Snow had run-up to the very top of the wall, staring down at the chaos down below. The blue glow of the barrier was proudly standing, protecting the fortress-like a giant bulb.

It wasn’t easy to get an artifact like the one that they were given, mostly because such a thing was hidden away. Snow didn’t know how Heather had made it possible, but she had persuaded the higher-ups to provide her with what they desperately needed.

Even the Players use this advantage to go on an attack, striking the very Crystal Raptors that came climbing up the wall. They effectively moved together to move efficiently. Some were able to efficiently kill with barely any damage, allowing them to quickly move on to another.

“How is it going up here?” Snow asked Mike, who was directing the flow of the battle. He ducked under a Crystal Raptor that made it to the top but was stopped short by the barrier itself as it couldn’t even get through. The moment they reached their crystal hands into the real barrier, it was violently incinerated, leaving behind nothing but a stump.

Mike raised his foot, jamming it into the chest. With a push, he kicked the raptor off the very wall. It screamed and flayed, splatting on the very ground itself with broken bones and twisted body parts.

“Doing pretty well.” Mike laughed, he was glad that the shield was up. “I can’t believe that such a simple shield like this is keeping most of the monsters at bay, but what’s more astounding is that it’s not hurting us.”

Snow pointed at herself. “It’s a rare artifact. Have you forgotten?”

“True,” he replied pleased. His sword wiped out, slicing the neck of another.

Snow was at the edge of the barrier itself, looking down as she saw more and more Crystal Raptors coming up like ants. “They just never end.”

“Yea, which is weird. I thought they were smarter than this.” Mike chuckled, he was getting tired of their mindless attack.

“They usually are.” Snow was wondering why they were acting this way, but then again, the wall had gone up today, so the monsters probably didn’t understand how it worked.

“Well, I hope they keep doing it. Makes our fights much easier, plus lowering the count on monsters should allow us to eventually get closer to the inside of the fog. Maybe this time, we can either lure them out or attack.”

“I would like that.”

“Me too.”

All the Crystal Raptors stopped rushing headfirst towards the very wall and instead stayed halfway near the water edge.

The Crystal Raptors roared and yelled, stomping the very ground. They stared into the very distance of the fortress itself. Suddenly, they shivered, and they started to form into a line.

Swirling with energy like a clockwork, the Crystal Raptor started to glow frightening blue.

A blast of energy shot out from the very mouths as a stream of blue hit the very wall. Snow held her breath, watching the power hit. She felt the wall shimmer like a ripple, bringing with it a small surge that canceled the attack.

Every hit the blue energy pelted, the Players and the Hunters cheered. They were excited at the new protective barrier.

The Crystal Raptors screamed in rage as they sent more and more blasts of electric energy that still only made a small ripple.

Snow felt her heart ease for the barrier still held. It was like seeing a glimmer of hope at the end of a long tunnel.

“This is truly amazing,” Mike replied, looking at the barrier with awe. “That black box did its job.” He snickered, pleased that the war was finally going in their favor.

The ground grumbled under their very feet. Rocks started to rise from the very ground as the blue magic shimmered. The crystal feet pounded up and down in rhythm, while the horned Hyena started to shriek.

With a boisterous roar, the Horned Hyena’s horn started to glow alongside the back of the Crystal Raptor itself. Electricity zip alongside the back of the Crystal Raptor and up to the Horned Hyenna’s horn.

Instantly, the two started to crystalize, merging into one another into a hot pot of concoction of beasts. The magic drizzled down onto their very bodies and around their bodies like silkworms silk.

Snow held in her breath, realizing what was going on. They were evolving.

“I can’t believe this.” Snow mumbled to see the real chance of the monster’s growth inside the very walls of the dungeon itself. It was a scarce and unique side to see the evolution of a beast to its next form. Everything inside the dungeon was a dog eat dog world, but it was not easy to surpass their limits. To see the monsters that formed a symbiotic relationship, it was bound to either succeed or fail.

“Are they merging?” Mike asked, baffled at what he was seeing.

“No, devouring.” Snow replied. The Crystal Raptor was eating the other whole with its magic; it wasn’t just a simple merge. Their whole body was encased in an egg-like shell that reminded her of a cocoon.

The horned Hyena was useless in the fight but to be the extra pair of eyes for the Crystal Raptors. Other than that, it was weak. Even its body parts were of no use when salvaged for materials as it was thrown over the walls to be discarded.

“What is this,” Mike half-heartedly chuckled, “pokemon?”

“A what?” Snow snapped towards his directions, not understanding this word.

“Nothing, just something of my world.” Mike tried to brush it off. “Either way, whatever is coming out of that thing isn’t going to be friendly….is it?”

Dairen came over, “Obviously.”

“Hey, I was just asking.” Mike gave Dairen the eye, telling him that he didn’t ask a stupid question.

Dairen didn’t take it to heart; he pulled out his bow and arrow. Wrapping it around with ice and dark magic, he created an extraordinary power.

Snow was amazed at the amount of control Dairen had in creating something so intricate and compacted. She could tell that there were about three different spells mixed into one.

The arrow flew true, coming down onto the nearest egg-shaped cocoon of blue. It embedded itself cozily into the thick shell. In a matter of seconds, an acidic dark energy seeped into the very egg, followed by small explosions that hit the other shells into oblivion.

“Nice shot.” Mike complimented, “you’re going to need more of those to wipe out the rest of the thousands of eggs on the ground. You got about like ten.”

Dairen didn’t care about what Mike had said; he flashed a few more arrows one after another in a

rhythmic beat, he took down a large pod of eggs.

“A bit faster?” Mike asked. He could see that the eggs were starting to waver and shake. “I can help, you know.”

“No.” Both Snow and Dairen replied at the same time.

“What? But I can help.”

“No.” They both repeated it.

The other members of the Golden Phoenix guild retaliated alongside him as the other Players quickly followed suit as they knew that whatever was going on, they needed to wipe it out now.

Snow was throwing light arrows the size of small needles into the eggs themselves, trying to help speed up the process. She could see the burst of electricity spanning out from the eggs that were encased in its shell, starting to break apart into pieces.

A powerful surge of energy burst from each of the eggs into its own little volcanic eruptions. Each one spilled out a blue goo as one after another, the eggs open. A blue claw made out of pure crystals spilled out from the very core of the egg: a monster emerged.

A short, stout neck, monstrous jaws with an ugly underbite, six diamond eyes that glowed bright blue with a twisted horn that was like a crown that decorated its head. Blueish green scales, the pattern of a geometric flower, think muscles on its whole body and core. Deep claws dug into the very ground, allowing it to stand. Long double tails that look like a prong allowed it to balance on its hind legs as it walked on two.

On the back of both of its hands was a creature’s face that looked like angry gargoyles. It cackled and laughed at its surroundings like a maniac. Each one of them spewed out a blast of electricity and fire that licked the very floor.

Mike was a bit baffled by what he was seeing. Monsters were bursting from their eggs and blocking the magical attacks. It was frightening to view as if they were aliens.

“Why don’t we just call it Gem Beast or some shit like that?” Mike spoke with sarcasm that wasn’t pleased with what was going on in front of him. They all wished that the dungeon would stop producing odd monsters, but that wasn’t the case.

“Evolution at its finest,” Dairen replied. He threw out a rain of magic that glittered like stars. An array of arrows fell from the very skies and onto the ground like splattered paint.

“Impressive,” Mike replied, looking at Darien. “I could have done something similar to that.”

“It’s a one-time thing.” Dairen felt drained with the magic power that he had. He took a blue potion and drank it to fill his power up again. His ability to control the arrow was impressive for a Player. He placed his hand out onto the wall, shoulder dropping, waiting for the magic to hit.

Even still, he wasn’t able to take out half of the eggs on the ground, the rest of the monsters emerged out. They growled, shaking their head, ready for battle.

This time the ground beneath them glowed like lines of electric wires, coming straight from the lake itself. It was a soft light that connected the dots to every single monster on the field.

Suddenly, Snow felt something was wrong. It was like an itch that she couldn’t get rid of in her guts as it scratched at her, not letting her go. Her stomach wrenched, she felt it, and she knew.