Essim and Aisha stood side by side, watching the imposing Stone Island inch closer to their territory. Though both tried to maintain their composure, an uneasy tension hung in the air. The unexpected arrival of this New Event had caught them off guard, despite their status and strength. It was hard to predict what new dangers awaited them.
Essim quickly pulled up his status screen to reassess his current standing.
[STATUS]
Name: Essim
Level: 10 (8%)
Attributes: Strength 261, Agility 203, Intelligence 156, Resilience 217
Profession: Swordsman
Skills: (Divine Slash Shadow), (Sky Shattering Slash), (Area of Light)Equipment: (Divine Sword), (Cloud Shoes), (Gout Mantle), (3-Coloured Glove), (Dragonskin Helmet)
Talent: (Infinity Duplicate EX)
Features: Market, Chat, Friends
Essim's total attributes added up to a solid 837 points, which made him smile for a moment. Of course, this high figure was largely thanks to the five Blessing Potions he and Aisha had consumed, each granting 100 random attribute points. The extra boost had come in handy, but now he was eager to put his newly acquired skills to the test.
Behind them, 200 soldiers stood at attention, confidently preparing for the battle to come.
"Brother… they're getting closer!" Aisha's voice, though tinged with worry, was steady as her eyes remained locked on the approaching Void Monsters. The creatures emerging from Stone Island were relentless.
Suddenly, a loud, echoing crash rang through the air as the two islands collided.
Duar...
The impact shook the ground beneath them as Stone Island merged with Essim's Island. Hundreds of monsters poured into Essim's territory, flooding every corner with their grotesque forms.
One of the first to breach the island was a massive, bat-like creature with leathery wings and sharp fangs that gleamed menacingly. Its screech sent chills through the air.
[Stone Bat - Warrior]
Level: 20
Attributes: Strength 88, Intelligence 55, Agility 81, Resilience 63
Skill: Sharp Voice - Emits a high-frequency sound that weakens the enemy mentally, silencing them for 5 seconds.
Following closely behind was a towering tree-like beast with twisted black branches that seemed to grow sharper with every movement.
[Dead Earth Tree]
Level: 15
Attributes: Strength 58, Intelligence 41, Agility 49, Resilience 61
Skill: Trapping Roots - Ejects 10 sharp roots, trapping all enemies within a 10-second timeframe.
Among the monsters, Essim noticed one that stood out from the rest—a humanoid figure. The creature wore a black mask and exuded a calm, calculating presence, as if observing the chaos unfolding before it.
[Dark Mask - Protector]
Level: 20
Attributes: Strength 130, Intelligence 122, Agility 152, Resilience 98
Skill: Shadow Body - Transforms into a shadow, increasing movement speed by 50%, damage by 10%, and reflexes by 50%.
"Protector-level monsters, huh?" Essim muttered to himself, impressed by the humanoid monster's power and skillset. Their abilities made them far more dangerous than the typical Void Monsters.
"Brother..." Aisha called out, her voice taking on a deeper, more serious tone. She seemed calmer now than she had moments earlier.
Her initial worry had given way to renewed confidence after seeing the specific attributes of the Void Monsters. They weren't as overwhelmingly strong as she'd feared.
The Void Monsters were now only 200 meters from the island's core, but Essim and Aisha stood unfazed. The city's defense towers roared to life, launching a barrage of attacks.
Siuuu...
Bommm...
[Auto-Bow Tower kills (One-Eyed Wolf | level 10) | Exp +69 | Kill Points +10]
[Fireball Cannon kills (Red Kijimu | level 12) | Exp +78 | Kill Points +12]
The system notifications flooded Essim's interface, showing kill after kill.
"The exp is that high?" Essim pondered, his eyes scanning the screen. Even at level 9, killing level 10 monsters had only netted him around 30 exp per kill. This time, the rewards were almost double.
A realization dawned on him. "Ah… That's right. After becoming a Swordsman and absorbing the Immortal Level Crystal Core, I'm earning an additional 90% experience bonus."
"Brother! Stop daydreaming or you'll miss out on all the fun," Aisha's voice snapped him back to reality. She was already in action, her flaming red bow drawn, releasing a black arrow that shot straight through one of the approaching monsters.
[Successfully killed (Autumn Leaf | level 14) | Exp +83 | Kill Points +14]
Aisha's attributes, which totaled over 800 points, made her strikes devastating. Even a normal arrow was enough to instantly kill a level 14 monster.
"Haha! Let's make this interesting. Whoever kills the most wins!" Essim shouted gleefully, grinning broadly as he launched himself into the fray.
Sashhh... Shassss...
[Successfully killed (Autumn Leaf | level 16) | Exp +173 | Kill Points +16]
With two swift slashes of his sword, Essim effortlessly cut through a group of monsters. Each strike left behind a faint, shadowy trace—his Divine Slash Shadow skill in action. His speed and precision were impressive, leaving even Aisha in awe.
"So powerful…" she whispered, watching her brother carve his way through the horde.
Fueled by excitement, Essim surged deeper into the monster crowd, his blade dancing with lethal grace. His strength was formidable, and his resilience ensured that even the rare attacks that landed had little effect on him.
Meanwhile, the 200 soldiers didn't stand idle. They quickly spread out across the battlefield, dealing with the ever-growing wave of Void Monsters. The ground turned muddy in places, a side effect of the Mountain Witches using their magic to slow the enemies' advance. While a single Mountain Witch wasn't a problem, the presence of 50 witches made a 70x70-meter area treacherous.
Elsewhere, Grumpy Rhinos, Werewolves, and Ant Warriors charged head-on into the fray, their sheer power sending Void Monsters flying. Occasionally, a Void Monster would suddenly collapse, only for a one-meter-long ant to emerge, its poisonous horns gleaming ominously.
The battle between Essim Island and Stone Island was in full swing.
Void Monsters continued to pour from the floating rock, with more than 1000 monsters emerging every minute. The island's defense towers fired relentlessly, their cooldowns barely enough to keep up with the overwhelming numbers. Each explosion thinned the enemy ranks significantly.
While the monsters might have seemed weak compared to Essim's forces, they were still doing significant damage. Four defense towers had already been destroyed, along with more than 10 soldiers. Town buildings also lay in ruins, some partially demolished by the distant attacks of ranged Void Monsters.
A quick peek on the chat showed that, for many, this was a real apocalypse.
[System: Khalid has died.]
[System: Tanaka has died.]
[System: Popova has died.]
…
[System: Silva has died.]
[System: Novak has died.]
The event was far from over, and Essim knew they were just getting started.
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