Chapter 26 - Pop

As Trev and his companions walked towards their next destination, he finally had a moment to acknowledge the level up text that had popped up.

[Level 4!]

[4th pinnacle system unlocked: Mapping]

[World map now available]

[Events, points of interest and waypoints will now show on the map]

[1 Item point available]

[Clap twice to dismiss]

Trev dismissed the message and checked his HUD. A new map tab had appeared, and he navigated to it, revealing a top-down view of his surroundings. His current location was represented by a green dot among the nearby buildings, while the areas he had explored so far were revealed. The area around the rest stop, which he had explored the most, was completely revealed. Testing the functionality, he placed a waypoint on the map, and the best route instantly appeared. It would be helpful for situations where they knew their destination but not the exact route.

Trev decided he would investigate what to do with his item point later. He didn't know what item he was going to get around the corner, and he felt his gloves were strong enough for now.

Mari led the group towards the event she wanted to complete. From her description, it seemed to be a wave-based challenge that required defending a point. It made sense why she couldn't accomplish it alone, as her only weapon was a bow, and without a steady supply of arrows, she would run out of ammo quickly. Additionally, the required kill rate of the creatures in the event would likely pose a challenge for a single person, especially for someone with a bow, as they have a fixed reload speed.

As Trev walked behind Mari, he used his scanning ability on her, and the following information displayed on his HUD:

[Homo-sapien]

[Marielle Taylor Blanc]

[Age: 30 Earth years]

[Level 4 - Unknown]

It was useful to know Mari's full name and age for future reference. She appeared to be around the age Trev had estimated based on her looks and maturity. Curious, he scanned her bow next:

[Weapon - Flexible Lesser Combat Bow] [2 IP]

[Rare - Energy - None]

[Requires Level 3]

[Protection rating: 10]

[Damage rating: 20]

[ +5% projectile speed]

[ +5% Aim Stabilisation]

He searched the rest of Mari's body for any other items, but found none. If she had additional items, they were not immediately apparent.

"Okay, we've arrived," Mari said with a nervous smile.

They had entered a small secluded park situated between houses, accessible only by passing through someone's yard. In the past, such trespassing would have been frowned upon, but now there were no residents left to frown. In the centre of the park, on a concrete slab, stood a small box made of the same metal as the dropship—Evolution Metal, as people had started calling it. The box's top face was a large red button, reminiscent of the mantis box, but the box itself was quite a bit larger, with several hatches on each side. The park itself was overgrown, the grass was quite long and large bushes dominated a significant portion of it. It was definitely not maintained often, surprising since it was summer.

"So what happened last time you tried it?" Asked Trev.

The box started spinning, shooting capsules that rapidly expanded into creatures. There were too many, so I had to create an escape route and run." sighed Mari.

"What creatures were spawned?" Elena inquired.

"Small lizard creatures, about a metre tall, standing on two legs and armed with various weapons," Mari explained. "Unlike goblins, they possessed a modicum of intelligence and strategy."

Trev took this opportunity to check his map, as the level up prompt earlier told him events would display on the map. As he zoomed in on their location, an icon appeared—a cube-shaped symbol with the label, [Rare Event - Lizard Man Licking - Level 5]. Trev sighed again at the stupid name, but it was likely the world had many events, so they didn't put a lot of effort into naming them.

"Are we ready to begin?," asked Mari.

"Yes, let's go!" Emilee responded, her enthusiasm unusually high for battle.

Mari pressed her hand against the box, and the button turned from red to blue. Suddenly, the box started spinning, and lifting off the ground on concealed legs. Hatches on each side opened, launching small capsules into the air. The capsules landed on the grass around them and rapidly expanded. Each capsule reached a height of about a metre before bursting open, revealing a lizard man armed with a weapon and sometimes a wooden shield. The lizard men didn't begin advancing right away, they were waiting for all their comrades to form. Once approximately fifty of them finished spawning, the box stopped spinning and dropped back to the ground. Trev and his companions found themselves surrounded by a menacing pack of lizard men. Taking on a small pack would have been easy for one person, but a group of over fifty was a different story.

"What's the plan? Asked Emilee, less cheerful now the reality had set in.

"I'll defend Emilee, Elena, you defend Mari. Otherwise, do your best," responded Trev.

With her bow already drawn, Mari released her first shot, disintegrating the lizard man in front of her. This began the proceedings of battle, catching the lizard men off guard. Before they could react, Mari swiftly fired another arrow, taking down a second lizard man.

The lizard men charged toward the group, weapons drawn and baring their teeth. As they closed in, Trev swung his chain, skillfully knocking the legs out from under them. Behind him, Emilee began unleashing her ice magic, bombarding the creatures with ice balls, temporarily incapacitating them. They began tripping over one another as they charged, with one lizard even falling on the spear of its comrade, killing itself. However, even in their disoriented state, the lizard men continued their relentless advance toward Trev. Abandoning his chain, he began hulk smashing enemies with his gloves, and only then did the lizards begin to fall.

Suddenly, the barrage of ice balls ceased. Trev glanced back to find Emilee drained of mana. As he refocused his attention, he spotted a lizard man breaching their defences, heading straight for Emilee. rev had wondered why her mana had depleted so rapidly, but before he could ponder further, Emilee stepped forward, activating her dark step ability. The lizard man attempted to stab her with its knife, compressing the barrier. The knife almost reached her skin, however, just before that point it promptly rebounded, launching the lizard man backward with interest, resulting in its death.

Momentarily distracted, Trev became vulnerable to an attack. An approaching lizard man swung its mace, but before it could strike, Elena swiftly sliced it in half, her blade leaving nothing but ash in its wake. Meanwhile, Mari's precise aim sent arrows raining down, dispatching lizard man after lizard man. It became apparent that they had dealt with their share of enemies and had come to assist Trev and Emilee. Elena performed an elegant display of deadly grace, twirling and slashing through the crowd, simultaneously cutting down multiple lizard men. Within seconds, the remaining enemies met their demise, reduced to ashes. The button on the box went from blue to a flashing green, indicating the encounter was over. Trev let out a loud sigh of relief, grateful that no one had been harmed.