“Fuck!”

It was the first time that Ark cursed upon coming to the new timeline. Ark generally did not curse but when he did it was for such kinds of serious situations. The hordes of Jackal-like creatures were manageable for Ark but what was he supposed to do about the massive beast in front of him. This was an actual Wendigo, something that was ever present in myths. This meant that the Wendigo was much stronger than an average boss monster would be.

It took an average of four to five players of level 50 or above to kill a Wendigo. That was taking into account that the group was a standard unit. It consisted of an assassin, a healer, a tank, a wizard, and a fighter. And here was Ark without any backup, stuck at level 23 about to fight a Wendigo. Ark had lost hope that the scenario's difficulty would be adjusted. This was part of the probability after all. There was no external influence by anyone or anything which would lower it.

Ark could probably ignore the jackals that did not notice him. There was not much left after all. The Wendigo was like a cannibal, eating its own kin for nutrition. It ate them so that it could grow even more. One thing was for certain, The Wendigo would not be able to leave the place between the two trains. Its height was simply massive and it was not possible for it to do so. Due to its massive height though, everyone and their mothers would have seen it by now.

Ark could hear some screaming in the distance. Adam would probably be able to manage all of them. The jackals would be cut into pieces the moment they tried to exit out of the Arkana net. That only left the Wendigo with Ark. Ark was not sure what an under leveled person like him could do in that situation. Ark let out a large breath. He had not come back to the original timeline just to be killed by a Wendigo. Ark slowly stabilized himself. The panic that had settled inside him subsided easily.

Ark closed his eyes more a moment taking in every stimulus he could in the span of a single second. Everything would depend on this. He had not expected the boss monster to turn into a Wendigo. That was the reason he was so shocked. If he had been prepared perhaps, he would not have such a strong reaction to it. Ark lowered his center of mass and bought the best sword he could find in the System shop. Coins were not an issue at the moment. Ark opened his eyes. The usually soft jade eyes were not there anymore.

Ark would visualize what the old hunter had always felt. Ark would mix in his own experiences along with that feeling of spark. Distantly Ark realized that his eyes were glowing darker than ever. The eyes had become cold. Ark let out a scoff. To fight the Wendigo was beneath him. The Wendigo was so insignificant that Ark wouldn't even have to use his ultimate ability. This was a part of Ark he never showed to anyone. A cold sadistic part, that would remain hidden and bare its fangs when the time came.

Ark approached the Wendigo and swung his sword. He made a vow to himself. The Wendigo was going to die by his hands.

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Adam was having a perfectly normal chat with a young kid when everything turned to shit. Ark had informed him earlier about his suicidal plan of his. As much as Adam would have liked to stop Ark from doing dumb things, he also knew that the safety of the people was important as well. So Adam let Ark do whatever he damn well wanted. It was not like Adam could stop Ark by force.

It was during the morning that Adam had gone to check up on Ark. He had not seen him on top of the train and was slightly worried. Ark was his friend after all. It would not be right for him to get sick or something. When Adam went ahead to see what Ark was doing, he was honestly astonished. He never knew that someone could do something so beautiful. Adam had known Ark was powerful but to be so powerful…to the extent in which you could conjure pure Arkana, it was simply unbelievable.

The sight was oddly beautiful in a way. Adam could feel that the flow of Arkana was not smooth but every time Ark failed, he managed to make the strands smoother and tougher. The flow of Arkana seemed to also get better. Ark was probably preparing for the horde of monsters that night. Adam stood transfixed for a very long time as he watched Ark work. Eventually, though, he was broken out of his trance and had to leave.

All the preparation by Ark made Adam realize something. He was functionally useless in combat. The only thing he could do well was protect and that too using his story card as a crutch. Adam felt weak…beyond weak in fact. When he compared himself to Ark he felt like a lone man standing in front of a mountain. He knew that they were in the second stage and perhaps Ark was not that far away. Even his heart did not believe Adam

Adam wanted a rivalry so badly. He wanted to get stronger. He wanted to be treated as an equal. He wanted to protect everyone. How could he do that when he was so weak? How could Adam get stronger? He really didn’t know. All Adam could do was try his very best and hope against hope that the Tower listened to him. He wanted to be strong so badly…eventually, Adam forgot about those fleeting thoughts and continued to do what he did best.

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The whole day was spent managing the disputes at the subway station and taking care of those people who were rattled by the earlier days' encounters with the monsters. Seeing the reactions of the tougher members of the group, Adam had decided to allow the non-fighting party to only come out during the mornings. He had cited that the nights when the horde approached were too dangerous. For good reason too. Some of the people from the fighting group decided to stay back too. Adam could not blame them

The night finally came and so did the horde of monsters. Adam fully believed in Ark. He knew Ark’s plan and he also knew Ark had taken every precaution he possibly could. This was why Adam was so surprised when he heard a loud scream and the large head of something reared its ugly head. It looked straight at Adam’s group and the blood lust it emanated from its aura alone made Adam kneel down. He could not take it anymore. He wanted to die. He could hear the cry of someone… it seemed that the voice came from his other side.

Adam could not take it anymore and used the only trump card he had. He activated his ultimate ability and almost immediately the pressure dissipated. Distantly Adam realized that his ears and nose were bleeding. In ideal circumstances, he would not have worried about Ark at all but something unexpected happened. Ark had probably not prepared for the fight at all. All instincts screamed at him to go and check what Ark was doing. It was a matter of survival and death

Overcoming all the protective instincts that came from his body, Adam took a single step forward. The pressure was too much and yet Adam continued to walk forward. His ability worked for 15 minutes. If he could buy Ark some respite while fighting the monster, it would be worth it for him. Slowly with steady steps, Adam managed to find himself in between the two trains.

He watched transfixed as the jackal-like monsters which had three eyes and four limbs slowly got cut into pieces as they passed Ark’s net. They seemed to completely ignore the fight that was occurring between the huge monster and Ark. And what a magnificent fight it was. If Adam was a historian, he would have probably recorded it as one of the best battles of the century.

The huge monster had a head that was completely covered with the skull of some sort of a monster. Two antlers seemed to emerge out of the eye sockets as it continued to screech and swipe its claws at Ark. The long mane of hair that emerged from the base of its neck was once black. Now it was dyed red with blood.

Ark was moving like a cold professional. He had two swords in both of his hands and he continued to avoid every strike that the monster landed on him. Adam knew that it was physically impossible for Ark to do such a feat. And sure enough, Ark's body was not able to keep up with his reflexes and he was slammed head first into one of the trains. That did not deter Ark from entering into a bloody fight though. He continued to hack and slash away at the gigantic monster slowly chipping away at its health.

That seemed to not be enough for Ark though. Like a madman, he would jump from one shoulder of the monster to another, and with that, he managed to take out a large part of its flesh. Ark threw the swords he was using and within a moment's notice conjured more swords for him to fight the Wendigo. Suddenly something shifted in the power dynamic. The monster was the one that was being hunted. Instead of being a prey Ark was the apex predator.

Adam watched this in clear view. Suddenly something happened. Adam realized that he was watching the fight with a full view of all the spaces. What had happened to the net? It had already disappeared and now it seemed that the Wendigo was coming for Adam himself. His cool-down ability had long since ended as he remained transfixed in watching the beautiful fight.

In his last minutes too, Adam continued to chastise himself. Why was he there? He was only there to inconvenience Ark. If he was not there, Ark would have already defeated the monster. One though though continued to bang Adam’s mind. Why was he so weak? Weak weak weak…pathetic fool who couldn't even protect people. Visions of the people from the first scenario flowed through his head. It was the cursed tower that was showing him these visions even during the time he was going to die.

Why couldn’t Adam be more like Ark? Why was he so strong? How could Adam get so strong? Why was Adam so weak? What could he do to better himself…why was Adam so pathetic…

Just when Adam was about to die, Ark stood in front of Adam beaten and bloodied with two swords that resided in his hands. He jumped once again and slashed at the monster before him. This time the monster remained dead

Ark coughed up a mouth full of blood from his previous injuries. Adam had no excuse. It was only because of him that Ark was injured so much. If he had not been so pathetic…if only he had been a little stronger, he would have been able to protect Ark

Ark though did not seem to hold any ill will regarding Adam at all. He only looked at Adam and smiled

“Thanks for coming…I really need…clothes” And Ark laid down on the bloody tracks completely exhausted. The night was not over though. Just as Adam was about to approach Ark to move him to a safer location, a notification rang out.

It seemed to reflect Adam’s own personal feelings. He was weak. He wanted to protect people. He wanted to be strong. He wanted to be as strong as Ark. He wanted…to fight by his side

[The Tower has heard your cry for help]

[You have obtained a legendary story]

[You have obtained “The rival of an unreachable mountain”]

Adam could only sigh. He had better things to do at the moment. When everyone was deemed done, he would check it out then