Author's Note: Sorry about the delay. Been bed-ridden with the flu for a bit.

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Chapter 11: Attack on Giants

The sky was partially cloudy and the temperature was mild. In the front yard, Tom and Reia were in the middle of combat. Reia was armed with her spear and Tom had a sword. To ensure that neither of them could hurt each other too badly, they were armed with the weakest weapon available. Reia had her steel spear and Tom had a copper sword. The intense training that morning was enough to boost their respective weapon skills into the low Intermediate range.

The yard they practiced on was starting to feel the effects of their constant training. The grass had died and all that was left was sandy dirt. This caused dust to puff up with every step they took.

Tom and Reia circled each other in the arena. Reia charged with her spear. Tom deflected her attack, and in the same movement, twirled his sword and slashed downwards. Reia managed to block the attack with the other end of her spear.

"Nice block," Tom complimented.

"Thanks, darling," she cooed.

"Darling?" he stuttered.

Reia took the opportunity and hit his gut with the non-blade end of her spear, knocking him to the ground. She pointed her spear at his face.

"Do you mind me calling you darling?" she asked.

"Not at all, you just caught me off guard," he replied.

Reia laughed and said, "Shy as always, Tom." She pulled up her spear and held out her hand.

Tom grabbed her hand and was pulled up to his feet. Reia took the opportunity to kiss him.

"I think we can take a break," Tom said.

"Oh, could you make hamburgers for lunch!"

"We had hamburgers a couple days ago."

"Please..."

Tom couldn't resist the puppy-dog eyes she was using while pleading with him.

"Alright, alright. I can't say no to those eyes."

Notice Persuasion has reached Beginner Level 4.

Unbeknownst to Tom, Reia has been slowly increasing her persuasion level by asking for small favours from Tom. Nothing completely manipulative, but Reia felt she would eventually need this skill in the future.

"I'm going to need hamburg meat, eggs, crackers, salt, pepper and the barbecue sauce," Tom listed out loud. "How many can you eat?"

"Three."

Quest: Giants' Hunger Difficulty B Giver Kara Time Limit 8 hours Five Giants have emerged in Kazan, Russia and have begun feasting on the locals. Reward 700 EXP

1 gold

Random armour

1500 fame Consequence For Failure Hundreds will die

Kazan will suffer some damage

"Ah, crap," Tom cursed under his breath. "Lunch is going to have to wait. We got a mission."

"What's our mission this time?"

"Giants."

"That's going to be tough. Giants are pretty strong creatures. And, despite their size, they are faster than what you'd expect."

"Ready for the mission?"

"Yeah," she said in a defeated tone. "I really wanted hamburgers."

"Tell you what. When we get back from the mission, I'll try out this new spicy burger recipe. I think you'll love it."

VVVVV

Kazan, Russia

The city streets were in chaos as people ran in terror. A line of police cars were placed across the street. Civilians ran between or over the cars as they escaped. The police, who were situated behind their cars, were dressed in tactical gear. Each of them was armed with assault rifles and shotguns. They waited patiently as the civilians ran by them.

Through the pillars of smoke from make-shift Molotov cocktails were the silhouettes of the attacking creatures. Each of the beings were over seven meters in height. The five creatures emerged from the smoke, revealing themselves to the police. They resembled muscular bushy-bearded humans with potbellies. Their skin was dark gray and spotted. The five Giants saw the line-up of police officers and grinned. Their mouths were filled with sharp teeth.

"Open fire!" the sergeant ordered.

The police line fired their weapons at the standing giants. The Giants felt the attack but it wasn't enough to cause them pain. They looked at each other in confusion. One of the Giants, the one holding a tree, grabbed its tree with both its hands. It lifted the tree vertically over and behind its head.

"Move!" the sergeant roared.

The tree-wielding Giant swung forward and released the tree from its hands. The tree flew forward and collided with the police cars, sending them flying to the sides. Several of the officers were hit by the flipping cars and were sent to the pavement.

The Giants laughed as they ran forward towards the scattered officers. The police officers who were on the ground were were grabbed by the rampaging giants. They struggled inside the Giants' hands. The Giant looked closely at the cops as they slowly moved them towards their mouths. They all went into a panic.

"Ah! Help! Help us!"

"Shoot those Giants!" the sergeant ordered, trying to get discipline back in his men.

The police tried to shoot the Giants in order to get them to let their prey go.

"Noooo!"

The Giants bit down on their food. Blood spilled out from their mouths and over their hands. The surviving officers lowered their weapons in shock.

"I-It's useless," one of the cops croaked. "Our weapons are useless against them!"

"Don't back down now!" the sergeant chided him. He fired his assault rifle at one of the approaching Giants. "Keep supp- Ah!"

The giant grabbed him by the leg and quickly slammed him into the ground, causing his vision to flash. The sergeant lost his grip on his assault rifle. The Giant lifted the sergeant up and opened its mouth wide.

"No, no, no!" the sergeant screamed as he dangled over the Giant's mouth.

The other officers watched in horror as their sergeant was dropped into the Giant's mouth and chewed while he screamed. His bones crunching was easily heard over his screams. The other Giant's finished licking their hands of the bloods that covered them.

"We got to get out of here!" one of the cops screamed before running.

None of the other officers tried to argue with him and quickly followed behind him. The Giants roared as they saw their buffet run off.

You inflicted 154 damage You inflicted 167 damage You inflicted 147 damage You inflicted 148 damage You inflicted 175 damage You inflicted 164 damage You inflicted 177 damage You inflicted 187 damage You inflicted 148 damage You inflicted 155 damage

The Giants attempted to give chase but as they all tried to take a step, they fell over. The officers stopped in place as they saw the Giants fall over. Hitting the ground with a loud thud, the cause of their fall was seen by everyone. Each of their Achilles' tendons had been cut apart.

Mountain Giant

Level 20 Rank B Health 700/700 Type Uncommon Usually making their home in the mountains, Giants survive usually by hunting for animals or unfortunate adventurers. While not very fast or intelligent, Giants make up for it through their size and strength. Resistances Physical 30% Disease 25% Fire 5% Plant 0% Ice 30% Earth 10% Lightning 10% Water 0% Wind 25% Spirit 0% Light 0% Darkness 0% Notice Due to the destruction of their Achilles' tendons, the giants are now unable to stand. They are now vulnerable to additional damage.

"Aurora, now, while they are on the ground!" Tom ordered. He was just behind the Giants with blood on his sword. Tom flicked his sword to rid it of the blood that drenched the blade.

"Got it!" Reia said.

Reia flew in above the first Giant. She unfurled her wings and landed a heavy blow with her spear to the Giant's head.

Critical Damage! You inflicted 411 damage You gained 90 EXP Mountain Giant has dropped a Frost Crystal Shard. Tom has levelled up!

The Giant below Reia went limp and stopped breathing. Reia yanked on her spear and pulled it out of the Giant's head.

"Keep it up!" Tom cheered. He ran onto the back of the one Giant near to him and stabbed his blade downwards through the top of its skull.

Critical Damage! You inflicted 397 damage You gained 90 EXP Mountain Giant has dropped a Frost Crystal Shard.

Like the first, the Giant collapsed onto the ground dead as blood flowed out of the wound in its skull.

The other three Giants saw what happened to two of their brethren. Worried that they were going to face the same fate, they tried to get up. Without their tendons, the best they could do was get on all fours. Even crawling would be enough to try to escape the two warriors.

"They're trying to run away! Gotta move faster! Chain Lightning!"

Lightning shot out from Tom's hand and electrocuted the three Giants.

You inflicted 76 damage You inflicted 72 damage You inflicted 78 damage Notice Chain Lightning has reached Beginner Level 3.

The Giants screamed in pain as the lightning flowed through their bodies. They collapsed back onto the ground. Tom raised his blade and decapitated the Giant nearest to him using Power Strike.

Critical Damage! You inflicted 347 damage You gained 90 EXP Mountain Giant has dropped a Frost Crystal Shard. Notice Power Strike has reached Beginner Level 7. Notice Sword Skill has reached Intermediate Level 2.

Reia stabbed her spear through the side of the Giant's head next to her.

Critical Damage! You inflicted 324 damage You gained 90 EXP Mountain Giant has dropped a Frost Crystal Shard. Notice Spear Skill has reached Intermediate Level 2. Reia has levelled up! Notice By forcing the Giant to watch his brethren get slaughtered, the debuff "Panic" has been inflicted.

The last Giant started to breathe rapidly as he tried to crawl away from the two little monsters. His injured ankles left two trails of blood behind him.

"Where do you think you're going?" Tom questioned the Giant.

The Giant glanced back and saw the Human and Naga casually walked towards him. He doubled his efforts to crawl away.

Reia flapped her wings, launching herself into the air. She flew over the Giant and dropped. Reia stabbed her spear into the Giant's back and through his heart.

Critical Damage! You inflicted 372 damage You gained 90 EXP Mountain Giant has dropped a Frost Crystal Shard. Notice Tactician has reached Intermediate Level 1.

Tom walked alongside the Giant and looked up to Reia.

"I think that's the last one," Reia said.

Congratulations You have completed the quest Giants' Hunger.

"That confirms it," Tom said upon seeing the window.

Reia hopped down from the Giant's back with a spring in her step.

"That was the easiest mission yet," Tom said as he breathed out.

"It was thanks to your plan," Reia said. "Cutting their ankles at the beginning of battle took away their biggest strength. I've never heard of an adventurer using that tactic to take down a Giant."

"Really? What do they do? Attack from the front?"

Reia shrugged with a cringed look to her face. "Not... always. They do try to get mages or archers on their team to attack a Giant's upper body."

"So inefficient," Tom sighed.

Reia hugged Tom's right arm. "I think we should head back," she suggested. Reia pointed to the policemen standing in shock. "I doubt they'll stand still for long."

"Alright," Tom said. "Fast Travel Home."

Tom and Reia vanished from the Russian streets. The shock of the situation finally passed for the officers. With their minds unclouded by fear, they returned to duty and sought out survivors who might need help.

On top of one of the buildings stood a man in a black trench coat. His name was Rikkard and he was the best scout and saboteur in the Phoenix organization. He was one of twelve members of Phoenix to receive a Soul Axis to give him access to the SYSTEM.

Since that day, he had spent much of his time killing people and completing missions given to him. At this point, he was level six and his class was Rogue. He had a high Perception stat that allowed him to scout and infiltrate more efficiently.

Rikkard watched the battle against the Giants with some fear. Thunder and Aurora showed power and fighting style that was far above what anyone in Phoenix could possibly do. He was thankful he wasn't ordered to try to attack them. His mission was just to discover their identities. Sadly, his mission was only half successful.

Thunder's identity was left in secret as something he wore stopped Rikkard's Identify skill from working on him. Thunder's name and titles were all left as question marks in his status screen. Thunder's dragon companion was different. Her identity was left bare for him to read.

"Reia Zyer," he muttered under his breath.

VVVVVV

Four individuals sat on fold-up chairs in an empty white room. The four were dressed in the Marine Corps' Battle Dress Uniform. They have been waiting for a couple hours at this point and displayed their impatience by either leaning back in their chair or resting their elbows on their knees.

The four Marines were Staff Sergeant Laura Garza, Corporal David Li, Corporal Samantha Smith, and Lance Corporal Christopher Jones. Chris Jones was an African-American man whose job in the squad was using drones and technological equipment to aid their missions. David Li, a Chinese-American man, was the squad sniper. He often worked with Jones, acting as a spotter. Smith, a Caucasian woman, was the demolition expert and always carried a grenade launcher into battle. Finally, Laura, a Hispanic woman, was the squad leader who boosted a near flawless success record for mission completion.

Recently, the four were on a mission in Colombia until they were recalled back to the States. Their mission was to eliminate Colombia's largest drug lord. The drug lord, who was known to the locals as "El Muerte", controlled the region's drug and slave trade. He was also known to make deals with Phoenix from time to time by smuggling weapons for them. The four were upset that their mission was interrupted and the only reason they were given was "reassignment".

The door to the room opened up and the four Marines looked up. They saw a man dressed in a dress uniform walk in. On his shoulder were four stars denoting his rank of General.

"Attention!" Laura roared to her squad.

The four immediately stood up straight with their feet placed against each other while saluting. The General walked in front of them and turned to face them.

"At ease," the man said in his old, grumbling voice.

The four Marines spread their feet apart by about a foot and placed their hands behind their backs.

"I understand you four are upset that your mission in Colombia was interrupted," the General stated. "Believe me, I understand. However, your team was specifically called upon for this reassignment. If you four could follow me, I can explain further."

The four Marines followed the General out the other door of the room. The hallway they entered was industrial in its looks, with pipes and cables that ran down the top corners.

"You all have been down in Colombia for a while now," the General said. "Did you all read the briefing package?"

"We did, sir," Laura replied. "It was hard to believe, to say the least."

"You and me both. The world still doesn't seem to be ready to believe that fantasy monsters are attacking us."

"If I may ask, sir," Chris said. "What do we know about this Thunder individual and his companion?"

"As much as you know," the General replied. "He is an individual holding super-human abilities who has taken it upon himself to fight these supernatural monsters. Based on testimony by a Spanish cop that fought by his side in Madrid, we believe him to be a Canadian citizen. That's about as specific as we can get about his origin. As for Aurora, we have no idea how he managed to get one of these beings to fight by his side. According to reports, she has proven herself to be an ally of our world. Or at least... To him. We currently have every intelligence agency working tirelessly to locate Thunder and Aurora. Not just ours, but every nation has been working towards that end. As it says in your briefing reports, Thunder does appear to know exactly what is happening to our world. As to why he hasn't come forth and tell us, we don't know. But this we do know. The appearance of monsters is increasing at an exponential rate. If no steps are taken towards fighting back, we can say goodbye to modern civilization."

The General approached a door with a retina and hand-print scanner. The four Marines stopped behind him. He placed his hand on the scanner and leaned forward to allow the retina scanner to scan his eye. The door opened and the five walked through.

"That's where you four come in," the General continued. "As of this moment, you four are no longer part of the Marine Corps."

The four Marines went into a panic.

"Excuse me?" Laura spat out. "On what grounds?"

"You four are being transferred to a new military unit," the General answered.

The five entered a dark room with just a few lights that shone down in beams of light. On the other side of the room was a large garage door with a smaller door in it.

"Your squad is considered one of the best in the Marine Corps, which is why you have been selected to join a new branch."

"Respectfully, sir," David said. "How can we just be transferred from one branch to another? On whose authority?"

"On mine," another voice answered.

An old man walked into the room through the smaller door of the large garage door. He used a cane to assist in his walking. The four Marines immediately recognized the man as the leader of their nation.

"Mister President!" Sam gasped.

The five stood at attention in the President's presence.

"At ease," the President said while waving his hand.

"Thank you for joining us, Mister President," the General said.

"I understand that this is a shock to you," Forest said to the Marine squad. "But I recently made an executive order to locate our most capable soldiers and to transfer them to a new unit I'm putting together. It's not news yet, but I recently put forward a new accord to the other nations of earth. Officially, this accord isn't going to be presented at the UN for another few weeks. However, considering the scale, I wanted the nations of the world to really go over it. We call it the Unity Accord. To get to the brass tacks of what the accord entails, it is a proposal of a unified army of humanity that every nation contributes to. An army that will be overseen by the UN."

"Mister President, doesn't the UN already have an army?" Laura asked. "In the form of the DPKO?"

"Technically, yes," Forest answered. "But the Peacekeepers' mandate is to maintain peace and security in unstable nations. It isn't to seek out threats to eliminate. At least, not primarily. That's what the Unity Accord is about. A new international military filled with the best soldiers from around the world and fitted with the best technology the world can offer. All to fight back against monsters. You four are going to be a first step towards this military."

A mechanical growl was heard and the garage door started to move up. Light shone in from underneath the door as the new room was revealed. The other area was a gigantic hangar. The four ex-Marines' eyes widened as they saw what it contained. Inside the hangar were a multitude of vehicles and aircrafts that were leagues ahead of anything currently out on the field.

"These vehicles and jets were going to be introduced into the field next year. However, due to current events, the schedule has been stepped up," the General said. "You will also receive next-gen weaponry and the HERC."

"The HERC, sir?" Chris asked.

"A robotic exoskeleton that makes you stronger and faster. We need every advantage we can get against these monsters."

"I know you four joined the Marines to serve this nation," Forest said. "But reading the reports, I think we can safely assume that these current events are not just America's problems. Will you all be willing to fight for humanity?"

VVVVVV

Tom was at his computer doing research. It was focused on any intel he could get on the Phoenix organization. The door to his room opened and Reia walked in. Tom looked back and said, "Hey Reia. Did you pick your class?"

"After a lot of thought, yeah," Reia replied as she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his shoulder. "I picked Lancer. My Strength and Agility increased by twenty points and I unlocked a new skill called Flurry."

Lancer Your combative abilities are focus on medium-range melee combat. This class provides precise, powerful strikes while giving you the ability to evade attacks. Unlocking this class will boost your Strength (high) and Agility (high). Flurry Type Activate Stamina Required 40 Rank C Level Beginner 1 (0%) You are able to make many attacks in a short time. Speed increases with more attacks.

"I can now do a series of quick and powerful attacks," she said. "I also got a quest to unlock my class' full potential. Oddly enough, it also takes place in the Spirit Realm."

"I guess it's because no one on Earth is a Lancer and we can't reach Xoth," Tom concluded. "Were you given any requirements?"

"I just need a high-intermediate level weapon skill."

"Similar to me," Tom muttered. "I guess we'll have to boost our weapon skills as soon as possible then."

Reia looked at the computer monitor and saw Tom had a picture of a scarred woman on the screen.

"Who is that?" she asked.

"Our enemy," Tom replied. "Rika Darma. She is the leader of the Phoenix organization. Something I've noticed is that no news organization is reporting that Phoenix was responsible for the attack in Sydney. That's very odd."

"Why wouldn't they report it?"

"The authorities are ensuring that panic doesn't spread. Phoenix is already feared. If people believe they are responsible for the emergence of monsters, then that would push everyone over the edge. That's exactly what they would want."

"What do you know about them?"

"Not as much as I would like," Tom replied. "We've had terrorist organizations rise and fall, especially in the last forty years. Phoenix was different in that they had everybody's kind of crazy. They accepted former terrorists and extremists from all over the world to form their group. They had the structure and funding that surpassed any terrorist group in the past. Their ideology is much more simple as well. Tear down the current world to build a new one."

"What kind of world do they want to build?"

"I don't think they've thought that far ahead. Especially with the varying ideologies within their group. Regardless, they are responsible for tens of thousands of deaths through terrorist attacks worldwide. Then there's deaths from conflicts and coups they have initiated. I have been given a tall order. I need to find a lead that'll take me to Rika. Someone told her group how to make Mimic Slimes and I intend to find out who."

"What kind of lead are you looking for?"

"Just a connection. One person. I can work my way up from there. It's going to take me time, but I'll find it. If there's one great thing about increasing my Intelligence stat, it's that I have become smarter. I'm now able to do things with computers I didn't think I was capable of doing before. I'm currently setting up proxies in order to disguise my online activities. If I am going to get my lead, I'll need to hack into certain government agencies to get that information. And I'll need to do it without exposing myself."

"And what are we going to do when we get that lead?"

"We follow it all the way to Rika. We find out who her benefactor is. We then kill her." Tom placed his hands on Reia's arms, which were still wrapped around his chest. "Will you help me in this endeavour?"

Reia kissed him on the cheek and said, "Wherever you go, I'll be there by your side. This is for both our worlds."

"Thank you. I'm done reacting to current events. I can't wait to get another mission from Kara in order to protect our worlds. We need to go on the offensive."

VVVVVV

Unknown Location

Rikkard entered the warehouse where Rika and Mordiggian were meeting. He walked towards the two. Rikkard felt a new energy come from Rika. It was darker and overwhelming. Her presence felt very similar to the demon that had been aiding their cause.

"The scout has returned," Mordiggian stated as Rikkard walked towards them.

"Was your mission a success?" Rika asked.

"Only partially, I'm afraid," he answered. "Thunder wore something that disguised his identity. That's what the blue windows told me any ways."

"And the Naga?" Mordiggian said.

"The dragon girl? I got all of her information. Her level is twenty. I'd assume Thunder is around there as well."

"What is her name?" Mordiggian leaned over the man.

"Reia Zyer," he replied.

"Zyer?" Mordiggian repeated.

"Yeah. Reia Zyer."

Mordiggian withdrew from the man and faced away from Rika and Rikkard. The creature then began making a noise unfamiliar to the two. They soon realized the noise it was making was laughter. It sent chills down their spines.

"Her name is Zyer! Zyer! It all makes sense. I remember. I remember everything! The foolish goddess thought she could make us all forget!"

The demon continued its laughter, to the displeasure of Rika and Rikkard.

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Character Stats:

Spoiler :