Aries Floor 2, The Emperor’s Ascent - 9:07 AM

  The ground shook as enemies began pouring in from the shadows of the trees, causing the lava rivers to bubble and release more heat. Behind me, the sheep bleated in panic but did not flee. Instead, they ran around their islands as if searching for somewhere safe. It was not lost on me that they could navigate the environment safely; they were made stupid on purpose.

  It wasn’t my job to deal with them, though, and I turned towards the Rust Wolves. Their red stone bodies moved as easily as if they were flesh and blood, and their baying was loud and intense. Inside their mouths were long teeth that shined in the light. Just a single touch of one of those was enough to start the oxidation process on all but the most powerful of enchanted metals.

  As expected, Sol Ligatus was the first to turn to the threat head on. The Gemini members who were confident in fighting fell in beside them, though not by me. Trevor was still somewhat close, but I had cleared out my area so well that no one was nearby to help me on my island, which was exactly what I wanted.

  When the first Rust Wolf jumped over the river, I ran to greet it. Vermon’s Smash Stick was raised high above me, and I brought it down with two hands and Drop. The monster’s glowing red eyes brightened in surprise before the weapon collided with its skull. Stone cracked and shattered as the wolf was dunked into the lava.

  There was no time to celebrate a single kill as more came. I shifted, bringing up my leg to catch one of the beasts in the chest. It pushed hard against me, but I managed to launch it into the lava. Slamming my foot back down on the ground, I raised my Smash Stick and swung.

  The club tore through a pair of front legs before hitting the hard underbelly of another wolf. It rose a few more inches into the air before tumbling to the ground, struggling to stand. I Constructed a hammer above its neck and Dropped it with all the force I could muster. Its head came clean off, and I Pulled it towards me, sending it to my inventory. Ash would love to get her hands on as many teeth as she could get.

  <<<>>>

  [[Guild Chat]]

  Ashley: We can take monster parts from this one, right? If so, get me those teeth.

  Anthony: Already on it, Ash. Stay safe, everyone. Protect and work with Gemini if you can.

  <<<>>>

  A series of replies were sent back, but it was all the same acknowledgment. I let the hammer I Constructed disappear as I returned my attention to the battlefield.

  I brought the club upwards, still two-handing it, and caught another Rust Wolf in the head. Three more attempted to jump the gap, and I split my focus to Construct and Lift two boards in their way. The beasts were powerful, but the objects’ sudden appearance surprised them. They ran head first into the barriers and fell into the lava.

  Releasing the Constructs again, I grinned. If I had used Force Field, it wouldn’t have cost Mental Points but I would have needed to wait for them to recharge. The disposable nature of my Constructs meant that I didn’t need to make them last over and over again, allowing me to keep my defenses fresh for when I needed them.

  The three wolves that fell into the lava river emerged, glowing slightly from the heat but otherwise uninjured. Their momentum had been slowed to basically nothing. I didn’t just watch as they scrambled to jump onto my island, but ran along and took three golf swings, one on each of their heads.

  Stone continued to shatter as I broke through the beasts. Every time a muzzle or head came away intact, I Pulled it towards me and tossed it into my inventory. It wasn’t very efficient considering their weight, but Ash could carry them once we were all done.

  I traveled up and down my chosen island as the Rust Wolves continued their assault. Small chunks of macabre rubble were crushed under my feet as I had to kick more complete corpses into the lava river to get them out of my way. That act had the delightful side effect of giving the others stepping stones so they wouldn’t have to jump, providing me with a bigger challenge.

  Vermon’s Smash Stick lived up to its name, but it soon got to the point where even I was having trouble. As one person on such a big island, it appeared as though my time was soon over. Some members of Gemini were watching me as I ran from one end to the other, deftly taking out the enemies, awe evident in their aura as they remained motionless.

  Just when it seemed like they were ready to jump in, I Constructed two more hammers at the ends of the island and began to wield them with fury. The zone I could protect stayed the same, but it suddenly became much easier physically to keep up. Under normal circumstances I would have gone for the challenge, but something new was coming from the forest. Not everywhere; only where the resistance was the strongest.

  Two Alpha Rust Wolves bolted towards my island, twice as big as their inferiors. Seeing the scenario escalate made me think that there was more to it, and I sent Sara a quick message.

  <<<>>>

  [[Patron Message]]

  I just checked, and you’re right. If you kill enough of the Alpha Rust Wolves, then the next step up will be a boss. We weren’t expecting one outside of the Monster, Field, or Boss rooms, but if you manage to spawn it then it’s still going to get you a lot of attention.

  I think it’s safe to assume a boss kill would improve your standing with the Patrons by a good margin. Put on a good show, darling. Would you like a quest?

  <<<>>>

  “Yes, please,” I whispered, excited about something new. Sara was quick to send me one.

  <<<>>>

  [[Patron Quest: Beyond the Alphas!]]

  This area has a secret behind the scenes. You defeat wolves and more show up, yes. If you defeat more, then their more powerful siblings start emerging. Those are the Alphas. So what happens if you kill enough of those?

  That’s when you get a boss.

  Continue on this track and summon the boss. Once it’s here, you must defeat it before the final Steel Merino is tossed into the pen. The moment the scenario quest is over is the moment the enemies disappear. Summoning it might just be the easy part, but you have to make sure you defeat it.

  Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  That’s the kind of feat that will get the other Patrons watching you, and that’s what you came here for. As the Patron in charge of our faction, I can send out a message to others that something interesting is about to happen, so don’t waste this opportunity.

  Objective: Summon and defeat the Hidden Boss of the Aries Cooperative Room.

  Reward: 15,000 points.

  <<<>>>

  My eyes quickly skimmed the quest, not fully reading it but getting the gist. Nodding, I snapped it away and went back to work.

  I let my hammers continue to break the originals down, rubble flying everywhere from the force, as I moved to meet the newcomers head on. The first one stumbled as it tried to run over corpses in the lava river, but it slipped.

  The other one jumped, heading right for me. Its eyes were on the prizes behind me, however, and I brought my Smash Stick back like I was going to bat. Once it was in position, I took a step forward and threw my weight into the blow, giving it some extra oomph with Orbit.

  Even though it wasn’t looking, the Alpha’s jaws opened and it took the Smash Stick into its mouth. It wasn’t metal as it came from the pincer of a Vespae warrior and couldn’t be turned to rust, but the enemy still tried. What proved fatal was the force it didn’t account for.

  My weapon connected with the back of its mouth, and you could see the dirt and dust shake off of its body as it absorbed the shock. The oversized Rust Wolf’s stone throat cracked as it came to an abrupt halt and fell to its feet. It backed away slightly, shaking its head, and I swung again. This time, I connected with its snout, and its head shattered.

  Shifting so that I followed the momentum of my blow, I spun and brought the Smash Stick down towards the second Alpha that had just trotted onto land. It leapt back into the lava, my attack missing it by a hair, before lunging for my Vambrace of Wires. Out of everything I wore, that was the one with the most metal.

  I shot out the Cable Conglomerate as the Smash Stick hit the ground, and took a step back. The Alpha’s jaws snapped down on nothing while the wire rope wrapped around its neck like a tight leash. Yanking, I prevented the beast from pulling backwards. It stumbled forward as I swung my club, catching it in the side.

  Stone cracked as I struck it again. It lashed out at me, biting the part of my arm that it could reach, and I activated Shield to mitigate the damage. Raising the Smash Stick, I brought the hilt down on its head, putting it out of its misery for good.

  The baying continued as another pair of Alphas emerged from the forest. Letting my current Constructs disappear, I brought them back as oversized rock picks and sent them forward as we switched our roles. I went back to bouncing around the island, taking out the usual small fries while I sent my psychic weapons to strike preemptively.

  <<<>>>

  [[Guild Chat]]

  Jamie: If you kill enough Rust Wolves, Alphas will start appearing. Just a heads up.

  Anthony: Good callout. Ash, how many sheep are in the pen?

  Ashley: How am I supposed to know? Shit, give me a minute to count.

  Kayla: Skuld says 78 are in the pen, no casualties yet.

  <<<>>>

  “Thanks, Skuld,” I said as I destroyed another Rust Wolf’s neck and pulled its head into my inventory.

  The rock pick Constructs spun to maximum velocity before embedding themselves into the Alpha’s heads. Their eyes stopped glowing as they fell short of the river, and I pulled what teeth I could towards me. Three more appeared this time, and they all met the same fate. All of my considerable power was put forward into killing them as quickly as possible.

  “Do you… actually need any help?” one of the Geminis called.

  “Nah, go help at three o’clock! They’re about to lose ground to the wolves!” I returned with a grunt of exertion as I smashed another one.

  They turned to look at where I was talking about and hurried to rush off and help. The moment they left me, however, the baying of wolves somehow got even louder. Then, a single howl cut through the others, causing the whole battlefield to go still.

  <<<>>>

  [[Warning!]]

  The Progenitor Awakens.

  <<<>>>

  The stone pine trees started to fall as something large pushed their way towards me. Each of the Rust Wolves that were originally heading to my island suddenly veered off course, heading in different directions and leaving me alone with my Constructs.

  The Rust Wolf Father emerged from the stone forest, as tall as the trees it pushed out of its way. It was not a four legged creature like the rest, but a fearsome beast that stood on two legs like a werewolf. Shining teeth as long as my arms and claws as big around as my leg marked it as an enemy worth being wary of. Its four red eyes looked down at me, and it howled again.

  I howled back, directly challenging the boss that decided to step out of its hole to face the one killing its children. A quick word to Sol Ligatus had them hang back, though they were allowed to fire on it once in order to count as boss kills for their growth items. I wasn’t going to make them neuter themselves for a good fight, even if I really wanted to.

  “Mind if I step in?” Trevor asked as he landed on my island. He was out of breath with torn clothes and a slight limp, but his aluminum bat was shining with no signs of rust or damage. It was obviously being kept clear of the wolves’ teeth.

  Taking a breath, I put on a smile. I had to remember that I was here to make a good impression on the Patrons. While I could have taken on the Father myself, it would be better to work with Gemini’s avatar to achieve my goals.

  “Sure, I’d like to see what you’re capable of,” I said, raising my fist.

  Stepping towards me, he bumped mine with his. “Well, I’ve been watching you this whole time. It’s been very enlightening.”

  “I try,” I said modestly.

  “You sure do,” he chuckled. “You mind if I do a little Gemini thing? My people will stand back if yours do, and it’s a buff for two.”

  “That makes sense. And yeah, the others will stay back,” I told him.

  Trevor flashed me a grin as the . “Great. The name’s Trevor, by the way. Trevor Price.”

  “Anthony Franklin,” I returned, watching as the Father fully emerged from the forest.

  <<<>>>

  [[Notice]]

  You are now under the Twins In Battle buff.

  All stats will be increased by 25%. You may share one passive or skill with Avatar [Trevor Price]. They have shared the Smasher passive with you.

  You already have this passive. Bonus damage is increased to 100%.

  Please select a passive or skill to share.

  <<<>>>

  “Already have that one, but the bonus damage is nice,” I said with a grin as I selected Crash Test for him. “Got it learned and on my club.”

  “Hey, me too, except I have it on my bat,” Trevor replied with a grin of his own. He whistled after he read through my shared skill. “Damn, you dropped a fun toy, didn’t you? I tried this with that Pisces lady once and she gave me some nothing passive that increased my mental resistance by half when we were fighting what was essentially just a rock.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” I scoffed as the Father grabbed my attention. It pulled one of the stone pine trees out of the ground with both hands, clearly planning to use it as a club. “You ready?”

  “Born ready,” he said. With a nod, he started running.