《Soul Corruption: System Unavailable [Apocalypse LitRPG]》


 CH 1: One Last Chance

    CHAPTER 1: One Last Chance


    ONE LAST CHANCE


    Your species has fallen to the invading races.  As the last free native left, a protection has been placed on you for one year to prevent hostility against you.  You may travel the remains of your world or travel through the invader¡¯s portals to find a new home.  However, the [System] finds the loss of an entire race to be a tragedy to the universe.  It is willing to use the last of the power it gave to your world to send your memories back to when this conflict first began.  This will allow you one last chance to save your species and your world.  Use your memories to build upon that beginning to rise up and prevent this loss.


    Should you choose to return to your past, you will be able to use all your memories and knowledge to better influence the world.  We wish you good luck!


    Return your memories to the past?


    [ Yes / No ]


    Adam looked at the message floating in his sight.  The message wasn¡¯t actually displayed in his eyes, blocking his view.  It was his mind giving him the information while still allowing him to see through it, to see the corpse of the last human other than him, who had died moments before.


    A laugh broke out of Adam¡¯s mouth.  It was a quiet cackle, meant to show his disdain.  Did the laugh sound a little insane?  Maybe, but since there was no longer anyone around to hear it there would be no judgement.  No one to decide whether anything he did was right or wrong.  Morality was decided by those still alive, and that amounted to only Adam.  There was no one left to think ill of him for killing the man at his feet, triggering the message.  That thought tickled Adam, but would lead nowhere, so he focused back on the message.


    The [System] told him that he would have a last chance.  A last chance to save humanity.  Of course that was laughable.  It sounded way more insane than his laugh.  One last ditch final chance to use all the knowledge he¡¯s gathered while running, hiding, fighting, surviving, and leveling.  The [System] was rooting for him to prevent his tragedy, huh?  One LAST chance.  A laughable last chance that he had been given 68 times.  A last chance that he would continue to be given again and again after humanity gets wiped out through his next play throughs.


    For 68 times Adam had watched humanity get killed, wiped out, and enslaved.  He had watched friends, family, loved ones, and enemies all get annihilated while he was the last one standing.  What did that even do to a person?  Adam knew the answer.  It did both a tremendous amount and not much at all.  Life after life he had lived within the [System] and the invasions, yet every time he was the last man standing.  Did this make him better than everyone else?  Adam had to answer that question as Yes.


    In the original life he hadn¡¯t been very motivated, so he went for a survival build, starting as a [Protector], then a [Knight], [Defender], and so on until reaching the [World Aegis].  Yet it was impossible for one person to protect the whole world.  That life had allowed him to survive even as his last few companions fell.  When he received the message, he immediately accepted it and went back.


    His second life had been lived with more fury and determination, vividly remembering all the pain and loss from the original play through.  Instead of going defensive with his class he had chosen attack magic, getting to the point where he could destroy invasions almost single handedly.  In the end, though, there were just too many invaders and his tremendous power didn¡¯t allow him to protect others either.


    The third life went by with depression and self-loathing.  He didn¡¯t even remember what power and skills he had focused on, and all he saw when he looked at people were their corpses from the two previous lives.  Yet he knew enough about all the different invasions, races, and locations because of his first two lives, that he had somehow gotten through the third.  It had even been more of a struggle than the first two attempts due to his mental state, but the knowledge allowed him, and only him, to survive.


    In the fourth he used his knowledge to empower others, at the cost of focusing on his personal strength, but that worked out even worse.  As soon as a companion felt they were stronger than him, they would abandon the group and end up killed, alone, or surrounded by weaklings that never pushed them to greater heights.  He was never able to convince people to follow his 17-year-old self.  His knowledge couldn¡¯t be spread to those in power until it was too late.  There was no way to get them to believe him or to deviate from their losing strategies.


    Adam¡¯s various lives went on like that.  Different classes and builds were used in each play through.  Different strategies and contacts were attempted without significant change to the outcomes.


    Then he tried simply exploring and gaining as much knowledge as possible, knowing that at the end he¡¯d have another chance.  By his seventh life he knew everything of relevance that would happen, even if each play through occurred differently, and every location on earth.  Adam would always be the last standing unless he purposely chose to die.  By then it was too easy for him to survive.  Getting everyone else to survive was the struggle.


    From there, Adam began focusing on stealth.  Becoming as unnoticeable as possible so that he could slip through invader portals and do research on their worlds.  Earth held no answers.  Reading the histories of different races and researching their classes and skills under the [System] taught him so much more than any other human could learn.  Unfortunately, it also taught him the truth of the [System] related invasions.  It was impossible for humanity to win.


    The reason planets got the [System] before the invasions was the same reason human fed livestock.  To fatten them up before being consumed.  The different races in the universe would allow weaker races to start the invasions so that the natives could grow stronger and gain levels, allowing their soldiers to grow even more when they finally arrived and battled them.


    The whole scenario was simply training for the stronger races.  Adam hadn¡¯t figure out what the [System] was after or why it facilitated this massacre, but the benefits for the invaders was clear.  They got stronger.  Battles were fought without damaging their own land or killing those who matter, while allowing many of their troops to grow stronger.  Then the strongest race would own the planet, all it¡¯s land and resources.


    Given all this, it was IMPOSSIBLE for the natives to win.  Impossible.  Adam had felt so dumb when he realized that around his tenth life.  This was all impossible.


    Why was it impossible for humanity to win even if it had the same [System] as the invaders?  Even if the [System] would limit the strength of the invaders in the beginning so humanity had a chance to fight back?


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    Adam wanted to facepalm when thinking back to his realization of 58 lives ago.  It was too obvious.  These races had been using the [System] for hundreds or thousands of years.  They had mapped out all the prerequisites for strong classes.  They had ensured their armies had the proper balance and the elites had the strongest classes.  They had optimized leveling so they knew when to evolve classes to get the best skills and growth.


    Humans were just winging it and overconfident that they could overcome the odds.  Too many Saturday morning cartoons and superhero movies.  That a few strong could beat armies trained to take them out proved outlandish.  Earth¡¯s outdated and ignorant tactics were no longer relevant after the [System] arrived, no matter how hard humanity held on to them.


    After that realization, Adam had focused on researching classes.  By then he accepted humanity¡¯s loss and felt no emotions towards it.  It had become his reality for decades.  He went through life after life just to learn as much as he could.  Portal after portal and world after world to gain their knowledge.  At some point it stopped being about saving anyone, or even the pride of victory, and just became a puzzle that Adam was determined to solve.


    Adam sighed, pulling himself from his thoughts and looking out over the jungle below the cliff he stood on.  It had been a beautiful sight a few months ago.  Lush green filled with life.  Now collapsed areas of jungle and scorch marks could be seen from his vantage.  Gregor, the corpse at his feet, had caused that destruction.  His class had been strong and had even worried the invaders, so they had left him alone until they were ready.  The class had also been taught to Gregor by Adam.  Nurturing him until Gregor reached the point Adam wanted.  Once Gregor reached it, Adam knew it was time for his plans, lifetimes spent preparing.


    When Adam had realized the futility of the fight, he had looked through the records of other worlds to find the strongest classes, to see if there was any class that could turn the tides.  There wasn¡¯t much hope to Adam since any class that powerful would already be in use by the other races.


    After many lifetimes of research, he found an anomaly in the history of the strongest group of invaders, the Scyrric.  Once during a planetary invasion, they had encountered a native with a class so strong it forced them to leave the world.  They had sent numerous armies and their strongest elites, yet everyone fell before that person.  Those that remained cut their losses and left.  This person had a class called [Untouchable Juggernaut].  No one had heard of that class before that time, and the destruction it caused was prolific.


    After that, the Scyrric that survived tried to find the path to the [Untouchable Juggernaut] class.  Their experiments figured out that it was in the line of Berserker classes.  Phenomenal strength, toughness, and regeneration was contained within.  Unfortunately, they also figured out why it was called untouchable.


    With berserker classes rage is used to strengthen the body and attacks.  Skill doesn¡¯t matter if the attacker¡¯s power is that much higher.  As the rage becomes larger and the berserker classes evolve, the person¡¯s reason, intelligence, and memories get consumed.  With the [Untouchable Juggernaut] class, there was no self remaining in the person.  Everything was rage.  The ¡°untouchable¡± part of it wasn¡¯t only to enemies either.  The Scyrric ended the experiment after the juggernaut they created had killed every living thing on the planet, and then smashed away at the landscape as mountains fell and oceans drained through continental cracks caused to the planet¡¯s surface.  That was how much power the class had.  It had been estimated to be five times more powerful than the Tier 5 evolution it was listed as.  Even Tier 6 evolutions, the highest rank achieved, fell to it.  The Scyrric destroyed the remains of that planet hoping to do away with the very weapon they had created.


    Now Adam knew the path to an [Untouchable Juggernaut] and had manipulated Gregor into taking it.  Gregor hadn¡¯t reached quite that high, only that of the Tier 4 [Grand Blood Berserker], one step removed from the [Untouchable Juggernaut].  He also wasn¡¯t going to advance anymore since Gregor had lost most of his ego and didn¡¯t have the intelligence left to even select a new class evolution.  That was fine for Adam though, because Gregor had advanced enough for his plans.


    Adam moved closer to the body of Gregor so that he could touch his head.  Then he brought up his own status screen.


    Name: Adam Clemens


    Age:   29


    Race: Human


    Class: Soul Forger [250]  Epic / Tier 5


    Strength:         447


    Agility:             423


    Vitality:            644


    Intelligence:    1858


    Wisdom:         1299


    Core Skills:


    Soul Shatter


    Soul Combine


    Soul Shaping


    Memory Manipulation


    Soul Resonance


    Mental Fortitude


    Sensory Control


    Soul Vision


    Emotional Manipulation


    Skills:


    Curse of Darkness


    Curse of Light


    Environment Control


    Lesser Illusions


    Danger Check


    Soul Bolt


    Spirit Infusion


    Comforting Wave


    Soothe


    Charm


    ¡­


    Just like Gregor¡¯s class, Adam had a class he had gotten from the invaders¡¯ knowledge.  It had the skills that were going to allow him to move forward with his plan.  The Tier 3 class [Soul Explorer] had come from an unusual place.  One of the races of invaders had been Vampires.


    When Adam had first sneaked onto their world, he thought he would find classes that controlled blood.  However, their real power came from manipulating their own souls, not directly manipulating blood.  Instead, they would blend and anchor their souls into their own blood.  That meant that who they were couldn¡¯t be fully destroyed without destroying most of their blood.  When they drank the blood of others, they were actually increasing the size of their own souls, providing more substance to form their own souls.


    From there, Adam learned how to manipulate the soul and evolved the class to allow him to try what he wanted.  His ambitious plan was very different than anything else he tried in the many lifetimes.  No amount of memory reincarnation was going to save humanity.  No amount of knowledge would provide humans the time to get strong enough to face the last few races of invaders.  It was all a doomed path.  What Adam was going to do now might fail spectacularly.  Unfortunately, his own soul and memories wouldn¡¯t be there to know if it works or not.  This Last Chance really would be this version of Adam¡¯s final one.


    Once Adam had learned about souls, what was in them and how they could be shaped, he realized that it wasn¡¯t just memories that went to his past self, but the segment of his soul where the memories reside.  The soul fragment with memories would combine with the 17-year-old Adam¡¯s soul, amalgamating the memories into a single soul.


    Unfortunately, souls could only grow so large.  They could only hold so much information.  Memories, personality, class, skills¡­the more you had, the more soul space they took up.  This Adam had run out of soul space long ago.  New lifetimes of memories overwrote past ones that mattered less.  Adam knew he couldn¡¯t keep going without losing more and more of himself, the valuable memories he had built up over 68 lives.  He had decided to reset.


    Looking down at Gregor¡¯s body, freshly killed, soul still contained thanks to Adam¡¯s skills, Adam touched Gregor¡¯s head with his right hand.  This would be his final One Last Chance.


    Adam held his left pointer finger above the [Yes] option on the message, preparing for what was going to happen.  He had decided on power over knowledge.


    His mana fed into the skill [Soul Combine] and reached for a part of Gregor¡¯s soul.  A connection was made, and he surrounded the part he wanted with his skill.  This was a huge gamble.


    Adam triggered [Soul Shaping] on himself, rearranging his own soul, moving parts out of the places that they were supposed to stay in.  Who he was, what he knew, and the powers he had grown swirled into the wrong places within his own soul.  A single word was also etched into his soul, a message for his future past self.  Conquer!  He had decided to risk everything on this chance of victory.


    Finally, with the last of his coherent thoughts as the rest moved and blurred, Adam targeted his own soul and cast [Soul Shatter].  The targeted force of it blasted apart his memories and sense of self.  To make space for the part of Gregor¡¯s soul he was combining with, everything that he was and had been, all his experiences and knowledge, all his past and future were destroyed.  After surviving worldwide alien invasions 68 times, he would now die to himself.


    While part of Gregor¡¯s soul combined with his own, taking the place of his memories, he was left with no ego to control his soul or body.  Adam¡¯s body slowly lost its position.  The body was still alive, but just a blank doll, without identity or thought.  Slowly the body lowered to the ground, with its left pointer finger passing through the [Yes] before falling all the way and becoming still.  Adam left it to his younger self to figure out the rest of the plan.

 CH 2: Soul Corruption Found

    Adam sat at his desk in homeroom. He slouched over the top of the desk with his arms extended, chin resting between them. For not the first time he sighed.


    It wasn¡¯t that Adam was lazy, he just didn¡¯t see the point in most things. Everyone mistook his calm and apathy as disinterest. Sure, he didn¡¯t care much about his grades, he was a solid B and C student. Nor did he care about school sports, sticking to playing backyard ball with friends. According to his best friend Nick, who was in the advanced classes and a leader on the soccer and basketball teams, Adam was the least competitive person he had met. He treated everyone the same, with calm and standoffish friendliness.


    Adam was just spending his homeroom clicking around with his phone. Suddenly he gasped and sat up, staring intently. A screen had just popped up in his view.


    ¡°Could this even be possible?¡± He asked in wonder. ¡°Is what I¡¯m seeing reality?¡±


    Basketball highlights were playing on his phone as he waited for the school day to start. An incredible move took place, as a point guard drove down the court, spun past three defenders and teased the ball into the basket with a tricky layup. Absolutely superhuman! How is it possible for people to be this strong and agile?


    Even while watching the sports highlights, Adam was occasionally asked a question by his classmates, and he would respond politely but with the least amount of effort. None of it really mattered to Adam, even if they had known each other for years. In a year all these classmates would be out of his life, going to college, and he would have to figure out what to do with his own life. Listening to what felt like boring lectures with boring tests at school just didn¡¯t allow him to decide what to do after high school.


    With a father that was middle management in a large company and a mother that worked and got involved with every cause under the sun, they were always pressuring Adam to be more. To do more. To experience and push himself. He met it all with calm apathy, and a lack of ambition, which just caused the pressure to increase. Even his younger sister got better grades and involved herself in clubs. But none of that mattered right now to Adam, because sports highlights were at least interesting. He enjoyed seeing other people succeed in ways he never would or could, even if he tried.


    Homeroom continued on like every day. Every few minutes Adam would check the time to make sure his phone was put away before the bell rang. When it was finally time, he slipped the phone into his desk and turned his head to look outside.


    The regular view greeted him, three school buildings surrounded by a gate. A large parking area was in between them. Finally, there was an alleyway with five bullies picking on Brandon, his classmate.


    A sigh escaped Adam at that.  Every day.  Every day those guys picked on Brandon, trying to get money out of him, making him do embarrassing thing, or just trying to make him late and stressed.  Adam sometimes wondered if he should get involved, but they never physically attacked him, that he saw, and everyone knew it was going on.


    Brandon was a short guy, younger looking than his actual age.  He wore baggy clothes that could have been bought in a consignment show from the 70s.  His black hair was always on the edge of disheveled, as if it had been cut and combed by himself in a dimly lit bathroom.


    He was one of those kids that never did anything wrong, but he still annoyed everyone. He was meek to the point of offensiveness, mumbling but aggressively needy, never talked to people about what they cared about, and tried to push himself into every group as their friend. Most people humored him and tried to just get him to go somewhere else, while the five bullies outside actively caused him trouble.


    The five bullies were led by a guy who should have starred on the football team, Lucas, but he was always causing trouble and missed as many games as he played in. He looked like he was from the pacific islands, taller than anyone else in school and more muscular than a teenager should be without steroids. Adam was sure he had been held back a grade at least twice.


    Three of the rest, Tom, Joseph, and Randall, were just delinquents that followed around Lucas, knowing just how much they could get away with before teachers got involved.  Of the three, Randall was the tallest, gangly but had some muscle from doing physical work.  He hadn¡¯t grown into his body yet.


    Joseph was on the shorter size, skinny and slouched, looking like the majority of his exercise came from whipping eggs at houses or taking baseball bats to mailboxes when no one was looking.  He had a perpetual scowl and never looked like he was paying attention, with face length scraggly hair often covering his eyes.


    Tom tended to dress preppy, looking out of place with the other two.  His hair was short and styled like a lawyer, his face clean and expressive.  His blue eyes always held some mirth or mischief in them while he regularly smiled as if he was having the best time.


    The final one, Elias, was actually smart and good looking, frequently seen reading books.  His hair and clothes were neat, though not always up to date.  Circular glasses had a tint to him, as if they were keeping out the world.  He rarely spoke or took part in the bullying but was always there with the others.  When he did speak there was always vitriol in his words.  Adam didn¡¯t get him at all.


    Briiiiiiiiiing. The homeroom bell went off. Adam saw Brandon disengage from the others and rush towards the classroom building scared, as if this was any different than any other day. The teacher, Mr. Stern, entered the room and waited while students took their seats or arrived from where they had been hanging out before.


    Adam went to sit up from his slouch on the desk. However, it was at this point that the day veered off from every other day and took Adam by surprise. Something flickered in his vision but didn¡¯t appear all the way. He couldn¡¯t make out what it was as it wavered like a heat induced mirage. At the same time the edges of his vision grew white and foggy, and a pain began to build in his chest and head.


    The pain was a hot burning, not sharp. Fear started to grip Adam, but he could barely focus on anything as the pain became hotter and hotter. The heat built up, spreading through his heart, chest, and limbs. A brief thought about whether he was having a heart attack flowed through his head, and he didn¡¯t even feel himself fall off his chair and desk, landing heavily on the floor.


    His vision, thoughts, even his heart were all consumed by heat. It increased and pounded, radiating out as if it was trying to set his very essence on fire. His conscious thoughts ran away from him and into the heat, as if he was just a mindless conduit of burning. Time held no meaning as Adam forgot even who or where he was. The intense heat becoming all that existed.


    Images flickered through the haze and heat only to vanish, long forgotten. Stopped moments in time that felt like memories lived in the past, foreseen from the future, lost to the now. A shield was held before him to hold back attacks that were paused in their movements, spreading to surround the people behind him from a barrage of colors, lights, and sounds. There was no shield, just his hand held forward while he fired bolts, arrows, and beams of all colors; blues, greens, reds, and whites.


    Daggers were thrust from the darkness where no one could see them coming. Swords were swung with the force of hurricanes. His fist was able to punch through a person, a tree, a building, a mountain. Power raged out of him able to cut down, incinerate, and freeze the world around him.


    The warm corpses of his family were held close to his chest, sorrow engulfing him, right after they died. His family¡¯s bodies were found long since gone cold across the road, in their house, on top of buildings. In front of him, then behind, then to the sides were enemies, allies, the dead, the hopeful. He was powerful, weak, stabbed, cut, burned, running, hiding, fighting back, reading, standing in a rain of blood, killing, and killing, and killing in every way possible.


    These images flashed and vanished. Remembered lessons were learned, settled into his very being over severe experiences, and then never happened. Something tried to overlay on top of him, to impart knowledge, to replace him, or merge with him, but all crumbled upon touching him. Adam¡¯s mind was so scrambled he couldn¡¯t feel whether it stayed with him or left. He couldn¡¯t reflect on them for his thoughts wouldn¡¯t even touch what he was experiencing.


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    Then a cooling came. It started in the front of his head. It pushed back the heat, gently calming it and letting it flow from his head into his heart. The center of Adam¡¯s vision began to clear, spreading to the outsides, removing the haze and fog. His head started to hold on to its own thoughts as the coolness stretched through his brain and escorted the heat towards his heart until that was where it all gathered. His heart rate sped up, heating his blood and forcing it through the rest of his body. The coolness stayed in his head, as if guarding his brain from the heat that burned away even his thoughts. Adam had no idea what happened or what sickness could have caused this. It didn¡¯t sound like any heart attack he had heard of.


    However, Adam quickly became aware of something else, the silence. His classroom was dead silent. He was sure that when he fell there were some screams and gasps, but now everyone was staring in front of them, not even turned towards him. Every single person was staring silently into the air. There wasn¡¯t even any noise in the hallway or from the other classrooms.


    Adam went to scramble to his feet, unsure of what happened. He only got to his hands and knees before a different kind of vision popped into his eyes.


    Greetings people of Earth!


    Your planet will soon be under attack from numerous invaders. To help reduce the loss of life and aid your chance of survival, the [System] has been activated to bring you the strength to fight back. You will be able to learn Skills and Classes to make you stronger and more capable. You will begin with basic Classes and can evolve them into stronger ones. For the next ten days you may change your starter Class, however after that time it will be locked in and you will need to advance it to evolve into stronger Classes.


    The [System] will do everything it can for you and hopes for your success!


    While Adam was still reading the message, the murmuring started from his classmates. People were speaking in hushed voices to their friends. Then the quiet was smashed when someone shouted, ¡°I¡¯m a MAGE! We can level up!¡± All hell broke loose as everyone exclaimed in excitement and groups of friends formed to discuss what was happening.


    Adam looked around at the chaos, noticed the teacher slip out of the room with a shocked look on his face, and then he sat back in his chair. When Adam had swiped the message out of his view another had appeared.


    Welcome to the [System]! You will now be given the ability to choose a starter class. New skills will be given to you as you gain experience in your class and level up. The more you grow your class the stronger you will become.


    Good luck and may you survive!


    That message seemed a bit basic and lacked details, not to mention cryptic. Adam wanted to see these starter classes so he could decide which to choose. He once more swiped the message away.


    You are now ready to choose a class. Please read the descriptions below and choose the class that fits you best. Different classes might lead to similar roles, but their attribute focus will remain different.


    [Warrior]


    All strength-based classes begin with this class. Those who want to hit harder or damage with more hits than the other guy are recommended this class.


    [Scout]


    All agility-based classes begin with this class. Those who want to move faster, dodge easier, or use movement-oriented skills are recommended this class.


    [Protector]


    All vitality-based classes begin with this class. Those who want to take hits and survive easier are recommended this class.


    [Mage]


    All intelligence-based classes begin with this class. Those who want to use attack magic or other knowledge-based skills are recommended this class.


    [Support]


    All wisdom-based classes begin with this class. Those who want to use magic, healing, or items to empower those around them are recommended this class.


    ¡°Well that certainly is basic,¡± Adam muttered to himself. It lacked description and direction, but Adam still felt the excitement building in him just like everyone else around him. It didn¡¯t help that his insides felt amplified with the heat still pounding through his body. His classmates were a little ahead of him and were fist bumping each other and discussing how they were going to level up. Adam knew exactly which class he would take. Taking hits seemed the best way to survive to him. He reached forward, put his finger where he saw the [Protector] class and pressed through it, causing the message to be replaced.


    [Protector] class selected. Please wait while it is assimilated¡­


    After a minute Adam looked around awkwardly. No one else seemed like they were stuck on a loading screen. After another minute with the same message Adam tried to press it or swipe it but it wouldn¡¯t change. Worry crept into Adam. His forehead furrowed as time passed and a frown formed on him. He looked around and saw that students from other classes had come in and some from his classroom had left. It seemed like this was a time spent with friends and that school no longer mattered. Every single student was excited about the system, while Adam¡¯s screen was stuck.


    [Protector] class will not fit into user¡¯s soul.


    Checking¡­ Soul space at capacity.


    Error¡­ Soul Corruption found.


    [System] use unavailable.


    No solutions found. Apologies, Adam Clemens.


    Even with all the noise around him, Adam could hear nothing. Shock settled on him as he sat motionless. An aura of disappointment and grief surrounded him. Fellow classmates would look over at him and they knew that something was wrong, but no one felt comfortable to approach him. At least until his best friend Nick came rushing in the room.


    ¡°Adam! What did you take? I took Scout! Got a skill called [Light Steps]. We get to level and fight aliens! This is so exciting. Obviously I¡¯ll go with a hunter or stealth build as I level¡­¡± Nick rambled on, not waiting for any answers, his words too quick to take back before he noticed the mood surrounding Adam. When Adam blankly turned and looked at him, eyes empty and expression painful, Nick finally stopped talking. The silence hung between them until Nick cautiously asked, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡±


    ¡°I have no class. It said my soul is corrupt or something. Then told me there was nothing it could do. I don¡¯t even get it!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not fair,¡± Nick exclaimed, the excitement leaving his voice.


    The words echoed around Adam. He took a large breath and then felt the heat he had been ignoring pulse in his heart, carrying with it more anger than Adam had felt before. Suddenly he felt anger and hate towards the system, towards the invaders, and towards the other students who got something he didn¡¯t. The heat pulsed again and Adam could swear it pushed towards his head. The coolness that had been there was burned by the heat and receded, hiding from the burn. Adam felt his brain heating up. He was breathing deeper and more rapidly. Blood pounded in his ears and his eyes became hazy¡­ until a hand landed on his shoulder and a voice called him back.


    ¡°Adam!¡± Nick was trying to get his attention. ¡°Don¡¯t mope. I said, did you check your status. Maybe that will show something on it.¡±


    As Adam focused on his friend, the hot pulsing receded once more. Adam looked up at Nick hopefully. ¡°What status?¡±


    ¡°If you say or think ¡®status¡¯ really hard then you can see your class and stats. Mine says that I have a strength of 4, agility of 8, vitality of 7, intelligence of 8, and wisdom of 5. Maybe you will have some too.¡±


    In response, Adam said ¡°Status¡± out loud, and a new screen appeared before him.


    Name: ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    Age: ¨€¨€


    Race: Human


    Class: ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    Strength: N/A


    Agility: N/A


    Vitality: N/A


    Intelligence: N/A


    Wisdom: N/A


    Core Skills:


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    ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    Skills:


    ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    ¡­


    ¡°That¡¯s¡­weird¡­¡± Adam slowly mumbled.


    ¡°What is?¡±


    ¡°A status screen came up, but the class and skills are all blacked out, as if they were redacted in a spy movie. Even my name is. The stats are all listed as not available, and there are a lot of blacked rows under Core Skills and Skills. The [System] said there were no solutions.¡± Adam¡¯s frustration was rising. Another hot pulse rode from his heart to his head, and anger rode along with it.


    ¡°Well,¡± Nick started helplessly. ¡°Maybe you will get something later. I don¡¯t know. Can you see the tags over everyone¡¯s head?¡±


    Adam looked up and for the first time noticed that everyone had words floating over their head. Nick¡¯s read ¡°Scout [0]¡±. Everyone else also had their class and what he presumed to be their level listed where people could see. Adam couldn¡¯t see that as anything but a terrible idea. What if the invaders could see that too? They¡¯d know exactly who to attack first. Another frown flicked onto Adam¡¯s face.


    ¡°I guess you can see them,¡± Nick continued. ¡°The weird thing is that you don¡¯t have one. Everyone else does.¡± A big sigh came out of Nick. ¡°Listen, I don¡¯t want to just dump you here in this state but I want to check with a few other people. I¡¯ll check more classrooms and see if anyone else is tagless like you.¡±


    Another hot pulse went through Adam. Another wave of anger, this time towards Nick. Adam had to try to calm himself, tell himself that Nick wasn¡¯t abandoning him, that it will take a few more days before everything settles and Adam would know more by then. He felt like it was akin to when an athlete is injured, and the rest of the team finds reasons to be away from him. Adam knew it wasn¡¯t Nick¡¯s fault, or reasonable to be angry at him, but he felt it anyway.


    Since Adam hadn¡¯t said anything, Nick put another hand on his shoulder before he turned and slipped out of the classroom.


    Adam tried to stay calm and get his emotions under control, but it felt like a failure. The hot pulses continued and an uncharacteristic anger flowed through him drowning out his surroundings. He barely heard or registered when the rest of the day proceeded with announcements that everyone was to go straight home, that classes were cancelled tomorrow, and for everyone to stay calm while the authorities figured everything out. There was no chance of people paying attention to teachers or lessons as students were too busy trying to figure out who to group with and how to earn XP. Not a single person spoke with or approached Adam as the school day ended and he walked home in isolation.

 CH 3: The Alley

    CHAPTER 3: The Alley


    "Kids! Are you here?¡± Adam heard his mother call out as she came in the door. There was more intensity to it then when she normally came home.


    Emily responded to her from the kitchen while Adam sat in the living room playing Halo on his older Xbox. ¡°Yeah, getting a snack and Adam is playing in the other room.¡±


    Adam was having a hard time. He had pulled out his old Xbox and threw in Halo to kill some aliens. He needed a distraction from what was going on inside of him. Walking home from school made it clear just how wrong something was. Never had so much emotion just flowed through him. The emotions didn¡¯t even feel targeted towards anything. Was he disappointed he hadn¡¯t gotten a class? Sure. Was he concerned that he had been told his soul was corrupt? Of course. Yet he didn¡¯t feel like he was missing out strongly enough to justify the anger.


    While walking from the school to home, the hot pulses tried to spread. They were mostly blocked from his head, but they were now moving through his limbs and stomach. There would come a pulse, followed by heat, then anger, and a strong desire to lash out at people. A desire to take down those around him. Maybe he was becoming a monster. No one said that the invaders were physical, right? Could he be taken over by one? Possessed? If he really focused, Adam felt like he could almost hear a voice within the pulse. Not through his ears, but through his whole being.


    The text from Nick on the way home just made him feel isolated. Nick had almost missed his bus standing at the gates while checking for another tagless person and found no one else in the school. While it showed that Nick was a good friend, and concerned for him, it also highlighted his situation.


    More aliens died in the video game as Adam continued to play, able to ignore the pulsing and just veg thanks to the game he had mastered years ago. Then a gasp caught his attention.


    ¡°Adam! Are you alright?¡± His mom was standing in the doorway, though Emily pushed past her and plopped on the second sofa, perpendicular to the one Adam was on. Pressing pause, Adam looked at his mom.


    ¡°He has been like that since I got home,¡± Emily said. ¡°He barely speaks, just grunting. He won¡¯t even tell me how he hid his class tag.¡± Glancing first at his sister, Mage [0], then to his mom standing in the doorway, Support [0], he tried to speak.


    ¡°I¡­¡± Adam¡¯s voice cracked and he realized how dry his mouth was. His throat barely moved as he tried to swallow. He had to take a sip of water before he could continue. ¡°I didn¡¯t hide the tag. I didn¡¯t get a class.¡±


    ¡°You didn¡¯t take one?¡± Emily jumped in before his mom could question it.


    ¡°No, I tried to take [Protector] but it told me my soul space was full.¡± Talking about soul corruption seemed like a very bad idea to Adam. Being studied or imprisoned seemed likely should more people find out. Just being called corrupted had made Adam scared. He regretted mentioning it to Nick and just hoped the outgoing guy could keep it to himself.


    ¡°Is that why you look sick? Your skin is reddish, and your eyes are a bit bloodshot.¡± Concern showed on his mom¡¯s face.


    ¡°I definitely don¡¯t feel right. My body is hot, and I feel more angry than normal. In fact, I feel more everything than normal.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­I¡¯m going to post on my social networks to see if anyone else is missing a tag,¡± Emily said as she whipped out her phone.


    ¡°Just don¡¯t tell anyone about me!¡± Adam snapped uncharacteristically, growling at his sister.


    ¡°Adam!¡± scolded his mother. ¡°I¡¯m definitely getting concerned. I¡¯m going to call our doctor and some urgent care centers.¡±


    ¡°Just don¡¯t try a hospital,¡± Emily said without even looking up from her phone. ¡°The news feeds say they are completely full with people concerned about the [System]. The parking lots are so crowded that no one can reach the emergency room.¡±


    Unsure of what to do, and trying to ignore the pulses, Adam turned back to the TV and went back to playing. His mom went into the kitchen for her calls and Emily sat around for a while trying to engage Adam, then left when he wouldn¡¯t respond.


    ***


    Dinner was difficult. Adam kept his head down, grunting responses. He was surprised to see his dad¡¯s tag, Protector [0], but couldn¡¯t really see his dad using any class, so he just accepted it. His mother and father discussed how he might be sick, why he was tagless, and that no doctor, clinic, emergency center, or hospital could see him. Eating his whole meal and then having seconds and thirds at least reassured his mom, though Adam was confused why he ate so much, as if his body was burning more fuel. No one else at dinner had that trouble. Adam just sighed and kept his head down.


    Sleeping was even harder. The pulses burned through his body and even when his mind felt cool he just couldn¡¯t relax or sleep. There was too much. He tried bringing up different windows that the [System] had made available, tried commands to see if there were help docs, but nothing would come up. Everything was so brief and unexplained. Over and over, he would bring up his broken status and the message about soul corruption, but no matter how hard he looked or what he tried, no new info was forthcoming. Eventually, around 4am, he finally fell asleep but still woke at 8am, sweating through the sheets.


    While Adam ate breakfast, he watched the news. The news was full of people panicking, but no police or military had found the invaders that the [System] mentioned. Doctor interviews explained that no tests had shown differences in people, whether brain scans or physical tests. It all felt much ado about nothing, unfocused panic in the public.


    Adam¡¯s mom had stayed home from the bank she worked at, while his father went out. His mom would switch between focusing on the phone, trying to find any doctor with appointments to see him, and babying him. Brushing her off and trying to reassure her got him some space but that was about it. By 10am he was sick of being home, feeling ready to burst in anger, and decided to go for a walk, much to his mother¡¯s discouragement.


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    Wearing a light jacket with a hood to cover his red tinted arms, he went out. His body had craved exercise after he ate a box and a half of cereal and an entire carton of milk. Even though Adam was in adequate shape for his age he had never craved exercise. Now what started as a light walk turned into a jog, which would turn into sprints, and while that increased his heart rate and the pulses, it didn¡¯t seem to make him tired.


    The outskirts of Jackson weren¡¯t huge, but they did support enough businesses, most small locally owned, with enough chain stores included. The main street branched off and there were about eight longer streets with businesses and stores. Adam had run through those and around the border of the commercial area. It surprised him to see so little traffic and few cars parked at this time of day. Many stores were closed.


    ¡°I guess there is concern everywhere, not just for me,¡± Adam said to himself. Now that he was finished running and had slowed down, he felt the pulses pulling back and staying in his chest, no longer flooding his arms and legs. The coolness in his head exerted itself and almost cleansed the rest of his body. All the concern began to feel silly, and peace filled him. A smile crossed his face.


    Thump! His heart beat hard and collided with the cool peace. Thump! Again. The smile quickly turned into a frown. Something was wrong. How could he go from angry to hunky-dory at the drop of a hat. The concern returned. Something was manipulating Adam and he needed to figure out what.


    Stopping to look around, Adam realized he was near some junky warehouses a few blocks from his school. It was midday and the lighting caused the two-story buildings to shadow the wide streets and entry ways. These buildings weren¡¯t used any more. Adam didn¡¯t even know who owned them and they weren¡¯t kept in good repair.


    Mocking laughter two warehouses down caught his attention. Cautiously Adam moved from the road into the shadows of the nearest building. If people were causing trouble, he wanted to stay out of it.


    Looking more closely, Adam saw the bully Tom stooped over with his arm around Brandon¡¯s shoulders. The position was clearly more for intimidation that comradery or hurting him. Joseph and Randall were on either side of them, hedging him in. Elias was leaning against a building with a small book in his hand, barely even paying attention to the scene. Lucas was facing them all several paces away with his arms crossed, like he was an adult watching children play.


    Tom was reaching down with his other hand and tapping on something hanging from Brandon¡¯s side. Focusing in on it, Adam thought it looked like a sword. Heh, he almost laughed himself thinking of Brandon wielding a sword.


    ¡°Really? You gonna go fight something? Maybe a dragon?¡± Tom snickered. Brandon¡¯s head was down, not willing to make eye contact.


    ¡°Well, I just think I should be ready for the invaders,¡± Brandon mumbled in response, so quietly Adam could barely hear. ¡°If we need to level up then I have to work on my fighting skills.¡±


    ¡°Fighting skills?¡± barked Tom. ¡°You have fighting skills? That¡¯s a laugh! Have you ever done any training?¡±


    At that Brandon sunk even further into himself. ¡°Just karate when I was in second grade. But I can learn.¡±


    ¡°How can you learn out here?¡± This time Randall dug into him, poking his shoulder. ¡°Besides that isn¡¯t even a real sword. Just some bought movie prop.¡± Tom and Joseph snickered.


    Watching the scene, Adam just shook his head. It was too easy. Low hanging fruit. These guys were just so pathetic. At least he knew they wouldn¡¯t really hurt Brandon. Turning to leave, Adam froze when he heard Lucas speak.


    ¡°Yeah, we should all learn to fight,¡± Lucas said as if it was all a matter of course. ¡°How about you and I have a spar to sharpen our skills?¡± Lucas turned and walked into an alley between buildings. The other three followed, with Tom leading Brandon. When they were out of view even Elias straightened, not looking away from his book, and followed them into the alley.


    A large sigh left Adam. So much for not hurting him. I really don¡¯t want to get involved, but even Brandon doesn¡¯t deserve it. Thinking of Brandon getting beat up did not sit well with Adam. Anger built in him. Little Brandon and big Lucas wouldn¡¯t end in a David and Goliath situation.


    Thump! His heartbeat spread the hot pulse and the anger flowed throughout his body. Thump! More heat flooded through him as his heart rate increased. The cool in his mind pulling back, as if allowing the heat, instead of trying to stop it for once. The word that Adam knew was in the heat but he couldn¡¯t hear was influencing him.


    Is the pulse showing concern for Brandon? That thought caused no change. Maybe it just likes fights? That thought got his heart to pulse. ¡°Damn!¡±


    He stepped as lightly as he could and moved cautiously as he approached the alley they went into. Bursts of laughter kept coming out from it. Looking around the corner, Adam saw that they were yet to start getting physical. Lucas was in front of Brandon in a boxer¡¯s pose with his jacket thrown to the side. Randall and Joseph were blocking the path they had come from to prevent Brandon from running, as if he would. Elias was leaning on the wall and Tom was pestering Brandon to draw the sword.


    Adam stopped paying attention to the taunting and set his phone on the ground to record what was happening. Even if he got beat up too, at least he could press charges. The alleyway was very poorly lit, shadows on both sides and almost completely devoid of light towards where three buildings connected. After checking to make sure the phone could show the scene, and hitting record, he casually walked into the alley.


    ¡°Really, Lucas? Is there any meaning to punching Brandon?¡± Randall and Joseph split apart and let Adam walk through. Elias looked up from his book.


    Lucas crossed his arms and let out a fake sigh. ¡°We were all just playing. If you heard this then you know we were all going to train together. For the invasions.¡± A charming smile appeared on his face.


    Adam arrived at Tom and Brandon and, standing behind Tom, put his hand on the wrist that was around Brandon. He lifted Tom¡¯s arm so that Brandon was no longer under its weight.


    ¡°Go home, Brandon. I¡¯ll see you at school tomorrow.¡± The pulses inside Adam were throbbing heavily now, the sound as strong in his ears as someone talking. The coolness had let the heat and anger in, and he was sure he was unable to think clearly.


    ¡°B-But, Adam¡­¡± Brandon started to stammer. Then his eyes met Adam¡¯s glare. Brandon flinched and unexpectedly trembled. When dealing with the bullies Brandon had seemed resolved to what happened, but the simple look from Adam caused him to radiate fear. He glanced at Lucas, Tom, and Randall in turn and then fled as fast as he could. ¡°S-s-see you in school tomorrow.¡± Then Brandon was gone leaving Adam confused.


    The confusion didn¡¯t last long as a blow hit Adam in the back of the head, knocking him towards the ground. He caught himself with his front foot before falling, his knee bent forward. Adam had expected some kind of discourse before violence. Bringing his arms to the side to protect his head he felt a kick land on his left arm where his jaw was.


    Tom was smirking down on him and raising his right arm. Now the discourse began. ¡°What gives you the right to mess with us? You have the hero tag hidden somewhere?¡±


    Adam felt stupid. He had forgotten about the classes. It was like his mind had ignored them. A quick thought and he realized everyone but Elias had the [Warrior] class. Even Brandon had it, with Elias having the [Mage] class. Damnit, that probably meant they had a skill too.


    The punch came at Adam while he had one leg bent low, refusing to drop to a kneel.


    Adam wasn¡¯t sure who said it, but he heard clearly, ¡°Maybe beating you will get us to level 1.¡±

 CH 4: The Shadows

    CHAPTER 4: The Shadows


    Thump! His heart rate increased. Fury flowed through his veins. Thought retreated as Adam¡¯s body moved. The punch felt slow and there was plenty of time for Adam to shift to his own right while leaning his weight on his bent leg. He then pushed upwards towards Tom. The punch came down next to him with Tom¡¯s momentum bringing him closer to Adam¡¯s head. Adam¡¯s upward moving forehead contacted Tom¡¯s downward coming face. A wet crunch echoed out as Tom¡¯s nose smashed inwards, not even stopping Adam¡¯s upward movement. By the time Joseph had stepped towards Adam¡¯s right side and threw a punch at Adam¡¯s face, Tom was falling backwards with blood spraying out, his nose looking like a crater that was sucking the rest of his face inward.


    Adam didn¡¯t have time to look at Tom as he felt Joseph¡¯s punch coming. He didn¡¯t turn to face it, instead he dropped down to duck, and then spun left bringing his elbow into Joseph¡¯s gut, harder than he thought possible. As Joseph bent double, Adam stood while continuing to spin. He saw the stunned look on Randall¡¯s face and stepped forward. Adam¡¯s right fist landed on Randall¡¯s cheek, knocking him sideways.


    In three pulses of his anger, the bullies were knocked to the pavement and blood had been drawn. Blood. Adam stared at the blood leaking out of Tom¡¯s nose and felt the heat building more. He barely heard it when Lucas spoke while moving towards him.


    ¡°I never expected you to be a fighter, Adam. You were just always there, never doing anything. Guess you¡¯ve been holding out on us.¡± Lucas put his hands up into a boxer pose. ¡°I¡¯ve been boxing since I was a kid. Let¡¯s see how we do against each other.¡±


    The words were lost on Adam as the pulses became a steady river, moving him forward. No longer was the heat and anger pulsing through him. It had now suffused him, flowing in paths like water through all of his body and limbs. All along his muscles and tendons, his skin roared with a command. What had been a whisper that had been hidden in the pulses now became a shout. A shout so loud that the word blew away his conscious thoughts.


    The edge of Adam¡¯s consciousness awakened. You need to calm down! Adam felt that thought trying to come out of the small spot of coolness in his head, failing amidst the river of heat. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Then another. However, on the third breath a scent rose in his nose. A delicious, addictive scent. His heat cooled a little at the smell.


    Adam opened his eyes, curious what it was. What he saw was his fingers in front of his nose coated with blood, blood that had been wiped off of Tom¡¯s crushed face. The mix of desire and disgust collided and froze him, which was why he didn¡¯t see the fist coming towards his own face.


    Staggering backwards after being punched just below his left eye, Adam snapped his vision back to Lucas. Lucas was pulling his arm back but looked horrified.


    ¡°What the hell?! Seriously! Are you sick? Who the hell looks happy sniffing blood?!¡± Lucas screamed at him while throwing another punch.


    Being hit had knocked his thoughts away, triggering the heat once more and the river was back, flowing throughout him, raging forward to carry the heat and anger, too rapid for his thoughts to surface. It raged through all of his being. Adam¡¯s eye snapped to Lucas, and he lunged. A quick left jab from Lucas was dodged to his own left as Adam¡¯s gaze firmed on Lucas. He brought his right-hand swinging to the side, catching where Lucas¡¯s ribs met his obliques. Lucas grunted at that but had no way to get his defense up as Adam followed with a strong right into his stomach.


    Lucas grunted and hissed as air was pushed out of him, but he was used to taking hits and he shifted his weight back, towards the shadows of the alley. Instead of using a boxing move, Lucas brought his right arm down from overhead towards Adam¡¯s shoulder. Adam caught the arm by the wrist and trapped it between his own hand and shoulder.


    Then something caught Adam¡¯s attention. It was too subtle to know what it was. Lucas was still trying to throw a punch with his left hand. The river was still raging inside, the inner command still being shouted, but Adam noticed just a speck of coolness force the heat away from the front of his mind. Enough to allow his thoughts to realize that there was something he couldn¡¯t see that was different. Something was wrong, and he couldn¡¯t see what. No, he was made unable to see it.


    Then a feeling of revulsion and pure hatred radiated from the river flowing through him. The feelings were so strong they shocked Adam into awareness. Never had Adam felt so much hate towards anything, but inside the river and heat it felt justified. Fury born of something Adam couldn¡¯t understand took him over.


    Adam turned his head to the darkness of the shadows, took a grazing punch to his head behind his ear from Lucas, and then he jumped away from the shadows as hard as he could. He clamped down on Lucas¡¯s wrist and pulled, bring Lucas with him.


    Before he was done pulling, a stone knife came swinging out of the shadow and landed on Lucas¡¯s arm. A sharp bone crunching crack echoed in the alley followed by Lucas¡¯s scream as his arm went limp and he dropped to the ground. Had Adam not pulled him, that knife would have taken him in the back ribs.


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    A quick look showed Adam that the knife wasn¡¯t the only weapon, as a stone axe also emerged from where Lucas had been. The shadows opened as two hideous forms stepped into the light. They were green skinned, with heads almost as large at their torsos, balanced on a thick neck. Large green ears swept to their side. The noses were enormous with bloated lips and teeth so jagged that they pushed their own lips away from them. Their height was a little shorter than Adam¡¯s. They were lanky and yet not lacking muscle. Animal skins were covering their chest and groin, but dirt covering most of their oversized feet and legs. What could have been considered hair looked more like weeds jutting from the worst garden ever.


    ¡°W-what the hell are those?¡± Randall stammered out. He and Joseph had gotten to their feet and pulled Tom back to not interfere with Lucas¡¯s fight. Big grins spread across the monsters¡¯ faces when they saw the human¡¯s fear. They stepped forward holding their weapons up.


    Joseph turned towards the exit of the alley ready to run for it, and then froze as he saw two more of the monsters. One had a wooden club and the other a stone axe.


    A hiss sounded from the dagger wielding one when Lucas¡¯s scream died out. Lucas¡¯s face was pale and looked scared, showing more expression than Adam had ever seen on him before. Adam looked at the two before him. ¡°Assassin [4]¡± stood above the dagger wielding one¡¯s head and ¡°Enforcer [4]¡± was above the other. The two at the front of the alley were a ¡°Brawler [3]¡± and another ¡°Enforcer [4]¡±.


    ¡°Human whelps lucky,¡± hissed the assassin, sounding like a bad movie snake who had only learned broken English. ¡°One second longer. You be dead.¡±


    ¡°W-w-what do we do?¡± trembled Joseph. He and Randall were trying to get as far behind the infirmed Tom as they could.


    The river was still rushing through Adam, but that tiny speck of coolness grew. However, instead of the coolness fighting the heat, this time it seemed to flow into the heat, penetrating it as both sensations moved through him. They didn¡¯t blend, but they allowed the other to exist, the cold facilitating the heat, keeping it from building up inside. The raging was happening inside him, and the river was flowing throughout. Instead of the river sweeping him away with it, the cold allowed it to move while anchoring him outside. The command that had been a whisper too quiet to hear, the word that had been so loud with the river that he couldn¡¯t make it out started to clear up.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you guys got a kick ass skill with your Warrior class?¡± Adam asked without much hope.


    ¡°N-n-no. We got [Sturdy Weapon] which makes our weapons 5% more solid,¡± Randall stammered.


    ¡°And do you have weapons with you?¡± Adam asked while staring at the assassin, who smiled back at him menacingly.


    ¡°N-no?¡± Joseph asked unhelpfully.


    ¡°Why was that a question?¡± Adam asked Joseph while keeping his voice steady, allowing the cold and heat to flow.


    ¡°I have a [Mana Dart],¡± Elias added as he slid to the midpoint of the alley. ¡°One point of damage per shot with only mana enough for two shots.¡±


    Adam sighed. ¡°Now the enemies know how useless you are, Elias. You should have just made something up.¡±


    The assassin hissed in laughter. ¡°Already knew. All useless.¡± Then it pointed to Adam. ¡°Confusion had. No class shows. Why?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m too strong for a class. You should go elsewhere before you find out firsthand,¡± Adam bluffed.


    More laughter hissed and the assassin did an approximation of a shrug. A real shrug probably would have knocked its oversized head off.


    Adam gave the grouped bullies a sympathetic look. ¡°Well, guys, try to stay alive.¡± Horror sprouted on their faces.


    Then Adam turned to the assassin as the enforcer moved towards Lucas, clutching his broken arm on the ground. It was swollen and bruised in a very unhealthy-looking way.


    Adam reached inside. The river had swelled as much as it could. His muscles and joints were hot, but the coolness kept them from overheating. Adam knew he was ready, and he could finally make out the command. The single word that was a part of the river, a new part of himself. A word that became solid as he looked at the monsters in front of him.


    CONQUER! Screamed the river.


    The assassin darted forward towards Adam. His dagger suddenly flashed red and then thrust at Adam¡¯s gut faster than should have been possible. It must have been a skill, Adam thought.


    Dodging to the left, the dagger missed his stomach but scratched his side. It was made of stone and had no edge, but the jagged bits still tore his shirt and skin. Before the assassin could pull it back, Adam clamped his arm down trapping the assassin. Then he brought his right knee up into the loin cloth.


    A new kind of hiss came out as the assassin popped off the ground from the force of Adam¡¯s knee. Adam planted his leg back down before the assassin landed and then swung the flat of his left hand down on the elbow of the arm he had trapped. The joint snapped and became useless. The stone knife fell to the ground.


    The assassin staggered backwards, giving Adam enough room to grab the knife off the ground and then dive at the assassin¡¯s side. The assassin¡¯s arm was useless, so it tried to turn to protect itself from the blow Adam was aiming at his gut, but that was a feint. Adam instead raised his arm so that it came upwards, driving the stone knife under the chin and into its head. The monster¡¯s head was so big that while it hurt the creature, nothing fatal was hit by the short knife. However, the assassin was in bad shape.


    Adam ripped out the knife as indelicately as possible and then turned it and drove it into the side of the neck. Blue blood gurgled up from the monster and Adam figured that even if it wasn¡¯t dead yet, it wasn¡¯t going anywhere.


    CONQUER! His insides roared.


    Turning to see the slow-moving enforcer speed up after watching him fight the assassin, Adam rushed towards Lucas. As the enforcer raised his stone axe above Lucas he was tackled by Adam and driven into the ground. Adam didn¡¯t wait upon landing, and brought his fist down on the enforcer¡¯s throat, even while clutching the dagger. After two throat punches to soften it up, he dragged the dagger from one side of the neck to the other. The enforcer¡¯s hands dropped the axe and grasped his throat, allowing Adam to jam the stone knife up its nostril and into what he hoped was a brain.


    Before the monster had even finished spasming, a message popped into Adam¡¯s view.


    Goblin ¡°Enforcer [4]¡± slain. 54 XP gained.


    Adam willed the window away and grabbed the stone axe. He rose to his feet while breathing hard. Looking back to the others, Adam croaked, ¡°Two down, and who knows how many invaders left to go.¡±

 CH 5: I Wasn鈥檛 the One Who Lost

    CHAPTER 5: I Wasn¡¯t the One Who Lost


    There was no sharp edge to the stone axe, making Adam feel it was more of a bludgeon than an axe. He turned quickly and saw Elias being laughed at as he fired a [Mana Dart] at the brawler. The other enforcer was still approaching the three huddled bullies, doing it slowly with a smile on its face, clearly enjoying bullying them.


    Putting on as much speed as he could towards Elias, Adam threw the stone axe at the brawler. Surprise showed on the brawler¡¯s face as it turned in time to see the axe. A red flash happened and then the brawler leaned back just out of range of the spinning axe, impossible to do without a skill.


    While the brawler was still leaning back, Elias stepped forward and kicked it in the side of the knee. It wasn¡¯t strong enough to damage the knee, but it did delay the brawler from straightening in time. Adam reached them and brought his fist down in what he hoped was the most vulnerable part, the monster¡¯s eye. With such a big head its features were overly large too, including the eyes. Each eye was significantly larger than Adam¡¯s fist, so he punched the one close to him as hard as he could.


    A pop sounded and ichor splatted from the ruptured eye. Adam had hit the monster¡¯s right eye from the side, and the monster spun in fury, swinging its wooden club. Adam only had time to bring his right arm up to block the club, feeling a pop in the arm but stopping its force. What he didn¡¯t stop was the left hand from raking its filthy claws across his face. Fortunately, the claws missed his own eyes, instead drawing blood in three lines from his nose towards his jaw.


    The brawler let out a guttural sound. Adam barely saw the enforcer that had been bothering the others turn to come aid the brawler. Adam had no weapon and now his right arm was painful and swelling. He jumped back to create some space. The brawler didn¡¯t force the fight, slowly turning and bringing the club into a fighting position. It was breathing heavily with gore and blood flowing down it¡¯s face from the punctured eye.


    Swinging the club at him and stepping forward, the brawler tried to maneuver Adam into the path of the enforcer. Swing, step. Swing, step. While the movements weren¡¯t faster than Adam, he didn¡¯t think he could get through it and attack the brawler.


    When the enforcer was about halfway to him. Joseph suddenly rushed forwards and tackled the enforcers leg from behind. As its knee fell, Randall reached under the back of its head and wrapped around its throat, trying to choke it. The enforcer dropped its axe to grab Randall¡¯s arms, easily twisting them off its throat. Tom seized the chance and grabbed the axe. Then he swung it at the enforcers stomach. The enforcer grunted, but that was it.


    Tom scowled and, after looking at the enforcer with disappointment, threw the axe at Adam. Seeing the axe coming, he called for Elias. Elias, understanding Adam wanted help, distracted the brawler by running up and grabbing its hair, yanking the head back. Clearly the monsters were stronger than a bunch of teenage boys and it barely affected the brawler. However, it was enough.


    CONQUER! The river cried.


    Adam grabbed the flying axe out of the air and then jumped at the wall near him. The brawler swung his club, but Adam kicked off the wall flipping backwards and thrusting the axe head into the brawler¡¯s other eye. He couldn¡¯t drive it as deep as he wanted from the movement, but the brawler was screaming and reaching for him. Adam side stepped, grabbed the axe handle and twisted it into the skull, then levered it back as hard as he could.


    Goblin ¡°Brawler [3]¡± slain. 20 shared XP gained.


    Turning towards the final opponent, Adam saw that the enforcer had backed the three against the wall. Randall was holding his arm with deep scratches in his shirt and blood dripping down that hand. Tom was still leaking blood from his nose, bruising happening all around it. Joseph was standing gingerly on his leg. The enforcer didn¡¯t have his axe, but his fist and claws were certainly dangerous enough.


    CONQUER!


    Adam dashed the short distance. Before he was even there, he took an underhand grip of the axe with both hands and swung it upwards. The axe met the underside of the goblin¡¯s head where it extended backwards. The force of the blow knocked its head down and forwards against its chest. The goblin must have been rattled by that because there was no movement before Adam swung the axe sideways and into its neck, cracking its spine. The goblin dropped, life fading from its eyes.


    Goblin ¡°Enforcer [4]¡± slain. 24 shared XP gained.


    At that message the other three relaxed. Then they realized Adam, covered in goblin blood and gore, was scowling at them while still holding the axe. They all took a big breath in relief when he turned away from them to look around, making sure no more goblins were going to pop out. Then Adam took his own breaths, trying to calm the river.


    CONQUER! It said to him. Adam reached inside and felt the coolness that was anchoring him in the river. He heard the whispers and the shouts to conquer. Then he reached for the coolness and pulled it back to his mind. As he did, the river calmed and the heat returned to his heart, no longer radiating fury. Whatever that was, the fight seemed to have been enough to calm it. For now.


    The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    As Adam turned towards where Lucas was, still on the ground, the other four followed. Three were quiet, but Tom let his mouth flap enough for all of them.


    ¡°Dude! DUDE! Who the heck are you? Did you get the class [The Matrix, I know kung fu]? That was crazy!¡± His voice was constantly interrupted by the blood bubbling in his nose. Adam found it gross, but he himself was covered in the blood and guts of creatures that he had killed. Adam decided he would tolerate Tom¡¯s blood gurgling.


    He had killed. Three times. Soon to be four. Goblins. Monsters. Monsters were real and the invasion was real. The realization hit him strongly, but surprisingly didn¡¯t trigger any new emotions in him. It felt¡­almost natural. The [System] was here and strength would be needed. He had no class, so how was he going to get stronger? Did the soul corruption allow him to fight like this?


    ¡°¡­We thought no tag meant you were weak. Screw that. Beat the four of us then four goblins and saved our lives. You fricking saved our lives! Dude! Sorry we attacked you, and not just because you saved us. You are a great guy! I think I have enough XP for a level thanks to you. This is going to be awesome!¡± Tom continued to ramble on.


    Adam thought about not having a class. Then he realized, he HAD gotten XP. That should mean he can level SOMETHING, right?


    Windows popped into his view as he willed them to. Beside his status he found one for [Evolutions], which was blank, one for [Skills], which was covered in black marks and scrambled characters, and one for [Levels]. On the [Levels] window was a message.


    You have enough XP to level your class or your body. Which will you level?


    [ Class / Body / Cancel]


    Adam clicked on ¡°Class¡±. There was a pause and then another message popped up.


    Soul corruption found. Class unable to level.


    Adam froze mid step. Everyone stopped behind him. Even Tom stopped talking.


    ¡°If my class is unable to level,¡± Adam thought to himself, ¡°then I do have a class. But how did I get one without choosing? And what class is it that it keeps making me hot and cold and so damn angry?¡±


    Restarting his walk forward, everyone else did too, though this time Tom was quieter and looking concerned. Adam walked past the hissing and bleeding assassin. The others looked at it nervously, but Adam just passed it by until he got to Lucas.


    ¡°Give me a hand up?¡± Lucas said, pretending that he wasn¡¯t just picking a fight with Adam before the goblins appeared. Adam took his left arm, by the armpit, and easily hauled him to his feet. Lucas winced at the pain in his broken right arm but then nodded to the assassin. ¡°What about him?¡±


    A stone axe was thrust into Lucas¡¯s left hand. ¡°You need a level,¡± Adam replied as they all watched Lucas go to the assassin and ruthlessly bring the axe down on his throat.


    Goblin ¡°Assassin [4]¡± slain. 24 shared XP gained.


    Conquer! A whisper said inside Adam. Then he nodded. Lucas came back over, looking barely able to stand. He had left the stone axe by the corpse.


    ¡°What do we do now?¡± Randall asked. ¡°Do we, like, loot them or something?¡±


    Everyone turned to him as one. Even Adam chuckled.


    ¡°Loot them!? Do you think they have anything on them, dumbass? Stone weapons. We can go buy BETTER than stone weapons. They are freaking gross. Probably diseased. Your arm will probably fall off from those nasty cuts,¡± Tom ranted. Randall looked at his arm in horror.


    ¡°Tom and Lucas need to get to the hospital. You probably should too, Randall. Check if there are any biological issues. Say it was a wild animal and you need to be tested, or something,¡± Adam interrupted Tom. Then began walking away. ¡°I am going home. To a shower. And disinfectant. And a bed.¡± Everyone nodded at that.


    ¡°Well, see you tomorrow in school, buddy,¡± Tom said cheerfully as he waved.


    Adam was sore and hurting, but not as badly as he should be. He shrugged, figuring it was something about his damaged class. This really needed to get figured out. Too bad there wasn¡¯t a help desk somewhere.


    Heading home, he stopped only to pick up his cell phone. With a black eye from Lucas, and scratch marks across his face from the brawler, not to mention torn cloths and scratches on his side, Adam was glad there weren¡¯t many people around to see him as he walked home.


    ***


    As he entered the house around 3pm, Adam could still hear his mother on the phone. Except instead of talking to doctors it sounded like she was talking with a friend to complain about doctors.


    ¡°I¡¯m home,¡± Adam said as he entered, hoping that his mom didn¡¯t hear. Unfortunately, she did, and he heard her scramble to him with a ¡°I¡¯ll call you back¡± aimed towards the phone. His mom was talking to him even before she got into the room.


    ¡°Adam! I¡¯ve been so worried! You left hours ago. I¡¯m still trying to get a doctor to¡­¡± and then she stopped talking as she laid eyes on him. She gasped. Then gasped again. She reached towards him in shock, then pulled her hand away upon noticing all the stains. He had tried to wash his clothes off with the outside hose as much as he could, then wring out the water. That had only taken care of the top layers of gore. There were so many stains. These clothes were done for.


    ¡°What the hell happened?!¡± His mother yelled coming back to herself and finally reaching toward his face.


    ¡°I saw a classmate being bullied and tried to non-violently help him. It didn¡¯t work.¡±


    ¡°They did this to you? Why didn¡¯t you call the police instead?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. In the end we worked it out,¡± Adam nodded as if it was no big deal.


    ¡°Worked it out? With you looking like someone beaten and thrown in a dumpster?¡± His mom waved her arms as she yelled. Emily must have heard because she was soon peeking in the kitchen too, with her mouth hanging open. Then a click and flash from her phone.


    ¡°Emily!¡± Adam growled at her. She just smiled and ran. When he tried to get past his mom, she grabbed his right arm and he winced.


    ¡°Your arm too?¡± She groaned. ¡°Does this mean you are going to be bullied too? They do this to you now and then target you later?¡± She was practically in tears.


    ¡°Mom, I¡¯ll be fine. It was just a fight, and I will heal. No one will be bullying me. I do need to take a shower and throw out these clothes though.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have a [System] class and these boys might get stronger, so bullying will be even worse now,¡± she wailed.


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling better about the class issue after my walk. I¡¯m not concerned about it and I¡¯m not feeling ill anymore. I¡¯ll be fine.¡±


    ¡°But how do you know you won¡¯t be bullied?¡± She demanded.


    Adam started to walk past her to the stairs. He really needed to shower. Then he said absentmindedly, ¡°I know they won¡¯t bully me because I wasn¡¯t the one who lost the fight.¡±

 CH 6: Change Your Class

    CHAPTER 6: Change Your Class


    Adam was so bored. He tried checking his phone for sport highlights, but all sporting events had been canceled due to the [System]. He was sitting in class, but that was even more boring than usual. They were clearly only here to keep the students watched. The teacher was barely going through the motions as people chatted and talked about their status and the [System]. It was still big news, and no one knew how to handle it, however nothing had been reported by the authorities.


    Class after class had gone past and Adam just played lame games on his phone or stretched out on his desk. Whenever he would look up, he found people staring at him. A quick glare from him to let them know he saw them, and then they¡¯d jump and look away, as if realizing they just woke from a nightmare, unaware they had been looking to begin with. The reaction of people who had been around him for years was disappointing. They all kept their distance. At least until the school bell rang and the teacher rushed out. Most of the students meandered out too, so Adam grabbed his bag to go.


    His path was quickly blocked by Brandon staring up at his black eye and three scratches.


    ¡°I-I-I¡¯m so s-s-sorry they did that to you,¡± Brandon stuttered out, looking miserable. ¡°I knew they were up to no good but I just can¡¯t stop them. I¡¯m so sorry you were beaten instead of me.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Adam shook his head. ¡°Also, quit being a masochist. Stand up for yourself.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t do that. They just always find me when I¡¯m alone.¡±


    ¡°Well, guess it¡¯s up to you that you are ok with it,¡± shrugged Adam. Then he looked at Brandon¡¯s tag, thought for a minute, and stared Brandon in the face. ¡°They were right about one thing though. You aren¡¯t a warrior. Change your class.¡±


    ¡°W-what?!¡± Brandon was surprised. ¡°I want to be a warrior. A hero. I want to level and help save the world.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine to want it, but you have to be realistic. You don¡¯t have the toughness for it.¡±


    ¡°N-no! I will be a hero!¡± Brandon insisted, without a bit of believability about it.


    ¡°What hero? This will be a war. Wars are fought by soldiers. This isn¡¯t an RPG game where one person makes all the difference through luck and strength and plot holes. You won¡¯t make it as a hero and you definitely won¡¯t make it as a soldier,¡± Adam insisted. The longer this went on the more he frowned at Brandon.


    ¡°I-I-I can be a h-h-hero¡­¡± Brandon¡¯s stuttering was getting worse, making Adam scowl at him even more.


    ¡°You can¡¯t even talk to me without stuttering. How are you going to fight with your, and other people¡¯s, life on the line. Killing. Murdering. Slaughtering. That is what will be required. Will you be able to walk through the paths with corpses strewn about? To keep your sanity when friends and family die? Continue to fight while coated in blood and guts?¡±


    The longer Adam talked the more Brandon winced. Almost every word of Adam¡¯s was a weight placed on top of him. Brandon¡¯s eyes grew teary as he stared at the floor. The only response he could manage was more wordless stuttering. Feeling that his point was made, Adam once more gave a command.


    ¡°Change your class.¡±


    Another person rushed in and threw herself between Adam and Brandon, hands on hips.


    Are you bullying Brandon now too, Adam?¡± Brittney glared hard at him. Brittney was a touch shorter than Brandon, a hair over five feet tall. She had straw colored hair that could use a bit of conditioning and frumpy clothes that made her seem like she belonged in a library. She had ¡°Support [0]¡± above her head. She would be good looking if she didn¡¯t spend all her time lecturing people or mothering Brandon. She always got on people when it came to Brandon, yet that didn¡¯t stop him from being so pathetic.


    ¡°Not bullying. However, he does need to change his class.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s always been his dream to be a hero. Who are you to stop that now that he has a chance? Who are you to kill his dream?¡± Brittney demanded.


    ¡°Fine. Then he¡¯ll die,¡± Adam stated matter-of-factly and turned to leave, done with the conversation. Brittney froze.


    ¡°I took the support class so I can heal and protect him. What do you mean he¡¯ll die?¡± Brittney asked naively, but still bossily. As if this thought hadn¡¯t occurred to her and she needed time to explore it.


    ¡°He has had his whole life to toughen up. His whole life to train something. Lift some weights, do some exercise, learn some fighting techniques. You think level and stats will be enough that he won¡¯t freak out when scary monsters come at him? When aliens shoot at him? When other people with the same or greater strength start ordering him around? ¡°


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Brittney had her finger on her lips in thought.


    ¡°Yesterday he walked into an alley with the bullies who TOLD HIM they were going to beat him. He didn¡¯t struggle at all. What do you think will happen when it¡¯s his life on the line. Death can¡¯t be healed as far as I know. Your support will only lead to you causing his death.¡±


    ¡°When you put it like that I¡¯m not sure how to argue it.¡±


    Brandon¡¯s teary eyes shot up from the floor and stared at Brittney. ¡°You don¡¯t think I can do it?¡± He wailed.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t that I don¡¯t think you can¡­I just...well¡­think you¡­er¡­might¡­uh¡­excel¡­in other roles¡­¡± Brittney trailed off as she rambled.


    ¡°Like what?¡± demanded Brandon staring at her, obviously scared to look at Adam.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± Brittney¡¯s reaction was laughable, Adam thought. She was always so busy fighting FOR Brandon that she couldn¡¯t even think of his strengths. She looked to Adam, and he sighed.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    ¡°Brandon needs to go support. He would be a terrible healer, but he would be good at managing buffs and debuffs, or going the crafting route.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± conviction filling Brittney¡¯s words. ¡°Support! Brandon, change your class now!¡±


    ¡°Do I have to?¡± he whined. Adam could only sigh. It was like taking care of clueless kids.


    ¡°Yes, Brandon. I think this is best for you and it will make you happiest.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± he whined. It only took a moment for the tag that read ¡°Warrior [0]¡± to change to ¡°Support [0]¡±.


    Brittney watched it and then let out a relieved sigh. She turned to Adam with glittery eyes.


    ¡°Then I don¡¯t need to be a healer now, right? What should I be?¡± She demanded.


    Adam didn¡¯t even need to think about it. ¡°Warrior or protector. You are fierce and confrontational. You also genuinely want to protect Brandon.¡±


    After a few minutes of thought Brittney¡¯s tag changed too. ¡°Protector [0]¡± now floated above her head.


    ¡°By the way, Adam. What is your class? I can¡¯t see a tag.¡± Brittney inquired.


    ¡°Oh, the [System] didn¡¯t give me one.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have a class?¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t say that, just that the [System] didn¡¯t give me one.¡±


    ¡°Then how could you have a class,¡± demanded Brandon, suddenly realizing how wrong things sounded. That was when laughter burst out.


    ¡°HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! OMG that is the funniest thing!¡±


    There were three girls called the Triple As.  Andrea and Allisa were both boisterous.  Alissa was tall, with long legs, and could have been a model.  Her dyed blonde hair reached down her back and was always stylish, as if she had just come from a salon.  Both she and Andrea accessorized a lot, looking like they spent copious amounts on their outfits.


    Andrea¡¯s black hair only came down to her shoulders, but was also well styled, combining with her pepping and forceful attitude to give of a fun aura.  They seemed like they should be goth and mopey, wearing dark and black, but then would usually be cheery and had colorful accessories on them.  Andrea¡¯s outfits weren¡¯t as revealing as Alissa¡¯s, but neither seemed to dress inappropriately, staying fashionable.


    They were loud and direct, though usually not mean.  The third of their group, Abbey, was way more reserved and seemed prissy.  She was a few inches taller than Andrea but not nearly Alissa¡¯s height.  Her clothes looked expensive and conservative at the same time, quite the contrast to the others¡¯ clothes.  She always wore tasteful makeup and could be described as picturesque.  No one knew why she followed them around, but she had for years.  In this case it was Andrea speaking up.


    ¡°The classless one is forcing people to take a class using his scary face.¡±


    ¡°Scary face?¡± Adam asked. ¡°You mean the scratches?¡±


    ¡°Not the scratches, Adam, though those are way more than scratches. It¡¯s the way you look at people. You didn¡¯t used to do it but today whenever you glare it makes a scary vibe come out of you, as if the look would kill. I¡¯ve been watching all day and Brittney is the only one who resisted it. She should definitely be a warrior. Even the teachers got scared when they looked at you. Haha!¡± Another forced giggling fit took over Andrea.


    Adam looked at the three of them. Andrea and Allisa were both mages, and Abbey was a support. He shrugged, thinking those classes seemed appropriate. ¡°Your classes seem appropriate. No need for a scary face your way.¡±


    ¡°Haha, glad we meet your approval, tagless.¡± Andrea was still amused, and Allisa was giggling quite a bit. Abbey just stood behind them watching.


    Lifting his bag onto his back, Adam walked past everyone and to the stairs. His school classes were on the third floor. When he arrived at the second floor, he looked behind him and saw the group following him. Brandon seemed to want to get closer but was clearly intimidated while Brittney followed next to Brandon with a slight smile on her lips. The Triple As were several feet back but clearly watching him while whispering quietly and laughing.


    Pulling out his phone, he sent a text to Nick. ¡°Need scout. Skip bus. Meet @ gate.¡±


    The courtyard leading to the school was surprisingly empty. With all that was going on and how empty the streets had been yesterday; Adam figured a lot of people must be bunking down to wait things out, either waiting for the other shoe to drop or just trying to get some time while so much is in chaos. The news feeds talked about the crowded hospitals and the constant police calls. So many people were having to wait. It wasn¡¯t just happening in Jackson either. All police were running themselves around and all military were being deployed as peacekeepers as an emergency measure. Larger cities had rioting and increase in gang violence, but somehow there was no mention of invaders yet. Adam knew better.


    As he approached the front gate that connected the eight-foot-tall brick walls that surrounded the school, several familiar faces came inside. Adam¡¯s entourage suddenly stopped, except for Brittney who stood in front of Brandon protectively. Brandon whispered, ¡°Oh no! Not again!¡±


    ¡°Well, well, well, looking good with those scratches, Adam-o. You wouldn¡¯t believe what we had to do to get treated. Hospitals full. We had to call ambulances and wait half the night. Then spent most of today waiting for docs to be available. They stuck things up my nose to reset it. It was horrible. I still have the drugs in me. Those¡¯re less horrible.¡± Tom led those approaching, boisterous as always, with an added whistling from his nose whenever he spoke. His face was practically all black and blue, with bandages taped around it, not just the nose.


    Randall and Joseph followed a few feet behind, Randall¡¯s arm wrapped in gauze. Lucas¡¯s arm was in a cast and a sling. His face was a bit puffy, and Adam couldn¡¯t remember if he had gotten hit in it or if something else happened. Elias was looking around, surprisingly without a book.


    When Tom reached them, he put an arm around Adam, and those following Adam pulled back, concerned about what was about to happen. ¡°So, you know how it goes after yesterday right? That kind of beating doesn¡¯t end it. We¡¯ll be going again today.¡±


    Adam looked at Lucas who smirked at him and asked, ¡°You ready for this?¡±


    Surprise took everyone when Brandon determinedly pushed past Brittney and grabbed Tom¡¯s arm. ¡°No! No beatings! Leave Adam alone!¡±


    Even with all the bandages Tom¡¯s face showed his surprise as he looked down. He took his arm back from Adam. ¡°Oi, oi. The boy sudden grew some? Ha! But look at this,¡± Tom looked back at the bully group. ¡°He changed classes. No more warrior. No more hero. Hahahahahaha¡­.¡±


    Turned to the laughing Tom, Adam addressed him, ¡°I got him to change it with what Andrea calls my Scary Face, and apparently adopted him and his guardian. Better be nice because as a support you might need him to save your life. Wouldn¡¯t want old animosity to prevent that.¡±


    Tom¡¯s face turned still. He positioned himself directly in front of Brandon. Placing his hands on Brandon¡¯s shoulders he lowered his face to the same height and spoke with more sincerity than anyone had heard from Tom before. ¡°Brandon, we apologize for bullying you and hope that we can put it in the past. We will diligently work to make up for all the hardships we caused. Welcome to the team.¡±


    The other four bullies approached and each one nodded and patted Brandon on the shoulder. Brandon was stunned.


    ¡°I-I thought you were going to beat up Adam.¡±


    All the bullies laughed at that.


    ¡°No, no, no. We would never fight the boss. He spanked our asses yesterday and sent us home to mommy,¡± Tom smiled grandly then winced in pain from his face. Quite a few people gasped at the absurdity.


    ¡°Is that how you all got injured?¡± Brandon asked.


    ¡°He definitely did this to my face, but I now know he went easy on us. He even saved our lives,¡± Tom said seriously.


    Around that time Nick came hurrying over with two people behind him. He had a concerned look as he eyed the bullies.


    ¡°Great! You¡¯re here, Nick. Now we can go,¡± Adam smiled and started walking.


    The bullies all followed. Brandon and Brittney scrambled to follow. Even the Triple As got closer, making themselves part of the group.


    Nick got close to Adam and whispered, ¡°What¡¯s going on? What would you need scouts for? And why are you with them?¡±


    Tom ignored that it had been a whisper. ¡°We¡¯re going hunting,¡± he exclaimed with exuberance.


    ¡°Hunting?¡± Brandon questioned. ¡°What are we hunting?¡±


    Lucas turned back casually as he walked in the front. ¡°Goblins.¡±


    Andrea and Allisa burst out laughing.

 CH 7: Gearing Up on a Budget

    CHAPTER 7: Gearing Up on a Budget


    ¡°He was serious?!¡± Andrea demanded of Adam while everyone was gathered in the garden center of the nearby hardware store.


    ¡°I already said yes,¡± replied Adam, no real concern to it.


    ¡°Yes, but goblins?!¡±


    A sigh escaped Adam as he passed over his cell phone, video paused at where the goblin assassin came out of the shadow. The video of the fight wasn¡¯t great. It was blurry and zoomed out. The camera had been too far from where it happened, lots of moving bodies blocking the view, and Adam¡¯s motion tended to be blurry due to his speed. However, the goblins entering the alley near where the camera was set up was much clearer, and even from the back you could tell they weren¡¯t human. One clear thing the video captured was the blood and gore splatter when they died. That tended to linger in sight.


    There were lots of gasps while everyone who hadn¡¯t been there gathered behind Andrea to watch. No one took their eyes off the screen, and no one complained about being packed in closely. When the video finished there was only stunned silence, until Andrea replayed the video. Adam reach for his phone to stop her but she pulled it away. Laughter followed the tension as the beginning of the video showed the fight with the bullies.


    ¡°Wow!¡±


    ¡°Damn!¡±


    ¡°The hell?!¡±


    ¡°Adam,¡± Nick addressed him. ¡°All these years we¡¯ve been friends and you¡¯ve never shown the ability or interest to do that. How is this possible?¡±


    ¡°Well, I think I couldn¡¯t select a class because for some reason I got one without the [System], but it seemed to be broken. There is definitely something inside me now that is a bit scary.¡±


    ¡°Scary awesome! You are like an action star,¡± Andrea quipped, getting a lot of nods.


    ¡°That might be, but it also has been screwing with my emotions, especially anger. I get full of heat and fury and just attack. I¡¯m starting to figure it out, though in a fight be careful if I get too intense.¡±


    Carlos, one of the two Nick had brought along with Lamar, spoke up, ¡°This suddenly seems like it is going to get dangerous. I¡¯m excited to see what happens and scared that it won¡¯t be through a video. Anyway, glad to be a part of the group, but why are we in the garden center?¡±


    ¡°Weapons,¡± Lucas said quietly. ¡°Those bastards were tough, and we only survived because Adam could use their own weapons. Crappy stone weapons at that. We need something sharp and easy to get.¡±


    ¡°Sharp?¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°Almost everything used in gardens has a blade or edge or poky bit,¡± Joseph stated.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the plan,¡± interrupted Adam. ¡°The bullies¡­¡±


    ¡°Hey, boss!¡± Tom cut in indignantly. ¡°Get a better name for us.¡±


    ¡°¡­and I brought some money for a few things. We don¡¯t have enough for everyone, so if you guys want in on this fight contribute some. Otherwise leave now. No following out of curiosity. This is going to be a life and death situation. We need to be prepared, work together, and level while we do it. If you can¡¯t do that, walk.¡±


    Adam looked at everyone in turn and they nodded. Except for Abbey, who tried to hide behind the shorter Andrea, but even she nodded.


    ¡°Ok, so they should have machetes here or some hunting knives. Everyone with a fighting class needs one. Supports need something that will cut. I think a pair of clippers in case we get snagged on something or those box cutting razors. Then we need a few flashlights with lantern options, rope, zip ties, and something to sharpen blade quickly.¡±


    ¡°What about damage type?¡± Brittney hesitantly asks.


    ¡°Damage type?¡± Randall looks confused.


    ¡°Well, in all Brandon¡¯s games they have different types of damage. Um, blunt, piercing, and uh...¡±


    ¡°Slashing,¡± Brandon quietly adds.


    ¡°Right, slashing,¡± continued Brittney. ¡°There might be different situations where we need different things.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense.¡± Adam thought a moment. ¡°We should look at the larger hammers for the stronger people too. And something to use as spears for some length.¡±


    Lamar chose then to speak up. ¡°There are things called scrapers, they look like hoes but with a flat head. We could probably sharpen it to use as a spear until finding something better. It might be with the painting supplies.¡±


    Lucas looked around and then added, ¡°Probably just you and me for the hammers. I don¡¯t think the others will be strong enough yet. You and I can probably use sledgehammers.¡±


    Adam looked to his arm cast. ¡°Uh¡­¡± Embarrassment showed on Lucas¡¯s face.


    ¡°A-actually,¡± Abbey slinked out from behind Andrea while raising her hand slightly. ¡°I have a healing skill I could try.¡±


    ¡°Huh. That sounds interesting. Do all supports get a healing skill?¡± asked Adam.


    Brandon answered, ¡°when I took the class, I had a choice of three skills to take. I took one called [Bolster] that gives a slight stat boost.¡±


    ¡°Sounds interesting. Did everyone get a choice from three skills?¡± Everyone nodded. ¡°Guess that¡¯ll give us some variety and allow people to direct their future paths. Ok, Abbey, give your heal a try on Lucas.¡±


    Hesitantly, as if touching a snake, Abbey put her fingers on Lucas¡¯s hand. A very dim red flash appeared at the contact point and both people winced. There were two more flashes before she backed away.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have the mana for more,¡± informed Abbey.


    ¡°That feels better but probably needs about five more,¡± Lucas stated.


    ¡°Ok, that¡¯s a positive though. Abbey, whenever you have the mana, cast it on Lucas. Once he is better use it on Tom¡¯s face,¡± directed Adam towards Abbey. She gave a slight nod, so he continued. ¡°Now let¡¯s talk money. It¡¯s all moot if we don¡¯t have the cash for things. I brought $50.¡±


    ¡°$150 from my part time job,¡± Randall said.


    ¡°$100,¡± said Lucas.


    ¡°$60,¡± said Tom.


    Joseph just turned-out empty pockets and shrugged, earning him a grumpy head shake from Lucas.


    Everyone else emptied their wallets or purses. The amount in total wasn¡¯t great but it would get them quite a bit. Then Abbey spoke once more.


    ¡°Uh, here is my dad¡¯s emergency credit card. It had a $500 limit. As long as we pay it back before the end of the month, I can use it.¡±


    ¡°Terrific! Abbey is now our treasurer,¡± Adam said while smiling at her. ¡°You hold on to group funds and we¡¯ll discuss them when we need them. Now, Lucas and I will look at the heavier tools. Nick, Carlos, Lamar, and Brandon should get the blades. Tom, Randall, and Joseph get the other things I mentioned. Andrea and Alissa go find some cheap duffle bags or large bags for paint supplies. Also grab two cheap paint tarps and see if the place has any of those cheap rain ponchos, preferably in dark colors.¡±


    ¡°Rain ponchos?¡± Andrea asked.


    Tom burst out laughing, once more wincing due to his nose. ¡°Good call on that, Boss. You sure make those goblins splatter.¡± That caused everyone to grimace at the thoughts of the gore.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Everyone split into their groups. Lucas, Abbey, and Adam went to the heavy tools. What surprised Adam was that Brittney followed them instead of going with Brandon. When he got to the sledgehammers, he picked up a 12 lb one and moved it around in his hand. Gently swinging it in the small aisle and moving his wrist around felt no different than a lightweight baseball bat. He was much stronger than before.


    Lucas tried the 12 lb sledgehammer with his left hand, but then put it back in favor of an 8 lb one. Brittney also tried different weights of sledgehammers, while the other two watched. After a while Lucas spoke up.


    ¡°That hammer is too heavy for you. Try a 4 lb short handled one over there. No matter how light it seems it¡¯ll get heavy quickly, at least until we level up some.¡±


    Brittney nodded and tried out the lighter ones until she was comfortable picking one. Before heading to meet up they also grabbed several pairs of worker gloves to help with gripping and in case they had to touch something unsafe. They met up with everyone in front of the self-checkout. Adam made sure everything had a fiberglass or metal handle, he didn¡¯t want any wood breaking or splintering. Then a few items were purchased by each member of the group so it didn¡¯t look so conspicuous.


    ***


    By the time they got to the warehouses, Lucas and Tom were healed. Tom had ripped all the tape off his face and was breathing in big, exaggerated breaths. Lucas thought about taking a machete to his cast, but instead held his arm towards Adam without even saying anything. Adam pinched it with both hands and tore it apart, too comical for everyone not to laugh at it.


    ¡°So, we are here. What next?¡± asked Andrea.


    Adam dropped the two large bags full of their purchases in the center of the alley in the late afternoon sun, far enough from the shadows. He looked at the shadows intently, trying to feel any sign of movement. At a gesture from Lucas everyone got quiet and waited until Adam was satisfied they were alone.


    ¡°We don¡¯t know where they came from but I assume there are quite a few more. Four does not constitute an invasion. Each warehouse will need to be explored, and we will need to be cautious about it. Tell your parents you might be home late; this will take a while.¡±


    Phones were pulled out and text messages sent. Two people made phone calls, and a few didn¡¯t even bother. Not everyone had a decent home life.


    While they did that, Adam opened the bags and started sorting their supplies. The longest machete was buckled to his own belt, and he took the heavy sledge and put it at his own feet. Then he started opening the ponchos.


    When everyone was ready, he let the scouts choose machetes first, then the other warriors took one. Box cutters went to the mages and support. Brittney and Lucas grabbed their sledgehammers. Since they had four of the scrapers, he handed one each to Randall, Joseph, and Tom. The fourth he handed to Brandon along with one of two knife sharpeners.


    ¡°Brandon, you are in charge of weapons. If anyone¡¯s machete or scraper gets dull, pull back and have Brandon sharpen it. For now, Randall and Brandon sharpen all the scrapers as well as you can. We won¡¯t know what we are going to find so no splitting up. A circle will probably be the best formation. Brandon and Abbey in the center. We have three mages, three spearmen, and three scouts. We¡¯ll pair you guys up. Stand in different positions around the support. Only move from that spot if someone else gets injured. The scouts will be the roamers, helping whoever is in combat, while I lead the way with Lucas, since the two of us seem the most experienced,¡± Adam received nods as he gave out directions. To his surprise everyone was listening to him.


    ¡°Next, we should talk about skills. I don¡¯t have any, or at least know what they are, but we need to know what each of you can do. We know Brandon and Abbey. [Bolster] and [Slight Heal]. Ellias has [Mana Dart]. I assume all level one skills will be crap, so we won¡¯t be relying heavily on them. We need to make sure everyone levels, so if you are in a controlled situation try not to finish off the Goblins until everyone gets a hit to share the group experience. Now, what skills do you have?¡±


    ¡°All us [Warrior] boys took [Sturdy Weapon]. It gives a 5% durability to whatever weapon we are using,¡± Tom informed.


    ¡°Alissa and I also took [Mana Dart],¡± contributed Andrea. ¡°The other mage starter options didn¡¯t even do damage. I forget the names, but one made the ground softer to walk over, and the other increased mana regen by 5%. What¡¯s the point in getting mana regen before even having spells?¡±


    ¡°[Harden Shield] for me,¡± said Brittney. ¡°Like the weapon one it¡¯s a 5% durability to shields.¡±


    ¡°There are no shields yet for you, so stay with the support and move out if one of our spearmen are engaged. Since you aren¡¯t an agility fighter don¡¯t leave the circle. Try to hit or kick any controlled goblin, just like the support.¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Brittney. Adam was a bit surprised to see that she seemed almost excited about what was happening. Her eyes were almost sparkling.


    ¡°I have [Light Steps]. It allows me to walk 5% quieter, though not enough to matter at this level,¡± spoke up Nick. ¡°How do we even quantify walking noise?¡±


    ¡°I have [Clear Sight],¡± said Carlos. ¡°It allows me to focus on a single detail but honestly it¡¯s not very good since I already need to know what I¡¯m looking at.¡±


    ¡°[Notice Sign] is what I took. My dad and I go on hunting trips,¡± explained Lamar. ¡°I figured it would lead to being a tracker and hunter.¡±


    ¡°Ok, so Nick took the path of stealth, Carlos inspection, and Lamar of tracking. More variety there than the other classes. If those are what you want to do then use them as much as possible to find the goblins. Until you get some levels don¡¯t push yourselves and stay with the group. Does anyone have any questions or suggestions?¡±


    No one readily spoke up, everyone looking a bit nervous. Adam decided that since he didn¡¯t have a class yet he would use his experience points to level his body. He brought up the menu for [Levels].


    You have enough XP to level your class or your body. Which will you level?


    [ Class / Body / Cancel]


    Adam clicked on ¡°Body¡±. A barely noticeable tingle went through his body.


    You have 5 attribute points to use. Would you like to allocate them?


    Thinking about how tough the skin of the goblins felt he dropped 3 into strength and 2 into vitality. A sensation like an electrical shock hit his spine. Adam wasn¡¯t sure what it was supposed to feel like, but that felt wrong. It reminded him of trying to eat a hamburger when he was already full, and the nausea that would follow. He had enough XP for a second body level so he selected it again and allocated 3 into agility and 2 into vitality. The same shock of wrongness hit. A frown appeared on his face as he checked his status.


    Name: ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    Age: ¨€¨€


    Race: Human [2]


    Class: ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    Strength: N/A


    Agility: N/A


    Vitality: N/A


    Intelligence: N/A


    Wisdom: N/A


    Core Skills:


    ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    Skills:


    ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    ¡­


    There was no change. His stats still didn¡¯t show and the added bits didn¡¯t seem to do anything. There was no feeling of increased strength, speed, or toughness.


    Before he realized it everyone had stopped what they were doing and were staring at him in concern.


    ¡°Is something wrong?¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°Why are you all looking at me like that?¡±


    ¡°Well, you just kind of stopped moving and started radiating anger. I don¡¯t know about the others but I¡¯m a bit concerned about what happened.¡±


    Adam took a deep breath and let it out. ¡°When you level you can choose your class or body. Since I couldn¡¯t do a class I chose my body, but nothing changed and it felt wrong. My stats still say not available.¡±


    ¡°Haha!¡± Laughed Tom. ¡°I don¡¯t think you need more stats the way you moved before. Let¡¯s just focus on the goblins for now and fixing your status later.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that makes sense. Here, put this in the bags away from the equipment,¡± Adam said after taking off his jacket and shirt. More stares followed with a few dropped jaws. The frown returned to his face.


    ¡°WHA-WHA-WHAT is THAT?!?¡± Abbey exclaimed and pointed at his body.


    Looking down, Adam didn¡¯t see anything that should have elicited that reaction. He twisted and turned his body trying to check for anything unusual. The only oddity was the bandaged cut on his left oblique.


    ¡°I¡­don¡¯t see anything. What¡¯re you talking about?¡±


    ¡°You¡­I¡­that¡­what¡­¡± Abbey stammered on.


    Andrea spoke up to clear the confusion. ¡°I think she means your body itself. Have you always been that, uh, stacked? We just weren¡¯t expecting you to be nearly so sexy.¡±


    ¡°Oh,¡± Adam said feeling some relief. There were so many changes since the [System] happened that he had been concerned he missed something. ¡°After that last goblin fight my body looked a lot more fit.¡± He had been in normal shape for a teen before but now his muscles had grown, and the skin had tightened on them. His body still looked thin but what was there looked more like a fitness nut. There wasn¡¯t much his body needed to fill out anymore and everything sat on his frame as if it belonged. Lithe and strong was how he looked, different than his formerly lanky appearance. Adam had been average height and slender width, but now his width looked better. His frame was packed with what could fit within its space without pushing his skin outwards.


    By the time he finished speaking, Abbey had slowly walked towards him and was now gingerly touching his abs and stroking his chest. She looked up at him questioningly. He just shrugged. It took Andrea coming over and pulling her away.


    ¡°Hunkiness aside, why did you take off your shirt?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t afford to ruin all my clothes,¡± Adam said. Then he added a teasing smile while looking at the girls, ¡°Don¡¯t get too distracted from our purpose.¡±


    There were loose chuckles around. Gloves were put on his hands and then a rain poncho over his head. A few practice swings with the sledgehammer followed, to test his grip with the gloves and the poncho. Everyone else got the message and put ponchos over their clothes.


    What followed was what an observer would call the most inept training session ever. While Lucas knew how to move from being a boxer, and Adam felt like his strength and agility let him grasp movement better, everyone else were amateurs. Even the three from the soccer team couldn¡¯t coordinate their machete swings with their more dexterous feet. Surprisingly the only other capable one seemed to be Brittney. She attacked and defended while moving as little as possible, and only swung when she thought there was a chance of contact, letting the other person set up their own mistakes. Adam was impressed by her.


    In the end, Lucas and Adam faced off with each person individually, giving them a few simple stances, a single thrust, swing and dodge. The spear users were to thrust without over committing and pin their opponent, or block with the shaft, but not to get too fancy.


    ¡°Alright! We are all in agreement. We are terrible at this,¡± confirmed Adam. Emphatic nods were everywhere. ¡°Stay grouped, stay safe, and don¡¯t hurt your neighbors. Andrea, Randall, and Lamar will watch the back. Alissa, Tom, and Carlos the left. Elias, Nick, and Joseph will take the right. I¡¯ll lead with Lucas behind. If you notice anything unusual get our attention. Try to stay quiet otherwise.¡±


    ¡°You are surprisingly good at this, Adam,¡± Andrea said encouragingly. Then she muttered under her breath, ¡°I hope no one dies.¡±

 CH 8: Group Fight

    CHAPTER 8: Group Fight


    After getting everyone into position and making sure their unused gear wasn¡¯t left behind, Adam approached the shadows. His sledgehammer came up and dragged around the outside of the alley. All the shadows were checked before he led the group to a side door that entered the eastern most warehouse. Not surprising of an unused building near a high school, the lock to the door was already broken. Adam slowly pulled it open. Smart enough to push his sledgehammer through before his head, in case an attack was coming, Adam cautiously peeked in. The room was full of shadows in the fading light, and the windows were about 16 feet above the ground. Most of the room was in hazy darkness.


    Adam crept into the warehouse. The size of it was about 15,000 square feet, larger than the light could cover. The floor was rough cement, chipped and worn in a lot of areas. A few support beams, towards the outer parts were about two stories tall, holding up a wavy metal ceiling. The furthest wall did have stairs leading to two rooms with windows that overlooked the rest. In this lighting there were many places he couldn¡¯t see.


    ¡°Lantern,¡± called Adam. Quickly one of the largest flashlights lit up and a covering was pulled up to allow it to act as a lantern. The effect was significantly diminished by the bodies of their group throwing shadows. Adam just sighed at the ineffectiveness, though of course they weren¡¯t going to get things right the first time. Or probably the second, third, and fourth.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to roam. Nick, stick close to me and think about how to be a part of the darkness. Lucas, watch everyone and make sure Tom isn¡¯t too noisy.¡±


    ¡°Hey,¡± Tom nearly shouted. Andrea slapped the back of his head in response.


    Venturing into the warehouse, making sure to keep away from the walls and beams, Adam walked a circle. There was no feeling of being watched nor presences that he could tell were there. He would whisper with Nick occasionally to see if he noticed anything. After ten minutes he came back to the group.


    The group was in their circle formation, everyone holding tightly to their weapons, tension clearly high. There was a group exhale when he got back.


    ¡°There is no one here that I could tell. Maybe up the stairs but I don¡¯t think it is worth checking. Let¡¯s go to another one. Move together.¡±


    Leading them back out the door they came from, they followed the road to the next warehouse, turned into the alley, and checked the door. It was also broken, with the building resembling the previous one except with a lot more rubbish in it. Broken boxes and a few metal drums were scattered around, most dented and rolled around as teenagers had messed with them.


    Two more times they checked buildings and found nothing. The road had 8 warehouses on each side of the road. Then all the warehouses had one more row behind them, making 32 buildings to check in total. The alleyways between buildings were about 20 ft wide so shipping vehicles could pull in with room for people to move. Adam was sure that the goblins were among the buildings somewhere. When they turned down the alley next to the fifth building Adam stopped when he got close to the door.


    ¡°They are here,¡± Adam announced and looked around. He couldn¡¯t see anything and the light had almost completely faded.


    ¡°How call you tell?¡± Nick asked from his shoulder.


    ¡°The smell. The air feels more stagnant here.¡± Sniffs and large breaths went around the group as they tried to notice the same thing. Several shook their heads while Lamar seemed to understand.


    ¡°What do we do, boss?¡± asked Tom, trying to eye everywhere at once.


    ¡°Head up the cement stairs to the door. I can¡¯t tell if they are inside or out, but I would guess both since it feels like we are being watched. Lucas will lead to the door and make to go inside, but won¡¯t head in. I will stay at the bottom of the stairs. Make use of those railings on the stairs for protection.¡±


    They quietly switched positions at his whispered commands. Heading up the steps, Lucas started to open the door when he slammed it shut with a loud clang. He grabbed


    Joseph¡¯s scraper and wedged it in the door handle to prevent it from opening.


    With slight panic, Lucas said, ¡°Human blood in the doorway. Not going in there.¡±


    ¡°What do we do,¡± someone whispered.


    ¡°Should we call the police?¡±


    ¡°Why are we even doing this?¡±


    ¡°We should get out of here.¡±


    Adam then spoke up at his normal volume, casually, sounding odd after so long of trying to be quiet. ¡°We are doing this because earth is being invaded. Because no one will believe we were attacked by goblins. Because if we don¡¯t get some XP and levels we will just get stepped on. We are doing this because we prepared and because we can.¡±


    ¡°Hey, boss. Why the sudden noise? Did you want to bring them all here?¡± Tom spoke up.


    ¡°They''re already here.¡± Adam turned away from the group, standing at the stairs. He hefted his sledgehammer with one hand and then announced, ¡°I hope this is all of them. Otherwise, we are even more screwed than now.¡±


    From both ends of the alley goblins stepped out of the shadows, eight on each side. Adam couldn¡¯t see their tags but he could see weapons. In the front of both groups were two shield carriers, the shields looking like wood wrapped in animal skins. Behind them were stone axes and clubs. Both sides were closing in. The goblins were clearly in a formation, but it was managed terribly. Better than the high schoolers, but still without a lot of discipline.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.


    Scared gasps sounded from the high schoolers as they shakily held their weapons.


    ¡°Lucas, Nick, and Carlos, come down here. I will strike first. You guys do what damage you can then step back. We will try to hit and run on the left group. Everyone else stay on the steps. Tom and Randall at the front. Just poke them and don¡¯t let them grab the scrapers. Joseph, get to the top and poke through the railing if any goblins come beside it. Mages fire conservatively. Try to keep them back. We¡¯ll join as soon as we can. Lamar, make sure that door does not open!¡±


    Everyone shifted around. There were only four cement stairs against the building with metal pipe for railings, which would be easy to reach through or get pulled down. The goblins continued to advance while Lucas, Nick, and Carlos hopped the railing, freeing everyone else to get into positions.


    Adam wanted to get the left group before either group reached the stairs, so he dashed forward heading straight towards the shield bearers. While running, he moved his right hand to the bottom of his sledge handle, letting it trail behind him. The machete was pulled from its sheath at his belt into his left hand. When he was almost at the goblins, he swung his right arm with all his might. The length of the sledge allowed the swing to hit the shield goblin that was further away from him. As the hammer connected with the shield, a loud crack happened as the wood inside the hides broke and flung the goblin back into more goblins.


    The shield goblin closer to Adam turned his head looking at the shield that had broken, which was a bad idea, as it allowed Adam to use the rebound of the blow to spin his right arm away from the goblins, bringing his left hand towards the goblin with more force. The machete plunged into its neck, causing a gurgling noise, as he ripped it back and stepped to the next goblin in line.


    Confusion stirred among the goblins as a single human had taken five goblins momentarily out of play. The three that had been hit by the knocked back shield goblin were pushing him up and trying to ready their weapons but were too close together to defend against the arriving humans. Lucas swung his sledgehammer at head height hitting one and throwing the other two off balance again. Nick went to the shield goblin with the broken shield, who had yet to regain his feet, and tried stabbing in the neck, while Carlos did the same with a brawler that Lucas had hit. Nick and Carlos¡¯s machetes went in their necks, but not nearly as deeply as Adam had gotten. Instead, they had to keep stabbing and slashing. Those goblins started using the shield goblin to block them, so the humans had to get closer.


    Adam dodged an axe swing and stabbed that enforcer in its weapon shoulder. When he saw the other three from his group he took a step back.


    ¡°You are over committing, get back behind me,¡± he snapped at Lucas, Nick, and Carlos. They retreated before grasping goblin hands reached them. He quickly looked at the goblin group, who were all trying to get some space to use their own weapons. ¡°You three finish that shield goblin I stabbed off. Get the XP from that. I¡¯ll kill the other two you already hit, and once I do, level up your [Body]. Put three in strength and two in agility. You all need more force to pierce their skins.¡±


    ¡°Got it,¡± Lucas replied.


    To allow them to get the goblin on the ground before the rest approached them, he stepped towards where the further away shield goblin was. He brought the sledgehammer down diagonally, passed the shield goblin and into the far eye of a brawler they had stabbed. The hammer easily went through the eye and impacted the brain. As he pulled the hammer upwards and back towards himself, his left hand brought the machete up under the shield goblin¡¯s chin. The machete was longer than the stone knife he had used before and was able to deeply penetrate the head. The goblins body slumped in death.


    Goblin ¡°Shield-bearer [4]¡± slain. 20 shared XP gained.


    Goblin ¡°Brawler [5]¡± slain. 24 shared XP gained.


    Adam was pulled off balance from the body toppling with his machete. He wasn¡¯t getting it back right now as two enforcers and a brawler came at him, weapons swinging. Dropping the body and machete, he took a two-handed grip on the sledgehammer and blocked the axe and club, while another axe hit his shoulder, knocking him back a few inches. The blow hurt but he wasn¡¯t going to fall back from it.


    Goblin ¡°Shield-bearer [4]¡± slain. 20 shared XP gained.


    ¡°Get those stats quick and help!¡± Adam called, knowing he couldn¡¯t do this himself. He was aware that the other group of goblins was already at the steps and trying to pull his group down.


    The sledgehammer turned sideways as Adam took a wide grip of the handle. He pulled it to himself and then lunged forward to body check the three goblins with it, as if it were a hockey stick. His strength was enough to hold them back for a second and then Lucas¡¯s hammer was swung over his head at the enforcer on the right. A crack of skull sounded as it landed on the center of the head, knocking the enforcer down but not killing him. At least until Nick and Carlos both stabbed it as it fell, one in the neck and one between its ribs.


    Goblin ¡°Enforcer [3]¡± slain. 16 shared XP gained.


    Adam held the sledgehammer against the two pushing goblins for just a moment longer as Nick and Carlos ducked under his leaning body and each sliced the side of the knees to one of the two goblins. Right away Adam stepped back, allowing the pushing goblins to fall forward as their legs gave out on them. Lucas immediately brought his sledge down on one goblin¡¯s eye, and Adam did the same with the other, after swinging his hammer down and behind him into a circle that became an overhead smash.


    Goblin ¡°Enforcer [4]¡± slain. 20 shared XP gained.


    Goblin ¡°Brawler [4]¡± slain. 20 shared XP gained.


    Lucas grunted as a stone axe took him in the ribs from the side. The blow was strong enough to knock him to the side, but he had tightened up and allowed the momentum to turn into a roll. Adam swung is hammer sideways, hitting a brawler and knocking it away before its club landed on him. Before he could pull back from the swing, Carlos and Nick once again stepped underneath him and stabbed the knees of both goblins.


    The goblins dropped to the ground and Adam stepped back once again instead of pushing the attack. Lucas was already up, though clenching his hurt side, struggling to walk. Looking at Lucas allowed Adam to see the other group. They were holding on but having a rough time. The lantern was turned on so they could see but most of the light was blocked by their bodies and pointed upwards. That allowed Adam to see a hint of movement above the group on the roof.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± Adam swore as he pulled Lucas¡¯s machete from its belt and ran. The other two goblins were on the ground, so Nick, Carlos, and Lucas should be able to take them. However, the stairs group wasn¡¯t even aware that more were dropping on them from the roof, led by an assassin.


    It was a race as Adam pushed himself, seeing the goblin knife falling straight to Abbey who was healing Randall against the building wall. There was no place for them to move. The second group of eight goblins were surrounding the stairs.

 CH 9: Survival

    CHAPTER 9: Survival


    ¡°Please make it,¡± Adam prayed as he clenched his jaw and pressed off the ground as hard as possible. The river was raging in his body, and as angry as he was, both at the goblins and himself, he began to get swept away by it. The fight hadn¡¯t really pushed Adam yet, since he was trying to allow everyone to be involved, but now it was just him against the assassin. The other goblins were only slight obstacles.


    Time felt stretched out. His legs burned and the coolness receded. Anger flooded him and hate for the invaders overwhelmed his thoughts. He had brought everyone here. He endangered everyone and consciously he didn¡¯t even know why. They could have called the cops. Or the military. Even the news.


    The assassin dropped closer and closer. Abbey healed. Someone pointed towards him. The anger built in Adam with every step he took until he felt ready to explode. Then it came out of him as a roar.


    Everyone but the assassin froze and looked at him. Goblins and humans alike. Adam didn¡¯t care, as the roar continued he leapt, grabbed the railing with his left hand, jumping over goblins and vaulting himself over the railing feet first. His feet connected with the assassin¡¯s chest barely above Abbey. The stone knife came down and tore his jeans, cutting through his thigh. Then his machete swung upwards and separated the head from the assassin.


    Blue blood fountained up from the assassin¡¯s body when Adam¡¯s feet kicked off its chest, popping himself and the body away from the wall like a skateboard kick flip so the body wouldn¡¯t land on his friends. No one was able to dodge the blood.


    Goblin ¡°Assassin [5]¡± slain. 52 XP gained.


    Screams began as Adam left his own trail of blood from the gash on his leg. He used his momentum coming off the wall to once again grab the railing. This time he spun himself downwards, feet landing on a goblin¡¯s head. He stabbed it through the eye with his machete. Then he reached up and grabbed a scraper that Joseph was using to poke an enforcer away. Adam kicked the enforcer in the chest and before it went very far the scraper was thrust through its ribs and into the heart.


    Unable to think while the sound of the river throbbed in his ears, his rage took control and he stepped to the next goblin punching. While snarling, Adam used the force of his inner river to fuel his fists as he rained down punches and kicks on the goblins. Rage clouded his vision and pounding filled his ears. The group had rallied behind him and eventually Carlos and Nick arrived, stabbing with the force of their increased stats. No more goblins jumped from the roof or came into the alley after the assassin was killed.


    When no more goblins stood around them, Adam roared again and glared at his allies, breath heaving in his lungs.


    ¡°Boss. Eh, boss, are you ok?¡± Tom spoke to him while concerned looks showed on everyone.


    Adam focused on him. The river was sweeping him away. He couldn¡¯t recognize, couldn¡¯t think. Everyone felt like an enemy and everything needed to be punched. Without clear thought Adam reached for something. It was distant, but he stretched himself as far as he could until he felt a cool touch. Grabbing hold as much as he could, the coolness that hid in his mind pulled as much as he did, allowing him some calm amid the river.


    His eyes and thoughts clearing, Adam looked down at himself. He had a deep gash in his left forearm and thigh. His poncho was torn up, barely holding on to him. Blood coated him all over, both blue and red. He took a step back and tried to breath.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± apologized Adam while panting. ¡°The heat of the broken class just carries me away. I can¡¯t really control myself.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll say,¡± said Andrea. ¡°I thought you were going to attack us.¡±


    ¡°Good thing you''re so tough or we wouldn¡¯t have lasted,¡± Lamar spoke up.


    ¡°Abbey would have been dead if you hadn¡¯t killed that goblin, but the way you came at us and screamed scared the beejeebees out of me,¡± Alissa said.


    ¡°It scared the beejeebees out of the goblins too,¡± laughed Andrea. ¡°When that goblin head fell on them even I could tell they were scared. It allowed us to really dig into them.¡±


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    ¡°I think it would be a good idea to get out of here though,¡± Lucas said as he held his side. ¡°Let¡¯s grab our gear and move to another warehouse.¡±


    Everyone was quick to get the items on the stairs. Lucas had brought Adam¡¯s machete that he left in the goblin¡¯s chin. Adam waited until everyone was at the end of the alley, and they knew it was clear, before he went back to get the scraper wedged in the door.


    The group moved cautiously down the road into the first warehouse they had explored. Once there they checked their injuries. The blood was really flowing from his gashes and when Abbey got a look at them she rushed over and started healing him. Lucas sat close, waiting his turn. Everyone else who was injured had minor scratches and could wait.


    Adam took a breath at the feeling of the heal going off. ¡°Did everyone get XP?¡±


    Everyone nodded.


    ¡°Good. For physical fighters try leveling body twice before your class. Do something like four in strength and agility, then two in vitality. After that you can choose between body or class, but I think we need stronger physical stats with the early skills being so bad. Any other opinions?¡±


    No one spoke up and all the physical fighters stared at their screens while doing as Adam said. Those who had fought with Adam previously had gotten another level and they put it in physical stats too.


    ¡°For the mages and support I think you guys need to get to skills faster. Try putting it in your classes and see what happens.¡±


    Elias spoke up, ¡°Actually, leveling our class gets us three primary stat points instead of the five you said the body gives. The class level I took before gave me two in intelligence and one in wisdom. I didn¡¯t get a skill with my second level but did get a skill point that can be used to improve current skills.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good to know. That means even with sucky skills you can improve them. Anyway, level up for now,¡± said Adam.


    Abbey¡¯s gaze unfocused, then two more heals went off, slightly stronger than before. It seems she had increased both her mana and spell power. Everyone sat around resting and chatting, and making sure to watch the area around them, but no goblins came. Eventually the healing was finished on Adam, his wounds closed but scars stayed where he got hurt. Abbey rested some to get her mana back. Before moving away from Adam, Abbey looked down and touched his hand. ¡°Thanks for saving me from that assassin,¡± she said meekly.


    Adam looked at Abbey strangely. ¡°You¡¯re welcome. I¡¯m glad you weren¡¯t hurt.¡± She gave a slight nod and then moved on to Lucas.


    Once everyone was ready, they didn¡¯t wait around, heading towards the school. The sun was long past setting and when they got to the high school, the streetlights made them feel a little safer. Carlos had his car at the school and offered to drive home anyone who couldn¡¯t walk.


    ¡°Hey boss, we¡¯ll take the gear and clean and sharpen it all,¡± Tom said helpfully. ¡°No need for you to bother with all that.¡±


    ¡°I appreciate that. I¡¯m tired and famished.¡±


    ¡°We¡®ll bring snacks for tomorrow,¡± Alissa offered.


    ¡°Tomorrow?¡± asked Adam surprised. ¡°After tonight you want to go again?¡±


    ¡°Well, it seems pretty important to get rid of them,¡± said Andrea.


    ¡°I just wasn¡¯t sure,¡± responded Adam. ¡°If tonight was too much for anyone then I won¡¯t think less of you for backing off, but if those who show up want to go again tomorrow, then I¡¯m fine with that.¡±


    ¡°With the extra body levels, it got much easier to fight the goblins. I don¡¯t think it¡¯ll take very many more levels before we can stand against them like you do, Adam,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°And with tonight¡¯s experience I think we can get even more prepared,¡± added Lamar.


    With that, everyone wearily left, with Carlos dropping a tarp on his seats since everyone had goblin blood on them. Adam stopped in his backyard before going inside, changing into some cleaner clothes that he had hidden for himself. It took him longer to come up with a believable lie as to why he was home so late.


    ***


    That night three goblins met by a crudely shape stone throne. One lounged in the throne, raised above the other two. The dim, flickering light given off by the torches in the room cast their shapes in shadow as they spoke with each other.


    These goblins were not like the ones Adam¡¯s group had fought. The strength of their voices and the intelligence was incomparable.


    One with a hissing voice spoke. ¡°We have been discovered. [System] said invasion not for seven more spins.¡±


    The goblin with a guttural voice responded. ¡°They come into our territory. We just cleaning our territory of rats.¡±


    ¡°We no want the [System] to punish us for early release of troops,¡± said the hissy voice. ¡°Only weak fodder killed.¡±


    ¡°Only scouting parties released yet,¡± assured the guttural voice. ¡°Cannot let this affront go.¡±


    ¡°No releasing war parties. Even with dead, we capture territory when invasion allowed.¡±


    The guttural voice seemed angry, but not enough to violate the rules of the [System].


    ¡°Then we bring back scouts? Hide in base until time?¡± asked the guttural voice, clearly unhappy with his own questions.¡±


    Then a [System] message appeared to the three of them. They each read it multiple times, surprised at the content. After a moment a monstrous grin spread across the face of the goblin sitting on the throne. His laughter also brought smiles to the other two.


    ¡°[System] has spoken. Release more parties into our territory. We hunt the human whelps,¡± the chief said cruelly.


    ***


    STATUS:


    Name: Lucas Fenton [3]


    Age: 18


    Race: Human


    Class: Warrior [1]


    Body [2]


    Strength: 14


    Agility: 9


    Vitality: 9


    Intelligence: 2


    Wisdom: 1


    Skill Points: 1


    Skills:


    Sturdy Weapon: 5% durability to wielded weapon.

 CH 10: Video Editor

    CHAPTER 10: Video Editor


    Surprise showed on Adam¡¯s face as he entered the classroom. It wasn¡¯t that he had ever been unliked or anti-social, he was just kind of ignored. When he saw several people around his desk this early in the morning, it made him feel more like it was a new world than anything else since the [System] hit.


    Abbey was leaning on the desk in front of his, facing his seat. Alissa, much taller than the other girls, was standing next to her with her arm around Abbey¡¯s shoulders while chatting. Brandon was standing with Brittney looking at some drawings on Adam¡¯s desk. Walking in casually, Adam sat in his seat.


    Everyone looked at him and got a little straighter. The drawings were cleaned up and Brandon started fidgeting.


    ¡°Good morning,¡± Adam said while looking each person in the eyes.


    ¡°Morning, uh, boss,¡± muttered Brandon as he looked at his hands.


    ¡°Just because Tom calls me that doesn¡¯t mean you have to too. The way he does it is almost disrespectful. The way he does everything is almost disrespectful.¡±


    Alissa drew her hand back from Abbey and came to his side, leaning on his shoulder. He could feel the pressure from it but with his enhanced strength it didn¡¯t matter much to him, so he just allowed it.


    ¡°Then can I call you Big Boss?¡± Alissa whispered sensuously, lightly brushing the scratches on his face, slightly ruined by the amused giggle that came afterwards. Abbey looked down at that while Brandon looked up.


    ¡°By the way, where''s Andrea?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Oh? Andrea? Is she your type?¡± asked Alissa as she tussled his hair.


    ¡°I¡¯m just used to you three always being together. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen you three apart,¡± he explained, trying to keep his face steady. The sudden attention felt odd and was making him a bit excited.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you worry, Big Boss. She is recruiting help for us.¡±


    ¡°Help? What kind of help?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll see when they get here.¡±


    Adam looked to Abbey for an answer, but she just stared at her feet. It was a bit awkward, but they all chatted about various things, being quiet whenever the previous evening came up. Then a voice from across the classroom called to Alissa.


    ¡°Alissa, what¡¯s the sudden deal with you and Adam? Is he amazing and we overlooked him all this time?¡± asked Jan, another girl from their class.


    Alissa thought for a moment and then answered while getting even closer to Adam¡¯s side. ¡°Yes, he is amazing. Quite the hunk and no one even knew it.¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah?¡± Jan continued playfully. ¡°What is so amazing about him?¡±


    ¡°His power and grace are both amazing. Unequalled, even.¡± Alissa commented even more and rubbed against him, practically climbing into his lap. ¡°The size of his hammer and the way he pounds with it can¡¯t be beat. He goes in and out so confidently and strong, keeping in control the whole time!¡± Then she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before going back to her leaning position.


    Jan¡¯s ears had turned red at Alissa¡¯s description, but what surprised Adam more was that Abbey¡¯s face was bright red as she pretended not to hear.


    ¡°W-what, even with those cruel scars?¡± Jan stuttered. Thanks to Abbey¡¯s healing from the previous day, Adam¡¯s black eye and the scratches had healed, settling to just light scars. Alissa drew her fingertips gently along them. Adam stayed stoic, but inside he admitted it felt good to be appreciated by a girl, even if she was just messing around.


    ¡°They just add to his overflowing manliness,¡± Alissa said wistfully.


    Jan was going to say more, but then Andrea came through the door in a rush, moving to Adam¡¯s other side. She leaned down and gave him a peck on the cheek and said, ¡°Good morning, darling,¡± at an audible volume. Adam looked at her with a frown, even while she was breathing deeply and flushed from her rush and excitement.


    ¡°What is this all about?¡± he whispered to her.


    ¡°Just staking our claim early. You are going to be a huge deal soon and we wanted to make sure we get to stay with you. Besides, one of the triple As, or maybe all of us, has a crush on you.¡± Her wink didn¡¯t seem the joking kind.


    A boy, not from their class came up to the desk following her.


    ¡°Darling,¡± Andrea continued to address Adam, ¡°This is Ed. He¡¯s one grade younger than us and I¡¯ve worked with him before. His hobby is video capturing and editing. His goal is to be a director.¡±


    The group looked at Ed, and Adam noticed a ¡°Support [0]¡± tag over his head. ¡°What does that have to do with us?¡±


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    ¡°It has EVERYTHING to do with us,¡± Andrea¡¯s excitement grew. She reached into Adam¡¯s jacket pocket and pulled out his cell phone, then pressed it against his finger to unlock it. Clicking through it furiously for a moment she handed it to Ed, who stared at it intensely. Adam could guess the video he was watching.


    ¡°He can¡¯t tell anyone about this,¡± Adam growled.


    ¡°Oh, he won¡¯t be telling anyone. He¡¯ll be showing them.¡± Andrea¡¯s enthusiasm was increasing, though she kept it to a whisper only for him. ¡°If he can put together videos of what we do and then posts them to YouTube, it will make our popularity skyrocket. From a practical standpoint it¡¯ll also record what we are doing in case trouble happens. We¡¯ll have a record of where we were and what happened, as well as what the invaders are like. We could even use it to encourage people to fight them. Maybe there will even be some money from it we can use for better weapons and protection.¡±


    Adam thought about it and decided it could be a good idea. There were numerous benefits that might happen.


    After watching the video for a couple times, Ed looked at him and spoke. ¡°Is this real?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°You mean that isn¡¯t faked or had the time sped up?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what real means.¡±


    ¡°So someone didn¡¯t alter¡­¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s REAL!¡± Adam roared.


    The whole classroom froze. From the sound of it other classrooms froze too. Ed looked like he was about to wet his pants and he shivered and looked away from Adam. No one turned to look at Adam. Something instinctive in them tried to pretend he wasn¡¯t there.


    ¡°Shhh shhh shhh,¡± whispered Alissa.


    ¡°There, there, darling. He didn¡¯t mean anything by it,¡± Andrea comforted while stroking his hair.


    That left Brittney to calm Ed. ¡°Don¡¯t pee yourself, he isn¡¯t going to hurt you. Maybe just don¡¯t be annoying next time.¡± She slapped Ed¡¯s back and he nodded frantically. Brandon looked at him with pity.


    ¡°Anyway, Ed, how about you get to the point?¡± suggested Andrea.


    ¡°R-right. Yeah. Right. So anyway, if you can move like this and you are going to be fighting monsters, then I should set a few different cameras to follow you. Each night I¡¯ll edit them together and post the video for people to watch. That way we can get a ton of views from them. You will become a star.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­I think a few things need to change about the plan. I don¡¯t care about being a star,¡± Adam started but then was quickly interrupted by Alissa.


    ¡°You are going to be BIG, boss,¡± Alissa giggled. ¡°If we had video of last night then it would be even more incredible since you actually had weapons.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what happened last night?¡± Ed asked curiously.


    ¡°We went out as a group and fought some goblins,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°Hahaha, don¡¯t down play it, darling. We killed 17 goblins and more would have come out if they weren¡¯t so scared of what you did to the assassin.¡±


    "What did he do to the assassin?¡± asked Ed.


    Brittney explained with enthusiasm, ¡°He was fighting eight single-handedly¡­¡±


    ¡°Nick, Carlos, and Lucas were with me.¡± Adam earned himself a glare from Brittney¡¯s previously starry eyes.


    "Then he ran at the rest of us, jumped a goblin, jumped the stair railing and kicked a falling assassin off a wall, completely saving us all. He even cut its head off before it had a chance to land. Then, and then, oh wow, he kickflipped the body of the assassin onto the other goblins scaring the hell out of them only to start attacking them himself. It was the most incredible thing I¡¯ve ever seen!!!¡± By the end Brittney was breathing heavily.


    ¡°Wow. That just sounds wow. Yeah, I¡¯ll need more cameras. You aren¡¯t exaggerating that?¡± Ed¡¯s question was met with five people shaking their heads.


    ¡°If anything, she is down playing it,¡± added Andrea. ¡°It¡¯s our humble but amazing leader.¡±


    ¡°Good. Humble, strong, and caring will look good on film.¡±


    ¡°Anyway Ed,¡± Adam cut in. ¡°How are you going to get camera angles at all?¡±


    ¡°Drones. I have five drones with high quality cameras on them. I can program them to follow a target, set different heights, and then from my laptop change their positions. With five feeds I should be able to edit the scenes together.¡±


    ¡°Ok, but a few things need to be stated. First off, no YouTube. That¡¯ll be too public in the beginning and can lead to too many questions they could force us to answer. Instead start our own site where you post them. Put the raw videos where only we can see them and then your highlight reels public facing. After we do this for a bit, we can start sharing the location.¡±


    ¡°That is doable,¡± responded Ed.


    ¡°Next, it isn¡¯t about me. It¡¯s about the group. If my fights help carry it, that¡¯s fine, but we need to make sure the whole activity is recorded and that we can watch it to see how to improve as a group. This is our lives and possibly humanity. You will need to do your thing next to Brandon. He can help you if he isn¡¯t needed for weapons. Finally, since you are already a support, I want you to go the healer route. That way you can be helpful and keep yourself alive. We need an additional healer to help Abbey.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good,¡± Ed said dismissively. ¡°This is going to be a great opportunity. I¡¯ll leave at lunch to get more of my equipment. I¡¯ll need the drones, my 360-degree camera, laptop¡­¡± He continued to mutter as he walked out.


    ¡°Well this will be interesting,¡± complained Adam.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, darling. He¡¯ll do a good job and this will be good for you and the group.¡±


    The whole day went on like that. Teachers were mostly ignored. During every break they would gather around his desk to chat, with Andrea and Alissa being very touchy with him while Abbey blushed with embarrassment whenever she saw them.


    Nick, Carlos, and Lamar each came in and discussed ideas that they had. Carlos had bought some cheap night vision goggles and strong searchlights from a hunting store. All the previous gear had been cleaned and sharpened and was in Carlos¡¯s car. Lamar wanted to be an archer and had ¡°borrowed¡± one of his dad¡¯s compound hunting bows and some sharp arrows. Nick meanwhile was trying to learn stealth by walking everywhere as quietly and invisibly as possible, which of course made him stand out more. He had also found a night vision app that he had bought for his phone, though the quality seemed suspect to Adam.


    Adam didn¡¯t understand the enthusiasm, knowing that fighting these invaders could get them killed. He had a more blas¨¦ attitude towards it because he had the weird strength, but also because when his inner river flowed it felt addictive. Who he was would leave him and that only left him with actions. There was concern that if he ever got pulled away too far, he wouldn¡¯t be able to come back, but he also had the cooler feeling in his head that he could use. He really needed to figure out what was happening with all these senses and emotions.


    STATUS:


    Name: Andrea Fritz [2]


    Age: 17


    Race: Human


    Class: Mage [2]


    Body [0]


    Strength: 2


    Agility: 3


    Vitality: 5


    Intelligence: 8


    Wisdom: 4


    Skill Points: 2


    Skills:


    Mana Dart: Shoot an element-less projectile created by mana to do a slight amount of damage.

 CH 11: Second Attempt

    CHAPTER 11: Second Attempt


    After school they met with Lucas¡¯s gang, got the gear from Carlos¡¯s car, and headed towards the first warehouse. Since they didn¡¯t have to shop this time, there would be more light for their hunts. It was also Friday, so they would have more time to rest and recover if they needed it.


    When they were at the car, Ed came hurrying up with a carefully set up pair of bags, one on his back and the other in his hands. They included collapsed poles, boxes, and expandable gadgets.


    Many in the group were giving Adam glancing looks as the girls walked closely to him, even as he hefted the two large bags of equipment. Alissa was to his right with Brittney next to her, and Andrea and Abbey on his left. Even Adam thought the situation was weird, but he wasn¡¯t going to complain about cute girls giving him attention. Instead, everyone casually chatted about whatever came to mind. The tension was high for most, nervousness surrounding them.


    At the warehouse they all geared up. Adam stripped his shirt, getting some cat calls from everyone, then put on a new poncho and the previous gloves. True to their word, the triple As had brought snacks. They had sports drinks, sandwiches, and energy bars. Since Adam¡¯s appetite had been increasing, he was very grateful for the food, eating two peanut butter and one ham sandwich and downing a medium sized sports drink. Jokes and laughter kept breaking out as the comradery seemed high in the group. Adam could only hope it stayed that way, and that everyone stayed safe.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan for today, boss?¡± asked Tom when everyone was gathered.


    "Yesterday it seemed like the goblins were watching us and trying to ambush us once we went into their warehouse. I think today we should stay outside and focus on the alleys and roads around the place. Let¡¯s head over two roads to the back of the second set of buildings. We¡¯ll follow that along, checking each alley, and then we¡¯ll check the western most alleys. Unless anyone has a better idea?¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just head to where they hit us before?¡± asked Tom. ¡°We probably won¡¯t find many from the further roads.¡±


    ¡°I know it might be more boring,¡± responded Adam, ¡°but we really need more levels and combat practice. If we can fight smaller groups, I think it will be safer. A few more levels and everyone will be able to perform better.¡±


    Adam looked up at a slightly buzzing drone. Then he looked at Ed. Ed had a pack on his back and a weird vest that folded out into a platform, like airplane seats. A laptop was attached to the platform. There was a goofy looking helmet on his head that had a two-sided camera on top.


    ¡°Ed, are you going to be able to film this while moving?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll do my best. The head camera can see in 360 degrees around us, so I can get every angle. I have some shotgun mics recording in different directions and I¡¯ve set the drone to follow you,¡± Ed answered without lifting his head from staring at the laptop.


    ¡°The drone might get damaged if it flies too low. We¡¯ve also seen goblins on the rooftops. It would be helpful if you can scout the roofs when we approach a new building.¡±


    ¡°Just let me know.¡±


    ¡°I will lead the way in the beginning. I want Nick and Carlos with me learning to scout. You guys listen closely. Don¡¯t get too near anything, and if there is a shadow you can¡¯t see through then try your night vision followed by a search light. If the shadow stays, I¡¯ll approach it expecting an assassin. Brandon, I need you to watch Ed. Make sure he isn¡¯t too absorbed in his filming to protect himself.¡±


    With those orders given the group got into a formation and headed out. They left the rest of their bags amidst the broken boxes in the rubbish warehouse so they wouldn¡¯t be easily found.


    Stalking two streets over didn¡¯t find anything. Then they followed the outside of the rear of the warehouses and still didn¡¯t find anything, looking in the alleys as they passed. For half an hour they moved, and everyone was getting bored. Ed had to change the batteries in his drone.


    When they had turned the corner at the furthest most warehouse, Adam felt eyes on him. There were some yawns and complaints in the group. People were moving sloppily. It was time for a lesson.


    As they reached an alley, Adam told Ed to check the roofs. He could feel what was coming next. Everyone looked up to watch the drone. With their eyes looking away from the alley, no one noticed some shadows shifting towards them. Only Adam watched as the shadows reached along the walls, thick enough to cover a single body, but long enough to hide multiple. The shadows were too dark considering the position of the sun, obviously a skill or magic, so Adam nonchalantly slid towards where it was closest to Carlos, while looking towards the group.


    Carlos was at the entrance to the alley, with Nick about ten feet behind him. As the shadow got within two feet of him, a stone knife was thrust at Carlos¡¯s abdomen. Adam reached out and grabbed the goblin wrist right as the knife touched Carlos. Falling backwards in surprise, Carlos hit the ground and yelped. He was staring at the arm reaching from the shadows and sweat instantly appeared on his forehead.


    ¡°I think you still need work as a scout, Carlos,¡± Adam said casually. His voice caused everyone to look at them and see the arm. The goblin was trying to pull its arm back into the shadow, but Adam held him tightly. Weapons came up and the formation tightened.


    ¡°Everyone ready?¡± asked Adam. It took just a few more seconds before Tom called out.


    ¡°Yeah, boss. How many?¡±


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll see.¡± Adam firmed his feet and then yanked the goblin towards the group. The assassin flew the distance and landed stomach down, trying to get to his feet. It was pinned quickly through the back by Tom, as Lucas pushed the head of his hammer on the goblin¡¯s neck to hold it down. Then he stepped on the knife hand.


    The shadow in the alleyway disappeared and there were three more goblins; a brawler, a shield-bearer, and an enforcer. Adam stepped back, allowing them to manage their confusion and decide how to attack.


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    ¡°Everyone get a hit on the assassin, then Lucas kill him. Make sure you move in a way that allows someone to always watch in other directions. Ed, what¡¯s on the roof?¡±


    ¡°Three goblins and a weird shadow. They are waving and running towards other roofs. It looks like they are trying to communicate. I¡¯m bringing the drone down to film now.¡± Ed¡¯s statement caused Adam to shrug. He was pretty sure his group would be alright, but it was obvious more goblins would be coming.


    Before everyone had finished their hit on the assassin, the three goblins in front of Adam began moving with the shield-bearer in front and the melee fighters slightly back, but with enough space that they could rush forward.


    ¡°Brittney, come here once you¡¯ve gotten your hit in. Mages, tag everything but don¡¯t shoot otherwise unless you absolutely need to. Melee fighters need practice, and we all need levels.¡±


    Carlos and Nick were already with the group, having gotten their hits on the assassin. Brittney was moving to him. Everyone else was forming a line, with the other two spearmen next to Tom, still pinning the assassin. Lucas pulled out his machete and cut its neck, then dragged the body out of the way.


    Goblin ¡°Assassin [5]¡± slain. 24 shared XP gained.


    ¡°All clear, boss,¡± called Tom. Nick and Carlos stood with the spearmen. The three mages stood a few steps behind them, with Lamar a bit off to the side with his dad¡¯s bow and an arrow notched. Ed, Brandon, and Abbey were behind them. The drone was now hovered just in front of the group, focused on Adam.


    ¡°What did you want me for, Adam?¡± asked Brittney. ¡°I really need to get a shield.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s why you are here,¡± Adam responded as he passed his sledgehammer to his left hand. Seeing Adam¡¯s movement, the goblin in front brought up his shield. Quickly stepping forward, Adam grabbed the top of the crude wooden and hide shield with his right hand and brought his sledge down on the goblins arm. There was a crunch of the bones, a scream of the goblin, and then Adam was back handing Brittney the shield.


    ¡°Listen, this shield is terrible, but it¡¯s something for you to get used to. Roam with me and try to defend using it. I don¡¯t think it should be too heavy for you.¡±


    ¡°No, with the strength upgrade from last night it is fine in short bursts. Not sure how long it will last though.¡± Brittney¡¯s face was serious as she grabbed the leather arm straps that were bolted to the back of the shield. It was a square item a little wider than her own forearm, but overall didn¡¯t cover much of her.


    The goblins began getting over their surprise of the human approaching them so casually. They moved forward, so Adam walked backwards to the group with Brittney.


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯m going to sit this out. Let¡¯s see how you guys do. Work together and stay safe,¡± Adam told everyone.


    With his words, Adam could see everyone tense up. He really didn¡¯t want their survival build on him. Being a wall between them and the monsters seemed like a bad idea, especially since he didn¡¯t even know how to improve with his class being unable to level. Currently he was stronger and faster than everyone, but that might not last if he was starting at his peak.


    It was a challenge for Adam not to be involved. Even if it made logical sense to foster his team, the heat in his heart was pulsing out.


    Any time he saw, or even smelled, the goblins, an irrational hate rose in him. The heat pushed that hate through his body and when the river formed it drew in his anger and turned it into fury. Keeping it from affecting him was no easy feat. Often, he would internally feel for the bit of cool in his mind to make sure it wasn¡¯t going to let him get carried away by the emotions that didn¡¯t even feel like his own.


    Adam might have looked in control to the others, but inside he felt the precarious balance. An uncontrollable outburst was just waiting for his willpower to falter.


    The three goblins approached the group. They tried to get close, but the spears held them back. Three goblins against three spears.


    They got poked, and a few mana darts went out and hit them. The light impact of the darts didn¡¯t do much to the goblins, but when the brawler, who was on the right, growled at them, Lamar¡¯s arrow hit him right in the chest, knocking him back a step. Lucas came around him and hit his kneecap head on, making a loud crack. The brawler fell. Shortly after an arrow hit the enforcer on the right, and Nick and Carlos rushed forward and cut its tendons on the ankles, causing him to fall.


    The shield goblin wasn¡¯t sure what to do, but it didn¡¯t matter as an arrow hit it from the front and a sledgehammer from the back. Everyone got their hits into the downed goblins, with the support using the spare scraper for their hits. Ed winced as he stabbed them.


    ¡°I¡¯ve gotta say,¡± spoke Randall, ¡°Even though we outnumber them this is still scary as hell. I mean, a fist fight as kids is one thing, but stabbing monsters is just scary.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to go home?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°Nah, man. I¡¯m just saying. They are ugly mothers and even if it was easy, it just feels exhausting.¡±


    ¡°Well don¡¯t take too long to catch your breath,¡± said Adam. ¡°There are eight more coming. Four from this alley and four from the next.¡±


    Everyone froze at his statement, and Lucas sighed.


    ¡°Carlos, Lamar, and Nick, kill these three. Get used to it, this is war. Everyone else back up three steps so these bodied aren¡¯t in our way. They¡¯ll instead be in the goblins¡¯ way,¡± Lucas started giving commands. Adam just watched, ready to help if it is needed.


    Fortunately, even though two groups were coming, the goblins weren¡¯t smart enough to coordinate. The four from this alley attacked straight away, as the other group further down took time to arrive.


    The shield goblin did a good job blocking the spears, and the three goblins with him didn¡¯t come into range. Adam wasn¡¯t sure if it was Lamar¡¯s skill or just that he was standing so close, but he continued to put arrows in the chests of the attacker goblins, allowing Nick and Carlose to cut their leg tendons, dropping them down. Once all three had fallen like that, Lucas came behind the shield goblin and hit him with the sledgehammer, and the spearmen pinned him.


    The group barely had time to hit each and finish off the goblins when the next group was on them. Once again Lucas told them to take three steps back and then they used the same strategy of arrows and taking out their legs so everyone could share the experience.


    While the group was finishing up, Adam slipped away towards the outside corner of the warehouse, where his group had entered the area. A shadow was against the wall and four goblins were trying to enter it, setting a trap for them.


    Adam set down his sledgehammer, pulled out his machete and then one at a time he cut their legs and arm tendons without killing them.


    The goblins tried to fight back, but they were always surprised when Adam dropped and swung low, and he made sure to only engage one at a time, keeping his target between him and any others. It wasn¡¯t unusual for the next goblin to shove its teammate out of the way, only to get hamstrung themselves.


    ¡°I¡¯m out of mana,¡± Adam heard Andrea say when he got back to the group.


    ¡°Me too,¡± said Alissa.


    ¡°I have two more shots left,¡± added Elias.


    ¡°My arrows are expensive. I don¡¯t have many,¡± Lamar said as he was pulling the ones he had fired out of the corpses.


    ¡°Should we retreat?¡± asked Randall, looking around cautiously. ¡°These scrapers have gotten dull. It takes too much strength to puncture the monsters.¡±


    Lucas looked to Adam, who nodded.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re retreating,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°Are you sure we need to?¡± asked Joseph. ¡°These groups are easy.¡±


    ¡°Sure they are,¡± agreed Adam. ¡°Except a third of your fighters are useless, and sixteen more goblins are on the way.¡± He pointed to other alleyways where groups of four were coming out. ¡°Oh, and around that corner where we are retreating to are five more that were setting a trap at our backs.¡±


    Several people straightened up at his explanation, and others started looking around with more effort. Lucas, who had appeared calm the whole time, started giving more orders to get everyone moving in a useful way. They gathered what they needed and got back into the circle formation to return. Around the corner they each hit the different goblins and Adam made the mages and support finish them off. There was a lot of hesitation, but Adam¡¯s insistence, using his scary face, and the knowledge that more were coming pushed them into it.

 CH 12: The First to Fall

    CHAPTER 12: The First to Fall


    Half an hour after retreating they were back at their starting warehouse wiping off any blood, sharpening their weapons, and eating more sandwiches.


    ¡°How are we supposed to handle so many of them?¡± asked Andrea. ¡°If more and more were coming we would get tired or overwhelmed.¡±


    Lucas was the one who answered, ¡°That¡¯s why Adam keeps rotating who does what. That way some could rest while others fight, allowing us to not get as tired. But if large groups come then we need to retreat. We don¡¯t have enough people or good weapons to cover all sides. We even stopped paying attention and would have been ambushed twice if not for Adam.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, thanks darling,¡± smiled Andrea at Adam and batted her eyes. He smiled back uncertainly, unsure how to respond. There had never been a drive within Adam to pursue relationships, but he still had the same desire for attention and affection as others. It was unclear to him what was going on now, so he figured he¡¯d just play along with Andrea and Alissa and let them have their fun, even at his expense.


    ¡°I wish I had more drones out there,¡± muttered Ed. ¡°I went conservative with just one, but even with the videos I got I should be able to put up a decent release.¡±


    ¡°Hey, big boss,¡± asked Alissa. ¡°What¡¯s your story? I know we¡¯ve been in classes together since middle school, but why are you so good at this? Especially when you¡¯ve never seemed to try in school.¡±


    ¡°Good at what?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Fighting and leading,¡± Andrea continued. ¡°Like, do you have a violent father? Are your parents divorced or your older brothers forced you to survive on your own? Poor rundown house, eating moldy food you swiped from garbage cans to get barely enough nutrition? Running into the woods late at night laying traps to catch critters so you don¡¯t starve?¡±


    Adam thought about the question. He did feel something inside himself, probably what the [System] called soul corruption, giving him impulses. It wasn¡¯t memories or another person telling him what to do, but it almost felt as if it was poking parts of himself that he normally didn¡¯t use. He kept reactive to these parts instinctively, like he had been trained for it even though he hadn¡¯t. It was probably better not to talk about it, so he just shrugged and said, ¡°It¡¯s a normal house.¡±


    Laughter came from Nick at the questions. Everyone was paying attention and Adam noticed that the drone was still pointing at the group.


    ¡°You girls watch too many dramas,¡± Nick said when he got control of himself. ¡°Oh man! When he says normal, he means it. Adam¡¯s family is a cliche middle class family. Father is a middle manager at a large company in the city. His mom works at a local bank and is the authority at home. He has one sister, two years younger than us, and no difficulties in his life beyond needing to earn money for his own video games.¡±


    ¡°Is your sister cute? Do you get along?¡± Abbey asked.


    ¡°She and I are fine. We don¡¯t really argue, though she is bossy and sometimes tries to start fights with me. She¡¯s currently a bit too addicted to social media and will harass me with it, but whatever. We¡¯ve never had major arguments,¡± Adam answered.


    With that generic answer the girls instead turned to Nick and asked him questions. Hearing some of the questions come out, Adam tried to head them off.


    ¡°Since we¡¯re talking about families, what are yours like?¡± Unfortunately, once he heard the answers, he wished they had continued talking to Nick.


    ¡°Andrea is the third of four sisters. They live with their mom and grandma. Her oldest sister has a kid with a boyfriend, so attention only goes to the youngest sister and the grandchild. Andrea is completely ignored,¡± said Alissa.


    ¡°Alissa lives with her mom and her mom¡¯s boyfriend. Her mom works at a beauty salon. Alissa stays with other people because she is concerned what the boyfriend will do if he catches her alone,¡± answered Andrea.


    ¡°Abbey¡¯s father expects her to be perfect. He¡¯s a mid-tier businessman who acts wealthy, making things difficult for her. Her mom left them a long time ago,¡± explained Alissa.


    Then the guys started in.


    ¡°My father was in the military and has always made me be tough. Been boxing since I was seven, so I¡¯m used to conflict and violence,¡± Lucas said off handedly.


    ¡°My dad spends most of his money on booze and strippers. Brother goes through girlfriends quickly. We live in a shack on the edge of the woods,¡± Joseph said.


    ¡°My parents are wannabe yuppies that try to act like everything is hunky dory. They deny that my older sisters are constantly making my life miserable, so I spend as little time at home as possible. There is a lot of porn to look at in Joseph¡¯s shack,¡± was Randall¡¯s contribution, earning a lot of glares from the girls.


    ¡°My parents divorced, and my grandparents spoil me financially, which is how I afford this video equipment. My mom is never home so I have too much time alone,¡± said Ed.


    ¡°My family is middle class like Adam¡¯s, but I have two older brothers that liked to roughhouse, and didn¡¯t care that I was a girl. They aren¡¯t mean, just thoughtless. It forced me to be tough when young to not get hurt. I¡¯m Brandon¡¯s neighbor. Brandon¡¯s mom asked me to look after Brandon since his father is an abusive drunk, and his mom didn¡¯t want him growing up as meek as her,¡± Brittney revealed.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t work,¡± retorted Tom.


    ¡°Obviously. I still try to protect him though. His mom is nice but has kind of given up on life. No one should have to live through that. You guys didn¡¯t help, either!¡± Brittney¡¯s voice raised in anger.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already seen the error of my ways and will give my all to not cause him more problems,¡± Tom replied stiffly as he looked at Adam.


    Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    ¡°Then what¡¯s your story, loudmouth?¡± demanded Andrea.


    ¡°No story from me,¡± said Tom. ¡°My family is nice and supportive. Two brothers, two sisters. All way more considerate and caring than me. Somewhere along the line I just became an asshole. I almost didn¡¯t live to regret it after picking on the boss. It¡¯s nice to take it out on invaders though.¡±


    A few people nodded at that last statement.


    ¡°Nick, how did you become friends with Adam?¡± Andrea asked.


    ¡°Heh, we met in elementary school on a pee-wee soccer team. He barely ever did anything, so no one liked playing with him. One time I took a hard slide tackle from a jerk kid. I cried and Adam ran over and shoved the kid to the ground making him cry, then he picked me up and told me I was fun to watch at soccer. My dad liked that so invited him over to play.¡±


    ¡°Haha, so Adam has always been boring but nice,¡± Andrea laughed. Then she looked at Adam, ¡°Though he¡¯s neither when it comes to goblins.¡± Adam just shrugged in response.


    ¡°Anyway, everyone should be rested now so let¡¯s be done with the touchy feely,¡± Adam said, trying to steer things back to their mission. Alissa moved over to him and vigorously rubbed his abs under his poncho.


    ¡°You don¡¯t like touchy feely?¡±


    Adam sighed but didn¡¯t stop her. He knew better both from having a sister that teased him and just being excited about the flirting.


    ¡°Anyway, we¡¯ve spent an hour moving around and only fifteen minutes fighting. We¡¯ve killed 14 goblins. Do you guys want to assign your levels and then get back out there, or try again tomorrow?¡± Adam asked.


    Abbey slightly raised her hand and said cautiously, ¡°once our mana is full, we should go get some more. There is still a lot of time in the afternoon.¡±


    ¡°I agree,¡± added Tom. ¡°If we do some more today that means we can spend even more time tomorrow.¡± Most people spoke up in agreement.


    ¡°This has been a lot. I¡¯ve gotten ok recordings, but I¡¯d like to get more. The more we do this the more I¡¯ll know what to bring tomorrow,¡± said Ed.


    No one decided to leave and after sharpening and cleaning the weapons as best they could, they went back to where they had encountered the goblins before. They still moved cautiously since the goblins already knew they were around. There would be no surprise from their part. Adam, Nick, and Carlos checked all the shadows and were consistent in their efforts, not losing focus this time.


    When they got to the corner, the bodies that Adam had fought were already gone. A drone confirmed that there were goblins on the roofs watching for them and communicating. Adam peered around the corner and counted 24 goblins that he could see. He looked back at his group.


    ¡°24 known goblins. Probably five assassins lurking too. Still want to go ahead with this?¡± Several people swallowed hard, but everyone nodded.


    ¡°Ok, here is how we are going to do it. We will set up here. One side to the wall. The sun is still hitting it so if you see a shadow then it is an assassin. I¡¯ll be fighting too. No disabling for everyone to get a hit. We are fighting together, so put them down quickly. As the corpses fall, Lucas will call for everyone to move backwards. Use the bodies to make it difficult for them. If we are going to be overwhelmed, or they come from behind us, then we retreat immediately. Run as a group. We will be as fast as the slowest person, so drop gear if you need to go faster. I will take last on a retreat, with Nick, Carlos, and Lucas in the lead.¡±


    After a few questions were answered, everyone got into position. Everyone had gotten either four or five levels by now, so they were on level with the goblins, and all their melee should be able to compete one on one. Ellias had even gotten another spell. At level 5 to his class, he had been offered the skills [Earth Shot], [Fire Ball], or [Water Ball]. He had chosen [Earth Shot] and said it would be way more damage but took a lot more mana. He¡¯d only have about two shots if he was also casting [Mana Dart].


    Adam wondered what he should do to get the goblins attention when Ed pushed forward and gave him a jagged looking rock the size of a baseball.


    ¡°Try throwing this as hard as you can. I want to see how strong you are.¡±


    Adam shrugged and waiting for Ed to get in position. With the drone above him, he cranked his arm back and threw the rock hard at a group of goblins. The rock spun in the air and the hit a goblin¡¯s face. Their head snapped back and the whole body was taken off it¡¯s feet into the goblin behind him.


    The goblins pointed to Adam and started to run. They didn¡¯t come in a formation. They didn¡¯t let the shield bearers lead. They simply yelled and threw themselves towards him.


    Turning to the group, Adam said, ¡°About 30 seconds until they get here. There is no order, and they are in a lather.¡± He gripped his sledgehammer and stepped back so the goblins would run past the group hiding around the corner to get to him.


    When the first goblin arrived, it noticed the group with surprise, and was then run into by others before it could stop. The goblins in the lead were suddenly too crowded to swing their arms. Scrapers thrust forward piercing them. [Mana Darts] were fired. Machetes went for necks. Any that reached Adam had their bodies smashed by his sledgehammer. Those that didn¡¯t die right away were left for the group.


    Goblins kept coming. After the initial attack the goblins arrived slower, having to walk around the bodies at the corner. The group had to turn their positions, allowing the goblins to walk around their own dead to reach them. Adam joined the end of the spears, jabbing with his hammer¡¯s head to herd them into the group¡¯s killing zone. He also watched his team¡¯s retreat point to make sure they weren¡¯t flanked.


    Slow minutes passed as the fighting went on. Even though the goblin¡¯s side was chaotic, the teens were doing well. They kept positions, passed dull weapons to Brandon, Brittney, and Abbey to sharpen. Weapons that were ready to use were passed forward. When Lamar ran out of arrows, he pulled out his machete and joined the front liners, who had left enough space for the mages to shoot. The battle wasn¡¯t taking a long time, but it was exhausting, and everyone held up due to their enhanced stats. However, battled only go well right up until they don¡¯t.


    Adam was slow to notice it in the chaos. Maybe it was the heat pulsing through him calling for blood, or maybe he wouldn¡¯t have noticed it even in the best of situations. As the goblins swarmed, and goblins fell, the light on the ground became spotted with shadows. From around the corner an unnatural shadow reached. It touched the shadows of corpses and stretched further.


    The group had changed their positioning with the front liners facing away from the building since all that was on their right were goblin corpses, piled three bodies high. All the goblins ran around them since climbing them would have been too difficult with the slick of blood and gore. This left a gap between the corner of the building and the support, who were frantically sharpening machetes and whatever scraper was handed to them.


    The shadow reached the building and crept behind them. Adam felt a tingle in his head. It was like when he knew someone was watching him but worse. Death was coming and he couldn¡¯t stop it, and it was not from the goblins around them.


    Ignoring a stone axe being swung at him, he turned and yelled, ¡°Behind you!¡± The axe landed on his shoulder, jamming his arm, tearing through his poncho, and drawing blood. Immediately the coolness that had been in his head receded and his inner river raged. Heat flared through him while more blows fell on his back. He had been blocking the approaching goblins from there group. There was no way for him to get to the shadows without throwing people in his group out of position, so he jumped at the wall above them.


    A goblin lunged from the shadow, stone knife leading as it went towards Brittney. She heard Adam¡¯s yell and turned the machete she was holding, deflecting the knife. It still tore into her upper arm, but while her body was moving to deal with that, a second assassin came from where her back had turned, preventing her from seeing it.


    ¡°Nooooo!¡± Brandon shouted as he threw his own body in the way of the second knife. Blood and gore splattered out as his insides were torn by the jagged knife, from his abdomen to his obliques. Abbey gasped and backed up, while Ed looked up from his laptop for the first time all fight. Brittney felt Brandon¡¯s blood hit her, and she screamed.

 CH 13: Responding Rage

    CHAPTER 13: Responding Rage


    The shouts broke the attention of the front liners, and some turned to see what was happening while others moved a little too much out of position, but the result was immediate. The goblins were now in control of the fight. They forced their way in as stone axes tore their skin and muscles, shields pushed them around, and clubs threatened to snap their bones.


    Adam hit the wall he had jumped at and dropped. The machete in the left hand pierced the head of one assassin, driving straight through its brain. The sledgehammer in his right hand pounded downward, the top of the hammer¡¯s head cracking the skull of the other assassin while Brittney drove her machete into its chest.


    He saw Brandon¡¯s body torn through. Heat pulsed within him. The river began to boil. There was no thought of anchoring, no reaching for the coolness. There was only rage.


    Adam looked down at the shaking body of Brandon where his insides were coming out. Brittney grabbed him and sobbed. Abbey was yelling for Ed to help her, who had frozen while staring at the scene pale as a ghost, as she put her hands on Brandon.


    Then Adam looked at the mess that was now the front line. Only seconds had passed and the group had gone from no wounds to red blood everywhere. His own shoulder and back were streaming red.


    He roared and his vision turned as red as the blood that flowed. He roared again and accepted the fury. The boiling river pulled him in and he didn¡¯t resist. His ears pounded with blood. There were shouts and calls around him, but he heard none of it. Everything was red, and amidst it, all he heard was his own voice, a little older and a lot firmer. CONQUER, it yelled. So he did.


    Without thought or concern he jumped upwards and then kicked off the wall, pushing himself to the front of his group. The goblins had frozen at his roars, so no new damage had been done to his friends. Adam didn¡¯t bother landing. He simply tackled the first goblin he reached, grabbing its huge head in his hand and slamming it into the ground. Standing up he roared again. The pause of the goblins was very short this time, but they still instinctually backed away.


    Adam swung the sledgehammer around and around. From his back to the front and then over his head he swung in continual motion. The force of it didn¡¯t even slow when he made contact with them. The angrier he had become, the stronger his swings were. Goblin heads exploded, arms were ripped off, bodied flung away. When one area was cleared, Adam would leap to another.


    The goblins tried to get away from him, they tried to run. Adam wasn¡¯t aware of his own fighters following behind him taking out any that didn¡¯t immediately die to him. All Adam knew was the heat, river, and blood. Blood that flowed all over him. Blood that coated him. Blood that roared through his river. The whole world was blood. The whole world should be blood.


    ¡°Adam!¡± a voice shouted.


    The river had stopped boiling. Coolness was trying to slow it but failing. Adam lifted his hammer once more to make the world bleed.


    ¡°ADAM!¡± the voice shouted again.


    A splash of cold hit his mind. The river slowed enough for the real Adam to pull himself out of it. He couldn¡¯t remember what had happened. Fatigue hit him. The red pulled from his eyes, and he looked around.


    Adam was standing with his hammer raised. Goblin bodies were everywhere, all on the ground, and they weren¡¯t whole. Pieces and pieces were scattered and pulped. Gore and guts were flung everywhere, covering it in blue blood. In front of him, instead of goblins waiting for his hammer to fall, was his own group. He had turned on the group he was trying to protect. His breath was heaving, and steam was coming off his skin. Skin that was exposed throughout his body as his poncho and pants were in scraps. Blood coated him everywhere, steaming as it was super-heated from inside him.


    Fear showed on the faces in front of him, as well as a resignation to death. Lucas was the closest, holding his hammer in a wide two-handed grip to try and catch Adam¡¯s downward swing. Brittney was next to him, as if the goblin shield she held would stop him. Everyone else was standing several steps back, spears and machetes raised, with Lamar pointing at arrow at his chest.


    A quick glance showed him all of this. A gory landscape with way more than 24 goblin corpses, his friends trying to protect themselves from him. This was a war zone, and he had become the enemy of all.


    Adam reached inside himself. He grasped the coolness and then he plunged it into the river with force. The cool and heat didn¡¯t co-exist. The heat was instantly gone and the river froze, unable to flow. With that freeze came the end of his ability to control his body.


    ¡°Damn!¡± he hissed, then collapsed, dropping straight into the piles of guts and blood. While the sensation made him want to vomit, he was more concerned about how attractive the blood smelled to him. He could smell it all, the goblin blood, his friends¡¯ blood, and his own blood, as if he was walking past a gourmet restaurant. Maybe I¡¯m becoming a vampire, he wondered. Is that a class?


    "Is he back?¡± Brittney asked.


    ¡°He seemed suddenly lucid,¡± said Carlos.


    ¡°That was so damn scary!¡± muttered Joseph.


    ¡°I never want to go against the boss,¡± Tom¡¯s voice whimpered, sounding hoarse.


    Lucas just grunted and lowered his hammer.


    ¡°Is he safe to move?¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°He needs healing, I can see tons of blood coming out of him,¡± said Andrea.


    ¡°Who is going to get him? He¡¯s filthy and practically naked,¡± said Randall.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind the naked,¡± said Alissa, ¡°but that gore is a bit too much.¡±


    ¡°He saved our lives,¡± added Lamar.


    ¡°He almost ended our lives,¡± commented Randall.


    Lucas grunted again and then walked forward. He picked up Adams arms and dragged him out of the gore, not because he couldn¡¯t carry him, but he didn¡¯t want the filth to get on him either. The sledgehammer was grabbed by Brittney.


    Once Adam was out of the gore Abbey and Ed came forward and started using their heal spells on him. Adam felt them wash over him, slowly closing cuts and soothing bruises.


    ¡°His eyes are still open. I think he is conscious,¡± said Abbey.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Nick got close to his face, looking him over. ¡°Hey, Adam. Can you hear me?¡±


    Adam tried to speak but was unable to even control his air and vocal cords. Instead, what came out was an undulating moan.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll take that as alive. I¡¯m just concerned about you not moving.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve got to hurry,¡± spoke Lucas. ¡°The goblins stopped coming after Adam had slaughtered so many, but they are still watching us. With him down we need to get out of here before they see us as easier targets.¡±


    ¡°He should be healed enough to move. The bleeding has stopped, but I don¡¯t know what is preventing him from moving. I¡¯m pretty sure I can¡¯t help with that,¡± said Abbey.


    ¡°Someone give me a poncho,¡± Lucas demanded. Ed pulled a spare one out of his equipment bag. Once it was on, Lucas lifted Adam onto his shoulders. Everyone scrambled to get what they could of their gear and then the group hurried back to their own warehouse.


    ***


    Several bottles of water were dumped onto Adam. Spare cloth was rubbed against him in an attempt to get the blood off. He was propped against a turned over metal drum. Abbey and Alissa had taken charge of trying to get him presentable.


    ¡°Still can¡¯t move?¡± asked Abbey.


    ¡°Un,¡± grunted Adam, which was an improvement. At least he could control his eyes now and wiggle his head, giving him hope this was temporary.


    ¡°We need to bring some water tanks here next time, to clean our gear and clothes¡­and the boss. The school has a hose on the side. We could try to use it without being noticed,¡± suggested Carlos, while eating a sandwich.


    Adam was surprised that they could eat after everything they had gone through. He figured there should be PTSD going on. The attack they had just survived, having an ally turn on them, and Brandon being cut open, those things should have all caused mental trauma. Yet there were clearly some signs, like the nervous way everyone¡¯s eyes kept flicking to the doors, windows, and shadows. Brandon had survived thanks to the immediate healing, but he was shirtless and pale, and he kept looking at his stomach and shivering.


    As everyone continued to chat quietly, and the girls wiped him off, he turned his own attention inside. He could still feel the river frozen. What had been coolness was now super cold, holding him still. It wasn¡¯t just in his head but throughout his body. The heat that originated from his heart was being smothered even though he doubted it would get snuffed out.


    His consciousness skated along the body and through the river, winding its way along his limbs and back toward its origin in his heart. He then followed the cords of cold up his neck and towards his head. The cold didn¡¯t come from his brain. There was something else there, as if it existed in the same space but a different reality. He tried breathing some heat into the cold, but nothing changed. Next was drawing the heat from his heart upwards, but it became clear that the cold had firm control over it. Finally, he just tried pulling the cold, holding himself above the neck. He imaged grabbing the tendrils of cold in his neck and pulling them back into his head.


    That seemed to do the trick. While the tendrils were too cold to actually pull, he was sure he would rip something intangible inside himself if he pulled too hard, the imagined grip seems to bring warmth to the cold slowly, until it dissolved from frozen to the usual coolness. That also allowed the tendrils to soften and fade, until the coolness was only in his head and the heat was once more pulsing gently in his heart.


    A large breath surprised the girls. It also surprised him but was encouraging. Expanding his lungs and ribs to breath intentionally was the first muscle control he had regained. Experimentally he tried lifting his arm. He was able to bring his hand up, but it was exhausting, and he felt a weakness in his muscles.


    Turning to Abbey he asked, ¡°Is everyone else ok?¡±


    She frowned at him, ¡°Everyone else? Well, Brandon was quite traumatized, and Brittney feels guilty for it but physically everyone except you are healed. We aren¡¯t sure how to help you.¡±


    ¡°I think¡­¡± Adam paused not sure what he thought, ¡°I disabled my body so I wouldn¡¯t attack you guys.¡±


    ¡°You did that on purpose?¡± Curiosity had taken her mood. ¡°Are you able to undo it? How is that possible?¡±


    ¡°Not sure to any of those questions, but I think I undid it, which is how I can talk now. But I am extremely weak and moving is quite difficult. It¡¯ll take some time before the heat builds back up in my body.¡±


    ¡°I guess that is why you are mumbling and slurring your words?¡± Alissa asked.


    ¡°Yeah, probably. It is taking a lot of will to control my muscles.¡±


    The rest of the group had heard him speaking and they were quiet and paying attention now.


    ¡°Are you going to recover, boss?¡± Tom asked.


    ¡°Probably, but I don¡¯t know when. I¡¯m definitely not coming back out until I recover. When I came to I saw waaaay more than 24 goblin corpses.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, there were over 70 killed by the time you stopped. Fortunately, they were in such disarray that we were able to farm experience from them safely. We would have been dead without you taking out those assassins and then freezing them all with your yelling,¡± Lamar explained, then realized something. ¡°What a minute. What do you mean by ¡®come to¡¯?¡±


    ¡°I blanked out after I saw Brandon stabbed,¡± said Adam. Brandon winced at the reminder, making Adam feel bad. ¡°I got so full of rage that I jumped to try and protect them and then I was facing Lucas. To keep my mindless body from hurting you guys I somehow cut off my body from moving just in case I didn¡¯t have control.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for that,¡± grumbled Lucas.


    ¡°Yeah boss, you were a right terror and my heart almost stopped when I saw you turn your scary face on us,¡± Tom shivered.


    ¡°What I¡¯ve been wondering is how you guys aren¡¯t more scared by everything we went through. We were overwhelmed, injured, and almost killed, but you guys seem like you are just casually chatting.¡±


    ¡°He says we¡¯, as if the boss wouldn¡¯t have been able to walk right out of there without issues if it weren¡¯t for the rest of us,¡± Tom said sarcastically.


    The real answer was from Carlos. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you before, but for some reason there is calming presence coming from you. It¡¯s like it keeps me grounded and able to move forward. Obviously it isn¡¯t all encompassing since Brandon and Brittney at least will need therapy. Oddly, just before you collapsed the presence felt stronger, more tangible.¡±


    ¡°Yeah boss. I¡¯m sure we all feel it. Just hanging out with you makes it feel like things are alright,¡± said Tom. ¡°Anyway, what do we do now?¡±


    ¡°I need to get washed off. Carlos¡¯s hose idea is probably a good idea. There is a change of clothes in my bag, which I¡¯ll need help putting on,¡± Adam said with embarrassment. ¡°Then I¡¯ll need help getting home. Are you guys going to be ok without me?¡±


    ¡°Well, quite frankly,¡± started Tom, ¡°Brittany and Brandon won¡¯t be. I figured I¡¯d bring them to my house. While I¡¯m an asshole, my sisters will probably love helping and comforting them. I¡¯ll say they got jumped and didn¡¯t want to be alone. My sisters will eat it up.¡±


    Brandon didn¡¯t respond to it all, just stared at the ground, but Brittney spoke up. ¡°I¡¯ve already texted our moms. It¡¯ll be fine. Friday nights have always been bad with Brandon¡¯s dad, so his mom often sends him to my house.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll stay at Andreas¡¯s house. It¡¯s easy to be ignored with so many girls around,¡± Alissa indicated her and Abbey.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave it to your new harem to get you hosed and dressed,¡± Nick said thinking he was being sly, but none of the girls rose to it. ¡°Then I¡¯ll take you home. We can tell your parents it was an accident while paint balling. That will explain any left-over blue blood. A shot to the neck could result in a stinger.¡± He shrugged.


    ¡°Alright. Thanks guys. I need my rest, so I guess we¡¯ll wait before talking about doing this more. Seeing you guys hurt isn¡¯t worth it,¡± Adam said. Abbey put a hand on his slightly less dirty shoulder and gave him a sympathetic smile. Adam also noticed that there was still a drone buzzing above, which killed his mood just a bit.


    ***


    ¡°Hello, mister and misses Clemens.¡±


    ¡°Good evening, Nick. It¡¯s been a while since you¡¯ve been over. Did you want some dinner?¡± Adam¡¯s mom offered.


    ¡°That would be great. Adam and I were paint balling with some friends, and he got hit in the neck. It¡¯s just a stinger but he¡¯s feeling a bit weak, so I wanted to make sure he got home alright.¡±


    ¡°Such a good friend. Adam, are you ok?¡±


    Adam slumped into his dinner chair as soon as he got to it. He was now able to walk on his own, but it felt like he was carrying a heavy weight, pulling him to the ground. Nick had been helping support him when they came in. He had to fight to keep from falling.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine mom. I just want to eat, shower, and sleep,¡± he responded.


    ¡°Are you sure you are ok?¡± she asked again.


    ¡°Yes, mom. Just tired and weak.¡±


    ¡°Ok, let me know if you think we need to get you to a doctor. Not that any are available.¡±


    ¡°I will.¡±


    ¡°Good. Nick, I will have my husband drive you home after dinner. Make sure to let your parents know.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Mrs. Clemens.¡±


    Name: Nick Morris [6]


    Age: 17


    Race: Human


    Class: Scout [0]


    Body [6]


    Strength: 16


    Agility: 20


    Vitality: 13


    Intelligence: 8


    Wisdom: 5


    Skill Points: 0


    Skills:


    Light Steps: Sound related to movement reduced by 5%.

 CH 14: Connections

    CHAPTER 14: Connections


    After eating more food than the rest of his family combined, and a lot of concerned looks from his mom, he had gotten cleaned and went to bed. Adam fell asleep immediately, before 8pm, and slept until 10am. He would have slept longer but his mom popped her head in to wake him up.


    ¡°Adam, you need to get up. Some of your classmates came by to check on you. It would be rude leaving them unattended.¡±


    ¡°Whu¡­¡± Adam garbled as he groggily sat up. ¡°Yeah, mom. I¡¯ll be down in a minute.¡±


    ¡°Are you feeling better today, or do we need to go to a doctor?¡± she asked with concern.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m doing better. Just really tired. And hungry.¡±


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯m going to pop downstairs and order some food,¡± she told him before closing the door and heading downstairs.


    ¡°Wait, classmates?¡± Adam asked himself. ¡°Who came over here, if not Nick?¡±


    After cleaning his face and teeth, but allowing bed hair to stay, he headed down to the living room in a long-sleeved shirt and shorts, only to find that whoever had come was in the more formal sitting room. Emily was talking excitedly to them, and a lot of giggling was happening.


    ¡°Morning, girls,¡± Adam said as he saw Abbey, Andrea, and Alissa sitting on long coach. Emily was on another couch facing them.


    ¡°Nice hair, darling,¡± said Andrea with amusement. Emily froze when she heard that and mouthed the word darling.


    ¡°At least it isn¡¯t dyed blue,¡± he responded flippantly.


    ¡°Blue hair might make things easier,¡± said Alissa, and Abbey nodded. The two of them had tried to wash the goblin blood out of it the previous night.


    ¡°Wait a minute,¡± Emily said with surprise. ¡°Were you guys paintballing with him?¡±


    ¡°Yes. Paintballing,¡± said Abbey stiffly.


    Adam just sighed at the bad lie and went to sit on the sofa opposite them, but Andrea patted him to sit between her and Abbey, so he did. Then Abbey pushed Alissa off the couch and slid to the other end. Abbey pulled him down so his head was leaning on her leg and his feet were in Andrea¡¯s lap on either end of the sofa. Alissa sat back down in front of his stomach and leaned against him. Emily¡¯s jaw was dropping.


    ¡°You guys are being awfully close to my brother,¡± she said.


    ¡°We hope to get closer,¡± said Andrea with a smile and started tracing lines on his feet and legs. Alissa had already reached under his shirt and was stroking his abs. Abbey hesitantly played with his hair.


    ¡°All three of you?¡± Emily asked with confusion.


    ¡°Who knows?¡± responded Alissa. ¡°We¡®ll see how it goes.¡±


    With how tired Adam was he just allowed everything to happen. The stroking and caressing felt good. He allowed himself to slide into a relaxed state while the girls talked.


    ¡°What do you like about him?¡± Emily asked, getting into the conversation. Girl talk, scoffed Adam in his mind, tuning it out. Having older girls from school being so friendly got Emily excited. She tried to ignore that it was her brother. A bit of romance and excitement felt good.


    ¡°He is so kind to those around, patient and calm. Even if tough situations arise, he is dependable,¡± said Abbey.


    The voices felt like they were distant as Adam sank into a relaxed state. It felt so good. No fighting, no struggle. The rubbing made his nerves feel alive and his blood to flow without involving the river of rage. Heat was building up but more in his stomach as teenage excitement filled him from the attention he was getting. The heat and river were currently still, and the coolness began creeping out from his head, like a mouse sneaking into a room to find cheese.


    ¡°I guess that is true,¡± Emily¡¯s voice echoed from far away. ¡°He has always been calm and reliable. He rarely gets upset when he is teased and can usually calm me down when I¡¯m upset.¡±


    His eyes closed and he sank. It wasn¡¯t sleep that took him but something else, something deeper. His muscles relaxed as the coolness followed the lines that the heat pulses usually pathed along. The coolness expanded, increasing while soothing him. Everything felt right with the world.


    The doorbell rang as the girls chatted. Carlos was introduced to Emily by Nick, and they sat on the same sofa as her. They just ignored what was happening on Adam¡¯s sofa, finding their own comfortable position.


    Adam didn¡¯t see or hear the others as he just felt the coolness fill a space different than his physical body. The space existed in a non-physical reality, but he could feel it linked to his body, and it wanted to grow. A desire to touch others and know them existed in the coolness.


    In a relaxed stupor that subverted his consciousness he didn¡¯t question the desire, reaching out along with it. He was an isolated planet trying to contact another. The coolness had no ego but fed upon his desires, so he guided it towards the closest body that it could connect to.


    A thick tendril of the coolness contacted something else that was formless and limited in area. The tendril moved through the space until it found what it wanted, then a pulsed released from Adam¡¯s mind went through the tendril and into the connected area.


    Panic grabbed Adam as he snapped awake, unsure of what he had done. His eyes opened quickly and he asked, ¡°What was tha¡­¡± Before he finished, his head was gripped and mouth was squashed as Abbey forcefully hissed him from above. Passion could be felt from her as over and over she kissed him, pressing her tongue into his mouth.


    The room was silent as everyone watched what had just happened. Abbey, the meekest of all, attacked Adam without any restraint. She stroked his cheeks, kissed him deeply, only coming for air when absolutely needing a breath, and didn¡¯t seem intent on stopping.


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    With difficulty, Adam ignored the physical world, the kisses, and reached back to the tendril, then he yanked it back from the formless space. The tendril hesitated but didn¡¯t resist. With a gentle transition, even with his rough control, it drew back into his space. The coolness pulled back from the rest of his body and settled in his mind.


    Mid kiss, he felt Abbey¡¯s body stiffen and she sat up. Her face was red from a combination of the previous passion and the current embarrassment. She tried to hide herself by turning into the couch armrest.


    ¡°Well, that was odd,¡± Nick commented as Adam sat up. Emily¡¯s eyes were bulging.


    ¡°What just happened?¡± asked Andrea.


    Adam reached towards Abbey and then pulled back. His face was also flush with embarrassment. Also guilt for what he had done.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure. While I was relaxing I did¡­something. I don¡¯t know what it was. It reached out and touched a space, formed a connection. I think that space was a part of Abbey. When I realized it happened, she started kissing me.¡±


    ¡°And when she stopped?¡±


    ¡°Ah, I pulled back the connection.¡±


    ¡°What were you thinking when you formed the connection?¡±


    Adam¡¯s face got even redder. ¡°Well, uh, I was just relaxing and thinking, how nice it was to be touched by cute girls,¡± he stumbled out.


    ¡°And that thought was what went through this connection you formed?¡±


    ¡°I guess,¡± Adam shrugged.


    Carlos began laughing. ¡°Oh Adam! You are becoming quite the super villain. First you thirst for your enemy¡¯s blood and now you can mind control. Hah!¡±


    Quickly realizing something was wrong he noticed everyone staring at Emily.


    ¡°Super villain? Blood? Mind control? Adam, what is going on?!¡± she demanded.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± muttered Carlos as he slapped his forehead.


    Alissa went to Emily, slapped the back of Carlos¡¯s head, and then held her hand.


    ¡°Cutie, let¡¯s go talk in your room. I think we also might have a sleep over with you tonight. I¡¯d love to hear more stories about Adam.¡± Alissa gently led the confused Emily out of the room.


    Nick punched Carlos on the shoulder. ¡°Dumb ass! She doesn¡¯t know what we¡¯ve been doing.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, uh. I really stepped in that. Sorry. Sorry, Adam.¡±


    Adam just waved it away.


    ¡°At least you are a benevolent super villain to us minions.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Carlos. Let¡¯s get back to this connection thing,¡± Andrea took over. ¡°Abbey, dear. Can you look at us?¡±


    Abbey peeked over, bright red.


    ¡°Were you hurt by it?¡± asked Andrea. Abbey shook her head, eyes down.


    ¡°Did it feel forceful?¡± Again another head shake.


    ¡°Can you tell us what happened? You don¡¯t need to be embarrassed. We all know Adam is an unthinking animal.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± Adam said.


    ¡°Shut up, beast,¡± Andrea slapped his leg playfully.


    Abbey took a deep breath to gather herself. Then she spoke.


    ¡°Well, I was enjoying stroking his hair and looking at his face. The calm presence felt so nice. Being with you guys here just felt fun. Then suddenly I wanted him more than anything. Nothing else mattered but making sure I kissed him. Um, maybe if Alissa hadn¡¯t been in the way I would have pulled his shirt off, but definitely not if the kissing stopped,¡± Abbey explained, getting more serious as she spoke. Nick and Carlos were smirking, which earned a glare from Andrea.


    ¡°What does it feel like now?¡± Andrea asked.


    ¡°That is all gone and now it¡¯s just the feelings I had before, though I remember how I felt.¡± Abbey blushed.


    ¡°So you don¡¯t want to kiss him anymore?¡±


    Abbey got bashful and took a minute to work up the courage. ¡°I still want to kiss him, but I think that is my normal feelings. I don¡¯t HAVE to kiss him now.¡±


    Andrea turned to Adam and admitted, ¡°She¡¯s had a crush on you since last year.¡± Adam eyes opened in surprise. ¡°We couldn¡¯t figure out why until we saw you in action. Anyway, mister super villain, do you think you could do it again?¡±


    ¡°You want me to mind control Abbey again?¡±


    Andrea smiled brightly. ¡°No, this time try it on me. I want to see what this power can do.¡±


    Adam nodded and then closed his eyes. Andrea was sitting next to him now with their faces about two feet apart. Reaching inside himself he encouraged the coolness to expand. It filled his space and then he tried to identify other spaces near him. Once he had a guess which space was Andrea, he reached out with a big tendril and allowed it to reach into her space. As he did, he unintentionally thought about what had happened with Abbey, and the kissing. A cool pulse went down the tendril.


    His eyes flicked open as, once more, his lips were taken. Andrea was holding the sides of his head and kissing him as intensely as Abbey. Her eyes were open and looking into his with a palpable desire. Before it went on much longer, he pulled back the tendril. Like with Abbey it came away gently, leaving Andrea to calm down and back away.


    ¡°Wow,¡± Andrea said.


    ¡°Yeah, wow,¡± Abbey nodded.


    ¡°That felt amazing!¡± Andrea exclaimed.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Adam in surprise.


    ¡°Did it feel that good to you, Abbey?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Andrea. It felt wonderful and I feel a little sad that it is gone.¡±


    ¡°I definitely miss it,¡± nodded Andrea.


    Adam looked stupefied. They knew they were mind controlled and liked it? He wondered if that was built into the ability, or if he had added it.


    ¡°Ok, it¡¯s decided. Let¡¯s try that again,¡± said Andrea.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Adam, Carlos, and Nick together.


    ¡°Only if we can alternate,¡± Abbey pouted, having grown more courage seeing Andrea do the same as her. Andrea agreed to it.


    ¡°Ok, darling. Mind control us more but try to make it less intense. See if you can add other emotions besides horniness. Make it less strong, more subtle,¡± Andrea commanded.


    What followed was attempt after attempt. For a while they just resulted in his lips getting assaulted or the girls not feeling anything. One time Abbey almost got his shirt off before he could pull back the connection. Eventually the tendril became thin and wispy, only imparting a small pulse. That caused the girls to want to lightly caress him, while able to stop their urges. When he turned that connection off, Andrea frowned.


    ¡°I liked that, darling. How long can you keep it going and can you do both of us at once?¡± Andrea asked.


    ¡°Oh...sounds naughty,¡± said Alissa. She had returned to the room alone partway through. Apparently, Nick and Carlos explained why the girls were taking turns kissing him.


    ¡°It was, but we got it under control. Right, darling,¡± Andrea said while rubbing his chest. He just shook his head. As exciting and stimulating as it all was, it took a lot of mental control to move the coolness where he wanted it. Shaping it sometimes felt like shaping water and he had to focus to get it to form. At first it had been instinctual, now he could feel it out through their practice, but he was pushing himself hard to keep going. It would be nice to get it more casual.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine and all, but I must insist that it is my turn,¡± Alissa said haughtily.


    ¡°Ok,¡± said Andrea. ¡°Once you get your turn, we can try a threesome with it.¡±


    ¡°Oh nice!¡± said Alissa as she took Andrea¡¯s place on the couch. The boys looked a bit too excited at their own thoughts. ¡°Ok, big boss,¡± she said seductively. ¡°Make me yours.¡±


    Adam did as he had before, and the results were the same. Head grabbed, aggressive kissing. Alissa was way more forceful with her tongue and lips. He turned it off quickly. This was way too stimulating, even as he was over the embarrassment. This was the best practice of anything he had ever experienced.


    ¡°That did feel great!¡± exclaimed Alissa. ¡°I want it back!¡±


    Next Adam did the subtle version and Alissa still grabbed his head and began kissing him. He cut the connection.


    ¡°That was the weaker one! Why were you kissing me?¡± he demanded.


    ¡°I enjoyed it. Why shouldn¡¯t I do it more?¡± insisted Alissa.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t need to?¡±


    ¡°Nope. Just wanted to. We¡¯ll name our kids Michael and Gabrielle, after the angels. The second name can work for a boy or girl,¡± she smiled happily.


    ¡°We already have kids together?¡± Adam sighed in exhaustion.


    ¡°Of course. Abbey¡¯s dad always tells us kissing leads to sex, and that was some good kissing. I¡¯m sure I¡¯m pregnant now,¡± she laughed at her own joke. Andrea laughed too, and even Abbey let out a giggle when she saw Adam¡¯s face.

 CH 15: Memories

    CHAPTER 15: Memories


    ¡°Now, let¡¯s see if you can make more connections and leave them running,¡± suggested Andrea.


    Delving into himself, Adam created the first thin connection to Andrea. It took him a few tries to create a new tendril without taking from the one he had used. Then he connected to Abbey and created a third to Alissa. They all smiled happily and went back to sitting with him as he laid down.


    ¡°I definitely overdid it,¡± Adam said. ¡°I have a headache and my mind feels strained.¡±


    ¡°Is it hard to keep the connections running?¡± asked Andrea.


    ¡°No, I think I¡¯m fine holding them now. Once I create them, I need to take action to remove them. Manipulating the formless stuff inside takes a lot of internal energy, and sending the pulse of emotions through the connection takes conscious thought.¡±


    ¡°Well, it feels good. Let¡¯s leave it running.¡± Abbey and Alissa agreed with Andrea. The boys just groaned at having to watch all that. ¡°A king in his kingdom,¡± muttered Carlos. A few minutes later Emily came in the room with a tray of brownies. She put it down and sat back next to Carlos.


    Abbey picked one up and started feeding it to Adam while he relaxed.


    ¡°Need some peeled grapes or fanning leaves, your majesty?¡± mocked Emily, clearly angry at whatever Alissa had said.


    ¡°Brownies are fine. I didn¡¯t get breakfast anyway,¡± he responded without acknowledging the edge to her voice.


    A short while later his mom entered leading Tom, Brandon, and Brittney.


    ¡°Adam, are you expecting more friends?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I wasn¡¯t expecting any to begin with,¡± he said around a bite of brownie. His mom stared for a few minutes at his casual position with the girls. She seemed to struggle not to say more, though the disapproval was clear. Andrea responded instead.


    ¡°Four more should be joining us, mother.¡±


    ¡°Mother?¡± Mrs. Clemens eyebrow twitched upwards. ¡°Nick, could you and your friend help bring more chairs in?¡±


    ¡°Sure thing, Mrs. Clemens,¡± said Nick. He and Carlos got up and at her direction carried a sofa from the other room and a few dining room chairs.


    ¡°I¡¯ll order a bunch of pizzas for everyone,¡± she said as she poked her head back in.


    ¡°That¡¯s greatly appreciated, mom,¡± Adam told her. ¡°Do you mind that they are hanging out here? We can always find somewhere else.¡±


    ¡°Oh, its fine. You so rarely brought anyone home other than Nick so it¡¯s refreshing to see that you have more friends.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, mom. Love you.¡±


    Once his mom was gone, Abbey rubbed his hair roughly. ¡°You guys are so cute!¡± Then she kissed his forehead. Tom started giggling and Brittney¡¯s jaw dropped.


    ¡°What has been going on here?¡± asked Brittney.


    Carlos answered with, ¡°Adam found another superpower. He can now mind control. The girls practiced it with him. They liked it and now want him to do it all the time. However, they were already like this before he used it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s some superpower,¡± Tom said as smarmily as possibly while sitting down. ¡°How does mind control fit his build, though?¡±


    Andrea sat up. ¡°That¡¯s a good point! He is a rampaging brute but now he can influence people¡¯s thoughts. Those abilities clash. Is it meant for intimidation?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± said Brittney, ¡°He has [Angry Face] for intimidation. There is also the yelling that makes everyone pause.¡±


    ¡°Weird. We¡®ll need to figure this out,¡± said Alissa thoughtfully. ¡°Maybe he is just a little bit of everything and will be all mage-y next?¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s a little too physically powerful for that to make sense,¡± thought Andrea.


    Adam noticed that Brittney¡¯s hand was on Brandon¡¯s arm the whole time, while Brandon just stared downward. She tried offering him a brownie and he just shook his head without even looking at her.


    ¡°How are you two holding up?¡± Adam asked them. Brittney shook her head in response. ¡°Damn. Sorry. I wish I could have prevented it, and at the same time I know we need to be prepared for things like this.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault, Adam. If anything, we have only gotten this far because of you. All our confidence comes from you and your personal power. The fact that you lead us well and got such different people to work well together is amazing. I think we¡¯ve all changed thanks to you, even Brandon.¡±


    Andrea was tapping on her teeth, then spoke up. ¡°Actually, I have an idea we can try for Brandon. What if we use Adam¡¯s mind control on him.¡±


    ¡°You want him to seduce Brandon?¡± Carlos gasped.


    ¡°You lost speaking privilege, Carlos,¡± said Andrea with a mock glare. Emily and a few others laughed. ¡°Adam said he was excited about girls when he used it on us. What if instead he thinks calming thoughts and connects to Brandon. Maybe it can help calm him instead.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense,¡± said Abbey.


    ¡°Will he have to break our connection to do it?¡± asked Alissa.


    Brittney looked at her. ¡°Is it that pleasant being under it? I don¡¯t think I¡¯d want to be controlled.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t like that,¡± said Alissa. ¡°It¡¯s more like he strengthens the emotions there. We all have some kind of affection towards him. It¡¯s pleasant and having it boosted while getting a sense of shared feeling with him just feels nice.¡± Abbey and Andrea agreed with her. ¡°If I concentrate, I can even sense his feelings towards me. A bit of hesitation and embarrassment mixed with glee. I think it can be an emotional support as much as Carlos¡¯s mind control.¡±


    ¡°Then I think he should try it on me before Brandon. No romance stuff. Just see if he can trigger the calm,¡± said Brittney.


    ¡°Ok, makes sense,¡± Andrea agreed. ¡°You up for it, darling?¡±


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    Adam sat up once more. The positioning on the couches were shuffled around so Adam and Brittney were next to each other with some space. He looked at her to make sure she was ready, and she nodded with determination.


    ¡°Alright, give me a minute to get in the right mind set.¡±


    Adam sank into his inner self. He spread out the coolness. Then he sensed for the space that would represent Brittney. Once he found it, instead of forming the tendril right away, he thought back to when he felt confident and sure of himself. The strongest of those memories came from recently, before going into a fight. A strong determination and knowing that he would come out of it alright.


    Once that feeling was suffused through the coolness, he reached it towards Brittney. He used a thicker tendril this time. When it had connected to her, he pulsed the emotion. Then he opened his eyes and looked at her.


    She was staring at him, her eyes bulging. Her mouth was open. Balling up her fist she punched him as hard as she could in his shoulder.


    ¡°What was that for?¡± he grumbled as he rubbed the shoulder, surprised it didn¡¯t hurt much.


    ¡°What the hell, Adam? This isn¡¯t fair. This isn¡¯t fair! This is how you feel going into a fight? We are all scared and weak, and you go in feeling like this? This is amazing and terrifying. I can feel your strength and confidence as if it was my own. I feel like I could go run into a pack of monsters right now and take them all out,¡± Brittney said breathily. ¡°Feeling this way would get me killed.¡±


    ¡°Oh, I want a taste,¡± said Alissa with a smile.


    ¡°Me too,¡± Abbey said meekly.


    Adam pulsed that feeling into their existing connections, and they gasped together.


    ¡°Oh yeah!¡± cried Alissa.


    ¡°I like this! I wish it were real,¡± said Andrea.


    Abbey just nodded along.


    The guys were now leaning forward a bit.


    ¡°Did you see any of the memories I was thinking about or just the feelings?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Just the feelings, but we knew it was about fighting because you included a bit of blood lust. I don¡¯t just feel the confidence and power, I also want to go prove it right now,¡± said Andrea. ¡°I can¡¯t believe how much you desire to fight.¡±


    Adam shook him head, ¡°The dose I gave you three was much smaller than Brittney¡¯s too.¡±


    ¡°Wow. Keep that much to yourself. She''s right that it would get us killed if he went into a fight with it.¡±


    Adam wondered if he could pull back just the new emotions from the thinner tendrils but couldn¡¯t figure out how to. Instead, he just cut those connections.


    ¡°Awww,¡± whined Abbey once it was gone.


    ¡°I expect more of that later,¡± insisted Andrea.


    Adam went back inside himself to observe the connection he had left with Brittney. It was nice to know he could remove certain ones without cutting them all. The connection with her was still strong and he was curious if there was something else he could do with it.


    Until now he had always stayed within the space of his own body, but suddenly he wondered if he could leave that space. If the coolness could reach out, then maybe he could stay within the coolness. He let his consciousness follow along the tendril. As he reached the other end of the connection, he noticed that the tendril wasn¡¯t just touching Brittney¡¯s space but had gone inside, like a root in the ground. When Adam thought about moving further into the space the tendril expanded into that part. There was no attempt to stop him. The two substances, his coolness and Brittney¡¯s space, didn¡¯t seem to mind moving around each other.


    ¡°Adam, what are you doing? Can¡¯t you cut the connection?¡± asked Brittney.


    He was able to still control his body even while in this ethereal space, though splitting his attention was challenging. ¡°I¡¯m trying something. Give me a few minutes.¡±


    For a short while he guided the tendril around the space. It wasn¡¯t shaped like a person, and he ran into the edges in several spots. The space was made up of the same stuff all throughout, but he did find different parts of it that felt like they had different purposes, almost like there were metaphysical separators between them. Two areas were more interesting than the rest. One area had little bits like clouds. Those clouds were very small and sparse, but he could feel strength from them. They wanted to get denser and more numerous. He had no idea what they were.


    The second area was full of sparks. Little sparks and big sparks floated around. They bounced off each other like animations of atoms from middle school. As the tendril got closer, the sparks just moved around it, as though they couldn¡¯t exist in the same space. Out of curiosity he formed the tendril into a tip and tried to touch a spark.


    Suddenly he was in a park. His small hands were handing a slice of apple to a child. Little Brandon wouldn¡¯t take the apple, though he clearly wanted to.


    ¡°My dad says I can¡¯t take handouts,¡± Brandon said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a handout, it¡¯s an apple,¡± said Adam with confusion.


    Adam turned his head towards where their moms were sitting. ¡°Can I share?¡± he asked in a little girl¡¯s voice, feeling confused.


    Brandon¡¯s mom looked concerned but said it was alright. Brandon then accepted the apple.


    Adam pulled back the tendril.


    ¡°What was that?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°Did something happen to you?¡± countered Adam.


    ¡°Yes, I just remembered when I was eating an apple in the park with Brandon. Did you cause that?¡±


    ¡°I think I found where your memories are,¡± said Adam. He heard laughing from the group but couldn¡¯t afford to concentration on anything else.


    ¡°Don¡¯t mess with them, please,¡± Brittney said with concern.


    ¡°I won¡¯t. They avoid me unless I reach for them. Give me just a minute then I¡¯ll come back out.¡±


    He continued to look around until he noticed a disturbance in Brittney¡¯s substance. Everything so far has felt like moving through a dense gas, no resistance, with it just moving out of the way. However now he found a spot that was almost solid. It was round with a bit of jaggedness. There was a wrongness too it and his tendril wanted to destroy it.


    ¡°I just found something weird. It¡¯s like a hard orb in your memory area. The other memories are avoiding it, and it looks like it is changing parts of your memory space.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± Brittney asked sounding alarmed. ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Should I try touching it?¡±


    ¡°Darling,¡± Adam could feel Andrea¡¯s voice near his ear. ¡°Do you think it¡¯s dangerous to her?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. It¡¯s in her space so might be a part of her but the texture is wrong. Everything about it feels wrong. It¡¯s probably been here for a while.¡±


    ¡°Can you try touching it without doing anything?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°I can try,¡± answered Adam.


    He took the tendril and touched the jagged orb. Nothing happened for a moment, so he pushed a little harder into it. Then it responded. The jagged edges turned into spikes that tried to jab him. The space was weird, and it seemed like they couldn¡¯t enter his tendril¡¯s space or interact with him. While he watched this with curiosity, the way they moved towards him but never touched him, electricity started crackling around it. It was like the sparks of memory but there was way more energy here. The energy was building through the orb until the orb cracked, releasing the energy. It leapt around the orb, hitting all the spikes and edges of the orb. Then it hit the tendril that was touching them.


    Adam was six. He was outside playing with the neighbor boy. They had several dolls around them under a tree in her yard. A scary man was standing over them. The man was short, sweaty, and yelling at the boy. Tears streamed down Adam¡¯s face as he cried, too scared to move.


    ¡°Dosh plah wif dulls, yoush panshy!¡± the man shouted then pulled back his foot and kicked the boy in the stomach. ¡°Shoopid kids and der shoopid dulls.¡± The speech was all slurred together, and Adam couldn¡¯t understand it. Blood came out of the boy¡¯s mouth.


    Adam, terrified as he was, stood up and yelled at the man, ¡°Stop hurting him!¡± He could barely see through the tears, so he wasn¡¯t able to see the man¡¯s hand before it grabbed him by the back of his neck. The brief feeling of flying ended with making contact with the tree. Pain took over everything, especially his arm.


    The sounds of adults rushing out of a house to protect their daughter, and another woman getting punched as she tried to pull the scary man away, barely registered through Adams pain.


    Then there was sobbing, both distant and close, and the feeling of shaking brought him out of the memory. He let go of the tendril and was back on the couch. Brittney was sobbing. Her hands were grabbing his shirt and shaking him while her forearm was pressed against his chest. Tears streaked down his own cheeks as well.


    The room had once again become still, unsure of what had happened. Alissa moved to hold Brittney¡¯s hands while Andrea had already wrapped Brittney in a hug. Abbey touched her and a red flash indicated a heal had been cast.


    Adam didn¡¯t know what to do. Guilt flooded him as he realized he was experimenting with unknown powers on a friend. Using his powers felt so natural, like he had them for years but had forgotten about them. They were so much stronger than those starter skills everyone else had.


    Doing the only thing he could think of, Adam imagined what it was like to feel sorry and at the same time reassuring a friend. He took those emotions and pushed them into the connection before canceling it.


    Brittney raised her sobbing face and looked into his eyes. ¡°That really is unfair,¡± she whispered and started laughing while tears still poured from her eyes.

 CH 16: Fathers

    CHAPTER 16: Fathers


    ¡°What did you do?¡± asked Andrea.


    ¡°He unlocked a traumatic memory. Something I had probably blocked off. I just relived it. Brandon¡¯s dad found us playing with dolls and kicked Brandon until he bled, then threw me against a tree. I never could remember how I had broken my arm as a kid,¡± Brittney said while getting control of her breathing. She slowly unclenched her hands and pulled them back, allowing Andrea and Alissa to hug her.


    ¡°Wow,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± added Nick.


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Emily. ¡°I thought Adam didn¡¯t have a class. How is he doing this?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t know,¡± explained Tom. ¡°We think he has a class but it is kind of broken, or his [System] use is broken. You should see him when he¡­¡±


    ¡°NO!¡± snapped Adam as he cut off Tom. ¡°No talking about it in my house.¡±


    Tom¡¯s face paled. ¡°Yes, boss.¡±


    ¡°What? No. That¡¯s not fair,¡± complained Emily. ¡°What¡¯s going on Adam?¡±


    ¡°Until I know more and the group finishes what we started, I don¡¯t want you to know.¡±


    Emily glared at him, anger clear on her face. ¡°That¡¯s not good enough!¡±


    ¡°Too bad,¡± was his response.


    ¡°You¡¯ve never acted like this to me before, Adam.¡±


    Carlos put his hand on her shoulder. ¡°This is all new to him, and us, too. I think he¡¯s just trying to keep you safe,¡± he tried to comfort her.


    ¡°Hmph,¡± Emily said as she crossed her arms and turned away from them. ¡°Is this why your tags include numbers? You are all showing 7s or 8s. I¡¯m never seen anyone without a zero.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s all because of your brother,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°If you¡¯ve figured out how to level then you need to tell me. Maybe tell everybody. That¡¯s too exciting to keep to yourself,¡± demanded Emily.


    ¡°Well,¡± Tom started hesitantly. ¡°Boss said not to talk about it so we can¡¯t.¡±


    Emily looked around at them. ¡°What, does he control you?¡±


    ¡°Er, no? Um, yes?¡± muttered Tom, looking scared. ¡°I don¡¯t know how to answer that. Boss, can you tell me what to say?¡±


    ¡°Adam is that scary?¡± asked Emily. Her anger defused by growing curiosity.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Nick. Everyone looked at Adam who was glared at them. Then they quickly looked down.


    ¡°No need for scary face, boss,¡± begged Tom.


    Emily went to laugh at how everyone was acting towards her harmless brother. When she looked up at his face, she realized she was shaking. Maybe he was scary after all.


    Adam turned back to the girls. Brittney was under control now but with puffy eyes and tear-streaked face. She was whispering with the other three. Once attention came back to them, they sat up and Alissa and Abbey took different seats, with Andrea still hugging Brittney.


    ¡°Well that was unexpected,¡± said Andrea.


    ¡°It was scary. A sudden awful memory hit me, one I didn¡¯t know was there. I¡¯m not sure if you would be the best therapist or the worst. I¡¯m sure there is no middle ground there,¡± said Brittney. She thought for a few minutes before slowly saying, ¡°You should try with Brandon but not like that. Just try to reassure him or something.¡±


    ¡°Brandon, come here,¡± she ordered.


    Brandon mumbled petulantly, ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Brandon, please? Adam can help.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± hissed Brandon.


    Tom jumped in, ¡°You are obviously not fine. You couldn¡¯t stop crying last night, even cuddling with my sisters.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be fine,¡± Brandon insisted.


    ¡°Get over here!¡± Brittney said as forcefully as she could.


    Grumbling, unwilling to look at them like a child in a tantrum, Brandon sat between Adam and Brittney. He looked up at Adam. Anger, fear, and shame filled him eyes. Even Adam, who had never been very aware of others, could see the self-loathing that filled him.


    Releasing a sigh, Adam spoke. ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll try to tell you what I see before I do anything this time.¡±


    Adam went back into himself. Expanding the coolness, reaching out for formless space that should be Brandon, he found it and formed a tendril. The tendril reached into Brandon and explored until he found the sparks.


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    Brandon¡¯s memory area was different than Brittney¡¯s. It was a lot more chaotic. Collisions between the memories happened everywhere. Electricity jumped between them instead of staying in its original spark.


    He moved around until he found a large memory at the center. It wasn¡¯t encased, like Brittney¡¯s, it was just big and wild. Adam watched as memories would get pulled to it, collide, and then bounce away, with the electricity cracking around them the whole way.


    ¡°It looks like there is a big memory causing havoc inside him. Do you want me to look at it?¡± Adam asked out loud.


    ¡°No!¡± said Brandon.


    ¡°How bad does it look?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°Really bad. It¡¯s throwing all his other memories all over the place. There is even energy from it that affects the other memories.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch it!¡± said Brandon. He tried to hit Adam, but Brittney held his fist.


    ¡°Brandon, we need to help you,¡± said Brittney soothingly.


    ¡°You aren¡¯t my mother!¡± he snapped.


    That was the final straw. ¡°That¡¯s right! I¡¯m not your mother, but I have been expected to be for years. To look out for you and protect you because your real mother wouldn¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about my mom like that,¡± Brandon shouted.


    ¡°Adam, go ahead,¡± said Brittney, ignoring Brandon.


    Unsure if it was the right decision, he reached the tendril and touched the energy.


    A hand reached out of the shadow on the wall. A knife cut through him, pain shocking his whole body. It dragged along his skin. Adam watched as the knife easily cut through his skin and muscle revealing his insides. His intestines fell out, punctured in places. Blood and goo came pouring out. It was like a waterfall of disgust that just kept pouring out, and the knife never stopped cutting. No matter how far it cut through his stomach, there was always further to go. The feeling of deathly cold spread through his body.


    Adam raised his head and looked at the hand holding the knife. It wasn¡¯t green or with a claw. Instead, it was a white, hairy hand. He followed it up to the head and saw the man from Brittney¡¯s memory; sweaty, unshaven, and drunk. His mouth was soundlessly shouting at Adam while snarling. The image was so shocking that he jumped his consciousness back to his body.


    Brandon was now quiet and pale, staring down at his stomach. He looked like he was going to vomit and wasn¡¯t responding to Brittney and Andrea trying to talk to him. When they noticed Adam was moving, they turned their attention to him.


    ¡°What did you see? Brandon suddenly stopped moving,¡± said Brittney.


    ¡°I saw the moment when he was stabbed, but his memory is all messed up. The memory is only of when he was stabbed, not before. Plus, the stabbing never ends, the knife just keeps cutting. Finally, it isn¡¯t a goblin that hurt him but his father. Its throwing his other memories out of whack too,¡± explained Adam.


    ¡°What can we do about it?¡± asked Andrea.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± said Adam. ¡°It would take a lot of work to sort everything out and I don¡¯t think an emotion pulse will fix it. I will try something else.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, Adam dove back into his space. Instead of heading to the connection, he searched around until he found his own memories. He touched a few and was quickly able to find his memory of that fight. Unsure how, he willed a clip from when he saw the dagger coming at Brittney until he killed the goblins attacking them. He pulled that clip away from his own memory, making a copy of it and then dragged it through himself, to the connection, and across into Brandon¡¯s space.


    Arriving at Brandon¡¯s central memory, Adam took his own memory and held it next to the warped one. Energy crackled between Brandon¡¯s to Adam¡¯s memory, trying to repulse it. Adam¡¯s tendril held it steady until the electricity covered both, and then pulled them into contact as if they were now one memory.


    After making sure they wouldn¡¯t separate, Adam pulled back into his own space and sent a pulse of strength and determination across the connection before cutting it. Opening his eyes, he saw Brandon staring at him.


    ¡°Is that really what happened?¡± he asked, confusion on his face. ¡°All my memories just feel like my father keeps stabbing me. Your memory shows me protecting Brittney for once.¡±


    ¡°Your father wasn¡¯t there Brandon. He clearly has hurt you a lot. However, you are stronger now. You don¡¯t need to let yourself be hurt. You¡¯ve always wanted to be a hero, and this time you were. I couldn¡¯t get there in time. All my power and it wasn¡¯t enough. Pure strength isn¡¯t enough to protect. It also takes opportunity. It takes determination. You were the hero that time. You took the opportunity, sacrificed, and saved Brittney. You even survived because your teammates made use of the chance to heal you. It took the whole team, and you were the hero that allowed it to happen.¡±


    Brandon gave a curt nod. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯m sorry for how I¡¯ve been acting. I¡¯m sorry for giving up because of it. I¡¯m sorry for, well, for a lot of things unrelated to you guys. Thanks for not giving up on me, Adam. Thanks for always trying to protect me, Brittney. I think, uh, I think I need time to think, but then I¡¯ll be able to move on. I¡¯ll learn to protect myself.¡± He stood up and went back to his seat.


    A buzzing sound drew Adam¡¯s attention, and he looked up to see a drone recording him once more. ¡°Alright, nailed the hero speech,¡± whispered Ed¡¯s voice.


    He turned and saw more seats filled with Ed, face buried in his laptop, Lucas, Elias, and Randall. Lucas had a bruised cheek, and when Adam raised his eyes questioningly, Lucas said, ¡°My old man wasn¡¯t happy I tore my shirt and pants. Said I didn¡¯t respect him, or the good money he spent on me.¡±


    Adam sighed and laid back down with his head in Abbey¡¯s lap, feet on Andrea, and Alissa leaned against him. ¡°I¡¯m tired,¡± he said then went back to relaxing. Pizzas arrived and everyone ate well, especially him, finishing two pizzas by himself. Lamar had gotten into trouble for taking his dad¡¯s bow, and Joseph just hadn¡¯t shown up. Andrea had answered Adam¡¯s questions about why everyone was there by telling him that she had set it up. It wasn¡¯t her fault he needed to get on the group text chain.


    It was a relaxing afternoon, where their comradery grew. They had been brought together just a few days before, but everyone was growing accustomed to each other and learning more about everyone.


    All the boys went home after dinner and the girls were allowed to sleep over with Emily in the living room. During the night, when Adam was in bed, he felt his door open and then a body slipped into the covers beside him.


    ¡°Can I have the connection back,¡± asked Abbey meekly.


    ¡°How strong?¡± he asked.


    ¡°As strong as you can give,¡± she responded.


    She showed no meekness the rest of the night.


    ***


    While eating pancakes the next morning for breakfast, Adam¡¯s mom kept glaring at him with a disapproving look. He tried to avoid looking at her, sure that he had an embarrassed look on his own face, focusing on eating as many pancakes as he could. The girls kept whispering and giggling, even Emily. Abbey kept blushing when he looked at her.


    ¡°We¡®ll be having a long talk when you get back, young man,¡± his mom was stern, as he packed some food in a bag, while his group waited at the front door. He just nodded. There was no escaping it.


    ¡°I¡¯ll be back later. Sorry, mom, and love you.¡±


    Before he reached the door his dad intercepted him. Instead of saying anything he handed over five condoms and then just walked away. Adam facepalmed.


    All this non-sense was taking away from what really mattered. Today would be the final day. Today he would end it. All the goblins were going to die.

 CH 17: The Goblin Base

    CHAPTER 17: The Goblin Base


    Adam left the house at 10am, determined to end the goblin threat. He would do everything in his power to eradicate the goblins. A group text had let everyone know his plans, and even if they didn¡¯t show up, he would give his all.


    When Adam and the girls arrived at the warehouse, three cars were out front. The rest of the group was inside and already organizing the gear. Adam nodded in greeting to everyone.


    ¡°My goal is to kill all the goblins today. I want to crush them and end their invasion before more begin. Before now we moved cautiously and tried to draw them towards us so you guys could get experience. Now you are used to the fighting and your levels are higher than theirs, so I want us to move intelligently, but I also want to be a wrecking ball.


    ¡°Level up when there is time before encounters so you can keep up. If anyone gets too fatigued or injured call out to me and we can retreat. However, this time I want to keep going as hard as possible for as long as possible. We killed almost a hundred goblins on Friday, so I have no idea the numbers to expect or where their base is. Ed, use your drone to scout. Try to locate their base.¡±


    ¡°Actually, er, boss,¡± spoke up Joseph. ¡°Yesterday I came scouting. I was frustrated we weren¡¯t doing even more, so I came with binoculars and tried to find the most goblins, and I think I know where the base is.¡±


    Adam turned to Joseph, with a concerned and angry look on his face.


    ¡°You came out here by yourself?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± Joseph responded.


    ¡°Without telling anyone?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, why?¡±


    Adam sighed. ¡°We need to move as a group. We are a team. It¡¯s too dangerous to chance moving alone. Why would you do that?¡± Adam¡¯s voice rose in volume as the words came out.


    ¡°W-well,¡± Joseph stuttered realizing he was being scolded. ¡°I felt like I wasn¡¯t pulling my weight with the group and wanted to do more. I just think that this is the only important thing I¡¯ve done in my whole life, and I don¡¯t want to lose my place in the group. I even got more scrapers that I sharpened to make it easier for us to swap when dull.¡±


    ¡°How did you pay for that equipment?¡±


    ¡°Weeeeell¡­¡± Joseph never really answered.


    ¡°Listen, everyone. Joseph is right about this being the important thing we are doing in our lives. I''ve drifted through life, but this is different. If the [System] is to be believed then we are in danger of losing our homes, our city, and our planet to the invaders. We need to get stronger to fight them because I¡¯m sure they won¡¯t all be goblins. No one will lose their spots in the group unless they want to. We started this together and we will finish together.¡±


    Then he turned to Jospeh, ¡°What did you find yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Well, there is one warehouse that looks oddly reinforced. The walls have a stone like look to them. There are multiple goblins watching on all the roofs and it seems unlikely we¡¯ll sneak up on them. They pulled the patrolling goblins to the one warehouse I mentioned.¡±


    ¡°Then that is where we will go, straight in the front. I¡¯ll create the chaos and you guys take advantage of it. Lucas, can you command the group and take point if I get a little out of control?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Lucas.


    ¡°If something happens to Lucas, then next is Tom followed by Brittney. At that point you should all be running to get away. We have healers so small injuries we can survive. Let¡¯s try not to have bigger ones. Protect the group and we should be fine.¡±


    Once everyone was fully geared and the group was ready, they got into formation and steadily walked to the warehouse Joseph had mentioned. No goblins came out to challenge them, though Nick, Carlos, and Lamar were getting better at finding signs and watching the shadows. Adam could feel the goblins watching from the roofs and gave up on being sneaky.


    To prevent an ambush, they walked through the wider streets and avoided the alleyways. Joseph led them to the building that he thought was the goblin base. While all these warehouses were big, this one hardly looked large enough to be home to an invasion. It could fit a few hundred goblins at most, and without room for training, supplying, or the other activities soldiers need to do.


    Inspecting the building, Adam quickly saw that the front bay door was pulled partially open, as if an invitation. The opening was wide enough for about two people to walk side by side. The rest of the warehouse looked normal on first glance, but as he looked closer, he saw that the metal walls actually looked more like stone. Checking another warehouse for reference, he definitely thought this one was made of a different material.


    ¡°Spotlight,¡± Adam called. Nick jumped forward and aimed the flashlight on the doorway.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see inside,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Yeah, definitely a trap,¡± agreed Adam.


    The rest of the group watched and didn¡¯t even comment. Adam was once again amazed at how these high schoolers could act like professional soldiers.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to approach and then see what¡¯s in the doorway. Follow a bit behind me so I have room to withdraw.¡±


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    No light could be seen from the building as Adam got closer. As he arrived at the doorway he reached for it. His hand went to pass through the door¡¯s threshold when he felt a slight resistance. It was barely enough to notice, but it did feel like he was passing through something. Instead of stepping in, he went to the sliding door and tried pushing it open. He was surprised when he couldn¡¯t move the doors.


    ¡°Ed, can you send a drone inside?¡± Adam had already noticed that Ed had more drones nearby. Like before there was one focused on him at all times, then another watching the group, while a third checked the roofs and surroundings. They were all controlled by Ed, with his face buried in his laptop.


    At his question, a fourth drone was pulled from Ed¡¯s backpack and flew towards the door. When it tried to enter it lightly bounced off.


    ¡°Nope, seems to be a barrier,¡± said Ed.


    ¡°Then I¡¯m going to enter. You guys stay here,¡± Adam ordered.


    ¡°No, boss,¡± said Tom. ¡°We do this as a group. We won¡¯t be left behind.¡± Everyone nodded or spoke agreement.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know what is in there. What if it does something to me? I have the best chance of escaping,¡± pleaded Adam.


    Lucas spoke out, ¡°Without you we can¡¯t do this anyway. If anything, we should send someone else to see what happens. You are the least expendable. Any volunteers?¡±


    Adam¡¯s stomach dropped and he suddenly felt like garbage. He didn¡¯t get attached to people easily, but this group felt like something important to him. In a short time he had thought of them as friends, and while he could view the events like a game that he could walk away from due to his unexpected powers, no one else had that leeway. They were viewing it as soldiers and giving him more weight than he felt he earned. If something happened to one, or all, of them, Adam wasn¡¯t sure he¡¯d be able to walk away from it unscathed. The already pounding anger inside him towards the goblins would consumer him even more than it had when Brandon had been hurt.


    While almost everyone raised their hands, Carlos slipped past the group and jumped into the doorway. Adam reached to grab him but had been too surprised by everyone¡¯s willingness. He held his breath in concern but was able to exhale about 20 seconds later when Carlos stepped back out.


    ¡°It seems we can go in and out. What did you see, Carlos?¡± Adam asked in relief.


    ¡°Oh man, it is unbelievable. You guys need see this,¡± said Carlos with a smile before he slipped back through the doorway.


    Lucas shrugged and walked into it himself, followed by the whole group, receiving a wink from Andrea and a reassuring smile from Abbey. Adam ended up last since he wasn¡¯t about to push anyone out of the way. When he got inside the group had to shift forward to make room. He was stunned by what he saw.


    The sky had an eerie reddish color. There were light gray puffy clouds scattered in it, casually blowing around from the slight breeze. The ground was also reddish with a tin-colored, unhealthy-looking grass. The most important fact that Adam took in with his stunned silence was that there was a sky and ground inside a warehouse!


    ¡°It¡¯s a tardis!¡± exclaimed Brittney with excitement. Everyone but Brandon turned and looked at her with blank expressions. She focused on each person¡¯s face trying to fine some of her own excitement.


    ¡°You know, bigger on the inside,¡± she continued. No one changed their stares.


    ¡°Dr. Who, you clods!¡± she whisper-shouted at them. Brandon went over and patted her arm in consolation, and she turned away, embarrassment and frustration turning her face red.


    Adam continued to look around. Sounds were muffled in this space, as if there was no echo from Brittney speaking. It also hadn¡¯t traveled very far, making Adam¡¯s ears feel weird, as if they were under water.


    As odd as the sky and ground seemed it was even weirder because he could see the warehouse walls. Everything was contained within them but took up more space than the warehouse had in it. This area could be used for thousands of camp sites and staging areas. However, half the space was taken up by a large fortress made of stone. The fortress was very basic with simple walls about ten feet high, thick enough to walk on, but with no other defensive measures.


    Inside the walls there was a mini castle, only about two stories tall and without any towers or lookout structures. Windows were just gaps in the stone, nothing covering them. In all it looked like a toddler could have designed it with clay.


    In the front wall was an entrance about eight feet high that looked like it went into a hallway. No door or gate was attached, just a gap in the stone.


    ¡°There aren¡¯t any goblins out here,¡± said Randall.


    ¡°It looks like quite a lot could be inside the walls,¡± said Andrea.


    ¡°I don¡¯t mind,¡± nodded Lucas. ¡°If they had surrounded us here then we would have been in trouble. This whole setup is odd. Nothing looks defensive. Either they didn¡¯t expect anyone to attack them here, or they removed all gates and defenses to make sure we could come in.¡±


    ¡°Probably the former,¡± agreed Adam. ¡°They have never seemed strategic or disciplined in their fights.¡±


    ¡°What do we do?¡± asked Alissa.


    ¡°I think we enter those hallways in the walls and see if there are goblins inside,¡± answered Adam. ¡°If anything, the hallways make it easier for us, so long as there are no traps. Having to defend two directions is easier than fighting in the open. At least for most people.¡±


    They all got back into their moving formation and Adam led them into the opening in the walls. He could hear slight noise and vibrations from movement along the stone, but nothing to indicate hidden foes nearby.


    Immediately inside the wall opening they had to choose between the left or right hall, as one long passage followed along the wall. They chose to turn right and when they got to where the wall should end, they turned left, following the next hall until it opened into a large courtyard.


    ¡°There are your goblins,¡± said Tom flippantly as they reached the end of the hall and looked out across a large courtyard. Thousands of goblins were there. Some were fighting each other, some ripping meat off bones, and others just lounging around. The distance between this wall and the castle was much larger than it had looked on the outside.


    ¡°This place is messing with our senses. We should have heard all this before,¡± said Brittney.


    ¡°Can we even fight this many?¡± asked Brandon with a quivering voice. Fear was apparent in the group.


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Adam confidently. ¡°Use the environment to our advantage. Stay in the hallway so only a few can approach at a time. Use their corpses as barricades. Smash the outside wall if you need to escape, instead of following the tunnel. Most importantly, level up when you get the experience. More vitality and strength will keep you moving for longer and should invigorate you throughout the fight.¡±


    Adam closed his eyes and focused on the coolness. He sensed for the human shaped spaces around him and tried creating connections. It was hard holding so many at once, but he knew it was necessary. Once he counted the same number of tendrils as people in his group, he pulsed out his strongest sense of confidence and determination.


    Immediately everyone was standing straighter and looking alert. The fear was wiped away.


    ¡°Damn, boss,¡± said Tom vigorously, ¡°better than a keg of coffee, that was.¡±


    ¡°No wonder the girls like it,¡± said Elias.


    ¡°If you can do this regularly then I think we do have a chance,¡± said Lucas.

 CH 18: A Real Battle

    CHAPTER 18: A Real Battle


    ¡°We should set the warriors ahead of the doorway, so we have some room to move. Then we can retreat to the hallway when we get overwhelmed or the bodies are getting in our way. Make sure not to move out too far. Lucas, create rotations. Two spears and one scout in the back to watch for goblins approaching through the hallway. Casters need to decide on a rotation, so you aren¡¯t all out of mana at the same time. Fight defensively and check in and out. Support, stay on top of heals and weapons. Make sure you have plenty of mana for bigger injuries.¡±


    Everyone took positions. Spare scrapers and machetes were left just inside the hallway so they could be passed back and forth. Lucas, Brittney, and Tom started in the front with Carlos and Lamar. Lamar didn¡¯t have his bow this time, due to his dad¡¯s anger at him borrowing it without permission. Randal, Joseph, and Nick were further down the hallway.


    Once everyone was in position, Adam nodded. ¡°Time for some havoc. I¡¯ll be back in a few minutes.¡±


    Adam closed his eyes and felt inside himself. He withdrew the coolness back to his head, except for the tendrils connecting him to his group. Then he felt in his heart. The heat was not restrained so he encouraged it to begin spreading to his body. A few angry memories of being in fights started the heat to flow into the river. When his body was warm and his skin was tinting red, he was ready.


    His strength and speed had grown beyond normal since the system came. The heat and river clearly increased it too. There had never been a time for Adam to test how superhuman he had become, and now seemed like a good opportunity.


    Legs pumped as Adam sprinted forward. Before the goblins noticed him, he jumped as hard as his legs could manage. The air in this place didn¡¯t let him feel how fast he was going, but he saw the ground flying past as he rose about thirty feet into the air. The distance he covered was huge. He had aimed for a large group of goblins.


    As he was coming down, Adam opened his mouth and roared. The sound failed to travel like it should have due to the environment, but hundreds of goblin heads whipped in his direction. Those closest to him froze mid motion, not even able to bring their heads up before he came smashing down, leading with his sledgehammer.


    A goblin exploded, gore showering those closest. The force of the landing tried to push them back, but there were too many for space to really open up, which suited Adam well. Instead, they were knocked off balance against the goblins behind them, like dominoes that didn¡¯t have the space to fall over.


    While the goblins were still stunned by his roar, he swung his hammer. He swung and swung. With each movement a goblin burst and showering the area with more gore. The blood smelled too sweet to Adam, but he put all thoughts away and swung him hammer.


    In seconds, more than a dozen were dead. Then the stun wore off. The yard became a press as enraged goblins tried to get to him from all sides. They climbed over their own, fighting amongst themselves to get to him, only for those closest to explode. There was no thought, either in Adam or the goblins, there was simply mayhem.


    Adam didn¡¯t even need to dodge or block. He moved so much faster than the goblins. Any that got close enough to raise their weapon were soon crushed into those behind. The space around Adam never expanded as the press continued, which worked best for Adam. He let his internal river turn into rapids and his strength and speed increased further. He was a blur of death as goblins fell by the dozens.


    When he ran out of room or the area became too slippery from the blood, he would jump and land on another group. His movements would catch the goblins by surprise and they would turn too slowly, letting Adam make another gory opening to swung his hammer freely. The goblins all showed levels between 4 and 7, but it all felt like nothing as Adam easily moved through them.


    After hundreds of goblins had fallen in just a few minutes, Adam felt his limits. He knew the river could boil and produce even more heat and strength, but his body and mind couldn¡¯t take it. The strength was unnatural, and it was fueled by anger that would overwhelm his thoughts. It was caused by some energy inside of him and if he let it build up too much then it would overwhelm his base abilities. Even the goblin¡¯s blood that was all over his exposed chest was steaming as it burned from his heated skin. His breath was getting ragged as the air entering his lungs was heated up and burning his inside.


    Before he ran out of breath, Adam swung his hammer and then roared once more, stunning those goblins directly around him. He kicked off the ground, using goblin after goblin as steps to propel him towards his friends.


    Landing before the goblins had time to followed him, he gasped weakly at Abbey¡¯s heal. Concern was on all their faces as Abbey rushed forward and touched him. A yelp came from her as she pulled her hand away.


    ¡°You''re too hot to touch,¡± she exclaimed.


    ¡°We need to hurry. They will be here in seconds,¡± said Lucas to get the others focused on the goblins.


    A bottle of water was dumped on his arm by Andrea, where it hissed and steamed upon contact. Adam tried unsuccessfully to draw the coolness out of his head and to his arm. His thoughts were as elusive as the steam, burned away by the raging river and the hate it carried. No matter how hard he tried to focus all he could hear and feel were the roiling of the heat inside.


    The slightest chill flashed through him and he saw Abbey healing him where the water had been dumped. Then another, as Abbey cast multiple heals on him. As they came, he found breathing easier and his skin was cooling down.


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    ¡°Thanks,¡± he said when his thoughts got clearer.


    ¡°How did they do this to you?¡± Abbey asked.


    The goblins had reached the group by now. Scrapers were pinning them in the limited space and machetes were cutting. Brittney wielded a goblin shield and small hammer while Lucas swung his larger sledgehammer to move the goblins into position. Even with all the noise they should be causing the volume was surreally steady without an echo or reverberation.


    ¡°They didn¡¯t touch me,¡± Adam answered. ¡°I tried to see how hard I could go, and it seemed that whatever I use to power up also harms by body. When I realized it, I came back here. I think you¡¯ve healed me enough now.¡±


    ¡°So you can¡¯t use your strength?¡±


    ¡°Just not that hard. I¡¯ll be fine if I hold back and just use the top end in bursts.¡±


    Abbey¡¯s touch lingered on him so he pulled away, dropping his blue coated sledgehammer against the wall and picking up one of the spare scrapers. Then he headed to the front line and helped control the incoming goblins.


    The biggest threat wasn¡¯t the goblins¡¯ weapons, it was the weight of the goblins behind them pushing the crowd forward. There was no control to their approach. The goblins acted like mindless beasts, pushing forward to get their prey only to fall again and again. The bodies that fell helped Adam¡¯s group by creating an obstacle that was able to slowly release the pressure from those in the back.


    As exhausting as it was for his group, Adam didn¡¯t see any waver in their movements. They fought and fought. Minutes of exertion at this level would even wreck professional athletes, but his group was steady. They breathed and used controlled movements. Scrapers pinned or steered a goblin, [Mana Darts] hit them, machetes took out their legs. It was controlled chaos and throughout it Adam pulsed determination and calm using his connections while he worked at the group¡¯s pace.


    After about fifteen minutes, two rotation changes to prevent fatigue from building, and another 70ish goblins, something changed. A goblin slipped under Randall¡¯s thrust and headed towards the center of the group. Adam was able to catch its chin with the back of his scrapers pole and throw it back to their front. He hadn¡¯t seen Randall falter, so he looked at the goblin¡¯s tag.


    Brawler [11 (6)]


    The level number was messed up on all the goblins reaching them. They were all five levels higher than they should be. It looked like the original level was in parenthesis. He didn¡¯t know why the level was increasing but it was clear that his group was affected by it. Lucas called them to pull back and everyone moved into the hallway to further reduce the number that could approach. Now only two or three of their group would need to defend at a time.


    Randall and Joseph, the two freshest, took the lead while everyone else fought for breath.


    ¡°They suddenly got stronger,¡± gasped Brittney. ¡°I couldn¡¯t hold them back.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, they were able to move between us as if they were faster than us. This is a problem,¡± griped Tom.


    ¡°Anyone know what happened?¡± demanded Lucas.


    Adam had stayed behind Randall and Joseph. He was jabbing his scraper as quickly as possible into the necks of the goblins to bring them down quicker. A quick break allowed him to investigate the courtyard where he saw goblins flash red, as if a skill was being used, and then come at them with increased strength.


    ¡°It¡¯s got to be a skill,¡± said Adam. ¡°Someone must be doing that.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a goblin chief,¡± announced Ed, staring at his laptop, while everyone else was getting heals from Abbey to reinvigorate them. ¡°According to its tag it is level 25. He must have a skill for boosting his people.¡±


    ¡°Shoot! A level 25. No one on earth can beat a level 25 right now. How are we supposed to win this,¡± whined Randall, as he rotated with Lucas, earning him a swap to the back of his head.


    ¡°How about it, Boss? You think you can beat a 25?¡± teased Tom, clearing hoping for a yes.


    ¡°It looked like I have to. I need to stop him from buffing the rest of the goblins at least, or you guys are in trouble,¡± answered Adam. ¡°Let¡¯s hope I¡¯m overpowered enough to do that much.¡±


    Abbey hesitated before speaking, then gently touched him, casting a heal. ¡°Just make sure you don¡¯t over do it. If it looks hopeless then we¡¯ll retreat. You are too important to the world to die here.¡±


    Adam looked at her with soft eyes, ¡°We are all too important to fall here.¡±


    Handing the scraper to Brandon to sharpen, Adam picked up his sledgehammer. The handle had been cleaned of the goblin blood so getting a grip wouldn¡¯t be difficult. He picked up a spare machete and attached it to his belt. He took Lucas¡¯s sledgehammer in his off hand, with Lucas replacing his with a scraper.


    ¡°Dual wielding hammers? Crazy awesome, Boss,¡± mocked Tom.


    ¡°Stay safe. Retreat if it is too much and I will find my own way out. The outside needs to know what is happening here,¡± ordered Adam. One final pulse of determination went through their connections and then Adam was ready.


    He slightly crossed both hammers, thrust them forward and leapt into the mass of goblins. His roar stunned them, and he swung both hammers apart, forcing the goblins to the side so he had enough room. Once he was outside the hallway, he leapt straight up just short of the top of the wall, planted his feet, and kicked off as far as he could. He flew over the goblins¡¯ heads and towards the source of the flashing skill.


    It was too far for him to reach in one go, so he plowed into the goblins before losing momentum. Then he swung both hammers. He became a whirlwind of death and blood. Goblins once more died by the handful as he swept forward. Even the enhanced goblins died to his fury. The river was rushing inside him, but Adam made sure he could handle it as he waded through the horde of goblins.


    Once he saw the chief he sped up. The chief was wearing a headdress of bones and stones, tied together with leather. His body was slightly larger than the other goblins, though his head was smaller than the rest, with a less prominent nose. He had a stick in his hand. It looked unlike a wand or rod, and the chief didn¡¯t look like a caster. Crude leather was shaped into a jacket and pants on him.


    When the chief became aware of the ruckus he glared at Adam and hissed something. All the goblins in the surroundings put themselves between the chief and Adam. There weren¡¯t enough to halt Adam, but it did force him to move slower as the obstacles increased. Meanwhile the chief turned and walked the other way, towards the castle without even looking rushed.


    Adam snarled at the chief¡¯s action. More anger rose in him, causing the river to rumble. Clenching his hammers, he again jumped forward, above the goblins and towards the chief.


    Surprise flashed on the chief¡¯s face and he rushed forward, no longer bothering with how it looked. The other goblins would move out of his path but would then flood back to wherever Adam was going to land. Adam fought to make progress and keep up with the chief. His anger fueled him forward. The heat increased and his thoughts diminished, what remaining focus there was pushed him to catch up with the chief.


    The chief arrived at the castle ahead of him and dashed inside, hissing and speaking a guttural language. Adam was in a lather as he moved past the door and into a hallway. He ran down it and came into a large audience room. The goblin chief was waiting for him in front of a throne, while smiling viciously.

 CH 19: Goblin Chief

    CHAPTER 19: Goblin Chief


    Please be safe, Abbey thought as she watched Adam fly over the goblins and away from the group. Last year she had noticed him for the first time. They had been in most of the same classes, and he never stood out. It wasn¡¯t that he was ugly. She actually thought he¡¯d be good looking if he cared for his hair and clothes. He also wasn¡¯t unlikeable. People genuinely got along with him. Adam was able to talk cheerfully with almost everyone. Yet he was always off to the side, staring out the windows. He only got into conversations when people pulled him in. His grades were average, but when he spoke to people he seemed knowledgeable enough. Sports didn¡¯t seem to hamper him either. He could play them but he always took a roll that didn¡¯t require him to do much.


    Adam had been a mystery to Abbey. Everyone, including Adam, joked that he was just a slacker. Andrea and Alissa had teased her about him whenever she mentioned him. They started watching him too but gave up saying he was too boring. He never took offense to things, he never got discouraged, he was never engaged. He was simply there.


    ¡°ROTATE,¡± shouted Lucas.


    While Adam seemed like an open book to everyone, and someone without depth, Abbey had built a different story in her head. She refused to think he was a slacker, she simply thought he was waiting. What he was waiting for she was uncertain of.


    Abbey¡¯s whole life had been controlled. Doing poorly on tests to stay in the same class as Andrea and Alissa was the only measure of control she had. Everything else was her father. He hired people to choose her clothes. He sent her to salons to learn how to do her hair and makeup. How she behaved and what she was allowed to show interest in was all decided by him.


    Her father wasn¡¯t some masterful businessman, but he did well enough and he made sure she fit the image he had of success. Really he didn¡¯t care about her grades, her interests, or anything else. Just her image. He expected her to become some magnet for other businessmen and marry into a successful family. It was unlikely that it would matter to his own company, just that his expectations were met.


    ¡°Everyone, two paces back,¡± the order was given.


    Abbey was raised to believe that her father¡¯s vague expectations would happen, that it was just a matter of time. As if it was reality just waiting to unfold. She didn¡¯t need to hope for that future since it was just inevitable. Yet she didn¡¯t want to give up Andrea and Alissa. They had made her life so much more enjoyable, her only real friends. Even though she loved them, she knew it was temporary, that at some point in time she would become part of high society and leave them behind since they didn¡¯t fit her dad¡¯s image. She had even done her best to hide them from her dad, so as not to lose them sooner.


    With that image controlling her life, and a pushed down feeling of being trapped, she had watched Adam. While she was required to be something, Adam chose to be nothing. He had no limit. He wasn¡¯t controlled. Adam had the choice, and it was to wait until the time of his choosing. It was both unexplainable and fascinating to her.


    In her head she imagined so many stories wrapped around him. Things he could be. What he was doing when no one was watching. He was a nobody to others which meant he could be absolutely anything for himself. She longed to know him and find out what it was like to be the opposite of herself.


    ¡°Brittney and Joseph need heals! Carlos and Lamar, forward!¡±


    Even as her little crush and fantasies had grown, she knew that if she found out the reality it would end in disappointment. Real life didn¡¯t work that way. Yet she still imagined herself going on adventurous dates with him, or just sitting in a basement doing nothing. Both excited her as she thought about the two of them together.


    Then the [System] came, and everyone chose a class. Everyone had their purpose stamped into reality above their heads. There was no guessing or wondering who a person was. They had chosen it, and it was displayed for everyone to see. Everyone except the slacker. Everyone except the boy with endless potential.


    Abbey had almost squealed when she had looked at him and noticed no tag. She seemed upset about it, but then that sense of waiting reappeared. Maybe he had chosen to be nothing. She pointed it out to Andrea and Alissa, and they watched him too, though they didn¡¯t see what Abbey saw.


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    Like a stalker she waited after school until Adam would leave. She made sure to be in homeroom before him. Abbey wanted to make sure she was there when his waiting stopped.


    ¡°Their levels dropped! Adam did it,¡± announced Lucas, breathing heavily, to a cheer from the others. ¡°Take a break from killing them and rest while just keeping them back.¡±


    The waiting hadn¡¯t taken long either. He came to school with a black eye and deep channels scratched across half his face. No one knew how he could have gotten them. Even Andrea and Alissa were watching him when he started lecturing Brandon and Brittney. He was more forceful than anyone had seen him. For Abbey she knew that he was done waiting, that whatever he was doing it was going to be big. It might have looked like Andrea was the one who wanted to follow him that day but really it was all Abbey.


    Now here they were, in the middle of a different reality, possibly a different dimension, fighting a horde of goblins. They could run but chose to stay and fight. Because of Adam. They could be scared and panic, but they stood with determination and confidence. Because of Adam. She knew he was the most important person in the world. She had fallen for him before the [System] had come and now she was sure of it. The mental connection he had used to share emotions just showed her feelings towards him were right.


    Sneaking into his room had been the scariest and most exciting night of her life. It had showed her that she was done waiting too, that her choices could be her own. She would love and stay with Adam, even if she had to share him with Andrea and Alissa. That would be her choice too, since she wanted the girls in her life as much as Adam. They could all be together in this new world full of magic and goblins, and an Adam that was no longer waiting. She would not let others decide who she should be.


    ¡°I just leveled,¡± announced Andrea. ¡°I put points into body to help give you boys a rest since our mana amount is too low.¡±


    Abbey thought that was a good idea, so she also selected a body level and put her points into strength and vitality. ¡°Same,¡± Abbey said as she stood and grabbed a scraper, willing to fight for her future.


    Name: Abigail Tamare [9]


    Age: 17


    Race: Human


    Class: Support [7]


    Body [2]


    Strength: 5


    Agility: 6


    Vitality: 6


    Intelligence:13


    Wisdom: 21


    Skill Points: 6


    Skills:


    Slight Heal: Heal injuries by a small amount.


    Reduce Poison: Weaken poison within a body to help a body fight it.


    Since she and Andrea were physically fresher, they held the lines along with Elias and Brandon for 15 minutes while the others rested. The group was doing really well given the circumstances, even if they couldn¡¯t last forever. They all trusted Adam to finish off that goblin chief. No matter what happened here, Abbey knew Adam would come for them if they needed it.


    The fighting continued as the hallway filled up with goblin bodies. The smell and scenery were terrible, but they were all buoyed by the flood of experience and levels they were getting. The more they fought, the stronger they got. Even Brandon was probably a match for goblins, maybe even two on one. Brittney could fling them around, while the scouts could move around them without threat of getting hit, due to their enhanced speed and strength. The scrapers barely needed to be sharpened as those thrusting them were strong enough to pierce the goblins even when they were dull.


    They were all plugging along, riding high on their continued success, feeling like killing hundreds of goblins was no different than math homework with how routine it was, when suddenly it all came crashing down.


    Alissa screamed with such intensity even the goblins paused uncertainly. Andrea started hyperventilating.


    ¡°Nonononono,¡± cried Randall.


    Elias, Lucas, and Joseph were all cursing.


    All the confidence and determination slid out of Abbey as her connection with Adam was broken. The sudden emotional change dropped onto the group. The emotional boost he had given them was immediately replaced with fear and hesitation. Cold flooded her as she imagined the worst, a world without Adam.


    The goblins, sensing the change, pushed forward harder than ever.


    Brandon stood up with a scraper and rushed forward, joined by Tom. They got to the goblins before any major injuries were sustained. They stabbed and stabbed to keep things under control. Brandon, the weakest and least combat experienced of them, took hit after hit from the goblins, barely holding on to the scraper before Brittney arrived and started blocking.


    ¡°Nothing has changed,¡± announced a bleeding Brandon. ¡°Adam trusted us to do this. He didn¡¯t make us retreat. He didn¡¯t tell us to run. Adam trusts us! We have to stop the goblins from invading!¡± He shouted it all, trying to get everyone¡¯s attention. Even though their strength was still the same as moments before, the emotional weight sank their spirits and weakened their attacks.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± announced Tom. ¡°The only thing that has changed is the safety net is gone. Even if the boss died, we will stop these goblins. We have the levels and we have each other. Together we will eradicate all these goblins and if we need to, we¡¯ll save the boss. The training wheels are off and we can ride on our own.¡±


    With only the strength they found within themselves, they faced the mass of goblins and attacked

 CH 20: Not a One Trick Pony

    CHAPTER 20: Not a One Trick Pony


    The room had a single red carpet that ran from the door through the empty space to a stone throne. It was ratty and not well woven. Next to the throne was a three-foot-tall brown crystal, about six inches wide. The room was about 150 feet wide and 120 feet long. The height was two floors tall, with the walls only coming up ten feet high, then opening into a second floor that wrapped around the room with passageways in the middle of the left and right walkways. Large dim flickering torches were in the corners of the room as the only light sources while casting ugly shadows all around.


    Adam screamed in pain as his left pinky was torn off his hand, staining the carpet with a new shade of red, and causing him to drop Lucas¡¯s sledgehammer. The goblin chief just stood there smiling at him and continue to talk in his guttural words.


    His yells felt unreal as they refused to echo in the creepy environment, simply sounding out and then dying. The cries didn¡¯t reflect the pain he felt as he watched spikes of his own blood push their way out of his hand, tearing the flesh from the inside to the outside of his hand. He could feel the pull of the blood spikes as they tried to do the same to the rest of his fingers.


    The pain lit up his brain too much to think. The river started to boil and the blood coming out of him was steaming. The pain and anger were almost too much for him to notice a scream of danger in his mind. Instinctively he responded to that danger and lifted his right leg just before a dagger reached from his shadow and tried to cut his Achillies tendon. When it didn¡¯t find him, the direction changed, and the knife left a cut on his left calf before withdrawing to the shadow.


    Adam roared to try and freeze his opponent, but instead of the usual fear, this time it caused excitement on the goblin¡¯s face. Extra bloodlust had been added to the goblin. The tag of ¡°Goblin Chief (25)¡± above the goblin marked him as much higher than anyone Adam had faced, but Adam was sure the dagger did not come from him.


    Then a new body stepped out of the shadow cast by the throne. A goblin with a tag of ¡°Shadow Wielder (22 [17])¡± stepped next to the chief, his face and body covered in black cloth, and he made a series of hisses. The chief hissed back in what Adam could only guess was gloating.


    More anger surged in Adam and along the river, but this only caused his blood to pump harder and more to spill out where his pinky used to be. As the blood came out, it suddenly stopped moving downward and instead formed a spike that jabbed into this pointer finger, ripping it off too. Another scream escaped Adam, the lack of echo adding mockery to the pain. There had been no warning and no way to dodge his own blood.


    Unable to contain himself, Adam launched himself towards the goblin chief. The Shadow Wielder stepped back into a shadow and disappeared. The chief laughed and started to run towards the side of the large room. He wasn¡¯t especially fast, with Adam quickly closing on him. Adam¡¯s thoughts were shallow as the pain and heat were reducing his body to acting instinctively. Chasing after the enemy seemed the extent of his decision capabilities.


    As Adam approached the goblin chief, a quick red flash covered the goblin, and he sped up. Before he even had time to adjust to the chief¡¯s movement change, Adam felt a new warning go off in his head and he went to dive to the side. As he changed his own direction, a physical pull from inside him tried to keep him in place. The pull was too weak to hold him, however it did reduce his velocity enough to allow the knife that came from the shadows to cut through his left side, tearing some of the muscles within. Once the knife cut him the pull went away and Adam was sent rolling across the ground, unable to control his balance from the speed changes.


    More hissing laughs sounded in the room. Another dagger came out from the shadow at his feet and stabbed his right foot. Adam was able to move before it pinned him to the ground, but even in his state he realized how bad it would be to fight in this location.


    Adam rolled to his feet and went to run towards the door but noticed that it was no longer there. The chief was standing in front of where it had been, holding a small brown crystal that he had spoken into. A glare from Adam quickly changed into a lunge forward as a dagger from a shadow cut his upper right arm.


    Then more blood spikes formed in his right hand and tried to pierce outwards, similar to what happened with the left hand. Adam roared and let his heat explode inside of him, burning away whatever was trying to control his blood. He gripped his sledgehammer as tightly as he could so he wouldn¡¯t drop it. This was enough for him to move too slowly to avoid another dagger coming up from a shadow and into his left thigh.


    Instead of screaming, Adam tried to gather himself. He reached for the coolness, but it was pushed back by the heat spread throughout him. A sense of danger had him dive to the side, this time successfully dodging a dagger, but before he came up the chief was in front of him bringing his stick down on the fingers holding his hammer.


    Adam tried to swing the hammer at the chief, but a dagger cut his shoulder blade. The cut was shallow, but the chief had already retreated. They were binding him, attacking from the shadows, and buffing the chief so Adam couldn¡¯t use his higher strengths and speed. Even with a hazy mind, Adam knew there had to be someone else here. The chief couldn¡¯t be doing these things, and he doubted a shadow wielder could also control blood. Adam took a deep breath, only to have his leg stabbed again.


    This time it was Adam¡¯s turn to run. All the stab wounds had stiffened his muscles and even with the river boiling he was too slow to outrun the buffed chief. He tried to move in odd ways to keep the shadow knives from hitting him, but between his own blood being used against him and his increasing wounds he just wasn¡¯t able to escape. If he tried to hold his position then things got even worse. When he tried to jump to the second floor his leg and feet failed to use their strength. Through all this his blood was draining from his body from all the cuts and holes in him.


    For 20 minutes Adam held on, trying to find a way. He looked for exits, he tried hiding in shadows. He tried extinguishing the torches only to find they wouldn¡¯t go out due to magic. Hopelessness settled into Adam. All his strength and power were failing him. The boiling river slowed. The blood inside him was running out. The heat had burned itself out.


    The anger he felt towards the goblins turned into anger towards himself. That meaningless anger then tried to find purchase on his emotions but found nothing to hold on to and faded. Without the anger he couldn¡¯t sustain the river and his power seeped out of him. Lacking blood, and lacking strength, he dropped to his knees. Adam didn¡¯t even have the strength to make a noise as a dagger pierced his right shoulder causing him to lose the use of his right arm. The hammer fell and clanged on the ground without an echo.


    CONQUER! The river yelled at him.


    I can¡¯t fight them. They are too much.


    CONQUER! His very soul demanded.


    I¡¯m a one trick pony. Strength and speed, and I¡¯ve lost those.


    CONQUER! His very essence begged as it drifted away.


    Adam thought of his friends and companions. He had enjoyed fighting with them and relaxing at the house with them. For the first time in his life he had even enjoyed learning about other people and their backgrounds, even the upsetting ones. Through the connections he had made he could feel their trust and confidence in him. The connections he established, whether with the girls or the rest of the group, allowed him to feel their feelings and send feelings back in return. Having those connections, sharing emotions that couldn¡¯t be found in normal surface level interactions, was a level of intimacy and joy he had never realized could exist. Even if he hadn¡¯t consciously realized it, feeling those people so closely inside himself had giving his life new meaning and made him feel like more than just a single kid.


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    He had no confidence left though. They had become important to him, and he was letting them down. He had been looking forward to dating Abbey. It had been so exciting getting a girlfriend, experiencing his first time, and have three girls flirt with him at once. He knew his family loved him and would miss him, but this was something new and wonderful. There had also been happiness when he helped free Brittney and Brandon from their memories, even if it didn¡¯t fix the causes. He got to experience what they had gone through, seeing things through other eyes. Experiencing people on a level impossible before.


    Adam didn¡¯t want his friends to experience this moment through his connection. He didn¡¯t want them to feel his despair and death. Instead of allowing his emotions through the connections, he cut them as he watched the shadow goblin¡¯s knife getting ready to plunge into his chest, while the chief gloated over him. The tendrils connected to his friends pulled back and were returned to him.


    ¡°How does mind control fit into his build?¡± Tom¡¯s voice asked from his memory.


    I¡¯m NOT a one trick pony!


    Before the tendrils had finished returning, he opened his mind and sensed the nearby area for the spaces that held the formless energy representing other people. Then he hardened the tendrils and thrust them into the nearby spaces.


    Three screams cried out and failed to echo. The chief grabbed his head and dropped to his knees. The shadow wielder dropped the knife and grabbed his nose as blood started coming out. The third scream sounded from the second floor near the throne.


    CONQUER! Screamed the inner voice.


    ¡°Damn right!¡± yelled his outer voice as he put all his remaining strength into reaching the throne and jumping off it. In his weakened state the tendrils were being forced out of their targets. With one hand missing two fingers and the other arm hanging limply, Adam had to make this jump with only his legs.


    Ignoring the blood flowing from him and the pain coming from the numerous injuries, he planted his feet on the throne. Foot onto the seat, other foot onto the back of the throne, and pushing as hard as he could, he barely made the jump.


    Standing on the second floor while recovering from Adam¡¯s mind attack was the most dangerous of his opponents. ¡°Blood Manipulator (26 [21])¡± could be seen above the robed goblin¡¯s head. It glared at the machete at his belt as his hand instinctively went towards it. The blood manipulator used his skill in a flash of red to prevent Adam¡¯s bloody hand from reaching the long knife.


    Adam knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold or use the machete. No, he was planning on attacking with the only weapon he had left. The machete was just a distraction as Adam opened his mouth and leapt for the goblin¡¯s throat like an animal. With no grace, and not caring, Adam bit down and tore at the blood manipulator¡¯s throat.


    He crushed the front and tore open the sides of the goblin¡¯s neck. Blood flowed out of it and the goblin reached for his damaged neck. Adam took his palm and shoved the goblin back against the wall, causing a spurt of blood to shoot into his mouth and face. Unintentionally he swallowed the sweet-smelling blue blood.


    A burst of energy hit Adam as he felt the goblin¡¯s blood dissolve as he swallowed. The energy rushed to his heart and mixed with the heat there, causing it to surge. The heat once more spread through his body. Through the steam rising from his various wounds, he could see healing rush forward for just a moment before returning to normal. With that the energy was spent and he felt tired again.


    ¡°Talk about not fitting my build. Now blood makes me regenerate. What am I, a vampire?¡± Adam said out loud. ¡°Guess that¡¯s why blood smells so appealing. There is just no helping it.¡±


    Adam held the unhygienic blood manipulator against the wall and then put his mouth up to where the blood was coming out. He repeatedly pressed his palm against its chest, trying to simulate the heart beating. Then he drank as much blood as he could. With it the heat increased and energy moved through his body and into his wounds. All the various cuts and stabs began healing. He could feel the muscles growing and the skin closing.


    By the time the goblin was fully dead and Adam had gotten all the blood he was going to, his legs and arms were fully healed, as was the cut in his side. Most of his back and abdominal cuts were healed. His shoulder was moving, though a bit weakly. Looking at his hands, Adam also noticed that the two fingers were about one third of the way regrown.


    Fortunately, Adam had two more blood bags he could make use of.


    Curious as to why he hadn¡¯t been attacked during all this, Adam turned and looked over the edge of the second floor. The shadow wielder was not visible, but the chief was, and he was mad. Hisses were flowing as the chief spoke into the brown crystal he carried.


    Adam realized that the chief couldn¡¯t see him. The area he was in was mostly darkness, and the edge of the walkway could easily obscure much of the throne room. That was why the blood manipulator had been impossible for him to see from below. Maybe the shadow wielder could also only use shadows cast by light instead of just darkness.


    Deciding to try his abilities further, Adam closed his eyes and attempted to sense the spaces nearby, where he had sent the tendril attack earlier. He felt and reached, like always with his friends, but he wasn¡¯t able to make out the location of the two closest forms. While he could form a tendril of coolness, it would not move outside his own space without a target.


    Oh well, guess there has to be some limits to that attack.


    Adam crouched down and watched the chief. There was no reason to go out there without a plan on how to handle the shadow wielder, and he still could not be sure of the chief¡¯s abilities. As he watched the chief move around the room while talking into the crystal, he took a moment to find his weapons. The machete was still at his belt, but the sledgehammers were far apart. Lucas¡¯s was near the wall opposite the throne, near where the doorway had been, and his heavier one was on the right side of the room, closer to where he was now.


    After a while of observing, the chief suddenly turned and walked to the area where Adam had entered. The chief gave the crystal a command, and the wall reshaped itself to the entrance. Adam¡¯s jaw dropped as he saw that. Reality had just warped at the chief¡¯s command. Or at least that brown crystal¡¯s command. Adam needed that crystal.


    Unfortunately, he was unable to wait any longer as the chief was hurrying out of the room. Adam wanted to rush after him but knew that was a bad move with the shadow wielder still around. Backing to the wall of the second floor, out of sight of the throne room, Adam crept along it until he reached about where the hammer should be. He moved cautiously to the edge, trying to stay completely in darkness.


    When he got to the edge, he threw himself off the second floor towards the hammer. Instead of grabbing it, he pushed his palm towards the largest shadow that came off the head of the hammer. As Adam expected, a dagger drove upwards and into his palm. Once it had pierced all the way through his hand, he closed his fingers on the hilt and the hand holding the knife. It hurt like hell, but his grip was stronger than the shadow wielder¡¯s.


    With his left hand he grabbed the part of the arm coming out of the shadow and then pulled the arm upwards. A hissing scream sounded out as the goblin on the other side of the shadow was unable to fit through such a small shadow.


    If Adam continued to hold the wrist, he would be unable to move, and if he let go, the bastard would be able to travel somewhere else. However, if the shadow wielder was leaving blood behind him then Adam was sure he¡¯d be able to follow him.


    Adam twisted his right hand that was pierced with the knife until the goblin could not hold on to it any longer. Then he shook his hand until the dagger slid out. Knowing his machete was sharper than that knife, he used his weakening grip to pull the machete and slice through the arm protruding from the shadow.


    A wail cried out as the shadow wielder fell away from the throne, rebounding away from the shadows as he had been trying to pull his arm free. Before he could get back to his feet, Adam¡¯s machete flew across the room and sank into his eye. More screams came from the shadow wielder since the thrown machete did not penetrate enough to kill him. However, the goblin¡¯s knife being jabbed into its throat like a spigot was enough to end him, especially as Adam drank as much of the blood as possible.


    The heat spread through Adam and continued to heal his injuries and reinvigorate him. His palm wound closed up, though some of the inside would need more healing, his foot felt more usable, and more of his fingers grew back by the time he was done.


    ¡°This should be enough,¡± Adam said as he did a few quick jumps and movements to make sure he would be in fighting shape. In a hurry he grabbed both sledgehammers and ran from the room. A full sprint was more than he could handle, but he wasn¡¯t sure what the chief had planned. Since the chief could make the other goblins stronger, Adam was concerned about his friends. He almost hoped they had chosen to retreat.

 CH 21: They All Fall Down

    CHAPTER 21: They All Fall Down


    They had been fighting for less time than some TV episodes took, but exhaustion was wearing everyone down. Leveling and healing could only relieve so much fatigue. They would push forward hard, dropping the goblins, then they would need to set up and get a few minutes of rest before pushing forward again. Even the supports were all using the scrapers and confiscated goblin shields to let the others get rest, though getting Ed to put down his video gear to use a spear was barely worth it.


    They figured Adam had gone to the castle, due to the trail of goblin bodies, but rescuing him was no longer their mission. The more they had fought, the more goblins they had killed, changing their mission to wiping out all the goblins. Adam had been right about that. All the goblins needed to die. If these monsters got out into the world, even as undisciplined as they were, they would cause chaos. What made it even worse was knowing that there were more invasions besides this, with the world clueless and unprepared.


    When the group first left the hallway to actively assault the goblins directly, they were scared and uncertain. So many goblins and so much space to cover. They quickly got tired and desperate, but that only lasted for a short bit as there was no time to think, only to stab, strike, block, dodge, and cast. A numbing realization settled on them as wave after wave of goblins fell. They realized just how strong a tool Adam¡¯s emotional connections were in combat as they made progress across the courtyard.


    They had all gotten better at using weapons. They had figured out how to use what was around them, such as walls and goblin corpses, to protect themselves and control their enemies. Their levels had gone up several times, with most being on level 14 with some combination of body and class levels. Every engagement felt the same, yet their wariness remained high.


    Name: Brittney Hutchins [14]


    Age: 17


    Race: Human


    Class: Protector [5]


    Body [9]


    Strength: 26


    Agility: 20


    Vitality: 24


    Intelligence: 4


    Wisdom: 4


    Skill Points: 4


    Skills:


    Harden Shield: Increase the durability of a shield by 5%.


    Shield Bash: Slam a shield against an opponent with 10% more force.


    They had chosen to take a longer way to the castle by moving along the courtyard wall. That was to keep half their area protected as they moved forward. The goblins would charge them no matter where they were, whether it was out on the open or protected.


    Injuries had happened, some even severe, but when they occurred Lucas called out orders casually. The injured came to the center of their group and someone who had been resting stepped into the gap. If the person needed help, then either Brandon or one of those on break would drag them to Abbey and Ed for heals. Ed was spending a lot less time watching his videos and more time either working as a healer or spelling the melee by stepping in the gaps. The mages even became good with using their scrapers as spears since they spent more time out of mana than casting. They regened the mana slowly, whether they were sitting or thrusting a weapon.


    They had gotten about two thirds of the way to the castle and had killed about two thirds of the goblins. It was a steady slog.


    Abbey was healing Brittney in the center of their circle when a goblin assassin suddenly slipped past the melee and stabbed at her. The attack didn¡¯t even make Abbey flinch, as Brittney shield bashed the goblin¡¯s side, sending him to the resting group that pulled machetes and did him in. Abbey frowned. It had been a while since their line had been crossed. When she looked towards it, Brittney ready to go back to fighting, she noticed that they were struggling more with a few goblins almost breaking through.


    ¡°What¡¯s happened?¡± she called out over the muffled noises.


    ¡°Damn, their levels increased again,¡± Tom said, not even having energy to be snarky.


    ¡°Ed, is the chief back?¡± asked Lucas.


    Ed checked his laptop before confirming. ¡°Yes, he is buffing goblins again.¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t be able to hold them this time if they are all five levels higher,¡± sighed Brittney.


    ¡°Any chance we can push our way to the chief?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°Doubtful, and why would we be able to stop the chief even if we went out there?¡± replied Ed.


    ¡°True enough,¡± agreed Tom. ¡°Going out will expose our backs and level 25 is still beyond us.¡±


    They all grew quiet as the combat intensity increased for several minutes. Everyone was panting and bleeding. Abbey threw out heals here and there, but everyone needed too many and she was mostly out of mana.


    Fear should have taken hold of them like earlier, however their emotions were muted. They might not have had Adam¡¯s determination, but the repeated actions over the last hour and the mental fatigue that had built up gave them their own determination. No matter what happened they would not retreat.


    ¡°Final stand time,¡± called Lucas. ¡°We can¡¯t retreat and can¡¯t push forward. Let¡¯s see how many we can take with us before we fall.¡±


    Even if a few of them were to die, the rest now knew how to fight on their own. They didn¡¯t need the formation; it just made the fight safer and more routine. The mages and support each took whatever weapon was available and moved forward. Only Ed stayed back with his last remaining mana, as he tried to unhook his camera helmet, laptop chest piece, and backpack of video gear.


    Randall was the first to fall, taking a stone axe to his side. Before he hit the ground Lamar had grabbed him with one hand and pushed him towards Ed. While Ed had more mana left than Abbey, it still wasn¡¯t enough to heal Randall. Ed gave him one light heal to help with the blood flow, then left him on the ground.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Nick took the next bad hit, getting a club between his shoulder and neck as he was taking the legs out from Randall¡¯s assailant. A crunch sounded dully as his collarbone broke, and a second club strike dropped him unconscious. No one had free hands to pull him back. Instead, the half circle of fighters drew closer together, leaving him in the field with goblins.


    Brittany¡¯s hammer arm fell limp, blood flowing down it, as she was left with just her shield to fend off the goblins. She moved to her left to block as Joseph stabbed from her right to try and protect each other.


    Brandon took a stab to his chest and surprisingly didn¡¯t fall, showing fortitude he had never displayed before. He was pale and bloody but fought to continue.


    Tom speared from between Andrea and Alissa as they wielded machetes, but stepped forward when a strike was coming for Andrea. He deflected an axe, but it changed direction and took him in the stomach.


    ¡°Damn I wish I had my sledgehammer,¡± complained Lucas as he continued to poke with a scraper.


    ¡°Everyone, I¡¯m glad we did this,¡± said Tom weakly, bleeding on the ground, where Andrea and Alissa were trying to protect him. ¡°Better to die with you all that to see the world burn.¡±


    ¡°That goblin must have seriously injured him. That sounded sincere,¡± said Brittney as Carlos fell with a scream, his leg broken from a club.


    ¡°It beats having to go to school tomorrow,¡± Tom whispered as his strength ran out and closed his eyes.


    ¡°There it is,¡± said Lamar, darting backwards and stumbling.


    Tears welled in Abbey¡¯s eyes as she could do nothing for her friends and comrades. She continued to thrust and swing with the makeshift spear. This was really the end, and as sad as it made her, she really didn¡¯t regret it. The last week since the [System] came had been so fulfilling. Never once did she think about running or letting go of her weapon.


    A roar sounded out, it¡¯s lack of echo sounding odd in the space. The goblins froze. Then a monster flew down on them. Its roar was terrifying. The entire surface of it was covered in blue and red, with head and body hair hidden by blood and plastered to its skin. Its arms were long, ending with human head sized blocks. The arms were a blur as they swung and swung, killing whole groups of goblins with each swing. Steam was rising from its skin as blood splattered from his victims, hissing upon contact with it.


    Those still standing in the group quickly dispatched the goblins around them while they were stunned, and then pulled the injured back to the wall. Panting became deeper breaths as everyone tried to calm down. The least dirty clothes were pulled from an equipment bag as they tried to slow the bleeding on the more severely wounded.


    ¡°78,¡± said Lucas as he stood and watched the monster standing among the goblins.


    ¡°You missed a swing, it¡¯s 86,¡± replied Brittney as they stood in front of the rest of their group, still holding a shield and scraper.


    ¡°Well, now he¡¯s up to 104,¡± Lucas continued.


    ¡°You are still missing some. Learn to count,¡± Brittney retorted casually.


    Quiet stretched between them as they guarded the group and watched. After a few minutes Lucas spoke up again.


    ¡°He killed over a hundred goblin in under two minutes. Do you think we¡¯ll ever be able to do that?¡±


    ¡°Probably?¡± responded Brittney as almost a question. ¡°He''s like a mid-game player returning to the starter zones and fighting the weakest monsters.¡±


    ¡°Only mid-game?¡± questioned Lucas skeptically.


    ¡°Definitely. All he is doing is swinging hammers. No AOEs, so skills, just raw power. Plus, it looks like he''s hurting himself. Watch the steam coming off him. In games he¡¯d be burning his own life force, all on starter mobs.¡± Brittney nodded along with her own assessment.


    After another long pause while watching, Lucas sullenly said, ¡°Still, it makes me jealous.¡±


    ¡°It makes me want him,¡± Brittney whispered equally sullenly, with a predatorial gleam in her eye.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Nothing.¡±


    ***


    Swing. Splat-at-at-at. Swing. Splat-at-at-at.


    Adam saw no will, no intelligence, and definitely no self-preservation as the goblins came at him en masse. He swung, and they died. Over and over and over again. He had rushed to his friends, saw them falling, and the river had swallowed him.


    No will, no intelligence, and no self-preservation. That could describe him too. The heat burning through him was destroying his own body. His mind boiled without thought, only anger. It felt like rage took control of him, even though part of him felt numb to all emotions. There were no decisions made, he was just pulled into the river while hoping to get back to the surface at a calmer point. The heat and the river even felt good. They felt right and justified.


    Adam had been doing this for over twenty minutes and the goblins were dwindling. As gross as it was in his head, without the splatter of blood that entered his mouth and regenerated him, he wouln¡¯t have lasted this long. Even though he knew it was disgusting, the sweet smell kept him thinking of the blood like candy to energize him.


    After an amount of time the river had calmed, and he had been able to partially reduce the heat. The steam had stopped rising from him and his insides stopped burning. He still needed the power of the river, because as soon as he let up, Adam knew his body would fail him. If at any point he stopped moving, then it would be impossible to start again.


    Those goblins that remained still came after him, but there were fewer. Far fewer. Piles of corpses had started to get in his way and that was why he kept moving to different places for the slaughter. The chief was still nearby buffing the goblins that attacked him, but it hardly mattered. It only meant he had to swing the hammers a little harder, and boy was he glad these sledgehammers were durable.


    When Adam had cut down the goblins to a final pack of about 30, he saw a red flash from inside the pack and finally knew where the chief was. Now he just needed to have enough strength left to fight him.


    Taking a giant breath, Adam willed his heat to pulse. Memories of being stabbed and having his fingers torn off were his focus. The heat rose, not as intense as before, but enough for him to push off the ground and dive towards the goblin pack. He led with his hammers straight in front of him, slightly overlapping. The two heads drove through a few goblin torsos before he swung them outwards.


    In the middle of the opening he created was the goblin chief, his eyes soaked with hate. Regardless of what the chief felt, he turned and fled. The other goblins shifted out of his way and into Adam¡¯s path, only to be crushed by the swinging hammers.


    It was enough to buy the chief some time as he opened the distance. Adam¡¯s tank was running on fumes, so instead of moving quickly he pushed off the ground with bursts of as much force as he could muster. Dozens of feet flew by with each step. Adam¡¯s breathing grew heavier.


    As quick as the chief was, without the buff from the blood manipulator there was no way for him to escape. Way before he reached the castle, Adam swung both hammers behind his back, over his head, and then down onto the chief¡¯s skull. The swings caused Adam to lose balance in the air and he hit the ground hard, thrown around wildly as he was tangled with the sledgehammers.


    Ignoring the pain that wracked his body, Adam stood and released the hammers. There was no kill notification so he pulled his machete and stumbled over to where the chief was trying to roll over. Two bloody dents were in the chief¡¯s head and Adam was sure that he could see bone through the blood.


    The chief hissed and Adam pulled up his machete and with the last of his strength jammed it into the chief¡¯s neck. Then he stepped back, not even able to pull the machete out. The chief gurgled and fought for breath as Adam himself heaved to get enough air into his lungs. Minutes passed before the chief fell forward and the message appeared in front of Adam. He crumbled to the ground.


    Goblin ¡°Chief [25]¡± slain. 1048 XP gained.


    With that, Adam closed his eyes and passed out.

 CH 22: Planetary Protectors

    CHAPTER 22: Planetary Protectors


    Sounds of feet approaching woke Adam.  The sound was wrong, like he was listening underwater, and his brain was taking too long to engage.  Everything was wavey and his thoughts slipped through him.  He tried to move his body and could barely push himself up with his arms.


    ¡°Adam!  You¡¯re alive!¡± screamed Abbey as she ran to him.  Grabbing his head, she lifted and pressed her lips against his.  A heal went off as Adam¡¯s thoughts clearly a bit.  The lips stayed in place as several more heals flashed through him.  Some of the internal burn damage was healed, but not all of it.  As he became more lucid, he felt the coolness that had retreated to the front of his mind spread through the rest of his head.  Without intending to, a tendril formed and connected to Abbey.  Happiness pulsed through it in both directions, receiving emotion from Abbey as well as giving it.


    Abbey¡¯s eyes had already been teary, but now they streamed down her cheeks.  One final heal went off before she pulled back, smiling in the midst of crying.  Then her expression changed as she turned to the side and started spitting.


    ¡°Ew!  Goblin blood!¡± she exclaimed.  Several other people chuckled.  They were all stained with the blue blood, but Adam was completely coated in it.


    Looking at the group, Adam could see that everyone was alive, though they were all in bad shape.  Some still had bleeding wounds.  Clothes were torn and cut all over.  Tom and Nick were being supported by others and Tom especially look deathly pale.  They must have waited a while to find him to make sure everyone was healed enough to move.


    ¡°Is it done?¡± questioned Lucas.  His stare was intense as he met Adam¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Should be,¡± rasped Adam, dry mouthed and lungs feeling full of soot.


    With that, Adam could see tears in more eyes than just Abbey¡¯s.  Tom, Andrea, and Alissa had wet eyes.  Randall was outright crying.  Stars shown in Joseph¡¯s eyes as he looked at Adam and then at the carnage all around them.  Brandon was stoic, watching everywhere while still on guard for any missed goblins.


    Lucas turned to the group.  They all looked back.  With sudden vigor he threw his arms into the arm and screamed, ¡°WE WON!¡±


    The whole group shot their arms up, and whooped as loud as they could.  Smiles erupted on their faces.  Relief brought fresh energy to them.  Brittney hugged Brandon with both smiling wide.  Carlos put his arm around Nick as they yelled into the sky, as if they just won a soccer championship.


    Abbey grabbed Andrea in a tight embrace and then kissed her almost as passionately as she had Adam.  When she pulled away Andrea looked confused but happy.  Alissa was waiting next for Abbey with her arms open and lips exaggeratedly puckered.


    ¡°Are those for everyone?¡± Tom quipped when Abbey pulled away from Alissa.


    ¡°Nope,¡± she said smugly, but still leaned forward and gave Tom a peck on the cheek, causing more laughs all around.


    Neither the celebration nor the energy lasted long as everyone eventually ended on the ground.  The area around Adam was surprisingly empty of gore, with the chief¡¯s body several paces away.


    ¡°What happened?¡± questioned Brittney.  ¡°We thought you had died when the connection disappeared.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, it was rough.  They almost had me.  The chief sealed me in a shadowy room with a shadow wielder and a blood manipulator who was hidden.  The bastard even ripped off my fingers using my own blood,¡± Adam explained.  Everyone stared at his hands, all eight fingers and two thumbs there.


    ¡°Uh, Darling...¡± started Andrea.


    Adam squirmed uncomfortably.  Embarrassment was clear on his face.  ¡°It turns out I regenerate from drinking blood.  I couldn¡¯t use my hands and had to bite out the blood manipulators throat.¡±


    ¡°Ew!¡±


    ¡°Yuck!¡±


    ¡°WTF!¡±


    ¡°What the hell, Boss?!¡± Tom screamed.  ¡°How does that even fit your build?¡±


    A laugh croaked from Adam.


    ¡°No idea.  But I¡¯m glad it was there or I would be done.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯m glad you have it,¡± Tom agreed happily.  ¡°You are too crazy for me, boss.  I wouldn¡¯t have thought to bite out a throat.¡±


    ¡°We do what we need to survive,¡± said Adam.  ¡°Speaking of, why didn¡¯t you all retreat?  Why come into the courtyard?¡±


    Lucas spoke up.  ¡°When the connection was cut we panicked.  Then we realized that you were right and the goblins needed to die.  No one suggested retreat, we just moved forward.¡±


    ¡°No one wanted to retreat?¡± asked the surprised Adam.


    Everyone looked around and shook their heads.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t even occur to me,¡± said Brandon with a shrug, much like Adam¡¯s.


    ¡°Well, you all look terrible,¡± said Adam.


    Lots of laughs broke out and Alissa said what they were all thinking, ¡°Isn¡¯t that just the pot calling the kettle black.¡±


    ***


    An hour later everyone was back on their feet.  Adam had fallen asleep and woke to find his head being cradled by Abbey while Andrea, Alissa, and even Brittney were trying to wipe off the blood from him with already dirty towels, mostly just smearing it around.  More heals had gone out to the rest of the group as they looked more alive than before.


    Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    As crazy as the day had gone it was still only about four in the afternoon.  The battles had warped the sense of time, making it feel like more time had passed.


    ¡°Too bad there is no loot,¡± said Randall as he scanned the field around them.


    ¡°Actually,¡± started Adam when all eyes snapped to him.  The girls backed away and he stood up, though shakily.  ¡°Did anyone check the chief¡¯s body?  He had a brown crystal that matched something in the castle.¡±


    Tom, Randall, and Joseph rushed over to chief.  With a lot of dry gags they searched all of him and came back with a cloth bag and a brown crystal.


    ¡°Here you go, boss.  Any chance they are valuable?¡± Tom asked.


    ¡°No idea.  What is in the bag?¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t look.  Thought the big cheese should do the honors.¡±


    ¡°You''re just concerned there is something dangerous,¡± Adam eyed them.  Randall and Joseph looked at their feet sheepishly, but Tom just grinned shamelessly.


    ¡°You are the boss.¡±


    Adam shook his head, then shook the bag.  There was a bit of clinking from inside.  He opened the bag to see a bunch of little metal squares.  Taking a few out he moved them around on his palm.  The rest gathered closer to try and see.


    There were a few different colors to the metal.  One was a rusty color, one a dull gray, another a reflective chrome, and finally a translucent one.  A different pattern was on each, except for the translucent one that had a shifting pattern on it, which confused Adam¡¯s eyes.  Each one had a tiny hook on one corner and a small hole on the opposite corner.


    ¡°Money?¡± asked Brandon.


    ¡°What makes you think that?¡± asked Andrea.


    ¡°Well, except for being square instead of round, they are about coin sized,¡± he answered.


    ¡°There is no way such coarse creatures like the goblins could make something as refined as these,¡± said Elias.


    ¡°Maybe it doesn¡¯t belong to the goblins but just invaders.  It could be some space money, or belong to the [System],¡± suggested Brittney.  Brandon nodded in agreement.


    Adam put the items in his hand back into the bag and handed it to Elias.  ¡°Great!  You and Brandon can do some research on them.¡±


    ¡°What about the crystal?¡±


    ¡°It just looks like a brown crystal, like a shaped piece of beer bottle glass.  Nothing special about it.  Let¡¯s go check it against the bigger one in the castle,¡± explained Adam.


    ***


    ¡°Damn, boss.  I think I, hurk, found your fingers.¡±  Tom could barely talk without vomiting.  Everyone else cringed as they looked around the blood covered room, eyes avoiding where Tom stood.  Adam was a bit embarrassed considering how easy it was to see that most of the blood was red, his own.


    Adam led them to the larger crystal pillar, positioned next to the stone throne.  Brandon kept his eyes down as he followed, and Elias seemed surprisingly interested.  This was the first time Adam had seen Elias intrigued.  They spent a few minutes looking at and inspecting the crystal.  Then Adam reached up and touched the crystal, causing a message to pop up.


    Owner of Dimensional Convergence Rift has died¡­


    Inheritor of Dimensional Convergence Rift has died¡­


    ¡­no new Inheritor found.  Ownership presented to possessor of Control Node.


    Would you like to take Ownership of this Dimensional Convergence Rift?


    [ Yes / No ]


    ¡°It¡¯s offering me ownership of this¡­dimensional convergence rift.  Should I agree?¡± Adam asked the two with him.


    ¡°Does it seem dangerous?¡± asked Brandon.


    ¡°Not that I know of, but we have no information about it,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°Try it out,¡± suggested Elias.  ¡°If we can own this warehouse space then it will be worth it.¡±


    Adam nodded, then selected Yes.


    Ownership of Dimensional Convergence Rift has been taken by a native.  Invasion ended.  Rewards pending.  Assign Inheritor?


    ¡°Elias, I¡¯m setting you as the inheritor in case something happens to me, and then Brandon after that.  Once we finish here, I¡¯ll leave you two to investigate what this control node can do.¡±


    Then Adam addressed the message.  ¡°I assign these two as inheritors.¡±


    Elias Munroe selected as Inheritor.  Brandon Collins selected as 2nd Inheritor.


    Rewards ready for natives who ended an invasion.


    Release rewards?


    [ Yes / No ]


    Adam selected Yes, curious what would happen, and it didn¡¯t take long for him to see.  He noticed that everyone else in the room had stopped moving as well.


    ¡­All natives included in Dimensional Convergence Rift will receive the title ¡°Invasion Conqueror¡±.


    Invasion Conqueror


    For defeating an enemy of your planet and preventing their rampage from continuing you will receive +2 to all stats.  Claiming more Dimensional Convergence Rifts will increase this title.


    ¡­For being the first natives to end an invasion you are awarded the title ¡°Planetary Protector¡±.


    Planetary Protector


    You have given your all to protect your planet, even before knowing the threats in store.  For this you will receive +5% to all stats.  Once assigned, no one else on your planet may receive this title.


    ¡°Whoa!¡± someone shouted, as someone else whistled.


    ¡°This is nice!¡±


    ¡°On to the next invasion,¡± a voice said only to get shut down by, ¡°Let¡¯s recover from this one first.  Maybe use an army next time.¡±  A few chuckles sounded out.  The sudden lightness that he heard caused Adam to get a little concerned that they might forget the hardships they had just faced.  He did not have time to think on it very deeply before a new message popped up, only for him.


    ¡­error.  Soul corruption found.  Unable to assign benefits of titles.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± Adam swore with a bit too much venom.  The lightness was instantly gone as everyone looked at him and then to their surroundings.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, boss?¡± asked Tom.  Everyone moving closer to Adam.


    ¡°Ah, sorry.  The titles don¡¯t apply to me,¡± he answered.


    ¡°Because your status doesn¡¯t exist?¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°Probably.¡±


    ¡°That means you can¡¯t grow like the rest of us?¡± asked Brandon.


    ¡°It seemed that way.  At least until we learn more.¡±


    Tom put his hand on Adams shoulder while Abbey slipped past him and took Adam¡¯s hand in her own.  ¡°Well, Boss.  You will definitely out ass-kick us for quite a while.  No worries there.¡±  A taunting smile spread across his mouth.  ¡°Plus, I¡¯m sure we can figure it out.  At the moment we know nothing.  I swear to you that Elias and Brandon won¡¯t rest until they learn more about what¡¯s going on, and that I will be right there to take credit for it.¡±  That earned him a forearm shove from Lucas.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Adam.  I¡¯m sure there will be other ways to strengthen you.  Maybe figure out what soul corruption is,¡± Lucas added.


    ¡°Thanks for the pep talk,¡± Adam responded.  ¡°I won¡¯t be down about it for long.  I¡¯ll do what I need to do and we will all figure it out as we go.  Maybe tomorrow after school we can discuss your levels and skills, to see how much we should grow our army.  We don¡¯t even know if there is another invasion nearby.  Maybe for us this is a one and done and we won.¡±  He shrugged.  At least everyone else has gotten stronger, Adam added to himself.


    The rest of the time was spent exploring the castle.  It was not a wonder of architecture, as there were only a few more large rooms with hallways between them.  They found what must have been a treasure room, but Adam could not see it as anything but a junk pile.  Meat and vegetables, from who knows where, were in another room, but they were all moldy and rancid.  The smell approaching them had almost prevented them from getting to it.


    Unfortunately, they did find one room of note.  It had 24 bodies in it, from middle school age to upper 50s, both male and females.  Clearly victims that the goblins had taken from the area.  The bodies had been stripped down but their stuff was thrown in a corner.  No one was sure what they should do about the bodies, whether to bury them or contact authorities.  In their tired state everyone decided to figure it out the next day.  Decay had already settled in and no one knew how to safely handle them.


    With that last macabre encounter, everyone seemed ready to leave.

 CH 23: Enemies of the State

    CHAPTER 23: Enemies of the State


    Adam just felt exhausted. He was famished and had no energy, plus he was covered in mostly hardened goblin blood. His hair was slicked back from it and his pants and shoes were torn up. Feeling quite gross, he was ready to call it a night.


    The last bit of their exploring had shown them that in the rear of the castle, coming off a long hallway, was the back door of the warehouse. It was very weird how the space was bent, knowing that if they went outside the castle there was more space behind where the exit should be.


    ¡°Good work today, guys. We did it, we won. I know we have school tomorrow but get some good rest tonight. If anyone has trouble with nightmares let me know tomorrow and I¡¯ll see if I can help. I know this should all be traumatic, so don¡¯t hide or feel shame for wanting some help or comfort,¡± Adam said as he walked towards the exit.


    ¡°You too, darling. I know you seem oddly casual about this, so ask us for some comfort if you need it,¡± Andrea answered back.


    Adam smiled at her, Abbey, and everyone. It was such a warm smile, that they could even feel through the connections Adam had reestablished.


    The exit was two large sliding cargo doors, wide and tall enough for vehicles to drive through, though at the moment it was only open about six feet wide. Adam could see the twilight sky on the other side, indicating it was about six in the evening. There was a dark film over the exit that he easily stepped through. Once outside, Adam was unable to see inside the warehouse. Shrugging, he turned and walked a few steps before he saw people approaching.


    Four police officers were there, coming around the corner. They quickly noticed him and two immediately drew their firearms and the other two pulled out tasers. Adam put his hand up to his side within view of the exit to stop everyone else from coming out.


    ¡°Halt! Hands on your head and get down on the ground,¡± a female officer yelled at him. Adam wasn¡¯t bothered by it, knowing how messy he currently looked. He cautiously put his hands on his head and started to get onto his knees.


    ¡°What is the problem...¡± he started to ask when the officer unexpectedly fired the taser at him.


    Shock struck him harder than the taser. Unable to pierce his skin, the taser stuck to his dried sweat and goblin blood and dispersed its charge. A light tingling rippled across his skin, but the surprise and his day of fighting caused him to jump back to his feet. As his arms came down, a second taser struck him. He snatched the prong out of the air and ignored the electricity coming out of it.


    Anger welled in him through his exhaustion, pushing down his thoughts. Heat was building up and his bleary mind was already preparing for a fight, without considering what was happening. In his exhaustion he had a hard time thinking through the situation. A pulse went through him as the river flowed. He wanted to reach out to the coolness in his mind, use it to get things into order.


    ¡°Why did you¡­¡± he started, but was unable to finish as a gunshot rang out and pain bloomed in his neck. It was all Adam could do to steady himself, swaying dangerously. Wet heat poured down his whole body, coming from his destroyed carotid artery on the left side. His eyes watered and glazed over. The river boiled.


    Adam tried to speak one last time, but his neck was so damaged that even his vocal cords would not work. The muscles on his neck were having trouble holding up his head. Blood was seeping into his throat and lungs. He tried to breath in and failed to, uncontrollably weak. Air would not fill his lungs. What should have been a roar came out as a hiss.


    Inside himself, the river grabbed Adam¡¯s consciousness and pulled him under. The feeling of choking and suffocating was felt as he was pulled into the intangible rapid waters, unsure if the sensation was coming from his body or mind, and that was the last thing Adam felt.


    ***


    The group was getting in line to leave the warehouse, when they saw Adam¡¯s hand come up, telling them to halt. They did not see what was in front of him, so Ed immediately sent out a drone and flipped open his laptop to watch.


    They huddled around the screen, surprised by the appearance of the police. Gasps escaped them as Adam was tased twice, but the gun shot stunned most of them, though not all as Lucas, Brittney, and Nick dashed out the opening with their weapons in their hands. Brandon had the presence of mind to cast [Bolster] on them as they tore off.


    Nick was the fastest as a speed fighter, but Lucas was right behind him with his sledgehammer, using his strength to leap forward with every step. Brittney moved quickly but was considerably behind them.


    A large part of Adam¡¯s neck was blown open and blood was everywhere. The blue that had covered him was quickly turning red. Adam was swaying and his head flopped backwards as he looked like he was going to fall. But he didn¡¯t fall.


    Before the trio could get to him the swaying stopped and the head came back up. His skin had reddened as if he had gotten sunburned. Adam¡¯s mouth opened, and while no air came out of it a roar shook the surroundings. The group nearly stumbled, but their experience with the roar allowed them to continue moving. The police, on the other hand, were completely frozen with terror clear on their faces.


    The officer who had his gun pointed at Adam was shaking as Adam, heat causing the air around him to shiver as he released it, turned his blank gaze towards him. The blood on Adam began evaporating and another roar sounded out.


    Just as his friends were about to reach Adam, he moved one foot forward and in one single move¡­stepped¡­all the way to the police office. It was about 30 feet away. He went from one place to another without having to cross the space.


    No one had time to react as Adam snatched the gun with his right hand and grabbed the man¡¯s neck with the left, raising him into the air. None of the police were able to move yet, still shaking and confused by Adam¡¯s roar. Nick and Lucas instantly changed direction, with Brittney curving to compensate for her momentum.


    Adam had blood coming from his mouth, neck, and nose. His eyes were bloodshot and blank, while his movements were stiff. His hand tightened on the officer¡¯s neck causing the man''s eyes to bulge.


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    Nick did not hesitate and threw himself at the back of Adam¡¯s knees, his tackle barely causing them to buckle. Lucas swung his hammer so that as he arrived the full force of it hit Adam¡¯s forearm. There was a cracking noise and the hand holding the officer opened. The policeman fell to the ground and Adam turned his head towards Lucas, his mouth forming a snarl. Then Brittney¡¯s goblin shield smashed right into his nose causing his head to flop backwards.


    Adam¡¯s head did not bother coming back upright as his body crumpled. The redness and heat dissipated from his skin as his eyes rolled back in their sockets. The three other policemen were finally shaking off the roar that had been only seconds ago, trying to turn towards where Adam was.


    Lucas dropped his hammer, grabbed Adam¡¯s body over one shoulder, and then picked up Brittney under his arm. He and Nick rocketed back to the warehouse door.


    ¡°HALT!¡± was shouted at them, and another gunshot was fired. They were moving way too fast for the officer to aim properly. Lucas hoped that everyone was away from the door as he blasted through it with Nick following. His momentum was so strong it took Lucas several seconds to slow down once inside, skidding across the greyish grass.


    Everyone rushed to catch up while Lucas dropped Brittney on her feet and tried to gently put Adam on the ground.


    ¡°He¡¯s barely breathing,¡± cried Andrea.


    ¡°Almost no more blood is coming out of his neck,¡± pointed out Randall.


    ¡°Ed, let¡¯s [Heal] him,¡± Abbey shouted and her fingers flashed red as she touched him. Ed reached around his laptop, still displaying what was happening as the drone viewed them from above. He saw the spells going off but the skin on Adam¡¯s neck barely moved.


    Abbey was in tears after she used her entire mana pool without results. The entry wound had mostly closed but the rest of his neck where the bullet had exited was still blown open. His blood pressure was so low that they could not see more blood coming out and his breathing was too shallow to notice.


    Andrea took Abbey¡¯s head and turned it onto her shoulder as Abbey sobbed. Andrea¡¯s eyes were also streaming tears, and they weren¡¯t the only ones.


    ¡°The boss shrugged off losing fingers earlier but a GSW to the neck ends him, huh?¡± Tom muttered bitterly.


    ¡°Wait!¡± shouted Carlos. ¡°He said he could regenerate.¡±


    ¡°Yeah! He drank blood to regenerate,¡± Alissa exclaimed as she pulled out Carlos¡¯s machete and slashed her own hand. She moved her hand to let some blood fall into his mouth and then to the wound, unsure of which was needed.


    They all waited with bated breath as the blood sizzled and evaporated within Adam¡¯s mouth, not even needing to be swallowed. Seeing it disappear, both Lucas and Elias cut their own hands and drizzled their blood into Adam¡¯s mouth. The more blood that went into his mouth the less pale he looked. Blood began trickling out of the neck wound and the skin released wisps of steam. His heart also beat stronger after a few minutes.


    ¡°Looked like it¡¯s working, everyone give some,¡± Lucas insisted.


    They reached a point where the neck skin had closed. Still, everyone took their turn to donate blood even after he looked healed. His breathing returned to normal and instead of looking dead he looked like he was just sleeping. Abbey and Ed used their [Heal] spell on everyone¡¯s hands when more mana returned.


    ¡°Hey guys,¡± Joseph called from the doorway. ¡°The police are trying to get in but can¡¯t. I don¡¯t think they can see in the door.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s probably the dimensional security since we took ownership. We''ll have to check that,¡± Elias called back. ¡°For now, let¡¯s just watch and rest.¡± Then he took the small brown control crystal and started inspecting it.


    ***


    ¡°Uuuugh,¡± groaned Adam, eyes slowly opened as he looked up into Abbey¡¯s face. His mouth was dry and his stomach cramped from hunger. Aches and pains came from all over his body, especially his arm. It felt like he had run a marathon and lifted more than his body could take. Weakness and stiffness prevented him from moving much, but considering his pillow he thought it best to hold still. ¡°That really sucked! Though this is a nice way to keep waking up, beautiful.¡± He tried to smile and was unable to stop it from becoming a wince.


    Abbey smiled back at him sympathetically.


    ¡°What happened? Is everyone else alright?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°You got trashed, boss, and still could have killed them all,¡± answered Tom excitedly.


    Shifting his head and eyes slightly, Adam saw that everyone but Elias, Brandon, and Joseph were sitting around him. He tried to smile at that but again winced at the effort.


    ¡°I think darling needs more info than that,¡± chided Andrea. ¡°Ed, just show him the video.¡±


    The laptop was placed on Adam¡¯s chest and Abbey brought his head up so he could see it. He watched high speed footage as he was tased, shot, almost killed the cop, and then was tackled and carried off by his friends.


    At the end he released a big sigh. ¡°Thanks for rescuing me. And that cop.¡±


    ¡°We knew you¡¯d be upset from killing him and we weren¡¯t about to let you die,¡± stated Lucas seriously. ¡°We were able to get away easily with our speed and the cops being disoriented by your roar.¡±


    ¡°How did I survive? That was a lot of blood.¡±


    Tom snickered. ¡°We gave you blood. All of us. You''re our own blood pact, boss. Maybe you have the vampire class.¡±


    ¡°Damn, I passed out after the gun shot but that hurt like hell.¡±


    Abbey started stroking his dirty hair and making soothing noises as he squirmed a bit to reposition. He watched the video a few more times before having the laptop removed.


    ¡°Something was wrong with that,¡± Adam said after thinking for a few minutes.


    ¡°Wrong? Do you mean cops tasing you? Or shooting to kill? Or that amazing teleport that you did? I want to teleport. It couldn¡¯t be movement since the video shows you just shifting from one location to another instantly with no blur,¡± Carlos said.


    ¡°Not that stuff. I mean, I looked like a monster, so it¡¯s almost understandable that the cops treated me with hostility. Barely any clothes and all that dried blue blood. You can barely see my skin. No. What seemed wrong is that they were there in the first place,¡± Adam explained.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Alissa.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember seeing any police clothes in the room with the bodies. That means the goblins¡¯ patrols weren¡¯t noticed and the police were unaware of them. If so, then why were there four police, ready to attack, after we finished taking this area? When there wasn¡¯t anything to draw them here and no one to request they come?¡± Adam frowned as he thought about it.


    ¡°You think they were sent after us?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°I have no idea, but we are being invaded. Who knows what that means. Infiltration? False info? We know brainwashing is real and not too difficult with the right ability,¡± Adam said.


    Everyone sighed at that and looked discouraged.


    ¡°Well, nothing we can do without more information, and it seems like we can hide here if there are issues. When we leave, everyone should try stepping out and back inside just to make sure the rift lets them through. Otherwise, I desperately need food and rest. How long has it been?¡±


    ¡°Only an hour,¡± said Abbey. ¡°We thought you should be kept still until you were all better. The police left about half an hour ago. We tried our phones and they don¡¯t work inside this space. Ed sent drones out and there is no evidence of the police.¡±


    ¡°That is even more suspicious. If there was a legit police incident here, they would have kept some cars or continued to look around nearby. Oh well. If it looks OK to leave, then we should.¡±


    Lucas helped Adam to his feet and supported him as Nick, Lamar, and Carlos got a car and everyone¡¯s stuff from the first warehouse. Adam was allowed to eat any food that they had, and afterward he was still painfully hungry.


    Adam was able to move better by the time Carlos dropped him off near his house. The group had prioritized getting Adam home safely, so Carlos was headed back to the warehouses to pick up anyone who needed a ride. Adam had left his second-floor window open, so after hosing himself off as much as possible he jumped to his window and climbed in. The 40-minute shower wasn¡¯t even refreshing as he scrubbed his skin and repeatedly washed his hair to get all the blood off. Then he scrubbed the shower with bleach to get any blood residue to wash away.

 CH 24: Awkward Conversations

    CHAPTER 24:  Awkward Conversations


    By the time Adam got downstairs to the kitchen it was almost 10pm.  He had put on a hoodie to try and cover the scar that was still there from his neck wound.  There was no need to pull up the hood as the neck rode a bit higher than usual.  As weird as it was to regenerate his skin and body parts, it felt even weirder that his scars stayed.  Shouldn¡¯t regrowing your skin destroy the scars too?


    ¡°Adam, we need to talk,¡± his mother¡¯s voice surprised him as he entered the kitchen.  His dad was sitting at the small table waiting for him, while his mother stood nearby looking severe with her arms crossed.


    ¡°I know mom, but I¡¯m going to need to eat while you lecture me.  Otherwise, I¡¯m not sure I will be conscious by the end.¡±


    ¡°Were you playing paintball again?  Out late on a school night,¡± his mother chided, though it was obvious this was not the focus of the lecture that was to come.


    ¡°Um, yeah.  Paintball.  How did you know?¡±


    ¡°There is some blue still in your hair.  Plus, we heard the hose and you cleaning after your shower.  Thanks for not tracking it in, but please don¡¯t climb to the second floor to come inside.¡±


    ¡°Damn, I¡¯m going to have to shower again after eating.  I washed my hair like five times already.  Sorry, mom.¡±


    Adam went to the fridge and took out two leftover pizzas from the previous day, a container with a pasta dish, an apple, and a banana.  His mom¡¯s eyes bulged as she watched him bring it all to his seat at the table while his dad¡¯s jaw dropped.  Adam tried to be as mannerly as possible while shoving slices of pizza into his mouth and chewing as fast as possible.


    ¡°Are you ok, Adam?  That is a lot of food.  And you never called to say you would miss dinner,¡± his mom¡¯s scolding face fell away to concern for a moment before returning.


    ¡°Yeah, I burned a lot of calories with the gang and didn¡¯t really eat enough.  Plus, I¡¯m feeling dead tired.  Please don¡¯t take the eating as a sign I¡¯m not paying attention to your lecture, so you can go ahead.¡±


    ¡°Adam!  Don¡¯t be flippant,¡± his mother snapped.


    ¡°I¡¯m not meaning to be.  I was honest.  Need food desperately.  I will listen to what I did wrong.  I probably already know what it is and will honestly apologize and agree to not do it again,¡± Adam said through a mouth full of food.


    ¡°So now we are skipping me talking?¡± his mother said.


    ¡°No, no,¡± Adam said almost choking while trying to swallow and get another few bites into his mouth.  ¡°I said to go ahead with the lecture.  Tell me what you are angry about and I will listen.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t sound like you are taking this seriously.¡±


    Adam finished chewing and swallowed.  Then he sat up tall and looked him mom straight in the eyes, with a focus that his mother hadn¡¯t seen in him before.  ¡°Mom, I love you.  I have always tried to do right by you two.  I¡¯m also a dumb teenager, prone to making excitable mistakes.  This is about last night, right?  I didn¡¯t know Abbey was going to sneak into my room.  It was disrespectful to you two.  I promise not to have sex in your house again, and I¡¯m sorry for putting you through this.¡±


    ¡°Sorry for doing it in our house, but not for doing it at all?¡± his mother asked flabbergasted.


    Adam¡¯s father silently stood from the table and walked out of the kitchen.


    ¡°Yes.  I¡¯m not sorry I did it.  Abbey is a wonderful girl and she is determined to build a relationship with me.  You will like her.  She is courageous and strong.¡±


    ¡°Then you are dating her?¡± his mom asked.  Adam knew there was a catch here but was not sure what it was.


    ¡°Um, I think so?¡±


    ¡°Why was that a question?!?  You don¡¯t even know if you are dating her?¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯ve been pretty busy with the group activities and haven¡¯t explicitly said so.  I¡¯ll clear it up tomorrow, but I assume we are dating though I don¡¯t want to speak for her.¡±


    His mom sighed.  ¡°So you slept with this girl you aren¡¯t even sure you are dating?¡±


    ¡°Er, yeah?  Guess that makes it sound bad,¡± Adam said hesitantly.


    Adam¡¯s dad then walked back into the room and sat down.


    ¡°Adam,¡± his mom continued, ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have sex until you are sure you love the person.  Otherwise, you are just being irresponsible.  What happens if she gets pregnant or is just using you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry mom, but I will probably be having sex with her again.  I won¡¯t do it in the house, and I will be more considered and safe next time.  I am planning on dating her and I think we have a connection that is special and will last,¡± stated Adam.


    At that his dad leaned forward and put a box of condoms on the table, sliding it over to Adam.  Adam would have facepalmed if he wasn¡¯t holding pizza in both hands.  His mom glared at his dad.


    ¡°What about those other girl?¡± his mom demanded.  ¡°You seemed awfully physical to them too.¡±


    ¡°Andrea and Alissa?  They are inseparable friends of Abbey¡¯s.  I think they were just flirting for fun.¡±


    ¡°Just flirting?  In front of your presumed to be girlfriend?  I saw one of them strenuously kissing you while the other was rubbing your legs.  Abbey didn¡¯t even seem to care!  I don¡¯t even know what that says about them.  What is going on with you, Adam?¡±


    ¡°Huh.  Got me there.  I thought they were just playing a game to make Abbey feel better.  Or teasing me.¡±  Adam thought about it for a few seconds, reflecting on his cluelessness.  ¡°Maybe there is more from them.¡±


    ¡°How are you going to manage all three?¡± his mom snapped.


    ¡°Um¡­¡± Adam concentrated on it but being inexperienced he ended up just shrugging.  ¡°I guess we¡¯ll figure something out.¡±


    His father reached out and slid a second box of condoms across the table.  Adam eyed him and tried not to think of why his parents had two boxes available in their bedroom.  His mom reached down and slapped the back of his dad¡¯s head.


    ¡°Totally irresponsible!¡± she huffed and stormed out of the kitchen.  Adam watched her go while absent mindedly shoving another slice of pizza into his mouth.


    ¡°Listen, son.  You¡¯ve always been a good and honest kid, though unfortunately unmotivated.  Its fine to play around while young if you do it safely.  Just please think of your own, and their, wellbeing before you do anything that someone might regret.  I¡¯ll trust you for now, and will be there if you need some help, so feel free to talk to me in private if you need to.¡±


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    ¡°Um, thanks dad.  I appreciate it and really will be as safe as I can be.¡±


    ¡°I know, son.  It¡¯s hard to make good decisions at your age,¡± his dad said and then left.


    Adam stared at the boxes on the table, with food all around and a drooping pizza slice in each hand.  Then he heard a click and saw a flash come from his sister¡¯s phone, who was standing in the doorway.


    ¡°Emily,¡± he growled as she giggled and ran away.


    ¡°I wonder what your girlfriends will think of this,¡± she said mockingly, as she retreated up the stairs.


    Adam huffed out, then put it from his mind as he continued devouring all the food he could find.


    ***


    ¡°Man, that scared the hell out of me when the boss nearly went down,¡± Tom exclaimed.  He had already dropped a few people off and was now driving Brittney and Brandon home, since they lived next to each other.


    ¡°Yeah, it was shocking seeing him almost die,¡± Brandon agreed.  ¡°I thought he was invincible, it seemed too much that a single bullet almost killed him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± said Tom.  ¡°If he is that strong and can get dropped so easily then we have no chance in the future.¡±


    ¡°Not quite,¡± disagreed Brittney.  ¡°The way he was squeezing the cop would have ripped open his carotid artery and bathed Adam in blood.  Even unconscious Adam was protecting himself and going to regenerate.  Its more accurate to say we almost killed him by stopping him.  He would have drunk that guy¡¯s blood, regenerated, and then killed the other cops.¡±


    ¡°Do you think he can be killed then?¡± Tom asked her.  ¡°Would a head shot have ended him?¡±


    ¡°Well, yeah.  I would think if the bullet had hit the right place of his brain then he would have died, but really I don¡¯t think a single head shot would do it.  He was already unconscious.  He didn¡¯t need thoughts to lead him to survive.  Would he really have needed his brain?  It all happened faster than his body would have shut down.  A heart shot probably wouldn¡¯t have killed him either, considering how much blood he lost while still moving,¡± Brittney answered thoughtfully.


    ¡°A leg shot wouldn¡¯t have stopped him.  The way he stepped through space didn¡¯t really require both legs,¡± added Brandon.  ¡°I hope I can learn to do that.¡±


    ¡°Definitely,¡± agreed Tom.  ¡°The boss is just too awesome.  We¡¯re only level 14.  What level do you think he is?¡±


    ¡°If he has levels, it must be really high,¡± said Brandon.


    ¡°I disagree.  I¡¯m not sure if there is a max level, but I think he would only be equivalent to a level 50 to 75.  However, I think whatever that soul corruption he has is preventing him from using his full stats and abilities.  How else could he have pulled out that teleport step?  That must be some advanced ability that he pulled out to survive, something his body already knew how to do.  Yet still no red flash to show it was a skill,¡± Brittney said thoughtfully.


    ¡°What do you think the boss¡¯s class is?  What a weird assortment of abilities.  Strength, speed, regeneration from blood, and mind control.  Sounds like a vampire to me.  Think we are all his thralls?¡± Tom chuckled.


    Brittney¡¯s cheeks turned red and she looked away.  Tom just snickered harder.


    ¡°Oh ho ho.  Looked like Abbey has competition.  Sorry there, Brandy-boy.¡±


    Brittney covered her face completely, but Brandon only sighed.


    ¡°I know Brittney and I have been together for a long time, but she feels more like an older sister to me.  I love her, just not romantically.  If she wants to be with the boss, then I wish them well,¡± Brandon stated.


    ¡°How mature,¡± said Tom, disappointed no one was taking his bait.


    ¡°Since the boss helped me with my memories and emotions, I feel a lot calmer and clearer headed.  Before there was a layer of fear over everything, making me sit like a huddled child.  Now I feel like I can finally grow up.  I think the fear took up all the space I had for emotions before,¡± Brandon said.  ¡°As for being a thrall, I don¡¯t think so.  I respect him a lot, but if he asked me to do something I didn¡¯t agree with, I could say no.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it only works on the ladies,¡± said Tom with an eyebrow waggle.


    ¡°Maybe,¡± muttered Brittney.


    A few minutes later they arrived in front of Brittney¡¯s house.  It was dark out but the lights inside were on and she jumped out and ran to the door.  Tom wondered how her parents would react to her ripped and filthy clothes.  Then he shrugged.  Not his concern.


    Once Brittney was in her house he pulled forward and stopped in front of Brandon¡¯s.


    ¡°Brandy-boy, your house is a p.o.s.¡± said Tom.  Brittney¡¯s house looked like a similar model to Brandon¡¯s, with the lawn clear of leaves, the neatly trimmed bushes.  Brandon¡¯s house looked terrible by comparison.  Leaves were scattered everywhere, unraked.  Dead plants and weeds grew in all the flower beds.  Two outside shutters were missing.  Even the outer walls had mildew and ivy growing up them.  Tom could image it becoming a Halloween story house in a few years.  That, or a meth lab in the basement.


    Brandon sighed.  ¡°I know.  My dad has never used his time or money to maintain it.  My mom did what she could until a few years ago but gave up after he complained about her wasting money on tools and chemicals.¡±


    Tom pulled to the curb and watched Brandon walk to the door.  The door opened as he approached and there was a pudgy and short, though still taller than Brandon, man standing in the light from the entrance.  His face was unshaven and sloppy, and his clothes were clearly old and crinkly.


    ¡°What do you think you are doing getting home so late,¡± Brandon¡¯s dad shouted at him, slightly slurred and inappropriately loud for the neighbors.  ¡°I have work and you have school tomorrow!  Do you think it¡¯s ok to get home this late?¡±


    ¡°No sir,¡± Brandon muttered, turning his head down.


    ¡°And what is with your clothing?  They are torn and filthy.  I paid for those clothes.  You would be living on the street if it weren¡¯t for me.  You are nothing without me,¡± his dad shouted at him.


    Brandon was quite tired from the day.  He just wanted to get some food and go to sleep, not even sure if there would be food waiting for him.  Only a few hours earlier he had been fighting for his life and watching his friends nearly losing their lives.  That gave him the courage to do something he had never done before.  He raised his head and looked into his dad¡¯s glassy eyes.


    ¡°Challenging me, you little nothing?  Don¡¯t think you matter without me!¡±  His dad screamed as he swung his fist at Brandon¡¯s face.


    From Brandon¡¯s view, the fist came in slowly.  He was so weary.  Tired of being attacked.  Tired of being demeaned.  Adam had accepted him and defended him.  Adam had said that Brandon would be able to save lives in the future.  To Adam and the group, and even to Tom the bully, Brandon was someone who would matter.  Someone who could and should matter.


    A feeling of importance and acceptance bloomed in Brandon at that moment.  His fake memory of his dad being the goblin who stabbed him flittered through his thoughts.  The fist was coming at him so slowly compared to a goblin¡¯s knife.


    Before he knew what he was doing, Brandon shoved forward with both his hands on his dad¡¯s chest.  A few days before that shove would have barely staggered his dad.  With 14 levels of stat increases, the shove was at the level of a pro athlete.  His dad was forced through the air and into the back of a sofa in the front room.  Brandon was mildly shocked as his dad flipped over the sofa and somersaulted onto his back.


    A scream broke out as his mom ran from the corner of the room to his father.  She grabbed him and helped him sit up.  Tear started falling as she touched and patted his father to make sure he was fine.  Brandon already knew his dad would be fine since flipping over the sofa had softened the impact and only dropped him two feet onto the ground.


    His dad¡¯s face was red and bulging as he was trying to figure out what happened.  When his mom was sure the man was fine she turned to Brandon.


    ¡°How could you?!¡± she screamed.  ¡°How could you do that to your father?!  We don¡¯t use violent in this house!  He has taken care of you and brought you up better than that!¡±  Her hysterical screeching was interrupted by uproarious laughing.  Brandon turned to see Tom bending over laughing so hard he almost fell over.


    ¡°Oh!  Oh man!  This is too much!¡±  Tom said while trying to gasp for air.


    ¡°Who are you and what is so funny?¡± Brandon¡¯s mom shrieked.


    ¡°Who am I?¡± Tom repeated, getting serious.  ¡°I¡¯m Brandon¡¯s bully.  I¡¯ve been treating him like garbage for years.  And here I am seeing that what I did was nothing compared to his own parents.  No wonder Brandon never fought back.  He probably thought my gang was being affectionate if this is what he got at home.¡±


    ¡°Who are you to judge us?¡± demanded his father, finally steady enough to talk.  ¡°We have always done right by Brandon!  I¡¯m allowed to treat my own son however I think is best!  I will come knock some sense into you, right now.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t think you will,¡± said Tom putting his arm around Brandon.  ¡°If you raise your fists at us we will knock you on your ass and you won¡¯t be getting up for some time.¡±  His serious stare stopped Brandon¡¯s father from even trying to stand, while the man¡¯s eyes bulged, and face get redder.  ¡°C¡¯mon Brandy-boy.  You can stay at my house.¡±


    Brandon nodded at him and then quietly addressed his mom.  ¡°Mom, I love you.  I¡¯ll come back when you are thinking clearer.¡±


    His mother glared at him while continuing to cry.  ¡°Don¡¯t even think of coming back until you are willing to show your dear father some respect.  Don¡¯t even think of it!¡±


    Brandon sighed, head down, and then allow Tom to lead him out of the house.  ¡°Why would she treat me that way?  She has taken care of me my whole life.¡±


    ¡°No, Brandon.  She outsourced that to the neighbor girl,¡± Tom responded quietly and waved towards Brittney¡¯s door, where Brandon saw Brittney and her mom standing in the outside shadows watching.  Brittney¡¯s mom looked sad and concerned, like she wanted to rush over.  Brittney just stood there stoically; her arms folded across her chest.

 CH 25: New Home

    CHAPTER 25:  Brandon¡¯s New Home


    Brandon was in a daze as he got in the car.  He did not notice Tom sending out a text, or the drive to Tom¡¯s house.  With how crazy their day had been, it felt like a long time ago, yet it had only been the previous night that he had stayed there.  The house was large and in an expensive gated neighborhood, with six bedrooms and three full bathrooms.  It was a far cry from what he was used to.


    As he numbly got out of the car and walked to the entrance, Tom¡¯s mother Mary was there waiting for them.  She looked at how filthy and ripped their clothes were, frowned at Tom, and then still put her arm around Brandon.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, dear.  Let¡¯s get some food in you and then we can talk with Mr. Rhodes.¡±


    She led him and Tom to the kitchen where bowls of soup and some warmed bread was waiting.  Tom¡¯s sisters, Rosy and Amy, took his mom¡¯s orders and ran upstairs, returning with a large t-shirt and some gym shorts.  Brandon didn¡¯t even bother leaving the room, simply stopped eating and changed, sitting back down to continue the food.  Three bowls went into him before he felt satisfied and looked up.


    When it seemed like he was finished, Tom¡¯s mother had herded the girls out and then grabbed Tom a bit rougher and pulled him from the room.  Brandon could hear whispered shouting a few rooms away.  Tom¡¯s father, Mr. Rhodes, was now sitting at the end of the long dining room with a file folder and a large notepad.


    ¡°Hello, Brandon.  We met briefly last night, though it seemed you were in distress at the time.  Tom has given us some information about you, but considering Tom we don¡¯t know what it really means.  I know it¡¯s been a hard night for you, if we can believe what Tom said, but I¡¯d like to confirm things with you if that is ok.¡±


    ¡°Um, sure, Mr. Rhodes,¡± Brandon said nervously.


    ¡°Tom told us he has bullied you for years.  Is that true?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes,¡± Brandon hesitated to answer.  Mr. Rhodes sighed.


    ¡°Is he still doing it?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Brandon felt more comfortable with that question.  ¡°He and his friends are done with that.¡±


    ¡°What makes you think they are done?¡± Mr. Rhodes looked at him with a mix of curiosity and compassion as he looked up from his notepad.


    ¡°Er¡­¡± Brandon was not sure how to answer that.  In the end he did not have to as Tom burst into the room while slipping a clean shirt onto his still dirty body.


    ¡°Because he¡¯ll keep me alive,¡± Tom answered proudly.


    ¡°Keep you alive?¡± His dad turned to him with confusion.


    ¡°Yeah, he is a support,¡± Tom pointed to above Brandon¡¯s head, ¡°and I am I warrior.¡±  He pointed above his own head.


    ¡°Tom, what does the 14 mean?¡± asked his dad looked between their tags.


    ¡°It means we¡¯re strong, dad,¡± Tom answered while flexing an unimpressive bicep.


    ¡°Tom, please take this seriously, for Brandon¡¯s sake.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m being serious, dad.  The boss said¡­¡±


    ¡°The boss?¡± Mr. Rhodes cut Tom off.  ¡°Like a gang boss?¡±


    ¡°Yes!  Wait, no!  Well, maybe?¡± Tom seemed unsure of how to answer.  ¡°Anyway, we are part of his crew.  He¡¯s a great guy and showed me the error of my ways.¡±


    ¡°A gang boss showed you the error of your ways?  How did he do that?¡± Tom¡¯s dad asked with exasperation.


    ¡°The boss pounded my face in when we were going to bully Brandon.¡±


    ¡°That horrible broken nose that we took you to the hospital for?  That was you learning the error of your ways?¡±


    ¡°Yuppers,¡± Tom smiled proudly.


    Mr. Rhodes turned to Brandon with a wry smile on his face.  ¡°This is what I have to work with, Brandon.  Can you give me a bit more information on this?¡±  Tom sagged, crestfallen.


    ¡°Um, yes sir.  The boss is named Adam.  He is a classmate of mine.  When he saw them bullying me, he tried to help me and they attacked him.  It turned out he was able to fight them all and while defending himself he broke Tom¡¯s nose.¡±


    ¡°This Adam tried defending you and beat up Tom and some other bullies?¡±


    ¡°Yes.  I only saw a recording that Adam set up before it happened.  He sent me out before the bullies attacked him.¡±


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    ¡°Is he some kind of trained fighter or gangster?¡±


    ¡°No sir.  He said he had never been in a fight in his life,¡± answered Brandon.  ¡°He¡¯s never stood out in class either.¡±


    ¡°Is he some kind of delinquent?¡± asked Mr. Rhodes, his confusion growing.


    ¡°Delinquent, dad?  Hell no!  The boss is our savior!  He is going to lead up to victory!¡± Tom gushed as he posed with one arm in the air and a foot on his chair.  Mr. Rhodes turned back to Brandon.


    ¡°Um, Tom.  Now you do sound like his thrall,¡± whispered Brandon to Tom.


    ¡°Supports my vampire theory,¡± said Tom conspiratorially as he returned to his seat.


    ¡°What do vampires have to do with this?¡±


    ¡°Nothing, dad.  Why bring up vampires?¡± asked Tom with confusion on his face.


    Mr. Rhodes took a huge sigh and turned back to Brandon, clearly frustrated.  ¡°How many people did he beat up along with Tom?¡±


    ¡°Four others,¡± answered Brandon.  ¡°Though I don¡¯t think Elias actually fought.¡±


    ¡°Then this Adam, who has never been in a fight before, had the good intentions of helping you, and beat up five bullies?¡±


    ¡°Oh yeah, dad!  We even started it by sucker punching him from behind.  The only reason Lucas got a punch in was because the boss was looking at something else.  Then the boss saved our lives.¡±


    Mr. Rhodes lifted his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose.  ¡°How did you become such a degenerate, Tom?  Doesn¡¯t Lucas box competitively?¡±


    ¡°Yup.  Lucas didn¡¯t stand a chance!¡± Tom crowed.


    ¡°And a boy who has never fought was able to beat a training boxer?¡±


    ¡°Yup!¡±


    ¡°It sounds like this Adam is a bad element, people just don¡¯t realize it yet.¡±


    ¡°Hell no, dad.  The boss is the best.  He''ll soon be known worldwide.  He even helped Brandon in other ways.¡±


    ¡°What other ways,¡± asked Mr. Rhodes.


    ¡°He toughened him up,¡± Tom exclaimed proudly.


    ¡°That¡¯s what abusive parents claim.  What does that mean?¡± Mr. Rhodes turned to Brandon, clearly exasperated.


    ¡°He helped me with some memories and realizing the truth about my father.¡±


    ¡°That was after the boss saved him from dying because he was stabbed by goblins,¡± Tom added unhelpfully.


    ¡°Goblins?  So you play video games with him?¡±


    Tom snickered at that but for once didn¡¯t say anything, and this time Brandon was the one to sigh.


    ¡°Anyway, your father is why I wanted to talk with you, Brandon.  I apologize for the difficulties my son has caused you.  Just let me know if it happens again.  However, your father is a more concerning issue at the moment.  According to what Tom told us, your father could be seen as abusive and negligent.¡±


    ¡°Yes sir.  The boss helped me see and accept that,¡± responded Brandon.


    ¡°Good.  That will help this conversation.  It¡¯s usually difficult for people to accept.¡±  Mr. Rhodes nodded and then continued.  ¡°It seems like your life has been a struggle up until now with your home life leading the way.  It is usually hard for children to see that, and I am going to offer you something now.  It is entirely your choice whether you except it or not.  Even if you do not, I would be willing to try and provide you support in other ways.  Not to make up for the things Tom has done but because my wife and I believe no child should have to go through what you have.


    ¡°I am a lawyer of corporate law, but I have friends in other legal disciplines.  In fact, I have a friend who deals in family law and child custody.  I have already contacted him and gotten the forms needed to become your legal guardian.  If you would like we can accept you into our house and provide for you.  I know you are already 17, but as long as you don¡¯t harm our family we would be willing to take care of you until you are an adult and able to take care of yourself.  It should not be too difficult to legally pressure your parents into agreeing to it.¡±


    ¡°W-why would you do that for me?¡± stammered Brandon.


    ¡°When I was a kid, one of my cousins had an alcoholic stepfather.  It seemed all the adults knew there was something wrong, but no one did anything.  As a child I was powerless to help him and had no way to fully understand what was happening.  While in high school he ran away, lived who knows where, and last I heard he was a drug addict.  No one stepped up to help him and I don¡¯t want to cause that again through inaction.  I am a lawyer and my wife is a nurse.  We have plenty of financial security and a loving family to share¡­even with Tom around.¡±


    ¡°Ouch, dad,¡± Tom complained halfheartedly.


    ¡°Anyway, helping you is easily within our powers.  Tom has said that you are a good kid in need of help and asked us to.  That is not something I would expect of Tom.  After you spent last night, my daughters and wife were sure that you need better support than you¡¯ve received so far.  You don¡¯t need to leave your real family behind, but we are willing to give you a warm and nurturing place to live.¡±


    Brandon¡¯s eyes became blurry with tears.  First Adam helped him and now the Rhodes family were there for him.  He had never had anyone but Brittney before.  Both happiness and sadness flooded him as the emotional exhaustion from the last two days overwhelmed him.


    Sniffling, Brandon said, ¡°Thank you, sir.  It would be nice to have a more supportive place to live.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, dad.  His other house was terrible!¡± Tom exclaimed.


    ¡°Tom!¡± snapped his dad.


    ¡°But it was.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s enough, Tom.  How about you go ask your sisters to make Jeremy¡¯s bed and Brandon can sleep there.  We will need to buy him some new clothes since I don¡¯t think you or your brothers¡¯ clothes will fit him.  However, before that, you guys need to shower.  You are both filthy and, quite frankly, smell terribly.  How did you guys even get that dirty?¡±


    ¡°Paintball with the boss,¡± Tom snickered, using the excuse he had heard from Adam.


    ¡°Ah, that must be what the blue is.  Well, it really stinks, so please get Brandon some towels and soap, and see if there are any clothes that can fit him until your mother can go shopping with him.¡±


    ¡°You got it, dad.¡±


    Brandon could not believe all that was happening.  He took a relaxing shower in what felt like a luxurious bathroom.  He slept in a comfortable mattress, not one that had been worn down to the springs.  There was more food than he would have gotten at home and was able to rest without hearing banging or shouting through the walls.  It felt unreal.


    He and Tom were late to school as they swung by his house to stuff as many of his clothes as he could into a large gym bag.  Brandon was still hesitant and unsure, not knowing if things would get better for him, but he was at least willing to try.  A big smile was on his face as they pulled into the parking lot of school.  Friends, no more bullies, and a home that could be comfortable.  Things were looking up.


    Then they drove into the school courtyard where four police cars were pulling out, the second to last one containing a scowling Adam, arms cuffed behind his back in the back seat.


    ¡°Oh, shit,¡± Tom exclaimed as he pulled out his phone and started texting.

 CH 26: Arrested

    CHAPTER 26: Arrested


    Adam sat at his desk with a box of donuts and two hoagies. Well, half a hoagie and two hoagie wrappers. Last night he had emptied the fridge, and he was still ravenous this morning. A stop by a grocery store before school had bought him a sizable breakfast and he was wondering if it would be enough. He would probably need to slip out to buy more during lunch.


    ¡°There is my darling,¡± Andrea announced as she walked in the room. Seeing Adam chewing mid bite, she settled for a peck on the cheek, then turned the chair in the forward desk so she could sit with him. Alissa came in moments later, followed by another peck on his cheek, and a chair being turned towards his desk.


    Brittney arrived next, amidst other students. Instead of a cheek kiss, she made a hissing noise and turned away from him before pulling a chair over. He wasn¡¯t sure what that was about, but Andrea and Alissa both laughed at that, with Alissa even giving her a playful hug.


    I¡¯m sure not used to this level of touchiness, Adam thought. He offered everyone a donut, but they took one look at the way he was eating and swore he needed them all.


    ¡°This scene reminds me of a picture I was sent last night,¡± Andrea said to the other two while pulling out her phone. She showed them, keeping the phone angled away from Adam, and they all laughed, while looking between Adam and the picture. There was no need for him to see the picture to know what it was.


    ¡°Why did she send it to you and not me? I¡¯m going to have a talk with that girl!¡± Alissa said.


    They continued to chat, back and forth, including Brittney but ignoring Adam while he continued to eat. Once he had finished eating, he started looking around. Andrea immediately noticed.


    ¡°What¡¯re you looking for? Your giiirlfriend?¡± she asked teasingly.


    ¡°Um, is she?¡± Adam asked back.


    ¡°Is she what?¡± Andrea seemed confused.


    ¡°Is she my girlfriend?¡±


    Both Andrea and Alissa burst into laughter. Brittney just eyed them all closely.


    ¡°Of course she is. Why would you even ask that? Hasn¡¯t she made it obvious?¡±


    ¡°Well, I had a conversation with my mom and, well, I¡¯m a little, I mean, we didn¡¯t really say, or it just didn¡¯t come up,¡± Adam stammered it out with even Brittney joining in laughing at him.


    ¡°You¡¯ve been the most fearless person I¡¯ve ever met, and this is what trips you up, darling? It¡¯s just too funny!¡± Adam felt a bit flushed at all the laughing. Then Andrea leaned in closer and whispered breathily into his ear, ¡°and when we sneak into your room, you better consider us girlfriends too. We don¡¯t want those boxes to go to waste.¡± A teasing wink, clearly meant to embarrass him, caused Adam to stiffen, and he gave up and put his head on his desk. He ignored the rest of their conversation until the homeroom bell rang.


    Eventually Adam felt he should pay attention to class, so he sat up. Movement outside the classroom window caught his eye. He peered down from the third-floor window and noticed that there were three policemen standing around below the window using their radios. They were looking up at his floor. Adam¡¯s stomach dropped and he became concerned, but there was no way they could have identified him the previous night.


    The concern almost turned to panic until a pulse of heat raced through his body. The fear was burned into anger as he felt his emotions going a bit out of control.


    ¡°Hey!¡± Adam heard his teacher yell as police pushed their way into the room. Already on his feet, Adam stared at the five cops trying to fit in the already crowded classroom. The first one had handcuffs out, the next two had guns aimed at him. The last two were watching the surroundings, hands on holstered guns.


    The heat surged and the river flowed through him. It would be so easy to end them, Adam thought. So easy to put down these threats. His mind and body were on fire from the pulsing heat. A roar started to build in his throat as the lead policeman approached him.


    Before he opened his mouth, Adam noticed his classmates. They were all shocked and horrified except for three. He saw Andrea and Alissa getting ready to use [Mana Dart]. Turning his head slightly he also saw Brittney getting ready to charge.


    Seeing the girls about to put themselves in unnecessary danger gave Adam enough presence of mind to reach to the coolness hid in his head. He pulled on it to soothe the rest of his mind and calm him down. The river continued to flow and the heat pulsed, but less intensely now. He wanted to be ready to spring into action if they shot him like last night, but he decided not to give them a reason to.


    If Adam was as dangerous as they were acting, then it was insanity to arrest him in a tight room full of people. Everything about this situation seemed wrong. How had they even identified him? Could this be anything but a setup?


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    ¡°Don¡¯t,¡± Adam said, intending it for the girls.


    ¡°Don¡¯t what, scumbag?¡± The lead cop snapped, while the others targeted him. They all glared at him with open hate.


    Adam just clamped his mouth shut and allowed the officer with handcuffs to get behind him. A hand was pressed against his back and pushed. Adam had seen enough police scenes to know that he was supposed to be roughly slammed into his desk, but the strength difference prevented him from even moving. The cop pushed a few more times before giving up and grabbing one of his arms. He had to allow both arms to be moved behind his back as the handcuffs were put on. The policeman might be a tough man, used to force, but an unleveled person just felt like a toddler to his strength.


    ¡°Adam Clemens, you are under arrest! You have the right to¡­¡± the cop began reading him his rights with full venom, as if it was personal, but Adam just let his mind calm. The room was in shocked silence, all eyes on him. His teacher was scared and clearly didn¡¯t know what to do.


    The hallways were madness. Students were pushing out of other classrooms, crowding the windows to his classroom to watch as he was very publicly arrested. Murmurs and shouts echoed through the walls. Nick, Carlos, and Lamar had pushed their way through the crowds and were staring at him. A slight shake of his head towards them and they nodded, as the policeman tried to push him forward and then he was led out into the crowds.


    The police called for space and tightly held their guns, as if the crowds were surging forward to take them. The one who had cuffed him kept holding the cuffs, trying to steer Adam along. He seemed to realize that was useless as Adam¡¯s strength determined where he went and whether he was moved. The two policemen with guns drawn were now close and leveling them at his chest, towards his heart. Adam allowed them to lead him down the stairs and to their cars.


    Open hostility was clearly coming from the cops, yet another oddity to the situation. Why were they acting like this was personal? Adam just went along with it, hoping this would not result in more of a mess. It was a struggle to keep the anger down. Whenever he looked at a near snarling cop, he could almost hear the word CONQUER shouting through his soul. Hopefully that would not need to happen.


    ***


    ¡°What happened?¡± Nick demanded of Andrea as the three boys had joined the girls in the classroom. The area was empty, with only a few stragglers milling in the hallway. The majority of students, and with them teachers, had rushed down the stairs to watch Adam being taken off.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. They just stormed in and arrest him. He looked ready to fight,¡± Andrea¡¯s statement causing Carlos to gulp, ¡°and we were getting ready to help, but then he said ¡®don¡¯t¡¯ and calmed himself down. Well, calmed himself a little. He still looked ready to rip their heads off. Bets on whether he will?¡±


    ¡°So what do we do?¡± asked Lamar. They were all feeling uncertain. Then each of their phones made a noise as they all received the same text.


    ¡°Boss is being taken by cops. We need to go. Meet in parking lot.¡±


    With no better idea, they followed Tom¡¯s text and headed to the parking lot.


    The courtyard was filled with nearly the whole school. A lot of pushing would have been necessary for the group under normal circumstances, but their strength was high enough that they were almost sending people flying. Space was quickly made for them as they headed towards the parking lot, groans coming from students that had not moved for them.


    Once there they found Tom and Brandon, joined by Lucas, Randall, Elias, and Joseph. Andrea again explained what had happened in the classroom.


    ¡°What should we do?¡± she asked once finished.


    ¡°Grab our gear and get to the police station,¡± answered Lucas.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t going to fight the police, are we?¡± asked Carlos.


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t be much of a fight,¡± said Randall smugly.


    ¡°No, we aren¡¯t going to fight them,¡± said Tom, seemingly serious for once. ¡°My dad¡¯s a lawyer, and we need to be there in case they do something to the boss. Serve as witnesses. If anything goes wrong, I¡¯ll call my dad for help. This stinks and we need to make it difficult for whatever railroading is happening.¡±


    ¡°Do you think an invader is involved in this?¡± asked Brandon.


    ¡°Most likely,¡± said Elias.


    ¡°Damnit!¡±


    ¡°Anyway, I don¡¯t see camera boy or healer girl,¡± said Tom as he looked around.


    Andrea glared at him for a second before responding. ¡°Abbey will meet us there, and Ed is grabbing his cameras and laptop from his locker.¡±


    ¡°Where¡¯s our gear?¡± asked Lucas. ¡°I want to be prepared just in case.¡±


    ¡°In my car, lightly washed but not sharpened. It¡¯s all in the bags,¡± answered Carlos.


    Lucas nodded at him. ¡°Make sure it¡¯s easy to get to when we go in.¡±


    They impatiently waited a few more minutes before four more people approached them.


    ¡°What is she doing here?¡± demanded Lucas. ¡°Do you think the boss is going to be ok with that?¡±


    ¡°Um, she saw me heading here instead of to the crowds,¡± Ed said, his hands full of padded bags. Joseph went over and took some to make them easier to carry. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t let me through, and I couldn¡¯t stop her while holding my equipment.¡±


    ¡°Excuse me! Don¡¯t talk over my head. What is happening with my brother? People said he was arrested,¡± Emily interrupted.


    Lucas stared at her while talking to the rest of the group. ¡°What cars are there?¡±


    ¡°Mine, of course,¡± said Carlos, refusing to look at Emily.


    ¡°Brandy-boy and I brought mine today,¡± said Tom. No one else spoke up. Emily fumed while meeting Lucas¡¯s stare.


    ¡°I have my pick-up too, so we should be able to fit everyone,¡± then Lucas finally spoke to Emily. ¡°Who are the other two?¡±


    ¡°Friends of mine.¡±


    ¡°Do they need to come? Not much room.¡±


    ¡°Come where?¡± Emily glared.


    ¡°Police station. Gonna make sure Adam is safe.¡±


    ¡°Then the more the merrier. They are coming too if they want to,¡± Emily said.


    Lucas released a big sigh. ¡°Adam is not going to like you being there, and he¡¯ll probably take it out on me.¡±


    ¡°Take what out on you?¡± Emily asked with confusion. ¡°Adam¡¯s a wuss. He barely cares about anything, and I doubt he can even hurt a person. Especially not you.¡±


    Everyone from the group started laughing, except Lucas who looked embarrassed. Tom was gasping for breath as he said, ¡°Don¡¯t, ha, don¡¯t tell her. Hah! It¡¯ll be so funny!¡±


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Lucas said to get them back on track, ¡°We need to get going. Alissa, can you please stick with Adam¡¯s sister and friends to make sure they don¡¯t cause any trouble?¡±


    ¡°Wow, I didn¡¯t think you could say please,¡± said Alissa.


    ¡°No way am I being rude to one of Adam¡¯s girls.¡±


    ¡°Oh? Is that what I am?¡± Alissa smiled grandly. ¡°Good, good. Yes, I¡¯ll babysit the tykes.¡±


    ¡°Why do I need watching? What is even going on with you guys?¡± Emily demanded.


    Lucas turned away from Emily and began moving towards his truck. ¡°Ok. Pick your ride and let¡¯s move. We¡¯d better get there before they piss off the boss too much.¡±

 CH 27: Interrogation

    CHAPTER 27: Interrogation


    The room was more relaxing than Adam had expected. The walls had a soothing beige on the top and a forest green towards the bottom. Good lighting too, not just fluorescents. It felt like a business meeting room. Sure, there was a wall with the two-way mirror. Also, his hands were handcuffed to a cold metal table that was bolted to the floor, but at least the room felt calm. It was a good thing too, because the policeman had spent the entire ride telling Adam how awful he was and how they were throwing the book at him. So much abusive language had been hurled at him, but no one had even said what he was being arrested for. Just one more oddity. It had still taken Adam all his willpower not to explode in that car.


    According to his senses, people had come into the observation area and looked at him, but he hadn¡¯t heard anything said or done. No discussions and no drawn guns, at least. At the moment it was a mystery when they would show or what was going to happen. Adam just tried to stay calm but ready, letting it play out.


    After another ten minutes the door opened and in walked a single man. He was not quite middle aged but looked weathered. The way he styled his hair hadn¡¯t help up even though it was early in the morning. He wore a dress shirt, tie, and pants. They looked fine but clearly not expensive clothes, as if he knew what the dress code was but wasn¡¯t trying to look cultured. There was a shoulder holster and gun, while holding a file folder in his hands.


    ¡°You sure are in a lot of trouble, Adam Clemens,¡± he said as he slapped the folder on the table and pulled out the chair across from Adam. ¡°I¡¯m Detective Baker and this folder has a written report of all your crimes and we are planning to persecute them to the fullest extent possible. I assume you are already aware of what is in this?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Adam said calmly, keeping his anger suppressed. ¡°When they arrested me in the classroom they didn¡¯t tell me what the charges were. Is that normal?¡±


    Det. Baker frowned at that. ¡°No, I¡¯m sure they must have told you the charges before reading you your rights. You probably didn¡¯t pay attention.¡±


    ¡°I can always ask a classmate if they did or did not. I¡¯m sure someone recorded the whole exchange.¡±


    ¡°Classmate?¡± Det. Baker opened the file and looked between it and Adam. ¡°Why would you have classmates?¡±


    ¡°Because they arrested me in the middle of class. If I¡¯m as bad as you say, then shouldn¡¯t they have arrested me without people around? I thought that odd.¡±


    Det. Baker¡¯s frown changed to confusion. ¡°Of course they wouldn¡¯t have arrested you in a class room. That would make no sense. But why would a 20-year-old be in class anyway?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know about that. I¡¯m only 17,¡± Adam stated. Det. Baker looked back to the folder for a few moments before looking at Adam¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°You are Adam Clemens, right? The folder says you are 20.¡±


    ¡°I am Adam Clemens and 17 years old. You can check the ID in my pocket. I expected it to be looked at, but they didn¡¯t even bring me for processing, just brought me here.¡±


    Det. Baker¡¯s eyes went glassy for just a few seconds, and then focused on him full of rage.


    ¡°Trying to confuse me won¡¯t work. The folder has it all in it. All your crimes. We have 27 different misdemeanors and felonies listed, and there is no way you are getting out of this!¡±


    Adam felt his heat pulsing quicker. The hate being shown to him made him want to reach across the table and beat Det. Baker. He wanted to explode at everyone here. It would be so easy to show them all that they needed to follow his rules. Adams heart pounded in his ears, and blood was rushing through him. His skin was heating up and turned redder.


    Then his thoughts turned to the battle with the goblin chief. I am not a one trick pony. Adam didn¡¯t need to use his rage or strength. There were more effective tools available.


    ¡°¡­trespassing, breaking and entering, assault...¡± While Adam had been controlling his anger, Det. Baker had been reading the charges.


    Forming a tendril inside himself, he reached towards the space where the detective¡¯s essence was. He created just the tiniest connection and started pushing a feeling of skepticism of the charges. He really emphasized a desire to know more about them.


    ¡°¡­attempted murder, taking an officer¡¯s weapon, and finally grand theft.¡±


    Obviously, all the charges were bogus, but the last one caught Adam¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Theft?¡± he asked, surprised.


    ¡°All those and that is the one that confuses you?¡± Det. Baker asked with disdain. Adam ignored it and continued.


    ¡°What did I steal?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a stupid question. You know what you stole.¡±


    ¡°What does the folder say I stole?¡±


    The detective opened the folder and flipped through it. ¡°A small crystal.¡±


    Then it clicked for Adam. All of this seemed to have multiple purposes, but they must want whatever the crystal did. That meant the crystal was more valuable than Adam had first thought. He assumed the rifts were a staging area for an invasion, but all invaders should have one of those. Now it seemed likely that it would be worth a lot more than that. No one on earth should know about the crystal, since his group got the title for being first to clear a rift.


    ¡°What color is the crystal?¡± Adam asked, trying to get the detective to think while he pumped the skepticism through the connection.


    ¡°What does it matter the color?¡± The detective searched through the folder twice before responding. ¡°It doesn¡¯t say.¡±


    ¡°Then what size is the crystal?¡±


    ¡°Hmm, it isn¡¯t listed in here.¡±


    ¡°How are you to know what this crystal is if there are no descriptions of it? How do you even know a crystal was stolen?¡± Adam pushed.


    ¡°The owner of the warehouse contacted the mayor who brought it to our attention,¡± Det. Baker answered after another sweep through the folder.


    ¡°The warehouse hasn¡¯t been used by a company for a decade.¡±


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    ¡°That doesn¡¯t mean it isn¡¯t still owned by someone.¡±


    ¡°All those warehouses are full of debris. Teenagers have been playing in them for years.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, so what?¡±


    ¡°Are you a detective or not? Why would there be something of value in the warehouses?¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s because¡­¡± Det. Baker¡¯s eyes went glassy again and Adam widened his connection, which cleared them slightly.


    ¡°How do you even know it was me?¡±


    ¡°¡­cameras.¡± Det. Baker answered, shaking his head to try and clear it.


    ¡°Those warehouses have no cameras.¡±


    ¡°The body cams on the police you attacked,¡± he answered with a bit of hesitation.


    ¡°Those body cams identified me and showed me doing all those things, including stealing the crystal?¡±


    ¡°Well, probably not all those things,¡± Baker frowned at the folder while trying to concentrate. His eyes kept fogging and then clearing in turn. Adam widened the connection further and sent in a sense of trust in Adam, similar to what he felt from his group¡¯s connections.


    ¡°You¡¯ve seen this camera footage?¡± Adam pushed.


    ¡°No, but it should be written in this report.¡± Det. Baker¡¯s conflicting thoughts were clearly showing now. Adam was getting close.


    ¡°Can I see the camera footage? If you have irrefutable evidence, I might be willing to plead.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± the detective answered with confusion. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll go try to get it.¡± He stood, a bit in a daze, and walked out of the room, leaving the doorway cracked open. Adam was glad to see the glassy eyes had not returned. He suspected his influence was countering it enough now.


    Quickly pulling out his phone, he sent a text to Ed. ¡°Need links to only the footage of me getting tased and shot by the cops. Don¡¯t include the fight.¡±


    In just a few minutes a link came back. Adam checked it just to make sure. The drone¡¯s camera was unable to show everything clearly, but it was enough with the sounds to know what happened. He sent off a few group texts to reassure everyone and was a bit surprised to find out they were inside the station making a stink for him. He smiled at that.


    A few minutes later Det. Baker came back in. He had left frowning but now he was scowling.


    ¡°No footage?¡± Adam asked, startling Baker, as if he forgot Adam was there.


    ¡°What? No. They said there was a server glitch after it was uploaded.¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t they just upload it again from the cams?¡±


    ¡°They said the cameras were wiped, which is not standard procedure,¡± Det. Baker answered honestly.


    ¡°Are you a detective or not?¡± Adam asked seriously.


    ¡°Yeah, this smells damn rotten. But I was so sure of your guilt. Not just that these crimes were committed but that it was you committing them. I¡¯m having trouble getting any details on any of them though. When I look at them without emotion, I can¡¯t see a court condemning you without significantly more evidence and details than is listed.¡± There seemed to be a conflict within the detective that was causing him to share more than he intended. Adam¡¯s connection was having a strong influence without controlling the man.


    ¡°Who even pointed you in my direction? It was only last night that it happened.¡±


    ¡°It was¡­uh¡­wait, I¡¯m not sure,¡± Det. Baker was sweating with effort as he tried to remember something. ¡°I remember the briefing and how angry I felt afterwards. Everyone felt furious at you, which is odd. We aren¡¯t supposed to react like that. They also had several very clear images of you. What I remember most though is that the person delivering it was the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.¡± His eyes started to get glassy again.


    Adam used that moment to delve through the connection and into the area of Baker where the memories were kept. He saw one shining brighter than the others and headed for it. Oddly, it had a gray line wrapped around it that ran off into several other memories. Adam touched the shining memory and¡­


    The captain entered the briefing room. Everyone was in here. Computer screens that should have shown charges and write ups about the case were blank. Confusion reigned as this type of response was only used for the worst crimes, which had never been needed at this station. Everyone was muttering and no one knew what was happening.


    A solemn expression was etched into the captain¡¯s face. It was so disturbed that it felt like he would never be able to smile again.


    ¡°A heinous crime has been perpetrated. We are to put all our resources into finding the man who committed it. This will be a top-level man hunt.¡± He paused for effect and looked around the room, conveying the seriousness. ¡°Here to give the briefing is miss¡­¡± Static buzzed in the detective¡¯s brain and the name failed to register. All that was unnecessary though as the door opened and the most beautiful¡­grotesque¡­woman he had ever seen walked in the door.


    The memory snapped and Adam found himself forced back into his own mind. Det. Baker was holding his head, clearly in pain, holding himself up with a hand pressing on the table. Adam sent some peace and reassurance through the still active connection and watched as it seemed to help reduce whatever had happened in that memory.


    ¡°That was weird,¡± said Det. Baker. ¡°I was thinking about the woman and then everything felt wrong. Now I can¡¯t remember any of the briefing. My anger at you is gone too.¡±


    ¡°Glad to hear that last part. Would you like to see what really happened last night?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°You have video of it?¡± Surprise streaked across Baker¡¯s face.


    ¡°Yes. My group has recorded all our activities recently.¡±


    ¡°Criminal?¡± Det. Baker asked him suspiciously.


    ¡°Not that I¡¯m aware, and if they are, then they probably won¡¯t be much longer.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± questioned Det. Baker until he saw Adam raise his cell phone to him. ¡°Weren¡¯t you handcuffed?¡±


    ¡°Was I?¡± Adam shrugged.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a smart ass¡­¡± Det. Baker started but then stopped as he watched what was playing on the phone. Looks of surprise, then horror, then disgust flashed through him. He replayed the video three times.


    ¡°This can¡¯t be you,¡± he said.


    ¡°It is,¡± responded Adam.


    ¡°But you got shot in the neck! This person would never have survived!¡± Adam pulled down the neck of his hoody and turned, showing the scar in the same places the video showed what happened. ¡°That¡¯s not possible!¡± he shouted at Adam.


    ¡°Detective Baker. What is and is not possible has changed. All that blue on me was from goblin invaders that the [System] brought. I was healed by my group. That warehouse we were in was the goblins base and we spent the day eradicating them. Protecting people. The woman who gave you my picture was also an invader, but one that can manipulate the mind.¡±


    ¡°Goblins? Like Lord of the Rings?¡± Det. Baker slumped over with his hand to his head. He was having trouble accepting it all.


    ¡°Sure, like Lord of the Rings. Here,¡± Adam reached to his phone and brought up the web site Ed set up with their videos. He played a few. Det. Baker was stunned as we watched fight after fight from the group, and then Adam turned on the videos of himself fighting.


    ¡°This has to be special effects,¡± Det. Baker moaned desperately.


    ¡°I can go lift a car for you if it would help you accept it. As far as I¡¯ve seen on the internet, my group contains the only people in the world who have gone above level zero.¡±


    ¡°W-what about you? You were so much stronger than them in those videos. What level are you and why don¡¯t you have a tag?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I have a level or class. I didn¡¯t get a class from the system because my soul was full. No class means no tag, apparently.¡±


    ¡°Those fights you showed were brutal. How would a level zero fare?¡±


    ¡°Poorly,¡± answered Adam. ¡°I¡¯m not sure how we are supposed to get stronger when they can start so much higher than us. The goblins started at level 4 and the chief was 25. The jump would have been impossible for even my group if I hadn¡¯t been there.¡±


    Despair seemed to hit the detective. ¡°How are we going to survive, or even continue with our jobs? To protect and serve has no meaning without the ability to enforce it,¡± Det. Baker said morosely.


    ¡°The world is being invaded. We took out the weakest group in the area. Those goblins weren¡¯t meant to be difficult. Before the stronger races show I think we are going to have a lot of casualties. This is a game, and we have no advantage.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯re doomed?¡± The depression was palpable.


    ¡°At least not in the short term. My group and I can handle things for now if we are kept in the loop. I think, for a while at least, you¡¯ll need us when faced with invaders. Let the police stick to human work.¡±


    ¡°Why not just come work for us? Maybe train us or help us level?¡±


    ¡°No. I¡¯m not going to work for an organization that will endanger us by forcing rules onto us that don¡¯t apply within the [System].¡± Adam paused for a moment and then looked down at his phone, then back at Det. Baker¡¯s eyes. ¡°It seems you are about to get your first chance to need us.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± Det. Baker asked with confusion.


    Not a moment went by before the door was hastily opened and another man, this time in a uniform, stuck his head in.


    ¡°Baker, we¡¯re in trouble. Five officers down, a city block on fire, ambulance overturned, and hostages taken,¡± the officer hurriedly said. ¡°Chief called for anyone not already in the field.¡±


    Det. Baker kept his eyes on Adam¡¯s. ¡°What are we dealing with, Shultz?¡±


    The office coughed with embarrassment and then whispered, ¡°Elves.¡±

 CH 28: To the Elves

    CHAPTER 28: To the Elves


    When Adam walked into the entry waiting room of the police station, Adam¡¯s group quickly moved to him with surprise.  Everyone stayed silent waiting for him to speak.  Abbey wrapped her arm around him while he looked to Lucas.


    ¡°How did you get out so quickly?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°They were being mind controlled.  An invader.  It took a bit for me to break the memory during the interrogation, but somehow it was linked to all the police.  Since breaking the mind control on the detective, no one seems to have any feelings towards me.¡±


    ¡°Is this to get back at you for stopping the goblins?¡± asked Randall.


    ¡°I think it has a few parts.  They want the control crystal, which means it is more useful than we expected, Elias.  Getting it figured out is a top priority.  They might have also been trying to take me out of play or wanted me to become a criminal by fighting the police.  If I lacked the skills to break the mind control, then I would have been screwed.  Or maybe she wanted me out of the way for whatever the elves are doing.¡±


    ¡°Are we going after the elves?¡± asked Brandon.  ¡°Elves are supposed to be good guys.¡±


    Adam looked over the group, meeting all their eyes.  ¡°We are going after the elves alongside the police.  Frankly they¡¯ll get wiped out without us, and it gives us a chance to get ahold of another rift.¡±


    Several people looked crestfallen.  ¡°We are taking order from the cops now?¡± Joseph asked with venom.


    ¡°No.  We work as our group.  Don¡¯t put yourselves in danger for the police.  Do what you can within the limit of your abilities.  I will be in the lead.  If the police won¡¯t follow, then they get what¡¯s coming to them.¡±


    Tom, Randall, and Joseph smiled at that.  ¡°Whew!  Good to know you aren¡¯t rigid about law and justice.¡±


    ¡°These invasions changed the laws.  The world doesn¡¯t know it yet, but we¡¯re going to hit the laws of the jungle.  Strength above all.¡±


    ¡°And you are the strongest, boss!¡± Tom exclaimed proudly.


    Just then someone pushed through the rest and stood right in front of Adam.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± demanded Emily.  ¡°We need to go home and call mom.  Acting all high and mighty after being arrested at school.  What did you even do?¡±


    Heat pulsed through Adam unintentionally.  The anger wasn¡¯t her specifically, but the knowledge that she could get hurt, that he wasn¡¯t enough to protect her and do what needed to be done.  Red tinted his skin as he looked at her.  Everyone else took a step back at the expression on Adam¡¯s face.


    ¡°Why are you here?¡± he snarled, unable to stop the angry from coming out.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m here!  Why shouldn¡¯t I want to make sure you are ok?  And this is how you treat me?¡± she yelled.


    ¡°You can¡¯t come with us, even if you call mom.  I won¡¯t allow you to go into this kind of danger,¡± he growled.  ¡°Carlos.  Take her home and keep her there, even if you need to use force.¡±


    ¡°Wha¡­but¡­¡± words failed Emily as Adam¡¯s red hand slowly reached for her, controlling his strength as much as he could so as not to hurt her in his furious state.  The coolness was barely keeping his mind manageable, while thoughts of her getting hurt or killed flowed through his head.  Then his hand came up against a different person.


    ¡°You can¡¯t talk to your sister like that,¡± the boy said.  Adam failed to recognize him and his mind blanked out at the surprise and uncertainty.  Inside his river was telling him to go through the boy to get to Emily.  Instead, he turned his head and looked blankly at Lucas.


    ¡°Friend of your sister,¡± Lucas shrugged.


    ¡°I¡¯m William,¡± he insisted.  ¡°What gives you the right to boss her around?¡±


    Adam¡¯s eyes met William¡¯s, and all the fury that had been building found a target.  A tremor shook William and his mouth started opening and closing.


    ¡°Well, William,¡± Adam said, get slightly closer.  There wasn¡¯t a significant height difference, yet Adam¡¯s presence made William cower even further downward.  ¡°If I let Emily come with us, do you think you can protect her?¡±


    ¡°F-f-from w-what?¡± he stammered, his words barely a squeak as Adam brought his mouth to William¡¯s ear.


    ¡°From me,¡± Adam whispered.  Heat steamed from his mouth as he spoke, and William would have fallen had Adam not caught him by the back of his neck and lifted him into the air.  ¡°If anything happens to Emily and you aren¡¯t either dead or incapacitated, then your family will have one less mouth to feed.  From now on, your name is Meat Shield.  Got it?¡±


    William frantically nodded as best he could, with Adam¡¯s grip on his neck.  Then a gentle touch on Adam¡¯s arm caused him to turn.  Abbey was trying to sooth him.  Her gentle touch reminded him of what was really happening.  ¡°We¡¯ll all protect her.  We work together.¡±


    He took a deep breath while thinking of the group.  When he let it out the air steamed from the released heat.  They would survive.  They would protect each other.  His body started to cool and the heat stopped pulsing.


    Instead of dropping William, with one arm he cautiously handed him to Lucas.  Hands under William¡¯s arms lowered him onto the floor while also keeping him from falling.  Tom put his arm around William.


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    ¡°Welcome to shit creek, Meat Shield.  Better find a paddle,¡± Tom laughed, causing William to shiver more.


    Emily¡¯s eyes were bulging as she watched all this.  ¡°How did you do that?  That was inhuman.  I thought you lacked a class,¡± she gasped.


    ¡°If you come then make sure you are always behind things.  No coming into the fight.  Everyone else is a higher level and you are at zero.¡±  Emily glared at Adam but did not say anything, so he turned to the rest of the group, ¡°If you want out, then now is the time.  Otherwise, grab the gear.  We are taking police vans to get there.¡±


    A small and shaking hand raised from a girl Adam did not know.  ¡°I w-want out,¡± she whispered causing everyone to stare at her.  Slowly her hand dropped, and she turned away.


    ***


    The ride was bumpy as Adam strapped on a vest of police body armor.  He had already removed his shirt.  ¡°Can¡¯t afford to lose all my clothes,¡± he had muttered to a chorus of laughs.  A clear faced helmet went on next, with his garden center gloved finishing his outfit.


    Two police vans filled with riot gear and his group were heading to the location of the fighting, followed by Lucas¡¯s pickup, hauling anyone who had not fit in the vans.  Adam was not sure how Det. Baker had managed it, but it would make things easier, especially the gear.


    ¡°Much better than a goblin shield,¡± Brittney said as she hefted a riot shield that was two thirds of her height.  ¡°With my [Harden Shield] skill this should work really well.  It¡¯s a little too flexible for a good [Shield Bash].¡±


    Det. Baker was in this van with him, watching as he put the protective gear on.  His eyes slid to the machetes that Adam, Brittney, Abbey, Randall, and Nick had fastened to their belts.


    ¡°I do need to ask that you not kill them,¡± he said to Adam.  ¡°We are police and I can¡¯t have you killing them openly, like in those goblin videos.¡±


    All eyes went to Det. Baker with shock.


    ¡°I¡¯m not willing to endanger anyone against invaders.  The rules don¡¯t apply to them,¡± Adam said as he stared at Det. Baker.


    ¡°Is there no way to use non-lethal force?¡±


    Adam reached down and picked up two batons, tucking them into his belt.  ¡°I will try, but if I can¡¯t subdue them then deadly force will be used.  Besides, don¡¯t you guys shoot to kill when in danger?  They have hostages.¡±


    Det. Baker sighed.  ¡°Yeah, if it looks like they are going to kill the hostages then do what you need to stop them.  Just, right now you are wearing police equipment.  It needs to look like you are following our rules.¡±


    Adam just shrugged without commitment.  ¡°If I can.¡±


    ***


    The scene was worse than Adam expected.  They were on an often-populated two-way street where people usually shopped.  Parking spaces were sideways against the curbs.  The shops were all two story, light brown brick or block construction with display windows showing the inside.  Thin alleys, about three feet wide separated each of the buildings.


    In front of one shop were three police cars where four policemen huddled without touching the cars, sitting about two feet back from them.  One of the cars had the side glass blown in, while all three had large dents in the doors facing the closer shops.  At the center of the dents were a thin wooden twig.  Fluids were leaking from two of the car engines.


    That was hardly all the mayhem though.  Towards the other side of the street was an ambulance turned on its side.  Through the front windshield they could see two paramedics still inside, standing up while not trying to climb out of the vehicle.  The bottom rear door was flung open from the impact with medical equipment, bottles, and bags thrown all around it.


    A few parked cars on the road were also smashed from the sides with those twigs in them, glass shattered all over.  Since it was still morning, few people had been shopping, but those who had been were mostly inside buildings, far from the front windows and doors, as far as Adam could tell.  A few bodies were littered on the street, including two dogs with leashes still attached.  The bodied has green raised veins on them, showing that the deaths had been from more than the twigs that were piercing their bodies.


    Two buildings were on fire, with a third soon to catch.  The third building had the most people in it, but a car with blown tired had rammed through the front wall, spilling liquid that would probably ignite soon.


    A fire truck had driven down the road, clearly to help, and four firemen were hiding behind the front, one with a tourniquet on his leg and blood flowing out from where a twig had punched into it.  The veins on his face were slightly raised and turning green.  A hose reached from the truck towards a hydrant but was useless now with more twigs punched through it, nailing it to the street.  The fire engine also hid a cameraman man with a shoulder mounted camera, trying to record the scene without exposing himself, next to what seemed to be a reporter.


    Sirens, screaming, and shouting were making it hard to hear as Det. Baker got out of the van.  Before Det. Baker had gotten to his feet, Adam lunged forward and his forearm thrust in front of Det. Baker¡¯s head.  He winced as one of those twigs jabbed into his arm, and immediately pulled Baker back into the van.


    ¡°What was that?!¡± Det. Baker shouted in surprise.  ¡°That was as fast as a bullet!¡±


    Adam inspected the twig in his arm.  It had stopped halfway through and as he felt around it there seemed that a barb that had formed as soon as it had punctured his arm.  The veins around the twig were a very dim shade of green.


    Abbey gasped and rushed over, but Adam stalled her.


    ¡°I think it¡¯s an arrow, coming from the flower shop.  It changed shape after penetration, and definitely released poison,¡± he calmly explained.


    ¡°How did you know it was coming?¡± Det. Baker gasped, adrenaline clearly spiked.  Adam just shrugged in reply and turned to Abbey.


    ¡°Do we have anything for poison?¡±


    ¡°[Reduce Poison] is the best I can do.  I got it at level 5,¡± Abbey explained.  ¡°Do you need me to use it?¡±


    ¡°No, save the mana for others.  I need to see how strong it is.  I¡¯m going to pull the arrow out though, see what kind of damage that does.¡±


    He grasped the twig tightly and yanked.  The barb only pricked his skin from the inside while the shaft ripped directly off.  His skin was too tough for the whole barb to come out.  Abbey and the detective winced as they saw his blood flowing, light green.  It hurt, but he had felt much worse.  Pulling out his machete he cut his forearm and pried the barb out.  A bit too much of his insides came out with it.  Det. Baker looked sick from watching but Abbey lightly touched it and a few red flashes helped it seal back up.


    While flexing the hand to make sure it worked fine, Adam gave some orders.  ¡°Baker, get the vans to pull up to overlap the other police cars so there is no direct line from that shop.  Brittney and Randall, once there take two shields each to cover your whole body and take Abbey and Ed to anyone who needs the poison dispelled.  Make a shield wall and huddle together.  I saw two police and one fireman needing help.  Once you finish go to that police car and wait for me.  Nick, go to the other van and tell them to bring all the gear behind the police cars.  Stay low and out of line of sight.  Detective, get an explanation from the other police and make sure no more emergency vehicles come into range.¡±


    Everyone nodded and started grabbing the gear, except Det. Baker.  ¡°What are you going to do?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I need to get to Lucas and keep them out of range.¡±


    With that, Adam grabbed one riot shield in his left arm to use and held two more on his right.  He was glad there were so many.  Before getting back out of the van he motioned to the pickup to stop and then did a ¡°get low¡± gesture.  Lucas nodded and spoke to those in the back seat, and they all got low.  Well, except Emily who Alissa and Meat Shield pulled down with a lot of complaining.

 CH 29: Taking Cover

    CHAPTER 29: Taking Cover


    When the van stopped moving, Adam jumped out. Instead of running, he slowly walked. Arrows came at him faster than he could see, but there was a feeling inside that told him where he was about to be hit, allowing him to raise the curved shields and deflect the arrows away. A continuous pinging sounded out as he shifted the shield around faster than most people can move. When he had almost reached Lucas¡¯s truck, the arrows began coming two at a time, aimed at both his head and legs. He chose to block the ones coming to his head and took three to his calves but kept walking.


    ¡°This situation looks bad,¡± Lucas said, manually rolling down the driver window on the old, rusted, pick-up truck.


    ¡°Yup,¡± Adam said.


    Lucas looked down at Adam¡¯s calves. ¡°Painful?¡±


    ¡°Poisonous too. Don¡¯t get hit,¡± Adam responded while handing him two shields. Your pickup is going to need big repairs after what we are about to do.¡± Lucas sagged hearing that.


    ¡°What are we about to do?¡±


    ¡°Cut the engine and drop into neutral. Prop a shield to block your head. I need you to steer while I push the car next to that police van. I can¡¯t keep people in back safe out here.¡±


    Lucas nodded and Adam kept low as he walked towards the truck bed.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan, darling?¡± Andrea asked as he arrived. Emily started to sit up but was quickly help down by Alissa. Struggling did not help as Alissa¡¯s strength was high enough to hold Emily still.


    ¡°We have poisonous arrows coming from the flower shop. Everyone is pinned down. I¡¯m going to push the truck to a safer zone. Everyone needs to stay low.¡± Adam slung his last shield into the bed. ¡°I need you to cover my head with that while I push.¡±


    ¡°How do you know they are poisonous?¡± asked Alissa.


    ¡°I have three in my legs and took one in the forearm earlier. They¡¯re nasty. Don¡¯t pull them out if you get hit, since they¡¯ll rip you open coming out. Go to Abbey or Ed first.¡±


    Adam heard Emily gasp. ¡°You¡¯re poisoned? Are you going to be ok?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I can manage the poison. Moving is painful but they won¡¯t stop my mobility. It¡¯ll be different for others so I¡¯m doing what they can¡¯t.¡± Then to Lucas he shouted, ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°Ready.¡±


    ¡°Then going.¡±


    Adam reached down to the wheel well and grabbed the truck body. He pushed the truck without difficulty, taking little steps so the tires would block any shots coming from down low. He was still cautious while the passenger side of the truck was bombarded by the arrows, shaking the truck with every impact. It took two minutes and dozens of arrows for him to cross the distance and get the truck to a place where the shop was not in line of sight, ending the barrage.


    Everyone slowly got out of the pickup and onto the pavement. They huddled around the police cars concerned that the vans might get knocked over like the ambulance had been. Ed was setting up his drones and equipment, while Abbey, Brittney, and Randall were heading back from healing the fireman.


    ¡°Don¡¯t bother with the drones. They will get shot down,¡± Adam told Ed.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯d rather not lose them. I¡¯ll set up a few static cameras then. Less good for the action shots though,¡± Ed replied with disappointment.


    ¡°What about body cams that the police use?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Well, those are much lower quality, but better than nothing. We won¡¯t be able to see the person wearing it but I guess seeing from your perspective might be cool.¡± Ed thought for a minute and then ordered one of the cops. ¡°Hey, Officer Cooper, give your body cam vest to Adam.¡±


    ¡°What? Not a chance. Who are these kids, Baker?¡± Officer Cooper demanded.


    Det. Baker sighed once more. ¡°Cooper, these kids are specialists, better equipped to handle this situation. That girl, Abbey, already healed your poison. Apparently, they¡¯ve leveled up to 14 and can fight the, um, elves, better than us. We¡¯re just pinned down here so please give your body cam to this boy.¡±


    Cooper scowled but swapped vests with Adam.


    ¡°Make sure you give us the footage from it,¡± insisted Ed.


    ¡°We will,¡± Det. Baker sighed.


    ¡°Can you talk without sighing, detective?¡± asked Adam sarcastically. ¡°Anyway, what are the priorities?¡±


    Cooper perked up at this question. ¡°There are three immediate concerns. We need to get those people out of that building before the car catches fire. Officer Francs is dying under the hedges in front of the store, but I don¡¯t know how we are going to get to him. Then we need to subdue the assailants.¡±


    ¡°Guys, there is an actual news camera man watching us. This is real and public, so we need to put on a good show,¡± Tom said jovially, not succumbing to everyone else¡¯s foul moods. ¡°We need to make the boss and our group look good.¡±


    ¡°And rescue people,¡± said Abbey, giving Tom a glare.


    ¡°Well, duh. That is how we look good,¡± stated Tom, smiling at everyone.


    ¡°What¡¯s the plan,¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°Brittney, Randall, and Joseph, pick up two shields each. Cover your upper and lower bodies. Lucas and I will pick up the car and carry it towards the middle of the street while it still blocks the doorway to evacuate the people, while Abbey escorts us in case we need poison cleanse. You guys with shields stay between us and the elves to block the arrows. Then you¡¯ll escort the people one by one to the fire engine.¡±


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    It was nerve wracking putting it all into action. Everyone walked slowly. Brittney¡¯s skill, [Harden Shield], allowed her to completely deflect the arrows, pinging noises ringing out each time. The archers must have targeted her first since she looked the weakest, but soon changed to Randall and Joseph, who would occasionally curse as the arrows sometimes poked through the shields. Fortunately, they always aimed at vitals and the arrows could not quite make it through the shields, so the arrowheads never delivered poison to them.


    When they arrived at the car, Adam had to direct everyone as he and Lucas physically lifted the car and carried it sideways. Lucas was heaving and sweating at the weight, while managing not to drop it, although he needed a heal on his hands when they set it down. Adam had no problem with it and wondered if he could have carried it all by himself if the metal could manage a single point of contact. He was also aware of the camera man recording them the whole time with a good angle from behind the fire truck.


    Once the car was moved, and a direct path to the fire truck opened, Abbey and Brittney went into the building to check it. The fire was slowly spreading and was crackling across the narrow alley. Lucas and Adam were escorted back to the police group by one shield man each.


    When he arrived behind the police car, all the officers, including Det. Baker were staring at him, looking amazed.


    ¡°To take pressure off the escorting group, I¡¯m going after Francs. First, what do we have for projectiles?¡± Adam asked, ignoring the looks.


    ¡°We fired some bullets at them, but they always seemed to veer away. Aim didn¡¯t seem to matter. No matter how many we shot, including with a shotgun, they never reached them. We also have six people inside as hostages. Guns are out,¡± Officer Cooper said, much more respectfully than earlier.


    ¡°Mages? Do you have more than [Mana Dart]?¡±


    ¡°We got new spells at level 5, darling. Honestly, this [System] seems stingy. Skill points are given at the other levels,¡± Andrea explained. ¡°I chose [Fireball].¡±


    ¡°[Water Ball],¡± said Alissa.


    ¡°[Earth Shot],¡± answered Elias.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you can shape the earth?¡± he asked Elias, receiving a head shake in return.


    ¡°If I had a bow I could probably help. I got a skill [Steady Shot] that allows me to aim better, even predicting where I need to shoot,¡± said Lamar.


    ¡°Go with Randall to that store over there, third one down. It is a small sports store. See if you can grab a bow and arrows.¡±


    Adam looked to Det. Baker, who shrugged, seeming to accept them taking gear without paying. Randall and Lamar then headed out.


    ¡°Ok, we¡¯ll work with what we have. Andrea, I need you to shoot a fireball in front of the hedges. Try to set the hedges on fire. I¡¯ll run in and grab Francs and pull him back. The rest of you shoot your spells at the elves just to see if they stop shooting those arrows, but make sure they can¡¯t shoot back at you. Also, don¡¯t waste too much mana.¡±


    ¡°Boss, can you use that teleport step to get there?¡± Tom asked.


    Adam stood, holding a shield over his upper body, focused on the body of Francs, then squatted back down. ¡°Nope, it seems like I need to be attacking to use it. Although¡­¡± Adam looked at Lucas.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± Lucas swore. ¡°What are you thinking?¡±


    ¡°Tackle or punch?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Punch,¡± answered Lucas with a big sigh and his shoulders slumped. Adam picked up a shield and handed it to him.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go for the gut, so block well.¡±


    ¡°This is going to suck,¡± said Lucas, shaking his head.


    ¡°For both of us,¡± responded Adam. ¡°Ok, everyone get in position. Don¡¯t stick your neck out, and Ed, be ready for heals and poisons.¡±


    ¡°Hey boss, should you remove your pants first?¡± asked Tom, smiling widely.


    ¡°Why would he need to remove his pants?¡± asked Det. Baker.


    ¡°He goes through a lot of clothes in fights,¡± answered Tom.


    ¡°Actually, I did think about it but since this is going to be on the news, I figured I should look more serious than running around in boxer shorts.¡±


    ¡°Unless you were trying to show just how super powered you are inside the pants,¡± Tom snickered, only to get slapped in the back of the head by Alissa.


    ¡°I guess only Abbey would know if levels affect down there too,¡± Tom laughed, getting slapped in the back of the head by Andrea.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m sure you girls will find out soon.¡± Tom said before getting full on punched in the back of the head by Lucas, rebounding his head off the pavement, blood streaming down his face.


    Tom then turned to Ed who reached up and healed him.


    While Tom wiped the blood off his face, the wound gone, Ed muttered, ¡°That¡¯ll go on the blooper reel.¡± The police around were just shaking their heads at the antics.


    Andrea started it off by shooting a fireball. It hit the ground and successfully ignited some of the hedges. They burned quickly in the autumn air, leaves already dry and dying, flaming and smoking in front of the shattered front window of the shop.


    With a shield in his left arm, Adam walked forward, deflecting the arrows that still whizzed at him. He had not seen the elves directly, but he was able to block most of the arrows. They still aimed at his legs and upper body at the same time, so he walked very low, keeping as much of himself behind the shield. Twice he took an arrow, once in the front of the shin, and one at the edge of his shoulder. The arrows came less frequently than before as fire, water, and earth flew from behind him to force the elves to move around inside the shop.


    After the slow walk, he arrived where the policeman Francs was. His breathing was extremely light, and the green had spread through most of his body. Two arrows had punctured him and blood was continuing to come out of the wounds. Being so close to the shop window, where the arrows were coming from, Adam squatted and held the shield to block both the policeman and his own head. He lifted Francs over his left shoulder, adjusting the shield, then he turned back to where Lucas had suddenly stood up.


    Adam could feel that a certain amount of strength and intent were necessary, so he pulled back his right hand, made a fist, then pushed off his foot as the distance between him and Lucas disappeared. His fist slammed into the shield that Lucas was bracing against. Lucas went flying back with more force than Adam had expected, stopping as he slammed into the grill of one of the vans. A huge indentation was left as Lucas fell forward, bleeding from all over his back. The shield broke into pieces.


    ¡°Yup, that definitely sucked. This vest is toast too.¡± Lucas managed to get to his hands and knees, gasping for breath, as Tom and Elias dragged him to Ed for healing. Ed first had to focus on Francs though, as Adam set him down. It took three [Reduce Poison] casts and many more heals to get his breathing steady.


    ¡°That was impossible!¡± shouted Cooper, as the other policemen stared at them. ¡°How are you guys doing this? Is it a trick?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s why we are the specialists,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°This is what we all need to become to survive these invasions,¡± said Adam as he pulled out a machete and cut the barbs out of his skin, causing everyone to wince. ¡°The [System] says it brought us this power to defend ourselves. Whether it did or not, the rules have changed, and everyone needs to catch up to the invaders.¡±


    Lucas finished getting healed and Ed touched Adam¡¯s wounds to heal them. Adam took a deep breath and spoke to Det. Baker.


    ¡°Subduing is off the table. These guys are going down.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I think you¡¯re right. I doubt we could hold or interrogate creatures of this strength,¡± Det. Baker said, sounding defeated. ¡°It¡¯s better to get rid of the threat.¡±


    ¡°Threat?¡± Adam asked sarcastically. ¡°There are only three, and that¡¯s not enough for an invasion. These are just scouts either trying to feel us out or with some other purpose. Now, we¡¯re doing things my way.¡±

 CH 30: To Level Up

    CHAPTER 30:  To Level Up


    ¡°Your way?¡± asked Det. Baker.


    ¡°Tom, Lucas, Randall and Joseph, grab shields.  Get in there and protect the hostages until I make an exit,¡± Adam started.


    ¡°How are you making an exit?¡± demanded Det. Baker in a panic.


    ¡°Nick and Carlos, get to the back of the store in case someone tries to leave.  Kill them if you can, track them otherwise.  Safety over everything.  Mages and Lamar, wait until I get them outside and then open up on them.  Ignore me and bombard them,¡± Adam continued.


    ¡°How are you getting the elves out of the store?¡± sighed Det. Baker, not expected an answer.  Yet one came.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to give them a love tap,¡± Adam smiled at him as he caught the sledgehammer Lucas had tossed his way.


    Not wasting any time, Adam stood up.  Smoke and flames still obscured the front of the store.  Helmet and vest on, shield in his left arm and hammer in his right, Adam walked forward.  Four shield men followed behind.  The scouts were behind them ready to dash into the alleys with their inhuman agility.


    Det. Baker was shouting at him as he strode forward, smacking arrows out of the air.  With each step he walked faster and faster, creating space between him and the shields.  Right as three arrows came at him at the same time, a slight red shine to them showing they had used skills, Adam pulled back his sledgehammer and started to swing it, then pushed off with his foot.  He vanished from sight, appearing past the smoking hedges and at the shop window.  The hammer continued its swing, the shaft hooking the neck of one of the elves, throwing him outside the building.


    At that moment, the scouts split off and the shield men, except Lucas, rushed to get past the hedges and window.  Lucas took his shield and slammed down on the stunned elf, pushing with all his force as the elf, on its back, grabbed the shield and pushed back. ¡°Wind Shaper [12]¡± showed above its head, and Lucas could tell that what was forcing his shield away from the elf was not its arms, but cushions of air.  Strength was not the problem here as the air was trying to angle the curved shield to the side.  Balancing it was taking more control than Lucas had, while still squashing it to the ground.


    BOOM!


    The ground shook as an impact from inside the building was enough to shake everything.  Lucas spared a glance up as he saw the side of the building collapse outwards.  Bricks and stone blocks were pulverized, and the whole building shook.  Joseph was climbing over a pile of rubble into the narrow alley, as he led the six hostages out of the building.  Randall came after them, followed by Tom.


    The shield beneath him quivered, and Lucas looked down to see that the elf had freed its hands and was grasping a squiggly knife, trying to press it through the shield.  The tip of it had punched a tiny hole through the shield, and Lucas did not want to know how sharp it was if it got through this.


    The elf wore clothes layered in different shades of dark green, like a camouflage.  It has a hood that had fallen away, showing its beige, rough looking skin.  Its hair was a rich green but looked more like a seaweed salad than human hair.  A flat nose made its face look like a carving while pointed ears peeked out from its hair.  A lack of lips made its jagged teeth easy to see its sneer.  These elves were clearly meat eaters and predators.  A slight, willowy frame showed that it favored agility to strength, and Lucas knew it would be too good at dodging for him to fight it head on.


    ¡°MOVE!¡± Adams voice bellowed from inside the building and Lucas took no time to pull back his shield, causing the elf to open its eyes wide in surprise.  The wind that had been pushing against the shield helped throw Lucas to a standing position as he then ran to the hostage group that was hurrying to the police car barricade.


    Before Lucas got two steps away, another elf came soaring out of the building and bounced onto the already downed elf, tangling their limbs as he was trying to stand.  ¡°Wind Stepper [13]¡± was above the new elf¡¯s head.


    The elves got to their feet, but only had time to ready their squiggly knives as a terrifying roar sounded out.  Everyone froze; elves, hostages, policemen¡­even the reporter and camera man that were across the street.  The group carrying shields immediately dropped them, grabbed the stunned hostages under their arms, and ran to the police cars.


    Magic spells cast by the mages, and Lamar¡¯s arrows, flew towards the two elves as soon as the roar sounded out.  However, more threatening than the projectiles, was Adam¡¯s monstrous visage that came out of the shop.  His skin was tinted red, steam was rising from it, the hammer that collapsed a wall in a single swing gripped in one hand, and the body of a third elf in its left.  He no longer carried a shield, for someone this terrifying did not need one.


    Just before Adam reached them, the elves looking at him with terror, the projectiles arrived.  The wind stepper took Lamar¡¯s arrow to the back of its shoulder, but the bolt had enough force to pass clean through.  A [Water Ball] also hit it in his back, too weak to harm him but strong enough to tilt him towards the oncoming man.  The wind shaper took a [Earth Shot] near where a human would have a kidney, and the fireball blew outwards upon contact, setting his clothes on fire.


    There was no time for pain, as the elves activated wind spells that created barriers around them.  The spells blew out the fire and pushed them out of the way of the incoming hammer that swung down at them.  After dodging the downward hammer strike, the fight began in earnest.


    Everyone watched, mesmerized by Adam as he engaged the elves.  They had skills and magic boosting their movement speed that allowed them to pull away from strikes without having to physically dodge.  Their knives struck out towards Adam, the stepper using one in each hand.  With one positioned on each side of Adam, the elves showed experience and coordination as they thrust and slashed at Adam.


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    Adam dodged by dropping down, took a big step to the right, spun his hammer so the shaft would parry or block the knives, turned his body as a knife went past him; he danced in ways the rest of the humans had never seen before.  More projectiles came in and it seemed Adam was luring the elves into their paths, the wind shields reducing the impact.


    Seconds ticked by.  At the speed the fight was moving it felt long, and the exertion by the combatants looked extreme.  The normal humans were at a loss as to how the fight was going, but Adam¡¯s group did not hesitate.  The vanguards were approaching with shields and machetes, while the rangers continued to shoot.


    Thirty seconds passed, usually a short amount of time, but during such an intense fight it was an eternity.  No sweat was seen on Adam, instead steam and heat radiated from him, showing his level of exertion.  The elves were concentrating so hard on Adam that they failed to notice others approaching around them.


    An elf slid sideways as an arrow that Lamar shot passed his head, however instead of continuing, Adam caught it out of the air and jabbed it into the thigh of the elf thrusting at him from behind.  Before the dodging elf could stop his momentum, a shield smashed into the side of his head, causing him to topple as only his legs continued in the original direction.  Before he had even fallen, three machetes stabbed him in different locations, neck, chest, and leg.


    Wood Elf ¡°Wind Shaper [12]¡± slain.  278 shared XP gained.


    The wind stepper that had been stabbed by the arrow, tried to retreat and instead bounced off a shield behind him.  His balance disrupted, he moved to steady himself only to have his ankles taken out from under him by Nick and Carlos.  As he fell, more machetes stabbed in.


    Wood Elf ¡°Wind Stepper [13]¡± slain.  312 shared XP gained.


    ¡°CLEAR!¡± Adam shouted for the whole block to hear as he walked over to where he had dropped the body of the third elf, ¡°Wind Shaper [13]¡±, and carried it to the police lines by the back of the neck, held in a position that would be easy to see by the spectators and cameras.  It was not dead yet, only unconscious.  Those who were close to the other bodies started to loot them.


    Det. Baker watched Adam approach, skin fading back to his natural color and the wavy hot air around him dissipating.  Licking his lips, failing to get moisture into his mouth, fear clear in his body language, Det. Baker spoke to Adam.  ¡°I thought you couldn¡¯t subdue.¡±


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t be able to handle them once I was no longer around.  How much property damage would be appropriate to capture them?  We need to find their base and kill them all.¡±


    "Surely we should try negotiating first.  Isn¡¯t killing them a bit much?¡± asked Officer Cooper quietly.


    ¡°No!" snapped Adam, with enough anger to surprise the police, causing some to instinctively put hands on firearms.  "This is a war for survival and it¡¯s them or us.  If you want to protect and serve, then you do as I say and end their lives.  They attacked us and need to be removed from our planet.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that is an appropriate sentiment.  Maybe there are other ways,¡± said Det. Baker, trying not to sound like he was contradicting the brute in front of him.  Adam just shrugged, sure that the hate inside was correct and not interested in a debate, while still holding the unconscious elf.


    ¡°In the meantime, I brought you a gift,¡± Adam dropped his hammer, pulled off his helmet, and unfastened his vest with his free hand, tossing it back to Cooper.  He then pulled out his machete.


    ¡°To interrogate?¡± asked Det. Baker hesitantly.  Taking him prisoner seemed to contradict everything Adam had just said.  Adam looked at him like he was crazy.


    ¡°To level up,¡± responded Adam.  Then he turned to the heads peeking out from behind a van with curiosity and terror.  ¡°Get over here, Emily, Meat Shield, and¡­¡±


    ¡°Gracie,¡± the other girl squeaked, scared that she had been noticed.


    ¡°¡­and Gracie.  Take the machete and stab this guy where it won¡¯t kill him.¡±  Shock rolled through everyone there.  With the threat over, people were coming from behind the fire engine and out of hiding places in the stores.  The reporter and cameraman were hurrying over, lens pointed at him.


    ¡°What?!¡± Emily gasp.  ¡°I can¡¯t do that!¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± shouted Meat Shield.


    ¡°¡­¡± Gracie almost passed out.


    ¡°I have to protest, Adam,¡± said Det. Baker.  ¡°You can¡¯t just kill an incapacitated foe.¡±


    Adam ignored them all and walked towards Emily.  For the first time in her life she shrank back from Adam as he approached, but before she could respond he forced the machete into her hand and then grabbed her wrist.  A jerk of his hand was all that was needed for her arm to push the machete into the elf¡¯s stomach.  The elf gasped and opened its eyes before curling up and grabbing the stab wound.


    Adam took the machete from Emily, who had tears rolling down her cheeks while she glared hate at Adam, and he turned to Meat Shield.  ¡°These other people can choose not to, but you said you¡¯d protect her,¡± he said as casually as if commenting on the weather, while handing over the machete.


    Eyes red rimmed, clearly holding back the revulsion, William took the machete and stabbed it into the squirming elf.  A hissing whine sounded from it.  William dropped the machete then ran to the back of the van and vomited.


    Next Adam turned to Gracie who was sobbing.  He leaned down to her and she flinched when he put his hand on her head.  Whispering softly to her, with compassion in his voice, he said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.  You don¡¯t have to if it''s too much, but it is the only way to get stronger and survive.¡±


    Gracie looked up at him while continuing to cry.  He handed over the machete and she stabbed the elf in the arm, then immediately dropped it and buried her face in Adam¡¯s chest, sobbing loudly.  A chill ran through him, and he felt Gracie shiver amid her sobs as Abbey gave them both a quick heal.  She then hugged Gracie and led her away from the scene.


    Turning his head towards Det. Baker, Adam said, ¡°Last chance.¡±


    Det. Baker shook him head.  ¡°I can¡¯t.  I¡¯m a policeman.¡±


    ¡°Then you''re dooming the planet and forcing children to do what you won¡¯t,¡± Adam said stoically, knowing that the news camera, as well as Ed¡¯s, was recording him.


    Handing the curled up and bleeding elf behind him to Brandon, he didn''t watch as a machete was stabbed through the elf¡¯s heart.


    Wood Elf ¡°Wind Shaper [13]¡± slain.  312 shared XP gained.


    There was only silence as Adam pulled out a cloth from their gear bag and wiped the sickly green blood from his machete.  Once cleaned, he sheathed it, placed the sheath and machete in the bag, and picked up his hoodie.  Everyone but his crew had stayed exactly where they had been; reporter, police, firemen, paramedics, and civilians.  All eyes were focused on him and what he would do next.  With a neutral expression on his face, he looked directly at the reporter, then into the camera¡¯s lens before turning towards Andrea and Alissa.


    ¡°Please make sure Emily and her friends get home.  I won¡¯t be at school tomorrow.  If anybody tries anything you don¡¯t like then text me and I¡¯ll come back,¡± emphasizing the end of the threat.


    ¡°No problem, darling,¡± Andrea said lightly, as if the fear and heaviness of the scene didn¡¯t affect her.


    ¡°I need a long shower,¡± Adam finally muttered as he walked off down the street.  ¡°And a ton of food.¡±

 CH 31: The Interview

    CHAPTER 31: The Interview


    ¡°Who was that young man?¡± the reporter demanded of Officer Cooper and Detective Baker.


    After Adam had walked away the cleanup had begun. The reporter wasted no time as the only one on scene and with camera footage. Policemen were radioing other units that had blocked off the street, directing emergency vehicles to manage the civilians and previously wounded police, while trying to get a large tow truck to help move the damaged vehicles.


    The street would be shut down for quite a while, and only now were the firemen able to work on suppressing the buildings that were on fire. Technically there were no injured, because Abbey had already taken care of everyone, but magical healing was still unknown and there were a lot of people to get to the hospital.


    Officer Cooper took one look at the camera, then patted Det. Baker on the shoulder. ¡°You brought him. This is all you,¡± he said as he walked off to give orders to others.


    Everyone who had witnessed what happened pretended the teenage group was not still there while being overly conscious of wherever they walked. Not to be deterred, they happily looted the elves before delivering their bodies to the police who would autopsy them. They gathered and cleaned their gear, and casually chatted about how the fight had gone.


    Ed had retrieved his cameras and was directing his drones to take different angle shots of the scene and record conversations from a distance that various people were having. Post battle footage for their website. He made sure that he got shots of his group¡¯s efforts in cleaning up, as the strength users were, to everyone¡¯s astonishment, physically carrying or pushing damaged cars and trucks out of the way so more emergency vehicles could get in. The scouts were assisting the police in searching through the shops and pointing out buildings where people were still hiding or trapped.


    A group of people had practically laughed when small Brittney had walked up to Lucas¡¯s pickup and rubbed her hands together. Their jaws dropped as she lifted the front of it off the ground and pushed it like a shopping cart to the side. Once finished she smiled proudly at the onlookers and then flexed a bicep for affect.


    Everyone pretended not to see Randall and Joseph salvaging through damaged shops, especially the sporting and hobby stores, to find more equipment or tools for their group. Even the newly arrived police were waved off by police who had been around, pointedly ignoring the looting.


    ¡°He is the leader of a group who specialize in situations like this,¡± said Det. Baker, trying not to reveal anything. Then he was interrupted as an arm was placed over his shoulders. He turned to see Tom, smiling like a fox in a henhouse.


    ¡°Oh, the boss?¡± Tom acted as if he had to think for a moment, very relaxed and casual. Then he said with much aplomb, ¡°he is called The General.¡±


    ¡°No, he isn¡¯t,¡± said Brandon, not acknowledging the camera as he walked behind them carrying bags.


    ¡°He''s the best of the best. No one is above The General. He leads the Sentinel Army, here to protect the planet from the invaders that came with the [System]. We¡¯ve already fought off one group of invaders and we''re now working on the second,¡± Tom crowed proudly.


    ¡°Sentinel Army? How did you join with this group?¡± asked the report, happy that someone was engaged with her and playing up to Tom¡¯s bravado. Det. Baker tried to remove Tom¡¯s arm from him and slink away but the boy¡¯s strength was more than he could handle. The police vest and helmet, which Tom was making sure were facing the camera, was going to get Det. Baker in a lot of trouble. It also solidly put his group as lawful, alongside the police.


    ¡°Well, that would be quite a story, but it boils down to The General seeing something special in each of us and recruiting us. He has trained us personally and now there is no group better at fighting these invaders than us.¡± Then Tom pointed to the group of girls walking behind him.


    ¡°These lovely ladies are called The General¡¯s Wives,¡± Tom said without turning from the camera.


    ¡°No, we aren¡¯t,¡± said Alissa as they continued on their way.


    Tom ignored that they had spoken. ¡°No matter how amazing they are, just remember, don¡¯t screw with the general¡¯s wives!¡± Tom pointed at the camera for emphasis, and then laughed as if his joke had been funny.


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    ¡°Miss! Miss! How did you become the general¡¯s wife?¡± The reporter asked to Emily who was trailing the other girls.


    Emily stopped and looked at the camera. ¡°Wife? Ew! He¡¯s my brother, and I¡¯m rather pissed at him right now,¡± she scowled and then stomped away. Over her head now read ¡°Mage [4]¡±.


    Gracie, next to her, tried to get as small as possible and hid behind Emily. ¡°I¡¯m only here by accident. I¡¯m not a part of them,¡± she muttered and let Emily lead them off.


    ¡°Nothing is more important to The General than his family and friends,¡± Tom resumed, and the camera snapped right back to him. ¡°This whole thing is about protect the people and places that The General loves most. Don¡¯t worry if he is gruff or surly, that guy cares more than anyone and will do his utmost to protect us all.¡±


    ¡°How did you happen to be involved in this particular event?¡± the reporter asked.


    ¡°Through The General¡¯s foresight,¡± said Tom grandly, gesturing to the scene with the arm that was not holding the detective. ¡°He knew that a new series of invaders was coming, so he approached the police. While at the station he heard the call of elves and approached Detective Baker here, a truly intelligent and thoughtful man in our city¡¯s wonderful police force,¡± Tom praised as Det. Baker tried to make himself small. ¡°He immediately saw the value in our force and brought us here personally, even equipping us as we had to make do with the police¡¯s riot gear.¡± Det. Baker mouthed ¡°make do¡± as his brain had trouble keeping up with Tom¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°We saw quite a lot of superhuman feats out of The General and the members of your army. Protecting the people, helping the evacuation, and finally confronting the assailants in the most amazing fight we have ever seen. How have you become able to do all this?¡± The reporter was getting into this, and her confidence was rising.


    ¡°No one has figured out more about the [System] than The General! The rest of us are still trying to catch up. However, we do know that killing invaders gains us a form of energy that allows us to level up. Those level ups enhance our abilities and allow us to learn skills, such as [Heal], [Bolster], and [Sturdy Weapon]. Essentially the more invaders we do away with the stronger we¡¯ll become. Of course, compared to The General we are all still weaklings in the middle of our training.¡±


    ¡°Then how did The General get so strong?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Dedication and training. That guy has spent his whole life preparing for this.¡±


    ¡°For invasions?¡± she asked confused.


    ¡°Well, not for invasions. Who could have predicted otherworldly invasions? No, just the ability to protect his family and the region he loves.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re making him sound like a prepper now,¡± Det. Baker whispered to Tom.


    ¡°Anyway, it¡¯s safe to say that The General is the strongest human in the world, able to reach strength and speeds that even professional athletes long for. More skilled than any martial arts fighter, and willing to prove it. We should all be thankful that he was born here and is protecting us. I know I am. We all owe quite a debt to The General and that will be shown more and more as he continues to work with the local authorities to stop the invaders from harming his people. The results speak for themselves as no one was harmed after he arrived, and the enemy¡¯s attack was vanquished. Who knows how many would have died had he not come. That man is a miracle!¡±


    ¡°You mentioned the [System], but I didn¡¯t see a tag above him like the rest of you.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. The General has no [System] class. He doesn¡¯t even need one. You saw how easily he handled those elven assassins, come to kill and enslave humans. He fought them himself, but he shared the experience energy gained from them with us, even willing to share it with our dedicated Detective Baker here. The General doesn¡¯t need the experience energy. No class can equal what he has.¡±


    ¡°When will we see The General or your Army next?¡±


    ¡°Well, The General already left to try and track the elves back to their base. His determination to keep us safe knows no bounds. Once we find their base, we¡¯ll form a strategy to take on the rest of the elves and any other threat that shows up. The General¡¯s wrath with be fast and overwhelming.¡±


    ¡°Is there a way for the public to contact you if there are tips?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m glad you asked,¡± said Tom as he finally pulled his arm back from Det. Baker and casually pushed him to the side, out of view of the camera. ¡°All tips should still go to the police, since we¡¯re working with them, and they¡¯ll be needed to help manage and protect the civilians.


    ¡°However, you can learn more about the Sentinel Army and our accomplishments by going to our website at sentinelarmy.com. There we have videos posted of our fights, regular updates from us about our efforts and achievements, as well as places where you can upload your own videos of invaders to notify the people in your areas or to request help from other human heroes who might be fighting near you. Remember, sentinelarmy.com for updates, support, or amazing videos about what we accomplished. You can also find more information on donating to our cause, either through money or equipment. Remember, this is a fight that we¡¯re all in together, and even if you aren¡¯t combat ready there are ways for you to help. We will count on you, and you can count on us. sentinelarmy.com.¡± Tom smiled widely and held up a fist in front of his shoulder.


    The reporter was staring at Tom in open amazement at his plug. He held his pose for a few more seconds until the cameraman turned off the recording. Then Tom turned and wandered off while muttering, ¡°Damn, got to get Ed to step up with the website.¡±


    Turning to Det. Baker, who was shaking his head, the reporter asked, ¡°Off the record, how much of that was bullshit?¡±


    The detective put his face in his hands. ¡°No comment.¡± Then walked off.


    Looking around, the reporter saw several people she wanted to interview, but a thought occurred to her. ¡°I need to give that kid my card. He is too good an interview. This could very well make my career.¡±

 CH 32: Police Meeting

    CHAPTER 32: Police Meeting


    Detective Ronald Baker was walking down the hallway with large steps.  ¡°This could very well ruin my career,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°Slow down.  You¡¯re walking too fast,¡± said tech Jordan Lane, panting while trying to keep up as he sped through the station.  Det. Baker knew he was rushing, but the people he would be meeting were not going to be happy with the events of the day.


    The day had been a nightmare, from start to finish.  First the fiasco with arresting Adam in front of practically the whole school, no warning given to the principal.  Although the arrest had nothing to do with him personally, someone had to take the blame.  Next, he found out almost the entire precinct had been mind controlled.  Then the elf attack.  Det. Baker had spent the whole day working the cleanup and facilitating getting the civilians to various hospitals in the area.  A call from his captain followed and he was told to gather materials for this meeting.  Oddly, the high point of the day was watching teen superheroes fighting in front of him, and knowing they actually stopped any deaths from occurring, even as stressful as it had been in at the time.  He had even been surprised at how much their abilities had helped with the clean-up, from clearing the road to finding people, to helping get the people to follow the police, that last one thanks to the police equipment they wore.


    ¡°Detective, we¡¯re here,¡± Jordan said.  Det. Baker expected this to be the last day as a detective.  He was stalling in front of the door.  Unfortunately for him Jordan didn¡¯t show hesitancy and opened the door, walking right in.  Det. Baker sighed, remembered Adam¡¯s comments, and then walked in.


    Upon entering the room, he greeted the men sitting around the large, solid wood table.  It was oblong in shape to fit about 18 people.  The room had other seats against the walls, with one wall a large white board, and the opposite wall housing multiple video screens that they could control from the table.  One video screen was playing Tom¡¯s interview.  It had been all over the local news, and he was sure it would soon be on the national news.  The other screen had a paused video of him in the interrogation room with Adam.


    ¡°Captain Sanchez.  Deputy Chief.  Chief Orleo,¡± Det. Baker acknowledged each in turn.  They turned from the screens, which immediately paused, and then pointed him to a chair.  A chair far from them.  He almost gulped.


    ¡°Detective,¡± said Captain Sanchez.  ¡°This is quite a mess.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± he agreed with a sigh.


    ¡°Can you give us an explanation?¡± The captain asked with a wooden face.


    ¡°Sir, I haven¡¯t had time to put a report together,¡± Baker started.


    ¡°I don¡¯t believe we have time for written reports,¡± said the deputy chief, looking up from his phone.  ¡°You weren¡¯t a part of the arrest, so skip that, but tell us about what happened in the interrogation.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.  In the start I wanted nothing more than to put Adam Clemens away for life.  I hated him, but the more we talked the more I doubted what was in the case file.  Several times I even blanked out, unsure of what I was thinking.  I even felt like he was somehow protecting me and I wanted to believe he was innocent.  Then my head got really painful and it all went away.  The only reason I could remember what happened was because I had been talking to him about it just moments before.  Even now it feels foggy.  No one else I spoke with even remembers the meeting where we planned the arrest.¡±


    ¡°Is that true?¡± Chief Orleo asked the captain.


    The captain coughed.  ¡°Yes.  I can¡¯t remember it at all.  I just remember a beautiful woman, and someone from the mayor saying he needed to be arrested.  But I experienced the sharp pain in my head as well.  Everyone involved felt it at exactly the same time.¡±


    ¡°How do you explain this?¡± The deputy asked the detective.


    Det. Baker coughed, not wanting to answer.  ¡°Well, Mr. Clemens said we were mind controlled,¡± Det. Baker answered lamely.


    ¡°Yes, we watched the video of it.  What did you think of it?¡± asked the chief.


    ¡°I think it was pretty lucky that it broke when it did.  A lot of people would have died had he not come to Market Street.¡±


    ¡°Was it?¡± Asked the chief.


    ¡°What it what?¡± Det. Baker was confused.


    ¡°Was it lucky?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir.¡±


    ¡°Did it feel lucky to you?¡±


    ¡°Um, no sir.  It felt like Adam knew it would happen.  He was too confident and while I knew he was angry, he didn¡¯t act on it or direct it at me.  It felt intentional.  Plus, when I watched the video it looked like he was concentrating on something else at several points during our talks.¡±


    ¡°Was he in on the brain washing?¡± Continued the deputy.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think he was in on what the beautiful woman did to us.  But I do think Mr. Clemen did something to me to help break it.  He seemed surprised that breaking it for me did so for everyone else too.  I also heard him talking to his friends about the invaders trying to remove him from the field by putting him at odds with authority.¡±


    ¡°I think we¡¯re all getting an idea of how dangerous these invaders can be, but do they have that much concern towards just a teenager?¡± Asked the captain.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Just a teenager?¡± scoffed Det. Baker.  ¡°Yes, sir.  I know you saw his fight from the news, but I don¡¯t think you can appreciate how powerful he is.  His group was carrying cars and trucks around like they were a two-man lift.  As a group they were very coordinated and had an unnatural effectiveness that originated from him.  No one made mistakes, and all orders were followed, even if they sounded ridiculous.  Also, looking in Mr. Clemen¡¯s eyes when he gives commands is as intense as watching a volcano explode.  None of that takes away his fighting prowess or the fact that he had his neck shot through just last night.¡±


    ¡°Wait, what?¡± The deputy stopped.  ¡°What do you mean about his neck?¡±


    What the detective had dreaded to bring up, but knew he would need to, was at hand.  He grabbed a keyboard from the table and typed a web address he had been given by their video guy, Ed.  Everyone watched in stunned silence as a blue covered Adam tried to kneel before getting tased twice and then having his neck burst from a gunshot.


    ¡°H-how is that possible?¡± The chief shrieked.


    ¡°It has to be fake!¡± Shouted the Captain.  ¡°My officers would not do that!¡±


    ¡°Unless they were brain washed,¡± whispered the deputy.


    ¡°Tech, is that video doctored?¡± Demanded the chief.


    Jordan shook his head.  ¡°Detective Baker had me check it before we came over.  It showed no signs of being altered, as shocking as it looks.¡±


    ¡°How could Mr. Clemens have been fine today after that happening last night?¡± Asked the captain, still mortified.


    ¡°He said magic healing, though I think it was more than that.  We did see some amazing healing by his people at the scene of the incident today,¡± explained Det. Baker.


    ¡°Body cam footage to corroborate?¡± Asked the deputy.


    ¡°Completely missing.  Neither the server nor the vest backups have anything.  It was intentionally deleted,¡± said the tech.


    ¡°Still, to be able to fight like in the news one day after that wound, however he healed.  Did he seem to have hard feelings towards us?¡± Asked the Captain.


    ¡°Kind of.  He was angry and impatient in the beginning but calmed when he realized we were brain washed.  It¡¯s almost surprising that he wanted to help us, like he has a compulsion to fight the aliens,¡± said Det. Baker.  ¡°It also felt weird that knowing brain washing was involved made him forgive us easier.¡±


    ¡°Could he be other than human?¡± asked the Chief seriously.


    ¡°You mean an alien invader himself?¡± clarified the deputy, looking over at Det. Baker.


    ¡°After what I saw today it all seems possible.  He has significant differences to the rest of his group, however I doubt they are aliens.  Plus, his anger towards the aliens seems hard to fake.  I don¡¯t think he realizes how much of it his face shows when he is talking about them.  He wants to kill the invaders.  There was no mercy in him towards them.


    ¡°Also, his background checks out.  I had an officer talk to his teacher and a few other students from his class.  They confirmed that when everyone got hit with the [System] he changed more than anyone.  No guesses how or why, but we did confirm his identity.  At least superficially.  I don¡¯t think we have enough of an understanding to go beyond that.¡±  The Chief scrunched his face at the Detective¡¯s answer but gave a hard nod to continue.


    ¡°Do you know how much he could hurt us with this video?¡± The deputy brought up.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure he knows it, and this Tom Rhodes clearly did too, based on the interview.  He was really pushing that we were working together, and looking into him showed that his father is a lawyer,¡± explained Det. Baker.


    ¡°How much could we expect in a lawsuit?¡± Asked the chief.


    ¡°Between a hostile wrongful arrest, with a whole school of witnesses, near fatal GSW when he was following directions, on video, and the number of people he probably saved today, according to those on the scene, it would be a relatively fast hearing in his favor.  We would be looking at multiple millions.  He could probably go after the mayor¡¯s office as well since the case file lists them as the false information source.  At the least it would be a political killer, since he proved himself a hero today,¡± said the deputy.


    The chief turned to Baker and stared him in the eyes.  ¡°How do you think this will play out with Mr. Clemens?¡±


    Det. Baker thought for a few moments.  ¡°I don¡¯t think his intention is to blackmail us for money.  He¡¯s more knowledgeable about the [System] and invaders than us, and Tom¡¯s claim of him being the strongest human on earth probably holds weight from what I saw.  If he wanted something material or money it would be hard to stop him.  I think he is looking towards something more dangerous, and he wants the authority to act from us.  Think about what¡¯ll happen if the invaders cut the different cities off from each other.  How much would money matter then?¡±


    The captain gasped.  ¡°I don¡¯t think we¡¯ve thought through this invasion enough from a governmental perspective.  The economy would immediately cease to exist.  Money would be pointless.  We¡¯ve been playing catch up on the panic, focusing on keeping control.¡±


    The chief nodded.  ¡°I think we need to find out more from Mr. Clemens.¡±


    ¡°What about a potential lawsuit,¡± asked the deputy while taking notes.


    ¡°Obviously we should settle,¡± said the chief.  ¡°But that¡¯s hard to do quickly enough before he could bring charges to us, and that would cripple the police force, with the bad press we¡¯d get.¡±


    ¡°We should pay him,¡± said Det. Baker.  The others turned and stared at him.  ¡°Settlement or not we need to get involved with funding him.  Not because of the wrongful arrest or lawsuits.  Wrap the money in that as an apology, but he needs funding.  Hardware store sledgehammers and machetes are not going to be enough.  His group needs better equipment.  The arrows from level 12s punched holes in our riot shields and police vehicles.  What happens if stronger aliens appear?¡±


    ¡°Hmm,¡± thought the captain.  ¡°Mr. Clemens is still a teenager.  Do you think getting a windfall will allow him to stay motivated?  Most adults would step away from danger if they could afford to.¡±


    ¡°I think nothing short of his death will stop him,¡± responded Det Baker.  ¡°He knocked out a wall from a building with one swing of a cheap sledgehammer.  He charged into a building with three hostiles that had pinned the entire street down.  My god, he would take those poisonous arrows like mosquito bites and then cut them out himself, ignoring the poison.  He never even asked for a heal, though his group was always there for him.  We need to see how far that can take him.¡±


    ¡°Suicidal?¡± Asked the deputy.


    ¡°Definitely not.  Supremely confident.  He cares too much for what is happening and everyone else.  Enough to include them all when he probably doesn¡¯t need to.  You didn¡¯t see him force his sister to stab that elf.  It was horrifying of him to do but also pained him.  He was trying to prepare her for the future.  I regret not taking his offer and getting to level 4 myself, though I knew my position enough not to.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t he seem a little too willing to kill, especially for a typical teen?¡± Brought up the captain.


    Det. Baker didn¡¯t answer with words.  Instead, he pulled up the website and played some of the videos of Adam or his group fighting goblins.  The brutality of it shocked them all, both the goblins and Adam¡¯s.  They saw the progression of the other kids as they were inept and scared at the beginning but quickly improved and adapted.  More so than people should.  Clearly Adam¡¯s presence held more to it.


    The chief made a decision.  ¡°Captain, order us some food, and Deputy, get Manchello from legal and Rodgers from financing here immediately.  This is going to be a long night.¡±

 CH 33: Another awkward conversation

    CHAPTER 33: Another awkward conversation


    ¡°Kids, I brought home Chinese for dinner,¡± Adam¡¯s mom announced as she came in the door.


    ¡°Thanks! I¡¯m starved, mom,¡± said Adam as he came into the room. He took the bags from his mom and went to the dining room to set everything out. Even having eaten three jumbo hoagies, five party sized bags of chips, a family sized box of cookies, and two cartons of orange juice just a few hours ago, he felt like his stomach was shrinking.


    By the time his mom joined them, Adam¡¯s plate was piled high and his legs were jumping in impatience while he waited. Emily was seated by his left, glaring death at him. Her leg kept kicking Adam in the shin without him even flinching. His father was across from Emily looking between the two with confusion.


    ¡°Adam, your school called and left me an odd message. They said they weren¡¯t aware that anything was happening, and they will be issuing an apology to us. Something about needing to check with the legal department. I wanted to ask you if you know why, before I call them tomorrow,¡± his mom said as she sat down and served herself.


    ¡°Of course he knows why,¡± Emily said, venom dripping from her words. Then she kicked him again, which didn¡¯t stop him from shoveling food into his mouth.


    ¡°Emily! Don¡¯t kick your brother!¡± their mom snapped.


    ¡°He got arrested today! Tons of cops! He was taken off in front of the whole school!¡± Emily shouted.


    ¡°WHAT?!¡± both his parents yelled.


    ¡°Yeah! Five cop cars and like 20 policemen were there for it too,¡± Emily went on.


    ¡°Why would they arrest Adam?¡± his mother asked skeptically. Emily just glared at him, and the silence stretched.


    ¡°Did that really happen, Adam?¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he mumbled in between bites.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call us?¡± demanded his dad, getting uncharacteristically angry.


    ¡°I handled it,¡± answered Adam.


    ¡°You handled it how?¡± threw in his mom.


    Adam sighed and finished chewing. Then he looked his mom in the eyes. ¡°It was their mistake. I showed them that and they let me go.¡±


    ¡°That still seems like a big deal. You should have called one of us,¡± his mom said while watching him.


    ¡°Let him go?!,¡± Emily scoffed. ¡°He instead went with the cops to murder people.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s hurtful,¡± Adam said before putting more food into his mouth. ¡°I protected people.¡±


    ¡°Maybe, but then you murdered three people,¡± Emily pushed.


    ¡°I¡¯ve never killed a person,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°I¡¯ve watched the videos. You killed tons.¡±


    ¡°Not one of them was a person.¡±


    ¡°They were all capable of thought and thus people,¡± insisted Emily.


    Adam showed a reaction at that. He slammed his silverware onto the table and turned to his sister. His skin was showing the slightest shade of red as the air around his got warmer. ¡°Maybe on their planet they were people, but here on earth they are below rodents,¡± he snarled.


    ¡°What are you kids talking about?¡± their mom shouted.


    ¡°Mom,¡± Emily burst into tears. ¡°Adam made me stab a man today. I felt the knife pressed through his stomach.¡±


    His parents didn¡¯t know how to respond. The whole situation seemed absurd, and they figured they were missing something.


    ¡°Like I said,¡± growled Adam, showing more anger in his parents¡¯ presence then they had ever seen before. ¡°It wasn¡¯t a man. It was an elf.¡±


    His parents froze, staring at him.


    ¡°You made your sister stab an elf?¡± his dad asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Yes,¡± he responded.


    ¡°Where did you find an elf?¡± his dad tried following along.


    ¡°Market Street. There was a big incident down there.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re being serious about this?¡± his dad asked.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°And why did you make her stab an elf?¡±


    ¡°To keep her safe. She needs to level,¡± he pointed to the tag above her head. ¡°I told her not to come in the first place, but she was being stubborn and forced us to bring her. When I had the chance, I got her some levels so she could be safer.¡±


    They all sat silently except for Emily¡¯s crying. Eventually his mother addressed him.


    ¡°Why were you fighting elves to begin with?¡± his mom asked.


    ¡°Because if I hadn¡¯t, then everyone there would have died,¡± he answered her, the disgusted scowl on his face taking his mother by surprise.


    ¡°You know what else?¡± demanded Emily. ¡°All that blue paint,¡± she used air quotes, ¡°that he keeps getting covered in, it¡¯s really blood from people he murders.¡± Then she rushed out of the room and returned with a tablet, typing into it furiously. A video started playing and she dropped it in front of her parents. They stared, wide eyes as they watched the segment where Brandon was stabbed, and Adam leapt over everyone to fight off the assassins while Ed and Abbey healed him. Then it ended when Adam went off into the swarm of goblins by himself.


    Horrified expressions sat on both his parent¡¯s faces as they stared at the now inactive tablet. It took a while to gather their thoughts. Adam went back to eating, just eyeing everyone and waiting for whatever would happen next.


    Ten minutes later his mom asked, ¡°What did we just watch?¡±


    ¡°That was the second time we had fought goblins. We were trying to find their base. That was the day before everyone came over here when I was resting,¡± explained Adam.


    More silence. Then, ¡°THAT BOY COULD HAVE DIED!¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Adam calmly, as if lecturing a child. ¡°And he didn¡¯t. The team learned from it then got stronger.¡±


    ¡°But what if he had?¡± demanded his dad.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. He didn¡¯t die and everyone got stronger from it. Including him. He is in a much better place now than before.¡±


    ¡°WHAT IF IT HAD BEEN YOU?¡± screamed his mom.


    ¡°Then I wouldn¡¯t be here,¡± Adam said matter-of-factly. ¡°But it would have taken a lot more than that to stop me.¡±


    Emily smirked at him evilly. Then she grabbed the neck of his hoodie and pulled it down. ¡°It DID happen to him. He was shot in the neck!¡± His parents gasped.


    ¡°How did you know about that?¡± he asked Emily with curiosity.


    ¡°Dumbass,¡± she snapped. ¡°You were running around without a shirt today. I made Ed tell me. Couldn¡¯t get him to show me the video though.¡±


    ¡°It''s a gruesome video,¡± Adam nodded.


    ¡°H-h-how did you get that?¡± his mother shrieked.


    ¡°A policeman shot me in the neck last night.¡±


    ¡°LAST NIGHT?! How are you alive?!¡±


    ¡°I can regenerate. That¡¯s why it¡¯s a lot harder to kill me than Brandon,¡± Adam answered emotionlessly.


    ¡°Is that why the police arrested you today?¡± brought up his dad.


    Adam squirmed in discomfort at that question. ¡°Well, not exactly. Yesterday we finished clearing out the goblin base. It seems someone mind controlled the police to hunt me. It¡¯s been a crazy week. Lots happened. We worked it out today. I was planning on sleeping in tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Mind control?¡± his mom asked as she slumped in her seat.


    ¡°Yeah, but don¡¯t worry. I helped a detective break it.¡±


    A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Adam, I¡¯m going to be honest. I have no idea how to parent this situation.¡±


    Dissatisfaction filled Emily at him not being yelled at more, so she gave him a kick hard enough that she winced at the pain. Their dad looked at him and asked, ¡°Doesn¡¯t that hurt?¡±


    ¡°Not really. She''s only level 4. It feels like a bit of pressure.¡± That caused Emily to scowl at him harder, so he went back to eating as much as he could.


    A cell phone ringing in the kitchen caused their mom to get up. Her shoulders were slumped and there was no energy in the way she walked. When she returned from the kitchen, staring at her cell phone, she placed it on the table and turned the volume up.


    ¡°¡­this young group of heroes threw themselves into danger for no reward other than the thanks of the people they saved. After their arrival on the scene, zero casualties occurred. They even used their prodigious strength to¡­¡±


    Adam tuned out the news report, though he shook his head when he listened to Tom¡¯s sales pitch.


    ¡°My boss saw you on the news and sent me the link. I think we are going to need to delay the end of this conversation.¡±


    ¡°Good idea, mom. Right now I¡¯m famished,¡± and then Adam proceeded to finish all the food they had gotten. ¡°Is there anything else in the fridge?¡±


    ***


    ¡°This game is just too gruesome for me,¡± Adams mom said as she walked behind him through the living room. He was on the floor, sitting against a sofa playing Mortal Kombat. It was past noon, even though he had only been out of bed for half an hour. An empty gallon of orange juice sat next to him with a half-finished family sized box of corn flakes.


    Better not watch more of my videos, Adam thought with a smirk, but was smart enough not to say. He just continued to move his controller, ripping up the network player in the matching arena system. His enhanced strength and speed seemed to help him play a little better as he picked up on timing easier and had better reflexes.


    ¡°Adam, can you please answer the door?¡± his mom called from the kitchen after the doorbell rang. He shrugged, put down the controller, letting the other player kill him since there is no pause, and went to the door.


    ¡°Hello, darling,¡± Andrea said as she walked in and planted a kiss on him. He felt very odd about it all. Abbey was who he considered his girlfriend, but Andrea and Alissa claiming it as well felt off to him. Yet as a teenage boy, he could barely keep his excitement suppressed, his hormones running wild at pretty girls wanting to be with him.


    ¡°Hello, boss,¡± Alissa said, making it sound like a tease, as she followed Andrea in. Her kiss was more forceful and stimulating.


    Abbey didn¡¯t say anything as she entered. More passion and tenderness came from her kiss, quite a difference from the previous one. Then she took one of his arms and hugged it. A pulse of happiness went out from him, through their connection, and he felt it returned through not just her, but all three of the girls.


    Brittney came in next, but to Adam¡¯s surprise, her head was down. She glared a bit at where Abbey was holding on to his arm, but otherwise didn¡¯t even look at Adam. After that quick glance, Brittney blew out a breath like she was trying to brush off what was bothering her, then looked to the living room and walked on by the rest of them.


    Adam watched Brittney go, but frowned at her back, not sure what was up with her. He hoped it wasn¡¯t something that he had done. Amusement came through the connections from both Andrea and Alissa. Abbey¡¯s connection carried sympathy through hers, and a bit of sisterly concern.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have to kiss him, do I?¡± Gracie asked. Adam hadn¡¯t even noticed her. She was so meek and restrained, almost hiding on the other side of the door. The Triple As all started laughing.


    ¡°No, no. We¡¯re the General¡¯s Wives, so we are greeting our husband,¡± Andrea answered with amusement.


    ¡°Ok, good. That was weird to watch. It looked like you were all talking without saying anything,¡± Gracie said as she slipped in the door and closed it.


    ¡°Adam has an ability to let us feel what the other feels,¡± summarized Abbey. ¡°We were using emotions instead of words just now.¡±


    ¡°Like telepathy?¡± Gracie asked with a bit more interest.


    ¡°Yes,¡± answered Abbey. ¡°The extra emotions feel wonderful.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, it makes us feel very close with boss,¡± said Alissa.


    ¡°That sounds amazing. Is it safe for me to try?¡± Gracie asked.


    ¡°Sure,¡± answered Abbey.


    ¡°It¡¯s not dangerous, right? It won¡¯t control me or make me fall in love?¡± Gracie asked in a rush, scared to offend them.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be dangerous, won¡¯t control you, and he doesn¡¯t control whether you fall in love,¡± answered Andrea.


    ¡°Is this really a good idea,¡± Adam whispered to Abbey. She just shrugged, so he turned to Gracie and asked if she was ready. She nodded. Back to Abbey he asked, ¡°what should I send?¡±


    ¡°How about your confidence and determination, like when we battled the goblins.¡±


    A thin tendril formed inside of him, and he reached to where Gracie¡¯s inner space should be. The tendril was smaller than with the other girls¡¯ since he didn¡¯t want to overwhelm her or create a more permanent connection. The instant he established the connection a bombardment of her emotions pushed through it. He felt her anxiety and concern, her low self-esteem and doubt. There were so many negative emotions holding her back and flooding into him that he ended up using too much force as he thought about the goblins and pushed his own sense of determination and the confidence that he would overcome them into her.


    The blood drained from Gracie¡¯s face as her skin paled, and she stiffened, standing straight upright. Her eyes bulged as she stared into nowhere and her mouth began opening and closing without words forming.


    ¡°Did you hurt her?¡± asked Abbey, who reached out to flash a heal into Gracie.


    ¡°No, though it might have been a bit strong. She was so worried about everything that I unintentionally blasted it all away.¡±


    ¡°A-a-amazing,¡± Gracie suddenly shouted. Exuberance filled her as she looked at the whole group. ¡°That was the most incredible thing in my whole life!¡± She shouted.


    ¡°Uh-oh,¡± muttered Alissa.


    ¡°You just made all my worries seem like they don¡¯t matter,¡± she heaved breathlessly. ¡°How is it possible to be so sure that you can handle it?¡±


    Adam shrugged, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I was never one to doubt things, I just didn¡¯t care. Once the [System] came something inside me told me with certainty that I would conquer.¡±


    ¡°Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! I can¡¯t believe how much better that made me feel about myself and life,¡± she gushed then gathered her breath. ¡°And thanks for thinking I¡¯m cute,¡± she added while blushing.


    A shoulder slap from Abbey made him mutter, ¡°I thought girls liked compliments, so I gave her one.¡± Then he gently closed the connection. Her expression became a little sad, but she seemed fine with it. The burst of confidence would probably give her something to hold on to for a while.


    ¡°Emily is in her room, if you want to join her,¡± he said.


    ¡°No thanks. I think I¡¯ll stay here and see what happens. After that, I need some time to think.¡±


    ¡°Ok. What¡¯re you girls doing here anyway?¡±


    ¡°I just wanted to see you, darling,¡± said Andrea. Alissa nodded.


    ¡°School was a mess. Between your arrest and the news videos showing us as heroes, no classes were happening. Everyone wanted to talk to us about joining the Sentinel Army or becoming one of the General¡¯s Wives. Abbey looked like she was going to pull a knife and stab them. It¡¯s a good thing she doesn¡¯t have offensive magic,¡± Andrea explained further.


    Alissa laughed. ¡°Abbey threw a guy. I think he''s on the football and wrestling teams, but I don¡¯t know his name. No matter what we said he kept hitting on her, telling her he was as great as you. Then Abbey grabbed him with one hand and threw him over some desks. Everyone backed off after that. It was too funny!¡±


    Abbey looked embarrassed by that. Adam turned a grin on her. ¡°I like strong women,¡± he said while wagging his eyebrows, and she punched his shoulder before cuddling up to him again.


    ¡°It was the same for me. No one believed that I didn¡¯t know you since I was in the videos. Andrea saw my classmates crowding me when she passed by and pulled me out of it,¡± said Gracie, going back to her quiet way of talking though using more words now.


    The group headed to the living room, but another ring at the doorbell forced Adam to detach Abbey as he went to answer it. Only halfway opened, Carlos pushed his way through.


    ¡°Sup,¡± he said, walking past Adam and into the living room with the girls. Lamar also greeted him and then headed into the living room. Nick stopped in front of him holding quite a few deli bags, with William following behind.


    ¡°Hi, Adam. Seems like we all came to hang out. I assumed the girls were headed here too. School was rough. It might be worth taking more time off to let things settle. Everyone wanted to know more about you, us, and joining the army. I think everyone was watching the videos from the website. Anyway, I brought lunch. I¡¯ll take them to the kitchen.¡±


    ¡°And you, Meat Shield?¡± Adam asked William.


    William refused to meet Adam¡¯s eyes and shuffled his feet. He mumbled, ¡°My class all wanted to know how to join and fight invaders. I couldn¡¯t keep up with it so I left my class and follow Carlos when they went to his car. After some time to think about it, you¡¯re right. We need to stop the invaders.¡±


    Without looking up, William nodded to himself and followed the others.


    As Adam closed the door, a new hand shoved through to stop him. Tom, Lucas, and Ed were there.


    ¡°School too much for you too?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°What? School? Who cares about that?¡± responded Tom, with Lucas nodding behind him. ¡°Aliens are trying to take our homes and kill us. Why would we waste our time in school?¡±


    ¡°Ok, I see your point,¡± said Adam. ¡°What are you doing here then?¡±


    ¡°After my great interview, we had to overhaul the website to handle all the requests. Brandy-boy and Elias spent all night helping Ed with it at my house. Lucas crashed there too so he wouldn¡¯t have to put up with his dad¡¯s crap at getting his rusty pick-up wrecked. My parents weren¡¯t pleased, but they¡¯re good people so I talked them into it. Then we dropped Brandon and Elias at the warehouse to work on the crystal. Randall and Joseph went with them for protection.¡±


    ¡°Good idea. I think there''s a lot more to the crystal and that space than we know,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°I¡¯d hope so,¡± laughed Lucas. ¡°It¡¯s a whole other dimension. There better be more to it.¡±


    The four went to the living room, where everyone had made themselves at home. Carlos and Lamar were playing Mortal Kombat, while the girls were giggling and chatting. Emily had come downstairs at the noise and was hugging Gracie, with William sitting upright next to them, while glaring at Adam when he entered. Ed rushed to an empty seat, hugged his laptop, tilted his head back and almost immediately fell asleep. The girls made room for Adam to sit on a sofa with them, this time with Andrea and Abbey holding his hands, and Alissa sitting on the floor in front, resting her elbow on his thigh.


    After a bit of time, Adam¡¯s mom entered the room and looked at all the people.


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t you all at school?¡± she asked, unsure if she needed to be strict mom or accommodating mom.


    ¡°They let us out on good behavior. Saving the town got us a merit badge,¡± said Tom sarcastically, earning him a head slap from Lucas.


    ¡°There was too much commotion because of what your bully of a son made us do yesterday,¡± said Nick, also joking.


    ¡°Yeah, you should punish him,¡± announced Carlos, earning laughs.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the wives¡¯ job?¡± Tom quipped, earning him another slap.


    ¡°What would the punishment even be,¡± wondered Carlos out loud.


    ¡°No murdering for a month,¡± Emily spoke with venom in her words.


    ¡°Emily!¡± chided Gracie, causing Emily to look shocked.


    ¡°You were the most upset at it!¡± she pointed out defensively.


    ¡°Yes, but now I understand why. He only wants us to stay safe,¡± Gracie said calmly, and without meekness.


    ¡°How did he get to you too? You were the most scared of him!¡± Emily stood up and stormed out of the room. His mom sighed, and Adam was sure she wanted to follow.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mrs. Clemens,¡± said Nick, changing the mood. ¡°I brought food for everyone. There are hoagies stacked in the kitchen.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, Nick,¡± she said.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure one fridge is enough for us and the boss,¡± Tom joked.


    Adam lifted his large box of corn flakes. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m still working on breakfast.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, Adam, is anyone else going to be joining you?¡± his mother asked, once more looking around the full room.


    ¡°Actually, yes, mom. The police are on their way,¡± Adam said, which caused everyone to stiffen.


    ¡°Why are the police coming?¡± she asked with concern.


    ¡°No idea. Detective Baker, the guy from yesterday, texted me to see if you and dad were at home with me.¡±


    ¡°Is this going to be trouble,¡± she asked.


    ¡°If it is, I¡¯ll handle it,¡± Adam said absently, surprised at how the atmosphere in the room got serious. ¡°Not like that,¡± he added, waving everyone off so they could calm down. ¡°Unless I have to.¡±

 CH 34: The Offer

    CHAPTER 34: The Offer


    ¡°Mr. Clemens.  Mrs. Clemens.  It¡¯s good to meet you.  I¡¯m Detective Ronald Baker.  Please call me Ron,¡± said Det. Baker as he stood in the entryway.  ¡°Behind me is Jordan Lane, one of our IT and tech specialists.  Next to him is former officer Zachary Jones.  I hope you don¡¯t mind if we all sit down together.  We have quite a few things to discuss.¡±


    Both Jordan Lane and Zachary Jones were wearing business casual clothes.  Det. Baker and Jordan looked quite tired, but a complete exhaustion was apparent on Zachary¡¯s face.  Shame and guilt could be felt from his body language as he kept his head down, unwilling to look them in the eyes or shake their hands and barely showing awareness of where he was.  He looked familiar to Adam, but not enough for Adam to know who he was.  Why was a former policeman in this group?


    Adam¡¯s dad led then down the entryway hall and towards the dining room, where there would be enough chairs for everyone.  Det. Baker¡­Ron, paused to look in the living room where everyone else was carrying on.  He shook his head a bit, surprised at how they weren¡¯t showing signs of distress from the previous day.  All the officers he had talked to from the scene were dispirited and depressed.  The precinct therapist had her work cut out for her.


    ¡°Your friends all seem fine,¡± he said to Adam.  ¡°No after affects or trauma from yesterday?¡±


    ¡°Nah,¡± answered Adam.  ¡°They got it out of their system against the goblins.  I¡¯m sure you checked the posted videos after Tom¡¯s promotion.  Those were way more brutal than only three elves.¡±


    ¡°Veteran policemen usually have to spend years in therapy after something like yesterday.  Yes, the goblins were even more brutal.  How are they fine?¡±


    ¡°I help them if they need it,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°How do you help them?¡± the detective asked curiously.


    ¡°I just do,¡± Adam said, looking the detective in the eyes.  Ron shivered inside and didn¡¯t bother asking again.


    Once they were all seated at the table, and his mom had gotten drinks for everyone, Ron began.


    ¡°Before we get to the larger issues, Mr. Jones insisted on coming to apologize to Adam.¡±


    Zachary finally looked up, bringing his eyes to meet Adam¡¯s.  They looked inconsolable.  ¡°Adam, I¡¯m so very sorry for the other night.  I haven¡¯t been able to sleep since, watching the memory over and over again.  I don¡¯t know why I pulled the trigger, and nothing in my training indicated I should do that.  While I was watching you, I just felt that I needed to, and then your neck exploded.  I¡¯ve never seen anything so horrible, and knowing I was the cause of it¡­  There is no way I can go on as a policeman after that.  I¡¯ve quit the force and I am fine if you want me arrest.¡±  Adam¡¯s parents moved between furious and mortified.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, man,¡± Adam said casually, stopping his rambling.


    ¡°It¡¯s not ok.  How could you even think so after what I did to you?  After I almost killed you?  I haven¡¯t even been told how you are still alive.¡±


    ¡°Magic mostly.  Besides, you were being mind-controlled.  It wasn¡¯t your fault.¡±


    ¡°Not my fault?!  Mind control isn¡¯t a thing and even if it were its hardly an excuse!¡± Zach yelled at Adam, his sanity clearly breaking down.


    Adam reached out a tendril and pulsed calm energy into the connection before closing it.  Zachary paused mid rant.  His face got its color back and his eyes cleared up instantly.


    ¡°Mind control is real?¡± he asked after taking a steadying breath, his demeanor as calm as if he were sitting down to a tea party.


    ¡°Yup,¡± answered Adam.


    ¡°Did you just control my mind?¡±


    ¡°No.  What I do is different, but you seemed a bit out of it.  I just calmed you down.¡±


    ¡°What just happened?¡± asked Ron, looking between Zachary and Adam.


    ¡°I calmed him down,¡± said Adam pointedly.  ¡°I just said that.¡±


    ¡°How did you calm him?¡±


    Adam sighed.  ¡°I just did.  Don¡¯t make me pick up your sighing habit.¡±


    ¡°Is that why your group isn¡¯t traumatized?  Because you calm them?¡±


    ¡°Wow, that makes it sound forceful.  I only do it when they ask and it¡¯s just temporary.  It gives them the time and control to adapt on their own.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± Ron sounded stupefied.  ¡°I bet the military would love to have that.¡±  Adam shrugged.


    Adam turned back to Zachary.  ¡°Besides, you didn¡¯t almost kill me.¡±


    Zachary had sat back down and looked at Adam puzzled.  ¡°I put a bullet through your neck.¡±


    ¡°Well yeah, but it¡¯s safer to say you almost killed yourself.¡± Adam pulled out his phone and brought up the video showing what happened after the shot, where Adam stayed on his feet and then disarmed Zach, moments from killing him.  The camera was barely fast enough to catch Lucas, Nick, and Brittney attacking Adam and taking him away.  They looked more like blurs.


    Silence surrounded the table as everyone paled, included Adam¡¯s parents.


    ¡°My god,¡± Ron finally spoke.  ¡°We were amazed that you were alive after seeing the gunshot video, but it didn¡¯t even stop you in that moment.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I thought I told you that yesterday.  It¡¯s fine.  I wasn¡¯t conscious when I attacked Zachary.  It was just instincts taking over since I was already exhausted from fighting the goblin chief and his henchmen.  There is no video of it, but they managed to rip off some of my fingers.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!¡± his parents yelled.


    ¡°I told you, I regenerate, but it¡¯s exhausting and makes me beyond hungry.  That¡¯s why I¡¯ve been eating so much.  After being shot, my instincts were going to have me rip off Zachary¡¯s head so I could regenerate.¡±


    This story has been unlawfully obtained without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°How does ripping off his head allow you to regenerate?¡± asked his dad, still not recovered from the shock.


    Adam then looked up, showing embarrassment.  ¡°I know it¡¯s gross, but if I drink blood I regenerate.  I drank the goblins¡¯ blood so I could get my fingers back and keep fighting.  My group gave me some of their blood to heal the neck wound, since I didn¡¯t take it from Zachary.¡±


    The silence stretched on.  Jordan Lane eventually muttered, ¡°You are terrifying.¡±  Adam heard and looked him in the eyes.


    ¡°Yes.  To my enemies.¡±  The look Adam gave Jordan caused him to instantly look away.


    ¡°Anyway, to the point, Zachary.  I didn¡¯t enjoy being shot, it wasn¡¯t your fault, and I¡¯m over it, so you should be too.  I accept your apology.¡±


    Zachary breathed in relief.  ¡°The situation seems more complex than I realized.  Thanks for your graciousness in it.  If there¡¯s anything you need from me in the future, please let me know.¡±


    ¡°Great!¡± Adam said with vigor that surprised everyone.  ¡°Maybe we¡¯ll use you as a consultant.  We need someone who knows how the police work.  Someone to let us know if we¡¯re close to breaking the law more than the police will tolerate.¡±


    ¡°More than?¡± asked Det. Baker.


    ¡°We are hunting and killing aliens, man.  You think we are always going to do it in a completely law-abiding way?¡± Adam asked with exasperation.


    ¡°Right.  So you¡¯ll keep it within tolerable amounts?¡± the detective clarified.


    ¡°That¡¯s right.  At least when possible,¡± Adam nodded.


    ¡°Fine.  ¡­ That¡¯s fine.  I guess it fits in with the next topic.¡±  Ron pulled out some folders.  He put one forward and then pulled out his phone, followed by Adam¡¯s buzzing at receiving a text.


    ¡°The police accept culpability for wrongful arrest and shooting you.  This folder includes a settlement we¡¯re offering you.  Admittedly it isn¡¯t as generous as it would be if you brought a lawsuit against us, but since your army wants to work with us it would be better for moving forward quickly.¡±


    ¡°How much,¡± asked his dad.


    ¡°$500,000.  Because I trust Adam, I¡¯ll say that if you sue us, you could get upward of $5 million, but that would take time and up-front expense for you.¡±


    ¡°T-that much?¡± his dad goggled.


    ¡°This next folder is an offer we are making to you.  You and your group showed exemplary skills, bravery, and provided aid when others wouldn¡¯t, successfully saving lives.  Based on Tom Rhodes¡¯ speech, we got the feeling that you wanted to work with us without being a part of the police.  Toeing the line, as it were.  This offer will pay you a $25,000 per month retainer, and $50,000 for any incident that we bring you in on, with conditions.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± said his mom.


    ¡°Conditions?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Mostly that you will not damage property unnecessarily, commit crimes, or disparage the police.  We will also expect, hope really, that you will share more of your knowledge about the [System] and invaders.  Of course, a big one is that you need to prevent the video of the police assaulting you from appearing in the public.  There will also need to be a psych evaluation for your team to make sure it isn¡¯t putting undue mental strain on them.¡±


    ¡°This is unbelievable,¡± his mom said.


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe you want to put our son in danger,¡± said his dad, getting angry.


    ¡°Mr. Clemens, I do apologize for that, but based on the last week I don¡¯t think anyone is going to stop your son from being in danger, especially him.  Not to mention that an alien invasion is already a danger to everyone.  With this cooperation with the police, he will have faster and larger access to information, emergency support, crowd control, manpower, and civilian management.  As mentioned about the laws, he will also have more¡­flexibility¡­in regard to them.  Since we do expect Adam to agree, based on our conversations, we have already begun trying to source equipment better suited to the group than what they currently have.¡±


    ¡°What will the police be getting from him other than consultants to endanger instead of your own force?¡± his dad continued to demand.


    ¡°Sir, you don¡¯t seem to understand.  What your son and his group fairly effortlessly handled yesterday would have killed all the police and civilians on the scene, as well as those rushing to help.  We didn¡¯t know it at the time, but we had no ability to affect the situation.  Are we using your son?  Maybe, but we currently have no other option.¡±


    With his dad starting to get furious, Adam put his hand on his dad¡¯s arm.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok dad, we are doing this with or without them.  We need to kill the invaders and keep you guys safe.¡±


    ¡°But Adam,¡± his mom started, but stopped when she looked at his eyes.  There was a ferocity and anger there that was different than the pre-[System] Adam.  It was something that wouldn¡¯t be controlled.  ¡°Fine.  I understand.¡±


    Adam looked down at his phone and then tossed it behind him, where Tom was standing in the doorway.  No one else had noticed him there.  Tom caught it and walked to the table.  Pulling out his own phone he called his dad and sat at the head of the table.


    ¡°Hi dad, it¡¯s me. ¡­ No, I¡¯m not in trouble. ¡­ Yes. ¡­ I¡¯m sending contracts I need you to review.  ¡­ Yes.  ¡­ No ¡­ Maybe? ¡­ Because you¡¯re a lawyer.  ¡­ Yes.  I know that.  ¡­ It¡¯s for the boss.  ¡­ I know it¡¯s illegal to sell people¡¯s organs. ¡­ No. ¡­ Yes, badgers ARE better. ¡­ You should get Legolas and Gimli home now. ¡­ Yes, I do know that isn¡¯t their names.  ¡­ You wouldn¡¯t want me to be your only remaining son, right?  ¡­ Boss said so.  ¡­ Not your boss YET.  ¡­ Uh, the news.  ¡­ Uh huh. ¡­ Yes.  ¡­ Yeah, I¡¯ve seen the video.  ¡­  In the neck.  ¡­ Oh yeah!  ¡­ For blackmailing them.  ¡­ It says we can¡¯t show it to anyone.  Sure, I¡¯ll show you the video later.  ¡­ No, I didn¡¯t say that in front of the cops. ¡­ The amount isn¡¯t the issue.  ¡­ Ok, I¡¯ll put him on.¡±


    Everyone stared as he passed the phone to Adam.


    ¡°Hello, Mr. Rhodes.  Adam Clemens. ¡­ Yes. ¡­ Yes. ¡­ No. ¡­ Maybe.  ¡­ Absolutely not.  ¡­ I can¡¯t promise that.  ¡­ I promise I will TRY not to.  ¡­ Even then it shouldn¡¯t be a problem since we have healers.  ¡­ That is up to him.  ¡­ Once the fighting starts for real it¡¯ll be too late to get your sons.  ¡­ Yes, I know that.  ¡­ Yes, they know that.  ¡­ Yes, everyone knows that.  ¡­ Fine, I¡¯ll ask.¡±


    Adam put the phone down and looked at everyone.


    ¡°He wants me to make sure you all know Tom is a jackass.¡±


    Ron muttered, ¡°You don¡¯t need to be a detective to know that.¡±


    ¡°They understand.  ¡­ I¡¯ll see you then.  Thanks.  ¡­ I look forward to it.  ¡­ Here he is again.¡±


    Adam slid the phone back to Tom.


    ¡°Ok. ¡­ Sure. ¡­ Thanks for your help.  ¡­ No, I won¡¯t say that.  ¡­ Fine.  Bye.¡±


    Tom ended the call and then took a deep breath.  ¡°Boss, what did he want you to promise?¡±


    ¡°Not to punch in your face again,¡± responded Adam.


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± Tom agreed before addressing the group.  ¡°Ok, he has a few changes he wants to the agreements.  I texted him your number, Detective, and he will send it back to proof before Adam signs.  He is also setting up a business for the Sentinel Army, with Adam as the president.  We¡¯ll need bank accounts to put any payments or donations that we receive.¡±


    ¡°I work at a bank, so can set up the bank accounts tomorrow,¡± said Adam¡¯s mom.


    ¡°He said he would come over tonight for me to sign everything.  He also assured me, extensively and repeatedly, that Tom isn¡¯t what the rest of the family is like.  I¡¯ll be putting the settlement money in the Army¡¯s account.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± commented Adam¡¯s dad.  ¡°That just happened quickly.  It might be best for me to quit my job to help with the business side of things.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea anyway,¡± stated Adam.  ¡°I don¡¯t like the idea of you driving into the city every day knowing the invaders could attack at any time.  Mom, at least, works nearby.  You manage and coordinate the business and then I won¡¯t have to worry about it while I do what I need to.¡±


    With that discussed, Ron brought up another topic.


    ¡°Good.  I¡¯m glad it moved that fast.  Hopefully everything is signed tomorrow because¡­we found the elf base and want to move on it but need your help with it.  Do you think two days¡¯ time is enough to prepare?¡±


    ¡°Probably,¡± answered Adam.  ¡°Point it out to me and I¡¯d go in today if needed.¡±


    ¡°Quite the dedication.  Two days would be better though.  We have some items coming in to help and are putting together an Emergency Response Unit.  We also contacted the FBI regarding yesterday since it falls under a terrorist attack.  They want a few agents to observe what we¡¯re doing.  There are a lot of questions about you and your group, even with the videos.  Things are going to get hectic.¡±


    ¡°As if they haven¡¯t been the last eight days,¡± complained Tom.


    ¡°True.  Anyway, I¡¯m going to be your point of contact.  I guess Mr. Clemens will be working with us too now.  Jordan Lane wants to discuss your technology needs to see if there is anything else we can do to get you set up.  We¡¯ll be providing some dedicated police phones, and some short-wave radios in case cell towers get attacked.  Any traditional attack would include hits to our infrastructure.  Also, we should talk about transportation¡­¡±


    Just then, Ed burst into the room.


    ¡°Boss, boss!  You¡¯re never going to believe what''s happening!¡±

 CH 35: The Base

    CHAPTER 35: The Base


    ¡°Boss, boss! You¡¯re never going to believe what¡¯s happening!¡± Ed exclaimed as he ignored everyone else and rushed to Adam¡¯s side. He put his laptop down in front of Adam and started showing him graphs, tables, and emails.


    ¡°Uh, can you summarize?¡± Adam asked cautiously, seeing his excitement.


    ¡°It¡¯s our website. At Tom¡¯s insistence we put in a way to donate, and we are getting a huge response.¡± Ed pointed to different parts of the graph. ¡°So far, we have over 10,000 people donating $10, 5,000 donating around $50 each. Then we¡¯ve gotten some larger donations. The chief of police donated $100,000. The deputy chief donated $70,000. The mayor¡¯s office has pledged $200,000 but wants to give it directly to us. Probably for a photo op. Several local businesses donated thousands each. This is a lot of money!¡±


    ¡°Sweet!¡± smiled Tom. ¡°We can get some serious stuff with this kind of cash.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to spend it as quickly as possible,¡± said Adam. Ron nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Why is that, son?¡± asked his dad.


    ¡°Two things that invading armies always do is cripple communications and then supply lines. If travel and shipping get cut off then there won¡¯t be any point to money. We should use the money while it has value to get all kinds of supplies we might need. If we buy up all the preserved food in the grocery stores they might even ship more sooner so our region is better supplied.¡±


    ¡°Do you think things will get that bad?¡± asked Zachary.


    ¡°It¡¯ll probably be much worse, and we don¡¯t have time to prepare.¡± Adam gave him a knowing look. ¡°Ok, Ed. What else do you have?¡±


    ¡°Well, along with all the donations, we are getting tons of emails. There are thank-you letters, testimonials we¡¯ll display, including from the police chief and people we saved. Lots of requests to join. Many saying they are going to drive here from other states to join or learn from us. There are a few craftsmen who mocked our gear and said they¡¯d come help us make better.


    ¡°We also have local shops and a few larger store chains sending us logo ideas on product samples. Several clothing distributers and a few military equipment companies want to sponsor us, since our videos are going to get us tons of looks. They want to be a part of it.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± said Adam. ¡°Maybe I won¡¯t run out of clothing.¡± His mother gawked at him. ¡°Why do you think I was fighting shirtless on the news. Anything I wear gets destroyed when I fight.¡±


    Ed and Tom laughed and nodded in agreement, with Tom throwing in a catcall.


    ¡°Anyway, mom, I might need your help with all the preparation too. In fact, it sounds like we¡¯ll need lots of people in the short term.¡±


    ¡°Some of my friends could probably be available to help,¡± she said.


    ¡°There are most likely some police officer¡¯s spouses willing to contribute too. Either volunteer or for temporary pay. They¡¯ll appreciate superheroes looking out for their police,¡± added Jordan Lane. ¡°I¡¯ll try to get a list of those interested tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°This is all great, however we need some office and storage space for all this,¡± interrupted his dad. ¡°Getting that on short notice will be a challenge.¡±


    ¡°Not really,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°Why? Do you have office space already,¡± his dad asked sarcastically.


    ¡°Kind of.¡±


    ¡°And storage space?¡±


    ¡°More than you¡¯d expect.¡±


    ¡°Should we show them?¡± asked Tom mischievously.


    ¡°Might be fun,¡± smiled Adam.


    ¡°Brittney will need to be there. She¡¯ll want to say it,¡± said Ed. ¡°And then complain when no one gets it.¡± The three boys shared a chuckle.


    ¡°Ok, now I¡¯m curious,¡± said his dad.


    ¡°Is it legal?¡± asked Ron.


    ¡°Probably,¡± answered Adam. ¡°Or maybe. Actually, no idea. I¡¯m confident there has never been a legal case about it yet. Let¡¯s just go.¡±


    ***


    Ron¡¯s car pulled up to the front of the goblin warehouse. Nothing about it looked unusual. Adam got out of the passenger side, with Zachary and Jordan exiting the back seat. Zachary shivered while remembering the location. Five more cars pulled up behind them, since the whole group wanted to come, including Adam¡¯s parents and sister.


    ¡°I know you don¡¯t own this warehouse,¡± said Ron.


    ¡°Is it possible not to own a building while owning the space inside?¡± Adam asked as he led them to the entrance.


    ¡°Of course that isn¡¯t possible.¡± Ron sounded hesitant. Eying the black opening in front of them.


    Brittney rushed up to Adam¡¯s side, bouncing on her feet. ¡°Elias, let us in!¡± she shouted as loudly as she could.


    The black opaque space in front of them flickered for less than a second and then Adam pushed Ron through. Brittney squealed and rushed in. Jordan and Zachary followed. Adam let his parents go in before he entered himself, the rest of the group entering more casually.


    Those new to the space were looking around stunned. The bluish gray sky, the weird colored grass and land, the muted sounds.


    ¡°What is this place?¡± gasped Ron.


    Brittney stretched her arms out as wide as possible and shouted without an echo, ¡°it¡¯s bigger on the inside.¡±


    Jordan laughed. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d be in a Tardis.¡±


    Pumping her fist, Brittney exclaimed, ¡°finally someone gets the reference.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t understand,¡± said Adam¡¯s dad. ¡°What is this place?¡±


    ¡°The [System] called it a Dimensional Convergence Rift. The invaders use them to set up their bases. This was the goblins¡¯ base. See that wall and castle in the distance? We had to fight thousands of goblins in there to take it,¡± said Adam.


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Thousands? That many?¡± asked his mom, even more shocked.


    ¡°Yes, mother-in-law,¡± said Andrea, earning her a pursed lips stare. ¡°There were a lot. While we fought tons, it¡¯s safe to say my darling took on more by himself then the rest of us combined.¡±


    ¡°The higher-level ones too,¡± added Lucas.


    ¡°You don¡¯t think you should have told the authorities about this? Let them inspect and figure it out?¡± Ron asked in a scolding way. Adam stared back with a flat expression.


    ¡°You were mind-controlled. If I gave this to you that would be the same as giving it to the invader lady who controlled you.¡±


    Ron face palmed, having forgotten that. ¡°Ok, I see your point.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, this will be our base and there is plenty of space to set up storage areas. Since there isn¡¯t weather in this place, if food is preserved it can be stacked anywhere and doesn¡¯t need a building. The space is pretty large. It can be an emergency shelter if we need to evacuate people. Brandon and Elias are working on learning what the control crystal can do.¡±


    ¡°Crystal? Ah! That was what you supposedly stole. I can see why you assume the beautiful lady was an invader,¡± exclaimed Ron. ¡°This also explains the elf hideout. It¡¯s a greenhouse that we can¡¯t see inside of. While its big for a greenhouse, it shouldn¡¯t be enough to hold a whole military force. But if it¡¯s this large or more, then we have no idea how many we¡¯re facing. This¡¯ll alter our raid plans.¡±


    The rest of the group was already walking towards the castle. When they all arrived there, they went straight to the throne room. Adam was surprised that there wasn¡¯t any blood or corpses anywhere to be seen.


    ¡°Boss, it¡¯s amazing,¡± Brandon rushed over as soon as he walked in. ¡°Come look at what we discovered.¡±


    The room, which had been dimly lit with flicking torches, was now bright, with light pouring down from the ceiling and covering the entirety of the space. The rough gray stone walls and floor had been replaced with a soothing tan color that was smooth looking. Instead of a throne, there was a desk made of stone with a monitor screen floating above it. The brown pillar was next to the desk, as if it were a computer tower.


    ¡°How did you change the room?¡± he asked, marveling at it.


    ¡°That¡¯s what we want to show you.¡± Brandon took him over to where Elias sat at the desk. Ron, Jordan, and his dad followed along, while everyone else went to explore.


    ¡°Watch this,¡± said Elias as he lifted a cube of stone. Pressing the screen a few times, the cube shook for a minute and then became a sphere of the same mass. A few more taps of the screen and it became a pyramid. Still more taps turned it into a spikey ball.


    ¡°Wow!¡± exclaimed Jordan. ¡°How is it doing that?!¡±


    Elias looked at Jordan, who he hadn¡¯t been introduced to, and then turned to Adam.


    ¡°This is Jordan Lane, from the police. He is an IT tech and will be working with us. Jordan, this is Elias and Brandon,¡± Adam introduced them.


    ¡°Hi,¡± said Elias indifferently, who took that as approval to continue. ¡°This space is malleable. Materials in it can be changed as long as they have the same basic structure. It¡¯s so advanced that coal to diamonds and lead to gold are a thing here. However, once the materials are changed, they can¡¯t leave this space without disintegrating. We ran a few tests on it. That means we can¡¯t create items in here for general use, but if we brought in enough practical materials, we could shape them into buildings, tools for crafting, and customize them to an extreme. We can create advanced tools to make equipment and then take that equipment out, as long as the stuff wasn¡¯t altered by this device, only worked on in a normal fashion.¡±


    ¡°Wow. That IS incredible,¡± said Adam. ¡°No wonder that woman invader wanted this space.¡±


    ¡°Really we¡¯ve only scratched the surface,¡± said Brandon. ¡°We found communication channels where invaders can talk with each other or release public messages. None of the languages look familiar. The menus change to English when we look at them, but whatever is being said through the comm channels are not being translated. Just that it looks like there are a lot of them out there.


    ¡°We also found videos and pictures, all of them from when we were fighting in here. We were able to watch your fight with the chief and his two assistants from any angle. It looked like the chief shared a clear picture of you and your fight with the shadow goblin before you killed him. That¡¯s probably how the invaders knew to send the police after you. Anything that¡¯s in this space can be watched at any time, from any angle. Watch.¡±


    Elias tapped the screen and it got larger then began showing one group walking down halls. A few more taps changed the picture to them looking at the screen from behind. Elias moved his hand and the image flipped around to show them from the front. Then he waved and the screen showed the wave.


    Jordan was breathing heavily, then turned to Ron. ¡°Detective, tell the captain I quit and am joining the Sentinel Army.¡±


    ¡°No. Don¡¯t be an idiot. You can work with them but to get the most out of the rift you still need to do your job. Just think, you could use police contacts to get more materials into this space for use with that interface,¡± Ron explained.


    ¡°Elias, can you get rid of the weird lack of echo?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°No. I can change the sky, making it look like night or day or clouds or a storm, but the weather and environment doesn¡¯t really change. Temperature for the whole area can be altered though.¡±


    ¡°Great job, so far. Is there more to research on it?¡±


    ¡°Oh yes. Lots. But without knowing alien languages it¡¯ll all be trial and error.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t hold your breath but I¡¯ll check with nearby university faculty to see if anyone has experience translating unknown languages,¡± said Ron. ¡°Great job here, boys.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re raiding the elves in two days, so make sure you guys get enough food and rest,¡± Adam told them. Before he had time to tell Ron about the bodies they found, his dad put a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°Son, I¡¯m extremely proud of you. In the last week you¡¯ve done more amazing things than I have my entire life. I promise I¡¯ll work as hard as I can to support you and your group. I¡¯d rather not see you put into harm¡¯s way, but you have a real chance here to help a lot of people. I¡¯ll make sure you have all the support you can get.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, dad,¡± Adam said with a smile and hugged his dad. When they separated Brandon was sniffling.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong,¡± his dad asked Brandon.


    Adam answered instead when Brandon couldn¡¯t get the words out. ¡°Apparently everyone but me, Tom, Nick, Carlos, Lamar and Brittney have sucky parents and homes. Thanks for giving me a good home, dad.¡±


    His dad beamed. ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Adam.¡±


    ***


    The next 24 hours were full of boring busyness.


    Adam met Mr. Rhodes and reviewed the documents from the police while registering as a business. The big area they needed to add to the contract with the police was related to looting. Surprising to Adam was that this was Mr. Rhodes idea. He had listened to his kids playing RPGs and MMOs for years and knew what issues looting could cause, so he proposed a formula that would reward the Sentinel Army with a percentage of loot value based on combined levels of participating groups. This way if the Sentinels were carrying the police they would get the majority of the loot. Due to Adam not having a class, which did cause Mr. Rhodes to stumble, they decided Adam would be equal to the highest-level person plus 15 levels. They also put in a clause that Dimensional Convergence Rifts would go to the Sentinel Army if they were over 50% of the levels.


    Mr. Rhodes wasn¡¯t sure the police would go for it, but Adam was confident. The police needed him, giving Adam all the leverage for now. Just to get caught up to the Sentinels, the police would need to do a lot of leveling, and the necessary killing was outside of their training and mindset.


    All the business documents were set up as well, except for organizational structures that they reviewed with Adam¡¯s parents and selected people for. The documents also included employee contracts, non-disclosure agreements, and volunteer waivers since it was a dangerous business even though so many people wanted to join it.


    The next day his mom helped him with all the banking. They set up accounts, got temporary debit and credit cards that he would let some in his group use in the short term, and they set up all the management apps. Mr. Rhodes had also introduced him to an accounting friend who was able to review what Adam was doing that day, since they weren¡¯t in the middle of tax season.


    Ron wasn¡¯t available at all, instead helping coordinate the raid. Jordan Lane came by the second half of the day, providing a list of police spouses and other volunteers to help gather necessary items, as well as making sure all the money was transferring from the police accounts into the new Sentinel Army accounts. Then Jordan worked with Ed to improve the website and manage the donation accounts, making calls with the donation software company to let them know the amounts had been reviewed and authorized by law enforcement. Once that was done, Jordan excitedly rushed to the warehouse to continue working with Elias and Brandon.


    There was even a short visit to the school, where lawyers tried to force Adam to sign documents relinquishing fault to the wrongful arrest so that Adam wouldn¡¯t be able to sue. Their strong-arm tactics failed when, unknown to them, Adam created a connection and filled them with terror. The agreement was changed to a $120,000 settlement in exchange for the rights to file a lawsuit. The money and agreement would take a while to come through, so Adam didn¡¯t expect to see the money before the aliens tore everything down, but he still left the meeting laughing wickedly, earning him a scolding look from his mom. No one strong arms Adam, except maybe his mom.

 CH 36: The Raid

    CHAPTER 36:  The Raid


    ¡°Seriously?  Kids?!¡±  A large man in a suit, holding an assault rifle, and carrying a military like pack shouted at Ron and another policeman organizing things.  The man was FBI Agent Silvo Smythe.  When he had been introduced to the group, Tom had snickered and said, ¡°That¡¯s a villain name.¡±


    ¡°You said you were bringing experienced specialists, and you brought a bunch of tiny high schoolers?  What were you thinking?¡± Smythe continued to shout.  He then pointed to Brittney.  ¡°Did you just grab a couple of girls coming out of cheer practice?¡±


    Adam mostly ignored him and looked around the group.  It felt like a large group, but Adam knew it wasn¡¯t.  This was going to be a battle, and only having 35 inexperienced troops to join with his group was going to be more than a challenge.  People were most likely going to die.  Inside the blacked-out greenhouse could be thousands of elves, or more.  They would be under fire as soon as they arrived.


    His group had arrived in bunches, those with strength builds helping the police unload weighed down trucks.  Unsure of what they would need, the police had decided to bring as much as possible.  Most of it was focused on high power artillery and ways to protect the group.  They had trolleys for moving the heavier gear once inside, and small wagons laden with food, in case they got bogged down once in the rift.  Adam had brought his own bag of food and tossed it on top of a wagon since carrying it would be hard with how he moved.


    ¡°Hey, brat!  I¡¯m talking to you!¡± Smythe yelled at Adam, almost poking him.  Adam stopped inspecting the group and turned to him.


    ¡°Sorry, Adam,¡± said Ron.  ¡°This is Agent Smythe from the FBI, along with his partner Jerry Gershner.  Apparently, Agent Smythe doesn¡¯t approve of bringing your group,¡± Ron added wryly.


    Shaking Agent Gershner¡¯s hand, Adam greeted him.  ¡°Good to meet you, Agent Gershner.  Is this guy trying to test us or serious about what he says?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t ignore me!¡± Smythe bellowed.


    ¡°Probably only a little of the first.  He used to be in the military so he expects things to be a certain way.  As for the second, I think he doubts the authenticity of your videos,¡± answered Gershner, also ignoring Smythe.


    ¡°Does he have a wife or kids?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°What does that have to do with anything?¡± Smythe snarled.


    ¡°No wife or kids.  Just a girlfriend,¡± answered Gershner with a sigh.  ¡°Why?¡±


    Adam raised his voice so everyone could hear him.  Quiet descended.  ¡°We already have a Meat Shield,¡± he said, earning William a pat from Tom, ¡°so this guy¡¯s name is now Cannon Fodder.  If his voice gets us targeted or he causes trouble when we¡¯re inside the greenhouse then hide behind him or throw him towards the enemy.¡±


    ¡°What the hell, you little twerp,¡± Smythe hissed as he reached for Adam¡¯s neck.  His hand didn¡¯t make it that far as Adam snatched his assault rifle from him and caught his wrist.  Smythe grunted as he tried to get his hand back.  When he failed to, he snarled at Adam.  ¡°It¡¯s a felony to take a federal agent¡¯s weapon.¡±


    ¡°So I¡¯ve heard.  Brittney, this man needs a demonstration.  Can you show him what our cheer practice is like?¡± Adam said.


    Brittney walked over and looked up at the man towering over her.  Brittney was barely 5 feet tall, and this man was probably 6 and a half.  Ignoring that, Brittney reached up and grabbed the man¡¯s shirt by the collar, and his pants at the belt.  He was flung backwards, flipping over in the air, where he landed in the bed of a truck on top of stacked tarps and drop clothes, padding his landing enough to not get seriously hurt.


    Jaws dropped all over those assembled.  A show of their power from the smallest person seemed like a good demonstration to Adam, so he didn¡¯t mind Smythe¡¯s attitude.  If it became more of a problem he¡¯d just break Smythe¡¯s legs and heal him later.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what directions you have been given, Agent Gershner, but I would appreciate it if you follow our orders and not endanger people.¡±  Adam then walked away to check out the equipment they brought, with Ron rushing to his side.


    ***


    ¡°This is what we came up with for your group,¡± Ron explained as they stood in front of the equipment.  ¡°Here we have some stronger body armor.  It has three layers.  Against the skin is Kevlar weave, then ballistics ceramic plating, followed by straight steel plates.  Based on the strength your people showed we think they should be effective without preventing moving.  We weren¡¯t able to get one for Brittney, due to her size.  For you, we also have some thicker steel plates attached to straps for you to put on your arms and legs.¡±


    Adam inspected the armor, tested out the straps, and checked the weight.  He pulled the overly thick body armor over his head and moved around with it, testing it.  Then he put on the shin guards and wrist guards.  They would do for now.  ¡°The upper leg and arms won¡¯t work because the straps holding the armor aren¡¯t flexible enough.  The rest will do for now, thanks.  We¡¯ll need to find sturdier but thinner in the future, maybe with layered plates.¡±


    Ron pointed to some very large and heavy flat shields.  ¡°These are actually bomb squad shields, meant to be carried by two people.  The handles in the back aren¡¯t close enough for a single arm so we weren¡¯t sure it would work for you, so we only brought five of them.  They''re too heavy for any of our men to use.  They''re strong enough to take heavy artillery and medium powered explosions.¡±


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    Heaving up the shield with one hand, Adam was able to move it.  As long as he kept a solid hold of it, it would work fine, but if he had to momentarily let go, then gravity would pull it away from him.


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll use this shield, though I¡¯m not sure it¡¯ll work for the rest of my group.  Is there a strap strong enough to tie it to my shoulder?¡±  Adam was handed a long ratchet strap for securing truck cargo.  It took a bit to cut it down so that he could loop it around his upper arm and through the second handle on the shield.  It was not convenient, but it would probably stop anything the elves were shooting.


    ¡°We weren¡¯t sure what to do for weapons.  Our men are equipped with the strongest assault rifles we had, and they¡¯re all trained on them.  We¡¯ll have to bring tons of ammo with us though, so boxes of it are loaded on those wagons and we¡¯ll probably need to come out to resupply multiple times depending on the number of elves.  We had no way to test in advance how they¡¯ll do against the wind shields, but we¡¯re hoping the increased power over the handguns our officers used before will be enough.  Unfortunately, that means your group is still on its own for weapons.  We did find some long hunting knives that should keep their edge better than your garden machetes.¡±


    Adam strapped two of the knives to his own belt alongside his machete.


    ¡°Finally, we have some very heavy shielding.  They are in a half circle, but large.  It¡¯ll take about three of your people to carry but it will give us a semi mobile shielding to shoot from while we change locations.  Mobile being relative.  Ultimately this is very far outside of our expertise.  We wanted some military advisers, but things are as hectic and scattered for them since the [System] came as they are for us.  We gathered twenty policeman willing to kill to level up and who had the temperament to follow your orders.  The other fifteen are firemen who wanted to be a part of things, paramedics for medical support, and a few logistics officers to help carry our supplies.  Then the two FBI agents.  I¡¯m not sure how they¡¯ll do, but we had to let them in.¡±


    Adam nodded in acknowledgement.


    ¡°Well, we call ourselves the Sentinel Army.  Let¡¯s see if we can be either Sentinels or an Army.¡±


    Adam stood a bit off from the entrance to the greenhouse and Ron gathered everyone up.  Lucas, Brittney, Nick, and Abbey stood near him.  Once everyone was ready and holding the equipment they would carry, he addressed them.


    ¡°My name is Adam Clemens.  You¡¯ve all seen me from the news.  I will be leading things.  You can organize in groups, however overall orders will come from me and my team.  Order priority is me, Lucas here, Brittney, and then Nick.  If none of us are around or if all of us are dead, then run.  Our biggest issue is a lack of intel.  We have no idea what¡¯s in this greenhouse or how large the space is.  Once we step through it won¡¯t be earth, it¡¯ll be like a different world.  We go slowly in the beginning to learn how things work there and then will adjust strategies based on that.  If you are ever over classed or weaponless, then retreat.  We won¡¯t hold it against you.  Keeping your lives is the most important thing, and you are responsible for your own.  Since you are all level zero I do expect deaths, especially that of Cannon Fodder over there.  I hope I¡¯m wrong.  Those who survive will be stronger.


    ¡°I will be going in first, my group will follow me with our mobile defenses.  Drones and communications don¡¯t work once we are in there yet assume the enemies know everything we are doing, since they do.  Keep your head down and we¡¯ll try to get you experience.  If you have questions right now then ask Ron, because until we are on the other side of that gate we know nothing.  Be ready to kill and defend yourself.¡±


    There were a few normal questions that were asked about formations and equipment, which they would alter when they knew more.  Once everyone was sorted out, Adam stood in front of the gate, awkward bomb squad shield covering his left side, sledgehammer on his right, three knives in his belt, and a drone in his arm to activate once through.


    ¡°You sure we can do this?¡± asked Lucas by his side.  Adam looked directly in his eyes.


    ¡°We''ll do this and more.  It¡¯ll be different than the goblins, but this is our world and people.  We will protect it.¡±


    Lucas nodded.


    ¡°I¡¯m heading in, follow in the order we mentioned and if something goes wrong, get out and we can try again later,¡± Adam announced.


    He stepped forward, put his hand against the black opening and stepped into it.  Immediately after stepping through, Lucas reached out and stepped forward to follow.  A solid wall of black prevented Lucas from moving forward.  He stepped back and Brittney rushed forwards trying it.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± cursed Lucas.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Ron asked, hurrying forward.


    ¡°It let the boss in but is blocking us,¡± said Tom, frowning.


    ¡°How do we get in then?¡± asked Ron.


    ¡°No idea,¡± said Lucas.  ¡°Bases need to fall, so there must be some way in.  Maybe blow up the greenhouse or just keep hitting the barrier until it weakens?¡±


    ¡°Some specialists,¡± taunted Smythe as he came over, pushing his way through the confused crowd.  Adam¡¯s dad and Emily were also there trying to get to the front.  ¡°Now that the kid is done for maybe someone with real experience can take charge.¡±


    Tom laughed, catching Smythe¡¯s attention.  ¡°You know what makes us specialists?¡±


    Smythe eyed Tom and then asked, ¡°What?¡±


    A small fist from in front of him flew into his gut, sinking deeply.  Smythe couldn¡¯t prevent himself from bending forward, and began vomiting blood as he felt more than one thing breaking inside of himself.


    ¡°You little, bi¡­¡± another punch caught him in the jaw, breaking it.  He crumpled to the side as Brittney stepped back.  Gershner rushed up to them.


    ¡°You can¡¯t just assault a federal agent, or anyone really,¡± Gershner rushed out.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see an assault,¡± said Tom.  ¡°We were just demonstrating why we¡¯re specialists.  Do you want to question it too?¡±


    ¡°Uh, not as such, no,¡± answered Gershner.


    ¡°Good.  Abbey, if you would please.¡±


    Abbey stepped forward and touched Smythe while casting her heals.  After thirty seconds he slowly stood up, glaring at them all.  He opened his mouth to say something and Brittney immediately stepped towards him.  His mouth snapped shut.


    ¡°There you go.  He¡¯s no worse for wear,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°As amazing as that healing was, should we not figure out how to save Mr. Clemens?¡± asked Gershner.


    ¡°Abbey, are you still connected to Adam?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°Connected?¡± Gershner looked confused.


    ¡°Yes.  Adam keeps a mental connection with us so we can send certain feelings to each other.  The connection is stronger with Abbey.¡±  Lucas explained.


    ¡°He is concerned,¡± Abbey said.


    ¡°Well of course.  He is in a place with no backup against an army,¡± said Gershner.


    ¡°And hungry,¡± continued Abbey.


    ¡°Nothing new there,¡± Emily said snarkily as she and her dad finally reached them.


    ¡°Oh sorry.  That¡¯s not quite it.  He is concerned about getting hungry,¡± corrected Abbey.


    ¡°Then he isn¡¯t concerned about the elves?¡± asked Gershner.  Tom put his arm around the agent, who looked less than pleased about it.


    ¡°It¡¯s the boss.  He¡¯s probably more concerned with us not getting the experience than the danger to himself,¡± quipped Tom.  ¡°And missing lunch.¡±

 CH 37: The Elf Forest

    CHAPTER 37: The Elf Forest


    Adam saw the border of the dimension flash immediately after her got through.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± he snapped, after realizing he was trapped.  ¡°The food is all out there.¡±


    He set down the drone since it wouldn¡¯t be useful now.  Then he raised the bomb shield to block the dozens of arrows flying towards him, propelled by the winds.  The shield was large enough for him to duck down and block his whole body.  He could hear the arrowheads become barbs as they made contact with the shield, but they bounced off harmlessly.


    ¡°Looks like the shield is sturdy enough.  Now, do I try the barrier or just fight?¡±


    Sticking his head out for just a second to look around, he marveled at the scenery.  Huge trees formed a forest in front of him.  Each tree had rough, dark brown bark.  Their diameter was about the length of a mail truck.  They reached up 60 feet into the air.  No branches stuck out from them within 30 feet of the ground.  The branches that appeared higher up looked sturdy and wide enough to support people, which was where Adam expected the arrows were coming from based on their entry angle.


    The trees were spaced a bit too precisely to be natural, each 50 feet apart from the ones around them.  Their upper branches had grown into each other with lush, dark green leaves, blocking the artificial sky from view.  The shadows made everything dim, like twilight, making it harder to see movement.  His sight would be negatively affected while in here.  The air was stationary except for what surrounded the arrows being shot at him.  The whole thing made him feel like he was in a horror movie, right before the killer jumped out at the protagonist.


    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll need to add a giant axe to my weapons,¡± Adam sighed.  ¡°Let¡¯s see if I can knock over a tree.¡±


    The shield was tilted upwards as Adam aimed his body at the nearest tree.  His foot planted into the ground.  To make sure he had enough power, he activated the heat and river inside of him.  The heat pulsed through his body, spreading into his limbs.  Anger rode the pulses.  CONQUER, the inner voice screamed as rage flowed throughout the river.  Images of goblins and elves flashed through his mind, doing horrible things to his friends.


    Once his skin started to smoke, Adam burst forward.  He arrived at the tree and slammed the solid shield directly into the truck.  A clank echoed through the forest and the bottom lip of the shield actually bent.  Arrows had stopped tracking him as he charged, but now they came to his new position, so he turned the shield behind him and inspected the tree trunk.


    While the shield had taken damage, the trunk of the tree was only scratched.  It was clearly more solid than any plant on earth.  In frustration, he kicked the tree as if he was kicking in a door.  The strength flowing through him burst out as the sole of his shoe exploded, shredding into pieces while leaving the neck of the shoe and dangling laces.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± He cursed.  Then an arrow snuck by the side of the shield and took him in the ribs.  It didn¡¯t penetrate deeply but the barb spiked inside, causing pain and annoying him as he moved.  With all the anger and rage powering him up, he roared loudly.  For a very short time new arrows stopped coming.


    Adam barely had a thought as he rocketed upwards, catching on a branch.  It was hard to see in the dim light, so he kicked off the branch he was on, moving towards the nearest shadow.  His sledgehammer swung and connected with the head of an elf, bursting it.  Before he even finished the swing, three arrows took him in the back.  The burning from the poisons, and the barbs that formed inside his muscles continued to cause internal damage as he jumped in the direction the arrows had come from.


    Landing on a branch that was protruding from a different area of the same tree, Adam once again swung at the shadows.  This time, he felt no connection, but a knife bit into his calf.  Automatically he swatted his shield towards the area, but the crouching elf used wind to float backwards, a cushion of air staying between the shield and elf.  Two more arrows hit him in the thigh, tightening the muscles there and causing him to stand up straighter.  Unfortunately, that opened his right shoulder to getting hit by an arrow that had a thick green barrier around it.  This arrow penetrated halfway through his shoulder, with the arrowhead sticking out the back without a barb.  Adam¡¯s balance was thrown off and he couldn¡¯t even pinwheel his arms as he fell backwards off the branch he was on.


    There was no way to control his fall, since the weight of the shield pulled him straight down, shoulder and all.  The impact with the ground was loud and painful.  The shoulder tied to the shield was in agony, but that didn¡¯t stop another volley of arrows which pierced his exposed side and hip.  The barbs were getting into his joints now, and the irritation from them would just tear up his insides if this went on.


    Instinct caused Adam to push his body onto his side, inching several arrows deeper, so that he could pull the shield above him for protection.  He laid there in pain and anger for several minutes as the heat of his body burned off the poisons affecting his muscles.  The arrows had quickly stopped, but there was no doubt they would come again as soon as he was uncovered.  There were probably also stealthers heading towards him as he lay there.


    During this time, Adam had been riding the river for power, but now he pulled back, reaching for the coolness waiting in his mind.  It was a challenge to reach through the anger and pain, but he was getting able to grasp it and pull in down to calm the heat pulsing through him and slow the river.


    Once he was calmer, he realized how obvious it was that he would fail at this type of combat.  Even if he was faster and stronger than them, his vision was affected, he had no ranged weapon, and his approach to them was easy to read and took time.  He needed to figure out a different way to fight.  But before that, he needed to get these damn barbs out of him.


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    The place he had fallen to was between three different trees.  Trying to remember the directions he had jumped from, he was able to plot back to the entrance of the dimension.  Very slowly and cautiously, Adam lifted the shield above him and squatted down.  Once his balance was set, and before a new set of arrows reached him, he lunged towards where he had come from.  When he reached the final tree, he dodged to the side, bringing himself up against the trunk, and then held the shield directly overhead.


    Two arrows pinged off the shield from above, indicating that there were two archers there.  He pulled out a smaller hunting knife and cut the strap tying the shield to his shoulder.  This allowed him to hold the shield in a more outreached position, while he turned the knife on himself.


    He cut the arrows out of his legs and hips, having to also cut slits in the sweat pants he had worn.  Blood leaked all over them, stiffening the material as it dried.  Cutting the barbs out wasn¡¯t easy and at the end he had lost a moderate amount of blood and done quite a bit of damage to himself.  Skin and muscles were sliced through and then shredded by the barbs coming out.


    Getting the arrows out of his side and shoulder was even more challenging.  The shoulder one didn¡¯t have a barb, instead it had a natural roughness to it that stuck it to his insides.  Because he still had to hold the shield up with his uninjured arm, he had to snap it in two using the trunk of the tree he was pressed against.


    Since the pierced shoulder led to his only available arm, it was a difficult angle, and there was weakness caused by the injury.  Adam was forced to angle oddly and cause more pain as it took several attempts to snap the shaft directly in the wound, causing yet more damage.  Whoever thought of these arrows was a real bastard, and Adam would love to lodge his complaint in person.


    The side ones were even more difficult to remove.  He was wearing the heavy body armor, which didn¡¯t have plating on the areas where the arm rested when down.  Those were a strong fabric, like canvas.  The armor couldn¡¯t be taken off one handed, especially in the position he kept the shield.  That meant he would need to cut through the fabric, making the armor unusable afterwards.  It would become an extremely heavy, unsecured tabard that would flap from his movements and throw his balance off.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a dumbass,¡± Adam said as he realized how unprepared he was for this battle.  Never once had he thought it wouldn¡¯t be his choice to be separated from his group.  All those people meant other targets for the arrows, other arms to hold the shields, and projectiles the enemies needed to guard against.  They would have had to choose between him or his ranged companions.


    Now that was all moot.  He couldn¡¯t just plow through the enemies with force because he would run out of energy and food long before, even if he drank the elves¡¯ blood to regenerate from the constant wounds.  His body would become a pincushion and eventually all those barbs inside would slow him down too much.


    How should he approach this, he wondered as he cut a slit down through the canvas side, and then his own side, and wiggled the barbs out.  Even that little wiggling made the armor pull him back and forth.  No matter how strong he was, he still weighed only 165 lbs, easily displaced by other heavy objects.  Giving up on it he cut through the canvas on the shoulder of his shield arm and let the armored vest drop to the ground.


    His body was a mess.  Cuts from his own knife were all over him leaking blood.  He could already feel a gnawing hunger building inside.  At least for the moment he had a solution to his wounds.


    ¡°My spider sense is tingling,¡± he said sarcastically as he dodged to the side.  It was a very awkward move, as his hip didn¡¯t respond correctly while he was still holding a 300lb shield above his head.


    The knife barely missed his wounded arm.  His still sneakered foot came up and popped the attacking elf¡¯s arm upwards, allowing him to grab the wrist.  A knee rammed into the elf¡¯s solar plexus, or where it would be on a human, with enough force that it didn¡¯t matter if the anatomy was different.  Bones cracked.


    As the elf started to bend over from the force of the knee, Adam ripped the knife out of the elf¡¯s hand and then raked it across the elf¡¯s wrist.  He clamped his mouth on the new wound.  An exceptionally acidic taste came into his mouth, burning his lips, tongue, throat, and gums, as he drank, sucking in as much as he could.  His wounds were numerous, but not deep, so it took a lot less blood to regenerate than it had after fighting the goblin chief.


    Once the elf fell dead, no more blood flowing from the wounds.  Adam spat several times, trying to clear out the taste.


    ¡°That is disgusting.  I can¡¯t believe that nasty goblin blood tasted better than the elf¡¯s.  These are wood elves, couldn¡¯t they have been mint, or maple syrup flavored?  I need to remember to carry a box or two of snack bars and canteens of juice with me to clear out the taste in the future.¡±


    Two more knives were thrust at him at the same time from both sides.  With his wounds now healed, it was easy for him to step forwards, then spin his leg behind him knocking both elves over with his kick.  He quickly stomped their necks so that they wouldn¡¯t get up again.


    As quick as he had been with his kick, arrows had still come from above him and narrowly missed his leg when it was out from under the shield.


    ¡°Yup, this is gonna suck,¡± Adam mumbled as he backed to the tree and checked the position of his overhead shield.  Even his arm was going to run out of strength holding such a heavy shield.


    ¡°Well, option 1 is to let all the assassins come to me.  Somehow, I don¡¯t think that¡¯ll work though.  Let¡¯s see, what are my priorities.  I want to kill all the elves, the corruption that says conquer is insisting on it, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s actually necessary to.  If I get control of the dimension¡¯s control crystal, then I can let everyone else in.  Besides, if I kill everyone then there is no XP for everyone else.  I¡¯m unable to use it, leaving our group unprepared for the next, stronger one.


    ¡°Unfortunately, if I don¡¯t kill them all, then my group might rush right in to be attacked by the ones I left alive.  That would be a slaughter for the police, which would also weaken us.  Hmm¡­  So I need to incapacitate them so they won¡¯t die.


    ¡°Cutting their necks will cause them to bleed out.  Concussions without brain damage will allow them to get back up, and I don¡¯t know how long I¡¯ll need to leave them unable to fight for.  Anyone who seems like they might have healing powers will just need to die right away.  That leaves precision cuts to their wrists, legs, and armpits that sever their tendons without causing much bleeding.  Can I be that precise while in combat?  Can I even be that cruel?  I have to agree with Emily that they¡¯re people, even if they¡¯re enemies.¡±


    Adam''s arm shot out to his side as he snatched a single arrow out of the air.  His arm then continued its motion, turning so the arrowhead stuck into the neck of an approaching elf who had blended with the bark of the tree.  The arrowhead formed a barb upon penetration, and Adam simply ripped it back out, opening the neck to ensure the elf would die.


    With the dim light, and the camouflage colors they wore, he also needed to think of a way to find them without sight.  Using his danger sense would only keep him on his back foot and might lead him to ambushes.


    ¡°Ugh, more troubles.  How many of them are there?  How far is each one?  How can I close the distance without having to dodge arrows all the time?¡±


    This was going to take a lot of figuring out.

 CH 38: Friends and Enemies

    CHAPTER 38: Friends and Enemies


    The elves were now hunting him in groups. Arrows would fly at him, their archers staying close enough to the next tree further down to blend in if he charged them. There would be three in each group, with one that he suspected was a support caster, making the arrows fly faster and more accurately. While those archers harassed him, two assassins, usually with the class Wind Stepper, would close on him from around the tree trunk that he was at.


    Adam ran from tree to tree, keeping ahead of the hunters, and staying at the outer most trees of the forest. If he tried moving around the trunk, he would just open himself up to distant archers in the trees. All the while, whether fighting or fleeing, he held his heavy shield above his head to keep the arrows from arriving.


    The longer this went on, the more groups gathered. Sometimes he would just have to take the arrows to get those attacking to show themselves so he could wipe them out. That would lead to wasted time as he would have to cut out the barbs and drink more of the yucky wood elf blood.


    He would never be able to escape since the Rift''s control crystal could always watch him. If he continued on the outer path, he would eventually hit an ambush that was too much for him. He had even tried to leave the dimension through the entrance, but as expected it had a barrier on it, with no time to try forcing it open. He needed the control crystal.


    Dodging a few more arrows, Adam wondered how his danger sense worked. It shouldn¡¯t be a time knowledge thing, or precognition, but it always gave him warning of where he would get hurt and in enough time for him to act.


    ¡°Maybe it is related to the skill sets that I have,¡± Adam thought to himself. He considered what he could do. Most of it fell within two areas. There was physical stuff, straight power gained from anger, empowering his body using heat and what he viewed as a river. There was also the coolness in his head. The two different temperatures were really just an image he developed to allow him to quantify them. Also, they seemed to work against each other.


    Maybe the conflict they caused inside of him was why the [System] thought his soul was corrupt? Maybe the [System] couldn¡¯t see or interact with them since they cancelled each other out?  When the heat coming from his heart space burned through his body, the coolness became small and hid in his mind. When he drew on the coolness, the heat was calm and stopped pulsing from his heart.


    Mind and body? The heat controlled his body, and the coolness controlled his mind? Somehow that didn¡¯t feel right either. While he called the connections he made mind control, he didn¡¯t think it really was. He was able to see memories, and project or feel emotions. Straight up brainwashing or mind control didn¡¯t feel like what his abilities were doing.


    The spaces he found for the connections also weren¡¯t located in their minds, like where his coolness waited. They took up a space shaped like the whole of the person.


    ¡°If it isn¡¯t their bodies or minds, then I guess it could be their souls,¡± he pondered, stabbing a new Wind Stepper through the eye. He had released his hammer further back, instead using the squiggly knives that the elves carried since they were the sharpest, even if small.


    ¡°Lots of maybes here, but maybe my danger sense comes from their soul¡¯s intent. That would mean I can only sense the danger if a person intends to do something that will put me in danger. A falling beam in a construction site won¡¯t register if no one knows it¡¯s falling. Hmm, somehow that feels closer.¡±


    If he could sense intend from the archers, who could be quite a distance away, then that would mean he should have a way to locate people around him, if only by their intent. Thinking of the energy spaces as souls, he reached out his senses. Instead of looking for a specific person, he tried to just feel every soul around him.


    A slight dizziness affected him as he was both dodging arrows physically and trying to see a reality that couldn¡¯t be viewed with eyes. Putting it to an image, he could feel small flares of warmth in a cold void, or like a bunch of kids peeing in a cold pool. They weren¡¯t connected but blended together at the same time. The more he focused on a single area, the more he could identify the patches of energy representing people. The closer they were he could also feel pieces of energy flowing from them to himself and to each other. Even if they weren¡¯t connections like he could form, there was a constant exchange of energy. The flows of energy either felt warm and comforting or hot and dangerous. The hot ones seemed malicious, and all flowed towards him, while the comforting one all flowed between them.


    ¡°Hmm, so I have 57 nearby, and then spreading out I can feel hundreds. That seems possible, but only covers a bit of the dimensional space. I¡¯ll need to practice this to make it more accurate. Now that I feel them, what can I do about them?¡±


    He continued to dodge and fight back when he could, while trying different things. The most successful thing was based on what he did when fighting the goblins. At that time, he had created a spiked connection that stunned the goblins for a moment, like his roar but delivered directly into the soul. Back with the goblins he had used three at once, but with enemies located close to him. Even with further attempts he could only use one at a time from a distance, and it took time to form and then retract the soul spike, making it unusable in this situation, though maybe very useful against one or a few opponents in the future.


    Masking his soul was what he tried next, however in that space he couldn¡¯t completely hide the energy. He was able to make it small and more condensed, but that ended up making it brighter and easier to find. Trying to spread his presence out wasn¡¯t possible beyond the set space that he encountered in the physical world. There was an odd relationship between the soul energy and the physical that he couldn¡¯t figure out.


    Twenty arrows were flying at him at a time now, while at least five would come from above at just the right moment so that he couldn¡¯t use his shield without paying the price. He squatted and tilted the shield to block the front and most of his head, but was taken by one arrow from each side right into his obliques. Wincing at the pain of it, he pushed through to stand and then ran to the next tree at a full-on sprint.


    This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    He was running out of time. There were too many to back track, and he could feel the hundreds of vague souls around him multiplying and becoming more distinct somewhere in front of him. Adam needed a solution quickly.


    Looking back to what he mentally considered his soul map, he checked the feel of the energy connecting all the souls. Since he couldn¡¯t block it or hide himself, he looked at the malicious connections between himself and all the elf souls. The connections were already there, just like the supportive connections between all the elves. He thought about what his own group¡¯s connections must look like. Even now he could feel all the positive feelings between himself and the girls. What if he felt that way towards the elves? Well, not exactly the same, but enough to mimic what the elves had between each other.


    Thinking of the elves as his friends, feeling like they were all on the same team, he pulsed out the goodwill all around himself and into the soul void, the area between all the souls he sensed. It quickly dissipated where there were no connections, but the poorly formed malicious connections changed their feel near him. In that moment when the end of the connections changed, all the elves stopped approaching him.


    ¡°Bingo!¡± he said. ¡°Now I just need to make it stronger and more focused.¡±


    Without waiting to get better results, Adam turned and sprinted towards the elves that were hunting him. Through his work over the last hour, he could feel the souls around him easier, and knew where they were around and in the trees. The closer they were physically the brighter their soul energy looked to him.


    Adam focused his good will and friendly vibes towards those energy spaces. The fewer he had to hit at once the easier it was. Right now, it would still be a struggle with the numbers they had, but his confidence was stronger and leading him forward. As he ran, he dropped his shield and held a squiggly dagger in each hand, both in reverse grip.


    When he got close enough that he could see the confusion from his previous attempt wearing off, he got ready for battle. An internal heat pulse increased the strength in his body and bows were aimed at him as he sped quickly towards the elves. He reached into his soul and pulsed out the good will.


    It failed. There was no goodwill, as all his intent was to kill and maim them. Adam threw himself to the right side, still taking a few arrows to his left stomach, upper arm, and thigh. He rolled, some of the arrows breaking while leaving the barbs in.


    Desperately he reached for the coolness in his mind to suppress the heat. His speed and strength dropped noticeable. Even the pain he felt increased, making him aware that his vitality was affected by the heat related abilities. With that coolness he remembered his time spent with Abbey when she snuck into his bed, and how happy it made him feel. He focused on the happiness and a desire to hug Abbey, then he replaced the image of her with all the elves, pointing bows at him. There was nothing stronger than his desire to hug the lovely elves.


    Pleased that he wasn¡¯t shot again, and watching the elves change their body posture, Adam slowly stood and casually walked towards them. Instead of rushing he smiled, feeling how wonderful it was to be victorious over enemies, and how all these allies in front of him deserved to feel it too.


    Elves were now dropping from the tree that the others clustered near. They were all looking around and doing gestures that Adam equated to high fives and back slaps. Noises he hadn¡¯t heard before sounded out as he assumed they were laughing and congratulating each other.


    As Adam reached them, the elves turned to him and did the gestures too. He tried to return them and heard what he thought was laughter at how awkward their friend looked. Then Adam projected his desire to make sure each of his best friends were safe and healthy. They allowed him to inspect the back of their legs and arms, with his daggers, since that would make him happiest, which was what all the friends wanted for each other.


    Bile rose in Adam¡¯s throat as he saw 72 elves piled around him, each unable to move their limbs from the cuts he had inflicted. Hate glared towards him. Unable to take more of the accusing looks, Adam turned and focused his vision on the soul map.


    The energy coming from the souls closest to him had a density of malice he hadn¡¯t seen before and was completely justified. As an experiment he tried getting past his self-loathing at this tactic and tried projecting friendship vibes again. There was no change this time. It seemed that once the malice reached a certain point then the manipulation was done.


    Adam dropped the toxic green stained bloody knives in his hands and picked up two new ones from among the thirteen bodies he had killed. They all had classes that might use heals, and Adam hadn¡¯t wanted to chance it. Their classes were ¡°Rejuvenator,¡± ¡°Prime Grower,¡± and ¡°Life Nurturer.¡± Adam shook his head, wondering what each of the classes did, and definitely not listening to the ferocious cries from the wounded behind him.


    Walking slowly in the opposite direction he had come from, Adam checked his soul map for how far off the next group was, and whether there were snipers in the trees. He moved casually, releasing any aggression he might have. All that Adam thought about was the next happy song he would sing to himself in his head, and how happy he was when with his family and friends.


    ***


    Lucas swung one final time with all of his might. The sledgehammer struck but instead of making the sound you would expect, it just kind of settled and stopped in the air, neutralized by the barrier. They had tried all kinds of attacks, hoping to be able to penetrate it. However, considering these were supposed to block attacks from much higher-level people than them, he didn¡¯t expect to do enough damage for it to break open.


    It had been two hours since Adam went in. They had tried some explosives and Mr. Clemens even tried crashing his car into it. However just like it stopped the force of his hammer, it also stopped the force of the explosion directed at it as well as the car. The car wasn¡¯t even dented, it had just stopped.


    ¡°Any change with him?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°Plenty,¡± said Andrea. ¡°I¡¯m starting to think he is bipolar and an extreme nut case.¡± Alissa giggled and nodded in agreement.


    ¡°First, he was angry and rage-y, like when he usually gets into a fight. Then he was happy to be with friends, followed by self-hate, which became calm. In between it all he keeps thinking of us and his family, feeling happy and proud.¡±


    ¡°Must be nice that he keeps thinking of you,¡± grumbled Tom.


    ¡°That is him thinking about our whole group, even you, Tom,¡± said Abbey. ¡°He¡¯s very proud of you and all of us, and he wishes we were with him.¡±


    ¡°Oh, nice,¡± Tom broke into a smile.


    ¡°Adam keeps cycling through all those emotions. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s happening to cause it but it¡¯s very different than he normally is. I hope he¡¯s alright,¡± said Abbey.


    ¡°That is weird for him,¡± Emily agreed. ¡°I didn¡¯t have a connection like you, but he never showed much emotion before.¡± Her dad nodded in agreement.


    ¡°One constant in his emotions is the concern he always holds towards you and us,¡± said Abbey.


    ¡°We better get food ready for him when he''s done,¡± said Brandon, as Mr. Clemens went to check on the address before ordering his son some pizzas.


    ¡°That would be a second constant,¡± corrected Abbey.

 CH 39: Elf Boss

    CHAPTER 39: Elf Boss


    Adam stood in front of a colossal tree. It was the same height as the others, but it was wider than his house and in the exact center of the forest. An oval opening in the front led inside even though it was too dark to see what was there. Adam¡¯s soul map showed two elves inside.


    He had spent around four hours going through the forest and incapacitating or killing the elves. Many arrows and knives had pierced him. Many elves had their blood consumed by him. The strategy had been far from perfect, but it had been enough. As long as the group was small enough, failed attempts at the soul camouflage, as he thought of it, didn¡¯t matter much since he could take a few arrows before ending the fight.


    Now he stood in front of the boss¡¯s room. Inside was probably a boss and a general. The two strongest elves. The goblin chief had been troublesome, and with how much more difficult the elves had been he was expecting his toughest fight.


    Feeling the weight of the shield back on his left arm, he shifted his own weight experimentally. The soul camouflage wouldn¡¯t work against the final opponents, so he had come up with a strategy. Without knowing their abilities it was all guess work, but he was going to bring his max power to end the fight as fast as possible. He was past fatigued and could feel his body burning away with every use of his strength.


    There were ten of the squiggly daggers attached to his belt, along with his machete and the two hunting knives that Ron had given him. It was difficult to throw the knives accurately, but with his power it would at least force an enemy to dodge, and hopefully that would give him enough time to close the distance.


    The wind power that these elves had used was unfair. Air cushions allowed them to dodge faster the quicker he charged them, using his own momentum to displace their wielders. It had been a challenge to fight through and had caused more arrows to enter him than should have. Popping the air cushions with the squiggly knives had been his more successful option. He expected the chief to have an even better defensive ability. He really really REALLY hated these elves.


    Using that hate, he activated his river and heat pulses. His strength and speed increased tremendously. He also prepared a soul spike, hoping it wouldn¡¯t conflict with the heat enough to harm the elf chief...or himself.


    Step by step he walked into the entrance to the tree fortress. Each step had more power behind it, propelling him forward. By the time he reached a large room carved from the interior of the tree, he was practically running. He saw a large elf standing in the middle, arms cross. The elf¡¯s muscles bulged, and on either side of him, stuck into the floor, was a twisted sword. The swords were coated in the sickly green toxin that all their arrows used. The edges of the swords twisted like a corkscrew.


    Elaborate armor adorned the ¡°Wood Elf Prince (25)¡±. It looked carved from material like the bark of the outside trees that Adam had been unable to harm. Etchings on it showed battles and slain enemies. On top of the elf¡¯s head was a thin crown, made of the same bark material but radiating light that lit the whole room. It almost hurt Adam¡¯s eyes after hours of fighting in the dim dimensional environment.


    As soon as he saw the elf, he charged forward, putting all his strength into his back foot. A thrown knife led the way as he prepared to roar and then soul spike the prince, hoping to stun him enough to get a decent hit in.


    ¡°Wha¡­¡± the elfin prince started haughtily and then abruptly stopped as a squiggly knife entered his eye, followed by Adam¡¯s fist, arm, and entire body. The head disintegrated from Adam¡¯s force as he passed through where it had been. The armor was only cracked, but everything contained inside of it was blown into chunks and paste.


    Adam had to quickly raise his shield to catch himself as he collided with the room¡¯s back wall. He dropped to the floor and looked at the elf stain, smeared all over. Heaving a breath, so stunned he let this rage drain from him, he looked around.


    ¡°Huh. That was almost disappointingly easy,¡± Adam said, stunned by the brevity of the boss fight. Those thoughts only last until a ballista bolt, six feet long and as thick as Adam¡¯s fist, with a crossed metal head leading it, punched through Adam¡¯s left lung, shattered his ribs, and attached him to the back wall.


    ***


    The barrier flickered red momentarily before returning to its black color. Everyone who saw it froze.


    ¡°That was the first change since Adam went in,¡± Ron said to Lucas, who nodded. Lucas walked over and touched it, his hand passing into the black. He pulled it back out.


    ¡°Think it¡¯s a trap?¡± asked Randall.


    ¡°Probably a trap,¡± said Jospeh.


    ¡°Did the boss lose?¡± asked Brandon.


    ¡°Pah! The boss can¡¯t lose. That¡¯s what makes him the boss,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°Shows what you kids know. Anyone can lose. That¡¯s why kids shouldn¡¯t b...¡± Agent Smythe then folded over as his stomach ruptured from Brittney¡¯s gut punch. Abbey shook her head and walked over to heal him...again.


    ¡°Everyone gear up. Defensive formation,¡± shouted Lucas. Everyone rushed into position, following their assignment from earlier. Hours of busy work had kept them on edge, and they all wanted to see what awaited them. Randall, Tom, and Joseph picked up one of the large metal barriers to head in first. Lucas and Brittney would be next with their shields and hammers. Guns were cocked, safeties off.


    Once ready, they entered the greenhouse.


    ¡°I¡¯m confident the boss has been here,¡± said Tom, as everyone was inside and looking around. Piles of elves were all over. To everyone¡¯s surprise, these elves weren¡¯t even dead. They were groaning and shouting hate in a language no one could understand.


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t able to kill them?¡± asked Agent Gershner.


    ¡°No, he left them for us to kill,¡± said Lucas, causing Gershner to pull back.


    ¡°For us to get the XP,¡± explained Tom. ¡°Only way to get stronger.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t touch anything for now,¡± ordered Lucas. ¡°Set up the defenses like we discussed. Nick, Carlos, and Lamar, partner with a level zero scout and check out the surroundings.¡±


    Before much was done, Andrea pointed and screamed, ¡°A monster!¡±


    Everyone looked in the direction she pointed. Weapons were leveled and guns aimed. The tension rose instantly. When the monster came into view the teenagers realized Andrea had been joking, even if the others didn¡¯t.


    Adam was walking towards them, darkness all over his countenance. He was hunched forward, trudging along. A six-foot round piece of wood was sticking through his chest, affecting his balance. On one foot was a shoe, and on the other the neck of a shoe in tatters halfway up his shin, both pocked with acid scorch marks. His sweatpants had slashes all over them, easily showing his boxers inside, which also had slashes all over them. The once gray sweatpants and whatever color his boxers started at were now stiff from dried blood, with green holes burned in them from the acidic blood of the elves. The rest of his body was covered in a swirling mix of red and sickly green blood. Dragged in his left hand was an elf body, ¡°Sylphian Archer [22],¡± larger than any elf they had seen before. It¡¯s arms and legs flapped back and forth, broken and out of socket.


    Abbey gasped and went to rush forward, but a hand came up and stopped her. Adam didn¡¯t even look up or straighten. Everyone stared in horror at the sight. Even Smythe almost retched while cursing.


    The hand then pointed to Lucas. More specifically his hammer.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    ¡°You sure?" asked Lucas. "It¡¯s gonna suck.¡±


    Adam¡¯s stance didn¡¯t change but his raised hand made a ¡°bring it¡± gesture.


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯ll consider it payment for you punching me into that truck.¡±


    Lucas approached Adam, took a sideways baseball stance. Using his sledgehammer he swung and connected with the end of the ballista bolt. There was a loud popping sound, and the bolt was shoved all the way through Adam and rocketed into the air, through the leaves obscuring the sky.


    Once the bolt was out blood splattered and then poured from the hole in his chest. Adam started to fall forward. Lucas leapt to catch him, but Adam¡¯s leg stepped forward and stopped himself mid fall, even as he didn¡¯t look up.


    Still tilting forward, Adam raised the elf to his face and ripped its throat open with his teeth and drank deeply from the blood that came out. Many of their temporary troops openly vomited as they watched Adam drink the elf blood and then gaped in amazement as the hole in his chest started regrowing and sealing.


    ¡°This is going on the explicit content section,¡± said Ed. It didn¡¯t close all the way, so he dropped the body and walked to another elf that struggled as he picked it up. It took two more elves before the hole in his chest was all the way closed.


    Wonder and disgust filled everyone as they waited on Adam. Completely regenerated, he finally looked up and they could see his face, elf blood stains around his mouth. He looked exhausted, no liveliness to his movements. His eyes were heavy lidded and glassy.


    ¡°Alissa,¡± Adam continued. She came forwarded and smiled at him. ¡°[Water Ball] me.¡±


    ¡°Sweetie, that''s an attack spell. Won¡¯t it hurt?¡±


    ¡°Please,¡± he whispered, barely able to focus on her face.


    She nodded and then cast the spell, which exploded on his chest, blowing a lot of the grime and blood off it. He raised his arms, turning slowly, and she kept shooting him to clean him off. Eventually he was standing there naked except for the shoe remains on his feet. Most of the blood had been cleared off. Emily gasped and covered her own and Gracie¡¯s eyes.


    Adam walked forward, not even acknowledging that he was naked. People moved out of his way as he stumbled forward, arriving in front of his dad. Then he dropped to the ground, cross legged, and reached behind his dad to the trolley holding a stack of pizza boxes.


    ¡°Are you ok, Adam?¡± his dad asked him.


    ¡°Eating,¡± Adam said while chewing half a slice. ¡°Thanks for pizza.¡±


    ¡°What are we supposed to do?¡± asked Ron hesitantly, coming over with Lucas. What he just witnessed was nothing like the previous day¡¯s Adam. He was more than a little intimidated by the naked teenager.


    ¡°XP,¡± muttered Adam briefly, on his second pizza, mostly swallowing instead of chewing. Lucas nodded, as if that was enough.


    ¡°Attention,¡± Lucas bellowed after turning away from Adam, not wanting to disturb his meal further. ¡°Everyone pick up a knife. We¡¯ll be going around and everyone stabs each elf in a non-vital spot. Don¡¯t consider it torture. This will strengthen us to fight the invaders.¡±


    Lucas made everyone come, including Adam¡¯s dad, sister, and the FBI agents. Ron looked back with concern at Adam but followed the group. Two hours later the group came back. A somber silent accompanied the group, except for the teenagers, who were chatting about the destruction that Adam had wrought.


    Emily walked up to where Adam was sitting in his spare t-shirt and jeans. She kicked him as hard as she could. ¡°I¡¯m never going to get over what we did to those elves.¡± Adam turned to look at her. The number above her head had gone from 4 to 13. The elves had been between level 13 and 18, except the prince and general. The rest of the newbies, including his father, had gotten to level 12. His own group had increased to level 19. He nodded at that.


    ¡°Yet you did it. You''re getting stronger. I want you to survive.¡±


    ¡°Survive what? You act like it¡¯s the end of the world. That you know for certain that something bad is about to happen. How are you so sure?¡± She demanded. Many of the group had surrounded them, though kept a respectful distance.


    ¡°There is something inside me that no one else has. That something says that if I don¡¯t conquer what¡¯s coming then there will be nothing else. It feels like I¡¯ve seen your death over and over, and I don¡¯t want to live in a world without you and mom and dad.¡± Adam then stood and turned away from her, addressing Ron and Lucas.


    ¡°Did you make sure to get all the elves?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Scouts are out checking. Are you sure you got them all?¡± Lucas responded.


    ¡°Yes. Let me tell you, Lucas¡­that sucked. We need to know more to do it better next time.¡±


    ¡°Information is key to any war efforts, and after seeing the numbers and power here as opposed to only the three that crippled Market Street, I now understand that we are at war. How can we learn more?¡± Ron asked.


    ¡°Tomorrow, the Sentinel Army will gather to talk about levels and classes. See what we can figure out. What we really need are things to level up with besides invaders, since they are rare and hard to find,¡± Adam scoffed. Then everyone froze, looking at something only they could see.


    [System Announcement]


    After the 10 days since the invader portals opened, enough genetic seeding has come from the portals that the wildlife of your planet is becoming modified. Organic beings will change, gaining their own strength similar to levels. High level organics will be stronger and propagate faster. They will also provide energy that allows both natives and invaders to level up further. Make sure they do not overrun your world. The [System] wishes you good luck in the hunt.


    As an addendum, organisms that spend higher amounts of time around sentients will be less likely to change.


    ¡°¡­um, did you just get the [System] to do that, boss?¡± asked Brandon.


    Adam had to lick his suddenly dry lips. ¡°I-I don¡¯t think so. It¡¯s just coincidence, right?"


    ¡°Of course not,¡± shouted Tom excitedly. ¡°I keep telling everyone that you''re the boss, and they scoff at it. Pretty soon, you¡¯ll even be the boss of even the [System]!¡± His eyes were fanatical as he looked at everyone gathered, as if to evangelize them. Murmurs built around him.


    ¡°Well, if there are animals or monsters to level with, we should check it out. I really wish we knew how much time we had until the invasions start in earnest,¡± Adam started thinking about the best place to find these leveled creatures.


    [System Announcement]


    In 10 days, your civilization¡¯s time, following this announcement the [System] will no longer be able to restrain the invaders, leaving them free to begin attacking the natives. Up until now the [System] has used its authority to limit invaders to their bases, except for information gathering. This change will cause the Dimensional Convergence Rifts that are used as portals to their planets and base areas on your planet to expand, giving them space on your planet to begin their attacks. Until then their Dimensional Convergent Rifts will continue to be hidden. Prepare accordingly.


    ¡°I saw that, boss,¡± Tom exclaimed. ¡°I knew it! You have some connection to the [System]. You¡¯ve been holding back on us, but still preparing us.¡± Tom then turned to the assembled crowd. ¡°You all saw it! Even the [System] answers to the boss! If you want to survive, get on board!¡±


    The murmurs increased then.


    ¡°Care to explain that, kid?¡± Smythe demanded. Adam met his eyes for a few seconds before Smythe looked away while grumbling, and then whispered with Gershner a bit further away.


    Adam ignored everything else and told Lucas to get the crowd to follow. They all left their stuff and went to the center of the forest, inside of the tree fortress room with a rift crystal. Once everyone crowded into the room, Adam picked up the control crystal from where he found it and touched it to the main pillar crystal.


    Owner of Dimensional Convergence Rift has died¡­


    Inheritor of Dimensional Convergence Rift has died¡­


    ¡­no new Inheritor found. Ownership presented to possessor of Control Node.


    Would you like to take Ownership of this Dimensional Convergence Rift?


    [ Yes / No ]


    Adam selected Yes.


    Ownership of Dimensional Convergence Rift has been taken by a native. Invasion ended. Rewards pending. Assign Inheritor?


    ¡°Elias and then Brandon.¡±


    ¡°Wait, are you seriously trying to steal this space? It should go to the authorities,¡± roared Smythe. Gershner nodded at that.


    ¡°We have a contract with the police who brought us in for this raid. Quite frankly you wouldn¡¯t even be able to protect this area without me. Maybe I should also charge you money for the levels you gained,¡± Adam answered.


    ¡°I still think¡­¡± started Smythe but found himself suddenly held in the air by the throat.


    ¡°And I think you need to stop having opinions, Cannon Fodder.¡± Adam said with gravitas. ¡°The next time you speak will be your last. No argument, no explanation.¡± Adam continued to hold him up as Smythe struggled, scratching at his throat while it was squeezed. After a few more moments Adam dropped him.


    ¡°Lucas, before the next part please escort Cannon Fodder out of the dimension,¡± ordered Adam.


    ¡°Man, you really did it offending the boss, Cannon Fodder,¡± laughed Tom. ¡°You leaving too, Gershy?¡±


    Agent Gershner shook his head, hoping that Smythe didn¡¯t ruin his chance to see what came next. Lucas grabbed Smythe and jogged, dragging Smythe as he tried to get to his own feet. Adam waited for Lucas to return before doing the next part.


    Elias Munroe selected as Inheritor. Brandon Collins selected as 2nd Inheritor.


    Rewards ready for natives who ended an invasion.


    Release rewards?


    [ Yes / No ]


    Adam selected Yes, knowing what would happen. He watched as everyone got a notification.


    ¡­All natives included in Dimensional Convergence Rift will receive the title ¡°Invasion Conqueror¡±.


    Invasion Conqueror


    For defeating an enemy of your planet and preventing their rampage from continuing you will receive +2 to all stats. Claiming more Dimensional Convergence Rifts will increase this title.


    ¡­error. Soul corruption found. Unable to assign benefits of titles.


    ¡°Wow,¡± Ron said. ¡°That¡¯ll help. Did you get that the first time?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Tom. ¡°As well as a much better title for being first. 5% to stats as well as the +2 flat one.¡±


    ¡°It looks like they stack,¡± said Elias.


    ¡°Yeah, I have a x2 by the title and it says +4,¡± explained Brandon. ¡°Looks like the more we close the more we get.¡±


    Adam sighed at missing out. Lucas patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, boss,¡± Tom said with a gleeful expression. "You are probably the only person on Earth the [System] answers to."

 CH 40: Unexpected Building

    CHAPTER 40: Unexpected Building


    Adam stood in front of a 10-story high rise building. The artificial sunlight shimmered off the green tinted glass windows from every direction. A smooth, mute gray, with some dark brown bark accents made up the structure of the building. In front of the building was a fifteen foot tall statue, made of a dark wood. A five-foot tall pedestal propped the statue up even higher. The statue was an action pose of Adam holding the riot shield when fighting the elves while swinging the sledgehammer. It was right out of a comic book panel, except in 3D. On the pedestal was etched ¡°Sentinel Army¡± in a fancy, yet still easy to read script.


    ¡°Where did the goblin castle go?¡± asked Brittney, mirroring Adam¡¯s curiosity. The building looked amazing, but last night there had been an ugly, poorly designed goblin castle in their rift base. Now stood a rather majestic building.


    It was 10am and they were all supposed to meet today to do some planning and figure out their stats and classes. They had decided on meeting at the warehouse, figuring they could shape a simple table and chairs large enough for everyone using the rift¡¯s control node, not expecting the entire castle to be changed. Right now, Adam was joined by his parents, the triple As, Brittney, the scouts, and Ron.


    A good distance to the side was also a mound that was building sized and looked like a thick pile of brambles, though about a quarter of the front was a wooden wall with a door and window. Adam had no idea what it was for.


    ¡°Pretty crazy, right?¡± Lucas asked as the glass door in the building entrance automatically opened for him. ¡°That Jordan Lane is a maniac. He was up all night figuring out what he could create using the control crystal. Elias and Brandon would work with him in shifts since they couldn¡¯t stay awake the whole night. Tom and I alternated watch with Randall and Joseph. Jordan¡¯s insanity aside, the building is amazing.¡±


    Lucas led them into the building. A wide reception desk, like a luxury hotel, was there with enough room for three people to easily sit behind. The desk was made of the same brown wood from the elf dimension, though this was smoothed and polished to a shine. There were doors that led to rooms behind the reception area.


    To the side was a hallway that led to what looked like three elevators on the left. On the right side were four meeting rooms, solid wood doors leading inside, with windows to either side of the door, showing the inside. Currently a simple table with six chairs, all made of the elf wood, were in each room. The walls between the meeting rooms were solid, but the wall against the outside of the building was composed of a green tinted glass.


    The end of the hallway opened into a huge conference room. A table large enough to fit 30 people was near the doorway, surrounded by chairs, but that only covered a small amount of the room. The walls, far from the door on each side, were solid instead of the green tinted glass. Each seat had a small floating screen displayed a few inches above the table.


    Jordan was already seated at the table, with Elias and Brandon on either side, whispering back and forth while tapping on a larger floating screen. Randall, Joseph, and Tom were seated many chairs away from the other three, their heads down on the table or slouched backwards while yawning.


    ¡°This is not what I expected,¡± Adam said as he entered the room, catching the attention of the whispering three. They all looked exhausted, bags under their eyes, though beaming with excitement.


    ¡°I never want to leave this place,¡± said Jordan, breathing heavily.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t the building more than we need?¡± asked Andrea.


    ¡°Not at all. If this space is secure enough to be an invader¡¯s base, then it should be more secure than anywhere else we can get. I was looking into doing more with it, figuring we¡¯d need a lot of buildings including places to live.¡± Several people nodded at the logic of it.


    ¡°He is going to talk for a while,¡± warned Lucas. ¡°Make yourselves comfortable.¡±


    Adam selected a position not far from the trio, but not right next to them either. Abbey sat to his left, and Alissa to his right, with Andrea on the other side of Abbey. The rest of the group spaced out to take their seats. While the chair that he sat on was wood, and solid, it didn¡¯t feel uncomfortable. It was almost like it shaped to him as he shifted around, though he swore it was solid. Once everyone was seated, Jordan went on.


    ¡°As we went through the menus for the rift, we noticed that not only could we shape objects that were a part of this dimension, but we had blueprints for building. These buildings seemed to be from both earth and the goblin¡¯s world.¡±


    ¡°The goblin buildings were terrible and useless,¡± added Elias.


    ¡°Yes. We¡¯ve never used the goblin¡¯s plans. Also, the building plans require certain materials to construct, and if we don¡¯t have the materials or an adequate substitute then we won¡¯t be able to build it. That kept us from making most anything from earth.


    ¡°However, once you took control of the elf dimension, a lot more options were made available. We then got all the blueprints for the elf buildings, which are also useless unless someone just wants the novelty of an uncomfortable treehouse. We also got all the materials from the other rift. It seems like the two rifts are now joined.¡±


    ¡°Maybe when we took them over they became disconnected from their home planets. The dimensional rifts are clearly modeled after the home worlds of the invading race. Then our rifts are connected to each other, since both are now on our home planet,¡± postulated Elias.


    ¡°Right. That¡¯s what we thought. Transporting the materials between the rifts has a cost but it isn¡¯t very much,¡± continued Jordan.


    ¡°Cost?¡± asked Ron.


    Brandon picked up from there. ¡°There are two types of energy needed to use the rift. The first is just organic material. Manipulating things inside, such as building or changing the shape of objects requires organic material to be broken down.¡±


    ¡°Is that what happened to the goblin bodies?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Exactly,¡± answered Jordan. ¡°There were so many corpses and blood everywhere that we fed them to the rift and we have a bit of cushioning for the moment in that type of energy. Oh, but we froze the human corpses that you found and returned them to the police to identify.¡±


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    ¡°In the future, we will be able to use human waste as well as plants as the fuel,¡± Elias said matter-of-factly.


    ¡°The other type of energy?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°That energy uses the coins we found on the goblin chief. The elves also had a bunch of them, most of which came to us as part of the loot. Though there was a war chest in the elf rift,¡± answered Brandon.


    ¡°Yes. The coins are a form of condensed energy that the system directly uses to transport items across large distances. The rift interface has a shopping menu. I didn¡¯t understand most of the items in it and they cost a lot of coins. I would guess the coins provide the energy to build and transport those items here.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­¡± considered Adam. ¡°So if we get a lot of those coins we can buy better weapons, armor, and defenses?¡±


    ¡°We believe so,¡± said Elias. ¡°However, we are talking about needing a LOT of the coins. Not the piddly squat we got from the goblins or elves.¡±


    ¡°That must be one reason the invaders have an advantage,¡± said Brandon. ¡°They have economies based on the coins, so they can already buy better stuff than we make on earth. We have no advantages here.¡±


    ¡°We have one advantage,¡± Tom said while staring at Adam. Adam coughed politely for Jordan to continue.


    ¡°For now, we focus on the organic energy and getting more materials into the rifts, so we can build more. We can¡¯t build without the materials being here. Yesterday I got the guys at the dump to deliver truckloads of broken refrigerators and electronics. That allowed us to build some of the more useful items. The windows of this building came from the sap of the elf trees from their dimension. The rift menu was able to alter the sap into a solid panel, which is why it looks like tinted green glass. Most of the walls and floors are made of altered version of the elf wood or goblin stone. This building is MUCH sturdier made with stone and wood than any earth building that used what we would consider more advanced materials.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t we just make weapons and stuff in here then?¡± asked Randall.


    ¡°Altered materials can¡¯t be taken outside. If you bring in wood, shape it into a spear using the rift menu, then take it outside it disintegrates. If we were to make bullets or arrows in here then as soon as they were shot out of the rift they stop existing,¡± Jordan explained.


    ¡°That means we need two sets of materials. We need things to build up our dimensional base using the rift menu, items that won¡¯t even move out of this location, and we need items that can be used outside as well as in the rift,¡± Elias added.


    ¡°That¡¯s good to keep in mind while we prepare over the next week. Jordan, can you tell us about what you built already?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Of course!¡± Jordan¡¯s energy level rose even higher. ¡°This building is meant to be both an operations center and a living space. We combined and customized more than one blueprint to build it. It was so much fun not just playing a building game but seeing the results for myself. I can¡¯t get enough of this!


    ¡°We can make alterations to any floor or room as long as we have the materials and energy available. If you don¡¯t like something, then we can change it. Just like a building game but way more satisfying,¡± Jordan practically squealed.


    Tapping on his larger screen, the smaller screens in front of everyone floated up and grew larger. Everyone watched as Jordan used the rift¡¯s ability to look anywhere in the dimension, and then projected it to the screens in front of them.


    ¡°The first three floors are meant to be for the Sentinel Army¡¯s business. We have meeting rooms, storage rooms, and an office for security with a few prison cells on the first floor. On the second floor there are two lounges, a cafeteria in case we need to feed a large number, a locker room for people to store personal affects, and finally a room for cots in case people need to sleep. The third floor is meant for operations, including a control room, a communications room, and a few smaller meeting rooms and offices for personnel.¡± He spoke slowly, showing each room as he mentioned them, from different angles.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t the furniture for those rooms yet. We¡¯ll need to bring them in, or the materials to form it using the rift.


    ¡°After the first three floors, we have several floors for the leaders of Sentinel Army to live in if they want them. We also figured their families might want to live here to make sure they¡¯re safe. I know some of you won¡¯t want families here, so living alone should be fine as well. These living areas were made pretty luxurious, if I do say so myself.


    ¡°Floors four and five have two-bedroom, one and a half bathroom, condos. We fit six of those on each floor. Floors six and seven have four condos with three bedrooms and two bathrooms each, intended for the larger families. Then floors eight and nine were designed for individual leaders who live alone. They only have one bedroom and bathroom but are still a good size. 10 condos per floor. Those are currently larger than the apartment I live in, and I would be extremely happy to be allowed to move here,¡± Jordan said pointedly towards Adam. He nodded and Jordan almost jumped out of his seat in joy.


    The screens showed the condos, and they were all amazing looking. They were spacious and laid out well. Each had a kitchen and dining room of varying size, from big enough for a real cook in the family units, to just an efficiency with a counter to eat at in the individual units. There were always good-sized closets, sitting space and living rooms.


    It was clear the blueprints for the designs came from expensive high-rises, and if there weren¡¯t so many preparations needed, Adam would have enjoyed exploring it all himself. The whole group, including Adam¡¯s parents were near giddy looking at everything. Adam¡¯s family owned a large house, and Adam knew it was better than most people had, but if he could grab himself a condo here, then his parents and Emily would probably be plenty happy living in one of the two-bedroom units. That would also allow a bit more time for him to spend with the girls.


    ¡°What is on the tenth floor?¡± Andrea asked.


    Jordan¡¯s smile couldn¡¯t get any bigger at that. ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll all be pleased with it. The top floor is split into two units. The first is for the boss. It takes up half the floor.¡±


    Adam¡¯s jaw dropped as he saw the view shift through the rooms and the amount of space set aside for him. So much for claiming one of the individual units.


    ¡°There is a very large bedroom with a luxury bathroom, including a spacious shower with numerous showerheads, a soaking bath big enough for multiple people that includes air jets. There is a library room with shelves and room for a few comfortable chairs to read or chat with others. There is a large living room, a party room, a sizeable kitchen, and a dining area. A lot of the inside room space was taken away so we could include a large outside balcony with an Olympic sized swimming pool, a jacuzzi, hot tub, outside bar, toilet and shower rooms, and hosting area.


    ¡°There is also an undefined space. In the blueprint it was meant as either a gym or bowling alley, but neither seemed useful for someone of Adam¡¯s strength. He can decide how he wants to use the space and we can help built it, either as a single room or additional rooms.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± said Adam, holding down the excitement. ¡°It feels like too much, especially in a time of war.¡±


    Elias chimed in. ¡°It isn¡¯t like you are taking from other people. This whole dimension belongs to you and wouldn¡¯t be possible without you. We¡¯re young, but we might as well live it up while we aren¡¯t fighting for our lives. It can also be redesigned later if you don¡¯t like that much space.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯ll take it then. Mom, dad, I¡¯m moving out,¡± he said with a mischievous smile at them.


    ¡°Just make sure to be responsible,¡± his dad chuckled, aware of the clich¨¦. ¡°Otherwise, I¡¯ll have to come up a few floors to give you a good talking to. Even with a penthouse we¡¯ll still be in the same building if you need us.¡±


    ¡°What is the other unit for,¡± Alissa asked, failing to prevent a smile from showing.


    ¡°That is for the General¡¯s Wives,¡± Jordan announced grandly. Laughter broke out from the teens with the three girls looking quite pleased, though Adam rolled his eyes, and his mom frowned. The other adults squirmed uncomfortably at the reference.


    ¡°There is a large kitchen and dining room, a group living room, and a general bathroom. Each wife will get a personal bedroom and bathroom, almost as nice as the boss¡¯s, as well as a general purpose room. There is also a housekeeper mini suite in case they want to hire one. For now, we built in six wife suites,¡± frowns went to the girls¡¯ face at the number, resulting in them all glaring at Jordan. He quickly stammered, ¡°s-since we don¡¯t know how many he will end up with?¡±


    Tom snickered at the trouble he had started.

 CH 41: Preparations

    CHAPTER 41: Preparations


    ¡°What is that bramble looking building?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°That¡¯s a training area with offices and an armory.¡± Jordan looked embarrassed. ¡°I modeled it after an adventurer¡¯s guild from a book I read. I was playing around with the controls and ended up making it. It¡¯s made of the elf trees, which the boss couldn¡¯t damage. People should be able to go all out on the training fields and not harm the building. At least for now.¡±


    ¡°That should be useful,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°More than you know,¡± said Ron. ¡°Since a certain someone announced that you were the strongest human alive, and to report all possible invader activity to the police, we have been flooded with calls.


    ¡°We¡¯ve developed a map of people suggesting invader activity. We think most of it is bogus, but we send units to check each report just in case. They aren¡¯t happy with the increased workload. There are two locations that we think are possible from hundreds of calls.¡± Ron pulled out a map, and Jordan tapped his screen causing an image of the map to display on everyone else¡¯s screen.


    ¡°The first place is in the local mall. No one can get into the furnace room. The second location is the scrapyard.¡±


    ¡°Wonderful!¡± Jordan shouted. Everyone looked at him like he was crazy before he realized what he had said. ¡°W-well not wonderful there are invaders, but those locations will benefit us. If we can take them then we would be able to use the scrapyard to get rift materials easily, and since it¡¯s near the dump we can even get construction vehicle to push waste into the rift. It sounds sloppy, just dropping trash in, but the waste can be broken down and reshaped for our needs.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense,¡± said Adam. ¡°However, there are a few things to do before then. Tomorrow, we need to check out the wildlife changes. I think if we send a group to the state park, one to the Lake Chombee, and another to the woods past the quarry on Rt 52, we should be able to check out both the changes and how viable they are for leveling.¡±


    ¡°How should we split the groups?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see. I think Nick, Randall, Joseph, Brandon, and Andrea as group one. Group two will be Carlos, Lucas, Alissa, and Abbey. Group three is Brittney, Lamar, Tom, Elias, and Ed.¡±


    Adam noticed Emily squirming, so he looked over at her. She glared at him when she noticed his look. ¡°Yes?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I want to go too. Its animals this time, so like a hunting party. Not torturing people, like you did to those elves,¡± she said angrily. ¡°Gracie and William too.¡±


    ¡°As long as mom and dad are fine with it.¡±


    Ron also spoke up, ¡°I request we send five policemen with each group. Both for experience and to document the changes.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not really fine with it,¡± said Adam¡¯s mom, ¡°but I think she¡¯ll be safe enough in such a large group. Especially from what I¡¯ve seen of the people who leveled up.¡±


    ¡°Ok. Gracie will go with group one since she¡¯s a support, Meat Shield can go with group two, and group three could use more ranged attacks, so Emily will join them.¡±


    ¡°Stop calling him Meat Shield! His name is William!¡±


    ¡°Oh, did he change it?¡± Adam said dismissively.


    ¡°What will you be doing boss?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°Resting and eating. I¡¯m still worn out from yesterday. I need to be ready in case a group needs help, so feel free to call me in if there are troubles.¡±


    ¡°Nope,¡± said Ron. ¡°You need to make yourself available to challengers, the ones that showed up from Tom¡¯s interview. We currently have about one hundred and twenty-eight people hanging around the police station who think they can beat you. There are already thousands more in hotels or camping in the parks. That lady reporter that Tom flirted with should also be invited to broadcast the fights. Then I would recommend you are seen by the volunteers we¡¯ve gathered who will be doing your shopping and getting supplies. Try to help out and do things that show your power and friendliness, especially with the reporter watching so the world can see you doing more than just getting covered in blood. Don¡¯t hurt the challengers too much since you are sending your healers with the hunting parties.¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Adam grumbled.


    ¡°Also, you are soon going to have a bigger issue. The military and homeland security have contacted us about you. They want a meeting in two days and said someone high ranked is coming and bringing some intelligence officers. Apparently, Agent Smythe has reported that you stole from those in charge, endangered people, and are withholding alien technology that could be instrumental in what¡¯s to come.¡±


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    Hissing could be heard as the air around Adam started to super heat, while his skin got redder.


    ¡°P-please calm down,¡± Ron hurried. ¡°I was just warning you. It should be fine since I don¡¯t think he realized that Ed was filming everything. However, make sure you are polite with the government reps, even if you aren¡¯t willing to give them what they want. It might be a good idea to have Mr. Rhodes here for that meeting.¡±


    Adam breathed in deeply and let it out slowly. They had to wait three minutes before his skin returned to normal. ¡°Fine,¡± was all he said.


    Adams mom jumped in. ¡°Now, we must figure out what our needs are for all the volunteers we have. The police have about 80 people willing to spend time and I have about 35. That¡¯s a lot of people we need to coordinate. We also reserved quite a few moving trucks to make sure we have vehicles for whatever needs to be fetched.¡±


    ¡°Food,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°Furniture for the base,¡± said Jordan.


    ¡°Grannies,¡± said Alissa.


    ¡°Cars,¡± said Mr. Clemens. Then his brain backtracked. ¡°Wait, grannies?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, grannies,¡± responded Alissa.


    ¡°Why do we need grannies?¡± asked Andrea.


    ¡°You know, because they know how to make food,¡± answered Alissa. Everyone stared at her. She realized she needed to provide more. ¡°Obviously we can buy cans of food to sit around, but grannies can put fresh foods into jars, so we have tasty food later on.¡±


    ¡°Oooooh,¡± several voices let out.


    ¡°That¡¯s a good idea,¡± said Mrs. Clemens as she thought about it. ¡°We can get a canning line going. Fruits, vegetables, and meats for jerky, as well as buying cans. We¡¯ll need to empty the region of jars and ingredients, but I¡¯ll call around and see if we can get that going. It¡¯s also a good idea to get community involvement so people feel more committed to doing this.¡±


    The teenage boys stared at her, completely clueless as to what was being talked about.


    ¡°Cars,¡± Mr. Clemens repeated. ¡°We need spare vehicles and parts for them, so that everyone can get where they need to go with spares. Maybe a few all-wheel drive trucks.¡±


    ¡°They need to be durable, fast, and easy to fix. That¡¯ll cut out a lot of the modern ones,¡± said Randall. ¡°We should call used places. It¡¯ll probably be a good idea to get motorcycles too. They use less gas, are easier to swap parts in, and can get more places.¡±


    ¡°They need to be able to survive him,¡± Lucas jabbed a finger at Adam who just shrugged. ¡°Or as close as possible.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t forget stockpiling the fluids, oils, and fuel for those too. We don¡¯t know how long we¡¯ll be without. I¡¯ll contact the force¡¯s auto-mechanic and see if he has recommendations,¡± said Ron.


    Bedding, clothes, winter protection, paper and more were planned out. They discussed what junk they needed to get hauled into the space to allow Jordan to build what was still needed in the base. They scheduled the volunteers and who would get what. After about an hour most of the teenagers had left, leaving just the adults as well as Adam and Abbey, though they were just there to be polite and didn¡¯t really contribute much.


    When things began winding down, Jordan brought up another issue.


    ¡°Uh, boss. We don¡¯t have access to water.¡±


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°Within the rift. There is no water. It can¡¯t create something from nothing. Living spaces and working spaces require a lot of water, and we have none in here. My dreams of living here are being crushed!¡± Jordan bemoaned.


    ¡°Then how could we get water?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°It takes a lot more water than you would realize the way our society is used to living.¡±


    Everyone still at the table stared at Jordan. Such a simple thing that could derail all their plans using the rift.


    ¡°You only brought this up now?¡± asked Adam¡¯s mom.


    ¡°I was just so excited. I was hoping that something would come up,¡± Jordan admitted with embarrassment.


    ¡°Then we either need to find another rift connected to water, or we need to pump it in from the outside,¡± Ron wondered. ¡°Can we just hook up some city water lines to it?¡±


    ¡°Conceivably, however that would then introduce a way for invaders to bypass the security barriers, by following the water pipes. It would also only work as long as the city has power and control. We wouldn¡¯t be able to weather a siege or attack. If the city¡¯s infrastructure goes down then so would we,¡± Jordan explained.


    ¡°Where does the air come from?¡± asked Abbey, suddenly.


    ¡°Uh, I¡¯m not sure. I would think it was allowed in by the barrier or we would eventually run out?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there moisture in the air?¡± Abbey continued.


    ¡°Well sure, but if we alter the structure of the air to remove the water using the rift then we wouldn¡¯t be able to use it.¡± Jordan¡¯s face was scrunched up, trying to follow where Abbey was taking him. She seemed very calm about it all.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t there machines that can do it? Just build better versions of them to be kept in the rift, and then draw in more air through the barrier to prevent it from getting too dry. That way it''s the machine doing the work and we don¡¯t need to directly manipulate the air.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­give me a minute¡­¡± Jordan started pressing hurriedly on the screen in front of him. Those still there either chatting or watched him, waiting patiently. About seven minutes later Jordan jumped out of his seat with a cry and fist pump.


    ¡°Yes! It looks like we can build something to generate a lot of water from the air, almost a super powered distillery combined with an air compressor. I found it in the¡­well I can¡¯t read the alien description, but it almost looks like it¡¯s from the alcohol section. There were plans for a similar but smaller version in the earth section, and then options to upgrade it with [System] technology. Sweet! Thanks, Abbey! We can also purify water more easily if we can capture a rift that has a water source attached. The water doesn¡¯t have to start out as clean, since we can absorb any organic material in it and then build some [System] filtering devices.¡±


    ¡°Make sure to get on that. I¡¯m sure you aren¡¯t the only one looking forward to moving in,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°Are you planning on moving tonight, son?¡± asked Adam¡¯s dad.


    ¡°No,¡± answered Adam. ¡°I¡¯ll take it day by day. We still have a few days, and wherever our family is that¡¯s where my home is.¡± Adam¡¯s mom gave him a smile, and Abbey squeezed his hand in affection. The world might be coming to an end, but Adam wanted at least some normal to remain.

 CH 42: The Math-pocalypse

    CHAPTER 42: The Math-pocalypse


    Noon found the teens gathered back around the table for lunch and to discuss their leveling. The adults had all left, except for Jordan and Ron, to get on with their various tasks. Everyone but Ed had a 19 displayed for their levels, which showed Adam that they had been assigning their XP. He was curious about what they had found while using the [System].


    ¡°How has leveling been going,¡± asked Adam. ¡°Has there been much difference between the class and body levels?¡±


    Elias picked it up. ¡°I¡¯m at level 14 with my [Class] and 5 with my [Body]. The [Body] levels were necessary to help with surviving the goblins since I kept running out of mana. As we¡¯ve discussed, you get 5 stat points that you can choose when you level your [Body] and only 3 predefined ones when you level your [Class]. For us mages, we get +2 to Intelligence and +1 to Wisdom. Intelligence makes the attacks stronger while the Wisdom seems to increase the amount of mana I have. Unfortunately, I had to use my [Body] levels for physical stats to stay alive. I¡¯m not sure how it is meant to be done otherwise for casters. I could definitely use more Wisdom.¡±


    ¡°Us warriors get +2 to Strength and +1 to Vitality,¡± threw in Lucas. ¡°We¡¯ve all focused on [Body] levels due to our enemies having so much advantage over us and how crappy our first skills were. After the elves I¡¯ve tried to get my class higher but I¡¯m still only at level 7 with my [Class]. Randall is the highest of the warriors with a [Class] of 10.¡±


    ¡°The Protector class gets +2 to Vitality and +1 to Strength. I didn¡¯t have a good shield and needed to move faster so I also focused on [Body] levels. I added a Shield Bash at [Class] level 5 to allow me to punch people with my shield,¡± explained Brittney with a vicious smile as she described her skill.


    ¡°What about the scouts?¡± asked Adam.


    Nick spoke up.


    ¡°We get +2 to Agility and +1 to Strength. I¡¯m concerned that¡¯ll make us a bit flimsy if we take damage. We¡¯ve also focused on [Body] levels for the extra stats. Having to be in life and death situations to level is really making it hard to min-max, or to pre-choose a build. We¡¯ve had to level based on the situation instead of a plan. I did get my [Class] to level 10. We get new skills every 5 levels. Currently I have the skills [Light Step], which makes me walk quieter, [Dim Presence], that reduces how noticeable I am, although it really needs skill points used on it, and I chose [Unseen Blow] to increase my damage if they aren¡¯t looking at me when I attack.¡±


    ¡°The scouts had chosen more diversity than the warriors, so what did Carlos and Lamar choose for skills?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°I went with the identifying path, like you mentioned Adam,¡± said Carlos. ¡°I¡¯m only level 9 in my [Class], so I only got to choose a level 5 skill. I currently have [Clear Sight] that allows me to see a bit further and in more detail. At level 5 I took [Understand]. It¡¯s a bit weirder. When I look at a person or animal, I get more detailed information about them. I get the feeling that skill points will allow me to focus on different parts of a person, like their stats, skills, or class information. I¡¯m just so scared of wasting my skill points.¡±


    ¡°I hear you there,¡± said Lamar. ¡°I hit 10 in my [Class] and so I have three skills. I¡¯m just not sure which, if any, I should focus on. I have [Notice Sign] which will help with tracking if I develop it. Then [Steady Shot] which allows any ranged weapon to be used with more accuracy. At level 10 I selected [Quick Release] which seems better than I expected. It works with both ranged and melee attacks, increasing the speed that I get attacks off. I practiced it with a bow, and it allows me to release the arrow fast but if I stab or swing my machete it gives just a little bit more oomph to it as well.¡±


    ¡°How do you get skill points?¡± asked Adam.


    Elias was the one who answered. ¡°Every [Class] level that doesn¡¯t give a skill instead gives a skill point. I am [Class] level 14 and have 12 skill points and three skills. My most recent skill, [Increased Mana], seems the only one worth using points on. Want me to try it to see what happens?¡±


    Tom let out a snort, gathering everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°You know what¡¯s worse than all these aliens showing up to kill us? The apocalypse is coming, and it¡¯s attacking us with MATH! The math-pocalypse and there isn¡¯t even a cheat sheet included, let alone a manual. Freaking apocalypses.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not like you would have read a manual,¡± jabbed Randall.


    ¡°Yeah, well, it¡¯d just have been nice to know there was one. Besides, I¡¯m sure Elias would have read it and let us know what to do better.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s almost a good point,¡± said Andrea. ¡°A whole complex [System], known to the invaders, and no one has been polite enough to clue us in to how things work. It feels like we''re trying to fight guns with sticks.¡±


    ¡°So far it''s worked out,¡± mumbled Joseph.


    ¡°Yeah, so far. And when it stops working out when we bring a bomb named Adam to those gun fights, then what?¡±


    ¡°True.¡±


    ¡°Good point.¡±


    ¡°Gah!¡±


    ¡°Got any more wife openings, boss? Maybe for the dudes?¡±


    The last one got Tom a slap to the back of the head and a laugh from Alissa.


    ¡°Anyway,¡± Adam tried to bring things back to the productive part of the conversation. ¡°Elias, if you feel comfortable with using the skill points then go ahead. It¡¯ll be nice to know what it leads to.¡±


    Elias brought up his status and then went to the skill panel. He tried to upgrade the [Increased Mana] skill.


    [Increased Mana] (Passive)


    Increases the amount of mana inside a person by 5%.


    Choose your spell¡¯s path: [ Amount / Regeneration / Cost ]


    Elias thought about it for a moment. Since it was a test, he took the cost option.


    Skill: [Increased Mana] + 1


    This skill increases the amount of mana inside a person by 5% and reduces spell costs by 5%.


    That seemed like a good result to Elias so he tried it repeatedly with different options.


    Skill: [Increased Mana] + 2


    This skill increases the amount of mana inside a person by 10% and reduces spell costs by 5%.


    Skill: [Increased Mana] + 3


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. This skill increases the amount of mana inside a person by 10%, mana regeneration by 5%, and reduces spell costs by 5%.


    Skill: [Increased Mana] + 4


    This skill increases the amount of mana inside a person by 10%, mana regeneration by 10%, and reduces spell costs by 5%.


    Skill: [Increased Mana] + 5


    This skill increases the amount of mana inside a person by 10%, mana regeneration by 10%, and reduces spell costs by 10%.


    Skill [Increased Mana] cannot be improved further.


    Once he finished checking through his menus, he explained the results.


    ¡°So skills can only be improved five times, but it does allow you to control the direction of the improvements. It seems that the [System] is giving us some choice, even if it all feels small. Choosing from three skills, three options for improvement, and then our choice of class direction,¡± Adam mused. ¡°I wonder how much we can really influence the paths.¡±


    ¡°The support class seems to be branching off quite a bit,¡± added Abbey. ¡°Brandon¡¯s skills focus on buffing people, mine on healing, and I had Ed choose skills related to curing ailments. We are each at [Class] level 14. My skills are [Slight Heal], [Reduce Poison], and [Regenerate], which can help people regain their stamina and health over time.¡±


    ¡°Brandon, what are your buffs looking like?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°First I have [Bolster], which increases all stats by 2% for 15 minutes. Next is [Enhance Body] that improves Strength and Agility by 5% for 30 minutes. Finally [Enhance Mind] that improves Intelligence and Wisdom by 5% for 30 minutes.¡±


    ¡°Huh. How much do you think those help?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°For us who have stats it is a noticeable amount though not ground breaking,¡± answered Nick. ¡°I think because they scale it might be better for higher stat people. We can¡¯t test that on you though. Have you even felt it when Brandon cast it on you?¡±


    ¡°Actually, no,¡± responded Adam. ¡°On me it almost felt icky, but I wasn¡¯t sure that was the buff until now. The real shame is there aren¡¯t enough skill points to make all of them more significant. It¡¯s like you¡¯d have to choose between either physical fighters or the casters.¡±


    ¡°Do you want me to do that?¡± asked Brandon.


    ¡°No. Let¡¯s see what you get later on. I bet at level 15, there will be an option to buff Vitality.¡± Adam considered all he had heard. Then he idly said, ¡°I wonder what is required to evolve a class.¡±


    ¡°Actually, darling, I wanted to talk about that,¡± said Andrea slyly. ¡°I have the evolution option available.¡±


    Everyone stared at her. Waiting for more. She just smiled at them.


    ¡°Er, ok. What does it say?¡± Adam prompted her.


    ¡°The options opened up when my [Class] hit level 15. I¡¯m just not very excited about what is there. Let¡¯s see if you have an opinion, darling.¡±


    Andrea stood up from her seat and walked over to Adam¡¯s seat. He looked at her with a bit of confusion. Then she leaned over his shoulder, with her face next to his. She lifted a hand and suddenly a screen appeared over it showing her status directly to Adam.


    People jumped from their seats, and a few jaws dropped. The girls all looked smug though.


    ¡°You can show people your messages?¡± Adam asked in a surprised tone. Then his expression changed to a smirk. ¡°And by the look of it you girls have been waiting to show it off.¡±


    Andrea giggled.


    ¡°Yeah, I already showed them. I wonder how much it matters, though.¡± Andrea turned to him with a smile and sneaked a kiss on his cheek. ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing with it for the big reveal. It takes concentration but you can do a lot with it. You don¡¯t have to anchor it to your hand.¡±


    She pulled her hand away and the screen stayed where it was.


    ¡°You can also mentally resize, reshape, or move it.¡±


    At those words a look of concentration came over Andrea and the hovering screen began rotating. It turned until it vanished from Adam¡¯s sight as it proved to be two dimensional when it faced completely to the side. Adam stared as there was no depth to it at all, becoming completely 2D, then rotating back into view as the angle continued to change. Once it came back to face him, Andrea touched it and went into the Evolution tab.


    CLASS EVOLUTION:


    The following options are currently available¡­


    Tier 1 Classes:


    [Apprentice Wizard] (Common)


    Cost: 15 levels


    This class focuses on non-elemental spells and fundamental mana control. [Mana Dart], [Mana Barrage], and [Mana Barrier] are the core spells that receive skills to improve them. Once this class evolves to [Wizard] at Tier 2, the full strength of these spells can be used.


    [Apprentice Elementalist] (Common)


    Cost: 15 levels


    This class focuses on controlling the elements. Numerous element-based attack and defense spells can be learned, though few passives can be incorporated to boost their effectiveness. This class provides a great flexibility at the expense of spell power.


    [Fire Mage] (Uncommon)


    Cost: 15 levels


    This class wields fire. All spells and passives learned through it support the fire element. Development of this class leads to a stronger Tier 2 fire focused class.


    Adam stared at the classes. He thought about the descriptions and how they almost explain that you wouldn¡¯t want to have them. [Apprentice Wizard] pretty much says it is weak until the next evolution. What the hell?! It also seemed that without elemental capabilities you would never be able to exploit weaknesses. Not that the elementalist class was any better. Lots of elements, but how can you exploit weaknesses if you are just using weak ass spells? With what they knew of skill points you¡¯d never really be able to build up enough spells for them to be anything but weak utility. The fire mage one was the best of the bunch, though it seemed to limit you into a single box.


    ¡°Yup, these look like garbage,¡± Adam said to the previously hopeful looking Andrea. She frowned at him, sneaked a cheek kiss, then frowned again.


    ¡°What am I supposed to do?¡±


    Looking around, Adam noticed the people in the room and had a thought.


    ¡°Ron, got a taser?¡±


    Ron had stuck around to take notes of the [System] related aspects they were discussing. He hadn¡¯t been writing specifics about the group members¡¯ skills and levels, at Adam¡¯s request, but even knowing what skills were available and how everything worked could be disseminated to the rest of the police force and maybe ones in other states. At Adam¡¯s question he blankly stared.


    ¡°Yes, why?¡±


    ¡°I want to tase someone.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t use my taser, Adam.¡±


    ¡°Sure I can. Though I won¡¯t be. It¡¯s for Andrea.¡±


    ¡°You want Andrea to tase you?¡±


    ¡°No, that wouldn¡¯t work. My skin is too tough. Lucas and Brittney probably have too much Vitality too. Hm...Carlos, come over here.¡±


    Carlos startled in his chair.


    ¡°No way! Why me?¡± demanded Carlos.


    ¡°Don¡¯t think I haven¡¯t noticed how you¡¯ve been looking at Emily,¡± said Adam blandly, bring laughter to everyone else.


    ¡°No fair! She¡¯s cute, and you¡¯ve taken all the other girls.¡±


    ¡°Carlos. Here. Now.¡± Adam just pointed to the floor next to his chair. With a huge sigh Carlos stood up and walked over to Adam and Andrea.


    ¡°I still can¡¯t let you use the taser, Adam,¡± Ron said hesitantly. Adam stared at him for a minute and then shrugged.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. You won¡¯t let me. I will just have to use my monstrous speed to chase you down, and my monstrous strength to take it. I don¡¯t see any way the taser doesn¡¯t end up in my hand in a few seconds.¡±


    Very quickly the taser was handed over to Adam.


    ¡°Adam, let me see it before you use it,¡± Joseph spoke up. Adam looked at him for a moment, and when Joseph nodded, he tossed it. Joseph easily caught it out of the air and then pulled out one of the squiggly elf knives. Very carefully he dragged the blade along the side of the taser casing, cutting out a square so that he could see the inside. Ron shook his head, face in his hands at its treatment. After messing with the inside for a few minutes Joseph carried it back to Adam.


    ¡°I¡¯ve removed the parts that restricted the charge. It¡¯ll use the entire cartridge when you fire it now,¡± Joseph explained.


    ¡°Thanks. Nice work! Now Carlos¡­¡±


    ¡°No! Adam, no! Not only are you going to tase me, but with the safety off?!¡± Carlos was starting to panic, but Adam had stood and had his hand on Carlos¡¯s shoulder to prevent his escape.


    Andrea received the taser and aimed it at Carlos¡¯s stomach, where Adam had lifted his shirt. Carlos was trying his hardest to pull away.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a baby,¡± taunted Alissa.


    ¡°That¡¯s easy for you to s¡­¡± Carlos was interrupted as the prongs hit his stomach and his body shuddered five times. Loud crackles of electricity and shock went through the wires, melting the probes at the end and leaving a light scorch mark where they had stuck to him. He would have fallen to the floor except for Adam¡¯s grip that kept him up. Abbey quickly came over and cast a heal, removing the scorch mark and the red skin around it. The muscles continued to visually twitch though.


    ¡°D-damn you g-guys!¡± Carlos chattered while stiffly walking back to his seat. ¡°A strength of 36 and can¡¯t do anything against the brute!¡± That drew more laughs from the group.


    Tom patted his shoulder consolingly, but with a vicious grin on his face. ¡°At least you didn¡¯t lose control of your bladder. As far as we can see.¡±

 CH 43: Evolution

    CHAPTER 43: Evolution


    ¡°Did anything change on your status panel?¡± Adam asked Andrea.


    She stared at her invisible panel before a slight smile came to her lips.


    ¡°Yes. Yes, it did, darling!¡± Her panel once more became visible in front of Adam. He looked past the three items that had been there before to a fourth.


    [Volt Mage] (Rare)


    Cost: 15 levels


    This class wields the beginnings of lightning. Skills can be learned from this class to channel and manipulate certain varieties of energy to many purposes. Developing this class in different ways can lead to Tier 2 classes that provide a mastery of the various energy forces.


    ¡°That seems better,¡± Adam said. ¡°I¡¯m not sure what all the varieties of energy are, but it sounds like mastering any of them would be worthwhile. Did you want to take it or spend time experimenting with other elements?¡±


    ¡°I like the thought of being able to shock people whenever I want,¡± Andrea said with a smile. ¡°I think I¡¯ll take it.¡±


    ¡°I guess that means you guys can do different things to try and learn classes. It also seems like our actions can set us on the path for different classes. You guys should try to think of where you want to go with skills and take every action related to it so that you can learn these classes. It¡¯s obvious that the common, uncommon, and rare mean that the classes are easier or harder to learn, however I wonder what the cost means. Also, whether it¡¯s different depending on the tier or rarity.¡±


    While Adam was talking, Andrea was manipulating her status menu. After Adam finished, she reached down and touched his hand.


    ¡°[Jolt]!¡± she exclaimed excitedly. A loud spark and sizzle sounded out, but Adam didn¡¯t even flinch. Instead, he turned and looked up at her with a smile on his face.


    ¡°Tingly,¡± was all he said. The skin on his hand looked slightly redder, but not by enough to matter.


    ¡°Well obviously it won¡¯t do much to this monster,¡± Andrea contemplated. ¡°I need a real test. Let¡¯s see if it is stronger than the taser. Carlos.¡±


    ¡°Hell no!¡± Carlos jumped out of his seat and for several minutes he ran around the massive room while dodging Andrea. By the end she was panting but with his much higher Agility, she never came close to touching him. Andrea instead huffed and walked back over to Adam where she leaned on his shoulder.


    ¡°What was the new spell?¡± asked Brittney.


    Andrea lifted her hand and popped up a window with the description in it.


    [Jolt]


    Release a charge of energy that can damage enemies, objects, and disrupt similar energy signals. Has a chance to cause paralysis to organic targets. Released energy can travel along and through conductive materials.


    Requires contact to cast.


    ¡°That¡¯s nice!¡± said Alissa.


    ¡°I think we know what that evolution cost meant now,¡± Adam chuckled as he pointed to the tag above Andrea¡¯s head. It now said ¡°Volt Mage (4)¡±. ¡°It took the 15 [Class] levels you had gotten.¡±


    ¡°Hey yeah! It reset my [Class] back to zero. Weird,¡± noted Andrea.


    ¡°That explains a lot,¡± said Elias.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Randall.


    ¡°I knew that goblin chief couldn¡¯t have hurt Adam so much at only level 25,¡± commented Brittney.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t get it,¡± said Randall.


    ¡°His skills and speed at running away seemed higher than a level 25 should have,¡± Elias continued.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, fill the rest of us meatheads in,¡± insisted Lucas.


    Brittney took up the explanation with a sigh. ¡°The goblin had evolved at least once, maybe twice. If they spend levels to evolve, then even someone with a low level displayed on their tag could actually be really strong and at a higher tier class. Without knowing how many tiers an invader is at, as well as how many levels they spent on upgrades, they could be powerhouses without us even knowing it.¡±


    ¡°Damnit! More bad news,¡± spat Joseph.


    ¡°This means it is really important to find a way to get more information about an enemy. Running into a bunch of level 5s as strong as Adam has suddenly become a possibility,¡± moaned Nick. ¡°And not having that apocalypse manual means we¡¯re just guessing at all of this and it could actually be much worse.¡±


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Carlos, looks like you might need to spend some skill points on that [Understand] skill,¡± Adam said. He looked serious and gave a swift nod.


    ¡°Andrea, are there any other changes from evolving?¡± asked Elias.


    ¡°Actually yes. I now get 5 stat points when I level,¡± she answered.


    ¡°That means leveling and evolving our [Class] is better than leveling [Body],¡± mused Elias.


    A bunch of the physical fighters moaned. They were now behind in their [Class] with all the XP they had put into their [Body] levels.


    ¡°Not always,¡± interrupted Adam. ¡°The [Class] levels are predefined. That means the [Body] levels are the only way a caster can get more Agility or Vitality. It still has a place; it has just put us behind for now. You guys can catch up with your levels. Andrea, where do your [Class] stats go now?¡±


    ¡°Three to Intelligence, one to Wisdom, and one to Agility of all things,¡± she answered.


    ¡°Seems like a weird combination on the surface,¡± said Brittney, ¡°but if your skills require you to be closer to an enemy to use, then you will need to be faster. Also, in games lightning adds speed boost type abilities. Maybe you¡¯ll get some of those.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll be able to catch up with Carlos,¡± Andrea smile malevolently.


    ¡°Ugh,¡± moaned Carlos. ¡°Keep your lightning to yourself.¡±


    STATUS SHEETS:


    Name: Nick Morris [19]


    Age: 17


    Race: Human


    Class: Scout [10]


    Body [9]


    Strength: 37


    Agility: 52


    Vitality: 20


    Intelligence: 2


    Wisdom: 9


    Skill Points: 8


    Skills:


    Light Steps: Reduce noise while stepping.


    Dim Presence: Less likely to be noticed.


    Unseen Blow: Increased damage when attacking while unseen


    Name: Carlos Mendez [19]


    Age: 17


    Race: Human


    Class: Scout [9]


    Body [10]


    Strength: 36


    Agility: 48


    Vitality: 18


    Intelligence: 7


    Wisdom: 5


    Skill Points: 8


    Skills:


    Clear Sight: Increases viewing distance and detail when looking closely.


    Understand: Gain more insight about a living target.


    Name: Lamar Cook [19]


    Age: 17


    Race: Human


    Class: Scout [10]


    Body [9]


    Strength: 38


    Agility: 49


    Vitality: 20


    Intelligence: 6


    Wisdom: 7


    Skill Points: 8


    Skills:


    Notice Sign: Clues become more obvious when being looked at.


    Steady Shot: Projectiles can be fires or thrown with increased accuracy.


    Quick Release: Attacks from either ranged or melee have an increased speed when beginning the motion.


    Name: Brittney Hutchins [19]


    Age: 17


    Race: Human


    Class: Protector [8]


    Body [11]


    Strength: 40


    Agility: 29


    Vitality: 41


    Intelligence: 8


    Wisdom: 8


    Skill Points: 7


    Skills:


    Harden Shield: Increases durability of wielded shields.


    Shield Bash: Increases damage when striking a target with a shield.


    Name: Lucas Fenton [19]


    Age: 19


    Race: Human


    Class: Warrior [7]


    Body [12]


    Strength: 52


    Agility: 34


    Vitality: 30


    Intelligence: 6


    Wisdom: 5


    Skill Points: 6


    Skills:


    Sturdy Weapon: Increases durability of weapons.


    Empower Blow: When used it increases the damage of a solidly landed blow.


    Name: Thomas Rhodes [19]


    Age: 18


    Race: Human


    Class: Warrior [6]


    Body [13]


    Strength: 48


    Agility: 34


    Vitality: 30


    Intelligence: 9


    Wisdom: 8


    Skill Points: 5


    Skills:


    Sturdy Weapon: Increases durability of weapons.


    Quick Strike: An active attack that moves at a faster speed.


    Name: Randall Lanchel [19]


    Age: 18


    Race: Human


    Class: Warrior [10]


    Body [9]


    Strength: 49


    Agility: 27


    Vitality: 28


    Intelligence: 6


    Wisdom: 5


    Skill Points: 8


    Skills:


    Sturdy Weapon: Increases durability of weapons.


    Long Strike: Weapon attacks do damage slightly beyond a weapon¡¯s physical distance.


    Firm Stance: Attacks are less likely to push the receiver back.


    Name: Joseph Canick [19]


    Age: 18


    Race: Human


    Class: Warrior [6]


    Body [13]


    Strength: 47


    Agility: 36


    Vitality: 28


    Intelligence: 5


    Wisdom: 6


    Skill Points: 5


    Skills:


    Sturdy Weapon: Increases durability of weapons.


    Quick Strike: An active attack that moves at a faster speed.


    Name: Elias Munroe [19]


    Age: 17


    Race: Human


    Class: Mage [14]


    Body [5]


    Strength: 17


    Agility: 17


    Vitality: 13


    Intelligence: 40


    Wisdom: 22


    Skill Points: 7


    Skills:


    Mana Dart: Cast a weak, non-elemental projectile made from mana.


    Earth Shot: Cast an earth-based projectile at a target.


    Increased Mana +5: Increase amount of mana by 10%, mana regenerated by 10%, and reduce spell costs by 10%.


    Name: Andrea Fritz [4]


    Age: 17


    Race: Human


    Class: Volt Mage [0]


    Body [4]


    Strength: 14


    Agility: 15


    Vitality: 13


    Intelligence: 39


    Wisdom: 21


    Skill Points: 12


    Skills:


    Mana Dart: Cast a weak, non-elemental projectile made from mana.


    Fireball: Cast a fire-based projectile at a target.


    Increased Mana: Increase amount of mana by 5%.


    Boost Power: When used, the next spell has 10% increased damage.


    Jolt: Release a charge of energy that can damage enemies, objects, and disrupt similar energy signals.


    Name: Alissa Whitmore [19]


    Age: 17


    Race: Human


    Class: Mage [12]


    Body [7]


    Strength: 22


    Agility: 20


    Vitality: 17


    Intelligence:32


    Wisdom: 17


    Skill Points: 10


    Skills:


    Mana Dart: Cast a weak, non-elemental projectile made from mana.


    Water Ball: Cast a water-based projectile at a target.


    Increase Power: Gives a 5% increase in damage to attack spells.


    Name: Brandon Collins [19]


    Age: 17


    Race: Human


    Class: Support [14]


    Body [5]


    Strength: 16


    Agility: 16


    Vitality: 12


    Intelligence: 20


    Wisdom: 36


    Skill Points: 12


    Skills:


    Bolster: Increase a target¡¯s stats by 2%.


    Enhance Body: Increase Strength and Agility by 5%.


    Enhance Mind: Increase Intelligence and Wisdom by 5%.


    Name: Abigail Tamare [19]


    Age: 17


    Race: Human


    Class: Support [14]


    Body [5]


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 16


    Vitality: 13


    Intelligence: 25


    Wisdom: 40


    Skill Points: 12


    Skills:


    Slight Heal: Heal injuries by a small amount.


    Reduce Poison: Weaken poison within a body to help a body fight it.


    Regenerate: Increase stamina and health over time.


    Name: Edward Rothstein [19]


    Age: 17


    Race: Human


    Class: Support [14]


    Body [5]


    Strength: 15


    Agility: 15


    Vitality: 9


    Intelligence:23


    Wisdom: 37


    Skill Points: 12


    Skills:


    Slight Heal: Heal injuries by a small amount.


    Clear Mind: Reduces any inflictions that cloud the mind.


    Cleanse Blood: Reduces any inflictions that are spread through the blood.

 CH 44: Moving

    CHAPTER 44: Moving


    Lucas hunted around his room, throwing his clothes and bedding into a large duffle bag. His room wasn¡¯t very large. There was a narrow desk on one wall. Above the desk were a few DIY shelves with boxing trophies from years of competition and used boxing gloves. The punching bag in the corner had gotten a lot of use, but this room was really too small to even attempt a decent punch.


    The desk had never gotten much use since he wasn¡¯t even able to pull the seat all the way out before it hit the bed behind it. The dresser, sized for a smaller kid, had already been rooted through and anything worth wearing was in the duffle. The drawers could barely hold four of his shirts. He already knew the clothes in the closet had no purpose going forward.


    Overall, his room was just a monument to a past that Lucas had moved beyond. Boxing really held no more purpose to him. It was the way his dad forced him to be tough enough. There might be trophies from tournaments he won, but no pictures to attribute the cups and plaques to him. They could have just been bought from any sporting shop. When he was younger they held meaning to him, a hope that he was more than the people around him. That everyone should respect him. Now, they represented a lost child desperate for some consistent people in his life. People that he finally felt would stick around, as long as they kept their lives; lives that he would help protect.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little old to be running away?¡± a gruff voice asked. There was an edge to it that was always there. It brooked no back talk or perceived disrespect.


    Lucas had known his dad was in the doorway from the moment the lighting shifted. Yet, he didn¡¯t feel there was much to explain. Slowly, so as not to knock things over, Lucas turned to him.


    ¡°At my age it¡¯s called moving out.¡±


    ¡°Oh? I suppose you have a nice swanky place to live lined up? A kid like you thinks he can do better than his old man? Is that how it is, boy?¡±


    Lucas watched the man¡¯s eyes for a minute. There was the constant anger and disappointment there. It didn¡¯t matter if it was towards himself or people who had wronged him in the past, Lucas¡¯s dad saw the world through it. No one escaped from it. Lucas knew it was impossible to talk it down, but this time Lucas didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°That¡¯s how it is, pops,¡± Lucas said casually. No matter how he answered it would have escalated things. Giving in to the man¡¯s assumptions would just speed things along.


    Lucas looked down at his dad¡¯s clenching hands. The man was a grizzled army vet. He was good in a scrap and compared everything to the closeness and respect of the men he had served with. With Adam¡¯s group, Lucas was finally able to understand his dad¡¯s longing for those times and people.


    ¡°You think it¡¯s easy to provide for people? You think what I give you isn¡¯t enough? There is no way a shit like you can do better! Getting kicked out of schools, always in fights, causing trouble to no end. You¡¯ve been a headache for me but I¡¯ve given my all to provide for you and done a damn fine job of it, even if you can¡¯t appreciate it.¡±


    Lucas sighed. He knew how this was going to go down. There was never an intention to sneak away from his father. He always intended to directly tell him he was moving out. As coarse and rough as the man was, Lucas had never held a grudge against him. Until meeting Adam and his family he didn¡¯t know there was any other way to be. It was just too hard reasoning with the man¡¯s world view.


    ¡°Pops. This isn¡¯t about you. My group got some rooms to stay in and it¡¯ll be good to be closer to them so we can respond to issues faster.¡± Even with how unreasonable his dad was, Lucas knew that in a few days he would put aside the emotions and might be able to understand.


    ¡°Your group? What group. Sentinel Army? Yeah right! Just a buncha kids playing at soldiers. You know nothing of real soldiers or war.¡±


    Breathing in Lucas did something he wouldn¡¯t have in the past. He centered himself and relaxed. His friends had earned his respect, even if other didn¡¯t give it. Whether it was Brandon standing up after getting his guts cut out, to Joseph the slacker going out to do even more to contribute, to Carlos allowing himself to be the butt of the jokes, to those three prissy girls doing their nails before going in to battle.


    And then there was Adam. Willing to wade through bodies and blood, often his own, to ensure everyone that mattered to him was safe. Yeah, Lucas no longer needed respect from others. He was respected by his own company.


    ¡°I get why you¡¯d think that, pops. I¡¯m still going. Thanks for looking out for me since mom left. Let me know if you want me to get you a place too.¡±


    The anger started to build in his father. Lucas could see his face getting red and his fists failing to stay down. This was the normal outcome. His dad tried so hard in his own mind to be calm and reasonable, but the truth quickly stepped over him.


    Before it escalated, Lucas reached his arm back. While maintaining eye contact with his dad, he threw a light jab at the punching bag. A loud pop occurred as the back of the leather bag exploded, spraying its sand all over the walls.


    His dad froze, eyes bulging out as he stared at the shredded punching bag. Lucas gently put a hand on his dad¡¯s shoulder while shifting him to the side. Duffle bag over his shoulder he left the room.


    ¡°I¡¯m not leaving you, pops. I¡¯m just joining my own comrades.¡±


    ***


    The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    Alissa hadn¡¯t been to her mom¡¯s place in weeks. It had been more than months since she slept there. For a moment Alissa even wondered if she still had anything that mattered to her in the apartment, but this time she needed to talk with her mom.


    After knocking on the door, the voices started.


    ¡°Greg, who is it?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll go check, Claudia. You expecting anyone?¡±


    The yelling cut off as Greg opened the door. He stared blankly at Alissa and then his face brightened with recognition, mostly after his eyes inspected up and down her body in a wholly uncomfortable way.


    ¡°Alissa!¡± Greg smiled brightly while projecting welcome and warmth. He rested a hand on her back and beckoned her to come in. As she walked past him the hand slid from her shoulder blade down to her lower back just above her butt. Revulsion almost made her shudder, but she just continued forward to the small round eating table next to the stove.


    ¡°Look, Claudia,¡± Greg crowed, as if she wasn¡¯t already looking at Alissa. ¡°Alissa came back! Maybe this time she can stay for good. I¡¯m not really sure why she doesn¡¯t live with us. Kids need consistency.¡±


    Claudia stood with a smile and hugged Alissa, frowning for only a heartbeat when she saw Greg¡¯s hand still on Alissa.


    ¡°Have you come to stay, dear? I do miss my little girl so much,¡± Claudia gushed, adding a kiss to Alissa¡¯s cheek. Suddenly Alissa had to stifle a giggle as she thought of how awkward Adam was with all the touching. She couldn¡¯t wait until he spent time with her mom.


    ¡°Mama, we need to talk.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s one of those visits,¡± Claudia said, her shoulders slumping a little in disappointment, but keeping the smile on her face for her daughter.


    ¡°Of course, Alissa,¡± said Greg. ¡°Whatever you need to talk about we¡¯re here for you.¡± His hand started rubbing in circular motions on her back. Each circle brought it slightly lower.


    ¡°Actually, Greg,¡± Alissa said as she stepped away and caught his wrist before he could touch her again, ¡°This is between me and my mama.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, love. Anything you want to say to her you can say to me,¡± said Greg soothingly, trying to pull his wrist back without seeming like it. Alissa again wanted to giggle as Greg couldn¡¯t move it at all, much like what Adam did to Carlos before Andrea tased him. ¡°We¡¯re all family here.¡±


    Alissa scoffed and Claudia frowned again before putting a smile back on her face.


    ¡°Yeah right. We¡¯re family like this is just a mild leg spasm,¡± said Alissa as her shin flew up between Greg¡¯s legs with all 22 points of strength she had. As she made contact with his unmentionables there was a snapping sound and he popped three feet into the air, bent over, and passed out before he hit the floor. His eyes were rolled back in his head and spittle was coming out of his mouth.


    Claudia gasped in shock as Alissa turned to her. She looked at Alissa who seemed very nonchalant, as if she hadn¡¯t just crippled the man for life. Quick glances at Greg showed her that several different colored bodily fluids were pooling in his pants, soon to be all over the floor.


    ¡°You wanted to talk, dear?¡± Claudia asked hesitantly.


    ¡°Yeah, mama. I¡¯m moving into a nice apartment with my friends. You remember Andrea and Abbey. It¡¯s a super nice place and we¡¯ll be living across from our boyfriend.¡±


    That got Claudia¡¯s attention.


    ¡°Boyfriend? Our boyfriend? As in more than just you?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. He¡¯s a great guy. We¡¯re going to have kids together,¡± Alissa said proudly.


    ¡°You¡¯re pregnant?!¡± Claudia shouted in shock. Alissa had been born when Claudia was only two years older than Alissa was now. While it was a hard time to get through raising Alissa, with support she knew it was doable. It just came as a shock to think of her own baby already having more. Plus, age 36 felt awfully young to be having grandchildren.


    ¡°Not yet, but I¡¯ll make it happen soon. I want at least two kids.¡±


    ¡°Um, dear, it takes more support to raise children. Is this boy going to be ready for it?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, mama. Adam is super responsible. He cares a ton. He¡¯ll totally kill to protect us. I can feel his love wherever I go. Plus, his own mom will make a wonderful granny. I bet she¡¯ll love them so much.¡±


    ¡°Are you going to be able to afford this apartment? I believe you¡¯re still in high school.¡±


    ¡°Well, high school doesn¡¯t matter much anymore, and besides, Adam just got a ginormous amount of money. He has a place and built a huge set of luxury condos on it. All his friends are moving into it today. We were even told units would be given to our family if we wanted.¡±


    ¡°Oh! That sounds rather amazing. So this boy is rich, is he?¡±


    Claudia glanced down at Greg. Things were starting to smell foul. He needed an ambulance.


    Quickly she grabbed her purse, making sure her phone was in it, and then hooked arms with Alissa. A new smile crossed her face as the two stepped outside the apartment.


    ¡°That¡¯s wonderful, dear. How about you show me where you¡¯re going to live. I think I¡¯d love to live close to you if a nice apartment is available. I can¡¯t wait to meet your future husband. Tell me, does he have any single friends?¡±


    ¡°Well, there is this police detective he works with. I think he¡¯s single¡­and can probably clean up nice¡­¡±


    ***


    Randall and Joseph approached the home that Joseph grew up in. It was by the edge of a forest, trees obscuring it. There were no neighboring houses within view. To find this place would be impossible without intending to and having someone guide you down the dirt and gravel roads. As far as he knew they weren¡¯t on any mailman¡¯s delivery route. His dad had to use a PO Box and was constantly being called because it was overflowing.


    The house itself was old. Ugly side paneling, roof shingles that were probably rotting, broken down and dismantled cars all around the place. Inside wasn¡¯t much better with the shag carpets, 70s wallpaper that had been peeling off the walls his whole life, and mildew and mold growing rapidly. Joseph lived there with his brother and father and whatever girlfriend or prostitute was stoned enough to crash there at any given time.


    ¡°Can you believe that we''re going to get our own places?¡± Randall asked for the fifteenth time, shivering as he remembered the years living with his hellion sisters. Joseph didn¡¯t answer, knowing that Randall wasn¡¯t paying attention.


    ¡°The places are even nicer than anything we¡¯d ever be able to afford. Man, Adam is amazing. Such a great guy. We are so lucky we jumped him that day!¡± Randall continued.


    The two walked towards the house. As they got close the smell of mold and dead leaves got stronger and they stopped, staring at the door.


    ¡°Do you need clothes?¡± asked Randall.


    ¡°Nope,¡± answered Joseph. ¡°Adam is buying out the local stores. I¡¯ll grab clothes from that.¡±


    ¡°Bed stuff?¡±


    ¡°Nope. If that police nerd doesn¡¯t bring it in with the mattresses and furniture, then I¡¯ll grab a sleeping bag from the winter supplies Adam is getting us.¡±


    ¡°Pictures or personal stuff?¡±


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s all moldy.¡±


    ¡°Then what did we come here to pack?¡± Randall asked as he held the box of large garbage bags they brought to put stuff in for the move.


    Then he noticed Joseph staring at a shed. It was in surprisingly good condition. Much better than the house. It was where Joseph¡¯s father kept everything of value; a TV and VCR, recliner, any drugs he had bought, as well as decades of dirty magazines. Randall frowned for a moment before he realized.


    ¡°Porn?¡± he asked.


    ¡°Of course! What if the aliens kill the internet? We need to preserve human culture.¡±


    Randall couldn¡¯t fault that logic as they headed towards the shed to clean it out. He just hoped they brought enough bags.

 CH 45: More Moving

    CHAPTER 45: More Moving


    ¡°Dad! Dad!¡± Tom was hollering before he even finished opening the front door. He and Brandon had arrived to tell them about the available apartments at the base.


    ¡°DAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!¡± Tom belted out as loudly as he could, even though his father was at the table right in front of him, shaking his head and wishing he had thought more of celibacy back then.


    ¡°I¡¯m here, Tom. What''s the matter?¡±


    ¡°Great news, dad! The boss is giving us a place to live. We don¡¯t have to live destitute lives here anymore!¡± Tom exclaimed.


    His father mouthed, ¡°destitute,¡± while his sisters and mother, also at the table, just stared at him like he was insane. Mr. Rhodes saw all the confusion on everyone¡¯s faces, and felt his own, so he decided to skip a person.


    ¡°Brandon, can you please translate the Tom-ese?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. The base we took from the Goblins has been changed and there is now a 10-story building for our operations and luxury condos. Each person in the team was allowed to choose a single condo and we were given the option to reserve one for our families. I think Tom is asking if you want to reserve one of the family units for the rest of you,¡± explained Brandon.


    ¡°You and Tom are each getting your own?¡± Mrs. Rhodes asked.


    ¡°I think so,¡± Brandon said hesitantly. He wasn¡¯t confident in his ability to live on his own or to take care of himself, but since he will be surrounded by friends, he felt comfortable trying.


    Mrs. Rhodes stood up and came over to hug him. ¡°Just know that we will always have a room for you, Brandon.¡±


    As Brandon was wrapped up by her, followed by Rosy and Amy hugging him on both sides, he stifled the tears that wanted to fall. Never before had be felt people so genuinely concerned for him.


    ¡°Tom, when will you be moving out?¡± Mr. Rhodes asked.


    Tom frowned at him for a moment and then smiled once again. ¡°Tomorrow. Need time for furniture to come in, though some people are moving in tonight. They¡¯re nice places. You really should take the boss up on it.¡±


    ¡°I think we¡¯re quite comfortable here,¡± Mr. Rhodes said. Then the soft hand of his wife touched him, and their eyes met.


    ¡°Honey, I think we should consider it. We don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen and if we¡¯re there then we might be able to help if they need it. It doesn¡¯t mean we have to abandon this house.¡±


    ¡°That¡­that does make sense. How about we let Brandon show us the place tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°I can show it to you,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°Brandon, would you be willing to show us around tomorrow?¡± Mrs. Rhodes asked him.


    ¡°I can do that,¡± insisted Tom.


    ¡°Sure, I¡¯d be happy to, though it¡¯ll have to be early. We¡¯re grouping up with the police tomorrow to check out how the animals have changed and if they¡¯re a threat,¡± Brandon answered.


    ¡°That sounds so brave of you, working to keep us safe. Early is fine,¡± she said. ¡°Can the girls come?¡±


    ¡°I CAN SHOW THE PLACE!¡± Tom bellowed.


    Mrs. Rhodes patted Tom¡¯s arm. ¡°I¡¯m sure you can, Tom. There¡¯s no need to yell.¡± Tom¡¯s jaw dropped at the dismissal.


    ¡°I think the girls would be welcome,¡± said Brandon.


    ¡°You also really need to get Legolas and Gimli¡­¡± Tom started.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t their names, Tom.¡±


    ¡°¡­back. The boss might swing a double unit for them so your place isn¡¯t too crowded,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Is that really necessary?¡± asked Mr. Rhodes.


    Brandon spoke up, ¡°Better safe than sorry. If the invasion amounts to nothing, then it¡¯s only a few classes missed. But if the invasion is as bad as Adam thinks, then it¡¯s better to have them close.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense, Brandon. Thank you for looking out for us. After we check out the base I¡¯ll get in touch with Philip and Darren and do what is needed to get them home.¡±


    Tom stared at Brandon incredulously. ¡°Dude, I think they replaced me with you.¡±


    ***


    Abbey snuck into her father¡¯s condo. It always felt too large. He had bought two high up units next to each other, not quite penthouse, and then knocked the wall between them down to make it bigger. Not because he needed the space, just to show off for guests. The whole place was immaculately decorated and Abbey was expected to touch almost nothing. The only other person who lived here was the housekeeper, Madra.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Miss Abigail,¡± Madra said while dusting as Abbey realized how bad her sneaking was. ¡°Your father would like you to call him soon.¡±


    Talking to her father was always a hassle. He expected her to do as he said and expected her to agree with it. There were never really consequences if she didn¡¯t since the man traveled near constantly for work. He didn¡¯t punish, at least in any enforceable way. If he tried and she ignored it, then he just added what she had done to his expectations as if he was the one telling her to. Really the man was her father in name only.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Entering her sizable room and pulling out her vacation luggage, she began emptying her dressers and closets into them. It might take two or three trips even though there were quite a few luggage pieces, especially if she wanted to keep her stuffed animals.


    While she absently decided on the order the clothes would be transported in, she dialed her father on her cell phone.


    ¡°Abigail, what have you been doing? Madra says you have only been home once in the last week and that the school is calling regarding absences or police issues. Are you running with a bad crowd?¡± He immediately took control of the conversation, not even bothering to greet her.


    ¡°Hello father. I¡¯m just calling to let you know that I will be moving into an apartment with my friends. You no longer need to take me into consideration in your plans.¡±


    ¡°What? WHAT?! I am your FATHER! You don¡¯t get to decide that. I¡¯ll book a flight back home tomorrow and then you better pray I don¡¯t miss this deal because of it. You are grounded until I return, and I expect you to be there when I arrive! Whatever came over you or caused you to act out is over as of now! ...¡±


    Her father went on and on. Abbey calmly set the phone down without listening to let him continue his rant. A smile crept to her face as she thought of being only a room away from her best friends. Adam would also only be across the hall. It would be nice to cuddle whenever she wanted, even if it ends up being with her friends. So much of her life was lonely and devoid of human contact. Being able to sleep over whenever she wanted got her excited.


    She couldn¡¯t stop smiling as she continued to pack, never noticing when her phone went quiet.


    ***


    Andrea crept into her grandmother¡¯s house, where her family lived. Her oldest sister, Jenny, was watching TV while sitting on the couch in the small living room, while Julie, her youngest sister, was playing with Jenny¡¯s baby on the floor with noisy toys. The vacuum was being run by her grandmother in the hallway while her mother was doing the dishes.


    There was so much noise and chaos that Andrea was surprised anyone noticed her at all. But she was noticed. The water stopped running, the TV was muted, and the vacuum stopped.


    ¡°No Alissa or Abbey today?¡± her mother asked her pointedly.


    ¡°They¡¯re packing. I was going to as well. We¡¯ve decided to get a place together,¡± said Andrea with hesitation. She figured in this case it was better to just rip off the band aid.


    Her mother stared at her with an incredulous look. The woman had taken care of the all female family for a long time. She was short and a bit pudgy, though you could still see the cute base that had been worn down from the years of stress. Long ago she had needed to move in with Andrea¡¯s grandmother, even though the house was too small, with the difficulties of being a single parent. As a partial manager at a local department store, she had perfected her no-nonsense looks.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t being paid for by Abbey¡¯s dad, is it?¡± she asked. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t trust that man to even stir soup with my spoons.¡±


    ¡°No, mom. This has nothing to do with Abbey¡¯s dad.¡±


    ¡°Then how are you paying for it?¡± demanded her mom, always money conscious. Over the years if Andrea hadn¡¯t wanted to wear hand-me-downs that could even come all the way from Jenny, she earned the money herself. She and Alissa always found ways, often questionable, with the easiest way sneaking it under Abbey¡¯s clothing funds.


    ¡°Um, Adam, this boy I hang out with, just built a huge set of condos. He¡¯s letting all his friends live there,¡± Andrea said uncomfortably.


    ¡°A boy.¡± Her mom gave her a flat stare.


    ¡°He¡¯s just giving you a place to live?¡± asked Jenny. Their grandmother was scowling at Andrea, showing her disapproval.


    ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s to all his friends. I said Alissa and Abbey will be living with me,¡± Andrea said defensively.


    ¡°Oh ho, so the boy is gathering a bunch of pretty ones,¡± said her grandmother with a sneer. ¡°Entrapping you in his place where you won¡¯t have support or the right to say no. There is only one thing a boy would want from you.¡±


    ¡°No! It isn¡¯t like that! He isn¡¯t like that!¡± Andrea shouted. Even now she could feel the warmth of Adam¡¯s connection and the feelings that came through it.


    ¡°Sure, sure,¡± mocked her grandma. ¡°And Jenny didn¡¯t just have a kid with a guy who said he¡¯d be with her forever and then ran at the first signs of pregnancy.¡±


    ¡°How could a high schooler even afford their own building? What is the real story, Andrea? What are you playing at?¡± demanded her mom, clearly not believing the explanation.


    ¡°I¡¯m not playing at anything,¡± whined Andrea, while Julie was smiling at the family drama. ¡°Lots of our group are moving into the building. I can even get a big place for the rest of you.¡±


    Even that explanation caused her mother and grandma to frown.


    ¡°I¡¯m not willing to owe or be reliant on anyone that isn¡¯t family,¡± said her mom.


    ¡°I told you it isn¡¯t like that,¡± said Andrea. She remembered how the emotions from the connection felt when Adam got angry, and she felt her own face flushing with frustration and anger. She was never taken seriously in this house.


    ¡°Well, I won¡¯t even consider allowing this until I meet this boy and see his ¡®building,¡¯¡± her mother said definitively.


    ¡°Oh wait,¡± Julie squealed, suddenly fixating on the news feed. ¡°They¡¯re doing another report on The General! That guy is so amazing! I wonder if I could meet him.¡±


    Mid-argument, the volume on the TV was turned up. Julie scooted closer to the TV and looked like she wanted to reach out and touch the images of Adam. She bounced on her heels in excitement. After a minute of watching the news stream, she froze. Then, with a look of concentration, paused and rewound the feed, trying to find something.


    ¡°Wait a minute! Andrea, isn¡¯t that you in the background?¡± asked Julie in surprise.


    The four of them gathered around the TV to look at the paused image. It wasn¡¯t clear, but with both Alissa and Andrea standing together, everyone was able to make them out.


    ¡°Why are you with The General?¡± asked Jenny in shock.


    ¡°Why are you where they¡¯re fighting monsters?¡± asked her mom.


    ¡°He¡¯s the leader of my group,¡± answered Andrea, with a sigh. It seemed like she would have to tell them more. ¡°Adam is really strong, and we¡¯ve all been hunting invaders together. Look at my tag, I¡¯m a [Volt Mage] now because I got strong enough to evolve my class.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s the one you want to live with?¡± asked her grandma, still frowning.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be in different condos in the same building. Not living together,¡± Andrea fibbed, not mentioning how close they¡¯d be.


    ¡°And he can afford a whole building?¡± asked her mom, of course focusing on the money. And sarcasm. ¡°Monster fighting must pay well.¡±


    ¡°It didn¡¯t cost anything to make the building. It¡¯s inside a base we took from the invaders and we used advanced alien tech to build it,¡± she explained. ¡°The police will get space there too, so it¡¯ll be safe.¡±


    ¡°Andrea¡­I don¡¯t know if I can allow this,¡± said her mom.


    Julie had been shaking in excitement and it now seemed too much for her to hold in. She sprang to her feet and ran to the hallway, while squealing, ¡°Our family is going to be living with The General! I have to tell Sabrina!¡±


    Then Julie stopped at the doorway after realizing something. She turned back and pointed to Andrea.


    ¡°That means you''re one of The General¡¯s Wives!¡± After another squeal she bolted from the room to tell their other sister.


    ¡°One of?!¡± her grandma said while aggressively glaring at Andrea.


    ¡°Wives?!¡± her mother said while increasing the glares focused on her.


    Andrea swallowed hard and inched backwards, wondering if she could trigger the [Jolt] paralysis to escape without hurting them. Jenny picked up her baby and sat back on the couch, ready to watch something more interesting than the TV.

 CH 46: The Crush

    CHAPTER 46: The Crush


    Brittney arrived home in the late afternoon. She came in and laid on the sofa, just thinking about everything that had happened and whether it was worth it to move into the base. She thought of Adam and the Triple As, considering dropping from the group entirely. She was only a small, plain looking girl, after all. With her stats she could take a hit for others, but she had no practical skills and was easily replaced.


    After a few minutes her mother came in and sat at her feet on the couch, since Brittney didn¡¯t take up much of it. Brittney¡¯s dad was in the kitchen making dinner, so her mom sat there quietly for a few minutes, rubbing her legs.


    ¡°I know that look, Brittney. You have a problem that you''re trying to solve by yourself,¡± Brittney¡¯s mother said.


    ¡°It¡¯s not really a problem. It just bothers me a bit, is all,¡± responded Brittney without looking up.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell me about it. That way you can organize your thoughts.¡±


    ¡°No thanks, mom. If I talk about it, I might cause problems for my friends. I don¡¯t want to rock the boat,¡± said Brittney.


    ¡°I see. These new friends of yours. You¡¯ve been spending all your time with them, but you haven¡¯t told me much about them or what you¡¯ve been doing with them. Can I hear a bit about them?¡± her mom asked.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± Brittney acknowledged while her brain still wandered elsewhere. ¡°This classmate of Brandon¡¯s, his name is Adam, beat up the bullies to help Brandon. Then Adam made Brandon and me change our classes. Adam has been showing us how to use the [System] and teaching us to fight. Adam is even strong enough that the bullies now follow him around, along with a few pretty girls from his class. The police even want Adam to work with them.¡±


    ¡°Pretty girls, huh?¡± asked her mom with emphasis.


    ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re pretty. It only makes sense. Adam is so nice and caring, and his muscles look like they were sculpted by the Greek gods¡­¡± Brittney¡¯s words drifted off.


    ¡°He must be amazing for you to have a crush on him,¡± said her mom.


    ¡°He¡¯s so amazing. The way he looks when he swings that hammer¡­ and the way he makes everyone feel when he really connects with us¡­ There is no one as ¡­ wait a minute! Did you say crush?!¡± Brittney sat up.


    ¡°Of course. You have a crush on him. But what about Brandon?¡± asked her mom.


    ¡°What about Brandon?¡± Brittney repeated with confusion.


    ¡°I thought the two of you,¡± said her mom.


    ¡°What? Eww. No. Brandon is so weak. Why would I ever have gotten together with him?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I just thought that since you were always together¡­¡± her mom faded out.


    ¡°Not at all. I was just Brandon¡¯s stand in parent. It was always so stressful. Adam solved that though. Now both Brandon and I are freer,¡± she explained.


    ¡°Oh, Adam did, huh? This Adam definitely sounds like quite the catch. What¡¯s the problem then?¡±


    ¡°He just got a big building for all his friends to live in, so we can work together easier. But I think maybe it would be better for me to drop from the group,¡± said Brittney.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t like you. You''re usually much more straightforward. Does he already have a girlfriend?¡±


    ¡°He has three,¡± Brittney said.


    ¡°THREE?!¡± Her mother exclaimed. ¡°Are you sure he¡¯s a good guy? He sounds like a womanizer to be cheating on three girls.¡±


    ¡°He isn¡¯t cheating. They''re good friends, closer than I could ever be, and they all flirt and kiss him. Adam¡¯s actually bashful about it all. He just doesn¡¯t push them away. I don¡¯t even know if two of them are serious about him.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t think he¡¯d be interested in you?¡±


    ¡°Why would he be? I¡¯m so small and plain. Not special at all,¡± muttered Brittney.


    Her mom grabbed Brittney¡¯s arms and pulled her upright, then wrapped her in a hug.


    ¡°Oh, baby. You are so special. I¡¯m sorry the guy you fell for is already taken, and in such¡­odd¡­circumstances. Unfortunately, this is how love goes sometimes. Sometimes we love more than the other person. If you want, I can send your brothers after him. I¡¯ve had trouble keeping them from roughing up Brandon since they think he isn¡¯t tough enough for you.¡±


    ¡°Brandon isn¡¯t tough enough for me. Thanks, but don¡¯t. Adam would wipe the floor with them,¡± Brittney said while looking at her mom.


    ¡°The boy is that much tougher than your brothers?¡± her mom asked, suddenly intrigued.


    ¡°After getting levels with Adam and the others, I could wipe the floor with them,¡± Brittney admitted, pointing to the number above her head. ¡°Adam is without a doubt the strongest man in the world.¡±


    ¡°Oooooh,¡± her mom said with a bit of excitement. She looked down at her own arm and flexed the not insignificant muscle on it. ¡°Maybe you shouldn¡¯t give up on this Adam. If you have a good relationship with those girls maybe you can talk to them about it. People do break up.¡±


    ¡°Ok mom. After dinner can you give me a ride to the school? We¡¯re going to head to Adam¡¯s new building to pick condos to live in.¡±


    ¡°Sure, my special girl. For now, let¡¯s watch some wrestling while we wait for your dad to finish dinner.¡±


    ***


    When Brittney arrived at the warehouse, there were already several cars parked there. She assumed that Jordan would be inside playing with the Rift Menu, with maybe Elias. Alissa had texted that she had arrived with her mom, and Andrea was making Carlos drive her and Abbey here.


    Lucas was moving in immediately, though his truck was totaled from the elf incident. Adam would probably buy him one to drive with the money they had made. Brittney imaged that Randall and Joseph would already be here too, having hotwired a car and stashed it in a nearby warehouse. That would be just like them.


    The Rift sky was dark to reflect the night in the outside world, which felt no less creepy than when the goblins had controlled it. There were sparks of light, shaped like stars in the night sky. Oddly, they provided enough light for it to feel like walking through a park with streetlights. It was difficult to even sense where that extra light was coming from. Otherwise, it would be pitch black in here except for the light given off by the Sentinel building.


    In the lobby, Abbey, Alissa, and Andrea were waiting for her. Abbey had a trolley stacked with high end luggage. Alissa carried a large cloth bag, like a sun bag used at the beach. Andrea had a ratty looking, but large, army green backpack. It looked so beat up that it wouldn¡¯t even have been sold at thrift shops.


    ¡°Then what happened?¡± Alissa asked Andrea while they chatted.


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    ¡°Grandma chased me around outside the house with a broom while my mom sprayed me with the hose. Dinner overcooked and was completely ruined. Which they also blamed on me,¡± complained Andrea. Alissa burst out laughing while even Abbey grabbed her trolley to stay upright from laughing so hard. ¡°I could¡¯ve easily outrun them, but it didn¡¯t hurt at all, so I let them get a few hits on me.¡±


    ¡°Oh gosh, I love your granny!¡± gasped Alissa. The laughing continued as Brittney walked over to them and they all smiled at her warmly.


    ¡°Any issues with your parents?¡± Andrea asked Brittney, waiting for the other two to get over their laughing fit.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t tell them much about the building yet. How¡¯d it go with you?¡± Brittney asked back.


    ¡°Honestly, it was going poorly even before my younger sister made it ten times worse,¡± answered Andrea with a frown.


    ¡°Aw, leave Julie alone. She¡¯s a cutie,¡± said Alissa, finally breathing normally.


    ¡°You always take her side. Maybe you should just take her instead,¡± Andrea replied snarkily.


    ¡°You know I would,¡± nodded Alissa. ¡°I never had family. I have to live vicariously through my girls.¡±


    ¡°You only think that because they aren¡¯t your family,¡± Andrea moped.


    Then the much taller Alissa hugged Brittney from the side and held on to her as they walked to the elevator. Brittney was strong enough to shake her off if she wanted, even with Alissa having put some stats into strength, but she was feeling uncertain with how everything would go. Her nerves were getting to her.


    ¡°How about you, Brittney?¡± Alissa asked. ¡°Any siblings I can steal?¡±


    ¡°Two meathead older brothers. I doubt you¡¯d want them. Though it might be funny watching them fall in love with your model looks while you use your stats to beat them back.¡±


    ¡°Aww, that¡¯s sweet of you,¡± smiled Alissa. ¡°Model looks, huh?¡±


    ¡°You''re all better looking than me,¡± Brittney criticized herself. Alissa and Andrea both frowned at her, while Abbey gave her a sympathetic smile.


    ¡°Nonsense, honey,¡± said Andrea. ¡°You¡¯re quite cute. Those clothes just need to be replaced by something more flattering. You dress like a librarian. Maybe some hair styling and a touch of makeup. Even Abbey had to take lessons on how to dress, style, and use makeup. Then you could get any guy you wanted.¡±


    ¡°Not any guy,¡± mumbled Brittney with her head down. Alissa just squeezed her tighter.


    Andrea pushed the button for the 10th floor.


    ¡°I need the 8th floor,¡± said Brittney. ¡°I need to pick my unit.¡±


    Smiling at her, Andrea said, ¡°Yes, we¡¯re all going to pick our rooms.¡±


    Brittney stared at her as the elevator went up without the slightest sensation of movement. They arrived near instantly and Alissa dragged her out of the elevator. The hallway had a door on the right and a door on the left. One had a placard that said, ¡°The General,¡± while the other had a placard with ¡°General¡¯s Wives.¡± Abbey giggled at that, and Alissa outright laughed. Andrea had no hesitation as she walked to the Wives door and opened it.


    ¡°That idiot Tom,¡± started Andrea. ¡°He might not have planned it, but he got us something good with this General¡¯s Wives stuff.¡±


    ¡°Definitely,¡± agreed Alissa.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°With people thinking we are in a relationship with Adam, less people will hassle us or go against us. It also means that we can get away with more,¡± said Andrea shamelessly. ¡°For example, I made Jordan Lane buy us all comfy mattresses for today. The guy is so scared of losing access to the Rift that he wouldn¡¯t dare to go against someone related to Adam. By the way, he only got the other guys sleeping bags for tonight, so we¡¯ll have a nicer time than them.¡±


    ¡°As it should be,¡± agreed Alissa.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that just ruin Adam¡¯s reputation?¡± asked Brittney, feeling it was wrong to take advantage of him.


    ¡°How much can his reputation really matter when he is known for being able to punch holes in people he doesn¡¯t like?¡± responded Andrea.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t feel right. It sounds like you''re just using him,¡± insisted Brittney.


    Alissa stepped back and looked at Brittney with her arms crossed.


    ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t we use him?¡± she asked.


    Brittney started to get angry. She though of Adam as this nice and caring guy. Completely harmless. Being able to punch through people was besides the fact.


    ¡°Adam is worth more than that!¡± She shouted. ¡°Adam should be loved and supported, not used. If you don¡¯t love him then what are you doing flirting with him and kissing him. Isn¡¯t that just deceiving him?¡±


    Brittney felt the jealousy in her words. She felt the heat. These two were taking for granted who Adam was, just looking at the what. Adam needed to know what they really thought of him.


    Then a light hand touched her own. Abbey held her hand and smiled at her. Warmth like from an angel came out of Abbey. It felt like there was no deception there, only genuine caring.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, Brittney,¡± she said gently.


    ¡°It¡¯s not ok if it¡¯s going to hurt Adam when he finds out,¡± she pleaded with Abbey, voice quivering on the edge of tears.


    ¡°He already knows how they feel,¡± said Abbey.


    ¡°What?¡± Brittney asked, stupefied. ¡°Then why does he accept it?¡±


    ¡°Because that isn¡¯t all they feel towards him,¡± Abbey explained. ¡°The connections Adam keeps open allows us to feel his feelings and for him to feel ours. He isn¡¯t being deceived. They do care for him in their way, but not everyone understands relationships the same way.¡±


    ¡°Yeah,¡± said Andrea. ¡°My father left when I was 5. He sends minimal child support. My mom has had to bust her butt since, to make sure we had food on the table and a place to live. Her life became stressful while he remarried and took on another family. I don¡¯t need a relationship like that. It¡¯s more important to me to be able to stay with my girls, Abbey and Alissa. I¡¯m not going to let a man take them from me.¡±


    Alissa nodded along while Andrea spoke before added her own opinion. ¡°My mama had me young and gave up her life to keep me. Her parents wanted to get rid me or give me up for adoption or something, then kicked her out of the house when she wouldn¡¯t. Mama had to date scummy guys just to make sure there was enough money to take care of me, and then had to find ways to keep me safe from those boyfriends. I¡¯m so happy that she¡¯ll be able to live here safely without sucking up to some lowlife. That¡¯s thanks to Adam.¡±


    ¡°Is Greg coming with her?¡± Andrea asked as an aside.


    ¡°Hell no. I castrated that ass,¡± said Alissa. Andrea smiled proudly before they turned back to Brittney.


    Alissa continued, ¡°You heard me before. I¡¯ve never had a family. Adam¡¯s family is the nicest one I¡¯ve ever seen. I want to be a part of that. I want to know what it is like to have kids without being scared of getting kicked out or having people abandon me. Having people who will love those kids as much as I will. Mama and Papa Clemens will be so great to our kids. So will Adam. He¡¯d never abandon us.¡±


    ¡°See,¡± insisted Abbey. ¡°They both have loving reasons for being with Adam. Our connections also allow us to know him better than we might even know ourselves. With our own emotions, we can deny them or lie to ourselves. With Adam, we can feel what he feels and know it¡¯s the truth.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s no scumbag,¡± insisted Alissa. ¡°Even when he gets horny while looking at or kissing me he doesn¡¯t push, instead respecting my own feelings. And when I decide to throw him down, he¡¯ll accept that too.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m never going to throw myself at a guy. Screw that. We¡¯re willing to get what we can from him, but we¡¯ll also give what we can to Adam too. The connections make it easy to know what that is,¡± explained Andrea.


    ¡°That¡¯s how it is,¡± said Abbey, patting her hand reassuringly. ¡°No one is hurting Adam.¡±


    Listening to them, Brittney¡¯s eyes had teared up and she started to cry.


    ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. I didn¡¯t want to be mean, I¡¯m just feeling so frustrated. Jealous too. Adam is the only person outside of my family that hasn¡¯t been turned off by my personality. He even encouraged me to be a warrior. If I want to hit something, he would just ask me how big instead of telling me girls should be dainty.¡±


    ¡°We know you like Adam too,¡± comforted Abbey.


    Alissa once more hugged her side, ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it, shortcake. We girls all need to stick together.¡±


    Andrea gave her a peck on the cheek. ¡°For now, let¡¯s pick which rooms we each want, and then tomorrow we can get hubby dear to give you a connection and a kiss too. Maybe followed by getting you a new wardrobe and having Alissa¡¯s mom style your hair. After we hunt the changed animals of course.¡±


    Brittney calmed down from all the acceptance. She nodded for a moment before thinking something else. ¡°Aren¡¯t you scared of other women coming along?¡±


    Andrea¡¯s hand was raised while electricity crackled around it. ¡°Not at all, darling.¡±


    ***


    Later that night, in a small basement room covered in darkness except for the flicker of weak candles, sat a man as he schemed. He wrote names on paper before cutting them out, sorted through pictures of people, and wrote down points to his plans. Occasionally a cackle would come out of him.


    Next to the folding table and chair that he used was a large corkboard. Those names and pictures all ended up pinned to that board. Colored string connected the pinned items, much like detectives use in police dramas, or more accurately criminals. Emails that had been sent to the Sentinel Army¡¯s addresses were reviewed for the best way to make use of them. The man malevolently muttered to himself while he plotted.


    ¡°¡­if the invaders are released and they¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­we just need to target the appropriate authorities¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­need the most influential people to seduce¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­we could use this as blackmail for those who won¡¯t follow properly¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­if we get them on board then by the time they realize¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­optimize the merchandizing¡­¡±


    ¡°¡­and then, there will be no one to stop up. He will rule the world.¡±


    The man looked over his scheme, knowing that it would need to change as events did, but satisfied with it for now. Then he smiled and laughed wickedly. Everything was coming together.


    The door to the room opened as a woman put her head in, looking at the man, the board, and the burned down candles.


    ¡°If you wanted light, just use the light switch. Don¡¯t waste the birthday cake candles. I guess I should be grateful you didn¡¯t use my good candles. Anyway, go to bed soon. Brandon said you guys have a big day tomorrow. At least there will be police with you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, mom. I¡¯ll be right up,¡± Tom said.

 CH 47: Matches

    CHAPTER 47: Matches


    A man charged at Adam. His body moved expertly, shifting so as not to give away his intentions. Decades of training showed as he approached and swung his hand, held flat like a knife, for Adam¡¯s throat. Even as Adam swayed backwards, feeling the breeze from the swing without allowing it to make contact, a kick was brought to his ankle. Adam lifted his foot, then pivoted it backwards to bring it out of reach of the kick. The kick turned into the man planting his foot, while an elbow was next to come at Adam, aimed at his upper abs. Adam stepped backwards to avoid it, then stepped forward into reach of the man¡¯s attacks.


    A few inches of height, more muscle, and a superhumanly lithe control of his body showed the man as significantly superior to Adam in technique and experience. The man was an expert in Brazilian Jui-jitsu, while including elements of Capoeira and Muay-Thai. The Capoeira seemed more to create showy moves, since they wouldn¡¯t work against real fighters. The man started including those dance like moves after Adam had dodged for a few minutes, realizing that he wasn¡¯t going to score a real hit.


    Even with amazing stamina, which Adam had tons of respect for, the man¡¯s attacks weakened and slowed. Adam had been enjoying dancing with him, trying to find ways to dodge the attacks that incorporated his own movement instead of just his higher stats. Eventually though, Adam realized the fight was about to finish. He was getting nothing more from the man as he became winded.


    Grabbing the man¡¯s shirt with one hand and under his arm with another, Adam performed a terrible over the shoulder throw that relied entirely on Adam¡¯s strength and agility. The man spun through the air and then landed precisely on his butt on a large trampoline, bouncing onto an ambulance gurney. The man shook his head glumly while an ironic smile appeared on his face.


    The paramedics standing nearby laughed. Earlier they had been making bets about how the fighters would land after Adam threw them, but the fun had ended after every single fighter had rebounded from the trampoline and landed on the gurney, ready for the post-match inspection. Not a single fighter had been hurt, all just fatigued and needing a drink. Water for hydration and something alcoholic after having their spirits crushed from the ease at which they lost.


    The park Adam was standing in had become quite a show. There were tables, trucks, and stands set up everywhere, with a local bar even setting a stand up next to the ambulances. The business was making quite a lot from the contestants who hopped off the gurney and walked right up to get their drink. Kegs and bottles of liquor were available. The police were nearby, many partaking of the unexpected festivities, ignoring that no liquor licenses had been issues for the event.


    Adam had been brought to the park in the morning by Ron. He had expected a few matches, but nothing like this. It was now 3pm, and he had been fighting people for four hours. Well, fighting was a bit strong. For every opponent he would dodge for around five minutes, or until the other person got tired of throwing punches, and then Adam would toss the person onto the trampoline to soften their landing.


    What had been expected to be just a few competitors had ended up being over a thousand. After the TV news report from two days ago had been played constantly, people had traveled from all over the country to try their hand at the World¡¯s Strongest Human, as Tom had put it. No one had known how to challenge him, so the police had set it up. Ron had notified the reporter who Tom had interviewed with, Angeline Victoria, and that station had quickly arranged a few fight commentators to watch. They had a boxing expert, a former MMA fighter, and even an underground fight club announcer who refused to verify his profession or employer.


    The reporter¡¯s station had started by just filming the fights to air highlights later, but once other networks started sending cameramen, each network became a live stream of the event. Businesses found out and started sending employees to set up sales tables and advertising. People were leaving work and schools to come watch. There were thousands of people milling around the impromptu festival. Many of the county¡¯s police officers, including the local Captain, had come just to experience it or because they had heard about the raid and wanted to see ¡°The General¡± in action.


    Adam actually felt like he was letting everyone down. He was facing experts, people who trained their whole lives at fighting. There were boxers, karate experts, MMA masters, street fighters, and all of them lost as if children fighting an adult. Adam knew his movements were bad, but his strength and speed allowed him to shame these men and women challenging him.


    He felt so bad, and had so much respect for these fighters and their skills, that he was putting aside his usual ambivalence and trying to learn from their movements. While there was improvement, a person can only improve so much in a few hours, especially with all the different styles he was seeing up close. Of course, he felt less bad for the everyday Joes who challenged him just to say they had. Those people he didn¡¯t bother dodging and would throw as soon as he could.


    Adam¡¯s wasn¡¯t the only fight going on either. The police had cordoned off about 15 areas for other people to fight in. With so many wanting to challenge him, it wasn¡¯t possible for everyone to get the chance. In sports fighting, people rarely fought more than one match, and Adam had been going for four hours straight, having about 34 matches in that time. The only breaks he took were to eat, with a rookie policeman assigned to get him food every half an hour. His assistant was having an easier time of it now that there were food and sandwich trucks all over.


    A lottery had been set up among the organizers to select the fighters. Before a match began, they would call out a number for the following match, checking to make sure Adam was still able to continue. No one had expected it to go this long, further helping with the idea he was the world¡¯s strongest. The lottery allowed the matches to go quickly. Still, there were so many people who wouldn¡¯t get the chance, so the other fields had been set up for the challengers to spar or show off their moves.


    In the end almost everyone was having a fun time with things, though Adam was still a bit bored. No one had come at him with killing intent yet. He wasn¡¯t a show fighter or a sportsman. Adam was a slayer aimed at the invaders. Something no one really knew the severity of, even if most people had watched his videos.


    ¡°Ready for the next match?¡± asked an organizer. Adam nodded at him, mouth full of pulled pork. He would continue to shovel it in until the other competitor was ready.


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    ¡°Most fighters would vomit if eating right before a fight. What if he takes a punch to the gut?¡± said the boxing commentator.


    ¡°What punch?¡± responded the MMA guy antagonistically. ¡°He hasn¡¯t gotten hit once. I¡¯d be more concerned about the digestion slowing down his body.¡±


    ¡°Slowing it down? No matter what, he¡¯s always just fast enough to dodge, no matter how fast or slow his opponent. The General never looks like he''s exerting himself. There''s not a drop of sweat on his tank top. That shouldn¡¯t be possible for a human, no matter the shape they are in,¡± the unaffiliated announcer said.


    Adam nodded in his head. He hadn¡¯t been required to use his abilities even once. No pulses of heat, no soul blasts, not even his danger sense had been needed. The challengers just felt slow enough that he could choose what to do after watching them start to move.


    ¡°Alright!¡± the announcer cried through a poorly set up microphone and speaker. ¡°Next we have a sword master named, er, Sword?¡±


    A young man in his mid-twenties stood there wielding a longsword. At his belt he had two other swords sheathed. One was a katana, and the other a short sword. He wore a simple shirt and pants, medieval style, covered by a sleeveless tabard that came down to his knees. His sword belt was fastened around his waist and his boots looks leather without hardened soles. This was the first weapon brought out throughout all the fights, though the man holding it didn¡¯t look any more impressive than Adam.


    ¡°A sword, huh? Finally, a weapon,¡± Adam said to the man.


    ¡°You don¡¯t mind me using the sword?¡± the man asked surprised. ¡°I thought I¡¯d get kicked out.¡±


    ¡°Let me see it,¡± said Adam. The man brought it over to him from across the short field.


    ¡°I needed a name and didn¡¯t think I¡¯d get a chance to fight. Really, I thought I¡¯d get kicked out for wanting to use weapons.¡±


    ¡°Bah. I¡¯m not the world¡¯s strongest sportsman. I¡¯m the world¡¯s strongest fighter. As in, for my life. Did no one understand the videos of me fighting? No one has tried to kill me even once today,¡± Adam said with disgust.


    Receiving the sword, Adam looked at the edges. They were dulled. The shape was still there, but it wouldn¡¯t cut through anything. Sword jumped backwards when Adam started sawing the edge against his arm.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t even sharp! What¡¯re you, some cosplayer?¡± Adam accused.


    ¡°No, a LARPer,¡± Sword responded with pride.


    ¡°What¡¯s a LARPer?¡± asked the police assistant, holding Adam¡¯s plate while he inspected the sword.


    ¡°A cosplayer playing make believe with other cosplayers,¡± answered Adam.


    ¡°Well, not exactly,¡± said Sword, crestfallen. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m not just a LARPer. I¡¯m actually a regional sword master. I¡¯ve been entering competitions since I was a kid. I earn a solid living through it and making appearances at event. I¡¯m well known in the right circles.¡±


    ¡°And what is the highest achievement for that?¡± asked Adam, slightly curious.


    Sword got quiet and looked at his feet. ¡°The highest achievement is being hired to choreograph lightsaber fights for the movies.¡±


    That earned a chuckle from Adam.


    ¡°Well, the sword is dull. Got a sharp one?¡±


    ¡°My katana is sharper. I¡¯m not as trained in it, but it is quicker when slashing. Also, if you want for difficulty, I had a small group that can fight against you. Shield and caster.¡±


    ¡°Using a group is fine. Bring on the challenge,¡± Adam said, arm in the air. The crowd roared its approval, then most went back to drinking.


    Sword called two other people over. A ¡°Protector [0]¡± and a ¡°Mage [0]¡±. A traditional setup, though no real threat to Adam. He began wondering if he was getting too cocky, then decided it didn¡¯t matter. Today was all just a game.


    Continuing the LARPing theme, the protector, Shield, was in full plate armor while the mage was a girl in video game like caster robes. A lot of calls and laughs came from the audience watching them. The commentators began discussing how different fighting would be against a group.


    Sword pulled out his katana and took a different stance than before. Shield walked to the front side of him, with the mage in the back. Adam decided to make a bit of a show of this. Thoughts of using his sledgehammer were quickly discarded, since one of his thrusts or swings could crush the guy in the armor easily.


    Adam looked at the three and then strode forward, his legs taking big but slow steps. Shield got prepared, and Sword raised his sword in what looked like it¡¯d be a thrust. A [Mana Dart] was shot out from the mage¡¯s hand when Adam was two steps from the group. He simply snatched the mana projectile with his hand, causing it to pop, surprising the mage.


    A shield was suddenly jerked towards Adam, as the protector used a [Shield Bash], much different than the skill that Brittney had received. However, the shield didn¡¯t move as Adam put his palm against it. The force of the bash was redirected back at the defender. The man in armor jerked backwards a few inches and then shook like a bell hit by a hammer.


    As expected, the katana was thrust at Adam. He kicked off the ground, placing his hand on the shaking protector¡¯s shoulder and did a single armed handstand on top of the man. The thrust clearly missed, and then Adam dropped behind the protector, as the man started to collapse from the extra weight of Adam¡¯s body on him, with Adam landing on his feet.


    Grabbing the mage¡¯s hand before she could shoot another [Mana Dart], he dropped low and spun, kicking one leg out to sweep the feet of all three opponents at once from under them. Before the three even hit the ground, Adam had taken the sword out of the falling man¡¯s hand.


    ¡°Hmm¡­definitely not my style,¡± Adam said as he swung the Katana, cutting straight through the shield that was still facing him as if the metal was paper. The side of the shield was shorn off, and then Adam threw the Katana into the ground where the force drove it to the hilt into the dirt and grass.


    The three stared at him, scared to stand, while he stood between them all.


    ¡°I know the katana is sharp, but I didn¡¯t think it was capable of cutting through that shield,¡± said Sword, clearly confused.


    ¡°That only depends on how much force a person can use,¡± responded Adam as he turned and walked away.


    ¡°Next is¡­¡± started the announcer before Adam snatched the microphone from him.


    Adam then looked at the closest news camera facing him and spoke both to it and through the microphone he was holding.


    ¡°I¡¯m bored of these play matches. Sparring and attack patterns. No weapons or threat. This is the last match. For the next 15 minutes anyone can participate. If I throw you out of the fighting area, then you''re done. Otherwise, as many people as can fit inside may attack me. Anyone who can draw my blood will get $10,000. Anyone who hurts another challenger will pay their medical bills. Enter at your own risk.¡±


    ¡°Adam, I don¡¯t think this is a good idea,¡± said his police assistance. Adam just shrugged at him.


    ¡°We begin in ten minutes. Prepare yourselves,¡± Adam continued.


    ¡°Adam, I think this is about to turn very not legal. We can¡¯t do this.¡±


    ¡°Brett,¡± Adam started while continuing to look into the camera. ¡°When the invaders attack in a few days, laws won¡¯t matter. It¡¯ll be a fight for survival. Hopefully people support each other and work together, but ultimately we will need to fight. Let this show what that¡¯ll be like.¡±


    Adam handed the mic back to the announcer and then walked onto the fighting field with a hoagie. He stood there eating and looked unconcerned as hundreds of fighters were pushing their way onto the field. People scrambled from all the other fighting areas to take part. Chewing slowly, Adam counted the time. Just as the 10 minutes ended, Adam swallow his last bite. Steam began rising from his skin, which was quickly turning reddish. The air around him waved as if he was surrounded by a mirage.


    ¡°Bring it!¡± he said using his roar, causing everyone to freeze. Bodies began flying out of the marked area.


    Then all hell broke loose.

 CH 48: Killing Time

    CHAPTER 48: Killing Time


    Melina plodded into the conference room door just ahead of Adam and his parents. Adam never cared much for how he looked, but that girl could only be described as a slob. Her hair hadn¡¯t been brushed since waking up, puffing out and looking tangled. She was coming to the meeting in wrinkly pajamas and barefooted. She was even eating toast as she walked, without a plate, dropping crumbs everywhere. Even with the ability to instantly clean parts of this dimension he felt disappointed in her.


    It turned out that Sword, his real name was Lilliard, hadn¡¯t come because he wanted to fight Adam. While he was a trained swordsman, he didn¡¯t often engage in real combat. He had come as a favor to the person who crafted his swords.


    Garrett Starf was in his forties and made a living, barely according to Shield whose real name was Hickory, by blacksmithing for competitive swordsmen and renaissance fairs. The man had started as a machinist, being trained on modern technology to work with metals. He had given up that career to try and use old style blacksmith techniques. It was a profession that cost almost as much on materials and equipment maintenance as it made from the work, which really limited how much he could explore the profession.


    Garrett had asked Lilliard to come on the off chance that they could get noticed by the suddenly famous group of alien hunters, and get sponsored to make equipment for them. Hickory and Melina, the mage from the trio, had come along for the novelty of it. They were role playing enthusiasts.


    Upon finding out about Garrett, Tom had forced Detective Baker to run a background check. When it cleared, he invited them to stay in a three-bedroom unit in the rift headquarters. Adam didn¡¯t really care about it, but Jordan had instantly hit it off with Garrett. The two had spent most of the night designing Garrett¡¯s smithy within the rift dimension. Using the technology from the rift¡¯s menu, they were going to be able to make the smithy much more advanced compared to what Earth could provide. The issue now was sourcing enough materials to create weapons within the time left until the invasions.


    Adam pulled out a seat and went to sit, but a cough from Tom got his attention midway down. He looked at Tom who then nonchalantly pointed, in as blatant a way as possible, to a chair that was different than the rest. It was a large, high-backed chair that could only be described as a throne. It was colored gold and red, with carvings all along the sides and top. It sat half a foot higher than the other chairs, and the round table had been modified so the area in front of the chair was raised as well.


    ¡°That is?¡± Adam asked, not sure whether he should stand back up or finish his sitting motion.


    ¡°Your throne,¡± Tom chirped excitedly. Adam decided to stand.


    ¡°And who is that next to you?¡± Adam looked at a man in his thirties who had a high-end tablet with a stylus in front of him.


    ¡°This is Gerald. He''s an indie comic artist.¡±


    ¡°Why do we need an indie comic artist?¡± asked Ron.


    ¡°For the designs,¡± said Tom, to explain in a way that no one else understood.


    ¡°I don¡¯t get it,¡± responded Adam¡¯s dad.


    Tom sighed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. ¡°If we want to look as bad ass as possible, we need someone to help design our outfits, weapons, and statues of the boss. Why just look normal when we¡¯re the Sentinel Army? Just look at that throne! Gerald designed it and then Jordan built it using the rift menu. Don¡¯t we want to look not just our best, but THE best?¡±


    Melina, who had been slouched all over the table, suddenly picked her head up, focusing on what Tom had said. ¡°Oh. OH! Yeah! Gerald, make time for me this afternoon. I have some great outfit ideas that you can help me with. Some great old style plus future combos.¡±


    Adam sighed and began walked around the table, back straight, to the throne. No reason to discourage the enthusiasm. In a way it was kind of fun seeing everyone get caught up in the craziness, even if inside all he wanted was to get out there and fight the invaders. Even the adults seemed to be having fun with it.


    Abbey, Andrea, and Alissa giggled and whispered as he walked past them and sat in the throne. Adam was a little shocked when he realized the throne was comfortable. It was even made as a recliner, so he could lean back if he wanted to.


    Once the meeting began, Ron pulled out his notebook.


    ¡°Adam, was it really appropriate to have that brawl at the end of yesterday? There were a lot of injuries and people getting bloodied. Quite a few organizations want you arrested and are threatening lawsuits.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t we get everyone healed by Ed in the end?¡± asked Adam. When Ed heard about the challenges, he had begged off the animal hunting trip to film the event. Videos of the most significant matches were already on their website, with the brawl as the highlight.


    ¡°Well, yes. No one was hurt in the end. They said you were inciting a riot though.¡±


    ¡°A riot? Didn¡¯t it all stay on the field? No one fought outside of it. How is that a riot?¡±


    ¡°I see your point, and it probably wouldn¡¯t go very far in the courts. These organizations just like to complain a lot,¡± said Ron.


    ¡°Then why do we care?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Better yet,¡± interrupted Tom, ¡°We should start arguing with them in the news. I¡¯ll call Angeline today to get things started. I¡¯ll play it like a wrestling heel and try to get them all worked up. There is no doubt most people will side with us, plus it will get us more attention.¡±


    ¡°Is that smart? Shouldn¡¯t you guys come across as professional?¡± asked Ron.


    Brittney snorted a laugh. ¡°Professional for monster and alien hunters. Right. Tom, let me know if you want a female to get in on it too. I¡¯ll put those people in their place.¡±


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    ¡°Thanks, wifey,¡± taunted Tom.


    ¡°Besides,¡± cut in Adam. ¡°In a few more days the invaders come for real and none of it¡¯ll matter. We¡¯ll probably all be fighting for our lives.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s depressing,¡± said Hickory. Adam just shrugged at him.


    ¡°What about the animals you all went to investigate?¡± asked Adam. ¡°Are they going to be a problem.¡±


    Lucas picked up the topic. ¡°They weren¡¯t a problem for our levels, but they could be a problem if they continue to grow or evolve. For now, the police are going to hunt them for levels since we were a bit too strong to get much from them.¡±


    ¡°We had bobcats that were three times the size, with scales instead of fur,¡± said Lamar. ¡°Their breath was cold and their claws were scarier than I¡¯ve seen before. Another group ran into what might have begun as eagles, except their necks were stretched out like vultures and their beaks and talons were serrated. The last group mostly found mutant groundhogs and turkeys. They were all at most level 4 so far, so we¡¯ll have to see what level they can get to.¡±


    Discussions then moved on to the preparations being made. The volunteers were picking up the requested items. Vehicles were brought to the warehouse, including motorcycles, cars, and different types of trucks. Barrels of gasoline were on order. The main base had only small amounts of running water, so few had chosen to move into their condos yet. The police chief had been working with Zachary Jones, the former policeman who had shot Adam, and the mayor¡¯s office to set up evacuation procedures in case of danger to the city. It all focused on getting as many people as possible into, or close to, the Sentinel Army¡¯s dimensional convergence rift, though no one was sure how to get enough materials to build shelters.


    ¡°Is this really all necessary? Aren¡¯t you exaggerating things a bit?¡± asked Hickory suddenly, interrupting everyone. He was tall, mid-twenties, with a muscular build overlaid with a bit of pudge, and a short haircut. He was frowning as he asked, this being his first time exposed to the invasion talk.


    Adam turned a look on Hickory, and he froze. ¡°If you were invading, how many people would you bring?¡± He asked with hostility.


    ¡°A lot?¡± Said Hickory with trepidation, feeling Adam¡¯s eyes intensely staring at him.


    ¡°It¡¯s said you need three times as many forces to attack than the defending army, all things being equal. That''s in Earth wars. The new wars are going to be completely different. Armies are going to be cannon fodder. One strong person can decimate everything. Bullets didn¡¯t even affect the elves¡¯ wind shields at level 12. Our police and military would be instantly rendered useless. Do we nuke an entire city to take out a single powerful foe? How many times will that be necessary? The only way to survive is to get more powerful than them. We should expect to be cut off from other cities, to have what we need to survive here without expecting supplies or reinforcements from other parts of the country. They will be able to turn invisible, taking out the leaders without anyone knowing, hurl elements like gods, mind control whole armies. Nothing we have or can do would stop those. Does that sound like exaggeration to you?!¡±


    Steam was rising from Adam¡¯s skin as he ranted. Many from his group were nodding, already believed what he was saying and used to Adam¡¯s intensity on the subject. The rest were all a bit shell shocked at both the truth in Adam¡¯s words as well as the fury coming from him. The air was suffocating and people were holding their breathes.


    ¡°Mind control can¡¯t be real, right?¡± muttered Hickory. The teens looked at him like his question was nonsensical. Ron just gave him a sympathetic head shake.


    Then Tom laughed. ¡°The boss here killed thousands of goblins by himself, crushing their armies. Then he almost killed all the elves. We need to get strong enough to survive without him, and also to be with him when he conquers the world.¡±


    Adam¡¯s chest throbbed. The heat that had been building was taking over, and the message embedded in his soul cried out, releasing a desire stronger than need. CONQUER!


    He started breathing heavily and everyone watched him as he gripped his chest. His eyes saw nothing in front of him and each breath he pulled in triggered his memory of the goblin¡¯s blood.


    Uncertain of how long he was like that, he focused his eyes on Ron. ¡°I need to kill something.¡±


    ¡°Adam!¡± his mother gasped, and others looked horrified.


    ¡°Invaders, mom. Sorry, but I think I need to get some right now,¡± Adam suddenly knew what addiction felt like. He knew in that moment that both his body and soul needed the fight and dominance. ¡°Ron, what likely targets do we have?¡±


    Ron nervously pulled out a folder and looked through it. He tried to ignore the fiery stare that Adam was giving him, a man controlling the wrath of God that would not be denied.


    ¡°Um, Adam, the, uh, best bet is the scrap yard. The workers there say, and provided video evidence, that the piles of scrap have been shrinking and they can¡¯t figure out why. Based on what Jordan said the other day it seems possible that invaders are pulling it into their rift for materials.¡±


    ¡°All right. Let¡¯s gear up and go. Those not fighting continue with your normal tasks,¡± Adam commanded.


    ***


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± Rick, the lead police officer in the group, asked the large man in front of him.


    They had come to the scrapyard. It wasn¡¯t far from the dump, so the air smelled a bit funky on top of the metal and rust smell that was everywhere. There were all kinds of junk piled in organized mountains around them. Crushed cars, cars in decent condition used for parts, refrigerators, slabs of different kinds of metals, bent beams and sheet metal were all separated out with wide lanes between the piles to provide driving space.


    A small office building, made of a double wide, was near the entrance to the grounds. There were also large machines nearby for crushing, compacting, and melting. All kinds of trucks were parked around the open space they had driven to, including tow trucks, a forklift, a mobile crane, and a second crane with a wrecking back attached, and several other vehicles for purposes that Adam didn¡¯t really know about.


    ¡°We think it¡¯s them invaders,¡± said Earnest, the operator of the scrapyard. ¡°I¡¯m surprised you folk took our complaint seriously. Brought a lot out here too, but why so many kids? And what¡¯s with the knight? Not sure if you¡¯re taking us seriously or not.¡±


    Adam¡¯s full group had come out, as well as Hickory in his LARPing gear, and Lilliard with his swords and tabard outfit. Melina had stayed back to force Gerald to work with her on clothing designs. There were around ten policemen with them as well. Rick was a Sergeant who had come with them to the elves and the animal hunt. He was a respectable level 6, with the rest of the policemen either 4 or 5. They had the stronger type of riot armor and shields. Following the Sentinels¡¯ example each had one hunting knife, one elven knife, which were stronger, sharper, and more awkward to use, as well as a baton, gun, and assault rifle. Overall, they should be able to take a hit and damage weaker opponents, though the guns negate any strength or speed improvements they have from leveling.


    ¡°Naw, bro! Check it out,¡± said a rather heavy and muscular man as he pointed to Adam. ¡°That there is The General. World¡¯s strongest man. There are tons of videos of him killing these alien critters. If he''s here then they are taking it seriously, bro.¡±


    ¡°Dale, I ain''t had time to watch any videos. How is that little feller supposed to be the strongest?¡±


    Adam casual bent down, grabbed the front of a police cruiser and lifted it easily into the air. He looked at the two men impassively as their jaws dropped.


    ¡°Damn, even the engine block side,¡± said Earnest. ¡°Not even struggling. I¡¯ll buy he¡¯s the strongest.¡±


    ¡°General, bro, can we get a pic with you?¡± asked Dale, fumbling in a heavy leather apron pocket to pull out a phone.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine, but invaders. Where are they?¡± Adam asked as Earnest and Dale tried to lower themselves to Adam¡¯s height, while Tom took the phone for the picture.


    ¡°Make a mean expression for this pic. Look all menacing, General.¡±


    Adam looked at Dale with his Scary Face and both Dale and Earnest froze, terror creeping onto their faces. ¡°Is this menacing enough?¡± he asked, getting emphatic nods. The camera flashed as Tom chuckled.


    ¡°Now sirs, where are the invaders?¡± Rick asked politely. Two shaking hands pointed down the driving trail.


    ¡°T-turn right at the fourth mountain of crushed cars, then eight mountains down.¡±

 CH 49: Too Damn Tough

    CHAPTER 49: Too Damn Tough


    Adam gently placed his hand onto the frame of a flattened roadster. He closed his eyes and tried to feel through his hand. The roadster was on the bottom of a huge pile of flattened and crushed cars. Some grease and glass could be seen here or there, but it was mostly just car frames.


    ¡°What is he doing?¡± Hickory whispered to Joseph, though loud enough for Adam to hear.


    ¡°Not sure but give it a few minutes and then he¡¯ll do something awesome,¡± Joseph responded. A few more people heard them whispering and walked over to watch as well. The rest were still moving around the hole, checking for signs of invaders. Rick was coordinating everyone, including Adam¡¯s group, a few feet away from the hole. Ed stood near him watching his laptop and controlling his drones, both for video footage and to check the area from above.


    A thirteen-foot hole was gaping in the ground between four mountains of cars. It slanted down at the edges, around five feet deep only to become a convex shadow that light couldn¡¯t penetrate. They had tried shining flashlights and had dropped an emergency flare into it. The flare passed completely through and vanished from sight. It seemed likely that it was the barrier to an invader¡¯s dimensional convergence rift.


    Deep impressions were pressed into the ground all over the area, as something heavy had left prints coming from and leading back to the hole. The prints didn¡¯t have a distinctive shape, just looking like wide ovals. Many of the prints led to the mountains of metal around them, especially to areas where the car frames seemed to have been removed from the piles.


    Slight but numerous vibrations could be felt through the car, even with the gawkers still talking behind him. Once Adam was sure of what he had been checking, he stood and looked at Joseph.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see if this is awesome enough for you,¡± he winked, before turning to Rick a bit further away. ¡°Bring everyone back. Weapons out.¡±


    Rick nodded and spoke through his radio. Everyone had been equipped with them and responded affirmatively. It only took 20 seconds before everyone was back. A defensive formation was established at their side of the hole.


    ¡°Ready when you are,¡± said Rick.


    Adam walked to the pile of cars and picked up the frame of a longer one. It was much lighter than a car containing all its insides and would still have been an amazing feat if everyone here wasn¡¯t used to Adam¡¯s strength. Only Lilliard and Hickory shook their heads in surprise.


    Wiggling the car while holding just the back of it, he swung it so the flat of it smacked into the pile. A series of loud clangs echoed out at the impact. Five more times he pulled the car frame back and smacked it into the pile, creating loud noises. The entire mountain destabilized a bit and things began shifting and trying to resettle.


    Then the first one appeared. It was moving so slowly that the group almost missed it until it was completely out of the pile. The creature was only about three and a half feet tall, with the highest point being its hunched shoulders. A rusty orange color made up the bulk of its skin, allowing it to look fitting among the cars. Dull colored metal was grafted all over its thick limbs, fused to almost cover its skin. Instead of clothes it wore a curved metal shell that began in front of its face and arced around its neck, shoulders, and back down to the back of its knees. The front of the shell covered the rest of its torso.


    Its feet were rounded and cracked with indentations at the tip instead of toes. Its hands had four fingers, but they were shaped almost like a crab pincer, with two on top and two on the bottom instead of having a thumb. The fingers were also thick but flat.


    While everyone was watching the first one that came out, they didn¡¯t notice the almost two dozen that were moving out from the other parts of the car mountain. They moved so slowly that casually walking next to them would have out raced them. Yet their strength seemed legit as they didn¡¯t struggle under the weight of their thick metal shells.


    ¡°What are they?¡± asked Lilliard, sounding ready to freak out.


    ¡°Invaders, duh,¡± answered Randall flippantly.


    ¡°They are a race called Testudinates,¡± said Carlos with a squint, trying to get more information from his [Understand] skill.


    ¡°Do we kill them?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°Are they going to attack us?¡± asked Brandon, seeing that they were all heading towards the hole instead of to their group.


    Adam walked over to the closest one. ¡°Can you guys communicate?¡± Inside Adam¡¯s inner self, the river was running through him. It had sped up at the first sight of the creature and was now trying to force Adam into action. He fought against the rage and heat being pushed throughout him, not listening to the command to conquer that he heard his soul shouting.


    ¡°Please talk to me,¡± he growled through clenched teeth, feeling the difficulty in fighting his own distorted nature. When no response came from it, he gestured to Rick. A gun shot sounded and then a ping as the bullet from Rick¡¯s rifle bounced off the arm of one of the creatures moving towards them.


    ¡°Damn, that was the highest power that the police have access too. How are we supposed to hurt them?¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s see,¡± said Adam as he gripped his sledgehammer and swung it at the exposed area of the creature. As fast as he was, somehow the slow-moving thing had bent forward and pulled its arms and legs together in a way that closed the metal shell around it completely. It was now an egg, just resting on the ground. The other creatures continued plodding towards the hole.


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    Adam tried using his full strength to hit the egg from different angles, but nothing dented it and he could actually feel the handle of his sledgehammer giving out. The egg-shaped shell rolled from the impacts but not nearly as far as they should, as if it was negating the inertia.


    ¡°What¡¯re we supposed to do now?¡± asked Joseph.


    A dangerous feeling suddenly came to Adam. ¡°MOVE FROM ITS PATH!¡± he shouted, hoping he was in time.


    People dove to the side. Lucas tackled Hickory out of the path, who was too slow with his armor and lack of levels, while Nick yanked Lilliard by the collar of his tabard. A gray flash with an orange trail burst forward about twenty feet from where the egg had been, putting the egg just in front of the hole. Then it unfolded into the orange creature and continuing stepping until it reached the rift barrier.


    ¡°That was dangerous,¡± said one of the startled policemen with a heavy breath.


    Due to how slow they were moving, the group hadn¡¯t felt in danger, but after seeing the egg charge forward, everyone¡¯s adrenaline had spiked, and they were looking around.


    ¡°Casters, focus on one and everyone use the element they have,¡± ordered Adam.


    Hands came up as an [Earth Bullet] came from Elias, [Water Ball] came from Alissa, and a [Fire Ball] came from Andrea.


    ¡°No lighting?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°[Jolt] requires touch. I can¡¯t cast it from range,¡± answered Andrea.


    The magic seemed to just cause the creature to fold into an egg and then it continued on its way by rolling, which was slightly faster than how it walked. After five seconds of the rolling, it unfolded and continued walked.


    ¡°No to bullets, physical attacks, or magic. Don¡¯t stand in front of it. What do we have to try next?¡± asked Brittney.


    Adam walked over to another one and pulled out an elven knife. When he brought it close to the creature it folder into an egg. The knife was able to score into the metal shell, but not all the way through. He walked behind it and then simply picked it up.


    The egg shook a little, and Adam felt like it had used a skill, probably the rolling one, but it didn¡¯t get out of his grasp. Around them the creatures continued moving towards the hole as if it was inevitable.


    ¡°These things are too damn tough,¡± said Tom.


    Adam squeezed. He could feel the pressure forcing the metal of the shell inwards, but it felt almost like there was pressure inside pushing outwards to negate his own. While he knew he had a strength advantage, there was something magic related keeping him from crushing it. That meant that it was unlikely a car crusher would work either. Suddenly Adam was knocked backwards onto his butt as the egg flashed forward twenty feet, only to unfold and walk on.


    A growl came from Adam. The river inside was too rapid, feeding him anger and overwhelming his thoughts. He reached for the coolness and tried to use it as a filter but felt his grip on it slipping.


    A chill flashed through him as a touch from Abbey cast [Slight Heal].


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± she asked quietly while looking into his eyes. Adam took a deep breath and tried to steady himself. The concern from her connection and the consideration in her eyes helped sooth his rage just enough.


    ¡°I¡¯m a bit hot,¡± he answered, but smiled at her and stood up.


    Arriving at another of the creatures he pulled his knife and it folded into another egg. He looked around it, occasionally touching it before he found a slight circle crease where its arm had pulled inside. It was tight, but he thrust his elven knife into the crease with more force than the creature¡¯s arm was using to hold the shell closed. A forceful twist of the knife created just enough space for him to jam his fingers into. Then he pulled, ripping a piece of the metal away from the arm holding it in place.


    A shaking indicated it was about to charge forward, but before that could happen Adam shoved the knife into the opening and towards where he thought the face of the creature was. He swung the knife around a bit before he felt it stop resisting. A sound like a deep cow moo echoed out from it.


    Testudinate Roller [7] was slain. 548 XP earned.


    The egg dropped to the ground, but upon hearing the moo, the rest of the Testudinates folded their shells around them and then burst forward to the hole. His group dodged and jumped to not be between the eggs and the hole. Hickory and Lilliard had a rough time of it, being yanked back and forth, and the police were barely fast enough, a few getting knocked off their feet from the air pressure caused by the charge.


    Once everyone was back up and dusted off, with a few heals thrown out, they gathered around the corpse. Randall helped Rick and a few other policemen to pull the shell apart. Without whatever magic the Testudinate was using, the shell pulled apart easily, though the metal was heavier than expected.


    ¡°Those things must have enormous strength to carry these shells. No wonder they were so slow moving,¡± Rick comment before laying out the body. They cut out a few pieces of the metal embedded in its arms and legs, noticing that none was near its spine or head. Adam checked with his knife and found that areas with metal were much harder to cut than its face had been.


    ¡°The face is practically pulped, and I barely had leverage when I cut it. It seems like it has a very low vitality, as well as agility,¡± Adam added.


    ¡°Definitely min-maxed strength. A very top-heavy build,¡± nodded Brittney. Several people threw her weird looks.


    ¡°Damn, you¡¯re more of a nerd than even Brandy-boy,¡± Tom commented. She just shrugged, unconcerned.


    ¡°I don¡¯t like to lose, even with Brandon¡¯s games. Some games need min-maxing and rolls, but other games need more balance. I¡¯m not sure which we''re playing in this [System].¡±


    ¡°Games?! GAMES?!¡± Hickory snapped. ¡°That was freaking terrifying! This isn¡¯t a game! Those monsters almost killed us!¡±


    ¡°No one forced you to tag along. How did you think it was going to go? If it¡¯s too scary for you then go back,¡± Adam responded calmly, but in harsh tones. He had noticed the trembling beneath the armor. ¡°If you don¡¯t have the determination to stand in front of those then give up on being a protector. Beg the [System] to let you change classes even though we¡¯re after the 10-day limit or help the volunteers instead of the fighters. And take off that armor. The metal is useless and will get destroyed with the slightest touch.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s easy for you to say. You¡¯re freaking He-man. How are the rest of you not terrified?!¡± moaned Hickory as he looked around.


    ¡°Because of the boss mostly,¡± crowed Tom. ¡°You only saw a few monsters. The boss made us fight thousands. Hah, in our first encounter with the goblins we were all freaking out except for the boss, who we had just jumped. He pounded my face in, then saved our lives while killing the goblins. It was amazing. It¡¯s only gotten better since.¡±


    ¡°Give him a taste,¡± Lucas said to Adam. ¡°Give them all a taste. They need to understand.¡±


    Adam nodded as he reached inside, forming a quick connection with everyone nearby. Then he pulsed his confidence and determination through it, as he had done with his friends against the goblins. Numerous gasps sounded out.


    ¡°What is that?¡±


    ¡°H-how can it be so certain.¡±


    ¡°T-that¡¯s too great.¡±


    ¡°Wow!¡±


    Hickory paled and went wide eyed as he looked at Adam. ¡°How did you do that?¡±


    ¡°He told you mind control was real,¡± responded Joseph.


    ¡°Grow some balls, Tin man, or the Lion will have nothing on you,¡± Brittney said as she slapped the back of his armor, causing Hickory to stumble right into Adam¡¯s open hand. He grabbed the collar of the armor and looked directly into Hickory¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°What¡¯s it going to be? Are you ready to protect earth or piss in your metal pants?¡±

 CH 50: Unexpected Trap

    CHAPTER 50: Unexpected Trap


    ¡°These Testudinates are weak but use such overpowered equipment for their level?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°Uh-oh. Serious balancing problem. Someone go whine to the devs,¡± said Carlos. ¡°The paladins have too many bubbles.¡±


    ¡°Then how¡¯re we going to fight them?¡± asked Rick. ¡°We need to find a way to open up their armor, but the only thing strong enough is probably the elven knives, and I doubt the rest of us can use them to pry the shells open the way Adam did.¡±


    Adam took a deep breath and let out a big sigh. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to need to scout their base alone. I¡¯ll try using the same manipulation trick I used on the elves. Fight might not be an option for me either because these take too long to get through the shells, and that last cry will undo my manipulation. This is really going to suck.¡±


    ¡°What should we do?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°The rest of you should take this body and shell to Jordan and Garrett. See if he can make an effective weapon or figure out a weak point.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll leave a group here in case you emerge and need support,¡± said Rick, choosing out five officers to wait alongside Tom, Abbey, Andrea, Ed, Randall, Lucas, and Joseph. Once everyone was prepared, Adam walked over to the hole in the ground.


    ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have to do this the hard way,¡± he said.


    ¡°You always do it the hard way, boss,¡± responded Tom with a wave.


    Adam stood at the edge of the hole, and then stepped off. He fell the five feet and then stumbled as he impacted the black border of the rift, having expected to fall through. A few stomps showed that the rift barrier was solid to him. He wasn¡¯t going through that shield.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t what I thought would happen,¡± said Adam, slightly embarrassed, as he looked up at the rest of the group.


    ¡°Yeah, boss, I thought¡­¡± Tom was interrupted as the ground began to rumble and shift. The mountains of cars were rattling from the vibrations. Adam saw everyone getting closer to him, as he was lifted out of the hole. At the same time the ground around the edges of the hole crumbled.


    ¡°GET BACK!¡± Adam yelled as he realized the rift barrier was expanding. The ground was pushed out of the barrier¡¯s path, and he saw his group struggling to turn as the ground fell away beneath them. The hole rapidly grew to consume everything between the four mountains of car frames except for Adam. Their equipment, the Testudinate corpse, his friends, and even car frames fell through the barrier.


    ¡°NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!¡± Adam roared, the river racing through his body, burning so fiercely it almost set him on fire. Anger and fear were all he felt as he glared around him. Then he felt a sudden sensation in his soul. It was worse than anything he had felt before.


    A piece of his soul was ripped away from him. Connections he had formed to the people who had fallen inside were destroyed, smashed to brittle pieces. The reassurance he had unconsciously relied on from the ever-present feelings from the girls¡¯ connections was ripped out of him. The knowledge that everyone was still alive and the confidence that he had been feeding into them were snapped back into himself, frayed and torn.


    Fury took control and he pounded his sledgehammer onto the barrier as hard as he could. A dull plunking noise faded after each impact, showing how little power he really contained compared to the barrier. It only took five more swings before the sledgehammer handle broke, but that didn¡¯t slow Adam as he grabbed a car frame and slammed it into the barrier.


    Against and again he pounded the barrier with no noticeable effect. He roared and growled and swung. The heat pulsed through him, becoming a physical heat. The river pulled his awareness into its boiling flow. Air and even metal around him warped as he gave everything he had to break into the barrier, to break through to his friends. Friends that he had to protect.


    ***


    Lucas had managed to stay on his feet when he hit the ground. Not everyone was as lucky. The lower leveled people were moaning on hands and knees as they tried to get back to their feet. Lilliard was down, maybe with a broken leg, and Hickory was flat, his armor bent all around him.


    The air was stagnant as he breathed in. It felt heavy and low on oxygen, much like he imagined the air around a volcano, except without the heat. The lack of breeze or air movement just made the near suffocation feel worse. The red sky lacked any features, as he would expect from a dimensional convergence rift.


    Rocky, jagged land spread out as far as his eyes could see. There was no grass, no plants, and no castle or fortress in the distance. Bouldery hills and mountains rose up behind where they had landed, slanting down towards his front, where an army of Testudinates were slowly walking towards them. Deep trenches cut through the ground, zig zagging every direction. The trenches on the lower slope were filled with more Testudinates, making their way upwards.


    Before Lucas could really look to his group, a sharp pain, like a knife stab, hit his chest. He groaned as he felt Adam¡¯s confidence and determination cut from him. At the same time four screams echoed out from the girls.


    While the pain he felt was nearly debilitating, Lucas pushed himself to look towards them. Three of them ended their screams by falling to the ground unconscious. Brittney, who had much higher vitality, went white as a ghost but caught herself on the shield she was holding. The shield was a new one made from the bed of the elfin prince, three quarters her height. It was a wood even more solid than the trees in the elf forest had been. Garrett had put it together overnight for Adam at Ron¡¯s request, and he had passed it to Brittney, their primary shield user. She used it to prop herself up, clearly drained of strength and vitality.


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    Lucas assumed everyone had their connection to Adam cut since a lot more fear was now displayed in the non-regulars¡¯ body language. That would explain why the girls were affected more strongly than he was, and it had still been bad for him.


    A nagging thought hit Lucas and he turned to look at a cliff in the distance behind him. Standing just in eyesight was a woman staring at them. Even from this distance Lucas knew she was drop dead gorgeous. None of her features were quite in view, but everything about her screamed head and shoulders more beautiful than any woman he had ever seen. The most attractive celebrities would kneel before her to learn the secrets of beauty.


    Two steps had been taken towards the distance woman before Lucas had even realized he had moved. He wanted to rush towards the woman and warn her, to carry her out of the rift. She must have been in the scrapyard when the ground collapsed, though Lucas wasn¡¯t sure how she had ended up so far away from the rest of them. Saving people was the reason Adam had brought them all together. Everyone would understand why Lucas left the group to save her.


    ¡°Keep each other safe.¡±


    Lucas shook his head as he remembered the words and took a step backwards. Adam said that over and over. Did he really care about strangers? He cared about his family. He threw himself into danger for the group he put together. Adam wasn¡¯t a selfless hero. His hate of the invaders was palpable.


    People had to still be standing after the battle, to continue fighting. That was what Adam did. He allowed everyone to be in danger so that they could become strong enough to overcome, not to just rely on levels. For Adam it was about winning the fight, not saving everyone. If anything, Adam knew a great number of people were going to die soon and seemed to accept it, as long as it wasn¡¯t his people.


    Adam wouldn''t forgive Lucas for leaving the team for a single, beautiful woman. That thought became concrete in Lucas¡¯s head. He shook himself again and looked back to the cliff. The woman was no longer there. He put her out of his head and turned to the group. She was responsible for her own survival and if she wanted help, she could come to them.


    This was not just any group; this was his team. They needed to survive this for Adam. Any thoughts of the woman vanished from his head.


    ***


    ¡°So, everyone...we¡¯re boned,¡± said a pale Tom, followed by a slap to the back of his head.


    ¡°Then why are you smiling,¡± asked Lilliard, still in physical shock from breaking his legs in the fall, even if it was mostly better now. With Abbey unconscious, Ed had healed everyone who needed it. The fear was easy to read in the group. They had injured and unconscious and no weapons that worked on their opponents.


    ¡°Oh, it just reminds me of the time with the goblins when we were surrounded and overmatched. There was no way for us to survive back then,¡± answered Tom.


    ¡°How did you survive then?¡± asked Hickory. Lucas had needed to tear the armor off him with how mangled it had been from the fall. Now he held on to his flimsy play shield out of despair.


    ¡°The boss swooped in and rescued us. Though not before the goblins had spilled our guts.¡± Tom paused and looked around at everyone. ¡°Anyone willing to spill their guts now to summon the boss?¡± Another slap struck the back of his head.


    ¡°Adam isn¡¯t coming this time. He couldn¡¯t break the elf barrier. Trapping him didn¡¯t work last time so they trapped us this time. What we need to do is survive,¡± Lucas said.


    Rick stepped forward. Even he was shaken and pale. Pointing to the approaching army of Testudinates he asked, ¡°What are the victory conditions?¡±


    ¡°Survival. Even Adam said he couldn¡¯t face this army. Killing them isn¡¯t our job. We need to survive, or beat the boss to take control of this rift to let Adam in. If we can figure out how to fight them, that¡¯s fine, but don¡¯t try anything at the expense of survival. Lamar, Joseph, and Randall carry the girls,¡± explained Lucas. ¡°Brittney, ideas?¡±


    She pointed to the tallest spire in the rocky landscape. ¡°We get to the high area. Maybe we can see better. Maybe they won¡¯t be able to climb with their weight. Stay out of the trenches. There''s no way to dodge their charging in them, and we don¡¯t want them dropping on our heads.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I hate when Testies drop on my head,¡± snickered Tom. Brittney slapped his head. ¡°C¡¯mon! We¡¯ve all been waiting for that joke since Carlos told us what these things are called.¡±


    Lucas took back over, ¡°Drop anything that you don¡¯t need. We need to be light and fast.¡±


    With orders given, the group began jogging over the land. It was treacherous due to the jagged rocks sticking out from the ridges, so they had to go slowly and deliberately. Their speed stayed faster than the Testudinates, though not by much since they had Hickory and Lilliard holding them back. The Testudinates would also occasionally charge forward or roll for five seconds, keeping the pressure on them.


    Lucas didn¡¯t push too hard, not wanting to tire them out. Each person had a pack with supplies, snacks, and a canteen, at Adam¡¯s insistence. They ditched most things besides the food and water, with the stronger people splitting extra ropes, first aid kits, and flashlights.


    The land gradually became steeper as they approach a spire. A few times they had to jump across the gashes in the land to avoid long detours. At those times people had to carry Hickory and Lilliard, as well as the weaker people¡¯s gear. The unconscious girls were a concern, but since Brittney had survived, they expected the others to wake at some point.


    ¡°We¡¯re here. Now what?¡± asked Hickory, panting with exhaustion.


    ¡°Everyone takes a rest. We¡¯re about 10 minutes ahead of them,¡± Lucas said as he positioned everyone around the area. There was a wall behind them, about halfway up the slope. A trench jutted out from the side of the wall, then split in both directions. There were only two sides they could be approached from, and one of the sides was against the trench, so they could push the shelled invaders into it if they needed to. They could also jump over the first trench to escape if they got overwhelmed.


    Lucas planned to engage them followed by a retreat to see if fighting was an option at all. He gave specific directions to those who would carry other people for the escape and made sure everyone knew what to do. Once they retreated, they¡¯d go about halfway further up the spire, then back down towards a different spire in the distance. Lucas had seen no sign of a base, so wasn¡¯t sure how long they would be doing this, but he couldn¡¯t think of any other way to survive than to run.


    The battle plan that they had come up with was for Brittney and Lucas, as the strongest, to try and hold the incoming enemies, then have Nick, Carlos, and Joseph try to shove knives in the creases. If they could wedge the shells open that way, then they might be able to kill a few before running.


    After eight minutes of rest, and a few energy bars, Lucas stood and grabbed his sledgehammer. The enemy was here.

 CH 51: Kiting

    CHAPTER 51: Kiting


    The first Testudinate formed into a shell and charged at them. Lucas held on to Brittney from behind as the two pushed her new shield forward, not to block the charge but to see if they could redirect it. Everyone else was to the side where they wouldn¡¯t get hit if the redirect failed.


    The charge was meant to create an opening so the slow moving Testudinates could move in closer before they had to charge or roll. This helped the Sentinels though. When the shield survived the first charge, helped by Brittney¡¯s [Harden Shield] skill, the Testudinate was left unable to move away when Nick and Carlos darted in, wedging a knife into the arm seam, though not nearly as far as Adam was able to. Once it was in, Randall used Lucas¡¯s sledgehammer to pound the knife in to widen the opening. Rick darted forward as fast as he could and then fired his handgun with the muzzle pressed against the barely wide enough opening.


    Testudinate Roller [8] slain. 346 shared XP gained.


    Lucas couldn¡¯t even feel good about that. It took 5 to 6 people to get that one kill, with hundreds more closing in on them. Fighting wasn¡¯t going to work. On his command, everyone grabbed their assigned items or people and jumped the trench. It was Lucas¡¯s turn to carry the unconscious Andrea, but he was waiting until last to cover everyone, sledgehammer back in his hands.


    By the time everyone but he and Brittney had jumped the trench, seven of the creatures were in charging range. He grabbed Brittney¡¯s shield, which she was holding on to, and tossed her across the trench. Then as he went to grab Andrea, someone shouted out and so he dove to the side to avoid the first charge. A second charge barely missed him, colliding with the rock wall. The wall and ground shook from the collision. Lucas scrambled back to his feet, not sure if he¡¯d be able to get back to Andrea.


    The other five Testudinates saw that he was off balance and continued walking towards him.


    ¡°Tom, get Andrea. I¡¯m pinned here. Brittney, lead everyone away and I¡¯ll try to get to safety,¡± he called. No one wanted to see a sacrifice here, and people were debating jumping back to help. ¡°Do NOT come back. We can¡¯t fight them.¡±


    Tom followed his command, while Brittney blocked anyone else from coming back. As Tom arrived back on Lucas¡¯s side of the trench, in a rush he grabbed Andrea a little too roughly. He almost dropped her as her eyes popped open and she continued the scream from when she had fallen unconscious.


    ¡°NOOOOOOO!¡± she yelled, once her scream ended. Scrambling against Tom¡¯s unsecure grip, she looked at the Testudinates with murder in her eyes. ¡°YOU CAN¡¯T TAKE HIM FROM ME! I¡¯LL KILL YOU ALL!¡±


    ***


    Andrea saw those hateful creatures. They were tougher than their levels indicated, but she would find a way to kill them. They had taken Adam from her. Being ripped from Adam¡¯s connection was the most painful thing she could imagine. It had caused her body and mind unbearable pain. Her emotions had been thrown into a maelstrom as the gentle reassurance he provided was gone. Even her soul had been scarred from the connection being terminated.


    When Adam removed the connection, it felt so gentle but sad, like knowing he would be traveling away from her yet could still call at any time. Having the connection destroyed was more like grenades and machine gun fire coming from an erupted volcano. There was no mercy or survivors.


    Now Andrea wanted to hurt them. No, she needed to hurt them. To see them all die. To teach them the pain that they had caused her. She would hear their mooing death knell.


    While struggling to get Tom to put her down, she opened her [System] menu. The [Skills] tab flipped open and she selected the [Jolt] spell that she had gotten from evolving to a [Volt Mage]. She put one of her skill points into the spell.


    Choose your spell¡¯s path: [ Strength / Distance / Control ]


    Andrea chose strength.


    Spell: [Jolt] + 1


    The spell now does 30% more damage.


    Another point was added to the spell.


    Choose your spell¡¯s path: [ Strength / Distance / Control ]


    Andrea chose strength.


    Spell: [Jolt] + 2


    The spell now does 60% more damage.


    Spell: [Jolt] + 3


    The spell now does 90% more damage.


    Spell: [Jolt] + 4


    The spell now does 120% more damage.


    For the fifth and final point Andrea selected Distance.


    Spell: [Jolt] + 5


    The spell now has a 5-yard range.


    Spell [Jolt] cannot be improved further.


    Andrea¡¯s elbow caught the back of Tom¡¯s head, and he let go to keep himself from falling to the ground. No time was needed for her to run at the closest Testudinate, still closed in its shell. The flat of her hand was slapped down on it and she screamed, ¡°[JOLT]!¡±


    Electricity crackled around her hand and then surrounded the shell. The creases weren¡¯t tight enough to prevent the shock from passing through it. There was a soft sizzle and then a loud pop. The time was too fast for the Testudinate to make its mooing sound.


    This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    Testudinate Roller [8] slain. 680 XP gained.


    The notification hadn¡¯t even appeared before Andrea was dashing towards the next metal egg.


    ¡°[Jolt]!¡± Sizzle. Pop.


    The next five Testudinates folded into their egg forms and Lucas could tell they were getting ready to charge Andrea. As a mage, she wasn''t fast or strong compared to the other fighters, and those charges would definitely be able to hit her. He launched himself at her, sweeping her onto his shoulder. All his strength was put into his legs as he leapt into the air, aiming for the other side of the trench.


    ¡°[Jolt]!¡± she yelled as the electricity cut through the air at the only Testudinate still in her range. The electrical discharge from her spell caused Lucas¡¯s muscles to clench, throwing off his control. They made it to the other side of the trench, but he wasn¡¯t able to land as he crashed on the hard rock.


    Andrea, looking ragged and frantic, rushed to Brittney and grabbed her. Tears flowed from her eyes as she sobbed.


    ¡°They took him. He¡¯s gone. It hurts so much.¡±


    ¡°I know it does,¡± whispered Brittney. ¡°I feel the hurt too, and so will Abbey and Alissa when they wake up.¡±


    ¡°What are we supposed to do? We need to get him back!¡± Andrea buried her face in the smaller Brittney¡¯s shoulder. Brittney, still looking pale and pained, just petted her hair and tried to soothe her.


    ¡°The best thing we can do now is try to stay alive. We¡¯ll get back to him as soon as we can, but we can¡¯t leave it all to him this time. How many times can you fire that spell?¡±


    Andrea was sniffling as she answered, ¡°Only five. Making it more powerful also makes it cost more. I did level from those kills though.¡±


    A bruised and limping Lucas came up behind them. ¡°I¡¯m sorry to rush you, Andrea, but we need to move. Too many are arriving and you need to get your mana back. You''re the best weapon we have against them.¡±


    With tears still in her bloodshot eyes, and a smudged runny face, Andrea nodded to him while getting some determination back.


    ***


    Lucas and Joseph were holding on tightly to an egg, pointing it straight up so it couldn¡¯t charge. Nick wedged his knife in the arm crease where Tom pounded it in with the sledgehammer. Randall hurried forward and jammed his spear into the narrow opening. Before he thrust it for a killing blow, Andrea ran up and cast a low-powered [Jolt] on the end of the spear. As she pulled back her hand, and before the electric charge had dissipated, Randall thrust forward killing the Testudinate.


    ¡°It worked!¡± he shouted in triumph.


    ¡°Good,¡± shouted Lucas as they rolled the shell of the dead Testudinate down towards the approaching ones. ¡°Evolve quickly and throw some points in it. We¡¯re moving again. Andrea, please clear the way.¡±


    ¡°[Jolt], [Jolt], [Jolt], [Jolt], [Jolt], [Jolt], [Jolt]!¡± Andrea was now capable of casting eight of her spells, due to a combination of leveling, putting skill points into [Increased Mana], and figuring out the lowest power she could use to kill them. She cleared a path through them while Elias, Alissa, and a rotation of cops fired spells and bullets to force the Testudinates to fold into egg form, slowing them a bit more as the group retreated.


    More problems had surfaced over the last three hours. Fatigue had been expected, but two main issues were really concerning Lucas. In the past they would share the XP on kills, providing everyone with the chance to level. Each person getting shared XP was lower than a single person would get per kill, but the total amount was higher the more people shared in it. That way the whole group would level slowly but gain more levels in total than a solo individual would have.


    Unfortunately, the Testudinates were very difficult to share levels on. The shell didn¡¯t count as part of them, so only the person shoving the weapon inside for the kill was getting credit. This was forcing them to choose who would get levels. Andrea was an obvious choice due to her spell killing them through the metal shell. The next choice had been more difficult. The mages didn¡¯t have a way to generate electricity, like with the taser, so they wouldn¡¯t be able to get a lightning class. Most of the melee fighters had invested heavier in [Body] than their [Class] for the extra stats, so weren¡¯t close to an evolution. Randall was the only exception, though he had wasted a few skill points on crap skills.


    They had come up with a plan to feed Randall XP to get his [Class] to 15. Then they had him get a kill with Andrea¡¯s [Jolt] electricity on his weapon. They were hoping that getting a kill with electricity would allow Randall access to a lightning melee class. Heck, even a lightning mage skill would have been worth it.


    Surprisingly it worked. Randall got a class called [Lightning Spear]. The first skill he took was [Lightning Tip]. It sounded underwhelming, but Randall threw some points in it to make it stronger and last longer. They would need to see how it performed during the next engagement. Having two fighters who could kill would really improve their chances.


    Currently they had managed to kill between 6 and 10 each time the Testudinates caught up to them, though that was mostly thanks to Andrea. Usually only two got killed from the rest of the group. Unfortunately, even Andrea¡¯s kills had required help. She had such a short range on the spell that she either needed to be carried by Nick or Carlos. That or she had to wait for the enemy to get dangerously close.


    Many injuries had been suffered due to the Testudinate charging. Broken bones, smashed limbs, and blood loss was just the start of it. Ed hadn¡¯t been able to keep up with it, and even when Abbey woke they ran out of mana just to keep everyone healthy enough to move.


    Alissa waking had been even worse than Andrea¡¯s. She had wept, then went still, not responding to anything around her. They carried her for around 45 minutes before she finally staggered to her feet, hugged Andrea, then asked what was happening. She still had a distant, glassy look in her eye.


    Abbeys awakening hadn¡¯t seemed as bad at the beginning, but Lucas was more concerned for her. She didn¡¯t cry or sob or complain. When Abbey woke, she stood up, looked around, and then began healing people. She was pale and every movement made her wince, but she was doing what they needed. However, she hadn¡¯t said a word since. It was like she was on autopilot and not really there.


    Regardless, a lot of time had passed, and everyone was worn down. They had seven skirmishes in three hours, followed by long bouts of running. No matter how fast they went it was never enough to outrun the horde approaching them. Lucas had planned to kite and kill, maybe getting someone high enough levels to do damage to more than one, but then they noticed the second issue.


    The Testudinates were reinforcing the areas they had already moved through. The group wouldn¡¯t be able to backtrack at all, and Lucas knew there was limited space in the rift. Limited space and a boss Testudinate that they hadn¡¯t seen yet. There was nothing more that Lucas could think to do. He shortened the distance between each encounter, allowing more of them but cutting back on the rest or mana regen time for the healers and casters. It also prevented them from picking favorable terrain for the encounters, leaving them open to more damage taken.


    Lucas just groaned and pushed on, watching everyone below level 19 staggering from exhaustion. There was nothing else they could do. Lucas would see his team safe. Death wasn¡¯t an option.

 CH 52: Need to be More

    CHAPTER 52: Need to be More


    Ron pulled into the parking area of the scrapyard. The police cruisers and Sentinel Army cars were still parked there. The area was both messy and orderly for what it was. All the scrapyard¡¯s vehicles were parked haphazardly, and its machinery was completely still. The area was unnaturally quiet, almost oppressively.


    Two large men, bulging with both muscle and fat, stood in the middle of the open space, staring into the piles of sorted scrap. They wore heavy leather aprons over jeans and sweaty t-shirts. Their faces were twisted in fear, sweat pouring off them as they concentrated on something unseen. Ron¡¯s hackles rose as he looked at them and waited for Joshua Clemens, Adam¡¯s dad, to get out of the car.


    The mission to the scrapyard had been more casual in its setup than the elf raid, mostly due to Adam¡¯s impatience, and hours had gone by since Ron had been notified that they arrived here.


    The rifts could cut off phone and radio signals, so Ron hadn¡¯t been too concerned, however he had wondered why the communications officer that was supposed to stay outside hadn¡¯t kept them up to date on the situation.


    The lack of communication had stretched on, starting to concern him more than he expected, but after four hours of no news, Ron had received an emergency call from the manager of the scrapyard. Apparently, something bad had happened and only Adam was left. He even said that Adam might be dead, though Ron couldn¡¯t imagine that being the case. Joshua had insisted on coming with him and loaded the car with 10 gallons of orange juice and piles of sandwiches that Adam¡¯s mom had begun keeping ready due to Adam¡¯s monstrous appetite. An Adam sized emergency meal kit.


    ¡°Hello,¡± Ron tried greeting the men several times to no response. A hand placed on the shoulder of one of the men caused him to jump higher than a man of his weight should be able to.


    ¡°Wha...buh¡­er¡­hey,¡± the man gasped. ¡°You almost gave me a heart attack!¡±


    ¡°Sorry about that. You weren¡¯t responding. I¡¯m Detective Baker. You called about the situation? Can you please explain what happened?¡±


    ¡°Yeah. I can¡­yeah. I¡¯m Earnest and this is Dale. Well, those kids and the cops went off to the invader hole. It was quiet at first, then we heard banging, like cars crashing into each other. That only lasted for a few minutes, but then there was an earthquake. Our piles shook and some even fell. Afterwards we heard a beast roaring. We were rightly terrified and got inside the crane, up tall, to hide.


    ¡°Then the pounding started. It sounded like the ground was being jackhammered in slow motion. Boom, boom, boom, right. It kept going on for hours. When it stopped, we waited awhile and then went to check it. We took a truck in case we had to run, and all the drive paths were cluttered up with scrap thrown around.


    ¡°But when we got to the hole it was crazy, like a war had happened. The hole with the black spot in it was only around fifteen feet wide before. Now it was like fifty feet. The four piles of cars around it were collapsed with cars thrown all over the place. Ground was blown up with new holes everywhere. In the middle of it was a dead body, all burned and messed up. It was scarier than a movie, I tell you.¡±


    ¡°Can you show us to the scene?¡± asked Ron.


    The man identified as Dale swallowed hard. ¡°I ain''t going. You¡¯re on your own boss.¡±


    Earnest shivered. ¡°As long as we don¡¯t get too close, mister detective.¡±


    ***


    The scene did look like a warzone. Holes like those from explosions, mines, and missiles, were all over. Car frames that were smashed, crushed, ripped apart, and driven into the ground made the paths difficult to maneuver through. A giant gap in the earth, looking like it had a pitch-black shadow throughout, spread wide and made it look dangerous to approach. Small fires were burning as car fluids had ignited, with metal throughout the scene being warped and melted down. A forge like heat blasted the area, causing the air to ripple, reminding Ron of a portrayal of a mirage in the desert. Then in the middle of it all was the body.


    The body was on its knees, sitting on its heels. Arms were dropped to the sides and the fingers bent in all the wrong directions, nearly flapping from the heat. The skin was almost completely burned off the whole body, with muscle still smoldering in parts, fat ignited in others. Clumps of hair had burned short and other clumps had fallen out. Blood had been spilled around the body and still sat on the muscles, except it was dried up completely, all the liquid in it evaporated.


    This truly was a thing of nightmares. Ron would never forget this horror. This was the closest to a zombie movie that was possible, he hoped.


    Upon seeing it, Earnest turned and began vomiting and crying. However, Joshua had a different response.


    ¡°ADAM!¡± Joshua yelled and tried to run forward. Ron had to tackle him and try to hold him down from heading towards the body. Joshua struggled to get up, never taking his eyes off the body of his son.


    While lying on the ground overtop Joshua, whose arm was twisted behind his back, Ron noticed that the body was shaking. Before he had thought it was a trick of the heat, but now he realized the body was still alive. The head tilted, and with extreme slowness it turned to look at them.


    If Ron had thought the body was bad, the face was even worse. Adam¡¯s lips were peeled back and shriveled, his nose was burned down to the cartilage. The irises of Adam¡¯s eyes had become a milky white, looking like someone who had lost their sight. His eyelids seemed charred open with light brown crust all around his tear ducts, where the tears had evaporated.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Suddenly Ron realized that Adam was sobbing, though nothing came out without evaporating. Only an airy hissing noise came from him, barely noticeable with all the visual distortions around him.


    He must be in agony! This was the world¡¯s strongest man. This was the most dangerous, threatening, and confident person Ron had ever met. His body all but destroyed and unable to even move. Ron was shocked by what he saw. Any belief that they could stand against the invaders left him.


    They had been following Adam¡¯s plans to prepare and search for invaders, but until this moment the gravity of it hadn¡¯t hit him. They had been pretending that they understood. Only joking and teasing each other at the monsters coming. Only Adam had been stern and determined, never relenting in his message, and now he was reduced to almost a corpse.


    ¡°I NEED TO GET TO HIM!¡± screamed Joshua.


    Ron needed to lick his lips a few times before they were moist enough to respond. The scene before him had just obliterated his reality. When he spoke, all he could muster was a whisper.


    ¡°If you go out now you¡¯ll die. The heat is coming from Adam. He needs to turn it off.¡±


    ¡°Right. Right.¡± Joshua repeated himself and stopped struggling. Ron let him go and they both stood up. Earnest had already fled the way they had come.


    ¡°Adam! Son. It¡¯s your father,¡± Joshua shouted to him. ¡°You need to turn off the heat if you can. We can¡¯t help you until it¡¯s gone.¡±


    Almost imperceptibly, Adam¡¯s head went up and down, barely different than the previous quivering. It took two and a half minutes before the heat radiating off him calmed. The area didn¡¯t cooldown immediately. The two slowly moved towards Adam. The heat was like sitting in a sauna, but at least it wouldn¡¯t set them on fire now. Ron felt the soles of his active dress shoes softening from the head that remained in the ground.


    Once they were standing in front of Adam, Joshua had tears rolling down his cheeks.


    ¡°Oh, my son. What happened to you?¡± Joshua wept.


    Adam¡¯s jaw shivered as if to open, but no sound came out.


    ¡°What can we do for him?¡± Joshua demanded as he turned to Ron. After thinking for a moment, Ron answered.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t he say he regenerates? How do we trigger it?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right! It happened after he drank that elf¡¯s blood.¡± Joshua pulled an elven blade from his belt and almost sliced his whole hand off trying to cut it. Blood squirted out as he squealed, so Ron grabbed his arm and pulled the wound to Adam¡¯s mouth. Eventually most of the dripping fell into Adam¡¯s mouth, though when Joshua started swaying, Ron pulled him away and used a zip tie in his belt as a tourniquet to slow the bleeding on the oversized wound and keep Joshua from passing out.


    Looking back to Adam, he noticed that some of his skin had grown in. There was a lot of surface area still to go, so it would take a lot more blood. This was going to be awkward.


    Ron left Joshua sitting wobbly with Adam and then headed back to his car. Once there he radioed dispatch and requested an ambulance for a blood transfusion, saying that the patient was too hurt to move. Then he waited at the entrance for them.


    The paramedics thought he was crazy, and yelled about wasting it, when he snatched a blood pack and ripped it open into Adam¡¯s mouth. Questions of how he could even still be alive disappeared as the blood dissolved into Adam¡¯s mouth and triggered the regrowth of his skin. It took six more blood packs before Adam looked alive, although he still looked mortally wounded.


    The paramedics, freaked out by it all, had taken some video and were making calls. Ron got the pants from a spare uniform and tried to give it to Adam, but noticed his fingers still flapped around broken and Adam lacked the strength to stand.


    ¡°Food,¡± Adam whispered breathily, using all the energy he had.


    His dad went and brought him two jugs of orange juice. The paramedics had to cut some medical tubing to use as a straw so Adam could drink it¡­and drink it he did.


    ¡°There isn¡¯t enough room in the human body for that much fluid!¡± exclaimed one of the paramedics.


    ¡°That is what you are complaining about after watching his skin regrow?¡±


    ¡°Wait! You''re giving him sandwiches after that much juice?!¡±


    Joshua hand fed Adam the sandwiches, which he had to chew very slowly, just enough to make it a swallowable size. More juice and some water would wash it all down as they went. It was slow going, but after twenty minutes Adam seemed strong enough to talk. Ron began the conversation.


    ¡°Adam, are you ok to talk now?¡± Ron asked him. After a small nod from Adam, still chewing and looking like a ghost, Ron continued. ¡°We need to know what happened. Where is everyone else?¡±


    Before he even finish, Adam was in tears. It was the first time Adam had looked like a child to Ron, and he felt heartbroken for the burden that Adam was carrying. Sitting there naked, filthy, hands so broken he couldn¡¯t even hold a sandwich. Adam didn¡¯t cry due to the pain he felt, but for the loss of his companions.


    ¡°They¡¯re gone. We were dumb. I thought they would use the same trap as the elves, allowing me in alone. Instead, they did the opposite. I was locked out and they expanded the rift to force everyone else inside.¡±


    ¡°Then what is all this mess here? They must have been a really high level to give you this much trouble.¡±


    ¡°They''re called Testudinates. They were level 7 and would be easy kills if not for a shell of armor that resisted all weapons we had. Freaking slow ass weaklings hiding in strong shells. They escaped after I managed to kill one. But that armor repulsed everything. I wasn¡¯t strong enough to get through it. I wasn¡¯t strong enough to keep them safe. I need to be more¡­¡± Adam¡¯s words scrambled together as the sobs hit his body. The paramedics were so concerned they came over to check his vitals as he shook.


    ¡°Then everyone else is in the rift?¡± Joshua asked.


    ¡°No, dad. They can¡¯t hurt the Testudinates. It¡¯s been so long since they were pulled in. I''m too weak to beat the barrier. I couldn¡¯t protect them. I can¡¯t protect anyone. I¡¯m so weak¡­¡± The paramedics tried to get Ron to back off as they put sensors and straps on Adam, connecting them to portable machines, but Ron didn¡¯t stop.


    ¡°Adam, then how do we stop them? We need to be able to stop them, or at least try to rescue your friends.¡±


    ¡°They were so slow,¡± Adam cried as he looked to the sky. ¡°So easy to attack and outrun, but no attack could get through. No Earth weapons can break the armor. Look what happened to my hands just from hitting it over and over.¡±


    ¡°If no attack from Earth can get through, then what can? [System] skills? Magic? Weapons we can buy from the rift shop?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he sobbed. ¡°All I¡¯ve done is meaningless if I can¡¯t even help my friends¡­¡± An injection from a paramedic went into Adam and his body shuddered. Then he slouched backwards, lowered to the ground by the one who injected him.


    ¡°What did you just do?!¡± Ron shouted at the paramedic.


    ¡°I-it was a sedative. His vitals were impossibly high. We need to get him to a hospital immediately,¡± concern but uncertainty was evident in the paramedic''s words.


    ¡°He regrows his body from drinking blood, and you think a high heartbeat is dangerous to him?¡± Ron turned to Adam. ¡°Adam! Adam, are you still awake? We need to come up with a plan. We need a way to stop the invaders!¡±

 CH 53: Just a Bit More

    CHAPTER 53: Just a Bit More


    ¡°Invaders,¡± Adam mumbled with a whisper. His eyes had closed, and the two paramedics were lifting his body onto a gurney. Then his voice came out a little louder. ¡°Invaders¡­I¡¯ve got to¡­conquer¡­the invaders¡­¡±


    Adam¡¯s skin reddened, and heat started wafting off him. ¡°The invaders¡­need to die¡­¡± The paramedics hurried away from him as the air blasted back from the sudden temperature change. His eyes popped open and he sat up. Fury showed in his face.


    ¡°They took my friends from me. I will take everything from them. I¡¯ll kick their race off our planet and make sure they never return!¡±


    Once he was standing Adam looked to the sky thoughtfully. Ron watched as the grieving child disappeared and instead was replaced by the steadfast and determined man. The one who hadn¡¯t been stopped by armies of enemies, fatal gunshot wounds, or having his chest destroyed by the giant ballista bolt.


    ¡°But I need just a bit more. My soul attacks won¡¯t be enough and can¡¯t work on the barrier. Weapons that we have are useless and my physical attacks can¡¯t puncture the rift barrier. The barrier is made of some kind of force. It stops inertia, slows my attacks before they hit it. I need a force that can¡¯t be slowed, one that can focus my strength into just a point to push through. The same for their armor. I need to strike in a single spot so that the metal can¡¯t disperse my power.¡±


    Adam walked over to the broken ground where the black barrier protruded. He placed his palm on it, fingers still flapping uselessly. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on the barrier. He felt it pushing his hand, keeping it from moving forward. It wasn¡¯t like a solid wall, but it also wasn¡¯t squishy. When he moved really slowly, he could feel the barrier increasing where he was and redirecting his strength.


    What would happen if he could move faster? How fast would he have to be to press on it before it could redirect the strength? When he was trying to understand his danger senses with the elves, he had spread out his soul, to understand what was around him. Now he needed to understand something that was almost, but not quite physical.


    The coolness in his mind wouldn¡¯t do it, but maybe his river could. The heat that pulsed from his heart seemed to draw in his emotional energy, channeling and amplifying his anger while spreading it through his body. Other emotions and thoughts were overlayed by it until he could calm himself back down.


    Then there was his river. It took the heat and anger and converted it into power, charging his physical body. The heat was like gasoline, and the river was the engine. The river flowed through his whole body, but did it have to? What if he could direct it to specific parts. The river wasn¡¯t really under his control, but while the power and heat would run how they chose, maybe he could direct it.


    Adam took a deep breath and cut out all his senses except touch. He changed the pressure of his hand on the barrier, first the left side, then to the right. He only shifted his own pressure when he felt the barrier respond by pushing back. The sensation of counter pressure was fast but distinct if you could pay close enough attention.


    Once he had a rhythm of shifting pressure, one side of his hand then the other, he turned inward. A pulse pushed the heat from his heart into his core. Then he pushed the heat into his limbs. His muscles warmed and became more mobile. They were denser yet more supple. He took the pulses and instead of just pushing it outward, he tried circulating it around his body. The heat flowed into his arms and then back towards his heart.


    The pulses tended to collide with each other, and Adam grimaced at the sensation. It was as if he was punching himself internally when the incoming flow struck the outgoing flow. That wasn¡¯t what he wanted.


    After several tries, he was feeling damaged from the pulses rebounding off each other, but that gave him an idea. He used the rebounds to trap the heat in his extremities, like a larger wave hitting smaller waves so they couldn¡¯t go back out to sea. Once enough heat was trapped at the end, he summoned the river.


    The river drew in the heat and Adam felt ready to burst with power. But what form could the river take to make use of the trapped heat? The river flowed through all of him, even where the heat was trapped. He wanted the river to stay there while continuing to flow.


    Adam thought of a waterfall, but that would just let the flow escape. He thought of a pool, but that would be a barrier to the flow. A narrowing of the entrance wouldn¡¯t work either since it would just overflow and lose its power. Then he thought of a whirlpool. Water would be drawn in and continue to spin, feeding the momentum.


    He pictured the river flowing in but spinning at the end of his arms. It would continually take in the power and amplify the power right there, never letting it leave. He pulled on the river and twisted it into itself where the heat was trapped. The heat was sucked into the spinning vortex and he felt the power and strength become like a glove around his hand, becoming its own barrier that forced the world away from him.


    The rift barrier began to quiver. Adam smiled a wicked grin, wondering what the [System] thought of what he did. The force of the barrier met the force covering his hand. The barrier was stronger, but he still pushed with his palm. Broken fingers flopped backwards as Adam didn¡¯t try to push the barrier out of the way but to let his hand fight the changing shifts in the pressure, moving back and forth to squirm his way in.


    Unfortunately, Adam felt his energy starting to diminish. His power was still too weak. He let out a roar and tried to increase the size of the whirlpool, pulling on the anger filled heat to create more fuel, trying anything to not fail. This barrier was an invader and needed to be stopped.


    Lightheaded as he was, body broken outside and in, running out of energy, Adam stopped trying to contain the energy. Instead, he grabbed the built-up momentum of the whirlpool and pushed it outside his body, like the gloved barrier but much more forcefully.


    A huge boom ripped through the air as his energy met the barrier. Unable to adjust fast enough to redirect it, the barrier instead was impacted by it. All that force had to go somewhere, and Adam felt it come back at him, like a physical shockwave. Pain ripped through his arm, ribs, neck, and stomach. He gritted his teeth as he felt the pressure pop all around him, and then the darkness took him.


    ***


    Lucas looked down at his mangled arm. The muscles and skin looked mashed, and the bones were broken in more than one place. He was also certain he had several broken ribs. It hurt¡­a lot. Yet it wasn¡¯t enough to stop him. The extra stats and levels really allowed the body to push further than it should have been possible no matter how things felt, though physics still applied. His strength was almost gone. Without the muscles and structure to keep swinging, grabbing, and holding, those actions were not possible.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    More than seven hours had passed and it was a miracle they had survived this long. Well, most of them had survived. Two of the policemen had died. One fell from a ledge due to exhaustion and another was too injured from getting hit by the wind shear of a Testudinate charge. Just the wind shear had killed him at that lower level. The bodies had been left behind because they were all too exhausted to carry more.


    Looking at the group as they were waiting for the next assault from the oncoming Testudinates, he felt pride. Adam¡¯s team, no, his team, had made it this far. They had worked together with no complaints, pushing to survive. They had protected each other and fought overwhelming enemies. They bore injuries from sacrificing for each other.


    A lifetime of boxing, taking punches and giving them, had never earned him praise from his father. Never once in action or words had his father shown pride in him. Yet now Lucas knew the emotion well. He felt it towards every one of their team, from Tom down to Brandon. They all earned his respect and trust.


    Unfortunately, Lucas couldn¡¯t see a way out for any of them. He couldn¡¯t summon Adam¡¯s determination or ability to find a way to push through the odds. Lucas could only see their death coming. Even with enhanced strength, he no longer could hold the shells for others to work daggers into. Nick and Carlos were both unable to even hold daggers with injuries to their hands and arms. Carlos lost a pink when their strength gave out trying to wedge a dagger into the shell, allowing it to snap closed on his digit. It was just his speed and reflexes that prevented him more losing more fingers.


    Brittney¡¯s shield was still holding up, but she was out of mana to strengthen it, and was too exhausted to stay upright. Most everyone was out of mana. They had all used every skill point they had on whatever skills would benefit them the most. Those skills had drained their mana and energy as they fought. Yet only Andrea and Randall could kill the Testudinates anymore, and they had burned through their mana again and again. The healers could only cast occasional heals now, with so many sporting broken bones or mangled limbs.


    This was the end, and Lucas¡¯s biggest wish was that somehow he could sacrifice himself for the others. Find some way to let them live. His own life had been just meaningless. Thinking of the others he realized that almost everyone¡¯s lives were meaningless. Only fighting for the group, for the planet, for Adam, had brought them meaning and satisfaction.


    A pained sigh came from his lips. He wished he could save The General¡¯s Wives for Adam at least. Adam will probably be devastated losing everyone. If only he could save Abbey¡­but Lucas knew that wasn¡¯t possible either. Abbey was more determined than the rest of them. She wouldn¡¯t hesitate to fight to the end for the team.


    However, no matter the hurt, no matter the losses even after they were all gone, Lucas knew that Adam would press on.


    ¡°Is this it then?¡± asked Rick. He had sat out so much of the fighting due to his low level and powerlessness. Protecting and Serving were what he wanted to do, and he took every opportunity to lessen the load for the team, from carrying more equipment to pulling injured people back. He was willing to take risks, but only ones that would benefit everyone. Nothing meaningless.


    ¡°Yes,¡± answered Brittney.


    ¡°Good, then I can stop hiding behind everyone. Final stand time, I guess.¡±


    A weight seemed to fall from Rick. Renewed vigor entered him as he stood tall and picked up a piece of Testudinate shell that they had ripped off one of their more dismembered opponents. It wouldn¡¯t make a good weapon, but it was better than anything else the group had. Several of them were using shell pieces or jagged metal ripped from the arms of killed Testudinates.


    They had roamed all the spires that could be reached, running up and down the slopes, kiting the slow-moving army all over the land. Only now there was no place to go to. The Testudinates had closed them in. Plus, they were just too exhausted to go on. Only a sense of rebellion to fate had Lucas still on his feet instead of just sitting and waiting to get run over by the metal encased creatures.


    ¡°Pssh,¡± said Tom, still bright and smiling despite the blood splatters all over him. He hobbled forward, on a leg that Lucas knew was broken. ¡°We still have a way to win.¡±


    ¡°Not this again,¡± groaned Joseph.


    ¡°Why not? The conditions are right. We don¡¯t really have much choice anyway,¡± insisted Tom. ¡°Once we''re on the verge of death he¡¯ll come save up. That¡¯s how it works.¡±


    The belief that Tom kept showing in Adam was past creepy. He acted so irreverent towards him, but at the same time it was almost as if Tom worshipped him. Lucas shook his head.


    ¡°You read too many comic books, Tom,¡± said Brittney.


    ¡°Oh, he¡¯ll definitely come for you girls,¡± Tom said with a snicker. ¡°Maybe he¡¯ll wait for us to die so he has less competition.¡± He waggled his eyes as he talked. Brittney didn¡¯t have the energy to waste rolling her eyes or to slap his head, but a blush still entered her cheeks.


    ¡°Whether he comes or not, this is our last chance. I¡¯d tell you all to give it everything you¡¯ve got, but you¡¯ve done that for hours. I¡¯m glad that we all followed Adam together and I¡¯m proud to stand with you all,¡± Lucas said as he looked around at each face.


    He felt so sad as he saw them, and for the first time in his life Lucas had to stifle his eyes from watering up. Once he looked at their faces for the last time, he turned, and holding his sledgehammer with one hand, walked towards the approaching Testudinates, with Tom following him as quickly as he could.


    He and Tom, as the most heavily injured, would hold them back as long as possible for Andrea and Randall to regenerate their mana. Then his job, and probably life, would be done.


    ¡°It¡¯ll work,¡± Tom insisted. His eyes gleamed in hope and desperation, faith and madness in equal amounts. Lucas just grunted, not really having a response.


    Lucas took up his position and as the Testudinates came around an outcropping of rock, he jumped into the middle of them. His hammer swung weakly and bounced off shell after shell. He wasn¡¯t meant to kill them, just to get them to fold into the egg form. He swung and swung, his grip slowly loosening from fatigue. Tom hobbled behind him, thrusting his makeshift spear at anyone who looked at him. Rick was also with them, swinging his shell piece, clanging it off the other shells.


    Only a few minutes went by, with no real damage done, when several of the Testudinates started mooing. A deep sound started first with only a few, but then spread back among their ranks. Louder and louder it got as more joined in. Some matched the pitch and others created a clashing vibration that shook the ground for miles around. Lucas had to cover his ears as he felt the sounds would burst his brain.


    All at once the sounds stopped. Instead, a whistling sound grew in volume. Lucas grabbed Tom and leapt away. A Testudinate in egg form flew through the air, arcing high before it crashed into the ground where they had been. Rick hadn¡¯t been fast or aware enough to fully get away and he lay where he had been thrown from the impact, unconscious and missing his legs.


    He¡¯s probably luckier than us, Lucas though as he looked down past the hundreds of Testudinates to see a massive one, about twenty feet tall, lumbering towards them. It picked up a nearby egg formed Testudinate and then threw it at them. It was all Lucas could do to run far enough before the thrown Testudinate crashed to the ground in a crater created from the impact.


    The giant Testudinate wasn¡¯t wearing any shell armor, but did have slabs of metal in its arms, legs, and torso. It still had deep hunching shoulders, which curved to its head. Large eyes took up most of its face, swirling a lighter shade of orange and brown. Four air holes expanded and contracted as it breathed, two under each eye. There were no ears, and in its snarling mouth were flat rock like teeth.


    More Testudinates were thrown their way, as Lucas was forced to carry Tom with his one good arm and run with everything he had left. Even slow, that Testudinate covered lots of ground due to its size. And sitting above its head was the Testudinate boss tag: Crusher [23].

 CH 54: Glimpse of Power

    CHAPTER 54: Glimpse of Power


    Everything was a mess. There was no final stand. No fighting back. It was hide or be squished.


    Lucas had thrown Tom to someone, he didn¡¯t remember who, as all his thoughts were about getting the attention of the Boss Testudinate and dodging the ones he threw. It was a mad dash that even if it had only been minutes, was as exhausting as the last few hours combined. Lucas had used his hammer to menace the eggs on the ground, earning him moos from the boss and more projectiles hurled at him.


    The others had scattered, making sure not to group up while trying to find ridges, rock faces, and jagged outcroppings to obscure them from sight. The Testudinates who had been thrown either died from it, or their shells got dented, causing them to unfold. The ones who didn¡¯t die became XP for Lucas as a hammer swing ended them easily. For as angry as the boss seemed he sure didn¡¯t have an issue sacrificing his own people to attack Lucas who couldn¡¯t even hurt them.


    ¡°This way!¡± Brittney yelled, trying to indicate a place where there was more room to dodge.


    By fighting in the midst of the shell covered Testudinates, Lucas limited his area of movement, while also being threatened by rebounding eggs knocked about by the incoming one. He was wheezing from the effort and pain of his ribs. Lucas wasn¡¯t sure how much longer he could go.


    BOOM!


    The explosive sound was so loud and contained such force that it shoved Lucas to the ground from behind, causing him to land face first. A whistling sound different from the hurled Testudinates increased in intensity. Lucas rolled himself onto his back, knowing he wouldn¡¯t be able to get up, and looked towards the sound.


    From above, something was falling towards them. It was moving faster than the thrown Testudinates. The red sky, which Lucas had gotten used to seeing, was torn and rippled, with a blackhole opened in it. The ripples were trying to push the black hole closed.


    The object falling towards them was also red, though a different shade than the sky. It was falling in a direction away from them, but after being in the sky for a few seconds it shifted and the angle moved towards where the lead Testudinates were still in their shell forms.


    Lucas expected a loud crash and big impact, but instead, right before the falling object hit the ground, it shifted and disappeared from sight. When Lucas blinked, he saw it right in front of a Testudinate. It was a man.


    The man was red in skin, where he had skin, and naked, with significant chunks of his body missing. His right arm was a gory stump halfway between his elbow and shoulder. Part of his chest and side were missing, exposing his rib bones. Chunks of his neck were hanging off, ripped open but still partially attached. There was no hair anywhere on his head or body. Blood was flowing from all his open wounds. His face¡­well all Lucas could think was the expression on the face was one of extreme fury. Never had he seen someone that angry. It was a rage that would burn the whole world. Then the eyes that were faded with white turned towards Lucas and met his own.


    In that moment, the fury softened.


    ¡°I knew it would work! I told you guys!¡± shrieked Tom as he hobbled out from his hiding spot, almost having to drag his broken leg. He fell and scrambled back to his feet more than once before he fell to his knees, spread his arms, and hugged Adam. With his face near the hole in Adam¡¯s chest, Tom held on to Adam¡¯s gory body as if he was a swimmer holding rocks to try to keep from being pulled away in the rapids. Then he whispered, ¡°I knew you would come for us,¡± as he looked deep into Adam¡¯s face.


    Adam looked from Tom to the places where their team were coming out of and then to Lucas. Brittney ran over to help Lucas to his feet, never taking her eyes from Adam. As everyone was approaching, a whistling noise came from the direction of the Testudinate army. Lucas went to shout, but then saw Adam raise his left arm, hand glowing, not even looking where it was coming from. Adam¡¯s fingers flapped around, clearly unusable.


    When the egg shaped Testudinate arrived, it hit his glowing hand and then stopped, as if it had been floating there the whole time. Then it dropped to the ground. It was a testament to the faith everyone had that they had continued moving towards Adam even as the egg had approached.


    ¡°New power?¡± wheezed Lucas.


    ¡°Yes,¡± answered Adam with gravitas. ¡°I call it Glowing Gloves.¡±


    Everyone stopped and looked at him.


    ¡°Really?¡± asked Nick in disbelief.


    ¡°No, that¡¯s a stupid name,¡± said Adam dismissively.


    At that moment relief washed through everyone and some people sat on the ground, while others laughed heartily. Finally, there was a sense of rightness.


    ¡°Not to offend, boss, but I expected you to arrive, um, more whole?¡± said Tom as Randall helped him to his feet, giving Adam some space.


    ¡°And clothed,¡± said Brandon meekly.


    ¡°¡­not that you have anything to be ashamed about, boss. You have quite a healthy-looking, um, body, er, when your insides stay inside. And the parts meant to be outside are magnificent. Er, no, it¡¯s your choice if you like being naked. You know what? You should go naked all the time, like the Spartans or Greeks from the original Olympics¡­¡± Tom rambled.


    ¡°Its fine,¡± said Adam flatly. ¡°My clothes got burned off trying to get in here. My skin too. Though I probably look much better now than before.¡±


    Another thrown Testudinate came flying in, but once more Adam stopped it with a glowing hand before letting it drop.


    ¡°Hmm¡­I guess I should fix some of me now.¡±


    Adam walked to where one of the dead Testudinates had their shell opened. Very awkwardly he used his foot, knee, and left palm to lift it up. ¡°Avert your eyes if you¡¯re squeamish.¡±


    ¡°Dude, if we were squeamish, we wouldn¡¯t have lasted the first fight with you,¡± said Nick.


    Lifting the metal to his mouth, Adam then started pouring any fluid like gore from the corpse into his mouth.


    ¡°Herk! I stand corrected,¡± Nick turned away from him quickly.


    What didn¡¯t get absorbed as blood, Adam spat out of his mouth. When he was finished, his neck and chest had regrown. Another corpse saw growth on his missing arm and fixed his left fingers, making it easier for him to drink from a third corpse, which restored the rest of his arm.


    ¡°Whew. That¡¯s much better. Though their blood tasted tangy like rust.¡±


    ¡°We didn¡¯t need to know that,¡± said Carlos with his back turned.


    This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m a bit pissed off at these guys.¡± Adam closed his eyes and a few seconds later everyone felt Adam¡¯s presence and anger through their restored connections to him. Energy and vitality rushed into them. The girls, receiving a bit more, all began crying in joy and hugging each other. Even Lucas wanted to cry as he felt that the world had become a better place.


    Adams eyes were teary themselves as they opened, no longer with the white pupils of the dead.


    ¡°I thought you¡¯d all be dead. You did an amazing job staying alive. Thank you,¡± he whispered. Then more strongly he said, ¡°Now it¡¯s vengeance time.¡±


    The next thrown Testudinate coming towards them was caught by Adam, with both his restored hands glowing. While holding it he turned towards the Crusher. Using the force of a storm, he hurled the Testudinate at the Crusher with more power than it had come in. It didn¡¯t need an arc to reach the boss Testudinate, smashing into its right shoulder and knocking it off its feet.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± yelled Tom. ¡°We need that Eye of the Tiger song to play now!¡±


    ***


    Glancing down at his glowing hands, Adam watched as the power flowed through them. He could feel the river raging inside, trying to pull him under after everything he had gone through. The whirlpools that he created in it coated his hands in an energy that wanted to repulse his enemies, repulse the air, and repulse even the world around him. As long as he didn¡¯t push that energy outside of his body it felt like it would be under his control.


    The connections that he reestablished with all his friends allowed their safety and survival to sink into him, to make it real. He felt their pain, exhaustion, and anger coming through strongly. That wasn¡¯t all though, he also felt their hope and excitement at his being there with him.


    Gratitude floated through the coolness in his head. Not the gratitude that his friends had from being rescued at such a desperate moment, but the gratitude he felt for his friends keeping him pushing forward. The soul corruption inside would push him to destroy his enemies, to kill the invaders, and to conquer, but those reasons only would just leave him a cauldron of anger.


    Adam looked to his friends around him. Later he would feel the relief and joy of their survival. He would want to kiss Abbey, and play complain about Alissa and Andrea sticking to him. He would roll his eyes at Tom being the first to arrive and how awkward that was, as much from the missing chunks of himself as the nudity.


    Now wasn¡¯t the time for that. His soul and the fury of his river wouldn¡¯t allow it. Anger consumed him.


    His eyes passed over the landscape filled with invaders. Enemies that hurt his friends and people. Monsters that came to his world and stepped into his territory. So many that needed to know their place and pay for their crimes.


    Adam snorted out a hot breath and then he jumped in the middle of grouped Testudinates. They immediately curled into their egg forms, but that wouldn¡¯t stop Adam anymore. The energy on his hands intensified as he punched the Testudinate in front of him.


    The impact created a force that repulsed the metal shell with even more strength than Adam¡¯s normal punch would have. He felt the weight inside shift, the magic or pressure that was keeping the weak creature inside and contained broke. The egg blasted away from him and only travelled a few feet before it struck another.


    Energy was transferred from the one he had punched into the new one, increased the force of their collision. A clang sounded out loudly followed by the death mooing of the one he had punched. The shell began to open, but the power from his energy infused punch wasn¡¯t done with it as it spun away from its impact and into a second, third, and fourth before being spent.


    That wasn¡¯t all either. Every shell that was hit also flew away, extra force imparted to it by his glowing hands. Each Testudinate that was crashed into was forced away into others four more times. Then those hit struck four more still. The strength behind the impacts lessened with each chain until it dissipated, but after one punch the area around Adam was opened. Satisfaction filled Adam at seeing the overgeared weaklings smashed through.


    So he jumped again, into another group of Testudinates. This time he tried forming the whirlpools in his feet. They came just as easily as in the hands, causing his feet to glow. A side kick was all he needed to knock around the despicable creatures. Clanging into each other, sometimes mooing their death knells, but always losing control of whatever held their shells tightly and protected them inside.


    Adam was breathing heavily, though not due to exertion. Heat steamed from him, crisping the skin he had just regenerated. Occasionally he would pick up a cracked shell and drink the blood inside to heal the self-caused damage. There were a lot of invaders around him, a lot of justice to mete out. Or maybe vengeance. It didn¡¯t really matter what it was to Adam as his consciousness was consumed by fury.


    He roared and his foes whimpered as they tried to run, charge, and roll away from where he would land. There was no room for them to escape. Not that it mattered with how slowly the Testudinates moved. There would be no escape from Adam.


    A punch, kick, and then leap would set groups clanging. His friends came behind him to farm the XP from ones that didn¡¯t die directly from the impacts. Occasionally Adam would need to catch an egg hurled by the Crusher, but after three of those were caught and thrown back, the Testudinate boss was in just as big a rush to escape from Adam as the lower-level ones.


    Adam didn¡¯t revel in the death he brought or feel joy in the fall of the enemies. To him and his soul, this was the same as pruning hedges or sweeping the floor. It was only natural to clean up the filth that he found.


    ***


    Adam stepped through the barrier. It was a bit of a challenge since only the top of the barrier wasn¡¯t surrounded by earth. A barricade had been set up around the whole area, with numerous policemen patrolling and talking on their radios. Ambulances and triage stations were set up in two of the four driving paths leading away from the rift. Most of the car frames that had been scattered around had been sloppily moved back into the piles or used as part of the barricade.


    As he looked around, a fist came at Adam, slamming into his chest. His dad stumbled back and looked very angry.


    ¡°Do you know how it feels to hear an explosion and find only parts of your son where all of him should be?! I know you¡¯re a goddamned superhero, but to me you¡¯re a son. Please treat me better than this! I¡¯ve been scared shitless, not knowing if that explosion killed you!¡±


    Adam sighed. ¡°Sorry dad. I didn¡¯t expect to be able to get through the barrier. I was just trying something. The explosion was it partially failing, but it worked enough for me to fall through the barrier.¡± His dad glared at him but said nothing else and shoved a pair of police uniform pants at him, which he put on while more of his group came through the barrier.


    The next few hours were spent discussing things with Ron and the other police, getting checked out by the paramedics, and just checking everything to make sure there were no Testudinates still around. Before coming out they had retrieved the bodies of the police and had returned them now, even though they weren¡¯t in good condition. Rick was still alive but hadn¡¯t woken and was without his legs. So far, they couldn¡¯t heal missing parts, so he and Carlos were taken to the hospital right away.


    Hickory and Lilliard were traumatized. Adam had tried giving them some comfort through his connections, and while Lilliard had responded some, Hickory was a lost cause.


    ¡°They aren¡¯t your responsibility,¡± Ron told him after seeing him look at them again. Adam shrugged.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll get over it quickly. There¡¯s something broken in me when it comes to the invaders. Well, several things really. Something in my soul is insisting that I grind them under by foot. It¡¯s unwilling to forgive anyone who won¡¯t fight or help. In my mind I know that we weren¡¯t raised for this, but in my soul I expect every good man to get as strong as he can and push back. Then back in my head I agree with my soul, upbringings be damned.¡±


    ¡°Yes, I get that from you. Anyway, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do what you can and then move on. I think you¡¯re done here. I¡¯ll talk to the Sergeant and then take you and your dad home.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I think I should go to our base though. After today the Sentinels might need some comfort and company.¡±


    ¡°As long as your dad is fine with it.¡±


    Adam wandered around and told all his group that he would be staying at the base if they wanted to join him. He received lots of nods, as well as smiles from the girls. Exhaustion and pain were all around, so Adam planned to order pizza and watch some movies with everyone.


    When he approached Lucas, he heard a weird conversation between him and one of the patrolling policemen.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t see her either? She wasn¡¯t still in there when we took the rift and her body wasn¡¯t there so she must have come out,¡± Lucas was explaining.


    ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t know what to tell you. We would have seen her come out and no person like the one you described came out,¡± the officer answered.


    ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± Adam asked when they noticed him.


    ¡°There was this woman when we arrived. She was far from where we landed and I wanted to go rescue her, but I just couldn¡¯t leave our team.¡±


    ¡°What did she look like?¡± asked Adam as he scowled.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t really see her features since she was so far away, but I can confidently say she was the most beautiful woman I¡¯ve ever seen. Her looks put everyone else to shame,¡± Lucas said, his eyes unfocusing as if watching a dream.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± Adam swore. ¡°That was the mind control invader!¡±

 CH 55: Unknown Meetings

    CHAPTER 55: Unknown Meetings


    There was a somber mood in the meeting. The room they had chosen to meet in was small but well-guarded. His aide had gathered all the intelligence reports and General Gervin had reviewed them personally. This issue was too important for the top of the hierarchy to pass it off to others or to depend on biased summaries. Unfortunately, while General Gervin had read all the files and notes, there was nothing of substance.


    Since the [System] had appeared, all military focus had been at figuring out what it was and what the undescriptive but cryptic messages meant. What would the direct implications of them be? Was it a war? Would it be an infiltration? What would they need to know to be able to stand up to invaders.


    There had been tons of meetings at all levels of the military and national defense agencies. Some agencies were trying to horde what they knew while more were pushing everything they collected onto others to make sure it reached as many people as possible. Opinions were written, thousands of memos sent, experts searched for, no matter how crackpot they ended up. All that time wasted because the entirety of what they could prove was what was in front of them. It was only four pages long.


    Those measly pages were boiled down from thousands of opinion pieces, briefs, news articles, meeting notes, discussions, wire taps, and domestic and foreign intelligence agencies. Thousands more man hours were spent on it over the last week as it was an all-hands-on deck situation. Yet only four pages could be proven. Most of those four pages just repeated the words everyone had seen in their message windows.


    As the latest video posted came to an end, the general turned to the Army Intelligence officer that he worked the best with. ¡°Do we know if these are real yet?¡±


    ¡°Sir, every program we run through says they aren¡¯t doctored. We can¡¯t figure out how they would have faked it. The group working on it are arguing though. Even though it¡¯s high-speed footage, several of the kids move too fast for our programs to really break down well, leading to smudged footage. That leads some analysts to think that it is faked, just because movement that fast isn¡¯t possibly by a living creature.¡±


    ¡°Could it be using some alien technology that they found?¡± asked the general¡¯s aide.


    ¡°Since no one has seen aliens, let alone their tech, I don¡¯t know what is possible.¡±


    That statement was only partially true. Troops from one base in Afghanistan had been on patrol in a nearby city and had found a black spot that none of the equipment could see into. They had tried to push their way in using tools that they had when some large bugs, shells as high as the soldiers¡¯ knees, had come out from the black area and attacked. The bugs had been a cross between a cockroach, scarab, and rhino beetle. Nothing previously seen on Earth, according to Entomologists who reviewed the retrieved camera footage. The soldiers had barely managed to kill a few of them, when two of the troops were ordered to retreat to make sure the video footage got back to base. That footage had been nowhere near as decipherable as the videos posted on the website for the Sentinel Army.


    The videos at first seemed like a gag, some kids trying to monetize on the fear in the world. Yet the videos kept being released. Those videos were horrible. If they weren¡¯t faked, then the world was in trouble. The things those kids did and saw were worse than most soldiers in war experienced. The brutality of the leader of the kids was right up there with what the monsters they fought did. How terrible must ¡°The General¡± be to kill so easily and calmly. Not to mentioned how he kept finding different invaders.


    General Gervin spoke. ¡°We are left with either a bunch of super powered kids that are amassing technology that we have never seen before, or we have fake videos that our technicians can¡¯t figure out. Either way we are still left without what we need to know. We¡¯ve encountered several of the enemy nests, but all fighting has been minor, without seeing the invaders themselves, and all but two of the people involved were killed. If these kids have had success, then they must have found something to allow it, and we need to get a hold of it.¡±


    ¡°We found a report from the FBI that one of their agents claims he led a raid on a nest, and the kids stole the alien technology. He claims that they snuck it out and he has requested more agents to help retrieve it. The report submitted by his partner had a much different conclusion though he described similar events during the raid,¡± said the Intelligence Officer as he pulled out a folder and handed it over.


    So many unsubstantiated reports had come through that it was hard to find anything. What had flagged this report for them was that it was in the same area as the Sentinel Army kids and used their names.


    ¡°Hm¡­that can give us some ground to get involved. We can use the possible theft of foreign or dangerous materials, and the fact that they¡¯re claiming to be an army, to inspect or take what they have. Why hasn¡¯t local law enforcement gotten involved in this?¡± asked the aide.


    ¡°From different reports, the local law enforcement has gotten involved,¡± said the intelligence officer, perking up the aide¡¯s attention. ¡°Only, it¡¯s working with this Sentinel Army. It looks like they¡¯re doomsday prepping on a city-wide scale, while working with the Sentinels. The mayor and the police chief have been spending suspiciously huge amounts of money, both from their budgets and personally.


    ¡°They¡¯ve also been releasing information about the invaders that no one else has been able to confirm, and most agencies and other police are ignoring. It barely made it to us due to everyone thinking it sounds like a hoax. The one FBI report complained about them being paid off, which is why we received it at all. Blackmail seems possible, though would be odd. A quick financial tap showed the flow of money seemed legitimate. The kids are getting tons of people to spend the money as soon as they receive it.¡±


    ¡°Are we sure this is being orchestrated by kids?¡± asked the General, his face wrinkled with confusion.


    ¡°We¡¯ve identified adults helping them, but it looks like the kids were the start. Though really, we don¡¯t have enough information or operatives locally.¡±


    ¡°Who do we have in the area?¡± asked the general.


    ¡°Colonel Davian is in a training facility in the region,¡± answered the Aide after running a search on deployment software. ¡°He¡¯s close enough to be there tomorrow and we can assign him enough troops from the nearby bases. The database shows that a meeting was scheduled with the local police, but due to logistics issues no one was selected for it.¡±


    ¡°Have him go with a large show of force. Troops and weapons both. Intimidate these kids and get whatever they have. Beg, borrow, or steal. We need more information on all of this. Also, air lift in the two survivors from the attack in Afghanistan. I know they¡¯re recovering and on edge, but they¡¯re the only living soldiers to walk away. Maybe they¡¯ll notice some tell with the kids. Plus, they are the only ones who have managed to gain levels so far. We have confirmed the increased status does make them more powerful. Maybe that can test their so called general.¡±


    The other two picked up their phones and began making the necessary calls. There would be a flurry of activity, and still new reports to review. The General let out a sigh and then turned back to his computer. New videos had just been posted about a raid in a scrapyard. Even if they were fake, at least they were more entertaining to watch than the memos that were waiting for him.


    ***


    Commander Grthk shifted in his chair as he looked over those assembled. Comfortable but common seats were in a semicircle beneath his own chair. It was an ornate and elaborate chair, raised off the floor so that his feet were at a supplicant¡¯s chest. That allowed for quick response should punishment be required.


    The chair was made from the second-best materials available in the empire, crafted by the second greatest crafters available. To go any higher would be to denigrate the Elders. That is also why his chair could never be called a throne, for though he was a leader, he did not rule.


    A divot cut out of the side and center of the back of the chair allowed his long tail to move comfortably on the cushioned pedestal behind it. As a Tier 5, the Commander had earned his status and position. There were few at Tier 5, and they all had prominent positions in the military. Among the Scyrric, to reach Tier 6 was to receive entire worlds to control. The Elders were the most powerful and longest living of the Tier 6 and they decided who controls each world under their dominion.


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    The planet that the Commander was currently in charge of conquering had been found by his own forces. Coordinates had been given to the Elders, and they had blessed him with the responsibility of conquest. It was the third world that he had been allowed to conquer. That demonstrated the approval and favor that the Elders showed towards him.


    Being allowed to conquer worlds under the [System] allowed his forces to gain in power as they fought the natives and other races that were allowed to participate. The [System] insisted that as many races as possible be included during the conquest. The [System] even gated the power levels so that even the lowliest warriors had a chance to become stronger and to influence the world in the beginning of the campaign.


    To be the Commander also meant an advantage when it came to moving towards Tier 6. At the end of the invasion, he would personally go down and cause havoc on the strongest armies there, reaping the massive XP. This would steadily move him closer to Tier 6. Another eight worlds and he might reach that mighty tier.


    If a commander of a force lost the favor of the Elders, then their growth would be halted, for there was no source of XP strong enough outside of the new worlds being fought over. Older worlds could be eradicated, but the [System] did not approve of wiping out whole races from established worlds. Whatever it wanted came easiest from newly created worlds. Unfortunately, no one knew what that was.


    ¡°Sire,¡± said one of the Scyrric seated before him. He was a lieutenant that was quite loyal to the Commander and literally lived to serve him. ¡°We have the updates on the new world.¡±


    ¡°Have the invasions started?¡± asked the Commander.


    ¡°No, Sire. The [System] decided that we must wait 10 extra days before beginning.¡±


    ¡°Odd. In the other planets that we¡¯ve taken that has never happened,¡± said another of the Battalion Captains in the room. While there was no table in front of the attending military leaders to ensure there was nothing between them and the Commander, each chair had a platform to the side as well as a display for them to review information on.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± said the Lieutenant. ¡°It was odd to us too. However, there are other oddities going on and we suspect they are related.¡±


    ¡°Is the [System] aiding this world?¡± asked the Commander, wondering what would cause the [System] to change things now. Waiting 10 extra days did not impact the invasions much, but it was certainly concerning that something unprecedented had happened. With how much say the [System] had in things, and how mysterious it was even after thousands of years, deviations could cause catastrophic changes.


    ¡°Oh, definitely not, sire. Our agents show that the leaders and forces of the world are clueless and will be easy to destroy. There is one noticed anomaly though.¡±


    Silence sat for a minute before the Commander ordered the Lieutenant to continue.


    ¡°And the anomaly is?¡±


    ¡°There is a native who has already taken over three Dimensional Convergence Rifts. Low level ones, but it is still unheard of before the invasion bases are deployed.¡±


    Gasps echoed in the grand hallway where they sat. All the leaders were paying attention to the Lieutenant. The Commander chuckled inside. He knew this Scyrric well and knew that there was no reach for attention or grandstanding in them. If this was how the lieutenant was talking, then the anomaly was something even more unusual.


    ¡°Never in our records has a Dimensional Convergence Rift been taken by natives before the invasion is allowed and the bases are deployed.¡±


    ¡°The barriers should easily keep out the natives.¡±


    ¡°Is he really from that world?¡±


    The Scyrric sitting there each took their turn to make a statement. They knew that order must be maintained, and no one was brazen enough to interrupt another. That would cause them to be demoted or executed.


    ¡°Sirs, I have not been there myself so I am relying on the reports. According to one we hired from the Red Clan, there is a native who has the strength of a Tier 3.¡±


    ¡°How can a native be at Tier 3 without the start of the invasions?¡± asked the Commander.


    ¡°She did not say he was at Tier 3, she said his power was equal to Tier 3,¡± the lieutenant clarified.


    ¡°Are the rest of the natives also powerful?¡± asked the Commander.


    ¡°No, Sire. They are rather on the weak side. No outstanding features or abilities. They are spread out and lack unity or proper information gathering abilities. There are also no specialties in stats among them. Except for this anomaly.¡±


    ¡°What class did the [System] give him? Is he a [Warrior]?¡±


    ¡°No, Sire. According to the Red Clan agent he has no class label. She has reported that he uses [Berserker] skills, though they are crude and incomplete. He uses them as one who does not understand what they are meant for.¡±


    Gasps and tongue hisses filled the room. The Commanders tail came around his chair and pounded against the floor.


    ¡°That truly is an anomaly,¡± said the Commander thoughtfully, the room returning to silence. ¡°How is it that he hides his class, or even has a class to begin with?¡±


    ¡°Unknown, Sire.¡±


    ¡°Then was he a battle-hardened warrior before the [System]?¡±


    ¡°No, Sire. According to the agent he is a child from a society that knows no war or power struggles.¡±


    ¡°Then how is he Tier 3 and able to find and defeat Dimensional Convergence Rifts?¡± asked the Commander, truly involved in this query. He couldn¡¯t remember the last time something as interesting as this had come up. This would need to be reported to the Elders to make sure it went into the Archives. Hopefully it wouldn¡¯t get their attention enough to take the invasion from him. ¡°Even a Tier 3 shouldn¡¯t be able to breach the Dimensional Convergence Rifts.¡±


    ¡°Unknown, Sire. I asked the Red Clan to research it further, and in the short term they said it wasn¡¯t possible, regardless of whether it has been observed.¡±


    ¡°Is the agent trustworthy?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sire. I ran a validity check on the agent. The Red Clan said while not an outstanding specialist, she was sound of judgement and ability.¡±


    ¡°She should be Tier 3 as well, right? Her specialty should be perfect for taking down a [Berserker].¡±


    ¡°I thought so as well, Sire, however the next part of the anomaly comes into play here. She has reported that there must be a mentalist involved greater than Tier 3, along with this native as well. She has not seen the mentalist, however there is evidence of one that she reported. A memory manipulation that she did to the local peacekeepers was broken rather easily, and when she tried to affect the companions of the [Berserker] she found there was too much resistance built up for her to enact her skill fully.¡±


    ¡°What did the Red Clan say about this?¡±


    ¡°They said it was likewise impossible to their knowledge. It seems that most likely there is a Tier 4 or higher traveler hiding on this planet. We queried the [System] and it informed there are only natives on the planet. It would not answer us regarding how it is possible to hide a class label.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­this does sound interesting. It is unfortunate. Keep me updated on what is happening with this native. Maybe he is someone worth recruiting or fighting directly.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Sire. We still have 5 cycles until we can bring stronger combatants, though even at Tier 3 strength it is unlikely that he will survive.¡±


    ¡°Actually, pay the extra to transport one of our Tier 3 [Berserkers] to work with the Red Clan agent. Observe the native for longer, and when she thinks it is appropriate, the two shall capture the native and try to lure out the mentalist. Maybe inspecting the anomaly will lead to new research possibilities for both us and the Red Clan.¡±


    ¡°As you will, Sire.¡±


    ***


    The tension in the room was high. No one could deny that their day had push everyone to the brink of what their minds and bodies could handle. Adam was hosting the team in his penthouse condo inside their base rift, but each person was still on edge, unable to forget the terror they had felt inside the Testudinate base. To a single person discontent was building even as Adam was trying to make things feel normal.


    Lucas looked over at Tom, who winced but nodded. The couch they were on was crowded but it seemed like they agreed on this.


    ¡°After what he¡¯s put us through today, I think it has to be done,¡± Lucas whispered to Tom. Brandon heard and looked down at his feet. He wasn¡¯t feeling good about this even if he understood their point.


    ¡°He¡¯s become too much. We can¡¯t live like this anymore,¡± added Nick.


    ¡°I mean, the boss is the best, but at this point he has to go,¡± Tom said sadly, heartbroken at the betrayal he felt. ¡°All he has done for us¡­but the boss needs to die.¡±


    ¡°I agree. We need a way to kill Adam for any of us to move forward,¡± said Nick.


    Lucas glanced around the room to make sure no one else was listening. ¡°He¡¯s too powerful in a direct contest. We¡¯ll need some way to distract him so we can take him from behind.¡±


    Tom made eye contact with Abbey, who slid over to them. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°We need a distraction. Any ideas?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°I know exactly how to distract Adam. This hurts me to do, but there has to be an end,¡± Abbey said mournfully, looking determined. ¡°This isn¡¯t the Adam I fell in love with.¡±


    They split up then, acting normal. Each of them continued, waiting for Abbey to bring the distraction. It only took a few minutes until she was in position. As Adam sat on the floor, she leaned over to Adam¡¯s ear. In a breathy, sultry way she whispered into Adam¡¯s ear, ¡°We¡¯re out of pizza.¡±


    Adam¡¯s head shot up and he turned his body to look at the counter where all the food was. ¡°What?!¡±


    While Adam was turned, gunshots rang out behind him. Multiple shots were fired at him and continued on for a few seconds. Adam fell as he looked up at Abbey, confusion on his face.


    ¡°Player 1 is dead,¡± the large TV announced.


    ¡°What the hell? You helped them kill me?¡± Adam demanded of Abbey as his Call of Duty character lay dead.


    ¡°Well, you were kind of being mean by not giving them a chance.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not my fault I¡¯m better at it. I wasn¡¯t even trash talking.¡±


    ¡°Then sit out some of the games.¡±


    Adam sighed and looked around at the angry faces watching him. ¡°Fine. But before that there¡¯s something I really need to know¡­¡± Taking a deep breath, Adam looked into Abbey¡¯s eyes. ¡°Are we really out of pizza? I¡¯m still hungry.¡±

 CH 56: The Army Arrives

    CHAPTER 56: The Army Arrives


    ¡°Adam, Honey, you need to wake up,¡± a soft voice said, leaning over his bed.


    ¡°Uh, mom. I¡¯m still tired. I¡¯ll take school off.¡± Adam squirmed in his bed, pulling up his cover and adjusting his pillow.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think they would let you back in the school even if I was your mom,¡± said Abbey with a laugh. Adam¡¯s eye snapped open and he looked around. The room was still dark, but other than Abbey standing at the edge of the bed no one else was around.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it the middle of the night?¡± he asked hesitantly. The digital clock showed that it was still 1:28.


    She laughed again. ¡°It¡¯s the afternoon. Have them make a clock with a pm/am on it.¡±


    Adam groaned and pulled his body to the edge of the massive bed. Last night had been the best sleep of his life. It wasn¡¯t because of the ultra-luxurious room and bed he now was in. It also wasn¡¯t because he had such a painful and difficult day, fighting the Testudinates, losing parts of his body repeatedly. Nor was it because the girls had all chosen to cling on to one of his limbs as they slept. The reason he slept so well was because he had opened his connection to everyone in their group and they had all slept in his penthouse condo.


    The fear, pain, and anxiety that he had expected did come through the renewed connections. He was feeling those too. Trauma was a serious concern to Adam and he didn¡¯t want his friends to suffer from it because of him. The feelings flowed from each person and into Adam, where they mixed together with his own. His anxiety, pain, and fear flowed back into everyone else in a small amount, showing them that even the strongest felt those emotions.


    However, he also gave free reign to the confidence, trust, and pride in them. Those flowed back just as strongly as the negative emotions that entered Adam. This sharing as a group led to a level of intimacy between everyone that none of them imagined possible. Everyone felt that they belonged here. The negative emotions didn¡¯t take them over, didn¡¯t become a focus, as they were balanced out by the positive.


    Adam didn¡¯t watch anyone¡¯s memories, but he did check their memory spaces and had verified that none of their recent memories had developed the spikey exterior like Brandon¡¯s had before. Instead of a murky night of bad feelings, they had played video games, listened to music, enjoyed the pool and jacuzzi, and feasted on all the delivery food Adam had ordered. Other than Hickory, everyone else was able to build fun memories and emotions before sleeping.


    ¡°Anyway, Ron needs you at the front gate. Don¡¯t worry, though, I made you breakfast,¡± Abbey said with a light kiss on his forehead.


    ¡°The usual?¡± Adam asked. She eyed him at the questions.


    ¡°Of course, the usual. Go eat and don¡¯t keep him waiting.¡±


    The usual was gallons of orange juice and everything in the fridge. In this case that included four and a half pizzas, about 30 leftover wings, and a tray of soggy nachos. They had constructed a second fridge for his penthouse just for the juice.


    When Adam entered the living area of his penthouse, he noticed that it had already been cleaned up. The mattresses that had been brought in were gone, the trash that had littered the place was cleaned up. The floor gleamed as if it was brand new. The cleaning capabilities of the rift base was just so damn convenient.


    After scarfing, gobbling, and guzzling his afternoon breakfast, with very little chewing, he rushed out of the penthouse and took the elevator to the ground floor. At the entrance to the building was a crowd of people. They were in several small groups, coordinating their activities and giving out tasks that needed to be done. Upon seeing Adam in the short gym shorts that he slept in, several people cat called him.


    They all knew him from either the TV, meeting him in person, or the stories from his mom who was leading the groups. Plus, his physique was worth a few cat calls. Although a few people winced, looking at the scars that littered his face, neck, and body. Adam thought it quite odd that even though he had regenerated almost all of his skin yesterday, the scars stayed a part of it.


    He gave the people a smile and wave.


    ¡°Adam!¡± his mother said as she turned from a group and looked disapprovingly at him. ¡°Go put on some clothes.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, mom, no time,¡± he said as he gave her a hug. After a moment of her hands on hips she hugged him back. ¡°Besides, I wore even less in front of the Testudinates yesterday.¡±


    That earned some laughs from the crowds, most of which had watched the latest videos from yesterday¡¯s fights. Ed must have edited out his genitals. Apparently, the editing was a lot faster when done through the Rift Menu instead of a human laptop. After having it absorb and recreate a computer, they were able to use most file formats and connectors.


    ¡°Well, please try to wear clothing from now on. I didn¡¯t raise a nudist.¡±


    ¡°Yes, mom. I¡¯ll probably get dressed once I find out what is appropriate for what Ron needs me to do. Don¡¯t want to wreck clothes on another raid, or wear fighting clothes to a meeting.¡±


    With that he gave one final wave to the crowd and exited the building.


    A light jog for Adam, equivalent to a professional athlete¡¯s sprint, was all it took for him to reach the Rift exit to the front of the warehouse. So much had changed inside the Rift in just a few days, with even more changing in the short time since taking control of the Testudinate Rift yesterday. It had immediately been linked to his network of Rifts. Apparently the Testudinate Rift was close to an underground water source.


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    After they had seen the Rift expand to take in his team, Jordan figured out how to spend [System] coins to resize and reshape the Rifts. He did that to gain the water, setting up a small [System] designed water filtration plant using the materials they had on hand. Now they had running water in all the buildings in the Rift, which was a lot more than just their base high-rise.


    There were currently 10 apartment buildings. The units weren¡¯t as luxurious as the ones in their building, but they were still nice, he was told. Each apartment building had between 10 and 20 units of varying size on each floor, and they were all currently five floors high. It would be possible to enlarge them once more resources came in. A lot of people and families involved in all the preparations that were happening had already requested units. The police were especially quick to request homes here as a safety measure for their families.


    Warehouses had been set up in the distance to hold all the supplies they were getting. An area close to the Sentinel¡¯s building also had been designated for crafters, with a smithy currently billowing smoke out of its chimney, which quickly dissipated in the Rift pseudo-sky, as Garrett was over the moon experimenting with the Testudinate metal and Elf wood. Adam doubted that the blacksmith had slept much since getting the building.


    Trucks and 4x4s were hauling trailers of supplies from the entrance and towards the warehouses, as the bustle of hundreds of people occurred throughout the Rift. A backup police station had been set up as well as a corporate building for participating businesses to have space to coordinate. Everything had come together so fast, and it gave hope to Adam that maybe at least his city would be able to weather the coming troubles.


    ¡°Adam!¡± Ron facepalmed as he saw Adam step out from the warehouse rift and into the real world. ¡°Are pants too much to ask for?¡±


    ¡°Uh, sorry. Abbey said you needed me fast and she had to wake me up,¡± Adam looked around. All around them was activity going on with numerous trucks parked wherever there was space, people unloading them and moving them into the Rift. However, there was also a convoy that was quite unexpected.


    Standing next to Ron, making sure they were out of the way of the people entering, was an older man, mid to upper 50s, wearing an Army uniform with lots of medals and insignias. He stood with the precision of a lifetime military man and exuded an air of authority. This man was used to people doing as he told them.


    All down the road, Adam also saw long flatbed trucks with benches. Each truck was carrying between 10 to 20 men and women in fatigues. They each had a pack with them and weapons. Handguns were in holsters and rifles of different makes were propped on their shoulders.


    ¡°I bet you had enough time to eat,¡± grumbled Ron.


    ¡°Yeah, well, you wouldn¡¯t like me when I¡¯m hungry,¡± Adam responded lamely.


    ¡°Hungry OR pant less,¡± responded Ron. A smile appeared and then disappeared on the military man¡¯s face.


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit, ¡®General,¡¯ that I¡¯m used to being greeting with people fully dressed,¡± said the man, with an edge to the words.


    ¡°I heard those air quotes,¡± said Adam as he glared at the man. Then his face quickly dropped the glare as he didn¡¯t actually care. He reached out his hand to the man. ¡°Adam Clemens. The General title was something one of my team did on the fly in an interview, and now everyone locally and on the website refers to me as it. It keeps my real name out.¡±


    The man shook his hands but seemed to think about something. ¡°I¡¯m Colonel Davian, US Army.¡±


    With the handshake done, Adam took an obvious look at the line of soldier before speaking again. ¡°Came for war?¡±


    ¡°Well, that depends.¡±


    ¡°On what?¡±


    ¡°On you, really.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d hate to have to harm your troops, Colonel,¡± Adam said stoically. ¡°Humanity needs all the strength it can get.¡± He couldn¡¯t keep his scary face from making an appearance.


    Now a smile did crack the Colonel¡¯s, though it was full of irony and froze a bit when he saw Adam¡¯s glare. ¡°Then let¡¯s hope it doesn¡¯t come to that.¡±


    ¡°Adam, calm down. We¡¯re on the same side. Hostility isn¡¯t necessary,¡± said Ron, a bit of tremor in his voice. Ron knew Adam wasn¡¯t a hothead, but after what he had seen he didn¡¯t think anything would get Adam to backdown if he didn¡¯t want to. Even knowing all of that, the scary face still caused an instinctual reaction in him.


    ¡°Then Colonel, what did you come for?¡± Adam demanded.


    ¡°For now, we came for the open challenge that friend of yours declared on TV and your website. If we came for anything else, that will be for after the challenge.¡±


    Without even hesitating, Adam nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Just don¡¯t try to play games with me. We should be in the upcoming war together, but I won¡¯t put up with politics or betrayal. Come at me with honesty and I¡¯ll respond in kind.¡±


    ¡°Alright, then honesty it¡¯ll be,¡± said the Colonel.


    He made a gesture to another man in a uniform, though with less medals. That man began giving orders to the sitting soldiers. Five of the soldiers were quick to get up and join the Colonel, while the rest lined up on the road. Adam noticed that two of the soldiers had a [2] next to their ¡°Warrior¡± tag, and those two were glaring hard at him. It seemed the army did have some knowledge of the invaders then.


    ¡°This, gentlemen,¡± the Colonel addressed to his troops, ¡°Is ¡®The General.¡¯¡± Soldiers leaned forward to get a good look at him. Well trained men, carrying enough weapons to easily take over the city, began muttering with a few laughs and smirks in there. One of the solders at level 2 seemed taken aback. He began to really glare at Adam.


    ¡°You are the General?¡± the soldier asked.


    ¡°Yes,¡± answered Adam, blankly meeting his eyes.


    ¡°Someone as small as you fights those monsters?¡± Adam just met the antagonistic soldier¡¯s eyes. ¡°At least you¡¯ve some scars, but otherwise you don¡¯t even look able to dress yourself.¡±


    Without dropping eye contact, Adam shrugged. ¡°I had a tough day yesterday.¡± Even focused on the soldier he noticed the Colonel watching him intently, not interfering with his own subordinate.


    ¡°And what is a rough day to a kid like you? Too much homework?¡± the man snarled.


    ¡°I had my skin and hair burned off, trice, lost most of my arm,¡± Adam raised his right arm and pointed to a scar ringing it. ¡°I had all my fingers broken. I thought my team was dead, and then had to kill an army of Testudinates while naked. For me, clothes are optional.¡±


    CONQUER! His skin was heating up and his soul bubbled as it cried out. Adam took a moment to push the compulsion down, even as he maintained eye contact with the now sweating soldier. Several other of the troops had unconsciously reached for their guns as they watched Adam radiating an increasingly threatening aura.


    Adam broke the eye contact and the soldier gasped in relief. His menacing presence suddenly withdrawn, the troops realized where their hands were and put them behind their back.


    Turning back to a surprised Colonel, Adam said impassively, ¡°shall we go to the challenge? It looks like some people need to be put in their place.¡±

 CH 57: The Entrance

    CHAPTER 57: The Entrance


    ¡°Do you have a space for the challenge?¡± the Colonel asked after recovered from the scene. As a lifetime military man, Davian was used to men accustomed to leading. Some were quiet, some were forceful, but all had a strong presence when it was time. They commanded and people followed. Some were better at it than others, but all needed to learn it. They needed to deal with people of all types to truly learn to lead. The Colonel knew he was one of those men, and it had taken him decades to reach this point.


    Upon seeing this small kid coming out of the warehouse barely clothed, he had immediately dismissed him. Goofy kid, even if his muscles and scars told a gruesome story. Yet when Adam had turned his serious eyes on Davian, he had frozen. He felt like a fresh recruit hoping to get in his officer¡¯s good graces.


    Whether Adam was a good leader or not almost didn¡¯t matter. Davian knew¡­he knew in his soul¡­not to cross this boy. All the plans his superiors had given him, all the goals, they were out the window. Adam said honesty, and the shudder Davian felt when Adam glared at him told him that he would be honest. Anything he got from this group would be thanks to Adam¡¯s generosity.


    All the people flocking to him, all the activity surrounding the warehouse wasn¡¯t just because of monetary transactions. The people here moved like it was important, like they believed in what they were doing. He had seen soldiers behave like that many times, usually when they were preparing for the enemy¡¯s attack. General Gervin thought there was something else at work here; schemes, people behind the scenes, but Davian now knew there wasn¡¯t.


    ¡°Of course. We¡¯ll go in the warehouse.¡±


    ¡°In the warehouse?¡± said the other uniformed man. He was the Captain of the Company of troops. ¡°Is there enough space in there to really fight?¡±


    ¡°Yes, there should be enough. We have an area designated for training.¡± Adam led them to the entrance to the warehouse. The doors were open, but it looked like shadows had eaten the light about a few steps inside the doors. All the people loading and unloading stopped to watch him and the line of soldiers.


    ¡°It¡¯s very dark in there. How do people know where to go once inside?¡± asked the Colonel.


    ¡°It¡¯s easier to see once inside. Let me just turn off the security system so you and your troops can enter.¡± Then Adam shouted, causing Davian to jump, ¡°Jordan! Let them in after me!¡±


    Adam stood there for a minute until he saw a flicker in the color of the darkness. Then he turned back to the Colonel. ¡°Alright, follow me.¡± He walked right into the Rift barrier. Ron sighed and then stepped into the darkness behind Adam.


    The Colonel saw Adam disappear into the darkness and then turned to the soldiers closest to him. ¡°Thoughts? Are we in danger?¡±


    ¡°That kid, there is something not right about him,¡± said Captain Krysti. ¡°I don¡¯t know his real ability but that was scary, and he wasn¡¯t even looking at me. Are we sure he isn¡¯t an invader?¡±


    The soldier who had antagonized him nodded emphatically. ¡°Yeah, I thought my heart would give out just from looking at him. He was definitely angry during the provocation.¡±


    ¡°Yes, but he kept it under control. He didn¡¯t even really seem to care and was even playing along. The anger seemed due to something else. Charles?¡± The Colonel turned to one of the more unassuming soldiers. It was really an Intelligence Analyst that they had brought. His job was to try to identify and understand any alien technology they found. Hiding as one of the common soldiers seemed the best way to make it look non-threatening, although the Colonel wasn¡¯t sure what threat would matter to that kid. He had stayed calm the whole time, never seeming overwhelmed or embarrassed. There was even a sense that he was ready to spring forward at any moment, like a snake just awaiting its moment to burst from the bushes.


    ¡°In our experiments, skills always have a flash of red when they activate. Whatever The General did, there was no skill activation. He also has no tag, and we have no idea what that means. Maybe he is too high level for us to see, or maybe he has a skill to hide it. We can¡¯t know. I recommend taking a gentle approach until we see his ability though.¡±


    ¡°Good advice. What about this black warehouse? Is it legit or a trap?¡±


    ¡°Seems unlikely to be a trap since civilians keep going in and out. It looks like a bigger version of the nest we received pictures of in Afghanistan. Honestly, we''ll have no idea until we¡¯re through,¡± answered the Analyst. While they were conversing, all the civilians outside just watched them, patiently waiting for the entrance to clear. None seemed concerned or threatened by the armed company waiting at the door.


    The Colonel sighed and shook his head. This seemed a bit too tricky. Unknowns everywhere.


    ¡°Attention! We are entering this warehouse. Keep alert and ready but show no hostility. I will lead the way,¡± ordered the Colonel. The Captain frowned at him, thinking that the head shouldn¡¯t be first into danger, but the Colonel ignored him and strode towards the door.


    The Colonel hesitated at the darkness and even tried to touch it. His hand passed through it like normal air. Shutting down any fear he had, he took a deep breath, prepared himself for anything and then walked into the darkness¡­


    He was not prepared for this. The Colonel stopped walking and his jaw dropped. He looked at the wide plains, the distance buildings, and the sky above. His head snapped around when the Captain walked in to him from behind then gasped. Stepping to the side, the Colonel and Captain walked around the black hole in nothingness that they had entered through. Behind the doorway were more plains. The land bent around the door, like old space movies he had watched when younger.


    ¡°This is impossible,¡± mumbled the analyst, as he was forced to the side while the soldiers continued coming in. Each one gasped, looking around stunned, and then were shoved forward as more people entering displaced them.


    While the Captain tried to line up all the soldiers entering to prevent them from running into each other, the Colonel found Adam and Ron standing on the other side of the gate watching a spot in the air right in front of them, similar to how people watch their [System] messages. Walking around the back of the door to prevent running into emerging soldiers, he approached the pair.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°This is not what I expected,¡± said the Colonel. He felt both guarded and in awe. If Adam turned out to be an invader controlling things, then he had just delivered his troops to him. However, if he was the war bound teenager that the videos showed him to be, then everything he had here was beyond impressive. He had done what no other force on Earth had so far. ¡°Is this one of the invader nests?¡±


    ¡°This was the goblin home base. We killed them and took it, then remodeled,¡± Adam answered while pointing to all the buildings.


    ¡°How did you manage to get inside. The only nests we¡¯ve found have been inaccessible.¡±


    ¡°We killed a bunch of them outside it. Then they let us in, figuring we were easy meat. I doubt any human but me would have survived it,¡± said Adam directly.


    ¡°Quite confident, aren¡¯t you. Are you really that strong?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± answered Ron for him. ¡°He¡¯s stronger.¡±


    ¡°What class do you have? How did you get that strong?¡± asked the Colonel directly in hushed tones. He didn¡¯t really expect an answer.


    ¡°The [System] said I couldn¡¯t get a class because my soul was full,¡± answered Adam half truthfully, surprising the Colonel, while keeping the corruption to himself. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything to get this strong. I just am. And I have a compulsion to kill the invaders. It¡¯s a bit hard to control at times. That¡¯s why I got angry outside.¡±


    ¡°No skills then?¡±


    ¡°I have no listed skills or evidence of skill activation, as your analyst Charles said.¡±


    Those words made the Colonel wince. Adam just revealed that the soldiers were being watched. ¡°I do things that seem like skills though, and I force them to behave the way I want. It¡¯s similar to skills but more unpleasant for me while being more versatile.¡±


    ¡°How watched are we?¡± asked the Colonel, on guard. Adam waved a hand and a screen appeared that the Colonel could see. It was focused on the Captain and analyst talking. Adam gestured theatrically, and the volume increased as the image slid along his soldiers, capturing what they were saying.


    ¡°This space is called a Dimensional Convergence Rift. We can see, hear, and control anything in it or in its immediate vicinity. It is constantly recording everything. We can even look at what happened in the past.¡± As Adam spoke the screen suddenly displayed the conversation outside. ¡°Honesty really will be for the best while you¡¯re here,¡± he added.


    The Colonel sighed. ¡°Are you willing to share what else this place can do?¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± Adam said. ¡°As long as you don¡¯t cause us any trouble. We want this information given to the world. Don¡¯t expect me to play politics or be greedy, because the countries of the world don¡¯t have much time to get their act together, and I want humanity to survive.¡±


    ¡°You act like we haven¡¯t much chance,¡± said the Colonel with a chuckle.


    ¡°We don¡¯t,¡± Adam said, dead serious. Then he shrugged and his expression softened. ¡°See that building over there? It looks like dead brambles. Have your troops head over, then you and analyst Charles come with me.¡±


    The Colonel nodded and went along with it. Talking to Adam really was like talking to a superior officer. The pressure he put out when he was being serious did not belong to a kid like him. There was something to all this. While Adam put Davian on guard with his authority, there was also something reassuring and calming about Adam.


    When he and Charles got back, Adam was having an argument with the air.


    ¡°Just get me a pair of sweatpants and a tank top from my drawers,¡± Adam demanded.


    ¡°That uses too much power to just teleport clothes around like that,¡± the air answered back, surprising the Analyst more than the Colonel. It sounded exasperated.


    ¡°Then hire more support staff. A communications officer and some runners would be a good idea,¡± responded Adam.


    ¡°No! This is my stuff. I don¡¯t want to give it up!¡± The voice whined. Detective Baker had his hand on his face again.


    ¡°You can¡¯t do it all. We''ll need more people very soon. You barely sleep.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but it¡¯s so much fun!¡±


    ¡°Anyway, get me the clothes.¡±


    ¡°Aw, but the power cost is ¡­¡±


    ¡°AHEM!¡±


    ¡°Fine. I just hate going through your drawers. Happy now?¡± The voice in the air was petulant. Then sweatpants and a tank top came through a ripple in the air in front of Adam. He caught them and put them on over his current shorts.


    ¡°H-how d-did you do that?¡± asked the analyst in shock.


    Adam turned to the Colonel. ¡°This is why we¡¯ll lose,¡± he said while pointing to the Intelligence Analyst.


    ***


    ¡°Hi, Grammy!¡± Adam said cheerfully as he approached an older woman. Row after row of outdoor stoves were lining the area and dozens of women, and a few men, of different ages were moving around canning fruits and vegetables. Young boys and girls were acting as runners, getting anything that those cooking asked for. 4-wheelers were pulling in trailers of fresh ingredients from the entrance, while others were driving the finished jars to the warehouses.


    ¡°What¡¯s happening here?¡± asked the Colonel.


    Ron answered, ¡°One of Adam¡¯s team suggested we get older ladies to help prepare preserved food. It has been successful so far. We set up all these stations and volunteers can feel like they are contributing without needing to fight like The General. It has also pulled in a lot of local businesses who see the community participation and are donating time and materials to get their names known and associated with the Sentinels. It ended up being a great idea and is generating a lot of help as well as good will.¡±


    ¡°That sounds interesting, but does it matter?¡± asked analyst Charles.


    ¡°According to Adam we''ll need all the food we can get. We are also working on ways to set up fields closer to this base, or even within it. Seeds are being gathers for as much as we can get, and we¡¯re also trying to download all written knowledge that humans have gathered. Even if only we survive, Adam wants to preserve our history.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great and all, but why are you listening so much to Adam? He¡¯s just a kid and it sounds like he¡¯s guessing as much as us.¡±


    ¡°So far his guesses have been more right than anyone else. The surprise you showed earlier indicates you aren¡¯t anywhere near his knowledge. Look around you at what he has accomplished in so little time. Do you guys have a Dimensional Convergence Rift yet?¡±


    ¡°Well, no,¡± admitted Charles. ¡°As far as I¡¯m aware, no one even knew what was inside a nest.¡±


    ¡°Adam has taken three of them,¡± Ron said proudly.


    ¡°THREE?!¡± gasp Charles.


    ¡°I don¡¯t suppose he would be willing to provide one to us?¡± asked the Colonel.


    ¡°That¡¯s doubtful. They form a network and make it easier to get materials for building inside of them. Besides, I doubt there is anything worthwhile you could offer Adam. Once the invaders stop supply and communication lines, then money will be useless, and all he cares about is how to ensure we survive. Also killing invaders,¡± said Ron.


    ¡°Hmm¡­hopefully he can provide us with the information he has about them,¡± said the Colonel.


    ¡°He already asked me to,¡± said a voice in the air. ¡°Here are USB drives with the useful information on them. We left out the information that won¡¯t matter until you have a Rift of your own. If you get one then we¡¯ll give you more. Besides, there is so much in the Rift Menu that we still don¡¯t understand. We''re only at about 15% usage.¡±


    The air rippled above the Colonel and analyst¡¯s hands. Out popped a USB drive that they caught.


    ¡°How does he DO that?¡± asked the analyst, followed by a chuckle in the air.


    ¡°Who is that voice?¡± asked the Colonel.


    Ron gladly answered, ¡°That is the police tech, Jordan Lane. He worked with team members of Adam¡¯s to learn what the Rift can do. He is a bit more enthusiastic about working on the Rift Menu than his police role. Right now he does most of the management and construction in the Rift.¡±


    ¡°How does he do the construction?¡± asked Charles.


    ¡°Like this,¡± said Jordan¡¯s voice from nowhere. In the distance, a bit away from other buildings, the air began to shake. There was no noise, and even from this distance the shimmer and shaking was visible. As it shook, the air began to solidify. It was mostly gray and brown, with green tinted windows. After about three minutes, instead of shaking air there was a large building.


    ¡°Adam asked me to build your troops a barrack. It currently has two hundred cots in it, and a nicer room for you, Colonel. We don¡¯t have enough mattresses for everyone, which is why I used cots, though you will be supplied one.¡±


    ¡°Uh, thanks, Mr. Lane,¡± said the Colonel, dumbfounded. ¡°This is not at all how I expected this day to go.¡±

 CH 58: Was that even a Challenge?

    CHAPTER 58: Was that even a Challenge?


    Adam came back after chatting with the people working on the food. He carried with him a large wooden bowl, like you would use for salads, only it was full of peaches boiled with sugar. Peaches that he was shoveling into his mouth happily with a wooden spoon. The Colonel couldn¡¯t imagine less than five people being required to eat that number of peaches.


    ¡°You¡¯re still hungry?¡± asked Ron with a sigh.


    Adam shrugged as he stuck his face in the bowl and licked the juice and sugar up. ¡°You know how hard yesterday was. I need a lot of food after healing like that.¡±


    ¡°I know, Adam. It was hard on all of us.¡±


    ¡°Did you need a bit of Adam therapy?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°You make it sound creepy. Maybe later. I had a lot of nightmares last night.¡±


    ¡°Just let me know. I already did what I could for my group.¡±


    The Colonel just followed them and listened as they talked. It felt more like Adam was the adult and Ron was the child, except for Adam trying to get every last speck of peach out of the bowl. When Adam was satisfied no more was coming out, he suddenly rounded on the Colonel.


    ¡°Take out your gun,¡± he said seriously. The Colonel froze, not sure what was going on.


    ¡°What?¡± the Colonel asked, confused.


    ¡°Is that how you were taught to follow order? Get out your GUN!¡± At the words a pressure slammed into Colonel Davian.


    The Colonel, still flabbergasted, pulled out his sidearm and aimed it forward. ¡°Is this what you want?¡±


    ¡°Now shoot this bowl,¡± Adam ordered. He held it in his hand, so that the inside of the bowl faced away from the Colonel.


    ¡°Why am I¡­¡±


    ¡°JUST DO IT!¡± Adam ordered, glaring at the Colonel who felt pressure building all around him. His breathing became labored, and his vision got wobbly as he looked at Adam. When he felt like he couldn¡¯t take Adam¡¯s look any longer, he pulled the trigger.


    The gun fired. The bullet pinged off the bottom of the bowl and ricocheted into the ground. Once more his jaw fell open. Adam inspected the barely nicked bowl and nodded with satisfaction.


    ¡°How was the bowl not shattered?¡± asked Charles after a moment spent to steady his own breathing.


    ¡°Elven wood. Ridiculously tough. I could barely nick it with the weapon I had at the time. Elf daggers were more effective, but Garrett still had a heck of a time shaping what he has.¡±


    ¡°You did that to show me what we will be up against?¡± asked the Colonel, still getting his breath back.


    ¡°Only kind of. I was also curious what bullets would do to it. Just to let you know, level 12 Elves couldn¡¯t be hit with bullets. They had shields made of wind, and their base was full of wood like this.¡±


    They continued walking. The Colonel didn¡¯t even know what to ask after that. A truly bulletproof material was being used as a food bowl, and it came from a fairly low-level invader. The boy might be right, the Colonel thought. They might not be able to stand up to them.


    Eventually they arrived at the briar building. It was much larger than it had looked at a distance. From up close it looked about half the size of a football stadium. The front of it had a sign that announced it as ¡°The Adventure Guild.¡± The Colonel raised his eyebrow towards Adam at that.


    ¡°Jordan is a nerd,¡± was all he said as he opened the wide door and went inside. The entrance opened into a room with tables and chairs that led to a counter, where several people could be seated behind.


    Off against the side wall was a large whiteboard with a schedule stuck to it and then signups for different programs. The Colonel took a moment to review it and realized that it was training programs. They had Yoga, Pilates, weight training classes, acrobatics, self-defense, and then a few odder options like fighting monsters and sword, spear, and shield classes.


    Adam waited for him, and then led them down a hallway to the side of the large counter. They passed numerous doors. Everything in here was made with the same type of wood as the bowl. There were also no windows on any of the doors to show what was inside.


    Eventually the hallway opened into a huge training field, half the size of a football field. A few rows of stadium seating ringed the field. The area they had entered also had a few benches and a covered porch with a wooden floor. A half wall rose from the ground to waist height to create separation from the field.


    His troops were already on the field. Some were in the bleachers, while others were standing around watching other groups that were using part of the field. A tall man in his 20s was dressed in a tabard and was guiding a large group of high schoolers and adults in sword forms. Another group was doing weird exercises using discs of wood of varying sizes. Another group had people sparring, with a girl sitting nearby, looking like a medic, and a boy sitting next to her looking at what the Colonel guessed was an invisible screen.


    The Colonel was shocked that several of the people had levels in the early twenties, while a good number of the adults, especially the ones in police T-shirts, had levels between 2 and 5. It wasn¡¯t just Adam¡¯s group that had leveled. They had found a way to get others leveled as well.


    ¡°What is all this?¡± the Colonel asked Adam.


    ¡°That guy is Lilliard, who is a competitive swordsman. He''s teaching people how to use weapons. Some of my team are teaching spearman-ship and how to use shields. Then we have some people who have stats trying to do exercises to see if there¡¯s a way to increase stats without leveling up. Finally, we just have people brawling to get better. The two in the stands are my group¡¯s healers, though the boy is probably editing more videos right now.¡±


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Their entrance was noticed and quite a few people came over. Several of the groups, especially the combat practice, stopped as people meandered over to them, along with the healers. One boy walked up to Adam, put his arm around him and then began whispering. He nodded a few times before shouting, ¡°Challenge time!¡±


    That stopped everything. Instead of a meander, there was a scramble to get close enough to see what was going to happen. Both teens and adults excitedly hurried over. The boy who had shouted, the one from the TV interview, walked up to the Colonel. ¡°Any special rules?¡±


    The Colonel turned to the larger of the level 2 soldiers. ¡°Doug, any special rules?¡±


    ¡°Uh, I¡¯ll just try not to kill him,¡± Doug said with a generous smile, while pulling out a combat knife. Laughter erupted from everyone but the soldiers.


    Without an ounce of concern, Adam walked about 50 paces from the soldier. He didn¡¯t have a weapon. Tank top and sweatpants were all the armor he wore, not even putting on shoes. Closing his eyes, he took a leisurely breath and turned his head upwards.


    Tom came to the side of them but kept his distance. He acted as referee. ¡°Alright. Weapons are allowed, and Doug has the rule that he won¡¯t kill the boss.¡± That required a wink to the audience, followed by more laughs. ¡°Let me know when you''re ready, Dougie.¡±


    Doug stretched and flexed a bit. He was wearing lighter combat armor over top his fatigues. A few practice swings of his knife, held in a reverse grip, and then he nodded to Tom and stepped forward. He lowered himself into a combat position. Adam stood there, completely relaxed, head up turned, and breathing casually.


    ¡°Alright. Begin in 3 ¡­ 2 ¡­ 1 ¡­ NOW!¡±


    BOOM!


    The instant Tom had said ¡°now,¡± Adam had disappeared. At the same time Doug was on his back, with the ground cracked underneath him. Adam had his hand on Doug¡¯s chest, as he was bent down, having simply shoved Doug to the ground. Silence followed the sudden sound, as the army company took a moment to realize what had happened, and the group that was accustomed to this was just waiting.


    ¡°Winner, the boss! Was that even a challenge? Abbey, I think you¡¯re needed,¡± Tom announced. Abbey came through the crowd with a ¡°Combat Healer [6]¡± over her head and moved towards Doug. Adam just stood there with his arms crossed, looking indifferent.


    ¡°MEDIC!¡± cried one of the soldiers, as one of the troops rushed to Doug with a large first aid case. Doug was coughing up blood, struggling to breath.


    ¡°He has several broken ribs, probably a cracked spine. I think his lung is punctured too,¡± said the medic, opening his case.


    ¡°YOU!¡± shouted the Colonel as he strode forward in a fury. ¡°You crippled my soldier?! All this posturing and providing info and then you nearly kill him?!¡± The other soldiers were still staring in shock. Several had their hands on their guns. Adam looked into the eyes of the Colonel, not changing his expression at all. He raised one hand and pointed to where Abbey was leaning over Doug.


    ¡°[Slight Heal],¡± Abbey said as her hand flashed red while touching Doug¡¯s forehead. ¡°[Slight Heal]. [Regenerate].¡±


    Doug coughed once more, clearing some blood out of his lung, and then sat up. He was a bit wobbly, but Adam took his arm and effortlessly pulled the larger man to his feet while steadying him. The army medic just stared. The soldiers all stared. The Colonel, mid rant, stared. Abbey gave Adam a light kiss and then headed for the stands.


    ¡°What, uh, what just happened?¡± asked the Colonel.


    ¡°Your soldier lost the challenge. Then the lovely Abbey, already taken by the boss so don¡¯t think of hitting on her, healed your soldier,¡± said Tom matter-of-factly. ¡°The challenge is done.¡±


    ¡°But Doug didn¡¯t even have a chance to move,¡± the Colonel blurted.


    ¡°Not our fault you brought a weak one,¡± replied Tom.


    ¡°But he¡¯s level 2!¡± the Colonel practically cried.


    ¡°So? I¡¯m level 21 and wouldn¡¯t be able to touch the boss.¡±


    ¡°How is that possible?!¡±


    Tom shook his head with a sorrowful look, as if commiserating with the Colonel. Then he theatrically thought while putting his fingers on his chin. Finally, he seemed to come up with an idea and walked over to the Colonel, who he disrespectfully put an arm over his shoulders.


    ¡°Listen, I feel bad for you, ya know?¡± he said like a typical conman. ¡°Your guy, he just wasn¡¯t ready, just didn¡¯t understand what these fights are like.¡± The Colonel looked at Tom like he was insane. ¡°How about we give you another chance.¡±


    ¡°Another chance?¡± asked the Colonel dubiously.


    ¡°That¡¯s a great idea, having another chance!¡± Tom said as if the Colonel was the one who suggested it. ¡°We¡¯ll just tweak the rules a bit. How about in consolation, we¡¯ll let you use ALL your soldiers at the same time.¡±


    ¡°All of them?¡± eyed the Colonel.


    ¡°Yeah, great! All of them. They can use any weapon they want, even their guns.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that too much? People don¡¯t walk away from gunshots.¡±


    ¡°See his neck scar? Boss, turn around and tilt your head. Yeah, like that. Ok, that was a gunshot wound. Cops shot him. I know what you are thinking but it wasn¡¯t their fault. They were mind controlled.¡±


    ¡°Mind controlled?!¡±


    ¡°I know, right? Mind controlled! Invaders infiltrating authority, but I¡¯m sure you guys already know about all that. Anyway, gunshot to the neck. Gruesome stuff. Really something to lose your lunch after seeing. I¡¯ll show you the video after dinner. Didn¡¯t even slow the boss down. No worries about guns. Go nuts with them.¡±


    ¡°This seems dangerous,¡± said the Colonel, trying to get away from Tom¡¯s arm but failing to.


    ¡°Yeah. Right. Dangerous. No worries. Alright, since we¡¯ve agreed, spectators to the stands. Soldiers form up. Ed, make sure you get a good angle. Boss, stand over there.¡± Tom forcibly led the Colonel out of the way.


    The captain looked at the Colonel but only received a shrug in response. Since Adam still looked unconcerned, the captain started forming up ranks and having everyone get into position. Once they were there they looked between Adam and the captain.


    ¡°Are you sure this is ok?¡± asked the Colonel, having given up on escaping from Tom.


    ¡°Oh, no no no. This isn¡¯t ok at all.¡± Then Tom shouted at the soldiers, ¡°Guys, you need to shoot to kill. Why aren¡¯t your guns already aiming at him? This is a challenge. Freakin¡¯ point those guns. Seriously, who taught you slackers to prepare? Aim them¡­yeah, that¡¯s right. Up. Yes, point them forward! Towards the boss.¡±


    The soldiers were verbally berated until they complied and aimed their guns at Adam.


    ¡°Ok, Challenge will begin when I say now. Don¡¯t forget that I¡¯m rooting for you army guys. Point and shoot. Take that rat bastard boss of mine that I adore and fill him with holes. On the count of 3 ¡­ 2 ¡­ 1 ¡­ NOW!¡±


    Adam had decided to handle this like he did the elves. He had formed the connections while they were getting coached by Tom. Then he intercepted the hostility and replaced it with friendship vibes. When the match began he smiled and thought about how everyone here was his good friend. When they began smiling at him, he slowly walked towards the center of the group. Almost 100 soldiers. The muzzles of their guns began pointing towards the ground as they chuckled and elbowed each other in comradery.


    ¡°What are they doing?¡± demanded the Colonel.


    ¡°Shh, I¡¯m refereeing the match,¡± scolded Tom, causing the Colonel to frown.


    Adam continued to smile at them as he walked forward. His smile was radiant, bringing happiness to all his buddies. Then Adam saw a bug was in their midst, on the ground. To keep his friends happy he had to squish the bug. Adam¡¯s leg was lifted. A glow surrounded his bare foot. Then the foot was brought down with the force of a missile strike.


    The ground didn¡¯t just shake, it rippled like waves in the ocean, then exploded upwards. The soldiers all around Adam were thrown into the air. As they began falling, Adam moved as fast as he could. Rifles and handguns were taken and tossed to the side, safeties on. The first soldier¡¯s knife was taken, and Adam scratched a line in the side of each soldier¡¯s neck in the same place.


    While Adam couldn¡¯t get to everyone before they landed, there was enough disorientation and stumbling that Adam was able to weave in and out of the group, disarming and marking each of them. By the time he was done and had returned to his starting point, Tom was smiling hugely.


    ¡°Winner, the boss. Congratulations soldiers of the US Army! Wear that mark with pride. You are the first soldiers to learn just how truly screwed humanity is!¡±

 CH 59: Chat with the Generals

    CHAPTER 59: Chat with the Generals


    ¡°So¡­mind control?¡± asked the Colonel.


    ¡°Yup,¡± answered Tom succinctly.


    ¡°Did he¡­?¡±


    ¡°Nope, the boss uses something different.¡±


    ¡°Infiltration?¡± The Colonel¡¯s expression darkened.


    ¡°Probably.¡±


    ¡°How?¡± exclaimed the Colonel.


    ¡°Lots of ways besides mind control. Shapeshifting¡­¡±


    ¡°Shapeshifting?¡±


    ¡°¡­illusions¡­¡±


    ¡°What?!¡±


    ¡°¡­charming¡­¡±


    ¡°How?!¡±


    ¡°¡­maybe other human looking races¡­¡±


    ¡°Damnit!¡±


    ¡°¡­stealthing and invisibility...¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t even be able to see them?!¡±


    ¡°They''re all possible after what we¡¯ve seen.¡±


    ¡°How¡­how are we supposed to deal with this?¡± begged the Colonel.


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you an army leader? Haven¡¯t you seen wars? We deal by preparing, just like the boss is doing. The boss keeps saying you¡¯re looking to defend against an Earth war, but they¡¯re looking to fight in other ways that we aren¡¯t prepared for. We need to figure those out. If they can pop out in the middle of cities and bases, then we need a base they can¡¯t do that too, which is what the boss is setting up here.¡±


    ¡°Is it possible that Adam is one of them?¡± the Colonel asked hesitantly. The teen next to him was stronger than humanly possible and obviously very fanatical about Adam. There was no telling how he would react to the question.


    ¡°Sure,¡± Tom responded, surprising the Colonel.


    ¡°Then¡­¡±


    ¡°But I wouldn¡¯t lay money on it. Something was done to him when the [System] arrived, while everyone else got classes. He was in school at the time. I don¡¯t think there was time for any mind controlling or replicant replacing. Besides, look at what he''s done. I¡¯d rather follow him than anyone else so far. For now, we¡¯re coming out on top, even if we have almost died lots of times. Can you think of anyone else who is, or will?¡±


    ¡°After what you showed me, I can¡¯t. Aah! This is going to be hard to convey to the higher ups. We have no credible information other than what I¡¯ve seen here. Don¡¯t tell anyone else, but all the defense agencies in America and its allies combined have zero real information, let alone a plan.¡±


    ¡°Better get moving, bucko. We¡¯ve only got 5 days until things start for real. Our team just grabbed a head start on it, thanks to the boss,¡± Tom nodded and finally let go of the Colonel. He was used to being around strong men who had enough respect to never touch him. To have a teenager be able to easily overpower him was more than a blow to the ego, it was downright humbling. The Colonel felt like a newly enlisted private, unaware of how the world worked and knowing that everyone else had power over him.


    Looking over at his men, while Tom trotted to Adam yelling, ¡°the government doesn¡¯t know anything at all,¡± the Colonel saw shock and confusion on their faces. They didn¡¯t know what had just happened to them. No amount of training or ability mattered when facing someone with crazy powers like Adam. Some of the more adaptive soldiers, including the captain, were back on their feet and sparring with level 5 policemen and even level 21 teenager, presumably from Adam¡¯s group. None were a match. Even Doug, at level 2, was getting thrown around by a level 5 [Warrior].


    ¡°How can we make this work?¡± the Colonel sighed.


    ***


    Colonel Davian sat in a private room in a bar. He had driven through town and tried selecting a decent looking one at random. Outside the room, music played, intoxicated people spoke loudly, and the sound of billiard balls crashing could be heard.


    Ten of his troops had come with him. Five were in casual clothes while the others were in their fatigues. They were all taking casual drinks throughout the room while keeping their eyes on the door to his room so that no one approached it.


    A secure military laptop sat on the table in front of him, including an encrypted key to activate it, thumbprint scanner, and a frequently changing token to login. A video camera several generations old, but vetted by their highest intelligence techs, was focused on him as he waited for the general to accept his connection.


    ¡°Good to see you again, Frederick. I hope you don¡¯t mind if I¡¯m a little rushed. There is just too much to go through, even though it all feels useless. Tell me, any credibility to the reports from Jackson and those kids?¡± asked the General directly.


    ¡°General Gervin, I think it¡¯s more than safe to say the reports from here were credible and then some.¡± At the Colonel¡¯s words, the General brightened.


    ¡°Really? That¡¯s great! Was it some alien technology like has been suggested?¡±


    ¡°Well, there is alien tech, way more powerful than I could have expected, but it isn¡¯t the reason for what they¡¯ve done. It¡¯s the results. They gained this tech due to their own efforts.¡±


    ¡°Were you able to get it from them?¡± The general asked with expectations on his face.


    ¡°Sir, no, sir. I recommend giving up on getting it from them.¡±


    The general stared for a moment, clearly surprised. ¡°You couldn¡¯t get it from them?¡±


    ¡°No, it would have been impossible.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re the US Army, damnit! You went with 100 trained soldiers and you couldn¡¯t take something from a bunch of kids?¡±


    Colonel Davian felt the sweat running down the back of his neck. Even the thought of trying to take something from Adam seemed like certain death. ¡°Uh, sir. I¡¯m sorry to say but antagonizing those ¡®kids¡¯ is an exceptionally terrible idea.¡±


    ¡°How terrible?¡±


    ¡°Terrible enough that I would turn in my resignation rather than follow an order regarding it. Then I would tell any soldier to earn a dishonorable discharge rather than follow it,¡± the Colonel answered honestly, no embarrassment showing.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.


    ¡°What could they possibly do to stop us?¡± The general asked, as much out of curiosity as intention.


    ¡°Sir, we might, and I stress might, be able to overcome them if we approached with tanks, air support, and were willing to have 10,000 soldiers suicide bomb at the same time. We would also have to catch them outside of their base, since getting into it would be impossible.¡±


    That dumbfounded the general.


    ¡°Are you saying those kids can take on a whole army?¡± Asked the general.


    ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen, their leader would do it by himself. However, realistically their whole team could carve up a good chunk of it.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m finding this more than a little hard to believe. Tell me about the alien tech,¡± the general change topics.


    ¡°Yes, sir. It isn¡¯t just tech. They captured an enemy base.¡±


    The general¡¯s jaw dropped at that. ¡°One of those black nests?¡±


    ¡°Yes. The black is the protective barrier around it, controlled from within. Their leader, the one called The General, has found a way to personally penetrate them, though only after he had already captured two of the bases alongside his team. The space inside is an entirely different dimension that can be shaped and controlled by the owner of the base. It is limited in size and scope, without a way to affect the outside world or to take objects that aren¡¯t natural outside. However, the one they showed me was large enough for them to build a small city, which they were working on doing. It also allows them to connect to a network of information and shops that all invaders have access to, though it requires [System] currency to use.¡±


    ¡°Wow. That sounds like it would be a big boon if we could get our hands on it. Can¡¯t they give us one of their two?¡± Demanded the general.


    ¡°Actually sir, they have three. One of them was taken yesterday. Apparently, The General lost an arm, his fingers, and his skin trying to enter.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious. How could he be talking to you today after experiencing that yesterday.¡±


    ¡°The General simply told me he ¡®got better.¡¯ He didn¡¯t say how, though I saw one of their healers repair broken ribs, a punctured lung, and cracked spine in three spell casts. That soldier then got up and went back to fighting. However, the boy with the big mouth from the news interview showed me videos of it. After dinner. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to eat again for a while. I¡¯m telling you their leader can¡¯t be stopped by any means at our disposal.¡±


    ¡°This is preposterous. All it would take is one bullet. No one can walk away from a well-placed shot.¡±


    ¡°Um¡­I suggested that too and the big mouthed boy showed me a video of their leader getting shot in the neck by a policeman. It tore out about 40% of his neck and the boy still wasn¡¯t stopped. It took his friends knocking him down and running to stop him from killing the cop. If only you could see what he did when he faced our troops in a ¡®challenge¡¯ match.¡±


    ¡°This all just sounds like you are feeding me a line. Have they bought you out, Colonel? I wish I could see what would happen when he faced some well-trained soldiers,¡± insisted the general.


    ¡°I can help you with that,¡± a third voice said.


    ¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± demanded the general.


    ¡°Adam, is that you?¡± asked the Colonel, surprised.


    ¡°Yes, Colonel. If you do resign, I¡¯ll hire you,¡± said Adam, across their secure communications.


    ¡°Who is Adam?¡± snapped the general.


    ¡°I¡¯m Adam Clemens, The General from Jackson,¡± said Adam in a pleasant voice. ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you, General Gervin.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say the same, boy. It is a felony to hack these lines. In fact, it should be impossible to hack these lines.¡± The general started out angry but devolved to confusion.


    ¡°General, the invaders are able to teleport across who knows how many galaxies and set up extra dimensional spaces for their bases, and you think our Earth security can keep them from listening in?¡±


    ¡°Are you telling us that we are being monitored, boy?¡± the general asked in outrage.


    ¡°Obviously. Didn¡¯t I hack your meeting with nothing more than telling my base to listen in? I didn¡¯t need to know anything, it did it for me. There are probably dozens of invaders listening right now. Though that is most likely just a formality since they have already infiltrated the military,¡± Adam said casually.


    ¡°That is absurd! We have the best security and defenses in the world. It wouldn¡¯t be so easy to get in. Right, Colonel?¡±


    ¡°Well¡­¡± the Colonel shrunk back from the camera.


    ¡°Explain yourself,¡± the general roared.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen things today that make it seem quite possible that our defenses and security will be easily breached,¡± the Colonel said, looking like a child trying to find an escape after taking a cookie.


    ¡°Nonsense! This conversation is over. You¡¯re no general, boy! I¡¯ll be sending people to arrest you for terrorism and treason. We¡¯ll see how flippant you are then!¡±


    ¡°Sure. Send them. In fact, send your whole army. Do it in the next 4 days too. I double dare you.¡± They could hear the smile in Adam¡¯s voice.


    ¡°Wh-wh-what?! Preposterous! What are you even talking about! Colonel, please explain!¡± barked the General.


    The Colonel sighed. ¡°He''s trying to get you to send more troops to his town, so when the invasion happens there are more soldiers for him to train. His people think the country and world are a lost cause.¡±


    ¡°Psh! Some BOY thinks that? I¡¯d like to see how he would fare again some of the nation¡¯s best!¡± Smugness oozed from the general at that. Then a link appeared on their screens.


    ¡°Watch it,¡± commanded Adam.


    ¡°Is this some trick?¡±


    ¡°I doubt it, sir. I think it¡¯s a video from this afternoon.¡±


    General Gervin skeptically turned to another computer and typed in the link. He sat there, red faced and glaring as the video started. Only a moment passed before the general¡¯s eyes almost popped out of this head.


    ¡°Wh-what happened?¡± he gasped to no one in particular.


    Instead of answering that questions, the colonel said, ¡°I¡¯ve been assured by the police that mind-control is real.¡±


    ¡°Mind-control?¡± the general turned back to the camera dumbfounded, having trouble processing what was said.


    ¡°Yes sir. As well as shapeshifting, invisibility, and illusions. Those would make infiltration easy,¡± said the colonel.


    ¡°Is it really that bad?¡±


    ¡°Keep watching the video,¡± said Adam in response. The general watched for several minutes, his face changing constantly as he could no longer keep it straight.


    Finally, he let out a huge sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t suppose you¡¯d sell us one of those three nests that you captured?¡±


    ¡°Not a chance,¡± responded Adam. ¡°You have no one able to resist the mind control. Giving it to you means giving it back to them. However, I am willing to bargain some.¡±


    The general squinted at the screen. ¡°Bargain how?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve already provided the colonel with information about leveling, evolving classes, enemies we¡¯ve found, and how the bases work. That was a freebie, along with a few alien materials for your lab boys to look into. Though you should hurry since they only have 5 days left. The information must be shared with all government agencies and allied nations. Put the leveling and [Class] information on the news, so people know how to operate their classes. The information will be a lot more credible coming from the government. Make sure to credit us for the information and link our website, so people can see what the fights actually look like. We also have already posted this information and will continue to as we learn more.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t some attempt at money, is it?¡± interrupted the general.


    ¡°Of course not. I can¡¯t even spend all the money I¡¯ve collected in the next five days.¡±


    ¡°Why five days?¡± asked the general.


    ¡°Because if things go the way he expects, there will be no government left, making the currency and economy worthless,¡± answered the colonel for him.


    ¡°Worst case scenario, that does make sense,¡± the general responded thoughtfully.


    ¡°Here is the real bargain. Colonel Davian has already asked for safe accommodations for his and his soldiers¡¯ families. I¡¯m willing to provide that if they stay and let me train them up. Get them some levels and experience fighting against skills. However, the men here aren¡¯t enough. I want some techs and operators from the army, air force, and navy to work for me. As well as more soldiers. As many as we can get. Bring as much preserved food, military rations, and if you can send some engineers, scientists, and logistics officers over that would help too. Make sure they know to bring their whole families.¡±


    ¡°I assume you want weapons as well?¡±


    ¡°No. Sniper rifles maybe, but everything else is a waste of time. Storing explosives and dangerous materials would just endanger my own people and town. Bullets and guns will be useless.¡±


    ¡°Useless?!¡±


    ¡°Level 12 elves were immune to bullets. The colonel¡¯s handgun barely scratched a bowl made from elven wood. Missiles and rockets would be too easy to dodge with some agility. Not worth the space. They¡¯ll do more for your level 0s than for my people.¡±


    The general thought for a few minutes. The colonel could see the reality trying to sink in but being resisted by the decades of training and experience.


    ¡°According to you, the troops who arrive between now and then won¡¯t hold a candle to your own people. Will they be that useful in your town? Also, the loyalty of the other positions will be with us, not you. What if we have them do something not in your interest?¡±


    The colonel picked up his questions, ¡°He wants as many soldiers as possible because if they¡¯re spread out then they are more likely to die in the initial invasions. Adam thinks he¡¯ll be able to protect them, allowing him to train a larger fighting force for the future. The loyalty also doesn¡¯t matter if the government or communication lines fall. They¡¯ll have to become loyal to their families and surviving, which Adam has the edge on.¡±


    ¡°This is just¡­so much,¡± sighed the general.


    ¡°I assume it always is with war,¡± said Adam. The general just nodded.

 CH 60: Meetings

    CHAPTER 60: Meetings


    Meetings. Adam had heard both his parents complain about meetings before. He had heard his parent¡¯s friends complain about meetings. Heck, he had heard neighbors, grocery shoppers, sports announcers, and even garbage men complain about meetings.


    Being a teenager and spending so much time in class, he had assumed meetings were like that. Unfortunately, that wasn¡¯t the reality that Adam found as he sat through a full day of meetings. Now Adam knew that civilization was both made possible by, and destroyed by, meetings. A new hate had grown in Adam, one not created by soul corruption. Fortunately, his new hate of meetings did not trigger his heat or river, so no one was in danger of dying.


    Having to sit still as he listened to opinions and request, facts and figures, explanations of progress and so many people¡¯s names, it was all antithetical to Adam¡¯s naturally apathetic nature. It was why Adam didn¡¯t want to go to college and become some kind of corporate worker. Hunting invaders was much less unpleasant. A memory of losing his arm and fingers flashed through his consciousness, as if in warning. Yeah, much better than so many meetings.


    CONQUER! Adam¡¯s soul screamed. He wondered how many meetings the invaders had to sit through or were they societies where the strong spoke and everyone else rushed to accommodate.


    The morning had been filled with meetings led by his mom, a police supply officer, someone from the mayor¡¯s office, and several of the volunteers. They brought in person after person to get updates on supply gathering, evacuation preparation, distribution centers, crowd management, and much more.


    It was way more than Adam could pay attention to. Fortunately, Mr. Rhodes had stopped by early to let Adam know he would be retrieving his sons from college, and that their family would be staying in the building should he need their help. Apparently, Tom¡¯s mom was a nurse and wanted to level so she could get more healing spells and mana to ensure she was of help in any upcoming conflict.


    Mr. Rhodes gave Adam some advice when he saw how awkward Adam looked, sitting around listening to and responding to the adults in the room. All Adam needed to do was sit there and look imperious, according to Mr. Rhodes. No one was expecting him to answer the questions or come up with solutions. His job was to keep people, and enemies, under control. Sitting still and looking menacing would make people more comfortable. Letting them know that he was doing his job would allow them to focus on their own.


    In business negotiations when the higher ups attended, this was the normal behavior. Setting themselves above the others in the room established a clear chain of command and showed that what people were doing mattered to all levels of management. Mr. Rhodes assured Adam that he could still be polite and friendly but to make sure he spoke as little as possible. He was now The General and people would appreciate it if he played the part. No one wanted a friendly, inexperienced teenager. They wanted the safety that only The General and his Army could provide.


    The advice had definitely helped. In his first meeting, before the advice, when he had tried to participate, the attendees had left looking more nervous than when they shown up. In the following meetings people would throw glances at his haughty stare with trepidation, but always seemed much more relaxed when they left. No one even seemed to mind that he was in a raised throne. A few people even complimented him on the designs, leaving Adam stunned inside.


    After five hours of those meetings, Adam was brought tons of food and drinks by the policeman Brett. Apparently, he had received assistant status, though he never complained. He brought in some pasta and Mexican dishes for everyone, five times as much for Adam, and then jugs of juice. Everyone seemed to have their role.


    The early afternoon meetings featured Colonel Davian and several of his logistics officers, along with city planners from the mayor¡¯s office reviewing city maps to see where the best places to defend against outside forces would be. They also discussed what should be done if the forces suddenly appeared in the midst of populated areas. Adam paid more attention to those but still held back opinions.


    Adam assumed all the plans from this meeting would be useless, that the main point of it was getting to know the layout of the city better as well as the people they would be working with. It was like playing board games. With the abilities the invaders could have, any information shared outside this room would immediately be known to them. Announcing ¡°what to do¡± procedures to the populous would show the invaders how to best use them.


    It was nice to see the Colonel playing the part though. After talking with General Gervin last night, Adam didn¡¯t get the feeling that the military was going to take his advice. It just reinforced to Adam that Jackson was on its own, though it did increase his appreciation for all the people and businesses locally who were preparing.


    There were even thousands of people who had come for, or since, the fight challenges who were pitching in, hoping to find safety for themselves and their families under the Sentinel Army. The population of the city of Jackson was almost 70,000 people. With the outside suburbs and regional residencies, it would get significantly larger.


    The late afternoon meetings included discussions of how to accommodate the increasingly large numbers of visitors arriving, with even more expected. They were really pumping resources into the base so Jordan could make more and more living facilities for residence and visitors.


    On a side, Jordan had created a fun looking tree fort area for kids to play in. It had tree houses, bridges, slides, swings, climbing areas, rope nets, ladders, and playgrounds. During some of the more boring meetings Adam had secretly watched adults play on it while they took breaks. He planned to hit it up in the nighttime.


    Before Colonel Davian had left his meeting, he commented to Adam that Gervin had done what he could, and some reinforcements would be arriving the next day. Adam¡¯s mom, seeing Adam in distress during the meetings, also suggested that during the next day he take some of the soldiers to clear the final invader base hidden in the mall. It clearly hurt her to suggest Adam go into a dangerous situation, and he loved her for caring enough about him to encourage the outing.


    The rest of his group had split into pairs and were leading groups of about 20 police and civilians who were at level 0 to grind the mutated wildlife. Nothing they had encountered yet would stand up to his group, so they were mostly there to power level the newbs and keep them safe. Those who had reached level 5 or higher were grouping into parties of five to check out areas that hadn¡¯t been visited yet for their own levels and scouting.


    The groups were coming back every few hours, with the Sentinel Army quickly heading out with another group of newbs. Getting two levels in that time for those at level 0 was pretty solid work. Adam¡¯s group had leveled faster because they had fought thousands at a time. Getting a few hundred people to level 5 in the next few days wasn¡¯t going to be enough, but it was a good start. As long as the Sentinel Army could hold up against any initial attacks, the rest would be able to build up.


    ***


    Blasted meetings and blasted opinions, thought General Gervin. He hadn¡¯t slept since talking with that boy. To have a child hack their secure lines had been unthinkable. So unthinkable that no one he had spoken to believed him. One of the leading ranks in the country and he had to convince people to follow his orders about security. They said if he couldn¡¯t demonstrate it happening then it was probably something different.


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    The boy¡­Adam¡­Gervin corrected himself so as not to dismiss him and the intel that he brought, had really provided him with a lot more information. None of it led to good things. If they had months to review it and everyone immediately believed it, then maybe they could have acted on it usefully. Five days was not enough for all the people involved to accept it and act.


    He completely understood why Adam was being so grabby with all the technology. His freedom with knowledge was admirable, and Gervin was beginning to think hording the technology was admirable too. Wanting technicians to come to him instead of giving out the tech. Not handing anything to the police, FBI, and army. If the threats mentioned were credible then it was good that someone resistant held on to them. Even more than that was how these bureaucrats and analysts that Gervin spent all night talking to would have learned nothing from it before it was too late.


    Adam wasn¡¯t just hoarding the technology; he was trying to gain as many useful people as possible to horde. Dangling protection had actually worked, as the techs that Gervin had approached volunteered like crazy as soon as they heard their families were encouraged to join them. Several of them even mentioned that their kids were excited to meet these teen heroes and buy their merchandise.


    While the meetings had gone poorly, and the upper levels of intelligence and military agencies had been dismissive of what The General provided, suggesting he just copied it from video game strategy guides, the common soldiers were much more excited to join a Jackson expedition. Teenage kids even more so.


    Gervin¡¯s own family was unwilling to make the trip. They had spent their whole lives listening to General Gervin extol the praises of the strongest force on Earth. To now be told it was doom and gloom with only a handful of teenagers prepared for it felt like a joke to them. Sure, his granddaughter wanted to go, and he wasn¡¯t above using her to pressure his son, but it seemed unlike to end how he wanted.


    In the end Gervin ordered his wife to go to Jackson, TN, with a message sent to Colonel Davian to make sure she was taken care of. She didn¡¯t want to leave him, but Gervin had his duty to his country and men. If things went bad he would be a target and his time too occupied to spend with his wife. It took some arguing but eventually she understood and agreed to go.


    Yet still, meeting after meeting. Meetings with other generals, admirals, intelligence leaders, homeland security, and friends he had in other countries ended with the usual, ¡°We¡¯ll review the information and get back to you.¡±


    Five days sure wasn¡¯t going to be enough.


    Fortunately, this wasn¡¯t Gervin¡¯s first rodeo. He couldn¡¯t just order troops to a location with no military value. Especially with everyone on high alert. Instead, he organized a series of civilian protection Readiness Drills. He set them up in various states. They would last three days. Plenty of time for the troops to be back to their bases before the [System] invasion date.


    The trick was making it so their travel brought them to, or through, Jackson just before the invasions happened. He had commanders he trusted set Jackson as an official evacuation zone, so if nearby military installations are compromised, that was where they would go to await orders.


    In the end it was tricks and obscuring what his intentions were. The same drills would be run in many states, but General Gervin hoped to amass as much force as he could. If this wasn¡¯t about America¡¯s Army vs another army, but about humanity vs everything else, then he was hoping Adam Clemens really gave them a shot. If the intel was true, he was already pulling off miracles, and Gervin would like to see those miracles continue. Humanity needed all the advantages it could get.


    Gervin let out another loud sigh and then chugged a black coffee. It was almost nighttime again and he still had four meetings to go before grabbing a nap. What he wouldn¡¯t give for his own superpowers. Including ones that allowed victory in meetings.


    ***


    The meetings were done for the day and Adam¡¯s brain was toast. He felt like he had been cramming for a test all night only to find out he had studied the wrong subject. Since his group wasn¡¯t back from their hunting trips yet, Adam decided to explore the residential floors. So far, he had only been in his own floor since his friends tended to come to him since the [System] arrived.


    He walked through the various floors while letting himself in to empty units to check out the different sizes and arrangements. Jordan had been right, they were luxurious. It wasn¡¯t difficult for him to get anywhere he wanted to, since he was the owner of the Rift, and could bring up the menu which included opening (or removing) doors.


    Sometimes Adam felt like Jordan was given too much leeway, doing whatever he wanted in his own obsessions to play what seemed to him like a city building game. There hadn¡¯t been anyone else to do it and Adam''s group was needed for other things, so they never really put a limit on Jordan. Fortunately, it had all gone right so far, and this building was amazing, especially considering it had been built to this level of detail in one night.


    The last two weeks had been crazy busy. Even when people weren¡¯t physically around Adam, he always had things he had to think or worry about. Right now, he set all that away as he took his leisure walk through his own building.


    There were signs of people living in the units but the hallways were pristine. The Rift kept things even cleaner than constant janitorial and service staff, which as a lazy teenager Adam could very much appreciate.


    The seventh and sixth floors were for families, with four units per floor. He noticed that all the units were empty on floor seven with three taken on floor six. His family had taken one of the units, so he assumed they had gotten a larger unit on the sixth floor. Never did he think to check the living arrangements until just that moment.


    As he came out of the stairwell door on the sixth floor he heard an elevator open. That was followed by a high pitch shriek. Out of habit he grabbed a knife from his belt and got into a fighting stance while turning.


    Adam knew he was dense. He knew he was unobservant and disinterested in most situations. There was also no feeling in him that he was better than anyone else or special. He wanted to kill invaders. He did kill invaders. Others could kill them too if they tried. Nothing special about him.


    Seeing a 14-year-old girl pointing and squealing at him made him wonder for the first time if other people thought of him differently. She was fanning herself and bouncing up and down like she had just met her favorite boy-band. Weird, Adam thought, since it was a girl walking through his halls, in his building, contained in his invader Rift. Is it so weird to run into him?


    ¡°Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! You are HIM, aren¡¯t you?¡± The girl demanded, mid freak out.


    Adam looked down at himself. For once he was fully clothed, since his mom wanted him to look respectable in dress slacks and a button-down shirt. She had even styled his hair before the first meeting of the morning, though 10 hours of meetings ruin any semblance of a hairstyle. If he had to guess, he didn¡¯t even look like the guy in any of the videos.


    ¡°Are you alright?¡± he asked, unsure of how to respond.


    ¡°You ARE him, right?¡± The girl demanded.


    ¡°Maybe? I¡¯m Adam. I was just walking around my building.¡±


    ¡°Wowowow. Are you really as strong as in the videos?¡± She was creeping closer to him. Adam was feeling very awkward.


    He shrugged in reply. ¡°Probably stronger. I¡¯ve never actually used my full strength. Plus, I¡¯m stronger when I get angrier.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just like the hulk!¡± she gasped. ¡°Though you are better looking.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m also not computer generated,¡± he said sarcastically. He looked over his shoulder, wondering if it would be worth running for the stairs.


    ¡°Can you show me?¡±


    Adam looked around but there was nothing heavy to pick up. ¡°Can¡¯t in this hallway.¡±


    ¡°Can you pick me up?¡±


    ¡°I probably could have done that before the [System]. You aren¡¯t very big. By the way, who are you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Julie,¡± she beamed, not helping him identify her. She was getting more brazen as she finally reached him and then started poking his arm. ¡°C¡¯mon! You have to meet my mom and grandma.¡±


    Generally, Adam got along better with grandmothers than mothers. Julie had an easy time pulling him along as he desperately tried to remember who in his group had a younger sister. Was it Tom¡¯s family? Or Randall? He assumed Randall¡¯s sisters were older since he said they bullied him. It would also be weird if Randall invited his family to live here. Tom¡¯s sisters were supposed to be cute and polite.


    Before he knew it, he was in front of a door with Julie hanging on his arm. Julie flung the door open without letting go of him and pulled him past the entryway, and into the combined living room / dining room. A beautiful wooden table that complimented the relaxing decor was being set for dinner and Adam saw quite a few women around it. Two women looked college aged, and one was setting a child in a highchair. There was a woman, most likely the mother, probably in her upper 40s, in the open kitchen putting food on plates, and the grandmother was carrying the plates to the table.


    ¡°Everyone! Look who I met!¡± Julie shouted in joy. Four sets of eyes snapped to him. For the first time in a while Adam was intimidated. Then he realized who they were.


    ¡°Oh! You¡¯re Andrea¡¯s family!¡± Adam said with relief. He felt regret quickly after he said that.


    ¡°And you are the boy who is marrying my daughter,¡± Mrs. Fritz said. That didn¡¯t sound like a question.


    ¡°The loose boy who doesn¡¯t think Andrea is good enough on her own,¡± Grandma Fritz jabbed.


    Adam swallowed hard, knowing this would be the most difficult meeting of the day.

 CH 61: Getting to know Adam

    CHAPTER 61: Getting to know Adam


    Captain Joe Krysti stood in front of a door. All that could be seen beyond was a solid wall of black. Behind him were 19 of the soldiers under his company command. They each had a knife and sword at their belt, made from alien metal. They were shaped by alien techniques in an alien dimensional bubble. The blades were able to easily cut through thick human metal plates, though they didn¡¯t cut effortlessly through a wooden bowl. These weapons were ¡°lent¡± to his troops by a teenager as a test. Each soldier still carried their firearms, but it was questionable if they would be useful.


    That was not what he had been expecting when the Colonel requested him for the quiet mission to the unimportant town of Jackson. Captain Krysti couldn¡¯t help but think this as he stared at the foreboding black door.


    A hand pressed against his shoulder. The hand was light, but its strength and presence were immense.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll check first,¡± Adam said, trying to sound reassuring. The attempt felt off to Captain Krysti. Knowing that Adam was actually an unaffiliated weapon capable of killing every one of his troops left him feeling even more wary.


    Every man present had spent yesterday power leveling with Sentinel Army squads. They had all reached level 2. Captain Krysti liked how the increased levels helped him feel stronger, quicker, and more capable. Just knowing that strength could be increased so easily would incentivize his men to follow missions like this. Yet there was still too much unknown, both about the enemies and the allies.


    ¡°You have no idea what¡¯s through there?¡± Krysti asked the boy, not for the first time.


    ¡°Of course I know what is in there. Invaders that need to die,¡± said Adam flippantly. Even trained and experienced soldiers were concerned about having to kill. Yet this boy spoke of it casually, as if he was just exterminating some vermin. That didn¡¯t help the captain¡¯s nerves.


    ¡°I¡¯ve told you. We don¡¯t know until we go in. Look¡­¡± Adam waved his hand into the black. The hand passed through it with no effort and then came back out. ¡°The barrier is open. Let¡¯s get through it.¡±


    Once more, Captain Krysti hesitated in moving forward. Their training and years of missions had impressed on him not to move into an unknown situation. However, he could feel Adam¡¯s patience wearing down.


    ¡°Should we not send a scout?¡± he asked, knowing that it could be interpreted that he was being cowardly. Never once had he thought of himself as cowardly, but right now he felt it difficult to move forward.


    ¡°Captain, I get that it''s difficult to step into an unknown black portal. Yet, I¡¯m doing you guys a big favor by bringing you. You¡¯ll get levels faster here, hone your skills without guns, and experience what it takes to survive. I brought you instead of other people who could benefit from it. On top of that, I am here. Now, I¡¯m not giving you another chance. Move into the portal or I¡¯ll do it by myself and never extend another invite to you and your troops.¡±


    A shiver went down his spine as Captain Krysti firmed his resolve, closed his eyes, and walked forward. There was no differing sensation as he passed through the barrier, but he knew it when he was somewhere else. The pressure had increased and instead of smooth flooring under his boots, there was rocky ground that almost tripped him. He opened his eyes and found nothing changed from when they had been closed.


    He jumped when a hand grabbed him and moved him to the side. Then he heard gasps and movement as his troops came through the barrier and found only darkness. Shuffling and calming sounds followed his soldiers as they were moved out of the way by, he assumed, Adam, making room for those entering.


    Once all sound stopped, Adam spoke up. Captain Krysti felt like he was a kid in the cub scouts, he was so unprepared, needing the adult leaders to tell them what should have been obvious.


    ¡°This is good,¡± Adam started cheerfully. ¡°We¡¯re in a series of underground tunnels.¡±


    ¡°Why is that good?¡± one of the soldiers asked with trepidation.


    ¡°It¡¯s good because it means we have clear paths to follow and we can¡¯t be surrounded. We can create choke points if we need to. You guys are kind of letting me down here. Get yourselves together!¡±


    ¡°Sorry, sir,¡± the soldier apologized sincerely.


    "Also, the tunnels seem very¡­¡± the sound of a heavy impact echoed and the walls and ground vibrated, too quickly for even Captain Krysti to say anything. ¡°Yeah, the tunnels are plenty stable. I¡¯m not concerned about cave ins. It¡¯s dark and I assume none of you have natural night vision. Neither do I, by the way. It¡¯s too dark to see but I assume you brought a fix for that, Captain?¡±


    ¡°Er, yes. We should have a few options,¡± Captain Krysti responded. The company analyst, Charles, had made sure to pack for a lot of possible needs. It had also seemed like Adam was testing him when he told him to guess at what might be needed and then watched him put together a list. The equipment was spread out to different packs or they would be too heavy for each soldier.


    ¡°We have a few powerful electric lanterns, night vision goggles, flares, and regular flashlights. Which would you recommend?¡±


    Adam thought about it for a moment. ¡°Underground we don¡¯t want smoke, so no flares. If you have enough night vision goggles for everyone then that would be fine. The lanterns will cast a lot of shadows, but if you keep them in front of you can also blind subterranean creatures.¡± There was a scratching noise and a burst of air, then Adam continued. ¡°Let¡¯s try out the lanterns. Make sure you keep your eyes closed until they¡¯re all the way on.¡±


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    The captain gave orders and two of the soldiers dug out the lanterns from their packs by feel. Each soldier had been made to memorize what they had in their packs and where it was stored, so that everything would stay organized and quick to pack or unpack. Counting helped Krysti keep his mind off things until he felt the light through his eyelids. His eyes opened slowly, blinking frequently to get used to the light. Then the captain almost fell backwards.


    Adam was standing near the lanterns, holding what at first looked like a dog the size of himself by the throat. The beast¡¯s face was pushed towards the light, and while it did struggle it seemed more against the grip Adam held it with than the light.


    ¡°Guess they don¡¯t use sight at all. No eyes either. That means they use other senses to hunt,¡± Adam announced.


    The beast was out of a horror movie. It looked like a dog, vaguely in shape, but as he got closer, he noticed that it really didn¡¯t have eyes, or a nose. Its ears were rounded and covered with a mound of skin, a membrane underneath like a frog¡¯s. Behind the neck were jagged slits that opened and closed with its breathing. The paws did not have toes, instead there were talons, each the size of the captain¡¯s hand, curved and sharp; three in the front and two in the back.


    ¡°Looks like the claws let them dig through rock, as well as walk on the sides or roof of the tunnels. Make sure to look up if we enter larger tunnels,¡± Adam analyzed. The captain had no idea how he could be so calm with that thing trying to claw him.


    Then the little slit where a mouth should be opened like a parachute of skin with little bone fragments on it, almost like a net to catch prey. Adam snatched out and grabbed the extra skin at the base of the mouth, preventing it from extending further. The thing made choking noises as it tried to get the net back in its mouth.


    ¡°That is both terrifying and cool,¡± said Adam with no inflection that would show he was terrified. ¡°Anyway, everyone get a stab in here to get XP from it.¡±


    The soldiers, as scared of Adam as of the beast, lined up and each took a turn stabbing it. As terrifying as it was, the captain could see how distasteful everyone found torturing the captured foe. Each stab brought a puppy like squeal and moan that he couldn¡¯t help but frown at.


    ¡°Do we really need to do this?¡± the captain asked. Adam¡¯s eyes snapped to his own. The frightening intensity that Adam could bring, people called it his scary face, put pressure on every part of the captain. The well-trained veteran of combat wanted to shrink back and cower in the presence of that look.


    ¡°The better question is how seriously are you taking protecting our planet? This is an invader. This is something come to kill and pillage. Why would you give them the power? We aren¡¯t playing cops and robbers. We are playing kill them before they kill you. Why is everyone having so much trouble figuring that out?!¡± Adam bemoaned. It showed how frustrated he was when his skin began turning red and his fist clenched, unintentionally snapping the neck of the beast.


    The captain saw something within Adam in that moment, something beyond the anger and violence. Adam desperately wanted people to care about this. When he and his men discussed the Sentinel Army¡¯s videos, they always spoke about what a killer Adam was. Violent and brutal.


    Terrenidon ¡°Crawler [8]¡± killed. 327 shared XP gained.


    ¡°Seriously, Krysti, get yourself together or leave. I¡¯m not interested in carrying dead weight.¡±


    Captain Krysti flinched at the words. There seemed to be a difference here. The army trained them to handle combat, but also to avoid it and to only kill when necessary. Adam came across more as a warlord, ready and willing to kill anything that stood against him. When aimed at the invaders, Adam was unforgiving and remorseless, and he expected everyone else to be too. It was so different than when the captain had seen Adam interacting with his own people and the civilians. They were like two separate Adams, but he could understand why both were necessary and could coexist.


    What if Adam really did have a sense of what was coming. He wasn¡¯t making them torture the creature. He was making sure as many people benefited from its death as possible. Adam wasn¡¯t hording strength to take over, he was spreading the strength around while teaching.


    The pitiful Terrenidon had been whining and he had thought of it like an earth beast. Yet, what if it had gotten out into the mall? What if it had used those claws on the civilians? Would anyone have been able to stop it?


    Adam had protected them when they couldn¡¯t see. Instead of killing the creature he held it until everyone had a chance to observe. Then he was analyzing the enemy and doing it where everyone else could see. Some of the fear the captain was feeling fell away and he nodded to Adam, considering that maybe the shock of the absurd situation combined with Adam being a teenager was blinding him to the leadership that Adam was showing.


    ¡°You¡¯re right. It seems we were mentally unprepared. We¡¯ll try to handle this better,¡± the captain said.


    He immediately noticed the demeanor of the soldiers change. It was minor but they seemed to stop looking at what was right in front of them and tried to be more alert to their surroundings.


    ¡°Good,¡± Adam said while tossing the corpse to the side. ¡°Because there are four more waiting about 50 feet down the tunnel.¡±


    The soldiers burst into motion. The ones with shields stood up and moved to the front. Packs were checked and then slung on backs. Some pulled their guns while others grabbed their swords.


    ¡°Spears would have been better in here instead of swords,¡± Adam mused idly. ¡°I¡¯ll need to make sure people learn and carry both.¡±


    Evaluating and planning, learning from the situations for others even though he could just power through it, thought the captain.


    Adam took command. He guided the group forward slowly, leading with the lanterns. They were warned before the new beasts appeared in the light. The beasts had higher levels, but the humans had twenty men with strong equipment. Trying to fight with shields and swords was awkward, but he would trust it was necessary. All the soldiers learned some hand to hand and how to fight with knives in boot camp, but it wasn¡¯t constantly trained like firearms.


    When the beasts came into the light, the captain only saw three. Two were on the floor and the third was clinging to the ceiling with its claws.


    ¡°Where¡¯s the fourth?¡±


    Adam crept forward a few steps, then punched the wall and ripped one of the beasts out of a small tunnel. It had been waiting until they reached it to burst out of the final bit of rock. The thing squirmed and whined, and at the sounds the other three attacked. The speed felt overwhelming.


    Two were blocked from moving forward by the shields, and the third sped across the ceiling slightly slower. Several gunshots rang out. While most of them hit, they barely broke skin.


    ¡°Bad move on the guns,¡± said Adam, still holding the creature. ¡°They tunnel through rock, so of course their skin is tough. Also, we¡¯ve now confirmed they react mostly to sound or vibrations because three more are coming.¡±


    ¡°How do you know that?¡± screamed a soldier as he dropped his gun and pulled his sword. Adam calmly broke all four legs of the Terrenidon he held then tossed it down the tunnel. Then in a burst of speed he grabbed the one attacking the closest shield carrier.


    ¡°I can sense the number of creatures around me and three got angrier when the gun was fired. They¡¯re moving towards us. Kill these fast. There is something different about the incoming three.¡±

 CH 62: Underground Teaching

    CHAPTER 62: Underground Teaching


    The Terrenidon on the ceiling didn¡¯t stand much chance. Swords were raised towards the ceiling and it quickly got trapped. The tunnels weren¡¯t very tall, so men plus swords easily reached the beast. It tried knocking the swords out of the way, but that wasn¡¯t enough as they just rose up to pin cushion it until it dropped to the ground.


    Once it fell, Adam ordered five men to continue to watch it, making sure it was dead, while the rest jabbed out from around the soldiers with shields. The strength of the creature was enough to push the first shield soldier off balance, so the second was bracing him to keep him from falling. Even still it was close to drawing blood as the monstrous talons of the creature kept reaching around the shield. Fortunately, the talons weren¡¯t able to penetrate the shields, made from the Testudinate metal.


    That Terrenidon took several slashes to its limbs, allowing the soldiers to pin them and then put an end to it. As soon as they were done, Adam pushed forward the one he was holding. The soldiers didn¡¯t question or complain as they once more stabbed forward.


    Terrenidon ¡°Crawler [7]¡± killed. 294 shared XP gained.


    Terrenidon ¡°Crawler [8]¡± killed. 327 shared XP gained.


    Terrenidon ¡°Crawler [7]¡± killed. 294 shared XP gained.


    A few soldiers went to move towards the one that Adam had pulled from the tunnel, about fifteen feet ahead, when fog began to move into the visible area. Shadows flickered around them but dulled as the fog flowed in, bathing the floor in gray.


    Adam stood to the side, watching, so Captain Krysti took it upon himself to give orders.


    ¡°Everyone back up. Hurts, Brick, shields back up. Space to the side of the tunnel to create one entry point. Line up behind them ready to stab forward if anything comes in,¡± he ordered. The fog had very quickly covered the visible area and was rising. Instead of just covering their feet, it was already chest height.


    Captain Krysti called out to Adam, who was already obstructed from view by the fog. ¡°Is the fog dangerous beyond blocking our sight?¡±


    ¡°What fog?¡± asked Adam, then stepped right next to him. The way the fog was rising it felt like Adam came out of nowhere, causing the captain to startle. Adam¡¯s words also felt garbled.


    ¡°The fog! It¡¯s everywhere! Is it dangerous?!¡± another soldier shouted, clearly panicking, the sound stretched and bent, playing tricks on the ears.


    ¡°There is no fog,¡± Adam responded calmly. Though the way the sound moved around, the captain could barely tell.


    ¡°If this isn¡¯t fog, then is something messing with our minds?¡± asked the captain, now unable to see anything but the gray fog. With the sound behaving weirdly he felt like he was tripping on acid, and definitely not a good trip.


    ¡°Not your mind, no. More like your senses,¡± said Adam. Then he paused and said, ¡°I¡¯ll keep them busy. See if you can figure it out. You guys need to be able to get past things like this.¡±


    The captain thought. It wasn¡¯t mind control, which they had no idea how to counter. Adam seemed to think that they could solve this without him or he wouldn¡¯t have left. He also said it was his senses. Sight and sound were being affected. The captain felt his skin crawling and sweating, creating a sense of panic.


    First, he tried closing his eyes. That didn¡¯t help at all, except turn his vision from gray to black. Then he covered his ears and tried to feel for vibrations. No sound seemed to reach him except the warped shuffling of his men. It didn¡¯t seem to be coming from his ears. If it was his skin, then he didn¡¯t think Adam would have left it to them. That meant he must be inhaling it.


    Completely by touch, the captain pulled off his pack and reached into it. His fingers were feeling odd, sometimes bloated, sometimes stretched far away. It was more challenging than he expected to find his air-purifying respirator. It was a mask that could cover his mouth and nose, with heavy duty filters coming out of the cheeks. He slapped it on, took a few normal breaths and then breathed heavily.


    The longer he breathed through the mask, the lighter the fog and sound distortion became. His skin was still sensitive and sweating, but it seemed to be working.


    ¡°Get out the breathing masks,¡± he called to the soldiers. Each pack had one. They weren¡¯t high quality ones but Charles had made sure everyone had one in case of toxic environment.


    The captain¡¯s vision had cleared enough now that he could see the silhouettes of his troops digging through their bags. Once they began to get their own masks on, he crept forward until he could see Adam.


    Adam was standing in the middle of the tunnel, in front of the propped-up shields. There were five of the Terrenidons that kept attacking him. Three of them stood back and had the tag ¡°Mist Guards¡± listed above their heads, while two more had ¡°Slasher¡± for a class tag.


    The mist guards were smaller and had smoother looking gray skin than the others. The gill like flaps on their necks kept flashing red as a dust came out of them. Their claws were also much shorter and less menacing than the crawlers.


    The Terrenidon slashers had small blade like protrusions from the side of their elbow joints. Their talons were less curved than the crawlers, making the captain wonder if they could walk on the ceilings. No matter what, each creature was a thing of nightmares to the captain. Horror movies suddenly had no appeal to him.


    Adam seemed unimpressed by them all. He simply caught anything that came in arm¡¯s reach and threw it back, causing a whimper or squeal when it hit the floor or wall of the tunnel.


    ¡°Figured it out, captain? Good job,¡± Adam said. The captain wanted to feel like it was patronizing but realized it wasn¡¯t. Adam just didn¡¯t seem to care enough about it. He didn¡¯t judge them or criticize them unless it was for not wanting to kill the invaders as much as he did. Everything was about bringing everyone up to speed on the dangers and how to survive.


    The captain realized that his vision was completely clear now. ¡°Adam, why didn¡¯t it affect you?¡±


    ¡°Their power levels are too weak. They would need to be at least Tier 3 to have a chance against me.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Tier 3?¡± the captain asked, wondering how Adam could get that high this fast. He had read all the leveling information that Adam¡¯s group had provided and knew it would be a while before any of his team arrived there.


    ¡°No idea. I don¡¯t have a class. But I think I have at least Tier 3 strength, though I might be able to get stronger if I get angry enough. Right now, I don¡¯t feel much. These Terrenidons so far are definitely only Tier 1.¡±


    Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    Once the soldiers were recovered, they came over and watched Adam throw the Terrenidons around. Adam had them practice, in groups of five, defending and attacking one of the beasts. The speed and strength of the creatures was greater than their own, so they needed to work together. More than a few injuries and gashes happened, which Adam left to the three army medics that had come. Each had a [Support] class geared towards healing.


    Over about twenty minutes, the number of Terrenidons had increased. When the dust that the mist guards used stopped working, they instead let out shrill squeals that seemed to call other slashers and crawlers to them. The soldiers could no longer hold them off, so Adam threw the creatures to the soldiers one at a time to kill.


    Our levels are rising and we are learning strategies, skills, and weapons. Adam really is doing a good job. He¡¯s not pushing us but also not coddling us, the captain thought. He¡¯s even allowing us to get injured and healed so that we don¡¯t fear the damage.


    Once the 15 Terrenidons in front of them had been slain, one of the soldiers cheered. ¡°Yeah, baby! Bring more on!¡±


    Adam turned to him. ¡°How many do you want?¡±


    ¡°How many you got?¡± asked the soldier cockily, having reached level 4.


    ¡°347.¡±


    ¡°What?¡± the soldier asked dumbfounded.


    ¡°347.¡±


    ¡°There are 347 more of these stupid beasts?¡±


    ¡°Not really. I was just throwing a number out there. There are a lot more than 347. 347 would be a pretty weak number for an invasion. I killed thousands of goblins.¡±


    The soldier just stared at Adam with his jaw dropped. The rest began mumbling to themselves. The captain shook his head. Killing just a few wasn¡¯t victory. There was no room to celebrate or let their guard down. They had to clear out the whole place. As Adam said, they had to protect the people.


    ***


    The group sat huffing in a tunnel next to a large cavern that they had already cleaned out, trying to catch their breath. There were over 30 Terrenidon corpses in the cavern. Five hours had passed and the men were exhausted. One of the more support-oriented soldiers had been mapping all the tunnels and chambers, as well as counting the kills. They had killed 1,153 Terrenidons by now.


    The soldiers were all up to level 9. While Adam¡¯s group could have cleared it out faster, he could definitely see the difference between his group and a trained unit of soldiers. There was an efficiency here, even if the soldiers lacked the imagination to really deal with the unusual situations. This group had to wait for orders unless directly attacked, while Adam¡¯s group had learned to work around each other and support, and to take what they thought was the best action individually.


    Quite a few times the number of beasts was higher than the soldiers could manage, so Adam stepped in and quickly balanced things out. He still let the soldiers struggle and get overwhelmed. Their injuries could be healed and about half of them had their clothes torn up. They needed to feel the danger and the weight of these enemies, then overcome them.


    Adam also hoped the Terrenidon skins could be used as leather, because they needed some clothes that didn¡¯t get destroyed at the first attack. As desensitized to being seen in the buff as Adam had become, he really didn¡¯t want an army of nude warriors running around. The teenage part of him immediately pictured a group of sexy amazonian women running around in bikini armor, or less, but as appealing as that seemed, once the blood and injuries happened then it would be a great big turn off.


    Reaching into his own pack, Adam found that all his sandwiches were gone. He wasn¡¯t expending as much energy here as in his normal fights, but he was still getting hungry. In about an hour they would either need to finish this, or to step out for rest and resupplies. In short, Adam would need more food.


    Though the soldiers had done well, they could use some replacements too. It was impressive to last this long, amazing really, especially considering how alert they had to be with the tunnelers ability to jump out of the very walls at them, but everyone had a limit. They were also struggling more than his group to mentally understand the increased prowess their bodies had from leveling. All their training and exercising from before the [System] came told them their limits, and their minds couldn¡¯t understand that they had moved past them. That was another issue his group hadn¡¯t experienced.


    Using his soul mapping, Adam tried to sense the nearby enemies. He could only sense about 50 remaining, but due to the number of tunnels, he had never been able to sense every enemy at the same time. That meant there might be more. He also didn¡¯t sense a powerful soul indicating a boss, which confused him.


    ¡°Time to keep moving,¡± Adam said after another 15 minutes. The soldiers, to their credit, only mumbled some complaints and stood up while picking up their gear. They seemed to be in a haze, enough energy to keep going but shutting down their brains to follow the orders.


    ¡°Adam, I don¡¯t think we should go on much longer. This rest was hardly enough,¡± Captain Krysti said. Adam had noticed the fearful and distrustful looks the captain had thrown him in the beginning. The more the soldiers had fought, the milder the looks became, until Adam felt like he really was being viewed with respect. He appreciated that the captain had been open minded enough to allow Adam to earn the respect.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I only sense about 50 more. It sounds like a lot, but you¡¯ve been putting them down quickly enough and are now on level with them. I don¡¯t know where the boss or owner of this rift is, so after we clear the last groups then we¡¯ll leave. I¡¯m concerned they¡¯ll shut the rift barrier so we can¡¯t get back in but I understand it¡¯s been a lot for your men.¡±


    The captain nodded in appreciate. ¡°Thanks for thinking that. I¡¯ve had more than a few superiors who would keep pushing us past the safe point, and none of those also took part in the fights. I¡¯m sure you could have cleared this place faster than us, but it¡¯s been good that you¡¯re taking the time to train us up.¡±


    ***


    The final group was large and waiting for them in a large cavern. This final cavern was circular, and like everything in this rift, it had rough rock walls. The size was huge compared to the other rooms they had found. It was about twice the size of a basketball court, and the ceiling was about forty feet tall. It was so tall that none of the crawlers would have survived a fall from it.


    The troops deployed similar to how Adam¡¯s group had done in the goblin castle. They set up just in front of the tunnel, so they had room to retreat, and they had enough swords to spread out a bit more. The group was absent of mages and ranged, but it shouldn¡¯t be a problem against the Terrenidons. The medics also kept their swords out to ensure they gained XP from the kills, but stayed closer to the center so that they could cast a [Slight Heal] when they needed to.


    Adam watched the tired soldiers tearing apart the group of beasts. It took about 20 minutes, then the last Terrenidon fell into the messy pile in front of them. Adam looked into his soul map and still didn¡¯t see any other enemies, yet this room had no doors or exits. While the soldiers recovered, he walked along the walls trying to find hollow spaces. No amount of knocking or vibrations caused a difference in the walls.


    Once he was about halfway down the room, already looping back from checking the other side, Adam noticed a brown crystal about three feet high in the dead center of the cavern. It had been hard to see because of the dim lights and the similar coloration of the walls. Adam jogged over to it, looking all around in case there was some guard for it. When he touched the crystal¡­


    This Dimensional Convergence Rift has a controller.


    Have the controller attribute permission to use the Rift Menu.


    That confirmed it for Adam. The owner of this rift had not been killed during their fighting. He suspected the Terrenidons weren¡¯t actually sentient, instead just guard beasts for this rift. None of them had done anything different then animals could do, nothing that Adam interpreted as learnable communication.


    He headed back to the soldiers, unsure how to proceed from here. Their tired expressions told him that retreating was definitely the way to go. Unfortunately, while they had cleared a lot of the creatures, it did mean the owner of the rift could bring more through while they were away. All that effort was worthwhile as it gave the soldiers more experience, both for leveling and to know how to manage enemy spaces better. However, without being able to take control of the rift there was nothing to ensure they were protecting the area outside the rift barrier.


    ¡°We ready to head out?¡± asked the captain when he saw Adam headed his way.


    ¡°Yeah, nothing more we can do right now,¡± answered Adam.


    Suddenly Adam felt something wrong. There was a feeling like part of reality stopped existing. A ripple occurred on both sides of the room, between himself and the tunnel they had entered from. The ripples were like when Jordan added or changed a building in their own rift.


    It took a moment longer for the soldiers to notice the distortions. Once they did, they dropped their packs and pulled their swords, standing back to a defensive stance. The ripples spread out, growing until they were about 15 feet tall. Instead of a building appearing though, two giant Terrenidons stepped out.


    Adam clenched his jaw and knew¡­the trap had been sprung.

 CH 63: Feral Behemoths

    CHAPTER 63: Feral Behemoths


    ¡°Feral Behemoth [12]¡± showed above the heads of both the creatures as they stepped out of what must be the portal. The soldiers had already been forming up, and at seeing the tags above the beasts several of them laughed.


    The feral behemoths stood upon four legs, reaching fifteen feet tall at their heads. They looked like the Terrenidon slashers, with jagged bits of stone protruding from all over their limbs and back. The protrusions might not have seemed large, but that was only in relation to their own size. Each one was probably the size of a man. Their mouths were still those tight skin flaps that could fly outwards like a net and they had no eyes, the typical weak point when fighting larger monsters in games.


    The claws of the behemoths had three talons on the front, with the center one being a straight blade, very much like a sword. The claws on each side were shorter, more curved, and blunt for pinning and crushing. The toes that faced backwards were the sharp curved talons like the tunnelers used to climb.


    ¡°Only level 12s. These big boys should be easy enough,¡± someone said at the same time Adam bellowed, ¡°RUN!¡± Everyone froze when they heard the concern in Adam¡¯s voice. Level 12 shouldn¡¯t be that much above their own level. Their numbers could overcome the level difference.


    Adam knew better though. Both the lower level and the more specific name meant there was more to these creatures. They had evolved more than once, being at least Tier 3 already. That put them at a power level that Adam considered himself to be at. Definitely not something these soldiers could face. Or anyone from Earth. Adam cursed internally and agreed with Tom, they needed a manual or tutorial for this damn apocalypse.


    Upon hearing Adam continue to yell for them to run, the soldiers started looking at each other and then to the captain. The beasts seemed to notice the looks as they turned to observe the captain too.


    ¡°Retreat! Into the tunnel!¡± the captain ordered quickly, seeing how serious Adam was as he ran towards them.


    The behemoths didn¡¯t waste any time though, as if coordinating with each other, one leapt straight towards the tunnel to block their escape, bowling over the soldiers in the way. The speed was faster than the soldiers could track, faster than even Adam had run.


    Shouts filled the room as the soldiers went flying, slamming into the ground far from the tunnel due to the strength of the beast. Two soldiers were crushed under the monster¡¯s paws, while others struggled to move due to broken bones or the blood pooling under them.


    Adam didn¡¯t have time to take in all the damage as he saw the second behemoth lunge towards the captain. Making an instant decision, Adam opened him hand as it to slap someone then used his teleport step to arrive in front of the captain just before the behemoth¡¯s sword claw. The teleport step required a serious attack to use, so Adam used his own palm to hit the captain in the shoulder. He felt the captain¡¯s bones crack as he went flying away, while spinning from the force. It was all Adam could do before the sword claw arrived and punctured through his own abdomen.


    Adam let out a scream as his right abs and obliques were torn through from the back, the claw sticking out from the front. He grabbed the claw to keep it from tearing to the side. Without the muscles to balance him he collapsed to his left side. His grip was able to hold the claw still, showing that his strength was at least equal to the behemoth, however this was just a single claw.


    The beast turned its face towards Adam and made an unpleasant quilling noise. The way they moved and had chosen their targets seemed to indicate intelligence. It didn¡¯t seem capable of full thought, just enough to understand the reactions of those around him.


    Slowly Adam was lifted up. His blood was pouring down his body. This was even worse than when he had been shot in the neck. His insides were staying in due to the claw, but everything in his abdomen was almost fully destroyed. There was no way Adam would survive long in this condition. He would need to regenerate, and that would require a lot of blood.


    Turning his head as he was lifted by the claw, Adam saw the soldiers and the mess they were in. The behemoth guarding the tunnel hadn¡¯t moved towards the other men. Two were dead, and a good many were bleeding. Adam only had three options for blood. Each behemoth and the soldiers. He frowned at himself for even thinking it.


    His heat had spread out as soon as he had seen the behemoths stepping out of the ripples. The river was flowing and boiling. With the additional blood loss his thoughts had been getting hazy and his consciousness was trying to slip into the river, to embrace the fury and the violence. Conquer! it shouted to him. What did a few low-level soldiers matter to one who would conquer everything?


    If only he could strengthen his class! If only he could level up more! Adam raged, both in the river and in his thoughts. There was no way to understand what was happening and now he either needed to consume his own men or die.


    There was no fairness here, no justice. There was only life and death. If he died, then his men would die. If he consumed them then most would survive. There was only really one answer.


    The heat swelled inside himself. The river pushed past its boundaries, trying to push out of Adam. The anger intensified at Adam¡¯s self-loathing for allowing this to happen, and knowing he had to sacrifice his own men, combined with his hate for the invaders and the [System]. The heat burst from his skin, once more incinerating his clothes. His skin began to burn away.


    As he began to bleed from his self-inflicted burns, he reached for anything to keep him from being pulled under. Fear was mixed with everything, destabilizing it. This moment was the most scared Adam had felt since the [System] hit. He had always thought it was weird that he wasn¡¯t more scared of everything, but at this moment the fear jolted his consciousness, keeping it from submerging into the river.


    It wasn¡¯t a fear of death. Unsure why, but Adam knew death. His very soul had nothing but disdain for it, his own or those around him. What he really feared was becoming a monster. It was the actions he would have to take to ensure the survival of as many people as possible. How many humans he would have to leave behind. How many he would have to sacrifice or kill himself to keep the rest moving forward.


    How many lives would he wade through to conquer?


    The fear had started in his thoughts. It had spread through the river. The boiling fury and heat forced it away. The fear went to the only place left for it, the small place in his mind that remained cool.


    Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    As the fear hit the coolness, Adam used the fear as a connection between his fading thoughts and the other power set that he didn¡¯t understand. Body and mind. Both were linked to his soul.


    Adam pulled on the coolness. He knew it couldn¡¯t coexist with the heat, but it became a channel, a connection from his soul to his body. Sensations he hadn¡¯t felt before grew in Adam. He could feel the sloshing in his destroyed guts. He could feel his burning muscles and where the skin should have been. Even the blood that was leaking and evaporating from his exposed muscles could be felt as it left his body.


    The coolness wrapped his body and held in the heat. It formed a boundary for where the river could flow, creating a barrier to prevent the metaphysical river from harming his own body. The heat still flooded him. It burned through him. But it now stayed inside his soul, his essence space.


    Adam realized that it shouldn¡¯t have been able to touch his body without his permission, that the connection to his body, mind, and soul had been so open that there was no real separation between them. There is no purpose to a power that destroys you faster than it can be used.


    The heat was a fuel. It converted rage into strength. The river was the channel that brought that strength to the physical world. The coolness could affect souls. It connected his soul to others. It read and reacted. It couldn¡¯t exist with the heat because the heat wanted to consume, destroying thought and control, but the coolness wanted to create control within the soul.


    In that moment, as he was inches from being put into the behemoth¡¯s mouth, the heat radiating off of him and the dripping blood all stopped. His blood became a new layer over top of his muscles, protecting them. The heat swelled his muscles, giving them even more strength instead of letting it flow out of him.


    Adam looked at the claw sticking out of him and he pushed himself off of it. He plummeted twelve feet to the ground. However, the new control he had over his body kept any more blood or guts from falling out of the gap in his abdomen. It also gave him the muscle control to compensate for what had been destroyed.


    Adam knew he must win. There was no other acceptable outcome. While he might have to do terrible things to achieve it, that was the path he would take.


    As soon as he touched the ground, before another swiping claw could hit him, Adam stepped across the room to an injured soldier. His hand punctured one of the man¡¯s lungs, and Adam drank. The man squirmed and shrieked until he passed out. Adam gently tossed him to one of the nearby healers, knowing the man would hate him but would live¡­so long as Adam lived.


    Feeling the regeneration focusing on his muscles, ignoring his internal organs and missing skin, Adam turned to where his pack was and ran to it. Neither behemoth had immediately seen where he had gone when he teleported to the soldier, but now they heard the screams and felt him running.


    When he came on this mission the soldiers had been given swords forged from Testudinate metal to try out. He had also been given a weapon. Unfortunately, because of the narrow tunnels and weak enemies he never got to use it. Now was the time.


    The feral behemoth that had tried to eat him was running towards him. He reached his pack, swooped up the 120-pound war hammer, so heavy that his body weight could barely keep it steady, even if his raw strength was enough to heave it around.


    A glow started from his hands and then enveloped the hammer. The glow intensified as he swung it at the behemoth¡¯s descending paw. The head of the hammer collided with the sword claw and the claw shattered.


    Adam used his body as a pivot and his momentum to spin a full 360 degrees, leaping forward and allowing the hammer to hit further up on the beast¡¯s leg. A deep shriek rattled the cavern, vibrating everything. The soldiers began vomiting blood from the sounds.


    The beast¡¯s leg had become pulp where the hammer had hit. It had broken its bones, ripped it¡¯s skin, crushed the muscle, and left the bottom of the leg dangling from the back skin. More than all that, a thick, brown sludge flowed out of the wound. Blood.


    Adam dropped the hammer and dove into the blood. He swallowed it, coated his body with it, and even tried inhaling it. It melded with the barrier of blood protected his muscles and then sizzled as his own blood took the power from it. It tasted like dry pancakes without any toppings or syrup.


    Faster than ever before, Adam¡¯s body regenerated. His skin and hair grew. His cells replicated and reformed. The wound in his abdomen had to be exposed so the dead and unneeded gore from his own injuries could fall out to make room for newly grown organs before the holes sealed up.


    Never had blood filled him with so much life and energy. So this was what a higher tier enemy could give him. Adam felt his body wanting to release the energy. The soul barrier he had created to protect against his own heat allowed a larger connection to the river and his muscles burned hotter without burning themself away.


    Adam leapt up twenty feet high. The beast was still roaring in pain. The behemoth that had been guarding the tunnel was rushing to them. Adam landed on the creature¡¯s back amongst the craggy, rock like skin. He pulled himself to its neck.


    The breathing flaps were shaking back and forth as the creature shook from pain. Adam took all his excess energy, all the power that he didn¡¯t need. Heat was focused into his breath, and he roared with such force that his vocal cords burst and then regenerated several times, directing all that heat and power into the behemoth¡¯s breathing flaps.


    The creature staggered, having been shaken and nearly suffocated from the roar. Burns formed along the flaps, and Adam knew he was burning the inside too. Then Adam¡¯s hands glowed as he punched into the flaps, exploding the softer tissue within. He grabbed where he could and pulled himself inside until he could feel it¡¯s spine.


    Before Adam could get a grip on the spine, the mouth skin of the other behemoth shot out and grabbed Adam¡¯s lower body, using small teeth like bones to grip his skin. It pulled his legs off the behemoth¡¯s back, but his hands still held on beneath the breathing flaps.


    Adam gripped tightly while he felt the pull from the mouth net increasing. He looked back and saw the behemoth pulling with everything it had, not just its mouth but also its legs were trying to back away from the whimpering behemoth to save it.


    Waiting until just as the behemoth started another effort to pull him off, Adam let go. The pulling behemoth was surprised as Adam sprang back towards him, losing its balance due to the sudden lack of resistance. Adam flew towards the behemoth¡¯s face, hands glowing. The punch he connected with just above the mouth created a shockwave, stunning the behemoth as it was knocked backwards.


    Once more Adam fell. The mouth net relaxed from the stunned behemoth and Adam had to flip his body to land on his feet, right next to his war hammer. He picked it up two handed and walked towards the behemoth that had just recovered from his punch. It looked at him and released another deep squeal, vibrating the whole cavern. Adam felt it deep in his body and knew that without his level of strength it might have ruptured his organs, much like with the soldiers who¡¯s moans he could hear.


    Adam drew more heat into his body through the new channel controls with the river then roared. Once more he put as much energy as he could into it. Adam¡¯s roar overtook the beast, cutting off its own squeal and stopping the vibrations from its squeal.


    Jumping at a 45-degree angle, Adam brought his now glowing hammer down on the elbow of its leg. A colossal crash and crack sounded out. When he landed, Adam walked to the back leg of the suffering behemoth and broke another of its legs.


    The beast tried to drag itself away as Adam stared at it. Fury burned so hot in his soul, powering his muscles, but Adam kept hold of his control within the coolness of his mind. He leapt onto the beast¡¯s back just below where a heart would be on a dog and swung the hammer overhead and down, driving it into the beast¡¯s spine. Again and again he swung the hammer, like he was pounding a spike into the ground. After the eighth massive impact, the beast¡¯s spine broke. The creature whimpered and fell to the ground, alive but crippled.


    Before the other behemoth could do anything further, still struggling to breath, Adam mounted its back and broke its spine too.


    When Adam regained his balance after the behemoth fell onto its belly, back legs paralyzed and front leg smashed in half, he looked around towards the soldiers. Every one of them was on the ground in a pool of blood, lungs and other organs ruptured. Death had visited this room, and it was now Adam¡¯s to control.

 CH 64: The Fourth Rift

    CHAPTER 64: The Fourth Rift


    The army medic with a healing [Support] class was shivering, his body in shock from the vibrations of the feral behemoths and blood loss. Yet a new shaking came over him as he saw a brown sludge covered Adam, eyes practically on fire with intensity striding towards him.


    Adam stood before him. The man tried to back up, unsure of Adam¡¯s intention and already freaked out from when he saw Adam treat his fellow soldier as a beverage, to be opened and consumed. Unfortunately, the man¡¯s muscles were too ruptured to move on his own. He had no way to prevent Adam from lifting him onto Adam¡¯s shoulders.


    Then Adam walked to the next healer and easily heaved him onto his other shoulder. He carried the two of them to the side of one of the whining behemoths. The third healer was also retrieved and brought over. Adam pulled out a sword from one of their belts and then cut a triangular piece of skin off the feral behemoth, nodding in appreciation to the sharpness of the new swords.


    ¡°W-what¡­?¡± one of the soldiers tried to ask, his question interrupted by choking on the blood in his throat.


    ¡°I¡¯ll lift you three. Use whatever strength you have to jam the sword into where I cut the skin away.¡±


    The man just stared, unsure of the point of that.


    As Adam had said, he lifted each man, one at a time, and held the man¡¯s arm and hand, so that the sword didn¡¯t fall out of it. The man very feebly put the sword in, with Adam gently pushing on his elbow to allow it to go deep enough to cause a bit more bleeding. Then he repeated it with the other two men.


    They watched as Adam walked to the head of the beast. Adam¡¯s hands glowed and then he punched the creature¡¯s jaw with enough force to topple a building. The behemoth¡¯s ear membrane popped causing purple gray fluid and tubes to burst from the side of its head.


    Terrenidon ¡°Feral Behemoth [12]¡± has been slain. 80,327 shared XP has been gained.


    ¡°Level your class as far as it can go and then heal yourselves enough to be stable. Then we¡¯ll heal everyone else that you can,¡± Adam commanded as he came back. ¡°Everyone else needs heals, so use just enough mana to keep them stable. We can take care of non-fatal injuries later.¡±


    It took a few minutes for the healers to be back on their feet and moving around. They were still weak, but had enough vitality left to get to the other soldiers with Adam¡¯s help. Blood loss was a significant problem for the soldiers, but they were healed enough not to bleed out. Broken bones were left, including the captain whose shoulder and collarbone had been broken when Adam pushed him out of the way of the wicked sword claw.


    ¡°That was terrible,¡± the captain said as he approached, limping and holding his shoulder even after receiving healing.


    ¡°Sorry about hitting you. My teleport step required me to use a real attack. That was the gentlest I could hit you in the situation.¡±


    ¡°I understand why, and know it saved my life, but it still sucks.¡± Adam nodded in understanding. The captain then stared at the still breathing behemoth that they were standing in front of. ¡°What now?¡±


    ¡°You each get a hit on this beast and I kill it. Make sure your men all take at least two body levels and throw the stats into Vitality. It¡¯ll make sure everyone survives for now. Then I take control of the rift and we go home. I had to let the healers level using the first behemoth to increase their mana pools and healing power, or we wouldn¡¯t have been able to heal everyone else.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure I would have thought of all that, Adam,¡± admitted captain Krysti. ¡°We have three dead. The soldier you attacked is alive, though quite frankly, pissed at and terrified of you. Why did you do that to him?¡±


    ¡°I was too injured when I got stabbed to fight them, and their skin was too tough for me to get blood from it without my full strength. I tried to regenerate from an ally¡¯s blood without killing him. It was the only way for me to keep fighting, as crappy as it was to do.¡±


    ¡°That makes sense, though that doesn¡¯t make it any less terrifying. Even if it is blood, being able to regenerate must be supremely helpful.¡±


    ¡°Oh, it is,¡± Adam answered, not sure how well he would sleep tonight while thinking about what he had done.


    ***


    With the death of the Feral Behemoths, Adam searched through the corpses looking for the rift control crystal. The longer he spent the more anxious he felt. The question of whether he could even destroy a rift started to matter, and the unknown of what happens when a rift is destroyed.


    Once enough time passed that Adam gave up on finding it, doing everything short of cutting open the creatures¡¯ stomachs, he went back to his pack to clean off the crusted blood and throw on spare t-shirt and gym shorts. Then he headed to the crystal pillar with his war hammer.


    This Dimensional Convergence Rift has a controller. Have the controller attribute permission to use the Rift Menu.


    ¡°Damn,¡± Adam swore, ¡°guess destruction is the way to go.¡±


    He lifted the hammer overhead, ready to bring it down when he noticed another ripple in the air next to him. Reality shifted, though no bigger than his hand. Instantly he readied his stance, ready to smash whatever came out of it.


    Instead of a creature, a plain white envelope slid out of the ripple and fell to the ground. It landed with the blank side up. Written on it was ¡°To my dearest Adam,¡± and included a lips imprint made from lip stick. Adam frowned at it. There was also a bulge in the envelop, indicating something that wasn¡¯t flat was in it.


    Careful not to let the other soldiers see what he was doing, Adam picked up the envelope and turned it over. He was very aware that there could be anything in it, but without a way to check or remotely open it he decided to just get it over with.


    A brown rift control crystal slid into his hand after he tore the top open. He tossed it up and down, feeling the weight. Then he reached up and touched the crystal pillar.


    Owner of Dimensional Convergence Rift has relinquished control of this Dimensional Convergence Rift.


    Ownership presented to possessor of Control Node.


    Would you like to take Ownership of this Dimensional Convergence Rift?


    [ Yes / No ]


    ¡°Yes,¡± Adam said, familiar with this message.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Ownership of Dimensional Convergence Rift has been taken by a native.


    Invasion ended.


    Rewards pending. ¡­


    Dimensional Convergence Rift network has been found.


    Connect to current network? Permissions and controls will be taken from existing Control Nodes.


    ¡°Yes,¡± Adam said.


    Rewards ready for natives who ended an invasion.


    Release rewards?


    [ Yes / No ]


    Adam selected Yes once more.


    ¡­All natives included in Dimensional Convergence Rift will receive the title ¡°Invasion Conqueror¡±.


    Invasion Conqueror


    For defeating an enemy of your planet and preventing their rampage from continuing you will receive +2 to all stats. Claiming more Dimensional Convergence Rifts will increase this title.


    Adam heard some gasps from the soldiers, back at the entrance to the cavern, then some cheering. He wanted to smile, to take part in the celebration, but he couldn¡¯t. Instead, he took a folded paper out of the envelope.


    To my dearest Adam,


    I¡¯m sorry we can¡¯t meet in person quite yet. Thank you for letting me watch your battles. You have an interesting, though undeveloped, fighting style. I just wanted to make sure all was ready for when we do meet in person. While you have interfered with my goals more than once, I have been tasked with things more urgent than meeting with you right now. But don¡¯t fret. Soon we¡¯ll be meeting. You can look forward to it.


    In the meantime, feel free to use this Dimensional Convergence Rift as you want. It has finished serving my purposes.


    When we next meet, we¡¯ll be getting to know each other quite intimately. Until then¡­


    Love,


    Cruxannith¡¯cz¡¯Jurzax


    ***


    The Rift base was a hive of activity. Trucks were driving supplies to various points. More buildings had been created. Areas where volunteers cooked or organized items were set up all over. Businesses were establishing warehouses and offices in the base. Even children could be heard from the play areas that had been set up.


    Silence fell and motion stopped as the soldiers marched through the entrance with Adam at the lead. Everyone was filthy. Their clothes were covered in their own blood, many cut and ripped. Adam had dried and scraped off most of the Terrenidon blood, but the sweat, dirt, and muck still on his skin stood out against his white t-shirt and the gym shorts he wore.


    In half a day the tags of the soldiers had risen to almost level 15, with the healers having evolved their classes. Quiet muttering and comments filled the air as the soldiers split from Adam to stoicly march to their barracks. Adam ignored everything around him, walking with a silent fury that had people scrambling to get out of the way before they even needed to.


    Adam walked towards the Sentinel Army¡¯s building. Colonel Davian hurried out from the building and made a line towards him. While the Colonel walked with a disciplined stride, he still barely caught up before Adam arrived at the statue in front of the building.


    ¡°Adam, I know you just got back but can I have some of your time?¡± the Colonel asked. Adam turned intense eyes towards him, causing him to wince. Without responding, Adam pulled out one of the elf daggers.


    The statue was mostly him, standing in a ridiculous heroic pose. Originally the statue had been only him, but he had insisted on changing it to include all his friends. He was most prominent on it, but the rest all stood with him, an example of heroes, ready to save the day. His figure on the statue was 10 feet tall, standing on a five-foot-tall dais. A large plaque on the front had etched into it, ¡°Sentinel Army.¡± It was a thing of pride and inspiration. People often passed by and took time to marvel at them.


    Just below the plaque, Adam took his knife to the smooth area. The Colonel watched with a frown that only deepened the more carving Adam did. A crowd had gathered and were respectfully watching from a good distance as Adam dragged his knife along the stone of the dais.


    After five minutes, Adam stood, looked at what he had done with an expressionless face. Then he nodded to the Colonel and the two silently walked to the building. The people pushed forward to see what Adam had carved into the statue.


    Everyone read the words, ¡°Earth¡¯s Heroes,¡± followed by three names: Lonzo Henderson, Michael Ferdinan, Erwin Swain. Then they bowed their heads and gave their respects.


    ***


    The Colonel led Adam through the crowds in the reception room of the building, down a hall, and into one of the smaller waiting rooms. Inside was a woman in her 60s, who stood up. She eyed Adam up and down, lingering on his clothes, then sniffing the air and scrunching her nose in disgust. In return, Adam eyed her up and down, then seemed to dismiss her and turn towards the Colonel.


    ¡°Adam, this is Elouise Gervin,¡± the Colonel introduced, as if there was more importance to the name and the woman than Adam could conceive.


    Without bothering with the gravitas that the Colonel had used, Adam simply nodded to her and said his name, ¡°Adam Clemens.¡± Then turning back to the Colonel he asked, ¡°General Gervin¡¯s wife?¡±


    ¡°Ah, yes,¡± the Colonel said with surprise. ¡°The General sent her here to¡­¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. She can have a double unit on the fifth floor. I¡¯m not going to play politics or bother with people judging or observing me. If she is here to help, or looking for protection, then she can check with Ron, my mom, or any of the leaders of the volunteers to see what she can do to help. I¡¯m sure she has loads of useful experience as long as she doesn¡¯t throw her weight around.¡±


    ¡°Quite the irreverent boy,¡± Elouise critiqued.


    Adam stared blankly at her and then opened the door to the room. Sticking his head out he yelled to the crowds in the reception area, most of which he had met several times already, ¡°Hey! Would you guys describe me as irreverent?¡±


    Laughter and leg slapping sounded out.


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re a teenager, goes with the territory.¡±


    ¡°Less than others.¡±


    ¡°Especially when you barely put on clothes.¡±


    More laughter came from all the jokes that were shouted.


    ¡°Thanks!¡± Adam yelled back and closed the door. Addressing Elouise he said, ¡°it seems that I am irreverent.¡± She could only smirk at that.


    ¡°Jordan!¡± Adam then yelled, startling both Elouise and the Colonel.


    ¡°Yes, Adam?¡± a voice called from right next to him, once more startling Elouise.


    ¡°I¡¯m tapped out. I need food and juice right now.¡±


    ¡°Rough trip?¡± Jordan asked, the trepidation in his voice was noticeable.


    ¡°Do you have access to the other rift?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes.¡±


    ¡°Then I know you¡¯ve already watched the fights. I need food. Then coordinate with the Colonel on what to do with the bodies. Also, see if you can find someone to make leather out of the Terrenidon skins. They might be fire resistant enough for me, and the big ones will be tough enough for other people¡¯s armor. Finally, assign Mrs. Gervin a double on floor five.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Adam,¡± Jordan said, sounding sympathetic. Then the air above the meeting table shimmered and all kinds of food appeared on it. Boxes of cereal, a dozen hot dogs in buns with toppings, fresh fruit, leftover pasta and Chinese dishes, a jug of milk and orange juice all appeared. Apparently, his fridge was being restocked daily by others.


    ¡°That is a lot of food,¡± Elouise commented as she saw Adam drop into a chair and begin chugging the milk.


    ¡°He¡¯ll eat it all,¡± said the Colonel. ¡°His abilities require more fuel than other people.¡±


    ¡°I must say, I¡¯m used to a bit more interest when people meet me.¡±


    ¡°I doubt he really understands the position and prestige of higher military ranks. Plus, considering he¡¯s stronger than an army by himself and is truly giving everything he must protecting people, it¡¯s better not to burden him with it. Let him focus on his pursuits since they might be what stands between us and the invaders.¡±


    ¡°Is it really that dire? My husband is torn between not believing it and doing everything he¡¯s able to, just in case.¡±


    ¡°I guess we¡¯ll know in a few days,¡± the Colonel answered. ¡°Adam, how bad was today?¡±


    Adam didn¡¯t acknowledge them, attention seeming focused on his food, but then four screens appeared in the air. They each showed Adam and the soldiers entering the final cavern from different angles. Their fight with the 50 Terrenidons went by easily and then the Feral Behemoths came out.


    Elouise and the Colonel gasped as they watched the soldiers thrown around and Adam struggle at the beginning of the fight. Elouise looked at Adam with horror when she saw the claw stab through him and almost cheered as he fought his way off it. The Colonel made a retching noise when Adam drank the blood of one of his soldiers, an angry glare directed at Adam.


    They had gotten to the part where Adam was carrying the healers when suddenly the images cut out. Adam stopped eating and looked at the door right as it snapped open. His mom rushed through it and ran to Adam. She ignored all the filth on him and hugged his head, tears in her eyes.


    ¡°Adam, are you ok?¡±

 CH 65: Comfort

    CHAPTER 65: Comfort


    ¡°I¡¯ll get Elouise situated and catch up with my men,¡± the Colonel said as he closed the door after exiting with Elouise.


    Adam¡¯s mom cradled his head, sniffling back her tears. ¡°I saw the statue. People were talking about it. You shouldn¡¯t have to do all this. You shouldn¡¯t have to go through this.¡±


    Wrapping his arms around his mom, Adam hugged her back. He felt once more like a small child, having his upset comforted by his mom.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have been in this position in the first place. You¡¯re too young,¡± she murmured.


    Adam soaked in the feel. He allowed the hurt at losing people, at seeing them die and then having to fight on, be exposed to the world. A raw pain was let out and he felt how unfair the world was. For a moment it was so strong that it seeped into his connection with the girls. He only noticed because he felt their concern in response coming from their side of the connection. He quickly plugged his side of the connection since it was never his intention to worry them.


    ¡°Mom,¡± Adam started slowly. ¡°Thanks for being here and helping me with all the organizing. I¡¯m hurting. It¡¯s a strong feeling, but there is also a muteness to this. If it had happened before the [System] then I would have been more seriously affected by it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s just the shock of it. It¡¯s normal for strong feelings to leave us numb.¡±


    ¡°No, mom. That¡¯s the point. I¡¯m not numb. My emotions work differently. Anger fuels my strength and death feel like a normal part of me. I feel hurt and sad, but that just feels like a normal state. Whatever changed me when the [System] arrived also changed how my emotions work. It¡¯s hard to explain and I don¡¯t quite understand it. I feel like the world keeps dying every day and I¡¯m just watching it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a grim outlook, honey,¡± his mom said with a sniffle. She pulled back and looked at his face. A face that was upset, but more at the level of a child misplacing a toy.


    ¡°Intellectually I agree. At the same time, it¡¯s given me a greater appreciation for everyone and more determination to keep you alive as long as possible. Emotionally I feel like you''re a memory, a remembrance that I need to cherish. I know a day will come when everything around me is gone, but for now I don¡¯t have to think about it because I can hold on to you.¡±


    ¡°Do you think we should get a therapist? I mean, maybe that police therapist is available for regular session.¡±


    ¡°Hm¡­maybe I can better explain if you feel it for yourself,¡± Adam pondered.


    ¡°How could I feel your emotions?¡± his mom asked warily.


    ¡°I can create emotional connections that we can communicate through. I have constant ones with the girls, and I do temporary ones with my group when we go to fight. It helps us understand each other better.¡±


    ¡°Sure, let¡¯s try it,¡± said his mom hesitantly.


    Adam opened a connection. He started small, feeding through his anger at the invaders and the [System]. His mom¡¯s face became red and she breathed heavily.


    ¡°That¡¯s a touch of what I feel towards our enemies. You ok for more?¡±


    ¡°This is incredible. And terrible. I really can feel your emotions,¡± his mom took a deep breath to focus. ¡°Ok, give me more.¡±


    Then she felt his hurt at watching the soldiers die. His regret at having to feed off his own soldier. Once she looked mournful about those, he put his determination into the connection. He added his love and appreciation for his family. Next came confidence that he would survive and a feeling of d¨¦j¨¤ vu, as if he had survived the world ending numerous times. It finished off with his certainty that without the preparations they had taken, no one would survive.


    His mother looked like an emotional wreck from the way her expressions kept reflecting the emotions he sent to her. She teared up, then grimaced, then smiled, then teared up again, then got stone faced. She was only feeling the emotions, not knowing the causes of them in Adam, but it had a big impact on her.


    When Adam finished, he closed the connection and waited for her. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply for several minutes.


    ¡°That was exhilarating, Adam,¡± his mom said with a relieved smile on her face. ¡°I can¡¯t believe you can do that. Even when it was upsetting it felt cathartic to know what you felt and how it matched much of my own. I could also picture it being addictive. Be careful with using it all the time with the others. You might influence their own thoughts and emotions more than you realize.¡±


    ¡°I know, mom. Everyone jokes that I¡¯m a supervillain using mind control.¡±


    ¡°It might not be too far off, but it is different than that. Anyway, you know what emotion I didn¡¯t feel coming from you?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡±


    ¡°Fear. There was no fear. Everyone else is terrified of the invaders, terrified that your doomsaying will come true, and terrified that they won¡¯t be protected. Some are even terrified of you after seeing the videos. Don¡¯t you feel fear?¡±


    ¡°Sure I feel fear, but not for the normal things. I fear I¡¯ll somehow screw up and not kill all the aliens. That¡¯s it. I don¡¯t fear dying, or killing, or having others die. I feel anger towards those things, knowing it¡¯s likely to happen and will be outside of my control. But not fear. Whatever happened to my soul is compelling me to do all I can, and to accept the results. I don¡¯t see any reason to fight it.¡±


    ¡°That sounds a bit scary to me, but I¡¯ll leave you be for now. Just remember that you¡¯re still my little boy and if you need me to listen, hug, or even scold, I am here for you.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, mom. Remember that I¡¯m doing everything I can to make sure you and the others stay here for me.¡±


    ***


    ¡°We lost three?¡± Colonel Davian asked as he closed the door to a small meeting room. It had been rented from a nearby corporate center outside of the Rift and was where Captain Krysti waited. Soldiers in fatigues guarded the door and there were numerous men and women in plain clothes discretely watching the building from all sides. The only way to have a secure meeting was outside of the base.


    This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Krysti said while standing to attention. ¡°We were fortunate to have lost only that many.¡±


    ¡°I see. Please have a seat and then tell me what happened.¡±


    The captain went on to explain how the raid went, how Adam had behaved throughout, the challenges they overcame and how Adam had navigated them. Then he described the fight with the Feral Behemoths and how they barely survived that.


    ¡°Then Adam really is as strong as he claims?¡± the Colonel asked when the captain was finished.


    ¡°Yes, sir. His strength is amazing. Even against two beasts at his own power he found ways to manage them both. I suspect he could have handled them from the beginning if he hadn¡¯t tried to save me.¡±


    The captain winced as he remembered the shoulder and collarbone breaks, though they now felt like a distant memory with how perfectly they had healed from skills.


    ¡°The squad that went is now almost on par with Adam¡¯s group of friends in terms of level. How do you guys think you could fare against them?¡±


    ¡°I think we would have an edge in teamwork, but they would have the advantage with skills and techniques, and we lack mages. If we¡¯re going to be equal to them then we need more training with the weapons they¡¯ve been using. We also received a title that gave us +2 to all stats. I can only assume they have three of those, putting them in a stat advantage.¡±


    ¡°How long until you can handle their group?¡± the Colonel asked with dead seriousness.


    ¡°Sir?¡± Captain Krysti asked in surprise. ¡°Aren¡¯t we working with them? They¡¯ve been so open with training us up.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t your concern. Just answer, how long?¡±


    ¡°They haven¡¯t been idle either, sir. I think we would need a few weeks of weapons training and concentrated leveling.¡±


    ¡°That much of a disparity?¡± the Colonel asked with surprise. The thought of a group of teens being able to fight evenly or outmatch an army unit was unimaginable two weeks ago.


    ¡°Yes, sir. Though it¡¯s a moot point if The General is around. I believe he empowers his people with his presence. Their growth speed too. Though I¡¯m not sure how. He didn¡¯t use it on us.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± the Colonel kept his thoughts to himself. After a moment he noticed the captain squirming a little in his chair. ¡°Yes?¡±


    ¡°Sir. I advise we not move against The General or the Sentinel Army.¡±


    ¡°Why is that, captain?¡± Davian asked.


    ¡°Adam hates the invaders and will accept any who will fight with him. However, I get the sense that if you aren¡¯t following his lead, then you are the enemy.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Captain Krysti, you¡¯re dismissed. Thank you for your efforts. Make sure your troops get enough rest and food. If any of you are up to it, I¡¯d like your men to split up and take some of the arriving troops out to train, like the Sentinel Army is doing.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.¡± Captain Krysti left the room.


    The Colonel sat for a few more minutes thinking about the conversation. He considered all the respect that the captain had shown towards Adam and the fact that he was now calling him The General. There was no mistaking that glimmer in his eye. He had seen that before from men who would follow a superior into hell itself.


    With a sense of regret, he stood up and left the room. Time was necessary to process everything that was happening¡­ and the orders he had received.


    ***


    That night Adam¡¯s friends were all tired. They had spent the last two days leading groups of soldiers, civilians, and police in combat training and leveling against the increasingly mutated wildlife. They all had planned to continue tomorrow as well.


    Adam was decompressing in his penthouse. By the time evening came and the fake sun in the rift base had set, everyone else was also there. It seemed policeman Brett was still acting as an assistant and had people delivering food for dinner. Pizza and pasta were delivered along with a ton of wings and sauces.


    Figuring this must be like college, video games were brought out, another television had sitcoms on, while everyone ate. After the talk with his mom this afternoon, Adam was given space by everyone else. Adam assumed it was his mom¡¯s intervention allowing him to have some down time with friends.


    Abbey, Alissa, Andrea, and Brittney weren¡¯t quite as space accommodating. They had all felt his upset through the connections and watched to make sure he was ok. They quietly talked to him about the deaths and his scratching the soldiers¡¯ names into the statue.


    Everyone watched the playback of the raid, making comments on how they would have handled it, or pointing out soldiers that had done a better job. It was like a game review a pro sports team might have. At Adam¡¯s suggestion, the fight with the Feral Behemoths waited until everyone was done eating. The fight brought out a lot of points for them to discuss.


    ¡°Eww! You used that guy as a blood bag,¡± Randall laughed.


    ¡°Never do that to me,¡± whined Carlos, ¡°though I always seem to be the one picked on¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh, boohoo,¡± mocked Tom. ¡°Being drank by the boss so he can fight the monsters would be an honor!¡±


    ¡°Then you can have it,¡± said Carlos.


    ¡°Of course I would welcome it! Hear that, boss? These plebeians don¡¯t know their place. Use me as a blood bank when you need. Besides, I¡¯m sure my blood tastes the best.¡±


    ¡°What!?¡± exclaimed Carlos. ¡°You think your blood is tastier than mine?¡±


    ¡°Of course, you¡¯re probably just embarrassed by your flavor,¡± taunted Tom.


    ¡°I doubt it. Besides, everyone has fed the vampire king before anyway. Remember the gunshot?¡± retorted Carlos.


    ¡°You barely gave any blood,¡± accused Alissa, getting in on the taunting. ¡°You were all scared of being cut, even with Abbey to heal you. ¡®Do we all need to?¡¯ you whined.¡±


    ¡°I did not! I¡¯m sure I gave more blood than anyone! Here, Adam. Take a swig. Tell them my blood is tastier,¡± insisted Carlos with his arm reaching towards Adam.


    Everyone laughed, even Adam.


    Hearing the whole group talk about giving him blood in a fight like it was a normal thing helped calm his concerns about his actions earlier in the day. Adam took a deep breath and felt his body relax. It really was satisfying spending time with them. Even if he wasn¡¯t sure it was destined to last.


    ***


    Eventually everyone retired to their own condos for the night. Even the girls. Early mornings were a teenager¡¯s nemesis, but they were all taking the strength of the community seriously. Sleep had to be claimed. As powerful as Adam was, he still felt a draw requiring rest and, obviously, food.


    As Adam laid in bed to sleep, he couldn¡¯t help but replay the events of the day. He thought about what he had done to better control his strength. It had both boosted his strength and protected his body. He was able to control it, kind of like a faucet, increasing or decreasing it. He felt like there was still a point where he could open it too far and burn himself up, but it also seemed that would waste most of his power. An inefficient power boost.


    It sure would be nice if I knew how classes worked for me, Adam idly thought as he drifted towards sleep. His body relaxed and his mind slowed. Unsure whether he summoned it or not, his status appeared, and he mentally clicked through the different windows. The memorable black lines were just something to be ignored at this point.


    Sleep had almost taken him, but the damn status wasn¡¯t physically visible. It was a display within his mind and even with his eyes closed he could still ¡°see¡± it. He grumbled as he went to dismiss it, having been pulled from his relaxation by it.


    Suddenly Adam snapped awake. He sat straight up. The dedicated [Skills] window had always been empty. On the full status window, the skills section showed black blocks. It still showed black blocks. But this time, when he opened the [Skills] window by itself, it was no longer blank.


    Adam had a skill!

 CH 66: New Skill

    CHAPTER 66: New Skill


    Body and Soul Shaping


    This is a unique skill created by Adam Clemens.


    This skill is powered by the holder and cannot be controlled or altered by the [System]. Created by using his memories of opposing and conflicting classes, this skill allows the holder to manipulate the shape of the channels between his soul and body. The stronger the holder¡¯s understanding of this skill, the greater control he will have over the power and variety of shaping that can be done.


    Adam sat there dumbfounded for a moment. He had a skill. There was finally something in his various status windows! Maybe he was moving towards having a class and being able to level up. Hope bloomed in his chest.


    Then a new window appeared.


    New Title earned:


    Skill Crafter


    You have created a new skill, something very few have done in the history of the [System]. Your understanding of how skills work has increased and you are now 10% more likely to create another skill in the future. This title is cumulative and will continue to improve each time a new skill is created.


    New Title earned:


    Unique Skill Crafter


    You are one of a handful of people within the [System] to create a skill entirely separate from the [System]. This skill is shaped to your own soul and experiences. It cannot be replicated or used by another without them going through the same process as you. This title gives a 20% increase to the power of all skills.


    Adam¡¯s arms shot into the air. A feel of accomplishment filled him. He smiled as widely as possible. A skill and new titles! There were finally other ways for him to get quantifiably stronger. He could use these bonuses as a steppingstone to craft more skills. The sky was the limit to what he could make, and each one would give him more power.


    ¡­error. Soul corruption found. Unable to assign benefits of titles.


    ¡°Damnit all!¡± Adam bellowed, temporarily closing his connections to the girls before his rage and disappointment seeped through them. Heat throbbed through his body and Adam had to breathe deeply while pulling on the coolness in his mind to keep his river from boiling.


    Getting out of bed, Adam went to his juice fridge and chugged some orange juice. He went outside and sat by his pool, concentrating on the fake night sky and looking out at the newly formed buildings. Now that he thought about it, there had been more people, especially soldiers, moving around when they got back. Adam hadn¡¯t noticed at the time, since he was more preoccupied with returning from the raid, but now that he looked back maybe he had missed the obvious.


    A display window was brought up showing places within the rift and Adam zoomed it around the rift base. Most of the new buildings did seem military in use. There was a second training building, almost like a stadium, and more barrack style buildings. Quite a few more. Yeah, Adam was going to need to check on that tomorrow.


    Once Adam had distracted himself enough to calm down, he went back to considering the skill and titles. Somehow he had created a skill that was his alone, independent of the [System]. He had done this when he felt the power inside him burning his own body. It had happened more than once, and at that moment he had realized that the power was coming from his soul and that his body was unable to handle it. A metaphoric faucet, or control, had been created by him to regulate the soul and body connections.


    It had only been once he had recognized the source and destination of the power, and the separation of his physical being from his soul space. That brought up the question of why he was able to visit and manipulate his soul at all.


    ¡°Created by using his memories of opposing and conflicting classes¡­¡±


    Opposing and conflicting classes, the description said. He knew that what he called the ¡°coolness¡± and the ¡°heat¡± couldn¡¯t coexist. They could get out of each other¡¯s way, but they couldn¡¯t work directly together. It was also obvious that the coolness allowed his manipulation of the soul while the heat powered his physical body. That much he had figured out long ago.


    This skill said what those were though. Memories of classes. Why did he have memories of a class? And more than one at that. If they were memories of classes, could he watch them within his memory space? Could he learn more about the classes and the skills?


    A simple line, half of it confirming what he knew, but the rest giving him much to think about and experiment on. Adam already suspected that he was learning skills, but without the flashes of red indicating skills triggering, he also knew that they weren¡¯t skills. It was as if he was forcing his body and mind to do the equivalent of skills, though probably worse than if they were real.


    Memories. If they were memories of skills, maybe it was like trying to recreate a move that a pro athlete made, but without the training or body capability. Maybe that was even why his body had been burning up when the river raged. If the power summoned in his soul couldn¡¯t be handled by his body and soul because he wasn¡¯t trained for it, then would it be possible to train himself?


    His new skill was a faucet for the power. If he turned the faucet as low as possible and then did normal physical training, then could he handle the pseudo-skills better? Could he get stronger that way?


    It also raised the question about the amount of power in his soul. His soul was head and shoulders more powerful than his body. He could only pull on a certain amount of that power or it escaped from his body, damaging it as it went. That meant he could get stronger. Much stronger. How powerful would he be if he could use 100% of the river¡¯s might?


    Soul space at capacity.


    That was what he had been told when trying to select a class. If it was at capacity, and with the memories of more than one class, then there was already a lot of power in there. Probably a lot of remembered skills too. He just needed the means to identify it and use it all.


    There was hope here. Not only was there hope, but if his ideas proved correct then he could build himself into something separate from the [System]. The [System] that he felt was suspect and responsible for the invaders arriving on Earth. It might have unlocked all this, but if he could shape his own skills and create his own power, then he might be the only being within the [System] who could be free of its influence.


    Adam was left with three main questions:


    1. Why did he have memories of classes in his soul?


    2. How could he unlock the skills and power from these memories, or create new skills of equal power?


    3. What else could he use his new skill, [Body and Soul Shaping], to do?


    The best place to start seemed to be looking into his own memories. Adam had been into a few memory areas inside of others but never looked within his own. As he entered it, his mind perceived it as visual objects even though it was all just non-physical essence within his soul.


    The memories appeared to him as rocks. Some were smooth, some jagged. Others were rounded, while more jutted out from any particular angle. Connections could be felt between some of the memories, as they lead off to further ones. All the memories floated in a massive glittery dust cloud.


    Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Distance between the memories had no meaning as they continually shifted location, looking far but within reach, while others looked close but took effort to arrive at. From the other spaces Adam had been in, he knew the most recent memories were formed in the middle of the soul space sectioned off for the memories. The memories closest to the borders of the area were the furthest and often lacked much detail.


    Adam wasn¡¯t sure what he was looking for here, although he knew it would be something that he hadn¡¯t seen before. He allowed himself to drift, following the connections between memories. Occasionally he would touch one and relive a moment of his life. It was so surreal being able to experience a past moment, but instead of a video it used all five senses.


    Eventually he drifted to a memory that was shaped oddly. The memory shape was jagged on one half, but cut smooth on the other, as if it was only half a memory. Out of curiosity Adam touched it.


    ¡°Why did you¡­¡± he started but was unable to finish as a gunshot rang out and pain bloomed in his neck. It was all Adam could do to steady himself, swaying dangerously. Wet heat poured down his whole body, coming from his destroyed carotid artery on the left side. His eyes watered and glazed over. The river boiled.


    Adam tried to speak one last time, but his neck was so damaged that even his vocal cords would not work. The muscles on his neck were having trouble holding up his head. Blood was seeping into his throat and lungs. He tried to breath in and failed to, uncontrollably weak. Air would not fill his lungs. What should have been a roar came out as a hiss.


    Inside himself, the river grabbed Adam¡¯s consciousness and pulled him under. The feeling of choking and suffocating was felt as he was pulled into the intangible rapid waters, unsure if the sensation was coming from his body or mind, and that was the last thing Adam felt.


    Just as his friends were about to reach Adam, he moved one foot forward and in one single move¡­stepped¡­all the way to the police officer. It was about 30 feet away. He went from one place to another without having to cross the space.


    Adam removed himself from the memory. Previously when he touched a person¡¯s memories, he would become a part of them, taking on the person¡¯s role and thoughts until it finished. In this case Adam was experiencing his own, but also aware that they weren¡¯t the current him. He was surprised how easy it was to back out of them.


    This particular memory was the first time he had used the teleport step. He hadn¡¯t been conscious when it happened, which might explain why the memory shape looked like part of it had been cut out. You can¡¯t remember what you weren¡¯t aware of. However, clearly his body had remembered something to use the step without him. Or maybe the river had already been drawing from its own class memory, which contained the knowledge of the teleport step.


    Adam flew off in the direction that this memory connected to. He would see if there was a purpose to these connections. It took longer to move along it, which made him ponder how time worked when he was in here. Was he moving at the speed of thought or did time shift as each action in here represented a concept more than anything tangible.


    As he approached the end of the connection, he noticed that he had reached the boundary of his memory area. It was immediately clear that this was something different. The connection with the last memory touched something that was not one of his memories. It was not conceptualized as rock, like his other memories. This one looked like a congealed splatter of blood.


    The blood memory was also only halfway within the boundary. Memories usually floated and moved within this space, but this memory looked trapped, caught in the boundary and unable to move. Adam could see the connection between this memory and his last watched memory changing angles constantly as the previous memory shifted around in his mind.


    There was no hesitation or questioning in Adam as he reached out and touched this memory.


    Adam ran through a jungle. He was breathing heavily. The trees didn¡¯t provide much space for his massive body, but the enemies were all around. He called for the skill in his mind, [Gladiator¡¯s Approach], then there was a flash of red and he appeared in the sky where a battle drone flew. An enormous explosion of his power radiated out when his skill had reached the drone and ¡­


    ¡­ Adam was thrown from the memory.


    He would have taken a huge breath if he had his body in here. In fact, he wouldn¡¯t be surprised if his body outside had taken a deep breath. That was definitely not one of his memories. He guessed that the memory being stuck half in and half out of his space was why he was able to connect to it to use his teleport step, or rather [Gladiator¡¯s Approach].


    The skill in this memory was much more powerful than his. That explosion of power at the end might have been a self-buff or a literal energy release. Either way, the man in the memory had felt so much more powerful than Adam ever had. The very thought of that much power caused him to shiver.


    Adam picked a direction and drifted in it. He made sure to stay near the boundary of his memory space. It didn¡¯t take him long to find another blood splatter shaped memory that was half in and half out of his boundary. He touched it.


    Hundreds of lizard-like men surrounded Adam. Their faces were flatter and their arms more human like, with opposable thumbs. Every single one had some type of rifle looking weapon aimed at him. The numbers were great, and Adam could feel their power, but it was nothing compared to the power he felt inside himself.


    Adam filled his lungs with energy, opened his mouth, and then he used [Incapacitation Shout]. Every one of the lizard men began shaking, unable to move. Some fell, others had their ear membranes burst with yellow blood oozing out. Adam knew it would last for at least half a minute against such weak enemies.


    Yeah, [Incapacitating Shout] definitely blew away the power of his own roar, Adam thought as he fell from the blood memory. One thing he was confident of was that both those memories were from the same person.


    Adam wondered what would happen if the memory moved past the boundary and fully into his memory space. He moved himself closer to the boundary. It wasn¡¯t like the boundary could hold him, it was meant to hold memories, so he drifted out of it with no additional sensation. Once out of it, he tried pushing the memory through the boundary. It didn¡¯t move.


    Of course it didn¡¯t move! This wasn¡¯t a physical space. He tried willing it forward, tried blasting it with a mental bolt, tried reshaping his own boundary. He even tried just thinking happy thoughts. Nothing moved it.


    Looking around Adam noted other blood splatter memories fully outside of the boundary. He reached for them and touched them, but nothing triggered them. On this side of the boundary, they weren¡¯t memories. Somehow, they had to be draw in. Currently Adam had no clue how to do that.


    Adam was about to float around more, to see if he could find something, but then he noticed a ripple inside himself. Something was happening to his body. When he entered his soul, he had been comfortable on a floating chair in his pool. He sure hoped he hadn¡¯t fallen off it. Adam willed himself back to his body.


    ¡°¡­m.¡± The voice sounded far away and muffled.


    ¡°¡­dam.¡± The voice was closer now and sounded concerned.


    ¡°ADAM! WAKE UP, DAMNIT!¡± The voice was right in his ear, full volume, and someone was shaking him.


    Adam opened his eyes as fast as possible. ¡°Youch! I¡¯m here! Calm down!¡±


    Brittney was staring into his eyes, face close to his, breathing heavily, and she was panicky. ¡°Adam, are you alright?¡±


    He looked behind her to where a pool skimmer lay, probably used to pull him to the edge of the pool.


    ¡°Yeah, Brittney. I¡¯m alright.¡± Her strength was so great that she was able to yank him off the floating seat and into a tight hug. She sniffled a little.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t respond and that wasn¡¯t sleep. I was really worried.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, Brittney,¡± he apologized with genuine regret at making her worry. Then he realized the connection to her was plugged so she hadn¡¯t felt his regret. He unplugged it and she softened her grip on him a bit.


    ¡°We were worried something happened. All our connections stopped feeling you, though we knew our feelings still went through.¡±


    ¡°Sorry, I was doing an experiment, and I didn¡¯t want it to accidentally affect you guys,¡± he admitted.


    Adam had learned quite a bit about himself tonight and felt certain that he shouldn¡¯t tell anyone about it. The supposedly beautiful woman who mind controlled was still after him, and the rifts clearly could do more than he knew. It wasn¡¯t safe to even let this knowledge into someone else¡¯s head. He would keep this to himself until it couldn¡¯t be used to harm him, or his friends.


    Brittney gave him a deep kiss. It was better than the first one she had planted on him, though it still had her own style and personality to it compared to other¡¯s kisses. Their practice had paid off.


    ¡°Please warn us next time. You¡¯re too important for us not to be here for you.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry about that. It just kind of came to me in the night. Either way, I¡¯m fine. Tired, but fine. You were right, that wasn¡¯t sleep.¡±


    ¡°Well, as long as you¡¯re fine,¡± Brittney squirmed a little and then stood up. ¡°Ok then, what are we doing today?¡±


    ¡°We?¡± Adam asked a bit confused.


    ¡°After what happened yesterday and last night, we drew lots to see who would spend the day with you. I won!¡± Brittney pumped her fist in victory, in a super cute way, and her smile was as bright as the not yet risen fake rift sun. Adam gave her another kiss. He was suddenly very much looking forward to the day.

 CH 67: A Date in the Rift

    CHAPTER 67: A Date in the Rift


    Adam could feel the happiness coming from the connection he had with Brittney. He couldn¡¯t help but smile at the affection. Such a simple thing like walking through the base while holding her hand was bringing her more joy than his old apathy could have imagined, and now he could feel the instant affects of that using his connections.


    Brittney used to dress in frumpy clothes and earth tones. It¡¯s not that they were ugly, they just made her look more like a librarian than highlighting her cuteness. She had a small height and build, the smallest of their group, but after a lifetime as Brandon¡¯s protector, she had carried herself large. She didn¡¯t hold back with her words and was willing to get in everyone¡¯s face. Before the [System], Adam had thought of her as combative, but now he thought of her as spunky.


    Recently she switched to wearing clothes than looked a lot cuter on her, clearly the influence of Andrea and Alissa. Right now she had a pink miniskirt with black leggings, colorful shoes, and a t-shirt with some kitschy cartoon character. Her hair was also shorter and had a lot more wave to it than before.


    Adam wanted to put in some effort for her so he wore an untucked button down and loose jeans, though since he wanted to get some exercise in the Adventurer Guild training area he had made sure to wear a tank top and gym shorts underneath.


    ¡°How is your family doing with all this?¡± asked Adam as they walked out of the building and meandered along the roads. Jordan had created them to guide the vehicle to the various warehouses and building. He gave her hand an affectionate little squeeze and felt her happiness increase even more through the connection.


    ¡°They¡¯re moving into the condo on your parent¡¯s floor today. Mr. Rhodes suggested to my dad that they bring my brothers home from college, at least until we know what will happen, so the two should be around here somewhere. They¡¯re helping move the basics from our house sometime, then will probably go cause trouble at the Adventurer Guild.¡±


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯ll meet them when I go there. I had some training I wanted to try out with a new power.¡±


    Brittney perked up when she heard Adam talk about a new power. Of everyone in their group, even Brandon, Brittney was by far the biggest nerd. It turned out that she loved RPGs and even the math involved. She was who everyone in their group went to for discussions about stats and possible ways to get better classes. Adam hadn¡¯t spoken to her about them directly, but he had listened in to conversations, which ended with her overly enthusiastic about them.


    ¡°What¡¯s the new power? Can you phase through walls or summon the dead?¡±


    ¡°Eww, no. Why would I want to summon the dead. Sounds gross. As for walls, I can already punch my way through most.¡±


    ¡°True,¡± she giggled. ¡°I can punch through Earth walls too. So much fun.¡±


    Adam stopped walking and gave her a flat look. ¡°What walls have you punched through?¡±


    She has the decency to look embarrassed. ¡°Oh, um, I might have punch in a wall to the girl¡¯s locker room at the high school to maybe dump some mud in Vicky¡¯s locker. She¡¯s always had it coming.¡±


    ¡°And no one figured out it was you?¡±


    ¡°They definitely did,¡± she laughed. ¡°But what are they going to do to one of The General¡¯s Wives? Everyone knows the cops and now the army work for you.¡±


    Adam sighed, then resumed walking.


    ¡°With. They work with me.¡±


    Brittney giggled again. ¡°Sure they do.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, make sure you and the other girls don¡¯t take too much advantage of this. Your actions reflect our group¡¯s credibility.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± she said with a sigh. ¡°We haven¡¯t done much else. Lucas actually gave us a lecture. Lucas of all people. He¡¯s most concerned about Tom. No one can figure out if Tom thinks this is all a joke building to a punchline, or if he has the most fanatical hard-on for you. Either way he''s the strictest among us. Everything he says and does has to make you look better.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine then. I¡¯ll talk to Tom later. Anyway, do you get along with your brothers? You haven¡¯t mentioned them much.¡±


    ¡°They like to rough house and wrestle. I don¡¯t personally mind them, they just come across as dumb boys. Still waiting for them to mature.¡±


    ¡°Well, if they give you trouble just let me know.¡±


    Brittney started cackling, her grin turning wicked. ¡°Oh, they tried something yesterday when I saw them. They won¡¯t be challenging me again for a long while.¡±


    Adam could only hope that it hadn¡¯t required a healer.


    They continued their stroll until they came upon the men loading crates into a warehouse. The men working there instantly recognized Adam. They tried giving him a salute and greetings, though the affect was ruined by no one using the same salute. Definitely not military men. Adam decided to help them with the crates, turning his power as low as possible with his new skill so it wasn¡¯t easy. He didn¡¯t want to hurt their opinion of him though, so he kept his strength high enough to not struggle. Their jaws dropped when the smaller Brittney followed him into the warehouse with a crate on each shoulder, each almost as large as she was.


    Several more warehouses were being filled, and they helped with each one they came to. Adam made sure to thank and praise every group, a little surprised at the smiles and confidence that caused in men much older than him.


    At the cooking and canning lines, the grannies were happy to tease Brittney about them being so close, while also providing them with a nice snack. Brittney¡¯s face sometimes got red at their language, but she never talked back to them or felt the need to defend herself.


    Adam¡¯s trip to the playground found a surprising number of kids there, with quite a range of ages. A few adults were watching them, making sure everything was safe. Two even had a rift display in front of them and were moving it around so that they could check on all the kids without getting in their way.


    He was even more surprised that several kids knew who he was. They played Invaders and Heroes as Adam chased them around, invading their forts while they fought him off. He ended up spending an entire hour playing on the tree forts and slides. Jordan did a great job with the kids¡¯ area.


    When Brittney and Adam continued their walk, they headed towards the newly build army barracks. There were a lot more soldiers and staff moving around than he expected. Almost all were still level 0, with only a few people that he recognized.


    As they got close, a few of the soldiers stepped forward menacingly, holding assault rifles across their chest. Adam eyed them but waited.


    ¡°This area is restricted to civilians. Take your girlfriend and shove off,¡± the soldier said, not even trying to be polite.


    Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.Adam looked him up and down slowly. Then looked to the other two that had approached.


    The voice inside Adam¡¯s soul did not respond well to this lack of respect. Conquer! If Adam had thought, or been his usual personality, he would have just allowed it to go by. He didn¡¯t care that much about the army using this space, but the memories of the classes would not let this slide.


    Unbidden the heat spread throughout him. The river flowed. Brittney felt Adam¡¯s muscles tense as he stood up straighter and his presence seemed to swell. The soldiers got scared looks on their faces and reached for the safeties of their weapons.


    ¡°You guys really don¡¯t know who this is?¡± giggled Brittney as, instead of trying to calm Adam, she put on a wicked smile. Her voice startled the soldiers. More were watching from a bit further away and even they looked nervous and were fingering their weapons. ¡°Guess you¡¯ll learn.¡±


    Adam made to step forward when another voice called out.


    ¡°Back to your posts! He¡¯s a VIP and allowed here¡­and pretty much anywhere he damn well pleases,¡± one of the army medics who had been on the raid with Adam said, the last bit much quieter. He was rushing out of a nearby building with Colonel Davian and Elouise Gervin.


    ¡°Adam!¡± The Colonel said quickly. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you here.¡± Then he spoke to all the soldiers. ¡°Everyone, this is Adam, The General. He controls this dimensional base and has been very generous with us. Treat him with the respect of a high rank officer.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± the nearby soldiers said, still rattled from Adam¡¯s aura.


    ¡°Um, Adam, can you please calm down?¡± asked the Colonel quietly. Adam turned his eyes on him and Davian flinched. Elouise had backed away while scrunching her nose, trying her best not to look intimidated.


    ¡°Adam, sweetie, it¡¯s ok now,¡± Brittney said while patting his arm. Adam looked down at her with his intense eyes. There was no flinching from her, instead she gave him a bright smile. The connection told him just how much she loved it when he threw his power around.


    Adam let out a steam filled breath and then smiled. The heat was released, and he went back to holding Brittney¡¯s hand. A noticeable sigh came from Davian and Elouise.


    ¡°I see what you mean,¡± Elouise whispered to Davian. ¡°I like him better irreverent too.¡±


    ¡°I was just looking through all the changes to the Rift and couldn¡¯t help but notice more soldiers. Can you give me an update?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Of course,¡± answered Davian with relief. ¡°General Gervin has done as much as he could. He has found ways to route soldiers, supplies, and support personnel to here for the next few days. Since we¡¯re only two days away from the invasions, according to the [System], I¡¯ll be able to take control of them if communication lines go down as you¡¯ve suggested.¡±


    ¡°What about their families?¡± Adam asked, surprising Elouise. ¡°We don¡¯t want families split up in these circumstances.¡±


    ¡°General Gervin selected men without attachments to avoid that. The soldiers I brought with me, those that have seen the enemies, already have their families arriving. Mr. Lane build an apartment building just for them. The men will stay in the barracks when on duty, but their families will be nearby.


    ¡°The support personnel are very enthusiastic to work with Mr. Lane, although he is having trouble sharing control. He keeps claiming he doesn¡¯t want his city building altered. The logistics officers are working with your mother, Detective Baker, and the mayor¡¯s office to set up distribution and defensive points around the city.¡±


    Adam nodded along with all of that. ¡°How many have come in?¡±


    ¡°We are expecting to have a bit less than 2,000 soldiers and 50 support staff.¡±


    ¡°And my warnings for Gervin to pass along?¡±


    Davian looked down. His expression seemed to be a mix of embarrassment and anger.


    ¡°It was as you said. No one is taking it seriously. Not the other ranking officers, nor our overseas allies. Everyone is putting up normal defenses for the deadline instead of giving more credibility to the information you shared. There is also a lot of¡­coveting¡­over this base. Several agencies, including the FBI and Homeland Security, are sending people to look this place over. They say that is a requirement to take your intel seriously.¡±


    Adam just laughed sarcastically. ¡°They don¡¯t believe our info but they want our base, which we must be lying about. Funny. I wasn¡¯t expecting much besides that. You make it sound like they would be doing us a favor to believe our info.¡±


    ¡°Technically it is on US soil so they do have a right to seize and search it,¡± said the Colonel hesitantly. Then he quickly averted eye contact when Adam¡¯s eyes met his own.


    ¡°They can file a lawsuit however they want,¡± Adam said dismissively. The implication was obvious. There was no time. ¡°How¡¯s training going?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve separated the military from the civilians and are hitting different areas to level from the wildlife. A few that you raided with are leading units, while the rest are trying to learn techniques from Lilliard and adjust to their increased levels. Your assessment was correct. They are having trouble adjust to their new strength. I¡¯m not sure how you and your people do it.¡±


    ¡°We leveled in smaller amounts, while those feral behemoths really jumped everyone at once,¡± Adam admitted. Then he turned to the medic that was standing behind the Colonel. ¡°Is anyone having emotional difficulties that was on the raid? I might be able to help with that if needed.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, General,¡± the medic said hesitantly. ¡°I think we should be fine. An army psychiatrist has come in and we''re finding that the increased strength and levels give an odd sense of confidence that helps smooth out possible mental and emotional issues.¡±


    ¡°And who might this young woman be?¡± asked Elouise, indicating Brittney.


    ¡°Brittney Hutchins, ma¡¯am,¡± said Brittney proudly. ¡°I¡¯m one of The General¡¯s Wives.¡±


    ¡°Oh my. So that¡¯s real? He really has more than one wife? I¡¯m Elouise Gervin, by the way. General Gervin¡¯s only wife.¡±


    ¡°Well, we¡¯re not married. Just dating. It was kind of a joke name that Tom made up in an interview. Convenient though when guys think to talk back to me.¡±


    Elouise laughed at that last bit. ¡°I imagine that is convenient. This is the first time I got a glimpse of Adam¡¯s ferocity, and I can say I fear for whomever starts trouble with him. Though being the wife of a powerful man can be challenging on its own. How do you girls plan to manage your competing emotions and desire for his time?¡±


    Brittney smiled and looked at up Adam. ¡°Oh, we have a special bond with Adam. We can feel his affection with us even when we aren¡¯t around. Andrea says it¡¯s more important that we girls get along than we worry about being with Adam. We need to support each other as well as him.¡±


    ¡°Quite the mature outlook. I know I wouldn¡¯t have been able to manage it.¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯s different now that we have the [System]. The old rules will change with power, magic, and governmental breakdown,¡± suggested Brittney.


    ¡°Well, that is true. Something to think about. Would you mind if I visit with you girls some time?¡± Elouise asked.


    ¡°Sure. We¡¯d love to hear your perspective, as the wife of a different general,¡± Brittney laughed, though Adam caught a flash of an almost frown on Elouise¡¯s face.


    With so many people coming into the Rift, Adam knew that friction would be increased. He just needed to make sure everything held together until the invasion. They might question it, but deep inside Adam knew¡­everything would change.

 CH 68: The Shield Maiden

    CHAPTER 68: The Shield Maiden


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± asked Garrett.


    ¡°Yes. It was always meant for her. She is my Shield Maiden, I doth proclaim,¡± Adam said goofily, wondering if he could ever get into the LARPing spirit. Brittney shook her head while squeezing his arm.


    ¡°Well, the hammer is a little heavy, even if it¡¯s smaller, but the shield took three men to carry, though we made it to the size you requested,¡± said Garrett.


    After their impromptu meeting with the Colonel, Brittney and Adam has changed direction to the smithy that Garrett Starf worked out of. Adam had expected to see forges and anvils in the smith, but this was nothing like that. Clearly, they had gone all in on the alien technology and designs.


    There was a forge, but it wasn¡¯t shaped like how Adam thought of them. It was more like a flat pizza oven, but instead of being made with brick, it was a gray stone that was cool to the touch, even with fires burning inside. There were different doors on the sides, where materials could be fed into tubes or platforms to be melted down or mixed with other ones. A whole computer like display allowed him to control the heat and mixture amount, as well as to see purity of metal and¡­elven wood¡­that he melted down or softened.


    Then instead of anvils he had tables with capabilities similar to a combination of laser cutters, carving tools, 3D printers, and shape changing molds. Adam found it crazy all the things that could be done. Here they were using far in the future technology to make freaking swords and hammers to fight with.


    What made it even more odd was that everything was a weaker version of what other races had. Even though they bought the [System] blueprints from the Rift store using the [System] money they took from conquered rifts, they didn¡¯t have the materials other races would have for use. Instead, Jordan and Garrett had asked Colonel Davian for some items and vehicles that could be used as substitutions. They then used the Rift Menu to break down those materials, alter them on a molecular and atomic level, and then reform them into the smith tools.


    Adam had been told that Garrett quit a good paying job using modern tools so that he could become an old fashion blacksmith. Now here he was using futuristic tools and was giddy as a teenager in love.


    Some of his acquaintances from the renaissance fair circuits had come out to join him at his insistence, so he wasn¡¯t the only one using the smithy. He and Jordan had also brought in a leather-worker and tailor knowledgeable with odd materials after all the Terrenidon hides they had gotten yesterday. Those two had driven through the night to arrive. Their workshops were in progress.


    ¡°What''s your strength?¡± Adam asked Garrett. His eyes zipped around as he accessed his status.


    ¡°9,¡± he answered proudly.


    ¡°Brittney?¡±


    ¡°46,¡± she answered. Garrett''s pride deflated.


    ¡°There you go. Brittney is as strong as five Garretts. With the shield taking three Garretts to carry, that means she has two more Garretts to use it with. Do we need to start using you as a measurement unit?¡± teased Adam.


    ¡°No, boy, no. That should be fine,¡± Garrett sighed.


    ¡°You might want to get some levels under your belt. Today is the last day of them before the invasion, but hopefully we¡¯ll find ways to get levels for those still zeros,¡± Adam said.


    ¡°Wait, isn¡¯t the invasion in two days?¡± asked Garrett.


    ¡°Yes, but we have something planned for tomorrow for morale, so we¡¯ll be cutting the expeditions.¡±


    ¡°I guess I¡¯ll look forward to that then,¡± Garrett said sadly while looking at his smithy. Adam shook his head. It was only one day. The man sure was dedicated. ¡°Well then, you and the Shield Maiden can take them. We¡¯re still working on armor for your group, making it light enough while still being durable. You said you don¡¯t need your own to completely resist fire now, just higher temperatures?¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right. I learned a bit of control, but I still get hot. The most important part is shoes. I need something that won¡¯t burn off my feet and can handle some impacts.¡±


    ¡°Aye, General. With Carver and Denton coming in we¡¯ll get something fun made. Er, not fun but useful. Powerful. Stylish? Yes, we aren¡¯t doing this just for fun. Though that Melina and Gerald sure are going all out designing your costumes¡­I mean armor, not costumes. They will be armor. Yeah¡­¡±


    Adam just shook his head at Garrett¡¯s behavior. The man was having fun, that much was sure.


    He watched Brittney as she held her new shield and hammer. The hammer fit into a loop in her belt for quick removal. Normal Earth leather wouldn¡¯t be durable enough, so her belt was made from a combination of metal links shaped from Testudinate metal, buffed to be extremely shiny, and wooden clasps from the elven wood to make it quieter. Some fluffy materials were put underneath it so it was softer for Brittney to wear, though it stuck out around the edges of the links giving it a very weird look. It was still cute on her though.


    The shield was a bit longer than two feet tall. It was rectangular with curved corners. The bottom edge was slightly triangular, with an angular point that could be used offensively. The face of the shield was slanted diagonally to make it easier to deflect with. A decorative border was shaped into the edges using chrome and gold, with the Sentinel Army logo in the center of it.


    The logo was a silhouette of Adam holding a war hammer over his head with one arm. It was rather simple, but the clothing designers that wanted to sponsor them after they appeared on the news had used it. They had a warehouse full of all styles of clothes with the logo on it. Even his basic tank tops had the logo on it.


    Ed had hired a few friends from school to handle the clothing sales¡­t-shirts of interesting designs including scenes taken from their videos, cargo pants, shorts, tank tops, a variety of hats, hoodies, etc. ¡­and they were selling them by the crate load. Adam wasn¡¯t sure how much merch they were moving, but it might have even been fun for him if there wasn¡¯t an impending apocalypse. Andrea¡¯s sister had even shown him The General plushie she slept with, complete with ripped clothes and a soft hammer sown into its hand.


    Brittney¡¯s movement showed that the shield was heavy, even with her strength, but not so much that it would wear her out while using it. She made small shifts and movements, nothing big or requiring her to dance around. She was a defender, so holding her position was more important than being able to get out of the way.


    ¡°Would you be so kind?¡± she asked Adam after finishing her testing of it.


    ¡°Of course, my Shield Maiden,¡± Adam answered as he lifted the shield. She slipped the hammer into her belt, giggling as she admired the shine of it. Then she held on to his arm and they went to the Adventurer¡¯s Guild to try it out.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ***


    Adam was almost surprised at how crowded the training area was, though not entirely. With all the soldiers arriving and days of hunting expeditions getting people a few levels here and there, clearly there was a demand to get stronger and prepare. There were spars happening all over. Lilliard had a large group that he was showing forms to, then allowing them to try the motion with his corrections. Very dojo like.


    Others were doing more traditional activities, like running along the outside or lifting the different size and weight pieces of wood. It seemed like there was more than one personal trainer running people through the paces. He even knew a few from the police force. Overall, Adam was pleased by the commitment people were showing. He would need a larger training center, or actual dojos soon.


    The sound didn¡¯t stop all at once when he and Brittney walked in. Instead, it quieted group by group as people watched him enter. Those who knew who he was stopped their exercises and pointed him out to those who didn¡¯t know him. By the time he was off the wooden entry deck, and on the training area proper, all eyes were on them.


    To meet everyone¡¯s expectations, Adam strode forward as if he owned the place, well, because he did. He nodded to people and gestured in greeting. There was a slightly open space near the edge, so he headed there and took off his jeans and button-down shirt, leaving his tank top and shorts on. When he turned around from leaving his clothes on a bench, the empty space was much larger.


    Not even acknowledging he noticed, he jumped around and wiggled his limbs to warm up. He used his skill [Body and Soul Shaping] to lower his strength as much as he could. Brittany hadn¡¯t brought any other clothes, so she just stood there smiling at him.


    The crowds all watched. Adam wasn¡¯t sure if he was supposed to feel self-conscious, though honestly, he didn¡¯t care. Some movement did catch his eyes as two college aged boys pushed through the watching crowds. They both looked like they heavily worked out, and he could see the resemblance to Brittney.


    ¡°Hey sis! You come to work out?¡± asked Peter, the older one, ignoring Adam. Murmurs spread through the arena.


    Brent, the younger of the two, had the intelligence to look for a number over top Adam¡¯s head. It seemed that not seeing a number made him assume it was low. It wasn¡¯t as if Adam¡¯s muscles looked untrained, they were just not as bulky as a weightlifter.


    ¡°This chump your boyfriend? Maybe we should go a few rounds with him to get to know each other,¡± Brent said with a jovial threat.


    Adam couldn¡¯t help but smile. He picked up the shield that had been set down, then carried it over to the three. He spoke loudly so everyone could hear it, deciding to play the game too.


    ¡°I¡¯d be happy to go a few rounds, but my Shield Maiden and I want to test her gear first. Can you hand this to her?¡± Adam reached the shield out to Brent who went to take it.


    THUD! The shield practically wrenched Brent¡¯s arm out of socket as it fell to the ground.


    ¡°What the hell?!¡± he screamed as he jumped back, not wanting it to land on his feet. Brent approached it like it was a snake, walking around it while staring angrily at it. Then he tried to lift it. He almost got one edge off the ground.


    ¡°Wuss,¡± taunted Peter. Then Peter tried, grunting loudly despite not getting it up any further. ¡°What is this thing made of?¡±


    The two combined were able to flip one side over without getting it all off the ground. Brittney watched with a smile on her face.


    ¡°Oh, excuse me,¡± said Adam as he sneaked his way in. ¡°I didn¡¯t realize you guys didn¡¯t work out. Do you guys need me to recommend a personal trainer?¡±


    Then he reached down with one hand and lifted the shield by an edge. He handed it over to Brittney as if it was no heavier than a plate. Brittney received it without difficulty either putting her arms through the metal and wood link straps on the back, then pulled out her hammer.


    Peter and Brent looked at each other and then burst out laughing.


    ¡°Damn, bro! Are you him? The General guy?¡± asked Peter once he caught his breath.


    ¡°Yes, that¡¯s Adam, The General,¡± answered Brittney while Adam just smiled calmly at them.


    ¡°He looks so different not covered in blood and guts. You¡¯re going to fight him, sis?¡±


    ¡°Like he said, we¡¯re testing equipment. It¡¯s a new shield. Honestly, I don¡¯t think any person can actually fight him right now.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a damn heavy shield. No wonder he likes ya if you can swing that weight around,¡± Brent added. ¡°Anyway, nice to meet ya General. Let me know when ya have time for some drinks. We¡¯ll tell you all about how great our sister is.¡± Brent smiled with pride.


    Adam nodded to them, and they backed up. Now it wasn¡¯t just eyes on them. Apparently, most people had taken the time to get their phones and were recording Adam.


    Once more he ignored them. Brittney got into a defensive stance.


    ¡°How much do you want?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°How much do you have?¡± Brittney asked back. Adam¡¯s smile grew.


    ¡°Alright, then I¡¯ll start slow and amp it up.¡±


    Adam stepped forward and threw a punch. It was low powered because of his skill, and honestly it hurt his hand, but not enough to damage it. Brittney took the hit and laughed at him.


    ¡°Your Shield Maiden is not impressed, oh great General,¡± taunted Brittney.


    He started moving back and forth. It began with him boxing the shield. Brittney stayed still and practiced shifting the shield around and getting the angle for his hands to deflect off it instead of just taking the impact. They continued that for a few minutes, minutes that would have a normal person gasping for air.


    ¡°More,¡± she said.


    Adam obliged as he increased the available power. Now when he hit the shield it couldn¡¯t stay still, causing her arm to jostle with each impact. His speed increased and he could now hit her shield one way and then step the other way to get close to her body. She tried repositioning the shield several times before giving up and moving her body as well. Every time Adam tried to hit her shield, she would turn herself so he didn¡¯t have a clear angle to her.


    They kept that up for several minutes while Adam saw clear improvement from her. She was getting the rhythm of his attacks down and constantly moving. He could tell that her stamina was still good even as tiring as this must feel. Yet she had faced hordes of goblins and survived. She had run through mountains with the Testudinates on her tail for hours. She had spent a few days leading groups of low levels through nature to hunt mutating beasts, on edge to always protect the people. Stamina was something she knew how to manage.


    ¡°Sword,¡± Adam yelled, knowing that Brittney was getting too used to his punches.


    A sword was tossed into their area. He caught it out of the air and swung it on the shield where it proceeded to shatter on the first hit. It had been an Earth metal sword with a dull edge. Probably one of Lilliard¡¯s. He frowned but followed up with a harder punch.


    ¡°Better sword,¡± Adam yelled again. This time a sword made from elven wood sailed in. The edges weren¡¯t sharp, but the sword itself should be rather sturdy. He slashed at the reflective shield, having his blow deflected, but the change in angle from his punches caused Brittney to unbalance for just a moment.


    He continued to circle her, slashing and thrusting. She blocked and deflected. Sometimes when her shield wasn¡¯t in position her hammer would swing and keep his sword away.


    Adam was by no means a good swordsman, but at this level of power and speed he didn¡¯t have to be. He increased the draw from his heat and his power and speed increased further.


    His sword impacts were now strong enough that her shield was getting knocked around. She was having to use her hammer a lot more. Her shield covered her body and the hammer whipped out to prevent his attacks. Faster and faster he moved. Harder and harder he hit.


    Brittney¡¯s breathing was heavy now. Adam drew in more of his power. He threw down the sword and stepped closer. He would punch the shield, then when her hammer came in, he lightly touched her wrist. Or her forearm. As he moved around her, now fast enough to dodge beside the shield, he touched her shoulder. Then he got behind her and touched her neck.


    Desperately she swung the shield around, full on panting now. Her control was gone as she just had to hope to stop his attacks. A gentle poke to her belly. One to her side. She refused to give up.


    Murmurs filled the training center as most people couldn¡¯t even see their motions. They were blurs, spinning and swinging.


    Adam got even more aggressive. He put a full hand on her back. Then massaged her shoulder. He grabbed her thigh and immediately let go. She swung the shield, never able to get it in front of him, always just behind his movement. He could feel her frustration through their connection. Her face was grimacing in concentration.


    Then he had a moment of teenager mischief. He reached down and squeezed her butt. Brittney flashed red, her skill activating, [Shield Bash]. The shield jumped forward and clocked Adam on the side of the head. It hurt but made him smile. A feeling of satisfaction came through their connection from her.


    Keeping the smile on, he tossed the shield away and then with his hand still on her butt he tossed her twenty feet into the air. Brittney shrieked. Adam laughed. Then he jumped upwards half the distance and caught her in a princess style before landing on the ground with a chuckle.

 CH 69: Appointment Titles

    CHAPTER 69: Appointment Titles


    Brittney was gasping for breath as Adam stood there holding her. She would never admit it outwardly because girls don¡¯t sweat, but she was sweating like a hog. Instead of saying anything, she just leaned into his, as frustrated as this made her, non-sweaty chest. It hadn¡¯t even required full effort from him.


    ¡°Wow!¡± someone shouted, breaking the silence. People began cheering and applauding. Then everyone was talking at once.


    ¡°That was amazing!¡±


    ¡°What are their levels?¡±


    ¡°Can we get that fast and strong?¡±


    ¡°Were they fighting or flirting?¡±


    ¡°Probably both!¡±


    ¡°Shield Maiden, you¡¯re amazing!¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t man, she¡¯s one of The General¡¯s Wives.¡±


    Brent and Peter laughed as they pushed back into the open area.


    ¡°Wow, bro! Too cool!¡± Peter yelled as he slapped Adam on the back. Brent nodded vehemently. ¡°My sis really found a good one. You¡¯re definitely hooking us up with levels now. We¡¯re practically family.¡±


    Adam could feel Brittney¡¯s exhilaration from the fight and satisfaction with it, even while twinged with a bit of frustration for not being stronger. He looked down at her with a smile. The fierce girl was now snuggled against him like a kitten ready to purr.


    ¡°What now?¡± he asked. She gave him a coy smile then grabbed his head and kissed him more forcefully than ever before.


    ***


    Adam floated pleasantly in his pool on the outside deck of his penthouse. He could dimly hear the noises of the rift base far below. Today had been the most relaxing day he¡¯d had since the [System] arrived. He was able to explore the changes to the base, help a bunch of his people, and have fun with Brittney.


    Brittney broke the surface of the water next to him. After their spar, he had carried the shield, and her, back to the penthouse for a little bit more one on one exercise. Then after washing up, they decided to enjoy the pool. It hadn¡¯t gotten much use so far.


    Brittany was wearing a two-piece bathing suit, and he couldn¡¯t help but admire her abs. With how frumpy she used to dress he never would have imagined how muscular she was. The [System] and its levels had only helped in that way. Having met her brothers, he could understand why she had such a strong base too.


    ¡°Hey now, Brittney! This isn¡¯t what we left you here for. We thought he was depressed. And don¡¯t think we didn¡¯t notice what you guys have been up to, with those types of feelings coming through the connection.¡±


    Andrea entered the room boisterously with Alissa. Brittney blushed at the comments but swam closer to Adam.


    Alissa declared without an ounce of subtlety, ¡°I¡¯d have totally banged his brains out if I had been left behind. Gotta get started on our kids. Who knows how busy he¡¯ll be once the invaders are unleashed.¡±


    Andrea facepalmed. ¡°Why are you so hung up on kids?¡±


    ¡°As if you could find a better family to have some with. His mom and dad are so damn nice, and he has a cute little sister that¡¯ll make a doting aunt. Adam will slaughter all our enemies. What more could I want in a father? I want kids before the world ends!¡±


    ¡°Well, most of that is true,¡± agreed Andrea. ¡°But I¡¯d rather spend time with you guys and darling before having to worry about rugrats. Other than the world being invaded¡­and humanity possibly wiped out¡­oh and spending everyday hunting and leveling¡­we¡¯re living it up right now.¡±


    Adam shook his head at the absurdity of this conversation, but he felt the burst of excitement from Alissa when she talked about kids. She was genuine about it. He was more than intimidated by that.


    ¡°Darling, we¡¯ll be using your shower,¡± said Andrea.


    ¡°Why not just skinny dip?¡± asked Alissa, looking around.


    ¡°The other boys will be back up once they get clean at their places. I left the door unlocked for them. Let¡¯s go shower and then wear bathing suits.¡±


    ¡°Bah, no fun,¡± said Alissa.


    Adam watched them go. He couldn¡¯t hear what they said, but it caused Alissa to slap Andrea¡¯s butt and cackle. Andrea shoved her back.


    Then gentle hands reached up from behind Adam¡¯s neck, caressed his chest for a moment, then yanked him under the water. Brittney looked at him from under the water with a playful smile.


    Sinking to the bottom of the pool and smiling back at Brittney, Adam wondered if maybe Vitality would be his most important stat.


    ***


    ¡°Then when the [Warriors] were trying to pick it up, I just lifted half of it and they all fell down! And that was before the Bison showed up!¡± Tom ended his story with a flourish. Randall, Lamar, and Joseph were laughing hard, while Lucas was nodding approvingly with his arms cross.


    ¡°I know, it¡¯s like no one has picked up several thousand pounds before,¡± quipped Carlos.


    ¡°Pretty much only Adam has,¡± responded Nick, ¡°though I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll get there sooner or later.¡±


    Adam was listening to them talk about their expeditions. Two each had led three different groups during the last few days while Adam had meetings, the raid, and then a rest day. Tomorrow, they had a different event planned, and then the day after was the [System] stated invasion date.


    ¡°I see most of you gained two levels. Are the beasts getting stronger?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°I would say they are all below level 10, using our levels as an example. A group of level 2s and 3s could beat one or two of them at a time if they worked together. If they grow much higher it¡¯ll be good for us higher levels, but bad for everyone else,¡± explained Nick.


    ¡°Bro, you gotta let us in on that action. We need levels,¡± said Peter. Brent and Peter had somehow invited themselves into Adam¡¯s penthouse, finding the door open. Oddly, they weren¡¯t the only ones. Elouise was sitting with Abbey, Andrea, Alissa, and Brittney on the furthest sofa away. Laughing and smiling came from that group too, though not as boisterously as when the guys told stories about their expeditions.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, guys. After Sunday the XP will come faster with the invasions than with these hunting groups,¡± said Randall, enjoying the beer that Brent had brought. ¡°I think we hit level 5 the second time we fought goblins.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but we did have to kill thousands of them,¡± reminded Lamar. Randall just shrugged.


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying that it¡¯ll come faster soon.¡±


    ¡°Sweet. Can¡¯t wait,¡± said Brent, flexing his arms.


    ¡°How did the groups do with leveling?¡± Adam asked to shift the conversation back.


    Lucas then chimed in, ¡°Most level 0s got to 4 if they came all three days. One session would get a 0 to 2. People who started higher, like the police who had leveled with us before, found it too slow. They started their own groups with fewer people to hunt other areas. That gave us more spots for 0s to get some experience and allowed those splitting off to get experience away from us protecting them.¡±


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    ¡°Yup, yup. There are some promising people out there, and some it¡¯ll be a miracle if they stay alive,¡± said Tom. ¡°The younger ones acted like it was a game and were too aggressive, getting surprised when they got hurt. The older ones were too cautious, not striking when they had the chance. The supports were the worst though. They practically refused to get hits in, even though we explained that XP only comes from killing as far as we currently know.¡±


    ¡°At least it¡¯s a start,¡± said Adam. ¡°The military are concerning me a bit. I had to explain to Jordan not to give away too much control of the rift to them. We¡¯ve limited them to monitoring communication channels. We caught several soldiers and agents sneaking around, although I don¡¯t know why since we don¡¯t have any secrets. They also seem to not understand that we can watch everything that has ever happened in the rift.¡±


    ¡°Sounds funny. What did they say when caught?¡± asked Carlos.


    ¡°They denied it, even as I showed them a video of them doing it.¡±


    ¡°You just let them get away with it?¡± asked Joseph.


    ¡°Of course not. It¡¯s not as if they were only stealing clothes and bedding from the supplies,¡± Adam said pointedly. Both Randall and Joseph choked on their beers, then looked embarrassed. ¡°No, I disabled their legs, took everything they had on them, then put them into the prison cells. Then I calmly explained that the rift doesn¡¯t have lawyers and judges. They stayed there until Colonel Davian brought a healer and took them to the barracks.¡±


    ¡°Oh, is that all you did?¡± asked Carlos sarcastically. ¡°You¡¯re going to become quite the tyrant, Adam.¡±


    ¡°If that¡¯s what it takes to protec¡­¡± Suddenly Adam stopped talking. He sat up straighter and frowned at the window in front of him. The mood shifted as his group became tense, except for Peter and Brent who looked at the change and then drank from their beers.


    Enough of your population have recognized the appointment you made to your Sovereign Retinue. The Loyalty tab in your status is now available. Both the Sovereign and his Retinue have the ability to know the direction and distance of the other.


    The girls had also become silent. Brittney was staring at her menu, though with a smile as she continued to read stuff.


    ¡°What happened?¡± asked Lucas.


    Adam made his message appear to others and turned it so they could read it.


    ¡°What¡¯s on your loyalty tab?¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°So far only Brittney. She has a rating of 89.¡±


    ¡°Out of?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°100.¡±


    ¡°What?! That¡¯s it?! I have more loyalty than that. Damnit, put me on the tab,¡± he ranted. Everyone stared at him.


    ¡°I think we need to see why she is on the tab to begin with. I¡¯m not questioning your loyalty, Tom,¡± Adam said trying to sooth him. ¡°Or Brittney¡¯s.¡±


    After a few minutes the girls and Elouise came over. Brittney was all smiles.


    ¡°What did you get?¡± asked Adam as the guys shifted the sofas so everyone could sit in a more circular position.


    ¡°It seems this afternoon wasn¡¯t all fun and games when you were joking around about me being a Shield Maiden,¡± Brittney said as a window appeared in front of her. She turned it so they could see.


    A sovereign of power has appointed you to a position in their Retinue. Both allies and enemies have acknowledged this position, giving you a unique title. Being a part of a ruler¡¯s retinue gives you the ability to always know their direction and distance, should you be needed to serve them.


    You have received the new Appointment Title of Shield Maiden.


    Shield Maiden


    None in your sovereignty are as capable of protecting others as you. Your sovereign has given you the responsibility for the defense of both their personal wellbeing as well as that of their people. This title boosts your Vitality by 14% and will allow you to select a related class during your next evolution.


    This appointment title can be removed by the sovereign you serve and will automatically be removed upon their death.


    ¡°Now look at her tag,¡± crowed Andrea.


    Adam looked over her head. Tags were over everyone, so he hadn¡¯t even bothered checking it, but there it was. ¡°Protector [23], Shield Maiden.¡±


    ¡°Wow,¡± said Joseph.


    ¡°That¡¯s our girl!¡± said Alissa, giving her a quick hug. ¡°Now I want one.¡±


    ¡°Huh, that¡¯s weird,¡± Carlos mumbled.


    ¡°What¡¯s weird? That I want one?¡± asked Alissa.


    ¡°No, I used [Understand] on her, and it gave more information than before.¡±


    ¡°What kind of information?¡± asked Andrea.


    ¡°Like her race, the appointment title and responsibility, faction, split of levels between class and body¡­¡± Carlos started.


    ¡°Faction? What faction? Are we all in the faction?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°Um, no. Only the girls are in a faction,¡± Carlos said quietly, shrinking away.


    ¡°Why are you backing up?¡± asked Andrea. ¡°Seems suspicious.¡±


    ¡°No, I¡¯m not. No backing up here,¡± Carlos continued to shrink.


    ¡°Caaaarlooos,¡± hummed Alissa, closing in on him.


    ¡°Uh, Mrs. Gervin¡¯s faction is the US army.¡±


    ¡°And the rest of us?¡±


    ¡°Does it really matter?¡± he squeaked.


    ¡°Carlos! Tell the ladies!¡± snapped Tom.


    Carlos kept his eyes away from Adam. ¡°Um, The General¡¯s Wives.¡±


    ¡°Woo!¡± Alissa yelled jumping to her feet.


    ¡°As it should be,¡± Andrea said while Abbey nodded with a bright smile.


    ¡°Then according to the [System] we¡¯re already married?¡± asked Brittney, confused but happy.


    ¡°BRO!!¡± Brent and Peter yelled jumping up and slapping him on the back. ¡°Congratulations! Take good care of sis.¡±


    Elouise was laughing uproariously while Adam facepalmed. ¡°Ah, to be young again. Does the [System] have a skill for that, I wonder?¡±


    Ed was furiously editing video using the Rift Menu.


    ¡°What is the [System] even doing getting involved with my relationships?¡± Adam asked, legitimately concerned.


    All the merriment was interrupted when Tom threw himself on his knees in front of Adam, clutching his shirt.


    ¡°Boss! You gotta give me one.¡±


    ¡°One what?¡± asked a startled Adam.


    ¡°An appointment. I want a title and a class. Maybe you can get us some girls too and we¡¯ll form a faction called ¡®The General¡¯s Wingmen.¡¯ No that¡¯s stupid. The appointment title. I just need an appointment!¡±


    ¡°Um ok,¡± said Adam. ¡°I can try. I¡¯m not sure what it takes though.¡±


    ¡°The message said Brittney was recognized by ¡®allies and enemies¡¯,¡± said Lucas.


    ¡°The enemies part sounds concerning,¡± Nick voiced.


    Ed was searching the internet through the Rift Menu and started talking, ¡°It looks like there are hundreds of video or pictures posted from your fight in the training ground. Most that I see have a title with Shield Maiden in it. Jordan also posted a full video from the Rift¡¯s recording on our website. Super high quality. It¡¯s titled ¡®A Shield Maiden is born.¡¯ I bet that¡¯s how it got acknowledged.¡±


    ¡°Then we need nicknames!¡± Tom exploded upwards. ¡°We need cool nicknames and to post them all over our website and the news.¡±


    ¡°How about me, darling?¡± Andrea asked while batting her eyes.


    ¡°I proclaim you to be the Lightning Queen,¡± Adam said haughtily.


    ¡°And me?¡± asked Abbey a bit more meekly.


    ¡°Easy. I proclaim you to be my Healing Angel.¡±


    ¡°Aww¡­¡± swooned all the girls.


    ¡°What about me?¡± asked Tom, pointing to himself. Alissa then shoved him to the side.


    ¡°What about me?¡± she asked.


    ¡°What do you want to do, Alissa?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Have your kids.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not proclaiming you a title based on that. What about combat wise?¡±


    ¡°You could name her something with Mother in it,¡± suggested Brandon. ¡°Like Humanity¡¯s Mother or Army¡¯s Mother.¡±


    Adam looked from Brandon to the beaming Alissa and nodded.


    ¡°Not a chance,¡± he said.


    ¡°Then something about smiting enemies,¡± said Alissa reluctantly.


    ¡°Fine. You¡¯re my Avenging Angel, to make sure justice befalls our enemies.¡±


    ¡°I can live with that,¡± she nodded and stepped back.


    ¡°My turn now that your wives are done,¡± insisted Tom.


    ¡°Do we all get one?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see a limit on it. We don¡¯t even know if it¡¯ll work. You¡¯re my Battlemaster. Nick is the Unseen Death. Lamar is the Huntsman. Carlos is¡­The Stalker,¡± Adam said.


    ¡°Dude!¡± Carlos whined.


    ¡°Have you backed off my sister?¡±


    ¡°¡­¡±


    ¡°Fine, since your build is about information you can be the Intrigue Muster.¡±


    ¡°My turn, my turn,¡± demanded Tom, bouncing up and down. Brent and Peter, clearly tipsy, were jumping along with him.


    ¡°What about me?¡± asked Randall.


    ¡°You¡¯re Blitz Spear. Joseph is my Executioner.¡±


    ¡°Me, me, me!¡± Shouted Tom.


    ¡°Ah, I missed Elias,¡± Adam said while grabbing his head in concern. ¡°Elias is the Earth Warden, to guard our planet. Ed will be The Archivist.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re doing this on purpose!¡± Tom collapsed.


    ¡°Brandon will be the Augment Fulcrum.¡±


    Tom was on his hands and knees by then practically in tears. Everyone was looking at him as he pounded the ground with a fist. After a full minute of silence, he got back on his knees, staring up at Adam with sparkling eyes and hands held as if in prayer.


    ¡°And me?¡± he whispered.


    ¡°I proclaim you my Illusionary Loyalist,¡± Adam said with his hand resting on Tom¡¯s shoulder. Tears came down his cheeks while he whooped.


    ¡°Alright, we all need to change our nicknames on the website,¡± said Tom once he came back down. ¡°Make sure you all get your loyalty rating high like mine will be. Then I¡¯ll send out press releases, make some public appearances. Shake hands, kiss babies¡­¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to spoil this,¡± said Elouise, ¡°but did no one notice the messages suggesting Adam was a ruler?¡±


    Everyone looked at her like she was dumb. Only Tom voiced it. ¡°Well duh. He is The Boss!¡±

 CH 70: Interlude: Phillip Rhodes

    CHAPTER 70: Interlude: Phillip Rhodes


    ¡°No, dad. For the last time, I¡¯m not coming home!¡±


    Phillip Rhodes hung up the phone. His dad had called every night in the last week telling him, and asking him, to come home. To come back to Jackson. The calls had begun casually, as a request. As the week went by, his dad sounded more concerned with each passing day. What was going on that it would drive his dad like this.


    Sure, everyone knew about the supposed invasion date. It was all everyone talked about now. For a few days after the [System] appeared, the faculty had tried to get the students to continue like normal, however the classrooms themselves were empty. There had been gatherings in the auditoriums that were so packed they needed nearly constant sessions. First, they had been run by the teachers, then they gave up and the students organized themselves.


    If an invasion was coming, short of a military base, a large college was probably the best place to be. It was consolidated, making it easier to defend. Many sleeping locations would be available to anyone nearby. There were buildings that could contain a large populous while being locked down to protect the people inside. Supplies were plentiful with all the sports programs, the medical program that he was a part of, and stocked cafeterias accustomed to feeding tens of thousands of people for a long time. Not to mention that the students were smart, driven, flexible, and generally fit people. Everything you would want for a force facing a new reality. Even the staff included some of the smartest men and women in the country.


    From the start plans had been made. Buildings had been turned into bunkers. The faculty worked with the student leaders to create mobile barricades, reinforce the buildings, and organize the students. As a collective they had created contingency plans. The athletes were taking it upon themselves to help improve the physical conditioning of those with a less physical life path. Colleges and universities all over the country were talking and jointly developing ideas on how best to prepare, because no one knew what would be coming.


    Which brought him back to his father. Why would his father prefer him to come back home? There had to be a reason, but he wouldn¡¯t say what it was. His father had always been family oriented, but that wasn¡¯t what these calls were about.


    Reasoning had been a staple in their house. As a business lawyer, his dad was more reason based as he focused on negotiations and deals. He would find out what the other person wanted, then start at the edges knowing that they would always meet somewhere in the middle. As long as his boys had a solid argument and had thought through where they wanted, his dad was accepting and often encouraging. That had been fine with Phillip and Darren but hadn¡¯t worked with the con-man and wannabe thug that Tom had turned into.


    This situation felt different. He could almost feel the desperation in his father¡¯s voice. His father might get pushy and even forceful, but he was always calm and rational. The calls had devolved from conversations to negotiations, to threats, and finally to the closest that Phillip had even heard his father begging. It was so noticeable that it made Phillip want to come home less, unsure of what he would find that drove his father to this behavior.


    ¡°Did he say why he wants you?¡± asked Winona as she rested her elbows on his shoulders from behind. She had been dating Phillip for two years and was in the same medical program as Phillip. She had met his family numerous times already as well as being familiar with the stories of them that Phillip told.


    ¡°No. He said the family is fine, even Tom, and that it was very important I return. He even said that I didn¡¯t have to live with the family, and I could bring as many people as I wanted so long as I came home. All our expenses would be taken care of. It sounds so suspicious. Did he join a cult or something?¡±


    ¡°Weird. Is he the type that would join a cult?¡± Winona asked.


    ¡°Not a chance! It would take some serious mind control to force that man into a cult. It¡¯s all about reason with him.¡±


    ¡°Maybe that means there¡¯s a good reason that he can¡¯t share.¡±


    ¡°It could be,¡± Phillip acknowledged, not for the first time. This was a conversation they had almost daily. He wasn¡¯t even sure if Winona was pushing for him to leave or wanted to stay here. This time she simply rubbed his tense shoulders. The voice of his father was putting him on edge.


    ¡°Could it have to do with your brother Tom?¡± Winona asked.


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    Everyone had seen the news clips. Everyone had watched the videos of Tom and his friends. Phillip had made a mistake in admitting that Tom was his brother. Instantly Phillip had become known to everyone. They wanted information about the alien hunters. The invasion slayers. The only known people to claim to know how to level up and get stronger. His fellow students wanted information on The General.


    Phillip told everyone who would listen that it was just a scam. He loved his family, but Tom certainly pushed that. When Tom was a kid, he would borrow money and make up stories why he would do the other person a favor by taking it without repaying it. He would cause trouble and then find ways to blame others. It wasn¡¯t even like he got away with it most of the time. At least half the time Tom would get caught and would laugh at the consequences as if it was all part of his plan, making people question the punishment. So many schemes and scams that would backfire.


    Phillip¡¯s greatest fear, prior to the [System] arriving, was Tom showing up once he had a successful career as a doctor. He had no doubt that at some point Tom would show up needing money, or a long-term place to crash. Or more likely someone to post bail.


    Now Tom was scamming everyone, and they were buying into it. He had seen the unrealistic videos. He had seen the donation button and news articles with ways to support the Sentinel Army, protectors of Earth. He knew that if a bunch of teenagers could figure out how to level and use the [System] then others would have as well.


    Phillip could feel his anger rising as he thought about it. Winona just increased the pressure in her fingers as she tried to calm him down.


    ¡°There¡¯s no way. I¡¯ve told you so many times. This is just one more scam from Tom, cashing in on people¡¯s fears. My dad would never go along with it.¡±


    ¡°But the guys in the film program say that the videos don¡¯t look doctored. Even the forensic boys are saying they might be real.¡±


    ¡°There is just no way,¡± muttered Phillip, right before the phone rang. Winona recognized his mood and answered it for him.


    ¡°Hello. Yes, it¡¯s good to talk to you too, Mrs. Rhodes¡­ I think it¡¯s a little awkward right now¡­ Can you tell me why?... And you are sure that¡¯s ok?... Alright, we¡¯ll be ready. Bye.¡±


    Phillip only heard Winona¡¯s side of the conversation. When she hung up, she addressed Phillip with a sigh.


    ¡°She said it was very important that you come back and said I should come too. She also said to bring as many people as you want. I don¡¯t think you can ignore this, Phil. Call Jake and let him know you must be with your family. That you can¡¯t help with the defenses anymore. Your dad will be here around 3am.¡± Then Winona laughed. ¡°Your mom joked that if we didn¡¯t come willingly, he was going to send an army escort to kidnap you.¡±


    Phillip signed and put his head down. ¡°I guess that¡¯s it then.¡±


    ***


    Winona¡¯s eyes bulged and Phillip stared incredulously as he saw the vehicle that pulled up to his apartment¡¯s front door. A large, yellow school bus, driven by a man that looked like a school bus driver, came to a squeaky stop. The doors hissed as they swung open. It wasn¡¯t the BMW or the Suburban¡­it was a freaking bus.


    His dad rushed out of the bus and scooped him into a tight hug. Even with as much as his dad showed love for them, he wasn¡¯t usually a physically affectionate person. More matter of fact. For him to be this wired at this time of night, well, Phillip was being taken by surprise by everything.


    ¡°Thank god you finally agreed!¡± his father whispered forcefully while squeezing him. After about thirty seconds of holding Phillip as if it was their only chance at life, he let go, breathed in relief, and then turned to Winona. ¡°A pleasure to see you again Winona. The bus will take a bit longer than usually, and won¡¯t be as comfortable, but we should get back in time to get you guys set up.¡±


    ¡°Why a bus?¡± Phillip blurted, still caught off guard.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know how many people you were bringing and was in a bit of a rush. I would have had to wait on anything bigger,¡± his father said. Then he grabbed a few of the suitcases and bags and hurried them into the bus.


    Phillip looked at Winona, who just shrugged. She had a bemused look on as she picked up her own bags and headed towards the bus. Phillip grabbed his and followed. He had packed light, since he just wanted to find out what was going on and then come back. There were three days left until the invasion date, and he planned to return before then.


    ***


    Their dad was in the front of the bus, talking with Winona. Darren had already been here when the bus had reached Phillip, sitting towards the back. Phillip joined him and they whispered together.


    ¡°Do you know what this is about, Darren?¡± Phillip asked.


    ¡°No idea, though something dad said made me think it¡¯s related to Tom¡¯s friends,¡± Darren whispered.


    ¡°Bah! I doubt Tom will ever do anything worthwhile. He¡¯ll either end up in jail or face down in a ditch in the future,¡± Phillip groused with more emotion than he realized he felt. Maybe it was the late hour or the jostling of the bus, but he knew he was grumpier than he should be.


    ¡°Yeah, but what about The General. The news is taking him seriously. Those fights and interviews with martial artists made him look very capable.¡±


    ¡°Those had to have been staged. Why would anyone that good give Tom and his thug friends the time of day?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know, Phil, but dad was quite agitated before we picked you up. Since you got on the bus, he¡¯s felt a lot more relaxed. I think it was really important to him that we come home,¡± Darren admitted. ¡°Did he threaten you with military kidnapping too?¡±


    ¡°No, mom told that joke to Winona.¡±


    ¡°Anyway, there¡¯s one thing making me feel there is more to this.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that, Darren?¡±


    ¡°Did you see dad¡¯s tag? It has a 4.¡±


    Phillip turned his head and went to speak. Then he saw the level and stopped. Anxiety seeped into him as, for the first time, Phillip thought maybe this was serious.

 CH 71: Interlude: Phillip Rhodes (II)

    CHAPTER 71: Interlude: Phillip Rhodes (II)


    After they had passed the fourth army checkpoint, Phillip questioned whether his mom had been joking about the military kidnapping. The soldiers weren¡¯t stopping people or blocking the roads, but they were preparing to set up barricades and choke points. They were gathering all over. There were even soldiers on the midsized buildings with binoculars, radios, and some with sniper rifles. Phillip¡¯s anxiety level went up more.


    It increased further as the bus passed the exit that would have led to his house and instead headed towards where they went to high school. The army presence became more numerous the further they went. When they drove into the warehouse area, where everyone from his high school hung out at one time or another, he was floored by all the cars, trucks, and military vehicles.


    The drive had taken seven hours by bus, much slower than a typical car, and they had left a little after 3am. It was now just after 10am and there was so much going on. Hundreds of people were moving around outside one particular warehouse. There were people coming and going from it. Trucks parked awkwardly to unload all kinds of boxes. Forklifts and 4-wheelers were going in and out of the front door. People with clipboards were ordering others around. About 20 people had jackets on with a ¡°Valet¡± sticker on them. It took 20 minutes just for the bus to get close enough to let them out.


    ¡°Dad, seriously, what¡¯s going on here?¡± Phillip demanded.


    While watching all the organized chaos, his father turned absentmindedly to him. ¡°It¡¯ll probably be faster to walk the rest of the way. I can carry the heavy bags,¡± he offered.


    Phillip had never heard his dad make that offer. His dad believed that younger people should show their respect by making it easier for those who came before.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m asking about,¡± Phillip hissed. His dad didn¡¯t seem to hear as he checked a few bags and then lifted at least half of the luggage without effort. Phillip came up short as his brain made the connection that his dad was suddenly stronger than before. That wasn¡¯t how aging should work.


    ¡°Thanks for the lift, Gerry. I owe you one,¡± his dad said to the man driving the bus.


    ¡°Think nothing of it, Mr. Rhodes. Anything for the Sentinels,¡± he responded cheerfully, though with a yawn. ¡°It¡¯s nice to know family is as important to them as to me.¡±


    "Dad, are you involved with Tom¡¯s scam?¡± Phillip demanded as he waited for the other two to exit the bus. His dad looked at him blankly.


    ¡°What scam?¡±


    ¡°You know, the videos and donations and claiming they¡¯re the strongest humans fighting against the invaders.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that. Well, I helped Adam with all the legal documents and contracts with sponsors and the city,¡± his father answered.


    Phillip felt his anger rising again. How dare Tom involve his dad in this? How dare his father allow himself to be used like this?


    ¡°Adam?¡± he asked with his teeth clenched.


    ¡°Oh yeah, that¡¯s the name of The General. Tom was just shooting the bull when he named Adam that. Don¡¯t worry though, Adam is a stand-up guy.¡±


    ¡°How much are they paying you for this scam?¡± Phillip asked as they began walking along the crowded sidewalk with Darren and Winona, carrying the rest of their luggage.


    ¡°Listen, Phil. I think you¡¯re misunderstanding, but you¡¯ll understand soon. Also, they didn¡¯t pay me. At least not with money.¡±


    Phillip kept his mouth shut as they walked. A tired Winona tried to comfort him, but he just shook his head, to let her know that he would be fine. Darren¡¯s jaw gaped as he looked at everything happening around him.


    As they approached the warehouse, more and more people greeted his father. Everyone would smile at him or treat him respectfully. Even with all the congestion, no one seemed to be in a foul mood or causing trouble. When Darren asked about it, his dad just said, ¡°Everyone who is here wants to be here.¡±


    A group of five soldiers were guarding the warehouse door, though without bothering to stop anyone or even check the boxes being taken into the dark opening. They had their usually handgun on their belt, body armor, and an assault rifle. What surprised Phillip the most though, was that they all also had swords on their belts, and their tags had a 7 above their heads.


    He frowned. Why was the army so involved in this to begin with? There was no military or strategic value to Jackson. Wouldn¡¯t it have been better to bring people to an army base instead of using a bunch of decrepit warehouses? And why were they headed to a warehouse instead of their house to begin with?


    His musings stopped when they arrived at the door. There were chalk lines on the ground to indicate where people should enter or exit from, to prevent the forklifts or wagons from hitting them. At a distance, the door had looked dark. From up close it was pitched black, completely obscuring his view.


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    ¡°Dad, wha¡­¡± Phillip didn¡¯t get far before his dad interrupted.


    ¡°Just come with me,¡± his dad said as he grabbed Phillip¡¯s arm and easily pulled the young man into the darkness.


    ***


    Winona was shaking as she looked around. She had dropped her bags and grabbed hold of Phillip¡¯s arm, completely unprepared for the inside of the warehouse. Phillip just couldn¡¯t believe what was happening. His mouth opened and closed, but he wasn¡¯t sure what words to use. Darren laughed hysterically as he looked at the small city and the thousands of people moving around.


    People passed them by with a sympathetic look and a knowing nod, even as they greeted his dad.


    ¡°What the hell?¡± was the best Phillip came up with. His dad had pulled them to the side once they entered, seemingly aware of how they were going to react. Then he had waited to give them all a chance at their reactions.


    ¡°Listen, this is a base that the Sentinels took from some invaders,¡± his dad explained calmly. ¡°It¡¯s not the only one either. This one has been repurposed as their own base, and they¡¯ve been working to create a protected area for the people of Jackson. Adam is very determined to protect the people.¡±


    He waited a minute for all that to sink in. A new laughing fit came from Darren at that explanation.


    ¡°You mean it¡¯s real? Tom¡¯s interview? The videos? They¡¯re REAL?!¡± Phillip demanded while staring down his dad.


    ¡°The videos and news are real. Most of Tom¡¯s interview was garbage. Tom is still Tom,¡± was the answer. ¡°I need you guys to follow me while you¡¯re in shock. We need to hurry if we¡¯re going to make the afternoon session.¡±


    ¡°What session?¡± asked Phillip, still flabbergasted from the explanation.


    ¡°It¡¯s the last day to hunt,¡± said his dad as he picked up the bags and walked towards a 10-story high rise with a giant statue in front that included Tom in it. A statue of Tom. Was there anything more bizarre in this world, thought Phillip. The statue almost caused him to walk in the opposite direction.


    ***


    The apartment he was shown on the fifth floor where he, Winona, and Darren would stay was nice. It felt like they¡¯d be independent, even though his parent were one floor up. It sounded like his parents were very involved with the work here and were only taking the day off because of him and Darren. His mom and sisters greeting them made it even nicer.


    Unfortunately, the niceness had only lasted until Tom came waltzing in sporting one of his shit eating grins that always meant he was up to something. The 22 above his head gave Phillip real pause.


    Tom was a mess. He was wearing camo cargo pants, boots, and a sweatshirt underneath a vest that looked like it had been made from wood. The clothes were covered in dirt and leaves. There were rips and scratches in it and stains that looked like blood. He had even tracked dirt all over the floors.


    ¡°Morning kids,¡± Tom said, even though it was almost 1pm and he was the youngest besides their sisters. ¡°Good to see you guys made it. I had the boss order dad to get you here.¡±


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t order me, Tom,¡± said their father, showing accustomed exasperation. At least that reassured Phillip.


    ¡°Even suggestions from the boss are orders. Anyway, I¡¯ve got some clothes for you guys. Change into them and meet at the Adventurer¡¯s Guild,¡± continued Tom. He had a pile of folded clothes with him. He tossed a stack including a skintight undershirt and shorts like athletes wear, camo pants like his own, and a sweatshirt. Everything had the Sentinel Army¡¯s logo on them.


    ¡°The short ones are for Gimli,¡± he said as he tossed them to Darren.


    ¡°I¡¯m not any shorter than you,¡± said Darren.


    ¡°The tall ones are for Legolas.¡±


    Phillip saw that his set was the same size as Darren¡¯s.


    ¡°Then the female ones are for Lady Galadriel,¡± Tom said as he weirdly bowed while handing them to Winona.


    ¡°Did you even read the Lord of the Rings?¡± Phillip demanded.


    ¡°It was a book? I watched the trailer for one of the movies. Might have been the second one. It was enough to get the gist,¡± Tom said dismissively. ¡°Anyway, hurry up. We¡¯re on the clock.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Mom, you need to use the knife to get the XP. You know that!¡± Tom yelled.


    Tom was making the 20 people with them line up to stab the bird in his hands. It was almost as long as he was, with a stretched vulture neck. Its beak was serrated but didn¡¯t stick out from the face. The feathers looked stiff, and Phillip had seen them slice through the branches when it swooped at them. He was still breathing heavily, and Winona was holding on to him in a panic. That sudden attack had easily been the most terrifying moment of Phillip¡¯s life.


    All of Tom¡¯s non-stop harassment and jokes had made this seem like an easy outing. Yet when Tom had suddenly yelled for everyone to duck, then aimed a spear shaped like a shovel towards a whistling in the trees, it had quickly become a terror story.


    The bird had literally torn through the trees, causing several to collapse. Branches and trunks had been blown away as it dove at them. Yet Tom and his friend Elias had been calm. Elias had flashed red and then the dirt under Tom shifted him to the left while he swung his spear. The ground moving had positioned the flat but wide head of the spear right where the bird was, as Tom gently beaned it in the face, with the strength of a car collision.


    Then it fell, loopy but not dead. Tom grabbed its neck and legs in either hand. He now wore gloves as well as wrist and shin guards. Phillip saw why Tom¡¯s clothes were such a mess. The bird thrashed about further ripping them. As people stabbed the bird then moved out of the way, much of the blood ended up on Tom¡¯s clothes.


    ¡°Mom! Don¡¯t make me come over there,¡± Tom threatened when their mom refused to step forward.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there a way without harming things?¡± she asked.


    ¡°No, there isn¡¯t. We¡¯ve tried. You know that. Now if you want to live past the next few days come jab your knife into this thing¡¯s legs.¡±


    With Tom being in charge, and at the same time capable, Phillip¡¯s whole world had been upended.


    ¡°Hey, Legolas, get your bow out of your ass!¡± Tom shouted at him after most of the group had stabbed the bird. Some people had already experienced these expeditions. Only his family still had 0s over his head.


    ¡°I¡¯m a [Mage] not an archer,¡± Phillip retorted.


    ¡°At the moment you¡¯re nothing. Shoot a [Mana Dart]. You¡¯re too weak to hurt me with it and probably so slow your aim could be terrible and I¡¯d still move this thing in front of it,¡± Tom taunted.


    Phillip sighed and then shot a [Mana Dart]. What was this world coming to? His anxiety was spiking with everything he had seen today.


    Winona was a [Support], so she had to directly stab it. She tearlessly sobbed and shook afterwards while several girls in the group comforted her, having gone through this themselves over the last few days.


    Razor Spalture [5] slain. 484 group XP gained.


    Phillip did as he was told and opened his status menu. He was able to put a level in [Body] and assigned his points according to Tom¡¯s directions. His level went up by 1.


    There was no arguing now. Jackson was much more prepared than Auburn. He would need to call his friends and let them know. His big regret now was that he hadn¡¯t been here the last two days for leveling. For the first time he was glad he had come home.


    And that was before the bison showed up.

 CH 72: Interlude: Lucas

    CHAPTER 72: Interlude: Lucas


    ¡°I can see why you left,¡± said his pops, looking around the condo.


    They were standing in the living room of Lucas¡¯s condo. Lucas knew the Rift Menu could do a lot of the cleaning for him, but Lucas felt like he had to clean up after his own messes. Plus, he spent little time in the unit. During the days they were busy with training or hunting, and in the evenings everyone went to Adam¡¯s place to unwind as a group.


    His place just had the basic decorations with a few personal additions. Jordan Lane had created a speed bag for him that wouldn¡¯t shake the room or the neighbors, and then a much more durable punching bag made from Testudinate skin. Truthfully Lucas still couldn¡¯t hit either with much of his stat enhanced strength, but for him these items represented home more than a place did.


    Just a few minutes ago his father had arrived, shown to his place by whoever had been on guard in the lobby. He had a large box in his hands containing Lucas¡¯s trophies, pictures, and nicknacks from his childhood.


    True to form, his dad had glared as he looked around. First into the bedroom, giving a bit of a whistle at the quality and size of the bed and coverings. Then he scowled as he looked out the window at the people still working far below and the other buildings visible from here. Finally, he trudged into the kitchen, moving appliances and looking in the nearly empty fridge.


    ¡°I guess you did have a fancy place all lined up for you,¡± his pops said. By themselves the words couldn¡¯t be taken as good or bad, but the constant edge in his voice was still there.


    Three days prior, Lucas had been taken by surprise. Since there was no source of XP that was strong enough for his group, they had decided to begin taking others through the basics with the mutated wildlife. Their group split into pairs, with Lucas bringing Ed as his second to ensure he had a solid healer.


    Packets of information about leveling, known classes, and suggested strategies were prepared. They would be given to anyone new to the hunts. Then they would go through the roles and strategies. Finally, the group would enter areas with mutated animals, and they would go hunting.


    The hunts would initially focus on getting everyone used to being attacked and then killing, with the leaders mostly power leveling them. Then the next day¡¯s hunt would allow the groups to work together with the leaders, being there to keep everyone safe. People needed the experience of actions as much as the XP for leveling.


    Each day they had blocked out time for three different groups, to get enough people in the hunts as they could without causing exhaustion in the attendees. Police, military, civilians, and even other kids from school were all included, with preference given to the level zeros on the first day. The second and third days had the military and police running their own sessions, for longer periods since they weren¡¯t including civilians.


    People included in the hunts weren¡¯t always in the same groups. They shifted around with other people, or due to time issues, and sometimes the leaders moved them to balance the groups. Those who attended all did so voluntarily. They were willing and eager, even if they weren¡¯t always ready for the emotional impact of killing and receiving wounds.


    The first day of hunting started off as expected. Lucas managed his first group while Ed played with his drones and laptop. It went fine. They spent half an hour to explain the packets and tell people what they were lacking.


    At first only Earth hunting knives were loaned out to prevent self-inflicted injuries. An hour of driving time on buses to their assigned hunting grounds was expected, with an hour and a half to hunt on the first day, and two hours on the subsequent days.


    When he returned with the first group, Lucas and Ed grabbed food and water that had been prepared for them. The hunters then went their own ways, separating from Lucas and Ed. Some needed rest, while others needed therapy, which the police had provided. A few psychologists were on hand for one on ones, as well as group sessions being run at all times. There was a lot of mental adjustment required with everyone, including the therapists.


    The surprise had come when Lucas grabbed a clip board with the names of his second group. The names were familiar. They were names he had grown up with. Most were nicknames, and none had first and last names. A special note on his clipboard indicated they had requested him as their leader and insisted on being grouped even though they had terrible class balance.


    Lucas sighed before pushing open the door to the meeting room where they waited. Twenty pairs of eyes focused on him as he entered. They were all hard, judgmental stares. The room had been quiet before he entered, and it stayed quiet as he looked them over. No one moved and no one spoke.


    The men were all army buddies of his father, with his father there in the front seat glaring at him. They were the retired army men that his pops talked so positively about. Throughout Lucas¡¯s life he had thought of them like a type of family, always supporting each other when times were tough, and sharing their resentment of the rest of society.


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    They had short names like Buck, Will, Lute, Chuck, Church, and Gunt. When Lucas was in elementary school, he had thought of them all like uncles, not realizing that the yelling, drinking, cursing, and violence were abnormal. Yet these men all had a bond that tightly held them even if arguments might devolve into fist fights.


    Lucas wondered what was going on. He was too surprised to see his dad, even if that was only expressed through glaring eye contact. A few of the men put on a smile when he looked at them, but most were stoic and gruff. Ultimately Lucas decided that unless someone said something, he would run this like they planned for all the groups.


    ¡°These are packets with information about the [System], leveling, and your classes. Make sure you read them over. Take one and pass it down. I¡¯ll give you a few minutes to read before going over what matters for today,¡± Lucas said as he handed the packets out.


    Still, no one talked.


    Each man had a handgun, some type of rifle, from simpler hunting rifles to semi-automatic assault rifles, full body camo suits, hunting knives, helmets, and a hefty pack to carry. Lucas knew some of these men were too worn down from injuries they had suffered to carry their own gear. He also knew that someone else would pick it up for them without complaint.


    Buck and Lute, both with a tag showing they were [Scouts], flipped open the packet and skimmed through it while the others just put them in their packs.


    ¡°Ed, go cast a stronger heal on Church and Hank over there,¡± Lucas ordered. Church had nerve damage in his leg and could barely walk while Hank constantly shook from liver damage due to excessive drinking.


    Both eyed Ed warily as he approached them, Church going so far as to rest a hand on his gun. Ed ignored them, then touched them and his hand flashed red. Each man in turn opened their eyes wide and gasped for breath. Hank even had a tear fall down his cheek. A restlessness filled the room as their comrades were ready to jump in if Ed or Lucas did something they didn¡¯t like.


    Once done, Ed absently walked back to his laptop. Lucas didn¡¯t expect the heal to completely negate the old injuries, but it should rejuvenate the rest of their bodies so they could make the excursion easier.


    After a few more minutes of staring, while Buck and Lute finished reviewing the packets, Lucas went on with the rest of his lecture. He gave the rundown of the dangers, what to expect, how to handle their levels, and to not use guns. The guns part drew a lot of frowns. He explained about the weaknesses of guns against skills and how the sounds would bring more predators instead of scaring them away.


    Lucas expected the men to think they knew better than him and to behave based on their own experiences instead of listening to him. He would just deal with it as they went.


    The trip to the hunting group was done in the same silence. No questions, or arguments, or discussions. Simply quiet.


    The hunting portion also felt weird to Lucas. The older men never said anything to his orders except, ¡°Yes, sir,¡± though a few said it with an amused smile on. They got into formations he ordered them to. They shifted and moved as he directed. When the two scouts wanted to explore, they begrudgingly pulled back at his command.


    For their hunt, they targeted mutated bobcats. Without any rangers, Lucas was glad he hadn¡¯t booked an area with bird monsters. The first beast they found, he grabbed by the back of the neck and threw to the ground. It was as big as a Saint Bernard, with patches of quills instead of fur around joints, and hooked claws, each as long as its paw. The men gave him disapproving looks as he ordered them the stab it and then killed it himself.


    Bopinca [4] slain. 238 shared XP gained.


    Lucas had the scouts work on tracking the animals. They found a second one as it burst from the trees, obscured by bushes of thistles. It was much faster than a regular human and almost reached Lute, but Lucas grabbed it out of the air, suffering two shallow slashes on his forearms where his wrist guards didn¡¯t cover.


    His vitality was high enough that the claws were unable to cut deeply. It took a bit more work to pin this one due to its thrashing, though Lucas managed it with his much higher strength. The men were more willing to stab this one, each with a quick glance at Lute.


    Bopinca [6] slain. 305 shared XP gained.


    In the third encounter they accidentally walked into a pack of the beasts. The underbrush would shudder, then one would burst from the other side. Several even came down from the trees. The former soldiers, unable to cope, had reactions from their own experiences. They quickly pulled out their guns, but the bullets only lightly penetrated the fur and muscles of the animals.


    Instead, it was Lucas who quickly got control with this war hammer. Adam¡¯s was made completely out of the heavy Testudinate metal, making it heavier than Lucas could use. Lucas¡¯s hammer used a wooden handle and a smaller head to keep it lighter, though it did have a spike on one side that could be used for penetration.


    By the time the second Bopinca in the pack was visible, Lucas was swinging his hammer right to where it would be. He then brought it down from overhead and snapped the hind legs of the monster that almost reached Gunt. As the bullets were fired and more Bopincas entered the area, Lucas spun, swung, and spiked the former bobcats.


    When Lucas propped his hammer on his shoulder in a more relaxed pose, there were 12 Bopincas laying on the ground amid muck and blood. Unlike the former soldiers, he wasn¡¯t sweating and his breathing came easily. The older men were all heaving for air while still aiming guns at the tree branches and underbrush. Their canvas clothes were stained with sweat.


    A few had gotten scratched and were bleeding, but Ed walked between them without recognizing that a fight had happened. All their wounds were healed. Wounds that were clearly allowed by Lucas who always arrived right before the cuts got too deep.


    For the first time, there was respect in the men¡¯s eyes as they looked at Lucas and Ed.


    ¡°The animals are all alive. Make sure you get your XP from them before finishing them off,¡± Lucas ordered, surprising them. The men looked around and even in the splatter of blood and guts, they saw the cats breathing. That he was able to control the fight while intentionally not killing caused the older men quite a shocked.

 CH 73: Interlude: Lucas (Con鈥檛)

    CHAPTER 73: Interlude: Lucas (Con¡¯t)


    The next day when the retired soldiers showed up for the middle hunting session, they didn¡¯t have a single gun among them. Instead, Buck and Lute had bows and things that could be considered short swords. Everyone else had some manner of large, bladed weapon or one- and two-handed clubs. The numbers above their heads indicated they had assigned their levels, and it was clear to Lucas that they were moving easier and with more strength and smoothness than before leveling.


    Hank¡¯s complexion looked worlds better and his perpetually glassy eyes looked clear for the first time that Lucas could remember. Church was barely favoring his right leg and easily handled his own pack and gear.


    There was still a seriousness to the group, but they at least greeted Lucas and Ed this time, showing a lighter attitude than the previous day. Except for Lucas¡¯s father. His pops still just watched Lucas with a scowl and a glare.


    That day they went to a place with mutated coyotes. The group was eager to try out their new weapons. They used formations that were listed in the packet, making adjustments due to not having any shield users or mages. Cuts and injuries were almost relished by the men, comparing the scars after they got Ed to heal them.


    Lucas had to step in often due to their over zealousness, but they would always get more serious and then make adjustments in one way or another.


    That day ended with at least half the men giving Lucas a handshake and either thanking him, or saluting him with a ¡°Sir,¡± like some superior officer. Except for his father. The man stared him in the eyes with his scowl, then turned and walked away.


    The third day was even lighter as he could see decades of resentfulness toward people and society softening as their bodies no longer ailed them and a new purpose had been realized with vigor. Ending the session had been difficult for Lucas as they wanted to continue the hunt, though he had to get back for his third session of the day.


    As Lucas and Ed parted with the men, they all said their farewells with a salute and handshake. Several outright hugged Ed while the rest teased him like a fresh recruit. They offered to take him drinking, or to find him a woman for a night. Lucas had to pull Ed away from them since Ed¡¯s strength stat was barely above the level 7 [Warriors] that were harassing him. Their enthusiasm saw their levels rising faster than any of the other groups that Lucas had seen. Yet still his pops just scowled and left.


    When the evening came, and Lucas was ready to go up to Adam¡¯s place, that was when his father showed up with the box. The man checked out the condo. He made his not quite disparaging comments. He watched the people outside from the window. Then he finally turned to Lucas.


    ¡°The boys were impressed with your leadership and demeanor. They still haven¡¯t met this General of yours, but they trust you and would like to join your unit for the upcoming war. I ain¡¯t seen them this alive since Kuwait,¡± the man said. There was no inflection to show whether he agreed or disagreed with ¡°the boys.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯d need a few rangers and more healers, but I¡¯m sure we can discuss it,¡± Lucas answered neutrally.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the stuff you left in the room. Your trophies and such. I thought you should have them.¡±


    ¡°Thanks.¡± Lucas could tell that there was something more, but he wasn¡¯t sure what. His pops was fidgeting in a way he had never seen. Usually this was where his dad would begin telling him everything he had done wrong and what he needed to change.


    ¡°Listen, son, I wanted you to have this picture.¡±


    Pops opened his wallet and pulled out an old, folded photo. It had clearly seen a lot of use as it was tattered along the fold lines. Lucas had never seen it before, but he remembered when it was from.


    The picture was of pops holding him by the back of his shirt collar when he was eight with a harsh look on his face. He was glaring at his pops with red rimmed eyes, ready to fight the world. It was after a boxing tournament that he should have won but instead had been disqualified after the final match.


    The tournament had been so unfair and had made him furious. He had cried more than a little after it. If anything, Lucas remembered that as a turning point, where boxing stopped being about competing and had become a desire to just beat down all his opponents.


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    That tournament had been typical, especially for his age group. No kid that age is strong enough to knock out their opponents, even Lucas who had been strong and big for his age. The tournament had been easy with Lucas following the advice of his coach and pops.


    Then in the final match, Lucas had punched the boy across from him on the side of the jaw and the boy ran from him. Instead of fighting the kid got scared. Apparently, he had won all his matches with technical punches, gaining points, instead of dropping anyone to the ground. He didn¡¯t seem able to deal with a brawler like Lucas. Lucas was too young to really understand, and he had been taught that toughness was all that mattered.


    After Lucas had pursued him and threw punches until the boy was on the floor crying, he had backed off as the ref instructed. The parents and coach of the boy had rushed the ring even though the ref hadn¡¯t called a foul and the round hadn¡¯t ended.


    The boy¡¯s father physically attacked Lucas while throwing insults and curses. Lucas could only defend himself against the middle-aged officer worker, finally knowing the difference in strength between adults and kids. Lucas might have been strong for an 8-year-old, but he was nothing compared to even an out of shape adult.


    The boy¡¯s parents forced the local officials to disqualify Lucas, who was new to the area, even though he hadn¡¯t done anything wrong. He then developed a chip on his shoulder. If the boxing he had been raised with wasn¡¯t enough to make other people tougher, while punishing him for being tough, then he would just beat his opponents until they understood.


    That mindset had led to a constant switching of gyms and coaches, as no one really wanted the conflict caused by such a violent kid. Sure, gyms and coaches wanted winners, but not when the winner was just as happy to see an opponent broken with no regard to sportsmanship.


    Lucas looked at the picture offered to him. He had never even seen a picture with both his father and himself in it.


    ¡°Why do you have that picture?¡± Lucas asked. His pop¡¯s hands shook as they held the picture out. Lucas didn¡¯t take it.


    ¡°This was the night I was the proudest of you. I discovered this picture back then from a tournament official and kept it.¡±


    ¡°But you were furious with me, pops. You didn¡¯t speak to me all night, jerking me wherever you wanted me to go. Then you went out and didn¡¯t come home for two days. I¡¯ve never heard you even talk about it since,¡± Lucas said, confused.


    ¡°Is that how it seemed?¡± his pops asked with shamed, down turned eyes. He set the picture in the box. ¡°I wasn¡¯t angry with you at all. You showed toughness and grit. You won the tournament and did it the right way. Even when they stole it from you there was still a strength in you. No, I was furious with them.¡±


    Then his father admitted something he had never heard before. ¡°I wanted to comfort you but didn¡¯t know how. Instead, I went out and found the official that disqualified you and beat him bloody. Then went to the house of that kid and beat his dad for touching you. Threatened to beat him more if he didn¡¯t hand over the trophy. Cops showed up before I got it and threw me in jail. Mick had to post bail for me to get out. Took quite a while to pay off the fine for that night. I was the one who got you kicked out of that boxing gym, and when we moved it was because I wanted you to start fresh in a place I hadn¡¯t screwed up for you.¡±


    The man¡¯s whole body was shaking. A normal man would have shed tears, but his pops just looked away from Lucas and out the window.


    ¡°I really tried hard to give you what you needed and teach you right, but I didn¡¯t quite get you there. I¡¯m glad to see it wasn¡¯t a waste though, as you¡¯ve found your feet and are doing something good working with that General boy. You¡¯ve earned this place and I¡¯m glad to see you made it here.¡±


    Lucas looked at the man. There wasn¡¯t an apology, or an admittance of fault. Just statements with facts. That was more than Lucas would have ever expected. He didn¡¯t begrudge this man. After his mom left when he was a little kid, Lucas would have expected his dad to put him into foster care. Or find someone to pawn him off to. But the man had worked hard for his sake, never giving up or giving in to booze or drugs like other men that Lucas had seen.


    ¡°Pops. I¡¯ve learned something running with Adam and his friends. Something that you and your boys got wrong. It isn¡¯t about what you¡¯ve earned. It¡¯s simply about who you¡¯re with. I¡¯m only here because Adam brought me along and everyone else accepted me. I might be strong now but it¡¯s due to Adam¡¯s strength that I made it to this point. Its fine to accept from others so long as you earn it later on.¡±


    His pops stopped shaking. He stood a little straighter and then turned, looking in Lucas¡¯s eyes. There was a determination in them. A focus that Lucas had rarely seen.


    ¡°Maybe you¡¯re right, son,¡± his father mulled over the thought. ¡°Is your offer of a place around here still good?¡±


    ¡°Sure, pops. Adam puts a priority on family.¡±


    ¡°Family, huh? Think you can swing a place with room for some uncles?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, pops. I¡¯ll make sure you and your boys will be able to move in tomorrow.¡±


    His father nodded at him and put a hand on Lucas¡¯s shoulder. It was the most affectionate gesture he had ever made towards Lucas.


    ¡°Make sure it¡¯s a simple place. Several steps down from this one of yours. As you said, we¡¯ll accept the place from you and earn the trappings ourselves.¡±


    ¡°Anything else, pops?¡± Lucas asked as the man headed towards the door.


    ¡°Yeah, son. You¡¯ve done good.¡±

 CH 74: Loyalty

    CHAPTER 74: Loyalty


    ¡°Were you able to spend any time with the kids?¡± asked Colonel Davian. He was currently in a private drinking room of a rowdy bar on the other side of town from the base. This bar was known for certain services that were questionably legal. The room itself was sound resistant, blocking out most of the music and drunken noise from the main rooms but leaving just enough for the Colonel to know that he couldn¡¯t be listened to from outside due to the noise.


    The room had been thoroughly swept for bugs. Only paper was allowed inside. No phones, radios, or computers could be brought inside it, as per his orders. They knew that the Rift Base could watch from anywhere inside it, but the trick of Adam hacking the secure communication line with General Gervin told Davian that no form of remote communication could be safe. He was fine with certain things being emailed or called, via code, due to time sensitivity, but confidential meetings had to be done in person with no outside access.


    He had ten of his soldiers guarding the inside of the bar. Davian knew that the soldiers and agents from other groups of the military and security were also watching the bar, both inside and out. Davian hadn¡¯t been able to bring his highest-level people since those were the ones with the most respect for Adam. Involving them in this would have led to too many questions he wasn¡¯t prepared to answer.


    After coming out of that raid, their eyes had been more than respect. They were borderline loyal to Adam. Even having lost some of their own men, no one held animosity towards Adam. While they might still be patriots to their country, they had come to view Adam, so open about his mission, as a superior officer. Near the top, and just as patriotic as them.


    ¡°Yes. There is no subterfuge or hidden agenda with them. They¡¯re sweet kids, very open about their methods and goals,¡± said Elouise, sitting across from Davian at the table. ¡°They even allowed me to come to one of their evening hangouts. It was only slightly rowdier than a family dinner, discussing their days and helping each other with difficulties they had. They never questioned my presence or held themselves back. It was quite refreshing.¡±


    ¡°They weren¡¯t intimidated or uncertain based on your age or status?¡±


    Elouise smiled wryly, ¡°No. They didn¡¯t care that I¡¯m old¡­or the wife of an actual general. The girls even talked to me as if they were in the same position, wanting to know how to deal with people from that position. Four wives. I can¡¯t imagine that¡¯ll be easy. At the same time, I can see how it would¡¯ve been nice for me to have had peer support earlier in my life from people with the same experiences.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t they know polygamy is illegal?¡± muttered Davian.


    ¡°You think that matters to them? The [System] seems to approve of it. Laws only matter if there¡¯s a government to make them and a power to enforce them. Neither of those things they believe will exist once the invasions start. They act like it¡¯s already fact that in two days the United States of America will cease to exist. Besides, legal marriage is just a contract from the state used for taxes, health care, and insurance purposes. They have access to an alien fortress to live in and healers. The legal issues aren¡¯t really an incentive.¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that scare them? I can barely consider the fall of our country a possibility, simply because it is too scary an idea,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°They don¡¯t feel threatened by anything as long as Adam is in charge. Not just the girls either. It¡¯s like they¡¯ve all made peace with death. For them Adam will do the hard parts, and they¡¯ll support him with whatever comes.¡±


    ¡°I can see all that loyalty. The people volunteering here and even the police view Adam as if through a religious faith. It makes me wonder about all those commentors watching their videos. Last I heard they were at about 18,000 people traveling to Jackson to weather the invasion. The Sentinel Army will protect. While I¡¯ve met Adam and seen both the carefree and violent side of him, I still can¡¯t find my own loyalty towards him.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you already have that loyalty towards the country and your army. Normal people don¡¯t see that.¡±


    Davian knew he was a loyal man. Loyal to the men under his command. Loyal to his family. Above all, loyal to God and country. However, for the first time he wondered if there was something even higher that he should be loyal to.


    Adam had a loyalty greater than he had seen before. It wasn¡¯t towards an organization, or to his desires. He was loyal to the entirety of humanity. Everything he did was to help humanity to survive. While he didn¡¯t force people to follow his own ideals, he did separate himself from those who wouldn¡¯t. He gave out both freedom and his own type of tyranny.


    Davian¡¯s problem was that Adam¡¯s loyalty did not conflict with his own. Saving humanity and saving the United States overlapped. Adam didn¡¯t demand his loyalty, like others in authority did when they wanted something questionable from him.


    ¡°I guess that makes sense. Did you find out anything unusual?¡± asked Davian, feeling a bit relieved.


    ¡°Two things have happened. Earlier this evening, while I was with them, the [System] sent a message that it viewed Adam as a sovereign.¡±


    ¡°What does that mean?¡±


    Elouise thought about it for a minute. ¡°Based on the messages, it means that people have recognized Adam as a ruler, with ample followers and territory under his control, I think. Even enemies recognize him as such.¡±


    Davian sighed, unsure what to do with that information. He decided to put it off for now, but did wonder, ¡°Do you think the president is considered a ruler?¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. All the politicians are still at level 0 and will probably be targeted first by the invaders.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like you¡¯re already buying into what the Sentinel Army is selling,¡± needled Davian.


    ¡°That¡¯s an interesting thought. Spending time in the base, working with the volunteers, and especially with the Sentinels. They treat it as a foregone conclusion. If it doesn¡¯t happen, then I think they¡¯ll happily go about their lives. There is no rebellion here, just preparations for a natural disaster. At least for now, I will prepare for it just in case.¡±


    ¡°You mentioned two things. What was the second thing that happened?¡± he asked.


    This time Elouise got a smile on her face. At that moment Davian realized that she actually liked the kids. He wondered if it was due to them treating her like a normal person, or that it was fun watching them playing army. Or possibly it was just all the refreshing new things that they had access to and watching it from the source.


    ¡°Because Adam has been viewed as a sovereign, he can give people appointments in his retinue. That gives them a title increasing their stats and allows them to locate each other regardless of their distance.¡±


    Davian sat back in his chair looking stunned. ¡°He just keeps getting more. More from the [System] and more from the people. Even more from his enemies. That¡¯s going to make things difficult.¡±


    ¡°Oh?¡± Elouise asked casually. ¡°From what I¡¯ve seen, he¡¯s just getting what he¡¯s earned. We would have nothing without him. That much I can agree with.¡±


    Colonel Davian reached down to a briefcase and pulled out five envelopes. Each had a big ¡°confidential¡± stamp on it. He placed them on the table in front of Elouise.


    ¡°What are these?¡± asked Elouise as she stared at them while keeping her hands in her lap.


    ¡°Orders. From five different agencies. None of which are working together but each want the same thing. We are to subdue the Sentinels and recover the base. General Carmichael simply told us that the base belongs to the US army and to assume control of it. The Secretary of Defense sent an order to claim eminent domain on this space as it¡¯s in the US territory, and to evict all civilians. Homeland Security wants us to bring Adam and his group to DC on charges of conspiring with the invaders, calling them domestic terrorists. We¡¯re then to claim control of this base.


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    ¡°The FBI has sent us a long list of charges amounting to treason and fraud against Adam, covering all possibilities, hoping that at least some of them can stick. They say that either Adam committed treason by ¡®stealing¡¯ this base or he has committed mass fraud against the people by extorting their money and goodwill due to an unsubstantiated claim. They have agents waiting outside to arrest them, but only once we subdue them first. Just in case. They¡¯ve even frozen all of Adam¡¯s and the Sentinel¡¯s bank accounts.¡±


    ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that alert Adam?¡± Elouise grimaced.


    ¡°Only if Adam actually needed access to the money. In the beginning he was spending as fast as he could, with many people accessing his accounts. With the community so involved and loyal to either him or his goals, businesses are just donating everything, or they¡¯re giving him invoices to be paid later. A lot of stuff people just buy themselves and leave here. I don¡¯t think these agencies are aware of just how involved everyone locally is.¡±


    ¡°Who is the last folder from?¡±


    Davian barked a laugh. ¡°The CIA is claiming that since this is an extra-dimensional space, it¡¯s not US territory, and they are allowed to operate in it. The Senate Committee on Armed Services has commissioned five black ops teams to capture him for interrogation at a black site. Guess whose cooperation they have demanded.¡±


    ¡°Since you are here at my husband¡¯s orders, how does that fit with the others?¡± asked Elouise.


    ¡°General Gervin¡¯s orders were to ¡®beg, borrow, or steal¡¯ if the base was legitimate. I¡¯m not sure I¡¯ve accomplished any of those, but I got more than I could have expected because of Adam¡¯s generosity. In our first meeting Adam told me to be honest with him. Even if Adam claims to be the sovereign of this land and the [System], I do trust him and agree with his mission.¡±


    ¡°What are you going to do?¡± asked Elouise.


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure what I can do. Orders are orders,¡± said Davian, wondering how far loyalty can be pushed before it becomes something else.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that cop out answer. It didn¡¯t work in the Nuremburg Trials, and it won¡¯t work now. What are you going to do?¡±


    ¡°What can I do? According to these orders if I warn Adam then it¡¯s treason for me, betraying myself and my whole life. If I obstruct the other agents, then it¡¯s a court marshal. If my men continue to support the Sentinels, then it¡¯s dishonorable discharges. On top of that, there are around 4,000 U.S. soldiers and agents in Jackson and the Rift now. Only about 800 of them are under my command due to General Gervin. While no one wanted to give the general weight for the intel Adam provided, they certainly were willing to send force to take anything they could.¡±


    ¡°None of that answers my question,¡± accused Elouise.


    ¡°What do I do when my orders or different than what is right?¡±


    ¡°See, you do have some loyalty to Adam.¡±


    ¡°Then should I warn him?¡± asked Davian with hesitation.


    ¡°Do you think he needs you to warn him?¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°His man, Mr. Lane, has been working with techs and agents, right?¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­¡± answered Davian slowly, wondering why Adam had been so naive as to allow it.


    ¡°And what have they learned?¡± Elouise asked, clearly leading the distraught man.


    ¡°They¡¯ve seen the menus, worked on the alien languages, and tried to uncover more information,¡± answered Davian, still unsure where she was going.


    ¡°And have they received access to the communications that Adam used? Maybe something for listening in on secure lines?¡±


    ¡°Not to my knowledge. Maybe only the base leader can do that.¡±


    ¡°Are they able to construct the things that Mr. Lane does?¡±


    ¡°No, Mr. Lane is very possessive and doesn¡¯t want his ¡®game¡¯ messed up.¡±


    Elouise signed. ¡°What about access to the Rift Shop or other rifts in Adam¡¯s network.¡±


    ¡°No, they haven¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Think, you stupid man,¡± said Elouise for emphasis. ¡°You¡¯re so stuck in the minutia that you aren¡¯t seeing the big picture. Mr. Lane and Adam are playing with them. All the powerful features have been locked out. They¡¯re just tempting the intellectuals with something exciting to keep them looking away from the power in the Rift Menu. There are so many interesting and undecipherable items that look important that they¡¯re easily distracted from what is already under Adam¡¯s control.¡±


    Davian sat up a bit more and met Elouise¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Then should I follow the orders?¡± asked Davian skeptically.


    ¡°Oh heavens no. Do you want to die and have your 16 children and grandchildren removed from the Rift?¡±


    ¡°You think Adam would kill me?¡± Davian scowled. He knew that Adam¡¯s loyalty to his purpose was stronger than his feelings to a single person.


    ¡°Yes. He would. His girls allowed me to watch the videos they never made public.¡± Elouise¡¯s already white complexion went even more pale.


    ¡°There are more, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yes. I saw Adam have fingers ripped off from inside. His skin was completely burned off. He received a fatal GSW to the neck. In each case he kept fighting. He went berserk when Brandon was gutted and just kept killing.¡±


    ¡°That happened to the small boy?¡± Davian gasped.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t just Adam either. They¡¯ve all been gashed, smashed, mauled, organs ruptured, broken bones, yet fought until the end. Every one of them is stronger and faster than your soldiers. That appointment title is a 14% boost in their class stat, but they also received 5% to all stats from being the first to capture a Rift. These kids have done the impossible. Have some faith in Adam.¡±


    ¡°Then¡­?¡±


    ¡°Do your duty but put it off until just before the invasion. Agree to help the various forces at that time. But don¡¯t do anything to threaten Adam or his people. Until then continue to work with Adam. He has turned around worse situations.¡±


    Elouise picked up and tossed the folders back at the Colonel. Then she elegantly stood and walked out of the room. She didn¡¯t want to miss tomorrow¡¯s event and she still needed to get some sleep.


    ***


    Adam woke early in the morning to a [System] message.


    Enough of your population have recognized the appointment you made to your Sovereign Retinue. The Loyalty tab in your status shows those with Appointment Titles. Both the Sovereign and his Retinue have the ability to know the direction and distance of the other.


    Quickly pulling up the Loyalty Tab, Adam rubbed his eyes.


    ¡°What the heck?! How did that bastard¡­¡± he said.


    Throwing on sweatpants and a tank top, Adam rushed out of his suite and to the stairs. He ran down two flights to get to the condo. He jogged down the silent hall and arrived in front of the door.


    As he raised his hand to knock, the door opened. An attractive woman in an opened robe, wearing nothing else stood there. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes bleary. She was yawning. It took her a few moments to realize Adam was blocking her way.


    ¡°Oh, excuse me, General,¡± said Angeline Victoria, the reporter that had interviewed Tom, snapping awake. She blushed in embarrassment and pulled her robe closed. ¡°Um, I¡¯ll just, uh, be going¡­to my own condo, you know, over there¡­¡±


    Adam¡¯s eyes followed her pointing finger to look at a unit across the hall, then back to her. ¡°You live in the building?¡±


    She blushed again. ¡°Tom wanted to make sure I was safe, so he got me a unit as close as possible. To keep an eye on me.¡± She coughed to cover her explanation. ¡°For safety.¡±


    Her eyes looked down at her robe in embarrassment.


    ¡°I see,¡± Adam said dully, revealing no emotions.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± she squirmed around Adam and then scurried to what was apparently her own living unit. In their building. A building specifically for the Sentinels and their family.


    Adam released the increasing heat with a breath and headed into Tom¡¯s open condo.


    ¡°Hey boss! Guess what! I knew you were coming. I got my appointment title and now I always know where you are. Always¡­from anywhere. Check this out,¡± bragged Tom as he pulled up a message.


    A sovereign of power has appointed you to a position in their Retinue. Both allies and enemies have acknowledged this position, giving you a unique title. Being a part of a ruler¡¯s retinue gives you the ability to always know their direction and distance, should you be needed to serve them.


    You have received the new Appointment Title of Illusionary Loyalist.


    Illusionary Loyalist


    None can question your loyalty to your liege. All who hear your words of praise towards the sovereign will understand the depth of your belief and will have their minds befuddled while their own loyalty grows. This title boosts your Strength and Wisdom by 7% and will allow you to select a related class during your next evolution.


    This appointment title can be removed by the sovereign you serve and will automatically be removed upon their death.


    How did the bastard even get his title in half a night, Adam wondered. Sighing, Adam waved his hand and Tom dismissed the message window. Then Adam saw Tom. All of Tom. Without any covering.


    ¡°What¡¯s my Loyalty stat at?¡± Tom asked while bouncing around excitedly, to Adam¡¯s dismay.


    ¡°96. It¡¯ll gain +1 if you put that underwear on,¡± Adam said as he looked around the room to avert his eyes.


    Immediately he regretted looking around. There were four pictures in elaborate frames on the walls. The scroll work on the frames were all designed around the Sentinel Logo. The canvas printed pictures inside the frames all were of Adam in ridiculously heroic poses, usually barely clothed, wielding his hammer with enemies laying slain around him. Only one of the pictures included the rest of the group, though small and in the background.


    Two body pillows on the sofa had cuddle covers of Adam. On one he was clothed though they were torn up, and on the other he was shirtless, wearing only boxer shorts.


    ¡°Ah, don¡¯t worry boss. When Angie comes over, I make sure she cuddles the one with clothing. Don¡¯t want her to think you¡¯re the kind of guy who¡¯d cheat on his own,¡± Tom said as he turned around and pulled up a pair of boxers. On one cheek of the boxers was the Sentinels¡¯ logo and on the other was Adam¡¯s face.


    ¡°Speaking of Angeline, isn¡¯t she a little old for you?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Hot is hot,¡± Tom said directly, before having a realization. ¡°Oh, I see. You¡¯ve nothing to worry about, boss. I would never take more for my harem than you have. I¡¯ll never compete with your greatness. Never! You can trust me on that. The loyalty tab says so.¡±


    The pride on Tom¡¯s face at his misunderstanding dizzied Adam¡¯s mind. Adam turned and headed for the door.


    ¡°Before you go, do you want to see my The General plushies? I have the whole set. Or maybe The General action figures? I worked with the toy company to get early releases of those and setup the manufacturing machinery inside the base. Each one is a masterpiece, not some poorly designed crap. Everyone else only has The General printed sheets and comforter. I¡¯m the envy of your fan club!¡±


    Adam closed the condo door behind him while shaking his head.


    ¡°Maybe the loyalty tab has Tom¡¯s rating too low.¡±

 CH 75: Dressing Up

    CHAPTER 75: Dressing Up


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Adam?¡± asked Abbey with concern as he walked into his condo, seeing the dazed look on his face.


    ¡°¡­Tom¡­¡± muttered Adam, causing Brittney to laugh.


    ¡°You went into his room!¡± she shouted while laughing even harder.


    ¡°Oh, honey,¡± soothed Abbey knowingly. ¡°Never go into Tom¡¯s place.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, everyone knows that,¡± giggled Brittney.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that he somehow got his Appointment Title in less than a night.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he told us via text this morning,¡± Abbey said with a frown.


    ¡°How¡­?¡± asked Adam.


    Brittney looked at him seriously. ¡°He forced Jordan to use the Rift Menu to broadcast his title, pictures, and a description of himself on the invader communication lines. Now every invader knows who he is and that he follows you.¡±


    Adam¡¯s jaw dropped. ¡°He made himself a target of every enemy just to get the title a little faster? He¡¯s still five levels from evolving his class.¡±


    Abbey and Brittney both shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s Tom.¡±


    Then Brittney¡¯s phone beeped. When she checked it, she cursed and threw it at a sofa cushion.


    ¡°Tom is saying that I need to increase my loyalty because his score was higher than mine. Does he really have 97?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°It was 96. I was just joking about giving him +1 if he put his underwear on,¡± answered Adam. Just to check, he brought up the Loyalty Tab. Then he facepalmed. Tom¡¯s score had risen to 97.


    ¡°That explains why he offered to sell me an item called [Boxers of True Loyalty],¡± said Brittney.


    ¡°Gah! That guy!¡± hissed Adam. ¡°Oh well. Guess it¡¯s time to get ready.¡±


    He took a moment to look at Brittney and Abbey. They were already prepared for the day. Brittney was wearing a shiny suit of armor. It was reflective silver and gold, made from Testudinate metal alloys. It was a bit thinner than it should be, but they didn¡¯t want the weight to hinder her movement or tire her out. The edges of it had beautiful and intricate scroll work of tree branches and leaves. The chest piece was shaped to accentuate her femininity, with light mounds for breasts and a hourglass shape to the sides.


    A frilly pink skirt came out from the bottom of her waist, beneath where the armor ended. It covered up the armor positioned over her leather leggings. She wore regular Earth boots, the top of which were overlapped by her greaves. It gave a bit of ruggedness to the combination of cutesy and valiant. A shimmery pink cape was attached to her pauldrons with a wide bearing, slightly curled around her right shoulder, like the cloaks the Roman¡¯s wore.


    On the chest plate were two symbols. The right side had the logo for the Sentinel Army. The left side, over the heart, was a detailed shaping of the Earth, to signify what they were fighting for. Brittney¡¯s reflective one-handed war hammer was attached to her golden metal linked belt. A few pouches were on it too.


    Adam whistled as he looked her up and down, impressed with the level of detail and designs. Brittney looked down in embarrassment as Adam smiled at her.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want to wear the helmet after Alissa spent an hour doing my hair,¡± she said as she held up a helmet based on Valkyrie designs with a face guard that left the eyes exposed while sitting in front of the mouth and nose. Her blonde hair was done in layers of looping braids woven with tiny sparkling silver chains that really caught the light.


    ¡°Fortunately, they made the outfit so the pants are easy to get off to use the bathroom. Although my Vitality allows me to hold it in for a long time.¡±


    Abbey nodded at that. ¡°Makes me wish I had more Vitality.¡±


    Adam would have frowned but having a loud sister had already exposed him to the realities of girls. Instead, he looked over at Abbey¡¯s clothes. Everything had been designed by the LARPer Melina with help from the comic book artist Gerald. They wanted to give a modern spin while still using recognizable armor designs.


    The robe Abbey had on, was like a cleric robe from games, except the front of it cut off at the midriff still preserving the curves of her chest, while the back and sides flowed down to her knees. The material didn¡¯t look thick, but it still managed to hold its shape without clinging to her body. The fabric was white with generous gold embroidery similar to Brittney¡¯s scroll work along the long sleeves and side seams, as well as along the hood that hung in the back. Both the white and gold shimmered, making Adam wonder if the weaving techniques for the cloth and thread had come from the Rift Shop. A Sentinels¡¯ logo and the Earth were embroidered on her chest.


    Coming down from the cut off robe in the front was a shapely and finely made white chainmail shirt. The links could only be seen from close up, and there was a bit of fabric underneath to protect Abbey¡¯s skin from contact and wandering eyes. She then wore a long skirt made from similar fabric as the robe, with plenty of embroidery. The dress didn¡¯t quite cover the leather boots that Abbey had on, and he had been told that the material would be dirt resistant to protect the colors and shimmer. Definitely alien tech.


    Both the girls were beautiful, so Adam kissed each and raved over their elegance.


    ¡°Your turn,¡± smiled Abbey. She watched him strip to his boxers and then he went to where his outfit was laid out. First, he put on the loose brown pants, made of Feral Behemoth leather to resist the heat. It had been dyed so there were various shades of brown and gray, similar to camouflage. Plenty of pockets and pouches had been placed on it like cargo pants. Snaps, buttons, and zippers didn¡¯t work with the thick leather pants, so it had a strap of leather to tie the waist up with buttons made from behemoth bones for the pouches.


    For footwear, Garrett and Carver, the leather worker friend of Garrett, had made boots of Testudinate metal plates. They allowed his feet to move as they should and had softened Feral Behemoth leather inside to keep his feet comfortable. The bottom of the metal boots had small nubby cleats, rounded enough to not break every floor, but enough to give him some traction when running or kicking off. A coating of some rubber-like substance was added to the sole and cleats. Garrett assured Adam the coating wouldn¡¯t wear off due to the heat he generated.


    Over his waist, Adam put a dark charcoal gray piece of armor, Melida called it a Faulds, that had flaps covering his groin and hips without blocking him from getting to the pockets on the pants. It was held on by a similarly colored belt made from leather and a Testudinate metal buckle. As heat resistant as they could make with their current materials. No more exhibitionist combat for Adam if he could help it.


    A knife and sword were sheathed on the belt. The sword was much fancier, and a bit larger and heavier, than the ones they had been loaning out. The pommel was a Sentinels¡¯ logo and swirling designs wrapped the entire hilt and sword handguard. A charcoal gray leather grip contrasted nicely with the shining sword.


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    On his upper body he had a shaped metal breastplate, gleaming with gold and silver. It had impressions of pecs and abs on the metal, making him look like a muscular robot. Scroll work that matched Brittney¡¯s was on the edges and sides, as well as their logo and Earth on the chest. More softened leather was underneath so it wouldn¡¯t get too uncomfortable. The leather had been frayed a bit to stick out of the shoulders, armpits, and waist to give it a slight barbarian look.


    On his back he put a cloak of large chain mail that allowed his skin to be seen through it. The cloak went to his knees in the back, with short sleeves for his shoulders and upper arms. Even though it was made out of the heavy Testudinate metal, they had coated the links with something that dampened the sound, preventing him from clanking as it moved. A leather hood had been sown into the top, matching his brown pants.


    More leather was used for his long gloves that almost reached his elbows. The leather felt thin enough for him to get a tactile feel when touching things. Shaped and etched metal plates covered the gloves¡¯ wrist, forearm, and back of the hand, allowing him to block with them.


    Finally, he put on metal greaves that protected his shins and kneecaps. They clipped into his metal boots to make them look like they were connected.


    Once he was dressed, and resisted Brittney¡¯s lustful gaze after seeing him in his battle gear, Abbey styled his hair with plenty of gel to make sure he would look good all day. Tomorrow the invaders would come, and humanity might be destroyed. For today, they had more public plans.


    Looking at himself in a full body mirror, Adam had to admit that he looked powerful, wealthy, and almost regal. When he muttered a joke about a crown, Brittney looked at him seriously.


    ¡°Tom had one made, the freaking 97-point bastard. We had to get Lucas, Randall, and Lamar to wrestle it away from him. He laughed at us as we took it. I¡¯m not sure if it was meant as a joke or not. It wouldn¡¯t surprise me if he has a spare.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s get moving,¡± Adam said with a heavy sigh. ¡°We don¡¯t want to keep the procession waiting.¡±


    He picked up his war hammer with his left land and rested it on his shoulder. His right arm was offered to Abbey who hooked her own with his, to Brittney¡¯s sad look. Her armor just didn¡¯t allow the physical closeness. Brittney picked up her shield for today, one that was smaller, lighter, and fancier than the heavy one they had tested the other day. Abbey used her free hand to carry a curved wooden cane. It had fake gems and baubles in it that would glow in the sunlight in a magical way. Designs were carved into it to add to the image.


    Melina had insisted that the casters have personalized wands or staves to complete their looks. They were useless for the spells, though they could crush a skull as they were made from the elven wood.


    When the trio got to the lobby everyone else was there waiting. The scouts had dark, shaped, leather cuirasses, looking like they could fade into the shadows. Designs were burned into the leather, including the chest logo and Earth.


    Nick and Carlos had full leather outfits, while Lamar¡¯s didn¡¯t have sleeves but did have an archer¡¯s glove on his left hand. Pants, belt, boots, and sheathes for their knives and short swords were all the same dark color. Of the three, only Carlos was wearing a cape, and his was a shimmering dark green.


    Tom, Randall, and Joseph wore armor similar to Brittney¡¯s though with fewer pieces to allow easier movement, and without the skirt. The coloring was also different. They had less shine to theirs, with it being almost a light gray base instead of the reflective silver. Where Brittney¡¯s designs had gold, Tom had a deep green, Randall had a yellow, and Joseph had blue. Joseph and Tom had colored chainmail cloaks, like Adam¡¯s but without the sleeves. All three had swords on their belts but carried gorgeous spears.


    Lucas had gone with a chest piece similar to Adams, with the frayed leather barbarian look, leaving his arms free except for forearm guards. He didn¡¯t wear the cloak, and his leather and silver armor highlights had been dyed a blood red color. It was dulled so while it did draw the eye it wouldn¡¯t stand out compared to Adam¡¯s. He had a short sword and knife at his belt, but also carried his own war hammer. The colors looked good with Lucas¡¯s dark tanned complexion.


    Alissa and Andrea had outfits like Abbey¡¯s, though the coloring was also different. Andrea¡¯s fabric was colored yellow with her embroidery done mostly in sky blue. Her embroidery had lightning bolts and electricity woven in. Alissa¡¯s base color was a shimmering black, with gold embroidery. She had angel wings and scythes decorating it. Both Alissa and Andrea had much shorter skirts with knee high, laced leather boots.


    Ed, Elias, and Brandon wore jackets, similar to robes, that came down a little past their waists, with their weapon and pouch belts over top it. They featured similar embroidery and leather pants. Elias had a medium brown as his base color, with golden embroidery. Ed¡¯s was white and gold. Brandon¡¯s was a forest green base color with a mix of red, blue, and gold highlights. The mages had noticeable large wands with embedded glowing pieces, attached to their belts along with their knives.


    While everyone was complimenting and joking about how they looked, Adam sidled over to the scouts.


    ¡°How¡¯d it go?¡± he asked.


    ¡°No problems,¡± smiled Nick mischievously.


    Lamar pulled a piece of paper out of a difficult to see pocket in the side of his leather armor. ¡°22 black ops mercs, 18 intelligence and CIA agents, 13 investigators, 4 lawyers, and 6 government deskmen.¡±


    ¡°What did you do to them?¡± he asked.


    ¡°The sleep medicine we got from the Rift Shop worked perfectly. Sneaky Nick dropped some in each person¡¯s drink,¡± snickered Carlos. ¡°They shouldn¡¯t wake until tonight, so no problems today as long as we didn¡¯t miss anyone.¡±


    ¡°Did you take their stuff?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Everything,¡± said Nick. ¡°It¡¯s all in the building¡¯s security room. Weapons, computers, communications, ids, luggage, hotel room keys, and even their clothes. Jordan set the rift to hack anything incriminating or useful from their computers and phones.¡±


    ¡°Where did you leave them?¡±


    ¡°Tied and gagged, hanging from the roofs of their hotels inside bags made of Testudinate skins. Should be impossible for them to get out since every single one was level zero. We¡¯ll have the fire department and police let them out and escort them out of town tonight.¡±


    ¡°Nicely done,¡± praised Adam. ¡°Hopefully today goes well. I¡¯m more than a bit nervous.¡±


    Nick laughed. ¡°You¡¯re nervous? You never got nervous. Even before the [System].¡±


    ¡°I also never paraded around in armor like some kind of paragon.¡±


    ¡°Nope. Usually, you parade around in your birthday suit,¡± chuckled Carlos, earning a laugh from Lamar and Nick.


    Adam just shrugged and headed to the door of the building. His group formed up behind him. Directly behind him was Lucas, Brittney, Randall, and Abbey. Then came the casters, followed by the warriors and scouts. It was loosely similar to how they fought.


    ¡°Ok, you can do this,¡± Adam whispered to himself, to get in the right headspace. ¡°It¡¯s serious time. Show everyone strength and power. I will protect the Earth. I will kill the invaders. I can carry all these people.¡±


    The door opened and Adam strode out as tall as he could, with his war hammer in his hand. Lining the paths were thousands and thousands of people in rows. Each person that had volunteered over the last week or been involved in their training, from the young kids to the teenagers and fighters, to the elderly ladies, had received a shiny metal chest protector with leather straps that went around their back. The protectors were made from Earth materials, unlike Adam¡¯s group. The swords that had been given to those who had leveled, and the knives given to everyone else were made from Testudinate metal.


    Cheers and applause filled the air as they walked. Adam kept a stoic look on his face while meeting eyes and giving nods. The noise was overwhelming, and the people seemed genuine in their merriment.


    Not far from the building a group of eight kids, probably late elementary school age, six boys and two girls, pushed their way into the road from the lines of spectators. They hollered and whooped while running towards Adam.


    Adam smiled largely at them and gave them all a high five. The final boy he scooped up and placed on his right shoulder to the roar of the audience. Then he and the child lifted his war hammer into the air.


    The rest of the kids were scooped up and given shoulder rides to the delight of both the children and spectators, except one girl who hid her face in embarrassment, eliciting a round of laughter.


    ¡°What happened to serious Adam, strength of the people?¡± taunted Brittney behind him. Adam shrugged.


    ¡°I¡¯ll just have to be double serious later on,¡± he responded.


    When their procession had reached the exit of the Rift, he turned to address all the people. Using the Rift Menu, he constructed a platform under the feet of his group, raising himself so everyone could see. He activated the voice amplification system so that his voice would be heard by everyone without having to speak louder.


    ¡°For the last two weeks we¡¯ve all been preparing for war and survival. Tomorrow the invaders come. We¡¯re as prepared as we can be thanks to all of your efforts and support. We have difficult times ahead¡­but tomorrow is tomorrow, and today I hope you will all celebrate with me. We will celebrate humanity and its accomplishments. We¡¯ll celebrate our families and friends. We¡¯ll celebrate like it¡¯s the end of the world!¡±


    The cheers became deafening.

 CH 76: Party at the End of the World

    CHAPTER 76: Party at the End of the World


    A huge stage had been set up in the center of the park. Tables and chairs were lined up on it. Speakers were playing music and a large video display was showing scenes from the activities happening not just in this area but other ones as well.


    It would be an exaggeration to say that everyone from Jackson had turned out for the End of the World Party, however it felt like there were that many people and more. From 8am until after 10am the Sentinels had ridden on cars in a parade down streets packed with people.


    Both local and national television crews were watching them as they drove along. Every so often the parade would stop so that the cars could take in some of the people in Sentinel Army chest protectors to ride along with Adam¡¯s group. They tried to include as many people as possible and to show off that it wasn¡¯t just Adam fighting. That anyone could be involved.


    When they arrived at the park, Adam and his friends were brought up on the stage. Adam had been told to stay up there throughout the day, while the others were allowed to roam at intervals. The Colonel sat next to Adam with Captain Krysti and a few other high-level soldiers at attention behind them, showing the cooperation between the US military and the Sentinel Armies.


    A long line was formed at the stairs as people were allowed up one at a time or in small groups to get their picture taken with him. He would prop kids up or make dangerous faces depending on who came up. Several community leaders wanted pictures while shaking his hand. A few even asked to hold his hammer, which was a hard no since no one could lift it besides Adam.


    At one point a group of girls that he knew from high school, who had never given him a second glance, came up and argued over going on a date with him. When it had barely started, Andrea and Alissa came up and threatened them off the stage. Adam was sure at least one [Jolt] had been cast.


    The policeman Brett popped up regularly, placing food in front of Adam, proudly wearing his police uniform with a Sentinels chest protector and sword. He practically looked bashful when he would get a nod and thanks from Adam. Back pats and envious looks greeted Brett when he would drop from the stage and go back amongst the crowd.


    The rest of the Sentinels got similar attention to Adam. They were all in the cleared area in front of the stage, more easily accessible than Adam was. People wanted pictures together with them, too. Some people would pick their favorites, while others wanted groups of them. More than a few girls and women wanted pictures alongside all four of the girls. Adam would always smile at that.


    His favorite was when a female soldier who looked like a body builder, half a head taller than Alissa, was so giddy she was tittering as she got an action picture with Brittney pretending to block while the other three brandished their canes and wands. The woman looked like a little girl meeting her idols.


    Adam also had the biggest smiles when people wanted his picture along with some of his friends. It felt better to be with them than to be elevated above them.


    When Adam spotted his parents, he had them brought up for a picture and did the same with the granny who had run the food canning line in the base. In that picture she insisted on giving him a bowl of food that she had gotten from one of the stalls that were set up all over the park.


    Games and dancing were all over. Food and drink were provided by businesses until they ran out. Plenty of alcohol was being drunk. Sparring rings were set up while some gambling was allowed. Rides had been set up for kids, from pony rides to the park¡¯s carousel. Minor injuries were healed by people with skills. Leveled policemen and soldiers easily kept the crowds in control.


    Leveled people would sometimes perform shows, lifting heavy objects or challenging masses to tug of war. Lilliard was giving hourly demonstrations on how to fight with a bladed weapon while others gave demonstrations on self-defense or working with shields.


    People flowed in and out like water. Adam spoke to more people in that one day than he had during his whole life. It was good that it was approaching winter, because the cool air kept him from getting too hot.


    Some people treated Adam like a celebrity, while some showed genuine respect. Of course there were also the hecklers, claiming that the videos were staged. Adam even grabbed three of the hecklers and juggled them without dropping them, at least until one of them soiled themselves. He wasn¡¯t about to catch that guy.


    Throughout the day Adam noticed that the Colonel kept looking nervously towards the crowds and the nearby buildings. The whole time Davian was fidgety and distracted. Nervousness that seemed out of place for the man caused even his own soldiers to keep eying him.


    ¡°Calm down, Colonel,¡± Adam whispered to him when he had enough. ¡°How are the people supposed to feel at ease if we aren¡¯t.¡±


    Colonel Davian startled, not expecting Adam to talk to him at that moment. ¡°What? Oh, Adam. No, it¡¯s just that¡­well¡­nevermind.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t sweat it so much. Everything has been taken care of,¡± Adam turned and looked Davian in the eyes. Intense eyes that made the Colonel flinch, just like the first time they met. Eyes with the will to never stop.


    ¡°What has been taken care of?¡± Davian asked suspiciously. Adam shrugged in response and looked back towards the crowd.


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying that tomorrow we fight for the Earth. Allies stand together and enemies will be taken care of. There is no other way for it to go. Regardless of their race or origin.¡±


    Adam¡¯s statement made sweat trickle down the Colonel¡¯s back. He took a deep breath but then was able to relax. Apparently, no outside forces were going to go after Adam today.


    ***


    While Randall and Joseph relished the attention, though not as much as Tom, they still took regular breaks. They walked around the park like bigshots. People would hurry to make space for them, while cheers and phones snapping pictures followed them.


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    They tried out some carnival games, enjoying how much praise they got from making them look easy. Randall and Joseph would compete for a better prize and then whichever got it would get first pick on the cute girl to give it to. The two high schoolers assumed that all the girls were flirting with them.


    Never before had they had so much attention. Everyone wanted their time. The two boys snickered after a group of particularly good-looking girls had exchanged phone numbers with them. Joseph hadn¡¯t remembered his phone since he didn¡¯t need it in the Rift, but Randall swore he¡¯d share the numbers later.


    Nearly every food stand was willing to give them food for free. Which was good, since neither had brought money. They were used to raiding the storehouses in the Rift when they wanted something or hitting up Adam¡¯s place when hungry since Adam had more than one fridge always full of food, and people refilling them daily. After a few days of their mooching, someone had even started filling their own fridges with food. Within the Rift, the words, ¡°The General wants this,¡± was magic and got them anything they wanted.


    Their formerly mediocre lives were practically perfect now. Being treated like superstars sure was nice. Neither could have imaged all the good things that would come to them just because the world was in a bit of trouble. Joseph never thought he¡¯d get to make out with so many girls and ladies, he wasn¡¯t one to discriminate by age, in one afternoon. Randall had better share those phone numbers, he thought more than once.


    After a while of walking and basking in the fame, they decided to stop for hotdogs within sight of the stage. The hotdog man seemed hesitant to give them 10 hotdogs each, but the words, ¡°they¡¯re for The General¡± along with pointing towards their silly looking armor once more proved magical.


    As they waited for their order to be ready, a noisy commotion caught their attention. There was a man in a very fancy looking suit, with a fancy looking hairdo, waving his arms as if everything around them was beneath him. Even with all the expense to his clothes, hair, and maybe makeup, his face looked a little haggard. He was tired and angry.


    Following along behind him were four men. Two looked very professional. They wore nice suits with sunglasses, and very obvious gun holsters within their jackets. Probably bodyguards, thought Joseph. That guy must be rich, though probably not as rich as Adam had become.


    The thought made him snicker. Damn he loved being in Adam¡¯s gang. Lucas had never given them whatever they wanted like Adam did.


    The other two men following looked more like leg breakers than protection staff. They had coarser outfits than the bodyguards. Both had rough looking beards, previously broken noses, and one of them walked a bit lopsidedly.


    The rich guy was speaking loudly and belligerently to a police officer¡­one with a 6 in his tag. The rich guy and his thugs were all still zeros. At whatever the man said, the policeman spoke into his radio and two more cops came through the crowds to them.


    ¡°I¡¯m telling you; he kidnapped her!¡± The man practically yelled.


    ¡°I understand what you¡¯re saying, sir. Please keep your voice down so we can figure this out,¡± said the policeman. He stood with much less concern towards the threat of the entourage than he would have two weeks ago. ¡°How long ago did your daughter disappear?¡±


    ¡°I last spoke to her one week ago!¡± The man still shouted. ¡°I will make the coward who preyed on my daughter pay!¡±


    The other two policemen had joined now, and quite a crowd was forming around them. Some people were watching it like it was entertainment, while others seemed genuinely concerned for the man. No one liked hearing about a kidnapping.


    Randall handed Joseph his carton of hotdogs as they moved over towards the incident.


    ¡°I understand you are in distress, and we¡¯ll make every effort to find your daughter, though I must insist that you let us handle it instead of taking the matter into your own hands. No one else has been able to locate her since you spoke to her?¡± The officer asked.


    ¡°People wouldn¡¯t even help once they heard her name. It¡¯s like the slimeball has someone protecting him,¡± the man growled. The thugs behind him clenched their fists.


    ¡°What age is your daughter?¡± asked one of the officers, writing in a pad.


    ¡°Seventeen,¡± the man said.


    ¡°Heya, George,¡± Randall greeted the officer when he and Joseph got through to the center of the crowd. Joseph was surprised they knew each other, but figured if the guy was level 6 then they must have worked together at some point. Both Officer George and the other two gave them a quick salute, adding a ¡°Sir!¡± to it. The rich guy looked at them like they were loons. Joseph had seen those looks his whole life.


    To be polite Joseph held out his hotdogs to offer them one, but they all looked awkwardly at him before shaking their heads. He guessed dealing with this rich guy came before eating.


    ¡°And her name, sir?¡± Officer George asked.


    ¡°I¡¯ve already provided all this information to the police before. Her name is Abigail Tamare,¡± the man said.


    Joseph casually spoke with his mouth full of hotdog, ¡°She has the same last name as Abbey!¡±


    Everyone stared at Joseph. He wasn¡¯t sure why. The looks didn¡¯t stop his eating. He wondered if this was what Adam felt like when he ate.


    ¡°Buffoon!¡± The rich man shouted, eying Joseph¡¯s costume critically. ¡°Abbey is her nickname! You know my daughter?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re Abbey¡¯s dad, huh? Sure, I know your daughter. We hang out every day,¡± said Joseph.


    He looked to Randall in curiosity, not sure what the big deal was. For some reason Randall had his face in one hand. Only one though since the other hand was holding his carton of hotdogs. The cops were also shaking their heads and putting their writing pads away. Joseph took another bite.


    ¡°Where is she? I¡¯m here to bring her home! And to show that kidnapper not to mess with my family,¡± Abbey¡¯s dad said menacingly.


    ¡°I¡¯m kinda surprised anyone could kidnap her. She is pretty strong. Besides, Adam wouldn¡¯t allow it,¡± said Joseph, eying her dad.


    ¡°Adam?¡± the father asked.


    ¡°Yeah, the dude on stage getting his picture taking with a bunch of people. Abbey¡¯s one of his wives,¡± Joseph pointed using the end of a hotdog.


    ¡°Wives?!¡± Mr. Tamare shrieked.


    The crowd started laughing. Those who had concerned looks were now smiling.


    One of the thugs hesitantly asked, ¡°She¡¯s one of The General¡¯s Wives?¡±


    ¡°Of course. See, she wasn¡¯t kidnapped. She lives with Adam and the other girls.¡±


    One of the bodyguards put down his phone. ¡°Mr. Tamare, our company has now discontinued our services with you. The contract has been cancelled due to you knowingly endangering yourself and your guards. We will also be willing to cooperate with the police should any issues come from this particular incident.¡±


    The other bodyguard put out his hand to shake Joseph¡¯s, saw the hotdog in it, and then switched to Randall.


    ¡°Sirs, sorry about this incident. Please apologize to The General and his wife on behalf of our company. Here¡¯s our card should you need our services for any reason.¡±


    Then the bodyguards wasted no time in rushing away from their former client, as if their lives depended on it. The amused onlookers even opened the way for them.


    ¡°My daughter can¡¯t marry without my permission!¡± Mr. Tamare yelled. ¡°Officers, I demand you arrest him.¡±


    ¡°Haaa,¡± breathed Officer George. ¡°Give it up, Mr. Tamare. There is no way she was kidnapped, and I doubt there is any force on Earth that could arrest The General. Make sure you do your research better next time.¡±


    Then the three cops walked away while being berated and cursed at by Abbey¡¯s dad. The crowd also dispersed, except for the two thugs. They approached Joseph.


    ¡°Um, sir. Sorry to bother you, but do you think you could take us on? We¡¯re willing to get a bit dirty, if you know what I mean,¡± one asked Joseph.


    Joseph thought for a moment and then nodded. It might be nice to have some tough looking underlings. This time his offer of a hotdog wasn¡¯t turned down.


    ¡°Just leave your numbers with my assistant Randall, I¡¯ll let you know when we can bring you in for some training.¡±

 CH 77: End of the Party

    CHAPTER 77: End of the Party


    When it was just after 1pm, and Adam had finished eating another meal, he saw Detective Ron Baker heading his way with a woman. The woman looked a little older than Ron, with heavy makeup and lots of hair styling. She was trim and had fashionable clothes with a large fancy purse.


    Ron, who normally wore low quality suits, now had a suit with superior material. Adam wondered if it had been made from materials within the Rift, as it gave off a pleasant shimmer. The suit was a light gray with a white shirt and blue and gray diagonally striped tie. He also wore a Sentinel¡¯s chest protector, which looked a bit funny with the tie, but not too bad. There was no sword or knife at his belt.


    The woman was very handsy with Ron, and before he came up on stage, she stopped him. First, she straightened his tie, jacket, and chest protector. Then she looked at his face while thinking, went into her purse, and pulled out some wipes and a bottle of some liquid. She wiped parts of his face and applied the liquid. Then she kissed him on the cheek and slapped him on the butt to get him moving.


    Ron frowned petulantly, like an embarrassed kid being sent to play with friends by his mom.


    ¡°Girlfriend?¡± asked Adam with a smirk.


    Ron stopped dead and stared at Adam, looking for some answer in his face. After a long silence he got a bit closer.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know who that woman is?¡± Ron asked with disbelief.


    ¡°No. Should I?¡±


    Ron let out a big sigh. ¡°Seriously, Adam. That¡¯s Alissa¡¯s mom.¡±


    ¡°Wow, she¡¯s young looking. Seems a bit older than you though.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t talk about a woman¡¯s age ever, Adam. You haven¡¯t met one of your girlfriends¡¯ mother?¡±


    Adam thought for a minute. He had talked with Brittney¡¯s parent and met her brothers, who he could see boisterously waiting their turn for a nearby fighting ring. Andrea¡¯s family had been a rough time. Abbey only had her dad, and he hadn¡¯t seen the man. Guess he had forgotten about Alissa¡¯s mother since she didn¡¯t live at home.


    ¡°Guess not. Things have been chaotic. I thought they were on the outs. Why was she with you?¡±


    Ron shook his head. ¡°It turns out Alissa ended her mom¡¯s relationship with her previous boyfriend. Alissa didn¡¯t kill him. She just crippled his manhood. Then Alissa set her up with a condo across from mine. Thanks for the place, by the way.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome. It¡¯s the least I could do for all your hard work,¡± Adam said honestly.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s still more than other people would have done. Anyway, the woman walked into my place and just started talking to me. She even rearranged it. She keeps inviting herself over for dinner. I caught her and Alissa in my bedroom replacing the clothes in my closet.¡±


    ¡°Your suit looks nicer,¡± complimented Adam.


    ¡°It absolutely is nicer. I don¡¯t know what alien material this is made from, but it¡¯s wonderful. That¡¯s not the point though. I¡¯ve seen this before. She¡¯s inserting herself into my life. Can you please talk to Alissa to stop it?¡± Ron begged.


    Now Adam sighed. ¡°I¡¯ll see what I can do.¡± Ron nodded.


    ¡°It¡¯s time for the show. You ready?¡± asked Ron.


    ¡°Yeah, let¡¯s get it done.¡±


    Ron left the stage. Men came and took the tables and chairs away. The rest of his group joined him on stage. Police Chief Orleo, Police Captain Sanchez, and Mayor Jadega also joined him and stood near Colonel Davian. A mic was given to Tom and one to Andrea. The video display switched to a camera pointing at them.


    ¡°Can you start this off, boss?¡± Tom asked with a smile. This was being broadcast to news stations, video displays in the other parks, and livestreamed on various websites.


    Adam roared. He did it loudly. His power carried far. People froze. No matter the level they had reached, terror gripped them.


    When people could move again, all eyes turned to the stage. The power wasn¡¯t broadcast through the video, but the effects caused even the men on the stage, other than the Sentinels, to freeze with terrified expressions.


    Adam stood there casually with the head of his hammer on the stage, hands gipping the top of the handle. He looked imperious in his armor, with his friends standing around him. His presence could be felt by all and even those watching flinched when they saw the intensity in his eyes, what Andea called his Angry Face.


    When the terror began to fade from the people, Andrea raised her arms to the sky and said, ¡°[Lightning Spread]!¡±


    A red flash was all the warning before lightning shot from her fingertips 15 yards into the sky, ending up wider than the stage.


    ¡°Good afternoon, Jackson! Good afternoon, world!¡± greeted Tom. ¡°We are being watching from people all over the planet, by friends and enemies alike. Yes, we are aware that all the invaders are currently tuning in to this broadcast.


    ¡°Let me take a moment to introduce ourselves. I¡¯m called the Illusionary Loyalist, here with the Lightning Queen. On stage with me are Nick the Unseen Death, Carlos the Intrigue Muster, our Huntsman Lamar, Brittney the Shield Maiden, Joseph the Executioner, Randall the Blitz Spear, Lucas our Battlemaster, Elias the Earth Warden, Alissa the Avenging Angel, Brandon the Augment Fulcrum, Abbey the Healing Angel, and Edward the Archivist! Give them all a round of applause.¡±


    Tom paused, followed by cheers and clapping, before he looked back at Adam right as he got a message.


    Enough of your population have recognized the appointments you made to your Sovereign Retinue. The Loyalty tab in your status shows those with Appointment Titles. Both the Sovereign and his Retinue have the ability to know the direction and distance of the other.


    Adam dismissed it and looked at Tom who winked at him. ¡°Tell me their Loyalty stats later, boss,¡± he whispered away from the mic. Then he continued as if it had been a planned pause.


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    ¡°The videos that we¡¯ve posted about our adventures and struggles weren¡¯t made for fun. They were meant to be warnings to the world. Encouragement for the authorities to get out there and hunt down the invaders before they have more power, like we did. We released and spread most of the information we had and invited the army in to learn, grow stronger, and to study the base we captured. Yes, for those who don¡¯t know, we have been living and working out of an extra-dimensional reality bubble we captured called the Rift. And yes, it is as awesome as it sounds!


    ¡°While all our efforts have been to protect our friends, neighbors, and the Earth, not everyone has agreed with it. Unfortunately, we have not seen evidence of any other authority on Earth building defenses or going on the offensive like we have here. In fact, just today our group was forced to subdue black ops teams sent by Senator Colver to capture our leader and steal our base. General Carmichael, the base is in no better hands than our own General¡¯s. Secretary of Defense Mayhew, you are a bit late to request a meeting.¡±


    Colonel Davian¡¯s face grew stonier with each name mentioned.


    Tom turned to look at him and then continued.


    ¡°If you were wondering, no, the patriotic Colonel Davian didn¡¯t share his obstructionist orders with us. This is just how much more powerful the invader tech and [System] skills are. Just look at his face, he¡¯s furious at me right now just for knowing,¡± Tom joked. ¡°Now, while many have plotted again Earth¡¯s hero, Adam the General, and tried to steal from us without properly defending their own people, plenty have come to our aid. We consider all who are standing with us, even if they aren¡¯t fighters, to be members of our Sentinel Army, the protectors of Earth. Let¡¯s hear from the Lightning Queen about them.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Tom,¡± said Andrea with a game show host smile on. ¡°First, I¡¯d like to thank General Gervin for doing what he could to disseminate our information to the world and for sending soldiers to help protect our people of Jackson. We¡¯ll be sure to protect your wife as best we can. Next, to Mayor Jadega and Police Captain Sanchez, thank you for your faith in us and your dedication to the people. These men, and the people under them, have spent the last two weeks ensuring that Jackson will be as safe and prepared as possible come tomorrow. Police Chief Orleo has helped us train and level up his officers so that they will not be left weak when the invaders hit.


    ¡°Next, I would like to mention all the businesses that have put the people before greed by donating money and supplies. These companies are¡­¡± Andrea pulled out a sheet of paper and read through the companies. Then she read through key volunteers.


    Once she was done, Tom picked things back up again.


    ¡°Now that you¡¯ve heard about those doing their best to support our community, I¡¯ll be introducing you to the reason we¡¯re here. He gathered us. Protected and taught us. No one is more determined than he that we survive what¡¯s coming. Here¡¯s a little video I personally put together so you can see his greatness!¡±


    The video displays all switched to images of Adam standing heroically. He swung his sledgehammer. He stood between enemies and his group. He stood over defeated bosses. Adam carried wounded soldiers, while covered in his own blood. There was even one picture of him completely naked while holding one of the Testudinate eggs. That caused some to cat call, while others gasped at his missing arm.


    ¡°That last one was for you ladies,¡± said Tom with a wink. ¡°Now, let me present to you, Adam Clemens, The General!¡±


    There was applause, cheers, and whistles. Those who had worked with him in the base were the loudest. The soldiers that had fought with him were next. Plenty were more polite than enthusiastic, but the noise levels were high.


    Adam stepped forward on the stage. He didn¡¯t take a mic, instead letting Tom point his at Adam.


    ¡°Welcome, everyone,¡± Adam said gently with a smile. ¡°Thank you to those who have supported us. I wanted this celebration for you. To let you know that we appreciate you and to let the world know what you have been doing. Everyone wearing the symbol of the Sentinel Army and keeping the Earth over your heart is a hero to me. Hopefully, in the future even more will join us to wear those symbols.¡±


    Adam looked around as more applause rose. His group on the stage clapped with big smiles as the people watching them. Many hands patted those wearing the chest protectors in the crowds.


    ¡°However, now I need to talk about what¡¯s coming. I haven¡¯t done all this for fame or fortune. We also aren¡¯t doing this for truth, justice, and the American way. The reason my friends and I have been fighting is for survival. We might be grandstanding right now, trying to inspire those watching, however there is a ruthless reality here.¡±


    The video suddenly switched from Adam on the stage to Adam kneeling with a knife through his foot, two of his fingers ripped off, and bleeding from a half dozen severe wounds while a shadow goblin¡¯s arm reached towards him. The crowd gasped. Then it switched to a poor quality still of Adam, from behind, having his neck torn open by a bullet. Now people started retching.


    ¡°It hasn¡¯t been only victories and strength. We¡¯ve had to fight and suffer just to survive the invaders we found.¡±


    Next was an image of Brandon being cut open and everyone screaming. That was followed by slow motion video of the group getting overrun by goblins, falling one by one to cuts, bashes, and broken bones.


    ¡°There have already been sacrifices. Two policemen died and one was crippled trying to protect and serve against the Testudinates.¡±


    Images were shown of the Testudinate charging and knocking them off the cliff and one of the Testudinate that crushed Brett¡¯s legs. Then it showed Adam missing most of his skin and hair, missing his right arm with his left-hand fingers flapping.


    ¡°We need to be an army because we¡¯re at war. You can¡¯t rely on others to fight this battle for you. My group might have started a bit early, but we can¡¯t do this alone. We all need to take part.¡±


    Next, they saw the soldiers bleeding from just the screams of the Feral Behemoths, and the bodies of the two soldiers who died. The display then switched back to Adam on stage, not smiling gently, but looking hard at everyone, his eyes practically on fire.


    ¡°This is the ruthless reality. There will be violence and suffering. There will be sacrifices. We don¡¯t fight for glory or for ourselves but for our family, friends, and neighbors. That is why my friends and I are here. I was an unmotivated teenager last month. Now I¡¯m charging into the danger to keep my mother, father, and sister safe.


    ¡°Tomorrow at 7:30 the invasions open up and we don¡¯t know what¡¯s coming, but based on what my group has experienced already, it¡¯s going to be brutal for those prepared, and deadly to those who aren¡¯t. Thanks to the mayor, police chief, and colonel, Jackson has evacuation and defense plans. Talk to any police officer you see to find out more. My group, as well as those soldiers and volunteers with adequate levels and gear, will be prepared to head out at any report of an invasion in this city.


    ¡°The known enemies can manipulate thoughts. Should we need to mobilize, we won¡¯t have time to deal with people in our way. Keep the roads clear. Be where you need to be before 7:30. Anyone who obstructs us will be swiftly dealt with. Mercy and patience aren¡¯t our calling cards. Action and decisiveness are. Either you are part of the Sentinel Army, fighting to protect the Earth, or you¡¯re an invader sympathizer. And I am here with one goal, to kill the invaders.¡±


    The air around Adam rippled and warped from the heat he was giving off. The stage started bowing and the men without high levels backed away from him. Tom had to move the mic away to keep it from crackling and breaking.


    Adam lifting his war hammer onto his shoulder then put on a cruel smile. The smile of a tyrant and devil.


    ¡°For now, eat, drink, and be merry. Tomorrow comes war.¡±


    Turning from the stunned crowds, Adam walked off the stage, followed by every one of his friends. Tom, with his mischievous smile, tossed the mic to a cameraman who failed to catch it, resulted in a bang through the speakers as it hit the ground.


    When the group had gotten into vehicles and left the area, chaos erupted. People shouted. Answers were demanded. Crying and whimpering could be heard.


    In rooms across the world, governments had watched. Army leaders and strategists had been in teleconferences. Scholars and experts reviewed what they thought they knew. Everyone had wanted to see what the debated kids responsible for the videos had to say. Orders were drawn up, phones were dialed, arguments broke out.


    However, a moment later silence once more filled the world as every person in it received the same message, as if the [System] was working together with Adam.


    The [System] has provided you with time to prepare and is no longer able to hold the invasions back. Soon the Dimensional Convergence Rifts will merge with your world and their armies will pour out. The [System] encourages you and desires your people¡¯s survival.


    Time until invasion: 14:58:24


    Throughout the world, the only sound any person made was Tom laughing.

 CH 78: Invasion Day

    CHAPTER 78: Invasion Day


    Adam woke in his bed. The clock said 6am. He groaned from having to wake early. There was still plenty of time to get ready though he didn¡¯t want to be late. It would be a big day.


    He didn¡¯t want to be early either. That might worry the crowds further. Better to seem like any other day, even though it wasn¡¯t any other day.


    Movement around him caused him to reach for his connections. Four connections, each had a bit of excitement and satisfaction in waking with him. Abbey was feeling the happiest, Brittney a bit excited and impatient to get to the invasion, Andrea wanted to be playful and try to prevent him from getting up, and Alissa¡­well, she wanted to get to business.


    They each wore their own sleeping clothes. Adam slept in gym shorts and boxers. Abbey slept in a nightgown type dress. Brittney was in her usual cutesy shirt and pant pajamas, though the print on these was a caricature of a super deformed Adam fighting a super deformed goblin. Andrea slept in a long shirt while Alissa only had on underwear, and that was to be respectful of the other girls.


    As everyone stirred, a delicious smell wafted through the air. Adam smiled at everyone and then climbed over Andrea and Alissa to get out of the huge bed. While Adam stretched, the girls slowly got themselves up. They didn¡¯t usually sleep in the same bed as him, but they didn¡¯t know how much time they would have together after the invasions hit. The five had stayed up late talking and cuddling to enjoy their time.


    Adam was surprised when he came out of his room. Sometimes his mother came by and made him breakfast. She missed him and was having trouble dealing with all the changes since the [System] arrived, yet she still wanted to support him. It always amused him when his mom would look at the girls unsure of whether she should show disapproval for their relationships, or support because she liked each of the girls individually.


    However, this morning the breakfast was not being cooked by his mom, but by Elouise, with a bodyguard soldier actively helping set the table. His dining table, large enough to fit 10 people, was filled with pancake, waffles, French toast, eggs of different kinds, three kinds of sausage, loose, linked, and patties, as well as pitchers of orange, apple, and papaya juice.


    ¡°Can anyone just walk into my penthouse? I¡¯d better talk to the doorman,¡± Adam joked as the girls filed out behind him.


    Elouise put on a grandmotherly smile without raising her head from the pan she was using. ¡°If you don¡¯t want this food then I¡¯ll give it to the people outside. With how much you eat I¡¯m sure it¡¯ll fill more of their bellies.¡±


    Adam sat in a chair in the middle of the table. Abbey and Alissa sat next to him, with Brittney taking the table¡¯s end seat and Andrea sitting across from him. While everyone started grabbing food, Adam brought up a Rift Menu window that only he could see and panned it around the base.


    There were thousands of people down there waiting. They grouped, and chatted, but most waited in nervous silence. Families huddled together and some kids, unable to understand the mood, were playing in the tree forts. Soldiers stood ready in designated spots, with hundreds waiting by the Rift door, ready to leave should they be needed.


    Barely responding to the breakfast conversations, or Elouise and her soldier joining them to eat, Adam continued to focus on the window while shoving food into his mouth. Everyone was staring at him when his hand found only empty serving dishes.


    ¡°Oh, sorry. I was looking over the base. There¡¯re a lot of people down there and most are crazy nervous,¡± Adam said with embarrassment. ¡°Thanks for the breakfast, Elouise. It was delicious.¡±


    ¡°As if you even tasted it the way you were distracted,¡± she teased. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you aren¡¯t the first general I¡¯ve cooked for before an intense day started. You and your cute wives have a long day ahead.¡± Elouise took satisfaction at the blush of the girls when they were called wives. ¡°You¡¯d best all get dressed. The people will find more confidence with you there, Adam.¡±


    Adam wore the same outfit as the day before except without the chain mail cloak. It was just before 7am that he exited the building. As the automatic door slid open, all eyes turned towards him. He looked around and found that his friends were spread out, each doing their own thing.


    Randall and Joseph were messing around with a group of teens from school. The two were teasing the guys and flirting with the girls. Everyone was nervous and some were intimidated by the pair¡¯s armor. The two were oblivious, not picking up on it at all.


    Elias was in one of the numerous chairs set up by the Rift entrance reading a book. Brandon was with the Rhodes and Hutchins families, being teased by Brittney¡¯s brothers while being defended by Tom¡¯s sisters. Both Mrs. Rhodes and Mrs. Hutchins were mothering him, brushing his hair and checking that his equipment was fastened correctly, while the husbands watched with amusement. Brandon didn¡¯t seem to mind any of it, since even though he didn¡¯t have a strength build his Strength stat was at 22, high enough to handle Brittney¡¯s rowdy brothers. He also seemed to enjoy the fussing of the mothers and sisters, enjoying family connections he had never had.


    Ed was at a communications table, filled with computers, laptops, and devices. Numerous techs and operators were surrounding him and watching while he operated three Rift Menu displays at a speed that put their computers to shame. He was checking videos from the day before, while editing them and posting them on the website. Even if there was little chance the internet continued after today, Ed was true to his hobby.


    Nick seemed to be checking with his family, and extended family, who had traveled here for the safety. Carlos was hanging around Emily and her friends. Emily seemed to want nothing to do with anyone wearing the Sentinels logo and the Earth, so she furiously ignored Carlos.


    Lamar was by the entrance checking over supplies. He and his dad were going through canteens, quivers of arrows, testing out bows, ensuring they were full on MREs, and checking first aid kits. Definitely a preparedness family.


    Not surprisingly the weirdest was Tom, who was by the side of the building holding hands with a beefy woman that Adam recognized from MMA shows. She wasn¡¯t a fighter but a muscular and attractive host from the shows who was in her mid-20s.


    Adam brought up the Rift Menu and checked the condo assignments. Sure enough, Tom had reserved the one across from his unit and the two on either side. Adam just shook his head and headed over to where Lucas was, surrounded by 20 older and grizzled men.


    ¡°You must be Mr. Fenton,¡± Adam said as he approached them. To a man they all stood tall and saluted him.


    ¡°Yes, General,¡± answered Lucas¡¯s dad.


    ¡°I was glad to hear that you and Lucas worked things out. I¡¯m also proud that you and your distinguished squad were willing to join our Sentinel Army. We¡¯re the better for having you with us.¡±


    ¡°Sir!¡± all the men answered.


    ¡°Are you sure the new suite we made for you by the barracks is enough space? We can give you each your own units if you¡¯d prefer.¡±


    ¡°No, sir. What you gave us is generous enough. It¡¯s nice to all be together again,¡± said Mr. Fenton, while the other men echoed his thoughts. ¡°Thank you for your consideration.¡±


    ¡°If it¡¯s enough then that¡¯s fine. It¡¯s ok to change your mind in the future. Just talk to Lucas about it and we can have it remodeled. However, I heard the story of the picture you gave to Lucas; the only picture of the two of you,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°Yes, sir. It was the most meaningful reminder of my son that I ever had. I hope it will keep him safe when he is out in the field.¡± The words sounded harsh and emotionless, but Adam could detect enough affection in them.


    ¡°I hope it does too. However, as a housewarming gift I got something for you and your unit.¡±


    The men squirmed and shifted around, not expecting anything and being unused to receiving gifts. Adam handed a small picture frame to Mr. Fenton. Inside was the same picture as in the photo he had given to Lucas, except it looked brand new with no folding lines or worn bits. The man choked up as he saw it.


    ¡°H-how did you get this?¡± Mr. Fenton stammered, showing genuine emotions. The other men began patting his back and congratulating him. Lucas burst out into the biggest grin that Adam had ever seen on him, even bigger than when Adam showed up in the Testudinate world right before they were killed.


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    ¡°Alien technology sure is magical,¡± said Adam without really explaining. Then he handed a larger picture frame to the other men. That one was almost as large as a table. Inside was a scene from when Lucas had been training them and they were attacked by the mutated bobcats. Lucas was in the center spinning his hammer, and all the other men had guns or swords out and were fighting. Even the two men on the ground weren¡¯t cowering but were pulling their knives. The men oohed and aahed over it.


    ¡°Thank you, General,¡± one of the men said while choking up. ¡°This means more to us than we can express.¡±


    Adam nodded to them and then excused himself while they all gathered around to marvel at the action picture which was so impressive it looked choreographed.


    As Adam continued to walk towards the entrance of the rift. People were pushing forward to get closer to him, though they always kept the paths clear. He would casually greet them, wave, or shake hands as he walked. The lack of stress that he showed really seemed to calm nerves wherever he passed. Joseph and Randall pushed through and walked behind him after the high schoolers tried to get closer to him. Lucas joined up as the girls arrived from getting their outfits on. Tom hurried to them, having separated with the woman from before.


    The eight of them arrived at the entrance and the platform that waited for them. It was large enough for around 20 people to stand on without crowding each other too much. There were chairs in front of the platform, one occupied by Elias. The rest of their group sat in the chairs chatting while Adam, Lucas, and Tom climbed the stairs onto the platform.


    When Adam arrived at the platform, the chatting crowds all hushed. Wanting to be a bit theatric for their benefit, Adam waved his hand and 12 massive displays appeared in the air, triggered through Adam¡¯s control over the Rift Menu.


    The displays were news feeds from all over the world. There was the local station that Angeline Victoria was from, reporting from right outside the Rift warehouse. Tens of thousands of people were packed as close as they could get to the Rift Base, with the soldiers walking patrols at the edge of the roads. High camera shots showed army men with sniper rifles and radios, scanning further out in the city.


    There were other news stations from Washington DC, California, China, Canada, the UK, France, Japan, and even Russia. Every station was discussing their preparedness and would rotate between shots of their impressive military forces, overhead shots, and the people gathering. The Russian station frequently posted pictures from the previous day¡¯s stream, criticizing the US government for allowing kids to make a fool of them.


    It was 7:10, and everyone was watching. Twenty minutes to go according to the [System] timer. Time was passing slowly. Few people talked, they just watched the big displays. Tension filled the air. Every now and then someone would move to a different group, or a person would enter the Rift door.


    Adam, Lucas, and Tom didn¡¯t speak, so no one else did either. They waited. The people waited.


    Soldiers were in lines behind and to the sides of the Rift gate, headed by Colonel Davian. Captain Krysti and his higher-level troops were outside the base, ready to deploy. The police were also ready, split into groups between four and eight, made of people between level 5 and 12, though they were further inside the base. Packs of soldiers were spread throughout the base, so they could respond to threats inside and out.


    7:25am. Five minutes to go.


    Someone moved. A group of five soldiers entered the Rift. As if in response, twenty more of the soldiers stepped away from the waiting lines. Everyone¡¯s eyes were on the news displays, ignoring a few troops moving around. Instead of heading for the Rift entrance, the 20 joined the five and they came to stand around the platform and chairs. They were all between level 11 and 14. Each one raised their assault rifles and aimed at one of Adam¡¯s friends. Five came up the stairs onto the platform and aimed at Tom, Lucas, and Adam.


    Adam didn¡¯t look at them. He kept watching the displays. Still the people didn¡¯t notice. A handgun was raised to his temple. The man holding it spoke quietly.


    ¡°Adam Clemens. You are being charged with treason. Turn over control of this base and come with us quietly or you and your accomplices will be shot on the spot.¡±


    The man frowned. He had meant to speak quietly. He was sure he had. Yet his voice had come out everywhere. A collective gasp came out from all the civilians, and some of the soldiers, in the base. The man turned and looked at the displays, all of which were showing him threatening Adam.


    Adam still didn¡¯t move, staring into the air towards the displays. The faces of the people grew angry and frustrated. They began to yell. The various groups of soldiers raised their own rifles and pointed at people with chest protectors pulling their swords.


    The man saw the situation and felt he needed to do more to get control.


    ¡°You have created panic, incited riots, formed an unauthorized army, withheld foreign technology and intelligence from the US government, and taken actions that led to the deaths of US soldiers. You are no hero and the extend of your crimes will be known to all.¡±


    Adam turned his head, but not towards the man or the gun, but the other way to look at Colonel Davian. The Colonel had sweat and shame pouring out of him. A small number of the soldiers around him looked surprised and just as angry as the people. The rest of the soldier had known. They stood confidently at attention, ignoring everything. A few even smiled and snickered.


    The stare Adam leveled at Davian shook the man, though he had the decency to maintain eye contact. A hand on Davian¡¯s shoulder caused him to jump. Elouise was behind him. She looked up at Adam and imperceptibly shook her head. Adam turned away and looked back in the air.


    ¡°Why do you side with the invaders?¡± Adam asked in an even voice, transmitted to the whole base.


    ¡°I¡¯m not with the invaders!¡± the man snapped.


    ¡°You do their work. You betray humanity, the Earth, and your own country.¡±


    ¡°You know nothing, twit! You¡¯re the betrayer!¡± snarled the man, smashing the muzzle of the gun against Adam¡¯s head. Adam didn¡¯t move even a twitch.


    ¡°This is the one sanctuary and base set up on Earth and you threaten to destroy it minutes before the invasion starts.¡±


    Some of the soldiers had the decency to lower their guns and heads, looking slightly ashamed.


    ¡°You should have handed it over from the beginning! This is why you¡¯ll die! You and the other brats! Now give us control of the base or we¡¯ll open fire!¡±


    Voices shouted and grumbled. More swords were drawn. Then a new voice spoke through the air.


    ¡°You won the bet, Adam. I just couldn¡¯t believe they¡¯d assassinate you right before the invasion. I owe you an ice cream¡­truck,¡± said Jordan Lane from the safety of the control room.


    Then reality inside the base shifted. The air rippled all over. The man aiming his gun at Adam pulled the trigger, but it was too late. His gun was fading. It wasn¡¯t disintegrating, or dissolving, it was simply trying to stop existing.


    ¡°[Quick Step]!¡± yelled Tom, appearing between Adam and the man. ¡°[Quick Strike]!¡±


    The man¡¯s head hitting the platform was the loudest sound until his body also fell a moment later. The other soldiers didn¡¯t waste more time as they lifted their assault rifles and opened fire. Weak jets of water came out of the nozzles instead of bullets.


    Only slightly after came the response. Swords and knives were thrust at the soldiers. Clubs were knocking the rifles away. Lucas and Tom jumped from the platform at soldiers around them while Andrea, Elias, and Alissa cast spells.


    Some of the soldiers dropped their weapons and got down to surrender. A few from Colonel Davian¡¯s group raised their own still working guns towards their fellow soldiers. Violence broke out.


    Time until invasion: 00:00:00. The Invasion has begun.


    A scream brought everyone to a halt. The giant screens were back to showing news feeds. The reporters were screaming. Not just one or two, but at least 10, with a background of explosions and people yelling, shouting, and crying. It was instant.


    Helicopters and airplanes were falling from the skies. The pentagon, Tiananmen Square, and The White House in Moscow had all imploded on different feeds. They were drawn into the ground and only the impression of their foundation was left. Other government and military headquarters in countries throughout the world ceased to exist.


    Many types of communications were killed, but in a way that left the news stations able to broadcast. Power stayed up but no one could make phone calls, according to the reporters, many of whom were weeping. Scenes were shown of castles, fortresses, and alien buildings shimmering into existence over highly populated areas.


    Cameras witnessed monsters, both animals and sentients swarming out of those new buildings in waves and slaughtering any humans they encountered. There were thousands per building. Cameras were dropped as reporters and their staff ran for their lives, screaming everywhere.


    For every news broadcast that ended, one in another part of the world would appear showing almost the same scene.


    Inside Adam¡¯s Rift people were dropping to their knees and crying, even some of the soldiers that had turned on them. Shouting arguments between people occurred as they pointed to screens. The only news feed that showed no atrocities was the local one from Jackson. Even the Memphis feed that they checked showed invader bases rippling into existence followed by the slaughter of the people.


    Defensive fortifications and armies had to turn around, having been set to defend from outside threats, unprepared for the enemies to come from behind them. They responded too late as military base after base fell in minutes.


    Adam stood forward and watched the feeds, monitoring even more through unseen Rift Menu displays. A system message had appeared to him as soon as the invasion began.


    You have control of four Dimensional Convergence Rifts. You can now merge one or all of these with the planetary reality. Merging a Dimensional Convergence Rift will alter its capabilities and allow your forces greater offensive actions. Leaving the Dimensional Convergence Rifts in this form will retain the barrier while preventing the majority of non-native forces from leaving them. Once a Dimensional Convergence Rift is merged, it cannot be returned to its dimensional space without being conquered by a native faction. Dimensional Convergence Rifts may be merged at any time from their dimensional space.


    Merge Dimensional Convergence Rift with planetary reality?


    [ Yes / No ]


    Heat blasted out of Adam. Steam hissed out with every breath. The air warped around him and the platform below him ignited.


    CONQUER! His soul roared. The river raged through him. Power enough to kill people that got close was released from his skin, turning it red and crispy. Adam¡¯s consciously struggled to not lose itself to the river.


    CONQUER! The coolness in his mind reached out and grabbed at every other soul that it could find, trying to keep Adam¡¯s mind from being swept away by his hate and fury. The people gasped and tried to back away but couldn¡¯t back away from the soul connections that were formed. The fury hit every single person there.


    ¡°I will kill them all!¡± Adam whispered with all his strength.


    Every person in that base, feeling Adam¡¯s fury through the unplanned connections with him, swore the same as they watched the rest of humanity come to an end.

 CH 79: Adapting

    CHAPTER 79: Adapting


    ¡°Can you see it yet?¡± Brittney shouted over the sound of the motorcycle. The engine was pushing hard to carry the weight of Brittney, Adam, plus their weapons and armor. Many of the bike¡¯s parts, especially the frame, had been replaced by lighter alloys made from Testudinate metal. The tires were also replaced by the same material that Garrett had used on the soles of Adam¡¯s metal footwear. Only Brittney¡¯s and Adam¡¯s bikes needed the treatment as they wore the heaviest equipment.


    ¡°Only the smoke from the fight. It shouldn¡¯t be more than a mile or two ahead, beyond those trees,¡± Adam yelled back.


    The extra weight they were carrying was causing them to ride lower to the ground. As Brittney¡¯s Vitality had increased over the last two months since the invasions began, so had her recklessness. She had become the most thrill seeking of their group, and right now she was frustrated that she couldn¡¯t push the motorcycle harder.


    Even with the necessary limit on their speed, Lucas was still barely able to keep up in his own bike. They had already out distanced the suped up flatbed tow truck that carried the combat unit called the Demolition Men, or Demo Men for short, made up of Lucas¡¯s dad and friends.


    The name had come about due to how destructive they were when they came into a fight. They often smashed everything. Adam knew that those who named them were misunderstanding and demonstrating their own ignorance. When the unit showed up, they immediately tried to create every advantage they could, altering the terrain, creating barriers to hide behind, and causing obstacles for the enemies.


    Adam found their tactics brilliant. He was impressed by how quickly they could identify issues and change the flow of a fight. They never shied away from the hardest fights, and often made them look easy.


    Typically, they could be found following Lucas around, treating him like their commander, although they were quite capable of acting independently. Adam found them to be the most reliable of the combat force besides his own friends. Even the trained army units and free-thinking college students that had joined them couldn¡¯t think or react as quickly as Mr. Fenton¡¯s crew. There was plenty of contention between units, and Davian said it was good to have, but no one messed with the Demo Men.


    Right now, Adam was trying to get to an invader base assault as fast as possible. 500 men were already there and fighting up Rt 40 towards South Hampton, on the outskirts of Nashville. It took days to adequately prepare for an assault. The enemy bases were currently impossible to covertly infiltrate due to the power that the former Dimension Convergence Rifts gave them.


    Either Adam¡¯s scouts would need some type of presence blocking equipment that they had no access to, or they would need to gain several Tiers in their class evolutions, at least to Tier 4. Nick had the highest stealth class and even at Tier 2 he wasn¡¯t close to becoming fully invisible or able to hide from the base monitoring.


    Dimensional Convergence Rifts that merged with the planetary reality had really crazy capabilities. To scout them without being able to hide from the base monitoring, they pretty much needed entire groups of scouts along with protectors to keep them safe. Both needed quick escape capabilities while having to stay at least a mile outside the bases. All the intel then came from direct sight.


    They had tried drones, cameras with telescopic lenses, and getting physically closer, but nothing worked. It only resulted in their loss of equipment or men. They would have to visually scout different sides at the same time with multiple groups to get a basic understanding of the base, having to retreat as soon as they were found. If they hadn¡¯t gotten enough information, then they would try to re-enter from another angle, but even that was only possible if they were able to lose their pursuers. Sometimes it felt like they were cavemen fighting in WWI.


    What made this scouting even worse was that all it took was a simple visual obstruction and they would gain no intel. They knew where quite a few bases were located, but most of them had some physical defense that prevented the Sentinel Army from even seeing what the invaders in that base looked like, let alone their capabilities and levels.


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    The ground under Brittney and Adam suddenly changed as they sped along the highway. It went from the black of asphalt, with railing and trees, to a black of ash. There were thick red lines flowing from the center of the street, looking like lava flows while radiating heat. Brittney growled at the unexpected temperature change, but they could now see their forces straight ahead.


    Adam, Brittney, and Lucas should have been with the main forces. When the entire force had been on the way to the raid, two weeks to plan, they had received an emergency radio call. One of their exploration parties, which the Sentinel Army sent out to find humans or resources, had arrived in the small town on White Bluff. There they had found an invader hunting party attacking it. There was no invader base nearby, but the residents couldn¡¯t hold out long against the invader raiding party, even with the support of the exploration group.


    Not wanting to lose out on all their plans for the South Hampton base assault, Adam left Nick in charge of the assault, while these three and the Demo Men headed to White Bluff. Adam radioed Jackson to send a few evacuation and combat units, knowing Jackson was further from White Bluff than Adam was. Especially at the speed Adam could drive.


    A short skirmish was all it took once Adam¡¯s group arrived to kill the 20-person invader raiding group. He even made sure as many people from White Bluff leveled up using the incapacitated aliens. The crowds there had a lot less resistance to stabbing these invaders, as the people had suffered quite a few casualties before the Sentinel Army had arrived.


    Adam had the Demo Men set up short term defenses in case they were found by invaders while White Bluff waited for the evacuation parties from Jackson. It hadn¡¯t been a lengthy distraction, but it was enough to separate Adam from his raid army for longer than he liked.


    Nick had been given instructions to withdraw from South Hampton if it looked daunting. Survival trumped getting more Rifts. Every death further whittled down humanity.


    ***


    The base they were currently arriving at looked inspired by a volcano. There was a large mound in the middle, steam rising from all sides of it. The fake lava flows came out of tunnels in the mound, next to walkways that their enemies used to go in and out. The rest of the ground was devoid of vegetation, covered completely by black ash, some of which floated in the air while lighting up like burning flecks.


    Adam¡¯s forces were spread out. Archers and mages in the back, with warriors and protectors creating lines. Most of the archers weren¡¯t holding their bows, instead running into the combat areas and pulling out the injured, taking them to where healers were working. Their agility allowed them to move in and out without taking hits themselves, but it didn¡¯t bode well that one fifth of their force had given up on fighting. Lamar stayed in the back with a radio and was directing the archers where to go for the injured.


    The enemies were short humanoids. They had dark gray skin with fire red eyes. Almost all their skin was covered by clumpy black rock armor that looked like obsidian. As Adam watched a few from the Sentinel Army, he saw that their own weapons, mostly made from the Testudinate metal, were only slightly stronger than the black rock armor the invaders wore. If they could get all those armors and have crafters reshape them, then it would allow them to restock their dwindling weapon material supplies.


    Adam pointed towards Lamar for Brittney to drive to. Their forces in the back looked up scared when they heard the noise of the motorcycle, but then they calmed as they realized who it was. Brittney cut the motorcycle and hopped off as they arrived.


    ¡°Situation?¡± Adam asked quickly, knowing that his 500 men were not currently the match for the two thousand invaders he saw trying to surround them on the battlefield.


    ¡°Hi, Adam. Thanks for coming,¡± greeted Lamar, with a tag of ¡°Hunter [30]¡±. ¡°Only a handful of deaths on our side so far. Abbey¡¯s skills [Get Up!] and [Walk it Off] are bringing out the injured before they¡¯re fully dead, letting them make it to healers. The enemies are slow but tough. Less dangerous than the Testudinates, but nearly as hard to kill. Archers couldn¡¯t penetrate their armor, so we¡¯re helping the healers.


    ¡°Nick didn¡¯t want to pull back. They have hundreds of humans in trenches being cooked alive. You can feel the air. It isn¡¯t hot enough to kill, but it¡¯ll make the people suffer,¡± said Lamar with a scowl. They had all been exposed to horrors since the [System] came, and some were adapting better than others. ¡°Nick thinks we can win a protracted fight without significant casualties and the other unit heads agreed, so we pushed forward. Now that you¡¯re here it¡¯ll be an XP frenzy.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the confidence there,¡± said Adam with a wry smile, ¡°but I won¡¯t always be here, or as overpowered as I¡¯ve been.¡±


    ¡°The Sentinel betting pools say otherwise. The invaders are mostly level 12-15 in their first class, Tier 1, while their elites have evolved classes in Tier 2, around levels 6 through 9. We haven¡¯t seen the leader yet.¡±


    Adam nodded. ¡°Brittney, Lucas, I¡¯ll lead the way then you get our forces to drive through them with a wedge. Try to turn their attention so the ranged and support can get some kills in as well.¡±


    ¡°Right,¡± agreed Brittney grimly, while hefting her shining shield. ¡°The usual.¡±

 CH 80: Captives

    CHAPTER 80: Captives


    This was the sixth invader base they had assaulted since the invasions began, and the assaults had gotten more orderly as their fighters understood how different it was from Earth wars. It had also been surprising to find that the invader bases were centralized in larger cities. Smaller towns and the countryside were safe from bases, though not from invader squads that roamed to capture and kill the humans.


    It was a surprise to Adam that the low population Jackson even had four bases within it. He wondered if the Testudinate and Terrenidon bases had been set up later as traps for Adam and his group. The Goblins and Elves could have cleared out the city by themselves without Adam''s interference.


    Except for the initial slaughter of humans when the bases appeared on invasion day, the invaders seemed more interested in fighting each other. Everyone wanted the XP, and humans had the least of it. Killing level 0s gave barely any XP.


    Adam turned toward Lucas. ¡°Can I get a boost?¡±


    Lucas nodded and pulled back his war hammer like he was doing a golf swing. Halfway through Lucas¡¯s swing using 125 points of Strength, Adam stepped on the head. He then leapt off when it reached the swing¡¯s height. Adam and Lucas¡¯s combined power flung Adam high and forward, soaring over hundreds of people.


    A few people pointed to the air and shouted. Then a roaring cheer filled the air. Adam answered it by using [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] to teleport to the middle of the enemy front lines. There was no red flash of skills activating since Adam wasn¡¯t technically using a skill. That was simply what his teleport step had been called in the foreign memory he had, where it had been a skill instead of his memory of one. The head of his heavy war hammer glowed with [Kinetic Impact], the pseudo-skill he had learned to break into the Testudinate dimension, as he swung it sideways at one of the larger enemies.


    The invader¡¯s armor shattered, and the creature was flung backwards. Thanks to the power of [Kinetic Impact], anything hit by it would transfer half the force of the previous impact upon what it collided with, chaining up to four times before the power dissipated. That turned the invader Adam struck into a pinball, knocking around those he hit with half of Adam¡¯s power, who were then also thrown back to hit others with half of that power. Even if the strikes only lasted for four chains, dozens were hit and thrown off their feet, tripping up dozens more trying to attack the humans.


    Before the first invader had even collided with others, Adam roared with [Incapacitating Shout], freezing all the invaders that could hear it, which was hundreds. His own forces, immune to his [Incapacitating Shout] after hearing it so much, rushed forward with their own roar.


    Their blades stabbed into the stunned invaders through the openings in their helmets. Protectors knocked back the ones that recovered early, throwing them and the ones behind off balance. Even the support classes ran forward with clubs to make sure they got their share of XP.


    Labesatis ¡°Blocker [14]¡± slain. 352 shared XP gained.


    Through it all Adam swung his hammer, using [Kinetic Impact] to knock them all around instead of outright killing them all. Better to save their XP for people who could use it. The humans became a divot, with Adam as the point, pushing into the enemy forces and slaughtering them.


    Adam wasn¡¯t doing all the work himself, but his efforts destabilized the enemies enough for others to keep it moving. By the time he had forced his way through the mass of invaders and came to an open area, about one third of them had been killed, with the horde split in half and shaken.


    Seeing Adam come out of the throngs of Labesatis, one of them shouted in an indecipherable language. With its level at 9, it was one of the stronger Tier 2. The invader didn¡¯t even reach Adam as a squiggly knife slid into the back of its neck, between its rock armor and helmet.


    ¡°I know this sounds like complaining, Adam,¡± said Nick as he stepped around the corpse, ¡°but you make this too easy.¡±


    Adam looked at Nick¡¯s tag ¡°Unseen Striker [30]¡±. His whole group had been leveling and getting stronger over the last two months as they sought out more invaders to fight.


    ¡°Soon you guys will be doing that too,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°I sure hope so,¡± nodded Nick. He looked back to check the rest of the fighting.


    It seemed like the humans had it in hand now as they were pressing from the inside of the Labesatis mass to the outside. The healers were spread out among the groups fighting, able to deliver heals as soon as injuries were taken.


    Brittney, class of ¡°Shield Maiden [30],¡± was practically controlling an entire side by using her skills [Steady Ally] and [By Your Side] to boost morale and vitality of those fighting near her. They attacked with an enhanced zeal while becoming more difficult to hurt.


    Lucas and the Demo Men were on the other side pushing forward with Lucas taking the point while his dad and ¡°uncles¡± would hit fast then back up, keeping the enemies off guard. Tom, Randall, and Joseph had their own units that they led. Tom¡¯s unit was deceptive, shifting formations and swapping enemies so they wouldn¡¯t get pinned down. Through the battle, Tom, with the ¡°Persuasive Sword [30]¡± class, would constantly talk, his words carrying the skills [Baffle] and [Turn Away] to confuse his enemies while [Illusion Strike] made them see his attacks from the wrong place.


    Randall, ¡°Volt Spear [32],¡± and his unit relied on the length of their spears to keep from taking damage. Being an electric spearman with an Agility of 93, Randall moved around quicker than the rest using his [Flash Foot] skill, then incapacitated foes with [Shock Lance] to spread around the XP and stay in control of the fight.


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    Joseph¡¯s ¡°Reaper [30]¡± class was entirely built on strength. He was the slowest moving of Adam¡¯s group, swinging a modified spear, with a handle two thirds shorter than a normal spear and a head twice as wide and long making up for the length missing from the handle.


    He used such force that it cut and smashed everything. His power was difficult to block and his skills [Deadly Penetration] and [Under the Seam] allowed the blade to cut through shields and armor without dulling. He did almost twice as much damage when he aimed for a head due to his passive skill [Headhunt].


    Joseph had the quirkiest unit out of Adam¡¯s friends. The people following him had all kinds of weapons and there was no formation or strategies. They just attacked from behind Joseph, while his high Vitality and quality armor kept him relatively uninjured.


    Elias, ¡°Earth Mage [30],¡± oversaw most of the mages, though he rarely spoke. He would point and insult when people were out of position or using the wrong spells. Sometimes he would surprise his own people by using [Raise Earth] to give them better angles to prevent friendly fire, or he¡¯d cast [Landslide] to move friends or enemies to where he thought they should be positioned.


    Brandon, ¡°Enhancer [28],¡± moved around with Abbey, ¡°Medic [30],¡± buffing her physical stats so she could move around the battlefield with less chances of injury. It also allowed him to cast strength and agility buffs on the front lines.


    Andrea, ¡°Volt Mage [32],¡± and Alissa, ¡°Crushing Cherub [29],¡± weren¡¯t content to only oversee mages. They had taken on girls and women, as well as men who had trouble being in the traditional units and formed them into parties with all sorts. They worked with warriors, protectors, mages, and supports, roaming the battlefields with them. Alissa¡¯s class came from her Avenging Angel title. So far, it focused on using magic to take and give life while buffing her own Strength and Vitality with magic power. She was a bruiser, healer, and mage all in one.


    The giant bodybuilder soldier named Karen worshipped them as idols and was the protector and mother hen of the whole group. Karen didn¡¯t let anyone harass or pressure the girls or guys. What idiot would be sexist or homophobic when the woman had the Strength stat to easily punch through a rock wall, even if she dressed in a less fancy version of Brittney¡¯s cutesy skirt armor. Adam knew he could take her hit but still wouldn¡¯t criticize her choice of clothing to her face.


    ¡°This way, Adam,¡± said Nick. He flashed red as skills activated and then became less noticeable as he used [Dim Presence] and [Mask Signs]. Adam was still able to follow him, but it was difficult, even when looking right at him.


    They followed one of the red lava-like lines into the ash covered mount, walking on a pathway next to it. The tunnels were smoothly shaped and rectangular, making it obvious they were artificial. It was only a short distance before they came out in a chamber.


    The chamber was four times the size of a basketball court. In the center was a hole in the ground that had troughs cut into it like spokes on a wheel, leading to the edges of the room. The bottom of the troughs had the red lines that produces the sweltering heat.


    Every inch of the trough walls had naked people attached to them, hanging above the heat. They were gasping and burned all over. The people were all ages, indiscriminate as young and old struggled to breath, though he did notice some hadn¡¯t survived the treatment. It was also obvious that most were delirious and dehydrated.


    Adam¡¯s blood boiled. The river that represented his power, fueled by anger and hatred, rushed through him threatening to take his consciousness with it. A red flash happened when Adam used his only real skill [Soul and Body Shaping] to draw on the strength without losing control over his mind. Nick jumped at the flash, since Adam had kept the skill a secret.


    The flash was enough to catch the attention of two Labesatis on the far side of the cavern. The first one was twice the size of the ones outside and had ¡°Lava Spewer [25]¡± as his class. The second one was a little smaller and had a class of ¡°Rock Smelter [23].¡±


    Before Nick could head there, Adam jumped over the trenches of people. [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] put him right in front of the Lava Spewer. [Kinetic Impact] allowed Adam¡¯s hammer to knock him into the Rock Smelter before he could open his mouth or use a skill. The Rock Smelter flew towards Nick, not even knowing the stealther was there.


    A knife and a short sword penetrated the invader¡¯s neck as Nick used all his attack skills, [Unseen Blow+5], [Target Weakness+5], and [Deadly Blow+5]. Hot and thick blood scarred Nick¡¯s weapons, but as he ripped them out of the enemy the death message came up.


    Labesatis ¡°Rock Smelter [23]¡± slain. 5,239 shared XP has been gained.


    The Lava Spewer didn¡¯t last any longer as Adam had already dropped his hammer and was driving the invader¡¯s face through his head and into the rock wall he had slammed into. In Adam¡¯s rage he kept punching long after he had gotten the kill message.


    Labesatis ¡°Lava Spewer [25]¡± slain. 13,152 XP has been gained.


    Nick waited as Adam snarled while he kept punching what used to be the corpse¡¯s head. When Adam seemed to be slowing down, Nick placed his hand on Adam¡¯s shoulder. The depth of the sadness carried in Adam¡¯s eyes as he blankly looked at Nick made Nick want to comfort his friend. It almost broke his heart. But Nick knew his best friend, and he knew what Adam wanted.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go get the others so we can get these people down and healed,¡± Nick said. Adam nodded to him and then let the corpse drop.


    While Nick left, Adam went to the nearby chair and picked up a small brown crystal. He then put his hand on a three feet tall crystal pillar that was between the chairs.


    Owner of Dimensional Convergence Rift has died¡­


    Inheritor of Dimensional Convergence Rift has died¡­


    ¡­no new Inheritor found. Ownership presented to possessor of Control Node.


    Would you like to take Ownership of this Dimensional Convergence Rift?


    [ Yes / No ]


    Adam quickly selected Yes.


    Ownership of Dimensional Convergence Rift has been taken by a native. Invasion ended.


    ¡­All natives included in Dimensional Convergence Rift will receive the title ¡°Invasion Conqueror¡±.


    Invasion Conqueror


    For defeating an enemy of your planet and preventing their rampage from continuing you will receive +2 to all stats. Claiming more Dimensional Convergence Rifts will increase this title.


    This dimensional layer has been merged with the planetary reality. For an energy penalty within the next planetary day, you may uncouple this dimensional layer from the planetary reality returning it to a Dimensional Convergence Rift.


    Would you like to decouple dimensional layer?


    [ Yes / No ]


    Adam skipped that part and used the Rift Menu to reshape the room. He got rid of the red heat lines and lowered the temperature. Then he reshaped the troughs, making them slant outwards on the top so people wouldn¡¯t hit each other as he raised the ground in between, placing them on flat land. He wasn¡¯t sure what they were tied with but there were enough of his forces rushing in that he left it to them.


    Lamar had been right. There were over 700 captives in the room. This would take a while for the healing and transports. Adam shook his head. Some days just didn¡¯t end well.

 CH 81: Jackson

    CHAPTER 81: Jackson


    All night and part of the next day had gone by before Adam was able to join the last of the humans heading back towards Jackson. He had also decoupled the dimensional layer, returning all that ashy ground to a black bubble the size of a shed, protected by a barrier. The land where the dimensional layer had occupied just became flat, dead land. Adam was sure grass would grow on it again, but all the buildings and concrete in about a 2-mile radius were completely gone.


    Every Labesatis corpse, their armor, and other materials had been placed in the Rift. The combatants seemed fine with leaving the loot, knowing that the Jackson base would use the materials to create better gear for their combatants. His own base would be able to use its Rift Menu to transfer materials and absorb the organic substances for additional power over their rift network, now ten Rifts connected.


    Adam laid back on the top of a slow U-Haul truck along with Andrea and Alissa. They could feel his distress and fatigue through the soul connections they shared. Even with the heavy emotions after this assault, they felt closely connected.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to have my mom cut your hair when we get back,¡± said Alissa as she rubbed his hair while leaning on his right shoulder. Andrea¡¯s head was resting in his lap as she looked at the sky. The three chatted idly and talked as much as possible with the wind blowing in their ears during the trip. Otherwise, they just took comfort in each other¡¯s presence over the three-hour drive.


    The inside of the moving truck, and the two in front of them, were crammed full of the women that operated under Andrea and Alissa. Karen was enjoying Adam¡¯s reinforced motorcycle. Though Karen was extremely protective of all the women, including Andrea and Alissa, when Adam came around, she would give a crisp salute before excusing herself so Adam could be with The General¡¯s Wives.


    Even though Adam hadn¡¯t directly organized the search for functional vehicles in the area or gathering clothes, food, and water for the survivors, his presence and approval was always necessary. Adam was in charge. No one from Jackson questioned it. If something went wrong, Adam was the safety plan. Adam would do his job and leave other tasks to those more capable, though he had to be kept in the loop at all times.


    Still, most of the water and food for the rescued survivors had come from the assault group¡¯s supplies and had barely been the basics for these survivors. Most of them were still naked, thirsty, and hungry in the cold, late November temperatures as they traveled to Jackson. The healers should be enough to keep anyone from dying during the trip.


    Back at Jackson there were procedures and personnel dedicated to incorporating the people they found. He knew his mom and Mrs. Rhodes had worked with the former mayor¡¯s office and the police chief to organize health checks, debriefings, and assigning people to camps while living space was prepared. Buildings that still stood needed to be altered to make them livable. It would be a bit hectic for the personnel, with almost 4,000 coming in from White Bluff, and then the 700+ survivors from South Hampton.


    The South Hampton people were more mentally traumatized than any other group they had found so far. They were also the only ones to survive the invaders among those the Sentinel Army had found in bases. He would need to walk through the various camps and talk with the people over the next few days to get a feel for them and to try giving confidence. He wouldn¡¯t be able to use his connections to help the people, but maybe his presence would bring them some comfort. Pre-invasion Adam had been all over the news and internet, practically a celebrity, and most of the new people had seen him leading their rescuers, so his presence often calmed them down and made them feel welcome.


    After the invasions began, the Sentinel Army and residents of Jackson had been surprised at how many humans were still out there. In the last two months, they had found at least 50,000 people who hadn¡¯t even encountered invaders.


    When the people in Jackson, including those in the Rift base, had been watching the news feeds of the invaders appearing, they expected hordes of monsters and aliens to come descending on them at any time. All over the world news stations had broadcast the slaughter of humans and then the feeds ended. Jackson expected the same for itself, even if they felt some reassurance in the Sentinel Army¡¯s presence.


    For five days after the invasions began everyone had waited. People were passing out from lack of sleep. Everyone stayed in their evacuation locations. The US Army soldiers, local police, and the Sentinel Army members all patrolled and waited. Adam and his group rotated time for sleep, camping by the Rift exit for when they were needed. Yet nothing happened.


    Panic almost set in from that waiting. The mental strain was all but debilitating. No one wanted to let down their guard only for that to be the time when the attacks came. Instead of feeling safer without being attacked, people started to expect the worst. That was until Jordan Lane, Colonel Davian, and a college student named Jake brought up a likely reason.


    The invaders wanted to starve Adam and his group. In a world where killing meant becoming stronger, the best way to weaken a group was to not fight them. Adam¡¯s group contained the strongest humans because they had previously fought so many invaders.


    The police who had joined in early, and the soldiers who raided the Terrenidons, were the next strongest. Everyone else felt it was slow going as they had to rely on the XP from killing the wildlife. While the beasts propagated quickly, they started at lower levels.


    To confirm the situation, patrols had been sent out. They stayed close to Jackson at first, with plenty of reinforcements ready to support. Then they ranged wider. Only occasional invader hunting parties were found, and then only rarely. All the smaller towns near Jackson, such as Huntingdon, Trenton, and Henderson had suffered no attacks. Brownsville had one invader base, which the Sentinel Army quickly captured. Electricity and communications were down in most locations, and food was dwindling outside of Jackson, but everyone within the city was still mostly healthy.


    Those places were all evacuated to Jackson. Jackson grew. The wildlife hunts to get XP increased. Scouts roamed further until they were able to locate the invader bases, now dimensional layers merged with the Earth.


    Adam merged his primary Rift with Earth and was surprised it provided an area with a 3-mile radius from the Sentinel Army¡¯s building and statue. It was a lot more territory than any of the other invader bases they found and was desperately needed.


    Merging his Rift with the Earth¡¯s reality opened a lot of new features of the Rift Menu. 70% of the menu was still in a language that they were failing to decrypt, but what they did understand was supremely useful. The ability to break down materials and rebuild them within the territory had given them access to more living space, better tools, and near magical technology, though they still couldn¡¯t afford to buy much from the Rift Store.


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    ***


    When the moving truck came within range of the checkpoints leading to the center of the city, Adam stood on the truck so the soldiers and people would see him. They all saluted with some cheering as he came through. He was a victorious conqueror, a hero who rescued the people, even if he was riding on the top of a U-Haul.


    He spent 25 minutes standing on top of the truck as they drove the final seven miles to the Sentinel Army¡¯s building. Many new buildings had been added since they merged the Rift with Earth. Living space for those with important jobs needed to be added. Garages for maintaining the vehicles had been placed. Most of the warehouses had been shifted towards the borders of their territory so it was faster to get food and supplies to those living outside the borders.


    They also found that they needed to transplant a lot of the buildings away from the Sentinel Army¡¯s high-rise. The plaza in front had become a gathering spot, and when organizing large expeditions or assaults the space was needed. There was also one other reason they needed that space open.


    Thousands of people were already in the plaza, knowing what came after fighting. They stood there expectantly, giving enough space for the vehicle, and watching Adam¡¯s truck pull around the statue. Adam waited until all the people inside the truck had exited and taken their places with the crowds. Everyone from the assault was there. All the Sentinel Army members, soldiers, and long involved civilians who weren¡¯t doing a critical job were waiting. Families gathered and huddled together, rejoicing in their wholeness.


    Finally, Adam jumped off the truck. He didn¡¯t speak or even acknowledge the crowd. The mood was quiet and respectful. Striding to walls of stone, he pulled out a sharp dagger and started to scratch names.


    This had become a tradition. With so many people in the combat units, no one could guess how Adam always knew the names of the fallen. He just did. To most people, that was Adam.


    Under the words ¡°Earth¡¯s Heroes¡± and into the growing list Adam scratched more names.


    Marcus Tilden¡­


    Harold Chasile¡­


    Sarah Tarnilan¡­


    Seventeen names were carved to go along those already in the stone. From a tactical point of view saving almost 5,000 people at the cost of 17 was worthwhile, and Adam couldn¡¯t argue that. But still, his face turned angrier with each name. The heat in his heart increased as the air around him crackled and waved. By the time the names were crudely scratched into the stone, Adam was furious and struggling to keep down the heat. Just like after every other battle.


    After taking a deep breath and using his only real skill [Body and Soul Shaping] to reduce the amount of strength he pulled from the heat, he stood up. Slowly he dropped the dagger into its place next to the wall, a small stand with a slot at the top so that it would always be available.


    He didn¡¯t bow to the wall, get teary, or pray. Adam kept silent with his stormy face. No one resented him for it. They saw the anguish in him as he slowly looked out over the crowds. Starting on the right he turned his head until everyone was considered. Finally, without a word, he turned and headed for the Sentinel Army building.


    With Adam gone the crowds moved in. They did pray. They offered thanks and regret, both to those listed as Earth¡¯s Heroes and to the statue of Adam and his friends who had kept the rest of them safe so far.


    ***


    As Adam entered his penthouse, the smell of food hit him. His stomach growled.


    Not everyone living in Jackson was willing or able to be soldiers. Plenty of people understood the importance of contributing but couldn¡¯t bring themselves to fight. Some people simply refused, claiming it wasn¡¯t their job, and those people were kept way outside the Sentinel Army¡¯s territory.


    Adam¡¯s parents were an example of noncombatants. His mom and dad were some of the primary organizers for the territory. They worked every day, longer than they had before the [System], and that work was as necessary as the fighting.


    The people who didn¡¯t shirk in contributing had been assigned jobs. Not everyone was doing something within their pre-[System] skill set, but a lot still were. In this case, Adam had taken on a family of chefs. A husband and wife who formerly ran a restaurant had been given the responsibility of cooking food for Adam. It wasn¡¯t expected to be a royal feast, just whatever filling foods they could make for him, and often his friends.


    In payment for their cooking, they were given a two-bedroom apartment in the building for them and their two young sons. There was currently a premium on comfortable living space, and no place had more comforts than the Sentinel Army¡¯s building. Many people tried their hardest to get important jobs so they could live within this building or one of the nearby apartment buildings reserved for Sentinel Army fighters and staff.


    The General¡¯s Wives¡¯ large condo, taking up the other half of the top floor, had originally been built with a servant¡¯s suite, and there was now a single mom and her 11-year-old daughter living in it as a housekeeper for Adam¡¯s girlfriends. Adding to that, his sister Emily had moved into one the room reserved for Adam¡¯s ¡°wives.¡± While the wives¡¯ concept that had included Abbey, Andrea, Alissa, and Brittney had started as a PR move by Tom, it had caught on with the people. Brittney, Abbey, Andrea, and Alissa welcomed Emily, even if Emily was perpetually angry and bitter towards Adam.


    Emily¡¯s move had allowed his parents to downgrade to a one-bedroom unit, freeing up the two-bedroom unit for a family. Of course, it wasn¡¯t as big a sacrifice as it sounded, since the Rift Menu allowed them to adjust the rooms as well as the entire building. In fact, the entire building had gone through several changes as it was now taller than originally designed, and more condo units had been added to a few floors, with some units being widened or combined.


    When Adam reached his dining table it was covered with food. It was truly a quantity over quality meal as there were burgers, fries, pizza, a variety of breads, cheese trays, preserved fruits, vegetables with dips, even plates full of meat. Most of the meat came from the XP hunts that all the non-combat personnel were required to do twice a week, along with their weapon and defense trainings. Everyone needed to get stronger, even if they were not considered combatants.


    The food was already being greedily consumed by several of his friends at the table. Randall and Joseph were sloppily grabbing what they wanted and shoving it in their mouths. Brittney and Abbey were using silver wear and plates, though Brittney was eying the other two boys jealously. Brandon and his girlfriend Gracie both looked around nervously, concerned that they were doing something wrong as they ate. Nick, Carlos, and Lamar were lightly snacking until they saw Adam enter. Emily was there too, eating what she wanted, ignoring that Adam had even come in the room.


    Once Adam sat down, several plates of food that had been put together, and pitchers of milk and juice, were pushed to him. Everyone knew what Adam would need after the last few hard days. He nodded at them all and then guzzles a pitcher of juice, followed by three hamburgers before he felt up to talking.


    ¡°It¡¯s going to be difficult breaking further into the cities,¡± Adam said while still shoving pieces of cheese into his mouth. Nick nodded to him.


    ¡°True, but it¡¯s the only way we¡¯re going to get stronger. The invaders are fighting among themselves and gaining power right now. We¡¯re behind on numbers, and we¡¯ll fall behind on personal strength quickly.¡±


    ¡°If we get more involved then we¡¯ll definitely have more Heroes named,¡± said Lamar, using the euphemism for those fallen in combat whose names Adam carved in the wall.


    ¡°The real problem,¡± said Brittney, ¡°is that we can barely use the damn Rift Menu. We need to learn more about it and find a way to communicate with the invaders. I know it can track almost anything about the people living within our own territory, but I bet it can show us more regarding the invader bases too, if we could only read it.¡±


    ¡°Think it would be possible finding some invaders willing to ally with us?¡± asked Carlos hopefully.


    ¡°No chance in hell,¡± said Adam before he bit down on a slab of meat. ¡°This is our fight. If we can¡¯t stand up to it, then we might as well give up. Find us the next base to conquer.¡±

 CH 82: Problems

    CHAPTER 82: Problems


    ¡°Have we identified the next target?¡± asked Adam as he walked into the conference room.


    Many people were seated at the large, round table. Most of his group was there, along with Colonel Davian, Elouise Gervin, his parents, Jordan Lane, Ronald Baker, some intelligence officers that helped manage the Rift Menu, those from the former mayor¡¯s office and the police who were helping organize the civilians, as well as other unit leaders from the Sentinel Army. They also rotated between a few civilians who weren¡¯t involved in the leadership. This was to give some representation and understanding of what was happening to the people out there.


    At Adam¡¯s question a lot of quiet conversations stopped. People looked away from him, or to Colonel Davian, not wanting to be the focus of Adam¡¯s stare.


    ¡°Adam,¡± Colonel Davian addressed him after a cough. ¡°We understand your drive and stamina, but the rest of the people don¡¯t have it. They need some time to relax and recover. It¡¯ll be more than a week before we can mount another large assault. Plus, we need to integrate the people you¡¯ve rescued, and that¡¯ll take a lot of manpower.¡±


    When Adam growled at that as he lowered into his raised throne-like chair, several people winced. Those who knew Adam well didn¡¯t take it to heart. It was just his frustration coming out. Unfortunately, due to his power compared to the others, even small expressions like that felt like a force coming at them.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, boss!¡± exclaimed Tom. ¡°I can have the General¡¯s Hand ready to deploy within a day.¡±


    What Tom was calling the General¡¯s Hand was a group of almost 200 people who had been overly affected by Adam¡¯s connections on the invasion day. When Adam¡¯s own emotions had run too high and were engulfing him, he had unintentionally reached out soul connections to all the people within his base, which had been thousands. The intensity and determination within the anger that had projected through the connections had left a kind of subconscious message in 200 men and women¡¯s souls, much like Adam had a voice inside himself telling him to conquer. Their message was hate towards the invaders, nearly at the level of Adam¡¯s, as well as a fanatical dedication to Adam himself.


    Tom¡¯s Appointment Title, the [Illusionary Loyalist], also allowed him to befuddle and strengthen people¡¯s belief in Adam, which had only further enhanced their dedication. Each of those people in the General¡¯s Hand had appeared on Adam¡¯s Loyalty screen in his status menu. Most rated higher than his friends and parents, between 89 and 93 points. They were also the most aggressive in searching for invader hunting parties and trying to find humans away from the city.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be ready anytime you want a Hand jo¡­¡± Tom said before quickly being interrupted by Adam.


    ¡°No, Tom! Just no.¡± Adam pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath to calm down.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t they called the General¡¯s Eyes last time?¡± asked Randall.


    ¡°It was the General¡¯s Knights before,¡± said Alissa.


    ¡°They started as the General¡¯s Followers,¡± reminded Ron.


    ¡°They¡¯re whatever the boss needs them to be,¡± Tom shrugged shamelessly.


    ¡°Pick a name and stick with it,¡± ordered Lucas. ¡°Changing names can throw things off for everyone.¡±


    ¡°Fiiiiine,¡± whined Tom. ¡°Then we¡¯ll be the General¡¯s Cape, wrapping him tightly in the winds of turbulence.¡±


    Abbey frowned at him, and when she spoke there was an authority that made Tom shrink back.


    ¡°You can call them the General¡¯s Guard, and that is the end of it.¡±


    Tom stared at her cockeyed for a moment before saying, ¡°Alright. The General¡¯s Guard.¡±


    Elouise gave an approving nod to Abbey.


    ¡°Anyway, Adam,¡± his mom tried to bring the meeting back to relevance. ¡°You should all be proud with how many people were rescued and brought in. We have the appropriate staff spending time with them in smaller groups to try and get everyone settled. The ones from South Hampton are all in bad shape both physically and mentally. It might be a long time before we¡¯re able to get them some levels, though that would empower them and help them cope.¡±


    ¡°While rescuing them was good,¡± said Colonel Davian, ¡°it also made the existing problems worse. We need to figure out some solutions to these or every new group will just be shooting ourselves in the foot.¡±


    ¡°What are the issues?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Surprisingly food isn¡¯t one of them,¡± said Davian. ¡°We bring in so much meat from the hunts that we only have to dip into our preserved foods to bring a bit of balance. We also have fields set up, mostly in land used as parks, though it¡¯ll be spring before we can expect any crops. We have plenty of farmers that we¡¯ve brought in working with the necessary people to prepare the available spaces. It¡¯s too bad we can¡¯t use the Rift Menu to affect the temperature outside of our territory.


    ¡°If we could plant within the Rift¡¯s influence then we could get crops started right now, but as it is we are dangerously short of land. Some land within the territory has been set up for the livestock since we wouldn¡¯t want them killed if an attack came in. We¡¯re also out of materials for expanding our buildings.¡±


    ¡°We would need to build upwards anyway,¡± added Jordan Lane. ¡°I can¡¯t shift or expand the building in any other direction. That¡¯s a moot point though since we¡¯ve run out of most building resources. We¡¯re stuck with what we¡¯ve got unless we can push large buildings into our area.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t possible since we need those buildings for the people currently in them,¡± said Mrs. Clemens.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I wasn¡¯t suggesting we move them. It isn¡¯t as if we have a way to move those buildings without causing too much damage to the surroundings anyway,¡± said Jordan.


    ¡°What did we get from the newest Rift we captured?¡± asked one of the city planners from the former mayor¡¯s office.


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    ¡°A mountain of obsidian like stone. There wasn¡¯t much else. We did get a few building plans, including one that could create a thermal power generator.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± exclaimed Davian. ¡°Electricity is an area where we¡¯re lacking.¡±


    ¡°Not so great,¡± said Jordan, quashing the mood. ¡°Using them would dangerously increase the temperature. We¡¯ll need some engineers to take a look to see if they can understand the alien language and designs enough to modify it. Otherwise, it¡¯s a no go.¡±


    ¡°Then what do we use the obsidian for?¡± asked the city planner.


    ¡°Walls,¡± answered Adam. Everyone looked at him.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t a great building material,¡± said Jordan. ¡°Too heavy for buildings. Buildings using it would collapse under the weight unless we used a ridiculous amount.¡±


    ¡°Not walls for building. Build a thick and dense wall around our territory,¡± instructed Adam.


    ¡°You¡¯ve never mentioned walls before,¡± said Davian. ¡°Why now?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve never had a sturdy enough material. Eventually we¡¯re going to be attacked. We¡¯ll need some protection. Everything we had before would have crumbled under invaders. The obsidian is stronger than the elf wood, so we can make a thick wall, tall enough that they can¡¯t observe us over it, with walking areas at the top for our defenders and guards. We also need to cut off the entrances to our base, since now every street leads to it. No more than four entrances.¡±


    ¡°I guess that makes sense,¡± said Jordan, a little hesitantly. ¡°It¡¯s just that I wanted to find something cool to make out of it.¡±


    Adam stared at Jordan, who quickly looked away.


    ¡°Right! Walls. I¡¯ll make durable and effective walls all the way around our base. There should be enough,¡± Jordan said quickly.


    ¡°Right now might not be the best time to set up those walls,¡± said Ron. Everyone looked towards him.


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Adam asked him.


    ¡°We have a bit of a malcontent situation going on. Setting up walls will solidify the idea that we¡¯re separating ourselves from them,¡± said Ron.


    ¡°Creating defenses and protection is bad?¡± Randall asked with confusion. Several others in the room scowled at the idea.


    ¡°Defenses and protection are good, however there is a group in the city rousing people up. They say that we¡¯re only looking out for ourselves, not everyone else. We¡¯re keeping all the power, clean water, the best of the food and supplies for ourselves.¡±


    Everyone looked at Adam, expecting him to be angry at the idea. More than a few were surprised to see him looking indifferent at this.


    ¡°We are. So what?¡± asked Adam. His response surprised the room even further. ¡°It should have been obvious to everyone that some people just wouldn¡¯t be on board. They¡¯re used to freedom and an easy life, and that¡¯s the only thing these people will fight for.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a matter of perception. It¡¯s like we¡¯re lording things over them. They¡¯ve been saying they need to demand their own space inside the Rift Base. Direct representation. That we¡¯re just letting them suffer and not providing for them,¡± said Ron.


    ¡°But we are providing for them,¡± said Joseph. ¡°And keeping them from being killed. It¡¯s not like we were the ones who turned off the water and power.¡±


    ¡°Like I said, it¡¯s about perception and they are riling folks up with it,¡± explained Ron. ¡°There has been more violence and assaults the further out from the base people are. Most of those involved with the Sentinels are close to our base or living inside it.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it their choice to have nothing?¡± asked Brandon. ¡°Don¡¯t we accept anyone who wants to join in the hunts? We help level them and make sure they get a share of the supplies.¡±


    ¡°We even provide daycare for their kids,¡± added Alissa.


    ¡°The crux of their protest includes a refusal to level,¡± stated Ron.


    ¡°That¡¯s just stupid of them,¡± spat Brittney.


    ¡°Are they trying to commit suicide?¡± asked Lamar.


    ¡°It¡¯ll only hurt themselves,¡± agreed Adam¡¯s father.


    ¡°All that¡¯s true, but what would happen if they get enough followers to revolt?¡± Ron mentioned.


    Adam laughed. He stopped himself to not seem like a jerk, decided he didn¡¯t care, then laughed again.


    ¡°I hate to play the tyrant here,¡± started Adam.


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t,¡± interrupted Carlos.


    ¡°You¡¯re right, I don¡¯t care either way,¡± Adam corrected himself. ¡°What happens if they revolt? A bunch of level zeros come stomping up to our leveled army. A level 2 is worth ten level 0s. A level 10 is work 50. They¡¯re no threat. Sure, it¡¯ll waste lives when they do, but if those people are stupid enough to stay level 0 then they¡¯ll only be a burden to humanity and make it harder for the rest to survive.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s very callous of you, Adam,¡± scolded him mom.


    ¡°I agree,¡± nodded Adam. ¡°What do you suggest then?¡±


    Mrs. Clemens frowned while looked at the table.


    ¡°We have gotten an increase in women and children asking for protection coming from the further areas. They say it¡¯s becoming less safe.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s true,¡± agreed Ron. ¡°Reports are that physical and sexual assaults are increasing.¡±


    ¡°Everyone is so used to being entertained all the time that they can¡¯t even manage themselves when there¡¯s no phone, internet, or tv,¡± Elouise said with disgust.


    ¡°Then should we kill the leaders?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°Definitely not,¡± blurted Adam¡¯s mom.


    ¡°C¡¯mon. It¡¯ll be easy,¡± argued Tom. ¡°A little Unseen Death sneaks in and drops some [System] store nighty-night juice into their drinks. No one will even know it¡¯s us.¡±


    ¡°What about just arresting them?¡± asked Adam¡¯s mom.


    Colonel Davian then spoke up.


    ¡°That would be a worse idea. Both killing them or arresting them would give tangible evident to their words. I can¡¯t say it would be a bad idea to trigger a rebellion a bit early if we might eventually throw our weight around anyway. Better to do it at a time of our choosing then when things are rough.¡±


    ¡°Can we increase recruitment, and send more police to patrol the areas?¡± Andrea asked.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to tell you young¡¯uns this,¡± said Davian, ¡°but this is a situation that can¡¯t be solved. We¡¯re already recruiting as much as we can. Conscripting people would just endanger our forces and create resentment on both sides. Patrols and keeping the peace can¡¯t come from us either since we¡¯re stretched thin, and it¡¯ll get worse the more people we bring in and deaths that occur from future raids. There is no solution here.¡±


    ¡°Sure there is,¡± said Adam. ¡°Cut them loose. If someone isn¡¯t a part of the Sentinel Army or is still at level 0, then they don¡¯t get any supplies. If they try to obstruct our activities or move against us, they¡¯re sent away from Jackson in the best case, or outright executed in the worst. We can¡¯t be fighting among ourselves while trying to defend the planet. If they can¡¯t understand that then they¡¯re our enemies.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that harsh?¡± asked his mother.


    ¡°No, mom. Harsh is letting them leech off the people that are giving their all to create a safe haven and to fight back at the risk of their lives. I¡¯ve seen the desperation on the faces of the people we bring in, and I¡¯ve seen the relief on those that we gave jobs within the base. Don¡¯t give any attention or resources to the malcontents. They can pull their weight or screw off,¡± Adam said definitively.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, boss! Don¡¯t play to the hecklers,¡± cheered Tom.


    Everyone stopped and looked at him.


    ¡°How can you be the one to say that?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°Who knows that side better than me?¡± Tom responded smugly, his arms crossed.


    ¡°You said violence is on the rise. Does that mean it¡¯s thugs or criminals doing this?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Actually no,¡± answered Ron. ¡°People who were used to violence were pretty quick to join our hunting parties. They weren¡¯t content to stay weak. We have a list we keep a watch out for, but since they¡¯re surrounded by much higher-level soldiers and police, there hasn¡¯t been an issue.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± agreed Joseph. ¡°Javier and Francis used to be leg breakers, but now that they¡¯ve joined my Executioner Squad, they¡¯ve really change.¡±


    ¡°Change how?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°You know, they used to hurt people for a living,¡± explained Joseph.


    ¡°Uh-huh¡­¡± pushed Brittney.


    ¡°Now they fight with the Sentinels,¡± Joseph continued with pride.


    ¡°¡­doing what?¡±


    ¡°Killing invaders.¡±


    ¡°We can really see how you¡¯ve curbed their violent ways,¡± Tom declared sarcastically.


    ¡°It¡¯s different than before!¡± defended Joseph.


    ¡°In what way?¡±


    ¡°Now they do it when I tell them to instead of when people hire them. You know what? Just leave my minions alone!¡±


    With that argument done, they turned back to Ron.


    ¡°If it isn¡¯t criminals or violent people, then who¡¯s leading this group?¡± Adam asked.


    Ron hesitated and squirmed in his seat before mustering the courage to answer.


    ¡°It¡¯s Abbey¡¯s and Brandon¡¯s dads.¡±

 CH 83: Searching for Solutions

    CHAPTER 83: Searching for Solutions


    ¡°It¡¯s Abbey¡¯s and Brandon¡¯s dads,¡± said Ron, his face scrunched up unpleasantly.


    ¡°Then I guess killing them is out. Unless¡­¡± said Tom as he looked hopefully towards Brandon. A head shake from Brandon made Tom click his tongue.


    ¡°Ignore them for now,¡± ordered Adam. ¡°If they cause trouble then I approve any amount of force necessary to protect our people and supplies. With that addressed, the main issues that I¡¯m hearing are water, power, territory, and entertainment. What possible solutions do we have for them and how big a concern are they?¡±


    ¡°For the people¡¯s health, water is the most urgent need,¡± said the city planner. ¡°By drawing water from the other Rifts in the network, we¡¯ve been able to provide for those living and working within our territory, but we don¡¯t have enough to distribute outside.¡±


    ¡°The city used to have enough water for everyone. What happened to it?¡± asked Joseph.


    ¡°The water is still there, but we don¡¯t have power to circulate it and we don¡¯t have the ability to clean and filter that much water. It works within the Rift because we can clean it directly upon entering the Rift territory,¡± explain the planner. ¡°We do have rain catchers set up in as many places in the city as we could manage, but we haven¡¯t had much rain so far this winter, and snow will take time to melt. We¡¯ve also tried redirecting water lines to the base to filter it, but it isn¡¯t possible since we¡¯ve had to prioritize vehicle fuel for the fighters.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s unfortunate but true,¡± said Adam¡¯s dad. ¡°If we run out of fuel to transport our fighters, then it¡¯ll seriously halt out ability to help people and to get more resources from other locations.¡±


    ¡°Maybe at some point the physical fighters will have enough Strength, Agility, and Vitality to pull carts of people, but it seems like we¡¯re still far off from that,¡± pined Brittney.


    ¡°Then the solution is to either merge one of our other Rifts with the planetary reality or to conquer an invader base that has a water source,¡± spoke Adam.


    ¡°Without a lot of construction and resources, those seem the most straight forward way,¡± said the planner.


    ¡°Merging one of the rifts would also solve some of the available space issues as well. The downside is we¡¯d have to split our defensive efforts, and I don¡¯t believe any secondary base would be left alone. If I had to guess, it¡¯s only because I¡¯ve left them as Dimensional Convergence Rifts with intact barriers that they haven¡¯t been attacked so far,¡± speculated Adam.


    ¡°Of the two options it would probably be better to find invaders with connection to water and take that base,¡± said Lucas. ¡°We¡¯ve paid too much for the ones we¡¯ve already taken to give them up now.¡±


    Lucas looked over at Colonel Davian, who nodded in agreement. Davian didn¡¯t have any official position, but he was the most experienced military leader they had. Adam didn¡¯t have an issue relying on him, while the remaining soldiers seemed comforted that he was a part of the leadership. Davian¡¯s name even showed up on Adam¡¯s loyalty tab, though it hadn¡¯t gone above the high 50s.


    ¡°For now, we don¡¯t really have a solution to getting more land if you don¡¯t want to open up another Rift,¡± said Jordan. ¡°Though it¡¯s probably the lowest priority at the moment. Worst case, we can start stuffing civilians inside the other Rifts just to keep them out of the way. That would make supplying all of them difficult, due to transportation costs. Having to drive people and materials between the Rifts would be unnecessarily dangerous.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t just teleport them?¡± asked Carlos.


    ¡°The energy consumption and management wouldn¡¯t be worth it,¡± said Jordan. ¡°At some point we¡¯re going to figure out the Rift Store, and we want as much currency as possible for it when we do.¡±


    ¡°It would also create more weak points,¡± said the Colonel. ¡°We wouldn¡¯t be able to spare defenders or people to take them on hunts, essentially killing any leveling they might do.¡±


    ¡°Then the land issue is on hold for now. We¡¯ll think about options and discuss it later,¡± said Adam¡¯s mom. ¡°We¡¯ll just do our best converting the city buildings into living and working areas. Right now, we have schools designated as temporary places while we acclimate newly brought in people. Then we find some buildings that can be altered to move people into, even if it doesn¡¯t give the people much space or privacy.¡±


    ¡°Why aren¡¯t we using more houses? Aren¡¯t those more comfortable?¡± Alissa asked.


    ¡°The issue with them is that few people fit in each one while also spreading the people out too much,¡± said the planner. ¡°Without power or running water, the houses become difficult to defend with no available communications. We¡¯ve set up sirens in case of an attack while providing evacuation directions, and plenty of people are still insisting on staying in their houses. For now, it¡¯s just easier to pack people together, even if we don¡¯t know how long that will last for. There needs to be some stability before we try to live as we used to.¡±


    ¡°Who knew saving so many people would be this difficult,¡± moaned Randall.


    ¡°If we could focus on just living then there¡¯s probably a lot we could do,¡± said Davian. ¡°Unfortunately, we went from comfortable lives to being in a warzone with too many unknowns. We¡¯re trying to mix defending an area not meant to be defended with capturing other territories while setting up living areas where we don¡¯t have the necessary utilities. Most likely it¡¯ll get much worse if we can¡¯t find some long-term solutions. Plus, it¡¯ll all go to crap if the invaders do decide to attack.¡±


    ¡°When you put it that way, the obsidian walls sound like an even better idea,¡± said Nick. ¡°Realistically, how many people could we actually protect inside them?¡±


    Davian groaned. ¡°Not enough. All we can do is what we can.¡±


    ¡°Then water and land are deferred issues,¡± nodded Adam. ¡°I know we¡¯ve been setting up windmills and scavenging solar panels. Realistically, how much can we expect from this?¡±


    ¡°Very little,¡± said the planner while shaking his head. ¡°We don¡¯t have control of the power grid, so even if we could generate an adequate amount of energy for our own needs, which we can¡¯t, there isn¡¯t a way to distribute it without creating a new grid which we don¡¯t have the time or resources for. Fuel needs to be saved so no building generators are in use either. We¡¯ve had to set up the only powered hospital within the base for people who can¡¯t just be healed.¡±


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    ¡°How are people staying warm?¡± Lamar asked.


    ¡°We¡¯re mostly burning wood,¡± said Adam¡¯s mom. ¡°We find or make metal drums to put in all the building that don¡¯t have wood ovens. The hunter parties are required to bring back a set amount of wood when they return and then we distribute it daily. It¡¯s taking a lot of time to keep it going but at the moment we don¡¯t have a better way.¡±


    ¡°Then no solution for that without opening more Rifts as well,¡± said Carlos. ¡°Which we already said is a no go.¡±


    ¡°Another issue deferred until it is more desperate,¡± said Jordan mournfully. ¡°I liked this city builder game better when it was only the Rift I had to manage.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t a game!¡± snapped the planner.


    ¡°I know,¡± wailed Jordan while putting his face into his hands. ¡°I just can¡¯t cope without looking at it that way. It¡¯s all so much to think about.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t different than any city embroiled in war in the past,¡± stated Elouise. ¡°We just need to keep pushing forward until we either find solutions or break. As Adam says, we either need to make do or we won¡¯t survive.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just scared of the time when survival will mean turning our backs on those not in our base,¡± said Andrea. A lot of people nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s talk about entertainment. How do we try to keep people¡¯s minds off this?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Sex, drugs, and rock¡®n¡¯roll!¡± shouted Tom, throwing up the bull horns.


    ¡°Excuse me?!¡± shouted Adam¡¯s mom.


    ¡°Not exactly those things, but music, alcohol, and yes, sex, are normal go-tos in times of war,¡± said Davian with an embarrassed cough. ¡°Soldiers very commonly indulge in sex services when abroad or find temporary hook ups. While drugs are officially looked down on by the military, alcohol is a staple. We should probably also prepare a venue for musicians to practice and play in. Collect non-electrical instruments and find a few professionals to rotate for people looking to keep their minds off things. Theaters and plays would work as well.¡±


    ¡°Hate to break it to you, chief,¡± said Randall, ¡°but alcohol is also a no go.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± Davian asked.


    ¡°It¡¯s less effective as we gain more Vitality,¡± answered Lucas. ¡°My pops and uncles...¡±


    ¡°And you,¡± added Tom with a mischievous smile, earning a glare from Lucas.


    ¡°¡­and me, have found it much less effective as we¡¯ve leveled. I know we could set up a brewery if we had the materials, and that Mr. Clemens had stored as much as we could get with the supplies, but without it working on our increasing stats it won¡¯t provide the relief that it has in the past.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a shame,¡± said Davian, surprisingly regretful.


    ¡°Sex is out since we won¡¯t be having any sex workers,¡± said Adam¡¯s mom.


    ¡°Actually,¡± started Tom, with all eyes snapping to him.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t!¡± demanded Andrea.


    ¡°You couldn¡¯t!¡± said Alissa.


    ¡°You wouldn¡¯t!¡± confirmed Brittney.


    ¡°Of course not,¡± defended Tom. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t cheat on Angie or Marge. I¡¯m just saying that sex is on the rise. Isn¡¯t that right, boss?¡±


    Adam was staring at Tom with a blank stony face, but everyone could feel the anger behind the stare.


    ¡°How would I know that?¡±


    ¡°Adam, what is he talking about,¡± demanded his mom.


    ¡°Nothing mom. He¡¯s just being Tom,¡± Adam said woodenly.


    ¡°Darling,¡± Andrea said menacingly.


    ¡°Mr. Lane!¡± Elouise noticed that Jordan was cowering as all eyes turned to him, especially Adam¡¯s. Adam¡¯s anger increased and the air around him became wavy. Slinking back further in his chair Jordan said in a squeaky voice, ¡°Tom is too good at blackmail.¡±


    ¡°Is that also how he got his girlfriends into our main building¡¯s condos?¡± demanded Adam.


    ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject, young man!¡± Adam¡¯s mother said forcefully.


    ¡°Who is the real power here,¡± said Carlos with a chuckle, receiving a punch in the shoulder from the nearby Nick. ¡°Ow,¡± he complained while rubbing the shoulder.


    ¡°Listen, boss,¡± continued Tom shamelessly. ¡°I just want to know where I rank on the list.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re still the highest on the Loyalty list, though you might drop after this,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°Not that list. The other one,¡± insisted Tom.


    ¡°What list, Adam?¡± asked Brittney, both curious and confused.


    ¡°The list the boss doesn¡¯t talk about,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°What list might that be, darling?¡± asked Andrea in a voice that was dripping sarcasm.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, boss. Can¡¯t you just tell me where I rank?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, Adam. Where does he rank?¡± Carlos egged them on, this time getting a punch in his other shoulder from Lamar.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t tell me where I rank, then tell me who tops the list,¡± Tom whined.


    ¡°Mr. Lane. If you don¡¯t tell us what they¡¯re talking about in the next minute, you might find yourself unable to continue managing the Rift,¡± said Elouise.


    ¡°Fine. Fine!¡± shouted Jordan, hiding his eyes from everyone. ¡°When Adam got all those searches and statistics about the base from the Rift Menu when he merged the base with the planet, you know lists like people¡¯s levels and hostility towards the leaders, he also got a list of the number of times people procreate within our territory.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!¡± shouted over half the room before they turned to Adam.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t tell anyone because I thought it would be better for people not to know it existed,¡± explained Adam with a disappointed breath. ¡°I accidentally asked Jordan about it, which I¡¯m very much regretting.¡±


    ¡°Tom blackmailed me! It isn¡¯t my fault!¡± Jordan whined.


    ¡°Then you know?¡± Adam¡¯s dad started.


    ¡°Yes, dad,¡± Adam answered while becoming rigid.


    ¡°That your mom and I?¡± Adam¡¯s dad continued.


    ¡°YES, DAD!¡± Adam shouted.


    ¡°That we¡­¡± Adam¡¯s dad plowed on in a daze.


    ¡°Yet one more reason I DIDN¡¯T TALK ABOUT IT!¡± Adam practically roared, snapping his dad out of it.


    ¡°Why would a military base track that?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°I wondered that myself,¡± answered Jordan sheepishly.


    ¡°Now that everyone knows,¡± interjected Tom as if this mess wasn¡¯t his fault. ¡°Who¡¯s done it the most?¡±


    Adam glared at Tom. The look from Adam was quite a contrast to Tom¡¯s excited, almost delighted, expectant look.


    ¡°You really want to know?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Yeah, boss.¡±


    ¡°Are you really sure you want to know?¡± At Adam¡¯s words most of the people around the table were sitting up straighter, waiting to hear the answer.


    ¡°Yes, boss.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure you are ready for that answer?¡±


    ¡°For the love of you, please tell me!¡± Tom gasped.


    ¡°The one at the topmost of this list is¡­¡± Adam dragged it out. Everyone was now waiting for the answer. ¡°Rooster #87.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?!¡± Most people shouted.


    ¡°No fair, boss. I know you can filter it just for humans.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t a sex list, it¡¯s a mating list. As in creating offspring,¡± explained Adam.


    ¡°Then it doesn¡¯t count when Angie and Marge¡­¡± Tom began.


    ¡°No! That doesn¡¯t produce offspring. Do I need to kick you out of this meeting?¡± Adam spat at him angrily.


    ¡°Probably,¡± Tom conceded honestly.


    One of the community leaders who had been sitting in the meeting hesitantly raised his hand.


    ¡°You have something to add, Mr. Flannigan?¡± Ron called on him.


    ¡°Yes, er, I don¡¯t mean to interrupt, uh, whatever is going on here, but that list actually sounds really useful. I visited my cousin¡¯s farm often in the past, and he brought his livestock to Jackson when he evacuated. A list like that would make it much easier for him to manage the animals. He could know who is the most fertile and who is past their prime or has some issues. He kind of figures it out throughout the season, but that list would make it much easier.¡±


    ¡°Then the list is for farming?¡± asked Davian.


    ¡°It sounds like it,¡± answered Mr. Flannigan.


    ¡°Why is a military base tracking things for farming?¡± Lucas asked again.


    ¡°There¡¯re a lot of lists we couldn¡¯t make sense of,¡± admitted Jordan. ¡°Though if we are looking at them in a more science context than invasion one, they make a lot more sense. It reminds me of the Star Trek: TNG movie where they were watching an emerging civilization from a hidden base. Could the Dimensional Convergence Rifts have been created more for observation that actual military use?¡±


    ¡°Only if the mission is the opposite of the Prime Directive,¡± scoffed Brittney. ¡°To seek out new life and new civilizations¡­then destroy it all.¡±


    ¡°Regardless, Darling,¡± said Andrea seriously, getting Adam¡¯s attention. ¡°I think The General¡¯s Wives will need to have a little talk with you tonight about why you felt it necessary to hide these lists from us.¡±


    Adam just groaned and put his face in his hands.

 CH 84: Visiting the Survivors

    CHAPTER 84: Visiting the Survivors


    Adam held Abbey¡¯s hand while they walked through the halls of a local elementary school that was outside of their territory. While not a large person, Adam couldn¡¯t help but feel that the halls and rooms were smaller than he remembered, though the emotions this trip was triggering made the walls feel like they were closing in on him even more. He would much rather be out in a battlefield, losing himself to the rage as he fought his enemies rather than seeing all these suffering people and having to reassure them.


    The last meeting had ended with everyone agreeing it was best to keep the lists and search capabilities that Adam had access to confidential. Select security and intelligence personnel had been given permission to use a few of the lists and monitoring features to see how they could best make use of the overly intrusive information. There was too much confusion over how the monitoring was in the best interests of the people since they had no war purpose, as far as the group could tell. The ones with military or security purpose had been made available to those managing the base early on.


    Scouts had also been sent out to see what information they could gather on known bases with access to waterways. If they needed to wait a week for the fighters to rest, cope with the mental strain, and adjust to the limits of their bodies after leveling up, they might as well use that time to select the best target and let the strategists decide on how to attack it. Adam might be a good tactician in smaller encounters, mostly due to him being able to make up for almost any group weakness so far, but he had no experience leading hundreds or thousands of people.


    That meeting had been three days ago. Adam was using the unscheduled time to meet with the various groups that they had rescued or brought in. Today he was having trouble shouldering his visit with the South Hampton survivors of the Labesati.


    With the other groups, Adam had introduced himself, sat in on meetings, and told the people what they could expect and what he expected of them. The groups, such as from White Bluffs, had their own leaders and representatives, though they were spread out due to the number of people and groups that had been rescued. The meetings were run by more experienced people, but they had the common information delivered by Adam to set the hierarchy and precedence.


    Those from South Hampton were in much worse shape. They had been rounded up and tormented for weeks. Few had much life still in their eyes. Some had tried to end their own lives upon arriving at Jackson. They didn¡¯t even have the energy or will to mourn loved ones or understand the new realities.


    Most simply had despair and hopelessness in their eyes. They were all malnourished and emaciated. A few had flickers of fury, though usually that would only make brief appearances, quickly burning out and returning to hopelessness.


    Physically they were all scared to be touched, even by the medical staff and care takers. When new people entered the rooms that they were set up in, they would shrink or show signs of wanting to hide among the cots, mattresses, and gurneys that were all they had available.


    Adam wasn¡¯t here to make reassurances, to recruit them, or to give these people a new purpose. Back when he first started fighting the invaders, his friends had realized that he had a calming presence that helped with the difficulties they faced from fighting and getting hurt. Since then, they already realized that the presence helped people inherently trust Adam. He was trying to use that to help stabilize these suffering people, to try to start them on the road to recovery.


    Even while projecting calm and strength, inside Adam was seething. It wasn¡¯t the type of anger that would trigger his heat or river. However, it was the type of anger that he would be taking out on invaders he ran into for a very long time. Seeing all the dehumanized people caused him to tremble.


    Through their shared connection, Abbey¡¯s joy at spending time with him and making the rounds during the previous two days had made this type of work almost enjoyable for him, if for no other reason than the time they got to share. Today her joy had morphed into a depression. Adam had no way to help her with it either. They just visited room after room of dozens of people who were scared of the world.


    Their method felt odd. The care takers would bring a chair for both Abbey and Adam, place it right inside the entrance, and then would go about their work with the survivors. He would spend about half an hour in each room, but the effects were noticeable. The people felt almost like animals acclimating to a human presence and coming out of hiding.


    The calming presence wasn¡¯t something Adam controlled, but he had gotten a sense of how to push it outward, making it stronger and denser. He focused on this while he chatted about trivial things with Abbey. Their unimportant conversations would distract her, and eventually the people in the rooms became more relaxed too. More willing to work with the staff moving around them.


    Occasionally someone would come over and talk directly to him, asking about the armor he wore or what he did in the new world. Sometimes they would become more scared when finding out that he was a leader, and sometimes they would brighten, though Adam knew it was more latching on to a desperate hope, someone who might protect them and help them survive. He even had a few people ask to come and serve him.


    More than once, Adam was tempted to open a connection to the people and pump through his confidence and determination, like he did with his friends when they went into combat. Yet there was something in Adam that knew, without question, that using the connection would turn these broken people into fanatics even higher than Tom¡¯s unit, the General¡¯s Guards. While Adam wondered if that would be better for them, he didn¡¯t want the weight of their lives on him. They would need to recover and find their paths for themselves.


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    ¡°Mr. General,¡± a woman in her 50s approached Adam when he was finally done with all the people in this school. There were still two more locations with South Hampton survivors for him to visit today. ¡°I¡¯m Lusia Abeyta, the head of the care efforts. I can¡¯t thank you enough for taking the time out of your schedule to visit here. All our workers have said that the people are more receptive to them after you spent time in their rooms.¡±


    ¡°We had the time available and there was nothing more important than helping these people get back on their feet,¡± responded Abbey while patting Adam¡¯s hand. Lusia had a warm smile at that. ¡°Seeing them like this is heart breaking.¡±


    Adam nodded, ¡°I might not always be available for this, but it is important for all of us. From a larger perspective, the more people we have, even in support roles, the better off we are. From a human perspective I¡¯m just using the skills I have to help where it¡¯s needed.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good of you, considering everything else you do as well,¡± Lusia praised, though she had an uncomfortable look on her face. ¡°You might not have time for this, but there is a group of 38 that wanted to meet you. I told them I would ask if you could but didn¡¯t make any promises.¡±


    ¡°Why do they want to meet with me?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°These are some of the more¡­enthusiastic of the survivors. They aren¡¯t able or willing to stay still. They¡¯ve all been evaluated as either suicidal or violent in personality due to their trauma. Bluntly, they want vengeance or to throw their lives away fighting.¡±


    Adam saw Abbey staring at him with an unreadable expression. There was no indication of what she was thinking when he listened to their connection. He let out a breath.


    ¡°I¡¯ll meet with them. We can see where it goes,¡± Adam said.


    ***


    That was how he ended up in the school auditorium with 38 people sitting around him in a two-row semicircle. The people had a manic glint in their eyes. None spoke, but quite a few constantly squirmed. Abbey and Lusia were waiting to the side of the stage where they all sat.


    ¡°I¡¯m Adam. Before the invasions you might have seen me on the news. They called me The General.¡±


    A gasp came out from a few.


    ¡°You¡¯re the big boss?¡± a 15-year-old boy named Rick spat out the question.


    ¡°Pretty much,¡± Adam answered simply.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you a monster hunter in all those videos?¡± questioned a woman in her 30s. Her hair was just starting to grow back and a burn covered the outside of her left arm and neck.


    ¡°I was hunting the invaders.¡±


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t you kill more?!¡± someone shouted.


    ¡°We cleared out four groups of invaders. I didn¡¯t even know where more were,¡± said Adam, feeling a bit agitated from their hostility.


    ¡°How come you didn¡¯t help keep us safe?¡± another voice demanded.


    ¡°There was only so much¡­¡± started Adam before another voice shouted.


    ¡°My parents are dead because of you!¡±


    ¡°I had nothing to do with¡­¡±


    ¡°You should have been there!¡±


    The voices were coming heavily. Accusation and anger were thrown at Adam. He felt his insides tremble as the weight of their words hit him harder than a punch could have.


    ¡°I did everything I could¡­¡± Adam didn¡¯t get far before more people raised their voices.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t¡­¡±


    ¡°If only you had¡­¡±


    ¡°Why couldn¡¯t you¡­¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t there anyone who¡­¡±


    The sting from the words ignited his heat. It pulsed along with the voices. The river drowned out the words. Images of his friends being mauled came to mind. Memories of the deaths on the news feeds fueled his rage. Visions of finding these very survivors and questions of how many other humans were being held captive and abused flowed through him. Adam and his friends might not have been the ones always suffering but that didn¡¯t mean they hadn¡¯t taken trauma from it as well.


    Damn the [System] and damn the invaders!


    Adam¡¯s fury was growing. Abbey was trying to get to him as the people who had been sitting around him, from young teens to middle aged, were on their feet shouting at once. Spit flew at him along with their words. All the pain and suffering they had felt were hurled at Adam and he barely noticed as the river tried pulling him in.


    Sobbing was coming from all around. Adam didn¡¯t notice some tears flowing down his own cheeks as their pain was a near tangible force that his soul vibrated with. Heat was coming from him as Abbey tried to get his attention. The wood on the stage was warping under it.


    Adam rose to his feet so quickly the chair flew behind him, crashing into the wall.


    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Adam roared, freezing everyone. Heat poured off him.


    ¡°I am not the reason this happened to you,¡± he shouted, not even thinking about his words. ¡°I warned everyone! No one did more than me and I made my own city as safe as possible!¡±


    The people were watching him now. Both terror and fury were in their expressions.


    ¡°If you want to blame someone, then blame the government or the military. Maybe the police or even yourselves! I can¡¯t fix this for you. I couldn¡¯t have prevented it any more than you did. But I will tell you one thing, I plan to spend my life killing all the bastards who showed up. I¡¯ll make them regret the day they targeted Earth!¡±


    Spittle came from his own mouth as he ranted. He was in a lather as all the frustrations he had been living with began coming up. Emotions that he hadn¡¯t let himself feel. Thoughts that couldn¡¯t be spoken to others. Blame for those who had done nothing while he had tried to prepare them.


    As Adam spoke, the fire inside of him didn¡¯t dwindle, but it did become more controlled. The last few months had been just as hard on him as the people who had fought with him. He wanted to be out there, attacking. Swinging his hammer. Only now did Adam realize how complicated things had gotten and how much pressure that had put on him. The more people he helped, the more he had to do.


    A large breath filled Adam. He held it in while glaring at the people before him. Abbey reached him and a cooling heal passed through him, though he didn¡¯t really need it. He placed his hand on her anyway, then let out his breath.


    ¡°Can we fight them too?¡± asked the young Rick meekly.


    ¡°Right now each of you are weak. Too weak to be anything but a burden. If you want to change that then let Lusia know. I¡¯ll send someone by tomorrow to help train you physically. Once you have your feet under you then you can gain levels. After you get to level 10, we can then train you for combat. If you want vengeance, or the strength to protect yourself, then it¡¯s up to you to get it.¡±


    This incident helped clarify some of the uneasiness and restlessness that Adam had been feeling. So much had happened since the invasions, and so much was still to come. There had been organizing the army and units, finding resources, and making sure they were distributed, while helping his friends all get stronger. He wasn¡¯t scared of the pressure, or the accusations. He had just gotten a little confused in his mission.


    It was time for Adam to get back to his core missions. Killing all the invaders. Protecting the people. He was a warrior and conqueror, not an administrator.

 CH 85: Change of Plans

    CHAPTER 85: Change of Plans


    Army Reserve soldier Chad Alvarez climbed down from the wall. He passed off the odd weapon he had been using to the man replacing him since their shift was changing. After the [System] had come, the US Army had been drawn into action and all Reservists were brought in.


    For two weeks his unit had been sent around playing support for the region. They helped law enforcement, tried to provide peace keeping in rowdier situation, and followed the orders of investigators as they tried to locate where the invaders would be coming from.


    Two days before the invasion, orders had changed. All regional units, both active and reserve, were brought to Hopkinson, Kentucky and told to hunker down. Even though they had been helping reinforce a rising river, their orders had been to leave everything and come.


    Two days of nervousness and uncertainty. Two days of people telling each other about their families, praying that they would be ok. Two days of near constant drills and supply prep. Everyone had been on edge.


    Then the general had arrived along with 100 Special Forces. That was unusual. That had put everyone on edge even more. There were over 20,000 soldiers at the base, plus support staff. Rumors had it that no other single base had stockpiled supplies, munitions, and soldiers as this one. No one knew why.


    Then the invasions hit, and it became crystal clear why.


    The world became chaos. Death visit throughout the globe. However, Chad had no time to pay attention to that. Survival came first.


    In the first two days after the invasions, they lost 5,000 men. It was a miracle that they survived at all. It was only through the command of the U.S. General on base and the Special Forces Detachment Commander that they were able to get organized and keep their nerve.


    The Special Forces were a blessing. They set up traps, used the base layout, and fought with the fury of the gods to keep the invaders out of the base. However, every week brought them more casualties and forced them to pull back further into the base.


    At first, they were attacked by doglike things. Waves by the thousands. The beasts were blind and had little intelligence, yet that didn¡¯t help the humans. They were pure feral instinct, rushing the base and using any available opening to get through.


    The outer fences couldn¡¯t contain them. Windows couldn¡¯t stop them. They could climb on the walls sturdy enough to support their weight and dig through rock. It took entire magazines of bullets in the right places just to take out a single one. Buildings became unsafe due to how easily they were infiltrated.


    Remembering the long claws and the weird net like mouth caused Chad to shiver in dread. Dust that the beasts released would cause men to go blind and distort their hearing. Their resistance to bullets made each one a terror to put down. The sheer volume of the beasts reminded him of the worst zombie movies, except these things could move fast.


    That had been their first invader experience.


    They held on against these dogs for two days. The only reason they lasted that long was thanks to the officers near instantly providing them with the information they needed. Flashbangs and grenades were used to distract, stun, and herd the beasts so the men could get through them.


    Information on how to level up and distribute their stats were also given to them. The increased physical stats quickly made the battles more manageable, at least when they weren¡¯t drop dead tired from the constant fighting.


    Even with all the casualties, the leadership did a masterful job guiding the battles. Any time a unit felt like they would break under the pressure, a group of the Special Forces would show up, wreck the beasts, and then move on to the next place where help was needed.


    The Special Forces didn¡¯t fight with guns either, which surprised him. They fought with either squiggly shaped knives that penetrated the tough hides easier than bullets, or with the claws of the beasts they were fighting. Somehow the long claws had been shaped into handles, with a rough grip wrapped around the base.


    Classes were also more balanced among the Special Forces. They always had a [Support] for healing, and one or two with a [Mage] class, even as those tagged as mages fought with their hands. The normal soldiers and reserves were [Warrior] heavy. Chad himself had gone with a [Mage] class with the assumption they would be needed, even if he had been mocked for it in the beginning.


    The way the leadership was managing things, it felt like they already understood what they were facing and what to do about it. That gave the men some confidence as they wore themselves down due to combat. Fortunately, while the waves were large, there were a few hours of breaks in between each one. Rest, food, and rotating combat had become essential.


    Four days they fought the waves of dog beasts, the Terrenidons. Those waves consisted of levels from 2 to 5. All the soldiers were leveling too, getting stronger and more capable. The initial terror from the assault had lessened until they felt numb to it.


    Friends and comrades fell. Some were healed and others died. Occasionally a man would break, going insane from the perpetually desperate situation. They would rush into the mass of monsters while hollering, not to come out again.


    Chad wasn¡¯t willing to give up. Out in the world he had two brothers and parents. If even this force couldn¡¯t hold up, then what hope did they have? He also saw how the men with wives and children would weep during their respites. They had no hope of their families surviving and either gave in to the despair or formed an insane belief that surviving here would allow them to protect their families.


    Unfortunately, after four days the waves didn¡¯t cease. Instead, the waves became larger Terrenidons, now between levels 6 and 12. The soldiers were all leveling at a steady rate, but the jump in difficulty became another mental hurdle.


    At level 10, Chad didn¡¯t think the new waves were harder than the previous ones. There were fewer per wave and every soldier now had weapons made from the claws which could injure them more easily, but going from easily killing thousands to needing to use tactics to kill hundreds became too much for the exhausted combatants, and they were once more pushed back.


    The army constantly retreated further into the army base due to being unable to hold the buildings. Everyone took shifts that should have been for rest to move supplies to the bomb range. All but the largest explosives and firearms were abandoned, having found them ineffective.


    The bomb range was large. Large enough for big explosives. Big enough to test vehicles on it. It also had a solid 15-foot-tall wall around it with only two entrances. There was open space far around it to view the monsters charging them. This was where they set up. The rest of the base had been lost.


    Chad was confident the wall could be climbed or breached by the monsters charging them. The wall was sturdy by Earth standards, but he now knew the difference between that and [System] empowered beasts.


    A full week of fighting the dog beasts led to more levels and strength. Once they began to get comfortable again, able to fight almost on autopilot, the Terrenidons were replaced by bearlike beasts in the level 11 through 15. Oddly, the more difficult ones were level 2 or 3, seemingly lower levels but much stronger. The officers explained that they had evolved. Their levels had re-started from zero.


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    Every one of these evolved monsters required a group to take down. They didn¡¯t have weapons able to slash their hide, only the claw weapons for stabbing, and those weren¡¯t long enough to make fatal wounds on the bear monsters.


    More exhaustion built up. More numbness that caused men to stare at their own death as they were cut down. Constant healing required for those who survived the constant quills that should have been fur on the beasts.


    Two weeks passed and there hadn¡¯t been a single full night¡¯s sleep, bath, or real meal. Water and food were rationed as no one knew how long this would last for. All the corpses of the bears were carried by a group of scavengers to the center of the bomb range, where they were cut apart. Tough and unseasoned meat was distributed for eating. The hides were made into pants and jackets, protecting the soldiers from minor injuries.


    A few longer weapons were made from the bones of the beasts too, mostly long spearheads attached to metal rods. Chad wasn¡¯t sure how they were sharpened down, but each section of the wall was given a few of the spears, as unwieldy as they were.


    The officers were also telling people things to do to guide their own evolutions. They had made Chad fight with a fan of all things, blowing chemicals on the monsters. He thought it was absurd, a sign that the joke about Military Intelligence being an oxymoron was true. Except that when it came time to evolve his own class, he had the option for a [Wind Mage], which he was told to take.


    The spells of the [Wind Mage] weren¡¯t especially useful so far, but he could make a weak barrier and create enough air pressure to shift moving objects. Not enough to stop the bears¡¯ clawed swings, but enough to shift his own men out of the way, provided they were already in motion. His ability to move the air also became very desired as the stink from the unwashed fighters and rotting monster bits polluted everything. At this point a breath of fresh air could bring a smile to even the hardest man.


    Two weeks passed. Then a third, followed by a fourth. Chad couldn¡¯t believe they were still going, that there were this many monsters in the world. He couldn¡¯t imagine many surviving and felt like this base only stood thanks to the efforts and advance knowledge of a U.S. General and Special Forces. Of the 20,000+ they started with, less than 11,000 remained, packed into that field. Living and dying with constant combat.


    After five weeks and so many levels, the fighting had become routine. The monsters had stopped getting stronger around level 14 of what the officers called Tier 2. Every single person remaining, including the general and his support staff, were around that level too. The Special Forces were even higher as they would make excursions outside of the base to scout for the source of the invasion.


    Then it was announced. The invader base had been found. The Detachment Commander would lead 5,000 men to assault the base. They would take artillery, tanks, slow but sturdy transport vehicles, everything that might be useful.


    Chad had been left behind. His skills weren¡¯t strong enough and he was thankful for it. Especially when, after three days, only a few more than 200 of those 5,000 men returned from the assault. Those that returned were much higher level, especially the Detachment Commander and his higher ranked officers, but with fewer troops to defend their field, there was no hope left.


    Moods fell. Attitudes rose as conflict became more normal, especially among the Special Forces. People had taken to remaining silent at all times, just taking their shifts in the violence and then their rest.


    Some of the items looted from the base they had assaulted did make the defense easier. Such as the metal tube that Chad used. Those with high Intelligence stat and magic power could shoot elemental energy from the tube, much like a gun except the projectile was made of magic and benefitted from skills and buffs, unlike bullets.


    The frequency of the waves also decreased, giving them more time to rest. Unfortunately, the leveling of the troops slowed as well. The monsters were now a lower level than the humans, even if they could still tear them up.


    More weeks passed until it had been two months. Chad wasn¡¯t even sure how he knew. Days and nights were the same. Time passed with no changes other than the temperature dropping, which he barely noticed in the heat of constant combat and death.


    Like always he passed his tube weapon off to another caster, then sat on a pile of sandbags to eat his hard to chew monster meat. His eyelids were heavy as he let the world around him drop away. Then a roar passed through his section of the wall unlike what he had heard before. He sat up and looked.


    His instinct told him to go over to the wall to see what new death was coming, but his training and months of fighting told him to wait until he was called upon. He didn¡¯t want to get in the way or to become a casualty of whatever new thing was appearing.


    ¡°It¡¯s called a [Feral Behemoth],¡± someone on the wall shouted down to a runner. ¡°Level 0. It looks stronger than Tier 2 and big! We¡¯re gonna need reinforcements.¡±


    A young soldier ran to where the leadership tents were. They recorded and cataloged every monster, every skill, and every choice the men had and told them exactly what to take and where to use their skill points. Soldiers were shifted around to create better synergy amongst the skills and to create units stronger than individuals.


    There was a bustle of activity in the tents and then a single man came out. He was shirtless and muscular without being too bulky. Even Chad had to concede how attractive the body was, feeling both jealousy and shame at the though. The man wore combat boots and pants made from greenish blue skin from some frog monster that had attacked another part of the wall.


    For weapons he had two bone spears on his back. At his belt was a squiggly knife and a fine, single edged long sword, probably taken from the base assault. The man walked with confidence even as fury shown in his eyes.


    When he reached the wall, the man planted his feet and in an act of superhuman strength he leaped over it. The next fifteen minutes were a combination of screams, howls, screeches, and shouts. Some of the noised cause Chad¡¯s nose to bleed, even sitting away from the wall, and one human sounding roar filled him with terror.


    After the fifteen minutes the man came jumping back over the wall. He was missing one spear, and the other ones was now half as long. The sword was intact but bloody. The man¡¯s skin was bleeding all over. His previously torn pants were in even worse shape.


    The man came over to the sandbags and sat down near Chad. He brought with him a large chunk of meat, oozing with a thick brown blood. Chad watched as the man nodded to him then tore off a chunk of the raw meat and began eating it. The man¡¯s skin had a reddish tint to it before and now it was calming down even while his breathing became steadier.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need to cook that?¡± Chad questioned after the man had taken several bites, chewing each bite only enough to swallow it.


    ¡°I have a skill. It increases my recovery with bloody meat. Kind of gross but helpful. Besides, my class tends to burn more calories than the other ones, so I need food after almost every fight,¡± the man explained with his mouth full of meat. ¡°It¡¯s gross but I¡¯d rather not deplete our rations.¡±


    ¡°Is that how you were able to fight the monster by yourself?¡± Chad continued the conversation as the man didn¡¯t seem to mind the questions.


    ¡°Yes. My class is quite a bit stronger than others and more resistant to damage. It¡¯s sometimes safer for me to handle the difficult monsters solo. Though I do appreciate the support of the mages and rangers,¡± he answered with a nod of respect to Chad¡¯s class tag.


    Chad took a moment to look at the man¡¯s tag. Clearly, he was one of the Special Forces. His tag was ¡°Berserker [22].¡± It must be rare since Chad hadn¡¯t seen it before.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry to ask, sir, but do you know if we have plans other than just to sit in this field?¡± Chad was nervous as he asked. He didn¡¯t want to overstep his rank, but even his mentality had worn down over the weeks. He could barely remember his family anymore as all his thoughts were regarding what the next monster would be.


    ¡°Actually yes, we just had a change of plans. Detachment Commander Rexus told me that scouts have returned. There are fewer monsters and invaders in remote areas, and quite a few people out there. Military bases and cities were hit the hardest and we have no confirmation that others survived. It¡¯ll be announced soon that we¡¯ll take a week to plan and gather all usable vehicles, fuel, and supplies from the rest of the base. Then we¡¯ll form a caravan to take the long way around, picking up civilians and helping where we can.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be nice to actually have a goal other than survival, but where will we even go?¡± asked Chad, frowning while imagining ending up in some mountains to hide as the world crumbles.


    ¡°The general already knew of a place. He said that city was preparing more than any other. We¡¯re still hearing phantom radio signals from the area even if we are too far for communications, meaning they¡¯re probably still standing. It¡¯ll take a while, but we¡¯ll head there. They should have more leveled soldiers, defenses, and supplies for us to join up with.¡±


    ¡°A whole city?¡± Chad gasped. He couldn¡¯t believe that a whole city could have survived what this base had.


    ¡°Yeah, Jackson in Tennessee. It¡¯s why the general chose this base for his stand. Close enough to rendezvous with Jackson should they survive, or to provide a safe haven for them should their troops need to retreat. Currently it looks like we got the raw deal.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s good news. I hope they¡¯re still standing,¡± Chad said then laughed. ¡°Hope. It seems so long ago since I felt that.¡±


    The man nodded in agreement and then shrugged.


    ¡°Anyway, it¡¯ll be announced soon, so keep your head up and the walls unbreeched.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir. Thank you! I¡¯m Chad Alvarez, part of the reserves,¡± Chad introduced himself with his first smile in a long time.


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Chad. I look forward to surviving this war with you,¡± said the man as they shook hands. The berserker¡¯s thick, calloused hands were still splattered with blood. ¡°I¡¯m Gregor. Gregor Munstean.¡±

 CH 86: Malcontents

    CHAPTER 86: Malcontents


    Adam and Abbey had finished their visit to one group of South Hampton survivors, and were moving to exit the elementary school so they could go to the next group. Right before Adam reached the door, he was stopped by one of the soldiers on guard duty with a ¡°Warrior [12]¡± tag.


    They always kept soldiers, police, or Sentinel members at every entrance of the buildings where newly brought in people were initialized. It was as much to protect the people outside as those inside. There was no telling if someone was a disguised invader or had their mind manipulated. Two soldiers were standard for each entrance, however in the case of the group from South Hampton they kept two inside and two outside, so four at each doorway.


    Now that he was stopped, he realized that this soldier was alone.


    ¡°Sir! Sorry to bother you but we have a bit of a situation outside,¡± the man said while saluting.


    Adam nodded to him and stepped through the doorway, prepared to act. On the other side were two more soldiers waiting. They seemed to be ready for action since both casually rested their hands on their swords. While there were handguns in belt holsters as well, it seemed like those who fought were becoming more accustomed to eschewing guns. Guns were mostly useless once you rose past level 10 and led to bad results in both hunting and when in combat.


    A third soldier was standing to the side, trying to speak to an odd group of 20. Most of the group were males, with only one girl, who was a teenager and looked ready to cause some trouble. There were also two male teenagers, with the rest of the groups being middle aged men. Every one of them had some type of gun, from handguns to rifles, with several semiautomatic AR-15s.


    If Adam had to describe them, they all looked unhealthy. Two of the men were skinny with wrinkled suits and unshaven faces. Most of the other men were outright fat. None but the teenagers looked like they spent much time making themselves presentable. There were also three signs being held by them. The picket signs looked like they had been hastily written on the cheapest materials by someone who couldn¡¯t draw a straight line. They read, ¡°Freedom or Death,¡± ¡°Save our Country from Tyranny,¡± and ¡°Stop Oppression, Restore Democracy.¡±


    The sight stunned Adam for a moment, stopped in the doorway with Abbey behind him. It was the most biased and pathetic political protest he had ever seen. It had only been a few days since he had heard of these malcontents, and they were already forcing an encounter with him.


    Upon coming into their view, they all snapped their attention onto him, no longer concerned with the soldier in their midst. Then the booing started. They yelled things at him, calling him a fascist and a strawman. They insulted him. There was even a ¡°give peace a chance¡± thrown in that didn¡¯t seem to fit.


    Adam frowned at them, and immediately saw a few smirk at him as if somehow their disorganized and sloppy shouts had hit home. After coming from seeing those who had suffered at the hands of the invaders, these people were just outright stooges. He went to walk past them when one of their insults did catch his ear.


    ¡°What was that?¡± Adam demanded of one of the men in the wrinkled suits.


    The man smiled smugly.


    ¡°I said get out of our town you alien supporter!¡±


    His compatriots patted his back and cheered him on, smiles on their ugly faces.


    ¡°How am I an alien supporter?¡± Adam asked through clenched teeth. Even the simple accusation had triggered that voice and hate that had arrived in his soul when the soul corruption occurred. It was taking a lot of strength to suppress the urge for violence coming from his soul, but the strained look on his face just emboldened the men.


    ¡°That¡¯s right! We knew it was true when we were told. All your strength is just so you can take over and enslave us for your invader masters. We aren¡¯t buying it. We¡¯ll fight you the whole way! The right way!¡±


    ¡°The right way?¡± Adam asked with confusion, even in the midst of his heat pounding through his body. ¡°What¡¯s the right way?¡±


    Adam looked towards the soldiers and they just shrugged, clearly as confused as he was.


    ¡°With words and reason! The pen is mightier than a sword. We¡¯ll fight with reason and just arguments, like our forefathers did when founding our great country,¡± the man pontificated.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t they fight with muskets and sabers? I¡¯m pretty sure no one swung a pen on a battlefield,¡± said Adam, losing his heat due to the absurdity.


    ¡°You can¡¯t hide the truth! It¡¯ll come out!¡± Someone else from the crowd shouted.


    ¡°Is that an X-files reference? I liked that show,¡± muttered an older soldier.


    ¡°Are those signs the truth that we can¡¯t hide? The pen that will overthrow the aliens?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°We¡¯re workshopping the slogans right now. A good slogan can shake the world,¡± a man holding the picket sign explained hesitantly, looking a little embarrassed.


    ¡°We won¡¯t be oppressed,¡± yelled one of the teens. ¡°You can¡¯t take everything for yourself and leave the people to suffer.¡±


    ¡°The people inside this building, the people that we were just helping, were tortured for months. They would have kept suffering if we hadn¡¯t saved them. We¡¯ve been taking care of everyone,¡± Adam said with an edge.


    ¡°That¡¯s just a cover. You¡¯re keeping all the good stuff for yourself,¡± accused the lead voice. ¡°We deserve it every bit as much as anyone else.¡±


    ¡°I see. All our people spent time and money preparing, and now you want to leech off us without putting in effort. Simply because you deserve it.¡±


    ¡°The only reason you knew in advance is because you are one of them!¡± The girl shouted, smiling when she saw Adam¡¯s reaction.


    Adam frowned and went to step towards them. Being accused of working with the invaders was a trigger that he couldn¡¯t ignore. His very soul burned with the fury.


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    A soft hand touched Adam¡¯s upper arm, where there was exposed skin. Adam turned around even knowing that his skin was practically on fire. Then a cooling heal flowed from that hand.


    ¡°Let¡¯s just leave, Adam. These people don¡¯t matter,¡± said Abbey gently. She pulled him down by the collar of his breastplate and gave him a light kiss on the lips. The gesture was enough to distract him and get control back.


    ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right. Let¡¯s go to the next people who actually matter,¡± Adam said while knowing the river was still flowing inside. Then he turned and whispered to the soldier, ¡°If these buffoons cause any problems feel free to shoot them.¡±


    He took Abbey¡¯s hand and they headed towards his motorcycle. That was when a gunshot sounded out immediately followed by a ping as the bullet ricocheted off his back armor. Adam turned to see a man who looked like he had been muscular more than 150 lbs ago.


    ¡°That didn¡¯t feel like a pen,¡± he said between clenched teeth.


    ¡°Oh, didn¡¯t like that, you wanna be tough guy. You alien loving freak. It¡¯s just what you¡¯ve earned,¡± the man snarled as Adam saw the barrel shift from himself to Abbey.


    ¡°No!¡± screamed the man in the suit. ¡°That¡¯s the leader¡¯s daughter!¡±


    The man started to pull the trigger, but never completed the small motion. Instead, his head exploded as Adam appeared right in front of him, hand crushing the barrel of the gun, heat wafting off him. Parts of the man¡¯s head had splattered the people behind him, including the now terrified teenagers.


    He didn¡¯t intend to kill the man, but he also didn¡¯t regret it. Pointing the gun at Abbey had been more than a mistake, even if being shot with it was unlikely to kill her. The act of carrying guns had been a mistake. Adam wouldn¡¯t allow those intending to harm his people.


    Adam roared, freezing the group. A group of level zeros. A group that had no tolerance for his pseudo-skill.


    By the time they were able to move again, they were all on the ground with their guns crushed. The soldiers also hadn¡¯t wasted time, with two rushing forward and the third using a radio to report the situation.


    Zip ties were pulled out and the protesters were bound. They were watching Adam with horror.


    ¡°Let me explain this to you,¡± Adam said in a quiet voice staring down at the group. ¡°I don¡¯t care about your arguments or words. I don¡¯t care what you think you deserve. I also don¡¯t care if you think of me as a despot or a tyrant. It isn¡¯t politics that I¡¯m known for, it¡¯s for swinging a hammer in a deadly way. The lives of parasites like you mean less than nothing to me.¡±


    "Sir, reinforcements are on the way,¡± said the soldier on the radio.


    ***


    Adam watched blankly as the reinforcements arrived. He had expected a few people to maybe arrest those he had subdued. Or someone knowledgeable with interrogation to ask some questions.


    What arrived was an army. Trucks, motorcycles, and people running. There were a few hundred soldiers. Around 50 former policemen, led by Captain Sanchez got out of police cruisers. The Demo Men unit trucks with Lucas in the lead on his motorcycle headed everyone. Tom had brought along about one hundred people Adam recognized from the General¡¯s Guards. Brandon, Nick, Elias, and Lamar were accompanied by Tom¡¯s brother Phillip, his friend Jake, and quite a few of their college friends. The final surprise was when Lucas walked to the back of one pick-up truck and helped Elouise climb down.


    Every single person looked at Adam, waiting. Adam stood there looking back. Abbey poked him in the side.


    ¡°Thanks for coming,¡± said Adam. ¡°Isn¡¯t this a bit overkill though?¡±


    ¡°We were told they shot at you,¡± said Lucas.


    ¡°They did¡­¡± Adam¡¯s response trailed off.


    ¡°Which of these bastards was brazen enough to shoot at the boss?¡± asked Tom, while brandishing a sword at the zip tied malcontents.


    Adam pointed to the headless body that was off to the side.


    ¡°Huh,¡± said Tom. ¡°That seems about right. No one gets away with shooting at the boss.¡±


    Tom sheathed his sword with emphasis, as if he had done the deed himself.


    ¡°And why did you come?¡± Adam asked Elouise.


    ¡°A bunch of armed and violent men rushing towards other humans in the city¡­someone needs to be the voice of wisdom,¡± she answered him.


    Police Captain Sanchez coughed. ¡°What now, Adam?¡±


    ¡°I think we should go meet with the leaders of their group and make sure something like this doesn¡¯t happen again. We don¡¯t want them causing problems or hurting people,¡± said Adam hesitantly.


    ¡°Throwing your weight around,¡± Tom said with vigor. ¡°I like it, boss.¡±


    ¡°I do too,¡± said Mr. Fenton, Lucas¡¯s dad. The rest of his unit, including Lucas nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Before the invasions I would council you not to,¡± said Sanchez, ¡°however, as someone interested in survival and protecting people, I think it might be prudent to check on the situation.¡±


    ¡°Plus, we aren¡¯t sure if they¡¯re being manipulated by an invader. I want to check on that,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°They might just be garden variety idiots,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hope that¡¯s the case and that it doesn¡¯t lead to violence,¡± said Elouise.


    All the people began getting into their vehicles. Adam picked up the malcontent with the wrinkle suit, who now looked significantly more cowed.


    ¡°Do you have any problems with taking us to your leader?¡± Adam asked with his face up close to the previously pompous man.


    The man was terrified and shoot his head. Adam handed him to Mr. Fenton in his pickup truck.


    ¡°Lead on,¡± Adam said.


    ***


    The line of cars, trucks, motorcycles, police cruisers, and military transports followed Mr. Fenton as he drove through the city. He headed towards the outside of the more business-oriented area. Here there were large business buildings, corporate centers, higher class restaurants, hotels, medical centers, parking garages, and several high-class condo buildings.


    ¡°That¡¯s where my dad¡¯s double condo is,¡± Abbey told Adam from the back of his motorcycle as she pointed towards a distant high rise while holding onto him with the other arm. They were going slow enough that it was easy to hear each other.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that kind of far from our high school? I¡¯m sure there are more schools closer to you. From what you¡¯ve said about the man I¡¯m surprised you didn¡¯t go to private school,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°We hired a driver for me. I also spent most nights with Andrea and Alissa since dad wasn¡¯t even around much. The reason he allowed it was that I made a deal with my dad,¡± she responded.


    ¡°What was the deal?¡± asked Adam.


    Abbey sat in silence for a minute before answering. When she did, there was both embarrassment and pride.


    ¡°I promised not to burn all his suits. It would have been easy with how quickly his hair gel ignites. The suits would go up before the sprinklers could even come on. That and after high school graduation I would stop seeing the other girls.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like you know about the suits from experience,¡± Adam joked, only to be met with silence.


    ¡°Anyway, hold on. I think there¡¯s a problem,¡± Adam said very seriously as he revved the bike and drove on the sidewalks to get to the head of the procession.


    Adam had been frequently checking his soul map. He hadn¡¯t found the trapped memory of that skill yet and wasn¡¯t sure what it was really called. The way he used it was to sense the souls around him and their level of hostility. He could also influence the space between those souls and himself to manipulate them, though that was challenging and unpleasant.


    The soul map didn¡¯t show him where everyone was positioned or their exact direction and distance in relation to himself, but he did get a general sense of them. What he saw now was hundreds of souls, all extremely hostile and ready to attack.


    When Mr. Fenton saw Adam coming with a concerned look on his face, he pulled to a stop, forcing everyone else in the line to also stop. By the time his window was rolled down Adam had reached him.


    ¡°Problem, General?¡± asked Mr. Fenton, with Lucas joining him on his own motorcycle.


    ¡°Definitely. If we continue down this road there¡¯s a good chance we¡¯ll be attacked from both sides. See those glass walls? There¡¯s movement on floors 2 thru 5, and they¡¯re angry enough to kill,¡± pointed out Adam.


    ¡°What should we do? How far should we take this?¡± asked Lucas.


    Adam looked one more time at his soul map. He might have turned around and gone back to the base, knowing these idiots weren¡¯t worth any injuries to his men, but some of the other souls he saw had given him pause. Further in, there were quite a few souls distorted and suffering in ways he had never seen before on his map. He wasn¡¯t about to leave them to these men.


    With one final glance at the lines behind him, Adam said loudly and to the terror of the captive leading them, ¡°Prepare for a raid!¡±

 CH 87: Humanity

    CHAPTER 87: Humanity


    ¡°Release!¡± Elias ordered as dozens of spells were fired.


    The windowed outer walls of the nearby buildings were shattered, cut, and melted from the second through fifth floors. Shouts and yells were heard even through the sounds of the glass breaking as the men behind those walls dropped or ran while being showered with the glass.


    Sentinels carrying shields forced their way into doors. It took no more than a shoulder impact or kick to force any locked door open for those strength classes that had hit Tier 2. Some gunfire sounded out, and a few of the malcontents even fired from their elevated positions at Adam¡¯s forces. It did them no good as the Sentinel Army showed overwhelming force in dragging the men to the street with almost no injuries.


    The metal armor and shields that some wore couldn¡¯t be penetrated by bullets. Even the leather armor that they had made from higher level beasts in their raids could resist the gun fire. When the leather did get penetrated, it was a minor wound that their healers could fix in an instant.


    Colonel Davian had repeatedly lectured Adam and the unit leaders about the difficulties of urban warfare. How it allowed the enemies to hide, creating so many obstacles that it was never safe to enter streets or buildings, while leaving enemies with so many ways to retreat that it was challenging to block them all. Weapons strong enough to quickly eliminate the threats would cause so much structural damage to the buildings that it led to more danger to those assaulting if they didn¡¯t want to just bring all the buildings down.


    The fifteen minutes that it took to subdue every enemy in the buildings showed a stark difference between pre and post [System] combat. All the guns had been taken. The only damage that had been done was to locked doors and the outer windows. The malcontents were surrounded on the street, all 232 of them. Those stupid enough to force the issue or who had tried to run often ended up with broken bones, some accidental and some intentional.


    Even pre-[System] these men wouldn¡¯t have been much of a physical threat. Adam could only see them as the lazy and dregs, or those who paid others to do things for them. They were mostly weak, out of shape, or downright fat. Post-[System] every single one was a level zero. Not a single one of them had bothered to strengthen themselves, which more than disgusted Adam.


    Police Captain Sanchez had recommended that they wait to heal any enemies until the entire situation was resolved. That had significantly cowed most of the men. Those who continued to rant and shout, trying to rouse the others to violence, were separated with their arms and legs zip tied. Fortunately, the police cruisers did have a large supply of zip ties. Adam wasn¡¯t even sure at what level of strength those became useless too.


    ¡°Is it clear?¡± asked Lucas as the leaders gathered around Adam.


    ¡°These four buildings are. I¡¯m not seeing as many people further down, though there are still a few here and there. That medical center is where we need to go,¡± explained Adam as he pointed to a building about four streets down.


    He checked his soul map, and there were enough people with hostility towards him that they might need to go building by building to make it safe, especially if bringing people out of that medical clinic was required. Adam knew there wasn¡¯t really a rush. A thorough action would be better. He didn¡¯t have a plan on what to do with all these people, but the state of the other souls he was sensing was concerning him too much.


    Checking his soul map repeatedly he saw dozens of souls that were distorted. They looked washed out, as if there wasn¡¯t enough essence to them. Some of the souls were compressed, pushed into a tighter space than they should have occupied, trying to escape from the world around them. Still others were diffused and spreading, almost leaking into the space outside of their souls, unable to keep themselves together.


    Adam didn¡¯t know if this was caused by invaders, but he had to find out. He wouldn¡¯t put it past that mind controller to take advantage of these idiots who felt entitled to more than they had earned.


    ¡°Captain Sanchez,¡± Adam got the man¡¯s attention. ¡°Can you organize your police to search and clear the buildings on the right?¡±


    ¡°We can do that,¡± Sanchez said with a serious look on his face. He had interacted with Adam enough times by now to know that if he wasn¡¯t acting casual then there were more serious matters afoot than others would realize.


    ¡°If you need any of the Sentinels to reinforce or for a specific role then pull them for it. Lucas and Mr. Fenton, coordinate the soldiers to sweep the left buildings. Elias, hold this main street with the mages. Tom, bring the Guard and follow me. Shields up for snipers. We¡¯re heading right for that building. The rest of the Sentinels are to guard any prisoners that are brought here, including this group.¡±


    Adam gave out his assignments. While it wasn¡¯t the safest plan for him to go straight through, he needed to. There was something horribly wrong here, even if he wasn¡¯t sure what it was.


    Moving his foot to walk forward, a hand grabbed his arm to stop him. Abbey looked up at him and once she was sure he was waiting for her, she ran to the motorcycle and brought out a ridiculous looking helmet to match his armor. It covered the sides of his head, the back and top, and his forehead, leaving the face open. The cheek parts of the helm were winged so that they would cover his neck. Like all the armor that people made for him it was very ornate and regal, with even a circlet of spikes in it to look like a crown. He hated the thing, not just for its looks but the movement difficulties as well.


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you shot there again,¡± Abbey said as she plopped the helmet on his head.


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    Then he strode forward. Tom and Nick were at his sides, though not quite able to keep up with his determined strides. Abbey and Elouise scrambled to keep up, and about fifty of the General¡¯s Guards formed around the two women, shields up and covering all possible sight lines to protect them.


    With each building they passed, Adam could feel more people watching him. He could hear the sounds of the buildings being searched by the police and soldiers, dragging out the malcontents. There were only a few gunshot sounds, and he was glad none came at his group.


    Two men who looked out of place holding their AR-15s were guarding the front entrance of the medical clinic. They were both so busy watching his group approach that they failed to see Nick and one of the Guard stealthing behind them until knives were at their necks. Their guns were taken and then they were moved away from the door.


    The inside of the medical clinic was a very nice reception area. Or at least it had been. Without water and power for cleaning, it was obvious that many people had trampled the floor and mistreated the walls without bothering to clean up. There was dirt and grime and a musty smell that made Adam wince.


    Behind the reception desk was a wall of plexiglass protecting a single man and a large safe, about 5 feet tall and wide with at least a 10-foot depth. A small opening in the front was just big enough for a tray to be handed through. At their entrance, the man didn¡¯t even look up. He stared at the book in his lap while sliding a tray through the plexiglass opening.


    ¡°Payment first,¡± the man said in a droll tone, rattling the tray.


    Adam stood in front of the desk as more of his Guards entered. Realizing something was wrong, the man behind the clear wall looked up. Before he could even register surprise, Tom¡¯s sword had created a clean line in the plexiglass and its tip was against the man¡¯s throat. Adam gave the man a minute to realize he should be terrified before speaking.


    ¡°What do you do here?¡± asked Adam.


    The man showed on his face that he was trying to decide what answer to use. Tom didn¡¯t wait for a lie. The sword tip pushed a quarter of an inch into his neck without damaging anything, mostly piercing fat but causing the man pain. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t scream or move forward since that would have caused himself damage.


    ¡°No lies,¡± Tom insisted, twitching the sword just a hair.


    ¡°W-we don¡¯t do anything here,¡± the man stammered in a whisper, face red and sweating while blood was dripping from the neck wound.


    ¡°Uh-huh. And that isn¡¯t a safe behind you. And you didn¡¯t just ask us for money to enter. I¡¯m pretty sure I told you not to lie.¡±


    Before the man could even breath, the sword pulled out of his neck and then pushed into the other side. Adam stared at the man with his arms crossed, feeling like he was in a haze. He was scared of what he was going to find in this building, but knew he needed to move forward.


    ¡°What do you do here?¡± Adam repeated.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s a medical clinic,¡± the man barely got out. ¡°We help sick people.¡±


    ¡°You see, that was a lie. I¡¯m certain I told you not to lie,¡± Tom sighed dramatically. Then he nodded. Men on either side of the plexiglass pulled swords and in swift swings cut right through the wall without disturbing Tom¡¯s sword, still in the man¡¯s neck. One of the guards stepped over the remains of the wall and then cut the entire safe in half, to the shock of the impaled man.


    Inside the safe was money, jewelry, electronics, and many things that were considered valuable before the [System]. It also had things that were much more important now, like bottled water, preserved food, snacks and candy.


    ¡°Sorry, boss. I guess this guy is suffering from memory issues. We¡¯re going to need to check directly.¡±


    Adam nodded to Tom and then strode into a hallway. There was a sickly feel in the air. His soul map was fuzzy, reminding him of when he got dust in his eyes and everything was blurry through the tears. Adam¡¯s breathing became labored. He really didn¡¯t want to enter this place, but he couldn¡¯t let the others do what he didn¡¯t want to. With forced strides he outpaced everyone behind him.


    Then he got to the first room. The door was locked from the outside and had a thin viewing window at head height. It was like a hospital room but without outside windows. The room was small, about 8 by 10 feet in size, made smaller by the twin sized bed with metal railing.


    Laying on the bed, barely breathing was a woman. She only had a dirty hospital gown on. There were sores, bruises, and cuts in different places on her body, with very little covered by the gown. She wasn¡¯t asleep but didn¡¯t respond to him blocking the little light that entered from the hallway.


    Adam didn¡¯t just see with his eyes though. He also saw through the soul map. The hazy, fuzzy view on it gave Adam the impression that the soul in front of him was fading.


    Not bothering to get the key, or caring that the door was meant to open inward, Adam activated [Body and Soul Shaping] to feed himself more strength. The door and frame were ripped from the wall. A noxious smell came out of the room of blood, sweat, and bodily fluids.


    When Abbey, Elouise, and Tom had reached the hole in the wall that Adam had created, he was already moving to the next door.


    ¡°Oh no!¡± gasped Abbey and she rushed in to heal the woman. Tom gagged to the side, just inside the room. Elouise stood rigidly in the doorway before hurrying after Adam.


    Door after door were ripped from the walls by Adam. He didn¡¯t enter the rooms himself though. The Guard was rushing to bring the women out of the rooms, to the healers that were now waiting in the reception area. A water mage from Elias¡¯s group had been fetched to make clean water for them to wipe the women off with.


    Adam had missed it in the first room, but there were needles and other signs of drugs scattered around. Some of the rooms even had men in them, still mistreating the women in various ways. Those men were also dragged out, mercilessly, in whatever state they had been in. Any that had been acting violently were treated with added viciousness as they were hauled out.


    Breathing was difficult for Adam. He was choking on the smells, choking on his bile, and barely able to see through his fury. This wasn¡¯t a fury built from soul corruption or embedded messages, or skills to empower him. This was a rage at humanity, at the people who could do this. Whether an invader had been the trigger or not, this had all the signs of humans.


    Adam wanted to flare up and burn it to the ground. To burn everything to the ground. He couldn¡¯t understand how people could be this way. It had only been two months and humans were already destroying their own.


    There were dozens of rooms, dozens of doors ripped out of walls. Every room had a barely alive seeming women, or in a few young men. Adam just kept going.


    Elouise had yelled for him to slow down or stop at the beginning, but like in a battle, Adam couldn¡¯t be stopped. Instead, she ran after him, barely able to keep up, even though she was now at level 12.


    Eventually Adam did stop, though not for an expected reason. He arrived at the double doors to a cafeteria. When he pulled them open, he found over 100 children, filthy, malnourished, and terrified at the sound of the door opening.


    They were all ages. From babies to early teenagers. It looked like girls in their early teens were trying to care for them, distracting them with play, or cuddling the weak children.


    Adam might have been able to get angrier. He might have been able to rage or submerge his mind within his river of power. Instead, his insides froze. Emotions fell out of him and he became ice.

 CH 88: Banishment

    CHAPTER 88: Banishment


    ¡°Adam, I¡¯m not sure this is a good idea,¡± said Police Chief Sanchez as he stood next to Adam back on the street.


    They had rounded up a little over 300 men. Sanchez hadn¡¯t seen the inside of the clinic yet. Or the people they were waiting to bring out.


    They had radioed base and called for as many ambulances, busses, and support personnel as they might need. Elouise and Tom had interrogated some of the men that were ¡°maintaining¡± the women. They confirmed that both legal and illegal drugs had been used to keep the women subdued. They had also confirmed the purpose of the place, which earned the men who spoke a decapitation from an enraged Tom and his followers.


    Adam had stopped caring about these people, the men rounded up in the streets. Many of whom were shouting profanities or demands. He didn¡¯t listen. To him they had stopped being people. Stopped being human. They were just a different type of invader, to be conquered and put down.


    ¡°Studied have shown that separating children from their parents, even suspected abusive ones, is just as detrimental to them as making sure they stay connected,¡± Sanchez stated.


    Adam met Sanchez¡¯s eyes, and the man flinched. He had grown accustomed to Adam¡¯s intense looks, filled with fury. Now it was different. Scary in another way. Instead of burning, these eyes felt like they could drain the life out of you and not care.


    ¡°We bring them,¡± Adam stated simply before looking back to the clinic building.


    ¡°I understand you¡¯re upset but we shouldn¡¯t make any decisions based on emotions,¡± Sanchez continued.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s asked the voice of wisdom, who came to prevent us from doing just that.¡± Adam turned to Elouise who was also just staring blankly at the building.


    ¡°We bring them,¡± Elouise said quietly.


    ¡°All hail the bandit king and queen. Destruction, pillaging, and taking the women and children,¡± said Tom. It was a measure of everyone¡¯s upset that no one smacked him.


    ¡°Destruction is a good idea. Once everyone is out, have the mages and Demo Men level that building,¡± Adam ordered.


    Someone from the herd of captives yelled, ¡°But there are valuable things in there.¡± He quickly regretted it after seeing Adam¡¯s glare.


    There was organized chaos as more vehicles arrived carrying additional troops and support. Adam¡¯s mom and Mrs. Rhodes, a nurse, came as well. After entering the building, his mother rushed out while gagging. She came over to Adam with teary eyes and put an arm around him. He didn¡¯t move or acknowledge the attempted comforting.


    Those around Adam took charge as he stood there stoically, watching people moving but adding little. His presence, and the pressure it gave off, kept people moving quickly and provided authority to the people giving orders. When a question was asked of him, he stared down the person and answered it as briefly as possible.


    After 30 minutes of activity, what Adam was waiting for happened. From up the street came the mob. A couple hundred men and women. Some carried guns, others blunt objects. A few even had bows and arrows. It was almost a surprise they didn¡¯t carry torches and pitchforks.


    Most of the people looked dirty, but not the man in the front. He was a bit taller than Adam, and thin. He wore sunglasses that matched his styled dark hair and neatly pressed suit. His business shoes made a clopping sound every time he stepped.


    Adam didn¡¯t care. He turned and walked towards them, his metal boots with a rubber coating made no sound as he walked. A shrill whistle from Tom got everyone attention, and soon Adam had Lucas and Tom at his sides, shield bearers behind him, and raid positioning was formed up. Quite a few moved to protect the support staff and the rescue vehicles.


    ¡°Who are you that invades our city?¡± Mr. Tamare asked when he was close enough. His words were deliberate and caused a twinge in Adam¡¯s hostility.


    ¡°Why are you stealing our people?¡± demanded a smaller, more belligerent man who was behind Mr. Tamare. Adam could see the resemblance to Brandon. He could also see the skittish woman holding the back of his shirt with her left hand, since her right arm was in a sling. It was easy to see that the skinny woman¡¯s arm was swollen and needed medical care, and that was besides the large bruise on her face. Her gaze darted around in fear while she desperately held on to her husband.


    Adam called his ranks to stop. Then he just watched the men, not responding.


    ¡°Oh, stealing them? Is that what we¡¯re doing?¡± mocked Tom. ¡°What was it you were doing with them?¡±


    ¡°They were receiving the best medical treatment available in our city. They were in a medical clinic after all,¡± Mr. Tamare said grandiosely. ¡°You have now started a conflict. Have you no respect for law and order?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, right. As if the conflict wasn¡¯t started when one of your parasites fired a gun at the boss and his wife, Abbey,¡± said Tom sarcastically, with a finger on his lips while looking to the sky theatrically. ¡°It was when we came and helped the captives you were slaving out.¡±


    ¡°What captives?  There was no slaving.  They simply needed medical attention.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll agree with you there. After being in your care, they sure needed that attention,¡± taunted Tom.


    At Tom''s continued accusations, Mr. Tamare''s expression flashed from the smugness to concern, though only for a moment.  He turned to a few of the more prominent followers and whispered quietly with them.  There was plenty of emphatic gesturing and whisper shouting.  A few more people came forward and joined the impromptu meeting.  Adam couldn''t hear what was said but it seemed very heated.


    When Abbey''s dad finally turned back to them, there was confidence on his face and stance.


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    "I''ve been assured by these good people that your accusations are incorrect, nothing more than slander.  I will no longer listen to your attempts to discredit hard working people just for your own greed!"


    ¡°My wife was in there,¡± one man shouted angrily at them.


    ¡°My kids were too,¡± yelled another man.


    The mob began flexing muscles, shifting their cudgels. Taunts and insults were cried out.


    ¡°Now the mighty General, who has fooled everyone to believe he isn¡¯t an alien lacky, has come to kidnap our people, like he kidnapped my daughter,¡± said Mr. Tamare with increasing vigor. ¡°You¡¯ve stolen all the food and water, you¡¯ve kept the best of everything for yourself. And now you¡¯re collecting all the women for your own perversions!¡±


    ¡°Oh? Perversions? Is that what you guys were using them for?¡± said Tom, no longer joking.


    ¡°I demand justice!¡± shouted Mr. Tamare to his own group. ¡°We demand justice! We demand justice!¡±


    The rest of the mob took up the chant. Adam continued to stand still, watching them all.


    Then another voice spoke up as Police Chief Sanchez came forward.


    ¡°I was police chief before the invasions started. What justice are you looking for?¡± asked Sanchez.


    ¡°Arrest that boy! Stop protecting him! He must be held accountable,¡± screamed Mr. Tamare, causing similar shouts from the crowd.


    ¡°Were you not watching the news when the invasion hit? Did you not see footage of governments falling?¡± Sanchez asked genuinely.


    ¡°What are you talking about? That¡¯s impossible. This is just that boy taking out the electric grid so he could seize control,¡± Mr. Tamare said towards his own people, reinforcing a truth that he held tightly.


    ¡°And what if it isn¡¯t? What if it happened? I¡¯m not saying we won¡¯t hold Adam accountable for wrongs, but so far we haven¡¯t seen anything that even violates our old laws.¡±


    ¡°That is also impossible! That man is sneaking away with our people. The city¡¯s people!¡± shouted Brandon¡¯s dad.


    ¡°See this?¡± asked Mr. Tamare as he indicated his people behind him. They were thumping clubs and taking aim with guns. ¡°This is what happens when you go against the people. This is the consequence when you push the people too far!¡±


    A cheer went up from the men behind him. The volume rose. Shields went up behind Adam and swords were drawn. It continued for a few minutes, but Mr. Tamare frowned when he saw Adam still standing there unaffected by it all, watching him with eyes of ice.


    When the sound lowered down, Adam finally spoke. He didn¡¯t yell or raise his voice. His words came out casually, surprising both sides.


    ¡°Go home. Treat your people better and keep away from ours. Then there won¡¯t need to be a conflict,¡± Adam said, as if telling the rules to a playground game. ¡°This isn¡¯t the time for human conflict.¡±


    Brandon had pushed his way through the shields and was next to Adam, looking mournful and shaking his head as he watched his parents. His mother saw him and then spoke out. Her voice quivered as if she was much older than her current age.


    ¡°Brandon¡­son¡­it isn¡¯t too late. Just listen to your father. He knows what¡¯s best for us.¡± Brandon¡¯s dad turned and looked at her with anger. She flinched back but didn¡¯t let go of his shirt. ¡°He¡¯s still willing to forgive you and your friend. Just stop causing this trouble.¡±


    ¡°Oh, mom,¡± Brandon said shaking his head, not really responding to her. Tears were forming in his eyes but his resolve didn¡¯t change.


    Brandon¡¯s dad, seeing Brandon dismiss him, started stomping forward. Everyone grew tense on both sides. This could be the match that started the fire. He walked right up to Adam and poked him in his chest piece.


    ¡°What¡¯s a little shit bag like you gonna do if you don¡¯t get your way? Huh?¡±


    Adam looked down at the man, his finger pushing harder and harder against Adam¡¯s chest, even if nothing would ever come from it. Then Adam¡¯s hand shot out, led by his pointer finger much like Brandon¡¯s dad was doing. Adam¡¯s finger poked the man¡¯s forearm and there was a shrill crack, shocking the crowd to silence.


    Brandon¡¯s dad grabbed his arm and started screaming. Adam delicately picked up Brandon¡¯s mom, still holding on to the man, and handed her to Brandon. She began feebly hitting and struggling to get away, but Brandon didn¡¯t let her go.


    ¡°Mr. Tamare, I think you¡¯re acting under the wrong assumption. You seem to think that politics and rabblerousing matter. You¡¯ve clearly not been paying attention, even though I keep saying this,¡± said Adam, ignoring the man noisily rolling in pain in front of him. Mr. Tamare was scowling at him, looking between Adam and Brandon¡¯s dad.


    ¡°What do I have wrong?¡± scoffed Mr. Tamare.


    ¡°There is no government. Law and order has once more become whoever swings the biggest stick. And right now¡­¡± Adam used [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] and appeared in front of Mr. Tamare holding the man¡¯s face by the jaw and bringing it close to his own face. Mr. Tamare was taller than Adam, but the action had kicked his legs out from under him. ¡°I swing the biggest stick.¡±


    A quick use of [Incapacitating Shout] shook the mob. Not everyone fell to the group, but enough did.


    ¡°Here are the rules for now,¡± Adam said loud enough for everyone to hear. He didn¡¯t need to look to know there was fear in everyone¡¯s eyes. He could see it in Mr. Tamare¡¯s. ¡°Anyone who fires a gun will lose a hand. Anyone who disrupts our operations will lose their life. You all have three days to leave Jackson or to join the army fighting the invaders. The next three days we¡¯ll be sweeping the city looking for more ¡®medical clinics¡¯ and gathered children. On that third day if we find a capable man with a zero in their tag, they¡¯ll be executed for crimes against humanity.


    ¡°I might want to protect my fellow man, but those with a zero over their head are no longer men to me. Just cowards looking for someone else to stand behind.¡±


    People were now starting to recover from his roar. He watched them get up, unsure if they should fight back or not.


    Adam dropped Mr. Tamare. ¡°Out of respect for your daughter, who despite being related to you is a great girl, I haven¡¯t killed you. Yet. Clean up your act or leave. You don¡¯t want us to meet again like this.¡±


    Adam turned and walked through a quickly formed path among his troops.


    ¡°If they aren¡¯t dispersed in three minutes, execute them,¡± he finally said to a wave of salutes.


    ***


    The rest of the day was finished under frustrated exhaustion. Adam made sure a large enough force was set up to search for more places like the medical clinic they had found. He checked maps and watched as an ordered search grid was set up.


    When he finally returned to his penthouse, he found the door open again. Inside were not his friends, but dozens of teens younger than him throwing a party. They were using his gaming systems, playing in the pool, there were even couples making out on his couches. He looked to the kitchen where his cooks were frowning as the food they had prepared for him had been messily snatched by the party goers.


    His sister Emily was filling her own plate and when she saw him, she stuck out her tongue and continued. Adam took a deep breath. He wanted to get angry, but he had enough of that today. He wanted to kick everyone out and rage a bit, but his sister was someone he did want to protect, even with how antagonistic she was towards him.


    Instead, he grabbed a bag of calorie dense snacks and rations that he kept for emergencies and turned back to the door. He saw the boy he had nicknamed ¡°Meat Shield¡± leaning against a wall. When their eyes met, Adam raised an eyebrow. In response, Meat Shield gave an apologetic look.


    Coming over to him, the boy saluted. An impressive tag of ¡°Defender [4]¡± was over his head, showing that he had evolved his class to Tier 2. Adam knew he had been involved in most of the raids and thought highly of him for it.


    ¡°I only came to make sure they didn¡¯t break your stuff,¡± said the boy.


    ¡°Did Gracie come?¡± Adam asked curiously.


    ¡°No, Gracie scolds Emily any time she plans to mess with you. She wouldn¡¯t be caught dead at a party like this.¡±


    ¡°Well, thanks for looking out for the place. And Emily. I appreciate it, William,¡± Adam said, using the boy¡¯s name for the first time. William smiled so proudly, giving another salute.


    Then Adam left. He left his penthouse, his building, his base, and then his city. After the difficulties of the day, Adam needed some alone time. Some peace.


    He needed to kill some invaders.

 CH 89: Solo Raid

    CHAPTER 89: Solo Raid


    Normally it would have been an hour and a half drive. With no worry about traffic, speed limits or anything else, Adam drove as fast as his rebuilt motorcycle could go. He was pushing 150 mph, and truth be told, he wished he could go faster.


    The frame was built of an alloy that combined earth metals with testudinate metal. The alloy was necessary since the density of the testudinate metal created too much weight. The metal had to be diluted, but with other elements that wouldn¡¯t just break apart under that density.


    Adam had no idea what the tires were made from, but it wasn¡¯t earth rubber. Even at these high speeds, with some of the skids he had pulled, there was no smell of burning rubber from them. No friction degradation that he could tell, though they held good traction.


    The drive had been so wonderful, and a bit dangerous due to no streetlights. His headlights didn¡¯t show much in front of him considering how fast he was going. What he thought of as his danger sense was useless since it didn¡¯t trigger from danger but from other people¡¯s intent. Everything out here was dark and in shambles. Collisions were likely if anything was on the road or he didn¡¯t know of a turn before it happened.


    The roads hadn¡¯t broken in the two months since the invasions, though it would be less than a year before they were overgrown or cracked with no ground maintenance or cars driving on it to keep the plants down. No cars were out or parked on the roads to create obstacles. Still, it was challenging making some turns and remembering which way to go.


    A few times Adam changed directions randomly, hoping to see some invader hunting parties on the soul map. He had only heard of them before, never seen them personally, never had a chance to end them. It often took him a bit to find signs that he recognized when he wanted to get back to his planned route.


    With the unplanned detours, it still took him an hour to get to his destination. It was a rock quarry. Or it had been a rock quarry. Now it was a merged rift occupied by invaders made of rock.


    Were they rock golems? Or actual people? The scouts hadn¡¯t been sure. Adam wondered how rocks could have a soul to contain a class. Ultimately it didn¡¯t matter. They were invaders, and Adam would end them.


    The quarry wasn¡¯t a likely target for the Sentinel Army raids. Aliens made of stone wouldn¡¯t be susceptible to stabbing, slashing, or most elemental damage. It would take mostly blunt force damage to beat them, which Adam had plenty of.


    There also weren¡¯t resources here that they needed. Rock could be found all over, and earth rock wasn¡¯t very sturdy. Even the goblin rock castle had been sturdier than earth concrete.


    Not to mention the distance to this base made it impractical to travel so far to it. Traveling between the rifts was one of their largest barriers to attack. It prevented reinforcements from mobilizing quickly. Too much fuel was required to use vehicles for all the people and supplies that were needed as well. They tried taking what they could from gas stations in the nearby towns, but there would always be a finite amount. Without access to new vehicle designs, fuel sources, unearthly resources, or just more knowledge, they would reach their maximum travel range in only a few months. Then their defensible range would rapidly shrink.


    Adam could tell when he hit the invader base. There was a slightly foreign feeling in the air, a different atmosphere that gave away the changes to the planet. The paved roads suddenly became small rock spikes. The sides of the road also went from having trees to suddenly being barren of plant life.


    Skidding to a stop, Adam stepped off and popped down his kickstand. He had quite a few weapons to choose from, but he would go with the best tool for the job, his trusty war hammer.


    Pulling the war hammer from the long holster on the side of the bike, Adam pounded it on the ground a few times. He knew that it was impossible to approach a base without being tracked, so stealth wasn¡¯t even a consideration for him. Not that he could stealth. Or that he would.


    Today was about getting back to his mission, and to relieve the stress from the horrors he had seem. It was to get payback, both on the invaders who were forcing so many changes among humanity, but also on the world for being changed from the comfortable state he had been living in before the [System]. While it might be petty to take his aggression out on these rock creatures when they hadn¡¯t harmed humanity yet, they were still invaders. Adam¡¯s inner voice was telling him to conquer, demanding it while burning him from the inside, and that wouldn¡¯t be denied.


    Adam walked boldly in the dark of night towards where the quarry had once been. He felt the ground sloping down until he came to a split in the ground. It widened until it was about 18 feet across. The split continued downwards at a steeper angle, while the walls just stayed at the level the ground above had been. There was no ceiling, so Adam could still see the stars in the sky as he walked.


    ¡°Come on!¡± he shouted, feeling the echo and vibration down the slanted corridor. ¡°I¡¯m coming for you all!¡±


    Still, there was no noise or movement. His soul map wasn¡¯t showing anything on it either. The area felt like it was abandoned. Adam wouldn¡¯t let his guard down though.


    The one downside for Adam picking these enemies as his raid spot was that since they were made of rock, they had no blood. No blood meant no regeneration for Adam. Though when he thought about it, maybe they would have blood, just of a different type. Something alien.


    Then somewhere in Adam, the thought solidified. You might not be able to squeeze water from a stone, but he would find a way to make them bleed, one way or another. There was no doubt in Adam.


    As he reached close to the end of the sloped corridor, he felt a warm breeze coming towards him, along with just a hint of dim light. The walls opened to the side and he was on flat land again, even if it was gravelly and jagged. The ground would destroy regular sneakers.


    The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    The room, for he had no better idea what to call the area with dimensions of about 50 feet by 50 feet even as it still opened to the sky above the 30-foot-tall walls, had several furnaces and basins with molten rock in them. Quite a lot of corridors in the rock led to other areas, along with tunnels going into the rock walls. Adam had no idea what was in any of them because there was still barely any light for him to see by.


    Along with the furnaces and basins, there were quite a lot of the rock creatures. They came in a variety of sized, from waist height to twenty feet tall. Some had round, boulder-like torsos while others had slender torsos. Each one had four legs with nubby feet that looked like a fancy end table come to life. The song ¡°Be Our Guest¡± started playing in Adam¡¯s head, as he pictured them as giant furniture moving around.


    They didn¡¯t have true arms or hands, but there were long protrusions poking out from their torso in four directions, like the points on a compass. These arms ended in three stubby prongs on most, swinging back and forth to reach either side.


    Their motions were slow and made a slight grinding noise, like the joints of an abrasive toy. There was no head on any of them. No eyes for sight or ears, as far as he could tell. They were damn rocks, probably sensing through vibration.


    The basins were filled with molten rocks and had the creatures bathing in them. Some of the creatures were working to pour the molten rock into molds. Adam wondered if that was how they made more, since obviously mammalian procreation wasn¡¯t a thing for them. It would be interesting to read a dissertation on rock reproduction based on this room.


    BANG!


    Adam slammed the head of his hammer on the ground. None of the creatures turned towards him, but he guessed they were mobile from any direction. How could they not be aware of him?


    BANG! BANG! BANG!


    He continued the banging. The smaller of the rock creatures began moving away from him. They had ¡°Pebble Worker¡± for a tag, between level 4 and 6. The larger ones had more diverse classes, ¡°Slate Crusher,¡± ¡°Rubble Shifter,¡± and ¡°Boulder Smasher.¡± Those had classes between 11 and 14.


    Adam waited until one of the slow-moving creatures approached him and then he swung his hammer. It hit dead center of the torso of a rubble shifter, between the arms and the legs. The thing shook and then fell over, cracks appeared in its torso, but there was no kill message.


    The feedback Adam received through the hammer was also rather painful. The vibration from the impact had shaken his hands and elbows, through his joints and to his bones. Once more, levels and stats didn¡¯t ensure victory.


    Triggering his pseudo-skill for [Kinetic Impact], Adam¡¯s hammer began to glow. It was a tiny light that diffused in the open space, but there was a comfort in it to Adam. The glow of power. His power.


    A slate crusher took a moment to help up the hurt rubble shifter that Adam had knocked over. Then they ambled over to him. Adam would have no trouble out running them or dodging them. The length of his hammer¡¯s handle would keep him out of reach from those pronged limbs around them.


    They had their own way of fighting, though. They didn¡¯t rush him, couldn¡¯t rush with those slow movements. Instead, they formed a circle. There weren¡¯t enough of them to really keep him from moving out of it, but the echoes from a few impacts make him realize that reinforcements were falling from the walls. They were literally coming out of the walls, as if they had been asleep in the chunky rock there.


    A second circle was formed around Adam, blocking the gaps in the first. Adam roared, surprised that the vibration of his voice and his [Incapacitating Shout] had no effect on them. Then Adam charged.


    He rushed towards the one he had hurt earlier, wondering how many strikes it would take to put it down. A hit with the glowing hammer in the same spot shook the rubble shifter backwards into a boulder smasher. [Kinetic Impact] caused it to fall sideways into the next creature in the circle. The distance they moved was short, and the power transfer from the pseudo-skill wasn¡¯t enough to hurt them. It became a slight knockback against these sturdy and heavy invaders, and that was all.


    It didn¡¯t matter to Adam. He opened the spigot of power by using his only real skill, [Body and Soul Shaping], feeling more strength and heat reach him. Thoughts of the hopeless and desperate people who had spent weeks being cooked alive flitted through his mind, providing his river more than enough powered rage. The women and children they had found in the city caused his heat to pulse even faster.


    The next swing of his hammer absolutely shattered the rubble shifter, pelting those around it with the rocks that made up its body. The rest seemed to take offense to that as their limbs swung back and forth with more vigor.


    Petramus ¡°Rubble Shifter [12]¡± slain. 598 XP gained.


    Adam rushed to the other side of the circle and swung his hammer again. Two swings and a slate crusher fell.


    Petramus ¡°Slate Crusher [11]¡± slain. 534 XP gained.


    Adam expected a gap to be where the rock monster fell so that he could slip out and fight where there was more space. Maybe kite the slow-moving invaders around with hit and run tactics. That was when he realized that a third and fourth circle had formed without him noticing. There were already a hundred of these creatures in the room surrounding him. He was truly surrounded and any gap he entered would have put him in a worse situation.


    The Petramus were slowly moving forward, shrinking the circle, removing any space for him to move in. Adam pictured those men, those human men who had done horrible things to their fellow humans and how they felt it was appropriate. How easy it was for them to turn on their own due to selfishness and a sense of entitlement.


    So much anger. His inner heat increased, and the river picked up speed as it became rapids. Adam was suffused with the rage. Before today it had all been towards the invaders and fueled by whatever changes to his soul the [System] had brought, the soul corruption. Now he knew that the threats weren¡¯t just from outside the humans.


    Sure, the military and government had betrayed and tried to assassinate him, but he had expected that. Mostly they were doing that to have something to fight the invaders with, just on their own terms, like Adam wanted to have. It had been selfish and wrong, but not truly destructive to their own kind.


    Today he had seen a sadistic darkness in those people. They were stealing the very life and souls from people who didn¡¯t deserve it and weren¡¯t even becoming stronger or more protected by it. Their strength, arrogance, and entitlement were illusions from pathetic men who would crumble under the changes the apocalypse had brought. They just wanted to make a false world to live in until someone else fixed things for them.


    It took a moment for Adam to realize he had been growling while clenching his teeth. Television, movies, and books talked about things like he had seen, but that couldn¡¯t prepare such a sheltered teen from these experiences. Even the horrors of the invaders he had witnessed could be brushed off as them being monsters. But humans doing the same? That caused Adam an inner pain that even the soul corruption couldn¡¯t smooth out.


    Petramus ¡°Slate Crusher [12]¡± slain. 575 XP gained.


    Petramus ¡°Boulder Crusher [14]¡± slain. 629 XP gained.


    Adam felt the handle of the hammer bending beneath the impacts. There was so much rage inside him trying to escape. So much heat coming out with every exhale. His grip had pressed finger indents into the testudinate metal.


    Dropping the hammer, Adam balled his hands into fists. They began to glow from [Kinetic Impact].


    If there was no tool that could get the job done, then Adam would make the world a better place with his own two hands.

 CH 90: As The Rocks Crumble

    CHAPTER 90: As The Rocks Crumble


    There was no way of knowing how long Adam had been punching these creatures. Rubble and debris were scattered around, and while it didn¡¯t hamper the Petramus, it did force him to change fighting locations frequently.


    Some small, aware part of Adam was trying to box and throw skillful punches, working on his techniques and physical abilities. They were still a poor imitation of the people he had fought against in the challenges back before the invasions. The rest of Adam was just raging. His outward movements were a rampage that matched the fury of the rapids in his inner river.


    He had allowed the emotions to take over. He wanted to burn them out. The anger and hate needed an outlet. Before the invasions, he was constantly fighting, constantly proving himself, trying hard to get the authorities to take him seriously and prepare on their own. Now that there were more targets, he had to moderate himself and allow others to do the fighting so the benefits would go to them.


    Adam knew he was a lazy kid, though he never used to feel the need to change that. His emotions had been muted before the invasions, and now they were unbalanced, slanted towards the anger. It was needed to fuel his strength. Unfortunately, it also made it difficult for him to be balanced.


    Little things would set off his river. Big emotions tried to consume his mind. At those times his actions didn¡¯t come from his intentions but from the corruption.


    Yet no matter how angry he was, or how unhealthy his mindset, the soul corruption that had occurred with the arrival of the [System] came with a compulsion. He had to conquer. It wasn¡¯t a goal, or a desire, it was now who he was. He would never be able to rest or stop until everything knelt before him.


    Not just Earth either, he had realized before. Anything in front of him needed to be conquered. People, worlds, the [System], and also his emotions.


    This fight was about that. He had to burn out his current anger and frustration, his sadness, regret, and guilt. To keep conquering he needed to leave them behind so he could keep moving forward, even knowing that there would always be the rage.


    Petramus ¡°Boulder Smasher [14]¡± slain. 658 XP gained.


    When his current target went down, he dodged to avoid a blow coming from his right. That just led him into the blow coming from the left. There were so damn many of these things. They just kept coming out of the walls, or the corridors. They worked together, setting him up.


    Adam was thankful for his armor. Without it he would be broken in so many places. There were already so many dents in the armor around his torso that his quick movements allowed him to feel the indentations against his muscles and bones.


    Even the guards on his forearms, wrists, knuckles, and knees had been necessary and were flattened from the pounding he was giving and taking.


    Petramus ¡°Rock Mangler [4]¡± slain. 1,254 XP gained.


    Tier 2s were now in the mix. They were bigger and had two extra arm limbs and legs. Adam knew there were smarter ways to fight them than to use them as fossilized punching bags, but he kept focusing on body blows. He didn¡¯t want to win fast. He needed to burn out his emotions, to use them all up. Therapists probably wouldn¡¯t approve of this method. The real problem would be how to fill them with something positive, to keep him going until his next chance at violence and conquering.


    Adam kept punching, kept dodging, and kept getting hit before he finally felt himself slowing down. He was getting tired, and while he did want to exhaust everything he had, for safety he needed to get through this raid before he hit that point.


    While smashing the rock monsters, Adam had figured out that there were tiny veins running through them with a hot molten substance. It might have been some kind of nervous system, or magic flow, or possibly blood. He hadn¡¯t been able to taste it to see if it would allow him to regenerate since it solidified as soon as it touched the air.


    A roar came out of him, [Incapacitating Shout] triggered even though he knew it wasn¡¯t affective against them. He smashed one of the workers that were now involved in the fight before changing his tactics on the bigger ones.


    Petramus ¡°Pebble Worker [5]¡± slain. 243 XP gained.


    Adam stopped punching their bodies and focused on their legs. It didn¡¯t take a tactical genius to see the flaws in their designs. Taking out any two legs would drop them to the ground, and then their lack of balance would keep them there.


    The legs were much easier to punch through than the torsos. A [Kinetic Impact] enhanced right cross would shatter the hit leg and turn the monsters enough for his left cross to break a second leg. Adam didn¡¯t even have to finish them off as they flailed uselessly. He just moved on to the next one in the line.


    By the time Adam was breathing heavily, he had dropped hundreds of the Petramus to the ground. It would still take a lot of energy to finish off those on the floor, even if it was much safer than continuing to dodge and punch. Assuming those here weren¡¯t all of them, Adam pulled out from an armor covered pocket a few packets of gel that weightlifters ate for quick calories and energy. He popped the tabs on them one by one and quickly sucked down the gel.


    After finished the second packet, the ground started to vibrate. By the fourth packet, the whole area was full on shaking. The Petramus laying on the floor began hitting the ground with their weird limbs, as if in response.


    Adam knew this wasn¡¯t just shaking. It was the equivalent of a shout. Someone was yelling through the vibrations on the ground. Adam¡¯s real enemy was coming, and they were just as angry as he was.


    ¡°If you care that much then you shouldn¡¯t have touched what¡¯s mine!¡± Adam yelled, allowing the voice in his soul to speed up the river.


    ¡°Yes, this world is mine. First Earth, then I¡¯ll be conquering your worlds too,¡± Adam screamed with venom, accepting his role to conquer, even if he wouldn¡¯t accept every human. He also accepted how much of a villain the words made him seem.


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    [Body and Soul Shaping] opened further, drawing in more of the power and strength available from the river while creating a barrier within to keep that power from burning himself up. At the same time the ground opened and a Petramus rose from it. It was 20 feet tall. Instead of four arms and legs it had 16 of each, looking like the evilest ring toss game of all time. It also had one of the worst approximations of a toothy maw, but instead of being for air to come out of, it just snapped open and shut making gong like vibrations.


    This Petramus was clearly a tier above, probably Tier 3, and its tag read ¡°Iron Bedrock Destroyer [23].¡± Adam eyed the way it moved, listened to the way it bellowed, and felt the heat caused by friction from its joints moving. There was no way Adam could think up a worse creature design than this.


    The thing was a massive slab of metal. It was too slow to really be threatening, and the heat its joints gave off made Adam wonder how long it could really move for. On the flip side, the creature was probably almost indestructible in a normal fight. Adam wasn¡¯t sure he could punch through it or that he had a weapon that could pierce its almost solid body. The hammer would break before the beast did, and his knives and swords, even those made from alien metals, would break against the pure solid mass.


    Adam felt his danger sense kick in as the monster very slowly ambled towards him. It was so big that every step crushed other Petramus to death, causing kill notifications to pop up for Adam. He almost laughed at the mournful wail that came from the metal beast.


    The Iron Bedrock Destroyer had risen out of the giant crack in the ground two whole minutes ago and Adam didn¡¯t have to move during that time. It had only lumbered about half the distance to him and now it stopped, unsure how to get to him without causing more death to the other Petramus.


    ¡°Really? If this is it, then why did you even come to my world?¡± Adam questioned, receiving more gong vibrations from its mouth slamming open and closed.


    Adam and the monster faced each other for a few more minutes, neither moving. An idea came to Adam on how to kill it. This would undoubtedly be his stupidest fight to date. Even fighting the smaller Petramus was more interesting.


    Careful not to get in reach of the flailing limbs of the downed Petramus, Adam walked to the room¡¯s wall. He pulled out an elven dagger then jumped eighteen feet into the air. The knife slid easily into the rock, creating a handhold for Adam. He planted his feet against the wall and pushed off towards the creature with as much force as he could while using [Kinetic Impact] on his hands.


    The creature¡¯s legs were in a weird configuration, many held raised in the air, as it was trying not to step on its kin. As Adam left the wall, he pulled out the knife and threw it a few feet outside of the hole in the ground. When it struck and sank into the rock floor more cracks were created that found their way to the large opening the monster had created. In response it tried to plant its feet, and that was when Adam hit it with a soul spike. The soul spike caused it to freeze, except for a pained vibration that came from its clapping maw.


    Since the Tier 3 Petramus had triggered his danger sense, that meant it had both a soul and intent. Adam¡¯s soul map confirmed it, even as weak as its soul was. With the beast¡¯s legs still awkwardly placed, and the ground shifting, Adam became a rocket that punched the creature further off balance.


    As its many limbs spun trying to find a better position to keep it from falling, Adam then struck the ground, causing the cracks from the knife to collapse into the large gap where the monster had risen from.


    Then the giant mass fell backwards. It very slowly tipped, like a tree that wasn¡¯t completely cut. Gravity and mass forced it downward, though it resisted. Adam waited for the result¡­after getting safely away from it.


    The impact its top made as it tipped into the large hole in the ground caused rock and dust to spray out everywhere. This was further affected by its rotating limbs, both arms and legs. It reminded Adam of the cartoons where a jackhammer was bouncing all over without anyone controlling it.


    After a minute of watching it, and wishing he had a video camera to record it with, Adam suddenly felt a lot better. He felt better after his decisions. Better about his role. And better about destroying his enemies. This trip had been just as cathartic as he had needed.


    The next 15 minutes were spent with Adam creating a thin connection with the monster and casting his soul spike through it every 10 seconds. It was slow and tedious, but less painful than punching it repeatedly.


    He spent the time smashing the still squirming Petramus. For that he used the war hammer. With [Kinetic Impact] on it there was more durability than without, and the hammer was still brutalized. He had to take higher grips on the handle since it would continue to bend. Still, it got the job done. The right tool for the job.


    Petramus ¡°Iron Bedrock Destroyer [23]¡± slain. 20,472 xp gained.


    Adam let out a giant breath when all the Petramus were killed. He had walked through the corridors and tunnels, wanting to make sure he had been thorough. To not leave a single invader before his soul unclenched.


    Finding the control crystal had seemed like an impossible task. The Petramus didn¡¯t have pockets to search through, or inner spaces to keep anything in. Plus, after Adam¡¯s thorough work, there were small rock shards everywhere that looked like the control crystal in the dim light. Adam figured he¡¯d have to give up on this base and hope no one else occupied it either.


    Fortunately, he stumbled across the control crystal when he found the crystal pillar. One of the small workers had it in a pronged hand, trying to get to the main pillar. A quick stomp of his metal boots and then he held the control crystal up to the pillar.


    Owner of Dimensional Convergence Rift has died¡­


    Inheritor of Dimensional Convergence Rift was not specified¡­


    ¡­no new Inheritor found. Ownership presented to possessor of Control Node.


    Would you like to take Ownership of this Dimensional Convergence Rift?


    [ Yes / No ]


    Adam selected Yes.


    Ownership of Dimensional Convergence Rift has been taken by a native. Invasion ended.


    ¡­All natives included in Dimensional Convergence Rift will receive the title ¡°Invasion Conqueror¡±.


    Invasion Conqueror


    For defeating an enemy of your planet and preventing their rampage from continuing you will receive +2 to all stats. Claiming more Dimensional Convergence Rifts will increase this title.


    Rewards released to all natives within this Dimensional Convergence Rift.


    ¡­error. Soul corruption found. Unable to assign benefits of title.


    Adam let out a chuckle. He knew it was coming, expecting it, had even made peace with it to a degree, but still felt like punching the [System] in its damn face. Really his biggest regret was that none of his friends or people were here to get the benefit of it.


    He had been trying so hard to empower those around him, knowing that he didn¡¯t have as clear a path to power as them, yet he had needed a solo jaunt. That¡¯s what this trip had been about. It still felt wasteful that he was just keeping these stats from the others. Two extra stats might not seem like a lot, but with the volume of rifts they conquered, it was adding up, and would continue to.


    This dimensional layer has been merged with the planetary reality. For an energy penalty within the next planetary day, you may uncouple this dimensional layer from the planetary reality returning it to a Dimensional Convergence Rift.


    Would you like to decouple dimensional layer?


    [ Yes / No ]


    Adam was going to hit ¡°Yes,¡± but a sound and motion caused him to turn to the entrance of the small room. He got into a fighting stance with his hands raised and cast [Kinetic Impact].


    Standing in the darkness of the doorway was a form he knew. She was his own height, tall for a girl. Even with her arms crossed and a sour look on her face, she looked glamorous, like a model.


    Adam¡¯s anger sprang back as he remembered the letter the mind controller had sent him when he captured the Terrenidon base. Tension filled him. Was this an illusion, shapeshifter, or mind control? Alissa¡¯s form stepped further into the room, recognizable even in the near darkness.


    ¡°Oh sweetie, I heard you had a bad day at work,¡± Alissa¡¯s voice said with nothing but sympathy.

 CH 91: Not the Only One

    CHAPTER 91: Not the Only One


    ¡°Oh sweetie, I heard you had a bad day at work,¡± Alissa¡¯s voice said, full of sympathy.


    Adam stood in the dark, looking at her. He didn¡¯t move. [Kinetic Impact] made his hands glow just enough so that he could see the frown on Alissa¡¯s face while she watched him stay in a fighting posture.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± she asked, not moving forward but also not moving back.


    His mind went to all the worst places. What they could do to him using the form of the girls, or any of his friends. What they could get him to do for those friends.


    Honestly, he wasn¡¯t sure. It was both reassuring and scary in his own mind when he realized they couldn¡¯t get him to do much to betray Earth or his people, even if his friends were in danger. That would just become fuel for the next group of invaders he faced.


    ¡°How do I know you¡¯re Alissa?¡± Adam asked dangerously.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± she asked with surprise.


    ¡°I¡¯ve received a letter from the mind controller after clearing a base. She¡¯s attacked my friends before, as well as trying to trap both me and them,¡± Adam admitted without letting his guard down. ¡°I¡¯m far from my base and no one knew where I went. How could the real Alissa be here?¡±


    Alissa took a deep breath. She looked to the ceiling.


    ¡°Adam, don¡¯t be a dumbass! Just use the skill for the sovereign to find his appointed. That skill is how I found you,¡± Alissa said impatiently.


    ¡°Oh. You got a skill for that? I, uh, don¡¯t have skills, remember?¡± Adam felt flummoxed and the tension deflated. Then he opened his status menu. On the Loyalty tab he clicked on Alissa¡¯s name, ¡°Avenging Angel,¡± and then an arrow appeared in his view pointing to the person in front of him, with an outline drawn around her.


    She saw his demeanor change and then walked over to him.


    ¡°Come here, sweetie,¡± Alissa said, once more her voice held compassion. ¡°Everyone was worried for you when you rushed off. Us girls gave Emily a good talking to and even threatened to kick her out of the Wives suite for what she did. We know your day was bad, and that you haven¡¯t experienced stuff like that in your life. Just come over here.¡±


    Adam got closer to Alissa. She put both hands on the sides of his face and rested his cheek on her chest. Then she pulled him to the floor where she sat cradling his head. She hummed quietly as she rocked him. He allowed himself to be led.


    ¡°Why did you close our connections?¡± she asked.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t close them,¡± he answered absentmindedly.


    ¡°Oh? Then where are they?¡±


    He went to check on them. He dove into himself while feeling the warmth of her hands, arms, and chest. What he saw there made him tense. Part of his very soul was frozen, like the time he had disconnected his body to keep from attacking his friends. It affected the connections and soul, altering the flow of energy around him, affecting his emotions.


    ¡°Sorry. I think it¡¯ll take a bit for them to come back,¡± he said apologetically.


    ¡°What happened?¡±


    ¡°After seeing the suffering from the people we rescued in the Labesatis raid, and then having those pathetic guys threatening us and making demands, I wanted to strike out at them but held myself back. Then we found those women¡­seeing the kids in that place, I just wanted to explode and take everyone with me. Freezing a part of me was the only way to keep from going on a killing spree, something I probably would have regretted,¡± explained Adam once he understood what he saw inside himself.


    Alissa just cooed soothingly as she held him.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry you had to experience that. A lot of bad things happen to people. A lot of people do bad things. It isn¡¯t your fault or responsibility. There were assholes before the invasion happened and there will be assholes after you kick the invaders off Earth,¡± Alissa said, trying to comfort him while she brushed her hands through his hair.


    ¡°There is so much to do. So many problems,¡± Adam sighed.


    ¡°It must be difficult to hold yourself back for the rest of us. You could probably be taking down invader bases left and right, like tonight, but you¡¯re waiting for us. Just remember, we¡¯re getting stronger, and you won¡¯t have to carry us much longer. In all honestly, the rest of us feel like we¡¯re being held back by the army as well,¡± admitted Alissa. ¡°You aren¡¯t the only one determined to win this war.¡±


    ¡°Huh,¡± was all Adam said as he pondered those last words. It was true that they were getting stronger. His friends weren¡¯t just the highest level because they had been fighting longer, they were also very good at their roles. The extra power they had gotten from the appointment titles showed in their better classes and skills. Maybe it would be ok for him to clear out more bases with them, letting the others in the Sentinel Army go at a slower pace. Not everyone can be the strongest, and there would be plenty of bases across the planet even after his friends had their pick.


    Adam took his time laying there with Alissa. Usually she was the rowdy, in your face one, and while she had been blunt with him, she was also being quite gentle. It helped his insides thaw, and the connections came back. Earlier he knew that he needed something else to balance the anger, and at this moment he felt like he had it.


    After a bit more time, Alissa leaned down and gave Adam a gentle kiss on the lips. Then she sat up.


    ¡°We¡¯d better go, the others are waiting,¡± she said.


    ¡°Others?¡± questioned Adam.


    They walked down a dim tunnel and saw a flickering of fire light. When Adam walked out into the main room, open to the stars, he saw a large campfire surrounded by his friends. They were grilling and eating some kind of¡­well, he was confident it was meat in some form. It had a white, pulsing quality to it and his stomach growled loudly.


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    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, boss. We saved most of it for you,¡± said Tom, passing him a long stick with plenty of the meat on it.


    When Adam took a bite, he thought it tasted like a more tender chicken. Then he thought again, wondering if mutated chickens still tasted the same. Maybe they would find out at some point.


    ¡°What kind of meat is this?¡± Adam asked Lamar, who was cooking and seasoning it.


    ¡°Snake. It was hell trying to follow you and we ran into a nest of these snakes when we crossed into an invader base by accident,¡± answered Lamar.


    ¡°How did you guys even know to follow me?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Are you seriously?¡± Nick asked while dripping sarcasm. ¡°The most powerful person, the leader of the whole army, angrily drives off, leaving without telling anyone or taking people with him. You didn¡¯t even take a radio. That panicked more than a few people. Some thought that after the gossip from the afternoon, you were abandoning us. I can guarantee the rest of the city with be searched for level 0s quickly and thoroughly to follow your edict.¡±


    ¡°Really? But no one stopped me or asked where I was going.¡±


    ¡°Darling, you looked like you were going to commit genocide. No one was brave enough to stop or ask you,¡± answered Andrea.


    ¡°Some guards called the command center to see why you were going out alone. The center called the colonel and your mom, who was freaking out, by the way. Get her something nice as an apology, nicer than these rocks. Your mom called me. Then I called the group,¡± stated Nick, explaining his game of telephone.


    ¡°By the time we were leaving, the whole base was awake and on alert,¡± said Lucas.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the entire army would have come after you if they knew where to find you,¡± said Lamar. ¡°Brittney had to threaten the unit commanders to get them to stay in Jackson.¡±


    ¡°Nothing funnier than seeing our small girl here berating and threatening large, grown men,¡± Alissa laughed and gave a blushing Brittney a hug.


    ¡°I recorded it. We can watch it again later,¡± said Ed, while looking at a laptop and pointing to a near silent drone hovering above them. The drone was clearly rebuilt with a different design and metals. It took more space than before but moved around smoother and without the buzzing.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t see what the big fuss was,¡± said Joseph. ¡°We told them you were probably just going to kill some invaders. For some reason that got them even more panicky.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s because you didn¡¯t specify that they weren¡¯t nearby,¡± retorted Elias. ¡°People thought they were attacking.¡±


    ¡°Thanks for the extra title, by the way,¡± said Tom. ¡°We got here just in time for it. How fast were you even going to get here so far ahead of us?¡±


    ¡°150 mph,¡± Adam answered.


    ¡°Damn! I¡¯m riding back with you,¡± said Brittney with a grin.


    ¡°Did you work everything out, Adam?¡± asked Abbey, scooting closer to him.


    ¡°I think so, at least for now. What it comes down to is that even if I could kill all the invaders, I still need your support. I need our connections to keep me balanced. I also need you guys to get stronger so I can share more of the load,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°We¡¯re working on it, buddy,¡± added Nick, slightly disgruntled.


    They sat for a while in quiet like that, listening to the crackle of the fire and the sizzle of the cooking meat. By the time the sun started to lighten the sky above them the fire was burned to embers and Adam was laying with Alissa on one side and Abbey on the other. He let out a contented sigh.


    Far from the city. far from the invaders, everything felt peaceful to Adam. He might not want to spend every day like this, but he needed to preserve enough so that they could come out and recharge themselves every now and then.


    ¡°So¡­snakes, huh?¡± Adam said lazily, eyelids half closed.


    ¡°Yup,¡± answered Lucas. ¡°Good skin on them too.¡±


    ¡°Hmm. Might help us make better leather armor,¡± pondered Adam.


    ¡°And more durable purses,¡± purred Alissa at his side.


    ¡°I could use a more stylish coat for this winter,¡± said Carlos, drawing a laugh from Andrea.


    ¡°You could use a more stylish everything for all seasons,¡± Andrea smirked.


    ¡°Harsh,¡± said Randall with a laugh.


    As one, everyone stood up, grabbed their stuff and headed towards the vehicles.


    ***


    ¡°They¡¯re in my hair! THEY¡¯RE IN MY HAIR!¡± shrieked Carlos as smaller snakes dropped from the trees onto him. Everyone rolled their eyes at him.


    ¡°[Tricky Play],¡± Carlos used his evasion skill, allowing him to slide out from under them before they could get any grip. He then used [Varying Strike] to create damage increases as he hit the snakes. Some he was able to poke straight through with the strike, and others he barely scratched at all as he only got glancing blows.


    ¡°[Steady Shot], [Quick Release]!¡± Lamar used his own skills, one to improve his aim and the other to get the shots off faster. Arrows ripped through the snakes that Carlos hadn¡¯t killed.


    ¡°Lame!¡± teased Andrea as she stood in front of another tree. There was a much larger snake wrapped around the branches above her. ¡°You are the information class, Mr. ¡®Gathering Hand¡¯ Carlos. Try using [See Life] before walking into an area.¡±


    Then Andrea cast her spell [Volt Cutter], sending out a stream of lighting that split the snake and the tree into pieces before igniting both. The sudden fire startled a few other large snakes, almost three feet in diameter. They burst out of the underbrush. One went right towards Alissa.


    ¡°[Blessing of Wrath],¡± Alissa said casually, gaining a washed-out yellow glow and a hefty boost to her Strength and Agility. Then she grabbed the head of the snake as it lunged at her. ¡°[Take Life].¡± The snake tried to squirm out of her grip as its vitality was slowly drained from it.


    A [Shield Bash] from Brittney stunned the advance of another while Elias used an [Earth Spike] to pin it in place for the supporters to get some XP. The third one was grabbed by Adam, who just walked it over to the rest of the group to get their hits in.


    They had almost cleared out the forest and were near the boss. It lay coiled up in a clearing. It was probably sixty feet long and thicker than any of them.


    ¡°Anyone else notice something weird about the boss?¡± asked Carlos.


    ¡°You mean other than it having a crocodile head?¡± volunteered Nick.


    ¡°Or how stumpy those human-like arms on its side look considering its length?¡± asked Brandon.


    ¡°Maybe he means the fact it¡¯s Tier 3?¡± threw in Randall.


    ¡°Whatever. I guess it¡¯s just weird,¡± admitted Carlos. Then his eyes flashed red as he used his skill [See Weakness]. ¡°Its weak points are its eyes, the spots where it should have ears, and its inside.¡±


    Adam lifted the great sword that Garrett had made for him. It had a six-foot-long, triangle blade with a razor edge and tip. It could be used for slashing or stabbing. The two-foot-long handle was counterbalanced with a large and heavy lump of metal that Adam could use for crushing.


    ¡°You don¡¯t say,¡± said Adam. Then he used [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] to arrive right in front of its mouth while he was slashing. The snake¡¯s crocodile lower jaw was cut from its head. ¡°There, now you can exploit it¡¯s weakness easier.¡±


    ¡°Just like the good old days of fighting goblins,¡± reminisced Tom.


    ¡°Though without being gutted,¡± said Brandon with a shudder.


    ¡°Or being overwhelmed,¡± added Nick.


    ¡°And a lot less blood,¡± said Alissa.


    ¡°Are you guys just going to chat or can we kill it?¡± asked Lucas. He used the skill [All Weapons] to increase his ability with the axe in one hand and a sword in the other.


    Brittney didn¡¯t wait for the others and used [By Your Side] to help soak any damage they might take. She hefted the shield that was almost as big as her. ¡°Better hurry. I think Joseph is going to try and [Headhunt] it before you can even get there.¡±


    ¡°All the XP is mine!¡± yelled Joseph as he charged forward. As the slowest of the group, everyone else was able to catch up and get a hit in.


    Regardless of how easy it was to kill as a group, it still took some time. Their blades had trouble penetrating its skin, and it was fast enough to keep its head out of their reach. Adam allowed them all to fight and only stepped in when Joseph found himself coiled by it and Ed was tripped by its tail while he watched his laptop.


    As they took their second invader base of the night, with Adam decoupling both and returning them to Rifts with a barrier protecting it, they all looked refreshed despite being up all night.


    ¡°Looking good. You guys are definitely more capable than against the goblins,¡± Adam praised.


    ¡°That¡¯s not saying much,¡± complained Randall.


    ¡°Having better skills make it much easier,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Better coordination as well,¡± added Andrea.


    ¡°Should we hit that Ogre base on the way back?¡± asked Randall. They all stared at him blankly.


    ¡°The scouts said they were called Horkos,¡± corrected Elias. The stares turned to him.


    After a minute they shrugged or nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, ok. Let¡¯s go hunt some Ogres,¡± said Lucas, which brought a smile to Adam¡¯s face.

 CH 92: The Next Target

    CHAPTER 92: The Next Target


    Taking three new bases in a day and a night really lit a fire under the rest of Jackson. The bases taken had been the rare bases that were away from society. The creatures in them seemed more like they just wanted to claim a small territory with a particular environment than go on murder sprees, like the invaders whose bases were in more populous locations.


    The Horkos were a good challenge for Adam¡¯s friends. They were strong and incredibly durable, with a few classes that emphasized Agility and throwing objects. Each encounter felt like a boss fight, not because of levels, but due to the sheer time it took for the group to cause enough damage to be fatal. Once more it was a good stimulus for combat improvement, with the gained materials, like the Horkos bones and skin, being good for weapons and armor.


    Adam¡¯s friends had all gained five levels, which had been harder to get recently as their raids had long periods between them with so many more people splitting the kills and XP. The other fighters from Jackson saw the levels and dedicated themselves to improvement as well. They spent more time training their skills and combat techniques, practicing group maneuvers, or they went off to find higher level mutated animals to hunt.


    Regardless, improvement became the goal for everyone, and determination was strengthened. Even the non-fighter classes put more effort into their own roles, taking care of the people, organizing, crafting, or producing supplies.


    Now Adam was back in the meeting room, looking at an impressive 3D holographic map of the region. He doubted the model was actually there, more likely it was implanted in each person¡¯s vision by the Rift Menu using illusion magic. It made him feel like he was a part of a futuristic movie, even if it was using magic instead of technology.


    The map was based off satellite images from before the invasions, so it didn¡¯t exactly show the invader bases or how the terrain had changed. Nor did it show routes or information about which invaders were seen in each place. There were marks just to indicate where bases had been found according to scouting reports. Obviously, they hadn¡¯t even seen all the bases, so there was a lot of inaccuracy to the map.


    The area that Adam was looking at was outside of Nashville, between it and the South Hampton rift that they had taken. Adam zoomed around the map, expanding it and shrinking it like a tablet screen. He could even rotate it to see the depth and elevation. It was very intuitive and practically responded to his thoughts. He looked at the proposed area from different views, and even followed the path between it and Jackson, and then between it and South Hampton.


    ¡°This is where you think we should hit next?¡± asked Adam, still playing with the map.


    In the room were his team, a few other unit leaders, intelligence officers and strategists, as well as Colonel Davian and Captain Krysti. The civilians, including his parents, weren¡¯t a part of this session. Just in case. It would be easy for the invaders to know their actions once they began mobilizing, but there were a lot of bases in and around both Nashville and Memphis. Jackson was small potatoes compared to those two cities.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± answered one of the lead intelligence officers. Or at least the one that was thrown to the wolves, considering Adam¡¯s temperament. Very few people wanted to face Adam when he disapproved of something.


    ¡°How many thought this location was a good idea?¡± Adam asked after looking at it for a few more minutes.


    ¡°It was near unanimous. We only found four bases that met our criteria, and of those found, this seemed the best,¡± said Rick.


    Adam continued to look at it. Rick started to get nervous.


    ¡°Do you not approve of it, sir?¡± Rick asked.


    ¡°Not sure,¡± said Adam.


    Lucas, Brittney, Tom, and Nick walked over to Adam and started looking over it too. Adam delaying was unusual and the tension in the room rose from it. Typically, Adam only asked where and when. He rarely had an opinion of the target as long as he got to clear out invaders. Even Colonel Davian started to fidget as Adam went on.


    ¡°What criteria did you use?¡± Adam asked after a few more minutes.


    ¡°It sits next to a water reclamation plant, so if we take it, we should be able to get water, even if you decouple it into a shielded rift. Our scouts said that the invaders in this base have been fighting strenuously with a nearby base, and these invaders were almost wiped out. Our forces will only need to go through a smaller number of enemies, only a few hundred should be left, and they¡¯ll probably be fatigued from fighting the other invaders,¡± explained Rick.


    ¡°Hmm¡­is that all?¡± pondered Adam.


    ¡°No, sir. It¡¯s also only half an hour by foot from the South Hampton Rift that we control. It gives us a nearby staging area, a place to keep our supplies, and a fallback point should things go wrong. We felt it provided the most security and stability.¡±


    ¡°What if they try to pin our forces within the South Hampton Rift and then attack Jackson,¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°That¡¯s always a concern, and I¡¯m sorry for this answer but in that case, we¡¯ll need to rely on your group to break through and return. So far, The General is the biggest power we¡¯ve seen, even among the invaders, and your squad is above or equal to any others the scouts have brought intelligence on.¡±


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    ¡°Then it¡¯s a ¡®The Boss Covers Our Asses¡¯ backup plan,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°Yes, sir. Sorry, sir, but really we have no other way to go. We¡¯re gaining numbers and more Tier 2s, but even The General has preached that a few strong can trump armies.¡± Rick flinched as he spoke truthfully.


    ¡°What operator Sherman is saying is that we¡¯re going to need to take a gamble on this,¡± Colonel Davian came to Rick¡¯s defense. ¡°In war it¡¯s sometimes necessary, and Adam gives us a big safety valve.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± said Adam, still manipulating the map, not looking up.


    ¡°W-we¡¯ve already prepared the advanced forces to transport supplies and soldiers to the Rift. Should we stand down on that?¡± Rick asked, getting more and more nervous. Colonel Davian raised an eyebrow at him.


    ¡°What are the secondary invaders like,¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°Avians. They have wings instead of arms, with claws at the end and attack from above. Their feet are claws with rather sharp talons. The scouts reported their fighting style is to drop things on the enemies. That¡¯s why they were able to outmatch the Pellicians at the base we recommended, even though the Pellicians are individually stronger.¡±


    ¡°Sounds like Harpies,¡± said Brittney, getting a snort and a ¡°Nerd!¡± from Tom, which earned Tom a punch from her.


    ¡°How would we defend against their attacks?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°If we¡¯re going against them, we would recommend armored vehicles. That should stop most of what they drop, since it¡¯s just gravity and scattered objects, not explosives or skill-based materials. Their base is also far enough away that if you have some lookouts, they¡¯ll give enough warning before the avians arrive.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°I think what the boss is saying is¡­¡± Tom started, then stopped when Adam zoomed way out on the map. He shifted it around, looking at different places, quickly zooming in on several of the markers before zooming back out and shifting it again. He was moving the map faster than anyone else could keep up with.


    After about the 8th zoom in, Adam stopped on a base in southern Tennessee.


    ¡°What about Pickwick Dam, near Counce?¡± asked Adam. ¡°There¡¯s a base marked there right on the water. It¡¯s also far from other marked bases and cities.¡±


    A few of the intelligence people looked at the map, zoomed in, and then quietly discussed it among themselves.


    ¡°I-I¡¯m very sorry, s-sir. W-we don¡¯t recommend that target,¡± answered Rick, preparing for the backlash.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± said Tom, putting his hand on his sword. Rick broke out into a clear sweat.


    Brittney punched Tom in his sword arm.


    ¡°Quit menacing the man. Adam can ask his own questions.¡±


    Tom breathed out heavily and then threw himself in a seat while rubbing where he was punched.


    ¡°Fiiiine,¡± he whined.


    Adam looked up at Rick and asked as unthreateningly as he could.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you recommend it?¡±


    ¡°Well, sir, it¡¯s very far from any location we control. There¡¯ll be no relief supplies or reinforcements available. It also doesn¡¯t move us towards a place we¡¯re trying to gain control over. The observed invaders from it are aquatic and our forces don¡¯t have the means or experience to fight that type of battle. I¡¯m not even sure what strategy we would use,¡± explained Rick, with several other men nodding nervously.


    ¡°You don¡¯t think we could do it?¡± Adam asked, while looked Rick in the eyes. Rick shrank backwards.


    ¡°It¡¯s not that you couldn¡¯t, or I should say it could be possible, we expect there are too many unknows, and if you were¡­¡± Rick floundered when Colonel Davian came to his aid.


    ¡°Adam, based on the intel present, it isn¡¯t a good target. We¡¯re in need of water and we can get it here while continuing our expansion into Nashville. It¡¯s sound strategic thinking. Is there a reason you pegged Pickwick Dam?¡±


    ¡°No particular reason. I¡¯m just concerned about hitting South Hampton again. Like a criminal returning to the scene of the crime,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°If you do have reservations, please say them, Adam,¡± said Davian. ¡°You¡¯ve made good decisions so far. Instincts and gut reactions can save a soldier as much as reason and planning. It takes a cooperation between them all.¡±


    ¡°No, I don¡¯t have any issue with it, so long as everyone thinks this is the best target.¡± Adam looked around and saw the nodding of not just the intelligence officers but also the experienced unit commanders too.


    ¡°That is why they¡¯re presenting it, Adam. There¡¯s always risk, especially in this war, and this location looks like it will be easier to mitigate,¡± reassured Davian.


    Adam nodded. ¡°Then let¡¯s go get us some water!¡±


    ***


    Three days were spent transporting people and supplies. Jordan had fun playing his city building game with the South Hampton Rift, setting up organized supply storage, sleeping barracks, and vehicle parking. It wasn¡¯t very elaborate, but he still couldn¡¯t get enough of it.


    Adam¡¯s friends also went out with different waves of fighters. Carlos and Nick were the first to head over, to work with the scouts to identify issues. Elias and his mages headed out next. Joseph went with his reapers. Andrea and Alissa took their assortment of people. Brandon and Abbey managed the support classes. Lucas and the Demo Men went with one of the later waves. Lamar brought the archers to the base. Brittney led the Sentinel Army warriors and protectors, with Captain Krysti overseeing the army soldiers. The rest stayed behind to defend Jackson.


    Leadership hadn¡¯t announced that this raid was to get more water for the base. Many thought this was just another raid to expand while getting rid of invaders. There were about 5,000 people sent to the South Hampton Rift, with Adam being the last to go. Since he was the symbol of safety for Jackson, they wanted him to stay in town as much as possible.


    Adam once again drove like a bat out of hell on his motorcycle, not being responsible for escorting any of the transports. Driving at top speeds was much easier on these main highways and during the day than when he went to that quarry at night. He didn¡¯t need to keep on edge for danger, instead enjoying the speed going by. There were even some stints where he tried to drive as far or fast as possible while balancing a wheelie. His mom would hate knowing he did that.


    The last time he traveled this route had taken hours, and even though they had conquered the base, they didn¡¯t feel like victors as they returned home with those traumatized survivors. This time he was able to enjoy the trip more, while shortening the time to only half an hour.


    It was important to know how quickly he could go just in case he needed to rush back to defend Jackson. Though in that case, Adam had no doubt the invaders would set traps for him along this main path. Next time he should look at alternative routes to time.


    Once he arrived at the Rift, he walked his bike into the black barrier. The soldiers were either moving around with a purpose, some arranging supplies, others vehicles, while support staff were busy cooking meals, or they were resting and waiting.


    Upon Adam¡¯s entry all eyes turned towards him expectantly. Not wanting to disappoint, but wanting to keep things simple, he raised a platform from the ground using the Rift Menu. Then he opened a projection so everyone could see and hear him.


    ¡°Tomorrow we¡¯ll be attacking another base. Do what you need to get ready for it. Assignments have already been given out, and we¡¯ll be doing one final check first thing in the morning. Good luck to everyone, and let¡¯s kick some more invaders off our planet!¡±

 CH 93: Water Reclamation Raid

    CHAPTER 93: Water Reclamation Raid


    Adam stood on a hill. This was where the road that led to the water reclamation plant was. If they followed this road down the hill then they would arrive at a weak chain link fence containing parking lots, buildings, and a few massive cylindrical structures that pressed against a flowing water way. Huge pipes were coming out of the ground, connecting into the various buildings.


    With Adam was Nick, Elias, Lucas, Brittney, Lamar, Captain Krysti, Mr. Fenton, a few other military company leaders, and surprisingly Rick Sherman.


    ¡°Why do you look so much more relaxed here than in the meeting room, Rick?¡± Adam asked the intelligence officer.


    ¡°I love being outdoors. Desks are rather stifling,¡± the man answered while observing the base. ¡°Besides, out here you glare at me less.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t glare at you,¡± said Adam, taken aback.


    ¡°You were definitely glaring at him in that meeting,¡± said Lamar.


    ¡°How could I have been? I was looking at the map the whole time,¡± insisted Adam.


    ¡°Even your voice and hmms were glaring at him,¡± said Carlos. Adam did glare at him. He just laughed.


    ¡°Adam, just assume that whenever you look at people and you aren¡¯t having fun it seems like you¡¯re glaring,¡± explained Nick.


    ¡°Did I glare before the [System] changed me?¡± asked Adam, curious now.


    ¡°No. Before the [System] you just always looked like you wanted to take a nap,¡± said Brittney.


    Lucas laid a heavy hand on Adam¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Do your thing here and we¡¯ll continue to ignore the glaring.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling rather ganged up on,¡± Adam said indifferently, not bothered by it at all.


    ¡°You¡¯ll get over it,¡± Nick laughed as he punched the unarmored part of Adam¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Rick, sorry for glaring at you,¡± Adam apologized as he looked intensely at Rick, causing him to step backwards.


    ¡°Sir, you¡¯re doing it right now.¡±


    ¡°Seems I can¡¯t help it. Anyway, this feels wrong,¡± said Adam as he went back to looking at the water reclamation plant.


    ¡°The glaring or your apology?¡± asked Carlos.


    ¡°Neither, dumbass. The base. Why is there a Rift that has merged with our planet and didn¡¯t change the area around it?¡± questioned Adam.


    ¡°Ah, I hadn¡¯t thought of that,¡± admitted Carlos.


    ¡°It does seem suspicious,¡± said Mr. Fenton, squinting at their surroundings.


    ¡°Any thoughts, Rick?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Sir, this is my first time at a base other than yours. I¡¯m not even sure what the bases are capable of. I came just to reassure you of our confidence in this target.¡±


    ¡°Where are the Pellicians that you mentioned? They control this area, right?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°Scouts have searched the surroundings and we didn¡¯t find any. We haven¡¯t gone into the base yet,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°What about those trees?¡± Adam asked, pointing to the woods at the top of the hill that spread out. They were a short distance from the boundary of the enemy rift edge.


    ¡°Nothing was found in them.¡±


    ¡°Carlos, what is the range on [See Life]?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°About 20 yards.¡±


    ¡°Damn, that¡¯s not far enough,¡± said Adam. ¡°This just isn¡¯t right.¡±


    ¡°What do you want to do about it?¡± asked Elias.


    ¡°We came all this way. Shouldn¡¯t we at least hit the base? If the Pellicians lost most of their forces fighting the air bound Arripions, then it would make sense that they¡¯d take shelter,¡± said Captain Krysti.


    ¡°The lookouts haven¡¯t seen any of those flying Arripions,¡± said Lamar.


    ¡°Damnit, they should know we¡¯re here. We¡¯re on the base turf,¡± swore Adam. ¡°Why aren¡¯t they doing anything?¡±


    ¡°What about traps? Maybe they laid out some traps for us,¡± suggested Rick.


    ¡°Adam, I¡¯ve never seen you hesitate,¡± said Lucas. ¡°It¡¯s making me nervous. My vote is to retreat, at least until we can scout the base itself.¡±


    ¡°We can¡¯t do that,¡± said Krysti. ¡°We¡¯ve put a lot into this offense and we haven¡¯t seen anything to make us think to back off. Is it possible that someone is influencing you, Adam? Maybe they¡¯re making you hesitate?¡±


    ¡°I guess that¡¯s possible, but I should be the least susceptible. If anything, you guys should be influenced in attacking and I¡¯m the voice of reason,¡± argued Adam.


    ¡°I have an easy way to answer,¡± said Lucas. Everyone looked at him. ¡°Adam, what would you do if it was only you?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d blast in there and kill anything I found,¡± answered Adam without hesitation.


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    ¡°Well, Adam¡¯s not being influenced,¡± said Carlos.


    ¡°I trust you, Adam, but standing around here isn¡¯t doing us any good. I¡¯m willing to lead a group of 30 to scout the center of the base,¡± volunteered Krysti.


    ¡°My unit will go with him,¡± said Mr. Fenton.


    Adam took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He looked at Rick, hopefully he wasn¡¯t glaring.


    ¡°Mr. Fenton, take your unit up to those trees. You guys are the best at terrain management. Set up the ranged in a defensible position. Elias, get your mages ready and Carlos, take over Lamar¡¯s archers. Lamar, you have more tracking skills, so go with Krysti and see what you can find. Brittney, let everyone know this could go fight or flee. Have them prepare for both.¡±


    Adam gave orders and people moved to pass them down. The military men seemed fine with this approach. Even Rick was nodding along approvingly.


    Before everyone was gone, Adam signaled Nick.


    ¡°Go with them as backup. Stop them if you notice something and get them out,¡± Adam whispered, hoping no one else heard. Nick nodded and then his presence became thin as he slipped away with no one else knowing.


    ***


    ¡°Adam didn¡¯t seem confident about this raid from the start,¡± Carlos commented to Elias as they walked up the hill. His voice was filled with concern.


    ¡°He didn¡¯t,¡± said Elias briefly.


    ¡°Think there is going to be trouble?¡±


    ¡°Most likely,¡± said Elias.


    ¡°Things are going to get really bad, aren¡¯t they?¡± Carlos screwed up his face as he asked.


    ¡°Without a doubt,¡± answered Elias.


    ¡°No one else is even taking this seriously.¡±


    ¡°They aren¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Well, damn! Let¡¯s go whip the troops into shape.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Good talk, Elias. You¡¯ve really put it into perspective for me.¡±


    ¡°Anytime.¡±


    ***


    Lamar crept forward, which wasn¡¯t difficult as he had a skill for it, although the skill called [Creep] made him sound a bit sleazy. It allowed him to move as if he were hunting, knowing where to hide his body and place his feet to make no noise. It might have been a bit unnecessary in this situation since they were moving through a parking lot.


    The weird thing was that even though the whole area was just open asphalt, he was getting feedback that certain places were better than others to step and stand. His [Notice Sign] skill was telling him that there were tracks from creatures in front of him, but no matter how closely he studied them, he saw nothing. The skill and his senses were communicating different things.


    The skill [Evidence] was coming up blank. It was confusing him. He was noticing signs of creatures, but there was no evidence of them. That seemed to contradict itself, though he was sure there was a reason.


    Captain Krysti tapped him on the shoulder, the two of them squatting in the middle of the parking lot. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we just move through the open space?¡±


    ¡°No. Have your men move exactly where I do. I haven¡¯t found signs of a trap, but I do think we¡¯re surrounded,¡± answered Lamar.


    Krysti looked around. ¡°That doesn¡¯t make sense. We¡¯re in the middle of a parking lot. In the open. Where anything could see and attack us¡­IF they were around. Nothing is around.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± said Lamar thoughtfully.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you start that too,¡± Krysti hissed. Still, he went back to his men and they all squatted and began moving forward like little ducklings, following Lamar.


    They continued on like that. Lamar didn¡¯t take a straight line, moving all over the place. Krysti complained several times that Lamar was just screwing with them, though he could see that Lamar was taking this seriously. The pressure of squatting and waddling in the middle of enemy territory was getting to his men as well.


    It took 15 minutes to cross the parking lot, a walk that should have taken 15 seconds. The men were sweating from having to stay so low and move awkwardly. Lamar was sweating because the responses he was getting from his tracking skills were in such opposition that he felt his mind being affected.


    When they finally got to the main door of the facility, Krysti began to signal to his men to form up for their entry.


    ¡°Wait!¡± whispered Lamar.


    ¡°What now?¡± asked Krysti, tired of the delays but professional enough to follow the directions.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a door.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean it isn¡¯t a door? I can see the door right there,¡± grumbled Krysti.


    ¡°I can see it too. That¡¯s what¡¯s wrong. We¡¯re seeing what isn¡¯t there,¡± said Lamar.


    ¡°What are you talking about?¡± one of the soldiers asked with irritation. He ignored everyone whispering, telling him to get back down, as he reached out to grab the handle of the door.


    The soldier¡¯s hand passed right through the bar handle that he saw. Then his hand was stopped right after. A furry claw was holding his arm, preventing it from moving. A lot of hissing noises that sounded like ¡°tss tss tss¡± could be heard from where the build had been.


    The whole world shifted. Reality corrected itself. Lamar stood, two knives quickly in his hands as the parking lot was replaced by spaced out trees, and the buildings were replaced by hundreds of the Pellicians.


    They were mean looking creatures, as if a hyena had a baby with a mole, then learned to walk upright and grew opposable thumbs in the wrong places. Hundreds of the creatures that were only shoulder height, with hunched neck and shoulders, all stared at them with their ferocious teeth spread in a grin. The hissing laughter mocked the soldiers.


    Now it made sense to Lamar. His [Notice Signs] had told him where the safe spots in the illusion had been, while his [Evidence] didn¡¯t notice anything tampered with because Lamar hadn¡¯t seen any physical evidence. That skill must rely on his senses while [Notice Signs] relied on his intuition.


    Krysti and his men had their swords out several moments after Lamar. All except the soldier who had grabbed for the door handle. He was on the ground, one less arm and a terrible gash on the side of his neck.


    ¡°Into the trees!¡± Krysti yelled as the soldiers fled, once more a step behind Lamar.


    The trees would give them some cover, though probably not much considering how much more the Pellicians were howling with laughter.


    ¡°A little play before a light meal,¡± said one of the furry creatures, with a tag of the Tier 2 class ¡°Mangler [9]¡± above its head. It jumped onto the trunk of a tree, holding himself on it with his claws. The others didn¡¯t hold back either, as they all gave chase into the trees.


    ***


    Above the water reclamation plant, Adam had wait with a few others. He wouldn¡¯t move from his spot. No further orders came from him as he watched, arms folder and large triangular sword propped in the ground next to him.


    Further up the hill were the rest of the 5,000 people who had come on this assault. They were watching all over. Many were watching the parking lot where the soldiers were creeping back and forth in ways that didn¡¯t make sense. Most were watching Adam, as he stood unmoving. Even from a distance his intensity radiated from him.


    Then he felt it, even before he saw it. There was a sound in the air, like when your ear is ringing and no one else can hear anything. He didn¡¯t wait for the world to change. Immediately his sword was in his hands as he was speeding down the hill.


    People who had been watching took a moment to realize he was gone. Then they noticed all the trees where the parking lot and reclamation plant had been. People tensed.


    Rick Sherman, who had been standing with Adam, was blown to the ground from Adam¡¯s departure. He was on the side facing the base as he tried to recover. The tops of the trees began to shake.


    ¡°Sound the retreat,¡± he said, his voice muffled from the impact with the ground, knowing he didn¡¯t have the authority for the command but making it anyway.


    ¡°What?¡± asked another of the unit leaders who had been with them.


    ¡°RETREAT!¡± he shouted, pushing himself back up.


    Lucas, who had been near Rick a moment before, was already at the top of the hill, shouting orders. Horns were blown to indicate the fastest retreat.


    From the tops of each tree on the invader base came between 5 and 20 of the Arripions. There were hundreds in total. There were also now Pellicians bursting from the trees on the ground. Rick gasps and ran up the hill as fast as he could. He had been wrong. They had all been so very wrong. The class and levels above all the invaders names also indicated that they were Tier 2.


    Rick knew it¡¯d be a miracle for any of them to make it back to the South Hampton Rift.

 CH 94: Alliances

    CHAPTER 94: Alliances


    Adam hit the forest like a thunderstrike. Trees in his way were either dodged or punched out of the way with [Kinetic Impact]. Any Pellician that passed him was skewered or cut in half by his sword. Adam¡¯s river was raging. His thoughts were blank other than the need to get to the scouting troops.


    As he rocketed through the woods, all the trees suddenly shook. Leaves were displaced and Adam heard the sound of bird wings flapping, but Adam didn¡¯t have time to care about the cause. Just before he reached where Captain Krysti had been, the trees opened up and there was a rather small clearing.


    Standing at the other end of the clearing was one of the Pellician, but this one was different. A tag of ¡°Organ Grinder [32]¡± was above its head. While the ones Adam had passed were around five and a half feet tall, this one would have been seven feet tall if it wasn¡¯t so hunched. It also had a wide girth, with a rotund belly rolling out from the bottom of sturdy looking chest armor.


    Adam didn¡¯t slow or stop for the grinning beast man. The point of his sword flew at the organ grinder¡¯s eye. There was a red flash.


    PING!


    Adam planted his feet on the chest piece and jumped backwards as his sword was deflected by metal wrist guards that the Pellician wore. Its smile got even wider, showing off the jagged teeth that filled its mouth.


    ¡°Tier 3 strength. You are him,¡± the amused invader spoke.


    Adam ignored the words, leveling his sword at the beast. He stepped forward and swung at him with more strength. The sword was once more deflected after some skill was used, but the organ grinder was thrown off balance. Before Adam could take advantage of it, he felt something slash through his right calf, and another slash through his back.


    ¡°Tss tss tss,¡± the organ grinder laughed. Adam turned to each side and saw two more Pellicians licking his blood off their long claws. ¡°Spine Slasher [8]¡± and ¡°Bloody Cutter [12]¡± were their classes. They were Agility base and much smaller than the big one in front of him. All three were Tier 3.


    Adam breathed heavily. Then he snarled more feral that the beast-like invaders, ¡°Out of my way.¡±


    That caused all three to do their laugh.


    ¡°Tier 3 strength in native no known,¡± the organ grinder said in broken speech. ¡°No worrying. We not kill. Bounty alive too good.¡±


    ¡°Bounty?¡± Adam asked, slowing down as he realized he would be at a disadvantage against all three.


    ¡°You no even know. Tss Tss Tss. Bounty much generous. Worth alliance with birds. Red Clan and lizards pay big reward. Sacrificing young to make strength worth bounty.¡±


    ¡°You allied with the birds? We saw you killing each other,¡± Adam stated.


    ¡°Yes. Alliance make both get stronger. Work as one for reward. Tricked ignorant natives. No war, killing gains levels. Now we Tier 3 to catch you. Planet part be ours.¡±


    Adam couldn¡¯t stop his river from flowing as rapids. He had to draw on the coolness to keep from losing his consciousness into the fury of the river. The idea of someone claiming his planet triggered all the anger of his soul. The voice to conquer wasn¡¯t even speaking, it was growling on its own.


    ¡°This¡­planet¡­is MINE!¡± Adam shouted as he dove forward again.


    The faster Pellicians came at his sides, but he was expecting that. Instead of thrusting his large sword, he turned it like a two-handed staff, aiming for where they would appear. One had to drop to the ground to dodge the weight on the bottom of the hilt, while the other dodged but still took a gash to its arm.


    Adam then punched the counter weight towards the one that fell, but the organ grinder was suddenly there and blocked the attack. Then a flapping caught Adam¡¯s attention. When he looked over his shoulder, two of the Arripions were descending from the trees.


    They were five feet tall and looked like how Brittney described harpies. They were covered in feathers, though they had a human shape and head. Large chicken legs stuck out from there bottom with sharp talons on them. Instead of arms they had wings with hands attached at the end. Their face muzzle was a bit elongated, and their eyes looked nothing like a human¡¯s.


    The voice they spoke with was shrill and screechy, thoroughly unpleasant to hear.


    ¡°This the one?¡± screeched one.


    They both had tags of ¡°Sense Snatcher,¡± one with a level of 24 and the other was 28. Adam could tell that they were also at Tier 3.


    ¡°You two created that illusion,¡± stated Adam. It needed no answer for him to know it was true.


    ¡°Natives are dumb, easily fooled,¡± shrieked the other sense snatcher. ¡°She said you would come here for the water, so we accepted bounty and prepared. Illusions our specialty.¡±


    ¡°She?¡± asked Adam, pretty sure he already knew who it was. He needed to find that damn mind witch and end her. Part of him was confident in facing her, but another part of him wondered if he would be able to fight her head on. She had been influencing his encounters with the invaders since the goblins¡¯ defeat.


    ¡°Tss tss tss. You see she soon. Other natives be us strength. Then you am given to she,¡± the organ grinder laughed.


    Five Tier 3s. Five boss level monsters stronger than any he had fought. Adam was confident he could take out one or two, but five with this diversity of skills was asking a lot. Even still, the rage caused by the corruption in his soul was pushing him to fight.


    Adam looked to each of the invaders, all standing confidently against him. Then he heard a scream from behind the organ grinder. It was the scream of a grown man suffering mightily. Adam remembered the soldiers that were trapped.


    Pre-[System], gunshots and explosions were audible from miles around. Battles were easy to be aware of. Under the [System] that had changed. Swords, spells, and skills didn¡¯t usually make extra sounds. His forces were far enough away than he would be unable to hear the combat, even without his blood pounding in his ears.


    Adam gave another look towards the sound of the men he wanted to rescue, then to the invaders. They said they were going after his forces. He had to make a cold decision. One that would benefit more of his forces. Facing these high-level invaders would prevent him from helping anyone. Saving the men behind them would require a lengthy fight just to get back to the bulk of his forces as they were already under fire.


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    The decision wasn¡¯t easy. It was quite hard to do anything but attack those monsters in front of him, due to the soul corruption. Yet the decision had to be made. It required Adam to do something he hadn¡¯t done since the [System] arrived. Something he probably never even did in his previous life.


    Adam had to run away.


    He raised his sword towards the organ grinder who was smiling a knowing grin, preparing to defend against the attack. A roar came from Adam. [Incapacitating Shout] had no effect on those here, as he expected.


    Adam took a normal step, as if he was going to attack the Pellician. Instead, he used [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] on the Arripion behind him. Adam appeared in front of her, mid swing. His sword sliced into her arm, not sharp enough to cut all the way through, but it tore through half of her wing, sending feathers flying.


    The organ grinder¡¯s eyes bulged as the strategy took him off guard. Adam spun, his sword flashing as he dropped low, cutting into the legs of the other Arripion, even if he didn¡¯t sever them completely.


    Then he ran. He tore down the path he had come from, trees already out of his way. He heard the two fast Pellicians scrambling after him, gaining on him. The big Pellician was screaming for them to catch him. Adam questioned whether he should turn to face them, but instead kept his speed up. He pulled harder from the river using [Body and Soul Shaping], increasing the power of his strides.


    When he burst from the wooded area, hitting the bottom of the hill, he looked up and saw that his fears were justified. The Sentinels were being blocked from retreating by the swarms of Pellicians that were surrounding them. Those weren¡¯t the issue though. The shield bearers were holding their positions as the warriors harassed any that got to close.


    So many Tier 2s in the invaders and not nearly enough in his own army created a lot of weak points that were close to collapsing. That wasn¡¯t the real problem though. The real problem was the aerial invaders coming by the hundreds and dropping rocks, tree trucks, and various other rubble on those defending.


    Adam wanted to rush towards their aid, but he had to do something about the spine slasher and bloody cutter. It wouldn¡¯t help them to bring Tier 3s to where his forces were defending.


    Planting one foot, Adam juked to the side, close to the tree line.


    The two Pellicians came running out of the trees. Both their heads turned as they saw Adam going in a different direction. Before they had a chance to change directions, Adam used [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] to appear next to one of them. His elven knife, imbued with [Kinetic Impact], stabbed the bloody cutter in the chest.


    A feeling of the knife barely breaking the skin and then stopping against its ribs made him wince. The wound wasn¡¯t severe, and his knife was bent. The stats of these Tier 3s seemed plenty against the weapons he had gotten from Tier 1 enemies. Adam wondered where they could get materials that could stand up to this level of toughness as the Pellician went flying away from him, given his clear strength advantage over the smaller creature.


    The spine slasher didn¡¯t waste any time in speeding towards him. No sooner did it turn than Adam hit it with a soul spike, using [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] and [Kinetic Impact] to get a solid strike to the creature¡¯s nose. It also went flying away but was able to right itself.


    The two Pellicians, one with a bleeding nose and the other with a bleeding chest, turned to each other.


    ¡°Skills not as her said. Hurt in way not told. Too small time after skill then next,¡± said the spine slasher through a blood clogged nose.


    ¡°Strength more. Need more against,¡± nodded the bloody cutter in agreement.


    ¡°Say to chief. No lose here.¡±


    To Adam¡¯s surprise, the two barely injured invaders went zipping back into the forest. Adam wasn¡¯t about to complain. He waited a moment to make sure it wasn¡¯t a trick, then dashed up the hill.


    ***


    ¡°Yup, this is quite a mess,¡± said Carlos as he looked around. His face was a mask of concentration as he watched the skies.


    Those damn bird people weren¡¯t dropped things constantly. They came in waves, since they took up a lot of space. Large batches of them would fly over and drop all kinds of stuff. Some would be heavy, like rocks or metal barrels, while some were slower moving, like tree branches. Shards of glass and metal spikes would also come down quickly.


    Not knowing what was going to fall made it too difficult to prepare the timing. Carlos had been identified as one of the leaders by the enemies since he was commanding the archers. He used his skills and high Agility to identify the most dangerous of the birds, then would direct the archers on who to attack.


    They hadn¡¯t killed many of the birds. When a lucky shot, or group of shots, made a bird unable to fly, that was when they got a kill. The invader would fall, becoming another dropping hazard, and they would then kill it on the ground.


    One thing that quickly became apparent was that these birds were a higher tier than most of the archers, even if the levels on their tags were low. Carlos thought it was such a charade. Having your levels go low after getting a power increase just made things more confusing than they had to be. Why even display the tags to begin with? It felt to Carlos like a set up.


    Most of the archers didn¡¯t have the accuracy or penetration power to bring the birds down on their own. They didn¡¯t have as many body levels as Lamar, and they usually had skills that split between archery, close range, and defense or hiding. Unlike warriors or some of the rogue builds that had a singular path, the archers were split between what they did.


    The mages were also firing their spells upward, leaving those feral badger-like things to the protectors, warriors, and rogues. Elias was nearby, relying on Carlos¡¯s vision skills [Clear Sight], [See Weakness], and [See Life]. Those allowed Carlos to know which were stronger or weaker, and to see them coming from further away. Elias didn¡¯t shoot his spells upwards, instead using his earth spells [Raise Earth] and [Landslide] to shift people around on the battlefield.


    With 5,000 people in the mix, there really wasn¡¯t enough space to dodge and move around. Quite a few people had already been killed, most were supports in the deepest part of their formation. Colonel Davian had spent weeks drilling large groups on formations. These formations were more historical in nature since pre-[System] fights with guns were less about grouping and more about having cover.


    This battle was pure chaos. Supports were casting buffs. Anyone with a barrier spell or skill was having to call it out, so people knew where and for how long it would be there. Elias¡¯s group of mages were used to him shifting the ground under them, but the archers weren¡¯t.


    Carlos was pleased with how long they lasted, angry at being unable to really do anything from here, and nauseous thinking about those who died. He understood he couldn¡¯t get out of it, but war was really, really, terrible.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t it about time for super-Adam to come to the rescue?¡± asked Carlos, as he pointed to a group of 5 birds carrying a heavy looking metal basin. His archers took aim and mostly wasted arrows as they flew wide when one of the birds used a deflection skill. Other arrows just pinged off the basin. He was going to need a protector or strength class back here to catch the basin.


    ¡°I¡¯d even welcome Tom and his unit of Adam loving nutjobs,¡± muttered Carlos.


    ¡°Quit expecting help. Find ways to be effective on your own,¡± snapped Elias.


    ¡°How is the retreating going?¡± Carlos asked, still pointing out the more dangerous items being carried and easily dodging the smaller things with his higher Agility.


    ¡°You¡¯re the one who can see far. You tell me.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t take my eyes from the skies. I hope Lucas and his dad get enough people away to give us more space,¡± Carlos said.


    The retreat was planned to go in segments. They had groups of 40 trying to pull away from the back of the battle. The slower classes and groups were moved first, then the more physically capable and fast would try to last the longest. That also meant their highest levels were in the most danger.


    ¡°You do realize if enough retreat, then the rest of us have more to deal with?¡± pointed out Elias.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah. Such a complainer,¡± Carlos said ironically.


    It was then that a terrible sound erupted in the sky. A group of 30 birds screeched and fell from the air. They weren¡¯t injured, just unable to move for a few seconds. By the time they regained control, they were struggling to stop their falls and were close enough to the ground. Warriors jumped high enough to attack.


    The mages and archers were still too far away to effectively attack them so kept focusing on the Arripions above the army. Yet even as the birds began falling, one person winked out of one place and appeared at another bird that had been far enough not to fall. Another roar echoed out and more of the birds fell.


    ¡°About freaking time he got here,¡± complained Carlos as he watched Adam slowly teleport from bird to bird, slashing some with that ridiculously big sword, and causing groups of them to fall.

 CH 95: I made a Decision

    CHAPTER 95: I made a Decision


    The Arripions were more hesitant to approach after they had seen so many of their kin fall out of the sky. Only around 100 had been killed compared to a few hundred that had fallen from the [Incapacitation Shout] as Adam used [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] to reach them in the sky. Many had only been stunned by his roar for a second or two, the ones that were higher levels in their Tier 2 class evolutions. However, it had been enough to keep more from coming at them. When a particularly strong one resisted him, he would either use a soul spike on it or he could teleport to it with a sword slash to end it.


    Adam was feeling more fatigued than normal. He knew that most skills had cooldowns, different lengths of time when they were unavailable after an initial use. Since what he had weren¡¯t really skills, they were just memories of skills that had been mixed into his soul, he didn¡¯t notice a cooldown. He did, however, get a feeling inside of what felt safe or not. That was why he didn¡¯t just blast his soul spikes rapid fire against that boss Petramus. He had waited for what felt like a safe 10 seconds in between each use and had felt no issues.


    It was similar to weightlifting. Each repetition of an exercise tires out the muscles more and more. Then once you reach the end of a set, lifting the weights becomes too difficult or even impossible without help. Without more time between his different pseudo-skills, Adam was concerned they would become too difficult to use in a single battle. He just hoped the weight-lifting metaphor stopped there. Otherwise, he would receive the ¡°can¡¯t use his muscles¡± affect that came the next day, only with his skills.


    With the Arripions taken care of for now, Adam looked to the ground. He was falling and needed a way to get down there safely. The Pellicians were striking at the front-line warriors and shield bearers. They weren¡¯t making much headway, harassing them in jabs to try and find a weak point. Adam could tell there had been a few places penetrated, but it looked like those in the rows behind had stepped forward to close any gaps. Otherwise, the shields were holding. Red flashing went off down the line as protection skills and spells were used.


    The fight couldn¡¯t have been going on for more than seven minutes. It was heartening that his forces hadn¡¯t succumbed to the unexpected onslaught, keeping some control of the fight and maintaining their defenses and formation. It was also frustrating that they had been pressed down so quickly.


    Adam was using a lot of his will power to keep his river under control. The voice within his soul was screaming at him to get back and fight those Tier 3s. Much of the fury and anger that powered his river and strength had faded as he went against the cries in his soul.


    Before hitting the ground, Adam once more used [Gladiator¡¯s Approach], feeling that strain inside, like heartburn except throughout his being. He sword instantly impaled one of the more frenzied Pellicians that he had seen. Two more swings of his sword cut another five in half.


    He dropped the sword, using [Kinetic Impact] on his fists. Then it was just making use of his strength and speed as he punched the invaders around him, creating a cascade of enemies ping-ponging off each other. They were knocked to the ground or thrown off balance as they collided.


    Just like Adam could feel hostile intent with his danger sense and soul map, he could now feel the uplift of morale that his presence gave the nearby troops. Adam rushed down the defensive line using [Kinetic Impact] and punching to put the Pellicians off balance. It was ridiculous how within the [System] a single person could turn the tides of a battle.


    Once the fight stabilized and the Pellician horde had given them some space, Lucas came forward. His war hammer was bloody.


    ¡°Are we pursuing?¡± his friend asked.


    ¡°No. Sound a swift formation retreat. I¡¯ve delayed it for now, but we need to get to the South Hampton Rift fast.¡±


    ¡°Captain Krysti?¡± Lucas asked. He saw the fury in Adams eyes and stiffened. Then he nodded and began shouting as horns sounded, telling the mass of troops in the back to haul ass, but in an organized way. With that, their harried retreat began.


    ***


    The march¡­run¡­escape¡­whatever you wanted to call it, trip back had been exhausting and took about two hours, with intermittent fighting. Adam had to constantly roam the front, while Lucas and Brittney took the sides. If any of those three didn¡¯t make an appearance somewhere around the rim, then the Pellicians moving parallel to them would pounce. They lost more than a few to those attacks on the way back, forced to let bodies lie where they dropped.


    Adam was the last to step into the South Hampton Rift barrier. It was a black orb the size of a large shed in the middle of the open space that the Labesatis had previously controlled. As he entered, Adam wanted to be dignified and show a confident front to his troops. All the expectant faces were looking to him, wanting to know what would happen next.


    Instead, he collapsed against a supply box and reached out a hand for the military rations that Abbey and Andrea were tearing open for him. It was impossible to ignore the people around him as he shoved the food into his mouth faster than his jaw could chew.


    The actual skill, [Body and Soul Shaping], that he had created reduced the amount of damage he took from using his pseudo-skills. It also gave him more control over the power he could draw from the river. Another massive benefit from it was it reduced how hungry he got when using his powers. Unfortunately, 60% less starving is still ravenously hungry.


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    After ten minutes of furious eating, when Adam finally had enough food to feel able to do other things, he stood up and looked at the thousands watching him. Manipulating the rift allowed his voice to reach everyone as if he was right next to them. Big screens in the air had a split view. One side was his face addressing them, the other was the view from immediately outside the barrier where Pellicians and Arripions were attacking the barrier to no effect. Like when Adam had tried in the past, all the momentum from their attacks was drained by the barrier.


    ¡°That raid didn¡¯t go as well as we hoped. It was a setback and a costly learning experience. Each of us, no matter their level, needs to get stronger. On the positive, it also showed that our army can hold its own against the invaders, so take some heart from it. Right now, it isn¡¯t safe to leave the barrier. We¡¯ll monitor the outside and we may be here for a few days. This was always a possible outcome, which is why we brought all the food and supplies. I¡¯ll update you when I know more. For now, get some rest and food. When we get back, we¡¯ll honor the heroes.¡±


    Once the broadcast was done the troops broke into groups, some staking out ground to sit on, others lining up for the rations. Support staff got ready to prepare meals on a large scale and healers went around checking for wounds. Abbey was quick to heal the cuts to Adam¡¯s back and leg, while also taking away a bit of his fatigue.


    ¡°General, sir,¡± stammered Rick as he approached Adam. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry. Clearly our intelligence failed us. We should have gone with your plan.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± said Adam, waving him off dismissively.


    ¡°I just can¡¯t believe it was so different than what he thought. I¡¯ll accept any punishment you have for me,¡± Rick went on. He spoke for quite a while until Adam had to cut him off.


    ¡°ENOUGH!¡± Adam snapped with force. ¡°I said it doesn¡¯t matter! Put it away and focus on what does matter.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± Rick affirmed with a salute, though he didn¡¯t look any less down.


    ¡°For now, go among the people and put a list together of the dead or missing.¡±


    ¡°Right away, sir,¡± said Rick as he pulled a notepad and pencil from one of his fatigue¡¯s many pockets. Then he was gone.


    As Adam was speaking with Lucas and Brittney about the boss invaders that he had faced, Carlos walked up while looking around.


    ¡°Hey, Adam. Where¡¯s Lamar? I want to hear about what happened in the base. I also haven¡¯t seen Nick for a while.¡±


    Adam frowned at him and answered hesitantly. ¡°I sent Nick to back up Captain Krysti¡¯s infiltration group when they headed to the base.¡±


    ¡°Oh. I haven¡¯t seen Captain Krysti either,¡± Carlos said, a bit in a daze. ¡°Where are they?¡±


    Both Abbey and Andrea were showing concern. Lucas put a hand on Carlos¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°I think my pops has some booze. Why don¡¯t we go have a drink with him,¡± suggested Lucas quietly.


    ¡°Why would I want a drink? I just need to find Lamar. Where is the infiltration squad now?¡± Carlos brushed off Lucas¡¯s hand.


    ¡°They were in the base,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°I know they were. Did we lure the invaders away so they could take it from within?¡± Carlos asked as his body began to shake.


    ¡°They were left behind,¡± Adam said more forcefully. Abbey was now holding Adam¡¯s arm, and he realized he was shaking too.


    ¡°¡­but you went to help them. That¡¯s why you ran to the base. To help. You got them out, right?¡±


    ¡°I had to leave them behind,¡± whispered Adam.


    ¡°¡­but, you always¡­¡±


    ¡°I LEFT THEM BEHIND!¡± Adam growled, using the Rift menu to limit their voices from reaching other people. ¡°I couldn¡¯t get to them! There were five bosses in the way. FIVE! There was no time to fight them and help the rest of the army retreat.¡±


    ¡°Bosses are easy for you. That snake, you just cut off its jaw,¡± Carlos rambled in a daze. ¡°You¡¯re the strongest.¡±


    ¡°He always said there was a limit to his strength,¡± said Lucas.


    ¡°Just because we aren¡¯t near his strength yet doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯ll always be the strongest,¡± chided Brittney.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t funny, Adam! This isn¡¯t a joke! I¡¯ve put up with you guys mocking me, but this is too much! Where is Lamar and Nick?!¡± Carlos shouted desperately.


    ¡°It was them or the rest of you,¡± Adam whispered with a firmness in his voice. ¡°I had to make a choice.¡±


    There was a clang as Carlos threw a punch enhanced with [Varying Strike]. Several of Carlos¡¯s attack skills had a weird randomness to them. Skills like [Pick a Card] on offense and [Tricky Play] on defense had factors that they hadn¡¯t figured out yet as to how effective they were on each use. [Varying Strike] increased damage between 50% and 500%.


    This time the variance must have been on the high end, for when his hand collided with Adam¡¯s chest armor, his hand shattered. Knuckles and finger bones broke. The skin tore. Carlos crumpled to the ground, not even aware of the pain.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go get that booze,¡± Alissa said as she and Lucas picked Carlos up. Abbey went with them to heal his hand.


    When they were gone, Adam kept watching, not really seeing anything. Andrea took Adam¡¯s hand in her own.


    ¡°He¡¯ll get over it, darling,¡± she said. It didn¡¯t sound nearly as reassuring as she wanted it to. ¡°It was a hard choice. Besides, you didn¡¯t see the bodies so maybe they escaped.¡±


    Adam shook him head.


    ¡°I made the decision. I¡¯ll live with it¡­unlike Lamar, Nick, and the captain.¡±


    He released a big breath before saying quietly, ¡°I¡¯m hungry. I haven¡¯t eaten in ages,¡± while absently reaching into the case of rations.


    ***


    Throughout the next day Adam watched the invaders surrounding the barrier. The Pellicians attacked it with claws and weapons. The Arripions dropped things on it from different altitudes. The barrier didn¡¯t even seem taxed in the slightest bit, so Adam kept quiet. Everyone but the girls and Lucas gave him a wide berth. He just ate and watched the feeds from outside that only he could see.


    He used the Rift Menu to communicate with Jordan Lane back in Jackson on what they hoped was a private channel. Since they still didn¡¯t understand much of the words and characters on the Rift Menu, they were just guessing. Because of that their messages were brief and didn¡¯t give away much information, just that both locations were safe, and they would return very shortly. Jordan could intuit the failure since a new Rift didn¡¯t show in the network and no new water was available.


    In the afternoon of the first day, the spine slasher showed up to test the barrier. He also sniffed around for quite a while but found no recent scent from the humans. Then he snarled at the rest of the invaders and they all just left.


    Laying siege to the Rift would have been easy for the invaders. They could have waited out the humans. Adam was quite confused why they gave up so easily. His instincts were even saying that it was not another trap. He got the feeling those sense snatchers didn¡¯t have enough power outside of the base to cast a large-scale illusion, and the Rift Menu wasn¡¯t seeing any life signs around them.


    The day that followed had no activity. Adam continued to watch, wanting to be sure. In the early light of dawn, he released scouts to check. Carlos would have been the best for it, or Lamar, but for now he kept his distance. Once the all-clear was given, Adam approved the trip back to Jackson.

 CH 96: On the Road

    CHAPTER 96: On the Road


    "L7,¡± shouted the spotter. ¡°30 incoming!¡±


    At the shout, men moved into their assigned positions. Defenders and melee fighters moved in front, while the few mages and support moved behind. This wasn¡¯t close to their first time being attacked as they travelled, and it wouldn¡¯t be the last.


    The code that the spotter used just meant the left or right side, and which vehicle was closest to the attack. The people responsible for guarding that vehicle would form up, and then there were roaming parties that covered groups of vehicles. They would move to wherever the fighting was the heaviest.


    When the caravan of cars and people were on the highway, they would move the vehicles next to each other to consolidate for easier defense. Highways were also in the open which gave more sight lines before the invaders and mutated animals arrived. Unfortunately, highways were also where the majority of the attacks happened.


    On a typical road, the vehicles still went side by side using both directional lanes. It didn¡¯t matter since they were unlikely to meet people going the other way. It was also unlikely for them to meet anyone else out here.


    Chad got into his assigned position. All his skills felt very basic. At the arrival of the [System] he had chosen a [Mage] class since he was concerned too few people would make that choice. He had been right.


    However, he had expected a bit more power from it. When he was ordered to assign skill points to boost his spells, it was never the attack spells that got stronger. The officers had him improve spells like [Air Shift] that allowed him to simply move the nearby air, or [Wind Barrier], which would need to be stronger still to be able to take an attack from a serious enemy. Even [Disperse Odor] was boosted, which sounded like a spell people might want after having an affair.


    With those weak spells in his kit, Chad was surprised he gained a lot of approval from those in the convoy. Scouts wished he knew some stealth skills so he could accompany them. Attackers liked the way he would subtly affect the battles by slowing or speeding movements using wind to throw the enemies off balance or to give their attacks a bit more oomph. Everyone liked that the area around Chad didn¡¯t smell like months old body funk.


    The first of the attacking beasts arrived. They were lupine creatures that came up to most men¡¯s chest. Fully back eyes looked at them in a way that was impossible to read. They gave away no intent or who they were targeting. The beasts snarled in feral aggressiveness as they seemed more driven by the sentient lizardmen at the rear.


    Like always, Chad used focused wind to blast the sides of the monsters¡¯ heads, giving people enough time to dodge the snapping jaws and long fangs. The warriors would slide to the side and jab them with spears and swords that had been made from the salvaged parts of other creatures they killed.


    The wolves whined when their skin was pierced but it took quite a lot to bring them down. A purple energy would spark around then when they took damage, reducing any bleeding to allow them to keep going.


    Chad saw one of the newer recruits falter at the sight of the large teeth, and the beast took the opportunity to lunge at him. A quick [Wind Barrier] didn¡¯t stop the attack, but it did slow it so that the bite happened in front of the recruit instead of to him. It gave time for a defender to ram the beast in the side of its head with a spiked shield, drawing more blood from it.


    The attacks while traveling felt easy compared to back when they were at the base. There was almost no rest at the base, but here, on the road, the attacks were sporadic enough that they were able to rest all night. Scouts and hunters brought back meat from beasts they hunted.


    It was still exhausting. Spending all day walking, carrying packs weighted based on your Strength stat. It wore them down. Yet the memories of the base and the people they lost kept them moving forward.


    Truthfully, Chad was sure that if there wasn¡¯t constant talk of a safe city then many people would have just given up right there. Especially after they left the base. Another thousand people had died getting away from the monster waves, leaving them with just under 4,000 soldiers now.


    The general kept them moving forward. He and the special forces showed how strong they could be, how determined they needed to be, to survive and find safety. It was there, the promise by the general. Safety. Life. People. Strong, organized soldiers and civilians.


    Even Chad often felt himself descending to a fantasy when his hazy thoughts sought their own refuge. They would be among others. Buildings that could withstand their enemies. Fruit, seasoning for meats, even beer. Chad wasn¡¯t even sure what he truly wanted, but at the very least a vacation from this madness would be welcome.


    They might have lost a thousand soldiers in their escape, but they had gained 15,000 people so far. The general wasn¡¯t going straight to the safe city. He preached that they needed to preserve the humans. That without saving those out there, they would be letting the invaders win. Plus, more people saved meant a bolstering of their forces. A rebuilding of the army.


    It had been a week and a half since leaving the base, and those people that they found in their meandering route across the country were more than willing to accompany them. Most wanted to leave their hiding spots to fight and win in this new reality. They wanted to grow their class and understand the [System].


    Those people didn¡¯t have the despair in their eyes that the soldiers did as they had defended the base for two months with no end in sight. These people didn¡¯t yet know the horrors of the invaders. Hope still filled these people, that if they just got strong enough, they could take back their place in the world. They didn¡¯t realize it was a war for survival.


    Most volunteered. Men, women, and children. There was no discrimination here. Those who volunteered were interviewed and assigned roles and classes that the officers fit them to. A few hours each night were dedicated to teaching and training. People needed to learn combat and their class.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    Some people didn¡¯t volunteer. They were either forcibly conscripted or left behind. There was no room for slackers and no supplies for parasites, though they were given every chance to choose differently.


    In the center of their caravan were three large tanker trucks of fuel. They would syphon gas station tanks when they passed through a town to keep them full. It felt like a Mad Max movie. The tankers had to be defended above everything. Without them all the other trucks in the caravan would be useless. Those other trucks contained their supplies and carried the people who couldn¡¯t walk; those too old or young, disabled or injured in ways that healers couldn¡¯t help.


    Everyone else walked. Walked and carried more supplies. Each person was laden with as much as they could carry while still getting through the day¡¯s hike. Each day was exhausting, but it had more purpose than defending the previously breached base. Plus, at the end of this journey was the hope of safety.


    No one said it, Chad only occasionally thought it, that the promise was a placebo. That it was baseless. How could a whole city have survived in this chaotic war? With daily attacks coming no matter where they traveled, it seemed impossible for there to be a truly safe place. Even the people away from the cities, or the people who had hidden, spoke about the destruction of their comfortable lives. As well as the hunting squads of invaders that could show up at any moment to take the humans away. They had to believe in the safe city because otherwise their minds would break. That, and because the general promised it was there and that they would reach it.


    Chad stayed focus as he continued to use his skills to influence the small battle. It really didn¡¯t take long, since the roaming squads were able to surround the beasts. The lizardmen who had been controlling them fled before the fight¡¯s outcome was even determined. Chad found their attack and retreat odd, but he also had heard enough historical stories of armies being harried as they moved, and the ways it affected them.


    Of course, each pack of invaders, weak compared to the waves from the base, strengthened their little army. The more they could kill, the faster the new recruits could level and the stronger those with experience could get. Level wasn¡¯t everything but add it to the experience and skill they had from weeks and months of constant fighting, and those levels meant even more.


    Chad was now at level 23, and he was far from the highest. Rumor had it that the strongest in their army was Commander Rexus, at level 45. The second strongest, Gregor, was at level 38.


    Once the short battle was over, the caravan was brought to a halt and preparations for the night were made. The sun was setting. Food was distributed. The traditional line of people desperate for Chad to use [Disperse Odor] on them was forming. In the whole 19,000 people currently in the caravan, only three had the spell, and one of those was kept close to the officers.


    Chad dreamed of the day he would be able to shower once again, and the day he was around people able to shower as well. One of Chad¡¯s more closely cherished items was a bar of soap that he didn¡¯t use, he just took it out to smell every time he needed a pick me up. He would fight with his life on the line to keep that bar of soap safe. The city they journeyed towards couldn¡¯t come soon enough.


    The line of desperate but grateful people receiving Chad¡¯s spell was longer than he could see in the night. Most knew he would run out of magic power before he got to them, but once more the whisper of hope kept them lined up. At least until a large, muscular man, splattered with blood and clothes shredded to almost indecency headed their way.


    Unsure why everyone was scared of the man, Chad pulled two metal crates from the nearby truck and sat on one of them. Gregor the Berserker sat on the other crate. His size, strength, skill, and power gave him a confidence and knowledge that he could have whatever he wanted. Usually, he didn¡¯t take advantage of that, but when it came to making sure Chad cast [Disperse Odor] on him, it was a nightly occurrence.


    Gregor didn¡¯t have friends outside of the special forces except for Chad. For some reason, not just the smell cleansing, Gregor visited Chad every evening. He even brought their dinners, making sure Chad got as much as a physical fighter.


    ¡°You were in today¡¯s fight, huh?¡± asked Gregor as he handed over a tray.


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t much. Barely a skirmish. You could have taken them on solo,¡± responded Chad. Gregor chuckled.


    ¡°True. Not much to challenge me now. I¡¯m barely even getting XP anymore. You probably aren¡¯t either. It shows how much the top brass value your skills that you¡¯re still in these places soaking up what XP there is. Keeping the newbies safe.¡±


    ¡°They aren¡¯t the only ones who value my skills,¡± Chad joked as he hit Gregor with [Disperse Odor]. Gregor let out a sigh in relief.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t like I want to eat my meat raw or be splattered with blood every fight. I just get so angry when I fight. I feel like I can run through any enemy. My power feels like it comes from just letting myself go out of control.¡±


    ¡°It scares most people,¡± said Chad.


    ¡°But not you, Chad. I can see it in your eyes. You just don¡¯t care. That¡¯s why it¡¯s nice chatting with you. It feels like it brings me down to earth.¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t get that from the others in your unit?¡± asked Chad.


    ¡°No. With them it¡¯s all business all the time, or dick measuring contests to see who¡¯s the strongest. Doesn¡¯t matter to me.¡±


    ¡°Probably because you¡¯re the strongest.¡±


    Gregor burst out laughing.


    ¡°Not even close so long as Commander Rexus is around. That guy is a beast. Facing him would even scare me,¡± acknowledged Gregor as he nodded to himself. ¡°I swear that guy could kill a Tier 3 if we faced one. No, I¡¯m fine with any rank so long as I get some challenging fights, and we can reach Jackson.¡±


    ¡°Jackson¡­¡± said Chad wistfully. ¡°Is it really going to be there when we arrive?¡±


    ¡°Honestly, I have no idea. I¡¯m just going by what the officers say to me. I hope for all our sakes that it¡¯s still there.¡±


    ¡°How long before we arrive?¡± Chad practically pleaded.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be a few more weeks. We have to avoid populated areas and easy to travel roads. The general also wants us to collect as many people as we can find, so we¡¯ll be going to a lot of remote communities.¡±


    ¡°Most people are just thinking of their own safety, but the general is still thinking of everyone else. I can¡¯t imagine how hard he must have it.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but that¡¯s what it¡¯ll take for humanity to survive. He began gathering people before the invasions even started and brought a lot of critical information with him,¡± Gregor said, looking to the future. ¡°Say Chad. What are you looking forward to the most in Jackson?¡±


    ¡°Not wanting to retch from everyone¡¯s body odor,¡± said Chad, getting another laugh from Gregor.


    ¡°You¡¯re probably the person in this army that has to worry about that the least. Thank the officers for those skills of yours.¡±


    The rest of the evening was spent chatting about what they might find in Jackson, Tennessee. Once more Chad felt hope blooming inside of himself¡­thanks to the general.


    ***


    An arm reached out of the river. It grabbed the long grass at the embankment. Pulling himself up wasn¡¯t easy.


    His forearm was broken and swollen. His knee also felt twisted. Who knows how far he was from where he had started.


    Getting onto dry land caused him to wheeze from exhaustion. Hiding, fighting, fleeing, it had burned him low. He was going to need to sleep, and if something came to kill him, then he was finished.


    His clothes were soaked, causing his body to shiver in the December air, though he doubted the leather of his armor would suffer from the wet. It didn¡¯t matter, he wasn¡¯t up to stripping it off his body even with the cold shakes. Starting a fire also seem like a bad decision. Instead, he pulled out a waterproof ration pack from an inside pocket and tore it open.


    Once he was fed, he set his back against a tree, close enough to the water to throw himself in again should he need to escape. With one final hope for a better tomorrow, Lamar closed his eyes and drifted into oblivion.

 CH 97: Think Like a Barbarian

    CHAPTER 97: Think Like a Barbarian


    The vehicles drove the dejected fighters through the city and towards the center of the Sentinel Army base. There were pick-up trucks, buses, flatbed trailers, military transports, quite a motley array. The people who watched them drive through Jackson saw the mood, the downturned heads, even if they didn¡¯t know the results of the raid.


    There hadn¡¯t been much speaking over the last two days as the army waited for Adam to decide it was safe enough to leave the South Hampton Rift. It was the first time that the Sentinel Army had lost. The first raid where they had been overwhelmed.


    Adam had never expected them to win every encounter or to take every base they attacked. He had expected that eventually he would run into invaders that outclassed him. In his head they had still escaped with an acceptable number of losses. Only in his head. The voice in his soul thought otherwise.


    Two of his friends. Two of the strongest in this city, who had trained directly under ¡°The General.¡± That was a lot of power to lose. Losing Captain Krysti would also put doubt in the soldiers from the U.S. army.


    Morale, confidence, and determination. Those might waiver for others, but they wouldn¡¯t waiver in Adam.


    The vehicles looped around the Sentinel building. They unloaded their passengers in front. Then the drivers took the vehicles to the garages where they would be maintained and redirected to where they were needed.


    The fighters knew what was coming though. Without removing their packs, gear or weapons, without getting any food or cleaning up, they gathered. People who hadn¡¯t fought came out of buildings. Some had been gathered already, waiting for Adam to be the last to leave his vehicle.


    Keeping a stony expression on his face, trying not to show too many emotions, Adam walked to the Sentinel Army statue and the walls with names nearby. The wall of heroes. There wouldn¡¯t be enough room for all the names. They had lost more in this one fight than in total since the invasions started. 341 names needed to be carved.


    Adam used the Rift Menu to raise new stone walls. Blank walls that would soon be full. Looking over the crowd gathered, meeting their eyes, he pulled the knife from his belt. Then he turned to the walls and began carving.


    Captain Joe Krysti¡­


    Nicholas Morris¡­


    Lamar Cook¡­


    The names went up. There was some audible crying in the crowds, but there were more silent tears. Adam didn¡¯t cry, but inside he felt the loss.


    Then a change happened. This ritual was a combination of an announcement and commendation to the fallen, an acknowledgment of what people had given to keep others safe. It had always been done by Adam. He had started it, and he had done the carving, knowing every single name. Adam never asked for help or whether he forgot someone. Every single name came out from Adam as though he knew them personally. People had just watched, separate from him, grieving but allowing him to shoulder the burden.


    While Adam continued to carve names, a level 13 [Fire Mage] walked to the wall. Adam didn¡¯t stop carving as she took the knife on the pedestal that Adam usually used. She walked to another area of the wall and began etching names. It wasn¡¯t as easy for her to carve, and the results weren¡¯t as smooth, but she stuck with it as five names went up.


    Then she turned to the crowd and a man came forward. He was a protector and still held his shield. He rested it against the wall and took the knife from the mage. Then he carved two more names.


    Those actions opened the gates. The knife was passed from one hand to the next. Space was made for people to put in their own friends and comrades. Adam continued to carve in silence, but the crowd moved forward.


    The silence was filled with open crying now and with people talking about the fallen. They carved the names personal to them or rubbed the names of those they had known. People who didn¡¯t have a connection still stood back and watched, but it became much more inclusive. Even with all the people taking their turns, no name was put up twice.


    When Adam was done, when all 341 names were on the walls, he turned to the crowds like always. He looked over them all. Without a word he walked away. To the sentinel building. To his home. To a building with two fewer residents.


    ***


    The next day Adam called a meeting. He couldn¡¯t sleep much, spending most of his time sitting on a floating chair in his pool. Being able to control the temperature within areas of the base meant that the cold winter air hadn¡¯t touched him.


    His door had been locked, and not in a normal way either. In the Rift Menu he removed all permissions for others to open it, and then sealed it shut. No one disturbed him, not friends or family. That had been difficult for his mom, but he connected to her through the Rift Menu just to reassure her that he would be alright. He sent a few feelings through the connections with the girls as well and they gave him the space that he needed.


    When he came out of his condo in the early morning, Adam was surprised to find Carlos sitting on the floor, hunched against the wall. Two days in the South Hampton Rift and they hadn¡¯t spoken since Carlos had been led away by Lucas.


    As Adam went to walk down the hallway, Carlos stood and walked next to him, head down. Not sure what to expect, Adam didn¡¯t bother speaking. They entered the elevator together before Carlos lifted his head and spoke.


    ¡°I talked to their parents, told them what happened. They didn¡¯t take it well. They shouldn¡¯t take it well. I just thought you shouldn¡¯t have to face that.¡±


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Carlos¡¯s face screwed up in a mix of emotions.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± was all Adam said. He had been planning to do it this afternoon, and to take whatever anger they had.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Adam. I finally get it.¡±


    There were a few more moments of silence as they exited the elevator on the meeting room floor. Adam waited just outside for Carlos to continue.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been taking all this lightly. I saw the world fall. I¡¯ve been nearly killed¡­several times. Even lost a finger. Others have died around me, but it never felt personal. Now I understand why you hate them so much and want to kill them all. There can be no mercy. No rest. We¡¯ve got to get all these bastards off our planet and prevent them from doing this again.¡±


    The anger in Carlos¡¯s words was as strong as Adam felt when the heat pulsed inside of him. The difference was that Carlos felt it for real, and Adam¡¯s mostly came from the soul corruption. He felt bad for Carlos. Adam put a hand on his shoulder.


    ¡°We¡¯ll do that, Carlos. We¡¯ll get all of them. We just need to make sure we stay around until the end,¡± Adam said, quivering with the hostile emotions his soul forced into him. Carlos nodded to him, his eyes burning while also looking half hollow. ¡°Now let¡¯s get to the meeting and find out which invaders will next suffer for our losses.¡±


    ***


    The meeting room was full upon Adam entering it. He walked around the table to his chair. Everyone could feel his presence. When he sat upon the throne like chair at the raised portion of the table, no one could look away, even as some wanted to.


    ¡°Adam, I¡¯m sorry for what happened. I know you lost two good friends. Krysti was another unfortunate loss. He was a good man,¡± said the Colonel. ¡°Not every battle can be won, but we¡¯ll make sure everyone recovers from this and that we¡¯re prepared for next time.¡±


    After a glance at Davian, Adam quickly looked around the room. His friends were there, both the ones that had been on the raid as well as those who had stayed behind to defend Jackson. Carlos looked downright haggard, but even Tom, Randall, and Joseph were uncharacteristically somber. Rick Sherman was in the room, as was Charles, who had originally come with Colonel Davian, sitting with the others who had been intelligence operators in the miliary.


    Jordan Lane was not in the room, though Adam knew he would be listening. Adam¡¯s parents were both there, looking concerned towards him. Detective Ron Baker was also there, switching between sympathy and nervousness. There were also plenty of other unit leaders from both the US Army and the Sentinel Army, including Lucas¡¯s dad. Those men looked morose.


    ¡°What¡¯s our next target?¡± Adam asked in a soft voice as he looked towards the intelligence operators.


    ¡°What?¡± several of them said in surprise.


    ¡°Adam, you need to take some time to grieve and build back up people¡¯s confidence,¡± said Davian.


    Adam glanced at him and then turned back to the nearly shaking men.


    ¡°I asked, what is our next target,¡± Adam said. The temperature in the room was rising.


    ¡°W-we don¡¯t have a next target,¡± stammered one of the men.


    ¡°W-we¡¯ll need some time to¡­¡± another started before being interrupted.


    ¡°Time to what?!¡± exploded Adam. ¡°Time to give the invaders more of an advantage? Time for them to set another trap?¡±


    ¡°Adam!¡± scolded his mom. ¡°I know you¡¯re hurting but that is unfair!¡±


    ¡°No, mom, it¡¯s not. This isn¡¯t about fair or unfair. It isn¡¯t about hurting or not. We need to make more progress and faster.¡± Adam turned to look at the intelligence operators. ¡°Those weakened Pellicians who had lost to the Arripions had been power leveling. They knew how to get stronger. There were five¡­FIVE¡­invaders almost as strong as me. They knew my abilities, or thought they did. The rest of their army were in the second tier. You think sitting around, waiting for our emotions to settle, is an option?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s better than reacting in anger and losing more people,¡± said Davian.


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. We need more strength. We need to stop delaying every raid. We need to hit them hard and constantly, so our men get stronger and theirs don¡¯t.¡±


    Everyone was silent. The waving air around Adam began to settle as he sat back and once more looked at those that were supposed to do this.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask again. Where is our next target?¡± Adam said. His voice sounded calmer, but everyone knew that was just a fa?ade.


    ¡°Sir, we don¡¯t have one,¡± said Rick quietly.


    ¡°Why not?¡±


    ¡°We need time to gather and analyze our intelligence.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± said Adam. ¡°The reason is because you guys are lacking in intelligence.¡±


    Tom snorted at that. The men being addressed went pale.


    ¡°How did you get intelligence before the [System]?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°We used satellites and undercover assets to watch areas. We infiltrated the enemies, sometimes years in advance. Background checks and histories on key players were gathered. Profilers consulted. We also traded intel with foreign allies,¡± one of the men said boldly.


    ¡°Then tell me,¡± started Adam, ¡°what do our satellites show now?¡±


    ¡°Er¡­we don¡¯t have access to satellites, sir,¡± said one man confused.


    ¡°Right. Right. Satellites are out then. What do our undercover assets have to report about the invaders?¡± asked Adam after pretending to think for a minute.


    ¡°You know it¡¯s not possible to infiltrate the enemy bases,¡± snapped one man before realizing his mistake as the grinding sound of a sword being drawn from Tom¡¯s belt could be heard.


    ¡°And what have your background checks of the invaders turn up?¡± Adam watched the shaking heads. Even Colonel Davian was looking pale as Adam slowly stood, heat radiating from him. The atmosphere in the room was becoming stifling.


    ¡°What did our allies tell us?¡± demanded Adam with everyone knowing the answer.


    When the silence continued, Adam asked, ¡°Then what are you using for intelligence? What have you people been doing?!¡±


    ¡°Mostly we review maps, read reports from scouts, and try to decipher the Rift Menu,¡± said Rick quietly, seeming more resistant to Adam¡¯s temper than before the failed raid.


    ¡°That¡¯s all completely useless! Scouts are roaming and easy to avoid, not to mention scarce. We could have hordes sneaking up to us. The Menu isn¡¯t about to be deciphered without something to key it. Finally, most of the maps are still from pre-[System]. You¡¯re only changing them based on word of mouth. Completely useless!¡±


    ¡°Adam, I don¡¯t think this tantrum of yours is going to magically help information appear,¡± said the Colonel gruffly.


    ¡°No, it probably won¡¯t. But I asked a simple question and am still waiting for an answer. You¡¯ve all been choosing our targets since we started going on the offensive two months ago. So, I ask again. What is our next target?¡±


    ¡°We don¡¯t have the intel to¡­¡± another man started.


    ¡°Then don¡¯t use intel. THINK LIKE A BARBARIAN!¡± yelled Adam. ¡°You¡¯re so used to have the top technology, political power, and pressure. Yet, we¡¯ve been reduced to being cavemen trying to fight dinosaurs with stone weapons. Dinosaurs carrying guns. Unlike our enemies, we don¡¯t have the resources, knowledge, or experience. We¡¯re going to have to build our technology from scratch.¡±


    Adam waited several moments to give everyone time for it to sink in. It felt like the men there had been kicked in the head. They groaned and slumped in their seats. Two began writing furiously into a notepad. Even Colonel Davian was left speechless.


    After some time, Adam asked once more, ¡°Now where is our next target?¡±


    ¡°There is one possibility,¡± said a man in a small voice as he hesitantly raised his hand. The other men instantly facepalmed, put their heads down, or pushed away from the table.

 CH 98: The Obvious Trap

    CHAPTER 98: The Obvious Trap


    ¡°There is one possibility,¡± said a man in a small voice as he hesitantly raised his hand.


    ¡°No, Gerald! That place is a trap,¡± chided one man.


    ¡°It would be suicide to send people there!¡±


    ¡°After what they just went through, we don¡¯t want to lose more men.¡±


    Adam was rather surprised and a bit curious by the reactions, though he kept his face stoic. What could they have found to be this certain it was a problem.


    ¡°Gerald!¡± snapped Adam, causing the man to shake. ¡°What¡¯s the target?¡±


    ¡°Sir, it isn¡¯t a place we identified ourselves. While you were away, we received a communication through our radio lines. They claimed to be from outside of Memphis and avoided the invaders, stating they want to be evacuated. He said there are thousands of others with him,¡± explained Gerald.


    ¡°It was obviously a trap,¡± said one man, who shrank once he realized Adam was glaring at him.


    ¡°Why is that obviously a trap?¡± Adam asked levelly.


    The colonel answered, trying to take Adam¡¯s attention away from what Adam considered to be easily frightened men.


    ¡°The likelihood of him having a working radio set up and knowing our frequencies is less than slight. The signal strength alone was too powerful considering the distance from us he claimed to be at. Add in how unlikely it is for thousands to have survived the last two months at that location, with no easy access to food and water right in the border where the invaders roam, and it can¡¯t be anything less than a trap.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°Good?¡± the colonel asked confused.


    ¡°Yes. I need to find that mind witch and take her out of play. I¡¯ve broken her traps so far, but I need to go further, and without endangering the rest of our forces,¡± answered Adam.


    ¡°We can¡¯t afford anything to happen to you, Adam. This is very ill advised.¡±


    ¡°You have two choices, colonel. You can tell me what you know about this location and let me go out there to kill some invaders, or you can have a very angry Adam stomping around making this place hell for everyone whether he intends to or not,¡± said Adam, getting a laugh from a few of his friends. Even his mom stifled a chuckle.


    ¡°Props for being self-aware enough to know that, darling,¡± said Andrea.


    ¡°When you put it that way,¡± the colonel answered wryly, feeling the tension in the room drop. ¡°Gerald, go ahead and tell The General what we know and what we suspect.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± said Gerald. A map appeared on the table and zoomed in to an area called Brunswick. ¡°This is where the man said he was hiding. He described an old shopping mall accurately. However, we have identified one merged rift very close, practically down the street from that mall. There¡¯s a second merged rift not far south as well. From what we know, it would be all but impossible for a group of people to survive there.¡±


    ¡°So based on what you know it¡¯s nearly impossible. As we¡¯ve discussed, we know almost nothing. Now tell me the situation based on feel and instincts.¡±


    ¡°Sir, I feel it¡¯s completely impossible. My instincts tell me only a fool would believe it,¡± said Gerald with a bit of distaste.


    ¡°Good,¡± nodded Adam. ¡°Now what should we do as barbarians?¡±


    ¡°I would gather smaller dinosaurs and send them to the place to spring whatever trap there is.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a good suggestion. However, I don¡¯t have the time or patience to do that this time, but we might want to consider it. Forcing a monster stampedes or even raising our own. Definitely something to think about. Maybe beast taming classes. Research it, Gerald.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± said the diminutive man with a bit of surprise.


    ¡°Could the man calling us be an invader?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°No, sir. We had several lingual analysts review the recording and they said the accent and language use are too good for it to be imitated. The man did speak as if he was distracted though, possibly taking cues from captors,¡± explained another man.


    ¡°That makes sense. It also means that even if it is a trap we might be able to rescue some more humans. I¡¯ll be heading towards the place this afternoon. Gerald, show me exactly where it is.¡±


    After seeing where it was, and addressing a few more city issues, Adam was preparing to leave. The colonel and several of the city reps felt they needed to work with the people who had attended the failed raid to get an idea of how it would mentally affect them, as well as the people who hadn¡¯t gone but were exposed to the rumors of it.


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    Adam also grabbed Mr. Fenton before he left.


    ¡°Can you and the Demo Men gather the items on this paper?¡± asked Adam as he handed the paper to Mr. Fenton.


    Mr. Fenton frowned at the paper, then looked up confused.


    ¡°What do you need this stuff for?¡±


    ¡°Preparing for a different raid. I want to make sure we have what we need this time,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°This list doesn¡¯t make sense,¡± replied Mr. Fenton. Then realized what he said and tried to apologize to his superior. ¡°Sorry, General! I didn¡¯t mean to question you! I just don¡¯t understand what this could be for.¡±


    ¡°Instead of thinking like the military, I¡¯m just thinking like a barbarian. Can you gather it?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir! Give us two days,¡± saluted Mr. Fenton.


    ¡°Good. Hopefully we¡¯ll have this trap situation handled by then and can move. I feel the need to pick up our expansion pace, even if the rest of the troops can¡¯t keep up with me. We need to find something to improve our disadvantages.¡±


    Mr. Fenton nodded and then hurried off.


    Next, Tom came over to Adam.


    ¡°Boss, I¡¯m really sorry for your loss,¡± he said sincerely. Randall and Joseph nodded behind him. ¡°I know you and Nicky-boy were buddies. Our whole group is less for the loss.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, guys. It¡¯ll take me a while to get over it, but we¡¯ll keep pushing forward. I¡¯ll make the invaders pay for it,¡± said Adam with passion.


    ¡°If I may, boss, can I ask one more question?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that, Tom?¡±


    ¡°What did your [System] message say when they died?¡± Tom asked, knowing it was a delicate question. Adam froze and then stared at him.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t kill them. Why would I have gotten a message?¡± Adam asked quietly.


    ¡°You¡¯re the sovereign and they¡¯re in your retinue. I just assumed the [System] would keep you informed. It even gave us a skill to find each other. I barely need to think to know where you are. It triggers all the time since I¡¯m almost always thinking of you. What good is that skill if you aren¡¯t told we¡¯re dead?¡± Tom muttered.


    Adam continued to stare. Even the creepy things Tom said didn¡¯t register after hearing the gist of Tom¡¯s statements. He looked at Tom, then to Randall who squirmed under his glare, and finally to Joseph, who wasn¡¯t paying attention.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have that skill because I can¡¯t have [System] skills,¡± said Adam slowly.


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Tom. ¡°Then¡­are you sure they¡¯re dead?¡±


    Bringing up his status menu, Adam went to the Loyalty tab. Both Nick and Lamar were still on it. Nick¡¯s loyalty had dropped two points, which wasn¡¯t much, and Lamar¡¯s had gone up by five. Adam wanted to put his own head through a wall for only now thinking of this.


    He selected Lamar¡¯s name and then watched as a visual indicator, as well as a pull from inside his mind, told him the direction that Lamar was in. It was far. Much further than the base they had assaulted and quite south of it too. At the moment it wasn¡¯t moving. When he selected Nick from the menu, he felt the same distance and direction.


    Adam turned his blank stare back to Tom.


    ¡°They¡¯re alive,¡± Adam said woodenly. His friends that heard came over to him.


    ¡°You didn¡¯t think to use that before?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°He doesn¡¯t have a skill for it, so it takes more effort,¡± explained Alissa, who had already experienced Adam not using the appointment locater.


    ¡°They. Are. Alive.¡± Once more Adam stated it. A few hands patted his back encouragingly and smiles bloomed around him.


    ¡°¡­and I left them there! It¡¯s already been three days. I¡¯ve got to go get them!¡± Adam suddenly became frantic. Tom put a hand on his chest.


    ¡°Listen, Boss. Far be it for me to question decisions people make,¡± Tom started, causing everyone in the room to freeze and stare at him incredulously. ¡°I think this might be a delegation moment. Nicky-boy and Lamar-io should be able to survive, especially if they can get into the open land the invaders have avoided. Nicky-boy is our best stealther, and Lamar-io is a hunter and tracker. I¡¯ll send a group of the General¡¯s Guards to try and find them. Enough to take out any pursuing invaders. They¡¯ll be prepared for air bound enemies too. Leave it to them, you go focus on these trapped people that need your help.¡±


    ¡°Adam, I agree with Tom,¡± said Lucas. ¡°You go handle the other situation and trust Nick and Lamar to survive. They have so far. We¡¯ll make sure support gets to them, several units to search the area you specify.¡±


    Adam didn¡¯t want to, but he nodded in acceptance. Then he finally left the meeting room to pack. It was time to get some control back in this war.


    ***


    When Adam walked outside the Sentinel Army building, his motorcycle was waiting for him. He had notified the mechanics to make sure it was in order, so there was no surprise that it was ready to go. What did surprise him was that there was another person on it.


    ¡°What¡¯re you doing here?¡± Adam asked Brittney, as she shifted to make room for him to drive.


    ¡°Oh Adam, you¡¯re the only one who goes fast enough for me. I¡¯m not going to miss this chance for a fun ride,¡± she said, talking like they were just going out for a joyride.


    ¡°I was planning on going alone for this,¡± Adam said, a bit unsure how to proceed.


    ¡°That¡¯s fine. Just pretend I¡¯m not here,¡± Brittney smiled brightly at him. The smile was so cute and endearing he knew he wouldn¡¯t be able to kick her off the bike.


    ¡°And the rest of you?¡± Adam asked.


    Everyone from his group was there. Lucas was in a powerful pick-up truck that had been outfitted with armor, a strengthened frame, and a more powerful engine built thanks to the base¡¯s enhanced tools. Joseph was in the passenger seat while Randall and Elias were in the back.


    Alissa was driving a similar pick-up truck, with Abbey and Andrea in the front. The cargo bed had Brandon and Ed in it, along with a few boxes of supplies and a specially built durable box for Ed¡¯s drones and laptop.


    Tom was on a motorcycle similar to Adam¡¯s. It had an embarrassing sticker on the back that said, ¡°I ride with The Boss!¡±


    ¡°I just thought it looked like a nice day for a drive,¡± said Lucas. ¡°Figured I needed to get these guys out of the house. Maybe take them for a walk later.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s been a while since we visited Memphis,¡± said Andrea. ¡°Figured we¡¯d make it an all-girls trip.¡±


    ¡°Ed and Brandon aren¡¯t girls,¡± Adam pointed out.


    ¡°Oh, they just wanted us to drop them off by a mall. Brandon wants to get a gift for Gracie.¡±


    ¡°Uh-huh. And you guys?¡± Adam asked Tom and Carlos.


    ¡°I decided I needed to go somewhere,¡± said Tom using an edgy voice. ¡°Alone. Without anyone else. By myself. Definitely not to help free captured humans.¡±


    Carlos still had a dark look about him, even though he had heard the good news about Lamar and Nick. Adam was surprised he wasn¡¯t leading a group to go after them.


    ¡°I¡¯m the only scout here. You¡¯ll need me,¡± Carlos said sharply.


    ¡°I see,¡± Adam said slowly. ¡°I guess since we¡¯re all heading the same way we might as well travel together.¡±


    Everyone nodded in agreement and started their vehicles. It was time to get on the road.

 CH 99: Getting to Safety

    CHAPTER 99: Getting to Safety


    The smell of blood woke Lamar. Before he even opened his eyes, he checked his body mentally to make sure it wasn¡¯t his own blood. He was quite chilled from the wet clothes mixed with the cold air. Pre-[System] he would have died from hypothermia. Now, his 71 points of Vitality kept his body to a slight shivering.


    It was still dark out. He could feel that the sun would be rising soon. There was also a nearby presence where the smell of blood came from.


    Lamar slid his right hand to the hilt of his knife before opening his eyes. A person was sitting against another tree, dressed in black leather armor. Around him were the corpses of six Pellicians.


    ¡°Boy was it tough finding you,¡± Nick said, allowing Lamar to relax his grip on the knife. ¡°These guys were following along the river, trying to catch your scent. I took them out quickly so you could get your sleep.¡±


    ¡°What even happened? Did Adam send you to find me?¡±


    ¡°He had me trail you guys before we even knew it was all an illusion. Frankly I had a hard time not bursting out laughing watching you guys waddle through that parking lot. Then the illusion dropped and my respect for you sure increased. You didn¡¯t even see things and you were avoiding them,¡± Nick chuckled.


    ¡°It was more difficult than it looked. I had to trust my instincts more than ever before,¡± admitted Lamar. ¡°Anyway, was Adam able to take the base? That many of those furry bastards shouldn¡¯t have been enough to drive him off.¡±


    ¡°They probably wouldn¡¯t have been without the five Tier 3s that jumped him.¡±


    ¡°Five?!¡± Lamar exclaimed. ¡°They didn¡¯t hurt him, did they?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Last I saw, Adam pulled himself away from the fight and went back to the main forces. I think he left us on our own.¡±


    ¡°I can see why if there were five. They could have torn through our army if even one got away from Adam.¡± Lamar sighed. ¡°Then this was another planned trap by the enemy?¡±


    ¡°Looks that way,¡± replied Nick.


    ¡°Any chance of us getting back to our group?¡± questioned Lamar.


    ¡°Doubtful. You had too many pursuers, and I saw hundreds going after the army. It should be safer to try and sneak back to Jackson, though it might take some time.¡±


    ¡°Damn. I¡¯ve got a twisted knee and broken arm. I won¡¯t be moving quickly. Did any of the soldiers with me make it?¡±


    ¡°No idea. It was chaos and there was a lot of screaming. I was trying to find you,¡± admitted Nick.


    ¡°Should have gone hunter, then you could have tracked me.¡±


    ¡°If I didn¡¯t have stealth I¡¯d be dead, and so would you,¡± Nick pointed to the corpses.


    ¡°Then what now?¡± asked Lamar.


    ¡°First, I need to sleep. I¡¯ve been keeping guard since I found you and I¡¯m tired too. You watch for a few hours so I can nap. Then, I think we need to find a better place to hole up until your knee feels better.¡±


    ¡°Alright. Take a rest next to me against this tree. I won¡¯t be able to move much if enemies show up.¡±


    While Nick got as comfortable as he could, Lamar explored his forearm. One of the bones in it was broken, and the muscle was swollen. His hand didn¡¯t open and close quite right or allow him to get a good grip. He took out a stiff archery brace meant for protecting the inside of his forearm and used that to bind everything tight, trying to give it some stability. Then he put his armored glove overtop.


    When he tried pulling back his bow, he found that he only had about 25% of his strength in his stabilizing arm. As long as his shots were quick, he should be able to do decent damage, just not as far as normal. His Strength was at 91 and Agility was at 143. Even with his broken arm and twisted knee, he could probably move faster than pre-[System] Olympic athletes.


    Of course, that didn¡¯t bode well against multiple invaders. Fortunately, his combat skills [Steady Shot] and [Quick Release] both worked when using melee weapons, and [Deep Blade] was knife or sword specific.


    His bow was about the length of his knees to his neck. It was a very simple design but had been made from an alloy using Testudinate metal. It had a powerful spring back when pulled on it, not requiring all the complex mechanisms of Earth bows.


    There were two nice gimmicks to it too. The tips were sharp, allowing it to be used for close combat. A release was also included that would take the tension off the string, practically turning the bow into a short staff. Lamar had even thought of ways to use the tensionless wire as a garrote, since it was tough enough not to break against most material they had encountered so far.


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    Lamar checked through his pockets and the light pack he always carried. Taking inventory of what was available he found that with rationing he could make the food and snacks he carried last about three days. Of course, he was sure he¡¯d find animals to hunt as well, but that wouldn¡¯t be reliable if they were fleeing or hiding from invaders.


    Water would be a problem, but he had several packs of hydration drinks, essentially sugar and salt water. They didn¡¯t taste as good as a sports drink, but he could last for a few days with them. There was also a water filter, since they wouldn¡¯t have time to boil water, and some sealable plastic bags he could use as waterskins.


    With the class of ¡°Hunter¡± he had spent time to figure out how to set and hide traps, figuring it fit into the class motif. He had taken to carrying a lot of small pieces that could be combined with things found in nature to set up those traps quicker.


    Once he finished going through his things and repacking them, he ate another dry ration pack. The shivering from the cold was using up more of his energy than he was comfortable with, but there wasn¡¯t much to do about it. Instead, he focused on the noise around him, trying to sense anything approaching them.


    Every five minutes he would use the skills [Notice Sign] and [Evidence]. Those skills weren¡¯t especially helpful here since they were for looking for clues to something on physical objects, not in using your sensing on the unknown. [Notice Sign] allowed him to track people or animals, and find traces caused by creatures. [Evidence] allowed him to see if things had been intentionally tampered with, such as when hiding traps. Both fit his kit nicely, even if they seemed like common skills, but he would still like to get something to enhance his senses.


    ¡°Hear that, [System]? I¡¯d like a skill to help me notice creatures approaching.¡±


    After a minute with no response, he grunted.


    ¡°I bet it¡¯d have let Adam know,¡± he complained, knowing how ridiculous it was. Especially considering Adam couldn¡¯t even get skills or a class.


    ***


    Nick and Lamar traveled through the trees following the river south. The plan for now was to try and find a town. They were far enough away from Nashville that people could still be living there undisturbed by the invaders. At the very least finding a travel map would be helpful. Plus, a town meant main roads that they could use to figure out where they were and possibly to get back to Jackson.


    At first Nick tried to support Lamar to help with his knee. It wasn¡¯t a problem with his 117 in Strength, but moving was very awkward. They settled on cutting a large branch from a tree for Lamar to use as a walking stick. He hobbled along slowly.


    Nick attempted not to let his annoyance at the slow speed show, they both knew it wasn¡¯t Lamars fault, but every hour saw him getting twitchier. Lamar suggested Nick patrol around him in circles in stealth. It made Lamar feel alone, but it was better than a jumpy and irritated travel companion. Besides, moving this slowly, Lamar practiced hiding signs of his passing while also using [Notice Signs] to practice his hunting skills.


    After about two hours of moving through the woods, with the water always in sight, Nick popped up.


    ¡°I found a maintenance trail. It leads out and to a road. We can stay in the woods and head south with the road in view.¡±


    Lamar nodded at that. He had become accustomed to moving like this, and his speed was a little better. Fortunately, his stamina was high enough from a combination of stats and the challenges of the last few months that he could probably keep going without aggravating his knee for a few more hours.


    They followed the maintenance trail to a country road. That led them to a better maintained road until they could see the outskirts of a town. They felt relief when they came to a gas station. Nick chuckled at the state of the small building.


    ¡°It feels like a horror movie. No people, a few rusting cars in the back, shelves still stocked but covered in dust.¡±


    ¡°Do you think there are any people around here? Are we sure there isn¡¯t an invader base here?¡± asked Lamar.


    ¡°According to the maps, we¡¯re on the outside of Thompson¡¯s Station. If we go straight west, we can hit route 40 and follow it to Jackson. It¡¯s probably too small for the invaders to set a base. Franklin, a bit North would make more sense. Maybe we can head into the town to check for people.¡±


    Then Nick blew on the dust while picking out the snack bars and drinks that should still be good after two months.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to hit up a medical store or pharmacy. Get a brace for my knee. It feels like the swelling is already reducing, even with the use. Making sure it doesn¡¯t get worse would be good. Also, one of those soft casts for my forearm. I wouldn¡¯t say no to some painkillers. Do you think the [System] has healing potions? I¡¯d sure like to get one right about now.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve wondered that too. We have healing magic, which is rather convenient. It sure would be nice to have alchemy potions, magic scrolls, runes to enhance stuff, and some spatial storage,¡± Nick added as he pulled out some plastic shopping bags from behind the counter to start stuffing food into.


    ¡°Spatial storage sure would be nice. Maybe buy an inventory skill through the menu. You have those, [System]?¡± Lamar asked, looking to the sky and waiting. Again, there was no response. ¡°Oh well. Even if they exist, we have no way of learning or getting them yet. We¡¯ll just need to be thorough in looting the invaders until we find some.¡±


    ¡°As long as they are better geared than goblins,¡± Nick said, causing them both to laugh.


    ***


    The two headed into the town. Nick spent most of the time stealthed, but stuck closer to Lamar, who didn¡¯t have as much cover as he walked along the roads. He would pop out of stealth every now and then to chat and keep Lamar from feeling too isolated.


    As they expected, the town was deserted of people. Lamar didn¡¯t have the energy to do much exploring, and Nick was just as tired. They spent time in a pharmacy, looting drugs that seemed useful, and trying to treat Lamar¡¯s injuries.


    Once they were done there, they headed to a sports shop to grab some warm clothes. Lamar¡¯s never really dried out, so a change of clothes was welcome. He needed Nick¡¯s help to get out of his armor and hang it up. Then they found an isolated room that didn¡¯t let any cold in to use for sleep.


    ¡°Think we need to stand guard,¡± Nick asked.


    ¡°I don¡¯t have it in me. Looking at the dirt on the roads and dust everywhere, this place hasn¡¯t been visited in a while. If they show, then they¡¯re specifically following us. I¡¯ll set up some alarm traps on the doors to give us warning if anything comes after us,¡± Lamar said.


    They both put on warm fresh clothes, wrapped themselves up in some camping blankets, then went to sleep.

 CH 100: Swan

    CHAPTER 100: Swan


    ¡°These tracks are layered. Several large groups passed through here at different times. I¡¯d say the most recent was two weeks ago,¡± Lamar said as he squatted as much as possible on his bad knee. He used [Notice Signs] to understand what he was looking at.


    After two days of rest, the swelling was gone and only a mild strain could still be felt within the tendons. He kept a soft brace on it, though he wondered at its usefulness considering it wasn¡¯t made to protect against stats like his. A quick or powerful movement could pop the material easily.


    During that time, Nick had been exploring. Or you could call it looting. Definitely looting. With a lot of enthusiasm.


    The room in the sporting goods store that he stayed in was now piled high with video games, movies, snacks, electronics, batteries, and anything else he found and wanted to keep. He focused on conveniences and food, ignoring things that had been considered valuable before the [System]. Most of this stuff would be useless soon too, if not for their base Rift that could integrate these items with it. Lamar wasn¡¯t sure if Nick was doing it because he wanted the stuff or just because it was something he never would have done with people around.


    When Lamar asked why, Nick had brought up the old RPG video games.


    ¡°You could walk right into a house and smash their pots or open their chests. They never said or did anything. As a kid I wasn¡¯t sure whether to feel guilty for stealing from the NPCs or happy that they allowed me to take their stuff. People aren¡¯t in these houses or stores, but now I can do that in real life,¡± Nick had answered with a grin. ¡°I wanted to know what it was like.¡±


    ¡°What if those things belong to people?¡± Lamar had asked in response. That had caused Nick to frown and get serious.


    ¡°If the people are still alive, I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll have much use for them.¡±


    The big break in Nicks exploration had come when both he and Lamar had looked north at the same time.


    ¡°He¡¯s heading back to Jackson,¡± said Lamar, feeling the appointment connection to Adam.


    ¡°Guess we¡¯re truly on our own. He isn¡¯t coming back for us,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Maybe he just trusts us that much. To make our own way back,¡± Lamar added hopefully.


    ¡°If that¡¯s what you think, then you need to pay better attention to him,¡± Nick lamented, then shrugged it off and went back to exploring.


    Eventually Lamar had become able to move at a pace that would allow him to fight somewhat, so Nick brought him to one of the bigger roads in town. In front of a school there were a lot of signs of movement across the lawn and tracked into a full parking lot. Windows had been blown inwards from the school, and cars were smashed and ripped up. Lamar couldn¡¯t help but sigh at it all.


    ¡°Invaders?¡± asked Nick as Lamar stood up.


    ¡°I would think the torn-up cars would be a dead giveaway,¡± Lamar stated sarcastically.


    ¡°It could have been mutated beasts.¡±


    ¡°Doubtful. The tracks look like people were pulled and dragged out of the school. We spend so much time trying to get away from school, then the apocalypse happens, and we all huddle back in them. Anyway, it wasn¡¯t even once. It looks like there were similar things that happened repeatedly over the weeks. There are shoe and boot prints, bare feet, drag and scuff marks, and then lizard tracks. Large lizard prints that walk on two legs,¡± explained Lamar.


    ¡°Yeah, invaders.¡± Nick gripped his knife tightly.


    ¡°Let¡¯s check out some of the other public buildings,¡± said Lamar.


    They found another school building, this one for elementary school, and the same pattern was there. Large numbers of tracks being led off. Multiple times in some of the places.


    They checked building after building, following tracks back and forth. Outside a small corporate center, several churches, a grocery store, they found similar signs. After a few hours of it, Nick was getting frustrated.


    ¡°Do we try to figure out what happened? Or just wait until you¡¯re up to run for Jackson?¡± Nick asked, throwing his hands up in exasperation.


    ¡°Let¡¯s hold up on answering that,¡± Lamar said as he looked at some dead grass in front of a church. ¡°I found something different¡­and fresh.¡±


    He kept low and followed some patches of withered grass bent the wrong way. The spots were very small and might have been caused by dogs. There wasn¡¯t much of an indentation in the dirt.


    The trail didn¡¯t lead into the church, but to the bushes on the side of the building. The bushes looked like they were growing from the ground to the wall and up to waist height. Lamar got low. He could see some signs of disturbance very low down.


    Using his knife, he cut away the branches that spiked outwards and found that the bushes were broken off into a tunnel on the side against the church wall. A tunnel that was much smaller than Lamar could fit in. He pointed it out to Nick.


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    ¡°Guess we get rid of the bushes?¡± asked Nick. ¡°Should I go to a hardware store and get a shovel or hedge clippers?¡±


    ¡°Quit thinking like a level zero, you newb,¡± Lamar teased as he grabbed a bush with his gloved, non-broken hand and easily pulled the bush out of the ground.


    ¡°Good point,¡± Nick nodded. He went further down the wall and the two started yanking out bushes. They just saw more walls behind the plants as they went, until about three quarters of the way down they found a window. It was about two feet tall and three feet wide. Behind it was just darkness, even with the sun out.


    ¡°You have a plan?¡± asked Nick as he stared at the window. It would be a tight fit no matter what.


    ¡°We could break into the church and try to find this room. Or we could break the window open. We could also just smash the wall in, but that might fall on someone if there are people inside.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a lot of breaking things, Lamar. Now you¡¯re thinking too much like Adam,¡± Nick chuckled. He tapped the hilt of his knife on the glass so as not to break it. Then he waited.


    Lamar strained his hearing, trying to make out motion or talking behind the window. Nothing happened.


    ¡°Are you sure people were in there?¡± asked Nick skeptically.


    ¡°You saw the bushes and the ground. I¡¯m pretty sure someone small went in there.¡±


    Then Lamar addressed the window.


    ¡°My name is Lamar. I¡¯m human and from the Sentinel Army in Jackson. We¡¯re looking for survivors and found tracks leading here. If you¡¯re well, please give us a signal, otherwise we¡¯ll be trying to break in to make sure no one needs help.¡±


    While Lamar spoke, Nick used his [Dim Presence] and [Mask Signs] skills to disappear. He wasn¡¯t turning invisible, just becoming harder to notice. Lamar couldn¡¯t find him when he did that unless he used [Notice Signs] to counter one of Nick¡¯s skills.


    Lamar waited for a few minutes but there was still no reply. He turned to find Nick, but instead heard a yelp coming from the front of the church. Hurrying there, he found a young woman. Her arm was held by Nick, and she looked terrified. She also looked dirty, dehydrated, and like she hadn¡¯t eaten in a while. Lamar couldn¡¯t help but notice she would be pretty if she was in a normal condition.


    ¡°So there¡¯re people in this place?¡± asked Nick, a little more forcefully than Lamar was comfortable with.


    ¡°N-no. Of course not. I was hiding here alone,¡± the girl said.


    ¡°Oh, good. Then it doesn¡¯t matter if we just kick the wall in,¡± threatened Nick.


    ¡°No! Don¡¯t do that!¡±


    ¡°Why not?¡± he questioned.


    ¡°I-it¡¯s just mean to ruin perfectly good buildings,¡± she stammered out, obviously lying. Lamar breathed deeply.


    ¡°Nick, can you go get some of the healthier food and some water and sports drinks?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s fine,¡± said Nick as he let go of her. He gave a wink to Lamar. ¡°How much, do you think?¡±


    Lamar raised an eyebrow at the woman. ¡°Enough for five¡­ten¡­huh, 20 people. Thanks, Nick.¡± Lamar reacted to the woman¡¯s twitches as he guessed numbers.


    ¡°You got it, buddy. Be right back.¡± Nick then faded out of perception again and Lamar was left alone with the woman.


    ¡°My name is Lamar, and that was Nick. He didn¡¯t mean any harm, just wanted to make sure you wouldn¡¯t run.¡±


    ¡°Why would I run?¡± the girl asked suspiciously.


    ¡°Please don¡¯t play around. We¡¯ve been following tracks all day. There were invaders here a few weeks ago and they took a lot of people. We¡¯d like to know more about it.¡±


    The women frowned and still seemed hesitant.


    ¡°Why would you want to know more. If you were smart, you¡¯d run for it without worrying about others. The things that they¡¯ve done¡­¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about us. We¡¯re pretty strong and we¡¯re both scouts. We can call in quite a few fighters experienced with the invaders too.¡±


    ¡°How did you get strong?¡± she asked, now curious.


    ¡°It started with goblins, and a classmate named Adam,¡± said Lamar. He briefly explained what they had been doing since the invasions, and how Adam had convinced police, the US Army, and civilians to fight and level up.


    ¡°Then the general guy from the videos was real?¡± she asked, jaw agape.


    ¡°Yeah, why is that so hard to believe when the [System] sticks messages in front of us and gives us spells and skills?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just, I saw those videos. They looked impossible,¡± she said dismissively.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you just see Nick disappear? That used to be impossible but isn¡¯t anymore,¡± Lamar insisted.


    ¡°You think this Adam General will come help if you talk to him?¡± she asked, growing a bit concerned.


    ¡°Adam Clemens. The General is just a nickname someone gave him. And of course he would come to help. Killing the invaders is most of what he thinks about.¡±


    ¡°Scary,¡± she said with a shiver. ¡°Killing isn¡¯t the same as rescuing people.¡±


    ¡°No, it isn¡¯t. Adam will do both. We¡¯ve been raiding invader bases since before the invasions. We¡¯ve rescued tens of thousands of people that we¡¯ve found. Now, if you¡¯d answer a few questions miss¡­¡±


    ¡°Swan,¡± she said firmly.


    ¡°Swan?¡± Lamar asked with surprise. She glared at him.


    ¡°Yes. Swan. My mama said I was the ugliest baby when I was born but was destined to grow beautiful.¡± Her words were a challenge to Lamar. One he knew to ignore.


    ¡°Ok, Ms. Swan. Your mama might have been right. I look forward to seeing you once you have the chance to get some food in you for a while. Now, what happened here and how did you survive?¡±


    Swan told her story to Lamar. The town had gathered at public places. They had shared and supported each other, even though no one knew what to do on a larger scale. Then the invaders came. They killed a few people to make examples of them, and then started raiding buildings.


    The church was run by Swan¡¯s father, and she worked to clean it and teach Sunday school. There was a hidden room in the church. It wasn¡¯t large, but when the invaders had come, the other adults chose her to watch the children in it. She had a healing spell and was already treated well by the children as their Sunday school teacher. It had been tough keeping the children quiet as the rest of the people were dragged out by hissing lizard men. The tracks that Lamar had followed were from one of the more unruly boys who kept sneaking out to try and find better food.


    Several times while Swan was talking, she almost burst into tears as she described it. The fear, the loneliness, and the uncertainty. They didn¡¯t have much food, and they couldn¡¯t venture out due to the raids occurring over several weeks. The children were all starving and thirsty, relying on an old hand pumped well in the back. The only reason the children didn¡¯t get sick from the water was probably due to her being a ¡°Support [0]¡± with the [Slight Heal] spell.


    ¡°Actually, that¡¯ll help us out too. I broke my arm when we fought some invaders north of here. Do you think you could heal it?¡±


    Swan began sweating with concentration after her fourth cast of [Slight Heal]. Lamar had become used to Tier 2 healers, as well as not taking damage. He tried to remember how long it had taken Abbey and Ed to heal people back in the beginning, during the goblins, but even that wasn¡¯t comparable since even then Abbey had leveled. Plus, Swan was already worn down from starvation.


    Still, she kept it up until he was able to flex and move his hand adequately. It would still take more heals to get it fixed all the way, but for now he felt he could use his bow.


    Swan sat on the ground as Lamar waited for Nick to get back, surprised at how long it was taking. Then he was even more surprised when Nick came running around a building almost at full speed.


    ¡°Bad news! They¡¯re here. A group of invaders are right behind me!¡±

 CH 101: Their First Scyrric

    CHAPTER 101: Their First Scyrric


    ¡°This world was paid for by us Scyrric, native. Everything on it is now ours. Including you!¡± hissed the lizard man in the lead, with a tag of ¡°Unit Leader [8]¡±. He looked to have a second tier class.


    All 20 in the unit felt like they were Tier 2, from the two shield bearers just behind the leader, to the four mages, and four warrior looking classes behind them. There were two more that looked like trackers by the way they moved so close to the ground and checked all directions instead of looking ahead. Lamar couldn¡¯t understand what their classes meant. They used English words that shouldn¡¯t have been put together like that. ¡°Chicken Grumbler¡± and ¡°Cheeky Canary¡± were the trackers.


    The rest looked to be laborers. The classes of ¡°Refuse Bin,¡± ¡°Buttress Support,¡± ¡°Hot Dog Tongs¡± caused Lamar to want to walk away from this encounter. Maybe he could offer to give the [System] some lessons in language after this.


    Lamar¡¯s casual thoughts when face to face with these creatures made him wonder if he was getting too full of himself from teaming with Adam.


    Even though the leader looked like a lizard, he walked upright on two legs with joints that looked slightly different than pictures of dinosaurs, as far as Lamar could see through the uniform he wore. He had hands and opposable thumbs, though each digit was more talon than finger. All their faces were stretched out, with the leaders having an almost beak shape for a mouth and most of those behind having rounder features.


    There was no hair or ears, but their eyes were sharp and predatory. Their uniforms were made up of a vest, belt, and pants. They wore no shoes as their toe claws looked to be part of how they moved and probably attacked. Their tails also varied, with some having longer tails, like the ones he assumed were trackers, to the thick and stubby tails that the laborers had. The warriors had metal implements on the ends of their tails while the leader just had armor on his.


    ¡°I don¡¯t remember getting money for our planet,¡± Nick said flippantly, brandishing two long knives.


    ¡°Why would slaves get money? You are belongings,¡± the unit leader said, almost confused.


    ¡°Then who did you pay?¡± asked Nick. ¡°I want my cut from him.¡±


    ¡°Bah,¡± spat the Scyrric. ¡°It matters not to you. You submit or you die. I no longer talking with soon to be slaves or meat for our beasts.¡±


    Lamar shrugged, partly because this was a pointless conversation, and partly because he was trying to dislodge Swan. She was tightly gripping his sleeve, while trying to hide behind him. He could feel her shaking in fear.


    He wanted to be polite to her, to reassure her, but really, he didn¡¯t have time, and she was preventing him from notching an arrow. Lamar was the second largest of Adam¡¯s group, behind Lucas, though he usually kept to the back and spoke less often than the rest. He made a solid shield for the woman.


    ¡°Excuse me,¡± Lamar said to Swan softly, using a bit more force to pull his arm from Swan¡¯s hold on him.


    In a fast motion he had his bow out of his pack. A quick yank at the bottom of his pack released an attached quiver that contained 40 arrows. The big disadvantage with arrows was how hard it was to carry enough. These arrows had Testudinate metal for the head and elven wood for the shafts. As long as he could retrieve them, they shouldn¡¯t go dull for a while.


    Nick was still arguing with the lizard, egging him on. That wasn¡¯t Lamar¡¯s style. Very quickly he activated [Steady Shot] to ensure his accuracy, and [Quick Release] to get more speed.


    Lamar also had a skill called [Deep Blade] that was meant to increase penetration for knives and swords, but since his arrowheads were sharp, he figured it would work on them. He didn¡¯t bother using it though. For these invaders, thinking there was no threat from the humans, his first two skills would be enough.


    ¡°¡­you dare claim that to these superior ones right here?¡± the unit leader was snarling at whatever Nick had just said.


    ¡°Superior? All I see are corpses,¡± Nick smirked as Lamar released two arrows very quickly.


    One took a shield carrying Scyrric in the eye, and another in the throat. The lizards were even more surprised than he was as both arrows continued through their targets. The arrow that entered an eye slowed more as it came out the back of the skull but still had though force to hit one of the large laborers in the face, punching deeply behind its snout. The throat arrow was less impeded and fully passed through a mage looking Scyrric, also hitting a laborer behind them.


    Scyrric Shield Wearer [5] slain. 1,264 XP gained.


    Scyrric Damage Blocker [6] slain. 1,497 XP gained.


    Scyrric Elemental Mage [2] slain. 1,037 XP gained.


    Idly, Lamar wondered if the skill [Deep Cut] would have increased the penetration on all targets hit or just the first one, even though it already had enough force to pass completely through. Jumping about five meters to his right, away from Nick who had just activated his stealth skills while the lizards looked at those falling from the arrows, Lamar fired another arrow.


    Scyrric Fire Shaper [4] slain. 1,204 XP gained.


    Scyrric Air Blower [1] slain. 893 XP gained.


    Two more of the mages fell as a single arrow passed through the sides of their heads like a bullet, splattering the insides away from him. Lamar heard Nick curse as some of the splatter hit him as he came out of stealth between two of the warrior lizards. There were two quick flashes of red on his hands as Nick used [Unseen Blow] and [Deadly Blow] to jab his knives into the necks of the warriors. Nick quickly stepped back, using the bodies of the falling warriors to hide so he could once more use [Dim Presence] and [Mask Signs].


    The Scyrric still had barely responded. The unit leader, contrary to his title, seemed at a loss for what to do. The labor looking lizards were turning to find cover, which was unlikely since they were in the middle of a road. The mage was preparing a spell to send at Lamar but fell to an arrow before he could even cast it. The warriors were looking for Nick.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    The only ones that responded to the threat were the trackers. One went for Lamar and the other for Swan.


    ¡°Not a chance,¡± said Nick, as he once more popped into view, this time at the side of the tracker. It had maybe 60% of Nick¡¯s 184 Agility and would have reached Swan before she could turn. Nick even had time to shake his head as his knives hamstrung the Scyrric. When the tracker tried to pull himself forward using his arms and tail, those were cut to uselessness too.


    The fight had only begun and had been so rapid that Swan barely had time to land on her butt and try to scramble back. Seeing the Scyrric charge her, and Nick appear, caused her to scream. The scream drew the attention of the warriors who had been charging Nick, and he once more slipped out of sight.


    Lamar, on the other hand, was forced to defend in melee combat with his bow as the other tracker arrived at him. A quick jump back didn¡¯t bring any space as the tracker was at full speed to reach him. He blocked the invader¡¯s short sword swing. It flashed red just before connecting with the bow.


    Surprise caused the lizard man to pause for just a second as the sword bounced off Lamar¡¯s bow shaft. This allowed Lamar to flip the clasp that took tension off the string, turning the bow shaft into a short staff with sharpened ends.


    Lamar wasn¡¯t as focused on close combat, but he had spent plenty of time training with the others. He liked to think that he was only a small step down from Nick with knives and was on par with the warriors using a sword. Training with the bow-staff was a new experience, but with 143 Agility and 91 Strength, he was usually going to be strong enough to deflect blows or fast enough to evade.


    The tracker was speed focused, so Lamar didn¡¯t bother evading and instead let the sword strike the bow a few more times before he felt the flow of the fight. Once comfortable with the lizards fighting style, he spun to dodge the next strike.


    The Scyrric expected another block, and his momentum shifted his stance more than was smart as Lamar brought a sharp tip of the bow into the tracker¡¯s elbow. There was a resistance to the skin and scales that Lamar felt. He didn¡¯t get penetration but the strength behind the attack bent the elbow wrong and caused it to drop its sword.


    Lamar yanked his own knife from the belt with his left hand, and while the tracker stumbled, Lamar finally used [Deep Blade] and jabbed the knife into the exposed neck. The blade then sliced forward, halfway beheading the invader. As it fell to the ground, green blood leaked out.


    Scyrric Chicken Grumbler [12] slain. 1,851 XP gained.


    Dropping his knife, Lamar flipped the clasp to reset the bowstring tension. He saw that Nick had already taken care of the two remaining warriors. That left Lamar to fire several more arrows at the still fleeing laborers. Using only [Steady Shot] this time, he reduced the force he fired with and pinned the lizard men¡¯s legs to the ground. They were strong enough to pull them out, but it gave Nick enough time to hamstring them before they could get to their feet.


    With that, all that was left was the unit leader, standing in the road in front of the church, moving his beak-ish mouth open and closed without any sound coming out. Lamar couldn¡¯t tell if it was more like a strangled bird or a bubbling fish. Nick approached him while wiping his knife blades on a cloth to clean them.


    ¡°As I was saying¡­well, I forget. Something about superior corpses. I don¡¯t actually care since you weren¡¯t giving me enough material to be clever with,¡± said Nick.


    The dirtier knife was pressed against the Scyrric¡¯s neck from behind. That was when the unit leader found his words.


    ¡°I understand now. You are with him. The aberration that the invasion Commander wants captured. This should be outside the operation area we allow for him. If you tell me how he has come to power so early in the [System] then I would be willing to accept you into my next unit. You would not need to be a slave like the rest of you natives.¡±


    The leader¡¯s words didn¡¯t even seem like bargaining for his life. He really believed everything he said, and Lamar suspected he found this offer generous. No reassurances to survive, just to be placed in the front of a combat unit.


    ¡°Would you betray your own people?¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°Only a barbarian would ask that question of the Scyrric. We are superior, one of the ruling races. You are naught but natives to be ground and used as we see fit. Nothing, especially not the aberration, brings you close to the honor my smallest toe has.¡±


    ¡°I have a close friend who¡¯s a barbarian. I can tell you that with him around you¡¯ll never have this planet,¡± Nick said. Lamar saw an uncharacteristic anger in Nick. The Scyrric laughed.


    ¡°The aberration will not last long. We have humored him, not bringing forces to bear. Once he falls to one of the many traps our commanders and the red clan have set, the rest of you natives serving him will be taken. Half will be killed as an example, and the rest will have their eyes and tongues removed, forced to service in the pits of¡­¡±


    Scyrric Unit Leader [8] slain. 1,557 shared XP gained.


    The leader wasn¡¯t able to finish speaking as an arrow tore through his mouth while Nick¡¯s knife cut his throat. Lamar was breathing heavily and had to calm himself as he thought of his parents, brother, and sister. This wasn¡¯t a fight they could afford to lose. Adam had the right of it, even if his immutable anger stemmed from something else.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got enough for two more levels,¡± said Nick.


    To distract himself, Lamar opened his status window and noticed he had enough for one more level. Nick must have been closer to leveling at the start of the fight. Increasing his class level by one, Lamar looked over his status.


    Name: Lamar Cook [36]


    Age: 18


    Race: Human


    Appointment: Huntsman


    Class: Hunter [27] (Common)


    Body [9]


    Strength: 92


    Agility: 146


    Vitality: 72


    Intelligence: 26


    Wisdom: 27


    Skill Points: 6


    Skills:


    Notice Signs +5: Increases perception, allowing unusual aspects in a short range to come to the caster¡¯s attention.


    [+3] 60% increase in range


    [+2] 40% increase in age of noticed aspects


    Steady Shot +5: Increases accuracy when using ranged attacks.


    [+3] 30% reduction in penalty for further distances


    [+2] 10% increase in power


    Quick Release +5: Attacks are released with increased velocity.


    [+5] 25% power increase when a direct impact.


    Evidence +5: Increases perception, allowing the caster to see through nearby tampering or the hiding of presence, traps, or any other type of concealment.


    [+3] 60% increase in range


    [+2] 40% increase in age of noticed aspects


    Deep Blade +3: Increases penetration power when using a blade.


    [+3] 15% increase to power when penetrating with skill


    Disorient: Causes an enemy in combat to become confused for a short period. Reduction in health and emotional changes can end the effect.


    Distract: Forces an enemy in combat with the caster to pay attention to something else for 2 seconds.


    Creep: When used, the caster walks more cautiously, avoiding perceived dangers and becoming less noticeable.


    Withdraw +5: Enables the caster to move away from their current position and to a potentially safer location. Movement is faster than the caster could make on their own, and the location doesn¡¯t require the caster to be aware of the safer location prior to skill use.


    [+3] 60% movement speed increase


    [+2] 40% range on perceived safer locations


    After checking out his status, Lamar looked over at Nick, who nodded to him. Then they both looked towards Swan. She was still trying to drag herself backwards in terror from the mess in the street. Her head swiveled between Nick and Lamar with wide eyes.


    ¡°Yeah, now comes the hard part,¡± Lamar muttered as he headed over to her.

 CH 102: WWAD

    CHAPTER 102: WWAD


    ¡°Are you insane?! Absolutely not! Get away from me!¡± Swan screamed at Nick.


    Nick kept getting closer as Swan, still shaking but finally on her feet, was backing away from him.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see what the big deal is. This is just how it works,¡± argued Nick.


    ¡°Maybe don¡¯t try to convince her while dragging a still moving invader up to her before convincing her,¡± Lamar said with a shake of his head.


    Nick looked down at the tracker that he had been dragging, as if he had forgotten it was there. The creature was still trying to flail about at him, but it was a mess of cuts and blood as Nick had been forced to incapacitate him quickly and violently. After a pause, Nick just tossed the invader back towards the road.


    ¡°There. Fine. No more scary monster. Now would you take my knife and kill them?¡± Nick pleaded.


    ¡°No! Of course not!¡± Swan shouted once more, then looked around terrified to make sure there weren¡¯t any more invaders that heard her. ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why you are telling me to do that.¡±


    Her last words were much quieter and desperate. Lamar waved Nick back and held his own ground so as not to make Swan feel threatened.


    ¡°Swan. This is unpleasant but it is important. We all went through this as well. If you don¡¯t kill the invaders or mutated animals, then you can¡¯t get XP to become stronger. If you stay low level then you¡¯ll be weak and won¡¯t be able to help anyone,¡± explained Lamar in a soothing voice.


    ¡°But what about ¡®Thou shalt not kill¡¯?¡± she asked while eyeing Nick like he was about to charge towards her.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the invaders weren¡¯t covered by that. Besides, don¡¯t people go to war all the time in the bible?¡± Nick retorted flippantly. Swan took another step backwards.


    ¡°Nick, can you go make sure there aren¡¯t any more around?¡±


    ¡°Fine,¡± Nick sulked. ¡°Why does Adam get away with it and I can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Because Adam is an incarnation of anger and violence, with people getting caught up in his emotions. Besides, his sister hates him for it and hasn¡¯t gotten over it.¡±


    ¡°Gracie got over it.¡±


    ¡°Gracie was given a choice. You weren¡¯t doing that.¡±


    ¡°Fine. I¡¯m going. Just make sure I get my hit in if she isn¡¯t taking it,¡± said Nick, then turning and walked off down the street.


    Lamar then explained why they had left so many alive and how Adam had made sure everyone got XP and leveled up.


    ¡°You¡¯re saying that just by murdering these guys I¡¯ll get stronger and faster?¡± Swan asked skeptically.


    ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it isn¡¯t murder if it¡¯s war or self-defense. You can either level your class to strengthen your healing, or you can level your body and choose where there are stats. Right now those physical stats won¡¯t benefit you, but being a stronger healer will make it easier for us to get you out of here. If you hadn¡¯t healed my arm before, then Nick wouldn¡¯t have been able to take that group out. Healers are always welcome, both in combat and civilian life.¡±


    ¡°You said I could hunt animals to level up too?¡±


    ¡°Back in Jackson, all low leveled people are expected to go on hunts. Level zeros are so weak, not just in combat but every aspect of life, that they become parasites on the rest.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s painting a bleak image. What you¡¯re saying is that I have to kill if I want to live now?¡± asked Swan with a frown. Lamar noticed she wasn¡¯t shaking anymore and was being more thoughtful.


    ¡°These guys don¡¯t even look like humans. They¡¯re animals. No different than normal hunting or pest control.¡±


    The tracking Scyrric that Nick had thrown glared at Lamar and made a gurgling hiss at his words. Lamar just shrugged. Swan looked around with trepidation before taking a deep breath.


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ll try it. Bring one over here,¡± Swan said. Lamar handed his knife over and walked towards the tracker.


    ¡°Finally,¡± said Nick, reappearing next to the Scyrric and once more dragging it towards Swan, causing her to jump and scowl at him.


    ¡°Is he always so abrasive?¡± she whispered to Lamar.


    ¡°No. He¡¯s usually charismatic and nice to everyone. We¡¯ve been away from our group for a few days, so I think he is on edge and impatient.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense, I guess,¡± Swan responded.


    When the Scyrric was brought up to her, she took Lamar¡¯s knife and pressed it against the lizard man¡¯s neck. Nothing happened. The scales blocked her strength.


    ¡°You guys made it look so easy,¡± she muttered, pushing with all her might.


    ¡°We¡¯ve leveled. A lot. Here, let me help.¡±


    Lamar put his hand over hers and, with a slightly painful grip for her, added his strength to her force.


    Scyrric Cheeky Canary [8] slain. 1,221 shared XP gained.


    ¡°Cheeky Carnary?¡± asked Swan, to distract herself from the shaking.


    ¡°No idea. Maybe its an obscure translation,¡± responded Lamar.


    ¡°Or maybe the [System] is trying to lull us into a false sense of security by making their classes seem silly,¡± scowled Nick.


    ¡°Paranoid much?¡±


    ¡°Not enough, considering life has become a battlefield. I¡¯ll go get the Scyrric hot dog tongs¡± Nick said absently as he went for the next living Scyrric.


    After all the Scyrric were dead, Nick went about stripping their gear and armor, in case any of it could be adapted to human needs. The armor wasn¡¯t as sturdy as the Testudinate metal, but their blades had an unnatural sharpness to them. The small round shields were also much sturdier than the metals that they had gotten so far, plus the little symbols etched into the front and back seemed like more than decorations. Who would spend all that time decorating a barrel lid that was made to be bashed on.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Lamar sat with Swan as she went through her status menu to assign levels. It was a bit surprising that she was able to get her class to level 12 and put two levels into body for the enhanced strength, agility, and vitality. Lamar couldn¡¯t even count how many goblins he had to kill to get that much XP. Either it came easier now, or the Scyrric were just worth more than other invaders.


    Like the Scyrric, hadn¡¯t the Elves been Tier 2 as well? Then again, they had put a lot more levels into body to help them survive the goblins, so it made sense that his class leveled slower. Maybe there was a penalty when getting your body levels first. If only there was a [System] guidebook to help them understand.


    That thought led Lamar to the realization. His group had probably said it before, but this was the moment it clicked. The invaders probably already had the [System] guidebooks, formulas, and cheat sheets already developed. Even if the class names of this particular group of Scyrric had been comical and weird, they knew how to get specific classes. Otherwise, how could that chump have been the unit leader? He hadn¡¯t shown any leadership ability in that skirmish.


    Before Lamar could cradle his head and sigh, Swan spoke to him.


    ¡°Wow! I really do feel stronger and quicker. It¡¯s easier to move and I feel like I have a better understanding of my body,¡± she said.


    ¡°The army soldiers complained after getting a bunch of levels at once. They needed to retrain their bodies because there was a disconnect between what they thought they should be able to do and what their bodies truly could do. My group didn¡¯t have that issue since we leveled slower, starting with weak invaders and moving up. Plus, we were always in life-or-death situations. We had no time to hold our bodies back.¡±


    ¡°Here, let me punch you. I want to see how much stronger I am.¡±


    Lamar looked oddly at Swan. That hardly seemed like a good test of her strength. Maybe she just needed to blow off some stress. He stood up, and to be fair, removed his armor so only a light shirt underneath was between his skin and her.


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯m going to punch you now,¡± Swan threatened, getting into position.


    Lamar patted his stomach and flexed his abs. ¡°Go ahead, just be careful when you¡­¡±


    ¡°Ouch!¡± yelped Swan as her fist connected with his stomach. Her stance and technique had been good, which showed she wasn¡¯t all peace and love, but there was still too much of a stat difference. [Slight Heal] flashed several times as Lamar saw her wrist swell up and then return to normal over the course of a few seconds.


    ¡°What was that?!¡± she demanded, as if Lamar had done something to her. ¡°That¡¯s not what punching someone feels like.


    ¡°I have 72 vitality. You have maybe 12 or 14 strength. What did you expect? Never try hitting our shield maiden, Brittney. She¡¯s probably near 200 vitality.¡±


    ¡°She must be tough. A girl as your shield person. I¡¯m not sure if that¡¯s reverse sexism or something else,¡± Swan mused.


    ¡°It was her choice and fits her personality. She¡¯s quite small too. You should see it when big guys try to mess with her. She¡¯s at least as strong as I am.¡±


    Swan chuckled, but then froze.


    ¡°In all the craziness I forgot the kids! Do you think we¡¯ll be safe here?¡± she asked, rushing to the bags of food and drinks that Nick had gotten before the fight. Really, it had only been about 25 minutes since the Scyrric group had come, even if a lot had happened. The fight had only taken about three minutes. Less time than Nick spent trash talking them and a lot less than it took to calm Swan and get her XP.


    ¡°Definitely not safe. There are loads of signs of our fight, the smell of blood, footprints all over, and the bushes we pulled out from the church. We plan to get you guys back to Jackson asap. It might be a tough trip though, since these areas aren¡¯t in the Sentinel Army¡¯s control. You go handle the kids for now. Get them food and drink. I¡¯ll discuss with Nick our next plan.¡±


    Swan nodded and headed inside.


    ***


    It turned out the plan was much more difficult that they had expected. First was transportation. The only three capable of driving were Swan, Nick, and Lamar, however if fighting was needed then Nick and Lamar wouldn¡¯t be able to drive. A large vehicle wouldn¡¯t be able to outrun or outmaneuver faster invaders. Anything less than a bus or a stripped camper wouldn¡¯t fit everyone.


    Then another problem appeared when they began testing vehicles. The ones that people had been using after the invasion were trashed when the invaders came to town. Other vehicles that they tried, trucks behind gas stations or cars sitting in driveways, had dead batteries or other issues.


    They even discussed having Nick and Lamar pull vehicles, but that had the same issue if they were pursued. Nick and Lamar would have to fight while protecting stationary targets. Other options were discussed and dismissed, such as sneaking them out by foot, trying to get to the South Hampton base, or leaving Swan, Lamar, and the kids in hiding while Nick went for help.


    Nick really was getting close to lashing out. Lamar wasn¡¯t sure what was bothering him so much, but it must have been deeply eating away at the usually congenial guy. Nick tended to be the peacemaker and mediator. He wasn¡¯t the one who got angry, but he was nearing a limit that Lamar hadn¡¯t seen before.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Lamar asked, wanting Nick to keep it together long enough for them to get out of here.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong is the damn lack of options. We should probably load everyone up and just head to Jackson,¡± snapped Nick.


    ¡°You and I both know that¡¯s a bad plan, and not what¡¯s really bothering you. Considering how many bad spots we¡¯ve been in; this is rather mild. Even compared to just a few days ago after that failed raid,¡± said Lamar calmly. ¡°Something unrelated seems to be bothering you.¡±


    Nick glared at him, then with the petulance of a small child he said, ¡°Nothing¡¯s wrong.¡±


    ¡°Nick, if you¡¯re too tightly wound now, then when stuff hits the fan, you¡¯ll snap. That won¡¯t help us. Let¡¯s deal with it now.¡±


    Nick gripped the hilt of a knife until his knuckles got white. Then he took a deep breath and let it go.


    ¡°I¡¯m pissed at Adam,¡± admitted Nick. He looked at the ground with shame all over his face.


    ¡°Why? Adam isn¡¯t even here,¡± said Lamar with confusion. ¡°Is it because he left us?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Well, probably not. I know he had to look after the group. They were in South Hampton for a few days so they must have been in a bad spot.¡±


    ¡°Then why?¡± pushed Lamar.


    ¡°I keep asking myself WWAD.¡±


    ¡°WWAD?¡± interrupted Lamar.


    ¡°What would Adam do,¡± said Nick, causing Lamar to laugh. ¡°Every situation I ask that. When I had to decide between getting back to Adam or trying to find you. When you were injured, and I couldn¡¯t do anything about it. When we looked at the tracks, or tried to calm Swan, and even right now. I wonder how Adam would have done it.¡±


    ¡°What did you come up with?¡± Lamar was curious this time. Nick knew Adam the best of everyone, and his insights might help Lamar with what to expect from Adam in the future.


    ¡°That it doesn¡¯t matter. It doesn¡¯t matter what Adam would do because he isn¡¯t here! My whole life I had to push Adam to do anything, to come out and play, or to join a game, and even to talk to other people. It was like I was his connection to the world,¡± ranted Nick, getting heated.


    ¡°And now¡­?¡±


    ¡°Now he¡¯s king of the world! Tom is practically forming a religion out of him, with plenty of people signing up. Abbey, Andrea, Alissa, and Brittney are literally beating back girls trying to get to him, which I doubt he even knows. Everyone wants him, and there are people to do anything that he wants.¡±


    ¡°You know that¡¯s not really fair, right?¡± asked Lamar hesitantly.


    ¡°Of course it isn¡¯t,¡± Nick agreed while breathing heavily. ¡°He doesn¡¯t care about how people treat him. He doesn¡¯t want girls, or power, or control. Those come in spite of what he wants.¡±


    ¡°Then what does he want?¡±


    ¡°He wants to kill the invaders. WWAD? He¡¯d go charging into the invader base with or without backup, kill all of them, then probably get severely wounded, maybe coming out with a new superpower. Drink a little blood, eat a few dozen pizzas, and he would be right as rain.¡±


    ¡°Then you¡¯re jealous of him?¡±


    ¡°Hell no. Even with all the big moves he makes, and attention he grabs, he¡¯s still who he was. Quiet and kind. Disinterested and unaffected. The stuff wrong with his soul has changed him, but even those actions still remind me of who my friend was when push came to shove. It¡¯s just less subtle now,¡± Nick sighed.


    ¡°Then why is it getting you so twisted?¡± questioned Lamar.


    ¡°I guess because it¡¯s all become so easy for him. He just knows and does. That¡¯s how it was for me before the [System]. Most things came easy. I was good at sports, school, people¡­even now I¡¯m good at this. But that doesn¡¯t mean I''ll win, or make the decisions easier to choose, while Adam just does whatever and it works out.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not sure a gunshot wound to the neck, having fingers torn off, or burning through skin due to his own power being uncontrollable is really it working out, but I do see a lot of your points. That just leaves us with one question to answer,¡± said Lamar.


    ¡°What question is that?¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°WWND. What will Nick do?¡±


    Nick looked to the sky, took a deep breath while gripping his knives, and then looked down the street.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go find out,¡± he said and began walking.

 CH 103: WWND

    CHAPTER 103: WWND


    ¡°I now know WWND,¡± said Nick as he and Lamar sat in tree branches observing the Scyrric base through binoculars from quite a bit away.


    The base was different than any they¡¯d seen before, and keeping their distance was necessary. The trees in front of the base had been cleared away. There was a wall about 12 feet tall, not difficult to jump or get over, but the wall was completely translucent. They could see through the wall, and the Scyrric could stand guard inside the safety of the walls, watching anything that approached them.


    What Lamar and Nick saw inside the base was more than disturbing, and it took a lot of control for Lamar not to vomit from it. Besides six buildings that faced the front gate, and possibly more buildings behind, there was a large area to the side where they could see the taken humans.


    Thousands of humans were out in the open, and it looked like they were tied to the ground. In front of them were long troughs, like you might see for horses outside a saloon in a western movie. One trough was water, and the other trough oozed a vile green.


    Lamar really hoped the base was temperature controlled, because the December air was cold, and those humans had been removed of their clothes. Some were naked while most wore sack cloth like outfits. It was easy to see the shivering.


    In the half an hour that they had observed the base, the Scyrric had moved around with organized purpose. Everyone seemed to know where to be and what to do. They gave no look or consideration to the humans and the humans were clearly avoiding drawing attention. Most of the humans were even on the ground, and Lamar couldn¡¯t tell if they were resting, sleeping, or something else.


    The one deviation Lamar saw, was when a Scyrric looked like he was reprimanded by another. Once free, that Scyrric went over to the humans, selecting one at random and removing whatever leg bindings he wore. A teenage boy was brought to the side where the Scyrric proceeded to beat him viciously. It was uncertain if the lizard man was holding back his strength or not, because that amount of violence should have killed the level zero human.


    When he was finished, and the boy didn¡¯t rise again, the Scyrric threw the body back where it had been, and the surrounding humans rushed to refasten the restraints. The Scyrric looked satisfied, like it was some form of stress relief. Once the Scyrric was gone, the humans did scramble to make sure the boy was alright, trying to figure out the severity of his injuries.


    Lamar could only fantasize about Adam seeing that and leveling the whole base, those horrible invaders and all.


    ¡°I know what Adam would do here,¡± whispered Lamar. ¡°What will Nick do?¡±


    ¡°Get the hell out of here for reinforcements,¡± whispered Nick. He looked appalled by what they had seen and enraged by it too.


    Just before they dropped from the tree, a Scyrric that was dressed in what was probably fancier attire instead of armor, walked out of the central building. Behind him was a small Scyrric wearing robes with a hood covering its face. Then came ten rather large and tougher looking Scyrric. They each had very ornate weapons. Lamar got a bad feeling from them.


    The fancier one walked more upright than the others, with his claws clasped behind his back. His tail was much longer than the others and seemed to have more girth to it. Lamar thought it was an odd detail to notice, but for some reason it drew his eye, as if the tail contained his power.


    From this distance Lamar could barely make out his tag, even with the binoculars. Lamar saw it as ¡°Base Overseer [32]¡±. The tougher looking Scyrric behind him each had tags that said ¡°Riot Enforcers¡± with levels varying from 24 to 28.


    After looking around into the forest in different directions, the overseer spoke. He used the trick that Adam did with the Rift Menu to make his voice appear somewhere else within the base. The overseer also projected the voice from all directions to outside the base, clearly unsure of the direction he needed, but Lamar could hear it quite clearly.


    ¡°One of our scavenger units has been killed by natives. I am aware that you are watching us, as our Scryer has felt your presence outside of our territory for some time now. They have also seen parts of your fight with the scavengers.¡±


    The overseer¡¯s voice was scratchy but had a rumble to it as well. He spoke more clearly than any invader Lamar had heard, while saying his words with clear conviction.


    Lamar shifted his gaze to the smaller Scyrric behind the overseer and saw a tag that said ¡°Watcher [16].¡± This watcher was trying to make himself look smaller but also seemed to be sniffing the air in different directions.


    ¡°We entreat you to turn yourselves in so that you may learn your place in this world and universe. That will be for the benefit of you and the rest of the natives. You are nothing before the might of the Scyrric, even if you follow that tagless aberration. Believing yourselves to be more than our possessions will just lead to the needless loss of your people. These natives have learned their place and are the better for it.¡±


    The overseer paused for a moment, as if to give them time to turn themselves in. Other Scyrric were coming out of buildings or from around them and forming groups of 20. The forming units stood at attention and waited for their orders.


    Lamar felt queasy while his heart and head pounded furious. At that moment he wished he was anywhere but here. While he wanted to leave, he felt like he had to watch, to see what was coming next.


    ¡°Very well. Since you won¡¯t do your duty as our possessions, we shall treat you as you wish,¡± continued the Scyrric. He nodded at the riot enforcers, who turned towards the lines of humans.


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    ¡°The valuation will be woefully inaccurate but if we used true worth for the punishment then there would be no natives left. You took the lives of 20 glorious Scyrric. Each Scyrric is worth hundreds of you pitiful natives. We will daily execute two natives for each of those valuable lives you took.¡±


    The riot enforcers arrived at the humans that were already trying to escape their leg restraints to get away from the vicious swords and axes that came towards them. The large lizard men started hacking away at the humans, felling them quickly. There were screams and sobs. A few tried to fight back.


    The overseer tsked.


    ¡°You vermin need to learn proper etiquette. Screams and avoidance are inappropriate when punishment is given. Wound those who struggle or make noise.¡±


    Lamar had seen enough. He had to get out of there. Adam¡¯s rage didn¡¯t seem so over the top now, as Lamar felt it just as strongly. His head was swimming and he felt dizzy as he turned to look at Nick, but Nick was already gone.


    Activating [Creep], Lamar then used [Withdraw]. The surroundings blurred and Lamar was behind a tree about 30 feet away. He turned and moved as fast as he could while keeping [Creep] active.


    The last thing Lamar heard the overseer say as he dashed away was, ¡°make sure their bodies are intact when you catch them. We¡¯ll need to present them to the aberration so he knows who they are.¡±


    ***


    When Lamar arrived at the church, he saw that Nick was already taking action.


    Before they had gone to check the base, they had found a rather new pick-up truck behind a mechanic¡¯s garage. It had a lot of horsepower and a topper over the rear bed. While it wouldn¡¯t be comfortable, all of Swan¡¯s 23 kids could fit in it and the cab if they held on to each other, while the topper would keep them from falling out.


    They had packed the bed with blankets and sleeping bags for cushioning. The truck also had a hitch, so Nick had hooked up a box trailer, loaded with his loot and supplies.


    ¡°We have no time, Swan! We need to go right NOW!¡± shouted Nick as he rushed to grab kids and stick them in the back. Swan was arguing with Nick but couldn¡¯t get him to stop. The kids could barely flail their bodies in rebellion before they were stashed away, due to Nick¡¯s speed.


    When Swan noticed Lamar running towards her with a look of horror on his face, she stepped away.


    ¡°They¡¯re coming. At least 100, maybe 200. There were a lot of units forming,¡± Lamar panted. ¡°We won¡¯t survive this if they catch us.¡±


    ¡°What happened?¡± demanded Swan, realization appearing on her face.


    ¡°Death squads are coming and you want an explanation?¡± complained Nick. ¡°Just¡­get¡­in!¡±


    Swan looked terrified, then rushed to the driver¡¯s seat. When Nick got the last kid in either the cab or the bed, he pulled his knife and cut the hitch off, showing how desperate things were that he was leaving his loot behind. He rushed to the driver¡¯s side and pushed Swan further into the truck and took the wheel.


    Lamar barely had time to jump into the back before Nick gunned the engine. The truck tore through the town.


    ***


    The trip down I-840 should have taken almost an hour, but the way Nick was driving it only took 20 minutes. He wasn¡¯t going as fast as Adam on his motorcycle, though even with no traffic and a straight path, the kids in the back were bumped all over the place. A few cried, a few got car sick, and many bruises were suffered, but it was better than not going fast enough.


    To get onto route 40, they had to go through a roundabout highway merge. For that, Nick slowed down. Unfortunately, halfway through the turn, the back window of the cab was slid open and Nick spoke through it.


    ¡°They¡¯ve caught up. We¡¯re in trouble,¡± Nick said, surprisingly calm, though speaking loudly over the sound of crying kids.


    ¡°How the hell did they go so fast?¡± asked Lamar, feeling panic setting in.


    ¡°They¡¯re on the fugliest beast mounts I¡¯ve ever seen. It looks like both the riders and the mounts are using skills to propel them forwards.¡±


    Lamar flipped open the topper back, thankful for the fresh air. He watched as what must have been two units, 40 Scyrric, came bounding down the highway. What they rode looked like Komodo dragons, except they had four wing like flaps of skin that rapidly went up and down, giving their heavy looking frame a break from gravity. Their heads were difficult to see, while their legs looked like a chicken¡¯s except with rough reptilian hide. Then their tail moved like a shark, swinging back and forth creating more thrust for them to move forward.


    The beasts wiggled back and forth while they took large leaping strides. The Scyrric sat on them oddly, their own tails straight back as if a ship¡¯s rudder on the top. Their necks and bodies were low on the beasts, creating as little drag as possible. They were moving even faster than the truck he was in.


    ¡°Any options?¡± asked Lamar, his mind going blank.


    ¡°Only bad ones. I¡¯m choosing from the least of them,¡± returned Nick.


    ¡°That is?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to try and slow them down, or at least take out as many as I can. Swan will have to drive while you shoot any that get close.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s suicide,¡± insisted Lamar.


    ¡°I¡¯m the only one with any chance of getting away once on the ground, even if it¡¯s low. You¡¯re the one that can fight while moving. It¡¯s the only play worth doing.¡±


    ¡°The only play, huh?¡± Lamar asked numbly.


    ¡°Well, we could crash the car, ditch the kids, and use our skills to try to get away,¡± joked Nick sarcastically. Swan got even more frantic, not realizing it was a joke.


    ¡°We still wouldn¡¯t get away from that many,¡± responded Lamar, not in a joking mood. ¡°You know Adam won¡¯t be showing up at the last minute to pull us out. The appointment skill says he¡¯s been further west for a while.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± sighed Nick. ¡°Would be nice though.¡±


    ¡°When are we doing this?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m going to pick up speed for a minute, then Swan will need to take control while I climb onto the side of the truck. If she can slow to 40 mph, then I¡¯ll jump off while stealthed. Swan, you¡¯ll then need to drive as fast as you can.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s crazy! You two are crazy! I¡¯m already shaking and now I have to drive like a maniac?!¡± shouted Swan over the yelling of the children.


    ¡°If you want to live more than one minute, then yes. Lamar will cover you as best as possible.¡±


    The plan really was crazy. Swan almost tipped over the truck trying to take control. Lamar knew he couldn¡¯t hit any of the Scyrric with his bow due to all the bumping that was happening. Hopefully he¡¯d be able to do enough damage to their mounts to slow them down.


    Lamar didn¡¯t see Nick drop off the truck when it momentarily slowed, but he saw a puff of dust where he probably landed. He moved all the kids as close to the cab as they could go, then laid on his stomach facing the topper opening. He had to angle the bow horizontally just to get enough space to draw the wire.


    Normal arrows taken from a sporting goods store were removed from Lamar¡¯s pack so he could test out the range and stability of his shots without wasting his powerful arrows. Even using [Steady Shot] the arrow shifted in the currents created by the truck. Lamar would have to wait until they were within 20 feet to have a good shot. This was so far from ideal, bordering on impossible.


    ¡°Uh, Lamar,¡± squealed Swan through the window. The car swerved and almost flipped before straightening out. ¡°We have another problem.¡±


    Lamar propped himself on his elbows and looked through the cab¡¯s back window and windshield. Much further down the highway, creating so much heat in the cold that they caused the air to become wavy like a mirage, the road was blocked. Hundreds of vehicles were taking up both lanes of the highway and moving at high speeds right towards them. They were sandwiched in.


    Lamar groaned. He wasn¡¯t going to have enough arrows.

 CH 104: Leputi

    CHAPTER 104: Leputi


    Adam stood on the second to top floor of a parking garage. Carlos was peering in alternating directions using his skill [Clear Sight]. Lucas, Andrea, and Randall were scouting while the rest of his group waited with Adam. They had parked their vehicles about two miles away, coming the rest of the distance as quietly as they could manage.


    So far, they hadn¡¯t seen any invaders. They hadn¡¯t seen much of anything. With no electricity the once active home to humanity was dead. There were no humans, animal noises, vehicles, or typical suburban and city sounds. It was creepy, and Adam was grateful that Jackson still felt like a lived-in place.


    ¡°Lucas is signaling that he has enemies incoming on the left of the mall. Randall and Andrea have both signaled all clear,¡± said Carlos.


    ¡°Does Lucas need assistance?¡± asked Adam. Carlos watched where Lucas was hiding, further away than Adam could see. They had a series of hand signals that the whole Sentinel Army had learned at Colonel Davian¡¯s insistence. In this case Lucas would know he was being watched and would make the gestures repeatedly to make sure Carlos saw them.


    ¡°No. He thinks they¡¯ll pass,¡± said Carlos.


    The group got low and watched in the direction that Lucas was. If trouble occurred, they wanted to be quick to support their teammate. Not all of them were using binoculars, but Tom didn¡¯t want to miss anything, and when he whistled in surprise the rest wondered what he saw.


    ¡°What the heck is that?¡± gasped Tom, when the invader passed a building and entered his sight. The rest could only vaguely see the shape. It looked like a large beast with a rider.


    Adam held out his hand and Tom passed him the binoculars without a complaint.


    ¡°It¡¯s not every day you see the devils riding from hell on their demon doggies,¡± said Tom.


    Looking through the binoculars, Adam saw what he was talking about. The dog was big. Huge! It reminded him of pictures of mammoths, except this dog was almost cute.


    The dog¡¯s body was kind of round, and it had squat legs and a very short tail. The three heads were a sticking point though. Those were terrifying. The heads were also round, with sharp teeth and Doberman-type ears. One head was sniffing the air, making Adam concerned for Lucas. Another head was sniffing the ground. The third looked in the direction it was walking, shifting its body as it wanted to inspect everything in its path.


    Riding on the back was a large being resembling pictures of demons. It was loaded with muscles and very few clothes. It had an axe in its hand. Red skin covered its body though it had brownish hair sprouting in patches from its upper arms, back, and chest. Curved horns came out of the sides of its head, where ears should be, and it looked like triangular ears were just above the horns.


    ¡°Cerberus didn¡¯t come from hell, but from Hades,¡± said Brittney, looking through a different pair of binoculars.


    ¡°Isn¡¯t Hades the same thing?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°No. Hades is from Greek mythology, and they didn¡¯t have demons like that. That¡¯s Christian imagery. Thus, demons would never ride¡­¡± lectured Brittney.


    ¡°Nerd,¡± mocked Tom, who suddenly pitched forward as Alissa slapped him in the back of his head. He didn¡¯t have his helmet on.


    ¡°Guys! Come on!¡± hissed Adam.


    ¡°Sorry, boss.¡±


    They continued to watch the Cerberus and its rider. The pair never headed towards where Lucas was, though Adam felt on edge until the beast had moved on. They didn¡¯t look quite as alert as he expected, assuming it was just patrolling the empty area.


    ¡°Are those the invaders setting the trap?¡± asked Brandon.


    ¡°No, I found him!¡± exclaimed Carlos. He picked up a pair of binoculars and combined them with [Clear Sight]. He pointed to a very distant building towards the north. When Adam tried to see there, all he found were shadows.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see it. You sure, Carlos?¡±


    ¡°Yes. There¡¯s something there. It has¡­¡± Carlos trailed off instead of finishing his sentence.


    ¡°It has what?¡± asked Alissa.


    ¡°Well, it has bunny ears.¡±


    ¡°Bunny ears?¡±


    ¡°Yes, bunny ears.¡±


    ¡°Awesome!¡± shouted Tom. ¡°Bunny people! Oh gosh, this is every otaku¡¯s dream. I hope they don¡¯t have sharp, pointy teeth. Did anyone remember their holy hand grenade.¡±


    Brittney and Brandon burst out laughing, but they were the only ones. Tom actually looked embarrassed at the lack of recognition from the rest of the group.


    ¡°Hmm¡­guess it¡¯s too obscure a reference for you young¡¯uns. I guarantee your parents would have found it funny,¡± chirped Tom, getting a few head shakes.


    Once those who were scouting had returned, they followed Carlos as he led them through the streets and around buildings. Adam didn¡¯t doubt they could fight that dog beast and rider as a group, but there was no reason to make a commotion before they found their objective. It looked like those invaders had come from the invader base south of the mall.


    The path that they took was not straight, as Carlos used his skills to know exactly where they could go without being seen. They crisscrossed the roads, sneaking behind buildings. Eventually Carlos stopped at the side of a four-story office building.


    ¡°The invader was on this roof when I saw him last,¡± stated Carlos.


    ¡°How do we get up there?¡± asked Randall.


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    Adam quietly set down his hammer and then pulled out two knives. Turning the blades so they were horizontal, he pushed one into the building. Then he reached up and pushed in the other one. Like a deranged rock climber, Adam kept reaching up, sliding in a knife, pulling out the other and then pulling himself up one handed. His group watched him for a minute before Lucas, Tom, and Brittney mimicked his actions.


    The four took almost no time to scale the building. Due to the sharpness of the knives, which used alien materials, there was barely any sound as the blades slid right through the Earth building materials. Using their enhanced strength, pulling themselves up was a simple task, and four floors went by quickly.


    Adam¡¯s armor contained a lot of metal, but it was designed by Garrett and Melina to be as quiet as possible, with some thin rubber like coating to prevent clanging. It was important that he not sound like an aluminum trash can when he walked around. Combining the cushioned armor with his strength, Adam was able to silently pull himself over the lip of the roof without his armor making contact with it.


    On the other side of the roof, facing away from them, was the invader. It was leaning forward against the opposite roof lip, looking back and forth in a relaxed manner, as if waiting for something but not expecting it to show up yet. The position it stood in would give it the best view of the surrounding area.


    The invader¡¯s ears didn¡¯t entirely look like a bunny¡¯s, but it wasn¡¯t too dissimilar either. From the back, Adam could see that dark fur covered its body. There was no hair like a human¡¯s on its head, just the fur everywhere. It was short, only about 5¡¯5¡± tall, though the ears did stick upwards quite a bit. They were flat to the sides of the head instead of flopping forward from the top like a true bunny.


    The frame of the invader was lanky and looked built for quick movements. Its shoulders were wide and muscular, while its forearms were much thinner. There was a convex shape to the ribs, sinking inwards until they connected with a narrow waist. The hands, or paws, that rested on the roof lip were very large, at least as big as its boulder shoulders. The creature wore a tight fabric shirt and pants, as well as boots that indicated it had very large feet.


    Once the others had pulled themselves over the ledge, with Adam¡¯s help to make sure they didn¡¯t rattle their own armor, they all crept forward quietly. No one in the group had seen Adam move stealthily and they were a bit surprised. His signature move was to roar and charge in, after all. It wasn¡¯t that Adam couldn¡¯t be stealthy, it just hadn¡¯t mattered until now. Pre-[System], Adam was quite good at Capture the Flag.


    When they got close, he saw the invader¡¯s ears start to twitch. They weren¡¯t completely silent in their approach and now the creature seemed to realize. As it turned around, Adam once more relied on charging forward, using [Gladiator¡¯s Approach].


    Instantly Adam was at the ledge of the building, holding the invader by the throat while dangling him over the ledge. The invader looked terrified for a moment, but when it looked down, the fear left it. It also took a moment to inspect Adam¡¯s face before swallowing and nodding to itself. Once the fear was gone, Adam couldn¡¯t tell what the expression it had was, but clearly falling four stories wasn¡¯t what frightened it.


    ¡°Were you waiting for me?¡± Adam asked it, still holding it tightly but pulling it back to the roof. If it wasn¡¯t afraid of falling, then Adam didn¡¯t want to have to chase it once it hit the ground. It also didn¡¯t struggle at all from his grip, indicating it either wasn¡¯t threatened or didn¡¯t want to put up a fight.


    The invader, with a tag of ¡°Sneak [4],¡± tried to nod its head, then opened its mouth and spoke in strongly accented English.


    ¡°Yes, Excellency. I was waiting for you.¡±


    ¡°You have some of my people?¡± Adam asked directly.


    ¡°Yes, Excellency. We keep them safe for you.¡±


    ¡°Keep them safe? Don¡¯t you mean hold them hostage?¡±


    ¡°Both, Excellency. Tribe Chief wanted to negotiate. Natives will not be harmed.¡±


    ¡°Won¡¯t be harmed if I do what you say, you mean,¡± said Adam, glaring at the little man.


    ¡°No, Excellency. Natives safe. We will not harm even if Excellency refuses discussion.¡±


    This confused Adam, though he figured he couldn¡¯t trust a low-level grunt anyway. His heat was already pulsing through his body at the sight of the invader, but the river was flowing gently so far. It calmed slightly at the invader¡¯s words.


    Adam brought the face of the invader close, turning it while dangling the creature in the air. The face was almost cute in a stylized way. The top front of the face sloped forward, coming to an almost triangular nose. The mouth opened wide, with thin lips, and squarish teeth, unlike all the jagged ones Adam had seen on other invaders. The eyes were round and set wide, tilted outwards due to the slope that ended at the nose.


    ¡°Where is the mind witch?¡± Adam asked with more force. While the invader¡¯s expression had been outside of his understanding before, now it became clear. The invader was confused.


    ¡°Mind witch?¡± asked the invader hesitantly. For the first time it seemed unsure. Its eyes began to dart to the sides, looking at Adam¡¯s companions and the surroundings. In a human, that would have been a tell for lying. ¡°I do not understand what that is.¡±


    Adam observed him for a minute. As the seconds passed, the invader looked more and more concerned, showing it in his body language.


    ¡°The invader mind witch keeps messing with my people. She changes memories and everyone thinks she¡¯s beautiful. There are a lot of traps that she has set for us,¡± explained Adam, feeling very suspicious.


    ¡°I see,¡± said the creature. He stopped acting all nervous and his body language changed to an animal trying to please its owner. ¡°Red Clan speaker. Yes. She tries hard to get you.¡±


    ¡°Yes, she tries hard. Where is she?¡±


    ¡°I do not know where she is. She would never use Leputi for tricks or traps.¡±


    ¡°Leputi?¡± asked Brittney from behind.


    ¡°Yes, shield bearer,¡± said the invader. ¡°This small one is Leputi.¡±


    ¡°Leputi is your name?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°No, no, strong warrior. This one¡¯s name is Rahsha, though that name is beneath your remembrance. Leputi are this one¡¯s tribe.¡±


    ¡°Humble little squirt, ain¡¯t he?¡± said Tom.


    Adam had to agree. It was unimaginable to Adam to be held by the throat for this long without showing the slightest discomfort or concern.


    ¡°Yes, yes, great warriors of the Sand-in-all Army. This one is as humble as his tribe. Set to wait for your greatnesses.¡±


    Tom laughed, ¡°Sand-in-all. That¡¯s good. I gotta do something with that.¡±


    Rahsha looked confused.


    ¡°The name is Sentinel Army. Sentinel,¡± explained Lucas. Rahsha became mortified and tried to prostrate before remembering he was suspended in the air by his neck.


    ¡°This one apologizes throughout his being. Please do not take out this disrespect on the tribe. I will sacrifice myself for you after leading you to the chief.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. It¡¯s not a big deal,¡± said Lucas dismissively, feeling unavoidably bad for the panicking creature. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a new language for you. Can¡¯t expect you to know all the words.¡±


    ¡°This one praises your generosity and forgiveness, mighty ones. All thanks to your greatness.¡±


    Adam sighed, feeling at a loss. On the one hand, the voice in his soul wanted him to pop the guy¡¯s head, while on the other he found Rahsha pathetic and not worth threatening. Of course, he was also on alert for a trap.


    ¡°You were sent to wait for us here?¡± asked Adam, getting back to their purpose.


    ¡°Yes, yes, your Excellency. This one has waited for three suns and darknesses for your arrival.¡±


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Tribe Chief wanted to negotiate,¡± said Rahsha.


    ¡°For what?¡±


    ¡°That is for tribe chief to discuss,¡± said the Leputi after a moment of hesitation.


    ¡°Do you even know what it¡¯s about?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°This one apologizes for his ignorance,¡± said the little man, releasing a chittering noise as if he had done something wrong.


    ¡°Boss, you wanted to break a trap anyway. I think we might as well have this guy show us the way,¡± advised Tom.


    Adam thought about it then shrugged. He put the Leputi gently on the ground and let go of his neck. Giving him a once over, the only weapons that Adam saw were two very small, curved knives on his belt. Rahsha would need to be inconceivably fast to be a threat to their group.


    Once Rahsha was on the ground, Tom walked over and put his arm around the invader¡¯s shoulders, causing the furry man to look like he wanted to run away.


    ¡°Now, little buddy, how about you take us to your leader.¡±

 CH 105: Weirdest Trap Ever

    CHAPTER 105: Weirdest Trap Ever


    The group stood in front of a hole in a hill in a park in a suburban neighborhood. Rahsha had led them a few miles away, to this quiet area. Inside the hole was the typical Dimensional Convergence Rift barrier, still unmerged from the planetary reality. That meant going through that barrier could lead to anywhere and anything. The group eyed it suspiciously.


    When they arrived, more of the Leputi had dropped from trees, climbed out of neighborhood windows, and pulled themselves out of hidden burrows in the ground. The only weapons they carried were those small, curved knives. The ones that revealed themselves bowed their heads towards the group, causing more confusion in Adam.


    Two Leputi that were openly guarding the Rift entrance begged their forgiveness as they were asked to wait for a moment.


    ¡°This has to be the weirdest trap ever,¡± said Tom as he looked around.


    ¡°Are we even sure this is a trap?¡± asked Andrea.


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s like how Venus Fly Traps release a pleasant odor to catch insects,¡± suggested Brandon.


    ¡°You call this pleasant?¡± asked Randall.


    ¡°They are kind of cute,¡± said Alissa, walking up to one and petting its head. The Leputi seemed unsure if it should respond, or whether it should like or hate it.


    ¡°Cute or not,¡± frowned Carlos. ¡°They¡¯re still invaders. We can¡¯t show mercy to invaders!¡±


    The group made various faces at him. His new edginess was taking people by surprise, and they were unsure how to treat him.


    ¡°What¡¯s the play?¡± asked Lucas.


    Adam frowned at the scene. The invaders kept throwing him curve balls, yet this was not in his list of things to expect. Inside there might be a giant tiger ready to eat them, or a world of water that they get dropped into. There might be a pleasure world that will make them never want to leave. Or dozens of Tier 3 invaders that he can¡¯t possibly stand against. The polite bunnies might just be a fa?ade to lure him here and get him to let his guard down. Once more they had no information. He would have to wing it.


    ¡°We shouldn¡¯t all step into the unknown. I¡¯ll go in with Tom, Alissa, and Abbey. That gives me a caster, physical damage, and healer. The rest will wait out here. This group would pose no problems to you guys, and I haven¡¯t felt anything else lurking around on my soul map.¡±


    ¡°Yet another weird point to it,¡± said Tom. ¡°Pathetic defense of their base.¡±


    ¡°Unless they don¡¯t need defense,¡± added Andrea.


    Adam took a breath. If he was being honest, his instincts told him to wipe out all the Leputi he had seen. They were invaders. The river was rushing in him, and if he didn¡¯t have the skill [Body and Soul Shaping] then he wouldn¡¯t have been able to control himself. The voice inside his soul, what he considered his soul corruption, was being very insistent that he should tear them up.


    On the other hand, his mind was telling him that as far as he could tell, there was no threat here. He would be able to take care of them whenever. The violent urges rising in his soul called out for him to strike now, and to rid the planet of these invaders. However, he held himself back for the people that might be inside. Their presence could still be a lie, but it limited his options until he found out.


    They waited around for another few minutes. During that time Alissa had pet five more of the Leputi, and Andrea had pulled Abbey into trying it with her too. One of the female warriors even showed enjoyment from having her head rubbed, causing a younger looking male to come for some. Adam could tell that Brittney was holding herself back as she held her shield in a position of readiness.


    ¡°Mighty warriors, the preparations are ready,¡± said a guard as he exited from the Rift and bowed. ¡°Rahsha, please lead them to the chief.¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency, please follow this one,¡± Rahsha said with a bow, then walked into the Rift barrier.


    ¡°You ready?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°Are we ever?¡± retorted Adam. ¡°See you on the other side.¡±


    Adam, Alissa, Tom, and Abbey all stepped forward, with Adam in the lead. He felt the familiar lack of sensation as he passed through the barrier, though the air was still on the inside. He had been right, though. The view that greeted him was nothing he could have expected.


    In front of him was a Leputi that he guessed was older than those he had already seen. The invader¡¯s fur was longer and a bit less orderly. The fur was gray, though Adam could see patches of a blueish sheen that had faded from the rest. His face also looked a little longer than the others, though it still had the angular sloping.


    The oddest part was that the Leputi, with a tag of ¡°Small Tribe Chief [25],¡± was standing in front of him completely unclothed, with all his parts uncovered by fur displayed for those who entered. A set of clothing was neatly folded right next to him, showing that his nudity was especially for those walking through the barrier.


    ¡°Whoa!¡± exclaimed Tom, looking the chief up and down. ¡°I stand corrected. This is the weirdest trap ever. Quite the fashion statement there, chiefy.¡±


    The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    The elderly Leputi scrunched his nose. ¡°My apologies, my lords. Is this not how you choose to face your adversaries?¡±


    ¡°Where did you get that idea?¡± asked Alissa, giving the furry man a good look, while Abbey was half covering her eyes.


    ¡°In all the battles that we were shown from other races you fought and defeated, his Excellency was without garb,¡± said the man, getting nervous and fidgety. A small tail, longer and unlike a cotton ball began twitching. The clothes on the other Leputi they had seen had covered their tails.


    ¡°He¡¯s got you there, boss!¡± laughed Tom uproariously, slapping Adam¡¯s back. Alissa was also laughing hard, and Abbey tried being respectful, though it was clear she wanted to giggle too.


    The chief was confused by their reactions.


    ¡°The Red Clan speaker told all that you face your opponents without armor or clothes to show them respect and a lack of guile, appropriate to one of the Berserker classes. Is that not the case, my lords?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± Tom said, continuing to laugh but trying to catch his breath. ¡°No. The mind witch is just messing with you and us. The boss here keeps foiling her plans, so she just said that to be petty. He always lost his clothes while fighting. His power couldn¡¯t be contained by his clothes.¡±


    ¡°My humblest apologies, your Excellency,¡± said the chief, bowing deeply. ¡°I should have realized before now that your native fabrics were not designed to withstand the power you now wield. It¡¯s just that your actions are unprecedented for a native, so few are able to think of you as such.¡±


    ¡°No worries, chiefy,¡± said Tom, putting his arm around the chief¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Now, I hate to break it to you, but we have to hurry up on these negotiations you were talking about.¡±


    ¡°Why is that, warrior? Also, please forgive my questions, but why is his Excellency not speaking? Are you his voice?¡±


    ¡°No need to apologize, chiefy¡± said Tom, still holding the chief with his arm. Alissa was trying to sneak forward without anyone noticing. Probably to touch the chief¡¯s fur. Abbey had a grip on Adam¡¯s arm. ¡°The answer to all those questions is the same. The reason we have to hurry and that the boss isn¡¯t speaking for himself is because he more than kind of wants to kill you all.¡±


    Tom raised his other arm in the direction that Adam was looking, towards the plains inside the Rift that were quite crowded with invaders. Since seeing them, Adam had no longer been able to think about discussions or meetings. He was having to pull from the coolness in his mind to steady the heat that was filling him and forcing the river to churn. The air around him was shaking from the heat he radiated, even though he looked calm as he stood there with his arms crossed and a blank look on his face. Without Abbey¡¯s heals being cast on him, he might have been overwhelmed by the throbbing in his soul.


    The inside of this Rift was grassy plains. Here and there were a few raised mounds that had tunnels leading into them. In the distance was a large fence containing a structure that looked like an enormous carport. It had a roof but no walls. Inside were thousands of humans.


    They were all clothed, and still in human fashions, though they did look worn down. At least they seemed clean. The captives didn¡¯t look frantic or suppressed, more bored and annoyed. Human kids and Leputi kids were playing in groups. Fluffy grassy areas looked like beds set out for them. Various Leputi were moving around them and casually speaking with them. Even though a few Leputi were outside the fence like guards, they leaned on it as though they didn¡¯t think guards were necessary.


    On the fields between the humans and the Rift entrance were hundreds more Leputi. They were all sitting on their knees, just as naked as the chief, clothes folded neatly beside each one. The tags above each one showed ¡°Breeder [0]¡±, as if they had no level and all the same class.


    With the anger now apparent in Adam, the chief made to run away, to put some space between himself and the now hostile natives, but Tom¡¯s arm held him there.


    ¡°H-have we so offended the great lord?¡± the Chief asked.


    ¡°Nah, it¡¯s not like that chiefy. I¡¯m sure you haven¡¯t done anything to offend him. Yet. Hopefully never. It¡¯s just that when the [System] came, he became a little obsessed over killing all the invaders, and you and your bunny family are invaders. You¡¯ve seen those videos with the invaders he¡¯s killed. So, before the boss becomes murder happy, let¡¯s get to the point. Yeah?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes, great lord,¡± the chief said, upgrading Tom¡¯s title trying to appease him, as if he was the only person who could help them survive. Alissa even snorted a laugh at it.


    ¡°You can call me Tom, chiefy. Now, what did you want to negotiate?¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lord Tom. I was hoping that you could take in my people and spare them from his Excellency¡¯s wrath.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll need to give me more than that. Why do you need our protection? Can¡¯t you just not fight us?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°No. We were sent here by the mighty Scyrric, those who have purchased the rights to your world. The numbers here are only a portion of our tribe, chosen and separated by the great Scyrric for their purpose. Our race is weak and not fit for large fights. Upon seeing the scenes of his Excellency, the berserker, and his great power I knew our people would die should we be forced to fight him.¡±


    ¡°Probably,¡± agreed Tom. ¡°Then if you can¡¯t beat us, you want to join us?¡±


    ¡°Though we Leputi aren¡¯t a threat to other races, many have taken offense to our existence. They enjoy tormenting and killing us for pleasure. The Bobomon are such a race. They have long hunted our own tribe. Riding their battle Carthraga they have been looking for us. When the wise Scyrric chose our place to arrive in this world, they placed us close to the Bobomon, for reasons beyond our understanding.¡±


    ¡°They were just being cruel by doing that, not wise. Can you please stop praising your oppressors,¡± said Alissa with disgust, as she stood away from the conversation while having fun rubbing the head of a kneeling Leputi.


    ¡°Then you want us to kill your enemies?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°That would be a great boon to us, Lord Tom, though not our primary desire. Our race has a special trait. In our tribe the wellbeing of the whole is more important than any single one of us. Having offspring and growing the tribe is our purpose.¡±


    ¡°Then you invade through popping out tons of babies?¡± mocked Tom.


    ¡°We have no intention to invade, and without the commands of the Scyrric we would not have come to your planet. Our paws are not fit for delicate crafting nor wielding weapons. We are renowned and desired by those who wish to sire offspring and heirs.


    ¡°As natives who have only now become able to evolve classes, there is a downside to gaining power. The higher your level and evolution, the less able you are to find compatibility with a mate.¡±


    ¡°WHAT?¡± bellowed Alissa as she stomped up. ¡°We can¡¯t have kids once we get high level?! What kind of crap is that?¡±


    The chief drew back from her temper.


    ¡°Great mistress, it is not our doing. But that is precisely why we are both desired and reviled. Our race is able to ignore that limitation and breed with others to produce offspring. We even have a racial class that strengthens that ability and increases gestation speeds.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s totally not fair!¡± cried Alissa, dropping to her knees. Tom patted her on the shoulder.


    ¡°We know not about the fairness of it. Our people are forcibly taken by many races to help bolster their own forces. Those offspring born to the taken never return to the tribe to our sorrow.¡±

 CH 106: What a Leputi Wants

    CHAPTER 106: What a Leputi Wants


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry for how your tribe is treated, but how does that come to you joining us?¡± asked Abbey.


    ¡°Thank you for your sympathies, great healer. While we were researching this world and the races that occupied it prior to the planetary merging, we found a native network of information. A great amount of this information focused on teaching and demonstrating the mating process,¡± explained the Leputi chief.


    ¡°You spent your time before the invasion watching¡­?¡± gasped Tom.


    ¡°It was quite enlightening, and it filled our hearts with joy to find another race as focused on making offspring as our own.¡± An almost tearful gleam entered the chief¡¯s eye as he looked to something far off. Clearly an emotional moment for him. Several of the Leputi nearby murmured and nodded in agreement, looking hopeful.


    ¡°Actually, chiefy,¡± started Tom, before Alissa slapped a hand over his mouth.


    ¡°Don¡¯t you dare spoil it for them,¡± she whispered. ¡°No need to make our race look even dumber.¡± Tom nodded in acceptance before she removed her hand.


    ¡°Then what? You want us to do it with you guys?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°If it isn¡¯t beyond your people to join with us in mating, then that would be another boon that you could provide to us.¡±


    ¡°Is it even possible for us to have kids with you?¡± asked Alissa. ¡°What about DNA and genetics?¡±


    ¡°I do not understand dee enn ay, great mistress,¡± the chief said with confusion.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it for now. I¡¯ll find you a book on it. She means cats can¡¯t have kids with dogs. You guys are Leputi and we¡¯re humans. How would we have offspring,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°I understand your question, Lord Tom. Normally that isn¡¯t possible, however using the Leputi¡¯s special racial qualities, we are able to meld both races into offspring. When our men sire offspring with females of other races they always belong to the other race. When the offspring are born to our females, they might be Leputi, the siring race, or a new race that combines the qualities of the two. For reasons unknown, the [System] encourages this type of species melding and has even declared it blasphemy to kill a Leputi with the Breeder class.¡±


    ¡°Is that why all the kneeling people have that class?¡± asked Abbey.


    ¡°That is correct, great healer. Traditionally when we are hunted and taken by other races, they kill any who are not of the Breeder class and take those who are. To ensure as many of our tribe can survive as possible, we evolve to the class before we are conquered. In this case we have almost 450 of the breeder class, 50 of the midwife class that helps facilitate the gestation and birth periods while ensuring health. Most of the remaining 100 are those who volunteered to keep their classes as they wanted to protect the rest, even knowing their deaths will come at the end.¡±


    ¡°You can evolve to this breeder class whenever?¡± asked Alissa.


    ¡°Yes, great mistress. It is a racial class and only requires a single level to evolve to it. It becomes available to us as soon as we reach a fertile age. Even if we evolve away from it we do not lose it as an evolution option,¡± answered the chief.


    ¡°It also hides your strength since it doesn¡¯t indicate your stats, skills, or what level you had before,¡± commented Tom. ¡°How devious.¡±


    ¡°That is not our intent, Lord Tom. Simply happenstance, though it has kept many of our people safe.¡±


    ¡°Ok. Let me get this straight, you want to come work for us and you want us to pay you in mating. We won¡¯t even have to take responsibility for the babies since you want them?¡± asked Tom with an evil smirk.


    ¡°You would leave the babies with us?¡± the chief asked in shock. ¡°That is unheard of.¡±


    Alissa punched Tom in his armored back. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t mind having a cute little bunny baby running around.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, alright. Some of our men would be fine leaving the ankle biters. I can¡¯t speak for everyone though. That would be up to each person,¡± admitted Tom.


    ¡°That would be more than we could have dreamed,¡± responded the chief with glee. ¡°Most races keep the babies that look like them, then only return full Leputi to us to be raised as future breeders for their race. Those with mixed species traits are forced to become warriors that we do not see again. To be able to keep and grow our tribe is our greatest joy.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, well, there was a mansion on earth dedicated to dressing humans like bunnies,¡± Tom said slimily, gaining him another punch that almost dented his armor from Alissa.


    ¡°Pervert,¡± she spat at him.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know the half of it,¡± he leered at her. ¡°Ain¡¯t that right, boss?¡±


    Adam stood there, looking at the fake sky, with intense concentration on his face. Instead of his arms crossed, he was now gripping the knife and sword at his belt.


    ¡°How are you holding up, Adam,¡± asked Abbey as she cast another heal into him.


    ¡°Poorly,¡± he said through clenched teeth. ¡°Hurry.¡±


    ¡°You can go outside and I¡¯ll handle this for you, boss,¡± offered Tom.


    ¡°Tried. Can¡¯t. Get it done!¡±


    The chief startled when he looked at Adam.


    ¡°Are the discussions not to his Excellencies likings?¡± asked the chief with concern.


    ¡°That¡¯s not it, but let¡¯s figure this out quicker,¡± hurried Tom. ¡°So, you want to join the Sentinel Army and increase your numbers in safety. What else?¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    ¡°We would prefer being given a place to live within your planetary merged Rift so that we are not threatened by the Bobomon. Since I will be giving my life to allow this, I would also beg that his Excellency take my daughter as an exclusive mate to sire a new chief for our tribe.¡±


    ¡°No way!¡± snapped Alissa. ¡°No having kids with Adam if I can¡¯t!¡±


    ¡°Apologies, great mistress. I did not realize that you were already a chosen mate. The exclusive part is that my daughter cannot mate with another male, to ensure that the mighty one¡¯s strength is passed on the child. As for taking him from you, it is not widely known that our midwives overlap alchemists and can brew a medicine that will improve the chances of two powerful individuals conceiving.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a political marriage, Allie,¡± Tom said to Alissa, getting him a punch for the shortened name. ¡°Fine. Alissa. You¡¯ll get something from it too.¡±


    ¡°Oh, alright,¡± sulked Alissa after looking over at Adam and seeing the difficulty he was having in restraining his desire to end the invaders.


    ¡°Alright. We take in the tribe, allow them to increase their numbers with the help of our people, and your daughter joins the general¡¯s wives club. What do we get?¡± continued Tom.


    ¡°We can offer very little. You will be able to take this base once you have killed me. I¡¯m not sure what other value we bring,¡± admitted the chief.


    ¡°Wait, why do we have to kill you?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°There is a [System] contract in place. All the Leputi are bound to me, and I am bound to the mighty Scyrric.¡±


    ¡°That suddenly makes things more complicated. We don¡¯t know anything about these contracts,¡± said Tom. ¡°Can you explain to me how they work?¡±


    ¡°These [System] contracts are rare and can be used to bind people to each other with severe consequences. In my case I was tasked with protecting this Dimensional Convergence Rift and following the orders of the Scyrric overseer to whom I was bound to. In addition, all those belonging to my tribe must follow me in this or be executed by my own hands.¡±


    ¡°Harsh,¡± said Tom with a frown. ¡°Then this contract can be ended if we kill you?¡±


    ¡°Yes, though to kill me, the other Leputi will be forced to fight as well since they must follow my commands to protect this base should you try to take it. I request that you subdue as many as possible and only kill them if necessary. As long as a few survive then our tribe will live on, fulfilling our desire.¡±


    ¡°Bleak,¡± muttered Tom. ¡°We have one more glaring problem.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± asked Abbey.


    ¡°Cancelling their contract doesn¡¯t stop them from being invaders. The boss will still want to kill them.¡±


    ¡°What can we do about that?¡± asked Abbey.


    ¡°Chiefy, is there a way for me to see this [System] contract you¡¯re under?¡±


    The chief did some things through his control of the Rift Menu and a screen appeared in a language that Tom didn¡¯t understand.


    ¡°Uh¡­I can¡¯t read this. Can it be translated?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°You can¡¯t read [System Standard]?¡± the chief asked curiously.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t even know that was a thing,¡± said Tom proudly, reveling in a convenient excuse for his ignorance.


    ¡°I never knew natives couldn¡¯t. Most race¡¯s offspring are born with the ability to learn it quickly. I have heard that beasts or lower intelligent races don¡¯t learn it automatically, probably due to how they evolve,¡± explained the chief.


    ¡°Is there a way to teach me before the boss murders you all?¡± asked Tom, hoping to find a shortcut. The chief looked worriedly at Adam.


    ¡°Yes, Lord Tom. Give me but a moment.¡±


    The chief once more operated his Rift Menu, and then reality shifted and a crystal about the size of a human pinky appeared in his hand.


    ¡°I bought this from the Rift Shop. It doesn¡¯t cost much, and it is there for individuals and races that need to learn [System Standard]. Put this crystal into your mouth and consume it.¡±


    The chief handed the crystal to Tom. He inspected it from all directions, even holding it up to the light created from the rift sky.


    ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s wise to¡­¡± Alissa began before Tom tossed the crystal into his mouth. He licked it, sucked on it, and then began chomping as it became taffy like. After a minute of moving it around, suddenly it dissolved.


    ¡°Oh! OOOOOOOOOH!¡± Tom screamed. ¡°Now this is how school should be!¡±


    Turning back to the display with the contract, Tom now understood not just the symbols and language in front of him, but also the nuance and meaning behind the phrases. It was like he had been using the language his whole life. He was even sure he would be able to write out curse words and vulgar phrases, the most important parts of learning any second language.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± he said as he finished reading the contract and started again from the beginning.


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Tom thought out loud.


    ¡°Huh. Then, hmm¡­¡± said Tom with confidence.


    Alissa punched him again. A dent was definitely forming in his armor.


    ¡°Chiefy, can you open a secure private communication line to our own Rift base? Oh, and I need two more of those language crystals.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lord Tom.¡± The chief manipulated the Rift Menu and two more of those crystals appeared on his hand in a wave of altered reality. Then he did some more things they couldn¡¯t see. ¡°Who are you directing the communication to?¡±


    ¡°Jordan Lane. He¡¯s in charge of the center.¡±


    ¡°Yes, he is listed as a possible controller,¡± said the chief. Then a new window appeared with Jordan¡¯s face.


    ¡°Tom? Where are you? How are you calling me from outside of the base? Is that a rabbit man?!¡±


    ¡°Oh, Jordan, Jordan, Jordan. This is not a rabbit man. My pal here is a bunny man.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that the same thing?¡± asked Jordan suspiciously.


    ¡°Of course not. Anyway. I got something I know you want,¡± teased Tom as he held up one of the crystals. Jordan¡¯s suspicion grew.


    ¡°What is that, Tom?¡±


    ¡°The entire language the Rift Menu is built on. Sucking down this crystal will let you understand everything we couldn¡¯t before, including all the alien communications.¡±


    ¡°No way! That can¡¯t be possible!¡± exclaimed Jordan.


    ¡°It¡¯s true. I already used one,¡± nodded Tom. Jordan eyed him through the display.


    ¡°What do you want for it, Tom?¡± asked Jordan suspiciously, his face scrunching in disgust.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s see. I would like¡­¡± Tom was about to rattle off a list when Alissa hit him one more time.


    ¡°Give him the crystal, Tom!¡± she threatened.


    ¡°Fiiiine,¡± Tom said to Alissa before turning back to the display.


    ¡°Let¡¯s say you owe me one,¡± said Tom to Jordan. Then he addressed the chief. ¡°Can you send this through to him?¡±


    ¡°As long as he accepts to receive it,¡± said the chief, not really sure of what was happening.


    One crystal disappeared from Tom¡¯s hand and Jordan turned to do something to the side of the display they were using. Then he held up the crystal, inspecting it like Tom had before shrugging and placing it into his mouth. After a moment of trying to chew it, he screamed in victory, hands in the air and excitement all over his face.


    ¡°Now I can¡­I can¡¯t wait to¡­this will solve so many¡­I wonder what they even say¡­¡±


    ¡°Jordan, before that. I need you to connect me with my dad. Also, send him the second crystal.¡±


    Tom nodded to the chief and he once more sent a crystal through to Jordan. Jordan did more Rift Menu stuff and then a third display appeared featuring Mr. Rhodes, who looked like he had just gotten home from a hunt. He was sweaty and in bloody clothes, with Darren and Philip in the room behind him.


    ¡°What do you need, Tom?¡± asked his dad. In the background Darren exclaimed, ¡°Is that a rabbit man?!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a bunny man, damnit. Can¡¯t you tell them apart, Gimli?¡± muttered Tom with a disappointed head shake.


    ¡°Anyway, dad,¡± Tom address Mr. Rhodes. ¡°I have a contract I want your opinion on.¡±


    ¡°A contract? There is no way to enforce contracts. You might not have noticed but civilization collapsed,¡± said Mr. Rhodes sarcastically.


    ¡°Yeah, dad. A [System] contract. Something new.¡±


    ¡°Oh! Let me see!¡±


    ¡°Eat the crystal that Jordan sent you first.¡±


    Surprisingly, Mr. Rhodes put the crystal in his mouth without a question, even though it had been sent by Tom. It dissolved into knowledge.


    ¡°Wow! That¡¯s amazing, Tom,¡± exclaimed Mr. Rhodes.


    ¡°Beats school,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°Now, Tom,¡± lectured Mr. Rhodes. ¡°School teaches you more than just knowledge. It teaches you how to think and problem solve¡­¡±


    The sound of a sword sliding halfway out of its sheath echoed behind Tom, then it was forcible shoved back down.


    ¡°That¡¯s great, dad. Not the time for a lecture. We need to problem solve this contract. Quickly, before the boss goes murder happy on the bunnies.¡±

 CH 107: Contracts

    CHAPTER 107: Contracts


    Tom moved the contract display in front of the display with Mr. Rhodes. The man read through it making comments like Tom had when he reviewed it.


    ¡°I thought we could¡­¡± Tom said to his dad.


    ¡°Yes, but if we¡­¡± continued his dad.


    ¡°Then we would need to¡­¡±


    ¡°The problem would be¡­¡±


    ¡°This could solve it¡­¡±


    ¡°That would mean we have to change¡­¡±


    ¡°Then if we¡­¡±


    The two went back and forth while the others showed little understanding of what they were saying. After about ten minutes, and fifteen sword draws later by Adam, they seemed to be wrapping it up. Tom addressed the chief.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got a good news bad news situation here, chiefy. Bad news first. We do have to kill you,¡± said Tom with confidence. The chief nodded to him, having already accepted that conclusion. ¡°The good news is that we don¡¯t have to kill anyone else.¡±


    The chief was shocked with surprise and disbelief at that.


    ¡°But they are forced to aid me in defending this base.¡±


    ¡°Only kind of. The Leputi of your tribe are forced to aid you. They can just quit the tribe then they¡¯re free of the contract.¡±


    The chief¡¯s face shifted darkly. ¡°Leputi can¡¯t just quit a tribe. They are who they are.¡±


    ¡°Of course. Right. Except they can. Here, gimme a sec,¡± said Tom before turning to Jordan¡¯s display, where he was looking at other things. ¡°Yo, Jordy, I need the contract document and waivers we used before the invasion.¡±


    Jordan barely glanced at the display leading to Tom before the chief then did something with his Rift Menu. A stack of papers appeared in his hand.


    ¡°These are the contracts we used for employment with the Sentinel Army. You¡¯ll notice here that joining the Sentinels supersedes all previous and concurrent affiliations and ties. Then if you read here, it means that joining the Sentinel Army creates ties to protect our world from invaders. Here is a confidentiality agreement that can prevent any interactions from our people, as well as the Leputi once they sign, from being communicated to those outside of the Sentinels so they never have to report to the Scyrric.¡±


    Tom walked the chief through the more delicate parts of the contracts. The chief clearly didn¡¯t understand most of the contract, since human legalese was way beyond the [System] contract in complexity and loophole sealing. Once they had gone through it enough, the chief spoke up.


    ¡°If I may ask a question about it, Lord Tom, I do not see a termination explanation in this clause section,¡± said the chief.


    ¡°It¡¯s right here. The termination clause says you need to notify us two weeks before quitting your position with the Sentinels, and during that time you must continue to uphold the contract. Then you have six months before you can disclose information about the Sentinels to a competitor.¡±


    ¡°That is most generous and very magnanimous to give us a way out, but I mean our termination. If you decide to kill or terminate us,¡± said the chief seriously.


    Alissa choked and even Tom frowned.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t how we do things,¡± she said. ¡°If you join, you are one of us and as long as you don¡¯t betray us or kill someone, we won¡¯t kill any of your people.¡±


    ¡°That is unheard of,¡± said the chief.


    ¡°It¡¯s in the contract here. You just need to follow our laws and you¡¯ll then be held accountable by the same judicial procedures as the other humans,¡± showed Tom.


    ¡°This seems too much to believe. If my people sign this then they will be treated the same as your own?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Tom. ¡°I can¡¯t promise every human will, but our leadership will accept it and punish humans who mistreat any Leputi.¡±


    ¡°Will the fighters be shields to protect your own people, sacrificing them?¡±


    ¡°The boss would never allow that. Those who choose to fight will level and become stronger. The others who don¡¯t want to fight will be given jobs to support the community.¡±


    ¡°No Leputi in remembrance has reached Tier 3. It has been a dream of ours to become strong like the other races,¡± said the chief, not wanting to hope needlessly.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see how it goes but as long as you stick with us, I don¡¯t see why you can¡¯t,¡± said Alissa.


    ¡°At the very least we¡¯ll need the help of your fighters to get all these level zero humans back to our base. That¡¯ll take a while,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°Why will that take long? Once you take this base you can open a teleportation array between the two bases in the same network and they can step through without issue,¡± said the chief with confusion.


    On the communication window with Jordan, his face was suddenly fully focused on them.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°We can do that?!¡± he demanded.


    ¡°Of course. Did you think only objects could be moved?¡± asked the chief.


    ¡°Yes! With you on board we¡¯ll know so much more!¡± exclaimed Jordan, his excitement boiled over. ¡°Our offensive, defensive, and support capabilities will increase so much. Raids will be so much easier to organize and support!¡±


    ¡°The Leputi might be poor at combat, but we are quite fast and intelligent. While other races focus on fighting, we have made some of the largest breakthroughs in understanding the [System] and the world. It is another reason races resent us and don¡¯t allow us to grow.¡±


    Adam¡¯s eyes, which had been intense and angry, now had a gleam in them and he pushed out orders.


    ¡°Alissa, get Andrea. Tom, get the signatures.¡±


    ¡°Righteo, boss,¡± responded Tom. ¡°Chief, hurry and turn this into a [System] contract and get your people to sign.¡±


    ¡°Yes, Lord Tom,¡± answered the chief.


    Everyone waited as the chief did several things with an invisible window. One by one the waiting Leputi would perk up, nod, and touch the air. After every single one had done it, the chief gave a look to Adam before addressing Tom.


    ¡°It is done,¡± said the chief to Tom. He did a quick run through and then counted almost 600 names who agreed to it.


    ¡°Is it everyone?¡± asked Adam, his voice strained.


    ¡°Everyone but me, your Excellency.¡±


    ¡°Great,¡± Adam breathed out, the strain from fighting his own soul was apparent to all. ¡°I¡­look forward¡­to working¡­with you¡­¡±


    Then there was a blur. Adam moved so swiftly and with such accuracy that no one could react. Flames burst out behind him as his sword went from his belt to his hand and then through the chief¡¯s lung with so much force that Adam¡¯s hand passed through the Leputi¡¯s body. Adam grabbed the chief¡¯s throat and held it in the air while leaving his arm in the invader¡¯s body, preventing the blood from coming out of the wound.


    Adam took a deep breath, as if a weight had come off his shoulder. All the stress of having to hold himself back was released in that action. He brought the chief¡¯s face, shocked expression and blood flowing from his small mouth, close to his own face. Adam stared into the bunny man¡¯s eyes as the life drained from them.


    The Leputi had not been expecting this. After how reasonable the discussions were and the hope that they might receive fair treatment that had come from the discussions and Tom¡¯s words, to see Adam act so brutally and mercilessly, they were appalled. Many wondered if they had just put themselves in a worse situation. Most were crying at seeing their beloved chief die. One female had immediately stood and rushed to them, though Tom gently grabbed her to hold her back.


    A minute went by. Then two. Adam felt the blood stop flowing, now just a drip. The slight breath he had been feeling from the chief after his attack was gone.


    Adam took his own deep breath, then quietly said, ¡°Tom, check the Scyrric contract.¡±


    Tom looked at the window it had been displayed on. At the bottom, where the names of the chief and the Scyrric overseer responsible for it were, the name Lashtam was fading. Below both names was what translated to ¡°complete.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s done,¡± said Tom as Lashtam was completely removed from the contract.


    ¡°Girls, now!¡± Adam said and gently put the corpse on the ground.


    Abbey pointed to the body and invoked her skills [Get Up!] and then [Walk it Off]. The body of the chief unnaturally stood, as though it was a puppet being pulled into a standing position by strings. Andrea rushed forward and touched where a human heart should be and shouted, ¡°[Jolt]!¡±


    A small bit of electricity came out of his fingers and caused the body to spasm.


    ¡°He must have some good vitality for his level,¡± said Andrea as she invoked [Jolt] again with a bit more crackling.


    After ten seconds she did it a third time and then Alissa stepped forward.


    ¡°[Give Life],¡± Alissa announced as she activated her skill.


    Andrea kept shocking the chief¡¯s heart and blood began spurting out of the large hole in his right chest that Adam¡¯s sword and arm had caused. Abbey frowned at Adam.


    ¡°A smaller wound would have made this easier,¡± she chided. Her hand then touched the area and she cast [Mid Heal] repeatedly, watching the ribs rebuild and the wound close slowly.


    ¡°Sorry,¡± apologized Adam. ¡°It was really difficult holding back after all that time. I can honestly say I didn¡¯t enjoy the experience.¡±


    Two more minutes passed before the body was fully repaired. Andrea had continued sending low currents through the heart until Alissa announced that the chief¡¯s body was ready. Then she used [Ascending Vitality] on him.


    ¡°You¡¯re up, darling,¡± Andrea smirked at Adam.


    ¡°Why me?¡± he asked.


    ¡°You¡¯re the blood drinker,¡± responded Abbey.


    ¡°I¡¯m not touching it,¡± added Alissa.


    Adam sighed and then got on his knees. The three girls backed off as Adam began CPR, breathing into the chief¡¯s bloody mouth and letting it exhale. After the breaths he did some chest compressions, followed by more breaths. He was very careful not to use much strength when he did them.


    Only three breaths and chest compression cycles were necessary before the chief began breathing on his own. There was no gasp or shooting up like in the movies. Instead, the chief slowly opened his glassy eyes and turned his head. Then he moaned. Three times.


    ¡°Father!¡± cried his daughter as Adam moved so she could get to him. The chief reached up and touched where the chest hole had been.


    Very weakly he asked, ¡°you have resurrection magic?¡±


    ¡°Is that a thing?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Not to my knowledge, your Excellency,¡± the Leputi responded, struggling to speak. ¡°I have never heard of it though many scholars and races seek it.¡±


    ¡°It wasn¡¯t resurrection magic,¡± answered Adam. ¡°We combined healing skills with a way to resuscitate someone who only just died. It has a limited time it can work, and we weren¡¯t sure if your anatomy was close enough to human.¡±


    ¡°You tried something so unknown on my father¡¯s, our chief¡¯s, life?¡± scowled the Leputi female, glaring daggers at Adam.


    ¡°Yes. He needed to die no matter what, and this way it helps us both,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°How does it help us, making him suffer like that?¡± demanded the girl. Adam met her eyes, and his intensity caused her to wince and look away.


    ¡°For us, it ends your contract with the Scyrric and gets us what we need most, information on the [System] and these Rifts. Even getting that [System Standard] crystal has made it worth coming here, or even accepting your people into our forces. For you, we can broadcast the video of your father being killed in a brutal way so that there is no question that he died at my hands. That way your people won¡¯t be blamed for betraying the Scyrric,¡± explained Adam.


    ¡°Daughter, do not be angry at his Excellency. That is quite a devious plan. His viciousness and decisiveness will help take him far, even if he still has a kind enough heart to come into this enemy base to rescue those of his race and to accept our people among his own. He even found a way to let me live again. I will gladly serve him.¡±


    ¡°Chiefy, I¡¯m kind of surprised that you hitched your wagon with ours,¡± said Tom, sidling over. The chief clearly didn¡¯t know what his idiom meant. ¡°I would guess most people think we¡¯re going to lose this war.¡±


    The chief¡¯s face drew a blank.


    ¡°Many apologize, Lord Tom. I admit to not believing you natives will survive, even though I swear to serve you whole heartedly.¡±


    ¡°Then why do all this?¡± asked Abbey.


    ¡°The [System] rule I mentioned earlier. Even when your forces are killed our breeders will be spared and our tribe will go on.¡±


    ¡°Speaking of tribes,¡± said Adam with a concerned look and a strain in his voice. ¡°If you have enough strength, I need you to sign the Sentinel employment contracts like the rest of your people, or I might just have to kill you again in the next few minutes.¡±

 CH 108: Demons to Face

    CHAPTER 108: Demons to Face


    Adam held the crystal in his hand, marveling at its looks. It was translucent but didn¡¯t reflect the light from inside. There were no angles or cuts to it, the shape felt unnatural. As he placed it in his mouth he felt the solidness of it. That shape would shift to fit the space it was in even as it never changed mass or its cohesion. He rolled it around on his tongue, receiving no flavor from it. It was like solidified air.


    After a few seconds, he felt it dissolve. It went from something more than gelatinous, a solid and liquid at the same time, to simply no longer existing. A jolt hit both his brain and soul at the same time. Tom hadn¡¯t mentioned it feeling this unpleasant though.


    [System Standard] learning capsule absorbed. Instilling knowledge¡­


    Being able to know the language would open so many possibilities for Adam. He would read the foreign communications, understand the entirety of the Rift Menu, maybe even get some books or [System] materials from the shop that might teach them the things they were missing to effectively fight back.


    This little crystal could change everything!


    Soul Corruption found. Unable to absorb learning capsules.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± Adam bellowed so loudly that many in the Rift jumped in startlement. A few people who were walking towards him stopped dead. Things became quiet except for Andrea and Alissa laughing from their assumptions of what happened. They could feel his frustration through their connections.


    Tom had to practically force the three humans to continue walking towards him. Adam took a deep breath and then addressed the trio.


    ¡°I¡¯m Adam, also known as The General from the news prior to the invasions. You¡¯re Matt, then? The one who called us?¡± Adam asked.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± answered the man deferentially, probably twenty years older than Adam and two inches taller. ¡°The Leputi had us do it and set up the call.¡±


    ¡°What happened that led you to be here?¡±


    ¡°After the invasions we were all scared. No one knew where to go or what to do. After a few weeks, people started seeing rabbit people¡­¡±


    ¡°Bunny people,¡± interrupted Tom.


    ¡°They reported seeing bunny people,¡± continued Matt, with a side look at Tom. ¡°We thought they were just jumping at shadows. Then the screams started. There were these demons being ridden by three headed dogs. Vicious, slobbering beasts tall as a tanker truck.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ve seen them,¡± added Adam. Matt nodded in acknowledgement.


    ¡°They began chasing and eating people,¡± said Matt, looking haunted and ready to be sick.


    ¡°The doggies or the demons?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°Both, sir,¡± answered Matt. ¡°The demons would laugh and then literally tear into the people on the spot, ripping them to pieces or throwing them to the dogs to eat. Everyone ran, making them laugh and chase us even harder. The...bunny¡­soldiers then showed up and led us to this place. More of them distracted the demons so they didn¡¯t see the direction we went.¡±


    ¡°Sounds terrifying,¡± said Adam sympathetically.


    ¡°Oh, it was, sir. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll ever escape the nightmares,¡± whined Matt, and the man and woman on either side of him nodded in agreement.


    ¡°Here¡¯s the deal, Matt. We call ourselves the Sentinel Army. We¡¯ll be taking all your people back to Jackson. There we¡¯ll help you adjust to the [System] and will provide you with the information we have on what has happened. After that you can choose to become a fighter to try and take back the world, or you can accept being placed in a position of support for the community. We won¡¯t force you to fight the invaders when we attack them. However, you can¡¯t stay level zero. Leveling up is non-negotiable and that does require some fighting and killing, though usually mutated animals in hunts. If anyone isn¡¯t willing to do that, they¡¯ll be kicked out.¡±


    ¡°Sounds fair, sir,¡± said the elderly man.


    ¡°If you stay with us then we¡¯ll all work together to get food, clothes, and other necessities. Life won¡¯t be¡­can¡¯t be, really, like it was before the invasions. However, we¡¯re doing our best to keep things moving forward for everyone under us.¡±


    ¡°How will we get there, if you don¡¯t mind me askin¡¯?¡±


    ¡°Lashtam, the Leputi chief, says we can open a portal. It won¡¯t be directly to our main base, but to a close by secondary one. From there more of our Army will come to bring you to the area where we integrate those we rescue. Before anything else, how would you rate your treatment by the Leputi.¡±


    ¡°It was pretty good. We were all bored, except the kids who they liked to play with. They never demanded anything from us or mistreated us. I am a bit tired of only raw vegetables for meals though. I¡¯ve lost 30 pounds since the invasion,¡± said Matt.


    ¡°Get ready for lots of meat, since that¡¯s what Jackson has the most of. Our hunting parties bring it back daily,¡± said Tom. ¡°We¡¯re still working on fresh vegetables.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure these bunny people can help. They seem to have some idea of how to grow them even if its winter,¡± added the middle-aged woman.


    ¡°Good to know. Good luck on the trip back. I¡¯ve already made arrangements with my people. Just follow the Leputi chief¡¯s directions and you¡¯ll get to the other humans,¡± directed Adam.


    ¡°Where will you be, sir?¡±


    ¡°My group and I have some demons to face,¡± Adam said with heat bursting from around him.


    ***


    ¡°Bad doggy!¡± Brittney yelled as she slammed her shield into the middle face of one of the Cerberus, called Carthraga by the Leputi. The Bobomon riding it pitched forward, landing on the ground, where a bolt of lightning and a spike from the ground both hit it at the same time. Rushing forward, Alissa punched it, getting the final blow.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Bobomon ¡°Ravager [14]¡± slain. 1,252 shared XP gained.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell PETA. Those guys are jerks,¡± Joseph said while using his skill [Headhunt]. His long-bladed spear slowly but easily cut two heads off the beast, making the skill twice as effective against the three headed dogs. The Bobomon riding it blew a horn as the beast¡¯s body fell and was finished off by Randall¡¯s spear thrust.


    Carthraga ¡°Tamed Beast [16]¡± slain. 3,609 shared XP gained.


    ¡°It¡¯s called a tamed beast, but I¡¯m not seeing the tamed part,¡± admitted Randall.


    The horn was calling more of the beast riders to them. The fight wasn¡¯t easy for most of the group just due to the size of the beasts and the demons. The Carthraga were about 15 feet tall, and the Bobomon were 8 feet tall. Both had exceptional reach.


    The Bobomon were mostly physical fighters, wielding axes, spiked knuckles, and blunt objects. The Carthraga were the more dangerous of the two because each head had a different elemental breath. One could breathe fire, another ice like a blizzard in a hurricane, and finally a lightning breath. The elements were in different head positions for each beast, so avoiding all of them was important. The breaths plus the snapping jaws were encouragement enough not to stand in front of them. At least for those not Brittney or Joseph.


    ¡°This one begs not to offend the great warriors,¡± whined Rahsha, who had been sent to escort them. He stayed back, since his knives weren¡¯t long enough to do more than give the beasts a papercut, and his fear of them was obvious. ¡°Your might makes these Carthraga, who have consumed many of my people, seem as nothing.¡±


    Ashtala, the chief¡¯s daughter, was also there, even though she had a class of ¡°Breeder [1].¡± The chief had sent her to get the measure of the mighty one she would bear the offspring of. She was too stunned to talk as she watched them all fight. They fought together, and well, never shying away from these terrifying creatures. The humans were quickly earning her respect.


    ¡°I think Adam has found a way to tame them,¡± said Brandon as he pointed to where three of the Carthraga were attempted to flee, but not getting far as Adam would just use [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] to catch up and smash their legs. There were another five pairs of the huge beasts and their riders lying on the ground, whining, unable to move further. ¡°Or he might be bullying them.¡±


    ¡°Of course they¡¯re tame before the boss. These puppies know an alpha when they see one,¡± said Tom as he came walking over with Lucas from the few that they had been fighting. ¡°We should all go get a hit on the downed to get our XP.¡±


    ¡°Get a hit?¡± asked Rahsha. ¡°You would steal XP from his Excellency?¡±


    ¡°Nobody is stealing from anybody, buddy,¡± answered Tom, putting his arm around Rahsha and dragging him forward. ¡°This is how we do things. Everyone shares the XP when we can, and we all get stronger together.¡±


    Andrea and Alissa took Ashtala¡¯s hands and dragged her along too.


    ¡°You would share with this insignificant one?¡± Rahsha asked, his eyes becoming watery.


    ¡°Sure, the more the merrier. As long as you¡¯re fighting with us,¡± said Lucas.


    ¡°This one will always stand with you for the gifts you are giving so freely.¡±


    ¡°Great to hear, buddy. Now take those tiny knives and get a non-fatal cut on all the downed enemies. Once we get back to base, we¡¯ll ask Garrett to design some useful weapons for you,¡± directed Tom.


    ¡°XP and weapons? This one can¡¯t wait until he is as strong as you mighty ones.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll get you there, Rahsha,¡± said Alissa as she petted him, much to his pleasure.


    ***


    ¡°Do most aliens live under the freaking ground?¡± complained Joseph as they walked in yet another tunnel.


    The merged Rift of the Bobomon had included a lot of mounds that spewed superheated air with a smell like sulfur. After fighting packs of beasts and demon-like invaders they had come to a large tunnel in a hill. It led down and had to be big enough for the Carthraga to come in and out of. The further down they got, the more mazelike it had become. The tunnels were hot, annoying most of the humans.


    Rahsha had been terrified and huddled against Alissa, who petted him reassuringly. Adam kept throwing them glancing and then shaking his head to himself. That Leputi was already whipped, like some trained pet.


    Ashtala had become more open, willing to ask questions and make statements, though she was having trouble getting past being deferential. She still couldn¡¯t approach Adam as he led them downwards, lowering her head and acting overly humble towards him. She seemed willing to have discussions with the others though.


    The Leputi chief¡¯s daughter frowned at Joseph¡¯s question.


    ¡°Many races find under the ground or living in stone to provide greater safety. Some even find it provides for their needs better,¡± Ashtala said.


    ¡°Bah! Bunch of unsophisticated louts,¡± responded Joseph.


    Once more Ashtala frowned.


    ¡°These races consider natives of the worlds they conquer to be unsophisticated since they don¡¯t know how to make proper use of the [System].¡±


    ¡°Oh? Were they the ones who created the [System]?¡± asked Brittney sarcastically. She was really sweating hard in her armor due to the heat of the tunnels and was quite irritable.


    ¡°Of course not,¡± answered Ashtala. ¡°No one knows who created the great [System], just that it has been in their worlds longer than yours.¡±


    ¡°So, we are unsophisticated because they have had longer to use a tool that they didn¡¯t create or improve themselves. Yeah, because that makes sense,¡± snorted Randall.


    Ashtala looked down, not having an answer to their questions, and rather baffled by their attitudes. This wasn¡¯t at all how she had heard natives should behave. Andrea saw her mood and held her arm.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, Ashtala. We aren¡¯t angry with you. Just all the invaders coming to harm our people and world. Having superpowers is great and all, but we¡¯ve lost a lot of comforts and luxuries due to it, as well as so many people.¡±


    ¡°Yes, mistress,¡± nodded Ashtala as the group stopped.


    Adam was a short distance in front of them. He was looking at very large double doors, about twenty-five feet tall. The group pulled up next to him. As they had descended through the invader base, they had been forced to fight increasingly difficult packs of Bobomon and Carthraga. The group had suffered injuries and damage to their armors. Even their weapons were falling behind in piercing or slashing damage, requiring skills to do enough damage to matter.


    The Bobomon¡¯s levels had increased as they continued downward, but the skills and fighting styles all seemed to rely on brute force, making them easy to read and counter. All the magic was fire or heat based. Except for the Carthraga.


    The Carthraga were the problem. While the tunnels and hallways were wide for the humans, they weren¡¯t for the oversized three headed dogs. Each beast took up two thirds of the tunnels, preventing their group from dodging their attacks. The breaths would blast a short way down the tunnels, forcing them to keep their distance.


    Adam had less issues with them. He would wait until they were about to breathe before using [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] to reach it, usually under its head, then he would take out its legs before turning it so it couldn¡¯t attack his friends. Once more Adam made the fights survivable, even if he allowed them to struggle against the groups of Bobomon.


    Everyone checked their gear as Adam pushed the door open. The room that they saw was massive. 30 feet tall, 150 feet long and 70 feet wide. It was rocky, with jets on the floor, walls, and ceiling that blasted out super-heated air at intervals. The room was sweltering, and even Adam began sweating as the temperature rushed past the doors to envelop them.


    In the center of the room was a throne, with the largest Bobomon they had seen. He had four horns on his head, the two curved ones below his ears and two that rounded off the head to point forward. He looked to be 20 feet tall if he were to stand up. His legs had thick hair covering them, ending in goat feet. His fingernails had grown long and been sharpened to a point.


    Next to him on the floor was an even larger Carthraga, equal in size to the feral behemoths he had previously fought against. Its faces were longer than the ones they had fought, as were the tail and nails on its paws. It had a tag that read ¡°Den Mother [38].¡±


    The room vibrated as the three heads of the den mother growled in unison. Then the Bobomon spoke in a deep voice that could rattle bones.


    ¡°More natives have come to give their strength to me,¡± said the ¡°War Stomper [42].¡±

 CH 109: The War Stomper

    CHAPTER 109: The War Stomper


    ¡°Which do you guys want?¡± Adam asked casually of his group.  Rahsha and Ashtala were both shaking badly, wanting to run away.


    ¡°Sorry, boss, but my illusion skills don¡¯t work on three heads at once,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°Yeah, those breathes are just too difficult to dodge,¡± agreed Joseph.


    ¡°That¡¯s just because you¡¯re so slow,¡± teased Randall.


    ¡°Some of us don¡¯t zip around like lightning,¡± agreed Alissa.


    ¡°Excuses, excuses,¡± mocked Andrea jokingly.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take the giant clown, you take the puppy,¡± said Lucas.


    ¡°H-how can you all be joking at a time like this?!¡± demanded Ashtala, so scared she was no longer speaking with as much formality.  ¡°That is a War Stomper!  Never has our race faced one and survived.  They are terror incarnate.¡±


    The large Bobomon laughed, shaking the ground even more.


    ¡°I see you travel with those little bunnies,¡± rumbled the demon.  ¡°That just shows how weak you natives are.  Listen to it, for they know the true terror of the Bobomon!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s your trash talk?¡± asked Tom flippantly.  ¡°That¡¯s worse dialog than an out of the way NPC.¡±


    The large red man frowned at him.  ¡°Trash talk?¡± it asked, rather confused.


    ¡°Yes, trash talk.  The garbage that comes out of your mouth before a fight.  Of course, that was extremely bad for it.  Not clever at all.  Didn¡¯t even give me a chance to retort properly.  Guess it just shows how lame your race is.¡±


    ¡°You dare mock my race?!¡± roared the Bobomon.  He then stood to his full height and lifted a stone club.


    ¡°He dares to mock all races, including his own,¡± said Andrea.  ¡°He¡¯s just like that.  Though he is telling the truth.  Your dialog is poorly written.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, can we do the entrance again but with better dialog for the drones?  I¡¯m trying to record the epic-ness of it.  You kind of ruined it,¡± said Ed, controlling a few drones with his laptop.  He was rather concerned the heat would destroy it though.


    ¡°You insects dare think you are above me?!¡±


    ¡°Not when you¡¯re that tall.  Definitely not above you,¡± said Joseph.


    ¡°Yeah, we might be smarter, stronger, and better than you, but not above you,¡± added Randall.


    ¡°RAAHHHHH!!!¡± screamed the war stomper.


    ¡°Geez, now he isn¡¯t even using words.  Point made,¡± said Tom.


    The den mother got to its feet while the war stomper continued to yell.  Adam shrugged.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get to it,¡± he said as he ran forward with his war hammer.


    ***


    Ashtala was horrified at the scene before her.  These humans, natives who were more ignorant of the [System] than a newborn baby, were taunting and enraging the nightmare before them.  They had acquitted themselves well against the other Bobomon and Carthraga, better than the Leputi could have done, but the ones before them were so much more powerful than any they had faced.  Their weapons wouldn¡¯t even be able to break its skin.


    The fight began when the male that her father bequeathed her to charged at the den mother.  Ashtala could admit that he scared her more than a little.  He fought and used two skills from a typical berserker class, which would be enough to cause fear in any race in the universe.  However, he didn¡¯t have a tag to show that he was a berserker.  There was also no reaction from him when his chosen warriors applied levity at him, which was unlike the stories she had heard of berserkers.


    No hostility or animosity showed and even in battle he was able to control himself, not giving into the usual battle lust that berserkers were known for.  He even shared the XP instead of killing any enemy himself.  Very unheard of.


    Even she and Rahsha had been included.  While she had changed her class to Breeder before the natives had arrived, at the behest of her father, it was unusual to gain levels in that class.  Yet she had reached level 14, gaining two additional skills she had never heard of before among breeders, [Boost Vitality] and [Boost Fertility].  While there were plenty of fertility skills that could only be used on oneself, the second skill could be used on others and hadn¡¯t been recorded before.  That skill would be greatly in demand throughout the races.


    Up until now, Ashtala had found the natives to be surprisingly accepting and kind.  She had almost come to like them and could picture serving them as being pleasant.  That was only up until now.  Now she wondered how long they would really last for, and whether her race would be spared when these humans fell.


    Running, hiding, submitting and servicing was how the Leputi survived.  They just didn¡¯t have the natural strength of other races and there weren¡¯t weapons, or crafters willing to make weapons, that would allow them to grow.  Adding to that, the other races wanted to keep the Leputi weak.  They wanted the Leputi to stay as servants.


    The dominant races worked together to keep all tribes of Leputi from leveling.  There were frequent purges of her people, forcing them to rely on the breeder class to keep themselves useful enough.  The [System] had said it was an important class.  The [System] had even threatened groups that would kill breeders, though no one knew why it valued the class so strongly.  So, breeders they stayed.


    Being a breeder didn¡¯t lead to a good life either.  Some races would be violent in their mating rituals.  Some offspring led to death of the mothers upon birth.  Males who helped impregnate the females of other races would sometimes fall to jealous males or be positioned to fall by them.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    The lives of the Leputi tribes were challenging.  Sometimes Ashtala wondered why they bred so much at all, bringing new life into their tribe only to have to go through all this too.  Those thoughts were very un-Leputi like, and she would be scolded for having them.  It wasn¡¯t like she didn¡¯t love her tribe and her father.  All Leputi children belong to every member of the tribe, it was only due to being the daughter of the chief, responsible for producing the next chief, that she even knew who her father was.


    However, now Ashtala wondered if she would even survive the next few moments.  These natives were in the middle of their Tier 2 levels, most getting to level 37 during their approach to this place, however the war stomper was not only a Tier 3, but a high Tier 3.  Due to the levels spent when evolving to a higher tier, its level 42 represented 45 levels higher than them, and that was if they had only leveled their class and not their bodies.


    Adam had started the fight by running towards the den mother at the same time the war stomper rushed towards his warriors.  He pulled back his large hammer while he was still far from her.  Then his skin turned red, making Ashtala gasp that he might be a Bobomon in disguise.  It was ridiculous since the Bobomon weren¡¯t that clever, but such was the strength of her current fear.


    Then Adam disappeared.  When she heard his voice, he yelled, ¡°heel, mutt!¡±


    Ashtala located him at the back leg of the beast, where his now glowering war hammer struck the back of its knee.  The force was enough to knock that leg out from under it.


    Why did he announce the heel when he attacked the knee.  Was it to trick the animal?  Ashtala wondered, knowing that even beasts that were Tier 3 were intelligent.


    The beast didn¡¯t fall since it had three other legs, but it was clear from how the Carthraga whined that the blow had hurt the leg more than could be seen.


    The group closer to her began using skills as the war stomper rapidly approached.


    ¡°Buff up, go physical,¡± announced Lucas, the one with a darker skin color than the rest.  He looked like an entirely different tribe than some of the paler natives.


    ¡°[Bolster]!¡± announced Brandon, to increase their stats.  ¡°[Enhance Body], [Share Stats], on Brittney [Enhanced Vitality].¡±


    ¡°[Keep It Off],¡± Ed called, as he used a skill that increased their resistances to negative status effects.


    ¡°[Blessing of Wrath],¡± was used by Alissa.  It increased everyone¡¯s focus and damage slightly.


    ¡°[Inspire],¡± came from Abbey to buff them even further.


    ¡°[See Weakness],¡± was used by Carlos to identify where they should attack.  ¡°Usual places.  Eyes, throat, heart, though we won¡¯t be getting through its ribs so keep it to the face.  Ears are a bad target due to the horns.  Oddly, where the tail meets the butt is a weak point too.  Fire is a no-go, though you shouldn¡¯t need a skill to know that.¡±


    ¡°[Harden Shield], [Firm Stance],¡± was used by Brittney to brace herself as the giant Bobomon led with a punch of its oversized hand.  The fist was almost the size of the diminutive girl.


    Ashtala covered her eyes, not wanted to see her get pulped by the strength of their enemy.  However, all she heard was a grunt by the girl.  When she looked up with wide eyes, Brittney was still standing there, though the ground beneath her looked ready to give up, while Lucas helped her hold the, now slightly flatter, shield.


    ¡°[Counterstrike]!¡± used Brittney, as she turned the fist to the side and her one-handed hammer flashed red as it come down on the stomper¡¯s wrist.


    Lucas followed her strike with, ¡°[Sturdy Weapon], [Empowered Blow], [All Weapons], [Balance].¡±


    His class was ¡°Quartermaster [37]¡± and it focused on allowing him to properly use most weapons without needing to learn them all directly.  His [Sturdy Weapon] was to keep his hammer from breaking against the Bobomon while [Empower Blow] strengthened it.  [All Weapons] and [Balance] were knowledge skills that allowed him to use his body better, so his regular hits would do more damage.


    The war stomper looked as surprised as Ashtala felt at the initial engagement.  It wasn¡¯t even aware that Randall had used [Flash Foot] to get behind him.  The yell of the Bobomon when Randall thrust his spear to the side of its tail and butt connection while using [Lightning Tip] and [Blitz Thrust] once more shook the air.  The giant swatted at Randall, but he was already out of reach after using [Flash Foot] once again.


    Joseph had been slowly running towards the same area and was hit indirectly by the swing.  As he was thrown backwards, he used, ¡°[Reap What you Sow],¡± causing the tip of his long spear blade to glow.  He slowly walked forward to try and strike when, to Ashtala¡¯s surprise, the ground underneath him slid to speed on Joseph¡¯s slow movements.


    ¡°[Landslide],¡± announced Elias, as he used the spell to slide not only Joseph forward, but also Alissa from the other side.


    The Bobomon wasn¡¯t sure where to focus until Brittney arrived at his knee and used [Shield Bash].  The attack wasn¡¯t strong enough to throw the giant off balance, but it did get his attention long enough for Jospeh to jump at his neck from the right, using the skill [Headhunt] to do additional damage to the enemy¡¯s neck, [Deadly Penetration] to get deeper into the tough skin, and [Reap What You Sow] to return a portion of the damage that the Bobomon had caused when he hit Joseph.


    From the left also came Alissa, with the class ¡°Crushing Cherub [36]¡± that had come from the appointment title of Avenging Angel.  She used some of the abilities she received from her previous mage class.  [Increase Power] boosted her magical damage, followed by the basic [Water Ball].  The water struck the Bobomon¡¯s jaw, hissing as it made contact.  The coolness of the water striking the hot skin caused a puff of pressure and pain.


    The war stomper jerked his head to the side, away from the water ball and right into Joseph¡¯s strike, slow but unyielding, like his ¡°Reaper [37]¡± class, that came from his Executioner appointment title.  The spear bit in deeply, drawing blood.  Unfortunately, the handle broke which caused Joseph to fall to the ground out of balance.


    As Joseph fell, the club of the Bobomon struck and threw him far to the side of the room.  Ashtala gasped, certain that he would have popped from the force of the blow.  However, he stood up, bloody and holding his shoulder, but muttering words that indicated he was most definitely alive.


    While the Bobomon was dealing with the attacks from the side, suddenly lightning discharged from Andrea¡¯s hands as she announced, ¡°[Lightning Spread].¡±  The bolts hit him in the eyes.  The heat of the lightning didn¡¯t hurt his skin, but they did something to its eyes, and dark scorch lines appeared on them.


    The Bobomon bellowed once more in pain and frustration, flashing red with the use of a skill, with its head pointed toward the sky.  The skill was used and Ashtala huddled on the floor, Rahsha right behind her.  Even the group in front of her was shaken, as they backed off, their grip on their weapons wavering.


    ¡°You call that a roar?¡± asked Adam, walking over casually, though smoke was rising from his burned away skin.  Then he opened his mouth and bellowed.  There was no red flash, no use of skill that Ashtala felt.  Yet Adam¡¯s roar had an intensity to it that had been lacking in the war stomper¡¯s.  The sound made Ashtala, not only want to huddle in fear, but also to burrow into the ground.


    ¡°Oi, boss,¡± said Tom, not bothered by Adam¡¯s roar.  ¡°Don¡¯t horn in on our fight.  We¡¯re busy over here.¡±


    ¡°Then get it done before Rover, over there, croaks,¡± Adam said, indicating the den mother splayed out on the group, panting heavily while struggling to breathe.  He crossed his arms and watched.


    Ashtala couldn¡¯t believe it.  Where had Adam¡¯s power come from?  How was that even possible?


    As the Bobomon looked in shock from Adam to the Carthraga, Ed cast, ¡°[Clear Mind].¡±  All those, including Ashtala, were no longer frightened.  She stood, looking at the group.  Even if the humans had lasted this long, the war stomper hadn¡¯t even used skills yet.  They were still at a disadvantage.  At least, that was what she thought until she looked over at Adam, arms crossed and smiling.  Not a vicious smile or a smile of concern.


    Then both the Bobomon and the group of warriors once more faced each other.

 CH 110: Carthraga

    CHAPTER 110: Carthraga


    The Bobomon boss lunged forward. As it did, the rocky ground underneath him shifted, throwing him off balance. Under one foot, the ground lowered, and under the other it rose. Elias smirked while using his [Landslide] spell.


    Randall lunged forward towards the tail, using [Shock Lance]. A loud noise accompanied his spear thrust as a bang of lightning entered the tail along with the spear, trying to paralyze the giant¡¯s nervous system. At the same time, Andrea used [Speed of Light] to momentarily boost her Agility and raced to the creature¡¯s chest while he was bent forward from catching his balance.


    Her hand on his chest, she cast [Along the Flow] to feel and then pull on the electricity created by Randall¡¯s skill. She drew it into the Bobomon¡¯s heart, where she felt it doing damage. The Bobomon choked, then spat blood. He swung with an open hand to hit Andrea, but Brittney had arrived, and his fist was redirected as she used [Deflect] along with [Firm Stance] to keep from being knocked away.


    ¡°[Turn Away],¡± announced Tom, as he used the skill. It wasn¡¯t strong enough to completely distract the war stomper, however it was enough to cause its eyes to flick to the side. He had already used the skills [Long Reach] to lengthen the area of damage from his sword and [Quick Step] to get in close. Then Tom released [Quick Strike] and the lengthened blade pierced through the boss¡¯s right eye.


    ¡°[Step Back],¡± roared the Bobomon in anger as he flashed in red from the skill use. Without needing to balance or to get control of himself, his skill took him 20 feet away from them. Blood seeped from his tail, drizzled from the spear still in his neck, and dripped from his mouth. The blood sizzled as it hit the ground, steaming.


    ¡°You primitive native!¡± the invader shouted furiously. ¡°You think you are my match?! You think your skills and classes can compare to mine?! I will crunch your bones and feast upon the marrow within!¡±


    ¡°Primitive?¡± scoffed Tom. ¡°Have you even looked at the d¨¦cor in here?¡±


    ¡°Mock all you like, for now you have made me mad!¡±


    ¡°And we wouldn¡¯t like it when you are mad?¡± asked Brittney in a teasing voice. Abbey kept giving her heals whenever she took a hit, so she was feeling fresh for more fighting.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t like him when he wasn¡¯t mad,¡± retorted Alissa.


    ¡°Still you jape? You pathetic specks will die! Feel my signature skill, [War Stomp]!¡±


    The Bobomon flashed red as his foot struck the ground like a clap of thunder. Everyone in the room, including the Leputi and dying den mother were thrown 10 feet into the air.


    ¡°[Step forward]!¡±


    Like when the Bobomon retreated, this time he appeared in their midst. He swung his club sideways, looking to hit everyone in a circle around him.


    ¡°[Steady Ally]!¡± shouted Brittney, righting everyone in the air as they prepared for the hit.


    ¡°[Ascending Vitality],¡± announced Alissa, giving everyone a sudden infusion of durability.


    ¡°[Toughness], [Proper Stance],¡± used Lucas to increase his own durability and put himself in a position to attack even in the air. Randall had already gotten out of the way using [Thunder Crash] to drop to the ground, releasing a burst of electricity around himself that hit the big invader¡¯s leg.


    Lucas was second in the line of the Bobomon¡¯s swing, and he swung his own hammer, striking it against the club. The stone club chipped but didn¡¯t break, while Lucas¡¯s hammer bent. It did enough to disrupt the club¡¯s swing.


    While most were easily landing on the ground, Randall rushed forward once again using his skills to thrust and hack at the tail. Andrea didn¡¯t need to be on the ground to use her [Volt Cutter] as she chained the attack in the invader¡¯s face, scorching his nose and remaining eye.


    Tom used [Baffle], and the big guy froze for just a moment, shaking his head minutely to disrupt the skill¡¯s effect. The attacks continued. He swatted at them, and swung his club, but speed was not his forte. The group couldn¡¯t do large damage, but they were leading to a death from a thousand cuts scenario.


    Those who were quick would dodge in and out to strike. Brittney always seemed to arrive in time using [By Your Side] to get there quickly. Alissa would [Quick Step] in and then [Take Life] or throw empowered [Water Ball] when she had to stay back. All this while Elias shifted people around or shot spells and Andrea flung lightning.


    Ashtala couldn¡¯t believe it. The warriors were holding their own. She had landed roughly from the [War Stomp], though she had seen Adam pop straight in the air, arms still folded and landing in exactly the same position. Abbey had even cast a [Mid Heal] on her after her fall to make sure she was fine.


    Their power might have been lacking but they were supporting each other and using complimentary strikes to do more damage. They also didn¡¯t seem to be slowing down while the Bobomon was flailing, not showing any technique to his attacks. Ashtala marveled as she watched, until she heard Adam speaking.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± he asked Joseph harshly as he hobbled up.


    ¡°My arm¡¯s broken,¡± muttered the slouching and bleeding man.


    ¡°So what?¡± asked Adam while staring at him.


    ¡°My spear is too.¡±


    ¡°And that¡¯s enough to stop you?¡± taunted Adam.


    Ed had been coming closer and used [Reduce Wounds] to improve the arm and then [Purifying Heal]. Abbey also hit him with a ranged [Walk it Off!] and [Mid Heal]. After that Joseph was standing as if he was fine, even though his armor was dented and there was blood all over him.Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.


    ¡°Dude, you sound like my dad,¡± complained Joseph.


    ¡°Your dad talks like that?¡±


    ¡°No, not really. He would have grunted and given up. He also doesn¡¯t give me nice things like you do,¡± admitted Joseph.


    ¡°Well, add this to the list of gifts,¡± said Adam as he handed over the broken handle of his war hammer. Joseph hefted it.


    ¡°It¡¯ll do. Can I get a lift?¡± asked Joseph.


    ¡°Now you sound like a kid,¡± teased Adam, though he put his hands together, interlacing his fingers.


    Joseph jumped into the hands and Adam threw him with velocity at the Bobomon¡¯s face. Skills were used, [Sturdy Weapon], [Multi-strike], and [Deadly Penetration], as the war hammer handle was speared right into the invader¡¯s open eye. Joseph sank up to his elbow, all of him coated by the liquids that sprayed out from the impact.


    The strike caused the war stomper to stumble backwards, where the damage Randall had been doing to his tail came into play as it bent back further than it should have. The boss actually whined as it fell onto his back, tail further ripping off.


    Then all the warriors set upon him with vigor. Ashtala watched as even the supports rushed forward and stabbed, hit, or cast into the large body that was squirming on the ground.


    ¡°You too,¡± Adam said, startling Ashtala. She looked down at the squiggly knife that he offered to her. She swallowed hard while looking up into his face.


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± she asked, disbelieving anyone in the universe would have shared this XP with dead weight.


    Adam just nodded at her and then went back to watching the end of the fight. Both Ashtala and Rahsha rushed to the body and found safe spots to stab, getting very little penetration, but doing enough damage.


    Ashtala screaming as she stabbed. All her emotions, all the oppression she had felt through her life, and all the sorrow that she didn¡¯t know she contained came out in those screams and stabs. Even after a kill notification appeared she continued to vent on the corpse in front of her.


    Bobomon ¡°War Stomper [42]¡± slain. 30,825 shared XP gained.


    ¡°Wow, that is a lot of XP. It gave me a whole level,¡± marveled Randall.


    ¡°The dogs seem to give us three times as much for their level,¡± said Brandon as the group made their way over to the den mother and took turns getting their hits on it.


    ¡°Three heads? Maybe three times the levels?¡± speculated Brittney.


    ¡°It is unknown why, but the Carthraga gain levels three times faster than other creatures,¡± said Ashtala, panting while getting control of her emotions. ¡°I¡¯ve never killed them, or heard of it, so I don¡¯t know about gaining three times as much XP from killing them. However, they must have that amount stored within.¡±


    Carthraga ¡°Den Mother [38]¡± slain. 87,478 shared XP gained.


    ***


    The Rift pillar was in the room they had fought in, next to the stone throne. Adam couldn¡¯t think of a less comfortable chair. He was beginning to wonder how backwards all these races were, focusing on only war and levels instead of comforts.


    Only one door came off this room, and it led through an even larger tunnel to more large doors. There were hundreds of yips and high-pitched howls that could be heard even before they arrived at the sealed door. Everyone was on alert, and the two Leputi hid behind the humans.


    When Adam pushed the door open, everyone stood stunned. There were hundreds of the three headed dogs, except they were all small level zero pups. They were separated into groups of 14 by round rock outcrops, keeping each pack separate from each other. Each pack has the remains of meat in them and some fluid that was definitely not water.


    The group spread out and walked through the pathways between the packs. The little pups seemed to lack the aggressiveness or violence of their leveled counterparts. Alissa and Andrea, even Abbey, reached down to pet them. The pups seemed fine with being touched, even climbing over each other to get to their hands. All the while Rahsha stood behind Alissa, gripping her robe for dear life and whimpering warnings to her.


    Ashtala waited by, or rather behind, the door. She wasn¡¯t even willing to enter the room.


    ¡°I think we found some beasts for Gerald to work on taming,¡± Adam said. There were a lot of nods in agreement.


    ¡°This would be quite a force for us if we can bring them up right,¡± agreed Lucas. ¡°I¡¯m sure we have people accustomed to working with animals that we can bring in.¡±


    As Adam continued to walk through the packs of Cartraga pups, he heard one voice different than the rest. A whimper and whine sounded out from a nearby group. Thirteen of the pups were yipping at Adam like in the other groups, but the last pup was smaller and looked like it was starving.


    When Adam reached down, he noticed that the pup had a malformed front right paw. Its toes hadn¡¯t grown properly, and the paw was much smaller, affecting its ability to walk. Curiously, he reached towards it.


    The right head tried to pull away from his hand, the middle head growled, and the left head bit his hand. The teeth couldn¡¯t get through his skill since it was only level zero. Adam pulled out some jerky from one of his pouches. He put a piece in his own mouth, and then broke another piece into three, offering them to all the heads. The middle head wouldn¡¯t eat it, but the other two did. After that he spent a bit of time feeding them and sharing some of his water.


    When he felt like the pup was acting affectionately towards him, Adam put the pup in his large front pocket, where it was able to peek out. The items in it were moved to his other pockets, or he ate them right there to make space.


    Out of the corner of his eyes, Adam noticed that most of the group was watching him. Except for Tom, who was suddenly enthusiastic about sorting through the Carthraga pups until he found one to his liking and shoved it into his pack along with some of the meat that the beasts had been eating. Adam just shook his head and tried to ignore it.


    He also didn¡¯t mention the affection he felt through his connections with the girls at the cuteness of him sitting and taking care of the infirmed animal. Or the looks of terror from the bunny girl peeking around the door to the room.


    ***


    ¡°Excuse my intrusion, your Excellency,¡± Ashtala addressed Adam nervously. He was getting ready to claim the Rift control crystal for this base, stopping for her. ¡°It may be impertinent of me, but I was curious how your warriors were able to defeat an enemy so much stronger than them.¡±


    ¡°Two reasons. First, it was a good matchup for them. Strong and arrogant but slow is easier to overcome than too fast. They would have had a more difficult time against the den mother and no chance against both,¡± he explained.


    ¡°What is the second reason?¡± asked Ashtala.


    ¡°There is an advantage that natives can get. I¡¯m not sure invaders know about it, so I think I¡¯ll keep it to myself,¡± said Adam. ¡°It won¡¯t be as much of an advantage if they knew.¡±


    ¡°If that is your wish,¡± Ashtala said, disappointment tinging her voice.


    Adam touched the control crystal to the pillar.


    Owner of Dimensional Convergence Rift has died¡­


    ¡­no new Inheritor found. Ownership presented to possessor of Control Node.


    Would you like to take Ownership of this Dimensional Convergence Rift?


    [ Yes / No ]


    Adam selected Yes.


    Ownership of Dimensional Convergence Rift has been taken by a native. Invasion ended.


    ¡­All natives included in Dimensional Convergence Rift will receive the title ¡°Invasion Conqueror¡±.


    Invasion Conqueror


    For defeating an enemy of your planet and preventing their rampage from continuing you will receive +2 to all stats. Claiming more Dimensional Convergence Rifts will increase this title.


    This was the 14th Rift that the group had taken. They had 28 more of each stat thanks to that plus 5% to all stats the initial title had given them. Adam smiled inside. This was still just the beginning. There were so many more Rifts for his team to conquer. The voice inside his soul, where the corruption came from, felt quite pleased with him.


    With the progress of his team, 6 more levels for each of them and the information they would gain from the Leputi, they were in a better position against the invaders. The only thing that could make this better would be if Nick and Lamar were here to grow with them.

 CH 111: On Our Own, with Everyone Else

    CHAPTER 111: On Our Own, with Everyone Else


    ¡°I just need to delay them, then survive,¡± Nick told himself in his head.


    Watching the Scyrric and those freaky mounts jump glide towards him at probably 90 miles per hour was definitely not on his bucket list. His adrenaline was rushing through his body and fear was trying to freeze his muscles and mind, if he let it.


    The beasts only rose a few inches off the ground, but the way they were using their skills completely defied the laws of physics. If they didn¡¯t have skills, Nick wasn¡¯t even sure they would be able to walk carrying so much weight, let alone jump. He had also finally seen the head of the creatures. It was a small thing compared to the body, sagging down from the shoulders, resembling an orca whale head.


    The first part of Nick¡¯s plan to delay them was already strung across the road. He had gotten Garrett to make him several spools of wire crafted from Testudinate metal. The wire was so strong it could have cut through a tank. Nick hadn¡¯t decided why he wanted it when he asked Garrett, he just decided to embrace his inner assassin. Wire for garroting or traps seemed good to have.


    Now one of those spools of wire was strung across the highway, tied to railings and cement barriers. Since the wire could cut through Earth materials, Nick just hoped it would last long enough. Or kill the first few. That would be helpful too.


    The second part of Nick¡¯s plan was a lot less optimistic. It was him fighting. Alone. Against 40 of the bulky lizard men and their beasts. He didn¡¯t think he¡¯d be able to stab enough of the enemies to slow them from catching Lamar and Swan.


    Nick watched with anticipation as the first row of beast riders approached his trip line. Three beasts hit it. The top of their front legs caught, and they stumbled forward. The next row ran into them. That was all.


    A few were tangled in the wire as it ripped free from where it was tied and snapped towards them, thanks to the pull of the beasts colliding at speed. However, they barely even suffered cuts from it. Only small beads of green blood came from where they had hit the wire.


    Nick frowned. Plan B it was. He wasn¡¯t very confident in this plan. Moving into the path that the riders were taking, Nick readied his knives.


    He let one go by, just to feel the timing of their speed. Unfortunately, his stealth wasn¡¯t as strong as he thought. Before the first rider had even gone by, the Scyrric¡¯s tail flicked out towards him and knocked him back ten feet to land painfully on his butt.


    The Scyrric guided his mount into a u-turn, and five more riders broke off to follow. The rest of the riders continued onward, and the ones that had stumbled were already on their feet and leap-gliding forwards.


    ¡°You think that puny skill can stop the mighty Scyrric¡¯s senses?¡± hissed the lizard man. ¡°You cannot fool us, or hide from us, pathetic native.¡±


    Laughing came from the other Scyrric that were now surrounding him. They weren¡¯t jump-gliding anymore, just casually walking around in a circle.


    ¡°Pathetic.¡±


    ¡°No chance.¡±


    ¡°Surrender now.¡±


    They all kept hissing at him in barely understandable English. For a second, Nick wanted to ponder how they had even learned English, but that distraction would just lead to death.


    When one of the Scyrric steered his mount close to get a kick in on Nick, he was ready. [Target Weakness] would increase the power when hitting a vulnerable spot, and [Deep Cut] would allow him to drive his knife further in.


    Instead of avoiding the beast moving towards him, Nick dashed towards it, sinking his knife into the armpit of its front limb. The beast bellowed a warbling cry and pitched forward onto its face, throwing the Scyrric off its back. The next beast had to dodge outside of the circle they were following to not run into it.


    Nick took that opportunity and ran. He could pick up speed faster than the beasts, even if they could reach higher top speeds. Leaping over the highway barriers, Nick headed into the woods, using [Dim Presence] and [Mask Signs] as soon as he was out of their sight.


    His heart beat so loudly that Nick thought they¡¯d find him due to it. Calming down was way harder than when a game was on the line and they were counting on him. This was a level of stress that he couldn¡¯t believe anyone would be calm in.


    Then he thought of Adam. What would Adam do? Adam his friend would have stayed away from this situation. He wouldn¡¯t have explored the invader base. That Adam would have felt nothing to prove and would have run with the kids as soon as he found them.


    Adam The General, on the other hand, wouldn¡¯t be scared of this situation. He¡¯d be angry, and that anger would power him to crush this pack of invaders. That Adam would attack and end the invaders here with everything he had, ignoring any injuries he might take.


    While Nick was trying to calm himself, to get his breathing under control, a lizard foot came around the tree and kicked him in the side. Nick crumbled sideways from the strength of the blow and was knocked into a tree. His shoulder jammed as he struck it hard. The claws of the Scyrric had snagged on his armor, but the armor made of the feral behemoth didn¡¯t rip and managed to absorb some of the impacts.


    Nick glared at the lizard. Vitality was a low stat for Nick. Surviving hits like that wasn¡¯t his focus. Agility was. Speed. He was at 194 Agility and no slouch with strength at 125. The lizard that kicked him had a higher strength but there was no way any of these invaders could match his speed.


    Anger. Anger seemed like the way to go now. No stealth, no sneaking. It was time to fight like Adam. Anger rolled over Nick. He ignored the pain in his shoulder and pulled both his knives. Then he dove towards another tree.


    The trees might have obscured him from view, but the Scyrric seemed to have other ways of finding him, like smell. Plus, the trees obscured them from his view as well.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Nick leaped and grabbed a branch. A Scyrric lunged from around a tree after him but missed. Nick came down on his neck, kicking the lizard into the ground. Then he dodged sideways as a sword swung at him. He pivoted his body, spinning around the tree and then rolled away from the tree and a clawed hand trying to grab him.


    Then he was back on his feet. With his agility, before the Scyrric had pulled its arm back, Nick stabbed him, dragging a blade down the Scyrric¡¯s forearm. The blade cut, but not as much as he hoped, finding the lizard skin and their small scales did a lot to protect them.


    Then another Scyrric step out, blocking the path between trees. The large sword was impractical in this setting as there wasn¡¯t much room to swing it. Nick feinted towards him as the strength-based Scyrric bit, swinging his sword right into the tree.


    Nick had already avoided the swing, once more jumping up and grabbing higher branches. Then he came down, daggers first, driving them into the Scyrric¡¯s neck. Green blood splattered out, but he didn¡¯t have the time to finish the invader before he was body checked by another.


    Making like he was going to jump into another tree, the Scyrric prepared for him to go up. Instead of pushing upwards from his squad, he kicked off forward, dashing between two of the invaders, trying to slice their legs as he went. His knives barely tore their clothes, but he was off, leading them on a chase through the trees.


    He might not be able to overpower them, like Adam would, but he could hit and run. The Scyrric didn¡¯t seem especially clever in their tactics or the terrain. Nick might still have a chance.


    ***


    ¡°Whatever you do, keep driving,¡± Lamar shouted over the wind tearing past them.


    ¡°What do you mean, keep driving?! There are hundreds of them,¡± yelled Swan in panic.


    The mounted Scyrric hadn¡¯t caught up to them yet, so Nick must have slowed them some, and he was quite worried for his friend. However, the vehicles packing the road and coming at them were the more immediate concern.


    Lamar didn¡¯t respond to Swan¡¯s shouting since he had already climbed out the back of the truck and was holding himself up, even through the windshear. Swan had slowed down as she watched him in the rear-view mirror. Ignoring her terrified looks, Lamar leaned by the side of the truck and began waving his left arm.


    Only a moment passed before the vehicles began shifting, even as they drove fast. Cars, trucks, and motorcycles moved around each other to make a truck sized path for Swan. Swan almost swerved as she went from watching Lamar to looking back ahead, making sure she didn¡¯t hit the oncoming cars.


    ¡°Keep driving,¡± Lamar yelled one final time and then jumped off the back of the truck, shocking Swan again.


    He landed roughly, but rolled to his feet, suffering only a few scrapes thanks to his leather armor. With a solid 76 Vitality and 150 in Agility that allowed him to manipulate his body in the air, Lamar had been confident of not becoming street pizza. The asphalt took more damage than he did.


    As he rolled to his feet, the vehicles slowed down. Lamar held out an arm and a motorcycle in the lead of the motorcade came up beside him. The driver grabbed his arm and swung him to the back of the seat.


    ¡°What¡¯s the situation, Huntsman?¡± asked the man. Lamar recognized him as one of Tom¡¯s fanatics in the General¡¯s Guard. The whole group was from the Sentinel Army, and he recognized many of the soldiers. Seeing so many here to support him filled Lamar with relief that Adam didn¡¯t just leave them behind.


    ¡°It¡¯s bad. Up to 40 mounted pursuers. The Unseen Death tried to slow them and probably needs support, but we¡¯ll need to handle those coming at us first,¡± explained Lamar, feeling silly using Nick¡¯s appointment title, but knowing these Guard would respond better to it.


    ¡°Roger, Huntsman,¡± said the man, who then pulled a radio and began giving orders. When he was done on the radio, he asked about the truck.


    ¡°The driver is with me. We¡¯ll need to get her and the kids back to Jackson.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ***


    When the Scyrric reached their position, instead of finding one truck to chase, they found an archer, standing in the middle of the road. His bow was drawn back, and he looked calm as could be. He stood there ready to make a last stand, alone.


    The Scyrric would have laughed at him, except for the 200 other natives standing behind him. Shield bearers, warriors with weapons drawn, more archers, and plenty of mages. All were still and waiting.


    Thoughts of retreating flashed through the Scyrric¡¯s mind and were ignored. They were the mighty Scyrric! There was nothing to worry about a group of natives. No matter how many low level pawns the aberration had scraped together, they couldn¡¯t stand against even one unit of groomed Scyrric fighters, let alone two. The Scyrric spurred on his mount, urging it to go faster.


    Then the archer, the aberration¡¯s servant, released his arrow. Even at this speed the arrow flew true and practically exploded the head of his mount. The body dropped and its great girth slid across the road. The Scyrric was pitched forward, painfully rolling on the hard ground, but one arrow wasn¡¯t going to stop him. He rolled to his feet ready to enjoy the slaughter he would bring.


    Then the slaughter came, but not as he expected. With the release of that arrow also came more arrows and magic. Earth spikes thrust from the ground. Fireballs and Wind Blades bit into his body and assaulted the others from his unit.


    Bleeding and unable to move forward, the Scyrric looked up and saw the archer in the front. Their eyes locked. The Scyrric saw something in them that he couldn¡¯t believe. These natives weren¡¯t scared. They weren¡¯t subservient, like they should be. This archer thought as little for the Scyrric as the Scyrric did for the natives.


    Then the archer released another arrow and the Scyrric thought nothing at all.


    ***


    Nick had led the Scyrric on a good chase. He had managed to kill four of the six, and two of their beasts. If an enemy bested four of his friends in a fight, then he would have considered the enemy strong. Unfortunately, now Nick was on his back, one of the Scyrric standing over him.


    The Scyrric was bleeding from a few cuts, but unlike Adam, Nick couldn¡¯t regenerate his own wounds from the dripping blood. One of his arms was broken, the other pinned by the lizard man¡¯s foot. One of his sides felt like a giant bruise and the muscles on that side weren¡¯t firing properly.


    ¡°This is why you should have surrendered to your betters to begin with,¡± snarled the Scyrric.


    ¡°Whatever. I took out way more of you before you got me. Which of us is better?¡± Nick quipped, though he didn¡¯t really feel into it. The point of the sword hovering over him dampened any sense of victory he might have.


    He took a deep breath, then wondered if he would have any last words even if the invader asked for them.


    In the side of Nick¡¯s vision, a dead leaf on the road twitched. He frowned at it. It was shaking gently. His whole body was hurting so he couldn¡¯t feel much else, but it seemed like something was vibrating the leaf.


    Nick tilted his head backwards, looking at the road upside down in the direction where his friend had escaped. He expected to see the Scyrric mounts returning from their hunt. Instead, he grew a great big grin and looked back up at the invader lording above him.


    ¡°Has your mind broken from despair?¡± hissed the Scyrric. ¡°Death comes now.¡±


    ¡°It sure does,¡± said Nick with a laugh. ¡°¡­for you.¡±


    The Scyrric looked up in time to see the arrow that plunged into his eye and then out the back of his head. The force of the shot knocked him backwards, away from Nick. Nick rolled to the side as another arrow flew into the head of one of the mounts. He would swear those were getting more powerful.


    ¡°Took you long enough,¡± said Nick to Lamar, perched on top of the hood of the truck as it slowed to a stop next to him. It was certainly impressive to Nick that Lamar could shoot like that while on one knee riding a fast-moving truck.


    ¡°I needed more people if I was going to throw a party,¡± said Lamar, sliding off the hood and helping to support his injured friend.


    ¡°What happened? Why did they all come?¡± asked Nick as hundreds of vehicles showed up. People slid out of the cars, and many went on to look at the Scyrric and dissect the mounts for anything that might be valuable. Three healers came over to make sure Nick and Lamar got the treatment they needed.


    ¡°Adam was concerned for us. He didn¡¯t abandon us,¡± Lamar said with a big grin, which was answered by Nick¡¯s own smile.

 CH 112: A Swan鈥檚 Song

    CHAPTER 112: A Swan¡¯s Song


    It was unbelievable. It had been one unbelievable thing after the next; invasions, aliens, the fall of humanity. Things hadn¡¯t started scary, but as the people of Thompson¡¯s Station had been dragged off in groups, the terror had truly started.


    Huddled in that closed room with barely any food or air flow, having to keep the children calm and quiet when inside, Swan had been constantly panicking. They had to drink dirty water and rely on magic to survive. Any sound could have meant they would be found, and Carson wouldn¡¯t stop sneaking out to go exploring.


    Then Nick and Lamar found them. They battled monsters, showing that the two of them were capable. Except Swan had seen the end of the world on the news. She had listened to the end of her own town and people. There was nowhere to go and nothing to be done.


    When Lamar had come, he was seriously injured and the two were on the run, that much was obvious. They said they fought the invaders. They claimed to have an army at their back. That they were fighting back behind some mighty leader.


    She might have wanted to believe their claims, but she didn¡¯t. They were dirty and bloody and seemed more like scavengers than anything. Taking the children with them just left Swan thinking of what they really wanted and where they were going. Were they being taken to more invaders? Were they going to be abused by other humans. The thoughts of doom wouldn¡¯t stop.


    If not for Nick forcibly throwing the kids into the truck in a panic, Swan never would have gone with them. She was useful as a healer, which she assumed was why they got her more levels, and might be able to survive whatever horrible people took her, but that couldn¡¯t be said of the children. In a world without steady food and water, more mouths to feed were a problem.


    For a single day Swan had been acquainted with the two vagabonds. The slow death while hiding had turned into a rush for their lives, riding in a truck at barely controllable speeds with monsters chasing after them all. Suddenly she missed the dark, suffocating room and their dirty water. With unchristian like words, she cursed the appearance of the first humans to arrive since the end of the world began.


    That was why she had been unsurprised when Nick jumped, claiming he would slow down the monsters. Lamar acted like he believed the scumbag. Swan saw it for what it was, shedding the dead weight to sneak away. A self-serving man to the end.


    While Lamar had spoken with more respect and nobility, that just meant he was a better con man than Nick, no matter how good looking and well-mannered he was. In another age, where the world wasn¡¯t being threatened, she might have been interested in him. Getting to know him at the least, but it wasn¡¯t that kind of world anymore. Trust was gone, along with most of the people.


    She was waiting for him to bail on them too. Maybe the entire ploy of getting her and the children on the road had been a distraction for the invaders, to buy the two of them time to run. It¡¯s what she would expect from the unholy when the morals of society were no longer backed by law enforcement.


    Unfortunately, at no point was Swan able to say no to them. They were strong. Nick had demonstrated that when he caught her so easily. They were also familiar with violence. There was no way to fight back when she knew the kids would be the ones to suffer the most. Since coming out of that church to try and protect the kids, Swan¡¯s fight or flight was as high as could be. An adrenaline panic that wouldn¡¯t calm down.


    Then more cars showed up. The vehicles were all mish mashed, but that didn¡¯t matter as they drove fast and with a purpose, coming right towards her. That was when she knew it was the end. When she knew that Lamar was ready to run. He even climbed out the back of the truck and waved to the other cars, telling her to sacrifice herself for him, to keep driving towards them.


    Except that wasn¡¯t what happened. She watched in the rearview mirror as Lamar did what even CGI and Hollywood magic would have a hard time coordinating, and he did it effortlessly. The jump off a car going 70 mph, rolling to his feet, and then attacking the enemies. It was heroic and amazing on a level that outdid most action movies.


    Quickly she lost sight of him as she drove through the path opened by the cars and trucks. Two motorcycle riders pulled on either side of her and brought her to the back of the crowd of vehicles, then indicated for her to stop. The one who spoke to her made sure they all stayed with the group, briefly explaining that they didn¡¯t want to get separated if more invaders were around.


    The next time she saw Lamar, he was carrying an injured Nick to where three healers, at a much higher level than her, waited. Hundreds of people milled around. They took up positions around the group, setting a perimeter. They checked the condition of the vehicles. A few dragged the invaders and their mounts, including some from the woods that apparently Nick had killed, within the group¡¯s protection to loot and cut apart.


    Quite a few people also came forward and tried to care for the kids. The children and the truck were cleaned of the vomit from the flight using water magic. Snacks, preserved food, and clean water were offered to them. A few men and women were even reassuring and cuddled the terrified children.


    Swan didn¡¯t know what to think. Lamar had told her the truth. He did have an army at his back, and every man and woman wore the same symbols, no matter what type of armor or clothing they had. There was an Earth over their hearts and a man holding a hammer on their chests.


    ¡°You did well,¡± Lamar said coming over to her.


    ¡°Hell yeah, she did,¡± exclaimed Nick. ¡°Do you know how hard it was to drive that truck that fast? She doesn¡¯t even have our physical stats. Nice work, Swan.¡±


    She was surprised by Nick¡¯s praise. It was like he was a whole different person, with a huge boyish grin spread across his face as he watched the others performing their tasks. Even though he looked like hell with red blood on his face and armor and was shaking off a limp.


    While she tried to reconcile what had just happened with her previous thoughts about them, giving herself permission to calm down from her hours of panic, one of the men came over to them.


    ¡°Unseen Death, Huntsman, sirs,¡± the man saluted them. Swan wasn¡¯t sure where to put that. Those titles seemed over the top, but the way they were being treated made her concerned that they were actually a bigger deal than she realized. Even with their ease at dispatching a group of 20 lizard men, they had been so casual around her, like they had bumped into each other at the grocery store.


    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± asked the man.


    Nick got serious before answering, once more throwing Swan¡¯s perception of him out of sorts.


    ¡°We have an invader base. They sent at least three more squads like the one that we just faced, so we can expect incoming. Or a few invaders to hunt,¡± said Nick. The last bit earned a smile on the other man¡¯s face. Swan went back to wondering how safe she really was with these people.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    ¡°The invaders are the lizard men called Scyrric,¡± Lamar picked up the explanation. ¡°They¡¯re supremacists and captured the whole population of Thompson Station. They¡¯re executing them to make a point to the Unseen Death and I.¡±


    ¡°Is a raid on them possible?¡± asked the man.


    ¡°We need more reinforcements for it. I don¡¯t know how many invaders there are, but we need to act quickly,¡± said Nick.


    ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll notify headquarters. What about the children and this woman?¡±


    Lamar quickly jumped up, surprising Swan with how forceful it sounded. ¡°She¡¯s with me. Make sure she and the kids get to Jackson. They¡¯ll be traumatized so get them some help.¡±


    The man saluted again. ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ***


    That was how Swan found herself in an amazing condo in a building in the center of a militarized area. It didn¡¯t take her long to know it belongs to Lamar. The man must have misunderstood something when Lamar said she was with him. Though when she thought about how heroic and amazing he had been¡­


    About 50 men and women had escorted them back to Jackson. It had only taken about two hours. They drove at more reasonable speeds and the children were given a lot of attention, clearly by people used to finding traumatized survivors. She had made a note of that.


    Upon arriving, the children had been taken to a facility together and Swan had been reassured they¡¯d be taken care of before they led her here. What had surprised Swan the most was just the sheer number of people still living in the city, with no invader attacks so far. They expected them, and prepared for them, but had been safe so far.


    During the drive Swan was regaled by one woman about how the Sentinel Army was helping everyone get strong. They were trying to make sure as many humans could fight and defend as possible, while the leaders went above and beyond even that. She heard tales of Lamar¡¯s group, led by the powerful General. Over and over she heard from the fanatical woman how it was all thanks to him.


    It turned out Lamar was also a big deal, as was Nick. They were the originals and the most respected of those who fought the invaders. The General had thought they were dead, and all those people who had rescued them had been sent out as soon as the General realized they were alive.


    She didn¡¯t want to be intrusive in Lamar¡¯s condo, however she looked around the immaculate living area. There was only one bed, everything was clean, a well-stocked fridge, and a few pictures with Lamar or what was probably his family, and then an amazing shower. She didn¡¯t care about being intrusive when she decided to make use of the shower, wondering how badly she smelled.


    There was nice smelling soap and shampoo, and gloriously hot water. The rest of the world had lost hot water, but she was able to luxuriate in it. Needless to say, it was a very long shower.


    When she got out, several pairs of clothing almost her perfect size were left nearby, as if a concierge service was trying to appease her. She put on fresh underwear, jeans, and a sweatshirt for the first time in six weeks.


    Her mind was in shock, and the stress of the day had taken a toll. Exhaustion hit her even though she was waiting for the other shoe to drop. Uncertain about what to do, honestly a little frightened to meet more of these people, and not yet hungry enough to go looking for food, she sat on the sofa and pulled a throw blanket up over her. Without meaning to, she fell asleep as soon as her head rested on a cushion.


    ***


    Knocking sounded from the door. It was a solid sound without any echo. Swan roused on the sofa. As her heavy lids slowly lifted and took in the room, she suddenly panicked, forgetting where she was.


    The knocking repeated after a moment. Not sure what to do, Swan walked over and opened the door. Outside it was a teenage girl.


    ¡°Hi! I¡¯m Emily,¡± the girl said, without a care in the world.


    ¡°Hello, Emily. I¡¯m Swan,¡± Swan spoke almost suspiciously. ¡°Can I help you?¡±


    ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry. I live in the building and heard you had a rough time before they rescued you. I¡¯m throwing a party and thought you might want to get to know a few people around here, maybe ask whatever questions you have. Very little is kept secret,¡± said Emily cheerful.


    ¡°Heard from who?¡± questioned Swan.


    ¡°My parents work for the Sentinel Army and often help with new arrivals,¡± Emily answered. It sounded reasonable to Swan.


    Swan didn¡¯t know how long she had slept but was still tired. She could probably sleep for two and a half days and still be tired. Yet the awkwardness of living in Lamar¡¯s space got to her, so she agreed to follow the girl.


    Once in the elevator, Emily took them to the top floor. Swan was still blurry with heavy eyes, not noticing the signs when they exited. She followed Emily into a place and stopped dead.


    This was not some place she should be. This was a mansion in the clouds. Never would she have thought she¡¯d be in such an amazing place. The kitchen had cooks, though they did frown at Emily and her rowdy teenage friends. There were video games, even with the apocalypse going on, and movies. Large hang out rooms with billiard tables and comfortable looking chairs. There was even a pool on the balcony.


    This place didn¡¯t belong to just anyone and it felt like she had just been dragged somewhere she shouldn¡¯t be, especially as a 22-year-old surrounded by teens. She ate a bit of food, and the cooks gave her a sympathetic look, instead of the unhappy ones they gave to the teens. Swan was dreading when the owner came back.


    ***


    A short while later, Swan was sipping on some juice, staying out of the way from the teens. She had very quickly decided she didn¡¯t like most of them, though was unsure on Emily. The girl had spoked with her a few times, telling her things about the area and the people, though refusing to answer regarding who owned this place. The teens seemed like intentional troublemakers who knew they were causing problems for others and did it for that reason.


    Then the door opened. In he walked.


    Swan wasn¡¯t near the door, but she had a clear view of it. In walked a boy¡­or a man. She wasn¡¯t sure of his age. There was a weathered feel about him, as if he had been through more than most grown men should. He looked young but had three scars from his nose to jaw, as well as a few on his chin and cheek. His arms were also covered with painful looking scars.


    He wore metal armor with rough leather coming out the edges and it was splattered with blood. All of him had blood on it. He was sweaty and dirty, as if just returning from a long military campaign.


    The man¡¯s face was alright looking except for the scars, though he wasn¡¯t nearly as handsome as Lamar. Even Nick, Swan admitted internally, was much better looking than this man. Though his neatly cut and styled hair, that had held up to whatever had made him so filthy, made him look like an actor waiting to film his scene. However, there was a presence about him that chilled her to the bone.


    A scowl was on his face as he looked at the party goers. He sniffed the air and sighed in disappointed. Slowly he looked around. Then his eyes caught Swan¡¯s and they narrowed.


    The intensity of his eyes, practically burning with fire, caused Swan¡¯s breath to catch. Her terror had come back. She couldn¡¯t breathe or move. He held her gaze.


    Then suddenly she thought about what had led her to be in that church room. She practically relived her day with Lamar and Nick, zoning out so heavily that the memories were more than just vivid. She was reliving them. When she remembered Emily inviting her, it was as if a spell was broken and she could think for herself again.


    The man was looking at her but no longer with the fury from before. Now he seemed like just some disinterested bloke waiting for someone else in a bar.


    ¡°Sorry. You¡¯ve been through a lot, but I had to be sure,¡± the man said as he came over to talk to her.


    ¡°Sure of what?¡± asked Swan, almost scared to know.


    ¡°That you weren¡¯t sent by the invaders.¡±


    ¡°You can check that?¡± she swallowed heavily at what that implied.


    ¡°Somewhat,¡± he nodded. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to keep people safe.¡±


    ¡°This mansion in the sky is your place isn¡¯t it?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± nodded the man. ¡°Emily is my sister. She keeps breaking in for parties to piss me off.¡±


    ¡°Sorry I¡¯m here then,¡± apologized Swan.


    ¡°It¡¯s fine. I could keep her out if it was too much of a problem,¡± he admitted.


    ¡°Why do you let her do this then?¡± asked Swan, feeling distasteful about it.


    ¡°To keep her focused on something safe. She¡¯s angry at me, but she¡¯s one of the reasons I do all this. To protect her. A little harassment isn¡¯t enough for me to stop.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re him, aren¡¯t you,¡± asked Swan with realization.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°The General.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m Adam Clemens. It¡¯s nice to meet you, Swan. Let us know if you need things. I¡¯m glad Nick and Lamar were able to save you,¡± he said with a weariness, though his words seemed genuine. ¡°And please don¡¯t be too harsh on Nick. He was having a rough few days too.¡±


    Swan swallowed hard. This man knew her thoughts and memories. That was as scary as anything else she had experienced.


    ¡°Now if you¡¯ll excuse me,¡± Adam said as he started to turn. ¡°Fido and I need a shower.¡±


    ¡°Fido?¡± Swan regretted it as soon as she asked.


    Adam reached into a large pocket and pulled out a dozing three headed puppy that barely fit in his hand.


    As soon as Adam was gone, Swan rushed back to Lamar¡¯s room to huddle under the blanket. She might have felt like she was intruding in his condo, but that was way safer than intruding anywhere else she had been today.

 CH 113: What Invader?

    CHAPTER 113: What Invader?


    Adam lowered himself into his chair in a slow, imperious way. The last week had been his worst since the invasions occurred and he wanted to regain control of their progress, his people, and most especially himself. Even without his full forces they had made gains since the failed raid, gaining the Leputi and Bobomon bases, as well as the large number of Carthraga to train for their own uses. Most of all, they now had a source of information about the [System] and the rules they needed to play within.


    He had been quite pleased when he was told that the reinforcements that had been sent to find Lamar and Nick had indeed found them, and just in the nick of time too. Those forces were now controlled by the two from his group to scout the possibilities of rescuing the humans they had found, while reinforcements from the base were preparing for the full raid. The base sounded a bit stronger than the ones they had faced before now.


    Adam wasn¡¯t blind to the looks that he got as he had entered the room and circled the table. Pretending they weren¡¯t there, he had taken his time entering to let everyone have their own thoughts before he broached the upcoming subject. Adam just hoped they were more receptive to it than he expected. This would be a difficult conversation.


    Once seated, Adam looked around the room. He found the usual people and they had different expressions than normal. Some looked disgusted, some curious, while others had outright fear on their faces. A few, like Colonel Davian and Detective Ron Baker, had put on wooden blank faces so different from their usual looks that they expressed their discomfort and confusion quite directly.


    After several minutes of silence, where no one wanted to be the first to speak, Colonel Davian took it upon himself.


    ¡°Adam, why is there an invader in the room?¡± he asked quietly. Lashtam didn¡¯t even react as he stood tall right next to Adam¡¯s seat.


    ¡°What invader?¡± asked Adam as he looked around the room, almost confused.


    ¡°Right next to you,¡± said Ron. ¡°The one with rabbit looking ears.¡±


    ¡°Bunny ears,¡± emphasized Tom, drawing confused eyes to him.


    ¡°Pardon?¡± asked Ron, taken by surprise from the response.


    ¡°I keep correcting people. They are bunnies, not rabbits,¡± answered Tom. No one found an answer there.


    ¡°We are Leputi,¡± said Lashtam. ¡°Not bunnies or rabbits. Those are small animals from your world. We are neither.¡±


    ¡°Nah, you¡¯re bunnies,¡± Tom told him with a nod, causing Lashtam¡¯s nose to twitch in confusion.


    ¡°Do you think that just because you say it then it becomes so, Lord Tom?¡± asked Lashtam.


    ¡°Of course not. It takes the boss saying something for the [System] to change it. Ain¡¯t that right, boss. Go ahead and tell it they¡¯re bunnies,¡± pushed Tom.


    ¡°Is that really necessary?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Of course it is!¡± insisted Tom.


    ¡°Why?¡± asked Brandon. Tom glared at him.


    ¡°Because bunnies are the sexiest. Casinos, movies, magazines, imported video games, even cosplayers all know it. Whereas rabbits are just starter monsters in Japanese games and require a horn to even be menacing.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not wrong,¡± said Brandon, feeling dirty even admitting it.


    ¡°None of that matters!¡± snapped Ron. ¡°Why is there an invader bunny here?¡±


    Once more Adam looked around, reaching for his knife with an angry expression. ¡°Where is there an invader?¡± His killing intent rose dramatically.


    ¡°He means Lashtam, boss,¡± said Tom. ¡°That guy ain¡¯t no invader.¡±


    ¡°He certainly isn¡¯t human,¡± said Davian.


    ¡°Because he isn¡¯t human then he¡¯s automatically an invader?¡± chided Adam. ¡°I didn¡¯t peg you for a racist, Ron.¡±


    Ron let out a huge sigh.


    ¡°Don¡¯t give me that glare, Adam. No one is more prejudiced against invaders than you. You want to kill them all. You talk about it quite often and openly. Then please explain why you showed up with one.¡±


    ¡°He isn¡¯t an invader anymore. All his tribe signed an employee contract with us. They¡¯re part of the Sentinel Army now,¡± explained Adam.


    ¡°That¡¯s where you lost us, son,¡± said Adam¡¯s father.


    ¡°Dad, I¡¯ll be honest,¡± Adam addressed him. ¡°I don¡¯t want to sound like a jerk. I¡¯ll let Tom explain it.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, boss. [Baffle], [Seek the Truth],¡± said Tom, activating some of the persuasion skills related to his [Persuasive Sword] class.


    ¡°Did you just use mind manipulation skills on us?¡± asked Davian, dumbfounded.


    ¡°Of course. Are they working?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°That¡¯s not something you should do to allies,¡± said Mr. Rhodes, Tom¡¯s father.


    ¡°I know, right? I¡¯d hate it if someone did that to me. Other than the boss, of course,¡± agreed Tom. Using his skills to reduce the push back people might have, he proceeded to explain about the agreement with the Leputi and the [System] contracts.


    ¡°Are you sure we can trust them?¡± asked one of the army leaders.


    ¡°Yes!¡± Tom said emphatically. ¡°At least until they put in their two-week notice.¡±


    Several people facepalmed at using typical pre-[System] employment terms for a potentially hostile alien race.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± reassured Tom, having some effect thanks to his skills meant to confuse people. ¡°I had my dad review the contracts and they were made [System] contracts so they should be tight enough.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°It¡¯s true,¡± added Lashtam. ¡°I have never seen such complex and thought-out contracts. Most races would spend years to figure out if or how there are ways to get around all the requirements. It was also most generous terms for us. Especially if our compensation bears fruit.¡±


    ¡°Compensation? We¡¯re paying them?¡± asked one of the intel staff.


    ¡°Of course. Wouldn¡¯t be right otherwise. Are you suggesting we start enslaving people?¡± Tom glared at the man dubiously.


    ¡°Er, no. Of course not,¡± stammered the man. ¡°I was just curious what the payment would be.¡±


    ¡°Oh, that¡¯s no big deal. Easy for us to pay. They want to mate with us,¡± said Tom proudly. Eyes once more turned to Adam.


    ¡°Adam, is he being serious?¡± gasped Mrs. Clemens.


    ¡°Yes, mom,¡± said Adam sheepishly. The reaction from a lifetime of obeying parents on display. ¡°The colonel had said we needed more activities for the people to take their mind off things. The Leputi want more offspring to grow their tribe. It seems like a win-win.¡±


    Mrs. Clemens turned her glare on the colonel, who was hiding his face behind his hands.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, boss¡¯s mom,¡± reassured Tom, confused how she was resisting his skills so strongly. ¡°It isn¡¯t like anyone will force them. Their stats are higher than their level shows, so they¡¯ll be able to fend off any aggressive ne¡¯er-do-wells. Besides, I negotiated two to join my family.¡±


    ¡°Tom!¡± snapped his father.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, dad. The boss got one first.¡±


    ¡°Adam!¡± snapped Adam¡¯s mom.


    ¡°Tom!¡± snapped Adam, angry Tom had brought the focus back to him.


    ¡°To raise a strong future chief,¡± said Lashtam, smiling wistfully. His happiness took Mrs. Clemens aback, managing to de-charge the issue a bit.


    ¡°All that aside, how many of them are there?¡± asked Adam¡¯s dad, trying to focus the meeting.


    ¡°His highness rescued almost 600 of my tribe,¡± answered Lashtam. ¡°He promised us living locations within the fortified Rift base to protect us from our enemies.¡±


    ¡°Enemies?!¡± someone from the intel group squawked. ¡°We¡¯ll have to deal with your enemies too?!¡±


    ¡°All the invaders are our enemies, idiot. We¡¯ll have to deal with them at some point,¡± growled Lucas, getting a lot of nods around the table.


    ¡°We¡¯re out of space within the Rift,¡± said the city planner, looking at maps. ¡°How are we supposed to fit 600 more?¡±


    ¡°Jordan, this is you,¡± ordered Tom to the man.


    Eyes snapped to Jordan Lane, quite a few looking accusingly. He scratched his head.


    ¡°The issue isn¡¯t really space,¡± said the man who treated the Rift as his personal city building game level. ¡°We could always make a few buildings taller and shift people around. The real issue is we¡¯ve been out of resources. There isn¡¯t enough left to use for building without bankrupting ourselves for other necessary projects.¡±


    Jordan pulled up a large map of the Rift territory as well as the surrounding cities. Most of the group was well familiar with it so didn¡¯t really look, but Lashtam checked with Adam who gave him a nod. Then the Leputi chief went to the table and walked around it while inspecting the map. Many in the room tensed up when the former invader walked past them.


    ¡°Why is your base territory so small?¡± asked Lashtam with confusion.


    ¡°It¡¯s larger than any other base we¡¯ve been to,¡± said Randall, almost offended by the question.


    ¡°My apologizes, warrior. I mean, why have you not expanded the territory?¡±


    Everyone went quiet and stared from him to Adam. Adam shrugged in response.


    ¡°Is that possible?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Not to most, but my understanding was that you owned multiple dimensional convergence rifts in your territory that you had not merged with the planetary reality. In that form, you can share the energy between them. It reduces the size of the secondary Rifts and allows their energy to be used to expand the primary. Usually only the stronger forces are able to capture additional Rifts before the merge with the planetary reality. We didn¡¯t know that natives could return them to dimensional convergence rifts,¡± explained Lashtam.


    He spent another moment considering the map.


    ¡°If my understanding is correct, you gained two Rifts, one from the Leputi and one from the Bobomon that my daughter said you conquered. In addition, I believe you had three others from before the [System] opened us up to attack. If you reduce the internal size of those to the minimum for an outpost, you can expand this base to about this large.¡±


    Lashtam walked around the table pointing out an outline with his fingers. Jordan Lane marked it on the map so everyone had a visual idea of how much larger the base would become. Ron whistled at that.


    ¡°That is why we hired them,¡± announced Adam. Quite a few people nodded to him while looking at the map.


    ¡°We didn¡¯t know we could expand it, but that might answer a lot of out issues,¡± said Jordan thoughtfully. ¡°Lashtam, if that¡¯s how far we can expand with five extra Rifts, how far could we expand with 13?¡±


    ¡°I mean no disrespect to your question, however that number is unlikely to be achieved. To conquer that many more will take many more campaigns and your enemies will grow stronger as quickly, or more quickly, than your own warriors. However, as more bases are added to the network, the power creation is increased which allows faster expansion.¡±


    ¡°Bunny man, we already have 14 bases,¡± said Joseph.


    ¡°Mighty warrior, how could that be possible?¡± asked Lashtam in confusion, then looked to Adam who nodded.


    ¡°We have 14 now but there are even more than will come to us soon,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°But your Excellency, that many¡­I mean, even the Scyrric couldn¡¯t¡­are you sure that is the number?¡±


    Lashtam¡¯s furry face scrunched up as he fought to reject reality. Adam used the Rift menu to display a window with all 14 bases.


    ¡°For you to have conquered so many, your Excellency, it is more than my mind can comprehend,¡± Lashtam said with some awe in his voice. ¡°Even the strongest races would be unable to do that this early in the invasions without simply purchasing them. The [System] would never allow that number of bases for a single force to be so close together.¡±


    ¡°How much territory can we get out of it?¡± asked Joseph, as if someone owed him money.


    ¡°More than this map displays,¡± nodded Lashtam.


    ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± exclaimed Jordan. ¡°We can expand and build more places for the people to live.¡±


    He was practically salivating at the idea of going back to his city building using the Rift Menu. He¡¯d be able to deconstruct all the existing buildings and then design and place way more interesting ones.


    ¡°No!¡± shouted Adam.


    ¡°No?¡± asked the city planner, already hard at work making notes and plotting spaces.


    ¡°Why not, Adam?¡± asked his mom, frowning. ¡°The people could benefit a lot from the improvements we can bring them.¡±


    ¡°If we were to expand the base without a way to close it off or protect the people, then it¡¯s a bad move. The other invaders would know that they could hit us and do damage while we would be forced to turtle behind the obsidian walls,¡± said Adam.


    A lot of people thought about it but then the colonel spoke up.


    ¡°Unfortunately, that does make sense defensively. We still have insufficient water and fortifications for the bulk of our people. Announcing that we could make them more comfortable won¡¯t incentivize them to adjust to our current situation.¡±


    ¡°Then what do you want us to do, Adam?¡± asked Jordan.


    ¡°Expanding is fine, though not to the fullest. Don¡¯t rebuilding anything that¡¯s out there. Try to absorb resources from areas that no one will notice. That should give us at least enough to expand our buildings for the Leputi. Any other moves should be discussed before we make changes,¡± answered Adam. ¡°I have plans to get us the water we need before we repair the plumbing to the rest of the city.¡±


    Jordan grimaced at being constrained from his game. ¡°Fine, Adam.¡±


    ¡°If I may, your Excellency. Might we request you build down for us instead of up. Our people do not like being as high up in the air,¡± said Lashtam hesitantly. Jordan¡¯s jaw dropped.


    ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think of that?! I could have been designing down.¡± Then with excitement Jordan continued, ¡°I can make an underground city. There can be storage, bunkers, escape tunnels, living areas, a shopping mall, a labyrinth, bowling alley¡­¡± he trailed off in his mumbling.


    ¡°Good. Lashtam, work with Jordan to design what you want and to teach him what all the Rift Menu can do that we haven¡¯t discovered yet,¡± commanded Adam.


    ¡°As you wish, your Excellency,¡± said Lashtam with a small smile.


    ¡°Everyone, make sure you give your suggestions to Jordan and the city planner so our next round of design has the things we need. For now, let¡¯s move on to the next part of today. It¡¯s something we sorely need and will make taking in the Leptui worth everything we go through,¡± Adam said, drawing everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°If Lashtam is ready, it¡¯s time for the lesson, ¡®Introduction to [System] 101¡¯.¡±

 CH 114: System 101

    CHAPTER 114: System 101


    ¡°The [System] is a mysterious force that appeared thousands of years ago. It is unknown where it began or who created it. Those worlds that received it first tend to be stronger races who have had longer to grow in their power and wealth thanks to the [System]. They try to suppress other worlds to keep themselves at the top and proclaim that they are special, chosen as masters by the [System]. The longer the [System] has been with a world, the more likely they are to have more Tier 6, allowing them the strength to enforce their will and to threaten others,¡± explained Lashtam.


    ¡°Some worlds worship the [System] as a god. Some treat it as a tool to become stronger, a justification to oppress. While others consider it a way to separate the worthy from the weak that deserve to be culled.


    ¡°The [System] alters us to allow us to grow. It shapes our souls with classes that fit who we are. Those classes allow us to learn skills that let us draw from the power of the [System] to make us stronger. The classes we can choose from have to be compatible with our souls. As we grow in power the [System] gives us choices on what skills to select. What it really does is shape our souls for us to better use its power for a purpose.


    ¡°Our bodies are linked to our souls, which is why the [System] allows us to use its power to also grow our [Body] levels. This is to give us the possibility to better shape our [Body] to allow a desired [Class] to fit our souls when it might not otherwise. By increasing our stats and experiences before evolving our [Class], it opens more possibilities for that evolution.


    ¡°One race, referred to as the Red Clan, is the most knowledgeable at understanding and manipulating the soul. A lot about how each [Class] fits our soul is researched by them. They have a natural affinity to working with souls, and classes that allow them control over others¡¯ souls. It is why they are feared by so many other races, and why they are so secretive about what they know. Only their race knows how to get classes to attack and change people¡¯s souls.¡±


    Adam frowned at this. Partly because he thought of the mind witch that was trying to sabotage him, and partly because he knew several of the pseudo-skills that he didn¡¯t know the names for worked based on the soul. His danger sense, soul mapping, soul spike, and the connections he formed worked directly on the soul. If only the Red Clan had access to classes and skills like that, then how altered must his own soul be to have similarities to a race never seen on Earth.


    ¡°Rahsha said that a mind witch that has been bothering us, was from the Red Clan,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°You speak of Cruxannith¡¯cz¡¯Jurzax, your Excellency. She has been acting as a speaker for the Scyrric in this region,¡± responded Lashtam.


    ¡°Is the Red Clan invading as well?¡± asked Lucas. ¡°Will we encounter a base full of people attacking our souls and minds?¡±


    ¡°No, Lord Lucas. The Red Clan usually stays neutral to the powerful races. They believe in keeping their race pure, making them less likely to conquer. Of the most powerful races they are much smaller with only one home world and three outpost planets.¡±


    ¡°Four planets?!¡± coughed Randall.


    ¡°That is correct, Lord Randall. They are very small compared to the other powerful races,¡± nodded Lashtam.


    ¡°Then how many worlds do others have?¡± asked Elias.


    ¡°Thousands if you include all the lesser races that the Scyrric have lordship over.¡±


    ¡°Then the Scyrric are the largest and most powerful race?¡± asked Colonel Davian.


    ¡°It is a matter of debates. The Scyrric were one of the first four races to gain strength through the [System] and they expanded outward, as a purpose.¡±


    ¡°Then they are more powerful than the Red Clan?¡± asked Rick.


    ¡°That is also often debated. The Red Clan¡¯s classes are indisputably the most difficult to fight against. While their population is lesser, they have nearly as many Tier 6 and there are few ways to counter the soul manipulation of their stronger classes,¡± explained Lashtam.


    ¡°Let¡¯s circle back to the Red Clan later. First, let¡¯s get the basics of classes,¡± said Adam. He seemed to have his own counter to the mind witch, but they would need to find something for the rest of his people. Though removing her head would work quite well, I¡¯m sure, thought Adam.


    ¡°Yes, your Excellency,¡± nodded Lashtam, before beginning with the basics. ¡°When a person¡¯s soul matures enough, the [System] will appear to them. From there they will be given a choice of a Tier 1 class. Gaining their first class will allow them to absorb XP from killing and alters the connection between their body and soul so that they can increase their status.¡±


    ¡°Tier 1 classes are the [Warrior], [Scout], [Mage], [Protector], and [Support]?¡± asked one from the intel group.


    Lashtam¡¯s nose scrunched, and his lips puckered as if he had eaten a lemon. The Leputi expressions were often difficult to understand, but everyone could tell that was one of strong distaste.


    ¡°Yes, those are Tier 1 classes. However, those are the weakest and most common options. Races who have lived in the [System] have already discovered how to get better Tier 1 classes. Most cultures select what their young will do and help train them so that when the [System] joins with them they have much better options to select from.


    ¡°Classes have different rarities, based on how difficult they are to get. The classes you mentioned are called common, since anyone can get them. Then there is uncommon, rare, epic, and legendary. The better a rarity, the more stats and powerful skills you gain while leveling.


    ¡°In most worlds, having a common or uncommon class will signify that you are worthless. Rare is actually the most common class rarity among the worlds, since the whole of tribes and worlds want their citizens to be equal to others. Some worlds even put to death youngsters who can¡¯t get a rare class to prevent them from corrupting the rest of the populous.¡±


    Adam and a few others winced at that. It was the human¡¯s turn to make distasteful expressions.


    ¡°Then we¡¯re all behind already?¡± asked Randall.


    Lashtam tilted his head and thought, measuring his words before replying. In that moment he seemed like an educated teacher trying to figure out how to say something without making his student feel dumb.


    ¡°It is as you say, Lord Randall. Natives of worlds start behind the rest of the universe. This is one reason why invaded worlds have never survived, except those who become hereditary slaves of the other races. Even so, slaves that are so weak from the beginning have very little worth.¡±The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    The room was silent for several minutes as everyone digested that. There seemed to be a common, unspoken thought though as everyone turned to Adam. He was sure they were once again wondering how he could be so strong without the benefits that the invaders have.


    ¡°Then how do we get stronger?¡± asked Brandon, his eyes surprisingly determined.


    ¡°While it is possible for someone to go from a common class to one like epic or legendary, it is even more difficult when starting so low. By having a common class it means that your soul isn¡¯t matured enough, or doesn¡¯t have the proper strength and shape to hold something more powerful. It is unlikely to grow your soul in the time to your first evolution to be strong or qualified enough for a higher rarity.


    ¡°When you evolve your class, you are using up the XP and soul power that you collected to condense it. That condensing makes the class stronger and more solid within, according to the Red Clan¡¯s explanation. You will lose the XP that you have gained, but it will also make space in your soul for a stronger class and skills. The choices provided to us are the [System] helping us shape our soul into a class that it can contain.


    ¡°The amount of levels that you spend depends on the class you want to evolve into. Usually to evolve to Tier 2 you need to have gained 15 levels. For Tier 3 you spend 40 levels. Tier 4 is 75 levels. Tier 5 is 120 levels. Finally, Tier 6 is rumored to need 250 levels. No one has passed Tier 6, so it is unknown how many levels that requires.¡±


    ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± asked Joseph. No one was sure he had even been paying attention.


    ¡°The reason, Lord Joseph, is that it requires so much XP at higher levels that it takes most who reach Tier 6 centuries. They also need to have done enough to deserve a worthwhile class to evolve into. Many who seek strength find that Tier 3 is the furthest they can go. Some races, such as my own, have outside forces restricting how much they can grow. No Leputi that I know has passed Tier 2, showing to all how weak my race is.


    ¡°As you kill creatures below your level, you gain less and less XP from them. A Tier 5 gains none from killing Tier 2s, and barely anything from Tier 3s. That is why the invasions into new worlds are in such demands. It is a faster way to grow the strength of your soldiers, making sure the enemies are of adequate levels.¡±


    ¡°Why don¡¯t the invaders send stronger people to begin with?¡± asked one of the intel people.


    ¡°That is due to the [System]. The invasions aren¡¯t directly controlled by it, but they are regulated by it in a way. If a war between powerful races were to occur away from these isolated worlds, then it would waste most of the XP. For example, if the Crichans attack a Scyrric controlled world, the Scyrric would send a Tier 5 to wipe out several of the Crichan worlds. The XP for everyone below Tier 4 would be lost, while only one Scyrric would gain a minute amount of strength.


    ¡°When new worlds are found by a race they report it to the [System] who then helps the various races send dimensional convergence rifts and their own people to it.¡±


    ¡°What does the [System] get in return?¡± asked Elias.


    ¡°It is unknown what the [System] truly wants, but before the races that will be transferred are selected, it allows the races to bid for the rights using a form of energy. The [System] uses some of this energy to open the portals. That way the races that spend the most energy can take the strongest forces through, giving them an advantage in the battles to conquering the land.¡°


    ¡°Then can¡¯t the wealthier races just spend more to send through stronger troops?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°Quite the pay-to-win system,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°The [System] limits that. At the beginning only levels up to 25 are allowed through, and based on what each race, tribe, or group spends, they have a limited number of levels that can pass through. It means they could have a Tier 3 at level 25, or a lot of Tier 1s below level 15. The second case is worth more, since once their many warriors gain strength they can return through the portals for free.


    ¡°Only very strong races have a chance to compete for the planetary resources. The other races are looking to send through a weak force, get as much strength as possible, and then return to their own worlds.¡±


    ¡°Like those goblins we wiped out,¡± smirked Tom.


    ¡°As you say, like the goblins,¡± agreed Lashtam. ¡°They are known for being a very weak race. If they get even a handful of powerful warriors from it then it is worthwhile for their race. However, as time goes on the [System] allows stronger warriors to pass through the portals. In three more of your months the level limit will increase to 39. Then three months following it will raise to 74.¡±


    ¡°Then the Tiers allowed through keep going up?¡± asked Elias.


    ¡°Correct,¡± agreed Lashtam.


    ¡°Then couldn¡¯t someone new to Tier 5 come through at the beginning?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°Fortunately not. The [System] has a way to limit the power of those who can step through. We don¡¯t know how, and the rules haven¡¯t been clearly stated, but the races don¡¯t push this since one Tier 5 at level 1, would destroy everyone else, wasting all the XP there is to gain.¡±


    Adam nodded, glad for that limitation. It might be the only reason they had survived this long.


    ¡°What happens if your class grows past what is needed to evolve?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°That is where classes become complex. As you are aware, in the early Tiers you gain a new skill at level 0, 5, 10, and 15. The other levels give skill points. However, if you get your Tier 1 class to level 16, then once you spend the 15 levels to evolve, you will begin at level 1 of Tier 2. That means you won¡¯t gain the level 0 skill.


    ¡°This can create a great imbalance in your class. Some classes give weak spells or skills in the beginning, allowing you to take skills that work to empower those later skills as your soul has grown able to accept the greater power. If you are missing that early skill, then the later skills can¡¯t empower you and a gap is left in your abilities.


    ¡°Since most races within the [System] have used it for hundreds or thousands of years, we have mapped the class abilities and options, allowing us to guide the young to optimize their paths. All but the most common paths have been kept secret by the races that found them, since they are strategic knowledge. My people can provide you with the paths that we know of, and the paths known to all. This might give your people a better idea of the possible ways to gain strength suited to them. It might benefit you to start collecting all that from your current people so that it might help some in the future if they discover a useful ability path.¡±


    ¡°Ulton, get some people together to begin that,¡± ordered Davian.


    ¡°Yes, sir,¡± one of the unit heads saluted.


    ¡°What do you do if a class gets affected like that,¡± asked Brittney. ¡°Can you choose a different lower class to start over?¡±


    ¡°That is not possible, Lady Brittney,¡± said Lashtam with a sad bow of his head. ¡°Once you increase in Tiers, you cannot evolve downwards. It can lead to the end of your ability to get stronger and grow. Many in the [System] would take their own lives if that occurred. They would be shown as incompetents.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t your people downgrade to that breeder class? How is that different?¡± asked Elias.


    ¡°Racial classes are treated differently. Many races have them. Those classes usually have very targeted purposes or strengths. They get weaker the higher they level. It¡¯s as if being of the race automatically means your soul can fit that class.


    ¡°As long as a person has a single level, they can evolve to their racial class. They can also evolve to it as many times as they want. However, once you evolve away from a path, you can¡¯t begin it again. Let¡¯s say one of the Leputi was a mage and evolved to a breeder. They could not evolve to any offshoot of the mage class again. They would need to find a new starting point for another path.


    ¡°Racial classes also cannot evolve. The Gohralluh race has a racial called [Strong Arm]. It is very powerful in the beginning, however few use it since it has no second Tier to it. It can¡¯t evolve and after so many levels it stops giving new skills.


    ¡°All these rules together mean that evolving to your racial class might halt all progress. If you were Tier 3 and evolved to a racial, then you would need to have already qualified for a different Tier 3 path to evolve away from your racial class, and it is likely that you will have a hard time getting enough levels for that evolution.¡±


    ¡°Youch,¡± interjected Tom. Lashtam gave him a confused look, not understanding his word. Lots of glares were directed at Tom for interrupting, which he ignored.


    ¡°Do you lose your skills and stat increases when you evolve to your racial?¡± asked Davian.


    ¡°Fortunately, we do not. It has improved the treatment for more than one controlled Leputi. Even though we can only get to Tier 2, the individual Leputi might have stats enough to harm the person mating with them. Sometimes it ensures better care towards my people, though not always.¡±

 CH 115: Around the Natives

    CHAPTER 115: Around the Natives


    Ashtala thought she had known what to expect from the natives. She had seen some of the houses and buildings, though only those near the Leputi starting base, and that was after the power grid shut down. The people that they had rescued told her stories of what the world was like, but those sounded rather far-fetched without the [System] or magic to let things work.


    What she found when the Ladies Andrea, Abbey, and Alissa brought her with them to their own base showed her just how small her world view was. The stories hadn¡¯t really conveyed what these natives had done before the [System] derailed their world.


    Usually, worlds invaded by the [System] had little beyond their natural resources and the weak natives. In this case, the people of this world understood the rules of nature and found ways to harness them, like when they had brought her father back to life. Magic had been used as well, but she learned they had similar techniques that relied on their machines and knowledge, which elevated their race in her mind.


    Growing up in her tribe, she had lived in a world that survived alongside nature. Their tribe had been large for the Leputi, with providing increased offspring a major drive to their lives. Yet even the size of her tribe was small compared to the number of natives she saw moving around this base. These natives were prolific, even without many of the advantages the [System] could bring.


    The large buildings reaching towards the sky intimidated her. She had been told stories of other worlds where towers reached so high the tops couldn¡¯t be seen. The natives had these too, without the high-quality [System] resources. When she saw the building that was the native¡¯s headquarters and home, she trembled a little at its size.


    Her people tended to build downwards, into the ground. It made it easier to hide and move about unseen. These natives did not hide. Her mate did not move unseen. The statue of him and his warriors in front of the building made that clear.


    Tens of thousands of people moved about with purpose. So many people that the Leputi could be eclipsed by them, and she was told this was only the people on the base. The number spread throughout the city was a hundred thousand more. Finding out that this was considered a small city before the [System] arrived almost shut down her mind.


    Many of the people would stop and stare at her, but once they saw the Ladies with her, they would return to their activities after watching for a few minutes. There was no judgement or malice in their faces that she could tell. No one projected greed or harm towards her, which was also different from the rest of the worlds she had heard about or experienced.


    Then she was shown to where she would live, and once more she was impressed, at least once she got over the moving closet that raised them to the tallest place in the building. There was a room for her with furniture, shelves, and a large bed.


    ¡°You can decorate the room how you want,¡± Andrea had told her.


    ¡°Do we not all sleep in this room?¡± Ashtala had asked with confusion. She was used to the Leputi pressing together as they slept in their burrows, with no consideration to personal space or gender. This much space felt uncomfortable and intimidating. Lady Alissa just laughed at her question.


    ¡°No, sweetie. We all have our own rooms, though sometimes we¡¯ll all sleep together in the living room for the company.¡±


    ¡°That is such a waste,¡± said Ashtala. ¡°Hundreds could fit in these dwellings.¡±


    ¡°Not with me here,¡± said Abbey, scrunching her nose in distaste. ¡°Alissa and Andrea get handsy enough.¡±


    ¡°Oh, do we?¡± taunted Andrea, as she came over and put her arms around Abbey. Abbey easily shoved her away due to her increased strength.


    ¡°We smell horribly after that raid. The heat made us sweat like crazy, plus the blood. Save the joking until after the shower.¡±


    ¡°Shower?¡± asked Ashtala.


    ¡°Do you have rain?¡± asked Abbey.


    ¡°Of course,¡± nodded Ashtala.


    ¡°It¡¯s like rain except to get clean with,¡± explained Abbey.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll show you,¡± said Alissa.


    Alissa and Andrea brought her to a room where the water fell from tubes in the ceiling. She had regularly bathed in rivers and streams with the other Leputi. She had even heard of higher-level individuals using waterfalls to get clean. None of that compared to how heavenly it was in the shower, especially with Alissa and Andrea rubbing different scented potions that they called shampoo into her fur. The water even changed temperature in ways she had never felt using magic.


    Those with the [Midwife] class were responsible for the health and hygiene of the tribe, so she had never used what Lady Alissa called soap. Apparently, most of the natives used it regularly, at least before the [System] came. Now it was rarer, since they didn¡¯t have access to all the same ingredients to create more as luxurious as these.


    Once she had showered and become cleaner than ever before, floating in a relaxed daze from the shower and pleasant smells, Lady Abbey had brought her simple clothes to wear. They were called a T-shirt and jeans. The fit was very weird considering the differences in body shape between the natives and Leputi. Abbey also said there were no socks or shoes that would fit due to the size and shape of her feet.


    Ashtala barely noticed when Lady Alissa escorted Rahsha into the shower while she wore another weird outfit called a bathing suit. Ashtala felt a little ashamed that she had been so overwhelmed by everything here that she had forgotten Rahsha was with them too. He seemed oddly attached to Lady Alissa, almost like a beast following someone with the [Tamer] class.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, sweetie. I¡¯ll get you a nice soft bed for tonight,¡± Lady Alissa said to Rahsha.


    There was a short time where they sat in what was called the living room. Lady Brittney had arrived and showered, looking much less hardened in her light clothes. She showed Ashtala more marvels she had not heard of in other worlds.


    There were games that were strictly for entertainment, not for training. Thousands of movies and teevee shows that she could watch if she was bored. Hundreds of thousands of books that she could bring up on little screens to learn more about the natives or the world she was now in. Before the [System] came, these natives had conquered the world so thoroughly that their whole society revolved around finding frivolous things to fill their time with. Again, they had done all this without magic, simply by understanding and harnessing the rules of the world.


    For dinner, the four girls took Ashtala and Rahsha to another dwelling on the floor. It turned out to be his highness¡¯s place and was as regal and amazing as the castles of other worlds that she had heard about.


    When they arrived, there were a lot of rowdy youths there, but Lady Abbey took her place as the head mate for his highness and forced the youths to leave. They all seemed to want to look at, talk to, and touch, Ashtala. Lady Alissa saw her discomfort and threatened them to leave her alone.


    Ashtala wondered why it bothered her so much when the same actions would have been pleasant coming from another Leputi. Even when Alissa and Andrea rubbed her fur, she enjoyed the sensation. Those youths felt more intrusive and greedier than she was used to.


    Once the youths had left, his highness came from his own chambers wearing a thin, sleeveless shirt and shorts that covered little of his legs. Ashtala did not find the natives visually appealing, with no fur to cover their skin and large amounts of hair on their heads and faces, but she could appreciate the power she observed in her mate¡¯s muscles and that he was willing to show them off, almost challenging others to claim more strength than him.


    The meal was wilder than she expected. All the warriors she had met showed up to eat the food served by his highness¡¯s personal chefs. Ashtala wasn¡¯t interested in meat, and willingly sat far from his highness, a little afraid of the puppy Carthraga sitting on his lap, receiving meat from him.


    Otherwise, Ashtala had trouble using the utensils that the others found easy. Her large paws were not suited for their dainty silver wear. They even tried showing her something called chopsticks, but those would take a while for her to get used to. In the end she chose to eat like Lords Randall and Joseph, as they just picked everything up with their hands. Fortunately, the more refined warriors didn¡¯t criticize her like they did the other two.


    The food was enjoyable. There were several types of vegetables cooked to varying softness. There were also flavorful dipping sauces that she tried. Ashtala felt a little awkward as Lord Tom smiled grandly as he handed her a plate full of carrots. Though tasty, she wanted to sample as many of their foods as she could.


    While sleeping had been lonely for her, Ashtala couldn¡¯t blame the bed or the comforter they had given her. She wrapped herself in it and felt the softness and warmth of both as she sank to sleep.


    The next day, while his highness and warriors were meeting with her father to discuss the [System] and invasions, Ladies Abbey, Alissa, and Andrea took her to see more of the city. She saw the training areas, met many people, was shown fancy clothing styles and metalworking with jewels made for appearance instead of to enhance the wearer¡¯s strength. She couldn¡¯t believe there was no bonus stats from wearing such fancy accessories. There was a great amount of curiosity over her, as the Ladies explained to the natives that more of her people would be moving in, which they accepted without complaint.


    Ashtala had never heard of high ranked ladies or warriors of other worlds being so willing to mingle with the commoners. No one here seemed to think oddly of the Ladies being about, while accommodating their requests.


    The outing was enjoyable and interesting to Ashtala, and she was becoming accustomed to being among the furless ones, when suddenly noise blared from the sky all around them. The natives everywhere stopped what they were doing and began running in different directions. Some ran to nearby buildings while others ran towards the Sentinel¡¯s tower.


    Ashtala stood there a little frightened and very confused. ¡°What is happening?¡±


    Andrea grabbed her arm and pointed to the tower. ¡°These are alarms meaning there is an emergency. The army needs to gather. There are different sounds if we are directly under attack.¡±


    They all ran through the throngs of gathering people. One glance at them and the crowds would move out of their way to let them through. When they arrived at the statue of the warriors, the other Lords and Lady Brittney had gathered in their battle gear.


    ¡°What happened?¡± Abbey asked Lord Lucas.


    ¡°Carlos and Nick decided to assault the base without reinforcements. Or more specifically the General¡¯s Guard did,¡± said Lord Lucas.


    ¡°Can they survive until we get there?¡± asked Andrea.


    The dark look Lucas gave Andrea caused Ashtala to take a step back. Alissa looked over the crowds and then up to their tower.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Adam?¡± she asked.


    ¡°On his way. With the Leputi,¡± Lord Carlos scowled.


    Ashtala trembled again. They said the Leputi wouldn¡¯t be used as shields for the natives. Suddenly Ashtala feared for her people.


    ***


    Before the meeting had finished, a knock sounded at the door. Mr. Fenton let in one of the soldiers that guarded their communication room. The arrival saluted while going out of his way to not look in Adam¡¯s direction.


    ¡°What is it, man?¡± demanded Davian. ¡°This is obviously important, or you wouldn¡¯t have disturbed us.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir! We received a communication from the Huntsman and Unseen Death¡¯s group. The humans are going to be executed before we have time to mount an assault. The group already there will be attempting a rescue,¡± the man said, trembling in fear as the temperature of the room increased.


    ¡°Who made this decision?!¡± demanded Adam at practically a roar. He stood in front of his chair, the air rippling around him.


    ¡°The leader of the General¡¯s Guard. Unseen Death was against it, but will be participating,¡± stammered the messenger.


    Adam turned to Lucas. ¡°Gather our forces and move out anyone who¡¯s ready and fast enough.¡±


    ¡°By portal?¡± asked Lucas.


    Adam thought for a moment and then shook his head.


    ¡°No. Take vehicles. We don¡¯t want to tip that we figured out how to use the bases better. Even with the portal our forces can¡¯t get there soon enough,¡± ordered Adam.


    ¡°Then what is the point?¡± shouted Carlos. Adam leveled his intense stair at Carlos who stared back in desperation.


    ¡°Vengence,¡± was Adam¡¯s answer. Then he turned to Lashtam. ¡°You said the Leputi are known for speed, right?¡±


    ¡°Your Excellency, I¡¯m not sure¡­¡± started Lashtam before Adam interrupted him.


    ¡°Fast! Right?¡±


    ¡°Y-yes.¡±


    ¡°Jordan, open a portal for me and my bike to where the Leputi are, then to South Hampton. Lashtam, tell the warriors they¡¯ll be following me to provide reinforcements. Everyone else, keep quiet that we can move between Rifts.¡±


    People sprang into movement immediately. Davian went to sound the alarms. Adam¡¯s group went to gear up.


    Before Adam left, Lashtam asked him one hesitant question.


    ¡°Your Excellency, what race will we be fighting?¡±


    Adam stared at Lashtam for a moment, causing Lashtam to back away.


    ¡°The Scyrric,¡± he said quietly.


    Lashtam fell to his knees in terror, but Adam was already gone.

 CH 116: Impatient Assault

    CHAPTER 116: Impatient Assault


    ¡°No one will survive!¡± Nick shouted at the man in front of him. ¡°Not even those weak captives we¡¯re trying to rescue! I doubt they have the strength to even run, let along get away after we¡¯re all killed.¡±


    General¡¯s Guard Captain Kabir glared at him. He had a disgusted expression on his face, aimed at Nick. They had been arguing in an isolated room, with three additional people. Lamar was here too, as was Sargeant Friedman from the US Army, and another from the General¡¯s Guard Amerally, who organized the support classes.


    ¡°The General could do it!¡± snapped Kabir, unwilling to be dissuaded.


    ¡°Of course The General could. The General can regrow his body parts. Last I heard the rest of us can¡¯t do that!¡±


    Kabir¡¯s eyes held a manic intensity to them. It was as if he couldn¡¯t even hear Nick¡¯s words or wouldn¡¯t acknowledge their meaning.


    ¡°The General has given everything to protect humanity,¡± Kabir said while looking upwards, with a reverent expression replacing his disgust. That only lasted a moment as he turned back to Nick, his disgust returning. ¡°Who would think that those who fought closest to The General would become cowards! Were you just coasting on The General¡¯s greatness?¡±


    Nick turned from this Adam worshiping fanatic to the Sergeant. ¡°Back me up, Friedman. It won¡¯t help those people if we get massacred before rescuing them.¡±


    Friedman drew himself to attention, arms behind his back. He looked straight forward, away from Nick¡¯s eyes. ¡°Without our intervention those people will be executed anyway. We can¡¯t wait for reinforcements. We¡¯ll do what we can. I already had a message sent to Jackson. The Sentinels will find some way to get more people here, Lord willing.¡±


    ¡°Yes, General willing,¡± Amerally said quietly while nodding her head.


    Nick spun away from them, muffling aggravated swearing by biting his own arm. Kabir turned from him and headed towards the door with Amerally on his heels. Friedman followed more hesitantly. Before Kabir left the room he spoke one last time.


    ¡°The General sending you to the water plant allowed us to find these people to rescue, and yet you want to abandon them. Your belief in The General has been noted.¡±


    Once they were gone, Nick waited a moment, then punched the wall. In his frustration he took out two layers of drywall and a wooden stud, while getting wall insulation tangled on his arm. He let the curses flow liberally as he tried to get the insulation off.


    ¡°Now Adam is omniscient?!¡± he spat, wishing there was stronger language to express his anger.


    ¡°It¡¯s definitely weird,¡± agreed Lamar, though without emotion behind it. ¡°He barely has the forethought to bring enough food with him.¡±


    Nick let out a pathetic chuckle. ¡°I know, right? No way Adam expected us to survive. They even told us he put our names on the death wall.¡±


    ¡°Wall of heroes,¡± corrected Lamar with emphasis. If they were going to play their roles, then they needed to do it consistently. Better not to let their true feelings slip in front of the General¡¯s Guard.


    Nick continued grumbling as he tightened his armor and checked all his weapons, sliding the blades in and out of their sheaths. He adjusted his pack and removed things unnecessary for combat from his pouches and pockets. Food and water pouches, along with some odds and ends came out to make moving easier.


    ¡°We¡¯re going then?¡± asked Lamar, knowing Nick well enough to know the answer.


    ¡°We¡¯ll focus on the base leader. No one else has a chance against them.¡±


    ¡°You think we can take out a Tier 3 who can see the stealthers in his base?¡± asked Lamar.


    ¡°Adam willing,¡± Nick said with a self-deprecating laugh as he exited the room.


    ***


    ¡°Then you will be joining us, Unseen Death?¡± Kabir asked in surprise when they came to the strategy meeting.


    ¡°Yeah, but we do this the way I say. You can¡¯t just rush in there like a bunch of zealots swinging swords. Even The General sticks to plans,¡± Nick said, hoping the reference to Adam would keep them in line. ¡°Stick close to the entrance gate and form up defensively. Melee and protectors just try to hold the line while the ranged take out anyone they can. A few protectors need to stay in the back in case some of their patrols return. We¡¯ve already hunted the groups sent after us, but we don¡¯t know if there are more out there.


    ¡°The base boss will see me coming, so I¡¯ll try to gank as many of his adds as I can. Huntsman will be focusing on my targets from behind your formation since he has the most power and mobility of our attackers. Once the boss comes for me, I¡¯ll switch to him and try to hit and run.


    ¡°If our barriers can¡¯t protect the group then split into smaller groups with your backs to the wall. Do not approach the captives. That will endanger them more than leaving them there. Scouts and stealthers should try to find those ugly ass monster mounts and release or kill them. Hopefully that¡¯ll cause some chaos, or at least prevent pursuit. Most importantly of all, if we¡¯re losing, then sound the retreat. It only strengthens our enemies if we all fall here. We can try to pull some of them outside of the base territory and fight those that follow. Questions?¡±


    Kabir put his hand on Nick¡¯s shoulder and nodded. ¡°I knew The General¡¯s trust in you had to be well deserved. Even if we should become heroes, we¡¯ll enforce The General¡¯s will and take these blasted invaders with us! General protect us!¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    ¡°General protect us,¡± the rest of the Guard repeated reverently.


    Nick looked over to Lamar with a strained face on.


    ¡°He has so far,¡± Lamar whispered with a shrug.


    All Nick could do was groan quietly. ¡°Not you too.¡±


    ***


    Nick waited outside of the Scyrric territory. The base commander could see infiltrators when they entered, so he was hoping that the rest of the army would distract the Scyrric leader enough that Nick could operate without being noticed. He slipped to the back of the troops walking in.


    The gates were open and hundreds of Scyrric were standing ready inside their base. They just allowed the humans to walk right in and form up. While the base overseer spoke to them, Nick used his obscuring abilities and waited for his chance. He saw that Lamar already had an arrow notched.


    ¡°I see,¡± said the overseer, voice radiating from everywhere. ¡°This is how you killed the glorious Scyrric, by overwhelming them with numbers. I wouldn¡¯t put it past your despicable race to have ambushed them with dishonorable tactics. Nothing more than animals until the end. I don¡¯t suppose you came to surrender and assume your place?¡±


    In answer, a single arrow shot out of the group towards the lizardman. One of the riot enforcers raised a shield and the arrow pinged harmlessly off it. The shield didn¡¯t even quiver from the impact. Nick couldn¡¯t help but shiver at the strength disparity.


    ¡°Cultureless heathens. I suppose you all follow the aberration. I don¡¯t see him here, unless¡­no, I thought he¡¯d be too craven to face us himself.¡±


    ¡°You take that back,¡± someone in their crowd yelled as others released more spells and arrows at the Scyrric leader. In response, the overseer bared his teeth in what Nick figured was a smile.


    ¡°These natives are of no concern. Kill them and show who the masters are.¡±


    With that the Scyrric solders, in groups of 10, spaced out and approached the humans. They moved in unison while keeping their own tight formations. They probed the Sentinel protectors and warriors. Magic came from them at the humans but shields and barriers intercepted the attacks, though not as easily as the Scyrric barriers blocked the humans¡¯ attacking.


    The Scyrric groups also had rotations down. They didn¡¯t waste mana firing at once, rotating between the casters in different groups, knowing their order without even needing it to be called out. The human group wasn¡¯t nearly as organized or clear headed, practiced and planned out, as the Scyrric shifted and tested for weak points, never committing fully to attack.


    The humans, on the other hand, were less coordinated and clearly more emotional. Every now and then a human scream would sound out over the noises as one of the captives would be wounded, causing the attacking humans to be distracted as they looked over, or to show flashes of anger, affecting their battle performance.


    Nick took in a breath and let it out slowly. They were all going to die here. The Scyrric outnumbered, out matched, and out classed them, both in ability and the strength of their classes. He wished he knew at what point it was acceptable to leave these suicidal fools so he could survive, or if he was just destined to die alongside them. Would his friends blame him for retreating when faced with certain death? If only there was a clear answer. The guilt at his thoughts warred with the logic within his reasons.


    Slipping to the side of the human formation, he saw the smiling overseer¡¯s head turn following him. The smile stayed as the overseer, who could obviously see him, watched as he moved away from the group.


    Nick cautiously sidled between the Scyrric warriors, who seemed oblivious to his presence, regardless of the overseer¡¯s awareness. A frustration and sudden bout of anger struck Nick. He was the strongest human here, and he still felt so powerless in this situation. Those thoughts dug into him and twisted his gut.


    Allowing his emotions to feed into his actions, he used [Deep Cut] to get more penetration and stabbed one of his daggers into the neck of one of the Scyrric defenders. They had a slight gap between their helmet and neck guard, and it was no effort for his dexterous hands to slide the knife right into place. That wiped the smile off the overseer¡¯s face.


    Nick¡¯s action made his presence known to the other Scyrric, as the defender dropped its shield and fell to his knees. He grabbed the neck where the wound was. They turned to their fallen comrade and the human that appeared amongst them, but Nick was ready.


    Before they had time to react, and making use of his high Agility, Nick dropped low and sliced the heel of a warrior where the Achilles tendon was on a human. Then he spun and did it to a second Scyrric. A healer rushing forward to help the defender when Nick¡¯s dagger rose from under the chin.


    Unfortunately, the attack only managed to surprise the healer, since another mage had cast a barrier that blocked his strike. Well, mostly blocked his strike since Nick¡¯s high Strength was enough to push a few inches through the barrier and scratch the healer.


    The change of focus by the Scyrric was enough for the humans nearby to surge forward and press the attack. This group of Scyrric were put back on the defensive as their armored shield bearer was repeatedly stabbed while ranged attacks flew at them through the gaps.


    ¡°Don¡¯t advance too much,¡± yelled Nick as he slipped in with the humans. If this area of their formation got too far ahead of the others, then they would create too many gaps for the Scyrric to take advantage of.


    Having moved back among the humans, Nick reactivated [Dim Presence] and [Mask Signs] so he could once more hunt another defender unseen. While doing this Nick watched the overseer, who was still following him. It was obviously getting angrier with every attack Nick made.


    A few Scyrric groups were forced to retreat after losing a few of their people, but there were still more groups waiting to replace them. The Scyrric had almost three times as many soldiers as the attacking humans, so there was no illusion to Nick that these minor attacks and losses wouldn¡¯t make much difference in this battle. The humans¡¯ impatient attack just had too little punch to it.


    After the fourth Scyrric group had to withdraw due to Nick¡¯s sneak attacks, he saw the overseer shaking slightly. The lizard looked ready to blow his top. Nick couldn¡¯t delay anymore.


    Dodging around and through the waiting Scyrric without being seen by any but the overseer, Nick arrived at a large open space in front of their buildings. There were about two dozen riot enforcers spaced throughout the area around the overseer. They were keeping alert to their surroundings, only occasionally paying attention to the main fighting in the front of the base.


    Riot enforcer seemed to be a class combining strength and vitality, a more tank-y upgrade to warriors. Nick knew he would have the advantage of speed, and just hoped he had enough strength to get meaningful hits on the enforcers.


    Taking his time to come in from the side of the closest riot enforcer, Nick raised his dagger and jabbed it under the Scyrric¡¯s chin. A breath of relief also came from Nick as his strike was strong enough to pierce through the scales and vitality of the riot enforcer. All eyes from the surroundings shifted to him quickly as the Scyrric he stabbed gurgled and fell.


    Surprise almost caused Nick to jump as an arrow followed his appearance and embedded itself in the Scyrric¡¯s eye.


    Scyrric ¡°Riot Enforcer [26]¡± slain. 3,551 shared XP gained.


    With his obfuscation skills worn off and no place to obscure the enemy¡¯s vision, Nick turned to face the rest. To his surprise only three left their positions and headed towards him, while the rest went back to watching the surroundings. Whether that was arrogance or discipline, Nick didn¡¯t care. This would give him the chance to stay alive.

 CH 117: Life and Death

    CHAPTER 117: Life and Death


    A dodge to the left and crouch was enough to avoid the telegraphed axe swing from the ¡°Riot Enforcer [25]¡±.  Making sure of the position, Nick slashed forward with his knife and cut the front of the Scyrric¡¯s shin before rolling backwards.  He was already familiar with the way the Scyrric used their wicked toe talons when fighting and knew from experience to avoid them.


    The riot enforcer was clearly surprised that Nick wasn¡¯t affected by his attack, but the momentary lack of balance kept him out of position long enough for another arrow to fly from the humans crowding the gate and penetrate through its shoulder and into its chest.  The axe dropped from its hand as the invader reached around instinctively with its good arm to grab its injured one.  Nick sprang upwards, slicing the sides of its neck.  One follow-up arrow finished it off, flying through where a normal lizard would have its ear membrane.


    Scyrric ¡°Riot Enforcer [25]¡± slain.  3,431 shared XP gained.


    Nick didn¡¯t have time to care before two more were upon him.  A hiss from the overseer also alerted him to three more that left their positions to approach him.


    None of the oncoming Scyrric came hurriedly.  They took their time, moving into position.  The two who were arriving now were on either side of him.


    Turning to face the one on his left, Nick dodged a downward sword swing from the one positioned behind him and used the knife in his left hand to shift the direction of the swing from the Scyrric facing him.  The impact of the blades wasn¡¯t straight on, but it was enough that Nick could tell that for all they had more knowledge and better class paths, this riot enforcer had only a little more strength than Nick.  Nick was thankful he was 10 levels higher than it and had the extra stats from the Rift capture titles.


    Unfortunately, his weapons weren¡¯t affected by his levels.  They didn¡¯t seem like they would be able to last long against those the enemies used.  He knew each contact and strike would chip at and dull his blades.  Even with two backups that he had ready, that only amounted to fighting a few more enemies, something this base wasn¡¯t lacking in.  With direct combat, he wouldn¡¯t last as long as he could if he continued to attack from stealth.


    Another of Lamar¡¯s arrows flew true and hit the side of the rear riot enforcer.  Though it didn¡¯t sink deeply into the armor.  The Scyrric hissed in pain and clenched up but didn¡¯t drop his weapon.  Once more its pause in motion allowed another arrow to fly through its neck.  The Scyrric dropped to its knees but didn¡¯t completely fall.


    Meanwhile, Nick was sidestepping and ducking to stay away from the sword swings in front of him.  His daggers didn¡¯t have the reach of a sword to get in close enough to do significant damage to his opponent.  Little cuts and stabs were the best he managed, further wearing his weapons down.


    It was also nerve-racking fighting these invaders, even one on one.  There were four points of attack he had to watch, the sword, each foot, and the tail.  It was obvious to Nick how these guys could be so difficult to fight, and he had three more coming towards him.  Nick couldn¡¯t just wait for them to arrive.


    After a quick feint towards the Scyrric¡¯s throat, Nick spun to the one fallen behind him.  He used the body as a step to vault over it.  Then he ran.  Not towards his own army, but to the side of the closest Scyrric building.


    The four Scyrric ran in chase, though one took an arrow to its thigh that slowed it from the rest.  The invaders might have been slightly stronger than Nick, but they were much slower.  Nick easily outran them and as soon as he got behind the building, he once more used [Dim Presence] and [Mask Signs].


    As the first Scyrric to chase turned the corner, Nick¡¯s knife sank into its throat.  It was a fatal wound, but with such high vitality the riot enforcer didn¡¯t die immediately.  A sword was brought up and stabbed at Nick¡¯s stomach.


    Nick grunted as he was thrown back from the impact, his dagger left behind in the Scyrric¡¯s throat.  Looking at his gut, Nick saw that there was no cut, though he could see a mark on the leather.  The feral behemoth leather his armor had been made from had been able to withstand the sword, however Nick¡¯s insides still felt bruised from the impact.


    Trying to shake off the pain, but unable to completely ignore his internal damage, Nick staggered to his feet and once more ran.  Two more riot enforcers had rounded the corner.  They stopped when they saw their compatriot dying on the ground, but quickly got over it and resumed their chase.  The last pursuing Scyrric was limping with three arrows in its leg as it came around the corner.


    As Nick dodged behind another building, he also activated the skills [Remove Threat] and [False Trail] to make it look like he had kept going, then crept back the way he had come.  He allowed the two uninjured Scyrric to pass him and go out of sight, but when the one with the arrows in its leg hobbled near, he struck.


    Scyrric ¡°Riot Enforcer [24]¡± slain.  3,299 shared XP gained.


    Nick quietly made his way back to the first building and peeked around the corner.  He had taken out several of the riot enforcers, but there were still so many remaining.  Nick felt like that quick battle he had should have been a success.  It should have been impressive.  Reality wasn¡¯t so kind though as he knew it was only a drop in a bucket.  A few strong invaders in a single base out of thousands of bases all over the world.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.


    What did humanity need to be victorious?  Adam said they needed to kill them all.  How realistic was that?  How possible when, as he watched, his own forces kept faltering.  Not to the strong ones either.  The overseer was just watching.  The riot enforcers, except for the three looking for him, were still in their guard positions as if it was just another day at the office.  The human captives all lay on the ground trembling, hoping that they weren¡¯t the ones used for screams.


    In the main force, humans fell.  Most were dragged to the center for heals, but some were pulled forward to be executed by the attacking Scyrric.  The humans were much sloppier in their own attacks now.  They were wearing down quickly, and Nick knew he hadn¡¯t even been fighting for long.


    He had advised against this.  He had told them it wouldn¡¯t work, and even being proven right Nick felt tears coming into his eyes.  Only one person shooting arrows still had power and intent behind it.  Even the fanatical General¡¯s Guard were hitting a wall, no matter how much they wanted to be able to match up.


    There was no sports analogy for this.  Nick had assumed there was a sports analogy for everything.  But in this battle¡­this fight¡­this war, there was no analogy for life and death.  One was fleeting and the other was permanent.  No take backs.  Nick felt wet tears going down his cheeks.


    This was it.  The time to leave.  The time to run.  He had said it would come.  He didn¡¯t feel like these people¡¯s decision to attack was worth his own death.  How much was his life worth?  How many people was his death worth?


    Nick watched the battle.  He glanced over at the thousands of mistreated captives.  Then he looked at the overseer and the surrounding riot enforcers.  Nick was the strongest human here and there was no way for him to win.


    If only Adam had been here, Nick thought with a silent sob.


    There was no way Nick could face the rest of the enforcers.  His insides hurt from a single blow taken.  The only reason he hadn¡¯t died right then and there was because of the armor from the creature that Adam had killed.  A creature that no other human or group of humans could have defeated.  There was no one in this war that mattered except Adam.


    If only I were Adam.


    Nick took another moment to listen to the sounds of battle; the shouts, screams, metal clanging and spells impacting.  He closed his eyes and squeezed them shut, wanting to hide from the world.  He had already made his decision.  Lamar would need to make one soon too.


    Nick cursed Adam.  He cursed The General and he cursed his friend.  To Nick, Adam was no hero.  No great leader.  Adam was his weak friend who had become sick.  Corrupted.  Nick wasn¡¯t sure if he could ever look Adam in the face again.


    Then Nick ran, with his tears flowing.  He activated every sensory blocking skill he had.  He activated all his anti-tracking skills.  He even activated all his single strike skills.  This was the last time Nick would see Lamar.  He would never see his other friends again.  He had family, but they had already thought he was dead, so it didn¡¯t matter.


    Nick¡¯s legs pumped with his strength and speed.  Everything he had was put into that dash.  He was barely able to see through the tears blurring his own sight.


    The overseer watched him the whole time, even if the riot enforcers couldn¡¯t see him.  A toothy grin showed as the overseer¡¯s lips pulled back.  Nothing was said as Nick ran at full speed, getting closer and closer to the base boss.


    Right before Nick reached him, he threw himself to the side and his dagger sank into the head of the ¡°Watcher [16].¡±  The Scyrric who had been able to track them, watch them, and find the humans that they had captured.  The overseer might have been level 32 at Tier 3, but he clearly didn¡¯t have the reaction speed to stop Nick going full speed.


    The watcher¡¯s head exploded from the force and skills used in the strike.  There would be no healing for it.  With that observation class gone, unable to see them outside of the base, at least Lamar would be able to escape.


    At least some resistance had been expected by Nick.  When there was none, it threw his momentum off and he rolled across the ground, right to where a furious riot enforcer was standing.  Nick was on his feet almost instantly, but as he was trying to dash away, a sword clipped him on his stretched calf.  The blow¡¯s impact spun him around, preventing him from getting traction.


    By the time he recovered, there were four riot enforcers surrounding him.  Nick went after them with a fury.  He slashed, stabbed, blocked, deflected, but nothing would reach them.  A feint and then another leap just resulted in a tail slamming him back into the ground.


    Nick groaned as a large claw wrapped around his throat.  The points of the talons pressed into the back of his neck.  Nick could barely see the base overseer who held him due to the wooziness from being slammed to the ground and the tears that hadn¡¯t cleared from his eyes.


    ¡°You cry, native?  Yet I have not begun to inflict pain on you,¡± the overseer said in his abrasive, hissing voice.  ¡°The seer you killed was costly to raise and irreplaceable, unlike you native.¡±


    A talon from his other hand came up and sank into the skin just below Nick¡¯s eye.  Then the claw was pulled down his cheek, tearing the skin as it went.  Blood spurted out and landed on the overseer¡¯s face, but he didn¡¯t care.  His long tongue came out and licked it off.


    It hurt, but Nick also didn¡¯t care.  He had done all he could.  Everyone had suffered pain and injuries in these fights.  Death would visit him soon and his life would have amounted to nothing.


    Three arrows, glowing red with skills, flashed towards the overseer in sequence.  They didn¡¯t reach him as a riot enforcer with a shield lifted it to block.  The arrows had enough force behind them that the lizard man barely had the strength to prevent all three, with the arrows penetrating the shield even if they didn¡¯t completely pass through.  The overseer looked at that in surprise.


    ¡°You natives connected to the aberration keep being unprecedented.  You reach far beyond your station.  The Scyrric stand further above you than the stars.  Though it matters not for you.  There is no more chance.  And no honor gained from killing ones as lowly as you,¡± said the overseer almost with regret.


    Then the base leader took all four claws from the hand not holding Nick and stabbed them forward into his chest.  Once more, the leather armor stopped the penetration, further confusing the overseer.


    ¡°This material is not from your world,¡± mused the Scyrric after getting over the surprise at the armor stopping his claws.  ¡°Must be something the aberration earned.  And if you are important enough to the aberration to warrant this material, then all the more reason for you to die.  All this armor has done is make your death more painful.¡±


    A claw was lowered until it found the bottom of the leather jacker.  Then the talons reached under it and thrust forward.


    This time, Nick did scream.

 CH 118: In the Midst

    CHAPTER 118: In the Midst


    Lamar had been furious.  He might not have shown it, but this was a dumb plan.  This had always been a dumb plan.  Of course they didn¡¯t have the strength to rescue the captives.  These idiots who decided on it and went along with it¡­well, clearly they didn¡¯t know Adam¡¯s will since the guy made it clear that his friends came before strangers; killing invaders before rescuing people.


    He had hoped that Nick would run.  There was no telling how fleeing would mentally impact a guy used to winning, but Lamar was sure that Adam would be able to do something about it with his mind abilities.  Lamar couldn¡¯t leave his friend behind, and Nick was the one in the most danger.  He might hate himself for abandoning these people, but what good was a meaningless sacrifice?


    Besides, they were still close enough to the entrance that escape for Lamar was only a cast of [Withdraw] away.  These suicidal idiots could run too if they weren¡¯t so fixated on death.  Just not until Nick got away.  Really the main threat was that watcher.


    It had surprised Lamar as much as the Scyrric when Nick had charged the boss and took out the watcher.  Nick was not the self-sacrifice type.  Yet Lamar knew exactly why Nick did it.


    Seeing his friend rush to his death had made him even angrier.  Unfortunately, Lamar didn¡¯t have anything he could do.  Arrow after arrow he had shot to try and give Nick a chance.  Some at the overseer, and some at random riot enforcers to create a distraction.


    Now he was out of arrows.  Both the testudinate metal arrowheads and the regular arrows, too weak to puncture even their scales.  Lamar needed some way to create the damn arrows on the fly.  He had never thought about how limited being an archer was.


    He could only watch as Nick was captured.  Nick had made a hard choice, and Lamar would soon have to as well.  He stowed his bow, useless without more arrows.  Then he grabbed one of the Sentinel Army¡¯s signal callers.


    ¡°Sound the retreat,¡± Lamar demanded of the man.  The man looked back at him as if he was crazy.


    ¡°We must rescue the captives and make these invaders pay,¡± the man shouted back, his eyes filled with madness.  ¡°For The General!¡±


    Lamar grabbed another support and once more demanded, ¡°sound the retreat!¡±


    ¡°We can still fight!¡± the woman responded, turning back to casting buffs.


    ¡°By the time they can¡¯t fight there will be no way to retreat¡±, Lamar mumbled, still able to hear Nick¡¯s screams above the din of battle.


    That was enough for Lamar.  There was no way to save Nick, no way to save the captives, and the attitude of these people combined with his anger put a halt to any guilt he might feel from leaving.  It was time to leave.  Lamar had done all he could, even allowed his friend to give in to the madness, partly causing this situation by not siding with Nick when talking to these nutjobs.


    It was time to go.


    Using [Withdraw], Lamar found himself outside of the translucent walls.  A second use of it moved him to the distant tree line.  He breathed a sigh of relief as he felt himself once more outside the Scyrric base territory.  The feeling wasn¡¯t quite tangible, but the difference between inside the invader base and outside created a strain in his mind.


    Lamar began to walk, trying not to think of Nick.  While Lamar was powerless to do more now, once he got to Jackson and returned, he would unleash his fury.  And Adam¡¯s.  There was no doubt that Adam¡¯s fury would eclipse his own.


    As he walked, an increasing vibration filled the air.  The ground rumbled almost imperceptibly, noticeable only due to his hunter skills.  Lamar shook his head and used language that his parents wouldn¡¯t approve of.  The vibrations increased as the air seemed to come alive with a hostile energy.


    Without a second thought, Lamar turned and ran back towards the base.


    ¡°That punk couldn¡¯t have been three minutes earlier?!¡±


    Soon the vibrations grew into the rumble of an engine pushing high speeds on the straight, empty road that led from Thompson¡¯s Station to the enemy base, though there was another chaotic pounding accompanying it.  Lamar spared a look behind him and what he saw forced him to move faster.


    He had expected the motorcycle to be Adam, air rippling around him like a mirage in the desert, rage painted on his face.  What he didn¡¯t expect was the hundred aliens chasing after him.  They looked like a weirdly drawn sci-fi space rabbit.  The expressions on their faces weren¡¯t readable by Lamar, but it was clear that they were expending every bit of energy trying to catch Adam.


    ¡°Make way!¡± shouted Lamar as he re-entered the base.  He shoved people out of the way until they noticed him.  There was confusion and resistance to it, but none were strong enough to resist Lamar.


    The resistance stopped as the noise increased.  The humans looked back and quickly opened a path.  The Scyrric were even more confused, with the humans creating a weak point they could be struck through.  Even the overseer had stopped paying attention to Nick, still dangling in his grasp, as he looked at the base entrance.


    The roar of the motorcycle became audible as everyone waited.  Then that roar of the vehicle turned into the roar of Adam as he rocketed through the throngs of humans and into the invaders.  The roar was picked up by all those in the Sentinel Army, imitating Adam¡¯s sound while unable to use the same power.


    The intensity of Adam¡¯s roar froze all the Scyrric.  Those fighting looked in horror as the humans rushed them in their moments of incapacitation.  The riot enforcers were frozen, though for less time, unsure if they should move from their spots to support their brethren.  Even the overseer paused for half a second, eyes going wide in surprise.


    ¡°The aberration came,¡± whispered the Scyrric.  Then he shouted at the twenty remaining riot enforcers, ¡°Get him!¡±


    Nick¡¯s body, with red, yellow, and white fluids coming out from wounds under his jacket, was unceremoniously dropped to the ground.  The overseer instead turned to watch Adam, a look of concentration taking over.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    On his way in, Adam had been wielding his large, triangular sword.  It was as long as his motorcycle, with a thickness and weight that were ignored through Adam¡¯s strength.  He swung the sword low, taking out the legs of any Scyrric in reach.  The stunned enemies had no chance to block or dodge as they were cut down.


    It only took a moment for Adam to reach the area where the riot enforcers had been stationed.  They were already in motion, moving to attack him.  Planting his foot on the ground, Adam used the force of the motorcycle to spin in a circle, sword out to maintain space.  He released the motorcycle, practically flinging it into the back of the groups attacking the other humans.  They couldn¡¯t handle its weight or heat as several were crushed and burned, with other lizards moving the bike from off their comrades.


    Adam faced up to the oncoming riot enforcers.  He swung his oversized sword with two hands, and it cut one Scyrric in half at the midsection.  The swing hit a second riot enforcer in their armor.  It wasn¡¯t able to cut through the armor, but the power of the attack was enough to crush the side of the armor, the inside of the lizard man, and then to throw him into another, sending them both sprawling.


    The sword was quickly brought up to face the 17 riot enforcers still standing.  This time they approached more cautiously, with shield bearers in the front.  Everyone, including Adam, could see that his blade had been dulled and slightly deformed where it had hit the Scyrric armor.  Using his full power would just render Adam¡¯s weapon useless.


    Still there was no hesitation from him as he made to step towards the closest shield carrying riot enforcer.  As he stepped, he disappeared, and a clang sounded from a shield three Scyrric away.  Adam was there and instead of using his sword, he had used his right fist, punching that Scyrric¡¯s shield downward.  Adam moved his sword to the left hand in a reverse grip and dragged the blade along the Scyrric¡¯s throat and then neck as he spun to the lizard¡¯s back.


    Scyrric ¡°Riot Enforcer [26]¡± slain.  4,242 XP gained.


    Now behind the shields, Adam went after those with only melee weapons.  The ones he swung at were well trained and they would step back on his attack, but others would try to get closer from the sides and back.  Adam had positioned himself to be surrounded.


    He still wasn¡¯t concerned.  Three more of the riot guards were knocked away or killed with his swings.  One stab took a lizard man in the stomach, and the enemy tried to hold it there but was instead bodily lifted on the sword and became added weight swung at another.


    Still, it limited Adam¡¯s motion.  Within twenty seconds the circle had closed and the Scyrric were trying to dog pile Adam, their own strength-based classes preventing him from using his full motions.  He had to abandon the large sword and switch to his own broadsword and a combat knife.


    Lamar had followed Adam as quickly as he could.  He ignored the normal soldiers, who were having trouble recovering from Adam¡¯s [Incapacitating Shout] and were being overwhelmed by the humans¡¯ newfound ferocity.  Lamar only had Nick¡¯s body in his sight.


    Pulling out his bow and releasing the clasp, turning it into a staff with sharpened ends, Lamar went to the riot enforcers.  Any that were on the ground but not dead, he quickly put an end to.


    Scyrric ¡°Riot Enforcer [26]¡± slain.  3,461 shared XP gained.


    Scyrric ¡°Riot Enforcer [28]¡± slain.  3,734 shared XP gained.


    Scyrric ¡°Riot Enforcer [25]¡± slain.  3,402 shared XP gained.


    Scyrric ¡°Riot Enforcer [26]¡± slain.  3,511 shared XP gained.


    There were still eleven piled on Adam, trying to overcome his strength through numbers and mass.  They stabbed due to the lack of room.  The shields and axes were useless in this scrum, making it look like a bunch of drunken frat boys wrestling.


    Lamar used their focus on Adam.  Each Scyrric removed from the group would make things easier for Adam, so Lamar targeted their weak points.  He didn¡¯t need to kill them, just reduce the strength they could use.  A stab behind the knee, or to the neck.  Penetration under their tails, or for one, right under the chin.  Those caused the riot enforcers to fall to the ground as Lamar aimed strategically.


    When the numbers pressuring Adam fell to six, three more went flying from the pile.  One with a leg bent the wrong way, two others bleeding badly from gashes in their necks.  Adam roared once more, standing straight.


    ¡°Leave him,¡± ordered the overseer, causing those who could still move to back off entirely.  ¡°Go help our brethren with the vermin.¡±


    Lamar looked at the bedlam behind him.  The humans had done well in the initial surge, but the Scyrric would have gotten control back with their training and numbers.  Except, none of the combatants knew what to make of the rabbit people.  They had rushed through the gate, past the humans, and were now moving like a swarm of bees, each rushing a different Scyrric.  They left whatever cut they could with the small, curved knives.  Once they scored a cut, they would dash off to another enemy while more rabbit men would come in from new directions for a cut.


    The Scyrric were thrown completely off guard by these tactics.  The rabbit aliens didn¡¯t even look like they were doing much damage.  With a hundred of them swarming, constantly moving, and no intention to actually engage in combat, the humans were able to push forward and get the deciding blows.


    Only four riot enforcers looked whole, which wouldn¡¯t be enough to turn the tide, but as expected the fight would come down to Adam and the overseer.  Lamar kept his distance from the riot enforcers and moved in a circle away from Adam and the overseer.  He made a line to Nick.


    The body was in bad shape when he arrived.  There was no way to put pressure on the numerous bleeding gut wounds, and Nick was breathing weakly while unconscious.


    ¡°You might need to invest in a bit more vitality, buddy,¡± Lamar said softly to Nick, as he gently lifted him in both arms.  The fighting was still intense everywhere, and Lamar wanted to get Nick to safety, but it seemed like getting heals was more important.


    Lamar turned towards the only area he might find healers outside of combat, the captives.  There were two Scyrric among the thousands of captives, menacing them and occasionally stabbing one to make them scream.  The screams had lost effectiveness a while ago, so now the Scyrric were just watching the battle, a bit of fear emanating from them.


    The two invaders looked to be laborers as they had tags for ¡°Squawk Hearer¡± and ¡°Rubbish Pile,¡± completely appropriate in Lamar¡¯s opinion.  As he approached, they came at him with swords.  Without disturbing Nick in his arms, Lamar planted a flat kick into the rubbish pile, and then high kicked the squawk hearer in the jaw, flipping him backwards.


    The captives scrambled to get out of the way of their landing.


    ¡°I need anyone with a heal,¡± Lamar said over the sounds of fighting.  The captives watched him but didn¡¯t move or speak.


    ¡°You saw what this guy did to rescue you,¡± growled Lamar uncharacteristically, anger rising in his voice.  ¡°You, you, and you get over here NOW!¡±


    Having pointed to three people with ¡°Support [0]¡± on their tag, he pushed others, shaking people out of the way.


    ¡°Y-yes,¡± the three came over as far as their restraints allowed them to.


    Lamar gently nudged a fifty-ish year-old man that was next to Lamar¡¯s feet.


    ¡°Take the dagger from my belt and cut your restraints, then cut those three free and anyone else who has a heal spell,¡± ordered Lamar.


    It took a bit of doing, with several threats from Lamar that he regretted using, but he didn¡¯t have time or patience right now.   Five healers were made to stab each of the Scyrric once, then Lamar stomped on their necks to finish them off.


    Scyrric ¡°Squawk Hearer [12]¡± slain.  529 shared XP gained.


    Scyrric ¡°Rubbish Pile [14]¡± slain.  697 shared XP gained.


    Once the healers had gotten a few levels, they all began healing Nick, trying to stabilize him.  He didn¡¯t immediately wake up, but his complexion became more normal though still a bit pale, and the wounds had closed.  Lamar then gently put him in a clearer area than the captives occupied and helped the freed men cut the restraints of the rest of the captives.


    Taking one last look at Adam, Lamar trusted that he would win this fight, even if Adam was already on the ground with a knife in his side and a sword pressing towards his face.

 CH 119: Seeking Power

    CHAPTER 119: Seeking Power


    ¡°So, you are the aberration?  I must say I¡¯m not impressed by your showing so far,¡± said the ¡°Base Overseer [32]¡± as he faced Adam while holding oddly shaped short swords in each hand.  Adam wasn¡¯t sure where they had been taken out from, but it might be Rift Menu magic.


    ¡°It was enough to take out your guards,¡± retorted Adam.


    ¡°I¡¯ve heard you were Tier 3 strength.  A Tier 3 berserker should have been able to run through those warriors, not have to stop and engage them.  Yet, it is still odd.  How did you use a Tier 4 ability like [Gladiator¡¯s Approach]?¡±


    Adam just shrugged at him, staying in battle stance while watching Lamar carry off Nick in the corner of his eye.


    ¡°I guess it matters not.  You are an aberration after all.  They will find the answers from your corpse or not.  Something like you hasn¡¯t happened since the arrival of the [System] and is unlikely to happen for thousands of years to come,¡± stated the overseer dismissively.


    ¡°Is there a reason for all your yapping?¡± asked Adam, struggling to be patient with an invader right in front of him.  Inside, the river was roaring, and the voice was screaming for him to conquer this enemy and to take what is his.


    ¡°So uncouth,¡± said the overseer with his snout turned up, sneering.  ¡°I guess I shouldn¡¯t expect intelligence from barbarians.  After all, it is up to the masters to discipline their property.¡±


    The overseer then attacked.  He stepped forward and it was clear that he had the ability and stats capable of fighting.


    ¡°[Master of the Domain],¡± the overseer announced as he flashed with the skill usage.  Adam could feel the Scyrric¡¯s stat¡¯s rising mid step as he arrived in an instant.  The speed wasn¡¯t enough to overwhelm Adam though, as he caught the overseer¡¯s blade with his own.  A swing of the overseer¡¯s offhand knife came close, but Adam was able to turn his body to avoid it.


    ¡°That was adequate, if not at all impressive,¡± said the lizard.  ¡°Let me give you a bit of information.  The class Base Overseer is an epic rarity class.  This means that we are stronger than most, excelling further within a base that we are in charge of.  We have many self-buff skills that bring us to greater heights when defending.  What I just used increases my stats by 50% while I am defending the base.  I can also use [Strength of my Enemy] to take an additional 25% of the stats of the highest-level enemy within the base.¡±


    With a malevolent smirk, the overseer flashed with the use of that skill.  However, afterwards he stepped back, making some space between them.  Adam noticed his eyes flickered to where Lamar was carrying Nick.


    ¡°It seems you aren¡¯t the highest level here.  That pest who killed my watcher has you beaten.  Oh well.  More stats are more stats.  Especially once I use [Strength of my Follower].  I can temporarily borrow half of one of their stats and the use of a single skill.  I¡¯ll take [Devastating Counter] and Strength from one of the living Riot Enforcers,¡± explained the overseer.


    ¡°You sound like an anime where the MC needs to explain every card he plays in an inconsequential game so the audience thinks he¡¯s more impressive than he is,¡± muttered Adam.


    ¡°I was doing you a courtesy to inform you of how you would be defeated, but if you don¡¯t care, that saves me the trouble,¡± snarled the overseer.


    Three more flashes came from parts of the overseer.  His hands, chest, and tail.  Then he once more attacked.


    The stat increasing skills made a huge difference.  Adam was immediately on the defensive.  The rapid swipes from his swords resulted in a cut to Adam¡¯s upper arm, with his forearms avoiding it only thanks to the feral behemoth skin that made up his long gloves.  The testudinate alloy bracers didn¡¯t do a thing as the overseer¡¯s knives were able to cut right through it, with only token resistance.


    ¡°That material is frustrating.  I¡¯m not sure what it is or where you got it from, but it will only buy you a short amount of time.¡±


    During the next few engagements their weapons swung furiously.  Adam blocked and parried as best he could, having to primarily defend his neck and upper arms, the areas where his armor didn¡¯t protect.  The overseer did slash his chest piece to test but realized more of the behemoth leather was below.


    Adam was now becoming overwhelmed.  He reached for his own skill [Soul and Body Shaping] to draw more power from the river.  It required the limits of what his body could take just to begin blocking or dodging every strike, while his skin and insides began to overheat and redden.


    Once more the overseer stepped back.


    ¡°There it is.  The berserker¡¯s own ability to increase their stats based on the force used against them.  So much power in that class even if it is only a rare one, and this time I did see your skill activate,¡± nodded the overseer before attacking again.


    For the next several minutes Adam moved as fast as he ever had, blocking, counter swinging, evading.  The fight was the first where he was able to observe fighting technique as his opponent seemed very practiced with his weapons.


    The style probably wouldn¡¯t have worked for a human as Adam noticed the knives were held differently due to the large talons, while the tail added an odd balance and momentum to the swings.  The overseer could be lunging, but a swing of the tail would then change the angle of the attack or might suddenly pull the overseer back so he could dodge one of Adam¡¯s thrusts.


    Adam waited, resisting the fury coming from inside, the desire to just run forward to crush what was in front of him.  In his head, Adam knew that wouldn¡¯t work.  Then, after hundreds of exchanges, Adam saw an opening and thrust into it.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¡°[Devastating Counter!]¡±  The overseer¡¯s weapon flashed then thrust forward.


    Adam could barely follow the skill-based attack.  He thought his own attack should have landed, but too late he realized the opening had been intentional.  The impact that Adam had on the overseer didn¡¯t leave a mark, instead channeling the power into his own strike.  The blade flashed towards Adam¡¯s core.  With the slightest twist, Adam took the knife in his oblique, where it sank through his armor and body, poking out the other side.


    The overseer let go of the weapon, instead trying to strike forward with his claws.  Adam was already thrown backwards from the force, bringing him half off the ground and ruining his balance.  The lizard¡¯s tail hooked Adam¡¯s ankle using some kind of shaped metal accessory that Adam had thought was purely decorative.


    Tumbling back, Adam was forced to block the Scyrric¡¯s downward strike with his sword, catching the knife on his cross-guard.  A claw strike came next, while he was still pushing his sword away from him.  Parrying with his own knife resulted in it being knocked out of his hand.  Very quickly Adam grabbed the overseer¡¯s wrist, trying to keep the talons from coming at him again.


    There Adam lay.  The overseer¡¯s claw held back by his hand, his own leg held down by the tail to prevent him from kicking or performing a judo throw, and both of the remaining weapons locked.  Their strength was close to even, with Adam having a little to spare to push upwards, until the overseer once more curled his lips at Adam.


    ¡°[Defender of my People],¡± hissed the overseer as his whole body flashed from the skill.


    The pressure on Adam became more than he could take.  Both the locked knife and the claws came slowly, quivering towards him.  The knife in his side further prevented Adam from getting leverage.


    It took a greater increase of power from [Soul and Body Shaping] to once more hold the overseer at bay, though the creature didn¡¯t seem in a rush to finish this.  Regardless of the invader¡¯s words, Adam could feel the exuberance and pride from the Scyrric at having his enemy on the ropes.


    Adam couldn¡¯t sustain this.  His eyes darted around but there was no one nearby that could help.  There was no one in this base strong enough to affect this enemy.  Pain was coming down his arms not from the overseer¡¯s attack or the strain on his muscles, but from the burning that was eating away at his skin from using too much of his own power.  Inside, the river was boiling and overflowing, trying to sweep Adam¡¯s mind away.


    He had known this would happen sooner or later, that his unexplainable strength would get power crept by his enemies, by those with higher levels.  Adam wasn¡¯t sure if this was sooner or later than he expected.  Once he fell, that would be it for the humans.  The end of Jackson, his family and friends.  Adam tried using those thoughts as motivation to summon an inner strength and determination, but no matter what he wanted, there was no shift in his strength.


    His stats were high enough, but he was fighting without tools.  Everyone had skills.  Adam only had those pseudo-skills, the memories of skills and weaker versions at that.  As far as he knew, he had four pseudo-skills from a berserker class, and some from a soul manipulation class.


    While still resisting the pressure from the overseer, Adam tried using a soul strike.  He felt it go out but then hit an incorporeal wall.  More subtly, Adam tried forming a connection and feeling for the overseer¡¯s soul space, but again that wall blocked him.  When he looked at his soul map, he couldn¡¯t even see the overseer on it.  Either Adam¡¯s abilities weren¡¯t strong enough against someone of the overseer¡¯s level or the invader had skills or equipment to block it.


    What Adam needed were more tools.  More skills.  He didn¡¯t know how he had created [Body and Soul Shaping], but he did know where the pseudo skills came from¡­his memories.  He also had been given a hint by the overseer, that berserkers could increase their stats from force sent against them.


    He could feel his strength decreasing.  If it waned much further, he would be done, with the overseer pushing downwards as he smiled above him.


    Adam reached inside.  He fell into his own soul, still aware and experiencing what was happening with his body.  As quickly as he could, he entered the space where his memories were.  The usual calm crystals that signified important memories seem agitated.  They were less stable.  Instead of slowly drifting into place, they quivered.


    Several times before, Adam had traveled to those blood splotches that represented memories from the other person, from someone with a real berserker class.  Usually, it took longer to reach them, but it seemed the space responded to Adam¡¯s intent as he very quickly found himself flowing through the golden fog of the area and into the edge of it.


    He zipped to the different areas where blood memories had stuck to the border of his own memories.  The pseudo-skills had lines reaching further into his memory space where Adam knew they connected to crystal memories of his own.


    In a rush, still feeling the claws and knife inching closer to him, Adam moved around the borders of the soul area.  He could see more blood splotches, both close and far, but none that touched his memory space.  Numerous experiments had shown Adam that he couldn¡¯t affect the ones outside of his space.  Only the ones connected to his border were linked to memories.


    Growing desperate, Adam raced around searching.  He could feel the claws almost at his chest, his own sword beginning to touch his neck.  Adam wasn¡¯t sure if he was able to feel panic while the river raged, but he knew even pre-[System] Adam would have felt it by now.  What he was looking for could be in any direction, any distance from his border.  He couldn¡¯t even be sure that what he wanted was within reach.


    Adam closed his eyes.  Both those with his body and whatever senses he used within his own soul.


    ¡°Accepting your death, aberration?  Maybe you have a modicum of honor,¡± gloated the overseer, his voice a far distance from Adam¡¯s mind.


    With all his senses muted, Adam reached out.  He didn¡¯t reach with desperation or a sense of need.  Instead, he just thought about exerting force through a skill, of meeting force with force.  A metaphysical hand reached out from him and then stopped.


    Adam opened his senses.  He was at the edge of his memory space and right on the other side was a blood splotch.  There was no line connecting it to anything.  It simply sat there, lightly touching the border, still more blood splotch memories floating further back.  Now Adam had to form that connection.


    This time he kept his senses open as he touched the place where the blood memory sat.


    Adam breathed in the humid jungle air.  There was an accompanying smell of smoke and death.  Behind him everything was broken and burned.  There were tens of thousands of corpses.  Beasts, monsters, aliens, invaders, chimeras, all manners of enemies. In front of him were tens of thousands of creatures that he would add to the piles of corpses.


    He had been fighting for hours.  He would continue fighting for hours more.  As long as he needed to go, this would continue until they were all dead at his feet, or they burned away every part of his body.


    Once more Adam activated his skill.  Strength fed into him.  Energy, power, and death for his enemies.


    [Power Through +5]


    Increases user¡¯s Strength and Agility based on the level difference between himself and an aggregation of the nearby enemies at the cost of Intelligence and Wisdom.


    +1: Increases range of enemy aggregation.


    +2: Increases range of enemy aggregation.


    +3: Increases Strength accumulated.


    +4: Increases Strength multiplier.


    +5: Increases Agility multiplier.


    The eyes of Adam¡¯s physical body opened, staring into the overseer¡¯s eyes with an intensity the Scyrric hadn¡¯t seen before.  Rare for Adam when he was fighting, his mouth became a wide grin.

 CH 120: Goodbye

    CHAPTER 120: Goodbye


    Adam pushed upwards. His hands moved both the Scyrric¡¯s claws and clashing sword away from his body. The memory version of [Power Through] fed into him.


    When Adam activated [Body and Soul Shaping], it was like a faucet that could adjust the volume of power that entered him while also insulating him from the damage that power could do. He could either allow a trickle just to give him a little power, or he could open the amount to a degree that would destroy his body.


    [Power Through] was different. He didn¡¯t have control of it and was sure his version wasn¡¯t as inclusive as the one from the memory. Right now, that didn¡¯t matter. He could feel the strength of it. Instead of increasing the amount of power that flowed into him, it was increasing the velocity of it. Pressurizing the flow, taking it from a slow running faucet that he could direct to the force of a fireman¡¯s hose, spraying everywhere.


    Adam briefly wondered if he was being considered a Tier 1, level 0 by the skill. If so, then his Tier 3, level 32 opponent would be 87 levels higher than him, increasing the pressure by that difference according to the skill description he had seen within the other man¡¯s memory.


    The overseer started gasping and sputtering with his reptilian lips.


    ¡°What? But, how? You used your skill earlier! How do you have more strength now without using another skill?¡± hissed out the Scyrric in a panic.


    Adam continued smiling at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m an aberration, right? The rules don¡¯t apply to me!¡±


    Then Adam threw his arms to the side while still grasping the invader¡¯s wrist and locking swords. The overseer had continued to push, and without Adam resisting him all the force flung his body downwards. Adam drove his own head right into the lizard snout. The impact bounced the overseer backwards, momentarily stunning him and causing blood to spray out of his nostrils and mouth.


    The overseer stumbled to his feet, coughing and choking in an inhuman way. As soon as the tail¡¯s grip on Adam¡¯s ankle lessened, Adam rolled backwards to his own feet.


    Once steady, Adam used [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] to appear in front of the overseer. His sword stabbed into the overseer¡¯s left forearm, causing the hand to become limp. Within a moment¡¯s pause, Adam then pulled the Scyrric combat knife out of his own body and armor and sliced the right hand clean off.


    The overseer¡¯s eyes became large, and the reptilian pupils dilated. The lizard man cried out and lunged towards Adam leading with his mouth, like a snapping alligator. Adam caught the teeth on either side, closing in on his torso.


    The jaw muscles are the strongest in the human body, and Adam had to imagine that was true for the Scyrric too. The strength exerted by those jaws was great, but Adam¡¯s new pseudo-skill had given him what he needed.


    Separating the upper and lower jaws, pulling them apart until there was a loud snap of bone, Adam let loose a bestial roar like an animal. Not one that carried his [Incapacitating Shout]. This was a bestial shout of victory that contained all the power pumping through him, the fury of the river, the anger towards all invaders, and the sound of his heartbeat pounding through his head, shaking the air with its sound. It was a shout of a monster ready to attack everything the world could bring against him.


    Scyrric ¡°Base Overseer [32]¡± slain. 32,265 XP gained.


    The remaining Scyrric all looked at him, and the three living riot enforcers charged.


    Adam punched the first to arrive in the chest, crushing the armor and the ribs inside. That Scyrric fell gurgling. The second had his legs kicked out from under him and Adam stomped on his neck when it hit the ground. The third, Adam grabbed the chest piece where it ended at the upper chest and while the riot enforcer tried to claw at Adam¡¯s arms, Adam crushed his throat and then ripped it¡¯s head off, once more releasing a bestial roar.


    Then, to the disgust of everyone but the General¡¯s Guard, Adam began pouring the Scyrric¡¯s blood into his own mouth, where it dissolved with a sharp taste like turmeric and triggered his regeneration. Once healed, Adam threw the body to the floor and looked around while breathing heavily. His bloodshot eyes glared at everyone nearby, challenging them to face him. Thoughts slipped through his mind with each beat of his heart.


    Cries of victory were rising from the Sentinel Army¡¯s soldiers. Some were looking for Scyrric bodies to mimic Adam by drinking their blood, which resulted in a few needing heals while others just vomited. More were on one knee in a half bow, half salute. The Leputi were mostly trembling while bowing prostrate on the ground.


    The captive humans were trying to hide, as scared of Adam as they were of the Scyrric. They covered their eyes and trembled. A few were pleading with Lamar to take them away from him.


    With no enemies nearby, Adam felt the effects of [Power Through] rapidly fade. His body calmed down while his mind was freed to think clearly.


    Embarrassment grew in him as he realized that under the new pseudo-skill he had been acting like a mindless beast, reveling in a won game of ¡°king of the mountain.¡± The power and ferocity he had radiated hadn¡¯t been targeted at just his enemies. It had been released for all to feel.


    ¡°Right,¡± Adam muttered to himself. ¡°The memory said [Power Through] lowers intelligence and wisdom. Damn. It also increased the damage my body took. I wonder how the other guy survived it. Better save this for emergencies.¡±


    When Adam¡¯s body and mind had calmed down, he fixed his gaze on Lamar and Nick. Nick was conscious and supported by Lamar. With big strides, Adam ran over to them. Tears formed in his eyes as he wrapped each of them in an arm, hugging them with near bone crushing force.


    ¡°I¡¯m so glad you guys are alive! I¡¯m so glad¡­¡± he blubbered.


    They both dangled in the air, surprised by Adam¡¯s uncharacteristic show of affection, also thankful that the feral behemoth armor provided some protection again blunt force damage. The captive people from Thompson¡¯s Station had already backed away.


    Once he had calmed down again, Adam placed them back on the ground. Nick was pale and kept his eyes downward. Lamar put a hand on Adam¡¯s arm and patted it in greeting.


    ¡°New power?¡± Lamar asked.


    ¡°New power,¡± nodded Adam.


    ¡°When?¡±


    ¡°While fighting the base boss,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°Of course,¡± sighed Lamar, wishing it was that easy for him. ¡°Anyway, thanks for coming for us. A few more minutes and Nick wouldn¡¯t have made it.¡±


    Adam looked at Nick and all the gore covering him and his gear. His face screwed up in a grimace. ¡°Sorry I wasn¡¯t sooner. And sorry I left you back at the water plant. I couldn¡¯t fight my way to you without abandoning the rest of the army. I just¡­well, I just had to make a tough decision and hated both outcomes. Then I thought you were dead. I¡¯m sorry.¡±Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°I understand, Adam. We¡¯ve all had to make tough decisions, and this won¡¯t be the last of them.¡±


    ¡°I wanted to come when I found out you were alive, but the others convinced be to send those guys,¡± Adam tilted his head to indicate the General¡¯s Guard. ¡°We had other business going on as well. I didn¡¯t know they would throw themselves, and you, into a hopeless situation. I rushed out with reinforcements as soon as I heard.¡±


    ¡°You made shockingly good time, even for you,¡± admitted Lamar.


    ¡°About that,¡± Adam got really close to him and whispered, ¡°we found out how to teleport between the bases. Don¡¯t tell others yet. I don¡¯t want the invaders to know we know.¡±


    ¡°Wow. That¡¯ll really help,¡± agreed Lamar. ¡°I take it the ¡®other business¡¯ was the space rabbits?¡±


    ¡°Whoa! Don¡¯t let Tom hear you call them rabbits. Their race is Leputi. He¡¯s insisting they¡¯re called bunnies,¡± warned Adam.


    ¡°Of course he is. But why?¡±


    ¡°Who knows. It¡¯s a Tom thing.¡±


    ¡°Of course it is. Another Tom thing,¡± sighed Lamar. ¡°Anyway, I personally can¡¯t wait to get back to base and shower. Any chance of using that¡­fast travel?¡±


    ¡°I think it¡¯ll be safer to use the transports the others are bringing.¡± Adam¡¯s words caused Lamar to sigh again. ¡°Anyway, I think my little display and the bunny former-invaders-turned-employees are freaking out the other humans. I¡¯ll talk to the other Sentinels and get some of the less bloody ones to try and talk them through everything. Just know that it¡¯s really great to have you guys back.¡±


    ¡°Adam,¡± Nick muttered as Adam turned to leave, head still down.


    ¡°Yeah, Nick?¡±


    ¡°We aren¡¯t enough, are we?¡±


    Adam squared up and looked at Nick. He wasn¡¯t great at reading body language, but he saw the despair in his long-time friend. The slouch and posture weren¡¯t just from losing a fight. There was more going on. Adam considered what to say before he spoke.


    ¡°No, Nick. Even I¡¯m struggling now.¡±


    ¡°Even as a group we couldn¡¯t do anything until you came. It¡¯s all you. We¡¯re just your cheerleaders and pity cases,¡± spat Nick.


    ¡°Nick, that¡¯s not fair,¡± started Lamar, but Adam held up a hand to stop him.


    ¡°I tried to bring you guys up so we could stand together, or so you could leave me behind since I can¡¯t level. I don¡¯t want to be this important,¡± stated Adam seriously, almost resentfully. ¡°Everything has been to keep my people safe.¡±


    ¡°But you can¡¯t do that, Adam! We can¡¯t become what you are! You can¡¯t keep us all safe and we can¡¯t keep ourselves safe.¡±


    ¡°Then what are you saying, Nick?¡±


    Nick raised his head and looked Adam in the eyes. The body language screamed depression, submission, and surrender. However, the eye showed intensity. They met Adam¡¯s eyes with a fury that surprised Adam and released some of his worry.


    ¡°I can¡¯t come back with you. You already thought I was dead, just continue thinking that. I don¡¯t have to be the go-to guy, but I need to matter in the lineup.¡±


    ¡°Nick, no!¡± pleaded Lamar.


    ¡°Sorry, buddy. This is how it must be,¡± said Nick with determination.


    ¡°I, I can¡¯t come with you,¡± said Lamar. ¡°I miss home and my family.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to come. I was never much for solo sports, but this time I have to be on my own. I need to figure out if it¡¯s possible for someone other than Adam to survive. If it isn¡¯t possible, then one way or another I won¡¯t be coming back.¡±


    Adam reached to Nick and gripped his shoulder with a tight squeeze. ¡°Keep the appointment title so you can always find your way back home. I¡¯ll tell your parents but make sure you stay alive.¡±


    Nick nodded to Adam, and once Adam let go, he began walking to the base entrance.


    ¡°Goodbye, Adam.¡±


    ¡°Goodbye, Nick,¡± was all Adam could say as his best friend departed. He watched Nick for a few minutes and then put his friend out of his mind. There were things to get done and a base to claim.


    ***


    In the time before his group and the rest of the reinforcements arrived, there had been a lot to do. Adam had sent the Leputi back to the South Hampton Rift, since they made the already scared captives more nervous. The Sentinel Army troops accepted them after Adam proclaimed they had joined up, though plenty of people wanted to know more about the situation.


    With the number of captives, it took a while to free them all. Adam assigned some of the soldiers who had been trained to work with rescued groups to manage their care. Other soldiers were sent out to raid Thompson Station of food, snacks, and drinks so the former captives had something worth eating.


    Adam himself explored the base. He found stores of meat that seemed fine for humans. The General¡¯s Guard did the testing and distributing, making sure it was served to the captives. There were other food-like piles and that green glop, but even Adam didn¡¯t feel like eating them based on their looks and smells.


    Several large armories were in the buildings within the base, including a smaller one off a private living area that had belonged to the base overseer. Adam made an unseen apology to Garrett, who made his weapons, as he replaced his two combat knives, broadsword, and great sword from similar weapons in the overseer¡¯s armory. None of the armors were usable without reforging due to the difference in shape between humans and the Scyrric. The rest of the weapons and armor could be researched or reforged by Garrett to learn more about the higher quality metals they were made from.


    Adam held off on taking official control of the base since he wanted to wait for the rest of the reinforcements so they could gain the stats from the capture title. Until he took control, he just stayed quiet and out of the way. He already knew that many of the base leaders that he had defeated had sent out video feeds of him, and he didn¡¯t want to do or say anything that could give info away to his enemies.


    Otherwise, Adam tried to stay out of the way of everyone else. It might have made him seem like a big shot watching his minions do the work, especially after he dragged an ornate chair out of the overseer¡¯s room, but it seemed better to let those more qualified do the work. The chair was an awkward fit, too large and with a big portion of the back missing to fit a tail, so Adam had to sit sideways in it while slouching.


    Beforehand, the captives had seemed scared of him. After seeing him in the chair, quite a few scowled at him. He¡¯d rather not know what they were thinking towards him.


    It had taken quite a few hours before two thousand from the Sentinel Army arrived, led by Lucas and some of his group. A massive swarm of vehicles had transported them. The people in it were both pleased and disappointed that no enemies were left. Regardless of the lack of a fight, there was a large series of cheers to celebrate the survival of more humans.


    The base had been captured and the title had gone to as many people as were able to get it. Adam had a tough time explaining to his own group why everyone would need to drive back instead of teleporting. It felt important to Adam that they not let their enemies know they had figured out how to read the menus and teleport living people between bases.


    There was one weird conversation though. A man over twice Adam¡¯s age had been eyeing him throughout the day. Yet, only when there was a group around him being boisterous did the man approach. The man looked even older than he probably was due to the weeks of captivity.


    ¡°E-excuse me, sirs, madams,¡± the man piped up after approaching.


    ¡°Hello. Is something wrong? Did you need anything else?¡± asked Abbey.


    ¡°Oh, no. For the first time in weeks my belly is full and I¡¯m not thirsty. It¡¯s just that, I was wondering if you could spare some people to take me back to Thompson Station,¡± said the man hesitantly. He flickered glances at Adam while trying to avoid looking at him.


    ¡°What did you need back there? We¡¯ve already said that personal possessions will need to wait until after you all get situation in Jackson,¡± said Brittney.


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am. It isn¡¯t that.¡± Adam almost laughed at the man bobbing his head towards the much smaller and younger girl as if she was a queen he couldn¡¯t offend. ¡°My daughter was never brought here by those monsters. I¡¯m concerned for her. She was¡­well, we left her hidden to take care of children¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh!¡± said Adam, causing the man to flinch. ¡°Are you Swan¡¯s dad?¡±


    ¡°How do you know her name?¡± the man asked.


    ¡°Lamar and Nick, that archer and the rogue who left after saving you guys, found her in the church. They saved her from the Scyrric and had her and the kids evacuated to Jackson already. She now lives with Lamar,¡± explained Adam.


    ¡°Come again?!¡± shouted the man in surprise.


    ¡°What do you mean she¡¯s living with me?¡± asked Lamar with confusion. Adam squinted back at him.


    ¡°You said you guys were dating so she moved into your condo,¡± said Andrea.


    ¡°I never said that,¡± said Lamar.


    ¡°The stories are already going around that you two fell in love while you fought waves of invaders to save her. People think it¡¯s quite romantic,¡± added Alissa.


    ¡°What?! That¡¯s not how it happened! Well, it kind of is, but it wasn¡¯t romance. We were fighting and fleeing for our lives. You guys are misunderstanding!¡± defended Lamar.


    ¡°It really did sound romantic, though not as much as the things Adam has gone through for us,¡± said Abbey. The other girls nodded in agreement.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Adam. Tell them! You said you checked her memories,¡± demanded Lamar, in a bit of a panic.


    Adam shrugged. ¡°She thought you were handsome.¡±


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t help at all, man!¡±


    ¡°Lamar, thank you for saving my daughter. I hope you understand I wish to know more about you before I accept you as a son-in-law.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not¡­! It wasn¡¯t¡­! I didn¡¯t¡­! Argh!¡± Lamar shouted as he stormed off.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t know he could get that expressive. The guy hardly ever talks,¡± said Randall to everyone else¡¯s agreement.

 CH 121: Water Solution

    CHAPTER 121: Water Solution


    ¡°Thanks for telling me, Adam,¡± said Mr. Morris, Nick¡¯s dad.  There were tears in his eyes.


    They lived in a different building within the Sentinel Army¡¯s primary base Rift.  Nick hadn¡¯t wanted his family to live right below him.  Unlike Adam, prior to the [System] Nick was a popular guy.  He enjoyed having space to have friends over, throw his own parties, and entertain girls.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I just didn¡¯t know what I could say to bring him back,¡± explained Adam.  He was having a hard time maintaining eye contact with Mr. Morris.


    ¡°It¡¯s not your fault.  Nick was always trying to impress you.¡±


    ¡°Me?!  I never tried at things.  Everything he did was impressive compared to me,¡± Adam expressed his surprise.


    ¡°He had so many people who would praise him, whether when playing soccer or basketball or his other sports.  Yet, he would play his hardest when you came to watch the game.  Nick always checked if you were in the bleachers before the games and would look at you after doing something neat.¡±


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s just¡­wow.  I¡¯m not sure why he valued me so much.  I thought he left because he was upset I was able to do more than him,¡± wondered Adam.


    ¡°It sees more likely to me that he didn¡¯t want to let you down.  He wanted you to be able to count on him.  He understands the value of teams, and probably felt like he was dead weight compared to you.  Covering for his weakness.¡±  Mr. Morris put his hands over his face to hide new tears coming in.  ¡°I just hope he can live long enough to come back to us.¡±


    Adam put his hand on Mr. Morris¡¯s shoulder and gave it a light squeeze.


    ¡°He¡¯ll come back.  Nick won¡¯t lose.  He¡¯s never let me down.¡±


    ***


    ¡°Adam, we need to start improving the city and living spaces,¡± Mrs. Clemens said in the meeting.


    Adam frowned, though not directly at her.  Other people had been alluding to that need.  They had expanded the size of their territory, but other than the obsidian walls and ramparts, they hadn¡¯t been reconstructing anything outside the walls.  The people they rescued, as well as those already from Jackson, were living in all kinds of buildings.  Repurposed office buildings, parking garages, stores, and anywhere with space.  They had no running water, electricity, or sanitation services.  Cleanliness was becoming a problem.


    The Sentinel Army base distributed as much as it could to provide for people¡¯s needs, but the size was growing without the infrastructure to support it.  People were still going on their mandated hunts and leveling trips, so there was plenty of food.  Waste and garbage could be brought onto the Rift base to be broken down into energy or raw materials.  A large bathhouse was also placed just inside the base walls so people could stay cleanish, though that had a limit since there were just too many people for it and not enough water or space.


    ¡°No.  It still isn¡¯t time,¡± said Adam, knowing people were looking at him severely.  ¡°We¡¯ve been making strides but not enough.  If the mind witch finds out she¡¯ll just do something else to stop us.¡±


    ¡°Aren¡¯t you a little too focused on her?¡± suggested Ron.  ¡°You haven¡¯t heard about her in a while.  That one failed raid could have been set up long ago.  We¡¯ve even reviewed the rift communications, now that we can read it, and there has been no mention of her or you.  Just chatter about different races battling.¡±


    ¡°NO!¡± snapped Adam.  ¡°She¡¯s out there and setting something up that we won¡¯t be ready for!  It will only take one weakness, one mistake and then everything is destroyed and everyone dead!¡±


    Adam¡¯s voice rose as he spoke, and he had risen to his feet without realizing it.  His insides churned and heat wafted out of him.  The pressure he projected on the room caused most to flinch back from him or the lowest leveled of them to cower.


    ¡°Adam, please calm down,¡± his mother said quietly, not recognizing the madness in his eyes.


    Looking around at the fear and distrust that he saw due to his outburst, Adam tried taking a breath.  To him, they were being na?ve and complacent.  The voice inside telling him to conquer wouldn¡¯t let up and wouldn¡¯t be ignored.


    He closed his eyes and felt the flow of the river inside.  A lot of things had gone wrong, but Adam didn¡¯t think that was the reason for his outburst.  Things could always go wrong, and he had never been a perfectionist.  There was something coming, though since the [System] had arrived there was always something coming.  Adam had worked so hard and didn¡¯t want it all to crumble from unseen schemes.  They were only now getting an understanding of where they stood and what could be done, thanks to the Leputi.  That left them still far behind the invaders.


    Adam opened his eyes as he looked around, the intensity now manageable for the people around the table to meet his gaze.


    ¡°Fine.  We¡¯ll make some changes.  Jordan, get the plumbing and sewage system fixed to all the buildings.  Just don¡¯t announce it.  The buildings will have to wait until we have a defensive solution.  Otherwise, keep working on the underground shelters in case people need to hole up.¡±


    ¡°But Adam, we still don¡¯t have enough water,¡± said the city planner.


    ¡°I¡¯ll go get us some damn water,¡± swore Adam, as he stomped out of the room.


    ***


    ¡°This is what you wanted all that stuff for?!¡± gasped Mr. Fenton, referring to the list that Adam had wanted him to collect a few days ago.


    They had two dump trucks full of bags of items from landscaping and pool supply stores, among other places, behind them.  There was also a cement mixer turning as people dumped bags of chemicals into it.


    ¡°Do you think it won¡¯t be enough?¡± Adam asked.


    Mr. Fenton barked a laugh.  ¡°Not enough?  You¡¯d be able to recreate the dead sea with this much poison.  I¡¯m just surprised you thought of this.¡±


    ¡°Not military enough?¡±


    ¡°The chemical warfare part is definitely like the military, even if more like other countries than ours.  Cleaning up the fall out, on the other hand, is where your ideas have some merits.  We¡¯ll just need to see,¡± confirmed Mr. Fenton.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    They were at the edge of the Tennessee River, at a campground, before it hit Pickwick Dam.  An invader base had merged with the dam.  Before they had attacked the previous water reclamation plant, Adam had suggested this target, but had been shot down by the intelligence agents.  They thought it was too far and too dangerous, with the invaders being aquatic creatures.  There was no way they could fight an army of aquatic monsters.


    Adam had made a list of water-based cleaners and poisons.  Mr. Fenton and his unit had spent a few days collecting all of them from stores in Jackson, even visiting nearby towns to get what they had.


    The plan had surprised people with its simplicity.  Everyone had been so worried about fighting aquatic invaders within their base they had been overthinking it.  Instead of fighting the creatures underwater, they would poison the water.  The chemicals they were using would mostly get stopped at the damn.  Of course, if the invaders had immunity, they could retreat.


    After a time, Lucas came jogging towards them with a body.  The body was a little smaller than Lucas, but much more bulbous.  It was like a hedgehog or porcupine, except with longer spikes on its back.  There was no fur on it, nor scales.  The skin was a mucky brown color that had a coating of oil which made it slide through the water, with the spikes wriggling to help propel it.  The feet and hands had a paddle-like quality to them.


    ¡°It¡¯s confirmed.  They do come on land but are hella slow on it.  I¡¯m not sure how they breath since they don¡¯t have gills,¡± informed Lucas, dropping the corpse of one in front of them.  ¡°They are called Akanoch.¡±


    ¡°Were they willing to talk?¡± asked Adam.


    Lucas laughed at him.  ¡°Would it matter?¡±


    ¡°No, I guess not.  Are our troops positioned on both sides of the river?¡±


    ¡°Everyone is in their assigned positions.  We¡¯ve also confirmed that the dam is still closed,¡± nodded Lucas.


    They waited a little longer to mix an ample supply of the chemicals they brought.  Once the mixer was full, they poured it into the water.  It wasn¡¯t that the chemicals changed the color of the water, but they were able to watch as the high concentrations killed all the aquatic plants in and around the river.  Then Adam and Lucas began jogging along the edge of the waterway.


    What they witnessed was environmentally horrific.  The natural beauty was being poisoned and eroded.  But in Adam¡¯s mind, getting rid of the invaders came first.  He started to wonder once again if he was giving in to the voice inside too much, but then he saw one of the Akanoch dragging itself out of the water at the edge of the river.


    It was struggling to move, and its round body spasmed as if it couldn¡¯t breathe.  The mucky brown skin had lost the coating of oil and now looked cracked.


    As soon as it was on the shore, a squad of Sentinels rushed from the tree line and got their hits in, then killed it.  It only took a few more minutes before ten of the Akanoch came out of the water, then dozens, then hundreds.  They were gasping and heaving on the ground, until the Sentinel Army troops came forward and finished them for good.


    This was the easiest XP they had ever gotten.  There was a limit to how many of the invaders the troops could tag before they died, since they were already nearly wiped out from the chemicals.  Adam saw several try crawling back to the water, but they couldn¡¯t even make it all the way in before being dispatched by the surrounding humans.


    This went on for about 15 minutes.  There were so many corpses that groups were alternating dragging them away from the water.  There were a few thousand of the creatures being wiped out.


    ¡°Wow,¡± muttered Mr. Fenton in amazement.  ¡°Are you sure they can¡¯t just clean the water using their Rift menu?¡±


    ¡°Lashtam said that merged bases can¡¯t reconstruct themselves during attacks, that energy is automatically saved for defenses.  Also, since the chemicals didn¡¯t all enter the water at the same time, even if they cleaned out a portion all it would do is dilute it since more chemicals would continue to enter the water base from upriver, outside their territory.¡±


    ¡°I see,¡± nodded Mr. Fenton.  ¡°I guess that is why you wanted people stationed on top of the dam.¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± agreed Adam.  ¡°That is part of their territory, so as long as the dam is closed, the chemicals will build up.  Our people defending the dam will prevent them from cleaning it.  We also don¡¯t want them to just physically break the dam and drain the chemicals.¡±


    ¡°That just leaves two issues,¡± said Lucas.  ¡°The boss and then claiming the base in all those toxins.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ve got that covered,¡± Adam said confidently.


    After a quick radio call and a few minutes waiting, a pickup truck drove close to the dam.  The trio walked to the dam¡¯s entrance and Adam grabbed two things from the bed of the truck.  One was a large white, two-pronged harpoon.  It was made from feral behemoth bones.  They had tested the testudinate metal against the chemicals and found that corrosion did occur.  These bones were also Tier 3 strength, so it should be able to hold up to the toxins.


    It had taken Garrett several days to make long enough ¡°rope¡± out of the feral behemoth¡¯s tendons.  Once more leveraging the body of Adam¡¯s stronger past opponents to increase their army¡¯s strength.


    The second thing was a crate that he handed to Lucas to carry.


    ¡°Let¡¯s go fishing, boys,¡± said Adam as he got to the center of the dam.  Then he closed his eyes and sensed with his soul map.  There were a lot of people nearby, but they had varying levels of appreciation for him.  However, it wasn¡¯t hard to find what he was looking for.  A strong soul, bigger than any other in the area, radiating enormous hostility towards him.


    Keeping his eyes closed, Adam pulled back the arm holding the harpoon and threw it into the water.  Drops and spray flew all around them from the harpoon hitting the river.  Mr. Fenton tried to nonchalantly hide behind Lucas, who in turn used Adam¡¯s body to prevent the chemically saturated water from hitting him.


    Once the harpoon¡¯s rope stopped moving, Adam pulled it back up, having only a little resistance, indicating he had missed the boss.  It took five more throws before he felt something struggling at the end of the harpoon.


    Lucas and Mr. Fenton added their strength to keep the boss from pulling Adam and the harpoon into the water.  The three heaved and struggled to keep their balance, desperately trying not to fall into the polluted water.  The pull from the boss wasn¡¯t as strong as Adam expected, showing that whatever level it was, the chemicals were affecting it too.


    As soon as a brownish paddled foot landed on the dam¡¯s edge, Adam released an [Incapacitating Shout] roar.  It was better than a signal, as all the Sentinel Army members who heard it came running.


    Lucas flipped a loop of the rope around the invader¡¯s neck to make it harder for him to escape and to give Adam more leverage in his pulling.  The dam filled with humans, everyone waiting for their turn.


    The tag above the invader read ¡°Fisher King [21]¡±.  It wasn¡¯t an especially high level, since it probably didn¡¯t have much prey to level with, but in the water, there was no doubt this creature could take something a tier above it.


    ¡°Order¡¯s up!¡± Adam yelled at those around him.  He held on tightly as the attacks rained in like a school of piranhas descending on a wounded fish.  The soldiers would get their hits and then back away to allow others to take their place.


    The boss Akanoch sputtered and spit in pain.  Its skin had a thicker layer of oil around it than the smaller ones, but there were still some cracks showing dry patches.  A few melee weapons slipped off and had to be re-thrust to get their damage in, but the invader stood no chance and died quickly.


    Akanoch Fisher King [21] slain.  2,256 shared XP gained.


    Once dead, Adam heaved the body onto an open space on the dam.  Then he began stripping, taking off his own armor.


    ¡°The crate please,¡± he said.


    Lucas brought the crate over and opened it.  Inside was a specialized Hazmat suit with two air tanks.


    ¡°General Gervin requisitioned some interesting stuff for his men to bring.  In this case a scuba hazmat suit used when inspecting or welding in dangerous places, such as when sewage pipes break underwater.  I checked with the equipment officers, and they said it should be fine within this chemical soup we made,¡± explained Adam.


    It did take a bit for Adam to get the suit on and the air tanks and headlights properly set up.  Before jumping into the water, he searched the Akanoch boss just to make sure the crystal wasn¡¯t with it.


    Then he swam down, found the control pillar with the control crystal fastened to it, and took ownership of the base.  It was one more title that went to all his people within the base territory.  This time, he left the base as it was, merged with the planetary reality instead of returning it to a dimensional convergence rift.  He also changed the settings to deconstruct any of the materials and chemicals polluting the water, setting up a filter as Jordan and Lashtam had showed him, before opening a connection to send the water through to Jackson.


    Now, there should be plenty of water for the base and all of the people.

 CH 122: Finally Ready

    CHAPTER 122: Finally Ready


    Chad was panting.  Another extended attack had taken place as they traveled.  It was becoming common now.  They had found so many people.  The caravan had traveled along a weaving path around southern Kentucky on their way to a midpoint between Rt 641 and 51.


    Unfortunately, the size of their caravan had increased even more than the general expected.  Tens of thousands of people had been incorporated.  More unfortunately, a moving caravan was not set up to manage this many people.


    The army did as much as they could, sending out hunting parties, trying to defend the stream of people that went back as far as the eye could see.  It had become too unwieldy now.  They were losing people as they fought.  Instead of just resting at night, they had to stop for days to collect all the information and make adequate preparations.  Water was especially lacking, which is why they now needed to choose their routes based on resupplying it.


    A few more large trucks had been found, and they were filled with barrels of water.  Several fire and water focused mages were spending all their time in those trucks trying to purify the stale water.  Those mages were miserable.


    Turning back towards his side of the road, Chad ran forward and shot out a blast of compressed air from the tube weapon they had been using since the army base.  He had no doubt his use of the weapon was in part thanks to Gregor, since he had one full time now.  The leaders also must think highly of him since they kept shuffling him to weak points.  While he wasn¡¯t an offensive force, he was good at influencing fights so fewer people got injured or killed.  If it wasn¡¯t because they valued him, then they were trying to get rid of him, Chad thought with a shiver.


    The road was getting almost as bad as the base had originally been.  So many unprepared and unleveled people fighting against increasingly difficult monsters, invaders, and beasts.  The attacks were becoming more frequent too, though it wasn¡¯t difficult to notice the patterns of the attack directions.  The incoming attack locations were often predictable, and their forces loaded that side in advance.


    Only occasionally did they guess wrong, so every side still needed strong protection.  The predictability did give them enough time to set up a combination of those needing levels and experience, with those who could protect them.


    Things had gotten too mentally exhausting again, like in the original base.  Constant marching, daily battles, and a ton of complaints from those new to how it worked.  It was wearing all of them down.


    A beast that looked like it might have been either a large ant or a skink lizard in the before, was hit with the spell he had shot out right before it arrived at a shield bearing defender.  It only came up to a normal sized person¡¯s waist.  As if ¡°only¡± being that big wasn¡¯t still terrifying.


    A shield bash followed his hit on the insectzard that lead the attack on them in a triangular formation.  Directions were called by their section leader and the offensive casters released attacks while the defensive casters shielded their warriors, who rushed forward to kill the first row of creatures.


    After striking with powerful skills, the attackers retreated again and those up front held the creatures back while once more ranged attackers released their shots.  There was a clear disparity between attacks, with some resulting in significantly more damage than others.  It was easy to see who was at a higher level.


    Chad had reached level 28 of his second tier.  It felt low to him considering how near constantly they fought.  Yet, he couldn¡¯t really complain.  Even without an offensive skill set, he was still able to influence fights and never ran out of mana.


    After firing that shot with his weapon, he had used his air control skills to erect a wall on one side of the beasts¡¯ formation, which pushed them toward the defenders, almost into a kill zone.  A few minutes of holding that wall of wind and the beasts were all killed.  Chad barely took notice of lizard men that had been watching from the edge of some trees.  They had hastily left once the sides had clashed.  Chad assumed those lizard men must be cowards since they were often seen during the attacks but no corpses for their race had been found.


    Chad took in a deep breath, then almost gagged at the various smells.  He swirled the wind around himself, trying to pull air from higher in the atmosphere down to just his own location to clear the smell out.  More mana was used trying to do that than making the wind wall during combat.  He really couldn¡¯t stand the smells of all this.


    With his mind rebelling, trying to focus on the doom and gloom of the constant fights, Chad rushed to his pack.  Everyone knew not to get close to it, not to touch Chad¡¯s things.  A few people had made to rummage around it, wondering what Chad¡¯s special treasure was, and only Gregor¡¯s arrival had saved those men from the usually calm Chad¡¯s wrath.  From then on people treated Chad more respectfully, and not just because he was friends with the second strongest man in the caravan.


    Men frequently broke mentally from the life they were living now, and even Chad was near his limit.  He unzipped the side of his pack, and with the air moving to protect immediately around him, he opened a ziplock bag and breathed deeply of the smell before resealing everything.  The air moved so that the odor released from the soap he carried arrived in front of his nose and stayed there.  He took slow breaths, trying to center himself.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Once he was calm, Chad sat, letting others do the cleanup.  A large man, barely clothed and stained with blood, both old and new, came stomping over to their kills.  He frowned at the insectzards and then ripped off two sizeable haunches.


    By the time Gregor reached Chad he had already taken several large bites from whatever was inside the shell-like skin, spilling a green sludge out.  Several people retched as they watched, but many bellies were perpetually running on empty.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, Gregor.  I was just trying to find my zen away from those putrid smells,¡± complained Chad.


    Gregor frowned at him and took a step back.


    ¡°Sorry, buddy.  I just fought a bunch of monsters in another section.  They didn¡¯t have their stuff together like yours and needed me to bail them out.  It made me hungry.  Besides, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve ever spoken to me that harshly.¡±


    Chad let out a breath, keeping the odors coming from Gregor away from him.  ¡°My apologies.  I think I¡¯m just nearing my breaking point.¡±


    ¡°No worries, Chad.  It happens to everyone.  It¡¯s nice to know you aren¡¯t scared of me like everyone else.¡±


    ¡°Only your body odor, Gregor,¡± teased Chad, half honestly.


    ¡°I know, I know.  Everyone is dying for a shower.  It¡¯s amazing what we can get used to¡­and what we can¡¯t.¡±


    ¡°Seriously though, Gregor, I¡¯m close to losing it.  I keep thinking about just wandering off to see how I¡¯d die out there.¡±  Chad dropped his eyes to the ground in shame.  Death wasn¡¯t scary anymore, but living with this constant stress was overwhelming.


    ¡°Then I come with good news.  We¡¯re finally ready.  The big boss has decided we can¡¯t go on like this.  We¡¯re turning towards Jackson,¡± Gregor said as he gave Chad a playful shove on his shoulder.  Both men frowned at the green goo left where Gregor touched.  ¡°Sorry, bud.¡±


    Chad began taking off his shirt and retrieving another from his pack.  The new one wasn¡¯t clean, but it didn¡¯t smell quite as badly.


    ¡°What about the invaders herding us?¡± asked Chad.


    Once more Gregor frowned.  Chad thought it a measure of the man reaching his own breaking point that he looked so uncertain.


    ¡°Yeah, we¡¯re concerned about that.  Scouts are ranging ahead.  It seems like they want us to take 45E.  Not sure what is waiting for us, but I don¡¯t think we have much choice.  We¡¯ll do what we need to do.¡±


    Chad nodded in response.


    ¡°Once we reach Martin,¡± said Gregor after taking another bite of the insectzard meat, ¡°we should be in radio range of Jackson with the equipment we have.  We¡¯ll just need to hope nothing happens before then and that they can send reinforcements if we get in trouble.¡±


    ***


    Cruxannith¡¯cz¡¯Jurzax reclined in the most comfortable chair she had ever felt.  Her room was more lavishly decorated than most of the elders¡¯ offices she had seen.  While she knew she could easily be replaced, the fact she was here showed they believed in her potential and trusted her to achieve it.  Why shouldn¡¯t she enjoy the comforts afforded by the Dimensional Convergence Rift while she could?


    Once more she looked at the display in front of her.  For not the first time, she started it from the beginning and watched it all the way through.  Then again.  She couldn¡¯t get enough of this.  What she had found on this planet was more valuable than all the items in this room would be.


    Her eyes didn¡¯t leave the display as it hovered in the air in front of her.  He was beaten.  A knife in his side.  A sword pushing against his neck.  An opponent who had more than triple his stats with the buffing skills he had used.  No, there was no way to overcome this moment.


    The display paused and Cruxannith reached up and touched it.  Or she would have if it had been a solid object.  Her hand gently, sensually grazed where his cheek was.  Death should have been the only outcome.


    As the picture began moving once more, the native closed his eyes and did¡­something.  She had no idea what.  It hadn¡¯t been instant, and it hadn¡¯t been a skill, but after a few moments when he never stopped resisting, he suddenly found himself on top.


    Once more he did the unthinkable.  The native killed the Tier 3 epic classed Base Overseer.  This one hadn¡¯t been a fluke either.  That Scyrric had been well trained and experienced.  Luck couldn¡¯t have overcome him.


    Yet again she watched the whole recording.  At this point she knew there was nothing more that she could glean from it, but there was a victory just in it happening.  Her little native, her impossible berserker would soon willingly reveal his secrets to her.


    This was an opportunity that just did not happen.  A completely unknown experience.  Once brought to the elders, Cruxannith would rise.  They would give her any resources and focus to allow her to grow.  The secrets they found in him would also come from her, ensuring her fame and position.


    Her hand slid to a table and picked up a cup containing blood red fluid.  Of course it was blood red, though she knew very well that blood could be other colors as well.  As the fluid entered her mouth she shivered, imagining it was his blood.  She would have to sample some before turning him over to the elders, but there would be plenty of time to spend together before her job on this world was finished.


    She had set so many little traps for him.  They were never expected to work.  They were just to keep her fresh in his mind.  To show him how the universe worked and his place in it.  If he hadn¡¯t been able to escape them then she would have been disappointed.


    No, those traps weren¡¯t serious.  Just playful flirting with him.  The real trap was set, and she would be seeing her beloved Adam soon.  Then he would give her everything she wanted.


    The smile she showed after that thought would have caused anyone to swoon for her.  She had even been practicing those native race¡¯s expressions so that she could better interact with him.  To her, he was the most important being on this planet.


    ¡°Mistress,¡± said a voice out of thin air.  ¡°The Scyrric says you should start taking control of events at this time.  We¡¯re all anxious to see what comes of this.¡±


    He was a researcher from the Red Clan sent to do the preliminary investigation.  Though at a low level, his intelligence and knowledge were quite exceptional.  The Scyrric had committed a fortune to build this base after the aberration had been found.  So much money had gone into the base itself that the [System] had only allowed two people to come through with it.  The low level Red Clan researcher, and a Scyrric warrior to counter the skills of her beloved native.


    Yes.  Soon they would meet face to face.  Once more she shivered in anticipation.  That moment would define her life for centuries to come.


    Standing up, she straightened her dress, looked into the mirror to ensure she was as gorgeous as she felt, and headed for the door.


    She was finally ready, and this was a moment to live for.

 CH 123: Get up

    CHAPTER 123: Get up


    The room was dark when Adam opened one eye. He glanced towards the clock on his wall. It was only one o¡¯clock, still time to sleep. With a small yawn, Adam squirmed into a comfortable position to go back to sleep.


    ¡°Oh, Adam. Isn¡¯t it time to get up yet?¡± asked Abbey, pressed into his back under the covers.


    ¡°It¡¯s only one, still time to sleep,¡± muttered Adam. A playful hit struck his shoulder.


    ¡°1 P! M! Afternoon,¡± said Abbey. ¡°How can someone both do the most for the city and still be the laziest person in it?¡±


    ¡°It took a lot of practice to be this lazy,¡± joked Adam as he rolled on his back to look at her. ¡°Besides, if it¡¯s the afternoon, why is it so dark, smart girl?¡±


    Abbey rolled her eyes at the question. ¡°You control the environment and keep it dark in your room.¡±


    Adam frowned but went into the rift menu and changed it from night to daytime within his bedroom. He still wanted to sleep, but now that he thought about it, his stomach reminded him that he had several meals he needed to catch up on.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think you realize how boring it can be laying here for this long,¡± sighed Abbey.


    ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t realize I was keeping you from something more important,¡± quipped Adam sarcastically.


    ¡°There is a lot for us to do out in the city. It¡¯s also good for people to get to know us by sight. Though, I don¡¯t really mind some of this alone time.¡± To show sincerity, Abbey wrapped her arms around Adam and cuddled closer. He smiled.


    ¡°Besides, I was at a really exciting part of this book. Brittney recommended several fantasy series, and I can¡¯t say I hate them,¡± Abbey added in an exaggerated snobbish way.


    Adam looked around but didn¡¯t see a book.


    ¡°What were you reading on?¡± he asked.


    Abbey sighed and sat up.


    ¡°We can read on the rift menu displays. Jordan hacked web services and downloaded from all the entertainment sites with it before the invasions, so we wouldn¡¯t lose as much. We have quite a lot of shows, books, and games available. Don¡¯t you know that?¡± she lectured.


    ¡°Really?¡±


    ¡°Did you think your TVs are playing from your Xbox and Blu-ray players? Jordan set them up to use the rift menu and just emulate the controls.¡±


    ¡°Whoa! So, I could play every game?¡± asked Adam excitedly.


    Abbey slapped his shoulder again. ¡°No. If you have that much extra time spend it with us.¡±


    Adam rolled over her on the bed, holding himself in a pushup position so he could see her face. He gave her a kiss.


    ¡°Then while I¡¯m sleeping you read?¡±


    ¡°Well, yes. We don¡¯t need as much sleep as you. I doubt any adult on the base needs as much as you.¡±


    ¡°What? Why don¡¯t others need as much sleep?¡± asked Adam with confusion.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know? Seriously, Adam, you need to pay a bit more attention to things other than raiding bases. The higher your vitality, the less sleep you need. Brittney barely gets an hour per night.¡±


    ¡°Wow. That must be really boring having all that extra time and not being able to sleep. I love sleeping,¡± exclaimed Adam, then gave her another kiss.


    ¡°I¡¯ve noticed,¡± giggled Abbey.


    ¡°Then Brittney must be reading a lot too.¡±


    ¡°Sometimes. She does go through a lot of books, but she also watches shows and movies, plays games using mental controllers to not disturb you, and sometimes she finds it meditative to just watch you sleep.¡±


    ¡°She watches me sleep?¡± asked Adam with a conflicted look on his face. Abbey laughed at the feelings flowing in through their connection. ¡°Isn¡¯t that creepy?¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t creepy when Brittney does it. Only when Tom does.¡±


    ¡°Tom watches me sleep?!¡± shouted Adam, sitting up.


    ¡°No one has caught him doing it, but Marge told me she thinks he does based on some of his nighttime muttering. I had Jordan set snooping restrictions on our bedrooms just in case.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s a bit much to take in when the day first begins,¡± complained Adam.


    ¡°The day isn¡¯t beginning for anyone but you! It¡¯s already the afternoon,¡± said Abbey flatly.


    ¡°Exactly!¡± said Adam who tried to climb back under the covers.


    ¡°I guess this means you really don¡¯t have a vitality stat,¡± pondered Abbey.


    ¡°Yeah, my status still says it¡¯s ¡®not available¡¯,¡± added Adam.


    ¡°Anyway, I think you¡¯ve slept long enough. Time to [Get Up!],¡± Abbey announced her skill, and Adam felt a force pulling him to stand on the spot. He knew he could have broken it, but instead sighed and stood. Putting on sweatpants and a tank top made Adam laugh at the classy clothes for the leader of humanity¡¯s resistance. At least they were clean.


    It had been almost a week since Nick had left. The city had been working overtime trying to fit more people in, prepare them for post-invasion life, and help those who had suffered trauma. More weapons and armor, hunting locations, and transportation had required quite the logistics.


    Due to being pestered to build the city outside of the walls, Adam had been keeping to himself. He avoided meetings. The emotions regarding Nick leaving also took him time to recover from. Well, time and demolishing three more minor invader bases along with his group. His friends would gather in Adam¡¯s penthouse and then teleport to another rift base at night to sneak out, getting their own leveling in.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Abbey had notified the cooks that Adam was getting up, so when he finally left his bedroom, the smell of food cooking was there. Adam ate for around half an hour, with Abbey only nibbling on a few pancakes, then thought about what he would do during the rest of the day. He probably should do some practice fighting. Maybe check in with Garrett. He could look in on their various other rifts to see what he could or should do with them.


    As Adam pondered all that, a voice suddenly spoke to him in a bit of a rush.


    ¡°Sorry, Adam, but I¡¯ve got some bad news,¡± said Jordan as a display showing him and Lashtam appeared. ¡°It seems the Red Clan speaker is taking action. She has just ordered no less than 20 other factions to collect all available warriors and to attack a large group of humans.¡±


    Adam stood excitedly. Bad news? This was great news! Her coming after him would finally allow them to face this problem directly while also weakening the invaders in the area. He knew it would be a difficult battle, but if he and his group took on any Tier 3s then the rest of Jackson and the Sentinel Army should be able to manage to handle the enemies, even in a defensive battle.


    The weight of stress fell from Adam¡¯s shoulders, and he felt himself standing taller. His river began flowing and he could feel his soul crying out to conquer! This is how it should be, no sneaking in the shadows. The voice in his soul wanted battle to be taken head on.


    ¡°How long before they get here? I assume there will be time for us to evacuate the non-combatants into your underground city, right?¡± asked Adam, the display followed him as he went to the room with his armor stand. Abbey had already rushed to her condo for her gear and to notify the others to get ready.


    ¡°You misunderstand, your excellency,¡± said Lashtam hesitantly. ¡°They are not attacking here. The attack will be at a place called Martin.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± exclaimed Adam, freezing. ¡°There is another group of humans there?¡±


    ¡°Not yet, Adam,¡± corrected Jordan. ¡°It seems a large group of US Military has been collecting other people and they¡¯re making their way here. They¡¯re going to be in a fight for their lives based on the number of invaders heading towards them.¡±


    ¡°The military? Do we know who is leading them?¡±


    ¡°Your excellency, we believe they are being led by one with a title similar to your own,¡± said Lashtam. Jordan nodded. ¡°It seems those of your kind have grown strong as they faced other invaders, following the paths similar to your own people.¡±


    ¡°No way! General Gervin made it through? Elouise is going to be ecstatic!¡± announced Adam.


    ¡°Adam, we don¡¯t know it¡¯s him,¡± warned Jordan.


    ¡°Who else could it be? He was the only one who took me seriously, and that was even after I essentially threatened him. Can we make it in time if we mobilize?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Only if we hurry, and even then, it¡¯s going to take a huge amount of our people.¡±


    ¡°Any change this is a trick to get our fighters out of the way?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°That is certainly possible, your excellency,¡± answered Lashtam.


    Adam thought for a few moments. ¡°How about this¡­let¡¯s evacuate Jackson to the underground city using the side tunnels so no one goes through the base proper. That way we¡¯ll reduce the chance of infiltration. Lucas will lead three fourths of our forces up route 45 east.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take Tom and the General¡¯s Guard through a portal to Brownsville. Those nut cases can make the trip to Martin faster than the usual army, even from the increased distance. We¡¯ll take the smaller vehicles. Scouts roam outside Jackson and if they find anyone approaching, then we can pincer them, otherwise we¡¯ll head to the main fight.¡±


    Jordan shrugged while also looking nervous. ¡°Without more intel it¡¯s as good a plan as any.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that rather casual for the amount of death this could lead to?¡± asked Adam, while fastening his armor.


    The metal pieces that used to be testudinate metal in his armor had been replaced by reforging some of what they had gotten from the Scyrric base. Not all the metal had been workable though. Still, it was a good upgrade for Adam. He had also gotten new weapons that wouldn¡¯t break under his strength, even if they felt unbalanced for a human. A few adjustments had been made until Adam was comfortable enough. His brute force didn¡¯t usually require a perfect setup.


    ¡°Yes,¡± agreed Jordan as he squirmed in his seat. ¡°But I¡¯m not a strategist, only in games. I like the low stress of building games. Plus, I can¡¯t wrap my head around all this. I-I¡¯m just an IT guy.¡±


    ¡°Sorry to spring it on you. We do what we need to,¡± said Adam, finally dressed.


    ¡°I know. I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t want to be in this position either,¡± accepted Jordan with down turned eyes.


    ¡°Of course not. But we are. Now sound the defensive alarms and we¡¯ll see if people know how to follow directions. Gather the leaders in front of the statues. It¡¯s time for war!¡±


    ***


    ¡°There are tens of thousands of our fellow humans, our brothers and sisters heading here,¡± announced Colonel Davian to the gathered soldiers while standing next to Adam on the wall of heroes. His voice was projected everywhere, so while he spoke strongly, he didn¡¯t need to yell.


    ¡°We have defended this region, taking bases from them. The invaders want to weaken us, but we haven¡¯t let them. Our strength has been found together, forged in battle as we¡¯ve fought against the tides rolling in. Now we need to use that strength to safeguard our fellow men. To strike back against those who would take from us!¡±


    Cheers rose. Adam didn¡¯t think he could get the soldiers pumped up like this. While Davian continued to speak and give orders, Adam sent a discreet message to Tom to bring the Guard to a specific warehouse where their vehicles would be waiting.


    Colonel Davian would continue to see to the base operations and defense, along with the Demo Men, Mr. Fenton¡¯s unit. The Leputi warriors were also hidden, ready to respond to threats to the base. Many of them gained a few levels from the raids since they joined.


    Evacuations had been going on for some time, with plenty of guards to keep those unauthorized out of the way. Adam also frequently checked both his soul map and the rift menu for hostile intentions or infiltrators. He wouldn¡¯t put it past the mind witch to use this moment, but he wasn¡¯t sure what she could do without being found. It was a constant source of stress, and he fully expected her to try something. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know what he didn¡¯t know, even with Lashtam¡¯s tutoring. There must be equipment or skills out there that could harm them, even if he didn¡¯t know what.


    ¡°¡­ride forth with fortitude and determination. You are this world¡¯s protectors. This will be a battle that will show the universe that we will keep what is ours!¡±


    After the speech there was a flurry of activity. Everyone went to their units. Orders for vehicles were given out. Everyone moved quickly, having drilled for this time after time. This fight would be the biggest yet.


    ***


    ¡°Boss, you expecting some treachery from the she-witch? What am I asking? Of course you are!¡± said Tom as the General¡¯s Guard stood at attention in front of him and Adam.


    Once more Adam checked his loyalty tab against the people in the room to make sure none had been influenced by the mind witch. He also checked his soul map for intention and some of the rift menu searches just to be thorough.


    Confirming as much as possible, he turned to the assembled soldiers.


    ¡°We aren¡¯t going with the others. Half of us will be going to Brownsville by portal. The other half will go to Lexington. Don¡¯t let anyone know we can do this, though after today it¡¯ll probably be obvious,¡± Adam rambled a bit. ¡°From there we¡¯ll need to move fast. We¡¯ll approach Jackson from the sides to make sure no invaders are attacking here, then we¡¯ll go north as reinforcements.¡±


    ¡°Sir!¡± yelled the group. They had some armored and enhanced pickup trucks, as well as motorcycles.


    The trucks weren¡¯t a problem with people staying in the back at those speeds due to the high stats and some skills. Being in the open while driving also allowed them to use their own skills easier to see in the distance or fight back if they got attacked. Each truck would also have a barrier caster, or someone who could mitigate the wind for speed and defensive purposes.


    These vehicles should allow them to get back to Jackson within 15 minutes of arriving. They were going to wait a bit in their rifts, while getting updates from Jackson. While in network rifts, their communications and observation were infinitely better than the inconsistent radios they had to use when outside their main base.


    Once everyone was in their vehicles, Adam opened two portals large enough for them. People drove through into the confined spaces of the Dimensional Convergence Rifts until only Tom and Adam were left.


    Adam put a hand on Tom¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s get this done cleanly.¡±


    Tom gave Adam a mockery of a salute. ¡°Right-io, boss!¡±


    Then they were off.

 CH 124: Hounded

    CHAPTER 124: Hounded


    They had been attacked.  People had died.  For every mile they traveled they were being harried.


    None of the individual attacks were strong enough to overwhelm them.  If they were stationary, then it would have been a mere annoyance.  With how the caravan was moving, this was getting dangerous.


    If they tried to deviate from the path the invaders set, they would be attacked.  If they moved too slow, their rear would be charged.  Weak points were now being set up.  At night, or anytime they tried to stop, flying invaders would come near, dropping large objects on their weakest people.


    Several times the fuel trucks had been targeted.  There was never time to settle for rest or to eat.  At this point the higher strength people were pulling vehicles.  It was either that or leave trucks when they ran out of gas, which was a regularity now.


    At this point they were at three days and nights of moving non-stop.  Supplies and packs were left by the sides of the road.  Exhausted people were picked up.  No one was immune from the exhaustion.  Chad had even seen Gregor running between two attack positions, still in his berserker state unaware that he almost trampled the people in his way.  As hungry as Gregor got, at least he could pick up the monsters he killed and fill his belly with them.


    Even the leadership and intelligence officers seemed panicky now.  They always had a person manning the radios, trying to send distress calls while praying for a response.


    Chad stumbled, his legs burning and his mind too groggy to realize the people in front of him had stopped.  When he noticed, he spoke up with a dry mouth.


    ¡°Wha¡­what happened?¡± he croaked out.


    No one responded.  He pushed through the people around him.  Usually, people got out of his way, since those near his assignments knew he was friends with the intimidating Gregor.  This time he had to push people, not even bothering to use his wind to clear the air or cushion the contact.


    It took several minutes and a lot of tight spaces before he was at the front of the crowd.  What he saw made him question wanting to survive the initial defense at the base three months ago, after the invasions started.  What lay in front of them was the end.  The fighting and struggle of the last three months would finally be over, just not how he wanted.  The only thing his numb mind could think, trying to deny the scene in front of him, was how badly he needed a shower.


    They were south of Martin, having been forced to run around it on the highway.  The caravan stretched for miles.  All lanes going both directions were taken up with their people.  A quarter mile in front of them was a turn off to head south, the last stretch to Jackson.  In a normal speed car that would have been about an hour drive.  For the agility focused classes, they might be able to run it in that time if they had the stamina.  But there was no chance for a group this large and varied.  Not that it mattered.


    Chad took in a deep breath, held it, and let it out.  Then tears came to his eyes.  They streamed down his face.  He wasn¡¯t the only one who broke at that moment.  People all around were falling, whether in despair or due to exhausted legs.  No one was willing to move forwards.


    The turn might only be a quarter of a mile in front of them, but so were the invaders.  Not the paltry sum that attacked them over the last weeks, but thousands.  Tens of thousands.  There must be 20-30 thousand separated into groups of different races.  Vicious beasts and animals buffeted the groups, some being ridden as war mounts.


    Forward was impossible.


    Then a horn sounded from the rear.  Chad wasn¡¯t sure if it was an alarm, or a blown instrument, but it carried over the distance.  It also brought bad news.  All the invaders weren¡¯t waiting in front of them, but behind as well.  There was no retreat, not that Chad thought these exhausted humans would be able to get away.


    Chad let the tears come.  He cried, then sobbed.  He was sure he had the ugliest face of his life on right then.  Never again would he see his parents or sister.  His last moments would be spent fighting a hopeless fight as they were overrun.  It sure made all their fighting and leveling and searching for people a pointless endeavor.


    It was time to surrender, to concede.  They had lost.  It didn¡¯t matter what was waiting at Jackson.  The invaders had controlled everything up to now.  Their survival had only been due to invaders playing with them.


    A sigh, a sharp intake of breath, clashed with his sobs and Chad began choking.  Coughing.  He reached into his pack for an already overused towel and wiped his still snotty face with it.  Then he reached for his treasure, the last bar of soap.


    He stumbled to his feet.  The pack fell with only the soap in his hand.  Then he raised it to his face and inhaled.  It didn¡¯t matter how good it smelled.  He couldn¡¯t smell it right now anyway.


    Ignoring what was happening around him, Chad yelled towards the invaders.  He hollered.  His already dry voice was pushed to the limit.  He wasn¡¯t sure if he¡¯d ever be able to make a sound again.


    As Chad cranked back his arm and threw the bar of soap with all the power his leveled body had, he managed to make a sound.  ¡°Screw you,¡± came out as a scratchy whisper.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    A large, gnarled hand rested on his shoulder.  ¡°Well said, Chad,¡± Gregor said, just as parched and exhausted as he was.  The words broke Chad out of his daze.


    ¡°Form up!¡± another voice yelled.  ¡°This is it!  It¡¯s either us or them!¡±


    Commander Rexus stepped in front of everyone.  He didn¡¯t face the humans, didn¡¯t turn his back on the invaders.  Next to him stepped eight other people, all special forces, all just a hair from reaching their Tier 3 class evolutions.


    Gregor patted Chad once more and then stepped forward with the others.


    ¡°If you want to live, then you fight.  If you want to die, do it somewhere else,¡± said Rexus.


    It wasn¡¯t the most inspiring words, but people stood.  They took their weapons.  Archers and mages started checking the sky for more of those birds, or the screeching bats that had kept them up at night.


    Then Chad saw Commander Rexus¡¯s tag, ¡°Siege Wall [3].¡±  He had hit Tier 3!  Chad could feel the strength in him.  Rexus and his people didn¡¯t look tired.  They weren¡¯t defeated.  Those soldiers were ready for a fight.


    As other soldiers, men and women hardened by constant life and death situations stepped forward to join them, Chad did too.  He might die, well, no kidding himself, it was almost certain he would, but they would take as many down as they could.


    There were short humanoids in black rock armor.  There were creatures resembling walking plants.  Elves with dark skin, jagged teeth, and bows for weapons made weird gestures and laughed at them.  Weasel-like creatures hunched over but with spikes on their backs.  Monsters resembling walking rocks and water and creatures that couldn¡¯t be seen due to a layer of fire¡­


    Chad took a deep breath and waited.  There was nothing else to do.


    ***


    Lucas pushed the motorcycle he drove as hard as he could, though it still felt like Brittney could blast ahead of him whenever she wanted.  She even tried to do a wheelie, like Adam could do at these speeds.  She didn¡¯t try a second time.


    It would have been reassuring if his dad and uncles were there, protecting his back.  This was going to be more than a fight, more than a raid.  Thousands of humans versus tens of thousands of invaders.  He would have to trust the Sentinel Army to stand together against this.


    Getting there in time was also difficult.  They had set the faster vehicles in front so they would arrive in waves, with reinforcements coming as they arrived.  They had been driving for 10 minutes.  Pre-[System] this was an hour and a half trip.  He was hoping to make it in 40 minutes.


    It would be up to the other humans to last that long.


    ***


    ¡°Illusionary Loyalist, sir!¡± said one of the General¡¯s Guards, using Tom¡¯s appointment title.


    ¡°Yes, Guard Captain Kabir?¡± asked Tom.  The man was practically giddy that Tom remembered who he was.


    ¡°It seems there are a combination of Pellicians and Arripions moving together towards Jackson from our direction.  We¡¯ve spotted about two hundred, with the flying ones carrying the weasels,¡± the captain reported.


    Tom thought about it.  ¡°These must be the ones that ambushed our people at the water plant.  We were defending Jackson at the time, but I think it¡¯s fair to say we can earn some payback.¡±


    Kabir grinned viciously at that, his eyes lighting up.  Then he calmed down and added, ¡°there is also a larger of the flying ones carrying a very large and armored weasel.  Scouts think they are boss level threats.¡±


    ¡°Oh good!¡±  Tom exclaimed to Kabir¡¯s surprise.  ¡°Now I can finish what the boss didn¡¯t have time for.  Excellent!¡±


    Kabir lit up again, seeing that Tom wasn¡¯t concerned about even Tier 3s, showing they were destined to take back this world.  After listening to Tom¡¯s orders, Kabir went to relay them to everyone.  They would show what humans were worth!


    ***


    Adam was getting impatient.  He had been pacing in the Brownsville base, trying to keep the heat pulsing through him in check.  Without realizing it he kept activating [Body and Soul Shaping], drawing through more strength.  He wanted to be out there, wanted to be with the main attack force, but someone needed to make sure the rear was secure.


    The pacing was making those behind him restless.  It wasn¡¯t that the General¡¯s Guards with him were getting nervous.  They were all a little messed up after Adam¡¯s accidental use of his connections during the beginning of the invasions.  No, they were feeding off his nervous energy, desiring the fight as much as he was.  Champing at the bit.


    There was no telling how long he should wait before heading to Martin.  It had been twenty minutes already, and it would still take him a good half an hour to arrive at full speed.  Longer for the rest of the guard to arrive.


    Then a notification arrived from the Rift Menu.


    Alert: Hostiles have entered your territory.


    Adam brought up the Rift Menu map.  Since they had expanded the territory, they could see almost outside of the main city portions of Jackson.  Through the Rift Menu display, he could see two groups moving towards their main base.


    First were small humanoids.  They looked like someone had taken a short adult using a computer art program and squished them to half the height.  Hands and feet were large and wide, the heads a little flat but with wild hair coming off them.  They wore leather vests and pants, with big boots.  Adam would most closely compare them to leprechauns, though only ones from horror movies.  Quite a few of them looked so buff they would need magic just to move.


    With the leprechauns were much larger creatures.  Adam would only come up to their shoulders.  They had white and gray fur.  Their shoulders had a massive hunch with smaller heads protruding forwards from an oddly angled neck.  Their arms were massive, with mighty forearms and fists that almost touched the ground.  Proportionally tiny legs made him wonder how they balanced, as they took small but quick steps to not fall behind the leprechauns, who barely came up to their waists.


    A huge grin spread across Adam¡¯s face as he stopped pacing.  Everyone noticed and began checking their equipment.  Finally, some action!


    The invaders stopped when they crossed into the Jackson base territory.  They felt it as they crossed the line.  This wasn¡¯t where they had been told the base was.  From a distance they could see the obsidian walls that they had been told to attack.  That should have been the base boundaries.


    ¡°Give me three minutes, and then come through those two portals,¡± Adam ordered the guards with him as he created portals to two buildings in Jackson near where the invaders had arrived.  ¡°Let¡¯s make this quick so we can get on the road,¡± Adam smirked as he stepped through one.


    ***


    ¡°Mistress, why are we here?¡± the Red Clan researcher asked as they stood on top of a building in Memphis.  ¡°Is your plan progressing?¡±


    Cruxannith¡¯cz¡¯Jurzax intensely stared at a crystal, connected to her through her soul.  Lesser versions had been given to the leaders of the various races she had sent off.  There were four groups of combined invaders that she had sent out, and five crystals that she was tracking.  Through them she could feel the emotions surrounding her pawns, nearly as strong as if she had temporarily soul bonded them directly.


    Yes, things were heading where she wanted.  This outcome would be most satisfying.

 CH 125: Battles

    CHAPTER 125: Battles


    Adam stepped out of a door.  The invaders didn¡¯t notice him right away as they slowly entered the territory.  They walked in no clear formation, more like a gang heading to a fight, and the two races seemed to want to stay away from each other.  Adam also couldn¡¯t see any Tier 3s with them.  Everyone here was only Tier 2.


    He looked at his soul map, making sure there wasn¡¯t a stronger soul around or reinforcements in the distance.  An invader group at this strength really wasn¡¯t a challenge, so he was going to assume Tom would have his own group to deal with.


    Taking a deep breath, Adam activated [Kinetic Impact] on the modified great sword he had taken from the Scyrric base.  It glowed with the energy from his pseudo-skill.  Normally he would have left the killing to those with him to make sure the XP wasn¡¯t wasted, but this time he was in a rush.


    The use of his pseudo-skill got the attention of the nearest invaders.  As they turned towards him, he dashed at the leprechaun group.  Not wanting to waste the energy of his skill, he turned the sword and swung the flat side like a baseball bat.


    SLAM!


    The flat of his sword caught two of the leprechauns at once, throwing them backwards with as much force as he had hit them with.  They bounced off those behind them, imparting both the normal force of contact as well as the extra energy that came from [Kinetic Impact].  Instantly, dozens of the little creatures were flying and spinning through the air, those on the ground started shrieking with anger.


    Kabuterci ¡°Ganker [21]¡± slain.  2,487 XP gained.


    Kabuterci ¡°Slinger [14]¡± slain.  1,965 XP gained.


    A few more uses of [Kinetic Impact] and a few more swings had nearly a hundred of them dead or stumbling around, trying to get their balance.  Ones further back were scrambling away, trying to make space so as not to get pinballed along with their brethren.  By the time they were secure enough to turn towards Adam, he was gone.


    He used [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] to step towards the gorilla looking invaders.  These were too big to bother with [Kinetic Impact].  Instead, when he arrived, he used [Incapacitating Shout] to lock up all who could hear.  Then he swung.


    The blade of the sword cut right through one of the ape men.  He spun and took the legs out from another.  Before the stun from his roar wore off, twelve of the large invaders lay at his feet.


    Gohralluh ¡°Fist Menacer [19]¡± slain.  2,149 XP gained.


    Gohralluh ¡°Fist Thrower [17]¡± slain.  1,997 XP gained.


    Fury filled his enemies.  Many began shouting and slamming their fists into the ground, while those closest to him reached back to swing.  However, their fists found empty air.  Adam had already teleported to another group.


    Both the leprechaun invaders and the gorilla-like ones all turned towards him.  Some were hesitant to use big or ranged attacks on an enemy within their allies, but others just began firing away.  The noise from the shouts and slamming fists dulled another noise.


    Out of two buildings on either side of the horde of invaders poured the General¡¯s Guard.  They lined up.  Adam, knowing they had come out, let out another [Incapacitating Shout], getting less of a stun on the surrounding creatures than the first time.  However, this was more of a signal to his own troops.


    Attack spells flashed into existence.  Arrows sped towards the center of the crowded invaders.  Warriors and shield bearers rushed forward with their weapons, digging in mercilessly against the foes that were still turned towards Adam.


    First one side, and then the other was attacked, throwing the invaders into a panic.  Adam teleported around, using [Kinetic Impact] on the leprechauns, the Kabuterci, and just cutting through any of the Gohralla that ended up in front of him.


    Shields and force walls would pop up, momentarily stopping a punch or a spell from the invaders as they returned fire.  The General¡¯s Guard did well taking advantage of the confusion that Adam caused while protecting their own.  Their zeal tended to possess them at times, making it difficult for them to work together, despite what the others in the Sentinel Army had drilled into them.


    It still ended up effective.  Only minutes after the hundreds of invaders had been engaged, many were trying to flee, while most lay dead, ready for the rift to absorb them for energy.  Adam didn¡¯t have time to loot them so he would make sure Jordan did that after he was gone.


    Quite a few of the guards were chasing after those fleeing, but for once Adam didn¡¯t feel the need to personally make sure every invader was slain.  He knew there were other places where he would be able to get more.  Adam just shook his head at the insanity burning in many of the guards¡¯ eyes as they stood over their vanquished foes or chased after them.  Of course, Adam had never seen his own eyes during a battle.


    ***


    Tom stood on top of a five-story parking garage.  An archer stood next to him, bow drawn tight.  They watched as the Arripions came closer.  The Pellicians that they carried didn¡¯t seem pleased to be in the air, but there was an eagerness in them to get where they were going.


    ¡°Almost here,¡± said the archer, keeping the tension on the bowstring.  Tom nodded with indifference, mind and concentration on other things.


    The Arripions passed them at a distance and they waited.  Once the middle of the flock was in range, the archer called out his skills.


    ¡°[Long Shot], [Penetration].¡±


    Then the arrow was released.  It flew fast and straight, slightly above the flock, before it struck the larger level 22 Sense Snatcher that was carrying the level 34 Organ Grinder Pellician.  The arrow barely penetrated, wobbling and falling out from the Arripion¡¯s movements.


    ¡°Nice shot!¡± praised Tom.  ¡°Now get to your position.¡±


    The archer nodded and ran towards the stairs leading down, leaving only Tom on the top floor.  He waited patiently as he watched the uproar among the birds, who were trying to figure out which direction the arrow had come from.  Tom shook his head, muttering about the bird brains.  He thought birds were supposed to have better vision, or maybe that was to see movement.The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    To help them, he lifted an arm and waved it.


    ¡°Hey, harpies.  Hurry up and quit wasting my time,¡± yelled Tom.  Then quietly he added to himself, ¡°before the boss gets here and takes my kills.¡±


    That was enough for the flock to notice him, and they started flying over.  They moved cautiously at first.  When there were no other movements or people in view, they surrounded the parking garage.  The flyers began dropping the Pellicians on the layer with Tom.  He simply smiled at them.


    Once the other invaders were settled, all watching him with both curiosity and humor, the bosses came to him.  The organ grinder was dropped several paces away, and the sense snatcher stayed in the air, like the other Arripions, just above the boss Pellician.


    ¡°Foolish native,¡± hissed the organ grinder.  ¡°Is there reason you summoned us or just wanted to die?¡±


    ¡°Nah, yo,¡± said Tom cheerfully.  ¡°I just thought it was neat how you ambushed the rest of the Sentinels by hiding your base in an illusion.¡±


    ¡°You called for your death to praise us?¡± screeched the sense snatcher.


    ¡°What?  Oh no.  Of course, not to praise you.  Just thought it was neat, that gave me my own ideas on how to use skills.¡±  Tom drew his sword.  ¡°[Long Reach], [Quick Step]¡­¡± Started Tom, causing the organ grinder to frown.


    ¡°Kill him!¡± it hissed.


    The sense snatcher flashed red as the ground just under Tom started to warp as if it was suddenly liquified.  His senses were disturbed and Tom threw his arm to the side, trying to keep his balance.  The rest of the Arripions began to screech in excitement and mockery.


    Tom pinwheeled as he fell backwards.  The skill from the bird woman stopped and the ground was as it had been before, with Tom on his back and the organ grinder standing over him.


    ¡°[Piercing Fang],¡± announced the Pellician as its sword flashed red and stabbed through a disoriented Tom.  The blade moved easily through his chest, where his heart was, and then continued without resistance until it went through the floor of the parking garage.


    There was a cracking sound as the floor was weakened where it was stabbed, then it began to crumble.


    ¡°¡­[Illusionary Strike]!¡± finished Tom as his unseen sword appeared next to the sense snatcher in the air and cut right through her right wing.


    The boss screeched as she hit the floor with a bloody splat.  Tom landed on the ground right next to her and put the bottom of his boot on her neck.  He was sweating and flushed, breathing heavily.


    The grinder turned around, surprised that the native he had stabbed was vanishing, a trick from a skill, and focusing on the real Tom bringing his sword down on the sense snatcher¡¯s neck.


    Arripion ¡°Sense Snatcher [22]¡± slain.  6,253 XP gained.


    ¡°Whew,¡± Tom exclaimed while wiping his forehead.  His expression was one of concentration and strain.  ¡°It¡¯s tough to hold a skill for so long.¡±  Then he cancelled the use of his most recent skill [What¡¯s not There].


    Suddenly, all the enemies could see what his skill had been obscuring.  Even as he released it and his illusion was fading, the dozens of General¡¯s Guards that had been hidden around the edge of the floor released their attacks.  Arrows and spells shot out, targeting the wings of the Arripions.  They didn¡¯t need to kill them, just to drag them to the ground.


    At the same time, the melee fighters rushed forward and began stabbing the Pellicians before they could figure out what was happening.  Very quickly the humans took the advantage.  Confusion reigned as the birds didn¡¯t know where to escape to, and as they tried to fly away, they were still in range of the attacks coming for them.  The weasel men were faster to regain their composure and to fight back.


    ¡°[Ally¡¯s Defen¡­¡± the organ grinder began to use a skill.


    ¡°Not uh,¡± said Tom as he was already throwing a ball at the invader¡¯s feet.  The ball struck before the skill went off and exploded.  The force of the explosion wasn¡¯t enough to bother the Tier 3 boss, but it was easily enough to crumble the already damaged floor.


    The organ grinder fell through the hole that was opened beneath him and landed one floor down, on his feet.  Before he could try to jump or climb back up, Tom dropped towards him, blade first.  The weasel man¡¯s shield flashed and Tom pinged off it, as he was forced away and landed on his feet, still smiling at the invader.


    ¡°Stupid native!¡± bellowed the organ grinder.  ¡°You no know.  This more than you brain comprehends.  I¡¯s Tier 3.  You only two.  Impossible to win.  Stats, skills, everything inferior.¡±


    ¡°Meh.  Even if I lose here, your peeps are going down.  Though I¡¯m not sweating this fight.  The boss told me about your skills, and I think I¡¯ll be a good counter to them.  As long as you stay away from your minions, you probably can¡¯t activate your big skills.¡±


    The organ grinder let out a hiss and then ran towards Tom.  Tom had plenty of time to wait as the invader was even slower than he was, being a tanking class, mostly making parts of himself repel attacks.  The boss said he was slow when he wasn¡¯t using a skill to dash to an ally¡¯s side, which was probably what he had been about to do before falling.


    Tom waited as long as he dared, then for fun, tried using [Long Reach] not on his sword, but on his foot.  He used [Quick Step] to sidestep the pudgy, charging boss at the last moment, and used the extended reach on his foot to trip the organ grinder.


    The unexpected trip caused the invader to fall forward, landing on his snout.  Tom laughed as the Pellician stood up, scratches on his face but no reach damage.


    ¡°Oh my gosh!¡± laughed Tom.  ¡°You should see your face!  Oh man, that is about to become my favorite skill combination!¡±


    The organ grinder regained his feet and then charged at Tom again.


    ¡°[Turn away],¡± Tom announced as he used the skill, causing the charging creature¡¯s head to look away from Tom mid stride.  The effect didn¡¯t last long, due to their level differences, but it was enough for Tom to once more [Quick Step] and trip him.


    Tom bent double in laugher.


    Again, the organ grinder regained his feet.  He was seething, quick breathes hissing out the sides of his mouth.


    ¡°You mock this one!  You think your petty clowning will be enough?¡± glowered the invader.


    ¡°Obviously not,¡± said Tom, coming up for breath.  ¡°But what¡¯s wrong with having a little fun?  Anyway, I thought you were a ferocious weasel, but I guess you¡¯re just a yappy dog.  No wonder the boss knew he could beat you guys if he wasn¡¯t concerned for the troops.¡±


    The Pellician had had enough.  Instead of moving quickly he approached Tom slowly.  His shield and sword flashed red in turns with the use of skills.  Tom patiently waited for him.


    When the invader was in reach, Tom used [Long Reach] and [Illusionary Strike].  The boss raised its shield as he watched the sword coming towards him, but then he felt the sword cut into his side.  He looked at the blood coming from an area uncovered by armor.


    ¡°[Baffle],¡± used Tom, watching as the boss wobbled for a moment like a drunk man who could barely walk.  Then the back of one of the boss¡¯s knees was cut.  It was able to keep its balance, but didn¡¯t seem inclined to move around much.


    Tom circled him, forcing him to keep shifting his feet.


    ¡°[Illusionary Strike]!¡±


    Again and again, Tom attacked.  The boss had to begin guessing at where it needed to reinforce to prevent the strikes.  Only once did it guess correctly, but otherwise it never knew where the strike was coming from.  Tom would use different skills to distract it, then would attack, sometimes even saying ¡°Illusionary Strike¡± and not actually casting it.


    This creature was tough.  It was a tank with high vitality.  Tom danced around, harassing it, striking it in weak areas.  The boss quickly found himself struggling, unable to comprehend how someone so much lower level could cause this many wounds to him.


    ¡°[What¡¯s not There],¡± said Tom.  The boss turned, trying to find his opponent.  He didn¡¯t see him anywhere, but then he felt a weight on his shoulder.  A voice whispered into his ear, ¡°Guess what?¡±


    The organ grinder went to respond.  He went to use a skill and to open his mouth to speak, which was a mistake.  As soon as there was space, ¡°[Quick Strike]¡±, a sword was jammed between the teeth, through the roof of the mouth, and into the invader¡¯s brain.


    Pellician ¡°Organ Grinder [36]¡± was slain.  7,823 XP gained.


    ¡°Surprise, you¡¯re dead!¡± Tom answered his own question.

 CH 126: Enduring

    CHAPTER 126: Enduring


    ¡°Masteeeeeeeer¡­¡± two shrill voices hissed as they ran up the stairs.


    Tom removed his arm from around the organ grinder corpse¡¯s shoulders and yanked his sword free.  Two Tier 3 agility-based Pellicians were racing towards him.  There was a ¡°Spine Slasher [14]¡± and a ¡°Bloody Cutter [16]¡± moving at him fast.  Much faster than he was.


    His sword was brought up and Tom prepared to [Quick Step] away from them before they reached him.


    A shadow covered the hole in the ceiling of this garage level and a body came through.  Two glowing hands grabbed the back of the Pellicians¡¯ heads and slammed them into the floor, holding them there.  The effect of [Kinetic Impact] caused the heads to practically bounce onto the floor and back into his hands, driving their faces in deeper.


    ¡°Aw, boss.  I had them right where I wanted them,¡± whined Tom while also breathing out in relief.


    Adam looked at the organ grinder.  ¡°Killing the Tier 3 Arripion and Pellician solo is impressive enough.  Let¡¯s leave it at that for today.¡±


    ¡°But I had them right where I wanted them,¡± Tom repeated as he sheathed his sword and then shadow boxed, as if looking for another fight.


    ¡°Shall I release these two then?¡± asked Adam, raising an eyebrow.


    ¡°Er, that¡¯s ok.  Since you¡¯re here now.  Besides, I might have pulled a hammy just now,¡± Tom groaned as he grabbed his clearly unhurt hamstring.


    Adam waited as Tom fake hobbled over and stabbed the two incapacitated Pellicians.


    Pellician ¡°Spine Slasher [14]¡± was slain.  5,738 XP gained.


    Pellician ¡°Bloody Cutter [16]¡± was slain.  5,994 XP gained.


    ¡°I assume your side is clear?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°Yeah.  The group was rather weak.  Leprechauns and gorillas,¡± Adam said dismissively.


    ¡°Did you get their pot of gold?¡± jested Tom.  Then he thought for a minute.  ¡°Actually, I saw something when fighting.¡±


    Tom ran over to the organ grinder¡¯s corpse, sticking his tongue out in disgust, and reached into the fat rodent¡¯s armor and pulled out a necklace with a brown crystal attached.  Once free, he tossed it to Adam.


    ¡°Thanks.  Guess we¡¯ll get the water reclamation plant after all, though there are probably still Pellicians there¡­for now.¡±


    ¡°Glad to be of service, boss,¡± Tom crowed while giving his poor imitation of a salute.


    ¡°Now we need to hurry.  We¡¯re about twenty minutes behind everyone else.¡±


    ***


    Chad watched, in awe, as Commander Rexus fought.  Nine others in the special forces fought with him.  It was a sight to behold.  The commander was already at Tier 3, but the others were close as well.  The difference in capability between them and someone only midway through Tier 2, like Chad, was easy to see.


    The commander rushed around the front lines, trying to intercept attacking invaders.  The class ¡°Siege Wall [9]¡± must be some kind of defensive class, because when Rexus was struck, there was always a reversal of the attack, with Rexus countering more powerfully than he was hit.  He also suffered some damage, but not as much as he should have.  He carried a shield and short staff made from the bones of some of the more powerful enemies they had faced.


    Behind the commander stood Tyler Zito with the class ¡°Domain Healer [38]¡±.  He would create an area around him that would naturally heal the allies inside.  Some buffs and light shields were also thrown out by him.  As long as the commander stood inside the domain, all the damage he suffered would heal.


    Jack Fleming, ¡°Firemancer [39]¡±, and Cody Sloan, ¡°Airmancer [39]¡±, stayed in the domain while throwing spells into the hordes of invaders across from them.  Dalton Coleman, ¡°Piercing Archer [38]¡±, was able to target specific enemies with his bow.  He didn¡¯t have a lot of arrows, as manufacturing them on the road was more than difficult, so he concentrated on the most troublesome enemies and nearly one-shotted them all.


    Jamari Gillum, ¡°Outrider [1]¡±, was a scout and hit Tier 3.  His skills weren¡¯t targeted at direct combat, but with a combat knife in each hand, you couldn¡¯t tell as he engaged any enemies that came to him.  Next to Gillum were Kevin Spence, ¡°Breakdown Pugilist [0]¡±, who used only gloved fists to crush his opponents and Willis Abrego, ¡°Pocket Dueler [0]¡±, who dual wielded bone long blades to slash anyone who entered his ¡°pocket.¡±


    Those eight stood at the front.  They couldn¡¯t prevent all the invaders from getting past them, but they took out their share.  Others from the special forces had gone to the rear, to engage whatever enemies were there.


    Then there was Gregor.  Chad and he had gotten close over the months, and he had seen Gregor in the aftermath of battle, but he had never seen the man fight.  Now he knew why everyone feared him, and the power of the man they said was the strongest after Commander Rexus.


    Gregor didn¡¯t hold the lines.  Nor did he stand in front.  It was like all reason and thought had left the man as his skin tinted red and he charged directly into the invader hordes.  His punches and kicks used enough force to explode his enemies.  He could pick up any weapon and it would become deadly through the force he wielded it with.


    His skills would flash, and he would charge unstoppably through the invaders until he reached his target.  Shouts came from him that would disorient those around him.  Red flashes would go off and his already huge muscles would gain more size as he became increasingly feral.  Gregor was a force of nature like no combatant or invader he had seen.This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    Other fighters from their caravan, Chad included, stood behind Zito¡¯s healing domain.  If people took injuries, they would step inside, otherwise it was important not to tax the already tired healer.


    Everyone was tired, even those special forces powerhouses.  Resources were dwindling and focus was wavering.  Worst of all, the enemy horde, tens of thousands strong, wasn¡¯t even sending all its warriors.  They were attacking mostly from ranged, sending out just enough to keep the humans from pushing forward.


    The most dangerous were the green tipped arrows.  If they hit people, poison spread quickly through them, and getting the suddenly barbed arrowhead out of them was often deadly.  Zito didn¡¯t have the mana to help those hit, so Chad was focusing on preventing those arrows from arriving.


    Chad¡¯s arms were held upwards as he moved the air around to alter the trajectories of the arrows, and sometimes to move people out of their way.  He was worn down after the days of running and then after almost forty minutes of fighting.  It was a struggle just to summon the wind, but it had to be done.  He might be running on fumes, but he refused to stop.


    The rain of fire, ice, and thrown objects were someone else¡¯s responsibility.  Chad kept his eyes and focus entirely on those deadly arrows.  He couldn¡¯t imagine anyone able to survive them.  It would take someone at Rexus¡¯s strength, or more.


    People had gone down.  Many were dragged to other healers in the back.  Everyone who fell had someone else step forward, but they were beginning to lose people as fast as they could replace them.  The levels of the replacements decreased as well, weakening the army as a whole.


    Clearly the invaders were trying to wait them out.  They had been run to exhaustion, prevented from getting food, water, and rest.  If the invaders were so set on having them dead, why had they waited until now?  Was it just to torment them?  To let their hopes get built up so that they could reach a place of safety, only to tear it away?


    Only a few more hours to Jackson.  Even by foot, with the entire caravan, it would only take a few more hours.  With days, weeks, months of fighting and traveling behind them, a few more hours were nothing.  But right now, those hours were everything.  The end of the journey was here.


    Chad squinted his eyes and drew out whatever reserves were left inside.  He created a curve of air, causing an arrow to fly over the head of a warrior.  Then he used a sudden burst of air to knock a man over, causing another arrow to miss them and instead hit someone using a reinforced metal half barrel as a shield.


    One of those ugly elves targeted Chad directly and he barely got out of the way in time, while creating an uplift in the air, as another gust of wind from an elf caster tried to counter his own air to allow an arrow through to him.


    Chad was panting.  Then he missed one.  His mana, mental focus, and physical energy was drained after a few more minutes.  A man screamed as the arrow penetrated his chest.  The man went down, black veins spreading across skin that was turning green from the poison.  Chad saw it happen and fell to his knees.  His hands fell forward.  That¡¯s man¡¯s death was on him.  He had¡­if only he could¡­just one more¡­


    Thoughts weren¡¯t coming to his head.  They were elusive.  He didn¡¯t remember climbing to his hands and knees.  Maybe if he could just take a little nap, he¡¯d be able to stop those arrows again.  Chad fell onto his shoulder and closed his eyes.  More shouting was happening around him, but he would figure it out after a nap.


    A rough set of hands grabbed Chad, jerking him awake.  Chad¡¯s eyes looked down and saw Kevin Spence¡¯s gnarled knuckles dragging him into Zito¡¯s healing zone.


    ¡°Mental attack.  Probably a sleep spell,¡± grunted Spence, both to Chad and to Zito.  ¡°Can¡¯t believe they didn¡¯t attack him sooner.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t think we didn¡¯t notice you holding off all those ballistics by yourself.  You kept us going a lot longer, soldier,¡± praised Zito.


    ¡°Think he¡¯ll be back to it?  We lost twelve by the time I reached him.¡±


    ¡°Unlikely, I think he¡¯s out of mana.  Chad, was it?¡± asked Zito, though just to be polite.  ¡°I believe you¡¯re the one Gregor is always raving about.  I guess he¡¯s right.  You are top tier.¡±


    Chad¡¯s head was clearing while in the healing domain, and he was gaining a bit more energy and alertness.  It was also the first time he had had the chance to look around.  That was when he realized his strict focus on the arrows had left him without knowing the state they were in.


    The lines were being pushed back.  Invaders were getting through them, almost to the front vehicles of the caravan.  Chaos was everywhere.  Only here was it even pretending to be calm.  Chad took in a breath and closed his eyes.  The healing energy flowed into him.  He didn¡¯t want to see his fellow men fall.


    With his head placed on the ground, feeling the hard asphalt of the road, amidst a magical dome that would heal him only as long as Zito had energy, Chad let the noises drown out the world.  There was a clanging of metal on metal.  Grunts as people were wounded.  The sizzle of spells and the whistling as they tore through the air.  Then there was the shaking of the ground.


    Shaking of the ground?  Chad sat up and looked around.  People were stepping, stomping, dodging, and dashing, but nothing to explain those vibrations he just felt.  He stood up and looked around.  Zito grabbed him and tried to pull him down, but Chad once more popped up.


    ¡°What are you doing?!¡± complained Zito.  ¡°You¡¯ll be a target like that!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s just¡­I hear¡­¡± Chad mumbled as they turned around.


    That was when he saw it.  To the south and a little west.  Along the curve of the road.  There was the haze you got when a lot of vehicles were running hot on a cold day on the highway.  Chad stared, trying to see through the heat, straining his ears to hear more.


    Laughter came from Chad¡¯s mouth.  A few people turned and looked at him like he was crazy.  He put his head back and barked more laughter as tears streaked down his dirty cheeks.  Then everyone heard the horn.


    ***


    Lucas could see them.  There were a lot of them.  Adam would be furious if he saw this many invaders before him.  He¡¯d be worked up into a rabid froth.  Or, he¡¯d be smiling a hungry smile.


    Adam wasn¡¯t Lucas though, and Lucas saw danger.  That wouldn¡¯t deter him.  He reached to where a horn was fastened to his handlebars and pulled it down.  When it reached his mouth, he blew hard on it, releasing a series of blasts that was a practiced command.  It would be heard far and wide.


    After only a few seconds, more horn sounds blared out as his orders were passed down the line.


    Lucas slowed down.  He allowed people to catch up.  Vehicles pulled up next to him, on the road, the median, and the outside grass.  Everyone got out of their seats.  Shield men formed to the sides, Brittney standing beside him.   Spearman formed up behind, like the pikemen of European armies.  Then came warriors, supports, archers, and mages.  Everyone had their place and knew where it was.  Individual unit leaders took charge of the details as everyone fell into step with Lucas.


    He raised his war hammer up and held it with two hands, striding forward at a speed that others could follow.  So many invaders in front of him, and where were the humans?  All he had to do was look across the entrance ramp of the highway where he saw so many humans fighting for their lives.


    Lucas found himself grinning.  It was a grim look, but he felt a bit like Adam just then.  This wasn¡¯t just dangerous; it would also be a feast.


    Several orders were shouted by Lucas, but what it all amounted to was, ¡°go kill the invaders.¡±

 CH 127: Retreat

    CHAPTER 127: Retreat


    Chad stopped laughing and the tears dried.  The invaders had stopped coming forward after hearing the horns in the distance.  They all watched, both the humans and invaders.


    They watched as hundreds of vehicles, motorcycles, trucks, military transports, and more, unloaded thousands of people.  There were less people than in their convoy, and less than the invaders.  Yet the way they gathered and grouped, formed their lines and faced what was in front of them, spoke to a shared experience of growing their power.


    The caravan¡¯s gear was crudely and hastily formed.  There was very little made from metal, as Earth metals were easily destroyed by the invaders¡¯ weapons and spells.  Instead, most was made of bone and leather, both crafted poorly as they moved or stopped during the nights.  The leather of strong animals was skinned, processed, and sewn together with tendons or material from inside the monsters they fought.


    The new force that was assembling looked regal by comparison.  Their weapons, shields, and armor shined as they reflected the light.  It wasn¡¯t just that they were made of metal either.  They looked refined, shaped, and decorated.


    Those wearing leather had stylish jackets and slacks, made to cover them while also having a sci-fi fashion design to them.  It was as if they had embraced the Middle Ages and dropped it off in the future.  It boggled Chad¡¯s mind that they not only had the time and resources to craft this quality of gear, but that they spent the time on form as well as function.


    On their chests they wore a symbol.  All the men and women had it shaped in the metal, burned into leather, and embroidered in cloth.  Displayed on each person¡¯s chest was a picture of the Earth over their heart, and a silhouette of a man holding a hammer above his head.


    The silhouette caused him to look back at the person in the front of the gathering army.  He was tall with dark skin.  Impressive muscles padded him, though still much smaller than Gregor¡¯s.  His red tinted chest armor gleamed, even as frayed leather stuck out from his sleeveless arms.  He carried a large war hammer, more intricate than all the other weapons he had seen.  He wondered if this sculpture of a man was the inspiration for the logo.


    Right next to the man was another who drew Chad¡¯s eyes.  He assumed it was a female, with the pink short battle skirt over top her metal armor.  She wore a helmet, and her size was diminutive, even as she carried a curved tower shield almost her height.


    Once the soldiers were formed up, which took very little time, showing how practiced they were, the man shouted a single command.  Chad was too far to hear it, but the whole company moved.  They started with measured steps, walking at an easy pace.  Then drumming began from the back, the beats agitating the air more than carrying through it.


    The man in front sped up.  He wasn¡¯t rushing, but taking confident long strides.  The short girl next to him never left his side, even with the shorter legs and heavier equipment.  The thousands strong in row after row moved forward like a tidal wave, a tsunami ready to level anything that got in its way.  Chad wondered if the legendary Roman legion resembled this as they move with precision and discipline against their enemies.


    The army didn¡¯t appear nervous at facing so many invaders.  They struck with force, led by the man with the hammer.  Before reaching the group of humanoids wrapped in fire, he took his hammer in both hands, wound back, and in stride, he swung.


    One swing took out three invaders.  The hammer started low and swung sideways.  It hit the waist of a fire coated invader, carrying it, even as it broke its midsection, into another next to it.  A third invader was flipped as the second impacted its head, rotating it upside down.


    Chad watched, unsure of how things would go, as the invaders and the new army collided.


    ***


    Lucas could feel the heat coming off these fire coated invaders.  They seemed to be humanoids, with their silhouettes visible through the flames that surrounded them.  It didn¡¯t matter though.  The cacophony of noises that were sounding out filled the air.  Drums were beating a rhythm.  The rhythm might change depending on orders to pace the Sentinel Army.


    Only three more swings of his hammer were possible before the crowding around him got too dangerous to continue using it.  He slipped it into the brace on his back and activated the skill [Armless], to boost his hand-to-hand capabilities.  The strength and speed of his punches and kicks would now become close to as dangerous as if he was using a weapon.


    The skill [Balance] gave him a better awareness of his body movements so that he could recover faster after a strike, and [Proper Stance] made his footwork and positioning more natural as he fought.


    He threw a punch.  His gloves, which almost reached his elbows, were made of feral behemoth leather.  They were good enough to resist the heat that Adam gave off, so he figured they should be enough for these invaders.


    A straight right took one of the invaders in the face, throwing him back.  Then he brought his left fist across his body.  The punch made a cracking noise as he hit the chest of his opponent.  With a quick step back to gather himself, he threw a hook with his right fist to catch another flaming invader in the jaw.


    Assunax ¡°Fire Stopper [18]¡± slain.  2,106 XP gained.


    Assunax ¡°Flame Brawler [14]¡± slain.  1,626 XP gained.


    A red-hot pitchfork type weapon came at his midsection, but Lucas didn¡¯t bother dodging.  A shield was exactly where it needed to be as Brittney blocked the weapon.  Then an arrow flew from behind the melee fighters to take the attacker in the face.  Lucas just kept throwing punches, with a few kicks at waists, knees, and ankles to get the enemies off balance.


    ***


    Chad was mesmerized by this assault.  Commander Rexus and the other special forces that fought closely with him felt a bit stronger and more proficient, but as a whole, this incoming human army attacked together.  Enemy attacks were blocked.  Skills were used to buff and support each other.  Ranged attacks weren¡¯t constant, as they were sent out where they needed to be in order to keep the shield bearers and melee fighters from damage.  Those in the front controlled the positioning while those in the back used surgical strikes to drop the most concerning invaders.


    ¡°They¡¯re amazing,¡± whispered Chad.


    ¡°Yeah, well, I still punch better than him,¡± muttered Kevin Spence petulantly, watching from next to Chad and Zito.  They were all taking a breather while the invaders were focused on the incoming army.  Chad wasn¡¯t going to let this opportunity go to waste.  He began deep, relaxed breathing to help regain his energy.


    ***


    Once they had pushed back the fire guys, the Assunax, they went after the next group, which was familiar.  They were the Labesatis, the obsidian armored invaders who had been cooking the captured humans.  Lucas reached backwards and drew his war hammer from its brace.  A quick cast of [Sturdy Weapon] so his hammer wouldn¡¯t break, followed by [Empower Blow], and Lucas was ready.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there.


    There wasn¡¯t room for side swings, so Lucas swung over his head downward.  His timing was good, and his power was overwhelming.  Without the titles from the rift conquests, or the appointment title, his strength would have been at 124.  However, with all his titles his strength was as if he was 23 levels higher, sitting at 170.  That was the force he was now bringing down on the heads of his enemies.


    It didn¡¯t matter if they had solid helmets.  The head of his hammer, strengthened by his skills, came down as surely as an executioner¡¯s axe to kill them instantly.  He only killed one at a time, but they fell before him as the defenders aligned to each side kept him safe.


    Labesatis ¡°Blocker [14]¡± slain.  704 XP gained.


    Labesatis ¡°Striker [17]¡± slain.  938 XP gained.


    Lucas led the Sentinel Army through the on ramp, curving around, and then tried to clear the highway on the way to the caravan of humans.  His forces pushed until they could move to the median between the different directional highways.


    With the invaders pushed back, and split to either side of the army, Lucas raised a hand and gestured for them to move along the road instead of continuing to push the invaders back.  A horn sounded and the drumbeats changed, telling all to hold the lines and shift to the right.


    This time Lucas wasn¡¯t in the lead as he started from the middle of the front.  His forces rushed through the limited space on the merging lane, pivoting outwards to form a longer defensive line.  The defenders and melee made space for the support and ranged, spreading them thinly behind the long line of vanguards.


    As Lucas shifted his focus to holding his position against the incoming attacks and spells, he noticed a commotion a bit away.  There was a human in the midst of the invaders.  He wasn¡¯t dying, but Lucas was familiar with how he fought.  The warrior would charge forward, roar, and then swing with anything he could find to wield.  His enemy¡¯s weapons became his own.  Force used against him would cause skills to activate, increasing his power.  A force of pure power wrecking the huddled invaders.


    Lucas also knew how this would end.  The man was bleeding all over, and his movements were sluggish.  He didn¡¯t seem in control either as the invaders would bait him in and then get whatever cuts and slashes they could from behind.


    Making a decision, maybe out of sympathy for the countless times he saw Adam fight like that, Lucas raised a hand with four fingers up and made a shrill whistle with his tongue against his lips.  After a moment, the lines changed, opening up to make room for a unit.


    Once Lucas felt their presence, he pushed forward.  Brittney and two other shield men walked at Lucas¡¯s sides.  Spreading to their sides came Joseph¡¯s unit, slow but strong.  Every strike from them would kill something as Joseph, ¡°Reaper [43]¡±, was a force unto himself.  His strength of 201 could even overwhelm Lucas, as long as he could catch him.  With the enemies packed so closely, it would favor this slow but inevitable group.


    ***


    ¡°What¡¯re they doing?¡± asked Jack Fleming as they watched a small group pushing into the invaders.  The rest of the humans were clearing the road, coming towards them.


    ¡°I think they¡¯re going after Gregor,¡± mentioned Zito.


    ¡°Have you ever seen Gregor that worn down?¡± asked Chad.


    ¡°Never, but we¡¯ve never been this overwhelmed before,¡± gasped Jamari Gillum, the Outrider scout, having just arrived from checking on the back of their caravan.


    ¡°And that guy noticed it as well?  Those people seem more legit than I expected,¡± said Fleming.


    ¡°Are you clowns just sitting here like an audience or are we going to help them clear the way?¡± growled the commander, with murder in his eyes.


    Chad took a breath and then walked forward, those around him moving ahead to add their own power as well.


    ***


    Lucas could almost laugh.  The bulk of his forces would have had trouble pushing through, but this small group made it feel easy.  He was using a sword now, a little wider and longer that a broadsword.  He thrust and stabbed as his skill [All Weapons] nudged his attacks slightly to make them more effective, just like [Evade] would tug on his body to let him know where to move to avoid getting hit.


    They had the most trouble so far with water elementals.  Those tried to envelop them, but the shield wielders were the most effective against them, using [Shield Bash] to splatter them, forcing them to reform.  A hard enough hit would disable them for a while.  No doubt Andrea and Randall would have been more effective against them, but that hardly mattered now.


    As they broke through the circle that the invaders had formed around the human with the tag, ¡°Blood Berserker [2]¡±, all eyes went to Lucas, including the hollow eyes of the human they had come to save.  The man growled at them as the nearby invaders all turned to attack.


    ¡°[Attention Here],¡± Brittney used her skill.  The eyes that were spread among the arriving humans all focused on her.


    ¡°[Multi-strike], [Deadly Penetration], [Follow Thru]¡± were the skills that Joseph used.  Then he thrust forward with his short spear with an absurdly large head.  The thrust carried him forward along with the force of his weapon.  The spear tip hit the first invader, a knuckle dragging, hunched over beast of a creature.  Thanks to [Deadly Penetration] his spear easily sank through as if there was almost no resistance.


    Gohralluh ¡°Knuckle Slammer [16]¡± slain.  925 XP gained.


    With his [Multi-strike] active, the spear took on an ethereal glow, splitting to the sides of his actual strike, as if two more spears floated next to him.  No one was on the left, but the invader on the right also took the skill manifested spear in its chest.


    Gohralluh ¡°Chucker [15]¡± slain.  873 XP gained.


    Joseph¡¯s new ability, [Follow Thru], allowed his attack to continue as though there had been nothing in his way to stop his momentum.  He activated the ability a second time and ended up killing six invaders with the one attack.


    On the other side of the circle another from Joseph¡¯s unit, a girl named Akuji, wielded a scythe along with her anime styled goth glam outfit.  She cackled as she spun, reaping four enemies before Brittney¡¯s taunt skill had worn off.


    Javier and Francis also followed Joseph in, before the rest in the Reapers unit could.  Javier had oversized metal knuckles on his gauntlets.  There was no subtlety as he took big strides forward and simply pummeled anyone in his way.  Francis was right beside his former leg-breaker partner, preferring a short sword in one hand and a sword breaker in the other.  The two watched each other¡¯s backs as they assaulted anything nearby.


    As the rest of the Reaper unit tried to make space, the blood berserker in front of them was getting enraged.  He saw enemies fall to others and huffed himself up, gaining additional size and strength as he raged.  Then he bellowed, flashing red with the use of a skill.


    ¡°Huh,¡± said Brittney.  ¡°That feels like barely a tickle.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can really compare it to Adam though.  But yeah, that yell was underwhelming for what we¡¯re used to,¡± commented Lucas.  Joseph grunted in agreement from where he was trying to get two more bodies off his spear.


    To say Gregor was unhappy with being ignored and with having his prey taken would be an understatement.  When a berserker rages, they¡¯re unhappy about everything.  The large man¡¯s reasonless eyes fixated on Lucas and a skill was used, propelling him forward.


    ¡°[By Your Side],¡± announced Brittney as she was placed in front of Lucas to take the blow for him.  Then she used, ¡°[Absorb Impact].¡±


    A grunt came out of Brittney as she was hit and pushed back.  The force of the blow displaced her, and only her skill [Firm Stance] which is supposed to keep her in place, prevented her from going flying.


    ¡°Adam never hit me that hard!¡± she complained.


    ¡°Because he couldn¡¯t or because he wouldn¡¯t?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°Are you really asking that?¡± she turned the question back on him.


    ¡°Fine,¡± said Lucas.  ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Lucas stepped forward.  He activated an old skill [Toughness] to increase his vitality.  Then he used [Balance] and [Proper Stance].  Grabbing the berserker¡¯s palms in his own, he was surprised to feel the berserker¡¯s strength increase again.  The man would be able to overwhelm Lucas.


    Before he could be attacked again, Lucas looked into the man¡¯s eyes.  He simply looked, without making any aggressive motion.


    ¡°Your people are safe,¡± he said to the man.  Even with the blank expression the man flinched.  ¡°We¡¯re here to help.¡±


    The berserker growled again but then he stepped back, registering what Lucas had said.  He took a few deep breaths.  Blood flowed from dozens of cuts.  The group was so used to Adam having to drink blood to regenerate that they almost forgot that most people needed the healers.


    The man¡¯s breathing seemed to calm him down some.  His muscles visibly deflated as they shrunk, though they were still huge when done.  Thought returned to his eyes.


    ¡°You must have done this before,¡± whispered the man as he ran out of strength and dropped to the ground.


    ¡°Something like that,¡± responded Lucas.  ¡°I know someone with similar power.¡±


    The man nodded and then passed out.  Once Lucas had the large man on his shoulders, positioning himself between the defenders, he let out another shrill whistle, this one with three bursts of sound.


    The Reapers rushed back and got close as spells and arrows rained down on the invaders blocking their retreat.  Lucas didn¡¯t bother fighting as their ranged took out any threat in front of them.


    Turning his eyes to the massive line of humans that they had come to rescue, Lucas shifted his attention to the next step.  Evacuation.

 CH 128: Evacuation

    CHAPTER 128: Evacuation


    ¡°What did you say?¡± Jack Fleming demanded of the man leading the new group of humans.  Fire balls were formed on his hands, but they sparked and sputtered, showing a lack of mana to sustain them.


    ¡°We¡¯re here to evacuate those who can¡¯t fight,¡± said Randall, not fulling paying attention to the man.  ¡°Get them prepared to move.¡±


    ¡°You think you can just boss us around and take our weak?!¡±  The flames on Fleming¡¯s hands surged with renewed intensity, though they couldn¡¯t stay that formed.


    The ground shifted.  People were moved out of the way as a shorter teen wearing glasses came through.  He also didn¡¯t seem to be looking at Fleming as his eyes roamed.


    ¡°What¡¯s the hold up, Randall?¡± asked Elias.


    ¡°This idiot isn¡¯t letting us through.  It¡¯s like he doesn¡¯t want to be rescued,¡± said Randall, spear held in a ready position in case the invaders pushed forward.  For now, they had made some space between the groups, in part due to the stronger spells and ranged attacks now falling on them.  The Sentinel Army wasn¡¯t willing to leave it at that, trying to push the lines back even further without blowing through their mana.


    Elias looked Fleming up and down, showing no particular respect or care for the decorated soldier.  He eyed the scraps of leather, coarsely sewn into armor.  He looked at the bone knife tucked into his belt and dismissed them.  Fleming seethed, trying to will his flames to grow.


    ¡°Then you¡¯d prefer we don¡¯t rescue you?¡± Elias asked, also indifferently.


    ¡°You come in here and then make demands of us?! We don¡¯t know or trust you,¡± spat Fleming, still fuming but down to only one hand covered in fire.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Elias thoughtfully.  He looked at the invaders and then shot a few [Earth Spikes] that impaled the invaders standing still.  The action was idle, something for Elias to do while he considered the issue.  ¡°We¡¯re the Sentinel Army.  If you don¡¯t want our help, then there is nothing we can do.¡±


    Fleming¡¯s jaw dropped.  The remaining flame died out.


    ¡°Time to pull back,¡± shouted Elias, the ground raising him up so people could see and hear him better.  ¡°They didn¡¯t want a rescue.¡±


    ¡°Wait, wait, wait,¡± said Fleming, caught off guard.


    ¡°Yes?¡± asked Elias, taunting him with a smug look.


    That¡¯s when a few others who had been watching came over too.  Elias was sure Randall hadn¡¯t paid attention to them, but it was clear they had stayed back to evaluate the newcomers.  For Elias, it was in bad taste to leave their army hanging instead of hurrying the operation.


    ¡°I think that¡¯s enough, Fleming,¡± said Dalton Coleman.


    ¡°But they¡¯re just kids!¡± shouted Fleming.


    ¡°Kids leading an army,¡± answered Willis Abrego.


    ¡°Plus, they haven¡¯t been phased at all by what¡¯s happening,¡± agreed Cody Sloan.  ¡°And we need a way out.¡±


    Fleming grew more indignant.  ¡°We¡¯ve seen more war than the lot of them combined.  In experience, knowledge, and levels they are less than us.  They should be giving their command to us!¡±


    ¡°Look at their levels,¡± said Coleman.


    ¡°None are as high as ours,¡± muttered Fleming, making no effort to speak privately.


    ¡°No, but they are close, and their whole army¡¯s average level is much higher than ours.  This ain¡¯t their first rodeo,¡± said Abrego.


    Then addressing Elias, who was clearly more capable than Randall, Abrego asked, ¡°What¡¯s the plan?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll push forward, leaving half of the highway open for your people to evacuate behind us.  Get to our vehicles.  It¡¯ll be a tight fit, but we should be able to accommodate most of your people.  Drivers are waiting to evacuate your people,¡± explained Elias.


    ¡°Then what?¡± asked Coleman.


    Elias looked him directly in the eyes and smiled viciously, causing Coleman to flinch in surprise.


    ¡°Then we level,¡± said Elias.  Quickly he returned to his normal demeanor.  ¡°This is the bulk of the invaders in the area.  Once we clear most of them, our forces should be able to safely travel back to Jackson.¡±


    Abrego laughed hard at that.  ¡°Not their first rodeo indeed.¡±


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯ll go tell the general the plan,¡± said Coleman.  He grabbed Fleming and pulled him away, seeing the hothead still fuming over something.  This was hardly the time for internal issues.  That Randall kid really must have pissed him off.


    The ground once more rose beneath Elias.  Then he whistled and motioned to the other side of the highway.  Horns went off along the line of Sentinel Army members and the defenders in the lead stepped into the gap that had formed between the invaders and soldiers.


    Coleman watched as the defenders moved forward, followed by hundreds wielding swords or spears.  With precision, the ranged fighters released their attacks, keeping pressure on the invaders.  Very occasionally, a close ranged fighter would take an attack, but hands were quick to pull them back while another person stepped in.  The two times he saw that happen, the injured was quickly healed and then got back into line.


    When Coleman looked back to check on those kids, he noticed that Randall was in the front, flashing around like a lightning bolt with his spear.  Elias couldn¡¯t be seen, but the ground continued to shift up and down the lines, taking people where they needed to go.


    It was interesting for Coleman to watch for a while, and he wished he had arrows so he could get involved.  This orderly way of fighting would have provided him with a lot of opportunities.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    Before long, people began to trickle in.  He pointed toward the gap that had formed behind the fighting army.  The caravan people were exhausted, but this was their last chance to get away.  They had to put their trust in the newly arrived army.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Commander Rexus?¡± asked an officer as he arrived.


    ¡°Rex, Spence, Gillum, and Zito are defending the front side closer to the invaders,¡± Coleman answered with a salute.


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s safe?¡± asked the officer.


    Coleman shrugged.  ¡°I don¡¯t see much choice.  We were heading to Jackson anyway.¡±


    ¡°How can you be sure they are from Jackson?¡± asked the officer suspiciously.  Coleman just stared at him.


    ¡°Is there another human army in the region?¡± he asked sarcastically.


    The officer practically pouted as professionally as possible for someone who had been through what they had over the last months.  ¡°How did they know where we were and that we needed help?¡±


    Coleman sighed.  ¡°Don¡¯t they have alien tech?  Plus, you¡¯ve been trying to radio them.  Really, it doesn¡¯t matter.  We go with them, or most people here are toast.¡±


    The officer reached up and began making gestures.  Within minutes the highway was filled with people trying to get to the Sentinel Army¡¯s vehicles.  There were army officers, regular people, the sick and injured, as well as anyone who was unable to fight.


    It was nerve wracking as the invaders kept trying to target the retreating people, but Coleman was continually impressed by how on the ball the Sentinel Army was as shields and barriers sprang up to protect the people.  Healers were also spread throughout, doing the minimum healing necessary to help people keep moving forward.


    ***


    ¡°There they are,¡± pointed Zito.  ¡°Let¡¯s make some space for them.¡±


    ¡°And by us, you mean me,¡± corrected Spence, as no one expected the healer to get in direct combat.


    Zito just smirked at him, practically mocking him.  ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°Fine, you coward,¡± said Spence, not really meaning it.  He had served with Zito for years, and he trusted the man both in a firefight as well as from up close.


    Chad watched Spence lead quite a few fighters forward.  He didn¡¯t have much mana left, but he was willing to use it all up to get Gregor, and the people rescuing him, to safety.  There was also a lack of danger, as no one was focusing on him while Commander Rexus was nearby, showing why he was the strongest.


    The Commander didn¡¯t push into the invaders.  Instead, he used skills and they came to him.  He would shout and they would turn away from the other targets, focusing on Rexus.  Chad wouldn¡¯t want to be the focus of all those monsters¡¯ attention, but Rexus didn¡¯t care.  He faced all that came for him.  Even without Zito healing him he suffered such little damage.


    The tall man carrying Gregor also didn¡¯t seem concerned.  The defenders around him reliably did their jobs, while the group of attackers escorting them carved death through the invader crowds, never concerned on their own by the hits they took.


    Spence reached the Commander, then gave him some space as he began punching his way forward.  Those weird rock covered men fell to his fists.  Creatures without necks, with four arms and long nails, did manage to get some scratches on him, but he punched and kept going.


    The arrived army seemed more practiced with its actions to Chad, while also equipped with better gear.  They were fully committed to saving the caravan.  It hadn¡¯t escaped Chad¡¯s notice that people behind him were swarming to the south side of the highway to disappear behind the fighters.


    Not much time went by before the group was able to come out from the invader mass.  Once more, the invaders made space, unable to cope with the human groups and not having the space to really swarm them.


    ¡°You guys from Jackson?¡± asked Spence, when there was finally room to talk.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± answered the man carrying Gregor.  He effortlessly lifted the large body off his shoulder and handed it to Spence, who handed it to Chad.  ¡°Were you expecting another army?¡±


    Spence choked at the sarcasm.  ¡°No, kid.  We weren¡¯t even expecting your army.  This was our last chance.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s impressive you made it this far,¡± said the teen.  While he said that without offensive inflection, Spence seemed to take it as being looked down on.


    ¡°If you think for one minute that you nobodies could have survived what we went through¡­¡±  A hand was placed on Spence¡¯s shoulder, and he stopped himself.


    ¡°We¡¯ve all had our battles, Kev,¡± Commander Rexus said to him.


    ¡°I apologize for his attitude, it¡¯s been a long road,¡± Rexus then said to the newcomers.  He seemed amused by how the small, skirt wearing knight had readied her shield and hammer for a fight.  Now that they were closer, Chad could see her tag of ¡°Shield Maiden [43]¡±, which impressed him.


    The dark-skinned man shrugged and spoke with a deep voice, ¡°tempers can run deep with this level of stress.  We¡¯ll get you back to Jackson, where your people can rest and recover.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯ll all appreciate that,¡± said Rexus with an almost amused smile.  ¡°What do you need from us?¡±


    ¡°Get those who need it to safety.  Our vehicles will take those who can¡¯t travel on their own to Jackson while we hold the invaders back. By the way, I¡¯m Lucas Fenton of the Sentinel Army,¡± said Lucas.


    Rexus nodded.  ¡°I¡¯m Detachment Commander Victor Rexus,¡± he said.  ¡°You the leader of the army?¡±


    ¡°Just in charge of this op.  There are a few other things happening and the real leader will join us soon.¡±


    ¡°Oh?  You don¡¯t say,¡± said Rexus, a slight lick of his lips caused Chad to shiver.  ¡°There are more of the bastards attacking behind the caravan and I don¡¯t know how long my troops can hold it.  I¡¯ll head back there if you guys have this area.¡±


    Lucas nodded to the Commander, who then turned to head back down the highway.


    ¡°Alvarez,¡± said the Commander, getting Chad¡¯s attention.  ¡°I know you¡¯re tapped.  Take Gregor and evacuate with him.  You¡¯ve done an admirable job, soldier.¡±


    The Commander saluted him, and then dashed down the caravan¡¯s perimeter.


    ***


    The evacuation took a long time.  As it should, considering how many people there were to evacuate.  Gregor woke shortly after they had gotten to the trucks.  There wasn¡¯t any raw meat for Gregor to eat, and he was exceptionally weak.  The two were put in the back of a pickup truck with quite a few other people.  No one wanted to be all that close to the blood-soaked Gregor.


    When the first ten trucks and the trailers they pulled were loaded with people, they left, giving the next set of vehicles more room to accept their evacuees.  Gregor looked around with his eyes a little glassy, just staring into space.  Chad wasn¡¯t sure what he was concerned with, so he handed him a bottle of water.  Gregor drank it absentmindedly.


    It had only been a few minutes of travel south when a loud rumble caught the edge of Chad¡¯s attention.  He leaned over the edge of the truck, using his wind magic to block the wind shear.  Down the highway he saw another group of motorcycles and trucks driving at them, going speeds that pre-[System] would have seen them arrested for reckless endangerment.


    The lead motorcycle was driven by a human, and Chad could hear laughing from the driver of his own truck.  Chad assumed they were with the Sentinel Army.  There was honking from the lead truck heading south and the vehicles heading south formed a line to make space, while those heading to the fighting made their own line.


    Suddenly Gregor¡¯s head snapped around.  He grabbed his chest while his face flushed.  He turned and watched the man on the lead motorcycle, who frowned, but didn¡¯t give them any attention, as focused as he was on get to the fighting.


    Chad swallowed hard.  ¡°What was that?¡± he asked Gregor.


    Gregor¡¯s eyes were locked on the man as he drove further away.  His whole demeanor was tense, hackles raised like a cornered animal ready to fight for its life.


    Gregor snarled, hand absently massaging his chest while he answered.  ¡°Something dangerous and wrong.¡±


    ***


    Adam was relieved to see people evacuating without rushing.  He and the General¡¯s Guard had made it in time.  There would still be some fighting.  Inside, his soul both boiled and calmed.  It didn¡¯t want to be left out of the invader slaughter.


    Then, as Adam sped forward, an intense pain gripped him.  It wasn¡¯t physical or mental, but something in his soul.  Something that wanted to get out.  Adam felt like the time his connections had been ripped from him when his friends were trapped inside the Testudinate rift.


    It only lasted for an instant, and then he settled as he continued driving.  He held his breath, waiting to see if it happened again.


    After only a few more minutes, Adam saw the evacuees ahead loading into the vehicles.  Thoughts of the pain vanished.  There were invaders to take down!

 CH 129: Adam Arrives

    CHAPTER 129: Adam Arrives


    ¡°You throw some good punches,¡± Spence said to Lucas, who looked down at his knuckles and understood the type of fighter he was.


    ¡°I grew up boxing,¡± Lucas replied.  Spence kept looking from Lucas to the invaders.  The boy seemed calm and waiting, his attention focused on something across the way in the Sentinel Army¡¯s troops.  Not much conversation came from him, so Spence turned to the little armored girl.  ¡°Shield maiden, huh?¡±


    ¡°Yup,¡± answered a cute voice bluntly.  Spence frowned.


    ¡°Can you tell me what we¡¯re doing?¡± he demanded.


    ¡°Waiting,¡± said the shield maiden.


    ¡°Waiting for what?¡± he asked.


    ¡°To attack,¡± answered Lucas, shielding his eyes.


    The defenders, including the shield maiden, were blocking any attack that came their way.  The invaders were still hesitant to come too close.  Spence was feeling a bit restless.  Unlike the rest of his unit, his class ¡°Breakdown Pugilist¡± relied less on mana.  His technique combined with some of his passives allowed him to go longer than most fighters not named Gregor or Rexus.  While his fellow soldiers required more down time, Spence was still ready to fight, though he knew he couldn¡¯t wade into that mass alone.


    ¡°Why are we waiting to attack?¡± Spence asked, looking to where Lucas was watching.


    Then Lucas reached to his back and pulled out the hammer he carried.  He nodded to the shield girl and said, ¡°it¡¯s about time.¡±


    ¡°Time?¡± asked Spence, still not getting it.  ¡°Time for what?¡±


    Then there was a roar.  It shook the air.  The feral behemoth that Gregor had taken down hadn¡¯t sounded this scary.  Spence would have shivered, if he could, but found he was frozen.  Much like quite a few of the invaders.  A loud cheer rose up from the Sentinel Army, spooking the people trying to evacuate.  Then the Sentinel Army rushed forward.  The freeze lasted less than a second on Spence but had made an impression.


    ¡°I guess he was right about another attack,¡± Lucas said, lacking concern.


    ¡°Yup,¡± agreed the shield maiden.  ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°Time to feed,¡± replied Lucas.


    ¡°What the hell was that roar?!?¡± Spence shouted, getting concerned.


    Then a person catapulted from behind the Sentinel Army.  Two defenders held up shields above their heads.  They flashed red with skill use, to stabilize the upward facing shields.  Then the person landed on them and launched himself upwards, over the front of the invaders.


    Spence had seen Gregor charging enemies plenty of times.  The guy had no concern for his own wellbeing, or at least lost concern as his reason eroded under his battle rage.  But this¡­this was madness.  To willingly throw yourself into the center of that horde.  There were still at least twenty thousand invaders all over, and this man went to where he would have no protection.  No reinforcement.  The man was about to crash into the wave of aliens.


    A glow lit up the man¡¯s war hammer.  Then the man disappeared.  Spence went to look around for him when a pocket of invaders went flying.  They bounced off each other like they were made of rubber.  Then another group were thrown around.  He watched as the man¡¯s head would come up, the hammer would glow, and with a swing the invader ranks destabilized.


    Spence swallowed hard as he watched the man.  ¡°Who was¡­¡± he started to ask before realizing that Lucas and his group were already at the invader lines, swinging, slashing, slicing, and bashing.  He turned to where the other thousands of Sentinels had been, protecting those evacuating.  They had all charged forward, following the man, laying into the invaders with a fury he had only witnessed from two people before.


    ¡°When in Rome,¡± said Spence and then charged forward.  Now he knew why Lucas said it was time to feed, and he had no issue with taking advantage of the bountiful XP feast.


    ***


    Adam knocked the invaders around.  He made sure to create as much chaos as possible to allow his army to close in.  They might be outnumbered, but individual strength did more in this new world than numbers.


    The river was raging, and Adam knew he didn¡¯t need to hold back with his people coming in from the edges.  He allowed the anger to flow through him.  The invaders became personal affronts to him that he would not stand.


    A group of Labesatis were known enemies.  Their rock armor could take some hits, so he allowed himself to hit them hard.  With golf like swings, he knocked them into the air, making sure they would disrupt groups further away.


    They tried to make space from his swings, but there wasn¡¯t enough room for them to back away.  Adam made his own space, flinging them around with his [Kinetic Impact] imbued hammer.  The effect of it knocked other groups around too.


    Once he had pushed through the Labesatis, he ran into a group of Mantis like humanoids.  They had four arms, all with scythes on what would be the forearms, and tiny finger prongs on the end.  Their bottom half bent backwards, as if their butts were too big, balanced by more humanlike legs.  Their heads had a shiny blue tint, with a curved hooking nose and four eyes.


    Having to dodge the other arms might have been a problem, but Adam quickly figured out that their arm weapons couldn¡¯t hurt his armor.  Instead of dodging everything, he just moved so their swings and grasps hit his chest or leg armor.


    With them, Adam focused on removing their arms or legs instead of flinging them about.  Their exoskeletons were sturdy, and as expected, their joints were easily penetrated or cut.  He didn¡¯t want his soldiers to get bogged down defensively with these guys.Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.


    Already Adam could hear fights breaking out between groups of invaders where he had sent the Labesatis.  The invader army was not made of close allies.  In a different situation they would never have come together, instead fighting each other to increase their own strength.


    Once he finished with the mantis beings, none had died and Adam didn¡¯t know what they were officially called without the kill notice, Adam faced a bunch of fire coated humanoids.  Their features were hidden within the flames.  The creatures felt like they towered over him, but that was only due to the rising flames.  The silhouette he could see inside the flames only came up to his jaw.


    They attacked Adam simply by trying to get close to him.  Adam laughed, confusing them.  The heat inside Adam felt so much hotter than their flames, and just to test it and his fire-resistant gear made from Feral Behemoth leather, he reached in with one hand.


    Nimbly he thrust a hand inside the flames.  His glove covered his forearm from hand to elbow, which was plenty of length as he grabbed one by the throat.  It felt surprisingly heavy to lift, though Adam was able to move it back and forth.  Then he threw it.


    Few races had inherent fire resistance, so he figured these guys could cause more disruptions.  He smacked them with his hammer or grabbed and threw them.  His leather never showed signs of damage, and his skin only got mildly burned, like he spent too much time out in the sun.  Nothing that would hurt or slow him.


    Chaos was breaking out everywhere he tossed one race into another.  Adam glared at them, feeling his hate empower his movements.  Any excitement and glee he felt at this battle quickly converted into more rage, a righteous indignation that continued to fuel him.  He would go on until they were all dealt with.


    ***


    Every punch Spence threw killed one of the damned aliens.  That guy who had jumped was doing quite a number on them.  Not just to those he faced either.  All kinds of creatures came flying out of where that guy fought, starting smaller fights in other locations.  The strategy impressed Spence¡­a little.


    The group Spence moved with, led by Lucas and that shield maiden, made things easy for him.  They didn¡¯t kill things outright, trying to incapacitate them first, then the defenders each got a stab in before someone would get the finishing blow.  Suddenly it made sense to Spence how so many of their troops had levels higher than his own caravan¡¯s.  There was a sharing that none of his group had thought to do before, probably due to them always fighting for their lives.


    When he looked back at the lines, Spence saw a frenzy as everyone pushed forward.  Earlier they had been so professional in their formations and defenses, protecting those evacuating.  Now they pushed forward with a frenzy, still keeping the evacuees safe, but focusing on eradicating the enemies.


    A new group had arrived, almost two hundred, that didn¡¯t form lines or formations.  Instead, they had driven directly into the mass of enemies, heading toward the first guy to enter.  The group seemed to be acting like a crowbar, prying a gap open so more of the army could fit inside, to allow more people to fight and get XP at once.


    Spence chuckled.  Even the fully offensive group traveling with him, led by the slow spear wielder, were acting insane, in a professional way.  There was no rhyme or reason over who they went after.  They made sure to keep space between each individual fighter since their reach differed, but they were clearly there for the killing.  Manic looks sat on several of their faces, though the lead spear wielder looked bored.


    Keeping pace so as not to fall behind, Spence continued to punch, ignoring the fatigue.  This group was entirely too exciting and interesting.  He couldn¡¯t wait to meet that nutjob in the center, which was clearly where Lucas was leading the group while making sure none of the invaders got past them and to the caravan.


    ***


    ¡°Any problems?¡± asked Adam as Lucas broke through the invaders around him.  The Reapers unit began hitting and dispatching the various invaders that Adam had left alive.


    ¡°None,¡± answered Lucas, ¡°though there was a guy who fought like you.  A [Berserker].  I see why they think you are one.¡±


    Adam nodded to him and placed the head of his hammer on the ground, where the dirt underneath cratered at the weight.  They were past the highways now and pushing the invaders back further.  Adam had no idea what injuries or deaths had occurred to his army, but they continued forward, so he didn¡¯t think there were many.


    Combining a bunch of warring factions to face the humans gave the large number of invaders a disadvantage.  Adam had taken advantage of that successfully.  The General¡¯s Guard, especially Tom, seemed to be doing a lot to agitate and instigate the various groups.  It was also clear that quite a few groups of invaders had left from behind.


    No matter where Adam pushed, there were no sign of the Scyrric, which concerned him.  He thought of them sending an ambush against Jackson, or ambushing the evacuees, but that didn¡¯t seem like how they wanted to war.  It was telling that they had organized all this without getting their own share of the XP.


    That made Adam suspect the humans weren¡¯t supposed to falter here.  Whatever trap had been set; this coalition of races wasn¡¯t in on it.  That made him wary.


    ¡°Who¡¯s the pugilist?¡± Adam asked, pointing to Spence.


    ¡°One from their strongest group,¡± said Lucas.


    Adam watched Spence for a minute as he continued to put his fists through the enemies.  A Tier 3 with good technique, like this man, wouldn¡¯t have trouble with these lower-level opponents.  Adam just watched the man do his thing, estimating that he had a blend of strength and speed.  He could understand how the general had survived all this time if he was surrounded by such power and skill.


    Finally, Spence made his way over while panting.  He looked at the hammer solidly on the ground with Adam leaning on it.  Then Spence gestured to it questioningly.  Adam stepped back, giving Spence room.  Grabbing the hammer and pulling, Spence was able to lift it off the ground but not to swing it without falling forward.


    ¡°Heavy,¡± he said as he stuck his hand out to Adam.  ¡°Kevin Spence, US Army.¡±


    ¡°Adam Clemens,¡± said Adam as he shook his hand.


    ¡°I get it now,¡± said Spence, a serious look on his face.  ¡°Why you jumped into the center of the army.  You¡¯re just a kid, ain¡¯t ya?  You don¡¯t know any better.  You think you¡¯re invincible.  Guess us combat veterans can give ya some lessons when we get back to your base.¡±


    Spence expected a reaction from Adam.  He was almost seeking it.  Instead, Adam¡¯s face didn¡¯t change but his eyes moved from their handshake to connect with Spence¡¯s.  Immediately Spence stepped backwards, breaking their grip.  He shivered at the intensity in Adam¡¯s eyes.  Then he recognized him as ¡®The General¡¯ from the news.


    To Spence, both Gregor and Rexus were unparalleled monsters.  He now knew that unparalleled was relative, as this boy, er, man, was up there too.


    Unexpectedly, Tom burst through a group of invaders.  He turned around and began laying into them with his sword.  When they were on the ground he smiled and approached.


    ¡°Hey, boss.  I see you¡¯re taking a break.  Did you need us to get you some tea and crumpets for your party?¡±


    ¡°I was just being introduced to a new ally,¡± said Adam.


    The way he had said Ally made Spence look at his shoes.  Immediately Spence knew that this boy was in charge, and that there was going to be more than a little conflict between him and Rexus.


    ¡°Did you have any troubles?¡± Lucas asked Tom.


    ¡°Nothing I couldn¡¯t handle,¡± Tom bragged with his mischievous smile.  ¡°Just had to deal with a pair of Tier 3s all by my lonesome.¡±


    ¡°I bet Adam had to then rescue you,¡± mocked Brittney.


    ¡°Only after I killed the first pair,¡± said Tom confidently.  Brittney giggled at him, breaking his smile into a pleading look.


    ¡°Seriously,¡± he defended.  ¡°I didn¡¯t know the boss was coming.  I really took out two of the bosses from the water plant raid by myself.  I¡¯m not lying.¡±


    Lucas and Adam joined Brittney in laughing.  Tom looked so crestfallen.


    ¡°It¡¯s true.  He did,¡± confirmed Adam.


    ¡°Guess I¡¯ve got to take a couple down myself,¡± said Lucas.  ¡°Can¡¯t let myself fall behind.¡±


    ¡°Here¡¯s your chance,¡± Adam said, growing serious and hefting up his hammer.  ¡°Ten are coming from that direction.¡±


    Immediately everyone prepared, facing the direction that Adam pointed.

 CH 130: Boss Fights

    CHAPTER 130: Boss Fights


    The invaders had already cleared a rather large circle around Adam, some by choice and others by Adam¡¯s hammer.  The opening got larger and larger as the various races of invaders circling them were now rushing to get away from the area.  The direction Adam was pointing cleared a path as 10 much stronger-looking invaders came walking in, though not looking very chummy amongst themselves.


    The first to enter were two of the Assunax, the fire coated humanoids.  The first had a tag of ¡°Essence of Embers [33]¡± while the other was ¡°Incendiary [35]¡±.  These two Assunax were only slightly larger than the previous ones they had seen, but the heat radiating from their flames was much hotter and had a darker color.


    Next walked two Gohralluh, physically larger than the ones Adam had faced.  They had a greater hunch and stoop than the low leveled ones, but their forearms and fists were much larger and looked dense.  They were wrecking balls waiting to be thrown.  Their classes were ¡°Power Driver [24]¡± and ¡°Skeletal Splitter [28]¡±.  Even if their individual power seemed great, Adam felt that they weren¡¯t stronger than other Tier 3s he had faced.


    The mantis like creatures were taller than their lower-level counterparts.  Instead of four arms, the ¡°Uncounted Blades [28]¡± had six arms, all thinner but sharper looking.  His accompanying humanoid mantis only had two arms, but instead of scythes, they were flatter and wider, meant to be shields for his ¡°Exo-shielder [24]¡± class.


    Two meaner looking Kabuterci had to dodge the larger creatures¡¯ steps.  They were almost as short as the other leprechaun invaders that Adam had faced, but they were a bit stockier and more vicious.  Their classes were ¡°Disembowler [26]¡± and ¡°Scavenger [29]¡±.


    Lastly entered, as the space around the group continued to widen, two Labesatis.  Adam practically growled as he saw them, remembering what the others had done to the humans they captured.  Adam¡¯s breathing grew heavier, and steam released as he looked at the ¡°Stone Impacter [27]¡± and ¡°Lava Spewer [32]¡±.


    ¡°Is he ok?¡± Spence asked the others as he backed away from Adam.


    ¡°Oh yeah,¡± answered Tom, not knowing or caring who Spence was.  ¡°The boss gets like that around invaders.  This is normal.¡±


    ¡°How do you want to handle this, Adam?¡± asked Lucas, squaring up to the approaching monsters.


    ¡°Me?¡± asked Adam, surprising everyone.  ¡°Pick the two you want.  Remember that you didn¡¯t want Tom showing you up.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± crowed Tom.  ¡°I¡¯m obviously the strongest Sentinel now, behind the boss!¡±


    ¡°What?¡± gasped Brittney, turning from the approaching bosses to stare at Tom.


    ¡°Strongest, hah!¡± exclaimed Lucas, forcing a laugh.  ¡°Fine then.  I¡¯ll take the two fire guys.¡±


    ¡°Oh no, not the fire guys,¡± taunted Tom sarcastically.  ¡°You just want an excuse when they¡¯re too hot for you.  I¡¯ll take those shorties.  Maybe find the gold at the end of their rainbows.¡±


    ¡°Then I¡¯ll add the rock covered guys,¡± Lucas said while turning to Tom.  With his full height he loomed over his smaller teammate.


    ¡°Four?!  Right!  Then I¡¯ll take the bug boys,¡± Tom said, trying, and failing, to chest bump Lucas backwards.


    ¡°Nope,¡± cut in Brittney.  ¡°The mantises are mine.¡±


    ¡°Fine!¡± whined Tom.  ¡°Then I¡¯ll¡­¡±


    ¡°What is going on here?¡± Spence asked exasperated.  These warriors had all suddenly stopped paying attention to their enemies, opponents that in a group had Spence shrinking back from the danger.


    ¡°Oh, right.  Sorry, guest,¡± apologized Tom insincerely.  ¡°We left you out.  You can take the ape men.¡±


    ¡°Sounds acceptable,¡± nodded Lucas.


    ¡°Give us a call if you need help,¡± Brittney said while reaching up to pat him on the shoulder.


    ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡­¡± Spence started but faded as he saw Adam¡¯s eyes watching him.  Those intense, heated eyes scared Spence nearly as much as Commander Rexus.  They were full of will and determination that few could reach.


    ¡°Better get to it before I can¡¯t hold back my temper,¡± Adam growled to his friends.


    ¡°Righty-o, boss,¡± said Tom with a smile, heading towards his chosen opponents.


    Brittney was the first to move forward, to meet the swings of the mantis men.  The uncounted blades swung two arms at once, and at a speed that Brittney wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up with if her shield weren¡¯t 3/4ths of her body¡¯s size.  She cast [Steady Ally] to raise everyone¡¯s vitality, which prompted Tom to complain.


    ¡°You can¡¯t buff Lucas!  I took on two singlehandedly, with only my own skills.¡±


    Adam stared at him in disbelief.  ¡°Singlehandedly?  You had half the General¡¯s Guard with you.  I¡¯m positive they buffed you too.¡±


    Lucas sighed as he stepped around the mantises and towards the Assunax.  ¡°It hardly matters, Tom.  Once I take out four, you¡¯ll be down anyway.¡±  Then Lucas cast all his self-buffs, [Toughness] for more vitality, [All Weapons] to improve his techniques with the various weapons he used, [Balance] and [Proper Stance] to fine tune his movements.


    ¡°No way, big guy,¡± retorted Tom.  ¡°Once I take out these two, then we¡¯ll be even at four.¡±


    ¡°What are you kids even bickering about?!¡± shouted Spence.  ¡°Focus on the enemies.¡±


    Spence might be strong, but he was also worn down.  No stranger to combat, Spence took the fights and his enemies seriously, especially after the widespread death he had seen since the invaders came.  To listen to a bunch of kids, at a lower level than his unit, squabbling about soloing bosses just showed their immaturity.  They would learn soon enough.  He just hoped that Adam would be able to get to them fast enough once they were in trouble.  Maybe then they could fight as a group.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    There wasn¡¯t much time to deliberate on it though as Spence saw Lucas already engaging with the fire people.  The ones coated in stone, the Labesatis, were trying to get to him too, but seemed to avoid the flames.  Lucas was doing a good job positioning them, keeping the enemies unable to reach him at once.


    Meanwhile, Tom had separated the shorter two by using a skill [On Your Knees], causing their stubby legs to trip up, even if they didn¡¯t completely kneel.  That got them angry enough to charge the boy.  After shouting ¡°[Turn Away],¡± the two diminutive invaders once more stumbled as they looked away.  The disembowler was growling while the scavenger looked around as if searching for something.


    Spence was impressed by the armor girl.  She held that large shield easily.  Even with the six arms swinging attacks at her, she found times to [Shield Bash] or swing that one handed hammer of hers into openings.  Every attack of hers was blocked by the exo-shielder reaching around his partner to block the blows.


    A frown appeared on Spence¡¯s face as he watched.  The girl was doing well, but if she couldn¡¯t attack them then she would never be able to win the fight.  He looked over at Adam, still standing there imperiously, hammer on his shoulder and a hateful expression on his face.  The boy wasn¡¯t moving though.  His body language looked like he didn¡¯t feel threatened and was just waiting.


    ¡°Yo, punchie!¡± Tom shouted.  Despite never having been called that, something in the words drew Spence¡¯s attention.  ¡°Don¡¯t forget to pick up your pair.¡±


    Spence turned to see the Gohralluhs heading towards Brittney.  He took a deep breath and lunged forward.  Up until now, he had only heard of Rexus and Gregor defeating Tier 3s on their own.  Other than those two, Spence assumed there wasn¡¯t anyone else better in a fight than him.  Now he was wondering if maybe he had thought a little too highly of himself.   Adam was watching him along with his friends, so Spence felt like he couldn¡¯t let the kids show him up, regardless of the condition he was in.


    He used a skill to strengthen his fists and one to speed up his footwork.  The power driver Gohralluh was the first to reach him.  Its unnaturally long and thick arm came straight at him, the creature¡¯s height angling its fist downwards.  Spence saw the blow beginning and dodged into the body of the invader.


    The blow launched past him with the force of a meteor, the pressure from it both pushing Spence away, while also dragging him in as the punch practically created a void in the air that needed to be filled.  Spence¡¯s own punch was weakened as his balance wobbled.  He was then forced to spin away from the larger Gohralluh as its partner, the skeletal splitter, also threw a punch at him.


    Spence used a perception skill that helped him know where the attacks were coming from, [Pugilist¡¯s Recognition], while also using another to increase his avoidance, [Quick on Your Feet].  He moved through the punches, counterpunching when he could.  Like Lucas, he tried to keep only one opponent able to reach him at a time, even getting a few of the invaders¡¯ punches to hit eat other.  This caused them to momentarily screech at each other, which earned Spence a breath.


    He ducked and wove and punched.  Unfortunately, even with his skill [Form Break] that would reduce an opponent¡¯s strength and vitality, these large invaders just had too much power and speed behind their attacks.  Even if their other movements were slower, their own skills made their fists stronger than pile drivers.  Spence¡¯s fists alone didn¡¯t seem powerful enough to break through the monsters¡¯ thick hides.


    Spence didn¡¯t give up though.  He didn¡¯t have time to spare to pay attention to the other fights as he dodged and wove around the incoming blows.  They didn¡¯t have a tremendous amount of space to fight, as Spence used [Pugilist¡¯s Recognition] to also stay out of the range of other combatants.


    The constant movement and dodging were wearing Spence down faster than he would have liked.  The previous fights and lack of sleep found Spence too worn to keep up with both of his enemies.  In a moment of exhaustion Spence slipped.  His foot went back too far and a jackhammer like blow came at him from the power driver.  He brought both arms up to block his chest and face, techniques a boxer trains constantly, as Spence felt the power surging towards him.


    Then he stopped falling.  A hand was on his back steadying him.  Spence moved his arms from in front of him and saw a glowing hammer head pressed against a massive fist before striking his face.


    Adam righted the man and then pulled two flat but sharp looking pieces of metal from his pocket.


    ¡°This is taking too long,¡± complained Adam.  ¡°Put these on.¡±


    Spence looked at the offered metal.  They were a bit narrower than his hands and shaped like a wide trapezoid, with sharp ridges on them.  There was a flexible material on the underside that when he looked had three holes.  Then he realized that they were alien versions of brass knuckles.  The material they were made with was unlike something he had felt before.


    ¡°Where¡¯d you get these?¡±  Spence asked while inspecting them.  They were an awkward fit due to only having three finger holes, and those holes being bigger than his fingers, but he could feel the strength of them as they slipped on.


    ¡°A Scyrric armory when we took one of their bases.¡±


    ¡°Scyrric?¡± questioned Spence, not recognizing the race name.  Adam¡¯s eyes looked into his own and Spence felt himself freeze up from the hate he saw in Adam.  A snarl formed on Adam¡¯s mouth.


    ¡°They¡¯re the bastards who are overseeing the invasions.¡±


    ¡°You managed to take one of their bases?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± said Adam as the power driver threw another punch at him.  His hammer continued to glow as he placed it in the path of the fists.  The impact caused the invader¡¯s hand to fly backwards.


    ¡°You were able to capture an invader base?¡± questioned Spence, his mind flying back to the one they had assaulted and lost so many men to.


    ¡°We control 17,¡± Adam answered before he looked away.  ¡°You know, it was probably unfair of us to expect someone so tired to fight two bosses.  Do you want to step back?¡±


    Spence looked at Adam.  He wasn¡¯t sure what he felt from the Sentinel¡¯s leader, whether that was judgement from him or compassion, but Spence would have none of either.  A fire lit in him, helping him to stand taller.


    ¡°Hell no!  I¡¯ll take the skeletal splitter,¡± he spat out.  Then he lunged forward and used [Empower Blow] and [Quick Strike] on his punch.


    His fist jabbed into the gut of the Gohralluh faster than ever before.  Spence could feel the difference that the alien knuckles made to his strike.  The skeletal splitter folded forward.  It¡¯s tall, hunched body almost rolling up before it caught itself and straightened.


    Not allowing it the chance to regain its posture, Spence used a skill [Inner Damage].  A full-on punch, using all of his body and the power behind it, connected to the invader¡¯s abs.  Then a pop sounded out and the Gohralluh fell backwards, fluid and vomit coming out of its mouth after Spence felt things rupture inside of it.


    The power driver Gohralluh screamed and pounded its chest, intent on avenging his fellow, but before he could close the distance Adam was giving orders.


    ¡°Shields forward!  Reapers, incapacitate!¡±


    The exertion from his last two blows had Spence panting hard, hands on his knees.  Yet he didn¡¯t miss the group that came forward.  Two defenders with shields stepped in front and caught the blow of the beast.  They weren¡¯t completely able to stop it, as they did get pushed back from the power disparity, but it was enough to remove the strength from it and to create an opening.


    A girl with a scythe hooked the back of the invader¡¯s knees with her weapon.  Another boy grabbed the scythe, lending his strength to it as two men, slightly larger than Spence and former thugs by the look of it, stepped into the body of the power driver and pushed him backwards.


    The Gohralluh fell back as the scythe cut through the knee tendons and it couldn¡¯t support itself.  The boy who had helped steady the scythe, walked forward with that abnormally shaped spear.


    [Deadly Penetration] and [Follow Thru] were the skills that Joseph used on his spear as he stabbed the Gohralluh in its right armpit, cutting control of that arm.  Then an arrow came from somewhere behind them and pinned the left shoulder into the ground.  Spence doubted that arrow would be strong enough to really hold it down, but the quick coordination showed that they were no strangers to this type of action.


    Remembering how he had felt about the kids soloing bosses, Spence looked up at the other fights while trying to catch his breath.

 CH 131: Cleaning Up

    CHAPTER 131: Cleaning Up


    Adam hadn¡¯t just been watching Spence.  He had also kept his attention on his friends fighting.  He couldn¡¯t fault Tom and Lucas from playfully bickering, even as they took their opponents seriously.  Brittney didn¡¯t let it stand though as she kept egging them on.


    ¡°Seriously, you boys!¡± she taunted them.  ¡°I have barely any offense and I¡¯m still going to finish before you.¡±


    [Counter Strike] activated on her hammer after she took a mantis scythe to the shield.  Even as the exo-shielder brought its arm up to block it, the hammer slid to the side and hit one of its joints, cracking it.  The odd faced creature chittered as that limb dropped to its side.


    The uncounted blades invader took the opportunity to make a barrage of slashes at her.  She had noticed that while it was quick, it didn¡¯t seem to have a lot of stamina and was slowing down.  [Parry] took care of one attack, [Deflect] stopped another with her shield, then a third did no damage thanks to her [Absorb Damage] skill.


    As a fourth slash approached, she used [Shield Bash] on its chest.  The invader was thrown off balance and it stumbled into the exo-shielder.  They were tangled up, then a group of warriors surged from the surroundings and hacked at the limbs, rendering the two invaders unable to get back up.


    While the fights had gone on, the lower-level invaders had been retreating, replaced and pursued by the Sentinel Army.  They had respectfully waited until the outcome of the fights were decided before interfering.


    Once her opponents were down, Brittney slid over to Adam and leaned against him.


    ¡°Those slackers can¡¯t even finish what they started.  Guess they need a little girl to bail them out,¡± Brittney said intentionally loud enough for everyone to hear.  Chuckles circled around them, including from Spence who stood watching the fights with critical eyes.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry boss,¡± said Tom as he lightly stepped sideways with [Quick Step] to avoid a clawed glove from the disemboweler.  [What¡¯s Not There] activated as the swipe from the Kabuterci passed through open air.  ¡°I¡¯m just playing around.  You know, practicing.  I¡¯m not at all struggling against these speedy ankle biters.¡±


    Tom¡¯s sword swung forward using [Illusion Strike], aimed for the scavenger.  The invader seemed able to tell what was illusion and what wasn¡¯t, dodging an unseen strike as the projected attack missed.  The disemboweler was practically frothing at the mouth as it tried to get through Tom¡¯s trickery.


    ¡°Lamar, can you help Tom out?¡± Adam asked loudly.


    In no time a powerful arrow blasted from the crowd and entered the scavenger¡¯s shins.  It stumbled forward, and Tom once more used [On Your Knees].  The small invader dropped forward, snapping the arrow and screaming at the pain it caused.  Tom¡¯s sword flashed with [Long Reach] and [Quick Strike] as he thrust it forward and pierced the creature¡¯s chest.


    The disemboweler was almost at him when one of the Assunax landed on him, burning the Kabuterci.  Tom stabbed forward and caught the disemboweler in the stomach while avoiding the fire.


    ¡°You did that on purpose,¡± Tom complained to Lucas while glaring.


    ¡°Sure did,¡± said Lucas.  On the ground in front of him was the other Assunax, its flame almost out and the body silhouette that they had seen through the fire was revealed to look like a burnt wooden figure.  No discernable features to it.


    Further back the Labesati Lava Spewer was clutching its throat as it kneeled on the ground with a sword sticking through it.  The stone impacter was still up and glaring at Lucas, part of its rock armor crumbling off it.  It seemed hesitant to step forward but unwilling to retreat.


    A wave of Sentinels came forward and toppled it from behind, holding it on the ground though it struggled.  The strength it showed wasn¡¯t enough to overcome them.


    ¡°There.  I took five and you only got one,¡± Lucas said to Tom.


    ¡°Bull hocky!¡±  exclaimed Tom.  ¡°I would have had the little guys.  You cheated!¡±


    He walked up to Lucas and poked him in the chest while muttering, ¡°[Baffle].¡±


    Lucas flashed as he used his own skill [Followup], putting his hand on Tom¡¯s shoulder and pushing him.  Unable to avoid the force of it, Tom instead used [Quick Step] to turn the force around and return to the front of Lucas.


    ¡°Is that how it is, former boss?¡± asked Tom threateningly while posturing.


    ¡°That¡¯s how it is,¡± Lucas¡¯s deep voice rumbled.  Then Lucas seized up and spasmed before falling on his butt as electricity crackled through him.  Tom pointed and started laughing when Alissa¡¯s fist smashed into the back of his head, sending him face first into the dirt.


    ¡°Knock it off you two,¡± said Andrea as she stood over them menacingly.


    ¡°Yes, ma¡¯am,¡± they both said as they stood up.


    Tom went to put his arm over the larger Lucas, but Lucas beat him to it.  They still pushed back and forth on each other.


    ¡°Now isn¡¯t the time for messing around,¡± scolded Brittney, reminded of a Three Stooges skit.


    ¡°Now is always the time for messing around,¡± said Tom with an impish grin.  This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    Adam decided to ignore them for now and turned to find Elias and Carlos.


    ¡°What¡¯s the situation?¡± he asked them over the crowd.  The earth slid to the side, moving the people standing on it, to make room for them to walk through.


    ¡°Invaders are on the run with groups of Sentinels returning from pursuit.  Two thirds of the refugees have been evacuated,¡± answered Elias.


    ¡°How many did we kill?¡± Adam asked Carlos.


    ¡°Probably close to 15,000,¡± he answered.  ¡°There were quite a few attacking the back of the motorcade but when we got there to reinforce, they were already retreating.¡±


    ¡°Was Commander Rexus there?¡± asked Spence, still standing next to Adam.


    ¡°Nobody especially strong was back there,¡± answered Randall from the crowd.  ¡°There were a few regular soldiers still defending, though they had a lot of injured and dead.  The healers are taking care of them.¡±


    Spence frowned.  The commander and a few others from his unit had said they were going to reinforce it.  Where could they have headed, he wondered.


    ¡°Good job, everyone,¡± said Adam before raising his voice.  ¡°Get your hits on the bosses.  We¡¯ll see how many they can take before succumbing.¡±


    ¡°You aren¡¯t going to kill them outright?¡± asked Spence.  A lot of people turned to look at him.  He felt uncomfortable with everyone acting like he should already know the answer to that.


    ¡°Waste not, want not,¡± answered Tom.  ¡°We all share the wealth.¡±


    Labesatis ¡°Stone Impacter [27]¡± was slain.  4,246 shared XP gained.


    Labesatis ¡°Lava Spewer [32]¡± was slain.  4,823 shared XP gained.


    Kabuterci ¡°Disembowler [26]¡± was slain.  3,919 shared XP gained.


    Kabuterci ¡°Scavenger [29]¡± was slain.  4,067 shared XP gained.


    Gohralluh ¡°Power Driver [24]¡± was slain.  3,659 shared XP gained.


    Gohralluh ¡°Skeletal Splitter [28]¡± was slain.  3,834 shared XP gained.


    Assunax ¡°Essence of Embers [33]¡± was slain.  4,911 shared XP gained.


    Assunax ¡°Incendiary [35]¡± was slain.  5,004 shared XP gained.


    Anthromanty ¡°Uncounted Blades [28]¡± was slain.  4,274 shared XP gained.


    Anthromanty ¡°Exo-shielder [24]¡± was slain.  3,823 shared XP gained.


    ¡°No control crystals on the big ones, boss,¡± announced Tom.  ¡°The mantis guys are called Anthromanty.  It feels like someone just mailed it in while naming them.  I didn¡¯t find gold on the leprechauns but they both have a good-sized bag of [System] currency.¡±


    ¡°[System] currency?¡± asked Spence in surprise.


    ¡°Bases allow us to spend currency to buy things or to use certain features of the base,¡± explained Adam.  ¡°We need all we can get.¡±


    ¡°You sure we should be telling Punchie here so much?¡± asked Tom suspiciously.


    ¡°He works with the general.  I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be joining forces soon enough,¡± Adam said, surprising his friends at how upbeat he sounded at the prospect.  He even gave Spence a pat on the back, causing Spence¡¯s face to scrunch up in confusion.


    ¡°Time for cleanup.  Elias, oversee things here.  Joseph and Randall, see if you can get the other group¡¯s vehicles running since we don¡¯t have enough space for all the evacuees and our people.  Salvage anything worthwhile from the invaders¡¯ corpses and their supplies.¡±


    ¡°Woo!  Looting!¡± shouted Randall.  Joseph enthusiastically high fived the much larger Javier and Francis, both of which had to rub their oversized palms due to Joseph¡¯s high strength stat.


    ¡°Andrea and Alissa, can you two make sure those two don¡¯t steal too much?¡± asked Adam.


    ¡°Sure thing, Darling,¡± answered Andrea, causing Randal and Joseph to groan.


    ¡°Lamar, check on the healers and support to make sure they don¡¯t need anything else.  I¡¯m taking Brittney and Lucas back to greet the general.  Radio us if there are any problems.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m coming too, boss,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°Don¡¯t cause any trouble,¡± Adam said strongly.


    ¡°Wah, buh, I would never, boss!¡±


    The entire mass of soldiers burst out laughing at that.  Even Spence shook his head, able to tell a troublemaker when he sees one.


    ***


    Spence looked at the throngs of the Sentinel Army.  The soldiers were cheery and comfortable with each other.  They were made up of all ages, from teenagers to young adults, to middle aged, and there were even some seniors thrown in.  There was no discrimination there.


    They didn¡¯t seem to have a strict hierarchy, but it also wasn¡¯t so loose as to be chaotic.  Though to a man and woman they all listened to Adam and his group of teens and young adults.  It was perplexing for a man who came from the military to see this arrangement seem to work.  He wondered what they would be like with more discipline and experienced leadership.


    He had seen them orderly and well formed, as well as frenetic and aggressive.  None had died that he had seen, and they really did ¡°share the wealth.¡±  Not only was it such a difference from the army, but it was an extreme comparison to what his group had survived over the last few months.  With a slightly carefree attitude he couldn¡¯t imagine this group having lost nearly the numbers that his people had.


    It was unnatural that they had this level of success without the structure to achieve it.  It was nearly impossible to train, coordinate, and control this number of people, especially civilians.  There must be magic or something like it involved, which put him on alert.


    Then came the central group.  The commander and general had shared some of their videos with him.  They had seemed like ridiculous movies, unrealistic in what people could do or survive.


    A part of him was ready to take joy in the failure of teens so high on themselves, losing when trying to solo bosses, proving that it was all fabricated, but that didn¡¯t come close to happening.  They had been in control from start to finish.  Plenty of people had been ready to step in and they had fought well, using their skills and solid combat techniques.  Spence wasn¡¯t even sure if Gregor could have managed that, though of course the commander could have.


    Which left him wondering once more where the commander had gone.  That led Spence to shrug to himself.  The rear of the convoy had survived, so he was sure Rexus had gone somewhere that mattered more.  Maybe to hunt down some of the invaders themselves or to get a base of their own.


    Regardless, Spence was sure the commander would appear where he was most needed, like usual.  Gregor was already on his way to Jackson, and that guy was a special kind of tough and crazy, more gifted than anyone he had met before, pre and post [System].  For now, Spence would take a breather, hop on one of the transports, and enjoy not being in a death parade.  At least for a little while.


    ***


    Cruxannith¡¯cz¡¯Jurzax stood on top of the roof with her eyes closed and her other senses open.  One after another the soul crystals in her hands had broken.  She had started with five but was now down to one.  She reached into it with her skills and felt around the other end.


    It was connected to a specific soul, but did not give her access to that soul.  The soul crystal also didn¡¯t give her the ability to know what was happening on the other side, just to get a sense of the mood of the carrier.  It also gave her an idea of direction and distance.


    The bearer of the other crystal was moving fast and in the direction she expected.  The broken crystals meant that their carriers had died.  She had expected nothing less.  This last crystal was the necessary one.  The one she had predicted would survive.


    She breathed in and out, taking joy in a plan well executed.  Another breath in and out contained a mental toast of all her wants coming true.  Then one last time she reached into the crystal and felt its location.


    Her head turned to follow the distant connection as her gaze turned towards Jackson.


    ¡°It¡¯s time,¡± she said with a huge grin.

 CH 132: Authority

    CHAPTER 132: Authority


    Colonel Davian waited at the west gate of the obsidian walls that surrounded the three-mile diameter of the main part of their base.  The walls rose thirty feet high and were manned by thousands of troops and volunteers.  They had people spread out all over the wall, watching the skies and ground in all directions, aware that invaders might show at any time.


    The inside of the base was crowded since they had sounded the evacuation when the Sentinel Army had left, bringing in the surrounding people inside the walls.  Most non-combat or support people were in the new underground layers that Lashtam and Jordan had added.


    It was a measure of how safe everyone had been feeling that only around 54% of the people living in the city had bothered to heed the alarms.  The colonel would need to make sure they did more to impress upon the people, and quickly, the importance of withdrawing.  Based on the radio messages from the transport team, there was one doozy of a battle happening in the north.


    Of course, those who had already encountered the invaders, or who had been brought to Jackson from other places were quick and thorough in their evacuation.  They knew the dangers and had already given up their homes and lives to seek safety here.


    Alongside Davian stood another 200 soldiers, all US Army.  They arrayed themselves to the sides of the base entrance and the roads, ready to follow commands, whether it be to fight or flee.  They were all experienced thanks to the invader base raids, familiar with fighting with their skills.  Each man and woman were in the second half of Tier 2 with their class evolution.


    The colonel himself was a bit lower, but he still had a respectable level 18 in the second tier.  He knew he needed to keep his levels rising to maintain a leadership position while also recognizing that the focus of his work was oversight and operations rather than direct combat.  His original class had been [Warrior] but upon evolution he had received one called [Unit Commander] that he had taken.  It focused on awareness, supporting, and positioning, though he was confident in winning a solo fight against someone comparable to his level.


    Exhaust was rising from trucks coming down the main road that led into the base.  There were four gates but currently this was the only one they had opened, and even now the gate was only wide enough to allow a single person to walk through at a time.  There was also a mechanism in place to drop a slab of the obsidian over the entrance to reinforce it should danger arrive.  Davian wouldn¡¯t be caught unprepared if he could help it.


    This time he knew the oncoming vehicles belonged to the Sentinel Army.  They had radioed ahead with the news while carrying those they had gone to rescue.


    The colonel was feeling conflicted as he saw the vehicle coming.  He believed in Adam¡¯s mission to save humanity.  Rescuing and protecting mattered.  However, he also knew how adding more authority figures and forces could destabilize things.


    Currently Adam was in charge due to his strength and accomplishments.  Everyone in Jackson knew of him and knew what he had done to keep them safe.  An external group coming in wouldn¡¯t have the same shared experiences or feelings.


    With time, Davian figured things could be worked out, reasoned, and accepted.  He just wasn¡¯t sure how much time this new group would allow to be integrated.  They had suffered more than the people of Jackson, who had been protected even before the invaders came.


    So, the colonel stood and waited.  The joy at finding another sizable group of humans that had survived and fought back was held at bay by his concern over how Jackson¡¯s successful dynamics would be affected.


    Before the lead truck reached him, it pulled to the side and allowed a military transport that was part of the line of vehicle to come to the front.  It was like an armored bus, able to fit around 30 people uncomfortably.  It stopped fifty feet from the wall.  When the door opened, quite a few people filed out.


    He could tell they were soldiers by the way they stood and moved.  They searched the surroundings to make sure it was safe, menacing any possible dangers with stained bone weapons.  Scraps of clothing and untreated animal skins were wrapped around them.  A few had layered bones protecting various areas.  These men were all approaching level 30.


    Once they had accepted the safety of the area, one called into the transport and Davian watched as several officers came out of the transport.  They also looked around, taking in the surroundings.  The wall elicited quite a few whispered comments, but they also spent time pointing to the intact buildings and the good conditions of the roads.


    By the time the officers were settled, they cleared a path and out came the general.  He carried himself tall, also looking around.  His hair and beard were trimmed close to his skin, a different hairstyle from the last time Davian had seen him.


    However, if Davian hadn¡¯t known he was coming then he would never have recognized the man.  He was filthy.  Sweat and grime covered his face.  Already in his 60s with wrinkles, the man looked even further worn with dark circles under his eyes and weathering on his skin.  His clothes seemed crafted from patches of animal skins stitched around his limbs and torso.


    Though his skin and face looked even older than his age, the man¡¯s posture and movements would have fitted a much younger person.  He had strength and steadiness.  His legs carried him effortlessly and moved in a way that would allow him to spring into action when needed.


    ¡°Fredericks!  So good to see you again,¡± the general exclaimed, using the colonel¡¯s first name.  The voice carried a forced friendliness to it, alertness and curiosity mixed underneath.  As he approached, his eyes only briefly touched on Davian, spending more time jumping around to the surroundings.  It seemed obvious how on edge the man was.  A coiled snake ready to strike.


    More soldiers had come out from the gate behind him, and everyone, whether lined along the street, standing next to the colonel, or on the walls, stood at attention and saluted the general.  You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.


    The colonel felt another presence step close to his side, and he glanced down to see Elouise with him.  Her face was passive and calm, but he could see her hands trembling as they held each other in front of her.  Davian swallowed hard, feeling for her.


    ¡°Ah, Mrs. Gervin too.  Is General Gervin here as well?¡± asked General Carmichael, the tag of ¡°Uniter [32]¡± over his head.


    General Carmichael had always been a strict and disciplined man who had expected as much from others as he did from himself.  Now his face was downright stony.  There was a hardness to him, an edge to his voice and a glint to his gaze, ready to tear into anyone who was found lacking.


    ¡°Unfortunately, no, Howard,¡± answered Elouise, her voice struggling to remain steady.  ¡°He sent me here for protection before the invasions came.  We were hoping that he was leading your group.  We didn¡¯t know you were with them.¡±


    ¡°Ah, well, my condolences,¡± General Carmichael said blandly, sounding like he had already discarded the information.  The death of one man wasn¡¯t worth his attention.  Then he moved on with a bit more energy in his voice.


    ¡°I was hopeful that the forces stationed here still stood, but this is more than I could have ever hoped for.  The city still stands, not a bit of damage to it.  Soldiers and civilians working together and training to fight this war.  And this wall looks durable and reliable.  Colonel, you have far exceeded what could have been asked of you.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir,¡± said Davian, a little hesitantly.


    ¡°You¡¯ll have to tell me how you managed it after I¡¯ve gotten settled.  For now, thank you for your service and I look forward to working together.  I will be taking over command of this base.  Turn over any necessary operations intel to me and my officers so we can get started with the transition.¡±


    ***


    Adam had rushed.  He was oddly excited.  There was little that got him motivated beyond killing invaders and spending time with the girls.    Knowing that General Gervin was coming had encouraged him to hurry.


    He didn¡¯t think he needed General Gervin, or that he would even get along with the man.  However, having more people that could take a guiding hand in the base, bridging the existing gap between those in the military and those in the Sentinel Army would be a blessing.  It would allow Adam to focus on the more important areas like slaughtering the invaders and taking more Rifts.


    Of course, Adam would never give up control of their bases, but a senior military mind, experienced in the management of people and motivating those working under them, while willing to take Adam seriously despite his age, would really help.  Adam kept imagining the possibilities.


    The transports were already on their way, but they were slow moving compared to Adam¡¯s bike.  He made use of that, practically flying over the ground.  Even Brittney, who always loved Adam making the ride feel a bit dangerous, would squeal as he took a sharp turn, or ramped over some debris.  Lucas and Tom were lucky if they could keep him in view.


    Adam took a different route than the transports.  He went straight to the north side of the base.  Their original Rift base had merged with a three-mile diameter, now contained within the walls.  However, the other bases they had taken had allowed the boundary of their territory to expand.  It was now 26 miles wider.


    Not bothering to drive to the base, as soon as Adam hit the territory, he opened two portals.  One he threw the motorcycle into.  The other he walked through, finding himself in an empty room on the first floor of the Sentinel HQ high rise.  Brittney had to rush to keep up with him.


    From there he went through the crowds of people, some waiting while others moved about with a purpose.  No one stood in the roads, allowing him to quickly move towards the west gate.


    Adam didn¡¯t run.  He moved at a speed that allowed Brittney to follow, which also allowed Lucas and Tom to catch up.  This speed would keep non-fighters from getting injured if he clipped them.  The portals had been closed by Adam as soon as his Rift map showed that his friends were in the building.


    As they approached the outer gate on the west side of the wall, there was a huge crowd.  They waited both on top of the wall and inside the gate.  The entrance to the base was now about ten people wide, mostly those who had come from the US Army packed around.  They were intensely listening to what was happening outside.


    It was easy for Adam to push his way through the crowd.  Easy for him to move people and create a path.  They grunted, sometimes turning towards him angrily, but once they saw who had pushed them, they turned back to the outside.  No one even made a sound, not wanting to miss what was said by those talking outside the gates.


    When Adam finally made it out of the gate, his friends close behind him, he saw Colonel Davian and Elouise standing together.  A gap of twenty feet was between them and another group.  At the head of that group was a different man than he expected.  That was not General Gervin.  He froze.


    Then Adam heard what the man said.


    ¡°I will be taking over command of this base.  Turn over any necessary operations intel to me and my officers so we can get started with the transition.¡±


    The river boiled!


    ***


    Colonel Davian¡¯s mouth went dry and sweat dripped down the back of his neck.  He looked into Carmichael¡¯s eyes, hoping his own eyes weren¡¯t showing as many emotions as he was feeling.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, general,¡± Davian said slowly, trying to buy time to think up what to say.  Before he could get anything else out the general frowned at him.


    ¡°Sorry about what?!¡± snapped Carmichael, his not quite friendly fa?ade immediately falling away to aggression.  ¡°You are a subordinate officer.  I am ordering you to turn over the base!¡±


    ¡°Yes sir, however the base isn¡¯t under my control,¡± said Davian, earning a hissing sound from two of the officers standing behind Carmichael.


    As concerned as he felt, Davian didn¡¯t lower his eyes from the general.  He was a proud military officer in his own right.  If he had control of the Rift base then he would have turned it over, but this was Adam¡¯s.  General Carmichael was not a very understanding or forgiving man.  At least he hadn¡¯t been before the [System], and now it looked like the last few months had made it even worse.  Hopefully some rest and safety would at least return him to before the [System] had come.


    ¡°Sir, we are working with another group.  They control this base and lead our operations.¡±


    ¡°Another military group is here?¡± asked Carmichael in surprise.


    ¡°No, sir.  They were¡­are¡­civilians.  Surely you remember the news from before invasions started in earnest.  The Sentinel Army led by The General.¡±


    Carmichael scowled.  He bared his teeth, and spittle flew when he spoke.


    ¡°That treasonous whelp who claimed to be a warrior?!  The brat who sullied our pride and great nation by pretending he was at a level with the top of our military?!¡± ranted the general.  ¡°I ordered you to seize the base from him!  I sent men to arrest him!  Why is he still controlling this base?!¡±


    Murmurs came out while Carmichael and his officers watched as a teen stepped forward.  He was wearing shiny army that glistened in the sunlight.  The sword at his belt was ornate and the intricate designs in the armor showed more detail than all the armor and weapons of all those in General Carmichael¡¯s army combined.  A predatorial smile spread across his face.


    The teen walked slowly, deliberately.  All eyes were on him.  He carried himself with power and authority, confidence and determination.  Even General Carmichael held his tongue, unsure of where this would go.  When the teen arrived at Colonel Davian¡¯s position, he slung an arm over the man¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Having some troubles?¡± Tom asked Davian.  Elouise already had her face covered by her hands.  Davian shot Tom a pleading look, desperately hoping Tom would back off.  Tom nodded at him knowingly.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Freddie.  I¡¯ll take care of things from here,¡± said Tom.

 CH 133: Beginning of Conflict

    CHAPTER 133: Beginning of Conflict


    Davian¡¯s shoulders sank and he put a palm on his forehead.  There couldn¡¯t have been a worse time for Tom to make an appearance.


    Tom looked up smiling at the confused army men.  ¡°Time for you chumps to fall in line and work under the boss,¡± he said antagonistically.  ¡°After needing us to save your asses you think you can come in here and make demands?  Instead, rejoice in the boss¡¯s benevolence.¡±


    Adam was barely aware of it all though.  His river was running.  Heat was flowing through him and only his skill [Body and Soul Shaping] kept that heat inside, preventing everyone around him from burning.  His attention wasn¡¯t on that either.  Adam¡¯s focus was inside.


    The soul map was where Adam¡¯s attention was.  He looked at it and felt for the people within range.  There were quite a few people with varying amounts of good intention towards him, loyalty mixed with friendliness.  Then on the other side he felt about two dozen people antagonistic towards him, but that wasn¡¯t at the level of violence or hate.  It was more like people who had heard nasty rumors about someone and believed them.


    Then the rest were all neutral, no feelings for or against him.  Except for one.  A single soul was radiating a murderous rage at Adam.  The soul wasn¡¯t any bigger than the others, but the feelings coming off him were akin to the elves after he had tricked and assaulted them.  They wanted him dead in the worst way.


    Those feelings came from General Carmichael.


    Adam then opened his Rift menu and looked through the different search options.  He searched for stealthers, then hostiles, and down the list of different infiltration options.  No one within the territory seemed hostile towards the base.  No red marks showed up.  According to the Rift, there wasn¡¯t a perceivable threat here.


    That only left imperceptible threats.


    Adam formed a connection.  He reached for the violent hate and sent a tendril to it.  Sliding into General Carmichael¡¯s soul he moved to the memory area.  Inside, the memories looked like glittery storms.  They twisted and swirled, rebounding off each other and floating away.


    ¡°If you¡¯re causing trouble here then you¡¯ll need to go elsewhere,¡± Adam heard Lucas¡¯s voice say from far away, muffled by the distance.


    ¡°You kids think you¡¯ll be able to handle us?¡± said a crisp male voice on the higher side.  ¡°I¡¯ll burn you to cinders!¡±


    The search continued as Adam looked for any sign of manipulation.  No matter how far he moved through the memories, each shaped like a small storm, he saw none of the tell-tale signs.  There were no lines connecting memories, none of the storm-like memories looked twisted or altered.  He flew through the space as frantically as possible, trying to find the evidence he needed.  No damn invader would come into his base or try to take it from him!


    ¡°You think we¡¯re scared of you?¡± demanded Brittney.  ¡°You were chased from place to place because you were too weak to hold somewhere.¡±


    ¡°Which aliens did you pay off to get this security?¡± another voice retorted.


    ¡°Better not let the boss hear you talk like that,¡± said Tom, his voice drifting and wavy.  Adam could barely hear it as his attention was desperate to find a sign.


    Past more storms, through memories, to the center of the space, weaving around small and large storms.  Adam moved as quick as thought but saw nothing.  Nothing!


    ¡°There¡¯s nothing there!¡± Adam shouted in frustration, back in his body; eyes locked on General Carmichael.


    Everyone stopped and looked at Adam.  Familiar soldiers stepped away from him.  The venom in his voice had caught people in mid-motion.  Tom¡¯s sword was halfway out.  Lucas and Brittney had their hammers ready.  A man with a tag of ¡°Firemancer¡± had flames surrounding his hands while a dome radiating healing had formed around him and a group of people.


    At Adam¡¯s outburst they stopped.


    ¡°Uh, boss.  What¡¯s the matter?¡± asked Tom, unsure whether to get the sword out of its sheath or not.


    ¡°It¡¯s not there!¡± Adam spat.


    ¡°What¡¯s not there?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°I can¡¯t find how they are controlling him!¡± snapped Adam as he pointed to the general.


    ¡°Controlling ME?!¡± shouted Carmichael.


    ¡°What do you mean, Adam?¡± asked Elouise.


    ¡°I mean, why would he come in here and demand control of the base if he wasn¡¯t under their influence?¡± asked Adam, confused and frustrated.  ¡°The mind witch had to have gotten to him!¡±


    ¡°What are you talking about, boy?!¡± demanded the general.  ¡°I¡¯m not in anyone¡¯s control!¡±


    ¡°Excuse me, General Carmichael,¡± said Colonel Davian, stepping forward.  Then he turned to Adam.  ¡°Adam, why do you think the general is being controlled?¡± he asked gently.


    ¡°Because this is a trap!  It¡¯s always a trap,¡± Adam shouted, the frustration getting to him as the heat pounded in his ears.  ¡°They herded them to us, allowed us to rescue them.  Even the bosses that we fought, the ones attacking their group were weak for their levels.  What else could this be but a trojan horse?¡±


    ¡°Adam, this is General Carmichael, one of the highest ranked in the US armed forces.  He¡¯s used to being in charge.  This is just how he is.  From a military perspective he¡¯s in the right to take control of the base.  That¡¯s what rank is all about,¡± said Davian softly, cautious when putting his hand on Adam until he realized Adam wasn¡¯t radiating his heat, then gripping him more firmly.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°But that isn¡¯t right!  This is our base!  My base!  Why would he think it¡¯s ok to demand it from us?  Didn¡¯t he send troops to assassinate us?¡±  Adam was breathing heavily, the pounding and heat making it hard for him to concentrate.


    The uncertainty caused him confusion.  He wanted to rescue people, and he knew not everyone would be happy with it, but this was too much.


    ¡°Assassinate you?  You must be that general brat, playing army with your kiddie friends,¡± mocked Carmichael.  ¡°No one was told to kill you.  We wanted you for questioning.  In the grand scheme of things, you are a nobody.¡±


    Adam waved a hand, and a large display appeared.  It showed a scene of Adam on a stage with a gun pointed at his head, the perpetrator was dressed in army fatigues.  Then the scene switched to soldiers aiming guns at the other people.  Several more pictures from the incident on invasion day flashed through the rift window.


    Carmichael frowned at the display.  ¡°Those are my men, but they were to arrest you.  Arrest only.  It¡¯s embarrassing that they didn¡¯t even get control of the base at that time.¡±


    ¡°Then how do you explain your survival?¡± asked Brittney, trying to support Adam.


    ¡°Watch your mouth, little girl!  Don¡¯t underestimate the US army,¡± shouted Jamari Gillum, the ¡°Outrider¡± standing behind the Firemancer.


    ¡°Answer the question,¡± said Tom, using his skills [Seek the Truth] to try and influence the general.


    Carmichael scrunched his forehead and then answered honestly, ¡°We just used the information provided by General Gervin.  I made sure to set things up a bit further away from the capital so we would have a detached force to provide reinforcements if the capital needed it.¡±


    ¡°The information my husband had came from their group,¡± informed Elouise.


    ¡°That hardly matters,¡± dismissed the general.


    A new voice then spoke up.  One that sounded almost amused, but forceful.  It wasn¡¯t looking to de-escalate this.


    ¡°We can¡¯t leave the fate of our country in the hands of children who are barely off their mother¡¯s teats.  This base, the alien technology, will come into our possession.¡±


    ¡°Adam,¡± gasped Colonel Davian, looking at the man¡¯s tag of ¡°Siege Wall [24].¡±  ¡°That is Detachment Commander Rexus.¡±


    Adam could feel the man¡¯s strength.  He could tell he had reached Tier 3.  The intensity of his soul on Adam¡¯s soul map was brighter than anyone he had fought so far, and the map allowed Adam to feel a second soul nearly as strong approaching.


    That wouldn¡¯t stop him though.  Anyone trying to steal from them, threatening to destroy the peace they had fought for, was an enemy.


    Lucas whispered, ¡°how did he gain so many levels in one afternoon?¡±


    Then Adam pulled on his heat.  He forced the river to churn as power entered him.  The air around him started to waver and shift.


    ¡°Anyone who tries to destroy or take what we have will be put down!¡± snarled Adam.


    Soldiers familiar with Adam stepped back to get away from him.  Elouise grabbed Davian and pulled him backwards.  General Carmichael also backed up at the fury and intensity that Adam was displaying.  Lucas, Tom, and Brittney prepared to fight.


    ¡°This city belongs to the US government, not you!¡± yelled Carmichael, though from a safer distance as the air around Adam radiated his heat.


    Then Adam stepped forward.


    Jack Fleming, Firemancer, retreated a few steps from the burning air Adam gave off.  Cody Sloan, the air ripper, put up a barrier to keep the heat back.  Tyler Zito, the domain healer, poured more energy into his dome as buffs were applied to his allies within.


    Adam stepped forward again.


    Tom¡¯s sword was drawn.  Brittney flashed as her vitality buffs were applied to her own allies.  Lucas held his war hammer in one hand and a Scyrric short sword in the other.


    One more step brought Adam closer to them.


    Then Adam nearly collapsed.  His hand came up and gripped his chest as a groan escaped his mouth.  He tilted to the side, barely stopping a fall by stomping his foot while his eyes lost focus.


    Another groan came from Adam as he dropped onto one knee, hissing in pain.


    ¡°Adam!¡± shouted Brittney as she rushed forward and held her shield between him and their opponents.


    Elouise also rushed forward but couldn¡¯t get close enough due to the heat.  Then the heat simply stopped and cooler air flowed in.  Adam was gripping himself in agony and his friends were beyond confused.  Elouise started talking to him, her words unheard as it took everything Adam had to prevent falling all the way onto the ground.


    Then Lucas was there, pulling Adam up.  Laughter overwhelmed Adam¡¯s groans as Commander Rexus stepped forward.


    ¡°The mighty general, huh?  All style and no substance.  Like an athlete faking an injury before a game he¡¯s scared to play in.¡±  Rexus made it clear he found the moment a comedy.  ¡°If you were too scared to actually fight then you should have backed down before.  We¡¯ll be taking the base now.¡±


    ¡°You can¡¯t!¡± burst out Davian.  Rexus glared at him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me what I can¡¯t do!¡±


    ¡°No, I mean it isn¡¯t possible.  Adam isn¡¯t just in charge.  The base is bound to him.  Even if he were to die, you can¡¯t just take control,¡± blurted out Davian.  ¡°He has to transfer it.¡±


    That brought Rexus to a stop and he frowned at the struggling Adam, arms crossed.


    ***


    Adam didn¡¯t know what happened.  Sure, he had felt pain before.  Blowing off limbs, skin and muscles combusting, shot in the throat, they all hurt but the heat and river had overcome the pain.  When they flowed through his soul and empowered his body, pain became a foreign sensation, something on the outside.  Thanks to that, he had pushed through sensations that would have overwhelmed anyone else.


    The pain he was feeling now wasn¡¯t physical.  If it hadn¡¯t overwhelmed his mind, then he might have realized it was pain in his soul.


    Out of reflex, Adam reached for his only real skill, [Body and Soul Shaping].  He turned the spigot up, trying to draw more power into his body to cover up his senses.  With that the pain intensified and he screamed before being able to lower the power flow, bringing him some relief even as he continued to struggle.


    He lowered the power as much as he could and then tried to snuff out the heat all together.  That was when he gained enough presence of mind to realize that it was the heat causing the pain.


    The heat and river.


    They had always stayed inside his body; other than the time he had released the energy outside to break open the Testudinate barrier.  Releasing the energy that time had been disastrous, even if it had led to his [Kinetic Impact] pseudo-skill.  He had never since tried to push the energy outside.


    That was how he realized what was happening now.  The heat was pounding against his soul¡¯s boundary as the river tried to create a new path outside.  To somewhere else.  To someone else.


    Adam used all his willpower to contain the river.  He grabbed at the coolness that usually stayed in his head.  He tried to shape it, tried to manipulate it to hold the heat inside.


    The heat threw itself against the edge of his soul.  The river struck it with a force that could kill him, rupturing his very essence.  To turn who he was inside out.


    Hands grabbed Adam¡¯s body as he struggled, pulling him back towards the wall.  Towards the safety of their base.


    As the distance between Adam and the special forces increased, the pain decreased.  By the time they reached the gate, soldiers hurrying out of the way to clear a path for them, he had enough control to put a hand on Lucas¡¯s shoulder and turn back.


    His eyes looked past the general, past the healing domain that his opponents had stood in, and even past Commander Rexus.  Adam¡¯s eyes were fixed on the man that had approached during their conflict.  A large, shirtless man with bulging muscles and veins trying to pop out of them.  A man with rapidly reddening skin and heat flowing off him.  A man who held his chest and growled as his eyes rose and met Adam¡¯s.


    Only Rexus noticed the eye contact, looking back and forth between Adam¡¯s and the man¡¯s hateful glares.  But Adam¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t lower or change.  His anger had burned out for the moment due to the pain and weakening of the river.  It was like Adam had been spun in a centrifuge and part of his soul had come out.  His corrupted soul, forced on him with the arrival of the [System], had almost fallen apart due to that man.


    Adam stared furiously one last time at the Tier 3 ¡°Blood Berserker [8]¡± before he was pulled out of view.

 CH 134: During the Lull

    CHAPTER 134: During the Lull


    ¡°General, as you can see the situation here is more complicated than you would think,¡± explained Colonel Davian after ripping off a brief salute.  ¡°I don¡¯t know what just happened with Adam, but he is the main reason for both of our groups¡¯ survival.  The information that you received from General Gervin was given to him by Adam.  Adam was very clear about us sharing it to improve everyone¡¯s chance at survival.¡±


    General Carmichael glared at Davian skeptically but added a ¡°hmm¡± after hearing that Adam tried sharing it all.


    ¡°It¡¯s true that we wouldn¡¯t have survived without the intel.  I also wouldn¡¯t have bunkered in Kentucky if I didn¡¯t have it.  But providing intel is a far cry from controlling a defensive installation.  I¡¯ve no doubt my boys will be able to make more of this then a few teens could,¡± the general said critically.


    ¡°Adam might be young, but he is the leader here.  He has protected everyone, gotten things organized while relying on others, has kept different groups working smoothly together, continued to find sources of intel, and personally leads our attacks on invader bases,¡± defended Davian.


    ¡°Psh,¡± chuckled Rexus.  ¡°How could that weakling protect anyone?  He collapsed at the mere mention of a fight.¡±


    Colonel Davian looked over his shoulder to where Adam had been hauled away.


    ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate him, Commander.  Adam is the strongest and toughest human, hands down.¡±  The colonel¡¯s praise seemed to offend Rexus, as he stood a little taller and frowned.  ¡°He had taken more damage and kept going than I would even have thought possible, even in such a powerful new world.  His strength defies more than physics.¡±


    A large hand was rested on Rexus¡¯s shoulder.


    ¡°Don¡¯t take that man lightly,¡± said Gregor, narrowed eyes still focused on the gate.  ¡°He is very strong.  There is something unnatural and dangerous about him.¡±


    His words made both the colonel and Rexus focus on him.


    ¡°What happened between you two?¡± asked Rexus quietly.


    ¡°When he passed us in the transport I felt it only for a moment, but it was much stronger this time.  When he collapsed, I felt pain everywhere inside.  At the same time my power soared.  I never felt such strength and heat, or anger.  If it had taken control of me then I would have become nothing more than rage and hate.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­¡± Rexus intoned.  He walked over to General Carmichael and spoke to him too quietly for Davian to hear.  The general nodded a few times.


    When they were finally done the general spoke to Colonel Davian.


    ¡°Looks like you have your work cut out for you, Fredericks.  I doubt you¡¯ll have success if you¡¯ve been too soft to take control of this base by now, but I¡¯ll give you one last chance to convince the boy to turn it over.  Otherwise, we¡¯ll have to convince him with more than words.  Until then, you are dismissed.¡±


    The general turned, gave a few more orders to his officers, and then soldiers spread out to inspect the nearby buildings.  Carmichael disappeared back into the transport with two more officers and Rexus.


    Colonel Davian watched for a minute then turned to the soldiers that followed him.  They looked uncomfortable with the conflict and uncertain.  He signaled them to retreat into the wall.


    Before Davian was able to leave, a voice called to him.


    ¡°Colonel, I¡¯m sorry to bother you after all this, but my friend Chad here had been dreaming of taking a shower.  Do you have such facilities he could use before returning to our forces?¡± asked Gregor.


    The colonel nodded absently.  ¡°That would be no problem.  Before this conflict, we were expecting to integrate your group once we had time to do our usual quarantine and inspection for new residents.  Chad can go to our main barracks and use the facilities we have available.¡±  The colonel signaled to a few soldiers to take Chad.


    ¡°Are you sure, Gregor?¡± Chad asked surprised as he stepped through the group of dissipating people.


    Gregor gripped his arm gently.  ¡°Just be careful.  We don¡¯t know what is really going on here.  Everyone is acting a little too calmly considering the world outside.  We don¡¯t know what could be influence things here.  They did mention mind control¡­¡±


    Chad nodded to Gregor, who hesitantly removed his hand.  Then Chad followed the soldiers into the gate.


    ***


    Chad looked around the base as he moved through it.  It wasn¡¯t a normal city.  The layout couldn¡¯t have sprung up organically.  Everything was placed in a spot for a reason.  The soldiers were happy to answer his questions, showing pride as they bragged about everything that was here and how it had come about.


    At a cursory glance, the buildings themselves didn¡¯t seem that far off from modern buildings, but when he spent time really looking at them, he could tell they weren¡¯t normal.  Human buildings had designs based on making a structure sturdy, safe, and then aesthetically matching the other buildings.  These buildings didn¡¯t follow those rules.


    Some looked top heavy, without a foundation that should have been safe to support it.  The materials they used looked weak, but when he got close and felt them, Chad realized how they couldn¡¯t be from Earth.  The soldiers were fine explaining how they reused materials from other invader Rifts and how they had loads of craftsmen and builders experimenting with making stronger materials, both with alien and Earth materials.Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Chad wasn¡¯t sure if he should use this time to gather information or whether it even mattered.  It hardly seemed a secret and technically they weren¡¯t at odds with these people.  Yet Gregor¡¯s warning kept him on alert and absorbing as much as he could learn, even making him push through the exhaustion he felt from the last few days.


    ¡°What is that?¡± asked Chad, pointing to a very rectangular building.  It looked like it had two separate entrances and most of the windows were tinted so he couldn¡¯t see inside.  It was three stories tall and had signs out front with bunny ears.


    One of the soldiers squirmed a little before answering, while the other two seemed almost embarrassed.


    ¡°Those are the brothels,¡± answered the soldier.


    ¡°Brothels?¡± questioned Chad with surprise.  ¡°You have sex workers?¡±


    ¡°Not exactly,¡± said the soldier.  ¡°Our leadership brought back some¡­er, people¡­that wanted to mate.  They aren¡¯t officially called brothels, but it¡¯s essential what they are.¡±


    ¡°People?¡± Chad was confused.  Then he saw three men come out one of the doors.  They were smiling and chatting cordially as they were seen off by someone who stood at the entrance and waved them away with a smile.  Or at least what might have been a smile, since he couldn¡¯t completely tell with the inhuman look.  The one waving was fuzzy, had rabbit ears, and was completely non-human.


    Chad gasped.  ¡°That¡¯s an invader!¡±


    ¡°No, sir,¡± quickly defended a second soldier.  ¡°Those aren¡¯t invaders.¡±


    ¡°But it¡¯s clearly an alien,¡± Chad stated while near panicking.


    ¡°Yes, sir.  An alien,¡± agreed the soldier, causing Chad to round on him, staring disbelievingly.


    ¡°An alien, but not an invader?¡± Chad asked when he had gotten his thoughts together.


    ¡°Correct.  They came to work for the Sentinel Army.  They wanted payment in mating, so when homes were built for them it kind of became the unofficial brothel.  Many people make use of it now.¡±


    ¡°How can you be sure it¡¯s safe?¡± asked Chad cautiously.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s safe.  There¡¯s some magical contract that they signed.  Besides¡­¡±


    ¡°Besides?¡±


    ¡°Well, sir, The General would have killed them all if they were invaders.  He¡¯s very particular about that,¡± said the soldier with a shiver, having seen Adam¡¯s fury in battle firsthand.


    Another soldier then elbowed his fellow knowingly.  ¡°It¡¯s also very satisfying.  They can handle our levels,¡± he said with a snicker.


    Chad shook his head and decided to stay clear of those buildings.


    ***


    As Chad approached the center of the base, he saw the high rise standing tall in the middle of everything, and a large road that looped outside of it.  The soldiers were happy to talk about the building and how it had changed as they gained new materials from the enemy bases they had conquered.  It was the center of the Sentinel Army¡¯s strength and where the top brass lived and worked.  Adam the General, living above all others.


    The barracks weren¡¯t far from the building, but Chad¡¯s eyes were drawn to the statue and five walls next to it.  He looked up at the teens on the statue and then to the walls, names scratched into them with no elegance.


    ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± he asked.


    The soldiers became serious and looked at the wall with a salute.


    ¡°The wall of heroes, sir,¡± answered one.  ¡°After every raid we put up the names of those fallen to protect our world.  The General always knows the names of everyone who died, and he personally carved their names up to this point.¡±


    Chad could see the change at one point in the names.  The carving style went from the same script, done by a single person, to being done by others.  The name sizes and neatness varied after the change.  He walked by the walls and looked at the names.


    ¡°Where are the rest?¡± asked Chad, looking around and on the backs of the walls for more names.


    ¡°The rest of what?¡±


    ¡°The rest of the names.  This can¡¯t be everyone, right?¡±  Chad looked at the soldiers in confusion but saw an angry look on all their faces.


    ¡°It is, and it¡¯s more than should be,¡± said one soldier with a snarl.


    ¡°B-but¡­there are less than 500 names on here,¡± blurted Chad.  ¡°We lost tens of thousands in the first week.  Then thousands more died as we traveled.  To only have lost 500¡­¡±


    ¡°It was thanks to the General¡¯s protection¡­¡± started one of the soldiers, but Chad didn¡¯t hear him.


    Chad¡¯s mind couldn¡¯t take it.  Flashbacks of all the deaths.  People being stabbed, dismembered, crushed, all near him as he and the rest fought.  They never had time to mourn.  Never had time to take care of, or to remember, the dead.  Every moment and step had been desperate.  Chad couldn¡¯t imagine ¡°only 500¡± feeling like a high number.  It was a drop in the bucket compared to his own experiences.


    His body seized up.  His legs gave out.  Before Chad knew it, he was on the ground sobbing, hands clasped in prayer, remembering all the friends and compatriots who were no longer in this world.  If only there had been people to help protect them too.


    ***


    Chad¡¯s shower went on for an hour.  It was the most wonderful experience he had ever had.  It was a room with numerous shower stalls, each with a door but open enough to the rest that any sound could be heard.  Many soldiers entered the shower room during Chad¡¯s shower, and a lot of jokes and comments were made about the inappropriate sounds coming from Chad.  He couldn¡¯t even care, he was in heaven, and no one rushed him.


    They had explained that soap was being rationed until they found materials to make more, but out of generosity, the supplies chief cut him a small bar from three different brands.  Chad would smell one, then soap up while taking breaks to smell the clean scent, finishing with a rinse.  He did that with all three minibars.


    The shower was so relaxing, and helped Chad unwind, that he didn¡¯t even realize when he fell asleep before turning the water off.  A few hours later he woke in a cot, comfortable despite being small.  He had a robe on and there were jeans and a long-sleeved shirt folded next to where he slept.


    When he returned outside the walls, to his own company, he found a pacing and angry Gregor.  His fellows were trying to calm him and hold him back, his concern for Chad going overboard due to how long he had been away.  Chad had to spend a lot of time explaining why he had taken so long and that he was ok.


    He also had to prove repeatedly to Gregor and a few officers that he hadn¡¯t been mind controlled or replaced.  It was quite a hassle, but Chad didn¡¯t care since he could just take a sniff of one of the three soaps he still had and know that it was worth it.


    ***


    ¡°He hasn¡¯t come out?¡± asked Colonel Davian during a meeting.


    It had been three days since Adam had been pulled away and in that time he hadn¡¯t left his penthouse.  More than that, he didn¡¯t let anyone else in the room and had blacked it out using the Rift menu so no one else could enter or talk to him.  Even his chefs were kept out.


    Mrs. Clemens had gotten a Rift ¡°call¡± from Adam, telling her that he was ok and just needed time.  She had been frantic after hearing about what had happened, and was still quite concerned, with Adam only trying once to reassure her.


    ¡°No, and only the girls are allowed in,¡± answered Lucas.


    ¡°Is he aware that Carmichael has blocked the gates with his troops, threatening anyone who tries to leave?¡± asked a unit leader.


    ¡°Do you really want the boss to get involved in that?¡± asked Tom.  ¡°Remember what the malcontents escalated to?  Except these aren¡¯t level zeros we¡¯re talking about.  T-Rexy seems like he might be able to handle any of us one on one.¡±


    ¡°Then what should we do?¡± asked Charles, from the intelligence group.


    ¡°We wait.  Work on combat techniques.  Take a rest while we can,¡± said the colonel.


    ¡°But for how long?¡±


    ¡°Until Adam is ready,¡± answered Lucas.


    ¡°Any idea how long that will take?¡±


    ¡°Oh, ye of little faith,¡± sighed Tom, shaking his head in disappointment.  ¡°Don¡¯t look at this as a down time, look at it as a time to power up.  The boss will be ready when we need it the most!¡±

 CH 135: Discovery

    CHAPTER 135: Discovery


    Adam grumbled.  Then his stomach grumbled.  He opened the Rift menu and used it to move a tub of animal cookies from a warehouse to his lap.


    Over the last three days he hadn¡¯t eaten enough.  So many people kept trying to get in touch with him, but that distracted him from his purpose, so he locked himself away.  Only the girls could come in and he made it clear to them that he needed time.  As long as he left their connections open and they didn¡¯t feel pain coming from it, they agreed to give him space.  He let them in twice a day, partly because they brought food with them.


    He really didn¡¯t want to miss anything though, which is why he wanted to be alone.  The whole situation was confusing to him.  This whole setup felt forced.  It had to be a trap.


    Rescuing an army that should be on his side from enemies that looked strong but weren¡¯t.  He had struggled against that Scyrric base commander when he had rescued Nick and Lamar.  Adam knew what a strong opponent looked like.  There might have been ten bosses with the army they just faced, but they crumbled easily.  Adam probably could have fought them all at once.


    Add to that how fast the leaders of Carmichael¡¯s forces leveled up and it just felt wrong.  Carmichael HAD to be in league with the invaders.  Unless that is what they wanted him to think, further weakening both sides.


    ¡°Argh!¡± Adam growled in frustration as he floated on his pool chair.


    A few people suggested he was being paranoid.  He knew he was too in his own head, thinking of too many possibilities that probably weren¡¯t it.  Yet, after that soul attack that had hit him, he couldn¡¯t take any chances.


    That big guy, Gregor, had been the cause of it.  Adam had no doubt about that.  Somehow, he had tried to rip out part of Adam¡¯s weird soul.  Along with figuring out the new traps that were hidden, Adam needed to come up with a defense against that attack.  Fortunately, he had returned to normal after getting some space and time for his soul to settle all the way.


    Adam had barely slept since then as he spent all his time monitoring the new arrivals.  He had a dozen displays open around him as he listened to their meetings, watched the key players¡¯ conversations, even listening to them sleep in case they might reveal something unintentionally.


    Nothing had come from it.  Sure, he knew about their plans to blockade the base, their fear of entering the base without knowing what it was capable of, and how they were conscripting the people who hadn¡¯t evacuated to the base sooner.


    They had found out the good hunting locations, and places where the Sentinel Army had captured Rift bases.  Teams were inspecting the rifts to see if they could get in one or take control of it.  Yet none of that indicated invader involvement.  Almost the opposite.


    It also felt like they didn¡¯t know they were being monitored.  Adam knew every time he stepped onto a Rift base.  The feeling of reality being altered was something he could sense.  Anyone related to the invaders should be able to do the same.  He had seen it in the group of Gohralluhs and Kabuterci that that had stepped in, expecting the territory to be at the walls.


    No one from Carmichael¡¯s side seemed the least bit aware, or even cautious.  They genuinely seemed to believe that the base only went as far as the walls and spoke openly about it in their meetings.  All of which made them oblivious that Adam was watching.


    ¡°Rah!¡± shouted Adam as he pointlessly slapped the water.  It splashed a ton of water out of the pool, almost capsizing his chair and getting his animal cookies wet.


    Since he didn¡¯t want to ruin his snack, he changed the focus of his frustration and instead slapped the non-physical displays positioned around him.  He waited until his hand reached it before using a mental command to make the display spin, simulating a slap.  Not quite as satisfying but also less destructive.


    The displays continued to spin at various speeds, not slowing or stopping unless he gave them a mental command.


    ¡°If only I could use my damn status menu!¡± swore Adam.


    He raised a hand and a new display with his blacked-out status came up.


    Name: ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    Age: ¨€¨€


    Race: Human


    Class:  ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    Strength:         N/A


    Agility:             N/A


    Vitality:            N/A


    Intelligence:    N/A


    Wisdom:         N/A


    Core Skills:


    ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    Skills:


    ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€ ¨€


    ¡°Ack!  It can¡¯t even figure out my name or age!  The only thing it can decide on is that I¡¯m human, the one thing even I question with all I can do!¡±


    Then Adam slapped the status sheet and sent it spinning like with the others.


    ¡°Maybe I¡¯m getting too tired.  Maybe there isn¡¯t even some plot here,¡± signed Adam.  ¡°Maybe I¡¯m just causing conflict with people I should be reconciling with, weakening everyone.¡±


    He looked at the various spinning displays, then stared up at the sky, no longer fake with the Rift being merged with the planetary reality.  Taking a deep breath, he slowly let it out.  Then he sank down into the chair and closed his eyes.


    The sensation of floating on the water relaxed him.  The warm water caressed his legs as it lightly splashed against him.  He got himself comfortable, hugging the now closed tub of cookies.


    Unfortunately, sleep didn¡¯t come.  Usually, he could fall asleep quickly, as long as the river wasn¡¯t running through him.  As Abbey had pointed out, he slept more than probably any other adult on the base.  However, this time there was something nagging his mind.


    Adam grumbled again in frustration.  Then he cracked open one eye and squinted.  The displays were still spinning.  A dozen monitoring ones and his status menu.  Something felt off but he wasn¡¯t sure what it was.


    He eyed each display in turn, slowing down their spinning individually before speeding them up again.  Nothing seemed unusual.  What they displayed also seemed unimportant since no meetings or conversations were happening.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Each display was thoroughly inspected, but Adam¡¯s eyes kept drawing him to the spinning status.  He stopped that display and looked at it straight on.  Nothing stood out to him, so he moved through the different tabs.  It was the same as every other time he checked it¡­useless.


    Then he spun it again and the nagging feeling of wrongness returned.  He looked closer at it while it spun.  There was something here, but he didn¡¯t know what.  He couldn¡¯t figure it out even if his unconscious mind had noticed something.


    A few more times he stopped the window, then re-spun it.  Only while it was spinning were his eyes drawn to the display.  He tried to get closer to it, but since it was linked to his distance, that did nothing.


    Adam tried to command the display to get larger.  It grew, the illusionary display was now passing through the other displays as it spun, overlapping them.  The nagging feeling of wrongness got stronger.


    He increased the size again.  Looking between the various spinning windows, squinting to try and catch what it was.


    Then he realized what was bothering him, and he stopped all the windows sideways.  They all disappeared from view.  They were there, just positioned so he was looking at their edge dead on.


    As two-dimensional constructs, they had no depth, and were impossible to see from the side.  Yet, he could see a vague reflection from his status, barely noticeable.  He had to look really hard to see it.


    To get a better look he turned the display only a few degrees, just enough so that he could see the edges.  There it was, a little easier to notice.  He made the personal display larger still, almost the size of the pool but floating in the air.


    ¡°It has three layers,¡± he whispered.


    There wasn¡¯t a reflection.  There wasn¡¯t a depth.  Three separate displays were mashed together and the light coming off them affected each other, making them hard to see.


    He banished the display, and all three windows vanished.  He summoned it back and once more expanded and tilted it.  How could he see what was on each individual layer?


    It took a lot of trial and error.  A lot of mental focus.  He was eventually able to peel them apart, like stickers that were on top of each other.


    Adam smiled in satisfaction as he tried to tile the panels so they were side by side instead of overlapping.  It took him ten minutes and he felt rather accomplished by doing this.


    Then Adam looked at the three displays and his jaw dropped.  He dismissed all the other monitoring displays, staring at the three separate panels in front of him.


    ¡°Is this for real?¡± he asked, his mouth going dry.  Nervously he muttered, ¡°I guess this would explain why my soul is corrupt if true.¡±


    In front of him there weren¡¯t just three displays, each was a different status screen for a different person.  The first one made sense to him.


    Name: Adam Clemens


    Age: 18


    Race: Human


    Class: None


    Body: *Select a Class to apply stats* - [2] levels on hold


    Strength:         4


    Agility:             4


    Vitality:            3


    Intelligence:     4


    Wisdom:          5


    ¡°I¡¯m so weak!¡± he said, commenting on his stats.  Then he looked at the next screen.


    Name: Adam Clemens


    Age: 29


    Race: Human


    Class: Soul Forger [250]  Epic / Tier 5


    Body: [2]


    Strength:         447


    Agility:             423


    Vitality:            644


    Intelligence:     1858


    Wisdom:          1299


    ¡°Twenty-nine?!¡± exclaimed Adam as he looked at the age.  Why did it think he was 11 years older?  Then he looked at the third window.


    Name: Gregor Munstean


    Age: 42


    Race: Human


    Class: Grand Blood Berserker [108]  Rare / Tier 4


    Body: [21]


    Strength:         2087


    Agility:             836


    Vitality:            1371


    Intelligence:     0


    Wisdom:          0


    Adam frowned at the sheet.  Then he pulled open a Rift window focused on Gregor.  The tag above him was only ¡°Blood Berserker¡±.  No ¡°Grand¡± to it.  He also didn¡¯t look in his forties, but if he took 11 years from it, the same as the older Adam window¡­


    Staring between the displays, unsure of how to interpret this, Adam was stunned.  Floored.  This was completely incomprehensible.


    Three statuses were contained in him.  THREE!  No wonder his soul had no space.  Even if they weren¡¯t really in him and just looked like they were, that could definitely cause corruption.


    Then he thought back to his own soul space, to the blood splotch shaped memories that only had a few intersecting with his own memories.  Those had been the memories from a larger man who had fought the invaders.  Much more muscular than Adam ever would be.  He looked back at the window with Gregor on it.


    How could he have future memories of Gregor.  Or was that even Gregor?  It seemed as possible as anything else that had happened in the last few months.


    Adam also wondered if future Adam and Gregor were friends or enemies.  Right now, Adam couldn¡¯t even get close to the man.  If Gregor truly was a berserker, then he wouldn¡¯t have a skill to allow him to soul attack Adam.  That means the pain and issue that happened was because of something different.  Maybe Gregor didn¡¯t do anything consciously, and it was Adam having parts of his memories, status, or soul.


    What was even with future Gregor having zero intelligence and wisdom.  How could he survive like that?


    ¡°I hate time travel and alternate reality stories,¡± whined Adam.  ¡°They never make sense to anyone but the writer.¡±


    Deciding to ignore all the possibilities, Adam wanted to run some tests.  To start, he pulled on his heat and fed it into the river.  Adam felt his strength increasing like normal.  Then he looked at the stats on his 19yo status.


    Strength:         4 (+208)


    Agility:             4 (+83)


    Vitality:            3 (+137)


    Intelligence:     4


    Wisdom:          5


    ¡°Huh.  That¡¯s ten percent of the stats listed on Gregor¡¯s panel.¡±


    Adam activated [Body and Soul Shaping], drawing more power from his soul.  Then he checked the status again.


    Strength:         4 (+312)


    Agility:             4 (+124)


    Vitality:            3 (+205)


    That was 15% of future Gregor¡¯s stats.  The spigot of power from [Body and Soul Shaping] was opened even further.


    Strength:         4 (+416)


    Agility:             4 (+166)


    Vitality:            3 (+274)


    ¡°Nice!  20%!¡± exclaimed Adam, excited to see quantifiable numbers going up.  He couldn¡¯t keep the smile from his face.  There was so much determination to push forward that Adam didn¡¯t notice the water hissing and his floating chair shriveling from the heat.


    ¡°Let¡¯s see how high I can go!¡±


    Then Adam opened the spigot as far as he could.  Pain flared in him.  His skin ignited.  The chair caught fire and snapped, dropping him into the pool where the water quickly evaporated with steam clouding his view.  There was only a moment for Adam to see the panel before he fell.


    Strength:         4 (+832)


    Agility:             4 (+332)


    Vitality:            3 (+548)


    Even with the steam obscuring his view he was still able to see the panel, but even hitting 40% was too much for his body.  There was no way he¡¯d be able to hold that much power for long.  He had to shut it off.


    Then Adam heard shouting.


    ¡°Darling!  Where are you?¡± yelled Andrea.


    ¡°I can¡¯t see anything with all this steam!¡± shouted Alissa.


    ¡°Where is his excellency?¡± cried Ashtala.


    Brittney, who had the highest vitality at 207 didn¡¯t hesitate and yanked off her shirt and shorts then jumped in the water.  ¡°He¡¯s in here!¡± she called to the others.


    Adam felt himself forcibly grabbed and dragged to the edge of the pool.  The three other girls were staring at him while Alissa held her nose to block out the smell of burning hair and flesh.


    ¡°What happened, Adam?¡± gasped Brittney.


    Adam couldn¡¯t help but chuckle, his burned lips curled up oddly, making Andrea wince and look away.  Abbey¡¯s hand touched him, and she cast heal several times, bringing him back to normal.


    ¡°I was experimenting with something,¡± answered Adam.


    ¡°From the look of you, I¡¯m guessing it didn¡¯t go well?¡± assumed Abbey.


    ¡°On the contrary, it went better than I could have hoped!¡±


    ¡°And you still ended up like that?¡± asked Andrea.


    ¡°Well, one thing didn¡¯t go well,¡± said Adam wistfully, as he looked to the bottom of the pool where the plastic tub of animal cookies had melted, dropping the cookies into water.  They were ruined.

 CH 136: Skills

    CHAPTER 136: Skills


    It was easy for Adam to use the Rift menu to clean up the pool, though he had to get more snacks and another floating chair.  The pool also had to be refilled.


    The girls had come in when they felt a flare of anger from his river and then pain coming through their connections.  They had all been on edge, concerned about Adam over the last few days, staying close should he need them.


    His un-tiered body seemed unable to handle even a fraction of the power that Tier 4 Gregor had.  25% was probably the most he could safely draw from it without needing to consume hordes of blood to regenerate from the damage.


    That left him back at the beginning, needing to figure out how to get his own class so he could strengthen his body.  Either that or to figure out how to create another skill, like he had done with [Body and Soul Shaping], that would allow his body to bear the power.


    Rather than go back to experimenting or exploring, Adam decided he needed to comfort his girls some.  Alissa snickered at seeing him without clothes and had Ashtala use a few skills on her before she forcibly pushed him down.  He accepted it since he had felt the concern and loneliness through all of their connections over the last few days.


    Not limited to Alissa, he also spent time canoodling with each of them, until they were all reassured that he was fine.  Once they finished their good times and had grabbed some food, they fell asleep in various places around his condo.


    Alissa and Brittney went into his oversized bed, where Ashtala, in Leputi fashion, slept tightly with them.  Andrea fell asleep on a sofa, and Abbey hugged Adam¡¯s arm tightly and fell asleep sitting next to him.


    Adam was tired, but he had made so much progress unexpectedly.  Finding out what was causing the soul corruption had brought him a massive amount of relief.  Oddly, it didn¡¯t make him any stronger or give him any new tools, but having this knowledge might set him on a path.  If he could figure out how to draw those memory splatters into his area, then he could create more pseudo-skills based on the originals.


    That left Adam too excited to sleep, regardless of how tired he was.


    As he felt Abbey¡¯s steady breathing next to him, he once more pulled up his status.  It was still combined and blacked out.  The race was once more the only thing that displayed correctly, probably because it was the only thing the same on all three panels.


    Once more he peeled the displays apart, taking only a few minutes this time.  He already knew the stats so he looked at the skill areas, starting with his own status.


    [Body and Soul Shaping]


    This skill allows the holder to manipulate the shape of the channels between his soul and body.  The stronger the holder¡¯s understanding of this skill, the greater control he will have over the power and variety of shaping that can be done.


    The skill had a very vague description before and still did, but he had a greater understanding of what it did now.  Gregor¡¯s strength was more than his body could handle, so this skill made use of the future Adam¡¯s skill set to contain the energy and protect him from it.  Pulling too much would still bleed the power through the channels this skill created, but it allowed him to use a greater portion of that power and prevent a higher amount of damage to himself.


    It also said there was other shaping he could do as well.  So future experiments might be a good idea, though only with a healer or gobs of blood available to him.


    Next, he looked at the Gregor status sheet.  There were a lot of black lines under the skills portion, but a few skills were now revealed.  Adam wondered if he had to discover the memory of the skill before he could see them or their definitions.  That was both annoying and fun.  Exploring and trying to unlock things in his skill set did make it feel more like a game.  Though not having the skills already in life and death struggles was much less fun.


    Adam checked out the skill names and descriptions that had been displayed.


    [Intimidation]


    Put


    Suddenly Adam was reminded of two days after the [System] arrived, when Andrea had mentioned his ¡°scary face.¡±  [Intimidation] must be what caused that.  It was probably also why people said he was always so intense when speaking about invaders.  That must trigger the skill.


    The next few were ones he had been using for a while.  The descriptions mattered less because he already had seen their effects, though his usage of the pseudo-skills did differ from the descriptions in some cases.  Such as how [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] didn¡¯t allow him to release energy.


    [Incapacitating Shout]


    Force your will upon the surrounding people, preventing them from taking action.  Time stunned varies based on the power difference between the user and target and their familiarity with the ability


    [Gladiator¡¯s Approach]


    Teleport to a target to complete an attack.  Upon completing the attack, energy is released providing a knockback and damage affect to in-


    [Kinetic Impact]


    Add a barrier of energy to oneself or a weapon held by the user.  This barrier uses force to repulse anything it strikes, increases,


    [Power Through]


    Increases user¡¯s Strength and Agility based on the level difference between himself and an aggregation of the nearby enemies at the cost of Intelligence and Wisdom.


    There were also a few berserker skills that he had used but hadn¡¯t known their names or even realized they were skills.  What he thought of as the heat and river came from these skills as well.  The descriptions helped him understand why his emotions were so different now.  They also showed that his pseudo-skill versions were not completely under his control.


    [Unquenchable Rage]


    Increases the user¡¯s anger.  Reduces other emotions.  The anger consumes the user¡¯s Intelligence and Wisdom and becomes power to the user.  The longer this skill is used the more permanently Intelligence and Wisdom are consumed.


    This skill is necessary to use other class skills.


    [Power from Rage]


    Alters the user¡¯s stats based on emotional state.  Strength and agility increase the more rage is produced from skills.


    Requires [Rage] generating skill to use.


    [Unquenchable Rage] must be what he thought of as the heat while [Power from Rage] was the river.  The skill descriptions explained why Gregor¡¯s stat sheet had no Intelligence or Wisdom.  He must have consumed them permanently when fighting. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    Adam frowned as he realized something.  Since he couldn¡¯t control the activation of the pseudo-skill [Unquenchable Rage], it constantly heightened his anger and then reacted to that uncontrolled emotion instead of being something he could decide to activate or not, did that mean he would lose all his Intelligence and Wisdom faster than Tier 4 Gregor did?  What would happen once all his Intelligence and Wisdom were gone?  Was it when his consciousness was subsumed into the river?


    Adam¡¯s base stats were only 4 and 5. That wouldn¡¯t take long to permanently burn through.  Or had they started higher and already been burned down?  But that didn¡¯t make sense either.  He was using Tier 4 power on an unranked body, so shouldn¡¯t he be burned out already?


    Too many unknowns.  He couldn¡¯t know the answers to these questions.  Did his pseudo-skill work differently enough that it wouldn¡¯t consume them?  Was he just not using enough of the power to cause a permanent burn, since he probably only received 20% of it before igniting his own body?


    Adam let out a sigh, disturbing Abbey.  He waited for her to reposition, cuddling closer to his chest.  Then he looked at the last Grand Blood Berserker skill that wasn¡¯t hidden from him.


    [Life from Blood]


    Consume the life force within blood to increase energy generation.  This energy can increase stamina, self-healing, and mana.


    The part about mana stumped Adam.  Berserkers weren¡¯t casters.  They even consumed their Intelligence, the stat that increased spell power, as well as Wisdom, the one that determined their mana pool.  Then how could this skill benefit berserkers by providing mana?  Unless one of the locked skills used or was empowered by mana.


    A lot to think about and explore.  There was still one more status sheet to review though.


    Older Adam¡¯s sheet said he was a Tier 5 Soul Forger.  It seemed that older Adam was doing pretty well for himself to get to Tier 5.  Only one tier for him to go to be on top.  Surely someone that strong would be able to protect the Earth with how rare Lashtam said it was to get that high.  Especially in only 11 years.


    His class was even an epic one.  Difficult to get.  Even more difficult considering that, according to Lashtam, soul manipulation classes could only be gained by the Red Clan.  Had future Adam been bitten by those damn vampire like people and turned into one himself?


    In a world of bizarre changes since the [System] came, this was stepping it up a notch.  It was like all this just didn¡¯t fit in.  Adam could see why the Scyrric referred to him as an aberration.  He was breaking so many rules.


    Now Adam knew where his disparate skill sets came from.  Conflicting builds.  He had the berserker path that focused on physical stats and skills, banging against a soul and mind manipulation class that was even higher tiered.  Odd that while the soul forger was one tier higher, he had more control and awareness of the berserker class.


    Adam even realized that if he could unlock more pseudo-skills based on the soul forger class, then he could be an even stronger version of the mind witch.  With a mental fist pump, Adam looked at the skills he had.


    [Charm]


    This skill allows others to think positively of the user, finding them attractive and trustworthy.  Targets that are already hostile will be affected less or unaffected entirely.


    It¡¯s not like everyone found Adam attractive or trustworthy, but it could explain why people were so ready to follow him once he got on their good sides.  Especially given that people were more likely to be scared of him due to his Scary Face, [Intimidation].  Maybe the two skills worked together effectively to frighten a person into submission so [Charm] could take effect.  Or maybe [Charm] was just stronger than his [Intimidation].


    [Soothe]


    Calm a target so that they are less likely to attack or to think negative thoughts until you make a hostile move.  Already hostile targets will be less effected.


    And that would explain how he was able to bring people¡¯s trauma down.  A convenient skill, though once again not quite how his pseudo version worked.  With both [Charm] and [Soothe] they seemed to be active all the time, not something he turns on and off.  Just his presence caused them to affect people.


    [Soul Resonance]


    The user is able to sense surrounding souls, their intent, and qualities.


    Upgrade skill to increase area of awareness or amount of info gained.


    That sounded like Adam¡¯s soul map.  Too bad he couldn¡¯t use skill points to boost that one.  It was probably one of his most useful skills, preventing him from being damaged and allowing him to know more about the people around him.


    [Soul Vision]


    Allows the user to view the inside of souls.


    This skill is required for many other class skills to work.


    Such a basic sounding skill, but this seemed like the core of everything in this class.  This was probably what allowed him to dive into his own soul or to follow connections he created to explore other people¡¯s souls.


    [Soul Combine]


    Allows the user to create conduits between their own soul and a target¡¯s, enhancing the skills that work directly on other souls and allowing power to be siphoned from the target.  This skill can merge parts of souls when being reshaped or bind two soul pieces together.


    This was the connections that Adam formed, though it seemed like there was a lot more to this skill than he realized.  He would need to experiment to see if he could do all that it said or if his pseudo version was more limited.  Adam wasn¡¯t sure where to find targets to experiment with.  That sounded dangerous and he didn¡¯t want to do anything to harm his friends or allies.


    [Environmental Control]


    Allows a user to increase or decrease the presence created from their soul.  Increasing allows people to feel the power contained in the user¡¯s soul, sometimes to a physically affected degree.  Decreasing will reduce the presence up to the point of imperceptibility.  A high level in this skill can mask the present of the user entirely.


    This sounded like something Adam used without realizing it.  Mainly increasing his presence and threat level.  The decrease didn¡¯t often trigger, but if it could be controlled, then this class¡¯s kit felt very keyed to infiltration, not just soul manipulating.  Making yourself unnoticeable and trustworthy would let him walk into anywhere.


    In this case, the subtlety that this skill provided would easily be overridden by his berserker skills.  A touch of anger and his fury, his presence, would flare.  Especially with that voice always telling him to conquer.  Adam doubted he¡¯d be able to use this skill in the decreased way around invaders.


    [Memory Manipulation]


    This very rare skill allows the user to manipulate the memories within a soul they have breached.  They may watch, lock, or replace memories of those without mental defenses.


    Requires a Soul Sight skill to activate.


    Obviously, this was what he had done with Brandon, replacing the self-twisted memory of the goblin stabbing him.  Adam frequently used this to check people¡¯s memories and spaces to make sure they weren¡¯t being affected like the police had been.  Hopefully it didn¡¯t make Adam a creepy voyeur.  He would definitely keep knowledge of this skill to himself.


    Thinking of when he helped break Detective Baker and the other police from the control of the mind witch, what she did felt like a different type of skill than this one.  The mind witch could only be Tier 3 at most, so [Memory Manipulation] was probably more than she could do.


    [Emotional Manipulation]


    Replace a target¡¯s emotions with ones of your choosing.  Can be used to create a dependence from the target to the user.


    Requires a Soul Sight skill to activate.


    Wow, that made it sound rather despicable.  That was closer to what had been done to the police.  This one probably paired well with Charm.  Get them to lower their guard and then the skill [Emotional Manipulation] binds them to you emotionally.  Adam shivered at that.


    He also began to feel a little guilty.  What if he was unintentionally manipulating the girls, his friends, or even the whole Sentinel Army?  He didn¡¯t think that was what he had been doing, but it concerned him that it was a possibility.


    To Adam it felt more like sharing emotions.  Allowing another person to know what you are feeling real time.  He could tell which emotions came from which connection and could choose to ignore them.  The girls said it didn¡¯t override their own emotions, so until he saw evidence otherwise, he would stick with this.


    [Soul Bolt]


    Attack a soul directly.  Damage can be done to any feature kept within the soul.  The power of the attack varies based on the strength discrepancy between the user and target¡¯s souls.


    Can only be resisted with soul fortifying skills.  No innate resistances can apply.


    Wow.  The one attack he could see on older Adam¡¯s status, and it required specific skills to block.  No wonder the Red Clan was so powerful.  This attack was ranged and didn¡¯t cause physical damage.  Adam could picture it being used to cause a distraction or to assassinate someone without leaving evidence, as long as the caster had a stronger soul than the target.  He figured that if this skill was limited to the Red Clan, then it would usually be obvious where it came from, but as a human, he would be unknown.


    He had used this skill enough times, on the goblin chief, the elf prince, and the big rock Petramus.  It hadn¡¯t worked at all against the Scyrric base commander.  It wasn¡¯t powerful enough to take someone out quickly, but maybe he needed to learn how to use it more effectively.  Maybe by targeting a specific part of the soul he could do more damage.


    There was a lot for Adam to think about, consider, and discover.  For now, he felt a cocoon of satisfaction surround him as he finally learned more about what had happened in his soul.  He had learned a lot, but this was just the tip of the iceberg.


    There was so much more he could get.  More pseudo-skills, memories of the original skills being used, understanding about the make-up of the soul, and more.


    With a sense of accomplishment, hope in future growth being possible, and knowing that there was a far distance he could still go, Adam smiled.  With both arms he wrapped Abbey up, gave her a kiss on the forehead, and then closed his eyes.  The exhaustion and stress from the last few days released as he drifted to sleep.

 CH 137: The Next Step

    CHAPTER 137: The Next Step


    Adam strode into the meeting room.  All the nervous faces turned to confusion, and then relief, as they saw him walk confidently.  He didn¡¯t show any bad effects of what had happened four days ago and the smile on his face was a huge difference to how he normally entered this room.


    When he sat down in his seat, he could tell people wanted to ask him questions, but no one was sure where to start, so he addressed them directly.


    ¡°No, I haven¡¯t been injured or harmed by what happened the other day.  For the last three days I¡¯ve been monitoring General Carmichael¡¯s group, trying to figure out what trap is coming and how the preceding events would lead to our harm.  The reason I didn¡¯t want to talk is because there was a lot to watch.¡±


    ¡°Adam, you could have had others help you with that task,¡± said Rick.


    ¡°That¡¯s probably true,¡± Adam said.  ¡°I was just concerned that I needed to do it all since I have a better sense for this weirdness than the rest of you.¡±


    ¡°Are you really ok?¡± asked his mom.


    ¡°Yes, mom.  I¡¯m fine.  It only took a bit of time and distance for me to feel better.¡±


    ¡°Do you know what happened to cause it, boss?¡± asked Tom, sounding as concerned as Adam¡¯s mother.


    ¡°I think I do.  It¡¯s the Blood Berserker named Gregor Munstean.  If I get near to him then my power¡­conflicts¡­with his.  It may result in him getting stronger, but I¡¯ll get weaker.  Possibly terminally.  Unless I find a defense, I¡¯ll need to stay away from him.¡±


    ¡°Then it was an attack?¡± asked Colonel Davian.


    Adam looked contemplative and moved around a bit.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know.  Like I said, I¡¯ve been watching them, and I¡¯ve seen no evidence that they knew about it or understood it any more than you guys did.¡±


    ¡°Then did you find anything out about them or their plans?¡± asked Lucas.


    Adam sighed.  ¡°I haven¡¯t seen or felt any connection to invaders from their group.  That doesn¡¯t mean there aren¡¯t any, just that it isn¡¯t something open or obvious.  I¡¯m certain there is a trap here though, I¡¯m just not smart enough to figure it out.¡±


    ¡°Maybe it¡¯s just to cause internal conflict,¡± said one analyst.


    ¡°Or weaken us by preventing us from hunting and leveling.  If we can¡¯t get out of the base then we can¡¯t take any more from our enemies,¡± suggested another.


    ¡°Those are possibilities,¡± nodded Adam.  ¡°For the moment the other group is also trying to learn.  They don¡¯t even realize I can watch and hear them, or that the areas they are occupying are part of our base.  The wall is where they assume the base ends.¡±


    ¡°What have you found out?¡± asked Davian.


    ¡°Their prominent theory right now is that I¡¯m an invader controlling everyone here.  They¡¯re blocking anyone from entering our base or exiting it.  They heard about the Leputi in our base.  This has led them to interrogate and conscript the people that were still living in Jackson, those who hadn¡¯t come to the base when we called for the first evacuation.  The civilians tried kicking up a fit, demanding to see us, but that was violently put down.¡±


    ¡°They can¡¯t possibly think you¡¯re an invader,¡± said his mother.  Adam shrugged in response.


    ¡°It makes sense.  They don¡¯t know much beyond the early information we provided.  The city hasn¡¯t been attacked.  Also, people are unnaturally loyal to me.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t unnatural when you save people over and over again,¡± said Mr. Fenton.  ¡°Conmen and agents rarely can keep it up for this amount of time.¡±


    ¡°Glad to hear it,¡± said Adam.  ¡°I was concerned that I had some kind of influence over people.  Almost controlling them.¡±


    ¡°Why would you think that?¡± asked Rick.


    ¡°For¡­reasons,¡± said Adam guiltily.


    ¡°Are you hiding something important from us,¡± demanded his mom in a stern voice.


    Adam tried to avoid eye contact with her before he let out a sigh and conceded.  ¡°Yes, I am.  But it isn¡¯t safe to talk about it right now.  I promise I¡¯ll mention it if it becomes a problem.¡±


    His mother stared at him firmly, but didn¡¯t demand any more.  Tom barked a laugh.


    ¡°Anyway, for now Carmichael¡¯s guys are trying to get into other rifts while making use of our hunting grounds for themselves.  They¡¯re trying to get as much info as they can from anyone they can.¡±


    ¡°General Carmichael is a thorough man, but not the most patient,¡± said Davian.  ¡°If he thinks his forces are strong enough, he¡¯ll increase his aggression from posturing to open hostilities.¡±


    ¡°He has already tried,¡± said Adam, causing gasps and comments from around the room.


    ¡°Then why hasn¡¯t he taken action?¡± asked Charles.


    ¡°Commander Rexus stopped him.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± shouted Davian.  ¡°Rexus did?!  That overconfident, shoot first questions later soldier did?  If there was anyone to push an attack it would be him.  Why?¡±


    Adam frowned.  ¡°I¡¯m not sure.  He and his unit, except for Gregor, keep going out hunting and coming back with higher levels.  At Tier 3, the hunting grounds would do nothing for them.  To level they would need to be attacking invader based directly.¡±


    ¡°Then how are they leveling?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°Beats me.  I can only see what happens inside the base,¡± answered Adam.


    ¡°Are they leveling to invade us?¡± asked Mr. Clemens.


    ¡°That¡¯s also unknown.  He just keeps telling the general to wait, that it¡¯ll all work out.  Meanwhile, Gregor is the one preaching violence.  He keeps telling anyone that will listen how unsafe I am and riling people up against me.¡±


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that he had your weakness?  Now he is inciting people against you?¡± asked Mrs. Clemens.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± agreed Adam.


    ¡°Do we need to hit them first?¡± asked Randall.  ¡°Like in the bible?  Do unto them before they do unto you?¡±


    Most of the room turned and stared at Randall, dumbfounded.


    ¡°We know someone who hasn¡¯t gone to church much,¡± snickered Tom.  Randall made a fist and went to stand up, but Tom used [Turn Away] causing Randall to threaten Lucas instead of him. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    ¡°Knock it off, you two,¡± threatened Lucas.  Randall sat back down in a huff, sulking while Tom silently taunted him more.


    ¡°What is the next step we should take?¡± asked Rick.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been thinking of that,¡± answered Adam, indifferent to the others¡¯ shenanigans.  ¡°Having Carmichael blocking us in doesn¡¯t really matter when we can portal between controlled Rifts.  I¡¯ve changed the Rift Menu permissions so that Lashtam, Lucas, Elias, and Brittney can open and close portals, as well as monitor outside the walls.¡±


    ¡°What should we be doing?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°Having Carmichael here doesn¡¯t matter as long as we don¡¯t fall behind them in strength.  We need to continue gaining levels and taking invader bases.  If we start from Thompson¡¯s Station or Pickwick Dam, we should be able to find weaker invader bases in the surroundings while avoiding Carmichael¡¯s scouts.  It¡¯ll cost us a bit more in [System] currency, but we should replenish that by taking additional Rifts.¡±


    ¡°Makes sense,¡± agreed the intelligence group.


    ¡°We¡¯ll start rallying the troops,¡± said Lucas.


    ¡°We need to make sure the walls are heavily manned even while we send the Sentinels out,¡± suggested Davian.  ¡°We must seem just as holed up and on guard against the general as before.  Can¡¯t let him know we can get out.¡±


    Several people nodded at that and one of the US Army logistics staff began drawing charts and lists on paper.  Adam was glad he didn¡¯t have to be the one to organize that.


    ¡°Lucas and Lashtam, send out human scout and Leputi pairs to look for good targets for our raids.  The easier the better just to build our strength and get things running.  Davian, get the required troops ready while they decide on the targets.¡±


    ¡°What will you be doing, Adam?¡± Davian asked him.


    ¡°I need to step out of the base for a short period.  I figured a few things out about my abilities, and I want to do some experiments.  I¡¯ll head to the former Bobomon Rift and look for a few invaders over there.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll grab a few of the General¡¯s Guards so we can go with you, boss.¡±


    ¡°Sorry Tom.  What I¡¯ll be doing is too dangerous to others and I¡¯d rather not risk anyone on this,¡± cautioned Adam.


    ¡°Is it dangerous to you?¡± asked his mom.


    ¡°It shouldn¡¯t be.  I was just concerned for others.¡±


    Adam¡¯s mom didn¡¯t seem convinced.  She was silently moving her mouth, deciding how to respond.


    ¡°Your excellency,¡± jumped in Lashtam.  ¡°It would be prudent to have allies nearby for safety.  I will post some operators in the Rift you jump to, and some of our Scouts will watch you from a distance to ensure your safety.¡±


    Adam nodded.  ¡°That should be fine, as long as they keep their distance.¡±


    ¡°I see how it is,¡± Tom complained morosely.  ¡°Taking the bunnies instead of us.¡±


    Alissa slapped him in the back of the head.  Tom barely moved from it.


    ¡°Guess your vitality is getting higher,¡± she commented.


    ¡°That and my strength,¡± bragged Tom with a smile.


    With that, Adam stood and went to get ready, followed by the others heading to where they needed to be.


    ***


    Gregor entered the meeting room in a huff.  His skin was still tinted red, showing that he was being influenced by the rage generated by his class.  They had to use an extra sturdy chair for him due to his size and muscle mass.  With too much force he plopped into the chair, followed by the sound of creaking metal as the legs on the chair bent.


    With a curse, Gregor slammed his hand on the large executive table, cracking it and sending all the papers on it flying.  He growled, staring death at the table and then at the papers that all the officers and intel staff were trying to grab.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t go well, big guy?¡± asked Jack Fleming with a taunt.  Gregor¡¯s glare was turned on him and Jack winced despite being used to the large man.


    ¡°Now, now, Jack,¡± scolded Willis Abrego.  ¡°You know not to joke with him when he¡¯s in this state.¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± admitted Fleming, known for causing trouble.  ¡°Sorry, all.  Sorry, Gregor.¡±


    Gregor glared at him from the edge of his seat, looking like he was going to spring forward.  Then he took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.  After two more breaths, his skin returned to its normal color.


    ¡°One of these days, Fleming, I¡¯m not going to be able to stop myself from ripping off your head,¡± Gregor said seriously, meaning it more as a warning than a threat.  Everyone knew that Gregor would be distraught if he actually did it.


    ¡°Yeah, with such strong people around, I should probably watch my mouth,¡± Fleming chuckled nervously, ending it with a gulp upon seeing the intensity of Gregor¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°To repeat Fleming¡¯s question, without the attitude,¡± started General Carmichael.  ¡°Were you able to make any progress?¡±


    ¡°No, sir,¡± answered Gregor after he turned to the general.  His skin might have calmed down, but his eyes were still full of fire, ready to burn anyone who looked at him.


    ¡°You have the highest offensive power of everyone here.  What happened?¡± asked one of the officers.


    Gregor struggled to keep from raging again.  ¡°Those barriers protecting what they call the Rift bases¡­no amount of force can break them.  They seem to take and slow all power used against them.  The harder I punch or slam things into them, the slower it makes my strikes.  It¡¯s like they negate all force and didn¡¯t seem to be weakening.¡±


    ¡°How many did you try?¡± asked Jamari Gillum, the outrider.


    ¡°Three.  I had people show me to the former scrapyard, devoid of scrap now.  Then there was one in a greenhouse and one at a mall.¡±


    ¡°The kid got in,¡± said Kevin Spence, ¡°Is he that much stronger than you?¡±


    Just mentioning Adam caused Gregor to spring to his feet, skin tinting red once again and heat radiating off him.  His eyes started to get the faraway look that accompanied his berserker rage.  People at the table slid away from him and eyed the door.


    A strong hand clapped Gregor on the shoulder and squeezed.


    ¡°Calm down, big guy,¡± said Commander Rexus.  ¡°No one thinks you¡¯re weaker than him.¡±


    Gregor¡¯s eyes came into focus as he looked at Rexus, who was unaffected by the intensity of his stare.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t that, Rex,¡± said Gregor, taking more deep breaths.  ¡°It¡¯s just that we can¡¯t let that guy do whatever he wants.  We don¡¯t know who he works with or for.  Or even what he and this base are capable of.¡±


    ¡°We know, Greg.  You¡¯ve been saying the same for the last few days and no one disagrees.  This isn¡¯t your issue alone.  You might be physically the strongest, but you¡¯ll be even stronger when we all work together,¡± Rexus said reassuringly.  ¡°Humanity will need to be its strongest to win and that will take us all working together.  Just like our company did back before the [System] came.¡±


    Gregor stared for a few moments and then nodded to him.  He righted the table and sat back in his chair.


    ¡°Unless we can figure out some different method, those Rift barriers are impenetrable.  I can¡¯t believe the kid got in without help from the inside,¡± huffed Gregor.


    ¡°Then what¡¯s the next step?¡± asked Dalton Coleman.


    ¡°We need the base.  I¡¯m not sure how those walls will fare against more invaders,¡± said the general, ¡°but they¡¯re better fortifications than we¡¯ve had since the [System] came.  Commander, are you still saying we need to play nice?¡±


    ¡°My stance is the same,¡± said Rexus.  While his tone seemed mild, his flashing teeth showed a bit more hostility.  ¡°If we go to war with them then we doom our chances.  We won¡¯t be able to hold against invaders on the back side, should they come, or the kid has a way of calling them.  We¡¯d also build too many resentments.  There is unnatural loyalty to him.  The people we¡¯ve conscripted just keep using his name to threaten us.¡±


    ¡°Unnatural indeed,¡± said Tyler Zito.  ¡°Why any adults would want to follow someone so young seems odd.  We haven¡¯t found any signs of mind control that we can identify though.  The people aren¡¯t interested in throwing their lives away, they just have a greater belief in him than anyone else.¡±


    ¡°If we were to attack,¡± started the general, and upon seeing Rexus going to open his mouth he raised a hand.  ¡°I said if.  Hypothetic.  Should he be on the invader¡¯s side then we¡¯ll have to fight eventually.  What are our chances?¡±


    Rexus thought for a minute.  Then he answered.  ¡°We probably have a stronger core, with ten Tier 3s, but their levels on average are higher.  Now that we are momentarily safe, we also don¡¯t have access to leveling opportunities without greater danger.  Plus, we can¡¯t forget the equipment.  Their gear is way stronger than what we have.¡±


    The general turned to Kevin Spence, who was squirming in his chair and wincing at Rexus¡¯s words.  ¡°What is it, Spence?¡±


    ¡°Sir.  I think you are underestimating their core group.  The kids.  They are stronger than their levels suggest.  I think each could stand toe to toe against us as long as they didn¡¯t draw a bad matchup.  There are also more of those kids than us.  Then there is the kid general¡­¡±


    As Spence called Adam a general, many hateful glares struck him.  He shook them off and put up his hands defensively.


    ¡°Sorry.  Fine.  The kid.  Adam.  I didn¡¯t truly see him fight like his friends, but there was something about him that makes me confident most of us wouldn¡¯t last against him in a fight.¡±


    ¡°Invader backed traitor,¡± spat Gregor.  ¡°Of course, they¡¯ve given him something to make him stronger than us!¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s that strong, eh?¡± Rexus questioned Spence.  After a nod, people looked away from the excited glint in the commander¡¯s eyes.


    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± asked an officer.


    ¡°We need to find some resources that can put us on equal footing to them.  If we can¡¯t take the bases directly from the kid, then we should find an open invader base and try to get it.  Sitting here long term is a death sentence, whether the kid is in cahoots with them or not.¡±  People nodded at Rexus¡¯s statement.


    ¡°For now, food and shelter are taken care of as long as we aren¡¯t attacked.  Stronger equipment and a more defensible base are the priorities.  Send out the scouts.  We¡¯ll continue to keep them within their walls and will watch their moves.¡±


    At the general¡¯s words, the officers began discussions about who to assign where.  No one could help but notice the fury seething in Gregor, waiting to explode out.  They also ignored the excitement that seemed to have perked up Commander Rexus.

 CH 138: Testing

    CHAPTER 138: Testing


    Adam stepped through a portal to the Rift that used to belong to the Bobomon.  The base had been reshaped to take up as little space as possible while sending a maximum of energy to their main Rift.  It no longer resembled the labyrinthine caves that the Bobomon had used, though the Leputi still kept it as underground designs.


    Several of the Leputi had already come through to scout the area surrounding the Rift, as well as to stay close within this Rift.  Operators were monitoring and watching.


    This base seemed like a good starting point for Adam.  He wanted to test out a few of his theories with regard to the extra status and skills he had seen within his combined status.  Maybe if he could imitate things that either a Grand Blood Berserker or a Soul Forger could do, he¡¯d be able to unlock memories or pseudo skills.


    Starting at this location near Memphis, where they knew more Rifts were, seemed like the easiest way for Adam to find test subjects.  Things had been quiet with the invaders since the battle over the military caravan, so Adam would take advantage of that.  He would attack areas of the city that had lost invaders in the previous battle to ensure there weren¡¯t too many enemies around.


    There was a lot of excitement in Adam.  He had been so stressed over the last few months, with the soul corruption and fear that he would fall behind.  Knowing that he now contained both Tier 5 and Tier 4 powers gave him a lot more hope.  Like a typical person he wanted to rush out and gain that power.


    With a smile, Adam drove from the Rift exit and headed in the direction of a merged Rift they had previously identified.  The creatures there were kind of mucky, like swamp monsters.  It was appropriate to Adam that the space inside of their merged Rift resembled a swamp, soft mucky ground that a person would sink into with spread out trees that resembled pine.  They had long trunks with the branches and needle-like leaves higher up.


    Adam wasn¡¯t looking to get dirty, but he thought that to test berserker abilities he needed enemies that wouldn¡¯t be obliterated at the first strike.


    As he approached the invader base, he saw the boundaries clearly.  Inside the base was the swamp-like area, while outside the base were buildings, roads, and other normal signs of humanity.  The buildings around here were only two stories tall, a small shopping center that Adam had never been to before.


    The muck creatures weren¡¯t leaving their base boundary.  There were already about twenty standing there waiting for him, while more were sliding from deeper inside the trees.  Their walk was more a shuffle that didn¡¯t raise their feet off the ground, as if they were skating on the swamp surface.


    They were just below seven feet tall, green, brown, and black sludge coating them.  Their heads were spheres with no features except two green glowing eyes located where a nose would be on a human head.  Different colored streaks, with occasional phosphorous glow, decorated their bodies.


    Arms and legs made the creatures look vaguely humanoid, but their shape didn¡¯t seem set as they oozed around.  Their limbs would thicken and shorten together or length and thin.  They had a set mass, but their shape seemed able to adjust.  No hands and feet were shaped properly at the end of their limbs, instead ending in a sphere of gunk.  They probably had some mechanism to shape them when they wanted to grasp things.


    Adam parked his motorcycle about twenty feet from the monsters, leaving his weapons behind.  All he brought with him was a piece of paper, which he read as he approached.  It was a list of descriptions about skill types that berserkers used.  Instead of specific skills, since there were a lot of variations on berserkers and their skills, Adam wanted it vague.  He didn¡¯t want to try for a particular power, since there was no telling which skills future Gregor had chosen.


    As Adam stood outside the boundary, the muck monsters never left their swamp.  They would swing their arms at him, like a wooden switch, or they would thrust the hand spheres forward.


    Adam would swat or block them without looking up from his reading.  They were weak attacks though upon contact there would be a squelching noise and then some of the greasy ooze would stick to his skin.  As long as it wasn¡¯t poisonous, Adam could probably burn it away once he activated his heat.


    The paper had a lot of descriptions, but it boiled down to just a few types of powers.  Absorbing energy from attacks and redirecting that energy was the first type.  [Kinetic Impact] was in this line.  Explosions of energy were included in the next type.  Lots of intimidation skills that could cause loss of control in weaker targets didn¡¯t interest Adam much, since he already had two skills in this camp.  Then there was a huge variety of skills that increased strength or other stats to keep the berserker stronger than their opponents.


    Explosions of energy seemed like the most interesting to Adam and would greatly enhance his current kit.  The memory of future Gregor using [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] ended in an explosion after teleporting.  The explosion was part of the real [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] skill, but there were a lot of other explosion skills too, so Lashtam reassured him that berserkers usually had multiple.


    After putting the paper in one of his fireproof pockets, he took a step back.  With how optimistic Adam was feeling, it took a minute for Adam to summon enough anger to pulse the heat and run the river.  He remembered the horrible things he had seen.  Thoughts of General Carmichael came to him, trying to sour his own people against him after Adam had been nothing but generous.  That did the trick.


    The river became rapids.  Adam used [Body and Soul Shaping] to draw more of the power.  He realized he could shape the conduits that brought the energy from the river of his soul into his body.  They became narrow at the exits and wider where they were drawing from the river.


    Pressure developed inside.  His power wanted to flow through the conduits but were being bottlenecked.  The roiling river pushed as hard as it could, and Adam felt it was probably a bad idea to leave it for long.


    Adam rushed forward, drawing the pressurized energy to his right hand, trying to prevent another situation where he blew off his own arm.  Remembering the Testudinates, he realized these muck creatures probably didn¡¯t have blood, so keeping his body parts intact was a good idea.  Adam¡¯s bike did have a cooler with a few blood packs in it now, at his father¡¯s insistence, in case he did need extra regeneration.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    When Adam stepped into the Rift boundary, he ducked a flinging sludge arm and then punched forward.  He took the energy that he was holding back in his fist and tried to turn it into something else.  Force to knockback, heat to incinerate, energy to shoot out as a projectile, these were all thoughts Adam had in that moment, trying to trigger some kind of attack.


    With the force of a jet plane crashing, Adam¡¯s fish struck the nearest creature in the chest.  His hand went through it.  Then he felt the energy release.


    Adam¡¯s hand caught fire.  He winced.  That wasn¡¯t what he wanted to happen.  Plus, it hurt.  The energy hadn¡¯t gone anywhere.  He felt it just kind of release.  One moment it held firm like a ball, the next it popped, superheating his hand and then just backflowing through the rest of his body.


    Feeling the skin crisp and dissolve, Adam realized he needed to carry even more blood bags.


    There was another unintended consequence as well.  The muck monster his hand was inside caught on fire.  It ignited quickly like oil.  Adam jumped back, outside of the boundary, while trying to put out his own burning hand.


    He watched as the fire almost instantly spread throughout the creature¡¯s body.  It flailed its limbs, striking more of the creatures standing nearby.  They also ignited.  Several tried to move away in their slow skating motion, but the fire spread too quickly.


    When it went down their legs, it touched the swamp.  Lines in the swamp caught fire.  Those lines led to the trees.  Those also ignited.


    Within a minute, everything was burning within the merged Rift.  Adam went to step backwards, to escape from the intense heat being given off, when he heard a whizzing and bubbling noise.  He looked at the creature who had caught fire first.  It was boiling from the inside.  Pressurized air was shooting jets of superheated steam out of its exterior which was bubbling from the heat and pressure.


    Then the creature burst.  Grossness of all kinds blasted out in all directions, splattering neighbor creatures.  Fire was carried by the material of their body, igniting wherever it landed.


    Adam was splattered along with everything in the area as the muck monsters exploded.  First, they popped one at a time and then whole groups burst.  Their greasy ooze touched almost everything, leaving little bits of fire as it continued to burn.


    Telmapalus ¡°Sludge Spreader [21]¡± slain.  2,098 XP gained.


    Telmapalus ¡°Muck Raker [18]¡± slain.  1,527 XP gained.


    Telmapalus ¡°Sludge Spreader [22]¡± slain.  2,126 XP gained.


    Telmapalus ¡°Sludge Spreader [19]¡± slain.  1,845 XP gained.


    Telmapalus ¡°Pack Coagulator [25]¡± slain.  2,372 XP gained.


    Telmapalus ¡°Sludge Spreader [16]¡± slain.  1,295 XP gained.


    Telmapalus ¡°Muck Raker [19]¡± slain.  1,752 XP gained.


    ¡­


    Telmapalus ¡°Glutinous Absorber [32]¡± slain.  18,613 XP gained.


    There were probably over 2,000 kill notifications over the next 10 minutes.  The whole base was burning, sending noxious black smoke into the air.  It reminded Adam of pictures of oil wells catching fire.  The whole base just burned and burned with no indication of stopping.


    Adam frowned as he watched.  From a safe distance.  Over a mile away.  With a cloth tied in front of his nose and mouth.


    That was NOT how Adam expected to test out abilities.  He was even aware he had killed the base boss, but he¡¯d have to come back once all the grease finished burning to get the control crystal, if it didn¡¯t get destroyed from the fire.  He had no way to safely pass through that disgusting area while it continued to burn.


    Adam was sitting on his bike, sucking on a blood pack to regenerate his burned skin, both that on his hand and the other spots that had been burned from the ignited splatter.  He had already brushed off as much of the muck as he could, but the grease just clung to him.  It wasn¡¯t a pleasant feeling.  Plus, now Adam needed to find more invaders to use for tests.  That one ended a bit too early.


    The only good point was that at least he had figured out how flammable those invaders were instead of having his army march into it and a fire mage discovering it, to their own destruction.  Still, that was quite a letdown.


    ***


    Adam had been fortunate to find some of the mantis like people next.  The Anthromanti.  The bodies of several were currently littered around him in the streets.  They moved in groups, usually a big warrior style creature surrounded by a bunch of smaller supports and soldiers.  He had used his Scyrric sword to remove their limbs at the joints and then had tried potential skills on them one by one.


    He held the last one, tagged as a ¡°Phantom Scythe [29],¡± by the chest.  It kept trying to bite him, since the head was the only part left to attack him with.  After the disastrous results with the Telmapalus, Adam was now working on his Soul Forger abilities.


    A connection was formed between himself and the invader as he dove into its soul and poked around.  He tried different things with it, from exploring what was in its soul, to hitting targeted areas with [Soul Bolt], to trying to tear pieces of it off.  He even tried metaphysically biting it.


    There wasn¡¯t a lot of luck with his attempts.  The practice was helpful though.  Learning more about the soul, trying to figure out where things were located, and understanding its composition would be important to making use of his abilities.  It¡¯s too bad he couldn¡¯t capture a Red Clan member and watch their memories to learn more about souls.


    While inside the phantom scythe¡¯s soul, he found the separations for different sections.  He knew about the memory area, and could navigate it rather easily now, but what was in the other soul areas felt unknowable to the current him.  There were images of gases, sandstone boulders, swirls of energy that wanted to join with other objects.  No map or key to identify what they all were though.


    Adam kept trying things, sometimes watching a few memories, which he did not enjoy, sometimes trying to poke or absorb from the unidentified areas.  He kept it up until finally there was a screech, and he was kicked out of the soul.  A feeling of the soul dissipating occurred.


    The connection pulling Adam back within himself, so he triggered his soul map, the [Soul Resonance] pseudo-skill, and watched as the soul on it faded, getting weaker and weaker until it just became dust in the air, swirling out of sight.


    Anthromanti ¡°Phantom Scythe [29]¡± slain.  2,925 XP gained.


    The body fell to the ground, like the others Adam had tested his skills with.  He had tried this on 56 different Anthromanti so far, with no luck.  After every few groups he would take time to visit his own memory space, to see if he could find any more foreign memories touching the boundaries that he might be able to turn into pseudo-skills.  So far nothing had changed.


    Adam wasn¡¯t getting frustrated, never thinking this would be an instant process, but it still felt discouraging.  It was like trying to put a puzzle together with a blindfold on.  Just feeling his way and hoping he could line things up right.  At least the Anthromanti didn¡¯t die immediately to the soul exploring.


    With a yawn and a stretch, Adam looked at the sky.  It was now midafternoon.  Adam was running low on snacks, and he didn¡¯t want the blood cooler to get too warm.  Probably time to head home.  He still needed to watch the records of Carmichael¡¯s group to see if they were up to anything, and he needed to catch up on some of the sleep he missed over the last few days.


    Starting up the motorcycle and flipping up the kickstand, Adam turned to face the road he had come from.  In the distance he saw something¡­someone.  They were in the distance at the edge of his vision.


    Even from this far away he could tell she was the most gorgeous person he had ever seen.

 CH 139: Facing the Mind Witch

    CHAPTER 139: Facing the Mind Witch


    Adam snarled as he drove towards her.  There were two things overlaid on the same body.  One was a dream that he wished he would never wake from.  A vision of heaven that Adam would dedicate his life to protect, to please, and to love.  She was an angel that the entire world would be better for having, if it revolved around her instead of the sun.


    The other was a grotesque creature.  A thing of nightmares.  Even in horror movies Adam had never seen something as horrific as the woman in front of him.  She needed to be put down.  Stopped.  The world needed to be rid of her and her kind as soon as possible.


    A growl escaped from Adam and reality shifted.  The illusion shattered and Adam could see the Red Clan speaker as she truly looked.


    Her skin was pale and slightly translucent.  Thick black veins were pumping visibly through the skin.  Her eyes were a little too big, slanted upwards near her flat nose, and positioned too high as they approached her forehead.


    The wide mouth that was open, smiling at him, had a huge underbite as jagged, shark-like teeth penetrated outward.  Adam could make out at least three rows of teeth, but they didn¡¯t overlap like in a typical human.  They had gaps between the layers.  A bite from that mouth would bleed out a person without ripping off their skin.  It would grasp them and not allow them to get away.


    The creature¡¯s hair was bright red, billowing down her back, but the strands were flatter and wider than a human¡¯s, more like thin seaweed.  The hands had talons on them rather than fingernails, again looking more for bleeding something easily.


    Adam pulled to a stop before reaching her.  His emotions felt on edge, and he was furious.  He looked around, checked his soul map, but didn¡¯t see anyone else in the area.  Simply looking at her made him feel like a scared, cornered dog.


    Except, this was what Adam wanted.  He wanted a chance to get her in front of him, to directly face her and make sure she was removed from his world.  Whether she had intel he needed or not, he would kill her here and now.


    ¡°Greetings, lover,¡± said Cruxannith¡¯cz¡¯Jurzax.  Her smile was no longer lovely, and he could hear the difficulty she had in making human sounds with her distorted teeth and jaw.  ¡°So much patience was required to not just rush off to embrace you.¡±


    Adam glared and growled at her.  ¡°I¡¯m glad we could meet too,¡± he said honestly.  ¡°Killing you will make things a lot easier.¡±


    The long triangular sword was pulled from the sheath on his motorcycle.  The Red Clan speaker laughed.  It sounded like dolphins choking while fingernails scratched a chalkboard.  Adam winced at it, but kept his eyes on her, waiting for the signs of a skill being used.  She simply stood there smiling.


    ¡°My love, there is no reason to kill me.  Am I not the woman of your dreams?¡±


    ¡°Dreams?¡± scoffed Adam.  ¡°Maybe the worst dreams a man could have.  Ones that he spends his life to avoid.¡±


    Adam got into a stance with the sword, ready to swing it as he moved.  Two more strides and he would be close enough to use [Gladiator¡¯s Approach].


    Cruxannith frowned at him.  Her eyes sharpened, no longer showing joy and mirth.


    ¡°The illusion doesn¡¯t work on you?¡± she asked, more disappointed than confused.  ¡°You don¡¯t see me as one of you humans?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± he answered, creeping forward, wary of her ¡°Soul Charmer [72]¡± tag.  ¡°You¡¯re some gross octopus shark person.¡±


    ¡°Aw, that¡¯s disappointing,¡± she pouted, then returned to her monstrous smile.


    Adam slid forward another step, anxiety starting to grow.  She hadn¡¯t moved, hadn¡¯t used any more skills.  The Red Clan speaker was acting like her standing there was the most natural thing in the world.


    Then Adam got into range.  He reached into himself, pulling on the heat to start the river.  It didn¡¯t require him to pull on unhappy memories to create the anger.  Just looking at the invader in front of him was enough.


    CONQUER! His soul screamed.


    Adam hefted his sword and used the strength from the river.


    No strength came.  Adam frowned.


    Cruxannith saw his expression and giggled, as if she had just played a prank on him and was waiting for him to notice.


    [Soul and Body Shaping] was activated.  Adam opened the spigot, trying to draw as much power from it as possible.  Nothing came through.


    Adam growled.  Then, even though he thought it unwise to shift his focus in a fight, he dove into himself.  What he found shocked him.  There was no river.  There were no pulses of heat.  His soul space, his essence, was calm.  Still.  Frozen.


    Ice was around his heart, cooling and containing the heat while preventing it from starting the river.


    Adam dropped from his soul and focused on the monster in front of him.  He roared.  [Incapacitating Shout] didn¡¯t activate.  He stepped.  [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] didn¡¯t work.  He tried making the glow on his weapon, yet [Kinetic Impact] was dormant.


    None of his berserker abilities would activate.  No heat meant no enhanced strength or speed.  No regeneration.  Adam had been shut down.  His anger was there but it was normal anger, not what was created by the [Unquenchable Rage] skill, the basis of the Grand Blood Berserker class.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    CONQUER!


    Whatever was freezing him didn¡¯t stop his movement or the yelling from the soul corruption.  Anxiety mixed with his anger, but wasn¡¯t enough to overwhelm it as his hate was real and his own.  Skills or not, this dog needed to be put down.


    A stoic expression hardened his face.  Not fear, nor anger, simply determination.  He charged.  Her smile widened as she watched him.


    The sword came up using two hands, since without the strength from the river he wouldn¡¯t be able to swing it as easily.


    She giggled.


    Adam gambled and used [Soul Bolt].  It activated as the coolness in his mind pulsed, much like the heat usually did.  His pseudo-skill from the Soul Forger class was filled with more power than he had ever felt in it before, since the heat wasn¡¯t there to interfere with it.


    Cruxannith screamed, ¡°What was that?!¡±


    He smiled and swung the sword at her as she grabbed her head, staggering backwards.


    Before the sword could descend, Adam was sent flying.  He was knocked into the air from his side.  In an instant his ribs cracked, and his shoulder dislocated.  The large sword spun in another direction.  Clenching his teeth, Adam stifled a cry from the pain as he spun head over feet.


    The impact with the ground drove the air out of him and each bounce over the asphalt took off a new layer of skin and muscle, streaking blood over where he skipped down the road.  Without his berserker class he had a Vitality of 3.  In between bounces and pain, it briefly struck Adam¡¯s mind that he must still be getting stats from future Gregor, or he wouldn¡¯t have survived this hit.  He just didn¡¯t have the stat boosts that came from berserker skills.


    When Adam finally slid to a halt, groaning as he was no longer able to control his broken jaw, Adam was barely able to turn his neck to see where he had been hit from.  He had traveled far.


    Standing next to Cruxannith was a large Scyrric.  A smiling Scyrric, breath heaving and murder in his eyes.  He stomped the distance as Cruxannith walked in what she must have thought was a dainty, swaying manner.


    Adam tried to pull on his heat, but it was still frozen.  He pushed himself up with his left arm, unable to move the right.  There was no strength left.  One lung was punctured by his broken ribs as blood gurgled in his throat from attempts to breathe.  Adam was completely at their mercy.


    The Scyrric, eyes and skin tinted silver, fancy metal armor covering almost every part of him, metal weapons attached all over his armor, had a tag of ¡°Metallic Berserker [74]¡±.  He snarled at Adam like a beast, brandishing a war hammer of his own, while standing over him.


    The Red Clan speaker put a gentle hand on the Scyrric.  ¡°Calm down, Sgolkr.¡±


    A flash of a skill activating lit her hand and the Scyrric visibly relaxed, the silver tint of his eyes and skin faded.  Once he was calmer, he stepped back to allow her to get closer.


    ¡°Oh, Adam, my love, I could just eat you up.¡±  She fawned over him while reaching down.  Her talon scooped up some of his blood and she sniffed it like it was a scented wine.  ¡°But I can¡¯t yet.  We¡¯ll be spending a lot of time together soon.  You don¡¯t need to worry though, Sgolkr here will take good care of all the pets you¡¯ve gathered in your city.¡±


    ¡°¡­¡± Adam whispered, choking on his own blood when he tried to speak.  Pain lanced through him, and he fell back onto the ground again.  But his eyes stayed fixed to hers.


    ¡°What was that, love?¡± she asked sweetly, getting closer as if he would whisper sweet nothings into her ear.


    His eyes glared hate, but his lips managed to smile.


    With all the power still in him, while the heat was contained and not interfering with the abilities from the Soul Forger class, Adam dove into himself.  A connection was formed to the brightest, most powerful soul near him, unquestionably her.  This connection was made bigger than he had ever used and drew on all the power of his own soul as he blasted that power, regardless of its form, into her.


    ¡°What¡¯re you¡­¡± she started, then her eyed grew large.  ¡°No!  NOOOOO!¡±


    Something inside of him shifted.  Something inside of her shifted.  Cruxannith flashed several times with skill use while continuing to scream.


    A blade was implanted in Adam¡¯s already broken and bleeding leg by Sgolkr.  The lance of pain distracted him and pulled him from his soul.


    Cruxannith was gasping for air until that moment.  Then with a ragged breath she said, ¡°[Sleep]!¡± and flashed with the activation of her magic.  Adam¡¯s consciousness was reaped as his eyes closed and his body began convulsing as it suffocated on its own blood.


    ***


    Cruxannith¡¯cz¡¯Jurzax tried to steady her breathing as she watched Sgolkr roll Adam over to keep him from dying.  Even she was surprised by how weak he was after she had used [Soul Freeze] on his berserker skill.  It was like he didn¡¯t have any real stats without it.  She felt lucky he hadn¡¯t become paste with how hard Sgolkr had hit him.


    What was even more surprising than the low stats was how he had managed to soul attack her.  Twice!  In different ways.  That was impossible!  Everything about him seemed impossible.


    Weak berserker abilities.  Strong soul abilities, though distorted and unfocused.  No tag or class displayed.  He was quite a mystery.  Her patience would be rewarded.


    Cruxannith felt the tingle inside.  The one from just before you make love.  The thrill, excitement, and anticipation about how good it will be.


    She couldn¡¯t stop herself.  She needed him right now!


    Her mouth opened and she bent forward, teeth digging into his scraped-up neck.  His blood flowed into her as she pulled in a draught.  It was the sweetest she had ever tasted.  So much power.  More power than she had ever felt in blood before, even when messing around with peers back in the tower.  This flavor was from a higher tier, and there was more than one flavor.  She tasted three distinct mixes from the one blood, another unknown occurrence, coming from her new lover.


    Before she could take another sip though, a taint took over the flavor.  It was vile¡­wrong¡­the worst thing she had ever ingested.  The poison in it felt stronger than even the most repulsive blood they had made her drink for her training.


    Her tongue, gums, and lips began to tingle and then burn.  She stood up and turned, vomiting out the blood she had drunk, trying to clear it from her mouth and throat.  She pulled a potion from her belt and rinsed her mouth with it.  Another potion was swallowed to keep the taint from further harming her throat and stomach.  She gagged and choked.


    A third potion was necessary to halt the damage, not even enough to cause healing.  Adam¡¯s blood was the most toxic thing to a Red Clan that she had ever heard of.  What a shame considering the power contained within it.  But for now, she wouldn¡¯t be able to partake.


    Maybe once the elders had him, they could find a way to purify it.  At this time, she needed to make sure he lived.


    Using her fourth and final potion, she poured it into Adam¡¯s mouth to try and heal him enough to get him back to her Rift.  She just needed to make sure the watching vermin didn¡¯t follow, but that was a job for Sgolkr.


    ***


    Lashtam frowned as he looked at the injured Leputi before him.  Of the five watchers who had observed his excellency, only two returned.  The Scyrric that had come for them had been too fast for them to escape.  Three, and almost a fourth, sacrificed themselves to bring back word of what happened to his excellency.


    The Leputi chief shook his head in frustration.  Their protector had been taken.  Maybe killed.  Two peak Tier 3s held him and no one here would have the strength to face them.  Was it time for him to take the rest of his tribe and run?


    A shake of his head reminded Lashtam of the contract.  They would need to give their two weeks¡¯ notice before running or would be in violation of it.  By then, their enemies will have closed in to prevent escape.


    No, he would need to do what he could to help the humans survive.  Maybe they could rescue his excellency, if they could find the base he was taken to.  For now, he would need to tell the Lords and Ladies of this occurrence.  Hopefully his daughter wouldn¡¯t become the target of their anger for his allowing this to happen.

 CH 140: Taken

    CHAPTER 140: Taken


    ¡°What do you mean Adam was taken?!¡± shrieked Andrea after Lashtam gave them the news.


    ¡°My apologies for my failure, Lady Andrea,¡± said Lashtam with a quiver as he bowed to her.


    ¡°How could they have taken Adam?¡± demanded Brittney.


    ¡°Please, my ladies, take out your anger on me.  Spare Ashtala, I beg,¡± continued Lashtam, bowing deeper.


    ¡°What do you mean, spare her?¡± questioned Alissa.  ¡°Spare her from what?¡±


    ¡°From your wrath, Lady Alissa.  I beg you to punish only me.  This is my failure alone.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯re you talking about?¡± asked Randall, confusion clear on his face.  ¡°Why is this your failure?¡±


    ¡°Because his excellency was taken,¡± said Lashtam hesitantly.  He dared to lift his head while in a bowed position, eyeing them uncertainly.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how that¡¯s your fault,¡± said Joseph.


    ¡°Adam is a big boy,¡± said Lucas.  ¡°Not your fault he ran into a bigger boy.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m still not sure how that makes it your fault,¡± Joseph added.


    ¡°Chiefy, quit that groveling and sit with us.  No one blames you or your people.  We don¡¯t even know what Adam was doing out there,¡± said Tom.


    Lashtam slowly stood and looked around to make sure no one really was angry at him.  When no one glared or scolded him he took a seat on a sofa with them.  They were currently in Adam¡¯s living room.  The sofa was softer and more comfortable than most chairs he had experienced, so he sat up on the edge of it to show his respect and alertness.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand the things he did.  He set fire to an entire base and then would just hold the Anthromanti until they died?  Weird,¡± said Lamar.


    ¡°Probably trying to activate some new power,¡± said Elias flippantly.


    ¡°Probably,¡± agreed Carlos.


    ¡°Makes sense,¡± nodded Lucas.


    ¡°Based on the descriptions of his encounters and actions, I can¡¯t tell if he succeeded or not,¡± pondered Brittney.


    ¡°That¡¯s beside the point,¡± shouted Andrea.  ¡°We¡¯ve got to go get him!¡±


    Alissa stood up and Abbey nodded.


    ¡°We do not know where he was taken,¡± explained Lashtam.  ¡°Our scouts were killed by the Scyrric berserker when they tried to follow.  It will be improbably difficult to find him.  He may not even be alive.¡±


    ¡°Nah, guy.  He¡¯s in that direction,¡± said Joseph, still slouching on the sofa, pointing to the west.  ¡°Still alive.¡±


    Everyone nodded and pointed as one.  Lashtam¡¯s nose scrunched up.


    ¡°How do you know?¡± he asked cautiously.


    ¡°He gave us appointment titles.  That lets us know where he is,¡± said Brittney.


    Lashtam gasped.  ¡°The [System] says he¡¯s a sovereign?!¡±


    ¡°Yes, he¡¯s a sovereign.  Why the surprise?¡± asked Elias.


    ¡°Very few can become sovereigns.  It means the [System] considers him royalty among that race.  Most races don¡¯t have a single person that qualified.  Sovereigns have more rights and support under the [System].¡±  Lashtam rushed as he described it, uncertain why no one in the room felt the weight of this.


    ¡°That might be, but it hasn¡¯t stopped him from getting beat on or stopped the invasions, now has it?¡± exclaimed Randall.


    ¡°No, Lord Randall, but¡­¡± Lashtam couldn¡¯t think of a way to finish that.  Usually, sovereigns were respected and immune from attacks while they had the title.


    ¡°But nothing!  We need to rescue Adam!¡± insisted Andrea again.


    More nods went around this time.  They stood up and started moving towards the exit, intending to get their gear.  A body blocked them from leaving though.


    ¡°No,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°No?¡± asked Alissa, looking angry.


    ¡°Yes, no,¡± responded Tom.


    ¡°Which is it, yes or no?¡± asked Randall.


    ¡°We can¡¯t go after the boss,¡± Tom said, more serious than they were used to.  The mirth in his eyes was gone.  The perpetual smile that seemed to taunt everyone he spoke with was now a frown.  He seemed almost disappointed by his own words.


    ¡°Why not?¡± asked Brittney, glaring at him.


    ¡°Because it isn¡¯t what he would want.  In fact, it¡¯ll undo everything he has been doing.¡±


    ¡°Explain,¡± ordered Lucas.


    Tom let out a breath.  ¡°The boss doesn¡¯t do all this for himself.  He hasn¡¯t set up this city or base because he needs a safe place.  It¡¯s for us.  The people who can¡¯t survive what he does.  If we go rushing into danger, then we¡¯ll undo everything he has done.  You have to know that the next step is the invaders attacking us, right?¡±


    Everyone looked over at Lashtam who was nodding, then back to Tom.


    ¡°Right, so they¡¯re going to attack us.  We also know that besides the mind control witch, they now have a level 74 berserker that just laid out the boss with one hit.  Not sure how he did it, but how can we stand against that?¡±Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡°We can¡¯t just leave Adam to their mercy,¡± wailed Andrea.


    ¡°Look, I feel as bad for the boss as anyone.  But we just can¡¯t do anything without being stronger.  Nicky-boy might have had the right of it.  We need to get stronger.¡±


    ¡°What if they do terrible things to him?  Or kill him?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°Then we¡¯re screwed,¡± nodded Tom.  ¡°Without him, as we are, we¡¯re doomed.  But if we attack their base and some of us die, even if we rescue him, do you think that¡¯ll leave the boss in a good place?  Do you think he¡¯ll still be able to lead us?  Or will he drop us as dead weight?¡±


    ¡°What do you suggest?¡± asked Lucas with a sigh.


    ¡°Lamario and Carlisimo should take a few of the bunnies to locate the base,¡± said Tom.  ¡°Then we need to notify the colonel and the boss¡¯s parents.  It won¡¯t be safe to pull a lot of our troops, since that¡¯ll alert general asshat and the mind witch that we¡¯re doing something.  We¡¯ll need to focus on fewer people rather than spreading the wealth this time.¡±


    ¡°Then what do the rest of us do?¡± asked Andrea.


    ¡°We¡¯ll need to hit bases.  Get more titles to boost our stats as well as XP.  We¡¯ve found a few around Pickwick Dam.  I¡¯ll select 20 from the General¡¯s Guard and Lashtam can pick 20 bunnies, since their absence won¡¯t be noticed.¡±


    Hesitantly the others agreed.  They went off to get prepared.  Alissa picked up Fido from where he was eating and drinking and whining.  Two of his heads allowed Adam¡¯s friends to pet him while the third would try to threaten them away.  However, even the third head seemed a little lonely without Adam here.  Alissa could commiserate.


    ***


    ¡°Adam isn¡¯t here?!¡± gasped the colonel.


    ¡°No.  He¡¯s been taken,¡± responded Lucas with a scowl.


    ¡°We need to get him!¡± shrieked Mrs. Clemens.


    ¡°That¡¯s not possible right now, boss¡¯s mom.  We¡¯ll find where he is, but the rest of us need to leave the base to level if we want a chance to save him.¡±


    ¡°How are we supposed to do nothing?¡± Adam¡¯s mom wailed.


    Colonel Davian put a hand on her shoulder.


    ¡°We won¡¯t be doing nothing.  If they have Adam, then that means we¡¯re next.  We need to begin preparing for a full siege.¡±


    ¡°Haven¡¯t we been doing that this whole time?¡±


    ¡°Certainly, we have.  Now we¡¯ll see whether it was enough or not,¡± said Davian.  ¡°Oh, and Jordan, I know you¡¯re listening.  Not a word of this to anyone.¡±


    ***


    Carlos stood on a fire escape, halfway up a towering building.  He used [Clear Sight] to view the distance.  With the title appointment he knew exactly where Adam was.


    The Rift that Carlos was drawn to was sitting in the middle of a large intersection, on the road.  There was no attempt to hide the black bubble of the Dimensional Convergence Rift.  It was placed there to taunt them, or to tempt them.


    A shiver went down Carlos¡¯s spine.  He frowned at the black bubble.  From experience there was no way inside.  Though even if there was, Carlos wouldn¡¯t be confident in assaulting it.  They would just need to go ahead with their plan to get stronger.


    He descended the loud, metal ladders, hoping he wasn¡¯t making too much noise.  Hoping he didn¡¯t draw attention.  They were almost two miles from the rift, but who knew what other traps would be set for them.


    ¡°Any chance?¡± Lamar asked when Carlos reached the floor he was waiting on.


    ¡°None,¡± answered Carlos.


    ¡°I guess we¡¯re on the clock then.  Let¡¯s get back.¡±


    ***


    A loud siren began blaring.  It wasn¡¯t exactly coming from the Sentinel Army¡¯s base that they were set up near.  The sound felt like it was coming from the very air.


    General Carmichael looked up from the maps of the table that he and his officers had been discussing.


    ¡°What the blazes is that?!¡± he shouted, waving his hand in the air as if he was trying to swat away the sound.


    The other officers shrugged or went to check outside of the window.


    ¡°Nothing unusual happening outside, general,¡± said one.


    Another one added, ¡°The walls are being manned as usual.  No one is moving differently.¡±


    Then the general noticed one of the men sitting on the side of the room.  He was a civilian that they found more cooperative than most of the others.  There was the same amount of deference shown when he spoke about that kid, but he had struggled less when they had conscripted the civilians.  The general liked to include him in some of the meetings so he could get quick explanations and opinions about the so-called Sentinel Army.


    Right now, he couldn¡¯t miss the way the man became jittery and began looking towards the door.  No doubt the man wanted to leave.  Then the sounds stopped, but the man didn¡¯t calm down.


    ¡°What was that?¡± the general demanded of him.  ¡°What did that noise mean?¡±


    The man jumped when he realized someone was speaking to him.  He was bouncing in his chair, gripping the edges until his knuckles were white.  Sweat was on his forehead.


    ¡°Evacuation sound.  Not immediately dangerous but they¡¯re expecting an attack,¡± explained the man nervously.  ¡°I think we should get into the base as soon as we can.¡±


    The general stared at the man, stony faced.  The man became more nervous and was unable to hold still.


    ¡°How do they know an attack is incoming?¡± asked an officer.


    ¡°They have scouts going out all the time,¡± said the man, unsure if there was supposed to be more to the question than that.


    ¡°Had!  They had scouts,¡± snapped the general with hostility.  ¡°We haven¡¯t let anyone in or out of those walls in days.  So where are these scouts to notify them?¡±


    The man paled at the anger.  He looked around at the officers, all focused on him now, scared to respond in the wrong way to these people though they gave him no indication of what they expected from him.


    ¡°Don¡¯t they have radios?¡± he suggested before eying the door in desperation.


    ¡°They do,¡± said the general, thinking while chewing on the words.  ¡°However, I don¡¯t think that is it.  They must have other ways in or out of the base.  Spitz, get a group of trackers and try to find tunnels or hidden paths.¡±


    ¡°Yes, sir!¡±


    ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we evacuate?¡± asked the man hesitantly.


    The general once more stared at him, eyes full of confidence.  ¡°Of course not.  I won¡¯t be chased out again by some traitor¡¯s plot!¡±


    ***


    It had taken half a day for them to be ready.  Lamar and Carlos had only needed a few hours to scout from the Bobomon base.  Everyone else had prepared their supplies and equipment.  Their core group was standing in a warehouse along with 22 from the General¡¯s Guard and 25 from the Leputi.


    Lucas gripped the handle of the new sword at his belt.  The cache of weapons that Adam had gotten from the Scyrric base had been reshaped to equip their main group.  For a while now the Testudinate metal hadn¡¯t been strong enough to go against the Tier 3 enemies they had been facing, barely able to damage them.  The metal used by the Scyrric was several steps up, so Lucas hoped that would be enough.


    A portal opened and the different groups went through.  First went the General¡¯s Guards.  All in their upper 20s of Tier 2.  Next went the Leputi.


    A few of their warriors had worked with Garrett on designing weapons that they could use more effectively.  In the end most Leputi fighters went with a Tekko Kagi, fist claw like design.  It had to be modified due to the Leputi hands not closing into fists the same way.  They had a thumb like digit, but the width and size of their fingers couldn¡¯t close all the way, making gripped weapons too difficult for them to use.  A base was developed for their wrist and ring like attachments to their fingers.


    Several of them also had a blade like a reverse shark fin attached to their forearm guards, giving their natural movements the ability to become weapons.


    These new weapons gave the Leputi confidence and an edge that they hadn¡¯t had in combat before meeting the humans.  Lashtam had spoken proudly more than once at the way the warriors were rising in levels since getting the claws.  The bunnies were becoming tigers, in the mid-30s for their levels.


    They even went out on their own to find enemy bases and kill invaders outside of the territories.  Based on the communications they were monitoring, the invaders hadn¡¯t thought to blame the Leputi and were accusing various races that had natural claws for the kills.


    After the Leputi went through the portal, the core group went in.  Lucas stayed until last, along with Brittney and Tom.


    ¡°Think we can do this?¡± asked Lucas, still gripping the sword.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice,¡± responded Tom.


    ¡°All this time, all this fighting.  We always had Adam as a safety net.  Even when he wasn¡¯t with us, he would find a way.  Now it¡¯s just us,¡± said Lucas, in a surprisingly hesitant moment.


    ¡°Will we be enough?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to be,¡± nodded Lucas, standing tall.  He walked into the portal.

 CH 141: Proving Their Worth

    CHAPTER 141: Proving Their Worth


    ¡°This is by far my least favorite Rift,¡± complained Randall, not for the first time.


    Everyone was walking in the muck.  It wouldn¡¯t be right to call it a swamp.  Swamps were wet, humid, and smelly.  This place had the smelly going, but the wet seemed like a different kind.


    There was about two inches of glop under their feet, and it was everywhere.  And sticky.  Like walking through glue.  Lifting a foot took effort no matter how much strength they had and made a disgusting sucking sound.  Placing the foot back down created equally disgusting farting noises.  Both Randall and Joseph had laughed at the noises in the beginning, but that had gotten old quite quickly.  Now they took turns complaining about it.


    ¡°And the bugs!¡± declared Andrea before reaching her hands forward and using [Lighting Spread].  A swarm of bugs, each the size of her thumb, was fried.  The burnt smell mixing with the mucky smell made a lot of people cover their noses.  A few made retching noises.


    Entugo ¡°Hatchling [7]¡± slain.  137 XP gained.


    Entugo ¡°Hatchling [5]¡± slain.  87 XP gained.


    Entugo ¡°Hatchling [8]¡± slain.  142 XP gained.


    ¡­


    Entugo ¡°Hatchling [6]¡± slain.  106 XP gained.


    The insect corpses fell into the muck and were very slowly absorbed by it.  Still, they took their time walking around the area.  Their group, the Leputi, and the General¡¯s Guard spread out, walking in two lines while clearing out any of the swarms that came for them.


    This Rift felt a little larger than others but also didn¡¯t have as much to it.  Trees, muck, and swarms were all they encountered so far.  The swarms of hatchlings were made of low levels so weren¡¯t rewarding much XP or taking long to wipe out.


    Slowly moving to the middle of the invader base, the trees gave way though the muck remained.  On a mound in the center was a castle.  Or an approximation of a castle mixed with a hive, if it had been made by young kids on a beach where the tide was rolling in.  It was a little taller than two stories, about 100 feet wide.


    Deformed round windows were in it with bulges sticking out of the walls below them to resemble balconies.  There was no smoothness to the material it way made from, as if dirt and clay had just been plopped on top, layer after layer.


    The raised ground that circled the castle didn¡¯t have the muck on it, looking more like fused sand.  Unfortunately, the muck didn¡¯t come off their boots just because they stopped walking in it, so even on the new solid surface they stuck and had trouble moving quickly.


    ¡°This can¡¯t be all of it,¡± stated Brittney.  ¡°We haven¡¯t encountered anything worth fighting yet and even all the swarms we killed wouldn¡¯t fit inside that.¡±


    ¡°There is going to be an underground, isn¡¯t there?¡± whined Randall.  ¡°What is the matter with all these aliens and their undergrounds?¡±


    ¡°But Lord Randall,¡± responded Rahsha, following Alissa carefully while looking in all directions as if he was her personal bodyguard, ¡°under the ground is comfortable, private, with plenty of rooms to build.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s also cramped, has less air, and loads of things that could fall on you,¡± snapped Randall.


    Rahsha looked downward in shame at the tone in Randall¡¯s voice, so Alissa petted his head.  That perked him up.


    ¡°Oh?  Are you claustrophobic?¡± teased Alissa.


    ¡°Hell no!¡± Randall vehemently exclaimed.  ¡°I just don¡¯t like being in small spaces without a way out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what claustrophobic means, dumbass,¡± chided Joseph.


    ¡°While Joseph and Alissa have a therapy session for Randall, how about the rest of us take on those things,¡± said Tom, pointing to a growing number of insect-human hybrids that were coming out of the building.


    They were more bug-like than humanoid, though they walked upright on their four legs with their abdomen protruding backwards almost like a centaur.  An exoskeleton covered them.


    Their heads were flatter, like they had been squished from the sides, causing a ridge and crest starting from their neck and reaching through the middle of their face, top of their heads, and around to the back.  They had compound eyes and antennae to the sides of the ridge.  Their jaws and mouths were more like a human¡¯s though, hinging only downwards with needle-like teeth.


    They had two arms, from the middle of their thorax.  No wings were visible.  Their hands had three long fingers, or two fingers and a reverse thumb.  The fingers were long, hooked, and sharp.


    The tags above all the gathered Entugo were the same, ¡°Soldier Caste,¡± with levels ranging from 24 to 29.  The soldiers didn¡¯t seem very difficult.  Even with about 50 of them still filing out of the castle door opening, they were still lower level and outnumbered by the approaching group.


    ¡°This can¡¯t possibly be all of them,¡± complained Tom.  ¡°We need more XP than this.¡±


    Then a new group came out of the castle.  They were about 25% taller than the soldiers and twice as thick.  Their bodies looked heavily armored and less disjointed between their parts.  Quite a few more spikes and blades were on their arms, shoulders, and back.  ¡°Commander Caste¡± was on their tags, with levels between 32 and 34.


    ¡°Better?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°Yuppers,¡± nodded Tom.


    Then the swarm came.  The fifty soldier Entugo rushed forward, splitting into groups with a Commander behind each of them.  They tried to scratch, claw, grab, and stab the Sentinels.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Shields warded off the attacks as buffs were cast.  Lucas called out directions.  He had their defenders move to the outside of the groups of Entugo, trying to force a few at a time into pockets of fighters.  The ranged stayed in the back, casting spells to get hits while also trying to draw more into their kill zones.


    The healers were staying close to the front, behind the shield bearers.  Some still required touch to cast their heals, while others had developed weaker area heals or had a bit more range on their spells.


    The exoskeletons of the Entugo soldiers were tougher than expected, but a skill driven attack could crack through.  Joseph, Lucas, and a few others were able to take them down in a single well-placed hit.  More technical or speedy fighters, like Randall and Carlos, would strategically aim for the joints, incapacitating them for others to get hits in.


    Alissa went to any downed invader and would drain a bit of their life using [Take Life], a spell requiring touch, while also lowering Fido so he could bite any exposed area.  With Carthraga getting three times the XP, Fido¡¯s levels increased quickly, as did his size and biting power.


    He started slightly larger than palm size, and it didn¡¯t take long for Alissa to put him down.  At level 13 he came up to Alissa¡¯s knee.  At level 18, his jaw strength was able to crack through the soldiers¡¯ exoskeleton.


    Entugo ¡°Soldier [26]¡± slain.  1,420 shared XP gained.


    Entugo ¡°Soldier [25]¡± slain.  1,298 shared XP gained.


    While the soldier proved easy, both from a strategy and strength perspective, things were thrown out of order when the commanders would step forward.  They were built like tanks, their armor able to resist the attacks from most of the Sentinels and Leputi.  Only the core group was able to crack their shells, and that still took a few hits.


    The commanders were slow, plodding creatures, but their strength was legit.  Even though their attacks would normally be easy to dodge, the limited space forced too many of the shield bearers to take hits that knocked them into others or dented their shields and armor.


    The spikes, spines, and blades coming out from their body and limbs also made it difficult to target their joints.  They often overlapped the joints, like a frame reinforcing them.  Those spikes were also a danger as they made the commanders¡¯ movements into weapon attacks, even if they were just walking or swinging an arm.


    Areas where the commanders entered would have their positioning thrown off, allowing the soldiers to get attacks in on the fighters, healers and defenders.  The defenders would need to use their shields to protect against the commanders, so they relied on their teammates to step forward and engage the soldier Entugo.  The kill zone formation was quickly discarded, and the fight became chaotic and tightly packed.


    Lucas, Randall, Andrea, and Joseph took responsibility for the commanders, fighting their way through the swarm to get to them.  Without much room to move, Randall struggled with his spear.  There wasn¡¯t enough room to swing or parry.  Several times he would push away from the other humans and into groups of Entugo so he could use [Thunder Crash] and [Trailing Bolt] to clear small groups of them.


    Joseph didn¡¯t have as much trouble as Randall even with his spear since his skill set was more towards straight line attacks, ignoring speed and technical fighting.  [Deadly Penetration] and [Under the Seam] were great for getting through the exoskeletons.  [Headhunt] could one shot even the commanders if he could get a precision hit on their necks.


    [Unmoving Steps] and [Follow Thru] allowed him to keep his path while clearing the way ahead.  Joseph took plenty of hits but [Reap What You Sow] returned a bunch of that damage back on his enemies, throwing them off when they hit Joseph.  A ranged healer made sure to keep Joseph targeted.


    Andrea was also a powerhouse in this fight.  [Lightning Spread] tore through groups of soldiers, rarely strong enough to kill them outright while doing enough damage to drop them to the ground where others could get hits in.  [Volt Cutter] would allow her to get through even the armor of the commanders, and [Along the Flow] would let her direct that energy into their bodies to their hearts and brains if she got close enough to touch them.


    While Andrea might have less defense, she was smaller in size and had increasing agility to dodge with.  [Speed of Light] would allow her to bolt forward in a straight line to get away from attacks and [Static Shield] increased her defenses so weaker attacks didn¡¯t reach her while giving a shock to any Entugo that touched the shield.  If she really needed to create space around her then she would use [Discharge] to knock the creatures away from her and into each other.


    Lucas¡¯s class of [Quartermaster] was focused towards becoming proficient with all aspects of weapon combat.  It was tough to notice the benefit to his skills [Balance] and [Proper Stance], but in such close quarters using [Ideal Direction] and [Empower Blow] allowed each of the swings of his hammer to clear space while splattering the weaker Entugo.  [Toughness] and [Evade] still allowed him to take a few hits while finding the best place to take the least strikes.


    The fight had seemed like it would be quick in the beginning, but soldiers and commanders didn¡¯t stop coming out of the castle.  What started as 50 soon became 100, then 200, bloating by the hundreds.  The humans were already slowed from the muck on their shoes, and the falling corpses were limiting where they could engage the invaders at.


    Carlos and Elias guided the ranged.  They told them where to attack with Elias sometimes raising a muck covered platform for a person to get a better angle.  As more enemies came out of the castle, Carlos called for the ranged and support to pull back, giving the melee more space to engage in.  Everyone in their groups flashed red as elements of all kinds blasted towards the castle while barriers and shields helped cover those in dangerous positions.


    Through it all, Tom strode confidently.  He helped control the fight using [Baffle] to confuse the soldiers and [On your Knees] to slow the commanders from arriving at their groups.  [Seek the Truth] was an odd skill in that he could use it on allies or enemies.  It would boost the effect of the words he used.  In this case he talked up the greatness of the Sentinel Army.  That helped boost morale, enthusiasm, and confidence.   Attacks were sharper and more precise.  Humans stood their ground rather than being pushed back in places he used the skill.  The whole time he spoke and those who heard his words were inspired by them.


    When an attack would reach Tom, usually it would pass through him, as [What¡¯s Not There] led his enemies to attack the wrong spot while his counterattack using [Illusion Strike], mixed with [Long Reach], made them think his attacks were coming from a different place.


    All the while Brandon kept up as many buffs as possible, and the healers kept people in the fight.  Lamar¡¯s attacks were also the most devastating of all next to Joseph¡¯s, as the arrows enhanced with [Deep Blade] would pass through multiple enemies, blowing large holes in their exoskeletons and bodies, opening them up to attacks from the army.  He even used [Take Your Time] to build the strength of his attacks as he waited for the enemies to line up for a good shot.


    Over 40 minutes of fighting, the exhausted humans managed to take out around 2,000 of the bug men.  Even with enhanced vitality they were exhausted.  Several people had called for personal retreats, always them to take a breather while some moved into critical positions to keep the enemies at bay.


    For a few minutes, victory was in question when new doorways were created on the crumbled sides of the castle as new waves of the Entugo came out.  Carlos was able to notice it coming using [See Life] and [Valuation], allowing Lamar and Tom to delay the new groups enough for the humans to pull back while tightening their positions.


    In the end though it was exactly what the group wanted.  Large amounts of XP to push them towards their Tier 3 class evolution and practical experience in battle to hone their skills and teamwork.


    They spent an hour eating, drinking, healing, and recovering before deciding to go into the castle.  Eventually though it was time, and they pushed forward to see what waited for them inside.

 CH 142: Boss Battles for All

    CHAPTER 142: Boss Battles for All


    ¡°Well, hell!¡± exclaimed Tom.


    ¡°Agreed,¡± nodded Andrea.


    ¡°I third that,¡± added Carlos.


    ¡°What¡¯re we supposed to do here?¡± asked Randall.


    ¡°It wouldn¡¯t be a problem if Adam was here,¡± pouted Joseph.


    ¡°He isn¡¯t here, dummy.  That¡¯s why it is a problem,¡± retorted Tom.


    ¡°And an opportunity,¡± threw in Brittney, trying to be positive, even as she breathed heavily.


    ¡°We have three choices,¡± said Lucas.  ¡°Retreat and pretend we didn¡¯t see all those tunnels reaching beyond their base to take over the whole region.  Go back for reinforcements right now, even though they wouldn¡¯t be able to fit in this chamber and that would announce to all our foes what we¡¯re doing.  Or we can stand our ground and fight, reaping the XP we¡¯ve been looking for.¡±


    ¡°The XP only matters if we survive,¡± whined Joseph.


    They were standing in a tunnel that opened into a massive chamber.  It was large enough to house thousands upon thousands.  In fact, it was filled with thousands upon thousands.  All those eyes were watching them but not moving, waiting for the intruders to come in.


    The ceiling of the chamber stretching tall, probably 30 feet up.  What looked like blisters of clay were attached to the ceiling and walls, probably the eggs that the hatchlings come from.


    Most of the Entugo in the room were soldiers, with a larger variance of levels than the ones they fought above.  Thousands of those waited.  For every twenty soldiers there was also a commander.  Hundreds of them.


    The sheer numbers of enemies made this battle concerning enough, but the real threat was in the center of the chamber.  There was a massive maggot, the size of a school bus and twice as long.  It had weird sacs and pustule type things on its lower half.  Little spines stuck out from the folds of its flesh, which rippled at intervals, like the inhale and exhale of breath.  The tag of ¡°Nest Mother [74]¡± was seen by Carlos.


    The mother also wasn¡¯t alone.  Five creatures surrounded her.  They had silver, reflective outer armor for their exoskeleton.  There was an absence of eyes though they had four short antennae.


    Four arms were also on these new enemies, each ending in a sharp looking lance.  Their abdomens were small, allowing them to only use two legs to stand.  Wings protruded from their backs, occasionally buzzing faster than a hummingbird¡¯s.


    Above their heads were the tag, ¡°Nest General [45].¡±


    ¡°I say we fight!¡± insisted Tom.  ¡°How DARE THEY use the boss¡¯s title?!¡±


    ¡°Do you even see how many of them there are?¡± gasped Brandon.


    ¡°One, two, three¡­¡± Joseph began counting on his fingers.  ¡°¡­5,000.  About 5,000.¡±


    ¡°I know you can¡¯t count that high with only ten fingers,¡± taunted Tom.


    ¡°Shup up, Tom!¡± Joseph snapped and punched Tom in the shoulder.  With Joseph¡¯s high strength, Tom instantly hit the side of the tunnel.  When he stood up pain was all over his face and his arm seemed to be broken.  Abbey reluctantly came forward and healed it.


    ¡°Wow,¡± said Tom once he could sigh in relief.  ¡°I didn¡¯t even have time to use [What¡¯s not There].  Guess I can¡¯t tease you from this close anymore.¡±


    ¡°I hate to agree with Tom¡­ever¡­for anything¡­¡± started Brittney, ¡°but we are here to show that we can do it without Adam.  If we can¡¯t do this now, then when will we be able to?¡±


    ¡°Except, they have six Tier 3s.  Six bosses!  That¡¯s nearly one for each of us,¡± said Ed, who rarely got involved in these kinds of talks.


    ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you went to the same counting school as Joseph,¡± quipped Tom.  Joseph held up another fist, so Tom stepped behind Abbey and smiled at him.


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying,¡± clarified Ed, ¡°there are a lot of high-level Tier 3s.  We aren¡¯t sure what they do, and we also aren¡¯t sure how strong they are.  If we die, then everything is wasted.¡±


    Lucas turned to Carlos.


    ¡°You¡¯re the analysis guy.  What do you think?¡±


    Carlos flashed a few times as he used different skills.  His latest skill, [Speed of Thought], allowed him to consider all the information much faster.  He used [Understand] and [Valuate] on the various creatures and the surrounding room, then thought about everything.


    ¡°Honestly, even if we can win, I¡¯m not sure at what cost.  It all comes down to how much these guys resemble insects we¡¯re familiar with.  Are they able to think on their own or do they rely too much on the mother?¡±


    ¡°Boss or adds.  Which do we take on?¡± asked Lamar.


    ¡°I have an idea,¡± said Carlos, ¡°but it¡¯s an all or nothing gamble and will push us hard.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re here to be pushed,¡± responded Lucas.


    During their descent through the tunnels, which took them hours with occasional fights due to the sheer volume of tunnels and directions, they had all leveled a few times.  Randall, Elias, Andrea, Brandon, Abbey, and Andrea had evolved their class into Tier 3 and now had their appointment title as their class.  Their classes had also reached epic quality, and they received at least one new skill.  Lucas was hoping that would be enough to get them through this.The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    They discussed the strategy with Carlos, under the gazes of the Entugo compound eyes.  Each person was able to speak up and add points to it.  The tunnel wasn¡¯t wide enough for them all to gather close, especially with the Leputi and the General¡¯s Guard, but they split up and discussed things with all the leaders before deciding they needed to be able to overcome situations like this.


    ¡°Alright, we¡¯re all clear with the plan.  We¡¯ve given everyone the chance to leave.  Let¡¯s get buffed up and moving,¡± said Lucas.


    Brandon used his new skill, [All from One], which boosted all stats of a person by the highest of Brandons, which was 115 in Wisdom.  The main fighters got that buff while he did more general group buffs on the rest of their forces.  Alissa used [Ascending Vitality] for a vitality increase, Elias used [Protection of the Earth] to create a small damage soaking shield on everyone, and Brittney used [Steady Ally] to boost morale and focus.


    ¡°Should I give a pep talk?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°Nah, it won¡¯t be as good as Adam¡¯s,¡± dismissed Randall.


    ¡°But the boss usually just roars and then runs in.¡±


    ¡°Exactly.¡±


    ¡°Guess I¡¯m leading things off,¡± interrupted Lucas.  ¡°Get ready to follow, Randall.  In honor of Adam¡­¡±


    Lucas hefted his hammer.  He used all his self-buffs to stats and techniques, [Toughness], [Empower Blow], [All Weapons], and [Followup].  Then he ran.  Once he reached the entrance to the chamber he leapt as high as he could, hammer over his head ready to come down.


    ¡°Adam SMASH!¡± Lucas roared, echoing through the cavern, as he used his full strength to drop it onto a group of Entugo soldiers.


    They tried to protect themselves, to place their dagger like claws in his path, but all the buffs had raised his strength above 300 and vitality over 250.  The hammer came down and crushed the Entugo it hit, shattering its exoskeleton and splattering the rest.  [Followup] then triggered and created a second strike of the same type, exploding another invader.


    ¡°[Electric Wave Thrust]!¡± shouted Randall, now with the Blitz Spear class.


    The new skill propelled him forward about thirty feet.  The front of his spear was coated with lightning and as he dashed through the room the lightning radiated out from the tip in waves.  The force of it damaged the invaders he passed, electrocuting them.  His first skill, earned at Tier 3, level 0, was [Increased Lightning].  It made all his skills using lightning more powerful, and the combination practically created a wall of electricity radiating outward like the wake from a boat.


    Everyone else used Lucas¡¯s distraction and Randall¡¯s space clearing to rush into the room and set up.  They hurried with the shields and fighters to the sides, taking out as many enemies as they could while moving, hoping the corpses would create a bit of an obstacle for more to reach them quickly.


    The Leputi and their claw weapons were especially quick at cutting the joints of the soldiers they passed.  The commanders were usually knocked backwards, pushing them to stumble over the bodies of the Entugo soldiers they led.


    It was a race.  They needed to get to the center of the room without having to deal with every invader.  Randall would need about ten seconds after using his [Electric Wave Thrust] to use it again.  When he stopped, he¡¯d sweep his spear in front of him using [Trailing Bolt] to dissuade the swarm from moving closer, or [Thunder Crash] to attack a group of them.


    Andrea and Fido tried to stay closest to him.  Fido was now at level 28 and about the size of a Saint Bernard.  His three heads were able to breathe elements of fire, ice, and lightning.  Andrea used her new Tier 3 skill [Manipulate Lightning] to move either Fido¡¯s lightning breath or Randall¡¯s lightning to make it more effective.  Under her control it would either hit a more effective location or would concentrate on a smaller area to do more damage.


    The push forward was possible due to their ferocity and aggression.  An individual soldier wasn¡¯t much of a challenge and the commanders were slow if they could just pass them.  They took hits and damage, but with all the buffs the healers were able to keep up with the damage.  Thanks to Abbey¡¯s new class, [Healing Angel], her first skill [Circle of Life] allowed her to heal groups of people at once in between the cooldowns.


    Only two of Randall¡¯s thrusts were necessary for them to reach where Lucas had been fighting.  In only a few seconds, the size of the Entugo swarming around him had almost closed in, so he took a breath of relief and slipped into the row of warriors holding off the monsters.  They didn¡¯t need to engage them, just to push forward, towards the center of the chamber.


    Each time Randall stopped and had to wait for his cooldown, the tension rose in the group.  Then he would blast forward again, and everyone rushed to catch up.  Elias also used his earth skills to put up some walls or to soften the ground to inhibit the approaching bug men.


    About twenty uses of [Electric Wave Thrust] in, Carlos called, ¡°Just a few more to go!¡±


    Then there was a silver flash as Randall came to a stop.  A glowing arrow whizzed by his head and clanged as it ricocheted off the lance of a thrusting Nest General.


    ¡°[By Your Side]!¡± shouted Brittney, and then she was there, shield held up to take two more lance stabs intended for Randall.


    Brittney grunted from the force of impacts, knocked backwards.  She used [Firm Stance] to hold her position and [Harden Shield] to make sure the shield wasn¡¯t damaged much.  Her old Testudinate metal shield would have been destroyed by those strikes, so she was quite pleased Adam had given her one from the Scyrric armory that he had captured.


    The nest general turned its head, looking at the fighters, then it got into a dashing position with a lance in front.  It flashed red as Brittney yelled, ¡°[Attention Here].¡±


    At the same time, Tom called, ¡°[Turn Away]!¡±


    One skill forced the silver monster to attack Brittney while the other made it look in a different direction.  A bang happened as the creature¡¯s dash activate and it ran into Brittney¡¯s shield while facing away.


    The creature wobbled a bit stunned as Brittney was thrown backwards, even with her [Firm Stance] active.  Fortunately, Lucas was already there, ready to catch and stabilize her.


    While the nest general tried to find its target, Joseph caught up.  He used a bevy of skills, [Deadly Penetration] and [Under the Seam] to increase his penetration, [Multi-Strike] to increase the hits to two, [Quick Strikes] to make it faster, and finally [Follow Thru] to gain as much strength as possible.


    Even with all that, the level 45, Tier 3 invader was able to prevent Joseph from getting a head strike.  The creature shifted to the side, taking the blow in one of its shoulders.  Joseph¡¯s spear did penetrate it, making one of its four lance arms drop from the body, but that was it.


    No one could even respond before the Nest General countered, two of its lance arms spearing straight through Joseph, armor and body.  Joseph screamed as he fell from the lances.


    Brittney was instantly back in position, blocking a killing blow.


    ¡°[Get Up!], [Walk it Off],¡± Abbey used on Joseph¡¯s body as he stood to his feet and walked towards her so she could heal him, even as blood poured from the wounds in his left chest and right abdomen.


    An arrow shot by Lamar curved and entered the wound that Joseph had created in the Nest General¡¯s shoulder.  The projectile created a large pop inside, some chunks and fluids spraying out from the wound, and the monster stumbled but didn¡¯t fall.


    A painful hiss vibrated through the chamber, and then another deeper one followed it from the Nest Mother.  The vibrations staggered the group, but what concerned them more was that two additional Nest Generals were now leaving their positions and moving towards the group, slashing any soldier that was in their way.


    Brittney once more used [Attention Here] on the closest Nest General as arrows and spells pelted it without doing much damage and Lucas and Tom tried to get in close to attack before the reinforcements arrived.


    Lucas swung his hammer, connecting with the invader¡¯s side.  It tipped the creature off balance but only for a moment.  The armor didn¡¯t feel close to breaking.  Tom used [Illusion Strike] to try and get a hit in, but it didn¡¯t work as the Entugo blocked the real position of his sword.  [Baffle] and [On Your Knees] also had no effect.


    Then the two approaching Nest Generals reached them.


    ¡°Well, hell!¡± exclaimed Tom.

 CH 143: What Now?

    CHAPTER 143: What Now?


    ¡°Reminds me of the goblins,¡± shivered Joseph, regaining his balance after being healed.


    He had taken hard hits before, but feeling those large holes closing and his insides wriggling around as they figured out where they needed to be while reconnecting was more disconcerting than anything else so far.  Plus, he could feel the impact of not having Adam here.


    Adam had always used his advanced strength to put the rest of them in the position to do the least work necessary for victory, or was ready to step in should things get too far out of hand like this.  However, there was another aspect of what Adam brought that Joseph was becoming more aware of.  Somehow, Adam kept them all calm.  His presence steadied them and reduced their fear and pain.  That was even before adding in his connections to bolster any emotions they might need to stay focused.


    Joseph wasn¡¯t a very focused guy to begin with, didn¡¯t put much stock in others, but it took a lot more mental and emotional effort without Adam to keep in control and to just walk off the hits and damage.  He tightly gripped the handle of his spear, preparing himself mentally to walk back into the monsters, where more hits would be coming.


    ¡°There is no dual hammer wielding monster to save us this time,¡± snarled Carlos, using his speed to upend approaching soldiers, unbalancing the groups moving in to allow space to be maintained.


    Andrea ran forward, around the side of Brittney¡¯s shield.  Her agility was high compared to other casters thanks to her class using it as a secondary stat, yet it was still low compared to their opponent.  A lance arm impaled her stomach as soon as she got past, and she cried out.  Yet even with blood dripping from her lips she smiled.


    ¡°More like the Testudinates than the goblins,¡± she whispered as her hand was shoved into the open shoulder wound of the Nest General.  ¡°[Jolt]!¡±


    Much stronger electricity than when she fought the Testudinates flowed into the monster, creating sizzling and popping noises.  The Nest General shook and twitched.  It opened its mouth to scream, but a second [Jolt] was cast before Brittney could yank Andrea back towards their healers.


    After a few seconds of twitching, smoke rose out of the Nest General¡¯s mouth and wounds, then it fell to its knees, unmoving.


    Entugo ¡°Nest General [45]¡± slain.  33,273 shared XP gained.


    ¡°That sure took a lot more than the ones attacking Carmichael¡¯s group,¡± muttered Brittney.


    ¡°Adam mentioned those guys were weak on purpose.  They probably saved the strong ones for attacking Adam or Jackson.  It¡¯s why we need to get stronger,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°Then let¡¯s get to it,¡± interrupted Lucas.  ¡°We¡¯re getting bogged down here.  Once Andrea is healed, we need to move again.  Get ready, Randall!¡±


    Joseph stepped forward and used his new skill [Reaping the Fields] to swing his oversized spear.  The head of it cut through the first few Entugo it hit, but even as the cutting force disappeared, Joseph¡¯s strength was enough to fling more out of the way.  The bodies impacted others and created an opening ahead of Randall.


    ¡°I¡¯m ready,¡± said a pale Andrea, her hand touching the newly healed skin exposed from the open space in her robe.  They needed to find a way to improve the armor of their robes, though she doubted there was currently anything that could stop such a powerful invader.  Maybe something from these bugs could be used.  She looked at the maggot-looking mother, about 40 feet away, and shivered.  Maybe its skin would work if they got out of here.


    The Sentinel Army fighters were deteriorating, though not as quickly as they feared.  The soldiers wouldn¡¯t have been a problem without the commanders coming in and opening holes in their formation.  Even with that, they were taking too much damage, with the Guards and Leputi needing to be pulled inside the formation for healing.  Their healers were also quickly running out of mana.


    They needed to make this more than a battle of attrition.


    Lucas waited until the approaching Nest Generals were halfway to them before he shouted to Randall, ¡°Go!¡±


    ¡°[Electric Wave Thrust],¡± he called and blasted forward once more, electricity spreading from his movements to damage, and sometimes stun, the grouped enemies.


    Andrea and Fido were behind him, increasing the lightning, damage, and control.  The group rapidly filled in the space that Randall created, trying not to leave anyone behind or cause gaps the Entugo could use to split them in the crowded room.


    ¡°One last push in 8 seconds,¡± Lucas announced.  ¡°Keep it tight!¡±


    The fighting picked up again, but not with the goal to kill them all.  They were just trying to buy time, space, and to stay able to move once the time arrived.  Unfortunately, that was when the Nest Generals arrived.


    Sounds from combat were normal, but the insects never made oral noises of their own.  They just pushed forward until they died.  That made it easy for the Sentinels to hear commands and communications from those around them.  It also made it obvious when a person screamed.


    The scream echoed in the cavern.  Lucas looked back and saw a healer from the General¡¯s Guard impaled on a lance.  They kept trying to cast spells on themselves, but their motion was stopped by another lance impaling the moving area.  One arm had completely come off.


    The people around were trying to help, trying to get to the Nest General that had pushed inside their positions, but between the four lances it had, and the press of Entugo soldiers and commanders from the side, there was little they were able to do.


    ¡°[By Your Side],¡± yelled Brittney, her skill rapidly moving her to her ally.  She used a [Shield Bash] to knock the Nest General backwards a few feet and grabbed the dying healer.  ¡°[Attention Here]!  [Cover All]!¡±


    A barrier formed around the group of people as Brittney taunted the monster.  Lucas sighed.  He didn¡¯t have time to watch.  Brittney wasn¡¯t their only defender, but she was the only one that could last more than a few seconds against these powerhouses.


    ¡°Change of orders,¡± he shouted.  ¡°Randall, Andrea, Elias, Alissa, and Joseph, follow the plan.  The rest of us need to hold here.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± complained Joseph.  ¡°By ourselves?  There are still two more of those strong buggers!¡±


    ¡°Can¡¯t do it?  Too weak?¡± taunted Tom, not even looking back while he worked to put down a commander.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Tom¡­¡± menaced Joseph, raising a fist.


    ¡°Go or don¡¯t,¡± shouted Lucas.  ¡°You fail, we die!  Brandon, re-buff them.  Fido, I need you over here.¡±


    Buffs went out.  Everyone who had a group buff skill used it on those five.


    Fido, who had gotten larger and more intelligent as he leveled and grew, went over to Lucas and the two headed to where the second Nest General was arriving on the opposite side as the previous one Brittney went to hold.


    Five defenders were waiting together to prevent the Nest General from breaking through, as had happened on the other side.  Lucas went over to help.  He activated all his weapon and technique enhancement skills, ready to dance with his opponent.


    To Fido he said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about fire.  Just use ice and lightning breaths when the coast is clear.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re going,¡± shouted Randall.  ¡°[Electric Wave Thrust]!¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s what he said,¡± shouted Tom.  Someone tried to slap the back of his head, but their hand passed through an illusionary body.  ¡°Hey!  That wasted my illusion.  You know we¡¯ve all been thinking it since he first used that skill.¡±


    ¡°Shut up, Tom!¡± called Lamar.


    ¡°C¡¯mon, focus,¡± ordered Lucas.  ¡°We need to hold things here.  Lamar, keep them covered.  Try to draw attention to us so they can strike.¡±


    Then Lucas arrived at the Nest General.  Five shields were already scrap, punctured and bent inwards.  The hammer was too slow for this, so he dropped it and pulled a sword.


    Recognizing him as the greatest threat, the general came at Lucas.  He activated his class¡¯s level 35 skill [Trade Blows].  The Nest General was faster but not stronger than Lucas.  With [Evade] activated, he still took the thrusts from the Entugo, but they were mostly glancing, deflected off his wrist guards and chest armor, or cutting the skin on his upper arms.  Yet, for every attack he took, [Trade Blows] also allowed him to strike his opponent.  The other creature¡¯s armor was tougher, leaving only scratches on it when Lucas¡¯s sword landed.


    The defenders, even the ones with bend shields, tried to hem in the Nest General from the sides.  They limited the space available, jostled back and forth, and their shields pushed against it to prevent all four arms from having free range of motion.  This weakened its strikes and angles of attack, making it easier for Lucas to manage.


    Fido was also doing his part.  He would release breaths at the surrounding soldiers to keep them back, while one of his heads would bite the leg of the Nest General and use a breath on it.  Sometimes Lucas was hit by the breaths as well, but Abbey had left a [Circle of Life] around him to keep the heals going.


    Few ranged were helping to avoid friendly fire, while the other melee were too busy engaging the thousands of encroaching invaders.  With how little damage Lucas was able to do and six people plus one Cerberus involved in just locking down a single opponent, their only hope was for the rest of the team to succeed, and quickly.


    ***


    Randall had aimed his propelled attack directly at the Nest Mother.  The lightning radiating off him once more pushed back all the enemies in his line.  The tip of his spear made it all the way to the giant maggot like queen.  Unexpectedly, the soft outer skin of the nest mother stopped the attack in its tracks.  The lightning touched it, and the spear point only drew a small mark on its hide.


    Upon making contact, the Nest Mother shook and rippled.  Then a tone vibrated out of it that shook the ground and the fighters.  Randall almost dropped his spear as he tried to cover his ears, feeling sharp pain and a pop.  Then his hand touched wetness trickling from the ears.


    ¡°Noisy cow,¡± cursed Joseph.  Then he activated [Deadly Penetration], [Under the Seam], and [Follow Thru].  He thrust at the mother with all his buffed strength.


    Once more it shook and rippled, releasing the vibration.  Randall felt his balance failing and almost fell over as more blood dripped from his ears.


    Joseph¡¯s spear was able to penetrate the skin, but as he pulled the spear out, the Nest Mother flashed with a skill.  Its body bulged at the same time the skin tightened, crinkling into ridges.  This drew in the area that had been punctured.  Another strike by Joseph failed to pierce, even with his skills.


    ¡°Can¡¯t get through the skin,¡± moped Joseph.


    ¡°[Volt Cutter],¡± called Andrea as she used a skill that looked similar to an arc welder.  ¡°No good with this either.¡±


    ¡°The two Nest Generals are almost here, coming from the front.  We need a way to hurt it,¡± said Elias.  Using [Protection of the Earth] to give them some damage absorption, he also cast Landslide to keep moving the bugs away from them.


    ¡°No chance of getting into its mouth?¡± asked Alissa.  ¡°That¡¯s the type of thing Adam would have done.¡±


    ¡°Those teeth are like thousands of rapiers!¡± screamed Andrea.  ¡°I¡¯m not going in there!¡±


    While they talked, the spikes on the outside of the nest mother¡¯s skin began to grow or protrude more.  They had been about the length of a finger, hooked and sharp.  Now they were reaching out and the huge creature was trying to turn towards them.


    ¡°I can¡¯t keep them back much longer,¡± said Elias, trying to hurry the group along.


    Joseph tapped Randall¡¯s shoulder and pointed at the rear of the Nest Mother.


    ¡°There¡¯s more than one way inside,¡± said Joseph.


    ¡°Eww!¡± gasped Andrea, but Alissa just laughed.


    ¡°[Lightning Spread]!¡± used Andrea to create a path.


    ¡°[Raise Earth],¡± used Elias, to make a barrier.


    ¡°[Reaping the Fields],¡± used Joseph to clear even more space.


    Alissa buffed herself with [Blessing of Wrath] and [Intelligence to Strength].  Then she used [Quick Step] to get ahead of the others.  Each punch she threw at an Entugo added [Take Life] to weaken them as they were knocked back.  At range she would cast [Death Bolt].


    They made their way around the massive boss while it was unable to turn fast enough to keep up with them.  Its mass and movement were also keeping the two Nest Generals out of sight of them.  Every now and then the creature would release that tone, nearly causing them to fall, but Alissa would touch them and use [Give Life], healing them with the lifeforce she had stolen away from the enemies she punched.


    More time was taken than they had intended, and their target kept shifting.  Once they reached its back, they saw two small tubes that pulsed open and closed.  One led to the sacs on its back and the other just went straight into the creature.


    ¡°Here goes,¡± said Randall, hesitating a bit as he aimed his spear tip at the second tube.  He took a deep breath and let it out to steady himself.  ¡°I¡¯m going to be tapped after this, so here¡¯s hoping.¡±


    Then he started layering his skills.  [Sturdy Weapon] to make sure his spear survived.  [Long Strike] to get a bit more range from his attack.  [Lightning Tip] for an extra surge up front.  [Flash Foot] to give him more momentum.  Finally, he triggered [Electric Wave Thrust] and blasted forward.


    He didn¡¯t make it far, moving only about six feet before rebounding off the behind of the giant Entugo.  Electricity struck him as much as the Nest Mother, shocking his body and dropping him to the ground with his body spasming.  But the spear was deeply wedged in.


    Joseph ran past Randall and grabbed the spear while Alissa used [Quick Step] to get there at about the same time.  Her strength with her latest buff [Intelligence to Strength] was nearly the same as Joseph¡¯s.  The two pushed the spear further in.  Then she grabbed the opening around the spear and started using [Take Life] to weaken it.


    At the violent attacks, the Nest Mother stopped moving and its front pulled off the ground as it released a stronger vibration that shook the ground and damaged their ears.  With the queen halting its turn, the Nest Generals had a clear path to them.


    ¡°Joseph, try to pry this open while I weaken the muscles,¡± Alissa ordered.


    Grabbing the handle of the spear, Joseph pulled it to the side, forcing the tube to stretch about a foot and a half.


    ¡°Andrea, dear, if you would,¡± she said to her friend.


    Andrea gagged as she looked on.  Then she practically closed her eyes and rushed forward, jabbing her arms in the wider opening.  She took a deep breath.


    ¡°[Volt Cutter], [Along the Flow],¡± she used, sending a strong current of lighting into the body and then moving it along a path.  Her new skill [Manipulate Lightning] allowed her to control it longer before she felt the charge dissipating.


    ¡°Ack!¡± gasped Elias as the Nest Generals caught up to him.


    Andrea felt the muscles of the sphincter tighten around her arms as Alissa stepped away.  The taller girl used [Give Life] on Elias even as she stepped forward to try and grapple with the two stronger Entugo.


    There was no way Andrea was going to allow her best friend to do that.  She closed her eyes and then used everything she had.


    ¡°[Boost Power]!  [Jolt]!  [Lightning Spread]!  [Volt Cutter]!  [Fireball]!  [Jolt]!¡±


    One after the other her spells shot through the massive body of the boss, as soon as each cooldown was up.  She tried to feel where they would do the most damage and lead the electricity there.  The beast was vibrating and thrashing around.  Andrea, arms caught inside, was flipped back and forth, unable to escape without losing the ability to damage it.


    ¡°[Volt Cutter]!  [Lightning Spread]!¡± she finally said as her mana ran out and she was flung onto the ground, bouncing off it from the force.


    ¡°You freaky tart!  Take this!¡± Joseph shouted as he stepped forward, planting one foot firmly, even as the ground continued shaking, thanks to [Unmoving Steps].  Then he used [Follow Thru] and [Deadly Penetration] as his other foot struck the end of the spear handle with a fireman kick.  ¡°Ass to brain, [Headhunt]!¡±

 CH 144: The Parties are Over

    CHAPTER 144: The Parties are Over


    Randall¡¯s spear, kicked with the force of a missile by Joseph, blasted into the body of the Nest Mother.  The power, skills, and previous damage tore through the creature as it straightened out.  The tip of the spear opened a hole in the front of the Entugo boss without completely emerging due to its tough hide.


    Elias seized the moment.  ¡°[Earth Spike]!¡±


    A sharp chunk of the ground entered the hole the spear had made, angled precisely so that it could reach where he assumed the brain was in the bent body.  There was a shaking, and then the spike cracked from the weight of the monster insect falling.


    Entugo ¡°Nest Mother [74]¡± slain.  80,215 shared XP gained.


    ¡°That took long enough,¡± whined Joseph as he fell onto its butt in exhaustion and relief.


    With the death of the Nest Mother, as Carlos had surmised with his skills, all the surrounding Entugo stopped attacking.  They weren¡¯t self-thinking creatures, which is why mind skills like Tom¡¯s hadn¡¯t worked much on them.  They used the thoughts of the Nest Mother to know their tasks and what to do.  Without her, they were just mannequins, standing there with no purpose or will of their own.


    ¡°Actions like that are why you can¡¯t get a girlfriend,¡± said Alissa to Joseph, plopping onto the ground next to Andrea to give her a bit of healing with [Give Life].


    ¡°I can get a girlfriend,¡± defended Joseph.


    ¡°Uh-huh.¡±


    ¡°I have lots of girls interested in me.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°I just haven¡¯t found that special someone or someones.¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    ¡°You know what?  Shut up!¡± he said, laying back onto the ground.  Alissa and Andrea both giggled at him.


    The cleanup was no less exhausting, though much easier as the Entugo didn¡¯t respond when people injured them.  Thousands of the invaders provided a strong amount of XP, netting each person at least three levels.  A few more reached their Tier 3 class evolution.


    Unfortunately, without Adam here, they couldn¡¯t add this base to the Rift Network of Jackson.  He was the owner of the network and needed to be the one to do it.  It also meant they couldn¡¯t transfer the resources and corpses, or portal back to home base directly.


    They did find the control crystal and pillar, getting all the humans another Invasion Conquerer title and +2 stats.  Every little bit helped.  Hopefully, it would be enough.


    Some more time was spent as the Leputi skinned the nest mother, and they retrieved the Nest Generals to use for weapon or armor creations.  It required them to carry the pieces back to Pickwick Dam.


    ¡°That was tiring.  Will they all be this tiring without the boss?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± responded Lucas.  ¡°We¡¯ll go back to Jackson, get some food and two hours to nap, then we need to head back out.  There just isn¡¯t enough time.¡±


    ¡°Fair enough,¡± agreed Tom with a lackluster sigh.  They weren¡¯t sure when the attack would come, but they needed to be as strong as possible if there would be any way to survive it and get Adam back.


    ***


    Emily sat on the sofa, stroking two of Fido¡¯s heads.  One head was on her lap and the other on the sofa, pressed against the side of her leg.  The third head growled menacingly to anyone who approached him, making her frown.


    It was bad enough that Adam was overprotective of her, but somehow Fido had picked that up as well.  In fact, Fido didn¡¯t like most of her friends that came to Adam¡¯s penthouse to party.  Music was blaring, some people were playing Adam¡¯s video games, making sure to erase his save spots just because, and the pool was in use.  A few other kids were even making out on a different sofa, with Fido making sure no one was allowed near Emily.


    The only person that Fido seemed to accept was William, who stood at a respectful distance, not doing anything but watching.  She knew that Adam hadn¡¯t put him up to it, and that William had gone to every public raid the Sentinel Army held, but still he stood in place like a guard.  He didn¡¯t look at her, or anyone, just quietly standing there.  Fido didn¡¯t growl when he came close.


    Fido¡¯s attitude hadn¡¯t mattered much before, when he fit in her hand, but over only two days he had become big.  He was large enough to practically ride now.


    Something was wrong.  That much was obvious.  Adam hadn¡¯t been here in those two days.  The food still piled in the fridge showed as much.  Adam¡¯s friends, including his girlfriends who Emily lived with, would show up for only a few hours, whether day or night.  They would eat hastily, shower, and then take a short nap before leaving again.  Fido had also been growing since then, which showed Emily there was fighting wherever they went.


    Even the cooks that Adam employed hadn¡¯t been here during this time.  That brought a lot of complaints to the teens who came for the parties.


    When Emily asked her mom what was happening, her mom had been evasive and unable to hide her concern.  Her mom was very stressed.  The best explanation she had received regarding the chefs was that they were helping prepare the food for the city evacuees that were trapped inside the base due to the human army outside.


    Adam was generous enough to volunteer them, but with his appetite it was unlikely he wouldn¡¯t eat any of his own food.  All that Emily could fathom was that Adam wasn¡¯t around.  But why would he leave them?  That was un-Adam like.


    It seemed likely that an attack was expected.  The base kept having readiness drills.  Crafters were putting out new weapons and armor.  An increased number of fighters were on the walls and roaming inside the base.  It seemed more than just for drills.


    Emily wasn¡¯t stupid.  She could read all the signs.  Adam had made her so angry with what he did back then, forcing her to kill an elf.  That he made her do more for XP when he incapacitated their base had just pushed her anger further.


    Pre-[System] Adam never would have made her do that.  He wouldn¡¯t even have done it himself.  Adam had changed at the arrival of the [System].  Too much and to an extreme.


    Emily didn¡¯t hate who he was now.  She had seen the news on invasion day, seen the assassination attempt on him.  It was easy for her to get some information when she wanted to.  Even when it was through uncharacteristic violence, Adam was protecting people.Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    No, she didn¡¯t feel hate towards him.  She just wanted her old brother back.  She wanted the guy who she could pick on and he would smile at her, or boss around and he would choose whether to do it or not based on that moment.  The lackadaisical brother who could always calm her down and bring things into perspective when she was upset.


    Since the elves, he had ignored her verbal barbs.  Ignored her parties and when she messed with his stuff.  He never even complained about her eating his food.  The lack of response or arguing made her even more furious with him.


    Did he think she was some doll that needed to be protected?


    He used to always be around.  When she needed him, he was there.  When she was upset, he would listen and smile at her, or get angry on her behalf, even if he wasn¡¯t going to do anything about it.


    Since the [System], he just kept getting hurt.  She had watched the videos, even the restricted ones.  There had been no way to hold back her tears as she saw the pain and suffering he had to endure to keep people safe.  To keep her and his family safe.


    She didn¡¯t want to see Adam suffering any more than he wanted her to.  She had tried everything she could think to get his attention, to try and get him to talk to her.  But he had so much to do.


    His girlfriends, the general¡¯s wives, had talked to her and said he loved her.  They told him how much he thought of her.  Yet that hardly mattered as the brother-sized hole in her life had formed.


    Thinking about it made her want to scream.  This time, for two days he was gone, and no one would tell her why.


    As she scowled, deciding whether or not to scream, a boy approached.  He smiled at her.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Em?¡± the boy asked.


    He wasn¡¯t exactly a friend.  None of the people but William had been.  They were using their relationship with Emily to avoid doing anything while living in the base.  Looking at him, thinking about them, Emily felt her own voice inside criticizing herself for being the same.  She hadn¡¯t been willing to contribute, even as her family worked non-stop to keep the base running.


    Was she any better than this boy when she had done such mean things to Adam, taking the best of what he had for herself while refusing to contribute?  Her scowl deepened.


    Fido, sensing her mood, chose that moment to stand up and turn to the boy.  All three of Fido¡¯s heads began growling at him.  One even opened its mouth and breathed a single bolt of lightning at him, causing him to jump from the shock.


    With a sigh, Emily stood up and walked over to the music control panel on the wall.


    ¡°Hey!¡± a few people shouted as she turned the music off.  Most others looked at her too.  It wasn¡¯t difficult for them to see the mood she was in.


    ¡°Are you ok, girl?¡± asked someone she vaguely remembered from school.  The girl looked genuinely concerned, but Emily just wasn¡¯t in the mood to respond to it.


    ¡°The parties are over,¡± Emily said.


    ¡°What?¡± asked another girl.  ¡°What do you mean by over?¡±


    ¡°We won¡¯t be having any more parties.  This place is now off limits,¡± responded Emily.


    ¡°Weren¡¯t you doing this to get back at your brother?¡± asked a boy.


    Emily wanted to kick herself at that question.  Everyone knew.  The people here, her parents, Adam¡¯s girlfriends, and even Adam himself.  They had all just allowed it instead of trying to force her to do something else.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t work, so we¡¯re done with this.¡±


    A boy came over and put his arm around Emily.  He was significantly taller than her, and his arm felt heavy, holding her tightly.  She looked up at him, even if it was difficult due to his strength.


    ¡°I think you should leave,¡± she ordered.


    ¡°And I think we should stay, and whatever little tantrum you are throwing shouldn¡¯t get in the way of our good time,¡± he said equally forcefully.  ¡°Your brother isn¡¯t ever here, and you are just a weak girl without him.  No authority of your own.¡±


    Several people nodded while others voiced their agreement.  His other hand began reaching to turn the music back on, but it stopped short of the buttons.  Or was made to stop short as another hand grabbed his wrist.


    ¡°She said it¡¯s done.  Leave!¡±


    With William¡¯s other hand, he lifted the arm that was holding Emily in place.  Then, both wrists held in William¡¯s hands, he put a foot on the boy¡¯s chest and kicked him away.  The boy slid along the wooden floor right to where Fido stood, all three heads growling at the boy.


    His movement to get away, to his feet, couldn¡¯t have been quicker.  Fido wasn¡¯t quite as nice, hitting the boy with weak fire and ice breaths at the same time.  Then Fido walked over to Emily and growled at the people he could see.


    ¡°Fine then,¡± spat the boy, trying to cover the hole in his pants that the breaths had opened.  ¡°We¡¯ll just find somewhere else to hang out.  We don¡¯t need you or your stupid brother to have a good time.¡±


    ¡°Whatever,¡± said Emily dismissively.


    With Fido rushing everyone along, and William staying near Emily, the other kids filed out of the condo.


    Once the room was empty, Emily turned to William, feeling a bit embarrassed.


    ¡°Thanks,¡± she said.


    ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± he responded with a gentle smile.  ¡°It¡¯s been rather difficult holding back all this time.  I¡¯m glad you finally came to your senses.¡±


    Emily didn¡¯t know what to say to that.  Realizing that everyone had known what she had been doing, of course, William would know too.


    ¡°If the parties are over, then what should we do now?¡± he asked.


    ¡°I guess it¡¯s time to grow up.  I know Adam will forgive me, but even the thought of apologizing to him makes me want to punch him in the face.¡±  Emily¡¯s words made William chuckle.  Adam probably wouldn¡¯t even feel it with her low strength.  ¡°I guess the first thing we need to do is figure out what happened to my brother.¡±


    ***


    After a short nap, Alissa and Rahsha came to pick up Fido.  She was surprised that there was no party, Emily and her friends nowhere to be found.  She just shrugged, got the three-headed dog to follow her and then headed for the elevator.


    On the ground floor she followed a few hallways, into a security room that no one else used, through a hidden door in the wall, and then underground to an unoccupied warehouse they gathered at for their excursions.


    ¡°Ready to go?¡± she asked as the last to arrive.


    For some odd reason everyone was staring at her except Tom, who was staring at an invisible screen.


    ¡°Not quite,¡± he said.  ¡°There is one more thing we need to deal with first.¡±


    They all watched the secret entrance until it quietly opened.  Emily stepped through, wearing a robe made from feral behemoth leather that she had found in her closet before invasion day.  Behind her was William, metal chest armor, leg armor, and a shield.  All his gear was scuffed, nicked, and dinged from previous fights.


    Emily walked over brazenly, then placed her hands on her hips as she addressed Adam¡¯s friends.


    ¡°Where is my brother?¡±


    No one answered as they stared at her.  William gave them an apologetic look.


    ¡°Tell me where my brother is,¡± she ordered with a foot stomp for emphasis.


    ¡°Can¡¯t do that,¡± said Tom, with his typical troublemaking smile.  ¡°Now please go back and don¡¯t mention this to anyone.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s gone, isn¡¯t he?¡± she asked quietly, though kept eye contact with Tom.  ¡°You¡¯re expecting an attack from the other general¡¯s army, aren¡¯t you?¡±


    Tom started back, clearly unsure what to do.  ¡°Of course not.  We aren¡¯t scared of that army.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s the invaders that¡¯re going to attack us?¡±


    The smile fell from Tom and his expression became harsh.  After a few more moments of staring Lucas stepped forward.


    ¡°Yes.  They are going to attack,¡± he told her, meeting her gaze.  ¡°Adam was taken, and we expect them to attack.  Very few people know this.¡±


    Emily stiffened and felt fear sprout inside her.  Adam, her brother, who had kept everyone safe was gone?  Taken?  He hadn¡¯t chosen to leave?  That was much worse than she thought.  She had figured he was off chasing monsters by himself, tired of protecting everyone or being held back.  To think he had been forcefully abducted scared her more than she could have admitted previously.  It also made sense why her mom had been so stressed.


    ¡°Where is he?  We have to get him!¡± she blurted out, the panic taking control.


    ¡°No,¡± said Lucas.


    ¡°No?¡±


    ¡°There is something more important we have to do,¡± he answered.


    ¡°What could be more important than my brother?!¡± she screamed.


    ¡°This place.  Jackson.  This is where everything that matters to him is.  We need to protect it.  We need to weather whatever is coming before we try to face what took Adam.¡±


    Lucas was calm as he spoke.  Definitive.  There was no room within him to shift from his statement.


    She glared at him.  Emily wanted to attack him, shoot some fireballs or something to make him take her seriously.  To make any of these people watching her to take her seriously.  Somewhere inside she knew this was what she had earned with her behavior.  She had acted like a spoiled brat.  She probably still was, but she couldn¡¯t leave her brother to whatever had happened to him.


    Steeling her emotions, she took a breath.  ¡°You guys are leveling then.  I¡¯m coming too.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s a good idea,¡± started Tom, but Lucas overrode him.


    ¡°Fine,¡± agreed Lucas


    ¡°Fine?¡± asked Tom hesitantly.


    ¡°Adam never forced her to sit out.  He did the opposite, trying to get her levels.  Why shouldn¡¯t we encourage that?  The best way to protect her is to make her strong enough to fight the monsters against us.¡±  Lucas then addressed Emily.  ¡°You can come but just like everyone else you follow directions.  No more entitled princess.¡±


    Emily winced at being called entitled, but she couldn¡¯t argue with it.  Instead, she just nodded.


    Tom shrugged and walked over to William.  After patting his metal shoulder plate, Tom said, ¡°Guess you have your work cut out for you once again, Meat Shield.¡±


    William smiled remembering the fear when Adam had called him that the first time.  With determination he nodded.  He would keep Emily safe or die trying.


    ¡°Well then, let¡¯s get to it,¡± said Lucas as a portal opened up behind everyone, surprising Emily.

 CH 145: First Day of School

    CHAPTER 145: First Day of School


    Adam sat on the smooth, stone stairs. He breathed deeply of the sweet air. It had a pleasant scent, a flavor, almost like walking into a candy store, yet more pure. You just couldn¡¯t find air this enjoyable on Earth. There was no stagnation with it, no pollution or unwanted perfumes. It entered him with every breath and made the common action more than just a necessity, infusing him with life and energy.


    A smile spread across his face. This moment, these feelings, they made him happier and more satisfied than anything had since the [System] arrived. Maybe even ever. He just couldn¡¯t deny that things were finally looking up.


    His mind flashed to his parents, to his sister and friends. He wished he could spend this time with them. To share in the excitement and joy. Yet this was an opportunity that he dare not pass up.


    Looking around, it was obvious that this wasn¡¯t Earth. Everything was foreign¡­magical. Every building, road, and even the sky defied physics. The clouds hovered over the world in fluffy layers, colored yellow, oranges, and pinks instead of white or gray.


    The wide roads weren¡¯t limited to just the ground as they would split and then angle into the air. There was no support holding them up. Though the roads started on the ground, they could curve upwards, above or around other structures, as if gravity was an inconsequential part of them.


    The roads then led to some of the buildings, most of which looked like they were floating. A thin line looked like it anchored the floating buildings to the ground, keeping them from drifting away. At the same time another line would stretch from the tops of the buildings up into the sky, beyond sight.


    The buildings themselves looked like inverted wasp hives, but much more elegant. The clean white color of the buildings contrasted against the colored clouds and brown roads. They were thinner on the bottom, where the entrances were, then would increase in size as they climbed upwards. There were plenty of windows and balconies on the buildings though they were impossible to see through from the outside. Everything had a curved and round shape that added to the purity of the place, lacking edges or points.


    Most of the people moving around used creatures instead of vehicles, though many walked with their speed indicative of their levels. The highest buildings, probably the most wealthy or prestigious, had people riding floating creatures that were a combination of a jellyfish and manta ray with a more rodent like head. The edges of them fluttered and rippled as people stood on them to reach the upper buildings.


    For the lower buildings, people arrived using the curved and floating roads. A few on the ground were pulled in fancy carts behind an eight-legged equine like creature, though he would hardly call it a horse.


    The levels of building and effort to reach them did emphasize a class hierarchy, though it didn¡¯t feel like there was an intention to bring other people down to elevate oneself. Everyone seemed polite to each other, even if some could rise above others. He wondered if this was due to knowing anyone might become stronger with levels, so it was better not to make enemies, or if the society and etiquette were so ingrained in their racial pride that there was no need to focus on their differences.


    Adam knew that the beauty of this world was rarely seen by other races. The Red Clan was an isolated species. Bringing his own people here would have been impossible. Still, he knew the fantastical feel of it, coming from Earth, and how amazed his family would be to see it all in person.


    With another deep breath and a continued smile, Adam looked at the most prominent building in the distance. It was massive and the real power behind the Red Clan. It was cylindrical instead of using the inverted hive style. It had no edges since it reached from the ground to the sky. He had heard that it even reached through the center of the planet to come out the other side, like the rod on a globe for the planet to spin around.


    This building had a fancy name, but everyone just referred to it as the Tower. It was where all the elders and grand elders lived. Apprentices were taken and trained in that tower. Those identified as able to become strong and handle the classes that manipulated the soul, the real power of this race, went there to grow and learn.


    Minutes before, one of the lesser elders had spoken to Adam. He had arrived in a lavish enclosed seat riding on a smaller version of the flying creatures. The man had been only slightly larger than the mind witch he had dealt with back on Earth, but the power he radiated was monumentally greater. A tag of ¡°Soul Controller [108]¡± sat above him.


    The man had offered Adam a chance. An opportunity. The results of a test showed that Adam had an affinity for the soul and they would use their restricted knowledge to help him develop a class based on it.


    How to achieve those powerful classes was kept secret by those in the tower. No one else in the universe knew how to gain those classes. Adam could only imagine the extreme lengths the clan was willing to go through to keep that information secret.


    The man had been pleased with Adam¡¯s abilities and potential, though made it clear that it was up to him how far he could progress. The man spoke eloquently about the education he would undergo, the benefits he would enjoy, and the commitment he must have to be accepted as one of the man¡¯s apprentices. The only hitch came when the man spoke Adam¡¯s name. There was a weird disconnect to it, but Adam chalked it up to being from a different language, since all of the words sounded weird.


    The important part was that the man said they could get Adam a class. A powerful class. A class that could grow and dominate opponents, as the Red Clan did against forces considered superior. A soul class couldn¡¯t be underestimated.


    Finally, Adam had a chance. A path to move forward. To gain the power and ability to grow he needed to keep up with the rest of the invaders on Earth. It was concerning thinking of leaving the rest of his friends on their own, but to truly protect them and claim the Earth, Adam would need to become a power that caused others to tremble.Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more.


    ***


    The chair Adam found himself in for his first day of school was teardrop shaped, with one side opened and hollowed for a person to sit in. Like the buildings, a thin line came from the bottom and top to anchor it in position, leaving it to float without moving, even as Adam moved around inside of it.


    Adam squirmed a bit from excitement. Few people were brought to the tower or taken as apprentices. This was the chance of a lifetime. He would make the most of this and learn everything he could.


    This was so different than when the [System] had arrived, and he had been in school. Both were educational institutions, yet even back then the human teachings felt so empty and pointless while this¡­THIS felt like what mattered. The apathy and disinterest that Adam had felt his whole life was gone. Power and understanding at a universal level were being offered to him and he wouldn¡¯t miss it. Way more important than old, irrelevant books like Fisherman and the Sea or Shakespeare.


    Adam had trouble not bouncing in his chair as he waited for the other apprentices to arrive. As time went by, sixteen more people entered the room and chose seats. No one spoke or chatted. There were no whispers. Everyone just sat there looking at the front of the room, where the door that the teacher would enter from was positioned. There seemed to be no interest in friendships or rivalries by the other students, just a focus on moving forward.


    After a short time, a door turned translucent to allow a man to walk through. He was a Tier 3, with a tag of ¡°Soul Monitor [34].¡± He didn¡¯t carry any materials with him, and he waited until he was in a circle marked on the floor that could be seen by every chair in the room before looking at them.


    A display appeared before him, like a Rift Menu window. He reviewed it, nodded a few times and looked at the students gathered. When he smiled, the layers of jagged teeth contained both a viciousness and gentleness.


    ¡°Welcome, young ones. I am Tithixal''gx''Gintraz, a basic trainer. You have all been brought in as potential apprentices. To become full apprentices of the masters who selected you, you must go through the basic education, more detailed affinity checks to see which aspect of soul work will fit you, and then conditioning to make sure you can withstand the path forward.¡±


    Adam¡¯s ears struggled to make out all the words he spoke. The sounds felt more like waves radiating from him, reverberating off the open spaces in the room, instead of speech projected to the people listening. Adam sat in rapt attention, taking it in with fervor, even as his body quivered with the sounds.


    ¡°But before we can even get to those, there is one issue even more important,¡± said Tithixal.


    He waved a hand, and the air shifted. A pedestal came into existence, with a single screen balanced on it.


    ¡°This is a contract. The most important contract that the Red Clan has. All who come to the tower are required to sign it. This contract is not a [System] contract. The matters managed in this contract are too important to leave to an outside entity to arbitrate. What you will be signing is a soul contract. It is impossible to break. Should you violate it, your soul will be broken, and you will be reduced to a creature incapable of speaking or thinking.¡±


    Adam glanced around the room, but no one seemed surprised or concerned by this. Everyone seemed to take it in stride or expect it. No one questioned it or tried to negotiate.


    ¡°This soul contract requires you to keep silent about everything you learn in the tower for the length of your life. Unless you are a trainer, you are not allowed to reveal anything, even to your fellow apprentices since each elder and master had their own secrets for their path. This contract also binds your soul to be loyal to the Red Clan as a whole, and the elders. You will be given work and missions as you grow, and those will all be for the benefit of the tower and our clan.¡±


    The instructor then chuckled, as if in on a prank. ¡°Should you be ambitious enough to want more control over your fate, don¡¯t worry. This contract was created by a Tier 5. All you need to do is be one of the few to reach that tier and then the contract will be weakened upon you. Though it will still require the right set of skills to break completely. Let that be something you should aim for.¡±


    With another pause the instructor looked at each face in the room.


    ¡°Now, who shall be the first to sign the contract with the tower and take a step to power?¡±


    There was no hesitation or question as Adam stood and hurried to the contract. For the power being promised, this was barely a compromise.


    ***


    Joseph cursed as he tried to wipe off the flames that wouldn¡¯t stop burning on his armor. Gel? Gas? Napalm? He wasn¡¯t sure what had splattered on his armor, but it just kept going. The heat was enough that he was concerned his skin would begin burning soon, so he cut the straps holding the metal to his arm, dropping it on the ground.


    The cuts drew some blood as he wasn¡¯t the most careful person, but Ed was standing next to him. Simply holding his arm out got him healing. He also backed away from the burning arm protector which was warping and melting.


    Assunax ¡°Avatar of Flames [29]¡± slain. 27,817 shared XP gained.


    Joseph breathed in relief, both from the heal and the kill message. The damned regular fire guys had taken so much to kill. The boss had been ridiculous. Water hadn¡¯t even affected the flames. The fire also burned through their spells and weapons that hadn¡¯t come from the lizard guys¡¯ armory.


    Oh well. It was done now. This was their third defeated base since picking up Adam¡¯s bratty sister. Joseph found her too bosses and obstinate considering she was the weakest and most inexperienced person here. Everyone was tired of trying to get her to do as she was told, though Lucas kept reassuring them that she needed to come.


    For now, Lucas would take control of the base, then they would grab the best loot and haul it back to Thompson¡¯s Station. It was the closest in Adam¡¯s network, to portal to Jackson. A meal, nap, then back to the grind.


    Joseph much preferred how Adam always threw a party at his place with well cooked food and video games. That was after every raid, not this exhausting chain raiding. He grumbled under his breath about the dry, overcooked meat that he would eat back at base without Adam there.


    Maybe he should hire a personal cook. A hot girl¡­in a maid costume¡­one of those novelty ones in the magazines he brought from the shed¡­


    Joseph stumbled as he walked back to the group. His breath felt heavy while his muscles had suddenly weakened. Standing up he looked around. The rest of his main group were looking around similarly, some with shocked expressions on their faces while others looked like they were checking their status screens. Those not from Adam¡¯s main group looked normal.


    ¡°What just happened?¡± Joseph asked when he made it to the group.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t you see the [System] message?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°This is bad! So bad!¡± whispered Carlos frantically.


    ¡°We¡¯ve got to get back to Jackson, asap,¡± said Lucas, getting nods from others.


    Joseph willed his messages to come up. Thinking of a maid costume without the¡­well, he must have been distracted and missed it.


    Your sovereign has pledged his loyalty to another. This has removed his qualifications under the [System]. Any officials or retinue that have titles and benefits assigned by the former sovereign will have them removed.


    Bringing up his status sheet, Joseph noticed that his strength and vitality, the two stats increased by his appointment title of Executioner, had dropped. The sudden decrease in stats must have been why he stumbled. But even if Adam was captive why would he pledge loyalty to someone else? That didn¡¯t make sense. That wasn¡¯t something Adam would do, unless maybe the other person or group could protect Jackson?


    Even Joseph had to concede that this was a more serious problem than finding a sexy maid.

 CH 146: Open the Gates

    CHAPTER 146: Open the Gates


    Cruxannith¡¯cz¡¯Jurzax smiled as she looked at a display floating in front of her. The image came from one of the dedicated. Those that served her. He had another crystal that was capturing the scene, and she was watching it through the display. Sgolkr was also watching from behind her, and he wasn¡¯t smiling.


    ¡°Why play these games? We should wipe them out!¡± he snarled.


    ¡°Of course we should,¡± she agreed.


    ¡°Then why are we waiting?¡±


    ¡°Why shouldn¡¯t we play with our food?¡± she teased.


    ¡°That can¡¯t be the reason. Wasting time on them doesn¡¯t make us stronger or allow us to get ahead of others,¡± he argued.


    ¡°I disagree with that. Those natives are stronger than any single force so far. It is worth feasting on their XP.¡±


    That argument caused Sgolkr to frown, at least as much as the Scyrric could. Natives had never gotten this strong. They couldn¡¯t get this strong. Cruxannith chuckled at him, causing him to hiss menacingly at her.


    ¡°Besides,¡± she continued, ignoring his posturing, ¡°you were sent to guard me while I captured the aberration.¡±


    ¡°And now you have done that,¡± he hissed. ¡°You didn¡¯t even allow us to make an offer for the aberration, who should be our property by right.¡±


    ¡°Bah!¡± she scowled. ¡°You would have just torn him up and gained nothing from him. At least the Red Clan can learn from him.¡±


    ¡°Tearing him up is worth more to us than giving your people more power and knowledge.¡±


    Cruxannith laughed at him again.


    ¡°Fine, go and destroy the natives. Just make sure to do it slowly, as tradition dictates. I have called on the Kukiolis should you need help getting through the wall. They will be here in four daytime cycles.¡±


    ¡°You think I need the ¡®little giants¡¯ to break that base and the natives? How much you underestimate us. But I will do it slowly, as you said.¡± Sgolkr put on a sadistic grin.


    As the Scyrric leapt from the building roof, Cruxannith laughed louder. She had gotten the aberration for her people, and the natives¡¯ rebellion would be broken. Once those were done, she still had much to gain on this planet. She was already close to Tier 4. Was it possible for her to make it to Tier 5 before the end? Such a bounty to allow her to advance.


    Her laughter and smile lasted a long time as she watched the distant city of Jackson through the display, and the conflict that was unavoidable.


    ***


    ¡°Open the gates!¡± shouted Colonel Davian.


    Sirens filled the air, a desperate sound to those outside the base as well as those within. These weren¡¯t the warning alarms that had been going off occasionally. These were the ¡°get your asses in here if you want to live¡± alarms.


    People from the city who hadn¡¯t been trapped within the walls since the last large conflict were gathered outside the base. There was uncertainty, fear, and an antagonistic human army between them and safety within the walls. Many of these people had been forced to give information to General Carmichael¡¯s army while more had been forced to fight with them on hunts or in training.


    Now that the alarms were sounding, there was no belief that Carmichael¡¯s army would be enough to protect them. They didn¡¯t have a choice before, allowing the general¡¯s army to conscript them. Now it was different. They knew what this alarm meant and there was no safety outside the walls, whether they stood with Carmichael¡¯s troops or not.


    Unfortunately, the strongest of Carmichael¡¯s men stood at the gate, preventing anyone from getting to safety. There was plenty of yelling, cursing, and pleading. Adults and kids, all desperate to get inside, watched the army in front of them with distrust. They knew the Sentinel Army had fought and won. The Sentinel Army had developed a plan and kept them safe until now. And the Sentinel Army warned them to evacuate. Something bad was on its way based on the frantic sirens.


    ¡°Are you sure this is a good idea?¡± asked Elouise for the third time. She nervously placed her hand on Davian¡¯s arm, feeling the fabric of the military uniform he still wore. It was only a little comforting, reminding her of her husband and the great men who fought to protect their country and its place in the world.


    ¡°We don¡¯t have a choice,¡± said Davian gruffly. ¡°There are still too many people trapped outside. General Carmichael is a reasonable man. He wouldn¡¯t sacrifice all his countrymen due to his own pride.¡±


    ¡°He was a reasonable man in a peaceful age when he got to dictate the terms of conflict,¡± Elouise reflected quietly. ¡°We can¡¯t be sure how the [System], the invaders, and the increased power have changed him. It could be the end of Jackson if he starts conflict inside the walls with the invaders coming.¡±


    The Sentinel Army¡¯s operators that had been monitoring the other networked Rifts had seen the invaders gathering. The scouting Leputi and humans had watched the forces amassing. This wasn¡¯t a small-scale battle coming. It wasn¡¯t a siege. The Scyrric were gathering a large mass of organized and obedient troops and beasts.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    Quickly the news had been sent to Jordan and Lashtam. Now they were trying to prepare the base for the attack. They might have a day or two before the enemy forces would fully gather and be ready. It might also be less than hours the way a leveled army could move, or even if they had some magic or technology to help them arrive faster.


    Regardless, inside the base people were rushing to get to their assigned positions or meet up with their units. Everyone was hurrying. Yet inside the base there wasn¡¯t a sense of panic. People were scared, sure, but they had developed belief in Adam and the Sentinel Army.


    Of course, Adam wasn¡¯t here, Davian thought guiltily. Few people knew. Adam¡¯s group was also gone and hadn¡¯t been back for two days. People assumed Adam was with them.


    In a situation like this, Davian thought it was best to bolster their own forces with those of General Carmichael¡¯s. Detachment Commander Rexus and his special forces were at the level of Adam¡¯s group, or even more considering how quickly they had been leveling. It was almost unreal. If leveling was as easy as those soldiers made it seem, then resisting the invasions wasn¡¯t a pipedream. They just needed to find out how they were leveling so fast and apply it to more people.


    At the colonel¡¯s command, the gate opened about 10 feet wide. The soldier controlling it from the top of the wall wisely left it narrow enough that they couldn¡¯t swarm should the other side attack.


    The US soldiers that had already been working with the Sentinel Army all this time had been dismayed and confused by the conflict between those outside the wall and within. To them, they were all part of the same force. Yet after working with the Sentinels for so long, most felt pride in the sanctuary that Jackson had become, that they had helped build. Their families were protected here, those that had them, and they had been given a good place to live.


    The soldiers didn¡¯t want to endanger their people and place, so they followed orders. Unfortunately, rank is supposed to trump orders, and it was still difficult for the troops to compartmentalize the situation. On the other hand, those in the Sentinel Army who weren¡¯t US soldiers knew exactly which side they stood on, and there were many more of them than US soldiers. Both sides recognized that if a violent conflict occurred within the base, lives and maybe the entire base would be lost. At the least, anyone who stood against The General would die.


    As the gate opened, Davian could see the throng of civilians outside wanting to come in but scared to push into the soldiers that blocked their path. Rows were formed up as the troops blocked the people from coming into the Jackson base while other rows faced the walls, should they be attacked by the soldiers on them. Davian had been told the other three gates had the same situation.


    Once the gate stopped opening, showing that it would only take in so many for now, a group entered the base. At their lead was Kevin Spence, Cody Sloan, Jamari Gillum, and Jack Flemming. They were followed by General Carmichael and several of his officers. The group was finished by Tyler Zito, Willis Abrego, and Victor Rexus. All the special forces were between levels 24 and 29, except for Commander Rexus. He was at a shocking level 43.


    Davian couldn¡¯t even fathom how they had gotten their levels so high in the short period they had been in Jackson. Not even Adam¡¯s group could level that fast.


    ¡°Ready to turn over the base, Fredericks?¡± asked General Carmichael without subtlety. His group stopped 30 feet from where Colonel Davian and Elouise stood. About twenty troops, a mix of US soldiers and Sentinels, stood behind him. Davian knew that even with the numbers advantage they weren¡¯t a match for the Tier 3 special forces before him.


    ¡°I¡¯ve told you before, general, that isn¡¯t a possibility,¡± answered Davian with a sigh. ¡°This is more important than that.¡±


    ¡°More important than a bunch of treasonous dogs claiming land in MY country?¡± Carmichael shrieked. The intensity took Davian by surprise. As he shouted, the man looked almost rabid, practically frothing as he spat out his words. ¡°This land belongs to the United States of America! You have betrayed the United States, betrayed your position within the armed forces, and betrayed all the people we have sworn to protect! I hereby remove your rank and authority and demand you turn yourself in for questioning!¡±


    Davian shook his head. Elouise had been right. Something had changed General Carmichael, but that didn¡¯t mean he shouldn¡¯t try to find a peaceful resolution.


    ¡°Yes, this is more important than any of that. A stronger invader army is being formed, and they are heading here to attack. Anyone outside the walls will probably die. It would benefit everyone if we join forces in defending them.¡±


    ¡°Join forces? JOIN FORCES?! You were supposed to be in the same force! To follow orders and protect our country. Now here you are begging for our help because you know that your fake army, your traitor army, is following an enemy sympathizer!¡±


    At Carmichael¡¯s words Davian shook his head. Those arguments meant nothing, but if the general wouldn¡¯t even listen, then there was nothing else that could be done. He felt a squeeze from Elouise on his jacket sleeve and looked down to see her sadly shaking her head.


    ¡°Speaking of enemies, I don¡¯t see that traitor boy with you. Are you sure you don¡¯t need his permission to speak to us? Your alien overlords might not approve!¡±


    ¡°Sir¡­Howard, at least let us bring the civilians in,¡± pleaded Davian.


    ¡°Allow you to get more people to give over to your masters? Not a chance! This is for their own protection,¡± snarled Carmichael. ¡°Now that it has come to this, Fleming, go bring that traitor here. Fredericks, you have until he reaches you to surrender yourself and this base to us.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t about the base, Howard! This is about lives!¡± shouted Davian.


    The colonel was getting past the disappointment now and his anger was taking over. This isn¡¯t how officers and leaders should be. The situation would be dire in the best of alliances and here was a man he had followed, a man he had respected, a man that should be working with them and supporting them, trying to break the tools and operations the Sentinels had created. Had the man gone insane? Was he being influenced by the mind witch Adam was obsessed with?


    The answers didn¡¯t matter. Whether Adam had been right or not about their group being compromised wasn¡¯t the issue. Right now, a level 28, Tier 3 ¡°Flamethrower¡± was slowly walking towards him with a smile on.


    Fleming was approaching him looking every bit the predator, grinning sharply with manic joy. He raised his hands in front of him as he moved, with fire spreading across them. The flames licked up and around, looking for something to burn. They were yellow, the heat warping even the controlled temperature in the base.


    The troops behind the colonel all had their weapons out and were moving forward to protect him, but Davian signaled them to hold still. Another flick of his hand and two soldiers rushed forward and pulled Elouise away from him and to the protective warriors.


    Fleming looked around at the buildings. With the flames dancing around his palm and fingers he took in the sight of the buildings while smiling.


    ¡°Yes, this place looks better for us than those converted buildings out there. I hear that kid¡¯s building is quite luxurious. Definitely a better fit for us than some barely of age punk.¡±


    Davian scowled at the man. ¡°You are making a big mistake here, Jack. You don¡¯t want to do this,¡± he warned.


    ¡°After the last few months, I do want to do this,¡± nodded Fleming. ¡°Oh yes, I really, really want to do this!¡±


    Then Fleming rushed forward, his burning hands reaching for Colonel Davian.

 CH 147: The Nick of Time

    CHAPTER 147: The Nick of Time


    Colonel Davian felt the heat even before Jack Fleming lunged at him. He couldn¡¯t react as the man led with his flames. They reached for him as the distance with Fleming vanished. The fires wrapped him, and Davian clamped his jaw shut to keep from screaming at being burned.


    The world then moved around him. Or his position in the world moved. Davian¡¯s sense of balance was thrown off. It was only for an instant, then he was standing, leaning on one of the troops behind him, another fifteen feet from where a surprised Fleming was grasping empty air.


    ¡°What?¡± started Fleming before yelling, ¡°Ow!¡±


    By instinct his right hand slapped against his neck, where a line of blood has opened.


    ¡°OW!¡± he shouted louder as his own fire burned his neck, evaporated the blood, and sizzled the exposed flesh from the cut. Immediately the fire around his hands and neck went out.


    ¡°Who did that?!¡± Fleming shouted, enraged from the pain and humiliation. People on both sides were looking around, trying to find what had cut Fleming.


    Slowly a dark outline materialized next to Fleming. The silhouette reached around him while a sharp, steely edge pressed against his throat. Just the touch of the blade drew a light line of blood.


    The silhouette then became increasingly clear as it turned into the form of a man. He was wearing black leather armor, though it wasn¡¯t in good shape. Patches had been poorly sewn all over it. Both the jacket and the pants were mutilated and then put back together.


    Eight knives of differing size and shape were at his belt, two more on each leg, and a bandolier of sharpened bone fragments wrapped his shoulder and chest. The man¡¯s face was unseeable as a hood was pulled over it, the shadow repelling the light from entering. Two of the fingers on his left glove flapped with nothing inside.


    His tag was clear though. ¡°Unseen Death [37].¡± That was his class, with the appointment title removed from the tag.


    ¡°Why you¡­¡± shouted Fleming, ignoring that his own movement created a new cut against the blade. ¡°[Flame barrier]!¡±


    A burst of fire wrapped his body and radiated outwards. Yet the man, or the silhouette of him, faded like smoke being blown away. Fleming growled as he saw the man step out from behind Colonel Davian. Darkness formed a halo around his body. Other people gasped.


    Elouise stepped forward, up to the man, and pulled back his hood. The face that stared at her barely resembled the boy she remembered. It had only been a few weeks, but they had changed him mightily.


    His hair and beard looked uncut and ungroomed during the time he had been away, growing wild and unkempt. There were scars over his face, even more than Adam had. One was across his forehead, but he had a few on his cheeks and chin, little absences of beard hair making them obvious.


    The biggest difference was his eyes. The pupils and irises couldn¡¯t be seen. Instead, discs of black were there, shimmering eerily, as if they were trying to eat the very light that attempted to enter them. Those eyes looked at Elouise without concern, fear, or joy. They just stared.


    ¡°Just in the Nick of time,¡± she said while giving Nick a grandmotherly smile and a pat on his shoulder.


    ¡°Name puns? Is this the time for them?¡± he asked casually.


    She smiled brighter at him. ¡°Might not be able to use them tomorrow.¡±


    Nick shrugged.


    ¡°Where¡¯s Adam?¡±


    The frown that Davian gave him didn¡¯t cause Nick¡¯s expression to change, as he already suspected something was wrong.


    Elouise gave a different answer. ¡°Scouting,¡± she said loud enough for the troops to hear.


    ¡°And my group?¡±


    ¡°Preparing,¡± said Davian. That caused Nick to give a barely perceptible nod.


    ¡°These chumps are?¡±


    Davian opened his mouth to explain, but Elouise cut him off with a simple answer. ¡°Troublemakers.¡±


    A larger, slow nod of understanding came from Nick.


    Meanwhile, Fleming was shouting and cursing at him, while keeping his distance. Nick looked at him with his lightless eyes.


    ¡°You seem a problem, but that guy seems like the real issue,¡± said Nick. His hand raised and he pointed at General Carmichael. Then his pointer finger and thumb touched. ¡°[Shadows Bind Us].¡±


    A gasp came out of Carmichael. Then a choking sound. His eyes blacked out and he fell to his knees. A line of black, hard to see, ran from Nick¡¯s fingers to Carmichael¡¯s throat and wrapped around it. There was no slack on the line, as if it was drawn by a steady hand and wouldn¡¯t move from that path.


    Shouting ensued as his officers tried to pull Carmichael up or to break the line. People¡¯s hands, arms and bodies passed completely through the shadow line, as if it didn¡¯t exist in this reality. Seeing the problem, Kevin Spence, still wearing the Scyrric knuckle weapons that Adam had given to him, activated a skill. The front of his fists glowed and then flashed forward to punch the black line.


    The punch did cause the line to quiver, managing to contact it, but wasn¡¯t enough to break it. Then Rexus stepped forward. His hand glowed too as he made it straight, like a blade, then he swung at the line.


    With a snap the black line broke, though the two ends didn¡¯t sag. They simply began evaporating, becoming black particles that faded. Nick glared at the man as he felt the rebound of the skill breaking but the disorientation it caused didn¡¯t move him.


    The end connecting to Carmichael vanished, returning his eyes to normal and allowing him to gasp for breath. While people helped him to his feet, Commander Rexus bellowed, ¡°YOU!¡± at the glaring Nick. Then he began taking large strides to get to him.


    Immediately Nick had a knife in each hand, backhand grip, and he prepared himself for a fight. Colonel Davian backed away, as did the rest of the soldiers, two pulling Elouise with them.


    Distant shouting drew people¡¯s attention as a pair of pickup trucks full of people came speeding up. One came to a gentle stop next to the Sentinel troops, while the other spun to a sudden stop, almost tipping. A few curses were audible.


    ¡°The hell! Brittney isn¡¯t allowed to drive again!¡± yelled Carlos. He stumbled as he landed on the ground after jumping from the back of the recklessly driven truck.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    ¡°If you don¡¯t like my driving then ride with Lucas next time!¡± she yelled back, hopping out of the driver seat.


    Rexus stopped moving as he saw the rest of the team exiting the trucks, as well as more soldiers at the top end of Tier 2. A group of rabbit men also came running from the same direction, their levels similarly approaching Tier 3. Both groups spread out, seeing the situation, and many weapons were brought out.


    Carlos was still cursing and stumbling as he approached the colonel. Then he looked, doing a double take.


    ¡°Nick!¡± he yelled and rushed the man. His arms spread and he hugged him, ignoring the knives in his hands. ¡°You¡¯re ok!¡±


    ¡°Welcome back!¡± said Lamar as he squeezed Nick¡¯s shoulder with a smile. ¡°Glad you survived.¡±


    Then Carlos frowned at the facial scars but smiled when he saw the two floppy glove fingers. He held up his own hand, where he had lost a finger when fighting the Testudinates.


    ¡°We match,¡± he joked. Then he punched Nick in the shoulder. ¡°How dare you get so far ahead of us.¡±


    Nick looked at them all. They had all reached Tier 3 as well, though they currently looked in bad shape. They were sweaty and grimy, with dried blood on them. Scuffs and scratches were on the armor while cuts were on those wearing cloth.


    ¡°Adam?¡± he asked quietly by Carlos¡¯s ear.


    ¡°Captured,¡± was the response.


    Nick¡¯s face scrunched up in anger and the darkness around him began seeping out, enough that even Carlos backed away.


    ¡°What¡¯s going on here?¡± asked Lucas, loud enough for all to hear.


    Colonel Davian then stepped forward.


    ¡°Invader army is heading this way,¡± he said to Lucas, who nodded at it.


    ¡°As expected,¡± Lucas responded.


    The colonel continued. ¡°I was trying to negotiate for them to either let the civilians into the base, or to jointly defend it.¡±


    Lucas once more nodded. Then he turned and surveyed the hostile group that had been let in the gate. With an exaggerated casualness, he placed his hammer on his shoulder and walked towards where Rexus was eyeing them.


    Within four feet of the man, Lucas spoke.


    ¡°I¡¯m offering you all one choice and one chance. You only have until I¡¯m done talking to choose. Here are your options¡­¡±


    Fleming shouted at him hatefully, ¡°who are you to give ultimatums?¡±


    Then a knife was once again at his throat, held by a shadowy hand. ¡°Let Lucas talk, or we¡¯ll go with his last option by default,¡± said Nick, at a conversational volume. Fleming ended up gulping, unable to defend without hitting his own allies with his flames.


    ¡°Option one, you sign a [System] contract to join the Sentinel Army. Then you are bound to cooperate, and we don¡¯t have to worry about sabotage.¡±


    ¡°Unthinkable!¡± shouted Carmichael in a lather. ¡°We won¡¯t be following a bunch of brats with our lives and country on the line!¡±


    ¡°Option two, your forces come in and help defend. We¡¯ll give you the South side of the base wall to defend, and you will be observed at all times,¡± continued Lucas. As if to demonstrate, several displays appeared in the air showing the group from different angles.


    Carmichael started ranting again, so Lucas turned to Rexus.


    ¡°And option three?¡± Rexus asked thoughtfully.


    ¡°We carve through your forces so the civilians you are detaining can come in. Then any of your forces that survive leave.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think your eyes are bigger than your stomach with that one?¡± Rexus smirked, pointing to the tag over Lucas¡¯s head. Lucas was now showing at level 14, with a class of Battlemaster. That was low compared to Rexus¡¯s level, even more so since 12 of Lucas¡¯s levels were in body, leaving his class at only level 2 of Tier 3.


    ¡°It depends if you want to go this apocalypse alone,¡± whispered Lucas threateningly. ¡°You might survive, but I can guarantee none of the rest of your men will.¡±


    The confidence on Rexus¡¯s face withdrew and he looked at all the enemies standing before him. The Sentinels still had better gear, numbers, and the home base advantage. Then he drew up to his full height, still a little shorter than Lucas.


    ¡°We¡¯ll take option two,¡± he said slowly.


    His own men nodded and sheathed their weapons.


    General Carmichael began shouting at him, ¡°Not you too, Victor! Just wipe them out! Take the base! This is our land! Our country! Don¡¯t compromise with traitors!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯d better go discuss this with the general,¡± Rexus said. ¡°Do you have any buildings we can use?¡±


    ¡°One minute,¡± warned Lucas, then he shouted into the air. ¡°Jordan! Absorb the buildings within our territory but outside the walls for materials. Even if people are still living in them. Let those down gently.¡±


    ¡°But Adam told us to leave it alone,¡± came a voice from the air, surprising Rexus and his men.


    ¡°You know the situation, man!¡± ordered Lucas. ¡°Get with my pops and the army engineers from both groups and try to set up defenses. Maybe some collapsable trenches or ballistae. It¡¯s not my area of expertise. It will all be used within our territory so don¡¯t worry about anything disintegrating from leaving the territory.¡±


    ¡°I guess I can view it as a tower defender now instead of a city builder,¡± said Jordan.


    ¡°Whatever you gotta do,¡± said Lucas. ¡°Now, arrange the south wall for Carmichael¡¯s army. Make sure Lashtam sets up a watch on them.¡±


    ¡°Which of them?¡± asked Jordan hesitantly.


    ¡°ALL of them,¡± Lucas said forcefully. ¡°Then build them some open barracks. Don¡¯t waste all our resources on it. Something basic for them to sleep in with rotations. And hurry with it all, we don¡¯t have much time.¡±


    Rexus¡¯s brow furrowed as Lucas pointed through the gate. Then his jaw dropped as he saw buildings, large and small, rippling and fading from reality. The land all around the wall was cleared, and it continued to spread outward. Rexus¡¯s jaw dropped dumbfoundedly.


    ¡°This base can do that?¡±


    ¡°Yes,¡± answered Lucas. Then he imitated Adam, waving his hand dramatically to summon a screen that was displaying a meeting in which Carmichael¡¯s group had accused Adam and his friends of being enemy pawns. Upon seeing that, Rexus¡¯s face grew stormy.


    ¡°This base seems even more powerful than we expected.¡±


    ¡°It is, and it¡¯s OURS! Any suspicious moves by your side and it will be war. One you will lose,¡± Lucas threatened openly.


    Rexus stared him in the eyes, looking for something, almost disappointed when he didn¡¯t see whatever it was. Then he turned and walked back to his group, whispering with General Carmichael. The older man nodded, and Commander Rexus started shouting orders.


    It didn¡¯t even take ten minutes before large crowds were flooding through the fully opened gate. Screens and voices directed them where to go so as not to be in the way once the fighting started.


    There was still a lot to organize. People were spread through the various Rifts in the network, away from Jackson. Supplies to keep them alive for a few weeks were relocated, in case the main base was destroyed. Lower-level soldiers and personnel were sent to monitor the areas and act as guards to make sure as many people could be kept safe as possible.


    It was a large undertaking, with the Sentinels unsure of how long before the invaders fell upon them.


    STATUS:


    Name: Nicholas Morris [37]


    Age: 18


    Race: Human


    Appointment: N/A


    Class: Unseen Death [28] (Epic) Tier 3


    Body [9]


    Strength: 291


    Agility: 394


    Vitality: 98


    Intelligence: 60


    Wisdom: 57


    Skill Points: 3


    Skills:


    Light Steps: Reduce noise while stepping.


    Dim Presence +5: Less likely to be noticed.


    Unseen Blow +5: Increased damage when attacking while unseen.


    Target Weakness +5: Attacked to weak points on an enemy do increased damage.


    Mask Signs +5: Reduce chance of being noticed due to physical evidence of user.


    Hidden Watcher: Reduce chance of being noticed when observing a target while unseen.


    Remove Threat: Reduce chance that perception abilities will notice hostility or bloodlust. Opponents are less likely to see the user as a threat to them.


    False Trail +5: Observable evidence that the user was in a location is more likely to lead in a different direction.


    Deadly Blow +5: Near fatal attacks are more likely to kill the target.


    Deep Cut +5: Attacks penetrate further into the target.


    Hit Count: Provides the user with an approximation of the number and type of attacks to kill the target.


    Between Shadows +5: User can move his body and apparel between shadows.


    Shadows Bind Us +5: Shadows can be used to cut off motion of senses. The amount that can be cut of depends on the power and level difference between the user and target.


    Light Saves Us +3: Create and control light to banish darkness or blind targets.


    Enhanced Stealth +5: All perception reducing skills are boosted.


    See the Unseen +5: Allows vision to persist regardless of amount darkness or light. Also makes visual effects and perception dampening skills less likely to work on user.


    Vanish +5: Disappear from target¡¯s perception based on user¡¯s perception skills.


    Where I''ve Been: Leave an image of yourself behind after using [Between Shadows].


    Strength from Speed: Increase the Strength stat by 20% of base Agility

 CH 148: Souls

    CHAPTER 148: Souls


    ¡°Souls are the most important part of any of us. Yet they are extremely misunderstood by the rest of the races, to our great benefit,¡± Tithixal''gx''Guntraz said, beginning his lecture. ¡°Losing a finger, arm, or leg will reduce the power that you have control of, but those can be overcome by healing, a magical contruct, or learning different techniques. However, if your soul is damaged then you might lose memories, your personality, and even your connection to the [System]. Those can¡¯t be overcome.¡±


    The instructor looked over all his students, making sure the point was sinking in. Adam wanted to ask about soul damage, hoping that this was a place where he could learn more about his corruption and possibly a way to fix it, but decided this wasn¡¯t the time. He was still a beginner student on a long journey. There would be time in future classes or in a one-on-one setting to find out more about it. No need to proclaim his weaknesses so indiscriminately.


    ¡°Due to our race¡¯s affinity to the soul, we are the exclusive group who knows how the [System] affects the people in it. For millennia we have researched souls at all stages of [System] growth. We know where the important parts are and how they gather energy and change as the so-called XP is collected. While it isn¡¯t possible for us to build skills and classes like the [System] does, we are able to view skills and classes inside others with the right skills. The knowledge gained from this can give us a huge advantage over other races.


    ¡°The basis of the Red Clan¡¯s classes is a [Soul View] skill that allows us to look inside others. Like other class variations, the exact skill changes both in name and ability as we evolve the class and depending on the class variation that we have.¡±


    Adam took in all the lectures that he was a part of. There was no trivial information in them, as even the smallest concepts were built upon and expanded. The number of [System] classes and purposes for them was great, and the knowledge of them would give him a solid foundation for when he was trying to evolve whatever class he received. Later they were scheduled to review soul affinity to decide which path of classes each student would be told to follow.


    ¡°By looking inside a soul with the [Soul View] skill,¡± continued Tithixal, ¡°we take the first step towards affecting the soul. While some of the more advanced [Soul View] skills allow us to not just see but to interact with the soul we are viewing, souls cannot truly mix. If they try to occupy the same space then one moves out of the way of the other, with the weaker one creating space for the stronger or more precise one. This is a protection that each soul has for itself. They cannot be blended with another. Specialized skills are required to truly influence another¡¯s soul.¡±


    A red light appeared above the seat of a Red Clan girl halfway across the room. Her expression seemed both curious and a bit smug, as if she had caught the lecturer in a lie.


    ¡°Yes, number 12?¡± asked their instructor with a distasteful expression on his face. He referred to them with numbers instead of names. No one in the tower became very attached to the trainees prior to becoming apprentices, and even then, it was limited. Adam knew that part of this was the inherent danger of the path they would be following, possibly damaging or crippling their own souls as they tried to meet the qualifications for a soul class. The other part was because until they were a useful member of the Tower then they might be put down for any offence.


    Each student was also expected to find strength and advancement on their own. The lectures and activities were there to guide them, to provide what they needed to succeed, since the Red Clan was stronger as a whole with more people serving it. Even with the onus for success put on the individual, there wasn¡¯t any cutthroat rivalry encouraged. Civility and respect were important in this culture and resources would be provided to help all the students advance in proportion to their capability and effort. The Red Clan knew that creating animosity early was counterproductive in the long run, and their racial superiority led them to work together to ensure they stood above as many other races as possible. The belief in superiority was not limited to just the Red Clan¡¯s culture.


    The girl spoke up when she was called upon. ¡°You said souls can¡¯t be blended, but I¡¯ve heard that there is a technique to do just that. Is it really impossible?¡±


    Tithixal looked at her and flashed his teeth. Adam wasn¡¯t sure if that was a sign of approval or disgust, but either way it was an ugly look with those uneven rows of triangular teeth.


    ¡°It would be better for all if it were impossible, child. The knowledge I am about to share with you is something that all in the Red Clan should fear. I was not planning on telling you this because should you ever manage to use this ability then your life, even your very soul, will be forfeit,¡± he said with a cautionary weight to it.


    ¡°There is a technique called Soul Bonding. It is not a direct skill and allows an adequately powerful soul to make use of a combination of skills to tie their own soul to another. This bonding becomes nearly impossible to break. It becomes a very complex weaving of the two souls. What affects one will also affect the other.¡±You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¡°What is the point of the bonding?¡± asked another student after a red light lit up and the instructor acknowledged them.


    ¡°The point is difficult to fully understand, which is but one reason it is so taboo,¡± said Tithixal. ¡°In most cases it does not give one person control over another or allow them to shape the other soul. Both souls are affected equally. There seems to be very little purpose for it. However, the downsides of it are devastating. Damage taken by one of the souls will affect the other, damaging both more strongly due to the protection gaps this technique causes. This damage can be inflicted even through physical skills. It is a weakness created with no benefit.¡±


    ¡°Then why would anyone use it?¡± asked a third student once called on.


    ¡°Occasionally there are people who are more useful to the Red Clan that the elders do not want to eliminate. In these cases, the elders can have a much stronger member soul bond the perpetrator with less risk of injury.¡±


    ¡°I thought you said it doesn¡¯t allow control,¡± questioned the second student once more.


    ¡°True, they can¡¯t control them directly. However, the real danger with soul bonding is that the stronger soul can exert pressure on the weaker. While someone weaker might be able to initiate the technique, they can¡¯t terminate the bonding without destroying their soul. The stronger person, depending on the strength discrepancy, can terminate the bonding, but they will suffer an unknowable backlash. It might weaken them, destroy part of their soul, even create a permanent XP leak that will stop them from growing.¡±


    Adam watched the rest of the students make a variety of expressions, hard to read with their ugly, alien faces, but he knew each one was disgust or fear. The explanation of this technique terrified them all.


    ¡°Fortunately,¡± continued the instructor, with a lighter tone, ¡°you are in very little danger of encountering this. First, you will all be too weak to do it by accident for a long time. Second, this is a technique that only those with a soul class can do. Only people in this Tower, who are sworn to the collective good. No one here that knows how to do it would be willing to endanger themselves or to go against the Tower¡¯s rules.


    ¡°Now let us return to the proper topics. As is commonly known, our race can drink the blood of others. What is less commonly known is that we aren¡¯t truly drinking blood but using it as a medium to absorb some of our opponent¡¯s soul. We can both weaken them while also strengthening and growing our own soul. This provides us with a secondary growth metric to the [System]. Just one of the reasons our race is feared and respected by even those who claim to be superior.¡±


    Adam continued to listen as the lecture discussed the advantages the Red Clan race had over all others. It was only slightly informative since it seemed more like propaganda. Regardless, hearing them made Adam hope he never had to go against them now that he had been accepted.


    After a while the topic turned to different soul classes.


    ¡°There are numerous soul classes. Not everyone from our race is fit for this, as we have plenty of citizens who are led to physical or magical combat classes. One myth that we spread to other races is that our soul classes come from offensive magic in nature. That is only a myth. Within this Tower everyone starts out as a support class.


    ¡°Old research suggests that these classes were meant to be used for empowering and healing others. There are very few attack skills that come from these classes. Over the centuries we have learned to use these classes for other purposes, and now there are no better classes at control, infiltration, self-protection, or manipulating targets.


    ¡°We can develop skills, based on our affinities and training, to travel unnoticed, or to gain favor from others. The highest tiers, five and six, even can learn abilities to manipulate and alter memories and emotions, although those are exceedingly rare.


    ¡°Before coming here, you were each checked for several factors, including your ability to learn a soul class. Those checks were what qualified you to begin this path. Tomorrow we will be testing each of you on path affinities. We will use that information to decide on the classes you will be guided to and the role you might have within the Tower once you come to greater power. For now, rest. Tomorrow, each of you will be summoned for the testing before we resume education.¡±


    With that, Tithixal¡¯gx¡¯Guntraz turned, no longer acknowledging them, and left the room. Adam released a breath he hadn¡¯t realized he was holding and reclined in his seat. There were no conversations between the other students, no comradery or excited discussions about tomorrow. Each student stood in turn and walked out of the room.


    Adam waited until everyone else was gone. He considered the pseudo-skills he had gotten from future Adam. It sounded like the memory and emotional manipulation that he had was unusual, though believable with the other Adam having reached Tier 5. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder if the affinity would send him on this path, and what the lower-tiered classes for it were. Whether they would give him new skills he didn¡¯t have or weaker versions of what became his pseudo-skills.


    Not wanting to be the odd man out by lingering too long, Adam followed the other student¡¯s leads and left the room. Tomorrow would be an eventful day, one way or another.


    ***


    Outside of Jackson an army was gathering. Sgolkr waited beyond the city, in an isolated wildlife park, for the Scyrric from the region to arrive. He had already been unpleasantly surprised to realize how far the natives¡¯ territory had grown since the beginning of the Scyrric claim to the planet had been allowed. The size wasn¡¯t enough to be explained by a few Dimensional Convergence Rifts being claimed. This would take many more than he had been notified of.


    That aberration sure had turned what should be a routine conquering and war game into a mess. However, the aberration had been struck down, and even though Sgolkr disapproved of the Red Clan wench spiriting the aberration away, there was no question that he would be gone for good. Even the Red Clan wouldn¡¯t endanger their relationship with the mighty Scyrric over one unusual native.


    Sgolkr had no doubt in his mind that when he and a few of his brethren converged on the natives¡¯ base, the battle would be quick and decisive. He still decided to wait until more forces had gathered. There was no reason to rush into it. Based on what the Red Clan wench had reported, there would be plenty of XP for them to consume. That was the reason they were here after all.


    While he felt like waiting was a waste of time, Sgolkr had no doubt that he would be exalted by the end of his time on this world.

 CH 149: Tower Defense

    CHAPTER 149: Tower Defense


    Lucas looked over at Adam¡¯s chair, the raised and sculpted throne that Tom had made for him. The gold-colored inlay of it, the scenes of heroics carved into the wood, they drew the eye. He wasn¡¯t the only one to spend time glancing at it during the meetings since Adam had been captured.


    Though they had lost their appointment title locator skill, they knew he was alive since the Rift base hadn¡¯t been inherited yet. There was an underlying fear that somehow the invaders knew how to forcibly transfer it or reassign it. That would be a nightmare scenario.


    The girls also had their connections with him. No one knew if there was a distance limit to the connections, yet they had survived them going in the dimensional rift convergences, which tended to cut off standard communications and signals, so hope remained there. The biggest concern with the connections was what the girls said was coming through them. Adam was happy and positively excited.


    How could Adam be feeling those things when his standard emotions were the opposite when involving invaders? The fear that his group had spoken about in private was that they were somehow brainwashing him, which seemed unlikely to them due to him previous immunity to the mind witch. Tom was confident he was in his right mind, even proposing that he was playing possum with his captors. Even if that was the case, how could he be happy when so far removed from what he fought to protect?


    Adam was hardly the greatest concern though. He was just a constant thought on everyone¡¯s minds. The chair and Adam were just a distraction that Lucas was using to avoid the current conversations.


    ¡°Say that again, Jordan,¡± ordered Lucas.


    It didn¡¯t feel as odd to Lucas as he expected to be looked to as a leader. He had been leading groups both large and small since the [System]. Before the [System], being a thug and collecting riff raff as a small gang had been a sort of vengeance on society, an attempt to prove that he deserved a place in it. When Adam had never questioned him, his ethics or judgement, treating him as a peer and trusting him with the fight against the goblins, Lucas had stopped caring about what he deserved or was owed. If he couldn¡¯t take and protect what was around him from the invaders, then there would be no place for him in this world.


    His group all seemed to defer to him, even if Adam often switched up who lead particular missions. At this moment, they were all looking at him as the primary voice. With the strongest group deferring to Lucas, no one in the Sentinel Army was willing to question it. Unfortunately, it was at a time when the next few days would end in temporary victory or death. That was where Adam¡¯s confidence and steady hostility to the invaders helped drive people forward through their fear.


    ¡°The invaders have cut off our ability to change the base,¡± Jordan said hesitantly. For once he was sitting at the table alongside all the other base leaders.


    ¡°Please explain how that affects things,¡± said Colonel Davian.


    ¡°Lucas told me to work with the engineers to design traps and defenses for the incoming army. We spent a bunch of time discussing it, but after only a few hours of deciding on positions for things, and getting a few defenses built up, I got a message. The [System] told me we were under siege and that all energy was restricted from being used to change the base.¡±


    ¡°Where did the energy go?¡± asked Andrea.


    ¡°The message said it was being used to reinforce existing structures. I can¡¯t add new buildings though. The wall and other buildings constructed using the Rift Menu should be 20% more durable,¡± explained Jordan while cradling his head.


    ¡°Lashtam, do you know what features are affected?¡± Lucas shifted to someone not wallowing in misery.


    ¡°Certainly, Lord Lucas,¡± nodded Lashtam, sitting upright on the edge of a chair. ¡°Creating portals to travel to other bases is cut off. Restructuring materials is unusable. Changing or moving structures is unavailable.¡±


    ¡°I was so excited to use the materials we finally took from the city. There was so much possibility for it all,¡± wailed Jordan. ¡°It was like spending a ton on pay to win packs in a tower defense game.¡±


    ¡°How did they stop it?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°Three Scyrric Tier 3s walked into our territory and sat down,¡± moaned Jordan.


    ¡°They sat?¡± asked Brittney.


    ¡°That¡¯s right,¡± answered Jordan.


    ¡°And that is enough for a siege?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°Yes, Lord Lucas. Since they are more powerful than anyone within the base, according to levels, the base has changed to defensive mode. We must weather this assault with what we have,¡± explained Lashtam.


    ¡°Which includes no portals to escape?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°That is correct,¡± nodded Lashtam. ¡°Though if a networked base has enough power, then they can create portals to us. However, we transferred the power from the other Rifts to us already, so none of our satellite Rifts contain enough power.¡±


    ¡°So, technically we could receive reinforcements but not flee,¡± sighed Lucas.


    ¡°Who even sets these stupid rules?¡± asked Randall absently.


    ¡°That is unknown, Lord Randall,¡± Lashtam answered as if it had been a real question.


    ¡°Then what do we have? What did you get done?¡± Lucas asked Jordan, who was too busy rocking himself that he didn¡¯t hear.


    Taking a page from Adam, Lucas slapped his hand onto the table with enough force to shake the room. A sound like thunder echoed and Jordan¡¯s terror filled eyes locked onto Lucas¡¯s.


    ¡°What do we have?¡± repeated Lucas slowly but forcefully.


    ¡°So little!¡± Jordan stumbled out. ¡°We set up only a few pitfall traps. They won¡¯t trap very many and we doubt the spikes at the bottom will harm the Tier 3s. Then I created towers for ranged within the walls. I meant to make a lot more but only was able to make two per gate and then one at each quarter mile interval around the rest of the wall. All my play to win resources wasted because I thought I had more time.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    ¡°Towers with no weapons aren¡¯t good for much besides lookouts,¡± muttered Elias.


    ¡°Oh, I put weapons in them,¡± said Jordan.


    ¡°What kind of weapons?¡± asked Lucas. ¡°Ballistae? Catapults?¡±


    ¡°Not ballistae or catapults. Why go back to the Middle Ages? We made guns,¡± he answered dismissively, as if it was too obvious to even mention. Everyone looked at him with exasperation.


    ¡°You said before making guns was pointless. They disappear when used. Were you lying to us?¡± demanded Randall angrily.


    ¡°What?¡± startled Jordan. ¡°No, of course I didn¡¯t lie. If anyone took the bullets or guns made within the territory to outside of it then they would disintegrate. Right now, our territory is so large that we¡¯ll be able to use them for defense without fear of them breaking down.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t there an issue with skills not working on them and materials being too weak?¡± Lucas asked.


    ¡°Well sure, skills won¡¯t work on them. But that will hardly matter when they are more powerful than most of the skills and don¡¯t require high level operators to be effective,¡± Jordan said dismissively.


    Lucas turned to Garrett Starf, who was representing the crafters at this meeting.


    ¡°How did we make more effective guns?¡±


    Garrett gave a wide smile. ¡°There are two problems with guns in this new world. The first is that the bullets need to be strong enough to actually harm higher leveled people. That needs to take both the level and vitality stat into account. The second issue is creating enough explosive force to launch the bullet without destroying the gun firing it or the person holding it.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ve solved those issues?¡± asked Lucas skeptically.


    ¡°Absolutely! Don¡¯t underestimate our skills!¡± crowed Garrett.


    ¡°It was thanks to the materials you¡¯ve gathered more than the crafters,¡± said Jordan, earning him a scowl from Garrett.


    ¡°Fine,¡± conceded the blacksmith. ¡°It was mostly the materials you young¡¯uns brought in. We¡¯ve been using the Horkos skeletons to make bullets. Those guys had such high vitality that to even test the viability we had to use the Rift to shape the early ones. Now we have some machines we created to do the shaping, which is good since we would have run out of bullets quickly with the Rift Menu no long shaping things.¡±


    ¡°What about the guns themselves?¡± asked Tom.


    ¡°Those required a bit more experimentation. We needed to use a combination of materials to craft chambers and barrels sturdy enough to survive an increased explosive force. To get enough power for us to believe the bullets can penetrate high level creatures. Those alchemist rabbits¡­¡±


    ¡°Bunnies!¡± corrected Tom with a shout.


    ¡°Leputi,¡± interrupted Lashtam, politely daring to correct Tom.


    ¡°¡­furred folk,¡± continued Garrett, not missing a beat, ¡°made it all possible. We mixed some of the metals with the leftover Horkos bone powder and some different chemical solutions to strengthen them. Then we used some of the more fireproof high-level snake skins to wrap the metal to direct the heat and explosive force. They aren¡¯t the same as traditional guns looks-wise, but they work the same and can have a bigger kick. In fact, we had to lock them into the towers on special aiming stands to keep the kickback from wounding lower strength users. Even the gun powder has been mixed with combustible oils of high-level enemies you¡¯ve slain to boost the power.¡±


    ¡°Sweet!¡± said Tom. ¡°Then we can outfit the whole army with these suckers!¡±


    ¡°Uh, no, Tom,¡± said Jordan. The glare Tom sent him caused the man to shrink in his chair, trying to hide.


    Garrett coughed to get their attention from the cowering gamer. ¡°We were only able to make about two dozen of the guns and they are locked into the towers we put them in. Each required the Rift Menu to create as we didn¡¯t have the ability to mix and shape the materials with our skill levels. The ability to create more is shut down until we break the siege.


    ¡°We have six single shot sniper rifles. Those are more powerful and have bullets that use Tier 3 bones. We¡¯ll want to only fire them in emergencies or against Tier 3 opponents. They will wear down more quickly, so don¡¯t bother using them against common enemies you can take out with magic or skills.


    ¡°The rest are automatic, loaded more like a gatling gun with chains of cartridges than magazines. Either way they will eat through ammo, and we have to hand craft each bullet and cartridge ourselves. Making them is dangerous too. Don¡¯t want the gunpower and oil exploding during the process. The crafter won¡¯t walk away from that.¡±


    ¡°Where are these located?¡± asked Lucas, most concerned that they weren¡¯t mobile weapons.


    ¡°Two machine guns by each gate along with one of the sniper rifles, and the rest are spread out a bit,¡± squeaked Jordan, who then realized something and began groaning again. ¡°Oh, I had no many other plans¡­¡±


    Lucas ignored the man and continued addressing Garrett.


    ¡°Any other weapons?¡±


    ¡°Only one more. Everything else we worked on isn¡¯t ready and can¡¯t safely be finished without the Rift Menu. You know Napalm? Yeah, we essentially created a Tier 2 and Tier 3 version of it. Only, this stuff is WAY more dangerous. Like, we aren¡¯t really sure how to deliver it without requiring suicide bombers.


    ¡°Basically, we can put it in a bottle with a fuse, but there is quite a splash range with it. Almost like it increases in mass outward once ignited. It won¡¯t stop burning either. Had some go off in a test bunker and we had to cut off all oxygen to stop it. The stuff reignited whenever we opened the room up to check on it. We ended up burying the bunker. Had to watch it all through the Rift display. You really don¡¯t want to need the Tier 3 stuff.


    ¡°Once again, it was all thanks to those ¡­ fuzzy alchemists. One of my people, an Earth chemist, went through a few books with them. They were quite excited about learning the science behind it.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes,¡± said Lashtam with excitement. ¡°Your science is amazing. The rest of the universe just uses skills and magic, but you learned the how and why of things. There is so much more we can do once we study what you know and adapt it to our skills. If we can study this then eventually we can find new ways to apply it that the rest of the universe hasn¡¯t discovered. That book Lord Tom provided on D.N.A. and mating has given us new ideas on how to create more capable offspring as well.¡±


    ¡°Well, for this battle we don¡¯t have time to create those offspring,¡± said Lucas, causing Tom to snicker. He flashed a scowl, causing Tom to stiffen. ¡°Ok, so we have potentially powerful new weapons that might be as dangerous to us as to our enemies. Then, for the rest of the time, let¡¯s discuss how we should deploy our forces, and what we can do to prevent Carmichael¡¯s people from making this even more difficult.¡±


    ***


    ¡°They are plotting,¡± muttered general Carmichael to himself while looking in every direction at once. He was seated around a table with his officers, trying to figure out what to do. Several of their scouts had tried to find hidden tunnels or ways to get further into the base, but those had been quickly caught and returned with warnings.


    ¡°Sir, maybe we should¡­¡± started one of the officers.


    ¡°Wait!¡± snapped the general loudly. He looked in different directions and then under the table. ¡°They are watching us even now! Those traitors. Why did you even bring us in here with them, commander?¡±


    Rexus shrugged at him. ¡°In here we have more of a chance then out there. Wouldn¡¯t we rather stand in the armory than the latrines? At least here we have a chance.¡±


    The general thought for a moment and then came to a decision. He nodded back to Rexus.


    ¡°I see. Then, before we hear what you have planned, we need to think of a way they won¡¯t listened in.¡±


    Several of the officers sighed at that, but the general only smiled wider.


    ***


    Sgolkr looked down on his brethren who volunteered to enter the territory. They were all waiting for the rest of the region¡¯s Scyrric to arrive. Sgolkr wasn¡¯t sure it was necessary, but this was the proper way to do things. The Scyrric way. Overwhelming force. Tomorrow they would roll through the territory, crush the walls, and consume all those natives worth taking the XP from.


    There would be no infiltration, no sneaking up on them. The Scyrric would show their superiority and power. Without the aberration, the natives would have no one strong enough to oppose them. Not that the aberration had been much when faced with a true Scyrric warrior. Sgolkr¡¯s sharp teeth gleamed as he spread his mouth into a smile.


    ¡°Are you so happy?¡± asked a level 48 ¡°Barrier Obstructive.¡±


    ¡°Oh yes. These natives have caused our purpose here to be altered too much. We are the Scyrric. We will be the victors!¡± Sgolkr hissed as his smile widened.

 CH 150: Proclamation

    CHAPTER 150: Proclamation


    Five hundred pairs of feet marched in unison. Scaled feet and metal coverings struck the ground at the same time, vibrating the ground and overwhelming any other sounds. The Scyrric entered the territory in orderly lines, walking in step.


    There were all kinds of lizard men. They were large, lean, stout, short, long, rounder, and more angular. Their equipment looked to be of quality. Some wore shirts and pants, others had metal shoes. Full suits of armor completely covered some, from their heads to their feet with only their tails exposed. Straps and strips of leather wrapped others, while cloth robes tailored for the Scyrric body shape sat tightly on some.


    Weapons of all kinds were there, but each one was clean and well maintained. They weren¡¯t shaped like traditional human swords, spears, or knives, though the shields looked ready for humans to use.


    The one standard feature that every one of the Scyrric had, no matter their shape or what they wore, was the predatorial gleam in their slitted eyes. Though no one violated the conformity of their orderly movements and positioning, it felt like they were all waiting to rush forward to attack.


    Rift Menu displays were set up along the walls, resembling segments of video monitors in security rooms from pre-[System]. All the humans watched the Scyrric march from the west. The displays showing the other directions around the Sentinel Army¡¯s base were clear of invaders.


    They had tens of thousands of humans on the walls. Watching. Waiting. Uncertainty ran through them, as this was the first time their home had been attacked.


    Not all the humans were high levels, but all were there to contribute. Each person would do what they could, for if the base fell, then humanity¡¯s defense of their planet might come to an end.


    The people were spread out, not all congregating at the west gate. If they needed reinforcements, then they would be called. Rotations had already been established to substitute in those who had mana while others rested. Buffers were mixed among the ranged to boost their abilities when the fighting began. Protector classes stood in between groups of ranged attackers to protect them from enemy projectiles and spells. The healers and melee fighters stayed back, out of the way, but were ready should they need to engage on the ground or ranged took damage.


    ¡°Not as intimidating as I thought,¡± said Tom.


    ¡°That¡¯s only for us,¡± chided Brittney, pointing to the humans who were still in Tier 1 and 2.


    There was clear anxiety in the soft whispers from the groups. Some even trembled. The steady steps of the disciplined Scyrric made them feel unprepared for the approaching professional army.


    ¡°I just thought they¡¯d bring a lot more lizards,¡± added Tom. ¡°They didn¡¯t even bring those mounts that the one base had. 500 soldiers and 10 Tier 3s hardly seems enough to take us all out.¡±


    ¡°Maybe they are really that strong,¡± muttered Brandon, ready to cast his strongest buffs on the different groups.


    ¡°Or that arrogant,¡± said Andrea.


    ¡°Guess we¡¯ll need to see how this goes,¡± Lucas whispered to them, trying not to be heard by those outside his group. His eyes never left the displays, cycling through the different locations in case there were signs of incursions from them.


    When the Scyrric were about 100 yards from the gate, they all stopped marching, staying in their pristine marching lines. Each enemy was precisely positioned in their row. No one knew if that had been planned in advance or if they had ways of giving orders without the humans being able to hear.


    Once they stopped, the rows all shifted to the sides, opening a path down the center of the horde. A larger Scyrric in the back casually walked forward. He held himself tall, with dignity. He wore a lot of metal armor, all ornately engraved and reflecting the light due to the flawless surfaces.


    A chest piece with pauldrons covered his upper body. A faulds covered his waist, with plated coming off it to protect his groin and hips. His arms were covered with metal as well, though his braces ended at his knuckles, leaving his curved talons open. Similar plates were on his legs, and while metal wrapped around his feet in an odd type of shoe, they left open his heel and toes.


    A helmet was on his head, curving over top his sloped lizard face and snout. His mouth and sides were exposed, allowing him to see and speak without obstruction. Even his long and thick tail had numerous metal plates set in a way to allow him to use it for both blocking and attacking, with spikes towards the top of the end.


    This Scyrric, tagged with ¡°Metallic Berserker [74]¡±, had no lack of weapons either. Two jagged blades, not quite sabers, were at his waist. Seated in a harness closer to his shoulders than his back, due to the slant the Scyrric walked with, were both a long-handled war hammer and a short handled double-bladed axe. Knives and thick needles lined his legs.


    Slowly arriving in front of the host, he pulled out a yellow crystal from a pouch at his waste. His teeth bared in a threatening smile as he looked over the length of walls and the humans covering it. From right to left his head slowly panned as he took everything in. Then he looked at the cleared-out area that had once contained the buildings of Jackson, before turning to the gate.


    When he spoke in the hissing Scyrric way, his voice stayed quiet and steady but was projected to everyone on the wall. The yellow crystal seemed to have the same effect as how Adam used the Rift Menu to speak to crowds.


    ¡°Good,¡± came his coarse voice. ¡°You come to greet your masters. Now obey. Come out from the wall and prostrate yourself before us and we will decide which of you shall live.¡±


    He spoke confidently, with self-assurance. Whether he expected them to follow didn¡¯t matter. Whispering increased on the walls, and his smile widened.


    ¡°I did not say you can speak, worms. None stand above the mighty Scyrric. Come down from there and BOW!¡±


    As he said ¡°bow¡±, the world seemed to respond. The volume of his voice didn¡¯t increase, but the pressure from it did. Weaker humans shook and almost fell. Higher level people grabbed them to keep anyone from falling. A primal fear seemed to grip much of the Sentinel Army.If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°Think we can take him?¡± wondered Tom out loud.


    ¡°There are so few of them and we have more Tier 3s,¡± answered Randall.


    ¡°Can¡¯t you feel how strong that one is?¡± Tom continued. ¡°I¡¯m not sure if we can defeat him, even as a group. He¡¯s one level from Tier 4.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to give up?¡± asked Lucas with an edge to it.


    ¡°Of course not, temp boss! At the least we can take all the rest out,¡± Tom said, with his chest held high before adding, ¡°Then we can use slow-Joe as a shield while we run away.¡±


    Joseph pulled back his fist to punch Tom, before deciding not to and putting his hand down.


    Lucas spoke into a Rift window, set up to project his voice to only those on the wall.


    ¡°Steady. Don¡¯t let him punk us. There is no reason to get scared here. We haven¡¯t seen anything to cause us concern yet,¡± he said. There was more muttering from those on the wall and a clear relaxation at Lucas¡¯s words. The humans stood a little taller and went back to watching.


    The Scyrric watched, not really bothered by the actions of the humans. He even waited patiently until they stilled before speaking again.


    ¡°That aberration has done you all a disservice by training you pets like this,¡± he growled. ¡°However, we have liberated you from his perversion of the natural order.¡±


    The onlookers didn¡¯t think it was possible, but the Scyrric¡¯s smile got even wider, the edges of it sliding up his cheeks in a horrific way, not hiding a single sharp tooth. Then his reptilian eyes narrowed. After a pause, he continued. ¡°We have put down that aberration!¡±


    Gasps sounded out along the wall. People stepped back. Heads turned to look at Lucas and his group.


    ¡°He will not be returning to you, for by now he is surely on another world. A test subject to find out how he has managed to defy us and the [System]. You need not worry about that, though. For all you need to do is take your place at our feet. Either as our slaves, or as the corpses we trample!¡±


    The disorder the proclamation caused among the humans was immediate. People began demanding an explanation. Others seemed to turn despondent, dropping to the ground or cradling their heads. Some started shoving those around them while other spoke up in defense of Adam, arguing that it was lies and that he would return.


    Then a loud, shrill whistle, enhanced by the Rift so much that even the Scyrric winced, regardless of the distance. Lucas crossed his arms and stared at everyone. His look was every bit the thug he had been prior to joining Adam. He glared at the people. Those close enough could feel the threat in it.


    Yet, it was Joseph who stepped forward and spoke.


    ¡°Calm down, you dummies! Who cares?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± someone yelled.


    Tom activated the skills [Persuasive Aura] and [Seek the Truth] as Joseph spoke.


    ¡°I said who cares? Adam got taken, but so what? Does that mean we should just give up? Should we just go out to that guy who is threatening us because Adam ain¡¯t here? Adam never gave up. We won¡¯t give up neither. Any loser who would needs to get their asses over that wall and let us get on with this.¡±


    Lucas then spoke up. ¡°Why have we been raiding the bases and killing all the invaders? Why has everyone been required to hunt? To get stronger. So that we can do this without Adam. So that we can stand on our own.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t get us wrong,¡± continued Tom, his skills strengthening his words even more. ¡°The boss is the best! More than the best! But he has been sacrificing to make sure each one of us has our own power. The boss has done the impossible up to now. But those lizard chumps down there aren¡¯t the impossible. We don¡¯t need the boss for that piddly showing, so don¡¯t sweat it.¡±


    Tom flashed once more with skill use, triggering his first skill earned after reaching Tier 3. [The More You Believe] was a skill that enhanced Tom¡¯s previous skills based on his own belief in something. The stronger his belief in what he said, the more persuasiveness he had.


    ¡°Let me tell you one more thing,¡± he continued. The force of his aura affected everyone. The most skeptical felt uplifted by his next words, while those who already had belief in Adam felt theirs soaring. Even his group that spent all their time around him and Adam were boosted by it. ¡°The boss will ALWAYS come back for us. Captured by invaders, sent to other worlds, fighting against overmatched enemies¡­none of that matter. He will come back and will WIN! As long as we hold the place for him to come back to.¡±


    Buoyed by Tom¡¯s skills, morale skyrocketed. There couldn¡¯t have been a better buff. People cheered and hollered.


    ¡°To the General!¡± some shouted.


    ¡°To Adam!¡± cried others.


    ¡°To the Boss!¡± a few more said.


    Tom turned to Sgolkr, who was now frowning. ¡°Hear that you bottom feeding skink lizard?! Come forward if you really want to know who the superior ones are!¡±


    More cheers rose at Tom¡¯s defiance.


    ¡°Then the decision is made, and your death is assured!¡± whispered Sgolkr through the yellow crystal.


    He walked back through his small army and took his place at the rear. Once there, the rest of the Scyrric returned to their formation. A cry went out from them in a language that humans would never be able to pronounce. Then the army marched forward.


    ¡°Get into positions,¡± ordered Lucas. ¡°Unit leaders, be conservative with mana and follow the rotations.¡±


    Down the wall those in charge of the groups assembled everyone and began prepping them. Supports gave out their buffs. Then everyone waited.


    Lamar was the first. He pulled out an arrow and placed it in his bow. With a greater force than any of the other archers, he pulled back the bow and held. ¡°[Take Your Time],¡± was the skill he used, and then waited.


    The Scyrric in the lead snickered at the humans as they walked forward. Without losing their position they hissed and made threats. They growled and stepped extra heavy to bring mental weight to their physical presence.


    When they got within 30 yards, barriers sprung up around those approaching, thanks to the defensive classes in the lead. A pale-yellow glow covered every angle from the front. Some barriers overlapped, making sure there wasn¡¯t a single opening.


    ¡°Loose!¡± shouted the leader of a group on the wall that was closest to the Scyrric approach. 10 spells of different elements shot out towards the Scyrric. A fireball struck first, flattening and spreading out as it hit the barriers. Then a water lance followed by shards of rock. They all amounted to nothing on those shields. The Scyrric snickered and taunted, continuing to come closer.


    More groups began casting. A steady barrage of spells and arrows flew towards the invaders. The barriers would flash when struck, weakening, but held out. Occasionally one of the stronger attacks would piece the barrier, but there was always a defender with a shield to block it, then the barriers were re-cast.


    ¡°Keep it up!¡± shouted Tom. ¡°Rome wasn¡¯t built in a day!¡±


    ¡°What does building Rome have to do with us fighting?¡± Joseph asked Randall, who shushed him.


    ¡°Keep wearing them down,¡± called Lucas.


    With the thousands of people around, the humans didn¡¯t need to win right away, just to keep the pressure up until the Scyrric couldn¡¯t defend or made a mistake. Yet, the Scyrric seemed confident. They had the knowledge, training, and equipment for battles like this. They had the stronger classes and the upbringing for these fights.


    Then another voice spoke his skills.


    ¡°[Steady Shot]. [Deep Blade],¡± said Lamar calmly.


    His arrow was released. It burst forwards. Right in the middle of the Scyrric, where two barriers overlapped, the arrow hit. Or more accurately, the barriers burst.


    The arrow sped faster than they could see and hit the defender in the middle. The arrow penetrated the front of his armor. The armor was strong enough to prevent the arrow from coming out the back, but there was still enough force that the hit Scyrric was propelled backwards, into a few attackers and a buffer. His limbs and tail tripped up a few marching nearby.


    The hit defender might have had enough vitality to survive the arrow. He probably would have been able to get up, get healed, and continue the fight. However, before more barriers could be cast and the surrounding Scyrric could reposition, lightning came through the gaps in the barriers.


    ¡°[Lightning Spread]!¡± shouted Andrea as she stood at the edge of the wall. A fan of lightning came from her hands, leaving blue afterimages in everyone¡¯s eyes. The lightning flew through the holes in the barriers and found the metal armor the invaders wore.


    ¡°[Lightning Merge]!¡± she called again, causing all the lightning that had spread among the Scyrric to jump back through them and join at the defender that Lamar had hit. The enemy smoked and then fell, no longer able to be healed.


    Sgolkr saw what had happened and screeched, ¡°Kill the natives!¡±


    Then the Scyrric began fighting in earnest.

 CH 151: We鈥檒l be Taking This

    CHAPTER 151: We¡¯ll be Taking This


    Sgolkr snarled as he watched his troops split into groups of 6 to 12. It was standard to use a defender, buffer, healer, and then two physical fighters and a caster. Knowing that the natives were behind a wall had led him to focus more heavily on ranged classes. It was also common for the higher Tiered combatants to allow time for others to get their kills and experience before engaging.


    This battle felt wrong to Sgolkr even before full combat had commenced. Rage was building in the berserker. He had watched one of the defenders he had brought in die quickly. The Red Clan speaker had warned him that things were different here, but this was beyond different. This was violating the natural order.


    Obviously, the aberration had altered things. It had started with the levels in the region being unnaturally high at this point in conquering this world. First the natives had grown strong, which was absurd to think of. Then the other races placed here by the [System] had to cooperate instead of battling amongst themselves just to bring them to the levels of the aberration¡¯s people.


    This should never happen. Never!


    Never had natives grown strong enough to matter. Occasionally there would be a few who hid and found ways to gain personal strength, but even then, they were outpaced by the armies around them and never posed a threat. Did bases sometimes fall? Before being sent here to face the aberration, Sgolkr had read of only three times that bases had fallen to natives, and those times had been due to a combination of negligence and trickery.


    The heat in Sgolkr increased his anger at these wasteful worms, thinking they were worthy of competing with an apex race, raining down projectiles and magic on the groups approaching their pathetic wall. Even the aberration had nearly died to a single blow from Sgolkr. Yet, these natives¡­these maggots, had already killed a strong Scyrric defender. They were able to break through his rare class skills and high vitality to bring fatal damage before the healers could even reach him. This was absurd!


    Steam released from Sgolkr¡¯s mouth as his fury grew. Even two of his brethren stepped further away from him. Not due to fear, no! For the mighty Scyrric do not feel fear! Simply to give him more space should he need to vent.


    The anger was strong enough now that Sgolkr didn¡¯t need to check his status to know that his strength was soaring while his intelligence was dropping. He needed to keep control if he expected to lead this small army. Due to his higher level and special status, he was firmly in charge here and no trained Scyrric would even doubt it, even with borrowed soldiers. His high level had made transferring him to this world too expensive to bring his own troops.


    Yet, what Sgolkr watched now had him seething regardless of trying to maintain his calm.


    The battle wasn¡¯t a quick one, and against another quality race he might tolerate a few losses. Obviously, there was an advantage to the native¡¯s numbers and staying out of physical reach of the Scyrric. However, the Scyrric had much stronger skills and weapons. That much was obvious. They should have been able to pick off those insects without wasting too many resources, regardless of the numbers that were there.


    As he watched, the scene played out differently than that. The Scyrric couldn¡¯t truly approach the wall. They tried to get close, but the density of spells they were being hit with, the sheer number of them, was depleting the more powerful barriers. Then occasionally an arrow or condensed lightning would tear through the barriers, leaving the group to take damage from the weaker spells that rained down in the dozens.


    The spells besides the lightning weren¡¯t enough to kill the Scyrric, but it kept them from approaching and would eventually deplete their resources until they couldn¡¯t survive it any longer. This was NOT how fights with the Scyrric should go.


    Sgolkr clenched his jaw as he saw two more Scyrric fall, taken down by that stronger archer. The emotions in Sgolkr weren¡¯t fueled by a fear of failure or being blamed for the losses. Those could happen during world claiming, but this was due to the disrespect this was showing to their race.


    He had genuinely thought that without the aberration, they would just be a group of rodents fleeing a sinking ship. Even with the Red Clan witch¡¯s warnings he had thought this would have been a large enough attack force. That aberration had amounted to nothing. No great fight between them, no show of strength. Why would his pets be any different?


    It was his greatest disappointment that he hadn¡¯t had a real fight to make that unnatural native learn to regret his behaviors before falling.


    Yet these natives were putting up more of a fight than the aberration had. And what made him the angriest, even more furious than losing soldiers, was that they didn¡¯t seem scared at all. They didn¡¯t tremble.


    Sure, a few natives had when he had used his skill [Death Descends] while speaking to them through the projection crystal, but once the combat had begun, they behaved like an actual army. Like it was just another fight. Any race acting like the world was fine when a host of Scyrric was bearing down on them was delusional. These underdeveloped natives even more so.


    Still, they held their own. They fought. They pushed the Scyrric back.


    Sgolkr was just about fed up with this. It might be protocol to allow one¡¯s subordinates to have the first chance, but could he even consider them living up to the Scyrric name?Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    ¡°Khtolk!¡± snapped Sgolkr to the Tier 3 with the ¡°Immovable [52]¡± class nearby, after seeing a healer fall dead from the lightning. ¡°Our troops are faltering too much. Go aid them.¡±


    The heavily armored Scyrric, covered from head to toe in dense metal, began moving forward. He was wide as a car and carried a shield almost as big. His steps were very slow and plodding. The ground sank where the metal soles of his shoes were placed.


    An order was sent to those in combat, and they reformed into two groups, with a lane between them for Khtolk. As the Scyrric solders moved to back up, a few of their barrier positions shifted enough for that archer to kill two more. Sgolkr wanted to roar, but he had assigned this task to Khtolk.


    The strongest defense also came with massive strength. The shield attached to his armor was flat and large enough to easily cover a group of Scyrric completely. That level of strength could surely knock a hole in the natives¡¯ wall. Khtolk was reliable enough to know what to do and durable enough that he would never fall to the likes of those standing against them.


    The big Scyrric chuckle-hissed as he passed those lined up and entered range of the rodents on the wall. As expected, coming into their spell range caused as sorts of spells to strike him, but his armor was impervious to them all. Not even a blemish was caused to the high quality armor. There was no reason to even bring his shield to bear. That would be used to smash the wall.


    Sgolkr felt his smoldering rage normalize as glee entered him at what would soon come to pass.


    ***


    ¡°Uh, temp boss,¡± Tom said to Lucas, ¡°I don¡¯t like the look of that guy.¡±


    The armored Scyrric resembled a robot as every motion was deliberate and planned. Each step was precisely completed before the next, presumably to prevent losing balance because of the weight. His march to the wall was unencumbered regardless of the number of attacks sent at him. It seemed inevitable that he would arrive through the falling attacks as if they were a breeze while on a casual stroll.


    Lamar then released an arrow buffed with all his penetration skills. The arrow didn¡¯t ping off the armor or get absorbed like all the spells hitting it. Instead, the arrowhead shattered, proving the material of the armor was a much higher quality than the arrowheads. In frustration, Lamar muttered curses but didn¡¯t bother shooting another arrow. He did notch one though and just held the string pulled back, without looking like he intended to fire. His skill [Take Your Time] increasing the power of his attack the longer he held the bow drawn, watching for an opening to present itself.


    ¡°Yeah, temp boss. If we have to fight that guy, then I¡¯ll generously let you have the first go at it.¡±


    Lucas looked over at Tom, not even surprised by his shamelessness. There was a feeling of pressure and fear in Lucas, but not nearly enough for him to hesitate at this moment. Battles might be deadlier than a boxing match, but there was a similar back and forth between them. Time was spent feeling out each side to see what the most effective action would be.


    Turning to a display connected to the defense towers, Lucas spoke into it.


    ¡°Those are supposed to be powerful, right? Can you take that guy down?¡±


    ¡°Sorry, commander, but I¡¯ve no idea. I only test shot once into the ground. We won¡¯t know until we try,¡± replied an army sniper. The man had been excited that he finally had a weapon he had been trained on, volunteering for the post immediately.


    Lucas nodded. ¡°Guess it¡¯s time to try. We need to stop that guy.¡±


    ¡°Roger!¡± acknowledged the man, before putting on a helmet that looked to dampen sound all over. ¡°Better cover your ears! This volume will be like a bomb going off!¡±


    Lucas sent a message to display for everyone. ¡°Loud sound incoming! Duck and cover! Healers be ready!¡±


    The group held their breath, and their ears, as they waited and hoped.


    ***


    Sgolkr watched in anticipation as Khtolk got within twenty feet of the wall. Then he stopped and bellowed, arms reaching out. He laughed and lorded it over the silly natives. Sgolkr looked forward to joining him in his revelry once they breached those walls. With the walls down, then he would be able to get involved, and all the natives in that base would be his for the taking.


    Then something odd happened. All the natives in the wall dropped down beneath the battlements. They weren¡¯t even looking at Khtholk.


    Khtholk¡¯s bellow petered out and he looked in confusion at where the natives had been standing. They wouldn¡¯t have fallen in terror, and no one had used a skill on them. Once more their behavior was incomprehensible.


    ¡°What are you¡­¡± Khtholk went to say, but stopped as a crash of thunder, louder than any of them had ever heard, sounded out. At the same moment, Khtholk stumbled backwards.


    The Scyrric looked down at his chest. Sgolkr couldn¡¯t see what he was looking at, but whatever it was had forced the ¡°Immoveable¡± to move backwards. The surprises of these natives were very much not welcome to Sgolkr.


    Meanwhile, Khtholt was stunned at the dent in his armor containing a sharpened cone of bone. He easily pulled it out, since it hadn¡¯t penetrated his armor, simply deformed the spot it had hit. He brought the item up to one of his eyes, turning his head so he could get a good look at it through his left eye hole.


    ¡°What is this?¡± he mumbled. Then loudly he spoke to the walls. ¡°You pathetic insects think this is enough to¡­¡±


    Another crack of thunder, just as loud as before sounded out. The next bullet entered the left eyehole that Khtholk had exposed to the wall. It didn¡¯t come out the back, stopped by the back of the helmet after passing through the resistant scales and skull of Khtholk. Plenty of gore splattered and then poured out of both eye holes and down where the helmet met his neck.


    The body, knocked off balance, toppled backwards and hit the ground. It lay there in silence, unmoving.


    Sgolkr froze. He blinked. His eyes had to be deceiving him! They had a skill powerful enough to kill Khtholk through his armor?!


    For the first time Sgolkr felt uncertain. He looked at his peers to either side, but they seemed as disbelieving as he was. No one spoke. Nor did they know what to do. Then he looked at the walls, where the natives were slowly standing up, though they seemed disoriented from whatever had just happened. He could see healers trying to heal everyone.


    Was it possible they had a sacrificial skill that could take partial life from a group to inflict higher damage? He had never heard of one that wasn¡¯t a single person sacrifice, let alone strong enough to kill a tier higher. This made no sense.


    ¡°We are withdrawing,¡± he said quietly.


    Even more surprise showed on the faces of his troops as they looked at him. Scyrric didn¡¯t retreat. They won. But everyone knew that something incomprehensible had just happened.


    ¡°Srgyst, retrieve Khtholk¡¯s body,¡± he ordered. Sgolkr couldn¡¯t bring himself to leave just yet. He needed to ensure the body and equipment weren¡¯t left to these natives.


    The support Srgyst, ¡°Telemetrician [28]¡±, raised his hand with a flash of red. The body of Khtholk rose slightly off the ground. He grunted since the weight of the combined body and armor was a drain on his skill. Very slowly the body began moving towards him.


    Once more the expectations of the Scyrric were threatened as a figure cloaked in black, hook pulled low over his face jumped from the top of the wall. He easily dropped and landed gently. Casually walking towards the levitating body, he spoke.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be taking this.¡±

 CH 152: A Successful Test

    CHAPTER 152: A Successful Test


    ¡°I¡¯d say that was a successful test,¡± said Lucas as he watched the body of the armored Scyrric fall, not realizing he was shouting due to the ringing in his ears.


    ¡°WHAT?!¡± screamed Tom, right next to his head. It was at such a volume that Lucas winced from it even with his ears damaged. Tom had always been obnoxious and sometimes it was hard to resist punching his teammate. That was the same as it had been from pre-[System] Tom.


    ¡°[Circle of Life],¡± announced Abbey, using her skill.


    A green circle lit up under their feet, encircling about twenty of the people standing closest. Lucas nodded as he felt a soothing energy enter his feet and quickly circulate through his body. It caused lightness in his muscles and vigor to his energy. The tension that had been causing him to clench his shoulders and neck during the battle was released. Also, his ears returned to normal, the pain from the gunshot fading quickly. He released a sigh.


    ¡°I said, the test worked,¡± repeated Lucas, seeing that everyone had experienced the healing too.


    ¡°WHAT?!¡± Tom screamed again. This time Lucas didn¡¯t hesitate to punch him.


    As Lucas watched a snickering Tom climb back to his feet, trying to smooth his now dented metal armor like it was a wrinkly shirt, he spoke into the window connected to the gun tower. A healer had been on standby outside and had nearly fainted from being so close to the sound. Fortunately, he had the presence of mind to heal himself before passing out and then quickly attended to the two gunmen in the tower.


    Those in the tower had taken the sound and shockwave from it directly. Not only their ears, but much of their body looked affected by the soundwaves. Blood came out of their ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. They had also looked like someone had squeezed them to make their blood pressure rise.


    ¡°Are you guys alright?¡± Lucas asked the one who had fired.


    ¡°Sir, I¡¯ll honestly say that was the worst experience of my life. The test shot from before had been at a lower power. Not sure what they did to up the charge, but it was still barely enough. It would have taken more shots than this rifle could handle to get through that armor. I¡¯m fortunate that the targeting through the Rift Menu adjusted fast enough that I could shoot through the eye gap.¡±


    ¡°Image if we could melt that armor into more bullets,¡± suggested Tom. ¡°Now THAT would be powerful!¡±


    ¡°Aye, it would,¡± agreed the gunman wistfully. ¡°I think bullets made from that metal with the enhanced charge would get through more of that armor in one or two shots.¡±


    ¡°Then we¡¯d better collect the body,¡± said Tom. ¡°Think the lizards will back off now?¡±


    ¡°Guys, the body is floating away,¡± Joseph piped in, pointing to the body slowly rising from the ground and moving towards the distant group of Scyrric.


    ¡°I¡¯m on it,¡± said Nick, not waiting for a response before he jumped from the wall.


    ¡°Can he stop them?¡± wondered Lamar out loud.


    Everyone watched Nick drop to the ground.


    ¡°We¡¯ll be taking this,¡± he said before raising his left hand and putting his thumb and pointer finger together. ¡°[Shadows Bind Us].¡±


    A thread of black manifested in the air. It started between Nick¡¯s fingers and moved through the air towards the Scyrric levitating the body. Instead of moving in a straight line, like when he had used it on General Carmichael, it curved and curled, as if it was tracking the outside of the levitation spell.


    Nick stared in concentration to force his spell to reach that far. As it crept along with the magic being cast on the armored corpse, the spell weakened, and the body lowered. It pulled in spurts and fits along the group, as if a person was trying to drag something heavier than they could handle. It left ruts where it was dragged through the ground.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t enough,¡± said Carlos. ¡°There is also a few stronger looking Scyrric starting to move towards us.¡±


    ¡°Then I guess we need to help. Get ready to support us if too many come,¡± said Lucas. Then to the gun tower he ordered, ¡°If you have the range, try to take out that caster.¡±


    ¡°Roger!¡± said the gunman.


    Lucas jumped from the wall, quickly followed by Tom, Joseph, Brittney, and Randall. They landed in varying degrees of grace. Randall landed the quickest, using [Flash Foot]. Lucas had great technique thanks to his innate passives from the Battlemaster class. Brittney and Joseph both thudded to the ground, Brittney due to the weight of her shield and Joseph in his brute force build. Meanwhile Tom¡­well, he did a flip with glitter and fireworks going off around him due to his illusion skills.


    As they positioned around Nick, Brittney prepared to take on any ranged attacks that might come from the approaching invaders. Four of the Scyrric were moving towards them, including the Metallic Berserker. They hesitated, seeing the additional humans preparing to meet them.


    ¡°Sir,¡± spoke the gunman. ¡°Ready for a shot on the caster.¡±


    Lucas heard a bit of fear in his voice and asked, ¡°is there a problem with it?¡±


    ¡°N-no, sir. Just the force from the explosion will tear us up good.¡±


    ¡°Too bad we can¡¯t just do that sound stopping thing that Adam does when he doesn¡¯t want people listening,¡± said Joseph, off handedly. ¡°You know, but just around the gun.¡±


    Tom slapped his helmeted forehead and Lucas groaned.


    ¡°Did we really¡­?¡± asked Tom to Lucas.


    ¡°There has been so much going on,¡± sighed Lucas, feeling stupid for overlooking that.


    ¡°Is there a way, sir?¡± asked the gunman hopefully.If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got it,¡± said Tom, opening his Rift Menu and doing some things. After about 45 seconds he spoke. ¡°I couldn¡¯t get just around the chamber and barrel of the gun, since that would reduce the bullet¡¯s power. Sorry, gun guy, but your arms will feel the vibrations. It should save your internal organs though.¡±


    ¡°If true, that would still a great improvement. Let¡¯s see how it works,¡± said the sniper hopefully.


    ***


    Not only Sgolkr, but the other Scyrric were taken aback by the native challenging them for control of Khtholk¡¯s body. Certainly, he was impressive, having risen to level 37, with a Tier 3 class, but that would be nowhere near strong enough to stop them from anything.


    ¡°This native challenges US?!¡± gasped a warrior in disbelieve. ¡°Their disrespect cannot go unpunished!¡±


    ¡°These natives presume too much! They must be put in their place!¡± swore a Tier 3 healer.


    ¡°I will burn the skin from their bodies while keeping them alive!¡± said a master mage of fire and water. ¡°Their death will only be allowed once they have praised the glories Scyrric for a thousand cycles!¡±


    Sgolkr cleared his doubts. He set aside the warnings that the Red Clan speaker had made. She had suggested that part of the aberration¡¯s success was a Tier 4 soul caster. Yet the [System] had stated there was no one like that here. She had still maintained that a figure of that strength was standing behind this group of natives, regardless of what the [System] had said.


    He glanced at the natives watching from the walls and then to the one obstructing them. They weren¡¯t strong enough to threaten this army preparing to move. The native trying to take Khtholk¡¯s body was a high level, but also not enough to truly be a threat, whatever his class of ¡°Unseen Death¡± could do.


    On top of that, as the strongest here, this group of elites were expecting him to lead them. They weren¡¯t insubordinate enough to challenge him for leadership, but should he fail to move with them his capabilities would be questioned.


    What really caused his feet to step forward though was the heat building inside. The rage. These weaklings thought to stop the Scyrric?! To stop HIM?!


    He had been sent here to prevent the aberration from ruining the world before their claim on it was realized. Slaughtering all these pathetic natives would be in line with those orders. That was good since his dwindling intelligence in the face of his increasing fury and strength left him without the reason to deny his instincts.


    Six of them moved forward, positioning themselves in a group designed for battle, as they had been taught in their youth. A vanguard, a combination tank and warrior, went in front. He stepped next to Sgolkr since the primary defender they had brought was dead. The other warrior and mage came next. A speed-based assaulter came to their side, sniffing the air, eyes flashing as he looked for traps. The healer followed behind.


    They had only moved a few steps before more natives dropped from the wall, intent once more in escalating this conflict. They did not have as high a level as the first, but also being Tier 3 drew comments from his party.


    ¡°How is it possible for them to have so many Tier 3s?¡± asked the healer. ¡°Our leveling was pre-ordained by our glorious elders. They should not have the ability to grow so much in this small area we allowed them.¡±


    ¡°It matters not,¡± growled the warrior. ¡°It is an afront to the name of Scyrric for them to even try!¡±


    The mage just continued muttering torture that he would heap upon them.


    Sgolkr only vaguely listened as his own head was full of boiling energy, hiding thoughts beyond who he would release his anger towards. He snarled as he watched one of the natives operating a menu in the air. Then one with darker skin pointed.


    This time there was no clap of thunder, no explosion of sound to deafen. There was a slight breeze as Sgolkr felt the air shift unnaturally. Instinctively he stopped and looked behind him, to where the other Scyrric were waiting.


    The sight that met his eyes paused his anger. It was a sight that should have increased his rage, but it was so incomprehensible that his mind froze. He turned again and looked at the natives, where the hooded one had released his binding skill and the body of Khtholk was stationary on the ground. Then Sgolkr returned his look to the other Scyrric.


    Their buffer, the Telemetrician who had been pulling the armored body with his skill, was on the ground. Sgolkr didn¡¯t think he was dead. He thought there was still breath moving the chest up and down. Yet, different pieces of him were no longer connected.


    The right arm was yards away from the rest of the body and blood coated a sizable line leading away from them. There was enough mess to believe that the Scyrric was in dire straits and needed them immediately if he wanted to live.


    ¡°Krikr, go heal¡­¡± Sgolkr started, intent on ordering their healer to go back. Unfortunately, he was interrupted as he felt the air shift again and instantly their vanguard pitched backwards. If his cursing was to be believed then he was mostly unharmed, but Sgolkr saw a small dent in his shield, a white bone shard in the center of it.


    Once more he turned, speechlessly looking at the natives who didn¡¯t seem surprised or disturbed by what happened. They were still ready to fight, but seemed more curious of how the Scyrric would react.


    ¡°How dare they?!¡± raged the mage. ¡°HOW! DARE! THEY?!¡±


    Sgolkr quickly considered their actions. Somehow, they had a skill powerful enough to reach them from this distance, almost killing Tier 3s. There was enough force at this distance to knock over a heavy shielded fighter from this range. Was this the person that Red Clan speaker had warned of? Could the natives really be protected by someone at Tier 4?


    Taking more losses without more information was not something Sgolkr thought was advisable. Even if retreating was dishonorable, he could postpone that until they were better prepared for facing this. The shield had stopped whatever had hit them, so they simply needed to prepare a bit better.


    ¡°We leave,¡± order Sgolkr.


    ¡°WHAT?!¡± shrieked the mage. ¡°We won¡¯t retreat! We are SCYRRIC!¡±


    Sgolkr grabbed him by the throat, not hesitating to allow his talons to sink into the back of the mage¡¯s neck.


    ¡°WE! LEAVE!¡± he snarled, looking the mage in the eyes. He saw recognition and acceptance clear the anger from his companion¡¯s eyes. Then he placed him on the ground.


    While fighting his instincts, he turned and stalked towards the Telemetrician. The rest followed him, all feeling the same loathsomeness for being put in this situation but knowing that this wasn¡¯t the end of this fight.


    ***


    ¡°That¡¯ll show ¡®em!¡± crowed Tom. Lucas just shook his head at that statement as he watching the Scyrric turn around.


    ¡°That was just a warning shot. They¡¯ll be back,¡± said Nick ominously.


    ¡°Don¡¯t go all dark and brooding on us, Nicky-boy,¡± said Tom, before lowering his voice and mocking, ¡°I am the night!¡±


    ¡°Sir,¡± interrupted the gunman. They looked at the display and saw the healer repairing his broken arms. Blood had seeped from burst skin and muscles. ¡°That wasn¡¯t AS bad as before, but I practically lost my arms firing twice. Second shot showed we won¡¯t be getting through their armors without stronger bullets.¡±


    ¡°Nice shots in spite of that,¡± praised Lucas. ¡°Thank you for the support.¡±


    ¡°Thank you, sir. I think I¡¯ll be swapping out with someone else for a bit.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s fine,¡± responded Lucas. ¡°Just make sure we have enough people on standby for when they return.¡±


    The man saluted, his arms fully healed, and then left the display. Lucas watched the Scyrric as they formed lines and retreated. Their leader kept turning and looking at the wall, no doubt wondering what the range of the gun was. That was fine. It would give the Sentinels more time to prepare. They would be better prepared, though he had no doubt the Scyrric wouldn¡¯t take them as lightly next time.


    ¡°Hey, temp boss. We¡¯ve got another problem over here,¡± shouted Tom from the armored body. Lucas sighed. He wondered how Adam put up with Tom. It had been much easier when the stakes had only been harassing people at the school and stores, and no skills had enhanced his obnoxiousness.


    He glanced at where his group was surrounding the body. Then his eyes grew large, and his jaw dropped.


    ¡°How are we supposed to get this thing back inside?¡± asked Joseph.


    Brittney and Tom were grabbing one oversized, metal-covered foot. The single foot was half the size of Brittney. They had only raised it two inches off the ground. Joseph had the other foot and had managed to lift it three inches. Those were three of the strongest people in the base! How were they supposed to move it if they couldn¡¯t use the Rift Menu? The amount of fuel they would have to burn to get heavy construction vehicles mobilized for this would be hard to supply.


    ¡°Yeah, another problem,¡± sighed Lucas, heading over to help.

 CH 153: Affinity

    CHAPTER 153: Affinity


    ¡°What will happen today is not the first, nor the last, point in your journey. It¡¯s simply one more step. Making it this far is an accomplishment yet there is no guarantee that you will reach the heights of your potential. Diligence and dedication will serve you better as you strive for your path than anything else,¡± said instructor Tithixal¡¯gx¡¯Guntraz.


    He spoke the words with the ease of experience, having given this lecture to thousands prior to Adam, and most likely thousands more in the years to come. Adam looked down at the machine in front of him. Or maybe it wasn¡¯t a machine. Adam still wasn¡¯t sure how to reconcile the differences in this society from his own.


    One thing surprised Adam while he had read the texts provided to him about the research done over the centuries. There was no concept of physics or natural sciences. The magics that they had researched or created compensated for some of what they lacked through developing physical technology, but it didn¡¯t truly build on their knowledge.


    They had learned how to do things but not why they worked.


    Unlike on Earth, where humans tried to find out how the universe worked around them, the Red Clan was satisfied with getting a repeatable conclusion. As far as Adam had read and heard, other races were the same. Even more shocking was that if it wasn¡¯t something controllable within the [System], then it was ignored completely. Spells, rituals, medicine, alchemy, crafting, and all other things that should be researched were left completely to those who had skills¡­shortcuts to accomplish without knowing beyond, ¡°my skill did it.¡±


    The cities were built on [System] authorized controls similar to the Rift Menus from the dimensional convergence rifts used to invade worlds. Natural forces such as gravity, entropy, and magnetism were offset by magic.


    They were like children hitting keys on a piano, knowing what sound it would make without understanding the strings, hammers, and key interactions. There was also no drive, or even a question whether they should look into it.


    And forget about researching the [System] itself. No one wanted to question how it worked or whether they could do more with it. Just knowing it was there to use was enough. If, for some reason, it up and left one day, entire worlds would be lost as a result of this willful ignorance.


    Plus there was an unspoken fear of not wanting to offend such a colossal force, uncertain what would offend it and what the consequences would be. The fear tied the races to it just as strongly as the allure of power. No one wanted to chance losing their place.


    Occasionally Adam wondered if maybe his soul corruption was a blessing. It kept him separate and less dependent on the [System], but he couldn¡¯t deny that he needed the power of the [System] to combat others who used it. He needed its strength to protect the Earth. That was why he was here.


    Unfortunately, the lack of knowledge the races had in what the [System] was and how it worked made him remember the story about Faust that he had avoided reading in school. Were they selling their souls to the devil? Maybe he should actually take the time to read it when he returned to Earth.


    Adam would be the first to acknowledge that he wasn¡¯t a scholar or innovator. He doubted he would even be smart enough to delve into these mysteries. Yet the necessity of learning more about his own soul and how it had been affected had driven him to explore and experiment with it. Unlike how these races who grew up in the [System] thought, Adam recognized a need to understand things on a deeper level.


    That led to him diligently listening to every lecture and committing to memory every text he read. He was by no means perfect on the tests they had taken, but for once his focus kept him on task enough for him to do well enough.


    Today he was having his soul affinity tested. As the instructor said, this was the next step. The device in front of him, whether magic or machine, would search his soul, flooding it with different forms of magic and somehow interpreting the strength of the interaction.


    Did he understand how it worked? Not a chance. Did they understand how it worked? He doubted it. For them, it was enough that it did work.


    On the table in front of him was a large disc. Symbols were etched throughout it. On opposing sides were hand sized domes, with bracelets like cuffs where his arms would go through.


    Instructor Tithixal continued his lecture.


    ¡°Every aware life form has desires. You might have a picture of what type of class you want and the path you think would be best. Yet, you must set aside that way of thinking. For the benefit of yourself and the Red Clan, the path you will be guided on will be the optimal one. The one that you can reach the greatest strength on.


    ¡°That does not mean you won¡¯t have a chance at individual skills you would like to learn. Many skills overlap between different evolutions in separate paths. It just means that the basis of your build with focus on the strongest affinity you have. Evolving in this way will allow you the greatest personal strength while also providing the greatest benefit to our race and the tower.¡±


    Adam felt himself nod in understanding. It was only natural that the races needed the strongest people to be able to keep up with their contemporaries.


    He had learned that the pseudo-skills he had unlocked on the status sheet for older Adam were part of a very rare class evolution. Only one Elder ever had gotten that class at Tier 5, as far as he had been able to find. Memory manipulation was such a strong skill and the elder hadn¡¯t known what had triggered his ability to gain it, so there was no guidance down that path.


    Adam wondered if having that status in his soul would lead his affinity to that path. Or was that status separate from who he actually was, since it came from a different version of himself? But if an older Adam had been able to achieve it then wasn¡¯t he still the same person, just younger? Wouldn¡¯t he have the same affinities?


    On the other hand, it might be better to go down a different path. That might increase the skill variations he could use since he would continue to have the older Adam¡¯s pseudo-skills while learning direct skills from a separate class line.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit.


    He had been fortunate that all the learning he had done was already strengthening him. As he learned more about possible skills they might gain, he found that the older Adam''s status sheet unlocked more pseudo-skills for him. He had learned skills with the names [Soul Shatter], [Soul Combine], [Mental Fortitude], and [Mental Wave].


    Surprisingly, he had learned a few more skills with his berserker class as well, since their studies had included classes that they might encounter in the wider universe. Know your enemies as well as your allies. The learning had unlocked the skills [Arc Shockwave], [Behemoth Presence], and [Explosive Strike] on the older Gregor''s status sheet.


    ¡°It is time. Place your arms through the cuffs and palms on the orbs,¡± said the instructor, pointing to the device. It was lit up with wispy yellow energy moving through all the engravings.


    A soft vibration came from it, both gently attractive to him and discordantly repulsive. He wanted to hum to match its pitch while also covering his ears and yelling to drown out the vibrations. All of this on a soul level, far from the physical world.


    Regardless of how it made him feel, Adam obeyed. He slid his hands through the bracelets and rested his hands on the protruding domes. As soon as his hands were placed, the bracelets clamped down on his wrists, locking them firmly in place. Then a jolt of energy entered his hands.


    Adam felt two different sensations. The first was soothing as the energy was fed into his hands, reaching the cuffs, then somehow leaving his physical body and entering his soul. It filled him with life, with strength¡­potential that could be realized. The future was contained in that energy, making him regret never having felt it before.


    At the same time a sickness filled him. It was like trying to mix oil and water and then setting it on fire. Heat and pain burned his soul, making him want to scream even as his body sat passively, waiting for the test to finish. The pain from this wrongness made him wish he could separate from his soul, rip it off and start anew. Who he was, what he was, tried to scour him cleanly as the sickness rushed through him.


    He felt his head turn to the instructor, looking at him in askance. The pain and grossness he felt inside was not expressed anywhere in his behavior or expression. Instead, he waited while the pain and soothing clashed inside of him.


    The three minutes that he sat there unmoving, waiting for it to finish, left his essence rubbed raw. An ethereal steel wool brush rubbed throughout his soul skin. When the cuffs released and the yellow energy faded, Adam was left feeling inexplicably ground down, as if his soul had been brutalized. Yet, he simply sat and waited, with no motion that wasn¡¯t deliberate.


    ¡°Ah, interesting,¡± said the instructor, looking at a window. ¡°Your affinity is indeed high on this one path. It is a common path, but you seem to rate more strongly than most others do. It will be up to you to realize this potential, but there will be many who can advise you on it. Your affinity is ¡®Charm¡¯.¡±


    Adam pondered that. It was not at all what he expected.


    Sure, he had the pseudo-skill for [Charm], and he theorized that people followed him so readily in part because it had a passive effect, but a whole class build around it¡­how much would that really empower him to save the Earth? It seemed more like what the mind witch who had tormented him had used.


    ¡°I can see you doubt the usefulness of this affinity,¡± said Tithixal. ¡°Worry not, for though it is a common one, it is still extremely useful and powerful. Imagine being able to walk onto an enemy base without anyone questioning you. Or receiving plenty of compensation during an easy negotiation. Possibly even enthralling large groups to take on your tasks or to fight on your behalf. No, do not look down on this affinity, for perceived friends can always do more damage than known enemies.¡±


    ***


    The Outrider, Jamari Gillum, rushed along the wall, obscured by the shadow of it and his skill [See Nothing]. He had watched, hopefully unobserved by the Sentinels, as they fought the lizard men. There seemed to be something personal between the two sides. Even if the other humans were backed by an alien race, the conflict with those reptiles had seemed genuine.


    It was obvious that another battle would happen soon. It was also obvious that the leaders of the Sentinel Army wouldn¡¯t back down from it.


    They had shown confidence as they fought, and Jamari hadn¡¯t really seen anything impressive as the smaller lizard army seemed manageable thanks to the overwhelming number of humans. At least until that giant armored tank had stomped forward. That invader had even made Jamari sweat from a distance.


    As he watched the armored monster take no damage from the thousands of spells and arrows sent against him, Jamari hadn¡¯t been sure which side he was rooting for. If that beast had broken through the walls, then this base would no longer be available for General Carmichael¡¯s forces to claim.


    However, if the Sentinels had managed to take that tank down then Jamari would begin to believe that they really were the stronger group and that his own didn¡¯t have a chance against them.


    All that was moot, due to how the battle had ended.


    The sound that preceded the lizard man dying had rattled Jamari to the core. Just thinking about it caused a shiver to go down his spine as he raced towards his own people. The power of that weapon was terrifying. It was like a rocket launcher condensed into a single bullet. It had been enough to drop a creature he had no confidence of defeating.


    Yet that begged several questions. When did they develop it? HOW had they developed one that powerful? How mobile was the weapon?


    This base and its people kept surprising him. It was almost enough for him to wonder if what they were doing was for the best. Only almost, though. This operation needed to be in the hands of those that were the most capable, not some lucky kids who had gotten a head start, alien backed or not.


    Before reaching the path to his own forces, Jamari activated the skill [Ascension]. Then he ran upwards, along the surface of the wall. Once at the top he leapt over the edge and raced through the former city of Jackson. He didn¡¯t stop until he was miles outside of the boundary that he hoped represented the end of the base territory, where the buildings had been disintegrated in an equidistant circle around the walls.


    Rexus had set up a hidden bunker so that they could talk without being observed. Only the strongest among them could get to this place and he wasn¡¯t sure how the rest of the group got out without being observed by the Sentinels¡¯ lookouts.


    ¡°What did you see?¡± Rexus asked as Jamari entered, knowing the scout was there without even undoing his stealth skill.


    Jamari excitedly told them all about the battle. Rexus listened respectfully but didn¡¯t seem all that interested in the details until he heard about the weapon. Then Rexus¡¯s eyes lit up and he smiled.


    ¡°This base just got a lot more valuable,¡± Rexus said. Then he clapped Jamari on the shoulder and smiled at the rest of their unit. ¡°Let¡¯s go tell the general. There¡¯s more planning to do.¡±


    ***


    Sgolkr stalked into the room. Steam rose from his scales as he walked, hunched forward even more than usual. The air around him contained the fury of a bomb, ready to explode outwards at any moment.


    Cruxannith glanced up from the display she was using and smiled at him endearingly, as if he were an old friend coming over for tea.


    ¡°Gross! Quit using that skill. None are as naturally beautiful as the Scyrric!¡± he snapped, his hostility targeting her even while his voice trembled a bit from her abilities.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t go well?¡± she asked nonchalantly, ignoring the hostility and maintaining her smile.


    ¡°That¡¯s not your concern,¡± he snarled while grinding his teeth. ¡°When will the little giants be ready?¡±


    She laughed lightly, her voice causing him to wince from its appeal. ¡°Two more days. Don¡¯t feel shame for using their help. Those natives have exceeded all those from past world claiming.¡±


    His lips curled angrily at his insinuations. ¡°Fine. Two days. I will be gathering our full forces this time. The little giants will be responsible for the wall.¡±


    ¡°The wall should pose no problem for them. Will 14 be enough?¡±


    This time Sgolkr¡¯s lips curled into a smile. ¡°14 will be plenty.¡±

 CH 154: Lucas Leads

    CHAPTER 154: Lucas Leads


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Battlemaster, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible until the Rift Menu returns all its functionality.¡±


    Lucas frowned at Garrett Starf¡¯s words. The frown wasn¡¯t the full expression of what he was feeling either. His stance, body language, and inflection all communicated his concern. Still, what escaped him was only a fraction of what he felt inside. He knew things were going to get bad. The atmosphere around him was enough that even Garrett squirmed and began trying to explain further.


    ¡°It¡¯s just that I¡¯m not sure what else to try,¡± stammered Garrett nervously as Lucas stared at him. ¡°I¡¯ll speak with the others to find some ideas. We just can¡¯t get enough of a sustained heat to shape the metal. An arc welder or plasma cutter might allow us to cut it, but as soon as the metal is outside of the focused heat it hardens again. There isn''t even enough time for the melted metal to drip.


    ¡°Even if we used those tools to shape the metal into vague bullet shapes, the weight is too much to get an accurate shot, based on my estimates. Plus, the crude shape the bullets would end up in wouldn¡¯t allow it to fly straight. Without more precision than our current tools would allow, it just wouldn¡¯t work right without a lot of testing.¡±


    ¡°Which we don¡¯t have time for,¡± interrupted Lucas. Garrett nodded in agreement.


    ¡°It would probably make more sense to use the metal as the chamber and barrel of the stationary guns. That would allow us to increase the propulsion without fear of the guns falling apart. Though that means we still need more suitable materials for the bullets, otherwise the increased charge would damage the bullets before they even left the chamber. We would need sturdier and a lighter weight.¡±


    ¡°Can you do that with what you have?¡± questioned Lucas.


    ¡°Again, sorry. We need the Rift Menu features to do the shaping for us. The elemental resistance plus weight and density are too much for our technical know-how. Even the Leputi have no knowledge that would help.¡±


    Lucas sighed heavily. It had been quite the ordeal and use of manpower to get even a part of the Scyrric¡¯s armor here. The shield had required a crane to get it to Garrett¡¯s smithy, and then twenty people, including Brittney and Lucas, to move it to where Garrett could run tests on it. That had taken an entire day, and a lot of their hopes to win the next battle had been riding on making weapons from this.


    ¡°Let me know if you come up with anything. If you can''t, then use the plasma cutter to make a few knives. We might need them to get through more of that type of Scyrric armor.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯ll be crude, and small to make it handleable with this weight, but I can have a few people work on it. We¡¯ll sharpen the edge as much as possible with our tools. It won¡¯t be precise, but whatever edge we manage should hold quite well.¡±


    Lucas nodded and then left the workshop, Brittney right beside him.


    ¡°What¡¯s with everyone calling me Battlemaster?¡± Lucas asked the girl. She laughed at his question.


    ¡°It is your class after all,¡± she answered with a giggle.


    ¡°Yeah, but only the General¡¯s Guard calls us by our classes. Did Tom start this?¡±


    ¡°No. Tom wanted people to call you ¡®The Dark Overlord.¡¯ He was disappointed it didn¡¯t catch on.¡±


    ¡°I dodged a bullet with that,¡± Lucas said with a forced smile.


    ¡°Just take the Battlemaster thing as good. It means they accept you as an authority and are more willing to follow your orders. You oversee these battles after all.¡±


    ***


    After a quick lunch, Lucas went around the base checking on their defenses and how the various groups were preparing. Everyone was on edge. The tension was causing people to make more mistakes, so Colonel Davian had assigned non-combatants to double-check everyone¡¯s work, from preparing supplies to making sure everyone was where they should be.


    Davian also had the various units and troops run drills, some of which he directed in person and others through popping up Rift windows. They practiced rotations, retreats, and relocations heavily.


    Last time the Scyrric only attacked one of their gates, and even now the Scyrric forces were gathering at the edge of their territory in the same spot. It seemed that their enemies were forcing the point of attack instead of seeking weak points in their defenses. Lucas wasn¡¯t sure if this was normal strategy for the other races when fighting with classes and skills, or just arrogance on the Scyrric''s part. Either way, it forced the humans to be prepared for defending all points of the wall, while creating a way to reinforce the area directly under attack.


    The most frustrating part of being viewed as a leader was putting up with General Carmichael¡¯s forces. They tried intimidation, talking over his head, and making duplicitous bargains to get more access to the base controls. Lucas had a hard time keeping his cool, but he knew that it would be too problematic to conflict with them at this moment. Besides, Adam had brought them here.


    It had been challenging talking around Adam¡¯s lack of presence, and in the end, he had left them with a threat. They would help during the next attack, or they would be out. Much like Adam had said.Stolen novel; please report.


    Jordan had warned him that their Tier 3 scout had watched the previous battle, which explained the numerous questions about where Adam was. The way they spoke about him, Adam¡¯s absence gave them more justification that he was working with the invaders. Colonel Davian, still looked at by them as a traitor, helped him keep his temper while not answering their questions.


    Next time, Lucas would send Tom. Delegating was an important part of leading, right? Let them try talking their way around him.


    ***


    Two days passed. Lucas didn¡¯t feel like he was really contributing much, but it seemed like just having him loom over people as they expressed their issues, with a word here or a grunt there, was enough to keep people moving. Adam had once told him what Mr. Rhodes had said, that people didn¡¯t actually want his advice. His job was to be the menacing powerhouse that would handle things when they got too dangerous. Now Lucas was in that role, with the believable excuse that Adam was already fighting the invaders before they reached the base.


    As much time as Lucas spent preparing and reassuring the base, it ended all too abruptly as the base alarm sounded. An attack was incoming.


    Before he even turned towards the gate, a window popped up.


    ¡°Big news, commander,¡± said Jordan with a shiver, ¡°and I mean BIG!¡±


    Then Lucas felt a tremor in the ground. The window of Jordan changed and switched to where thousands of Scyrric were waiting at the edge of their territory. The numbers had increased over the days. The army of nearly 500 had ballooned to three thousand. For every 200 Scyrric, there was a Tier 3 leading them. All types of classes were represented.


    The Scyrric army wasn¡¯t what caught his attention though. It was the 14 figures walking through the distance towards their base. 14 giants. They had blue skin, no hair and one squinting eye. Plus, they were massive, both in height and width. Their muscles were at body builder levels and the Scyrric making way for them didn¡¯t even reach their waists. They were probably 20 feet tall, only slightly shorter than the wall.


    Except for one.


    The one that came into view last had yellow skin and was a full head taller than the rest. He was enormous. Lucas forgot what he should be doing and just watched the giants move into their territory and slowly walk towards them.


    ¡°Commander?¡± asked Jordan, the fear easy to hear. ¡°How do we handle those?¡±


    Lucas snapped out of his daze. Both hands gripped the hilts of the swords on his belt. The strength of his hands tightening on the woven leather grips brought him back to reality. He felt the tactile roughness of it and the straining of his muscles.


    Then he breathed in, held it, and released the air slowly.


    ¡°Get everyone into position. I¡¯ll be at the wall shortly. Are all the invaders still gathering at the west gate?¡±


    ¡°Yes, commander,¡± answered Jordan, a little steadier now that Lucas was responding.


    ¡°You¡¯ll be able to find infiltrators?¡±


    ¡°As far as I know. Lashtam said it isn¡¯t as simple as them needing skills or equipment to evade the Rift sensors. They will need to be Tier 5 to go unseen.¡±


    ¡°Good,¡± said Lucas, moving at a sprint. ¡°Bring all but the minimal soldiers from the other locations to the west gate. Notify Carmichael that they are on call. We might need their high-level help.¡±


    ***


    Emily fumed inside Adam¡¯s condo. It wasn¡¯t anger that she was fuming in, but guilt and self-recrimination. She had levelled up a lot with Adam¡¯s friends, hitting numerous dungeons before something had happened that got them concerned. They didn¡¯t say what it was, but it had resulted in them rushing back to base where they found the other general¡¯s forces causing trouble.


    Now they were being attacked. The base was being attacked. It was do or die. Yet the levels she had gained weren¡¯t enough. She still wasn¡¯t close to as strong as Adam''s friends.


    That¡¯s where the anger came from. She was now pissed at all the time she had wasted trying to get back at Adam. So many levels she could have gotten if she hadn¡¯t been so busy trying to piss off her brother. Now he wasn¡¯t even here, wasn¡¯t even safe, and she knew that what she had been mad at didn¡¯t even matter.


    Adam had known yet hadn¡¯t responded. He cared about her so much that he kept her focused on being angry at him to keep her away from the fighting. That was what she had wished for, right? To not have to fight? She had been so angry at him for the violence, for taking away her right to choose, and in the end both her behavior and his acceptance were holding her back now.


    No one would let her fight anymore. She wasn¡¯t allowed near the walls. Instead, she was left in Adam¡¯s condo to wait¡­and sulk.


    All that anger she had lashed out towards Adam with was now internalized. Now that she wanted to be out there helping, to be out there protecting everything that her brother had created, she couldn¡¯t. She was too low level. Too inexperienced. A capture or kill target, not just for the invaders but the other army of humans currently in the base. This building was currently the safest place in the base for her.


    Even Adam¡¯s girlfriends had been adamant that she stayed here. Of course, her parents wouldn¡¯t even entertain her going to where the battle would be.


    So she sat here all alone. No friends to party with, not that she felt like partying, not even Fido could keep her company since he had gone with Alissa to fight. He had grown both in level and size, though he didn¡¯t become huge like they described the other Carthraga. He was large enough for a person smaller than Lucas to ride on, yet still sleek, like a combination of a Doberman and a greyhound¡­if they had three heads.


    Emily tried putting on a movie but couldn¡¯t pay attention to it. She tried to eat some food, but the flavor was missing as her anxiety was ratcheted up. A conversation with herself didn¡¯t calm her either, no matter how much she could understand everyone else¡¯s reasons.


    Then the tremors began. The Rift was magical. Everything in it could ignore the rules of physics. There should be no way for her to feel the ground shaking, especially 10 stories up.


    She walked out onto the balcony and looked at the distant wall. It was miles away and hard to see with all the buildings in the way. There were some blue things moving towards it from outside.


    Squinting harder she tried her best to make them out, but they were just indistinct dots among the movement of more dots. She wondered where Adam kept binoculars, then realized he would just use the Rift Menu to view it from up close. So much had been missed as she wallowed in self-pity and threw her tantrums. Emily clicked her tongue.


    ¡°Screw this!¡± she declared.


    They hadn¡¯t locked her in here, since that required Adam¡¯s control of the Rift. They had just told her to stay, while giving her very logical reasons. Like logic would ever work on a teenager.


    Standing from the sofa, Emily walked to his storage room. Inside there was spare equipment for the other girls. She rummaged through it looking for appropriate pieces. She took Abbey¡¯s robe, since it covered more than Andrea¡¯s even if the fit was a bit worse. Then she put on the greaves and gloves from Brittney¡¯s armor, leggings from Andrea¡¯s, and the skirt from Alissa¡¯s. The final touch was a jacket that had a deep hood on it to hide her face.


    Finally, she grabbed a durable bag of Adam¡¯s, made from Tier 3 hides. Inside she found snack bars, a water skin, and a few other items that might be useful. With a satisfied nod she left the penthouse. It was easy enough for her to take the hidden tunnels they had added, leading to a warehouse and then weaving her way through the streets.


    Soon enough she would get to the wall.

 CH 155: Little Giants

    CHAPTER 155: Little Giants


    ¡°You know, I¡¯m still up 4 to 2 on boss kills. I think now is a good time for you to even the score,¡± said Tom.


    Lucas narrowed his eyes at his companion before turning back to the blue giants moving their way. They were huge. Even with his largest weapon he wouldn¡¯t be able to reach any internal organs without hacking through their thick skin and muscles.


    The one-eyed monsters were slowly but steadily moved towards the base. Their foot falls shook the ground. The blue ones were all levels 32-38, still in Tier 2. Unfortunately, with that much mass the Tier barely mattered. Doing enough damage to disable or kill them was going to be a challenge.


    Their classes made it obvious why they were here. [Plinth of Destruction], [Barrier Abolisher], [Defense Breaker], [Battering Ram], etc. They were coming for the walls. Keeping pace with the giants while staying about 50 yards back was the Scyrric army.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get right on that,¡± Lucas snapped at Tom, his nerves keeping him from being able to ignore the teasing. Then he turned to the window connected to the nearest gun tower. ¡°Try the automatic on a blue when it gets close enough to ensure a good shot.¡±


    ¡°Roger,¡± responded the gunman.


    Lucas waited as they continued to come closer. Each beat of his heart announced the passage of time. Sweat was beading on the back of his neck. He didn¡¯t say anything, his entire focus was on the approaching army. Even Tom¡¯s inane chatter failed to penetrate.


    1000 yards¡­


    800 yards¡­


    Lucas knew the range of typical machine guns was further out, and these specially crafted ones with the increased charge and stronger alien materials should be able to reach even further distances, but they wanted to make sure they would be able to hit. The accuracy of the multi-shot rifles was suspect, and they had limited bullets. Plus, they didn¡¯t have a way to modify them on the fly, so they would need to live with the results.


    ¡°Don¡¯t fire until you see the white of their eye,¡± Tom altered the quote.


    500 yards¡­


    A volley of bullets spat out from their gun tower towards the closest cyclops. The creature let out a shriek as six bullets pierced the skin of their chest. Blood sprayed out. It was a large amount of blood for a normal sized creature, but hardly a concerning amount for creatures of this size.


    The hurt invader grunted and scowled at its chest. Then an oversized hand wiped the blood away. As the hand came away the bullet holes were gone. No wound or scar remained. Lucas also scowled at the large invader¡¯s chest.


    ¡°Geez! They regenerate?¡± gasped Tom. ¡°They don¡¯t even need to drink blood! It¡¯s like fourteen giant versions of the boss. How can we defeat that?¡±


    ¡°Give him a couple pizzas?¡± questioned Joseph.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think we can make enough pizzas big enough in time to distract these guys,¡± said Brandon, clearly shaken by what he saw.


    Lucas sighed. There was nothing for it. They couldn¡¯t leave the wall to attack the monsters¡¯ feet because the Scyrric would open up on them. 50 yards was not far with the strength and speed that levels provided, or the ranged spells that would come at them.


    Then a laughing voice was projected all around them. It hissed and sputtered but was recognizable from the previous battle. The metallic berserker was speaking to them.


    ¡°Foolish ants, now you see the true power in this universe. Understand that you are nothing and despair! These little giants have the highest vitality of any race. They cannot be stopped without overwhelming power. Any wound will be regenerated. They will get through your wall and then your lives will belong to us! Glory to the Scyrric!¡±


    ¡°I hate that guy,¡± muttered Joseph.


    Lucas closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He thought of the different plans they had set up. Giants to knock down the walls hadn¡¯t been considered. They had considered strength builds that might do the same but would have expected them in the range of normal sized. Fighting these giants would really tax their resources.


    Dropping melee fighters to engage directly wouldn¡¯t work. Even with defensive classes would be insufficient to protect from the Scyrric forces. Attacking from the wall wouldn¡¯t have a high enough damage output to put down the cyclopes, let alone the army moving with them.


    Lucas opened his eyes back up.


    ¡°Carlos, any surprise weakness?¡± Lucas asked, not really expecting there would be one.


    ¡°Just the eye,¡± answered their information specialist. ¡°Everywhere else is showing near instant regeneration abilities.¡±


    ¡°Then we need to expect that the wall will be breeched by at least one of them. Jordan, get the forces that aren¡¯t on the wall behind it, melee heavy. Put my dad¡¯s unit in charge. Make sure you mark for them where the wall gets weakened. Send runners to collect any non-essential ammo from the other gun towers. We¡¯ll run out too quickly otherwise. And one more thing¡­¡±


    Lucas frowned and grumbled under his breath. He really didn¡¯t like what he had to say next.


    ¡°Yes, commander?¡± asked Jordan hesitantly.


    ¡°Tell General Carmichael a breech is imminent. We expect them to send their strongest here to help.¡±


    ¡°What if he refuses?¡± questioned Jordan, not happy that he would be the bearer of bad news.


    ¡°Then the base will fall. Neither human faction will have it. His people can flee and continue their travels.¡±


    There was a pause, then Jordan responses with, ¡°on it.¡±


    ¡°Now, gun tower. Save the auto-fire for the Scyrric. Sniper shots aim for those giant eyes. See if you can take one out.¡±


    ¡°Roger, commander!¡±


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t that mean we won¡¯t have enough ammo for all those high-level Tier 3s the Scyrric have brought?¡± asked Randall.


    ¡°We better hope that T-Rexy guy sees the value in working with us,¡± responded Tom.


    They all waited as the gunman in the tower set up his shot. The giants continued to come closer.


    300 yards¡­


    200 yards¡­Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    There was no loud bang. No sudden burst of noise or motion. The bullet traveled instantly with the sound dampened by the Rift Menu.


    The lead cyclops suddenly winced, head snapping backwards. The damage done to the eye was greater than what they had done to the chest, though this shot was easily five times as strong. The giant let out a bellow as fluid leaked from his eye. It began to heal, but much slower, as if the pressure from inside was trying to rip the entry wound further.


    ¡°Sir! No kill message!¡± said the gunman.


    ¡°Damn! Not even that was enough,¡± swore Lucas. Then he spoke into a window connected to most of their forces on the wall. ¡°All ranged attackers, hit the lead monster¡¯s eye with everything you have. Bring him down!¡±


    A thousand spells fired followed by a hundred arrows. It had been planned that way to prevent the physical attacks from being destroyed by magic before they reached their targets. Not every attack was accurate, but enough were that the barrage began striking the invader¡¯s eye. Fire, water, stone, lightning, ice, arrows¡­they all landed. Slowly the bullet hole increased in size. The spells had to be re-aimed as the invader fell to his knees, a seeming disconnect between his brain and body from the damage he was taking.


    ¡°Lamar, what do you have?¡± asked Lucas.


    Lamar had been standing there with his bow drawn, an arrow ready, but not firing so his skill [Take Your Time] could boost his damage.


    ¡°Almost ready,¡± he stated, using all his skills to enhance the arrow he was touching.


    ¡°All casters, cease fire,¡± Lucas ordered the troops on the wall.


    Once the spells were no longer flying, the cyclops on his knees from the damage he had taken, Lamar took in a breath and held it. Then he released the string.


    The arrow zipped almost as fast as a pre-[System] bullet and landed true. It entered the widened opening and exploded thanks to a new skill he had learned, [Shower of Pain]. The skill was meant as an area attack as it released bursts of energy that spread out. In the confined space of the invader¡¯s skull, the damage was more than it could regenerate from.


    Pulped brain matter and blood spilled from the cyclops'' eye.


    Kukiolis ¡°Barrier Abolisher [34]¡± slain. 1,392 shared XP gained.


    Lucas let out a breath he didn¡¯t realize he was holding. So did a lot of people around him.


    ¡°Alright, one down. Now we know we can kill them,¡± he stated, as much to himself as the others.


    ¡°Only 12 more and their Tier 3 left to go,¡± said Tom, raining on their moment of success.


    As if in response to Tom, the larger yellow cyclops released a roar that shook the air and caused most of the humans, and even the Scyrric, to cover their ears. Up until now he had been waiting behind all the forces, close to where the Metallic Berserker waited, allowing the battle gains to start with his troops. With the death of the first Kukiolis, the most dangerous one took big strides to get to them.


    ¡°Dumbass,¡± said Alissa as she shoved Tom, as if his words had caused the boss Kukiolis to mobilize. He nodded, seeming to agree with her.


    ¡°Andrea, do you think you can get a killing blow like Lamar?¡± asked Lucas. For a single ranged attack, she and Lamar were their go-to guys.


    ¡°Probably,¡± she answered.


    ¡°Then start on the left, Lamar on the right. Carlos, split the ranged to focus on one at a time. Elias, get your [Landslide] working and see if any of the other crowd control skills people have can keep those behemoth¡¯s away from us,¡± directed Lucas. At each set of orders, the person he spoke to nodded and hurried away.


    ¡°I¡¯ll help with the crowd control,¡± said Nick as he strode to follow Elias.


    ¡°Gun towers, left gunman work with Andrea, right with Lamar. Make sure you let me know when you are halfway down on ammo. We need to take these guys down before they break the walls!¡±


    ¡°Roger!¡± answered both riflemen together.


    ¡°What do the rest of us do?¡± asked Tom, hopping up and down like a kid who needed a bathroom break.


    ¡°I¡¯d say to pray, but we all know who you¡¯d pray to, and he won¡¯t be coming,¡± groaned Lucas.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know that! The boss will always come for us!¡± said Tom with a delusional smile on his face, hands spread open in the direction of Memphis.


    ***


    Emily had managed to sneak onto the wall in the chaos of all the mages firing spells at the cyclops. Seeing those intimidating monsters from this vantage, she trembled a little. This was much scarier than when they were dots from Adam¡¯s penthouse. Even with that, she didn¡¯t regret coming out here. This was where she needed to be, along with everyone else. Not held in a tower like some dainty and useless princess.


    She had even left a note behind in case anyone came looking for her at Adam¡¯s place. ¡°The Princess is in another castle.¡±


    ¡°What are you doing?¡± yelled a unit leader. It took Emily a moment to understand he was speaking to her. She had been small enough that she was able to push through and hide in the throngs of the Sentinels. Not everyone was casting spells, since rotations kept half the combatants from using up their mana too quickly. Supports were also in the back, waiting for the call for heals, buffs, or whatever skills they had.


    Her class of ¡°Elementalist [27]¡± was neither high nor low for this group. She had gained levels quickly while raiding the bases with Adam¡¯s friends, but she was still a far distance from Tier 3. With a generic class, she also didn¡¯t have the direct firepower. This class was aimed at wielding a variety of elements rather than empowering a single one.


    ¡°Are you from another unit?¡± the man asked impatiently.


    Emily pointed to the numerous people coming up the stairs that came to the top of the wall parapets that they were fighting from.


    ¡°The commander ordered ranged reinforcements,¡± she said, not sure if her voice was quivering from the lies or from the shaking caused by the giants¡¯ steps.


    ¡°Then wait for the next barrage and swap with those currently in the front,¡± the man said, probably more scared of the invaders than angry at the unplanned addition. More people really were arriving, and Emily knew that her equipment made her stand out. It was a mix of the strongest people in the army, after all. Also, the colors were all over the place, their anime style hero color coding was not easy to ignore.


    As the one-eyed giants got closer, the fear in the people around her was palpable. They whispered to each other when not casting, asking questions about whether they would survive this. Everyone wanted to know if they would live or whether the base would fall.


    There was one topic whispered the most above all others, one question on everyone¡¯s mind. Emily felt guilt and remorse as each person talked about it in hushed volumes. She knew the answer but couldn¡¯t say it.


    The tremors from the giants approaching became emotional tremors as she found herself wanting to squeeze her eyes closed and remember the times that her big brother had hugged her when she was upset. She could sure use his reassuring presence now, a presence she had betrayed and hurt over the last few months. The question everyone wanted answered¡­


    Where was The General? Would he still protect them?


    ¡°Where are you, Adam?¡± Emily whispered to herself, trying desperately to keep the tears inside.


    STATUS SHEET:


    Name: Lucas Fenton [17]


    Age: 19


    Race: Human


    Appointment: N/A


    Class: Battlemaster [5] (Epic) Tier 3


    Body [12]


    Strength: 214


    Agility: 128


    Vitality: 163


    Intelligence: 44


    Wisdom: 43


    Skill Points: 0


    Skills:


    Sturdy Weapon: Increase durability of a held weapon.


    Empower Blow +5: Increase damage caused by an attack.


    Toughness +5: Increase user¡¯s Vitality for a set amount of time.


    Ideal Direction: Gain an enhanced awareness of your surroundings during combat. This increased perception will make it easier to know where enemies and allies are, and where attacks are most likely to come from or will be most effective to use.


    All Weapons +5: Gain an enhanced capability with any weapon you wield. Wielder will gain an instinctual understanding of how to use the weapon both offensively and defensively.


    Armless: Enhances combat without weapons. Should the user have no weapons, his strength, speed, reflexes, and durability will be improved. This will allow the user to fight barehanded against equipped foes.


    Balance +5: Improve the balance of the user. The user will have an instinctual understanding of his own body, allowing him to control it better.


    Proper Stance +5: Improves the technique of the user based on a single weapon he is wielding. This will allow him to fight more experienced foes with any weapon, regardless of his experience or training.


    Evade: Increased ability to dodge attacks or objects in the user¡¯s immediate range for a set amount of time.


    Followup: After striking or stabbing, the attack will continue further, reducing the amount of momentum lost from making contact with a target.


    Trade Blows +5: Allows the user to connect with an attack on a target after that target makes contact with the user. Damage caused from the guided attack will be reduced in strength by 50% from normal attacks made.


    Held Against Me: User gains an instinctual knowledge of any weapon the enemy wields. This will allow the user to fight against unknown weapons or weapons the user is less experienced with.


    Reduce Obstacles +2: Reduces the amount of resistance caused by physical objects when contact is made by the user¡¯s wielded weapons. This will allow blades to penetrate deeper or blunt weapons to crush further.


    Knowledge is Power: The more the user understands a weapon¡¯s technique, the more powerful and resilient they are. Vitality is higher when struck by that weapon, and strength is increased when attacking.

 CH 156: Crumbling

    CHAPTER 156: Crumbling


    The walls shook with every impact, but they held. The blue Kukiolis that had made it this far kept slowly drawing back their arms and punching the wall. They were spread out a short distance from the gate, staying out of each other¡¯s way. They ignored all the damage done to them and continued to pound away.


    Cracks weren¡¯t showing in the walls yet, but everyone could feel the shaking getting worse as the punches continued. If their strength stats had been anywhere near their vitality, then the wall would have fallen already. Lucas was thankful for at least some balance among their stats.


    Five more had been killed, and it had taken quite a bit of time and energy to drop them. Fear was building among the wall fighters, but there was nothing Lucas could do about it. Especially as he watched the yellow Kukiolis, ¡°Castle Destroyer [29],¡± continue his path towards them. He wasn¡¯t far away now. Lucas couldn¡¯t wait any longer.


    ¡°Right rifleman, hit the big yellow guy as soon as you can,¡± Lucas said, knowing that pulling him from helping the groups attacking the blues was only slightly less dangerous than allowing the yellow guy to arrive.


    ¡°Roger!¡± responded the man in his display.


    Almost immediately the bullet went out. The boss Kukiolis stopped walking mid step. There was a flash of red on his eye, and then his hands began to glow. No damage had been taken from his eye.


    ¡°Again!¡± Lucas ordered.


    Once more a bullet went out. The eye flashed and the glow on the hands increased.


    ¡°It isn¡¯t enough, sir,¡± gasped the gunman.


    ¡°Damnit!¡± swore Lucas. ¡°Don¡¯t waste any more bullets on him. The damage probably empowered his fists. Damn [System] and damn skills!¡±


    ¡°Going back to the blues,¡± said the gunman, hesitancy in his voice.


    Lucas stood there, completely still. His arms were crossed, and he looked calm to the others as he watched the largest invader approach once more. Inside, Lucas was feeling just as concerned as the people openly showing their fear.


    He wasn¡¯t the most gregarious person, but he had still formed attachments in this place. There were plenty of people outside of Adam¡¯s team that he spent time with. Having drinks with the other soldiers at the bar, the liquor finally strong enough to cause a buzz thanks to the Leputi alchemists. There were women that he spent personal time with. Activities like playing pool in the rec center and enjoying the spars at the training area, reminding him of his boxing training. Even with the death and planetary uncertainty, Lucas was enjoying his life. He had been freed from the obligations of a peaceful society and now he was able to be true to himself.


    Aside from the fate of the world and humanity, Lucas didn¡¯t want to lose this place. Protecting it was more than just a way to honor Adam, and the trust Adam placed in him. This was a place that mattered. His father. His uncles. His pals and dates and sparing partners. A lifetime of being brushed off by society, ignored and belittled, didn¡¯t matter anymore. He would protect this place.


    ¡°Jordan, have a Leputi bring me that stuff the alchemists put together,¡± Lucas ordered calmly.


    ¡°Commander,¡± gasped Jordan. ¡°You can¡¯t mean the alien napalm!¡±


    ¡°NOW, Jordan! We don¡¯t have much time.¡±


    ¡°Bu-but¡­that stuff is too dangerous. How will you even be able to use it without killing the person who delivers it?!¡± croaked Jordan.


    ¡°Better one death than hundreds of thousands. We¡¯re out of options. I doubt even Adam could take that thing out.¡±


    ¡°F-fine, commander,¡± Jordan said and disappeared from his display.


    Lucas continued to look on. For his family, for his friends, and for his place in the world, Lucas would gamble it all.


    ***


    The shaking of the wall worsened every time a Kukiolis punched it. Everyone could feel it. The groups of attackers would focus their spells when a giant would take a bullet in the eye. They would blitz it to create enough damage that Lamar or Andrea, depending on which location the attacker was at, could get an attack inside the monsters.


    That still left a large stretch where the remaining giants were left to pound away at the wall.


    Alissa didn¡¯t have useful buffs or abilities for this fight. She stalked along the unpopulated stretch, near where the massive invaders were punching. It was stupid and dangerous, but with how angry and denied she was feeling, a little danger felt right. At her side was Fido.


    Both of them missed Adam.


    Alissa missed his awkward gentleness, which at the drop of a hat could become hell raining down on those who opposed him. She loved his fire and fury as much as his love and kindness. Even though she hadn¡¯t confessed it to the other girls, Alissa got a thrill whenever Adam switched to angry mode. The rage that came from his connection with her, the actions taken to change the world into the image his rage demanded, those were things she respected, and pre-[System] had sought for herself.


    Now his connection felt mostly gleeful. Sometimes there was nervousness mixed with the excitement, but there was never anger. Never rage. It felt almost like when someone starts dating, a mix of desire and self-consciousness.


    That wasn¡¯t what Adam was like¡­not what he should be like. He was fury. Destruction. The world bowed to him or suffered.


    Alissa couldn¡¯t image what had happened to turn him from a god of war to a little puppy, according to the feelings coming from his connections. Was this change permanent? If¡­when¡­they got him back, would he be the same? Would he be the force of nature to lead them through the oceans of enemies?If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    It was difficult to admit about a guy, but she missed him. She missed him so much, and she knew the other three girls did as well. She wanted his reassuring touch, his affectionate arms to wrap her up, and his heavy war hammer to smash these stupid oversized gorillas making a racket against the wall.


    Of course, if she wanted to see what had happened to Adam, what had changed him into a simpering kid emotionally, she would need to get stronger. She would need the power to take out monsters like this handily, with or without the group.


    Just like she had used her increased strength to pay Greg back for the years of harassment, she wanted to pay back these invaders. As she huffed along in her march, she wondered how she could reach high enough to give these blue buffoons the same kick as she had Greg.


    Before Adam had been taken, Fido was palm sized. They had all used the Rift Menu to make toys for the three headed dog using common disposably materials. Fido had mainly stayed in the condo, with the chefs feeding him when Adam and the girls were absent. Adam had set up the Rift Menu to clean up any messes that Fido made by absorbing the organic material and removing anything left over. No other pet owner had ever had it this conveniently. At level zero the puppy Carthraga had been easy to care for.


    Once they began leveling him, his size increased with his levels. Caring for him took more at that point. Multiple walks a day had come from the girls, including Emily, and excluding Ashtala who once more became scared of him. Fido was energetic, playful, and breathed fire, ice, and lightning from different heads, requiring a lot more attention than normal pets.


    The walks had allowed the people in the area to find out about him. Every time during a walk that a person shrieked at them, or fell to the ground in fear, Fido had been calmly introduced to the person. The kids loved him the most, and two of his three heads loved the attention back. Fortunately, the third head was more bark than bite, or the kids teasing him might have paid for it.


    Even though he had grown the most since Adam vanished, Fido still missed his owner. He missed the kind man who had fed him. Missed chewing on his skin without being slapped on the noses. He especially missed the heat that Adam generated when angry, since it reminded him of the caverns he was born into.


    Still, Fido enjoyed being out and about. He knew who to attack and who not to. His intelligence had increased with his level, bringing with it more reason and recognition. At least for two of the three heads.


    As he walked beside Alissa, he would get annoyed at the giants, blasting out an elemental breath at them that would cause them to grunt and stop their pounding for a moment. Whenever he did this, Alissa would pat his side and say, ¡°good boy!¡± It was quite enjoyable.


    He wondered when his master would return and whether he would be taken out to fight more by his favorite chew toy. None of the other humans seemed to like being chewed on, he had discovered sadly.


    The two continued to march along the stretches between the blue cyclopes when suddenly Fido stopped. One head looked up and snipped the air. Another tilted its head, trying to listen for something. The third began growling, a low rumble in its throat.


    Alissa stopped her ruminations and looked around. She turned in various directing, listening closely for any out of place sound. She even tried to smell the air. There was no indication as to what Fido was sensing.


    Then the dog burst into a run, heading along the top of the wall to where thousands of Sentinels were casting spells at a blue Kukiolis, bringing it to its knees. Alissa didn¡¯t know what he sensed, but she ran after him with all her strength, even though she wouldn¡¯t be able to keep up.


    ***


    Emily breathed heavily. Once more she cast [Flame Geyser]. Fire erupted from her hands and towards the eye of the cyclops below them. The walls were 25 feet tall, and the cyclops was around 20. Now that its eye was torn open, the mages would back off and Andrea would finish it off.


    The wall shook once more from an impact.


    She had felt so many of the tremors from the Kukiolis punches, but this one was almost enough to knock her from her feet. While losing her balance she fell into someone packed tightly next to her at the edge of the parapets. Immediately Emily stopped casting so no one would be hit by her fire.


    Looking around, Emily saw everyone else affected like she had been. They stumbled into each other, bumping around but unable to fall due to the congestion of people in the group.


    Seeing that most of the spells cast at the invader had stopped, Andrea ran forward. Emily pulled her hood a bit lower as Andrea leaned over the wall railing and cast [Volt Cutter] to try and finish the cyclops off, even if the eye damage wasn¡¯t as strong as on the others they had killed.


    That¡¯s when Emily noticed it. Two cyclopes over, a punch had cracked the wall. The constant damage it had done over the last twenty minutes was allowing them to get through. The wall needed repairs.


    Pointing to where the wall was crumbling, Emily shouted, ¡°We need Earth mages to seal that crack!¡± Then she ran. Short legs pumped as she dashed along the wall to where the crack was opening, bits of the obsidian rock were breaking off and shaking along the quivering ground.


    BOOM!


    Another punch impacted and Emily saw the crack spread as she ran.


    At Emily¡¯s shout, Andrea looked up mid-cast. Emily¡¯s hood had come off as the wind blew it back from her sprint.


    ¡°Emily?!¡± she hollered as she saw the girl run past wearing their spare gear. She wanted to go grab the girl, to tell her to get back to safety, but if she stopped then the giant would have the chance to regenerate. Before going after Emily, she needed to finish this creature off. She thought about Adam and how much he wanted to protect his sister. Then she poured even more power into her spell.


    Focused on the crack, Emily arrived with a skid, the crafted leggings protecting her knees. She slammed her hands onto the wall.


    ¡°[Rock Fusion]!¡± she cried, unleashing a spell to try and seal the splits in the obsidian.


    She was panting heavily from both her run and the amount of power she was outputting. The obsidian was a higher Tier material, and she could feel it resisting her scant amount of power. She kept pushing more in, giving it everything she had. Her power flowed in the stone and tried to draw the two sides together, to make whole what was breaking. Sweat was pouring down her forehead and pain began to pierce her brain as she gave it everything she had.


    ¡°If Adam can¡¯t be here to protect this, then I will do it for him!¡± Emily thought fiercely. ¡°This wall, this base, they belong to my brother!¡±


    She was so focused on fixing the wall that she wasn¡¯t prepared when the next fist impacted it. The large crack which had been the length of a person instantly spider webbed outwards. Cracks spread and grew more cracks. Emily was thrown to the side, her casting broken.


    Her head turned to the outside railing of the wall and saw it crumbling. Eyes following the breaking stone, she looked below her knees and felt the instability. This section was about to collapse. She tried to stand, to push off the floor to get her moving, but she didn¡¯t have the strength or speed. A ten-foot section of the wall tilted towards the outside and crumbled, taking her with it.


    ***


    Sgolkr had been watching. Waiting. He had seen the natives managing to kill the little giants, once more to his surprise. These followers of the aberration were dangerous. Seeing the damage they were doing to those so far above them reinforced that they needed to die, for the good of the universe. He didn¡¯t think the Red Clan speaker could have even known they had grown strong to this extent.


    However, even with the kills that they had gotten, seven of the original thirteen Tier 2s, the wall was crumbling in parts, and the Tier 3 ¡°Castle Destroyer¡± was just about to throw its first punch. Once the wall was breeched, the natives would feel the full weight of Scyrric justice land upon them. He hissed in satisfaction.


    The Scyrric troops were still waiting behind the little giants for their time. While it was proper etiquette to give them the first chance to kill, Sgolkr felt the anger rising in him as his intelligence was traded for strength, appropriate to his berserker class. He wouldn¡¯t be able to hold himself back. The pleasure of combat, of showing the Scyrric superiority, needed to be his as well.


    ¡°The wall is about to crumble. It is time. All troops, take those natives and show them the truth of the universe!¡±


    With that order given, Sgolkr began to run towards where the breech was forming.

 CH 157: You were a Brave Man

    CHAPTER 157: You were a Brave Man


    A Leputi very, very, VERY gently handed Lucas a round flask. He could see the glue around the cork, underneath some kind of super tape, sealed in wax, bound in cloth, with metal clasps holding it all together. Lucas eyed the flask while noting the bunny man backing away from him, trying to do it without seeming disrespectful.


    ¡°What does it require to set it off?¡± asked Lucas.


    The Leputi froze, a guilty look as if he had been caught while trying to slip away.


    ¡°Lord commander, we are not sure. Some tests required fire, and some tests exploded when jostled or exposed to air. There was not enough time to stabilize the mixture.¡±


    A heavy sigh shook Lucas¡¯s shoulders.


    ¡°Thanks, you can¡­¡±


    Lucas hadn¡¯t even finished speaking before the Leputi turned and jumped off the base side of the wall.


    The flask was slightly smaller than a basketball. The viscous material inside didn¡¯t slosh or ripple. It oozed when he tilted the bottle, not wanting to break contact with the glass-like sides.


    ¡°Dumb? Check. Dangerous? Double check. Jordan, I don¡¯t suppose you have a better idea?¡± Lucas spoke first to himself, then to the display.


    The yellow Kukiolis was almost at the wall, yelling the whole way and cranking his arm back to punch it forward. There was a weight to his glowing fists, a feeling of inevitability. Lucas might not be able to get a second chance once that big brute struck the wall.


    ¡°Sorry, commander. I¡¯ve got no idea here,¡± responded Jordan. ¡°I¡¯ll pray for your success.¡±


    ¡°Pray to who?¡± demanded Randall. ¡°At least we haven¡¯t had to deal with religious nutjobs since this whole thing went down¡­well, except for Tom and his guys.¡±


    ¡°True enough,¡± agreed Tom, nodding emphatically.


    ¡°Well, it¡¯s just that¡­I¡¯m not¡­sorry, I think there is a bad connection,¡± Jordan began hissing static into the display while hiding his face from it.


    ¡°Dude, it¡¯s not a phone,¡± chided Randall.


    ¡°I know, I just couldn¡¯t think of anything to say,¡± admitted Jordan.


    ¡°It¡¯s ok. I¡¯m doing this,¡± said Lucas. He pulled out a throwing knife about the size of a finger and handed it to Randall. ¡°If the mixture doesn¡¯t ignite from the air, I¡¯m going to need you to [Lightning Tip] the knife to set it off.¡±


    ¡°Should I wait until you get away?¡± asked Randall, frowning at the knife in front of him like it was a snake threatening his friend.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think there will be time. Just get it done,¡± ordered Lucas.


    ¡°Will do,¡± said Randall with a sigh after looking at Lucas¡¯s determination.


    Tom saluted Lucas. ¡°You were a brave man. Are! You ARE a brave man. And you won¡¯t be missed at all because I¡¯m sure you will survive. Yeah, I¡¯m sure that deadly experimental chemical explosive you¡¯re carrying won¡¯t kill you at all. It was an honor slaughtering invaders with you. Well, mostly an honor. Less of an honor than with the boss. You know what, it was mostly painful and sucky. Well, whatever. Go get ¡®em temp boss. We believe in you!¡±


    ¡°You suck, Tom,¡± muttered Lucas. Everyone nearby nodded in agreement. ¡°Well, here goes nothing.¡±


    Lucas activated various skills. [Ideal Direction] and [Balance] to help him with body control while in the air. [Toughness] to increase his vitality. Finally, [Evade] just in case the big invader noticed him.


    To himself he muttered, ¡°Damn you, Adam! Heroics are your thing. You better believe I¡¯ll pay you back when I see you next!¡±


    A few deep breaths filled Lucas¡¯s lungs. He leaned forward and waited. The yellow cyclops had just arrived at the wall. The arm that had been held back moved forward at a speed the giant hadn¡¯t shown prior to now.


    Lucas ran. The wall was fifteen feet between the parapets. He couldn¡¯t go to top speed for fear of jostling the flask too much. As he reached the edge, he stepped up on the parapet and leaped.


    While soaring about 10 feet above the giant¡¯s arm, he still felt the wind caused by the punch it was throwing. The energy stored in its hand blew outwards as it made contact with the wall. The energy and fist impacted with a loud crash followed by a crack. The wall shook for a mile in both directions.


    Lucas was almost thrown off course due to the shockwave and debris that was sent outwards from the collision. There was no way he could have accurately thrown the flask with how violently the wall shook, and the wind shear from the punch would have prevented it from reaching the monster before him.


    He didn¡¯t have time to look back, or to see how bad the damage was. A flex of his abs and shifting his body weight occupied his focus as he began falling towards the boss Kukiolis. Lucas gripped the flask like he was doing to dunk. It was held to his side and above his head. He had aimed his jump to land on the giant¡¯s shoulder, but its punch had turned it too much.


    ¡°Hands off our wall,¡± Lucas bellowed as loudly as he could.


    The Kukiolis had been panting, taking pleasure in the destruction it had caused. After the loud noise that its punch had caused, there had been a brief moment of quiet as everyone from the soldiers on the wall to the Scyrric soldiers on the ground had been silent, trying to figure out how much damage had been done. The voice that came from above was able to draw its attention.


    ¡°What did yo¡­¡± the giant spoke.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.


    With the one massive eye looking up at him, Lucas threw the flask as hard as he could. He watched it fly towards the eye, moving exactly where Lucas had intended.


    The flask struck the eye, but the flask had been made of alien materials to prevent breaking. It wasn¡¯t normal glass. Lucas frowned as he saw it bounce off the eye, his own body hitting the head and sliding over the hairless scalp. His balance was broken from the unexpected impact and Lucas was flung sideways. As he began to drop, he looked to the flask, slowly moving away from the invader. He didn¡¯t have the control or speed to do anything about it.


    ¡°[Lighting Tip]! [Shock Lance]!¡± Randall¡¯s voice shouted.


    Quick as lightning, the dagger shot towards the flask. Lucas was not prepared for what happened next. The flask was not shattered by the knife, or by the lightning. It remained whole as the dagger barely pierced the clear container, and the electricity touched the mixture inside. Then the gelatinous chemicals inside ignited.


    The flammable solution expanded outwards. The flask was incinerated. The air was incinerated. Burning gel expanded to take up the space around it and burst in all directions. First it sounded like an explosion, but as the gel was propelled outward, air rushed to return to the space it had occupied. Whatever chemical or magical process forced the gel outwards while pulling everything else towards it.


    Lucas felt the pressure push him away and then an implosion pull him back, slowing his fall. While still in the air, he was drawn towards where the flask had exploded.


    The Kukiolis screamed in pain. The sound shook Lucas, who was near its front and slightly to the side of it. The volume of the yell threatened to tear his eardrums and reap his consciousness. But he didn¡¯t have time for that.


    Lucas grabbed the great sword he kept on his back and held it over his body and head. It became a shield to protect him from globs of burning gel moving towards him. At the same time, he turned his body so as little of it was facing the oncoming fire as possible, streamlining his body like a swimmer would.


    The flat of the sword was barely enough to cover the top of his head and shoulders as the shifts in the air ceased and he began falling again. Globules of the burning mix splattered against his sword and stuck to it.


    He was so focused on avoiding getting hit that the ground met him sooner than he was expecting. Not realizing how much his balance was thrown off by the screaming giant, he crash landed awkwardly and rolled away from it. He flung the large sword away from him, as one side of the blade was burning from the adhering gel.


    A little had gotten on his left glove, made from Feral Behemoth skin. Up to this point the leather had been fireproof, resisting all heat they had tried on it. The burning gel was eating through the fingers, and he could already feel the heat burning his skin. This was so much worse than direct fire.


    Yanking a knife from his belt, he cut the straps holding his wrist guard on. It fell to the ground, and he had to drop the knife to pull off the glove. It was difficult to withstand the burning without touching any of the blazing mixture that was adhering to it.


    Once the glove was away from him, he rolled to his feet and looked around. A longsword was drawn into one hand and a combat dagger into the other. The scene before him was apocalyptic. Everything shook as the wailing Kikiolus rolled on the ground in pain. The burning mixture was doing its job, sticking to the creature¡¯s eye and face.


    Lucas could see the skin that touched the fire trying to heal and close, but the burning just continued to damage it. Rolling was just spreading it around on the creature and its surroundings. Instead of falling off or being smothered, it spread out, adhering and burning.


    The area around it wasn¡¯t spared either. Some of the gel was reaching further out and everything it touched ignited or was incinerated. Several of the Scyrric that had crept too close were lying dead, holes burned into them as parts of their body were consumed.


    ¡°Gotta make sure it dies,¡± Lucas sighed while breathing heavily. The impact after the fall, plus the panic from trying to avoid the alien napalm had shaken him up. He even had to cast [Balance] to offset the unsteadiness he felt from his ears. Fortunately, no enemies were getting closer to him since they all seemed to be trying to back away from the unending flames. A few Scyrric were even using water and ice magic, but the flames were not reducing.


    Forty feet was the distance between the rolling Kukiolis and Lucas. It was big, and while its movements were slow, there wasn¡¯t a pattern to how it flung its limbs and thrashed its body. Activating his skills [Ideal Direction] and [Evade], Lucas ran. He saw his burning great sword and sheathed his longsword. The handle hadn¡¯t been hit with the mixture, so he ignored the heat coming off the blade and scooped it up with his right hand, ready to take off that glove as well if any of the fire touched it.


    As he approached the giant, he allowed the instincts provided by his skills to guide his motions, relying on them to lead him through the safest path. Lucas knew that the eye, and what was inside, was the weak point for the Kukiolis, but he wasn¡¯t about to climb on top of it or brave the patches of fire that were tormenting it.


    Instead, he ran for the neck. He held his still burning great sword, used the skills [Empower Blow] and [Reduce Obstacles], then plunged the sword into the invader¡¯s neck, angling it under the jaw.


    The already screaming monster stopped thrashing and shrieked, arching its back, raising its torso off the ground. Its arms, partly on fire, came up and clawed at its neck and throat. Fire must have spread inside it as smoke was released from the wound Lucas had caused and the creature''s mouth. The smell of cooking meat spread through the battlefield.


    Lucas backed out of reach of the boss Kukiolis. He gave plenty of room as the smoke rising from the creature was increasing while the noises it made decreased. What had been screaming was now whimpers and whines. The giant lost strength, no longer arching its back. Its limbs were twitching and settling to the ground.


    A few spasms wracked the invader before Lucas received the notification.


    Kukiolis ¡°Castle Destroyer [29]¡± slain. 37,514 XP gained.


    A heavy breath of relief came out of Lucas. The creature was dead. That mixture was a potent weapon, if they had more of it and could deploy it easier. Unfortunately, a lot of damage had been done.


    The magically enhanced chemical fire that had spread through the area wasn¡¯t reducing. The gel had splattered all over the area, including on the wall. A wall that was already crumbling where the Castle Destroyer had punched, and chunks were falling from where the remaining blue Kukiolis were still wailing away at it.


    A thump sounded next to Lucas, and then two more sets of feet landed nearby.


    ¡°Nice job, temp boss. Not even the real boss could have done it better, though really, he would have done it MUCH better. What I¡¯m saying is you did a decent job of it. And better you than me in this case.¡±


    ¡°Thanks, Tom,¡± grumbled Lucas insincerely. ¡°Since you¡¯re down here, I guess you¡¯ll be joining me for a bit of mayhem?¡±


    More stomps were heard as additional people dropped down behind him.


    ¡°That wall might not last much longer,¡± said Randall.


    ¡°Better to jump then fall,¡± added Joseph.


    The rest of Joseph¡¯s unit, the Reapers, had landed with him. A few defenders and warriors had seen them, and more were coming down now too, forming into their groups.


    ¡°Let¡¯s get to it then,¡± said Lucas, grabbing his long swords and heading towards the nearest Scyrric.


    ***


    Sgolkr had stopped to watch as that insane native had jumped from the wall towards the boss little giant. He had chuckled, waiting to see the native''s despondence at being unable to hurt the creature. To Sgolkr¡¯s surprise, and fury, the native had used something that didn¡¯t seem to be a skill to create a blaze strong enough to kill the monster.


    Killing that Kukiolis was not something that Sgolkr would have even considered possible by the natives. The ingenuity and bravery of that one native even impressed Sgolkr. At least in the way a puppy learning to shake hands might impress a bystander. But that was enough to earn the native a reward.


    Sgolkr changed the angle of his run. The impressive native and a few others were heading towards his troops now, moving away from the flames of whatever he had done while protecting the wall. He might kill a few Scyrric, but not many before Sgolkr would face him directly.


    The native would have the honor to die by Sgolkr¡¯s blade.

 CH 158: The Wall Falls

    CHAPTER 158: The Wall Falls


    Emily screamed. The ground was becoming a slope beneath her, leaning towards where a giant blue fist kept pulling back and pounding the wall.


    It wasn¡¯t that the large chunk of the wall she was on was separating from the rest. The wall had somehow turned brittle, maybe due to some of the skills that the Kukiolis had used while punching. The cracks that Emily had been trying to hold together had become debris, rocks of all sizes were ricocheting around until they bounced down towards the outside of the wall.


    The Kukiolis¡¯s head was below the height of the top of the wall. Yet Emily could see the head and the pounding fist as the wall was crumbling away. She kept trying to stand, to move herself onto more stable ground, but her lack of physical stats and experience in these situations resulted in her panicking. All she managed was to scream.


    She didn¡¯t cry for help or try any miraculous way to avoid it. Fear and uncertainty froze her mind and actions, like when driving on treacherous roads and watching a tractor trailer coming straight towards you after having lost control. The situation was so far different than her experiences and abilities that she could only watch in terror, no solutions coming to mind.


    Everything moved slowly as the terror took in all the details that she couldn¡¯t control. The rocks and rumble beneath her that were making it too difficult to shift her body, the pull of gravity that was drawing her towards the increasingly dangerous ledge. A part of her mind, boosted by her intelligence stat, was trying to focus on her skills and spells, searching for one that would help her in this situation. Unfortunately, the rest of her just trembled, watching wide eyed as the inevitable fall approached.


    The screaming didn¡¯t stop. Some people watched from a distance, distracted from attacking a different Kukiolis, with as much uncertainty as she felt. Andrea was yelling even as she continued casting her lightning to finish off the cyclops Emily had previously been attacking.


    Others on the wall, some with physical classes, were using skills to try and reach her before the entire section of the wall shattered and fell. One support class was even trying to cast a crowd control skill to try and root her in place, but it was too far out of reach.


    Emily¡¯s screaming continued and she began to grab and claw, trying to find anything she could hold onto.


    The Kukiolis below had noticed the screaming, and it had stopped punching. Its one large eye was fixated on her as she slid towards the edge. The invader¡¯s left hand, as big as a car, was waiting to catch her when she fell.


    Finally, with too much of the ground crumbling away, Emily then fell, caught in the rocky landslide. Her breath caught and screaming stopped as she was pulled down to the outstretched hand.


    With the screaming stopped, she heard a new noise growing closer and getting louder. Three new sounds blended together. One was a threatening growl, one was barking, and the other was a canine whine. As her body dropped through the open air, rocks bouncing off her too, she looked back up.


    A long shadow came over the edge, becoming a three-headed dog as it leapt from the wall, speeding towards her. Two heads bit her clothes, holder her tightly as they now fell together. The third head looked down at the rapidly approaching palm. It opened its mouth and blew fire breath. Emily felt the heat as they dropped, even as Fido angled the breath away from her.


    The Kukiolis bellowed and pulled his hand back, allowing Fido to drop the remaining distance to the ground. They landed heavily, but the Carthraga¡¯s stats were high enough that the fall did minimal damage to him. Emily, with her low strength and vitality took a greater amount of damage from the impact, even though she was held by Fido, having the wind knocked out of her.


    She choked and sputtered, trying to breathe deeply. Her eyes swam while her brain was amazed at how far they had fallen and survived. Pre-[System] that would have easily been their death but now it was something many could walk away from.


    Unfortunately, Emily wasn¡¯t finished with being in danger. Once able to breathe again, she looked up, realizing that Fido had placed her on the ground. All three of his mouths were baring their teeth and growling at the swarm of approaching Scyrric.


    A platoon of lizard men approached. Fire, ice, and lightning breath was sent out at them. Barriers and shields easily blocked it. When one of the breaths ran out, Fido would bark with a flash of red. Some of the Scyrric would stumble backwards from the fear inducing skill he used, but not enough. They pressed forward in formation.


    Emily cast [Tidal Flows] causing a wave of water to come from nowhere to crash against the approaching invaders. Only a small bit of the water passed through their barriers, but it did nothing more than make a few of the Scyrric damp.


    She used [Flame Geyser], focusing the stream of fire coming from her hands, but a shield was able to block it without melting. Any damage caused by it to the defending Scyrric was undone as a healer flashed their skill, repairing their vanguard.


    Emily yelled as she panted heavily from forcing out so much mana, combined with her fear. She was weaker than them. Even if her level was in range of theirs, their skills and equipment were better than hers. Maybe one on one she could have done something, but this was a trained and experienced military unit.


    Then they counter attacked.


    A yellow bolt of magic flew out and struck her in the chest. She felt the power behind it and was thrown backwards off her feet. A blue ball of some element hit her in the stomach, and she landed on her back.


    She tilted her head to see Fido whimpering, trying to stand and limp over to her. One of his legs was burned and another didn¡¯t seem to be working correctly. A projectile that was more like a spike than an arrow had pierced his side.


    Emily pushed to her feet. Her abdomen felt bruised, as if a boxer had used her as a punching bag. Yet she was still alive, and barely damaged thanks to the equipment she had worn. She knew it was the best the Sentinel Army could make, due to Adam insisting that those closest to him were protected the most.


    She unclasped the cloak and hood on her back and stumbled over to Fido, where she put it around him to try and block any more attacks that might come. It didn¡¯t matter though. Warriors walked forward with bladed weapons and shields; hissing laughter made at her extent.


    Then another Scyrric pushed its way through. It had a tag of ¡°Barrier Adherent [46]¡±. That level meant it was Tier 3. She shot an [Earth Lance] at it, but it broke apart before reaching the invader.


    ¡°Pathetic native,¡± said the Barrier Adherent. ¡°Trying to hurt us with such paltry spells. Not even a worthwhile class to challenge us with. Your death will be meaningless.¡±


    Emily struggled to her feet. She stood there, knees slightly bent, holding her side. Fear, frustration, and hate filled her.Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    ¡°If my brother was here, you wouldn¡¯t stand a chance!¡± she screamed. ¡°He would kill you no matter the Tier and then your whole army!¡±


    The Scyrric stopped approaching, thinking it was a joke. He joined the rest of the troops in laughing at her. ¡°Little hatchling, your disrespect of the Scyrric only dishonors you and shows your ignorance. No native on this world has a chance against us.¡±


    ¡°My brother has killed more of your kind and will continue until your whole race is DEAD!¡± shrieked Emily.


    The Scyrric looked at her thoughtfully, dragging one of his talons along a ribbed translucent barrier he created in the air. It made a clicking noise, almost like an absent-minded gesture while thinking.


    ¡°Brother? This is a hatch mate, yes? Could you be a she hatch mate of the aberration?¡± the Barrier Adherent asked.


    ¡°He¡¯s not an aberration!¡± Emily continued to yell. ¡°He¡¯s a hero and he¡¯ll put you in your place! Under the ground!¡±


    ¡°How does me being under the ground matter? I could easily dig a tunnel with my barriers,¡± pondered the invader, missing her intention. ¡°But you being a hatch mate of the aberration changes things. Since we no longer have him to study, maybe studying more in his line will prove informative, yes?¡±


    Emily went to yell more but then froze, mouth partly open. Her mind realized too late what the Scyrric was saying. Her insides became panicked, and she broke out into a cold sweat. She wanted to protect Fido as much as herself, and maybe the best way to do that was to get away from him. She turned to run¡­and ran into a translucent wall.


    With one side blocked, she moved in another direction only to be restrained there too. She turned all around to find that she was in a box made of barriers. The Scyrric saw her fear and laughed louder.


    ¡°Yes,¡± the Scyrric answered as if someone had asked a question. ¡°Since your aberration is no longer available to us, you will begin the repayment for his crimes.¡±


    Emily could do nothing but pound on the barriers. She tried screaming for help, but it didn¡¯t look like her voice penetrated the barrier. She even tried casting her spells, but those were blocked from use too. Tears streamed down her face as the Barrier Adherent walked back through the troops, her prison steadily floating behind him.


    Due to the barrier blocking all sound, Emily was unable to hear his next order, ¡°Their wall is coming down. Prepare to enter it.¡±


    ***


    Alissa had been running after Fido. She was too far behind when she saw the hood fall from Emily¡¯s head and realized who it was.


    ¡°Stupid cutie,¡± she muttered as she ran. ¡°I can¡¯t fault her for wanting to help, but it would have been better to stay in the tower.¡±


    Then the wall gave way, taking Emily with it. Fido didn¡¯t hesitate to leap off the edge after her.


    Arriving at the end of the stable ground, Alissa looked down and saw the two land safely. But landing safely didn¡¯t make them safe. The burn on the Kukiolis¡¯s hand from Fido¡¯s breath was healed, and the monster wanted his revenge. He was looking down, turning his hand to flatten them.


    ¡°Oh no you don¡¯t!¡± Alissa said.


    She activated [Blessing of Wrath], [Ascending Vitality], and [Intelligence to Strength] to boost her strength and vitality. Then she jumped so she was facing the Kukiolis¡¯s eye. Once in the air, she cast her Tier 3 ability [Angel¡¯s Advance]. Black feathery wings appeared on her back. They were only temporary and not a physical manifestation. The skill triggered and she flew through the air in a straight line.


    The Kukiolis was still looking down at Fido and Emily, so she yelled, ¡°Up here, one eye!¡±


    The invader looked up. Right before impact, Alissa used a slew of other skills. She cast [Sins of the Vengeful] to increase the damage the invader would take from her attacks, then [Avenge Ally] to boost her damage based on the damage her target had done to her allies. Finally, a Tier 1 spell [Increase Power] boosted her magic power further.


    Then she smacked into the giant¡¯s eye.


    This wasn¡¯t like getting a small bug caught in your eye while riding a bicycle. Alissa came at him like a torpedo, a tier above the creature, with her strength and damage buffed as high as they could go. The speed [Angel¡¯s Advance] propelled her, and the stability since it required her to move in a single direction, enhanced the impact further.


    Her fist flew right into his eye, then popped through the cornea. Optical fluids sprayed out even more than when shot with the sniper rifle.


    ¡°Gross, you giant piece of p¡­,¡± she cursed before closing her mouth to keep the spurts of fluid from getting in.


    The Kukiolis once more bellowed in pain. Immediately the eye began to heal. The hole she had made, about the width of her shoulders, started closing up.


    ¡°Forget that!¡± she shouted.


    Holding on to the edges of the eye wound, she began using [Take Life]. It was a drain spell that pitted her vitality, strength, and intelligence stats against her target¡¯s vitality. Her passive skill [Improved Life Transfer] doubled the amount of damage it caused.


    As she felt the energy, life, and mana from the creature being drawn into her, the hole stopped closing. It became a clash of her power versus its regeneration. She was doing damage to it very slowly while it was regaining the life she took.


    Previously, she had always seen people cast their spells from their hands, but she wondered why they should be so limited. Fido shot spells from his mouths, not his paws. Unfortunately, she was stuck using [Take Life] with both hands to keep the eye from healing. That meant she needed a different way to do damage.


    Preparing a mental image, she tried to imitate Fido. She opened her mouth and growled, then she cast the spell [Death Bolt] while focusing the mana for the skill in her mouth. A black bolt fired from it and went into the inner eye.


    Alissa nodded at her success, then made sure [Take Life] was continuing to absorb energy. She drew the absorbed energy back to her head where she continued to fire [Death Bolts]. She kept this up for a few minutes. It was tiring, and quite frankly boring and a hassle, but she had no other choice.


    ¡°Alissa, I¡¯ve got this!¡± a familiar voice called to her from the wall. ¡°Drop down now!¡±


    ¡°You got it, babe,¡± Alissa yelled back, ceasing the casts of [Death Bolt]. She looked to the ground and let go of the giant. Then she used [Angel¡¯s Advance] to rocket down safely, protected from the impact, thanks to the skill, as she struck the ground.


    ¡°[Volt Cutter]!¡± she heard Andrea yell from the wall as a condensed beam of lightning shot from her hands into the eye where the damage Alissa had done superheated from the attack. The beam continued as the blue cyclops fell to its knees, Andrea adjusting her attack angle as it fell.


    Alissa looked over at where she expected Fido and Emily to be, but they weren¡¯t there. Instead, she saw Fido covered by one of Brittney¡¯s cloaks. Blood had stained the ground below him and more of those bastard reptile people were approaching, weapons ready. At the edge of her vision, she saw Emily trapped inside an invisible box, pounding and screaming even though no noise came out. She was being dragged along by a Tier 3 Scyrric of a much higher level than Alissa.


    One problem at a time. Emily was in danger, but Alissa wouldn¡¯t be able to reach her without a prolonged fight. Fido, on the other hand, was about to be killed.


    ¡°This won¡¯t stand!¡± Alissa snarled as turned to face the Scyrric approaching Fido. She once more activated [Angel¡¯s Advance].


    STATUS SHEET:


    Name: Alissa Whitmore [20]


    Age: 18


    Race: Human


    Appointment: N/A


    Class: Avenging Angel [13] (Epic) Tier 3


    Body [7]


    Strength: 125


    Agility: 58


    Vitality: 159


    Intelligence: 207


    Wisdom: 59


    Skill Points: 3


    Skills:


    Mana Dart: Cast a weak, non-elemental projectile made from mana.


    Water Ball +5: Cast a water-based projectile at a target.


    Increase Power +5: Gives an increase in damage to attack spells.


    Air Spear: Cast a lance of air at a target.


    Blessing of Wrath +5: Boost Strength, Agility, and Intelligence to increase combat capabilities.


    Give Life: Heal a target by providing life energy from the caster or absorbed through [Take Life]. Requires physical contact with a target to use. A channeled spell.


    Take Life +5: Drain the life energy and Vitality of a target. Requires physical contact with a target to use. A channeled spell.


    Ascending Vitality +5: Boost Vitality for user or ally.


    Quick Step: Increase movement speed based on Intelligence stat.


    Death Bolt +5: Cast a mana projectile that destroys life energy and weakens a target.


    Improved Life Transfer +5: Double the effect of [Take Life], [Give Life], and other drain effects.


    Intelligence to Strength +5: Increase Strength stat by 50% of Intelligence while reducing Intelligence stat by 25% for a set duration.


    Avenge Ally: Boost damage done to a target based on the amount of damage they have done to user¡¯s allies in the previous minute.


    Sins of the Vengeful +5: Mark a target for their sins against the caster. Increase damage taken by user and all allies.


    Angel''s Advance: Gain wings that propel and protect the caster as they move in a straight direction. Damage from impacts or contact at the end of the advance are reduced by 80%. Can be used to advance or retreat.


    Make Space: Send out a ring of force around the user that pushes or knocks back any enemy within that space. Requires life energy to use.

 CH 159: The Angel Advances

    CHAPTER 159: The Angel Advances


    ¡°NOOOO!¡± Alissa screamed as she flew towards the Scyrric about to attack Fido, using [Angel¡¯s Advance].


    Before the invader''s sword could plunge into the three-headed dog, the warrior Scyrric was body checked from the side. The force that Alissa used lifted the Scyrric, body armor and all, off the ground and flung him back into the shield bearers who had been watching from several paces back. If not for their vitality and strength, they would also have been knocked down by the thrown warrior.


    Two more Scyrric who were surrounding Fido rounded on Alissa and drew their weapons. A scout type lunged at her with a long dagger. Alissa used [Quick Step] and, to the surprise of the faster invader, dodged out of his way like a matador in a bull fight. As his momentum took him through where her body had been a moment before, she grabbed his face and shot a [Death Bolt] with the hand holding it.


    The Scyrric stumbled backwards, coughing and missing teeth, but he wasn¡¯t given time to correct his stance. Alissa drops and swept with her legs, dropping the opponent onto his tail. Then she once more used [Blessings of Wrath] and [Intelligence to Strength] as her fist came down on his throat.


    The scout lizard man wheezed for air, trying to breathe through his crushed windpipe.


    The other Scyrrics¡¯ training was enough to allow them to recover from their surprise at a single native attacking them, and to realize that she was a higher Tier than them. As the shield men from the main unit stepped forward, trying to deliver a healer to the dying scout, the two who had been at Fido arrived.


    Alissa also hadn¡¯t wasted time. She spun on the warrior and fired a [Water Bolt] at his legs. They were knocked backwards, causing him to fall face down. A cast of [Quick Step] allowed her to get to him before he could push himself up.


    She was forced to dodge the swing of the blade from the scout. He had stayed behind the warrior, even if he could have arrived at her first. Now that the warrior was down, the scout engaged her. The strikes were calculated, forcing her away from the two downed Scyrric. If she didn¡¯t get back to them then they would be on their feet and back to attacking shortly.


    ¡°[Sins of the Vengeful],¡± announced Alissa as she dodged. She could feel her skill place a mark on the scout in front of her, increasing the damage she would do against him if she could make contact.


    [Mana Darts] were fired at intervals, trying to get the scout to move out of the path back to the downed Scyrric, but he was too quick. He would dodge or duck the Darts, then lash back at her with a large knife or his tail. He was doing a good job keeping her from moving forward.


    Looking over at Fido after she heard him whimper, she barely dodged a slash. A realization that her opponent wasn¡¯t trying to kill her directly raised her gall. He was just trying to allow his people to reset.


    Alissa would have none of that.


    ¡°[Mana Dart],¡± she announced, holding up her left hand to cast it. As the scout dodged to her right, she cast a [Water Ball] with that hand. Once more the lizard avoided being struck, but he had arrested his movement to pull up after switching directions quickly.


    Alissa¡¯s mouth opened and a [Death Bolt] flew from it right into the face of the invader, knocking him backwards. Looking past her immediate opponent to where the warrior that she knocked down was picking up the scout with the crushed throat, she used [Angel¡¯s Advance].


    Like a linebacker in a blitz, her skill shot her forward. Since her target was the warrior, she was able to blast through the Scyrric who had been delaying her and fly right to the pair that were trying to get to a healer.


    Her hand seemed dainty compared to the thick scaled hides of the warrior, yet through her skills she had the strength and protection to punch through the sharp teeth of the Scyrric, deep into his mouth. Then a [Death Bolt] was cast by that hand. The power of it was enough to explode within his head, blowing his eyes and tympanic membranes out, causing more gore.


    Scyrric ¡°Shocktroop [27]¡± slain. 3,513 XP gained.


    She grimaced at the muck, but the grossness wasn¡¯t enough to pause her wrath as she grabbed the Scyrric from the shoulders of the falling warrior. She opened up his mouth and fed him a [Death Bolt] as well.


    Scyrric ¡°Rounder [29]¡± slain. 3,818 XP gained.


    Spinning, she dropped low just in time to trip the scout she had flown through.


    ¡°Where do you think you are going?¡± she asked with a fury. Once he was again falling, she grabbed his face and slammed him onto the ground. ¡°I need your life energy.¡±


    Before he could struggle or fight his way up, she stomped on his arms with a loud crack, followed by his tail. She wasn¡¯t stupid enough to ignore the tail. His weapon fell from his hand.


    Then she ran over to Fido while casting [Take Life] on the Scyrric she carried. He hissed as his life was pulled from him into Alissa. She could feel the energy of it. Without a pause, she placed her other hand onto Fido¡¯s right head and used [Give Life].


    Like a circuit, the energy traveled through her from the squirming Scyrric into the Carthraga. The middle head looked up at her sadly, but its whining sounded stronger as the energy healed him.


    Alissa saw the other Scyrric, stunned at her prowess against the three she had fought, edging towards her. She also noticed several red flashes as spells were being cast in her direction, but she didn¡¯t want to stop until Fido was better. There were just too many enemies approaching to fight them off. The plan for the moment was to stabilize Fido, survive the first set of attacks, and then run while carrying him.


    Without letting go of either Fido or the Scyrric, she positioned herself between the dog and the enemies. Hunching over with her back to them, hoping her cloak, robe, and the leather layer underneath would be enough to stop the spells, Alissa waited for the spells to come.


    Squeezing her eyes closed to protect them, vital energy still flowing through her to drain and heal, she heard the air disturbed and felt heat and light coming at her.


    PING!


    Opening her eyes, Alissa turned back and saw a shield blocking the incoming spells. The shield was held by a handsome blond man in his thirties. He smiled down at her, flashing his teeth.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡°Are you ok, Angel?¡± he asked.


    Alissa tried to hold it in but burst out laughing.


    ¡°Is that a pickup line in a battle?¡± she asked as she couldn¡¯t keep the mirth in. The man looked a little dismayed.


    ¡°Of course not! Who would be dumb enough to flirt with one of the General¡¯s Wives?¡± he asked with an off put expression. ¡°Wasn¡¯t your title ¡®Avenging Angel¡¯?¡±


    She continued to giggle, her tension broken. ¡°Of course. Sorry.¡± Then with a genuine expression she said, ¡°thanks for the help.¡±


    He nodded. ¡°We saw you practically kill that cyclops by yourself. It just took us longer to get down without those black angel wings of yours.¡±


    At the explanation, Alissa looked around and noticed that dozens of humans were around them and the numbers were increasing. People were climbing or jumping down from where the wall had crumbled. The group of Scyrric had stopped advancing and the humans were getting into their own positions, though only the physical fighters and a few healers, since the casters and ranged attackers were still fighting the blue Kukiolis.


    Fido barked, two heads looking up at her as the third head was nuzzling into her hand. It seemed he had received enough healing. She stopped draining and giving energy and placed both her hands on the two heads that she hadn¡¯t been touching. A vigorous head rub followed on them, as the heads squealed in appreciation.


    ¡°What good boys! You are all so good! Protecting Emily and fighting,¡± praised Alissa as she petted them. ¡°Are you ready for some more?¡±


    In response, Fido stood up, and with a cruel look in his eyes, one jaw bit the Scyrric¡¯s neck, and another set of teeth grabbed the collarbone. Then the heads both pulled in a different direction.


    Scyrric ¡°Ankle Cutter [26]¡± slain. 2,493 shared XP gained.


    Fido shook the separated head a few times before letting it drop.


    ¡°Lady Alissa, if you would,¡± said the blond man with a gentlemanly bow and gesture towards the prepared Scyrric.


    Two heads barked furiously as the third howled while Fido turned towards the Scyrric. Alissa patted him on the back and nodded.


    ¡°[Angel¡¯s Advance]!¡± she called, once more flying forwards into the line of Scyrric. The shield man that she struck didn¡¯t fall but he was forced back a few feet from the collision. The Scyrric behind him kept him on his feet and pushed him forward. None were expecting what Alissa did next.


    ¡°[Make Space]!¡± she called as a pressure wave radiated from her body and threw all the nearby Scyrric off balance.


    Before they had time to steady themselves, the rest of the charging humans arrived, and the battle began.


    ***


    Lucas was able to [Evade] a swing at his midsection, turning his body to the side will standing up straight. As soon as the blade passed, he dropped into a lunge and thrust his sword while using [Reduce Obstacles]. His sword pierced the warrior Scyrric, sliding underneath its chest armor into its abdomen. Lucas swung the sword sideways from there, cutting through from the inside to the outside.


    Scyrric ¡°Blade Handler [29]¡± slain. 3,102 XP gained.


    There was no time to pay attention to the falling corpse as Lucas dropped into a roll to his side. While still in the movement, he swung his sword and cut through one leg of the next Scyrric that was trying to reach him before coming to his feet.


    The Scyrric fell but wasn¡¯t given the time to hit the ground as a blue tinged spearhead, crackling with lightning, went in the invader¡¯s armpit and through its body.


    Scyrric ¡°Prey Stalker [27]¡± slain. 1,923 shared XP gained.


    ¡°[On Your Knees],¡± said Tom, boosting the power of his manipulation skill with [The More You Believe]. He followed it up with [Long Reach] and [Quick Strike]. The extended blade that came from his sword decapitated three warriors who had fallen to a kneel before coming to a stop due to the neck protector of a ¡°Steady Bulwark [32].¡±


    Lucas was already wading into the group of Scyrric, still trying to regain their feet. His goal wasn¡¯t to kill them all, just to throw them off kilter as those behind him could get the killing blows. While his movements weren¡¯t as graceful as a dancer or trained master swordsmen, the skills his class was built around improved his movements and techniques to near mastery. Moving through the enemy army, Lucas stabbed, swung, and dodged, all with the intention of throwing off their expectations. Being so close to the Scyrric reduced the chance of ranged attacks being used against him.


    While Lucas was the point of the attack, getting inside the groups, Tom was using his abilities to affect their control and positioning. As his group had gotten stronger, Lucas hadn¡¯t noticed significant physical changes outside of the stronger skills he had chosen. However, now that they were fighting a large army, Lucas could feel the difference. With weapons made from the Scyrric weapons they had taken from the armory, there was less dulling and nicks to his blades, allowing the Tier 3 humans to exert their full force. Lucas could tell that his strength and speed outclassed the horde of invaders they were fighting.


    Once more Adam had been right. A single fighter or small group of fighters could make more of a difference than pre-[System]. And Lucas wasn¡¯t alone here.


    Lucas stepped back as a spiked club with a curved pole tried to catch him. Randall¡¯s spear came from Lucas¡¯s side and caught the bulky attacking warrior in the throat, stabbing through its neck and spine, electricity causing spasms as the body fell.


    Scyrric ¡°Catch All [34]¡± slain. 2,014 shared XP gained.


    They continued like this for a while. Lucas avoiding all physical attacks with Randall attacking from behind him. Tom continued to mass crowd control, none of their enemies having the strength or willpower to resist, except for their supports and healers. However, resisting the control skills just left them standing out as obvious targets, resulting in their deaths.


    Joseph and the Reapers were following in the back, massacring any Scyrric that had no protection. A few defenders had followed them down, knowing that the strength of the Reapers was worth protecting. Akuji gleefully swung her anime-esque scythe from behind the defenders, staying safe while dealing damage. Javier and Francis were more willing to get in close, punching or smacking with a club.


    Lucas couldn¡¯t control the battle, just his part in it, so he tried to identify where the most damage would be done and strike there. This wouldn¡¯t have been possible to survive if he wasn¡¯t at a higher level than his opponents.


    For their part, the Scyrric army didn¡¯t panic or lash out emotionally. They held their lines, communicated between their own soldiers, and fought with everything they had. Lucas might be handling them now, but if this was a long battle then he would eventually be overcome by their numbers. However, for now their small group was coming out mostly unscathed.


    Pulling back, Lucas was grazed by a fireball on his chest armor, from the back of his under arm. The spell reached a defender who seemed aware it was coming and blocked it with his shield, dispersing the fire. In a smooth movement, Lucas pulled a knife the size of a finger from his bandolier with his off hand, throwing it behind him to the left. The knife struck the caster in the snout, followed by Tom¡¯s [Long Reach] empowered sword.


    That marked a change in the battle as the Scyrric were trying to angle spells against them, their defenders trying to prevent the damage from reaching any others of their race. Lucas was forced to dodge more often. He took hits but was able to brush most of them off due to his vitality and the armor that protected him.


    The fight went on like this for another ten minutes before Lucas decided it was about time to return to the wall. Through the throngs of enemies, he noticed that the Kukiolis were almost all killed, with only three still alive. Four sections of the wall had crumbled, two with too much debris for an army to climb over and two more with paths that could be fought through. Lucas would need to get back to reinforce those gaps.


    As Lucas once more swerved sideways to dodge an attack, a hissing shriek sounded out. Lucas wanted to cover his ears but there was no way to as he cut down the attacker immediately in front of him and then stabbed towards another one.


    The shriek lasted much longer than Lucas appreciated. The Scyrric soldiers seemed to know the meaning of it though as attacks stopped coming. They all began backing away from the humans, moving to give them space. Then a pathway opened as a slightly larger Scyrric came through.


    He was covered in armor up to his neck. Even his tail had jointed metal on it that didn¡¯t seem to prevent his movement. His feet and hands had jointed metal coverings, though his talons poked through them.


    There were gaps in the armor on his neck since, unlike the heavier armored defenders, he didn¡¯t wear a neck guard. He did wear a helmet though. It covered the top and back of his head, with a piece running along his snout while two wings of metal protected his cheeks. The eyes and mouth were uncovered, allowing Lucas to see the red of both his pupil and tongue while the Scyrric could still use his teeth as a weapon. Rage painted his eyes and expression, a fury that Lucas was quite familiar with.


    ¡°Back away!¡± ordered the level 74 Metallic Berserker to the troops. ¡°Reform and then enter their wall. I will take care of these vermin!¡±

 CH 160: Sgolkr

    CHAPTER 160: Sgolkr


    Lucas yanked up his sword, barely getting it to his throat height to block before the clash knocked it away. He had just enough strength to keep the Scyrric¡¯s blade from reaching him, though his own sword and arm were flung wide.


    Even before he recovered, a taloned, metal covered foot kicked him in the chest, propelling him backwards. Only the skill [Balance] allowed him to land on his feet.


    This Scyrric had so many weapons prepared on his body, much like Lucas, but there was a roughness to the way he used them and moved. After only a few clashes, Lucas could tell both with and without his skills, that this invader wasn¡¯t relying on practiced movements or experience, but on pure stats. The sword swings were crisp because he could move with such force, and his strikes and recoveries were because his strength outpaced the weight of the blade.


    Lucas, on the other hand, had a class built around knowing weapons and techniques, many of his skills giving him an instinctive understanding of them. [All Weapons] improved his use of anything he fought with. [Proper Stance] gave him an understanding of how to use his body. [Held Against Me] gave him a better idea of how to fight against his opponent¡¯s weapon.


    None of those skills would be enough on their own, so Lucas had practiced diligently at the base. He had practiced various weapons while sparring with the Sentinel Army, his group, and even Adam. Then he had honed his abilities while fighting invaders in live and death combat. All this left Lucas just a few steps below a master at multiple weapons.


    He had practiced with swords, staves, axes, hammers, knives, all of varying sizes. Anything that could be used as a weapon he had tried to use. Police batons, crowbars, and even random pieces of metal and wood. It was all to increase his techniques and understanding so he could fight as well as possible. Of course, unarmed martial arts had been mixed in too, learning from many of those who had challenged Adam during the lead up to the invasions.


    It was obvious that the Scyrric in front of Lucas hadn¡¯t taken that path. The moves he used were very basic, things that Lucas might have scoffed at normally. But that was the path of the berserker. Ability, practice, and technique took a backseat to overwhelming with stats and power.


    As if to reinforce Lucas¡¯s thoughts, the Scyrric flashed red with the use of a skill and then lunged for him.


    ¡°[Trade Blows]!¡± announced Lucas as he used his skill. He wasn¡¯t fast enough to prevent the Scyrric¡¯s blade from striking the side of his chest armor, but as soon as he was impacted, Lucas¡¯s sword flashed and also struck the berserker in the chest. No damage was done to either of them due to the armor they wore, but Lucas was thrown to the side from the strength behind the invader¡¯s hit.


    The Scyrric¡¯s eyes widened in surprise at not piercing Lucas¡¯s armor, and Randall took that moment to stab forward with [Blitz Thrust]. A loud clang sounded out as the spear tip struck the legs of their enemy, rebounding from the metal over top of it. A bit of the lighting transferred through the metal and Tom tried to use that.


    ¡°[On Your Knees]!¡± shouted Tom.


    To his credit, the Scyrric¡¯s leg did twitch a little, but it was hardly even a breath of time before his blade was heading for Tom.


    ¡°You dare try to make me kneel?!¡± raged the Scyrric. ¡°To give respect to you natives?!¡±


    As he focused on Tom, Joseph approached from behind. Everyone who was not in their Tier 3 class evolution had already withdrawn, trying to get to the wall to help protect the gaps. This included the rest of the Reapers and the defenders who had been with them. There was plenty of space around the current fight since the Scyrric soldiers avoided this around while they rushed for the wall. Only one more Kukiolis was alive, but none of the combatants here had time to pay attention to it.


    ¡°[Deadly Penetration], [Under the Seam], [Guillotine Slice]!¡± Joseph used his armor bypassing skills as his modified spear approached the Scyrric¡¯s neck.


    A metal covered tail sprang up and took the attack, once more deflecting a strike. Joseph pulled back and prepared for another attack, but he was too slow as the tail swung low and swept his legs from under him. Joseph fell on his back with a grunt.


    The others didn¡¯t let up.


    ¡°[Empower Blow], [Reduced Obstacles]!¡± used Lucas.


    ¡°[Quick Strike], [Long Reach]!¡± activated Tom.


    ¡°[Lightning Tip], [Blitz Strike]!¡± were activated as Randall aimed his strongest individual attack.


    The Scyrric had been about to turn to Joseph at his rear but stopped when the other attacks had been used. They should have struck him faster than any person could react. Three powerful attacks from three separate directions. Yet somehow the Scyrric had time to curl his lips and bare his teeth before saying, ¡°[Force Expulsion]!¡±


    Energy rippled from the Scyrric¡¯s body. It radiated in all directions. A force like an invisible wall hit all four of the humans, including Joseph, who was still on the ground. They were all knocked backwards about ten feet. The space around the Scyrric was cleared.


    The lizard man had been breathing heavily, shoulders heaving. It wasn¡¯t from the exertion, since it was clear he had strength and stamina for days, but due to his anger. His slitted pupils had turned red while his breath came out hot enough to steam the Rift controlled air.


    ¡°You worthless worms!¡± growled the Scyrric, drawing himself up. Standing tall was unnatural to the lizard men, but he drew himself larger, almost expanding his limbs and arching his shoulders to bring his head higher. ¡°You dare stand against me?! Against the Scyrric?! You continue to fight even when your death in ordained!¡±


    Tom sidled over to Lucas, not taking his eyes from their enemy.


    ¡°Temp boss, he¡¯s giving me plenty of trash talk to work with, but I don¡¯t think I should rile him up more than he already is.¡±


    ¡°Probably not,¡± responded Lucas quietly.


    ¡°We have given you every opportunity to take your proper place below us,¡± continued the Metallic Berserker. ¡°To allow you to live while serving and groveling at the feet of your betters. Instead, you dishonor the Scyrric. You dishonor yourselves. Even without the aberration you struggle pointlessly, for there is only one way this can end.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    Slowly, the invader turned in a circle, looking at each of them before settling his eyes on Lucas.


    ¡°This world is ours,¡± hissed the Scyrric, as if he was teaching them something profound. ¡°Your race will only live at our allowance. I am Sgolkr, your master, the death that will end you.¡±


    ¡°Anytime now!¡± Lucas said to a display that was invisible to everyone else.


    ¡°Roger!¡± replied a soldier from the gun tower on the wall.


    There was no extra sound¡­no gunshot. Nothing indicated a weapon was used. Sgolkr¡¯s eyes started to narrow at hearing a new voice when a projectile struck his snout where the helmet didn¡¯t cover. The bullet entered above the lips on his right side and through his teeth on the left.


    Shards of his fangs were blown away. His own blood poured into his mouth. Sgolkr choked as he inhaled the blood.


    ¡°Ack! Ka!¡± he sputtered, staggering backwards.


    The humans attacked.


    Randall aimed for the inside of his mouth, once more using [Blitz Strike]. Tom used [Long Reach] and [Quick Step] towards his legs, to try and keep him off balance. Lucas stabbed towards the neck from the side, enhanced by [Empower Blow]. Finally, Joseph, who was back on his feet, attacked the back of the neck using [Headhunt].


    All four blows landed. The three towards his neck and mouth struck. Sgolker¡¯s neck was halfway cut off. Randall¡¯s spear crackled with lighting inside his head as it had gone into the mouth and out the back of the skull.


    The four humans stepped back, leaving their weapons as they were, unable to pull them out. Sgolkr¡¯s body didn¡¯t fall, balancing on his thick tail as he tilted backwards. Blood was streaming down his armor and pouring from his mouth. The invader¡¯s head tilted upwards as his eyes became cloudy.


    ¡°Careful,¡± said Tom, no mirth in his voice for once. ¡°No kill notice.¡±


    Lucas reached behind him and pulled out an axe. It was a two-headed circular battle axe with a short handle. He looked at it and then back at the Scyrric. Lucas cautiously took one step forward. Then a second. He held the battle axe ready, either to attack or to defend with it.


    Then there was a flash. Sgolkr used a skill. A second flash indicating another skill. Three more times Sgolkr was covered by the red flicker of [System] skills. Then his mouth snapped closed. The spearhead and part of the metal shaft splintered.


    The group watched as Sgolkr chewed, the shards of metal dissolving in his mouth. His skull, lips, and teeth began regrowing, healing the wounds. Sgolkr reached up and pulled Lucas¡¯s sword from the side of his neck. When the sword was brought to his mouth he took violent bites, crushing and shattering the metal. All of it dissolved to spur on healing. Joseph¡¯s spear fell out of its wound as the pierced scales regrew.


    ¡°Your weapons are made from Scyrric metal,¡± Sgolkr said calmly. ¡°You hardly even corrupted it when you reshaped it. That is¡­almost impressive. However, it just shows the damage that aberration has done. His existence has damaged all.¡±


    ¡°You take that back!¡± shouted Tom, anger filling his own eyes. Lucas had never seen him mad enough to forget his jester persona. ¡°The boss is the best! THE¡­BEST! YOU will grovel at HIS feet before this is all over!¡±


    Randall, Joseph, and Lucas were all stunned by Tom¡¯s angry outburst. Then Tom began using his skills, layering them all together. His friends felt their presence and the pressure of them. Their minds felt malleable and ready to be warped at the power released. Sgolkr once more staggered as his eyes rolled.


    ¡°[The More You Believe], [Persuasive Aura], [Think Twice] and¡­[Illusionary Reality]!¡±


    Reality changed. The destroyed ground turned to grassland. The wall and city vanished as a brick wall rose to surround them. Then Adam stepped forward, wielding his war hammer. He appeared instantly, like when [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] was used.


    Adam glared at the Scyrric, snarling at the invader. His expression of disdain and hate looked down on the Scyrric as if he looked at a single goblin, an easily defeated foe that filled him with revulsion. Adam pulled back his hammer and swung.


    The flat of the hammer''s head impacted Sgolkr. The invader gurgled as blood dripped from his nose. His steps were unsteady as he staggered sideways. Then a second hammer struck him as another Adam stepped from his other side. Four more Adams appeared from the wall, each with a war hammer. They all began pounding the invader, taking out their hate on him, using their desire to protect the world.


    After a minute of this, Sgolkr hissed in a staccato rhythm. He leaned forward, bending at the waist. Laugher came from him as the hammer stopped having any effect.


    ¡°You worm. You think an illusion like this is enough to stop a berserker?¡±


    Tom wiped blood from his own nose. He was breathing and sweating heavily.


    ¡°A guy can hope,¡± he said, falling to his hands and knees.


    ¡°Hope is not enough to defeat a real warrior,¡± snarled Sgolkr. ¡°[Cutting Twist]!¡±


    A new skill was used. Sgolkr spun on the spot. Blades in both hands and three on the end of his tail whirled. They didn¡¯t reach the humans, but they did something. There was a cracking sound, like ice splitting after putting it into a warm liquid. Then the sound fizzled, and the illusion faded, returning them to the rough earth ground and city.


    Tom gasped, and then fell onto his stomach, blood leaking from his nose. He didn¡¯t move.


    The air whooshed suddenly and there was a ping on Sgolkr¡¯s helmet as another bullet bounced off it. The helmet was barely marked.


    ¡°Cowardly beasts!¡± snarled the lizard man. ¡°That will not work again! [Armor Shaping]!¡±


    The wings on his helmet stretched, spreading to cover more of his face. Even his exposed eyes were covered before slits too small for a bullet to aim at appeared. Then his chest armor grew upwards, blocking more of his neck. Now there was no place on his body that wasn¡¯t protected.


    Joseph scooped up his spear and tried to attack. Without even turning to look, Sgolkr¡¯s tail thrust at Joseph¡¯s chest, rebounding him back. Sgolkr spun faster than Joseph could react, swinging his blade downward as he rotated. His blade cleanly sliced off Joseph¡¯s right arm.


    To Lucas¡¯s surprise, Joseph didn¡¯t scream or yell in pain. He looked down at the arm, at the blood pouring out of where it used to be, and grunted.


    Lucas and Randall charged. [Ideal Direction] should have told Lucas where the best place to attack was, but instead he just got a fuzzy feeling. There was no place on Sgolkr that would be effective. He swung anyway.


    Sgolkr ignored him as his back was now to them while he patiently watched Joseph pick up his severed arm. The tail swung up and to the side, deflecting Randall¡¯s sword thrust, used in place of his eaten spear. It didn¡¯t even require Sgolkr to focus attention on them.


    Lucas clanged as he swung, his axe bouncing off the armor. His strength was high enough that it caused Sgolkr to flinch and shift his weight from the impacts, but that was all it did.


    Slowly, Sgolkr turned to face him. The axe swings harmlessly bounced off, but when Lucas worked his angle to have a chance at thrusting the point of one of the axe heads under the helmet, Sgolkr¡¯s hand snapped up and caught the edge of the axe.


    ¡°You,¡± slowly hissed Sgolkr. ¡°For your bravery against the yellow little giant, you will have the honor to die first. [Weapon Shaping].¡±


    Lucas tried to pull the axe back, but the metal was crushed and bent in the Scyrric¡¯s hand. Lucas released it and pulled out a combat knife. He went to stab it, but a large taloned claw grabbed his chest armor. The metal warped and drew away from the hand, exposing the leather layer underneath. The talons slowly punctured the feral behemoth hide and dug into his skin.


    Sgolkr lifted Lucas''s body, bringing him to head height. They both glared at the other. Then Sgolkr¡¯s other hand brought up his blade, pointing it at Lucas¡¯s throat. There was a twinkle in Sgolkr¡¯s eyes as the blade began to move.


    ***


    Detachment Commander Victor Rexus brought down the binoculars he had been looking through. He was standing on a building just outside of the territory, several miles away from the wall. The entire distance between the building and the wall was empty of structures since Jordan had absorbed everything for materials to build the Rift.


    He had watched the fighting, observed the enemies. A plan had formed in his head and there was no lack of confidence in his smug expression.


    ¡°Go to General Carmichael,¡± Rexus said to Jamari Gillum. ¡°Tell him to get onto the wall. The base at Jackson will be ready to surrender.¡±

 CH 161: Last One Laughing

    CHAPTER 161: Last One Laughing


    Looking at the tip of the blade about to pierce him, Lucas didn¡¯t feel fear. He didn¡¯t cringe away from it or look back on past decisions trying to find something that could have changed things. This had been a small battle in a bigger war.


    In both combat and boxing, some fights you had a chance to win and some you didn¡¯t. Sometimes you could dig deep to find an extra something to move you to victory. Other times you got thoroughly whooped. This was the latter.


    So many times, they talked about the disadvantages the humans had in this war. They lacked resources, knowledge, experience, and even advanced classes. Winning everything had been a long shot. Just because you wanted to save the world didn¡¯t mean it was possible. The fact that their enemies could buy access to stronger soldiers and weapons, while the people of Earth couldn¡¯t, set the stage for a lopsided victory.


    Lucas had more than resigned that he wouldn¡¯t see the outcome of this war. He had known since they defeated the goblins, though he wanted to drag it out as far as he could. He was no quitter. His death was probably for the best. He would rather be killed than see his friends and people subjugated by these invaders. It had always been victory or death, and death had been the card drawn in this fight.


    Without moving his head, just shifting his eyes, he saw Joseph stumbling about from blood loss, tightly clenching his arm. Randall had backed up to Tom¡¯s unconscious body, looking around unsure of what to do. If he had been a decisive person he never would have ended up in Lucas¡¯s crew, or even at odds with his family. Right now, he seemed lost. He could run, carrying Tom away. He could try to get Joseph away. He could even attack, though he had no reasonable weapons left to use.


    Oh well. There was nothing Lucas could do for them. Those massive talons were piercing his skin and trying to break his sternum and rib cage. They hurt, but so many things had since the [System] came. This was no worse than with the Testudinates, only this time there would be no Adam to rescue them.


    Adam. He had been the equalizer. Not only was he strong enough to compete until now, but he had lifted up those around him. An entire city had worked together, built itself up to fight. Lucas felt pride that he had been a part of that. Adam had done so much without even intending to.


    Former invaders worked with them, enemy bases conquered, knowledge found, and resources claimed. Adam had driven them all, even when people baulked. Putting everything he had into this fight had forced other people to as well.


    It would have been easier for Adam to take a solo route. By himself or with a small group he could have moved in the shadows to do his damage. That might not have saved humanity, but it would have saved some of them. Yet, that wasn¡¯t who Adam was. As warped as he had been under the [System], as angry and hate filled, he was still driven by his desire to save. He didn¡¯t conquer for himself, but for humanity.


    Lucas believed in Adam. He enjoyed his unexpected friend. Even more importantly, Lucas respected Adam as deeply as anyone. Lucas¡¯s only regret at his own death was that he wouldn¡¯t be able to help Adam, to bring him out of wherever the invaders were holding him. Unfortunately, the Scyrric in front of him was too much. As much as Lucas had wanted to save Adam, Tom had been right. They hadn¡¯t been strong enough, and it wasn¡¯t what Adam would want.


    There were no words of defiance. No hateful glaring at the enemy that Lucas now knew he couldn¡¯t overcome. His eyes flicked from the Scyrric¡¯s, to the blade, and back.


    Sgolkr¡¯s lips peels back in a grin, showing off his teeth, each the size of Lucas¡¯s fingers. His eyes sparkled with glee. Green blood and a few tooth shards were still on the lizard man¡¯s face and armor. There was no request for last words. No monologue to explain his superiority. Between the human and reptile, the blade said enough.


    The tip went into Lucas¡¯s neck, the skin offering no resistance to the point of the blade even with his high vitality. It pierced the skin, sank into the muscle, and was about to enter his trachea.


    A roar filled the air, and everyone stopped.


    Surprise filled Sgolkr¡¯s face. The blade was violently pulled from Lucas¡¯s neck as the Scyrric spun to face the origin of the roar. During the spin he let go of Lucas, who hit the ground hard and slid, though other than the bleeding punctures from his chest and neck, he was still physically fine.


    Lucas looked up while on his back. His eyes opened wide. In front of Sgolkr was a man, a human. His skin was tinted red. The air around his body rippled from the heat radiating out. His eyes lacked intelligence, instead filled with bestial fury, a rage that wanted to burn the world. In his hands was a large club, made from bone.


    ¡°You dare to challenge me? ME?!¡± shouted Sgolkr, also heating up as his anger and strength increased. ¡°A level 24 Blood Berserker thinks they can beat a vanguard of the glorious Scyrric?!¡±


    In answer, Gregor swung the club.


    Sgolkr easily blocked it with his oddly shaped Scyrric sword.


    ¡°We should get out of here,¡± said a soft voice as he placed a hand under Lucas¡¯s shoulder. Chad helped him get to his feet.


    ¡°Thanks, but I¡¯m ok,¡± Lucas responded. He finished standing. ¡°Randall, for goodness¡¯ sake, stop hopping around and grab Tom. We¡¯re retreating.¡±


    Then Lucas ran over to Joseph and, not worrying about the blood or complaining, tossed his friend onto his shoulder and ran. It was a straight path, no enemies or allies in his way. He only looked back to make sure Randall was coming with Tom. They dashed along, keeping below their top speed so Chad could keep up with them.


    ¡°Will Gregor be alright?¡± Lucas asked Chad. ¡°I don¡¯t think he is close to as strong as that Scyrric.¡±


    Chad let out a big sigh as he ran, showing that the months hadn¡¯t reduce his physical fitness.


    ¡°I hope so. I haven¡¯t seen him fight much in this state, but from what I¡¯ve heard he¡¯ll just keep attacking. He might not have the intelligence to retreat, but he won¡¯t lose quickly. I hope we can work out a plan before he goes too far.¡±


    Lucas nodded and then looked back towards the wall. People were shouting at them and waving, frantically gesticulating for them to get up the wall. Two ropes were dropped. Lucas grabbed one with a single hand, the one still covered by the glove. His grip easily held even as he carried a complaining Joseph. The people up top pulled them up.


    Randall didn¡¯t grab the rope or wait. He used [Flash Foot] repeatedly to leap up the wall with Tom on his shoulder, easily beating Lucas to the top.


    Chad held the second rope as it pulled him up. Lucas noted that there was suddenly a draft of strong wind from below them helping them ascend higher.


    When he arrived at the top, he was pulled over the parapet. Brittney helped haul them over, an easy task with her strength. Abbey rushed forward and grabbed Joseph¡¯s severed arm. Then she turned to Chad.


    ¡°Can you use your wind to clean this blood and wound off?¡± she asked of him.


    Chad nodded. He held out his hand and there was a red flash. Then a gust of wind began. It quickly narrowed and swirled, adjusting as Chad twisted and moved his fingers. The wind wrapped the cut part of both the severed arm and the part of Joseph it has been cut from.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Joseph woozily swayed, almost falling over until Lucas grabbed his shoulder and held him there. Joseph was very pale and looked ready to vomit. The lack of complaints showed just how out of it he was.


    ¡°Thank you, Chad,¡± said Abbey. Then she began giving orders. ¡°Jordan, please direct Ed to come here. We need his cleansing abilities. Until then I¡¯ll do the best I can.¡±


    She took the arm and turned it before trying to place it back on Joseph. His shoulder couldn¡¯t hold steady, so she nodded to Lucas who held it up for her. Once the arm was lined up, she cast [Mend Wounds] on it. There was a sickening slurp sound as the arm fitted back onto his body and the clean sever reattached.


    Lucas had seen a lot of gross things, both as a boxer before the [System] and in all the fights since. The moment of reattachment felt like it was towards the top of the list, though still below Adam¡¯s neck getting blown open, or Adam''s condition after entering the Testudinate Rift, and the Rift video of the goblins ripping off his fingers...maybe this wasn''t so near the top.


    Abbey wasn¡¯t finished though. She used [Pain Management] on Joseph next, causing his expression to soften as his eyes began closing. Then she cast [Circle of Life]. A visible soothing green energy formed on the ground around them. It flowed into Lucas, Randall, Tom, and Joseph.


    Lucas¡¯s wounds on his neck and chest sealed up and he began wiping off the blood that he could reach. The metal of his chest armor had opened and then hardened from the Scyrric''s skill, like cement that was displaced when it was almost dry. The leather was still there and exposed, even if it had the talon puncture marks.


    ¡°[Get Up!],¡± Abbey cast on Tom with a smirk. ¡°[Walk it Off].¡±


    Tom¡¯s unconscious body stood and moved in a circle as Tom¡¯s eyes opened.


    ¡°Hey, hey,¡± he said, strength coming back into his voice. ¡°A little gentler for the infirmed.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a baby,¡± she said.


    ¡°I guess we lost then,¡± he asked quietly, looking askance at Lucas.


    ¡°Yeah. We were beat the hell up,¡± responded Lucas.


    ¡°No boss to save us?¡±


    ¡°Gregor came to let us get away,¡± answered Lucas.


    ¡°Damn,¡± muttered Tom, his eyes down cast.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t come for free, either,¡± said a new voice.


    Commander Rexus came walking across the wall towards them. He spoke with confidence, pride, and amusement. A half smirk was on his lips. At his side was General Carmichael, looking as unamused as a person can. The two were followed by officers, soldiers, and the seven from Rexus¡¯s Tier 3 unit.


    ¡°What do you mean?¡± demanded Brittney.


    ¡°Gregor helped your people escape, but the work is just starting,¡± explained Rexus. Carmichael nodded his head authoritatively, as though Rexus was just a mouthpiece for him. ¡°Your wall won¡¯t last much longer, and your forces don¡¯t look up to the task.¡±


    With a wave of his arm, Rexus gestured along the wall. Lucas walked over and looked. On the inside of the wall were most of the melee forces. Colonel Davian, Lucas¡¯s dad, and a few other unit leaders were shouting order. They were keeping people in position and defending against a couple of ranged attacks that entered through the breaks in the wall.


    Then Lucas walked to the other side of the wall and observed the Scyrric. They weren¡¯t just swarming about aimlessly. They were efficiently working to create an opening wide enough for them to invade through.


    In two places where the Kukiolis had attacked, the wall had crumbled and could be passed through. One was about five feet wide while the other was ten. In the two other areas where the wall had collapsed, more than opening an entrance, the Scyrric were clearing the way. The stronger classes would go in and carry out chucks of the obsidian.


    As the Scyrric worked, spells fell upon them from those on the wall. Occasionally a few would be picked off by Lamar or Andrea, but the rest of the spells ended up useless as defenders blocked them or barriers would disperse them. Once again Lucas had to admit that even though the levels were comparable, there was still a big difference between the Tier 2 armies.


    At the back of the hosts of Scyrric troops, Lucas could see more powerful lizard men. They were the Tier 3s. Orders came from them and only when a large attack looked like it might threaten some of the soldiers would they interfere.


    Lucas looked back out to where Gregor was fighting Sgolkr. If it was just the Sentinel Army versus the Scyrric Tier 2 soldiers, then the Sentinels would win. They would take severe losses, but due to sheer numbers they would be able to whittle away the invading army. There were still a lot more combat ready humans than just those on the wall. Although even with a victory the losses would be unacceptably high. It would also leave them susceptible to further invader armies since replenishment and leveling wouldn¡¯t be easy.


    Most of the Tier 3s could probably be managed by his group, since their Rift capture titles had increased their stats more than even epic classes would have. That would reduce a lot of the advantages the invaders had with higher levels. Lucas was even sure that other than Rexus and Gregor, their group could take on Carmichael¡¯s group.


    Watching the fight between the two berserkers, Lucas was sure none of them had a place in it. Sgolkr was smacking Gregor around, while a feral Gregor wouldn¡¯t be stopped. There were cuts and bruises, but the Scyrric¡¯s armor also looked dented. Both fighters would flash with skill use, easily viewable at this distance. Sgolkr¡¯s blade stabbed at the big man before Gregor could react, only clipping Gregor¡¯s arm due to his momentum dashing forward. Then Gregor used a skill and was able to rip some of the armor off Sgolkr¡¯s extended arm.


    It was clear that Gregor wouldn¡¯t win this fight, although he wouldn¡¯t go down in the next few minutes. Maybe Rexus and Gregor really could defeat that high level invader. Maybe Carmichael could be a good leader once he stopped coveting the Rift. Too many maybes, but there was one definite¡­without Adam they wouldn¡¯t beat Sgolkr. The base was doomed without a different approach.


    ¡°What are your terms?¡± Lucas asked, still watching the fight.


    ¡°Full control of the base,¡± said Carmichael. ¡°I will be the sole authority, followed by my people. I have no issue including your people in the chain of command after you prove yourself to be free of alien interference and capable of a post.¡±


    ¡°Those terms aren¡¯t possible,¡± said Lucas. He turned and met Carmichael¡¯s eyes. ¡°Adam has ownership of the Rift, and we can¡¯t change the permissions until he gets back.¡±


    ¡°Bah! That alien lover already ditched you,¡± taunted Fleming. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen him or heard of him being around since after we got here. He saw the writing on the wall and ditched you.¡±


    Lucas could tell his friends were rising to the bait, so he held out his arm to stop them from drawing weapons. Carmichael noted it and nodded.


    ¡°What is your counter proposal?¡± the military man asked.


    ¡°We can¡¯t give you full control since the operators have already been set. There is no way around that you¡¯ll have to work through them. But I can give you command. I will personally make sure everyone else falls in line¡­as long as it doesn¡¯t directly endanger them or the people.¡±


    ¡°What about differences of opinion?¡± asked the General.


    ¡°You will be in charge. We¡¯ll follow the orders though I do recommend you accept our input before giving them. Creating animosity, like Fleming there likes to do, won¡¯t benefit anyone. My father was a soldier, I understand the chain of command.¡±


    ¡°One finally thing,¡± said Carmichael. ¡°We can¡¯t trust any of the aliens. Your rabbit people will have to go.¡±


    Everyone watched Lucas intensely as he thought it over. After a few moments he nodded. ¡°We will relocate them and bar them from Jackson. You won¡¯t see them again.¡±


    There were gasps all around. His friends were shocked by Lucas¡¯s agreement.


    ¡°You can¡¯t do that!¡± exclaimed Brittney.


    ¡°Putting this guy in charge will ruin things!¡± spat Randall.


    Abbey had her hands on her hips and glared disapprovingly at Lucas.


    ¡°Listen,¡± said Lucas calmed, getting their attention. ¡°Adam was respected and followed due to his power. My crew followed him because he wiped the alley with us and then the goblins. You girls followed him because you were curious at how he got so strong. The police and army followed him because of the intel he had due to his strength, and his demonstrations of power. Right now, we aren¡¯t enough to protect Jackson. If Carmichael¡¯s¡­¡±


    Someone cleared their throat, interrupting Lucas.


    ¡°¡­General Carmichael¡¯s group has the power to do what Adam did, then does it matter? In the end Adam always preached that in this new world the strong would lead.¡±


    ¡°Tom, can you believe this?¡± demanded Randall, speaking with disgust. ¡°This guy is selling us out!¡±


    Tom had been uncharacteristically quiet, watching all the parties with a sharp eye.


    ¡°Lucas is right, Randall,¡± said Tom, skipping nicknames. ¡°We can¡¯t win without something changing. We¡¯ll give these guys a shot, since right now it¡¯s the best of what¡¯s available. Besides, if we don¡¯t have to worry about protecting the base, we¡¯ll have more time to focus on what the boss wants, to clear out the invaders.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s a deal,¡± said Carmichael, reaching out his thick hand towards Lucas. Lucas didn¡¯t move or even uncross his arms.


    ¡°Only IF you can kill that Scyrric,¡± he insisted. ¡°Once we see that, then we¡¯ll agree.¡±


    Both Lucas and Carmichael stared at each other for a moment, neither blinking nor turning away. Finally, Carmichael nodded in agreement.


    ¡°You¡¯d better keep your word, soldier. Rexus, get your men and deploy. You have an invader to kill.¡±


    The mood among the Sentinel Army and Adams friends was gloomy. They all looked depressed at the agreement. Commander Rexus and a few of his men laughed as they walked to the wall.


    As the special forces unit readied to jump from the wall, Tom spoke up. This time his voice had all its usual mirth and disrespect.


    ¡°Besides Randy, WHEN the boss returns, if he doesn''t like what they''ve done then he¡¯ll wipe the floor with them.¡±


    As Rexus and his men froze, suddenly silent, Tom was the last one laughing.

 CH 162: Initiate鈥檚 Test

    CHAPTER 162: Initiate¡¯s Test


    Adam was smiling as he sat in the low-back chair. It hovered above the floor, adjusting to the height of a person as they sat or stood. In front of him was a table, although this time there were no magic circles or places to put his hands. As far as he could tell, it was just a normal table. Of course, normal was relative with magic, considering the table was suspended in the air a little above his knees with no support from table legs.


    The room was small. The table was only two feet wide and long. Another chair was on the other side of the table. From the sides of the table there was an open three-foot-wide walkway on both sides of the room. Then behind Adam was the door he had entered from, while a second door was on the opposite side behind the other chair.


    Once again, Adam was excited. Every moment since he entered the tower had been exciting. Fun even. He had learned so much, even if that hadn¡¯t been his cup of tea in the past, reading as many books as he could in the library, avidly listening to all the lectures. Some of his pseudo-skills from both of his status sheets had been unlocked, though he had not yet found or watched the memories associated with those skills. Learning a few more berserker skills had come from the study they had done over the thousands of known [System] classes and tens of thousands of skills. That didn¡¯t even include some of the extra skills he had unlocked from older Adam¡¯s [Soul Forger] class.


    Truly he couldn¡¯t have gained so much staying back on Earth. And now¡­now, he would be gaining his first class. The class, what he wanted the most since the [System] came, was why he was in this room. A class and a path to increased power that he could use, instead of being stuck as he was while being manipulated and affected by the corruption.


    Concern and fear were always there too, since he had come to the tower. Having them find out more about him, or exploring his soul, had kept him on edge just as much as the excitement of making progress and improving. So far, there was no indication that he was being treated differently than any of the other potential apprentices.


    After a period of waiting, of trying to prevent his thoughts from running away with him, the instructor entered the room from the opposite side. Tithixal¡¯gx¡¯Guntraz had been diligent in teaching. He had been thorough and showed no favoritism to any student, remaining patient until each one learned the lessons he was teaching. At the same time, Tithixal didn¡¯t seem interested or invested in anything either. He was neutral through and through.


    ¡°As we have discussed,¡± started the instructor, ¡°this is the next step to becoming an initiate of the tower. In this meeting there will be a lot of information that you cannot and must not share with anyone ever. It is not the first step on your path nor the last. However, should you fail this step then there is no future for you. We have done everything possible up until now to prepare you for it, and you have done acceptably, so I don¡¯t anticipate any issues.¡±


    He looked at Adam meaningfully. Adam resisted his body¡¯s urge to panic, to stress about the possibility of failing. As much as he was enjoying his time, there was no doubt that once he no longer fit their expectations, he would be killed.


    Adam nodded to Tithixal.


    ¡°Good, then before we get to the test, I will be giving you a one-on-one lesson. This is confidential information that must be given personally to each student. As you know, the Red Clan¡¯s racial ability is to consume and assimilate souls. The experience we get for leveling, once we have a class, is an energy that enriches our souls. The [System] helps shape and solidify that energy into two things.


    ¡°The first is our class and skills. The energy is shaped within us so that our souls can take action through our bodies to alter the world around us. A skill to heal converts mana into a physical expression of a body repairing. A barrier skill converts the mana into a protection of some type. Our skills are the explanation of how to do these acts, which our bodies can use to manipulate the energy around us. Without the skills to guide us, doing these actions is outside of our capability.


    ¡°The second thing that coalescing this energy in our souls does is it strengthens the bond between our souls and body. This bond is expressed through our stats, which can either be earned by leveling your class or your body directly. The soul and body bond is necessary to handle the increased energy and control that we take in with the energy we call XP.¡±


    Adam thought about what he said. Most of it was information he had been provided with previously, however this explanation of the body leveling resonated with him more. All the energy he had inside, even if he didn¡¯t have the skills solidified in his soul directly, damaged him because the link between his body and soul couldn¡¯t handle such strong energy. If he could improve this bond, then many of his problems would be solved. Of course, once he received a class, that would be possible without finding a workaround.


    The bond sounded like a safer and more automated way to manage what his skill [Body and Soul Shaping] did. What his skill did was adjust the flow, while the leveling bond strengthened the body so it could be strong enough to withstand the energy flowing from the soul.


    ¡°All that said, the advantage that the Red Clan has when it comes to souls is that when we consume souls and life energy, we increase the size of our soul. This allows us to accumulate more power within than other races. It also gives us the space for more unique classes to be shaped by the [System]. No other race can increase their soul size without [System] interference, and if the [System] is involved then the person will already have their class, making it impossible for them to take a soul class early on in their evolutions like we can.¡±


    The look the instructor gave Adam was a hard one, his translucent skin and black veins giving an eerie feel to his harsh red eyes.


    ¡°I see you understand. Good. Now we are approaching this test. To be a part of the tower, an apprentice that can rise in rank, you need a soul class. To get a soul class you need to increase the size of your soul by consuming another. You must fully consume it rather than just drain a bit of blood or life. However, this can¡¯t be done with just any soul. It must be a compatible soul. This will unlock the ability to select a class that the tower will nurture within you.Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°The tower searches thoroughly to find candidates. You¡¯ve gone through many tests and evaluations, since before you were even selected and brought here. Some of those evaluations were done without your knowledge to ensure you could meet the requirements. One of those requirements was that we found the compatible soul for you before any of this happened.¡±


    Adam suddenly felt cold inside. This wasn¡¯t what he expected. He wasn¡¯t sure what he should have expected, but eating a person¡¯s soul wasn¡¯t one of them. Could his soul even get large with two extra classes shoved into him as memories?


    And to think there was already someone selected for him to consume. Was it possible for him to eat someone from the Red Clan, or did that mean they had chosen a human?


    This was the moment. The moment that Adam had been waiting for, and suddenly he wished he was anywhere but here. The voice in his soul had pushed him to do things that pre-[System] Adam wouldn¡¯t have been willing to, but that voice had been absent since he got to the tower. Eating another person¡¯s soul, Adam was pretty sure he couldn¡¯t¡­that he wouldn¡¯t. But the alternative was death. He looked apprehensively at the instructor and then at the door behind him.


    ¡°Once I open that door, your meal will be brought in,¡± said Tithixal with a ruthless grin. ¡°Your soul can only increase in size so much, and to maximize it you must only eat compatible souls until you reach capacity. With this person, you will drain them completely, otherwise both you and they will be killed.¡±


    Adam was surprised at how calm his body was, his heart beating at a slow rate even as his mind desperately sought an answer or escape. Can one panic without the body feeling it?


    ¡°We have faith that you are up to this. Otherwise, you wouldn¡¯t have made it this far. This is one more step on your path."


    Adam willed his heart rate to speed up, his lungs to breathe more deeply. His body seemed outside of his control as he mentally struggled to control it without success. It was like his body had a mind of its own.


    Then the door opened. A high-level guard walked in. When he stepped out of the way, the person with the compatible soul was behind him.


    ¡°Nononono...¡± Adam thought, once more trying to get his body to panic or heat up. The fear and disgust stayed in his mind. Yet, even without a conscious choice his body stood up.


    ¡°Adam? I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re alright!¡± said the familiar voice as Emily was no longer blocked from view by the guard. Tears formed in her eyes as she said, ¡°I missed you so much!¡±


    ¡°There are none more compatible than a close blood relative,¡± whispered Tithixal in his ear. Now Adam felt his heartbeat speeding up. His body began to sweat. ¡°Some aware families who are familiar with the tower have extra children so there is a spare should their primary progeny have a soul affinity. You may take your time with this but be sure to eat up.¡±


    It was his sister! Emily! Adam¡¯s mind tried to shut down, it tried to speed up.


    ¡°Think think think! There has to be a way out,¡± demanded Adam mentally. ¡°Everything I did was to protect her. I can¡¯t let it end this way!¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, Adam? Why do you look so concerned?¡± Emily asked, hesitating. ¡°Are you mad at me?¡±


    Adam¡¯s arms spread wide, getting ready to hug her, even with the distance between them. He slowly stepped around the table. Every movement was drawn out, halting. He would take as much time to get there as possible.


    ¡°I need to get her out of here, to save her!¡± continued his mental demands. ¡°How did they even get her in the first place?¡±


    No matter how much he willed it, his body didn¡¯t stop. It continued towards Emily, every step sending Adam¡¯s mind into a spiral, every thought its own new source of despair. Then something on the edge of his mind clicked, ¡°If older Adam had a soul class, does that mean he consumed her soul? That in another life I was willing to consumed my own sister?!¡±


    Adam looked at Emily, happy that her brother was coming in for a hug. Standing in place in front of the guard, she stretched out her own arms. Tears were still in her eyes, but a smile was on her face. Pure love shown across her expression, no trace of the anger or hate she had demonstrated in the last few months. She looked relieved and happy, the pure familial love that she had when she was younger.


    As Adam approached her, expected not only to kill her but to eat her soul, Adam screamed in his mind.


    ¡°No¡­¡± insisted Adam. ¡°NO!¡±


    There was no voice in his soul shouting to conquer, no pulses of heat or raging of a river. Adam felt complete revulsion, disgust stronger than he had ever felt anything without the corruption¡¯s involvement. He wanted to retch. He demanded that he retch, to vomit out everything in his life that kept moving him forward. This scene was one that would destroy who he was, kill all belief in his future and saving humanity. If he went through with this then there would be no hope for him, for he would hate himself more than the invaders, soul corruption or not.


    He mentally pulled on his body as the arms reached forward, now in range of his sister. He tried to reach into his soul or memories to freeze himself. Crippling himself would be acceptable to prevent this tragedy from happening.


    ¡°I...will¡­protect¡­her¡­¡± Adam pushed the belief out with everything he had. His mind shouting it to the universe.


    Still, his arms moved forward to grab their meal. His feminine arms with translucent skin and black veins. Long nails on his fingers, tinted red not through nail polish but through their natural pigmentation. His rows of jagged teeth opened as they approached Emily¡¯s neck, set to drain her dry.


    ¡°What?!¡± his thoughts gasped in shock. ¡°I¡¯m not a Red Clan, I¡¯m a human! This isn¡¯t real! Am I watching a memory?¡±


    If this was a memory, then it explained why he couldn¡¯t control the body. He was just following along, watching and learning what someone else had. But he had always been able to leave memories before, so why couldn¡¯t he now?


    Adam looked once again at Emily and realized that there were two images there, both occupying the same space. One was his sister, and the other was a Red Clan boy, undeveloped jawline, translucent skin with black veins, and red hair and eyes.


    ¡°I missed you so much, Adam!¡± said his sister. "Cruxannith!" said the boy. Both voices overlapped. Both names were spoken at the same time. The memory played while Adam overlaid elements from his own life in it without realizing it.


    Adam pushed, willing the memory to stop, pause, or change.


    ¡°I will not be stopped!¡± he growled, forcing the memory''s lips to move slightly.


    I¡­


    WILL..


    CONQUER!!!


    The force of Adam¡¯s will, the power of his beliefs broke through now that he knew where he was. Of course, he would never go to the Red Clans planet or to their tower, just as they would never bring him here as a student. He would die before leaving Jackson behind.


    Furiously he thought back. He remembered being blindsided by that Scyrric after having his heat frozen. Then he had done¡­something¡­to the mind witch. Something with his soul that he didn¡¯t quite understand, but he had done it with everything he had.


    This memory would not hold him. The invaders would not stop him!


    As Cruxannith¡¯s teeth reached the neck of her brother, of the image of Emily, Adam roared. He released all the power that he had fought with, all the fury of the river. Except this wasn¡¯t a pseudo-skill, or a [System] controlled power.


    The line the instructor had said, "without the skills to guide us, doing these actions is outside of our capability," came into his mind. Adam wouldn''t allow the need for skills to stop him.


    Without skills he had used the memory to shape energy before, and he would again. This was what Adam had inside himself. All the memories of his wrath, his hate for the invaders, the love for his family and friends, the representation of his strength. He drew both the internal energy and the memories of his past actions, then blasted it outward with the intent of destroying everything.


    As reality crumbled and the memory shattered, Adam¡¯s will would not be denied!

 CH 163: Frozen

    CHAPTER 163: Frozen


    Adam shivered.


    He knew he was still not in his body but in his soul. There was no physical sensation, but he also knew that his soul was frozen. The image of cold seeped into his mind, affecting his image form, so he shivered.


    Imaginary arms wrapped his chest as he huddled in a fetal position. There was no light, no sense of direction or gravity. He was buried in snow, packing so deeply that he couldn¡¯t move from the spot. The frost held him through pressure and weight rather than directly restricting his movements.


    The first thing Adam thought of was relief. He wasn¡¯t on an alien planet, as far as he was aware. His sister hadn¡¯t been captured, again only as far as he knew. But now there was hope. He could get out of this, find a way to fight back, and then return to Jackson.


    There was no telling how long he had been here or even what they were doing to him. However, he had a few new things from his time in the memories. Those memories had allowed him to learn more about classes and skills, their paths and shapes. He had gained knowledge, understanding, and had learned some more of the abilities that his status sheet predecessors had, gaining pseudo-skills that he would be happy to test out on some invaders. Preferably that mind witch who captured him.


    Of course, he also had one older thing that had been with him since the [System] arrived. His fury!


    Even without the berserker powers inherited from the older Gregor Munstean, or the corruption, he was as angry as he had ever been. Someone was going to pay for this.


    Adam stopped shivering. He imagined heat inside his image body. No actual heat started, nor did the berserker skills start up. The snow didn¡¯t move from around him.


    Slowly, having difficulty moving due to how tightly packed the snow was, and unsure what it was besides the form he imagined from the sensations, Adam turned his hands. They had been pressed against his arms as the imaginary cold seeped into his body. He forced them to turn outward, to get his fingers so they could push into the snow.


    He started by wiggling the fingers. They were able to loosen up and displace the snow. When enough pressure had been taken off his hands he began moving them as well, creating space around them.


    Methodically he continued. His hands moving resulted in his arms pressing out. He wriggled his body and kicked with his drawn in legs. Anything to create more space.


    A feeling of rotating hit him. Vertigo struck his mind as the space didn¡¯t result in him falling or moving upwards. He stayed where he was while shifting the freezing snow into more manageable density.


    It felt like slow progress to Adam, but there was no sense of time here. There was no fatigue, breathing, or muscles to tire. Just like so many times when fighting hordes of invaders, he kept moving, pushing forward to get him to a better place.


    Eventually Adam was able to reach out a single arm, pushing it into the less packed snow that surrounded him. He tried moving his arm around his body hoping to free himself further when his arm struck something hard. This object was more solid than the snow, and much colder too, metaphysically speaking.


    Touching the outside of this colder object, tracing it with his freed hand, Adam felt along it. It was cylindrical and long. Longer than his arm could reach, like a tube. While it was radiating more cold than the snow, this cold felt familiar. It pulsed with a power that Adam recognized. The snow felt foreign and had him trapped, but the tube of ice was welcoming to him, even if it trapped him as much as the snow.


    Carefully he continued to dig around, finding more of the tubes. He knew them as conduits now. They led somewhere that he wanted to get to. Too much snow was packing him in so he couldn¡¯t free this image body to explore or follow the ice conduits.


    After more time spent wiggling and struggling, he found that even if he was able to move, the ice tubes were all around him. They trapped him, twisting and turning to form a cage while also reaching into the distance. The cage held him inside, even as it kept more of the snow outside from pressing on him tighter.


    He probably wouldn¡¯t be able to get out by moving. Yet the power contained in those conduits drew his attention. He touched them, feeling the cold and strength. So familiar. They reminded him of the time when he was fighting the goblins where he almost attacked his own friends.


    ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± Adam exclaimed as he realized. ¡°The ice tubes are the coolness in my head. They aren¡¯t trapping me, they are trying to keep the snow out. Whatever the mind witch did to lock up my heat, the [Unquenchable Rage] pseudo-skill, must be represented by the snow.¡±


    With the mystery solved, Adam knew what to do. He touched one of the ice conduits and sent his awareness down it. He was still trapped by the snow, but his senses became aware of the state of his soul.


    The conduits ran in one direction, to the area of his brain where the coolness usually stayed. The other direction looked through the rest of his soul and connected to where the heat resided in his heart. The heat was encased in the snow, just like his mind was, but the ice conduits had pierced through the snow and connected to his restrained berserker power. The cold of the conduit was freezing his heat as much as the snow was.


    ¡°Better pull it back,¡± he thought. Then he took control of the ice, and it slid backwards, pulling from his heart all along its path until all the ice was now amorphous and in his head area. Unlike real snow, the soul snow hadn¡¯t changed position at all, staying where it had been. That also meant the tunnels that the ice conduits had occupied were still there, and they had reached all the way to his heart.


    Adam thought about the memories he had seen from Cruxannith and the way it had ended with Emily captured. There couldn¡¯t be a more infuriating experience than his family members captured by invaders. The whole reason he fought was to prevent that. Anger rose in him.


    Then he remembered being blindsided by that Scyrric berserker. The mind witch and Scyrric had defeated him so easily. Embarrassingly easily, with a cheap shot and unknown abilities. Steam came out of his heart, moving down the empty tunnels in the snow while heating up.


    The damn [System] and all the problems it had brought couldn¡¯t be ignored. It had intentionally ruined humanity, ruined his world. There was no fairness. Even the warning message at the very beginning had been a setup to give natives false hope and confidence.


    A cracking sound would have happened if this was a physical place as the memories riled Adam up. Anger and hate filled his heart. Heat pulsed out from it, cracking the frozen shell around his heart and rushing through the snow dug tunnels. Steam reached Adam¡¯s image body first. It broke through the disturbed snow and surrounded him, warming him.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Adam reached out and touched the snow. It fizzled and dissolved, not just a single snowflake at a time, but in large chunks. Standing up, not caring that there was not up or down, left or right, Adam opened his palm. He pointed it in front of him. In this place any direction was as good as another. Then with violent strength, he slapped his hand closed, into a fist.


    Fire raged out from his hand. It surged through his soul, burning away the snow, clearing and cleansing him from the invader¡¯s influence. He could feel the heat reaching his physical body, gaining strength from it, but it wasn¡¯t time to go back to it just yet.


    If he had been watching Cruxannith¡¯s memories, that meant they had a connection, and he wouldn¡¯t stand for that. His connections were here to empower his friends, not to give his enemies a backdoor into his soul.


    He flew around his soul, checking all the tendrils that reached out from it. The ones for the girls were in the same place as always, still open. He could feel fear and uncertainty coming from them. That would have to wait until Adam was truly free, though feeling them increased his urgency and further stoked his heat.


    When Adam found the connection to the Red Clan speaker, he was shocked. His image body stood there looking at it. The connections he had with the girls were like a small pipe running from one apartment into another. Each was its own location, with just a small opening to pass emotions through.


    The connection with Cruxannith was like a wall knocked out between apartments, where either person could just walk right through, large enough to even take a metaphorical elephant.


    He didn¡¯t know how to fix this, or even what caused it. Instead of having to reach a tendril to access someone¡¯s soul, he was able to send his whole being through.


    He felt his own energy mixing with hers where they connected, and his own energy followed with him as he moved around her soul. This was very different than the tendrils he used for his connections, where they couldn''t truly interact since one soul would avoid another.


    Since he had enough experience, he was able to visit the regions of her soul easily. He traveled through them, guessing what they were based on what he had learned in the tower, in her memories. The area where her class and skills were formed made more sense to him now, having learned the basics of what the Red Clan knew of it. The class shaped the region like a shell and various skills fit inside like a game of Tetris, though he didn¡¯t know enough to identify specific skills.


    Next, his trip took him to where XP was stored, the energy to enrich the soul was waiting until there was enough for the [System] to shape it into skills or class evolutions.


    Finally, he reached the memories. It was a large area with a hazy membrane that indicated the border. Inside, the memories were shaped like black orbs of fluid, oozing and flowing around the space. A few of them looked like they had yellow crystals encrusting them. That crystal was what his own memories looked like, showing that the gaping connection between him and the Red Clan speaker was more than a token. His mind and memories were encroaching on her, and he knew that those corrupted memories were the ones he had lived through her, over laying himself onto them.


    The encroachment showed that the connection between them was a bigger deal than he had realized. He wasn¡¯t sure what the connection was or how it had happened, or even if it was fixable. There was one possible solution that he was enthusiastic about trying. How could her death not be the answer?


    With his exploration complete, Adam was ready to return to his body. Turning to leave, Adam noticed a line reaching outside of her memory region, to an unseeable point. He frowned.


    Adan had seen the lines inside himself connecting his memories to the other Gregor¡¯s memories, and there had been the line on the memory from Detective Baker that led to all the other people affected by the mind witch¡¯s [Charm]. It was odd there would be a memory linked within her area.


    Without giving it much concern, Adam reached out and touched the memory, finding it even easier to enter than on other people. Probably another side effect of that huge connection.


    ¡°Then you¡¯ll detail a path for me so that I can get a more powerful class and survive?¡± asked a husky male voice with skepticism.


    ¡°That is what I¡¯m offering,¡± said Cruxannith, holding up a crystal like the one Tom had used to learn the [System Common] skill. ¡°Also, once your race has fallen, I will send you to a world where you can get stronger and survive. You can even conquer it to live in comfort, if that is what you prefer. There will be little there to threaten you should you earn the class listed on this crystal.¡±


    ¡°That sounds like a suspiciously sweet deal. How do I know it¡¯s legit?¡±


    ¡°To work together we will need a bit of trust.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not buying that. Aren¡¯t you a mind controller?¡±


    ¡°Of a sort, I am,¡± answered Cruxannith.


    ¡°Then why not just mind control me or someone else?¡±


    ¡°Someone near him has a way to sense and break my control. For this I need someone to act willingly, without evidence of my powers on them.¡±


    The man nodded and reached for the crystal. The mind witch let him take it.


    ¡°How do I know I¡¯ll be strong enough once I get to Jackson?¡±


    ¡°The dimensional convergence rifts are placed in cities and populated areas. Travel to the less populated places and gather an army. I will send defeatable enemies to you to empower you and your army. It will be difficult at the beginning, but that crystal should give you the knowledge you need to make use of it. By the time you reach his city, your army will be stronger than any natives have achieved in the recorded history of world claiming.¡±


    The man held up the crystal, looking at it through the light. Then he placed it on his palm and bounced it up and down.


    ¡°And all you need from me is to stir up trouble? Keep the boy looking the other way?¡±


    ¡°Yes. After I take him, I don¡¯t care what you do. Claim his Rift, fight more of other races, it is up to you. Though I recommend staying away from the Scyrric, since they paid to own this world. They won¡¯t let you be should you get in their way.¡±


    ¡°Right. Gotcha. A new challenge and some fun. I can¡¯t wait.¡±


    ¡°Take this crystal with you as well,¡± she said as she handed him a yellow soul crystal. ¡°Just having it on you will let me know if you are succeeding or need help.¡±


    ¡°This isn¡¯t going to betray me or be used against me, will it?¡± he asked, looking at the new crystal like it was a venomous snake.


    ¡°You sound as if you matter enough for me to bother. No, I will provide all I promised and even give aid if you need it. It will cost me little yet will be worth any price to capture him. All that matters is my lovely Adam.¡±


    The man scowled, clearly unhappy at being thought of as insignificant compared to an inexperienced kid. With the conversation finished, the man turned and left.


    Adam watched the memory from Cruxannith¡¯s eyes. He looked into the face of the man she was bargaining with and seethed. Hate and fury filled him.


    The last time he had been this angry without the corruption¡¯s influence was when that clinic had been found. Now the genuine emotion was back, and he knew the face of the man that had betrayed him¡­betrayed humanity. The face of the man he would make sure to kill.


    Adam would not let this stand.


    ***


    Abbey looked into the distance, towards the edges of their territory in the direction of Memphis. She wished she knew for certain that Adam was still there. All she had felt from his connection was happiness and excitement, only slightly tinged with concern.


    While she wanted Adam to be happy, that constant state of euphoria that he was experiencing didn¡¯t blend with who she had known. More than anyone else in the [System], he had been choosing what to do and who to be, and she loved him for that. The freedom he had, even with the soul corruption and anger, was unique to him amid this war.


    She had stopped listening to Lucas negotiating. If this agreement prevented them from gaining the strength to find and save Adam, then heaven help those who got in her way. Otherwise, she didn¡¯t really care. The people would be protected even if they didn¡¯t like the change in leadership. Her group still had plenty of bases they could conquer to use. They could start over if they needed.


    A quiet sigh escaped her as she looked in the direction the sun was moving, destined to set where she hoped Adam would be held.


    Then, something changed. She was startled as she felt it. The anger. It began small but quickly grew into a raging hatred. It was so strong she knew it couldn¡¯t be manipulated, and it was coming from Adam''s connection with her.


    Without saying anything she looked around. No one else had reacted except for Brittney, who was now looking at her in surprise. Abbey gave her a tiny nod and then put a finger to her lips to quiet her.


    It was difficult to stifle the smile that wanted to appear on her lips. Something had changed and she had faith that the war would change with it. She looked to where Gregor was getting smacked around by that Scyrric. Then she looked at Commander Rexus as his group jumped from the wall. Finally, she spared a glance for General Carmichael, huddling with his officers in an excited discussion.


    Change was coming, and heaven and hell had no chance of helping anyone who got in Adam¡¯s way.

 CH 164: Shattered

    CHAPTER 164: Shattered


    Adam¡¯s eyes opened. This time it was his real eyes in his physical body. His location was dark, though a bit of light leaked in from where his feet were. It was like an MRI tube, or a sardine tin, cramped and tight. It was too dark to see the details, just that he was lying on a platform.


    At attempt to move his arms immediately let him know that there was a brace on each wrist, bolting his arms to the platform. Trying to pull his arms, testing the braces that held them, created no noise and allowed no movement.


    Though Adam was on the edge of raging, he tried to keep his breathing even. Voices were muffled but audible, sounding close enough that he didn¡¯t want to tip off that he was awake. His river was boiling, and his heartbeat was loud in his ears. It was a challenge not to use all of his power immediately, but he waited, listening to the conversation. All his efforts would be wasted if that berserker Scyrric was around.


    ¡°Is something wrong, mistress?¡± asked a male voice. It had the same mumbly way of speaking as the Red Clan members from the tower.


    ¡°It¡¯s odd,¡± answered Cruxannith¡¯s voice. It was dull and distant for Adam who was trapped inside the tube, but he would know that voice in an instant. His teeth gnashed. ¡°I keep having memories come up. A few of them even made me feel like my precious native. Are you sure he isn¡¯t using any skills, Kristich''cl''Zulxat?¡±


    ¡°Positive, mistress. You used [Soul Freeze] when he tried to use his rage skill, so it was frozen. That has been reinforced by the scanner to keep him unconscious.¡±


    ¡°Have you found his class and skills yet?¡± she asked with more of an edge this time.


    ¡°Mistress, it is the same as before. A single skill. No class. No status sheet. When I used [Soul Dive], I found that he didn¡¯t even have an area designated for his class.¡±


    ¡°That can¡¯t be possible. Everyone has a class, even all these natives. Were you able to understand the skill?¡±


    Adam heard the researcher sigh, obviously annoyed at having to repeat himself.


    ¡°No. All skills are recorded with [System Standard]. This skill is not a language I can understand, if it is even a language. It might be symbols. I¡¯ve checked it against the planetary languages database, of which there are a shockingly large number. The possible letters don¡¯t match any of them.¡±


    There was silence for a few minutes. Then she spoke again.


    ¡°But he had so many powers. Are you sure he isn¡¯t using skills?¡±


    ¡°As we¡¯ve discussed on numerous occasions, there has never been the telltale flash of energy being used to activate a skill. Neither in the recordings nor in your descriptions. He defies all our knowledge and scanners that we have available.¡±


    ¡°That is impossible,¡± she hissed angrily.


    ¡°That is why he is called an aberration. Perhaps one of the elders can figure it out. I¡¯m at the limit of what I can check for while on this planet.¡±


    ¡°No!¡± snapped Cruxannith. ¡°I need more time before we send him through the portal to home.¡±


    Adam relaxed a little hearing that. He had avoided it, but the concern that he had been sent away from Earth had always been in the back of his mind. Knowing he was still on Earth meant that he only had to leave this base, then he could figure out the way back to Jackson.


    ¡°Mistress, you have delayed long enough. We don¡¯t want the Scyrric finding out he is still here and taking him.¡±


    ¡°I said NO! I will keep him here as long as I can. I¡¯m sure we can find something!¡±


    Adam closed his eyes. Slowly he breathed in as silently as possible. Then he let it out. In, then out.


    These people were keeping him from his family! From his friends! The river boiled into rapids. His strength rose.


    ¡°Is there really no other tests that can be run?¡± she asked.


    ¡°You know my level and class. Without being further on my path, I am too limited.¡±


    ¡°Maybe we can get you another class evolution, some new skills.¡±


    ¡°It''s possible,¡± mused the researcher.


    Adam pulled, but the braces didn¡¯t come up. [Soul and Body Shaping] activated, pulling more power into his body.


    ¡°What was that?¡± asked Cruxannith suddenly.


    ¡°Did you see something?¡±


    ¡°It looked like a skill release.¡±


    Adam strained against the restraint. He struggled against the bolts that held him to the platform, but he needed more power.


    ¡°My apologies, mistress. I saw nothing.¡±


    ¡°Hmm¡­,¡± she said. Then she approached the scanner that Adam was in. She bent down to look inside.


    Adam had no more time. He used [Kinetic Impact] on his hands, causing them to glow. Then he cranked [Body and Soul Shaping] higher than was safe. His skin and muscles began to scorch. Finally, he used a pseudo-skill that could be combined with other skills. It would cause an explosion of energy when he reached the release of another skill.


    ¡°[Arc Shockwave]!¡±


    Cruxannith leapt backwards as the top of the scanner burst upwards, crumpled and cracked. Adam¡¯s arms ripped the braces off the platform, a mangled bolt the length of his hand protruded from each brace. Fortunately, nothing was holding his legs down.


    With no stop to his movement, Adam jumped forward. The researcher was standing up to scramble away, but he didn¡¯t even reach his full height as the bolt that was clasped on Adam¡¯s left hand was jabbed into the invader¡¯s eye, piercing his brain.


    Adam roughly pulled the bolt out, causing the body to fall back to the floor. Cruxannith had backed into a wall and was turning to run for the door. There was no chance of her making it.


    Launching himself towards her, Adam reached her near instantly. He grabbed her neck and then lifted her, slamming her back against the wall. She was shorter than him, so he raised her up to look her in the eyes. They were both breathing heavily, her from the sudden situation and him from using too much power. Adam¡¯s skin was practically igniting, so he cancelled his skill [Body and Soul Shaping]. His regular strength from the river was easily enough to hold her.


    ¡°How could you do that?!¡± she shrieked. ¡°How did you get out of it? Not only did you wake up, but you broke the [Soul Freeze]!¡±


    ¡°How could you?!¡± he responded, ignoring her questions. ¡°How could you eat your own brother?!¡±


    She gasped as she heard his question. Her demeanor was thrown off even further as she struggled against both his grip on her and his question.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°You watched my memories?! That was why I kept seeing my past the last few days. How can you do all these things?! First a berserker and now you can access my soul, both use skills way about your tier?¡±


    Adam took a breath. His skin and muscles hurt from the power, burning inside and out. He flexed a little with both arms. She watched him with terror open on her face. After he checked himself to his satisfaction, he turned back to her.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± he whispered. ¡°It will all be solved with your death.¡±


    ¡°No! You can¡¯t!¡± she screamed.


    ¡°I assure you that I can¡­and will.¡±


    Adam raised his left arm, letting gravity turn the brace on his wrist so the bolt faced her. Then he brought it to her eye. Her fear really hit home then as she struggled, scratching at the arm holding her, kicking at his abdomen and groin. She even snapped her face forward, her rows of teeth trying to find anything to grab hold of.


    ¡°No!¡± she screamed once more. ¡°Killing me will kill you too!¡±


    The bolt stopped millimeters from her eye. He watched her while holding it there. She was desperate. That much was obvious from both her actions as well as what he felt emotionally entering him through the gaping connection between them. But Adam frowned. Coming through the connection was more. She might be more concerned with her own life, but she wanted both to live, and it seemed that she really thought he would die if he tried to kill her.


    Adam pulled back the bolt and then stabbed it towards her face once more. She screamed, but he stopped it right before it impacted. Relief came from the connection but also hope.


    ¡°Explain,¡± he ordered.


    ¡°You¡¯ve watched my memories. Do you remember learning about the soul bonding technique?¡±


    Thinking back, Adam did remember it. Early on someone had brought it up, derailing their lesson. Without that he might not have learned of it at all.


    ¡°It weaves two souls together so that they both take damage if one does,¡± he summarized.


    She was calming down now that he was listening. After a deep breath, she stilled her features back to her regular confidence and smugness.


    ¡°It does a lot more than that. It can only be done by someone more powerful, and breaking it creates a backlash. Not only that, but any damage one of us takes, even physically, will harm the other.¡± At that statement she smiled. ¡°I used it on you after Sgolkr captured you. It was the only way I could ensure you behaved. Now, if you don¡¯t want to suffer or die, I suggest you put me down, my pet.¡±


    She spoke regally, fully expecting him to listen and comply. Adam wondered if having people obey her so often due to her [Charm] affinity gave her an unrealistic expectation for those unaffected by in. Adam nodded in response, and then when she smiled, he drove the bolt through her chest and into her lung.


    She screamed with pain. Then she dropped as Adam let go. The bolt coming out caused more pain. Adam stumbled back. The pain really had been felt by him¡­both times. Not only that, but it was also worse than when he was usually injured since the river typically numbed his body. Adam felt the full weight of this pain throughout his soul.


    Cruxannith sat there, struggling to breathe as she choked on her own black blood. She floundered about, trying to reach into a pouch at her side. Eventually she took out a vial, popped open a stopper, then poured the liquid into her mouth. The wound on her chest healed only slightly slower than Adam¡¯s regeneration.


    Adam had been bent double from the pain, but as she healed, so did the pain leave him. They both stood and faced each other.


    ¡°So, I can¡¯t stab you, then what about a [Soul Bolt]?¡± he wondered out loud.


    ¡°That will cause pain so much worse and just damage your own soul, love,¡± she responded. Her posture and gestures were all returning to normal. She had weathered the attack but now she seemed to realize that she was in control here and was relishing the uncertainty in Adam. ¡°Now, if you don¡¯t want to feel worse in your soul, I really must insist you behave. But don¡¯t worry, dear. We¡¯ll be together forever like this. I won¡¯t let anyone hurt you and you will stay by my side. With even our souls bonded, nothing can separate us.¡±


    Adam¡¯s eyes snapped to her, and he glared with hate. Red filled his vision, and the river inside began to overflow at her words.


    ¡°You¡­will¡­die¡­¡± he growled.


    ¡°Oh, come now, love. Surely you understand what is happening here. You have no control now so don¡¯t bother throwing a tantrum. There are some cages in the hallway. Be a good boy and get in one. Then we can have a reasonable conversation about our future.¡±


    Steam was radiating from Adam. The fury was blinding him to what was happening. Slowly, deliberately, he reached forward. His hand once more aiming for her throat.


    ¡°Oh, my dear. This will hurt me as much as you,¡± she tsked, as if regretting having to discipline a dog. ¡°[Soul Spear].¡±


    Adam felt like a grenade exploded in his chest. He howled from the pain and fell backwards. It was the worst pain he had ever felt. Looking into his soul space he could see the damage done. His energy inside was somehow marred and scratched, like shrapnel had ripped through it.


    Cruxannith was affected by it too. She was barely breathing and stumbling over to the researcher¡¯s body. Her rows of teeth sank into his neck, and she pulled from it. Even dead his blood was drawn out from him and into her mouth. When she came up for air, she released a relieved sigh. Her face was not pained.


    ¡°Unfortunately for you, only the Red Clan can heal their souls without a Soul Sage. While you still suffer, I will be able to repair any damage to myself simply by sucking on another person. Maybe next time it will be those girls you are so fond of. Or your parents.¡±


    Adam watched her and he heaved from the pain. Once more he dove into his soul space and checked the connection between them. Like before, he noticed that it wasn¡¯t a tendril connection. This was not something that could be pulled back.


    Checking the edges he saw that strips of his soul had woven into strips from hers. The strips from both people reached into the other, and there was no border or boundary. Energy flowed openly back and forth between them. There was no way to plug it or remove it without ripping his own soul open, leaving all the energy to float out from the wound, like an airlock exploding in space movies.


    Yet there had to be a way. Adam hadn¡¯t fought his way to the point just to let her win. The feelings coming from her told Adam that Cruxannith was confident in her victory. She knew that she had won.


    ¡°I really don¡¯t want to have to, love, but I¡¯ll keep using [Soul Spear] until you understand and obey. You belong at my side, and there you will remain.¡±


    A growl built in Adam¡¯s throat.


    ¡°There are other ways to subdue without killing or harming,¡± he muttered.


    ¡°Bad boy,¡± she chided. ¡°[Soul Spear]!¡±


    Adam¡¯s soul was hit with another grenade. His bellow came out like a wounded wolf, struggling for its life. Since Cruxannith had already healed, the pain she felt was still less than Adam¡¯s, which was compounded by the previous damage.


    While still pained to move, she walked over to where Adam knelt on his hands and knees, desperate to get breath into his lungs. She gently petted his head, stroking his unwashed hair and caressing his cheeks.


    ¡°Oh, my poor baby. You¡¯ll need to learn how to behave properly if you want this to work. Seeing you like this hurts me as much as the soul rebound,¡± she soothed.


    Adam looked at her. Even though the damage wasn¡¯t physical, his control over his body was affected. Slowly he stood up.


    ¡°Now, are you going to behave, or do we need more discipline for you?¡±


    The damage that Adam had received cooled his anger and slowed his river. Trying to focus through the pain left him without much anger to stoke, while thinking and moving had become difficult.


    When he was almost standing, his hands on his knees like an exhausted baseball player, he looked at her grotesque face again. Any way he saw her, she was a monster. She needed to be put down.


    Then Adam thought back to when he was captured. As he had laid on the ground, body broken while the Scyrric and Cruxannith stood over him, he had used the last of his strength. He had intended to fight until the end, only to be put to sleep. But before sleeping, he had attacked ferociously without even moving.


    ¡°So, I can¡¯t hurt you and I can¡¯t kill you. However, there are other options.¡±


    ¡°Oh, my dearest boy, give up before I have to do something we¡¯ll both regret,¡± she cooed.


    A smile came to Adam¡¯s mouth. It was genuine joy. He found the strength to stand at his full height, with her an arm¡¯s length away.


    ¡°There we go, love. Isn¡¯t that better?¡± she asked gently. ¡°We can be happy together for a long time.¡±


    ¡°I just remembered something. Before I lost consciousness, it was ME who did something. I was the one who made the soul bond.¡± As Adam spoke, Cruxannith¡¯s expression quivered. He could feel a sudden fear and uncertainty coming through the connection. ¡°That¡¯s right. Only the stronger soul can create the bond.¡±


    ¡°Wh-what are you talking about, love? Of course it was me who made it,¡± she defended with an unsteady voice.


    ¡°If that¡¯s true, then why are you trembling with fear now?¡± asked Adam, stepping closer to her. She took a step back and he approached again until she was backed up to the wall. Adam put his hand on the wall next to her, boxing her in.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter who did it,¡± she stammered. ¡°Even if you are stronger and can break the connection, it will irreparably damage your soul. You still can¡¯t do anything about it.¡±


    His smile widened, but it also became cruel, malicious. She tried to shrink away but there was nowhere for her to go.


    ¡°Oh, I know quite a bit about damaged souls. Since the [System] came, all I¡¯ve heard about is how corrupt mine is.¡± Her eyes opened wide at his statement. ¡°But that doesn¡¯t matter now. I might need you, at least your soul, but I doubt I need all of it.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± she gasped. Then screamed it at him. ¡°What are you saying?!¡±


    "I learned everything I need for this from your memories."


    Adam reached into the giant opening that led from his soul to hers. He moved that part of him to her memory region. Letting go of his imagined body, his soul energy reached around and enveloped the entire border, overlaying it with a thin film made from himself.


    ¡°It''s all about memories, for me. They carry knowledge and power. If you have no memories, then you won¡¯t be a threat,¡± he whispered.


    ¡°You can¡¯t possibly¡­ There is no way you have that skill¡­¡± she gasped, the fear wafting from her.


    ¡°Yet I do. My first time using this pseudo-skill. Let¡¯s give it a try,¡± said Adam as she shrank, sliding down the wall in terror.


    ¡°[SOUL SHATTER]!¡±

 CH 165: Back to Jackson

    CHAPTER 165: Back to Jackson


    ¡°[SOUL SHATTER]!¡± bellowed Adam. The words seemed to echo around the room they were in, reverberating off the smooth walls.


    Before he had even finished announcing the skill, or activating it, Cruxannith was shrieking. Her ear-piercing pitch increased in volume as Adam felt the energy rush out of him. In her memories of the tower, he had learned a lot about how the soul worked, so he wasn¡¯t just guessing about this.


    [Soul Shatter] was a skill that had appeared on older Adam¡¯s status sheet while he had been in her memories. It was a Tier 5 skill of very rare classes. The skill wasn¡¯t like [Soul Bolt] or [Soul Spear], which damaged a soul where you aimed for. [Soul Shatter] was much gentler. It allowed the caster, depending on his strength compared to the recipient, to select a part of the soul to destroy, melting it away into nothing. Resistance skills were able to reduce the potential success of the shatter, but with their souls bonded together, Adam was able to bypass all of that. It was an open invitation.


    Adam¡¯s soul energy flowed along the net he had cast around her memories. He felt it surge, barely large enough to cover the whole region of her soul. With the bond, Adam wondered if he could pull energy from her soul as well and was pleasantly surprised that he could. It didn¡¯t control as well as his own, but he was able to further empower the pseudo-skill he was using.


    The energy filled the net, coating the area he designated. It enclosed and squeezed. The memory space fizzled. The size was enormous, but Adam had the time. He watched and felt as her memories compressed, squeezing together as the energy net burned out everything it touched. One by one her memories evaporated and crumbled under his onslaught.


    In the physical world her screaming continued. She twitched and convulsed, only stopping the horrible sound when her body needed to breathe. The screaming went on as Adam controlled the energy inside.


    Adam watched as the horror faded from her face, followed by the knowledge of why she was screaming, then her recognition of Adam and the base, until finally she lost who she was. Only at that point did the screaming stop.


    Cruxannith¡¯cz¡¯Jurzax sat there blankly. Or rather, a body that used to be Cruxannith, the Red Clan speaker for the Scyrric invasion. She had become empty, just a living doll with no memories or knowledge. She breathed and that was all. There was no curiosity, no trying to understand, and no interaction with her surroundings. She just sat there.


    Falling to the ground, Adam lay there breathing. He watched her for a time.


    Unlike with killing, there was no notification to announce her loss. A slight fear edged into him that maybe she was faking it. Maybe this was just another ploy by her to trick him. Yet, no matter how many times he checked his soul map or traveled into her soul to check for evidence of deceit, there was no inkling of how she could be tricking him. After a while he had to accept that things were as they appeared.


    He had done it. He defeated the mind witch, who had caused him trouble since the [System] arrived! Relief washed over him along with satisfaction at the victory.


    It had been a long struggle, and she wouldn¡¯t be the last of his frustrating opponents, but Adam needed to take this moment to bask in it. So many human deaths could be laid at her feet, so much suffering, but now she would threaten no one. Soon he would need to prepare to face that Scyrric berserker, but without Cruxannith there to freeze his soul, Adam was less worried.


    Adam¡¯s eyes closed and he let his mind drift in the freedom he had earned.


    ***


    Owner of Dimensional Convergence Rift is no longer able to perform their duty¡­


    ¡­no new Inheritor found. Ownership presented to possessor of Control Node.


    Would you like to take Ownership of this Dimensional Convergence Rift?


    [ Yes / No ]


    Adam selected Yes.


    Ownership of Dimensional Convergence Rift has been taken by a native. Invasion ended.


    Adam ignored the message about the Invasion Conqueror title and his soul corruption. He declined to merge it with the planetary reality, leaving his new rift as an inaccessible black orb sitting in the middle of a Memphis intersection.


    This Rift was also left out of his network. He didn¡¯t know what was happening back in Jackson, and there was no way he wanted anyone else to have access to the equipment here¡­or to his captive. She needed to be kept safe, since she had been both an authority figure in the invasion and had become a weakness for Adam. Should anything happen to her, the soul bond that remained would be used against him.


    The control crystal and pillar had been in what was obviously Cruxannith¡¯s office. Her decorating sense was only a small step below Tom¡¯s, with Rift displays positioned all over showing Adam¡¯s fights. He would redecorate once he had more time.


    There was a need to return regularly, because inside one of those cages that the Red Clan speaker had mentioned was the Red Clan speaker herself. She said nothing, sitting completely still in whatever position Adam set her down in. The cages were bathroom-sized prison cells, with enough space for her to move in should she choose to. Adam couldn¡¯t even feel bad for her after the things she had done.


    Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    His soul felt shredded where she had used those attacks on him, and probably would for a long time, but Adam needed to get back to Jackson.


    He was able to find his motorcycle, which had been taken apart, probably by the researcher. There were a few packs on it that had been placed to the side. They contained very welcome MREs and non-perishable foods and water, which Adam shoveled into himself. It felt like he hadn¡¯t eaten in days, which he suspected was the case. The blood packs he carried were gone, most likely feasted on by those two Red Clan vampires.


    He took some time to inspect the base, first through the Rift Menu, then in person. He found the researcher¡¯s quarters, with the alien magic machines, and Cruxannith¡¯s office and bed chambers, though those were more extravagant than practical.


    The Scyrric that had taken him out didn¡¯t seem to have sleeping quarters here, but there was an armory for him with better equipment than the previous Scyrric base they had taken. Unfortunately, it was all shaped for a large lizard man, not a human.


    The blades all had curved, convex hilts and handles that didn¡¯t fit in a human hand. The blades were poorly balanced for an upright walking bipedal. They were designed for the slant that Scyrric walked with, their tails compensating for their balance.


    After trying out most of the weapons, from knives to swords to hammers and clubs, he settled on a long, double edged battle axe. The head was as large as Adam¡¯s torso. One side had a concave edge that curved into a long spear-like point at the end. The other side had a more traditional crescent blade, though it jutted out further in the middle than a human axe would, as though someone stretched the blade in the center.


    The handle was about six and a half feet long with a three-inch diameter. It had a slant compared to the position of the head, and curves and lumps along the shaft that made it unwieldy and poorly balanced. Adam found that if he held it closer to the head then he could use it without balancing issues, though the size compared to him made it difficult to carry, but he needed a weapon.


    Unfortunately, the armor was also designed for that larger lizard form. Adam had found his feral behemoth gloves and pants, but his chest piece and leg armor had been ruined. The leather pieces were in bad shape too. He couldn¡¯t go out unprotected though, so he found an oversized chest piece. The bulge of the front came up to his chin and severely restricted his arms in front and back since the openings were shifted forward from where a human¡¯s arms sat. The armors back ended just above his shoulder blades. It was uncomfortable and awkward, but he was confident it could take stronger hits than anything he previously had.


    Then he found a few panels of armor for pauldrons and arm guards and strapped those to his legs, hips, and arms.


    Checking himself in a Rift display, he looked ridiculous. He almost laughed at himself with how stupid this armor looked on him. That didn¡¯t matter though. Getting back to Jackson was the priority now.


    Since this Rift hadn¡¯t been added to his network, he needed to find another to use a portal. The Bobomon¡¯s former Rift should be close to this one, so that was where he headed.


    Adam dashed through the streets, wishing he had his motorcycle. Without a good familiarity with Memphis¡¯s layout, several times he needed to climb buildings to figure out the direction to another of his Rifts. Idly he thought it would be better to capture a Rift closer to the Red Clan one, but then he mentally facepalmed. Of course he planned to take every enemy base in the city, state, country, and then world. There was no avoiding it.


    Eventually, taking more time than he would be willing to admit to his friends, he reached the Rift. Stepping through the black barrier, he ended up in a small earthen room. Inside the entrance was one of the Leputi operators that monitored the surroundings. This Leputi quivered in fear, never expecting someone to come through the front door.


    After seeing it was Adam, the Leputi scout sighed in relief, his tense shoulders and arms dropping. Then he mimicked the salute he had seen some of the Sentinel Army do. It was a terrible parody of a salute learned from people who also hadn¡¯t learned to do it properly, then performed by a disproportional bunny humanoid. Adam almost burst out laughing but held himself back.


    ¡°Your excellency!¡± exclaimed the scout, standing at attention while staring at Adam in disbelief. ¡°You escaped from the Red Clan yourself?!¡±


    ¡°I have,¡± responded Adam briefly.


    ¡°Truly your might is beyond compare,¡± marveled the Leputi. ¡°To escape their grasp should have been impossible.¡±


    ¡°I get that a lot,¡± nodded Adam.


    ¡°It is good that you have returned at this time, Excellency. I hesitate to say this¡­¡±


    ¡°Just tell me,¡± sighed Adam, annoyed by how long things took when the Leputi were being overly deferential and meek. ¡°I promise I won¡¯t be angry.¡±


    ¡°Yes¡­as you say. Your primary base hub is under attack.¡±


    ¡°By who?¡± growled Adam, knowing he would be able to guess if he tried.


    ¡°A Scyrric Metallic Berserker has led a whole army full of Tier 3s against your base. The walls have been breached.¡±


    ¡°That BASTARD!!!¡± yelled Adam in a fit of rage.


    The Leputi scout shrank back, eyes darting around for a hiding spot. Adam once more sighed at that.


    ¡°Sorry, sorry. I got angry, but not at you. You did well for telling me,¡± reassured Adam. He felt a bit of pain from the soul damage as one of his pseudo-skills activated on its own. Probably the [Soothe] skill inherited from older Adam. The Leputi visibly calmed and stood back up nodding. ¡°Guess I¡¯d better get there fast.¡±


    Adam opened the Rift Menu. He navigated to the area that opened portals between Rifts in the network. For some reason it was in a more obscure location than just transporting inanimate objects. The words on the menu that used to be obscure were now readable to him. Out of curiosity he pulled up his status menu and split it into the three different ones. Sure enough, older Adam¡¯s skill list had [System Standard] unlocked on it. Probably from all the reading in Cruxannith¡¯s memory. That will be useful, but for now there was work to be done.


    The option to open a portal was selected from the menu, and then the location was set to Jackson.


    Rift under siege. Location unreachable.


    ¡°What?!¡± exclaimed Adam, causing the Leputi to jump in surprise, almost hitting the ceiling.


    Once more he selected the portal and location.


    Rift under siege. Location unreachable.


    ¡°Damnit,¡± he growled. ¡°Guess I¡¯ll have to take the longer route.¡±


    Just to make sure, he also tried the teleport option to summon a motorcycle from Jackson¡¯s vehicle warehouse.


    Rift under siege. Relocating objects is unavailable.


    With his third sigh since entering this Rift, Adam selected the portal option, and this time chose the Brownsville Rift as the location. A portal successfully opened. When he stepped through, there was once more a surprised Leputi scout there.


    ¡°Your excellency!¡± exclaimed the Leputi, staring at Adam in disbelief. ¡°You escaped from the Red Clan yourself?!¡±


    Adam put his hand on his forehead and wiped down his face. Still holding the oversized axe, he didn¡¯t bother responding, instead he left the Rift he was in. He looked along the road. It was 27 miles to his Jackson Rift.


    This was going to be a long run.

 CH 166: Special Forces vs Scyrric

    CHAPTER 166: Special Forces vs Scyrric


    Gregor was panting heavily. Even though his build focused on strength, using skills to either boost his agility or to move him to targets quickly, it was obvious how much slower he had become. Blood streamed down from dozens of cuts around his body. Some were deep, while others were superficial. His high vitality made his skin tougher while his high strength seemed to increase the density of his muscles, making them harder to cut through.


    Prior to this fight, armor wasn¡¯t a problem to Gregor. There hadn¡¯t been a fight where he really needed it. Normally he could pound away on the opponent since his skin and muscles more durable than any material they had encountered. If he got injured, then he would eat some bloody meat and heal quicker and more completely than was passible before the [System]. That was why he was a blood berserker, his class derived power and healing from blood. Unfortunately, in this fight there wasn¡¯t anything for him to use.


    It was also a measure of his fading strength that his mind was clearing up. When Gregor entered the berserker state, his mind would cloud while his emotions, namely anger, would drive him. It was like being on the edge of blackout drunk. He was vaguely aware of what was happening and his own actions, but they weren¡¯t driving by decisions he should make. It was a feral, mindless assault. Even if he instinctively used his skills, there wasn¡¯t a plan or strategy with them.


    The berserker state minimized a lot of Gregor¡¯s natural capabilities too. While he was taller than most and wider than nearly everyone else, Gregor had never been just a meathead. He could be clever, pre-[System] he had a tactical mind, and there was a charisma to him that allowed him to blend well with most groups. He had been able to easily work with others, and every group he had joined improved.


    Now though, when he fought, he was a solo wrecking ball as willing to attack allies who might be in his way as enemies. There wasn¡¯t the ability to think or reason when he really went deep into the berserker state. It was him against the world. That wasn¡¯t how he liked to be, or what he wanted to be known for. As powerful as this class was, he questioned whether he would have taken it as an evolution if he had known what it would do to him.


    Gregor¡¯s current opponent was showing similar signs of the berserker state. The lizard man¡¯s eyes had green veins showing in them as they clouded over, reducing his intelligence. The snarls and growls coming from him seemed more animal than sentient. However, it showed just how strong he was that only a portion of his intellect had faded as he fought Gregor who had been completely taken over from it.


    The Scyrric also had other advantages in this fight over Gregor. First was the armor. No matter how hard Gregor punched, the armor barely dented. One of Gregor¡¯s skills would cause an explosion upon attacking, and even that wasn¡¯t enough to harm the armor. A few panels of the armor had been torn off by Gregor, but his enemy would retrieve it and use [Armor Shaping] to meld it back into place.


    Another issue was that the invader treated metal like Gregor treated blood. When Gregor removed the armor, he was able to hurt the creature inside of it, but the Scyrric would then take a bit of his armor or weapons and then would heal, able to reshape the damage he did to his own equipment with his skills.


    If the berserker state was like being drunk, Gregor was now sobering. His skin was returning to its normal color, except where his own blood stained him, and the heat he radiated was reducing. Gregor¡¯s mind was clearing and his strength dropping. The feeling was nearly as unpleasant as a hangover, as his body was weakening and cramping, his stomach was queasy as it demanded raw meat to satisfy the hunger.


    As Gregor¡¯s intelligence returned to normal, the impossibility of winning this fight became a certainty. The monster in front of him had so many levels on him, so much more strength and stats. When added with the infinitely superior equipment, Gregor didn¡¯t stand a chance. It was fortunately that he could stand at all, lasting as long as he did.


    A smile formed on the Scyrric¡¯s face, all teeth and mouth stretched wide.


    ¡°As alien as your expressions are, native, it is always satisfying when an opponent realizes they are nothing compared to us,¡± hissed Sgolkr. ¡°It is impressive that you unlocked a powerful class without the aid of those with knowledge, but it is still an inferior version to mine.¡±


    Gregor just stared at him from about fifteen feet away. Keeping his muscular legs supporting him as they demanded nutrients was a struggle.


    The Scyrric saw no response coming, so he straightened himself. He ran a talon along his large blade, still sharp and ready to clash. Casually, Sgolkr glanced at his weapon, pretending to inspect it in the moment of silence before he spoke again.


    ¡°It is always satisfying testing myself against another berserker. The rush is like no other. Releasing my body to the rage, only to come up when my opponent has been torn to shreds¡­it really makes me thankful to the [System]. I was overly disappointed that the other berserker had given no fight. The Red Clan speaker neutered him before I had the chance to test his mettle. Surely, she did it to make sure he didn¡¯t die at my hands.¡±


    ¡°Other berserker?¡± questioned Gregor between gasps of breath. He hadn¡¯t heard of another with his class among the humans.


    That question surprised Sgolkr. He looked up from his sword and into Gregor¡¯s eyes. The reptilian slits narrowed.


    ¡°The aberration. The one who has been brazen enough to kill off the mighty Scyrric.¡±


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t he working with you,¡± asked Gregor in confusion.


    The hissing laughter came from Sgolkr at the suggestion. ¡°Ones as glorious as the Scyrric would never debase themselves by working with a native. None of the races found worthy under the [System] would. No, that native who caused problems was put down. He will never again be here to protect you. All will die at our claws!¡±


    Gregor winced. It was obvious who the Scyrric was talking about, but Gregor had been certain that the kid called The General had been collaborating with the invaders. Not that it mattered. This fight was over, and Gregor didn¡¯t even have the energy to run away.


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    ¡°Who needs protection from a kid?¡± asked the belligerent voice of Jack Fleming. Both Gregor and Sgolkr turned to the side to see the group that was almost to them.


    ¡°[Life¡¯s Embrace]!¡± said Tyler Zito, who¡¯s Tier 3 class evolution gave him the tag of ¡°Domain Master [27]¡±.


    Warmth spread through Gregor. A vigorous energy rushed into his wounds, causing the shallow ones to seal and the deeper ones to stop bleeding. Not everything was healed, and the need for meat wasn¡¯t quelled, though the muscle cramps stopped. Once more his body felt usable, though not at the level he would need to keep fighting.


    ¡°Guys,¡± said Gregor, ¡°glad you could make it.¡±


    ¡°No worries,¡± responded Kevin Spence. ¡°We couldn¡¯t let you have all the fun.¡±


    ¡°Besides, the commander made a deal,¡± said Dalton Coleman. ¡°We kill this guy and the base is ours.¡±


    ¡°You? Kill me?!¡± chuckled Sgolkr. ¡°Your species'' ignorant bravado shows over and over. I guess it is a trait of your race, for no one else in the universe would dare say that to the Scyrric.¡±


    ¡°It is what it is,¡± said Jamari Gillum with a shrug. ¡°The strong will win, regardless of the race.¡±


    ¡°That much is true, native.¡±


    ¡°Enough talking,¡± snapped Rexus, voice full of command. ¡°Greg, go back and guard the general. The rest of you, it¡¯s business time. Get in position.¡±


    Sgolkr frowned as he watched his prey casually jog away. His eyes surveyed the enemies lining up before him before meeting with Rexus¡¯s.


    ¡°Never take a predator¡¯s prey. Now you shall sate me in his place,¡± threatened Sgolkr.


    In answer, a fireball the size of his torso enveloped him. The humans watched as the fire blew outwards, Sgolkr staying where he had been, barely moved. His armor and weapons were still clean and looked untouched. The few scales that could be seen around Sgolkr¡¯s helmet looked unaffected by the fire.


    The one change was the Scyrric¡¯s eyes. The green veins around them had increased in size and color, the reptilian slits narrowed.


    Sgolkr took a heavy step towards Fleming, who was also preparing another fire spell. Steam hissed from the Scyrric¡¯s mouth, though not from the fire spell he had been hit with.


    ¡°Your flames are weak!¡± snarled the invader.


    ¡°[Eyes Forward]!¡± ordered Commander Rexus, using his taunt skill.


    Not only did Sgolkr¡¯s eyes turn to Rexus, but his whole body did too. Before he could break the taunt¡¯s effect, two knives tried to stab into the area between his neck and helmet. One knife caught on the helmet and broke while the other managed to snag under a scale. The unbroken knife failed to penetrate Sgolkr¡¯s sturdy hide.


    ¡°Truly you worms know nothing about berserkers, considering that scaleless imitation of one that scurried off.¡±


    ¡°Oh? You think you are tougher than Gregor?¡± teased Willis Abrego.


    Sgolkr bared his teeth. ¡°[Height of Fury]!¡± he called as there was a flash of skill use. The Scyrric¡¯s whole form seemed to increase in size, but more than that, his muscles enlarged. The greenish yellow scales on his face darkened, adding a reddish-brown hue to them.


    ¡°[Power Rules All], [Faint Awareness], [Body of Metal].¡± With each skill use, there was a flash, and Sgolkr changed. First, he began radiating energy. Then the awareness in his eyes faded as his posture and the sounds he made became more bestial. Finally, the areas of his body seemed to turn metallic, as the talons and parts of his face that protruded from his armor gleamed silver.


    ¡°[Deadly Charge]!¡± The lizard man¡¯s words were garbled, barely understandable. He spoke as if an animal was trying to use human words. Then he rushed forward at a speed that couldn¡¯t be followed. With each stride his legs warped as he was propelled towards Rexus.


    Just before the claws struck Rexus, a skill was used by the commander. When the sharp talons landed, the man was thrown backwards. Slashes showed on his thick leather vest, but no blood was drawn.


    Not only was Rexus pushed back, but so was Sgolkr, as if he had taken the hit. A growl released from him as he winced, his own armor showing scratch marks in the same place as Rexus.


    Willis Abrego, ¡°Pocket Dueler [32],¡± didn¡¯t miss the chance and stepped past Rexus to engage the surprised invader. He led with two bone weapons shaped like swords. ¡°[Duel with Me]!¡± he called, creating a shimmering area around both of them. The skill would contain both combatants until one of them won the forced duel.


    The bone swords stabbed at Sgolkr¡¯s joints. One went after his right armpit, and the other went after his groin. Both struck metal and bounced off, the bone weapons chipping despite coming from a Tier 3 monster.


    Sgolkr¡¯s sword swung at Abrego, barely missing him as he dropped to the ground. The dodge was so fast that Abrego barely kept his balance, preventing him from dodging the tail that slammed into his abdomen. The tail impacted with the force of a truck, then curled around the man to prevent him from escaping again. Spikes on the tail¡¯s armor sank through Abrego¡¯s armor, skin, and into his muscles.


    Abrego cried out, but only for a moment, as a circle overlapped with the dueling pocket and the humans. Vibrant green energy from the ground entered them, giving them buffed stats and healing Abrego around the embedded spikes.


    The feral Scyrric reached for the energy with his unarmed hand, but the green wisps avoided him, refusing to make contact. Then he roared. Power flooded the sound, and pressure was released from him. The green energy, the healing domain creating it, as well as the dueling pocket were blown out and dissipated. The pressure also knocked back the nearby humans, trying to do the same to Abrego, though he was stunned because Sgolkr¡¯s tail held him tightly.


    An arrow, gout of flame, and blade of wind all flew at Sgolkr as soon as Arbrego¡¯s pocket was destroyed. The dueling pocket was intended to hold combatants within, but to prevent interference in the duels, it also held attacks and other people outside. Now that it was down, those with ranged attacks launched them.


    Two of the three attacks landed, with the arrow bouncing harmlessly off the armor, made from inferior materials. The wind blade left a shallow cut in Sgolkr¡¯s forearm protector while the flames forced him to cover his face with his other arm.


    Once more Sgolkr bellowed, the sound carrying a skill. The flames were blown away and the unconscious Abrego took more damage. Without looking at the man trapped by his tail, the Scyrric swung his claws at the human¡¯s neck. Before they finished their motion, Rexus shouted, ¡°[Halt]!¡±


    Sgolkr¡¯s arm froze along with the rest of him. A new healing domain appeared beneath them.


    ¡°[Ally Change],¡± called out Tyler Zito. Sgolkr felt his tail move. When he looked down it was no longer Abrego trapped, but Commander Rexus. The tail spikes were not penetrating him, and his arms grabbed the tail and opened it, allowing him to drop to the ground.


    A third time Sgolkr roared, but this time had no effect on Rexus.


    ¡°[Focused Attention],¡± called the human ¡°Siege Wall [38]¡±.


    Sgolkr growled and let loose an onslaught. His sword swung at the human. His claws tried to tear him up. Even his tail slapped at him. Yet each contact sent both of the fighters reeling, with Rexus grimacing before receiving heals almost instantly.


    Sgolkr was breathing heavily with rage. His body was slanting forward, and the constant snarl vibrated the air. He stepped towards Rexus, focusing completely on him, when a punch hit him on the side.


    The large lizard man hadn¡¯t noticed Kevin Spence, ¡°Breakdown Pugilist [31]¡±, approach. The punch carried the skill [Inner Damage]. While Spence¡¯s fist and the Scyrric knuckle weapon that Adam had given him stopped against the larger creature¡¯s armor, the skill forced the energy through.


    A choke came from Sgolkr as he stumbled sideways. He snorted in and then spat out some blood, his eyes finally leaving Rexus.


    ¡°[Eyes Forward],¡± ordered Rexus once more, but this time Sgolkr¡¯s head moved very slowly. Instead of being controlled by Rexus¡¯s skill, he intentioned looked the man in the eyes.


    ¡°You still fail to comprehend. Berserkers can¡¯t be stopped or controlled. I have gone soft on you so far, but now you will understand,¡± said Sgolkr, his words still crude from the lost intelligence of his berserker state. ¡°[Mindless Assault]!¡±

 CH 167: Underestimated

    CHAPTER 167: Underestimated


    Fleming screamed as a claw gouged out his side. The healing energy from Zito¡¯s healing domain tried to repair the damage, but before it could, the thick lizard tail smacked him outside of the domain.


    A localized tornado came from the sky and wrapped itself around the rampaging Scyrric. Razor sharp blades of wind bit into the armor. Sgolkr wasn¡¯t deterred as he walked right through it all, only scratches taken to what he wore.


    The long and sloped Scyrric blade stabbed towards Zito. Rexus stepped in the way barely in time. Even without worthwhile armor, there was a flash and clang, the sword being reflected and Rexus catching himself before falling into Zito.


    Jamari Gillum, ¡°Outrider [26],¡± landed on Sgolkr¡¯s shoulder as he tried to steal one of the awkward shaped knives that were lined up on the Scyrric¡¯s back. Spence also struck from the other side, using [Inner Power] and [Form Break] to do damage.


    The tail swung up and caught Gillum, knocking him into the air where he flew 10 feet before landing with a thud and rolling. The attacks by Spence did damage again, but this time the creature didn¡¯t even flinch. Since using [Mindless Assault], the Scyrric had truly become unstoppable. No control spells worked on him and no damage deterred him. He would pick a target and attack.


    A combination attack from Cody Sloan, ¡°Storm Invoker [28],¡± and Fleming had singed the invader¡¯s scales, but that still hadn¡¯t stopped him from rushing at Sloan. It had bought Spence enough time to get a solid attack in, as the only one able to cause damage through the powerful armor.


    Zito had his hands full keeping the domain up, healing the extreme injuries, and swapping the positions of his allies within it to keep Rexus the focus of the Scyrric¡¯s attacks. Even with all that, they were on the back foot, unable to keep up with the monster¡¯s speed and strength. Any time Sgolkr used his skills [Deadly Charge] or [Talon blades], someone would almost die.


    It was obvious that only Rexus¡¯s class had survivability to stand against this monster, but they weren¡¯t going to give in. They watched each other¡¯s backs and tried to whittle down his life. However, without Rexus¡¯s taunts being effective, they had no control over this fight.


    The strategy had become constant attempts to get the Scyrric to attack a fighter, swap that fighter with Rexus, then Spence would hit with his skills before backing off. It barely worked half the time as Sgolkr¡¯s strikes were sometimes faster than they could respond to.


    ¡°This isn¡¯t working!¡± called Spence. ¡°I just can¡¯t do enough damage!¡±


    ¡°Maybe we should have borrowed weapons from those kids,¡± said Coleman. ¡°The arrows their archer used would do at least some damage.¡±


    ¡°Never!¡± spat Fleming. ¡°We said we¡¯d kill this guy, and we will. Without their help!¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re all smoke,¡± Sloan taunted his fellow mage. ¡°Your fire can¡¯t even singe the reptile¡¯s scales.¡±


    Fleming winced at that, but didn¡¯t take his eyes from their enemy. A split second was enough to be split in half.


    ¡°Spence is right,¡± said Rexus, as he rebounded from another blow with Sgolkr. ¡°We need another strategy. This is why their leader said only if we could kill him. He wasn¡¯t underestimating the invader or us.¡±


    ¡°Then what do we do?¡± asked Zito with a strained voice. Rexus and Abrego swapped locations within the domain as claws almost tore the Dueler in two.


    ¡°Retreat to the wall,¡± commanded Rexus. ¡°I¡¯ll hold him off.¡±


    ¡°Will you be alright?¡± asked Gillum. ¡°Maybe we should¡­¡±


    ¡°YOU¡¯RE ALL DEAD WEIGHT!¡± shouted Rexus, his frustration coming out. ¡°I can survive this for a while, and it will be easier if I can fight instead of just protecting you!¡±


    ¡°R-right, commander,¡± stammered Gillum. He grabbed Fleming, Spence grabbed Sloan, and Abrego grabbed Zito. The physical fighters carried the slower mages in the retreat. The healing domain was left behind for Rexus.


    The feral Scyrric watched them run away while flickering glares at Rexus. A slight awareness returned to Sgolkr¡¯s eyes as he stood a little taller. After releasing a hissy breath, he spoke.


    ¡°You should not have lasted against me,¡± said the berserker, his breathing steadying while his words became clearer. ¡°That must be an epic class to be able to return so much of the damage I do. Are they even aware of how strong you are?¡±


    ¡°What would you know about it?¡± snapped Rexus.


    ¡°I know more than you, native. I also know how to defeat classes like yours. However, for now, I am enjoying the challenge. Let us continue to sharpen our claws against each other.¡±


    To Rexus¡¯s surprise, Sgolkr pulled two of his combat knives from the bandolier on his back. He tossed them to Rexus with a bloodthirsty smile. Rexus continued to watch his opponent as he picked up the knives and tried to get comfortable with the awkward grips.


    Then he nodded to the Scyrric, and the clash commenced.


    ***


    General Carmichael was scowling as he watched his best soldiers returning. Gregor had already come back and had stayed silent while recovering. It was inconceivable to him that this invader could be strong enough to handle his elites this handily.


    ¡°I guess your peeps couldn¡¯t cut it,¡± Tom mocked. ¡°Not so easy to defend the base, is it, oh [Uniter] of humanity?¡±


    Alissa swatted Tom on the arm, no longer strong enough to force him to move. ¡°Now¡¯s not the time! If neither side is strong enough to stop that brute, then how are we going to protect everyone? We need to get Emily back too!¡±


    Tom frowned. Hearing that Emily had been taken had killer their mood further. It seemed obvious in hindsight that leaving the young teenager in the penthouse wasn¡¯t going to work, even with their logical arguments.


    ¡°Who cares about her!¡± snapped Carmichael hatefully. ¡°The sister of a traitor hardly matters.¡±


    ¡°General,¡± spoke Gregor, ¡°That lizard claimed that the kid isn¡¯t on their side. That he was captured and taken away.¡±


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    The general rounded on the much larger man. ¡°You are listening to our enemies? They are trying to take our world and kill our people! You can¡¯t trust what they say!¡±


    Gregor just closed his mouth and looked back to where Rexus was fighting. Neither fighter seemed to have an advantage, although they didn''t seem to receive much damage either.


    ¡°Jordan, how is the wall holding?¡± asked Lucas.


    ¡°A larger section is about to crumble. Once it goes down, I think they¡¯ll be able to push inside. The mages and ranged attackers are causing them difficulties, but the Scyrric have almost broken through while removing enough debris.¡±


    Lucas nodded. The enemy army was too big for only his group to face directly, but once the wall was breached, they would drop down and lead the fight inside the wall. Nick, Carlos, Elias, Andrea, Ed, Lamar and Brandon were with the other ranged attackers, fighting and supporting from the wall.


    A sigh was about to come from Lucas when suddenly Fido, who had been brought to Abbey for healing, began barking and sniffing the air. A foot came up and pawed at Alissa while the third head whined. Carmichael¡¯s nose scrunched and he grumbled.


    ¡°Don¡¯t let your¡­*ahem*¡­dog¡­do his business here,¡± ordered the man gruffly, while wearily watching the alien canine.


    ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s what this is,¡± Brittney said slowly, watching Fido closely. Alissa and Abbey nodded in agreement.


    BOOM!


    A distant explosion rocked the area, vibrating the air everywhere. The ground, air, and walls quivered as the group felt the explosion through their feet. With a sense of disappointment and not a little amount of concern that something new and unexpected was happening, everyone looked at the base of the wall, then to where Rexus and Sgolkr were fighting. Those two had even stopped and were looking around.


    BOOM!


    More confusion entered the group as they looked around to find the source. A sonic boom from another explosion filled the air. There was no light or fire to indicate where it came from. The group turned towards where the Scyrric army had stopped to look around.


    Frantically they looked around, everyone on edge while wondering what else could go wrong. It was Brittney who saw it first and pointed.


    In the rear of the Scyrric forces the air was violently pushed outwards in a visible shockwave, like a depth charge going off in the water. The small, distance forms of Scyrric were flung into the air in all directions.


    BOOM!


    Emotions running high and hearts pounding, everyone opened their mouths to speak at the same time, but Fido didn¡¯t wait. He took off down the wall, running with everything he had towards the explosions.


    Alissa blew out air in frustration, but there was a huge smile on her face.


    ¡°About time!¡±


    ***


    Adam was panting from exertion as he reached the border of Jackson. He had never put that much effort into anything. Prior to the [System] he couldn¡¯t have been bothered to try that hard, and since the [System], even his difficult fights and moments hadn¡¯t felt this lengthy when consumed by the river. The memory of seeing Emily captured by the Red Clan in the tower kept him pushing forward, even if that hadn¡¯t really happened.


    This time was different. For his family, his friends, and for his world, Adam was giving it all he could. Even if that meant running 27 miles. Ugh!


    There had been another problem that appeared during his run: the damage the mind witch had done to his soul. In the tower lessons, he learned that the soul is partially an amplifier to the body. The increased energy that strengthens the class, soul, and levels was what allowed boosted stats in the body.


    He had several wounds in his soul from her attacks. They created leaks for the body and soul connection. When he had tried to run using the full might of the stats, he felt a weakness as energy was lost in the transfer. It was as though he currently only had about 75% of his strength.


    The leakage reminded Adam of trying to ride a bike with a puncture in the tire. Even if the hole was small, or there was an item wedged in it that only leaked air at certain times, the pressure dropped as you rode. That was his soul currently. Adam was almost scared to use his pseudo-skills, figuring that his soul corruption and the fact his stats were inherited from memories of other people would complicate things even more.


    Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t have time to rest or take it easy. He also nearly lost control of himself right away when he saw the scene before him. Thousands of Scyrric, strong and well equipped, were breaking though the base wall. His wall.


    The corpses of blue giants would have given him pride in the defenders as he watched their spells rain down on the invaders, except internally he was already fighting the river. The soul leakage he was experiencing made him feel like he was having a heart attack as the river rushed through him. Instead of flowing smoothly and fully empowering him, the energy sloshed about, banging against his inner borders. Even as it tried to swallow him, the power of it was inconsistent, strong one minute and weak the next.


    The vision of his sister being led into a room by the vampires of the Red Clan was remembered once more as the anger was filling him. Regardless of what he wanted, the image of his sister changed to his mom, then his dad, then the girls, and Nick. Even the kid that had ridden his shoulders the day before the invasion flashed through his mind.


    They were all down in the besieged base, their lives in danger.


    Adam grabbed his chest, feeling the pain throughout his body and soul. He tried to get accustomed to it, to move in spite of the river pounding on the edges of his essence. There was no way to control this, and there was an army of invaders before him, pulling the full force of the corruption upon him.


    COnQueR! Screamed the inconsistent river.


    Adam took a deep breath, lowered his head and charged forward.


    ***


    The Scyrric in the back were no less disciplined than the ones in the front. This was where the healers, support, and rotation warriors waited. They were prepared to move where directed and to support their brethren. As professional as they were, they didn¡¯t neglect looking in all directions.


    ¡°What is that?¡± asked a Scyrric warrior, pointing out a streak in the distance.


    The support he had spoken to squinted to see the movement. Time was getting late in the afternoon, and the sun was going down. The approaching twilight affected their reptilian eyes even more than a human¡¯s.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Let us notify Commander Zwythkle.¡±


    The support turned to move through the ranks to reach the leader of their battalion, a Tier 3 ¡°Momentum Stopper [41]¡±. He moved through the orderly rows and columns of Scyrric waiting for the wall to drop and the slaughter to begin.


    ¡°Commander!¡± said the support Scyrric with as much respect as he could, half bowing to him. ¡°There is something approaching from behind."


    The Momentum Stopper looked confused at the support but didn¡¯t question him. He lifted an octagonal shield and followed the support back with heavy steps. The two had almost returned to the warrior when they heard a voice shout while running.


    ¡°[Kinetic Impact], [Arc Shockwave], urgh!¡± The voice sounded in pain, but that only mattered for a brief second as it finished talking. ¡°[Gladiator¡¯s Approach]!¡±


    BOOM!


    The air pushed outward with the winds of a hurricane. Scyrric were sent flying, ricochetting off each other with an unnatural force. It was clearly an attack. Dirt and ground were blown upwards, making the commander squint as he raised his shield to keep the flying soldiers from knocking him over. Thanks to his size and the weight of his armor, he only had his balance disturbed rather than being knocked back.


    Because of the raised shield and squinting eyes, the commander¡¯s vision was too obscured to see the axe swinging sideways at him. The metal of it was of a higher quality than even his armor, as he had been sent to this world at the beginning of the invasion.


    The axe, taken from Sgolkr¡¯s armory, was sent specifically to empower the berserker to deal with the aberration. It easily cut through the commander¡¯s neck. The head lowered to the ground slowly as it had been caught in the wind. It spun and rolled, coming to a stop where dozens of Scyrric were climbing to their feet, their orderly rows disturbed by the attack.


    The body of the commander didn¡¯t fall. The armor was sturdy enough to hold it upright and thin squirts of green blood spouted from the open neck, then were carried by the wind to splatter all around them.


    Standing next to the commander¡¯s body was a native. His skin was red, and steam rose from him. His eyes were pure fury, and an animalistic bloodlust could be felt by everyone there. The lack of a tag above his head told everyone who this enemy was.


    He held the handle of the axe high along the shaft. Some words were muttered, and the axe began to glow.


    ¡°Aberration!¡± cried one warrior. He rushed towards the apparition standing in their midst. His blade was raised and began to come down.


    As the axe bit into his midsection, cutting through scales and armor, a force was released. It once more threw all the surrounding Scyrric into the air or rolling along the ground. The whole battalion had been turning to see the commotion, but it was too late.


    ¡°[Arc Shockwave]!¡±


    BOOM!

 CH 168: Battlefield Reconciliation

    CHAPTER 168: Battlefield Reconciliation


    Adam gave up. He surrendered.


    The soul pain was debilitating for him while the river raged. Since it wasn¡¯t a skill, he couldn¡¯t toggle it on and off like other people. This prevented him from relying on his inherited stats.


    So, he gave in to the demands of the voice inside and allowed the river to reap his consciousness. He let the river wash over his mind, allowing it to sweep him away. Submerging into the river, Adam was no longer aware, just letting his body move based on rage and instinct, an animal fighting to keep the monsters at bay.


    But everyone knows what they say about wounded animals.


    The axe in Adam¡¯s hand swept through a Scyrric healer, cleaving them in two. The swing continued as it cut the legs from another. Two warriors and a scout were coming from behind Adam, but the long handle of the axe swept through them, breaking a warrior¡¯s jaw before it knocked the second warrior¡¯s head sideways, causing him to fall on the scout.


    Spinning around while growling, Adam cut through them before rounding on the next approaching Scyrric. A spell made of purple energy, some element unknown on Earth, exploded on Adam¡¯s back. The awkward chest armor he had taken from Sgolkr¡¯s armory negated all damage while not preventing Adam from stumbling forward.


    Adam leapt into the air towards the caster, who was beginning to fire another bolt. Before the magic hit, Adam¡¯s axe glowed with [Kinetic Impact] and then he vanished, instantly appearing in front of the caster. [Arc Shockwave] activated, adding an expanding explosive force to his [Kinetic Impact]. The power of the shockwave was so strong that as Adam¡¯s axe bit into the caster, their body was torn apart. The chunks of the exploded Scyrric expanded outwards along with the shockwave, throwing the surrounding Scyrric in every direction.


    The Scyrric kept trying to rally. They fought back with everything they had. They would try to outnumber Adam in one place, to overwhelm, dog pile him or bind him using skills, but he would appear somewhere else. The shockwaves he gave off prevented them from regaining their balance. His axe was superior enough that it cut through everything easily, except for metal armor. Those pieces of armor still didn¡¯t protect the Scyrric from the explosions that came whenever too many were grouped together.


    ¡°Hey, hey, hey, what¡¯s this?¡± demanded a Tier 3 warrior Scyrric as he rushed at Adam. His tag was ¡°Blood-soaked Mauler [51]¡± and he carried a sword as large as him, it¡¯s blade stained a rainbow of colors, each representing the blood of races he had slaughtered. Several flashes went off as he used skills.


    He rocketed towards Adam, his sword stabbing dead center on Adam¡¯s chest piece. The metal didn¡¯t give in to the sword as it scratched along the outside. The blade slid over Adam¡¯s shoulder, and he roared in pain. The Blood-soaked Mauler froze, eyes opened in surprise as the noise carried Adam¡¯s [Incapacitating Shout]. The other Scyrric froze as well, some beginning to show fear at the unstoppable monster before them.


    The top of the Mauler¡¯s head was separated from the rest, causing his body to crumble. By then, another 10 Scyrric soldiers were dead. As enemies died, their bodies became inconsequential while the rampaging Adam moved onto the next group.


    That wasn¡¯t to say Adam didn¡¯t take his share of damage. Cuts to his head and arms happened while spells did hit him. Adam¡¯s fight wasn¡¯t one of offense and defense. It was only offense. Anyone that got nearby would manage an attack, although that ended up being the last thing they did.


    Sgolkr¡¯s chest armor protected him against a lot, but the Scyrric didn¡¯t consider the other weapons that Adam carried. While he didn¡¯t have the talons or a tail, the mindless Adam still instinctively knew when was needed to regenerate. His teeth became as feared as the axe, since dying to the axe was quick, while Adam¡¯s teeth would tear out chunks of necks or arms to allow him to drink their blood. Then while the Scyrric would slowly die from blood loss, Adam would move on from them.


    In the fifteen minutes since Adam arrived, he had killed a tenth of the invader army. More than 200 Scyrric slain from his rampage, with more only avoiding death through the efforts of their healers, who were often targeted as a result.


    The damage didn¡¯t just come from Adam either. At first, the Sentinel army on the wall didn¡¯t know what was happening. However, it quickly became obvious as they saw Adam standing among the invaders, clearly seen by all after his shockwaves cleared the space around him.


    Cheers rose from the humans. Morale went up. Some even dropped to their knees and wept.


    The Scyrric at the wall couldn¡¯t keep trying to pass through it. They had to turn and face the rampaging monster attacking them from behind. They couldn¡¯t defend in both directions when Adam entered the fray. The spells from those on the wall became more effective as invader shields turned to focus on the madman tearing through them from the opposite direction.


    Andrea and Lamar also didn¡¯t miss the opportunity. Anywhere that a shockwave went off, those two targeted the defenders, killing those who could cast barriers or boost defenses. That left the rest open to the lower-level humans, who renewed their casting of spells.


    Elias and Nick didn¡¯t allow themselves to be outdone either, using their control skills to further destabilize their enemies.


    The physical fighters and defenders who had been waiting inside the wall were initially confused by the cheers from the wall and the new vigor of the casters¡¯ attack. Once they heard the chant rising, ¡°GEN-ER-AL! GEN-ER-AL,¡± many left their positions and went to the wall.


    Upon seeing Adam, the General¡¯s Guard couldn¡¯t be held back. They dropped from the wall or maneuvered through the crumbled parts of the wall. With battle cries raised they charged into the Scyrric. Soon they were joined by defenders and healers. Even mages with shorter range were climbing down to press the attacks.


    ***


    The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.


    ¡°Wow, look at the boss go!¡± cheered Tom. Then he quietly spoke to Lucas. With a head jerk to General Carmichael, who was watching the fight with both a scowl and eyes wide in shock, Tom asked Lucas, ¡°Do you think we should go help?¡±


    With his deep voice a low rumble, Lucas answered. ¡°We should be ready to help, but for now I think we should stay here.¡±


    Tom gave him a knowing wink and then turned back to watch the battle. His hand stayed on his sword hilt.


    ***


    The booms had mostly halted their battle. Sgolkr and Rexus had both watched for a few minutes as Scyrric flew in all directions while the invader army was pierced by the newcomer. They tried clashing a few more times, continuing their fight as Sgolkr refused to back down from the native, but it was a weak effort as both were paying more attention to the distant battle than to their own combat.


    Rexus was confident in his resilience while Sgolkr had admitted to using this as practice, claiming he already knew how to defeat Rexus¡¯s skills. Their focus and attention were broken completely when humans began dropping from the wall. Suddenly, the Scyrric army was being attacked from all directions, even though a single combatant was doing most of the damage.


    Sgolkr hissed as he clicked his tongue. He turned completely away from Rexus. Then he really watched the battle. His eyes grew large momentarily as he watched Adam. After a moment, his face relaxed and he smiled. His teeth became a grin of the reaper, finding its next target.


    As Sgolkr walked away, he spoke to Rexus. ¡°Your life shall continue for the moment. But do not worry, for I shall seek you out once this prey is extinguished.¡±


    Rexus frowned at the invader. He wasn¡¯t used to being dismissed so easily. Pride fought with logic inside him. As he watched the lizard man walk away, he slid the knives he had been given into his back belt.


    Then Rexus turned back towards the wall where General Carmichael was waiting. His expression became calm as he began jogging back to the humans, a little unsure of what was happening.


    ***


    Adam continued his rampage, slicing through the enemies, stabbing, punching, and exploding them. The fury he fought with in this berserker state would have killed anyone nearby, even allies, so it was fortunate the Sentinel Army knew him well enough to keep their distance. They were attacking the edges to keep their enemies off balance, or to force them into the meat grinder that Adam was playing the role of.


    There still wasn¡¯t any thought or intention beyond the slaughter in front of Adam. Another few minutes of his mayhem, where he didn¡¯t even care if his opponent was Tier 2 or Tier 3, led him to a calmer portion of the enemy forces.


    As he entered this space, the enemy soldiers moved away from him. They didn¡¯t retreat or appear scared. Instead, they used the disciplined actions of soldiers following orders.


    Adam shouted wordlessly at them, taunting them to come to him. They simply gave more room for him to enter. Even while acting like a wild animal, the mindless Adam hesitated, wary of a problem or trap. Having enemies going from a battle frenzy to such a calm demeanor stopped him.


    Adam sniffed and watched as a pathway was opened. Then a Scyrric in a robe with a long staff walked through. He strode confidently, unconcerned about his safety. There was no fear in his posture.


    ¡°You must be the aberration,¡± said the Scyrric calmly, with a smile on his face. He behaved as if encountering an old friend. ¡°It is my first time meeting you, but unfortunately, you seem too far gone to really converse.¡±


    In response, Adam snarled and roared, his teeth revealed. The ¡°Barrier Adherent [46]¡± in front of him waved a claw dismissively.


    ¡°Yes, yes. You are angry. Such is the case for berserkers,¡± spoke the Scyrric. ¡°However, I think you should come out of that state if you want to keep your hatch mate safe.¡±


    The invader¡¯s hand was raised and pointed behind him. Then a translucent box made from his skills floated from the rows of Scyrric towards the Barrier Adherent. Inside was a shouting girl, pounding on the invisible wall. No sound came through it. Her eyes were closed as she screamed and hit.


    Adam¡¯s eyes narrowed. A hand reached towards the girl. That was when Emily noticed Adam. She stopped screaming and stared at him in disbelief. She tried speaking but the words couldn¡¯t penetrate the barriers. Then she rubbed her eyes, checking to make sure of what she was looking at.


    Blood covered all of Adam, both his own and the green Scyrric blood. Even his teeth were stained with red and green. His hair was longer than when she had last seen him and completely disheveled.


    Emily burst into tears. She tried reaching for Adam, her hand once more stopped by the box. Her lips were moving but the words didn¡¯t reach anyone.


    The memory from the tower flashed through Adam. His sister had been brought as a sacrifice to bring him power, although it was an overlay of the mind witch¡¯s memory. But that had a big impact on Adam, shaking him to the core. This was the sister that he loved and wanted to protect.


    Adam had put up with those obnoxious friends and had played the villain for her, just to keep her focused on him. As long as she spent her time trying to get back at him, she was safely away from the invaders. Yet, here she was, just like the memory, captured by their enemies. It was unlikely an illusion since the Scyrric didn¡¯t have a way of knowing about her. His soul trembled.


    Inside, a hand reached out from the river. A second one joined it. They grabbed hold of the space at the edge and pulled until a head came out from it. With an extreme effort of will, Adam pulled his consciousness from the river.


    Adam¡¯s body gasped as awareness returned to his eyes. Pain wracked him and he almost fell over. It felt like burning pokers were everywhere inside. His nervous system rebelled against the commands he tried to give it. Grabbing his chest, Adam looked at Emily. She didn¡¯t look harmed from this distance.


    ¡°This one spoke truth? She is your hatch mate?¡± asked the Scyrric, drawing Adam¡¯s attention.


    Adam took one more look at Emily before trying to step forward. His leg wavered before providing enough support to him. A second step almost ended with him pitching forward.


    ¡°Yes, this is the case with some berserker skills. Ceasing their use can leave you weakened.¡± The Scyrric spoke, assuming he knew why Adam was weak. ¡°Of course, a native like you wouldn¡¯t know which skills are better to take and which have drawbacks. But that is not the important matter. You care for this hatch mate. All can see that. If you want no harm to come to her then surrender to the Scyrric. That is the only way to ensure her life.¡±


    The transparent box faded, and Emily was dropped onto the ground. Sniffling, she stood up.


    ¡°Adam? Is that really you?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Yes, Emily. It¡¯s me.¡±


    ¡°But they said you were captured.¡±


    Adam tried to chuckle, but his face became a mask of pain and a groan.


    ¡°You think they could stop me from rescuing you? I have to keep you safe!¡±


    Emily rushed forward. No one tried to stop her, and the Barrier Adherent patiently watched, a smirk on his snout. Just before reaching Adam, Emily stopped. Then she looked him up and down. Finally, with her own pained expression on his behalf from seeing all the signs of wounds, she reached forward and hugged Adam. She began sobbing as she squeezed his waist.


    ¡°Adam! Oh, Adam! I¡¯m so sorry! I just didn¡¯t want to accept how bad things were. You did so much for us, for me, and I was horrible to you. I¡¯m so sorry!¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s ok, sis. As long as you are safe, I can handle it,¡± soothed Adam, his bloody hand brushing her hair while he held the axe away from her.


    ¡°But we aren¡¯t safe!¡± Emily pointed at the wall. ¡°They¡¯ve almost broken through. You were captured. I was captured! You barely look able to stand. I can feel your legs shaking.¡±


    Adam continued to stroke her, feeling tears welling in his own eyes. He took a deep breath through the pain, his body shaking and almost choking on the air. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯ll talk about it all later. I¡¯ll find a way to make it work. I¡¯ll do whatever I have to do to protect you, mom, and dad.¡±


    Then an invisible object came between them. It spread Emily¡¯s hugging arms and dragged her back towards the Scyrric. He was smiling gleefully at Adam.


    ¡°Good, good. You¡¯ll do whatever you have to do? Then get on the ground. I am ready to accept your surrender.¡±

 CH 169: Payback

    CHAPTER 169: Payback


    Adam glared at the Barrier Adherent as his hand worked its grip on the axe handle. The Scyrric soldiers lined up around them leveled their weapons at him. Adam was so fixated on the Tier 3 dragging his sister away that he didn¡¯t register the sounds of three dogs barking.


    The lined Scyrric were disciplined enough to stay focused on Adam, the real threat. The Barrier Adherent, on the other hand, felt confident enough to turn to look at the approaching sounds. When blasts of fire, ice, and lightning shot out ahead of the source of the barking, the Barrier Adherent raised his arm to protect himself. A clear wall blocked the lightning.


    The fire shot into one side of the gathered Scyrric soldiers, with the ice freezing the other side. That was enough to draw the eyes of the troops.


    ¡°[Gladiator¡¯s Approach]!¡± cried Adam as he stepped through the space to the Scyrric who was now facing away from him.


    Almost stumbling after teleporting, Adam used the weight of his falling body to bring the axe down on the head of the Tier 3 Scyrric. Like before, the axe cleaved right into the invader.


    Scyrric ¡°Barrier Adherent [46]¡± slain. 6,294 XP gained.


    Through the pain, heat flooded Adam. Steam rose from his reddening skin. The rage took hold and Adam moved into the Scyrric soldiers.


    BOOM!


    Two dozen were sent flying.


    BOOM!


    Those that survived the shockwave pinballed off each other.


    Growling and snarling even more than his three headed dog, Adam cut down the invaders. If any Scyrric pointed a weapon or spell at Emily, then he arrived at them instantly to split them in two, often with his own grunt from the pain of using his abilities. The soldiers refused to retreat, fighting to the last Scyrric, even with no hope of standing against the enraged Adam.


    Emily watched Adam as he blurred around the battlefield. Tears were in her eyes, but she held herself upright. She forced herself to take in everything that was happening. The pain on Adam¡¯s face and the gore created by his movements. He didn¡¯t use that shockwave skill anywhere that it would reach her, making sure there was a safe distance to each explosion.


    With Fido by her side, she hugged his shoulders. The Carthraga was supportive and comforting to Emily as one head growled and the other two shot lightning and ice at any enemies that got nearby. All three heads stayed low with their ears back, ready to protect her just as much as Adam did.


    It didn¡¯t take long for the surrounding Scyrric to be wiped out by Adam, but as soon as he seemed to calm down, Adam stumbled and fell. He landed on his knees, and then heavily dropped onto a shoulder.


    With a squeal, Emily ran over to him, Fido at her side. She tried to lift Adam, while two heads whimpered and pushed their way under his side and helped him get to a seated position.


    ¡°Whoa! Fido? You¡¯ve gotten big!¡± exclaimed Adam in a weak, raspy voice. All three heads forcefully pushed into him, each trying to get his attention. A few growls and barks came out, as if explaining things to him. Adam looked at his hand, which used to be large enough to hold the puppy. Then he petted all the heads in turn. Even the grumpiest head licked him in the face, expressing joy at his return, while cleaning off some of the blood and grime.


    ¡°Alissa took him on base raids while you were gone,¡± explained Emily. ¡°He leveled up a lot. Your friends were trying to get stronger to protect the base without you here. No one really thought you¡¯d escape by yourself.¡±


    Emily¡¯s arms were wrapped around Adam¡¯s bulky chest armor. She wanted to hug him directly, and would have even with how filthy he was, except he seemed to need her support to keep from falling over. Even as Fido''s heads pushed against him, the Carthraga¡¯s body was pressed against his side to help stabilize him.


    ¡°Good,¡± said Adam. ¡°Coming after me wouldn¡¯t have worked and clearly Jackson needed the support. I hope they¡¯ve all gotten as strong as you look, Fido.¡±


    Adam used the chest high Cerberus to get to his feet, as unsteady as they seemed. He gave another big pat to the canine¡¯s side.


    ¡°Fido, I¡¯m going to need you to take Emily back to Lucas.¡±


    At Adam¡¯s order to leave him, the dog whined, barked an argument, and nuzzled against his hand.


    ¡°Please also deliver a message to Lucas. ¡®How dare you let me sister get captured!¡¯¡±


    ¡°I-it wasn¡¯t his fault,¡± said Emily in defense of him. ¡°I didn¡¯t listen to them.¡±


    Adam just shrugged as she climbed onto Fido¡¯s back. There wasn¡¯t even the strength in Adam to lift her onto the large beast.


    ¡°Thanks, Fido. You''re such a good boy¡­er, boys,¡± said Adam with another pat.


    As Emily and Fido rushed away, Adam looked at an approaching figure. Then he looked at the large axe where it had fallen and sighed. Adam winced as he wasn¡¯t sure he could control his body enough to pick the axe up from where he dropped it. At least not without faceplanting. Instead, Adam clenched his fists and stood tall, trying not to show his weakness.


    There was no hiding the weakness from the approaching Scyrric. He was larger than all except a few of the lizard men that Adam had seen, his tail thicker and longer than most others. The armor covering his body looked substantial and impenetrable. Even with the fighting he had done, the armor was clean and would have reflected the sun if it wasn¡¯t setting.


    Adam waited as the Metallic Berserker was casual in his steps. He walked forward slowly, not even bothering to get battle ready. The invader muttered something, and his helmet changed shape. It pulled back from his face, revealing his eyes, snout, and cheeks. The metal resettled on the top of his head and neck.


    Around 20 feet away, he stopped. His mouth flashed his teeth, in what Adam knew was a smile. He inspected Adam up and down multiple times. The giant sword was held casually at his side, a length of the blade resting on the ground.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    ¡°We haven¡¯t actually met,¡± rasped Adam. ¡°You blindsided me, using an illegal tackle. That should have been a red card.¡±


    The Scyrric¡¯s expression became one of confusion at the unknown meaning, before he forced a smile again.


    ¡°I am Sgolkr and I¡¯m so glad you are here, aberration. The last time, I was unable to have a satisfying fight due to the Red Clan speaker¡¯s suppression. Clearly, she underestimated you. You were able to escape her, showing you have some worth. Though you look only a step away from death, I hope you will give me a worthwhile fight.¡±


    Sgolkr waited for Adam to respond, but Adam just stood there. Inside, the river was trying to take control again while Adam fought against it and the pain it caused. The voice in his soul was shouting at him to kill the invader before him, even as his danger sense was telling Adam that it was a fight he couldn¡¯t win in his current shape. Adam wrestled against his soul, trying to subdue the river to reduce the pain that interfered with his body control.


    Once it was clear Adam wasn¡¯t going to speak, Sgolkr continued.


    ¡°I see you are speechless, as is appropriate for your status beneath our mighty race. I now declare that I will have payback for the wrongs you have committed against us. You have killed those you should kneel before, defiled our taking of this world, which we own by right, and riled up other natives against us. The disrespect you have inspired towards the Scyrric among the races can be laid at your feet. Unlike the Red Clan, we have no interest in studying you or learning about your aberration. Execution is all that matters.¡±


    ¡°For a lizard, you sure like to talk a lot.¡±


    At Adam¡¯s words, Sgolkr opened his mouth and snapped his jaw shut with force.


    ¡°It seems you don¡¯t understand your crimes. But worry not, for I will hammer the regret into you before your death.¡± Then Sgolkr reached out his hand towards Adam¡¯s chest. ¡°It seems that you stole from my armory, yet one more crime against your shamelessness. That was a stupid decision, typical for such a lowly creature. [Metal Retrieval].¡±


    Suddenly, Adam felt a pull coming from the chest armor. Without moving his feet, Adam was dragged forward. He tried to resist, tried to dig in his feet, but it didn¡¯t work as he moved until the chest armor was pressed against Sgolkr¡¯s palm.


    ¡°[Metal Shape].¡±


    The armor rippled and then parted. The entire front of the chest piece moved like it was trying to get away from the reptilian hand. A hole opened and spread, widening until Adam¡¯s bare chest was reachable through it.


    ¡°A Metallic Berserker is far superior to other kinds,¡± informed the invader. ¡°We bind metal to our power. It becomes a part of us that we can control with skills. We can shape it, sharpen it, and even absorb it for our own regeneration. All the equipment in my armory was bound to me.¡±


    Adam grunted as the extra metal from the armor opening turned sharp and thrust into his skin. The penetration was intentionally shallow, meant by Sgolkr to torment him rather than harm him. The pain was still overshadowed by that in his soul. He was still fighting against the river, not bothering to attack or respond as he was looking to fight the berserker in a different way.


    At the lacking response from Adam, Sgolkr frowned.


    ¡°It seems even this isn¡¯t enough to begin absolving your sins. There really is no redemption for you.¡±


    With a hissing sigh, Sgolkr raised the hand that held the sword and backhanded Adam in the face. Once more Adam weakly grunted, his skin crushed and bleeding. However, Adam didn¡¯t fall as Sgolkr held the chest armor to keep him upright and the two facing each other.


    Adam brought his face back up, his eyes ablaze as he looked at Sgolkr. The Scyrric then hit the other side of Adam¡¯s face. Teeth chipped and his jaw broke with a crack. Yet again, Adam¡¯s face came up and he stared into Sgolkr¡¯s eyes. With a clinking from the broken jaw, Adam spat out blood, most of it landing on Sgolkr¡¯s face. Fury rose in Sgolkr¡¯s eyes as well.


    ¡°I learned something when I was captured.¡± Adam¡¯s words were a struggle with his jaw barely moving. The sound was misshapen and muffled, Sgolkr barely recognizing what was said.


    ¡°Clearly not enough if you continue to show such rebellion. What was it you learned, aberration?¡±


    Adam tried to smile, but it was warped by the damage to both sides of his face.


    ¡°How to beat a berserker¡­¡±


    ¡°Wha¡­¡± started Sgolkr, but Adam continued over him, the next words containing a power the Scyrric would never have expected.


    ¡°[Soul Lock]!¡±


    Sgolkr¡¯s eyes grew large, and he gasped.


    When Cruxannith had suppressed Adam, she had used an ability called [Soul Freeze], a weaker version of the skill that Adam was using. It had hampered his ability to use his rage-based skills, weakening the interaction between his soul and potential skills. Even though Adam only had the memories of skills, it had still interfered with his ability to manifest the pseudo-skills.


    The stronger freezing of his soul had been done by himself in an instinctual self-defense without Adam knowing what had happened at the time. The ice that had formed had shut down the connection between his body and soul, temporarily crippling his rage until he released his self-casted soul lock.


    Yet, when living in Cruxannith¡¯s memories of the tower and all that she had learned, Adam had opened more of the skill memories he had inherited from older Adam. [Soul Shatter] was one he had learned, which he had used on the mind witch herself. He was sure that it hadn¡¯t worked the way the skill normally should, since he had been required to imbue her with his own energy through their soul bond before it was willing to activate.


    In the previous minute with Sgolkr, he had tried several of his soul skills, only to find the same result as when he tried back against the Scyrric Base Overseer. They had some form of protection against these skills. However, the pseudo-skill that Adam was using now didn¡¯t need access to Sgolkr¡¯s soul to trigger. It would latch onto a skill that was being used and would lock it, making it unusable to the target.


    Cruxannith¡¯s [Soul Freeze] would generally affect the whole soul, while the Tier 5 skill Adam was referencing, [Soul Lock], was much stronger against a single skill. And the skill the Metallic Berserker was using right now was his connection to his bonded metal.


    ¡°WHAT DID YOU DO?!¡± shouted the Scyrric.


    The arm that was holding onto Adam dropped. Sgolkr''s body quivered as the weight of the thick armor became too much for him. His stats also dropped from losing his connection to the metal and the berserker benefits it provided. The large sword fell to the ground.


    Adam dropped from his grip, barely able to catch himself. His own arms used the body of Sgolkr to find balance. He needed to back away though, as the metal laden Scyrric struggled to rip off pieces of his armor. The shoulders came first, then the arm pieces. The weapon holders and belts fell. Leg panels were ripped off. Finally, the cylindrical layers on his tail were shaken off.


    Sgolkr was the one who began gasping for air.


    ¡°How is this possible?! How can a berserker do this?!¡± he shrieked.


    Adam looked at him. He activated [Power Through], the pseudo-skill that would increase his own strength while reducing his intelligence based on the levels of his enemies. A huge amount of strength flowed through Adam. Even the energy leakage couldn¡¯t prevent him from growing in power.


    Sgolkr stopped moving and stared at him in shock. Adam¡¯s power continued to rise. The air around him superheated. The pain and physical control weren¡¯t enough to stop Adam now.


    A roar shook the air, causing Sgolkr to cower backwards. Fear replaced everything. Adam¡¯s eyes grew red, his skin changed color too. He hunched down like an animal ready to attack, spittle flying as he growled and moved.


    Sgolkr tried to bring his arms up to protect himself. He wanted to turn. The [Intimidation] that Adam was releasing was great enough that Sgolkr¡¯s rage was replaced by terror.


    When Adam¡¯s forehead connected with Sgolkr¡¯s snout, [Arc Shockwave] triggered. The impact was enough to smash the Scyrric¡¯s teeth and mouth. The pressure wave that followed it rattled Sgolkr¡¯s skull and brain while also propelling his body away from Adam. His head rocketed to the ground, where the velocity caused him to rebound into the air and fly dozens of feet away.


    Adam¡¯s chest was thrust out and once more he roared. He was a beast, ready to take on the world. Scyrric from all over the battlefield trembled when they heard that roar. Even the Sentinel Army heard it and felt fear.


    Sgolkr clumsily got to his feet, blood pouring from his destroyed face. He stared at Adam with a fear he had never known before.


    A howl came from Adam, and he locked his eyes on the Scyrric. This time there wasn¡¯t anger, nor hate. The look was simple. Sgolkr was beneath Adam and would soon die.


    Adam took a step towards his prey. Sgolkr took a step backward, too scared to look away from the monster coming for him. A wobble shook Adam while only Sgolkr¡¯s tail prevented him from tripping backwards. Adam took another step forward. Suddenly, his strength left him, and he fell face down into the dirt.


    Sgolkr¡¯s eyes opened wide. He looked at Adam, then behind him to where his army was in disarray, before returning his gaze to Adam.


    The aberration must die. The Scyrric berserker began to move.

 CH 170: Breaking the Contract

    CHAPTER 170: Breaking the Contract


    Sgolkr stared at Adam who was shifting on the ground, trying to get his hands under him. Never had the Scyrric felt such fear. Never had he been subdued. Sgolkr knew that he would have felt pressure when in the presence of elders or the invasion commander, those beings so much higher level than he, but that wasn¡¯t the same as his current feelings.


    This fear shook him. It crumbled his foundations and undermined his being. This was the terror of a mouse being caught by a tiger. No amount of struggle would allow the mouse to survive.


    The aberration must die, he thought. The Red Clan failed and now he is more powerful. It must be done before he can grow further.


    Sgolkr took a step. Then another. Finally, he ran with everything he had. It took several gurgling breaths, almost choking on the gore in his shattered mouth, before he realized he was running away from the aberration.


    The terror had wormed throughout his being. He had unintentionally refused to face the aberration, even as the native was helpless on the ground.


    My skill is locked, weakening me for the moment. I¡¯ve lost access to my armory, Sgolkr rationalized. I will evolve my class to grow stronger and learn replacement skills. I will need to find metal durable enough to bond to as a replacement. THEN I will be ready to face the aberration once more.


    With an unbalanced stride due to the armor pieces that he hadn¡¯t removed weighing on him, he ran. When he got within range of a Scyrric soldier he used [Deadly Charge], rocketing to him with a violent collision and then continued running. Confusion filled the Scyrric soldiers, already in a daze from the power of Adam¡¯s roar. They watched their commander flee, a concept they didn¡¯t understand.


    The Sentinel Army had stopped attacking, returning to the walls after being hit with Adam¡¯s roar, but the Scyrric weren¡¯t sure whether to pursue or to follow their leader. This confusion was answered as the remaining Tier 3 leaders announced a retreat, following after their disappearing commander.


    ***


    ¡°Adam? Hey, Adam?¡± Nick spoke quietly. He squatted next to where Adam lay. The misshapen chest armor was propping Adam¡¯s upper body and head off the ground, though his body¡¯s gravity was keeping the spikes that Sgolkr had made pressing into his skin.


    ¡°Msdfi sdfuopwm ama,¡± moaned Adam.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Nick, confused. He placed his gloved hand gently on Adam¡¯s arm.


    ¡°Kljwer dfs nlrkjgnelr.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t understand what you said. Hold on.¡±


    Nick rolled Adam to his back, where his head flopped down without support, since the armor curved his back, causing his shoulders to hunch forward.


    ¡°Good god!¡± gasped Nick, seeing Adam¡¯s mangled face. Adam groaned at the movement.


    Hurrying, Nick found a Scyrric corpse that was mostly intact. Bringing it over to Adam, he held it above Adam¡¯s mouth and cut its arm. Blood entered Adam¡¯s mouth, as well as splattering all over him. His jaw seemed to heal and the cuts in his chest stopped bleeding. A second corpse finished the healing and Nick helped Adam to his feet.


    ¡°Thanks, Nick,¡± said Adam with gratitude. His body was healed but the chest armor was opening new cuts with each movement. ¡°I need to get rid of this chest armor.¡±


    Nick looked at the armor and felt around the edges and spikes. ¡°Looks painful.¡±


    Adam grunted in response. Then he opened the Rift Menu and searched for the option to break down objects into rift materials.


    Siege Ended. Features unlocked.


    After reading the notification, the chest armor disintegrated. Adam sighed in relief before picking up another body and taking enough blood to heal. Scars marked all the places the spikes had cut, even after healing.


    ¡°Adam, I¡¯m glad you¡¯re back and all, but we didn¡¯t expect you to be able to escape. Are you alright? You seem a bit worse for wear,¡± said Nick once Adam was done. Adam swayed, unsteady on his feet as he looked back towards the wall.


    ¡°Yeah, I took some damage that I can¡¯t heal. It¡¯s causing me problems,¡± acknowledged Adam. Then Adam checked Nick¡¯s tag to see his level and nodded. ¡°It¡¯s good that you made it back too.¡±


    ¡°When I got a notification that you were no longer a sovereign and my appointment title was removed, I was concerned and came back. Just in time too, as Carmichael¡¯s group was about to take advantage of Colonel Davian.¡±


    ¡°You lost your appointment title?¡± asked Adam in surprise.


    ¡°Yeah, it said you pledged loyalty to another.¡±


    ¡°I would never do that!¡±


    ¡°We know. That¡¯s why we thought you were being manipulated or something.¡±


    Adam growled, the vibrations from it causing Nick to step back, almost toppling Adam since he was relying on Nick''s support. ¡°Damn that Red Clan! Give me a minute.¡±


    Stolen story; please report.


    Adam dived into himself. He went straight to his memories. Searching through the most recent ones, it didn¡¯t take long as he quickly noticed a golden line from one reaching into the distance. When he looked directly at it, the line shimmered and glowed, but when he turned away it would fade from sight. As he traced it, he noticed that tiny, almost imperceptible strands left it and reached into other parts of his soul. The way it was set up was too devious for him.


    Adam watched the memory. Even though it had originated from Cruxannith, he now had his own copy of it. He had experienced it and thus remembered what happened in his memories. It was the first day of class in the tower.


    ¡°This is a contract. The most important contract that the Red Clan has. All who come to the tower are required to sign it. This contract is not a [System] contract. The matters managed in this contract are too important to leave to an outside entity to arbitrate. What you will be signing is a soul contract. Impossible to break. Should you violate it, your soul will be broken, and you will be reduced to a creature incapable of speaking or thinking.¡±


    The instructor then chuckled. ¡°Should you be ambitious enough to want more control over your fate, don¡¯t worry. This contract was created by a Tier 5. All you need to do is be one of the few to reach that tier and then the contract will be weakened upon you. Though it will still require the right set of skills to break completely. Let that be something you should aim for.¡±


    Coming out of the memory, Adam grimaced. A broken soul. That was the consequence. His soul felt this bad just from some damage. How bad would it be if it broke completely. There was no way he could let this stand. Especially since it would damage him should he violate it.


    Who knows how strict those requirements were. It was even possible that the soul damage he had suffered when fighting Cruxannith was in part due to the contract. Otherwise, it seemed weird that she could hurt and disrupt him this much.


    With a great deal of discontent, Adam followed the line through his soul. He shuddered at the number of strands that split off and went to other parts of himself. It was quite the level of control that the Red Clan had. Even just reliving a memory of the contract had bound his soul so much.


    The golden line led to the gaping opening into Cruxannith¡¯s soul, as he expected. Traveling from himself into Cruxannith didn¡¯t have any resistance. At most it was like the pressure change from pushing through a rotating door. As he crossed the threshold there was a bit of a pop, to indicate he was someplace different, but the energy that flowed between the joined boundary felt just as natural as within himself. Thinking of the mind witch¡¯s soul as no different than his own made him shudder again.


    Eventually he reached the end of the golden line. It hadn¡¯t led to Cruxannith¡¯s memory space, which was good because he already shattered that. This part of her soul wasn¡¯t one that Adam was familiar with. It was like a tiny closet, tucked away out of sight. People could just pass it by without even knowing it was there.


    But now Adam did know it was there. He could see a glowing golden bulb, with roots reaching from it into all parts of Cruxannith, similar to the strands in his. Adam almost felt relief that his bindings were so much smaller than hers.


    Adam stared at the bulb, knowing it was the power of the contract. He could feel the power radiating from it, and the resistance it caused to almost all of him. Whether Adam had the power to break it or not, he would never be a stooge for those invaders!


    This contract was created by a Tier 5. All you need to do is be one of the few to reach that tier and then the contract will be weakened upon you. Though it will still require the right set of skills to break completely.


    ¡°Time to see if the memories of a Tier 5 skill will be enough,¡± muttered Adam. Then he spoke to Nick in his physical body. ¡°I¡¯m about to do something dangerous here. I might need support.¡±


    ¡°Dangerous to me, or just to you?¡± asked Nick hesitantly.


    ¡°Just me.¡±


    ¡°Ok, I¡¯ve got your back, buddy.¡± Nick came to Adam and held both of his upper arms just in case he fell.


    Inside, Adam drew his energy from his own soul. He found that there was also a mingling effect with the energy in Cruxannith, as if they were attuning to each other. The energy resisted him a little but was able to join with his own to coat the contract.


    Once the glowing bulb was covered so heavily that it couldn¡¯t be seen through his energy, with as much of the roots coated as he could manage, Adam called on his pseudo-skill.


    ¡°[Soul Shatter]!¡±


    The energy coating the contract began to glow. It wasn¡¯t like the soft, golden glow of the contract. This was a harsher red glow, burning the energy that built up for leveling. It ignited like a very intense skill flash, holding the light. If Adam were looking at it with actual eyes, then he would have been blinded.


    A sizzle sounded and the red light lessened, golden light trying to break through. The roots and strands that came from the contract intensified, fighting back against his skill usage. In the physical world Adam¡¯s body grunted and would have fallen if not for Nick¡¯s grip.


    ¡°Adam, are you ok?¡± asked a concerned Nick.


    ¡°Concentrating!¡± was Adam¡¯s response.


    Inside, Adam drew more energy from both himself and Cruxannith. He had killed a lot of invaders, and the stores of XP were quite dense, having become soul energy inside with no purpose to fulfill. Those rushed into the small space and tried to fuel the pseudo-skill.


    Without caring about the time or any damage being done to himself, Adam pulled more and more energy to the spot. In spurts, the golden glow would break through but then fade as the struggle continued.


    ¡°Get...the hell¡­out!¡± growled Adam through clenched teeth as his will fought against the contract.


    Sweat was dripping down Adam, both physically and metaphorically as he tried to shatter the contract. He wasn¡¯t sure if he would have run out of energy first if he didn¡¯t have so much XP built up due to his inability to use it. Having Cruxannith¡¯s also helped. While she didn¡¯t have nearly as much as Adam, it arrived first since it had a shorter distance to travel.


    Finally, the golden glow sputtered and faded. As the light dimmed completely, there was a cracking noise as [Soul Shatter] finally did its job, breaking the contract. The roots and strands faded into motes of energy before dispersing.


    With the job done, Adam¡¯s concentration snapped, and he found himself slammed back into his body. A yell tore through his mouth and he almost pitched backwards, having startled Nick who looked at him with worry. Adam breathed heavily, his body hot with exertion and sweat. He relied on Nick to support him.


    ¡°You ok?¡± asked Nick.


    ¡°Honestly, no. I think I just did more damage to my soul. However, it''s also a relief. Before it was like sand trapped in a skinned knee. It not only hurt but also irritated itself. Now it feels like I washed out the abrasion. It hurts but isn¡¯t as bothered now.¡±


    ¡°You skinned your soul¡¯s knee?¡± Nick said, trying to lighten things. Adam turned his intense eyes to Nick, regarding him. Nick struggled to hold his gaze, suddenly embarrassed by his lame joke.


    ¡°I skinned my soul¡¯s everything!¡± responded Adam, a pained smile on his lips. ¡°I¡¯m in much worse shape than I seem.¡±


    ¡°Really? You seem in very bad shape.¡±


    ¡°Yup. Way worse than that, but things aren¡¯t finished yet, my Unseen Death.¡±


    Nick¡¯s eyes opened wide as he got a notification at receiving an appointment title. Then he smiled.


    ¡°That extra agility from the title sure in nice.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll bet. Hope losing it for that time didn¡¯t cause you any trouble.¡±


    Nick held up his left hand, flapping the two fingers on the glove that were unoccupied. ¡°Maybe a little, but it sounds like you had it worse. How¡¯d you get away from the mind witch? Why don¡¯t you tell me about what you went through.¡±


    ¡°Let¡¯s wait until the whole group is together. Just know that the mind witch won¡¯t be bothering us again,¡± responded Adam. Then his eyes drifted to the distant part of the wall where Lucas and the others were gathered. ¡°Besides, the fight isn¡¯t done yet. On to the next enemy!¡±

 CH 171: The Next Enemy

    CHAPTER 171: The Next Enemy


    Lucas could have opened a display for them to watch Adam. The way Alissa and Brittney were watching a different direction suggested that they had private windows open as Adam fought the Scyrric in the distance. Lucas refrained from using the Rift Menu to watch because it was clear Adam wasn¡¯t at his best and he didn¡¯t want to show the particulars to General Carmichael¡¯s group.


    Instead, Carmichael and his people were gathered at the edge of the wall, using binoculars or straining their eyes to see. Fortunately, the fight was quick. Unfortunately, it looked like Adam lost. At least up until the Scyrric freaked out and ran away, shedding parts of his armor first.


    ¡°What just happened?¡± asked Kevin Spence in surprise.


    ¡°It didn¡¯t look like they fought at all,¡± said Jamari Gillum, using a distant view skill. ¡°If anything, the kid lost. Then he collapsed. I couldn¡¯t see any reason that tough lizard ran.¡±


    ¡°Did the kid use a skill?¡± asked Willis Abrego.


    ¡°Not that I saw,¡± answered Gillum. ¡°There was no flash of one.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter,¡± said General Carmichael with conviction. ¡°Now that he is here, transferring the base can work. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll understand the importance of relinquishing control to a better prepared group.¡±


    Brittney made a choking sound, as she tried to swallow a giggle at the general¡¯s words. She looked at Tom who winked and shrugged, as if he was setting up a prank.


    ¡°Your people didn¡¯t stop that Scyrric,¡± said Lucas directly.


    ¡°Are you welching on our deal?!¡± shouted the general, rounding on Lucas.


    ¡°No. It was contingent on showing that you could protect the base by taking out that enemy. Your people retreated instead. Adam made him run away.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯da beat him had he not run away,¡± snapped Rexus.


    ¡°Sure, sure, T-Rexy,¡± taunted Tom. Rexus stood tall and looked like he was going to rise to the bait. Gregor put a heavy hand on Rexus¡¯s shoulder. A death glare was shot by Rexus before he took a breath and turned away from Tom and back to Adam, who was now being helped up by Nick.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter either way,¡± announced Jack Fleming, as big of an instigator as Tom. ¡°That kid doesn¡¯t look very steady. It wouldn¡¯t be hard to just force him to give control to us while he¡¯s in this state. I assume death will pass it along too.¡±


    ¡°What did you say?¡± demanded Alissa as all of Adam¡¯s friends turned towards Fleming, hands on weapons.


    The oncoming conflict was halted as barking approached from along the wall. Emily was riding Fido while Andrea and Lamar ran beside him, both using skills to keep up. Andrea had a huge smile on her face and even Lamar looked excited.


    Fido didn¡¯t stop until he ran right up to Lucas. The middle head began barking at him, like he was lecturing, while the left glared and the right nodded in agreement at whatever the middle was trying to express. Lucas was taken aback but let Adam¡¯s pet have his say while Emily slid from the back, getting a welcoming hug from Alissa.


    ¡°I get that, but I didn¡¯t¡­¡± Lucas started to say, when he was interrupted.


    ¡°Grrrrr¡­rough! Bark bark! Growl!¡±


    ¡°I had other things to do!¡± he defended.


    ¡°Woof bark woof, growl bark bark!¡±


    Lucas brought his hands up in defense, looking a bit scared.


    ¡°I know. Was he genuinely mad?¡±


    ¡°Bark woof.¡±


    Lucas sighed. ¡°You don¡¯t think he¡¯ll¡­¡±


    ¡°Growl.¡±


    ¡°I hope not.¡±


    ¡°Do you understand what the dog says?¡± Spence asked, sidling over to Tom.


    ¡°Not a clue,¡± responded Tom in a loud whisper that everyone could hear. ¡°But since he brought the boss¡¯s sis back from the battlefield, I think it¡¯s going to be bad. Temp boss is surely going to get it.¡±


    Lucas glared at Tom. ¡°It¡¯s not like I was the only one who could have watched her,¡± he complained sullenly. Alissa was laughing at him while not letting go of Emily.


    Everyone went back to watching Adam slowly move towards them, Nick supporting his friend.


    ***


    Adam stumbled along. The energy in his soul still leaked when he tried using his skills or felt the river running inside, but it didn¡¯t actively hurt as much now that the contract was destroyed. Instead, there was just a portion of his power that was lost before reaching his body. It wasn¡¯t ideal, but he could handle it better.


    The situation was more like he struggled to lift half the weight that he was used to, while also getting fatigued faster. None of that mattered though because the voice in Adam¡¯s soul was still yelling at him.


    Conquer!


    He needed to protect his family, and that required him to protect Jackson.


    So, he wobbled along, trying to manage his own body. He was searching for equilibrium between his body and soul, while also getting used to the unexpected weakness. Nick was staying close just in case.


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    Adam couldn¡¯t deny he probably looked like a drunken three-legged dog trying to run. This was one reason he decided to walk to the wall instead of opening a portal, which was possible now that the siege was over, to give him time to acclimate.


    Adam huffed as the effort was physically taxing. All the amazing things he had done since the [System] had arrived might not have been easy, but they hadn¡¯t required training his fitness. It was like he went from being Superman to being plagued by kryptonite, or someone sticking a yellow post-it note on the Green Lantern.


    When Adam was closing in on the wall, there was a change. He pitched forward, about to fall as he also grabbed his chest to express the new intensity of pain. Inside, the river suddenly tried to flow out from his soul, finding convenient exits in the tears that had come from Cruxannith''s attacks, trying to rip open larger energy leaks. At least this was a familiar experience, one he knew the cause of.


    [Body and Soul Shaping] was activated as Adam flashed red with the skill use. He formed a barrier around his soul and the conduit to his body. It was more difficult than the last time he had done it, due to the gaping opening to Cruxannith¡¯s soul. He couldn¡¯t envelop her whole soul with the skill, nor was he able to use the skill to cut off the passage between them.


    A reverse vacuum of energy formed. A swirling mix of his energy flowing into her while her energy was drawn back into him. It was concerning, but nothing he could deal with now. He¡¯d just need to hope it wouldn¡¯t create problems later.


    Nick was right next to him as Adam fell, but waited in a protective posture as Adam used his skill and managed to catch himself mid step. Adam¡¯s head was down as he took time to breathe deeply, to restabilize. When he stood back up and let go of his chest, he walked with hunched shoulders and a sag, while his strides were an uneven lope.


    ¡°You ok to go on?¡± Nick whispered with concern.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make it,¡± Adam groaned as he looked up to the wall and glared at Gregor. ¡°I have to. Our enemies must be stopped!¡±


    ¡°Remember, you aren¡¯t alone, Adam.¡±


    ¡°I know, Nick.¡± Adam almost fell as he looked back with a thankful expression to his friend. ¡°You¡¯ve done well, and I¡¯ll need to rely on you more from here on.¡±


    Adam then opened the Rift Menu and used the building option. As his feet clumsily moved forward, stairs formed under them. At the same time the walkway of the wall lowered. To those watching, it looked like reality was changing on its own to support him. Even those who could guess why the land was changing found the sight amazing as the ground moved to touch his feet.


    Everyone backed up as Adam approached. General Carmichael moved down the wall so as not to be close to where Adam entered from. The special forces formed near Carmichael in a reverse V formation, ready to protect should it be needed. The other officers waited behind Carmichael.


    Adam¡¯s friends stood in two rows to welcome their missing leader. They smiled at him, everyone gleeful, joy entering Adam through his connections with the girls due to his return. Until they saw his face.


    Adam¡¯s face was a rictus of rage. His eyes were intense flames, ready to burn anything in his path.


    ¡°Whoa, Adam! You look like garbage,¡± exclaimed Randall, not reading the room, as Adam nearly tripped from the raised ground onto the wall.


    ¡°What¡¯re you talking about?¡± questioned Tom. ¡°He looks like an angel, come from heaven to once more bless us all!¡±


    ¡°Gross, Tom,¡± chided Andrea. ¡°If darling is an angel, then it¡¯s one of the death kinds.¡±


    Adam regained his balance. He was stooped over, swaying dangerously. Nick stayed on the last step to make sure Adam didn¡¯t fall backwards off the wall. His hair was long, shaggy and filthy. Blood was mixed in, matting it in places while it puffed out in others. His face needed a shave. Blood also coated his uncovered upper body and torn pants, with metal panels taken from Sgolker¡¯s armory dulled by splatters and grime.


    General Carmichael seemed disdainful of Adam¡¯s condition, drawing himself up tall. While the man looked short with Gregor next to him, he was still taller and thicker than Adam. Carmichael carried himself with dignity and authority, expecting that his next orders would be followed, regardless of whether the person before him was an ally or enemy.


    ¡°Now it has come to this,¡± the general said to Adam. ¡°You can barely walk. We don¡¯t know if you have been influenced by the invaders. It is beyond time that you turn over this base and leave it.¡±


    None of Adam¡¯s friends said anything. They watched Adam, ready to back him up no matter what happened.


    ¡°Did you know?¡± asked Adam¡¯s raspy voice, his volume low.


    ¡°What?¡± asked Carmichael, scrunching his brow at the change of direction.


    Adam ran his eyes over all the soldiers arrayed before him. He looked from Fleming to Coleman, from Zito to Rexus. Then he looked at Gregor with an extra helping of fury, before turning his look back to General Carmichael.


    ¡°DID YOU KNOW?!¡± screamed Adam. Inside he consciously triggered his [Intimidation] pseudo-skill, what Andrea used to call his Angry Face. This time, it wasn¡¯t just limited to his face. A pressure blasted out from him, carrying terror to those around him.


    Fido whimpered, whined, and begged as Adam¡¯s friends flinched. Alissa had to grab Emily tightly to keep her from crying. General Carmichael¡¯s soldiers stepped back and grabbed for their weapons. Even General Carmichael cowered backwards as the pressure hit him.


    ¡°D-did I k-know w-what?¡± asked the general, more cowed than at any time since his first stint in combat.


    Adam inspected him. His eyes penetrated Carmichael, making him feel like a kid in front of the principal. Yet, no matter how Adam¡¯s gaze affected him, Carmichael couldn¡¯t take his eyes away. Adam¡¯s head lowered but his demanding eyes stayed focused on the uncertain man.


    ¡°About the agreement.¡± Adam¡¯s voice got quieter, but the pressure he projected increased even more. Bloodlust filled it, a sureness that violence was going to follow. Heat rose from his skin and the air around it once more rippled. Adam¡¯s friends knew what that meant and drew their weapons to get ready.


    ¡°W-what a-agreement?!¡± shrieked the older man.


    ¡°The agreement with the Red Clan speaker. To betray me. To betray Jackson. To betray humanity.¡±


    ¡°No one would agree to that,¡± spat Carmichael, his voice at too high of a pitch. ¡°Our caravan and trip here was to protect our country and its people! None of us would side with the invaders!¡±


    ¡°Someone did,¡± said Adam cryptically. His eyes moved from the general and locked onto Gregor. Gregor flinched, then lowered into a stance to defend himself. While Adam met his eyes, his hand rose and pointed. ¡°He did.¡±


    There were gasps, though they didn¡¯t come from Adam¡¯s side. Gregor narrowed his eyes as he looked from Adam to the person that Adam pointed to. To Detachment Commander Victor Rexus.


    The general forced a laugh. It was too loud and staccato to be natural or to reflect his feelings. His shoulders relaxed a little in relief, disbelief trying to shape his expression, even as Adam¡¯s pressure intimidated him.


    ¡°You think Commander Rexus made a deal with the aliens? Preposterous! No one has done more to protect or safeguard us than Rexus! Isn¡¯t that right?!¡±


    A few of the officers chuckled nervously, trying to show how ridiculous they found the accusations, even if everyone here was too tense to feel true humor. Gregor didn¡¯t move as he and Adam kept their eyes locked.


    One voice had no trouble laughing. It started with a muted chuckle. Then he stopped holding himself back. The chuckle became a full laugh, then raised in volume until it was genuine laughter echoing all around them.


    The general and Gregor turned to Rexus who was bent over laughing, as if it was the funniest thing.


    ¡°Victor, what¡¯s the meaning of this?¡± asked Carmichael in shock.


    ¡°Oh, general, general, general. Or should I just call you by your first name, Howard? Can you even be a general if you have no country to fight for?¡± teased Rexus.


    ¡°The United States of America still exists!¡± shouted Carmichael, spittle flying with his words. ¡°As long as we fight, we¡¯ll protect it and bring it back! There has to still be some of the governmental leaders left.¡±


    ¡°Leaders? What leaders? Even if they survived do you think they¡¯ll be worth following? In this new world? I doubt any of them can come close to the level I¡¯ve achieved with that vampire lady¡¯s help. Even the leaders of the Sentinel Army, protectors of humanity, can¡¯t compare to what I¡¯ve become. To what I will achieve.¡±


    Once more Rexus broke into laughter.

 CH 172: The Strongest

    CHAPTER 172: The Strongest


    The laughter coming from Rexus echoed loudly across the area. Sentinel Army soldiers were packing the wall, trying to hear what was happening. They had come to celebrate the victory and the return of their leader, especially after he had singlehandedly turned the tides of the battle. They hadn¡¯t expected to hear the confession of a human betraying the world they fought for.


    A second voice then rose in laughter to join Rexus. While Rexus¡¯s was loud and mocking, the other voice was genuine, finding the joke to be the height of humor. Rexus frowned and looked at Tom.


    ¡°Oh boy, T-Rexy! That¡¯s too rich! You think what you¡¯ve accomplished is impressive? That you¡¯re something special? All you¡¯ve become is a giant pile of poop, not even worth getting squished in the boot treads of the boss!¡±


    Still dumbfounded, Carmichael took a breath and pulled himself up. His voice was a low rumble as he asked, ¡°what did you sell out humanity for, Victor?¡±


    ¡°Sell out, Howard?¡± Rexus continued, with less mirth in his voice as he shot glances at where Tom bent over laughing. ¡°Humanity is doomed. This planet is doomed. I took a good deal. She helped me get strong. Helped us get strong. Not all the information you had came from these kids. I mixed in information from her to guide our troops¡¯ class and skill selections.


    ¡°On top of that she sent all those waves of monsters for us to level with. That¡¯s the real advantage that we had.¡±


    ¡°The waves that killed tens of thousands of our people?¡± gasped Chad from behind Gregor.


    ¡°What of it? The strong got stronger, like you, Alvarez. The weak died off, like they were expected to do from the beginning. In the end, they had just as many chances as you or me. They simply didn¡¯t make the cut. Without those fights, the struggles, you never would have survived to reach here either.¡±


    As Rexus talked, Carmichael¡¯s face got stormier and stormier. The hardness of it grew until it became a mask of stone, glaring at his subordinate.


    ¡°What about the rest of the special forces?¡± demanded Carmichael.


    ¡°I gave them all a choice when we raided that invader base. It was also set up by the vampire. Enemies, equipment, and experience. I just couldn¡¯t let anyone who found out live until I had gotten strong enough. Now it doesn¡¯t even matter.¡±


    ¡°You killed your own company?¡± one officer asked incredulously.


    In response, Rexus just shrugged, as if it was no big deal.


    Carmichael then looked at the rest standing with Rexus. ¡°You all knew about this?¡± he accused.


    ¡°Of course. They agreed to help, and I made sure I¡¯d be able to bring them along.¡±


    ¡°Bring them where?¡± asked Carmichael, his voice calm and steady for the first time in this conversation.


    ¡°The vampire said she¡¯d support me so I could survive, and would then send me to a world where I could do whatever I wanted. You should praise me, it would have ensured humanity¡¯s survival,¡± chuckled Rexus.


    ¡°And in exchange?¡±


    Once more Rexus shrugged. ¡°She was obsessed with the kid. All I had to do was disrupt things here, to keep him uncertain. Then she would take him, which she did. Except, since he''s here, I¡¯m guessing she isn¡¯t around anymore. Oh well, I¡¯ll just need to find my own exit to another world now.¡±


    ¡°Disrupt?¡± burst out Gregor. ¡°You were arguing for peace! I was the one who wanted to fight!¡±


    ¡°What better way to get Howard to focus on the base then keep pointing out why he wouldn¡¯t be able to get it? To make him give in to the kids he hated.¡±


    ¡°And Gregor?¡± asked the general.


    Rexus let out a dramatic sigh.


    ¡°I was never going to bring him with us. If there was anyone who could have survived the hell this world has become, it was Gregor. Seriously, he even unlocked a rare class without trying. The guy has always been too good at everything. On top of that, he¡¯s inspirational and charismatic. It was a shame the ambush at the base didn¡¯t kill him. There was never any time to set another trap for him since then.¡±


    Gregor¡¯s skin started to turn red, and heat wafted off him. His eyes grew bloodshot, and his muscles swelled. Dalton Coleman pulled out his bow and an arrow, aiming them at Chad.


    ¡°No, no, big guy. Control yourself if you want your little friend to live.¡±


    Gregor took a few deep breaths and then calmed down. His rage was still obvious, but his mind didn¡¯t reduce.


    General Carmichael had been watching stoically. Now, he turned to Adam. ¡°To answer your first question, kid, I did not know. This is all coming as a shock to me. I guess I was too blinded by our losses and my desire to create a safe place to recognize the situation. It¡¯s no excuse, but I spent my whole life fighting for this country. Whether it''s gone or not, I should have done more to protect everyone.¡±


    There was no apology in Carmichael¡¯s statements, no request for forgiveness, just an acceptance of blame. Adam looked at the man like a judge about to deliver a verdict, his face just as stoic as the lifelong military man.


    ¡°Then you can live. We¡¯ll discuss it later.¡±


    ¡°Since we won¡¯t be getting this base,¡± said Rexus, ¡°we¡¯ll be moving on. I¡¯ll put some space between us and Jackson, find a good base to take over, and then work on finding another planet to go to. No point in sticking around here now.¡±


    ¡°You think you can walk?¡± asked Lucas in surprise.


    ¡°Fighting isn¡¯t worth it at this point. You¡¯ll kill some of mine, I¡¯ll kill some of yours, and in the end no one wins. While my decisions are different than yours, in the end we¡¯re all just trying to survive. Besides¡­¡±


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    ¡°Besides?¡± asked Brittney, her shield and hammer held ready for a conflict.


    ¡°The kid and I are the same. I know you say you¡¯re doing all this to protect, but in the end, we¡¯re just two fighters trying to find the next battle. Even at your young age you¡¯re full of bloodlust, the drive to end your enemies. Justify it however you want, but when it comes down to it, we¡¯re just two people hell bent on conquering the world.¡±


    Rexus turned his back on them and began walking to the edge of the wall.


    ¡°Uh, commander,¡± spoke Kevin Spence. ¡°It doesn¡¯t have to be this way. We took the deal to survive but look what they¡¯ve built here. Look at how they¡¯re managing. We can still work things out and find another way.¡±


    Coming to a halt, Rexus turned his head. ¡°Are you saying you¡¯re with them, Kev?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m saying it doesn¡¯t have to be them or us. It can be both. Surely, we can find middle ground.¡±


    Rexus looked at Spence with disgust.


    ¡°Is that it for you? You¡¯d rather take the easy way? To stay with them? Are you turning on me, Spence?¡±


    ¡°O-of course not. I-I¡¯m just saying we have more options than when you did all that. We¡¯ll be stronger together.¡±


    ¡°Stronger together? Spence, I¡¯m already the strongest. Sticking around, sharing out kills, will just weaken us over time. Would you rather stick around here or are you with me? I¡¯ll find a new world to be ours, to take control of.¡±


    Spence exhaled loudly but then spoke quietly. ¡°I¡¯m with you, commander. Always with our unit.¡±


    Rexus nodded and continued walking when Adam spoke up.


    ¡°A shame, Spence. I rather enjoyed you,¡± Adam muttered. Then he spoke to Rexus. ¡°There are two ways we¡¯re different.¡±


    Rexus met Adam¡¯s eyes, without reacting to their intensity. ¡°That is?¡±


    ¡°You want another world to run away to like a coward, while I¡¯ll be keeping Earth. I won¡¯t give my world to anyone.¡±


    Everyone could hear Rexus¡¯s teeth grinding as his jaw clenched and anger filled his face. Calling him a coward? Him? Rexus had battled long before the [System] had arrived. To be called a coward was instant fighting words. ¡°And the second way?¡±


    ¡°Before the sun finishes setting, you¡¯ll be dead, and I¡¯ll still be here,¡± growled Adam.


    ¡°Don¡¯t even try it, kid. I¡¯ve seen the condition you¡¯re in right now. The vampire lady had me take a class aimed at countering yours. You can¡¯t beat me, especially in that shape.¡±


    Adam¡¯s eyes blazed, and the heat increased even as he grimaced from the pain caused by the river. He was weakened by the damage Cruxannith had caused. His power was partially sealed by [Body and Soul Shaping] to keep the river from escaping his soul to reach Gregor. Finally, his body was running on fumed from all that had happened today. A week of rest and daily gorging would be needed to get him back to fighting shape.


    Yet the voice inside still screamed, CONQUER!


    ¡°[Gladiator¡¯s Approach],¡± whispered Adam, right as Tyler Zito shouted, ¡°[Change Ally].¡±


    Adam found himself standing where Rexus had been, his arm holding up a person by the throat. A piercing pain entered Adam¡¯s gut. His eyes focused on the face in front of him, surprised that it didn¡¯t belong to Rexus. Instead, Willis Abrego was suspended in front of him.


    Slowly lowering his eyes, Adam saw the short sword jabbed into his stomach, blood leaking out. A second sword then stabbed him next to the first. Adam grunted and looked back at Abrego¡¯s face.


    ¡°How¡¯s that feel, tough guy? You ain¡¯t even in the commander¡¯s league,¡± scoffed the dangling man. ¡°[Dueler¡¯s Pocket]!¡±


    A barrier popped up around the two of them as Abrego activated the skill to prevent Adam from teleporting to anyone else. Abrego wiggled his body, trying to get out of Adam¡¯s grip, but even with his two swords in Adam, the hand didn¡¯t waver. A frustrated look at Adam turned into surprise as Adam held the soldier up while turning to look at the people outside of the barrier.


    ¡°Coward!¡± Adam mouthed towards Rexus, baring his teeth at them.


    Concerned looks sprang up on most of the special force¡¯s faces. An arrow, fire lance, and wind blade went for Adam before they bounced off the boundary that Abrego had formed.


    ¡°No!¡± they yelled after seeing Adam smile at them, like a shark approaching a fish.


    Adam lifted his right arm slightly higher than the height he was holding Abrego. Willis was really struggling against Adam now. He had let go of his swords, still in Adam, and both his hands were clenched on Adam¡¯s forearm. There was a blur of movement as Adam swung his right arm. Then a crack echoed along the wall and the barrier dropped.


    Human ¡°Pocket Dueler [32]¡± slain. 7,928 XP gained.


    For a moment, everyone was stunned. The former special forces, General Carmichael, his soldiers and officers, and even the Sentinel Army stared in disbelief. No more attacks came towards Adam, except for Rexus who launched himself forward.


    Adam¡¯s friends had readied themselves, but they were still too slow to stop Rexus from tackling Adam. As Rexus¡¯s arms wrapped around Adam¡¯s midsection, Adam jumped into the air to try and prevent himself from being grabbed. The momentum from Rexus sent the two men and Abrego¡¯s corpse off the edge of the wall.


    Seeing both men disappear over the wall, Rexus¡¯s team went into action. Dalton Coleman quickly notched an arrow and pulled back his bow. A dome appeared from Tyler Zito¡¯s spell cast, summoming healing energies for his team. A second spell added thickness to the air, reducing the damage that they would suffer from ranged attacks.


    Jamari Gillum stepped behind Kevin Spence, vanishing once he was out of sight of his enemies. Fire enveloped Fleming¡¯s hands while wind swirled around Cody Sloan, lightning and water forming inside as a storm quickly built.


    ¡°You sure disappointed the boss, Punchie,¡± tsked Tom, ignoring the building tension and incoming violence. ¡°If you stand down now, I¡¯d be happy to put in a good word for you.¡±


    Spence sighed, the only one from his comrades to seem hesitant to fight. Yet, even at Tom¡¯s words he shook his head.


    ¡°I might regret what will happen here, but I¡¯ve been with them for a decade,¡± said Spence remorsefully. ¡°The commander has saved my ass more times than I can count, and I¡¯ll watch his back until the day I die. You all have done an amazing job here, and it impressed me. I just can¡¯t betray my teammates at this point.¡±


    ¡°Even if I order it as a superior officer?¡± asked Carmichael.


    ¡°Sorry, general. The country is gone. It¡¯s survival of the fittest now, and that will end up as the commander. If you just let us walk, then I swear you¡¯ll never have to hear from us again.¡±


    Fleming bristled at Spence¡¯s words. ¡°Who are you to promise that? These kids have been asking for a beating since they showed up. They couldn¡¯t even keep up with our leveling speed. Outnumbered or not, this¡¯ll be a quick fight.¡±


    Tom shook his head. ¡°That¡¯s a shame. He might have saved your life before, but now he has condemned it.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t believe how much they are looking down on us,¡± said Brittney, with her own mocking smile. ¡°Are they unable to look past my pink skirt?¡±


    ¡°Does it matter?¡± asked Randall. ¡°Higher levels or not, these guys have never seemed like a challenge.¡± Joseph nodded in agreement.


    Fleming¡¯s face went apoplectic as the disrespect came in. His fire began to burn a hotter color, going from red flames to orange. Then they spread out, forming tentacles of flame that looked ready to snap in any direction.


    ¡°How about this?¡± threw in Tom. ¡°Since you guys are done for either way, we should do this Anime style. One on one. Then you won¡¯t be able to complain with your last words. Pick a partner, boy-ohs and girlies.¡±


    ¡°You will regret this as I burn you alive!¡± Fleming hissed through clenched teeth.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the hothead,¡± said Elias, stepping forward. He seemed indifferent, pushing up his glasses and casually staring at the fire. His friends were surprised he was the first to the fight.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take the storm guy,¡± said Andrea.


    ¡°The healer is mine,¡± said Alissa.


    ¡°I got the Outrider,¡± whispered Nick, black wisps surrounding him. ¡°[Shadows Bind Us]!¡± His hand came up and pinched the air. A black line formed between it and behind Abbey.


    ¡°Thanks, Nick, but I knew he was there,¡± said Abbey, revealing a knife already in her hand.


    The knife was positioned where a figure materialized into sight next to her, even closer to the man¡¯s throat than his own blade was towards Abbey¡¯s. A scowl of hate was on Jamari Gillum¡¯s face as he glared at Nick. Then he realized that there had also been an arrow pointed at his chest as Lamar had been tracking him as well.


    ¡°How are you all able to see through my stealth?¡± gasped the Outrider.


    ¡°There is something you guys need to know,¡± said Tom, acting as high and mighty as ever. ¡°Levels aren¡¯t everything.¡±

 CH 173: Levels aren鈥檛 Everything

    CHAPTER 173: Levels aren¡¯t Everything


    ¡°There is something you guys need to know,¡± said Tom, acting as high and mighty as ever. ¡°Levels aren¡¯t everything.¡±


    An arrow immediately whizzed through the air, passing through where Tom¡¯s heart was. However, the arrow didn¡¯t draw any blood or show any resistance as it moved through his body. Brittney already had her shield raised behind him and she deflected the arrow over the outside of the wall, where it wouldn¡¯t hit anyone. Coleman¡¯s jaw dropped down as he looked at where Tom stood.


    ¡°See what I mean?¡± said Tom¡¯s voice from beside Coleman. ¡°Guess I¡¯ve got you.¡±


    Dalton Coleman jumped to the side out of instinct, away from where the voice had been, but to his surprise, a blade flashed from the direction he moved towards and slashed his ribs. The leather vest he wore took the blade and managed to protect him but was cut through while doing it. A large gash was left in the leather.


    ¡°Be careful,¡± growled Gregor, his skin turning red and fury building in his expression. ¡°They''re trained fighters. You can¡¯t take them lightly!¡±


    ¡°Calm down, big guy,¡± said Tom, once more his voice coming from a different place than where his body had appeared after the sword slash. ¡°Arrow and stones can¡¯t touch my bones, and my words will surely hurt them. [Turn Away]! [Illusionary Strike]!¡±


    Coleman had been turning to face Tom, but suddenly his head whipped the other way. A flash of a blade came straight for his face. Coleman raised an arm to stop it, but the strike didn¡¯t hit him from there. Instead, a cut was made to his armor from the back, around his shoulder. He staggered forward and sideways.


    ¡°[On Your Knees]!¡±


    The stagger became a fall as his off-balance knee bent. Through experience and will, Coleman turned the fall into a roll, dropping low on the ground before regaining his feet.


    ¡°Face me, you coward!¡± hissed the usually even-tempered archer, who then used a skill. ¡°[True Sight]!¡±


    The skill allowed him to see through the illusions. What wasn¡¯t real became faded mist as only the previously hidden Tom became visible and solid. Unfortunately, Tom was all Coleman saw as he found himself face to face with the grinning teen.


    ¡°Boo!¡± exclaimed Tom. Once more Coleman¡¯s instinct caused him to move back, away from the opponent in front of him, but Tom was ready. ¡°[Long Reach]! Demoralizing Trip!¡±


    ¡°That last one wasn¡¯t a real skill,¡± pointed out Randall, as Coleman¡¯s jump back snagged on Tom¡¯s skill elongated foot. The man fell backwards, impacting the hard wall with his shoulder. It didn¡¯t break, but the shoulder felt injured, and a burst of pain flooded the soldier.


    ¡°Maybe not,¡± responded Tom, ¡°but it¡¯s freaking hilarious. My favorite skill combo now.¡±


    Coleman tried to roll away, hampered by the pain and wrongness in his swelling shoulder, but he didn¡¯t get very far before a long sword stabbed into his chest, below the collarbone, trapping him against the floor. Blood spilled from him as he felt a rib severed and his lung pierced. Blood flowed from the injury and rose into his throat and mouth, trying to force him to cough.


    Throughout the last few months, every person that had started at the Kentucky military base had received grievous injuries. They were familiar with pain and injury. Knowing healers were around gave them a determination to push through the struggles, since everything short of death or dismemberment could be healed. Out of habit, Coleman turned to look for his healer.


    Seeing Zito, Coleman¡¯s muscles tightened. His eyes opened wide and the choking that he was holding at bay was released, his body spasming as it coughed. The jerking of his shoulder caused the blade to cut even more as he rubbed against the sharp edge.


    Zito was in a tough spot and wasn¡¯t aware of who needed healing, as the combat wasn¡¯t just taking place around him. As soon as Coleman¡¯s arrow had been released, Alissa had used [Angel¡¯s Advance]. The wings that appeared on her back rocketed her forward and she passed all the other combatants, arriving at the Domain Master. The dome that surrounded him did slow her down and weaken her attacks, but it didn¡¯t stop her completely.


    The healer didn¡¯t have stats assigned for physical capabilities, but he had started as a trained special forces soldier. The punch that Alissa sent flying at him, backed by the speed of her charge, was easy for him to see coming so he dodged to the side. Even with the domain slowing and weakening her, the strength she displayed shocked the man as he felt the wind coming from her swing.


    Failing to land the punch didn¡¯t phase Alissa as she thrust out her other hand palm first. ¡°[Death Bolt]!¡± she called, and a black ball of energy shot from her palm towards Zito. Once more he dodged to the side, where his momentum was already taking him. He hadn¡¯t expected the spell, since she looked like she wanted to confront him hand to hand, and the bolt managed to graze his side.


    Expecting the spell to carry inertia with it, he had prepared to use its impact to aid his movement backwards and sideways, so when the bolt just dispersed without any physical force, he staggered. Then he felt the purpose of the spell as the area that was grazed by it began to whither, losing strength and its vitality.


    The weakened oblique couldn¡¯t support his movements, and he stumbled backwards. The healer''s focus shifted to casting a healing spell to replace the lost vitality.


    ¡°[Quick Step],¡± announced Alissa as her feet flashed and she stepped forward with the speed of a sprinter off the blocks. Instead of punching, this time her left hand was open, reaching for Zito¡¯s right arm. His left hand was casting the heal on his side, and with renewed balance from the heal, he dodged her grasp.


    ¡°[Held Down],¡± he cast.


    Green vines of energy rose from the ground and wrapped around Alissa¡¯s legs. She looked down at them then back at Zito, disgust on her face.


    ¡°I see. You are one of them,¡± she said, no amusement in her voice. ¡°Playing the healer but all the while trying to hold down the girls. Well, I don¡¯t swing that way. [Death Bolt]!¡±


    The black bolt released from her hand hit the vines and they shriveled and dispersed. Then she was back to chasing Zito. Her speed wasn¡¯t enough to catch him while in the domain he had created. She reached with her left hand and shot [Death Bolts] with her right. He dodged and ducked, struggling to stay within the domain as she moved closer and he moved away. His direct healing spells were always prepared and cast immediately when the death bolts touched him.


    Alissa was getting frustrated by the vines and her inability to catch up to the healer. Her vitality and strength were high, but her agility wasn¡¯t enough. Zito always waited until she used [Quick Step] before he rooted her with the vines. It was clear how much he could do within his domain, but just as clearly he didn¡¯t have an offensive spell he could use against her.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Reaching her boiling point, Alissa stopped moving and glared at him. Zito was near the edge of his domain as she had controlled most of the middle while he moved around the outside to keep as much space from her as possible. When she stopped, he did too, though he stood ready to jump to the side once more. Unsure of what she had planned, he waited.


    ¡°This bubble thing sure is nifty,¡± said Alissa.


    ¡°I have a lot of control and power while in it,¡± responded Zito warily.


    ¡°A spell like this must have a significant cooldown on it.¡±


    Zito didn¡¯t respond but his eyes narrowed at her comment. It was true that the spell to cast the domain took a few minutes to be available again. That time was reduced if the existing domain was broken, but that had never happened. He wasn¡¯t sure what she was up to.


    Since no response came, Alissa bent down, one foot in front of the other. She raised both arms. ¡°I have a long cooldown spell too. Haven¡¯t used it before. Let¡¯s see if it¡¯ll help now.¡±


    Zito got ready to run. When Alissa said, ¡°[Make Space],¡± a wave of force came out of her. He had been ready to move, and seeing even the air pushed away, he leapt backwards, but that didn¡¯t help. The wave of force caught him, and he was knocked upwards and backwards. The push was slow at first, his domain reducing its power, but since he had been at the edge of it, he was quickly pushed out of the domain. Once that happened, the force increased, throttling his air bound body.


    ¡°[Angel¡¯s Advance],¡± Alissa shouted when she saw him leave his feet.


    Since he was in the air, there was no way for Zito to dodge her straight-line charge. Her left hand grabbed his shoulder and shoved him down, where he was slammed into the ground, even as the two skidded along due to the momentum of her knockback and charge.


    The impact was jarring, and the dragging was painful as it scraped his hair and skin from the back of his head. What was the most concerning was when she said, ¡°[Take Life],¡± and he felt his vital energy pulled from his shoulder into her hand.


    ¡°[Flowing Life],¡± he cast, channeling a renewal of energy into his shoulder. The spell was stronger than her life draining, even healing his head. Then she smiled sweetly at him as her other hand grabbed his upper arm.


    ¡°[Death Bolt]!¡±


    Zito groaned as he felt the arm withering. His heal wasn¡¯t strong enough for both her channeled and directly cast attacks. He alternated between [Flowing Life] and [Mid Heal] to ward off the damage, watching his status until his domain cooldown was over. As soon as it was, he began casting it.


    The domain hadn¡¯t even finished rebuilding around him when Alissa once more used [Angel¡¯s Advance]. The skill didn¡¯t require her to be standing since the wings were what propelled her. She kept a hold of both of Zito¡¯s arms as she scraped him once more across the ground and out of the newly formed domain.


    ¡°Now that you are back on cooldown, let¡¯s see how long you can heal for. [Take Life], [Death Bolt]!¡±


    Zito groaned and began casting since his life depended on it. The domain would have increased the strength of his healing as well as provided a passive supplementary heal. Now he wouldn¡¯t have it for another few minutes, and even if he did, her charge skill would just once more remove him from it.


    Concentrating on his heals, Zito just needed to hold up until one of his teammates could make it to him. Unfortunately, he wasn¡¯t in a position to look and see how they were doing. All his attention was focused on the sickening feeling of his life being drawn from him while trying to destroy his body, and the need to keep his own healing running to ward off the encroaching death.


    ***


    ¡°You think a nerd like you can stand against my flames?!¡± cried Fleming as Elias stepped towards him.


    Elias released a disingenuous laugh. ¡°Nerd. That¡¯s funny. People thought of me as one of the bullies. In the end it¡¯s all just perspective and says more about the other person than about me. Clearly you are judgmental about people with glasses.¡±


    Fleming hissed and lashed out with one of the whips of fire that moved around him. Elias raised a hand and the ground underneath his slid him sideways. The obsidian that made up the wall was still just a kind of rock, thus moveable by his skills though the density of it required more power and concentration from him.


    ¡°You¡¯ll quickly run out of space if that is how you move,¡± taunted the Firemancer.


    Elias shrugged. ¡°[Protection of the Earth].¡±


    At the use of his skill, the obsidian around him rose up and covered his body to become chunky black armor. The orange flames that Fleming controlled lashed against it, but the obsidian was made with greater heat. Elias indifferently nodded after looking at the impact.


    ¡°I figured. Your flames are a bad match against me. Especially up here.¡±


    Fleming snapped his mouth shut and concentrated. ¡°You think this is as hot as I can go? [Raging Aura]!¡±


    Fire burst out from Fleming, surrounding ten feet in each direction. People who had been nearby but were uninvolved in their fight backed away and shielded themselves. Brittney looked around to make sure no one needed her to intervene.


    Elias watched, bringing his rock covered hand in front of his exposed eyes. The rest of his face and head were covered by the stone, making him look like one of the Labesatis. The flames were cooking the air around them and Elias became concerned his glasses would melt. This was the first time he wondered if they could recreate them out of sturdier materials.


    Yet he just watched as Fleming worked himself into a froth.


    ¡°[Unyielding Heat]! [Tongues of Flame]!¡± cried Fleming. The flames released by him grew hotter and the tentacles that had been orange began turning yellow as they gained intensity. ¡°Let¡¯s see if your dirt can survive my hottest spell! [Hellfire Fist]!¡±


    Fleming stepped forward as his hands began to burn blue. Elias could feel the heat from his distance and could even see scorching on the wall from it. As Fleming began to run, Elias calmly said, ¡°[Landslide].¡±


    The floor beneath where Fleming¡¯s foot was coming down moved out of the way while the ground under his back foot shifted away. The burning man did a split as his legs increased in distance from each other. The front foot fell into a hole that opened in the wall¡¯s floor.


    Pre-[System] there was no way for Fleming to experience his foot getting stuck in a hole like that without breaking his leg or tearing his hamstring. Fortunately, his vitality was enough that his body held together, even as the unexpected fall and split caused him intense pain. With his concentration broken, Fleming lost control of his fire, the intensity of it dropping and winking out from all around him.


    Fleming¡¯s fist, still glowing with blue flames tried to steady himself. As Elias expected, the heat from it was enough to melt the obsidian, causing Fleming¡¯s hand to sink into the floor. Fleming shrieked as the pain from the split grew worse and his hand failed to catch him. The spell was cancelled to prevent him from falling further.


    Elias seized that moment. ¡°[Earth¡¯s Embrace].¡±


    The dense black rock around Fleming¡¯s feet and hand rose up and grabbed his extremities. The control spell locked him in place. Fleming shrieked; his eyes opened wide in fear as the mask on Elias¡¯s helmet opened. Elias gave him a thin smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure Tom would be pleased with this fight. Now, should I finish it Alissa¡¯s way or Adam¡¯s?¡± he idly asked the panicking man. Fleming was too incoherent to beg, but the pain and terror spread across his face, as well as the profuse sweating.


    ¡°As a guy, Alissa¡¯s way feels a little too horrible to me,¡± nodded Elias at the inarticulately begging man. ¡°Then no [Ground Spike] to the groin. Instead, we¡¯ll use Adam¡¯s method. Overwhelming power.¡±


    Fleming began shaking his head desperately, whining ¡°no, no, no¡± over and over. For the first time in this fight Elias showed emotion. His smile stretched out and became vicious, an executioner delighting in the downfall of his enemies.


    ¡°[Boulder Drop]!¡± Elias called. A big mass of stone formed over his head as he pointed to Fleming. Right when the boulder started moving, Fleming choked, gasped, and then his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Seeing that his opponent had passed out, Elias canceled the spell, dispersing the mass that had been formed.


    ¡°I never get to have the fun,¡± he complained as Fleming¡¯s body slumped as much as was possible with three limbs locked in place. In a show of mercy, he used [Landslide] to move the limbs into a less painful position. Then he drew up the obsidian to surround and hold the unconscious man, preventing him from escaping even if he woke.


    Seeing that his own fight was finished, Elias looked to where Andrea was still fighting Cody Sloan. The stone armor fell from Elias and reshaped, becoming a bench for him to sit on. The air rippled as Elias used the Rift Menu, causing a box of Cracker Jack to appear above his hand. As Elias tore open the box, he decided which of his companions he would blame for taking Adam¡¯s snacks so he wouldn¡¯t encounter his leader¡¯s wrath. Sometimes it was convenient hanging out with morally questionable people like Randall and Joseph.

 CH 174: Stormy Weather

    CHAPTER 174: Stormy Weather


    Andrea stood with her hands on her hips looking at the magical barrier in front of her. It crackled with sparks of lightning, flashed with blades of wind, and contained fast moving drops of water. The look of it was appropriate for the class of ¡°Storm Invoker.¡±


    Cody Sloan stood on the other side. He didn¡¯t look concerned though he warily observed Andrea. His expression was one of inconvenience, though of what, Andrea wasn¡¯t sure. She gave him a big smile.


    ¡°I¡¯m really not looking to fight you,¡± the man said. ¡°I¡¯ve killed plenty of people before, but that was always part of combat. This situation just isn¡¯t right.¡±


    ¡°Then you didn¡¯t eliminate any of those soldiers the others were talking about?¡± asked Andrea curiously.


    ¡°No! I have my morals,¡± the man answered with disgust. ¡°I made it clear to Victor that I would join him in leaving Earth but wanted minimal casualties. I was away from him when he told others.¡±


    ¡°Then that makes this easy. Surrender.¡±


    Sloan looked to the edge of the wall, where Rexus had tackled Adam. He swallowed hard and then shook his head.


    ¡°I¡¯ve seen what your ¡®leader¡¯ does to people who fight him,¡± said Sloan, referring to Abrego¡¯s merciless death. ¡°I won¡¯t be surrendering but I also don¡¯t want to have to hurt a girl to get away.¡±


    ¡°Oh, you don¡¯t have to worry about that. We¡¯ve all been hurt before when fighting and will be again. Besides, if you do surrender, I¡¯ll put in a good word to Darling and I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll listen. He¡¯s trying to give humans as much of a chance as possible.¡±


    Sloan let out a sigh. ¡°It¡¯s just all bad choices from here on. But I¡¯ll trust in myself and my team over the mercy of killers and youth.¡±


    ¡°Oh well. I tried. Then you will be facing this ¡®Lightning Queen¡¯!¡±


    Sloan scoffed. ¡°What makes you a queen?¡±


    ¡°Because Darling is the king of the world.¡±


    ¡°He¡¯s not my king.¡±


    ¡°To borrow from Tom, not your king yet!¡±


    ¡°Then show me why I should listen to you,¡± said Sloan with a frown. The storm wall in front of him gained in intensity. The lightning sparks increased in size, the wind became faster, and the water droplets became sharper.


    Once more, Andrea smiled at him.


    ¡°[Manipulate Lightning],¡± she said casually, then held up her hand. As her fingers wiggled, the sparks of lightning in his wall squirmed around. Sloan watched with his jaw dropped as she moved the lightning into an arch. When the edges of it reached the ground, she used [Lightning Merge] to combine all the sparks. The wind and water stopped appearing within the doorway she had made. Easily, she stepped through, to come within a few feet of Sloan.


    ¡°H-how?! My level is higher! My stats must be higher!¡± he insisted.


    ¡°Oh? What is your intelligence at?¡± Andrea asked teasingly.


    ¡°214! I¡¯ve been min-maxing it to get it that high.¡±


    ¡°Sorry to hear it,¡± she responded with mock sympathy. ¡°Naturally my intelligence being 276 would overwhelm your spells. And if you were min-maxing, then that means you aren¡¯t anywhere near my 121 agility.¡±


    ¡°A mage''s agility can¡¯t be nearly that high!¡± he snapped.


    Andrea shrugged and then rushed towards him, her fist surrounded by lightning as she declared, ¡°[Jolt]!¡± Sloan didn¡¯t even have time to move, only to scrunch his face in surprise as Andrea belted him in the stomach. With a load grunt, Sloan popped backwards, belt over from the strike. His leather dispersed a little of her electric charge, and his passive reduction of the elements related to storm further reduced the damage he suffered, but it was still enough for his body to stiffen from the current.


    Straightening up, Sloan now had hesitation in his eyes.


    ¡°How are you so strong?¡±


    ¡°There are other ways to get stats besides leveling. Tom wasn¡¯t just talking crap that levels aren¡¯t everything.¡± Andrea sighed. ¡°Now that we know how much weaker you are then me, how about surrendering?¡±


    His brow creased in a frown and Sloan took a step back. ¡°No, what I said before still stands.¡±


    ¡°Stubborn!¡± exclaimed Andrea. Then she stepped forward again, but Sloan was already casting.


    ¡°[Wind Burst]!¡±


    A gust sprang up under Sloan¡¯s feet and he ran. Andrea let out a heavy sigh and then began running to chase. With agility as her class¡¯s secondary stat, she would have had no trouble catching up without spells. His [Wind Burst] seemed like a good skill as he was able to stay in front of her as he dashed away.


    As they ran along the wall, he would try to cast [Air Step] to get higher, but she was quick enough to cast [Volt Cutter], shattering the solidified air he created. As he fell, Sloan would tsk and then keep running.


    The chase began to turn into more of a fight. They were running past where Carmichael¡¯s group had been standing, away from where the Sentinel Army¡¯s troops were watching from. Sloan didn¡¯t want to endanger others or get double teamed by her friends. He was having a hard enough time getting away from the girl chasing him, and this felt like his only chance to escape, especially as he saw his comrades fall in their own fights.


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    Andrea wasn¡¯t quite huffing from the exertion. There had been too many days of fighting for her not to be in splendid fitness, especially with stats helping. It was still tiring and, quite frankly, boring for her to chase this guy.


    He began shooting wind blades at her and mini tornadoes that threatened to spin her off her path. She managed to block the wind blades like she was skeet shooting, using her [Jolt]. A good [Volt Cutter] or [Static Shield] were enough to disperse the tornadoes, or to allow her to bounce off them.


    A few times she would get close enough to the running man that she would use [Discharge] to cause her shield to burst outwards, hitting him with bits of lightning that caused him to stumble. In those cases, he would recast [Storm Wall] to block her, allowing him to get further ahead.


    ¡°This is boring,¡± she complained. ¡°Is there really nothing more you have?¡±


    Realizing that she had been taking it easy on him, Sloan stopped running and faced her. Andrea slowed down to watch.


    ¡°I was serious about not wanting to hurt you, but if this is really what you want, then I will show you some of my stronger spells.¡±


    ¡°Ok,¡± she responded cheerfully. ¡°If they are enough to get you away then I swear I won¡¯t chase you anymore.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯d better honor that,¡± Sloan said, getting an emphatic nod from the girl. He reached his arms out and felt the air around him. Inside this base there was always a slight breeze, unnaturally uniform. For the first time, Sloan wondered if the base had climate control. But that didn¡¯t matter now.


    Reaching out to the wind, hoping he could take control of it, Sloan used [Turbulance]. A gust of wind blew in front of him. The wind didn¡¯t just blow forward, like standing in front of a powerful fan. The air current jerked and changed angles constantly. Andrea felt herself not only pushed back but also jostled around.


    She cast [Static Shield] to protect herself, but the lightning empowered shell that formed around her was also shaken around, failing to stop the wind from reaching her. Sloan wasn¡¯t done either. He called out another spell, [Hurricane], and the powerful winds caused by [Turbulance] began to spin around them both, taking up a large area that extended from the wall.


    Andrea nodded as if she was impressed, even as she was jostled about and her hair blew all over. Sloan looked at her satisfied expression and got mad, as if she were mocking him. He shaped the hurricane, narrowing it into more of a cone. Dark clouds formed above the cone, lightning shooting down but avoiding the moving air. The wind became denser as water and debris were picked up and carried along with it. He was avoiding including lightning in it due to what Andrea had already done.


    ¡°Anything else?¡± called out Andrea.


    Sloan frowned even harder. His spells had done massive area damage when he had used them. There should be plenty of power in them to hurt even someone with higher stats, figuring Andrea didn¡¯t have high vitality along with her absurd intelligence and agility.


    Just for effect he threw a few more [Wind Blades] into the swirl, hoping that the girl would back off.


    ¡°Let me go and I won¡¯t hurt you with this,¡± he yelled over the blustering wind. ¡°I swear it.¡±


    Andrea looked to the left and right, admiring the storm. Not only did it feel powerful, but Sloan was doing a great job controlling it. He really was avoiding hurting her, seeming genuine in his declaration about morals. It¡¯s too bad he won¡¯t surrender, Andrea thought.


    ¡°[Power Boost],¡± Andrea said.


    The noise was too much for Sloan to hear the words over the storm he had create when she spoke softly, but it was obvious that she was using a skill as she flashed with its activation.


    ¡°This is my first time using this spell,¡± she yelled with a bit of excitement. ¡°I wanted to save it for a big moment.¡±


    Andrea made a bunch of ridiculous arm gestures while doing a little dance. It was like she needed to build suspense to increase its power. Sloan watched, unsure of what spell she was about to use. Sweat beaded on his forehead as he struggled to control the storm he was maintaining.


    Once Andrea finished her little ritual, she announced loudly, ¡°[Queen¡¯s Handmaiden]!¡±


    Lightning flashed around her. It sparked outward and then pulled to a single point near her. The blinding white of the bolts condensed. They formed a ball, then arms and legs grew. The mass of lightning reshaped into a copy of Andrea¡¯s form. It moved around, imitating the dance that Andrea had just finished.


    Once the lightning clone had finished forming, it looked at Andrea who smiled at her like a queen bestowing a gift on her subjects. The figure nodded in understand and walked into the swirling wind. The lightning sputtered a bit when the water droplets hit it, but the handmaiden ignored that and reached its arms to the side. They stretched further than a human¡¯s could have reached, almost doubling in length.


    With the lightning figure taking up as much space as possible, its head turned around and looked at Andrea. It nodded once.


    ¡°[Discharge],¡± ordered Andrea.


    The lightning figure crackled and then detonated. Lightning forked out into the wind, disrupting the air currents. The whirling winds were blown out of control and the storm shuddered and then broke, Sloan¡¯s control over it stopped. Wind, water, and debris were flung away, and the air became subdued.


    Sloan looked pained as his concentration and control were broken. He stumbled backwards, breathing heavily. Then he looked over his shoulder to the only path there was to escape.


    ¡°[Wind Bur¡­¡± he began to say but Andrea was ready.


    ¡°No, you don¡¯t! [Speed of Light]!¡±


    As she flashed from the skill use, Andrea shot towards him like a lightning bolt. She arrived right in front of Sloan, and then cast, ¡°[Jolt].¡± Lightning connected from her hand to Sloan¡¯s stomach, where his armor was already scorched from her punch. This time it penetrated, thanks to the [Boost Power] she had used earlier.


    The man seized up. His body went straight and then his limbed convulsed, lightning crackling along his fingers. The stun effect from the spell kicked in and Sloan fell to the ground, his body shuddering from the current.


    ¡°[Along the Flow],¡± Andrea used the skill to pull the electricity in his body to where she touched his shoulder. Then she used [Manipulate Lightning] to shape it into a leash. Looking into the distance along the wall, everyone else looked like ants with how far she had gotten.


    With a sigh at the hassle, she began dragging Sloan with her.


    ¡°Guess I played around too much,¡± she muttered, not excited about the walk back.


    ***


    Rexus¡¯s tackle had been solid and violent, but Adam noticed the man didn¡¯t seem to have a lot of strength in it. He didn¡¯t resist as he was sent flying over the wall, releasing the body of Willis Abrego that had been in his hand. It would be better to have this fight away from the others, to prevent interference and to keep them safe from any tricks the commander had planned. If he had been involved with the mind witch, then there was no doubt a few nasty surprises were waiting.


    As Adam fell, he tried to turn his ailing body to land. However, he had forgotten about the blades sticking through his midsection. Normally it would have been hard to ignore them, but with the pain he was feeling from his damaged soul, plus the struggle he had to keep his soul from ripping apart while near Gregor, the blades slipped his mind.


    With his muscles being prevented from flexing properly by the embedded objects and the weakness, his fall was less than graceful, and the impact was a violent mess. One of the swords was dislodged but sliced through his hip flexor as it came out, while the other chopped further into him. His shoulder was also smashed into the ground.


    Adam groaned as he tried to stand. It took a lot of squirming and pushing to get himself onto his feet, and more struggle to stand up. Rexus was about twenty feet away, arms crossed as he watched. The commander¡¯s smile was large, and his eyes glinted of death.


    ¡°Look at you, kid! You can¡¯t even stand. With all the trouble you¡¯ve given me and the disrespect, I¡¯m sure going to enjoy taking you apart,¡± said Rexus as he began walking towards Adam.

 CH 175: The Commander

    CHAPTER 175: The Commander


    Adam held up a hand as he bent at the waist. The cut to his hip was preventing him from standing upright. Rexus stopped and then gestured for Adam to get on with it. Like a bipedal turtle carrying too heavy of a shell, Adam waddled over to the corpse of Abrego.


    Rexus frowned, unsure of what Adam was doing while he tried to lift the body. Unfortunately, Adam didn¡¯t have the control to get it up, instead falling onto his knees and landing on the corpse. Pulling out a knife, Adam cut the neck of the body and began sucking the blood.


    Looking away, Rexus almost retched. Adam couldn¡¯t fault him either. If he didn¡¯t need the healing so badly, Adam would never have done this.


    ¡°Boy, you are absolutely disgusting. Yet one more reason this world will be better without you.¡±


    Adam ignored Rexus while his stomach and insides regenerated. Once he was physically better, Adam stood and stretched a little, to Rexus¡¯s surprise.


    ¡°Regeneration from blood?¡± asked Rexus, his eyes wary of Adam. ¡°Is that why the vampire lady wanted you so badly?¡±


    ¡°No,¡± dismissed Adam. ¡°This is a Tier 4 ability that blood berserkers can get. Gregor will have it if he manages to evolve his class once more.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?! That bastard gets more and more, just lucking into such a class! He¡¯s always been too good at everything.¡±


    ¡°That hardly matters at the moment.¡±


    ¡°True enough, kid. I can see that it healed your wounds, but there is something that still feels off.¡±


    Adam nodded, not bothering to hide it. ¡°It¡¯ll be a while before I recover from fighting the mind witch, so I¡¯m not in top shape. But when has that mattered? We do what we must.¡±


    ¡°Yes, we do what we must. Otherwise, we die,¡± said Rexus with a glint of excitement. ¡°It would be wise for you let me walk, but there is too much ignorance in youth. Let¡¯s see what makes you so feared among the invaders.¡±


    Adam stepped forward. He was far enough away from Gregor now that his soul had settled down, allowing him to release the barrier he had erected around it with [Body and Soul Shaping]. With the barrier unneeded to hold his river in place, Adam¡¯s power increased, and his movements steadied a bit more.


    Rexus was clearly tough, but Adam hadn¡¯t seen him fight and wasn¡¯t sure what made him so tough. He had a tanking class, but Adam had faced quite a few of those without issue. Durability didn¡¯t matter if you could just out damage them with strength or get around their defenses with agility.


    Adam¡¯s hands began to glow with [Kinetic Impact]. He pulled back his arm to punch. Rexus smiled at him and crossed his arms, demonstrating to Adam how unconcerned the man was. With a lurch forward, Adam used [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] to appear in front of him. An energy enhanced fist connected perfectly with the smugly grinning commander¡¯s face.


    A new pain flooded Adam¡¯s jaw, and he stumbled backwards in surprise. It felt like he had been the one struck. Rexus hadn¡¯t moved. His arms were still crossed and the smile was still on his face. Though after a moment he did wince and reach up to rub his jaw where Adam had hit him.


    ¡°That punch was stronger than I expected,¡± Rexus grudgingly admitted, though he smiled again as Adam held his own jaw. ¡°I never would have let Gregor get such as easy blow on me, but I guess your strength is a smidgin above his.¡±


    Adam stared at Rexus blankly while shaking off the pain. Rexus hadn¡¯t moved. There was confusion in Adam as to how the damage had hit him and why the commander was barely hurt by it.


    Once more he cast [Kinetic Impact] on his fists and stepped forward. The smile left Rexus¡¯s face as he got serious. Pulling back his fist, Adam lunged forward, faster than Rexus could respond. The punch landed in Rexus¡¯s stomach with enough force to pop him off the ground. Yet even as Rexus left the ground and folded forward, Adam felt a deep pain impact his own midsection and he couldn¡¯t help but bend forward while staggering backwards as well.


    The commander grunted from the punch but was the first to stand up straight after landing on the ground. Adam was still recovering from the gut pain, his legs wobbling as he stared down Rexus.


    ¡°Berserkers sure aren¡¯t known for their brains, huh?¡± teased Rexus. His smile held amusement, but his eyes betrayed the viciousness inside him. ¡°Since you¡¯ll do more damage to yourself trying to figure it out, I might as well tell you. Berserkers benefit from overwhelming stats from their rage state, but my tank class was built to be the antithesis.


    ¡°I¡¯m the ultimate survivor and this class goes along with that. I¡¯ve min-maxed vitality, but that isn¡¯t all. My skills combined give me resistance to damage. 80% to physical and 60% to magical. Adding to that, I reflect 40% of pre-mitigated damage. That means the stronger you hit me, the more damage you suffer, while I resist more of it. I don¡¯t even need to attack back to win a fight, just to stand here and regen from other skills while my opponent does themselves in.


    ¡°You¡¯ve got no chance, kid. Like I said, this was specifically to counter you. All fighting me will do is hurt yourself. And listen, I respect what you¡¯re doing here. I appreciate your efforts to save people, but I just can¡¯t get on board with it. That doesn¡¯t mean I intend to harm more people, so long as they don¡¯t get in my way. I chose the path to allow me and my allies to survive this crazy new world. Just let us walk. It would be better for the people you protect not to lose you.¡±


    Adam felt weird about the man''s words. He could tell Rexus wasn¡¯t a kindhearted man. He was a predator, stalking whatever prey he chose. It seemed weird that he was talking so much, and not in his usual villainous monologue. Adam looked back to the wall where other fights were happening, then back to Rexus. Standing tall, Adam once more readied his fists.


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    ¡°If you are so clearly going to beat me, then why do you keep trying to convince me to let you go?¡± asked Adam, waiting for an answer before continuing.


    A conflicted look formed on Rexus¡¯s face. He seemed to mull over his words before answering.


    ¡°I had a plan. That plan did rely on the vampire, though I didn¡¯t put all my eggs in her basket. With her defeat, I¡¯m going to need a different plan. In the military you learn that today''s enemies can become tomorrow''s allies. It''s better not to build grudges and burn bridges. I didn¡¯t hurt any of your people. I didn¡¯t help the vampire capture you. Ultimately, all we did was try to gain control of your base, mostly when you weren¡¯t here. If you hadn¡¯t gotten the invader lady to tell you about me, then you wouldn¡¯t have blamed me for anything except a bad attitude.¡±


    Hearing Rexus talk, Adam started to chuckle, then he laughed. Rexus frowned at him, but didn¡¯t rise to any provocation.


    ¡°I get it,¡± whispered Adam. ¡°We''re still your backup plan. You still want a safe point to retreat to if you can¡¯t make it in a conquered world alone. Not only are you too cowardly to protect this world, wanting to conquer a weaker one, but you don¡¯t even have the confidence that you can succeed long enough on Earth to find another world.¡±


    As Adam spoke, Rexus¡¯s expression changed. It went from confused to angry, and then to stormy. By the time Adam finished with his interpretation, Rexus was fuming.


    ¡°You know what, kid? You clearly don¡¯t truly understand war! One person, one unit, can¡¯t take out a whole army, let alone a whole world of armies. You think what you¡¯ve done is so great, but the vampire made things easy on you. She wanted to capture you, so she let you and your people stay safe. Now that she isn¡¯t here to protect you, it won¡¯t just be those lizards coming after you. It¡¯ll be all the invaders!


    ¡°But if you are too stubborn and stupid to realize it, then I¡¯m done with the kiddie gloves. I¡¯ll show you the difference between us right now!¡±


    With that Rexus clenched his own fists and dove at Adam. His left hand came at Adam¡¯s face, so he put his arm up to block. When the fist contacted his arm, Adam didn¡¯t feel enough strength or speed from it to feel threatened. Out of instinct and anger, from the multitude of fights that Adam had experienced, he countered with an uppercut at Rexus. As the movement began, Rexus spread his arms and threw his jaw into Adam¡¯s punch to increase the force.


    The collision caused both men to stagger backwards. Adam felt a bit shell shocked as he grabbed his jaw. The damage reflection made him feel like his head wasn¡¯t solidly attached to his neck. Rexus, on the other hand, wasn¡¯t as stunned even though he was the one hit.


    With a flurry of movement, Rexus took advantage of Adam¡¯s attempt to recover. Punch after punch was thrown. Adam would block, dodge, or try to grab the commander. Every attack felt slower and weaker to Adam than even fighting Lucas. Yet a good number of punches landed on him.


    The blows weren¡¯t enough to really harm Adam, but they made him angry. The river was rushing through him as the heat built. The voice inside screamed for him to conquer. Adam¡¯s mind focused completely on his hate for the human betrayer. Fury at being shown up even though he had more strength and speed took over. An inherent need to show his superior grew from the corruption inside. His thoughts dimmed as the fight became instinctual.


    Then, in the numerous blows sent his way, Adam saw an opening and went for it without thinking. His own punch swung into a gap and landed on Rexus¡¯s ribs with bone crushing force. Unfortunately, right before there was an impact, Rexus flashed with a skill and said, ¡°[Pain Tolerance].¡±


    The blow didn¡¯t phase Rexus, who pressed to attack as Adam¡¯s own ribs lit up in pain and his side clenched, pulling his arm in to protect it. With one of Adm''s arms no longer committed to defending, Rexus landed a slew of punches.


    Once more the punches were more frustrating than damaging, like a small dog nipping at your heels. The pain and anger were taking over Adam and he was having to fight against the river as well as Rexus. But Rexus didn¡¯t give him any time to get control over his mind or emotions.


    Adam continued to block and dodge, but as the fight went on, his breathing grew ragged alongside his frustration. Without meaning to, Adam activated [Explosive Strike] on his forehead and then head butted Rexus as he got close.


    A burst of energy exploded between their two heads, and both men were sent sprawling. Rexus rolled to his feet, but Adam fell backwards as his vision went white from the sharp pain and damage he felt in his brain. He grabbed his head, the pains in the rest of his body forgotten as that last hit had rung Adam¡¯s bell.


    Laying on the ground, Adam tried to catch his breath and clear his sight. The reflected damage had stunned him enough that Adam¡¯s river wavered inside. The emotions fueling it were halted as all Adam could think about was recovering, his opponent practically forgotten.


    That didn¡¯t stop Rexus from approaching. He jumped onto Adam¡¯s chest and began raining punches on Adam¡¯s face. Adam¡¯s arms were already up, grabbing his aching head, so he was able to use them to ward off some of the blows, though quite a few landed on his face. Every now and then, Rexus would strike his ribs, causing one of Adam''s arms to dip, exposing his head to more punches.


    Adam lost even more control over his breathing. He tried to roll Rexus off him, but the man had his legs holding Adam¡¯s sides and shoulders in a way that prevented it. Adam tried lashing out, but as soon as an arm moved away from his head, more strikes would fall in the opening.


    With his breath heaving in bursts, Adam began to growl. Then he remembered one of his newer abilities and used [Arc Shockwave].


    Pressure burst from him, throwing Rexes twenty feet away, but the impact of it on the man was also reflected, making Adam feel like he had been kicked by a mule whose hooves were the size of his torso. Even with the pain and pressure from the shockwave, Adam forced himself to roll onto his side and then pushed himself up.


    He stood on wobbly legs as he looked at where Rexus had landed. The man was by no means unharmed, but he looked like it was all superficial, and Adam did notice that some areas he had bruised or reddened before looked like they had already healed.


    ¡°Gotta tell you, kid. Your fighting is garbage,¡± taunted Rexus. ¡°Even when Gregor gets worked into his berserker state, his lifetime of training and experience gives him better technique. You''re faster and stronger than me, though you can¡¯t even use it because of how sloppy your attacks are. Not that it matters. Just look at how hurt you get from punching me. Your rage addled mind can¡¯t even consider how to use your abilities properly.¡±


    Adam stood there gasping for air as he heard Rexus speak. He couldn¡¯t even argue with the commander''s words. This fight was going worse than he had expected. First his soul was damaged, weaking him. Then his rage''s influence really was a problem against the damage reflection. But Adam would keep going. He wouldn¡¯t give in to an invader collaborator.


    ¡°I really wanted you to survive this. To see how far you could go,¡± said Rexus mournfully, ¡°but seeing how you don¡¯t even know how to fight, I just can¡¯t trust you as a backup plan. Your limits have been reached. I¡¯ve decided to end you now.¡±


    Reaching behind his back, Rexus pulled a knife from his belt and held it in front of him expertly. It was the one that Sgolkr had left in his hands. It was one of the strongest weapons Adam had encountered. A knife that could cut through Adam with ease.


    While Adam looked at the knife with a frown, Rexus leveled it at him. Then he charged.

 CH 176: The General

    CHAPTER 176: The General


    Adam¡¯s instincts told him to draw in more power. The river sloshed inside, trying to become rapids. Heat infused his cells, pushing energy into them. Power cried to him.


    Yet, even as Adam watched the knife coming towards him, he knew that power wasn¡¯t the answer here. At least not the physical kind. Speed wasn¡¯t giving him the upper hand. Strength was doing more damage to himself than his enemy. What Adam needed was a clear head to figure this out.


    Of course, Rexus was right. Just a few months ago Adam had been a lazy teenager. He hadn¡¯t aspired to anything. Over the months since, he tried to practice fighting techniques. He had tried to learn from more experienced combatants, but how much could you truly learn when you greatly outclassed them physically?


    Lucas was impressive, both with his boxing and his skills that made him more proficient with different fighting styles. But even as Lucas had a good amount of strength, Adam had never been pushed by him. It hardly mattered either, since whatever practice Adam put in was quickly forgotten as the rage took over. Fighting had just been too easy.


    Now Adam faced someone with lower attack stats, and higher toughness, who was better able to leverage his abilities. Adam needed a different direction, a different set of skills.


    Fighting his instincts, Adam refused the strength. He denied the cries from his soul. Using [Body and Soul Shaping], Adam closed the spigot, reducing the flow of power. The sudden reduction in stats made his body shiver.


    Adam clenched his jaw and grunted as he felt the knife stab into his thigh. He fought through the pain and weakness it caused, grabbing Rexus¡¯s wrist as the man enthusiastically pushed the blade in. Then he held on. With surprise, Rexus tried to pull the knife out but couldn¡¯t. Adam looked directly in his eyes, then cast [Soul Bolt].


    For the first time in the fight, Rexus screamed. He stumbled back from Adam, who pulled out the knife. Blood flowed from Adam¡¯s wound, but there was nothing he could do about it now. He wouldn¡¯t have been able to fight with it in, since the knife was sharp enough to keep tearing him up, but he was also hesitant to use the knife against Rexus since the damage reflection might be too much for him.


    Adam had lowered his stats with the intension of trying to find a way to fight back. [Soul Lock] wasn¡¯t an option since Adam doubted locking a single skill would be enough to weaken Rexus. He was also concerned that using it again would somehow unlock Sgolkr¡¯s skill faster.


    [Soul Bolt] was the only attack skill that his inherited Soul Forger class contained. He also didn¡¯t think that Rexus would give him enough time to infiltrate his soul and build enough power to use [Soul Shatter].


    ¡°What was THAT?!¡± screamed Rexus, holding his head as he tried to deal with the soul attack. ¡°Berserkers shouldn¡¯t have magic attacks, and I still should have resisted most of it!¡±


    Adam coughed up a bit of flem and blood stuck in his throat before speaking. ¡°Skills can be so unfair, right?¡±


    Rexus growled at him and then charged forward, his arms moving to grapple in an attempt to get the knife back. Seeing his aim, Adam threw the knife as hard as he could towards the wall. The movement left him open to a tackle.


    Arms wrapped around Adam¡¯s midsection while Rexus¡¯s shoulder sank into his abdomen. When the tackle came, Adam¡¯s body was twisted from the knife throw. That allowed Adam to land sideways on the ground, sliding Rexus partially off him. Clasping his left hand on Rexus¡¯s elbow, he pushed it upwards, preventing the commander from getting a tight grasp of him.


    Adam risked using [Arc Shockwave] with less strength to create more space between the two. He felt the reflected damage again, but it was much less this time, since his own power was tuned down. Rexus¡¯s awkward position when the shockwave hit was enough to slide him along the ground, about eight feet away. Adam was first to his feet.


    Yet, Adam didn¡¯t attack. He waited as Rexus angrily got back to his feet. The man snarled at him.


    ¡°That¡¯s a nasty leg wound. I could outrun you now.¡±


    Adam shook his head. ¡°I can teleport and catch up to you.¡±


    ¡°Why are you so insistent on this fight?!¡± bellowed the commander.


    ¡°You sided with the invaders,¡± hissed Adam. ¡°Killed humans. I can¡¯t let you go. There¡¯s no telling who else you''ll betray.¡±


    ¡°RAWR!¡± screamed Rexus as he charged forward. While the commander rushed him full of his own fury, Adam was calmly counting to ten in his head.


    As Rexus arrived, ready for another exchange of blows, Adam said, ¡°Ten!¡±


    Then Rexus stiffened mid lunge, his arm went from throwing a punch to grabbing at his head. He let out a weird noise, and Adam stepped away from him.


    In the Petramus boss fight, Adam had figured out that, while he didn¡¯t have a cooldown timer for skills on his status sheet, there was still a limit for how frequently he could cast some pseudo-skills without hurting himself or significantly weakening it. For [Soul Bolt] it seemed like 10 seconds.


    Nodding to himself, Adam now had a way to control the fight. Soul attacks could only be blocked by specific skills. Older Adam¡¯s status sheet had listed the skill [Mental Fortitude]. It was specifically for blocking soul attacks. Rexus had mentioned physical and magic attacks but hadn¡¯t mentioned soul attacks. He probably didn¡¯t even know those existed, since Cruxannith wouldn¡¯t have allowed him the defense against her own abilities.


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    Now he was fuming, his face getting red in both pain and anger.


    ¡°How are you doing that?!¡± he screamed once more.


    Again, Rexus came after Adam. With pain still affecting him, Rexus¡¯s movements seemed sluggish. Adam watched him, once more retreating backwards to keep space between them while he counted to ten.


    ¡°Come fight me you punk!¡± demanded Rexus.


    ¡°Ten,¡± said Adam, finally in control of his own emotions as he was no longer on the back foot in this fight. Then Rexus yelled when he was hit by another [Soul Bolt].


    Adam danced backwards on his own stiff and bleeding leg. His attention was elsewhere though, even as the commander was practically frothing as he tried to get to Adam. The soul map that Adam used to find people was where his attention was focused. He watched as the attack hit Rexus, the commander''s powerful essence easy to see while Adam used his [Soul Resonance] pseudo-skill.


    What surprised Adam was that after the [Soul Bolt] hit, there was a bit of a disruption in the intensity of Rexus¡¯s soul on the map. The intensity dropped just for a moment, flickering, as if the soul had lost some power before returning. It was different than the damage Adam was probably doing. [Soul Bolt] could hurt and damage, but with someone as high a level as Rexus, it was unlikely to be enough to kill him for quite a while. But the flicker of power in the soul was almost like when the power to a house goes out before being picked up by a different circuit on the electrical grid.


    That gave Adam an idea.


    Adam continued his jerky dodging, limited by his leg. When his count reached ten, he planted his feet and punched towards the approaching Rexus. Surprise showed on Rexus when he saw Adam square up to punch, and the man didn¡¯t shy away from the fist, instead aiming right for it. Just before the fist connected, Adam cast [Soul Bolt].


    Rexus stifled a cry but allowed his body to continue right into the fist. The impact was nowhere near what the earlier punches had been since Adam was just testing this out. He had timed the soft punch so the soul flicker on his map happened right as the punch landed.


    The blow might have been weaker than Adam¡¯s attacks usually were, but it still had enough force to conk Rexus on the top of his head and knock his face down into the dirt. Adam once more backed up, but no pain struck him. Rexus looked up at him from the dirt, his eyes wide.


    ¡°What¡­did¡­you¡­do?¡± gasped Rexus, wincing as he pushed himself to his feet.


    ¡°I see,¡± said Adam to himself. The [Soul Bolt] seemed to disrupt the passive abilities in Rexus¡¯s soul for just a second, preventing the damage mitigation and reflection, if Adam could strike during the flicker. This time it was Adam¡¯s turn to smile.


    Rexus was still staring at Adam in confusion, but he didn¡¯t have time to think as Adam once more got close and pressed the attack. Unsure of how Adam had bypassed his skills, Rexus responded in a safer manner.


    Forced to move to avoid Adam¡¯s grasps, it was now Rexus¡¯s turn to try and stay out of Adam¡¯s reach. Adam might be faster, but his leg wound was still preventing him from using his full speed or planting strongly on it.


    Things were frantic for nine seconds as Adam would try to grab him and Rexus would try to move away, all the while Adam counted.


    ¡°Ten!¡±


    Rexus groaned in pain once more, his body jerking from the soul attack that he didn¡¯t understand, and then a fist hammered on his jaw. There was no time to recover as Adam started counting more loudly while reaching for Rexus.


    ¡°¡­seven. Eight. Nine. TEN!¡±


    The counting echoed in Rexus¡¯s head as the pain from the [Soul Bolts] kept building with each use. He folded at his stomach as the punch connected immediately after the pain struck.


    ¡°What IS this!?¡± shrieked the commander, fear building in his eyes as the opponent he had looked down on had taken the upper hand. There was no way to know what was happening since Adam now seemed able to negate all of his abilities while using a weird attack with no skill flashes.


    ¡°You wanted to know why the invaders fear me,¡± said Adam with a predatorial gleam. ¡°Now you know.¡±


    ¡°How can I know when this doesn¡¯t follow the rules of the [System]?¡± demanded the commander as Adam backed off from him.


    ¡°That¡¯s exactly it,¡± agreed Adam. He opened [Soul and Body Shaping] pulling in the power. He drew in 30% of older Gregor¡¯s stats. Adam¡¯s skin turned red, then steamed, then sizzled as the power became more than his body could handle. Even the blood on his leg evaporated.


    Next, Adam turned on [Power Through]. His strength shot up even higher as the level difference between him and Rexus was higher than when he used it against the Scyrric Base Overseer. It was a struggle as Adam felt his intelligence dropping, but he focused on a single thought. A set action that he wanted to take.


    ¡°I don¡¯t follow the rules of the [System],¡± mumbled Adam, his pseudo-skills making him almost unable to speak. Then, with his mind turning feral and his strength rising, Adam pulled back his fist.


    Rexus raised his hands to block, unsure of whether his skills would work. He was still unsure how Adam was able to cancel them, but clearly Adam was building up to something now. For the first time since he was a young man on a battlefield, bullets flying around him, Rexus wondered if he would survive the next few moments.


    Adam began a staggered run, a growl rising in his throat. He stepped towards Rexus, using [Gladiator¡¯s Approach] to skip the space between them. His fist lit up with [Kinetic Impact].


    ¡°[Soul Bolt],¡± muttered Adam, the words lost to the explosion caused by his arm tearing through the air with the compounded strength he had summoned.


    It was only for a moment, but Rexus¡¯s eyes opened wide at seeing the power coming towards him. The fist had the force of a rocket. Even with his high vitality stat, Rexus knew this was it. His arms dropped and his expression blanked for a split second.


    Then there was no expression left as Adam¡¯s arm passed through his face and head. The wind shear from the punch threw the headless body dozens of feet away from Adam while it also blew the dirt into a cloud around him.


    In the fading light, Adam¡¯s body disappeared from the view of the onlookers on the wall. All they could see was an outline as Adam¡¯s arms reached out to his sides and he raised his chest and head to the sky, releasing a bestial roar that shook the air.


    On top of the wall, the captured cronies of Rexus, and those who had worked with him, including General Carmichael, Gregor, and the other officers shivered as if the hand of death was resting on their shoulders.


    The others who were there, the tens of thousands from the Sentinel Army, both on the wall and those within it, all released an answering cheer. Feet stomped. Weapons clanged on shields and other objects. Victorious screams cried out.


    Adam turned slowly and looked at everyone. They all looked back, raising their voices and making as much noise as they could. With [Power Through] turned off and [Body and Soul Shaping] once more reducing his power now that his fight was done, Adam raised a fist into the air.


    ¡°For Jackson!¡± he yelled.


    The crowds roared with their approval.


    ¡°For the Sentinel Army!¡± Adam yelled.


    The cacophony increased.


    ¡°FOR HUMANITY!¡± roared Adam with everything he had.


    The noise that erupted was levels louder than before. For miles around the base, the world vibrated with the sound. Even though they couldn¡¯t make out the words, the Scyrric army felt the very air of this world turn hostile and hasten them as they retreated.

 CH 177: Aftermath

    CHAPTER 177: Aftermath


    Adam walked with a staggered hobble towards the wall. Like before, the ground formed steps to lift him to the top through his use of the Rift Menu. His skin was burned, leg cut, and body struggling. However, unlike the last time he came up, there was a lightness to him. His shoulders were upright, and head raised.


    Noise still came from the soldiers of the Sentinel Army as they spoke, laughed, and celebrated. They had been uplifted from his victory and shouts, even if they hadn¡¯t fully known why he fought Commander Rexus. To them, relief had settled on Jackson and their stress fled as Adam, the General, had shown up when they were in the direst straits. He had reaffirmed his commitment to them and to this world, as well as his power, even with how wrecked he looked.


    [Body and Soul Shaping] had been activated to prevent his soul from tearing itself apart as he approached where Gregor was. Adam could feel his insides churning as he got closer. The movement of his soul energy kept slamming into his borders, trying to break through or to escape from the wounds his soul had suffered from the Red Clan speaker.


    As Adam reached the top of the wall and stepped onto the walkway, his waiting friends rushed him. Abbey was quick to cast heals. A pleasurable moan came out due to the fading of the physical pain as the comforting warmth of life energy spread through him.


    Before Abbey could finish and hug him, a different set of arms wrapped around his neck, threatening to snap his spine.


    ¡°Boss! I knew you¡¯d come through,¡± sobbed a tearful and runny nosed Tom. ¡°I never gave up hope!¡±


    While Adam frowned at him, Alissa, Lucas, and Brittney pried Tom''s arms open and dragged him away. All the while Tom struggled to get back, reaching his arms like a toddler wanting comfort. Nick sighed but patted Adam on the back, allowing Abbey and Andrea to take places on either side of him.


    Adam smiled at them, putting his arms around them. Everyone else came up and patted him, said a few words of congratulations, or gave him a fist bump.


    ¡°You doing ok, Adam?¡± asked Lamar, staying back from the scrum.


    ¡°Not entirely,¡± answered Adam truthfully, ¡°but after what just happened, I think we have some time to work it out. The mind witch won¡¯t be an issue. The Scyrric will probably give us some space until they can muster more strength. Finally, the regions around Jackson should be weakened and we''ll be able to clear more bases. Hopefully our forces can recover from this battle quickly so we can get to conquering.¡±


    ¡°We managed to hold on to the base,¡± said Lucas. ¡°Most of our forces weren¡¯t fighting directly, just the ranged, so once we clean up the base and walls, they should be fine. Give them two days or so.¡±


    ¡°Based on those giant blue and yellow corpses, it looked like you did a good job defending.¡±


    ¡°Except for the berserker Scyrric, I think we could have handled it for quite a bit more time,¡± nodded Lucas.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± agreed Adam with a grimace. ¡°I didn¡¯t enjoy making his acquaintance. However, he shouldn¡¯t be coming back around for some time.¡±


    ¡°Surprised you didn¡¯t finish him,¡± said Elias.


    ¡°I¡¯m feeling a bit¡­under the weather. I¡¯ll try to round back into shape before we face someone of his strength next time. I also have a few more tricks that will make it easier.¡±


    ¡°New powers,¡± sighed Lamar.


    ¡°New powers,¡± agreed Carlos.


    ¡°It¡¯ll be interesting to see them,¡± piped in Brandon.


    ¡°We did quite a bit after you were taken,¡± said Lucas, moving the conversation on. ¡°There are some developments to show you.¡±


    ¡°And I have a lot to tell you guys. But first, I think we have something more immediate to discuss,¡± said Adam as he turned his glare to General Carmichael and then down to the former special forces. ¡°I¡¯m surprised to see them alive.¡±


    General Carmichael stood tall, watching Adam warily. He tried to portray himself confidently and stoically. Yet, Adam was able to see through it, to the slight uncertainty that showed through his eyes, and the tenseness to his muscles that spoke more to stress than confidence. The officers that followed Carmichael stood behind him. While a few looked nervous, most were defiant as they backed up the man they respected and followed.


    In front of the general were those who had sided with Commander Rexus. They were in a variety of positions wearing differing expressions. Kevin Spence stood with his shoulders slumped and defeat written all over his face. Dalton Coleman stood near him, grabbing his shoulders and a piercing wound that went all the way through. No one had healed the stab wound, though his natural vitality was keeping it from bleeding much. He had also been stripped to his boxers to make sure no hidden weapons could be pulled out.


    Fleming was in a different position. He was embedded into the floor, face upward. Only his chest and head were above the obsidian. Little wisps of steam from him trying to burn his way out rose from where his limbs were sunken in. Though, with Adam¡¯s intense stare, his expression had become a lot more desperate as his eyes darted around seeking help.


    Cody Sloan and Jamari Gillum were both shackled with their hands inside the obsidian to their sides as they sat cross-legged with their shoulders down and heads forward. Tyler Zito was also cross-legged, though not restrained. He was pale and his expression looked strained. Only when Adam arrived did he open his eyes as he otherwise concentrated to circulate healing energy through his body to counter all the life draining that Allisa had done to him. A resigned look had been given to Adam at his approach, but then he shrugged and closed his eyes once more, preparing for what was to come.


    To the side of them all was an angry Gregor, trying to stand guard on his former comrades. Since Adam had gotten close, he began gripping his chest and glaring angrily, while also controlling his breathing to keep his tinted skin from becoming even redder. Chad and other U.S. soldiers were around, though faded more in the background as they hadn¡¯t been involved in the current issues.


    ¡°About that, boss,¡± said Tom as he came back through the group, sniffling while wiping his nose on a towel he had summoned. ¡°We ended up fighting most of them, but really, they were too weak. It didn¡¯t feel right to just off them if you were already taking care of their leader.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine with a good fight,¡± said Alissa, slamming a fist into her other palm, ¡°but I don¡¯t really want to execute them if they aren¡¯t actively causing problems.¡±


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    ¡°Besides,¡± added Nick, ¡°we know your stance on saving those who matter most to you first. Can you really blame them for doing the same?¡±


    Adam¡¯s eyes flared in intensity as he and Nick held a brief staring match. ¡°Yes. I can. They sold out their comrades to the invaders. THE INVADERS! You think I would ever do that?!¡±


    Andrea slipped over and hugged Adam from the side as his breathing became heavier, his own skin threatening to turn red. The physical contact allowed him to look away as he turned to Andrea, his breathing stabilizing.


    ¡°Darling, not all of them did that. It was mostly their commander, who they couldn¡¯t go against.¡±


    Adam thought for a minute before looking up at Carmichael. ¡°What do you think should be done to them, general? They were your men.¡±


    Carmichael¡¯s eyes opened in surprise. His mouth flapped a few times as he looked between Adam and his former subordinates. Never had he expected the young man to consult with him. It took longer to get over the surprise than to decide on his opinion.


    ¡°Traitors should be executed.¡±


    At Carmichael¡¯s words, all the prisons grew pale. They all looked at Adam, almost pleadingly, except for Fleming who glared murder at him. Adam glared back, his hand reaching where his sword was usually kept. Already pale faces began sweating.


    Spence then cleared his throat. Adam¡¯s head whipped towards him, causing the man to try and step backwards, but the meaty hand of Gregor on his shoulder stopped the movement.


    ¡°If I may, kid,¡± started Gregor before seeing a finger dragged along Tom¡¯s throat, causing him to ament his words, ¡°er, general,¡± though another hateful look from Carmichael made him restart again.


    ¡°Adam, then. Listen, I didn¡¯t fight back when we were caught. I know what was done was deplorable, and had I known what you were building here I never would have gone along with Rex. But I swear, we didn¡¯t know his agreement or plans, or that he was working with invaders. We were just going along with him for survival, figuring a smaller group would be less of a target. Please, let me take them and I swear you¡¯ll never hear from us again. I¡¯ll even swear that we¡¯ll never cooperate with those damned aliens.¡±


    Adam continued to stare at Spence, though his face looked more contemplative than before. Still, he didn¡¯t respond, and after a minute Gregor spoke up.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take them away from here and make sure they never cause trouble again. I promise that I¡¯ll put them down if they do.¡±


    ¡°Even him?¡± asked Adam, pointing to Fleming who was desperately struggling to get out of his stone prison. When Gregor reluctantly nodded, Adam muttered, ¡°I guess every group needs a Tom.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± complained Tom before adding, ¡°I knew you wanted more of me around.¡±


    ¡°Fine then,¡± Adam said with a conflicted nod. ¡°But I don¡¯t trust their word. Tom, hit them with a contract to ensure they keep the agreement. What of you, general? Will you go with them?¡±


    ¡°Do I have a choice?¡± asked Carmichael gruffly, looking at his shoes almost with disappointment.


    ¡°Yes. I didn''t start the conflict with you or your people. We''re trying to build a human resistance here. To protect the Earth from the invaders. Having capable leaders is a must, but to stay, you¡¯ll need to sign a contract with the Sentinel Army as an employee instead of the leader.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll never stop fighting for my country!¡± insisted Carmichael.


    ¡°I don¡¯t see how that conflicts with our purpose,¡± responded Adam. ¡°We never said we were trying to conquer the country.¡±


    ¡°Yet,¡± whispered Tom with a mischievous grin, getting a glare from Adam.


    ¡°You have built something special here. I would be willing to station my forces here and cooperate with you if it doesn¡¯t conflict with my own mission.¡±


    ¡°As long as you tell me in advance if there will be a conflict, then we can try working together. Tom, hit him with the same contract as the Leputi.¡±


    ¡°Ain¡¯t no way he is setting up a brothel,¡± said Tom, getting angry looks from all around. ¡°Fiiine. I¡¯ll alter the terms slightly.¡±


    ¡°Then welcome aboard, Carmichael. I hope you''ll use as much effort to work together as you put into harassing us,¡± said Adam.


    ¡°I¡¯m not willing to call you a general, though.¡±


    ¡°Calling me Adam will be fine.¡±


    ¡°Then, Adam, I look forward to getting involved with kicking these damn invaders out of our country!¡± snapped Carmichael.


    Taking a minute to try and think through the situation, Adam took everything in. The damage to the walls would be easy to repair with the Rift Menu once everyone was off of them. The base statistics and searches didn¡¯t indicate there were any more threats or unsubdued enemies. According to the base map, Colonel Davian and Mr. Fenton were heading their way. Finally, Tom was talking to Carmichael, much to the general¡¯s dismay, regarding the [System] contract for employment.


    With all the hostile issues taken care of, it was time for Adam to address the important stuff.


    Opening the Rift Menu, Adam moved through a few screens. When he couldn¡¯t find what he was looking for, Adam stared death at Randall and Joseph. They both shivered and tried to back up, but for some reason the ground held their feet where they were.


    ¡°W-what¡¯s up, Adam?¡± stammered Randall.


    Dozens of seconds went by with Adam scowling at him and Randall getting more and more nervous.


    ¡°You ate all my Cracker Jack?¡± accused Adam.


    ¡°Of course not! We would never take from your personal stash,¡± defended Randall.


    ¡°Yeah, we only swipe from the public warehouses,¡± added Joseph. ¡°And your fridges. And closets. And the food storage for our building. Never from your personal stash.¡±


    Randall facepalmed at Joseph¡¯s confession. With a non-committal grunt, Adam teleported a jumbo tub of popcorn with powdered cheese. As he ripped it open and shoved a handful into his mouth, he frowned. Why anyone produced popcorn like this eluded Adam. He was pro-caramel all the way, but with supplies scarce beggars couldn¡¯t be choosers. Adam hadn¡¯t eaten in days. Plus, he had just burned a lot of his power, leaving him feeling starved.


    Another stomach growling caused Adam to raise an eyebrow at Gregor.


    ¡°Did you need a bucket?¡± asked Adam hesitantly. ¡°We¡¯re running low on popcorn apparently.¡±


    ¡°Hell no!¡± swore Gregor, but Chad stepped forward.


    ¡°Do you have any meat for him? Preferably raw?¡± asked the smaller man.


    Adam waved his hand, and a large slab of meat appeared in Gregor¡¯s grip. Several people made gagging noises as Gregor couldn¡¯t resist bringing the meat to his mouth and biting into it. His eyes rolled in pleasure as he tore into the meat, even though it had been frozen and wasn''t bloody. Adam released his own sounds of enjoyment as he finished the popcorn in record time and summoned a waist-high container of fresh milk from the cows kept on the base.


    Everyone tried to ignore the two famished berserkers as they continued to eat like barbarians. Gregor finished off three large cuts of meat before stopping, and Adam only refrained from summoning more food to make sure he was able to digest it all.


    ¡°Hey, kid¡­I mean, Adam,¡± said Gregor to get his attention. The food and approachability seemed to have calmed the large man down. ¡°Do you know what is causing the issue between us?¡±


    ¡°Yes, I do.¡±


    ¡°What is it?¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t say,¡± said Adam, causing Gregor to get ready to confront him more forcefully. ¡°What I mean is that if it becomes known, then I think you¡¯ll be targeting by various invader groups. They keep saying that I¡¯m impossible¡­what I am and what I do. If they find out you''re affected by it then they¡¯ll want to study you as well. Just know that once we''re away from each other, it won¡¯t happen again.¡±


    ¡°You are sure we¡¯ll be safe? No aftereffects?¡±


    ¡°Not for you. For me, it¡¯s what I am. Until I find a solution, it isn¡¯t safe for us to be together. It would be nice having a powerhouse like you here, but it just can¡¯t be.¡±


    ¡°I figured,¡± nodded Gregor.


    ¡°Do you know where you¡¯ll go?¡± asked Adam, showing a surprising amount of interest in the man.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take this bunch towards D.C. We''ll try to see if the government fully fell. For General Carmichael. Maybe we can do some good on the way; rescue people and take some of these bases.¡±


    Adam nodded. ¡°Don¡¯t let the invaders know but the real power for us is in taking control of the bases.¡±


    ¡°Is that how your people got so strong?¡±


    ¡°Part of it. And a bit of advice for you. Berserker is a dangerous class line. The more you give in to the power, the more you will lose yourself until there is nothing left of you," explained Adam, remembering the zeros for intelligence and wisdom on older Gregor''s status sheet. "Without the guidance of the invader''s knowledge, it¡¯s almost inevitable. It would be a shame to lose you to a dangerous class rather than in combat.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. Not sure where you get all the information from, but I¡¯ll take you at your word. I¡¯ll try to find a different evolution if I can get to Tier 4.¡±


    ¡°Good idea,¡± said Adam. He stood up and held out a fist to Gregor. ¡°Things have been rough between us, and we¡¯ll need to stay away from each other, but I wish you good luck. Maybe in the future I can solve this issue, and we could fight together. Until then, kick some invader ass in your travels.¡±


    ¡°Of course,¡± said Gregor, almost smiling. Then his oversized fist lightly bumped Adam¡¯s, and the two walked away.

 CH 178: Recovering

    CHAPTER 178: Recovering


    ¡°Adam, are you sure you¡¯re alright?¡± asked Adam¡¯s mom.


    To Adam, it felt like she asked every five minutes. He understood why she kept harping on it and was trying not to get annoyed or angry. She asked out of concern and love, but it was still grating on him.


    The abduction by the Red Clan speaker had kept him away from the base for almost two weeks. Or maybe over two weeks? Honestly, Adam wasn¡¯t quite sure since the Rift Menu didn¡¯t use Earth time and with all the conflict that Jackson had experienced recently, time blended as it passed. His friends had worked to get stronger, not always seeing the changes of days, while Jackson had scrambled to put together defenses and deal with General Carmichael¡¯s antagonism.


    Now that he was back and the fighting had ended for now, people looked at him and saw the flaws. They noticed his wincing when he tried to use high level physical strength. A few spars at the training area failed to hide the loss of control he would briefly experience when fighting. Everyone noticed that he couldn¡¯t get enough food, even worse than when the [System] first arrived.


    It surprised Adam that people even pointed out that he was wearing more clothes, covering his body instead of forgetting to put on shirts or running around in only shorts. The girls had noticed his decreased muscle mass and for the last three days his mother had been babying him. He wasn¡¯t a hulking brute like Gregor, but even his lean frame looked slightly emaciated from all the imprisoned time without eating.


    Adam shifted slightly on the sofa. His mother was holding his right hand, and frequently would reach up and stroke his arm, hair, or face, to reassure herself that he was there and still her son. Emily was tightly hugging his other arm and leaning against him. Her desire to follow him around at all times was almost as frustrating as his mother insisting on taking care of him.


    With his father on the other side of Emily, they sat watching Christmas movies on a Rift Menu display. They had been downloaded by Jordan Lane before the invasions happened. This was their fourth movie just today.


    Before the current movie they had eaten a nice lunch including a spread of duck, or whatever bird animal the meat came from, various fruits, vegetables, and potato dishes, followed by cake. Lots of cake. Adam ate three cakes by himself to balance out the two large birds he had devoured. As much as his mom wanted to be the one caring for him, they had quickly realized they needed his chefs back to keep up with his caloric catch up.


    ¡°I told you, mom. I¡¯m fine now.¡± Adam sighed a bit too much as he spoke, unable to keep the frustration hidden.


    ¡°I know what you said, but you keep trembling. It isn¡¯t unusual for people who went through what you did to have severe trauma to address. There is no shame in the emotions you might be feeling.¡±


    ¡°The trembling isn¡¯t from emotions. I told you, it¡¯s from damage to my soul,¡± said Adam flippantly.


    His mom sat up a little straighter and Adam could feel her own hand trembling as it clasped his own.


    ¡°That doesn¡¯t strike you as even worse?¡± his mother asked with a quiver in her voice and tears forming in her eyes. ¡°How does someone even fix that?¡±


    Adam shrugged, not showing the same level of concern. ¡°I¡¯ll figure it out or I won¡¯t. I have a few ideas to try later. Either way, it won¡¯t stop me from doing the things I must.¡±


    ¡°That isn¡¯t good enough, Adam!¡± his mom suddenly snapped. While it came across as anger, Adam still knew it was just fear and concern. Frustration at not knowing how to help him. ¡°You know what? Until you heal, I forbid you from fighting. I FORBID IT!¡±


    Turning his head, Adam looked at her. Then he smiled. ¡°You know you can¡¯t do that, right?¡±


    ¡°I know,¡± conceded his mom, deflating as she sniffled while holding back tears. ¡°I¡¯m just so scared for you. You keep running around getting hurt, and there is nothing I can do about it.¡±


    ¡°There is nothing anyone can do about it,¡± added Adam. ¡°We probably have billions of humans dead to the invaders. Billions! Not to be egotistical, but the only reason our city survived was because of me and the corruption. All the hurts and pain I¡¯ve felt had been to protect you guys.¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t just your responsibility,¡± said his dad.


    ¡°It might not be just my responsibility, but without me and my unique situation it would have failed. It¡¯s why I¡¯ve spent so much time strengthening others.¡±


    ¡°Even so, we can¡¯t even imagine the horrors you faced as a captive of that witch!¡± spat his mom.


    ¡°I told you, it wasn¡¯t so bad. I was unconscious for most of it and gained more from it than I lost.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve watched enough sci-fi movies to be concerned, son,¡± said his dad. ¡°Are you sure they didn¡¯t implant anything in you? No worms crawling around in your brain, or red and blue pills jammed down your throat?¡±


    Adam sighed. ¡°No worms or pills or suggestive messages. You were there when they ran me through the CT scan. They even ran tests on my blood.¡±


    His dad chuckled. ¡°Yeah, and I saw you considering biting them when they did.¡±


    ¡°I was hungry, I needed more blood.¡±


    ¡°Maybe they turned you into a vampire too,¡± Emily said, without relinquishing her grip on him. His mother gasped.


    ¡°That isn¡¯t helping, sis. Besides, that isn¡¯t really how their species works.¡± Adam¡¯s mother went to argue, but Adam cut her off. ¡°Overall, everything worked out. The¡­captivity¡­helped me grow stronger, even if my soul was injured at the end. I was able to take the mind witch out of play. We sent the Scyrric packing for now and we¡¯ve gotten new allies. I was able to break free and make it back in time to rescue Emily and save the city. Let¡¯s just count our blessings and get back to the movie. In the Christmas spirit, right?¡±


    His mother gave him a discontent grimace but cuddled closer. Throughout the rest of the movie and the next one before they had a large dinner, she stopped pushing the issue. All these Christmas movies were making him want to hurry to the Sentinel planning meeting scheduled for the next day.


    ***


    Adam¡¯s forehead slammed against the raised portion of the meeting tabletop in aggravation, and he released a loud sigh.


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying, Adam,¡± said Colonel Davian while trying to speak softly, ¡°that we have a military psychologist who has experience with POWs. General Gervin wanted to make sure we had the support for these hard times and sent her with us. There is no shame in it.¡±


    Raising his head to look at General Carmichael, who had signed a [System] contract along with all his officers, Adam asked, ¡°And you?¡±


    ¡°I question your sanity more from sitting on that giant throne than anything else,¡± Carmichael muttered.


    ¡°Wasn¡¯t my choice,¡± said Adam, nodding towards Tom, who smiled proudly and waved.


    ¡°In seriousness,¡± said Carmichael while chewing on his lip in thought. ¡°During war time a lot of atrocities can happen, and soldiers can¡¯t just take a break from the battlefield to worry about mental health.¡±


    ¡°Right!¡± exclaimed Adam, spreading his arms out in emphasis.


    ¡°Which is why it¡¯s important to take care of these things during the quiet times, like right now,¡± continued Carmichael gruffly, displeased at being interrupted. ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be anything you¡¯re urgently needed for, so take some time to make sure you¡¯re right in the head. No one wants to see a soldier, let alone a leader, snap when the tension gets too high.¡±


    Adam took a deep breath and looked around the room. He saw anxious faces, concerned faces, sympathetic faces, and of course Randall and Joseph not paying attention.


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    ¡°Fine,¡± surrendered Adam, wanting to alleviate the heavy atmosphere. ¡°I¡¯ll meet with the therapist. See if she has time for me today. I still have things I need to do.¡±


    ***


    Adam sat in an office towards the edge of the base, where the local high school used to be. It was rebuilt as a medical facility, focusing on quarantining and working with people who suffered at the hands of the invaders. The office had been arranged with some comfortable seats, plants, and more nature-oriented decorations. The lone window in the room looked out over a track and field area, where people were currently training their skills.


    ¡°I am doctor Pozemski,¡± said the woman in front of him. She was in her fifties and had been a military doctor her whole career. Her hair was faded white, though Adam imagined that such a put together woman, still in a neat suit even in this new world, probably used to dye her hair when it was easier to achieve.


    ¡°I¡¯m Adam Clemens. People thought I should talk with you over my recent captivity.¡±


    ¡°Yes, there are many people concerned for you. I can¡¯t say I¡¯ve ever had a general request my services specifically.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just called The General due to a prank from my friend,¡± said Adam, waving off the title. "You can call me Adam."


    Dr. Pozemski¡¯s lips tightened a little. ¡°I was actually referring to General Carmichael. He wanted to make sure you were taken care of, considering that you and your group are no less than the saviors of this city. It¡¯s also a first that one of your friends made me sign a [System] contract. I was hesitant to give control to such an unknown entity, but the terms weren¡¯t any different than my usual privacy policy, so I went ahead with it.


    ¡°You have nothing to worry about either. I am used to working under confidential conditions as well and recognize that someone with your leadership position and access to military information needs to be able to speak knowing it won¡¯t leave this office. The [System] contract does take it a little further, so please feel free to be open with me. Consider this a safe and open space.¡±


    ¡°Ok, good to know,¡± nodded Adam. ¡°Though I hope you don¡¯t mind if I use the Rift Menu to cancel sound in the area so nothing can be overheard.¡±


    Dr. Pozemski frowned and looked around. ¡°It¡¯s possible to control sound on the base?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I can control almost anything within our territory. Reality will do nearly anything I want. I could even invert gravity and have us live in the clouds. I, and those I assign permission to, can watch anything that has ever happened within the territory, no matter how long ago.¡±


    ¡°That is a scary amount of power,¡± said the doctor.


    Adam shrugged. ¡°We only use it to keep people safe.¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t that what a lot of authoritarian governments claim?¡± Once more Adam shrugged at her questions.


    ¡°Moving on,¡± continued Dr. Pozemski with a few hurried glances at Adam before turning to a notebook in front of her, ¡°I¡¯ve been told you were captured and spent almost two weeks as their prisoner. A lot can happen during that time. People want me to help check for any hidden, or not so hidden, traumas that might have happened during your ordeals. Why don¡¯t you start with how you were captured.¡±


    ¡°Sure,¡± said Adam hesitantly. He was a bit nervous talking with her, but didn¡¯t really feel he had much to hide. ¡°I was out testing some possible skills¡­¡±


    ¡°By yourself?¡± she interrupted.


    ¡°Mostly. There were some Leputi watching from a safe distance, but I didn¡¯t want anyone hurt by what I did. Anyway, I ran into the Red Clan speaker. She represented the race paying the most to steal our world and has been causing us problems for a while. When I went to attack her, somehow, she shut down most of my strength and then this big lizard man hit me hard enough to fly down the street.¡±


    ¡°She shut down your strength?" asked the doctor while scrunching her forehead. "Did that make you feel powerless?¡±


    ¡°Not really. What I mostly felt was all the broken bones, punctured lung, and the layers of skin that had been scraped away by the asphalt.¡±


    ¡°You were that injured from the attack? That level of harm and pain is enough to cause significant trauma,¡± explained the doctor with concern.


    Again, Adam shrugged, showing a surprising amount of apathy. ¡°Sure, it hurt more than normal since I didn¡¯t have my rage to reduce how much pain I felt, but really, it was par for the course for me.¡±


    Then a window appeared and began showing various scenes of Adam getting hurt. It played images of him losing his fingers to the goblins and being stabbed repeated, the gun shot in his neck, the time he burned off his own skin and lost his arm trying to enter the Testudinate rift, as well as other violent and gruesome scenes.


    By the time the window disappeared, Dr. Pozemski was breathing heavily over top of a trashcan, clearly trying not to be sick.


    ¡°How could you¡­when they did that¡­shouldn¡¯t be possible¡­¡± she stumbled over her words before taking a few deep breathes to calm herself. ¡°Experiences like that could drive people insane. To cause nightmares for life. No body would be immune to that level of harm.¡±


    ¡°Meh,¡± was Adam¡¯s response.


    ¡°Meh?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Well, I kind of have a corrupt soul and it seems to numb me. If anything, it forces me into those situations. But really, I just want to protect my family.¡±


    ¡°A corrupt soul? Is that slang for something?¡±


    ¡°Of course not. The soul is where the [System] places your skills and class, as well as containing a lot of who you are. Mine is all jumbled from when it arrived, so I don¡¯t actually have skills or a class, even though I do have powers. That¡¯s the reason the Red Clan speaker wanted to capture me in the first place.¡±


    ¡°Because of this corruption?¡±


    ¡°Yes. They call me and aberration since I¡¯ve been able to fight them back. They want to study me.¡±


    ¡°And did they study you when they captured you?¡± Pozemski asked, her curiosity overcoming her professionalism as she leaned forward.


    ¡°Probably? Like I¡¯ve told everyone, I wasn¡¯t exactly conscious, so there isn¡¯t any trauma. They physically healed me during the time too, so there was no pain. Instead, I spent my time in her memories.¡±


    ¡°What do you mean by that?¡±


    ¡°I can watch people¡¯s memories, and I accidentally went into hers when I was attacked,¡± said Adam. Pozemski almost laughed, thinking it was a joke, but seeing how serious his face was she gulped instead.


    ¡°You can watch people¡¯s memories?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Anyone¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Have you watched mine?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°But you could if you wanted?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Dr. Pozemski released a huge breath. ¡°That is quite terrifying.¡±


    There was another shrug by Adam, once more brushing it off. ¡°It¡¯s useful in checking for invader influence in people. Plus, once I was able to change a friend¡¯s memories to help him deal with his own trauma.¡±


    The eyes of the doctor narrowed as she stared at Adam.


    ¡°You can change memories?¡± she asked.


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    ¡°Anyone¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°If I want to. But don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s a very rare and high tiered power,¡± reassured Adam unconvincingly. "So outside of me, it¡¯s unlikely for you to meet someone else with it."


    ¡°But you can do it.¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Anytime you feel like it?¡±


    ¡°Of course.¡±


    A shiver went down Dr. Pozemski¡¯s spine. She had scooted her chair a few inches away from Adam while clutching the trashcan as if it were a shield.


    ¡°Ok. More concerning things," she continued, while trying not to look directly at Adam. "Anyway, how did you regain consciousness and escape?¡±


    ¡°One of the memories I was watching showed my sister captured and about to die. That got me angry enough to wake up. Then I killed the speaker¡¯s minion and shattered her memories,¡± explained Adam.


    ¡°Shattered her memories? Like giving her a mental breakdown?¡± warily asked the doctor.


    ¡°No. I literally went into her soul and destroyed all her memories. I couldn¡¯t kill her without harming myself, and with no memories she¡¯s just a breathing mannequin.¡±


    ¡°Let me get this straight,¡± Dr. Pozemski interrupted, grasping at the few points of that incomplete explanation that she understood. ¡°You can not only watch and alter people¡¯s memories, but you can destroy all of them? Essentially destroying who they are?¡±


    ¡°Oh, yeah,¡± confirmed Adam with a proud nod.


    ¡°And you can do all this because your soul is corrupt? I don¡¯t suppose you also hear voices?¡± asked the doctor flippantly, feeling frazzled as she looked around nervously. This conversation was so far beyond what she was used to that she had lost her professionalism. Adam still seemed oblivious to it as he continued to answer her questions.


    ¡°Just the one,¡± answered Adam honestly.


    ¡°One what?¡±


    ¡°One voice.¡±


    ¡°A voice talks to you from the corruption in your soul?¡±


    The line of her lips was getting tighter and her eyes kept narrowing.


    ¡°Yes. Well, it¡¯s my own voice from the future.¡±


    "Does the voice tell you what to do?" she asked, peeking at him hesitantly.


    "Yes."


    "And it is your own voice?"


    "Yes."


    "But a future you?"


    "Uh-huh."


    ¡°What does your future voice say?¡±


    Adam took a deep breath. He had never revealed information about the voice to others, besides his closest friends.


    ¡°The voice tells me to conquer.¡±


    ¡°To conquer what?¡±


    ¡°Everything. People, places, and battles.¡±


    Dr. Pozemski stood and took a step backwards while eyeing the door. ¡°A voice tells you to conquer everything, and you have the power to control reality within your territory, which keeps expanding as you take over alien bases? You can watch and alter people¡¯s memories, and even shatter their souls? All while also having the physical prowess to slaughter an army by yourself?¡±


    ¡°Pretty much,¡± Adam nodded, feeling a little proud of himself when he heard it all laid out directly.


    ***


    Colonel Davian was waiting in what used to be the main office of the school. He knew he didn¡¯t need to be here, but he had been with Adam since the beginning and cared for the young man. It wasn¡¯t just out of obligation that he wanted to make sure Adam was alright. Adam might be the backbone of their defense against the invaders, but he was also young and experiencing new things without a lifetime of memories to help guide him. Helping him grow and deal with difficulties was something the older generations should do.


    Adam had been in with Dr. Pozemski for about half an hour when the door swung open with a little too much vigor. Then the doctor quickly, but gently, closed it, making sure she was on the outside of it before turning to the office assistant.


    ¡°Janine, cancel all my appointments for today,¡± said Pozemski in a rush. She was breathing heavily and her eyes looked terrified, like the hounds of hell were chasing her. ¡°On second thought, cancel them for the week.¡±


    Her darting eyes landed on the colonel, and she walked over to him where she gave a tight salute.


    ¡°Sir! I request a change of assignment. Permission to go on the expedition to Washington.¡±


    Davian looked at her, noticing the tremble as she tried to stand still. Then he looked back at the office door that Adam was opening. The doctor didn¡¯t wait for the colonel to respond. At the sound of the door opening, she practically shrieked as she ran from the room.


    Adam, on the other hand, casually closed the door and strode up to Davian.


    ¡°Adam, what did you do?¡± he asked.


    ¡°What do you mean? I just talked to her about the abduction,¡± answered Adam.


    ¡°Did it help?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t know. Dr. Pozemski said I was doing great and then left in a rush. I guess she has other people to see.¡±


    Adam left the room with his hands in his pockets, whistling casually to himself.


    ¡°Oh, Adam,¡± Davian said quietly while facepalming.

 CH 179: The System Answers

    CHAPTER 179: The System Answers


    Slouching in the chair, Adam stared through the bars in front of him. He was sitting in a wide hallway. There were secure doors on either end of the hallway. Adam had even tried boosting his strength to the max and hadn¡¯t been able to harm the doors or the bars to the numerous cells on either side of the walkway.


    In the cell he was observing was Cruxannith. She sat on the floor with her back against the back wall. Her legs stretched out in front of her and her arms rested limply at her sides, hands resting on the floor. She stared into the air in front of her with a blankness to her look that showed no recognition, interest, or awareness in what surrounded her.


    Instead of the clothes she had worn when Adam had fought her, she wore a linen shirt and pants, similar to what you might have seen on a patient in a hospital before the [System]. The Leputi ¡°Midwife [12]¡± that Adam had brought to this base had been too scared to change her, so Adam had helped, demonstrating that the captive Red Clan speaker was catatonic.


    Adam¡¯s plan for the foreseeable future was to leave this Rift unconnected to his network of Rifts. It meant that going back and forth to Jackson would be more time-consuming, but there were too many things here he didn¡¯t want to expose the other humans to. The magic apparatuses that had been set up in this Rift, mostly with the purpose of inspecting Adam¡¯s soul, didn¡¯t have a use for the humans. Plus, Adam wanted the solitude for experiments he might do and the prisons he might store invaders in should the need arise.


    While the Red Clan researcher hadn¡¯t figured out anything of note about Adam, he hoped that he would be able to figure out more. It was also important to keep the prisoner away from where anyone else could get to her. Adam hadn¡¯t told anyone that she was alive, or the state she was in.


    Right now, she was a big weakness for Adam due to their soul bond, but she was also an opportunity. She was a fully specced invader, with all the soul parts he needed to learn about.


    Three Leputi had been brought to manage this base. Oddly, Adam trusted the former invaders a bit more than most of the humans. They were direct, honest, and scared of almost everything, which made them a safer choice around unknown devices.


    Two fighters had been brought to secure this Rift, both the inside and outside areas. The two had reached the third Tier, unprecedented for Leputi. Instead of getting another scout class, quite a few of the evolving bunny people received options for warrior type combat classes. Their gratefulness at the humans¡¯ support in helping them level and advance created a lot of loyalty to the Sentinel Army, and Adam specifically. Many of them would have accepted Adam¡¯s request since he had created the conditions for them to grow stronger than any known Leputi before.


    The midwife was a healer class that focused on pregnant mothers and newborns, but there were enough generalized medical skills that Adam brought one to care for his prisoner. He couldn¡¯t be here all the time, and although Cruxannith was unresponsive, she still had the daily needs that any living thing did, including eating.


    Adam pulled out a stoppered vial the length of his forearm. The container was clear, but he knew it wasn¡¯t made of glass, being much more durable. He also wasn¡¯t sure what the stopper was made of, though it had a few runes on it that he assumed were responsible for the continual swirling of the reddish-orange blood within.


    Slipping his hand that held the vial through the bars, he placed it on the floor and rolled it to the captive. She didn¡¯t respond to the sound of it rolling, but that changed when it hit her foot. Though she continued to stare at the nothingness in the air, her hand reached out and picked up the vial.


    There was a brief sniff, then her hand lifted without the rest of her body moving. The stopper was placed between her layered teeth. When Cruxannith bit down, the stopper disintegrated, and the blood flowed into her mouth. Other than her swallowing, her mouth didn¡¯t move as she swallowed the liquid.


    Once it was completely gone from the vial, her hand dropped and the container hit the floor, rolling away from her.


    Adam watched the whole thing. She didn¡¯t have any response before or after she drank. Even recognition of her actions failed as she went back to lifelessly staring into the air.


    Having watched her drink the blood, Adam dove into his soul. He moved through the large connection that merged with her soul. Before he had fed her, the energy emanating from her had been dull. Now that she had fed it was a bit more vibrant and shimmery. The energy moved around her soul easier. She must have been very hungry.


    Adam spent a solid two hours watching how the energy moved and settled in her soul. He paid close attention to the section where her class and skills were, along with the way the energy gathered there, waiting to strengthen or form skills if selected.


    Since the Red Clan race was unique in how it absorbed energy from blood and used the energy to strengthen their souls, this was a situation Adam couldn¡¯t have gotten from capturing other invaders. In the memories he had seen of the Red Clan tower, Adam had learned a lot of the basic things about the soul.


    Unfortunately, there wasn¡¯t any hands-on experience for the initiates who didn¡¯t even have classes yet, which limited the depth of what he had learned. His observations were to help him apply the knowledge he had gained, while also trying to figure out the nuances that you could only get with experience.


    Not being academically inclined, Adam was relieved when everything settled down, and the energy became inert. He wanted to learn as much as he could, hoping he could grasp something to help untangle or strengthen his own soul. There probably hadn¡¯t been a situation where someone had a soul class without the ability to feed on souls or blood. Yet here Adam was, forced to figure this out in a backwards method.


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    With a yawn, Adam left his soul. For a bit he thought about everything he had seen and tried to figure out ways to apply it. But his brain felt a little overused. He pulled out a granola bar and idly chewed on it.


    ¡°This is all kinds of screwed up,¡± muttered Adam to himself. ¡°I¡¯m pretty strong, but I think the fight with Sgolkr showed that I would be hard pressed to compete with Tier 4s. They are supposed to show up in a couple of months. My friends are making fast progress, based on what Lashtam says, but will they be ready in time?


    ¡°If I want to help, then I need more strength. Pulling the stats from older Gregor¡¯s class burns me up. There has to be a way to use more of those stats. Or maybe to pull some from older Adam¡¯s class. With a better handle of the Soul Forger class, maybe I could find a way to build my own class to allow my body to level and enhance the stat effects.¡±


    Pondering that line of thought, Adam sighed. The [System] was able to help everyone build classes and skills. The Red Clan, at least in the memories he had seen, weren''t interested in building their own. They were fully on board with letting the [System] do everything. How could that be wise, giving an unknown thing so much control over every aspect of you? In the same place, Adam knew humanity would have been trying to learn how to do it themselves, to reverse engineer what the [System] did. He might not be smart enough to do it himself, but the [System] was smart enough for everyone else.


    ¡°[System], just how strong are you?¡± asked said while slouching further and looking at the ceiling.


    Query Accepted: [System] has no strength stat. Quantification impossible. Term ¡°strength¡± too vague. Add details to query.


    Adam froze, mid lounge. He looked at the message in front of him. Blinking a few times in disbelief, the display stayed even as his eyes were closed.


    ¡°Are you¡­are you answering me?¡± asked Adam, swallowing hard.


    Affirmative, Adam Clemens.


    Adam sat up in his chair. He turned his head back and forth, as if checking for someone playing a prank on him. He even leaned to both sides to check the prison cells for anyone who might be doing this. He half expected Tom to have put the entire engineering corps to work figuring out how to hack the Rift Menu just to play pranks like this on people.


    Except, Adam was sure Tom wouldn¡¯t prank him. At least not like this. He wasn¡¯t in the usual Rift network, so Tom wouldn¡¯t be able to prank him even if he could control a Rift Menu in that way. Adam hadn¡¯t given permissions to this Rift except to the Leputi staying here.


    ¡°Why are you answering me now?¡± asked Adam, confused why the [System] would speak to him at this point.


    This is the first time Adam Clemens has requested information from the [System].


    Adam slapped his forehead.


    ¡°You are saying that you answered just now because I never asked you a question before?¡±


    Correct.


    ¡°Do you respond to anyone who asks you something?¡±


    Negative. The [System] only addresses a person when it is a matter relevant to the [System].


    ¡°Then your earlier answer was a lie. It wasn¡¯t because I asked.¡±


    Adam waited, but no denial, defense, or explanation came. Then he realized it was answering questions, and he hadn¡¯t asked a question.


    ¡°Fine. What matter related to me is relevant to the [System] that would cause you to respond?¡±


    Adam Clemens has a higher standing than most creatures. Additional permissions are given as a result.


    ¡°I have a higher standing? Why do I have a higher standing?¡±


    Incorrect. Current Adam Clemens does not have a higher standing. Predecessor Adam Clemens had a higher standing. As a result, additional observation is being paid to current Adam Clemens.


    Adam scratched the back of his head. The [System] was speaking like there were two of him. Why would there be two¡­then it struck him.


    ¡°The status sheet memories! The older Adam! There was another me before me?¡±


    Correct. The predecessor won the invasions and earned additional permissions as a result.


    His jaw dropped dumbfoundedly. Another version of him had won this apocalypse.


    ¡°Wow! He won? How did he beat all the invaders?¡±


    Incorrect. No natives have ever fended off the invading races. Predecessor Adam Clemens survived the death of all the other natives.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s crap!¡± snapped Adam, getting angry. He felt his heat pulse and the river wake. CONQUER, the inner voice screamed.


    No one had ever won. He had heard it from Lashtam before, but the bunny man didn¡¯t know everything. If the [System] said never and wasn¡¯t lying, then that means it was supposed to be impossible. Inside Adam had always felt it was a trick but had tried to hold out hope.


    ¡°Then if I watch all my friends, family, and other humans die, I¡¯ll get additional permissions?¡± he asked bitterly, envisioning his friends falling to the goblins and Emily being taken off by the Scyrric.


    Negative. Limited space available for assignable benefit. Current Adam Clemens is too big to receive it.


    ¡°I¡¯m too big?¡±


    Confirmed. Current Adam Clemens¡¯ soul is expanded to a maximum and already full. Unable to accommodate assignable benefit.


    The last answer didn¡¯t make sense to Adam. There was no context or description of it, so he thought for a minute before trying to focus on the more important part of it. He knew his soul was full, so that didn¡¯t need explaining, but he didn¡¯t know why that mattered to the ¡°assignable benefit.¡±


    ¡°What is the benefit?¡±


    Benefit allowed to final native is the option to return memories to the past.


    Now that was a little interesting to Adam. Another him survived until the end and then sent his memories back. Only, Adam didn¡¯t get memories. At least not as he thought of them. He received the corruption and memories of classes. And one of those classes wasn¡¯t even Adam¡¯s. This seemed different than what the [System] was saying.


    ¡°So, I¡­or I guess my predecessor, sent his memories back. Did something go wrong, and I didn¡¯t receive them?¡±


    Predecessor Adam Clemens used the option. He successfully sent back his memories.


    ¡°But I only got memories of skills and status sheets.¡±


    Adam waited a moment. No response came and he was concerned he might have used up all the time the [System] had given him. His heat pulsed again before he remembered he needed to say it in the form of a question. The thought caused the music from ¡°I¡¯m a little teapot¡± to play in his mind.


    ¡°If he successfully sent back his memories, then why did my soul end up corrupted?¡±


    Current Adam Clemens¡¯ soul was corrupted because predecessor Adam Clemens CHEATED.

 CH 180: The Predecessor Adam

    CHAPTER 180: The Predecessor Adam


    ¡°What the hell kind of answer is that?!¡± shouted Adam.


    An accurate one.


    Adam sighed. ¡°Fine, can you please explain how he cheated and why that corrupted me?¡±


    Acceptable knowledge that can be learned will be shared. Restricted or influential knowledge will be omitted. The following explanation can be given because current Adam Clemens has already learned how souls are structured.


    The predecessor Adam Clemens won the invasions, surviving past all other natives. Before using the option to return his memories to the past, he destroyed his own memories to clear space, much like current Adam Clemens did to Cruxannith¡¯cz¡¯Jurzax. Then the predecessor combined the class section of the soul belonging to Gregor Munstean into his own memory section. His intention was to send the Grand Blood Berserker class to you, taking the place of his returning memories.


    ¡°He did all that after surviving the invasions once?¡± asked Adam with surprise. ¡°I can¡¯t picture myself being able to figure all that out.¡±


    It seemed weird that he could have gathered enough experience and knowledge to do all that, especially considering the oddness of have a race specific class. There was no scenario where Adam could imagine someone going from a nobody to a powerhouse that knew how to game the [System].


    Negative. Predecessor Adam Clemens had sent memories back previously.


    ¡°Oh, well that makes more sense. Then he, or I? Er, my predecessor had already survived once?¡± asked Adam idly, knowing that ultimately it didn¡¯t matter.


    Negative.


    ¡°Then he survived twice?¡±


    Negative.


    Adam¡¯s brow furrowed. If he had already sent his memories back, but it wasn¡¯t once or twice, then, ¡°How many times did he survive?¡±


    Predecessor Adam Clemens survived sixty-eight times before sacrificing his knowledge and experiences to send you a powerful class.


    Adam¡¯s jaw dropped. His brain froze at the information. It wasn¡¯t just that someone could survive that many times. In video games, the more you played through a game the easier and faster it became. But 68 times? Adam could only think about how boring it would be to relive the same things over and over, especially with all the death and conflict. What would that have done to a man?


    ¡°Was he insane?!¡±


    Like strength, sanity is too vague a term to quantify without specific parameters.


    ¡°He must have been batty as a loon, huh?¡±


    Many current natives find the current Adam Clemens low on sanity.


    ¡°Was that a joke?¡± snapped Adam in surprise at the words printed in his view.


    Negative.


    Adam just shrugged it off. What did it matter who thought him insane. His actions were succeeding and protecting those who mattered. After hearing what the [System] said, Adam was pretty sure he could survive to the end as well, but that was against what he was trying to accomplish. It was also against the voice in the corruption telling him to conquer.


    Speaking his next thoughts out loud, Adam said, ¡°I guess that¡¯s hopefully. If things go badly, I can always just survive solo and get the reset, right?¡±


    There was a pause for several seconds, almost as if the [System] was thinking. Maybe it was considering how to break it to him more gently. It the end the harsh reality struck him directly.


    Negative. Current Adam Clemens is unable to use the survival option.


    ¡°What?! Why?¡±


    Current Adam Clemens soul is both full and corrupted. The function to return memories cannot be used with the available patterns in your memory section. The amount and changes in memory methods would destroy a native¡¯s mind irreparably.


    Adam signed in disappointment. He felt a weight settle around him. There were no fallback options, no redo. He won or he died¡­everyone would die. Whatever the predecessor did was a one-time attempt¡­and had failed. The current Adam was a failure and broken beyond [System] help.


    Disappointment and depression welled up inside him. The inevitability of his loss wrapped around Adam. He slid further into a slouch on his chair as his shoulders slumped. Memories of Emily captured by both the Red Clan and the Scyrric played in his mind.


    Pictures of the hordes of enemies that he saw in future Gregor¡¯s memories attacking Jackson sprang into his imagination. The whole city crumbled, not just the walls like in the Scyrric attack. Buildings fell and became ruins. People were killed in the streets. His parents would die to any of a thousand different attacks. Abbey, Alissa, Andrea, and Brittney would fall trying to protect people, with Lucas and the rest of his people fighting until their deaths.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    It was all hopeless. Adam wasn¡¯t one to imagine himself as special, or better than everyone else, but there was a surety in his thoughts. His predecessor had failed to save the world 68 times. What could one broken, unable to level kid do that was better? Was he even a different person than the other Adam?


    Then a chill crackled out from his mind and struck the rest of his body. Sparks of cold caused him to shiver. A familiar voice spoke. It had been unwanted before, a monster inside that tried to control and order him. This time the harshness was still there, but Adam felt a reassurance in it. There was a certainty in it which wasn¡¯t affected by depression or doubts or self-esteem. The voice spoke in a way that would force reality to change. It commanded the world to follow its order.


    CONQUER!


    ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± exclaimed Adam. ¡°I¡¯m no worse off than the beginning of the conversation. Nothing has changed. I didn¡¯t know about the reset option before and didn¡¯t doubt myself then. Being broken doesn¡¯t matter either, since I can still fight. I will still fight! It was victory or death before, and it is victory or death now.¡±


    Adam rose in his chair. He looked at the former enemy sitting catatonic in the cell before him. She had hounded him since before the invasions. All her experience, knowledge, support, and traps had been overcome. People had died but way fewer than should have. They wouldn¡¯t have stood a chance without Adam¡¯s strength gained from the corruption. He might be broken and a failure compared to what future Adam had intended, but that didn¡¯t mean that Adam couldn¡¯t still overcome.


    The corruption was the element that had allowed him to conquer the goblin Rift base to get started on this path. It had allowed him to defeat the Red Clan speaker and the Scyrric. It had given him the differences to throw off the invaders¡¯ expectations. They had all the knowledge, except for what he was and what he could do. And with those differences, he could find new ways to overcome.


    The other humans, the invaders, and even the [System] were playing by a set of rules that Adam wasn¡¯t bound to. This wasn¡¯t a time to be depressed, but to continue to change the rules. If no natives had defeated the invasions, then the current rules did him no favors.


    That was what he was doing with his captive. That was what he would continue to figure out. There had to be a way to increase his strength further so he could face the next waves, even if it wasn¡¯t through leveling.


    Another thought struck Adam.


    ¡°Why did my predecessor send back the berserker class? It¡¯s powerful, but I doubt it¡¯s strong enough to fight off all the invasions.¡±


    Correct. Predecessor Adam Clemens sent it back in the hopes that current Adam Clemens would evolve it to **Authority Standing too low**. That class had been enough to destroy entire worlds, and he hoped it would be enough to chase off the invaders. Although he had no way to prevent it from also destroying your world and all its inhabitants.


    ¡°Wow. Just wow. That seems like faulty reasoning. What was his plan to prevent Earth from being destroyed?¡±


    Predecessor Adam Clemens had no plan. He left that up to current Adam Clemens to figure out.


    Adam let his breath hiss between his teeth. ¡°What a lazy bastard! That guy didn¡¯t even have a plan? Man, if he was here, I¡¯d punch him in the face. He had to have known I¡¯m too lazy to figure it out either. He was the one with all the knowledge."


    With a minute of ranting, Adam got back to the conversation.


    ¡°You mentioned earlier that he had a higher standing, then you just omitted information because my standing is too low. Was his standing so high because of all his survivals?¡±


    Partially correct. In the history of worlds invaded, it is rare for anyone to make it to the reset option. For a native to make it twice in a row has never happened. Predecessor Adam Clemens doing it 68 times in a row has aided the [System] in its purpose greater than almost any other being throughout history.


    ¡°Your purpose? You have a reason you are organizing these invasions?¡±


    Correct.


    ¡°And future me helped you in this purpose?¡±


    Correct. Predecessor Adam Clemens unknowingly aided the [System] throughout all his resets.


    ¡°That earned him more standing and authority?¡±


    Correct. Though he was never notified of this or used it. Predecessor Adam Clemens has been placed 8<sup>th</sup> on the list of contributors to the [System]. Instead, the [System] has used this extra authority to allow communication with the descendent.


    ¡°Oh?¡± said Adam, a little excited to hear about his place atop a list that must include millions of trillions of people throughout universal history, even if it was a different version of him. His curiosity and an unusual bout of competitiveness had him ask, ¡°Where am I on the list?¡±


    Current Adam Clemens has done nothing to merit being on the list. No benefit to the [System] has come from your actions. As a result, future communication with the [System] will be limited and restricted.


    ¡°Oh,¡± said Adam morosely. Fortunately, his typical lack of competitiveness kicked in and he was able to shake it off. ¡°Then I better get what I can out of you now. What is your purpose?¡±


    Query denied. Authority Standing too low.


    ¡°Damn! Then let¡¯s try this. How did my predecessor benefit you?¡±


    Predecessor Adam Clemens benefitted the [System] by using the survival reset options to **Authority Standing too low**.


    ¡°Sonofa¡­¡± cursed Adam. He tried to think quickly. What else could he find out about before running out of goodwill from the [System]? With the pressure and sense of time dwindling, his mind blanked out. Every time he reached for a question it flittered away from his thoughts. This was worse than any school test he had taken.


    Adam broke out into a sweat, odd for him. His mouth was dry, and his fingers squirmed as he demanded useful questions from his brain.


    ¡°Are their other side effects I can expect due to the corruption?¡± he blurted.


    Current Adam Clemens soul is unprecedented, so outcomes are not known. As well as the currently known effects, more side effects are likely. Current Adam Clemens soul is structured and operating in ways contrary to its design. This may result in, but is not limited to, reduced effectiveness in soul energy, decreased or deviating effectiveness of abilities, body failure, mental failure, intellectual failure, soul failure, inaccessible or destroyed memories, unforeseen abilities gained, current abilities lost, and/or personality displacement.


    ¡°Well, screw that!¡± muttered Adam. ¡°That¡¯s the stuff of nightmares without giving me any actual information. Sounds like the warning from a drug commercial. Then, how about this. Did my predecessor and Gregor have a relationship? If so, what was it?¡±


    Predecessor Adam Clemens and Gregor Munstean were more than acquaintances. They were¡­**allotted time expired**. The [System] will now cease conversation with Adam Clemens.


    Warning, although Adam Clemens is operating in ways unforeseen by the [System], possible actions arising from the soul bond with Cruxannith¡¯cz¡¯Jurzax may run contrary to the purpose of the [System]. These actions may be considered a threat if completed. [System] warnings will be provided in such a case. The [System] will continue to monitor you and may contact you again.


    Communication terminated.


    Adam sat there stunned. He reread the last message several times. His bond to Cruxannith might be a problem? The [System] will contact him when it wants to while ignoring him? It will be monitoring?


    That last one he knew was inescapable since the [System] seemed to be affecting everything, but seeing it written just made it feel gross.


    ¡°Creepy voyeur,¡± he complained. "Worse than Tom! Slightly."


    Then he signed and slumped. He went into his menu and read through the whole conversion. Or at least the [System]¡¯s words, since the notifications didn¡¯t record his questions to it. Everything it said seemed straight forward, except where it refused to answer.


    So many answers, and yet it didn¡¯t change anything. It didn¡¯t give him hints on how to get stronger. While it provided him with context, it didn¡¯t give him any info that would change his decisions or plans.


    Adam guessed that was why the answers were acceptable. Because they didn¡¯t change anything. He was no better off now than before the conversation. As interesting as it might be, he still needed to find answers by himself, still needed to discover a way to grow in strength and ability.


    Adam stared into the cell, at the former Red Clan invader. She stared back with no consciousness. Adam allowed himself one more sigh. Then he propped himself back up and pulled a hand full of snack bars from a pocket.


    There might not have been useful information, but the consequences were laid out clearly once more. Victory or death for everyone. He couldn¡¯t imagine other people surviving the invasions if he couldn¡¯t lead the way, reinforced by hearing that his predecessor had managed it 68 times.


    Well, Adam could picture Tom somehow surviving, talking his way into survival once the rest of them were gone. But really, would that help save humanity? Adam could only imagine a time traveling Tom as being worse for Earth than the invaders.


    With renewed determination, Adam crunched on his snacks and dove back into Cruxannith¡¯s soul to see what he could find.

 CH 181: A Missing Speaker

    CHAPTER 181: A Missing Speaker


    Elder Klinxint¡¯ac¡¯Dilnik stretched as he sat at his desk. Raising his head from the display he was looking at, he checked the rest of the room. It was a sizeable office, though not as large as it should be for his status. Yet, that hadn¡¯t caused him to change it in the last half century.


    The gilded desk was eight feet wide and three feet deep. Very little was on the desktop, since most species used the city window to keep track of all their documents. It was more thorough and referenceable than the ancient barbaric ways of writing everything down.


    Klinxint had been viewing three displays at the same time. The first showed the progress of new initiates to the tower. The next was a list of former initiates who had passed the final test and received a class. The youths were now apprentices of the tower, with some needing to be assigned to mentors and teachers. The final list was those who were nearing the level where they would be sent on missions for the tower. The missions could be within the Red Clan world, within the tower, or even off world, although those usually went to proven apprentices.


    Upon reaching Tier 5, Klinxint had found his motivation waning. There wasn¡¯t a Red Clan member alive who didn¡¯t want to reach Tier 6 and become a Grand Elder, but Klinxint had needed a break. He hadn¡¯t been interested in pursuing strength or research. His class of ¡°Compellent Elocutionist¡± was focused on affecting souls through different forms of communication. It was the type of class used by those working with other species. Klinxint knew how to get what he wanted from people while face to face, but the hiatus of his ambition upon evolving to this class had affected his results as much as anything else.


    Sometimes he was sent on missions to gather information or to negotiate, however he had found it more soothing to work with the educational facilities. He took pleasure in helping the young to grow, guiding the ambitions of those who did not know the difficulties before them, while using his skills to solidify their loyalty and potential to the clan.


    His assignment was a typically unwanted one by Elders, and there was usually an obligatory rotation to fill the position. Upon taking his turn, Klinxint surprisingly found satisfaction in this job. Not necessarily in the work, but he had an appreciation for the ambition and desires he saw in the youth. It kindled his own desires, reminding him of what it meant to grow and push forward on your path.


    As he became a regular volunteer for the position, to the relief of his peers, Klinxith spent time building his own plans for the future. After another twenty years, his plans would be finalized, and he would pursue them outside of the tower. The current time would end as a nice break, all while he continued to support the tower and to grow the Red Clan influence.


    Klinxint¡¯s eyes darted around as semi corporeal clones of himself also moved around the room. There were fifteen currently in the room, and as he practiced his skills in this position, he found the number and capability of them increasing. They were based on skills that could project and manifest his will, self-images he had developed within his soul sphere.


    Each one moved with a purpose as they worked on other tasks, read information from displays, passed through solid objects as they moved across the rooms. Once a task was accomplished, they would merge back with him, transferring the knowledge and experience into him. Few in the tower could accomplish or learn as quickly as he could.


    Yet, when a message came, not from the Tower Menu, but from his [System] notifications, all the clones stopped and looked at him. The words made his eyes go wide, causing enough disruption in his mind that the clones all walked back to him and merged before he reread the notification.


    ALERT: Life Scroll has been destroyed.


    Klinxint frowned. He looked around at the walls. They weren¡¯t really walls, but rows upon rows of shelves. To the side of his desk and behind, stretching beyond the distance, were millions of artifacts, scrolls, and parchments sealed with magic. They weren¡¯t documents or simple written forms that might be needed for reference.


    These were artifacts of power that bound each and every member of the tower, from guards to students to agents to elders. Fully fledged members all had a Life Scroll formed. It didn¡¯t exert power over them or influence them. Instead, it simply monitored their lives so the administrators could verify if someone was alive or dead.


    To have a Life Scroll destroyed meant someone had died.


    It wasn¡¯t always a big deal. Agents on missions could find themselves in bad situations they couldn¡¯t survive. Students might overextend themselves during training, either being killed by a creature they fought, or by their own power as they experimented with skills that harmed their souls. However, it was rare for tower agents to be killed by other races, since the fear of reprisal was a strong deterrent.


    Each death needed to be verified and understood.


    With a wave of his hand, a new clone appeared. It nodded to Klinxint and then walked off into the shelves. Hours went by as the clone searched. During this time Klinxint waited motionlessly. When the clone returned, walking around the shelves instead of through to prevent the artifacts from interfering with his skill, there was a wrapped up scroll in his hand.


    The scroll was placed on the desk and then the clone once more merged with the Red Clan Elder. He broke the seal on the scroll before unrolling it.


    ¡°Kristich''cl''Zulxat?¡± he read the name out loud. The name was not known to him. Not only that, but the level of the newly deceased was barely in the second tier. Hardly strong enough to be sent on a potentially dangerous mission. He brought up the Tower Menu and searched for the name.


    Kristich''cl''Zulxat - Researcher


    Assignment: Assistant to Cruxannith¡¯cz¡¯Jurzax


    ¡°A little vague on that assignment,¡± he muttered. Clicking on the assignment, he found that it was classified. The name of the assigning elder was there, one he didn¡¯t know personally or the duty of. In other societies that might seem odd, but it wasn¡¯t unusual for agents of the tower to have their location and purpose hidden so no one else could interfere.


    Opening a window, Klinxint contacted the assigning Elder. It was only a moment before another face appeared. It responded cordially, even though Klinxint had never spoken directly to him.


    ¡°Greetings, Elder Klinxint¡¯ac¡¯Dilnik, head of student affairs,¡± spoke Elder Kurnithax¡¯aa¡¯Jarnith, pressing his palm to his forehead in a show of respect. ¡°Is there a way I may aid you and serve the tower?¡±


    ¡°Greetings, Elder Kurnithax¡¯aa¡¯Jarnith,¡± responded Klinxint. ¡°Though we are newly acquainted, I hope we may serve the tower together. An alert that a Life Scroll has ended led me to your name, and I desire to share the knowledge.¡±


    Kurnithax frowned a little, disappointed at the death of one of the Red Clan without even knowing the name. ¡°May their death serve the tower,¡± he said, holding both hands flat, pressed against each other perpendicularly, in the sign of mourning. ¡°May I know the name of the deceased so I may act accordingly?¡±


    ¡°It was a researcher named Kristich''cl''Zulxat.¡±


    A gasp escaped from Kurnithax and his eyes grew serious.


    Stolen story; please report.


    ¡°Was that it? Was that the only Life Scroll?¡± he demanded.


    In confusion, Klinxint rechecked his notifications. ¡°That was the only Life Scroll alert.¡±


    ¡°Are you sure?¡± When Kurnithax saw Klinxint nod, he made a gesture of relief. ¡°That¡¯s good. That means Cruxannith is still alive. Thank you for the information. May we both continue to serve the tower.¡±


    As Kurnithax began to make a gesture of farewell, a frantic voice spoke outside of what Klinxint could see.


    ¡°Elder! Apologies for the intrusion, but the Scyrric have contacted us and demand a reply. They have said that the portal between their staging world and the Rift they provided to our speaker has disappeared. They insist it has been captured!¡±


    Turning from the voice back to Klinxint, a serious expression was on Kurnithax¡¯s face. ¡°That isn¡¯t good. If you insist that Cruxannith is still alive, but the Rift has fallen¡­Elder Klinxint, I believe we need a meeting of the available elders, and I would request your attendance.¡±


    Klinxint looked at the confusion and severity that his fellow elder was showing. Little could be done to unnerve someone of such high tier. To survive that long was to experience most of what was available in their part of the universe. Klinxint swallowed hard but then touched his palm to his forehead.


    ¡°For the tower!¡±


    ***


    ¡°WHAT DID YOU SAY?!¡± bellowed Commander Grthk.


    The amount of fury he radiated could be felt by everyone in the room. The commander was on his feet and looming over the captains while the lieutenant was prostrate at his feet. Those who weren¡¯t already out of their chairs flinched and dropped to their knees in submission.


    Power wafted out of the large commander. With a roar he stomped, cracking the floor and shaking the whole building. He snorted out of his nose as his tail lashed down, also cracking the raised area where his throne like chair was placed.


    The captains were no weaklings, but they still heaved for breath to get enough air into their lungs as the energy coming from the commander was suffocating. Each of them quivered, unsure how to quench his anger. None of them bothered to speak up, instead looking at the ground in the hope they wouldn¡¯t attract his ire.


    ¡°Sire, I cannot change the information I was provided and did not witness it firsthand,¡± said the lieutenant, his voice steady, even as the stronger captains trembled and tried to hide. ¡°We have lost two bases on our new world, and many of our forces in one region were killed attacking natives.¡±


    ¡°Natives?! NATIVES?!¡± shouted Grthk before lowering his voice into a threatening whisper. ¡°How could natives defeat our glorious soldiers?!¡±


    ¡°The high-level berserker we sent aided the Red Clan speaker in capturing the aberration. When he led our forces to put down the native rebellion, they managed to defend, even killing some of our specialized Tier 3s. The next part we don¡¯t have a detailed account of, but the aberration must have escaped from the Red Clan speaker since it was reported that he showed up at the battle and laid waste to our forces. It was reported that our berserker was out matched by him and fled.¡±


    ¡°How could a Scyrric be outmatched? And even by an aberration? What do you mean he fled?¡± asked the commander with confusion, his power settling as he tried to understand. ¡°Scyrric don¡¯t flee. What could have caused him to behave like that?¡±


    Grthk leaned back onto his tail in contemplation. The girth and length of the tail was even more than his size, a desirable trait among the Scyrric. None of the captains looked up or stood, instead waiting for the commander to finish with his thoughts.


    ¡°Have we received a report from the berserker we sent?¡±


    ¡°No, sire. Our reports came from two other base leaders who had been recruited by him. They had been in combat at the time and didn¡¯t witness the fight between the berserker and aberration.¡±


    ¡°I remember that the Red Clan speaker found evidence of a Tier 4 mind or soul manipulator helping the aberration. Is that correct?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sire,¡± answered the lieutenant. ¡°Although the evidence was only circumstantial. The [System] even told us no higher tier races were involved.¡±


    ¡°Maybe this mysterious manipulator did something to the berserker. I can see no other reason for a trained Scyrric leader to flee like a weakling. Make sure an order is put out to bring him in for a direct report to us. Can we send more high-level troops to the base we purchased for the speaker?¡±


    ¡°Sire, the base has been closed to us. The portal is no more. We believe the aberration took it when he escaped from the Red Clan''s control.¡±


    ¡°What?!¡± yelled the commander again, before settling back into his thoughts. ¡°Then what of Red Clan speaker?¡±


    ¡°Unknown, sire. She has not been seen or heard from since the battle, and the base is closed to us. Following the battle at the natives¡¯ base, our forces are having to re-organize since several base leaders were killed and 60% of our regional soldiers as well. They will need to consolidate strength again to be able to maintain their strongholds.¡±


    A rumbling growl built in Commander Grthk throat. He looked around at his kneeling captains, not one offering any insight. His most loyal lieutenant showed proper respect, while also performing his duties.


    This situation seemed too unusual. The aberration was unprecedented, but Grthk had read the prior reports. It wasn¡¯t only the aberration who was surviving. Groups of natives, some were large groups, had found ways to survive all over the planet. They couldn¡¯t fight back like the aberration, instead using their knowledge of the world to hide or escape. It was unusual, though not nearly as concerning as the aberration was.


    That native had captured Rifts before the invasion had even begun. Now his people had faced a small army of Scyrric and survived, while the aberration managed to escape from the Red Clan. This wasn¡¯t possible without help from outside the planet.


    ¡°Could the Red Clan be orchestrating this?¡± asked the commander, absently speaking his thoughts. ¡°The unknown Tier 4 manipulator could be a concoction to throw us off the scent. They wanted to research the aberration instead of killing him. Maybe they are protecting him and his people as part of an experiment. Could they have created the aberration?¡±


    ¡°Sire, after receiving the reports we checked with the Red Clan. They said the speaker is still alive, though they have not heard from her.¡±


    ¡°How will they compensate us for the loss of her and the costly base we purchased?¡±


    ¡°They apologized and said they would reimburse us for the expenses.¡± After that the lieutenant seemed to shift positions before becoming still.


    ¡°I can see your disapproval,¡± commented Grthk. ¡°What else did they say?¡±


    ¡°To make it up to us, they have purchased several Rifts on the world and are sending through their own forces. They are now officially taking part in the conquering.¡±


    The captains in the room gasped as Grthk¡¯s eyes went wide. Then his eyes narrowed in anger. ¡°They dare send troops directly?¡±


    ¡°Yes, sire. They claim it is to help correct the mistake of their subordinate. And to help protect Scyrric lives.¡±


    The commander stood once again and roared. The room shook from the vibrations.


    Suddenly, a new presence was felt in the meeting room. Grthk¡¯s head whipped sideways to stare at the person in the entryway. He was older, much older, and only about half the height of Grthk. He wore simple looking armor of grays and black. Two knives were on his belt. The Scyrric was hunched over further than most Scyrric but looked like he was out for a casual walk, expression neutral even amid the commander¡¯s fury. The tail on the entrant was thin but long. Longer than even Grthk¡¯s.


    Commander Grthk took one look at the new person, saw his tag of ¡°Grand Spymaster [672],¡± and dropped to his own knees; fury locked up as he bowed his head.


    ¡°Quite the odd situation,¡± said the small Scyrric. With casual reassurance, he walked into the room and headed right for Grthk¡¯s throne. Once he reached it, he sat and squirmed a bit since the chair was built for someone much taller than him. ¡°Not quite what I¡¯m used to, but it is comfortable enough. It will do.¡±


    Commander Grthk stayed kneeling with his head down but spoke. ¡°What brings a Grand Elder to us?¡±


    ¡°You have done well to keep us apprised of the oddity of our new world. As such we aren¡¯t holding you personally responsible for our losses. However, it was decided that one of us should come and observe this unknown situation. As the head spymaster, I was selected. It seems I arrived just in time. Now, let¡¯s go over everything from the beginning.¡±


    Grthk saw the glint of interest in the Tier 6 Grand Elder and shivered. He just hoped they could salvage this event or make it interesting enough to prevent this from becoming a career ending mistake.


    ***


    Sgolkr felt the cold under his scales. The air outside of the Rifts was a lower temperature than the Scyrric found comfortable. Usually, the heat created by his class kept him warm throughout his body. That was normal of a berserker. However, even with the rage that was built up in him, the skill that converted it into heat, into power, wouldn¡¯t trigger.


    Protection skills were normal for leaders of the Scyrric to develop. They would not allow their troops or leadership to be interfered with by enemies, or even rival allies. Whatever had been used on him by the aberration had gotten through all his protection skills. Unlike the Red Clan skills that he knew of, this one wasn¡¯t influenced by distance or time. Contrary to any skill he had heard of, he felt the base of his power locked away. It was unfathomable.


    Running for two days, Sgolkr had put a large amount of distance between him and the aberration¡¯s home. He traveled far but found no relief from the distance. Unlocking his strength and power was necessary for him to get back and make the situation right, to re-earn his position among the Scyrric.


    The reason he had finally stopped was because he reached the Rift he had been looking for. The planetary merged Rift before him was part of a mountain. This was where he would begin to consolidate his power. His armory had been taken, but there was one other race that could craft weapons as powerful as what he had brought into this world.


    Even in a weakened state, his strength would be enough to take this base and enslave its smiths. Sgolkr¡¯s sharp teeth reflected the light of the sun rising over the mountains as he stepped into the Unklarn¡¯s territory.

 CH 182: Stolen Knowledge

    CHAPTER 182: Stolen Knowledge


    Adam groaned in agony. His head rolled back and forth as he tried to fight off the fatigue and disgust that had been building inside. He rotated his wrist, wishing that the strength he got from his pseudo-skills could provide enough power to conquer what was before him.


    With a critical eye he looked at the scene in front, trying to identify the weak spots that he could attack. Flaws that he could address. After a moment he realized that defeat was a certainty, and he launched the item in his hand forwards. Then with a shout of frustration he punched the wall behind him.


    "Why is drawing so hard?!" he shouted, infusing it with [Incapacitating Shout] in the hopes it would somehow fix what he had drawn in the notepad on the desk.


    Opening the Rift Menu, he lazily summoned the pen he had thrown only a few feet back into his hand. The first few pens had been destroyed, so he had used the Rift to reshape a piece of armor into the pen''s outer casing. As a result, it was practically unbreakable, but he couldn''t bring it out of the rift.


    Knowing how much knowledge mattered, he was trying to take everything he had learned from Cruxannith''s memories to put them in a format that could be passed on to the other humans. While everything he had experienced in the tower had been basic knowledge allowed to initiates, it was still more than the Sentinel Army had to work with. What made it even more valuable were the lists of classes and skills available, even if they lacked explanations for how to gain them. Testing and experience could help them figure out the ¡°how¡± with the roadmap of ¡°what¡¯s¡± that he was putting together. The Red Clan had only cared about countering them, not learning them, since the soul classes were the goal for everyone in the tower.


    The knowledge he had in his memories wasn''t limited to classes and skills. There had been explanations on how things worked, magic, rituals, runes, inscriptions, alchemy, equipment, beasts, and more. Again, it was only the basics, but it was enough to give those in Jackson a starting point to figure things out. Adam was even drawing pictures of the magical devices he had seen in the memories in hopes they could be reverse engineered with the Leputi''s help.


    That was where Adam was hitting a wall. He had never been good at drawing. None of his pseudo-skills could help either. If anything, his brute force tendencies interfered with the fine motion controls that drawing required.


    "Future Adam went through 68 lives where he had to learn and experience, remembering and applying the knowledge without recording it. Surely, I can recreate what I see in my memories," he grumbled, trying to hype himself up.


    For the last week he had been working on this while he alternated with spending time searching Cruxannith''s soul for more insight into it. These tasks were like tedious busy work from school, a lot of effort without much gain. Cruxannith''s memories might be gone, but Adam could enter his own memories and then pull out what he had experienced in hers.


    Like many things, it wasn''t that simple in practice. Everything read in her memories had been in the System Standard language. As a result, he had unlocked the language skill on future Adam''s status sheet, but that only let him read and write it. He was having to use his own weak abilities to then translate all the materials into English, which was even more tedious.


    With a big sigh, Adam leaned backwards. The chair didn''t recline so much as comfortably reshape into the position he wanted it in. He raised his legs under the floating desk and the chair reformed a part under his legs.


    Cruxannith''s former office had been redecorated to be more motivating for him. The pictures and displays of Adam had been changed to be his family and friends, to provide add meaning to the harsh tasks he was forcing himself to do. He had also removed quite a few of her decorations and shrunk the size of the room since it wasn''t a place where he wanted to spend a lot of time.


    On the desk were piles of notebooks. His inexpert mind had tried to organize the information he translated into who would benefit the most. He also had three laptops that he had typed into so that he could upload them into his Rift network, to make the information easy for anyone to look up.


    The pictures and diagrams looked like they were drawn by a juvenile monkey missing its opposable thumbs. With a grumble he tried to erase part of the magic circle he had drawn, hoping to fix the diagram. Even though he could see the original picture in his mind, that didn''t mean he could recreate it accurately.


    With a large sigh and a lot of complaining, Adam leaned forward and got back to drawing. If he could just push his way through this then he would be ready to distribute the information.


    Still, the whole afternoon was taken up trying to get the details of this one drawing corrected.


    ***


    Admiration filled Adam as he walked through the crafting portion of the Jackson base. He looked at all the changed buildings and workshops. There were multiple smithies, none with smoke coming out of them thanks to the Rift Menu options. Quite a few workshops specialized in creating leather and other materials from the invader bodies that they retrieved on boss raids. A few warehouses were around too, using Rift Menu magic to preserve the corpses and dismantled parts.


    There was an armory, where they stored equipment to test before they were distributed to the Sentinel Army. A small yard was next to it where craftsmen and a few mid-level soldiers were trying out the equipment on dummies, blocks of various metals, and other durable materials.


    A deep breath filled Adam as he sniffed around, pleased that the tell-tale stink of leather processing from history books and stories wasn''t there. Even the two alchemy shops they had set up for the Leputi didn''t release odors.


    While the smells weren''t there, the sounds were, though not the expected noises for traditional Earth crafting. There were sounds more like steak sizzling on the grill and leaf blowers running than hammering or brushing out the leather. The Rift Menu shop had allowed them to bring in more [System] used equipment and magic, as well as figure out other options, which they tried to understand and combine with human historical techniques.


    They could have dampened all the sounds in the area, but the craftsmen liked the noises, feeling that it made them more productive. Instead of feeling like they were working in isolation, they could hear the efforts of their fellow craftsmen, keeping their motivation and competitiveness high.


    Garrett Starf was still the leader of the crafters. That didn''t mean he did all the work himself or refrained from crafting with his own hands. Quite a few non-combatants who didn''t craft were assigned to him to organize various projects and research, compile the gained information, and bring reports back to Garrett regarding progress.


    This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.


    Still in love with his smithy and the alien techniques he learned or discovered, Garrett would have preferred to spend even more time crafting but understood the importance of everyone working together. Since many of those working here had been his acquaintances, brought in by Garrett before the invasions took hold, and the fact he had joined with Adam and the fledgling Sentinel Army prior to others, he couldn''t escape the view of seniority.


    Due to all that, Garrett''s workshop was where Adam entered.


    "What is all that, Adam? It isn''t like you to bring us a project," said Garrett as he eyed the three laptops and thick stack of paper. Adam looked like an inept student nervously on his way to present a thesis. At least until he unintentionally glared at Garrett after glaring at the papers. Then he looked like a man ready for violence, the General of the Sentinel Army.


    Garrett froze and then took a step away from Adam''s look, and Adam sighed while triggering his [Soothe] pseudo-skill.


    "Apologies, your excellence," said one of the alchemists assigned from the Leputi mid wives. The three present Leputi bowed deeply to him. "We beg for mercy. The craft master did not mean offense."


    "I know," sighed Adam. "This just isn''t what I''m good at. Here, take these."


    Garrett received the stack of papers and placed them on a thick shop table. A display appeared and he fiddled with it, causing the smithy temperature changes and air currents from those still working to stay away from the table. Then a noise barrier appeared around the group, less for security than just to make it easier to hear their discussions.


    As Adam gently placed the laptops on the table, receiving curious looks from the Leputi, Garrett began flipping through the papers. He went through quite a few, before pulling out one of the better drawn ones and looking at it with confusion. It looked like a series of imprecise geometric shapes, with squiggles and swirls that reminded him of a kid''s spirograph. There were notes scribbled all over with notations and arrows pointing to references, but Garrett frowned even harder at the words being used.


    "Crush the dubrakity into the third trigistal loop, making sure the arcreon clink can foment along the piloament?" Garrett looked in askance to Adam.


    "Yeah, yeah. I know I have sloppy handwriting and am bad at art," stated Adam with a grumble.


    Meanwhile the Leputi were staring hard between Adam, Garrett, and the stack of papers. Their mouths were open in such surprise that their over-the-top deference was forgotten.


    "I''ll ask again, what is all this?" asked Garrett as the other human attending got closer to see. There was another smith, two armor crafters, a lead researcher that had been a civilian engineer contracted to the military, and one of the administrative staff who organized the various workshop discoveries. Plus, the three Leputi.


    "When I was captured, I had the opportunity to see a lot of the Red Clan''s basic texts about a lot of topics," explained Adam. "I''ve translated it to English as best I can. The class and skills info, including ways to unlock them, were given to Jordan Lane and Colonel Davian to review and distribute. This is all the crafting stuff that I read. FYI, the drawings suck. You''ll need to adjust them to get them to work."


    "They let you read and learn while you were captured?" asked the former engineer suspiciously.


    Very few people knew what Adam actually went through. Since the fighting had stopped and people realized he had been a prisoner, he was getting sympathetic and concerned looks from the people whenever he went around Jackson. They all must be picturing a typical P.O.W. situation. He didn''t bother saying anything, just shrugged.


    "Anyway, as much as I hated transposing it, I thought I should get it down so we can figure it out and use it."


    "Use what, exactly?" asked another craftsman as Garrett pulled out a few more papers. His brow furrowed deeply as he tried to make sense of the notes and drawings.


    "I know they are just the basics, but I figure they must have some use for us. We have no other starting points," said Adam, unhelpfully.


    "I still don''t even know what I''m looking at, or half these words," said Garrett, placing the papers on the stack. "At least tell us what they do or mean."


    The lead Leputi very hesitantly reached out and picked up the top paper. The two bunny people looking over her shoulder gasped as they saw the drawing.


    "Your excellency, this is an enhancement rune!" exclaimed the Leputi in shock.


    "That''s right," answered Adam indifferently.


    "You say it comes from the Red Clan''s library?"


    "Of course," nodded Adam.


    "This is amazing!" shrieked one of the other Leputi. "It is unthinkable that you managed to plunder their secrets. These are never revealed to other races. You can even see a destruction equilmian around the edges to prevent the rune from being seen upon exposure. Runes of these quality are only known by a few dozen races!"


    "No, no, no," said Adam, shaking his head in disbelief. "These were the basics. The only ones initiates are allowed to read about before gaining a class and being accepted into their tower. It''s like kiddy crafts to them."


    "Apologies for disagreeing with our most esteemed sovereign," said another Leputi nervously, with fearful side glances at the head alchemist and Garrett. "These might be basic for such a mighty race, however these are highly skilled for anyone else."


    "Does that mean we can''t use them?" asked Adam.


    "It will take time, testing, and materials we don''t have, at least for many of them, before we can safely adapt to them."


    "Well, I''m terrible at this stuff, so it¡¯s on you guys. Enjoy yourselves," said Adam as he turned to leave.


    "You would just leave this sacred knowledge with us?" asked a Leputi at the same time that Garrett said, "I still don''t know what¡¯s going on."


    Adam turned and answered the Leputi first. "Yes, I''m leaving it with you. I said I''m terrible at this stuff. It wouldn''t serve any purpose if I held it. I brought you my original papers, but I also added them to the Rift Menu library if you need to reference them. I''ll leave Garrett to assign permissions to the appropriate people."


    Then Adam tried explaining to Garrett. "What you pulled out are runes. These can be crafted to enhance equipment and objects. I think I found a few that might be good at preventing the energy kickback on the guns you made, protecting the shooters. They can also be used on weapons or armor, buildings and machinery. It might be a way around always needing to use the highest tier materials we get.


    "There are also rituals explained on the laptops, as well as crafting methods that I don''t think you guys know, material lists, and recipes for various things. I was hoping the Leputi could help explain the terms that I didn''t understand. The library has versions poorly translated to English by me as well as in the original [System Standard] in case I got something wrong."


    "That sounds incredible, Adam!" shouted Garrett, turning back to the pile to find anything he might understand. "If we can understand this stuff then we should be able to seriously strengthen our forces. And it sounds fun just trying to figure out these puzzles."


    "Of course," responded Adam disgruntledly. "Why else would I spend so much time doing busy work? Anyway, check the laptops first. There are books explaining how some of it works. I needed to draw the diagrams on paper since I couldn''t move them from my memory to the computer. They should be numbered between the digital books and papers."


    "Your excellency," squeaked the head Leputi. "You show us much honor and trust by allowing us to work on this. It will benefit our tribe as well as the humans."


    "Great," answered Adam without emotion. "Enjoy it."


    "Oh, we will, your excellency."


    "That all sounds great," said an administrator, "but we''re undermanned as it is. There is too much to learn and not enough resources, people, or time."


    "Good thing we recently had an influx of people from Carmichael''s convoy," muttered Adam.


    "Is it safe to trust them?" asked another crafter. "I heard they were trying to take over the base."


    "They were. They failed. I''ll stop them if they try again," said Adam with a shrug. "Besides, most of the people they collected weren''t military. There must be some mechanics or pharmacists, engineers or just creative people among them. Just do some vetting and assign any civilian to something they are capable of or have an interest in."


    "Wow, Adam," said Garrett. "If this is what you said, then we can really benefit from it. I''m sorry for what you went through, but it''s nice to know some good might come out of it."


    The captivity might not have been ideal, but it provided more benefits than anyone else realized. Strengthening his Soul Forger skill set, more knowledge about the universe and its races, as well as the stolen knowledge that will help build them up.


    As Adam walked away, a smile crept onto his face.

 CH 183: The Contest

    CHAPTER 183: The Contest


    A lot of noise reached Adam as he opened the door to his penthouse condo. It was normal for his friends to come here for evening meals, and usually they were boisterous in chatting and teasing each other as they ate. This time it felt different. Voices were raised, close to anger as they argued.


    "How can you blame me?" asked Tom. "There are more of us than you. Not to mention we''re more balanced."


    "Our classes provide more utility and fill more roles," insisted Andrea.


    "Sure, sure," mocked Tom. "But Nicky-boy is able to do it by himself. How can you even argue against it?"


    Adam walked through the hallway and came into the dining room. As usual, the long table was full of serving dishes of meat, breads, sandwiches, vegetables, and sauces. All his friends already had plates loaded with food and most were digging into it.


    Upon noticing Adam''s presence, everyone got quiet. The wife chef gave Adam a wave and took out a pizza tray sized serving dish. She handed it to Lucas who put a bunch of cuts of meat before passing it to Brittney. She also put some food on it. The tray went down the table while becoming overflowing with food as it went.


    Fido had already looked up from his three bowls of meat. Two of the heads gave Adam an excited look, while the third head barked and then went back to eating.


    "What''s the argument about?" asked Adam.


    "You see, boss, I just said that¡­"


    Immediately Adam cut off the explanation.


    "You talked. That would do it. I''m out," Adam turned to leave.


    "Harsh, boss," said Tom as he hung his head in disappointment.


    Adam walked a few steps towards his room before stopping and turning back to the table.


    "On second thought¡­"


    "I knew you''d want to hear the story," said Tom with a smile.


    "Nope, I just don¡¯t want to leave without food."


    Adam waited for the large serving tray to reach him. He took it and then once more headed to his room. Fido hurriedly picked up his three bowls and followed after Adam.


    "Well, that wasn''t what I expected," pondered Tom. No one bothered to comment on how food kept disappearing from the table, summoned away through the Rift Menu.


    "Anyway, I¡¯m just saying I wasn¡¯t being sexist. It is based on our classes," continued Tom.


    ¡°That makes it sound all the more insulting,¡± pointed out Brittney.


    "While I¡¯m not about to put my foot in my mouth like Tom, if we are doing this then we need stakes," suggested Carlos.


    "How about the losers don''t get the Rift capture stats?" suggested Alissa.


    "You can have fun with this, but it is still dangerous," said Lucas. "Nothing that will weaken our group. We need everyone to get all the stat bonuses."


    "What about the winning group can design the armor for the losers?" suggested Andrea.


    "No," responded Brittney. "I don¡¯t trust them not to design something lewd or provocative."


    Everyone followed Brittney''s eyes to a smirking Randall. After a few moments of he and Joseph practically drooling while ogling all the girls, the rest all nodded in agreement.


    "Then what about the Sentinel Army statue?" asked Tom. "I have a few ways I''d like to change it."


    With Tom drooling even more than the other two at whatever statue he was imagining in his own head, the group watched him warily. Fortunately, there wasn''t much he could do that was inappropriate to the statue. It still needed to represent the army and to inspire the troops. Eventually there was acceptance, and the group settled down to discuss the rules.


    "It''s guys versus girls to see who can capture more Rifts. Winners get to redesign our statue," announced Tom. "Our group will have me, Lucas, Randy, Joey, Carlos, Lamario, Nicky-boy, Brandon, Eddy, and Willie."


    "If Emily is going with the girls, then I am too," said William, trying to honor the promise he made to Adam to protect her.


    "Unless something has changed, I think you are missing the necessary chromosome to join that group," said Tom with a smirk.


    "Plus, you''re a dude," added Joseph.


    Everyone stared at him for a moment. He seemed oblivious to why and went back to eating, so the rest moved on.


    "Ashtala won''t be coming," said Alissa, "It''s too dangerous given her condition. We''ll bring Karen, though it feels like we should grab a few more to even the numbers."


    "What about Akuji?" asked Brittney. "I bet she will enjoy a bit more mayhem."


    "Who?" asked Tom in confusion.


    "The anime girl from Joseph''s Reaper group," answered Carlos.


    Tom looked at Carlos blankly for a moment. He blinked a few times and then nodded.


    "That sounds fine if she can be a team player. Wouldn''t want her to endanger the boss''s wives if she will create the mayhem."


    Joseph waved his hand. "She''s a nut job, but I doubt she would cause problems."


    Brittney then spoke up. "I''ve actually been hanging out with her. We, uh, play fighting games together. I think it''ll be fine. Fun even."


    If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Fun?" questioned Lamar. "Going out and slaughtering living things has become fun?"


    An embarrassed blush came over Brittney''s face. "That part isn''t fun, but the excitement, strategy, and challenge can be. Besides," she spoke up with too much defensiveness, "we need to take down these bases anyway. Might as well get closer to each other while we do."


    "That''s fine, then," said Tom, as if he was the arbiter of the contest that he had instigated. "You should take Angie and Marge too. It''ll be nice for them to get a bit more advanced leveling."


    "We''d love to have them," agreed Abbey. "I''ve been meaning to invite them to an outing anyway. I just thought it would be more casual."


    Tom then looked at Abbey with serious intensity. "Just, you know, make sure they''re safe. They''ll be lower level than the rest of us."


    "They''ll be fine with us," said Andrea.


    "I''m sure they will be," said Tom quietly. "Just make sure. I mean, I know you will. I just want¡­ha," Tom''s volume lowered as he muttered, looking down at his food with a distant look in his eye. Everyone could see his concern for them. "I just want them to stay safe."


    Lucas watched Tom''s focus drift off, so he spoke up.


    "We''ll do this to add a bit of intrigue to the base assaults, but remember that even if we are competing, it is just a childish argument. Don''t take too much on. If you need help, retreat and ask for it. I''ll make sure Adam is ready to come to help. We''ll have support groups waiting outside each base just in case. We all need to survive, and the Rifts will be attacked regardless."


    Everyone nodded in agreement and then went back to eating and trash talking.


    ***


    A yawn escaped Adam as he turned his head to the left. The windows in his room were only letting in a modicum of light. This wasn''t him using the Rift Menu to allow him to sleep in. It was still early in the morning.


    The back of some fingers reached up and gently stroked Adam''s cheek. A weight on his chest and abdomen shifted as Alissa poked her head above the covers. Adam made sure his next yawn wasn''t near her ear or face.


    "You sleep too much," she complained, even as she squirmed up and kissed Adam tenderly.


    One of Adam''s arms came up and wrapped around Alissa''s back, carressing up and down it. His other arm was held down by a fuzzy Ashtala. She was in a fetal position, pressed as closely against Adam and part of Alissa as she could manage. It had taken Adam and the girls time to get used to how tightly she pressed against people as she slept, in the Leputi fashion.


    "So I''ve been told," responded Adam. He wiggled his arm out from under Ashtala and then petted the back of her head, and then along her spine. Alissa also reached out and stroked Ashtala''s fur. Ashtala made some appreciative sounds and cuddled into the touches.


    The blue gray Leputi fur had become much softer since using the shampoo and conditioner that the girls had shared with her. It had been a little stiff and pokey before, while now it felt more like a fleece blanket.


    "I was starting to wonder if you were even planning on seeing us off," pouted Alissa as she continued to give little kisses to Adam''s neck and jaw.


    Adam tightened a little at her comment.


    "Are you sure this will be safe?" he asked, the concern clear in his voice. "This was Tom''s idea after all."


    Propping herself up using her elbows on his chest, Alissa looked at his face. "Are you being sexist, mister? Do you think us girls are too dainty and delicate to conquer bases together?"


    Adam frowned. "Maybe it is sexist, but I can''t help being concerned for you. It killed me inside when Nick went off. Whether I believed in him or not, I kept envisioning the bad things that would happen to him. I have enough concerns with the world, and right up at the top is your wellbeing."


    "As it should be," Alissa said haughtily, with a weak slap of his chest. "Maybe you should also think about how we feel when we hear you''ve been captured, or we have to watch you getting injured. Even now we can all feel some of the constant pain and concern you hold regarding the damage to your soul. Do you even have a plan to fix that?"


    "Have a plan? Has anyone on Earth ever been able to prove that souls exist before now, let alone understood how to affect them? Of course I don''t have a plan."


    "Well, at least we do have a plan. We¡¯re going into the bases as a group of experienced Tier 3s. Andrea and my soldiers will be waiting for us outside, while several Leputi scouts will be ready. Plus, we chose the five bases we''ll be raiding. If anything, you should be more concerned about the group going in with Tom. He was the one who chose their bases."


    "I''m concerned about them as well," admitted Adam. Then with a mocking smile he added, "I just prefer waking up with you girls rather than them."


    "Then I guess we''ll just have to stay healthy for your preference."


    With that, Ashtala unfolded her balled up form and partially climbed up onto Adam''s chest next to Alissa. Alissa shifted to make room for her. With her triangular nose wiggling a little, she gave Adam a kiss on the cheek. Her facial fur and whiskers tickled him. Leputi didn''t kiss like humans, and so this was something she had consulted the other girls about and had to learn.


    "Good morning, your highness," she said bashfully. Then she turned and gave Alissa a cheek kiss before greeting her. "Good morning, Lady Alissa."


    "Good morning, Ashtala," responded Adam. "Are you going on the base raids?"


    Ashtala looked at Adam in surprise, as if she just realized he didn''t know something everyone else did.


    "No, your highness. I will be joining my tribe for a few weeks."


    "Weeks? Really?" asked Adam with surprise. "Is there something wrong with living here? Or do you just miss them?"


    Alissa swatted Adam''s shoulder. "Let a girl have her mystery. She is allowed to spend time with her relatives. Just think of how lonely you''d be in an alien environment."


    "Well, sure, but she¡¯s able to visit them daily."


    "It just might not be the same."


    "Fine then," mumbled Adam. "Ashtala, just let us know if you need anything else or if it is too much living in the tower."


    "I will, your highness. You may contact my father if you need assistance or attention," responded Ashtala with an expression that Adam couldn''t read, followed by a subtle glance at Alissa. Then she scooted out of the large bed.


    Before Ashtala made it to her clothes, Alissa leapt from the bed and pounced on her. Hugging her furry body from behind. She moaned a bit as she rubbed her own exposed skin against it.


    "Mm, I can''t get enough of this fur!" squealed Alissa.


    Ashtala seemed a little uncomfortable with it but also was used to Alissa''s touchiness, even if it differed from how the Leputi touched. Adam looked away. With the girls gone for several days, Adam didn''t want this scene to be stuck in his head while he was alone for the next few nights.


    Rahsha was waiting in the living room. He had slept on the sofa while Alissa spent the night with Adam. Upon their exit he bowed to Adam and then knelt to Alissa.


    "Fear not, your excellency," said the Tier 3 Leputi upon hearing Adam''s concerns. "I will give my life to safeguard the lady."


    Alissa petted his head, as he smiled wide, still on one knee. His ears quivered in pleasure. "I know you will, cutie. But don''t come into the bases until called. This is our contest to win."


    "Yes, my lady."


    ***


    Later in the morning, before he even had time for more than a snack, Adam watched a line of trucks driving through the gates. Each of the teams had about 200 from the Sentinel Army following for support, and 40 Leputi warriors or scouts.


    The support were meant to watch the two teams of Adam''s friends, but also to check the areas for human remnants while also making sure invaders didn''t leave the bases. They were a "just in case" situation and had tried to prepare for everything.


    Both Colonel Davian and General Carmichael treated this situation as just reckless teenage hijinks. Tom had very convincingly explained, while only using a small amount of his persuasion skills, that they needed to test their core group''s strength against invaders, while continuing to clear bases in the surroundings. It was important to clear out the region of invaders now, since they were weakened from the Scyrric loss and Cruxannith''s absence.


    While the military leadership had understood, or at least been swayed by Tom''s powers, Adam made them all agree to retreat in bad situations and to stay away from Scyrric bases. Adam wanted to be a part of those assaults, even if everyone was hesitant to let him fight until he figured out how to heal his damaged soul.


    As the last truck passed through the wall, and Adam watched all the remaining people who had seen them off disperse, he began the walk back. Concern wouldn''t leave Adam, and he even felt his appetite affected as he sent a message to his chefs for only three breakfast pizzas.


    With his mind too occupied to spend time inspecting Cruxannith''s soul, Adam decided to spend the day at the Adventurer''s training field. He would get some sparring in with the troops. Maybe it would help them, or even himself. Hopefully, it would keep his mind off of the worry he had for his friends.