《The Rising Towers》 Prologue - Humanitys Violent Decline ¡°Mommy what¡¯s happening?!¡± A little girl cried to her mother while the world shook and erupted around them. ¡°Keep your head down!¡± her mother shouted, holding her daughter closely to her chest and cowering in a corner. Glass shot out from the windows of the grocery store, shredding the people too slow to get away. Screams could be heard all around as shelves toppled. The lucky ones were able to crawl out beneath the shelves, while others were stuck beneath debris. Few could run for cover effectively as the shaking made it far too difficult to balance. The earthquake was far too sudden and violent to react in time. The girl screamed as she clutched to her mother¡¯s shirt, bawling and screaming for the shaking to stop. Eventually, after what felt like hours, the shaking began to abate, though the screams of the injured and dying did not. The girl fearfully looked out from behind her mother and stared into the eyes of a beast. She could barely scream before the monster swept its claws straight through both of them, silencing them forever. ________________________________________________________________________________ While devastating, the earthquake that was felt worldwide was only a symptom something far greater. That day, dark towers miles wide rose from the ground in every major city of the world. Smaller towers rose from smaller cities, while the only ones spared were the ones lucky enough to live far from the cities. Even those spared by the rising of the towers were faced with the earthquakes created by the hulking structures. Those who survived the earthquake and were unlucky enough to live on the coast were swamped by tsunamis. The worst fate waited for those who survived both. The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Monsters of every kind came pouring out of every crack and crevice possible. Some even seemed to step out of thin air. These monsters were incredibly varied, some large, some small, but they all sought out to kill every human being they could. The following week, screams were a common occurrence, though they did not last long before they were cut short. Some managed to band together. While large-scale communication was impossible with the destruction of every major city, locals did whatever they could to hide or fight against the menace that tried to eradicate the last surviving members of humanity. Those that prepared to fight back found every piece of weaponry they could get their hands on, from kitchen knives to assault rifles. Those that thought themselves lucky to get their hands on the latter were met with a disturbing message as they opened fire:
Monsters are immune to advanced weaponry
The very fact that a message popped into view right before their eyes terrified the few who weren¡¯t already terrified by the message it gave. Forced to resort to knives, swords, and spears, humans were at a great disadvantage to the monster¡¯s superior strength and numbers. Despite the grim prospects of humanity¡¯s survival, five heroes managed to arise from the death and destruction around them. Many pockets of humanity remained in small numbers, but the power of the heroes may bring back the glory of the human race. Assuming they survive, of course. Chapter 1 - The Hero The Hero ¡°Two more reps to go Jerry!¡± [George] Jerry¡¯s muscles flexed and quivered underneath the weight, before buckling and giving in. George quickly grabbed the bar and lifted it back into place. ¡°I told you it was too much weight, you need to ease up. You¡¯ll just hurt yourself if you try to increase weight so quickly.¡± [George] ¡°Bah, I *pant* figured I could handle it.¡± [Jerry] Jerry sat up and took a long draw from his water bottle before turning to George and grinning wide. ¡°Good to know you can actually spot me though with such tiny arms!¡± [Jerry] ¡°Tiny arms? I don¡¯t think anyone actually needs arms the size of tree trunks. I¡¯m perfectly proportioned, and I can even turn my head more than 20 degrees!¡± [George] ¡°Who needs to turn their head? A real man always looks forward!¡± [Jerry] Jerry chortled loudly, drawing rolled eyes from those that knew him and strange stares from those that didn¡¯t. George only chuckled. ¡°Well let me know before you try to up your weight like that again, Atlas.¡± [George] George turned and made his way back to his office as Jerry called back. ¡°Will do George, have fun pushing paper!¡± [Jerry] George waved back and opened the door to his office. Running the gym took a lot of paperwork, but the rest of the work was worth it. He truly enjoyed helping out the gym members and working with his staff. George had clear rules and guidelines, but was otherwise a very affable and friendly guy that both staff and gym members adored. He sat down in his chair, sighing deeply before getting to work. Not five minutes in, he felt his phone buzz and looked at the caller ID. ¡®Here we go again¡¯ ¡°Hey Aly.¡± [George] ¡°Hi there honey bear! I so need to talk to you! So you remember Jessica was talking to Jake at the party, right? And that skank Marissa just walks up and¡ª¡° [Aly] George was impressed with himself for making it that far before completely tuning Aly out. Not that he didn¡¯t enjoy chatting with her on occasion, since she did have some rather funny anecdotes. Most of the time it was like chewing cardboard and hoping she finishes whatever she was talking about quickly so he could get on with his life. ¡°¡ªright?!¡± [Aly] ¡°Of course, totally!¡± [George] ¡°I knew you¡¯d agree with me, so after that she¡ª¡° [Aly] After dating Aly for nearly two years, George was very good at pretending he was paying attention. He truly liked Aly, but neither of them had said the dreaded ¡°L¡± word yet. Which was for the best, because neither of them felt that deeply for each other. ¡°*sigh* Well I should let you get back to work¡­though you should really hurry up and quit. You would do soooo much better as a private trainer!¡± [Aly] ¡°Probably, but I really enjoy what I do now.¡± [George] ¡°I know, but you really can¡¯t do it forever, you have to move on sometime!¡± [Aly] They¡¯ve been having this argument more and more often lately. George was beginning to get sick of it, because he felt satisfied with his life right now. He was never one for the life of luxury, so the pay he got now was plenty for him. Aly would never be satisfied with anything less than the best though. They came from two different worlds. He grew up dirt poor but with a loving family, while she grew up filthy rich with a family that hardly spoke to each other. He asked her out because she was pretty and fun to be around, but the longer they¡¯ve been together the more he felt he needed to end things. Unfortunately, they ran with the same crowds, all of who would never let him live it down if he broke up with her. They were even pushing for him to propose! Which Aly would likely accept if he were rich enough to support her. Another reason not to move on to ¡°bigger and better things.¡± ¡°This isn¡¯t really going anywhere, so let¡¯s just talk about this later, alright?¡± [George] ¡°Fine. We¡¯re still going to the party at Jason¡¯s right?¡± [Aly] ¡°Of course.¡± [George] With that, George smiled for the first time in the conversation. Music blared out of the speakers while dancers twined together sensuously. George smiled and tipped his drink back. ¡°Come on guys, let¡¯s dance!¡± [George] George called back to his large group of friends. They started with George and his buddies in crime from pre-school. From then on more and more people migrated in and out of his group. Some came for the popularity that came with being associated with George and his friends. Others loved how many parties they managed to get into. Moving onto the dance floor, George flailed to the music. He was an atrocious dancer, and loved it. George hardly ever felt embarrassed, enjoying the reactions people gave when he was silly or stupid. After an hour or so of goofing off he moved off the floor and sat heavily onto a nearby couch. The party was at a huge mansion on the outskirts of town, so they got to be as loud as they wanted with plenty of space. The guy who owned the place had enough people working for him that clean up didn¡¯t really matter, so his place had parties nearly every week. He reached his hand towards his glass but stopped, looking at it oddly. Wasn¡¯t it shaking a little too much? As soon as he finished the thought, the world began to shake. ¡°Earthquake! Get down!¡± [George] Following his own advice, George immediately went down, just as the windows blasted apart, pushing glass into people who weren¡¯t fast enough to get under cover. Keeping his head down, he heard screams echoing around him. He kept his head up a little so he¡¯d be able to see if something (or someone) started to fall on him. After a while the shaking slowly stopped, and he jumped up and pulled out his phone. A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m calling 911! Anyone who can move, help anyone stuck under debris!¡± [George] A couple of people moved quickly to do what he asked, which lead the others to follow suit. Looking at his phone, he dialed 911 and got nothing. Apparently they couldn¡¯t get a signal. Cursing, he tried to think of a plan just as he heard a strange scream coming from one of the open windows. Twisting his head, he watched in horror as small green monsters jumped on one of the people hit by glass. They bit and tore into his flesh, leading to his horrified screams as he was slowly eaten alive. George, as well as a few other people rushed forward to stop whatever those green creatures were. The others fell on to one of the creatures, while George went onto the other. Spotting a chair, George grabbed it, held it over his head, and swung it with every bit of power he could manage into the creature¡¯s skull.
Critical Hit!
George staggered, staring wide eyed at the small blue box that appeared in front of his eyes. Just as quickly as it appeared though, it faded. In its place was the sight of a horde of green creatures with small swords and spears. With the monsters close by taken care of, he spun around, looking for somewhere they could make a stand. Not seeing anywhere better, he figured the stairs were their best choice. Aftershocks might be a problem, but the creatures running at them were more of a threat. George moved towards the stunned crowd. ¡°Everyone either grab one of the wounded, a piece of furniture, or a weapon! Move the people upstairs and barricade the bottom of the stairs with furniture! We have more of them coming, move!¡± [George]
Active Skill: Rallying Cry - Learned!
George¡¯s voice shocked them back into reality and they moved quickly to comply. A few were too shocked or too distraught to move, but he didn¡¯t have the time to deal with them or whatever stupid windows kept popping up. Grabbing the leg of the chair he broke over the monster¡¯s head, he quickly helped the others move larger pieces of furniture to the growing barricade. Hearing the creature¡¯s screaming coming closer, George and the others helped people climb over the barricade and hide upstairs or stand ready to attack the creatures. The creatures came in a wave and tackled the barricade. Luckily they were small creatures so they didn¡¯t have enough power to do much of anything. The creature¡¯s then started to climb over the barricade, where some of the more courageous people stood with him to meet them. The first monster popped above the barricade, only to be knocked back down by various makeshift weapons. More and more began to make it to the top, only to be pushed back. Eventually their sheer numbers started to overwhelm them. Those that stood at the barricade, in their fear, ran, froze, or started beating the monsters for all they were worth. Not having time to deal with the runners, George screamed. ¡°We¡¯re twice the size of these little green shits, let¡¯s kick their ass!¡± [George]
Rallying Cry Activated!
Ignoring the window once again, George ran forward and started stabbing the creatures with his broken chair leg. Seeing how little it was doing, he started grappling with one of them for its weapon. Unable to hold off a human¡¯s greater strength, the monster lost its grip on its spear.
Active Skill: Disarm ¨C Learned!
¡®These windows are going to get me killed. Go away damn it!¡¯ As soon as he thought those last words, the window disappeared. Doing his best to ignore this, he used his new weapon to stab viciously at every goblin he could get near.
Weapon Skill: Spears ¨C Learned!
¡®Go away!'' The window once again popped out of his vision and he was free to continue stabbing. Occasionally a window would pop up saying that he scored a critical hit, but he quickly forced the windows away with a thought. The others followed his lead, disarming the goblins they could reach and using their weapons against them. Some were cut by the goblins, but their poor strength didn¡¯t help them much. They did, however, have very strong jaws. One of the goblins on the top of the barrier jumped towards a defender and sank his teeth into his neck. Screaming, the defender dropped to the floor trying to tear it off before the others killed it and pulled it off. The defender¡¯s screams echoed in the large mansion, causing those that hid to cower further into their corners. The remaining defenders continued to hold off the creatures, until the tide of monsters finally began to slow down. As it did, the creatures finally decided it would be better to retreat, and charged back outside. Sitting down heavily, only one thought came to George. ¡®What in the fuck just happened?¡¯
Title Earned: Leader
¡®Oh fuck off you damn window!¡¯ Chapter 2 - The Hunter The Hunter The man¡¯s eyes snapped open. From deep sleep to completely alert, he moved fluidly out of bed. Sounds could be heard from the other side of the door to his room. Moving silently, he pressed his ear carefully against the wood and tried to discern what he heard. Shuffling¡­disorganized¡­suggests multiple people. Groaning¡­agonized¡­as if in pain. Not an unusual sound here certainly, but not in this particular area of the manor. Whatever they were, they did not try to hide the sounds they made. Either the people outside did not know where they were, or did not care. Even so, the very fact that they came this close to his room is puzzling. Regardless, whoever was waiting on the other side of the door was unlikely to be an ally. The man pulled a locker from beneath his bed and quickly unlocked it. In the locker were his usual tools. Two .45 pistols to rest in shoulder holsters, with four extra magazines. Silencers to match the pistols when it¡¯s better to be quiet (or save his hearing). Multiple throwing knives. All purpose rope. Two flash, two smoke, and two fragmentation grenades. Finally, a pocket knife. The knife portion was a bit redundant considering his plethora of other knives, but the other tools were useful to have around. Placing these items on his bed, the man moved to his closet and got dressed. Wrist and shin guards with sheathes for throwing knives. Body armor went over a basic shirt, followed by a jacket with a number of pockets to keep his tools and extra magazines. Finally, heavy pants tucked into combat boots. Tucked into his belt was a well-worn combat knife that never left the man¡¯s side, even when sleeping. Fully equipped, the man considered his approaches. Going loud wasn¡¯t an option. The man didn¡¯t know how many were waiting on the other side, or who they were. He needed more information. The better option was likely to slip outside the room and find a spot to quietly observe the visitors. Perhaps then he could slowly lower their numbers and slow them down. The man did not choose either option, however. If these people were able to safely navigate the traps inside, they may be able to kill his master. For this reason, the man was not afraid of the intruders. He was hopeful. The man decided to barricade the room and wait out whatever was going to happen. Perhaps he could reason with the people outside and assist them in killing his master? They¡¯d certainly need the help. He was not sure they would succeed though even with his assistance. Hunting his master had caused the man considerable pain in the past. So long as he bunkers down in his room, it was less likely his master would punish him. He was still risking punishment by not attacking the intruders, but he held the hope that they may succeed. A happy medium of risk versus reward. So he carefully barricaded his door with any large furniture he had. Once finished, he pulled out one of his pistols and screwed on a silencer. In his other hand he held a throwing knife. Moving to the opposite side of the door, he waited. And waited. And waited. Certainly they would have reached his master¡¯s bedroom by now? He could still hear them, so they hadn¡¯t moved far. What were they waiting for? Setting a trap?
Monsters have finished spawning! Dungeon synthesis complete!
The man, on reflex, slashed his knife across the screen that appeared in front of his face suddenly. With the slash, the window disappeared. Greatly confused, the man tried to understand what just happened when another window appeared.
You have entered [The Blood-Soaked Manor] Mini-Dungeon! Monsters will respawn when killed until the Dungeon Master (Master Assassin Fang) is defeated! Since you are the first human to enter this dungeon, you gain 2x more experience for the following week. Monsters will also have a slightly higher chance to drop more powerful items.
This time, the man carefully read the window and considered its implications. Going in order, the appearance of these windows at all was puzzling. When he moved his head, the window followed the center of his vision. Something was affecting his mind. This probably wasn¡¯t a dream, as the man wasn¡¯t in agony, which is how most of his dreams went. Drugs were also not likely, as his mind felt sharp. Could his master have implanted something into his brain to gain direct access to his mind? While this thought was frightening, the master wouldn¡¯t have risked his favorite tool with an invasive surgery. Despite how much the vile master may enjoy it. The man did not have enough information about the windows, so he considered what they contained. Supposedly the manor was now a dungeon filled with monsters, with his master as the Dungeon Master. While the man was amused that the master wasn¡¯t treated as human, this left him at a loss. If the master was the Dungeon Master, the monsters would likely be under his control. Which means they wouldn¡¯t be trying to kill him. Very unfortunate. This also meant that the man wasn¡¯t considered to be a monster along with his master though. Did this mean the monsters would attack him? The window had faded by now, but he wanted to re-read it. Perhaps if he imagined it appearing in front of him¡­And it does. This time the window doesn¡¯t fade and allows him to read it completely. He then imagined it fading away. Then coming back. Then fading away. The window followed his directions every time. He clearly had control over these windows in some way. Though it would be dangerous if they popped up randomly in a tight situation. Considering that they liked some kind of user-interface, he decided to say the word ¡°settings¡± in his mind. Just like that, another window opened up, giving him a number of options involving the other windows he received. Immediately spotting the ¡°hide new messages in combat¡± option, he quickly checked it. Shouldn¡¯t that be the default though? Thinking of a ¡°default option¡± made him think of the system that governed these messages. Clearly there was something going on that was generating these messages and giving him limited control over them. Perhaps whatever created these windows also created the ¡°monsters¡± outside? The man shook his head and looked at the other settings. They all involved cosmetic changes to the message windows. Not knowing whether other people could see his windows, he set the windows to a dull gray that may be harder to read from further away. At the bottom of the settings was the message:
More settings are unlocked at higher levels.
Levels? The system seemed to be setting up an RPG type situation. Respawning monsters, dungeons, system settings, and levels. Definitely like a video game. The man had played very few, but had snuck into a few houses between missions to see what they were. The games he¡¯d played had a user-interface that was clearly visible at all times. Trying to imagine a vague interface with status and inventory, one did pop up. To the top left of his vision was a full green health bar and beneath it was an empty gray bar. To his top right was a mini-map that was completely dark save a small area surrounding a white dot he assumed represented him. To the bottom right were two icons: a head and a bag. To the bottom left was a gray box that the man didn¡¯t quite understand the point of. Just like the previous windows, the man could bring up and bring down this interface at will. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Shaking his head, the man listened closely to the monsters to ensure they weren¡¯t moving towards him. The sounds really hadn¡¯t changed, so he decided to look at this interface in more depth. Opening the interface, he pressed his finger against the health bar and the text: Health Bar: 100/100 popped up next to his finger. Pressing the gray bar showed: Resource Bar: N/A. The man pressed various areas of the mini-map but nothing happened. Continuing his way around, he pressed the head icon at the bottom right. In the middle of his screen another window popped up: [tr] [tr][tr] [tr][tr] [tr][tr] [tr][tr] [tr][tr] [tr][tr] [tr][tr] [tr][tr] [tr][tr] [tr]
Status
Name???Level1ClassNONEGenderMaleAlignmentChaotic GoodRaceHumanTitle
NONE
Health (HP)100/100ResourceN/APrimary Stats
Strength (STR)DDefense (DEF)DIntellect (INT)EResistance (RES)E+Speed (SPD)C--Secondary Stats
Endurance (END)C+Willpower (WLP)C+Stamina (STM)DAdrenaline (ADR)C+Agility (AGL)C+--Skills
NONE
Chaotic Good? Of everything the status interface showed him, this felt wrong to the man. Chaotic, yes, but Good? There was far too much blood on his hands to ever be considered Good. He waved this off as a mistake or a misjudgement by the system. The man reads over his other stats carefully. Pressing the stats gives a brief description of what they do. Most of it is self explanatory: STR = Physical Attack, DEF = Physical Defense, and INT/RES do the same for magic respectively while SPD dictates movement speed. The idea that magic exists is rather interesting, and definitely something the man wants to explore further. The secondary stats were a bit more interesting. From the descriptions, it seems like END = Resistance to pain, STM = Amount one can exert themselves before needing to rest, AGL = Ability to make precise movements (Affects accuracy and hand-eye coordination, among other things), WLP = Resistance to debuffs like snares, roots, curses, etc., and finally ADR = The effect adrenaline has on the body in combat situations. The skills section was empty, so the man didn¡¯t worry about that for now. He wasn¡¯t quite sure how to feel about his stats. The man was a highly trained and worked hard daily to keep up his physique and mental acuity. Perhaps his stats would increase as his level did. He wasn¡¯t really sure how he compared to others, but this wasn¡¯t really the time to consider that. Closing the status, he next pressed the bag. A window popped up showing what he had equipped. His clothing gave him small boosts in stats, like +1 DEF on his body armor and +1 AGL from his combat knife. Strangely, his pistols weren¡¯t considered equipped. Below the equip screen were boxes that showed the other items he carried, so he looked for his pistols. What he found disturbed him. [table].45 Caliber Pistol (Silenced)TypeAdvanced Earth WeaponryDamageN/AThis is a piece of Advanced Earth Weaponry owned and maintained by an unknown assassin. While beautifully crafted and deadly in efficiency, the system forbids the use of Advanced Earth Weaponry. Thus, it cannot damage monsters or players.[table] The man was much more nervous without the comforting power of his pistols. Would his grenades even work? Checking those quickly verified that they would not work either. With those items useless, his only real options were his knives and his fists. Not tools that were too useful when facing monsters that may be bigger and stronger than him. Either way, they were what he had, so he quickly dumped the rest of his gear and kept the rope and knives. With that done, he finished checking anything that he could think of. All that information helped him with the realization that some sort of system was turning his surroundings into a game. Unfortunately, that doesn¡¯t really help him out of this situation. The man doubted any help would come to him, so he had to escape on his own. Perhaps if he killed enough monsters he would be strong enough to finally kill his master. The man¡¯s master wasn¡¯t likely to be searching for him, because otherwise he¡¯d already have come while he was fiddling with his interface. With the goal of hunting down monsters, the man gripped his combat knife in one hand and a throwing knife in the other. He slowly opened the door and stepped out into the darkness.[/b]