The entire world seemed to have gone still, with Drake and his team too frozen in place. They had faced bosses before, but the bizarre scene unfolding before them dwarfed all their past encounters.
An over twenty-foot mammoth had risen out of the water. Eight arms, four legs, twelve tentacle scythes, and an enormous gator head with red, ominous eyes. A truly horrific sight to behold.
Brawwwwrrr!!
The players' system prompts were set abuzz.
[ WARNING! ]
[ GOD CLASS BOSS detected! ]
[ Loading Emergency Instructions… ]
[ Mandate 1: Do Not Engage ]
[ Mandate 2: Escape ]
[ Mandate 3: Destroy Any Player Caught ]
Drake, as shocked as he was, initiated an appraisal. It was upon him to give instructions to his team.
[ Appraise Species ]
……………………
[ Appraisal Blocked! ]
[ Possible Cause: Special Class Monster ]
“Trinity! Tell me our chances of survival!”
[ Processing… ]
[ WARNING! ]
[ Projection 1: Chances of Survival: 5% ]
[ Projection 2: Death Imminent ]
"Ace! Link your system with mine!" Piper shouted over the radio. "Give me control for a minute. I am in Research Mode, and it is calibrated for gandr-gators now!"
“Alright, Piper! I’m depending on you this time!”
[ Request: Remote Control ] [ Accept/ Reject ]
[ Accept ]
[ Remote Research Mode ]
[ Remote Level 10: Appraiser ]
[ Appraise Species ]
……………………
[ Results ]
[ Species: Gandr-gator King ]
[ Sea God Jormungandr: Level 75 ]
[ Debuff Attack: King’s Stare ]
[ Initiate Elaborate Appraisal? ] [ Yes/ No ]
[ Yes ]
[ Error! ] [ Unable to Proceed ]
[ Retry ]
[ Error! ]
[ Error! ]
[ Error! ]
[ Remote Control Disconnected ]
"Ace! It's a God-class monster!" Piper screamed over the radio. "You need to get the team out of there! And don't look into its eyes, or your agility will become zero!"
Drake shook his head and broke free from the monster's debuff status effect. He turned to the others.
"All of you! Look away from the monster! Activate agility and run!"
"Eve! Break the limiters again! We need to buy the kids time to escape!"
"I'm on it, Drake!!" Eve transformed into her fox form immediately.
Rin, Chad, and Nadja rushed to their feet and activated agility equations to help them escape. They made a desperate sprint towards the city walls.
Jormungandr's glowing eyes, as large as windows, dimmed for a moment. An eerie hum echoed throughout the area.
Gmmmmmm….
Whoosh!
A dark portal appeared behind the colossal monster.
Zoooop!
It disappeared as if sucked into the gateway.
Drake and Eve watched the scene tongue-tied.
"What the real fuck!" Drake exclaimed. "Did the Boss just open a portal by itself?"
The youngster trio was a dozen yards away and had gained some distance from the monster's location.
Gmmmmmm….
A hum reverberated, and a dark portal opened in front of them.
Whoosh!
Jormungandr stepped out of it as if the entire incident were an effortless exercise.
Rin, Chad, and Nadja stumbled backward and rolled down the slope. They jumped to their feet and fired all their weapons.
[ Electric Gun ] Zip!
[ Belrite Ax ] Fling!
[ Fire Ball ] Boom!
The attacks collided with the gargantuan monster. Much to the trio's frustration, they did not cause even a single point loss in HP.
Brawwwwr!
A scythed tentacle snapped out from behind Jormungandr within a split second. Crack!
It seemed to be directed at Chad. The rookie had his earth shield activated.
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Thwack! The boy's body got cleaved into two. And fell in two lumps of meat, spraying blood.
[ User: Chad Longbottom ]
[ HP: 0 ]
[ Death Confirmed ]
“Nooooo!!!”
Rin let out an ear-splitting shriek and fell to her knees. She knew she was next in line. An attempt to escape was futile.
Brawwwwr!
Lash!
Another tentacle whipped out, this time at Rin. The girl closed her eyes, giving in to her fate.
Twang!
The tentacle's blade bounced off her. Or so it seemed.
Rin opened her eyes to see Drake standing above her, his Almace sword drawn in a defensive stance. He was half-turned into his wolf form.
"Stay behind me, kid!" the Ace growled in an animal-like voice.
Failing to kill the player angered Jormungandr.
Brawwwwr!
Two of its bladed tentacles snapped at Drake.
Twing! Twang!
The Ace parried them off with dexterous swings of his weapon. He had fueled most of his mana into the Almace, making it a powerful object for defense and offense.
It further provoked the monster. Successive tentacle attacks came at Drake.
Wham! Kerplang! Sparks flew with every contact. Drake defended against every attack effectively.
"Pick on someone your size!" the Ace taunted, walking towards the monster.
[ User: Drake Ace ]
[ Level 52: Special Race ]
[ MP: 19403/ 21000 ]
[ HP: 18019/ 21000 ]
Jormungand's eyes dimmed. Most of its tentacles ceased whipping and retreated to the back of its head. One of the limbs grabbed the body parts of Chad along and dragged it into the monster's mouth.
"Noooo!" Rin screamed, but Drake pushed her back. "He was dead already! Stay back!"
Jormungandr ingested Chad's remains in a second.
Gurgle! Its gator face seemed to morph into a human-like appearance.
"What's happening?" Eve asked. She was focusing most of her mana, boosting Drake's abilities.
Jormungandr's mouth opened to speak. "SUCH… COURAGE... FROM... AN INSECT…"
"It speaks! Oh my God!" Nadja was having a harder time digesting the events than the rest.
"What do you want from us?" Drake fired at the monster, now within close vicinity.
Jormungandr regarded the Ace with its new human-like eyes.
[ User: Drake Ace ]
[ Level 52: Special Race ]
[ MP: 11407/ 21000 ]
[ HP: 12039/ 21000 ]
"DIE!" the monster thundered. Another tentacle snapped towards Drake.
[ Frost Blast ]
Eve fired a spell from the other side. Drake gathered mana on Almace and made a mighty swing at the frozen tentacle.
[ DMG 2245 ]
It shattered in an explosion of icy viscera.
[ AFTER DMG 1245 ]
"ARGH!" the monster brayed.
“Kill the damn thing, Ace!” Eve and Nadja cheered from the other side.
“SO THIS IS… PAIN?” Jormungandr observed.
He glanced at Drake again, with intrigue. Another tentacle erupted from the point of injury.
It had limbs regeneration skills!
"AS A REWARD… FOR THIS NEW EXPERIENCE… I SHALL ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, MORTAL."
"I COME TO… RECLAIM MY LOST LAND. IT WAS USURPED… A LONG TIME AGO… BY YOUR RACE."
"I SHALL SEEK REVENGE… ON ALL MORTAL RACES… AFTER I CLAIM THESE GROUNDS… AS MY OWN."
"Like hell you will!" Drake spat. "You'll perish like the rest of your kind and become fodder for our games!"
"YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME, PUNY INSECT?"
"You're just another monster I have to kill!" the Ace scoffed. "Now stop talking, and let's fight!"
Jormungandr's eyes flared up as if set aflame.
[ Warning! ]
[ Jormungandr has entered RAGE MODE! ]
Dark mana erupted around Jormungandr. Eve and Drake clutched at their chests as if something gnawed at them from inside.
The monster's skin turned into armor-like scales. Its tentacles bulged, and scythes formed all over its skin.
[ Appraisal Unblocked ]
Drake checked his HUD. When a high-level monster enters Rage Mode, its appraisal blocking disappears, and players can easily read its stats.
[ Species: Gandrgator King ]
[ Sea God Jormungandr: Level 70 ]
[ HP: 100000 ]
[ MP: 100000 ]
[ Status: Rage Mode ]
"That's crazy stats," Drake muttered, and looked over at Eve in the distance. She glanced towards him with hope. He nodded to reassure her as if to say, 'I got this.'
"TAKE THIS INSECT!" Jormungandr thundered.
A fortified tentacle hurtled towards Drake.
Zoom! The Ace parried with this full strength, holding up Almace for defense.
Twang! Crackle!
The broadsword shattered into pieces, and Drake was thrown back a few yards.
[ DMG 6342 ]
[ AFTER DMG 1249 ]
[ HP -7591 ]
[ User: Drake Ace ]
[ HP: 4458/ 21000 ]
"YOUR PUNY WEAPONS ARE NO MATCH FOR A GOD," Jormungandr thundered. It turned to the other players. Its eyes fell on Eve. "YOU."
A loud wolverine growl echoed throughout.
"Don't you dare look away!" Drake was on his feet again. His body fumed with scarlet mana. "I am Drake Ace! The leader of the Fellowship!"
[[ 99% Aggro ]]
"And… don't you… dare… look down on me… monster!"
[ Hailstorm ]
Crash! [ DMG 1031 ]
[ Immune to Effects ]
Piercing ice crystals rained down on Jormungandr.
[ Rolling Thunder ]
Rumble! A near soundless bolt of lightning struck the monster.
[ DMG 1031 ]
[ Immune to Effects ]
[ Belfegor Lance ]
A burning lance manifested in Drake's hand. He poised and heaved it like a javelin towards his enemy.
Clash! [ DMG 1031 ]
[ Immune to Effects ]
The players realized that Jormungandr's 'Invincible' status nullified most attack effects and minimized damage points to 1031.
Brawrrr!
Eve placed a barrier around Drake. Rin started healing him at her level best.
The Ace gritted his teeth as a fortified tentacle heaved towards him. He activated all his shields and fired a mana-laden bare handed punch at the tentacle.
Boom!! The tentacle seemed to burst at its seams.
Plock! After a split second, the Ace suddenly felt lighter.
His eyes turned to his body.
Drake's right arm lay on his side, entirely severed. Blood spewed out in a stream.
Whoosh! Another monster scythe came at him, this time aiming for his head.
"Noooo!" Eve cried out.