In the vast wilderness, near the gate at the back of a raging village that was currently in war against dragons, a huge snake wrapped itself around a massive sloth.
It spoke with a mix of regret and determination.
"I'm sorry, my friend, but it seems you've used up your chances in this difficult [ Hard Mode ] and [ Multiplayer Mode ], just like me. Survival of the fittest is the rule, and today, it's your turn to die. So, enjoy becoming a catalyst creature and say goodbye to the living world," the snake said, tightening its grip firmly.
The titanoboa, who could speak human language, seemed unaware of the giant sloth's words as it made a muffled sound.
"Not human?"
The titanoboa wondered. But this realization only increased its desire to end the life in front of it.
The giant sloth was trapped and had no hope of escaping the titanoboa's strong grip.
"You're not human, so you must be eliminated!"
Declared the titanoboa, ignoring the sloth's cries of pain.
This fear was shared by human civilizations, who saw any other civilization with similar intelligence as a serious threat.
As a result, superhuman rulers and leaders manipulated each generation within their enclosed societies or domes, urging them to wipe out all non-human beings.
This fear arose from the existence of catalyst creatures, where certain mammals evolved into human-like beings with intelligence. These evolved individuals were affected by infected dreams where they would also have strange dreams that could give them the powers of catalyst creatures and super mammals.
It was this idea that made them dangerous due to the language barrier, humanity's desire to control, and eliminate any civilization capable of creating catalyst creatures.
The titanoboa screamed with sadistic pleasure, shouting "Die! Die! Die!" as the giant sloth squealed in agony.
The titanoboa wrapped around the sloth was a proud descendant of the first humans who had witnessed the cataclysmic catalyst apocalypse.
Despite being classified as a level one within this new era infected dream, his own transformation could be compared to a three-class mutated gene rating.
In the real world, humans had established a structured leveling system to avoid confusion, abandoning arbitrary designations. This made it easy for anyone to check the levels of power to deal with the Catalyst beings.
However, not all Activators of the same level had equal strength.
For example, the titanoboa and the sloth were both at level one.
Sloths, being herbivores, were naturally weaker, with their strongest individuals reaching only a three-class rating. On the other hand, carnivores and omnivores like the titanoboa boasted a formidable five-class rating at their peak strength.
The titanoboa surrounding the sloth knew that the sloth's mutated gene classification was around the two-class rating or even lower, which was considered the lowest tier.
However, even if the sloth had a three-class rating, the titanoboa doubted its ability to escape while he was already tightly coiled around the sloth's body.
"Do not worry, after I get life fragments by killing you and others like you, I will relentlessly hunt your kind, making the environment safer for both humans and ourselves," the titanoboa hissed, chuckling sinisterly.
By observing the giant sloth's behavior, he knew that its neck would snap in just thirty seconds by his grip.
Suddenly, the titanoboa stopped as the sloth managed to break free.
"Shit!"
The sloth raised its claws, prepared to strike the titanoboa, but both froze as the sky lit up.
Perplexed, the titanoboa couldn't understand the source of the light. They were on the outskirts of the village, a place rarely visited by dragons.
So why was there illumination?
"Oh no!"
The titanoboa exclaimed, but it was too late.
Ka-Boom!
The snake and sloth were instantly destroyed by a powerful explosion.
A gust of wind blew through the area, accompanied by the flapping of wings.
Gradually, a shadowy figure appeared, flying through the air on a dragon-like creature.
Perched on top of the creature was a humanoid figure. Without hesitation, the humanoid jumped down and landed beside the lifeless bodies of the snake and sloth.
Amidst the chaotic battle between dragons and Draugrkins, the humanoid figure, known as Murky, looked seriously at the fallen titanoboa and giant sloth.
Suddenly, a system notification appeared before him.
Ding!
[ StupidLove killed two random players! ]
Murky frowned as he read the message.
"So, I was right, they were players after all," he muttered to himself.
Taking a moment to observe his surroundings, Murky's thoughts unraveled, leading him to a realization.
"They must be planning to ambush injured dragons or unsuspecting players who would come here. Plus, not many dragons have arrived in this area, which suggests that the players are relatively safe here."
It was just a guess, but Murky's deduction seemed reasonable.
However, such matters didn't matter much to him at the moment.
"I need to eliminate these players," he said firmly.
If there were other players in the village, they might discover Murky's survival plans, something he wanted to avoid.
Maybe in the future, he could tolerate their presence, but not right now.
Murky's thoughts were interrupted when Snow White, the dragon he had been riding earlier, caught the scent of the dead creatures.
Excitedly, she asked, "Can I eat them?"
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation as she looked at the titanoboa-like creature and the giant sloth-like creature. Her fins fluttered with excitement, resembling applause.
Observing Snow White's curiosity, Murky considered the situation.
Seeing no issue, he nodded and said, "Yes, you can."
With a quick movement, Snow White unleashed a blast at the corpses before tearing them apart delicately.
Murky watched the spectacle without worry, knowing that dragons had an instinctual sense of what was safe to eat. If the corpses were poisonous, the dragons would instinctively avoid or tolerate them.
However, since Snow White desired to eat them, it meant they were safe.
After Snow White finished eating the two creatures, Murky looked at her and asked, "Did they taste good?"
Snow White nodded her dragon head and replied enthusiastically, "They were delicious! Can we find more? I want to eat more!"
Murky rested his hands on his chin, lost in thought, and then asked, "Why do you want to eat more of them?"
Snow White answered, "I don't know. They just smell so good, like you, but different. I enjoy your scent a lot, but I never thought about tasting you. However, when it comes to those creatures, I want to devour them all to their bones and even to their hairs.
"They taste incredibly flavorful. And I feel they are more beneficial than the other dragons I've eaten before, even surpassing the taste of the dwarven dragons."
Murky nodded and spoke again, "We need to change our plans."
Snow White tilted her head, confused.
Their original plan was to eliminate the dragons that posed a threat to Murky's villagers.
Now, with a change of plans, she wondered what was happening with her rider.
Murky gently stroked Snow White's jaw and directed her attention to the massive gate.
"Those creatures you ate earlier are my enemies. They have infiltrated my village, disguising themselves among the villagers, with the intention of killing me."
Suddenly, upon hearing that, Snow White's scales turned from black to radiant white, he could see her face contorting deeply that the radiant white began to glow as her anger intensified.
Murky could feel the heat from her body rising so he stroked her scales to calm her down
For some unknown reason, he didn't like seeing her like this.
Seeing that Snow White had relaxed, Murky went on, "They came here to ambush me, and I believe more of them will come later.
"I can't identify which of my villagers might be capable of such transformations. I want you to stay hidden here or come back occasionally to check if there are any strange creatures similar to the ones you ate."
Murky looked up at the sky and added, "Also, as I said, the plan has changed. I want you to focus on targeting the biggest and strongest dragons that fly around. Let the weaker ones or a few powerful creatures be dealt with by my clan members."
After a short pause, he continued, "Remember, for now, don't reveal yourself to any of my villagers. Come back here from time to time to check for any unusual creatures. After that, you can eat or kill them, do as you please."
Snow White nodded, summarizing her tasks, "Hide well, eliminate strong dragons, check for hidden creatures near the village, and protect you from dangerous dragons?"
Murky's eyes widened at her words. He had forgotten to explicitly mention protecting himself, but he believed he could manage on his own despite lacking combat skills.
Shaking his head, Murky reassured her,
"There's no need for you to protect me. Once I'm inside, I'll be able to take care of myself. Just follow my instructions, and everything will be fine. I will be fine."
He patted his chest with a smile, radiating confidence.
Meanwhile, his dragon Snow White only frowned, unsatisfied with Murky's reply.
So Murky sighs and says, "Alright, alright, once I raise my hand with a two finger sign, you don't have to protect me."
After their discussion, Murky didn't immediately ask Snow White to leave.
He still needed her to activate the sharp dragon eyes to search for something. However, despite an extensive search, they couldn't find any armor on the fallen creatures.
"Okay, you can leave now. Once the war is over, go to the island that is three islands away from here. Hide there for a while and spend your time hunting wild dragons," Murky informed Snow White, he knew she would enjoy the place and the wild dragons if she's there.
After all, the dragons there are relatively high.
Snow White near her face to him and purr, and with a swift movement, Snow White leaped into the air and took off.
"Don't forget to focus on your safety, if you do not I'll be angry. The others, killing and strange creatures, and strong dragons, remember!?"
Murky said while waving his hand, he could sense snow white's aura change and became wilder, like she was driven by her bloodlust and the urge to kill.
Soon, the sharp whistle of the wind, sounds of blasts and destruction echoed in Murky's ears. He knew that his dragon Snow White had started rampaging.
Murky wasn't worried. The strongest members of his Villagers were as powerful as Level ten Activators in the real world, so he knew they wouldn't be able to catch Snow White with her speed and abilities.
In the movie, Herald's dragon named Happy couldn't be caught just because of its speed alone. And Snow White was even stronger and upgraded, the Alpha NightBlitz.
So even if the whole village goes against her, he knows they won't have a chance.
Plus, the dragon's right now were weak as the Inner world was not opened completely yet.
Now in front of a gate, before entering the village, Murky made the sign of the cross and said prayers to all the Gods he could think of.
As he stepped through the village gate, a system notification rang in his ears,
Ding!
[ Is the player StupidLove sure about entering the Village? ]
[[ Warning: ]]
[ Entering the village will bind the player to its rules and regulations. Are you sure? ]