Chapter 11 - Humanity’s Greatest (Gamers) VS Aliens

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

[System]

…

[June 7th, 03:33:45, 2248]

It had only been a few minutes since the first player had entered floor 2. However, the first contact was bound to happen the second they decided to step foot in the building.

Everything was fine as the players explored the new futuristic area and gawked at the design of the dungeon floor.

But upon reaching the cafeteria, they realized that something wasn't right. The cafeteria had green gunk all over the walls, ceiling, and floor.

It wasn't all of the cafeteria, but specifically the part to the next area. Being the level-hungry, horror movie-starting, chromosome-lacking gamers that they were, they obviously had to explore it.

That was their first and final mistake. The first one to enter found his face bitten off by a Skulk.

The others who had seen the scene looked at it in horror but failed to realize that the one in the back of the group had been snatched by a Fade.

The last three players were rushed by three Lerks, five Skulks, and two Fades. They didn't stand a chance, as even if they did try to fight off the melee combatants, what would they do about the spikes being shot at them rapidly and with extreme accuracy by three different ceiling-hanging Lerks?

Their bodies disappeared into bright blue particles, and with that, first contact confirmed deadly creatures.

Over the course of 15 minutes, players would trickle in but never have the numbers to truly put up a fight against the super-intelligent hive mind that could see everything.

With no priests and a 24-hour death timer, not a single player who knew could truly do anything to warn anyone they didn't know.

This would turn into an all-out war! Once the players finally knew what they were dealing with, they would gather, plan, and push all in their path.

It would be an excellent plan if it wasn't seen coming a mile away...

…

[June 7th, 04:40:55, 2248]

*BOOM*

A massive explosion took place right in the heart of all the fighting. The players had pushed up and were being held inside the cafeteria as the alien lifeforms had pushed them back.

Smoke spread over the area, and the next instant, the mage that cast the spell had a Skulk launch onto his face.

The sharp teeth of the creature bit into his cranium, blood spurted, and the mage, with his pain settings set near minimal, tried to get the alien off of him.

Bite after bite was had before a Fade came up and stuck its two scythe-like arms into the shoulders of the mage.

Blood gushed out of the wound, and at the same time, the Skulk hopped off, only for the Fade to rip both of its limbs out of the mage and fully cut his head off.

Blood and gore showered the area for only a second before the body disappeared in a flash of blue sparkles.

The next instant, a swordsman stabbed the Fade in the back, for this wasn't the only thing happening in the smoke.

The swordsman pulled his sword out of the dead Fade, turned around, and then instantly got crushed under the weight of an Onos.

"ROAAHHHH!!!!"

The swordsman's body was splintered as a pained expression grew on his face, followed by his body parts turning into blue particles.

The scream of the Onos was heard all around as it put its head downward and extended its bone blades to form a shield.

A stream of ice, rock, lightning, and even arrows rained forward, hitting the shield.

"Hah! Hah! Hah!" A rapid amount of exhales was heard behind the Onos as a group of Gorges were exhaling green bacterial breath onto the Onos.

A swordsman ran up to the Onos through the smoke. A Skulk happened to jump in front of him, only to be cut in half, the second it came close enough.

A Fade instantly came up behind the swordsman and slit his throat. The swordsman instantly grabbed at his throat, only to have his head gush with blood as the Fade teleported in front of him and put its scythe-like arm through his skull.

The Fade instantly teleported away as another mage launched a wave of flames at it.

The mage didn't get a chance to turn around as a small group of five Skulks jumped her. Their mouths were biting anything they could get their teeth on.

A Lerk flew through a large amount of smoke, landed its feet on the shoulders of the female mage, and began shooting its sharp spikes into her eyes.

She didn't last even a second longer, as she turned into blue particles as well.

It was absolute pandemonium. Everything was killing, dying, or both.

*CRASH*

A large window in the cafeteria was broken, and a second later, a massive gust of wind blew through the area.

The battlefield was cleared of the smoke that was stealing the vision of the players. Everything paused for just a second as the players took a second to look around while the aliens tried to reorganize themselves now that their cover was gone.

"AHHHHHH!!!" One of the numerous players screamed, which caused every other player to scream and charge.

The next second, the Onos raised both its front arms.

*BANG*

The ground shook violently as all the players lost their balance. The aliens retreated further into the hole in the wall that was the main entrance to the bar.

The players instantly tried to counterattack, but all they were faced with was empty space as the Onos turned the corner and ran down the large hallway with their assault force.

One player, a martial artist, ran forward into the dark hallway and immediately turned to the right due to the sharp turn in the hallway.

His eyes immediately widened as his entire body paused. All the players that saw this paused, as they were very confused by his actions. Wasn't he going to push ahead? What could have caused him to stop instantly?

His pause caused a domino effect that caused every other player to pay attention to what he was reacting to.

The very next second, a Fade appeared behind the martial artist and put its scythe-like arm straight through his back.

It was nearly instantaneous, and the martial artist's eyes went wide almost instantly.

"Now that wasn't very fair to him." A deep masculine voice pierced through the silence of the players.

The martial artist's eyes were bloodshot as he couldn't get his body to move or speak. It was as if he were looking at evil personified.

An armored hand softly grabbed the side of the player's face, followed by a second hand.

*CRACK-SNAP*

The head of the martial artist was turned 180 degrees, and he almost instantly turned into blue particles of light.

The Fade that had stabbed the man in the back knelt as the armored being walked forward.

From the hallway walked the owner of the dungeon, Boros. His one eye was looking over all the players in front of him.

However, the players were stuck in a state of dread and fear. Boros, his eye turned to where the body of the player he just killed was.

[+115.65]

That was the amount of experience he got, but it was overshadowed by his curiosity. In front of him floated a soul that was a multitude of different colors and contrasts.

Small amounts of black, white, green, blue, red, and a massive amount of pink. When he looked deeper into the soul, he could see a person inside the soul.

It looked afraid, and even without words, he could tell it was begging. Without a second thought, he ate the soul.

It was a mixture of a sweet, sour, and tangy taste that had a disgusting aftertaste.

On the other side of the battlefield, the players all received a message, and this message was single-handedly the reason for their hesitation.

[You feel an overwhelming amount of dread...]

[You feel an overwhelming demonic presence...]

[Warning: You are in the presence of something far beyond the norm.]

And when they tried to view his status...

[Name: ???]

[Level: ???]

Nothing showed up—not a single thing. It was horrifying to the players, who didn't want to die gruesome deaths like those of their dead comrades.

While you could turn your pain settings down as a player, this game warns about trauma and to take a break from the game if you get traumatized from dying.

It was one of those things that hardcore fans loved due to how real the game came off if you died. However, no one wants to be stabbed in the chest, slowly bleed out, and then get their neck snapped.

Boros, who had his eye on the numerous players in front of him, smirked. His singular eye turned to where the Fade was upon hearing a certain sound.

The Fade's body was slumped and bleeding as if someone had killed it while it was in the process of kneeling. Being so devoted, the Fade would rather die at the hands of an enemy than show disrespect by standing after making such a monumental mistake.

It was at that moment when...

[-184]

[You have been hit with a critical attack!]

A large dagger stabbed into the back of Boros's head. The singular strike took all his health, as he had no armor protecting his head.

At least that's how it should have gone, right?

[+23]

"Hmm..." Boros hummed as Illusion morphed its body to grab onto the assassin and reshaped itself to keep it stuck.

"The hell is this?" A feminine voice of shock shouted from behind the dominator.

The armor morphed once again to bring the assassin in front of Boros. Due to the height disparity, she was left floating in the air and unable to break free from the hold the armor had on her.

Boros carefully pulled his right arm up from his side and slid the weapon out from the back of his head. With this, his wound could fully heal without issue.

[+97]

Not in the mood to waste his now-limited energy, Boros decided to heal only what was needed.

Grabbing the assassin by the forehead, he allowed the armor to place her on the ground and forcibly turned her to face her comrades.

"You guys, don't just sit there! Help me!" The female assassin, dressed in all black besides the zero facial covering, screamed at any of the players in front of her.

Even if the mages tried to attack, they might kill her if they fired, and the melee specialists had a bigger worry.

Standing not too far behind Boros was Dimoultion, with an intimidating height and look. Most of the players were hesitant, but the second they looked at the level, they semi-gave up the assassin almost instantly.

[Name: ???]

[Level: 125]

If the secondary being was at this high level and able to be seen by all players, then how strong was the boss?

That was a question running through the heads of most players.

"I think you should have this back. It wouldn't be fair to give this gift to me; it's better in your hands." Boros said as he turned the assassin's head upward to face him while also exposing her neck.

A look of horror grew quickly on the assassin's face as she realized her black dagger was now in the hands of the enemy and was about to be 'given back' to her.

Boros, with his one eye, stared into the assassin's eyes with a soft smile on his face. The black dagger in his hand gently grazed the assassin's neck. The only reason she wasn't bleeding was due to the fact that it was on the flat side of the blade.

The assassin shivered from the cold part of the blade near the hilt, while the closer it got to the tip, the warmer it was.

Boros was hit with confusion as the female assassin began to... cry.

"Don't cry now," Boros said as he held his calm smile. "Just stare into my face."

*SHRE—*

The knife quickly stabbed into the neck of the female assassin as she stared into the singular eye of the demon holding her against her will.

"Feel it? It hurts, doesn't it? That's what you gave me; I accepted all of that pain, so why shouldn't you?" Boros said as he softly moved the knife around in her neck. "All those who kill should be prepared to be killed. So just enjoy this time you can spend with me as you slowly feel warm and-"

Boros didn't get to finish as the assassin turned into blue light particles.

[+219.54]

Another soul appeared in front of Boros. This one, however, had a massive amount of blue in it with hints of red.

Eating the soul, Boros could remark that the taste was like ice cream with a small amount of cherry flavor.

It left a cool aftertaste. It must have been a combination of depression and hate. Boros softly blinked as he confirmed that taste depended on the quality and emotions of the soul.

While the first soul was of less quality, it was more evil. The second soul was of higher quality but was comparatively way purer than the first one.

"Dimoultion, we are leaving." Boros turned around to walk away as he spoke. Dimoultion simply nodded and bowed.

One of the players, seeing the 'bad guy' leaving, gritted his teeth. With his steel sword and light armor, he ran forward with onlookers cringing at his display of foolishness.

"I won't let you get away!" The swordsman screamed.

Boros didn't even turn around, and Dimoultion felt it was disrespectful to their liege.

Turning on their heel, Dimoultion raised their leg and made contact with the boy's chest.

*BANG*

The swordsman was sent flying into a wall, and when the dust cleared, no one was there. This meant that he must have instantly died on contact.

All the players were stunned by this, but by the time they began to remember they were on the battlefield, both bosses had already left.

However, their original alien opponents only felt more confident in their abilities. Ready to push them back.

…

[June 7th, 05:00:11, 2248]

On floor 2, the battle was still raging. However, while everyone was fighting, one man seemed preoccupied.

He was kneeling next to the dead body of a Skulk and trying to make something of it. Thin strings made of mana came from his fingertips as he tried to manipulate the body of the dead alien.

"Tch." The young man's expression grew serious. "I thought I already had this down."

Standing up, the young man kicked the dead body of the alien.

The young man had on dark armor that looked more flexible as if it were similar to riot gear given to swat teams on Earth.

On his face was a white mask with two cracks on either side of it. One starts at the top of the right eye and goes all the way up, and the other starts at the bottom of the left eye and goes all the way down.

His hair was black, but the roots turned gray. On his neck was a thin black scarf. 

His light brown skin is only able to be seen by a small portion of the uncovered parts of his head and neck.

Taking a vial out of his inventory, the man chugged it and instantly disappeared. It wasn't that he had left the area, but that the potion he drank was designed to give invisibly.

It was a potion he spent a long time crafting, so he only had one. With that done, the man began running.

He ran past players and aliens alike; no one was able to detect him.

As he got to the end of the floor, he finally encountered the hive. Pausing in his tracks, he made soft and precise movements as he tried not to step on any eggs.

Seeing his goal in sight, the black door signified the beginning of his journey.

Walking past the hive, he reached out for the door handle.

('I can feel your presence.')

Instantly, the player in question paused. He felt a voice that wasn't his speaking in his mind.

'You know I'm here?' The thought was more of an internal outburst.

('I can feel your mental state. Brimming with hostility, hope, and regret. It's very overpowering if you compare it to the immortals fighting my spawn.') The voice's response to his mental outburst confused him for only a second before he returned to a calm state.

'So I guess that means you're going to try and stop me?'

('No. You can pass; I was only meant to be a buffer for the multitude of immortals trying to pass. To be of help to my creator, who has given me life, though temporary, is enough.')

The young man's thoughts blanked. Usually, there was a whole speech about, "Even if it costs my life, I can't let you pass!"

He could swear he saw the orange glow in the hive glow brighter for a second.

('For someone as great as my creator to see me as his kin is something I'm not deserving to have. To be recognized yet fail at my duty spectacularly and allow someone to pass by me and still be able to be called great by him is too generous!')

The hive's rambling began being blocked out as he realized two things.

'The orange glow is getting brighter. Wait, is it fangirling?' The expression on the young man's face dropped as he almost face-palmed himself.

Resigning himself, he opened the black door and walked in, making sure to close the door behind him.