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(Note: This chapter is rather a bit short)
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[Cyber Ruins of Neolix (Still... For Now)]
The party continued their journey through the sprawling, neon-drenched ruins of Neolix. Broken holo-panels flickered faintly amidst towering metallic debris, and the faint hum of old circuitry echoed through the skeletal remains of long-forgotten tech. They had managed to avoid most battles against the zone's mobs, slipping past lurking constructs and glitched sentinels with careful precision. Now, with a rare moment of calm, their conversation turned playful.
"Yukinox, where did you even get that realistic, authentic voice changer of yours?" Suki-yummy asked, his tone laced with begrudging curiosity.
Yukinox cocked an eyebrow, smirking. "Eh? I bought it when my family went to Akihabara. Cost me a decent chunk, though. Why do you wanna know?"
A sly grin spread across Suki-yummy's face. "I wanna catfish and troll other players—make 'em think I'm a girl. Heheheheh."
Yukinox matched his expression with a mischievous grin of her own. "You're kinda evil, huh? Heheh."
The two exchanged a glance before breaking into a fit of childish giggles.
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While Yukinox and Suki-yummy bantered behind, Hoshigari was busy in his menu, eyes locked on his updated stats as he muttered to himself.
[Available SP: 38]
"For now… 38 stat points… alrighty, let's see here…"
[+10 Added to Luck]
[+10 Added to Perception]
[+10 Added to Agility]
[+8 Added to Arcana]
[Bonus SP Added & Distributed]
-[Status Attributes (Updated)]-
Vitality: 55 (+20)
Defense: 50 (+38)
Strength: 70 (+20)
Arcana: 66 (+20)
Perception: 220 (+35)
Dexterity: 55 (+10)
Agility: 105 (+20)
Stamina: 80 (+20)
Luck: 210 (+10)
"I'll focus on these four stats for now, I guess." Hoshigari muttered under his breath.
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Makidon's voice suddenly cut in, sharp and teasing. "Boss! What'cha doin'? Checking your stats?"
"Huh? Yeah," Hoshigari replied casually.
"Lemme guess… you added more to Luck, huh?" Makidon teased, her cheeks puffed into exaggerated fishlips.
"Uhhh… no comment." Hoshigari turned his head awkwardly in the opposite direction.
"Don't you have enough in Luck already?" Makidon slid into his line of sight from the side, her scowl comically intense.
"Haha… no comment," Hoshigari said again, turning the other way.
"Just spill it already, Boss!" Makidon shouted as she grabbed him from behind and shook him like a ragdoll.
"No comment!" Hoshigari barked back, his voice cracking.
"C'mon!" Makidon wailed in over-the-top desperation, her antics echoing through the metallic ruins.
At last, the party emerged from the neon ruins and approached the jagged murky threshold of the next zone. Beyond the fractured steel gates lay a vast expanse of murky wetlands—the Muddy Murkol Swamp. The air grew heavy, saturated with the stench of damp earth and stagnant water. The moment their boots met the edge of the swamp path, a system notification flashed across their HUDs:
[Warning: Mud-Type Enemies are common in this zone. Mud-Type Enemies can inflict the Mudded Status Effect, which significantly slows the afflicted.]
"Finally! No more fighting those damn annoying Virus-Type enemies!" Makidon groaned in exaggerated relief, throwing her arms into the air.
"Indeed," Sushi Slice replied calmly, scanning the misty waters ahead. "But now we're up against mud-based enemies. That means water attacks and most Arcana spells will be less effective. Fire is our best bet."
"Understood!" the party responded in unison, their tones crisp and determined.
Immediately, they began cycling through their inventories, swapping out weapons and gear for fire-infused options
Hoshigari swapped his right-handed weapon to the Ebonflame Desert Eagle.
[Right Handed Weapon (Swapped) - Ebonflame]
Sushi Slice sheathed her Marrowfang Katana and focused solely on wielding her Solace Edge Katana.
Makidon equipped her newly obtained battleaxe, the [Literal Fire Axe (Epic)].
Yukinox drew her newly purchased longsword, [Magmaton (Rare)].
Suki-yummy replaced his standard tome with the [Folder of Embers (Epic)].
Ursalott unequipped his Shatter Dusters and strapped on his [Overheated Fisticuffs (Rare)].
Once their preparations were complete, Sushi Slice turned to face her teammates, her blade gleaming with molten light. "Everyone ready?"
"Yes!" they echoed, voices ringing in unison.
Without another word, the party stepped on forward.
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[Muddy Murkol Swamp]
The Starlight Recoil finally crossed the boundary into the new zone: an endless, suffocating expanse of wetlands. Grey and black mangrove-like trees twisted from the soft, damp earth, their roots snaking into stagnant pools of thick, dark water. The ground was a patchwork of dark brown and black muck, sucking greedily at every step. Around them, the swamp pulsed with hostile life—Mud Slimes oozed lazily between the roots, Mud Golems lumbered in the distance, and Swamp Skeletons dragged themselves through the mire with eerie, cracking motions.
Sushi Slice was the first to step in. Her boot sank with a sickening slurp, nearly throwing her off balance. "Everyone, the ground is extremely soft," she warned, yanking her foot free with a wet squelch. A thick clump of mud clung stubbornly to her boot. "And extremely sticky... ugh."
Makidon followed, only to suffer the same fate. "UGH! IT'S STUCK TO MY BOOTS!" she screeched, hopping awkwardly on one leg as she tried to shake it off.
One by one, the others crossed in with exaggerated caution—except for Hoshigari. He lingered at the edge of the swamp, arms crossed, head slightly tilted in thought. The others turned when they noticed his delay.
"Boss, wassup? Why aren't you crossing yet?" Makidon called out, still hopping in place.
Hoshigari smirked, the corner of his lips tugging upward. Without a word, he pressed a button on his wrist. With a sharp click-hiss, his Pegasus Nano-Suit activated, its sleek panels unfolding around his body in a shimmer of metallic light. Then came the hum of jet thrusters as translucent hover-wings flared open. Hoshigari lifted effortlessly off the ground, rising above the mud.
He floated above the swamp's edge hovering gracefully, arms wide in smug triumph. "BOOM! No mud on me! Hah!"
The party tilted their heads in perfect, exaggerated unison—unadulterated envy etched across their faces.
"Unfair..." they muttered collectively.
"Oh, right!" Makidon grinned mischievously as she activated her own Hover Jet Boots, engines roaring to life. She kicked off the ground and floated smugly beside Hoshigari. "BAM! No more mud on me either!"
The silence hung for a second.
Then the others erupted.
"UNFAIR!" they shouted in a perfect chorus, their voices echoing comically through the murky expanse as Makidon and Hoshigari hovered proudly above the sticky, sucking mire.
They trudged forward into the sticky morass—well, everyone except Hoshigari and Makidon, who hovered smugly above the muck thanks to their jet-powered gear. The rest of the team slogged through knee-high mud, scooping up scattered materials as they went and occasionally dismantling Mud-Type enemies with casual efficiency.
[Credits: 1,994,777,855]
"Actually," Makidon called out mid-hover, "is there even a chance of weapon drops from these low-tier mobs?"
"There should be," Sushi Slice answered, brow furrowed in thought. "I think the forums said like… a ninety to ninety-five percent chance for at least something. Pretty sure."
"Yeah, that sounds right," Yukinox chimed in. "I got a [Slime-Covered Longsword (Common)] from slimes a couple weeks ago."
"I pulled a [Bone Dagger (Common)] off a skelestriker ages ago," Hoshigari added, tone casual.
Makidon sighed dramatically, hands laced behind her head. "Figures. I've never gotten one."
"That's because it's way easier to get weapons and charms through quests—or even better, boss drops," Sushi Slice explained… then stopped mid-sentence. Her sharp eyes locked on something ahead. "Wait… what's that?"
The party followed her gaze. Dead center in the swamp, a glowing message shimmered into view:
[EVENT: MUD MAZE – Difficulty 4]
(Difficulties: 1 – Easy | 2 – Semi-Easy | 3 – Medium | 4 – Semi-Hard | 5 – Hard)
[Reach the end of the mud-filled maze while battling Mud-Type enemies. Success earns a rare reward.]
The group exchanged glances—silent understanding flashing between them.
"We're gonna do it, aren't we—" Suki-yummy started.
"We're doing it," everyone else declared in perfect unison.
"Knew it," Suki-yummy muttered, rolling his eyes with a smirk.
They advanced toward the glowing circle as the system displayed:
[MUD MAZE – 6 Fateforgers Participating…]
[10…]
"Wonder what kind of maze this is gonna be," Yukinox murmured.
"No clue," Hoshigari replied, loading his Ebonflame Desert Eagle. "But I just hope the reward's worth it."
"Same," Yukinox said, readying her blade.
"Imma need new armor anyway," Suki-yummy muttered, tugging at his worn gear.
[4…]
[3…]
[2…]
[1…]
[Transporting…]
A pillar of radiant light enveloped them. In an instant, the mud beneath them dissolved—and the MUD MAZE EVENT began.
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[Muddy Murkol Swamp (EVENT: MUD MAZE)]
Hoshigari blinked against the glare of the new zone, scanning his surroundings. Behind him—a wall of slick, compacted mud. To his left and right—more walls. Only a single path stretched forward.
"Yeah… looks like this is the mud maze," he muttered. "But where are the others—"
A muffled noise broke his thought. Beneath him.
"...mmmph mmh… mm mph MMMPH! (Translation: Hoshigari, please… GET OFF ME!)"
"Oh! Yu?! You're here?!" He sprang off Yukinox's back in a guilty scramble.
Yukinox stood, caked in muck, and brushed at her gear with an annoyed huff. "Yeah. Looks like we've been split into pairs. Ugh, this mud sticks for thirty seconds after contact—and the whole floor's flooded with it! We'll be slowed for the entire maze."
Hoshigari smirked. "Correction: you'll be slowed."
"Huh?" Yukinox blinked—then glared as he rose an inch off the ground "…Damn you and your goofy sentai ranger suit."
"Thank you," he replied with a smug grin.
"Whatever. Let's just get through this damn maze…" Yukinox muttered, drawing her Magmaton Longsword and slogging forward.
"Heheh. Gotcha." Hoshigari unslung his Ebonflame Desert Eagle, floating just above the sludge.
They pressed on. First turn—left. Empty. Next turn—right. Still nothing.
Then—another right. A hulking Mud Golem lunged from the wall, startling Yukinox. She spun, piercing through its chest and cleaving it in two with a decisive slash.
"You good, Yu?" Hoshigari asked with a curious tilt of his head.
"That scared me, but… yeah, I'm good."
"Bet there'll be more where that came from, huh?"
"Ah jeez…" Yukinox groaned.
They wound through the maze, dodging ambushes when possible, clashing with Mud Slimes, Golems, and skeletal swamp beasts when they couldn't. All the while, light chatter filled the murky corridors—friendly banter strengthening their bond.
[Credits: 1,994,777,950]
After a short stretch of silence, Yukinox finally spoke. "Hoshi, I've been meaning to ask—what made you even try out EAO?"
Hoshigari chuckled. "Honestly? Never planned to buy it. Got it as a birthday gift from my parents and sis. Figured I'd give it a shot so their money wouldn't go to waste. Then I thought… maybe I can use the game to repay them somehow."
"That's respectable, Hoshi-kun." Yukinox smiled faintly. "You ever think about streaming your gameplay? Or going pro in esports? It's a legit way to make money."
"Going pro, huh…" He mulled over the idea.
"Yeah! Imagine Starlight Recoil as an official esports team."
Hoshigari considered it seriously. "If we did, we'd need constant practice—especially in combat and PvP."
"Well, duh," Yukinox smiled.
"Hmmm…" He drifted in thought.
"How about this," she offered. "After this Apex Paragon subjugation, let's queue for some 2v2 PvP. What do you say?"
Hoshigari's eyes sharpened with decided resolve. "...Yeah. I'm down."
With that, their banter deepened. More jokes, more fights—Mud Goblins, Slimes, even the occasional skeleton crumbling under their blades and bullets.
[Credits: 1,994,778,100]
Until, finally… they reached the maze's end...
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