Survival Mode
Ayaan took out one of the harpoons and threw it at the crimson reef.
It crashed into the reef, but even before it did that, the crimson reavers emerged from it. Ayaan wanted to take one reef at a time and finish this battle with relative safety. He even targeted the reef on the left side, avoiding the central one, to have a bigger space to battle.
But to his surprise, as soon as the reavers spread out, one of them was within the range of the second reef.
This triggered the second reef and the six reavers from that spread out as well. With the reavers from both of them spreading out, the two marauder shells in the middle were also triggered and they emerged.
To no one's surprise, the third reef is also triggered.
Just like that, Sam had to face all eighteen reavers and four marauders at the same time underwater. He didn't even think twice and started swimming away.
The harpoons were thrown. Two of them. He dodged them and turned to his left, hiding behind a neutral reef. This wasn't big enough to be a platform for him to fight, but it was big enough for him to hide behind.
The reavers and marauders came at him from either side.
But he was nowhere to be seen. It's almost like he disappeared completely from their sight.
As they looked around foolishly, all of a sudden, one of the marauders felt a forceful pull on its collar.
'Frog King's Stomp'
The neutral reef cracked and smashed into several pieces. The marauder was shot forward, pushing through its companions, and zoomed out of their zone into darkness.
*CRASH*
As it crashed into another neutral reef. Finally, Ayaan revealed himself. With its head stuck in the reef, Ayaan's figure appeared, holding it by its collar.
Hydro Veil.
One of the armor effects. According to the system description, the wearer can bend the surrounding light, when underwater and make it harder for enemies to detect. He was counting on the fact that there was barely any light here with the blood moon in the sky.
And it worked.
Ayaan caught them off guard and used the frog king's stomp on the reef, using it for extra boss. They pushed through the rest of the monsters and came far away.
Now, he didn't want to be stupid enough to lose his chance. Ayaan took out the black iron combat knife and stabbed it in one of the gaps of the monster. In its armpits.
'Water Bullet'
Once again, he noticed that the impact of the water bullet has lessened, but since it was conjured within its body, not by much. The shoulder exploded and the arm came off without any trouble.
Ayaan pushed the dagger into the stuff and once again used the same attack.
'Water Bullet'
This time, the knife went much deeper and the explosion was much more lethal. The chest cavity of the monster exploded.
[Exp+10000]
Ayaan is surrounded by crimson blood. As the marauder disappeared, he grabbed the loot and threw it into the inventory. Then he took out a harpoon and got ready for his next move. He wanted to try out something.
Soon, he saw the reavers and the marauders charging towards him. He turned to face them with his back against the reef.
He rose up, with his legs against the reef once again, and used the same trick.
'Frog King's Stomp'
*CRACK*
The reef was blasted to pieces and Ayaan was shot forward like a torpedo. However this time, he held a harpoon in the front, pointing towards the incoming reavers and marauders, particularly a reaver was his target.
The reaver was caught off guard by the sudden charge. It tried to dodge, but Ayaan managed to impale the harpoon in its right chest.
The force was too high. He went past the reaver, with the harpoon completely destroying its right chest.
[████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░] 30%
Its health dropped by seventy and Sam also halted in his track. He turned around and stabbed the harpoon into its open wound.
'Water Bullet'
And it died.
The rest of the monsters, couldn't even react in time. Ayaan already swam away without any reservations. He once again, picked a neutral reef beside him and hid behind it. This one is a bit larger than the last one and a lot more complicated.
He found a crevice and entered it without any hesitation. The monsters surrounded the crevice and some of them went to the other side. The gap on either side was just big enough for Ayaan to enter. The bulky reavers and marauders knew better than to just blindly charge in.
They were acting more intelligent than the monsters from the previous quests.
The marauders on either side based their tridents into the reef, breaking it and expanding the hole so it would be easier for them to enter.
Ayaan who was in the crevice kept an eye on either side. He observed as the holes expanded and soon he saw that one of them reached his desired size.
'Frog King's Stomp'
He didn't hesitate and activated it. He hit the marauder diagonally. Both of them torpedoed up, towards the surface. The harpoon Ayaan held in his hand, already impaled into the other party's chest.
As he was about to use the water bullet, the marauder that couldn't wield its trident, tried to punch him in the face.
Ayaan blocked it with his other hand, which also happened to have the spike protruding out of the forearm guard.
The spike went through the fist and Ayaan used the water bullet one after another on both fronts.
*POOF* *POOF*
Even before the momentum died, the marauder did.
[Exp+10000]
Ayaan came to the surface and took a deep breath. He hadn't activated the aqua respite yet. It was almost six minutes, the maximum time that he could hold his breath in perfect condition.
However, to his surprise, he wasn't that tired. His lungs were still perfectly working. Of course, he couldn't ponder about these things at the moment. He dove back into the water after taking a deep breath and swam towards the incoming monsters.
He dodged the incoming harpoons and slipped into the middle of the group. His target was the second marauder who was at the forefront.
He dodged its trident and caught a hold of its arm. He swung himself up and put his foot on its chest.
'Frog King's Stomp'
*CRACK* *POOF*
The shell armor on its chest and torso was destroyed, iand ts health dropped by eighty percent in an instant. The force threw it like a torpedo as the marauder swept through the water. It first crashed into the reavers behind it and then on some concrete debris behind it.
Meanwhile, Ayaan who was launched back because of the stomp, caught a hold of one of the reavers. He jabbed the spike into its arm and tore it at the joint. He then used that injured spot to launch a water bullet and point blank.
*POOF*
The reaver was almost dead. Ayaan didn't let it go and jabbed the spike again, this time at the back of its neck, through the small gap and cut it again.
The reaver is gone.
[Exp+1000]
The intense battle continued. Ayaan was like a pinball. He used the reefs and the buildings in the surroundings to launch himself with the Frog King's Stomp. The attack worked really well even underwater.
With his armor reducing the water resistance to almost a negligible level, he was able to move freely. Whenever he had to get stuck in the middle of the group, he used the bodies of one of the monsters to perform his stomp.
The MP usage is high of course, however, it's getting full with one kill. His MP capacity is still low and the gains from each monster are pretty high.
There was no loss there.
The battle became intense. However, the more time passed, the more Ayaan became comfortable. The level 4 monsters didn't give him as much trouble and felt very easy to handle. So, soon he was done.
He collected the loot and was ready to plan his next move. To go and find a way to farm more EXP before the boss the fight. Then came the system notification.
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QUEST NOTIFICATION
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You awakened the Reaver Warlord, Varrak
Requirements achieved:
Defeat at least 60 Crimson Tide Reavers Slay at least 10 Crimson Tide Marauders
The Reaver Warlord has identified you as a worthy opponent.
The Reaver Warlord has issued a challenge Reciprocate the Reaver Warlord's respect and enter Coral Island to accept his challenge. You will earn the ire of the Reaver Warlord if you do not accept the challenge in the given time.
00:03:00
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Ayaan looked at the quest notification with a frown. He wasn't expecting this. In the first three quests, the hidden requirements were triggered whenever he killed excessively. There was no other requirement.
It was pretty straightforward.
It was kind of expecting a similar situation now. But he couldn't even find the excess monsters to kill in this quest. And so far, the quest also appeared extremely easy.
His gaze then landed on the timer.
Three minutes…
The island wasn't far away. He could reach it easily and from the notification, he could assume that the condition would be met as long as he stepped on the island.
However, he felt like this could be the trigger that he wanted. The trigger for the hidden requirement. He didn't have any supporting logic or solid reason. He only got a feeling and that's because of the last line of the notification.
You will earn the ire of the Reaver Warlord if you do not accept the challenge in the given time.
His instincts for danger told him that he should just get on the island and be done with the quest. And that made him all the more sure that he shouldn't go.
He stayed atop the water's surface and got his breathing back in order. He calmed down and got ready for the battle.
The three minutes are over. And the notification has appeared.
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HIDDEN REQUIREMENT
==============================
A hidden condition has been met!
You didn't accept the Reaver Warlord's duel request.
The reaver warlord is enraged by your disrespect.
Reaver warlord summoned his minions.
Coral reefs are responding to his summons.
Quest has been updated.
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==============================
QUEST
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Quest Name: The Bloodied Reef
Objective:
Purge the Crimson Tide Reavers and defeat their warlord.
Clear Conditions:
Defeat at least 60 Crimson Tide Reavers Slay at least 10 Crimson Tide Marauders Survive the onslaught of the Reaver Warlord Minions Kill Reaver Warlord, Varrak
Reward:
- All Stats +5 (Will increase based on the performance in survival)
- Crimson Fang Dagger
Penalty for Failure:
- 80% of summoning the boss monster early
- All Stats – 80%
Additional Information:
The Quest currently went into survival mode. As long as you do not accept the duel request of the warlord, the survival mode will persist.
You can end the survival mode only after you enter the island.
==============================
A smirk decorated Ayaan's face without even knowing. The quest system is predictable and he enjoyed it.
Now, he got a chance to farm more Exp.
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00:00:01
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The countdown began and a timer appeared along with the quest notification.
At the same time, the surroundings rumbled. Ayaan dove back into the water and the sight of it stunned him. The delight he felt for predicting the system and triggering the hidden condition is gone and was replaced by sharp vigilance.
His instincts screamed. He understood why he sensed danger surrounding him, at the start of the quest. The coral reefs, the ones he thought were neutral, are moving. Not all of them, but the ones with a radius of fifty meters are all trembling and are separating.