Not even fifteen minutes had passed since they arrived, and they already had a mission requiring urgent attention.
The worst part was that they weren't ready at all.
Arthur moved quickly toward the garage where the Rhino was waiting for him and as soon as he looked at it he was amazed.
The armored personnel carrier was angular and stocky, with heavy plates of composite alloy armor covering its solid frame. Its design was stout, sleek, and strangely predatory. The whole machine was almost the size of a train car, with six mighty wheels supporting its overbearing weight.
Each massive wheel was as tall as a human and as tough as the alloy hull of the Rhino. These wheels connected to an extremely robust suspension system; they were also attached to a set of short integrated limbs that could be extended from the frame of the vehicle to raise its profile and maneuverability.
The APC also possessed powerful boosters that allowed it to sustain brief bursts of autonomous levitation, hop over short distances, or soften the blow of landing from height. It could even move across water as an amphibious vessel…
Inside, Emily was checking the Rhino's status with Jet in the front section, while the rest of the group was reviewing different panels and monitors, testing sensors and cameras in the rear.
Arthur studied it with a mixture of satisfaction and delight.
'It looks good.'
He walked over to the girls in the front and asked in a neutral tone:
"So, what's the status?"
Emily continued doing her thing without paying attention to his question, while Jet offered him a small smile.
"Everything seems to be in order. We'll leave in five minutes."
"Good." He continued in a more timid tone. "Is the air conditioning on?"
Jet looked at him out of the corner of her eye, and her smile disappeared.
"No, but we'll be able to turn it on soon."
Arthur nodded and continued toward the central section.
He was currently wearing Umbral Husk, which he had modified to have an enchantment granting resistance to cold. But that wasn't the problem—the issue was that he felt slightly strange in the armor.
He had already gotten used to using Djinn of War, so his old Ascended armor had lost its purpose—until he realized something.
Every time he used Djinn of War, his fragments stopped increasing due to the armor's passive absorption. So if he wanted to keep gaining fragments passively, he had to keep the Attribute deactivated.
Which, in other situations, wouldn't be a problem. But in Antarctica, it was.
He could have asked the clan for another armor—maybe a Transcended-ranked one—but in the end, he didn't. The Attribute was of the same rank as him, and its tier was equal to his, so it would be an Ascended 6th Tier armor right now, which wasn't that different from a Transcended 1st Tier.
He could have ordered it to have as a backup, but he's sure his luck with memories is going to change and he'll get some armor from some Corrupted creature.
Arthur reached the central section, where only Regis was sprawled across some seats.
This section had a modest living space. It featured a small lounge where the crew could rest and spend time together, a compact kitchen, and a separate hygiene compartment. Three bunks were situated on the opposite walls.
Behind the living area was the cargo bay, which also served as an armory and housed a high-tech engineering workstation. The engineering compartment was located beneath the floor and ran the entire length of the vehicle.
Finally, the rear of the Rhino was occupied by the command and communications room. There, a large holographic table, a powerful console connected to the armored personnel carrier's antenna array, and a set of monitors displaying the same information as those in the cockpit were located.
Most importantly, behind all of this was the space where the Masters had their beds, with a partition for added privacy and dedicated storage space.
And since he didn't usually sleep much compared to other Masters, Jet decided to only place three beds.
Three beds for four Masters.
Obviously, they were never going to find all four sleeping at the same time, but it didn't take a genius to figure out who would be sharing the same room…
'This is Jet's fault. I have zero doubts, and I don't need proof.'
Arthur began to regret having left everything in her hands.
Finally, after five minutes, the Rhino was ready to depart, and Emily took the wheel with Hale sitting beside her.
The two of them would be the primary duo responsible for taking them wherever they needed to go.
The petite woman would handle driving and maintaining the Rhino in peak condition, while Hale's role was slightly more complex…
One of the factors to consider during the campaign was that, at the beginning, all routes would be mapped for movement. But as more Nightmare Gates opened, that would change.
Some routes would remain usable; others would have a Gate in the middle, making them impossible to use; and others would be completely destroyed by battles against creatures.
So Hale's role would be to guide them to the places they needed to go, taking all of this into account—and the way he would do it was through maps.
Hale was a Pathfinder in the Dark City, and his Aspect allowed him to create maps of his surroundings. These maps weren't physical, but they allowed him to know exactly where he needed to go.
That was only his Dormant Ability. Now that he was an Awakened, it also allowed him to add Nightmare Creatures to his maps, and his Awakened Ability helped him predict in which direction they would move.
In short, he was the perfect person to guide them through Antarctica's mountains and difficult roads while avoiding or heading toward Nightmare Gates.
His role became even more significant given the mobility their cohort would need to reach different crises.
The Gate they had to deal with was only ten minutes from the city, far too close. Hence the urgency of the mission.
Although it was close, the city was located in an awkward position for creatures to attack as soon as they emerged—though they would try anyway.
The city they had arrived at was called Aurora Vale.
The name came from the auroras themselves, and since the city was situated on a mountain peak, much of the Antarctic Center could be seen in the background while looking out.
With Hale's help, Emily took the shortest route, and just a few minutes later, they were getting out of the Rhino, which they left slightly hidden behind a large hill.
Arthur stood on the great hill with Emily, Hale, and Owen at his sides, while the rest took forward positions.
From that height, he could see a small valley with the Gate at its bottom. It was only a Category Two, so it wouldn't be very complicated.
But he only needed to think that for a moment before, seconds later, the Call of the Nightmare doubled in intensity, and another rift in the fabric of reality began to open a few kilometers to the north.
He let out a sigh and narrowed his eyes, though he didn't need to.
First, he focused on the creatures that had already emerged from the first Gate, flooding the valley.
"There are about two hundred of them. Most are Awakened, but there are almost three dozen Fallen abominations as well. The Gate Guardian… It's only a Fallen Devil."
Arthur was going to take on the role of "scout," since he had better vision than everyone else—though Owen would also help a great deal with that.
"What do we do, boss?" asked the aforementioned.
He didn't respond at first, his gaze shifting to the second Gate that had opened.
This one was just beginning to expel Nightmare Creatures, but Arthur noticed they were the same type of creatures, surely coming from the same place in the Dream Realm.
Which also meant their ranks and numbers would be equal or similar.
The creatures had bestial bodies, with four bony limbs ending in sharp claws and long, slithering tails. Ridges of jagged spikes rose from their spines, and their maws were full of sharp fangs.
Most disturbingly, all except for the Fallen ones seemed to have had their eyes violently gouged out. Now, only darkness nestled in the empty, gaping holes of their eye sockets. The abominations did not move as if they were blind, though. There was a strange, predatory precision to their subdued movements.
The Devil was different from the eyeless beasts, though. It resembled them outwardly but possessed a more humanoid body. The creature stood on its hind legs, while its front limbs resembled human hands. Its eyes were closed and even seemed shut. Something constantly moved behind the eyelids.
The Fallen Devil towered above its ilk, reaching almost three meters in height.
Arthur frowned slightly and replied.
"You two stay in the Rhino. Emily, keep it ready for any emergency and notify the city about the new Gate. Hale, stay with her, and if a new mission comes in, start mapping out obstacles we might encounter."
Then he looked at the last member. "Owen, take a forward position behind one of the mountain peaks and take out any creature that leaves a three-kilometer perimeter at range."
The three Awakened nodded and immediately moved.
'I never imagined I'd have to lead people like this.'
Sylvie's voice sounded softly in his mind.
'You'll do fine, don't worry! Now, what do we do?'
'I'll handle the new Gate four kilometers from here with Regis. You three take care of this one. Assist Jet and conserve your essence.'
Sylvie chuckled lightly.
'Funny, Jet said the same thing. Good luck, Art.'
'Good luck to you too.'
He felt the Aetheric Pathways and used Godstep to reach the new Gate.
Seconds later, he could feel the battle at the other Gate had already begun, with the three women attacking the Fallen Devil first.
'Let's try to finish this quickly,' said a bored Regis.
Arthur unfortunately could only agree.
He stopped on the mountain leading to another small inner valley where the second Gate had opened and summoned [Drowned Oath].
The Ascended Memory he had bought from Stev in the castle market was now of Transcended rank.
The silver bow manifested in his hand, and he didn't hesitate to aim with it.
Arthur didn't know the Fallen Devil's weak point, but if experience taught him anything, it was that most of the time, it was always the head.
So that's where he aimed, his hand holding a [Tempest Shafts] that would travel nearly two kilometers, gaining strength along the way.
Arthur took a deep breath and moved the bow a little higher.
A moment later, he relaxed his fingers, allowing the string to slide off them on its own. The white arrow noiselessly disappeared into the sky, so fast that it was hard to see it at all.
It arced over the tops of multiple rocks and a small lake until it began to descend. The Fallen Devil could have dodged it, surely, but to do that, it would have had to see it first.
And that was difficult, considering the enchantment of [Tempest Shafts].
The farther they traveled, the more the air pressure around them increased, causing them to continue accelerating until impact.
And when it did hit… it pierced the Fallen Devil's forehead with astonishing ease, exiting through the back of its head a fraction of a second later.
The air pressure on the arrow was so great that the creature's entire skull suddenly deformed and violently exploded. Every bone in its upper body was shattered by the residual force of the impact.
The misshapen, headless corpse was thrown back with so much momentum that it killed several Nightmare Creatures that just happened to stand in its way.
Just like that, the Fallen Devil who guarded the Nightmare Gate was gone.
'That was entertaining,' Regis admitted.
[You have slain a Fallen Devil, Defiled Witness.]
[Your Aether grows stronger.]
Arthur had no time to respond before the swarm of creatures reacted.
The eyeless abominations were moving in his direction with ferocious determination, covering many meters with each stride as viscous saliva streamed from their terrifying maws.
Which was bad, because if he let them keep advancing, they would join the other swarm, and it would become more complicated.
Djinn of War began to slowly cover his body.
He immediately used the Runes trait and made himself even more noticeable—but in the next instant, he used Godstep multiple times.
Appearing at the rear of the swarm, where most of the Fallen creatures were.
[Dawn's Ballad] in his hand, and Regis left his core, manifesting in all his majestic glory.
Still, the first thing he did was shake his body and complain.
"Damn it! Why is it so cold?" He turned and looked at Arthur. "And why is every damn creature we fight hideous?!"
Arthur rolled his eyes.
"If you kill them quickly, you'll stop having to look at them."
"That's a good point, princess."
Neither of them said anything more, both knowing perfectly well what they had to do.
The Fallen noticed their presence at their backs immediately and turned in a fraction of a second.
Arthur used all seven of his augmentations, feeling the strength of an Ascended Titan, and launched himself into the attack.
It didn't take long before the first one lunged with one of its sharp claws.
Arthur dodged the attack with the pommel of his sword, deflecting it by centimeters, and took the opportunity to pivot and cut off its head with a horizontal arc.
Dawn's Ballad cut through the flesh like butter, decapitating the Fallen Demon as if it didn't exist.
[You have slain a Fallen Demon, ...]
At that moment, he felt another creature launch itself at his back, but he didn't react.
Using Aether Manipulation, a long purple spear extended meters from his back, impaling the creature's head. Piercing its forehead and stopping its momentum cold.
[You have slain a Fallen Monster, ...]
Arthur finally used Godstep and appeared behind another creature that had taken the opportunity to lunge at him.
Dawn's Ballad traced a vertical cut, splitting the two-meter creature in half.
In the distance, Regis launched himself with all his might, and with a single bite of his Destruction-imbued teeth, he tore the head off another Fallen creature.
[You have slain a Fallen ...]
Immediately as the Fallen fell, the long jagged spikes growing from the spines of the remaining Fallen and Awakened suddenly grew hazy, producing a strange vibration that covered the surrounding area like a dome.
Arthur heard a high-pitched ringing that burrowed into his ears like a hot needle, and then, the entire world suddenly spun.
'...What?'
He swayed, almost falling over after having committed to an attack.
Suddenly, Arthur couldn't tell where was up and where was down, where was left and where was right. Everything around him turned blurry, disorienting, and impossible to tell apart.
The only thing he felt was a bite right on the arm he had committed to the attack with.
He tried to turn and grab Dawn's Ballad with his other hand, but at that moment, multiple creatures lunged and bit his hand with its long, sharp fangs, tearing it off completely.
Arthur gritted his teeth and changed the trait of Djinn of War.
From one moment to the next, everything around him lost its sound. Arthur used the runes of total silence, temporarily rendering himself deaf.
Using such runes demanded a great amount of essence, as they covered a large area and they used his ultimate knowledge of silence, making it absolute.
Instantly, the world stopped spinning, and he could see clearly again.
He immediately dismissed Dawn's Ballad and instead used Aether Manipulation to summon multiple swords around his body.
One took its place in his right hand, while another appeared over his left shoulder and another at his right hip.
His left hand hadn't regenerated yet, but he wouldn't need it yet.
A new Fallen creature lunged from his left, viscous saliva oozing from its terrifying maw.
Arthur let it come close, and at the last moment, he turned in the opposite direction.
The purple Aether-manipulated sword in his right hip was pointing toward his back, cutting through the Demon's jaw with slight resistance. Immediately, he changed his grip on the sword in his right hand and drove it into the creature's head.
[You have slain…
Arthur had no time to process the kill before, in that same movement, his left hand finished regenerating, and in it appeared a purple spear that extended multiple meters.
Instantly killing multiple Awakened who had thought themselves too clever.
What followed was a deadly dance from Arthur. Phasing through his enemies and slicing their bodies apart as if they were made from paper.
He combined the use of his fighting techniques with his abilities, creating a unique personal fighting style based on responding to impulses rather than reacting to them.
Raising his battlefield efficiency to levels that any Ascended could only dream of.
His body and mind, with a profound clarity in constant combat, allowed no distractions, no doubts—causing that in a battlefield of hundreds of creatures against him alone, the prey was them.
Every movement had a purpose—to take a life.
It didn't take him long before he began pushing the horde of creatures back, their numbers dwindling with every passing second.
Even so, the numbers were still against him. In the end, the sonic attack had also affected Regis, leaving him alone against the horde.
But Arthur wasn't just deadly in a battle; he was too slippery and elusive to be surrounded and piled upon.
Seven augmentations coursing through his body, increasing his strength and speed, made him much faster than the creatures surrounding him.
More importantly, when even that wasn't enough, he easily stepped through the Aetheric Pathways to avoid being swarmed by the onslaught of frenzied beasts.
Godstep brought him to and from all the necessary kills in the shortest possible distance.
This Attribute was carrying him across the battlefield with ridiculous ease, but it made it easy to forget that the fragment cost still existed.
And with Djinn of War over his body, he was losing more than he was gaining.
Everything indicated that he would end up being overwhelmed by the remaining creatures. But that wasn't what happened—not in the slightest. Arthur used the valley's geography to his advantage.
During the fight, he had been moving closer and closer to the small lake at the front of the black mountains surrounding the valley.
Standing at its edge, Arthur smiled and used Godstep one last time for the remainder of the battle.
He appeared on a platform he created over the lake, and [Drowned Oath] appeared in his hand once more.
Another thing he had been doing during the fight was that when he couldn't kill them, he at least weakened them as much as possible with wounds in different parts of their bodies.
The next moment, he channeled a slight amount of essence into [King's Presence].
The ability manifested over all the remaining creatures, making them lose their balance and crash into each other. The weakest even killed each other with their clumsy movements.
Another effect of his Ascended Ability was that the sonic attack stopped completely, and Regis emerged from his core, clear anger showing in his body.
Arthur simply pointed at the remaining creatures trying to enter the lake to attack him.
"Take it out on them."
He removed the condition from the trait of his Attribute, and sound returned to his ears.
It was definitely a strange experience fighting without hearing, but it helped him improve his fighting style.
'That's a victory in my books.'
"Oh, I will, princess. You don't have to tell me twice," Regis replied with rage in his voice.
The next moment, he simply watched Regis tear apart the bodies of the remaining Awakened creatures and occasionally fire arrows at the others.
The Spell kept sounding in his head as Regis continued taking lives. It took them a few minutes to eliminate all remaining creatures, until only their lifeless bodies lay in the valley.
Arthur watched it all with no emotion in his golden eyes.
They had won the first wave, but the Gate would continue to be present, releasing wave after wave, and they wouldn't be able to do anything about it.
He understood that what he had just done over these minutes actually counted for nothing.
Until a cohort of Awakened challenged the seed inside the Gate and overcame it, it would remain a constant danger.
But even that would be meaningless… a cohort of new Masters could provide many benefits, but by the time they overcame the Nightmare, the continent might already be lost.
Making everything worthless.
'We're done here. How are you?' Sylvie asked mentally.
Arthur made small Aether platforms to walk out of the lake and finally released all his abilities, with Djinn of War leaving his body as Umbral Husk took its place.
'Yes, everything's ready here too.'
Sylvie replied.
'Good. Hurry back to the Rhino. They've already sent us to another crisis—this time it's a Category Three.'
He let out a sigh and mentally agreed.
He stared at the eerie rift for some time, feeling the Call slowly eating away at his sanity. Then, Arthur shook his head and headed toward where the Rhino was…
…In the end, his adventure in Antarctica was going to be busier than he had thought.
---------------------------------------------x-------------------------------------------------
Emily.
Hale.
Owen.