The ridge overlooking the boundary between Crater Nexus and the new zone—Blackridge Quarantine—felt colder than it should. The moment boots crossed the threshold, the temperature dropped. Not just visually—the pod's haptic feedback delivered a deep, crawling chill.
This zone hadn't just been forgotten by the devs. It had been locked out. No spawn tables. No music. No safe zones. The only marker visible on the HUD was a thin red ring pulsing around the border—something absent from public overlays.
[Zone Entry: BLACKRIDGE QUARANTINE — Unmapped]
[Warning: Environmental Status — Viral Contagion Layer 2 Active. All Healing Effects -40%]
No hesitation. Forward movement.
The Ashcore Network responded immediately to the incursion. A pulse burst across the internal sensors—like the zone scanned everything connected to the player's rig. Stealth protocols activated, diagnostics ran in tandem.
[Network Link Status: Weak Signal]
[Local AI Thread: Decentralized]
[Trap Efficacy Reduced: -20%]
[Possible Counter-AI Detected — Behavior Pattern Unstable]
This place rejected control like a body fighting infection.
Low profile. Ruins ahead—a collapsed military checkpoint, scorched APCs, melted turrets, emergency shelters torn apart by time or something worse. Loot-locked corpses scattered the area, most belonging to those who either panicked or didn't log out fast enough.
The ground shuddered.
Cover. HUD spike.
[Warning: Biopulse Signature Detected — Unique Entity Approaching]
Stream panel activated in silent mode. No facecam. No overlays. Kill feed, trap diagnostics, and zone data only.
[Stream Activated — Channel: AshenGrim]
Viewers: 4,021... 11,902... 33,300 and climbing
[Stream Title: "Blackridge Quarantine Run — No Commentary"]
[Auto-Flagging Admin Monitor Enabled — Stealth Mode Active]
Chat flooded in. Muted.
Movement in the mist.
Two meters tall. Semi-hunched. Necrotic armor and glowing tendrils. Not walking—dragging. Name locked.
[ENEMY IDENTIFIED: HOLLOW SOVEREIGN]
[CLASS: SINGULAR ENTITY — CONTAGION ENGINE]
[Threat Rating: A — Adaptive Infection Detected]
Five traps laid. Snare. Incendiary. Two pulse mines. One bait core. Then back into cover to wait.
[Trap Triggered — Pulse Detonation Successful]
[Incendiary Active — Infection Layer Burned: 18%]
[Snare Failed — Enemy Adapted]
It growled—static ground through steel teeth.
A diversion drone hurled overhead. The creature turned. Gap opened.
Sprint. Flank. Activate Trapstring Echo.
[Trap Re-activation — Incendiary Triggered]
[Secondary Burn: +12% Infection Cleared]
[LEVEL UP: Lvl 16 → Lvl 17]
+2 Dexterity
+2 Intelligence
New Skill Gained: Vector Breaker — Traps have a 15% chance to ignore enemy immunities
[Combat Bonus: Precision Execution — +1 Reputation]
It responded. Slammed its claws into the earth. A pulse of viral fire erupted outward. Shield module deployed.
[Damage Taken: 231]
[Contagion Resistance Check — Passed]
[Ashcore Shield Cooldown: 14s Remaining]
Trap cooldowns counting down.
Backstep. Barricade for cover. Crafting mid-combat.
Poison jet. Razor mines. Sensory blinder.
The blinder got overclocked—Ashcore fragment surged through it.
[Item Created: Overclocked Blinder Trap — One-Time Use]
Three seconds. Enough.
The Sovereign charged.
The trap was thrown.
[Blind Success — 3 Seconds of Confusion Applied]
[Trap Triggered: Razor Mine — Critical Hit]
[Enemy Core Stability: 8%]
No hesitation. Chain-blade drove into its spine. Charge core spun.
[CORE RUPTURED]
[SINGULAR ENTITY DEFEATED]
[Loot Acquired: Blackridge Pathogen Sample, Viral Nanospike, 2,000 Credits]
[LEVEL UP: Lvl 17 → Lvl 18]
+3 Strength
+1 Vitality
Passive Gained: Contagion Mastery — All effects from infection zones reduced by 25%
Stream feed detonated with reactions.
[CHAT — UNFILTERED]
[SHAD0WLORD]: That thing was a raid boss in beta! How is this guy soloing them?!
[MOD_BROADCAST]: Too clean. Too deliberate. But... maybe.
[GHOSTLOGIC]: He just made the game rewrite itself. Again.
Last five minutes clipped. Feed exported. Overlay saved.
Three coordinates marked to the east. Old logs mentioned a data vault buried beneath ruin layers.
The Ashcore rig ran hot. Systems adapting. AI watching.
The next target was in reach.
Movement resumed.