Beta Testing the Apocalypse 046 (Patreon)

Passing his gaze over the members of the Frontier Expedition Squad, nearly half of which were Pokemon, Leon nodded approvingly and said, "I'm no great orator, so I'll keep this brief. We all have things we want to protect or dreams we want to achieve in this new world. Remember that, stay alert, and watch the backs of your squad members. This is only the Third Floor. If one of us falls, it means we all fucked up..."

Feeling like he might ramble on if he said anything more, Leon promptly turned, approached the stone doors separating them from the presumed Floor Guardian, and placed his hand against it. His actions caught many in the group off guard, prompting them to ready their weapons and get into formation, but most of them were bound to be disappointed as Leon read the pop-up that had appeared before him.

[Your Party is too full. Please designate ten targets to enter the Manatite Hydra's Lair.]

"..."

"What's wrong?" asked Mordred, stepping forward to place her own hand on the doors.

"Ah..."

Sparing Leon the embarrassment of having to deliver the news himself, Mordred turned to face the members of the Frontier Expedition Squad, shouting, "This is a challenge only ten can undertake! Crimson Valkyries, step forward...!"

"Oooh~? Is it finally our time to shine~?" asked what appeared to be a cat girl with pale brown hair, amber-brown eyes, distinctive cat ears, and a tail protruding from the back of their frilly crimson dress. In reality, they, Felix Argyle, were 100% male, a reality that left quite a number of men at a loss for words and most feeling...inadequate.

"Those who shine the brightest burn the quickest..." muttered a petite but incredibly shapely woman with long, lavender hair and pastel purple eyes with soft pink irises. Her outfit included a sleeveless white top with a high collar that left her upper back exposed and flowed to her ankles, a brown and silver-trimmed garment resembling a bodice, brown short-shorts that barely covered more than a pair of panties, and black, high-heeled boots, the left of which extended halfway up her thigh. As for her weapon, it was what was known as a Zanbato, a long katana with a long handle, typically used for cutting down both horses and their riders.

"Aw, come on, Narmaya-chi! So long as we fight together, there's nothing we can't overcome with the power of friendship!" exclaimed Daetta, who, despite her diminutive 137cm height, was taller than the lavender-haired swordswoman, another female Draph named Narmaya.

"That's right~!" shouted Felix, him and Daetta cackling like crazy people until Kisara said, "Knock it off, you two. You're going to make the Captain angry..."

Wearing a deadpan expression, Mordred passed her steely emerald eyes over the six members of her Crimson Valkyrie Squad. Miu hadn't made the cut, and Shino had joined the Recon Squad, so there was Kisara, Presea, Daetta, Felix, Narmaya, and the squad's de facto Mage and Healer, yet another pink-haired girl with a fluffy, feline tail, wine-red eyes, and elf-like ears, named Millie Chliette from a game called Star Ocean.

Still needing two more members, Mordred looked to Ed and Al, shouting, "Elrics, you come forward as well!"

"Right on!" shouted Ed, rushing forward with his serpent-themed spear.

"U-Understood...!" responded Al, moving much slower in his custom plate armor, themed after the suit he spent several years of his life stuck inside.

"And that makes ten," said Mordred, nodding curtly before looking to Leon and adding, "We all know our duties and responsibilities, so we're ready to begin when you are, Lord Leon."

"Excellent," said Leon, nodding before briefly passing his gaze over the rest of the Frontier Expedition Squad. His eyes briefly met with Miu's, but as he didn't want to countermand Mordred's selection, he shook his head faintly before turning around and placing his hand on the door, prompting a new pop-up window to appear. He had to state the names of all those who would be entering with his mind, and once they had confirmed things on their end, each felt a tugging sensation near their belly buttons as they were promptly teleported to a large cavern comprised of dark blue stone and shimmering blue crystal.

"Ho-lee shit. We have to fight that thing...?" asked Ed, staring wide-eyed at what everyone presumed to be the Manatite Hydra. It possessed five snake-like heads covered in sharp-green scales like a bush viper, a turtle-like shell covered in sharp, emerald-green spines, four powerful legs, and a trio of whip-like tails with spear-like barbs on the end.

Raising its massive heads, each capping off a neck that was more than three meters around, the Manatite Hydra stood more than ten meters tall as it said, 'You were foolish to come here...' in five distinctive voices.

'But I thank you for doing so,' stated the Hydra, its two outermost heads gathering hazy, bright green miasma in their mouths as it bellowed, 'Now, become our dinner...!' before the two heads expelled pressurized streams of caustic, highly venomous spittle.

Standing at the front of the group, Leon made a sweeping gesture with his right hand, erecting a large barricade of linked-together steel cubes, three meters tall and six wide. Each weighed nearly 8000kgs, so while the Manatite Hydra's breath exuded tremendous pressure, the barricade held firm as Ed and Al ran forward, placing their hands against it and causing what looked like bands of electricity to flash across its surface. Increasing their Grade to Green had unlocked a unique Skill called [Gate of Truth] for each of them, so while it required them to expend a considerable amount of Mana, they were able to utilize the Alchemy of their world, welding the cubes together and to the ground.

Trusting that the wall would hold, Millie held her sphere and wing-tipped scepter in front of her and closed her eyes, channeling her Mana and causing a rotating magic circle to appear beneath her feet. When she was finished, she raised her scepter overhead and made a downward swinging motion, shouting, "Gravity Crush...!" as a far larger magic circle appeared over the Manatite Hydra, its center resembling a wormhole that spat out several stone cubes, courtesy of Leon.

Though the Manatite Hydra's scales emitted specialized waves that could interfere with and break down Mana, there was little it could do against an outpour of exceptionally heavy, dense, and Manaless cubes of stone and metal. It didn't sustain any grave injuries, but many of the sharp spines on its shell were shattered, and its mobility was greatly hindered.

'Curse you...!' shouted the Manatite Hydra, roaring with each of its heads as it tried to force its way forward, gradually building up speed. As it had ceased its pressurized breath attack, however, Mordred and Kisara bolted from differing sides of the wall while Daetta leaped directly over it, trailed by a large spiked ball on the end of a thin but durable chain, decorated to resemble the head of a Growlithe.

"Toooooooh~!"

Using her monstrous Strength, which had gradually surpassed even Presea's, Daetta sent her spiked ball through the central head of the Manatite Hydra like a cannonball, obliterating it instantly. The resultant stump produced a loud hissing sound and smokescreen levels of steam as it writhed about and rapidly regenerated, but it never got the chance as Mordred, despite having her attack weakened considerably by the Manatite Hydra's scales, knocked it into its back, leaving a deep gash in its shell and side with her arcing, upward slash.

"Eeeat this...!" shouted Kisara, landing atop one of the Manatite Hydra's heads and caving its skull beneath her heels. Martial arts typically weren't very effective against massive, armor-plated creatures, but as one of the people summoned by Bulma was none other than Master Roshi, she and most of the Frontier Expedition Squad members were gradually learning to control and channel Purgatoria's version of Ki.

Realizing the fight was close to ending, Felix shouted, "Wait! At least let me get a hit in for contribution...!" but he was too late. Nobody saw when she moved, but a series of bluish, purple, and pink butterflies flitted next to the Manatite Hydra's heads before Narmaya appeared out of nowhere, sheathing her oversized katana. The moment she did, all of the remaining heads were sliced off, causing a veritable deluge of purple blood and acid venom to spill out before its colossal body vanished into the usual bluish-white steam.

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[Congratulations on defeating the Floor Guardian of the Third Floor: The Relic of the Great Human-Demon War, Manatite Hydra! As an Initial Clear Reward, all participants receive the Title: [Hydra Nemesis], increasing all attributes by +10 and damage against Snake-type monsters by 10%!]

[Contribution Rankings]

MVP: Mordred Pendragon

2nd Place: Narmaya Eishin

3rd Place: Millie Chliette

4th Place: Daetta Sheepshear

5th Place: Kisara Nanjo

6th Place: Edward Elric

7th Place: Alphonse Elric

8th Place: Presea Combatir

9th Place: Felix Argyle

[Contribution Rewards]

MVP: Manatite Hydra's Heartcore

2nd Place: Manatite Hydra's Poison Sac

3rd Place: Manatite Hydra's Fang x 2

4th Place: Manatite Hydra's Scale x 3

5th Place: Manatite Hydra's Scale x 2

6th Place: Manatite Hydra's Scale

7th Place: Intermediate Holy Water

8th Place: Weak Holy Water

9th Place: False Holy Water

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"Nyooooooooooo~!" exclaimed Felix, dropping to his knees and smashing the ground with his fists. Presea was also a little disappointed, but as she was used to Mordred and the others hogging the limelight, she just stared at her weakly glowing bottle of Holy Water before walking over, squatting down, and giving Felix a pat on the back.

'I'm a fucking idiot...' thought Leon, internally sweating as he stared at the Contribution List and only saw nine names listed. In hindsight, the same thing had happened when they defeated the Baphomet, but while he had certainly participated, the Tower's 'system' didn't appear to recognize him as one. In other words, Miu or another member of the Frontier Expedition Squad could have totally entered with them...

Seeing through Leon's thoughts, Mordred slapped his shoulder and said, "There's nothing we can do about it now. Come on, let's see if this snake bastard dropped anything interesting."

"Here you are..." said Narmaya, causing Mordred to startle slightly as the petite Draph had materialized right next to her, holding what appeared to be one of the Manatite Hydra's softball-sized eyes, but it was glassy and exuded a tremendous amount of Mana.

"Good job," said Mordred, taking the eye and handing it to Leon as she added, "But we should sweep the area one last time before seeing if we can't force the doors at the entrance open. Now that the Floor Guardian has been defeated, it shouldn't be a problem.

"Just leave it to us...!" exclaimed Ed, holding up his right fist. Like Felix, he was also disappointed by his lack of a role, but as he and his brother were tacked on at the last moment, he swallowed his pride and decided to pick up some of the slack post-battle...

...

..

.

"Well, this is new..." said Leon, genuinely surprised when he and Mordred entered the Fourth Floor. This time, rather than a hill, they were on top of a rundown but fairly modern military complex, complete with abandoned Humvees, Jeeps, and other vehicles that had been stripped down to their frames. More notably, the ruins of a metropolitan city could be seen in the distance, visually similar to New York but with foreign, vaguely Japanese signage. As for the monsters...

Bursting forth from the stairwell connecting to the complex's rooftop, an animated, heavily desiccated corpse came running at Leon and Mordred with speed one wouldn't expect from a creature that was effectively just a skeleton covered in remnants of flesh. Leon thought he would kill it with a swift stab to the head with his spear, but the creature, clearly a kind of Zombie, was undaunted, pressing forward and flailing its skeletal hands and fingers as if it desired to tear the flesh from their bodies.

Kicking the Zombie in the chest with force, Leon thought he had killed it by bursting it apart with Mana, but there was no notification, and it didn't disappear. Instead, as he and Mordred watched on with grim fascination, the Zombie's desiccated flesh and bones were gradually drawn toward a central point as if pulled by a powerful magnet, slowly piecing the undead creature back together...

...

..

.