Utopian System

Elio observed the sky where the monster had disappeared.

From the implication of what it said at the end, it still didn't know about the tunnel beneath the cores.

If in all this time it hadn't found Zara and the others, it would probably just watch from the heights.

"Selene," he turned to her, "I need you to send summons discreetly to warn the builders. They must not leave the tunnel under any circumstances until I arrive."

Lucien noticed the tension in Elio's voice. "We need to talk privately," he began, but Selene interrupted.

"But the barrier… If it fails we are done," she said. "It should have failed already today according to the normal pattern."

"The deposit," Elio responded, his mind working quickly. "We conquered it... that must be giving the barrier more stability. But there are more urgent matters." He paused, making sure only they could hear him. "We need to recover the blue sphere that Zara has and coordinate with the builders so that monster doesn't discover them."

His eyes shone with determination. "And there's something else... I have another plan."

♢♢♢♢

The Artromus abandoned its facade of superiority once alone, frustration cutting through its multiple voices.

The young parasite had been too lucky... it should have been its first real progress, its first 1% by killing him.

Until now, it had only eliminated some vermin of insignificant levels. What good were those level 2 to 4 deaths? It would need millions for them to be worth anything, and it didn't even have weapons to throw at them anymore.

'At least it served to measure his power,' it reflected.

They had awakened him too soon, that was evident.

But this temporary disadvantage had given it an idea: if he prevented them from obtaining the deposit's core, the level 10s would be easier to eliminate.

Because although a level 10 was still inferior to him, they would already represent a more serious battle.

Better to prevent than face more opposition than necessary.

It returned to the crater chamber, observing the crystal through which the humans had escaped.

The Artromus touched it, knowing it would be useless...

He couldn't get in nor destroy it.

It was a God's domain and, although it was a weak god compared to its Goddess, it was still a God.

Returning to the top, it sat at the crater's edge.

The humans who had escaped were probably trying to level up too. If they reached level 9, it would be beneficial for its plans... although surely some would die in the attempt.

'They won't be enough,' it calculated.

It would have to keep monitoring the area between the deposit and the barrier. Maybe the young one would fulfill his threat and come out to find it if he managed to reach level 10.

That would be 10%.

A twisted irony formed in its mind: it found itself silently supporting Elio's progress, wanting him to overcome the challenges without dying.

'Go ahead, parasite,' it thought, its multiple voices mixing in a contemplative murmur. 'Overcome the challenge. Entertain me while I watch and wait for the perfect moment to deliver the final blow to your miserable species.'

Its black eyes lost themselves in the horizon, the patience of a supreme predator manifesting in its posture. Time was on its side, after all it didn't need to eat or sleep.

It only had to wait.

♢♢♢♢

In the eighth challenge, Zara moved with renewed determination.

The wind emblem no longer held secrets for her, and the three additional emblems in her bag were a responsibility she didn't take lightly. She couldn't afford to fail... she needed to deliver that power to strengthen a team that would help her rescue Elio.

Her solution for crossing the tunnel had been ingenious: her elephant, growing as large as the tunnel space by absorbing carbon she generated, pushed her forward.

When she finally reached the chamber, she found herself facing the eight Roseline-sharks floating around the sphere that generated the outward impulse.

Following the conventional strategy against numerous enemies, she launched her first combos. The attacks found their mark eliminating most and leaving only three enemies with less than half their resistance. Check back at m-v le-mpyr for more

Like what happened to Elio, her eel couldn't match the monsters' speed before they reached her.

Without charged mana, Zara found herself bouncing around the chamber like a ball, while desperately trying to accumulate energy.

But she, like Elio, wasn't willing to be these creatures' toy.

Her solution took a different path from Elio's. When she finally accumulated enough mana, she combined the wind emblem with helium in a unique way: instead of letting herself be carried by the last impulse directing her toward the creatures, she used a combined impulse to stop right in front of them...

Then she used that same power to create a current that momentarily stopped them.

That instant of pause was all she needed.

Her next combo, precise and devastating, found the monsters unprepared. Although the explosion damaged her too, the three creatures disintegrated.

The victory granted her eighth level, regenerated her, but more importantly, brought her one step closer to her goal of helping Elio.

As soon as she finished receiving the eighth level rewards, Zara hurriedly left the challenge. She had to quickly share her experience so others could reach level 8 easier than her, as Elio had done for her in previous levels, and then advance to the next challenge.

Her mind was already focused on level nine, but the scene she found stopped her in her tracks...

The builders had achieved a massive advance.

They were all now level 7, even those who started at level 5 had been faster than her... An achievement made possible thanks to shared information and the cores that allowed them to obtain penguins.

They had only suffered two casualties among all 95 challengers… a painful but surprisingly low price considering the scale of the ascension.

However, the most surprising were Selene's news...

"Elio is alive," Taron informed her, his words making Zara's heart skip a beat. "Somehow he made it to the city."

The news filled her with relief, but Taron continued: "He ordered us to stay hidden. He said he'll return to explain the next phase, but..." he made a significant pause, "we need to move. He wants the tunnel extended around the city wall."

"Toward the next deposit?" asked Zara, immediately understanding the implication.

Taron nodded. "If we're going to face that thing, we'll need the power of more emblems. And for that..."

"We need to reach them first," Zara completed, her mind already calculating the implications of this new construction phase.

The builders around showed both exhaustion and determination. The massive ascension had drained them, but the news that Elio was alive and had a plan gave them new purpose.