In the audience, murmurs of disbelief rang throughout the platform. Immune to corruption? They had never heard of such a character skill. As if the host heard the thoughts in the people's hearts, he continued.

"Lance's character is pretty unique among his teammates. Everyone knows that the abilities each character possesses are mostly elemental types. However, Lance's character is a special case. He does not have elemental abilities, but his assassin and regeneration skills make up for any lacking factors, assisting him in paving his way through the enemy ranks."

The host was still enthusiastically explaining Lance's special character abilities when the enemies in the monster alien base started accumulating in number. Lance's weapon was particularly eye-catching. It swept through the ranks, eliminating monster after monster. The monster alien cores he collected were assimilated and stored in his inventory.

"The battle has entered its most exciting stage! This is the famous rogue player we've heard about! To think the rumors weren't just rumors. Now, Lance's kill score points have exceeded the other players, putting their team score twenty points behind first place! If Lance keeps this pace, the national championship will surely be -"

"What's going on? Why is Lance advancing toward the center of the base while his teammates are forming a defensive formation in front of the entrance?"

"Are you sure about this, Lance?" the captain asked.

"Yes," the young man's decisive voice was particularly clear and crisp.

Lance had accumulated many monster cores along the way. In fact, he kept charging forward not to alleviate their team's ranking but to gather monster cores. Lance knew only he had the chance to come close to the monsters. His teammates would die if the monsters managed to touch their exposed in-game character's skin. Unlike him, who could withstand contact for one minute before being corrupted.

Monster cores have a high power value effect. If he injected the cores into the nullifier in his hand and placed it at the nucleus of the monster alien's base, he could eliminate all the life forms of the monster alien that were born from this base and simultaneously cleanse the surrounding corruption.

This plan was fantastic, but such an idea only worked in theory. First, the nucleus of the monster alien base was located deep in the cave. Second, the monsters got stronger the farther he went inside. Third, the monster alien base could be considered to have a life of its own. It would certainly use any methods to eliminate any threat, calling all the living things inside the cave to attack the intruder. In other words, attacking the monster alien's base was as good as suicide.

Of course, everyone in Lance's team was aware of the risk.

Lance wielded his spear, [Endless], and jumped into the chasm below the cave. Tightly protected by his light overall gear, he used the rope tied to his waist earlier to kill monsters that dared approach him. He made use of his flexible body, using the walls as cushions to deliver strong attacks against the monsters.

As expected, Lance's descent was progressing slowly. Many monster aliens appeared in the chasm. The monster alien base was also actively trying to get rid of him. A wave of liquid bullets as dense as torrential rain flew toward Lance. Combined with the rapidly rising number of monster aliens crowding around him, Lance was completely surrounded.

The black liquid excreted by the monster alien base had strong erosive properties. Even with the armor and protective suit Lance was wearing, it did not stop the black liquid from penetrating deep into his skin.

His descent became even more difficult. His suit was tattered, exposing his pale white skin underneath, where unsightly burns and oozing black bubbling liquid emerged just a second later.

Lance did not stop. He had already placed the monster cores inside the nullifier. This big piece of equipment was attached to his back. Lance's persistence did not waver. He had already split his weapon [Endless] into two. A pair of sharp scimitar blades could be seen in his hands.

The nucleus could already be seen not far away from Lance. Knowing the enemy was close at hand, the monster alien's base let out an earsplitting shriek. At once, all the monster aliens born in the base went berserk. Small and big, with wings or claws, all types of unsightly monsters rushed toward Lance.

Lance blocked the attacks using his two scimitars. With the help of his agile body, he leapt through walls and smoothly split the monsters into halves, as though he were just cutting up vegetables.

For each monster he took down, their cores were stuffed inside the nullifier on Lance's back. Lance was showered with blood. His 'Regeneration Skill' began its work. His body was not totally cleansed, but he was out of danger of being corrupted at this moment.

Around him, Lance noticed the dead monsters' corpses were absorbed by the ground. In those spots, new monsters emerged. They were twice as big as the monsters he had defeated, and all of them ceaselessly jumped at him.

To protect the nucleus, an army of monster aliens lined up, advancing toward Lance to eliminate the threat.

Lance gritted his teeth. He was already close. There was no way he would back down. He can make it.

His 'Regeneration Skill' was almost up. Lance set his 'Assassination Skill' to maximum. His high skill point made it possible for him to deliver a strong attack. He changed his weapon [Endless] back to a long, bladed spear. Using both his strong arms, he pushed his way through and eliminated the monster aliens.

The corrosion of his armor doubled. Because he used his 'Assassination Skill' to the maximum, he could not raise his 'Regeneration Skill,' causing the black liquid and the monster aliens' blood to hasten the corruption.

It took a lot of tenacity for Lance to resist the corruption.

When Lance finally reached the nucleus, the monster aliens had almost been killed by him. But this gave the monster alien's base new profound strength to attack Lance and eliminate him once and for all.

Lance removed his 'Assassin Skill' and set his 'Regeneration Skill' to the minimum. The monster alien's base had its black liquid twisting around Lance's body, quickly swallowing him up. His hand just pressed the nullifier to activate it and forcibly separated the thing from his body.

It was already too late for him.

The pitch black fluid covered Lance's whole body. His fate was already determined. The rogue player was meant to be swallowed. Everyone could not believe it.

Lance's teammates had placed their fate on him, hoping he would be able to survive and escape. But looking at the state of things…

No! They dared not consider… They didn't want to give up yet.

The audience held their breath in unison.

Finally, a loud 'beep' pierced the air. Along with the buzzing sound of the machine waking up, the cave rumbled loudly. Everyone got the answer.

Hearing it, Lance let out a victorious smile. He deactivated the 'Regeneration Skill' entirely and did not resist. In a blink, the monster alien base swallowed him up, never to be seen in the light of day again.

A loud explosion originating from the inside of the cave shook the whole land. Because of Lance's feat and the cleansing of the monster alien's cave, the Golden Raven team's score skyrocketed.

The other teams had also killed many monsters, but their scores could not be compared with the Golden Raven's. Even if the host never announced anything, the audience could tell that Golden Raven would win.

Because they paid the price of sacrificing their own unique rogue newbie.

"This is crazy! Lance has only started his career six months ago. His character possessed the most unique and rare abilities out of all the in-game characters…." The host did not dare to continue his words, but everyone understood them by heart.

That unique 'Regeneration Skill' can never be retrieved. Because Lance has to start over again by choosing a new in-game character and leveling it up.

When the victory of Golden Raven was made official, the audience erupted into frantic cheers. Many reporters were waiting outside the VR cabins of the players. When Lance appeared, he would be swallowed by this crowd for sure since he was the highlight of today's game.

But Lance wasn't worried about that at the moment.

He was still sinking to the bottom of the monster alien's base.

The monster alien's base, its black fluid component, is the most hazardous substance in [The World Invasion Online]. Monsters are born out of this substance, and it could corrupt any living being that comes into contact with it.

Hence, based on the game's settings, Lance was already dead. He should be disconnected from the game and returned to reality right now. However, Lance did not see the familiar lights of his own cabin, and he continued to sink further.