NOIM; Connected Worlds

'I hope we still have more time...' I muttered inwardly as we ran deeper through the woods. I couldn't take my mind off current situation we're in right now. I kept asking my self

'Just how the hell are we gonna survive in this lifetime?'

That being mind, I couldn't help but take a short glance at Edizon. He might look like that he's still comfortable but I know for a fact that pressure is starting to rack up in his mind. Is it even possible to save the world by just the two of us?

Everything is just exhausting. Training in the morning, an endless grinding in the afternoon and tedious planning in the evening... Heh... Maybe my previous life wasn't so bad at all... *Chuckle*

After a few minutes of more walking, we finally arrived in front of the dungeon. It was located at the rear ends of the forest.

The dungeon area was an outdoor map. It was enclosed with natural formed rocks camp and an ethereal shield, so players can only enter from a single direction. Observing from the entrance, a few yards from the entrance a huge altar can be easily found in the middle. The cherry on top was that there was a Giant ancient monkey statue in the middle.

"The grounds of the dungeon is filled with huge rocks..." Isabella stated her initial observation. She then looked at Edizon looking for a follow-up.

The girl has been unusually close and extremely reliant towards Edizon ever since this morning. I really wonder what happened...

Edizon's pupils sharpened as he focused his gaze towards the surroundings of the altar. He took a step forward before stating with confidence...

"Mmm... An open area with terrain to maneuver on... This dungeon must be designed to swarm players to death. Moreover, I don't feel good about that statue..."

"Let's not waste any more time. Since this is our first attempt, we'll just have to adjust depending on the circumstances." I stated before starting to walk towards the entrance of the dungeon. The two immediately followed afterward...

...

*Zi La*

A huge interface with a symbol of a monkey popped up upon closing in on the entrance. We quickly stepped closer to view the information better...

[<Gobi Cult Altar>

<Description: Eons ago, a certain monkey of this once unnamed forest has found a staff from the ruins of an ancient clan that once thrived in this exact forest. The staff became the key for the once normal monkey to gather more origin essence and continuously break its limit, eventually gaining strength and Intellectual advantage over the other entities inside the forest...

All should have been well, but what the monkey didn't notice was that the staff was slowly corrupting his heart. Having no affinity towards darkness, the Origin Essence that passed through the staff continued to corrupt his heart and slowly drove him into madness.

After a certain point in time, the monkey used the staff to corrupt and enslave the hearts of his kin. In which gave the opportunity for the cult to rise deep within the forest, and the forest eventually becoming named after it. Gobi Forest.>

<Difficulty: S (A)(Difficulty upgraded to class S because the quest would impact a major storyline in Lockeguard City.>

<Party Limit: 10 players>

<Level Limit: 15>]

After reading the Dungeon information I glanced at Edizon and Isabella before muttering...

"We have stocked up enough potions. Let's go."

...

As soon as we entered, the ethereal barrier immediately closed up indicating that the dungeon run has already started. We started walking towards the altar while carefully observing the surroundings. But just right after we took a few steps forward...

*Tack* *Tack* *Tack* *Tack*

Looking from afar we saw A human-sized ashed colored monkey lightly slamming a long staff towards the ground, repeatedly creating a tacking sound. The monkey's body was thin but its eyes were blood red. It was filled with pure madness...

"That must be the cult leader..." Isabella frowned upon seeing the eyes of the monkey. The craziness that can be seen in havoc's eyes back then was nothing compared to the madness that is emanating from the monkey in front of her.

"That staff should be..." Just when edizon was about to finish his sentence...

"Gobi gobi gobi gobi gobi!" The cult leader's laugh echoed throughout the dungeon as a grim feeling befall us. The monkey raised its staff and a dark light glowed from the orb of the staff. A few moments later an array of monkeys flooded through the surrounding trees and some jumped out from beneath the ground. Rushing towards us wanting to tear us apart.

"It seems that sneaking in was never an option." I muttered as I canceled out all of the possibilities that this game will ever be balanced. Noting this, I nodded at Edizon before leading the way and charging right in.

There was just no other way besides rushing forward. To face a swarm of enemies with terrain and number advantage? Apparently, the game allows certain bosses to build and design its own dungeon...

"Gobi gobi gobi gobi gobi gobi!" The monkey laughed out even further upon noticing that we're closing on him. It's as if it was laughing at us for falling for its trap.

This rotten monkey wants us to deliberately walk into a trap huh? Let's see how long can you stay laughing after I cut down that head of yours...

...

---

To be continued.

***

Hello everyone. This would be my first chapter of the year. Sorry, it's a bit late, I got caught up in polishing the outline of the whole story.

Anyway, please continue to support this novel by leaving a vote or two for this title. Do continue to point out the things you love and what you don't love about each chapter to help me shape up better content for you guys.

And if you want to support my work on another level or if you just want to commend me for a job well done. Please consider buying me a coffee at Ko-fi.com/novabycreativerobot

This will not only help me focus on writing but will also help me buy tools that can aid me in proofreading, editing (Grammarly) as well as publishing (Hiring artists to make cover art and other related art.).

A new chapter will be released daily. Advance chapters will be released upon reaching the advance chapter goal in Ko-fi. See (Ko-fi.com/novabycreativerobot)

All in all, I will leave you with a teaser for the upcoming volumes.

[Completed]

Volume 1: A circle created by Fate and Interaction.

[Ongoing]

Volume 2: Orathoria

[Upcoming]

Volume 2.5: Light and Shadow

Volume 3: The Queen of Endless Sky

Volume 4: Moonlight Genocide

Volume 5: The First Decree of Orathoria

Volume 6: The truth of Lockeguard City

Volume 7+ : ???