JaceVAmor

Chapter 376: Farmer's Market

Platinum took her time tying her hair back, making sure to brush out any bumps with her fingers. She kept her eyes closed, refusing to acknowledge the myriad of enemies that clamored to eliminate humanity. Their writhing scales reflected with crimson brims while their claws churned the soil. Monstrous growls and wicked hissing were hardly audible over the deafening counter attacks that temporarily held them at bay.

Once almost every silvery strand on her head was secure, Platinum pushed...

Chapter 375: Playing with Blocks

Coop tentatively exited the hexagonal compartment, feeling as if crossing the threshold into the rest of the ship was akin to leaving a protective trench to enter no man’s land. The only reason he forced himself to move was that he didn’t want to waste more time while his companions dealt with the Eradication Protocol. Really, he felt like exploring an alien spaceship shouldn’t have been his responsibility at all.

After he was out in the open, it took several moments for the feeli...

Chapter 374: Trespass

Coop had followed Lyriel right into an open cavern without really even thinking. The pressure applied by the frenzied mana within the Underlayer had been like a bullwhip demanding that he seek escape, and as he sought mental refuge, he had abandoned the critical mind that would have insisted on a cautious approach. However, as soon as he escaped the excoriating mana, his instincts reactivated, putting him on high alert.

On the interior, the mana in the air was completely calm, almost to...

Chapter 373: Unsystematic

Coop frantically waved his hand around, silently praying that the key on his finger would be recognized by something hidden within the strange mountain before his mana was entirely ripped from his existence. There was no indication that the alien rock formation was anything but the largest meteorite to ever collide with Earth, but Lyriel insisted that there was more to it than met the eye.

It was her plan that had granted him the access key in the form of a ring, and it was her belief t...

Chapter 372: Unfortunate One

Raj kept running, doing everything he could to ignore the burning in his lungs, in his muscles, and on his skin. He only managed quick shallow breaths, like he was on the verge of hyperventilating, half because he was exhausted and half because he was terrified. His breath was all he could hear aside from his pounding bare footsteps on the scorched dirt roads.

If not for the adrenaline rushing through his veins, he would have buckled long before. He had watched his companions yield to t...

Chapter 371: Favoritism

Ramona Rojas was tussling with intensifying doubts regarding her assignment. She couldn’t help but ask herself if the leaders of the Lighthouse really knew what they were doing.

She had to admit that they had been completely validated by the start of the Eradication Protocol, and the time leading up to the pronouncements had been extraordinarily productive such that she was happy to have placed her trust in them, but that only accounted for so much credibility. When the consequences o...

Chapter 370: War Room

Marcus was peppered with individual updates regarding the most distant holdings of the Lighthouse as he journeyed down the main street of Ghost Reef. Warsaw was already under heavy siege, caught by surprise by a glut of enemy spawns. Can Gio was investigating the state of the Abundant Grasp with none from the Lighthouse having word on their status as a result of all faction personnel, including spies, reporting to safe territory when the voice shook the world. The Tempest Fleet third armada w...

Chapter 369: The Four Horsemen

Marcus leapt from the bow of a phantom ship as soon as the crew beached the vessel just beyond the docks of Ghost Reef. He was aiming for the soft white sand that defined the chain of islands he called home, though he fell a bit short, splashing into the warm shallow water before he eclipsed the low tide line. He kept a binder full of his personal notes safely tucked beneath one arm and his unique scepter firmly gripped in the other, still dripping with golden liquid flames.

His eyes we...

Chapter 368: Faelis Major

Normally, Zalanth was the only one who reported to the leaders of the Blessed Mau Collective, and usually it was only to the trifecta who were permanently stationed on the core world who could make themselves available with proper notice. However, the uncertain status of planet Earth called for a break from the standard procedure. She approached the grand chamber without an appointment, declaring that the status of Earth was an emergency.

Her three assistants shadowed her closely, keepi...

Chapter 367: Faelis Minor

Only Faelis minor lingered in the twilight sky above the core world of the Blessed Mau Collective. For the interim period, the smaller companion star of its binary system was a soothing presence that took center stage for a solo performance. The blue-colored celestial body cast its mellow glow upon the landscape, delicately illuminating the curved tips of an endless series of sand dunes.

Zalanth was its solitary devotee, arriving to witness its performance with hushed movements. She lea...

Chapter 366: Stormbound and War Bound

“Champion Coop!” Sila Tupua exclaimed, approaching with a big smile on his face. “Excellent strike!”

“Thanks.” Coop responded after he turned toward the leader of the subjugation force and grinned back.

Sila was bleeding from several wounds where the spikes of Elite Primal Construct Insurgents had struck him, but he seemed to be in good spirits despite the damage. Coop had only interacted with the Champion of New Zealand a few times, but from what he knew, the man was ...

Chapter 365: The Calm

As Coop absorbed the scenes surrounding Kata Tjuta, letting the profundity sink into his soul, he identified an approaching monster appearing far in the distance. A Field Boss was casting dramatically distorted shadows across the freshly illuminated landscape as it preceded a surge of Primal Constructs from beyond the horizon.

The lead individual was a large biped with an oversized crown that forced it to lean forward under its weight. It had an equally sized tail that acted mostly as a...

Chapter 364: Kata Tjuta

Coop was deep within the Australian Outback, relishing the crisp night air as it soothed his slightly sunburnt skin. The upcoming day was bound to be another hot one, so he savoured the nightly reprieve, knowing that it was a fleeting comfort. Leaning his back against the lone tree within eyeshot, he was a silent sentinel, stoically anticipating daybreak.

Despite the relaxed posture, his senses were alert, both natural and unnatural. He was ready for the moment that he was needed, if th...

Chapter 363: Leveling Guides

As soon as Coop reached the outlying settlements of the European Community, he was spotted by the operatives that maintained control of the continent. They gave him a professional rundown of his exact location, on a ridge that traced the North African coast, separating the former Mediterranean from the new Saharan Sea.

They let him know the specific details of monster developments throughout the region, correctly identifying what would interest the Unchosen Champion the most. They outli...

Chapter 362: Aloneness

Nyiragongo was a massive, sprawling development, loosely formed along one side of a volcano. It expanded all the way down to a massive lake, covering an area easily multiple times the size of Ghost Reef’s landmass, where it merged with a pre-mana city called Goma. A huge population of people had congregated beneath the shadow of the mountain, apparently unworried about the black smoke that billowed from its broken peak and giant glowing caldera.

The whole territory was in constant sha...

Chapter 361: Mending Abyss

The Primal Constructs beyond Cape Town were meticulously destroyed by Coop. He aggressively cleared out every monster domain he could dig up, starting from the base of Table Mountain before he escaped into the untamed wilds. The ruins of the city hadn’t known such peace, but the monsters would inevitably return. At least, for some time, they would have their levels reset to a manageable level. The locals would have a second chance to establish themselves, assuming they could get it together...

Chapter 360: All the King's Men

Coop forged ahead, ambitious enough to believe he could complete dozens more Slayer quest chains before the Eradication Protocol began. The confidence he had built in himself hadn’t faded, but he could sense opposing sentiments warring in the back of his mind. Would his actions be enough?

The Lighthouse was working just as hard as he was, and on a thousand different projects. He tried not to be nervous about the future and the limited time they might have left to prepare, but every ti...

Chapter 359: Path of the Abyss

The second known Omega Construct had been completely destroyed by Coop. Even though the alien invader had managed to establish its own Fallen Zone across most of Antarctica, it hadn’t been able to withstand a single fully empowered attack from the reinvigorated Unchosen Champion.

The result was as much a surprise to Coop as it must have been for the monstrous boss. He really hadn’t understood the exceptional growth he had undergone during the process of re-leveling. There was someth...

Chapter 358: The Omega II

Coop and Lyriel moved across the frozen landscapes full of vigor. They didn’t need to vocalize their mutual agreement to avoid wallowing in the bone-chilling climate, instead racing as if they could outrun the cold. While it wasn’t a contest they seemed capable of outright winning, the exertion helped temporarily stave off the debuffs that accumulated in the extreme environment.

Lyriel may not have been as fast as Coop, but without any obstacles inhibiting her motion, she was plenty...

Chapter 357: A Winter Wonderland

Coop braced himself, gripping the ship’s railing with as much strength as he could muster through his gloved hands. He had borrowed a full suit of winter clothes, anticipating that the frigid temperatures would be a bit too extreme for his regular apparel, but it seemed like no amount of preparation would have been enough. Even his hands had layers, with thin waterproof gloves beneath thicker fingerless mittens, yet somehow it didn’t seem to help keep the cold away. It was the type of bit...

Chapter 356: The Guardians of Punihuil

Punihuil turned out to be a relatively small base, managing with fewer than 100,000 human residents. They mostly lived in scattered camps looking down on several different beaches near the location of the civilization shard, as if trying to stay as close to the core of the settlement as possible. Coop had been anticipating significantly more, and not only because of the way others in bordering territories had gossiped about the influential emperor who was the most famous resident. That was a ...

Chapter 355: Chile

Amanda and Mikey B were leaving the terraced Amantaní settlement at the same time as Coop. The Outrider and her faithful partner would depart in the opposite direction compared to the Champion, fulfilling the directive of their own mission. They were just another example of the efforts being undertaken to unite humanity throughout the continent. Hundreds of others from Ghost Reef were exploring South America and networking with the various settlements and thousands more were supporting their...

Chapter 354: Lake Titicaca

An ethereal spear shot straight through what Coop had believed was a solid island in the center of Lake Titicaca. Rather than a rock-like surface, the superficial facade provided the same level of resistance as Coop would have expected from a hay bale. The spear plunged into the chilly water and sank into the depths before he activated his mistjump.

For a moment, he wondered if he had overshot the small island and missed, thanks to the distance, but these days, usually the last thing he...

Chapter 353: Earthly Expanse

Coop planned to follow the contour of the South American coast as his adventure continued, starting from the Orinoco delta, due north of Mount Roraima.

The Tempest Fleet was sailing up through the many winding rivers to penetrate the interior, but Coop could move as the crow flies, as long as the landmarks were conspicuous enough to be seen as he flickered back into reality. He would be incorporating the ocean for guidance on this leg of the journey, relying on its presence to avoid get...

Chapter 352: Core of the Forest

The mayor of Iquitos tried to warn him, but Coop still severely underestimated what it meant to traverse through the Amazon rainforest in a post-mana scenario. The guidance of the Warriors of the Crossroads and the Jaguar Elites at the start of his journey had spoiled him, leading him to believe that while the forests, mountains, jungles, and rivers involved challenging terrain, they were relatively easy to navigate, assuming a specific destination was in mind.

Coop was mistaken.

...

Chapter 351: Quito to Iquitos

On the fourth day, Coop, Juliana, Felix, and Sierra passed between a pair of snow-capped volcanoes and finally spotted their next destination. The view opened up to reveal yet another massive city, large enough to once again catch Coop by surprise with its magnitude. In fact, Quito, Ecuador might have been the largest individual metropolis he had seen in his entire life. The buildings just went on and on for as far as his eyes could see, as if it was genuinely endless.

He spent a few mi...

Chapter 350: Serrania de la Macarena

The second designated stop for Coop was another settlement that he had seen on the temporary event leaderboards, the so-called Serrania de la Macarena. Like La Piedra, it had climbed the ranks when the residents of Ghost Reef had ventured through the underground, hunting the armies of Primal Constructs that had appeared during the Underlayer Event.

In a way, every uncontacted settlement had been exposed when their designated control points were liberated from the invaders, but only a fe...

Chapter 349: The Scenic Route

Champion Ramona of La Piedra helpfully pointed out the main combat zones around her settlement. If she was skeptical of Coop, she hid it well, willingly pointing out the weakest areas of her territory. There would be no skin off her back if he failed, but if he succeeded, it would further establish the influence of the Lighthouse. She had already had time to interact with Juliana and other members of the Jaguar Sun, and they had set the stage for his arrival, vouching for both his legitimacy ...

Chapter 348: La Piedra

The warriors from the Crossroads drifted into a streamlined formation that was vaguely triangular, conserving energy as they literally just ran down the Pan-American Highway. Sparrows, finches, chickadees, and wrens fled from their path, but the few Primal Constructs that appeared were basically run over. The route was the next segment of planned expansion, so many hunters were already involved in taming the region that left Panama City and worked toward South America.

The ae...

Chapter 347: Reclaimed City

A new type of ship waited for Coop in the port of Ghost Reef. The phantom clipper, designed to maximize speed instead of transporting cargo, promised a swift voyage. It was one of the many alternate designs that had been created to fill out the Tempest Fleet, meant to fulfill specialized missions that would cause other configurations to operate at a disadvantage.

Compared to the heavy cannon laden vessels, the clipper had a sleeker design, with just as many sails as the heavi...