David sat in his hotel room bed, letting out a last slow exhale as he stopped meditating. It had taken effort, but he had finally achieved that strange feeling of calmness once more. He had managed to stay within a meditative trance which effectively neutralized the undulating currents of the fog that suffused his thoughts, for forty-five minutes.

It was a new breakthrough for him, one of many small victories he had recently achieved over the fog.

He had surprised himself with the effectiveness of his actions lately. His own drive to meet the challenges to come. Perhaps it was the absence of the soul-numbing pain he had carried around for so long in his chest. Perhaps it had something to do with his losses to the PMU during his transfer to the gameworld.

David found it hard to care about why he was performing so well, even with his meticulous mind.

All that mattered was progress.

He had spent the past few days going to the dojo in the morning and restlessly practicing his skills and abilities at night. In his free time, he compiled information towards his own future goals. He had spent ten years working on this game, and the information he had amassed was extensive.

There was a crypt he had aided in the design of, one of countless others spread out across the surface of Ezuno. Within it lay enough wealth to satisfy his short term goals. It also contained a few rather good pieces of gear that he had personally placed within, with his own use in mind.

All perfectly reasonable things for a game developer to do, especially since this was just one of over twenty crypts that David had worked on.

He had known then that no one would find it suspicious for a lone crypt to be raided before the players even arrived. These things happened from time to time. It would barely be a blip on the radar for the AI that ran the game world.

It was a small, inconsequential detail, yet one that would change his life on Ezuno.

Unfortunately, he would first have to earn enough money to hire a thief.

The crypt he had in mind contained a very special test, designed to be extremely hard for the players in exchange for the loot within the crypt being even better than usual. First, the user had to make it through a plethora of traps, pitfalls, and magic wards. After passing through these ordeals, the fatigued players would then be faced by an AI generated wraith that would have skills and abilities designed to directly counter the player. This would be an absolutely insurmountable challenge for even the most skilled players, but for David, who did not have a class or any major skills, it would be the easiest part of the whole crypt.

Finding a relatively inexpensive and - dare he say it - trustworthy thief was a different challenge altogether, however. Fortunately, he knew where to look.

David was distracted from his thoughts when a quick buzz filled the room as the large view screen attached to his hotel room’s wall suddenly turned on, bleeping out a warning about the upcoming attack on the city.

He unfurled his legs, careful not to disturb the notebooks filled with notes which surrounded him on the bed, and turned to watch the news broadcast.

A sharply dressed and beautiful woman who looked to be in her mid thirties was looking at the camera, which, judging by her lack of a microphone, likely also contained some rather sophisticated sound capturing technology. She took a short breath before launching herself into a short description of current events, while small banners containing more information flowed across the bottom of the view screen.

“-latest reports from the wall states that the beast is just under two kilometers out from the perimeter now, and as you can clearly see-” The camera switched from a view of the woman to a camera feed from one of the cities surveillance drones, which hovered almost a hundred meters above and behind the soldiers scurrying about on top of the wall. In the distance, a massive, bulging shape was clearly visible on the horizon, a benefit of the relatively flat plains surrounding the city. As David focused on the image, he could clearly see the gargantuan turtle lifting its massive legs, marching ever forward towards the walls.

“-The Plain-bound Voraturtle is rapidly approaching the city. Experts tell us that with a height of almost forty meters, and an estimated weight of thirty five tons, the beast is likely within the fourth tier.” Her statement was punctuated by gasps which could be clearly heard through the walls from some of the rooms around him, evidence of the other hotel guest’s shock.

“Looking closely at the wall here, our viewers can see that all of the nearby city-defense weapons are maintaining a steady aim at the creature, however, the latest orders from the honorable Mr. Eadwhin hints that they will not be used in this engagement, as he has announced his own participation in the defense. As you may see on the bottom left side of your viewer-” The camera shifted, zooming in and smoothly rotating left to center on an imposing figure in armor, carrying a massive warhammer like it was a toy. “Mr. Eadwhin is on the walls now, meeting with his advisors and defense administrators-”

David tuned the woman out as the entirety of his focus was centered on the imposing man who stood calmly atop the towering walls, the city below him looking tiny in comparison.

This. This was what he wanted.

The man looked indomitable. Immortal. He carried the weight of the entire country on his shoulders, and he made it look easy. Like it was nothing for him.

Among all the soldiers, bodyguards, and advisors on the wall, which scurried around like ants, the area around him was the sole empty space along that section of the wall. He held back the press of people with his mere presence alone. As David watched, Charles gathered a small group of soldiers who all looked like veterans, each of whom carried specialized weaponry and had strange symbols of rank emblazoned across their shoulders. After a short speech, the soldiers nodded their heads and then filed out under the command of an officer, who took charge and led his men towards the edge of the wall.

The soldiers quickly and efficiently hooked themselves to winches that lined the edge of the bulwark, grabbing hold of their lines before forcefulling throwing themselves over the wall.

—-----

“FAS squad three has been given the honor of performing scouting actions against the approaching voraturtle. Your squad is to move out and engage the beast from a distance, test for weaknesses, and show the country why our warriors are the best. Evaluate a proper engagement protocol and put on a good show for the civilians, then fall back when given the order.” Charles Eadwhin flicked his eyes towards Emelia Burke, his personal assistant. She had advocated for this as a method to improve the combat readiness of his soldiers, and Charles had immediately seen the sense of the move. He returned his gaze to the fast assault squad infront of him. “Mason Dosk, the head of my bodyguard, informs me that he is looking for a new candidate. The soldier with the best performance will be given the opportunity to join.” A lucrative chance indeed. Rumors would spread of his generous reward to the rest of the city, and the soldier who earned the candidacy would gain fame among the populace.

Charles spent a few moments answering questions from the squad leader, a grizzled professional who understood that his squad was being used mostly just for show. When it was clear the man and his squad were ready, he sent them over the wall.

The squad was one of multiple special forces units in the country, composed of mostly tier III individuals who had spent countless hours working together as a team. They might have even had the capability, with enough time and heavy ammo reserves, to defeat the massive beast themselves.

‘Alas,’ he smiled. ‘That will not be necessary.’

His enhanced senses picked up the minute whir of the camera drones as they flew closer to get a look at him as he walked steadily towards the edge of the wall. The crowd of soldiers busily preparing advanced defense systems parted around him effortlessly, leaving a wide circle around him that none would enter casually.

The FAS squad reached the ground and unclipped themselves from their hooks just as he effortlessly lifted Shademaker and stepped atop the crenulations at the edge of the wall. He spread his feet across the solid stone beneath him, resting the head of his hammer between his toes. He rested both hands imposingly atop the butt of the shaft, and looked down at the soldiers below.

He was all but certain they felt his gaze even now, especially as one of the soldiers visibly flinched as the weight settled across his shoulders.

He knew they would perform well.

He allowed himself to enter a state of waiting restfulness, nearly freezing his body in his imposing posture as he waited for the soldiers to get within range of the beast. They were running, unwilling to waste their maneuvering gear and abilities before the battle, so Charles spent a few minutes planning his own movements for the impending engagement. The soldiers behind him were quiet now, their defensive positions set.

He was ready, there was no threat that would penetrate his city.

Not today.

Cracks and Bangs suddenly filled the silent atmosphere as the FAS squad got into position and engaged, half of the soldiers immediately letting loose with their flashiest attacks. The other half bounded out wide and to the left, positioning themselves into a large L formation around the massive creature.

With a loud roar, the hostile creature focused in on the tiny humans who attacked it, retaliating with incredible force.

—----

It was time.

He felt it instinctually, the rhythm of battle that flowed through his body sang out its desire for blood, and the smaller part of him that was not enshrouded by battle intent knew that it was time to recall the squad. They had fought for ten minutes already and had exhausted their most powerful munitions against the beast, leaving great rents in its exposed forelegs and head.

It had not been enough, and the creature had not even ceased its inexorable crawl towards the city, towards him.

He relaxed himself out of his restful state, shifting the hammer between his feet slightly as he opened his mouth, speaking in a quiet yet confident tone which reached all of the soldiers around him.

“Sound the retreat.”

Orders were hurriedly issued through radios to the squad which was now fighting only a thousand meters from the city walls. The squad broke off its engagement professionally and with poise, bounding backwards in pairs as another pair stopped and engaged, drawing attention away from the soldiers who were exposed. Massive blasts shook the earth around the base of the wall as the voraturtle replied in kind, but soon there was a noticeable gap between the soldiers and the beast.

It would have to be enough.

Soon the beast would be able to target the walls with its own attacks, an unacceptable outcome.

Charles smiled as he sighted in on the area between the retreating soldiers and the beast, he would emerge there. He lifted his hammer an inch from the solid stone beneath him, then took a single step forwards, off of the wall.

He plummeted through the air like a bullet, his feet beneath him and the wind whipping at his armor and cloak in a soundless howl as the ground approached him at an ever increasing pace. Even through the wind in his ears, his enhanced senses picked up a massive roar coming from the city as what must have been nearly every single citizen released an excited shout of triumph.

He allowed his mouth to morph into a savage grin as the ground approached, and a split second later he impacted, sliding through solid earth like it was only jelly. He maintained his incredible momentum as he curved around and flew through the rock and dirt, using intuition and his enhanced spacial recollection to shoot out of the dirt like a bullet, appearing suddenly directly in front of the beast.

He flicked his warhammer upwards from beneath his feet, focusing his incredible will against the ground. A massive shard of earth rose up underneath him and stopped just as his upward momentum ceased, effectively ceasing his momentum. The voratutle, sensing a threat, immediately responded, opening its mouth to impossibly large dimensions and releasing a huge, howling beam of purple force, which crashed and broke around his shard of rock like a massive tidal wave.

The howl and shriek of superheated air exiting the turtle's mouth was so loud a normal human would have quickly gone deaf, but Charles only smiled. As the beast lifted its head, guiding the giant beam of force towards his position, he lifted the war hammer upside down in front of him with two hands, before quickly smashing it down on the earth between his feet, focusing his will as he did so. The effect was immediate, and a huge shockwave ravaged the shard of rock he was standing on and the earth around him for over fifty meters. Suddenly, a second massive wave of rock spiked upwards out of the earth directly below the turtle's mouth. He flicked his hammer behind him until it cracked into the shard behind him, and a smaller shard of earth forced its way out underneath his feet, launching him forward and up towards the beast.

Charles felt his grin morph into viscous glee as the beasts force beam rose up to meet him in a curving arc before suddenly cutting off as the second massive shard impacted its lower jaw, continuing to grow upwards out of the earth until it was big enough to push up on the beasts chest, grinding against its durable shell. The beast let out a gargantuan wail as it was forced up and over onto its back, falling with an incredible amount of force and shaking the earth as it impacted, causing a huge crater to form.

Charles raised his massive warhammer over his head with two hands as he focused on the spike of heavy metals that he had formed ahead of time underneath the beast. This was the result of his time spent waiting atop the wall, and the spike was made of dense, hardened metals found under the surface, each pulled together to form a massive spear almost twenty meters long. The spike rose slightly within the earth as he raised his hammer, responding to his will in an almost human desire to please its master. Charles flew over the last of the roiling energy that dissipated through the air from the creature's force beam, steadily approaching the shell which protected the beast's stomach. He sucked in a vast amount of air, filling his lungs with battle energy, yelling “HAH” as he swung his hammer into his landing, releasing all of the force contained within his body and his momentum into a single, powerful swing, focused directly into the shell over which the spike laid in wait.

The effect was immediate, a shockwave rented the air and traveled visibly through the surface of the shell, caving it in like paper as a loud CRACK sound shot out into his surroundings, deafening the retreating squad behind him.

The shell beneath him immediately caved downwards into a huge bowl, rending the beast's body into paste as the immense force traveled through its body. The beast did not even have time to release a horrified shriek of pain as the massive spike beneath it penetrated the shell, piercing almost its full length into the voraturtles body before shattering into splinters as the tip came into sudden contact with the head of his hammer. The metal splinters sharded outwards through the turtle's body, eviscerating the normally tough flesh and destroying everything in its path.

Charles landed atop crumbling shell fragments with a gentle grace, correctly guiding himself to not land within the massive pits in the surface of the shell where only gore remained. Beneath him lay the Plain-bound Voraturtle, a tier IV lifeform just like himself.

Dead.

He raised his hammer up with one hand, a smile etched across his normally serious features. He lay the haft against his shoulder, the head of Shademaker gleaming in the sun behind him as he turned and began his walk back to the city. Even here, a thousand meters from the edge of the walls, he could hear the roars of applause sounding out from his people.

‘Now that,’ he thought with smug satisfaction, ‘was sending a message.’