The inside of the store which had a shield with an armor emblazoned on it was really high tech looking. There were lights which outlined the store edges as well as the counters and display racks. Some players were having fun with their group buddies by trying on the high grade armors the store had to offer. Unfortunately, the prices of those armors were something which I wouldn't be able to afford for a long time at my current hunting rate.
Looking at the cheaper end of products, I saw a moss green [Combat Jacket] going for 500 Credits and black [Combat Trousers] for 450 Credits.
> Combat Jacket [500 Credits]
>
> * Reduces incoming damage by 2%
>
> Standard combat wear item.
> Combat Trousers [450 Credits]
>
> * Reduces incoming damage by 2%
>
> Standard combat wear item.
4% damage reduction. I'm not sure if that was good or not but it should be sufficient for now.
After purchasing the items, I equipped them and then left the store making my way towards the forest again following which I hunted until it was the evening for this day and the next. During the hunt, I noticed that the bears and wolves don't get along too well as they prioritized each other over the other players which made it a lot easier for me. What I would do is attack the wolf and get it down to a third of its life and hope it uses its howl to call for help. Afterwards, I would lure the wolves deeper into the forest and into the nearest bear I could find, sneaking a few kills and damage before killing the weakened bear myself to quickly build up my status. The results of my co-operative hunt was well reflected in my status.
> Combat ended. Successfully absorbed the fracture essence. Your status rises!
>
> * ID: A15479C
> * Name: Jason
> * HP: 140/140
> * HPR: 1/min
> * MP: 110/110
> * MPR: 1/min
> * KI: 90%
> * STR: 12 (3/80)
> * DEX: 12 (10/80)
> * INT: 9 (5/80)
> * PER: 11 (65/90)
>
> Credits: 1144
It was the third day of playing that Novir issued a request to me from the supposed Faerie Queen when I got up from my pillow.
> Request Received:
>
> * Stop the [Fracture Fenrir]
>
> Reward: Shard Space structure codes.
>
> This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
>
> Failure: Seed City's Fountain Area Breached, personal shard space encroachment.
>
> Note: It is advised to wait until the queen makes the first move.
The request had Novir acting all jittery but to me, I still considered this a game at its core so I thought that it was just some pre-programmed behavior. It was not until I left the shard space that I understood the true gravity of that request when I, along with the other players on the landing platform saw the behemoth of a wolf approaching from the depths of the forest. Although it was far away, we could see it towering above the trees as it made its way towards Seed City.
With luminescent red eyes peeking out from its massive head covered in dark-red fur that spanned its entire body the quadruped matched forward baring it's jagged triangular teeth. On it's limbs which ended with massive gray claws and bushy tail which swung freely in the air, there were pitch black transforming letters running along them with black particle dust fading off of it. Seeing that, most players immediately chose to return to their home shard. I couldn't blame them really. Not after taking a glimpse at its gold colored name tag which showed the monster's ability rating.
> Fracture Fenrir
>
> * Level 100
> * Type: World Boss (HP and MP Boosted by 1000%)
Unfortunately, the boss didn't allow anyone to take the easy way out. When it howled, several pulses of mana rippled through space mass summoning all players who were hiding inside their shards until now. A significant number of these players were players who had never left the shard space since the day the developer Wayne made that announcement.
Screaming, most of the players ran towards the city whilst a few, more heroic players banded together to stand vanguard. As for myself, I moved back a little and checked my Browser to see the status on my only two friends in this game so far.
> * Karl - Alive - Seed City
> * Nicky - Alive - Seed City
Both of them had went towards Seed City with the rest of the players. It would have been the best move if the Fenrir wasn't heading towards that location. Closing the window, I looked towards the players who had began to charge towards the Fenrir.
The group of 30 players had split into three teams of 10. One circled towards the left of the wolf and another to its right whilst the last team slowly approached its front. As the central group approached, the wolf narrowed its eyes and focused on them, it's back leg muscles tensing before it sprung forward and swiped with its massive claws, gouging out some tree trunks in the process and critically damaging two players who failed to dodge in time. The Fenrir leaping forward had thrown the heroic players' ambush strategy in to disarray and now the beast was savagely tearing through the group. At that moment, I received a message from Karl.
> From Karl
>
> Recipients (All Registered):
>
> Hey, if you get this message, come to Seed City now. The fountain at the city center is accessible and the status buff it gives is amazing!
Looking back at the players once more who had now began to panic and some even atempting to flee, I turned towards the city and began my jog. I learned nothing of the wolf's abilities and it's HP did not fall below 90% despite taking numerous attacks from players in their death throes.
The 30 'hero' players were completely wiped out by the world boss and I wasn't going to try to do some sort of impossible last stand. After 12 hours I suppose they would be permanently removed from the game and something is going to happen to them in real life.