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HIDDEN REQUIREMENT
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Hidden condition has been met!
**Player killed all 10 Frogmen captains**
**Player killed all the frogmen soldiers in the Marsh**
**Player acquired all the five special items without destroying them**
The Frogmen general has noticed your deeds.
The Frogmen general is enraged.
The Frogmen general has called for reinforcements
The Frogmen general has now marked you as a target for totem sacrifice.
The reinforcements will be coming after you.
The quest has been updated.
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==============================
QUEST
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Quest Name: **The Raiders of the Marsh (Updated)**
Objective:
Eliminate the Frogmen threat and prevent the summoning of a terrible monster.
Clear Conditions:
Destroy all five special items required for summoning. (0/5)
Kill at least 5 Frogmen Captains. (10/5)
Defeat the Frogmen General.(0/1)
Defeat the Frogmen elite soldiers called by the General.
Prevent your own capture and do not become a summoning item in General's hands
Reward:
Increase Stats will depend on how the quest will progress Passive Skill: Marsh Strider: Increases movement speed by 20% in marshy or swamp-like terrains. Reduces stamina consumption by 15% in such environments.
Penalty for Failure:
- All Stats -60%
- 60% Possibility of summoning a Boss monster early
Additional Condition:
Player can sense the general direction of the Frogmen General.
The Elite frogmen soldiers will be summoned near the player.
Elite Soldiers will appear in- 00:04:59
==============================
Ayaan took a deep breath as he looked at the updated quest. Even though he triggered the hidden requirement in the first quest as well, it didn't change the clear conditions. The water serpent king barely changed from level 2 to level 3.
But now, the clear conditions themselves changed.
The last line in the additional conditions in particular made him extra cautious. He only has five minutes to prepare for whatever elite soldiers are, to appear.
He looked around for a moment and ran towards the closest building that he could see. The building didn't have much structure left. Its roof is almost gone. But its walls are intact. Counting the hole in the roof, there are only two entrances to the building.
Ayaan dropped the hearts on the ground.
Since the Elite soldiers will be summoned near him, he doesn't need these things to attract them. They served their purpose.
Ayaan stood there to calm his mind.
'Focus'
'Focus'
'Surrender'
For the next five minutes his breathe stabilized. His senses are at their sharpest.
The clock ticked. He could almost hear it moving one second at a time.
00:00:05
00:00:04
00:00:03
00:00:02
00:00:01
Grey colored light pillars surrounded Ayaan. A sword appeared in his hand. He lunged forward and stabbed one of the grey lights.
*THWAK*
The sword went through leather and flesh. He could feel the warm blood squirting on to his hand. He took out his knife as he opened his eyes.
'Stab to the neck.'
'Kick'
'Water bullet'
A frogmen that just appeared in front of him, was sent flying with a knife stuck in the side of its neck and its head blown off.
The first thing he saw is its body slipping off his sword and its health bar going to 0.
[Exp+100]
[MP+10]
Ayaan ignored the notification and moved to the next target while giving a sweeping glance around. He didn't know how many there are. He didn't register the number. The only thing he focused on are their Levels.
'Level 2. All of them'
That is all he noticed and that is all he cared about.
'Front kick.'
'Water Bullet'
'Enemy from your right. Block the sword'
'Take out another sword. Stab in the stomach. Leave the sword. Water Bullet'
'Slash to the left. Aim at the neck. Knee to the abdomen.'
'Duck'
'Water Bullet'
Commands rung in Ayaan's head. He is instructing his body as if he is just a separate entity commanding his body to move.
His fighting style no longer appeared to be sneaky nor did he spam the water bullets left and right. He let the enemies come close. Whenever they did, the swords he collected until now, the rusty swords and the black iron swords, appeared in his hands.
He stabbed one, while he kicked another one away. Aiming for their neck, chest and finally a water bullet to the head.
Ayaan stood in the center of the carnage, his breath steady, his gaze cold and calculating. He wasn't fighting like a man; he was fighting like a machine—precise, efficient, unyielding.
The commands in his head continued, a rhythmic drumbeat of survival:
'Front kick. Slash across the chest. Block.'
A frogman lunged at him, its crude blade aiming for his ribs. Ayaan sidestepped, his rusty sword driving into the creature's chest with a sickening crunch. He felt the resistance of leather and flesh, then the gush of warm blood over his knuckles. The frogman's health bar emptied as its corpse crumpled to the ground.
[Exp+100]
[MP+10]
The notifications were ignored as always. His focus was absolute.
Another frogman charged from the right, its webbed feet slapping against the wet ground. Ayaan spun, bringing the black iron sword across in a clean arc. The blade sliced through the creature's neck, its croak of defiance cut short. Blood sprayed in a fine mist as its headless body collapsed.
'Enemy behind. Block. Counter.'
He turned just in time to raise his sword against an incoming attack. Sparks flew as steel clashed against steel. He shoved the frogman back with brute force, then drove his sword into its abdomen. Before it could react, a quick 'Water Bullet' spell shattered its skull, leaving the corpse twitching on the ground.
Another set of notifications flashed.
Another ignored.
'Duck. Slash low. Stab to the left. Kick forward.'
He moved with a fluidity that was both graceful and deadly. As a frogman swung a sword at his head, he ducked low, slashing at its legs with the rusty sword. The creature fell with a shriek, and Ayaan ended its suffering with a precise stab to the chest. Another frogman was already upon him, and he lashed out with a front kick that sent it sprawling, following up with a devastating 'Water Bullet' to its exposed throat.
The carnage continued, an endless stream of enemies coming at him from every angle. His movements became a blur of slashes, stabs, and spells. His swords were tools, extensions of his will, discarded the moment they lost their edge or got stuck in a corpse. He reached for another weapon from his dwindling arsenal, a black iron sword this time, and continued his deadly dance.
Sweat dripped down his face, mingling with the blood splattered across his armor. His HP had dropped slightly—20 points lost to glancing blows and unavoidable hits—But his cold, detached focus never wavered.
Finally, the last frogman fell, its health bar depleting as Ayaan's blade pierced its chest. Silence descended, broken only by the faint dripping of blood and the occasional croak of distant creatures.
He straightened, his body aching but his resolve unshaken. The ground was littered with corpses, and the system notifications continued to pile up in his peripheral vision. Yet, as always, he paid them no mind.
This was his battlefield. This was his domain. And no number of enemies could change that.
.
.
.
Fifteen minutes later.
Ayaan picked up his Mutant soldier sword from the frogman that he just killed.
He finally looked at himself.
His chest heaved trying to stabilize his breath. His whole body aching slightly. His shirt is torn apart. And there are slight bruises and slashes on his body. He is drenched in the stinky blood of the frogmen.
He then checked his surroundings. The walls of the structure are covered in frogmen blood. The swamp below turned a weird shade of brown with the red blood of frogmen mixed with the green of the swamp.
He is surrounded by the light pillars of the loot. Hundreds of them. He didn't even remember how many he killed.
He checked his interface to understand.
His remaining HP is a little over 90 points. Still decent.
His fatigue reached 50. A little concerning considering the Boss monster is still there.
Finally the Exp. He was in fact surprised a bit glad when he saw it. His gains from the elite soldiers are precisely 3600 Exp points. That means he killed 36 level 2 Frogmen.
He is very close. Very very close to the next level up. Only twelve more Level 2 monsters and he would be there. But before he could take delight in that…
"Argh…"
Ayaan groaned while holding his head. His head ached and a drop of blood came out of his nose.
'Stay sharp.'
'Control yourself'
Ayaan told himself. He closed his eyes tightly as little flashes of red came over.
'Do not go back'
He took deep breaths to calm down and finally stabilized his mind. He collected the loot and thought to himself.
'It is much more manageable this time. But still I need to avoid going into zone as much as possible'
He made a mental note and looked around. He was a bit surprised by the hearts still floating on the marsh without being destroyed.
He swung the sword at them, destroying one after another.
The Quest progressed forward.
Destroy all five special items required for summoning.(5/5)
The first condition has been completed. But the moment he did that…
*Rrrrooaakkkk*
A loud guttural croack invaded the Marsh's quite atmosphere. Ayaan felt his whole-body tremble just from the sound. Even the thick is reverberating with those vibrations.
Accompanying those guttural croaks was the system notification.
==============================
HIDDEN REQUIREMENT
==============================
Hidden condition has been met!
**Player killed all 10 Frogmen captains**
**Player killed all the frogmen soliders in the Marsh**
**Player destroyed all the summoning items**
**Player killed all the Elite Frogmen**
The Frogmen general is in a state of Insane rage.
The Frogmen general has now marked itself as a target for totem sacrifice.
Summoning Initiated.
**Frog King is descending to this world**
**Insufficient Sacrifice for summoning. The frogmen general has died**
**The Frog King has consumed the Frogmen General**
**Frog King (Nerfed) Level 4 has replaced the Frogmen General as the Quest boss**
Kill the Frog King (Nerfed) to complete the Quest.
The Quest rewards will be updated based on the difficulty.
==============================
Ayaan gulped. His hair stood on its ends. Chills ran down his spine. He came out of the structure and looked into the horizon. There, far away from him, a massive red light pillar descended.
*RRRIBBBIIITT**
A loud sound made by a frog. He has heard it many times in his life. Many more times in the past couple of hours. But he never felt so much fear envelop him.
Fear…
The emotion that Ayaan rarely felt, but that croak made him feel it. His body is reacting to the danger even before he could see it.
He took deep breaths once again.
*BOOM*
With an explosive sound, a massive figure jumped out of that red light.
He saw it.
A giant figure adorning the most disgusting of greens flew into the air. It is as big as an SUV vehicle. Its bulging eyes are shining with yellow light that could be seen all the way from Ayaan's position.
Those yellow lights seemed turned in his direction.
Ayaan felt like he was locked on by a predator.
*RIBBIT*
It landed into the swamp, disappearing from Ayaan's sight.
*BOOM*
But he could hear it. The explosive sound it made as it landed in the swamp.
*RIBBIT*
The frog flew again, but this time not as high. Rather this leap is aimed to cover distance between Ayaan and itself.
*SPLASH* *BOOM*
Now, Ayaan can see it even after it landed. As it landed the mud of the swamp moved away from it like a wave. The wave died down, but Ayaan could feel the mud move even at his feet. The impact of its landing alone made him feel the impact.
It covered more than seventy percent of distance between them in just one leap.
Ayaan could see its movements directly now. He couldn't even think how he can see that far though. He was that consumed by the might of that grotesque figure.