Chương 58: High Noon

The party advanced through the dense treeline, with Eugene's drone guiding them from overhead and making the trek seamless.

"Stop," Eugene said. He extended an arm to the side, signaling the others to halt.

"We're here." A grassy clearing stretched just beyond the trees. Gray pressed himself against a thick trunk and peered around the thick bark. A massive spatial rift tore through the center of the field, its warped edges pulsing faintly against the air. At its base stood a stone pedestal topped with five claw-like prongs that cradled a translucent orb. A wisp of glowing white energy churned slowly within its core. Twenty Riftborn surrounded the pedestal, standing guard.

The grotesque creatures moved on four long, hooked legs, two extending from either side of their fleshy torsos. Slimy brown skin covered their bodies, while tapered tails dragged behind them and forked tongues flicked between rows of pronged fangs. Their enormous heads resembled top-heavy triangular blocks, each set with a pair of beady red eyes. Both arms narrowed into wicked, razor-sharp hooks. HydraCrawler Lv. 5 Gray grimaced at the alien monstrosities and ducked back behind the tree.

"Eugene, can your drone locate the nearest enemy pylon for us to destroy?" Eugene rubbed the back of his neck.

"No, sorry. It can't."

"Now, now. What are you so afraid of?" Delilah hooked an arm around Gray's shoulders.

"Didn't you fight those Abominations during the third level? Those flappy sacks of meat were ten times worse. I didn't realize participants without a spine could make it into the top 100."

"The Abominations didn't have four legs giving them 360 degree mobility," Gray replied, gently peeling her arm away. She waved off the concern.

"I'm not worried about their mobility. My bullets always shoot true." Delilah drew both revolvers from her waistband and twirled them effortlessly around her fingers.

"We'll see about that." Gray turned toward the other two members of the party.

"Actually, I think it's time we showcase the full potential of our abilities. The quick rundown on the way here was useful, but nothing beats seeing what everyone can actually do."

"Sounds good to me," Delilah said.

"I'm good with that," Andre agreed.

"Um…" Eugene slowly raised a hand. Gray immediately looked toward the drone operator.

"You're good, Eugene. Keep an eye out for anyone approaching our pylon." Eugene released a relieved hum and lowered his hand. Gray clapped Andre on the steel pauldron.

"That's your cue." Andre nodded and drew the massive greatsword from the sheath across his back. As he raised the weapon overhead, a white glow erupted along the steel and expanded outward, washing over the entire party in a warm pulse of energy. Aegis Every member of the party has gained a 20% resilience buff. Duration: 5 minutes"Thanks, big guy." Delilah bumped her fist against Andre's chest plate.

"But I doubt I'll be needing it. I don't get hit very often, you see." Before anyone could respond, she sprinted from the cover of the trees and charged into the open field alone.

"Don't go by yourself!" Andre shouted, reaching after her. Gray watched Delilah barrel toward the HydraCrawlers without the slightest hesitation. Then he gave a small shrug.

"I feel like she can handle herself. Let's hang back until she actually needs us." Three of the lead HydraCrawlers snapped their attention toward the charging sharpshooter and lashed out with their forked tongues in rapid succession. Delilah dropped to her knees and slid across the grass, narrowly slipping beneath the whipping strikes. As she came out of the slide, she drove the barrel of her left revolver straight into the lead beast's open maw and pulled the trigger.

The HydraCrawler's head burst apart in a spray of flesh, bone, and gray blood. Gray Kim's guild has slain [HydraCrawler] +100 GP | +100 CP A small sphere of white energy gathered at the muzzle of her right revolver. A beat later, it detonated in a blinding flash that swallowed the remaining two Hydras. The creatures shrieked and staggered blindly, frantically scraping at their eyes with hooked arms. Delilah spread both revolvers to her sides.

Their barrels shifted and compressed, transforming into tapered, razor-edged daggers. She drew her arms back, then hurled both weapons with all her strength. The HydraCrawlers regained their vision just in time to see the spinning dagger-revolvers hurtling toward their faces. Gray Kim's guild has slain [HydraCrawler] +100 GP | +100 CP Gray Kim's guild has slain [HydraCrawler] +100 GP | +100 CP"Behind you!" Gray shouted, stabbing a finger toward her back. Delilah glanced over her shoulder.

Five more Hydras were rapidly closing the distance. Two puffed out their chests and craned their heads back before unleashing concentrated streams of corrosive green acid directly at her. She bent her knees and launched herself high into the air, flipping backward in a smooth somersault. At the apex of the jump, she threw both arms wide. The bladed weapons shifted back into revolvers and flew toward her at her command, snapping neatly into her palms. The streams of acid passed beneath her.

Delilah landed behind the advancing Hydras in a low crouch, then rose, arms extended at her sides. White light enveloped both revolvers. Extended magazines and feed chutes materialized beneath the cylinders with a series of metallic clicks.

"You guys might want to stand back!" she called. The rest of the party immediately backpedaled out of her line of fire. Delilah opened fire. The modified revolvers barely kicked in her hands, effectively functioning as twin submachine guns. Instead of conventional rounds, however, their barrels unleashed an uninterrupted barrage of glowing mana projectiles. This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work. The HydraCrawlers never stood a chance.

Mana rounds punched through their torsos in rapid succession, jerking their bodies backward with each impact. Gray blood sprayed from dozens of puncture wounds until, one after another, the creatures crumpled into the grass. Gray Kim's guild has slain [HydraCrawler] +100 GP x5 | +100 CP x5 Before holstering the weapons, Delilah raised both revolvers to her face and casually blew the wisps of smoke from their barrels. The display broke the rest of the horde's aggression.

The remaining HydraCrawlers abandoned their advance and scrambled back toward the pedestal, forming a defensive ring around the core. Their lower bodies remained planted outward while their fleshy torsos twisted toward the party. In unison, they tipped their massive heads back and released a piercing warning shriek that cut across the clearing.

"You did all of that with just your pistols?" Andre asked, jogging over to her.

"How many abilities did I just count?!" Gray exclaimed, ticking them off on his fingers.

"I guess there's more to the Arsenal class than just those three unique guns." Delilah waved a dismissive hand.

"Most of my attachments and trinkets are linked to the revolvers. The shotgun and sniper rifle are a lot more limited." She stepped aside and swept an arm toward the open field.

"Your turn. Prove I didn't make a mistake choosing you as captain." A grin tugged at Gray's mouth.

"You won't have to worry about that." He tilted his head toward the towering tank beside him.

"Andre, ready to clear out the rest of these spider-aliens?" Andre answered with a determined grunt.

"Operation: Aerial Earthquake?" Gray asked.

"Aerial Earthquake," Andre confirmed. Delilah shook her head, thoroughly unimpressed by the name. Andre charged into the clearing, dragging his massive greatsword behind him with the broad steel hovering inches above the grass. Once he had built enough momentum, he bent his knees and launched himself skyward. The ground cracked beneath his boots with a thunderous crunch, spraying dirt and shredded grass into the air. Gravity Well Gray thrust out a hand and targeted the space directly in front of the pedestal.

The air warped before collapsing inward, forming a violent gravitational vortex. The HydraCrawlers dug all four hooked legs deep into the soil, desperately resisting the pull. Their footing kept them from being dragged into the center, but the crushing force pinned them in place. High above, Andre inverted his greatsword and aimed the point downward. Then he dropped. He plummeted like a meteor and drove the blade straight into the heart of the Gravity Well.

The impact erupted through the clearing with a deafening boom. A shockwave tore across the field, flattening the surrounding grass and ripping the HydraCrawlers from their footing. The creatures tumbled across the dirt, limbs flailing as their defensive formation collapsed. The rest was cleanup. Gray rushed into the disoriented horde, weaving between desperate lashes of forked tongues before systematically driving his katana through exposed skulls.

Andre barreled through beside him, his greatsword cleaving through fleshy torsos with efficiency. Gray Kim's guild has slain [HydraCrawler] +100 GP x13 | +100 CP x13 Once the last HydraCrawler fell, Eugene emerged from the treeline and hurried across the clearing to join them.

"Good work, guys!" he exclaimed.

"A lot less flashy than my approach, but I can't fault the efficiency of your 'Operation: Aerial Earthquake.'" Delilah curled her fingers into exaggerated air quotes.

"I'm glad the name's catching on." Gray sheathed his katana with a satisfied grin.

"I came up with it on the way here. Maybe we can brainstorm some code names for your moves next." Delilah immediately raised a firm palm.

"I'm good. Just hurry up and claim the rift." Gray nodded and approached the pedestal. He placed his palm against the translucent orb. Its surface felt like chilled glass, and a faint static tingle crawled across his skin. The white essence churning inside began to thin. Within seconds, the last wisps dissolved, leaving the core dark and hollow. Behind it, the spatial tear shuddered violently before folding in on itself with a loud whirr.

The distortion shrank to a single point and vanished, leaving only still air in its place. Gray Kim's guild has claimed Astral Rift +5, 000 GP"Five thousand?" Andre stared at the notification.

"Why so much?"

"To be fair, the System didn't exactly give us much of a base to start with," Gray said.

"Knowing Tim's twisted sense of humor, that three-thousand-GP reinforcement option will probably get us a single brick for the wall."

"Makes sense," Delilah said.

"That was way too easy. Those predators barely left a scratch."

"Which means we're on a clock," Gray replied.

"Committing the entire squad to a single rift is a waste of resources. The other parties have probably figured that out already."

"Are you suggesting we split up and tackle the cores individually?" Andre asked, rubbing the back of his neck uneasily.

"Normally, splitting up would be a terrible idea. But…" A devious grin spread across Gray's face. He turned to Eugene and nudged the drone operator with his elbow.

"Tell them about the trackers." Delilah and Andre shifted their attention toward Eugene, brows raised.

"Trackers?" Delilah asked. Eugene's breath caught. He cleared his throat into his fist.

"They're not really trackers. Think of them more as navigation devices." With a flick of his hand, four round metallic gadgets warped out of his dimensional ring. Each one featured a small square display above a single circular button. A digital arrow filled the screen, pointing toward the nearest matching device, with the distance displayed beneath it.

"They're not as advanced as Koogle Maps, but they'll get the job done," Eugene explained.

"Each device points toward the nearest person carrying another one. If you get into serious trouble, hold the button for three seconds. It'll send a distress alert to everyone else." He tossed one to each member of the party. Identify Gray turned the device over in his hand.

"Nothing's showing up." Eugene nodded.

"They aren't System creations. My mentor developed them himself. His goal was to make sure Awakened could always locate one another during expeditions, even without a dedicated Scout class in the group."

"That's mighty generous of 'em." Delilah tossed the gadget into the air and caught it neatly in her palm.

"We're burning daylight. Are we splitting up or not?" Andre immediately raised both hands.

"Now, hold on a second. Wouldn't it be safer to stay together? We have the advantage of a scout. We can streamline our clears as a full party far more efficiently than most guilds."

"You have a point," Gray admitted.

"But why not push that advantage further? If we split up, we can clear several rifts at once instead of one at a time. If we take the slower route, we might end up having to contest cores against other squads." Andre scratched his cheek, clearly unconvinced.

"What about that other party? If we're alone, they could catch one of us off guard." Gray hummed thoughtfully before turning to Eugene.

"Where are they in relation to us right now?" Eugene closed his eyes. A few seconds later, they snapped open, his irises shimmering blue.

"They're pretty far out." He pointed toward the distant treeline.

"About eight hundred feet away, and they're actually moving in the opposite direction." He blinked once, recalibrating his vision.

"As for the Astral Rifts, we're almost at the center of five of them. They form a loose ring around our position, ranging from about one hundred to five hundred feet away." Gray clapped his hands together.

"Then it's settled. Here's the plan: we split up and each tackle one rift. Once you neutralize your core, use the navigator to rendezvous with the nearest teammate. Eventually, all four of us will regroup. Then we rinse and repeat."

"I don't know…" Andre murmured. Delilah slapped him reassuringly across his armored back.

"Don't worry, big guy. I'll tear through mine as fast as I can and come rescue you if things go south." She turned toward Eugene.

"Can you point Andre and me toward two cores that are relatively close together?"

"Sure thing." Eugene gestured toward the trees.

"There's an Astral Rift exactly one hundred and fifty feet straight ahead." He shifted his finger slightly to the right.

"You two can take those." Delilah and Andre exchanged a glance, gave each other a quick nod, then dashed off toward their respective objectives. Gray watched them disappear into the treeline before turning back to Eugene.

"Are you going to be okay on your own? You mentioned earlier that you mostly use the drone for utility. Do you have any actual combat abilities?" Eugene rubbed the back of his neck and lowered his gaze.

"Sorry if I gave you that impression. I prefer using my technology for utility, but that doesn't mean I lack firepower." Gray studied him for a moment, then nodded.

"Fair enough. Where should I go?" Eugene pointed off to the side.

"Two hundred feet that way."