Kaoslith, the Oblivion Crystal of the Abyss?
Who ca up with that na? Another otaku? It sounded way too exaggerated.
"Is it real? I thought it was just a folktale to scare kids," Liam said, his voice low with disbelief.
"What story?" Bob asked, suddenly interested. Of course he would be. Anything that sounded like an epic fantasy plot hook always caught his attention.
"Parents or elders used to tell stories about Kaoslith to scare kids from going out at night," Liam explained quietly. "They said the Kaoslith would co, enter your body, and take control of you. Then it would lead you far away, and you’d disappear forever."
That’s... honestly terrifying. Who tells that to children?
"That version you heard is the toned-down one," Kiwi added, his voice grim.
"Kaoslith is a crystal that can be buried inside a human body. It can stay dormant for years, silently feeding on your blood and mana, until it bursts. Once it does, it becos the perfect dium for a summoning gate."
His expression turned cold and serious. I could feel a deep anger simring beneath his calm voice.
"How do you know all this?" I asked. This Kaoslith... it sounded more like a disease than a crystal. A terrifying one.
"Because I’ve seen it once," Kiwi said, his eyes locked on the crystal in the plaza. "With my own eyes."
The way he said it,flat, heavy, made my skin crawl. I didn’t dare ask more. Not now. I’ll save my questions for after all of this is over... if we make it through.
"If we destroy that crystal, will it kill all the monsters?" Bob asked. He was crouching beside , his arms hugging his knees and his belly awkwardly folded.
"I can’t see, dude. Move forward a little," he grumbled, nudging with his elbow.
"It’s not that simple," Kiwi replied, his voice low. "As long as the crystal exists,even a fragnt of it, it can still be used to channel a gate."
He paused, eyes fixed on the grotesque structure in the plaza. "The only way to destroy it completely in our current situation... is with the power of an ancient weapon. If it even exists."
"And who exactly summoned this gate?" Liam asked, his voice tight. His fist clenched at his side. "Soone has to be behind all of this."
"I’ve been searching for that answer too," Kiwi said solemnly. His tone carried the weight of soone who had been chasing sothing for far too long.
Bob scratched his head. "So... what now? What are we gonna do?"
"We just need to pass through this without any unnecessary fighting, right?" I asked, mainly to make sure no one suddenly got a stupid idea. Especially the one crouching beside .
"Yes," Kiwi replied. "There’s no way we can confront an endless horde of monsters head-on."
I let out a breath of relief. Finally, soone who thinks realistically like .
"There!" Liam whispered sharply, pointing past us. His finger aid at a narrow road tucked into the far corner of the central plaza. "That path. We just need to reach that, and we can get to the inn."
All our eyes locked onto that narrow road in the distance, each of us trying to figure out how to get there in one piece. The central plaza was crawling with monsters, like they were attending so grotesque convention.
"I have an idea!" Bob suddenly exclaid, his face lighting up like he’d just discovered fire.
Oh no.
I didn’t like his tone. That tone only ant three things:
It was going to be stupid.
It was going to be dangerous.
And, of course, it was going to involve .
He turned to us, eyes wide with excitent, and began to explain.
And just as I feared...
It was stupid.
It was dangerous.
And yes, it definitely involved .
---
The monsters wandered aimlessly around the plaza. So moved quickly, their steps erratic and aggressive, while others dragged themselves in slow, eerie patterns. But one thing was clear, they were all circling the crystal at the center, guarding it like loyal sentinels.
Among them was a towering creature, bull-headed, with a humanoid torso and the twisted legs of a goat. It stood nearly three ters tall, gripping a massive trident in one hand. Steam hissed from its nostrils with every exhale, a vapor trail that made the air shimr around its face.
Its bloodshot eyes scanned the area constantly, twitching and snapping in every direction. It wasn’t just patrolling.
It was hunting, specifically for humans.
Then suddenly, the bull-headed monster stopped.
Its eyes locked onto sothing, a human figure in a blue robe who had just darted out from one of the houses and now stood boldly in the middle of the road.
"Hey! Idiot monsters! Co and get !" the man shouted, waving his arms like a lunatic.
For a second, the entire plaza fell into eerie silence. Every monster froze mid-step. Then, one by one, their heads turned toward the shouting figure. A collective snarl rippled through the horde.
The bull-headed monster let out a deafening roar that echoed through the city ruins, its trident smashing into the ground. At its signal, the monsters surged.
Wings flapped. Claws scraped. Fangs bared.
Crawling, flying, and stomping, the entire swarm charged toward the blue-robed man like a flood of nightmare.
---
All the monsters started charging at .
I didn’t move. Not yet. Even though every part of scread to run, I held my ground. This plan,no matter how stupid or dangerous, depended entirely on .
Up above, on the roof of a nearby house, Bob, Kiwi, and Liam were hiding behind a chimney, watching with bated breath.
The horde ca closer. Closer.
Sweat poured from every pore on my body. My heart pounded like a war drum.
Ten ters.
The monsters opened their mouths, roaring, fangs glinting, eyes burning with bloodlust. They wanted to tear apart.
Five ters.
I could see the whites in their eyes.
Three.
Two.
Now.
The lead monster thundered forward, right onto the common-rank [Spike Floor Tile] trap Bob had planted earlier.
In an instant, jagged spikes shot up from the ground, piercing every monster within the tile’s small radius. A spray of blood, red, green, and strange colors I couldn’t na, splattered the air.
But the trap was only common rank. It didn’t kill them. Instead, it pinned several monsters in place, their bodies writhing violently, struggling to break free.
The others weren’t slowed. They leapt over the trapped beasts, snarling and roaring, pressing the charge relentlessly.
I tightened my grip on the cards in my hands.
In my right hand, two rare [Summon Elite Goblin] cards glead with power. In my left, five common [Summon Goblin] cards waited.
I took a deep breath, steeling myself.
"Goblins! I choose you!"
I hurled the cards forward, and instantly, a burst of blue light erupted from them.
First to appear were two elite goblins, about five ters tall, their faces twisted with fierce anger. They swung their spiked clubs wildly into the charging monsters, sending most of them flying into the air.
Right behind them, the smaller goblins materialized, pounding the smaller monsters with their clubs.
They looked like wild goblins, only these wore blue short pants, and their clubs were tipped with glowing blue lines. Blue seed to be the trademark of my skills: my gunblade, apprentice robes, pants, and now my goblins.
Ding!
A notification popped up.
---
[Elite Goblin joined the party]
[Elite Goblin joined the party]
[Goblin joined the party]
[Goblin joined the party]
[Gobli..]
....
[Received bonus when Goblin in party]
Increased Atk by 3%
[Received bonus when Elite Goblin in party]
Increased Atk by 10%
---
Wow. Even summoned monsters can affect party stats? Our ATK just jumped by a total of 35%! That’s a huge buff.
As the goblins fought fiercely, a flying monster, sothing like a giant squirrel with wings, suddenly zood toward , aiming to bite my head.
I was too busy checking my status to react at first.
But before it got within a ter, its head exploded, brains splattered everywhere.
I glanced to the right and saw Bob grinning smugly, holding my red-light gunblade. That attack boost really made a difference.
Great. Now he’s going to brag about that shot for days.
I imdiately jumped up to the roof where Bob and the others were waiting. Bob and Kiwi grabbed my hands and helped lift up.
"Did you see that? Bullseye!" Bob exclaid, eyes shining with excitent.
"Lucky shot," I replied flatly.
Bob handed MP potions, one we got from the mayor earlier.
Everything was going according to Bob’s plan: first, he planted the trap card from one of his pulls. Then I’d lure all the monsters to attack , triggering the trap. After that, I’d summon the goblins from the cards we’d hoarded. According to Bob, I was the only one with enough mana to pull it off.
Luckily, summoning those monsters didn’t drain much of my mana, except the rare elite goblins, which each took about 40%. After downing two MP potions, my mana was finally back to full.
"What exactly are your classes? Does this ’chosen’ class really exist?" Kiwi asked, his face twisted in confusion. ’Why can these two conjure weapons, wield gunblades, set traps, and even summon monsters?. Are they so kind of hybrid class? But this many abilities at once? I’ve never heard of anything like that.’he thought.
"We already told you, we’re the chosen two," Bob replied flatly.
Kiwi’s frustration started to show. "What does that even an?"
Before anyone could answer, Liam called out urgently, "Everyone... more are coming!"
We looked down at the street. The small goblins were being overwheld, their bodies dissolving into blue particles as they fell. With fewer goblins on the field, our stats bonus started to drop. The elite goblins were still standing, swinging their spiked clubs fiercely, but smaller monsters had begun biting into their limbs. I couldn’t help but feel a pang of pity for them, at least they had served their purpose.
All the monsters had gathered on this side of the street, leaving the other side eerily clear.
"Let’s move now," I said.
We moved carefully, jumping from roof to roof, circling around the plaza. Liam was walking at the front when suddenly, a massive chunk of earth hurtled toward him from the plaza below.
"Look out!" I shouted, diving forward and tackling him to the ground just inches before the rock would have crushed his head.
We both scrambled up and stared back toward the plaza. There stood a giant gorilla-like monster, pounding its massive chest and roaring fiercely. It wore a red mask over its face, and right in front of it was a huge hole it had obviously dug, aid straight at us.
"Damn monkey! Go back to your jungle," Bob cursed, raising my gunblade to shoot at the gorilla.
But before he could fire, a new sound stopped us cold.
From between the buildings ahead, a nightmare erged, a giant centipede, its body a nacing swirl of red and black, rising at least five ters long.
You know, I could dealt with spiders, snakes, and lizard, but centipedes? Big big no. I’ve got a history with those things. When I was a kid, I got bitten right on my buttock while watching TV at my grandfather’s village house. It was so painful I had to sleep on my stomach for three days.
And now, we were surrounded. The elite goblins had surely fallen by now, I’d already seen their deaths flash across my status notifications. Worse, monsters were climbing up the roofs, closing in on us.
This was a dreadful mont.
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