World Filter

Their path led them deeper into the earth. Following the train tracks they made their way down a network of tunnels that spanned the whole city. Mark was currently fiddling with his new system item. A small crystal ring had popped out when he had rolled the mystery chest. He looked at the item description once more.

Item: Purifiers presence (Ring)

Item lvl: 36

Resistance + 180

Prana + 35

Description: While at 0.0% Corruption, the user's presence purifies the world around them.

[Repel Corruption] persists in a radius of 20 meters around the user.

(Set bonus: 1/7)

***

Repel Corruption - Rank 1

Corruption fears your very presence. The surrounding area’s Corruption rate around the caster counts as one level lower

The item was strong he knew that, but it was the description that got Mark thinking.

He recalled the Caretaker mentioning that healers gained bonuses if they kept their Cv at zero. Perhaps this is what it had meant.

This item was part of a set and if it was anything like his Menders series then each piece would have a similar effect in the Purifier series.

He wasn't quite sure what the effect meant yet, but he noticed it used the same wording as the most recent system announcement.

The surrounding Corruption rate.

Which ran in line with what they had found when they had gotten to the entrance. The Corruption was spilling out into the world from the dungeons. This could be the Corruption rate it referred to.

Meaning this ring could slow that? At least in the area around the ring.

Right now he couldn't even test it, but perhaps later when he got back to base. It still provided a good amount of attributes and he was not going to turn that down just because he couldn't make full use of the item.

Mark could feel his Prana jumping up in strength. It was too bad the item stats didn't count towards his regen milestone because he was almost already at 300 Prana.

Up ahead there was another commotion. Mark brought his thoughts back to the area around him. Corrupted were charging at them. They were all enhanced versions, with tougher skin and faster bodies. The frontline moved to engage. Sam began lobbing balls of fire overhead while Jaya waited for them to get closer to engage.

They had been wandering for hours now. After the rest, everyone had taken up formation and charged forward. Unfortunately, this path was long and meant to be traveled by trains across long distances.

Luckily for them, it was never boring as the Corrupted never left them alone for too long.

While they trudged forward Mark had been testing his magic out. He had burned through a ton of Mana earlier with his light spell so he had decided to see what earth had to offer him in terms of manifestation.

He held out his hand now manifesting rock.

The Mana began seeping away at a rapid pace. Just like light, he held the concept of earth in his mind and what he wanted to achieve. Slowly and at a considerable cost to his Mana. Tiny bits of earth began to form and collect together like grains of sand compacting into a decent-sized spear.

Once he had it to his liking he felt the conjured earth out. There was a qualitative difference between the earth he pull from around him and this clump of rock.

It responded to him in an almost familiar way. At a cost of course. Normally it took around 5 Mana to manipulate the earth into a spear. This had taken him 20 Mana to manifest one.

Mark sent the spear forward and it launched at breakneck speed traveling over the firing frontline. Mark zig-zagged it through the crowd. Dodging the weaker ones and bringing it straight to an Ordinator exploding its head with ease. He tried pulling the earth back to him and it came as if magnetized.

Inspecting it he noticed a very small difference. Like his compatibility had dropped very slightly. He crushed the rock into a ball and reformed it.

The was a definite difference. The Mana that made up his manifested rock was changing at a very gradual pace. It was becoming less and less responsive to his Mana as time went by. Like it was settling into its environment.

It wasn't a big problem, he could still get a lot of use out of this piece of earth. But eventually, he would be manipulating this piece of rock too. If things continued this way he would lose his fine control over it in about an hour. Which again really wasn't a problem because moving this piece around was really cost-effective on his Mana.

Mark sent the spear out once more. Smashing it through another head, then redirecting it to another, like a conductor through the oncoming horde.

“Aw, earth magic looks fun. Ima try that one next” Sam said pouting yet her tone was excited.

She said this while twenty blades of air circled her, arcing away and decapitating Corrupted by the handful. Earth’s speed was nothing compared to air. Earth just made up for it in raw destructive force.

As Mark got the hang of moving the spear he started to throw in [Force bolts] every now and then. When he reach about half of his Mana he slowed down on damage. Leaving that to the rest of the party. He could definitely do more but he reasoned that he need to save his resources for his role.

As time went on the group adjusted to the near-constant assaults. As they pushed deeper the Corrupted got more savage and numerous. They were Battered by a low but unending stream of enhanced Corrupted.

The frontline began conserving Aura by avoiding the use of skills falling back on their assault rifles. The backline would only throw out spells when their Mana was above half.

This conserved their resources but slowed their pace even further.

Mark checked the time, it was ten in the evening. They had been down here for five hours so far.

Mark had been keeping watch around them when his Mana was regenerating. The frontline was engaged in their constant push of battle, so he took it upon himself to keep an eye out for any threat or changes to their environment. This just meant that he was the first to spot the fungal growths on the subway walls.

They were sparse and far apart but there was no mistaking them. They were identical to the ones he had seen in the sewers.

Mark called out for the squad to stop for a moment.

The group slowed, finishing the ones in their direct proximity. When they finished off the last few Mark spoke

“I’ve seen this stuff before. Sam, Jonathan. These are the growths I told you guys about. The last time I found these there were hostiles protecting them. Also, it's possible that there may be stronger things spawning from these growths ”

After that Mark described the rat-like creature he had seen before to the others. Unfortunately, he could not provide a full description of their combat abilities as he had quickly killed the one he had seen last time. Only that he considered them workers of sorts.

The squad preceded with caution. As they moved the mold on the walls became thicker and thicker.

Yet still the tunnel went on. Mark hadn't checked the time but it had to be early morning at this stage.

Mark also noticed a gradual increase in Corruption in the area, as he had been keeping an eye on the surrounding levels.

They eventually got to a point where the tunnel split in two directions. The mold seemed to be originating from the left tunnel.

When Chris had used his spell he directed them to the left path. Apparently there where Corrupted in the right path but they were distant. The left side held a much greater number.

The group pushed ahead and were met with violent resistance. Corrupted began throwing themselves at the party once more. Pustles had started to show up sporadically, but never bigger than a golf ball.

The mold underfoot was positively pulsing with purple light. To the point where Mark didn't even need to turn off his light to see the bioluminescence.

They fought their way into a larger chamber. It was some kind of junction with rounded ceilings.

Other tunnels lead off from this chamber.

The room itself was littered with massive growths. There were at least a couple hundred pustules here of varying sizes. Many reaching the size of a full-grown man.

There was hissing coming from the room.

When Mark looked around he saw several of the rat creatures hidden amongst mold and growths, though they made no effort to attack.

Mark's attention was drawn to the very center of the room, where two massive burst pustules sat. As if whatever was inside had already escaped.

There were two trails of blackish ichor leading in opposite directions. The one actually lead directly to them as if it had escaped out through the way they came.

Mark realized that this must have been where the Leviathan they killed had come from.

The other led to another tunnel deeper into the subway system. Mark looked at the two broken eggs and realized the trail that led away was at least double the size.

That was all the time they got because it was as if the room itself noticed they were there.

All around them, the pustules began squirming.

The things inside them began to awaken.

“Towards the exit! We cant be surrounded” Jonathan called.

They hadn’t moved far into the room and were near the exit when Chirs’s head suddenly whipped around.

“We got large amounts of Corrupted incoming from behind!”

He cursed.

“It's the other tunnel they are looping around. It's a trap!”

Mark turned his head towards the tunnel they were retreating to. Screams issued from the dark behind them.

From the front, the pustules began bursting open, siring forth a chaotic mix of Corrupted and Ghasts into the world.

“Shit! Sergeant Daivs! Permission to use the explosives!” Jonathan called out.

“Hold, we don't know how stable the foundations are!” Sergeant Davis shouted back.

The Corrupted came in from behind, blocking off any route for retreat.

While the room of lively newborns began their murderous charge toward the squad.

Mark set down a fully charged [Shape Mana] and waited, connecting to everyone with his Resistance.

“We need to cut their numbers down now or we’ll be overwhelmed!” Jonathan responded while slicing through a Ghast.

Sam had been building up a spell since she heard Chirs’s shout and now she released it. A tornado of fire lit up the room, swirling around their party and expanding outward.

The front runners burned up without even getting a chance to scream.

The downside to the spell was its low range. Although it had terrifying power behind it Mark got the feeling that it was nowhere near the strength Sam had displayed against the Leviathan and soon enough it dispersed.

Corrupted dashed over the charred remains of their fallen brothers and sisters. Replacing them in a blink.

The numbers in the junction were growing out of control fast. Ghasts took to the air and Corrupted streamed forth.

Mark was concentrating behind them. A decent-sized horde was pressing against Mark's construct. He Could hold it but they were piling up against the wall. He built it higher and sent his orb of light into the mass. Upping the Mana sharply. The smell of cooked flesh filled the damp chamber.

Jaya began using whips of water on the Corrupted at point-blank range. The proximity to Mark's light began to boil the water her spell was made from. Steaming tendrils of water began crushing and scalding the bodies pressed up against Mark's dome.

That was the winning side.

Since they had only made it to the entrance of the tunnel, it left the side facing into the junction with too much space. The front line was stretched thin. Both Daphne and Jonathan covered more than their fair share of ground, but the cramped conditions and numbers were causing attacks to come from all sides pretty soon they were retreating into the dome too.

Daphne managed to hang on for a moment longer. Giving as good as she got. Her whole body glowed with a gentle gold, and each attack that hit seemed to rebound back on the attacking creature. Shattering limbs and teeth, but the glow dulled fast and she fell back too.

Mark cut off the excess Mana to the light moving it right above them.

They were being squeezed from both sides. Attacks rained down on the construct. Jonathan had taken to swinging his blade out of the bubble claiming half a dozen lives with each swing.

“Shit, alright! Permission granted. Frags out” Davis shouted.

Davis, Ava, Matt, and Brian pulled frag grenades from their inventories.

Mark heard the sound of pins being pulled and metal clinging to the floor.

Then they lobed four grenades into the room ahead.

There was a pause, then the tunnel detonated. Shaking the room with explosive force, shrapnel pinged against the concrete. Tearing holes through the mobs of Corrupted and peppering the room with bits of metal and ceramic.