The disturbance came from the park, so they headed in the direction of the tower. Trees were on fire and many more were cut down as barriers were erected by the few tower climbers already at the scene. The danger was clear as more enemies started flooding out of the tower portal. A horde of the undead emerged from within the tower. The undead were grotesque and disfigured, their once-human features twisted and contorted into a gruesome mockery of their former selves. Their eyes were lifeless, and their movements were slow and awkward as if they had been reanimated against their will.
The variety of undead monsters grew as every adventurer in the area started to gather and fight at the park. As the initial wave was slaughtered, stronger and faster undead arrived. They wore armor and robes and used more than their bodies to fight.
The defenders called on their abilities and they were slow to arrive. Due to the disconnect between the Tower and Earth, they did not have their full capabilities on Earth. The undead on the other hand had access to all their abilities and were level 15 or higher. From all four sides of the Tower, the undead horde rushed out.
Alex recognized the danger of the undead leaving the park and called his mom. She lived near the next closest portal and could be in danger. He also hoped that she could get in contact with the climbers near her so that that portal could be protected and locked down as well.
“Hey, Mom. I need you to contact the police and then the Tower guild that is in your city,” said Alex.
“What is going on?”
“There was an announcement from the Tower. It should be happening near you as well. More monsters will have already left the Tower and they need to be contained as soon as possible. The quicker reinforcements can arrive the sooner that the cities will be safe. Can you do that?”
“Of course, I can do that for you, honey. Stay safe out there and stay close to your friends,” she answered.
“Yes, Mom,” he answered. Nodding even though she wasn’t with him.
A few people trickled into the park holding guns. The guns were turned toward the undead and fired. The gunfire only slowed down the undead rarely killing any of them. With a mix of magic and armor, the undead forces pushed forward. Their level is now too high for most non-tower weapons. Still, those with guns allowed the proper tower climbers to gather in force against the invaders.
Alex, Rich, and every other climber brought their weapons and armor to mind, and it was summoned from the void. They rushed forward and collided with the undead army. Alex and his team joined in a bit late and were among the second group fighting the undead.
There was an immediate change in the air when the adventurers tried to use their abilities. Alex didn’t notice right away because his lightning magic was almost non-existent. Magic was slower to cast and the effects of the spells and the enhancements from bows and swords were less effective. Regardless of their hindrances, they had greater numbers. The Tower had only sent out 100 undead of different varieties while the number of adventurers fighting could only grow. The ultimate effect of the Tower’s suppression was the slow nature of the fights compared to the Tower and the difficulty in ending the undead safely.
Each of the level 15 undead held no restrictions on themselves. The higher levels put pressure on the defenders as they fought. Few among them were well above level 10 and none had gone above 15 yet. On average the defenders in mass sat at level 11 to 13. Alex, Rich, Taylor, and the others far under-leveled held a large risk with great rewards. If they managed to take down higher-level foes then their level would grow similarly to the challenge undertaken.
The zombies were slow to fight, which let Alex move past their flailing arms with only some minor difficulties. Despite their slow steps they hit hard against Rich’s shield. Alex and the rest of his team took up their position against the undead army with the help of a few higher-level groups which averaged around level 10. Despite the pushback from the undead, the defenders were eager for experience and the possibility of more Tower points and loot. These enemies were quite literally the highest level and strongest any of them had fought before and they wanted a piece of those rewards once the fighting was over.
“Go for its head,” said Kai.
“You go for its head,” said Eric, “I’ll go for the legs and arms so it can’t move around. We can’t be sure they will die from just a head wound.”
“Of course, they will die if their head is removed,” said Kai. “They are zombies.”
“Very hearty zombies that are hard to damage,” said Alex.
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His knives barely made a dent in their rotting flesh. Each time he struck he had to be careful not to lose a knife in the zombie. Even for Rich and Eric, with their reduced abilities they were having trouble cutting deep into the creatures.
“They are at least good for experience,” said Taylor.
That prompted Alex to check his status.
<<
He scanned through the rest quickly and noted that he had jumped up to level 10 like the rest of them. He smiled a little but was saddened that there were no changes elsewhere in his status. He had hoped to see a change in abilities or something else. “I’ll just have to wait and see about level 15 then,” he told himself.
“But we got nothing in the way of Tower Points. Damn. That kill should have given us at least 100 Tower Points from that but nothing has changed,” said Rich.
“Maybe it is because we aren’t in the Tower currently,” said Taylor.
“That doesn’t explain the unchanging experience,” said Alex.
“Regardless of that disappointment we still need to fight. We can’t get back into the Tower until they are dead. It is our responsibility to kill these monsters, so they don’t impact the surrounding area. We are lucky to have it contained to the park,” said Kai.
“Contained for now,” said Alex, “We are lucky that there are stronger climbers with us to support and we can get support from others. If the Tower’s second floor was opened up at another time then it could be chaos here.”
“It probably is chaotic at some of the Tower beacons,” said Eric. “Asia is 12 hours ahead of us and Europe is around 6 to 9 hours depending on the area. Watchers and small barricades to mark entry has been set up at most Tower entrances so we can hope that adventurers were alerted but that doesn’t stop these undead from stopping through the few people awake so late in the night.”
“Then our goal as it has been since we arrived is to survive. There are finitely many undead and many more of us. Once we clear this beacon we can look into the status of the other beacons. There is no point in worrying about them currently,” said Rich.
Alex’s thoughts went to his mom and the status of the beacon near her. He hadn’t had a chance to do more than briefly investigate the starter village beyond the portal’s entrance. He had no idea how strong the adventurers in the area were or how many of them there were. Alex hoped that with his warning and the presumed warnings from anyone else around the beacon that they could stave off the undead without too much of an issue.
Around him, the undead force was chipped away at. The increased XP adds to the strength of the fighters slowly over time. They also started to get used to fighting with the limitations of their abilities. Spellcasters like Kai and Taylor found a better rhythm in when to cast spells with the added time and focus required. The fighters and rangers found their rhythm as well. Some were faster than others and were able to kill the undead faster.
Alex improved his timing as well over time. The undead seemed to move in a standard pattern that let few things in the fight up to random chance. He still could not do much damage, but he knew his efforts were at least not a burden to his team and the other adventurers around them.
The only unpredictable element was the few mage undead. The skeletal mages wore robes and were scattered around the park. Each seemingly led a group of 9 other undead with it. The randomness came from its stronger physique and smarter moves they came to realize. It was also two levels higher at 17 which allowed it to fire off a larger array and stronger spells than any of the adventurers currently could.
A fire raged around the skeletal mages. Their eye sockets glowed with power. Adventurers that approached the incoming skeletal mages were forced to divert their attention to defense and protecting themselves and weaker adventurers from the monsters. Water mages like Kai were called for and turned into important protectors, along with a few earth mages, against the skeletal mage’s fire. Meanwhile, Taylor found herself focusing on crowd control abilities with a few other mages. Because their abilities were slower and weaker on Earth they had to focus and work together to cause a similar effect to the Tower and properly ensnare the skeletons.
As the number of skeletons and zombies shrunk the fighting had improved. More people had entered the park to assist, and some additional groups had joined in with guns. The trickiest as expected were the skeletal mages. Their abilities also included summoning mana barriers which deflected all bullets and most magical attacks.
Their solution to their problems with the skeletal mages came in the form of a few Earth mages. Together in sync they brought the ground into motion and caused it to shake. The ground grew uneven around the Tower and the undead’s balance was brought under threat. The adventurers fighting took advantage of the magic and pushed the undead over. Swords and magic were brought down on them, and the defenses of the invaders were temporarily toppled. The adventurers pushed forward slaying a few of the skeletal mages in the process. With more undead slain more of the adventurers piled onto the same fewer enemies.
Alex and his group joined in the charge as well and gained more XP for the effort as well. Alex checked his progress as he felt a moderate level of tiredness hitting him.
<<
His arms burned with exhaustion and a few collected wounds but nothing serious yet. Knowing that this was a big opportunity for XP when things had been slow so far and he was lagging behind his teammates he pushed on. With teammates and others around him assisting in the fight the amount of XP would be a mere trickle but helpful in his growth. Seeing all of the more powerful and higher-level adventurers around him made him realize that he was barely on his journey to grow strong and that there were many climbers ahead of him.
The adventurer force met their metal against bone as they swarmed the last of the skeletal mages. However, its potential for harm was worrying, and with only a few healers on standby, many adventurers hesitated to fully engage in battle. While they wished for a piece of the level 17 enemies it also meant avoiding it’s attacks. They knew that they had finished off the last of the undead when a rush of humans exited the Tower beacon.