Apocalypse: System of lotteries

In a certain locale, as dusk settled, Ming sat solitarily at the entrance of a Magician's tent, nibbling on a piece of fruit. Behind him, within the tent, lay a veritable mountain of fruit piled high.

He gently patted the slumbering frogs, gazed up at the desolate hills, and resolved to catch a bit of sleep first.

...

In a particular region, the wind whipped up sand, slicing through the sparse vegetation on the ground. Atop the barren rocks, two young men lay prone.

Behind them were three colossal crabs, one enormous black scorpion, and four centipedes, several meters long. Atop the heads of two of these centipedes perched blue-eyed eagles, standing 1.5 meters tall. Further back, two female zombies sat side by side, their faces expressionless.

Mike peered at the distant sand pit and murmured, "Such a vast pit must house a scorpion that's at least a five-star lord."

Alan took a sip of coconut water, "A five-star lord is excellent. After capturing it, we can gift it to our elder brother as a mount, quite an imposing sight."

"Finished drinking? Let's finish harvesting early so we can head back. Tomorrow, the shared boss descent begins."

"I know~ But, give my brain a rest, will you? I've had too many spirit potions today; the side effects have kicked in, and I'm completely drained."

"Think of our elder brother; he must be working hard right now. We can't be too content with our current situation."

"You're right. Let's get to it."

Alan drink the last of the coconut water, stood up, and tossed the shell into the distant sand pit, exclaiming, "Mike! Onward!"

"Could you say something else?" Mike glared at Alan before leaping off the rock and dashing toward the sand pit.

"Say something else?" Alan scratched his head, wondering if he had misspoken. He then followed suit, leaping off the rock and trailing behind Mike.

His puppets thundered into action, guarding him as they raced alongside. The ground quaked and dust billowed as they ran!

At that moment, the fine sand in the distant pit churned like boiling water. Bursting forth from the sand was a colossal black scorpion, six meters in length, its eyes shimmering with a faint purple glow.

"A two-star king!" Mike exclaimed, sprinting and yelling, "Alan, can you handle a two-star?"

"Not sure. Let's give it a shot!"

"Alright!" Mike charged forward as the immense black scorpion rushed toward him.

Their distance was close to 50 meters.

"Be careful, don't get injured by the scorpion-like last time!"

"I know, I won't fall for the same trick twice. Besides, I still mourn those 800 gold coins!"

"Don't look back, focus ahead!"

"I know!"

Mike turned his gaze towards the giant black scorpion, furrowing his brow as he dashed forward. The scorpion's massive body scuttled at an alarming pace, stirring up a cloud of sand and debris.

The distance between them shrank to 10 meters!

"Come!"

Mike thrust his hands forward and bellowed, "Take your medicine!!" A white pill in his left hand, and a red pill in his right. The king-level black scorpion, already poised with its raised pincers, suddenly froze, staring blankly at the figure before it. Then, it lunged ravenously at the red pill!

Simultaneously, Mike flicked the pill and swiftly withdrew his hand, narrowly avoiding being bitten again. In the next instant, the king-level black scorpion's body and mind succumbed to paralysis, remaining motionless and thoughtless.

The effect would last 10 seconds!

Mike bellowed, "Go!!"

Alan leaped into action, stepping on the black scorpion's pincer for leverage and vaulting onto its head. He thrust his hands downward and roared, "Puppet Bridge!!" His eyes turned a snowy white as he established a mental connection with the puppet.

"Keep it up!" Mike stood on the ground, looking up at Alan.

At this moment, the king-level black scorpion was tightly surrounded by three giant crabs, four centipedes, and two colossal eagles circling above.

Mike controlled the mutated creatures with the pills, while Alan used the brief moment of paralysis to establish a mental bridge and subdue it. The duo had harvested bountiful rewards through this tactic many times.

Seven seconds later, Alan suddenly opened his eyes and leaped to the ground. He grabbed Mike and retreated, "retract! This two-star king's mental strength is too high; I can't control it yet!"

"We'll have to kill it, then!" Mike backed away with him.

"Don't kill it!" Once at a safe distance, Alan raised his hand and pointed at the two-star king-level black scorpion. In an instant, the three giant crabs, four centipedes, and two colossal eagles all launched their attacks.

A one-star king-level mantis crab clamped onto the scorpion's left pincer, two five-star lord crabs seized its right pincer, centipedes tore at its limbs on either side, and the two eagles pecked at its tail. A remaining giant scorpion stung its back with a venomous needle, causing its health to instantly drop by 12%.

Two seconds later, the paralyzed king-level black scorpion awoke, and a chaotic battle began!

The enormous creatures tangled and tore at each other, limbs scattering everywhere amidst clouds of sand and dust.

"Damn! This two-star is too fierce; it broke your giant crab's pincer!"

"Don't talk! Hurry up and activate your skill!"

"You stay back!" Mike, with shield and blade in hand, charged forward. As he sprinted, he activated his size-doubling ability, instantly doubling his height, physique, and all attributes. He then leaped into the air, brandishing his long blade, and landed on the scorpion's back. As he brought his blade down, he activated the taunt skill, "Extreme Provocation," and shouted, "Come and hit me!!"

The king-level black scorpion successfully taunted and released the giant crab in its pincers. Its stinger stood upright, then bent and fiercely stabbed towards Mike on its back.

Mike dodged to the side, and the scorpion's stinger struck its own back instead.

"Be careful!" Alan, standing at a distance, controlled the remaining coconut crabs to bite at the black scorpion's large pincers.

Crack! The scorpion's pincers were bitten off.

"Pin its tail!" Mike shouted.

"Got it!" Alan directed the centipedes to restrain the king-level black scorpion, not giving it a chance to squirm or run. He then gave instructions to the two giant crabs. In the next instant, the crabs circled to the back and clamped their huge pincers onto the scorpion's tail.

"Its tail has too high defense! We can't break it!" Alan ran around the battleground, controlling the puppets while observing the situation.

"I'll do it!" Mike roared and charged toward the scorpion's tail. Instantly, the spirit energy bracelets on both wrists shone brilliantly. Units of spirit energy flowed from his wrists and converged on his long blade. Then, he swung the blade, which emitted blue spirit energy flames and sliced a blue semicircle into the scorpion's tail, severing its stinger in one strike.

This was the Barrier's spirit energy technique, "Mountain Cleaving Strike."

"Leave the rest to you!" Mike landed from the scorpion's back, staggered back out of the battle circle, and drank a potion to restore physical and mental energy, dispelling his exhaustion and listlessness.

Alan said, "Your skill is powerful, but it also consumes a lot of energy."

"With you here, what do I have to fear!"

"That's true, hahaha~"

"However, this skill consumes 20 units of spirit energy every time I use it. Damn, too expensive."

"Today, I spent 120 units of spirit energy bridging puppets. Did you see my heart hurting?"

"Damn you, you spent 120 units of spirit energy and gained six lord-level puppets. And you're still complaining? Don't you have a conscience?"

Buzz, buzz~

At this moment, beams of light shot upward, with one of them being a purple light soaring into the sky. Alan patted Mike's shoulder, "That purple light is for you. Does it make you feel better?"

"Mhm, now I feel more at ease, and my heart doesn't hurt as much."

"You rascal~"