238 The Break of Dawn

". . . The Night Thing?"

Creeping through the shadows was a large beast, larger than man. Its scales were dark, and unlike the Night Crawlers, the creature had a solid form.

A massive monstrosity of epic proportions that was too gruesome to look at. It had a massive dragon head, and the rest of its body slithered like a centipede, and its mouth was lined with scything pincers dripping with acid.

"W-what is that thing?"

"What kind of beast is that?"

Voices rang in alarm in the area, and every player realized that they might not live to see the dawn at the appearance of a new threat.

� N I G H T T H I N G ‖

Location: The Great Valley

Description:

"A foul creature designed to bring terror and ruin to every living thing in The Great Valley."

The Night Thing is a twisted creation of the Evil Gods who sought dominion over the other Gods and all its inhabitants and expanded their influence and land.

The Night Thing is an apex predator of terrifying ferocity and power. Furiously annihilating everything that stands in their way and their Lord's wishes.

Unlike with Night Crawlers, the Night Thing had a solid body. Alarmingly resilient, shrugging off all but the most powerful spells and possessing physical might rivaling the Gods.

With a ravenous hatred for all inhabitants, the Night Thing settled for nothing more than mass genocide of those who defile its God's wish and its own.

‖ A T T R I B U T E ‖

HP: 100 000

MP: 1000

STRG: 100 +50 (Night Bonus)

DEF: 200 +50 (Night Bonus)

MDF: 150

INT: 50

AGL: 150

LCK: 40

‖ D A M A G E

R E S I S T A N C E S ‖

� All Magical Damage except powerful Spells

� All Physical Damage except powerful Skills

‖ D A M A G E

I M M U N I T I E S ‖

� Poison

� Burn

‖ C O N D I T I O N

I M M U N I T I E S ‖

� Sleep

� Necrotic

� Paralyze

� Dizziness

� Charm

� Frightened

‖ W E A K N E S S ‖

Strike in the Head

‖ S K I L L S & S P E L L S

Passive Skill:

� Eater of Night

The Night Thing could consume a Night Crawler to recover its HP.

� Dark Vision

The Night Thing can see perfectly well during the night.

� Tormenting Venom

Anyone who got bitten by the Night Thing will suffer Poison.

� Terrain Overrun

The Night Thing can move freely in all difficult terrains on land.

� Spell Suppressor

The Night Thing can suppress basic-level spells that didn't reach the second stage.

Active Skill:

� Multiattack LV.5

–– the Night Thing can make three attacks. Bite, Pincer and Spit

–– 70% hit if LCK is higher

–– 50% chance of inflicting Poison

–– Cost –100 MP

� Devastator LV.5

–– the Night Thing dealt AoE damage within twenty meter radius from its head

–– Damage is dependent on STR

–– Cost –200 MP

� Bite LV.5

–– the Night Thing dealt massive damage to a single foe

–– 50% Critical hit

–– Cost –100 MP

� Pincer LV.4

–– the Night Thing dealt AoE damage within ten-meter radios with sharp pincers

–– 40% Critical hit

–– Cost –100 MP

� Spit LV.5

–– the Night Thing dealt long range AoE damage within ten-meter radios

–– 50% chance to inflict Poison

–– Cost –100 MP

‖ E N D ‖

Its Skills weren't remarkable, but it would be instant death if it caught them.

"The Night Thing! The Night Thing is here!"

"Everyone run outside the camp!"

"Bring it into the forest!"

"Go to high ground!"

"Huh? High grounds?" the players asked.

"They meant the trees! Its Head is its weak point!"

"Be careful, though! It could reach trees, and it's extremely fast!"

Ragnar was confused at the turn of events. One moment they were protecting the tent, the non-fighters, and now, they were going to leave the camp undefended.

What was going on?

"Why didn't we go outside in the first place?" Ragnar shook his head.

"It's because the Night Crawlers target everyone," explained Orakh, "but once their numbers dwindled enough that they would no longer pose a threat to the non-combatants in the camp, the Night Thing emerges.

"The Night Thing doesn't care about the tents that contain two to three clan members. It wants numbers, and it will first target a group and not an individual."

Ragnar didn't say anything.

"The Night Thing has no weakness and eviscerates its foe in seconds. Its hundreds of legs trampled its foe while speeding towards its target. Its only weakness is its head," Orakh added, "Just hold until the break of dawn, and it's our victory."

Only on this night. Ren thought, being a pessimist about the whole situation.

Eventually, everyone hurried outside of the gates before the Night Thing could cause chaos and destruction in the camp even more. They brought their battle outside while Sharina hollered instructions to the horror-stricken players.

"Listen well! Don't stray from your groups. If we split, it would target the camp!"

When everyone took the battle into the forest, the Night Thing reveled in the carnage, causing collateral damage, while it moved to the largest area where players congregated.

The Night Thing had little need for strategy or tactics. It barrels towards its target as fast as it can, moving through trees, hills, large rocks, and other obstacles with impunity.

When the players couldn't flee from its speed, they faced it head-on. The Night Thing responded with overwhelming force, biting and trampling the players and inhabitants alike while it continued its path of destruction.

Most abandoned the fight after seeing the futile impacts of their attacks. And their already dwindling numbers lessened even more. But since they couldn't log out once engaged, they could only flee from the creature. It was better to be a coward than suffer a huge EXP death penalty.

"H-how are you going to defeat it?" Evie rasped, skin white as a sheet of paper as they ran to distance themselves from the creature. But she was sure that running would be futile once the Night Thing's eyes settled on them.

Attracting its attention was a sure death sentence.

"We don't," Ren said, and Evie didn't know what to make of the calmness in his voice and face.

"We just need to avoid it and wait for the break of dawn."

Ragnar wasn't sure about the plan. "It's useless to outrun it. Did you see that creature's speed? Once its eyes are on us, there's no escaping it."

"Relax and stay close to Orakh and the others. Our ATP might be no match to the Night Thing, but Orakh, the Shaman, and Sharina's ATP could contend with it."

Ragnar and Evie clumped their mouth shut. Monocles only worked against Beast and monsters. The inhabitants neither belong to one. The only way for them to access an inhabitant's information was through [Relationship Levels].

They didn't know if Ren merely slipped or it was intentional . . . but could he also spy on an inhabitant's ATP? Or maybe . . . even players?

Ragnar didn't' care, while Evie only felt curious about Ren's skills and spells and how they worked.

While Ren's group was giving their all to stay away from the Night Thing's line of sight, the other not-so-lucky players had no choice but to engage the creature with the help of the inhabitants.

The amount of punishment a Night Thing could endure was staggering, with its enormous HP and DEF. Its only weak point was its head which was near impossible to injure due to the creature's frightful speed.

"Stay above and keep hammering it with all you've got! Hold nothing back!" Sharina shouted. She was leading the fight with the other warriors while Orakh and his group tried to hold it in one spot.

On the other hand, Ren, Evie, and Ragnar stayed out of their way.

"I don't even know why we came here if we're not going to fight," Ragnar muttered under his breath.

"If we don't come here and stay in the camp, the quest will automatically cancel," said Ren. "The same thing will happen if we stray a hundred meters from Sharina.

"Besides . . . defeating or killing the Night Thing isn't required for the quest." For now.

"So I guess we have no choice but to be a spectator from the side while secretly wishing that the Night Thing wouldn't spot us until morning."

"That sums it up."

At the side, Evie looked over at the sky. Dawn was upon them. They could actually make it as long as they stay hidden from view.

It was a cowardly thing, but it was better than to die in the crossfire or by attracting the Night Thing's attention.

Zukulum's voice rang in the area. Deep rhythmic chanting and singing broken by loud cries and commands.

Ren and the others felt the ground tremble until it turned faster and stronger with each second. A massive earthquake shook the earth, and large red numbers flashed on top of the Night Thing's head.

However, even if Zukulum used [Fogur's Rampage] one of the Bore God's skills, it wasn't enough to kill the Night Thing.

The players lost their balance and they were toss and turned by the force of the quaked. Ren, Evie, and Ragnar were no exception.

Ren tried to keep his balance stable and kept his foot planted on the earth, but Evie lost her footing and smacked directly against him. The both of them fell onto the ground with her on top.

The both of them gasped when their faces were only inches away, and both pulled to the other side as quickly as possible. But the shaking didn't stop, and they were tossed into weird positions without their control.

Ren had a headache, and it was not because of the earthquake. As much as he didn't want to admit that he liked the closeness, the constant bumping of their heads and her elbows smacking against his ribs was too painful to bare.

Until, eventually, the tremor stopped, and the first sign of light slipped past through the sky, signaling the break of dawn.

----

A/N (Doesn't consume coins)

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