There was no time to rest, I needed to open my item boxes and plan for the next stage. The difficulty had ramped up way too hard way too fast. If that bear hadn’t gotten stuck like some sick joke from the framework I would undoubtedly be dead. There was nothing I had that would have damaged the bear enough, I had made a crucial mistake by placing all of my bombs and not leaving any in reserve. I opened the two bronze boxes and received 10 simple bombs in each. The first silver item box gave me 5 standard bombs, fully replacing my stock. The next silver item box gave me a new bow. This one had a silvery glow to it. I triggered Identify
Stryker Bow - Unique - Upgradeable - Base Damage 20 - Accompanying quiver holds 20 arrows, self repairing if not completely destroyed.
This was a welcome addition to my equipment, I had felt horribly naked without a bow to use for the past week. It paled in comparison to the power of my bombs but that couldn’t be helped. I opened the gold item box next, it was a long cloak that glowed golden when I grabbed it out of the box. I felt the fine material and realized it was practically weightless. I triggered Identify
Stryker Cloak - Unique - Upgradeable - Base Armor 25 - Grants 80% explosion resistance while worn.
Wow! This was amazing, I would be able to be closer to explosions without blowing myself up again. This was another reminder that the framework gave targeted items, it was also watching and always aware. I checked the remainder of my notifications.
Congratulations! Enhanced Explosion has reached Level 9!
Congratulations! Identify has reached level 10!
Any upgrade was welcome at this point but it did feel underwhelming. The increasing explosion resistance of the wave leaders nullified the higher levels of damage from enhanced explosions. Identify just continued to give me more details on whatever I used it on. I checked the timer.
00:47:00
I needed to hurry up with a plan for the next level. The door did not repair itself after the level cleared, I checked my guide for any available information. The only thing I learned from it was that structures that were damaged or destroyed would remain that way until the end of the event. They would revert back to normal after that. I was fully stocked on bombs and my biggest safety net was now gone. I walked out to the clearing to look for the falcon.
As soon as I cleared the doorway the falcon bombed down at me, slamming against my chest where it pecked at me insistently. I could tell it knew how close I had come to dying. “I know little guy, I know” I cradled it in my arms where it nuzzled its head against me. Tears sprang forth from my eyes and I stood there cradling it for a few minutes while I raged internally about how unfair this all was.
My moment of self pity ended and I released the falcon who flew up high and began to shriek. I knew it wasn’t time for the next wave yet, I still had 40 minutes. It pointed its body back towards the middle of the forest. I watched and waited for danger but nothing came. It dove down and pecked me, making a chirping sound. It rose back up and kept pointing deeper in the forest. I decided to trust the falcon and started walking in that direction. It shrieked at me again and flew forwards fast, I took the hint and began to sprint. One mile from the entrance to the mine I came across a clearing that looked like it had been violently cleared of all trees and bushes. In it was a large round glowing oval. I triggered Identify.
Framework Portal
Was all the information I got from it. This must be a high level object for it to return no information at all. I wasn’t sure what a portal was so I approached it slowly. I checked the guide and got no information at all, which was strange. I checked the timer and I had just over 30 minutes. The falcon landed on my shoulder and chirped several times in rapid succession. I looked to it and saw it staring at the portal with pointed eyes, anger radiating from the bird. Realization hit me in a rush. “This is where the beasts are coming from, isn’t it?” “This is what you have been looking for up there at the start of the wave?”. I reached up to rub my hand down the bird and received a playful peck in return.
I knew I needed to use this information to my advantage. If I was right about this, I would be able to destroy the wave before it fully formed and began the march to the mine. There were plenty of variables I did not know, how many came at once? How aware were they when they arrived? Could they even be harmed before the framework decided they could?
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
To this point the framework had rewarded me for ingenuity and risk taking, it wasn’t likely to stop now. I peppered the area around the portal with simple bombs, placing one standard bomb in the middle directly in front of it. I placed a few more around the immediate area and then walked backwards to where I could just barely see the portal. I placed bombs along that route, if anything came out and survived then charged me I would have 3 or 4 more chances to detonate before it reached me. Checking the timer made the hair on my neck stand up and my heart flutter.
00:04:00
It was almost time, it was now or never. If this plan didn’t work I would run until I couldn’t run any farther. I wished I had the forethought to pack food and water in my pack before leaving the mine. The falcon took off, hovering 50 feet above my head and still staring directly at the portal. I took some deep breaths and readied myself, trying to calm down and focus. I unslung my bow and knocked an arrow. Based on the health of the last wave it would take 4 or 5 shots to take down any beast, it just felt good to hold something. I watched the timer tick down to 0.
The beast arrived instantly. There were about 40 of them and they were awful to look at. Large brown spiders with hairy bodies and 10 legs. They arrived in the area directly around the portal where I had bombed. I wasn’t sure if they were able to be killed yet so I waited with held breath until the first one moved. They were too far away for me to identify so I didn’t know how much health they had. As soon as I saw the first twitch of movement I triggered two simple bombs and one standard. I had placed some of them too close together and the entire area around the portal went up in a cataclysmic explosion.
I turned and whipped my cloak up over my face to avoid the farthest waves of the blast. With my cloak on it felt like a gentle breeze stirred against me, the bushes and trees near me swayed violently as a loud boom sounded. Notifications poured into my vision and I brought them up.
Congratulations! You have slain the Beast Wave Leader!
Congratulations! You have survived Beast Wave Level 4!
Congratulations! You have reached level 18!
Congratulations! You have earned Silver Item Box x1, Gold Item box x3, Ruby Item Box x1!
Congratulations! You have earned a new title!
Congratulations! You have earned a new title!
Congratulations! Enhanced Explosion has reached level 10!
I checked over my new titles. Both were upgrades to titles I had already achieved. Well Rounded II was given to me for being the first person to reach 150 cumulative stats. It gave me +3 to all primary stats and another gold equipment box. Weapons of Mass Destruction II was for killing a beast wave leader instantly. It gave me a new crafting recipe, another minus 1 to charisma and another +2 to my alchemy skill. I needed to open my item boxes and replant the bombs near the portal. I had no idea if the framework would allow that to happen again but I was sure going to try. The first silver box contained 10 simple bombs. The three gold item boxes gave me 10 standard bombs. The ruby item box glowed slightly before opening to reveal a bomb much larger than the standard bomb. I triggered Identify.
Shrapnel Bomb - Standard Bomb wrapped in a layer of small sharpened metal shards. Explodes in a large radius, skewering anything in the area.
I dreaded finding out what type of beast would require using this new type of bomb. I checked my crafting recipe and to my surprise it wasn’t the shrapnel bomb.
Hallowed Light - Mix of reagents that glow brightly when placed in a suitable container.
It seemed the framework wanted to prepare me for the dark. That scared me more than the thought of something needing the shrapnel bomb. I looked up at the canopy far above and tried to guess how much daylight was left. I realized with dismay that at least the last two waves would occur completely in the dark. I checked the timer for the next wave.
00:51:04
I had plenty of time and the item boxes had fully restocked my supply. The portal did not move between waves, so I placed the bombs around the portal again, trying to put them far enough away from each other to avoid one massive chain explosion. I wanted to have tighter control in case there was another variable with the next round. I sprinted back to the mine and went to my crafting hall, looking at my recipe and trying to figure out if I had the supplies to create a hallowed light.
If I spent my spare time between waves crafting them, I would have enough I hoped for the last two waves in the dark. I needed more ferrica bark which I had a little bit left over, then I needed pure water, frea tree sap and angel moss. The pure water was easy as it came from the alchemy table. I spent time identifying the ingredients in my supply pantry that I had been gifted with the alchemy table. The frea tree sap was an orange sticky substance that I had a small jar of. The angel moss was a blue spongy type of moss that already had a slight glow to it. I had exactly enough supplies to create only one hallowed light. I grunted in frustration at these silly games the framework kept playing with me.
It took me the next half hour to get the pure water and frea tree sap boiling and grind the angel moss and ferrica bark. I needed a suitable container for the last step and grabbed the largest glass container available. I dumped the powdered ingredients in the large cylinder and then dumped the boiling solution on top of it. I immediately placed the lid on top and watched as the concoction began to glow with an intensely bright light. I knew from the guide that it would last one week. I carried it back to the entrance to the mine and checked the timer, just over 5 minutes left. I sprinted back to my hiding place before the portal and waited for the next level to begin.