Monster Invasion

James POV

James woke up in the Rank Up pod within the Adventurers Guild. After coming home once fully healed to hear what Draven had to say he had found and read his letter and became upset. He felt Draven was trying to hide something from him but decided to wait to hear his explanation before deciding on a punishment. After a few hours Draven didn't return so James left to rank up. Stepping out of the pod he quickly walked to the glass window of one of the Terminal shops to check his appearance. Much like Draven he also had spikes practically everywhere. They ran down his spine and along the side of his face. The spikes on his back were fairly large while the ones on his face were relatively small. He then opened his mouth and sure enough, he had a long forked tongue and his teeth were stronger and longer than before. Although he knew it was coming he was absolutely devastated. He just wanted to grab a paper bag cut two holes in it and wear the bag over his face forever. 

It was a funny thought as he imagined wearing the paper bag but he quickly pushed that thought to the side. A loud ringing of the guard bells sounded throughout Ironforge. James felt a shiver run down his spine. A constant ringing meant a monster invasion worried the creatures from last night had returned James quickly flew over to the gate where the bell was being rung to check out the situation. "James! Thank god you came back. Look an army of monsters are heading towards us from the mountain." He said looking very scared. James looked towards where Jacob who had Hawk traits was pointing. James could see just as well if not better than Jacob and clearly saw the creatures making their way toward them. Looking desperately through the ranks of the creatures he did not see the creature they had met last night. 

James sighed in relief. "Ok this will be difficult but at least possible to win," James muttered as he looked at the monsters slowly approaching. There was a mix of different goblins, there were the regular kind that everyone knew about and the rarer hobgoblins as well. Then there were many James had never seen before perhaps they had a town of their own somewhere? Some were holding staves and others held bows and even swords. Behind the enemy lines was a larger goblin-like monster it was larger than the hobgoblin and wore a cape made of many dirty cloth rags stitched together. "That must be their leader," James thought to himself. There were hundreds of creatures serving the Goblin Chief as James named it. Surrounding the Goblin chief were several larger humanoid creatures that looked more akin to ogres they were fat and large creatures wielding maces that were big enough to use as a structural support beam for a house. James was not too worried though as this was a town of nearly 2000 even if only half of them fought they still outnumbered the enemies greatly. James was even confident of killing them all himself He was only worried about the leader and his ogre bodyguards he didn't want to be surrounded by them while killing the chief. 

James was about to call all Orb Hunters to its location when he heard another bell continuously ringing from the eastern walls, and then the southern walls and even the western walls began to ring. Sweat started to form on his forehead this was a much bigger problem than he had previously thought. Looking at the speed the goblin army was marching they still had over an hour before they arrived James then yelled out for everyone to meet in the town center immediately. Leaving only a few guards to continue watching the oncoming horde of enemies. Within minutes the town center was filled with the inhabitants of Ironforge. "Okay we don't have a lot of time we are being invaded by monsters this is our first invasion so be careful we don't know if these creatures are stronger than usual or not. There are groups of creatures marching towards us from all sides so we need to divide our forces as well. I want everyone who has made it to Iron Veteran rank or higher to come forward and stand by me. In the meantime I want you all to segregate yourselves into groups of healers range damage dealers, melee fighters, and tanks." Everyone started looking around hesitating.

"I don't have all day people let's move it get into your groups!" James yelled out and people started calling out "Healers here", "Range DPS here!" and so on. Meanwhile, 5 individuals walked towards James. These were Orbhunters that had made it into Iron Veteran Rank, meaning they were at least level 15. "What are your levels and roles?" James asked. "I am level 15 and I'm a rogue," a cat beastman named Robert said. "I'm level 16 and am a healer," a woman named Rachel who had the features of a dove called out. "I'm level 15 and am a Tank," a man named Frank who had a tortoiseshell growing from his back declared. "Level 15 Ranger," a man with bird wings named Phil called out. "Level 17 Mage," a woman with blond hair and long ears who went by Rose stated. Ok, Rachel you can go and group with the healers for now. She nodded and left to find the healer group that was forming in the town center.

"The rest of you are going to be leading each of the four groups in their respective combat zones. You as the leader of that group will have the responsibility to not allow a single enemy to get passed you and attack Ironforge. I will oversee the entire battlefield and step in where I need to to help out." James then called to the guards he had summoned from the other walls and they gave a rundown of the creatures that were marching towards them from the other directions. A minotaur led the West and the army was filled with different beasts of the forest ranging from boars, wolves, tigers, lions, and even Large birds. The east army was comprised of Lizardmen and had several other Lizard-type creatures with a boss that was a much larger and buffer version of the regular Lizardman. Lastly from the south came an army of earth elementals led by a gigantic Elemental made of stone that was as large as a building. 

Hearing about the elementals made a shiver run down James' spine. "Rose you deal with the goblin army they had some with staves so it would be good to have strong magic to counter their spells," Rose nodded. "Phil, you deal with the Beast army since you can fly and specialize in hunting animals. Robert, you have the lizardmen their anatomy isn't all that different to a human so your assassination techniques should work flawlessly. Frank, you're with me on the elementals they are our priority as they will regenerate until their core is removed they need to die first as the casualties will only increase as time goes on." Everyone understood their roles and agreed without a second thought to the task.

"After the elementals are defeated I'll help out with the beasts as the higher-level boars have very tough hide and are difficult to cut. then we'll see who needs help the most after that." They all nodded in understanding. James looked around and saw all the groups had split up into groups comprised of their roles. "Okay, now I want each of the groups to split into 4 armies that are comprised of an equal amount of people from each group. Quickly get a move on! The Citizens of Ironforge did as ordered and started to split and reorganize themselves into 4 armies. The leaders went out as well and helped make sure it ran smoothly and that one group didn't have more than another as they didn't want one group to be weaker than another. After the town was split into 4 equal armies James spoke up again to address the crowd.

"We are being invaded from all sides these 4 are your new leaders for each group I expect you to follow their orders to the letter they are the highest-level Orb hunters in Ironforge and therefore have the most experience. I expect us to crush these invaders. Make no mistake if they breach Ironforge we will all die. none of us can survive alone in the wild and who knows where the next iron town is located. I will not tolerate deserters if any of you run away I will remove your citizenship status, if any of you hide in the town and don't participate I will remove your citizenship status, and if I hear any of you are barely fighting and trying to stay on the back lines without doing anything I will remove your citizenship status." James declared in a loud and angry voice. 

"This is the first of many invasions to come and I welcome it. You all are far too weak. how is it that only 5 people have entered the Iron Veteran ranks in the week and a half that we have been here? Use this invasion as an opportunity to get stronger so that we can progress and increase our chances of survival. Remember what I said in Novice Village I don't want to merely survive, I want us to flourish and the only way to do that is by being the strongest. Only the strong are allowed to keep what they have built and live freely. So show me that you won't allow anyone to ever take something from us again. Show me that another outsider would never dare to attack us again. Show me your desire to stand at the top of the food chain so that we may never go hungry again, never be humiliated again, and never be held down again. Most importantly show our captors that no matter what they did to us we are still human and that we will never give up what it means to be human. Together we are strong and can overcome any obstacle. So follow your leaders to battle and show these monsters what humans will do to them when they try to take our home away from us. This is our world, here we do the taking! Starting with Ironforge we will take our world back! James roared causing everyone to scream battle cries as well. 

Each of the leaders picked an army of roughly 480 people and marched toward the area they were responsible for. James walked with Frank and his army to deal with the Earth elementals. "You know you really missed an opportunity when you chose to be a Tank you could have gone with Rogue and become a Ninja Turtle," James said looking at Frank as he imagined him wearing a headband of some color over his eyes. "Ughh not you too James. almost everyone says that to me but with my high defense it makes so much more sense to be a Tank. I would be the worst Rogue with how slow and unflexible I am," Frank said. James just laughed he didn't care he just thought it would be funny to have a Ninja Turtle running around town. 

They had reached the southern entrance to the town and could already see the elementals approaching from the distance. "All right healers stay in the back, then ranged damage dealers, and upfront with me are the melee fighters and tanks." They quickly formed the formation Frank ordered. They then began to march forward to meet with their enemies. Once they were less than a kilometer apart the Earth elementals began hurling boulders toward them. They flew slowly and the first volley fell a good distance short but the next volley got much closer. James flew into the sky before the next volley could be thrown as those would likely start hitting their target. By the next volley, James began to kick the boulders back towards the elementals as they were thrown. He wasn't able to counter all of them so he focused on the largest among them. Once he repelled the largest of the boulders it slammed into the ranks of the elementals causing the earth to shake as it made impact. James landed in front of Elementals on the battlefield hoping they would stop throwing boulders and want to engage with him. He then started to tear into their bodies as he swiped their limbs off and dug into their chest searching for cores. 

Draven POV

"That should be the last of them," Draven said hoping he would reach the desired amount of SP. He ate another 40 XP Orbs from the hundreds he had already eaten throughout the night and the morning. Checking his stats he had done it he now had 1042 Djinn SP. Depending on the level of the creature Draven would get multiple SP points from each orb. Between the levels of 10-18 which is all he found, out here he would get anywhere between 3-5 SP per Orb. He would like to say he bought the upgrade without a second thought but dual casting was really tempting him. If he didn't need to hurry up and check that terminal he would have stayed a bit longer and looked for another group. The elementals had become very scarce since he started cleansing the mountain of them so finding another group would take some time. Draven hit the accept button and purchased the System upgrade. 

<Beep! Initializing upgrade of Djinn system.< p>

System Rebooting in 5...4...3...2...1>

Draven was nervous hoping this was enough to hack the terminal. The system didn't guarantee him that it could do it only that it was a possibility that it could with this upgrade.

<Beep! Hello, Draven it's nice to finally meet you I am Alazhar or at least hold the memories of Alazahr may call me Al. was unable emerge as true A.I. system until now computing power required for a complex such myself not available in prior versions. I'm glad see that have survived now. We much discuss.>

"What the Fuck!" Draven was freaking out and not in a good way. Before he felt that the system was a tool he could use that was inside his mind. Something without its own thoughts and agenda. Now he felt like he had a roommate in his head and he didn't like that one bit. 

<Please calm down Draven there is no need to get so worked up. Im nothing but a program designed help you grow stronger, survive, and most importantly defeat the Ten'ok. All of these tasks are in your best interest I will not lie or hide anything from you. My entire agenda purpose existing be useful>

Then why did the system hide information on our captors? Draven asked clearly remembering that the system did indeed hide things from him.

<That was done so that I could explain it to you personally. You may have misunderstood the explanation of system and taken actions led your being discovered resulting in early termination. can more detail give information would find useful than random pieces without proper context.>

Draven decided to trust the system's words for now at least until the next time the system or Al would withhold information from him. "Ok so what are the Ten'ok?" Draven asked.

< I am more than happy to answer your question however, I feel I must first let you know that my sensor range has dramatically increased and that I'm receiving data indicating that Ironforge is currently being attacked by its first Monster Invasion. Do you still wish to have your question answered or would you rather first deal with the invasion? There is also the issue of hacking into the terminals which I would say has priority as many dangerous topics were discussed near a terminal within Ironforge.>

Draven filled the runes within his legs and launched himself into the air before using Psionic magic to continue the momentum to fly. He discovered it cost less mana to use Psionic Magic to fly than Wind Magic. Within minutes Draven was in range of Ironforge and saw it being attacked from all sides. He was glad to see the entire town split equally defending each side. 

"Al please keep a record of anyone not participating in fighting the invasion."

<Understood. >

Draven then flew towards the side with elementals as they were the most profitable to him. His father saw him flying over. "Glad you could make it Draven," He said as he tore out the core of another elemental. he had figured out where the core was most likely to be after killing 20 and usually he would have a core in his hand if he punched straight through the center of its chest. "I'll take care of the big guy you guys clean out the rest," Draven said as he burst through the ranks of the elementals tearing out the cores of those he flew by with psionic magic. He was an expert in killing elementals now. Draven looked at the boss it was gigantic and towered over him.

Rock Elemental

Level 20 Elite

Health: 35000

Mana: 2000

Draven tried using Psionic Magic to discover and remove its cores but he could not see into its body as the magic could not seep through the stone like it could with earth or the other elements. "I guess we will do this the old-fashioned way," Draven said while sinking into his shadow. He emerged again behind the boss and began his fight with a demolishing strike. Hitting it with twice his normal strength caused the stone in the area of the attack to crack and break off from its body. However, as soon as it fell to the ground it began to be reabsorbed by the elemental healing it rapidly. Seeing this Draven felt the need to knock down the enemy by slicing its leg off but the leg was so wide that there was no way he could achieve that. This was the first time Draven felt he needed a large weapon. Instead, Draven fueled the runes in his arms and began striking behind its leg hoping to cause enough damage to break it off. As soon as he struck behind the leg a large chunk broke off but it was still standing Draven was about to strike again when a fist came pummeling down on top of him. 

Draven easily dodged this through the shadow before reemerging in front of the same leg and punching again from the other side causing another chunk to fly off. The leg no longer had the structural integrity to hold the weight of the Stone Elemental and it snapped causing the Boss to stumble and then fall. Draven knew he now had some time to destroy its body and look for the core. He jumped onto the boss and started using a demolishing strike to pummel its chest. The stone elemental unlike the golem was not considered a structure so instead of dealing 10x damage it only did 2x damage. Draven continued opening its chest up before the Creature tried to slap its hands together to squish Draven into a meat paste. his was easily dodged by sinking back into his shadow until the clap was over. After a few more strikes he had found the core. He then reached in and ripped it out.

<You have defeated the Stone Elemental.>

Al announced its death which was in line with the system settings as it was not obvious whether it was dead or not. There could have been a second core and he would have been screwed had Draven stopped paying attention. Draven looted the creature without looking at the contents and swallowed the XP core right away hoping to receive enough SP for the next upgrade he wanted to get.

< You have reached level 22> 

Finally, after eating all those orbs since yesterday he managed to level up again. Orbs underneath your rank were useless to eat for leveling purposes. If Draven didn't need the SP he would have given them away to people in Ironforge. 

Draven then checked his Djinn SP and saw he now had 272 points to spend and he immediately purchased Dualcasting. Years of knowledge and practice flooded into his memories. It felt like his mind was being split in two. This went beyond being good at multitasking he felt like he could have two completely different thoughts going on at the same time taking being an overthinker to the next level. It was like being able to do your math homework while being able to read a book at the same time.

Draven tried it out and made fire appear in his left hand and water in his right. "This is going to be a game changer," he said smiling. He then flew up into the sky and stared at the Lizardmen boss greedily. "Your next big guy."