The girls explored the castle manor briefly, pushing open dusty doors and checking empty halls. The structure looked impressive from the outside—wide corridors, ancient stonework, powerful architecture—but most rooms sat hollow like a stage waiting for actors. Honey shrugged after the third empty chamber. Eliza inspected a balcony, nodded once, and moved on. The place had potential, but right now it was just bones.
Gazei wandered into the courtyard while fiddling with the system interface floating in front of him. Construction options, troop facilities, upgrade trees—all locked behind requirements they hadn't met yet. But one thing caught his attention immediately.
He had troops.
Unlike Eliza's Cyber Nexus or Honey's Draconic War Foundry, his forces didn't come from a dedicated barracks.
The Town Hall which is still locked. Based on the looks, it may have similar fuctions to hub buildings in Wow III or Starcraft.
He scrolled through the interface, eyebrows raising. "So I'm the only one who doesn't get a summoning building," he muttered. "Figures."
The system explained the basics quickly enough. Drekolt Island sat directly in front of a massive dimensional portal across the sea—a tear in reality that led straight into the Abyss. Monsters poured out from that place in endless waves, and the gods had summoned Lords and Ladies from different Earths to defend the outer island chains before the invasion could reach the mainland.
If their castle fell, they ceased to exist.
Deleted like a file dragged into the cosmic recycle bin.
Gazei leaned against the stone railing and opened the World Chat out of curiosity. Messages flew past faster than he could read—panic, arguments, memes, people from different Earths realizing they'd been pulled into the same nightmare. He closed it after thirty seconds. Not useful yet.
What was useful were the other modules.
[Land] showed territory borders, resources, construction slots, and troop routes. [Kingdom] displayed information about the mainland they were assigned to protect—populations in the tens of millions, trade networks, military strength. [Trade] allowed material and troop exchanges between Lords. Eliza had already smiled when she saw that one.
Gazei knew that smile.
Somewhere in the world economy, chaos was about to happen.
He checked his equipment stats one more time, staring at the absurd numbers on his sword and shield. The system labeled them as "weak" despite the ridiculous damage modifiers and skill effects. Either the power scaling in this world was completely insane, or they were about to face threats that made these "weak" weapons look reasonable.
He check it over five times and still can't belive it.
[Jed-I Sword Sabre: Dreadwing]
[Grade: Common] [Quality: Weak]
[P. Atk. +1683 | M. Atk. +1683]
Inflicts Shadow Damage / Inflicts Light Damage
Attack Speed +10%
Shadow / Light Resistance +20
All Elemental Damage +25
Skill Attack +22%
All Attack +17%
Bonus Shadow Elemental Damage +10%
Bonus Light Elemental Damage +10%
Overall Damage Increase: 300%
[Active Skill: Darkstriker's War Chaser]
The wielder summons orbiting War Chaser energy spheres formed from condensed Shadow and Light mana. These spheres circle the user and automatically strike nearby enemies when attacks are performed. Each Chaser grows in size, density, and destructive power depending on how many are currently orbiting the wielder.
• Each War Chaser deals 120% Physical Attack as mixed Light/Shadow damage• Maximum War Chasers: 10
• War Chasers explode on impact dealing small area damage after dealing certain amout of damge.
• Each explosion restores 1% stamina and 1% mana to the wielder
• Cooldown: 20 seconds
Effects:
Per Active War Chaser:
• +40% Physical Attack
• +40% Magical Attack
• +20.5% Attack Speed
• +20% Movement Speed
1 Chaser
• Small sphere
• Base damage only
2 Chasers
• +5% Chaser Damage
• Explosion Radius +10%
3 Chasers
• +10% Chaser Damage
• Explosion Radius +20%
• +5% Skill Damage
4 Chasers
• +15% Chaser Damage
• Explosion Radius +30%
• +8% Skill Damage
• +5% Critical Rate
5 Chasers (Full Orbit)
• Large War Chasers
• +25% Chaser Damage
• Explosion Radius +50%
• +10% Skill Damage
• +10% Critical Damage
When 10 War Chasers are active simultaneously, their orbit stabilizes into a perfect combat formation.
Additional Effects:
• Every 5th melee attack launches all Chasers simultaneously at nearby enemies
• Combined impact deals 350% Physical Attack as Light/Shadow burst damage
• All Chasers reform after 3 seconds
[Shield Equipment: Aegis Combat Shield]
[Grade: Common] [Quality: Weak]
[P. Def. +1420 | M. Def. +1420]
Damage Reduction +18%
Block Chance +95%
Counterattack Damage +155%
All Elemental Resistance +100
SkillCooldown -20%
Movement Speed +20%
Block Chance +90%
Damage Reflection +28%
Active Skill: Ricochet Barrage
The wielder throws the shield forward at extreme velocity. The shield ricochets between enemies up to 6 times before returning to the user.
• Each hit deals 140% Physical Attack
• Every ricochet increases damage by +5%
• Final impact releases a shockwave dealing 100% Physical Attack in a 3 meter radius
Cooldown: 15 seconds
[Passive Skill: Kinetic Momentum]
Each successful ricochet builds momentum in the shield.
Per Enemy Hit:
• +3% Shield Damage
• +2% Attack Speed for 5 seconds
• +1% Movement Speed for 5 seconds
Stacks up to 6 times.
[Passive Skill: Impact Shockwave]
Every ricochet creates a short shockwave burst.
• Shockwave Damage: 60% Physical Attack
• Radius increases with ricochet count.
Shockwave Radius Growth:
1 Hit → Base Radius
2 Hits → +15% Radius
3 Hits → +25% Radius
4 Hits → +40% Radius
5 Hits → +55% Radius
6 Hits → +75% Radius
[Passive Skill: Bound]
When equipped by its rightful master, the weapon synchronizes with the user's soul signature.
• All base values are doubled
• Skill efficiency increases by 15%
• Equipment cannot be stolen or used by other entities
Gazei stared at the glowing interface hovering in front of him, lines of numbers stacked like a tower of absurdity.
"Well that's not balanced at all!"
Between the sword, the shield, and those ridiculous orbiting spheres, he felt less like a beginner and more like a walking raid boss. Yet one thing still bothered him.
He hadn't even checked his class.
A small tab blinked in the corner of the interface.
[Class Information]
He opened it.
[Class: Force Swordmage]
Type: Hybrid Combat Class
Specialization: Close-Range Arcane Combat / Force Manipulation / Martial Artist
A Force Swordmage is a rare combat class that merges martial swordsmanship with high-density mana manipulation. Rather than casting spells traditionally, Force Swordmages compress magical energy into physical constructs known as Chasers and weaponized force currents.
Unlike standard mages who fight from range or warriors who rely purely on strength, a Force Swordmage turns the battlefield itself into a kinetic engine. Every swing, dash, or strike generates arcane pressure that feeds their combat system.
At higher levels, they become living mana reactors.
Gazei is a very good gamer but when you start out with these skills you know the game is going hard as heck. He never played a RTS game where you mostly tower defense against a monster horde. Than again his wives troops and weapons seem to better than but that's not enough information to go off on.
Honey class is the Tyrant Inquisitor, a Heavy Assault class that is pure DPS tank. It is a rare frontline combat class built around overwhelming physical force amplified by elemental power. Unlike traditional knights or soldiers, these fighters do not merely strike enemies.
While Eliza is a Blood Arcanist, a rare magical class that merges vampiric physiology, necromantic magic, and battlefield spellcraft into a single combat discipline. Rather than relying purely on external mana sources, the class converts life force, blood essence, and stolen vitality into magical power.
Their weapons, Draconic Tribunal Glaive: Solaris Tyrant and Abyssal Code Scythe: Luna Harvester.
Both weapons fit their classes well, but they offer greater specialization than his.
The other features are simple and easy to understand. Upgrading the castle is straightforward; just like in any RTS game, it requires wood and stone to complete the upgrade. Gazei was sure the materials would increase and require more than just wood and stone later.
He also discovered that they couldn't even give their castles names or anything. In the World Chat, their castle name was used as their ID.
Drekolt..
Opening the World Chat, where messages were streaming past faster than he could comfortably read, Gazei immediately understood why the system had warned them about information overload.
The chat moved like a waterfall made of text. New lines appeared every second, pushing older messages upward into oblivion.Some people were panicking.Some were arguing.A surprising number were already trying to sell things.
[Castle: Ironridge Bastion]: Anyone else see that giant portal across the ocean??
[Castle: Lotus Gate]: YES. That thing is not natural.
[Castle: Neon Citadel]: If anyone finds copper ore I'll trade iron for it.
[Castle: Frostkeep]: Wait we're supposed to defend against THAT??
[Castle: Red Mesa]: Bro I just spawned in and my island has dinosaurs.Gazei raised an eyebrow at that last one.
[Castle: Blackspire]: I got goblins. They look weak but there are a lot of them.
[Castle: Silverhaven]: Mine says holy knights? I don't know how that works yet.
[Castle: Stonefang]: Wait you guys already have troops?
Meanwhile far to the east, beyond the stone walls of the manor grounds, a thin mist rolled across the grassy slopes.
Eliza's fifty Skeleton Swordsmen marched through the fog in loose formation, their mechanical joints clicking softly with each step. Rusted armor plates clung to their frames. Purple light burned steadily in their empty skulls. They moved with cold, disciplined precision, scanning the terrain for threats.
The system had given them simple orders: hunt, gather resources, eliminate hostiles.
They intended to follow those orders exactly.
Movement exploded from the mist ahead.
A squad of Anthropomorphic Bunny Fighters burst from the fog at full charge. White and brown fur streaked with mud and battle scars. Muscular legs kicked up dirt as they sprinted forward. Long ears streamed behind them like banners in the wind.
Each one carried brutal close-combat weapons—short blades, iron knuckles, crude polearms.
They moved with terrifying speed.
The skeletons did not run.
They simply advanced.
The Bunny Fighters hit them like a tidal wave.
One rabbit warrior leapt forward in a spinning kick that could have shattered a stone pillar. His heel smashed directly into the skull of the leading skeleton—
—and stopped.
The skeleton's head snapped sideways with a metallic crack.
But it didn't fall.
Its bony hand shot forward instantly, gripping the rabbit's ankle mid-air.
Another skeleton stepped beside it and drove a rusted blade straight through the fighter's chest.
The sword punched out through his back in a burst of blood.
The body dropped.
The rest of the Bunny Fighters roared and charged harder.
Claws flashed.
Blades swung.
A rabbit soldier vaulted over the front line and landed behind the undead ranks, slashing wildly with twin daggers. Bone fragments chipped away under the rapid strikes.
The skeleton simply turned.
Its mechanical arm snapped forward.
A single punch caved in the rabbit's ribcage, sending the body skidding across the ground.
Another fighter lunged with a spear.
The weapon struck a skeleton square in the spine—
—and stuck there.
The undead warrior calmly grabbed the shaft and ripped the spear out of its own body, then swung it like a club.
The Bunny Fighter's skull shattered on impact.
The skeletons continued advancing through the fog.
No panic.
No hesitation.
Only cold mechanical violence.
One rabbit warrior tried to retreat.
A skeletal hand closed around his throat from behind.
The undead lifted him effortlessly before snapping his neck with a dry crack.
Another rabbit charged with brass knuckles raised.
Three skeletons moved at once.
One blocked.
One grabbed.
The third drove a blade through the fighter's stomach and lifted him clean off the ground.
Blood poured down the steel.
Within moments the valley floor was a blur of motion.
White fur.
Red blood.
Clattering bone.
The Bunny Fighters were fast—blindingly fast—but the undead soldiers fought like machines that simply could not stop.
Blades hacked.
Spears thrust.
Skeletons marched forward step by step while the fighters fell around them.
Within minutes the fog settled again.
The last rabbit warrior staggered backward, breathing hard, staring at the silent wall of skeletal soldiers still advancing toward him.
Purple lights burned inside their skulls.
Unblinking.
Unfeeling.
The fighter turned and ran.
The skeleton formation continued marching through the mist without a single casualty.
Back on the balcony, Gazei's interface suddenly chimed.
A small notification appeared in the corner of his vision.
[Your Troops have killed Lv 1 Bunny Fighter, granting 10 EXP]
Another line appeared.
[Your Troops have killed Lv 1 Bunny Fighter, granting 10 EXP]
Then another.
And another.
The notifications began stacking rapidly.
[Your Troops have killed Lv 1 Bunny Fighter, granting 10 EXP]
[Your Troops have killed Lv 1 Bunny Fighter, granting 10 EXP]
[Your Troops have killed Lv 1 Bunny Fighter, granting 10 EXP]
Gazei blinked.
"…Oh."
Honey looked over.
"What?"
He slowly turned the screen toward her.
The messages kept appearing one after another like a slot machine paying out.
[Your Troops have killed Lv 1 Bunny Fighter, granting 10 EXP]
Honey stared for a second.
Then she looked toward the misty hills where the distant shapes of skeletal soldiers were still moving forward through the fog.
"…So," she said slowly, "Those boys sure take order."
Another notification popped up.
[Your Troops have killed Lv 1 Bunny Fighter, granting 10 EXP]
Eliza stepped onto the balcony, adjusting her glasses with one finger. Her smile was sharp and satisfied. "My darlings are performing beautifully," she purred. "Efficient. Ruthless. Exactly as designed."
Gazei leaned back against the stone railing.
"…And apparently they're already working overtime."
[Your Troops have killed Lv 1 Bunny Fighter, granting 10 EXP]
[Your Troops have killed Lv 1 Bunny Fighter, granting 10 EXP]
The notifications kept coming.
The notifications continued streaming in for another two minutes before finally tapering off. By the time they stopped, the count had reached thirty-seven kills across the board.
Gazei turned to Eliza with an eyebrow raised. "Thirty-seven?"
"Thirty-nine," Eliza corrected smoothly, never looking away from her own interface. "Two managed to limp away. My darlings were merciful." Her tone suggested she found mercy to be a minor character flaw. "They're currently tracking the wounded through the fog. We should have a complete casualty report within the hour."
Honey grinned, sharp teeth flashing. "So we just won our first battle without even throwingda punch. That's somethin'."
"That's everything," Eliza said, her refined cadence taking on a calculating edge. She adjusted her glasses and finally turned to face them both. "We've established baseline combat capability. The local wildlife—and these Bunny Fighters clearly qualify—cannot match our troop composition. More importantly, we now have combat data."
"Combat data," Gazei repeated flatly.
"Casualty rates, tactical formations, response times, damage efficiency." Eliza ticked off each point on her fingers like she was reading a financial report. "My Skeleton Swordsmen took zero losses against a force that was objectively faster than they were. That's not a victory—that's a statement."
Honey walked to the edge of the balcony, her massive wings unfurling slightly as she scanned the misty landscape. "Yeah, but here's the thing that's botherin' me," she said, her Southern drawl sliding deeper with concern. "Those rabbits came at y'all hard. Like, really hard. They were fast, coordinated, and they definitely weren't pushovers. But my gut says they ain't gonna be the real problem."
Gazei nodded slowly. He'd been thinking the same thing. "The real monsters are waiting on the other side of that portal."
"Precisely," Eliza said. "The Bunny Fighters are indigenous fauna—territorial, probably defending their nest or hunting range. They're obstacles, not the primary threat." She paused, tilting her head as if listening to something only she could hear through her system interface. "Although... that's concerning."
"What?" Honey turned sharply.
"The battle lasted approximately eight minutes," Eliza continued, her eyes tracking invisible text. "But based on the kill notifications, my troops eliminated targets almost continuously for that duration. The Bunny Fighters charged directly into a superior defensive position without tactical retreat or regrouping. They were either brave, stupid, or..."
"Or desperate," Gazei finished. His massive frame went very still. "They were protecting something."
The three of them exchanged looks.
The northern hillside was rockier than the eastern valley, with scattered boulders and sparse vegetation breaking up the terrain. The mist rolled through in patches, creating pockets of visibility.
A pack of greeen skinned monsters burst from the fog at full sprint, their muscular legs propelling them forward in powerful bounds. They moved in a loose formation, clearly attempting to circle around the main battle.
Then the Kobold Hunters emerged from behind the rocks.
Honey's interface chimed with her own stream of notifications.
[Drekolt ALERT -- WAR]
The Kobold Hunters have attacked a Wild Goblin Tribe in the western border.
The notification hung in the air between them like a declaration.
Honey's interface lit up immediately with a cascade of combat reports.
[Your Troops have killed Lv 3 Goblin Scout, granting 25 EXP]
[Your Troops have killed Lv 2 Goblin Hunter, granting 17 EXP]
[Your Troops have killed Lv 1 Goblin Warrior, granting 15 EXP]
She pulled up the tactical overlay without a word, flicking the translucent screen into the air where all three of them could see it.
The western border materialized in ghostly blue lines—terrain elevation, troop positions, enemy markers pulsing red across the map.
"Yeah fuck 'em boy!," Honey cheers. "Burn those fility greenies!"
Gazei leaned forward, studying the map. "They remind me of Warhammer sorta..."
"Yeah." Honey zoomed in on a cluster of red markers near a rocky outcrop. "Its so awesome!"
Eliza adjusted her glasses, her sharp gaze tracking the movement patterns. "Your Kobolds are moving quite differently from my Swordsmen. Notice the formation spread—entirely unconventional."
The map showed Honey's forces scattered across a wide area in small groups of three to five units each. They weren't advancing in a unified line like Eliza's skeletal troops had. Instead they were circling, probing, striking from multiple angles simultaneously.
"Pack hunters," Gazei said quietly.
"Yeah." Honey pulled up the live combat feed.
Honey dismissed the screen.
Gazei stared at the empty air where the feed had been. "They didn't fight. They hunted."
"Pack tactics," Honey said, her tone neutral but her eyes sharp. "They don't engage unless they have the advantage. They isolate targets, use terrain, strike from multiple angles, then disappear before the enemy can retaliate. It's not about honor or strength—it's about efficiency."
Eliza nodded slowly, her analytical gaze sharpening. "Completely different doctrine from my Skeleton Swordsmen. My forces are frontline shock troops—they advance, they hold ground, they break enemy formations through superior durability and relentless pressure. Your Kobolds are guerrilla specialists. They don't hold ground. They control space."
"Complementary," Gazei said quietly.
"Very," Eliza agreed. She pulled up her own tactical overlay, placing it beside Honey's. "My Swordsmen engaged the Bunny Fighters in the eastern valley—open terrain, direct confrontation, zero casualties. Your Kobolds engaged the Goblin Tribe in the western hills—broken terrain, ambush tactics, zero casualties."
Honey's interface chimed again.
[Your Troops have killed Lv 2 Goblin Warrior, granting 18 EXP]
[Your Troops have killed Lv 1 Goblin Scout, granting 12 EXP]
"They're still hunting stragglers," Honey said. "Looks like a few goblins made it out of the camp. My Kobolds are tracking them down."
Gazei leaned back against the stone railing, his massive frame casting a long shadow across the balcony. "So we've got two active battlefronts. East and west. Both successful. Both zero casualties on our side."
"Which means the local threats aren't the problem," Eliza said, her refined voice taking on a colder edge. "The Bunny Fighters and the Goblin Tribe were indigenous fauna—territorial, aggressive, but ultimately outmatched by organized military forces. They're obstacles, not the primary threat."
"But they were desperate," Honey added, her Southern drawl flattening into something more tactical. "The rabbits charged straight into Eliza's skeletons without scoutin' or adapting. The goblins tried to hold a defensive position in a ravine with no escape routes. That's not strategy. That's panic."
Gazei nodded slowly. "They were protecting something. Or running from something."
The three of them stood in silence for a moment, watching the mist roll across the landscape.
Two battlefronts.
Two victories.
Zero losses.
But the real war hadn't started yet.
Eliza's interface chimed softly.
[Your Troops have eliminated the remaining Bunny Fighter stragglers.]
[Combat Report: 39 Bunny Fighters eliminated. 0 casualties.]
Honey's interface followed a moment later.
[Your Troops have eliminated the Wild Goblin Tribe.]
[Combat Report: 47 Goblins eliminated. 0 casualties.]
Gazei looked toward the distant portal, its swirling darkness visible even through the mist.
"The real monsters are still waiting on the other side of that thing," he said quietly.
Eliza adjusted her glasses. "Then we'd better be ready when they arrive."
Honey's wings shifted slightly, embers drifting across the stone. "Yeah. Because if the local wildlife is already this desperate..."
She didn't finish the sentence.
She didn't need to.
They all knew what it meant.
Something was coming.
And whatever it was, it had scared the indigenous creatures badly enough to charge blindly into unknown enemy positions rather than face it.