Chapter 31: Player Uorop, Player Alice

Three hundred kilometers from anywhere Logan had ever been, a very different kind of fight was already finishing.

Uorop didn’t bother bringing an army with him. He never did. He hunted alone, base by base, and so far it had worked out fine for him.

He wasn’t from Earth. Anyone looking at him could tell right away. His skin was the color of wet slate, gray with a faint blue tint. Each of his hands had six fingers instead of five. His eyes sat just slightly wrong on his face, longer and wider, and had two elven ears.

But none of that mattered as much as what his hands could actually do.

```

[ Prime Construct - Mythic-rank Talent ]

Spends Mana to generate raw energy that transforms into whatever it touches.

```

That single Talent was the whole reason he was standing in front of a stranger’s base, and the whole reason that base wasn’t going to be standing much longer.

He touched the nearest wall, and energy poured out of both his hands and swallowed the stone on contact.

Ironmaw Gauntlets!

Where the wall had been a second ago, a pair of massive fists now stood in its place, each one twice the size of his own body. He closed them around the rubble like it weighed nothing at all.

Two defenders rushed him through the gap he’d just made, spears leveled and ready. He didn’t bother stepping out of the way.

Twin Fangs!

The energy shifted again, the giant fists collapsing down into a pair of long curved blades. Both spears fell to the ground in pieces before either defender finished their swing.

One more summon came at him from the back of the courtyard, bigger than the rest and clearly built for a real fight. Uorop didn’t close the distance this time. He just raised one hand toward it instead.

Stormshot Cannon!

His blades dissolved and reformed a third time, wrapping around his forearm into the shape of a thick barrel. Whatever fired out of it hit the summon hard enough to fold it in half on impact.

The player who owned all of this watched his whole defense fall apart in under a minute. One good look at hands that could turn into anything was enough to convince him fighting back wasn’t worth trying.

’SURRENDER!’

```

[ You have defeated a player. Player Uorop now has 4 eliminations. ]

```

Uorop looked over the wreckage he’d made and was already thinking about where to go next.

Potion Brewer wasn’t much of a class by itself. Epic-rank sounded impressive on paper, but a class built for mixing ingredients wasn’t going to win fights on its own. Prime Construct didn’t care about that, though. It didn’t need a strong class behind it. Five different armaments so far, and every base he tore through taught his hands one more shape to become.

’Four down. Let’s see how many more I can find before somebody finds me first.’

---

The third dagger’s arrow finally settled two days later, pointing straight at a base tucked into a river valley thick with fog.

This base looked different from the others Logan had raided. The walls were tall and clean, no rough patchwork anywhere in sight. On top of that, something shimmered faint blue across the whole territory, a barrier stretched over the walls like a second skin protecting them.

```

[ Territory: Player Alice ]

Barrier Status: Active

```

Nothing moved anywhere inside. Whoever Alice was, she wasn’t home right now.

"Barrier first," Logan said. "Let’s see how tough it actually is."

It didn’t take much effort at all. Shard threw one punch and the barrier cracked wide open. Once it stopped holding the walls together, the rest of the base came apart just as easily behind it.

Maw’s head lifted first, nostrils flaring even though he didn’t actually need to breathe to smell anything.

"Something’s coming. Fast." His voice stayed flat despite the warning. "Probably the owner of this place."

He was right. While the rest of the group swept through what was left of the base and finished off the last few summons guarding it, notifications started stacking up on Logan’s screen, one right after another.

```

[ Player Alice’s summon eliminated. ]

[ Player Alice’s summon eliminated. ]

[ Player Alice’s summon eliminated. ]

```

Somewhere over the ridge, Alice was watching the exact same notifications pop up as she raced back on her mount. Every single one of them meant something else she owned had just died before she could even get there to help.

She came in low and fast a few minutes later, riding something with wide feathered wings and a coat of fur speckled like a night sky full of stars.

```

[ Duskhorizon Griffon (Tier-1/Epic) ]

```

She jumped down off its back before it had even finished landing, boots hitting scorched ground where her own walls used to stand. Her eyes swept across the six Mythic-rank summons waiting for her, and for a second her whole face froze before she managed to force it back into something calm.

"Wow." She let out a low whistle. "This is strange. Totally wasn’t expecting this development."

She rolled one shoulder, loose and easy, like she was shaking off the surprise on purpose.

"Very well. It seems the time for a serious showdown is here." Her grin came slow, but it looked completely genuine. "I wasn’t expecting someone like you, but this is fun. Before we begin fighting, though, let’s introduce ourselves. I want to know you before I defeat you."

’Despite seeing my Mythic summons, she still has the air of confidence about her.’ Logan’s eyes narrowed. He glanced quickly at the summons standing around him. ’You all, what do you think about her?’

[ Maw: Smells dangerous. Very dangerous. ]

[ Tide: But well within our grasp, since we outnumber her and can overwhelm her. ]

Alice didn’t wait for Logan to answer her out loud. She reached back over one shoulder, and a bow began forming right there in her open palm. Threads of what looked like compressed starlight wound themselves together into shape, more grown than built, the surface of it shimmering faintly like the inside of a clear night sky.

"I am Alice Rezvolt." She held the bow up like she wanted him to get a good look at it. "My Class is Stardust Horizon Ranger, Mythic-rank. My Talent is Wildbless Dessert, Legendary-rank."

She reached into a small pouch at her hip and pulled out something round, dark orange, and juicy, the skin of it already beading with liquid. She popped the whole thing into her mouth and swallowed it in one bite.

```

[ Wildbless Dessert activated. ]

[ Attack, Speed, Constitution, and Arcane increased. Duration: 10 minutes. ]

```

The air around her seemed to bend for a second. Her whole body settled into something sharper and faster than it had been a breath earlier, like she’d just woken all the way up.

```

[ Player Alice - buffed ]

Attack: 40

Speed: 50

Constitution: 35

Arcane: 35

```

Added together, her stats now matched what a single one of Logan’s own Mythic-rank summons carried. That wasn’t a small thing.

"Why did you reveal your class and talent just like that?" Logan asked.

Alice blinked and chuckled. "Because it makes no difference. And since I am hoping I would learn the same about you. Pure curiosity. I just love to know some things."

"So, what’s your name, Player L? You are from Earth as well, so maybe we can be friends. I’ve been homeschooled, but now that I am a player, I have gained freedom." Alice grinned. "So I am just having fun."

She stood tall despite the wreckage scattered around her, bow resting loose in one hand, looking thrilled and hungry for the fight all at once. "Now tell me, so we can start."

Logan looked her over, her buffed stats giving her a clear individual edge in terms of parameters.

’This one’s actually strong.’

He rolled his shoulders once, feeling the weight of six Mythic-rank summons standing at his back, and let the truth of what was coming settle in anyway.

Logan opened his mouth. "I am Leon Flanke. My class is Normal-rank, and my talent is temporarily transforming units into Mythic-rank."