《Towers' Chosen (Revamped)》


 Chapter 1: When Life Was Normal

    Please enjoy my first chapter! Comments are welcome!!


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    12:00 p.m. April 23, 2015


    Two youths were lying on their backs in a large courtyard¡¯s field of lush dark green grass. The field was dotted with green-leafed elm trees and squirrels could frequently be seen swiftly traversing up and down their rough trunks. Walkways crisscrossed through the courtyard and numerous people were walking quickly across them as they socialized with friends. On all sides of the courtyard, there were gothic styled buildings complete with spires like something out of the medieval age. The sky is mostly clear with white wisps of clouds here and there and the sun is brilliantly shining down upon the Earth in all its glory. It all culminated into what would appear to be a normal day at the University of Chicago¡­well, if the ominous, dark obsidian colored ships hanging from the atmosphere could be considered normal.


    ¡°It¡¯s been nearly twenty-five years and they¡¯re still just chilling up there doing absolutely nothing. I mean¡­if I were an alien, I wouldn¡¯t just sit next to a planet with life for that long without at least having some sort of ulterior motives¡± spoke one of the two youths lying on the ground. He appeared to be in his late teens and had a lean, athletic build at 5¡¯ 11¡± with bronze colored-skin, gray eyes, black hair, and a stubble of facial hair.


    ¡°Maybe they¡¯re just here for the view, Alex¡± laughed a shorter, but more muscled black male, with his dark brown eyes lingering on a shapely girl who was lithely switching her hips as she passed by.


    I turn to watch the girl for a moment before placing my hand in front of Sharad¡¯s face and snap my fingers. ¡°Hey, come on. Focus bro. You don¡¯t think it¡¯s weird? There¡¯s obviously aliens up in those ships, but ever since they got here in 1990 they¡¯ve literally done nothing at all! What the hell could they be here for?¡± I frustratingly reply to his lack of focus.


    ¡°Come on, man. You know I love it when they walk¡± he helplessly replied as he reluctantly turns his head away from her and towards me. ¡°Yeah, I agree, it¡¯s weird¡­but remind me again why we can¡¯t just politely ask the aliens why they¡¯re here? I say politely because I¡¯m not all for attempting to survive an alien invasion at my age¡­I¡¯m also not a history major so I kinda didn¡¯t pay too much attention in high school¡­¡± he trails off while scratching his head.


    I sigh exasperatedly. ¡°Chill out. You¡¯re nineteen! Same as me! How do you not even know¡­ugh! Okay, look, I¡¯m sure you can at least remember what happened when the United Nations planned to probe around the ships, right?¡±


    As if the words ¡®United Nations¡¯ had lit a light bulb within his head, Sharad hurriedly replied saying, ¡°Oh, hold on, you¡¯re talking about the manned aircrafts we sent that somehow just dissolved into nothing once they tried to break through the stratosphere¡­as if they had run into some sort of force field that instantly broke them down or something, right?¡±


    ¡°Right¡­well, I guess we can only just wait and see like everyone else¡­but it still bothers the hell out of me.¡± I say, turning my head back up towards those unmoving ships for one last look. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯ve got that lab quiz in about an hour so I¡¯m gonna head to my room and refresh for a bit. I¡¯ll hit you up later. Maybe we can finish Star Wars five or something?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good, bro. The quiz didn¡¯t go too well for me, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be alright. And most def on the Star Wars later¡± he replies with a smile.


    I laugh and good-naturedly reply while walking away, ¡°I¡¯ll be sure to exact vengeance for you, my fallen comrade.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    11:55 p.m. April 23, 2015


    ¡°I didn¡¯t really like that movie as much as one through four. It was kinda¡­boring and they all just made terrible decisions! But I suppose that that¡¯s how you make a story more interesting or something.¡± I said to Sharad as the ending credits of Star Wars V scrolled up my laptop screen.


    ¡°I agree with the terrible decision making skills, but I still thought it was pretty good. We¡¯ll have to watch the last one tomorrow and then begins the long wait for the seventh movie¡± Sharad said while making an awful pouting face. I ignored it and proceeded to pack my laptop into my bag and throw it on over my shoulders.


    ¡°It¡¯s good that we could use your room, Sharad. My roommate is always blasting the speakers playing Battlefield so there¡¯s no way we could¡¯ve watched it in there¡± I said as I swept an arm out indicating his room. ¡°I¡¯m gonna go back to my room and read¡­I¡¯ll see you in chemistry at 10:30?¡±


    ¡°¡­I haven¡¯t been to chemistry in like a week, but we¡¯ll see, bro¡± Sharad laughed with a sheepish grin on his face.


    I looked at him completely astonished for a moment, then shrugged.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯ll pray for you once finals roll around¡± I laughed. ¡°Alright, imma head out. Night bro¡± I said as I walked out of his room and into the hallway of his dorm.


    ¡°Night brotha!¡± I heard as the door shut behind me.


    ¡®Alright, let¡¯s see¡­¡¯ I think to myself. Having made a decision on how I¡¯m going to get back to my room, I walk off down the hallway and hit a left at the end of the hall. I keep walking down the hall and even though it¡¯s lit, there is an eerie silence throughout the floor of the dorm. I made it to the end of the hall, stopped in front of an elevator and pressed the ¡®down¡¯ button.


    Once it arrived, I stepped in and pressed the button for the basement. The dorms that Sharad and I live in are connected by an underground space where three dorms share their washers, dryers, extra cleaning supplies, and a couple practice rooms for musicians.


    ¡°Oh wait! Hold the doors please!¡± I heard footsteps rapidly hitting the floor of the hallway outside the elevator and stuck my hand in between the doors of the elevator right before they closed.


    Looking out into the hall I see a short girl who appeared to be a mix of Caucasian and Asian carrying a hamper full of laundry. Recognizing her as one of the girls in my chemistry class, I take a closer look at her and realize that she¡¯s a very pretty girl.


    I sigh in slight admiration at her beauty and give my best smile to her and say, ¡°I caught it for you. No worries.¡± I move to the side as she slows to a walk and enters the elevator and thanks me for holding the elevator. ¡°No problem. Hey, you¡¯re in my chemistry class, right? I have Professor Yee.¡± I ask as the doors close.


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    ¡°Yeah, I am! I¡¯ve seen you around a couple times¡­I¡¯m actually pretty worried about our midterm next week. Things have been more or less quite confusing in the class since we started on the latest crystal structure stuff. Oh, my name is Sarah by the way.¡± She stretches out her hand and I shake it.


    ¡°Alex¡± I reply. This was the moment that I was hit with the greatest idea ever. I let go of her hand and awkwardly looked around the confines of the elevator. ¡°Well, uh, I¡¯m actually doing pretty alright in the class¡­if you¡¯d like, erm, maybe we could have a couple study sessions in the library before the final?¡± I cross my fingers behind my back for good luck. We were nearing closer and closer to the basement¡­


    ¡°Oh¡­!¡± she exclaims and her cheeks flush into a hint of pink as she obviously realized that I¡¯m interested in getting to know her better.


    ¡®What the fu-¡­is she blushing!?¡¯ I excitedly thought.


    ¡°Well, I have been having quite a bit of trouble so¡­yeah sure, why not?¡± she says turning her face away from me making her hair cover the faint blush. The elevator dings and the doors open moments later. We both step out and turn towards each other.


    ¡°Well, um, can I get your number and I¡¯ll text you tomorrow so we can figure something out..?¡± I trail off while pulling my iPhone out of my pocket and begin opening up a new contact space.


    ¡°Sure¡± she responds as her face becomes even more flustered.


    I¡¯m on cloud nine as I watch her input her name and number in my phone. ¡®Is she blushing even harder?? Does real life actually work like this??¡¯ I mused. We began walking towards the end of the hallway where it split in two different directions.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m going to do my laundry, so I¡¯ll see you around Alex¡± she says with a light smile.


    I give her my best smile and gesture with my phone. ¡°I¡¯ll be in touch for that study session, Sarah.¡± I turn and walk down the hall towards another door which I pushed through and continued to walk down another lit hallway with the goofiest grin on my face.


    I kept walking forward and in half a minute, I made it to the next elevator which would take me to the floor of the dorm I live in. I press the ¡®up¡¯ button and wait for it to come down since I¡¯m way too lazy to take the stairs that I had passed about ten yards back all the way up to the third floor. I take this time to run through my mental checklist of things to do and checking my phone, I realize it¡¯s a minute after midnight. Mentally sighing as the elevator appears, I step into it and focus my attention on my hearing just in case God decides to smile down upon me once more by gracing me with the presence of another beauty.


    Oddly enough, before the elevator doors were close to closing, I heard heavy breathing that seemed animalistic in nature as well as a scraping sound of something being dragged across the ground. I blocked the elevator doors from closing for the second time that night and peered out around the edge of the wall¡¯s corner.


    Blinking twice in surprise, I feel a coldness clench around my heart and my eyes are glued to a figure moving away from me in the direction I¡¯d just come from.


    It was a hairless pale green organism standing at around four and a half feet tall. It was wearing a pair of shoddy boots and dirty trousers with holes in them. From what I could see, its skin was callous and covered in a thick, oozing layer of some oily substance making the monstrosity have a shiny look to it in the brightly lit hallway. The oily substance was dripping off of the little green man onto the floor leaving splotches which caused the ground to sizzle as whatever the substance was liquefied the ground. Despite all this, my attention was on something even more shocking. My vision zoned in on a flash of light connected to a hilt in the little green thing¡¯s hand and I immediately recognized it as a thin sword that was about two feet long.


    A spike of fear surged through my body bringing me back to my senses.


    I immediately withdrew my head from around the corner and proceeded to freak the fuck out.


    ¡®What in the absolute fuck!?¡¯


    ¡®Is it real? Robotic? No, definitely not robotic. It moves too smoothly to be artificial and the oily substance was highly acidic and would work through a lot of material...unless it was resistant?¡¯


    Thinking back to the way it moved and how it sounded¡­just so organic, I had no choice but to accept that the green monster was real.


    ¡®So it¡¯s real? Okay. This can¡¯t have happened here through normal means¡­has to be connected to the ships¡­holy sh-¡­they¡¯re finally making their move¡­but¡­why is there a goblin looking creature walking around here in my dorm of all places?¡¯ I peered back around the opening of the elevator just in time to see the goblin pull open the door and move out of my line of sight. ¡®This is¡­what the hell is going on? There might be more than just one of these things. I need to let people know about this. The desk lady could probably notify people more efficiently than I can.¡¯


    I hear a loud banging noise from above and vibrations from the higher floors begin shaking the ceiling.


    Bloodcurdling screams begin to mix into the cacophony of noises and not one second later an earth-shaking roar resounds throughout the building forcing my legs to immediately soften. I grab onto the elevator door for support and look above me. My heart is painfully thumping in my chest, threatening to burst out of my body.


    ¡®No, no, no¡­¡¯


    I clutch my shirt right above my chest and forcibly begin taking deep breaths to return my body to some semblance of normalcy.


    Attempting to not panic, a pretty face flashes through my mind amidst the other thoughts and my heartbeat instantly raises.


    ¡®Oh shit!¡¯


    I bolt around the corner and begin racing back from where I came¡ªthe direction the goblin had been walking in.


    ¡®It¡¯s only been a few minutes since I last saw Sarah, so she¡¯s probably still in the laundry room! That monster is heading right towards her!¡¯

 Chapter 2: A Break In Normalcy

    Author''s Note: Please read and enjoy! I''d love comments about character interaction and actions taken as well as how you feel about the story so far! There''s more to come!


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    I burst through the door that the goblin went through just in time to hear a shrill scream cry out from a room with an open doorway about ten yards down the hall.


    My blood runs cold, but almost instantly an intense, burning feeling replaces it.


    As the adrenaline hits, the pace of my breath quickens, I feel lighter, and my eyesight becomes sharper. ¡®Damn, I hope it hasn¡¯t hurt her!¡¯ I think to myself as I kick off the ground and rush down the hallway at a speed surprising even myself. I make it to the door in a little over a second and skid to a stop while stretching out my hand to catch the open doorway.


    My vision focuses in on the scene in the laundry room and I feel my stomach drop.


    Sarah¡¯s clothes lay on a washer four yards away from me as well as haphazardly scattered across the ground. The goblin stood in the midst of the clothes next to the washer, its thin sword raised high above its head preparing to plunge it down into Sarah¡¯s prone figure underneath itself. Below Sarah was a small pool of blood flowing from a wound that seemed to come from her arm.


    ¡®Shit, she must¡¯ve passed out due to the shock and pain¡¯ I guessed.


    Knowing I didn¡¯t have much time, I burst forth from the doorway shouting as loudly as I could hoping to catch it off guard.


    ¡°Hey, you!!!¡± I tried to yell, but no sound came out.


    ¡®Fuck, I cannot be scared! Not right now!¡¯


    Steeling my nerves, I put my left foot forward and right foot back and raised my fists in preparation of what I knew could only be a life or death ordeal.


    ¡°Hey!!!¡± I shouted with as much conviction as I could muster.


    Just as the goblin look-a-like turned around, its eyes widened in surprise, I twisted my hips, lifting my right leg off the ground aiming to end the fight with a kick to its head and¡­missed!


    ¡®Huh¡­?¡¯ It was then that I saw the goblin had unexpectedly been able to duck under my kick.


    Its eyes narrowed at me as my foot landed and I took two steps backwards from the goblin holding some fighting stance I must¡¯ve picked up from a movie.


    ¡®Little bastard¡¯s got some quick reflexes to duck and stay on its feet like that.¡¯


    ¡°Sarah!¡± I yelled out, hoping she was good enough to move which would make this whole situation a lot easier.


    However, Sarah remained on the ground unmoving, but I could see a slight rise and fall in her upper body where she cradled her injured arm.


    I turned my attention back to the green guy and for the first time met its eyes directly with my own.


    I was surprised by what I saw.


    In its eyes I could see its diminishing surprise at my earlier attack give way to rage and full on bloody murder. It was intently staring at me with a malicious smile on its face. I felt the fear in me rise again at seeing this unknown entity, something that shouldn¡¯t even exist, staring at me like it had the whole situation under control.


    It was then that I noticed its eyes flick to a position behind me. I quickly looked back to see another of the green midgets behind me with the same get up as the first, but instead of a sword in its hand, it held a tiny silver dagger.


    ¡®Dammit, this could not get any worse.¡¯ Turning back towards the first goblin, I decided that we need to switch places so that I can effectively protect Sarah and not get skewered from both ends. I widen my stance in an attempt to keep an eye on both creatures.


    I take a deep breath to calm myself and my eyes light up in determination.


    ¡®Let¡¯s try this then.¡¯


    I feint towards the goblin closest to Sarah, and it instantly swung its sword at me. Pulling back, I instead make a full lunge towards Sarah¡¯s clothes on the washer. I stuff as many clothes as I can into my hands and hurl them towards the sword-wielding goblin. The goblin raises its arms in front of its body to instinctively protect itself.


    Following behind the clothes, I grab its left arm with my left hand and instantly a shocking sensation runs through my hand and it becomes completely numb.


    ¡®What the fuck?¡¯


    My mind began to race, but before I could firmly think about my hand¡¯s sudden numbness, I cocked my right arm back, jerk the goblin towards me and my right fist connected fully with its face. The goblin¡¯s eyes became unfocused and I brought it back towards my body bringing my left knee into its face as hard as I could. The goblin collapsed towards the ground in a heap and I instantly pounced on its sword arm. Thankfully, due to the damage I already dealt it, the goblin had a weaker grip than my adrenaline induced strength and I wrested the sword from it, quickly scrambling backwards in a kneeling position next to the still unconscious Sarah.


    It was at this moment that I realized my left knee was now showing through a hole in my pants and my right hand¡¯s knuckles felt like it had pins and needles stuck in it.


    ¡®So the oily substance corrodes inorganic substances like the building, but numbs organics? What kinda shit¡­?¡¯


    ¡°Sarah! Wake up! We need to go!¡± I carefully nudge her with the palm of my right hand so the oily substance doesn¡¯t rub off on her. After a couple seconds, her eyes groggily began to open.


    ¡°Alex? I saw¡­something¡­why¡¯re my clothes all over the ground¡­¡± she slurs out still in a daze from the rude awakening. Upon seeing the two goblins, one on the ground and the other slowly approaching, on the other side of her clothes, her eyes filled with fear.


    I looked her in the eyes completely ignoring the two goblins no more than ten yards away and say, ¡°Sarah, calm down it¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m gonna get you out of here.¡±


    The one I had taken the sword from was just now getting up from the ground with the assistance of its comrade.


    ¡®I hit the little fucker with all of my strength, how¡¯s it still getting back up? Little creatures like these are never as strong as the ones you fight in games. They¡¯re like level 1 trash.¡¯ It was then that the comic realization dawned on me.


    ¡®Shit. They would seem weak to heroes, but that¡¯s because they¡¯re the heroes. I¡¯m just a man.¡¯ I was even beginning to sweat from the exertion of the past exchange, but that could¡¯ve been from the mental strain of being in a life and death battle out of nowhere¡­


    Turning my head back to Sarah I put on what I hope was a reassuring smile and say, ¡°Just give me a minute, Sarah. We¡¯ll be fine.¡± I wasn¡¯t sure if I was reassuring her or myself, but seeing as how those two green creatures weren¡¯t leaving it could only mean that this was going to end with either us or them lying in a pool of blood.


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    Standing up, I tried flexing my left hand and got a less than satisfactory response.


    ¡®Geez, how long does this last?¡¯


    I unflinchingly glared at the two goblins staring daggers at me with hate in their eyes and I emotionlessly decided that the one with the dagger has to go first and then I¡¯d find some way to deal with the other one.


    ¡®Hmmmmm¡¯ I glanced around at the clothes on the ground and quickly wrapped a fallen shirt around my left hand barely noticing the huge panda logo on it. With a distance of three yards between the three of us, Sarah scrambled backwards into the nearest wall behind me. I stood up from the ground and once again breathed in and out to calm my nerves.


    Then I rushed them.


    Gripping the little sword tighter in my right hand I swept a downwards stroke towards the goblin with the dagger on my left. Capitalizing on the superior length of my blade and greater strength, I broke through the raised dagger in front of its body leaving a thin cut on its chest and quickly swiped upwards back across the body of the dagger wielding goblin on the left, but it jumped backwards out of reach before I could connect with it.


    The barehanded goblin on my right jumped towards my upraised sword arm attempting to numb it with the oily substance dripping from its hands. Reacting on pure instinct, my body dropped towards the ground into a kneeling position bringing my right arm down faster than it would have had I stayed standing. The goblin, being in midair had no choice but to grasp at empty air and watch as my sword burrowed itself into the front and out the back of its neck.


    The goblin¡¯s eyes rapidly lost the hate in them only to be replaced with an emotionless, glassy stare as the life left its body.


    I faltered and almost lost my dinner at the sight, but I willed myself to grip the handle of the blade even tighter.


    ¡®I need to be strong¡­I can¡¯t lose my determination now¡¯ the goblin¡¯s body was weighing the blade down, so I quickly kicked its chest away from me while pulling the sword out of its neck. The movement was accompanied by a sickening squelching noise and a thud as the goblin¡¯s body hit the ground. Blood sprayed out in an arc from the gouge in its neck covering the area under the goblin in a pool of metallic-smelling, dark red blood.


    Bringing my sword up in front of me, I turn my eyes to the armed goblin that jumped back.  Our gazes met and a moment later we fiercely rushed towards one another.


    Careful to avoid the growing pool of blood between us, I pushed my right hand up to the top of the hilt and placed my left palm against the bottom of it and using my greater reach, pierced my sword directly into the chest of the goblin and out through its back. The goblin buried itself to the hilt of my weapon and stopped dead in its tracks. Its eyes, seething with hatred, bore directly into mine and I stared right back knowing that this fight could¡¯ve ended either way.


    The goblin¡¯s eyes were rapidly losing feeling from my strike and before it could strike me with its dagger in a kamikaze attack, I ripped my sword out of the goblin¡¯s chest and drove it through its body once more where I thought the heart would likely be.


    I loosened my grip on the hilt and stood still as the goblin¡¯s body hit the ground in a thump.


    Taking another calming breath and kneeling down, I pick the dagger up out of the goblin¡¯s right hand and extract my sword from its chest, careful to avoid the oily substance covering its body.


    The room was completely silent and I turn around to see Sarah with her hands over her eyes too afraid to have watched the carnage before her unfold.


    I slowly walk over to her and gently call out to her, ¡°Sarah, it¡¯s over. You¡¯re safe.¡±  She lifts up her head and I can see a flood of tears in her eyes threatening to break out. She jumps up towards me for a hug, but I hold out my hand in front of her to stop her.


    ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve got those things¡¯¡­¡± I gesture towards the two motionless green bodies ¡°¡­blood all over me and you¡¯ve got an open wound and I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t want to get infected¡± I explain to her. ¡°Speaking of¡­let¡¯s see about closing up that wound¡­¡±


    I walk back to the pile of clothes and pick up one of her shirts.


    ¡°You don¡¯t mind if we use these do you? We should treat it before we leave this room so Band-Aids aren¡¯t really an option¡­¡± I trail off.


    She shakes her head, ¡°Oh, no¡­it¡¯s completely fine. Do what you think is best¡± she replies while holding out her injured arm with the support of the other.


    I finally see the 6 inch gash on her forearm and wince a little bit. Thinking back to the scene behind me, I¡¯m not even sure why I winced at a small wound like this.


    ¡°Alright then, come here.¡± I gently say while tearing a wide strip of cloth off her shirt. Once her arm is in reach, I wrap the cloth around her arm twice before tying the two loose ends together.


    ¡°Alright, that should prevent any bacteria from getting in¡­We¡¯re gonna, uh, take a breather here for a minute, calm down, and then move up through the dorm to see if anybody has any idea as to what the hell is going on. Sound good?¡±


    She nods her head and I hand her the dagger.


    ¡°I heard a lot of noise upstairs, so use this to defend yourself and try not to drop it, okay?¡± She responds with another nod and I smile. I had another thought and pull out my phone.


    ¡°Sarah, it¡¯s¡­12:15 a.m. right now, so in like five minutes we¡¯ll move out, but in the meantime let¡¯s check the internet or any news apps you might have to see if this type of incident is occurring everywhere or just here.¡±


    I flip my iPhone out of my pocket to do the same, turn it on and frown.


    ¡®No service? Of all times? Dammit, this is like a goddamn movie.¡¯


    ¡°Alex, I don¡¯t have¡ª ¡± Sarah worriedly began.


    ¡°Yeah, I was just about to say the same thing¡­well, since we can¡¯t check our phones, we may as well just move on upstairs and check out the situation rather than waste time here. It¡¯ll be safer with more people anyways.¡± I begin to move out of the laundry room with the sword in my right hand held out in front of me, but feel a tug on my shirt.  I turn back and see Sarah looking at the ground nervously.


    ¡°..th¡­you¡± She murmured.


    ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t catch that¡± I apologized while slightly confused.


    ¡°Thank you. For coming back to save me¡± She said more clearly with an evident blush across her cheeks.


    ¡°Oh, no problem¡­I would think anyone would do what I did, right?¡± I reply to her.


    She blushes fiercely and I just smile at her.


    ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go upstairs.¡± I say as I walk over the corpses of the goblins one right after the other and out the door.

 Chapter 3: Rally

    Author''s Note: I''m going to post five chapters today since I feel like that''s an adequate number to get a feel for the author''s writing style and whether you as the reader would like to keep up with my story. I hope you all enjoy it though :D


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    12:19 a.m. April 24, 2015


    Sarah followed me out of the laundry room and I led the way through the door back towards the stairway I¡¯d passed on my way to the elevator earlier.


    I turned back towards her and whisper, ¡°Probably best to keep to the stairs rather than the elevator¡­also, watch your back. They almost caught me off-guard earlier...¡± She nodded in understanding.


    I took an extra second to really look at her. She looked a lot more stressed compared to when I¡¯d seen her no more than twenty minutes ago which is completely understandable since it¡¯s not every day you get attacked by toxic goblins wielding swords.


    I place my hand on the door knob, but before I open it I turn back towards Sarah and say, ¡°I¡¯ll protect you. I promise that you won¡¯t die.¡±


    I saw a hint of relief flash through her eyes and her body immediately became less tense. Before she could say anything, I seriously nod to her and make a ¡®shush¡¯ motion with my hand. My hand turns the handle of the door and I open the door slowly with my shoulder.


    Looking on the other side of the door I see only the stairs leading up to the higher levels. No monsters in sight, but it still sounds as if a lot is happening above us if the screams are any indication. Staying on high alert, I hold the sword I¡¯d gotten from the goblin out in front of me and push past the door and onto the stairs with Sarah close behind.


    Walking up the final steps to the first floor landing, I look through a rectangular window in the door leading into the lobby and instantly wish that I hadn¡¯t.


    Forcing the rising bile in my throat down, I continue to look at the ripped up pieces of what appeared to be a large number of people strewn about across the lounge. It was hard to tell the exact number because the whole lobby was littered with random body parts and covered in blood. The couches, carpet, and large glass windows of the dorm were stained with dark red blood and the smell of iron drifted through under the door in front of me.


    ¡°Alex, is it safe?¡± Sarah hesitantly asked.


    ¡°¡­¡± I continue to look at the dismembered bodies and blood going into a daze as my head spins out of control from disbelief and shock.


    ¡°Alex¡­?¡± Sarah worriedly asks seeing that I¡¯m zoning out.


    ¡°¡­We need to go further up¡­I live on third floor.  Come on it¡¯s not safe here.¡± Taking one last eyeful of the slaughter on the other side of the door, I led the way up another flight of steps.


    Stopping next to the second floor door, I press my ear against the wood of the door. I can hear muffled shouts, screaming, crying, loud cracks of wood splintering, heavy breathing and growling.


    My face became a shade paler as fear struck me.


    ¡®That doesn¡¯t sound like it¡¯s just goblins¡­¡¯


    All the noise was currently coming from this floor while the noises above sounded more confused rather than pained.


    ¡°Alex, we need to help them. Those people need us!¡± Sarah loudly whispered snapping me out of my fear.


    ¡°Sarah¡­we can¡¯t save everyone. I¡¯m sorry. It seems as if whatever is in the building is doing a floor by floor sweep of the dorm¡­¡± I began to shakily explain.


    Tears threatened to fall from Sarah¡¯s eyes¡­


    ¡°¡­Look, we either need to go upstairs and prepare ourselves with more people or leave the dorm and attempt to survive outside. I¡¯d much rather put up a fight on the third floor or possibly even the fourth than face any unknown dangers out in the city. In here we have a chance to survive until help comes¡­but I¡¯m not going into the second floor to throw my life away on a suicide run.¡± I finish explaining and the resolve to survive no matter what shone through my eyes.


    She nodded as tears fell from her eyes.


    I looked at her with pity.


    ¡®A lot of people in the world aren¡¯t really mentally prepared for situations like these. Hell, it¡¯s all I can do to keep my own head on straight. If I wasn¡¯t so worried about protecting Sarah and figuring out what in the hell is going on, then I might have been shivering in fear somewhere.¡¯


    On the inside, I was extremely grateful for Sarah having been put in danger so that I could come and save her. It made this transition from normalcy to life and death a lot easier since I¡¯ve already had a small encounter and now I had someone to protect.


    ¡®But compared to whatever I was hearing on the second floor¡­I¡¯m not sure if I can handle it¡­¡¯


    Putting a halt to my thoughts, I continued climbing the stairs up to the third floor and Sarah quickly followed. As we reached the third floor door, I pushed it open and was immediately met with the sight of a large group of my floor mates congregating in and outside of the hall¡¯s lounge which is in the middle of the floor¡¯s hall.


    Seeing my bloodstained clothing and the crying girl behind me, everyone instantly quieted down and looked at me expectantly.


    I swept a glance across the group of people. I recognized probably half of the people there and pointedly looked at the ones I knew.


    ¡°¡­Look¡­I¡¯m sure you all have a lot of questions, but we need to go up to the fourth floor to regroup. Like now. Because I¡¯m not sure how much time we have until they finish with the second floor¡­¡± I spoke slowly but clearly with a hint of urgency in my tone.


    Everyone looked at me confused and loud chatter broke out across the room all directed right at me.


    ¡°Alex, who¡¯s blood is that!?¡± screamed a girl from my right.


    ¡°You¡¯re gonna need to give a better explanation than that if you want anyone to go anywhere¡± spoke a tall, overweight man.


    ¡°Alex, when¡¯d you get a sword!?¡± yelled my roommate from within the crowd.


    And then it came out.


    ¡°Who are they?¡± A short black haired girl that I didn¡¯t recognize worriedly asked me.


    A flash of fear crossed my face as I thought back to the short life and death situation I¡¯d had mere minutes ago and how it may not be the only one I¡¯d have to survive before this blood filled night ends if the sounds from the second floor were any indication.


    The room quieted down once more and waited for my reply.


    ¡®It¡¯d be better if I only have to do this once¡­¡¯ I quickly thought.


    ¡°If anyone wants any answers, then you¡¯ll meet me in the fourth floor lounge in less than three minutes. Also, do what¡¯s good for you and grab anything that can be used as a weapon¡­¡± I waved my two foot sword in the air. ¡°Get everyone up there. And please. I do mean everyone.¡± I said in a serious tone thinking about all the dead on the first floor and currently dying people on the second floor.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¡°But why should¡­¡± the overweight upperclassman from the crowd once again tried to ask, but not before I could cut him off.


    ¡°If you can¡¯t wait for an explanation, then by all means you can stay on this floor and wait for the answer to come up here and tell you itself. I doubt it¡¯ll be a long conversation.¡± As I said this, I directed my hardest glare at the upperclassman for all of one second, turned on my heel and began jogging down the hall towards my room dragging Sarah along with me.


    The people I¡¯d left behind stood frozen for all of half a second before bursting into action. Most made a mad dash to their rooms to wake roommates or find something useful to fight with. Others completely forgot about grabbing anything and rushed through the door I came through to go up the fourth floor. Others chose to exit through the doors placed at both ends of the hall and use the stairwells located there.


    I reach my room and pull the door open to find my suitemates playing Madden on their Xbox 360.


    ¡°Hey Alex, what¡¯s up with all the noise¡± one of them asked me without turning his face from the screen.


    ¡°Yeah, it sounds like something crazy is going on downstairs. Is there some sort of party going on?¡± the other asked while also keeping his focus on the game.


    I almost entertained the notion of telling them in a light-hearted manner that all was well and monsters were just overrunning the dorm. Instead, I just stood there waiting for one of them to look at me.


    Realizing I hadn¡¯t answered, they each turned towards me to see my bloody clothes and sword and jumped out of their seats with panic evident on their faces.


    Before they could assault me with a bunch of questions, I calmly said, ¡°I¡¯ll explain upstairs in the lounge, just get up there quickly and gather everyone you can.¡±


    I walked into my room and felt my roommate pass by me heading for his golf clubs in the corner of the room. ¡°Oh, you may both want to grab something that you can hit stuff with! Seriously, this is a really bad situation!¡± I shouted from my room to my suitemates.


    My suitemates knew I wouldn¡¯t lie to them so they went about finding weapons although reluctantly as they didn¡¯t want to really be involved in anything violent. I walked towards my closet and rummaged around for a couple seconds before coming out with my tennis racket.


    ¡°Here¡­¡± I said passing the racket to Sarah. ¡°Should help you out better than that dagger since it¡¯s got some reach to it.¡±


    I turned towards my roommate and jokingly say, ¡°It¡¯s a shame that this is probably the only real action those clubs of yours will see all year.¡±


    Laughing my jibe at his golfing skills off, he walked out of the room with his whole golf bag saying, ¡°Shit, I needed the practice at some point.¡± He was followed out by my suitemates and they all turned to enter the stairs at our end of the hall to go up to the fourth floor.


    Glancing sideways at Sarah, I motioned with my head towards the door and we walked out and into the hallway. Shutting the door behind me, I dropped down and placed my ear on the ground listening. I heard the same muffled screaming and more banging noises.


    ¡®Hmmmm, they¡¯re probably unable to break through the doors quickly¡¯


    Grimacing slightly I thought back to my earlier explanation to Sarah about not being able to save the people on the second floor.


    ¡®It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t want to save them¡­I just can¡¯t do it alone. I¡¯ll do my best to save as many of you as I can once I get everything situated. Just hold on¡¯ I silently promised.


    Standing up, I notice that the entire third floor was now completely silent and with a nod, Sarah and I rush to follow my roommate and suitemates up to the fourth floor.


    Once we reached the fourth floor hallway, I could see a group of about twenty people at the middle of the hall stuck outside of the lounge due to a lack of space. Thinking about the ongoing casualties below us, I knew that I had to make this explanation quick so we could help as many people as possible.


    I dashed down the hall towards the crowd, intent on making it into the lounge where everyone could see and hear what I had to say. Upon seeing my bloodstained clothing and small sword, a path was opened for me to enter the lounge.


    Squeezing through with Sarah, I climbed onto the nearest table while waving my blade around to gain everyone¡¯s attention.


    There were probably around eighty college students around me in the lounge not even counting the ones outside the door and I briefly wondered how the hell this many people had fit in here, but I digress.


    Upon seeing me, the people from the third floor who knew me instantly made shushing noises to everyone around them and in moments all eyes were on me and the whole place went silent waiting for me to speak.


    The weight of having all their eyes on me makes me nervous for a moment, but after taking a deep breath I say as loudly as possible, ¡°There is a threat to our lives tonight!¡±


    As if to emphasize my words, the building began to shake causing many people to fall over before things stabilized.


    ¡®What the hell was that? Did it come from outside??¡¯


    As everyone was grumbling in pain from having fallen over or getting fallen on, I kept on speaking.


    ¡°It may seem hard to believe, but our dorm is being overrun by monsters! Like the type you¡¯d see in a movie or video game¡­listen, we need to choose between either barricading ourselves off up here and waiting for help or going down to the second floor to help any survivors by fighting off the monsters! Remember, those people downstairs are humans with lives of their own and they¡¯re being killed! We can save them¡­it¡¯s the right thing to do!¡±


    As I spoke, I saw many people looking skeptical and the tall upperclassman from earlier once again looked as though he were about to cut me off to ask why they should believe me.


    Pointing my sword at him, I said in a deathly quiet voice, ¡°I swear to God if you ask me how I know any of this is real I¡¯ll end you myself.¡± He quickly shut his mouth and fear rose to the forefront of his eyes.


    ¡°As everyone can see¡­!¡± I continued loudly, ¡°...there¡¯s a lot of blood on me because I fought some of them, killed them and saved her!¡± I pointed at Sarah.


    ¡°And I doubt anybody could just find this¡­¡± waving my sword in the air ¡°¡­lying on the ground! Considering we all go to this school, I know that none of you are stupid so what do you think that tremor a minute ago was? So just trust me so we can figure out what to do next!¡± I finished.

 Chapter 4: Charge!!!

    Author''s note: Chapter 4 of 5 for the day :) I think I''ll post the other one later haha


    ........................................................................................................


    12:30 a.m. April 24, 2015


    I stand there and with a flash of inspiration, step down off the table and sweep my eyes across all the people in the room and out in the hall. In most eyes I see fear. Only a small margin of them held a hint of fire in them.


    ¡®They need a push¡¯ I decided.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to the end of the hall. I¡¯ll wait for anyone who¡¯s brave enough to come with me to save any survivors on the second floor¡­you have one minute to make your decision¡­then I¡¯m going in¡­I know you¡¯re all scared. So am I¡­but it won¡¯t stop me from doing what¡¯s right and if we die tonight, then I¡¯d rather die trying to have changed something for the better.¡± I leave the room, turn right and begin walking down the hall.


    Five seconds later, the room exploded with noise and I was already almost at the end of the hallway.


    Reaching the door to the stairwell, I turn back and see no one following me. I can only hear loud shouting.


    ¡®Oh shit, what did I just do? I can¡¯t go down there by myself¡­it¡¯s not like we have a great chance of surviving if we barricade the entrances anyways. The authorities aren¡¯t coming to save anyone if that tremor earlier is any indication of whatever kind of hell is going on outside¡­¡¯ my thoughts trailed off.


    Five more seconds passed.


    Ten seconds¡­twenty¡­


    My heart rate began to quicken, but I forcibly calmed it down by taking a deep breath. I turned towards the door leading to the stairwell. Fear was clawing at my heart.


    My thoughts turned dark, ¡®Not even Sarah is coming with me¡­am I really about to walk into my own death?¡¯


    With only a couple seconds left at this point, I attempted to steel my resolve. ¡®I¡¯m doing the right thing and I will save them! Those goblins weren¡¯t too tough!¡¯ With fire in my eyes, I strode towards the door and push down on the handle¡ª


    ¡°Alex, wait!¡±


    I turn to see Sarah leading a multitude of people down the hall towards me and my body loosens some of the muscles that I was unconsciously tightening.


    ¡°We, don¡¯t have much time!¡± I shout down the hallway. ¡°I¡¯m going on ahead! Just join the fight as you come in!¡± I push through the door and dash down two flights of steps arriving on the second floor. As soon as I made it, I hear the first people who were behind me start thundering down the stairs. Adrenaline begins bursting through my veins once more and as I pull the door in front of me open, I almost lose my dinner for the second time that night.


    The closest part of the hallway had around twenty little green goblins attempting to bust down the remaining doors with their weapons and fists. The oily substance on their arms seemed to not be liquefying the wooden doors like it had the cement in the basement floor.


    Looking further down the hall, there was a six foot tall humanoid shaped furry creature that stood with its large, muscled back facing me. It appeared to be issuing orders to more goblins centered on itself. It must¡¯ve heard the door bang open because it turned around and I was shocked because, from its frame, I had expected some sort of werewolf, but was instead met with a hyena-like face. The creature had long arms bulging with muscles and slightly shorter, robust legs. Long, sharp claws curved for six inches at the end of its fingertips and blood dripped off of them onto the carpet.


    I cringed at seeing the hyena-human hybrid and inwardly asked myself, ¡®What the hell¡­werehyena? The fuck?¡¯


    It was then that the strong metallic stench of blood assaulted my nose. All the doors further than halfway down the hall seemed to be broken down. Dismembered body parts were strewn across the hallway floor. The walls appeared to be flowing with blood and it collected onto the ground into a layer that was inches thick.


    Quickly closing my mind to the massacre of my dorm mates, I turn my attention back to the deadly hyena hybrid and notice that it had now bared its bloody fangs towards me. There was only a stockpile of raw emotions in the hybrid¡¯s eyes without a semblance of intelligence and on the top of this metaphorical emotional pile could only be one thing¡­hunger.


    Then it dawned on me, ¡®This thing must be what mauled and ripped the people on the first floor into pieces.¡¯


    With that revelation, I felt a wave of fear course through my body and my spine tingle in anticipation of what was to come. By the time I push my fear down, half the goblins in the twenty or so group in front of me already turned towards me with cruel smiles on their faces and their eyes were glinting with unwarranted hatred.


    In the moment, I was frightened because I knew I couldn¡¯t face ten of the goblins alone at once, but then I remembered all the people rushing down the stairs behind me and I smiled in the goblin¡¯s faces.


    As the goblins rushed towards me, I stepped to the side of the door and at the top of my lungs yelled-


    ¡°Charge!!!¡±


    The door behind me instantly opened, hitting the wall opposite me with a loud bang. Following the door was a stream of people rushing towards the charging goblins at full speed.


    The people in front slowed down due to the unnatural site in front of them, but were still pushed forward by the momentum of those behind them. Screaming at the top of their lungs, my dorm mates practically stampeded the goblins in front of them due to their superior size. A lot of my dorm mates fell onto the ground numb due to the oily substance on the goblins¡¯ skins touching them once they ran into them.


    ¡°Stop! Stop!¡± I yelled out in an attempt to restore some form of order so that I could tell everyone about the oily substance¡¯s detrimental effects, but it wasn¡¯t needed since the rush of people filling out into the hallway stopped upon catching sight of the monstrously buff hybrid standing in front of the second floor lounge.


    The goblins, enraged upon seeing their brethren trampled underfoot, charged towards the people standing in front of the group.


    Those dorm mates of mine in the front frantically began to swing their weapons down upon the monstrosities coming towards them while those goblins that had been trampled were stomped to death by the people around them.


    I heard yelps as people¡¯s socks and shoes began to disintegrate upon contact with the goblins¡¯ skin and yelled out, ¡°Don¡¯t directly touch them! It¡¯ll numb your body!¡±


    I wasn¡¯t sure if anyone heard me over the painful wails of the goblins, but some warning was better than none in my opinion.


    Looking towards the front of my dorm mates, I saw the grotesque hybrid growling at the people in front of it and they all kept their distance unsure of how to even begin to attack such a monster. The hybrid began backing up past the lounge in the middle of the second floor hallway and the people in front were keeping a safe distance while steadily pressing forward.


    This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    I began to press through the crowd not really caring who I pushed aside to get to the front of the pack. As I made a path for myself, I began to notice some of the weapons people were holding. There were pans, golf clubs, baseball bats, broken bottles of alcohol, brooms, and-


    I stopped and took a double take, ¡®Did I really just see a fucking toaster?¡¯


    Shaking my head, I moved ten more yards forward and finally broke through the front of the crowd of people.


    I ended up standing between my dorm mates and about forty goblins who had formed a wall in front of the hybrid.


    Taking a couple steps back I dryly laughed at myself and thought, ¡®Didn¡¯t really mean to move in between everyone like that.¡¯


    Suddenly, the hybrid roared. The noise shook me to my core until the roar died down into a low growl. A loud crashing noise came from the direction between the muscular hybrid and another ¡°werehyena¡± on all fours bounded forward and jumped into the glass of the lounge to stop itself.


    ¡®These things can disregard gravity?? Oh, that¡¯s just fan-fucking-tastic.¡¯ I dryly thought to myself.


    The new hybrid appeared to be only a little bit shorter than the other, but was built with leaner muscle than the first as if it was purely built for speed while the more muscular one relied on brute strength. It looked at all of us with cold, yellow eyes and a shudder passed through the crowd of people behind me.


    Turning my head slightly, I speak to no one in particular and say, ¡°Somebody go start knocking on the doors and explain the situation to those still in their rooms. Whether they run or fight is up to them, but let them know the more people we have here, the better chance we all have of surviving.¡±


    As soon as I finished speaking, three people peeled off the front of the group and burrowed into the crowd aiming for the nearest closed doors.


    Tension hung thick in the air. Our two sides stared hard at the other as if we¡¯d force the other to back down.


    Suddenly, an ear-shattering explosion shook the building and, after stabilizing myself, I pointed my blade at the nearest goblin and gave a loud shout hoping it sounded like a war cry and rushed towards it. Those behind me followed suit as they all engaged with different goblins in groups.


    The goblin I charged had a short sword in its right hand same as me. It swung the sword in a horizontal arc towards my stomach. I swung my blade as hard as I could at an angle perpendicular to the goblin¡¯s and blew its sword out of its grip.


    By a stroke of luck, the sword went spinning sideways driving itself into another goblin¡¯s head causing it to instantly fall to the ground dead.


    The one that had lost its sword cried out in surprise and pain dropping its guard just as a golf club smashed into its chest instantly caving it in.


    I looked beside me to see my roommate give me a brief smile before he continued heading forward into the midst of more goblins.


    Turning my attention to another nearby goblin, I brought my sword back across its body in a horizontal slash gouging a deep cut into its chest. The goblin fell over onto its back gasping for air. I looked down into its eyes and aside from the usual anger there also seemed to be a hint of fear. Looking into its eyes I was momentarily startled, but immediately masked my emotions once more.


    ¡®It could¡¯ve just as easily went the other way.¡¯


    My short lapse of concentration was quickly exploited as another goblin had already come up to my side and swung its sword towards my left arm. Not having enough time to divert its blade with mine, I reflexively kicked off the ground with my left foot to dodge to my right, but still felt a hot pain sear through my arm as I moved. Checking my arm, I see a deep cut on my bicep and blood pouring out in a steady flow. I looked at the wound in disbelief and set my gaze on the goblin who was looking at me with anger.


    I felt my blood boil in anger at the thought that this little green bastard believed he¡¯d had a right to take my arm from me.


    Lunging forwards to the goblin, I swung my sword from up high down towards its head, but it moved out towards the side like I had and dodged my sword only to be bashed in the head from the direction it had jumped in with the edge of a tennis racket. The goblin slumped to the ground unconscious or dead.


    Looking at the owner of the racket I see Sarah looking down at her hands in fear.


    ¡°Alex, I-.¡± She slumped towards the ground and began shaking uncontrollably.


    When her knees hit the ground, my eyes widened in horror upon seeing the raised claws of the leaner hyena hybrid preparing to pierce down through Sarah¡¯s neck. Making a mad dash towards her I yelled out-


    ¡°SARAH, NOOO!¡± As I yelled, the hybrid swiftly brought its claws down with a mad glint in its eyes.


    I jumped over her directing my sword to pierce through the right shoulder of the hybrid.


    Time seemed to slow as my sword slid through the chest of the hybrid and out of its back as my left shoulder hit its right arm attempting to knock it off balance.


    I wasn¡¯t watching my sword though.


    My attention was transfixed on the hybrid¡¯s unaffected left arm as it continued its downward stroke. Its upper body began to tilt back as its feet left the ground.


    I watched helplessly as its left arm continued to descend down towards Sarah¡¯s frail body.


    I heard the sharp whistle of its claws until a sickening ripping noise cut it off.


    I stared in horror at the hybrid¡¯s claws which were covering more than half of Sarah¡¯s upper chest and I knew that those claws had surely punctured through the left half of Sarah¡¯s entire upper body and crushed her heart almost instantly.


    Sarah began to get pulled backwards along with us and just as we hit the ground, I quickly straddled the hyena and pulled my sword out of it with both hands.


    The sword was broken from the weight of the lean hybrid falling on top of it, but I didn¡¯t care.


    With my mind in a frenzy, I began stabbing the broken blade into the chest of the hybrid over and over again until someone tackled me off the back of it narrowly escaping the swipe of a goblin¡¯s sword.


    ¡®No. No. This isn¡¯t happening.¡¯


    I look back over to the unmoving forms of the hybrid and Sarah.


    She laid there, eyes open wide in fear and mouth slightly agape. Her entire body was covered in blood leaking from where the hybrid¡¯s claws were still deeply lodged within her chest.


    I refused to believe it, but there was no denying it.


    Sarah was dead.

 Chapter 5: Kill!!!

    Author''s note: Last chapter for today. I am about five chapters ahead of you guys on revisions and have the next like twelve or so chapters already written, but I want to give myself time to keep revising through my old writing and then start in on my new chapters. Please enjoy. Rate the fic! Leave comments! Lurk! Whatever you like! lol


    ..................................................................................................................................


    12:40 a.m. April 24, 2015


    I was on my knees silently shaking. In rage? Despair? Disappointment in having broken one of the most important promises I¡¯d ever made?


    All around me, my dorm mates were fighting for their lives and although the goblins weren¡¯t much of a problem, the remaining bulky hyena hybrid was tearing through a couple people every few seconds. It was simply too strong and my dorm mates hadn¡¯t thought to switch out their blunt weapons for all the swords and daggers that the goblins had strewn about the floor of the hallway in their deaths.


    I sat there certain that I¡¯d now found hell on earth. My emotions were in chaos, but I knew one thing for sure.


    ¡®She protected me and I wasn¡¯t fast enough to save her¡­She thought she was safe around me and dropped her guard¡­This is my fault for being weak.¡¯


    I glanced around at my dying classmates. I listened to their screams as they sent shivers down my spine. Their blood splattered on the hallway floor, raising the already thin layer of blood in the hallway a couple inches. I was drenched in it and it was all my fault.


    Shakily, I found the strength to stand and looked towards the bulky hybrid still cutting through people like air. It seemed to be moving more slowly compared to earlier so I guess the large number of weapons landing blows against its body had somewhat injured it. Looking down towards the ground, I grabbed the hilt of a sword stuck in the head of a goblin and dimly realized it was the one that had been struck earlier when I knocked a goblin¡¯s blade out of its hands. I picked another blade up off the ground with my right hand.


    Gripping the swords tightly, I ran towards the bigger hybrid. My dorm mates and it seemed to have stopped fighting.


    As they caught their breath and kept a small distance from one another, my mind was entering a frenzied state.


    ¡®They killed her because I was too weak! I refuse to be weak! I will kill you!¡¯


    I reached the line of people in front of the hybrid and burst through with my swords hanging low. The suddenness of the attack surprised the monster, but it quickly regained its senses.


    ¡®Kill! Kill! KILL!¡¯ The word thundered over and over in my head until it was all I could hear.


    The hybrid swung its claws down at me aiming to sweep my head clean off. I hit the ground and slid on my knees through the slick blood and swung my swords as hard as possible in a horizontal arc towards its left leg. As I passed under the arm of the hybrid, there was a sickening crunching noise and I knew I had hit my mark. Completing my slide, I quickly began to roll and hit the nearest wall to stop myself.


    Its left knee hit the ground and blood pumped out from where its left foot was hanging off of its calf by a little skin and muscle.


    ¡°KILL!¡± I yelled at the hybrid.


    Running towards its back I swung my swords at its exposed neck, but before I could connect, the hybrid used its remaining foot to jump backwards and crashed into me.


    I could¡¯ve sworn a truck had hit me as I was hurtled backwards at high speed a couple feet into the nearest wall with a loud smack.


    I slumped down to the ground and my vision instantly became blurry. I struggled to keep my eyes open and I saw the hybrid in front of me slowly raise itself into a kneeling position and turn its body towards me. Yellow eyes glowering with savageness and hatred, it roared at the ceiling and tore its left foot off with one of its clawed hands.


    ¡®Holy shit!¡¯ My eyes flew open in disbelief and I had the sinking feeling that I was never going to make it out of this hallway alive.


    As if this was a cue, the people around the hybrid burst into action and, moving in towards the creature, madly swung at it with their weapons. The hybrid must¡¯ve anticipated it though because it responded in kind by spinning like a top on its remaining foot with claws outstretched. Peoples¡¯ throats were ripped out, arms and legs were lost, and weapons began flying throughout the hall smacking into the walls at high speeds.


    ¡®I don¡¯t understand¡­why any of this happening¡­Sarah¡­¡¯ I looked to where I last saw her and only saw more bloodied people getting slaughtered by the hybrid.


    The remaining people were stricken with fear and decided to make a run for it towards the stairwell that we had all entered from. I couldn¡¯t be sure, but when they opened the door, I think I saw more of the hybrid looking creatures standing there. These ones looked a lot different than the one currently chasing down my fleeing dorm mates on all fours.


    My vision began to get darker and my strength was fading from every inch of my body. Unable to lift even my eyelids anymore, I closed them as my head drooped down towards my chest. Blood freely flowed from the sword wound on my left arm and I knew I was losing a lot of blood as well as suffering from a concussion from when I¡¯d smacked against the wall.


    ¡®I can¡¯t¡­feel anything¡­anymore.¡¯


    My eyes were barely open, but I painfully watched as the group of hybrids butchered the rest of my dorm mates. Tears were freely flowing from my eyes as their screams of agony and pain filled my head. The sounds drowned out my thoughts and I truly felt despair overtake me.


    I could hear the hybrids moving down the hallway having killed the remaining people who¡¯d tried to make a break for it.


    Sniffing the humans on the floor, they moved down the hall killing any they found alive. My breathing became more and more ragged. Hearing a monster draw near, I completely stopped my breathing hoping for the best. One second passed¡­two¡­and then a sharp pain flared from my chest as I felt claws digging a thin wound across my chest.


    Screaming in agony, my eyes shot open and I could see all the hybrids surrounding me.


    Shutting my eyes closed once more, my thoughts became frantic¡­then slower¡­and eventually everything went black.


    .......................................................


    A loud beeping noise was ringing throughout my head. It sounded almost like my roommate¡¯s alarm clock going off.


    ¡®I¡¯ll give him five seconds to turn that shit off.¡¯ As a couple seconds passed I was restless. ¡®It¡¯s so annoying. I¡¯m trying to sleep here please turn off. Please turn it off before I get up and start swinging.¡¯


    Once the beeping noise persisted for longer than ten seconds, my patience snapped.


    My eyes snapped open and I sat up. Without registering anything else, I yelled out, ¡°God¡­Fuck! Will, turn that damn thing off! I¡¯m trying to sleep!¡±


    A hot pain seared across my chest and, gasping in pain, I looked down to find bandages wrapped around my whole upper body and left arm.


    ¡®What the fuck happened to-¡­¡¯


    As if a dam had broken, memories flooded back into my brain.


    Meeting Sarah, fighting off the two goblins, racing through the dorm to the fourth floor, explaining things to my dorm mates, the bloody fight, Sarah¡¯s death¡­


    Tears began to form at the corners of my eyes and my vision got blurry. A couple tears fell before I wiped them off my cheeks.


    Continuing to mentally sift through my memories, more scenes flashed through my mind.


    In my rage I had charged the bulky hybrid only to get swatted and crashed into a wall.


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    I winced at the memory and then laid back down into the pillows of my bed as the sight of everyone getting massacred by the hybrids crossed my mind.


    Then, me being surrounded by the hybrids and stopping my breathing thinking that they wouldn¡¯t know I was alive.


    My cheeks burned at remembering this shameful memory.


    ¡®How could I have played dead? Do I fear death that much? To feign death in front of monsters that can hear my fucking hearbeat??¡¯


    Tears of shame and sadness slid down my cheeks and dropped down onto the blankets covering my lower half.


    Finally, the last memory that played in my head was the feeling of pain shooting across my chest as the hybrid clawed at me which led to my blackout.


    I shakily pressed my hand on the center of my wrapped chest and let out a slow breath.


    ¡®How am I even alive right now?¡¯


    Before I could contemplate this phenomenon, I heard a familiar voice coming from nearby.


    ¡°Oh, nurse he¡¯s awake! My son is awake!¡± This was followed by the sound of frantic button pushing. Wincing slightly, I turned my body towards the voice and see my mother. She¡¯s an African-American standing at about 5¡¯ 2¡±, looking younger and more beautiful than most forty year old mothers around.


    She rushed over towards me from the doorway of the room and pulled me into a hug and began sobbing into my shoulder.


    ¡°Ow¡­ow¡­mom please. I¡¯m fine. Space please. Can¡¯t¡­breathe.¡± She reluctantly let go and continued her crying as she covered her face with her hands.


    I took a deep breath after that near strangulation and finally took the time to survey my surroundings.


    I was lying in a hospital bed with a big machine next to me that continuously beeped at me.


    ¡®Must¡¯ve been what brought me back, huh?¡¯


    There was a big glass window to my right giving me a view of the skyline of Chicago at what had to be around midday.


    Or, well, it would¡¯ve been a skyline if any of the nearby buildings had tops to them. Every building suffered from shattered windows, deep gouges into the walls, and whole floors seemed to be missing from what I could tell from what I now assumed was a hospital bed.


    Looking around some more, I saw a door that leads out of the room and one that leads into a bathroom. I also see some of my mom¡¯s things strewn about the room as well as a couple blankets and pillows laid out on a couch underneath the window.


    Quickly, I turned to my mom and frantically asked, ¡°Mom, what happened? Are dad and the kids okay?¡±


    She nodded her head at me as tears still flowed from her eyes, ¡°Everyone¡¯s okay, Alex¡­¡±


    Before she could continue, a pair of nurses quickly walked in through the doorway and began checking my vitals and asking basic questions to which I had no choice but to answer.


    ¡°Do you know who you are?¡±


    ¡°Alexander Taylor¡±


    ¡°Do you know where you are?¡±


    ¡°Evidently, a hospital.¡± I sardonically replied.


    She set a hawk like gaze on me warning me to not get sarcastic.


    ¡°Sorry¡­I¡¯ve just remembered some really bad things and¡­I suppose I¡¯m in a bit of a mood,¡± I muttered while looking away from her face.


    Her eyes immediately soften and she says, ¡°I forgot that you were a victim from that day. You¡¯re very lucky to be alive¡­Just cooperate and we¡¯ll have you out of here as soon as possible¡­Just wait one second. We have to get that catheter out of you so we can test your motor functions.


    My eyes opened wide, filled with fear, ¡°What do you mean? What catheter!?¡±


    ......................................................


    Thirty seconds later it was over and the pain was only a tingling sensation.


    ¡°Are you ready to try and walk for us, Alex?¡± One of the nurses asked me.


    I scowl at her and the other nurse tells me to try and walk to my mother and back. I swing my feet over the edge of the bed and place my feet on the ground, grimacing slightly at the pain in my chest from the motion.


    ¡®Walk? I was fighting for my life yesterday. I think I can walk just fine¡¯ was all I thought as I transferred most of my weight to my legs and promptly fell over onto the ground in a heap. The nurses scrambled to help me stand up and steady myself.


    ¡°Why do I feel so weak? I was running around just fine yesterday and as far as I know, my most serious injury was the head wound¡­¡± I asked my mom and the nurses but trailed off as I noticed the sad look in their eyes.


    My mom slowly walked up to me with tears in her eyes, ¡°Alex¡­that was nearly four weeks ago. You¡¯ve been unconscious in bed for twenty-six days. I left the family and travelled by myself up here since we¡¯re short on money because of the move and¡­¡± as she continued talking her voice gradually faded out.


    ¡®Four weeks?¡¯ I thought in disbelief. ¡®I can¡¯t have been asleep for almost four weeks.¡¯ Then I thought back to how hard I hit that wall and touched my chest. ¡®Maybe my injuries really were that severe¡­¡¯


    Mom¡¯s voice came back into focus, ¡°¡­you okay?¡± She was looking at me worriedly.


    ¡°Yeah, mom. I¡¯m fine, I was just¡­thinking.¡± I responded and then on a whim asked her, ¡°When we get out of here can you tell me what happened? I just want to focus on recovering right now and then I¡¯ll turn my attention to everything else.¡±


    She nodded and told me that we could talk about it whenever I was ready to hear it.


    ......................................................


    Three days had passed since then and although I was still a little weak, I was physically cleared to go home and was walking out of the hospital with my mom.


    ¡°School¡¯s been let out early and you¡¯ll make up the lost time in the summer. Your dad already bought the plane tickets for us and we should be at the new house by tonight. I¡¯m so excited for you to be home even if the circumstances are a little¡­well, I¡¯m sure your little brothers and sister are going to be excited to see you again since you¡¯ve been at school for so long¡­Alex, what¡¯s wrong?¡± She caught me gazing off into the distance with a faraway look in my eyes.


    ¡°Oh, nothing mom. I¡¯m fine. Ummm I was just wondering about¡­clothes and stuff. Like where¡¯s my luggage and stuff.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t tell her that I was once again reliving that dreadful night in my head.


    It had happened multiple times since I¡¯d awoken, but I was slowly getting over the trauma and had less thoughts about it as the last three days had progressed. I¡¯d met with a psychiatrist several times a day in the hospital talking things out about what had happened. There had even been other people who suffered and survived through situations similar to mine.


    My relapses only happened four or five times a day, but I wasn¡¯t waking up from nightmares or screaming uncontrollably like one would expect. Hell, even I was surprised by my lack of post-traumatic stress, but I did know one thing. That night had changed me.


    ¡®I want to be strong, so that anyone who depends on me¡­¡¯  Sarah¡¯s face, followed by several others I knew had died that night flashed through my mind ¡®¡­will not be wrong for placing their trust in me.¡¯


    I was snapped out of my thoughts by my mother¡¯s words¡­


    ¡°Oh¡­Well since there was no damage to your dorm room, they let me go up there and get all your things. I already packed them up and sent them off through UPS. They should already have gotten to the house.¡± Stepping into the taxi that my mom had prepared for us, the driver set a course for O¡¯Hare airport.

 Chapter 5: Kill!!!

    Author''s note: Last chapter for today. I am about five chapters ahead of you guys on revisions and have the next like twelve or so chapters already written, but I want to give myself time to keep revising through my old writing and then start in on my new chapters. Please enjoy. Rate the fic! Leave comments! Lurk! Whatever you like! lol


    ..................................................................................................................................


    12:40 a.m. April 24, 2015


    I was on my knees silently shaking. In rage? Despair? Disappointment in having broken one of the most important promises I¡¯d ever made?


    All around me, my dorm mates were fighting for their lives and although the goblins weren¡¯t much of a problem, the remaining bulky hyena hybrid was tearing through a couple people every few seconds. It was simply too strong and my dorm mates hadn¡¯t thought to switch out their blunt weapons for all the swords and daggers that the goblins had strewn about the floor of the hallway in their deaths.


    I sat there certain that I¡¯d now found hell on earth. My emotions were in chaos, but I knew one thing for sure.


    ¡®She protected me and I wasn¡¯t fast enough to save her¡­She thought she was safe around me and dropped her guard¡­This is my fault for being weak.¡¯


    I glanced around at my dying classmates. I listened to their screams as they sent shivers down my spine. Their blood splattered on the hallway floor, raising the already thin layer of blood in the hallway a couple inches. I was drenched in it and it was all my fault.


    Shakily, I found the strength to stand and looked towards the bulky hybrid still cutting through people like air. It seemed to be moving more slowly compared to earlier so I guess the large number of weapons landing blows against its body had somewhat injured it. Looking down towards the ground, I grabbed the hilt of a sword stuck in the head of a goblin and dimly realized it was the one that had been struck earlier when I knocked a goblin¡¯s blade out of its hands. I picked another blade up off the ground with my right hand.


    Gripping the swords tightly, I ran towards the bigger hybrid. My dorm mates and it seemed to have stopped fighting.


    As they caught their breath and kept a small distance from one another, my mind was entering a frenzied state.


    ¡®They killed her because I was too weak! I refuse to be weak! I will kill you!¡¯


    I reached the line of people in front of the hybrid and burst through with my swords hanging low. The suddenness of the attack surprised the monster, but it quickly regained its senses.


    ¡®Kill! Kill! KILL!¡¯ The word thundered over and over in my head until it was all I could hear.


    The hybrid swung its claws down at me aiming to sweep my head clean off. I hit the ground and slid on my knees through the slick blood and swung my swords as hard as possible in a horizontal arc towards its left leg. As I passed under the arm of the hybrid, there was a sickening crunching noise and I knew I had hit my mark. Completing my slide, I quickly began to roll and hit the nearest wall to stop myself.


    Its left knee hit the ground and blood pumped out from where its left foot was hanging off of its calf by a little skin and muscle.


    ¡°KILL!¡± I yelled at the hybrid.


    Running towards its back I swung my swords at its exposed neck, but before I could connect, the hybrid used its remaining foot to jump backwards and crashed into me.


    I could¡¯ve sworn a truck had hit me as I was hurtled backwards at high speed a couple feet into the nearest wall with a loud smack.


    I slumped down to the ground and my vision instantly became blurry. I struggled to keep my eyes open and I saw the hybrid in front of me slowly raise itself into a kneeling position and turn its body towards me. Yellow eyes glowering with savageness and hatred, it roared at the ceiling and tore its left foot off with one of its clawed hands.


    ¡®Holy shit!¡¯ My eyes flew open in disbelief and I had the sinking feeling that I was never going to make it out of this hallway alive.


    As if this was a cue, the people around the hybrid burst into action and, moving in towards the creature, madly swung at it with their weapons. The hybrid must¡¯ve anticipated it though because it responded in kind by spinning like a top on its remaining foot with claws outstretched. Peoples¡¯ throats were ripped out, arms and legs were lost, and weapons began flying throughout the hall smacking into the walls at high speeds.


    ¡®I don¡¯t understand¡­why any of this happening¡­Sarah¡­¡¯ I looked to where I last saw her and only saw more bloodied people getting slaughtered by the hybrid.


    The remaining people were stricken with fear and decided to make a run for it towards the stairwell that we had all entered from. I couldn¡¯t be sure, but when they opened the door, I think I saw more of the hybrid looking creatures standing there. These ones looked a lot different than the one currently chasing down my fleeing dorm mates on all fours.


    My vision began to get darker and my strength was fading from every inch of my body. Unable to lift even my eyelids anymore, I closed them as my head drooped down towards my chest. Blood freely flowed from the sword wound on my left arm and I knew I was losing a lot of blood as well as suffering from a concussion from when I¡¯d smacked against the wall.


    ¡®I can¡¯t¡­feel anything¡­anymore.¡¯


    My eyes were barely open, but I painfully watched as the group of hybrids butchered the rest of my dorm mates. Tears were freely flowing from my eyes as their screams of agony and pain filled my head. The sounds drowned out my thoughts and I truly felt despair overtake me.


    I could hear the hybrids moving down the hallway having killed the remaining people who¡¯d tried to make a break for it.


    Sniffing the humans on the floor, they moved down the hall killing any they found alive. My breathing became more and more ragged. Hearing a monster draw near, I completely stopped my breathing hoping for the best. One second passed¡­two¡­and then a sharp pain flared from my chest as I felt claws digging a thin wound across my chest.


    Screaming in agony, my eyes shot open and I could see all the hybrids surrounding me.


    Shutting my eyes closed once more, my thoughts became frantic¡­then slower¡­and eventually everything went black.


    .......................................................


    A loud beeping noise was ringing throughout my head. It sounded almost like my roommate¡¯s alarm clock going off.


    ¡®I¡¯ll give him five seconds to turn that shit off.¡¯ As a couple seconds passed I was restless. ¡®It¡¯s so annoying. I¡¯m trying to sleep here please turn off. Please turn it off before I get up and start swinging.¡¯


    Once the beeping noise persisted for longer than ten seconds, my patience snapped.


    My eyes snapped open and I sat up. Without registering anything else, I yelled out, ¡°God¡­Fuck! Will, turn that damn thing off! I¡¯m trying to sleep!¡±


    A hot pain seared across my chest and, gasping in pain, I looked down to find bandages wrapped around my whole upper body and left arm.


    ¡®What the fuck happened to-¡­¡¯


    As if a dam had broken, memories flooded back into my brain.


    Meeting Sarah, fighting off the two goblins, racing through the dorm to the fourth floor, explaining things to my dorm mates, the bloody fight, Sarah¡¯s death¡­


    Tears began to form at the corners of my eyes and my vision got blurry. A couple tears fell before I wiped them off my cheeks.


    Continuing to mentally sift through my memories, more scenes flashed through my mind.


    In my rage I had charged the bulky hybrid only to get swatted and crashed into a wall.


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    I winced at the memory and then laid back down into the pillows of my bed as the sight of everyone getting massacred by the hybrids crossed my mind.


    Then, me being surrounded by the hybrids and stopping my breathing thinking that they wouldn¡¯t know I was alive.


    My cheeks burned at remembering this shameful memory.


    ¡®How could I have played dead? Do I fear death that much? To feign death in front of monsters that can hear my fucking hearbeat??¡¯


    Tears of shame and sadness slid down my cheeks and dropped down onto the blankets covering my lower half.


    Finally, the last memory that played in my head was the feeling of pain shooting across my chest as the hybrid clawed at me which led to my blackout.


    I shakily pressed my hand on the center of my wrapped chest and let out a slow breath.


    ¡®How am I even alive right now?¡¯


    Before I could contemplate this phenomenon, I heard a familiar voice coming from nearby.


    ¡°Oh, nurse he¡¯s awake! My son is awake!¡± This was followed by the sound of frantic button pushing. Wincing slightly, I turned my body towards the voice and see my mother. She¡¯s an African-American standing at about 5¡¯ 2¡±, looking younger and more beautiful than most forty year old mothers around.


    She rushed over towards me from the doorway of the room and pulled me into a hug and began sobbing into my shoulder.


    ¡°Ow¡­ow¡­mom please. I¡¯m fine. Space please. Can¡¯t¡­breathe.¡± She reluctantly let go and continued her crying as she covered her face with her hands.


    I took a deep breath after that near strangulation and finally took the time to survey my surroundings.


    I was lying in a hospital bed with a big machine next to me that continuously beeped at me.


    ¡®Must¡¯ve been what brought me back, huh?¡¯


    There was a big glass window to my right giving me a view of the skyline of Chicago at what had to be around midday.


    Or, well, it would¡¯ve been a skyline if any of the nearby buildings had tops to them. Every building suffered from shattered windows, deep gouges into the walls, and whole floors seemed to be missing from what I could tell from what I now assumed was a hospital bed.


    Looking around some more, I saw a door that leads out of the room and one that leads into a bathroom. I also see some of my mom¡¯s things strewn about the room as well as a couple blankets and pillows laid out on a couch underneath the window.


    Quickly, I turned to my mom and frantically asked, ¡°Mom, what happened? Are dad and the kids okay?¡±


    She nodded her head at me as tears still flowed from her eyes, ¡°Everyone¡¯s okay, Alex¡­¡±


    Before she could continue, a pair of nurses quickly walked in through the doorway and began checking my vitals and asking basic questions to which I had no choice but to answer.


    ¡°Do you know who you are?¡±


    ¡°Alexander Taylor¡±


    ¡°Do you know where you are?¡±


    ¡°Evidently, a hospital.¡± I sardonically replied.


    She set a hawk like gaze on me warning me to not get sarcastic.


    ¡°Sorry¡­I¡¯ve just remembered some really bad things and¡­I suppose I¡¯m in a bit of a mood,¡± I muttered while looking away from her face.


    Her eyes immediately soften and she says, ¡°I forgot that you were a victim from that day. You¡¯re very lucky to be alive¡­Just cooperate and we¡¯ll have you out of here as soon as possible¡­Just wait one second. We have to get that catheter out of you so we can test your motor functions.


    My eyes opened wide, filled with fear, ¡°What do you mean? What catheter!?¡±


    ......................................................


    Thirty seconds later it was over and the pain was only a tingling sensation.


    ¡°Are you ready to try and walk for us, Alex?¡± One of the nurses asked me.


    I scowl at her and the other nurse tells me to try and walk to my mother and back. I swing my feet over the edge of the bed and place my feet on the ground, grimacing slightly at the pain in my chest from the motion.


    ¡®Walk? I was fighting for my life yesterday. I think I can walk just fine¡¯ was all I thought as I transferred most of my weight to my legs and promptly fell over onto the ground in a heap. The nurses scrambled to help me stand up and steady myself.


    ¡°Why do I feel so weak? I was running around just fine yesterday and as far as I know, my most serious injury was the head wound¡­¡± I asked my mom and the nurses but trailed off as I noticed the sad look in their eyes.


    My mom slowly walked up to me with tears in her eyes, ¡°Alex¡­that was nearly four weeks ago. You¡¯ve been unconscious in bed for twenty-six days. I left the family and travelled by myself up here since we¡¯re short on money because of the move and¡­¡± as she continued talking her voice gradually faded out.


    ¡®Four weeks?¡¯ I thought in disbelief. ¡®I can¡¯t have been asleep for almost four weeks.¡¯ Then I thought back to how hard I hit that wall and touched my chest. ¡®Maybe my injuries really were that severe¡­¡¯


    Mom¡¯s voice came back into focus, ¡°¡­you okay?¡± She was looking at me worriedly.


    ¡°Yeah, mom. I¡¯m fine, I was just¡­thinking.¡± I responded and then on a whim asked her, ¡°When we get out of here can you tell me what happened? I just want to focus on recovering right now and then I¡¯ll turn my attention to everything else.¡±


    She nodded and told me that we could talk about it whenever I was ready to hear it.


    ......................................................


    Three days had passed since then and although I was still a little weak, I was physically cleared to go home and was walking out of the hospital with my mom.


    ¡°School¡¯s been let out early and you¡¯ll make up the lost time in the summer. Your dad already bought the plane tickets for us and we should be at the new house by tonight. I¡¯m so excited for you to be home even if the circumstances are a little¡­well, I¡¯m sure your little brothers and sister are going to be excited to see you again since you¡¯ve been at school for so long¡­Alex, what¡¯s wrong?¡± She caught me gazing off into the distance with a faraway look in my eyes.


    ¡°Oh, nothing mom. I¡¯m fine. Ummm I was just wondering about¡­clothes and stuff. Like where¡¯s my luggage and stuff.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t tell her that I was once again reliving that dreadful night in my head.


    It had happened multiple times since I¡¯d awoken, but I was slowly getting over the trauma and had less thoughts about it as the last three days had progressed. I¡¯d met with a psychiatrist several times a day in the hospital talking things out about what had happened. There had even been other people who suffered and survived through situations similar to mine.


    My relapses only happened four or five times a day, but I wasn¡¯t waking up from nightmares or screaming uncontrollably like one would expect. Hell, even I was surprised by my lack of post-traumatic stress, but I did know one thing. That night had changed me.


    ¡®I want to be strong, so that anyone who depends on me¡­¡¯  Sarah¡¯s face, followed by several others I knew had died that night flashed through my mind ¡®¡­will not be wrong for placing their trust in me.¡¯


    I was snapped out of my thoughts by my mother¡¯s words¡­


    ¡°Oh¡­Well since there was no damage to your dorm room, they let me go up there and get all your things. I already packed them up and sent them off through UPS. They should already have gotten to the house.¡± Stepping into the taxi that my mom had prepared for us, the driver set a course for O¡¯Hare airport.

 Chapter 6: Announcement

    Author''s Note: Here''s chapter 6 for you guys! I''m extremely happy to have some followers and stuff! Y''all will love the ride!


    ........................................................................................


    I¡¯d been home for a day and just finished unpacking.


    Thinking back on my trip home, I was very confused. I had been watching the news in the airport and there were evacuations going on in each of the large, populated land mass: North America, South America, Australia, Eurasia, and Africa. It seemed as though the evacuations were giving a wide berth to the centers of each place.


    Everyone I passed by in the O¡¯Hare airport had a look of fear and uncertainty in their eyes as if something unknown and dangerous was hiding in the shadows just waiting for the right moment to jump out and harm them.


    There were also a ridiculous amount of riots amongst the chaos from a month ago all around the world as political and social order broke down. Add to that the damage caused by the monster invasion and everyone was paying money to get things back to the way they use to be meaning people were scarce on money which typically leads to robberies¡­


    ¡®The world is fucked, but we¡¯re slowly recovering and the only thing I¡¯m especially concerned about is the reason for the evacuations¡­It¡¯s time to figure out what¡¯s going on¡¯ I finally decided.


    Walking out of the room, I called out, ¡°Mom?¡±


    I heard a shout in response from the direction of the living room and moved towards it.


    Making it to the living room, I see my parents and siblings reclining back on leather couches watching some cartoon program on the TV.


    My dad was a forty year old Caucasian man, slightly shorter than me, with hazel eyes shining from underneath his brow. Tired lines adorned his forehead, but he held himself with a calm air of relaxation and tranquility. His eyes held a twinkle of intelligence and experience I assumed had come from his time spent in the Air Force before he had retired a year ago. As far as I knew, he¡¯d gone on two tours when he was younger: once to Korea where he met my mother and once more to Afghanistan when I was in middle school.


    My younger brothers, Austen and Alijah, were respectively eleven and nine years old and, though they both had the hazel eyes of their father, they couldn¡¯t be more different from one another even if they were trying.


    Austen stood a little over five foot with long, flowing brown hair reaching his shoulders and a facial structure I¡¯d expect from a noble. His jaw was prominent and his cheekbones were high and sharp against his cheeks.


    Alijah, on the other hand, still had some baby fat on his face with an ever-present sly grin decorating his face. He stood a full head shorter than Austen. Alijah was certainly the most like me; a trouble maker and a true gamer. His short brown hair sticking out in every direction signified his playfulness.


    My eyes lit up instantly upon seeing my baby sister, Amiayah, sitting in my mother¡¯s lap. Her dark, ocean blue orbs swept across the room before focusing on me and her face lit up like a christmas tree.


    ¡°X!!!¡± She happily shouted out at me.


    I smiled back at her, slightly embarrassed by the nickname, but it was acceptable since she is a baby.


    Once I¡¯d garnered their attention, I say, ¡°Mom¡­Dad¡­I¡¯m ready to talk about what happened that night¡­and can you also tell me why everyone in the world seems to be losing it?¡± I plopped down on the nearest couch facing my parents with a serious look on my face.


    My dad cleared his throat and said, ¡°Yeah¡­your mom had me find a video on YouTube that¡¯ll explain everything to you about what¡¯s been going on. If there¡¯s anything else you need to know after that, then we¡¯ll talk about it, but I¡¯m positive the video hits all the key points.¡±


    He began fiddling with the remote and the YouTube app opened up on screen. Activating the ¡®search¡¯ bar he typed in ¡°Obsidian ships; purpose revealed.¡±


    ¡®I knew it had something to do with them¡¯ I quickly thought to myself.


    My dad clicked on the first video and it began loading.


    The video started and an anchorman came into view. He looked more serious than any news reporter I¡¯d ever watched before and I immediately began to concentrate to focus on what he had to say.


    ¡°It has been confirmed all around the world that today, April 24th, at exactly midnight, our planet suffered a heavy scale invasion by entities we previously believed to be pure fantasy.¡±


    The video cut to a video of goblins running amok in the streets commanded by the hybrid like creatures I¡¯d seen that night in my dorm.


    ¡°These two creatures are referred to as goblins and beastmen. They were among the first to reportedly pop up out of thin air.¡±


    ¡®Out of thin air? But that¡¯s impossible¡­¡¯


    The man continued, ¡°These monsters were followed by large ogre like beings who rampaged through the streets causing death and injury to all of those around them. No armed forces around the world were capable of putting any of them down, but they were heavily injured by the end of the catastrophe. Ground forces could not focus mainly on these ogres because there was a threat from the skies in the forms of organisms known as ¡®harpies¡¯ and ¡®rocs¡¯.¡±


    ¡®Huh? I know what harpies are but what are rocs?¡¯ Thankfully the anchor looked as though he were about to explain and pictures shot up on screen.


    ¡°For those of you at home who don¡¯t know, harpies are grotesque winged creatures with the heads of women and bodies of a bird. They are commonly referenced in relation to Greek mythology. Rocs are ferocious birds with appearances similar to those of a hawk, but are as large as a sail boat. Coming in droves from the skies, they were tough enough to withstand two or three bullets before taking any damage.¡±


    ¡®It¡¯s a good thing I didn¡¯t run outside into any of that crazy stuff.¡¯ Thinking back to the slaughter in the dorm I darkly thought, ¡®well it didn¡¯t really make a difference for anyone but me¡­¡¯S


    Listening to the anchor talk about more monsters that were seen running through the streets killing anybody they could see and causing millions in property damage, I heard something shocking. ¡°There were a total of up to twenty million deaths in the U.S. alone and only tens of thousands were left alive to receive aid throughout the entire nation.¡±


    ¡®What!? Twenty million people? Dead? That¡¯s like a fifteenth of our population¡­I can¡¯t believe they killed so many. I can only imagine how many fatalities countries further east suffered since it was daytime for them and more people should¡¯ve been out and about.¡¯


    Shuddering, I look towards my family and offer up a silent prayer of thanks for their safety.


    The anchorman once again shocked me with his next words.


    ¡°Approximately forty-five minutes after it started, the catastrophe ended and all traces of the monsters simply vanished from all areas under duress. Not one minute had passed before all forms of communication: phones, TV, and internet started up and played an audio message sent by the life forms in the obsidian ships. We¡¯re now going to play you the message that they sent.¡±


    The screen blanked out and went completely white. Waiting for a couple seconds, an insignia in the shape of a black cross with a red circle behind it appeared on the screen.


    ¡°People of Earth.¡± A cold and powerful voice rang out from the screen. I was surprised by its fluency, but my thoughts stopped as it continued to speak. ¡°We have been¡­watching you. We¡¯ve rather¡­enjoyed the colorful nature of your various cultures. Originally, we were meant to terraform your planet to suit our race¡¯s needs¡­but after watching you all for the past 25 cycles, you¡¯ve grown on us.¡±


    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    I could almost see the superior smirk on the face of the speaker through the audio message and I wondered if he¡¯d still be smiling when I stuck my foot up his¡ª


    ¡°Our race has ships like these scattered throughout the universe. They are placed outside the atmosphere of multiple planets just like this one. It would be simplicity itself to annihilate all the pre-existing life forms and take over your planets¡­¡±


    After hearing this, my hands involuntarily clenched into fists and I ruefully glared at the TV screen.


    ¡°¡­however, we are a benevolent and merciful people. All but one planet will become ours.¡± The voice paused for a couple seconds. I could feel a cold sweat break out on my forehead.


    I let out a dry laugh. ¡®They¡¯re taking all but one planet? How is that benevolent and merciful!?¡¯


    ¡°Every planet under our watch has been put through¡­a crucible of sorts¡­as yours was this very night. Those forty-five minutes of mayhem and sorrow were merely a taste of our full power.¡±


    The voice emphasized those two words as if what we had gone through could barely qualify as being fit to use those words.


    ¡°This is your saving grace¡­¡±


    I leaned forward in my seat intent on hearing the voice¡¯s next words.


    ¡°¡­Towers will be dropped to the surface of every planet one month from today. Eight hundred humans will be marked when they do. The towers will land in the center of all the major continents. If any of those that are marked do not enter one of these towers by the time that one week passes upon their appearance, then¡­humph. None of you will be able to divert the consequences. We¡¯ve displayed our power to you today¡­it would do you well to fight for survival rather than to lie down and take it. Why don¡¯t you show off that ¡®never say die¡¯ attitude that you humans are so proud of.¡±


    The audio ended as the bodiless voice laughed without emotion and the insignia on the TV faded away.


    The anchorman came back on screen and began speaking, ¡°As you all can see, this is a serious threat not only to our own world, but also to all the others that supposedly exist. They will strive to survive just as hard if not harder than we will¡± The anchorman began tearing up on set, ¡°And to whoever will be the marked ones¡­please go to the towers! I beg you, please¡­please protect my wife and kids! My family! All the families in the world!¡±


    The video abruptly cut off and I found myself at the edge of my seat holding in a breath of air.


    ¡°¡­So?¡± My mom cautiously asked me.


    I slowly exhaled, turn towards her and say, ¡°Well¡­it¡¯s intense. It¡¯s a lot to digest, but not impossible. We can only hope the chosen ones decide to show up whenever those towers land. But seriously though, eight hundred out of six billion?


    You¡¯d have to have some terrible luck.¡±


    I paused to think for a moment and then¡­¡°Wait, shouldn¡¯t those towers be landing today!? It¡¯s been a month hasn¡¯t it!?¡±


    My parents grimaced and nodded their heads. ¡°It¡¯s already the afternoon¡­but the aliens seem to be very serious about this, so we don¡¯t doubt it¡¯s actually going to happen. You wouldn¡¯t believe how many people are already actually making this all out to be one big government conspiracy theory to cover up some failed lab experiments.¡±


    Shaking my head I move to the nearest window and shift the blinds out of the way with my hand. Looking out and up into the sky, I see one of the obsidian ships covering a large portion of the sky and shudder.


    ¡®What¡¯s going to happen once the marked ones are chosen? How are they chosen?¡¯


    I had so many questions, but no one in the world would have an answer for me.


    Hey mom, I¡¯m gonna go back to the room and keep a look out on the news. I¡¯m sure that they¡¯ll be catching this on video somehow¡± Saying this, I turn and begin walking back to my room.


    ¡°Without lunch?¡± My mom asks, eyebrow raised skeptically.


    Turning back to her I shake my head.


    ¡®Tower watching will have to wait.¡¯


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Three hours later, I¡¯m lying on my bed in my room waiting for the tower dropping to start. I caught the ball I had been throwing up and down for the past five minutes while fending off my memories of that horrid night. I had found that repetitive exercises like this kept my thoughts simplified and clear.


    I sat up to look at the TV once again. Many of the news channels are focused on the sight of the obsidian ships in the sky. The five of them were slowly but surely shifting their positions, but still hanging outside of the atmosphere.


    ¡°Alex!¡± Hearing my mom call for me, I rolled out of bed and began walking back towards the living room.


    ¡°Yes, moooooooom?¡± Walking down the stairs, I see her in the kitchen and head over there.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to need you to do these dishes and watch the little ones while your dad and I go to Walmart to go and get some food.¡±


    ¡®Grocery stores are still open on a day like this? Now that¡¯s dedication.¡¯


    Thinking this, I nod my head to her and, just as I¡¯m about to speak, a tremor passes by underneath the house and we both momentarily lose our balance.


    ¡°The towers! They must be landing!¡± I exclaimed, rushing back into the living room to flip to the news channel. The channel was transitioning between different continents, but they all had one thing in common; an enormous, white blur falling directly out of the sky at high speed towards the ground. The caption on the screen changed to ¡°Rugby, North Dakota. United States of America.¡±


    A gargantuan white tower could be seen standing imposingly within the center of a large crater that seemed to stretch for miles and the air was filled with debris and smoke. The tower, unperturbed by the mess it had caused, was brilliantly glistening in the light of the sun.


    ¡®Wow, it almost looks exactly like an obelisk. It¡¯s a really good thing they warned us about those towers beforehand.


    Otherwise, I¡¯m sure a lot of people would¡¯ve died from the landing itself. I mean, I felt it from all the way over here in Kansas.¡¯


    As I thought this, I couldn¡¯t help but feel angry at the aliens. They¡¯d already killed enough of us, so why the hell were they dropping these big towers from the atmosphere? Although, if I was honest with myself, they must¡¯ve somehow slowed down the descent so that they caused less damage than they could have.


    I continued watching the TV only for the channel to switch landscapes and show what seemed to be the last tower falling down over the skies of the Eurasian continent.


    As the final tower dropped closer to the ground, I clutched my head as pain tore through it. ¡®Ugh, why is my head hurting all of a sudden?¡¯ As I thought this, the tower was only getting closer and closer to the ground. Dropping to my knees, the pain in my head grew until it felt like my head was splitting apart.


    ¡°Ahhhhhh!! It hurts!¡± My mom dropped to my side unsure of what to do. The pain only grew worse until finally a sharp, searing pain blew across my back in between my shoulder blades and I was welcomed into the darkness of blissful unconsciousness.

 Chapter 7: Im Going

    Author''s Note: Decided to post chapter 7 early. This is the turning point in the story leading to the main plot of the story, so I hope you all enjoy :) Also, can I please get some votes for my poll? It''s quite the internal struggle.


    .....................................................................................................................


    Slowly opening my eyes, a bright light swiftly floods into my eyes through my cracked eyelids. Moaning in pain at the searing light, I quickly shut my eyes and throw a hand out in front of my face to ward it off.


    ¡®That pain¡­it couldn¡¯t have just been a headache¡­and my back¡­Christ that really hurt.¡¯


    Gingerly patting my head, I traced my fingers all around it searching for any blood or remnants of pain. After a couple seconds, I surprisingly found no signs of injury but my cheeks began to flame in embarrassment.


    ¡®I had better not make a habit of this whole blacking out business¡­I hate pain so much.¡¯


    ¡°Rise, human.¡± A cold, mechanic, emotionless deep voice rang throughout my mind.


    My eyes shot open in surprise and I instantly jumped to my feet.


    Looking around myself for the source of the voice, confusion soon clouds my mind because I have no clue where I am.


    I¡¯m standing all alone in a completely white space with black, twinkling blobs haphazardly scattered in empty space in all directions. Above me, below me, beside me; there were hundreds of the blobs.


    I shrunk in on myself attempting to keep as much distance between myself and those blobs as possible.


    ¡®What in the fuck is going on? Where¡¯d that voice come from? Am I dreaming?¡¯


    Now that I was looking, I could see that the room had no distinguishing boundaries and seemed to infinitely stretch out into a pattern of black, glittering bobs and empty white space as far as I could see.


    Before I could further contemplate the situation, my thoughts were once again invaded by the formless voice.


    ¡°This is not a dream, human¡±


    This time, I deduced that the sound definitely wasn¡¯t coming from around me, rather, it definitely originated from the confines of my own mind.


    ¡®What? You¡¯re in¡ª¡¯


    ¡°Your mind? Yes, human. Do not take this dream of yours lightly lest you be the first of your pathetically weak race to die¡­although you may not be so weak anymore once you make it through your awakening¡­¡± the voice trailed off and aside from the coldness in its voice, I was certain that I¡¯d detected a hint of something else¡­was it anticipation?


    All was silent for a few moments and the voice seemed like it was waiting for me to respond.


    At this point, I¡¯m just plain confused and scared with a million questions speeding through my head.


    ¡®Awakening? How is any of this even real? Isn¡¯t this all in my own head? Where am I? I don¡¯t understand what¡¯s going on anymore¡­¡¯


    ¡°Of course this is all going on in your head, but why should that make any of this less real?¡± The voice once again responded to my thoughts.


    I sighed at the loss of my privacy and before I could question the voice with my stray thoughts, it began to speak again.


    ¡°Human, you have been chosen as one who will enter the tower.¡±


    A sharp intake of breath was my response to the news and my heart rate burst into a breakneck speed that I hadn¡¯t felt since that night one month ago.


    The voice, uncaring of my reaction, kept on going¡­


    ¡°Your awakening gives you the potential to make you stronger than any other human could ever dream to be¡­¡±


    Upon hearing this, the images of Sarah and all the others who¡¯d died that night flashed through my head and fear as well as a bit of hope raced to the top of my mind.


    Fear because I wondered what I would need that sort of strength for.


    Hope because I now had the chance to become strong enough to protect the remaining people I cared about. A scene of my family flashed through my head and my desire for true strength only intensified.


    Once again oblivious to my reactions, the voice droned on¡­


    ¡°¡­and I was sent to make sure there would be no misunderstandings about who the marked ones are since the survival of your entire race depends on all who are marked showing themselves at one of the five towers. If even one of you fails to show yourselves, then the Overlords will eradicate the entire human race in a way similar to the events from one month ago. This planet will become one of the conquered and serve as our Overlords¡¯ display of strength to the other candidate planets.¡±


    ¡®The Overlords¡­? So that¡¯s what they call themselves? Quite the superiority complex they¡¯ve got there¡­¡¯


    ¡°Your mark is an indication of your inner potential and your awakening will happen once you enter the tower.¡±


    Once he¡¯d said I was marked, I frantically began patting myself down and looking all over.


    This was the moment I realized that I was stark naked.


    Covering my private area with my hands, I frantically glanced over the rest of me and finding nothing out of the ordinary I said, ¡°There¡¯s nothing on my body. You guys must¡¯ve gotten me mixed up with someone else¡­¡±


    ¡°The Overlords do not make mistakes, human!¡± The voice boomed at me in a surprising show of anger. ¡°You have been chosen. You are marked and if you do not enter the tower¡­do not blame the Overlords for being merciless.¡± I felt something tug at my head painfully and I was almost instantly swallowed by the blackness again.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Waking up, I instantly sat up and smacked my head against something hard. Before I could see what I hit, I heard a high-pitched crying sound and realized I¡¯d just smacked heads with my little baby sister who¡¯d been worriedly watching over me from the side of the couch.


    Looking down to the ground, I saw her clutching her head and bawling her eyes out.


    ¡®Shit.¡¯ I thought as I bent down to pick up my sister.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Amiayah. Shhhhh it¡¯s okay.¡±


    Rocking her back and forth as I held her close, it only took a few seconds for my mom and dad to show themselves and by then she¡¯d considerably calmed her cries down into small sniffles as she buried her face into my shoulder.


    I looked at my parents helplessly and after handing my sister off to my mom, I breathed a sigh of relief.


    Noticing that my parents were expectantly looking at me expectantly, I could only assume that they must want to know why I¡¯d spontaneously collapsed.


    Looking back at my parents, I take a deep breath and tell them everything that just happened while I was unconscious.


    They stood there, mouths open wide from my story, unsure of what exactly to say to me.


    After the silence grew to unbearable heights, I looked them in the eye and said, ¡°Dad¡­mom¡­don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m going. ¡±


    I had thought about it all already. That disastrous night. Seeing my mother¡¯s tears after waking up from my coma.


    Seeing my whole family again¡­the desire to become strong and protect them lit a fire in my eyes.


    ¡®I will protect them no matter what. To do that, I have to go to the tower. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going to happen there, but I¡¯ll go and protect everyone I love.¡¯


    My parents looked like they wanted to say something, but I continued speaking, ¡°I¡¯ll go pack now and leave tomorrow morning. You guys don¡¯t have to worry about anything. The world isn¡¯t ending on my account¡­I love you both.¡±


    With that said, I walked back into my room leaving my parents in shock.


    I had yet to unpack the things my mom had sent back from my dorm room and the piles of boxes were barely stabilized in the stacks that they sat in near the corner of my room.


    ¡®Hmmmm this might take the whole night¡­¡¯


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    No more than five minutes later, I was lying in bed thinking about all the things I could possibly need in the tower.


    What made the whole process ridiculously tough is that I didn¡¯t know what I¡¯d be going into the tower for or what would happen in there. Thinking about the bloody night when it had all started, I highly doubted that the tower would be like some five star hotel and I¡¯d be better off buying survival gear and bringing clothes.


    ¡®Although, I mean, it¡¯s just a tower, so won¡¯t they feed us and give us a place to sleep¡­?¡¯


    Unsure of what to expect and if I¡¯d truly be in danger, I just went with my gut feeling and decided to prepare for the worst.


    Doing what any sensible person would do, I drove to the nearest supercenter and decided to spend all the saved money I had on anything that would help me survive in the tower.


    By that point, I had already tried thinking of anything related to survival in my brain and came up empty.


    ¡®Damn, school didn¡¯t teach me anything useful!¡¯ I angrily thought.


    After silently crying for never going camping all the times my dad had asked me to, I grabbed a shopping cart and approached a balding middle-aged guy who was restocking things around the sport supplies area.


    ¡°Excuse me, would you mind helping me out?¡±


    He turned to look at me and nodded with a light smile on his face. ¡°What can I do for you, son?¡±


    ¡°Uhhhh, so I¡¯m going camping¡­in an¡­unexplored forest¡­and I suppose I just need help finding stuff for survival. Like camping and hiking stuff, you know?¡±


    He looked at me obviously perplexed by my words.


    Shaking his head for a moment at some conclusion he¡¯d reached, he said, ¡°Hmmmm sure, kid. Just follow me and I¡¯ll point out some things I¡¯d grab for a trip to the forest.¡± He replied with a light chuckle and began to walk off.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    About six unconventional heated arguments with the store employee and fifteen minutes later, my shopping cart was filled with a Patagonia 35 liter backpack, a ridiculously expensive sleeping bag that the guy had told me I could attach to the bottom of my backpack, a 100 foot long nylon rope which could be wrapped up and also tied to my backpack¡¯s front side, flint and steel, two lighters in case that didn¡¯t work, a compass, a first aid kit, a whistle, binoculars, two solar powered flashlights, bug spray, a pair of black combat boots, a compact hatchet, and even though the middle-aged guy questioned my intentions, an eighteen inch long machete I¡¯d seen was also tossed in there.


    Stolen novel; please report.


    I flashed back to that particular conversation a couple minutes ago¡­


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    The middle aged employee had been looking at me funny as I fondly gazed at an eighteen inch long black bladed machete that was clutched tightly to my chest.


    ¡®Oh, ho ho ho, yes. You and I are going to be putting in work on those Overlord bastards won¡¯t we¡­¡¯


    After a few uncomfortable seconds of silence for the balding employee, he spoke up to say, ¡°And what in the hell are you going to need a machete for if you¡¯re just going camping in some woods?¡±


    I looked at him as if he were crazy for suggesting that I was going to be camping, but then I remembered my earlier excuse.


    So without missing a beat I say to him, ¡°Did I say forest? I meant a¡­uh¡­lion infested forest. Yep.¡± And with that, I tossed the machete into the cart and looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to keep showing me stuff I may need.


    He just shook his head with an exasperated face and muttered something about lions only being found close to the Saharan desert.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    I chuckled at the memory.


    ¡®Better for him to think I¡¯m crazy than get constantly harassed with questions for being marked.¡¯


    Smirking, I look over at the employee that¡¯s been helping me and say, ¡°Yeah, this is good so far¡­now, haha, don¡¯t think too hard about this, but uh you wouldn¡¯t happen to have some sort of bulletproof vest or anything would you?¡±


    I watched him from the corner of my eyes gauging his reaction.


    The man stiffened a little and then he said, ¡°Well, I sure as hell wouldn¡¯t want to go camping with you¡­but yeah we¡¯ve got some strike vests-¡±


    ¡°Do you have it in black?¡± I hurriedly ask.


    He nods and sets off down the aisle.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Ten minutes later he was ringing me up.


    ¡°Hey, thanks so much for helping me out. You¡¯re literally a lifesaver.¡± I said while smiling toward the guy.


    ¡°Always happy to help. Your total will be $759.06¡±


    My jaw dropped at hearing the total which was more than half of my  savings.


    ¡°On second thought, I hate you.¡±


    Reluctantly handing over my card he grasped it and tried to take it from my hand, but my hand wouldn¡¯t let go. The guy frowned and tugged harder on it. This time I let it go and a single tear began forming in my left eye threatening to fall.


    ¡®Bear with it, Alex. It¡¯s just money, not your life¡­¡¯


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Making it back to my house at nearly 10 p.m., I hauled everything back into my room and onto the bed.


    Grabbing the machete, I slowly unsheathed it and marveled at it in all its glory.


    ¡®It¡¯s so beautiful.¡¯


    The black blade seemed to absorb the light coming from the ceiling of my room and the only reflection of light came from the sharp edge of the blade


    After admiring the blade for a couple seconds, I used it to cut through the duct tape holding my boxes from school together.


    Rifling through my boxes, I settled on taking out my winter coat, five pairs of jeans with three being blue and the other two tan, long wool socks, thin ankle socks, briefs, and dark plain tee shirts.


    After tossing them into the largest pocket in the Patagonia pack, I placed a black beanie and leather gloves into a side pocket just in case.


    With only my clothes in the bag, half of the space was already used up.


    I then tossed my toiletries and shower stuff into the same side pocket as the beanie and gloves.


    ¡®Okay, now for all the other stuff I bought.¡¯


    I tied the sleeping bag and rope onto the pack like the employee at Walmart had told me and threw everything except for the machete and compact hatchet into the other side pocket of the pack.


    ¡®Alright, now food and water.¡¯


    I passed through the living room to get to the kitchen and saw my parents wordlessly reclining back on the couches looking like they¡¯d aged years in the span of a couple hours.


    Figuring that they were just worried about me, I decided to leave the conversation I knew was coming for the morning and after explaining to them that I¡¯d need food and water, they just nodded.


    I took about fifteen bottles of water and thirty granola bars and tossed it into the pack which was now nearly full.


    ¡®I think that¡¯ll do¡¯


    After much tossing and turning, I finally grew exhausted from the events of that day and fell asleep with only one thought on my mind.


    ¡®I wonder what it¡¯ll be like when I go through my awakening¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    I woke up to the sound of sobbing coming from the living room and I was fairly sure it was my mother. I sighed in apprehension of having to confront my parents this morning, but I knew it had to be done.


    Not wanting to drag the time on, I rolled out of bed, showered, brushed my teeth, and got dressed in my black strike vest which went under a dark blue shirt as well as some blue jeans and my new black combat boots.


    Deciding it would be best to put my machete and hatchet into the pack for now, I did that and, slinging my heavy pack onto my back, moved towards the living room.


    It was about seven in the morning, but my parents were sitting on the couch with sad looks on their faces as if they¡¯d been there the whole night and my mom¡¯s eyes were red and puffy.


    I took a seat on a couch across from them while shrugging my pack off my shoulders.


    ¡°Morning. I¡¯m packed and ready to go¡­Oh, and I pulled out some gas money already¡­I know it¡¯s not much, but you guys should use the rest of my money for whatever. I know you guys have been tight on money since the move.¡±


    As I spoke, I pulled my card out of my wallet and put it on the living room table.


    Silence reigned supreme for a couple seconds.


    Looking towards my parents¡¯ faces, I saw that they were looking even more depressed compared to before I sat down. And after a couple more uncomfortable seconds of silence, my dad finally decided to speak.


    ¡°Son¡­do you know what you¡¯re getting yourself into? We don¡¯t want you rushing anywhere dangerous because before everything else, you¡¯re our son. We love you, Alex. You, better than both your mom and I, know how dangerous those aliens can be ever since that day. You can¡¯t want to hop right back into that¡­I don¡¯t want you running in there and getting killed.¡±


    My dad¡¯s voice broke and tears began to fall from his eyes. ¡°If any of us are going to die, then let it be as a family.


    There¡¯s no need for my son to be responsible for the world.¡±


    I felt the biggest lump rise in my throat before tears began to collect at the edges of my eyes. I stared at my parents in shock.


    ¡®They can¡¯t want me to stay here and cause the world to be destroyed¡­¡¯


    But I knew that wasn¡¯t true. My parents would never force me to do something like this even if the whole world was against them. They loved me that much and in return I felt my resolve to become strong harden as my love for my parents grew to new heights.


    It was hard. Harder than anything I¡¯ve ever had to do before, but I choked out my next words, ¡°Dad¡­mom¡­I haven¡¯t told you, but¡­that night¡­I encouraged every single person in that dorm to fight and save people which led to nothing but their deaths¡­if I¡¯d known the monsters were only there for a short period of time, then I wouldn¡¯t have urged everyone to fight back with me.¡±


    Tears freely flowed from my eyes as I shamefully looked away from my parents who surely thought I was a monster now.


    ¡°I feel nothing but guilt and I¡¯ve been trying to think of a way to make it right ever since I woke up. You think I want to go in there? I don¡¯t. But I will. To protect you two, the little ones, and to make up for my past failure.¡±


    I wiped my tears off my face with my forearm and sniffed to clear my nose.


    ¡°Me being chosen to enter the tower¡­it¡¯s nothing but retribution for that night. I know you couldn¡¯t ever love me after learning what I did that night, but I¡¯ll always love you mom and dad.¡±


    Having said that, I was planning on walking out, but I looked at my parents one last time and the tears in their eyes made me falter.


    Seeing this, they rushed towards me and embraced me in hugs I hadn¡¯t gotten since I was a child. I fiercely hugged them back and a low sob escaped from my mouth.


    ¡°Alex, we could never stop loving you. You¡¯re our son and I can¡¯t believe you¡¯d think something so stupid like that. You did what was right that night and don¡¯t let anyone tell you otherwise.¡±


    My father¡¯s words struck a chord deep within me and I felt a huge weight lift off of my shoulders.


    Almost slumping into my parents¡¯ arms, I regained my balance and pulled away from them to say, ¡°Let the little ones know that I love them and that I¡¯m sorry I couldn¡¯t be home with them longer than I was.¡±


    Taking a deep breath, I wiped my eyes clear and reclaimed my composure.


    Grabbing my bag, I threw it over my shoulders and walked over to the closet next to the front door. Opening the closet, I smiled sadly and grabbed my favorite dark gray windbreaker.


    I turned back to my parents and saw their serious expressions. The smile on my face faltered and my gray eyes instead shone through with my earlier determination.


    ¡°I¡¯m going now, but I will be coming back.¡±


    Saying that, I grabbed my car keys off the key ring and, stepped out of the front door.


    Closing it behind me, I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if this was the last time I¡¯d ever see my parents again.

 Chapter 8: Arrival

    Author''s Note: Hey all, so it''s almost looking like the story will contain stats and the like. I want to get started on typing the chapter, but I''ll hold off at least until later tonight  and check the poll again at that time since I''ve got some homework and note-taking to burn through. Anyone else at the University of Chicago? Good luck on everyone''s upcoming finals!!!


    ...................................................................................................................


    ¡°It¡¯s easieeeeeeer to ruuuuuun! Replacing this paaaain with sooomething numb...¡± I had been driving for nearly thirteen hours and just hit the chorus in Linkin Park¡¯s song, Easier to Run.


    Quite honestly, I was singing my heart out.


    I had a bunch of pent up stress and fear and singing to the music I¡¯d loved since I was a five year old kid was turning out to be a great way of relaxing in its own way.


    Picking my phone up from the cup holder, I checked the maps app and felt a shiver of anticipation run through my spine.


    I was a little under an hour away from Rugby, North Dakota where the tower in North America was supposed to have dropped. I was currently driving past some huge depression in the ground. Glancing at my phone to see if it was some sort of landmark, my eyes widened in surprise and I took a double take out of my window.


    ¡°That¡¯s supposed to be Devil¡¯s Lake¡± I muttered to myself.


    ¡®Hmmmm if all that water evaporated from the heat the tower brought with it before hitting the ground, then it¡¯s no surprise my family and I could feel the tremors all the way in Kansas¡­and now that I¡¯m actually looking, I notice that there are zero signs of life outside the car.¡¯


    Looking from my window, the scenery around me had changed into one that I would expect from one of those movies where the world had become a post-apocalyptic wasteland due to some unprecedented nuclear warhead strikes.


    It even reminded me of how the land looked in those Hiroshima videos I¡¯d watched as a high school student in U.S. History class¡­almost instantly I grew nervous and surveyed my surroundings with a wary look.


    ¡®Wait, could there be radiation out here? Shit! I didn¡¯t prepare for that¡­how could I have prepared for that? Bio-hazard suits are too bulky¡­¡¯ Then I smacked myself on the forehead.


    ¡®Radiation comes from the chemicals in the warheads. Stop freaking out for nothing, Alex¡¯


    I laughed a little at my ridiculous thoughts and continued screaming the Linkin Park lyrics.


    I drove along the highway for another twenty minutes before I could finally make out the top piece of a lone white tower standing against the backdrop of a cloudless starry sky. It stretched straight into the sky and stood as barren as the land around it looking exactly like a standard obelisk, but much wider and longer. I was surprised by the plainness of the tower, but immediately chalked it up to the fact that the self-proclaimed Overlords had nothing to prove to us.


    A full half hour passed before I could finally see the base area of the tower.


    I surprisingly saw a ton of lights flooding the area and movement down near the base of the tower. There was a blockade surrounding the tower in what seemed to be a radius of at least a mile. After another minute or two, I stopped in front of the barricade and noticed the warning shock signs on the fence covering the entire perimeter.


    I slowed to a stop in front of what I could only assume was a gate, giving it a wide berth of about ten yards upon spotting the assault rifle toting camouflaged pair of men in front of the blockade¡¯s gate.


    ¡®Damn, I suppose it only makes sense that the military is here¡­¡¯


    Both guards walked up to my car. One coming for the driver¡¯s window and the other took out a flashlight and began flashing it through the windows of my vehicle as he inspected its contents. Although I had nothing to hide, I grew a little nervous and started fidgeting in my seat.


    I rolled my window down to confront the one walking towards me and after a second, the military man came to a halt outside my window, looking at me with stern brown eyes. He appeared to be in his mid or late thirties with a robust build and weathered face. His eyes were what really told me what I was dealing with; they held a hardness to them that I immediately assumed came from years of seeing some brutal shit and making it out physically fine and mentally strengthened.


    So I was pretty confused when he gently asked me in a gruff tone, ¡°Can we help you, son?¡±


    ¡°Uhhh, yeah¡­I¡¯m one of the¡­marked? I was hoping to get into the tower...¡± I replied a little perplexed at my own situation.


    ¡°Oh, you¡¯s a brave one ain¡¯t ya?¡± The one that had been searching my vehicle finally reached my window. He was skinnier than the first guy that had approached me, but his eyes held the same haunted look.


    ¡°Brave? I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t under-¡± I began to say, but was cut off by the words of the larger man.


    ¡°We¡¯ve had to drag in a few of you in the past couple hours already and they¡¯re staying in the barracks under strict watch. But, there were also even a couple of kids that showed up on their own¡­same as you.¡±


    I was slightly taken aback by this information.


    ¡®It¡¯s only been a little over twenty-four hours since the towers landed, how many people could¡¯ve gotten here before me? How did the military find out who was marked so quickly¡­?¡¯


    I had yet to find a trace of the mark on my body, not that I¡¯d looked much after that strange dream I¡¯d had with the voice.


    ¡°So, how many people have already shown up?¡± was the question I found myself asking.


    ¡°There¡¯s already about thirty-five people here. Albeit, more than half of them had to be rounded up, but they¡¯re confined in a barrack separate from those who came of their own free will. They¡¯re all specially supervised by one of our sergeants so that no one can just change their mind and make a run for it.¡±


    I sweat dropped upon hearing this, but nodded my head in understanding. The fate of the human race relied on every single marked one showing up at the towers after all.


    ¡°We¡¯ll let everyone enter the tower at the end of the week.¡± The soldier carried on. ¡°There¡¯s a worldwide tally keeping track of the number of acquired marked ones so that we know how many we¡¯re missing once it comes down to it.¡±


    ¡°What if you don¡¯t find them all like even twelve hours before the deadline?¡± I asked already sure of the answer.


    The skinnier guard chose to speak up and said, ¡°Well, with all those countries working together¡­that¡¯s some serious manpower, tech, and resources don¡¯t ya think? If we¡¯re missing some, then we just search harder than we was. Reason these ones¡¯ve been found so fast is ¡®cuz they was scattered across the nation in juvenile detention centers or even top security prisons.¡± The skinnier guard replied in a thick southern dialect.


    This tidbit of news really struck me dumb.


    ¡®What kind of process did they use to choose who was marked and who wasn¡¯t if we¡¯re getting people straight out of prison???¡¯ I incredulously thought to myself.


    The burly guard seeing me sit there, unsure of what to do, looked around and coming to a decision he says, ¡°Hey kid, unlock your doors so that I can hop in and show you where you¡¯ll be staying. The roads are under reconstruction so it¡¯s impossible to drive without knowing what things look like. I¡¯ll personally make sure your car gets to where it needs to go.¡±


    I nodded at his words and unlocked the doors. He went around the front and hopped into the passenger seat beside me.


    The gate opened and I drove through it listening to the directions he was giving and suddenly a question popped into my head.


    ¡°Hey, so uh are you guys gonna go through our luggage?¡±


    He looked at me skeptically and said, ¡°Well, of course. Those kids from the detention centers only have the clothes on their backs, but any other person coming through here has to be checked since they could be carrying anything. Just in case they¡¯re psycho and want the world to end, they could do that just by killing one of the marked people.¡±


    I nodded at everything he said.


    ¡®Makes perfect sense I thought.¡¯


    ¡°So¡­¡± I let out a nervous laugh and quickly let my next words tumble from my mouth.


    ¡°¡­imma be real with you, man. I got a machete and hatchet in my bag in the backseat¡­¡± I glanced over at him and silently congratulated him as the only reaction I caught was a small twitch and a raised eyebrow, but I hurriedly kept speaking anyways to give an excuse.


    ¡°¡­purely for survival purposes! You know? I hope I¡¯m wrong, but I¡¯m expecting something on the level of what happened a month ago and those are the only questionable things I brought with me!¡± I finished my words in a flurry and looked over at him expectantly.


    He simply signaled for me to turn down some random road and kept his silence.


    ¡®If he takes my weapons, I¡¯ll probably be royally fucked when I go in there.¡¯ I frantically thought to myself.


    After about ten seconds of silence, he reached up to scratch a stubble of beard on his chin and said, ¡°Well, I don¡¯t see the real problem with it if it¡¯s for survival...worst comes to worst, they¡¯ll confiscate it until you have to enter the tower.¡±


    I breathed a sigh of relief.


    Within the next ten seconds, we reached a small, rectangular one-story building made out of bricks with a number three on it. It looked to have been hastily erected, but there was even a glass window pane that looked like it stretched from the top of the side walls all the way around the entire building to allow sunlight in during the day time.


    ¡®Man, the military must¡¯ve been putting in work as soon as that tower landed.¡¯


    Parking my car, I hopped out, grabbed my bag and gray windbreaker from the backseat, hauling them into the driver¡¯s seat.


    ¡®This thing really is ridiculously heavy. I bet it¡¯s all that water in here.¡¯


    Throwing my jacket on, I heaved the pack up and onto my shoulders with a low groan. Stepping back to shut my door, I saw the soldier was already waiting for me in front of the car.


    ¡°Sorry, this thing is damn heavy. I¡¯m Alex by the way. I appreciate all the help¡± I said while putting my hand forward towards him.


    Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    He looked at my hand for a moment and then, ¡°Mike¡­and no problem, kid. Just walk through those doors and there¡¯ll be a sergeant in there to help you out.¡±


    Nodding to him, I tossed my keys at him with a light smile.


    ¡°Please crash my car. I¡¯ve been looking for an excuse to beg my parents for a new one.¡±


    He let loose a deep laugh and patted my back as I passed by him, making my way towards the door.


    Arriving in front of the door, I took a deep breath, placed my hand on the knob, twisted and pushed my way through the doorway and into the tiny building.


    As soon as I walked in, I took in the scene laid out before me.


    There were twelve thin mattresses with six on opposing sides of the rectangular building. The window I¡¯d noticed from outside was letting in the faint light of the moon but was blocked by the bright rays of the light bulbs lining through the middle of the ceiling.


    ¡®Damn, they even got electricity in this place already? I¡¯m impressed¡­¡¯


    Looking for exits, I realized the door I¡¯d come through was the only one in and out of barrack number three.


    All, but one of the beds were occupied with people that looked to be around my age and they were all staring at me. I stared back for only a few moments and looked down to my right where a uniformed man was lazily seated in a chair next to the door.


    I immediately assumed that this was the sergeant that Mike had told me about.


    This guy seemed a lot more at ease with himself than the other two soldiers I¡¯d talked to since he wasn¡¯t wearing his combat jacket and instead had on a form-fitting white tank top that showed the outlines of his leanly muscled upper body.


    His arm was draped across the back of the chair and a camouflage hat was on top of his head, obscuring his eyes from view. I only looked at him for a couple seconds before he lazily lifted his hat with the tip of his right forefinger.


    I was astonished when I saw his eyes holding the same steel in them as the last two men I¡¯d seen had.


    ¡®I guess the military is pulling out the best from everywhere. It does involve the fate of the world after all¡­¡¯


    He spoke in a raspy voice saying, ¡°Name¡¯s Sergeant James Kesler. I¡¯m your C.O., you can take that last bunk at the end there.¡±


    He indifferently nodded off towards the collection of beds and after looking at him for a couple more seconds, I walked towards the only empty bed at the end of the right side.


    ¡®Guess they won¡¯t be checking my luggage like Mike had told me. Probably just a scare tactic or something.¡¯


    Little did I know that it was Mike¡¯s job to check every person coming through the gates of the base and he¡¯d trusted me at face value when I told him about why I¡¯d brought the machete and compact hatchet¡­


    I was walking down the aisle towards the last available bed and heard whispering on all sides. I took the time to take stock of those around me.


    There were eight guys who had their stuff situated at the front of the barrack and three girls towards the back where I was going to be sleeping.


    Once I reached the bed, I slung my stuff off my shoulders and onto my new bed.


    Taking a slow breath and turning around to meet the eyes of all the people in the room, I let a smile out and attempted to soften my face to say, ¡°Hello everyone! It¡¯s nice to meet you all. My name is Alex Taylor and I¡¯m just a nineteen year old attending college in Chicago...or, uh, I was anyways.¡±


    Painful memories fought to surface to the front of my mind, but I pushed them down quickly to check the reactions of all those in the room.


    Mostly all of them were looking at me with looks of disbelief and one of the girls, she had blue hair and was looking quite cute, was lightly smiling at my introduction.


    Suddenly, one of the guys from the front said, ¡°Hey, quit screwing around and show us your mark.¡±


    I looked straight past everyone to a blonde haired kid with piercing blue eyes. His build was quite similar to mine, although he may have been a couple inches taller, and with his smooth baby face and strong jawline I¡¯m sure he¡¯d never had a problem in the looks department with any girls.


    ¡°Ah, uh-huh¡­my mark. Well I¡¯m sorry to disappoint you, but I¡¯m going to have to respectfully decline. As far as I know, you have no right to know or even to care.¡± I lightly smiled and scratched the back of my head to try and show that I wasn¡¯t taking his words personally, but I also wasn¡¯t one to be wantonly pushed around.


    I dryly laughed at myself on the inside while thinking that I obviously shouldn¡¯t reveal that even I didn¡¯t know where I was marked.


    ¡°Now, if you¡¯ll all excuse me, I¡¯m gonna head to bed. I don¡¯t know how all of you got here so quickly, but I¡¯ve been driving all day and I¡¯d like to get some rest. I hope you¡¯ll all introduce yourselves to me in the morning.¡± I said this before the blonde guy could respond to my earlier words.


    Moving my pack off and onto the side of my bed, I turned away from the others and shrugged off my jacket, tossing it directly on top of the pack on the ground. Pulling my boots off, I stood back up and turned away from them all once more.


    The voice of that blonde kid rung out once again from behind me, ¡°It sounds to me like you don¡¯t even know where your mark is. It¡¯s on your back, idiot. Or are you telling me you haven¡¯t looked there yet?¡±


    I instantly froze.


    ¡®I sure as hell haven¡¯t checked my back yet.¡¯ I thought to myself.


    ¡°Hmmmm, you¡¯re completely right.¡± I spoke in an even and disinterested voice. ¡°I haven¡¯t looked there yet. I have to thank you, even if you were quite rude about helping me out.¡±


    Shrugging my shirt up over my shoulders, I heard gasps from behind me and once again that kid spoke up.


    ¡°What the hell are you playing at? Why do you have a vest on?¡±


    Turning to face him, my eyes narrowed as dark memories flashed through my head.


    ¡°Are you kidding me? Why do I have a vest on? Do you not remember what happened that day?¡± Striding towards him, I saw his mouth quirk into a small smile as though he was happy to get a reaction out of me, but it quickly vanished upon seeing the wild look in my eyes that the memories always seemed to pull out of me.


    ¡°I had no part in what happened that day. No monsters came and attacked me, but we¡¯ve been invited by the aliens to come into their towers. Maybe they¡¯ll use our group as a sample and logically determine if we¡¯re to be saved or not! Like statisticians would, you know? Through diplomacy!¡± His blue eyes shone in earnest and I knew he was being completely serious with me, but I could only look at him as if he were crazy.


    Staring him right in the eye, I coldly say, ¡°And that¡¯s why you¡¯ll be one of the first to die.¡±


    Turning my head to look around the room, I saw that all the people in the room except for Sgt. Kesler, four guys, and the one girl with blue hair were looking at me like I was crazy.


    Turning my gaze back onto the blonde haired kid in front of me I decided to calm myself and switch tactics with the guy.


    I spoke more softly saying, ¡°Look man, I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re thinking what you are, but if you go in there with the mentality that it¡¯s going to be pure diplomacy¡­you¡¯ll die.¡±


    His eyes flashed in fear before covering it up and I just continued to speak.


    ¡°I¡¯m just trying to give you a heads-up. Believe it or not, we¡¯re on the same side and the Overlords are the enemy. They¡¯re the ones who attacked us and killed millions in the United States alone. We¡¯re far past any kind of diplomacy if you ask me.¡±


    His eyes were cast down towards the ground at this point and seeing that I¡¯d probably gotten through to him, I turned around and had every intention of passing out on my bed, but before I could even walk two steps, the blonde¡¯s voice called out to me.


    ¡°Hey¡­I¡¯m sorry. Even I¡¯m not so dull as to think everything¡¯s going to be that simple. I just didn¡¯t want to believe things could be as bad as they are¡­they really did threaten everyone on the planet¡­¡± He said in near disbelief.


    ¡°Here, look¡­¡± As he spoke, he began pulling his shirt off over his head.


    ¡°Yo, man, look I don¡¯t really swing that way¡­¡± My hands were waving off the blonde guy in front of me, but at this point, his shirt had come all the way off and he had a slight blush of embarrassment on his cheeks.


    ¡°No! Just¡­look at this.¡±


    He turned around and on his back I could see it. A pure blue water drop shimmered in the light of the barrack and it seemed to be rippling as if it really was made of water. The drop of water was fairly large and took up the entire area between his shoulder blades.


    ¡°Okay¡­nice tattoo, man¡­¡± but even I didn¡¯t sound too convinced with my own words.


    As I watched, the drop of water continue to ripple I finally caved in.


    ¡°Alright, it¡¯s not a normal tattoo. I get it.¡± When I said this, he turned around and put his shirt back on with a large grin on his face.


    Sticking his hand out to me, he said, ¡°My name is Bryce Weathers. Sorry for being an ass. I¡¯m twenty and I¡¯ll soon be taking over my father¡¯s technological investment business, ARR & Co.¡±


    Eyeing his hand warily for a moment, I reached out and grasped it. ¡°Like I said, my name¡¯s Alex and I¡¯m sorry for losing my cool¡­I lost a lot that day and it¡¯s a sore subject for me.¡±


    He nodded and looked at me expectantly.


    We stared at each other for a few seconds until I couldn¡¯t take it anymore.


    ¡°What, Bryce?¡± I quickly say to break the awkward silence.


    ¡°I showed you my mark, so show us yours!¡± He shouts as if it were obvious.


    ..............................................................................................


    Author''s Note: Wonder what kind of mark Alex will have ;) haha. Don''t forget to answer the poll in the last chapter! Guests can answer it as well so don''t be afraid to let your opinions be known! Thank you all for reading :)

 Chapter 9: New Friends

    Author''s Note: How does one gain followers? lol. Enjoy the chapter guys :) We''re entering the tower very soon. Also, let me know if these chapters are too long and I''ll do a better job of divvying things up.


    ...................................................................................................................................


    Hearing Bryce asking me to show everyone my back, I got slightly embarrassed and said, ¡°Why do you need to see mine? It¡¯s just a drop of water isn¡¯t it? Same as everyone else.¡±


    Everyone looked at me with confused looks on their faces and then it hit me. ¡°Ohhhh, unless each person is marked with a different kind of tattoo?¡±


    Bryce smiled and nodded. ¡°That¡¯s exactly right. I mean, two others in here have the raindrop like me, but where I only have one large raindrop, Teresa and Matthew over there¡­¡±


    He quickly pointed out a brown haired boy and black haired girl.


    ¡°¡­have multiple raindrops of varying sizes, but there¡¯s don¡¯t shimmer and ripple like real water, but my drop does.¡±


    ¡®Interesting. I wonder if these marks correlate to the potential of a person¡¯s awakening¡­¡¯


    He then gestured towards some other people in the room saying, ¡°Samantha over there¡­¡±


    Samantha was the one with blue hair from earlier and I also even noticed a tinge of white within her hair while looking this time.


    ¡°¡­has blue lightning racing across her back and it¡¯s constantly writhing in motion as if it¡¯s straining to break free. Pretty awesome if you ask me.¡±


    I nearly laughed aloud at his last comment since I wasn¡¯t sure how I¡¯d feel if I had some strange lightning of questionable origin on my back that was always flashing around. It would be extremely weird to me at first, but I guess


    I¡¯d get used to it in time.


    Bryce continued motioning towards others in the room until he had pointed out each person, given their name, and described the type, size, motion and color of the tattoos on their backs.


    There was a guy whose bed was nearest to Bryce¡¯s and he had a skull on his back outlined by a frame of pure darkness which made it a little difficult to see the skull due to its faint outline.


    Four others in the room had varying types of tattoos that were related to fire, but only one had the smooth flickering of a real flame while the others appeared choppy and unreal at best. The flames also even varied in colors which I could only assume meant that there were different levels to its heat like how blue flames are hotter than orange-red.


    The last two had faint outlines of what appeared to be just plain boulders of rocks with scattered metals around it. It was kinda difficult to tell the different metals apart, but I was sure that I could assume it was just iron or steel that lay around the boulders.


    After carefully taking it all in, I rubbed the stubble of hair growing on my chin, while turning back to Bryce to ask, ¡°So are these all the only types of tattoos that the aliens marked us with?¡±


    ¡°That¡­we can¡¯t be quite sure of yet.¡± I expected this answer so I just silently nodded.


    Bryce continued to speak though.


    ¡°You saw that there are different types of tattoos which, let¡¯s be honest, correspond to different elements. The rain drop represents water. Flames represent fire. The lighting represents electricity. Boulders represent earth and¡­well, this is pure speculation, but I¡¯d assume that the skull with darkness represents either darkness or death-¡±


    ¡°So logically, there has to be one for light or life depending on which one that skull is.¡± I finished for him.


    Bryce nodded at my deduction.


    ¡°And so I guess since none of us in here has them, you still don¡¯t know what two of the remaining marks are: The air element and the one for light or life, depending on whichever it is, looks like, right?¡±


    Bryce nodded once more and again looked at me the same way he had after showing me his tattoo.


    I sighed, but quickly flashed a bright smile.


    ¡°Well, since Bryce and you all were so kind as to enlighten me with what your marks are, how could I dare not show you mine?¡±


    I was ecstatic. I had wanted to know what my mark looked like ever since I¡¯d gotten it, which even though it was only one day ago, felt like forever to me.


    Everyone turned towards me expectantly as I faced my back towards them and quickly yanked off the strike vest covering my upper body.


    I heard a gasp of surprise and then a couple whispers behind me. Turning around quickly, I instantly looked at Bryce and he seemed to be thinking about something.


    ¡°Earth to Bryce!¡± Snapping my fingers at him, he looked up at me and a slow smile spread across his face. ¡°So what is it man? Don¡¯t leave me hanging.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a cloud, Alex. Dark gray¡­looks like its breathing in and out if you ask me and it takes up nearly half your damn back. How¡¯d you miss it?¡± He jokingly asked me.


    ¡°I guess I just was too busy thinking about what I¡¯d need to survive the tower and not what my mark looked like is all¡± I dismissively waved my hand and smiled in happiness.


    ¡°So a cloud, huh? I must be air then. That means we¡¯re only missing that light or life element then, right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah¡± Bryce responded.


    ¡°I just don¡¯t quite understand why everyone has different types of marks.¡± I said back to Bryce.


    ¡®It¡¯s not entirely true that I don¡¯t know what any of this could mean, but it would be weird to say it out loud and I wanted to hear everyone else¡¯s thoughts on the marks first before I gave my opinion.¡¯


    Before Bryce could open his mouth to respond, the lights shut off and we all heard a voice come from the front of the barrack.


    ¡°Alright, ladies. Time for lights out.¡± Giving Bryce one last look, I shrugged at him and he did the same.


    ¡°Night, bro.¡± I said before walking off towards my bed.


    Reaching my bed, I tossed my strike vest on top of my pack and fell on top of my bed in exhaustion. Soon after, a darkness more welcoming than I¡¯d been getting lately embraced me as I fell asleep.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    ¡°Rise and shine marked ones! It¡¯s time for p.t.! Five minutes!¡± The sharp, raspy voice of Sgt. Kesler rang throughout the barracks, waking me from my dreamless sleep.


    I remember a month ago, the dreams I had were always something for me to look forward to, but in the five days that I¡¯d been awake after coming out of my coma, half of those five nights were dedicated to reliving the bloody horrors of that night.


    A dreamless night was probably the best I could ask for at this point and to be woken from it for physical training of all things?


    ¡®I didn¡¯t come here to join the freaking military.¡¯


    Groggily lifting my head, I looked up and saw a small amount of dim sunlight coming in through the windows. Everyone around me was shifting from under blankets and seemed to be getting up out of bed.


    ¡®Oh, screw that. What do I look like to these guys?¡¯ I burrowed my face further into my pillow and right before I could fall back into a blissful sleep I felt something soft grasp my shoulder and lightly shake me.


    ¡°Mmmmh? Look at how dark it is outside. I¡¯m going to sleep. Screw p.t.¡± I mumbled as coherently as I could through my pillow and kept my face turned away from whoever was shaking my shoulder.


    However, the shaking returned, but with greater urgency this time.


    Rotating my body back towards whoever was shaking me, I wiped my eyes tiredly and got into a sitting position, willing my eyes to become less blurry.


    I was met with the sight of the girl whose bed was apparently right next to mine.


    I hadn¡¯t really taken a good look at her last night during my talk with Bryce, but now I could fully appreciate the sight.


    She was a pale white female who looked to be about half a foot shorter than me. Her eyes glowed in a mix of sapphire blue and dark emerald green. She had an innocently refreshing face, but her hair was the most interesting though and it¡¯s what had caught my attention last night.


    It was straight on top of her head, but after a neat bun at the back of her head, the rest of her hair was dreaded a couple inches past her shoulders. Her hair shone in the dim light with a paler blue than her eyes.


    ¡®I hope the other marked girls are made like this one¡¯ I involuntarily thought.


    ¡°Hey, didn¡¯t you hear?¡± She asked me in a soft quiet voice. ¡°It¡¯s time for physical training. So you have to wake up!¡±


    She finished speaking and hit me with a warm-hearted smile.


    Completely forgetting my earlier frustration about p.t. and my sleepiness, I stared at this girl slack-jawed for a few moments before reaching down on the ground for my combat boots.


    ¡°Right¡­physical training¡­haha. Thanks¡­ummmm?¡± I sounded like a complete fool, but I had forgotten her name and only remembered her as the girl that Bryce had pointed out the night before with the blue lighting racing across her back.


    Seeming to understand my confusion, the girl gave a sweet laugh and then, ¡°Samantha. That¡¯s my name. Although, my friends call me Pixie.¡±


    Immediately, I was flabbergasted at the nickname¡¯s peculiarity, but was looking down while tying my boots so thankfully she didn¡¯t notice.


    ¡°Oh¡­haha. Well, what should I call you?¡± I laughed out while finishing with my boots.


    She put a finger on her chin and looked off into the distance. ¡°Well that depends, Alex. Are we friends?¡±


    ¡®Oh, damn she remembered my name? Now I look like an ass.¡¯


    Standing up, I looked down at her shorter figure and laughingly say, ¡°Always open to making new friends. I¡¯m sure you saw how quickly Bryce and I bonded and hit it off last night. It¡¯s like we were just separated at birth. Speaking of¡­where is he?¡±


    Looking around, I realized that ¡®Pixie¡¯ and I were the only two people left in the barracks.


    ¡°Oh! That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been telling you! Physical training! We¡¯re gonna be late, come on.¡± She hurried down the aisle of beds and out the door before I could even respond.


    ¡®Ugh, physical training¡­exercise¡­bleh¡¯


    I looked down at my shirt which was lying across my pack on the ground.


    ¡®Might as well leave that here if I¡¯m gonna be sweating and no one said anything about a washing machine yet.¡¯


    After a moment of internal debate, I dashed out the door after Pixie and the rest of my barrack leaving my shirt on the bed.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Five Days Later¡­


    The sun was shining down hard on my back as I sat outside on the ground in an open area eating a turkey sandwich with my barrack mates and a couple other people I¡¯d come to know during my stay at the tower drop zone.


    Thinking back on my time spent here, I hadn¡¯t really had a moment of rest since I woke up for p.t. on my first day here.


    The military was so intent on preparing us for any eventualities within the tower that our heads had been drilled with a ridiculous amount of real world survival skills.


    One of the first things that they had taught us was something that I instantly branded to memory because I felt it was directly related to how one should conduct themselves when prioritizing goals to survive. They called it the rules of threes but, ironically, there were four rules embedded in the principle.


    The first rule; on average, a human can survive for up to three minutes without air.


    The second rule; a human can survive with an unregulated body temperature for three hours at most meaning shelter is key to carrying on in harsh environments.


    The third rule; on average, a human can survive for up to three weeks without food.


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    ¡®I sincerely hope I¡¯ll never find myself in a situation without at least three meals a day.¡¯


    And the last rule; on average, a human can survive for three days without water.


    The rules, when presented, were concise and logical, so I thought it was only pertinent to rank them in order so I¡¯d always know what to do if I was stranded.


    First priority is always going to be water, followed by shelter and then food. The air rule only really applies if I¡¯m in a life threatening situation so I decided to push it to the back of my mind.


    Quite honestly, death by asphyxiation was perhaps the most frightful way to die in my mind. To vie for something so natural, yet be deprived of it no matter how hard you struggle as your lungs burn and darkness consumes you? No, thank you. Absolutely the worst in my opinion.


    But I digress¡­


    Branching from these four rules, they taught us a variety of things: effective ways to build shelters for ourselves as well as groups of people, how to purify water, efficient habits in tracking, how to skin and cook animals, what kind of herbal medicines did what and how to apply them, etc.


    It had really surprised me when our teachers had us learn a bunch of military tactics spanning through time from the Roman Empire to modern day stratagem.


    It was quite obvious at this point that they truly were preparing us for any and all eventualities. The government, though faulty, was not stupid and acknowledged that the towers were not as simple as they seemed from the outside and could hold unimaginable dangers within that were comparable to the day this all started.


    Tomorrow would be the day that we finally enter the tower.


    I couldn¡¯t help but feel a twinge of excitement flow through me as I thought about the awakening we had in store for us once we entered the tower. I wanted to become what the voice had told me I had the potential to become¡­I wanted to become strong.


    Looking at my surroundings, there were over a hundred people conversing and eating around or on tables that had been set out for us. The tower zone had really filled out in the past couple of days as the military installed a food storage and distribution center, bathrooms, showers, etc.


    The barracks had also steadily filled up in the past couple of days. Barracks one through eleven were all nearly filled up.


    ¡®Hmmmmm, assuming that each of the barracks has twelve beds like mine, then there are nearly one hundred thirty-two people at this one tower alone.¡¯


    A strong shove pushed me from my sitting position onto my side and I just barely managed to save my sandwich from falling to the mercy of the ground.


    Using the momentum from the push, I swung back up into my sitting position and glared daggers at Bryce, but then a playful grin broke out across my face.


    ¡°While I¡¯m eating, man? This is a new low, even for you. But I understand that you were probably just wanting to feed the ground with my sandwich. It is looking rather desolate¡­¡± I gestured to the barren land surrounding the tower due to its crash-landing.


    Bryce¡¯s responding laugh set me off into a fit of laughter as I stood up onto my feet.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be right back. Gotta use the restroom.¡±


    Excusing myself from the group of people, I began walking towards the nearest bathroom.


    All around me, groups of people, ranging the ages from late teens to early thirties, were all happily chatting with one another as they ate their meager lunches. I assumed everyone was just glad that they could make new friends even in this type of situation. However, I also saw the occasional one or two people sitting off all by themselves in a corner, not really bothering or desiring to interact with others.


    Making it near the bathroom, I heard loud cheering coming from the back end of the building and immediately moving past the men¡¯s restroom door, I decided to go and check it out.


    ¡®It really is amazing that the military could construct all this stuff in just a couple days¡¯


    I silently praised the hardworking construction workers I¡¯d seen over the last couple of days.


    Hitting the corner of the small bathroom building, I was quite perplexed by what I saw.


    Two African-American males were leaning back against the wall of the building, cheering for a hugely built and bald headed guy who seemed to be doing nonstop squats.


    ¡°One hundred twenty-six, one hundred twenty-seven ¡­¡± He puffed out after completing each squat. I leaned against the corner of the building and watched the bulky guy keep going.


    ¡®This guys an absolute monster! He makes the bigger half-breed I fought look lanky!¡¯ I thought to myself.


    Once the big guy hit one hundred and fifty, he finally stopped and turning away from the two African-Americans watching him began breathing deeply and slowly while stretching out his legs.


    He had no shirt on and his muscles looked tough as stone.


    What astonished me was that even after all those squats, not one drop of sweat could be seen on his body. Focusing my vision on his back, I strained my eyes to catch a look at his mark and there it was; Taking up a space taking up more than half of the middle of his back was a sky blue rain drop thrashing around as if it had waves rolling through it.


    ¡®What the hell? I haven¡¯t seen one like that yet.¡¯


    Bryce¡¯s drop of water that I¡¯d seen was calm and rippled like a pond. This guy¡¯s raindrop seemed to me like it was attempting to turn itself into a raging tsunami.


    After finishing his breathing exercise, he turned around and the other two guys started clapping.


    Joining in on the applause, I stepped from the corner where I¡¯d been watching, surprising them all with my presence.


    ¡°Damn you¡¯re strong, man!¡± I heartily exclaimed out to him.


    He looked at me with a serious look in his eyes causing me to involuntarily tense up at his look.


    ¡°The physical training they have us do in the morning is just running, push-ups, and sit-ups. It¡¯s not what I¡¯m used to, so I try to do more by myself in the spare time we have.¡± He explained in a strong, deep voice.


    After hearing him respond to me in a friendly manner, I loosened up and came closer sticking my hand out.


    ¡°My name¡¯s Alex. Nice to meet you.¡±


    Now that I¡¯d gotten much closer I could see that even though I had a couple inches on the guy, he was definitely much wider than me and it was all muscle. He also looked to be about one or two years older than me. It was almost comical, but his light brown eyes gave me the impression that I was talking to an intellectual bear minus all the fur of course.


    He grasped my hand in a hard, firm grip. Like a steel vice.


    ¡°I¡¯m Akito.¡± He gestured towards the two African American guys. ¡°These guys are Kualin and Milik.¡±


    I looked them over and found that they had a striking resemblance. Maybe not enough to be twins, but definitely siblings.


    Kualin was a couple inches taller than me, but with a much slimmer build. His complexion was darker than Milik¡¯s and they both had dreads that went a little past their shoulders. Kualin had high cheekbones and a neatly trimmed beard running along his jaw, whereas Milik had no facial hair and less prominent cheekbones.


    The bigger differences between the two were that Kualin¡¯s dreads were all black except for the tips which were highlighted a shining blonde, while Milik¡¯s dreads were completely highlighted creating a vibrant mixture of black and blonde throughout his hair. Milik  also had black snake bite piercings in his bottom lip whereas Kualin had only one silver snake bite pierced through his lower lip.


    I could tell that Kualin was around two or three years older than me while Milik was at most a year younger than I was.


    Reaching my hand out to Kualin I said, ¡°Alex, nice to meet you.¡± He looked down at my hand and started laughing hysterically. Milik joined in soon after and a moment later, they were both dying laughing.


    I confusedly watched while slowly withdrawing my hand from where I¡¯d had it and waited for them to finish.


    Kualin looked at me with mirth in his eyes and a huge smile, ¡°Yo, man you don¡¯t gotta be super formal or nothing. It¡¯s all good though. Aye, Milik, we gon¡¯ teach this dude the ways of the Lin Que.¡±


    I got even more confused and turn to Milik. ¡°The ways of the Lin Que?¡±


    Milik started laughing even harder. ¡°Dude, I don¡¯t even know! It¡¯s just this thing he¡¯s always saying!¡±


    Although I was still confused, I felt myself being drawn into the joyful mood that Kualin and Milik had created and started laughing for no good reason.


    After about ten seconds our laughter died down and I looked over towards the big guy, Akito who¡¯d just been watching the proceedings with a helpless look on his face from trying to understand why we all had been laughing.


    Pulling out my phone, I checked the time.


    ¡°Damn. Hey, I gotta go find a way to do my laundry. We¡¯re entering the tower tomorrow and I don¡¯t wanna have to go in smelling like straight up funk.¡±


    They all sagely nodded at that and Akito even sniffed his own armpit, then turned away disgusted. I almost started laughing all over again, but kept control of myself.


    ¡°If any of you guys see me tomorrow in or out of the tower, just link up with me. It¡¯s better to go in with friendly people, you know?¡± Everyone sobered up at my words and nodded.


    ¡°Yeah, dude. We¡¯re all in barrack eight, but if we see you in there we¡¯ll hit you up. You seem a lot more laid-back than the rest of the people from our barrack,¡± Kualin said with a smile.


    ¡°Alright then. Akito. Kualin. Milik. Hope to see y¡¯all soon.¡±


    Leaving them, I made it back to my group a couple minutes after using the restroom.


    They were all just sitting and chatting away as they had been when I left. I noticed, however, that none of them were talking about the tower or what would happen tomorrow, instead focusing on their lives back home.


    Approaching the group, I announced to them, ¡°Hey, guys. I¡¯m about to go find some way to do laundry. Y¡¯all in or what? Bryce, I know you need to.¡±


    I offhandedly swiped my hand in front of my face to ward off the fake stench with a large smirk on my face.


    Pixie was the first to stand up, her pale blue dreads swinging as she did.


    ¡°I¡¯m in. This sun is killing me.¡± She feigned passing out in my direction and I playfully pushed her back onto her feet.


    ¡°Alright, Pixie¡¯s in. Anyone else? Cough, cough. Bryce.¡± Everyone grumbled and stayed in a sitting position except for one.


    ¡°Yeah, yeah I¡¯ll go. I also want to go and prepare everything for tomorrow.¡± Bryce¡¯s voice broke through the grumbles of everyone sitting on the ground.


    They all looked at Bryce, then towards the tower and slowly began getting up form the ground to join us.


    As we walked off, the chatter of the group picked back up. Soon, everyone was laughing and had smiles plastered on their faces again.


    I couldn¡¯t help but hope when we entered the tower tomorrow, that maybe we wouldn¡¯t have to go through anything like the catastrophe that had started all of this because I didn¡¯t want to see anyone else I knew die. I just wanted to rid the world of the threat hanging above us.


    The Overlords.


    .........................................................................................


    Author''s Note: Can I get a hot tub!? <- statefarm commercial. Can I get a comment!? <- desperation

 Chapter 10: Entering the Tower

    Author''s Note: Hey guys! We''re finally making it to the tower buuuuut not quite making it to the tower. Haha. I hope you all forgive me for not wanting to rush through things. I''m not trying to speed through my work since I want to make it somewhat  professional. Enjoy Chapter 10! Oh, and we will be doing stats according to the poll from chapter 7!


    ................................................................................................................................


    I woke up once more to a hand gently shaking my shoulder.


    ¡°Mmmmmrgh, Pixie leave me be! No more physical training¡­please-¡­¡± I grumbled and attempted to once more fall back into the paradise of sleep.


    ¡°Pixie? What kinda shit you dreaming about?¡± A male voice roused me from my sleep and I yelped, rolling out of bed and crashing onto the floor in a mess of limbs and blankets.


    ¡°Yo, man, what the¡­¡± Untangling myself from the blanket on the ground, I see Kualin standing on the other side of my bed accompanied by Akito and Milik a little further behind him.


    No one else was in the barrack.


    ¡°Please¡­don¡¯t get in my ear like that again.¡± I clambered over my bed and reached for my strike vest.


    Strapping the vest on, I looked up at the three burning to know the answer to just one question. ¡°Who told you guys where I live?¡±


    ¡°We just asked around, bro. A lot of people actually know of you for some reason.¡± Milik spoke up from behind Kualin.


    ¡®Weird,¡¯ I silently thought.


    Shrugging, I reached around for a shirt in my pack and picked out a plain black tee shirt.


    ¡°Where¡¯s everyone at?¡± I asked them.


    Akito ended up being the one to answer me.


    ¡°Everyone¡¯s already gathering at the base of the tower. We were looking for you at the tower, but didn¡¯t find you. So we just asked around and came here. Alex, we enter the tower in half an hour.¡±


    Hearing the words ¡®half an hour,¡¯ I sped up and pulled some long socks on followed quickly by my combat boots.


    I looked around the barren barrack again while tying my boots on.


    ¡®How could Sgt. Kesler let something like that happen?¡¯


    Thinking back towards last night, Bryce did seem to have some sort of smirk on his face whenever he talked to me.


    ¡®The bastard¡­he got me good for making those cracks at him yesterday about doing laundry, but did he really have to risk the whole human race to prank me??¡¯


    Letting out a snort, I noticed that the three other guys in the room all had packs similar in size to mine. Throwing on my windbreaker, I bent down and reached into the side of my pack pulling out my toothbrush, toothpaste, and deodorant.


    ¡°One sec¡± I told them, quickly running out of the barracks to the nearest bathrooms.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Ten minutes later we were all walking down a dirt road heading towards the tower.


    A shiver ran down my spine just by looking at it. We were about five minutes away from it when I realized I hadn¡¯t called my parents the whole week that I¡¯d been here. They probably thought I¡¯d already made it into the tower and I doubted that the Overlords would be so kind as to provide electricity for us, let alone a signal.


    Pulling out my phone, I called my mom¡¯s phone. After four or five rings it went to voicemail. Frowning, I called my dad¡¯s phone and he picked up on the third ring.


    ¡°Alex?¡± My dad¡¯s voice came through the phone.


    ¡°Hey, dad. Sorry I haven¡¯t called at all.¡± I replied to him.


    ¡°Are you out of the tower now? What happened?¡± He frantically asked me.


    ¡°Oh. No, dad.¡± I bitterly told him.


    ¡°I¡¯m actually just now about to go in. When I got here, the military had everything in order and kept us all in this sort of camp thing until now. Something about keeping a tally¡­¡±


    ¡°Oh¡­¡± My dad sounded downtrodden.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong, dad?¡± I quickly asked him.


    ¡°I was just hoping it would already be over. It¡¯s just¡­nerve-wracking.¡± He responded to me.


    I sighed. ¡°Yeah, dad. Me too. Whatever this is¡­I just don¡¯t think it¡¯ll be all that simple.¡±


    A pause¡­and then, ¡°Just¡­take care of yourself, son. I¡¯d give your mom the phone, but she¡¯s out grocery shopping with your brothers.¡±


    ¡°Well¡­just let everyone know I love them. And dad, don¡¯t forget¡­I¡¯ll be coming back and I expect there to be hamburgers and fries waiting on me when I do.¡±


    I heard a snort in reply at that and I lightly smiled.


    ¡°I gotta go dad. I love you. I¡¯ll try and talk to you later.¡±


    ¡°Alright, Alex. We love you too. Stay safe.¡± He replied in a concerned voice.


    Hanging up the phone, I looked around at Akito, Kualin, and Milik. They each had sad looks in their eyes.


    Sighing, I offered my phone in their direction.


    ¡°You guys can use it too if you want.¡± Kualin snatched the phone out of my hand as the words left my mouth and he began dialing what I assumed was the number for one of his parents.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Reaching the base of the tower, I saw a huge crowd of people milling about a rectangular opening in the tower that definitely wasn¡¯t there last night.


    The opening was three times as tall as I was and wide enough for at least six people to go through at once. It was strange because the opening was pure black and it was impossible to see the interior of the tower through the darkness. It looked almost like a portal that you¡¯d see in some sci-fi movie, but there was no high tech around. Just the tower.


    I marveled at the mystery of the tower and couldn¡¯t help but wonder what I¡¯d find upon walking in.


    Looking at the people closest to the opening, I saw that half of them had cuffs holding their hands behind their backs and some of the soldiers were busy taking off cuffs and throwing the cuffs onto the ground.


    I was confused for only a moment before I remembered that Mike, the soldier I first met, had told me about those people that had been forcibly brought into barracks one and two.


    Every single one of them were outfitted in regular clothes and a thin jacket. They also were all wearing tan duffle bags which seemed to be filled to the brim with what I could only assume were food, water, clothing, supplies, etc.


    Looking back at the three guys I¡¯d came with, I quickly noticed that they were all shouldering the same bags and I was the only one in the entire crowd with their own bag.


    Thinking about it, I decided to leave it be since my bag was already super packed and I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to carry two bags while maintaining an effective degree of mobility.


    Moving towards the outer edges of the crowd, I was about to see if I could get a closer look at the people from barracks one and two since the soldiers here had kept us strictly separated the whole week, but before I could burrow myself into the crowd, a familiar voice called out my name.


    ¡°Alex!¡± Pixie came running over at high speed and nearly tackled me into the ground with a hug.


    Giving myself some space, I gave her a stern look.


    ¡°You left me back there in the barrack!¡±


    She started laughing sweetly and my stern look faltered.


    ¡°But Alex! It was all Bryce¡¯s idea. He said that you¡¯d asked him to let you sleep in for a long time today since there was no physical training this morning and that you¡¯d set an alarm for yourself!¡±


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    She gave me a big smile.


    ¡®Damn, she¡¯s too innocent to be angry with and her reasons are solid. If only Bryce wasn¡¯t so damn persuasive¡­¡¯


    Turning away from her, my eyes started scanning the crowd. ¡°Oh, did he? Well, I¡¯d just love to see him right about now so I can¡­¡±


    Before I could finish, I was yanked backwards and turned around to see Kualin looking at me with fire in his eyes.


    ¡°Dude!¡± He fervently whispered into my ear. ¡°Who¡¯s that girl? She¡¯s so fine.¡±


    Before responding I pulled away and scowled.


    ¡°What did I say about getting in my ear like that?¡± I hissed back at him.


    Taking a moment to compose myself, I gestured from Pixie to the three guys.


    ¡°Pixie, this is Kualin, Milik, and Akito.¡± Making sure to point out each one as I said their name. ¡°Guys, this is Pixie.¡± I finished gesturing to her. Her cheeks went red as she looked down.


    Looking at the three guys helplessly I say, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. She¡¯ll get used to you real quick. You saw how she came running at me.¡±


    Pixie got even redder and was about to say something but a loud voice interrupted her.


    ¡°Attention everyone. All eight hundred of you marked ones were accounted for earlier this morning. We will allow you all to enter the tower momentarily. However, we must first send forth those from barracks one and two as they all must be forced to enter due to¡­¡± The voice continued speaking.


    Tuning him out, I craned my neck over all the people in front of me to get a good look at the people from barracks one and two. They were all facing forward and lined up evenly in six rows of four people each. I was impressed at their orderliness, but then remembered what the loud voice had just said.


    ¡®I hope it¡¯s not a bad thing that they¡¯re going in before everyone else¡­but then again it could be good since we¡¯ve no idea what kind of dangers, if any, lie behind that portal thing.¡¯


    Thinking back a week ago also made me remember what the country soldier had told me at the gate.


    His country voice came running through my head once more. ¡®Only reason these ones¡¯ve been found so quickly is ¡®cuz they was scattered across the nation in various juvenile detention centers or even hardcore jails.¡¯


    I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if they¡¯d be more likely to harm the world than attempt to save it in the tower, but even people like them have people they care about, right?


    Once I thought this, my eyes set into a dark and cold gaze at the people from barracks one and two.


    ¡®¡­but if they do end up affecting the fate of our world and my loved ones in a negative way, then I¡¯ll kill them myself.¡¯


    Once again dragging my eyes through the crowd searching for Bryce and the rest of my barrack, I quickly concluded that there was just no way I¡¯d be able to find them before we entered the tower.


    I looked back up towards the front of the crowd and saw that the people from barracks one and two were preparing to be led into the black rectangular opening, but before they¡¯d even taken five steps, one of the guys in the group with black spiky hair threw a punch at a guard and everything went to hell.


    ¡°Fuck you bastards! I¡¯ll never go in there! This whole goddamn world can burn and I¡¯ll happily watch it happen!¡± He stood there proudly for a moment before a good majority of the group of people from barracks one and two began punching, kicking, and biting at the guards around them.


    They were doing everything they could to try and escape from the tower and although I knew they had to go in there, I couldn¡¯t help but feel some pity for them since they were forced into their current situations.


    ¡°Take them down!¡± A stern voice shouted over the clamor of the crowd and scuffle.


    Multiple gunshots crisply resounded through the air and all those that had attempted to rebel were sent crashing down onto the ground in pain. The lucky few that hadn¡¯t partaken in the fight were already off to the side on their knees with their hands up; showing that they had no part in what had just took place.


    ¡°Cuff those that attacked and throw them into the tower!¡± That same stern voice angrily spat out and the soldiers at the front of the group began to cuff all the people on the ground who were in pain from the short rebellion.


    ¡®There¡¯s no blood on the ground, so I can only assume they used rubber bullets. Heard you can land yourself a trip to the hospital getting hit with one of those though.¡¯


    I shuddered at the thought of the pain they must be experiencing while watching all of them whimper on the ground in defeat¡­well, all but one.


    ¡°I¡¯ll kill you all! I¡¯ll remember all your faces! Your parents, husbands, wives, children¡­I¡¯ll slaughter every single one of you!¡± The same black haired guy was crazily screaming out to the whole crowd.


    Many of the people, face down on the ground, began shouting in agreement and encouragement until it built up to the point where it was all that could be heard.


    ¡°We have to go in there with those crazy ass people.¡± Milik whispered to Akito and Kualin.


    I looked over at them and then at Pixie. Pixie was watching the whole thing in wide-eyed surprise and fright.


    Putting my hand on Pixie¡¯s head, I said, ¡°It¡¯s alright. I¡¯ll protect you.¡±


    ¡®I won¡¯t fail you like I failed Sarah,¡¯ I solemnly swore to myself.


    ¡°Yeah, uh, Pixie. We¡¯ll all be there between you and them.¡± Qua reassured her from my left hand side.


    The soldiers began dragging the handcuffed people to the black rectangular opening in the tower. They tossed the first person into the black rectangular opening and the body completely disappeared. One after another, the soldiers tossed those that had rebelled into the darkness and I kept count of them. Once they reached the last person, I had counted all the way up to twenty people.


    ¡®Hmmmm, so at most there¡¯ll be twenty crazies. There were twenty-four of them up there in the first place so that means at least four of them are sensible.¡¯


    I kept in mind that sensible, however, did not mean harmless.


    Right after the guards finished throwing them in, the other four people, three men and one woman, slowly entered into the darkness at the prodding of the soldiers.


    Unsure of what to do after that frightening display, the rest of the crowd just kind of stood there.


    After the longest ten seconds of my life, the people up front finally started taking small steps and then larger, normal ones.


    People began passing through the dark portal and after about a minute or two I had finally found myself at the front. Akito, Kualin, Milik, Pixie, and I were the last people to make it to the door.


    Walking in front of the other four, I spared a glance back and saw the fear in their eyes, but also the resolve to do what needed to be done.


    Throwing a reassuring smile at them, I nonchalantly strolled through the rectangular opening into the darkness thinking only of the awakening that I¡¯d been so keen to get to.


    ....................................................................................................................................


    Author''s Note: I probably won''t post again until thursday or friday. Once we hit chapter 16 or 17 is when things''ll slow down to 3-4 days.


    Also, any suggestions on the plot of the story? My writing style? The awakening? Leave some comments :)

 Chapter 11: The Tower

    Author''s Note: Yo guys, so I have finals coming up. Maybe I can squeeze a chapter out before Saturday, if not then most definitely by Wednesday or Thursday. My finals are all Monday and Tuesday then I have to pack to go home for break. I hope you all can be patient and I''ll do my best to write as much as possible :) Enjoy this AWESOME chapter. (in my opinion)


    .....................................................................................................................................................


    For one second, all was well and I kept moving forward through the darkness hoping that wherever I was supposed to go wouldn¡¯t require me to stay in this darkness for much longer. It was slightly unnerving to walk without knowing where you¡¯re headed after all.


    In the next second, my body instinctively tensed up at an uneasiness which I couldn¡¯t pin the source on to.


    Then it hit me in the third second¡ªpain. An excruciatingly unbearable pain swept through my body as if a raging fire had set my very cells ablaze.


    Collapsing to the ground in the fourth second, I threw up a mouthful of blood and felt as if millions of bugs were crawling underneath my skin.


    ¡®Did they bring us here only to kill us? What kind of sense does this make?¡¯


    Scenes flashed through my head at the speed of light. My parents. My siblings. My friends. All the things I¡¯d promised to do and aspired to do.


    ¡®I¡¯m sorry mom¡­dad¡­I guess I won¡¯t be coming home after all...I¡¯m sorry¡­¡¯


    Pain uncontrollably raged through my body and I felt something snap inside of me.


    In the fifth second, I could bear the pain no longer and fell into unconsciousness, fully believing that it would be the last time I¡¯d ever do so.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    I felt myself regain consciousness some indeterminable amount of time later.


    Opening my eyes, I sit up with some effort due to the weight of the pack on my back and realize with relief that the terrible, burning sensation of pain had vanished. The only source of discomfort now were the small aches around my entire body from the entire ordeal.


    Looking around, the first thing I noticed was how many people lay on the ground who were all either still unconscious or groggily waking up same as me. The number of people that I saw was many times over the amount I¡¯d previously seen walk into the tower before me so I could only assume that everyone who¡¯d entered the towers around the world ended up in this same place.


    Taking a look behind myself, I see Akito, Kualin, Milik, and Pixie sprawled out on the ground unconscious. Moving over to them, I shake each of them awake and find a couple seconds to get a good look at our surroundings.


    The inside of the tower was plain white and the room was several times larger inside than how it appeared to be from the outside. The four walls around us and the floor were all at least worth three football fields in width and height.


    The ceiling, however, was another story. Where I¡¯d expected to see another white ceiling was a roiling mass of a blood red liquid. Simply looking at it made me feel squeamish inside at the thought of it actually being blood.


    Opposite of where a large majority of people were now helping one another wake up was an opening in the wall which held an obsidian grand staircase leading twenty feet up into the wall. My first instinct was to laugh at this oversight on the Overlords¡¯ part, but quickly decided against it since I knew they surely wouldn¡¯t put it there without a reason but¡­


    ¡®Why the hell would they put in a staircase that leads straight into a wall?¡¯


    By this point, my friends were all groggily getting into standing positions and they also began to marvel at the interior of the tower.


    They weren¡¯t the only ones though. People of all nationalities were scattered across the room with astonished gazes on their faces as they realized they had walked into a place which turned out to be a lot more than they¡¯d expected.


    ¡°Yo, check that out.¡± Kualin said, pointing in the direction of the obsidian staircase. Looking over, I saw that crazy black spiky haired dude about thirty yards away shouting at over thirty people. I quickly took notice of the fact that his hands were no longer cuffed and some of the cuffed people he¡¯d been thrown in with were also releasing each other from their cuffs with what looked like a metal wire.


    ¡°¡­no salvation for the ones that threw us in here! We will have our vengeance! Together!¡± He shouted to all those listening to him and strode directly towards the stairs. I was extremely uncertain of where he thought he was going since there was nothing but a wall there. He remained oblivious to the fact until he seemed to rebound off of an invisible wall placed at the foot of the stairs. The rebound forcibly threw him back a couple yards and he scrambled to his feet with fury evident in his eyes.


    ¡°Is it just me, or did that crazy over there just get pushed back by nothing? If so, then I guess I¡¯ll be the crazy one¡­¡± Milik said out of the corner of his mouth.


    ¡°That seems to be the only way out of this room¡­I¡¯m sure something will be explained to us soon by the Aliens. They¡¯re probably waiting for all eight hundred of us to wake up and get a good look or something,¡± I responded back to him.


    ¡°Alex, what do we do now?¡± Pixie asked me tugging on my shirt. I hadn¡¯t heard a word she said though.


    My attention was currently set on a girl I¡¯d caught sight of when watching the guy from barrack one or two shouting. She was standing all alone in the mass crowd of people in tight dark blue jeans and a long-sleeved, form-fitting brown shirt with a bulging pack on her shoulders.


    I¡¯d seen a lot of beautiful women in my nineteen years of life and even pixie was one of those ten out of ten girls that¡¯d make even the most innocent men stop and stare, but in my eyes this girl had them all sorely beat. She shone like an everlasting bright sun amidst a crowd of mere light bulbs.


    Before I even knew what I was doing, I took Pixie¡¯s hand off my shirt and began walking over towards the girl. I had never believed in love at first sight, but if ever there was a moment in time where your heart is no longer your own simply from glimpsing the true nature of a person, then it happened within a millisecond of when her eyes met mine¡ªI knew in that instant that this was completely illogical and under the worst circumstances¡­but whether it was love or not, I knew I would never get part of my heart back from this woman.


    Her facial features were soft, yet refined and a tinge of pleasure shivered through my body as I admired her flawless olive skin. She was only half a head shorter than I was and smooth brown hair fell in waves around her head, ending a couple inches below her shoulders. The eyes that were currently staring back into mine were a mesmerizing mix of sapphire blue and peridot green.


    How it had only taken such a short amount of time to sear her appearance into my brain, I¡¯d never know, but what I did know was that as my gray had looked into her shining eyes, there were traces of tears brimming near the edges of them. Feeling an electric jolt run through my body, my heart immediately ached for this girl I had only caught sight of mere seconds ago.


    I soon stood within a couple feet of her and without really knowing what else to do, I just stared into her eyes. I was never the emotional type that people would reach out to when they were upset, but I was going to change that right here and now. Without thinking, I let the words at the top of my head fall out of my mouth¡­big mistake.


    ¡°So beautiful¡­,¡± were the words that came out and I couldn¡¯t feel any more embarrassed than I was when the girl immediately blushed and wiped her tears away, looking at the ground bashfully.


    ¡®Oh, yeah! So goddamn smooth, Alex!¡¯ I wanted to die of embarrassment, but I needed to salvage the situation with her. I couldn¡¯t even think of slinking away into the nearest hole and burying myself within because then I¡¯d never have the opportunity to get to truly know this girl who I had abruptly begun to feel so strongly for.


    But, of course, I could never simply show such feelings to a girl I¡¯d just met. There¡¯s no way she felt what I did when our eyes met. Right?


    Sticking my hand out to her, I spoke with as much confidence as I muster, ¡°Hiya, I¡¯m Alex.¡±


    ¡®I¡¯m so damn lame.¡¯ Surprisingly, she took my hand quickly.


    ¡°Clara,¡± she replied in a soft, but silvery tone. That did it. She was externally perfect.


    ¡®I didn¡¯t know girls were made this well. I just hope her personality is as amazing as the rest of her...¡¯


    Before I could get to asking her why she was nearly crying, a projection on the wall closest to the gathered eight hundred people lit up in a brilliant display of color before a room shrouded in shadows came into view and the only thing that I could see was a solitary hooded figure seated upon an embellished throne. Before I could even begin to look around for my friends that I¡¯d left to come over to Clara, I felt a hand grasp my shoulder.


    ¡°Right here, man.¡± Kualin leaned over my shoulder looking at the screen and before I could berate him about getting in my ear again, the hooded figure began to speak.


    ¡°Oh, humans. You are a bundle of surprises to me. All eight hundred of you actually decided to show.¡± The man, or well I assumed whatever it was to be male, spoke in an amused tone as if this scenario hadn¡¯t involved the race of our world. I spared a glance at the group of people composed of the men and women from barracks one and two and they were glaring daggers at the projection of the hooded figure.


    ¡®Guess they hate anybody forcing them to do something.¡¯ Turning back to the hooded figure, I waited for him to continue speaking.


    He began speaking again, but this time the words sounded uncharacteristically excited.


    ¡°I have waited for this day far longer than any of you could possibly imagine¡­¡± The alien seemed to take a moment to compose himself and began speaking in a disinterested voice. ¡°Assuredly, you¡¯ve all realized that you¡¯ve been marked. These marks will signify your abilities and prowess and they may even change as you grow.¡±


    I start nodding at his words, but then became puzzled. ¡®Wait, so we are being given elemental abilities?¡¯ I became a little excited at the idea, but the voice carried on as if it wasn¡¯t dropping bombshells of information.


    ¡°There are currently eight hundred of you humans within this room. You will break off into groups of eight. There are eight different types of marks. Each type of mark symbolizes an element: Air, earth, fire, water, light, darkness, lightning, and the mind. Every group will represent all eight elements. It is your greatest chance for survival. I suggest you choose wisely. You have ten minutes to get situated.¡±


    Once the figure finished speaking, the projection disappeared and everyone was staring at the wall in confusion. After about another second, the room burst into movement as people went about finding a group. I looked at my friends and found that they were all staring expectantly at me. Even the new girl I barely knew, Clara, was looking up at me waiting for me to speak.


    ¡®I don¡¯t remember putting myself in a leading position¡­¡¯ I embarrassedly thought.


    ¡°Ummmm okay, okay.¡± I nervously laughed out. ¡°Alright, so eight elements. I assume we want to know if it¡¯s possible for us all to be in a group together.¡± They all nodded towards me. ¡°Alright, so I¡¯m more than likely air. Pixie here is lightning; I¡¯ve seen her mark. Akito, you¡¯re water, right? I saw the raindrop on your back when you were doing all those squats yesterday¡­?¡± He nodded to me silently and I continued speaking. ¡°Kualin and Milik¡­I haven¡¯t seen your marks yet. Which elements do they correspond to?¡±


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


    Kualin was the first to speak. ¡°I have this huge mountain on my back. It¡¯s kinda cool actually because someone told me that rocks come tumbling down it every now and then¡­¡± he trailed off because I must¡¯ve been looking impatient. ¡°It¡¯s earth.¡± He finished. I nodded towards him and turned towards Milik with a raised eyebrow.


    ¡°What¡¯re you, bro?¡± I asked him.


    He pondered for a moment before speaking. ¡°I think that I¡¯m darkness.¡± He thoughtfully looked skyward for a little longer and then, ¡°Yeah. Darkness,¡± He confidently finished.


    Nodding towards Milik, I turned to Clara and she spoke before I could ask her what she was.


    ¡°I¡¯m light!¡± Her sweet voice was pleasant to listen to, but I tried not to get distracted and took a step back from the mini-circle we¡¯d formed.


    Counting them, I say, ¡°Okay. So, luckily, we already have six of the eight elements in our group. We¡¯re missing fire and mind. Any suggestions on how we should go about this?¡± I addressed them all and began looking around. Before I could even register any information from the bustling movement of the other seven hundred ninety-four people in here, I felt a hand on my shoulder. Turning to see who it was, I realized Akito was the one who had my shoulder in his firm grip and he was currently pointing over towards the people from barracks one and two.


    Speaking in a clear and deep voice, Akito said, ¡°She looks to be particularly on fire at the moment.¡± Looking at the obsidian staircase, I see a much larger group of people there than I¡¯d seen earlier and realize with a grimace that people of like-minds really do flock together. I could tell that all the people over there believed in some of the stuff the black spiky haired dude had said and were currently attempting to complete their groups with people who didn¡¯t want to fight for Earth¡¯s survival, rather they wanted to tear it and the Overlords down.


    The spiky black haired guy looked like he was about to explode from anger as he looked at a very short girl in front of him. She was probably a whole foot shorter than me, but her body was voluptuous. She had a perfect hourglass figure and her blonde hair was tied back in a ponytail. Her face was extremely red and she looked furious. Her blue eyes shone like lasers aimed directly at the spiky black haired guy.


    ¡°What the fuck do you mean come with me!? I saw you outside the tower! You¡¯re a crazy, overbearing asshole!¡± She was waving her hands and shouting loud enough for the people around to hear her.


    I grinned and looked back towards Akito. ¡°I like her attitude a lot. Let¡¯s go see what element she is and if she¡¯s willing to come with us.¡± He nodded and began moving in that direction. I was about to follow him, but had a thought and turned back to the rest of my friends.


    ¡°Hey, Clara, will you come with us?¡± She nodded and smiled sweetly at me before walking off after Akito towards the fuming short girl. I turned to watch her leave and smiled to myself. Even in this situation, I could only sigh in admiration at her beauty. Hearing a snap, I turned back to see Kualin, Milik, and Pixie laughing at me.


    ¡°Alex, were you going to ask us to do something before you got distracted,¡± Their laughter broke into a louder volume and I could only cover my face in embarrassment.


    Forcing the image of Clara¡¯s figure out of my head, I started nodding. ¡°Yeah¡­yeah, I need you three to go and look for a mind element person. We¡¯ll meet over near that corner in about five minutes.¡± I pointed in an area towards the corner furthest from the stairwell as well as far from where the projection had shown up. ¡°Got it?¡±


    Pixie nodded her head. ¡°Got it.¡± And then she walked off with Kualin and Milik trailing behind her.


    I turned and sped off to catch up with Akito and Clara who were nearly at the short girl and spiky black haired guy. The argument seemed to have escalated into a full scale shouting match and had managed to draw quite the crowd. As I was contemplating how to get in between them, talk to the girl, and not give her a reason to shout at me, the guy threw a punch at the girl.


    Before his punch got anywhere near landing on the girl¡¯s face, Akito stepped in between them and caught his fist. The guy tried pulling his fist free, but couldn¡¯t budge. He finally got around to looking at the huge, muscular man holding his hand and I saw his eyes widen in surprise.


    I laughed out loud at the look on his face and broke through the crowd to stand next to Akito and, though the guy shot me a murderous glare, he said nothing about it.


    Sneering at the girl behind Akito, the spiky haired guy said to her, ¡°I see you can¡¯t even take care of yourself without some help. Guess I was wrong to think you¡¯d even fit in with your level of strength.¡± He continued to struggle against the hold that Akito had on his hand to no avail.


    Akito only looked at him with hot rage in his eyes and I didn¡¯t feel a shred of anxiety over what I knew was about to happen. Sure enough, Akito tightened his grip on the guy causing him to cringe in pain and bend down until his knee thumped into the ground. His face was tightened in a grimace of discomfort, but he didn¡¯t cry out.


    ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Akito asked him in a cold, rough voice.


    ¡°As if I¡¯d just tell you my...argh!¡± Akito was now twisting his arm and I was standing to his side looking down on the man.


    ¡°Telling you his name might make things easier for you,¡± I suggested to the guy with a grin on my face. I was actually really enjoying this. The guy had been acting all high and mighty since before we¡¯d even entered the tower and now he was on his knees.


    Not willing to stand by and watch the man in pain, one of the men from barrack one or two rushed me so that he could try and get Akito off the guy. He reared his arm back, aiming for a punch at my face and I just smiled as he approached. When he unleashed his fist, I stepped in, dodging the telegraphed move and flipping him over my hip, slammed him into the ground. Lightly patting the dazed man¡¯s chest, I looked at spiky hair guy with a light smile and said, ¡°It¡¯s only a name.¡±


    He internally struggled for a moment before finally saying through gritted teeth, ¡°Matt¡­¡±


    ¡°Listen here, Matt¡­¡± Akito spat out the man¡¯s name. ¡°I don¡¯t want to see you mistreat any of my teammates ever again or we will have words again.¡± Akito then threw Matt¡¯s hand toward his face causing him to lightly smack himself before he stopped his hand.


    Making a shooing motion with my hand I say, ¡°Run along little Matthew. Your friends are waiting for you. Oh, and take this one with you.¡± Lightly prodding the guy on the ground with my foot.


    His mouth was set in a firm line and his eyes seemed red with rage, but I didn¡¯t care and neither did Akito for that matter. I¡¯d had monsters stare me in the eye with a purer intent to kill. This guy was nothing compared to that.


    I nodded towards Akito and he motioned towards the blonde haired girl and with Clara next to me and I began to lead the way over towards the corner I¡¯d designated for us to meet back up with the others at. Clara, I was pleased to note, was looking between Akito and I as if we¡¯d just single-handedly fought an entire army even though, in reality, it was just two stupid guys who¡¯d managed to piss us off.


    Akito turned to the girl and her face was now beet red. ¡°Are you okay?¡± He asked her.


    ¡°Yes! I didn¡¯t need anyone to save me! I could¡¯ve easily thrashed him!¡± The short girl confidently said back to him with a broad smile on her face. Now that I was closer to her, I could see that she had a doll-like face and her red blush was giving way to a tanned white skin color. Akito and her exchanged names as Clara and I walked ahead of them. Turning back, I chanced a look at the girl and she looked at me fiercely. She was more than likely thinking I was going to try and force her to join my group like the spiky haired dude had done.


    Akito must¡¯ve noticed the look on her face since he hurriedly began speaking. ¡°Oh, they¡¯re with me Izzy. We were wondering if you¡¯d like to join our group. Are you the mind or fire element?¡±


    She looked at both Clara and I, not speaking for a moment. I looked around and saw that most people were calmed down and speaking with their new group members. Then the short girl, Izzy, looked like she had decided on something and started talking.


    ¡°I¡¯m fire and joining your group is the least I could do since I suppose you both did help me out of that little bind.¡± She smiled upwards at Akito¡¯s hulking figure and turned back to Clara and I. ¡°I¡¯m Isabelle, but you two can call me Izzy.¡± It seemed like she¡¯d calmed down immensely and was acting as sweet as Pixie does.


    ¡®So she¡¯s one of those girls that act sweet and innocent, but on the inside are similar to a raging inferno. No wonder that crazy dude was trying to get her to join his group. He must¡¯ve been sorely confused when she¡¯d rejected his offer,¡¯ I silently thought.


    I smiled at her and gave her my name. Clara did the same and we were still making progress towards the corner that I¡¯d told Kualin, Milik, and Pixie to meet us at. We had to bump and jostle our way through a lot of groups that seemed nearly finished and it wasn¡¯t made any easier by the packs that we all were carrying. Finally making it near the corner, I spotted my other three friends with some African-American girl who was about my height and laughing at whatever Kualin and Milik were saying. Pixie was also listening to them, but I could see her looking around frantically.


    ¡®Time¡¯s running out, so she¡¯s probably looking for us.¡¯


    When we got close enough, Pixie spotted us and began leading the other three over towards us. When we reached them, I looked at the African-American girl and she sported a regal stature, emerald green eyes, and mocha-colored skin. Reaching my hand out, I introduced myself and those behind me. Making sure to point us all out as I said our names.


    ¡°I¡¯m Kyra,¡± the noble girl responded to which we all answered with smiles and nods.


    ¡°Okay everyone. Izzy¡­¡± I pointed to the short doll-like girl. ¡°¡­is our fire element.¡± I pointed over to Clara and my heartbeat sped up. She was just way too beautiful. ¡°Clara is our light element.¡±


    Carrying on I pointed to the hulking mass of muscle that was Akito. ¡°Akito is our water element.¡± I looked at Kyra and asked, ¡°I assume you¡¯re our mind element?¡± She nodded upon hearing the question and I started talking again while pointing out each person. ¡°Pixie is our lightning element, Kualin is our earth element and Milik is our darkness element. That¡¯s seven elements and my air element makes eight all together. We¡¯re good.¡±


    Just as I finished speaking the projection came back on and the hooded figure looked out at us all neatly divided into one hundred groups of eight.


    ¡°Now, marked ones, allow me to tell you what you¡¯ll be doing in the tower.¡± The deep, cold voice of the hooded figure echoed throughout the utterly silent room.


    ..........................................................................................................................


    Author''s Note: Annnnnd scene. Lol. Leave some comments on what you guys thought about the brief fight scene (I hadn''t written one in a while and figured it was needed) and the new (dare I say it?) love interest! Haha you guys have a great week. I''ll try to post as soon as possible.

 Chapter 12: The Infinity Complex

    Author''s Note: I somehow ended up cranking this paper out. Guess I really wanted to lay the foundation for the story and game elements. I hope you all enjoy the chapter :) See y''all next week!


    ..............................................................................................................................................................


    I perked my ears for this part. The figure in the hood was finally going to tell us what we¡¯d be doing here and I wouldn¡¯t dare to miss a single piece of information. And maybe it was possible that he¡¯d tell us why exactly we were forced to experience that blinding pain when we entered the tower.


    ¡°Well¡­¡± The figure laughed coldly. ¡°I cannot tell you why you were chosen or even the true reason as to why you are all here.¡±


    I internally groaned in discontent. ¡®Of course. I don¡¯t know why I even expected to get any sort of answers from the freaking aliens that would send monsters down here just to prove how strong they are.¡¯ I heard mumbling and grumbling all around the room and realized that I wasn¡¯t alone in my thoughts.


    The hooded figure, despite only being a projection, seemed to sense the frustration in the room and smiled, revealing razor sharp teeth behind its lips. A lot of groups in the room involuntarily cringed from the unexpected sight, but the smile disappeared as quickly as it had come.


    ¡°It is quite obvious that you will need to ascend the tower, humans¡­but allow me to explain more of the¡­finer details. You¡¯ve all been divided into groups of eight. Believe me when I say that not only will this happen here, but also at all the others that my race has occupied as well.¡±


    ¡®How are there magically eight people¡­or extraterrestrials for each group? That¡¯s just too weird. Am I to assume that it¡¯s these aliens that gave us our powers? Or did they just unlock them? Quite honestly, I don¡¯t even feel all that different yet.¡¯ However, I was only getting more questions than answers and decided to put it on hold, but the hooded figure surprised me with its next words.


    ¡°Some of you may be wondering¡­how are there groups of eight in every single tower out there?¡± Upon hearing this question, my eyes opened wide and I tuned my ears to listen to his next words¡­¡°I propose that those people focus on more important things like surviving the tower rather than questions you¡¯ll never get the answers to.¡±


    I stared blankly at the figure for five whole seconds and then decided to stop asking myself little questions until I had time to think alone since this guy was going to be an ass about it.


    ¡°Now, where was I? Ah, yes. The finer details. There are ten planets under our control, including Earth. There are eight hundred organisms from each planet that will represent their race but they will not be marked as you are. The other races have their own advantages and the power that you¡¯ll soon become familiar with is one that has slumbered within your people for millennia which we, the Overlords, will simply awaken for you to level the playing field. To reiterate, this means that there are nine hundred other groups in total¡ªwell much stronger than you all, but your strength will grow in time.¡±


    My brain was in overdrive trying to process all this information. The fact that we hadn¡¯t gone through the awakening yet even after all that pain earlier was a little unsettling, but I could be patient for a little longer¡­


    ¡°When you ascend the stairs to the next floor, you will be randomly matched up against nine other groups.  This means that ten groups will find themselves pitted against one another on the second floor of the tower and the only way to advance is¡­to completely annihilate the opposing group!¡± There were many surprised people in the room who instantly began to converse with their new group while the hooded figure only savagely smiled at us all, once more showing his razor sharp teeth.


    About ten seconds later, some tall Asian guy across the room decided to speak his mind and shouted at the hooded figure, ¡°That¡¯s complete bullshit! I refuse to be a killer!¡± Murmurs of agreement rang throughout the room, but my group, as well as about half of the others in the room, kept their silence. The hooded figure kept its silence and moments later, the noise in the room finally died back down.


    The hooded figure turned its eyes in the direction of the boy who¡¯d spoken and his voice was colder than any other time he¡¯d spoken when he said, ¡°It¡¯s kill or be killed now, human. I can assure you that the other races will not have any qualms about ending your life so that they may live theirs and protect their homes. And to condition you all to such a mindset, we Overlords have already decided to help your race¡­adjust.¡±


    A sinking feeling appeared in my stomach and I felt like I was going to be sick.


    ¡®No, he couldn¡¯t mean that we¡¯re to¡ª¡¯


    ¡°Every group here shall be pitted against one other and you will battle to the death. The winners of their battle may rest for a while afterwards, watch the rest of the matches, or continue on up the tower. The choice is yours,¡± his words were deathly serious and the world around me began to spin as my brain was trying and failing to comprehend what I was being told.


    ¡®I came here to save my race. I have no desire to kill my own like this¡­¡¯


    The room burst into an uproar of noise and protest, well from more than half of us. The people that had been forced in here had a strangle glint in their eyes and they seemed to be the calmest of everyone in the room. Knowing that some of them were convicts didn¡¯t ease my nerves much since we could be told to fight against any group in here¡ªinnocent ones or those who would love to watch the world burn.


    Overall, this wasn¡¯t a scenario I could¡¯ve foreseen happening, but even if I absolutely abhorred the idea, which I really did, I could completely understand the logic in the hooded figure¡¯s plan. If we were pitted against one another right from the beginning and forced to kill one another to save our world, then would we stop to show any mercy to those other races we¡¯d clash with in the tower? This was more than likely a measure taken to weed out the weak from the strong. And though it seemed extremely heartless of me to think so, I knew where my heart lay¡ªI would be strong. Innocent or not, the group I¡¯m put up against would have to be killed.


    I looked back to my group, my friends, to gauge their reactions at this shocking information. Clara and Pixie¡¯s eyes were filled with a mixture of horror and fear. Kualin and Akito seemed to take it all in stride and had impassive looks on their faces. Kyra, Milik, and Izzy¡¯s eyes all had turned wide at the news. It seemed like everyone in my group except for Clara and Pixie were strong enough to deal with this type of situation. They¡¯d need to be protected in this first fight instead of forced to fight.


    This thought made me feel a little better about the situation. Rather than thinking about it in a way that made me out to be a cold-hearted slaughterer, I was now looking at it as protecting those I care about from harm.


    The hooded figure waited for the noise to die down once more before speaking in a cold tone, ¡°And for those groups that believe you are too righteous or cannot strike a killing blow, you will die.¡± His face showed a cruel smile and I felt a cold shiver run up my spine since he didn¡¯t elaborate on how those who chose not to fight would die. The smile went away but I could tell he was still amused. The hooded figure then said, ¡°Do remember, this is for your planet¡¯s sake. And for those of you who don¡¯t fight for your planet or loved ones, rather you fight for a darker goal, yes I know you¡¯re here, then take this as an opportunity to cut loose.¡±


    Was I seriously hearing what I thought I was hearing? This bastard was egging on all those crazy bastards? The sinking feeling in my gut deepened at the thought because if those insane bastards like Matt progressed through the tower instead of the ones who wanted to protect the human race, then things would only get extremely difficult later on¡­and there was nothing I could do to change it.


    ¡°Now, before we carry on with your awakenings¡­¡±


    Awakenings? My stomach felt sick at the thought now because even though I¡¯d been looking forward to the strength we¡¯d supposedly gain, I knew that my mood was ruined now due to the battles we¡¯d have on the first floor with each other.


    ¡°For those that survive here, what you all must understand as you climb the tower is that each floor you visit is a world of its own. Do not allow the exterior size of this tower to fool you. And most importantly, do not mindlessly believe that the other groups on your floor are the greatest dangers. I suggest you all do three things: become strong, find a reason to fight, and persevere.¡± As soon as the hooded figure had finished speaking, the blood-red liquid covering the ceiling began drawing in from the edges of the ceiling until it condensed into a mass wall. The red liquid hung high above our heads and then, without warning, it fell.


    The people in the center of the room tried to back away as quickly as possible and many people were cringing back at the thought of getting hit by that much liquid from that height, but what we¡¯d all expected to happen didn¡¯t. Just before the liquid wall hit our heads, it stopped about eight feet above the ground and tendrils of the liquid broke from its surface. A single tendril swiftly attached itself to the center of my chest and I saw every tendril around the room connecting to someone else. I was too shocked to really think about resisting and before I could even comprehend what was happening, I felt a pulse ripple from the tendril and, as if my body was responding to some signal, a dark golden glow surrounded my body. Everyone around the room was glowing in some color and it floated about an inch off of their skin like a cloak of sorts.


    The color on my body began to condense and pull in towards my chest. The feeling of it tickling my chest even through the material of my jacket, shirt, and strike vest was warm and pleasant. I felt safe. The golden color condensed itself into the gaseous form of a Roman numeral number one and floated straight through my clothes until I felt it fuse itself into the skin right above my heart.


    Almost instantly, my body felt lighter and I could feel some sort of energy coalescing around my body and although it was in constant contact with me, I could only feel its purity and strength but couldn¡¯t identify what it was.


    I looked up towards the liquid which the tendrils had come from and saw that it was receding back towards the ceiling. Other people began to look in wonder at it and the hooded figure began speaking, ¡°Soon, we will start the process for proceeding to the next floor, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll all want to get¡­reacquainted with yourselves.¡±


    The hooded figure waved his hand and a multitude of garage-sized buildings literally popped into existence out of thin air. They were styled modernly, but only had one door leading into them. No windows or anything like that.


    ¡°Enter these shelters with your groups and rest for an hour. You all have a lot of information to learn and getting to know your group members even a little bit will help you in the coming battle. About your powers, you all need only say status, mentally or aloud, and all will be explained. Your time starts now.¡±


    I definitely felt different, but I¡¯d wait until I reached the shelter to figure out what exactly had changed. I already heard many people yelping in surprise at whatever they¡¯d seen once they¡¯d either said ¡®status¡¯ aloud or mentally. I had a fairly good idea of what to expect just from that one word, but all in due time¡­


    Other groups had already begun walking to different shelters to discuss the situation and beckoning to my friends, I began walking to the nearest one which was only about twenty or thirty yards away. It didn¡¯t take long for us to make it to the door and get inside, but what I saw was, well surprising to say the least.


    It was as if I¡¯d stepped into a five star hotel of sorts. The floor was layered with a smooth looking white rug and there were four red leather couches in a rectangular position in the middle of the room. The couches were large enough to hold two people each. Off to one side of the room was a doorway which led to a toilet seat and sink. Opposite of this door on the other side of the wall stood a large black refrigerator.


    ¡®Hmmmmm!?¡¯ My eyes lit up at the sight of the refrigerator and rushing towards it, I yanked the door open and felt tears in the corners of my eyes. There was every drink and snack I could ever ask for and even more surprising was the alcohol stocked on the side of the door.


    ¡°Alex, anything good in there bro?¡± Milik¡¯s voice came from behind me and I heard him walk up next to me and then the sound of his knees hitting the ground next to mine at the sight of the refrigerator¡¯s contents.


    ¡°Heaven, Milik. It¡¯s heav¡ª¡±


    Someone cleared their throat behind me and I bowed my head in shame.


    ¡®Yeah, well, I guess this isn¡¯t really the best time to be drooling I suppose.¡¯ With a sigh, I shut the refrigerator door and moving over to the nearest couch, dropped my pack next to it and sat down in the couch with a loud thump. Everyone was already sitting down and Milik plopped down next to me on the same couch. Akito was sitting with Izzy, Pixie was with Kualin, and Clara was with Kyra. I couldn¡¯t help it when my eyes rested on Clara for a moment longer than necessary, but well, it is what it is.


    ¡°Alright guys, so firstly, I guess we should talk about the group fight¡­I need to know who¡¯s willing to do what needs to be done¡­¡± My words came out clearly, but I did my best to hold back any hint of expectation in it. I didn¡¯t want to force or encourage anyone into killing other people. If it really came down to it, then I¡¯d gladly stain my hands red in the blood of the other group to spare everyone else from doing so themselves. Blood of the innocents had been on my hands since that night one month ago.


    ¡°I¡¯m willing,¡± Akito¡¯s strong voice spoke up almost instantly after I¡¯d asked the question and I looked at him in surprise. Despite his earlier display with that asshole Matt, I¡¯d always thought he¡¯d be the big teddy bear type of guy. Guess I¡¯m still learning about everyone.


    Silence dominated the room for a couple more seconds before Kualin and Milik both spoke at the same time saying, ¡°I can do it.¡± They looked at each other surprised for a moment and then¡ª


    ¡°Jinx! Double jinx! Triple jinx! Quadruple¡ª¡±


    ¡°Ahem!¡± Izzy¡¯s irritated voice broke them out of their competition but they were both still grinning at each other.


    ¡°Seriously, I¡¯ve known you two for all of ten minutes and I already know you¡¯re never going to stay serious for any longer than that.¡± Although she said this sternly to them, a smile was on her face but it quickly dissolved itself into a solemn look.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ll have a problem with the other races¡­but to do that to another person¡­I can only kill another person if they were trying to kill me first. Even then, I might only want to incapacitate them¡­,¡± Izzy¡¯s blue eyes were cast down towards the floor and a couple tears were sliding down her cheeks and dripping onto the carpet below.


    ¡°Nobody is going to be forced to do anything that they don¡¯t want to, Izzy. Even when we¡¯re up against the other races on higher floors. There¡¯s always more that you can do besides fighting. The most I can ask you to do today is to protect yourself if we fail to do so for you.¡± I spared a glance at Akito whose eyes were cold and steely with determination.


    ¡®I¡¯d love to see someone try and get past that mass of muscle.¡±


    Kyra dropped her hands from her hair where she was twisting one of her braids and said, ¡°I can do it if I need to, but I¡¯d prefer to not go so far on our own race.¡±


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.


    Nodding to her I say, ¡°Then can I trust you to protect those that don¡¯t want to fight? I know it¡¯s a lot to ask for, but with the other guys and me up front, it¡¯ll be difficult to keep everything from slipping through¡­¡±


    Her firm nod was the only confirmation I needed. Just by basing off of personalities and how they held themselves, I had already felt like Kyra and Izzy were going to be our best help from the girls in the group when it came to fighting and I wasn¡¯t disappointed by their answers in the slightest. Although, they chose not to hurt other humans, I knew I could more than likely count on them in the higher levels of the tower.


    Looking at the last two girls of the group, I say, ¡°Pixie? Clara? What about you two? No pressure. It¡¯s just best to have a game plan when we go out there.¡±


    Pixie¡¯s lips set into a pout and her lower lip was trembling. I smiled at the sight because I felt like I knew what was coming.


    ¡°I want to fight to help you all because you¡¯re my friends! It¡¯s just¡­well, I¡¯m weak,¡± she finished with an unsure look on her face.


    I sadly looked at her and Clara. Out of all the people in this room, it was definitely these two that I didn¡¯t want anywhere near violence. Pixie because she¡¯d become one of the first friends I¡¯d made in this crazy new lifestyle and she was unbearably sweet. We called her Pixie for goodness¡¯ sake and I didn¡¯t want her to be traumatized. I didn¡¯t want Clara fighting because, well, whatever my feelings were for her, I didn¡¯t want her getting hurt. I¡¯d probably break whoever tried to, but that¡¯s their problem.


    ¡°Pixie, it¡¯s fine. Hah, to be honest, I don¡¯t want you getting yourself hurt. Tell you what, why don¡¯t you give it a go when you¡¯re stronger. Okay?¡± Her eyes lit up at my words and she gave me a big smile. Who knew someone would be so happy to be able to fight? But I guess she was only happy because she¡¯d get to help out someday even if she can¡¯t today.


    Clara¡¯s blue-green eyes were already on me when I turned towards her. Giving her a light smile of encouragement, I waited for her to speak. After only a couple seconds she said, ¡°I honestly think the best I can probably ever do is support you all¡­I¡¯m sorry. I don¡¯t even have it in me to maim someone, let alone kill them. I¡¯d only do so if there¡¯s no other way out.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s logical. I suppose you¡¯re not our light element for nothing, right?¡± I gave her a warm smile which she slightly blushed to and looked away.


    ¡®How she looks when she blushes! I could die happy now!¡¯ My silly thoughts invaded my mind and I forcefully pushed them out to focus on the task at hand.


    ¡°Well, okay guys, now that we got that sorted out, let¡¯s say we have Pixie and Clara stay behind Izzy and Kyra. Izzy, I¡¯m only putting you in front of them because, although I don¡¯t expect anything to get past me and the guys, you were going toe to toe with that Matt guy from earlier and so I know you won¡¯t shy away from anyone who breaks through, right?¡±


    I felt a little bad for placing this bit of duty on her, but I figured that standing up for herself and not wanting to kill anyone is better than anything Clara or Pixie would be able to do.


    ¡°Akito and Kualin, you guys will take point since you¡¯re the biggest and Milik, you can flank Kualin while I follow behind Akito. Just watch each other¡¯s backs. Don¡¯t let anything happen to each other. Fighting as a smaller unit within larger groups is advantageous for us if they stay disorganized and even if they surround us, we¡¯ve got this giant on our side. We¡¯ll be fine,¡± I jokingly pointed towards Akito as I finished, but then I was struck by another possibility.


    ¡°But if they do surround us, then let¡¯s break out and get our backs to the girls so that they¡¯re not exposed to the other group. Agreed?¡± Everyone agreed with my game plan so now it was time to move on to the next pressing matter.


    Holding up my hand to everyone so no one would speak, I say, ¡°Status.¡± A golden window popped into existence in front of me and on it were words that I decided to read aloud, ¡°Welcome, Alexander Taylor, to the Infinity Complex. This system will track your growth as you gain experience. The Infinity Complex has a broad range of functions such as allowing you to check your status, keeping inventory, keeping track of skills, and partying up. You need only say or think the words ¡®status¡¯, ¡®inventory¡¯, ¡®skills¡¯, and ¡®party¡¯ to access the Infinity Complex and to wave them out of existence to close them. The Infinity Complex has other uses which will only be revealed as you grow stronger. Only thoughts are necessary to interact with the Infinity Complex, but you may also use physical means to interact with the Infinity Complex.¡±


    Milik started bouncing up and down in his seat with an excited look on his face and I couldn¡¯t help but get caught up in it as well. ¡°Dude, it¡¯s like a freaking video game! This is so awesome!¡± I fervently nodded in agreement with his words while the girls were looking at us like we were fools.


    Scratching the back of my head, I sheepishly say, ¡°Well, let¡¯s all check what we¡¯ve got shall we?¡±


    ¡°Status,¡± rang around the room and my friends began to read their own iterations of what I¡¯d read to them moments ago. On seconds, they started tapping away at invisible objects in midair and looked as if they were intensely reading information.


    ¡®Status,¡¯ I quietly thought. Sure enough, the golden window popped into existence except this time I got the real deal rather than a notice.


    Title: Lord Sky¡¯s Heir


    Name: Alexander Taylor


    Class: Sky Walker


    Level: 6


    HP: 160/160


    MP: 100/100


    STR: 13


    VIT: 12


    DEX: 15


    INT: 20


    WIS: 17


    LUK: 11


    POINTS: 25


    MONEY: 47 USD


    ¡®Hmmmm? What are these? This title and class? I know titles often give boosts to the stats and skills of a player, but how did I get it?¡¯ Clicking on the title, a new screen popped up and I read the lines that popped up.


    Title: Lord Sky¡¯s Heir


    Gods once raged across the multiverse battling one another. Among the top-tier gods was Lord Sky, the divine manipulator of all skies and the absolute controller over its elements. Lord Sky used his total control and complete manipulation of the air to decimate galaxies and send even the other seven top-tier gods fleeing. Lord Sky¡¯s will lives on in you! Train hard to improve your mastery!


    50% increase to air elemental attacks


    50% increase to air elemental defenses


    50% decrease to air element related skills


    50% increase to DEX for control over air elemental skills


    25% increase to INT for control over air elemental skills


    25% increase to WIS for control over air elemental skills


    I nearly fainted from the sight of the beautiful boosts that this title gave me. And from that last line of the description it gave me, it seemed as if there was a title even higher than this one. Waving my hand, the title description faded out of existence and I was left looking at my status again. There was, however, only one problem with this title and it was that I didn¡¯t have any air elemental attacks or defenses to use!


    ¡®Or do I? Skills!¡¯


    Another golden window popped up and this time, my eyes lit up at the three skills in the window, but it also raised another question. Where did I get these skills?


    Guidance of the Wind (Passive) LV 1 EXP: 43.26%


    An inherent quality passed down to Lord Sky¡¯s heir. The wind is graceful and ever flowing. Learn to embrace it and your attacks will become swift and true.


    50% increase to physical attack speed


    35% increase to physical attack accuracy


    Mana Affinity (Passive) LV 1 EXP: 0.00%


    Mana is the energy all things, organic and inorganic, draw power from. Increase your control and sensitivity over this power and improve your state of enlightenment into the original energy. Your senses have been attuned to recognize, feel, and see mana.


    10% increase to Mana Recovery Rate


    5% increase in total MP


    5% increase in Magic Attack


    5% increase in Magic Defense


    25% increase to MP related skills


    Air Manipulation (Active & Passive) LV 1 EXP: 22.49%


    To embrace the nature of air is one of mankind¡¯s greatest wishes. You have the power to embrace and form the air into various useful constructs. Skill grows as long as user is in contact with air, but grows quicker when air is used.


    Avoiding the darkness in my vision to avoid fainting from seeing these amazing skills, I turned to look at what everyone else was doing¡ªthey were all intently staring off into empty space and I could only assume they were still reading things and getting used to the Infinity Complex. Waving my hand, the skills box and status screen disappeared from existence.


    ¡°Hey guys, what level are you all?¡± I asked, slightly perplexed with my own status. ¡°I¡¯m a level six and I think I know why, but I¡¯m trying to confirm¡­¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re level one,¡± Pixie gestured to herself, Clara, and Izzy.


    ¡°I¡¯m a level three,¡± Akito responded.


    ¡°Three as well, bro¡± Kualin chimed after Akito.


    ¡°I¡¯m a level two,¡± Milik said with a sigh.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m a level two as well,¡± Kyra finished as her green eyes flashed towards Milik.


    ¡°Okay, well, Pixie, Clara, and Izzy, were you guys in contact with the monsters at all when they invaded a month ago?¡±


    They all said no in response to my question and then I gestured to Akito, Kualin, Kyra, and Milik. ¡°How about you all?¡±


    ¡°Briefly. I had to fight one off of me.¡± Milik said in a chilled voice. Kyra said much the same thing as Milik did. She¡¯d been out at a park before fighting one off and running back to her home.


    ¡°New York City was hit pretty hard and yeah, it was difficult to maneuver with all the damn monsters moving around so I had to bash a couple of them on my way to a relatively safe area,¡± was Kualin¡¯s response to the question.


    I nodded at all of them and caught Akito¡¯s eye. ¡°In Alaska, a lot of weird looking animals came into my city from unpopulated areas and started wreaking havoc in the construction site I worked in. Needless to say, I had to protect myself,¡± he was cracking his knuckles by the end of the sentence and I felt only slightly sorry for anybody, or monster for that matter, that received a punch from the hulking man.


    ¡°Okay, so it seems like the experience we gathered is correlated to the events from that day. Good stuff. Did everyone get five points for each level they raised?¡± I asked Akito, Kualin, Kyra, and Milik again. They all responded in the affirmative and I leaned back into the couch thinking about all the new information that had been engulfed by my brain in the past like half hour since waking up in the tower.


    ¡°Anyone know how much time we have left?¡± I asked everyone.


    ¡°About forty minutes,¡± was Pixie¡¯s helpful response.


    ¡°Has everyone also got a class and title?¡± I asked my friends.


    ¡°Well, I have a class¡­no title though,¡± Izzy said to the agreement of everyone else except for Milik.


    ¡°I¡¯ve got both too. My title is ¡®Lord Darkness¡¯ Heir¡¯. It gives me a bunch of great buffs and whatnot. Super cool stuff,¡± Milik was again bouncing up and down next to me and I looked at him with a strange feeling of brotherhood in my heart.


    ¡°Did you click on the title?¡± I quickly asked Milik.


    ¡°Yeah, bro of course! It was talking about how this Lord Darkness dude was a top-tier god who vanquished enemies across the entire multiverse with his unrivaled domination over the darkness. I even checked my skills and I got one as his heir along with a darkness manipulation, but I¡¯m fairly sure our marks signify which manipulation skill we get. This is so cool, bro!¡± He excitedly finished.


    Honestly, I couldn¡¯t help but agree with his words because this was really cool, but I didn¡¯t want to burst his bubble by reminding him we¡¯d be using our newfound strength to battle against and kill other humans soon¡­


    ¡°So what should we do with the points we have now?¡± Kyra asked us all. We all pondered over the thought for a moment, but then I had a brilliant idea.


    ¡°Oh! The Infinity Complex has some sort of party system, right? I¡¯ve played some massive multiplayer online role playing games where a feature of the party was to be able to see each other¡¯s health as well as point allotments in their stats. Why don¡¯t we enter into a party, check each other¡¯s stats and then come to a decision on how we should spend our points?¡± Getting nods of encouragement all around the room from my suggestion, I say, ¡°Party.¡±


    A golden window pops into existence before me with instructions laid out on it which I decide to read aloud, ¡°This is your first time opening the ¡®party¡¯ window. To add members to the party, simply say their name mentally or aloud with the intention of welcoming them into your party. Party members may view each other¡¯s statuses and share experience gained in battle. Party size is not limited in number.¡± Tapping the screen, the white words on the golden screen fade away and are replaced with a column of slots. At the top of the column is the word ¡®NAME¡¯ and above that was ¡®PARTY NAME.¡¯ This is a fairly simple system, but super interesting stuff¡­


    Thinking on what a party invite would look like in a game, I say, ¡°Invite Akito, Clara, Izzy, Kualin, Kyra, Milik, and Pixie¡­¡± Once I¡¯d said that, everyone in the room showed a little look of astonishment and some even let out an ¡®oh¡¯ of surprise. They then tapped at an invisible screen in front of them and I saw the ¡®NAME¡¯ column filling up with my friends¡¯ names until all eight of our names were listed. My name had a little black star next to it, which I assumed meant I was the party leader. It only made sense since I was the one who¡¯d invited everyone.


    ¡°Should we change our party name?¡± I asked everyone in the room and Kualin¡¯s eyes lit up at this.


    ¡°We should call ourselves ¡®The Overgods,¡¯¡± Kualin suggested to us all.


    ¡°Why that name? Doesn¡¯t it seem a little pretentious?¡± Was Izzy¡¯s response.


    ¡°I kind of like it. Sounds badass,¡± Milik excitedly said in agreement to Kualin¡¯s suggestion.


    ¡°Yeah, I get it. The only being that could be stronger than an Overlord is an Overgod, right? And one day, we¡¯ll be strong enough to release the hold that these bastards have over us and our planet,¡± was Kyra¡¯s way of reasoning through it and Kualin only grinned in agreement.


    Bringing my hand up to the screen, I tapped on the words, ¡®PARTY NAME,¡¯ and a small golden box popped up in front of me.


    You are attempting to change the party name. What will be your new party name?


    ¡°The Overgods,¡± I said aloud and with a dinging noise, the golden box disappeared in a flash of light and in its wake, the party box was still up and I noticed with satisfaction that the party name had been changed and even the font of the text had changed. It had become more elegant and artsy to express the name.


    With a delighted smile, I looked around at all my friends. The Overgods were in business.


    ....................................................................................................................................


    Author''s Note: Alright, this is new to me so you guys give some suggestions on other people''s skills and stats. Used 10-12 as an average value on stats. Please leave comments and I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!

 Chapter 13: Time is Short

    Author''s Note: HEY!!! I''m back. Exams were a bitch. I''ve spent the last couple of days with my family and just got around to finishing this little gem last night at like 3 am. Enjoy!!!


    ..............................................................................................................................................


    ¡°Okay, so now that we can see each other¡¯s stats because of the party, can we please figure out what to do with these points? I¡¯m literally dying to use them!¡± I could almost feel Milik shaking from the excitement and everyone just laughed at his impatience. But even I was itching to get around to it.


    I jokingly rolled my eyes at him and said, ¡°Okay, yeah we can, but Milik don¡¯t you think we need to be careful with this?¡± He confusedly looked at me before his eyes widened in realization.


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about the level up barrier?¡± I nodded in confirmation to his words. Everyone else in the room, however, were perplexed by what he¡¯d said.


    ¡°What do you mean level up barrier?¡± Clara was the first to ask and I was more than happy to explain for everyone. They were my team after all.


    ¡°Okay, so in most games, your characters level up fairly quickly in the beginning since the amount of experience needed to do so is fairly low. But as you get up to the higher levels, the experience you need to level up grows to be some monstrous amount making it harder and harder to level up. So the points that we get so easily in the beginning should be used smartly since they won¡¯t come around as easily in the future. This also means where we spend our first points is what we should focus on as we level.¡± It seemed like everyone had a fairly good understanding of what I¡¯d said and then Kyra spoke.


    ¡°But what about the element that we wield? Shouldn¡¯t we account for that and just have everyone go for the stats which would boost how we use those powers?¡± It was a fair question and one that I¡¯d expected, so I already had an answer.


    ¡°For some of us, that may be the case. Take Clara for example; If she¡¯s not going to fight physically, then what she¡¯ll be able to do with her light element skills is crucial to everyone, so she¡¯ll definitely have to only increase the stats that do that for her. I¡¯d suggest the same for you as well Kyra since you¡¯re our mind element and I¡¯m fairly sure that some awesome stuff could come from that end if you continue to develop it and gain new skills.¡± She was nodding as I gave my explanation.


    ¡°But what stats would those be?¡± Kyra asked me again.


    ¡°Oh, right. Most definitely the intelligence and wisdom stats.¡± Her eyebrow rose in question and Milik took the explanation from there.


    ¡°They¡¯re the ¡®int¡¯ and ¡®wis¡¯ looking words that you see in your status. In most role playing games, both of those stats are related to a bunch of different things. So increasing intelligence would make you smarter, increase the effects of your mana dependent skills, etc. The wisdom stat would help you in thinking things out and increase the rate at which you regenerate your mana. Those are the only two uses that I know for it anyways¡­¡± Milik¡¯s voice trailed off as he looked at me to see if I had more to say about wisdom, but I could only shrug in response.


    Looking at Kyra I say, ¡°Well that¡¯s pretty much the gist of it. So Kyra you should invest your points into those two areas like Clara will when she gets points and if any major deficiencies show up later, then we¡¯ll account for those at that time.¡±


    Clara looked at me with red cheeks and seemed to be internally struggling with something before asking, ¡°But what do the other abbreviations stand for? I don¡¯t really have a big background in games¡­¡± Izzy was gratefully nodding towards Clara and I let a light smile play on my lips.


    ¡°Oh! Right! I suppose Milik and I have seen them so much that we just kind of assumed everyone had known what they meant. Well, Milik already explained the ¡®int¡¯ and ¡®wis¡¯ abbreviations as intelligence and wisdom. So, starting from the top, ¡®str¡¯ should stand for strength. We can all pretty much infer just from the name that it applies to bodily power.¡±


    ¡°Well, hold on. I know that we¡¯re dealing with game elements here, but in the real world, couldn¡¯t the term strength be broadly defined?¡± Clara asked me with a wondering look in her eyes.


    This certainly stopped me for a moment, but with only a moment of thinking I had an answer. ¡°You¡¯re right in assuming that there are different types of strengths that don¡¯t really mess with the body. Like mental toughness for one, but in this case it would fall under intelligence or wisdom. So if the Infinity Complex is showing stats for intelligence and wisdom, then those would be the ones associated mental fortitude. I believe other forms of strength are compensated in other stats, but I highly doubt these stats are anything other than what they would be in a video game. There are too many similarities for the stats to be anything else.¡± She seemed satisfied with my answer so I decided to carry on with the explanation.


    ¡°So the next stat, ¡®vit¡¯, would be vitality. I¡¯m fairly sure that this is directly related to our HP measurements.¡± Looking over at Clara, I saw her with a helpless look on her face and couldn¡¯t help but have to stifle a laugh. ¡°So ¡®HP¡¯ stands for health points. Never let that hit zero.¡± Saying ¡®party¡¯ in my mind, the golden screen pops up with our respective names, health bars, and mana bars.


    ¡°So out of all of us, Akito has the highest amount of HP at 215. Akito, what¡¯s your vitality stat at?¡±  I saw him reach his finger out and tap at thin air before he responded to me.


    ¡°It¡¯s at 18.¡±


    ¡°And so I¡¯m fairly sure no one in here has a vitality stat that¡¯s greater than 18, right?¡± All the others in the room agreed with me, but I decided to raise one more point.


    ¡°Alright, so I¡¯m fairly sure now that the vitality stat does affect the amount of HP we all have. But, in most games, your character¡¯s HP and MP will also automatically go up as they increase in level, not only when you apply points to vitality and intelligence. I think this may have happened for me since I¡¯m a level 6 with a 12 in vitality, but my HP is at 160. The amount of MP that I have also seems to be higher than everyone else¡¯s, but I¡¯m unsure of whether my level or high intelligence stat accounts for that¡­¡± Shrugging, I decide to carry on and leave these kinds of questions for whenever I¡¯d have time for them, which quite honestly was looking like it¡¯d be a long time from now.


    ¡°Anyways, next is the ¡®dex¡¯ stat. I¡¯m certain that this could only be dexterity. Increasing the dexterity stat will pretty much affect the speed and finesse with which we move. I¡¯d assume that increasing motor functions would also increase our reaction times. Other than that, ¡®luk¡¯, is just luck. In most games this stat will deal with monster drops which is actually a very real possibility for us since we don¡¯t know what¡¯s above us in the tower. I can¡¯t imagine that any of us would want to invest in this stat though since we should cater towards skills that increase our survivability¡­¡± I stood there conflicted for a moment before continuing. ¡°There is, however, a chance that even if one of us invested in the luck stat, it would affect how certain situations could turn out in the future for all of us but, personally, I¡¯m just not willing to invest in luck...¡±


    ¡°I could do it,¡± Clara¡¯s sweet voice reverberated throughout the room and I could only look at her in astonishment.


    ¡®Seems as if she really doesn¡¯t want to fight, so she is instead deciding to support the team in any other way.¡¯ Nodding to her to express my thanks, I say, ¡°Just remember that it¡¯s more important to first increase your intelligence and wisdom stats, alright?¡± She nodded back to me in understanding and I couldn¡¯t help but admire her smooth and flawless features once more.


    I thought back to that intense, passionate feeling I¡¯d had when I first saw her and felt a jolt run through my body at the mere memory of it. Knowing that there were more important things at hand, I pushed those thoughts to the side and concentrated my attention on everyone else in the room.


    ¡°Well, aside from Clara, Izzy, and Pixie¡­are you all ready to put in some points? I¡¯ll go first if you want to see what happens and I¡¯ve kind of got a fair idea of what I want to do with these points¡­¡± Akito, Kualin, Kyra, and Milik all gave me the go ahead and the golden screen popped up with a quick ¡°status.¡±


    My status pulled up and I looked over it once again.


    Title: Lord Sky¡¯s Heir


    Name: Alexander Taylor


    Class: Sky Walker


    Level: 6


    HP: 160/160


    MP: 100/100


    STR: 13


    VIT: 12


    DEX: 15


    INT: 20


    WIS: 17


    LUK: 11


    POINTS: 25


    MONEY: 47 USD


    ¡®Alright, so¡­,¡¯looking to the side of the numbers that were already there, I see a plus and minus sign sitting side by side.


    ¡®Fairly self-explanatory,¡¯ I think to myself. Hovering my finger over the dexterity stat¡¯s plus sign, I pushed it down once. At the bottom of my status screen, the amount of points I had to spend changed to 24 and a black ¡®Apply Changes?¡¯ flashed at the bottom of the screen.


    ¡®Uh-huhhhh¡­not yet.¡¯ Pushing the plus sign next to dexterity nine more times, I then pushed down on the flashing black button. Almost instantly, I could feel my perception on the world noticeably slow down and my body felt even lighter than before.


    ¡°Okay, so I just increased my dexterity and applied the changes to myself¡­¡±


    ¡°Applied the changes?¡± Kualin asked me.


    ¡°Yeah, so once you start inputting the points you¡¯ll have this¡­um flashing ¡®apply changes¡¯ show up at the bottom of the screen. So it seems like you don¡¯t have to use all your points and the changes don¡¯t automatically happen in case you make a mistake when inputting points, which is a thoughtful preventative measure.¡± While answering Kualin, I flexed my body¡¯s muscles and I could tell that they were more flexible and my body moved quicker to my thoughts. The difference made it feel like I¡¯d been moving around in water before the stat change and not thin air, but I¡¯d have to wait until the fight later to really see the effects of the changes.


    Looking back at my status screen, I ask aloud, ¡°Hey, Akito, what¡¯s your strength stat at right now?¡±


    He looked into thin air before saying, ¡°It¡¯s at 19.¡± Nodding to myself, I press the plus sign next to my strength stat seven times, bringing it up to 20. This left me with only 8 unallocated points left. I allow the changes to be applied and feel a surge of energy completely fill my body. I could feel my muscles tighten under the strain of the energy and then relax as they worked to absorb the foreign energy. My body, however, didn¡¯t change size and I was just as leanly muscled as ever. After only a moment, the energy absorption was done and I felt at least two or three times stronger than I had before, but there was only one way to find out.


    Turning my attention to Akito, I say, ¡°Arm wrestle me. I want to see if these stats are for real. I just changed my strength to 20 and yours is at 19, so I want to see if I can win. Logically speaking, I should win this since my stat is higher than yours and this is purely a contest of strength. It¡¯s also to kind of test whether or not the infinity complex corrects for differences in muscle mass.¡± He mulled over my words for a moment, and finding nothing to disagree with, laid himself down on the carpet between the couches with his arm in a starting position.


    Looking at the intimidating size of his hand and bulging muscles, I say, ¡°You know, even if I don¡¯t win, it¡¯ll be enough evidence that the strength stat increase worked even if I just don¡¯t get my arm broken¡­¡± This brought a round of laughter from my friends who were watching Akito and I.


    With a sigh, I laid down opposite of Akito and firmly grip his hand in mine. He responds in kind with a tightening that I could see, but otherwise wouldn¡¯t have noticed due to the strength I could feel coursing through my hand. ¡°Alright, so just go all out will you? Otherwise there¡¯s no point.¡± He nodded to me and I could see a light in his eyes.


    ¡®Looks like I¡¯ve awoken his competitive nature. Only makes sense that someone as built as him has pride in his muscles¡­¡¯


    ¡°3¡­2¡­1¡­go!¡± Instantly I felt Akito¡¯s arm attempting to rotate so that he could slam my hand into the ground, but I surprisingly held a stalemate with some effort. Feeling that I had even more energy to put into it, I slightly smiled and pushed harder against Akito¡¯s hand.


    His eyes instantly changed as he saw the minute shift in advantage and I continued steadily pressing down on his arm until with a groan, he lost power and the back of his hand hit the floor. I let go of his hand and said, ¡°That was incredible. And this was damn near your base strength? No wonder you weren¡¯t scared of provoking Matt in front of his crowd of followers earlier.¡±


    He shrugged in response and said, ¡°That one point you had over me made a hell of a lot of difference. There was no way I could have won. Struggled, sure. But definitely not win.¡±


    ¡°Such a ridiculous difference from one point¡­Okay everyone, let¡¯s distribute our points. Just go with whatever you think is best for you long-term. We¡¯ll get through this first floor.¡± With that said, I called out ¡°status¡± and turned my attention to the golden screen. Those that had points to spend¡ªAkito, Kualin, Kyra, and Milik¡ªall did the same while the other three girls just conversed with one another about their skills or stat points.


    ¡®Hmmmmm¡­¡¯ Glancing over my status, I pushed five points into my intelligence and three into wisdom. Taking a deep breath, I allowed the changes to take hold and felt a refreshing stream of energy flow into my head and fill up the entire space there. It seemed as if it was¡­refining it¡­making it clearer and cleaning out forgotten spaces within my mind. It only took one second for all of my body to change from the recent increase I stats.


    Quite honestly, I felt stronger, quicker, and smarter than I ever had before. My mind wasn¡¯t drifting off to random thoughts and I could tell it was running at a quicker pace, allowing my brain to take up and process more information on my surroundings than I¡¯d previously been able to. And all this was only from a five and three point increase in intelligence and wisdom respectively. Not to mention that I was now at least twice as strong as I used to be and my speed had increased phenomenally. I could tell that if my strength had grown that much from a seven point increase, then my speed increase from dexterity had to be even higher since I¡¯d put ten points into it.


    Glancing at my MP, I saw that it too had benefited from the increase in Intelligence and had risen from a 100 to 180. At that moment, a ringing sound broke through the room and a holographic timer set itself up on the floor space between the couches. It showed ¡®20:00¡¯ on it and began counting down from there. Glancing around the room, I saw that everyone else had been surprised as well but quickly returned to what they were doing.


    Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    ¡®Twenty minutes left? Okay, let¡¯s see what else we can get done before then. Skills.¡¯ The golden screen with my skills popped into existence in front of me and I looked over my mana affinity and air manipulation skills and I was left with one question. ¡®So, how does one tap into an energy source that they had no prior knowledge of nearly an hour ago¡­?¡¯


    Sinking back into the couch, I close my eyes to think and remember that earlier, right after the awakening, I could feel a pure and strong energy flowing around my body. Was it mana? Concentrating, I could feel it even more clearly than earlier. It revolved closely around my body as if it was waiting to come inside and it pulsed strongly like it was alive.


    ¡®Hmmmm?¡¯ Sinking more comfortably into the couch, I relaxed a little and was surprised by a smaller pulsating current that flowed within me. Focusing hard on not losing that feeling, I attempted to internally reach out to it and it easily came within my grasp. More like it hopped into my internal hands and wrapped itself around multiple times. Once I could feel the connection, a pleasant energy coursed through my veins and I could just tell that this energy was indeed mana.


    ¡®Okay. Step 1¡­finding mana is complete. Now for step 2¡­errrrr mold the mana¡­right?¡¯ Opening my eyes, I kept a grip on the mana coursing through my body and led a portion of it to the palm of my right hand. Instantly, a golden glow covered my hand and I could tell it was the mana from inside of me taking an external form. Everyone around me stopped what they were doing and stared at my hand in awe and surprise. I held up my other hand so no one could break my concentration and focused solely on the bright golden glow in my hand.


    Thinking to the air manipulation skill that I have, I decided to try and use my mana as a median between my will and the air in the room. Using the energy in my hand, I pulled at some of the air in the room, directing it to an area above my hand. What was odd was that the air, usually invisible to the naked eye, was tinged with the golden particles of my mana.


    Thinking about what I could do with the air, I started working on the first thing that came to mind. Using the mana, I shaped the wind into a crescent and, running my other hand along the edge of it, I sharpened the outer edge of the crescent air until a ding and the sight of a golden screen popped up in front of my eyes.


    ¡®Congratulations! You¡¯ve created an original skill. Please name your new skill.¡¯


    Deciding to keep it simple, I say, ¡°Air Blade.¡±


    In response, a new screen comes up and it read ¡®You¡¯ve decided on Air Blade. Is this Correct?¡¯


    ¡°Yes.¡± The golden screens flashed out of existence and I turned my attention to the newly named ¡®Air Blade.¡¯ Stopping the flow of mana in my hand, I observed the golden blade of trapped air that hovered about half a foot away from the palm of my right hand. It was easily two feet long and constantly flowed in swirling patterns of gold. The patterns moved slowly, but seemed fast. Or was it the other way around? I couldn¡¯t really tell. The swirling golden pattern was loose and in constant motion, but formed a perfectly condensed, dangerously sharp edge on the outer rim of the crescent.


    My eyes were gleaming with excitement and pride at what I¡¯d created. ¡®Step 2 is a big check mark of success. Now step 3¡­dispel and recreate? Or are those two separate steps? Oh, screw it¡­¡¯ Thinking of the air blade in my hand, I clenched my hand and imagined drawing the mana that had condensed the air back into myself but it stubbornly stayed floating above my hand. Sighing in frustration, another thought struck me. I opened my hand and imagined the golden mana expelling itself back into the near transparent flow of mana which I could feel flowing around outside of my body. The construct in my hand begin to unravel and in less than a second, it was gone.


    I let out a breath of relief and was instantly pushed by Milik who¡¯d been sitting next to me the whole time. He basically yelled at me in his excitement. ¡°Was that mana!? You made a skill? Dude, I¡¯ve gotta try that. How¡¯d you do it? Tips please!¡±


    I let out a laugh from his constant stream of questions, but could completely understand how he was feeling and was more than happy to share my findings with him. ¡°Well, I was checking out the whole mana thing and found it within myself. I don¡¯t know about you guys, but I can feel it and kind of see mana in our surroundings and using that as a kind of ¡®measure,¡¯ I realized that it was also inside of me. So I kind of¡­reached out to the mana inside of me and used it as a way to control the air around me to do what I wanted. Air is my element after all. I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯ll work with other elements, but my guess is that even if it does, it won¡¯t be at the same level as someone who¡¯s marked to wield that element.¡± Looking down at the timer on the floor, I realize that we only have about ten minutes left until we¡¯re to gather back outside of the shelter.


    ¡°Why don¡¯t you all try and work to get in touch with your mana to try and create a skill? None of us should really have any problems with that¡­It actually feels like my imagination is the only limit I have on creating skills. I¡¯m gonna try one more thing before we have to go¡­¡±


    Looking over at Clara to see what she was doing, I realized her eyes were already on me before she quickly diverted them and appeared to engross herself in some deep thought process. Shrugging, I reached into myself once more for my mana and felt it come into my grasp instantaneously. Its warmth once more spread through me and filled my entire being. This time, I led it out of my body and layered it on top of my skin. I then willed it to pull a good bit of air in the room into a revolving sphere around my body.


    ¡®This is pretty easy if you¡¯ve got the brainpower and focus to do this¡­or is it just easy because I¡¯m Lord Sky¡¯s Heir?¡¯ Shaking my head clear of the questions I didn¡¯t have answers to, I turned my attention back to the task at hand.


    I swirled my finger in the air to help me concentrate on winding the air around me into a tighter, interlocking system of ever-fluctuating, golden-specked wind. As I rotated the wind at higher speeds, Milik was forced off of the couch and had to stand a few feet away from me. I couldn¡¯t spare him an apology however since I was in the middle of bringing my new skill to fruition.


    Once I¡¯d rotated the wind to the speed of a highly concentrated hurricane, my friends were forced to stand near the doorway of the room and the couches that had been so neatly arranged were strewn about the room on their backs and sides. The wind I was controlling was letting off a high-pitched scream due to its unruliness. Noticing the mini-disaster I¡¯d caused, I used my mana to further compress the wind until it reached an area about a millimeter off my clothing and exposed skin, creating a layer of vibrating, tightly compacted air which snugly fit around my figure. The sound it was emitting toned down into a low humming noise and the golden specks that I could see earlier weren¡¯t as noticeable as before. In fact, it was rare that a golden flash would show itself in the highly compressed, rotating wind.


    Ding!


    With a broad smile, I let the mana circulating around me disperse into my surroundings and the air which had swirled around me gracefully unraveled itself from the compact layering I¡¯d put it through and also expelled itself throughout the room. Looking over at my friends, I saw that they had faces of pure astonishment like before, but also a hint of apprehension at the power I¡¯d just released.


    ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. I hadn¡¯t expected it would get so out of hand like that¡­¡±


    ¡°Dude! Don¡¯t even sweat it. We need to collaborate on creating skills once we move up to the next floor since we¡¯re almost out of time here!¡± Milik bounded next to me and clapped me on the back in a way that showed he had no bad thoughts about what had just happened. Looking back over to the others, they were already loosened up and I realized that they knew I wouldn¡¯t intentionally hurt any of them, it was just that a mini hurricane would probably spook anyone, especially in such a confined space.


    Nodding to them, I turned my attention to the screen which had been brought up at the creation of my new skill.


    ¡®Congratulations! You¡¯ve created an original skill. Please name your new skill.¡¯


    ¡°Air Cloak,¡± I stated aloud for the Infinity Complex.


    ¡®You¡¯ve decided on Air Cloak. Is this Correct?¡¯


    ¡°Yes,¡± I finished.


    ¡°So, before Alex decided to have his little moment, I had just connected with the mana inside of me. Anyone else get around to it?¡± Milik asked the others, causing me to look away in embarrassment from the minor admonition.


    ¡°I was in the process of messing around with it before Alex got too excited,¡± Kualin said with a smirk on his face.


    ¡°Same,¡± Akito stated followed by agreements from Clara and Kyra who were both pretty much at the same stage. Only Izzy and Pixie were still trying to find their mana before I¡¯d interrupted them. By this point, I wasn¡¯t too worried about having interrupted everyone. I was more so thinking of why Izzy and Pixie had yet to access their mana and then I was struck with a possible solution.


    ¡°Izzy and Pixie, you two have more volatile elements than the rest of us. Fire and lightning. Maybe you just need to be more spontaneous when reaching out to it. Just expect it to be there I guess is what I¡¯m saying.¡± Messing with Pixie¡¯s hair, I smiled down at her. ¡°Sorry for interrupting you, Pixie. Well, all of you really.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s fine,¡± Pixie huffed and then said, ¡°I just want to get stronger so I can help fight!¡± I didn¡¯t really want Pixie in the thick of the fighting any time soon. She just seemed too innocent and over the last week that I¡¯d known her, she¡¯d grown to be like another little sister to me. But this conversation would have to wait for another day.


    ¡°All in due time Pixie. Just let me and the other guys deal with the fighting for now, alright?¡± She smiled up at me and nodded her assent. I looked over at the rest of my friends and noticed Kualin¡¯s eyes burning with jealousy and realized it was because I still had my hand on Pixie¡¯s head. I removed it because I¡¯d noticed he may want to make a pass at her and I didn¡¯t particularly mind since he seemed like a cool and funny guy in the time that I¡¯d known him and I definitely didn¡¯t want him thinking anything extra about Pixie and I. That could only cause problems.


    Looking over at Clara, I was taken aback by how fiercely those beautiful blue-green eyes were staring back into mine. Before I could even ask her if I¡¯d done something wrong, she turned her attention elsewhere. No one else in the group seemed to notice anything was amiss and I was just sorely confused.


    ¡°Seems like we¡¯ve got a couple minutes left before we¡¯re out of time. Just want to wait it out?¡± Kyra asked the group. Thinking it was a good idea, everyone moved to flip their couches right-side up and I walked over to the couch I¡¯d been seated on and plopped back down on it, marveling at how it had remained virtually untouched by the hurricane I¡¯d created.


    ¡®Let¡¯s check out these new skills shall we? Skills.¡¯ The golden screen popped into existence and the new skills I¡¯d created were sitting at the top of the column. I read the info for my other skills and noticed some changes. My ¡®Guidance of the Wind¡¯ skill had risen to level 3, the ¡®Mana Affinity¡¯ skill had rose to level 6, and my ¡®Air Manipulation¡¯ skill had gone directly to level 5. The rise in my ¡®Mana Affinity¡¯ skill was accompanied by a slight increase in the boosts that it gave me, but only by a couple percent.


    ¡®Technicalities, technicalities¡­¡¯


    I quickly scanned my new skills and was satisfied with what I had read.


    Air Blade (Active) LV 1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 20


    Through your own efforts of fusing mana and your elemental affinity, you have created an original skill. The cutting force of your attack is not to be underestimated. Power will increase with INT and skill level.


    No charge time due to Lord Sky¡¯s Heir title


    Air Cloak (Active) LV 1 EXP: 0.00% MP: 75


    Through your own efforts of fusing mana and your elemental affinity, you have created an original skill. The highly compressed layers and rotating speed of air infused with your mana grants a defensive cloak to the user which will in turn reflect partial damage back onto an attacker. All physical attacks will be partially deflected when skill is active. Power will increase with INT and skill level.


    30% decrease from all types of damage


    15% damage of attack is returned to attacker


    No charge time due to Lord Sky¡¯s Heir title


    Additional 75 MP used per minute


    ¡®I¡¯ll have to assume that those costs have already been affected by the decreasing effects of the title I have¡­Can¡¯t say I like them though. Damn, 75 MP per minute? I don¡¯t even know my MP regeneration rate yet¡­¡¯ Turning my attention to the timer, I realize that we have a minute and fourteen seconds left and there¡¯s something I still haven¡¯t gotten around to doing. Something I¡¯d been looking forward to doing since I learned about what the Infinity Complex could do.


    ¡°Inventory!¡± A golden screen flashed into existence in front of me and the rest of my friends looked at me in surprise at my sudden outburst. The screen had a 10 by 10 table in it and picking up my pack, I shoved it into the small window. My whole pack disappeared in a quick flash of light and looking at the table, I smiled when I saw the pack only took up one spot of the one hundred slots available to me.


    ¡°Quick Milik!¡± I looked at my friend with eyes filled with a plea. A cry for help. ¡°We need to raid that fridge, dude!¡±


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    Author''s Note: Hope y''all are ready for this to take off because I sure as hell am. These 5000 word chapters take a little time to write though so I hope you''ll be patient with me! Please enjoy :)

 Chapter 14: Overgods in the Arena

    Author''s note: I won''t bore you with the details, but I had a long break without anything to type my story up on. Super sorry for the long wait, but it is what it is. Next chapter coming in a week. Much love for the support and enjoy the chapter :)


    ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................


    ¡°We all have a dark side. Most of us go through life avoiding direct confrontation with that aspect of ourselves, which I call the shadow self. There¡¯s a reason why. It carries a great deal of energy.¡±


    -Lorraine Toussaint


    When the timer in the middle of the couches was nearing zero, my friends and I were all ready. We¡¯d stashed all our packs into our inventories after throwing some smaller objects from the fully loaded fridge into them and I¡¯d also used up some more space in my inventory for other objects from the fridge since I didn¡¯t have a bag to carry them in. Turns out that every object requires its own space in the inventory unless it¡¯s all bagged up. Milik and I had entertained the notion of tossing the entire fridge into one of our inventories, but we were already halfway through raiding the fridge at the time so the idea was trashed.


    One thing that had changed though was that every one of my friends were carrying a standard combat knife that had been in the duffel bags given to them by the military outside of the tower. I was carrying the midnight black machete which I¡¯d bought the week before.


    ¡®Has it really only been one week since I left my family?¡¯ It had been the longest week of my life and we hadn¡¯t been in the tower for more than an hour and a half, but I already felt like my entire life had been flipped upside down on its head. I came in here to protect my family and all the people of Earth from the Overlords¡¯ threat of apocalypse, but here I was about to be pitted against my own people. Forced into a situation where it was either kill or be killed. Looking around at my new friends, I realized that there wasn¡¯t really a choice here either. It wasn¡¯t kill or be killed. For the sake of my team, the only outcome I had better think of would have to be to kill. To be killed would only result in weakening my team and placing them all in danger. With my recent stat increases as well as original skills, I was the strongest member of The Overgods and I intended to use that strength for my friends.


    As I felt my resolve take form, the countdown in the middle of the room finally hit zero and everything around us vanished. All around us, the other teams were standing and those that hadn¡¯t expected the couches to vanish underneath them were quickly picking themselves up off the ground. We were back outside of the little shelters the Overlord had created for us and the hooded figure blinked to life on the same wall of the tower as before.


    ¡°Ah, I trust that you all are prepared now?¡± The figure scrutinized us and I felt as if I were an ant standing in the presence of a giant, but the pressure vanished almost as quickly as it had come. Breathing a sigh of relief, I heard the Overlord say, ¡°I see that some of you were more productive than others in the time you had¡­¡±


    That statement made me frown a little bit since it meant that the Overlord could somehow tell which of us were strong and which were weak. It was then that I remembered that most games allowed an identifying skill of sorts, but I thought the Overlord had said the Infinity Complex was something inherent to us humans which they just unlocked? So I guess the Overlords must have their own powers¡­I wonder what they are. Shaking my head, I banished the thoughts. ¡®Too many damn questions and not enough answers.¡¯


    Unexpectedly, the hooded figure began laughing to himself and I felt the suffocating pressure once more envelop the area around me. ¡°It seems as if this group has an admirable sense of humor. The Overgods? Did you know that they were always targets until they reached the pinnacle of power? Simply laughable. You¡¯ve no idea that you¡¯ve doomed yourselves to constant struggle and death. You have my condolences¡± The pressure vanished once more and all the other people in the room were confusedly looking around at who the Overlord¡¯s words had been directed towards, but only the people nearest my group realized that we¡¯d been the ones under pressure by how we¡¯d reacted to it.


    My friends and I were all catching our breaths but the Overlord carried on unperturbed by my angry glare and a sickening grin split across the Overlord¡¯s face, revealing his razor sharp teeth. ¡°Well marked ones, it seems it¡¯s now time for the main event.¡± The overlord waved his hand and two spherical lights popped into existence. One was red and the other blue. They hung high in the air above us slowly revolving in a circle together. Waving his hand once more, a smooth platform appeared out of thin air in an empty space not too far away from where everyone was attentively watching the Overlord. The platform was about a foot off the ground and was about as large as half of a soccer field. It was glowing a brilliant white and didn¡¯t look to be made out of stone or metal. Rather, it seemed like it was constructed using pure energy.


    ¡°When one of the two lights shines down on your group, you will go up on the platform and begin to fight when the signal is given. Remember humans, this is to the death. All members of the opposing group must be eliminated for the winning group to carry on to the next floor where the nine groups sent from the other planets are more than likely already familiarizing themselves with their new surroundings.¡± Silence met the Overlord¡¯s proclamation and I began checking up on my friends in the brief respite the silence gave. It seemed that no one was really hurt from the pressure he¡¯d exerted on us, but we were all fairly shaken up from it.


    ¡®How am I supposed to be able to fight back the Overlord¡¯s once this is all over if I can¡¯t even stand up to the pressure from a projection??¡¯ Of course, the Overlords said that the last species of groups standing would not get their planet taken from them, but I could feel that there was more to it than that. Why would they give only one species a way out and take over the rest? It just wouldn¡¯t make any sense. One thing was certain though. I¡¯d have to become stronger¡­much, much stronger to confront whatever waited at the top of the tower.


    ¡®One day, the Overlords will kneel to me and my friends. I swear it.¡¯


    At that moment, the revolving lights above us flashed brightly and shot off to opposing corners of the mass of people and shone their lights exclusively around two different groups. I stood on my toes to look above the heads of all those around me to try and catch a glimpse of the groups but it was no use. There were just too many people and I couldn¡¯t make out any specific features of the two groups. So instead, I looked at my group and catching Akito¡¯s eyes, motioned with my hand in the direction of the platform. He wordlessly caught my meaning and began pushing a path through the crowd of people making good use of his bulk, enhanced strength, and intimidating look. The rest of the group fell in behind Akito and I ended up behind everyone next to Clara who was tightly gripping the handle of her combat knife. Kualin was chatting with Pixie and Milik was walking silently next to Kyra seemingly in deep thought.


    Taking a quick glance at Clara¡¯s face, I saw that she was lightly shaking and her eyes were filled with unwillingness and fear. Unsure of what to say, we walked in silence for a couple seconds before I gathered the courage to tap my hand against her knife holding hand. When she looked at me, I gave her a reassuring smile and said, ¡°No need to be afraid Clara. You¡¯re not alone.¡± She visibly relaxed and the tension with which she was carrying herself lessened a great deal.


    ¡°Thank you¡­¡± her voice was barely above a whisper, but it was enough to start making me smile out of pure happiness from being able to comfort her even just a little bit. I nodded towards her and confidently walked the rest of the way to a distance of a couple of feet from the nearest edge of the glowing platform. The other groups around us walked around the platform to thin out the crowd and pretty soon, all but sixteen of the eight hundred people here surrounded the platform while the missing two groups stood at opposite ends of the platform from one another.


    Now that I basically had a free line of sight, I could see the two chosen groups much more clearly now and realized with a sigh of relief that I didn¡¯t recognize any of the people standing on the platform. One of the groups was completely made up of Asians and I could hear them speaking to one another in some foreign language. There were six boys and two girls in this group and their ages ranged from high teens to low twenties. They didn¡¯t particularly look very strong, especially a guy in their group who was only a little taller than five feet. A couple of the other guys in this group looked like delinquents with dyed hair and arrogant stances. One of the girls did however carry what looked like a wooden sword at her hip and I at least knew that no one would walk around with a weapon such as a sword strapped to them unless they knew how to use it.


    The opposing group on the other hand looked dangerous and much more threatening than the Asians. It was an all-male group consisting of two Hispanics, two African-Americans, two Asians, a Caucasian, and one Indian. They all looked fit and in the prime of their lives, but their eyes were overrun with wild emotions: confusion, fear, anger, and loss ran rampant in different concentrations within all of them.


    All but the short Asian male and the girl with the wooden sword had their combat knives out. I could tell that this fight was going to be quick and extremely bloody. Looking around for the lights from earlier, I saw that they were now revolving above the platform. And then, no sooner had I caught sight of the red and blue lights, they fused into an unsurprisingly purple color and formed a projection of the hooded Overlord seated in a chair.


    Without so much as any warnings, the Overlord only spoke one word with glee. ¡°Begin.¡±


    On his mark, the entire group of men wildly brandished their knives and charged at the Asians. Surprisingly, only four of the Asians rushed to meet them in the middle of the platform. The half that rushed consisted of both the unarmed short male and the wooden sword carrying girl as well as two of the males with dyed hair and arrogant looks. The Asians were certainly moving quicker than the group of males as they reached the middle of the platform first. Upon reaching the middle, the four of them stopped and took up open defensive stances in the form of a diamond with the shorter guy standing in front of all of them. It was when he widened his stance and stretched his hands out in front of him that I finally realized he meant to deal with the knife-wielding group of men with his bare hands.


    I quickly assumed he¡¯d be using some form of martial arts that he was familiar with and I was excited because I¡¯d always wanted to see this kind of stuff in person, but the circumstances of the situation made it hard to enjoy what happened next.


    The first man to reach the Asians was one of the two African-American men and he stabbed at the short Asian¡¯s chest with a primal scream of raw emotion. The Asian indifferently swatted his hand aside and, spinning like a top, smashed his elbow into the man¡¯s chest resulting in a sickening crunch and an eruption of dark red blood from the dark-skinned man''s mouth as he actually flew back a couple feet into the Caucasian man behind him causing them both to hit the floor in a heap of tangled limbs. Seeing this, the other men slowed down to a stop a couple yards behind where the Caucasian and African American man had fallen.


    The two Asians with dyed hair lunged towards the downed figures of the Caucasian and African-American men and wildly began stabbing them in their chests and anywhere else they could accurately stick their blades into.


    I heard a gasp of horror and felt someone clamp their hands around my arm in fear and, turning my head, I saw that Clara had burrowed her face into my arm to shield herself from the sight of the fight. The rest of my group looked sickened by the actions performed on the platform in front of us, but most of us kept watching. Pixie also turned to look away from the wild actions on the platform.


    A cry filled with rage turned my attention back to the people on the platform and I could see now that the short Asian male and the girl with the wooden sword had been defending their teammates from the six remaining members of the all-male group as they tore into the men on the ground. By now, the Caucasian and African-American males were both heavily bleeding from multiple wounds on their body and lay still with the glassy stare of death in their eyes.


    Looking more closely at the shorter Asian male and the girl with the sword, I could tell that they had no fear or uncertainty showing on their faces. They were experienced fighters who knew how to kill, but it was probably only in a situation like this where they truly had to employ lethal techniques.


    In less than three minutes, the rest of the male group lay on the ground bleeding and dying from the combined might of the short martial artist and sword fighting girl. The two Asian men with dyed hair were methodically finishing off the ones who hadn¡¯t yet died. They mercilessly sliced through jugulars and plunged blades into hearts. I, however, was looking at one of the Asians in the all-male group who¡¯d received a particularly nasty blow to his skull from the sword-wielding girl which had caused his head to cave in. The sight was sickening, but I couldn¡¯t take my eyes off of it.


    I mean, I couldn¡¯t really judge the Asians for how they killed them or for killing them at all for that matter since I planned on doing the exact same thing to whoever we had to face off against. Maybe I¡¯d had this preconceived notion that this fight would look cleaner and feel a lot more righteous. But this? There was no point to this. The Overlord could¡¯ve sent us to the higher floors to fight the alien groups without all this and the weak would¡¯ve been weeded out just like that. This was all for entertainment.


    ¡°Flawless victory! Congratulations!¡± The projection of the Overlord was happily clapping his hands as he shouted out to the Asian group. They didn¡¯t say anything to that. I mean, who in their right mind would accept congratulations for taking part in murder? The Overlord waved his hand once more and a shining light exploded into life at the wall where the obsidian colored staircase was. When the light dimmed down, an elegantly carved and decorated white door stood in place at the top of the staircase. A golden handle shone on the door and above the door in flaming red letters were the words ¡®Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!¡¯ The quote was not only written in English, but in six other languages as well. I recognized over half of the languages up there as French, Spanish, Cyrillic, and some Asian language involving kanji.


    ¡°Once your group has finished their battle, you may pass through the doors at any time between now and the next four hours. Let us begin the next round.¡± The Overlord¡¯s projection dissolved into the red and blue orbs of light once more and they flew off to pick the next two groups to fight.


    The next three hours taught me more about human nature than I¡¯d learned in the last nineteen years of my life and now I could honestly agree that ignorance was indeed bliss. I personally witnessed the dark side of human nature on the first floor of the tower that day. I had never tried guessing at what actions people would take when forced into these kill or be killed situations and the shocking things they would do in a lawless place such as the tower.


    Unsurprisingly, there were a lot of girls who were scared to fight and if the men in their team had failed to protect them and been killed by the opposing group, they were raped, tortured, and killed in front of everyone¡¯s eyes. There were people who broke from the mental stress of the situation and would collapse onto the ground helpless as their teammates died around them and tears fell from their grief-ridden eyes. Some would defecate and piss themselves from the fear of losing their lives and allowed themselves to be swallowed by this fear and wail in despair as their team was slaughtered. Some groups would be unnecessarily ruthless when killing and, although I attempted to help the first girl who was going to be raped by a group of men, an invisible barrier stood at the edges of the platform which prevented me from helping anyone.


    The asshole from earlier, Matthew, who had attempted to make Izzy join his group was only one among hundreds that were encouraging such actions with excessive shouting and clapping. His group had already went and they¡¯d massacred the other team one at a time and raped the few girls on that team. Now he was sitting back and watching more of that same stuff happen while I could only watch in horror with those in the room who still held some semblance of morality as others cheered these kinds of groups on. Although not all of the fights were like this, a large majority of them were brimming with these violent and atrocious acts.


    All the girls in my group had stopped watching the fights a long time ago and Milik was looking a little queasy. The only respite came from seeing some of the people on the platform utilize skills granted to them by the Infinity Complex. Although it ended in a sickening crunch, I saw one guy throw another at least ten yards away and realized he must have upgraded his strength maybe five or so more points than I had to produce that kind of strength. Another person, a girl, was throwing around fire like she¡¯d been doing it her whole life. One thing I did notice from this was that she had shouted ¡®fireball¡¯ before the fire appeared in her hand and so I assumed that the skills in the Infinity Complex were voice activated. Whether it could be a mental voice or not remained to be seen, but I was fairly sure it could be. Hell, I doubted you really even had to think of the name of the skill to use it if you already knew how it worked like with my original skills air blade and air cloak.


    Although it was cool to see people using magic, I soon felt as down as I did earlier as people began torturing others with their magic on the platform. Burning people bit by bit until they died. Drowning them in a bubble of water that refused to pop from normal means. It was almost funny when someone was telekinetically choked, but then they too defecated on themselves and died. The powers granted to us from the Infinity Complex made us strong, but it was dangerous in the hands of those who relished killing and torturing others. Others, however, used their powers just to kill and protect their team which I could respect considering I planned on doing the same. However, out of the thirty or so fights I¡¯d watched after the first one, only a hundred or so people had used their mana or showed enhanced strength and speed. This translated to every one in five people having access to skills, but whether they were original or already gifted to them I did not know.


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    The winning groups more often than not lost some people in their fight to eliminate the opposing group which left incomplete groups to either rest or carry on to the next floor of the tower. There was even one fight where only one man was left standing and he looked so lost and sad as I watched him leave the platform, climb the obsidian staircase and enter the white door on to the next floor without so much as a break. Whenever I saw winning groups with losses, a sinking feeling of despair would fill my stomach because groups with less people would more than likely end up with less of a chance of surviving the next floor of the Tower. As game-like as everything had seemed beforehand, I knew that there would be no respawns. And if there was a way to cheat death, then I certainly didn¡¯t know about it.


    In maybe the thirty-sixth battle, the two groups had attempted to go on the platform and not fight one another. This, however, proved to be a mistake. Once the two groups had made their choice, they basically just sat across from one another on the platform and talked among themselves. This of course was met by a ton of booing from the less restrained in the crowd such as Matthew and his ever-growing pack of groups which liked to live freely and immorally. The number of people that seemed to have lost their shit at this point was nearing two hundred. Nevertheless, It was one of those ¡®oh shit¡¯ moments where someone does something unexpected and nobody really knew what was going to happen next. I wasn¡¯t focused on the groups when it happened though. My full attention was on the projection of the overlord.


    It really just happened all too fast. The Overlord¡¯s lips had at first curled into a small frown before switching to a cruel smile that sent shivers down my spine. With a flick of his wrist, sixteen balls of blue fire no larger than basketballs appeared above each head on the platform and descended on them. Only the audience had a clear view of what was happening and those on the platform were burned to death as the blue fire engulfed their unsuspecting forms. Their screams of anguish and surprise filled the first floor of the tower for all of two or three seconds before it was over. This was met with a mix of cheering and groans of defeat from the crowd of people who had yet to go through the door at the top of the obsidian stairs. However anyone felt about this, it made enough of an impression that no groups after that attempted to call a truce.


    It was the forty-second fight before I finally got to see Bryce again. He¡¯d made a group with some of the friends we¡¯d made in our barrack as well as a couple people I remember seeing join us for lunch and dinner every now and then. He didn¡¯t look all too well either. Gone was his ever-present grin and bright eyes. In their places were dead eyes and a tight lipped frown. I hadn¡¯t known Bryce for very long but once we¡¯d gotten through that first night at the barracks, I found out that we had a lot in common and we actually became really good friends.


    The group standing on the opposite end of the platform consisted of what looked like seven people that were willing to fight, six men and one woman, as well as one guy that was already charging across the platform before the Overlord had given the signal to begin. I looked over at the Overlord to gauge his reaction to this, but only saw a wide smile on his face which I took to mean that he didn¡¯t particularly mind the rule breaking. The rest of the lone runner¡¯s group began to follow him and Bryce raised his hand in front of him before shouting, ¡°Water arrow!¡±


    A projectile flew from in front of Bryce¡¯s hand almost faster than I could keep track of even with my increased dexterity. The arrow produced a high-pitched whistle as it cut through the air and pierced all the way through the leading man¡¯s chest as well as through the arm of the person closest behind him which happened to be the one female on the other team. Her arm fell to the floor and blood spurted from the gaping wound left behind which caused her to fall to her knees and scream in agony.


    Bryce¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t change at all and the one who¡¯d had the darkness tattoo from my barrack sent a bolt of darkness towards another person¡¯s head who, too slow to dodge, had their head explode in a mass of blood and brain matter. That was one of the sickest kills I¡¯d seen all day, but I was numbed to all the gore by now. I only tightened my grip on Clara who hadn¡¯t moved from my side in the last three hours as scream after scream of pain and agony had filled the tower.


    With two of their members dead from abilities which none of them had obviously had the chance to access yet, the rest of the other team began to beg for mercy, but of course it was no use. Kill or be killed together. That was the situation now. Bryce sent one more water arrow through the neck of a man bawling his eyes out and brandished his knife. I assumed this meant he ran out of mana since he was only level one if what he said about not encountering any monsters a month ago had been true. The screaming one-armed woman went next as one of Bryce¡¯s teammates, a female, slit her throat with the knife. The rest of the team went down in similar fashion and I breathed a sigh of relief as none of Bryce¡¯s teammates had died meaning he¡¯d have a better chance on the second floor of the tower. I did fear for Bryce¡¯s state of mind though¡ªHell, I worried about everyone¡¯s mental state here. More than two hundred of the surviving people here were fucked up in the head like that Matthew guy as they stuck around to watch more blood and carnage instead of traveling up the tower. Only ten or so groups had already started to climb the tower, that Asian group being the very first to have left right after their fight.


    I watched as Bryce led his group up the staircase and through the white door. I didn¡¯t blame him. I didn¡¯t want to be here as long as I had. Didn¡¯t want to have seen the things I¡¯d seen. As I thought this, a red light shone down on the area around me and I felt my heart begin to thump much harder as I realized what that light meant. Looking up, I saw the red orb lazily floating above my group.


    Nodding to the rest of my group, I shook Clara who was still holding on to my arm. ¡°Clara, it¡¯s our turn now. Come on. Stay in the back.¡± She slowly released my arm and wiped her hand across her tearstained bloodshot eyes. I felt my heart break a little from the sight, but it only strengthened my resolve to protect her. To protect my whole team. Placing my hand on her back, I guided her onto the glowing platform only a couple feet in front of me and left her to move further up next to Akito, Kualin, and Milik.


    Akito looked as impassive as ever, if not a little more tense. His eyes were hard and I couldn¡¯t tell what he was thinking. Milik had a hand over his stomach and the combat knife in the other. He was looking a little worse for wear, but ready for a fight. Kualin stood defiantly with his arms crossed as he set his eyes on the group of people standing fifty yards away from us on the platform. Paying them no mind, I turned my eyes behind me to the girls and saw Pixie and Clara tightly holding each other¡¯s hands with combat knives in their free hands. Izzy and Kyra stood a yard in front of them looking jumpy and tightly holding their knives. They were all scared. Hell, I¡¯m positive that we all were. Some of us were just better at hiding it than others.


    I nonchalantly walked next to Milik and leaned on his shoulder. ¡°So what¡¯s the situation looking like, Shadow Strider?¡± I did this for two reasons. One was to show the team that I wasn¡¯t worried about what was about to come our way. Morale is key after all. The other was to see how he¡¯d react to the title granted to him by the Infinity Complex.


    Milik shrugged in response and pointed over at the other team with his knife. ¡°They¡¯ve been hanging around near Matthew¡¯s group. I recognize them only because I¡¯ve seen them cheer as other people died. Although, I don¡¯t know if it was all of them. At least two of them look like they don¡¯t particularly feel comfortable around the rest of their team. You can tell by how they look standing next to them.¡± I nodded at his observations. I¡¯d come to the same conclusion myself but it didn¡¯t really matter. Whether they were in Matthew¡¯s crowd of people or not, they all had to die.


    ¡°Akito, switch me places in formation. I¡¯ll take point. I¡¯m faster and I have defensive measures. Work in pairs as we discussed. Milik, you¡¯re on me. Kualin with Akito. We good?¡± Grunts of acceptance were the answer. I wasn¡¯t honestly all that worried about winning or losing. Over the past three hours, my teammates hadn¡¯t just been watching. I¡¯d seen them messing around with their mana and I¡¯d been doing the same. No new skills to show for it, but I could do some more interesting things with air and my control was only going to grow. So I was nervous to fight and kill, but I felt that overall we would be fine.


    ¡°Begin.¡± I only looked up for an instant at the Overlord before dropping the sheath of my machete into my inventory with a quick thought and toss. It was a smooth movement and much, much faster than I¡¯d ever moved before and I had a feeling I could reach even higher speeds. It had been less than a second after the signal to begin had been given and I was already moving forward.


    Kualin and Milik followed a solid second and a half after I took off and Akito was the last to respond. I ran at a speed I felt Milik and Kualin could keep up with and we quickly left Akito behind us as we reached the halfway mark on the platform. Surprisingly, there were three men only ten yards from the middle and I felt that they were at Kualin¡¯s and Milik¡¯s level of speed.


    ¡®Air cloak,¡¯ I thought to myself with conviction. A drain of the mana from my body and an instant later, a golden light flashed. I felt the complex, multi-layered, high-speed swirling of the wind enshroud my whole body accompanied with a low humming noise. The three men in front of us were momentarily blinded by the flash of my skill and it was then that I attempted to reach my full speed.


    I was in front of all three of them in less than half a second. Ten yards in one second is already encroaching upon the human limits. I had only ever moved that fast in a vehicle, but my mind kept up with my speed. I swung my machete at the neck of the guy in the middle of the group. He didn¡¯t even have time to open his eyes before the speed and strength of my machete separated his head from his body. It was as smooth as cutting through butter, but much more sickening.


    At that time, the two other guys that had rushed recovered and the one on my left began to shout ¡°Fireba¡ª.¡± Before he could finish, I spun on my foot and my unoccupied left hand backhanded him across the face, sending him reeling a couple yards back. The guy on my right swung his knife towards my right side. I moved forward in an attempt to dodge, but I couldn¡¯t move out of the way fast enough and I felt the blade hit the swirling air around my body. What happened next was something I should¡¯ve expected but really just didn¡¯t. Not in that moment.


    My air cloak was moving at the speed of a super condensed hurricane. His hand was moving nowhere near that speed nor did he have the strength to force his way through that speed. The knife probably went micrometers into the air cloak before twisting out of his grip and being flung into the invisible wall around the platform at a ridiculous speed. Once he lost the knife, his wrist was sprained from the force at which it was ripped from his hands and that was when Milik ran into him with his shoulder sending him to the ground.


    I looked to my left and saw Kualin fighting with the man who¡¯d attempted to redecorate my face with a fireball. The whole exchange took less than two seconds and my heart was already wildly beating against my chest. The other five members of the opposing group were all just now getting to the fight and they were moving in a clump towards me. I was positive that Akito was going to help Kualin since I told them to move together. Milik was rolling on the ground with the man who¡¯d tried to stab me. Milik had already stabbed him multiple times in the stomach if the blood was any indication and so I wasn¡¯t all too worried about him.


    I heard Akito¡¯s footsteps approaching me from behind and then the sound of ¡°FIREBALL!¡± caused me to look back at Kualin. He had just dove out the way of a basketball sized red flame and it sped past him towards the invisible force field around the platform erupting into a massive spike of flame.


    ¡®Air blade!¡¯ I fervently thought. Another drain on my mana and a gold swirling crescent blade of air formed above my hand. I threw it out towards the group of five people running my way. Three of them dropped to the floor leaving one man and woman in mid-run with their eyes wide in fear and surprise. The air blade easily cut through their stomachs and it shattered against the invisible force field twenty five yards behind them. The man and woman were completely separated from their lower halves and steadily bled out on the floor with cries of pain and sickening gurgling noises.


    Akito had finally reached Kualin¡¯s side and they were both attempting to get their hands on the elusive fire elemental user who was attempting to gain some distance and ran back towards his team. Milik was slowly picking himself up from the ground where the body of the other man lay in a bloody mess of intestines and dark red liquid. I quickly moved over and offered a hand to him which he grasped and I easily helped him up the rest of the way.


    ¡°Come on.¡± I said to him and rushed after Kualin and Akito who were moving in towards the remaining four members of the opposing group. The three who had thrown themselves to the ground had gotten back up and two of them had their hands out in front of them while the other two were holding their knives in preparation.


    ¡°Spread out!¡± I shouted at Akito, Kualin, and Milik. They all fanned out and there was now a distance of fifteen yards between us and the other four people. ¡°Watch for the ones with their hands out. They have magic!¡±


    ¡®Air blade.¡¯ It was nearing one minute and I felt like my mana recovery was just enough to hold onto my air cloak for the next minute even if I used this air blade. Another air blade formed above my hand and I quickly threw it at the magic user who didn¡¯t have the fire element.


    ¡°Earth wall!¡± He quickly shouted in response to my air blade. It was really no use though. I don¡¯t know what made his magic weaker than mine, but my air blade tore through his rock wall like it was nothing and then diagonally slashed through his body leaving another bloodied corpse on the ground.


    Knowing that was all the magic I could muster, I looked over at Milik whose hands looked to be molding something and I saw a black sphere no larger than a bead come into existence. Whatever instincts I had against danger blared to life upon seeing that little black ball in his hands.


    ¡°Decimator!¡± His hands dropped away from the sphere and he motioned with his hands towards the flame user. The black ball lazily moved through the air towards the flame elemental user and feeling the danger, the guy tried responding with a fireball in the direction of the black sphere. The fireball rocketed through the air and left a blazing trail of heat in its wake. The black sphere was consumed into the fireball and Milik¡¯s eyes widened in surprise. It was too late for him to dodge and I was about to shout out at him to move no matter how futile, but then the fireball just dissipated into nothing.


    ¡®What the fuck¡­?¡¯ I thought to myself. Everyone on the platform stopped to stare at where the fireball had disappeared and the black sphere was unexpectedly still steadily moving towards the flame user. The guy¡¯s eyes widened in surprise as the sphere reached a couple yards in front of him and he backed away and sent another fireball through the black sphere. Again it was consumed and then the fireball disappeared once again. The black sphere finally reached the guy and pushed through his upper chest where his heart was as if it met no resistance and the man''s body crumpled to the ground in a heap with fear etched into his features.


    Ding!


    A golden window popped up in front of me with the words ¡®You have leveled up¡¯ written on it.


    ¡®So we do share experience as a party then? Good. At least Clara will be able to level with us if she still refuses to fight after all this.¡¯ I quickly dismissed the window as there were still two more people to deal with. The last two people were sobbing and incoherently stumbling over words asking for what I¡¯m sure was mercy. They knew it wouldn¡¯t happen. We knew it as well. Only one group could leave this platform. Dispelling my air cloak, I felt that I had enough mana for what had to be done.


    ¡®Air blade.¡¯ Again, the swirling golden blade of air formed on my hand. My friends and I were looking down on the crying men who were begging for their lives on their knees.


    ¡°Any last words¡­?¡± I solemnly asked the two men. This only made them cry louder and seeing that no answer was coming, I quickly decapitated them with the air blade before I lost my nerve and gave them what I could only hope was a painless death.

 Chapter 15: Weathering the Second Floor

    Author''s Note: Hey guys! I''m truly sorry for skipping out on last week''s chapter but school is sooooo hectic and busy. I''ll try to dish out another chapter by the end of this weekend, but I''ve got a couple hard ass midterms coming up so no promises, unfortunately. I hope you all enjoy this chapter though! :)


    .....................................................................................................................................................................................................


    ¡°And once the storm is over, you won¡¯t remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won¡¯t even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won¡¯t be the same person who walked in. That¡¯s what this storm¡¯s all about.¡±


    -Haruki Murakami


    The thudding of the two decapitated heads hitting the ground marked the end of our life and death struggle on the first floor of the tower. Surely there were going to be more to come, but I find it hard to believe that I would remember every single one. No. My first battle, where I willingly took six human lives would be the one I¡¯d remember.


    ¡°Alex, are you okay?¡±


    I snapped out of my thoughts to see Milik standing in front of me with his hand on my shoulder. I looked him in the eye with conviction and responded, ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine. You on the other hand, might need to put on a new shirt.¡± Looking down at himself, he saw how soaked his shirt was in the blood of the guy he¡¯d been tussling with on the ground.


    Shrugging, he said, ¡°Inventory,¡± and pulled out his duffel bag for a fresh shirt to change into. With a quick ¡®Inventory,¡¯ I put my machete away just as Akito and Kualin reached Milik and I. I couldn¡¯t see any disgust or fear in their eyes as they looked at me. Akito was adept at hiding his emotions and Kualin appeared to be used to this kind of thing because he acted as if none of it bothered him.


    ¡°Bastard tried to fry my ass, did you see that? He¡¯s lucky I know the ways of the Lin Que,¡± Kualin said in an offended tone. I stared at him for a couple seconds before breaking into a fit of laughter. Milik began to laugh as well and we must¡¯ve looked crazy to all the people watching us from outside the platform. This carried on as Milik and I ended up laughing less at the joke and more at how he or I kept laughing in this situation. After about a minute, we were finally able to stop laughing and began to walk over towards the girls.


    Pixie ran into my arms with a cry of happiness and I fiercely hugged her back. I was glad that she wasn¡¯t hurt, but after a moment I let go of Pixie and rubbed her hair affectionately. ¡°You alright, Pixie?¡±


    ¡°Yes! Well, you all took care of everything. It was amazing to watch. I can¡¯t wait to be able to help out!¡± She was shouting in awe and I couldn¡¯t help but grimace at what she was saying.


    ¡®I¡¯ll deal with it in due time.¡¯ Changing my grimace into a smile, I say, ¡°I want you to be able to protect yourself as well, Pixie. You¡¯ll get there.¡± She smiled back towards me and I looked past her to see Clara looking at me with a mix of emotion in her eyes. I wasn¡¯t really sure what she was looking like that for and so I walked up to her and I couldn¡¯t help but feel a jolt run through my spine as her piercing blue-green eyes met mine.


    Without knowing what else to say, I opened up with a ¡°Hey,¡± and I grinned at my own lameness. I can fight people trying to kill me without fucking up, but I can¡¯t even talk to a girl I find myself attracted to without sounding stupid. Life just isn¡¯t fair sometimes. Maybe if I increase my luck stat¡­? Nah. It¡¯d be a waste. But then again¡­Nah. Clara only looked at me for a moment before throwing herself into my chest where she began to cry. To say I was surprised was the understatement of the year. But then again, maybe ten points in luck was already enough if Clara can run into my arms like this for comfort.


    Smiling to myself, I wrap my arms around Clara and say in a soothing voice, ¡°Shhhhh, it¡¯s over now. I told you we would be okay. Come on, we¡¯ve got to get off the platform. There are still more people that have to fight.¡± She sniffed into my chest and once again I watched as she wiped her eyes free of tears and my heart once more broke at the sight. I led my team off the platform and through the crowds of people that were cheering my group on.


    ¡®Fucking sickos,¡¯ I thought to myself with disgust. I turned towards the base of the obsidian steps and once we all got there, I sat down with Clara on the first step. With a huge sigh, I leaned back and laid my head a couple steps above the one I was sitting on.


    ¡°I say we go ahead and distribute these points to our stats and then just hurry and go through the door,¡± Izzy suggested to the group.


    No one wanted to stick around longer than we had to, but Kyra also added a fairly good suggestion when she said, ¡°I also think we should all try once more to develop some skills. You saw how much they tipped the scales and if we didn¡¯t have Alex¡¯s or Milik¡¯s skills, then I can¡¯t say we¡¯d have made it out unscathed like we did¡­¡± Everyone nodded in agreement and began to increase their stats or mess around with mana.


    I decided to save the five points I¡¯d earned in the fight. Those guys must have been all fairly low level for me to have only gotten one level from them. Which made sense because they only moved as well as the slightly above average human. I also made a mental note to not rely on the air cloak like I had in today¡¯s fight. I didn¡¯t want to use such a costly skill in every fight and it certainly wouldn¡¯t last long with the amount of mana I currently had. But besides all that, something else was bothering me.


    I was supposed to get boosts in my stats from the Lord Sky¡¯s Heir title, but nothing was showing up in my stats. ¡®Status,¡¯ I thought to myself.


    Title: Lord Sky¡¯s Heir


    Name: Alexander Taylor


    Class: Sky Walker


    Level: 7


    HP: 170/170


    MP: 185/185


    STR: 20


    VIT: 12


    DEX: 25


    INT: 25


    WIS: 20


    LUK: 11


    POINTS: 5


    MONEY: 47 USD


    Clicking on my title like I did earlier, the description came up on a golden window.


    Title: Lord Sky¡¯s Heir


    Gods once raged across the multiverse battling one another. Among the top-tier fighters was Lord Sky, the divine manipulator of all skies and absolute controller of its elements. Lord Sky used his total control and complete manipulation of the air to decimate planets and send even the other seven top-tier gods fleeing. Lord Sky¡¯s will lives on in you! Train hard to improve your mastery!


    50% increase to air elemental attacks


    50% increase to air elemental defenses


    50% decrease in cost to air elemental skills


    50% increase to DEX for control over air elemental skills


    25% increase to INT for control over air elemental skills


    25% increase to WIS for control over air elemental skills


    ¡®Hmmmmm¡­¡¯ I stared at it for a couple seconds before tapping the screen once more to see if anything would happen and lo and behold a new golden screen popped into existence before me.


    ¡®Son of a bitch,¡¯ I thought as I read the contents of the new screen.


    ¡®Would you like to apply the Title, Lord Sky¡¯s Heir? Yes or no?¡¯


    ¡®Yes!¡¯ I practically shouted in my mind. The window and the title description windows vanished from sight leaving my status window up for me to see and I couldn¡¯t help it when my jaw dropped at the sight of my increased stats from the title.


    Title: Lord Sky¡¯s Heir (Active)


    Name: Alexander Taylor


    Class: Sky Walker


    Level: 7


    HP: 170/170


    MP: 185/185 (321/321)


    STR: 20


    VIT: 12


    DEX: 25 (38)


    INT: 25 (31)


    WIS: 20 (25)


    LUK: 11


    POINTS: 5


    MONEY: 47 USD


    A rush of power filled my brain and body, purifying and strengthening them several times over. I also felt, almost instinctively, that I could change my own perception of time. I knew that my motor functions and reflexes had increased once more and my speed had reached a height that I actually felt a little frightened to test out, but I think I¡¯d be fine what with my new ¡®changeable¡¯ perception on time.


    Remembering that Milik was Lord Darkness¡¯ Heir, I called out to him, ¡°Milik! Dude, you gotta check this out!¡± It only took moments for him to activate his title and his jaw also dropped at the sight of his new stats, which I could only guess increased as much as mine.


    ¡°What stats does the title grant you bonuses in?¡± I asked with a burning need to know.


    ¡°Looks like, dexterity, intelligence and wisdom. Same as yours, right?¡± He responded with a huge grin on his face.


    ¡°Dude!¡± I shouted at him as I fell back onto the stairs next to Clara whose hands were glowing with a white light.


    ¡°Dude.¡± He responded.


    With a light laugh I decided to check over my skills and heard the crowd roar in approval from something that had just happened on the platform. Shaking my head at them, I looked over my skills and saw that even though some of them had increased in level, there were no noticeable changes in their bonuses and the like. With a shrug, I closed all my windows and looked around at my friends.


    Kyra had her fingers to her temples and it looked like she was concentrating really hard on trying to do something¡­that didn¡¯t stop her from looking constipated though and I had to stifle a laugh at the thought. Akito was sitting next to her propelling a water bullet the size of a tennis ball into the ground. I understood that water bullets were like super basic, but we all had to start somewhere just like with my air blade. Kualin was firing off pieces of rock from his hands and feet. It looked like he was trying to match it with his movements and it looked pretty cool. I was sure that his next opponents would be surprised when a basketball-sized piece of rock smashed them in the face. Pixie¡¯s fingers were sparkling and flashing with a blue light and upon closer inspection, I realized it was her electricity.


    With curiosity on my face, I called her over next to me and said, ¡°Hey, Pixie. Whatcha working on?¡±


    She had a bright smile on her face and began to explain. ¡°I¡¯m trying to make a skill where I can shock people. Seemed like the best place to start, right?¡±


    I nodded in agreement and then said, ¡°Well, yeah that¡¯s true¡­¡± Thinking about how I didn¡¯t want her to fight made me pause, but I guess if I gave her a couple pointers then she¡¯d be better able to defend herself if I ever couldn¡¯t. Things would be easier for us if we were all as strong as possible. ¡°Well, you could definitely do that and send lightning bolts at people around you, but maybe when we have the time, try to make the lighting conduct through more than one person. That¡¯s usually called chain lightning.¡± She was soaking up the information like a sponge, but I carried on without noticing.


    ¡°And also, you could even try using the electricity to modify your body. Almost like my air cloak, but internally. I¡¯m sure it would boost your physical abilities like dexterity and intelligence at the least since your body would be running on pure electricity. It could be incredible, but maybe you should wait until you boost your intelligence and wisdom to try that out¡­¡±


    She frowned in disappointment at that, but then asked, ¡°Are there other things I could try focusing on? Beginner stuff that could be easy?¡±


    I pondered for a moment before saying, ¡°Well, yeah of course. Imagination is key, but there are also already a bunch of unoriginal skills I¡¯ve seen over the years in books I¡¯ve read or games I¡¯ve played like the chain lightning I mentioned earlier. You could also probably absorb electricity to recover mana or to disrupt the flow of electricity in a place with cameras and stuff like that. Uhhh I think you could create an electromagnetic force field to protect yourself¡­honestly though, if you can just control some lightning, then you could use it in a ton of ways. I feel like making skills isn¡¯t as effective as being able to completely control our elements. That¡¯s why I¡¯m focusing on just being able to manipulate air at the moment. Here, watch this.¡±


    Pixie took a step back, but kept her eyes on me. I could even feel Clara¡¯s eyes on me as well since she was sitting next to me and had been paying attention to my conversation with Pixie the entire time. With practiced ease, I took hold of the mana inside of me and brought it to my hand. With a smile, I lightly pushed my hand towards Pixie and a gust of cool wind hit her entire body, raising her bluish half dreaded hair up off her shoulders. She laughed in response and eagerly looked at me for another demonstration.


    Raising an eyebrow, I sighed as I got to my feet. Looking back at pixie to make sure she was watching, I channeled some mana into my foot and stepped off of the first step of the obsidian staircase. My foot, however, did not land on the ground. Instead, I was still at the height of the first step and a golden glow could be seen under my foot where I had solidified the air with no more than a thought. I brought my other foot next to the other and voila! I was floating in midair with small glows coming from the soles of my black boots. Releasing my hold on the mana I¡¯d channeled to my feet, I dropped half a foot to the ground and sat back down onto the first step of the staircase.


    ¡°When did you learn how to do that?¡± Pixie asked me in disbelief.


    ¡°While we were waiting for our turn to fight. I mean, we had like three hours.¡± Her cheeks went red at this and I realized that although she didn¡¯t do much watching like I had, she hadn¡¯t really been doing much of anything other than looking away from the platform where people were being tortured and killed.


    ¡°Just practice in your off time, Pixie.¡± Izzy said as she walked up next to Pixie from where she¡¯d been practicing off to the side with her fire element.


    ¡°You make any new skills?¡± I asked her in curiosity. We¡¯d been exposed to the fireball earlier and although it was lethal, it was also extremely basic. But then again, who was I to talk with my air blade?


    ¡°Yes. I made the fireball skill that we¡¯d seen earlier. Although, my flame wasn¡¯t the same red as the one from the guy we¡¯d been fighting against earlier¡ªit was a warm orange.¡± I raised my eyebrow in question and she carried on talking. ¡°I think it has to do with my class. It¡¯s called Burning Heart¡­so maybe the flame responds to changes in my emotions or something?¡±


    Mulling over it a bit, I finally said, ¡°Yeah that sounds likely. But it may not be all that simple. Maybe it could just be weaker than that other guy¡¯s flame.¡± She fixed a heated glare on me and I raised my hand defensively, ¡°Well, I¡¯m just saying because you never know. It could be like¡­¡± With a flash of inspiration, I turn my head to Pixie and say, ¡°Wait, you all said you had classes earlier, right? What¡¯s your class called Pixie?¡±


    It only took a second for her to open up her status and she replied in an excited tone. ¡°Storm Master.¡±


    Nodding to myself, I say, ¡°Well Milik¡¯s class is Shadow Strider and mine is Sky Walker.¡± Turning to Clara who sat next to me I ask, ¡°What about you, Clara?¡±


    ¡°Heavenly Saint,¡± she replied as her cheeks were tinged red with embarrassment.


    ¡°Huh? Interesting. Well that sounds like healing and support to me. Maybe you weren¡¯t meant to fight after all¡­¡± Calling Akito, Kualin, and Kyra back over to the group, I asked each of them what their classes were. Akito¡¯s class was called Hydromeister which I couldn¡¯t denote any info from other than that he¡¯ll just be very skilled with water. Same with Kualin¡¯s class which was titled as Earthly Origin. My idea from earlier did, however, bear fruit when Kyra announced that her class was titled as ¡®Esper.¡¯


    ¡°Aha!¡± I shouted in exasperation. ¡°What if these classes are giving us an indicator for which directions we should be moving in when developing our skills? Espers can do a bunch of stuff like psychokinesis, telepathy, psychometry¡­!¡±


    ¡°That seems awfully convenient,¡± Izzy said from the side. Her piercing blue eyes were still flaming from when I¡¯d said she was weaker than the flame element guy we¡¯d fought on the platform.


    ¡°Well, it could be right or it could be wrong, but I don¡¯t think right or wrong matters. We can do whatever we want with these powers if we have the imagination to do so! I¡¯m not saying your class restricts how much you can do, I¡¯m just saying it¡¯s a good place to start and expand from there. Hell, Milik¡¯s class is called Shadow Strider so don¡¯t you think he¡¯ll be able to teleport through shadows or something like that?¡± Milik¡¯s eyes were shining from this revelation and I knew he¡¯d have a lot of fun practicing¡­if he needed it. I sure didn¡¯t need much when it came to solidifying air and the mana cost was surprisingly small to the point where I could walk on the air forever without running out.


    ¡®Sky Walker, huh? Should be fun¡­¡¯ I was snapped out of my thoughts when Kyra pointed towards the crowd.


    Turning our heads as one, we saw that it looked like the fights were coming to an end and most groups were discussing things off to the side. There were probably two or three fights left until the end. With a groan, I pushed myself up off the steps and looked at my team. I¡¯d barely known any of them for a week and found friends I could connect with on a deeper level compared to what I¡¯d ever gotten from outside. I guess that¡¯s what happens when you risk your lives with each other. Bonds are forged whether you like it or not and I couldn¡¯t ever see me disliking the ones I¡¯d made here.


    ¡°Y¡¯all ready to go then?¡± Everyone nodded back at me with serious looks in their eyes. I knew why. We could all die¡­But I¡¯d do my best to prevent anything from happening to my friends. Always.


    I put my foot on the next step, and began to climb up the staircase with my friends following close behind. In seconds we were in front of the door, but before touching the door I looked back up at the red letters in the wall.


    ¡®Abandon all hope, ye who enter here!¡¯


    ¡®Let¡¯s see if these doors lead to hell then, shall we?¡¯ With that thought, I pulled on the golden handle of the door and a burst of blood red light flashed. I felt myself moving. Twisting, really. My body stopped shifting in moments and the red light receded from my field of view.


    Before seeing anything that was in front of me, I turned on a dime to check if my friends were behind me and sure enough they were all standing there a little dazed from the trip. I barely caught a flash of red light dwindling into space behind them and with an audible pop it disappeared.


    ¡°Woah, this looks dark.¡± Hearing Milik, I take my first look at our surroundings and was taken aback by the sight; the whole sky was a murky black with swirling veins of red lines pulsing and flashing as if threatening to unleash some dark horror upon the world. The ground was gray and barren, stretching off into all directions and deep cracks in the ground also shone with that same strange red light. I could barely make out a mountain range in the distance and it looked as lifeless as everything else around us.


    ¡°What is this place?¡± Izzy¡¯s voice was quiet as a whisper and I could hear the slightest tinge of fear in it. I looked over at her and saw that she had retreated next to Akito¡¯s side. Her dark blue eyes were searching his for an answer, but Akito could only shrug in response. I could tell by the tightness in his muscles that he was ready and alert.


    ¡°More like which way should we go?¡± Turning my attention to Kualin, I just shrugged in response to his question.


    ¡°Well, we don¡¯t know anything about this place. So any direction is better than just sticking around here, right?¡± Saying that, I began to walk in the direction of the mountains. Everyone else followed suit. Clara had moved up through our group of friends and was walking within a couple inches of me. Taking a quick glance at her, I saw that she looked afraid, but even more so than Izzy was.


    I reached for her hand and gently took a hold of it. She tensed up only for a moment before relaxing and shifting her hand to interlock her fingers with my own. Surprised, I looked over at her to meet the sight of her sparkling blue-green eyes intently looking into my own. Transfixed, I held her gaze for a couple seconds until a light blush began to spread on her cheeks. Tearing my eyes away at the cute sight, I began to again look towards the mountains. Nothing had changed about the scenery before me and it was still as barren as ever, but things definitely didn¡¯t look as bleak as they had only minutes ago.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    One-Two hours later


    ¡°Hahahaha! No you didn¡¯t!¡± I looked at Kualin in disbelief as he was recounting what he¡¯d done the night the Overlords had unleashed the monsters on the planet.


    ¡°I swear to you I did. You think I¡¯d back down? I kicked that little green, peanut-headed, half-dressed, ugly goblin right in his nuts. See if he was gonna try and stab at me with that little needle sword again.¡± Milik and I roared with laughter and Clara, still holding my hand, had a light smile playing across her lips. Pixie was giggling as she walked next to Kualin and Akito, standing behind those two with Izzy, had visibly relaxed and almost had a smile on his face while Izzy was covering her smiling face with her hand.


    ¡°What did you do after that?¡± Kyra asked with curiosity and mirth in her eyes.


    ¡°Well, someone had to deliver the drugs and I¡¯m a little more afraid of a bullet from the guys higher up in the chain than a half-naked gremlin,¡± Kualin responded with a grin.


    We were still trekking towards the mountains and we¡¯d been getting to know one another better. Mainly, we¡¯d been talking about what had happened to us on that fateful night or what those of us had been doing if not engaging with the monsters. Kualin was from New York City and he¡¯d apparently worked under some drug lord to make some money as he grew up. He was an orphan and had mingled with the wrong crowd as a child until just a couple months ago, he¡¯d tried to get his first real job at twenty-two years old to leave behind his life of being a criminal but he took one last drug run the night of the attack. One thing about growing up in a city like NYC was that he¡¯d learned how to parkour for fun and that was how he¡¯d maneuvered the city that night as he searched for shelter from the monsters. On his way to an underground hideout, he¡¯d killed at least four goblins and seriously injured another before he waited out the rest of the very short invasion.


    As it so happens, I was the only one who¡¯d gone through an absurd amount of bloodshed that night. Akito, Kualin, Kyra, and Milik had done what they¡¯d had to do when confronted with goblins but other than that, they¡¯d reached areas of relative safety until all the monsters had mysteriously disappeared.


    From what I¡¯d heard, Akito is supposedly the same age as Kualin and lived in Alaska. He¡¯d been off with some buddies in a pub after his tiring job working construction when it happened. He told us about getting attacked by a wolf with red eyes when he¡¯d went outside to relieve himself and how he¡¯d barely managed to kill it before taking refuge with some of the workers inside the pub with a bunch of other citizens. I assumed he was talking about one of the wolf hybrids which I¡¯d been able to kill, but it seemed like the one he¡¯d dealt with was definitely just a monster-like wolf and the one which had attacked him was a lot smaller than the hybrids I¡¯d had to deal with.


    Kyra¡¯s kill was more of an accident than anything. Honestly, it would be something to laugh at since those goblins would get no sympathy from me.  Kyra is eighteen years old and she was finishing her senior year at some high school in Sacramento, California and she¡¯d been at some after party that took place after her school¡¯s spring ball with a bunch of her friends. Now¡­apparently, she¡¯d been drinking with her friends, doing adult shit, and she¡¯d drained a forty. I would¡¯ve never expected that of her, but after she¡¯d finished the glass bottle, she¡¯d tossed it out onto the driveway in a high arc and it landed directly on the head of a goblin which had just climbed out of a manhole in the middle of the street. The goblin was killed instantly and of course this caused a huge panic. Everyone hid in the house¡¯s basement, then called the police but, well, the Earth was kind of under attack and so they hadn¡¯t gotten answers until later that morning.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    On the opposite side of the United States, Milik had completely intended to protect himself and kill the goblin which had attacked him. Milik was slightly younger than Kyra, but still eighteen which effectively made him the youngest in our group which is why I was surprised to hear that he¡¯d been out doing a photo shoot and recording for a skateboarding company called Krooked Skateboards. He was at some popular skate park in Atlanta, Georgia when goblins had attacked and he bashed one¡¯s head in with his skateboard before making a run for it with the recording crew and other skaters. He told us about how he could see giant monsters destroying the city from afar, stuff he¡¯d only ever thought he¡¯d see in movies or video games.


    When I tried to ask him more about what he¡¯d seen that day he turned away and said that he¡¯d rather not talk about it. Which I completely understood. I had flatly refused to tell the group anything about what I¡¯d done and gone through that night. I felt like they¡¯d look at me differently¡­with contempt maybe? Pity? I didn¡¯t want any of that. Despite what my parents had said about always loving me no matter what and that I¡¯d done the right thing that night, I still wasn¡¯t completely sure how others would react to it. They were my parents after all and we had unconditional love between us whereas all of my new friends might leave me or be disgusted with me if they thought I was a damaged person by what¡¯d happened to me¡­and it was possible that they¡¯d even be disturbed since I wasn¡¯t as fucked up as I had every right to be after that night.


    The girls who had been level one before our fight on the first floor of the tower: Clara, Izzy, and Pixie were all in the safety of their homes on that night not doing anything particularly interesting. They had been extremely lucky to have been overlooked in the invasion, which I was grateful for. There¡¯s nothing quite like waking up to blood and murderous monsters invading your homes and I¡¯d seen many examples of it on the news in the time that I¡¯d been home.


    ¡°Do you guys feel that?¡± Kualin¡¯s voice snapped me out of my thoughts as we all came to a stop. Looking around, I couldn¡¯t distinguish anything around me that had recently changed, but there was an itchy feeling on the back of my neck that made me feel uncomfortable. Normally, I¡¯d think I was being watched but we were in the middle of a barren wasteland with nothing living in site and a mountain range which was only a couple miles away by now.


    A thunderclap brought my attention upwards and towards the swirling black clouds in the space behind us. I¡¯d seen over the past hour and a half as we were walking that the red glow in the sky had slowly changed from bright red into an eerie shade of blood red and now the lines of red which covered the sky were fluctuating madly as if something were trying to break out of the sky.


    I felt Clara¡¯s hand tighten on mine as I subconsciously pushed her behind me. Akito, Kualin, and Milik were now all standing next to me and stood protectively in front of Izzy, Pixie, and Kyra. We stood watching the sky for minutes as the wind whipped around us and the sky was beginning to pile in on itself as the clouds formed a whirlpool of motion.


    Finally, the whirlpool of clouds imploded with an ear-shattering boom and no more than fifty flashing red bolts of light instantly appeared and struck the ground no more than a mile away from us. I¡¯d thrown my arm in front of my eyes to shield myself from the light, but the resulting explosion of force caused all of us except for Akito to stumble backwards and fall in a heap. Quickly scrambling to my feet, I pulled Clara back up before casting my eyes back off into the distance in the direction of the explosion.


    There was a haze of smoke covering the area, but I could at least clearly see dozens of shadowy inhuman shapes.


    ¡°Run,¡± I quickly said to everyone before gently pushing Clara towards the direction of the base of the mountains. She only hesitated slightly before letting go of my hand and setting the pace for the other girls who quickly followed after her. The rest of the guys had stayed behind and were watching the smoke disperse only to give us the sight of several monstrosities. Some were goblins, others were much bigger than the four foot tall goblins but still looked like they had goblin traits. Others were the mashed up hybrids I¡¯d seen that night; they stood like men, but were mixed with several animals such as a wolves, crows, foxes, snakes, tigers, panthers, etc. Even larger misshapen figures were behind them with tusks jutting out from their faces and ugly, cracked gray skin. They were heavily muscled and looked intelligent if not even more so than the other monsters standing with them. It was the weapons hanging from their waists and savage bearings which snapped me into action.


    ¡°Kualin and Milik, run in front of the girls. Akito and I will take up the rear. Run until we find shelter in the mountains or until we can fight back,¡± I quickly gave positions for everyone and Akito, Kualin, and Milik shot off after the girls. Kualin and Milik overtook Clara and the other girls within ten seconds, but had to slow their speed to match the girls¡¯ pace. I was left standing alone in our original spot as the crowd of monsters began to rush from where they¡¯d landed. They¡¯d started about a mile away from us and I waited until they¡¯d cut the distance between myself and them in half before cursing and taking off after my friends who¡¯d only ran about a fourth of a mile away.


    ¡®At this speed, we¡¯ll be overtaken before we can even reach the mountains. We¡¯ll have to fight¡­maybe we can take them. There are less than fifty and maybe my air blade can cut through a bunch of them at once¡­but the girls would be vulnerable¡­shit!¡±


    I was a lot faster than my friends and I reached them within twenty seconds going at what I felt was only half of my true speed. To say I was pleasantly surprised by my speed was an understatement. They¡¯d only traveled that fourth of a mile and catching up to them so quickly meant I had to almost be going fifty mph. At half speed. It seemed almost natural for me to part the air in front of me using mana so that it wouldn¡¯t resist me as I ran and break my body which, although fast, was still pretty average in toughness due to my low vitality stat. Once I caught up, everyone took a quick second to look back at me, surprised by my speed, before pressing on even harder towards the mountain. We ran on for a couple minutes, but looking back, I saw the monsters within a hundred yards of us and knew we wouldn¡¯t make it to the mountains unscathed.


    I quickly shouted, ¡°It won¡¯t take them long to catch up! We need to stop and fight while the girls go on without us and gain some distance. Do not run into the trails and get lost unless you see us killed!¡± My final words held a sense of finality, but I was quickly rebuffed by Izzy who was only a few yards ahead of me.


    ¡°Fuck that! We all need to fight, Alex! You four alone won¡¯t be enough for all of them. At least let us help where we can!¡± Izzy¡¯s voice was scolding and serious but I could hear the fear and anxiety in it.


    I was about to tell her that she was just being stubborn, but then an idea formed in my mind. ¡°Izzy! How big of a fireball can you create?¡±


    She was thrown off by my question for a moment, before saying, ¡°Well, I¡¯m not sure since I haven¡¯t used all my mana trying, but I think it could be as big as a small shed! Why?¡±


    ¡°Stop! Everyone stop!¡± Everyone came to a sudden halt once they¡¯d heard me and I quickly said, ¡°Everyone stand back. Give Izzy and I some room!¡± Our friends quickly moved back ten steps or so and impatience was prevalent on mostly all of the faces except for Milik who was unsurprisingly curious as to what Izzy and I would do.


    ¡°Izzy, give me your biggest fireball, but don¡¯t shoot it off until the monsters are about fifty yards away. The rest of you get ready to fight. Pixie and Kyra protect Clara!¡± Izzy instantly began to concentrate and a burning ball of fire steadily grew until she had to hold it above her head to see clearly. The flame was a nasty green color and I figured Izzy¡¯s flame really did have to do with her emotions. The heat from the flame had caused every one of us to back off and give her a bunch of space.


    Just when the green fireball had reached the size of a shed like Izzy had said, the monsters drew within fifty yards of us. ¡°Now, Izzy!¡±


    She hesitated for only a moment before thrusting both of her arms towards the incoming monsters. Just as she released the flame, I gathered a huge amount of my mana into the palms of my hands and, pushing my hands in the direction of the green fireball, I created a huge gust of wind which tore through the air with a high whistle before impacting with the huge ball of flame. The wind raged through the fireball shifting it into a swirling curtain of green flame which raced through the air at a much quicker speed thanks to the wind I¡¯d thrown in.


    In less than a second, the green flames engulfed what looked like more than half of the monsters, but mostly the goblins and hybrids and only a couple of the larger gray-skinned brutes. The flames stuck to the monsters and a putrid smell permeated throughout the air as several screams of agony filled the air.


    Ding!


    I saw the golden window pop into existence and on it were the words, ¡®You have leveled up six times!¡¯ There were also two more windows with too much writing on them that I wanted to read through, but I quickly turned my attention back onto the remaining monsters ahead of me and swiped my hand at the windows making them disappear from existence. Calling forth my inventory, I quickly grabbed my machete and drew it from its scabbard. Tossing my scabbard back into the inventory, I realize that Izzy and I had taken out nearly thirty-five of the monsters with that one move alone as there were only twelve left standing. Eight of them were the gray-skinned, weapon-carrying brutes with tusks and the other four were a mix of hybrids. They¡¯d all jumped away from the curtain of fire that Izzy and I had created, which even now was still burning on the barren rock of this floor of the tower even without a source of fuel.


    It was then that I heard a small whimper to my side and just barely caught Izzy before she fell unconscious. Quickly shooting Milik a look, he came up to me and grabbed Izzy from my arms. ¡°Milik, protect the girls. Akito¡­Kualin¡­come on.¡± Milik nodded in reply, but was now staring at where the green flames Izzy and I had created seemed to vanish into thin air.


    ¡®Must¡¯ve disappeared once Izzy fell unconscious. That fire probably is used in fear and doesn¡¯t go out until she¡¯s completely drained. That¡¯s a huge drawback¡­but we did manage to nearly decimate all the monsters that¡¯d been chasing after us.¡¯ My thoughts were quick as I held my black machete at my side, gauging up the remaining monsters in front of us. I reached for my mana inside of me and quickly realized that I hadn¡¯t used more than an eighth of my total mana reserves when I supplied Izzy with the wind, which made sense considering all that firepower was hers.


    ¡°Ready?¡± I asked Akito and Kualin. Akito had his knife in his left hand with his other open. Probably to send a water bullet at a moment¡¯s notice. Kualin hadn¡¯t even bothered bringing out his knife as he cracked his knuckles. I assumed he¡¯d want to try out his new fighting style with the rocks, but it was unprecedented that¡¯d it¡¯d be so soon after our first life and death fight as a team.


    ¡°Ready to hand a monster its own ass? Always,¡± was Kualin¡¯s snarky reply to my question.


    I was scared as hell and my heart was threatening to pump out of my chest, but his words brought a small smile to my lips. Maybe I¡¯d get used to fighting for my life one day, but this was still all so new to me¡­but this time would be different from the day everything had changed.


    ¡®This time, I¡¯m strong.¡¯


    With that thought, I kicked off the ground at full speed and came to an abrupt stop in front of three of the gray-skinned orc looking monsters in one second flat. The most amazing thing about the speed was that my brain really could keep up with me and I had time to be surprised that I¡¯d traveled a full fifty yards in the blink of an eye.


    The orc¡¯s red eyes didn¡¯t even have the chance to look surprised before I drew my machete across the front of its neck in a black blur. This was the moment that I realized that running at full speed and fighting at full speed were two entirely different concepts. Sure I could run fifty yards a second, but the way my body was responding to my mind was monstrous in a sense. The way I was moving now made me feel as if my nervous system before this fight was casually taking a stroll through a park, but now they were actually running.


    The speed of my blow was enough to create a gust of wind which buffeted against the two living orcs as the first orc fell. It was dead before it even hit the floor as blood began to gush out of its neck. The last thing it had remembered was seeing three male humans, then one blurred, and then it was introduced to eternal darkness.


    This time, all the monsters around us were able to show surprise, but I had already sent an air blade at the midriffs of the two remaining orcs in front of me. The Air blade bisected the two orcs and traveled for another two hundred yards before finally unraveling itself into normal air, but by that time I was already gone. I reappeared in front of a wolf hybrid not even ten yards away surrounded by three other hybrids and punched it right across its face as images of Sarah¡¯s death flashed through my mind. The hybrid¡¯s neck twisted around in a gruesome fashion and it went flying to the side. I jumped back to give myself some distance to see where Akito and Kualin were as well as to gauge the situation.


    For the briefest of moments, I panicked. I couldn¡¯t see Akito or Kualin fighting anything and I turned to the group I¡¯d left behind and saw them still running up to the group of monsters that I was standing in the middle of. Kualin was only ten yards away, but Akito was further back as he was slower than the both of us with his current stat arrangement.


    Turning my attention back to the three standing hybrids I noted that they were a hawk, snake, and tiger hybrids. My breath relaxed as memories of Sarah left me and I quickly lunged at the snake hybrid with my machete and watched as most of the blade exploded on impact with its scales. A hiss escaped its serpentine head as it struck back at me. Being at least two levels above the snake in speed, I easily ducked under its fangs, which were dripping some yellow liquid. Flipping my machete in my hand, I jumped up high and stabbed into the eye of the hybrid with the broken blade. I only felt a little resistance before plunging into soft brain matter and hot blood pooled around its eye socket. The only reason that I accurately stabbed it through the eye was because its head was much larger than mine, so the eyes were a fairly easy target.


    While in the air, I could see the hawk hybrid behind the snake hybrid I¡¯d just killed. It had unfurled wings out from its back for an impressive wingspan of fourteen feet. Realizing that it was about to take off to who knows where, I channeled mana into my foot and kicked off of an air platform towards the hybrid. As I passed over it I sent a quick Air Blade straight through the bones connecting one of its wings to its back. Blood spurted out of its back as the wing hit the ground with a surprisingly light thud.


    It was at this moment that Kualin finally reached the two standing hybrids; one was covered in blood from its severed wing and the other, the tiger hybrid, was roaring in blatant defiance. I only saw Kualin throw a one-two and two solid rocks the size of bricks slammed into the head of the screaming hawk hybrid instantly shutting it up as it hit the ground either dead or unconscious.


    Unsure of how to get down safely, I leveled my body out in midair. I was about nine feet up and gravity was about to get to work and as it did, I felt myself begin to fall towards the ground. Tucking my body, I did a full front flip before spreading my arms and legs out once again. Now I was completely vertical to the ground with only four feet left. To be honest, I was pretty scared to hit the ground because I was sure I¡¯d fall over. So instead, I channeled mana into my feet to catch an air platform and then hopped down to the ground from there. I knew it would work because I could create separate air platforms for each foot, so I didn¡¯t have to worry about catching myself on one surface. I¡¯d only have to land in an orientation that was comfortable for me.


    In the time that I¡¯d been trying to maneuver myself safely to the ground, Kualin had ¡®double-tapped¡¯ the hawk hybrid with his rocks and was now throwing rocks from his hands, feet, and even the ground itself at the tiger hybrid. The tiger hybrid had been hopping around at high speeds, but Kualin decided to use earth walls to confine it into a narrower space so that it couldn¡¯t easily dodge his rocks.


    Seeing that he had things under control, I turned to the group of five orcs about ten yards away to see Akito had come to a stop in their midst. I couldn¡¯t send an Air Blade over there or I¡¯d risk¡­no¡­no I¡¯d undoubtedly cut Akito in half if I did that. But I also didn¡¯t have any weapons to fight with.


    ¡®Fuck it. I¡¯ll have to be next to him to get in that fight at this point.¡¯ Akito had caught one of the orcs by the arm and threw him ten yards up and away like he weighed no more than a sack of feathers. Seeing that and thinking on the speed at which I¡¯d been moving, I couldn¡¯t help but think that we were even more monstrous than the group of nearly fifty monsters that had tried to kill us.


    Kicking off the ground once more, I arrived by Akito¡¯s side just in time to knock aside the arm of an orc that had tried to stab my friend in the back. Its eyes shone red with murder, its rippling muscles were huge and sweaty underneath its thin leather clothing and, to top it off, the orc smelled rancid. I hadn¡¯t really taken the time to stick around when I killed the three from earlier, but now I actually took the time to notice these things. ¡®Good thing too,¡¯ I thought, spying a long dagger in the belt of one of the orcs.


    ¡®At least I won¡¯t be unarmed for long.¡¯


    Not wanting to make the first move, I stood next to Akito as he fought off one of the four orcs that had encircled us. Akito sent a water bullet directly through the center of the orc¡¯s chest causing it to fall onto its back dead. That was when one of the remaining orcs slashed at me with a heavy axe. With my current speed, it was simplicity itself to sidestep the swing, but the blade in its belt was on the other side of its body, so I sent two quick jabs into its ribs, but it didn¡¯t look bothered at all even though I¡¯d increased my strength to Akito¡¯s original level. Instead, my knuckles came back feeling bruised and I decided not to try and punch an orc again without increasing my stats.


    Feeling a tingle on the back of my neck, I quickly dropped to my back to see a long iron dagger slash through the space where my head had been not a second before. Beginning to feel aggravated, I activated an Air Blade and cut through the legs of both orcs. They fell to the ground screaming in pain, but not yet dead.


    At that same moment, Akito had punched the remaining orc in the chest as he finally made it through the axe¡¯s bladed defense. The orc¡¯s chest caved in on impact and flew back a couple yards before letting loose a couple strained breathes and then it moved no more.


    Akito offered me his hand, which I gladly took. Getting up, I straightened my clothes and dusted them off just as Kualin jogged up to us. I looked over in the direction of the hybrids and, if the huge white rock and blood splatters were any indication, saw that Kualin had dropped a huge slab of what looked like granite onto the tiger hybrid. The two orcs that I¡¯d amputated below the kneecaps were slowly bleeding out, but their screams of rage and anger had now died down to low growls and weak trembling.


    Spying the glint of silver that I¡¯d seen at the waist of one of the orcs, I bent over to pull a long, iron dagger from its belt. I¡¯m sure the orc would¡¯ve stabbed me if it could, but it had lost too much blood to even move its head at this point. I then plucked the other dagger out of the hands of the orc that had tried to stab me in the neck. Raising my newly acquired daggers to finish them off, I thought better of it and began to walk back towards my friends.


    ¡°Come on. They¡¯ll die soon enough.¡± Saying that, I heard a Ding! And two golden windows popped into existence in front of me. One of them read, ¡®You have leveled up two times!¡¯ Quickly swiping that one to the side, I read the second window and the blood drained from my face.


    ¡®Overgods, your first battle against the inhabitants of Draco Interfectorem will take place one week from now in Letheron¡¯s Plains of Death. Fight to the Death.¡¯


    I swiped the golden window out of existence, but then another golden window took its place. Sighing in exasperation, I read the new window. ¡®The Infinity Complex now has a System Alert function.¡¯


    ¡®Must be for messages from the Overlords or something,¡¯ I quickly thought to myself and then dismissed that screen as well.


    We were about halfway back to the group before I remembered that there had been two other windows that had popped up during the fight. Wracking my brain, I finally thought to myself, ¡®Uhhhh¡­System Alert?¡¯


    A golden window popped into existence and in neatly arranged rows, were all the windows I¡¯d ever gotten from the Infinity Complex. All my level ups, all my skill creations, and¡­two that I certainly didn¡¯t recognize. Tapping on one, it read, ¡®The Infinity Complex has granted you a Map function.¡¯ I suppose that¡¯s how we¡¯re going to find the so called ¡®Plains of Death.¡¯ What a clich¨¦ name anyways. Swiping this box out of existence, there was another log in the system alert that I didn¡¯t recognize so I clicked on it.


    ¡®You have refused to grant your new original skill with a name. The Infinity Complex has dubbed it Air Gale.¡¯ Figuring that this must be what I used in tandem with Izzy¡¯s green fire from earlier, I clicked on it to show the skill¡¯s information.


    Air Gale (Active) LV 2 EXP: 43.86% MP: ???


    Through your own efforts of fusing mana and your elemental affinity, you have created an original skill. This gale is a strong wind capable of whatever you deem fit to use it for. Mana cost may increase with strength of gale.


    No charge time due to Lord Sky¡¯s Heir title


    After I finished reading, I swiped this box out of existence as well and was met with the sight of a teary-eyed Clara nearly tackling me to the ground. I was at such a loss by her display that all I could say was, ¡°Hey! Aren¡¯t you worried about the blood I¡¯m covered in??¡± Pixie and Kyra just laughed at me, but Izzy was still slumped over in Milik¡¯s arms unconscious. I finally let out a deep breath and held Clara¡¯s head with my blood-free hand.


    ¡°We¡¯re fine, Clara. Don¡¯t worry. Come on, let¡¯s find some shelter before lightning strikes and we have to make even more friends. Akito, can you carry Izzy?¡± With a firm nod, he picked her up out of Milik¡¯s arm princess style and I could swear I saw a little worry in his eyes as he looked at Izzy¡¯s unconscious form. Wondering why she hadn¡¯t woken up yet, I realized that the entire fight had only taken two or three minutes.


    ¡®We truly are monstrous to annihilate fifty of those bastards without having a scratch on us¡­But I¡¯ll become whatever I need to for my friends¡¯ protection.¡¯ Grasping Clara¡¯s hand in my own, we began our trek towards the mountains whose base was only a mile away.


    ...............................................................................................................................


    Author''s Note: Annnnnd scene! Ya know, this chapter was loooooong af. haha. I hope you guys liked it. But damn, everyone pretty much leveled up eight times! Next time we''ll be distributing stats, figuring out the map function, and exploring the new world! Leave a comment and let me know how you like it!

 Hiatus at an end

Yo guys. I don''t want to wholeheartedly blame college for my lack of writing...but you can all blame college for me. I''m going to start writing this story and pick right up from where I stopped. Hope you''re all ready for it

 Chapter 16: The Aftermath

    Author''s Note: It''s great to be writing again! This isn''t to my usual chapter length, but I''m slowly easing myself back into it. Would y''all like to see the rest of the Overgods'' stats and skills? Enjoy the chapter!


    ...................................................................................................


    ¡°Anyone can give up, it¡¯s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that¡¯s true strength.¡±


    -Unknown


    Title: Lord Sky¡¯s Heir (Active)


    Name: Alexander Taylor


    Class: Sky Walker


    Level: 15


    HP: 462/462


    MP: 635/635 (1475/1475)


    STR: 30


    VIT: 20


    DEX: 40 (60)


    INT: 35 (44)


    WIS: 22 (28)


    LUK: 11


    POINTS: 0


    MONEY: 47 USD


    With a self-satisfied smile, I dismissed the golden screen out of existence and stretched out next to Akito who was silently staring out towards the murky red-veined sky. Several hours had passed after the fight and we¡¯d long since found a cave in the mountains to set up a camp of sorts.


    Flashback to a couple minutes before Izzy regained consciousness


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± Clara¡¯s soft whisper broke all of us out of our exhaustion from our run through the mountains to the secluded cave we were now resting in.


    ¡°Mana exhaustion,¡± Milik clarified for her though he and everyone else were still attempting to slow their breathing.


    ¡°You¡¯re talking about the MP bar thing?¡± Clara¡¯s question was met with a nod from Akito who was leaned up against the rock wall of the cave next to Izzy¡¯s unconscious form.


    In that moment I looked over at Clara and saw her mouth set into a firm line of determination. I watched in wonder as she slowly approached Izzy¡¯s petite body and knelt down next to her. Clara raised both her hands at Izzy and whispered something I couldn¡¯t quite catch.


    Everyone in the room was surprised when a blue glow began to emanate from Clara¡¯s hands as she laid them on Izzy¡¯s large chest. The next couple of moments were met with silence, but in less than half a minute, Izzy began to stir from her slumber and let out a cat-like stretch. I¡¯m sure that everyone else in the room had the same surprised looks etched on their faces from what we¡¯d just seen, but Clara crushed Izzy in a big hug before anyone could begin to question her new ability.


    ¡°Wha--! Clara!? What¡¯re you doing!?¡± Izzy¡¯s face began to heat up from Clara¡¯s actions and I couldn¡¯t help but let out a laugh that was repeated by the rest of my friends.


    Izzy, after finally having wrested herself from Clara¡¯s arms, glowered at her before looking at the rest of us in confusion and then turning her eyes on Akito.


    ¡°What happened to me?¡± Her face was still red from embarrassment and we all had to stifle a laugh before she set her ire on us.


    Akito looked at her with amusement in his eyes, but quite passively said, ¡°You apparently used all your mana up and that caused you to pass out.¡± Izzy¡¯s eyes bulged in surprise at his response.


    ¡°But all I did was use a fireball¡­¡±


    I cleared my throat causing Izzy to focus on me and said, ¡°You might want to check out exactly how those green flames of yours work since they were different from the flames you used in the tower right before we left it.¡±


    Moments later, she furrowed her eyebrows in concentration and I could tell she was looking through the skills feature of the Infinity Complex to read up on her skill. After several minutes she finally swiped her hand through the air to, I could only guess, dismiss her window screens from her view. The rest of us looked at her in expectation, but she turned her eyes down to the ground as a blush crept up to her cheeks once more.


    ¡°Well, my flames aren¡¯t differently colored because I¡¯m weaker than any other fire user¡ª¡± She quickly shot daggers at me with her eyes and I cringed at my lack of tact from when I¡¯d said that to her in the tower. ¡°But they don¡¯t only change color according to my mood like you thought, Alex.¡± Everyone waited several moments to wait for her explanation, but when none were forthcoming, Kyra broke the silence.


    ¡°So, are you going to fill us in or not?¡± Kyra¡¯s green eyes flashed with a hint of annoyance at Izzy and this only served to fire her up.


    ¡°It just has different skills and colors depending on my emotions! It¡¯s nothing you have to concern yourself with geez!¡± Izzy¡¯s face was now red with anger and she looked ready to shoot lasers from her eyes.


    Seeing that the situation was escalating in a direction that was unwarranted, I was about to speak up, but Akito beat me to it.


    ¡°Izzy, it¡¯s okay to have been afraid.¡± His words caused the flame in Izzy¡¯s eyes to die down. Kyra watched her uncertainly for a moment before looking away without saying anything to her. Izzy slowly lied back down and let loose a long sigh.


    We all sat in an uncomfortable silence for nearly a minute lost in our own thoughts before I decided to speak.


    ¡°Izzy, I¡¯m sorry.¡± She was clearly surprised by my apology as she shot back up and looked at me in astonishment.


    ¡°What do you have to be sorry for? You didn¡¯t¡ª¡±


    She began to rebuff my apology, but I quickly cut her off, ¡°No. It¡¯s my fault. I shouldn¡¯t have asked you to do something you weren¡¯t ready for. What if mana exhaustion had caused you to go into a coma or even die? It was under my orders that you used that big fireball earlier. So, I¡¯m sorry.¡±


    She sat there for a moment before slowly standing up and drawing herself up to her full five foot two inches. I looked up at her waiting to see what she would do before in the next instant I found myself easily dodging a slap that had been aimed straight for my face. Letting out a yelp of surprise at the anger in Izzy¡¯s eyes, I scrambled backwards until I hit the nearest wall with my back.


    Izzy was stalking towards me as she said, ¡°Idiot! You¡¯re not supposed to dodge! Come here this instant!¡±


    ¡°Wait, Izzy¡ª¡± My next words were cut off as her palm made contact with my face and though it stung a little bit, I was otherwise unhurt. I looked at her in bewilderment as I rubbed the spot she¡¯d slapped, then I looked at all my friends in the cave with me. Kualin and Milik were literally falling over themselves trying not to laugh at me while the rest of them were watching in slight amusement.


    ¡°Alex!¡± I turned my attention back to Izzy who was still seething in my face and I flinched at being on the other end of those piercing blue eyes. Despite her small height, she was a very fierce woman.


    ¡°Erm, yes, Izzy?¡± I answered slowly.


    ¡°You do remember that I¡¯m the one who said that I should be able to help in any way, don¡¯t you?¡± She raised her hand violently, threatening me to disagree with her so I only responded with a quick nod and looked away in embarrassment.


    She stared me down for a couple more seconds before slowly dropping her hand to her side. ¡°Then you should know it¡¯s not your fault,¡± I looked at her in confusion before she clarified for me, ¡°I should have known my powers better than I did¡­ and yes, I was afraid.¡± a red blush again crept up into her cheeks much to her chagrin. ¡°But those green flames are a product of my fear. They burn until all the enemies are dead or until I run out of mana¡­so it¡¯s not your fault.¡±


    Memories of the invasion at my college flashed through my head. Everything that had happened that night was my fault and to find out that this wasn¡¯t nearly caused me to tear up, but I held the tears back just barely.


    ¡°It was a good idea, Alex. Using your wind and Izzy¡¯s flames. I do wish Izzy hadn¡¯t burnt them all the way down though. I was thinking monster stew for dinner, you know?¡± Kualin¡¯s easygoing voice broke the tension in the room and I let out a laugh despite myself. Izzy gave me a small smile before returning to her spot next to Akito a little further in the cave. Lightly slapping my cheeks, I returned to my spot in the cave next to Milik and Clara sat herself down next to me. She was looking at me weirdly, but I couldn¡¯t guess what was bothering her.


    Once everyone got comfortable, Milik asked the group, ¡°So, just to clarify, if we run out of mana, then we¡¯re going to instantly pass out? That¡¯s a bit different from a lot of the video games I¡¯ve played¡­¡±


    ¡°Well, I¡¯d be surprised if everything was just like a video game since we¡¯re not in one,¡± Kyra reminded him. ¡°But hopefully none of us will ever be fighting alone so even if we do pass out, then we¡¯ll be watching each other¡¯s backs.¡±


    A chorus of agreement met her words but I could only sigh in response.


    ¡®Hopefully we¡¯ll be strong enough to watch each other¡¯s backs like that before our first battle. Draco Interfectorem¡­I wonder how strong they¡¯ll be¡­We can only hope to gain as much strength in the week that we have before reaching the ¡®Plains of Death¡¯ that the Overlords messaged us about.¡¯


    ¡°Alright, everyone.¡± The young Overgods turned their attention to me and I took a calming breath before saying, ¡°We should look at our map and figure out where the Plains of Death are¡­for the fight.¡± I could almost feel everyone¡¯s mood drop in response to my words, but it¡¯s not like we could put it off any longer.


    ¡®Map,¡¯ I thought to myself silently. I had assumed another golden screen would pop into existence, but instead a mental image formed inside of my head. The image was golden and structurally flat, but it had black markings on it that I quickly realized were letters as well as different shapes. On the southern side of the map, I saw seven white triangles with each of my friends¡¯ names next to it and one circle labeled ¡®Me¡¯ that were all located on the bottommost eastern outskirts of a long chain of larger triangles that had the words ¡®Shrouded Mountains,¡¯ running along its length.


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.Quickly realizing that this map was showing me the entire layout of the second floor, I was extremely surprised by just how small the area the symbols for my group were in comparison to the entirety of the mountain range and then to that of the whole new world which utterly dwarfed the shrouded mountains.


    Letheron, it read at the very top of my mental image.


    With a thought, I zeroed in on my group¡¯s location and a more detailed map formed within my mind. It was almost like messing around with a map app and now I could view a fair number of trails throughout the Shrouded Mountains as well as the opening to the cave that my friends and I were in.


    ¡®Wow. This has potential,¡¯ I thought to myself. My thoughts quickly veered to the various ways I could use the map function in the future and I smiled at the wonders of the Infinity Complex.


    Quickly zooming back out, I observed the new world, Letheron, in its entirety and began to analyze the geography of the massive continent that was apparently the second floor of the tower. Various countries or states¡ªI wasn¡¯t quite sure what to call them¡ªwere outlined by what I could only assume were their recognized borders and many cities, symbolized by squares, were littered across each of those countries. I could only hope that these cities were inhabited by humans or at the very least some intelligent lifeform that wouldn¡¯t attempt to eat or skewer us on sight.


    I was amazed at how detailed the map was as well as how the Infinity Complex could provide us with information that we had no inkling or knowledge of. The whole second floor was literally laid out in my mind and I quickly realized that what the Overlord had told us on the first floor was true. Each floor was a completely new world and I shuddered at how different the dangers of each floor would be if¡­no, when we climbed higher. With a sigh, I scanned the area next to the map and found that the wastelands we¡¯d walked out of several hours ago had actually been the Plains of Death.


    ¡°So the Plains of Death were right next to us all along?¡± Pixie asked.


    Nodding in response, I said, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what it looks like. The only good thing is that it¡¯s not on the other side of the continent. I doubt we¡¯d make it in time if it weren¡¯t so close to us and I don¡¯t want to think of what would happen to us if we didn¡¯t make it to the fight in time¡­¡± My thoughts turned back to the memory of the two groups that had been burned alive on the first floor by the Overlord when they¡¯d refused to fight. Apparently everyone else¡¯s thoughts had run along the same path as mine as they all grimaced in response.


    After a couple seconds, it was Kyra who ended up breaking the silence. ¡°So what¡¯s the plan?¡±


    ¡°I mean, we could just set this place up as some sort of camp and go fight monsters in the plains to level up and get stronger, make new skills, whatever. Right? I mean, we¡¯ve heard that damn lightning go off once more already and that¡¯s just nearby so I doubt there¡¯s a shortage of monsters out there.¡± Kualin¡¯s words pretty much resonated with what I was thinking and I quickly gave my support.


    ¡°I completely agree. We don¡¯t know how strong the aliens are going to be and we need to gain some combat experience. Even then, it may not be enough. I have a feeling that if the Overlords chose ten separate races to climb the tower, then their potentials should all be roughly equal. Otherwise, the fights would all be boring and one-sided.¡±


    As I finished speaking, I looked at my friends and could tell that they agreed even if it was a sucky thing to realize.


    Flashback End


    After agreeing to stay in the cave for the week before the fight, we¡¯d had some light conversation for a couple hours and ate some of the food that Milik and I had raided from the fridge before leaving the first floor. I had eyed the alcohol in my inventory for a bit, but decided against it. There was sure to be a better time for it and being in a mountain range at the edge of a place dubbed the Plains of Death didn¡¯t seem like the best place to get drunk.


    After dinner, we¡¯d all laid out our sleeping bags and I had nearly died from happiness when Clara set hers only a couple inches away from mine. I¡¯d had the biggest smile on my face causing her to blush and look away, but she¡¯d laid in the sleeping bag anyways. I¡¯d just finished adjusting my stats and gotten relaxed in my sleeping bag when the silence was broken.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take first watch.¡± Hearing Akito¡¯s deep voice, I slowly extracted myself from my sleeping bag. The light pops of my cracking bones accompanied the movement and I sighed in contention.


    ¡°I¡¯ll take watch with you. I¡¯ve got some things I want to work on anyways and guys¡ª¡± I looked back at the rest of my friends who were preparing to sleep and said, ¡°Don¡¯t forget to distribute the points you all got from leveling up today.¡± With that said, I looked at Clara and smiled her way. She looked a little upset for some reason, but smiled back at me anyways. I felt my heart lighten a little at her beautiful smile and wished more than anything to keep her safe in the tower.


    Moving to the front of the cave entrance with Akito, I took a seat and sighed at the sight of the dark sky that was still pulsing and letting off occasional bolts of red lightning. Akito and I sat there staring out at the mountain range and Plains of Death from where we sat for a couple minutes as our friends behind us fell asleep.


    ¡°Do you think they noticed?¡± Akito¡¯s low words broke me from my reverie of thoughts and I looked at him in confusion.


    ¡°Noticed what?¡± His brown eyes looked directly at mine and I saw them soften for a hint of a second.


    ¡°Do you think they noticed when you looked like you were going to start crying when Izzy was hounding you earlier?¡± His words caused me to freeze and my heart started thumping in embarrassment.


    ¡°I¡­It was nothing. I had just remembered something terrible when she was lecturing me is all.¡± I waved his worries off and calmed myself back to normal. He watched me with curiosity for a moment before turning his attention back out to the landscape. Silence reigned for another minute before he spoke to me again.


    ¡°I know you didn¡¯t want to tell us what happened to you when the Overlords invaded the world, but if it¡¯s holding your decision-making skills back as our leader, then I can¡¯t help but worry.¡± I was momentarily surprised by how talkative Akito was being when he¡¯d given off this impression of a strong, but silent type of guy and then his words finally reached my brain.


    ¡®Me? The leader?¡¯ I said it slowly in my head, letting the word roll around for a bit. I then thought back to that night and grimaced in response.


    I shook my head at him and said, ¡°Trust me when I say I¡¯m not a leader.¡± Akito showed surprise for a moment before shaking his head back at me.


    ¡°You don¡¯t see it then?¡±


    ¡°See what?¡± I replied in annoyance to his matter of fact tone.


    He rolled his eyes at me and let out a small smile. ¡°Don¡¯t you see that all of us have been following you since the beginning?¡± My eyes widened at his words, but he cut me off before I could reply. ¡°Ever since we walked into the tower, we¡¯ve looked to you to explain the Infinity Complex, how to use mana, how we should fight, and you turned that worst-case scenario earlier into an easy win.¡±


    ¡°But Izzy¡ª¡±


    ¡°Yeah, she passed out from mana exhaustion. It could¡¯ve been worse, but it was the best plan we had at the time and we¡¯re all here now alive and well. You need to start trusting us just like we trust you regardless of what happened to you that night. Because we have been trusting you.¡± I paused at his words and, after several moments, I only had one question.


    No longer caring how he might view me I said, ¡°I led a lot of people to die that night. They followed me. You don¡¯t know a thing about me¡­so why me?¡±


    He rubbed his bald head and said in a serious tone, ¡°I¡¯m not so sure myself. I know we¡¯re a team and we¡¯ll get through this together, but we need a leader. Something about you gives me this feeling that you¡¯re it. And the rest of them,¡± He gestured to the sleeping figures of the other Overgods, ¡°¡­have that feeling too.¡±


    I didn¡¯t have a response for that, so I just let his words stew in my mind. Did I have to be a leader to my friends? Do I have what it takes for that kind of responsibility? What was it about me that gave them the feeling that I could lead them?


    Shaking my head, I expelled those questions from my mind.


    ¡®If my friends need me then I won¡¯t let them down. Simple as that. Leader or not, I¡¯ll just keep on doing what I¡¯m doing and protect them all.¡¯ These new thoughts allowed me to calm down and I gave a firm nod to Akito who¡¯d been waiting for a response from me.


    He nodded back and slowly picked himself up off the ground. I looked at him in question until he dropped down into a push-up position.


    ¡°Missed my workout today.¡± I sweat dropped at his actions and only gave him a nod before he began turning out push-ups like a machine.


    While he exercised, I grabbed a hold of my mana and laced the air around me with it.


    Time to get to work.

 Chapter 17: Holy ****!

    Author''s Note: Cranked this one out today. It''s 5000 words so they''re getting progressively longer, though I don''t know how long it''ll be until I get back to my 10000 word chapters. Enjoy the read guys! The pace of the story will probably pick up soon!


    .......................................................................................................


    ¡°Experience is the teacher of all things.¡±


    - Julius Caesar


    At some point in the night, Akito and I had woken Milik and Izzy up to switch watch with us so that we could sleep and we¡¯d all woken up maybe half an hour ago. It was a slow morning. We had Akito use his elemental control over water for washing our faces and brushing our teeth, but weren¡¯t quite sure what to do about showering yet so we all skipped out on that this morning.


    Aside from that, we¡¯d eaten some more food from Milik¡¯s and my inventory using utensils that Kualin crafted from the rock. He hadn¡¯t gotten it right on the first couple of tries, but they were usable at about his tenth try. It was when we were getting ready to head out to the Plains of Death that Kualin suggested I jump off the mountain and slide down on my air platforms. Crazy bastard.


    ¡°So what you¡¯re telling me to do is kill myself, right? And here I was thinking you were a pretty cool guy.¡± I sighed at Kualin who was holding his hand over his heart in mock dismay.


    ¡°Come on, dude. What¡¯s the worst that could happen?¡± His reply only caused me to stare at him in silence before I gestured to the very long fall from the precipice of the cave we stood on to the ground.


    ¡°Besides falling at least...two thousand feet to my mushy death?¡± I said after gauging the distance with the Infinity Complex¡¯s map function. ¡°You got me all the way fucked up dude.¡±


    ¡°Suit yourself, bro. I¡¯m just trying to help you out¡ª¡±


    ¡°By killing me? Ha yeah, dude, super helpful.¡± He laughed at my words but I waved him off. ¡°On a serious note though, I¡¯ll work on it when we make it back to the Plains of Death later. I need to work on making consecutive air platforms since it¡¯s just an air manipulation skill rather than a real skill recognized by the Infinity Complex.¡±


    It¡¯s not as if the skill was a very difficult one to use. I just hadn¡¯t gotten to that level of being able to think about other things and use the air platforms in tandem yet. I definitely was not scared to stand two thousand feet above the ground with just my air platform between me and certain death. Nope. Not at all.


    Sighing again, I looked at all my friends who, although a little sleepy, looked ready to go. ¡°We all ready to go?¡± I asked my friends. Receiving yesses from all around, I pointed out of the cave and said, ¡°Alright, Kualin. Where¡¯s that earth slide to the ground you promised me?¡±


    Not one to be undone, Kualin stepped up and began waving his hands around in the air as if he were molding a ball of clay, ¡°Coming right up, boss! Though, I might need air platforms to work on¡­¡±


    I face palmed and said in resignation, ¡°Dammit, Kualin. Let¡¯s just go.¡± Our friends laughed at our antics as we began our trek back down the mountain. Making sure to remember every trail we walked, which was not difficult at all for my current intelligence stat, I led my friends back into the Plains of Death.


    It was about half an hour before we found ourselves back on ground level and the barren plains stretched out endlessly in front of us. Though, from reviewing the world of Letheron while my friends slept, I knew it stretched on for a long while before a large sea took over the terrain. The fact that it did stretch a very long distance made me wonder what the hell had happened here for the whole place to be called the Plains of Death, but hopefully this place would only plague me until our fight was over.


    ¡°Yo, so do you think that the freaky beast men monsters are edible?¡± I looked at Kualin who¡¯d directed his question to Pixie who was, unsurprisingly, laughing at Kualin¡¯s ridiculousness.


    ¡°Well, I¡¯m not entirely sure, but if they taste bad then we shouldn¡¯t even eat them, right?¡± Pixie¡¯s response caused my jaw to drop, but Kualin just laughed at her words.


    ¡°Very well said! Aye, Milik! This one is worthy of the Lin Que!¡± Milik descended into a fit of laughter and I couldn¡¯t help but laugh as well.


    Pixie looked over at me with her innocent blue eyes and asked, ¡°Alex, what¡¯s the Lin Que?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m not even entirely sure I want to know Pixie. You¡¯ll have to ask Kualin. I think that Akito, Milik, me, and now you are all new inductees to this ¡®Lin Que¡¯.¡± When I said that, Izzy threw up her hands in frustration.


    ¡°And why exactly have I not been invited into this ¡®Lin Que¡¯.¡± Her blue eyes glared daggers at me and I had to remind myself not to show I was scared of her. She may be short, but damn this woman was scary.


    Hurriedly crossing my arms in front of me I said, ¡°Wait, Izzy! I¡¯m not the one that gets to decide! Kualin is the one talking about it all the time.¡± I let out a sigh of relief when she turned her glare towards Kualin whose smile dropped from his face as he gulped.


    ¡°Now wait just a second Iz¡ª¡±


    ¡°Wait for what? Tell me why I¡¯m not in the Lin Que, but they are!¡± We¡¯d all come to a stop as Izzy placed her hands on her hips and stared Kualin down despite being a full foot below him in height.


    ¡°Er, well um¡­Ah! That¡¯s right. Izzy you were pretty badass yesterday with that fireball. You¡¯re definitely Lin Que material, girl. I mean damn, that was hot!¡± Izzy stared at Kualin for a moment before arching her eyebrow and with a huff, turned on her heel and began walking further into the Plains of Death.


    I walked past Kualin and whispered, ¡°Dodged a bullet there didn¡¯t ya, slick?¡±


    ¡°Bastard,¡± he muttered to me. I laughed as I walked past him with Clara next to me.


    ¡°Alright, guys so how do you want to do this? Just wait around here until the lightning comes down or go deeper in?¡± Milik, who¡¯d been behind everyone talking to Kyra came up and asked everyone ahead of him.


    Izzy, noticing we¡¯d all stopped a full ten yards behind her to discuss our plan of action, turned back and began walking back towards the group. It was at that moment that a tendril shot out of the ground and quickly wrapped itself around her entire left leg. Izzy¡¯s scream of fear and surprise caused everyone¡¯s attention to turn towards her.


    It took me no time at all to see the tentacle wrapped around Izzy¡¯s leg and in a blur of movement, I stopped inches from her and sent an Air Blade right into the thickest part of the tentacle lying around Izzy¡¯s foot. My skill cut right through the tentacle and in a flash of movement, I scooped Izzy up into my arms and moved back to where my friends were standing.


    It all happened so fast that I was sure all but Milik could only see the golden flash of my Air Blade. As the ground beneath us begun to rumble, I set Izzy on the ground.


    ¡°Izzy, are you okay?¡± She looked up at me with fear in her eyes and I¡¯m sure her heart was pounding just as crazily as mine. I¡¯d almost lost a friend in no time at all. She didn¡¯t respond and I looked down at the area her leg had been wrapped up and flinched at the sight of angry red blisters on the surface of her skin.


    ¡°Clara!¡± I called out to the olive-skinned girl only a couple feet away and her cyan eyes met mine before hurrying to my side.


    ¡°Yes, Alex?¡± She looked at me in worry as the ground below us began to shake and rumble even more.


    ¡°Hey, Kualin! Do something about the ground! Try reinforcing it or something!¡±


    ¡°Already on it, man!¡± Kualin already had both hands pointed below him and a bead of sweat fell down his face as he concentrated hard on obstructing the path of whatever was beneath us.


    ¡°Alex?¡± Clara rested her hand on my shoulder, causing me to turn my attention back to her.


    ¡°Clara, try to heal Izzy, please.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t have any skills¡ª¡±


    ¡°Can you please try?¡± I pleaded with my eyes and Clara nodded in determination. ¡°Thanks, Clara.¡± Izzy¡¯s petite, trembling form looked so fragile as she dazedly stared off into the distance with tears welling up in her eyes. I couldn¡¯t take the time to worry about Izzy though and regretfully turned away from her and over to Kualin.


    ¡°Kualin, what¡¯s the situation?¡±


    Kualin¡¯s hands were trembling now and even more sweat was pouring off his body. ¡°It¡¯s getting further away to break free¡­and it¡¯s very hard to control the Earth from so far away¡­¡±


    ¡°Alright¡­let it go then.¡± Kualin immediately dropped his hands and, breathing a little harshly, wiped his forehead from the sweat that had collected there. ¡°Clara, can you also recover Kualin¡¯s mana a little?¡± Not waiting for a response, I let an Air Blade hover into existence above my hand and waited.


    Moments after preparing my skill, a crumbling sound came from further out into the plains followed by a loud crash as the ground burst and created a large hole from the force of the monster attempting to come to the surface. Hundreds of black tentacles burst out of the hole in the ground and began waving wildly in the air.


    ¡°Kualin, move Izzy and Clara back! Pixie, grab Kyra and get some distance!¡± As they scrambled to follow my orders, I threw my Air Blade at the mass of tentacles. It cut smoothly through the monster¡¯s extremities leaving the writhing tentacles to flop on the ground around the hole and green blood began to squirt from every opened tentacle on the monster. A cry of utter rage and clicking noises erupted from the hole as a clawed hand the size of a lamppost shot


    itself out of the hole and hung in the air before shortly rushing down to crush me, Akito, and Milik.


    Milik was the first to blur out of the way as it came crashing down. Knowing Akito centered his build on strength, I raced to his side and tackled him and myself out of the way of the monster¡¯s claw right as it crashed down a couple feet behind us.


    ¡°Air Blade!¡± I cried out, aiming for the monster¡¯s long arm. In less than a second, its hand fell from the rest of its limb and a geyser of blood blew out of its new wound. The monster shrieked in pain and, while it cried out, Akito and I climbed back up to our feet to get distance between us and its severed limb that was spraying a fountain of green blood.


    However, only seconds after losing its hand, seven more long limbs burst from the ground, making the hole larger than it was and I turned my head back while running to get a good look at whatever it was doing. Moments later, a monster the size of a house clawed itself up out of the ground. The monster was arachnid-like in nature with a brown hairy body covered in orange stripes here and there. In the center of its body were two large eyes flanked on both sides by three smaller eyes and two very large mandibles underneath those. It looked exactly like a normal spider from back home. Well, if spiders were the size of a small building with razor sharp claws and gross-looking tentacles writhing around their entire bodies.


    ¡°Holy fuck!¡± Those were Milik¡¯s first words as he blurred into form right next to me as we ran at Akito¡¯s speed to draw the monster away from our friends.


    ¡°Holy fuck, indeed,¡± I replied before jumping into a spin and sending an air blade at the eight-legged freak that was chasing after us a mere twenty yards away. Unfortunately, the spider easily dodged the small air blade and got right back to chasing the three of us.


    ¡°Any plans?¡± Akito looked directly at me and I nodded back to him.


    ¡°Milik? Can you use your Decimator and burrow it through the monster?¡± I turned to him expecting a yes, but was shocked when he shook his head.


    ¡°Not while moving. It takes a lot of concentration and¡ªhey!¡± Akito had scooped Milik over his shoulder so that his arms and head were facing the giant spider chasing after us. I stifled a laugh and looked at Milik pointedly, but all he did was roll his eyes and begin to mold the ball of destruction into existence. In a couple seconds, I could see the difference between when he¡¯d used it on the first floor and now was astronomical as this time his Decimator took the size of a basketball that he had to hover above his and Akito¡¯s heads.


    After checking its stability, Milik swiftly sent the ball flying towards the head of the monster and its danger senses must¡¯ve gone haywire because it threw itself to the side, causing Milik¡¯s decimator to clip away two of its hind legs on its right side. The spider screamed once more in pain and shakily brought itself onto its remaining¡­six legs? But I¡¯d cut one off hadn¡¯t I? Feeling something was off, I launched a huge Air Blade at the overgrown monster before it could completely stand up and, thankfully, it was too off balance to react and ended up nearly split in half by my attack. The monster tottered for a second before collapsing as blood squirt between the split that ran the length of more than half of its body. In seconds it was no longer moving.


    ¡°Whoo! Good shit, Alex! Let¡¯s goooooo!¡± Milik shouted around in joy and high-fived me for the quick co-op move.


    He¡¯d been celebrating for all of two seconds and I was about to suggest we go back to our friends until the monster¡¯s entire body began twitching. Taking a closer look, I saw that veins were beginning to shoot across the halves of its body, reattaching themselves and I narrowed my eyes in disgust.


    If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.¡°Milik¡­¡± I said cautiously, slowly backing away from the creature. Noting the tone of my voice, he turned around to see the monster¡¯s regeneration pick up speed right before our eyes. Unknown to us, a gigantic slab of earth popped into existence high above the monster. All of our attention was drawn to the freakish arachnid¡¯s healing ability, so we didn¡¯t notice when the huge floating rock allowed gravity to take over and started falling towards the regenerating monster. In seconds, the huge rock collided with the spider and buried it underneath in one of the greatest impacts I¡¯d ever seen. Unfortunately, the earth-shaking noise was accompanied by the nastiest squishy noise I¡¯d ever heard and green blood splattered in all directions from under the rock.


    ¡°Oh, what the fuck!?¡± I shouted out in disgust as I quickly erected an air platform in front of us to block the flying blood.


    Ding!


    The Infinity Complex¡¯s golden screen popped into existence with the words ¡®You have leveled up two Times¡¯ on it and I breathed a sigh of relief.


    Right as I dispelled my air platform, Kualin¡¯s unmistakable voice came from behind the crushed spider. ¡°Aw hell yeah! Squashed that bitch like a bug!¡± Squinting my eyes a little, I could see Kualin behind the creature start to celebrate by dancing freestyle and I face palmed.


    ¡°Really, dude!? How do you even have enough mana for that!?¡± I shouted across the crushed spider monster between us, but he just kept dancing much to Akito and Milik¡¯s amusement. Sighing, I jogged around the spider towards Kualin and could barely make out the girls a distance away from us with Pixie standing defensively in front of them.


    ¡°Come on.¡± I took off at a light jog for the girls who were about a hundred yards away and the other guys followed close behind me. We arrived in less than a minute and I was instantly met with a pouting Pixie in puppy dog eye mode.


    ¡°Aleeeex! I wanted to fight when I got strong remember?¡± I raised my eyebrow at her in reply and a blush began to creep up her cheeks.


    Laughing at her reaction, I looked deeper into her blue eyes and saw determination veiled behind her embarrassment. This caused me to sigh and I could only say, ¡°Well, we did leave you to protect everyone else didn¡¯t we?¡± She turned back to the other girls as if she¡¯d just noticed they were there and I couldn¡¯t help but rub her blue hair in amusement.


    ¡°Izzy, are you alright?¡± Izzy had been standing silently with her eyes on the ground and her hands curled into fists, but when she heard me say her name, her eyes flicked up to meet mine.


    ¡°Of course I¡¯m fine! I was just a little surprised is all¡­¡± She blushed and looked back at the ground.


    I was taken aback by her attitude, but smiled widely at her even though she wasn¡¯t looking. ¡°Good to hear it, Izzy. And I see that Clara healed your leg.¡± Izzy¡¯s left leg which had been covered in several blisters minutes ago now showed smooth white skin. I looked at Clara appreciatively. ¡°Knew you could do it, Clara.¡± I quickly flashed her a thumbs up and though she looked a little exhausted, she gave me a small smile in return.


    ¡°Hey, do you think they all go underground?¡± Kyra was standing to the side of the group and had her fingers pushed up against her braids to massage her head as she stared at the ground apprehensively.


    ¡°Hmmmm, that¡¯s actually a really good question,¡± I replied to her query as my mind began to work on the challenging question.


    If the lightning that brought the monsters had been going off all day and night even before we made it to Letheron, then where would all those monsters go? The plains were bare and there weren¡¯t any very loud monster noises around that would suggest some sort of monster haven. Although that spider monster did come from below ground, it could have just been because some spiders habitually live in holes and prey on organisms that walk above their homes.


    ¡°What if this world is at war with the monsters and they go to attack the cities we saw on our maps last night?¡± Milik¡¯s words made sense to me what with all the books I used to read back home, but it was hard to be definitive about this without knowing anything historical about Letheron.


    ¡°If that were true, then we would also have to accept the fact that these monsters are being organized by a higher power, right?¡± I looked up to the sky that was covered in clouds and flashing veins of red light. ¡°¡­In any case, whatever this world is going through¡­it isn¡¯t our problem. We only have to defeat the alien groups and ascend the tower.¡±


    ¡°But if they¡¯re all moving towards the cities then how are we supposed to fight them to gain experience? Won¡¯t they be grouped up?¡± Pixie¡¯s question caught me unawares and after thinking about it for a moment, I came to realize that I had no clue what we should do.


    ¡°I think I can do something about that.¡± We were all surprised when Kyra spoke up, but we all waited patiently for her to start explaining herself. ¡°I haven¡¯t really used it at all yet¡­¡± She paused with an uncomfortable look on her face before carrying on. ¡°¡­But I can kind of scout with my mind. But it¡¯s an out of body experience until I can get better at it I think.¡±


    My mouth dropped open in wonder at Kyra¡¯s mind element skill and Milik was literally drooling next to me. ¡°What else can you do?¡± He feverishly asked her and the rest of us curiously waited for her answer, but Kyra looked away shamefully.


    ¡°It¡¯s not a very good skill¡­I don¡¯t think any of you would like it¡­¡± As an afterthought she began waving her hands wildly in front of herself as if to ward us off. ¡°But don¡¯t get me wrong. I¡¯d already had the skill when we awakened so it¡¯s not like I wanted it!¡±


    Clara came up to Kyra and calmly placed her hand on her shoulder. Kyra visibly relaxed at the gesture and Clara spoke to her soothingly. ¡°Its fine, Kyra. What is your other ability?¡±


    Kyra looked around at us hesitantly, but then schooled her features. ¡°It¡¯s called Mind Link and it allows me to link all of us up for telepathic communication.¡± My jaw dropped open even further if that were possible and I stared in amazement at Kyra.


    ¡°That¡¯s so cool! We need to use that in our next fight! Can you read other people¡¯s thoughts too? That would be crazy awesome!¡± Milik¡¯s excitement was starting to feed into me, but I stifled it and I could see Kyra was getting uncomfortable from the bombardment of questions, so I decided to save her from Milik¡¯s onslaught.


    ¡°So what you¡¯re saying is you use your scouting ability so that you can maybe find some monsters that we can fight, but we¡¯ll have to protect your body while you¡¯re gone, right?¡± Kyra nodded at everything I¡¯d said and I smiled at her.


    ¡°Well, let¡¯s do it then!¡± I pumped my fist into the air as Kyra looked at the rest of us gratefully.


    ¡°Thank you all for not thinking its too weird¡­¡±


    ¡°On the contrary, Kyra, those are some pretty amazing abilities. Do you think you can use your mind link with us while you go off and scout for the monsters?¡± She looked at me quizzically so I said, ¡°Just in case something happens here and we need you to stop using your skill to come back here.¡±


    ¡°Oh, well, I can try. Um, Milik, can you hold my body?¡± She looked embarrassed at having to ask and it didn¡¯t help that Kualin let out a wolf whistle at her words.


    ¡°Damn, Milik I feel like you¡¯ll be getting all the pretty ones.¡± Milik flipped Kualin off and proceeded to scoop Kyra off her feet.


    ¡°Ready whenever you are.¡±


    Looking flustered, she nodded at him and said, ¡°Spirit Scout.¡± Kyra¡¯s body instantly went limp and seconds later Milik began to look around confusedly.


    ¡°What is it, Milik?¡± I asked him in confusion.


    ¡°Kyra is talking to me through my mind, which, in case you¡¯re wondering, is super fucking cool. But anyways, she says she¡¯ll just link up with me for now and I¡¯ll relay any messages she has for us.¡± I nodded at his words and sat down on the ground to wait until Kyra found some monsters for us to fight.


    Clara dropped next to me on the floor and I couldn¡¯t help but notice she looked pretty winded. ¡°Clara, you alright?¡± She leaned into my shoulder in exhaustion and I momentarily froze up at the contact before slightly relaxing.


    Clara seemed to not have noticed my reaction though as she looked about ready to pass out. ¡°I think I¡¯m just really low on mana. Healing Izzy¡¯s leg wasn¡¯t all that bad, but restoring Kualin¡¯s mana really took it out of me. I think it comes from me, so I¡¯ll have to be a bit more careful.¡± She gave me a light smile, but it didn¡¯t lessen my worry for her.


    ¡°Can you take some of mine?¡± I asked her cautiously.


    Her face scrunched up at my question and after a minute she relaxed and shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know actually, but don¡¯t you need it to fight?¡± Checking my mana reserves, I saw that I was almost back to full despite using that oversized Air Blade.


    ¡°Nah, I¡¯m good. Give it a try?¡± Clara¡¯s eyes met mine and I got lost in them for a moment before she placed her hand on my shoulder and began to concentrate. In a couple seconds a blue glow emanated from the tips of her fingers and I could feel tendrils of mana invade my body from her hand. I tensed up at the feeling, but allowed her free reign.


    In seconds, I felt the small mana strings begin sucking at the mana inside of me and I flinched at the pain of having the mana inside of me leave my body in an unnatural way. Clara noticed my flinch and stopped, but I grabbed her hand before she could remove it and looked her in the eye. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Keep going until you feel better.¡± She looked at me in confusion at first, but then the drain on my mana picked up again and I fought the pain to not worry Clara.


    After a minute, the tendrils left my body and Clara looked more visibly comfortable and healthy. Letting out a weak smile, I gently removed her hand from my shoulder. ¡°Feeling any better?¡±


    Clara looked down at where her hand was still held in mine and quickly nodded before looking away. Laughing silently to myself, I let go of her hand and stood back up only to be met with the sight of Kualin and Izzy smirking at me.


    ¡°What?¡± I asked them and began to self-consciously pat myself down.


    ¡°Oh, it¡¯s nothing. I¡¯m just feeling a little clammy from using my mana earlier. Spare some for an unworthy pleb?¡± Kualin¡¯s voice was dripping with sarcasm and scowling at him only ended with him and Izzy laughing at me.


    ¡°Oh, hush. She¡¯s our healer so it¡¯s best if she¡¯s always at full.¡± I quickly made up a believable lie as to why I¡¯d given Clara my mana and I thought I was all good until Izzy opened her mouth.


    ¡°But she¡¯d have recovered it in a bit, right?¡± Izzy scoffed at my excuse and I knew I¡¯d been had.


    I felt myself heat up from embarrassment and I pointed a finger at the two of them. ¡°Don¡¯t y¡¯all have anything better to do, like work on making new skills?¡±


    Kualin then pointed to the distance where the large spider had been crushed under his huge rock and smiled arrogantly. ¡°Nah, man. Fairly sure I¡¯ve got that covered. Though short stuff here could¡ªooph!¡±


    Izzy had punched Kualin squarely in his stomach causing him to drop to his knees in front of her. ¡°Not so short anymore, huh?¡± She then turned on her heel to walk over towards Akito who¡¯s eyes were dancing with mirth at seeing Izzy hit Kualin.


    I stared after her for a second before I started laughing at Kualin who was standing back up, rubbing his stomach with pain in his eyes. ¡°Goddamn that girl packs a punch. I swear I damn near lost one hundred health and an ab just now¡­¡± His words just caused me to laugh even harder.


    ¡°Maybe you want to start thinking about investing in some sort of armor then. You can¡¯t always drop a huge ass rock on a monster and expect them to not dodge like that poor spider over there.¡± I jerked my thumb in the direction of where the spider had been crushed under the rock, about a hundred yards away, but was surprised to find that although the stone slab was still there on the ground, there were no more spider arms, guts or even its green blood in sight.


    ¡°The fuck¡­?¡± I took off in the direction of the rock and Kualin, noticing something was amiss, followed after me.


    ¡°Yo, where you guys¡ª¡±


    ¡°Just stay there, Milik!¡± I slowed down to let Kualin catch up to me and we both jogged over to the large rock. I wasn¡¯t completely sure, but the monster we¡¯d killed about fifteen minutes ago was no longer laying there dead under the rock Kualin had crushed it with.


    ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Kualin was pointing towards a sparkling light on the ground next to the rock. I looked at him pointedly and he furiously shook his head. ¡°Nope. No. Absolutely not. Now you got me fucked up. Alex, we don¡¯t just touch random things out here in the wild, boy you¡ªAlex!¡±


    It was too late because I¡¯d already bent over to touch the light since he wouldn¡¯t do it. I was surprised when a familiar noise sounded and a gold screen popped into existence in front of me.


    Ding!


    My heart began thumping and I could feel the excitement in me take over as I read the message on the golden window of the Infinity Complex.


    ¡®Gigantula has dropped loot. Would you like to recover it?¡¯


    Feeling a smile tug at my lips, I spoke two words. ¡°Hell, yes.¡±

 Current Stats and Skills of the Overgods

    Just a quick overview of everyone''s stats and skills. I haven''t written down any skills that they haven''t used in the story, but I''m sure some of our characters are cooking up some nasty surprises to use when things get really tight.


    EDIT--Should also mention that a 20 in a stat is the upper limit for human ability.


    Another EDIT--I''d also really love some ideas for skills if you guys have any. It''s kinda hard creating uncommon shit with my one brain haha


    Title: Lord Sky¡¯s Heir (Active)


    Name: Alexander Taylor


    Class: Sky Walker


    Level: 17


    HP: 462/462


    MP: 635/635 (1475/1475)


    STR: 30


    VIT: 20


    DEX: 40 (60)


    INT: 35 (44)


    WIS: 22 (28)


    LUK: 11


    POINTS: 10


    MONEY: 47 USD


    Skills:


    Guidance of the Wind


    Mana Affinity


    Air Manipulation


    Air Blade


    Air Cloak


    Air Gale


    Name: Akito Williams


    Class: Hydromeister


    Level: 16


    HP: 459/459


    MP: 165/165


    STR: 38


    VIT: 22


    DEX: 24


    INT: 20


    WIS: 23


    LUK: 15


    POINTS: 15


    MONEY: 342 USD


    Skills:


    Mana Affinity


    Water Manipulation


    Water Bullet


    Title: Lord Darkness¡¯ Heir (Active)


    Name: Milik Griffin


    Class: Shadow Strider


    Level: 15


    HP: 330/330


    MP: 410/410 (858/858)


    STR: 16


    VIT: 17


    DEX: 33 (50)


    INT: 32 (40)


    WIS: 26 (33)


    LUK: 11


    POINTS: 15


    MONEY: 47 USD


    Skills:


    Mana Affinity


    Darkness Manipulation


    Decimator


    Name: Kualin Berry


    Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.Class:  Earthly Origin


    Level: 16


    HP: 486/486


    MP: 204/204


    STR: 24


    VIT: 23


    DEX: 26


    INT: 23


    WIS: 22


    LUK: 15


    POINTS: 15


    MONEY: 15 USD


    Skills:


    Mana Affinity


    Earth Manipulation


    Earth Creation


    Name: Kyra Jones


    Class:  Esper


    Level: 15


    HP: 386/386


    MP: 1306/1306


    STR: 11


    VIT: 20


    DEX: 12


    INT: 44


    WIS: 35


    LUK: 12


    POINTS: 15


    MONEY: 68 USD


    Skills:


    Mana Affinity


    Mind Manipulation


    Spirit Scout


    Mind Link


    Name: Samantha (Pixie) Perkins


    Class: Storm Master


    Level: 14


    HP: 230/230


    MP: 272/272


    STR: 13


    VIT: 13


    DEX: 30


    INT: 30


    WIS: 28


    LUK: 11


    POINTS: 15


    MONEY: 47 USD


    Skills:


    Mana Affinity


    Lightning Manipulation


    Name: Clara D¡¯Amore


    Class:  Heavenly Saint


    Level: 14


    HP: 230/230


    MP: 841/841


    STR: 9


    VIT: 11


    DEX: 20


    INT: 40


    WIS: 29


    LUK: 20


    POINTS: 15


    MONEY: 126 USD


    Skills:


    Mana Affinity


    Light Manipulation


    Heal


    Mana Restoration


    Mana Drain


    Name: Isabella (Izzy) Gardener


    Class:  Burning Heart


    Level: 14


    HP: 258/258


    MP: 270/270


    STR: 30


    VIT: 20


    DEX: 30


    INT: 24


    WIS: 12


    LUK: 10


    POINTS: 15


    Skills:


    Mana Affinity


    Fire Manipulation


    Heart of Fire


    -Green Flames (Fear)


    Fireball

 Chapter 18: The First...But Most Definitely Not the Last

    A/N: An especially long chapter for you guys. Read, enjoy, and review!


    ...........................................................................................................................


    ¡°This is a ruthless world and one must be ruthless to cope with it.¡±


    - Charlie Chaplin


    ¡°How¡¯s everyone feeling?¡± I looked around at my friend¡¯s nervous faces. The light from the campfire danced in everyone¡¯s eyes, showing a wide array of emotions. For six days straight we¡¯d rampaged across the Plains of Death. Side by side we¡¯d encountered and defeated countless beast men, goblins, gigantulas, and orcs but now¡­now it was the night before we¡¯d be pitted against the aliens from Draco Interfectorem.


    Thinking about the hectic week we¡¯d all had, my thoughts turned back to the Infinity Complex¡¯s new loot feature. According to my System Alert log, it had become available once I hit level 15 after our first big fight on the second floor of the tower.


    Since the beginning, I had found it very strange that not even one of the ridiculous amount of monsters we killed that first day had dropped items since it¡¯s a fairly customary concept for any self-respecting game to have the monsters drop loot. At the time, I¡¯d simply written it off as something that wouldn¡¯t happen because item drops in games basically created something out of nothing, which is essentially impossible within the bounds of science I¡¯d been taught thus far¡­but that first fight with a gigantula nearly a week ago had taught me that the Infinity Complex¡¯s potential refused to limit itself even to the Law of Conservation of Energy.


    Infinity Complex ¨C 1. Science ¨C 0.


    The loot we¡¯d gained from gigantula that day had ended up being some money that I¡ªand the Infinity Complex¡ªdeduced as copper, silver, and gold coins with a drawing of a grand city and the phrase ¡®Letheron is All¡¯ engraved on them. In our curiosity, we found through ¡®experimentation¡¯ that not all monsters dropped loot, but those that did would dissipate from existence in no less than thirty seconds each time leaving some speck of white light that would sparkle on the ground in their place. In the time we¡¯d had, we also found out that Clara, who had been building on her luck stat, had a much better chance of getting large amounts of money and she even received bundles of webbing from defeated gigantulas in the past couple days.


    Considering Izzy had the lowest luck stat on the team, which made a lot of sense considering what¡¯d happened to her our first couple of days here, she was henceforth banned from grabbing loot. Aside from luck being a distinguishing factor, we also discovered that those monsters that weren¡¯t as large or as powerful as a gigantula would drop less rewarding items such as small amounts of copper or raggedy clothing, but the weapons used by goblins and orcs always stayed.


    In the last week, I¡¯d collected no less than thirty daggers, a roughly forged longsword made of what I could only guess was iron, and even a small buckler. My friends had been more than happy to let me claim these weapons for myself. I only had to split the daggers I¡¯d found with Milik who¡¯d picked up a sword and buckler similar to mine from a fallen orc only a couple days ago. Kualin, Kyra, Pixie, and Clara didn¡¯t feel the need to use any weapons just yet, but Akito and Izzy, on the other hand, had ripped some heavy axes off a pair of heavily muscled orcs in a particularly fierce battle just yesterday. Thinking about the weapons made me once more appreciative of the Infinity Complex since we¡¯d been able to just stash our weapons into our respective inventories and pull them practically out of thin air when¡ª


    ¡°¡­you okay?¡±


    Kyra¡¯s voice snapped me out of my thoughts and I realized everyone was staring at me.


    I gave my friends a sheepish grin. ¡°Sorry¡­I¡¯m fine. What were you saying?¡±


    ¡°I was just asking if everyone had finished leveling up, so that we can go over strategy for the battle tomorrow.¡±


    ¡°Strategy? I thought we¡¯d just steamroll the aliens and that¡¯d be that.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but smile at Kualin¡¯s words. He was lying near the opening of the cave with Pixie without a care in the world as the both of them watched the red lightning pulse and flash throughout the perpetually murky sky.


    Kyra, however, did not smile. In fact, she narrowed her eyes at him in displeasure.


    ¡°And what makes you think we can just go into that fight tomorrow with no preparation? No plans?¡±


    ¡°Two things actually.¡± Kualin lifted his upper body off the ground and turned so that he was facing the rest of the team from where he sat. Pixie also sat up to participate in the conversation, but from the time I¡¯d spent with her, I knew she¡¯d much rather have laid there to watch the sky without disruptions.


    Kualin¡¯s words only caused Kyra to throw her braids over her shoulder in a show of irritation, but she waited for him to elaborate.


    ¡°For one, we¡¯re all leagues stronger than we were when we fought that first day we came to the second floor. And I do mean leagues. Whether it be physical strengths or skills, I don¡¯t see a lot of things being able to trouble us anymore.¡± He paused for a moment to let his words sink in before carrying on. ¡°I¡¯ve seen some of the skills you guys were using the last couple of days. Alex and Milik have been doing exactly what their class names tell them to; sky walker and shadow strider. Hell, I¡¯m still trying to figure out how Milik even moves through shadows like that¡­¡± Milik perked up instantly and was about to begin explaining, but Kualin cut him off. ¡°Not that now is the time to hear about it.¡± Milik flipped him the finger in response, but they both laughed it off.


    ¡°Izzy, Akito, and Pixie have all gotten better at controlling their elements¡ª¡±


    ¡°No doubt from the increases in wisdom.¡± I smoothly cut into Kualin¡¯s speech but he only grinned in response.


    ¡°Yes, let¡¯s not forget the smarts of our fearless leader¡ª¡±


    ¡°Fearless? You do realize my dexterity is the highest in this group just in case I have to outrun all of you one day, right?¡± The entire group burst into laughter at that and Kualin stood up to make everyone focus on him once more though he was still laughing.


    ¡°But seriously. Every fight we¡¯ve had, Alex¡¯s strategy has pulled us through relatively unscathed and I know you¡¯re getting stronger as well Kyra. Didn¡¯t you recently acquire some sort of telekinesis¡ª¡±


    ¡°Psychokinesis actually¡­but I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a difference¡­¡± Kyra corrected Kualin, but she was still watching him expectantly.


    Kualin sighed before carrying on.


    ¡°To my second point then. Like I said, Alex¡¯s strategy has been great, but those were all in the heat of the moment. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s valuable to make strategies beforehand when we know nothing about the enemy. No plan survives contact with the enemy or whatever the saying is, right?¡±


    Kyra sputtered at his words, but I was able to come to her aid.


    ¡°That¡¯s true, but I vote we don¡¯t go in there blind. We may not know the enemy, but we know ourselves. Meaning, we know who can fight, who can¡¯t, who should pair up with who, who should fight solo¡­stuff like that.¡± Everyone was looking at me and my eyes met Clara¡¯s.


    Her eyes were more green than blue at the moment and I was strongly reminded how much I needed to protect her. ¡°Take Clara for example.¡± She blinked at me in surprise as everyone¡¯s attention turned towards her.


    ¡°Alex, Clara doesn¡¯t fight¡­¡± Izzy, sitting next to Akito across from me, hesitantly reminded me.


    ¡°Exactly my point, Izzy. So she can¡¯t very well get too close to all the fighting. Clara has increased her luck and dexterity, but who¡­who knows if that will be enough to keep her alive when the rest of us cut loose without thinking about that?¡±


    Kualin began to nod at my words before speaking. ¡°You make a fair point, oh fearless leader. So what¡¯s the plan?¡±


    Everyone¡¯s attention turned from Clara back to me. Taking a deep breath, I ran my fingers through my hair in thought. After several seconds, I grimaced and locked eyes with Milik.


    ¡°Alright, here¡¯s what we¡¯re going to do¡­¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°I still don¡¯t understand why we have to walk alllll the way to the designated area. I mean, Alex, you could¡¯ve made an air slide from the cave! It¡¯s hotter than a barbecue burning on the fourth of July out here.¡±


    ¡°Dude, I swear to all that is holy, I will never use an air slide unless the fate of the world is in jeopardy. And if I hear one more thing about an air slide I might go crazy.¡± Kualin was right though, it was scathingly hot on the Plains of Death today, but that¡¯s why I was channeling more cold air around myself as we walked.


    Seeing that I was a lost cause, Kualin turned to Akito who had been creating water out of thin air and letting it splash on him every thirty or so seconds.


    ¡°Aye man, you tryna share some of that? I¡¯m not trying to get any darker out here in this sun.¡± Akito only looked at Kualin¡¯s dark chocolate skin tone and then to the sunless sky before snorting and running more water through his hair. Almost desperately now, Kualin turned towards Izzy who was moving quickly to keep pace with Akito¡¯s larger stride. Before Kualin could even open his mouth, she spoke.


    ¡°My heat resistance is not shareable so don¡¯t ask.¡± I winced at Kualin¡¯s misfortune, but he was obviously determined.


    ¡°Akito, what¡¯s your excuse man? Come on! Lin Que forever!¡± Akito waved his hand in response and a sizeable volume of water appeared over Kualin before falling onto him.


    ¡°Ahhhhhh. Much better. Alex, don¡¯t think you¡¯re slick because I know you¡¯re doing something about this hot air. You haven¡¯t been sweating at all yet.¡± He whipped his dreads around for a second, letting the excess water fly around and turned his playful glare on me.


    I looked at him before shrugging. ¡°Just trying to conserve mana, man.¡±


    ¡°Conserve mana!?¡± I let a smile slip onto my face. ¡°You know it takes you close to ZERO mana to do what you¡¯re doing!¡±


    ¡°True, but we¡¯re almost to the location that the Infinity Complex marked for the fight, so it¡¯s kind of a moot point to argue now since we¡¯ve already been walking like this for like an hour.¡±


    Kualin was opening and closing his mouth like a fish, trying to find the words to keep the banter alive, but if his muttered ¡°bitch¡± was enough to go by then I could only assume he hadn¡¯t found any.


    Looking away from Kualin, I turned my attention to the only two parts of the plan I wasn¡¯t entirely sure about: Kyra and Pixie. Although I didn¡¯t like the idea of Pixie fighting, I knew she could move just as fast as I could if I didn¡¯t have the ¡®Lord Sky¡¯s Heir¡¯ title to buff my stats and she¡¯d also gotten a good enough grasp on her lightning manipulation to use it in fights the last couple of days. She just looked too¡­delicate. Usually, I¡¯d say she¡¯s like a little sister to me, but if my blood related little sister were out here, I¡¯d have made her stay in the cave no ands, ifs, or buts about it. It was only through the usage of puppy eyes and keen determination that she was not on standby with Milik and Clara.


    Kyra, I didn¡¯t really know too well, but as far as the facts go, she was physically weak. Her and Clara both had not touched their strength stats and only invested some points into dexterity so that they could keep up with our hunting speed this past week. Sure, she¡¯d developed some psychokinesis ability that could be useful, but it would depend on how good she was at using it.


    ¡°Alex.¡± I left my thoughts to look at Kualin, but he was pointing far off into the distance ahead of us.


    Squinting my eyes, I could just barely make out the outlines of a group of humanoid figures standing together. I felt a chill run down my spine at the sight of them and my heartbeat instantly kicked itself into high gear. I¡¯d been doing it all week, but walking into a situation like this still wasn¡¯t one of the most relaxing activities in the world¡­er ¡®worlds.¡¯ Taking some calming breaths as we walked, I couldn¡¯t help but worry about my friends. All of us were capable, but my friends would be playing a game with time so that Milik could prepare for his part in the plan.


    We walked for a couple more minutes before coming to a stop about 500 yards away from the group of figures that I only now realized were cloaked. After staring at one another for a minute, the other group threw off their cloaks and I finally got a good look at what we were dealing with.


    The aliens looked human. There were six men, two women and they all sported the essential two legs, two arms, and one head (thank god), but that was where the similarities ended. One perk about increasing the vitality stat was that it made our bodies better in things like metabolism, aesthetics, and even eyesight which I was abusing the hell out of at the moment. I could see from where I stood that there were different jewels implanted in the foreheads of each and every single one of them. Aside from the jewels, I could see that though their skin was scaly, they were not full blown dragons which, honestly, is what I¡¯d expected from a planet called ¡®Draco Interfectorem.¡¯


    One thing I couldn¡¯t help but be surprised by was the shiny armor that most of them were wearing. All but two of the aliens wore some form of lightweight yellow chest armor with matching greaves on their legs. One of the two was covered from his neck all the way down to his toes in some sort of silver plate armor that I could only assume was very heavy. Silently reminding myself not to let that one hit me, I turned my attention to the other one who had no armor at all, just some loose fitting black clothing. This one had long blonde hair tied into a ponytail and even from this distance, I just knew that he was the asshole and leader of the group.


    My guess was further confirmed when he took a couple steps forward from his group and picked something up from the ground. I watched him as he stared at the object in his hand for a couple seconds before he threw it at my friends and me. In the blink of an eye, it had traveled half the distance between us with no loss of speed, before I forced it down into the ground with a controlled burst of wind. I could tell the black clothed man was surprised, but he still let loose a savage grin in our direction that I could just tell was aimed towards me.


    Looking at the black clothed man almost made me want to laugh.


    ¡°Oh, a show of strength? Those are always fun. Guys, you know the plan.¡± After saying that, I picked two daggers out of my inventory and handed them to Kyra. ¡°Kyra, you know what to do with these¡­stay safe.¡± She nodded at me and I looked over at Pixie who had shut her eyes and was molding something in between her hands.


    ¡°Ready, Pixie?¡± She nodded almost imperceptibly and I pulled the shoddy iron longsword from my inventory into my left hand. I shook my limbs out a little and threw the sword from my left into my right hand.


    I was ready.


    ¡°Alright, Pixie. Light it up!¡± As soon as I gave her the cue, Pixie¡¯s eyes snapped open and I could almost swear I saw blue flashes of light in her irises. Giving herself one second to lock her sights on the target, she let out a cry and threw her hands down towards the ground. Everyone on my team aside from Pixie turned their eyes away as the loudest crack I¡¯d ever heard was accompanied by a huge surge of red lightning that flashed from the sky directly into the midst of the group of scaled Interfectorians.


    As soon as the flash of light disappeared, I took the chance to run into the sky at top speed with my air platforms. In two seconds I was already standing nearly three hundred meters above the ground and intently watching the spot on the ground where Pixie¡¯s lighting had struck. Several silent seconds ticked by as I watched the spot, but I couldn¡¯t see much through the dirt that¡¯d been kicked up in the lightning strike.


    Anything, Alex? Kyra¡¯s voice came through the connection she¡¯d established with her mind link ability. I could feel Kualin, Pixie, Izzy, and Akito through the link, but they were all waiting for me.


    Nothing yet. Do you think we got¡ªWoah! I quickly ducked underneath a black flash of light and took off at a run across the sky.


    Alex, are you okay!? Pixie¡¯s voice screamed through the mind link and I nodded before I remembered she couldn¡¯t see me from the ground.


    I¡¯m fine. I don¡¯t know if any are injured, but they¡¯re alive. Focus on your fights. I¡¯m up here if you need me just tell Kyra to patch you through!


    With that, I cut Kyra¡¯s link with me (something that Milik and I were able to do for whatever reason while the rest could not) and stopped on an air platform to peer at the form of the black clothed man. I didn¡¯t even need to ask myself how he¡¯d gotten up here because I could see his pair of dark leathery wings slowly flapping to keep him in midair. I had so many questions on how his flying worked because I was pretty sure his wings weren¡¯t moving fast enough to keep him aloft, but maybe they were just there for show. I focused, for a moment, on the black jewel embedded in his forehead before his eyes flickered to the area behind me.


    ¡®Shit.¡¯


    Dissolving the air platform underneath me, I was just barely able to dodge the silver flash of what looked to be a very sharp longsword. Flipping in midair and catching myself on another air platform, I saw that one of the two female interfectorians had decided to join the fight. Her long black hair framed a face that I could describe as beautiful if it weren¡¯t twisted in rage at having failed to kill me. Large red wings were silently beating behind her as she took her place next to the black clothed man. I realized they were both fairly good looking now that I could stop and stare, but I most definitely did not like the cocky grin splayed across blondie¡¯s face.


    ¡°What is your name, human.¡± The man¡¯s voice was smooth, but the way he¡¯d said human caught me unawares. Almost like he was asking a bug that he¡¯d soon squash if it would like a cup of tea.


    I didn¡¯t like that voice at all, but I made a show of checking my nails in front of him and the female¡¯s eyes flashed red in anger.


    ¡°I suppose it depends on who¡¯s asking.¡±


    If the dark haired woman wasn¡¯t angry before, she was absolutely livid now.


    ¡°Watch your tongue you imbecile. Do you know who you¡¯re in the presence of!?¡± If looks could kill, I swear I¡¯d be falling three hundred meters to the ground already, but since this particular race didn¡¯t seem to have that ability, I only flashed my teeth in a wide smile at the fuming woman¡¯s words.


    ¡°Not in the slightest, snow angel.¡± She screamed in fury and looked like she were about to charge at me, but the blonde haired man raised his hand at her, stopping her in her tracks instantly. Despite my words, the man seemed unfazed and his smile only seemed to grow wider in amusement before he spoke again.


    ¡°Human,¡± I nearly shivered at the cold tone of the man, but didn¡¯t avert my gaze from him. ¡°You are in the presence of Adal Beraht. Eighth true son of Arnwald Behrat king of Drakkhos.¡±


    I fervently nodded my head at him in amusement. ¡°So we¡¯re doing the long introductions? Alright then. You are in the presence of Alexander Taylor. Esteemed Sky Walker and heir to Lord Sky himself.¡± I finished with a mock bow towards him, but his cocky grin was now gone, replaced instead by a stony visage.


    ¡°Heir to Lord Sky?¡± I frowned at his familiarity with the title, but before I could ask him if Lord Sky was actually a real person, his tanned scaled hands turned black and long claws extended from the tips of his fingers.


    ¡°Melanie, this young man cannot leave these skies alive. Kill him.¡± His calm demeanor had completely disappeared and I could practically feel the killing intent rolling off of him in waves of heat. Melanie, the red-winged woman, was only too happy to comply with his orders as she let out an unrestrained battle cry and rushed directly towards me.


    I met Melanie¡¯s longsword with my iron one and batted it away at an angle that left a chip in my blade before jumping backwards out of her range. Melanie¡¯s eyes were red hot as I turned my attention to Adal.


    ¡°Kill me? You¡¯re funny.¡±


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    Kualin stood on the ground, staring upwards at the sky moments after Alex had cut himself free from the mind link. If he were being honest, he¡¯d say he was jealous of both Milik and Alex¡¯s ability to close their minds to Kyra, but he was not an honest man. Although he wasn¡¯t in what he¡¯d call optimal conditions, aka fighting for the sake of a world that had never done anything for him but throw him down time and time again, he¡¯d only made it this far in life by being anything but honest. Kualin turned his gaze down to Akito¡¯s large shadow that was barely visible in the light of the red lightning pulsing through the black clouds above. Kualin was only glad that he was not stuck in the same group as a man that believed honesty and a strong sense of justice were the best ways to win.


    No. Alex knew how to get his hands dirty, but he still upheld whatever righteous values he lived by. Kualin, however, was not a righteous man and could get his hands even dirtier. In his twenty-two years of living, he¡¯d only spent five in a warm home before it was snatched away from him. The next seventeen years he¡¯d lied to many people, stolen a number of things, and gotten into hundreds of fights but the moment he¡¯d tried to live his life honestly the world was invaded by monsters.


    Kualin smiled to himself at the irony of it all. He¡¯d tried to live life like a normal person and then the whole world had gone to shit, but it was not only this irony that made him smile. No. His thoughts turned to how the weight of the entire world had felt like it was on his shoulders every day of his life, but now the earth, in a sense, was his to command.


    Kualin placed both hands in front of himself and imagined gauntlets of pure fluorite encasing both of his arms from the elbows to the tips of his fingers. Feeling a sizeable drain on his mana reserves, his thoughts took form and in the blink of an eye, the fluorite covered his arms. Kualin knew that fluorite was one of the hardest rocks known to man and it was one of few that he was capable of fully molding at his skill level by knowing its constituent parts¡ªcalcium and fluoride. If there was one thing Kualin could feel thankful for, it was his unhealthy obsession with rocks that drove him to the library time and time again. There wasn¡¯t much but the rocks that you could call your own when you¡¯d lived on the streets as long as he had.


    Kualin finally turned his eyes towards where Pixie should have demolished the group of interfectorians and though they were slightly obscured by a cloud of dust, he could see six figures moving out of the dust and towards his new friends at a rapid pace.


    Kualin turned toward Kyra who was still holding the pair of daggers that Alex had handed her. He¡¯d had his doubts about Kyra just like Alex, but he knew he could carry the extra weight that she couldn¡¯t. That¡¯s why they¡¯d been paired together.


    ¡°You going to use those or what?¡± Kualin¡¯s voiced seemed to snap Kyra out of whatever thoughts she¡¯d been having and she responded in a firm nod before tossing the pair of daggers ahead of her where they stopped as if an invisible force had grabbed a hold of them.


    ¡°Two is my limit, but I think it will be fine¡­¡±


    Kualin stared at her for a moment before shrugging. ¡°Just remember, you¡¯re holding two of them back as well as you can. Keep your distance.¡± She nodded at his words and Kualin pointed towards the rushing group of Interfectorians¡ªspecifically, the one in heavy armor.


    ¡°And I¡¯ll be taking that one.¡±


    ¡°Wrong.¡± Akito¡¯s voice cut through the conversation like a hot knife and Kualin looked at him for a moment, specifically his bulging muscles, and nodded.


    ¡°That¡¯s fair then. You can take the heavy one.¡± Akito flashed Kualin a grin before taking off towards the group of six with Izzy trailing behind him.


    Looking back at Kyra, Kualin looked at the group of six before covering his legs from his kneecaps all the way down to his toes in fluorite. ¡°I¡¯m going. Cover me.¡±


    Kualin shot off towards the group of six with Kyra¡¯s two daggers whistling through the air behind him. Kualin quickly caught up to Akito and Izzy just as Izzy threw her hands forth towards the rushing Interfectorians. In the wake of her movement, a huge pillar of orange flame flew in the direction of the six aliens and they split into two groups of three.


    ¡°Perfect Izzy! I¡¯m splitting with you guys here!¡± Kualin shot off towards the right just as Izzy kicked the ground and disappeared to the left towards the other group.


    ¡®Damn. That girl is so much faster than I am.¡¯ Kualin only had the time for that quick thought before Kyra¡¯s knives flashed ahead of him aiming directly for two Interfectorians¡ªa woman with brown hair and a man with short red hair.


    Kualin rushed the last one on his own.


    The Interfectorian watched as the two daggers passed by him, forcing his teammates to jump away. Kualin, who was quickly closing the distance between the two of them, took the time to notice this one had cropped black hair with a yellow jewel lightly shining in the middle of his forehead. He¡¯d decided to call him Yellow just before he threw a right straight for the alien¡¯s face.


    The Interfectorian agilely slipped past the fist only to catch Kualin¡¯s fluorite-covered elbow on the ridge of his nose. The blow landed with a crack and sent Yellow flying back a good five feet before he landed heavily on his back.


    ¡°What¡¯s good, bitch!?¡± Kualin gloated for a moment before quickly sidestepping a woman with brown hair and a mousey face who had attempted to stab him in the neck with a jagged knife. He was just about to engage the woman before a silver light flashed past him and forced the woman to jump several feet back and continue her dance with the flying silver dagger.


    The woman¡¯s interruption had given Yellow enough time to clamber back to his feet, only slightly dazed from the elbow despite the flow of blood dripping steadily from his nostrils.


    ¡°You¡¯re a lively one, huh? Not even going to introduce yourself?¡± Yellow¡¯s words made Kualin snarl viciously in response.


    ¡°Why introduce myself to a dead man walking?¡±


    Yellow chuckled at his words before settling into a combative stance.


    ¡°Why indeed?¡±


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    ¡®Oh shit! Oh shit! Now I did it!¡¯


    Izzy was currently scrambling to take her heavy axe out of her inventory as the group of three Interfectorians rushed her and Akito with rage in their eyes.


    ¡®Can¡¯t lose control of my emotions¡­I won¡¯t lose control of my emotions again!¡¯


    The last week had been life-changing for Izzy. Well, she was sure it had been for everyone, but as fierce of a person she was, she¡¯d lived a relatively sheltered lifestyle in the comforts of the money her parents¡¯ made as a doctor and lawyer in Tampa, Florida. The shame she¡¯d felt when she¡¯d frozen up during the first fight with a gigantula was eye-opening for her.


    Izzy did not want to be weak. Not when her friends were counting on her to be strong. Izzy¡¯s eyes went towards the hulking form of Akito who was coldly staring down the rushing Interfectorians.


    No. She would be calm and cold like Akito.


    Izzy shifted her axe into her right hand before lifting her left hand towards the sky. In a flash of light, a blue flame flickered to life in her left palm. It did not burn her. It never would.


    In a split second, the flame grew to the size of a small car and she threw it in the air where it burst into a multitude of fireballs that scattered the three Interfectorians. Everywhere the flames landed, the ground was instantly disintegrated and left basketball sized holes that burrowed deep into the plain¡¯s landscape.


    Izzy lightly twirled the axe in her right hand before creating a small blue flame in her left hand.


    Akito, who had been watching her out of the corner of his eye, allowed himself a small smile. It was almost a shame to have a girl her size be as strong as him. Last night when they¡¯d leveled up again, Izzy had reached fifty in her strength stat, which was two points higher than his own and it was just icing on the cake that she was also a whole level of speed above him. In fact, Akito knew he was probably one of the slowest on the battlefield, but there was something he could do about that.


    Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    ¡°Hope you don¡¯t mind getting a little wet, Izzy.¡± She looked at him curiously before he formed a large ball of water in the air fifty yards above them. After a second, the ball of water expanded into a large sheet and small droplets of rain began to pour down from it. The water wasn¡¯t enough to extinguish the flame in Izzy¡¯s hand, but it allowed him to tell the position of any place his rain was disrupted. Akito swung his axe at an angle that knocked the great sword of the heavy armor wearing Interfectorian skywards but he was forced to twist out of the way of the clawed hand of one male alien with a blue jewel in his forehead.


    Akito closed his eyes so that he wouldn¡¯t get caught up in the details. His rain would tell him all he needed to know. He knew that Izzy and the final member of the trio had engaged with one another and she seemed to be holding her own. He¡¯d keep an eye on her but for now it was time to deal with these two. It was time to kill again.


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    ¡°Whoo! Just a little bit faster! Come on now, I¡¯m not even going full speed yet you two!¡±


    I was currently flipping around in the air, dodging and parrying the refined longsword of Melina and the claws of Prince Adal at a leisure pace. Well, leisurely for me. The two of them weren¡¯t at my level of speed and I had taken my time taunting them¡­working them up to the point I needed them to be at before I made my move.


    I narrowly ducked underneath the outstretched arm of Adal and finally shattered my iron longsword against the protective scaling of his skin, but not without leaving a long thin cut on his side. ¡°Come now, Adolf! You almost had me that time!¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve told you! It is Adal!¡± I shrugged at him nonchalantly. The prince and Melina were now at the mindsets I wanted them to be in, but I couldn¡¯t resist one more jab.


    ¡°Hey, Melina! I bet Prince Adolf here gets very angry with you when you¡¯re screaming his father¡¯s name in bed, huh?¡± Melina flushed red at my words before letting out an enraged scream and rushing at me.


    ¡®This is it. Every time she charges, it¡¯s the same move¡­¡¯


    ¡°No, Melina!¡± Adal¡¯s words were too late though. I¡¯d already gauged the distance, timing, and speed of her overhead swing and with a quick burst of my true speed, I dodged outside of her swing. Her eyes went wide in surprise when I seemingly vanished in thin air in front of her before I ripped into her with an oversized air blade that left none of her head intact. I caught the wrist of the hand holding onto her sword before her body could fall to the ground and gestured at the headless body of Adal¡¯s teammate.


    ¡°Come now, Adal. She was pretty, but you can¡¯t have really slept with this woman!¡± Adal¡¯s body emitted a foreboding air of bloodlust at my words, but I ignored him.


    ¡°Ah, now you¡¯re really mad, huh?¡± I grinned at him right before wresting the finely forged longsword out of Melina¡¯s unmoving fingers. Now that I had the time, I admired the hilt of the sword which had various colored jewels embedded into it and some kind of inscribing at the base of the blade.


    ¡°This is a fine sword¡­a shame what happened to the wielder though.¡± After saying that, I didn¡¯t drop Melina¡¯s body. No. I hurtled the headless corpse down to the ground with all my strength. Adal and I watched it for a full five seconds before it landed with what I could only imagine was a nasty splat noise right in front of someone Kualin was about to engage with.


    ¡°Filthy, human.¡± Adal spat the words at me from where he hung in the air twenty yards away from me.


    ¡°Tut, tut, Adal. I¡¯m sure we introduced ourselves earlier for a reason.¡± I watched him closely. Reading him. I saw the rage burning in his eyes and then suddenly something changed. The anger was still present, but he seemed to have reigned himself in. Cold, dark eyes met mine as I chucked the remains of the shattered iron sword far into the distance in favor of the new sword longsword I¡¯d acquired.


    ¡°¡­The woman you just slayed¡­Melina¡­she was my betrothed.¡±


    ¡°Ah¡­I¡¯m almost sorry for that, but you see, we were fighting to the death so...¡± I flipped the longsword once, trying to get a feel for its weight, but I was too strong for it to have weighed my arm down.


    This seemed to prove too much for the prince, who gritted his teeth in anger. ¡°You will die, Sky Walker.¡± He tapped the black jewel on his forehead and pointed at me. ¡°Everything has been seen by my people. No matter how long it takes, we will get you¡ª¡±


    ¡°Oh, so you¡¯re telling me all of your people can see what¡¯s happening?¡±


    ¡°They can. You will be hunted to the ends¡ª¡±


    ¡°Then they should all know that I am coming for them.¡± I smoothly cut across his words and leveled a glare at him.


    ¡°I am not prey. I am the hunter. Any of you that come close to me, my friends, or my family will die. Do not push idle threats on me, Prince Adal.¡± After speaking, I pointed his deceased wife-to-be¡¯s sword at him.


    ¡°Enough talk. Let¡¯s finish this.¡±


    At that moment, the jewel on Adal¡¯s forehead exploded into a mass of black light that shrouded his entire body and after a couple seconds, the light coalesced to the point on his forehead where there was once a jewel and flickered like a flame. I quickly noted that Adal¡¯s entire body had undergone some sort of refining and strengthening process as his scales stood higher and spikes ran the length from the top of his head, down his back, and to the end of a¡­tail?


    Swishing his spiked tail to and fro to get a feel for it, Adal looked at me with murder in his eyes.


    ¡°Let¡¯s.¡±


    ¡°Wait a minute, you can¡¯t just power up like that without expla¡ª!¡± I pulled the sword in my right arm up almost as fast as I thought to do it to block Adal¡¯s spiked tail inches from puncturing my left eye. He sent a flurry of claws and his spiked tail at me. I bobbed and weaved through the claws while parrying the tail with my sword. The fight carried on like this for a minute or two before Prince Adal and I were locked in with each other tail to sword.


    ¡°Where¡¯s all that speed now, Sky Walker!?¡± I shoved his tail away from me and retreated several meters before glaring at him.


    ¡°Speed? You think going twice your previous speed is fast?¡± My grip on the longsword tightened as I set my gray eyes on the prince who seemed to be all but patting himself on the back from his power-up.


    ¡°I¡¯ll show you fast.¡±


    Prince Adal was smirking at me when I spoke and he still had the stupid smile on his face when my foot connected with his jaw sending him several meters into the air. I was next to him when the smile started to change into a look of shock. The shock finally set in when six air blades one right after the other left several gashes on his stomach and sent him racing towards the ground in an uncontrollable corkscrew. I was there when he tried to right himself in the air and his efforts were rewarded with an air cloak reinforced fist to the face. The force of the blow proved too much for him as he crashed into the ground at breakneck speeds, leaving a cloud of dirt and rocks to fly everywhere.


    I sent all of it flying away with an Air Gale and approached the fallen form of Prince Adal who had shrouded himself in his wings.


    ¡°This is speed.¡± I grasped the longsword in both hands and brought it down through the thin membrane of his wings, but that was as far as I got. Wrenching the sword out of whatever had caught it, I dashed backwards several meters and watched the Prince¡¯s body with narrowed eyes.


    After several moments, the prince¡¯s body started shaking and a deep laughter rang out from the covering of his wings. The wings moved to reveal the bloody hands of the prince, which he must¡¯ve used to catch the longsword moments ago. He was bleeding heavily from the wounds my air blades had inflicted on him, yet he lay there laughing. I waited for him to speak and it was only after several long, agonizingly creepy seconds that he did.


    ¡°You are stronger than me, Sky Walker, I¡¯ll give you that¡­but you really think I¡¯d let you kill me with my wife¡¯s blade?¡± His voice was sad, but it still held the air of cockiness and anger he¡¯d displayed earlier in our fight. I watched him pull himself up to his feet and, with a sigh, I put the longsword in an empty slot in my inventory.


    ¡°I think you¡¯d be too weak to stop me if I really went for it. But we can finish this the old fashioned way. Air Cloak.¡± The golden swirls of the ultra-thin layer of wind with all the protective strength of a hurricane settled itself around my body and after a couple seconds, no flashes of gold were seen, but I knew it was still there. I spread my feet apart¡ªleft foot forward and right foot back¡ªand put my fists up in front of my face.


    It was because he¡¯d acted so high and mighty earlier in our fight that his next words caught me completely by surprise and left me wondering if I¡¯d ever heard it in the first place. But I believe I did hear it. It was almost masked when he rushed at me, but I know I heard the smallest ¡°thank you.¡±


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°Tch.¡± Kualin slipped a jab from Yellow and lifted his left foot to avoid the low kick that followed. Kualin used the momentum from lifting his left foot to jump off his right and execute a well-aimed kick with his right foot towards Yellow¡¯s head. Yellow¡¯s eyes flashed in alarm as he turned his head to absorb some of the damage as Kualin¡¯s foot connected with his head. Kualin was undeterred, however, as he spun his body around on the balls of his feet and connected with a backhand on Yellow¡¯s face that sent him sprawling to the ground.


    ¡°Oh, don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t see that one coming?¡± Kualin had a victorious grin on his face.


    They¡¯d been going back and forth for several minutes now and it seemed like he was finally gaining the upper hand, but every time he did, one of those two¡ªdamn! Kualin jumped back from the prone body of Yellow just as the same brown haired Interfectorian woman interfered once again with a wide slash of her knife.


    Screaming in anger, she jumped at Kualin, slicing and stabbing at him all to no avail. Kualin dodged the knife expertly for several seconds before catching the woman¡¯s arm in a tight grip when she overstepped herself to stab at him.


    Kualin¡¯s gauntleted fist rocked the woman¡¯s face once, twice, and then he yanked her past him and forced her onto her knees. Setting his mouth into a grim line, he placed his other hand on the woman¡¯s shoulder blades before snapping her right arm up. The motion was accompanied by the nasty crunching noise of shattering scales and a broken bone, but both were immediately drowned out by the woman¡¯s scream of pain. Breathing roughly, Kualin kicked the woman onto the ground in front of him and raised his hand for the final strike.


    It was only the years of life living on the streets that had given Kualin a good sense of knowing when to move, so when his instincts screamed at him to move, he did so with no hesitation, but still felt the claws of Yellow rip into his right side.


    Kualin gripped his side with a gasp of pain while moving to gain some distance between the two aliens. When he stopped, he looked down to his side where a good chunk of his flesh was missing, as if someone had just taken a bite out of him.


    ¡°Fuck.¡± Kualin tried to cover the wound with his left hand to stem the flow of blood coming from his side as he watched Yellow grab the woman¡¯s working arm to help her up onto her feet. Grimacing in pain, Kualin straightened up and set himself into a fighting stance while looking around himself for Kyra.


    About a hundred yards away she was evading the third member of this trio while fighting him off with her two daggers to keep her distance from him. Looking further to his other side, he saw that Pixie had apparently run off to help Akito and Izzy as per the plan once she¡¯d recovered from her heavy use of mana at the beginning of the fight.


    Kualin then turned his gaze back to the two Interfectorians in front of him. The woman was looking at him with pure hatred in her eyes and Yellow¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t far off from that either.


    Kualin then spit out a glop of blood in their direction. ¡°You two just want to stand there all day or you gonna come get some?¡±


    This seemed to be the final straw for Yellow who snapped with a primal scream of rage and rushed at Kualin. Kualin prepared himself for the pain. He could hardly defend himself from the two aliens in the condition he was in.


    When Yellow was less than a couple yards away from Kualin, a body splattered into the ground between the two of them causing Yellow to screech to a halt. The blood from the impact splashed in all directions and the two Interfectorians looked at the body in surprise and confusion as they tried to figure out who it was.


    Kualin had no hesitations. He knew Alex was in the air and he would not lose to his opponents, so when the two aliens had hesitated in front of him, he gathered a good portion of his mana reserves to forge a huge stake created from quartz¡ªa mineral two times as hard as the fluorite he¡¯d used thus far.


    ¡°Ahhhh!¡± Kualin threw the stake at yellow who was only a couple yards away. The man had no chance. The stake pierced through the alien¡¯s armor and body like it wasn¡¯t even there, leaving him with a gaping hole through his body and a look of pure confusion in his eyes.


    ¡°Payback¡¯s a bitch, isn¡¯t it?¡± Kualin coughed after speaking and sprinkled the ground beneath him in blood as Yellow¡¯s body began to fall backwards. The woman snapped out of her daze and caught Yellow¡¯s falling body. She gently placed her deceased teammate¡¯s body on the ground and caught Kualin¡¯s eyes in a steely glare. Kualin met her gaze with equal intensity and prepared himself for the fight.


    Though they were both heavily injured, the fight with the brown-haired woman lasted for only another minute before Kualin pierced her through the chest with a hastily erected spike reinforced with quartz at the knuckles of his right gauntlet for the finishing blow.


    ¡°Ah, shit¡­¡± Breathing heavily, Kualin fell onto his back with a pained grunt and gripped his right side where blood was steadily flowing out of the semi-hole left by Yellow¡¯s claws.


    Kualin! Don¡¯t go to sleep, we¡¯re coming to heal you! Kyra¡¯s voice was the last thing Kualin heard before he sunk into darkness.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    ¡°Uahhhh!¡± Akito swung the heavy axe to clash once more with the heavy armored Interfectorian¡¯s great sword. At some point, after the fight had started, Pixie had come and she was desperately trying to lure one of the Interfectorians out of the rain so that she could use her lightning without fear of hurting Akito or Izzy, but she¡¯d had no such luck. In the time since she¡¯d gotten here, she¡¯d only been playing a deadly game of cat and mouse with the Interfectorian who seemed to be a whole level of speed slower than Pixie and just hadn¡¯t realized it yet.


    Akito didn¡¯t know how Pixie was moving that quickly for so long, but he did know that he was growing tired. Fortunately, so were the aliens. Maybe a minute more and the plan would be executed, but damn he was so tired. Keeping this rain up to deal with the Interfectorians¡¯ superior speed was difficult and very harsh on the meager amount of mana he had at his disposal.


    He fended off the great sword for a couple more minutes, finding no holes in his opponent¡¯s defense, before the rain allowed him the displeasure of knowing Izzy had taken a hit to the head and was sent flying by the alien she¡¯d been fighting. Akito knew that though she was as strong as him, she was not used to the immense strength and wouldn¡¯t be able to utilize it without getting used to it first and it was probably the only reason she had lost.


    Akito swung his axe in a wide arc at the large Interfectorian and used nearly the last bit of his mana to send a multitude of water spears at the alien that had been fighting Izzy, forcing him to give Izzy tens of meters of space.


    The water layer above them slowly disappeared as Akito dispelled it so that he wouldn¡¯t pass out from completely exhausting his mana. After a couple seconds, the rain that had been present since the beginning of their fight had finally stopped.


    The three Interfectorians regrouped with one another as Akito and Pixie rushed to Izzy¡¯s side. Once Akito had gotten close enough, he tenderly lifted her small body into his arms and took notice of the blood that stuck her blond hair to her head. Seeing Izzy¡¯s unfocused blue eyes try to zone in on him caused something dark to stir inside of him.


    Akito¡¯s thoughts turned morbid at the idea of Izzy dying in his arms and he felt the darkness inside of him begin to claw at his heart. He moved to set Izzy on the ground before a hand clamped down on his shoulder. Akito turned to acknowledge the sight of Milik using him as leverage to pull Clara out of his own shadow behind him.


    ¡°You did good¡­but you¡¯re done now, big guy.¡± Milik squeezed Akito¡¯s shoulder comfortingly, causing him to relax his tense muscles.


    ¡°Let Clara heal her and recharge your mana a bit. She¡¯s got huge reserves. I¡¯ll handle things here.¡± Akito looked at Milik with reluctance clear in his eyes, but he was too tired to fight any more. He¡¯d been pushed far past his limits.


    Milik pointed directly at Pixie and said, ¡°Watch over them. I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    Milik, is it ready? Kyra¡¯s strained voice entered all of their minds and Milik responded to her in the affirmative.


    The three Interfectorians that Akito and Izzy had been fighting were catching their breath when Milik walked ahead of his friends to stand thirty yards away from them with nothing but the shoddy longsword he¡¯d picked up from an orc a couple days ago in his right hand. The three aliens looked at one another before laughing at Milik¡¯s audacity.


    The heavy armored one lifted his hand up to point at Milik before saying, ¡°You intend to face the three of us all by yourself when your three friends couldn¡¯t even handle us by themselves?¡±


    Milik shook his head at the large alien and shot him a wide smile. ¡°Not at all. That just seems a little unfair don¡¯t you think?¡± At that moment, an Interfectorian on the defensive came into sight as he batted away two flying daggers with a pair of his own and, seeing his teammates, he rushed over to the other three Interfectorians in seconds. The knives stopped chasing him when he ran away and floated over towards Kyra in the distance who caught them and bolted towards the rest of her friends at a full sprint.


    Once she¡¯d gotten close enough, it was easy to tell that Kyra was completely spent; Her braids were in disarray, her nose was bleeding from both nostrils, and she¡¯d obviously been cut in several places as her clothes were bloodstained and partially in tatters, so it wasn¡¯t much of a surprise when she hit the ground in exhaustion when she¡¯d made it next to Akito, Clara, Izzy, and Pixie.


    Milik narrowed his eyes at the sight of his injured teammate, but kept his eyes on the four enemies.


    ¡°Ah, see? Four versus one. That¡¯s much fairer¡­not that you stood much of a chance anyways.¡± The four aliens looked at Milik as if he were insane, but before any of them could move, Milik pulled a small black ball from his pockets that he threw into the air above the Interfectorians. They watched as the ball hovered into place above them and sat silently for several seconds before they burst into laughter.


    ¡°Must have been defective! Haha what an idiot!¡± Milik only watched them silently for a moment before the smile slipped away from his face leaving an expressionless mask in its place.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The Interfectorians had no time to act before Milik snapped his fingers and the ball expanded into a black cube the size of a large house that instantly swallowed up the four Interfectorians. It only took a few seconds for the first scream to come from the dark cube. The first was quickly followed by the other three and several seconds later, the cube became completely silent.


    ¡°Milik¡­what¡ª¡± Akito reached out to him, but Milik had already begun walking towards the dark cube.


    ¡°They¡¯re still alive¡­just¡­I¡¯ll be back once I¡¯m done¡­¡± He didn¡¯t elaborate any further and walked through the dark wall of the cube.


    ¡°He was working on it the entire time we were inside Akito¡¯s shadow.¡± Clara, who had finished healing Izzy and had moved onto healing Kyra, was shivering.


    ¡°¡­what he put in that ball¡­I know he¡¯s our ally and he only made it to ensure we won, but never get on Milik¡¯s bad side. I¡¯m not sure if even I can heal what those aliens just went through.¡± Akito felt a cold shiver run down his spine just as Kyra jerked awake under Clara¡¯s glowing hands.


    ¡°Kualin needs our help now! He¡¯s fading fast!¡± Tears began streaming down Kyra¡¯s face at the thought of losing one of her friends and Clara helped her climb to her feet.


    ¡°Which way?¡± Clara demanded in a rare show of fierceness.


    Kyra concentrated for only a moment before pointing off in the direction she¡¯d last felt his presence and Clara took off at full speed to her fallen comrade, hoping she wouldn¡¯t be too late while the others followed behind her as quickly as they could.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    I watched as the black light in the middle of the prince¡¯s forehead grew dimmer and extinguished itself. It was finally over, I¡¯d felt Milik use his new skill less than a minute ago and I knew that move was the clincher. I looked down at Prince Adal¡¯s body, or well his upper and lower halves, with a sadness I knew was pointless to feel.


    Every cruel thing I¡¯d done in the fight¡­the taunting, beheading Melanie, throwing her body to the ground like I had¡­it had all been to get into Prince Adal¡¯s head. It had worked and I didn¡¯t feel particularly guilty for doing what I¡¯d had to do to win because, for all I knew, they probably had years of experience on me and would only fight predictably like they had when enraged¡­but this was just nasty work.


    Prince Adal lay at my feet, bisected neatly into two halves. He¡¯d taken a large amount of damage from the high-speed beating I¡¯d given him and the rest of the fight had gone just like it once I¡¯d stowed the sword away in my inventory.


    To be fair, my dexterity was at ninety with my title buff and that was some serious speed to be working with, so I¡¯d be sorely put out if someone could match me for speed in our first big fight, but it had been such a bloody one-sided fight.


    Sighing, I took off at a run in the direction I knew my friends were in and came to a sliding stop next to the group of them after about half a minute of travel. They were all huddled around Clara who had her glowing hands set on Kualin¡¯s abdomen.


    ¡°He¡¯s going to make it. His HP was dangerously low, but I got to him in time.¡± Clara answered my unasked question and I was about to point at the black cube in the distance before it disappeared leaving Milik standing in the middle of four unmoving bodies in its wake with a long, thin-bladed great sword resting across his shoulder blades.


    Milik, spotting our position, was at our side in less than five seconds and as soon as he¡¯d made it to the rest of us, a familiar noise rang out.


    Ding!


    Before reading the message, I looked at Milik and when his eyes met mine, I nearly gasped in surprise. His eyes were dark. Haunted even. Looking at my friends, I saw that they were all focused on Clara healing Kualin, so I moved next to Milik and grabbed his shoulder and steered him away from the group. Once we¡¯d gotten more than ten meters away, I turned to look at him again. He was standing stock still, and he looked to be not all the way there with me. I felt my blood run cold at the sight and I shook him a little before his clouded eyes focused on me.


    ¡°Milik¡­are you alright?¡± He stared at me for a second and I felt like kicking myself. Of course he wasn¡¯t okay. ¡°Look, I¡¯m sorry about asking you to do that¡­I know it couldn¡¯t have been pretty.¡± Milik¡¯s part in the plan was the only thing I¡¯d felt true guilt for, but I knew it would bring the rest of my friends victory when they were on the ropes.


    Milik looked away from me for a moment before wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. Several silent seconds passed by before he spoke.


    ¡°Alex¡­I broke those people. What I did¡­I did it for the win¡­for our planet¡¯s survival¡­so why do I feel so terrible about the whole thing?¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s¡­You¡­¡± I stuttered trying to find an answer for him, but I came up empty and could only say, ¡°Milik¡­I¡¯m sorry. I¡¯ll never ask you to do something like that again. I promise.¡± It wasn¡¯t much comfort, but it was all I could think to give at the time. Milik turned his gaze to the ground.


    ¡°Do you think it¡¯s the power? The darkness element¡­?¡±


    ¡°What?¡± I stared at him in shock, but Milik¡¯s shaking body was the only response I received.


    ¡°No. Absolutely not, man. Look at me.¡± Milik slowly turned his eyes from the ground up towards me and I could see that his eyes were redder than usual and moist. I placed both of my hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. ¡°This power is ours. It controls nothing. We control it. We decide how we use it. No amount of power will ever change who we are.¡± I let my hands drop from his shoulders and put a fist between us. ¡°We¡¯re the Overgods, man. I¡¯ll always have your back and you¡¯ll always have mine. We¡¯ll keep each other in line. Alright?¡±


    Milik stared at my hand for a moment before wiping his eyes free of tears as he brought his fist up to bump mine. ¡°Yeah¡­¡± He choked a little on the words, but I knew he¡¯d be alright.


    ¡°Alright, I¡¯m gonna go back to the group and see where we need to go next. Figure all that out.¡± I waved my arms around in front of me and he chuckled at my antics before wiping at his eyes again.


    ¡°Must be tough being the leader, huh?¡±


    I shook my head at him. ¡°Not with such a great team of friends. Come back over when you¡¯re good.¡± He nodded at my words and I began walking over to my friends while pulling up the Infinity Complexes¡¯ System Alert Log.


    Glossing over the message that told me I¡¯d leveled up five times from the fight, my eyes settled on the new message from the Overlords. After reading it I swiped my hand through the air in anger, dismissing the window.


    Making it to the group, I could tell that none of them had read the message yet, but Kualin was rubbing his repaired flesh in wonder so it was fair that everyone was focused on his recovery. I waited silently for another minute until Milik came back before I cleared my throat, immediately catching my friends¡¯ attention.


    ¡°Look, guys, I hate to break it to everyone, but I think the Overlords are intent on killing us.¡± I opened up the log once more so that I could read the message aloud to my friends.


    ¡°Overgods. Congratulations on completing the first of many trials ahead of you.  After the first round fights, there are only five teams total left on your second floor. Some are still complete, others are not. The battle will take place two months from now in the capital city of Letheron¡¯s continent, Rohan. Your objective is to eliminate two of the four remaining teams. The four remaining teams, however, are under a non-aggression pact.¡±


    I finished reading the message and again swiped it away in barely contained rage. My friends looked like they were at a loss and after several moments of internal struggles all around, it was Izzy who finally asked the question.


    ¡°Alex¡­how are we going to¡­survive?¡± I looked down at the ground as my brain furiously worked at the nigh insurmountable problem we¡¯d run into. It was only after several moments of silence that I finally responded.


    ¡°A lot can be done, but first¡­We need to become strong.¡± I looked at all of my friends and spoke my last words on the matter at hand. ¡°Stronger than all of them combined.¡±


    ...................................................................................


    A/N: 10,300 or so words later the chapter is over! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!

 Chapter 19: Unsuspected Developments

    A/N: Yo, everyone! This chapter is just under 7000 words and I just want to let you all know that I have finals this coming week, so I wouldn''t expect a chapter until maybe next Sunday or Monday. Read, review, and enjoy :)


    ..............................................................


    ¡°You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ¡®I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.¡¯¡±


    -	Eleanor Roosevelt


    ¡°You know, I¡¯m not entirely sure this was the best idea.¡± Milik¡¯s words elicited a snort from me as I watched him brush Kyra¡¯s braids over her shoulders while she retched the copious amounts of alcohol she¡¯d drank after dinner over the edge of the cliff in front of our cave. When we¡¯d made it back to the cave, we¡¯d quickly distributed the points we¡¯d gained from leveling up from our battle and it had been Kyra¡¯s suggestion that we drink the rest of the day away in celebration of our victory and well, some people could hold it and others couldn¡¯t.


    Izzy, to no one¡¯s surprise, had slumped over onto Akito¡¯s shoulder and passed out about an hour ago. She had the smallest body out of anyone here and I highly doubted she¡¯d ever drank alcohol before tonight. Our brawny teammate had been quick to follow Izzy into the land of dreams as he had ran himself ragged fighting the Interfectorians earlier in the day, though I was sure the alcohol had helped him along.


    ¡°Oh, I don¡¯t feel so good.¡± My attention turned back to the hunched over form of Kyra and I almost laughed at her in spite of myself, but Milik¡¯s glare made sure I kept it to myself. As Milik grabbed a stone cup filled with water, and passed it into the shaking hands of Kyra, I turned my attention to Kualin. He was freestyling to the last bit of music my dying cell phone could give him much to the amusement and entertainment of the only two girls on our team that had drank themselves into a happy place¡ªPixie and Clara. Smiling lightly at the scene, I watched for a couple more minutes before moving aside for Milik who was carrying a passed out Kyra to her sleeping bag.


    After Milik passed by, I went back to watching Kualin who was now forming dance moves to the beat of Panda by Desiigner. A minute into the song Kualin noticed I was watching and smoothly danced from his spot over to where I stood at the opening of the cave and formed some type of imaginary ball and gestured for me to put my hand out. I confusedly, lifted my hand as he tossed the imaginary ball up before catching it and popping it along his arm before pointing to my hand as he stopped dancing.


    I stood there for a few moments in confusion as Kualin looked at me expectantly. After a few more seconds of standing there, I finally understood that the imaginary ball he¡¯d passed to me was the ¡®dance,¡¯ so to speak. I hurriedly shook my head at him while throwing the imaginary ball back to him.


    ¡°Sorry, man. I don¡¯t really dance.¡±


    He looked at me incredulously for a moment before shrugging as he started popping his body in ways I¡¯d only seen professional dancers do. I watched in silent wonder for a few seconds before Kualin spoke. ¡°I can teach you how if you want. It really ain¡¯t as hard as it looks.¡±


    I looked at him in disbelief as his upper body, from fingertip to fingertip, let a smooth horizontal wave of motion pass through it before Pixie bumped into my shoulder.


    ¡°Yeah, Alex! You should learn how to do it. It looks like so much fun! Kualin said he¡¯d teach me too, so we can learn together!" Pixie¡¯s blue eyes shined in happiness and the thought of the super hyper Pixie being able to dance like Kualin passed as a fleeting thought in my mind and it brought a smile to my face.


    ¡°Eh, dancing isn¡¯t really for me. But seriously, Kualin, where did you learn how to dance like that?¡± At that moment, the music from my phone cut off and I looked over towards where it was on the ground just in time to see the screen cut and go dark as the battery ran out of energy. Kualin came to a smooth stop in his dance like he¡¯d known the phone would die at that exact moment and wiped the sweat off his brow with his forearm before answering me.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been dancing for as long as I can remember. You know how people in big cities will dance on the side of the street for money? Well, I used to watch as a kid and pretty soon I was dancing along with the best of those people on the street. Sometimes, I¡¯d even do it by myself and well, I guess I just got better over the years.¡± I whistled at my friend in amazement.


    ¡°So, you¡¯re self-taught? That¡¯s pretty awesome, dude, not even going to lie.¡± Kualin nodded with a smile before shaking his body in exasperation.


    ¡°Thanks, man, but I¡¯m still hyped up. Want to go out onto the plains with me? Work off this extra energy?¡± As he spoke, he was already grabbing a black hoodie with pink and lilac flowers spread across its upper half from his inventory.


    ¡°Er, right now? It¡¯s nighttime though.¡± I looked over in Milik¡¯s direction for some support, but he just shrugged in response. I shot him a look that said ¡®very helpful¡¯ before Kualin shook my shoulder. He¡¯d already pulled his hoodie on and looked ready to go.


    ¡°Yo, you coming or not? I¡¯m going either way.¡± I looked one last time at Pixie who yawned and the action was quickly repeated by Clara who stretched as she did so.


    ¡°Just go out with him, Alex. I¡¯ll stay up until you guys get back.¡± I turned my attention to Milik, appalled by his treachery, and finally my gaze settled on my sleeping bag in longing. It was a shame that I wasn¡¯t the type of person who¡¯d let his friend go out and fight monsters all by himself. Sighing in defeat, I pulled a gray hoodie with the word, ¡®Legend,¡¯ inked in blue across the front of it out of my inventory and pulled it on.


    ¡°Fine, fine. This cave better be in one piece when we come back though.¡± Milik¡¯s face split into a devilish grin that I took to mean he was making no promises. Letting out another sigh, I followed Kualin out of our cave and we took off at a reasonable jog for any monsters in the vicinity.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡°Catch!¡± A giant pillar of rock blasted out of the ground underneath an orc causing it to scream as it was launched into the air before a golden blade of wind bisected it neatly into two. ¡°Whoo! Bruh, I could do this all day!¡± I felt a smile tug at my lips at Kualin¡¯s words.


    ¡°Only you could turn hunting monsters into a game!¡± I shouted back at him while easily ducking the swing of a goblin¡¯s rusty dagger before sending it flying with a kick to the chest.


    ¡°Heads up!¡± I quickly ducked to the ground just before a large rock crashed into a group of four orcs with a nasty snapping noise that was followed by wails of pain which were quickly extinguished when an air blade cut through the screaming orcs. I raised myself to my feet and glared at Kualin.


    ¡°Hey, man! Watch where you¡¯re throwing that stuff. I haven¡¯t gotten hit since this whole thing started and I¡¯d like to keep it that way!¡± He sent a guilty grin my way as he weaved in and out of an orc''s wildly swinging fists.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry.¡± I could hear the sarcasm in his apology as I was forced to duck under the claws of some hybrid animal creature. ¡°Didn¡¯t know you were feeling some type of way tonight.¡± I pushed the hybrid back with my hand before pulling the longsword I¡¯d gotten that day out of my inventory and slashed at the hybrid, forcing it to give me even more distance.


    ¡°Feeling some type of¡ª! Let me throw an air blade in your direction and see how you feel!¡± I suddenly felt a foot push off my left shoulder and looked up to see Kualin launching himself in the air above me. He flicked his hand up causing a basketball sized clump of rock to rise out of the plains and levitate to his position before punching it off into the chest of the hybrid I¡¯d been fighting. I winced at the noise of the hybrid¡¯s ribs being crushed by the force of the blow and once more when Kualin landed on its chest eliciting even more crunching noises before he put it out of its misery with a spike extending from his rock gauntlet.


    ¡°But you won¡¯t though!¡± Kualin¡¯s taunt made me raise my hand in a threatening manner, but by the way he¡¯d started laughing, I knew it was pointless. Lowering my hand, I looked around at the mass of broken and split bodies scattered across the grounds of the plains in a large circle around the two of us. Not even one of them were twitching. I turned my attention back to Kualin and smirked at him.


    ¡°Whaaaatever, man. I¡¯m lethal. Anyways, you ready to head back or what?¡± We¡¯d probably been killing monsters for a good half hour now, but I was ready to sleep. Killing monsters of this level honestly just made me even sleepier.


    ¡°Lethal? Man, you must not know the meaning of the word.¡± I gestured at the numerous monster bodies around us, but Kualin only laughed. ¡°This isn¡¯t lethal, bruh. This is easy. I wish there was something out here that we could cut loose on. We¡¯re not even leveling up by fighting groups of these guys anymore.¡± Kualin¡¯s foot nudged the body of the dead hybrid whose ribcage he¡¯d crushed, but I could only shrug in response.


    ¡°I think I¡¯m happier with this. We¡¯ll have enough life-threatening situations to make it through by the time we finish with this shit.¡± My words caused Kualin to laugh in amusement which only led me to raise one of my eyebrows in question. I didn¡¯t think I¡¯d said anything particularly funny. After laughing to himself for a couple seconds, he finally noticed the look of confusion plastered on my face and, after calming himself down, he began walking over to me probably to elaborate, but he never got the chance to because at that exact moment a deep rumbling noise reverberated across the sky accompanied by an all too familiar noise.


    Ding!


    I felt my stomach sink at the noise before my eyes met Kualin¡¯s for the briefest of moments and then our eyes settled on our respective notifications from the Infinity Complex.


    ¡°Dungeon, ¡®Plains of Death,¡¯ has evolved itself due to the inability of invaders to eliminate the ¡®Plains of Death¡¯ Boss within one week of activity within the dungeon. Difficulty rating increased from 1/15 to 2/15.¡±


    I cursed silently under my breath, but there was no such reservation from Kualin.


    ¡°What kind of shit is this?¡± I lifted my fingers to the sides of my head in an attempt to massage it before the incoming headache fully settled in.


    ¡°This is your fault,¡± I said darkly, still rubbing out the soft pain in my head.


    ¡°Nig¡ªhow is this my fault!?¡± Kualin¡¯s words only caused my headache to grow in intensity and I gritted my teeth at the pain.


    ¡°You just had to say something about the monsters being too weak. ¡®I wish there was something we could cut loose on.¡¯ Those were your exact words!¡± The lightning in the sky began to pulse and flash brightly and even more furiously than it had the entire week we¡¯d been here and I knew at that moment that Kualin and I were about to have a really bad time. As if there was a signal, the rapid moving red beams of electricity that were roiling madly in the sky had come to a stop. I looked at Kualin in question before a deafening noise and multiple red lightning bolts struck the broken and lifeless ground in all directions around Kualin and I. Not all of the lightning bolts landed close to us, but Kualin still had the sense to stomp the ground, forcing a large slab of earth above us to block any stray lightning.


    ¡°Really starting to wonder why I even bothered putting any points into luck to begin with.¡± I looked at Kualin like he was crazy for a second and completely forgot about all the monsters that were sure to rise from the various lightning strikes.


    ¡°You¡¯re telling me you wasted points like that?¡± My voice was all accusatory with not an ounce of humor behind it. I wasn¡¯t even angry anymore that Kualin¡¯s earlier words had somehow pissed off the Plains of Death and sent down a fucking army of monsters to kill us. No, this was about points¡ªsomething even more important than our current situation. Kualin, noticing the tone of my voice, turned to look at me as if I¡¯d lost my mind as he gestured around us just as a cacophony of roars and screeches filled the land around us.


    ¡°You know what? I ain¡¯t even gonna stunt cuz you might be right. I see how a twenty in luck does me dirty, but we¡¯ll see how you¡¯re feeling when we get the loot from all these monsters.¡± I had literally just turned away from Kualin a second before he finished his sentence, but now I was looking at him again with wide eyes.


    ¡°You can¡¯t be serious. We have to get the fuck out of here.¡±


    Kualin shook his head and set himself into a fighting stance. ¡°The Lin Que don¡¯t run from a challenge. If that¡¯s what we¡¯re gonna even call this.¡± The dirt lingering in the air around us was beginning to clear and I could clearly see a heavily scaled, emerald green serpent-like creature that was at least the size of a gigantula if not larger with no less than 12 heavily muscled legs planted firmly on the ground. Two black horns that I¡¯d very much hate to be on the receiving end of extended from the top of the creature¡¯s head pointing skyward, but I was more worried about the hungry look in its primal yellow eyes. Surveying the area around us, I saw that there were tons of them and I do mean tons¡ªat least like forty of them. They were accompanied by very ugly, twenty foot tall monsters that I could only associate with what I¡¯d always assumed an ogre would look like. I was not pleased to see that there were just as many ogres as there were monster snakes.


    Hearing more screeching noises, I saw a surge of monsters shoot off from the ground and into the sky as a unit. The flying creatures looked like an ugly mix between the huge twelve-legged serpents on the ground and a chicken or maybe a rooster. These flying rooster-snakes, however, had the leathery wings of a bat rather than the feathered wings of poultry and it only took me half a second to relate their appearance to a cockatrice¡ªa monster in medieval folklore that was believed to be birthed from a snake or toad hatching a rooster¡¯s egg. Goddamn monsters couldn¡¯t mind their own business and had to make life even more difficult for me and Kualin by birthing a magical beast and to make matters worse, there were gigantulas, orcs, and beastmen mixed into the throng of monsters and I just knew they were levels above those we¡¯d fought before this whole fiasco started.


    I tugged on Kualin¡¯s flower-patterned hoodie and pointed up into the sky. ¡°Don¡¯t let those flying fuckers bite you. If they are what I think they are, then you¡¯ll turn to stone.¡± Kualin flashed me a grin before I felt a pulse of mana and found myself staring at Kualin who was now covered from head to toe in the mineral he¡¯d used in our fight against the Interfectorians¡ªFluorite.


    ¡°Bruh, please. It¡¯ll be a cooooold day before anything can threaten me with earth.¡± I face palmed at Kualin¡¯s ability to joke at being potentially petrified, but I didn¡¯t waste time on it because he probably had a point. The man could control earth after all. Me though? No such possibility of immunity, but I did have defensive measures. Grabbing a hold of my mana, I let an air cloak swiftly envelop my body, leaving a thrumming layer of high-speed wind revolving around me.


    ¡°So¡­remember last night when I said I dumped all my points into dexterity just in case I had to outrun you all?¡± Kualin looked at me in disbelief before I laughed and twirled my longsword lightly in my right hand. ¡°I never said it was to run away.¡±


    ¡°This dude¡ª¡± I didn¡¯t get to catch the rest of Kualin¡¯s words as I left him on the ground and disappeared at top speed into the sky where a flock of cockatrices were circling at least three hundred meters above us. I trusted that Kualin could handle himself on the ground and though the monsters up here were undeniably born to fly, I knew a thing or two about maneuvering in the air myself.


    ¡®Time to make it rain¡­dead monsters¡­and blood. That won¡¯t be very fun for Kualin to have to deal with.¡¯ An evil grin spread across my face at one last thought before I lunged for the nearest cockatrice. ¡®Meh, this is his fault anyways.¡¯


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­


    ¡®Fuck Alex.¡¯


    This was the sixth time Kualin had to dodge the body of a beheaded or bisected cockatrice falling from the sky and he was wholeheartedly starting to believe the bastard was actually aiming for him on purpose even if a number of other bodies had narrowly missed many of the twelve legged-snake creatures and crushed about ten of the ogres, killing them instantly.


    When he wasn¡¯t dodging monsters falling from the sky, Kualin was smartly ignoring the loot and targeting the less tough ogres in favor of the armored snake monsters and in the time since the fight had started, about four or five minutes ago, Kualin had already brought down six ogres by tripping them up with well-timed protrusions of earth pillars and finishing them off with an earth spear or spiked gauntlet¡­well multiple spears and spiked gauntlets considering the extraordinary size of the bastards, but that was beside the point.


    ¡®And goddamn these motherfuckers stink!¡¯


    ¡°Yo,¡± Kualin shouted at a mob of approaching ogres with his arms crossed and anger evident in his eyes. ¡°Just cuz you ugly ass¡­things¡­are monsters doesn¡¯t mean you can¡¯t take care of yo goddamn selves!¡± The monsters ignored his words, opting instead to charge towards Kualin who just shook his head in disgust at the ogres. It was a mystery to Kualin how these ugly things even got around to reproducing and it was with a shudder that he quickly closed that line of thought before deflecting a fist the size of a tree with a punch of his own. Kualin had wondered just how extensive the changes in his strength would be since he¡¯d increased it only a couple hours ago up to fifty-four, but this was beyond even his expectations. He was not one whit inferior to the giant ogres in pure strength and he even felt like he was probably stronger despite the fact those giants were easily throwing at least two tons of force behind their punches.


    Stomping on the ground, at least four car sized rocks exploded out of the ground hovering to a halt in front of Kualin before he kicked them away from him hitting three ogres in the skulls with a resounding crack and just barely missing the last one which dumbly tripped over its own feet in an effort to evade, leaving it wide open for an earth spear which pierced through its head in a shower of blood and chipped bone. There were still at least twenty ogres still standing and Kualin smiled in delight. The fight wasn¡¯t so dangerous for him yet, but it had definitely relieved the boredom. Summoning a large rock to fall and crush the body of a rushing gigantula, Kualin ran forward into the throng of smaller monsters standing between him and the next ogre he¡¯d chosen to kill.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­..


    Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¡®Well, this isn¡¯t as bad as I thought it would be.¡¯


    Slipping past another set of sharp teeth intent on ripping me to pieces, I decapitated the cockatrice with an air blade and kicked off an air platform across the sky to the next unsuspecting monster. This hadn¡¯t been as difficult as I¡¯d thought it would be since one cut with my air blade through a cockatrice¡¯s wing or neck was enough to send them falling to their death, but the real problem lied with the snake monsters on the ground. I was sure their scales provided a wealth of protection from attacks and, not for the first time, I was beginning to doubt that one air blade would be enough to cut through and kill the whole monster in one go. It had taken several concentrated air blades to cut Prince Adal in half earlier that day and it was just annoyingly difficult to have to aim for the same spot over and over again. I¡¯d noticed that Kualin was only focusing on the small fry and ogres while completely avoiding the house-sized, twelve-legged snakes and they¡¯d been content to let him do so. Actually, if I looked at the ground closer, it seemed like the snake monsters were all moving to gather together in one spot and¡­shit.


    Abandoning my battle in the sky, I used air platform after platform to race towards Kualin who, at that exact moment, had punched the legs out from one of the giants and buried it under a pile of fast moving rocks. Kualin¡¯s armor was cracked in various places and he was wildly swinging at the monster horde closing in on him and, though I was probably a little more than fifty points ahead of Kualin in dexterity, when I¡¯d gotten within range, he threw a punch in my direction that I just barely dodged¡ªI knew his strength was well above mine, so there was no way I was trying to catch that. He threw another punch at me that I deftly ducked under before shouting at him.


    ¡°Kualin! We need to go right now!¡± His eyes, which had been clouded in a battle-induced haze focused on me just before I grabbed his upper arm and jumped the both of us into the sky. Using my air platforms, we quickly reached a height above the range of any of the land-locked monsters. As soon as I¡¯d stopped moving, Kualin pulled his arm out of my grasp and it was all I could do to make sure an air platform was under his feet before he fell to a nasty death. Seemed like he wasn¡¯t really worried about that though as he looked to be gauging the distance from where we stood in the air and the expansive area of ground filled to the brim with varying creatures.


    ¡°What do you mean we need to go? We have it under control.¡± He crouched his legs like he was about to hop back down into the field of monsters and I sighed in exasperation before speaking.


    ¡°I know you were too busy tearing shit up down there to notice, but the snake creatures haven¡¯t attacked. If you look closely, they¡¯re readying themselves for some kind of big attack. Maybe a stampede. Maybe something even worse than that. My point is that we can¡¯t stay here and finish this. As much as neither of us want to ¡®run,¡¯ just think of it as a strategic retreat. We need to get the hell out of this place before the Plains of Death decide to evolve on us again.¡± My mouth was set in a grim line after explaining everything and Kualin took the chance to survey the snake monsters that were still attempting to group up with one another.


    ¡°Well, what do you think they¡¯re doing?¡± Was his only response after several tense moments which was of course when the horns on the monstrous snakes began to glow white in the darkness of the plains.


    ¡°Don¡¯t know¡­¡± More and more of their horns began to glow and it was almost like watching a light show¡­albeit you wouldn¡¯t usually die if you stuck around a normal light show. ¡°We should get going though.¡± Kualin nodded, still mesmerized by the mass of lights on the glowing horns that seemed to light up the whole field. Once again taking a hold of his upper arm, we ¡®strategically retreated¡¯ in step with one another as we ran across the skies gaining distance between us and the crowd of monsters as fast as we could move.


    It proved to be futile though.


    A sharp crack rang out right before I felt a numbing sensation in my right shoulder that quickly spread to the rest of my body before exiting with a flash of light on Kualin¡¯s fluorite armor. After taking the hit, I promptly lost all control of my body, Kualin¡¯s arm slipped out of my grip, and I began to fall headfirst towards the ground. I could barely notice that Kualin was there falling with me despite his loud shout of ¡°Holy shit!¡± The pain was nearly unbearable, but I willed myself to move and only got a slight twitch at the tip of my fingers. More cracking sounds filled the night and the sky was suddenly filled with arcing bolts of white lightning tearing across the sky all around us as I took another two hits¡ªone to my previously uninjured left arm causing me to spin around and take the second in the dead center of my chest. I felt the mind-numbing pain, but all my attention was on forcing one of my body parts to move before Kualin and I hit the ground that was rapidly approaching.


    ¡®Come on! Come on! Move, Alex! Move! Fucking MOVE!¡¯


    My arm finally responded to my commands and I swung it an arc to grab Kualin by his hoodie. His eyes jolted open in surprise and I was sure that he¡¯d been praying before I grabbed him. The thought almost made me laugh, but first I forced a lot of wind into an upward draft centered on both of our lower abdomens to catch our center of masses and sufficiently slow the momentum we¡¯d picked up from falling a couple hundred meters out of the sky. Once we¡¯d reached a satisfactory speed, I kicked off an air platform, the impact jarring my leg, and we were once again able to move in tandem through the skies, or so I thought.


    ¡°Let me the fuck down! I refuse to fall again!¡±


    I looked at Kualin incredulously. ¡°Dude, we¡¯re fine! Chill out.¡±


    Kualin¡¯s eyes grew wide as if I¡¯d just insulted him. ¡°Fine!? Hell nah, Alex, we just free fell for god knows how far! Put me down!¡± Rolling my eyes, I planned a route to the ground and executed it with Kualin by my side. As soon as we touched the ground he walked back and forth for a bit, trying to get the feeling of the world underneath him again while muttering things like ¡°People don¡¯t fly,¡± and ¡°Got me all the way fucked up,¡± before he finally came to a stop in front of me. He eyed me silently before speaking in a tone softer than any he¡¯d ever used before. ¡°How much HP do you have left?¡± I blinked in surprise at the question before checking for myself and my mouth dropped open in surprise while my eyes widened in slight fear.


    ¡°Holy shit! They took nearly half of my health!¡± Kualin shook his head before lifting his fist towards me. I quickly bumped it in confusion, but he quickly elaborated.


    ¡°Yo, I know you took an ugly hit because you ain¡¯t shit, but we kicked some major ass tonight!¡± His words left me standing with a small frown on my face, but Kualin seemed not to notice though as he began jogging in the direction of the Shrouded Mountains. ¡°Let¡¯s get you healed up and get the fuck out of here!¡± Shrugging, I quickly appeared on Kualin¡¯s side as he set the pace for our run back to our impromptu base. Getting the hell out of here was an idea I could get behind.


    ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.


    Making it to the entrance of the cave about half an hour later, Kualin and I were welcomed to the sight of our entire team passed out in their sleeping bags¡­well, aside from Izzy who was still passed out while resting her head against Akito¡¯s shoulder as he leaned against the rock wall for support while he also slept. Sharing a silent look with Kualin, we both nodded to each other and he went straight to Milik, who was supposed to be keeping watch, while I headed towards Clara¡¯s sleeping form. Reaching her, I was reminded once more of just how cute she was as a small bit of drool fell out of her slightly open mouth onto her sleeping bag. Suppressing a chuckle, I lightly shook her shoulder, but all she did was turn over and catch my arm in between hers, clutching it tight against her chest with a content sigh.


    My heart instantly went into overdrive. I reveled in the softness of Clara¡¯s body for only a moment before using my free hand to shake her shoulder again, but this time I called out to her. ¡°Clara. Wake up please¡­¡± A couple more gentle shakes caused her to slowly open her eyes and I saw the confusion linger in them for only a moment before she finally focused on my face.


    ¡°Alex¡­?¡± She then looked down to my arm that was currently trapped in her embrace and hastily scrambled to untangle my arm from her grasp. This time I couldn¡¯t help it and I let out a laugh at her reaction, causing her to blush while she wiped away the little bit of drool that was lingering on the corner of her lips. I laughed a little harder at this to which she blushed even more intensely before mumbling, ¡°What did you wake me up for?¡±


    ¡°Oh, I need you to heal me. It¡¯s nothing¡ª¡± I never got the chance to finish because Clara had cut me off.


    ¡°What happened!?¡± Clara¡¯s eyes were feverishly scanning my body for any marks, but I was completely covered in my hoodie and jeans.


    Running my fingers through my hair in embarrassment I shot her a grin and said, ¡°Well, if I had to explain it, I¡¯d say that Kualin pissed off the Plains of Death¡ª¡±


    ¡°Did not!¡± Kualin¡¯s voice came from behind me where he was still waking up the rest of our members, but I just rolled my eyes and carried on like I hadn¡¯t even heard him.


    ¡°¡­and then a horde of¡­well, not particularly strong, but definitely dangerous monsters shot some lighting out of these horns on their heads¡ª¡±


    ¡°Ah, Milik, you should¡¯ve seen that shit. Alex got frosted!¡± Milik¡¯s laugh in response to Kualin¡¯s words made a vein start to pulse on my forehead, but I kept my voice level.


    ¡°¡­and anyways, I got hit by lightning¡­um, three times. Did I mention it was all Kualin¡¯s fault?¡± Clara seemed not to worry about anything I¡¯d said after she heard the word ¡®lightning¡¯ because she was looking at me in what I could tell was distress.


    ¡°Take off your hoodie and shirt.¡±


    ¡°Wait¡­what?¡± Clara blushed under my questioning, but she looked like she wasn¡¯t going to take no for an answer, so I reluctantly pulled my hoodie off followed quickly by my shirt and then the strike vest that I¡¯d only ever taken off to sleep. I looked away from Clara kind of embarrassed on how intently she was looking at me before I heard her gasp in surprise which was quickly repeated by me when I saw what was different. The black roman numeral number one covering the area above my heart that I¡¯d gotten from my awakening was old news to me and I could say the same for the long jagged scar across the top of my chest from when the beastman at my dorm dragged a lone claw across my chest before I¡¯d passed out. When my eyes traveled to my arms is when I saw the problem; there, running along both arms where I¡¯d been hit, were lightning burns in the form of what I knew to be called Lichtenberg figures.


    ¡°Just like I thought.¡± Clara¡¯s hands were now glowing green and she placed them in the middle of my chest where a warmth spread from there to every part of my body. It was a comforting feeling, one that I missed when she withdrew her hands from me after a minute. When she took a step back to look at my arms, she frowned and looking down, I saw that the electrical burns hadn¡¯t gone away when she healed me.


    ¡®Status¡¯


    Title: Lord Sky¡¯s Heir (Active)


    Name: Alexander Taylor


    Class: Sky Walker


    Level: 29


    HP: 1032/1032


    MP: 2080/2340 (4220/4740)


    STR: 40


    VIT: 25


    DEX: 67 (101)


    INT: 50 (63)


    WIS: 35 (44)


    LUK: 11


    POINTS: 0


    MONEY: 47 USD¡­8 Gold, 16 Silver, 67 Copper


    Lightly clicking my tongue at the small loss of my mana reserves, I dismissed my status screen with a wave of my hand and gave a light smile to Clara but she was still frowning at the marks on my arms. ¡°It¡¯s okay Clara. It¡¯s just another couple of scars to add to the collection.¡± I thought my words were going to comfort her, but I guess they had an opposite effect because Clara now looked like she was close to tears. ¡°Clara, what¡¯s wrong?¡±


    Sniffing a little bit, Clara wiped her eyes with the back of her hand while I began to pull on my strike vest and shirt followed closely by my gray hoodie. I was unsure of what to say to her and stood there awkwardly for a couple seconds just looking at her before I was saved by Kualin.


    ¡°Alex!¡± Turning around, I saw Kualin had woken everyone up. I could tell that Kyra and Izzy were sporting some massive headaches if the way they were rubbing their heads and swearing under each other¡¯s breaths were any indication. Akito, Milik, and Pixie on the other hand were all on high alert. Sparing Clara one last look, I lightly pulled her with me to join the rest of my friends at the entrance of the cave just as Kualin shouted, much to the annoyance of the hungover Izzy and Kyra who both winced at his voice, ¡°Yo! We¡¯re getting the hell out of this mountain range! Something happened¡ª¡±


    ¡°You happened.¡± I muttered under my breath, but no one seemed to have heard me.


    ¡°¡­and the monsters are getting stronger so we got to get the hell up out of here!¡± Sighing, I nodded my head at Kualin¡¯s words but still decided to elaborate for the group.


    ¡°Kualin and I were out there and the Plains of Death turned out to be a Dungeon of sorts,¡± Milik¡¯s eyes widened in surprise but there would be plenty of time to catch him up with specifics later. Specifically, how this whole damn thing was Kualin¡¯s fault. ¡°Anyways, this place apparently evolves the longer we stay here without defeating the boss, so we should probably get out of here. Maybe head to the capital, Rohan, while we have the chance.¡±


    ¡°Wait, why don¡¯t we just go kill the boss?¡±


    ¡°I¡ª¡± Milik¡¯s words brought my whole train of thought to a screeching halt. Aside from hunting for experience, I was all for avoiding monsters, but I did say earlier that day that we¡¯d need to get a hell of a lot stronger hadn¡¯t I? ¡°Well, I mean¡­the monsters Kualin and I were fighting seemed like something we¡¯d be able to handle, so¡­yeah I mean we could do that. It¡¯s obviously going to be dangerous though.¡±


    ¡°Well, why don¡¯t we put it to a vote instead of sitting around all night?¡± Izzy¡¯s disgruntled voice broke into the conversation and the sight of her still massaging her head nearly made me laugh.


    Ding!


    Kualin and I shared a look before all of us turned our attention to the Infinity Complex¡¯s notification.


    ¡°Dungeon, ¡®Shrouded Mountains,¡¯ has evolved itself due to the inability of invaders to eliminate the ¡®Shrouded Mountains¡¯ Boss within one week of activity within the dungeon. Difficulty rating increased from 1/15 to 2/15.¡±


    ¡°What the fuck!?¡± Kualin¡¯s words broke the silence and he was quickly followed by Izzy.


    ¡°What is this? We haven¡¯t even encountered monsters in the mountains!¡±


    ¡®Map.¡¯ The whole of Letheron spread itself out in my mind and I zoned in on the southern region of the map where the Shrouded Mountains lay. The markers that signified my friends and I were located on the eastern side in the middle of the mountains that only stretched north to south about a quarter of the way through the map. To the east lay the Plains of Death and it stretched about half the length of the map before a body of water titled ¡®The Lost Ocean¡¯ cut across the entirety of Letheron and took up the rest of the area in the east. I quickly scanned the map for the capital city, Rohan, and wasn¡¯t so surprised to see that it was literally smack dab in the middle of the map. It would make sense for an entire continent¡¯s capital city to be in the center if resources allowed it to be. Thinking about the distance we¡¯d ventured into the Plains of Death every day for the past week, I eye balled the distance between us and Rohan as at least two weeks of travel if we moved at a reasonable pace.


    ¡°Soooooo if we¡¯re still going to vote, then we should all just know that it will take us about two weeks to travel to Rohan. So, it¡¯s not like we won¡¯t have time to deal with these dungeons.¡± There were nods all around at my words before Izzy spoke up.


    ¡°All in favor of kicking ass and taking names?¡± Shrugging at Izzy¡¯s choice of words, I raised my hand along with the entirety of the group aside from Clara who was standing right next to me. I raised an eyebrow at her in question before she elaborated for all of us.


    ¡°I don¡¯t really fight so I don¡¯t think it¡¯s really appropriate for me to vote on something like this.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s nonsense. We¡¯re a team. I mean, just by majority vote, we¡¯re staying here, but if you¡¯re uncomfortable staying here then you should at least let everyone know.¡± I nodded along with Kyra¡¯s words, as did the rest of the group, but Clara was quick to shake her head.


    ¡°No, no. It¡¯s nothing like that. I¡¯m not scared to stick around¡­it¡¯s just the whole me voting on you all to risk your lives in something like this.¡± Kualin snorted at her words which made her attention switch from Kyra to him.


    ¡°I ain¡¯t risking shit. We¡¯re all strong enough to make it through this, so don¡¯t even worry about it.¡± I wouldn¡¯t have put it the same way that Kualin did, but he may be right as long as the dungeon doesn¡¯t go crazy on us before we find the boss so we should be good.


    ¡°Kyra.¡± Her attention turned to me, but before I could get another word out, a black shadow dropped into the entrance of the cave right behind an unsuspecting Akito and Izzy. Time seemed to slow down as I jumped into action, but I wasn¡¯t the only one to move. Kualin stomped on the ground before the shadow could attack and an earth pillar shot out of the cave floor knocking it back a couple feet before I slammed into it shoulder first and sent it flying off the cliff of the mountains to what I hoped would be the monster¡¯s death. After the monster had been disposed of, time returned to normal and I realized that I was breathing harshly and my heart was thumping so hard in my chest that it hurt. I was unsure how much damage that shadow could have done to my friends, but I knew it was out to kill.


    Taking a second to compose myself, I spoke again. ¡°We can¡¯t stay here. We need to move. Kyra¡­¡± Kyra nodded at me and gestured towards Milik and just like they¡¯d done all week, he slung her over one shoulder and she immediately used her Spirit Scout ability to search for the Shrouded Mountains¡¯ boss monster. I silently wished her luck and hoped that the monster wouldn¡¯t be very hard to distinguish.


    In under a minute, everyone had packed their sleeping bags into their inventories and changed into some better clothing. We were all now once again gathered at the entrance of the cave. There were no sentimental goodbyes to our home for the past week or anything like that. I just gestured for Kualin to take the lead and set the pace. It was going to be a long night.