> INTERMISSION: 07:12:59
NEXT STAGE: The City Beneath Rot
Penalty for Missing Entry:
Disqualification. Memory Erasure. Immediate System Purge.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Vikka asked.
Jonathan stared at the chasm yawning before them. Black stone arches jutted from its sides like the ribs of a long-dead beast. Below, far below, a city of rusted towers and fungal domes gleamed under a hazy yellow glow. A decayed metropolis buried in the guts of the world.
Teshaal checked the stone tablet he pulled from his belt. "It's here. Entry point confirmed. No turning back now."
---
They descended on rope ladders anchored to the cliffside. The stench hit halfway down—sweet rot, mixed with rust and something chemical. Jonathan tried not to gag.
As his boots hit solid ground, the system chimed.
> You have entered Stage Zone:
The City Beneath Rot
Stage Format: Tactical Team Survival
Stage Duration: 48 Hours
Victory Condition: Secure and Maintain Control of One of the Five Signal Towers by Stage End.
Rewards: +5 GP per Hour of Tower Control
Bonus: +1 Relic Box if Team Survives Entire Stage
WARNING: Players eliminated in this Stage will drop all resources. Attributes become vulnerable for 5 minutes.
Liari cursed under her breath. "It's a King of the Hill map. Five towers. Dozens of teams. No respawns."
Vikka pointed. "We're not alone."
Across the rusted courtyard, figures emerged—some in bone armor, others in scavenged techwear, a few bare-chested and glowing with unnatural heat.
All of them were watching them.
"Don't engage yet," Teshaal muttered. "Wait for the partition drop."
---
A deep, metallic chime rang across the city.
> STAGE COMMENCEMENT IN: 10:00
The countdown appeared in the sky, carved into smoke.
A shimmering wall split the city, keeping teams apart.
Jonathan exhaled. "We've got ten minutes to choose a tower."
Teshaal pulled out a crumpled map. "There's five of them—north spire's closest, but it's half-collapsed. East is more defensible, but we'll be racing others there."
"What about the south one?" Liari asked.
He shook his head. "Known deathtrap. Explosive traps, gas vents, and infected zones. Unless…" He glanced at Jonathan. "You think your GP's enough to gamble it?"
Jonathan checked his stat screen.
> Name: Jonathan Virell
GP: 23
ATTRIBUTE: Retention (Unique)
Emeralds Held: 1
Trait: Emerald Thread (Passive)
Slight resistance to mind corruption
Memory decay halved
STATUS: Active
STAGE MODE: Tactical Survival
[GP Description Available]
[Attribute Description Available]
[Stage Map - Access Granted]
He clenched his fists. "We can't play it safe. Not anymore. East Tower."
Teshaal gave a nod. "Then we move fast. First minute after the barrier drops is chaos. We use that."
---
> STAGE START
The barriers vanished in a flash of static.
Screams, gunfire, and the clang of metal erupted across the city. Smoke bombs detonated. Explosive-tipped arrows arced through the sky.
Jonathan and his team ran—through the abandoned subway station, past crumbling rails and half-eaten corpses. They burst out into a shattered plaza.
And saw them.
A squad already halfway up the East Tower stairs—six players, masked, armored, moving in tight formation.
Teshaal hissed. "Too late—"
"No," Jonathan said. "Not if we distract them."
He grabbed a shard of rebar and hurled it into the shattered glass above. The crash echoed like a siren. Seconds later, three more teams appeared, drawn by the sound.
Now it was chaos.
---
The battle for the East Tower exploded. Energy blades lit up. One masked player burst into flame and launched himself off the stairs, tackling another into the rubble below.
Teshaal, Liari, and Vikka carved through the confusion, ducking and striking fast. Jonathan hung back, scanning the flow of the fight, watching who moved first, who hesitated, who adapted.
"Now!" he shouted. "Up the left side—while they're focused west!"
They surged forward. Jonathan reached the tower doors first and slammed them open—
Only to find a girl already waiting inside.
Hair like wires, skin glowing with veins of soft turquoise. She held a scythe made of bone and glass.
"Not fast enough," she said.
Then lunged.