IN-GAME:\NOAH Online\Freedom's Cradle Star System\Briarwelt Moon\Miyamoto Rainforest>
At the eastern side of the infested cavern, Sirius noticed few glowing cylindrical energy tanks scattered on the jagged ground. He touched the tanks, then a small, yellow holographic gear icon popped out from his hand. Available options: «Carry», «Detonate», or «Leave».
“Found some «energy pods»!” Sirius said to Masshu through telepathy.
“What can we do with them?” Masshu raised her voice.
He stowed his weapons back to his hammerspace inventory, and carried the dirtied energy pod like a sack of rice. “The tank that Rennin found can use this!”
In spite of his small effeminate frame, he brought the pod to Rennin's location at a bear's pace.
Meanwhile at the north-western part of the cavern, FranZetta spotted another cluster of «Crikhei eggs» spread out in the rocky walls with olive green sticky substance. He heard high-pitched chopping howls out from the alien eggs.
“We'll be in trouble tonight!”
“Why? You've seen more eggs?”
FranZetta raised his voice, as he spotted more creatures inside the eggs, “Yea, and you should have scouted with us, Masshu!”
“Hello! Mind you, our leader Pugito let us through. Now, I'm secondin command!”
“Nope, you just bossed us around!” FranZetta yelled at her while in telepathic communication.
Meanwhile, Rennin alighted from the abandoned laser tank, and found a hatch behind the laser cannon's barrel. He dragged out an exhausted pod and dropped it on the ground with a heavy noise. He came down from the tank, and noticed the treads infested with shattered alien eggs. Bummer. If we can get repair parts for this thing, it should be driven out.
Rennin phoned Masshu, “Bad news: We can't drive the tank after all!”
Masshu ordered her scouts, “Report back to the second floor entrance, Pugito has a better plan today!”
Alyas Pugito's party of armored Elven gunners gathered at the second floor entrance. Hotaruu, Castor Aarth, and Bellatrix healed them on sight. No questions asked. Just a two-hit combo of a hit point-restoring «Curatio Fulmine (Healing Bolt)», and a universal debuff-curing «Remedium Torrens (Restoring Stream)».
Masshu, the petite hammer-wielder, approached Alyas Pugito. She told him about the eggs found in the current dungeon until she mentioned the abandoned tank. After ten minutes of planning, and idle moments among the raiding party, Masshu and Alyas Pugito devised a plan.
The proposed tactic: Sirius and Rennin will man the crippled laser tank's main gun and its mounted ballistic machine gun. Alyas Pugito's 5-man party will serve as the artillery & sniper squad against the swarms. Hotaruu, Bellatrix, and Castor Aarth will do the healing. Hatsya, RieHoshikawa, Altynes, Arnvalle, and FranZetta will be the tank supply runners. Hitomi and Hyung-Soo will flank the laser tank for extra defense. Masshu, Eizien, Pollux, Roy-kun and Saiph will be the tankers.
Sirius and Rennin dashed toward the crippled laser tank. They raced for the role of a laser cannon operator, and the loser will operate the 10mm rotary machine gun turret. Sirius reached the tank first, then manned the 200mm laser cannon turret.
As Rennin came last to the tank, he instead ended up on the machine gun turret.
“Dude, the bad news is: No ammo.” Rennin giggled as he rotated the mounted gun in five directions.
Sirius cleared his throat, “Damn it, you could have told me that!” then he phoned Hatsya, “Hats, I need the pods now!”
Meanwhile at the eastern side of the dungeon, Hatsya obtained Sirius' orders, “Chill dude, chill! We're doing our part now!”
He lifted an energy pod back to the abandoned tank with RieHoshikawa at ease, in spite of their puny bodies. So far, their teamwork is akin to the ants' cooperative nature except they carried a potentially-destructive object. Never forget FranZetta either, as he'd rather watch over Altynes and Arnvalle carried the energy pod to the tank. Damn, this is a video game, an over-the-top sandbox online role-playing game, some parts of humanity are defied.
Alyas Pugito's squad unleashed a successive barrage of explosive shots onto swarms of «Crikhei eggs». Giblets of those unfortunate creatures piled around the shattered eggs, yet few of those creatures came out alive.
“We got few enemy survivors!” Alyas Pugito's voice echoed across the cavern, yet howling newborn monsters emerged from the smashed eggs.
More choppy wails echoed around the cavern, and their situation escalated at its worst: the adult variants of those crocodile-wolves emerged from the ground. The angered Crikheis' eyes glowed red and bared their fangs against them.
“Tch! This game just trolled us!” FranZetta turned invisible thru his weapon's innate skill: «Sigbin Cloaking». He stopped following Hatsya's team, and he slashed two creatures with his bleeding «Fading Sigbin's Kampilan» “Don't worry about me, guys!”
The invisible Wolfen knight diced more oncoming monsters at a lightning-fast speed, till the cloaking spell worn off. One adult Crikhei outmaneuver him and bit his right leg. He slashed the monster's eyes and freed itself from its deadly jaws, until another pack of the adult monsters pounced onto him.
Hatsya and others carried the energy pods to the abandoned tank. As they reached the tank, seven adult Crikheis leaped towards them. Rennin grinned as he blasted three of the monsters' backs with the mounted machine gun.
OFFLINE:\Philippines\Parañaque City\Hatsumi's Residence>
Hatsumi sweated a lot, even though she only played NOAH on her desktop PC. Her electric desk fan, cranked at the highest speed, only dried her sweaty face under the morning summer heat. Her role as the secondary leader, and a player of a tank character for the raiding party gave her a head-sweating stress.
“We're losing FranZetta, guys!” Hatsumi yelled through her headset's microphone, as her fingers tap-danced at the alphanumeric keys for queuing programmed offensive skills. Her right hand's fingers repeatedly strike the mouse buttons for a frantic attack and skill spam.
She glanced at the HP & EP bars of her teammates, and FranZetta's HP bar hit at 30% mark. “Patch him up, Ruru! Aarth! Trixie!”
“Got it, boss!” Romeo, the player of Hotaruu the Nyaa-un mage, said.
Her avatar, Masshu swung her pick hammer sideways and landed a strong, and ether-charged hit on the heads of two adult Crikheis. Three-digit damage numbers in red screaming balloons popped over them upon impact. All right, but I can't go cocky about this!
As she rapidly clicked her mouse buttons, her mother yelled from the hallway, “Hatsumi, fried rice for lunch!”
Her mother's call didn't reach her, as she's too focused in the game. She had a fluttery feeling in the chest as her avatar whacked another trio of monsters away from Hatsya's team.
Hatsumi heard expletives from Alyas Pugito's teenage team members, and she noticed that their hit points dwindled to 15% to 30% mark. “Aarth! Bellatrix! Just heal the artillery!”
She stroked her mouse wheel inward rapidly for a wider view, and rotated her camera rightward for Alyas Pugito's party.
Her avatar, Masshu ran as fast as she could. She whacked another duo of Crikheis on her way with an ether-powered hammer upswing, «Smashing Riser».
“Get out of my way!” Hatsumi screamed at her monitor, as if she became one with her avatar.
She noticed Alyas Pugito, and two of his teammates bashed a small group of newborn and adult monsters with their heavy cannons out of desperation. “Saiph, guard them while retreating, now!”
OFFLINE:\Philippines\Quezon City\Kanlaon Mansion>
“Got it, shorty!” Edgar commanded his avatar, Saiph, to stand within Alyas Pugito's range and fend off oncoming monsters.
His avatar dashed further and ignited his «Copper Greatsword» in front of the angry mob. “Eat these, croco-fuckers!”
Saiph mowed eight of the little Crikheis with a «Horizontal Blazing Cleave» attack skill. “Good thing that the Wind Walk's in effect!”
He fended off oncoming Crikheis in the area, through rapid clicks of a mouse, and with heavy presses on some of his alphanumeric keys tied to his powerful skills. He grinned as he racked more monster kills compared to his siblings, until his character's movement gradually slowed down.
He peeked at his buffs under his HP bar, and noticed them blinked with last 10 seconds left. Damn it! I'm already in the zone, and the buffs waned out? He stomped his desk and commanded Valerie in-game, “Sis, cast me another Wind Walk!”
Meanwhile at Valerie's bedroom, Edgar's commanding voice shook her, while she healed the party's injured members. “Oh c'mon, calm down a bit!”
She struck a number key linked to an «Area Heal» ability and a large bluish magic circle appeared under her mouse pointer. She aimed it at Alyas Pugito's party, even her brother's avatar is within the effective range. From her screen, she saw the party's hit points rocketed to the 70 to 80 percent mark. “Hitomi, Hatsya. How are you? Can the tank fire its beams?”
IN-GAME:\NOAH Online\Freedom's Cradle Star System\Briarwelt Moon\Miyamoto Rainforest>
Flames, explosions, and gunfire lit the cavern, and unveiled a bloody view of virtual animal genocide. Most hatcheries in the cave ended as jagged cemeteries for the sorry yet merciless Crikhei species. All's left is the giant egg by the the exit, where the «Crikhei Gigantora» slept.
Rennin and Hitomi gunned down twenty adult and newborn monsters within their location, as Hatsya's team of girls placed the energy pods within the tank's reach. He and Arnvalle climbed on top of the laser tank and loaded one energy pod at the laser cannon's hatch. “Tank's loaded, sis!”
Hitomi winked at him, then they headed back to the battlefield.
He drew his rapier out and jabbed the adult Crikheis' eyes, “Masshu, it'd be the best time for Pugito's men to shatter the large egg shells!”
At his left, Arnvalle emptied her pair of pistols onto two monsters' heads. Altynes, on his right, sent the newborn crocodile-wolves back to their broken eggshells with her powered jabs and straight attacks.
Sirius focused the cannon at the large Crikhei egg and fired its first shot. A reddish electrified ray of light cracked the large egg shell. “First shot, success!” Sirius said to everyone in the guild voice-chat.
Upon impact, another swarm of adult Crikheis emerged from the ground. They ate their dead, and wounded newborns for unearthly strength. They howled louder, produced a fiery red shockwave against them, and grew sharper nails. Their heads produced thicker blood red fur on the fly, then they bared fangs at Eizien's group. These brutally-evolved creatures are now regarded as «Crikhei Rageias»
Two Crikhei Rageia jumped over Eizien's team, and gashed Altynes's belly with their sharp claws. Rennin roared in desperation, as he gunned down his friend's assailants with the on-board machine gun. Hotaruu hopped his way to Hitomi, and healed Altynes' wound at a moment's notice, in spite of being a Crikhei prime target.
“Everyone, focus on the boss!” Hatsya said to everyone as hequickly wore a «Blood Chronos Academy uniform F» — a rare red & black school uniform set for female avatars. He ran away from the party, with a bloody rapier in hand.
Fiery blood red energies enveloped his uniform, and expelled reddish shockwave around the monsters — «Bloody Provocation» a melee-based pulling skill.
Monsters within the party's range galloped at him. In the nick of time, Roy-kun unleashed a slashing wave onto eight Crikhei Rageias chasing Hatsya. “You're not dying over here, Hatsya-hime!”
Hatsya sprinted away from the provoked creatures, then he commanded the trappy Castor Aarth, "Do an AoE or a multi-target, now!"
Castor Aarth stabbed the gr6ound with his staff, and erupted a large, rocky pillar out of the ground. Another gullible wave of Crikhei Rageia were violently thrown away by Castor Aarth's earth magic spell.
Sirius blasted the egg for the second time, and was followed by a successive explosive blast by Alyas Pugito's gunners. The blast opened the crack wider and exposed the giant egg's inhabitant. The large swarm of Crikhei Rageias separated into two, one for Hatsya, and the other's for the tank for dealing massive damage against its mother.
AUTHOR's NOTE» Feel free to vote, and leave feedback to any chapter you've read throughout this book. Your input will help, thanks!
~ShiningHatsya