[Summon][Are you sure you want to summon 1 ✦ hero?]
Click… click… click…!
The guy kept smashing the button on his phone. His gold coins were vanishing at a rapid pace, but he didn't care. A pack of dire wolves was charging toward his base, and he needed defenders.
NOW.
Inside the world of Eternal Continent, everything looked basic, primitive, even. Endless plains stretched in all directions, in the centre of his screen a giant altar stood glowing with a white halo effect.
Around it stood a handful of shabby wooden huts, barely holding together. The place looked more like a forgotten ruin than an actual stronghold.
Floating above the altar was a tiny fairy dressed in black, her purple hair glowing faintly in the light. A large countdown ticked ominously in the sky.
[00:2:45]
"Welcome, heroes!" the fairy chirped with unsettling cheer.
But the ten newly summoned people weren't exactly thrilled. They panicked, voices overlapping in a chaotic mix of confusion and fear.
"I'm Yan! I work as a cook! Does anyone know what's going on?!"
"Name's Tent—I was just doing my patrol when BAM, I landed here!"
One young man simply stared at the altar in disbelief. He'd seen it a hundred times on his phone screen, but standing here in person…'Crap… is this some kind of nightmare?'
The fairy's voice cut through the noise, louder this time. "Hey, everyone! Get ready to fight! A pack of grey wolves will be here in just a few seconds!"
An older man with a thick build and scarred arms stepped forward, scowling. "Hold up! I'm a mercenary, alright? You can't just yank people off the street and order them around! I don't fight unless I get paid!"
The fairy kept smiling sweetly, but her eyes turned cold.
[Trent][Grade: ✦ ✦]
"Oh, my dear hero," she said. "You have to obey my orders. No choice in the matter."
The man's jaw clenched. "Hell no. You can go screw yourself."
"So you won't follow my command?"
"Not happening!"
[Master has granted full authority to fairy Yuvana to control the rebellion!]
"I see… then—"
SLASH!
In an instant, a massive axe appeared in the fairy's delicate hands. She brought it down with terrifying force, cleaving the man's head clean off.
"—you're not needed anymore!"
His body collapsed. Blood soaked the dirt. His head rolled several feet before stopping near a stunned crowd. Some people doubled over, vomiting. Others froze, too shocked to scream.
'Stay calm, Santer.'
While everyone else unraveled, one average-looking guy with brown hair and tired eyes stayed focused. His name was Santer. He spotted a hut labeled [ARMOURY] and sprinted for it.
"Haha! Looks like we've got one smart guy!" the fairy cackled.
Inside, Santer scanned the shelves. Empty. Nearly everything had been looted—or maybe never stocked in the first place.
'The Master of this base is definitely a noob. Probably skipped the tutorial too.'
Outside, the fairy's voice rang again. "Get ready to fight! Unless you want to end up like that headless guy!"
[00:1:12]
Santer understood exactly what was happening. He'd played this game before. If he didn't act fast, he was wolf meat in few minutes.
He rushed back to the altar and raised his voice. "We need weapons! You want us to fight barehanded? That's suicide!"
The fairy blinked. "Oh right! That makes sense!"
[Pro Tip: Dear Master! Give your heroes weapons so they can fight better! Without weapons, they might not be able to defend the base!]
Suddenly, a torrent of weapons burst out from the altar like a loot piñata.
[You have summoned 10 Basic Spears (E)][You have summoned 10 Basic Swords (E)][You have summoned 10 Basic Shields (D)]
Blades and spears clattered to the ground. Santer checked the timer. 40 seconds left.
'Shit, they're almost here!'
He grabbed a spear and shield. 'I Never used real weapons before, but against wolves, a spear should be better than a sword.'
"You idiots!" the fairy shrieked. "Stop standing there like statues! Pick up weapons and fight! Or just be meat shields until Master summons replacements! Or do you want me to kill you instead?!"
That snapped everyone out of it. People dove for weapons in a frenzy.
[Santer (✦) has selected "SPEAR" and "SHIELD"][Niki (✦) has selected "BOW and ARROWS"][Ian (✦) has selected "GREAT SWORD"]...
Notifications filled the sky like holographic confetti, but Santer ignored them. He sprinted to the broken wall surrounding the base and took in the view.
[Spike Trap LVL 1][Spike Trap LVL 1][Catapult Trap LVL 1]
'At least the Master isn't completely brain-dead.'
[00:00:05]
Santer positioned himself behind the catapult trap, spear in hand. He had no idea what he was doing—but he tried to look like he did.
Meanwhile, the fairy barked orders and shoved others into defensive positions around the perimeter.
Then they saw them.
Grey wolves. Manyof them, eyes glowing with hunger, drool glistening on their fangs. They padded forward, slow and sure, sizing up the humans like they were fresh meat.
'Here they come!'
Some of the heroes panicked. A few ran. Others collapsed in tears.
[Santer (✦) is affected by FEAR! -30% to all stats!][Tent (✦) spirit is BROKEN! -70% to all stats!][Niki (✦) is affected by FEAR! -30% to all stats!]
The wolves howled in unison:
"AWOOOOOOOO—!""WOOOOO—!"
Santer's grip tightened on his spear.
'This is it.'