The Second Wave
1110 Words
[SYSTEM WARNING]
Next Wave: Incoming
Difficulty: Increased
SYSTEM: ‘You will be teleported to the battlefield.’
(voice-over) The cavern flared as if its stone walls were melting, reality bending like heat waves over desert sand. A cold snap ran up Kaien’s spine. His vision fractured into static, colors bleeding into one another. For a heartbeat, he felt weightless, like his body was both stretched and crushed at once.
... FLASH... (sound effect)
(voice-over) The ground reformed beneath his boots, jagged and alien, carrying the smell of iron and damp earth. The air vibrated. Shadows stirred. From deeper tunnels came skittering noises... louder, heavier than before. The ground cracked as the next swarm appeared. Not rats this time. These were giant centipede-like creatures with armored plates and mandibles that clicked like grinding gears.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
ENEMY DETECTED: Hollowfang Crawler Elite x 8
HP: 1,200 each
Special Trait: Poison Spit, Burrow Ambush
(Kaien’s Pov) (Inner thought) Ah, yes. Just what every bugged healer dreams of. Enemies with poison. Because what’s better than a healer who can’t heal? A healer who gets to watch everyone die slowly.
Darius (slamming his shield down): ‘There are eight of them. Form up!’
Torren: ‘About b****y time for a real fight!’
Lyra: ‘Eight is too real!’
Selene: ‘Positions, now!’
(Kaien’s Pov) ... ACHOO... (sneeze)
SYSTEM: ‘Bug Bloom Activated.’
POP (sound effect)
SYSTEM: ‘You have inflicted a Critical Error on Hollowfang Crawler Elite (x1). Enemy has crashed.’
SYSTEM: ‘You have gained +120 EXP.’
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Level Up!
Level 4 → 5
SYSTEM: ‘Passive skill side effect activated. Sock has been deleted from your inventory.’
(Inner thought) Now, sock pair deletion is complete.
Selene: ‘… Did… did you just delete one (crawler elite)?’ (flatly)
(Kaien’s Pov) …Y-yes. Totally intentional. All according to plan. Definitely not a fluke. (stammering)
Torren: ‘THEN KEEP SNEEZIN’, LAD!’ (yell)
(Kaien’s Pov) (Inner monologue) During the Fight:
The Crawlers hit us fast.
- One spat acid at Darius. His shield caught it, sizzling.
- Another jumped for Selene, who barely rolled aside. Selene’s attempt at a Lightning Bolt became… static shocks. Pathetic little zaps. The crawlers actually looked annoyed by it.
- Two tried to flank Torren, and the dwarf roared, smashing his axe through one’s head in a spray of glitching blood. Torren took a direct poison spit to the chest, cursed, and swung anyway. When he clipped me again (WHY IS IT ALWAYS ME), my passive flipped it into a shockwave that blew three crawlers back.
(Inner thought) Let me try casting 'Touch of Restoration' on Darius again. Maybe I could re-trigger the accidental “combat steroid buff.”
(casts) “Heal”
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
CASTING: Touch of Restoration
Error: Invert Output Triggered
New Effect: Venom Immunity Patch
(voice-over) A faint shimmer coated Darius. When the next acid glob splashed against him, the green liquid hissed harmlessly and slid off like water.
Darius: ‘… Did you just…?’
(Kaien’s Pov) Yep.
(Inner thought) Don’t say it was an accident. Don’t say it was an accident.
… Totally intentional.
(Inner monologue) Lyra fired an arrow straight into one’s mouth. My aura glitched again, turning her arrow into three arrows midair. Triple kill.
Lyra: (blink) ‘... I did not plan that.’ (stunned)
Selene: (smirks) ‘Maybe he’s good for something after all.’
Torren yelled as a crawler bit into his arm. He swung his axe, but the poison spread. His HP bar dipped dangerously low.
Torren: ‘AHHHH’ (scream)
Selene: (shouts) ‘Kaien!’
(panic) “Heal!”
BOOM! (sound effect)
(voice-over) The crawler on Torren’s arm detonated like a grenade, showering them with chunks of bug meat.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Accidental Healing Achieved!
Target’s HP restored: +15
Target’s emotional stability: -80
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: [Malpractice Miracle]
- Description: Successfully used “Touch of Restoration” to both heal and emotionally scar your patient. Net result: alive but traumatized.
- Reward: +1 Reputation with “Accident Survivors”.
(voice-over) Kaien’s Error Pulse misfired mid-cast, spawning three glowing Error Flowers under the crawlers. They immediately exploded, chain-reacting like landmines.
Torren: (coughs) ‘BY MORADIN’S SINGED BEARD! Ye call that healing?!’
(Kaien’s Pov) Uh… you’re welcome? (cough)
SYSTEM: ‘Bug Bloom - Activated! You have killed enemies: +2. Side Effect will be triggered. A Minor Health Potion has been deleted.’
(groans) Of course. At this rate, my inventory’s going to look like my bank account: empty and disappointing.
(voice-over) Dust rained down. And after the dust settled, twitching centipede corpses littered the floor. The survivors collapsed into fragments of code and loot bags.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Wave Cleared!
Rewards: +350 EXP, +2 Stat Points, Random Drop.
Level Up!
Level 5 → 6
Touch of Restoration Lv.2 → Lv.3
(wipe) What is this on my face? Is this bug goo? Why all the weird stuff always keep happening to me? (sighs)
(Inner thought) Why do I feel like the system is rewarding me for malpractice?
Woah! I leveled up again. And I got a random drop. Although I don’t know for how much time it will stay considering the deleting side effect of my passive skill. I got an “Error Crystal (Glitched)” as a random drop.
(Inner thought) … That looks important. Or cursed. Probably both.
SYSTEM: ‘Congratulations. You have the second wave. Rewards have been distributed. You are at the last stage. Please begin preparing for the boss fight. You have five minutes. Best of luck.’
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Final Stage starts in 04:59 minutes.
(voice-over) Everyone was panting. Darius leaned against his shield. Torren wheezed. Lyra sat on a rock, shaking her head. Selene, however, was still looking at me. Always at me.
Torren: ‘I’ll say this, lad... ye may be a walking hazard, but ye make things… entertaining.’
Lyra: (groans) ‘Entertaining? He’s a disaster wrapped in robes. His presence is dangerous.’
(Kaien’s Pov) I didn’t mean to crash that crawler into oblivion. (raised hands defensively)
Selene: (smirks faintly) ‘Yes, dangerous. But he’s our disaster now. And apparently, the dungeon agrees.’
(Kaien’s Pov) (Inner thought) That sounded way too ominous.
Darius: (nods) ‘Okay, everyone. Prepare yourselves. The last stage only gave us 5 minutes for preparation. The pattern suggests escalation.’
(voice-over) As if on cue, the ground rumbled beneath them. Deeper in the cavern, a guttural growl rose, something huge stirring.
[SYSTEM WARNING]
Boss Wave Approaching.
Entity Detected: Hollowfang Broodmother
(Kaien’s Pov) (inner thought) Oh no. If the elites were eight-legged disasters… then mommy just came home. I am having a bad feeling about this.
(voice-over) Although it was just a feeling, who knew it was going to be true.
- Writer
