The moment Eren stepped through the portal, he felt the searing heat. The air itself seemed to waver with the intensity, and the ground beneath his boots was cracked and blackened, emitting faint wisps of smoke.
He scanned the area, pulling up his scarf to shield his face. The sky above was a hazy orange, marred by streaks of ash that drifted aimlessly. In the distance, jagged mountains loomed, their peaks glowing faintly with molten red veins.
Objective:
• Traverse the Scorched Plains.
• Locate the Mana Core Beacon.
• Activate and secure it to stabilize the floor.
"Traverse and stabilize," Eren muttered, gripping his crossbow tightly. "Easier said than done."
The heat was relentless. Sweat poured down Eren's face as he moved cautiously across the plains, his boots crunching on the brittle, burnt ground. He periodically glanced at his map—a simple, glowing projection provided by the Tower. The beacon's location pulsed faintly in the northwest.
As he moved, the ground suddenly shifted beneath him. He jumped back just in time as a geyser of superheated steam erupted where he had been standing moments before.
"Traps now?" he grumbled, wiping his brow.
He crouched, studying the fissure that had opened. It wasn't random. The steam seemed to follow a pattern, almost like a defense mechanism.
Eren marked the danger zones on his map and pressed forward, keeping to the narrow, safe paths between the fissures.
Hours passed. Eren's water supply was running low, and his energy waned in the oppressive heat. He paused to catch his breath near a cluster of jagged rocks, scanning his surroundings for any sign of the beacon.
That's when he heard it—a low, guttural growl.
He froze, his eyes darting toward the sound. From the shadows of a nearby crevice emerged a creature unlike anything he'd seen before.
Its body was sleek and sinewy, covered in scales that shimmered like molten metal. Its eyes glowed a fierce amber, and its long tail whipped back and forth, leaving scorch marks on the ground.
"Great," Eren muttered, raising his crossbow. "Guardians."
The creature lunged, its speed almost too fast to track. Eren barely had time to fire before diving out of the way. The bolt struck the creature's side, ricocheting off its metallic scales with a sharp clang.
"Of course, you're armored," Eren said through gritted teeth.
He scrambled to his feet, pulling another bolt from his quiver. This one was tipped with a fragment of the mana crystal he had harvested earlier.
The creature charged again, and Eren fired, aiming for its glowing eyes. The crystal-tipped bolt struck true, embedding itself in the creature's left eye.
It howled, stumbling back as arcs of energy crackled across its body.
Eren didn't waste the opportunity. He fired a grappling hook at a nearby ledge, pulling himself up to gain a height advantage. From his elevated position, he aimed carefully and fired another crystal bolt into the creature's exposed underbelly.
The guardian collapsed with a final roar, its body twitching before going still.
Eren climbed down cautiously, keeping his crossbow at the ready. He approached the fallen creature, retrieving the spent bolts and studying its corpse.
The metallic scales were unlike anything he had seen before. They radiated residual heat, even in death.
"Another material to experiment with," he murmured, carefully prying off a few scales and storing them in his pack.
The rest of the journey was tense but uneventful. Finally, Eren reached the beacon—a tall, crystalline structure that pulsed with faint blue light.
It was cracked, its glow flickering sporadically.
"Stabilize it, huh?" Eren said, examining the structure.
The Tower provided a set of instructions:
Repair Steps:
Remove corrupted shards.
Replace with purified mana crystals.
Charge the beacon to full power.
"Simple enough," Eren said, though he doubted it would be that easy.
He removed the corrupted shards first, their edges jagged and blackened. As he worked, he felt the air around him grow heavier, as though the Tower itself was watching.
The moment he placed the purified crystals into the beacon, the ground trembled.
A roar echoed across the plains. Eren turned to see a massive shape approaching—a creature far larger than the guardian he had fought earlier. Its body glowed with molten veins, and its eyes burned like twin suns.
"Of course, there's a boss," Eren muttered, gripping his crossbow tightly.
The beacon's instructions updated:
Defend the beacon until activation is complete. Time remaining: 10 minutes.
Eren quickly surveyed the area, noting the rocky outcrops and narrow pathways he could use to his advantage. He loaded another crystal-tipped bolt and took a deep breath.
"Alright, big guy," he said, steeling himself. "Let's dance."
End of Chapter 9