Chapter 4 Waves of Cursed Hunger

Adrian Chapman walked forward through the thick fog on Floor 1. His shadows moved exactly as he wanted them to now that he was D rank. The city was. Seemed to go on forever under the red sky. The citys systems were already changing because of how fast Adrians party was clearing the floor. Every step showed him that to get stronger he had to keep fighting take risks and be in control. If he was weak he would lose everything. Adrian did not want to make the mistakes he made the first time.

Current Status Recap:

Rank: Low D

Class: Shadow Enforcer

Core Ability: Sin Authority. Devour

Skills: Intermediate Shadow Manipulation, Shadow Step, Shadow Veil, Basic Curse Resistance, Devour Pulse

Stats: Strength 55 Agility 71 Mana 118 Vitality 48 Perception 55

Party Synergy: +12% shared experience with Thomas Riddler and Tobias Ohon

Adrian liked what he saw. Every time he used Devour he got stronger. Tobias and Thomas were getting stronger too because they worked together. They helped each other. Shared what they learned. This made them stronger as a team.

"More enemies are coming " Adrian said. "The floors systems are changing. If we wait we will get an effect. Tobias find the enemies. Thomas, calculate how many will come."

Tobias used his Predator Tracking. "I found them, brother. There are thirty eight goblins and four stronger ones with effects. They are coming for us because we have a lot of mana."

Thomas got ready. "My calculations say they will be more aggressive because of our D rank. We need to attack their cores to weaken them."

They started fighting away. The goblins came from the broken buildings. They were different because of the new cursed hunger effect. These goblins made them tired when they hit them so they had to be careful. Adrian did not want to back down. He used his shadow tendrils to attack the goblins.

Sin Authority started working on the group of goblins. Black energy came out. Four goblins disappeared.

Devour x4: Agility +7, Mana +14 fragment: Hunger Resistance. Rank progress +9 percent toward mid D.

Adrian felt a surge of power. He was angry when he thought about the past when hunger made weaker teams give up. This time he was in control. Tobias attacked from the side. His strong hits broke the goblin lines. Each time he killed a goblin his senses got better. He could predict the bad effects.

Tobias Update: Rank solid E high. Passive unlocked: Stamina Echo.

Thomas threw bombs that were guided by his calculations. The bombs weakened the hunger auras. Showed the cores so they could use Devour. "The mana flow is unstable brothers. Lets attack now."

The fight lasted for twelve minutes. Adrian used Shadow Step to get behind a goblin shaman and used Devour on it. The memories he got from the shaman showed him how the floors systems worked: stronger teams got waves but they also got better rewards. This was important to know if they wanted to be the best.

Devour success on Elite Shaman: Perception +10, Mana +16. Skill upgrade: Devour Pulse range to 150 meters. Overall rank: 31 percent to mid D.

Adrian and his team were driven by their emotions. Adrians determination was cold and strong. He wanted to be the best and control the Tower. Tobias was loyal. Executed the plans perfectly. Thomas was enthusiastic. Turned chaos into something they could control.

They cleared the wave. A system message appeared.

Floor 1 Wave 3 Complete. Party efficiency rating: High. Bonus: 800 shared experience. Floor hunger debuff delayed by 4 hours.

A chest with a relic appeared. Adrian took a Shadow Core Fragment. Used Devour to make his class stronger. Tobias got a tracking lens that helped him track enemies from away. Thomas got a material to craft a weapon.

"We need to use our points " Adrian said during a short rest. "We need strength to fight the enemies. We need agility to dodge on the floors. Mana helps us use our abilities. Lets discuss our plans, brothers. If we work together we will get stronger."

Tobias checked his status. "I need Perception and Vitality. My tracking needs to be good so I can help Adrian with Devour. The system rewards us when we work together."

Thomas nodded while drawing. "I need Mana and Perception. My calculations get better with data. Our team helps us break our limits."

They kept moving. The city. The streets became narrower. They entered a district where people had turned into monsters because of starvation. Adrian saw an opportunity in their flesh.

Devour Pulse showed him three monsters.

"Lets attack them " Adrian said. "Their essence will help us get to D faster."

The fight was hard. They worked together. The monsters used magic to drain their energy. Adrian used Shadow Veil to attack from invisibility and used Devour on the leader.

Major Devour: Vitality +11, skill fragment: Hunger Drain Resistance. Rank progress jumps to 48 percent.

Tobias wore down the monster with his strong attacks. Thomas weakened the third with his guided bombs. They all got bonuses because they worked together.

Party Update: All ranks receive synergy bonus. Tobias reaches E. Thomas approaches D rank threshold.

They were making progress. Adrians shadows were getting stronger. He could control them better. This was the system working for them because they were willing to do what it took to be the best. They kept clearing waves. Each kill taught them something new.

As they approached a plaza they saw a holy light in the distance. It was Henry Sheldons group. They were working with survivors.. Adrian knew that Henry was not what he seemed. He was building alliances. He was also sacrificing people to get stronger.

"Henry is not our friend " Adrian warned. "He uses peoples faith to get stronger. We use Devour. Lets avoid him for now and focus on getting stronger."

Tobias tracked the signatures. "Noted, brother. His group is slower. They are getting more people. Our kills are making us stronger faster."

A loud roar. The floor changed again. A strong monster appeared: the Cursed Hunger Patriarch. It was a D rank entity made from the people who failed on the floor. Its presence made a starvation field.

"Analyze it now " Adrian ordered.

Thomas calculated rapidly. "It has points on its neck. We need to use Devour on its core after we strip its defenses."

The battle was intense. The Patriarch swung its arms and they had to dodge. Adrian used Shadow Step to get behind it and counter with his tendril weapons. Tobias marked the points and Thomas bombarded the joints with curses.

Adrian felt the strain on his Mana. He kept going. He was driven by his resolve. This monster represented everything he hated: strength built on others suffering.

Devour Pulse reveals core vulnerability.

They coordinated the finish. Tobias drew the Patriarchs attention Thomas exposed the core. Adrian delivered the final Devour.

Major Devour on Cursed Hunger Patriarch: Strength +14 Mana +22, Vitality +13. New ability: Hunger Command. Rank Up achieved: Mid D.

Class Progress: Shadow Enforcer advances. Abyss Tyrant path strengthens.

Adrian felt a surge of power. His shadows. His stats got better. Tobias and Thomas got boosts and Thomas reached low D.

Party Milestone: First mini boss cleared. Floor 1 progress 68 percent. Bonus relic: Nightfang Dagger.

Adrian equipped the Nightfang Dagger. The blade hummed with promise for eliminations on future floors. "This will help us get relics. We will take what others cannot."

They rested for a time and discussed their power scaling. Adrian explained the rank thresholds. "To get from D to C we need consistent Monarch fragments or floor clears. My Devour gives us an edge. We need to keep killing. We will maintain this pace."

As they moved deeper into the district they met a survivor. Elio Cuoco, the Chef of Ruin stood amidst monster corpses cooking their flesh. His eyes lit up with madness.

"The Tower rewards those who consume properly " Elio said. "My Forbidden Cuisine turns kills into buffs.. Pass."

Adrian assessed quickly. "Your ability complements Devour. Share your recipes. We will all get stronger. We will work together through utility."

Elio demonstrated by cooking a meal from recent kills. The dish granted Mana regeneration and Hunger Resistance boosts.

Party Buff Applied: +18 percent Mana recovery, for 2 hours.

"Useful " Adrian noted. "You will travel with us now. Contribute to our progression. You will get protection."

Elio integrated smoothly into the team. His insights added another layer to their strategy.

As they approached the plaza they saw Henry Sheldons scouts. Holy light probed their position and Adrian used Shadow Veil to obscure the group.

"They are watching " Adrian said. "Let them. Our ranks are growing faster. The real conflict will come on floors where their false justice will fail."

Tobias said it is confirmed. The trails we found show that the other group lost some of their members because of the hunger waves. Our way of doing things is better.

They got through one big wave of enemies and then they found the stairs that go down to the deeper parts of Floor 1. The fights they had were really tough. They had to use a lot of strategies and manage their stats well. They also had to use these things called Devour chains which helped Adrian get closer to being a D rank.

The total number of Devour things they did at the end of this part is 47 monsters and hybrids. They got a lot stronger too: their Strength went up by 29 Agility by 21 and Mana by 41 and some other things.

Adrian looked at how strong his party was. He thought that this would be enough to get them through the floors and help them get to the Black Eden formation. He knew that Yannis Apollon was probably getting stronger else. Adrian wanted to stop him so he was going to use his connections to find out more.

When they went down the stairs they heard sounds that meant the enemies were getting stronger. The Tower was changing faster because they were doing well. Henry Sheldon would start telling stories, about them. There were still some secrets that they would find out from the memories of their friends.

"Take a rest and get your things ready " Adrian said when they got to the level. "Tomorrow we will go find relics and see how strong we can get. If we want to follow the Abyss Tyrant path we have to be perfect."