Reject Humanity, Return to Monke

Once the light subsided, I found myself within a black void, along with my team of Dungeon Masters.

"… Well, this is new…" Oshurkova commented with her lips forming a thin line. Beside her, Typhial nodded in agreement, her normally awed and lovestruck expression missing. Instead, she wore a serious mask, her eyes scanning the black void for anything that could harm the team, or more specifically, Oshurkova.

Shrugging to herself, Catalina approached my side and poked my tough arm. "Hey, won't you protect your frail, lady friend right over here?"

She gave me a mock-terrified look, which was close to being genuine. If not for the fact I knew she was faking it, it would be next to impossible to distinguish it from the real one.

"You have some good acting skills." I praised the catwoman, her terrified look being replaced by a neutral mask, before she snorted and laughed.

"Well, if you live your life as a slave, you'll learn a thing or two about acting.." She whispered this to me with a solemn look, my gaze quickly focusing on the catwoman who revealed to me her early days. I didn't know if it was true or not, but judging from the fact that she was serious about this, the possibility that she was lying to me was almost zero.

"… I see…" That was all I could afford to answer her. How the fuck am I supposed to reply to a confession like that?

The area descended into silence, until something appeared in the corner of our eyes. Our gazes were drawn to the new addition to the black void. What we saw could be likened to that of a digital timer.

01:30

01:29

01:28

The timer continued ticking down as we looked around the area in confusion.

"Are we supposed to wait for the timer to reach zero?" Typhial asked, her eyes locked on my form. Along with her, everybody else was also looking at me for answers, since I was the one with the most knowledge about a MOBA.

"Supposedly." I replied, a hand grabbing my chin as I closed my eyes to contemplate our situation. "From what I can recall from my memories, before this type of competition starts, the teams are always given a set amount of time to prepare for the incoming battle."

Making my mind translate MOBA games into reality was a challenging endeavor, but I was able to accomplish the task.

"During that time, the players, in this situation, our team, can use our initial Resources to buy some upgrades and head into the areas so we can get some kind of advantage against the opposing team, in this case, better positioning." I ranted as I recalled every detail I could remember from the MOBAS I played back on Earth. Sure, it could be vastly different from our current situation, but even a vague reference is enough to make sure you can start properly.

It was at that moment that the black void suddenly vanished, and in its place, a huge, awe-inspiring platform appeared. Me and my team were mind-boggled at the sudden awareness that we were standing on a platform slowly descending into the ground, the Keeps, Bartizans, and the Dungeon Core visible to our eyes.

"Holy… Now this is a sight I won't forget." Catalina remarked, her cat tail swishing to and fro. Not far away from me, Oshurkova was also taking in the sights with dazzled eyes. The same could be said for me.

'Whoever made MOBAS, I'm sorry, but your map designs have nothing on this…'

After admiring the scene for a few seconds, we felt the platform stop and land on the ground. Looking around, we saw some steps connecting this raised platform to our base.

Along the edges of the platform, we saw a podium with a closed book. The book opens for us to see its contents. Our curiosity piqued, we approached the book and saw that there were some words that had an empty box right next to it, and right next to that checkbox, some numbers. Reading the words, I realized that these were the upgrades that can be bought by using our Resources, and the numbers were the Resources needed to buy them.

Damage Enhancement [ ] 500

Physical Defense Enhancement [ ] 500

Magical Defense Enhancement [ ] 500

Movement Speed Enhancement [ ] 500

These were the four basic upgrades which can be bought infinitely. Which means, enough upgrades can make the Spawned Monsters possibly stronger than a Dragon…

'Now I know how we can win…' I grinned maliciously, a plan forming in my head. 'Okay, first of all, we need to upgrade either their defense or damage depending on the team composition of our opponents. Movement speed should be upgraded last when we're sure the Dungeon Masters on the other side can't easily kill the Spawned Monsters, because if we did that, then our weak-ass Spawned Monsters will always be on the opposing side of the map, making it harder for us to kill their Spawned Monsters with the risk of their Bartizans taking fire on us.'

I took a look at our Resources and saw that all of us had combined Resources. Whenever one of us gets some, it is automatically deposited into our combined Bank.

'Well, since there are no items to buy to individually increase our strength, then this is an understandable mechanic…'

Looking below those four basic upgrades, I saw some rather interesting purchases.

Summon Dungeon Resident [3000]

Prevent Spawned Monster Wave [1500]

Spawn Monster Wave [1500]

These three options here got the gears in my mind turning. 'The first one is self-explanatory. The second one is a bit vague, but I'm guessing that it prevents a wave of Spawned Monsters from spawning on the other side of the map. And the third is likely the opposite, but for us instead…

This gives various unique tactics, and those last two options are also double-edged swords. The second option makes it easier to push in lanes, but at the cost of lower Resources, while the third option also makes it easier to push the lane (also making it possible for two waves to spawn at once), but also gives more Resources to the enemy team.

The first option, however, is complete bullshit. You can guess what I can do with that.

Looking at our shared Resources, I saw that we have 2,500 points, which counts as 5 upgrades.

"Alright," I opened my mouth, catching the attention of the Dungeon Masters who were curiously looking at the catalogue of options, "Save the points, we'll upgrade our Spawned Monsters later."

"You have a plan, Jionni?" Oshurkova asked, her eyes narrowing at the sight of my serious expression.

"Yes." I nodded, returning back the glare she was sending me, which turned into softened eyes as she closed them and nodded in agreement. "First of all, don't upgrade our Mons. I'm shortening it to that abbreviation. Spawned Monsters are a mouthful."

Everybody accepted my input, and I continued.

"What I want everyone to do is to let the enemy push into our Bartizans. By doing that, we can get some points safely without compromising our position. If you feel that they are pushing in too hard and our Bartizans are suffering too much damage, then feel free to upgrade the Mons, but do not upgrade their movement speed. We'll upgrade that once we're sure we can end the match." Everybody nodded to my bareback strategy. It was a start, I wasn't a strategist on Earth, and I still am not right now. However, as the person with the most knowledge about MOBAs, I had to take up the mantle as strategist.

'It's alright… It's just like the game back on Earth… Only, much more 3d than before…' I calmed my rapidly tensing nerves as I breathed in a huge amount of air. Exhaling them, I regarded the Dungeon Masters who were waiting for my word, the temporary leadership passing onto me from the vampire due to my expertise.

"Shrum will go alone to the top lane. Lina will go to the mid lane. Typhial and Kova to the bottom lane, while I'll go off the lanes to farm some Resources from the neutral monsters. Sound good?"

Everybody nodded at my plan, with Typhial nodding rapidly as she stuck towards the vampire, causing said vampire to facepalm at the antics of her follower.

"Good, I'll assist in the lanes whenever I can, but how can we communicate with each other?" I asked out loud, causing the rest to wonder the same. That was until the timer struck zero and I felt something get stuck in my ear. The rest of the group also felt the same as they instinctively tried to pry off the foreign object sticking to their ear.

Prying the object off, I saw that it was some kind of transceiver. I grinned and put them back on.

"Don't take them off." My words stopped the Dungeon Masters in their tracks. "This will be used for our communications. For example."

I turned around and cusped my mouth around my lips. Whispering to myself, I said some words that could make an innocent girl blush. Turning around, I saw Typhial blushing, Oshurkova's eyebrow twitching, Catalina's sultry look, and Shrum's disappointed glare.

"Enough of an example for all of you?" Everybody nodded and I clapped. "Well then, let's get going."