"Where's the third one? Someone stop her!"
A shout rang out in his ear, and Adam jumped. Seriously? Right now?
Boom~!
A blast of heat hit his face, and Adam barely managed to steal a glance.
What the heck?!
A wooden monstrosity stood before him—three heads, six arms, and towering like an angry wooden skyscraper.
Its left arm morphed into an enormous wooden shield, placed perfectly in front of him like an impromptu bodyguard.
Hell Queen's scythe sliced through the air with a bone-chilling hiss and came crashing down onto the shield.
Clang!
Sparks flew everywhere like a Fourth of July show gone rogue, nearly blinding him.
Then, with a whoosh and a thud, a Doom-Breaker dropped from the sky like a bowling ball, landing with an earth-shaking impact.
The man had the vibe of a retro action hero: black frog sunglasses, scruffy chin, and a leather jacket that screamed, I fight first, ask questions never.
"Move it, I'm missing a door!" the Doom-Breaker barked, puffing a cloud of smoke from his cigar like a bad guy from an old spy movie.
Adam blinked. Was this real life?
The wooden doll jerked, and suddenly its two extra arms detached with a dramatic crack. The limbs disassembled mid-air, spinning like malfunctioning ceiling fans.
The arms morphed into spinning wooden flywheels with razor-sharp spikes that had way too much enthusiasm for destruction.
Wham!
The beasts in their path were obliterated in an instant, turning into gooey mush at the speed of a blender set on high.
The massive horde of monsters parted like a bad hair day—finally, an open lane.
Adam glanced up, seeing figures emerging from every direction. They were coming in hot, and it looked like they actually knew what they were doing.
Well, that's a relief.
Just when Adam thought things couldn't get any worse, the cavalry arrived—Doom-Breakers, strutting in like they owned the place.
"Finally," Adam muttered, watching them clear the area with way more swagger than he could ever hope to have. "Could've used this a little... yesterday."
As the powerful high-ranking Doom-Breakers arrived on the scene, a wild assortment of strange, weaponized Doomsteeds joined the fray. The frenzied horde of monsters, once unstoppable, was instantly overwhelmed and beaten back.
Adam gaped, his awe growing with each new figure who leapt into the fight.
This was what it meant to be a Doom-Breaker...
They had strength to rival legends, didn't flinch at the sight of terrifying beasts, and handled the chaos with the ease of seasoned pros.
If I could ever be even half as cool as them... my life would be complete!
"Hey, kid, what are you gawking at?!"
The Doom-Breaker with the sunglasses shot him a grin, puffed out a smoke ring, and barked, "What, you got a death wish standing around like that? Move it! Don't go getting underfoot while we're taking care of business!"
Snapped out of his daze, Adam spun around and bolted. He sprinted past the Hell Queen, who actually paused mid-swing to glare at him with chilling intensity.
Her massive scythe whipped back, and in an instant, she was lunging after him, her focus locked on Adam.
Boom!
"Oh, no you don't!" Sunglasses Dude bit down on his cigar, eyes gleaming with determination as he commanded his wooden puppet with its three heads and six arms to block her path once more.
A series of booming crashes echoed from behind, and Adam couldn't resist a quick glance back. Hell Queen and the wooden puppet were locked in fierce combat across the square. Shadows flashed as they traded blows, and the sharp clang of blades colliding with solid wood reverberated through the air.
By now, the Doom-Breakers had nearly wiped out the monster horde. Hell Loli, cornered, was fending off attacks from both sides. Adam figured it was only a matter of time before she'd be overwhelmed.
Forget it—staying alive was his top priority!
Adam knew he had no business being anywhere near a battle of this scale. He turned and sprinted, his feet pounding the ground as he escaped the chaos, running for minutes without looking back.
Around him, sleek maglev cars zipped through Crypta's streets, all converging on the square where the beasts had made their explosive entry.
The technology of this era was surprisingly similar to what Adam remembered from his old life—possibly even more advanced in some areas. Energy utilization had leapt forward with breakthroughs in solar and magnetic energy, leading to innovations that were simply unimaginable before. Communication and internet, however, lagged behind, hampered by the constant threat of Alienor attacks.
Computers and mobile phones were a rarity, reserved only for the wealthy. For someone like Adam, owning one was out of the question.
Just then, a prompt flashed in Adam's mind:
[Congratulations, host! Task 1 completed. You've received a random reward…]
[Random Reward: Exclusive skill "Alienor Capture"]
Adam's eyebrows shot up. Another exclusive skill? He couldn't help but grin. "Alienor Capture" sounded like it might just be the trick to taming one of these wild creatures.
In fact, anyone who passed the talent test would be sent by the government to a specialized institution to train as a Doom-Breaker. But Adam? He'd managed to stumble right into a monster invasion. What should have been a straightforward path had turned into a twisted mess.
Where could he even go to demand justice?
On the city streets, covered in grime and splatters of monster remains, Adam stood out like a sore thumb. People sidestepped him with expressions that were part pity, part horror.
Ah, whatever. Can't blame the world for having rotten luck!
Surely, with a monster invasion on the books, the Crypta government wouldn't just shrug it off. They'd probably restart the talent test soon enough, and Adam could still have a shot.
Thinking of this, he took a deep breath and tried to let his nerves settle. Besides, what good would panicking do now?
Flagging down a taxi, he sped back to his corner of the slums, feeling the pinch as he handed over the $100 fare. One hundred dollars! Just watching his money slip away made him feel like crying.
He'd spent the past month breaking his back hauling bricks to build city walls, barely scraping together $1,000. After rent and the few energy bars he'd bought, his funds were already on life support.
Today alone, he'd blown through $200 just on taxi rides for the talent test. The way things were going, he'd be living off water and sunlight for the next week.
Back in his tiny five-square-meter room, Adam peeled off his filthy clothes and tossed them to the floor. The room was nearly bare: just a rickety bed and a single, battered cabinet.
Adam lay on his bed, looking up at the ceiling with a sigh. "One day, I'm getting out of this birdcage," he muttered. The place was practically a closet, with walls so close he could probably cook breakfast without leaving his bed. And let's not forget the "charming" garbage dump aroma that breezed in through his one sorry excuse for a window.
"Ah, the sweet stench of dreams," he mumbled sarcastically.
Every night it was the same routine: skip the crowded bathhouse—he'd just shower next week or something—and flop onto his bed, too worn out to think about tomorrow. But now, with his system awakened, he actually had a shot. Maybe he could afford more than just a roof and a view of city garbage.
Just as he was dozing off, a loud, rapid knock rattled his door.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Adam pulled a pillow over his head and shouted, "Hey! If this is about the rent, I'll pay... eventually!"
The knocking got louder.
Rolling his eyes, he yelled again, "Can you come back tomorrow? I'm very busy... you know, sleeping!"
Boom boom boom! Boom boom boom!
The relentless pounding at the door didn't just continue; it was escalating. It was like someone had declared a war on his door.
"Seriously? Are you training for the Door-Knocking Olympics out there?"
Grumbling, Adam rolled out of bed and stomped to the door. "I said, cut it out! What are you, some kind of door-bashing enthusiast? You got hands and feet but no ears?"
Yanking the door open, his snark died in his throat. There, in the dim hallway, stood the Hell Queen.
Her crimson eyes glowed eerily in the darkness, her once-flowing black robe now tattered and clinging to her frame. She clutched her scythe in one hand, and a nasty wound stretched across her shoulder, oozing golden blood down her arm.
Adam's brain short-circuited. "Wh-what the...?"
Without a word, the Hell Queen stretched a hand toward him, her expression still as blank as a statue's.
Panic flaring, he scrambled backward, hands raised. "Whoa! Personal space—ever heard of it?!"
But before he could retreat any further, her legs gave out, and she collapsed right into him.
With his arms awkwardly outstretched, Adam found himself supporting the weight of a bloodied, Scythe-Wielding Alienor, his heart racing.
"This... this is so not what I thought tonight would bring…"