Earlier, at the heart of Trial Region No. 752, the 1st Raid Party had set up camp atop a windswept mountain peak, the towering Obelisk rising ominously in the distance, its dark silhouette contrasting against the bleak, wintry landscape.
The diverse group, composed of Earthlings, Atlans, Rock Magmoids, and four smaller teams who had lost comrades in the brutal battle against the Plasma Predator—huddled together, resting and preparing against the harsh cold. Snow crunched beneath their feet with each step, and the icy winds howled like the ghosts of forgotten wars.
Despite the fierce weather, the biting cold had little effect on them. Their physiques, hardened by reaching Tier-3 and beyond, were essentially immune to such low temperatures, shrugging off the chill as if it were nothing more than a distant memory.
The Obelisk loomed nearby, a symbol of challenge and conquest, beckoning them to begin the exploration they had eagerly awaited. Clusters of sharp, frozen boulders dotted the ridge, offering minimal cover from the unforgiving elements.
The frost-slicked ground was treacherous and unpredictable, while the heavy gray sky loomed above, threatening to unleash another blizzard at any moment. Despite the harsh conditions, the party's spirits remained high as they awaited Jay's arrival, unaware of the storm about to crash down upon them.
Without warning, the already-darkened sky seemed to grow even more foreboding. A sudden shift in the air signaled the first sign of danger. In an instant, several Aura-charged arrows sliced through the swirling winds, cutting across the jagged peaks with deadly precision.
One of the arrows, imbued with lethal power, tore through the Space Platform in a single devastating strike. The platform, their sole means of long distance transportation, shattered into pieces before anyone could react.
But the assault didn't end there. The howling winds carried a barrage of similar Aura arrows, their tips slicing through the freezing air with lethal intent, aimed directly at the strongest fighters within the 1st Raid Party.
Those arrows weren't ordinary ones; each one crackled with enough power to critically wound, if not outright kill, almost any typical Tier-4 lifeform they struck.
Olivia reacted immediately. Her breath formed sharp, misty puffs in the frigid air as her telekinetic abilities surged to life. She narrowed her eyes against the icy wind, and with sheer force of her mind, she diverted the incoming arrows, pushing them away from their intended targets.
The moment of relief was brief. Though she had managed to deflect the first wave, those arrows were far from ordinary. They moved with an unsettling intelligence, twisting and swirling through the air as if alive, recalibrating their paths to curve back toward their targets, their deadly glow stark against the white backdrop of snow-covered mountains.
Realizing that simple deflection wouldn't be enough, Olivia's expression hardened as she brought out her Growth-type weapon, the
In an instant, the single butterfly-shaped blade split into a hundred identical blades, their sharp edges reflecting the pale light of the overcast sky. With a flick of her wrist, she unleashed the swarm of blades toward the relentless arrows, their sharp edges cutting through the freezing air with speed and grace.
The two sides collided mid-air, above the snow-laden ridge—Olivia's butterfly blades clashed with the Aura arrows in a chaotic flurry of sparks. The cold mountain winds swirled the sparks into the air, adding an eerie glow to the frozen battlefield.
Still, the arrows continued to swerve through the air, expertly dodging the butterfly blades Olivia had summoned. Their unpredictable movements made them difficult to pin down. Olivia's brow furrowed as she focused harder, struggling to keep up with their erratic flight patterns.
Meanwhile, Akor sensed the growing threat and quickly acted to support his comrades. With a powerful motion, he summoned an Aqua Shell, enveloping the entire Raid Party in a thick barrier of Volatile Aqua element.
His main goal was to protect the weaker members of their group, ensuring they were shielded from the relentless barrage of Aura arrows that rained down like deadly missiles. Each impact reverberated through the icy air, and the few stray arrows that slipped through Olivia's defense struck the Aqua Shell with alarming force.
Whenever one of the attacks landed, it tore a sizable hole in the watery barrier, sending a shockwave through the protective dome. Akor, fully aware of the danger, acted quickly, mending the breaches as soon as they appeared.
If two arrows were to come in rapid succession—one following closely behind the other—the first would rip open the shell, leaving just enough time for the second to pierce through before he could restore it. In that brief window, the arrow could easily strike those inside, and the weaker members of the Raid Party, who relied on his protection, would be gravely exposed.
Olivia fought desperately to prevent it, but the relentless barrage of attacks showed no sign of stopping. From the distance, more arrows rained down with every passing moment, each one hurtling toward them like a homing missile, deadly and precise, aimed to kill.
As the number of arrows multiplied, Olivia began to struggle under the growing pressure, her butterfly blades barely keeping up with the increasing onslaught. The arrows came in waves, faster and more relentless, giving her little room to breathe.
Seeing that, the other Alpha Chosen from Earth—aside from Andrea—refused to sit idle within Akor's protective Aqua Shell. They stepped forward to assist Olivia, leaping into the battle with determination.
All of them, except for Dante, had long since broken past the 1st Universe Limit and reached Tier-4 during the past nine days, their powers significantly heightened. With their newfound strength, they joined the fight, each contributing their abilities to intercept and destroy the arrows, which behaved like sentient missiles hunting down their targets.
Despite his bottleneck, Dante remained a formidable force. Though he had not yet crossed the 1st Universe Limit, having only recently reached the peak of Tier-3, he was still one of the most powerful—and certainly the most unpredictable—among the Earth's Alpha Chosen.
Even with his advanced archery skills, Dante found the precision and power behind the incoming arrows baffling. The distance was astonishing—over 20 kilometers.
His mind raced, trying to grasp how someone could be shooting from so far away with such deadly precision. "How are we even visible from that distance?" Dante wondered, his brow furrowed as he dodged another arrow that whizzed past him, its speed leaving a trail of displaced snow in its wake.
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Author Note:
Exclusive artwork for every free chapter is now available on my PATRE0N page! You can find the link in my Discord server.
I'm thrilled to share that I'm taking a big leap forward! Alongside Earth's Alpha Prime, I've launched the first sub-book for EAP.
ALTER REALITY: Online
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The first ten to comment for new chapter releases will get '1 ADVANCED CHAPTER' for free on Earth Alpha Prime's Discord server.
In the discord server, I opened a private channel for those Top 10 candidates, where I posted the respective Advanced Chapter.
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Discord Link for 'Earth's Alpha Prime' :
https://discord.gg/maQC7xDBYZ
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