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Unknown Wolf Evolution (T8)
No entry within the archives. Please submit the specimen for examination.
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The black wolf kept staring at me, not moving an inch. At first, I simply thought it was kind of weird, but as time went on, I couldn’t help but find it concerning. What was its fixation with me? Among the monsters present, I was definitely the strongest; maybe it could sense that? And maybe it somehow perceived me as a threat to its position… or something? It was a plausible theory, but at the same time, it felt wrong. Something about its eyes told me that it was more intelligent than a regular monster. Maybe similar to the Kobold, or even more intelligent than that?
Even more concerning was the result the archive spit out. Considering how long the asphons had been at it while being assisted by the system, pretty much every T8 monster to ever exist should have been catalogued by now. As far as I’ve been told, the archive would become less reliable for tier ten monsters and above, so having an unknown at this stage was an anomaly. Combined with its odd hyperfixation with me, I couldn’t help but become wary.
Not sure about what to do, I decided to test the wolf by waving at it. I wasn’t entirely sure why I picked this course of action, but waving at somebody felt like an oddly civilized thing to do. Monsters don’t wave at each other… probably. Regardless of what I hoped for, the wolf didn’t respond to my rather pathetic attempt at establishing communication in any way whatsoever, keeping eye contact the entire time. Disappointed and a little unsettled, I retracted my tentacle and decided not to pay any more attention to the wolf, turning my back on him. I could still observe the group with my void feelers either way.
Looking at the other domes, I briefly considered using poison assassination to get rid of the other monsters, but decided to hold off for several reasons. It wasn’t guaranteed that it would even work; the system probably having installed countermeasures for exactly those types of shenanigans. The system was obviously gathering a bunch of monsters for something, which meant removing some of them would simply increase the time I had to wait for. And lastly, there could be a punishment for trying. Well, the rat was trying enthusiastically while not being punished, but it was also not accomplishing anything. Its attacks never left its own dome, unlike my spell that would appear behind the target.
Eventually, I decided to settle down and patiently wait for the system to continue with whatever this was. Not wanting to sit around and do nothing, I started meditating to increase the skill’s level. Hopefully, it would also distract me from the wolf boring holes in my back with its eyes.
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I let out a low growl as we filed into the elevator. Yellow and Green tended to goof off whenever they encountered something exciting and needed to be put in line occasionally. They were good kids, always putting in their best when commanded, but the moment I let them be without direct orders, it quickly devolved into playful shenanigans. That was fine, as long as they did what they were told, but now wasn’t the time to lose focus.
I more felt than saw Red giving them an annoyed look as he took up position behind me and to my right. I liked Red. He was diligent in his duties and always eager to please. Out of all of my pack members, he was the one with the most potential to become a true follower of Trahnesh. Blue had already lain down and let out an exaggerated yawn, while Pink was lightly slapping him in an attempt to make him focus up. The two of them were constantly at odds, since Pink was a stickler for rules, while Blue openly toed the line every chance he got. It may seem like Pink was simply trying to get Blue to fall in line, but I knew he was just jealous of the little freedoms Blue managed to get for himself, while he was too timid to attempt something similar.
We had become a rather colorful group and could easily be mistaken for a group of friends. Yet, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I was on a mission, a holy crusade, going through a divine test. And the five of them were tools. Instruments to enact the slaughter necessary to please the lord almighty. As we evolved through the tiers, they had gained quite a bit of intelligence and even developed some distinct personalities, which had been a problem at first, but a little reminder every now and again made it clear what disobedience led to.
Still, individualism was not a sin in and of itself, so I allowed them their little freedoms as long as they did their job. What mattered most was their devotion to the slaughter, and in that regard, none of them could be found lacking.
The elevator started to descend, and I couldn’t help but get excited. It was finally time for my last test. Completing the quest after arriving at the eighth layer was clearly defined as the final obstacle, and I couldn’t wait to see what came after. Surely, the slaughter to be found after its completion would make my time on this planet pale in comparison. I would be accepted into the Lord's employ, spreading the gospel far and wide through the expanse.
Word of the other traveler descending came a mere ten minutes ago, after which I immediately abandoned the asphon settlements, making for the nearest elevator. I had done my very best to lead the asphons toward the right path, but I could smell their relief when I left. They were weak. I could understand why the Lord kept them locked up here, forever doomed to serve him with their research. After all, even sinners could be useful if ruled with an iron fist. They just needed an occasional reminder about their place, which is why people like me were sent through here on occasion.
Yes, people like me and Gary.
Ever since I learned of the other traveler's existence, I spent ample time and resources to learn as much about him as possible. I quickly learned that he had chosen the path of a voidling, an interesting monster uniquely positioned to inflict widespread chaos and destruction. Truly, a fine vessel to commit slaughter with.
So then, it came as even more of a surprise when I received the news that Gary did not take over the city he resided in. My spies told me that he was making friends, helping the locals, and being adored by everyone without making an example of a single asphon. It made me doubt that he was like me, in the service of Lord Trahnesh, after all. Yet, further news revealed the true colors of the space horror. There was no mercy to be found with the voidling, and I got excited just thinking about the marvelous slaughter he committed when faced with an entire army of goblins.
My sources told me that he was literally addicted to fighting, putting his life on the line, and slaughtering his opponents. And he was strong. Incredibly so. I was certain that he was a practitioner of the faith as well, but was going about it in a different way than I did. Infiltrating through charisma, while keeping his true colors hidden until appropriate. It reminded me of the way I did things back on earth.
Even with all the evidence pointing toward him being a member of the faith, I still harbored doubts. That was, until a truly insane piece of news reached me. After he somehow assisted with the formation of the very first asphon country, he gained the privilege to generate a country-tier quest. An honor that was not even granted to me, a most devout follower. And then, he fought a tier twelve monster, somehow coming out on top. It was a legendary feat of strength and a most appropriate offering to the lord. Gary’s strength was a cut above even mine. Which, considering the nature of the eighth layer, should be cause for me to back off until the next cycle.
But, I felt it deep in my bones that I would disappoint the Lord if I didn’t face down a seemingly stronger opponent. A slaughter was demanded on the eighth floor. It was the final crucible of this planet, and I could not pass up the opportunity to challenge myself.
As I was contemplating, we had descended into a dark void, a dome encasing the platform so nobody would fall off. It was a relatively short journey, and eventually, other domes could be seen in the distance. I barely managed to contain my excitement as we approached, my eyes scanning the domes for my prey. And then I saw him.
An elongated body like a thick snake, dark as the deep of space, stars dancing across the surface, only broken up by faint green and red nebulae. Eyes on stalks, like a slug, accompanied by various other protrusions that I didn’t know the purpose of. But one of the most striking features was the crown floating above him. It looked like a simple black crown, but I could somehow tell that it wasn’t simply a black crown; no, there was a hole in reality in the shape of a crown.
I could not help but stare, taking in the form of my soon-to-be enemy, wondering how our battle would play out. He also took an interest in me and my pack, but eventually turned away from me, not aware that I was a fellow traveler. Otherwise, he would have surely attempted to communicate. For the first time in a while, I was excited. Pink attempted to grab my attention, but my eyes firmly remained on Gary.
But, for now, there was nothing to do but wait for the final contestant to arrive.
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I wasn’t certain how much time I spent lounging about in the dome, but I knew for sure that it was multiple days. The system regularly provided each dome with a certain amount of appropriate food for the monster that occupied it while we waited. Seeing how much time passed in between each feeding, I assumed that it took place once a day. If my assumption was true, we spent at least six days just sitting around. It could be more, though. Or less. It was hard to tell since we were in total darkness.
Every monster mostly kept to itself, ignoring the other domes, except for the rat, of course. It would appear the damn thing was an infinite font of stamina, as it continued its attempts at attacking the others without tiring, only pausing to eat whatever the system dropped into its dome. The other monster that was acting weird was that damn wolf. While the rest of the pack was perfectly happy lounging around while waiting, the alpha seemed to have taken a real liking to me. As far as I could tell, it spent most of its time awake staring at me.
It was odd at the start, but it started getting creepy pretty fast.
For the first day or two, I wondered about the exact nature of the quest that was about to kick off, and I had a pretty good idea about what was to happen. The little tidbits of info I had, combined with my current situation, led me to believe that what was waiting for us was a fight to the death. That was in line with the nature of this planet. As a testing ground for all kinds of monster evolutions, it would make sense to then pit said monsters against each other at the end. It would also explain why Orbos was so sure that betting on me was easy money.
After all, none of the monsters present was my match.
I tried running some combat simulations through my head to pass the time, but it usually ended the usual way. Blow shit up with a lot of spells and win. Which meant I was bored out of my mind for the past few days. At least my meditation skill was getting a damn good workout. So good, in fact, that it had ranked up to B-tier. It now boosted my MP recovery by seventy-five percent, instead of fifty. Very nice.
My quiet meditation was broken when the kobold stood up, though. That was unusual, since both it and I had been unmoving statues for the past few days, deep in meditation. The only time it bothered to move was when it was time to eat, and it was too early for the regularly scheduled delivery. Sensing something was up, I also came out of meditation in an attempt to see what got its attention. The answer was found easily, since it was fairly obvious. Another dome was approaching fast.
It didn’t take long for the other monsters to catch on, and the attention of everyone shifted toward the newcomer. Excluding the rat, which was currently attempting to attack the water elemental, of course.
I was once again surprised to see a familiar face. Or rather, monster.
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Phantom Saurian (T8)
These lizard-type monsters like to gather around bogs, swamps, and marshes. Ambush predators by nature, a lot of their evolutionary lines go down the path of the assassin. None more so than the Phantom Saurian. No longer reliant on mutations to disguise itself, it has access to an array of spells that make it almost undetectable to its prey, until it is too late. Thanks to a fast-acting neurotoxin, it is usually too late once the Saurian finally reveals itself.
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Ambush predator, huh? That reminded me of my early days of shitty eyesight, glacial movement speed, and over-reliance on poison. Assuredly, this thing would do a lot better job at being an assassin than I ever could, but at the same time, I wasn’t too worried. After all, I’d spent a lot of time with an assassin specialist, and even he couldn’t hide from my void feelers. After all, even if they hid themselves perfectly by whatever means available to them, they still existed in reality. Which meant they were detectable by the feelers.
Tough luck, new guy.
The arrival of the new guy brought with it another change as well. Fittingly for the eighth layer, the system had apparently been waiting for eight monsters to gather before kicking things off. Shortly after the new arrival, a light grabbed everyone's attention, coming from down below. I rushed to the edge of my dome and peered below to see a decently big, circular platform.
A quick guess put the platform at around ten kilometers wide. At first glance, it looked like somebody cut out a perfect slice of the fourth layer and put it down here. A miniature mountain dominated about a quarter of the platform, while the opposite quarter was occupied by a lake, several rivers snaking from the mountain through a grassland and a forest in the quarters separating them. I only had a few seconds to look before I saw a couple of orbs ascending toward us, coming to a stop above the domes, one for each.
I immediately clocked them for being cameras. Orb-shaped, floating cameras, with a rather telling reflective lens pointed right at me. I already knew that this was going to be televised for the asphons in some form or another, so this didn’t come as too much of a surprise. Considering that my friends were no doubt watching, I gave the camera a friendly wave with a tentacle before focusing on the system prompt that finally appeared.
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New Quest!
You have descended to the final layer of the planet Suigoss. After a long and arduous journey, only the final challenge remains. Prove yourself in a brutal battle to the death and come out on top. Be the last one standing to earn the right to move on and join the ranks of the travelers.
Goals:
Survive.
Rewards:
Main Quest Token
Upgrade to Traveler Tier 2
Access to the Traveler Identification screen
Teleport to a traveler world of your choice
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For the first time after descending to a new layer, there were no evolution requirements. Considering how the final challenge was a somewhat short battle, it made sense that I wouldn’t get an entire tier just for winning. The rewards were also decidedly different from what I was used to. Instead of the usual direct upgrades to my personal strength, the reward seemed more focused on what came after I won. It felt a bit surreal, but pretty soon, I would finally leave this damn planet and become a proper traveler.
What awaited me out there? The whole expanse was waiting to be explored, not to mention the void. I would meet other beings like me, finally get some answers to my questions, and leave another chapter of my life behind. I wondered what fantastical things I would see, what crazy monsters I could fight, and what traveler society looked like. But first, I needed to win.
As if on cue, the domed platforms started to descend toward the arena.