MMORPG: Rise of the Peerless Pumpkinmancer

378  Ta-da-da! Visit! In the dungeon, pained screams echoed. "Why. Won't. You. Scream!! Can you not feel pain?!" The bystanders' jaws almost touched the ground from surprise at the scene. Why was the torturer the one in total anguish? And how the Hell was Jack able to resist so well?!

"Tell me! How do you use the pearl?! You know how for sure, they've seen you float with it and call strange creatures! Hurry up and confess!" He kept questioning. "Eh, just touch it! Have you tried turning it off and on again? Perhaps it senses whether its user has a pure heart of something?" Every of Jack's answers was nonsensical. Jack took it all like a champ, no matter what technique the villain tried, not reacting in the least. Heck, he'd even sometimes point out obvious mistakes, further irking the man. Jack was reacting less than a bloody rock would! How?! It was the strongest blow to the torturer's career ever, making him feel like he had wasted all his life. What was the point of all his experience if he couldn't even break one guy that was entirely at his mercy? But that's when he suddenly had an epiphany. So what if he couldn't break him? He'd used his loved ones against him! It just so happened that he had not only the man's lover at his disposition but also the pet! The villain slowly approached a scalpel toward the wolf and then….

"Woo!" (Using me against master? No way!) Without hesitating even an instant, the little wolf rammed its head against the blade, the entire metallic object sinking into its skull. — Fatality! — Moon Moon instantly died. It had chosen to do a quick "visit" to Thanatos. There was no suffering, and its body was already disappearing, leaving a shellshocked torturer behind. "W-what the fuck?!" What kind of loyal pet was this?! No, this was beyond the realm of loyalty. It was downright terrifying! But there still remained the woman. The man slowly approached his scalpel toward her…only to suddenly stop. Why the Hell was he suddenly feeling an arctic chill?! Was it coming from the nearby Jack's gaze?! The NPC's instincts were screaming at him: Touch her = Death! There was something wrong with her eyes too. She should have been scared shitless of him, but she was calmly staring back as if daring him to continue?! "Is this your first day on the job? Don't worry. Everyone makes mistakes." She even playfully "comforted" him. First day?! He was a pro! He had made even the most formidable soldiers beg for death, the mere mention of his name could scare a generation…he wasn't some Newbie torturer! That's when he finally snapped. No matter what it took, he would crush them all. He'd turn their entire existence into nothing but misery until they saw his face, whether they were awake or having a nightmare! "Tch— I-I'll be back, just you wait!" He'd bring back a tool that even those crazies wouldn't be able to ignore! He stormed off, half-crying, half screaming. As soon as he was gone, Jack couldn't help but glance appreciatively at Pumpkin Girl. That last look she had given was truly awesome. "Pfft— Are you impressed? After being together for so long, that much is expected. As long as you're with me, I wouldn't mind even facing gods." She shrugged. "Oh? I guess I'll have to practice fighting gods then. Wouldn't want to disappoint you, haha." Jack teased. But suddenly, a high-pitched voice interrupted them. "N-No! Nonono! He's bringing THAT back! We're doomed. We're all doomed! You can't allow it. You really can't!" A naked guy in a corner started rocking in a fetal position., his face white with terror and his entire body shivering. "I've seen it! He'll come back with the demons, the demons! They'll be everywhere, everywhere! You need to die, now!" The man's ramblings were barely understandable. What was it that he was so worried about?! Was it some kind of chemical? Some rare magical curse? What was it exactly?! By now, the man was simply repeating "Nono! Die now!" like a broken record. Primal fear had overwhelmed his brain. Even if he wanted, he couldn't! Die —> Respawn in the cell —> Endless suffering. The only way to leave a place like that was either through lots of suffering or with the help of friends. Except even the entire D.L. guild wouldn't make it past the castle walls! His troops couldn't help but feel guilty. Had they known Gargan would take over the place, they wouldn't have let the regular guards bring them here for casual interrogation. "Sigh. Commander, it has been a pleasure knowing you. May we meet on the shores of the Scaled Judge for the—" One of them started but stopped as he heard Jack…laugh?! "Hehehe, finally! It took a while, but they're finally here!" That's when his chuckle turned into a full-blown last boss' laugh. "C-commander?!" "Shh. Can you hear?" He dropped to the floor with a huge grin, placing his ear against the floor. A few copied him, utterly perplexed. — Thump, Thump! — The whole floor was vibrating. Why did it feel like some ungodly evil was slowly waking up?! With every passing second, the vibration was becoming stronger and stronger until they could finally hear it, the walls themselves creaking. "W-what is that?! Is it a tidal wave?!" "Hehe, kind of? All I'll say is to ignore them the best you can." Them? But just as they were about to ask for more details, they heard the screams. They were so loud that it reached even the dungeon.

It was the sound of thousands of aquatic people all shouting at once, scared, confused, and especially trying to understand what the black thing at the horizon was. It was an enormous wave…or at least it looked like one. Millions of bugs had suddenly gathered, all with a common goal. All of them wanted the brown paste! Jack had given them pretty much all he had, applying the rest to the road between the Abyss and here, but it was enough to send a clear signal. The creatures were hooked, wanted more, and were ready to get it! They usually would have avoided the City, but they didn't care anymore. They were HUNGRY! — Shriek! Shriek! Shriek! — Their cries were enough to send the entire Capital into a panic. What were those, where had they come from, and what did they bloody want?! The Cleaners were pretty harmless overall, but to someone that didn't know better, they appeared like centipedes straight from Hell! "Quick, call the guards!" "Monster invasion! It's…what the fuck is that?!" "Close the barrier! Keep those pests away. Then, we'll eradicate them slowly!" — Bzzz! Bzzz! — The sound of the defenses rising filled the air, only to be followed by the echo of the wave crashing against the protective barrier over and over. That's when it became evident that the monsters just weren't that smart. So what if they kept knocking on the door? It wouldn't accomplish anything! The tense atmosphere quickly turned to relief as everyone quickly realized that what they had thought to be a great menace was something akin to a fish's migration. "Pfft— Look at those critters go!" "Keep banging your head until you die!" "Hehe, Mermaid Capital's defenses are unbreachable!"

Their laughter only increased in power as a few guards used passage tokens to tentatively pass through the barrier themselves, annihilating bugs by the dozen with every swing. The enemies were so weak, harmless even! So much for the alarm and everything else. At this rate, they'd be done clearing them before lunch! Back in prison, hope was quickly dying.

"It's over. The situation's already under control…."

"Even a miracle won't be enough…." They gloomily remarked. As for Jack, he was surprisingly calm with it all, peacefully sitting with his legs crossed, a mysterious smile on his face. "I guess we're lucky…." He even chuckled. The people out there had doomed themselves, for they had underestimated the enemies. He knew enough to picture what was happening in real-time vividly. Excited guards suddenly felt like gods, overflowing with adrenaline as they dived into the enemies to slaughter them. All logic escaped them as they were overwhelmed with emotions: 1. Pride at the crowd's cheers 2. Relief of realizing they'd survive

3. Anger against the weaklings for scaring them 4. Desire for recognition pushing them to kill as many as possible The danger had suddenly turned into an event, the soldiers going on an anti-bug crusade with even a few civilians joining in! The whole thing was amazing! But as more and more creatures died, so did their attitude.

Peaceful Cleaners —> Angry Cleaners Those humanoids dared to stop them on their search for food?! They even dared to kill them to boot?! That's when their eyes all turned red, everything happening so quickly. 1. The creatures fought back, devouring guards left and right 2. Panic spread across the battlefield. How were the creatures suddenly so terrifying?! 3. The aquatic people all retreated under cover of the barrier, their eyes bulging with horror and wariness.

But this time, everything was different. Instead of ramming themselves against the wall, the Cleaners crowded around a fallen guard's barrier access medallion. As the bystanders' confused exclamations reached the prison, Jack couldn't help but chuckle. "Ta-da-da! Cleaners are evolving!! Congratulations, you've done fucked up!" In the background, a certain AI was taking note. This described the current situation so well! At the same time, the Cleaners all began glowing, the same yellow as the access token. Barrier? What barrier?! The creatures could now cross it as they wished! On a scale of 1 to 10, Mermaid City was fucked… Would Mermaid City fall because of the blind arrogance of its citizens? They believed so much in their powreful barriers, and assumed their enemies to be dumb...only to have it all bite them back in the ass! ClasslessAscension

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