ACT V
THE GLORY WARS
The four-legged beast, boasting a robust frame stretching at least four meters in length and towering two meters in height, locked eyes with Hans. Its lengthy, lifeless horns siphoned mana, and the creature was poised for action. “Shit, this is bad news, Vanir, don’t move an inch,” Hans warned him, aware that this was Vanir's first foray, as well his into the ordinary BeastZone. Ghost Isles had been fundamentally distinct, making this an unpredictable variable. His already drawn mana path readily shifted, targeting the Cordata’s weak spot, “They are sensitive, can stun and quake the ground. Not to forget an incredible charging speed." Hans recalled the words scar-faced in charge, " 1000 credits for calling help. I’ve to make the first move, or else I’ll have a negative balance.”
"If my SeedBullet misses," he muttered, his gaze unwavering as he allowed SharpDeath to manifest along a direct trajectory toward the Cordata. "Let's give it a warning first, and if it retreats—" His words hung in the air, unfinished. The Cordata responded with a grunting growl, lowering its head menacingly, its mana-infused horns primed for action. With a surge of power, it charged at them with unbridled force.
"I just wanted you to flee, you fool," Hans sighed, his expression heavy as SharpDeath impaled the charging creature with a barrage of steel spikes. It was a gruesome spectacle, and the beast met a horrifying end. "Damn, this sensation. I shouldn't have removed that...reprogrammable...or whatever it was." While Hans wrestled with his thoughts, Vanir, who had been nervously biting his nails, now found himself captivated by the sight of this rare second-class beast. Such creatures were a rarity since all the BeastZone were typically controlled by either the Knight Association or mage towers. For an ordinary person, gaining access to this resourceful place was a formidable challenge. “Now what, senior?” he asked Hans.
“Now, we run. This thing will attract trouble.” Hans replied, “Our main target is great Mamba —”
“Main? So we do have secondary objectives?” Vanir interjected, prompting a nod of acknowledgement from Hans. “So you were paying attention," Hans explained, "We need four things, cold grass, leather plants, and a magma attribute beast. It is hard to find in this BeastZone. Lastly a thunder-type beast.”
“For me?” Vanir pointed at himself, confirming.
“Who do you think... didn’t I say, we’ll increase your mana?”
“So you are into alchemy too?”
“No,” Hans denied, shaking his head. “Then what are the materials for?” Vanir asked, prompting Hans to respond, “I have my ways.” He took out a tome, a parch with all four materials sketched as he stated. “Take care of the herbs, I’ll find the beast.”
"Understood, sir," Vanir confirmed and diligently scoured the nearby terrain, comparing everything he found with the tome. However, luck did not favour them that day. Despite their exhaustive search, they came up empty-handed. They narrowly avoided several encounters with second-class creatures, but sneakily avoided the skirmishes. As the day wore on, Hans decided it was best to spend the night in this precarious environment, selecting a safe spot at a distance from lurking beasts. As Hans prepared for the night, his actions left the young Vanir astounded. "Well, isn't this rather convenient," Vanir marvelled, watching Hans skillfully construct a shelter seemingly out of thin air?"
They had drifted into a brief slumber when Vanir abruptly awoke, feeling Hans' grip around his mouth tightens uncomfortably. "Mm, what are you doing?" he mumbled, but Hans tightened his hold and whispered urgently, "Quiet, you fool." He then turned his gagged face sideways, and Vanir sensed an enormous presence passing by, its every step eerily muffled."That's a feline," Hans breathed, still keeping his voice hushed. "Don't make a sound." He slowly released his grip, and Vanir breathed a silent sigh of relief. "What do we do now?" he asked, tugging at Hans' sleeve, but his senior remained focused on seeing through their makeshift shelter. After a tense pause, Hans responded, “Well, aren’t you a protagonist, that's a ThunderCat, I can’t believe your luck but this thing is too evolved. Probably a class three.”
“Fuck —” Vanir whispered, covering his mouth, he couldn’t help getting scared. A class three creature was far beyond their level of preparedness. Despite Hans's assurances of being able to fend off the beast, doubt gnawed at him. The most formidable thing he had witnessed Hans do was the VoidZone, and he had no desire to experience any friendly fire. Unlike Vanir, Hans remained composed. "You're cursing in front of your lord, you mannerless elf —"
“What of formality when we could become that thing’s faeces tomorrow.”
“Well your head seems working,” Hans chuckled, though he couldn't shake his own anxiety. None of his traps had been triggered, which meant one thing: the beast possessed some form of detection ability. “This is bad, I depend on traps the most, one one-on-one confrontation is suicidal… But what the hell, we only need the thunderCat’s heart, not its entire body." He sighed, realising, after removing the mind thing, he was getting scared easily, "Snap out, damn it.” He shook off his apprehensions, giving himself a pep talk. "I'll get us through this. Maybe I'm not the best planner like my father, but I'm a damn good improviser," he said with an unfound confidence that even lit up Vanir’s eyes.
“So Vanir," Hans added, "Be a dear and become a bait for me”
The words almost sent Vanir to hell’s gates, the light left his eyes as soon as it came to him. As he lowered his head, his gaze empty. He whispered, "Can you promise that my father will receive the potion, sir—?"
“Is this your last will?"
"mhm..." Vanir nodded.
"That was sarcasm, you fool! Get that thing a bit farther from me. Who said anything about sacrificing yourself?" Hans retorted, his frustration simmering beneath the surface. He desperately wanted to give Vanir a good smack, but fearing they'd draw the unwelcome attention of their unexpected guest, he restrained himself. Pointing to the right, he readied himself. "When I give the word, run as if your life depends on it, over there."
"Are you sure there will be a tomorrow for me, senior? No, Lord Hans."
"Shut up and do as I say. You won't die. Probably."
“Way to boost the confidence.”
"Just follow orders, you idiot."
"Okay, just let me know when."
"Now," Hans signalled urgently. "Right now," Vanir confirmed, and Hans released the restraint he'd been holding back, smacking Vanir's head. "Yes, run now," he emphasised. But by this point, even if Hans hadn't spoken, Vanir would have sprinted as if his life depended on it because that loud smack had already jolted the hyper-sensitive ThunderCat.
LightningBoost
Another of Vanir's original spells was unveiled. Sparks enveloped his legs, enhancing his speed as he shot forward like a cannonball, following Hans' direction.
"That idiot had something like this already? He should've mentioned it," Hans muttered, hastening his improvised attack and accelerating the construction of the seed. "Come on, come on, hurry, damn it!" Meanwhile, Vanir found himself pursued, and the ThunderCat effortlessly closed the gap, given Vanir's straight-line sprint.
Suddenly, Vanir stumbled, a hidden root sending him sprawling and rolling into a nearby tree. "NOW!" Hans shouted, and the ThunderCat, startled by the sudden absence of Hans' presence, turned its head, unable to detect him with its ManaVision. In the brief moment of confusion, the very root that tripped Vanir sprang to life, coiling rapidly and snatching him up, launching him high into the air toward where Hans stood.
Snatching its prey away was not to the liking of any feline-type beast. The ThunderCat swiftly closed the gap with astonishing speed, leaping with the grace of a flying creature. However, just as it lunged, Hans completed whatever he had been crafting. “Fuck this shit” he shouted.
~TheVeganCarnage~
At the precise moment, directly beneath the ThunderCat, a shrieking seed burst forth, filling the surroundings with an unsettling dread. The ominous scream was so piercing and unsettling that even Hans felt the chill. "This thing evolved again," he mused, shouting in excitement "Who cares, just do your job, my crying seed." But, the unsettling scream was not the sole evolution it had undergone. The speared tentacles, which had previously numbered no more than ten, had now multiplied to sixteen, moving faster than before. One of them struck and pierced the ThunderCat's thick skull like a hot knife through butter. Its range had doubled from before, but it found no additional prey and subsided more swiftly than its initial lifespan.
“So, its life reduced, as the size grew. No advanced equations are needed to prove this.”Hans reflected, lost in thought until he heard another person's screams from above. "Oh, damn, I forgot about him." Just before Vanir embraced the ground in terror, Hans caught him with an enormous web of vines. "Next time, just inform me of your plans, senior," Vanir complained, and Hans responded in his usual relaxed and confident manner, "That takes too much time, junior. Just trust me."
Vanir sighed, not wanting to argue with Hans, especially after witnessing the monstrous entity that had sent shivers down his spine from a distance. He was growing more and more confident in Hans's extraordinary abilities. “You really are a monster, senior,” he commented.
“Hmm… Monster, not the ideal way to compliment, but it works.”
“No, I mean you have scary powers, I mean powerful …”
"Yeah, yeah, I get the idea," Hans interrupted him, preventing further embarrassment. Clenching his fist, marvelling at it, he muttered, "I guess it runs in the family."
***
AnnouncementNEXT : EARNING CREDITS (3)
ACT V
THE GLORY WARS
The four-legged beast, boasting a robust frame stretching at least four meters in length and towering two meters in height, locked eyes with Hans. Its lengthy, lifeless horns siphoned mana, and the creature was poised for action. “Shit, this is bad news, Vanir, don’t move an inch,” Hans warned him, aware that this was Vanir's first foray, as well his into the ordinary BeastZone. Ghost Isles had been fundamentally distinct, making this an unpredictable variable. His already drawn mana path readily shifted, targeting the Cordata’s weak spot, “They are sensitive, can stun and quake the ground. Not to forget an incredible charging speed." Hans recalled the words scar-faced in charge, " 1000 credits for calling help. I’ve to make the first move, or else I’ll have a negative balance.”
"If my SeedBullet misses," he muttered, his gaze unwavering as he allowed SharpDeath to manifest along a direct trajectory toward the Cordata. "Let's give it a warning first, and if it retreats—" His words hung in the air, unfinished. The Cordata responded with a grunting growl, lowering its head menacingly, its mana-infused horns primed for action. With a surge of power, it charged at them with unbridled force.
"I just wanted you to flee, you fool," Hans sighed, his expression heavy as SharpDeath impaled the charging creature with a barrage of steel spikes. It was a gruesome spectacle, and the beast met a horrifying end. "Damn, this sensation. I shouldn't have removed that...reprogrammable...or whatever it was." While Hans wrestled with his thoughts, Vanir, who had been nervously biting his nails, now found himself captivated by the sight of this rare second-class beast. Such creatures were a rarity since all the BeastZone were typically controlled by either the Knight Association or mage towers. For an ordinary person, gaining access to this resourceful place was a formidable challenge. “Now what, senior?” he asked Hans.
“Now, we run. This thing will attract trouble.” Hans replied, “Our main target is great Mamba —”
“Main? So we do have secondary objectives?” Vanir interjected, prompting a nod of acknowledgement from Hans. “So you were paying attention," Hans explained, "We need four things, cold grass, leather plants, and a magma attribute beast. It is hard to find in this BeastZone. Lastly a thunder-type beast.”
“For me?” Vanir pointed at himself, confirming.
“Who do you think... didn’t I say, we’ll increase your mana?”
“So you are into alchemy too?”
“No,” Hans denied, shaking his head. “Then what are the materials for?” Vanir asked, prompting Hans to respond, “I have my ways.” He took out a tome, a parch with all four materials sketched as he stated. “Take care of the herbs, I’ll find the beast.”
"Understood, sir," Vanir confirmed and diligently scoured the nearby terrain, comparing everything he found with the tome. However, luck did not favour them that day. Despite their exhaustive search, they came up empty-handed. They narrowly avoided several encounters with second-class creatures, but sneakily avoided the skirmishes. As the day wore on, Hans decided it was best to spend the night in this precarious environment, selecting a safe spot at a distance from lurking beasts. As Hans prepared for the night, his actions left the young Vanir astounded. "Well, isn't this rather convenient," Vanir marvelled, watching Hans skillfully construct a shelter seemingly out of thin air?"
They had drifted into a brief slumber when Vanir abruptly awoke, feeling Hans' grip around his mouth tightens uncomfortably. "Mm, what are you doing?" he mumbled, but Hans tightened his hold and whispered urgently, "Quiet, you fool." He then turned his gagged face sideways, and Vanir sensed an enormous presence passing by, its every step eerily muffled."That's a feline," Hans breathed, still keeping his voice hushed. "Don't make a sound." He slowly released his grip, and Vanir breathed a silent sigh of relief. "What do we do now?" he asked, tugging at Hans' sleeve, but his senior remained focused on seeing through their makeshift shelter. After a tense pause, Hans responded, “Well, aren’t you a protagonist, that's a ThunderCat, I can’t believe your luck but this thing is too evolved. Probably a class three.”
“Fuck —” Vanir whispered, covering his mouth, he couldn’t help getting scared. A class three creature was far beyond their level of preparedness. Despite Hans's assurances of being able to fend off the beast, doubt gnawed at him. The most formidable thing he had witnessed Hans do was the VoidZone, and he had no desire to experience any friendly fire. Unlike Vanir, Hans remained composed. "You're cursing in front of your lord, you mannerless elf —"
“What of formality when we could become that thing’s faeces tomorrow.”
“Well your head seems working,” Hans chuckled, though he couldn't shake his own anxiety. None of his traps had been triggered, which meant one thing: the beast possessed some form of detection ability. “This is bad, I depend on traps the most, one one-on-one confrontation is suicidal… But what the hell, we only need the thunderCat’s heart, not its entire body." He sighed, realising, after removing the mind thing, he was getting scared easily, "Snap out, damn it.” He shook off his apprehensions, giving himself a pep talk. "I'll get us through this. Maybe I'm not the best planner like my father, but I'm a damn good improviser," he said with an unfound confidence that even lit up Vanir’s eyes.
“So Vanir," Hans added, "Be a dear and become a bait for me”
The words almost sent Vanir to hell’s gates, the light left his eyes as soon as it came to him. As he lowered his head, his gaze empty. He whispered, "Can you promise that my father will receive the potion, sir—?"
“Is this your last will?"
"mhm..." Vanir nodded.
"That was sarcasm, you fool! Get that thing a bit farther from me. Who said anything about sacrificing yourself?" Hans retorted, his frustration simmering beneath the surface. He desperately wanted to give Vanir a good smack, but fearing they'd draw the unwelcome attention of their unexpected guest, he restrained himself. Pointing to the right, he readied himself. "When I give the word, run as if your life depends on it, over there."
"Are you sure there will be a tomorrow for me, senior? No, Lord Hans."
"Shut up and do as I say. You won't die. Probably."
“Way to boost the confidence.”
"Just follow orders, you idiot."
"Okay, just let me know when."
"Now," Hans signalled urgently. "Right now," Vanir confirmed, and Hans released the restraint he'd been holding back, smacking Vanir's head. "Yes, run now," he emphasised. But by this point, even if Hans hadn't spoken, Vanir would have sprinted as if his life depended on it because that loud smack had already jolted the hyper-sensitive ThunderCat.
LightningBoost
Another of Vanir's original spells was unveiled. Sparks enveloped his legs, enhancing his speed as he shot forward like a cannonball, following Hans' direction.
"That idiot had something like this already? He should've mentioned it," Hans muttered, hastening his improvised attack and accelerating the construction of the seed. "Come on, come on, hurry, damn it!" Meanwhile, Vanir found himself pursued, and the ThunderCat effortlessly closed the gap, given Vanir's straight-line sprint.
Suddenly, Vanir stumbled, a hidden root sending him sprawling and rolling into a nearby tree. "NOW!" Hans shouted, and the ThunderCat, startled by the sudden absence of Hans' presence, turned its head, unable to detect him with its ManaVision. In the brief moment of confusion, the very root that tripped Vanir sprang to life, coiling rapidly and snatching him up, launching him high into the air toward where Hans stood.
Snatching its prey away was not to the liking of any feline-type beast. The ThunderCat swiftly closed the gap with astonishing speed, leaping with the grace of a flying creature. However, just as it lunged, Hans completed whatever he had been crafting. “Fuck this shit” he shouted.
~TheVeganCarnage~
At the precise moment, directly beneath the ThunderCat, a shrieking seed burst forth, filling the surroundings with an unsettling dread. The ominous scream was so piercing and unsettling that even Hans felt the chill. "This thing evolved again," he mused, shouting in excitement "Who cares, just do your job, my crying seed." But, the unsettling scream was not the sole evolution it had undergone. The speared tentacles, which had previously numbered no more than ten, had now multiplied to sixteen, moving faster than before. One of them struck and pierced the ThunderCat's thick skull like a hot knife through butter. Its range had doubled from before, but it found no additional prey and subsided more swiftly than its initial lifespan.
“So, its life reduced, as the size grew. No advanced equations are needed to prove this.”Hans reflected, lost in thought until he heard another person's screams from above. "Oh, damn, I forgot about him." Just before Vanir embraced the ground in terror, Hans caught him with an enormous web of vines. "Next time, just inform me of your plans, senior," Vanir complained, and Hans responded in his usual relaxed and confident manner, "That takes too much time, junior. Just trust me."
Vanir sighed, not wanting to argue with Hans, especially after witnessing the monstrous entity that had sent shivers down his spine from a distance. He was growing more and more confident in Hans's extraordinary abilities. “You really are a monster, senior,” he commented.
“Hmm… Monster, not the ideal way to compliment, but it works.”
“No, I mean you have scary powers, I mean powerful …”
"Yeah, yeah, I get the idea," Hans interrupted him, preventing further embarrassment. Clenching his fist, marvelling at it, he muttered, "I guess it runs in the family."
***
AnnouncementNEXT : EARNING CREDITS (3)
