After a little bit of flying, Hazel, Astrid, and Nycteris finally arrived at the City Island. They could see the numerous buildings and skyscrapers protruding from the ground of the floating landmass.

They were getting closer to the edge of the island by the second. As Hazel stared at the beautiful city, she turned around and faced Astrid, who was currently gripping Hazel to avoid falling off.

“We’re almost at the city!” She announced to the dark elf. “Where should we land when we get there?”

“Honestly, anywhere is good! Let’s take a look around from above and find a spot!”

“You got it!”

Hazel turned back to face the city while leaning closer to Nycteris. “Alright, Nycteris, once we get to the city, I want you to descend a bit so we can get a closer look. Okay?”

“Yes…master!” Nycteris let out a loud screech and dived toward the city.

Hazel and Astrid held on tighter at the sudden acceleration as they descended into the City Island. It felt like Hazel was flying a vintage propeller airplane as she felt the wind blow against her face.

In a span of just a few seconds, the trio blitzed by the edge of the island and entered the City. Nycteris descended even further until they were barely flying above some of the buildings on the island. Hazel looked down below them and could see the buildings and streets that make up the city.

She also saw something else rather interesting. And eerily familiar.

Flying by one of the streets, Hazel spotted a large group of familiar monsters shambling around like a zombie horde from a horror movie. Hazel frowned as she narrowed her eyes to stare at the Fractured monsters.

“Great, more Fractured Humans…” She grumbled.

“What?” Astrid asked, raising her voice because of the wind.

“Look down and see!” Hazel suggested, pointing at the city below them.

The dark elf listened and lowered her gaze at the city. Her eyes then widened as soon as she noticed the shambling Fractured Humans all over the place from almost every street and alley they could see.

“A-are those…?!”

“Oh, right, you haven’t encountered them yet!” Hazel remembered. “Those are Fractured Humans. Unlike the other Fractured creatures, these act more like zombies than anything else! Of course, the Fractured Classes are different.”

“The Fractured What?!”

Hazel stifled a laugh at Astrid’s bewildered reaction. Her hand reached over and patted Nycteris on the head.

“Nycteris, you see that clocktower over there?!” Hazel pointed at the tall clock tower to their right. “Fly us over there, so we can land on it!”

“Understood…!”

Nycteris changed course and flew over to the clock tower. It was one of the tallest buildings in the city excluding the few skyscrapers generously planted all around it. Using that as their vantage point, they could see a good majority of the city to do some surveillance.

Getting to the tower, Nycteris ascended to the top of the building. Using his wings to halt his flight, the Familiar gently landed on the clock tower. Once grounded, Hazel and Astrid hopped off the Nightwing and walked over to the edge, taking a look at the city below them.

Upon viewing the city, Hazel instantly noticed its London-style gothic architecture, giving the location a very grim and haunted atmosphere. It didn’t help that the city was also overrun with zombie-like Fractured Humans.

Astrid gazed down into the city, quickly noticing the Fractured Humans again. Her face turned pale as she continued to stare at the monsters in horror.

“What…did you call those things again?” The dark elf asked, slightly disturbed by the sight of the shambling Fractured creatures.

“They’re called Fractured Humans,” Hazel explained. “I encountered these things back in a Town on my first island. Scared the hell out of me when they first appeared and started surrounding me like zombies.” She shuddered, remembering her initial encounter with the Fractured Humans and making her reenact some kind of horror movie scene.

“And you said before that there were Fractured what?”

“Fractured Classes. They’re basically Fractured Humans but with classes like us. I already encountered two Warriors and a Rogue back in the town. But don’t underestimate the Fractured Classes. They don’t shamble around like zombies but attack like trained fighters.”

Hazel knew this from experience after her two encounters with the Fractured Classes. Although she won the fight, her first encounter nearly got her killed if she wasn’t quick on her feet.

“I’m assuming that means we might encounter a Fractured Ranger in this place?”

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“Or a Fractured mage, which I am not looking forward to.”

Dealing with a Fractured Warrior and Rogue was bad enough, but it would be even worse if Hazel had to go up against a Fractured Mage. Especially one that was way more experienced and more powerful than her.

Just the thought of fighting something like that gave Hazel chills.

“This city is filled with these things…” Astrid said grimly. “They’re all over the streets. There’s probably even more of them in the buildings too.”

“Yeah, but this works out in our favor for once.”

The Dark elf turned to face Hazel, raising an eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“Think about it. With all these Fractured Humans, Nycteris has a nearly endless source of XP.”

Astrid’s eyes widened as soon as she realized this. “You’re right. With this many monsters, your familiar should be able to reach level ten in no time.”

For once, a city infested with monsters worked out in their favor. They didn’t even need to look for enemies since they were all over the place. Which meant Nycteris could enjoy an XP buffet.

“Alright, Nycteris, get us down over there,” Hazel pointed at the street below them.

“Yes…master.” The Nightwing crouched down before Hazel and Astrid. “Hop…on.”

Astrid and Hazel quickly climbed back onto Nycteris. Once on, the Familiar jumped off the clock tower and dove down into the streets of the city. As he landed, his feet and arms skidded across the concrete ground, and right in front of a horde of Fractured monsters.

The Fractured Humans soon noticed their presence, all of them turning their heads in sync to look at the trio. A chorus of snarls and growls erupted from the horde as they spotted a new target, and began to shamble over to them.

As soon as Hazel and Astrid jumped off Nycteris, the Nightwing stood in front of the pair and growled at the horde, baring his vampiric fangs at them.

“Alright, Nycteris,” Hazel said, rubbing the Nightwing’s head. “This will be your first time fighting with us. Are you ready?”

“Yes…!” The Familiar declared, getting in a pouncing position in front of his prey.

The mage smiled before shifting her gaze over at the Fractured Humans. “Alright, then.” She pointed at the Horde. “Take him down, boy!”

Nycteris let out a vicious screech that echoed throughout the city before he blitzed toward the Fractured Horde. He then bulldozed through them, parting them like Moses did the sea, sending a few Fractured humans flying in the air before they crashed with a deafening thud.

The Horde attempted to overwhelm Nycteris with their numbers, swarming him like moths to a flame. The Nightwing responded by tearing through the horde with his claws. With each slash, he completely eviscerated a Fractured human, cutting them into pieces before they shattered like glass.

One of the Fractured humans lashed out, striking Nycteris’s torso. However, its attack did nothing as the Nightwing’s fur and skin were completely unscathed as if its attack was but a love tap. Regardless, Nycteris returned the favor by opening his mouth and chomping down on its head.

He thrashed the monster around while it was still in his mouth. Hazel and Astrid watched from afar while stifling their laughter as the fractured human’s body was being thrown around like a ragdoll in the hands of a toddler.

The moment was ruined however as soon as some of the Horde began to set their sights on Hazel and Astrid. The ones that were too far away from Nycteris then began to shuffle over to the player pair, believing they were going to be easy prey.

Sadly, they were mistaken and the duo quickly pulled out their weapons and started attacking as well. Astrid, with her bow in hand, notched an arrow and sent it flying into the closest Fracture Human’s eye socket, piercing right through with ease. By the time the monster collapsed and shattered to bits, the dark elf already fired several more arrows at the rest of the horde, piercing multiple vital areas and killing them too.

Meanwhile, Hazel raised her staff and lifted a small pebble on the ground. It hovered in front of the mage before she willed the rock forward like a bullet, tearing through the skull of a Fractured human, and watched it explode into purple fragments.

“That felt a bit off…” Hazel mumbled to herself. “I feel like using Telekinesis with my staff seems a bit inefficient.”

She wasn’t sure why, but she found it very uncomfortable using her staff to activate telekinesis. The process felt stiff and awkward like she was lifting something with a stick rather than her hands, which strangely enough, was exactly what she did.

Staring at her staff for a moment, her eyes glanced down at her hands. Then, an idea formed.

Using her free hand, she activated her Telekinesis spell and found another rock to use. Focusing on it, she raised her palm and levitated it in the air. Then in a split second, she swiped it toward a Fractured Human, sending the rock rocketing toward it.

The stone pierced through its skull much like the first, but something felt different. It felt more natural. Fluid, even. Compared to when she used the staff, using Telekinesis with her hand appeared to be way more effective.

Just to be sure, Hazel eyed several more pebbles. And with her free hand, she used Telekinesis on them on by one and launched them at the Fractured Humans, destroying them in an instant.

Hazel grinned, glancing at her hand. “Yeah, this is way better.”

The trio continued to slaughter the horde for several minutes. Astrid bombarded them with arrows, Hazel hurled multiple spells, and Nycteris tore and chewed through the horde, ripping them to shreds as their bodies crumbled and cracked until there was nothing left.

Once the battle was over, all three of them stood in the aftermath as purple particles from the Fractured Humans’ remains scattered into the air, filling the area with its violet illumination.

Nycteris then rushed over to Hazel, immediately nestling his face against her.

“Did I…do good?” He asked innocently as if asking his parent after accomplishing something.

Hazel grinned and rubbed his head with glee. “You did excellent, Nycteris! You really showed those monsters what you were capable of!”

She continued to praise her Familiar and reward him with more rubs as if she were handling a dog. Astrid watched from the side with an eyebrow raised but remained silent.

While praising Nycteris, Hazel took a look at his status. When she did, she noticed that his level was now level three. That was just from this Horde alone, and there was plenty more within the city.

Doing the math, Hazel knew that she could get Nycteris to level ten in no time if they kept this up. And they were.

“You ready to kill some more monsters, Nycteris?”

“Yes…!” The Nightwing nodded.

She turned to Astrid. “You still up for some hunting?”

The dark elf faced her, a smile plastered on her face. “All day.”

Hazel smiled back. “Then let’s get to it.”

The Trio then set their sights on the next horde, making their way to them. It won’t be long before the rest of the Fractured in this city knew that this hunt…was just the beginning.