Abyssal Guardian
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HIDDEN REQUIREMENT
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A hidden condition has been met!
**Blood of all Aqua-humanoids has entered the Lake and is being absorbed by the lake**
**All five tribes of Aqua-humanoids failed to provide the essence to the Embryo**
**The Embryo is substituting the essence with the blood of the aqua-humanoids**
** Abyssal Guardian is forcefully evolving from the Embryonic state**
Quest has been updated
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QUEST
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Quest Name: **The Depths of Terror**
Objective:
Eliminate the Embryo of Abyssal Guardian in the central lake and ensure the various aquatic humanoid tribes cannot summon the Abyssal Guardian with their essence of corruption.
Clear Conditions:
Explore at least one Stream path and eliminate all the representatives of at least one aquatic humanoid tribe Kill the four guards of the Abyssal Guardian Embryo Ensure the other aquatic humanoid tribes cannot add their essence of corruption in the lake to evolve and awaken the Abyssal guardian. Kill the Abyssal Guardian
Reward:
All Stats +9 Passive Skill: Primal Awareness: Instills a deep-rooted instinct warning of danger in the player. The player can sense the approaching danger in their path, surroundings or circumstances.
Penalty for Failure:
- All Stats -70%
- 70% Possibility of summoning a Boss monster early
Additional Information:
Abyssal guardian is evolving from the blood of the aquatic humanoids that are killed in the stream paths. Due to the insufficient supply of energy in the blood of the monsters, the evolution is incomplete and irregular.
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While Ayaan was never really excited whenever he heard the hidden requirement notifications, this time he was particularly disappointed.
He thought he could try and level up again before he went for a boss fight. There are several connecting paths between the cave paths and he is sure that at least some of them with have those hidden path guardians like the crab he fought.
They are a good source of Exp.
Ayaan quickly checked his Exp progress and felt even more frustrated.
He got approximately 39000 points in the first path since he almost killed everything himself. A 1000 points in the hidden path and around 15000 in the second path. Another 1000 in the second hidden path, and finally another 10000 in the third stream path.
After coming out, he got 23000 from killing these two creatures. With the existing 9000 points from the previous quest that is 98000 points.
Ayaan is a bit surprised and frustrated at the same time. Surprised that the progress went this smoothly. He took two quests to get from level 2 to level 3. But level 3 to level 4 has ten times the target, he did figure that he might be able to finish it in the quest if he went all out.
However, he realized the exp gathering this time is a lot more easier compared to Quest 2.
He checked his fatigue. It is up by 44 points. His health is down by 40 points only. He still has 120 points left.
He could see that his massive STAT increase in the second quest might have played a big role in this, but he never expected this much. The only disappointment is that if he could have just gone through two more hidden paths, he would have leveled up.
He is sure that with complete recovery and some extra Stat points, he could deal with the boss a lot easier.
Ayaan turned to look at the stream path and couldn't help but try it. However, the barrier came again and this time a notification came.
[Abyssal Guardian has appeared. Can't go back into the Streampaths]
It is direct enough. He sighed and walked to the cliff's edge. He can see the beautiful waterfall, joining the lake underneath.
And the lake is glowing with a red colored glow. The previous spherical form is morphing.
Level 5: Abyssal Guardian [Incompletely evolved] [██████████████████████] 100.0%
Similar to how Frog King has the Nerfed tag, this one had a tag about its incomplete evolution. Ayaan looked at the height and felt a bit disappointed. It is a bit too high for the range of the shotgun.
With the shotgun slug box emptied, the slot is now available, he threw the shotgun into it, before taking out an Aqua manifest pill. He took one and at the same time activated a skill he wanted to try out for a while.
'Frog King's Stomp'
[MP-5]
Mana conjured in his legs. His muscles strengthened and bulged, he crouched down and the pressure cracked the rocks underneath.
*BOOM*
With an explosive force, he left a crater behind as he jumped into the air. He jumped as high as thirty meters, almost hitting the ceiling of the massive cave, before starting his descent toward the Abyssal Guardian.
During his descent, the aqua manifest was activated, creating a giant cleaver. He put its blade vertically down. As he closed near, the blade of the cleaver lodged into a sphere. At the same time, the kinetic energy he gathered in his body is transported into his feet.
*BOOM* *SWIISH*
The cleaver penetrated the flesh and at the same time, massive force dissipated from his feet as it entered the sphere underneath him.
Ayaan wasn't able to control the recoil as well as the Frog King did. He was thrown to the side, and forced to roll on the ground to dissipate the impact. The cleaver got stuck in the sphere.
The glowing light disappeared revealing the creature underneath.
Ayaan rolled a few times, pushed the ground, and landed on one knee, stopping his movement by stabbing the sword into the ground.
*CLICK* He took out the shotgun in one fluid motion and aimed it at the Abyssal Guardian.
[███████████████████░] 95.0%
The health bar only dropped by 5% even with that massive hit on its body. Ayaan took a deep breath as he observed the monster.
Ayaan's body squirmed in disgust as he saw it. It's a humanoid creature, its body is elongated and sinewy, with a shifting, fluid texture reminiscent of the brookborns. It almost looked like its flesh was never fully solid, it rippling like water over muscle.
The skin is a mottled mix of deep blues and sickly pale grays. There are several barnacle-like protrusions and patches of brineclad armor. It also has an unsettling, semi-ethereal quality. Its presence felt shadowy and insubstantial, its edges blurring into the darkness.
Its face… if one could call it that, is like an ever-shifting mask. Sometimes revealing hollow abyssal eyes that seem to drink the light. Its limbs are jagged and grotesque, showcasing a twisted fusion of calcified bone and coral.
Its hands are clawed, its fingers stretching and reforming like tendrils of rotting wood., dropping with brackish water that sizzles upon contact with living flesh. From its back, jagged spines emerge, pulsating with an eerie, bioluminescent glow that flickers.
The water cleaver that Ayaan stabbed into it, was still lodged in its shoulder.
"H..hu…"
The creature made a weird sound as it turned to look at the cleaver. Its head turned around completely as if it didn't have any bones. Its massive hand held onto the cleaver and pulled it out.
*SQUIRRT* The blue blood squirted out of its wound, just for a second, before it got closed again. Its health dropped by one percent.
In its hands, the water cleaver turned back to water and collapsed. It slowly stepped out of the water making that weird 'hu hu' sound.
*BAM*
*CLICK* *BAM*
*CLICK* *BAM*
*CLICK* *BAM*
*CLICK* *BAM*
Ayaan shot all the five slugs he had left. The slugs whistled through the air and hit the creature without any trouble.
The hits landed, penetrating its flesh. Blue blood squirted, but the damage was very limited. Even with the five shells, only 4% of its health dropped. The slug just fell off its body as it stepped forward.
Ayaan threw the shotgun away and extended his hand.
'Water Bullet'
*POOF* *POOF*
4 MP bullets shot out of the finger, from both his hands. They landed as well. But as he shot the third one…
The monster dodged. Its body bent in a twisted angle as the bullet went past it. At the same time, its hand extended forward.
*POOF*
A water bullet almost identical to the one Ayaan shot came from its hand, aimed at Ayaan. Ayaan rolled to the side and shot the creature again.
Once again it bent in a weird angle and dodged it. For the next two minutes, Ayaan focused on dodging the bullets and firing his own. Except for the loss of MP by 3 points at a time, there was no use at all. The creature became more and more flexible with every passing second.
Its bending and twisting didn't seem as crude anymore. Its body almost as if it became more moldable, changed its shape, and dodged all the attacks.
At the same time, the bullets coming from the monster became more and more precise with every shot. Ayaan had a hard time dodging, particularly with the space not being too big. Just like the streams the lake also overflowed and there is little space left without water.
Within the water, the creature itself had way too much advantage. It is almost sliding through the water without actually walking.
Ayaan sighed and made a decision. He cannot keep on wasting MP after all. He held the knife in one hand and the black alloy sword in the other. He lunged forward and dashed towards the monster.
*POOF* *POOF*
The monster shot two more bullets. Ayaan dodged them as he charged on. Just when he was four feet away from the monster, he threw the knife in his hand.
The knife whistled through the air, but just like before the monster dodged the knife by twisting its body. Ayaan dodged the third water bullet and closed in the distance. He sidestepped, leaped, and slashed the alloy sword at its head.
*SWOOSH*
While the monster is focused on that sword and stepped back to dodge, a water bullet was conjured at Ayaan's left hand. At such close range, he conjured a 3 MP bullet and *POOF*
The water bullet didn't miss.
"HU…"
The groan escaped its twisted mouth as the monster took a few steps back.
*SPLASH*
Ayaan stepped into the water and checked its health bar.
[██████████████████░░░░] 88.0%
That is a two percent drop. Ayaan's gaze turned sharper and he became much calmer than before. In his eyes, only the Abyssal guardian remained.
Ayaan once again charged at it. This time instead of using a water bullet, the creature swung its huge arm trying to swat Ayaan away. He dodged the attack and stabbed the arm with the black alloy sword.
The abyssal guardian raised him up along with the sword and the arm. Ayaan lost his footing and was raised into the air. The guardian aimed its second hand and conjured a water bullet. Before it could shoot it though…
*POOF*
Ayaan shot his own water bullet, at the same spot where his sword was stabbed.
*SQUIRT*
The sword loosened and dropped him down. The water bullet almost brushed past him. He missed it by hair's breadth. As soon as Ayaan fell down, the guardian leaned forward, with its upper body completely covering him.
Ayaan aimed the water bullet up and shot it in the torso, but at that moment, the surrounding water moved and conjured into a flexible barrier, creating a layer of protection over the monster's body. It closed in and mauled over Ayaan.
As its disgusting body enveloped him, it started molding around him. His arm couldn't be moved. He was stuck in its bind. From its body, its head popped up, with its wide maw opened.
"HU..HU.."
Making those sounds, it was about to take a good old bite at his head.
Ayaan gritted his teeth and tried to find some footing, but he was a couple of feet above the ground. And as he struggled, the grip tightened around him.
HP-10
He felt like his whole body was being crushed under a mountain.
He raised both of his legs trying to find any support he could and the only thing he managed to do was land those feet on the body of the creature.
A cold glint flashed past his eyes.
'Frog King's Stomp'