Game of the Universe: Zenith

Arthur nodded, agreeing with John. Honestly, it was not a bad approach. If anything, Arthur figured it was probably the best tactic Zane could have come up with in the short time the man had to prepare.

Granted, it required all three of them to be faster than their target, but from the looks of it, that wasn’t a problem here.

The Alpha lifted a leg and brought it down where Pyth had been just now, but once again it only found air. The massive hoof left a crater in the ground and kicked up a cloud of dust as it shook the mountain peak.

Pyth had dodged it just in time, the shockwave sending him stumbling, as he rolled a few meters before scrambling back up.

But he was unharmed.

Zane didn’t miss his chance. He stepped forward and stabbed his spear along a seam behind the boss’s knee, the fanged tip biting in just enough to breach its rocky exterior and draw out another drop of blood.

Meanwhile, Brock jumped in with a short stab that deepened the wound Pyth had opened.

The creature’s head snapped towards them again.

"Keep it moving! Don’t fucking stop!" Zane roared.

The trio rotated again, splitting three ways.

Arthur kept his eyes on the Alpha’s reactions the whole time.

When Pyth’s axe deepened its wounds, the Alpha turned his way. When Brock’s tusk managed to bite in, it pivoted after him. And when Zane’s spear stabbed along the back of a joint, it tried to crush the wiry man.

The brutal rhythm carried on, slowly but surely.

Zane’s group moved like a well-oiled machine that refused to slow down, each rotation leaving the Alpha nothing but shallow cuts. The boss kept striking with earth-shaking blows that carved craters into the stone, but every one of them landed on thin air.

Arthur couldn’t help but feel surprised as he stared at that scene.

The damage wasn’t much but it was slowly stacking up. No matter what, even a creature that big had to feel a dozen tiny stings piling into the same few places... right?

If Zane and his group could keep it up, they really had a chance to bring this thing down.

Ten minutes passed like that.

The trio was dripping with sweat, their chests heaving as they scrambled in and out of range. But they kept moving, not letting up.

Zane had even let out a roar of exhilaration that his plan was working.

Unfortunately, the giant boar no longer seemed to share their patience.

Its eyes swept the peak, over the three ants constantly harassing it, and its legs suddenly came to a halt.

Its chest rose for a second, swelling deeper than before, as if it were dragging in a massive breath.

The pause that followed was long enough for Arthur to realize that this wasn’t part of its usual attack pattern. It wasn’t switching targets anymore.

And he was right!

The Stonehide Alpha opened its maw, and a thick plume of white came crashing out. It curled around its head and back before moving over to its chest and legs, quickly enveloping its entire body. And in the blink of an eye, it had covered it whole before spreading out to the rest of the peak.

"Shit!" Zane’s voice echoed through the air.

At the same time, Arthur’s eyes narrowed as part of the mist rolled toward him.

He could tell this was the same mist that hung over the whole mountain. Was the Stonehide Alpha its true source?

He didn’t know, but as he looked around, he realized something else. The mist here was actually thicker than the one rolling through the mountain. Much, much thicker.

In the blink of an eye, the massive figure of the Alpha blurred, then disappeared altogether as it got swallowed by the white plume. Zane’s group faded next, barely a few seconds later. And soon, even the jagged rocks around the ridge lost their edges, reduced to vague outlines before even those were gone.

"Zane! Brock! On me!" Pyth’s hurried voice rang out from within the mist.

But the only thing that answered was Zane’s angry roar.

"No! Grouping up makes us a bigger target! Just stick to the plan!"

Arthur froze at those words. He couldn’t believe Zane was being this stubborn here. It was one thing to run their plan while they could still see their opponent, but right now? It clearly wouldn’t work.

How were they supposed to know who the boss was targeting, or who was supposed to attack it?

Arthur wasn’t the only one who saw the problem. John’s expression also darkened as he stared in the direction of Zane’s voice.

...But there was a third person, as well.

A shape came crashing through the mist, running desperately downhill. But it wasn’t heading toward Zane or Pyth.

No, it was running towards Arthur and John.

Brock’s face was pale with fear, with sweat running down his forehead.

Arthur didn’t even have to guess what was going on. Brock had given up on the hunt after hearing Zane’s order.

Unfortunately for the young boy... the hunt hadn’t given up on him.

He was still a dozen or so meters from the ridge when a massive leg punched through the fog above him. Somehow Brock seemed to sense it and tried to turn, desperate to avoid the fatal strike coming for his head.

But it was too late.

The sound that followed next was sickening.

A thick, wet crunch echoed through the summit as the young man’s body instantly burst apart, blood and bone spraying outward like splinters. A shard of bone clattered down the slope, spinning once before coming to a stop near John’s sneakers.

"NO! BROCK!" Zane’s voice tore through the mist as the skinny man stepped out just in time to catch a glimpse of his companion being turned into paste.

But that wasn’t the end of it. The Alpha didn’t pause. It took another step and vanished into the mist once more.

Seconds later, it reappeared behind its next target.

Another leg came crashing down, this time aimed at the human with the annoying spear.

Zane somehow dodged the first strike by the skin of his teeth, but the second came dangerously close. For the first time since reaching the summit, the wiry leader thought about retreat. Unfortunately, it was a little too late.

The Alpha didn’t even give him a chance to scream. Its front leg dropped down with unbelievable force, crushing him under its weight.

The impact cut through the summit like a drumbeat, the sickening crunch of bones breaking echoing once more.

Arthur’s jaw tightened, his right hand drifting into his pocket almost on its own.

It wasn’t the first time he’d seen someone die inside the game.

He and John had killed people themselves. But the brutal way the Stonehide Alpha did it was nothing short of brutal.

Just like that, only one of person remained.

Pyth seemed to have realized how hopeless his situation was, and was already making a beeline for Arthur and John at the edge of the peak.

In a matter of seconds, he’d reached them, too, his voice cracking as the words spilled out on their own.

"Guys... please... help me!"

Arthur turned to the side, his eyes meeting John’s. Even through the mist, he could still make out John’s crude grin as he looked at him.

"What do you think? You wanna go at it?"

Arthur froze for a moment. His brain raced as he weighed his options, while the weight of the boss pressed down on them from all sides.

Truth was, he didn’t actually have to fight this thing. Arthur knew that much.

This was a situation he and John could walk away from if they so wanted. They hadn’t laid a finger on the giant boar, and he very much doubted it would chase them down the mountain if they decided to leave.

As for getting to level 9 and 10, they could just keep hunting the Iron Boars and Rock Serpents down the mountain, couldn’t they?

Right! There was no need to risk his life here.

And yet, for some reason, that wasn’t enough.

Arthur couldn’t explain it, but he just didn’t want to back down here.

Was it because he had a storage bag now, and his elemental stones were supposed to be safe? Or was it because losing 7 levels could simply be grinded out again with enough time?

No. Deep down, he knew none of those were the true reason.

He simply wanted to fight this thing!

It was absurd. He knew that much.

And yet, as he looked at John, a grin of his own tugged at his lips as he stepped forward.

"Alright. An extra pair of hands isn’t so bad, I guess. Better than fighting it with just the two of us." Arthur said.

John’s grin widened. "Knew you’d say that."

Arthur turned his gaze back into the mist, where the Alpha was hiding. He couldn’t see its figure, but it was going to come for Pyth soon enough.

Neither he nor John was daunted, though. They just stepped forward and waited for the massive boar to show its face.

That thing wasn’t invincible. The shallow wounds Zane’s group had carved were still there. Small or not, they were proof it could bleed. And that was already enough.

Now... it was their turn.