A pillar of flame rained down on the Frotocs, causing their thick fur to burn and run away from the heat they hated.
"Agh... Agh... Agh..." Nera breathed heavily, holding her hammer with trembling hands.
"You did it for nothing, you've used your Nexus too much in the last few hours." Katrin said seriously, "You're going to make me feel like shit too."
Then, Katrin's staff trembled as three seeds flew out of its tip. They emitted a thick green smoke with a strong pine odor.
Each seed flew into their chests, quickly covering part of the surrounding area with roots through which the green pulses traveled.
"Hm? What is that...?" Mark muttered puzzled, looking at the seed.
Katrin smirked.
"The seed lives for thirty minutes, and for that time you have become 20-30% stronger, depending on your abilities. Also, the seed will be able to protect you from one strong attack, but will disappear immediately afterward."
Mark and Nera nodded returning to the battle. They had to chase away the remaining Frotocs before the rest of the monsters got here.
300 seconds to help.
"Hey Adam, what do you say?" Katrin turned around, expecting praise for herself. Adam's opinion seemed to be the only one she cared about.
However, once she looked in his direction her eyes went wide.
Five massive Frotocs surrounded Adam, but they were all dead. There were thin but extremely deep holes in their foreheads as if something had pierced their brains. Streams of blood flowed downwards, turning into a river that quickly ran down the slope.
'What...? He was able to break through their hide? Right, it's a feature of his Order... Fuck, maybe I should take a chance and change my Initial Gene? If I continue to be a support, people like him will always take all the glory for themselves!'
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
In front of the fleeing Frotocs, a silhouette over five meters tall appeared from the ground. Its body was covered in white fur, with two paws as thick as hammers and skinny legs. Its chest was massive.
The long horns curved in a disk-like arc towards the monster's back, with sharp tips that were more dangerous than any blade.
Bam.
The monster brought its massive paws down on the Frotocs, turning them into bloody blobs. A single attack was enough to break their bones and tear their hide under extreme pressure.
"This one looks much stronger." Adam frowned.
'It's a Horn Crusher, only inhabits the Desolate Forest - Green Threat Level, Red Book. You'll have to deal with it, as help won't arrive for another 250 seconds.' Silvana explained.
She checked on the map every few seconds to see where Damien's fighter was. The speed was steady, but not fast enough.
Tremble. Tremble. Tremble.
The Horn Crusher was approaching, shaking the ground with each majestic step it took.
"Hey, Mark, is there any way you can stop this behemoth? What's your Nexus doing?" Katrin shouted.
Mark flinched slightly. Katrin was pushing him too hard, as he could barely keep up with this pace of battle.
Then, before he could reply anything, everyone heard two voices, one female and the other male.
'My name is Silvana, I'm Adam's Operator, I'll be assisting Mark.'
'Hello! My name is Alan, I am Katrin's Operator, and I will be assisting Nera. Please take our advice and give us all the information.'
After a few seconds, the plan was ready. Nera stood in defense against any sudden monsters that might appear out of nowhere, and Mark began to act.
His hands were trembling slightly, and his forehead was beading with sweat, he was worried but not afraid.
Waves of energy rippled across his bow as a massive lightning arrow with a long tip emerged from the bowstring.
Drawing the bowstring to the limit, Mark fired, the wind ring moved aside from the considerable momentum while the arrow was heading towards Horn Crusher at a tremendous speed.
"What?! I'm not doing that! Why the fuck does it have to be me?!" Katrin exclaimed irritably with a great grimace, touching her earbud.
However, she didn't have time to talk because Horn Crusher was already approaching, as well as Adam.
His legs were covered with electric shocks, while he quickly ran straight at Katrin with a confident look.
"Tsk. What a shame. Don't even think I would ever do something like that!" Katrin exclaimed before getting down on one knee in front of Adam and raising the staff above her.
Then, Adam jumped on the staff, and with the help of Katrin's momentum, who swung the staff upwards and his lightning, Adam charged straight towards the Horn Crusher at a tremendous speed.
At the same moment, the tip of the lightning arrow expanded, becoming an electrical net covering Horn Crusher. The spheres on the net exploded but did not do any damage to the monster, Horn Crusher's hide was too strong.
However, the most important thing was to hold the monster back, even if only for a few seconds.
Whooooooooosh.
Adam appeared in front of Horn Crusher like a shadow, appearing on the monster's head between the sharp horns. Then, he turned and jumped back, plunging the needle into the back of the monster's head and running it down its back, tearing as much flesh as possible and as deep as he could.
Horn Crusher tried to throw Adam off of him, but its thick paws couldn't reach its back and the lightning net blocked all movement.
A few seconds of trying ended with the monster's last gasp as he fell into a puddle of his own blood.
"Agh... Agh... Agh..." Adam was breathing heavily, but he had no time to rest, for the next Horn Crusher was already coming out of the thick spruce trees.
Attack after attack, fight after fight, second after second, their team fought without sparing themselves, because their lives depended on it.
In two hundred seconds they defeated dozens of Frotocs and a few Horn Crushers, but they were seriously wounded. Adam had one arm broken, Mark and Nera had tearing wounds, and Katrin had used her Nexus twice and several Orders. If she did one more thing, her heart might explode.
"Is that all...?" Mark muttered in a trembling voice, "It seems like the monsters have decided to retreat..."
"No... That's not good at all... If they left it means they don't want to take the prey, meaning us, from someone else..." Katrin uttered with difficulty standing on her feet, she had to lean on her staff.
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
Young fir trees, fell, revealing a huge silhouette behind them. The monster looked like a Horn Crusher, only it was several times larger, with two pairs of horns and legs covered in ice armor.
"Fuck..." Adam whispered, looking at the Prime Horn Crusher.
Its two bloodshot eyes stared at them intently with an eerie smirk. They were exhausted, and against such a monster they didn't stand a chance.
It seemed that this was the end, as there were only 30 seconds left before help arrived, and that would be enough time for the monster to tear them apart.
However, as Prime Horn Crusher took a step forward, something passed through the veil of blizzard a few kilometers away.
Adam turned around, seeing a missile with a fiery exhaust. Strangely enough, on the missile was a man who was balancing on it like a surfer on chaotic waves. On his feet were knee-high boots with energy lines.
'Wait... It's him... No way...' Adam muttered internally.
Katrin smiled widely, she seemed to know who this man was too.
"Hah, using a missile to get here faster...? Fucking psycho." Katrin shook her head as Damien jumped off the rocket.
The rocket flew over them, crashing right into the Prime Horn Crusher. The deafening explosion shook the air but did not do any damage to the monster.
"ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR!!!"
Prime Horn Crusher roared furiously, instilling terror in anyone who heard it.
"Shut up! It's already over! After all, I'm here!" Damien exclaimed with an excited expression as his legs became covered with white energy like flames.
Then, making a turn, Damien sharply brought his foot down on the monster's head, blasting it apart like a meatball.
Pieces of flesh flew aside, and the horns embedded in the ground.
"Alright! In thirty seconds, a fighter jet will be here to give us a well-deserved rest and hot chocolate!" Damien vigorously uttered as the ground shook.
Hundreds of meters away from them, in the midst of Desolate Forest, a huge shadow with a long body and many arms like an ancient beast appeared.
''Oh, it looks like even I won't be bored. Purple Threat Level? Not bad, not bad at all." Damien smirked.