Stage 1 : An army

"Soul?" Alex marveled at the options before her, soaking in the endless possibilities she could unlock with this vital information.

There it was again, the soul. Back on Earth, her proctors spoke of the soul many times. It was apparent that humans had a shallow understanding of the soul.

She mentally closed the interface, before exiting the labyrinth. She was considering two options: she could try to locate the area the zombies were coming from or she could attempt to raid the tree icon.

After a brief moment of contemplation, she decided to head towards the tree.

' By now, it's pretty obvious each base has its own very useful items. It would make more sense to gather them before facing what could be an army of larger zombies. ' 

With a decision made, Alex sped off, zipping past the moonlit sand without restraint. She stopped for a few minutes to have a nutrient solution and a bit of water. She was not holding her chakrams, so she needed to naturally regenerate her stamina.

Soon, she arrived before an oppressively overgrown tree. Its thick honey-brown trunk was massive, with its circumference spanning thousands of kilometers. This trunk extended farther than the eye could see, its verdant leaves basked in the pale moonlight. The roots were abnormally grand, visible above the ground and warping the surrounding sand.

Alex was genuinely flustered as something like this should not have been even remotely possible at all. This deity continued to reject science. To Alex, someone who had studied the intricacies of the subject, it was akin to a slap across the face.

According to the map, the boss was at the top of the tree. She searched the base of the trunk, the roots, and the surrounding area for any sort of entrance, but her efforts were fruitless.

Alex's lack of success, caused her to suspect the entrance was closed. This would mean she would be required to wait for the next battle, which would be a waste of time.

Therefore, she did the next best thing. She threw grenades at the base of the trunk. She had a lot of grenades. Moreover, she felt this would be a nice effectiveness test.

She threw from afar with perfect accuracy without flinching. 

The bursting sand and smoke blocked her view of the damage on the trunk. The deafening booms resounded as the entire tree shook. From where she stood about 100 meters away she could feel the impact.

She ascertained her group members were probably asleep. It was around 2 am after all. Additionally, the distance between their base and this tree was not small, assuring her actions would remain veiled.

154 : 46: 34

The golden countdown had returned a while ago and Alex had used 6 grenades consecutively. She carefully approached the gigantic tree once the sand particles had settled down and was pleasantly surprised to see a newly formed hole. She would have to make do with the dog-sized hole. 

Before crawling into the tree, she decided to buy the map update just for more assurance.

' Open interface '

The flat rectangular plate materialized once more; when she zoomed into the tree icon, a flat image of the horizontal section of the peculiar tree filled the screen. 

The tree's trunk was divided into twelve layers. Various red dots were dispersed among the first eleven layers, with only a singular red dot on the twelfth. At the bottom layer, a barely discernible hole could be seen.

A pair of hazel irises swept across the floating interface before turning to [ shop ] above the rectangular interface.

She made her way to the [Information] tab and chose the [ Map ] upgrade.

[ Map ]

This map upgrade provides you with more detailed landscape information. Functions throughout the stages.

Cost -200 shards 

Would you like to buy it?

[ Yes ] [ No ]

She bought the upgrade before clicking off the shop screen.

The view before she transformed from 2D to 3D. The flat rectangle crumbled as a translucent 3D model of the entire stage slowly constructed itself. The labyrinth, the castle, and the towering tree could now be seen. At the far end were hundreds of red dots slowly advancing towards the bunker.

Alex tapped on that particular area and was greeted by a close-up view of an army of zombies. Hundreds of zombies led the march, a few special-looking ones were at the rear. Each of them appeared special in their own right.

Alex's expression turned contemplative, her scanty eyebrows scrunched at the scene before her.

She pinched the virtual display multiple times to return to the model of the entire stage. She clicked the tree this time and was met with a far more detailed view of the tree's interior. She could inspect all the creatures and items within the tree layer by layer.

Overall, Alex believed the map upgrade had surpassed expectations and would prove extremely beneficial.

She closed the interface and then crawled into the hole. Before she even stood, she threw a chakram at the nearest zombie slicing off the neck. The weapon lodged into the bark behind the dead zombie.

By the time the other three zombies arrived, Alex was out of the hole and holding a wakizashi in her right hand. The wakizashi's onyx handle reflected the golden glow of wandering fireflies. The intricate design told of the Craftsman's dedication and the vibrant green light around it attested to its mystical powers.

Alex shoved her blade into the face of one then launched a swift quick to another's chin. She performed a half spin taking her weapon with her and decapitating the third zombie. The other zombie was already lunging at her after its recovery, but she simply grabbed its neck. Then, she squeezed.

The tree's interior was as attractive as the map displayed. The walls were simply the tree's very own trunk and the lights were shimmering fireflies, which illuminated the entire floor. There was no furniture, rather a single bed at the center of the room. Additionally, there was a wooden ladder that led to the second layer.

She climbed up the ladder to continue her slaughter.