Waifu Catalog Beta Tester: Free to Play Skyblock

Gil woke up to the night sky, with a loud, rhythmic thumping in the distance. Meta's orders still rang in his ears, and she seemed at least moderately trustworthy. If Vahn was a "main character" as Gil suspected, getting him to the right place at the right time as quickly as possible did seem like the best path to success.

Gil ran up the hill. There, he found a large collection of volunteer men, mostly hunters. Among them only Ixus, Vahn, and Tetsu stood out. The majority of them were armed with knives, slings, and nail gloves, and they had assembled near the giant door. Gil desperately hoped there were more than these thirty men ready to defend Rim Elm. Perhaps there were some being kept in reserve, or watching the coast?

"It's huge!" The lookout cried from atop the wall, "It's bigger than a castle! Pray! Pray the wall holds!"

Gil didn't need more convincing. He rushed up to Vahn and grabbed him roughly by the shoulder.

"Quick. Go to the Genesis tree." Gil said. "I had a vision. You need to go there, the rest of us can handle this. You're needed there."

Vahn silently brushed Gil's hand off with a glare. Before he could say anything, things began to escalate.

"Oh, quite impressive!" A booming voice mocked us from the air, "look how many puny humans survive."

A ring of blue light appeared in the air behind the hunters, releasing an electric hum.

"GO!" I shouted at Vahn. Tetsu stepped up and agreed.

"You should listen. Things are looking bad." He said. "If this man who walks through the mists believes you are needed at the Genesis Tree, I suggest you go and find us a miracle."

With that, Vahn silently nodded and ran off. As the bluenette man sprinted down the hill, a strange humanoid rose from the blue ring. He wore some kind of dark blue biological armor with a glowing green visor. Over the chitinous plates, he wore a ragged red mantle with an elaborately embroidered green stole. He floated in the air, arms outstretched.

"Pitiful creatures, you humans." He mused, "living in fear of the mist, you tremble in fear at the sight of a seru's shadow. Pathetic. You thought that in this desolate place a flimsy wall would protect you? That slings and knives would push back the mists? You are but insects. It's time to abandon your foolish resistance."

As Lord Evil monologued, Gil circled around to flank him. While he moved into position, Gil pulled out two vital items. His stamp, and his Seal of Mercy. This being was leading an attack on a hero's hometown. Either he was going to die before dawn, or he was a fairly major antagonist who had already demonstrated the ability to teleport. If the former, Gil could always stamp Vahn or Meta in the morning. If the latter, Gil could kill him off and get a sweet payout in three days time.

"I am Zeto." He introduced himself, "I have come to bring the salvation of the Mist to you pitiful creatures."

Tetsu made eye contact with Gil, then nodded at Zeto. Gil nodded back. If the monk was about to be slapped around to establish Zeto's credibility, it would be an excellent opportunity to strike while he was distracted.

The martial artist charged forward, followed by a dozen sling bullets from the other men. Gil darted forward, ax dropped to the floor, stamp outstretched. The stones bounced off of a shimmering forcefield. The forcefield's energy was expended, opening the way for the martial artist to do a somersault leading into a two footed kick. An audible crack announced that Tetsu had done at least some damage.

In response, Zeto's right arm rapidly expanded, transforming into a navy blue pincer the size of a man's torso. He used it to smash the warrior out of the air, who rolled as he landed and immediately shoved a tea bag of healing leaves into his cheek. He was clutching his side, but he was still in the fight.

Gil took his shot, planting his stamp directly onto the organic armor and holding the seal of mercy tight. For his trouble, he was elbowed in the gut hard enough to release a sickening crunch as one of his ribs was broken. The seal fired off, and Gil found himself lifted into the air by the neck.

••••••••••

Seal of Mercy: Can be used once to convince any individual or group to spare you. They will decide that your death or severe injury is an undesirable outcome at this time. They will not become friendly to you, barring unusual circumstances, but they will not seek to harm you unless further provoked. If they have a personal stake in your destruction, such as vengeance, they will decide to shift to nonlethal options for at least a few days.

••••••••••

"This is your champion?" Zeto asked derisively, "All that so that he could barely touch me. No, pathetic humans. It is time for you to embrace the mists, starting with this one."

With a gesture, the wall next to the door was obliterated. From his vantage point in Zeto's vice grip, Gil was treated to the sight of a towering quadrupedal beast with a glowing mouth, its shoulders reaching nearly to the top of the wall. The kaiju, despite its immensity, withdrew into the mists.

Speaking of the mists, the thick, nearly liquid mist flowed into the town through the hole in the wall. With it came a far more concrete and understood threat: dozens of gobu gobus and huge green amoebas clambered over the now four foot tall wall. The hunters rushed forward to form a front line, holding back the tide of monstrous assailants. No, Gil did not have time to properly appreciate those creatures, as he was distracted by his first exposure to mist-maddened seru.

A dozen bizarre creatures flew through the air, including one floating straight towards Gil. Its skin was a blackened, rough, metallic texture. It's head was eyeless and hairless, featuring nothing but a gaping white beak that snapped in the direction of any human it saw. Its body was nothing but a long chain that resembled a disembodied human spine, ending with two huge white pincers made of polished white bone.

When the seru reached Gil, it stretched itself out, and Gil felt the monster wrap its long chain body around him. He felt the excruciating pain as thin filaments sprouted from the bloody metallic spine and into his body. Wires wrapped around his bones, burrowing deep until his spine and organs were integrated into the seru. Zeto dropped him to the ground, and his body landed prone.

"Now then." Zeto said, "kill the defenders, and destroy that eyesore of a tree."

Gil's body stood, and moved to obey. Gil could only watch.