Nico moved from tree to tree, always sticking within the cover of grass. He checked all sides, including up, before he carefully made his way towards the next one. The fairies had many advantages. Camouflage with their bright purple flesh was not one of them.

The environment began to change. It looked like Nico was at the edge of the 3rd Zone, an almost unbelievable turn of good news.

The terrain ahead had scattered puddles of mud. The ground rose with each tree, creating a small mound of root and dirt. The trees weren’t centered on those small hills, but tilted sideways, and curved towards each other like half-moons, meeting and intertwining their branches for stability. The ground was bun shaped. The only flat ground was between the trees, but because of the dense lines of branches going into each other directly above, barely any sunshine pierced through.

The ground sank under his feet sank. The mounds rose to hip level, giving Nico even more foliage to use. It was a good Zone to sneak through, though the extensive number of puddles surrounding him put him on edge. He felt Life from them, but the mud was too dense to see through.

Zone II—Moon’s Swamp

Average Star-Level: ★★

Urgh, these names suck. How can a moon have a swamp? If the sun can’t shine on it, why would a moon be able to? And if that’s the case, then who decides whether the moon or the sun gets what?

The area stretched to his left and right for as far as he could see. The average star level change wasn’t the only significant one. If the area behind him belonged solely to the Bog Fairies, then the area ahead undoubtedly belonged to something else. Different biomes made different monsters, and most often the biomes themselves would change each time the Deep passes it. The way the ground rose and the way trees intertwined with each other was because of it.

Before the Deep came, the land was mostly flat, uniform, and symmetrical.

Speaking of. Nico wondered what the 4th City looks like now that the Deep went through it. Unfortunately, humanity has not yet reclaimed that area of the world. Too many 5-star monsters surrounded it for some reason, yet another mystery that is unsolved.

On that he went left, keeping in between the two areas. There was no reason to mindlessly rush in. A little bit of scouting and observation wouldn’t hurt. Knowing what skills the monsters used was the difference between life and death.

Besides the puddles, small rivers of soft mud sprouted throughout the way, with them growing the intensity of the flesh devouring monsters called mosquitoes. They’ve haunted humanity since the dawn of time. Not even the first end of the world was able to wipe them out.

Small frog like creature’s leaped out from the mud to reach for the flies that hovered above them.

Nico cheered them on. Every fly that perished was a fly that did not feast on his naked skin. One of the larger ones was especially good. It leapt feet above the water, slurped in a good four flies, and got swallowed by a vulture as large as Nico. It flew back towards the top of the tree, glaring at him as the frog slid down its throat.

It had large wings and a puffed chest with dark feathers. Its neck was bald and stretched far out of its torso. It was at least a few feet too long.

Nico took a page from Yen’s book and stuck his middle finger at its creepy looking head.

The frogs must have used the mud to hide, but that bird must have had a work-around. The distance seemed too far for the Locust to identify its skills.

This was…this was natural selection. Or evolution, he wasn’t sure which one it was called. It’s how life used to evolve. It was strange how it was working here, though. The most competent frogs died because they were competent, leaving the lesser ones to pass on their life. It was like a cap. Any frog that was better than a certain level was pruned by the vultures.

A twig snapped behind him. He ignored it. If he turned every time a branch snapped or the grass hustled, he would be here all day and the next.

Before the second twig snapped, Nico broke into a sprint, weaving left and right. Something humanoid entered his range. He spared one quick glance behind him when he heard footsteps.

Rider Of The Moon’s Swamp ★★

Energy:?

Trait: ?

Class: ?

1st Skill: ?

2nd Skill: ?

A stout creature on short legs with the head of a toad and bulging cat eyes ran out of the mud. Its dry, warty potbelly bounced up and down as it chased him with a fast-pulsating throat. It reached for one of the dozen red and purple mushrooms growing on its belly and threw it at him.

Nico stomped his foot and made a sharp curve, nearly sliding across the dirt as he got himself behind a mound. The mushroom turned into a purple cloud when it struck the tree. The metal was fine, the grass around it was not. It withered away into purple ash. Nico’s healing, arguably his only advantage besides his debatable intelligence, would be slow acting against that sort of damage.

Yeah I shouldn’t get hit. While it was a Ranks above his, his legs were longer than the Bog Rider with less weight to slow him down. He thought he could out last it in a long run, so when he heard multiple feet shaking the earth behind him, Nico could only look back in horror.

A crocodile took short but horrifyingly quick steps towards him. On top of it was another Rider. There were two more on his right side, where their home territory must have been.

So much for that. There was no out-running them either.

Nico took a sharp turn to the left, dodging another mushroom. Instead of poison, this one exploded into tiny fragments that tore the grass and a part of his calf. Taking in the deepest breath of his life, he jumped over the mound ahead of him and made a hard stop. He pressed his body as tightly as he could in that little indenture. Enough grass covered him.

The underside of two crocodiles leaped through the air above him. Their feet sank into the ground as they landed, the Rider’s weight doing most of the sinking.

Rider Of The Moon’s Swamp ★★★

Energy: ?

Trait: Fungai (Uncommon)

Grows mushrooms on your body that contain the effects of your skills. The mushrooms will activate upon being plucked out.

1st Skill: Fragmentation Blast (Common II)

2nd Skill: Infection (Uncommon II)

Consumes 1 Energy Point to create a poison cloud that will deal corrosive damage.

Cast-time: 3 seconds

Cooldown: 1

They chased onwards, giving Nico a chance to jump behind a tree with better cover.

He inspected his calf. Not worth using a Heal yet. It would give away his position. Most monsters could sense when an Energy is used around them. He decided to wait until more damage accumulated.

Nico poked his head out. The appalling line of crooked teeth the crocodile’s maw had, the poison, the range of that explosion…he shook his head. Fighting in the 2nd Zone was too risky. He had Fragmentation Blast, but using it while surrounded by monsters on all sides was a tricky matter. It might trap him in a cycle in which each cast would invite more monsters than the monsters it kills.

He could Siphon his kills for their Energy, but that also meant he had to stay in place for a few seconds. With the Rider’s ranged attacks, Nico didn’t see that going well for him.

The Riders stopped in their tracks. They turned around, tossing mushrooms at all the bushes one by one. They must have smelled him if they noticed the trail had gone cold. So I can’t run away, and I can’t hide.

Nico leapt out of the grass, using his hands more than his legs to get away. A couple of grass blades sprayed his back with a lukewarm gust as an explosion resounded. He made his way back towards the 3rd Zone, where the legion of fairy’s had set off towards, dodging one mushroom after another. He focused more on his Life sense than his eyes. He didn’t sense the mushrooms themselves, but he did sense the Rider’s tossing them. That gave him enough room to work with.

As he ran, though, the two Rider’s turned into four, and the four turned into eight. Each mushroom that exploded attracted more of their allies. The closer they got, the closer the mushrooms came to blowing his legs off.

While he still had his breath, he bellowed as loudly as he could. It made him faint headed, but after a couple of yells his effort paid off.

To his behind and far right, Bog Riders chased him with their mushrooms and gnarling teeth of their crocodiles, and to his left Bog Fairies were coming with their pretty, pulsing butterfly wings. There were a few Bruiser fairies and some rogue fairies. A couple of three stars flew above. Just from the star difference Nico assumed the Bog Riders will get slaughtered.

This was a common tactic. Different species from different Zones could easily be turned against each other if their current target hadn’t accumulated enough agro. It was also highly illegal for two reasons Nico hoped he wouldn’t have to be reminded of.

Once both sides got within firing range of each other mayhem was unleashed in its fullest. Mushrooms and beams passed over and under Nico. The ground shook, and the air began blowing like a tornado, he noted, mid-flight. Something had taken him off his feet. He checked himself as he fell—just a few fractured ribs and bruises—he landed on his side and rolled to his feet.

He glanced down again, expecting to see his knee pointing in the wrong direction, but all was well. The monsters were fully occupied with each other, save for the original two Rider’s on their crocs. Those kept chasing Nico.

They didn’t toss as many mushrooms. They were running low, but Nico was also low on breath. He fought his legs for every step taken. He could use an Energy to recover his endurance and heal, but that would attract more monsters. Using a Fragmentation Blast would probably increase the ones chasing him instead of decreasing them.

He came up with two ill-advised plans to extend his life by a few more minutes, then picked the less crazy one. He snatched grass and scooped mud on his way, combining them into a soft bunch. When the Bog Rider tossed another mushroom, he twisted around and jumped, catching it as gently as he could.

Nico tossed it back. There was surprise on the Rider’s contorted face when the mushroom touched its chest. It flew off the croc, leaving a thick trail of red blood in the air. The croc was blasted against the ground. It didn’t move.

That went well. Much better than catching it with the Locust and hoping the explosion wouldn’t blast it or his body off. A bit too risky, if you asked him.

One more to go, and it was coming straight for him. He stayed in his spot and caught his breath, taking it all in as he prepared. The moment it would toss a mushroom Nico would run forward. He was certain he could reach it in time before it prepared another one. The Locust could pierce through its neck or eyes if he gets a good angle and some speed.

Then the croc. Its thick hide looked even more troublesome.

He looked past it. There was a good dozen monsters tearing each other and not paying him the least attention. It was like a small whirlpool that kept expanding the more monsters it attracted.

Nico felt a throbbing lump on the back of his skull. Another humanoid. He turned around slowly.

A Ranker in a dark suit was leaning against a tree with folded arms. He had a wide chest and heavy looking arms. A pristine white mask wrapped around his entire head, leaving no space for the ears or nose. There was just a thin line where his mouth was.

Atomic (V)

Class: ?

Soul-Bound Equipment: 5/5

Energy: ?

1st Skill: ?

2nd Skill: ?

3rd Skill: ?

Ultimate: ?

“A child,” he said, growling. “This is so fucked.”