[ Removing Wolf Limiters ]

……………………………

[ Removing Fox Limiters ]

[ Warning! ]

[ Hybrid Gene Override Detected! ]

[ Notifying Worldwide Trinity Network Administrators… ]

[ Alerting Providence Headquarters… ]

The rushing gandr-gators stopped in their tracks and eyed their adversaries with confusion.

Snarl! Drake's figure bulged into humongous proportions. Dark fur erupted on his arms and back. His legs elongated and became animal-like

Chisss! His skin started fuming with red mana. Fangs and claws erupted.

Crunch! Eve's bone structure shifted, and she hunched like an agile fox.

Both let out battle growls and charged at the gandr-gators.

Woom! Wuzz! Shing! Swash!

Crackle! Zip! Bam! Smash!

The monsters let out cries of mortal pain as the transformed duo ravaged through them, causing a massacre.

On the other end, a group of the assailants were bombarding the trio’s defenses.

Crack! Smash! The WhiteForce barrier shattered as a large gator fell through. Its teeth clasped around Nadja's leg and dragged him away.

"Aaaaaaaaa! "

The monster was almost past the circle of light when Drake's figure manifested behind it.

The gator, who possessed superior instincts, turned sharply to tackle his prey. But the Ace's sword had punctured through its neck already.

Thwack! The creature was decapitated instantly. A shower of green blood rained down on Chad, who scampered away towards the light, screaming.

"Ace, come in! Come in!" It was Piper on the party radio.

"Grrrrr," Drake said, shaking his beast-like head to rewind to his humanity.

"Tell me!" Eve spoke into her com. She had surprisingly transformed back into her regular appearance. The fox-girl had fought faster than Drake, zipping through the crowd of gators with 4x agility, slipping the edge of Heartspan into their throats.

"Is everyone all right? Tell me you haven't triggered it yet!"

"What are you talking about, Piper?" Eve asked, confused. "If you are talking about the horde of gators here, we have overcome a good number with ease. Everything is under control."

"No, it isn't! Trust me, it isn't!" Piper's voice was shrill and panicky. "We've been calling you for minutes!"

Eve sounded irritated. "We were kind of busy, you know. Giving the gators a taste of their own medicine."

Drake walked up to Eve and planted a kiss on Eve's lips. "You were damn good!" Chad came limping behind him. His leg was almost split open, but the health potion he took was acting fast.

"What is it, PiedPiper?" Drake asked. He had also reverted to normal. "Tell me what's wrong."

"You never listened to the bad news I have. You gotta escape from there immediately!"

Drake scoffed. "Stop behaving like a coward, kid! We are doing quite well here. Some credit goes to you for the frost attack tip."

"No, no, you don't understand. The Mayor was not lying."

"What are you talking about?"

"The appraisal! It said that the gandr-gators have rallied at the lake under a mythical ancestor. In this quest, there is a follow-up boss stage! It will be unlocked if we kill forty gators!"

Drake and Eve exchanged terrified glances.

"Oh, fuck me!" the Ace cried out. Rin, Nadja, and Chad whimpered like frightened kittens.

"Let's calm down," Eve said, more to herself than to the team. "Let's see. We killed seventeen gators, right? It's unlikely that Noah's team would have killed twenty-three by itself?" There was doubt in her voice. It turned to certainty as the truth dawned on her. "Oh, shit!" Noah must have definitely killed a much larger number!

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

Krlllllll!

There had been a circle of gators waiting in the surrounding darkness. They had been coming at them wave after wave.

Brawwrrrr! A roar echoed throughout the battlefield.

The gandr-gators backed off from around them.

"What is happening?" Nadja exclaimed. "Why are they leaving?"

The winds died down abruptly. Insects, night birds, all went silent.

"What's going on?" Rin asked. Her voice rang like a bell in the silence.

The lake water ahead suddenly bloated and parted. A shadow rose from the partition.

It rose and kept rising, towering over twenty feet!

It had eight arms and four legs. From behind its hideous gator-like head, twelve tentacles emerged. They had scythes at their ends. A pair of red, ominous eyes glared at them.

Chad pissed his pants. Rin fell on her back as if paralyzed.

Drake and Eve watched the unreal spectacle as if hypnotized.

***********

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| Concord City |

| Planet Galatea |

| An Undisclosed Location |

Major Vic James darted across the management floor of Providence headquarters, his two assistants, Matt and Lou, in tow. He hated that there was no elevator access to the area.

There were only two chambers on the floor- the Director's and the Assistant Director's offices.

The Director was never in his office. Providence was basically run by the Assistant Director, Dr. Jack Chrysalis. The genius scientist had a DimPort, a portal travel device fueled by God Formula equations. There had never been a need for elevators as both Director and Asst Director had their teleportation devices. What enraged Vic James was that the rest of the staff had to climb the stairs and then walk across a fifty-foot-long corridor. That was because- the Asst. Director kept his device in silent mode most of the time.

"Sir!" Matt spoke up. "Did they go rogue? What are our available options now?"

James had cold sweat across his brow, despite the cold weather outside and the air conditioning inside.

"What else can we do?" he mumbled. "We will send a hit team to neutralize them!"

"Will Dr. Chrysalis let-"

"The Asst. Director will have to see reason. I will make him. We can't risk our secret technology falling into the wrong hands!"

Matt and Lou fell silent and threw nervous glances at each other. Jack Chrysalis was an enigma who listened to none other than himself.

They reached an office with metal-fiber double-doors. It looked like a simple door mechanism but could withstand a nuclear device explosion if it came to that. Both the Director's and Asst. Director's offices were practically bunkers.

James had a virtual key, and he flashed it before barging into the room.

"Dr. Chrysalis! It's an emergency!"

The Asst. Director, tall and well-built, stood facing a modern casement window, his hands clasped behind. He was in his classic lab coat. The window offered a panoramic view of the storm raging outside. In the distance, over the hills, lightning struck and cleaved a chunk of the mountain away.

"How many times have I told you to knock before entering, Major?"

"Sir! Apologies! But Drake Ace and Eve Trinity have removed their limiters without seeking permission!"

"I know that, Major. I received the notification too." The Asst. Director did not seem to be flustered by the radical situation.

"Well, then-"

"Let me guess," Jack cut the Major short. "You want me to authorize an elite team to neutralize the duo?"

"Yes, Sir!"

"Isn't that an overreaction, Major? Drake and Eve are two of our biggest assets. Millions of credits were spent on experiments! You want me to wipe them out over indiscipline?"

"But they could have-"

Jack waved an arm out. "Gone rogue? What nonsense are you spewing, Major? I have trained them myself. Do you think my students could go rogue like one of your pet experiments?"

James' face was red in embarrassment. "I apologize, Sir."

A lieutenant rushed into the office. At the same time, Jack and James got notifications on their devices.

"Dr. Chrysalis!" the lieutenant cried out. "A game event was just triggered at Loch Lake!"

"What's new about a game event?" James turned around and explained. "It happens during every quest. It could denote the arrival of a boss, which usually happens after the swarm is defeated."

"But, Sir, the GFD is off the charts!"

"What are you talking about?"

God Formula Distortion (GFD) was antithetical to God Formula Factor (GFF). While GFF denoted the player's potential, GFD determined a monster's power levels.

"How much is the GF distortion?" Lou asked.

"It's 10000+!"

James' eyes widened, and he looked at Jack Chrysalis.

"Sir, this means it is a-"

The Asst. Director pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "It's a God-class monster."

Everyone inside the office gasped. A crowd of staff and interns had gathered outside the room, murmuring anxiously. Everybody wanted to know what was going on.

"Everything makes sense now. Drake and Eve breaking their limiters and going off-radio," Jack continued. "A God-class swarm itself would be overwhelming enough to decimate a level 50+ team."

Regular classes could go up to level 80 or even 90. It would still be theoretically possible to appraise and defeat them.

However, a God sub-class in a Special-class had no caps. It could have sky-high stats and virtually invincible attributes. If it reaches level 60, such a monster could be impossible to overcome.

"Have you tried contacting the players?" James asked the lieutenant.

"We have, sir. But we are getting only static from them."

The Major turned to Jack. "Dr. Chrysalis, what do we do now?"

Jack Chrysalis dismissed everyone from the office. "You will have my orders on your devices shortly."

He walked to the panoramic window and let the storm consume his thoughts. "Noah, my friend," he thought. 'I'm sorry for putting you through this. I have high hopes for you. It may end with you dying young. If you do not survive this game, you were never meant to be the strongest player."