Bob stood amidst the chaos, sweat dripping down his face as he struggled to catch his breath. The air was thick with the stench of blood and bile, the remnants of the last wave of creatures that had relentlessly assailed them. His once-pristine clothes were now tattered and stained, a testament to the grueling battle they had been fighting. Around him, the battlefield was a gruesome tableau of fallen monsters and exhausted allies.

Two massive figures loomed beside him, the Zombie Brute Bosses, their rotting flesh barely holding together but their strength undiminished. They were his bulwark, his immovable line against the endless tide of enemies. Bob had named them Thunk and Smasher, even if it really didn't matter, it wasn't as if they were even capable of understanding the names. They understood violence, however, and that was enough.

"Final wave?" Bob muttered, squinting at the glowing words hanging in the air above them. "We aren't even finished with this one."

Commander Cuddlestomp, the imposing Minotaur leader, stood a few paces ahead, her armor dented and cracked but her spirit unbroken. Her remaining army of Minotaurs, though diminished in number, held their ground with grim determination. Acid Slimes slithered around their feet, their corrosive saliva ready to dissolve anything that dared approach. Nearby, five Zombie Shriekers loomed, their eerie wails having already decimated the will of many foes.

Bob's heart sank as he looked beyond the immediate battlefield. From the shadows of the Abyss, more creatures emerged, an unending flood of nightmares. They poured forth with a frenzied hunger, eyes gleaming with malice, claws and fangs bared. The sheer variety was overwhelming: hulking beasts, swarms of chittering insects, serpentine horrors, and things that defied description.

"Stay sharp!" Bob shouted, raising his sword. "This isn't over yet!"

The final wave approached with a ferocity that dwarfed the previous assaults. Bob could feel the despair creeping into his mind, threatening to overwhelm him. They had fought so hard, but the odds were growing worse with each passing moment. His eyes met Cuddlestomp's, and he saw the same determination in her gaze that he felt burning within himself.

"We hold here," Cuddlestomp bellowed, raising her massive axe. "We make our stand!"

The Minotaurs roared in response, forming a solid line of defense. Thunk and Smasher moved to the front, their grotesque forms a daunting sight. The Acid Slimes positioned themselves strategically, ready to unleash their corrosive wrath. The Zombie Shriekers took up their positions, their wails echoing eerily through the cavern.

Bob took a deep breath and tightened his grip on his sword. He couldn't afford to hold back; not now, not with everything at stake. The ground trembled as the final wave crashed against their defensive line.

The first to hit were the insectoid creatures, a seething mass of chitin and mandibles. They swarmed over the Minotaurs, trying to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. Acid Slimes struck out, their acidic bodies dissolving exoskeletons and turning the tide in their favor. Thunk and Smasher swung their massive fists, crushing anything that got too close.

The first to hit were the insectoid creatures, a seething mass of chitin and mandibles. They swarmed over the Minotaurs, trying to overwhelm them with sheer numbers. Acid Slimes struck out, their acidic bodies dissolving exoskeletons and turning the tide in their favor. Thunk and Smasher swung their massive fists, crushing anything that got too close. Some of them made it through the line and targeted Bob directly.

Bob slashed at the nearest enemy, his sword cleaving through chitin and flesh. He aimed for the largest creatures first, knowing they posed the greatest threat. A colossal beast, all scales and muscle, charged toward Bob through the minotaurs, its roar shaking the cavern. Bob braced himself and dodged to the side, narrowly avoiding a swipe from its massive claws.

"Commander!" Bob shouted. "We need to bring that thing down!"

Cuddlestomp nodded, rallying her Minotaurs. They focused their attacks, her axe and their hands and horns struck with brutal force. The beast retaliated, its massive claws swiping through their ranks. Minotaurs fell, but they fought on with unwavering resolve. Finally, a combined strike from Bob's sword and Cuddlestomp's axe brought the creature to its knees. It let out a final, agonized roar before collapsing.

But there was no time to celebrate. More monsters surged forward, their numbers seemingly endless. Bob's arms ached from swinging his sword, and he could see the fatigue setting in on his companions. The Zombie Shriekers' wails had taken their toll on the enemies, but even their power had limits.

"Hold the line!" Bob screamed, desperation creeping into his voice.

The ground beneath them shook as another wave hit. This time, it was a mix of smaller, faster creatures and towering giants. Bob barely had time to react as a monstrous claw swiped at him, forcing him to dive to the side. He rolled to his feet, raising his sword just in time to deflect another attack.

Thunk and Smasher were in their element, smashing through the smaller creatures with savage glee. Acid Slimes corroded the legs of the giants, slowing them down and making them easier targets. The Minotaurs, despite their losses, fought with ferocity, their roars echoing through the cavern.

"Final wave, my ass," Bob muttered, hacking through a cluster of enemies.

The battle raged on, each second feeling like an eternity. Bob's vision blurred with exhaustion, but he couldn't afford to stop. He pushed himself to the limit, drawing on reserves of strength he didn't know he had. The creatures kept coming, an unending tide of darkness and death.

Bob stepped backward and activated the Rolodex, it had been off cooldown for a bit, but he had been kind of busy with staying alive. The reel popped up and locked in the Hoarfrosticcoon card. The multiplier reel locked in a multiplier of 13x. Thirteen Hoarfrosticcoons materialized by Bob and joined the battle without even waiting for orders.

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The thirteen Hoarfrosticcoons charged forward bravely and unleashed their ice breath cones at the hordes. Monsters in the horde began to ice up and slow down. They kept up their frosty barrage and shortly monsters began to freeze all together. The Brute Bosses, Minotaurs, and the Shriekers took full advantage of this and started smashing them like their lives depended on it. Which in fact they did.

The Hoarfrosticcoons burst forth toward the dark depths of The Abyss with a chilling intensity. These creatures, a blend of frost and fury, moved with such speed and agility that Bob was shocked. Their eyes glowed with an icy blue light, and their fur shimmered with a frosty sheen. As they sprinted through the enemy hordes, the temperature around them plummeted, their very presence sucking the warmth from the air.

The Abyssal Creatures in the monster wave barely had time to react. The Hoarfrosticcoons darted between their grotesque forms, their nimble bodies weaving intricate patterns through the mass of dark and twisted beings. Where their paws touched the ground, ice spread like a fast-moving infection, freezing the creatures' appendages and rooting them to the spot. The creatures hissed and roared, their breath visible in the now frigid air, as they were besieged by the relentless Hoarfrosticcoons.

Each swipe of the Hoarfrosticcoons' claws left trails of frost on the Abyssal Creatures' hides, and the temperature continued to drop. The creatures' bellows of rage turned to cries of alarm as they found themselves encased in ice, their movements slowing until they were completely immobilized. The Hoarfrosticcoons continued their relentless assault, a whirlwind of freezing fur and sharp claws, leaving a trail of frozen enemies in their wake. Bob watched with grim satisfaction as his summoned allies turned the tide of battle, their icy onslaught a testament to his cunning and power. The minotaurs, his steadfast allies, roared their approval, charging forward to shatter the frozen foes with their mighty blows.

The two Zombie Brute Bosses ambled forward, crushing the frozen beasts with each step. The saliva barrage of the Acid Slimes sizzled holes in those they struck, while the Zombie Shriekers took in deep breaths and screeched their fury in wide swaths, demolishing everything in its path. Even with such wanton and widespread destruction, the Abyssal Horde didn't seem to thin out at all. The beasts kept coming out of the shadows, the horde growing ever larger. Bob's eyes widened in horror as the endless waves of Abyssal creatures surged toward them in even greater numbers.

The ground shook as towering behemoths, with spiked armor and fiery breath, lumbered into view, their grotesque forms casting monstrous shadows on the cavern walls. Smaller, swifter demons darted around them, their lithe, sinewy bodies a stark contrast to the lumbering giants. The air grew thick with the stench of sulfur and blood, mingling with the acrid taste of fear that Bob could almost taste.

Each new wave was a horrific amalgamation of features—tentacled horrors, winged abominations, and twisted, skeletal forms. The cavern's atmosphere felt charged with a malevolent energy, and Bob could only watch in paralyzed dread as the nightmare unfolded, each monstrous addition to the horde a reminder of the dire straits he faced.

Bob began to despair, losing what little hope he had left as he saw the endless infinite of the horde stretch back into the shadows seemingly forever. He collapsed to his rear on the ground. All fight left him in faded away. A tear streaked down his sullied face as he contemplated the thought of dying, and never returning to his world.

He was lost deep in his dark thoughts when a sound broke him from his reverie. He heard that all too familiar sucking noise that signified that the Rolodex was feeding on the essence free-floating in the air around the battlefield.

UPGRADE COMPLETE

SUMMONING FUNCTIONS INCREASED

ADDITIONAL REEL ACQUIRED

MULTIPLIER FUNCTION INCREASED

NEW MONSTER CATEGORY AVAILABLE

ABYSSAL CREATURES

ABYSSAL CREATURES AVAILABLE

ONE

Hey, Bob-O, We just got an upgrade. So get your head out of your ass and back into the game.

But what does that even mean? Abyssal Creatures?? Additional reel?

It just dawned on Bob, that the new category available were the very same creatures they had been fighting this whole time.

Yeah, I know that look. It's finally dawned on you, Eh? Alright, let's go!

Let's fucking GO!

With a yell of hope, Bob activated the Summoner's Rolodex and instead of a single reel manifesting, two appeared. Bob watched in awe as the reels began to spin in tandem. He was shaking with anticipation, even though he had seen this sight a multitude of times since the Rolodex was bound to him, but never two at the same time other than those emergencies that consumed all of the stored essence the Rolodex had. This was different, it was a new function, and it wouldn't leave the Rolodex unusable until it recovered.

The reels stopped at exactly the same time, as was to be expected. Bob looked at one reel and it had locked in the Squirrel Soldier card. His eyes wandered over to the other reel, and his jaw hit the floor. The second reel had locked in the only new creature he had available to him at this time. He had to contain a whoop of joy as the card he saw in the reel was that of the Abyssal Drake. That terrifying drake made of shadow and flame they had barely managed to take down from earlier.

Bob couldn't hide the smile that crept onto his face. His excitement was bubbling under the surface, pressure increasing with each breath. The multiplier reels started to spin, and Bob watched them eagerly. His eyes followed them with every spin, almost unable to take the waiting. The multiplier reels locked in, but before he could look, a roar shook the cavern walls. A roar louder than anything he had ever heard before. Bob felt it deep within his bones as if the roar was echoing through the entirety of the Abyss. The entire cavern started to shake as whatever beast had made that roar, lumbered toward them out of the depths.