The aftermath of the boss fight was only somewhat awkward. Erik hadn’t known that enemy teams could make chat requests until one popped up.
[Chat request: SurPatrick of Team RizzleBerries]
“Uhh,” Erik looked at the message, unsure. Part of him wanted to decline—what good could come from getting friendly with an enemy team? And with a name like SurPatrick, no less. Still, curiosity won out. He tapped "accept."
“Hey, thanks for the save!” A hatchling Rex gurgled in time with the message, its green hide glistening with mud and water. Erik assumed this must be SurPatrick.
Before he could respond, another notification popped up:
[Team Legacy, Team RizzleBerries, Team [Unnamed], have entered a temporary ceasefire. Ceasefire will expire in 20 minutes. During this time, players will be unable to attack each other.]
The tension in the air shifted almost immediately. The hatchling raptors from Team RizzleBerries stopped their pacing, sitting back on their haunches, while the remaining Triceratops from the unnamed team lumbered out of the water, looking battered but alive. Marcus’s Rex trotted up beside Erik, shaking mud from his legs.
“Ceasefire, huh?” Marcus said, his tone skeptical. “Guess that means no one’s stabbing us in the back while we catch our breath.”
“You think they’d try?” Sarah’s raptor clicked softly, her yellow eyes watching the others warily.
“All of you should eat and then we need to go our separate ways,” Erik said. Normally he would’ve been very much against letting an enemy team take food, but there was nothing they could do to stop them or chase them off, so there wasn’t any reason to be hostile over it.
As the carnivores tucked into the crocodile feast, a battered but alive triceratops dragged itself back up the shore, one slow step at a time. Apparently he had survive being dragged in, though he looked more than a little worse for wear. He flopped belly down into the mud, his legs splayed in all directions as he stared at the nothing.
Sarah and Marcus finished up quickly, topping themselves up and Erik extracted them with only bare minimum of conversation. Team RizzleBerries seemed like a good sort, chatting away to each other happily as they’d eaten, and in any other kind of game Erik would have been glad to team up, but not in E.L.E.
As the sun began to sink below the horizon, they happened upon a large plant that resembled a massive venus fly trap, except the mouth seemed to be full of needles. When it attacked them, Erik assumed he had finally found vegetation violent enough that he could eat it.
The three of them made short work of the plant, and Erik was able to top off his own food before they found a place to settle in for the dark hours of the night.
It wasn’t that Erik didn’t feel the loss of time. Who knew how much more progress they might make in the game if they were able to travel safely throughout the night, but he just didn’t trust they could handle it. Erik had no doubts about what would happen to them if they went stomping through the swamp in total darkness.
So they huddled down one of the small overgrown patches of land, and they waited until the game transferred them back to the Hub.
Welcome back, Little_Rik!
Congratulations on completing the latest chapter in E.L.E: Extinction Level Event Online. Your strategic thinking and teamwork continue to serve you well in this challenging environment. Let’s review your scores for this sequence.
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LITTLE_RIK'S SCORES
SURVIVAL: 9
* Successfully evaded the Giganotosaurus using stealth and strategic awareness.
* Safely navigated the dangerous swamp, avoiding environmental hazards and ambush predators.
* Survived a high-risk sub-boss encounter with effective planning and teamwork.
* Missed Opportunities: The sub-boss battle carried significant risk, and survival relied partly on the assistance of rival teams.
COMBAT: 8
* Executed a well-coordinated ambush on a Deinonychus pack, securing two kills and scattering the rest.
* Effectively engaged the sub-boss using a combination of distraction, direct damage, and attrition tactics.
* Missed Opportunities: Initial attacks on the sub-boss’s armored back reduced efficiency, and allied teams’ contributions highlighted gaps in team combat autonomy.
TEAMWORK: 10
* Demonstrated exceptional coordination during both the Deinonychus ambush and sub-boss battle.
* Successfully leveraged teamwork to secure objectives, sharing roles effectively.
* Rallied rival teams to cooperate against the sub-boss, showcasing leadership and strategic diplomacy.
OBJECTIVES: 7
* Successfully defeated the sub-boss Platycarchus Megadontos, earning a unique mutation token and significant evolution energy.
* Identified viable objectives (meteorite collection, boss defeats) and pursued them efficiently.
* Missed Opportunities: Objective pursuit was largely opportunistic; proactive exploration could yield additional rewards.
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TOTAL SCORE: 34
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SCORE MULTIPLIERS
* Title: First-Blood 1.5x
* Title: Contender 0.5x
* Juvenile Growth 0.5x
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FINAL SCORE: 102
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COMMENTARY
“Team Legacy has displayed outstanding adaptability, strategic foresight, and cooperative synergy. You’ve taken critical steps toward long-term success, but refining proactive objective strategies will solidify your competitive edge. Use your rewards wisely, and prepare for even greater challenges ahead.”
The score window popped up, follow quickly by his updated character sheet.
Player: Little_Rik
Species: Triceratops
Gender: Male
Growth: Juvenile: 15%
Weight: Small
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Attributes:
Speed: 3
Strength: 4
Agility: 3
Endurance: 4
Defense: 4
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Abilities:
Juvenile Charge:
Basic charge attack, minimal damage but disrupts smaller enemies.
Weak Bite:
Consistent moderate damage to close-range targets.
Weak Headbutt:
Moderate damage vs smaller enemies; can stagger small opponents.
Bioresonant Tissue:
Stores a small amount kinetic energy for a short period of time that can be released upon an active attack.
Ability Points: 87
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Evolution:
Evolution Energy: 140
Next Growth Stage: Adolescent (20%)
Reach 20% growth to evolve at the Adolescent stage, unlocking new upgrades and abilities.
Mutations: 106 Available Mutations
Horn (Natural) (F):
The juvenile triceratops boasts a singular, partially developed horn on its snout that can be used for penetrating attacks.
Beak (Natural) (Non-mutable):
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
A sharp beak-like mouth evolved for shearing through vegetation.
Note: This body part requires an evolution to become mutable.
Crest (Natural) (F):
A bony crest that extends around the perimeter of the skull, functioning as an effective shield against predators.
Bioresonant Tissue (Evolved) (F):
Your tissue is capable of storing and directing energy from impacts for a short period of time.
----------------------------------------
Biopoints: 124
Team Legacy:
Team Currency:
Meteorite Fragments: 38
The first thing Erik noticed was that, though there were still many people appearing in the field where players transferred after leaving the game world, it didn’t feel nearly as crowded as it had been on the first day.
“It’s only day four,” he muttered.
“What’s that?” Marcus asked, looking down at him as he walked by. Erik fell into step beside him and Sarah followed after as they headed in the direction of their HQ.
“There’s a lot less people here,” Erik pointed out.
“Rokells still here.” Sarah pointed at the girl who’s avatar looked like a sheep, who seemed to be in a heated argument with her young brother.
“I just can’t imagine this many people have been eliminated already.” Erik said, looking around.
“Is there any way to check?” Marcus asked as they opened the door and headed into their bare, open headquarters with it’s hammocks and the liquid metal table they used for evolution and mutations.
“Primarch?” Erik asked in response to Marcus’s question, and the towering golden feathered raptor man appeared, standing tall in the middle of the room.
“Yes, little Rik?” He asked in regal tones.
“How many teams have been eliminated from the tournament?”
“That information is available in the market district of the Hub, as well as Leaderboard information.”
“Uh, where at? And why can’t you tell us?”
“The developers felt it was important for psychological stability that players should interact in a friendly capacity within the Hub.”
“So they created spaces where everyone would need to go to find important information.”
“Yes,” Primarch agreed with a low dip of his head, “and you will find recap footage of the previous game days, the world map, the count down timer to the next game day, and various other informational amenities.”
Erik moved to stand near the table, with a wave of his hand he pulled the avatar of his triceratops up out of the rolling waves of metal, where it floated at eye level. “Where do we get this information?”
“There are five Hub cafes, each named after their location within the Hub. Central Cafe, North Cafe, South Cafe, East Cafe and West Cafe.-”
“West Side Cafe is where I go to crush rounds of Battle Arena,” Marcus said, jumping in, “so I vote West Cafe be our hangout.”
“West Side Cafe is kind of a dive,” Sarah said, wrinkling her nose.
“Yeah,” Marcus agreed without any protest, “That’s where you meet the real players.”
“Your nearest location is the Central Cafe,” Primarch said, and Erik thought he sounded vaguely annoyed at being interrupted, “I have marked the location on your maps.” and then he was gone.
“It sounds like something we should check out.” Erik said, turning away from the table to look at his friends. Marcus had flopped back into a hammock and tipped his hat forward over his eyes, as he intended to take a nap. Sarah however was standing near the center of the room, frowning at the spot where Primarch had vanished.
“Did he sound- I don’t know, irritated?” She asked.
“It’s an AI,” Marcus said dismissively.
“He did,” Erik agreed with Sarah.
“So what? He’s probably just programmed to sound irritated.” Marcus said.
“Do you think he’s programmed to leave in a temper?” Sarah asked, and Marcus said nothing. Though it was possibly he really was doing his best to fall asleep.
“I think it’s time we look at those mutation tokens.” Erik said as he pulled up his character sheet on the table's interface and scrolled down until he found the token. Clicking on it opened a new popup window.
Mutation Token
Type: Platycarchus Megadontos
Quality: Sub-Boss
Function:
* Option 1: Apply to an existing mutation to upgrade it with Platycarchus Megadontos-inspired adaptations, such as reinforced dorsal plating or amphibious stamina boosts.
* Option 2: Apply during evolution to unlock a new Platycarchus Megadontos-inspired mutation at no Evolution Energy cost.
Note:
* Mutation Tokens can be combined to enhance their quality and effects.
* Two Sub-Boss Tokens → One Boss Token
* Traits from both bosses will combine into a unique hybrid mutation.
* If both tokens are from the same boss, the resulting traits will be enhanced.
Erik read it over several times, just to be certain he understood. Then he read it again because he couldn’t help but doubt it.
“That- that is a game changer.” He said, his mind racing as he ran through the implications of the system.
Sarah approached the table and called up her own UI, and after a few seconds she whistled appreciatively. “It, yeah. Yeah I can see how that might change things.”
“Either of you want to fill me in?” Marcus asked, still lounged on the hammock, and showing no inclination to move.
“It upgrades an existing mutation,” Erik said. “Doesn’t say exactly what it will do, but it’s apparently themed after the boss from which the token was acquired.”
“Or,” Sarah added, “It’ll unlock a new mutation when you’re evolving. Which for us would be at 20% growth. Also themed.”
“That’s pretty neat. So you get some of those armor plates it had or whatever?” Marcus asked, reaching up to tip his hat back so he could look over at them.
“Yeah.” Erik said, his heart racing his chest. “But that’s only part of it. When you use them to get a new mutation during evolution, the mutation is free. No evolution energy and, this is the important part, you can combine tokens from different bosses to upgrade their quality and therefore effects.”
“So… what does that mean?” Marcus asked.
“It means we definitely don’t want to spend these right now, and that we’re going to want to take down another boss before we hit our next evolution.”
“Right. I was kind of planning to spend points to grow faster this time, but I’m guessing we want to take it slow now that we know about these tokens?”
“Not just that,” Erik said, turning back to the table, “We need evolution energy. Going from Hatchling to Juvenile worked because we needed the extra combat ability, but even that’s kind of a setback. Juvenile to Adolescent is going to be the first big power jump for a lot of people and it all depends on how much evolution energy we can bank up. We’re going to need as much as we can get before we hit 20%”
“Also,” Sarah added, “apart from being a bad move strategy wise, it costs a lot more. 35 bipoints per 1% of growth.”
“So what are we spending biopoints on then?”
“Upgrading our mutations.” Erik said, “but we don’t have to do that right now. I want to take a look at this Central Cafe and see what’s going on. I figure the more we know, the better decisions we can make.”
“Why do you suppose they didn’t tell us about that?” Sarah asked. “It seems kind of important.”
Marcus scoffed as he turned in the hammock and stood up. “They never tell us anything. If we don’t ask, they keep it to themselves. That’s how this whole game has been since we got here.” It was true, and Erik couldn’t deny that the lack of hand holding had been emphasized by the developers as a core part of gameplay, he hadn’t expected it to go so far.
"Well lets go for a walk," Erik said, minimizing his UI and letting his dino sink back into the tables surface. "I wanna see this leaderboard."