking at something behind him. Allen could tell that it wasn¡¯t a feint. There was a mix of unbridled anger in those pair of dark green orbs. It was an emotion that Allen had not seen in the beast¡¯s eyes during their clash. Unable to constrain himself, he turned to look behind him. The sight almost drained every inch of blood in his body. More than ten pairs of glowing red orbs filled with blood-lust where directed at him from within the forest. No, they were directed at the heavily injured beast in front of him. From the forest, the rustling of leaves accompanied the movements of those red eyes. Black figures covered in crystal shards came out of the shadows into the clearing. More than ten Vulpia had entered the scene uninvited. The leading Vulpia suddenly lurched forward catching Allen off-guard. It pounced at him with its maw wide open, ready to bite and rip off his neck. Unexpectedly, the Vulpia behind him stood up with its remaining three legs, and pushed him to the side. The two beasts clashed and bit each other¡¯s neck. They both had formed a layer of crystal around their necks, causing them to both be unable to penetrate. Allen who was thrown off to the side could clearly see that there was an enmity between this pack of black-furred red-eyed Vulpia and the single gray-furred green-eyed Vulpia. Their differences in appearance could be clearly scene. The latter was even slightly bigger with more shards of crystal on its body. Before he could make sense of the situation, three black Vulpia pounced at him. Frustration, dejection, and confusion were mixed together in Allen¡¯s mind. He was now sitting on his bed, brooding over what had happened. There were clearly an enmity between the group and the single Vulpia, but he had no idea what might have caused it. Looking back on it, the Vulpia he had fought against had a noble air around it, while the ones that ambushed their fight were more savage and wild. Allen had died twice and was now unable to log in for 12 hours. He lied back down on the bed and closed his eyes. It was almost 3 am, and right now, his mind was completely exhausted. The fight had taken a lot from him. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ Within the game, the gray Vulpia was speeding along the forest, leaving a trail of blood. It had run away from the clearing after the human had been preyed upon by three of the beasts. It had caught the sight of the human suddenly disappearing like in their first battle. It knew that the human was still alive somewhere. The Vulpia had stimulated the inside its body to heal its wounds slowly as it ran away. The first part it healed was the cut off leg. It did not regrow but instead used the crystals to form a prosthetic leg. After a while its entire body had fully healed. The pack of black Vulpia that chased and had been right behind it the whole time had now been left behind after the full recovery. It was much faster than them, and there was no way they could chase it. After about three hours of running the Vulpia decided that it was already far away. The trail of blood had been cut off when it had healed, and there was no way for those beasts to track it down. The Vulpia slowly came to a halt upon a small clearing on top of a hill and gazed at the slowly rising sun. It then looked down at its prosthetic leg that reflected and shimmered with prismatic colors. The human was actually stronger than it had thought. It got down on the grassy ground and started licking its paw. After that it curled its body around and closed its eyes. It basked under the warmth of the rising sun and dozed off to a light sleep.
Budumtss! Early post... simple because I will be busy the whole day tomorrow. T_T . C006 - Taking A Breather Two in the morning, most people would be deep in sleep unless they worked a graveyard shift, but in this era where games were as common as the clouds, many were still awake connected to the online virtual worlds. During this time in Hazard Frontier Online, Allen was on his way to face the gray Vulpia for the second time. In a different place, to the west of the central regions, a group of six people stood in front of a small cave entrance. Two of them were equipped with long guns, two with shields, one with a huge hammer, and the last one with a pair of blades. Those drawn weapons represent their cautiousness. They were lightly clothed with dark blue camouflage patterns, perfect for the moonlit night. ¡°Are we really doing this?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± The first person to break the silence was the girl equipped with a shield and lance. She had waist-length pale blond hair. The one who answered was the dual bladed girl with blue-tinted platinum hair that reached just below her shoulders. Someone who watched a lot of gameplay videos would easily recognize this girl. She was BlackPrincess. Oddly enough, the remaining four members of the party were also girls. The other five looked at BlackPrincess. Although she had just affirmed the task, she still stood still in front of the entrance. BlackPrincess remembered her partner. He would always ask the same question whenever she invited him to do something seemingly outrageous. He would act hesitant and doubtful toward her, but once she holds her ground and say firmly that they will do it, he would accept. They would then finish the task with the possible results. ¡¯It was all thanks to him.¡¯ In her point of view, LessHealMoreKill was a very humble and reserved person. He would direct all the glory of their victory to her and say that he didn¡¯t do much but only support her. For a battle priest, that was a strange thing to say. His skills and build were more focused on offensive support and damaging spells. The support he meant was him covering for the holes in her defense. When they do dungeon raids, just the two of them, he would always be right behind her to pull her out of harms way whenever she accidentally trigger a trap. ¡°It¡¯s the usual, right?¡± ¡°She¡¯s missing him!¡± The other five girls started chattering and giggling. They were BlackPrincess¡¯ friends and classmates in the real world. When she invited LessHealMoreKill to play HazardFrontier, the truth was at that time, her friends had figured out that she was the assassin in the video. She regret sparing minimal effort in hiding her identity. They invited her to play Hazard Frontier because they needed a strong player, and she fitted the bill. She accepted because it would be awkward for her to deny as they already knew her legendary character after all. In turn, she invited her partner hoping that he could salvage the situation, but unexpectedly, he rejected her offer. She felt dejected after that. She could only accept his decision. He had spent a lot of time supporting her and her outrageous actions that she didn¡¯t thought it was strange if he was actually already tired of being with her. Seeing her changing facial expressions, the other girls were having a good time. Finally, BlackPrincess realized that she had gone off into a tangent with her thoughts again, something that have been happening quite frequently. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re back.¡± A girl with short-cropped fiery red hair equipped with a long gun greeted her. ¡°Y-yeah.¡± Slightly embarrassed, BlackPrincess tried to clear her thoughts and stepped into the cave. They were here for Class III mission. BlackPrincess was already at Class II Rank 2 while the rest were Class I Rank 10. ¡¯For now, you girls take the suffering in his place.¡¯ With that thought and a devious smile on her face, she led her party into the depths of the dark cave. Allen woke up after two hours of sleep. It was now a few minutes past five, and the sun had yet to rise. He quickly changed his clothes and went out for a run. Although he spent a lot of time in playing games, Allen had not neglected to maintain his physical body. He started this routine when he got sick for a week during his first year in VRMMOs. His current food diet was bad, but he tried to make up for it with exercise. ¡¯I need to earn some cash soon.¡¯ Fortunately, Hazard Frontier allowed RMT or Real Money Trade. He almost jumped for joy when he got that information on their website. The only problem now was his in-game situation. He had accidentally chosen the hardest starting point, and was now stuck in a difficult situation. It would be very hard to complete the quests and to hunt anything. Earning in-game cash was now as hard as earning real life cash. Even though that was the case, his situation still had some good points. If he managed to overcome this situation, the gains would be high enough to compensate for his difficulties. He doesn¡¯t believe that the quest rewards for his current quest would be small. Also, since the zone was a high level one, that meant that future item drops would also include high level ones. With the game still only proceeding toward its second month, players with high level materials and equipments wouldn¡¯t be that many, since most of them started in the low-risk low-level zones. ¡¯If I trade high-level items, I could make some quick and easy cash¡­ well, not that easy.¡¯ After about an hour, the sun had already appeared over the horizon. Allen stopped by a convenience store to grab something to eat, a cup of instant noodles. As he sat down by the table, he heard laughter and discussion coming from the next table. There were three guys who seem to be high schoolers based on their appearance. Of course, they were wearing casual clothes. It was Saturday, and there were no classes. ¡°Last night, before I logged out of Frontier, I heard the NPCs talking about something related to Base 19.¡± ¡°I heard that, too. It seems like there was a noob who chose Base 19 as a starting place.¡± ¡°He¡¯ll eventually delete that character or beg the devs for a transfer. That¡¯s what I did.¡± ¡°You mean begging? Hahaha!¡± In Hazard Frontier, you can only make one character per account, so if you want to make a new one, you have to delete the previous character. ¡°I only made that character in Base 19 because I wanted to experience having the Precursor achievement. It sucks that the achievement disappears and all the NPCs forget about you when you delete the account.¡± ¡°At least that allows the Precursor achievement to be reset, right? It¡¯s unfair to take that achievement away only to delete your character afterward.¡± ¡°I guess you¡¯re right.¡± ¡°Hey guys, did you see the post in the forum an hour ago?¡± ¡°What post?¡± ¡°Base 2 cleared a Class III dungeon with their newest party.¡± ¡°Base 2¡­ you mean Moon Hunters?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± ¡°The newest party should be the all-girls one led by the dual-blading girl?¡± ¡°What¡¯s their Class?¡± ¡°When they went in the dungeon, the leader was Class II, while the others were Class I.¡± ¡°The hell? They challenged a Class III dungeon?¡± ¡°Apparently, it was a special event quest. After clearing it, each of them got some rare materials, and the Class I members classed up.¡± ¡°Damn¡­ I heard they started not too long ago.¡± ¡°Some were saying that the leader was the assassin in that legendary battle of 2 versus a thousand.¡± ¡°Really? If that was true, then it was no wonder they managed to clear that dungeon.¡± Allen continued to eat his noodles as he eavesdropped on their conversation. When he heard about BlackPrincess¡¯ achievments, he was filled with mixed emotions. He was proud of her, and at the same time felt envious. There was also the fact that he was currently not making any progress while she just keeps on rising in rank. ¡¯I need to catch up!¡¯ He quickly finished the noodles and slurped the broth, then left the store. He decided to walk by the park on the way back to his apartment. There were others jogging and doing calisthenics. Some were doing slow meditative exercises, while others danced in groups to a music, following the instructor leading them. As Allen performed some stretches, he noticed a familiar figure sitting on a bench. She was wearing a shirt damp with sweat and jogging pants. Her hair was black and short, barely reaching past her chin, and matched her dark, almost black, irises within her upturned eyes. ¡°Hi!¡± He decided to approach and greet her. Hearing his voice, she twitched in her seat and slowly turned her head to look at him. ¡°A-Allen¡­ H-hi¡­ What are y-you doing here?¡± Her stuttering looked cute to Allen. She was obviously flustered upon seeing him. Her question also was something she just said without thinking properly. They always chanced upon each other here on mornings like this. Lyka was her name. She was Carl¡¯s cousin. Leaving home for personal reasons, she went to this city two years ago to study for middle school, and lived in the home of her aunt, Carl¡¯s mother. They got to know each other when he and Carl hang out and she tagged along. She then got hooked into a VR game, a shooting game, because of their influence. Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Morning routing, as usual. I just had breakfast.¡± ¡°I-I see.¡± Her face blushed into a bright red, reaching up to her ears. She had realized the foolishness of her question and had felt embarrassed about it. ¡°Can I sit?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Allen sat beside her. There was no real meaning behind it. He may act cold to others, but that doesn¡¯t mean he was like that to everyone. They sat there for a few minutes without talking about anything. Finally, it was Lyka who broke the silence. ¡°Uhm¡­ are you busy today?¡± ¡°Not until three in the afternoon.¡± He could not login to Hazard Frontier Online for 12 hours. The 12 hours will end by 3 pm. ¡°Then¡­ can I¡­ invite you¡­ to go out?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± Allen could see her clench her fist and made a guts pose. He knew that she liked him. It was pretty obvious since the first time they met. He was not a dense person. He also liked the girl. She was cute and interesting, and if she took the courage to confess to him and ask him out, he wouldn¡¯t reject her. ¡°Is Carl going to?¡± ¡°No. Actually, he promised that he will go with me today, but he suddenly changed his mind after saying that he was going to play a game and join a group called Base Moon¡­ something.¡± All signs of bashfulness disappeared as she started grumbling about Carl. Allen only smiled by the side. ¡°What time and where will we meet up?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ up to you, Allen.¡± ¡°How about nine? I¡¯ll pick you up.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going first, then. See you later.¡± ¡°Yes. Thank you, and see you, too.¡± Allen stood up and patted her head. He watched her blush once more, then headed back to his apartment. As he arrived, the first thing he did was check up on some information online. What he heard at the convenience store was true. There was even an uploaded video of the dungeon clearing¡¯s final boss fight. He sat back and thought about the fight. The boss was said to be Class III Rank 10. It was a giant centipede with a fully crystallized exoskeleton. Its only weakness were its joints. ¡¯It looked weak.¡¯ That was his first impression right after the boss was defeated. The gray Vulpia he fought was much tougher than that. Even though the centipede boss looked more fierce in appearance, in the end, it was moving in a repetitive manner. After a few minutes of testing the waters, the party easily figured out its attack patterns and took advantage of those. They easily disposed of it. To the eyes of others, it may seem like an expert skill. Allen knew that BlackPrincess didn¡¯t even consider the fight a challenge. ¡¯Too easy.¡¯ Despite that, she looked like she had fun. After the boss died, the she and her party members could be seen making a celebratory pose. After that, he continued searching for more information, but no matter how thorough he was, he could not find anything related to the gray Vulpia. Time swiftly passed. Seeing that it was almost eight, he took a bath and changed clothes. Checking his wallet, he made sure that he had enough money in case of emergency situations. By nine, he had arrived in front of Carl¡¯s house. His mom had seen him waiting outside and invited him in. She knew that he was waiting for Lyka. ¡°Please wait for a while. She¡¯s still in her room, picking her clothes, probably.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, ma¡¯am. I¡¯m not in a hurry or anything. Where¡¯s Carl?¡± ¡°He rushed back up after eating breakfast. Did you need something from him?¡± ¡°No, not really. I was planning to ask something, but it¡¯s not really important.¡± ¡°I see¡­ I have a question for you, though.¡± ¡°What is it, ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°Are you going out with Lyka?¡± ¡°If you mean we¡¯re going out somewhere, then yes?¡± ¡°Haha, silly boy. You know I¡¯m not asking about that.¡± ¡°Sorry, ma¡¯am. Haha. No, we¡¯re not going out¡­ yet?¡± ¡°Oh? Are you planning to ask her out?¡± ¡°No¡­ I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t like her? She¡¯s shy and may act rashly sometimes, especially when it¡¯s about Carl, but she¡¯s a good girl.¡± ¡°I know. I just don¡¯t want to be the one to ask.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Like you said, ma¡¯am, that Lyka is a shy girl. I want her to break out of that shell and take the courage and ask me out herself.¡± ¡°Oh, I see. You¡¯re a very thoughtful person, so unlike my son.¡± As they conversed in the living room, a set of footsteps came from the stairs leading to the second floor. A girl wearing a pink dress and heels came down. Allen gazed at the cute 15 year-old girl with a warm smile. Seeing him, she also smiled brightly while blushing a bit. ¡°She really went all out, huh¡­¡± Carl¡¯s mom whispered beside Allen. He smiled wryly after hearing that. They left the house and rode a bus together. When they arrived at the mall and entered, Lyka gathered the eyes of some of the passing males. She was only 160 cm tall, and it further emphasized her cuteness. The white clip on her hair matched well with her pink dress. ¡°Where would you like to go first?¡± ¡°Up to you¡­¡± Bashful, she spoke in a low volume. Allen smiled warmly at her, gave her a pat on the head, then led the way. As he started to walk, she reached forward and hesitatingly held his sleeve. When he didn¡¯t shake her off, a happy and contented smile formed on her face. They first went to a karaoke box. It was Allen who singing most of the time, while Lyka watched and listened. She would sway with the tune and laughed at the mistakes he made. When he kept on challenging her to sing, she accepted for the last song. Her singing voice was soft and calming, and Allen can¡¯t help but admire her. She did have the right to laugh at him. Compared to her, his singing was embarrassing to listen to. Next, they played a few games on the arcade. There was a shooting game which they played and successfully completed with a perfect score. The other people watching were stunned at their performance. They took a break and ate at a stall in the grocery area for lunch. After that, they walked around and entering different clothes shops. They tried on different clothes, but didn¡¯t buy anything. The sales attendants had forced smiles on their faces when the two left. They then laughed at the same time as they exited the stores. The last place they went to was the top floor, where VR hardwares and softwares were being sold. They checked out the games available and the latest state-of-the-art hardwares. ¡°It¡¯s this!¡± Lyka suddenly exclaimed as she pointed at a game box. The people around who all stared at her. Inside this shop, th customers and the employees where conversing in low voices, and having someone suddenly speak in a loud voice would indeed be attention grabbing. She lowered her head in embarrassment. Allen patted her head to comfort her as he looked at what she point out. It was a game box of Hazard Frontier Online. ¡°This?¡± He asked to confirm as he approached the display case. ¡°Yeah. That¡¯s the game that Carl bought yesterday and said he was going to start playing today.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ do you want to play it, too?¡± ¡°No. Hmph. Carl wouldn¡¯t help anyways. If you were gonna play it, too, then maybe¡­¡± ¡°I actually just started last night.¡± ¡°Eh, really?¡± ¡°Yep. Don¡¯t tell Carl, though. He doesn¡¯t know.¡± ¡°Then, maybe I should buy this¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s a hard game, though. Maybe you should try other games first, to get yourself used to something other than a shooting game.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ okay.¡± Slightly dejected, Lyka followed Allen as they left the store. She kept on looking back as they walked out. Seeing her mood, Allen treated her to a cone of ice cream. After the treat, her mood finally got better. They walked around some more, then headed for home. Allen had brought Lyka back to Carl¡¯s and got a treat of homemade cake from his mom, before heading for his apartment. He was in a good mood as he was able to see Lyka¡¯s cute expressions, and didn¡¯t spend too much during the date. He also got free cake which he would eat for dinner, and possibly save some for breakfast. After storing the cake in the small refrigerator, he quickly changed his clothes and booted up the Virtual Gear System Drive. The 12 hours of being unable to login had good benefits. Although it slowed his gaming pace, he was able to relax and rest his mind.
A relaxing chapter. The title reminds me of Nana to Kaoru (evil smile). This isn''t late! The previous chapters were just uploaded early. haha. Check out my signature BTW. There''s a blog link for you guests who doesn''t want to make a RRL account but still want to be up to date. :) C007 - New Weapon and New Trouble ¡°Six!¡± ¡¯Goodness gracious¡­ This man is mad.¡¯ The uniformed personnel sitting behind the control console could not help but stare wide-eyed through the monitoring window. The man below was looking at him, waiting for him to follow the instructions. The fierceness in his deep-set platinum eyes sent chills down his spine. Hesitatingly, his hand trembled as they moved over the console. Set amount to six. Spawn Class III Rank 10 Vulpia. An hour had already passed since the man entered the . He had asked for the personnel to spawn a Vulpia for him. After defeating that, he had asked to spawn twice the amount. After defeating those two, he increased it three. They had repeated this process until they reached the current situation. Suddenly, the door for the observation room slid open. The personnel turned around surprised. There by the door was Assistant Trainer Natalie Myers. ¡°Someone is using the simulation field?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°The new CrySol.¡± Natalie nodded her head. She knew that the new soldier had taken a mission requested by the last night, and that his had activated twice automatically, the second activation within the twelve hour limit. ¡¯He must feel miserable at his lack of ability.¡¯ That was what she concluded as his reason for suddenly opting to use the . She didn¡¯t have a good impression of the new guy. She believed that he would also leave them behind like the many others before. Even if the other personnel didn¡¯t remember, she was an exception as she remembered them clearly. There was no explanation as to how that had happened. When she mentioned it to the Head Trainer, he stared at her with an incredulous expression. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± Approaching the observation window, she looked down below while expecting to see a miserable sight, only to be shocked witless. A single man was wielding a training sword against six Vulpia. To other bases, this may be considered as standard practice, but for Base 19, it was far from being standard but closer to the level of insanity. ¡°What¡¯s the realism level?¡± ¡°Hundred percent¡­¡± ¡°What?!? Do you want to kill him? Hundred percent meant that it could cause psychosomatic injuries leading to death. The Emergency Warp does not work inside the base. If he¡¯s fatally injured, he will die!¡± ¡°But this was what he asked¡­¡± Unable to take her eyes off the battle, she saw him dodging attacks at a spine-tingling distance of a hair¡¯s breadth with minimal movement. He took his time and dodged the relentless attacks of the beasts. Then when an opening presented itself, he would strike with extreme accuracy and precision. Slowly, he drained the Vitality of the beasts then took them out one by one. ¡°How long has this been going on?¡± ¡°For an hour. At first it was just one beast. Then he increased the value by one for each completion.¡± ¡¯This person is insane. Why does he go this far? The others before him left the base as soon as they found out the impossibility of the tasks at hand. Base 19 is not a regular base. The zone here is extremely cruel. Why is he willing to risk his life here?¡¯ She took a deep breath as the signal for completion sounded. He had defeated all six Vulpia with minimal injuries. ¡°Seven!¡± Hearing that, Natalie felt goosebumps spread all over her body. She felt a powerful shock in her chest and stomach. She was filled with emotions she couldn¡¯t explain. Turning around, she walked toward the door to leave. Before going out of the door, she looked back over her shoulder and left instructions to the personnel. His mind was clear, his body felt light. His chest hurt due to lack of air, but it was quickly refreshed by a surge of energy in his body. Allen faced twelve Vulpia without a hint of fear. When he logged back in, he headed straight for the . He felt annoyed at himself for not making use of this feature of the base. According to the website, the could be used to practice against known monsters in the . He should have used this to learn the fighting style of the Vulpia before heading out for the mission. Facing against twelve of those beasts, he remembered the incident early in the morning. He had asked the personnel if there was a gray Vulpia available for simulation, but to his disappointment there was none. He had also checked the but there were no records of such creature. He had already accustomed himself to fighting against the Vulpia that he had the leisure to think about other things while fighting them. They were the exact same black-furred red-eyed species. Three hours had passed since this started, and now he had finally defeated twelve of them, but had suffered multiple major injuries. Dragging his body, he was about to leave the when the personnel called out for him. ¡°Assistant Trainer Myers said that you proceed to her workshop when you were done here.¡±
Quest Received! Report to Myers Proceed to the workshop of Assistant Trainer Natalie Myers.
He didn¡¯t want to lower his reputation to the people here in the base, so he did as told. Using the , he easily found the Assistant Trainer¡¯s workshop. He knocked twice as he stood in front of the door. Then, the door slid open, and he found the serious-faced woman standing behind the door. Her brown hair was wet, and a damp towel rested on her shoulders. She was wearing a black tank-top and the same pants as Allen. Her fair skin was slightly flushed. A soap scent wafted from her. She had just come out of the bath. ¡°You sure took your time, soldier.¡± She started the conversation as soon as they entered. ¡°Sorry, I was training.¡± ¡°I saw. How many until you stopped?¡± ¡°Twelve.¡± Natalie tried to maintain her cool after hearing the amount. It was obvious that he was training with the objective of defeating a pack of Vulpia. ¡°Did you kill all twelve?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± She was preparing coffee while they were talking. They then took a seat by the table filled with equipments. ¡°Do you have an idea as to why I called you here?¡± ¡°No.¡± She first took a sip of her coffee then sighed in satisfaction. Allen did the same. The flavor, aroma, and feeling were well simulated. ¡°I¡¯ve seen you practice and I wanted to ask, why do you go that far?¡± Allen didn¡¯t answer right away. He looked at his hands then clenched them into fists. The incident with the gray Vulpia was still fresh in his mind. Then he remembered the video of her in the dungeon. ¡°There¡¯s someone I want to reach, and before I could get to that person, I need to defeat everything that stands in my way.¡± ¡°A person?¡± ¡°We used to be companions. Together we were the strongest, but now we went our separate ways. I want to meet that person again.¡± ¡°To fight together again?¡± ¡°No. To issue a challenge for a battle.¡± Natalie had not expected his reason to be something like these. She smiled dejectedly, a little disappointed. She had expected some other heroic reasons from him. ¡°Well¡­ there¡¯s also that.¡± She looked up at him again, and their eyes met. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the people around here doing their best, so I can¡¯t just be the laid-back one. I know everyone in the base have high hopes for me, and I don¡¯t want them to be disappointed.¡± He had looked away from her and scratched his cheek with a finger, slightly embarrassed. ¡°I see¡­¡± Natalie smiled, then as if she had decided upon something, she suddenly stood up and went to her terminal. After a few seconds, she came back while holding an . ¡°Take it.¡± She handed the to Allen. With no reason to reject her offer, he took it and placed it on his belt. ¡°I¡¯m from the Establishment Group.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Her sudden statement confused Allen. He had no idea what this Establishment Group was.¡± ¡°The first ten bases were made 20 years ago. 10 years later, a group, whose purpose was to locate resource filled areas, was sent out to establish new bases. The last base, Base 19, was established only 5 years ago. I was a member of the group that established Base 19. After that we headed North to establish the 20th base, but only to fail. We encountered strange monsters that we had never seen before. We fled for our lives, but only two people were lucky enough to make it back: I and the Head Trainer, although the Head Trainer lost an arm in the process.¡± She stopped to catch her breath and drank the last of her coffee. Allen took the opportunity to ask when he heard the mention of strange beasts. ¡°Did you see a gray Vulpia among those?¡± ¡°No¡­ I don¡¯t remember seeing one. Although I¡¯ve heard some of the older soldiers mention something similar.¡± ¡°What did they say?¡± Allen was getting excited. It was a clue to the identity of that gray Vulpia he encountered and a possible hint on why it was attacked by the black Vulpia. ¡°They had seen a Vulpia with dark gray fur. It was a Class VI beast. There were also some hidden records about the strongest Vulpia with a class of VII having gray fur. Why do you ask?¡± Allen sucked in air. Class VII. The Vulpia he met was probably Class VII, and he almost killed it as a Class I. He first contained his excitement and replied. ¡°Nothing. I was just curious.¡± He was afraid that if it was known that there was a probable Class VII Vulpia roaming around the area, panic would ensue. ¡°I see¡­ Now to get to the point. I was hoping that you will continue our legacy in the future, the legacy of the Establishment Group. You don¡¯t need to head North like we did. He had marked that area as an extremely dangerous zone. You could instead head for the East or West.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think about it.¡± ¡°Good. Inside that Localizer I gave you are some materials you can use to improve your gear. There¡¯s also a crystal circuit in there you can use to learn a skill. Don¡¯t expect too much of it though. You don¡¯t look so good, so use an ampule. I¡¯m guessing you have an injury that slows down your regeneration from the training earlier.¡± ¡°Thanks a lot, for this.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. Like you said, we are resting our hopes on you.¡± She patted his shoulder. With the cups emptied, they stood up, and she led him out of the room. As the door closed behind him, Natalie smiled. He was different from those before him. It seemed like the title of The Precursor is perfectly suitable for him. She could feel it clearly, from now on, everything begins. He will be the starting point of a new future for , and for humanity. As Allen walked back to his workshop, he used an ampule as suggested by the assistant trainer. He immediately felt the effects. The bruises all over his body quickly disappeared, and other injuries left no trace that they had been there before. His steps also felt lighter, and the exhaustion had gone away. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. When he arrived, he quickly opened the . There were twelve slots and filled with items, mostly crafting materials.
Crystal Circuit of Unknown Skill The skill stored in this is unknown. Use it on the terminal to find out.
Point Package This item contains a random amount of Creation Points and Credits. Disappears after use.
Aside from those two, all the remaining ten slots were occupied by materials for crafting. ¡°Should I check the skill first or try my hand at this game¡¯s crafting?¡± He pondered for a few seconds, then decided to save the best for last, and chose to do the crafting first. He took out the and used it without hesitation.
Point Package used! +232 Creation Points +1463 Credits
The item broke down into tiny particles of light and disappeared. He still didn¡¯t know the rates and values of items for trade, so Allen had no idea if the amount he got could be considered as huge or not. Deciding to trust the assistant trainer on this, he walked toward the wide table filled with equipments. Just by looking at it, one could tell that this was specifically designed for crafting purposes.
Equipment and Item Crafting Table There are two methods of crafting: Innovate - Use an item and improve its design. Create - Start from scratch and create an equipment or item never seen before.
Creation Points When crafting, Creation Points are consumed. This applies to both item crafting and skill crafting. Use the Equipment and Item Crafting Table for the former. For the latter, use the Terminal.
Even though Allen was very interested in skill crafting, he had to postpone that for later. He could still make up for those skills with his own physical abilities. What he needed right now was better equipment. He unequipped the sword and placed it on the crafting table. It automatically started the innovate feature. The original properties of the sword were revealed. It really was just a simple double-edged sword. The trigger feature was an innovation to increase its burst damage. It made use of a lining on the blade¡¯s edge that increased the blade¡¯s sharpness when activated. Currently, he could try to increase the damage bonus, extend the duration, reduce the cool-down, or a combination of any or all of the three. There were other options aside from improving that trigger effect. The one that caught his attention was the ability to add one more trigger for another special effect. He immediately chose that one, and a list of possible uses were listed. Scrolling through the variety of options, he was amazed at the amount of different possible abilities. ¡°Hmm?¡± There were abilities that coats the weapon with elemental properties like flames or ice. There were also those that made the sword heavier or lighter, affecting the speed and impact of the swing with the change of momentum. And then, he saw it. ¡°Ha¡­ hahaha¡­ hahahahaha!¡± He couldn¡¯t help but laugh in joy. What he saw was something that could be considered as every young boy¡¯s dream, which he still carried in his heart even as he grew into a young adult. Without a doubt, he could not pass on this option. Even if the results would be useless, he still chose it with all the passion in his heart. He had already made up his mind, and selected the options until he used up all his Creation Points. After he confirmed the choices and placed the necessary materials, the equipments on the table started to move. There was a hologram display of how many Creation Points he had left, and he watched it steadily decrease as the crafting process proceeded to completion. After a few minutes, the precision equipments returned to their original positions.
Double-edged Sword *This item has been innovated and can be renamed. Special Abilities: 1st Trigger: Enhance - Increases edge damage by 100% for 5 seconds. 2 minute cool-down. (0 CP) 2nd Trigger + Handle Pull: Transform - Changes double-edged sword to blunt sword. No cool-down. (70 CP) 2nd Trigger + Handle Push: Transform - Changes double-edged sword to single-edged twin swords. No cool-down. (70 CP) Passive: Consume - Absorbs a small amount of from injury contact with enemy. 1% Vitality recovered per hit. (100 CP)
Allen smiled in satisfaction as he renamed the sword. ¡°Novo.¡± He then picked it up and tested out all three forms.
Novo - First Form This appears to be a simple double-edged sword. It absorbs the in the injuries it caused on the enemy during the time of contact. Its edges are lined with that can be activated by pressing the trigger, increasing the damage by 100% for 5 seconds. (Cooldown: 2 Minutes) Impressively, it can transform to two other forms. It is currently in the first form. Damage: 100 Slash(1.0) Pierce(0.5) Strike(0.0)
He then pressed the second trigger, just below the first, and pulled the bottom half of the hilt by an inch. The hilt shifted position from being aligned in the center to a quarter of the blade. Half of the blade, opposite of the part where the hilt was aligned, shifted and slid over the other half and fitted together, forming a slightly thick rectangular sword with no sharp edges or tip.
Novo - Second Form This appears to be a blade-less rectangular sword. It absorbs the in the injuries it caused on the enemy during the time of contact. Impressively, it can transform to two other forms. It is currently in the second form. Damage: 100 Slash (0.0) Pierce (0.0) Strike (1.5)
Now, he didn¡¯t have to worry facing against armored opponents, especially those that uses the crystals on their body to form a layer of hardened crystal. He returned it to the first form. Next, he once again pressed the second trigger, but this time he pushed the bottom half of the handle all the way up. It repeated the same process as the second form where the handle shifted position. This time, a new handle appeared beneath the other half of the blade, and the two handles returned to their former lengths. As he grasped the other hilt with his left hand, the blade split into two right in the middle, forming into two identical single-edged swords.
Novo - Third Form This appears to be a pair of single-edged swords. It absorbs the in the injuries it caused on the enemy during the time of contact. Its edges are lined with that can be activated by pressing the trigger, increasing the damage by 100% for 5 seconds. Each sword can be activated separately, and does not share the cooldown time. (Cool-down: 2 Minutes) Impressively, it can transform to two other forms. It is currently in the third form. Damage: 50 Slash(1.0) Pierce(0.5) Strike(0.0)
Allen couldn¡¯t help but smile. For him, this was a masterpiece. Even though he used to play as a priest, that didn¡¯t mean that he did not know how to use other weapons. He observed other players and secretly practiced on his own on other games. He believed that even if he was not using the weapon, if he understood how it could be used and techniques that could be applied with it, he could figure out how to counter players who use those types of weapons. Right now, he benefited from that time greatly. It cost him 240 Creation Points, leaving him with only 2. As he sheathed the Novo, it automatically returned to its first form before turning turning into a thick band around his right lower arm. He then went to the terminal to store the scant remaining materials and check what skill he could learn. There was now a new option in the terminal called . He opened it and found an empty list and 5 empty slots. He took out the Crystal Circuit and used it.
New Skill learned! Dash - Move straight in a single direction in an instant. Distance covered depends on user¡¯s physical ability. No cool-down. Cost: 50 Stamina.
Allen didn¡¯t know whether to be happy or not. The skill seemed to be mediocre. He was expecting something that could improve his damage output, but thinking about it properly, increasing one¡¯s survival is important, too. If he could reduce the damage he received in a battle, he could outlast his opponent. He equipped the skill on the first slot.
Activating Skills To activate a skill, perform any movement that is similar to the skill¡¯s initial movement. The system will automatically open a window with a list of skills available for that action in the duration of the movement. Immediately select the skill you want to use. Selection is similar to that of the IIW, which does not require a manual input but uses the thoughts of the player. The window¡¯s appearance may only last for a very short time, so practice may be necessary to perfect the usage of skills.
It was like a fast-paced action game that required timing and technique. Allen felt great joy. Indeed, this game¡¯s difficulty level may be too high for ordinary players, and that was why there were only few compared to other VRMMOs. Finally done with all the things he needed to do, Allen decided to eat dinner first. It was already a quarter past 7 pm. Preparing to log out, he was interrupted by a loud siren resounding in the base. ¡¯Alert level 3. All armed personnel, please proceed to Mission Control. I repeat, all armed personnel, please proceed to Mission Control.¡¯ Allen sigh. "It looks like the cake will be postponed."
Aaaand, looks like we''ll get to see the new weapon and skill in action next chapter. The new weapon idea was already planned out, so I was shocked to see the comment about it. :3 Stop reading my mind, bruh. 5:30 am now. I woke up 3 am to finish the chapter :P C008 - Base 19 Defense We made it past a week with the daily update schedule. Yay! That was great. I know the quality seems to be dropping (typos here and there, mistaken grammar). I''ll correct those in the future. Anyways, here''s your chapter.
Allen stood inside along with a few others. They were all NPCs as he was the only player in Base 19 after all. Not all of the combat-ready personnel came, just the representatives of their own respective groups. ¡°The situation is urgent." Director Ostwald began as everyone had finished gathering. ¡°We have detected signatures of an approaching group of crystal beasts from the east. Based on their current movement pattern, their destination is definitely this base.¡± The room suddenly became noisy. It could easily be seen that everyone in the room were nervous and tense because of this announcement. ¡°Twenty Vulpia of at least Class II were our approximation based on the strength of the signals and as described by the reconnaissance team. Estimated time of incident is¡­ 10 minutes.¡± The noise and chatter grew louder. It was too quick. There was not enough time to formulate an effective plan for this encounter. ¡°And as such, we have decided to form a defense line right outside of the east side of the base. I am truly sorry for this, but we too have been caught unaware of this sudden development.¡± Everything that happened then was a blur. People rushing everywhere, gathering their equipments as fast as possible. Some had anxious expressions on their faces, while a few were quite excited. ¡°We¡¯re counting on you.¡± Allen felt a light tap on his back. It was Assistant Trainer Natalie Myers. The Head Trainer was right behind her. ¡°We¡¯ll be staying here to oversee the situation and send commands depending on the development. I¡¯ll head out, too, if anything goes wrong and more help is needed.¡±
Special Event Quest Defend Base 19 Assist in defending Base 19.
With a nod, Allen turned and left . When he left the room and got into the corridor, he saw a familiar person¡¯s back. Then, he suddenly got an idea. ¡°Jake!¡± The man turned and when he saw Allen, he stopped walking and waited for him to come running over. ¡°Man, I can¡¯t take you out to your mission right now. The base is busy.¡± ¡°Obviously. I have a favor to ask.¡± ¡°Make it fast.¡± Jake¡¯s face made a strange expression after hearing Allen¡¯s words. ¡°You¡¯re crazy!¡± Jake was yelling over the sound of the wind. ¡°And I can¡¯t believe I¡¯m giving you a hand! Do you have a death wish or something?!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you accepted to help me in this because you¡¯ve realized that this plan has the biggest chance of success.¡± After a while, the Worldrunner slowed down and stopped in a small clearing. Jake sighed as Allen got off. ¡°Don¡¯t get yourself killed.¡± ¡°You know I¡¯ll just get sent back to the base if I get into a hard situation.¡± With that, Jake left the scene. The place that Allen went to was a location where the group of beasts would most probably pass through, based on the information given back in . Getting here only took three minutes with Jake¡¯s Worldrunner. Allen unsheathed Novo and stood there in the middle of the path. He was about to fight against a group of Vulpia not less than twenty in number, but there was not a single hint of fear on his face. ¡¯I can¡¯t take all of them down here, but I can reduce their numbers.¡± In a few seconds, a ferocious blood-thirsty aura came from beyond the trees in front of him. From the shadows, a huge number of black Vulpia slowly walked out. This scene reminded him of the previous encounter. ¡°Where you the same pack that attacked me and the gray one?¡± He asked, but, of course, he didn¡¯t expect for any answer. One of the black Vulpia stood in front of the others. It seemed to be their leader. After making a growling a noise, about three-quarters of their group started to go ahead. ¡¯That¡¯s still too much.¡¯ Allen didn¡¯t know what the combat capabilities of the remaining personnel in Base 19 was. They may actually be able to handle this much, but he didn¡¯t want to risk it to that sort of chance. Like him, the NPCs also have an Emergency Warp safety feature in their . It could still work as long as they were outside of the base, but once even a single Vulpia made it inside, casualties may be inevitable. With swift movements, he changed Novo to 3rd Form and started running toward the furthest Vulpia. As he lifted his foot, a window appeared before him indicating the possible activation of the skill Dash. He had not yet practiced this skill, but right now he was already in his combat ready state. As soon as the window appeared, he had already selected the skill to activate. He could feel a strange force pass through his entire body and concentrated on his legs. Pushing his body off the ground with the other foot, the wind rushed past his body, and the surroundings turned into a blur, until his other foot landed on the ground. In that instant, he had covered a distance of more than five meters. The beasts were unable to react to this almost instantaneous movement, and in their moment of indecision, Allen had made another Dash forward using the momentum of the previous Dash to further increase the distance covered to almost 10 meters, and emptying his gauge. Then, he threw the blade on his left hand, accompanied by the momentum collected by the two Dashes. The blade whistled through the air and accurately hit the Vulpia that was 20 meters away. -100 Critical! -25 By then, the other Vulpia had already recovered from the slightly stunned state and changed their direction to attack Allen, sensing his hostility toward them. ¡¯Good!¡¯ With a hand on his belt, he took out a and threw it right in front of a crowd of enraged Vulpia. At the same time, he drew another item out from storage. It was a , and used it immediately. With enough recovered, he Dashed toward the stunned crowd while switching Novo to 2nd Form. The blade that had slashed and pierced the first beast flew back while spinning in the air, slightly damaging other beasts that were in the way. It then snapped back into place and quickly shifted to form the rectangular blunt weapon. With a swing, Allen hit four beasts, and felt the bones, flesh, and organs being crushed inside. -450 Brutal! -450 Brutal! -450 Brutal! -450 Brutal! The four were immediately in the red. Allen switched back to 1st Form and swung the blade back, slashing through the limp bodies of the four, and killing them. ¡¯Finally¡­¡¯ Allen rejoiced inwardly. This was his first actual kill in the game, and he was only able to do this thanks to his practice, the improved weapon, and the new skill. The Dash skill had actually improved his damage output by increasing the force behind his attacks due the the momentum from the quick movement. This in turn had increased his chances of dealing a critical and brutal blow. He also had the Assistant Trainer to thank for this. Aside from the three types of weapon damage, there were three types of bonus damage aside from the normal damage. Critical is when a weak spot was accurately hit. Brutal damage is when the defenses were overcome through shear force. And lastly, was Fatal damage. It happens when either a Critical or Brutal damage was dealt while the target is in an extremely weakened state. By making use of the transforming sword, Allen was able to handle the waves of attack done by the Vulpia just like how he did back when he was training. After a few minutes, he had finally disposed five more of them. That was when he noticed that the leader of the pack was gone along with about ten more of the beasts. ¡¯I¡¯ve been had!¡¯ Ignoring the remaining wounded beasts, he turned and ran back to the base. In ¡­ ¡°The Vulpia are steadily decreasing in number.¡± ¡°Almost half of their numbers had stayed in that same spot, while the rest are heading for the base.¡± ¡°A strong signature is coming from the approaching group. Estimated to be a Class V.¡± Continuous reports were being made by the personnel watching over the monitors. They were completely surprised when the enemy they were expecting suddenly stopped in one area, hindered by a friendly signature. At first, they had found out that two people left the base¡¯s perimeters, and headed straight to the enemy. Then one of them returned, leaving the other behind. A suicide mission, that was how they saw it, but they had not expected the result that soon appeared before them. Director Ostwald had called for the person who returned to come to and report. ¡°It was CrySol AllIsDead.¡± That was all he said. Everyone in the room were shocked. They all knew that he was still a Rank I Class 0 soldier. Event though he had the potential to reach Class X Rank 10, the highest possible level, potential is only potential and his current strength is much lower compared the the enemies he faced. The results spoke otherwise. He had managed to hold off the enemy, slowing down their advance. He then reduced their numbers, causing the enemy group to be forced to split in two. ¡°I knew he had skill, but damn, that was reckless.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. The Head Trainer said. Assistant Trainer Natalie Myers standing beside him held her hands to her chest, secretly worried for his safety. It was fortunate that she had extended her help to him after seeing his insane training session. ¡¯He managed to defeat twelve Class III Rank 10 Vulpia. The weakest in the group are Class II¡¯s. He could surely manage them as long as he does not get careless.¡¯ ¡°Let us give him a proper award when this is all over.¡± Director Ostwald sincerely said those words as he stared at one of the monitors. AllIsDead¡¯s signal was running back to the base at an incredible speed. ¡¯5 seconds! Allen was keeping count of the time of the ¡¯s duration. This was the third he had used; two in the fight, and this one to run away and leave combat. With the a of 38 points per second, he could perform another Dash in 1-2 seconds, allowing him to perform at most five Dashes starting from a full Gauge. With him out of combat now, he could continue using the Dash skill at this rate. It was truly a useful skill. Soon, he reached the base. Combat was already ensuing by the east entrance. ¡¯Looks like there¡¯s no casualty yet.¡¯ As he scanned the battle, he noticed that the Vulpia were much stronger than the ones he faced just now. It must be the elite group, and the pack leader left behind grunts to deal with him. It seemed like it was looking down on him¡­ or it could have used those weak grunts to keep him behind. He saw the pack leader standing by the side, observing the battle. It was like a general thinking of strategies to use and handing out commands. As he walked toward the pack leader, it seemed to notice him. Their eyes met, and the beast turned to fully face him. It growled as it charged straight toward him. ¡¯Too straightforward.¡¯ Allen couldn¡¯t help but compare it to the gray Vulpia. He too, charged at the beast. As they reached a distance of five meters, the beast jumped to strike at him with its claws. He Dashed diagonally to the left, while swinging Novo in 2nd Form, aimed at the beasts front legs. -150 One of the legs broke. As the beast landed, it growled angrily at Allen. Crystal shards near its injury gathered around the broken bone and served as a temporary support. Seeing at how it was no match for him, the Vulpia howled into the night sky. All the other Vulpia fighting against the soldiers by the east gate suddenly broke free and ran to support the pack leader. ¡°So this is how you play your game, huh?¡± It was well known that Vulpia almost always moved and hunted in packs. The only exception was the Rank VII Vulpia recorded in the database, and also the gray Vulpia that Allen encountered and fought. Now in a predicament, the pack leader summoned its followers to deal with the opponent in front of it. The other base¡¯s soldiers were shocked at the development. They could only stare dumbfounded as more than ten Vulpia with classes ranging from III to IV rushed toward a single person. Unlike the others who were filled with trepidation, Allen smiled. Most of the beasts that were running toward him had less than 50% due to their previous combat engagement. Furthermore, he wasn¡¯t alone. Although the others were currently in a stunned state, they would be able to assist him as soon as they recover. He even caught a glimpse of some with long guns. Just them were enough as support. He dashed toward a group of three, and swung Novo in 2nd Form. Knocking them to the side easily just like swatting fly, and reducing their to critical levels. He didn¡¯t chase them to finish the job but instead switched target. With 3rd Form, he ran between another group, dodging their attacks with minimal movements. Some grazed him, reducing his bit by bit, but he ignored that and countered them in return. Throwing the left blade again, he managed to hit a beast that was waiting for an opportunity to strike, dealing minor damage. With the remaining sword, he made his way to the opposite direction, forming a line of Vulpia chasing after him. He then switched to 1st Form, causing the thrown blade to fly back, hitting the others on the way. The observing soldiers realized what he was doing. Those with the long guns took a stable stance and aimed at the Vulpia with the lowest remaining . Shooting a barrage, they were easily taken down. Allen smiled as he saw the response. It was good, as this was his original aim. Soon, the surviving Vulpia he left in the forest had arrived, but even if they increase their numbers, they were still easily taken care off. In just ten minutes, the pack of Vulpia was eliminated. Only the pack leader remained. With a regretful howl, it turned and tried to flee in the forest. ¡°Don¡¯t let it escape!¡± One of the soldiers shouted. They all began to move, but then suddenly halted. Allen was already behind the pack leader as he used Dash twice to catch up to it, and he too, stopped in his tracks. ¡°C-class VIII¡­¡± A voice whispered among the crowd of people, breaking the silence. There, among the trees in the direction where the Vulpia pack leader was headed to, stood a creature surrounded by a noble yet fear-inducing aura. Its gray fur was even lighter than when Allen last saw it. It was also much bigger than before, a head taller than him. He would have doubted that it was the same beast he fought if not for the missing leg that was replaced by a crystal prosthetic. Its green eyes were also a brighter shade and shone with intelligence uncommon to beasts. ¡¯How did it change so much in such a short time?¡¯ It was glaring at the black Vulpia that was whimpering in fear in front of it. Then, it noticed Allen and its eyes shifted its gaze to him. It raised its prosthetic leg, as if showing it to him to remind him that it was an injury that he had caused. Then it swung the raised leg. Four thin blades formed from the crystal claws and sliced the black Vulpia into four pieces of meat. After killing the pack leader, it slowly moved toward Allen. He wanted to move, but the beast¡¯s gaze held him in place. It was as if he was hypnotized by those pair of mysterious green orbs. It raised its prosthetic leg, then pierced Allen¡¯s chest with one of its claws. He felt a burning sensation inside him, and his quickly drained. Just when he thought he was about to die, the claw left his chest. The Vulpia then turned and quickly disappeared into the forest. The others could only watch. In front of that Class VIII beast, there was nothing they could. They thought that the CrySol who had saved them would die just like that, but that didn¡¯t seem to be the case. Finally, someone cheered. They had come out of this predicament alive with no casualty. It was a reason for great joy. Allen had fallen down on his knees amid the meat and blood of the dead Vulpia. Despite the joyful atmosphere around him, he was unable to participate in the festive mood. He was once again filled with confusion. That gray Vulpia carried a sense of mysteriousness around it. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ The gray Vulpia had been stuck in the tenth rank of Class VII for as long as it could remember. No matter how much it cultivated the within it, it couldn¡¯t class up. The had started to stagnate and corrode its body. As years passed, its strength slowly decreased. It was not as strong as it had been before right after reaching Rank 10. This was the backlash of cultivating beyond ones own limit. Vulpia originally could only reach the maximum of Class V. Past that, changes appear on their physical appearance. They become much stronger than before, but it comes with a cost. They were removed from their pack and turned into a target instead. Normally the pack was no match for a single Class VI Vulpia, but as time passed by, the Class VI Vulpia weaken and were hunted. To regain strength, another class up was necessary. This was a vicious cycle. The gray Vulpia had not sought to fight back against its pack when it reached Class VII. Instead it focused on cultivating the to increase its strength. It wanted to reach the pinnacle of strength. It had thought that it would die that night when it fought against the human. It continued to show its arrogant and proud demeanor. Although it was weak at that time, it was still much stronger than the human, but the human was able to turn the situation around. When it had fled, the injuries that were caused by he human had stirred something inside it. The had started to evolve within it. It didn¡¯t know the exact reason as to why this happened. It only knew that when it woke up this afternoon, it had already reached Class VIII. Even though the human had tried to take its life, if not for that encounter, it wouldn¡¯t have classed up. The purpose of its actions earlier were to repay the favor. The next time they meet, it wouldn¡¯t spare a shred of mercy to the human. It would be a few more years before its strength starts to decay again. Before then, it would wait patiently for the human to find and challenge it to another battle.
Once again¡­ This is not delayed! Haha. It¡¯s only 11 am here. To a comment about having the gray one a pet, sorry but no pet for you :P Strong people only needs strong rivals! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Also I forgot to write something in the previous chapter. The first person to guess what it was would get 2 doses of (one dose is enough for a rank up). C009 - Uproar With the success of the defense, the wounded soldiers who had fought in the eastern gate of Base 19 were hugging each other and jumping in joy. It was a dangerous situation, but they had come out of it alive. It was all thanks to the single Crystal Soldier who had went ahead in the forest to intercept the approaching enemy, then came back and helped the defensive line. Although the appearance of the gray Vulpia had shocked them beyond their wits, its sudden entrance and disappearance could only be called a blessing. The hero who had stopped the development of a tragedy was now busy collecting materials on the field. He was crouching down on the ground, collecting blood samples, body parts of the corpses, as well as the scattered shards of crystals. Seeing him like that, the armed personnel of Base 19 looked at each other with wry smiles. They walked toward him and said their thanks. Then they also began collecting materials. These materials were important for both research and development of the base. It could be said that Base 19 was behind the scientific development race against the other bases. Deep inside the personnel¡¯s hearts, they were afraid that the other bases would come and take over Base 19 with the reasoning that their management was lacking and irresponsible. Fights between bases do occur, and Base 19 was lacking in combat power and personnel. Tonight, this have all changed. They all looked at the man who had single-handedly turned the tides around with expectant eyes. The eastern gates opened and a group of people came out. It was Director Ostwald followed by the personnel of . This was the first time that they had come out of the base as a group, and still dressed in non-combat attire. All the combat personnel stood at attention. The director was the highest ranking personnel of Base 19. He was like the general in an army. ¡°Well done, everyone.¡± A warm smile was on his face as he spread his gaze at all the people with bloodied and damaged clothes. Then, his eyes settled down on CrySol AllIsDead. ¡°This outcome would not have been achieved if not for a certain someone. Step forward, CrySol AllIsDead.¡± Allen did as told, and stepped forward from the crowd. All eyes were on him, but he didn¡¯t feel uncomfortable. Unlike his days as the combat priest LessHealMoreKill who was always looked at with envious gazes and plotting minds, this time, the eyes that looked at him were those of reverence and gratefulness. It wasn¡¯t a bad feeling, but he didn¡¯t let it go to his head. The encounter with the classed up gray Vulpia had told him that he was still weak and there were others much more stronger than him out there. ¡°As a sign of Base 19¡¯s gratitude, we award you a class up recommendation in advance. Once you reach the 10th Rank for your class, you can go ahead and proceed with a Class Up. I hope that this will serve you well. Your strength is much needed by the base, and the faster you improve, the better the outlook of our home will be.¡± ¡°Thanks. I will put this to good use.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that. The rest of your rewards will be sent to your terminal.¡± Director Ostwald then looked at the others. ¡°Of course, you all will also be rewarded depending on your achievements in battle.¡± The director turned and left. The personnel who accompanied him all smiled and bowed toward Allen and the others before turning to leave with the director.
Quest Complete! Defend Base 19 You have played a great role in defending Base 19 from a pack of Vulpia. Despite the impossibility of the situation, you did not shrink in fear and fought against the beasts with all your strength, annihilating every one of them. To the eyes of Base 19¡¯s members, you are a hero. Rewards: Class Up Recommendation +250 Crystal Energy +400 Creation Points +5000 Credits
The others had began to walk back to the base. As they passed by Allen, they talked to him and thanked him a lot. They also told him that the materials they had gathered would be sent to him through the terminal. He told them it was okay not to, but they insisted. He could only accept their goodwill. Back in the base, Allen was excited to check the loot he had gotten and the rewards that were sent to the terminal, but he held back and instead headed for . He didn¡¯t know if it was a blessing in disguise that the attackers of the base were all Vulpia. He had collected enough blood samples to fill all ten vials to the brim. As soon as he arrived in the , he handed over the ten vials of Vulpia blood samples.
Quest Complete! Dr. Pheol¡¯s Request You have successfully collected ten vials of Vulpia blood samples. One of the researches that the are working on can now proceed without problems. Rewards: +100 Crystal Energy +100 Creation Points +1500 Credits
Dr. Pheol was all smiles when he received the blood samples. He immediately handed them over to his assistant and daughter, Eleanor, to be brought into one of the research rooms. ¡°Follow me¡­ there¡¯s something I want to show you.¡± They entered through the left corridor this time. There were no windows to peek through into the rooms, so whatever was being conducted here should be something important and must be kept a secret from outsiders. ¡°Whatever you see here is confidential information. Normally, CrySols or other personnels aside from the Director and the researchers responsible are not allowed in here, but I¡¯m making an exception for you.¡± The doctor led him in front of one of the doors and said those words. He then used the biometric optic and fingerprint scanner beside the door, as well as inputted a code and swiped a security card. The security was extremely tight, and Allen took note of this. He remembered that the game allowed players to infiltrate another base. If that was the case, then this security-tight area should be of high value. The door slid open and they entered. There was no one else inside aside from them. The dim lights brightened, and the rest of the room became visible. There was a console and a huge monitor beside a glass shielding. Behind the glass was a small room with a table and something on top of it. Surrounding the table were mechanical arms fitted with different types of tools. It was similar to the room where he got the implant, except that the subject was not human but an object. It resembled an over-sized pistol with a cylindrical barrel half as long as an arm. It didn¡¯t seem special to Allen, so he was slightly confused. ¡°This is?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a ¡®short gun¡¯. You may have noticed that the ranged weaponry being used right now are called long guns. That was because it was deemed too difficult and inefficient to develop smaller armaments. By reducing their size, the firepower is affect negatively, but the ammunition consumption remains the same. The amount of ammunition that can be used without reloading is also reduced because of the decrease in cartridge size. Despite that, I still wanted to develop a short gun that can be used as an alternative to the unwieldy long gun. With a short gun, you could also equip with a one-handed weapon with your free hand or even a shield for defense. There are many possibilities.¡± Then, the doctor¡¯s face formed a depressed and self-deprecating expression. ¡°Alas, my skills are lacking. No matter how much I try, I couldn¡¯t make a breakthrough.¡± He then turned his gaze to Allen. ¡°But I saw your battle and the weapon you used: a transforming weapon! It¡¯s truly out of the ordinary. I know that we did research on the viability of material transmutation and transformation, but we still had not applied it to a practical design. Did you make it yourself?¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Yes¡­¡± ¡°Amazing! You are truly talented! Base 19 was blessed with a person such as you. I was indeed right with resting my hopes and expectations on you. If it doesn¡¯t bother you, could I leave this research to you?¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I will send a blueprint to your terminal. You could use it to craft this weapon, despite its incomplete design. You could also use it to study the inner workings of the design and use that to innovate and create a new design. What do you say?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll gladly accept that offer.¡± ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ 6 am. Sunday. Diane Dion was in a bad mood. She was sitting on the edge of her bed. Her long auburn hair was a mess and it partially covered her face, making her appear like a ghost in one of those low-rate horror movies. With a scowl, she looked at the screen of her phone. 102 missed calls since five in the morning. As she was about to check who the bastard was, the phone started ringing again. ¡°Who is it?¡± She used the grumpiest voice she could. WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG!!! It was a familiar voice. She was one of Diane¡¯s friends and classmates, as well as a core member of her party in Hazard Frontier Online. Her shouting almost broke Diane¡¯s eardrum. ¡°WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU SHOUTING AT!!! DO YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!!! WE JUST LOGGED OUT AN HOUR AGO AND I HAD JUST FALLEN ASLEEP!!!¡± Uhhh¡­ I think you broke my eardrums¡­ ¡°THAT¡¯S MY LINE!!!¡± Alright! Alright! Calm down! I¡¯m sorry Diane! I¡¯m sorry! It¡¯s just, this is urgent! Diane knew this girl¡¯s personality. When she said something was urgent, she really mean it. Having calmed down after releasing her anger, her bad mood had finally disappeared. The voice on the other end of the call indeed sounded urgent. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, too. So, what is this urgent thing?¡± Check the forums, Diane. There¡¯s something completely unbelievable going on right now. You immediately logged out last night, so you didn¡¯t hear about it, but we did. We checked the forums just to be sure, and what we found was truly shocking. ¡°Fine¡­ fine¡­ Wait a minute.¡± She turned on her laptop and accessed the Internet, then opened the public forums used by Hazard Frontier Online players. There was a sticky thread with the subject ¡°THERE¡¯S SOMEONE IN BASE 19!!!¡± Before opening the thread, Diane was a bit skeptical. It was not impossible for someone to be in Base 19. Players can choose that as their starting base, but it would always end up with the player deleting that character, creating a new one and start out in a different location. This cycle had repeated itself already countless of times, as told by the older players, those who have started playing at the same time as the game was released. Every time someone starts in Base 19, the news would immediately spread to other bases due to NPCs talking about it like some sort of gossip. When the player deletes his character, the NPCs completely forgets about him. Have you opened it, yet? What do you think? ¡°Not yet.¡± Hurry, hurry! ¡°If this isn¡¯t worth my time, I¡¯ll feed you to the Centidillos in the dungeon we raided last time.¡± After saying that, she clicked the thread open. The very first post mentioned about how two nights ago, a new player registered Base 19 as the starting point. It was the center of discussion for a while, then died down as they knew that that player would not be able to stay long in that place. It was then forgotten. Around 24 hours later, the NPCs across all 18 bases started talking about a rumor. It was about the new player helping defend the base against a raid from a pack of more than twenty Vulpia. The weakest were Class II, while the pack leader was a Class V. The players knew how difficult defending the base was. The classes of the NPCs in the base range between Class I to Class V, but that doesn''t mean a single Class V NPC can handle a single Class V Crystal Beast. It requires a party of four to five NPCs with an average class of IV to handle a single Class V monster. With most of the players out doing quests in different places or harvesting materials to trade and craft, only the few people who happened to be in the base at the time of the attack would participate in the defense. They could manage, but it could not be said that it was an easy task. Base 19''s situation was even harsher. There was only one player during the time of defense, and it was well known how much stronger the monsters around Base 19 was. Furthermore, since there were no players to do quests for the base, the base doesn¡¯t have the required materials procured through the quest to further research and construction. The physical defenses were poor, as well as the NPCs abilities What they thought as impossible was now being spread through the NPC network. It was reasonable why the players were making a big fuss about this. They were asking if anyone had an idea what the name of the player was. As there was no one else in Base 19, and the NPCs were keeping the confidentiality of the information, not a single hint could be obtained. No one was willing to waste money or sacrifice their hard-earned character just to know who this mysterious character was. ¡¯Could it be him?¡¯ There was only one person Diane could think of who had the ability to do the seemingly impossible. He had stayed by her side for five years. She had been willful, but he still followed right behind her no matter the absurdity of the things she wanted to do. At first, she wasn¡¯t like that. She only began requesting to do those crazy challenges when she met him. That was because she knew that even if it was impossible for her, it was possible for him. As long as he was there by her side, she could do anything. ¡°LessHeal¡­ MoreKill¡­¡± She unintentionally muttered the in-game name he used. Huh? Did you say anything? ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing. Was there any video of what had happened in Base 19?¡± None. That¡¯s what makes it the more mysterious. I was thinking of making another account just for checking it out. I¡¯m sure the well-off players are thinking to do the same. It would just be a bit wasteful if it turned out to be some sort of hoax. Diane slightly regretted not starting in Base 19. She was actually afraid of doing so. Using the reason that she was accompanying her friends was just a cover. She could bring her friends along and start in Base 19. It was just without him, she did not have the confidence in conquering such difficult challenges where she was not sure of certain victory. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter for now. We¡¯ll know who that person is in time. I¡¯m sure he would be able to read this and might tell us himself.¡± That¡¯s good and all. I just hope he doesn¡¯t stay behind the shadows and bask in the glory of the attention he is getting. ¡°I¡¯m sure he¡¯s not that kind of person.¡± Diane convinced herself that it could only be him. A smile formed on her lips as wild thoughts entered her head. ¡¯He¡¯s here. He¡¯s in the same world as me. We might be able to meet again. I wonder what¡¯d he say if we meet.¡¯ For a moment, she was tempted to make a call. She shook her head and decided that it would be better if she didn¡¯t contact him for now. C010 - Novo Vulpia Allen had no idea that he was currently the topic of conversation in the forums. After leaving the and returning to his workshop, he logged out to eat the cake he brought home, then rest and sleep. He was completely exhausted. The intense training and the fight against the Vulpia pack immediately took its toll after he logged out. His knees felt weak, and his body ached. A splitting migraine attacked his head. This was something that he had already expected. Whenever he used his ¡®mental simulation¡¯ in a game too much, he would experience extreme fatigue in the real world after logging out. There had been more severe cases than this one, like that last battle he had with BlackPrincess. Sleeping for a few hours would easily relieve the fatigue. It was three in the morning when he woke up. The pain and sense of exhaustion were now gone without a trace. Allen made coffee and ate the rest of the cake. He then logged in and went back to Hazard Frontier Online. As soon as he entered the game, the first thing he did was to access his terminal. He had not checked the rewards he got before logging out earlier.
You currently have 350 Crystal Energy stored. Stored Crystal Energy will be automatically transferred to you when you access the terminal.
+350 Crystal Energy Rank 0 ¡ª> Rank 7 (350/500) ¡¯Finally, some actual progress.¡¯ Allen felt relieved seeing the message. He was now just three ranks away from Rank 10 and only needed 150 Crystal Energy. When he does, he will be able to class up to Class II. Next, he organized the raw materials he had gathered. The members of the base who fought during the defense had kept their promise and sent the materials to him. Most of it were bones, claws, fangs, hides, and crystal shards of Vulpia. Honestly, Allen did not know what sort of item would required those as materials. All he could think of where the bone weapons and armor in a game called Monster Hunter. Nevertheless, he did not discard them. After organizing the materials, he finally checked the blueprint that Dr. Pheol had given him. The doctor had called it a short gun. To Allen, it looked like a hand-held mini-cannon. The blueprint contained all the information needed to make a short gun. What type of materials as well as the amount, the process used to create individual parts before fusing them all together, restrictions, variable components, and substitutable materials. The individual parts and components¡¯ functions were also explained in detail. The doctor had also included suggestions and ideas he had formulated through theories that could be used but were not implemented yet. ¡°The doctor¡¯s dedication on this research of his is really amazing.¡± Allen sighed in admiration. He took the blueprint and registered it on the crafting table. He used the crafting table¡¯s holographic simulation function to apply the design from the blueprint. By using this function, he could conduct trial and error crafting without wasting any and materials in the process. The short gun was completed.
Short Gun Prototype This weapon was designed by Dr. Kevin Pheol of Base 19. Cartridge Energy Consumption: 5 per shot Cartridge Maximum Energy: 50 Damage: 40 Slash(0.0) Pierce(0.5) Strike(0.5)
Indeed, the damage is quite low. Despite being a ranged weapon, it is unable to deal much damage. It would have been fine if the shots that could be made were not limited. ¡°Maybe replace the cartridge with a component that absorbs energy in the surroundings?¡± Allen started thinking up of ideas that could be used to improve the weapon. The idea of substituting the cartridge with a different source of energy was something that Dr. Pheol had suggested. He then remembered the leeching function of Novo. Filled with excitement, he tried adding the same function on the short gun. This time, though, he changed it up so that instead of absorbing the from the target, it absorbed the of the user. The absorbing function could only be used on contact, so it was not possible to absorb energy from the target that would be a distance away. Approaching the target just to absorb energy was also an option, but that would counter the purpose of using a gun. It was a success, and Allen rejoiced. This was the first step in realizing Dr. Pheol¡¯s dreams.
Short Gun Prototype (can be renamed) This weapons was designed by Dr. Kevin Pheol and modified by CrySol AllIsDead of Base 19. Max Energy: 50 Reload - Convert user¡¯s into Energy for ammunition. No cool-down. Amount of consumed depends on the amount reloaded with a ratio of 1:1. Damage 40 Slash(0.0) Pierce(0.5) Strike(0.5)
Although it was a good idea, this extra function had a flaw: Only CrySols can use this gun. ¡°That and the damage is still a bit low¡­¡± In a drawn out battle, the need for instantaneous burst damage can play a great role to turn the tides. A weapon that consumes essential resources such as and deals low damage was inefficient and detrimental to such types of battle. ¡°Hmm¡­ The size serves as a constraint to the amount of power a shot could contain, thus the decrease in damage with decreased size¡­¡± Increasing the size was out of the question, as one of the selling points of the short gun was its small size and easy handling. Maybe equipping two short guns could make up for that, but it would double resource consumption, and it would also remove the option of equipping another weapon or defensive equipment like a shield. ¡°Using two is the simplest way to increase the damage, but is there a way to reduce the resource consumption?¡± He wracked his brains for a solution. After a few minutes, he sat down on the bed to rest for a while. ¡°If there¡¯s only a way to absorb the energy from the target¡­¡± As he whispered that to himself, he remembered another game similar to Monster Hunter. It was also similar to the setting and theme of Hazard Frontier Online. Allen once again went to the crafting table. He unequipped Novo and placed it on the table, then started to use the innovate function. He then extracted the necessary components from the short gun¡¯s blueprint such as the barrel, energy storage, and the energy conversion component, enough for two short guns. He then remodelled Novo¡¯s 1st Form so that he could attach those parts without affecting the sword¡¯s properties and functions, focusing on the area around the guard. Finally satisfied with the appearance, Allen smiled. If looking from an outsider¡¯s point of view, the bulky guard did not seem to have any purpose other than to improve the weapon¡¯s aesthetics. He then switched to the other two forms and did the same, making sure that the extra parts did not hinder the transformation of the sword. With all that done, Allen could barely hide his excitement. What he had just done was only a preparation for the idea he got. With a strange smile on his face and deft hands operating the equipments on the crafting table, Novo was gradually changing into something more absurd. An hour passed, then two. Every now and then, Allen would make a displeased face. He had made a mistake somewhere, but that didn¡¯t hinder him from starting all over again. Three hours¡­ four hours¡­ Allen had already lost his sense of time as he was completely absorbed with the task at hand. He didn¡¯t expect it to be this complicated. The initial crafting he did to create Novo was much simpler. That was because he only had to change and improve the design and add special functions. This time, he was integrating another system into the blade. He had to make sure that the design was seamless and without fault, despite the complexity of the integrated system. After a few more hours, Allen let out a deep breath and fell down on the ground. The task he had just completed was as tiring as a battle of life and death. He was mentally and physically exhausted, yet thinking about the success he had just achieved made him stand back up on his feet. His eyes rested on the object on the table. It was still the same double-edged blade, but it could be seen that it had much more components installed. Before, the design was simple and efficient. He then modified it to allow transformation. The transformation function used to move the components around during transformation, then hold them in place as if it was one whole object. Now, crystal shards could be seen jutting out of the guard. Some had also appeared at the part of the blade that was connected to the guard. This was the effect of the increase in the amount of used for the transformation as there were much more components now, and the transformation sequence had become more complicated. The blade had also changed in color from a light silvery gray to black. Inspecting the blade closely, the surface of the blade was actually a layer of transparent crystal and underneath that was a deep black core that seemed to emit a wild aura. This change in color happened when he used the Vulpia crystal shards as material for reforging the blade. Unexpectedly, the fangs, bones, and claws could be mixed with the crystal shards to form a strange alloy similar to a metallic one. He had used this to make the short gun components. The final product seemed to be alive and calling for Allen. Slowly, he reached out for it. When his hand touched the hilt, he felt a strange sense of comfort, as if he was finally where he belonged. He equipped the sword, and it formed a black band around his arm. When he unsheathed it, a strange energy burst out along with the formation of the sword, as if a wild animal had finally been set free. The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Novo¡­ Vulpia.¡± That was the name he gave the sword, and it was truly fitting.
Novo Vulpia A weapon made with the remains of countless Vulpia. The beasts¡¯ souls are contained in this weapon. Special Abilities: 1st Trigger: Enhance - Increases the damage of this weapon by 100% for 5 seconds. 2 minute cool-down. 1st Form - Handle in default length: Double-edged Sword. No cool-down. 2nd Form - Handle Pulled to Extend + 2nd Trigger: Blunt Sword. No cool-down. 3rd Form - Handle Pushed to Shorten + 2nd Trigger: Twin Gunblades. No cool-down. 4th Form - Handle Pulled to Extend + 3rd Trigger: Gunlance. No cool-down. Gun Shot (3rd and 4th Form only) - 2nd Trigger: Shoots compressed energy through the equipped gun barrel. No cool-down. Consumes 5 ammunition energy. Blade Shot (3rd Form only) - 3rd Trigger: Shoots the blade toward a target. Detached blade is equipped with gun barrel, and Gun Shot ability could still be used. Press the 3rd Trigger again to return the blade. No cool-down. Consumes 10 ammunition energy. Reload - Convert user¡¯s into Energy for ammunition. No cool-down. Amount of consumed depends on the amount reloaded with a ratio of 1:1. Passive: Consume - Absorbs a small amount of from injury contact with enemy. 1% Vitality recovered per hit done by blade. Passive: Replenish - Absorbs a small amount of from injury contact with enemy. 10% of missing ammunition energy recovered per hit done by blade. Max Ammunition Energy: 100 Damage: 1st Form - 100 Slash(1.5) Pierce(1.0) Strike(0.0) 2nd Form - 100 Slash(0.0) Pierce(0.0) Strike(2.0) 3rd Form - 50 Slash(1.5) Pierce(1.0) Strike(0.0) (Melee) 40 Slash(0.0) Pierce(1.0) Strike(0.5) (Range) 4th Form - 100 Slash(1.0) Pierce(1.5) Strike(0.0) (Melee) 80 Slash(0.0) Pierce(1.0) Strike(0.5) (Range)
Even Allen was amazed by his own creation. He had spent 500 creation points in the innovation of the original Novo and the recreation of the separate components of the short guns. He recorded the blueprint which was automatically made by one of the equipments on the crafting table. At first he thought of putting the blueprint up to sell, but changed his mind. He would only record it in the database as proof that he was the first person to create this weapon. Satisfied, Allen began to think of what else he needed to do before accepting another quest. Looking down at himself, he thought of maybe changing his clothing. There was no rule that he had to wear the base¡¯s uniform. ¡°Time to make use of those credits.¡± He accessed the terminal and opened the function. There were actually a lot of items being sold, mostly raw materials for crafting. Then there were the equipments and consumable items which were also quite plenty. The least in quantity were the player-made skills. ¡°Hmm¡­ Maybe I should also try crafting a skill next time I get Creation Points¡­¡± For now, Allen was more interested in getting a new outfit. He also remembered that his supply of consumables was low. He had used up all his and in the last battle. He bought a stack each of the two, costing him 1200 Credits total. He browsed the outfits for sale, ignoring high-defense armors and leather ones. He was the type of player whose defense play-style was focused on dodging and parrying instead of wearing cumbersome armor. He needed a light getup to be able to let his body swiftly respond to his ¡®mental simulations¡¯ during combat. After scrolling for a while, something finally caught his eye. It was a white set that somehow reminded him of his robe back when he played as the priest LessHealMoreKill. The upper garment was a closed long-sleeved white vest with tailcoats and padded inner fabric. The collars were raised and formed a full circle around the neck. For the hands, there was a pair of fingerless gloves with textured pads for the palms to increase grip. The belt was also on top of the vest, holding it in place. The pants were tightened around the thighs by a pair of small belts for each legs. The bottom part of the pants were tucked into a pair of boots. The entire outfit was white with dark gray linings. It also hugged the figure nicely. It wasn¡¯t too tight that it hindered movement. It also was not too lose that it made flapping noises when moving. In fact, only the tailcoat seemed to be the loose part, and that was only when he was moving. When standing still or in a combat stance, the tailcoat seemed to be as steady as he was while slightly draped over his legs. The set had cost him 5000 Credits. He did not really know if it was cheap or not as it was not a defensive item and its only purpose was for aesthetics. After that, he went back to the to share the blueprint of his new weapon to Dr. Pheol. It might be able to help him make a breakthrough for his research. He the went to to take a quest. ¡°The hero¡¯s here.¡± Director Ostwald greeted him as soon as he entered. All the other personnel inside the room looked at him with gazes of admiration. They smiled and bowed at him in acknowledgement. ¡°Hero is a bit¡­ too much. I don¡¯t deserve of such praise.¡± ¡°If you don¡¯t deserve it, who would? We owe a lot to you now, soldier. I had actually wanted to reward you more, but the financial situation of the base isn¡¯t looking too good. Are you here for a mission?¡± ¡°Yes. I was hoping I could take one a bit further away from the base.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Just talk to Karen then.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± The director led Allen to Karen Juris before returning to his duties. Karen smiled at Allen and briefed him of the available quests he could take. There were only two available, and they were both dungeon raid missions. ¡°It¡¯s highly suggested that you form a group for this type of missions.¡± ¡°But there¡¯s no one I can form a group with right now¡­¡± ¡°Haha, stop kidding me, sir. I¡¯m sure everyone right now wants to form a group with you, but they all feel intimidated by your strength. They probably think that they are not worthy enough to be in the same group as you.¡± ¡°Everyone?¡± As far as Allen could remember, he was the only player in Base 19. He had not seen any new player appear either. What Karen said did not make any sense to him, unless¡­ ¡°Yep. Everyone in the base right now who joined the defense earlier. They all saw your capabilities and truly admire you from the bottom of their hearts.¡± So it was really that. Allen thought that it might be a mercenary system where he could hire NPCs to join his party to make questing easier. ¡°I see¡­ I forgot about that. I¡¯ll take a mission for now, and then see if I could invite anyone on my way out.¡± ¡°Good luck!¡± He went through the same procedure of having his registered for the quest.
Securing a Resource Spot The den that the Vulpia used was now empty after the pack had been wiped out in the previous battle for the defense of Base 19. The den was found approximately 10 kilometers to the east. Monster dens are usually filled with resources that the base could use. Head to the den and secure the location.
¡°There¡¯s a new add-on function for your Communicator sent through your terminal. It will be necessary for the mission, so make sure you install it!¡± With that, Allen left . Base 19 had a bar and lounge where the other soldiers and personnel spend their time to rest and recreate. Crystal Soldiers in fact do not need to eat food. The energy they need for metabolism was now being provided by the in their bodies. They eat to taste different flavors every now and then, while others were just unable to discard the habit of having to eat at least a meal each day. As Allen entered, all eyes turned on him. This was a natural reaction on almost every public place, but this time, their gazes didn¡¯t shift away from him. They all had expectant looks. There was another reason why a person would go to the bar and lounge other than to rest and recreate, and that was to look for members in forming a group. He scanned the bar and found Jake talking with a girl who seemed to still be in her teenage years. He quickly approached their table and greeted him. ¡°Hey, Jake!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Jake was a bit annoyed when he was called. It was obviously because he was trying to hit on the girl before him. She had already seen Allen approached, and chuckled when Jake grumpily answered him back. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you. Haha! I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. Come, sit!¡± Allen ignored the sudden change in attitude and sat down on the chair beside the girl. He did this intentionally to tease Jake. The girl seemed to have noticed his intention and did not say anything. ¡°D-do you need something?¡± Seeing Jake suppress his annoyance was a sight to see. Allen could barely hold in his laughter. ¡°I¡¯ve taken a mission, I need a ride, and I need a group for back up.¡± ¡°I can give you the ride.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you want to join in the group?¡± ¡°Oh, I might look like this, but I¡¯m not much of a fighter.¡± ¡°I want in!¡± The girl suddenly interjected in their conversation. ¡°My name¡¯s Alexia Vindum, and I¡¯m a medic trainee!¡± She was filled with so much enthusiasm that Allen could only nod his head at her. Seeing that, Jake sighed. ¡°Alright, count me in. Don¡¯t expect too much from me, though.¡± ¡°Sure, sure.¡± This was Allen¡¯s first group in Hazard Frontier Online. C011 - The Den A shoutout to ElDani! I¡¯m so sorry you came at such a bad time, but thanks for the review! It really helped a lot, and yes, my MC does indeed feel a bit too OP (but maybe not as much as the others in other fictions ;) ). I¡¯m really glad you took the time to point out some problems, but don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ve already worked that out :D. To the comments, the suggestions you guys made are really great and interesting. It makes me thing that I¡¯m a lousy writer and very non-creative. I want to implement all those things, but this wouldn''t be my work anymore if I did that, right? You guys want some unpredictability, too, right? You don¡¯t really want to read a story which is a mash-up of reader suggestions, right? Haha, anyways, regarding the transforming weapon and why our Protagonist choose to use one instead of swapping weapons¡­ this is partly my fault. First, the MC likes transforming stuff, it¡¯s a childhood dream, watching transforming robots and stuffs, you get the gist. Second, I¡¯m sorry for not pointing it out in the story, but they can only equip one weapon at a time (MH, God Eater). I can make some bullshit explanation using the lack of research and conflicting isolation controls etc etc¡­ But I¡¯m not saying that there¡¯s no possibility. (swapping equipped items through the bag is not possible too. You need to use the terminal to change your loadout, or that how it was supposed to be. *Rechecking past chapters for consistency.) Anyways, thanks for the support! That was a long intro. Whew. Here¡¯s the delayed chapter. Two more incoming, don¡¯t know when they¡¯ll be done though!
Alexia Vindum was a 19-year-old teenage girl with long pale blond hair and a pair sky blue eyes. She was average in height. Her face was cute, making her look four to five years younger, yet her body was alluringly mature. Her breasts threatened to pop the buttons of her shirt, and her slim waist and shapely hips grabbed the attention of every passing male. That appearance could not be seen on the girl lying on the cold concrete floor. In fact, it was hard to tell if she was the same girl. Right now, her chest heaved up and down as she gasped for air. Her long hair were in a mess. Her smooth skin was layered with sweat and dirt. Beside her was the same sorry figure of Jake Kingston. As to what had happened for them to end up in that state, the culprit was sitting by the side, looking at the pitiful duo. It was none other than Allen. Novo Vulpia 4th Form was on his lap while he inspected it. After agreeing to form a group in the Bar, he brought the two to the to see their combat abilities, and form proper group strategies for different opponents and situations. Alexia was a Class II Rank 0 CrySol. Her choice of weapon was a long gun, which was reasonable as her role was support. She had two Skills: Stimulate and Cloak. The former allows her to increase the recovery of Vitality and Stamina of the target of the skill. The latter weakens her presence, removing her from the perception of those around her, and let her sneak past enemies as well as snipe them without attracting any attention during combat. Jake, unexpectedly, was a Class III Rank 4 CrySol. He was equipped with a tower shield and lance. He used the most basic combat style for vanguards: block and poke. Unlike Alexia, he did not have any Skill. The initial results of the simulated combat training was disastrous. Alexia didn''t know when to provide covering fire and would end up hitting Jake with friendly fire. Jake on the other hand, despite being a vanguard and with tanking equipments, couldn''t keep the target¡¯s attention on him, thus, making his shield just a heavy luggage to slow him down. In the end, the party positioning that Allen assigned was to have Alexia single out enemies that were wounded and retreating outside of Allen¡¯s melee range. Jake would stay with Alexia to protect her in case she draws the enemies¡¯ attention. She couldn''t keep Cloak activated all the time after all. They kept on fighting against different simulated beasts with classes higher than them until the two almost fainted in exhaustion. ¡°You¡¯re so amazing¡­ Even though you¡¯re a Class I, you¡¯re so strong.¡± Alexia had finally slightly recovered and praised Allen. ¡°Is that related to you being able to 100% assimilate the Living Crystals in your body?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so. The assimilation only increases physical abilities by a small amount.¡± It was Jake who answered her question. ¡°His movements were efficient, accurate, and precise. He utilizes his body to the fullest, while making split-second decisions in front of the enemies. To say the least, he¡¯s pretty much godlike.¡± ¡°That¡¯s enough of the praises.¡± Allen didn¡¯t let their compliments get to his head. Complacency leads to defeat. It was fine to appear confident, but make sure to still be cautious deep inside. ¡°Rest and prepare, we¡¯ll leave in an hour.¡± ¡°You sound just like the Head Trainer.¡± Allen ignored Jake¡¯s comment and went back to his workshop to take the new add-on function for his from the terminal. It was similar to the completion beacon. Instead of sending a signal to be picked up and sent back to base, it sends a signal for a resource collection team to come and start collecting the resources. After installing the function, he logged out to eat a late lunch comprised of instant noodles and bread. At around 3pm, he logged back in. There was a message on his from Jake to tell him that they were waiting for him in the hangar. Making sure that there was nothing amiss in his equipments and items, he went straight to the meeting point. ¡°You¡¯re finally here.¡± ¡°Are we ready to go yet?¡± The two were quite excited even though they had suffered terribly in the training a while ago. They were probably itching to test out the combat strategies that he had bored into them. ¡°Make sure you have everything you need like spare ammunition and recovery items.¡± ¡°I¡¯m all set.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s go!¡± They all hopped on Jake¡¯s Worldrunner, with Alexia taking the spot between the two guys. When she wrapped her arms around Jake¡¯s waist, he suddenly straightened his back in excitement. Even though his appearance and actions were rough and quite like a playboy, the truth of the matter was that he was inexperienced. Allen snickered a little. Jake heard him and shot him a glare. As they left the hangar and went out through the eastern gate, Allen looked back at the base. From afar, it looked like a simple rectangular building surrounded by a circular wall. The rest of the base was underground. Mission Control, the Bar and Lounge, and some personnel residences were located on the surface building. The underground complex was divided into multiple layers, with the regular residences at the bottom most layer. There were also non-personnel residents who live in the base, mostly the family members of the personnels. The rest of the levels would be the laboratories, the training grounds, and the CrySol workshops. Base 19 was less developed than other bases so there were more places that could still be improved and expanded. This also meant that in terms of defense and research development, the other bases were much better than Base 19. Allen looked forward as they sped toward their destination. In his mind, Base 19 was already his home. In such a short time, he had experienced a lot in this place. He may be alone for now as the only player, but the NPCs were not bad companions. It took them about twenty minutes before they reached their destination. Along the way, Allen saw the place where he intercepted the Vulpia pack. The corpses were already gone and all that remained were the traces of battle like the damaged greeneries, the scattered blood, and strange holes in the ground. ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± Jake slowed the Worldrunner down to a stop. They were at the base of a small rocky hill. The first to get off was Allen, and he quickly scanned the surroundings to make sure if there were any enemies hidden nearby. Strangely, along the way they had not encountered a single enemy. This lack of enemy presence was quite unnerving. ¡°It feels strange¡­¡± Alexia felt the same. She walked toward Allen while cautiously looking around. ¡°What are you guys worried about?¡± Jake on the other hand, despite being a Class III, seemed to not notice the unnatural situation. ¡°Just keep your eyes peeled. We¡¯ll secure the perimeter first, then head in the Vulpia den.¡± Allen took the lead position while the other two followed a few meters behind, with Jake as the rearguard and Alexia in the middle. They first scouted the area around the hill. There were huge rocks scattered randomly everywhere from the base to the top of the hill. Some were small fist-sized rocks, a few which were as big as a man¡¯s torso, and two to three that were as big as an elephant. Atop the hill, the scenery was breathtaking. The spent a few minutes there gazing at the vast forest spread below. From afar, they could see a range of mountains further to the east. To the west, they could catch a small glimpse of Base 19. To the north, a shadow loomed over the forest draped in thick dense fog. ¡°There were a lot of holes in the ground in the surrounding forest.¡± Alexia reported what she noticed as they went down the hill. Their destination was the cave entrance that lead into the Vulpia den. ¡°Not really sure what could cause that.¡± ¡°Me, too.¡± Allen sighed as he listened to the two. Despite being higher classed than him, they were more of a rookie than him. It was to be expected. Compared to players which can access a database outside of the game and with a different way of thinking, the NPCs were constrained by their ¡®story¡¯ as the people who live in this world. Just the basic explanation that players have 100% assimilation with the in contrast to non-players is a testament to the NPCs lack of power. In this world, the players were destined to be the heroes, while the NPCs were just minor supporting characters. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°It could be Antworms.¡± That statement from Allen elicited a look of shock from the duo. They have heard of Antworms, but they never expected them to appear so close to the base. ¡°Antworms also move in groups like Vulpia, and their habitat would be areas near the mountains. For them to appear here, there must be a reason. The Vulpia attacking the base could be a last ditch effort to escape from the Antworms and find a new den. It just so happened that Base 19 was a suitable target.¡± He didn¡¯t mention anything about the gray Vulpia and his encounter with it as well as the pack of black Vulpia. There was no real proof that they could have been after him, so he couldn¡¯t just go and say it. The speculation he just made was the most reasonable he could think of so far. Seeing the two nodding to his words, he let out a sigh of relief. ¡°So¡­ we¡¯re expecting Antworms?¡± Alexia looked at the cave entrance with disgust. Instead of fear, her face had an expression of disgust. It must be said that Antworms have the strength of a Class IV crystal beast, and this is their strength during their early stages of development. After maturity, they could reach up to Class VI in strength. What classified them as so was their extremely strong defense. Their appearance was that of a maggot. When hostile, an ant head would appear from the maggot¡¯s tip, and ant legs would also poke out of their body. The maggot appearance was cause by the turning into a soft gelatinous form. Although it may look like a weak defense, this gelatinous layer was very elastic and firm making it impervious to any blunt attacks. Beneath the elastic layer was an extremely tough carapace resistant to slashing attacks. The method to breach their defense was either to rely on an extremely strong piercing attack or to first cut the outer layer with a delicate slicing technique then immediately use a powerful blunt attack to break the carapace inside before the outer layer regenerates and close up. ¡°Most probably. It was also probably them that salvaged the corpses from the clearing.¡± ¡°Watch your step, they could suddenly come out from the ground and rip off your feet.¡± Jake teased Alexia and he received a powerful slap on his back before she tried to climb up on Allen¡¯s body. Jake was pale-faced when he said those words, which meant that he was actually fearful of their probably opponent and use the girl with them as a diversion for his fears. ¡°No need to be tense. Antworms spend most of the day in hibernation. It¡¯s still bright out, so they¡¯re still probably taking a nap inside. We better hurry, though. There could be hundreds inside, and when they all wake up and move as a horde, we¡¯ll easily get overrun.¡± Alexia and Jake¡¯s face returned to their normal colors after hearing the first half of Allen¡¯s words, then turned pale once again after imagining the worst case scenario. ¡°We should hurry then.¡± ¡°Yeah. Hurry! Hurry!¡± They lightly pushed Allen toward the entrance. He could only smile wryly at the two¡¯s concerted actions. ¡°We¡¯ll do as planned. I¡¯ll take point, while you two watch my back.¡± Allen cautiously entered through the entrance. It was wide enough to let four Vulpia pass side by side with room to spare. With his left hand on the wall, he used it as a guide as they walked through cave tunnel. They encountered quite a few forks. Allen took the liberty of just choosing the leftmost path. This way, they could easily trace their way back. As they went further in, Jake seemed to be looking around and have noticed something. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Allen noticed that Jake realized something based on his expression. Alexia turned to look at Jake with a questioning glance. ¡°Hmm¡­ The cave¡¯s structure seemed to have changed. Earlier the cave walls were naturally made, but this one seemed to be dug through. And also, earlier we were descending, but now the path is parallel to the ground. ¡°Wow, how did you notice all that?¡± Alexia was surprised with Jake¡¯s attentiveness to such minor details. ¡°I ride a bike at breakneck speed. It requires sharp eyes and sensitive balance. Otherwise, I would have died from an accident, and that would suck.¡± ¡°Oh? I¡¯m seeing you in a better light!¡± ¡°Shh! Quiet down!¡± Allen warned them as they were about to get heated up with their conversation. He perked his ears to listen to any changes in the surroundings. ¡°I hear something.¡± He slowly treaded forward with his Novo Vulpia in 3rd Form. The dual gunblades were suitable in this closed environment. Alexia and Jake quited down and increased their alertness after his warning. They were quick to adapt. Scuttling sounds could be heard echoing in the cavern walls, along with some rolling dirt and stones. It was the sound of something digging and burrowing through the ground. In just a short moment, a horrifying sight entered their view. At the end of the tunnel was a grayish white mass wriggling its way through the compact cavern wall. It¡¯s cross-section was round, and dirt and stones rolled down its body after dropping from the ceiling. It had not yet noticed their presence, and it continued to bury through the tunnel. ¡°Gueeh!¡± Alexia¡¯s aversion to the disgusting creature caused the contents of her stomach to rise up her throat. With a splash, partially digested food mixed with digestive fluids spilled on the ground. ¡°Damn, girl! Can¡¯t you hold it in?¡± Jake scolded her while gently rubbing her back. Despite his crude words, he was still looking after her. Although this sight was heart-warming(?) in a way, it was still a problem. The white mass had stopped wriggling. Allen sighed as he pointed the gunblades toward the white mass. Jake and Alexia finally noticed the situation and looked in front. The white mass shook as if something inside it was moving around. Bulges appeared all over it, then disappeared. The tip facing them started to move strangely, then with a strange sound of splitting flesh, a dark red insect head appeared from the rip that formed on the tip. It was an ant¡¯s head with its huge compound eyes reflecting their multiples of their image. Its antennae moved up and down as if probing the air in front of it. Its large mandibles spread open, revealing a small circular mouth lined with layers of sharp teeth. ¡°KKKRAAAAAAAA!¡± With its saliva spitting everywhere, it screeched at them. The high-pitched scream reverberated in the cavern walls, causing the ground to slightly shake, dust and dirt fall to from the crevices, and the trio¡¯s eardrums to almost break. With popping sounds, sets of sharply jointed spindly legs poked through the sides of the white flesh. Alexia¡¯s eyes turned white as she fainted. Jake supported her but his face was ghostly pale. ¡¯Sheesh! What was all that training for!¡¯ Alen seriously wanted to hit this two on the head. They were just heavy baggage! Without hesitation, he started shooting at the Antworm. This was clearly a Class VI Antworm based on its size and toughness. The shots barely did any damage. ¡°Dammit!¡± The Antworm took almost all the space of the tunnel with its huge size, as it was the one who made the tunnel by digging through it with its body. There were no space to maneuver. Assuming the screech it made to be a call toward the other Antworms somewhere in the cave, Alex and the others were in a difficult situation. ¡°Carry her!¡± The two ran back from the direction they came from, with Jake carrying Alexia on his back. They rushed as fast as they could, trying to lead the Antworm outside in the open. They could hear the sound it made as it used those sharp legs to scurry through the tunnel. It was a spine-tingling sound that spelled disaster to anyone who slowed down. Panting for breath, the two had encountered a few groups of two to three smaller Antworms. Alex switched to Novo Vulpia¡¯s 4th Form. Half of the blade slid forward and connected to the tip of the other, forming a very long sword, and the two gun barrels connected forming into one long gun barrel which was equipped on the blunt part of the blade. Using the lengthened weapon, Alex managed to push the smaller Antworms out of the way. This also allowed him to recover some of the ammunition energy without having to waste his by reloading. Combining Dash and the recoil of the 4th Form¡¯s Gun Shot, he made daring maneuvers inside the tight cave to push away the approaching smaller Antworms. Finally, they made it outside, exposed to the afternoon sun after running for their life in the dark cave. Scuttling sounds could be heard as a horde of Antworms rushed out of the cave. ¡°Do we keep on running?¡± As Jake asked the question, Antworms started popping out of the holes in the ground in the surrounding forest. It seemed like they have to fight their way out. Just then, a cry resounded from the skies as a shadow loomed over them. There are no cliffs, but hang in there. C012 - Class X The loud cry shook the air and stunned everyone on the ground. Alexia who had fallen unconscious was startled awake. The first thing she saw was the group of Antworms surrounding them. The sight had made her want to throw up again, but she managed to hold it in this time. She finally realized that they were outside the cave. Jake who was carrying her on his back was silent and looking up at the sky. Following his gaze, she lifted her head to see what he was looking at. Her mouth hung open at the sight. A huge figure was circling above them in the sky. Its upper torso was that of a bird with vibrant multi-colored feathers, while the lower half was reptilian and covered in dark green scales. With every flap of its wings, it would blow strong gusts of air, shaking the trees and making their trunks groan. Its pair of golden eyes continued to look at the creatures beneath it. With one quick swoop, it landed by the cave entrance. Its clawed reptilian foot crashed on the Class VI Antworm that had just emerged from within the cave. The sound of tearing flesh and breaking shell could be heard as the Antworm¡¯s body deformed under the force of the impact. With a cry, the giant half-bird half-reptile creature raised its feathered wings. From beneath, strands of thin crystals could barely be seen reflecting the light of the afternoon sun. Those strands lightly floated, then with the flapping of those giant wings, the strands extended in all directions. Blazing flames and freezing ice erupted from those strands. The two conflicting elements caused erratic temperature fluctuations in the atmosphere. The air expanded and compressed, causing gusts of wind to move in all directions. The soil and grass was lifted of the ground. Trees were uprooted. The Antworms that tried to burrow back into the soil were sucked out and raised into the air. Everything that touched the strands were either burned into a crisp or frozen and broken like glass. Before this had all happened, Allen was the first to react. He had already noticed that Alexia was awake, so he pulled her down from Jake¡¯s back. ¡°Shield up!¡± Jake responded quickly and raised his shield in front of them. Allen had sheathed Novo Vulpia, then held the two. He forcefully used Dash while dragging the both of them. They quickly broke free from the disarrayed encirclement of Antworms, but the erratic gusts of wind produced by sudden changes in the air temperature caused by the crystal strands of fire and ice broke their balance. ¡°Hold on to me!¡± Allen once again unsheathed Novo Vulpia and quickly summoned the 3rd Form and stabbed them into the ground. Alexia held both him and Jake, screaming as the air¡¯s pulling force threatened to suck Jake back into the disaster zone, almost ripping her arms. ¡°I¡¯m not gonna make it!!!¡± Alexia had almost given up, when the sucking force changed into a pushing one, and they got blasted off a distance away. Using this opportunity, they scrambled on their feet and ran to create distance between them. After a few minutes of non-stop running, they slowed down and checked the situation. ¡°It doesn''t seem to be after us.¡± Alexia and Jake had fallen down on their butts, exhausted. Traces of fear were still on their faces. Then, after looking at each other, they began to laugh. ¡°That was a close call!¡± ¡°What the heck was that thing?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. There was nothing like that in the Codex.¡± ¡°Judging by the strength it showed, I wouldn''t think it strange if it was a Class X.¡± Having said those words, the three¡¯s mood suddenly turned sullen. Class X was an existence that was hard to fathom. They could only speculate that the creature they had seen was such, but they could still be wrong. It was only speculation after all. The only people that may have encountered Class X before were the Base Establishment Group. ¡¯Maybe, I should ask the assistant trainer¡­¡¯ The clamor had died down followed by another loud cry from the distance. The sound of flapping wings could be heard gradually fading away. ¡°Looks like it left.¡± ¡°I think that we now know the reason why the base was attacked.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°The Vulpia were driven away from their den by the Antworms who were fleeing from the creature from earlier.¡± ¡°Is that definite?¡± ¡°It¡¯s only a theory, but the one with the highest possibility based on the circumstances.¡± Allen started walking back to where they came from. ¡°Where are you going?¡± ¡°Back to the den.¡± ¡°Why?¡± ¡°We¡¯re still not done with the mission, right?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Alexia and Jake reluctantly got up and followed him. They were grumbling about how annoying it was and how things had gone in strange directions. They had lived withing the safe confines of the base. Jake had experience going out but only as part of the transport team. Alexia had always been in the base training as medic. The first time they actually did a mission outside turned out to be beyond their wildest imaginations. ¡°Sorry about this.¡± Hearing Allen apologize, the two can¡¯t help but form awkward expressions, especially Alexia, since she was the one who was so excited to tag along. Looking back, she had done nothing except being a burden. ¡°No, this is none of your fault.¡± ¡°Yes¡­¡± They awkwardly denied Allen. They walked in silence back to the rocky hill. After a while, they finally arrived. The scene was a mess. Antworm corpses were scattered everywhere. The rocks on the hills were blown away and broke some of the trees in the nearby forest, not to mention that uprooted trees that had also been thrown away. Burn marks scarred the ground along with the scorched remains of the Antworms. There were also frozen areas that had yet to thaw. ¡°Keep your guards up. There may be stragglers.¡± Allen was right to the point. The ground behind Alexia had started to move, and an Antworm emerged from underground. It tried to bite her foot, but Jake had reacted quickly. With the lance at the ready, he lunged forward and pierced the head of the Antworm. It easily died, as it was already low on health after the incident from earlier. Alexia thanked Jake. This time she kept her eyes on the ground around her to avoid letting the same thing happen. She tried to use the Cloak skill, but Allen told her to conserve her in case of emergencies. ¡°It¡¯s gone¡­¡± The Class VI Antworm was nowhere to be seen. Even if it had died earlier from the initial attack, it should have left behind a corpse. There was only one conclusion that they could think off, and it was that the half-avian half-reptile beast had taken it away. ¡°We could salvage some of these¡­¡± Most of the corpses were burnt black or crushed into frozen fragments, but there were still a few that were only cut to pieces or partially crushed. Allen and company started gathering whatever materials they could like the Antworms¡¯ crystal flesh and carapace. After that, they went back in the cave. They encountered a few more Antworms, but they were also low on health and easily dispatched. There were no signs of another giant Antworm appearing. With that, they ¡®safely secured¡¯ the cave. ¡°Good work.¡± A group of people had arrived at the scene after Allen sent the signal. They ignored the bloody mess, quite used to this sort of job. They had equipments which they used to probe the walls and floors of the cave. After a while, they cheered in excitement, clearly finding what they were here for. Allen and his team rode the Worldrunner, which miraculously survived the clash with only a few scratches, back to the base. They then made their report back to and received extra rewards for reporting their findings with regards to the Vulpia possibly attacking the base because of the Antworms being driven away by the half-bird half-reptile monster from their habitat. ¡°We had seen a bit of what happened through the long-distance observation optical device.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°In simpler terms, binoculars with some upgrades.¡± The Director gave a hearty laugh before making a serious expression. ¡°I, too, have no idea what that monster was, but the Head Trainer and Assistant Trainer may have some idea. I suggest you talk to them about it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do.¡±
Quest Complete! Securing a Resource Spot The former Vulpia den had been successfully claimed. Rewards: +100 Energy +250 Creation Points +1500 Credits
Allen parted ways with the other two after leaving . He then opened the and sent a message to the Assistant Trainer asking to meet up with her because he had some things to talk about. A reply came within minutes.
From: Assistant Trainer Natalie Myers To: CrySol I-7 Codenamed AllIsDead Subject: Re: Congratulations on returning safely after another successful mission. I will meet you in the Lounge Private Room 2 in 20 minutes.
The message was short and direct. Allen let out a wry smile as this type of message perfectly suited the Assistant Trainer¡¯s seemingly cold and serious personality. Natalie Myers was known to be as strict as the Head Trainer, especially when it comes to training the new recruits. She was known through different names like the Rookie¡¯s Terror, Ice Queen, Nightmare Flower, and many others. Of course, these names were spoken behind closed doors in secrecy. They fear the consequences if she found out. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. She knew of the existence of such topics and Natalie could only smile wryly inside. Her cold appearance was the result of her serious attitude in ensuring the safety of the new soldiers. She had experienced deep pain with the loss of her former comrades, and she didn''t want to see the people of her new home to experience the same. Even if this caused her reputation to drop among the soldiers, she didn''t care as long as she could achieve her goal. While she was with the Head Trainer in the watching over a group of new recruits, her beeped, signaling the reception of a message. She opened it and was surprised to see that it was from the promising new recruit who seemed different from those before him. She had told him before about the existence of the Establishment Group and what had happened to them after the establishing of Base 19. The message asked her to meet up with him as he had some questions to ask regarding the incident with the mission he had just taken. She had observed his progress by asking one of the personnel in to send her updates with regards to any mission he participated in. She sent a congratulatory message and asked him to meet with her in a private room in the Lounge after asking for permission from the Head Trainer. She then quickly went back to her room to pick a change of clothes out of her usual uniform. Why she did this, she herself didn''t know. It was probably because she had a favorable impression with this new recruit, and she wanted to keep a good relation with him. This was the first time that she dressed up for a meeting with the opposite sex since the loss of the Establishment Group. When she arrived at the Lounge, all eyes were on her. She was wearing a tight-fitting plain gray shirt and jeans. This appearance was something that the soldiers had never seen before. Although it was mediocre compared to the fashion of other female soldiers and personnel, this change was still a head-turner for most as it was out of character for the Ice Queen that they knew. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re here.¡± The informal greeting further shocked them as they saw the new soldier clad in full white stood up from the bar counter to greet her. At first they thought that he would receive a beating from the Ice Queen, but what followed next almost made their jaws drop and their eyes pop out. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Natalie ignored the response of the crowd while smiling bitterly. She lead Allen toward the deeper area of the Lounge to one of the private rooms, while sending glances behind her. She had spent time to come here because she wanted to choose an appropriate outfit for the meeting, but the other party was still clad in his battle wear with traces of dirt and blood on it. It seemed like he went straight to the Lounge after making his report in . As they entered the private room and closed the door, the people in the Bar and Lounge suddenly erupted into a clamor. Everyone was truly shocked with this development. In the end, all they could do was shake their head in admiration and envy. The Ice Queen had a pretty face, but her personality was what pushed the men away. Despite that, it seemed like the new recruit with high future prospects had successfully melted the ice case of the queen. Not only could he assimilate 100% with , he could also do the same for the queen¡¯s ice. ¡°Sorry for that.¡± Natalie made an apology as soon as she closed the door behind them. The atmosphere outside was awkward to say the least, and she was afraid that the person she had hopes for would avoid her because of that. If she invited him to her room again and someone found out, it might cause an even bigger ruckus than just now. ¡°No, I should be the one apologizing.¡± Allen, of course, had figured out what the problem was. He was not dense, and he easily figured out the reason. There was no one who actually at fault, but things had already gone this far and all they could do was just go along with it. ¡°Let¡¯s just forget about that and worry about it later.¡± He made the suggestion and Natalie nodded in agreement. ¡°So what is it that you want to know?¡± ¡°Did you know about the incident from the resource mission I took earlier?¡± ¡°Yes. Ive been up to date.¡± ¡°Then this makes thing simpler. I want to know about that beast that we encountered.¡± Natalie sighed. ¡¯So this was what it was about.¡¯ As she gathered her thoughts, she made an order on the holographic screen floating above the table. Allen did the same, and they waited for the order to arrive. They both ordered iced tea. ¡°On the house.¡± The personnel who delivered the drinks said as she placed a pitcher of the same ice cold drink between them along with empty glasses. She then winked at Allen before leaving. The two sighed and smiled wryly at each other, knowing what each of them were thinking at the moment. ¡°We call it Cockatrice, based on old legends and myths.¡± She immediately dropped the bombshell after taking a small sip. This did not surprise Allen as he had already thought about this probability based on the characteristics that he saw. Still, having the fact confirmed had shocked him a bit. ¡°It¡¯s strength was presumed to be that of a Class X.¡± Another bombshell. This time, Allen was genuinely surprised. The strength of a Class X was, at the moment, considered to be unfathomable. The strongest players were around Class IV in strength at the moment, and they form parties and their combined strength could probably reach that of Class VI. Remembering the power shown by the Cockatrice from earlier sent shivers down Allen¡¯s spine. With a single flap of its wings, it took down dozens of Antworms known for their high defensive abilities in one fell swoop. Even the giant Antworm which was Class VI in strength was easily taken down with one attack. ¡°We encountered this creature during the northern expedition, but it had not attacked us. It was only flying around, seeming to look for prey. In its eyes, it didn''t even consider us as such. In the incident earlier, you were only dragged in its attack. Its actual target where just the Antworms.¡± ¡°Yes, I''ve already considered that. We were lucky to have made it out of there safely.¡± ¡¯It¡¯s not like we would actually die, with the emergency warp and all.¡¯ It was only now that Allen remembered about that function. They were so surprised by the sudden turn of events that they forgot about such thing that can be considered as common sense for the soldiers. ¡°Still, a Class X¡­ Pretty hard to fully imagine its strength despite having witnessed it earlier with my own eyes.¡± ¡°And I¡¯m assuming that was not even half of its actual capabilities.¡± The two went silent for the moment and they continued to sip their drinks until the ice cubes clinked in the empty glasses. They then refilled their drink and continued their silence. After a while, it was Natalie who broke the silence as she entered something on her . ¡°I just sent you a small bonus reward for the mission and the information. Knowing that such a terrifying creature was actually nearby will help the base by improving our defenses in case the worst comes to pass.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad to be of help.¡± The silence continued. ¡°Are you free for dinner?¡± Natalie asked an unexpected question. ¡°Uh¡­ Yes, I think so.¡± ¡°I see. Meet me again here at 8 pm. Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s my treat.¡± After that, they left the Lounge, followed by curious gazes.
You currently have 150 Crystal Energy stored. Stored Crystal Energy will be automatically transferred to you when you access the terminal.
+150 Crystal Energy Rank 7 ¡ª> Rank 10 (500/500)
You are now eligible for a Class Up. If you have a Class Up recommendation, please proceed to the . Note that you can not receive further Crystal Energy unless you increase your Class.
The bonus reward that Allen received from the Assistant Trainer was an extra 50 Crystal Energy along with some more materials that could be useful for crafting. He had also checked the and saw that the Antworm¡¯s crystal flesh was actually a good material for crafting clothing. Currently, he was satisfied with his outfit, so he decided to put the materials on . There was an option where the materials could be bought by other players using the in-game Credits or real money. He set the option to receive either and set the price at the recommended retail price. ¡¯Finally¡­ maybe I could make enough to pay for the next month¡¯s rent. I had completely forgotten about it, but I might just make it.¡¯ Allen breathed a sigh of relief, but still kept in his mind that it was too early to relax. The troubles he had gone through in the game had stirred his mind away from his real life problems. He would proceed to the and receive a Class Up, then attend the dinner invitation of the Assistant Trainer. It wouldn''t make him full in reality, but having to taste something other than instant noodles and bread was definitely a good thing. ¡¯As long as nothing troublesome comes up, when I reach Class II, I could focus on making some money first before trying to class up again.¡¯ With that plan set, Allen prepared to go to the . C013 - Evolution These past few days, I''ve been suffering from an intense migraine and aching wisdom tooth... so i scheduled an operation with the dentist for next week. Wish me luck. Sorry for the delayed chapters lately. Truly, i really want to keep to my daily schedule, but the world is working against me. Aside from this head aches and tooth aches, there''s been a lot of power outages lately. There was also a storm, and it flooded quite a bit in our place. My mother''s also asking me to drive her to places everyday. *Sigh* Can''t I just write in peace? Anyway, here''s your chapter. It''s bound to have a lot of errors. Sorry about that.
Allen was back inside the lab room where he first got the implant. He was once again sitting on the chair with his top off. The cold atmosphere had not changed, and it felt like he was about to have a dental operation, except there was no dentist, only cold mechanical arms. We¡¯ll start the procedures just like before. The old doctor¡¯s voice came from the speakers, and a puff of gas sprayed from the exhaust beside the headrests. This caused Allen¡¯s body to relax. It was a sedative. It was the same procedure. The mechanical arms moved and injected a dose of fluid directly on his spine. A small rectangular device was then attached on his Third Thoracic Vertebra. 2nd Limiter successfully installed. Congratulations, soldier. You are now a Class 2 Crystal Soldier! Excitement could be heard from the doctor¡¯s voice. It seemed like any progress Allen made was something that the doctor was looking forward to. The window for distributing the Crynegry points appeared. He had 60 points to distribute. The same as the first time, he placed the points on the Ability, then distributed the rest on Health Regen and Rejuvenation.
Name: AllIsDead Base: 19 Class: II Rank: 0 (0/1080) Vitality(0): 1000/1000 Health Regen(26): 230/sec (11.5 in combat) Stamina(0): 100/100 Rejuvenation(26): 46/sec (23 in combat) Ability(16): 6 Skill Slots You have 2 unused Crynergy Points remaining. They will be added on your Crynergy Points next Class Up.
¡°Hmm?¡± As Allen stood up, he felt something was amiss. A strange sensation was welling within his chest. At first, he felt a constricting pain. It was then replaced by a soothing sensation which then spread into his body. ¡°Wh-What happened?!¡± The doctor exclaimed as soon as he entered the room. His eyes were staring wide at Allen. ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°I felt something weird for a moment¡­¡± The doctor¡¯s reaction was strange and Allen couldn¡¯t help but feel a little worried. Following the doctor¡¯s gaze, Allen looked down at his body. ¡°What the hell is this?!¡± He, too, exclaimed in shock. On his skin, very small shards of crystal were protruding. It was similar to that on the bodies of crystal beasts. The crystals broke through the skin surface, but didn¡¯t show any signs of forced tearing. It was like they were part of the skin themselves. They were spread sparsely around the body, and it was indeed a very unnatural sight. ¡°Soldier, what is your name?¡± The doctor asked a weird question. Looking at him, Allen realized that the doctor¡¯s eyes were filled with wariness and slight fear. He was also standing by the door, assuming a stance that was ready to run away. ¡°CrySol II-0 Codenamed AllIsDead.¡± Hearing his answer, the doctor let out a breath of relief and leaned on the nearby wall. He was filled with tension because of the situation and finally lost the strength on his body. ¡°What was that about?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll explain.¡± It was Eleanor, the doctor¡¯s assistant and daughter, who volunteered to answer his questions. ¡°Father, take a rest for a while. I¡¯ll handle things from here.¡± ¡°Okay. Just be safe.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. It doesn¡¯t seem like his case is what we dread.¡± Dr. Pheol nodded politely to Allen, then left the room. Eleanor walked toward him and gestured at the seat. ¡°Please, sit.¡± Allen did as told, and sat back down on the chair. Eleanor pulled a stool from who knows where and sat down in front of him. ¡°How are you currently feeling?¡± ¡°Aside from a constricting pain in my chest from earlier, I¡¯m feeling better than I ever did.¡± She took down notes on a clipboard while glancing at the crystals on his body. After a while, the sound of pen scratching on paper ended, and she looked at Allen straight in the eyes. ¡°The process of implanting Living Crystals in the body of a human is a very complicated process. It had undergone thousands of experimentations before the current procedures used now were standardized. Despite that, the process still isn¡¯t perfect and cases similar to yours would on rare occasions, although, those would end up in a tragedy as quickly as the symptoms appear.¡± Seeing that Allen listened attentively, she took a deep breath as if to prepare herself on what she was about to say next. ¡°In those cases, the Control Segment and Limiters installed failed to work properly and caused the Living Crystal to run wild inside the body, infecting the human cells. It would then corrode everything, causing the human to lose intelligence and turn into another wild beast relying only on instincts. This is actually quite the opposite for the beast¡¯s cases where they gain intelligence after the mutation, and until now, this mystery remains unsolved. ¡°We had lost potential soldiers that way. They mutate within 10 minutes after implant and we were forced to terminate them. Once the mutation process started, it is irreversible. That is the reason for the doctor¡¯s reaction. Even I was surprised, but as I was the one assigned to observe your vital signs as the operation proceeded and ended, I haven¡¯t seen anything out of the ordinary. There were no unstable fluctuations in the movements of the Living Crystals in your body. Why these shards have appeared, I do not know. ¡°I can not attribute this fully on the reason that you are able to assimilate 100% of the Living Crystals to your body. Based on the reports from other bases, nothing like this had occurred on their side. We can not trust this information completely, though, as they may be withholding information from us. ¡°Anyway, so far, there seems to be nothing wrong in the cellular level. You can proceed as usual. Just make a report to us here in the Labs as quickly as possible if you feel anything amiss. Also, make sure that you don¡¯t let others see the situation of your body to avoid unnecessary panic.¡± ¡°I will. Thank you.¡± ¡°Take care, soldier.¡± There was still time before the dinner with Natalie, so Allen decided to logout for a while and take a breather. He made a quick cup of coffee and browsed the Internet. ¡°Wha!?¡± He almost sprayed coffee on the laptop screen as he read the forum posts. Almost all of the hottest topics and sticky threads were about the attack on Base 19 and the existence of a player who led the defense. There were a lot of theories such as a veteran player successfully making his way to Base 19 from the other bases and switch affiliations, or someone using a hack to raise their class and gain access to rare items for crafting powerful equipments. ¡°This is too terrifying¡­¡± If they found out that Allen had just classed up to Rank II, the uproar would just increase in intensity. Reading all the posts, he finally understood the absurdity of his actions. ¡°I should lay low for a while¡­¡± He mumbled and groaned as he scrolled through the heated conversations and theories. The most agreed theory was that he was a hacker. ¡°Sure, I know how to hack some systems, but I quit doing that stuff long ago¡­¡± While reading the interesting arguments, he received a message on his phone. It was from Carl. He reminded him of the assignment that was due tomorrow. Allen completely forgot about it, so he sent Carl a reply telling him to do his part, and that he¡¯ll owe him a favor. With that done, he was about to login back into the game when another message arrived. This time it was from Lyka, and the message surprised him. She was interested in playing Hazard Frontier, saying that Carl was talking about it all day long and made her interested. Of course, Allen knew that was not just the reason. She had shown interest when she found out that he was playing the game the yesterday. There was no way she¡¯d change her mind even if he told her not to. Tomorrow, Allen only had class in the morning. He will be free the entire afternoon. He told her that he will pick her up after her class so they could go buy the game disk and teach her a bit about the game before starting out. When he sent this, she quickly sent back a message filled with smileys. This brought a smile to Allen¡¯s face. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Back in the game, Allen woke up inside his workshop as usual. He stretched as he stood up then walk toward the terminal. As soon as he opened it, windows popped up and filled his vision.
New Skill learned! Bestial Nature(Unique)(Passive)(Locked) - All your physical abilities enhanced by the are further increased. Like a beast, you are now more agile and your attacks are heavier.
New Skill learned! Predation Instincts(Unique)(Active)(Locked) - Killing a creature infected with with this skill activated allows you to absorb the Living Crystal Energy from their body. This naturally increases your Living Crystal Energy. Ranking up will naturally happen without the need of accessing the Terminal. You can also Class Up using this method, although this may cause unknown side-effects. It is still recommended to undergo Class Up with the help of a professional. Consumption: 100 Stamina instantly consumed for skill duration of 1 hour. Cool-down: 5 hours.
Dash skill was modified to Bestial Movements! Bestial Movements(Unique)(Active)(Locked) - Move instantaneously in any direction, or sprint over a long distance. You can also perform wall jumps, wall runs, or any other unique movements that can not normally done. Consumption: 5 Stamina per movement. No cool-down.
¡°What the¡­¡± This was a bit too sudden, but Allen was able to link it all to one source. That instant when the Gray Vulpia pierced his chest, he felt something enter his body. It might have injected into him some of its own infected cells causing this change into his body. There was only one way to make sure, so he went back to the to confirm the situation. ¡°It seems like that is indeed the case¡­¡± Doctor Pheol said after hearing Allen¡¯s story. Eleanor was scanning his body for any possible mutations that they have overlooked earlier. ¡°I still don¡¯t know why it would do that. Was there any reason for that beast to do so?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not really sure myself, but that wasn¡¯t the first time I encountered the gray Vulpia. During the mission to extract Vulpia blood, I first fought against it and lost. I then came back to fight it again and almost won against it, but we were interrupted by a pack of black Vulpia. I still don¡¯t know why it would actually do this. It may have been trying to poison me, but that would still not make sense as it could have killed me then and there easily.¡± The doctor and his assistant had shocked expressions on their faces. This was natural as they just heard him say that he almost defeated the gray Vulpia which was estimated to be a Class VII beast while he was still just a Class I. Obviously, they, including Allen, didn¡¯t know that the gray Vulpia was weakening at that time. If it hadn¡¯t Classed Up after that fight, it could have died from the wounds that it suffered during its fight with Allen, and it wouldn¡¯t have been able to appear before them as a Class VIII beast. ¡°Anyway, you will need to come here at least once every 24 hours for a check up. We still don¡¯t know a lot about your condition as this is a first for it to ever happen. So far, it had only brought you positive effects, but we don¡¯t know when it will suddenly turn to bite against you.¡± ¡°Yes, I will, doctor.¡± ¡°Before you leave, let me get a blood sample from you, if that¡¯s okay?¡± Allen nodded in assent. Eleanor quickly took out the tools and extracted 500 cc of blood. ¡°Get a good rest for tonight.¡± Eleanor said after storing the blood. Allen saw a glint of knowing in her eyes. She probably heard something about the dinner. How she got the information, Allen had no idea. After leaving the , Allen went back to his workshop to check if someone had bought the things he put up on the . Seeing that no one had bought it yet, he sighed in dismay. He then browsed for any cheap outfit he could wear for the dinner. Bringing this combat outfit for a dinner date was a bit rude, although he was not yet sure if it was indeed a date, considering the Assistant Trainer¡¯s personality. It was still better to be safe than sorry, so he continued browsing the things for sale. Finally, he settled on a simple white buttoned shirt and black pants for only 400 credits. He changed clothes and looked forward to dinner. ¡­ ¡­ ¡­ While Allen was having a sumptuous dinner date in the virtual world, Lyka was rolling around in her bed while hugging her phone. Her face was flushed red, and a strange smile had formed. After a while, she stopped rolling around and started panting. With her current appearance, any man who sees her in that state might be unable to stop themselves and commit a crime. Calmed down, she finally noticed her bedroom door was open and Carl was standing in the doorway. ¡°Wh-wh-wh-wha¡ª¡± ¡°Mom called for dinner but you didn¡¯t come down so she told me to come pick you up.¡± Carl said with a blank expression. He then turned around and down to the dining room pretending to have not seen anything. Lyka¡¯s face was bright red as she drowned in embarrassment. She didn¡¯t know how much he saw, but judging based on his reaction, he should have seen enough to be able to blackmail a favor from her. With her shoulders hanging low, she walked down to the dining room as if resigned to a fate worse than death. The next day, Lyka was excited. It was only the other day when she hanged out with Allen, but today they¡¯ll be able to meet up again. Furthermore, he was going to pick her up at school. In her imagination, she could see the envious stares of her female classmates. ¡¯Allen is pretty cool, after all.¡¯ Of course, that was just her biased opinion. If Allen himself was asked if he was cool or not, he wouldn¡¯t care enough to even provide an answer. The bell rang that signalled the end of the class, and Lyka swiftly packed her things and left the room before the classmates could call out to her. As she arrived at the school gates, Allen was already there waiting for her. Her classmates saw this through their classroom window in the third floor. The male students who liked her shook their clenched fists in anger, while the female students started gossiping on who the mysterious man that picked her up was. Filled with smiles, Lyka followed Allen as they took a bus ride to the mall and quickly went to the game shop. ¡°So, do you have any idea which base you will select as your starting point?¡± ¡°Base 19!¡± ¡°As I said earlier, Base 19 is extremely difficult. It would be better to start off in the central bases. You can even ask Carl to help you get around.¡± ¡°No! I hate Carl! He¡¯ll just say he¡¯s too busy leveling up to help me.¡± Lyka¡¯s bashfulness had disappeared and completely replaced with excitement. She had already bought the game disk and they were now on the way back to her home. Allen insisted on walking her home and explained some of the basic information about the game along the way. ¡°But Base 19 is not newbie-friendly. Even I had a hard time just trying to pick myself up at the start.¡± ¡°You¡¯re doing well now, right?¡± ¡°Well¡­ yeah. Sort of.¡± ¡°I want to play with you!¡± With a bright red face, Lyka said that while standing in front of Allen. Right now, Allen actually felt proud for Lyka. This was actually the very first time that she was acting assertive on something that she actually wanted to do. Finally, he gave up and sighed. ¡°Alright, but I have conditions.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± ¡°No playing when there are exams.¡± ¡°O-okay.¡± ¡°No staying up late on schooldays.¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do a quest on your own.¡± ¡°Are you my babysitter?¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± ¡°Always send me a message in-game when you¡¯re online, alright? I want you to enjoy the game, too, but since you chose Base 19 as your starting base, you¡¯ll have to stick with me so you won¡¯t die and lose most of your game time waiting for your respawn.¡± Lyka nodded. She was actually very happy after hearing Allen said to stick with him. Soon, they arrived and parted ways. ¡°Create your character and I¡¯ll see you later in the game.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± C014 - Kyla Here''s the result of painkillers and 16 hours of sleep.
Sitting on the bed, Allen was deep in thought while waiting for the water he left in the kitchen to boil. ¡¯Was it really a good idea?¡¯ He was referring to the fact that he let Lyka play Hazard Frontier Online and even allowed her to join the same base as him, Base 19. Among the bases in the game, it was well known that Base 19 was the hardest base to start in, if not impossible. ¡¯She can manage herself¡­ she¡¯s pretty good with a gun.¡¯ Indeed, Lyka was excellent at shooting games. It was the only type of game she had played and had experienced on Virtual Reality after all. Her ability was enough to put her at the top 100 leaderboard if only she played on a daily basis and joined competitions and events. That was hardly the issue, though. The problem was he had just decided to lay low for now because of the recent uproar in forums. ¡°Why did I have to lay low anyway?¡± He murmured as he walked to the kitchen after hearing the kettle¡¯s high-pitched whistling. As he poured the hot water to the cup of instant noodles, he remembered the girl who he wanted to fight against. ¡°That¡¯s right¡­ I¡¯m avoiding gathering attention because I don¡¯t want to meet up with her prematurely or let her know that I¡¯ve joined the game after declining her¡­¡± His choice of starting in Base 19 because of its lack of player population came back to bite him. It seemed like a logical choice at that moment, but on hindsight, it appeared to be a foolish choice. It was too late to change it now as he had already somewhat decided to keep on conquering the challenges that Base 19 had to offer. Letting Lyka join in may also be a form of challenge. While eating instant noodles, Allen received a message on his phone. It was from Lyka and the contents made him laugh a little. I juz made my char n fnishd d tut! ign is Kyla :D d monstrs wr scary :o Allen quickly finished his unsatisfying dinner and logged in to the game. As soon as he woke up in his workshop, he registered Kyla into his communicator and sent her a message to meet up in front of . He planned to let her experience the harshness of this base as soon as possible. Since her character is newly created, she could still delete it and create a new one in a different base without any sense of loss. Along the way he coincidently encountered the Assistant Trainer. ¡°Soldier.¡± Allen stopped in front of her and acknowledged her call. He didn¡¯t know her actual Class and Rank but she¡¯s definitely higher than him as she had been a member of the Base Establishment Group. ¡°There¡¯s a new recruit with 100% assimilation, just like you. Have you heard?¡± ¡°I might have some idea¡­¡± The dinner last night came into Allen¡¯s mind. Nothing much happened. It was just a regular dinner and they only talked about things regarding the base. It was more of Allen leaching information from her, and she didn¡¯t mind. ¡°This is off the record, but I¡¯m not too pleasant with her. She doesn¡¯t have the same fire you have in your eyes.¡± ¡°Haha¡­ That should be right¡­¡± He could only laugh awkwardly at her remark. It was true that Lyka joined the game because of him. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she left as soon as she encountered the beasts outside just like the others before you¡­ But as a member of Base 19, I still hope that she stays to enforce the strength of the base. Another able soldier is always welcome within the ranks.¡± ¡°Yes. As a fellow newcomer, I¡¯ll make sure that she would be a benefit to the base.¡± ¡°Good. Proceed, soldier. Don¡¯t let me keep you.¡± After performing some salutes, they parted ways. Allen breathed a sigh. Natalie Myers was still an Ice Queen when it came to things related to the base. ¡¯I just said that I would make Lyka an asset¡­ It seems like letting her pick another base isn¡¯t much of an option anymore.¡¯ Steeling his resolve, he walked to while thinking of ways to make Lyka stay while at the same time make sure that she won¡¯t become a hindrance. When he arrived, he saw a short girl wearing the same combat uniform as he did when he first started. She had short red hair, and familiar facial features. Just like Allen, she didn¡¯t modify her physical appearance too much, and just changed her hair and eye color to red. Even her in-game name, Kyla, was the result of switching two letters in her name. ¡°Yo.¡± ¡°A-allen!¡± ¡°How is it?¡± ¡°It looks interesting¡­ and the NPCs are very human-like!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Everything is very detailed, too.¡± Lyka nodded her head in agreement. ¡°So, what weapon did you receive?¡± ¡°A Long gun¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s good. Then, are you ready to do some quests?¡± ¡°S-sure!¡± ¡°You look nervous.¡± She just kept quiet. With a small laugh, Allen entered and was followed by Lyka. He unhurriedly walked toward Karen to receive a quest. ¡°Oh! It seems like you two are already acquainted!¡± ¡°Sort of¡­ any mission we can take? Preferably one which can yield a lot of materials.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Let me see¡­¡± Karen busily typed on her console as she searched for Allen¡¯s request. Lyka behind Allen kept on peaking over his shoulder to see what she was doing. She could just move and stand beside him, so why she would remain and do this, Allen did not know. ¡°There aren¡¯t many requests right now, but it seems like one matches with your conditions perfectly. The Bar Chef had just requested for Elezzoth meat a few hours ago, and luckily we detected one wandering within our scouting area. Would you like to accept this?¡± ¡°Okay.¡±
New Quest received! The Chef¡¯s Request The Bar kitchen had run out of high quality meat and requested for an Elezzoth hunt. One Elezzoth was spotted near the base. Hunt it down and the kitchen will dispatch a harvesting team.
¡°Will you do this as a party or individually? Take note that as individual missions, you will have to compete against each other. As you may have also noticed, the rewards for individuals in a party are lesser than solo missions.¡± ¡°Party.¡± ¡¯I didn¡¯t notice that. Soloing actually gives more rewards¡­¡± Allen looked back at Lyka and entertained the idea of just leaving her alone but immediately dropped the thought. ¡¯I¡¯m not that cruel, and besides, I kind of gave my word to the assistant trainer¡­¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s great. Developing teamwork is essential for everyone. I have to inform you that the kitchen harvesting team will only harvest the meat. Anything else left behind can be taken by your party.¡± ¡°Thanks. We¡¯ll set out now.¡± ¡°Good luck!¡± As the two left the room, Lyka peeked at Allen and said something in a barely audible voice. ¡°You seemed close with her¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s just a NPC. A realistic one at that, though¡­¡± ¡°Do you like that sort of thing? I heard Carl talking about wanting to date virtual girls¡­¡± ¡°Haha. As you¡¯d expect from him.¡± Allen laughed it off, but at that time, he remembered the dinner date he had last night. To him, it was just a simple invitation he accepted because of the words ¡®It¡¯s my treat¡¯. To the eyes of outsiders, however, it might appear that he was into some sort of strange inclination. He shook his head and focused on the mission ahead. He already knew what an Elezzoth looked like and its other characteristics. ¡°An Elezzoth has the appearance of a mammoth, but instead of being covered in fur, its entire body is shrouded with crystals instead. For a mutated crystal beast, it is appears to be docile in nature, and only attacks anything that approaches it within 10 meters. Theories were that it had poor vision and was near-sighted. What do you think we should do?¡± Allen explained to Lyka while they made their way to the . He also wanted her to develop strategies based on the information he gave so that she wouldn¡¯t rely too much on him. ¡°Uhm¡­ use long distance attacks?¡± ¡°Good, but just doing that isn¡¯t enough. When it¡¯s attacked from a distance and unable to see its attackers, an Elezzoth will run away. Despite its huge size, it actually can run very fast.¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ since it¡¯s just us two¡­ so you will distract it in close range then I¡¯ll shoot it from a distance¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. That¡¯s actually the only tactic we can use. You have to make sure that you don¡¯t close in too much and stay outside of its ten meter perception range. Also, keep an open eye to your surroundings at all times. There may be other beasts prowling about waiting for an ambush.¡± Elezzoth were normall Class III beasts, but in Base 19¡¯s region, they were at least Class V in strength. This didn¡¯t scare Allen the slightest, and he didn¡¯t mention it to Lyka to avoid her from developing any sort of discouragement even before setting out. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. They arrived at the and was greeted by a pierced blond man, Jake. ¡°Looks like I¡¯ll be your transport for today again.¡± ¡°Yeah. You don¡¯t want to join in the fun today?¡± ¡°What fun?! More like going on another suicide mission!¡± ¡°How¡¯s Alexia?¡± Allen steered the discussion from the mission¡¯s difficulty because Lyka was listening in. ¡°Oh¡­ Man, that girl¡¯s as crazy as you. She¡¯s been on hardcore training mode all day. The other medic trainees were so scared of her. She was more of a killer than a medic if you ask me.¡± Even though he was saying impolite things about her, his eyes were strangely filled with passion. He was definitely head over heels for her. Lyka was chuckling by the side while watching him. ¡°She¡¯ll catch up to your level soon.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m afraid that¡¯s very likely to happen.¡± After that discussion, Allen introduced Lyka to Jake. They then checked their equipments with the terminals in the and he then gave them a ride to the place near where the Elezzoth was spotted. It was almost 9 pm. Unlike the previous nights, the sky was shrouded with clouds reducing the visibility of the surroundings. This was hardly a hindrance for CrySols as they had improved vision, letting them see through the dark. Dark was still dark, and the clarity of their vision was not enough to make them see the night as day. Lyka, with her Long gun ready, was quite nervous as her eyes flitted about, chasing shadows and sounds. In front of her was Allen, moving steadily and coolly as usual. He had noticed that his vision was better than before. It may have been the result of his class up or the unique passive skill Bestial Nature, or both. When he got the three new skills, they were automatically placed in the skill slots and could not be removed. This was the result of their property as Locked skills. It was a good idea that he allotted points to his Ability stat, or he would quickly run out of skill slots. He didn¡¯t have any other skills yet, though, so it didn¡¯t really seem like that much of a problem. He was more worried about Lyka. He had not asked her how she distributed her points or what she took for her back story. Although Lyka trusts him, he still didn¡¯t want to break the gaming etiquette of not asking a player¡¯s stats. He could only hope that whatever configuration she chose, it wouldn¡¯t hinder her character development. Soon, they arrived at a wide clearing with a small lake in the middle. Beside the lake, a huge figure could be seen. It was bigger than a single-storey house. A massive trunk was between its huge tusks, and its body was covered with crystals. Whenever it moved, the crystals on its skin undulated like a wave, as if they weren¡¯t solid. It was a beautiful sight to behold. ¡°It¡¯s quite cute¡­¡± That offside comment from Lyka almost made Allen stumble. For her to find something like that cute was quite bizarre. Allen attributed that to how girls think differently from guys. ¡°Are you ready?¡± Lyka only replied with a nod. She had already stocked up on ammunition as Allen instructed. She also had trust in her aiming skills. That was the only skill that she had that Allen recognized. ¡°I¡¯ll leave my back to you!¡± As Allen said that, he activated Predation Instincts, emptying his Stamina bar. He felt a wild surge of energy inside his body and a strange thirst for blood. With his high Rejuvenation, his Stamina quickly refilled within three seconds. He sprinted toward the Elezzoth, his Novo Vulpia in 1st Form ready to draw blood. In fact, Allen felt like he could hear the sword in his hand growling in anticipation. The Elezzoth noticed his approach. It quickly turned to face him and swung its huge trunk at him. If something that huge hit him, he¡¯d surely turn into minced meat! That is if this was reality. Without fear, Allen jumped up to dodge the massive trunk, twisting his body around and landing on his feet. He then dashed forward and swung his sword toward the place on the Elezzoth¡¯s face where the trunk was connected. The beast was indeed fast on its feet as it swiftly dodged backward. Its quick movements belied its huge body. Allen had already expected this as he made another dash forward, managing to easily catch up to the beast. Using that momentum, he swung his sword to the same location. The Elezzoth did not retreat this time but clashed against the sword with one of its tusk. It twisted its head as it parried the attack, followed by another swing of its trunk to retaliate. Allen, caught off balance, barely dodged the trunk as he stumbled a few steps back. ¡¯This is harder than I thought.¡¯ He exhaled a breath as he steadied himself and increased his focus. Lyka watched the previous exchange and left her in awe. The high-speed battle was very interesting to watch, but she had not let down her guard for even a second. Allen had trusted her to watch over his back, and she did so with vigilance. She kept part of her attention to her surroundings, ready to warn Allen if she detected a beast that would interfere and ambush them. She had not fired a single shot because Allen had told her before to wait for a weak spot on the enemy¡¯s defense to appear. If this was the game she previously played, the reasoning for this was that as a person taking the sniper position, the shot she fired should deal a heavy blow to the opponent at the cost of risking her position. She should not make a careless shot. At this moment, her focus and concentration had increased, a bit similar to that of Allen¡¯s condition. She was now just waiting for the opportune moment to land a critical shot at the opponent when it reveals a weakness in its defenses. The battle proceeded without much improvement. The Elezzoth was very quick and prioritized dodging instead of tanking blows, quite contrary to its appearance. Despite that, Allen persevered and made full use of Novo Vulpia¡¯s changing forms to deal unpredictable attacks to the opponent. With Novo Vulpia in 2nd Form, he finally managed to land a heavy blow to one of the Elezzoth¡¯s hind legs causing shards of crystal to chip off and reveal the flesh underneath. The impact had also caused the beast to teeter and lose its balance, falling down. In this defenseless moment, Allen had switch to 4th Form and pierced the massive leg as deep as he could with Enhance activated. With a Gun shot, the blade was pulled out with the impact. -200 -300 -160 -80 -80 -80 -80 -80 -30 Bleed The first three damages were all caused by Allen, and the next five were rapid shots done by Lyka on the same spot were he just attacked. Her accuracy and precision were astounding as always. While praising her in his mind, Allen quickly retreated. The Elezzoth madly stood up, swinging its huge trunk around. It had lost a third of its Vitality in a moment of carelessness. It was unable to cover the wounds with the crystals, and Allen finally realized that this beast was actually unable to control the crystals that covered its body, unlike the Vulpia. In fact, the crystals served as a substitute to its fur just like how mammoths were covered entirely in it. Allen now started aiming for the other legs. The Elezzoth warily dodged those attacks, seeing his intent. It didn¡¯t want the same thing to happen again, so it payed full attention to its legs. This was just how Allen wanted it. With its attention to its feet, Allen made a feint to one of its front legs, then quickly retracted his attack. With a dodge to the massive swinging trunk, he landed on one of the tusks. Switching Novo Vulpia to 3rd Form, he aimed the pair of blade¡¯s tips to the the beast¡¯s eyes, one on each. On impulse, the Elezzoth quickly lifted its tusks and threw Allen into the air. It then prepared to swing its trunk at him on his way down. ¡°Shoot the leg!¡± The Elezzoth was now stationary while waiting him fall down. This was the chance that Lyka was waiting for, so even without Allen¡¯s call, she would still have done so. With rapid fires, she shot the open wound on the Elezzoth¡¯s hind leg. Her precise concentrated fire actually broke its leg and bone. With a painful cry, the huge beast lost one of its support and fell. -80 -80 -80 -80 -160 Critical! Allen once again used the 2nd Form and swung down on the Elezzoth¡¯s exposed back. With a crunching sound, the crystals covering its flesh broke apart, and the flesh beneath were also crushed. -500 Brutal! With 3rd Form he repeatedly stabbed and shot the exposed broken flesh with the twin swords. -50 -40 -50 -40 -100 Critical! -40 -50 -80 Critical! -100 Critical! -10 Bleed It was a pitiful sight to behold. The Elezzoth could only cry in pain as it was pierced and shot continuously. Before long, the beast finally cried its last and exhausted its life. Allen jumped down from the beast¡¯s corpse and looked at it. Lyka walked to his side, her face was slightly ugly as she looked at the results of their battle. ¡°It¡¯s quite sad, isn¡¯t it?¡± She asked as she stroked the crystal covered head of the Elezzoth. Allen remembered that she saw the beast as ¡®cute¡¯, and killing it off was quite harsh for her. ¡°I wonder if the meat will taste bad with all that damage¡­¡± Her next statement threw all of Allen¡¯s worries away.