Unchosen Champion

Coop wasn’t sure if his maneuver had been ill-advised, but it was too late to take back. He mistjumped to the ramparts after warning the defenders of what was coming.

Gromokan had been bringing devastation to the fort’s walls and needed to be stopped as quickly as possible or the settlement would have been quickly left defenseless. The defenders had already been pushed back by 25 hours of Devourers pressing forward and the delayed arrival of the boss had put them in an impossible position.

Luckily, Coop had found a way to expediently end the Field Boss’s assault, but in doing so, he had led the remaining Crazed Serpents to the wave’s frontline. Now, the monsters were joining the Devourers in the raid on the southern wall in one massive surge that threatened to overwhelm the fort. The stubborn defenders only had a brief window to prepare while Coop danced across Gromokan’s back with the Serpents in pursuit.

The residents turned the breach in the fort’s wall into a strategic chokepoint while Coop had been on the dunes. Spells swirled in the gap, turning the gap into a blender of potent magic with Charlie's twisting winds as a base. The skill combinations that casters had been experimenting with during the previous waves were being brought to the forefront. The array of spells elevated all of their potency, where an individual caster didn’t have the firepower to defeat the Devourers one on one, together they were significantly stronger. The armored monsters were pummeled by elemental combinations that transcended solitary attacks, breaking down their defenses, and defeating them.

The support phantoms had quickly established makeshift platforms inside the courtyard for the casters to have elevated positions while they rained abilities into the breach. Others had taken positions on either side of the remaining ramparts, above the gap, like medieval defenders prepared to pour burning oil on their enemies. The melee fighters were positioned in a concave formation in front of the hastily prepared platforms. The curved shape caused the damaged monsters to also be outnumbered in the situation where they made it through the gap.

Despite the magical blender, many of the Devourers plodded their way through the breach in the wall. Their protective shells were proving their worth, but they still had to face the melee fighters. So far, the melee fighters were able to overwhelm the weakened monsters that faced them, but the balance would only be maintained while there was only a single point of entry.

In the center of the defensive formation were all three of the Cleary brothers. Their Warbuster classes were especially potent against armored targets and the Devourers were the most heavily armored of the invaders as far as anyone had seen. Their metallic fists ended any of the Devourers that made it through with resonating damage that tore through their internals. The armored shells just gave an easy target for the brothers to focus their attacks.

Behind the brothers on the center of the elevated platforms was Captain Kayla. She was channeling her own spell while transparent black and purple octopus tentacles flailed with a bilateral symmetry behind her. Coop thought the manifestation of her mana was a bit like Madison’s except instead of being angelic it was clearly associated with the abyssal depths of the ocean.

Both of her hands were held forward and raised like she was unveiling a massive piece of art and both of her eyes blazed with dark energy that stained her skin like ink. A whirlpool of dark water expanded in the breach. Even though the solid ground was still visible, right at the surface of the swirling water, the whirlpool still appeared to have an endless depth. Staring at the ground in the breach was like looking into an infinity mirror. Purple octopus tentacles shot out from the abyss, snagging Devourers, and dragging them below the depths where they disappeared. Kayla’s skill brought the powers of the deep sea to dry land.

Derek sat below her, on the edge of the platform, kicking his legs to a rhythm while strumming away at his guitar like he was busking at a park. The song he played was intensifying even if it didn’t seem like he was paying any particular attention to his surroundings. He was clearly building to a crescendo and timing it with Shane’s shouted instructions.

The mass of Crazed Serpents crossed the moat’s dirt and sand bridge like a tidal wave. The Serpents leapt over each other and formed a wriggling mass that roiled and churned as it rushed forward. The monsters had finally lost interest in Coop, finding a different target in the grouped up defenders through the breach.

Massive domes of energy erupted over the defenders, intersecting and overlapping each other, as Shane and other support classes unleashed their most potent buffs. Glowing runes flashed among the defenders, searing their forms in Coop’s vision, and beams of mana created spotlights where targeted buffs were applied. Glyphs burned on skin and weapons while signets expanded in the air until they cracked. Shouts that temporarily empowered groups were projected over Derek’s song, challenging the incoming monsters and vesting power in the immediate areas.

“Glory!” rang out and everyone in one section glowed in orange light. “Die!” and weapons in the center took on a sinister red and black glow. “Ud Elwes Essel!” and ghostly green and yellow banners with alien symbols appeared on the backs of everyone in another section. Most of the battle cries were understandable, but others were demonic sounding gibberish. The effect of each type was a similar boosting of abilities or stats.

A mass of a thousand defenders were waiting on the inside of the breach. They were fully buffed and prepared to unleash their abilities even when they only had a few minutes to prepare. The rest of the phantoms and residents were waiting in reserve, protecting the shard, or returning to the damaged battlements. Even the wild pig had left his wallow and was standing perfectly still, at full alert, about halfway across the courtyard, facing the southern wall. He was big enough to be mistaken for a service building with the way he watched, motionless, still dripping with water. No one wanted to lose control of the breach in the wall.

When the Crazed Serpents entered the choke point in their rush to join the fight they were bombarded by the culmination of all the prepared spells. They were burned and scorched by flames, whipped around by winds, impaled by rocks, glass, blades, and arrows, melted and shocked by forking lightning, frozen and shattered, torn, shredded, corrupted, dissolved, or just dragged into the ground that had transformed into the depths of the ocean. Coop threw a brittle shield into the chaos from the ramparts for good measure, letting the shrapnel combine with all the other projectiles, then swapped to his spear to pick off the most resilient of the raiders with swift throws.

None of the thousands of Serpents that entered the breach made it through to the waiting melee fighters. The melee fighters were relegated into spectators as the defending casters displayed how much power they had accumulated in such a short time. Coop was amazed at their potency.

With the Crazed Serpents wiped out and the Field Boss defeated, the defenders took control of the battle back. Riding a wave of momentum, they firmly secured the breach. The casters rotated and the composition of the blender in the choke was altered, but it remained effective.

Coop joined the mid-ranged fighters in keeping the Devourers that avoided entering the gap from breaking down more portions of the weakened walls. The monsters were persistently climbing up the fort and using their piledriver attacks to damage the exterior stones. Coop inspected one that had climbed nearly to the top before it started hammering at the wall.

[Defiling Devourer (Level 45)]

[(Strength)]

[Minion of the Primal Constructs]

Coop aimed his spear and threw it at the protective shell to disrupt the monster’s assault. He was happy to find that his Strength, and his ability to properly utilize it, had grown to such an extent that he destroyed the monster instead of just knocking it off the wall. The cylindrical shell exploded like a dropped porcelain vase when the tip of his spear pierced through it.

Before the event started he had only been able to dent the protective layer of the Devourers inside the mangrove forest. Now, he was strong enough to defeat higher level variants of them with a single throw. He checked his earlier notifications before moving to the next target.

[You defeated Field Boss: Ancient Devourer (Level 45)]

[+92064 Basic Credits]

[+7 Impenetrable Blackened Steel (Rare)]

[+1 Sturdy Destruction Gem (Legendary)]

[+4 Sturdy Guardian Crystal (Legendary)]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]

[Congratulations! You have leveled up!]

[Congratulations! Your profession has leveled up!]

[Congratulations! Your profession has leveled up!]

[Trophy Hunter (3/5)]

…

[You defeated Defiling Devourer (Level 45)]

[+51 Basic Credits]

[+1 Blackened Steel (Rare)]

[Congratulations! Your profession has leveled up!]

[Fortune Seeker (6/50)]

At the rate that Coop was leveling, he was confident that he would reach level 75 before the event was over. That meant that he had a major skill choice coming. Whatever options he received, he wasn’t going to make a hasty choice. He wanted to make sure he selected a path that he wouldn’t regret in the long run, especially since there hadn’t been any clues to the length of a path. Knowing there would be more choices in the future was some consolation, but if he settled on a path banking on the future selections and ended up with a thousand levels of progress before the next selection, he’d be a bit miffed. Hopefully, he’d have some promising options waiting for him.

He was ridiculously strong, fast, and sturdy, especially against magic damage, but he was jealous of the casters with their wide area of effect skills that could dominate a battlefield, and he envied the potent skills that were limited by cooldowns. Coop was confident that he would be unscathed by such spells if they ever targeted him, but that didn’t mean he didn’t want them for himself. He’d already established a solid foundation with his basic attack build, so some long cooldowns wouldn’t cripple him the same way it did others, he would just revert to his current capability while waiting for skills to refresh.

Coop settled into chasing down the Devourers that targeted the outer walls and daydreaming about his build until the next wave’s timer counted the last ten seconds. The next wave came from the same direction. It was a blessing and a curse. Having the monsters attack from a single vector was ideal, in Coop’s opinion, especially if it was the same as the previous wave. However, the southern wall was by far the weakest side after Gromokan had appeared.

The moat was barely an obstacle anymore with all the debris that had collapsed into it and even though the hole in the wall was being utilized tactically, it was still a complete breach. The outer wall, the battlements, and the base of the wall had all taken significant amounts of damage as well. Another Raid Boss would be a difficult challenge.

When the monsters that joined the next wave were completely new to Coop, his anxiety rose in response. Hopefully, one of the resident Chosen animals had been culling them without his knowledge. He inspected one of the first to get close enough to reach with Presence of Mind.

[Foul Ripper (Level 50)]

[(Agility)]

[Minion of the Primal Constructs]

The Rippers were almost humanoid, though they walked on all four limbs like some kind of ghoul. Despite their agility stat, they weren’t all that coordinated in their motions. They basically crawled across the sandy dunes as if they weren’t meant to be dwelling on the ground at all. That was until they got within range to use their primary attack.

They shot whiplike cables from their heads that could deal damage with sharp strikes, or much more commonly, latched onto their target in order to drag themselves into melee range where they used all four limbs to rip and tear. They had long metallic claws on the ends of all four limbs which were the cause of their awkward mobility.

The first monster to latch onto Coop’s shield had caught him by surprise, but he dealt with it by smashing his shield against the stone ramparts and piercing the offending Ripper with three quick spear thrusts.

[You defeated Foul Ripper (Level 50)]

[+51 Basic Credits]

[+1 Rough Cable (Rare)]

[Congratulations! Your profession has leveled up!]

[Fortune Seeker (7/50)]

The Rippers ignored the choke point that had been created in the breach and simply climbed over the southern wall at all angles. The defenders couldn’t leave the breach until the Devourers were done so the pressure had to be taken by the midrange fighters and two divisions of extra phantoms inside the lower levels. Rear Admiral Gideon took charge of the freshly formed battlefield at the top of the wall while Shane maintained the choke point.

Coop dealt with the Foul Rippers easily, turning their tongue attack against them by driving his spear into their bodies when they dragged themselves toward him. Once he understood what they were trying to do, they were among the easiest monsters to counter. He was far too strong for one of them to pin him down, even if they were level 50.

Unfortunately, if he pushed back down into the dunes in order to deal with more of them, he would be left alone where he would risk being overwhelmed by their cables. The rest of the defenders needed to use the roof of the fort to break line of sight until the monsters climbed over the edge. That meant the Devourers often had more time to deal damage to the walls, but Coop and the others held on until the Rippers were the only ones left.

The Devourer wave ended and Coop feared another Field Boss would arrive to represent the Rippers, but thankfully, none came and the regular monsters were left on their own. Coop figured the monsters hadn’t had the opportunity to develop a boss because the fruit bat had been hunting them all this time, or maybe another unknown native was farming them in an unexplored corner of one of the islands. Either way, he was glad to avoid another Field Boss when the wall was already breached as it was.

By the time the countdown for the eighth wave began, Coop had already gained another four levels, putting him at level 72. He was close.

There was some confusion when the eighth wave began in earnest. Only a handful of the new monsters appeared to be crossing the dunes, but none of the scouts spotted any more coming from the other sides. The Foul Rippers outnumbered the new monsters by a hundred times as they surged across the dunes.

Coop risked exposing himself to more Rippers and jumped through the battlefield in order to make sure there were no stealth monsters lurking. They had learned their lesson during the second wave and he had a better understanding of tools like Fog of War to detect them. He didn’t find any surprises so he inspected the slow moving, grub-like monsters that were apparently the next wave.

[Rabid Carrier (Level 55)]

[(Strength)]

[Minion of the Primal Constructs]

Another escalation in levels, but at this point the monsters were actually falling behind the defenders in terms of growth. Coop had his suspicions regarding the Carrier’s name, but there was nothing to do but find out what they were about.

He tested the monster while dodging the Ripper tongues by throwing his spear as far as he could while retaining his accuracy. The spear was launched like a ballistic missile and the impact didn’t disappoint. The Carrier he had victimized was destroyed in a satisfying explosion. Coop’s Strength gave him a cannon for an arm.

The Carrier fractured into a hundred pieces, but they didn’t evaporate into mana smoke like a monster that had been defeated. Coop checked his notifications and confirmed the kill between bashing Rippers that latched onto him.

[You defeated Rabid Carrier (Level 55)]

[+51 Basic Credits]

[+1 Solid Shell Fragment (Rare)]

[Congratulations! Your profession has leveled up!]

[Fortune Seeker (8/50)]

Looking closer, Coop could see that the fragments were moving independently of each other, rushing toward the fort in a frenzy like many of the previous monsters. The fragments were small, about the size of Coop’s foot and they scurried on the sun soaked sand at a rapid pace, leaving tiny indentations on the surface as they crisscrossed each others’ paths. He managed to inspect one of the horned beetle looking things and found that it was another monster type.

[Rabid Swarmer (Level 55)]

[(Agility)]

[Minion of the Primal Constructs]

Coop retreated back to the wall and the information on their next challenge was relayed among the defenders.

In order to counter the new monsters, the casters that would have otherwise been on break between shifts at the chokepoint joined the midrange fighters and excess phantoms on the roof of the fort. They paired off and coordinated staggered strikes on the Carriers in order to wipe out the Swarmers as they were released. The best time to destroy the smaller monsters was as soon as they escaped the Carrier, when they were grouped up in tight bunches, otherwise they rushed forward and disappeared into any gap they could find. If it wasn’t for Jett, he doubted they would be able to effectively hunt the small monsters down.

Coop continued fighting the Rippers as they climbed the walls, waiting for his own chance to confront the Carriers and the Swarmers. He had several ideas for how to confront them. If he could use his morning star to smash them all at once it would be great, but he suspected landing a blow on all of them simultaneously would be a challenge. However, if he established Fog of War along the ground before destroying a Carrier, it would be enough to trap the much smaller monsters in his disorienting domain. If he kept his domain small, he thought he would be able to isolate them into easily dealt with pockets.

He was eager to get out there and give it a shot, but he had a role to fulfill, protecting the casters from the Foul Rippers. Once the Ripper wave was complete, he’d have his opportunity, and he’d most likely gain enough levels to start on his next path.