-January 15th, 2020-
…5:30 in the morning…
"Beastmen have the ability to transform between human form and other animal-like forms that they possess characteristics of, as well as the ability to communicate with both humans and those animal species." Serinos sat on a wooden chair, facing the TV, speaking.
"Where did you get that information?" V.Minh asked, sweating from just finishing his morning workout and run.
"I realized it during the 5 days I tried to leave this town and encountered Beastmen... quite a lot," Serinos replied.
"Do you know anything else?" Truong, who had just finished jogging with V.Minh, asked.
"Yes, for example, Ghouls can phase through walls, similar to the combination of Ghosts and Zombies; Jiangshi is a combination of Vampire and Zombie; the internal organs of Centaurs are distributed between human torso and horse body, but the reproductive organs are in the horse part; Trolls, Orcs are not the only humanoid creatures capable of self-regeneration; On this Earth, there are indigenous Fantasy creatures, not just artificially created ones, including Vampires, Succubi, Spiritual Demons (Different from Physical Demons, those created artificially), Dragons, Angels, and Deities; Fairy species include Nymphs, Dryads, and Pixies (Like Tinkerbell), Undead include Zombies, Skeletons, Vampires, Demons, Liches, and various indigenous or artificially created variants," Serinos said.
"You know quite a lot for a war that's only been going on for half a month," V.Minh squinted, speaking.
"It's quite a hassle for new Beastmen to come out like that. Oh, and another thing!" Serinos continued, her voice gradually rising.
"What is it!?" V.Minh and Truong asked in unison.
"These are the links to the Fantasy races, Nexus, and Magic." Serinos placed a piece of paper on the table.
"What is Nexus?" V.Minh asked.
"It's called the Multidimensional Headquarters, a city or small area with supernatural phenomena, but humans can still live there," Serinos said.
"How did you get this information? And what do you need there?" Truong asked insistently.
"Nothing much, just knowing a bit more, sometimes it'll come in handy. While everyone is shocked by these new things, we need to stay ahead," Serinos said mysteriously.
V.Minh opened the paper.
Link to "Nexus": https://mm.tt/app/map/3264296984?t=QATwS8tpcw
Link to "Fantasy Races": https://mm.tt/app/map/3225480379?t=2jCClP2QPQ
Link to "Magic": https://mm.tt/app/map/3234337855?t=LRaLVQmZHC
"Even these are diverse and complex..." Truong sighed, entering each link on his phone, then sighed. Truong and V.Minh sat next to each other to view all the information on all three links. I, then, Dat, then H.Anh, then T.Hai woke up, cleaned ourselves, each one also curious about the news. Q.Minh was the last one to wake up, stretching tiredly because he used too much Mana yesterday. And he did the same as the others. T.Hai suddenly felt hungry, his stomach growling, so he grabbed a bunch of rice paper with crispy Vietnamese pancakes, and banh cuon with dipping sauce to the living room. Everyone (except Serinos) enjoyed it deliciously, I noticed Serinos so I handed her a piece of rice paper in front of her.
"Please eat, it's very delicious!" I said.
"I'm not hungry, Nymphs or other fairies don't necessarily need to eat like humans, I can absorb Mana in the air like photosynthesis. And why does everyone call me 'sister'!" Serinos wrinkled her brow.
"Hehe, nothing!" I joked, Serinos looked uncomfortable."Turn on the TV!" Truong looked at the clock, grabbed the remote control, and turned on the 6 o'clock news. Latest news today:
SIX MORE ATTEMPTS TO DESTROY THE THREE GORGES DAN IN CHINA BY THE ANTI-HUMAN FREAKS!!!
TWO KRAKENS WITH A SIZE OVER 100 METERS ATTACKED SADO ISLAND, JAPAN, WAS SUBDUED ON JANUARY 13, 2020. NO CASUALTIES REPORTED.
50% OF THE ORC FORCE PARTICIPATING IN THE INVASION OF VIETNAM HAS BEEN KILLED (22% OF THE TOTAL FORCES OF THE EIGHTH DIVISION), DETAILS BELOW!!!
THE SOUTH AMERICA "IN BLOOD AND TEARS"!
SRI LANKA HAS FALLEN!
"We are on TV!" Truong said.
"We're done!!!" Serinos' face turned pale.
"Why? What's wrong with this news being on the national headline?" I asked.
"Because the Anti-Human freaks will know, those individuals with extraordinary strength, greater power, or much stronger intelligence will gather here, turning this place into a grand martial arts and magic convention in the literal sense," V.Minh, with a soulless expression, replied to me in a cold tone.
"500 bodies still not found, the thing that could make Adaon become colossal still not found, remnants of the gang still not found, 110 thousand Orc troops may return to invade. The officer is reporting the recent incident to the command office, there's a high chance the Party and the State will decide to evacuate the people to the capital, rather than mobilize mages like us to reinforce the defense, the senior officers, the squad leader, has sacrificed, the remaining part is demoralized. We are in a precarious situation, my friends!" T.Hai said, his face devoid of color.
"If you guys didn't know, that officer and the military doctor have bandaged Ky and talked to you the most are a couple. That senior officer and the officer are father and son." Serinos said, leaning back in her chair.
"Right, they look similar, the officer and the squad leader." Dat said.
"True, enough chit-chat, in the future, we'll face countless difficulties, obstacles..." I said.
"So let's study!" V.Minh, Truong, and T.Hai said in unison, the three of them were already in the study corner whenever they could.
"You guys calm down!" Serinos squinted.
"Be serious! It's a serious matter!" I sighed.
"How do we deal with such powerful enemies?" Q.Minh asked.
"I have the magic to cause attenuation..." Serinos replied coldly.
A silence fell, everyone focused on Serinos, how did she advance her powers so quickly!?
We finished breakfast, T.Hai and Q.Minh swiftly cleaned up the food and dishes. After a while, the military doctor walked into our house: "Guys, the officer has something to discuss with you." The military doctor noticed Serinos, the two of them exchanged glances, then the military doctor hurriedly ran away. I, Dat, H.Anh, and Truong panicked and tried to follow. V.Minh didn't hesitate, he memorized Shadow Point 4 more times, got closer to her, then grabbed her shoulder, and then pulled back the shadow returning it to its original position, I cast Ice Wall, creating a 10 cm thick layer of ice covering her from head to toe. At that moment, we breathed a sigh of relief.
"She's a beautiful military doctor, just calm down, let me explain," H.Anh said.
"Right, this Nymph sister in front of us is our ally," Dat said.
Truong smiled, but suddenly his face became cautious, I glanced at him, then cast True Scene, the disguised military nurse now appeared as a Mimic, a dark shadow with white eyes. I continued to cast True Light, directly burning this Mimic disguise into ashes. V.Minh and Truong remained calm, H.Anh and Dat did not.
"The Mimics have evolved to be able to survive under sunlight?" I commented, examining the pile of ashes in front of us.
V.Minh cast Flame, creating a fire that melted the ice, he continued until the water puddle turned into steam.
"No, it's just natural selection, because Mimics were mass-produced, the process of rapid evolution is not difficult to understand, coupled with the fact that everyone knew the Mimic's weakness at the beginning of this war, only the Mimics with the ability to survive under sunlight have survived and existed until now, the original Mimics, the ones before, must have been exterminated," Serinos explained.
"They still have the ability to mimic humans..." V.Minh said, he realized something, immediately pulled me, H.Anh, Dat, and Serinos to the villagers' houses.
Q.Minh and T.Hai went up, seeing only Truong and a pile of ashes next to him.
"Clean up that pile of ashes!" Q.Minh said.
"Okay, okay..." Truong looked at the two of them, grabbed a broom, and a plastic dustpan, and started sweeping the rubbish away.
"T.Hai, Q.Minh, follow Ky's group to the village cultural house," Truong said, picking up the broom and dustpan, then also ran out.
T.Hai and Q.Minh, two bewildered guys, also ran after.
Two guys joined forces with my group, Truong and Dat. The five of us huddled near the gate, peering inside. As expected, over a thousand civilians were here, but they were all lying on the ground, eyes vacant, minds blank. Even more horrifying, beside them were the bodies of twenty other soldiers, being hastily buried, and the corpses were burning. We identified four enemies: A High Elf woman standing on the cultural center's roof, with her characteristic 1.7-meter height, white skin typical of High Elves, and 12-centimeter-long ears, long blonde hair and purple eyes, clad in leather armor and chainmail, holding a bow made of an unknown type of wood, without quiver and arrows, standing on the roof; A male Lamia (a hybrid of human and snake, with the upper body human and the lower body snake) with a height of 1.9 meters and a length of 4.5 meters, with hair and eyes the color of young wheat, a snake tail of similar color, muscular and robust physique, clad in gleaming steel armor, wielding a long steel trident with three sharp prongs, standing among the lifeless bodies; A Bull-headed Minotaur male (a subtype of Minotaur - a hybrid creature of human and bull, characterized by the appearance of a bull but with the ability to walk on two legs), standing at 2.8 meters tall, golden brown, with two horns larger than a fully grown human, clad in thick steel armor covering his entire body, wielding a massive axe made of a material similar to ferrochromium and larger than his own body, standing next to the Lamia; A male Wolfman (a hybrid race between human and wolf, resembling humans but with additional features such as wolf ears and tail), standing at 1.85 meters tall, with hair and eyes the color of platinum, a muscular and sturdy physique, clad in scales, wielding two Khopesh swords made of a composite metal, standing in a corner near the cultural center.
"Where's Serinos? Why haven't we seen her?" I turned to Truong, asking.
"She's gone to the military base, seems like they're fighting a Western-style dragon, Earth-type, small-sized, about 3.6 meters tall and 9.3 meters long, according to the intel," Truong replied.
"What's a Western-style dragon?" T.Hai asked.
"Just look at how a Western dragon looks like, then you'll know. Basically, it has wings and four legs," Truong replied.
Suddenly, the ears of the High Elf woman twitched, her mouth moved, and she spoke in a strange language to the others. The Wolfman raised his weapons, preparing for combat, the Lamia did the same, and the Bull-headed Minotaur nodded and charged towards the gate where we were hiding, smashing the concrete gate with his massive axe into pieces. We shouted, revealing our positions, Q.Minh and Truong cast Magic Barrier, erecting a magical barrier, blocking all the flying debris just in time. The Bull-headed Minotaur didn't stop, he continued to strike the magical barrier with his axe, gradually breaking it. The Lamia and Wolfman also rushed forward. As soon as the magical barrier shattered, I cast Ice Strike instantly, releasing dozens of long and thick ice spears, but the other three managed to cast Magic Barrier in time to block them. The Wolfman turned back and signaled the High Elf woman to take action, who suddenly disappeared along with the others, using teleportation spells, along with the High Elf woman. The Wolfman, enraged, looked around, constantly scanning and sniffing to detect any hidden enemies. H.Anh, deliberately revealing himself, ended his Camouflage state, throwing a stone at the Wolfman's head, but he was quick enough to dodge. H.Anh continued to cast Hemstitch, sharp thorny vines sprouted and bound his body, the Wolfman was pierced deeply by the sharp thorns, gritting his teeth in pain. He was no ordinary foe, he cast a physical enhancement spell, slashing through the plant vines with lightning speed. He gripped his two Khopesh swords tightly, continuing to charge towards H.Anh with lightning-fast speed, H.Anh went from jesting to horror. Suddenly, the Wolfman retreated, V.Minh also unexpectedly appeared, striking him from above, using a long Adamantinum sword to slash at the Wolfman. Once again, the Wolfman managed to evade, but one of his Khopesh swords shattered into hundreds of pieces due to the collision with V.Minh's sword.
The Wolfman looked down at his only remaining sword, then observed his opponents, and continued his efforts to strike at V.Minh and H.Anh's sides. He was repeatedly blocked by the two with either Magic Barrier or countered by V.Minh's Fire Swirl or H.Anh's Hemstitch and Terra Wall. This cycle continued... regardless of the High Elf girl's attempts to escape from her bindings using ropes, steel cables, crisscrossed bindings, but to no avail. H.Anh continued to cast, with thorny vines sprouting, binding the Wolfman firmly with sturdy plant fibers, sharp thorns piercing his skin. Being a resilient warrior, he utilized his agility well, slipping left, darting right, combined with his Khopesh swords to sever the plant fibers from H.Anh's magic. V.Minh, also aiding H.Anh, continued to wield his sword (not very professionally) and struck the enemy when opportunity arose, especially when he was tied up. H.Anh cast again, the thorny vines sprouting, binding the Wolfman's left arm again, enduring the pain of the thorns piercing into him, but swiftly cutting the plant fibers with his sword, also parrying V.Minh's strikes and the fireballs when V.Minh cast Fireball. This repeated nearly ten more times, V.Minh and H.Anh starting to feel exhausted as their strength and mana were depleted considerably. The Wolfman, after escaping several times from the thorny vines, still fought back, causing V.Minh to be slashed in the shoulder a few times, fortunately the wounds not too deep, but H.Anh also receiving cuts on his legs, and began moving slower and with less clarity of mind due to the toxins from the previous thorned vines beginning to affect him, forcing him to lower himself a bit. H.Anh was no different, the excessive consumption of mana making him pant, sigh heavily, the romantic guy from the past cast Poisonous Fumes, throwing the largest toxin bomb towards the Wolfman. V.Minh continued to support by casting Fireball, launching a larger fireball at high speed. The fireball collided heavily, exploding with a loud bang. The Wolfman was down, now just a skeleton. H.Anh laughed excitedly, sat down, rinsed his wounds with 70-degree alcohol, took out medical bandages and bandaged his wounds again. V.Minh did the same.
On another front, the male Lamia appeared somewhat weak against the Q.Minh and T.Hải duo. Q.Minh summoned a creature resembling a Magnut tree covered in armor with a size similar to a bus. Overall, the Lamia had to evade the precise bites and scratches of the creature summoned by Q.Minh, as well as dodge...T.Hải's acid which he threw, preventing him from launching any attacks. Surprisingly, the Lamia stabbed its trident into the creature's leg, causing it to roar, tilting and making T.Hải and Q.Minh unable to sit still, holding onto it tightly to avoid falling. Q.Minh frowned at the unexpected turn of events, cast Order to calm the creature down, T.Hải counterattacked, casting Poison Shoot, launching a dozen purple toxic spheres at the Lamia, but he successfully dodged. Q.Minh cast Enhance, enhancing all physical attributes for the creature he controlled, then cast Order, controlling the creature, it immediately swung around, charging rapidly, grabbing the Lamia's tail, its sharp and large teeth piercing through the armor, sinking into the skin. The Lamia gritted its teeth, slightly dazed from the bite. Q.Minh drew his TT-33 pistol, fired five shots into the Lamia's chest, but each time he shot, he just blinked. Q.Minh continued by casting Energy Ball, creating a large green energy sphere, aimed at the Lamia, who was being tightly held by the claws and teeth of the summoned creature. The energy sphere exploded upon contact with the Lamia, shattering his armor, leaving a sturdy but scarred torso. Not stopping there, both T.Hải and Q.Minh, with TT-33 pistols in hand, continuously fired bullets into the tail and chest of the Lamia, who endured the pain, still gritting his teeth. Suddenly, he used his trident to strike the creature's writhing patterns on its head, making it release him, allowing him to escape. Then, he wielded his trident, hitting T.Hải and Q.Minh's hands, causing both of them to drop their guns. T.Hải quickly cast Acidic Shoot to corrode the trident before it returned to the Lamia. The creature, tired of the cat and mouse game, opened its mouth wide, lunged forward like lightning, grabbed the Lamia again, and swallowed him whole, ending him. It dissolved into the air, returning to its own reality.
"The Magnut civet in some other dimension that you summoned, where did you get that from?" T.Hải picked up his two guns, unable to suppress a smile.
"I figured it out! That Magnut civet must be a straightforward, principled creature that doesn't like deceitfulness," Q.Minh chimed in, laughing along. Both of them were pleasantly surprised by the recent turn of events.
V.Minh looked at the two of them sitting against the wall and laughing, then asked curiously, "Why are you two laughing?"
"I don't know..." H.Anh replied, sighing with exhaustion.
V.Minh teleported down to the ground using Shadow Point, dragging H.Anh and the High Elf girl who was still bound with.
I and Đạt finally caught up with our medic, now we were all back together again, covered in dirt. I leaned the girl against Q.Minh and T.Hải, disregarding the fact that these two hadn't noticed the medic sitting between them. V.Minh bent down and used a damp cloth to wipe away the dirt from the medic's body, then checked for any injuries or bruises by pressing her fingers against the nose and ears to check her pulse. Once finished, he confirmed to us that the medic was still alive, and me, Đạt, and H.Anh nodded. The three of us moved to a corner to discuss, while V.Minh continued to check if the medic had any wounds or bruises.
"Why didn't V.Minh just use Wash instead of using a cloth to wipe?" Đạt glanced at V.Minh, curious.
"I've run out of mana after battling with the enemy, just like everyone else," H.Anh said.
"Besides the High Elf, are there any enemies left?" I looked at the High Elf, who was now lying still and staring blankly at us with lifeless eyes.
"The male Lamia was swallowed by what Q.Minh summoned, and the male Wolfman was burnt to a pile of bones standing on top of that cultural center," H.Anh pointed to where the pile of bones was burning on the roof of the cultural center, then turned to us, a bit annoyed, "Where did you guys go, leaving your teammates behind?"
"We went to save someone!" I said.
"Save someone? What, did you guys leave your teammates to go have some fun?" Trường, shirtless, wrapped bandages around a long wound on his chest to reveal his muscular six-pack, walked over to us, squinting at me, "You abandoned me to fight alone with a big bull-like creature while you guys went off somewhere?"
"We didn't go off somewhere to play!" I replied.
"Didn't I already summarize everything for you to hear? I left Trường with Đạt, and we found the medic in the cultural center's warehouse. But when I cast True Scene, it turned out to be a Mimic, and we threatened it with light magic to reveal the real location of the medic. Then we walked another 500 meters and found the medic buried alive 7 meters deep at a training ground, and we also discovered that there were 500 corpses there," I replied, and the rest listened attentively, slightly astonished.
"Nothing surprising, that burial site was something I and Q.Minh heard the locals set up to avoid spreading decayed corpses all over the streets..." V.Minh explained while still monitoring the medic's heartbeat.
"I thought..." T.Hải exclaimed, then sighed, "I thought it was some kind of super powerful monster or supernatural creature..."
"Don't fantasize like those dangerous feminist extremists, neither you nor any of us would have stood a chance if it were true," I said.
While we were laughing and talking, a Goblin with a jar capable of sealing souls was lurking in a corner of the warehouse. It gradually approached us, then suddenly rushed out, opening the lid of the jar...