The Shadow Sewers,
The transition was jarring. They left the dry, cool air of The Vault and entered a world of stench and damp. They stood in a long, cylindrical tunnel made of ancient, crumbling brick. Foul water ran in a channel at their feet, and the only light came from a sickly green fungus clinging to the walls.
"Gods..." Marcus hissed, his refined senses recoiling from the overwhelming stench.
"Focus," Vicky ordered. His own senses were on fire. He could hear skittering, chittering sounds from the darkness ahead.
SKREEEEE!
From the sewage channel, a horde of at least fifteen
Sewer Ghouls (Lvl 2)
burst from the water, their yellow eyes glowing.
"Alpha Squad!" Vicky commanded. "Elias! Front line! Form a shield wall!"
Elias roared, his Lvl 5 bulk anchoring the center. The seven Lvl 1 Night Walkers formed a brutal phalanx on either side of him. They were a wall of dark, unyielding flesh. The Lvl 2 Ghouls slammed into them, a wave of claws and teeth.
"Hold!" Elias bellowed, his fists crushing the skull of the first Ghoul. The Night Walkers took the hits, their Tier 1 bodies shrugging off the Lvl 2 attacks, and began to systematically tear the Ghouls apart. It was clumsy, brutal, and chaotic.
"Marcus, left flank! Draw the stragglers!" Vicky ordered.
Marcus, now a Lvl 5 powerhouse, was a blur. He didn't just distract; he executed. He flashed past three Ghouls, his Shadow Step skill (unlocked at Lvl 5) creating a disorienting echo as his claws tore through their throats.
"Flank is clear, Master!" he called out, his suit pristine.
"Then support them!" Vicky yelled. He fired two Blood Arrows (Lvl 1), not at the Ghouls, but at the unstable ceiling above them. A shower of heavy bricks rained down, staggering the main horde.
Vicky then activated his Blood Claws (Lvl 2). He didn't charge the main brawl. He went straight for the largest Ghoul, his new claws shearing through its neck in a single, clean strike.
SYSTEM MESSAGE
Party Kill:
Sewer Ghoul (Lvl 2)
XP Acquired (Vicky): +2 XP
XP Acquired (Marcus/Elias): +5 XP each
XP Acquired (Alpha Squad): +15 XP each
The main line was holding. Elias, seeing Marcus's efficiency, roared, "Alpha-One, pin!"
Alpha-One grabbed a Ghoul and pinned its arms. Another Night Walker immediately ripped its head off. It was messy, but it was teamwork. In a minute, the tunnel was clear.
They stood panting, covered in filth.
SYSTEM MESSAGE
Party Cleared. Total XP Gained:
Vicky: +30 XP (Total: 495/1200)
Marcus: +75 XP (Total: 75/1000)
Elias: +75 XP (Total: 75/1000)
Alpha Squad (x7): +225 XP (Total: 225/100) -> LEVEL UP! (Lvl 2)
"See?" Vicky said. "Elias, you are the tank. Alpha Squad, you are his shield and his spears. Marcus, you are the scalpel. I am the cannon. Now... let's do this properly."
The Grind Begins,
For the next four hours (which was only 20 minutes in the real world), they advanced. They learned and they fought packs of
Corrupted Vermin (Lvl 3) . Elias and Alpha Squad learned to use chunks of concrete as shields to block the acidic spit, while Vicky and Marcus sniped them from a distance.
Flesh-Eating Slimes (Lvl 4) , which were immune to the squad's brute force. Marcus had to lure them over grates while Vicky fired Blood Arrows at weak points in the ceiling to crush them.
The XP rolled in relentlessly.
SYSTEM MESSAGE
Alpha Squad has reached Level 3!
...
Alpha Squad has reached Level 4!
Vicky Thorne has reached Level 7! Stat Points: +3
Vicky immediately dumped his new points.
STAT ALLOCATION (Vicky - Lvl 7)
1 Point -> Strength (STR) (Total: 13)
1 Point -> Speed (SPD) (Total: 11)
1 Point -> Endurance (END) (Total: 11)
His followers were also growing. Elias (Lvl 5) was a walking juggernaut. Marcus (Lvl 5) was a phantom. And his Alpha Squad (all Lvl 4) was now a cohesive, deadly unit.
"Master," Marcus said, his voice quiet. "The tunnel is opening up. I smell... chemicals. Something different."
They emerged into a vast, circular cistern. The chamber was enormous, with a deep pit of bubbling, fluorescent green sludge in the center. A massive, pulsating form lay half-submerged in the muck.
SYSTEM WARNING
Miniboss Detected:
The Sludge-Fiend (Lvl 5)
Type: Mutant/Abomination
Traits: High HP, Acidic Armor, Tentacle Grasp
"This is it," Vicky said. "This is our first real test. Elias! You and Alpha Squad are on the boss. Keep its attention. Do not let it grab you. Marcus! You are on tentacle duty. Those things coming from the walls? They are its limbs. You keep them off me. I am the only one who can damage its core."
"Understood, Master!" they said in unison.
The Miniboss
The Sludge-Fiend roared as they entered, a sound like a clogged drain emptying. It rose from the pit, a twenty-foot-tall horror of melted flesh, rebar, and green goo.
"GO!" Vicky yelled.
Elias bellowed his new skill: "
Brutal Charge (Lvl 1)
!" His Lvl 5 strength, amplified by the skill, turned him into a cannonball. He slammed into the creature's side, inflicting a massive [Stun] and halting its initial attack. "Alpha Squad, spread out! Aim for the joints!"
The seven Night Walkers fanned out, their Lvl 4 claws now sharp enough to tear chunks of flesh from the creature's less-armored legs, drawing its attention.
"Marcus!" Vicky shouted.
Thwip! Thwip!
Two long, slimy tentacles shot from the sludge pit, aiming straight for Vicky. Marcus was already gone. He used
Shadow Step (Lvl 1)
, teleporting from one patch of darkness to another, his claws shearing through both tentacles in a blur of motion.
"I'm clear, Master!" Marcus called out, dodging a third tentacle.
"Good! Keep moving!"
Vicky focused. The Sludge-Fiend's core was visible: a pulsating, bright red organ protected by a thick layer of acidic green sludge. His normal arrows would dissolve.
He held his hand out and activated Blood Claws (Lvl 2). But instead of letting them form on his hands, he willed the system to change their shape. He compressed the energy of both claws into a single, dense, heavy spear of crimson blood-energy.
The monster roared, swatting Elias and sending him flying into a wall. "Elias! Get up! HOLD IT!"
Elias recovered instantly, his Tier 2 healing already knitting his cracked ribs. He charged back in, grabbing one of the monster's legs. The Alpha Squad swarmed it, a frenzied attack that forced the monster to focus on them.
Vicky saw his opening. He hurled the Blood Spear with all his STR (13).
The spear tore through the air and slammed into the green sludge. It sizzled, the acid eating at the blood-energy, but the Lvl 2 density and Vicky's raw power were too much. It punched through the acidic armor and skewered the red core.
The Sludge-Fiend screamed, a high-pitched wail that cracked the walls. It thrashed, throwing the Night Walkers off and slamming all its tentacles into the ground in a desperate shockwave. Marcus was thrown, but Vicky stood his ground.
The monster collapsed, its light fading, before it melted into a massive pool of inert, foul-smelling goo.
Vicky fell to one knee, the effort of forging the spear having taken a huge toll. But the system notifications were glorious.
SYSTEM MESSAGE
Miniboss Defeated:
The Sludge-Fiend (Lvl 5)
MASSIVE XP GAIN
Vicky Thorne has reached Level 8! Stat Points: +3
Marcus Keller has reached Level 6! Stat Points: +3
Elias Vance has reached Level 6! Stat Points: +3
Alpha Squad (x7) has reached Level 5!
FOLLOWER UPGRADE: ALPHA SQUAD (TIER 2 - VAMPIRE)
All 7 members have crossed the Level 5 threshold. Sunlight Weakness is NULLIFIED.
New Skill Unlocked (Alpha Squad):
Pack Tactics (Lvl 1)
- Passively increases attack and defense by 10% for each squad member within 5 meters.
Vicky, Marcus, Elias, and the seven Alpha Squad members stood over the dissolving boss. An entire elite team, now LList 5 & 6, fully healed and radiating new power.
"That," Vicky panted, "was a good start."
He looked deeper into the dark, dripping tunnel ahead. "The boss of this place is Level 7. And it's next."